Protagonist - Riley Ross aka Darkday
Powers shown/mentioned so far: Telekinesis, Body Duplication, Super strength, Flight, etc.
Hannah Ross, Riley's adoptive sister.
Powers: Pyrokinesis
Bernard Ross aka Whiteking, Adoptive father
Powers: None
Diana Ross, Adoptive mother
Mega Woman, Earth's number 1 superhero
Powers: Super strength, Flight, Super speed, Nigh-Invulnerability, Nigh-Immortality, Minor Telekinesis, Heat vision.
Mega Academy:
Silvie Savelievna | Powers: Flight, Super Strength
Chapter 1"We… We have received tragic news. Mega Woman… Mega Woman is…"
The tears of the people filled the streets, their cries echoing throughout the world, their despair rippling through the skies. Every corner of the planet mourned as they watched the death of their savior, Earth's mightiest defender, through their screens and televisions.
Every media, every news outlet all repeated the same words over and over again-- "Mega Woman is dead."
"Mega Woman, who has protected our world and our universe for hundreds of years, has died!"
"This just in! We have received confirmation that Mega Woman has been killed by the supervillain, Darkday…"
"This truly is a dark day-- As you can see from our replay, Mega Woman's neck was snapped in… even with the Hope Guild's help, she fell into the hands of..."
"We advise every man, woman, elderly, and children to hide in their bunkers in the coming dark days…"
"...Be warned, there will truly be dark days ahead. Expect the other supervillains to wreak havoc..."
"With her death, everyone seems to be carrying the same question…
...Who will protect us now?"
But even with the tears of people almost drowning the entire planet, there was one who neither mourned nor cheered for the hero's death. Instead, he only let out a sigh as he folded his laptop, cancelling all the noise it once produced and completely drowning himself in the darkness of his abode.
The boy then stood up as he grabbed his phone from his pocket, and as he unlocked it, a photo of the one they called Mega Woman quickly flashed on its screen. But instead of flattering or glamorous photos of the hero, which most boys his age had, the photo that was on his screen was anything but.
Instead, it was a photo of her all bloodied up; with the whites of her eyes filling up her sockets, with her mouth completely caved in… and her head twisted in a way that it shouldn't.
Her face reflected on the boy's eyes, which neither trembled nor blinked; his lips, however, quivered as it produced a silent giggle, shouting in the cold and dark room as he zoomed in on the mighty hero's disfigured face.
The boy also had the photos of the other heroes that were with Mega Woman-- the Hope Guild. They were also beaten and bruised, but not as worse as Earth's mightiest hero; unlike Mega Woman, there was still life on their faces.
After looking at their photos for what seemed like a second, he returned to Mega Woman's disfigured face, and another chuckle emerged from the mouth of the boy… his eyes, however, remained constant.
At the start of the 18th century, when crimes and terrors from super-powered individuals spread like an epidemic; when the world was almost in complete chaos and its life slowly withering, when all hope seemed lost… Mega Woman showed herself to the world.
The gold and white radiance that came from her suit brought light back to the world. She became the cure to the widespread evil that was tarnishing the lands, once again allowing the world to heal.
But even with her existence, the planet was too big and too much for her to handle alone. But then, another miracle happened. Just a few months after her appearance, more and more heroes came to the light…
...Ushering the Age of Heroes. And until now, 300 years later, that age still blooms. But with the death of the very symbol of superheroes-- humanity would have to once again take a leap back and wait.
Wait for another Mega Woman to appear.
"Y… y… you… why?" The boy continued to scan the photos on his phone, only stopping as he reached a video clip of Mega Woman, seemingly kneeling on the ground. Her face, however, seemed to still be beautifully intact compared to the earlier photos the boy was viewing.
"Why… are you doing this?"
Mega Woman's sedated voice cracked; trying her best to stand up. But as soon as she gained the strength to move, the ground beneath her would turn into a crater, pulling her down along with it.
A long and deep breath could also be heard coming from the boy's phone as a shoe could be seen stepping on Mega Woman's head, but before the owner of the sigh could be heard, a series of knocks drummed through the air.
And as soon as it reached the boy's ears, he quickly shut off his phone. But instead of the room being completely filled with nothing but darkness, light showered it completely.
"Riley, how many times do I have to say to turn on the lights when you're already awake!? We even installed special lights so they won't affect your skin! Stop being so gloomy and creepy all the time. And why are you so dirty!? Haven't you heard the news? Mega Woman is dead, we should go to the bunker before Darkday finds his way to this city!"
And before the boy called Riley could even react, he was bombarded by a series of words by the woman that suddenly barged inside his room, his unusually empty but ordinary bedroom.
And with the ordinary bedroom, the figure of the boy stood out almost in exaggeration.
His hair was completely white, the color of his skin, as pale as his hair itself. The only colors that one could see in his face were his lips and the edges of his eyelids that seemed to blush from his also seemingly bright blue eyes.
"Why are you just sitting there!? Mother is already waiting for us in the bunker!" The woman that barged into his room could not help but scream in frustration as Riley just stared at her.
"This isn't a joke, Riley! Stop being so lazy!"
The woman then quickly picked up something from the floor, throwing it towards Riley before running outside, "I'll wait for you downstairs!"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at his swinging door, which looked like its hinges were about to fall off as his sister once again slammed it open. But after a few seconds, he stood up, casually putting his phone back in his pocket as he wore the hoodie that was thrown to him by his sister.
He checked his room one last time, before heading out of his room, with each of his steps expressing his laziness.
"Hurry up!" His sister once again screamed as he saw Riley moving like a snail.
"It's alright, Hannah."
Riley finally uttered words, his voice, almost as sedated as his figure, "Darkday can't come to this city."
"How would you know!? Haven't you seen the video!? The fucker just destroyed Toronto and killed Mega Woman!"
Hannah once again went amok as soon as she heard the mocking exhaustion in her brother's voice, "Why do you sound so tired when you just spend hours in your room lazing around? Are you… you know what, never mind. I don't want to know what you albinos get into in the dark."
"..."
"Hurry the fuck up!" Hannah then hurriedly covered her brother's head with his hoodie, before proceeding to grab his wrist tightly. Riley could only let himself be dragged as Hannah suddenly rushed outside the house. And as soon as the great outdoors welcomed him, chaos did too.
Riley was not able to see it clearly as his sister quickly wrapped her arms over his shoulders, pushing him away, but it was enough for him to see that their neighbors had the same thoughts as them, as they too, scurried their way towards their own bunkers.
"Hannah, what took you so long!? Is your brother with you!?"
And as soon as Riley and his sister got inside their bunker after only walking a few steps from their house, the sound of metal creaking immediately pierced their ears as their mother immediately closed the steel door.
"It's not my fault, mom!" Hannah pushed Riley away as soon as she knew they were secured, "This albino was laughing by himself in the dark again!"
"Hannah! How many times do I have to say to not talk to your brother like that!?"
"Whatever, I don't care." Hannah only rolled her eyes as she cracked open a bottle of water that was sitting on a table, passing it to Riley before she went to the corner of the steel room. Their mother was going to say more, but before she could do so, Hannah was already on her phone, listening to music with her headset on.
"And you, young man! What do you think you're doing? Don't you listen to the news? Mega Woman is dead!"
"...I know, mother. I saw her bruised and beaten, I heard her last words as she died."
"What? Where did you see that? The press hasn't released any video! Every news I turn into refuses to show what truly happened to Mega Woman!"
Riley's mother then quickly turned on the television, raising it to the highest volume as she switched the channels to try and find the video that Riley mentioned. But no matter how many channels she tuned in to, only a blurred image could be seen.
"Oh my god, what's happening," the voice of Riley's mother trembled through the bunker, her hand almost dropped the remote she was holding as it shivered uncontrollably, "What about the Hope Guild? Are they also dead!? Why is all the news about Mega Woman? What about your father!?"
"Father and his team are alive, mother."
"What? How do you know these things? Did you read it from the internet? Show me!" Riley's mother quickly leaned towards him, and as soon as she did so, Riley quickly moved away.
"S… sorry," Riley's mother quickly muttered as she tried to look her son straight in the eyes, Riley, however, avoided her gaze and only looked to the side.
"But how do you know all of these? Did your father call you?"
"It's okay, mother," Riley shook his head in response, "I know it because I am the one who killed Mega Wo--"
"Ah! There it is! There's your father!"
"...I know, mother. I left them alive."
"Look, your father is fine! Your father is fine!"
"..."
Riley could only blink his eyes a couple of times as he watched his mother jump up and down in joy, even dragging his sister across the floor to force her to celebrate.
"...I am Darkday, mother."
But alas, his words were completely drowned by cries of joy from their mother.
Chapter 2"They said that villains all had a reason for what they were doing; that they were heroes in their own stories. Not me…
...I was born evil."-- Riley Ross, Darkday. 2021
***
"Your father is alive!"
"M… mom, stop!"
Back inside the bunker, Riley's eyes moved up and down as he watched her sister try her best to hold onto her headset for dear life. However, their mother's incessant hugging and jumping in joy did not help her one bit… and in the end, she had no choice but to take them off and join her mother.
After all, even though she wasn't showing it, the red circles around her eyes showed that she too, was worried about their father.
On the other hand, Riley just drank a bottle of water as he moved to the side, watching the news as they continued to update the aftermath of the bloodiest battle their world had ever experienced.
Toronto was completely destroyed, as it was the last venue for their battle. More than 2 million, dead. But what the media outlets were not yet covering was the other areas where Darkday and Mega Woman's battle took place.
It started in Brazil, then Mexico, before finally being decided in Toronto. Based on Riley's estimate, then the death toll would probably be more than 5 million by the end of their counting.
Riley could only shake his head and let out a sigh as he turned off the TV, causing her mother to immediately stop celebrating.
"Why did you turn it off!?"
"They are just spouting lies, mother. It is better for you to just wait for father to tell you what really happened."
"Y… you're right," hearing her son's words, Riley's mother let out a long and deep breath as she finally let go of Hannah, "You're right, I should calm down."
"That's not what I meant, mother."
"No, you're right. Your father should be coming home soon," Riley's mother shook her head, "Hannah, prepare the first-aid kit and boil some water."
"What? Why me!?"
"You know your brother can't touch anything hot!"
"But he can at least get the first-aid kit!"
"Just do it! You're the stronger sibling!"
"Argh!" Hannah could not help but screech in frustration as she stomped her way across the bunker,
"You owe me a cheeseburger after this!"
"I thought you turned into a vegetarian?" Riley blinked a couple of times as his sister violently waved her finger right in front of his face.
"That was before Mega Woman died!"
"I do not see the relevance in--"
"I do not see the relevance in," before Riley could finish his words, Hannah repeated his words to him, playing with her voice as she tilted her chin left to right, "Stop being so robotic and help me with--"
"Honey!"
This time, it was Hannah that was interrupted as the creaking of the thick steel door hummed in their ears, and afterwards followed by the loud gasp of their mother. Hannah quickly looked towards the noise, only to see their father almost completely covered in blood.
"Honey! We… we saw the news."
Even though their father did not have a clean spot on him, their mother did not hesitate to embrace him; even trying to assist him inside. "Get a chair for your father!"
Riley quickly ran towards the chair on the corner, but as soon as he picked it up, his sister grabbed it from his hands.
"Don't exert yourself, you dummy." Hannah let out a sigh as she placed the chair near their father, "What happened out there, dad? Is Mega Woman really dead?"
Their father slightly glanced at Hannah, before turning his head to the floor, letting out a long but deep and stuttered sigh. His lips moved several times, trying to find the right answer to give his family.
But with the exhaustion that threatened to suffocate him, the only thing he could do was nod.
"What about Darkday!? Do we know what he's going to do now?" Their mother then removed all the things that were attached to her husband, starting with the white cape that had already been drenched in blood. She then swiftly removed his belt, which held all sorts of tools and apparatus.
But still, with some of them even looking lethal, their mother seemed to expertly know how to handle and remove all of them even without looking.
"Bernard, answer my question!"
With her husband keeping eerily quiet, she could no longer contain herself and suddenly slapped him in the face.
"He… he just disappeared."
And the slap seemed to completely wake Bernard up, as his eyes quickly wandered across the bunker, and as soon as they landed on his two children, he quickly straightened his back and composed himself.
"We don't know where Darkday is," Bernard then shook his head as he let his wife take care of his wounds, "After… after he killed Mega Woman, he just suddenly disappeared. He treated us as if we were children, Diana. The Hope Guild was there to back Mega Woman up, but Darkday multiplied himself, dealing with all of us all at the same time."
"What did the government say? Are they going to evacuate us!?" Diana's voice once again became louder as she stitched her husband's wounds, "Tell me they will evacuate us, at least Riley and Hannah… They can at least do that for a member of the Hope Guild, right?"
"They… are too busy. It's not just Toronto, honey. Brazil and Mexico also became a battlefield… millions have died."
"...No."
Diana quickly grabbed Hannah and hugged her as soon as she heard her husband's words. She also wanted to hug Riley, but he quickly avoided her. Hannah, however, held his hand before he could completely move away.
Riley looked at his sister's hand for a few seconds, before turning his head to the side.
"The casualty would have probably been lowered if your group had not interfered, father." Riley then casually said, "It was clear that Darkday was only after Mega Woman… those deaths, father…
...they are your fault."
"R… Riley!" Diana could not help but quickly let out a gasp from her son's words, "Apologize to your father--"
"It's alright," Bernard raised his hand, "Our son is right, Diana. But you have to understand, Riley, that Mega Woman means everything to the people. We needed to help her with everything we could… our only mistake is that we completely underestimated Darkday. The powers he has is completely unpre...dictable. It's… as if…"
"Honey!"
Before Bernard could finish his words, he suddenly fell from his seat. Diana quickly rushed to check on him, only for her hands to touch the floor beneath him that was drowned in blood. "Help me get your father up, one of his wounds opened!"
"..."
While his sister and mother scour to stitch up his father's wounds, Riley just let out a short but deep sigh.
"He has lost too much blood. He's going to die soon if you do not close his wound," he then said.
"W… what!? Hannah, cauterize it!"
"A… are you sure!?"
"Just do it!"
As her mother's cries reached its peak, Hannah quickly raised her index finger, and as she did so, a blade of fire suddenly emerged from its tip. Her eyes wanted to look away as she pointed the flame towards his father's wound, but in the end, she just winced as she trailed her finger across the gash across his father's stomach.
"Grah!"
Bernard was jolted awake from the pain of having his wound burnt, but still, he just gritted his teeth as he looked his daughter straight in the eyes, nodding his head and gesturing for her to continue.
Hannah started breathing heavily as she saw the look on her father's face. Even though her father had been wounded before and usually always comes home with a new scar, she has never seen him once crying in pain. She truly wanted to cry, but doing so would surely cause the flame in her finger to waver.
But still, the emotions that rushed through her as her father's cries echoed throughout the metal walls truly was overwhelming, causing the flames to flicker. And as they were about to disappear, she felt a somewhat cold touch around her head, completely covering her ears from all the noise.
Her mother was still holding her father down, so the hands could only belong to one other person. As she thought of that, she lightly nodded her head as the flame on her fingers became more precise, cleanly cauterizing the gash quickly.
And finally, the breaths of panic slowly turned to that of calm.
A second.
A minute.
An hour, they all stood and sat there in silence as Bernard lay unconscious. They tuned in on the news, trying to see if there were any updates of Darkday's whereabouts and what he was going to do next, but nothing.
There was nothing. Even after a week had passed, there weren't any signs of him. The world waited, the government was on high alert and had sent superheroes all around the world to guard the people.
With the heightened and total security, even the super villains and terrorists became dormant. After Mega Woman's death, there was a sort of false peace that lingered the entire planet; the people were allowed to mourn their dead, to mourn their families, and to finally mourn Mega Woman and give her a proper funeral.
As for Darkday?
Darkday completely disappeared from the face of the world. Leaving no trace that he even existed in the first place.
"Mega Woman will always be the world's hope. Hope Guild would not have existed if not for..."
And as the people mourned for Mega Woman. As one of the members of the Hope Guild, Whiteking, stood on a pedestal and gave his speech of the greatness of the fallen hero, a boy was smiling.
"There's your father… I thought he wasn't going to wear that costume," Diana turned up the volume as soon as her husband appeared on television.
"He is looking quite fat, isn't he?"
"Don't let your father hear that. That was the costume he was wearing when we met. I think he was even wearing that when we created you--"
"Ew, mom!" Hannah could not help but roll her eyes from her mother's words, "Riley, help me out here!"
"I wasn't conceived by them so I will not be able to relate," Riley quickly said as he stood up from his seat, walking away from the mother and daughter duo.
"You're still my brother! There should be a sort of camaraderie here! Are you leaving me here!?"
"Sshh! Your father is speaking!" Diana turned the volume of the TV to its maximum, completely drowning her daughter's complaints. Riley only took a small glance towards the TV, before heading back to his room.
And as soon as he was in the comforts of his own room, he quickly placed his hand on his mouth. A muffled giggle then whispered into the air as his shoulders trembled. But after a few seconds, his giggles were replaced by the sound of a deep and heavy breath as he made his way to his closet.
"Don't you find it funny too?" he then whispered, "I wonder who they're burying exactly…
...when you're right here with me?"
Riley then looked straight towards the unmoving eyes that presented themselves to him as soon as he opened his cabinet. The owner of the eyes, as if also frozen in time, remained unmoving as well-- her skin completely pale as her body was twisted in a way no human should be able to achieve.
"....Mega Woman."
Chapter 3"...Mega Woman."
Riley's slightly sedated hum whispered throughout his small room as he remained staring at the naked mangled corpse inside his closet. "They are mourning you, they are crying for you...
...and yet they don't even know that you're still alive."
Riley then slowly raised Mega Woman's head, and as he did so, the sound of her bones cracking and hitting one another creaked in the air. There was a slight movement in her eyes, but that was it.
No groans, no whispers, not even signs of breath escaped from her mouth-- and yet she still lives.
"Tell me, Mega Woman. What exactly do I need to do to kill you?" Riley then pushed Mega Woman's head away, causing it to hit the back of his closet and her whole body dropping to the ground, "Because of you... I will also have a hard time dying from now on. Do you know what the means, Mega Woman?"
Riley then let out a long and deep sigh as he shook his head. His monotonous tone, completely gone as he talked to a living corpse.
"I won't grow anymore!" Riley then stomped on Mega Woman's head repeatedly, not too hard for it to crash through the floor, but still hard enough to crack the surface of the closet.
"...What's going on upstairs?" Diana, who was still watching his husband give a eulogy, could not help but blink her eyes a couple of times as she turned her head to the ceiling.
"It's probably just Riley doing his albinism rituals or something, don't mind him."
"Hannah, I told you so many times not to tease your brother like that."
"It's fine, it's fine."
Diana let out a sigh as she saw her daughter nonchalantly waving her hand around. She knew she didn't have a normal family. The fact that her husband was one of the core members of the biggest superhero team in the world already made them different from the rest.
Her daughter had also awakened her powers at a young age. Some families would kill to have a daughter like Hannah. Hannah, however, did not even practice her powers, saying that if she grew any stronger, then she would have a responsibility to the people-- and she didn't like that.
Riley... well, perhaps Riley was the most problematic of them all. Riley was the biological son of one of the previous members of the Hope Guild-- who had to be put down by Bernard and her other teammates.
Along the way, she became crazy-- even almost killing Riley, who was only 2 years old at that time. Bernard and the others found her strangling Riley, whose hands and feet were completely bound by chains.
Truly, if they came to the scene any second sooner, then Riley would have already died. They had troubles in pulling her away from her son, screaming and shouting that Riley needs to die; that he was a monster that should not have been born to this world.
When Diana heard that story from her husband, she completely burst out in tears-- causing her to adopt Riley there and then even though she hasn't even met toddler Riley. But as soon as she met him, she once again burst out in tears.
As Hannah keeps referring him, Riley was an albino-- his hair, his skin, as white as snow. For his own mother to call him a monster just because he looked different was truly such a tragedy. She quickly rushed to hug him, but alas, Riley did not seem to want to be touched.
She couldn't blame him, of course. After what his own biological mother did to him, it would be even more surprising if he didn't grow cold.
But alas, 14 years after, Riley was still the same. And surprisingly, the only one that could actually have a somewhat normal conversation with him, and even touch him, was Hannah. Because of this, he had to be completely homeschooled-- there was also that his skin was sensitive to sunlight, so she and Bernard opted to have Riley just stay with them for now.
"Look at the outside, Mega Woman."
Upstairs, Riley was lifting Mega Woman by his hair, with the two of them bathing on the sunlight that seeped from his window.
"It's still peaceful even without you," Riley took in a long and deep breath as he rested Mega Woman's head on his shoulder, "...But it had also become boring. You're supposed to be from another planet, right? Can you point me where you're from so I can visit it?"
Riley tried raising Mega Woman's hand, but it fell as soon as he let it go. Seeing this, Riley could not help but let out a sigh, "It's your fault no one can kill me on the planet anymore, Mega Woman. And even if they do manage to win, I will just become like you-- unable to do anything but still alive...
...That's not good, Mega Woman, that's not good at all-- I need to die. You should have at least told me when you're going to recover from this."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I'm bored with you now, I'm returning you."
Riley then let out a sigh as he stood up, carelessly dropping Mega Woman's body to the floor as he walked towards his bed. And with just a single hand, he casually raised the whole mattress from its frame.
He then lifted up his other hand, causing the bedframe to split in two, revealing what seemed to be a set of dark leather clothing, as well as a black helmet that was dark to the point that it almost looked as if your arm would fall to the abyss if you dared touch it.
"Once you recover, I'll be waiting back for you. Okay, Mega Woman?" Riley then said as he looked towards Mega Woman's body, "And don't tell anyone about my identity, you're the only one I trust. But it's okay if you do since I'll just kill everyone that knows. But please don't tell my sister...
...Okay, Mega Woman? That's a promise."
***
"Although the void that Mega Woman had left behind is vast, almost unending; we, and the other superheroes that are still here, promise you that we will try our best to fill that void."
In the center of the city, Whiteking, Riley's adoptive father, continued his eulogy for the fallen hero; his words, heard by the thousands that surrounded him, and the billions that were listening to him through their screens and their radios.
And even though there were thousands, not even a single breath could be heard from them as they listened to the man standing on the pedestal, completely clad in white. Besides the members of the Hope Guild, other superheroes were also present, giving their utmost respect to Mega Woman.
"Maybe someday, a great hero will once again come to us. But there will only be one Mega Wo--"
"Oh my god!"
"What the fuck!?"
Before Whiteking could finish his long and gratifying speech, the crowd that was completely silent all started to gasp at the same time, clamoring and yelling words of panic. All of them were looking at the sky; Bernard also noticed that all of the superheroes became stiff, with some of them holding out their stance as they too, looked towards the sky.
Seeing this, Bernard quickly looked to the sky behind him, but before he could even fully turn his body, he felt a slight breeze suddenly waft beside him, followed by a quiet thud.
"..."
With the crowd once again suddenly falling quiet, Whiteking could not help but take in a gulp as he slowly turned his head towards the noise.
"Mega Woman!"
And as soon as he saw the mangled corpse that was suddenly sprawled beside him, the only thing he could do was slightly back away. And as he did so, he felt something lightly hitting him on the back.
"Nice speech, Whiteking."
"!!!"
Bernard quickly grabbed one of the guns that were securely fastened on his waist, but before he could point it towards the individual that suddenly stood near him, it was quickly slapped away. The other superheroes also leaped onto the stage, surrounding the black-clad individual in no time.
"D… Darkday!"
They all muttered.
And while they were completely focused on him, the people that were there to pay their respects to Mega Woman, all could not help but shriek and panic. They were all here to send her off, but suddenly, Mega Woman was thrown in front of them-- her corpse, completely mangled up. But even though their panic was at its peak, none of them could move.
They could feel their breaths weakening at every beat; their blood rising up to levels that they shouldn't.
"Relax."
A voice then echoed and pierced their ears, waking them all up from their stupor. They all looked back towards the pedestal, only to see that Darkday was now the one standing there.
"I did not come here to harm any of you."
Darkday then raised both his hands, his palms facing the crowd. Even with almost a dozen superheroes surrounding him, he didn't even hesitate to turn his back on them; instead, his focus was completely on the crowd.
"As you can see, I have returned your messiah," Darkday then said, the visor of his vanta-black helmet almost sticking to the microphone, "You're welcome."
"Darkday, how dare you-- Kh!"
"You've had your chance to speak, Whiteking. And it was very nice, good job."
Before Bernard could finish his words, he felt an arm wrapping around his neck, threatening to take off the white mask that covered half his face. He then looked towards Darkday, only to see another exact replica of him slowly emerging from his body; duplicating themselves on their own and guarding him in a circle.
"Mega Woman is alive," Darkday then said. And although this was wonderful news, none of the crowd could express their joy… how could they, when they could clearly see how mangled her body is. Even those who were just watching from their screens could not believe what they were seeing, completely shaken up by Darkday's sudden appearance.
"Maybe in a few weeks, or months, or maybe even a year; she will rise again."
Darkday's long but deep sigh echoed throughout the air, "But until then, you have to settle with the other weaker heroes. But do not fret, people. Until Mega Woman rests; until Mega Woman can not save your pathetic lives, I too shall take a rest."
The other superheroes could not help but look at each other from Darkday's words. In truth, they all might show themselves ready to fight him at any time, but how would they even hope to defeat someone who was able to toy with the most powerful superhero of all time?
"Until Mega Woman remains asleep," Darkday then lowered his hands, placing them on the podium, "I, Darkday…
...will retire."
***
"...Even with Mega Woman receiving the best possible care, there are still no signs of her waking up. They are doing--"
"I am bored."
Riley let himself fall on his bed as his monotonous voice almost filled the entire room, only drowned by the sound of the news that he was playing on his phone. It has been a month since he announced his retirement to the world, and he has not donned his suit since then.
His life had become as monotonous as his voice-- waking up, eating, pretending, sleeping. He was no longer finding any excitement in watching the videos he took of Mega Woman. There was this itch growing inside of him; an itch that could only be scratched by the scent of blood lingering through the air around. A void that would only be filled as a life fades away in his hand.
"...In line with this, the world government has announced the beginning of a new project-- an academy. An academy that would help nurture and one day hope to train the next superhero…
...that will become the next Mega Woman."
Riley blinked a couple of times as he lifted his phone in the air, his eyes carefully watching the news anchor that was talking on the screen. And with every second the news was reflected through his eyes, a smile also slowly crawled on his face.
"Interestingly stupid...
....I'm in."
Chapter 4"I wish to be enrolled in Mega Academy, parents."
"..."
A few days after the announcement of the government that they have built a school to train future superheroes, the Ross family were currently having a casual dinner-- a casual dinner that was only made weird as soon as Riley opened his mouth to speak.
"..."
The other members of the family continued with their meal as if what they heard was just some sort of hymn from the wind. But after a few more seconds, the silence was broken by a loud clanging.
Hannah suddenly stood up from her seat, dropping her cutleries on the floor as she looked her brother straight in the eyes.
"You… want to go to school?" Hannah's words were slightly sedated, "You, the most antisocial loner slash weirdo I have ever met in my entire life, want to go to school?"
"Yes," Riley answered without even a slight hesitation.
"Do you even know what that mea--"
"That's good! Did you hear that, honey!?"
Before Hannah could finish her words, she was quickly disrupted by their mother's almost deafening scream, almost a shriek, really. "Our son is finally coming to age and realizing that he shouldn't be cooped up all alone in his room! You're finally graduating from being homeschooled!"
"But you're the one who decided to homeschool me, mother. I am fully capable of socializing with people."
"We understand, dear. You're all grown up now," Diana went over the table to give Riley a hug, but he quickly moved his chair and his plate to the side to avoid her.
And before the growing chaos could ensue, the head of the family finally decided to speak up; clearing his throat to show his intent to speak.
"I think we are forgetting one simple fact," Bernard said before taking a sip of his coffee, obviously trying to build up suspense with his pause, "Only children with superpowers are allowed to enroll in the Academy."
"But aren't you going to be one of the instructors there, honey?" Diana quickly replied, "You could just enroll him secretly."
"Hmm..." Bernard whispered as he placed his hand on his chin, "That's a possibility, isn't it?"
"No, it's not!"
Their idea, however, was shut down by Hannah before it could come to light, "Even if you do manage to enroll him there, he would be constantly in danger of being surrounded by Supes! Did you also forget the fact that his skin is sensitive to the sun!?"
"Well, you can just attend with your brother?"
"Why are the two of you such airheads when it comes to brother!?"
"I do not appreciate the tone you are taking, Hannah."
"Am I the only one seeing the looming calamity here!?"
"Your brother's looks should be enough to be considered a superpower, no? Isn't that right, my handsome baby--"
"No!"
Suddenly, the temperature of the entire dining room rose up; Riley's sunglasses, which he was suddenly wearing out of nowhere, was currently reflecting her sister, whose whole body was engulfed and wrapped in fire.
"You will be putting him in danger if you enroll him there!"
"Put the fire extinguisher down, dear." Diana immediately blocked her husband's path, who already had the nozzle of a white fire extinguisher pointed towards Hannah. She then let out a long and deep sigh as she asked her daughter to calm down.
"You need to understand, Hannah. We were just excited that your brother is finally learning how to take initiative in his life, we were just kidding."
"...We were?" Bernard whispered as he hung up his phone, which was already dialing the Academy.
"Calm down, Hannah," Diana repeated, "Or I swear I will hose you down myself and make you pay for all the damages you've incurred in the house since you awakened your powers."
"F… fine."
Hannah's unusually warm breath echoed throughout the entire room as the fire that wrapped around his body slowly withered; and immediately, Bernard threw a towel over her so she could cover herself up.
"Sorry," Hannah then sat back down as she drank a glass of water, "This is all your fault, Riley. Why would you even open up that idea when you know you don't even have any po...wers-- What the fuck is that?"
"As you can see, I have powers."
"..."
"..."
The whole room instantly became quiet as soon as they saw the floating knife and fork that was suddenly floating in front of Riley.
Bernard was going to rush and swat the sharp objects away from Riley at first, but when he realized that it was expertly they were expertly circling around his finger, the only thing he could do was look at his wife and daughter to check if they were also seeing the same thing-- and seeing the bewildered looks in their faces, they were.
"Are you... doing that?"
"Yes, I have already stated that I have powers, father."
And as soon as he said that, the cutleries that were circling around his finger spun even faster, "I suppose you could say I can move things with my mind, father."
"Telekinesis!? Since when!?" Bernard's voice was almost louder than Hannah's earlier screams.
"...When I woke up."
"That's impossible, those who awakened telekinesis can't control their powers that well at day 1!" Hannah once again started to raise her voice, but this time, no change in temperature was found.
"...When I woke up a month ago."
"I see, that makes sense," Diana nodded her head.
"No, it does-- You know what, I'm going to my room. I am done dealing with you guys." And with that, Hannah abruptly left, taking her plate with her as her steps left embers on the floor.
"I will also take my leave. Thank you for the food, parents. And thank you in advance for enrolling me to the Academy as well."
Riley then also stood up from his seat, carefully arranging his and his sister's chair before going up to his room. With their two children gone, Diana and Bernard immediately looked at each other with a sigh.
"They are growing up too fast, aren't they?" Diana said as she sat beside her husband and rested her head on his shoulder, "Perhaps the Academy would be good for the both of them. Hannah's powers are getting too strong, it would become more and more difficult for her if she just tries to ignore it."
"Hm," Bernard only nodded in response.
"As for Riley, he would finally have a chance at the normal life we couldn't provide for him," Diana continued despite Bernard only nodding his head at her every word, "And we could also have the chance to relax. We haven't had time alone since we had Hannah. Perhaps we should move to a different neighborhood since we-- Are you even listening to what I am saying?"
"Yes, of course," Bernard once again nodded, "It's just that… Riley's powers trouble me."
"...Why?"
"Because it's the same as Ms. Phoenix."
"Are you afraid he would start asking questions about his real mother?"
"You are his real mother, Diana," Bernard quickly said, "But yes, I think the time he asks about his biological parents is soon upon us."
"There's no need to be nervous, honey."
Hearing the lament in her husband's words, the only thing that Diana could do was let out a sigh and pat his shoulders, "We knew this day would come sooner or later, I am sure they are ready too."
"Hm… so we're enrolling both of them?"
"It's decided…
...but they need to pass first."
***
"So… why exactly am I here?"
"Because you wanted to attend the Academy as well?"
"No!"
Riley and Hannah were currently out on a field, lined up with several other people of seemingly similar age. There was a middle-aged woman wearing glasses, slowly walking in front of Riley and the others as she checked the documents in her hand.
And as she made it in front of Riley and Hannah, she abruptly stopped, looking at the two of them from head to toe.
"Don't expect any special treatments," she then whispered before proceeding to check the other examinees.
6 weeks after Riley's discussion with his family, Mega Academy had finally started accepting students; and due to their father, the two were able to squeeze themselves in the first batch of examinees.
Whether that was a good thing or not, it doesn't really matter for the two. Riley then scanned the rest of the examinees, who some seemed to be even younger than him; and seeing that the examiner had sufficient information of all the people here, it would seem that Riley's first theory was right-- the Academy wasn't built to nurture future superheroes…
...It was built to serve as a surveillance system.
And Mega Woman wouldn't like that.
Chapter 5"Next!"
Based on the current public data that the government had surveyed, 1 out of 20 people had superpowers, and almost minimally increasing annually. And also based on their research, out of the 20 people, excluding the one that had already declared they have powers, it is said that one is hiding their abilities.
With the world's current population of approximately 5 billion, there were almost half a billion super-powered humans roaming in the world-- including those who were in hiding. With that number, the government would not really be able to efficiently track every special individual that may be a threat to the world.
But with the birth of Mega Academy, as well as the incentive of having the chance of becoming the world's greatest superhero, they have finely targeted people with dreams-- children and teenagers.
Children who were otherwise scared to expose themselves, children who were hidden by their parents because of the danger their power held, children who did not understand what they truly are.
Teenagers who wanted to become something big, teenagers who wanted to explore their powers, teenagers who just wanted to belong.
With the promise of the Academy to train and hone their abilities, these individuals would surely surface, making it easier for the government to track anyone who even had an inkling of superpowers.
The only reason why the government had not done this until now was because of the existence of Mega Woman, who was completely against militarizing super-powered individuals. And with a school controlled by a government, stationed in different countries-- that was not so far-fetched. The fact they already even had the facility to accommodate such an action was proof enough that they had planned this way before, and were just waiting for a chance to make it happen.
Well, at least that is what Riley thought as he continued to watch the other examinees showcase their unique powers and abilities.
"...Why are you smiling? Stop being so creepy." Hannah, who was beside him, could not help but slightly move away from him as a small hint of laughter was escaping from his mouth, "Don't tell me you are actually happy that you finally get the chance to go to school? Let me tell you, it's nothing special."
He couldn't help it-- seeing all of these people displaying their powers, the only thing that Riley could think of was how easy it would be to just snap their necks or squash their heads in.
Dreaming of wanting to be the next Mega Woman? Pathetic. Her powers were way beyond that of everyone else.
Flight, Herculean strength, Minor telekinesis, Heat vision, Superspeed, Nigh-invulnerability, and as it would seem but not yet proven, Near-immortality. Her powers were simple, cliche, even. But the level of her strength was undeniable.
And so, right now, as Riley watched the current examinee showing his powers, he once again could not help but let out a muffled giggle, garnering the attention of the other examinees near him.
"Bro, don't do that," Hannah could not help but let out a short but deep sigh as she pulled Riley near her, "That's a guaranteed way to be bullied, your complexion is already weird as it is, don't add anything to it."
Hearing his sister's words, Riley quickly nodded his head. He was here to blend in and to pass time while waiting for Mega Woman's recovery, if something happens and he has no choice but to 'accidentally' kill everyone here, then he would be left with nothing to do.
Blend and adapt, blend and adapt-- Riley repeated to himself. But as soon as he saw the examinee currently showcasing her powers, the only thing he could do was close his eyes to try and ignore it.
The power to not be seen by the naked eye, invisibility-- that was the examinee's power. Even if Riley can't see her, he could just destroy the whole vicinity and she would surely be one of the--
Stop. Riley took in a long and deep breath as he tried to center his thoughts. He didn't truly realize how hard it was to be surrounded by people without his mask on. As Darkday, he could say and do anything he wanted, without any filter.
But now that he was out in the world as Riley, he was having a difficult time adjusting. But he would try; he promised himself not to look away from the next examinee that would showcase his or her powers.
"Next!"
"Silvie Savelievna."
"Savelievna?"
"Is that Russian? Why is a Russian here?"
Hearing the female examinee introducing herself, most of the examinees started to look at each other; the merging of their whispers, enough to be heard by everyone. The female examinee, Silvie, however, did not seem to mind as she just looked at the supervisor.
"You can start."
As soon as the supervisor gave her permission to do so, her feet quickly left the ground; slightly pushing the blades of grass that were previously peacefully resting beneath her feet. But that was not all, she flew to the weights that were strategically placed for the examinees to use and proceeded to lift the heaviest one without exerting any visible effort.
"That's enough."
It would seem that she had more in her arsenal as she remained floating in the air. But before she could do anything more, she was ordered by the supervisor to return to her line. Most of the people that were previously chatting and murmuring about her completely shut their mouths, and the one on her left couldn't help but scooch to the side, instinctively avoiding her.
How could he not, when she displayed powers similar to that of Mega Woman?
The one on her right, however, did not even flinch and only looked at her curiously, before turning her head to the other side.
"Oho, what's with that look? Don't tell me you're gaining a crush?" Hannah then let out a small giggle as she saw her brother with his mouth slightly open, his eyes completely fixated on the girl beside her, "Maybe it was worth it being your chaperone after all."
Hannah continued to tease Riley, even waving her pinky finger in front of his face. Riley, however, completely ignored her and focused on Silvie. He didn't recognize or realize it earlier since his sister was completely blocking Silvie from his view, but if Riley's guess was right…
...then Silvie should be related to Mega Woman, maybe even her daughter. And it's not only the fact that she had similar abilities, but they also look somewhat alike. Out of all the people here, he was probably the only one who had seen Mega Woman up close and without her mask.
"...Stop that," Hannah, who had seen the weird growing smile on her brother's face, could not help but want to cover his face, "If you want to woo someone, smiling like a serial killer is not the way to go."
"Next!"
"Don't do anything weird while I am gone!"
With her being called forward, Hannah slightly hesitated as she tried to warn her brother. She then looked towards Silvie, snapping her fingers to get her attention.
"If my brother does anything weird to you, I give you the permission to very lightly slap him on the face," she said before walking to the front.
"..." Silvie wondered what her co-examinee meant by her words, but as soon as she turned to look at the direction she pointed to, she could not help but slightly back away.
How could she not, when the strangest looking person she had ever seen in her entire life was widely smiling at her? It did not help that his whole body was completely wrapped in clothes, with his face the only thing you could see on him.
"...Hi?" However, as soon as she tried to greet him, the boy's smile quickly dropped as he looked away. The only thing she could do was blink a couple of times as she too, focused her attention towards the current examinee.
"Hannah Ross, Pyrokinesis."
Hannah casually said as she flicked her finger, summoning a blaze hovering on its tip. She was going to return to her line, but before she could do so, the supervisor stopped her.
"Is that all? I am afraid you will not be able to pass if that is all you can do."
"Seriously? I don't even want to-- Fine." Hannah could only groan in frustration as she returned to the front. And as she did so, Riley took a few steps back, distancing himself away from Hannah before wearing his sunglasses.
"..." Silvie, who saw him suddenly moving back, could not help but look back and forth between him and Hannah. But after a few seconds, she too decided to step back a few steps.
As soon as Hannah got back to the front, she quickly looked towards Riley, who had both his thumbs up. Seeing this, Hannah let out a light scoff. Since her brother was cheering for her, then as her big sister, she shouldn't disappoint-- she thought as she closed her eyes, taking a long and deep breath.
From afar, it looked as if Hannah's body was becoming distorted, as if a ripple of water was surrounding her entire body. The blades of grass beneath her feet also started to wave, but not for long as they soon slowly turned to ashes.
And as Hannah let go of her breath, a bundle of smoke fumed from her mouth. And as soon as she opened her eyes, a whistle of a cry roared through the air as flames instantly wrapped her entire body, causing a small thunder that lifted her up into the air.
With her slightly hovering from the ground, Hannah then turned her flame-clad face towards the supervisor.
"...Happy?"
Chapter 6"...Happy?"
A small smile slowly crawled on the face of the supervisor as the heat that Hannah was releasing was fiery enough for it to reach her, even though she was already meters away from the flaming creature.
The flames in Hannah's body did not really offset from her body too much, tightly wrapping her body like some sort of loose suit. However, from time to time, there were flares flailing out from her, almost like a laser or a flash of light that made the temperature rise even further.
"That's fine, examinee Hannah Ross," the supervisor then wrote something on her file as she finally pulled her eyes away from Hannah, "You may go back to your line, next!"
"..."
"..."
"What are you doing? Go back to your line."
But to her surprise, Hannah did not move from her spot, still slightly hovering from the ground as the flames on her body burned even hotter, almost releasing some sort of searing noise that whispered to the ears of the other contestants.
Silvie Savelievna, who moved several steps backward because she saw Riley doing the same, finally realized why he did so.
The current examinee, Hannah Ross…
...can't control her powers that well.
"Chill out, sis," Hannah then turned towards the supervisor as she once again urged her to return to her line. And although her words seemed relaxed, the stress in her voice was clear for everyone to hear.
It also didn't help that when she looked at her brother, the only thing he did was pull up his zipper even higher and tighten his hoodie while taking another few steps back.
Hannah Ross had never really once explored her power; she did enough that it was able to help her light up the stove or help her father when he needed to repair his tools with a shrink tube. There were also her slight outbursts, but other than that, she wasn't interested enough for her to practice it religiously-- after all, no one in her family other than her had superpowers.
Her mother, Diana Ross, had the strength of a gorilla, but it wasn't really a superpower-- she just became like that from the stress of having to take care of the rest of the family.
As for her father, Bernard Ross, he is also a normal human-- at least the peak of what humans could achieve. Even though he was part of the most famous superhero league in the world, he didn't have any superpowers. He was able to join it due to the masterful use of his tools, which he had also created by himself.
He was also a master of all the fighting styles and martial arts one could think of, even creating one or two of his own style. Okay, maybe his father was a bit extraordinary after all. But still, Whiteking, by definition, no matter how extraordinary, is still a normal human.
And her brother… well, no one really knew he was a Super until they just randomly told them.
"Hannah Ross, please return to your line."
"I said chill out!"
The flames around her grew even stronger as the supervisor once again urged her to go down. With her scream, the other younger examinees could not help but slightly feel a small panic, causing some of them to let out a small gasp. But still, they did not move from their spot as they thought it would be seen as a weakness.
"...Is your sister alright?" Silvie then slightly leaned closer towards Riley.
Riley, however, instead of answering her, only stared at her straight in the eyes. If Silvie wasn't weirded out by him before, she was now. However, Riley's blue eyes, which were almost glowing, made it hard for Silvie to move her eyes away from him.
But finally, after a few more seconds of this awkward situation, Riley answered.
"She's fine," he muttered monotonously before turning his attention back to her sister, "She's perfect."
"..." Hearing this, Silvie slowly took a step away from Riley.
"Could it be, you are unable to control your powers?"
"I can! Just shut up!"
The supervisor then slowly approached Hannah, while still writing something down on her file.
"What… what are you doing, stay away!"
"Now I know why they chose me as the supervisor," the supervisor then let out a long and deep sigh as she gently dropped the examinees' files on the ground as she continued to approach Hannah,
"It's because of you."
"Wha--"
Before Hannah could finish her words, a light snap whispered in her ears as the supervisor suddenly clapped her hands.
The supervisor then stretched her arms to the side, and as soon as she did so, spheres of water suddenly emerged like a bubble to her sides, materializing out of nowhere. And without even any warning, she once again clapped her hands.
"!!!"
The two spheres of water, almost the size of a tank, quickly sandwiched Hannah as they merged into a one huge sphere, completely confining her inside. It was a good thing that her father had made her a suit, made from materials that were able to withstand the extreme heat and fire that her power produces. If not, then everyone would have had a clear view of her naked body as soon as the water prison confined her.
"...Interesting."
But still, even with her whole body drowning in water, some of the flames persisted-- boiling a part of the sphere. Seeing this, the supervisor slightly flicked her finger, causing the sphere of water to compress even tighter.
"..." Darkday's eyes slightly twitched as she saw his sister struggling, gasping for air as the ball of water continued to restrict her breath; his fingers, slightly itching as he turned his attention towards the supervisor.
If he kills the supervisor here, was there a chance he might be discovered? He could probably make her head explode without even anyone noticing, but that would surely garner the attention of the higher-ups of the Academy.
A more… stealthy approach, then?
"Hm?"
The supervisor let out a small gasp of air as she felt her chest slightly tightening, her heart slowly beating in a chaotic manner. Seeing her slightly flinch, a smile could not help but slowly build up on Darkday's face. He then took a long and deep breath as he felt the beating of the supervisor's heart on the palm of his hand; just one grip, then her life would be over. It had been a long time since he had last taken someone's life-- 2 months, at least. His fingers were truly just shaking from the excitement.
"Please, stop this!"
But before he could psychokinetically squeeze the life out of the supervisor, a loud voice rang through his left ear, causing him to stop.
"..."
Silvie then rushed forward, patting the supervisor on the shoulder, "Please stop, miss supervisor. She's going to drown if you do not release her soon."
Although her words were somewhat fluent, the tiny bit of her Russian accent remained in her voice.
Weird, Riley thought. Mega Woman's accent was completely American-- was it possible this Silvie was a relative from far away? But she and Mega Woman looked too much alike for them to be distant relatives.
Perhaps Mega Woman's husband was from Russia?
Once again, Riley found himself looking at Mega Woman Jr.
If he killed him… would she also have the same kind of immortality as Mega Woman? If she did, then that would probably prove his assumption that she was, indeed, Mega Woman's daughter. But what if she didn't? What if she just dies if he kills her… then she'd just die without even having the chance of getting stronger.
A flower gone too soon is just weed, Riley thought.
Riley's eyes started to move randomly as different scenarios appeared in his mind-- but after what seemed like a second, he finally reached a conclusion on how he would know who she truly was…
...He'd just ask her once he had the chance to do so.
With Silvie patting the supervisor's shoulder, the tight feeling in her chest also gradually faded away-- waking her up from the slight stupor she found herself in. She quickly released the sphere of water, causing Hannah to drop down from the air.
Hannah's grasp for air whispered to the ears of the other examinees, causing them to wince from the cracking of her voice.
"Are you alright?" Silvie quickly rushed towards to help her, while the supervisor waved her hand, calling for the medics to come forward.
"I… I'm fine," Hannah said as she struggled to even stand up from almost having drowned, "...Thanks."
Silvie then had no choice but to back away as the medics came rushing in, quickly taking her away to the side. Riley was about to follow them, but Hanah quickly waved her hand and gestured to her to stay-- which he did.
The other examinees could not help but whisper and murmur to each other as they watched her being taken away. They were first awed by Silvie's display of her powers, however, with Hannah's performance, most of it was completely burned away.
"This is what the Academy is for, children!" The supervisor then picked up the files of the examinees from the ground, patting it for any dirt, "That girl was a fine example of why it is dangerous for you to keep hiding your powers-- some are too lethal to be contained."
Hearing the supervisor's words, some of the examinees could not help but nod in agreement; even Silvie let out a sigh as nodded. The only one that was not moving his head was Riley, whose eyes were still following his sister as she was being checked by the medics.
"Let's move on, next!"
"..."
"Next!"
"..."
"I said next!"
"It's your turn."
Riley blinked a couple of times as he heard Silvie's voice. He then looked at her, before moving his eyes to the front as he finally heard the supervisor calling for him.
"Next! Stop dawdling, you're holding up the line!"
"D… Riley Ross, Telekinesis."
Chapter 7"D… Riley Ross, Telekinesis."
Hearing Riley's monotonous voice, the other examinees quickly looked at each other.
"Ross? Is he related to the fire girl earlier?"
"Most likely, they're just next to each other."
"But still… why is he wearing something like that in the middle of summer?"
Even more so with them being related, the other examinees could not help but whisper to each other as Riley slowly made his way to the front. With him still wearing sunglasses, as well as his hoodie zipped all the way up to his nose-- he was completely covered up.
"...I need to see your face, Mr. Riley."
The supervisor, of course, was also slightly weirded out by Riley. She knew who the two were, as she knew the identity of their father; who would also happen to be teaching in the Academy once the school year started.
And so, even more, she had to be strict with them. There were also many other children who were the sons or daughters of other superheroes, she was told not to give them any special treatment-- and she was going to do just that.
Hannah was quite an interesting case, a loose cannon that perhaps would benefit most from attending the academy. It was wise of Whiteking to hide her from the world, as her powers would surely attract the attention of the people, but mostly... the terrorists that were crawling through the depths.
She wasn't the only pyrokinetic in the world. But she was one of the few that is still alive… or not part of an evil organization.
But to think he wasn't only hiding one, but two supes.
She was about to make Riley take off his hoodie once again, but as soon as she rechecked his file and saw that the sun was harmful to his skin, she quickly made him stop. Riley, however, did not as he casually took off his jacket.
"!!!"
"Riley!" Hannah, who was being checked by the medics, quickly pushed them away as she rushed towards her brother.
"It's alright, Hannah..." Riley said as he threw his hoodie and sunglasses towards her,
"...I applied sunscreen," he said in a monotonous tone as he raised his thumb, "SPF 150."
He did not really need to, the sun was not really harmful to his skin… at least not anymore. But to appease his sister, he still chose to apply it.
But still, Hannah continued to step towards Riley to give him back his hoodie, but before she could do so, she was pulled away by the medics who were previously checking up on her. She wanted to resist, but could not do so as she might harm the people blocking her path; and so, the only thing she could do was hope that nothing would happen to her brother.
Everyone else, however, had their eyes wide open. With the sun shining down on him, Riley looked as if he was glowing. It did not help that he was wearing a white t-shirt underneath.
"...An albino?" A whisper escaped from one of the other examinees.
"Wow, first time I am seeing one."
"So that's why he was fully covered up."
Once again, the other examinees began to look at each other. Silvie was perhaps the only one who did not react that strongly, as she had already partly seen his face earlier when he was… creepily smiling at her.
But still, looking at him now, a slight interest was slowly growing inside of her. Hannah had already made her interested as soon as she showed her fiery powers. So, as her brother, she could not help but wonder just what kind of strength this Riley has-- she thought as she tried her hardest not to miss even the tiniest detail.
"That's enough, quiet down!"
The examinees' whispers quickly dispersed as soon as the supervisor clapped her hands once more, "You can begin," she then said as she checked on Riley.
"...Okay."
Hearing the supervisor's words, Riley carefully grabbed something from his pocket. And Hannah, who was still being checked by the medics, could not help but almost stumble as soon as she realized what was in Riley's hand-- his cutlery set.
"Riley Ross, Telekinesis."
Riley once again repeated his introduction as the knife, fork, and the spoon in his hand slowly started to float in the air.
"..."
'That's it?'-- was the collective thought of everyone there. Their breaths of disappointment quickly covered the entire field as they looked at Riley. With the way he looked, as well as the performance of his sister before him, they all thought that Riley would do something special; or at least match the intensity of his sister's powers.
But making spoons float? Every child who has awoken with telekinetic powers could do that.
"That's it?"
Finally, the supervisor voiced out all of their thoughts.
"I am afraid you won't be able to pass the exam if that's all you can do. Remember, the purpose of the Academy is to train the next superhero that would become the next Mega Woman. If this is all that you could do at your age, I am afraid that it would be impossible for you to even think of achieving that...
...and that goes for all of you," the supervisor then said as she looked at the other remaining examinees, "If you think that--"
"Oh my god!"
Before the supervisor could finish her words, one of the examinees suddenly screamed. She was going to ask why he did so, but she didn't have to. As soon as she moved her body, she felt a slight pain coming from her torso.
"This…" She quickly looked towards her chest, only to see something lodged into it. She then turned her head towards the cutlery that was spinning around Riley, which was now missing a piece-- the spoon.
"Oh no," Riley hummed, "I apologize. Like my sister…
...I also can't control my power that well," he said as he flicked his finger.
"Kh!" The supervisor could not help but slightly wince in pain as the spoon lodged in her chest began to move, shaking erratically as it was slowly being pulled away.
"S… stop," the supervisor muttered as she grabbed the spoon, "Don't make it any worse!"
"Sorry. It's doing it on its own."
"It's not! Just stop using your powers!" The supervisor then stretched her arms to the side as she once again summoned spheres of water.
"Ah, I did it!"
However, before she could do anything with them, the spoon penetrating her chest quickly dislodged itself, causing her to take in a short but very deep breath which made the spheres of water drop and scatter on the ground.
"Medic!"
If the spoon was just a little bit to the right, then it would have definitely hit her heart. And so, as soon as she was able, she quickly called for the medics, who were able to at least quickly stop her from bleeding using their powers.
With her now away from death's door, she quickly stood up from the ground and rushed towards Riley, who quickly hid his cutlery back in his pocket.
"Are you alright now, supervisor?"
"You…" The supervisor wanted to slap Riley's head in. But as he said, it wasn't truly his fault. She should have known from her sister that Riley's powers aren't that simple. Just from the fact that the spoon he was controlling was accidentally able to pierce her skin was enough proof that he was also hiding great strength in him.
And so, with that thought, the supervisor could only grit her teeth in frustration as she shook her head, "I'm fine. Accidents happen all the time, go back to your line."
"Did I pass?"
"Don't ask me that!" The supervisor raised her voice as she ordered Riley to go back to his line, "We're going to take a few minutes break. Those who are already done, you can go ahead and take the Assessment test instead of dawdling around here."
Hearing the supervisor's words, the other examinees could not help but once again voice out their disappointment. They were having fun watching all sorts of other people display their powers, it was like watching an audition live… which is practically what they were doing now.
But alas, they could do nothing but disperse.
"It's not your fault, Riley."
Hannah walked beside her brother as soon as she was able to, "It's that bitch's fault for triggering us. Gather untrained children with unpredictable powers in one area, what a good idea… whoever thought of this is stupid. Stupid, I tell you, just like the government."
"Really?" Riley looked at his sister straight in the eyes, "I think it's quite fun."
"Of course it is," Hannah rolled her eyes as she hastened her steps, "From a recluse, anything would seem fun. Come, let's just take the god damn stupid tests and get this over with."
"...I am sorry for dragging you here, sister."
"Psh, stop being so dramatic," Hannah slightly trembled as she heard Riley's words. But after a few moments, she stopped walking and turned her head towards Riley, carrying a small smile on her face, "Besides, you're kinda right…
....It is somewhat fun, isn't it?"
Chapter 8"My god, this is so boring. Just how long do we have to wait here?"
"But you just said a while ago that this is quite fun."
"That was earlier. Jesus, just how many Supes are there for the interviews to take this long?"
"I am not Jesus, sister. But do you still want me to answer your question?"
"Shut the fuck up."
Riley and Hannah, along with many other examinees, had just finished answering their assessment test and were just waiting to be called by one of the Academy's staff. They were still in the same room where they took the written test, and so many others were also having their private conversation; making friends with future potential classmates.
The girl that Riley had hypothesized to be Mega Woman's daughter, Silvie, was also in the same room, surrounded by a lot of examinees asking her different sets of questions.
Even without the official school year even starting, even without knowing if they will pass or not, most of the people in the room were already forming their own groups-- the two siblings, however, seemed to be in a world of their own as they continued to only talk with one another. Some of the examinees that sat near them held signs of obviously wanting to converse with the two, but quickly backed out as soon as they heard Hannah cursing.
"Did you know that there are theories that Jesus is actually one of the earliest recorded super--"
"Please don't. Just don't ever tell that story to anyone if you want to gain even a single friend."
Hannah quickly covered her brother's mouth before he could start his ridiculous story. This actually wasn't the first time she would be hearing that story from him, as he had already told that story once; when their mother had told Riley to share what he was up to lately one innocent dinner time.
And that one innocent dinner time had quickly turned into something gruesome; as Riley's story did not really end on a good note.
"Oh, I think I have heard of that once!"
Riley quickly looked to the side as one of the examinees suddenly jumped between him and his sister, completely avoiding the examinee's eyes.
"The fuck," Hannah could not help but slightly raise an eyebrow with the sudden appearance of the young man, "Hello? Privacy?"
"Close, but my name is Gary," the young man then reached out his hand towards Hannah as he let out a wide smile, "I already know your name, so you don't really need to introduce yourself."
"...Right, the name's Hannah." Hannah squinted her eyes as she shook the young man's hand, "Did you need something?" She then said as she quickly let it go.
"No, not really," Gary shrugged his shoulders as he turned his attention towards Riley, reaching his hand towards him, "I was just curious about your brother's story…
...Riley, was it?"
"That is my name, yes." Although Riley answered Gary's question swiftly, he didn't take his hand; which caused Gary to turn towards Hannah as if gesturing if he did something wrong.
"My brother's just selective with people," Hannah said as she squinted her eyebrows even further, "Especially to those who get too close."
"Oh, I see," Gary blinked a couple of times as he retracted his hand, "Is he autistic or something?"
"What the fuck did you say!?"
The other examinees present in the room quickly shut their mouths as the sound of a desk screeching on the floor rang through their ears. All of them quickly turned their eyes towards the direction of the noise, only to see a girl grabbing someone by their collars.
"What's happening?"
Most of them began to whisper, wondering what was going on. They quickly recognized Hannah, making their whispers louder and more targeted. Those who were near the commotion started to tell their version of the events of what just transpired.
"Really? That guy called her brother like that?"
"Is it true, though? He does seem kind of off."
"That… kinda makes him dangerous, right? He was the one who stabbed the supervisor earlier..."
Hearing the words that were reaching her ears, Hannah could not help but click her tongue as she looked Gary straight in the eyes.
As for Gary, he already had both his arms raised in surrender, letting out an awkward chuckle as he apologized to Hannah.
"Sorry, I didn't mean anything rude by it," he said, "I also have a friend that is in the spectrum, so I just assumed that you would be fine with me calling him that, I truly am sorry."
"Stop fucking laughing. You think calling someone you just met autistic is fine?" Although the volume of her voice was low, the agitation in Hannah's tone was clear for everyone to hear. A hint of smoke was also starting to emerge from the collar of Gary's shirt.
"Sorry, I laugh when I'm nervous," Gary once again chuckled awkwardly as a hint of sweat trailed from his face, "I really didn't mean anything by it, please don't burn my shirt; I just bought this."
"You--"
"Please calm down, Ms. Ross."
Before Hannah could say another word, she felt a light tap coming from her shoulder. She turned her head to see who it was, only to find Silvie shaking her head at her, "If a supervisor sees you doing this, it might affect your chances of getting into the Academy. The simpleton had also apologized, perhaps settle this at another time if it happens again?"
"O… Ouch," Gary could not help but stutter as he was suddenly called a simpleton.
"Tch," and so, with Silvie getting in between them, as well as the looks they were getting from the other examinees, Hannah could only let go of Gary.
"I really didn't mean it," Gary once again apologized towards Hannah, before turning his attention to Riley and apologizing to him as well. Seeing him sincerely regretting his action, Hannah finally let out a sigh as she waved her hand.
"I might have overreacted a little bit. Thank you for holding me back, Ms. Sav… Savelib?"
"Savelievna. But you can just call me Silvie, Ms. Ross," Silvie let out a small hum as she let out a small smile.
"Then you can just call me Hannah as well."
Hannah and Silvie then proceeded to shake each other's hands as they introduced themselves.
"...Call me Gary?"
"Why are you still here?"
"R… right," seeing Hannah glaring at him, the only thing that Gary could do was let out a sigh and turn around.
"Sorry for calling you autistic, Riley," he then once again apologized before taking his leave. However, before he could even take 3 steps, Riley unexpectedly replied to him.
"Why do you keep on apologizing?" Riley muttered monotonously, "You're right, I am diagnosed with autism, which indeed makes me autistic."
"T… that's…" Gary could only take in a gulp as another drop of sweat started to trail on his face.
Hannah, on the other hand, could not help but plant her palm on her face as she let out a long and deep sigh. It almost felt like she wasted her anger and agitation for nothing. Throughout their years together, she had only seen Riley lie once or twice, and it was for something totally ridiculous. Of course, he won't lie even for his own sake.
As for Silvie, she just let out a small, "Oh," as she finally realized why he was smiling at her earlier-- he was probably just having a hard time trying to start up a conversation.
"He… is kinda cute, isn't he?"
"I want to take him home."
As for the other examinees, well… let's just say all sorts of thoughts were starting to race through their minds. This weird atmosphere would have probably continued if not for the Academy supervisor that entered the room.
"Riley Ross, it's your turn for the interview."
And it just so happened that the center of all the attention was the next one to be called.
"Don't say anything weird, alright?" Hannah quickly fixed Riley's hair and straightened out his clothes, "Normal school life, let's achieve a normal school life, please."
"We are in a school for super-powered individuals, sister. I am afraid that's impossible."-- was Riley's answer as he followed the supervisor out of the room.
"..."
"Your brother is quite a handful, isn't he?" Silvie let out a small giggle as she watched Riley's back disappear from the door.
"Tell me about it," Hannah's sighs almost filled the entire room.
"You seem to really love your brother, though?" Gary said as he shook his head, "Man, I am jealous. I wish I could have--"
"What the fuck are you still doing here?"
***
"Riley Ross, Age 16… and your power is telekinesis?"
"I suppose."
"And we were told that you caused an accident during the demonstration."
"I suppose."
Riley now found himself surrounded by 5 people, all wearing a unique set of clothes-- costumes.
And, as a matter of course, Riley recognized the 5; they were all superheroes that he had encountered before in his adventurous life as Darkday.
"The people in this room all know who your father is," one of the interviewers that had his eyes covered with a blindfold said, "So in respect to him, we are going to give it to you straight. With the answers you gave in the assessment test…
....you are not suited to be a superhero."
Chapter 9"Based on the answers you gave in the assessment test…
...you are not suited to be a superhero."
"...I suppose."
"..."
"..."
The 5 superheroes that were interviewing Riley could not help but turn their heads to each other as they awkwardly waited for him to say more. But even after almost a quarter of a minute, his mouth remained unmoving as he just sat there, staring silently towards the wall behind them.
"Do not be dejected, young man. We will not fail you just because of this."
And finally, after what seemed like another full minute of silence, one of the interviewers decided to speak. It was the superhero known as Spectacular Mustache Man; named obviously because of the abnormally long but straight mustache sticking off of his face.
"That is why we are having this interview in the first place, to discuss the answers you chose more in depth," he said as he scanned the paper in front of him while stroking his mustache. And after checking it for a few seconds, he let out a long and deep sigh as he turned his focus back to Riley, who was still just quietly staring at the wall.
"Let me be honest with you, young man. The result of your test is absolutely horrendous."
With Spectacular Mustache Man's words reverberating through the room, the other 4 heroes all nodded their heads in agreement. "We will let the fact that you accidentally hurt a supervisor in the earlier test slide, as it says here in your file that you have only awakened to your powers a few months ago. Your answers to the assessment test, however, are something that we can't overloo-- Are you listening?"
"I am."
"...Right," Spectacular Mustache Man could not help but slightly squint his eyes as Riley answered him nonchalantly, "Let's move on and discuss your answers. So in the very first question, the test asked you what you would do if you see an old woman struggling to cross the street; and from the 4 given choices, you chose D: Push her off the street…
...Why on earth would you choose that?"
"Because she is struggling."
"Then you could have just chosen A: Help her cross the street."
"...Why?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he slightly tilted his head to the side, "The test said she is already struggling to cross the street, why would I help her struggle more? That is not something a hero would do."
"What?" Spectacular Mustache Man furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean? She is struggling to cross the street, so the obvious way to alleviate her struggle is to help her cross the street."
"...I see," Riley muttered, "I suppose I may have misunderstood the question."
How can someone even misunderstand that question? It was the most simple question in the whole test-- the 5 superheroes thought as they once again turned their heads to each other. And what does he mean by 'that is not something a hero would do'?
So pushing an old woman off the street was something a hero would do?
It was already implied in Riley's file that he was diagnosed with some form of autism, but to think his lack of social awareness was to the point that it almost made them slightly uncomfortable.
"..."
And so, once again, the room was filled with silence. It wasn't until the only female superhero from the group of interviewers stood up that the silence was broken. The others wondered what she was going to do, but she didn't really give them a sign as she proceeded to sit on the floor in front of Riley.
"Hi Riley, my name is Scarlet Mage. Do you know who I am?"
Riley only slightly moved his eyes a bit, before nodding his head. Of course, he knows who she is-- he almost killed her once. And it wasn't only her, the remaining four had also almost been killed by him. The only reason they were still alive today was because Mega Woman would always come in to save the day.
He could probably kill them now. But alas, for the duration of Mega Woman's recovery, he was in retirement.
"You don't have to worry, okay?" Scarlet Mage then let out a smile, her voice sweet enough to warm up the whole room, "Everyone in this Academy is your friend, especially us in this room, okay?"
"Thank you for your kindness, Scarlet Mage. But I am not a child, you do not need to treat me as such."
"Of course not," Scarlet Mage let out a giggle as she looked at the paper she was holding, "I have another question, is that alright with you?"
"Yes, as Spectacular Mustache Man said, that is what this interview is for."
"Okay. This is question 16: You have an arch-enemy that you have finally beaten after a long arduous battle. Your arch-enemy is completely tired, beaten, and unable to move-- allowing you to do anything you want. What would you do?"
"My answer to that question is letter--"
"I want to know your answer now, not what you chose in the written test," Scarlet Mage said as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "And please, look at me when you answer."
"Is that necessary?"
"Yes."
As soon as Riley heard that, his eyes which had been fixated on the wall finally moved away, landing itself on Scarlet Mage.
"Look at my eyes, Riley. It's alright, I am your friend."
"..." Riley let out a short but deep sigh as he returned Scarlet Mage's gaze.
"What would you do in that situation, Riley?"
"I will let her live and surrender her to the authorities."
"Why?"
"Because that is what a superhero would do."
"But what if you're not a superhero? What if this is just some random individual that had killed your father?"
"That is impossible, my father will not be beaten by some random indi--"
"Just humor me, please."
"Then I will not have to do anything. The Hope Guild will hunt her down as he is a member--"
"What if he killed your mother? Your sister? And you're just a young man who finally has the chance to take revenge. What would you do?"
"I will still let her live."
"Why?" Scarlet Mage slightly raised an eyebrow from finally having gained a slight change of expression from Riley.
"Because anyone who hurts my sister shall live in pain for the rest of their lives."
"...I see," Scarlet Mage let out a long and deep sigh as she stood up from the floor, "Thank you for answering my questions truthfully."
From then on, the 5 superheroes no longer relied on Riley's answers on the paper, as it was obvious that he had a hard time literally understanding the questions as they truly were. And throughout the interview, there were all sorts of sighs and slight gasps as Riley continued to answer their questions without even a single pause.
And finally, after what seemed like half an hour…
"Thank you, Mr. Riley. You may now go back to the waiting room."
"Okay. Did I pass?"
"You did. And please call your sister, we will interview her next."
"Alright."
Riley only bowed his head before quickly leaving the room. And now, with him gone, another bout of loud sighs echoed throughout the room as the five superheroes all leaned on their seats, tired and beaten.
"He is definitely in the Potential Villain list, right?" The superhero wearing a blindfold said as he fanned himself with Riley's paper.
"Definitely, man. What about the rest of you?"
"I don't think so," Spectacular Mustache Man shook his head as he once again stroked his mustache, "You have to understand he isn't a normal kid."
"Most villains aren't right in the head, SMM."
"A Potential Villain would at least try to lie on the written tests, he clearly didn't," Spectacular Mustache Man said as he lightly slammed his palm on the table.
"Maybe he's not even capable of lying? I heard some people with autism are like that."
"Isn't that more troublesome, then? Just based on his answers?"
"Potential Villain it is, the--"
"No, he's not."
Before the blindfolded superhero could stamp Riley's paper, Scarlet Mage, who had been quiet the whole conversation, finally spoke up.
"Throughout the whole interview, not even once did his heart change a beat."
"I was right then, he's not capable of lying!"
"He is," Scarlet Mage shook her head, "On the test, he chose what he thinks a superhero would do in every situation, not what he himself would do-- that in itself is a form of lie."
"...So what are you saying?"
"Riley Ross is a blank canvas," Scarlet Mage said as she stamped Riley's paper with blue ink,
"If anything…
...he has the purest soul of all the examinees today."
***
Scarlet Mage needs to die-- Riley thought as he walked back to the waiting room.
He truly wasn't aware that Scarlet Mage had the ability to somewhat see through lies, without tampering inside his mind, at that. He thought she was just like her sister, an Elemental Controller. If she was going to teach in the Academy, then he would definitely need to find a way to dispose of her without alerting anyone's suspicion.
"You're next, sister."
Hannah, who was having a conversation with Silvie, and surprisingly also talking with Gary, quickly approached Riley as soon as he got back to the room.
"How did it go?" She said in a very eager tone, "Did you pass?"
"Of course," Riley said as raised both his thumbs.
"What... how!?" Hannah let out a short and playful gasp, before putting on the biggest smile on her face as she nudged her brother a couple of times.
"Because I chose to push an old woman off the street."
"..."
And so, Riley Ross, also known as the supervillain Darkday, will finally start his not-so normal life as a normal super-powered student.
Chapter 10"Are you sure you have everything? Do you have the portable fire extinguishers ready? Did you bring enough? Did you make sure all of your clothes are fire-resistant? What about you, Riley? Did you bring the 1 gallon of sunscreen we bought you?"
"Mother, we're moving to the Academy dorms, not another country. Besides, father will also be teaching-- !!!"
Hannah's muffled screams whispered through the air as Bernard quickly covered her mouth, not allowing her to speak any further. Another month had passed since Riley's very successful entrance exam, and now, the Ross's were in front of the entrance of the Academy, with Diana refusing to leave her children for almost an hour now.
"Remember what we practiced? Never, ever call me father when we are at school; whether I am in costume or not," Bernard whispered as he glared at her daughter. Hannah, however, only slapped her father's hand away.
"You look more suspicious doing that! I swear, how on earth have you survived this long without your secret identity getting discovered," Hannah rolled her eyes as she rushed inside the almost 3-meter thick gate of the Academy, "I'll meet you inside, blankface!" She then waved at Riley before disappearing into the depths of the campus.
"I'm not done, get back he--"
Before Diana could finish her words, Riley suddenly followed her sister inside; not even letting her say her farewells. The only thing Diana could do was let out a long and deep sigh as she lightly hugged her husband.
"They truly grow up so fast, don't they?"
"They do," Bernard quickly nodded, "Now, let's take you home so I can return here before the entrance ceremony starts."
"It's not fair that I am the only one not attending the Academy!" Diana pouted, "Maybe I should also apply as a teacher?"
"...That's not going to happen," Bernard chuckled, "Just wait for me at home, okay? We finally have the house by ourselves after 18 long years. Maybe it's time…
...we welcome another Ross into our family."
***
"First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you for making it to the Academy; and secondly, I would also like to congratulate you on your first step to being an actual superhero."
"Wake me up when the old man stops talking."
As soon as the welcoming ceremony started, Hannah quickly moved her chair nearer to Riley's, leaning her head on his shoulder as she closed her eyes to sleep through the speech being given by the President of the Mega Academy-- the superhero known as Prophet.
The Prophet is an old hero, almost as old as Mega Woman herself; besides being an active part of the government, not much is known about him. Riley had also not had the pleasure of having to encounter Prophet as Darkday, so all of his attention was currently on him.
Riley did not even notice the stares they were getting from the other students, not even from the one beside him.
"The fact that you have made it here is already an accomplishment, so I am very proud of all of you," Prophet continued his speech; his smiles, enough to overwhelm the huge scar he had on his face, "You are the very first batch of students of America's Mega Academy, therefore, I can't promise that your stay here will be perfect. But what I can promise you is that once we are ready to let you go, you will come out of that gate a superhero…"
Perhaps Hannah had the right mentality, as Prophet's speech truly did last a very long time. The excitement on the students' faces has already died down as Prophet did not seem to have any plans to stop even after an hour of talking.
At this point, only two students were left actively listening to what he was saying-- Riley and Silvie.
The former, trying to figure out Prophet, while the latter was waiting. But she did not need to wait for long, as Prophet's speech finally came to an end.
"...And so, to fire up your competitive spirit, based solely on the entrance exam-- I shall call to the stage the student we think would have the best chance to replace Mega Woman…
...Silvie Savelievna!"
The crowd quickly woke up as soon as Prophet's claps echoed throughout the entire hall, some of them who were already in dreamland were slightly confused, but as soon as they saw someone walking to the stage, they just instinctively also clapped their hands; even Hannah was a victim of this domino effect as she clapped her hands as soon as she was woken up by it.
"W… what's happening, Riley?" Hannah weakly muttered as she tried her best to open her eyes. Riley, however, completely ignored her as he stared emptily towards the wall on the back of the stage.
'Best chance to replace Mega Woman?'
He repeated Prophet's words in his mind. What did they mean by 'replace' Mega Woman? Was he just overthinking things, or did something happen to Mega Woman that the government wasn't telling people?
Was it really the right decision for him to return her there? Perhaps he should have kept her with the others, or maybe just took care of her himself?
"Earth to Riley."
Riley's erratically moving eyes then stopped as Hannah waved her hands in front of his face, "Are you really actually in love with that Silvie girl? You do know I have her number, right? We became friends during the exams while you were being interviewed. I can give it to you if you want, what about it, eh? Eh?"
"No," Riley just shook his head in response, "I was thinking about Mega Woman, sister."
"...What? Since when were you a fan of her?"
"I am not. It's just that it seems that something is wrong with h--"
Before Riley could finish his words, a high-pitched screeching noise whistled through the air, almost deafening everyone in the hall.
"S… sorry."
It was then followed by Silvie's something anxious voice as she tried to fiddle with the microphone in front of her. But finally, after a few more seconds, her long and deep breath reverberated through the air.
"First of all, I would like to thank the Academy for providing all of us students such a warm welcome. I am going to keep my speech short because I know all of us are excited to take our first step as students of the Academy… I know I am. So there really is only one thing I want to say to all of you…"
Silvie closed her eyes as she once again took a long and deep breath, before once again opening her mouth and scanning the fellow students in front of her.
"...I will be the one to surpass Mega Woman."
"!!!"
Hearing Silvie's words, not only the crowd of students, but also the faculty all shared a collective expression of awe, amusement, and irritation-- creating an orchestra of gasps within the halls.
"So please, forgive me as I do my best to stay at the top. That is all I wanted to say, thank you."
"..."
"..."
Even after the students were told that they may leave the hall to see their class assignments and designation, none of them stood up from their seats. They could once again only watch as Silvie left the hall by herself.
What she did was basically a declaration of war, and most of the crowd here that had seen her during the exhibition had already given up hope in fighting against her for the crown… However, there were some whose fires have only grown bigger as they accepted Silvie's challenge.
"Oho, your girlfriend truly knows how to make an entrance, blankf-- Riley?"
Hannah tried to nudge Riley with her elbows but almost stumbled as she found the seat next to her suddenly empty. "What the… where the fuck is that idiot?"
Hannah quickly stood up as Riley was suddenly nowhere to be found.
"Don't tell me…
...he really did fall in love with her!?"
***
"Excuse me, ma'am. Can you tell me where the class assignments are posted?"
"Eek!"
A high-pitched shriek echoed throughout a hallway, followed by a bunch of books catapulting in the air. The owner of both quickly tried to catch the books she just threw due to her shock but found them staying afloat in the air.
"..." Even from the mask the red-haired woman was wearing, one could not help but see her eyes squinting. She then slowly turned around to see who it was that called her out of nowhere, only to see a white-haired individual widely staring at her straight in the eyes.
She once again almost jumped in fright as soon as she saw the young man, but as soon as she realized she wasn't actually seeing a ghost, she quickly let out a short but deep sigh and calmed herself down.
"You're student Riley Ross, right? What are you doing here?"
"I think I am lost…
....Scarlet Mage."
Chapter 11"Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this."
Scarlet Mage's red hair bounced springingly as she stomped her way through the halls of the Academy; she could fly if she wanted to, but that would be breaking one of the rules they have set up in the Academy: Using of powers is not allowed in the hallway except otherwise permitted to.
Of course, she, as a teacher, is exempted from that rule. But what kind of example will she bring to the students if the one supposed to guide them breaks the rules?
And so, she walked. It would have been fine if the hallways of the Academy were like any other normal hallways, but no.
The width of the path is almost six times wider than that of normal, and its length reflects that as well. It was made like this as a contingency-- you can't have superpowered teenagers confined in small areas. Besides the 3-meter thick gate and fence, the Academy looked just like a prestigious and expensive school on the outside, built with a lot of tall windows--
--Windows which were made of a meter thick of reinforced polycarbonate plastic. But even the building was actually just made for guests and appearance; 80% of the Academy was actually underground, with enough oxygen in the reserve to last centuries.
Truly, an architectural and engineering marvel.
But right now, that very same marvel was being 'used' to torture the superhero known as Scarlet Mage. As a minor telepath and an elemental controller, Scarlet Mage was used to just floating around using her powers-- and walking the lonesome and unnaturally long hallways of the Academy proved to be an annoyance to her.
"Well, a pay is a pay," her sighs once again echoed throughout the empty hallways, "I swear, we should be exempted from taxes right now since--"
"Excuse me, ma'am. Can you tell me where the class assignments are posted?"
"Eek!"
Scarlet Mage could not help but shriek as a voice suddenly whispered behind her. She almost used her powers as soon as she saw the young man behind her, but as soon as she realized who it was, she forcefully tried to calm herself down.
"You're… student Riley Ross, right? What are you doing here?"
What is he doing here indeed? Scarlet Mage looked at her phone, and the entrance ceremony should still be ongoing, or at least just ended. She was currently underground, and none of the students should be here yet.
But since the student in front of her is literally a special case, she did not really react violently.
"I am lost, Scarlet Mage."
He… is lost? She would understand if they were above ground, but for him to be lost to the point that he found himself here-- just how bad was his sense of direction and awareness?
It truly was such a waste, Scarlet Mage thought. If Riley wasn't diagnosed with autism, then he would surely be popular with the ladies. Perhaps one could even say his albinism amplified his facial features, causing him to look like one of those solemn elves in Lord of the Bangles that she used to watch as a teenager.
But alas, beautiful beings are always cursed with the most beautiful of imperfections.
And so, with a sigh, Scarlet Mage could only grab the papers that were flying in the air one by one, "Come, I'll take you back up. Just where on earth did you pop up from?"
"I believe from my biological mother, Scarlet Ma--"
"No, I meant which door did you take to get here."
"The metal door."
"You know what, never mind," Scarlet Mage shook her head as she gestured to Riley to follow her, "I'll lead you to your class, you're actually under my supervision so I'll take this as fate. Is that alright with you, or do you still want to go back up?"
"It is perfectly fine by me," Riley then smiled as he proceeded to follow Scarlet Mage. There was an awkward silence that persisted in the air, prolonged by the unusual long hallway.
Scarlet Mage did not really find it hard to converse with Riley during the interview, but now that the two were left alone, she realized she had no idea what to say to him. But finally, after a few more minutes of walking, the two finally reached their classroom.
And as is with the other parts of the Academy underground, the room was also spacious-- with the block of seats directly implanted on the floor in several rows. The front of the room was also designed as a stage, for the teachers to be able to freely move.
Scarlet Mage then asked Riley to choose any seat he wished; Riley, however, remained standing in front of her on the stage.
"..."
"..."
A second.
A minute.
Almost an hour.
"...How did the entrance ceremony go, was it fun?"
Almost an hour had passed and Scarlet Mage could no longer endure the awkward situation and decided to strike a conversation, which she knew she would regret.
"No. It was boring and unnecessary, Scarlet Mage."
"R… right?" Scarlet Mage could only let out a chuckle, "Did you leave before Prophet finished with his speech?"
"No, I finished it before coming here, Scarlet Mage."
"I see."
"You do."
"..."
"..."
"Wait… what did you mean before coming here?" Scarlet Mage then blinked a couple of times as she realized what Riley just said, "I thought you were lost?"
"I was initially, Scarlet Mage," Riley then responded as he slowly took a step towards Scarlet Mage, causing her to slightly back away, "But then I finally found you."
"Found… me? Did you need something from me?" Scarlet Mage could not help but take in a gulp as her back was soon blocked by a wall. She tried her hardest to try and read the beating of Riley's heart; but found that it was the same as it always has been-- still.
"W… what are you doing!?" Scarlet Mage did not really want to hurt a student, but Riley's hand was already slowly reaching towards her face. If he continued any further, then she would have to react violently, "This is very inappropriate behavior, Riley! I can still forgive you if you retract your hand!"
"Forgiveness is not something I need, Scarlet Mage," Riley calmly said as his hand gently touched Scarlet Mage's neck, "What I need is you--"
"Holy shit, even the rooms are huge!"
"!!!"
With the door suddenly sliding open, Scarlet Mage took this chance to push away Riley's hand and move to the side. She quickly fixed her hair and dress as she looked at the student that just barged inside the room.
"..." The male student could not help but squint his eyes as he saw Scarlet Mage and Riley on top of the stage, awfully close to each other. But as soon as his eyes reached Riley, he quickly let out a light gasp.
"It's you!"
"It is."
The male student was none other than Gary, the examinee that Hannah had an altercation with during the entrance exams.
"Dang, I thought I would be the first to arrive. So you're in this class as well, R… Rocky?"
"Riley."
"Right-- Ah dibs!" Gary then suddenly ran towards the front-most seat and jumped on it, "This spot shall be mine!"
"You may take your seat as well, Mr. Ross."
Scarlet Mage then took in a long and deep breath as her voice became deeper, the warm tone she was using towards Riley, completely gone.
"..." Riley only nodded his head as he proceeded to sit beside Gary, the closest seat that had access to the stage where Scarlet Mage would be spending most of her time during class.
Seeing this, Scarlet Mage could only let out a sigh, before finally taking a sit on her desk and closing her eyes.
"It seems Scarlet Mage is strict, huh?" Gary then whispered in Riley's ears, "Here I thought she was quite welcoming during the interview."
"No, she is very kind. Kinder than most," Riley quickly replied, "It truly is such a shame that I have to kill her."
"Hm? I didn't catch that," Gary, whose eyes were busy exploring the huge classroom, could not help but blink a couple of times as he did not hear Riley's words clearly.
"What are you trying to catch?" Riley also blinked a couple of times as he looked around the room.
"No, it's…"
The two continued to chat as they tried to wait for the other students to arrive. As for Scarlet Mage, she could not hear anything clearly as her heart was beating too fast.
Just what was that? She thought. What did Riley mean by she needs her? Did Riley suddenly gain an obsession with her? She had researched people with autism as soon as she met Riley weeks ago, and she knew that most of them held some kind of obsession over something.
Is that it? But they were student and teacher; wouldn't that be problematic? Was Riley even capable of feeling love?
Scarlet Mage could not help but furrow her eyebrows as all sorts of thoughts race through her mind. No matter the case, what happened earlier was truly inappropriate and unhealthy and must not be repeated again.
Scarlet Mage then slightly glanced towards Riley, and found that he was no longer paying attention to her-- on the other hand, the almost 30 students that were already seated in front of her were.
"!!!"
Scarlet Mage quickly stood up; just when did all of these people arrive!? How deep were her thoughts that she didn't even hear them coming inside!?
"G… good morning," Scarlet Mage quickly stood up as she scanned the students.
"Good morning, Scarlet Mage."
And as she did so, most of the students also stood up.
Their greetings, led by none other than Sylvie Savelievna-- chosen representative of the Class 1-V.
Chapter 12"...Okay, you may take your seats."
Seeing the students all greet her with respect, Scarlet Mage could only clear her throat as she tried to release the last of the awkwardness that remained inside her due to what happened with Riley earlier.
Considering Riley wasn't looking at her anymore, she was probably just misunderstanding his intention. And of course, she would be right in that.
Riley was not thinking of love or obsession, he was currently thinking of the best way of killing Scarlet Mage. She was a minor telepath, but it would be okay if it was just that, as Riley was resistant to mind control. But Scarlet Mage was able to dig even deeper than that; she was able to read the slight fluctuations in a person's heart, somewhat allowing her to bypass any of Riley's resistance.
He was safe for now, as the only thing that makes his heart fluctuate is Mega Woman… but it was better to be safe. He could just make her heart stop, but Scarlet Mage was still young-- it would be quite suspicious if she died of a heart attack.
He could probably concur up an accident, but Scarlet Mage was not just a street-level hero, she was an A-rank superhero capable of burning down a whole mountain. If she died in a car crash, then that would be slightly ridiculous.
That solves it, then. The only sure way for her to die is by an attack; Perhaps an ambush in her own home? But for that, Riley must discover her identity and where she lived. And so, with that thought, Riley raised his hand.
"...Yes? Do you have any questions, Mr. Ross?" Scarlet Mage could not help but slightly stutter as Riley suddenly raised his hands.
"What is your true name and what is your current address?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
As soon as Riley asked that, all of the students in the room all looked at each other; carrying the same expression on their faces-- confusion.
"That… is a strictly confidential information, Mr. Ross," Scarlet Mage then patiently answered as she once again cleared her throat, "But I am glad you asked that as that is exactly the very first lesson we will be talking about today-- secret identities. There really is only one thing you need to know;
Once you start wearing a mask, never reveal your identity to anyone-- even to your own family if you can help it."
"Everyone knows that, teacher Scarlet Mage!" One of the male students raised his hand, "And why are we in the same class as a retard!?"
"Woah!" Gary, who was sitting beside Riley, could not help but stand up as soon as he heard the student's words, "He is autistic, you bastard! There's a difference! I... I think, but you shouldn't call people that way!"
"Do you think it's fair!? Even Silvie is in our class, so why would someone like him be in ours? Isn't there some kind of special--"
Before the male student could finish his words, he felt a slight tingling sensation on his forehead; followed by a sort of burning smell as a tickle of smoke fumed from his eyebrows.
"O-ow!" The male student quickly patted his eyebrow to put out the sizzling ember but found that he was unable to do so. The only thing he could do was shake his head, slightly causing his completely gelled-up hair to wave.
"The class distribution is not in any way related to your skills or your capabilities as a working functioning human," Scarlet Mage's words then whispered through the air as she snapped her fingers, causing the male student's eyebrows to completely disappear from existence, "Remember, you might be here to compete against each other, but you are also here to learn, and perhaps a lesson in humility is what all of you need first.
Follow me outside."
And without even following with another word, Scarlet Mage suddenly stepped out of the room, leaving the automatic sliding door open for the students to follow her. They were a bit confused at first, but seeing as their teacher just went outside, they had no choice but to follow her.
"Tch," the male student with a gelled-up hair clicked his tongue as he looked at Riley before stepping out of the room, followed by 4 men that seemed to be his group of friends.
"Are you alright, Mr. Ross?" Silvie then suddenly approached Riley, who was just about to stand up as he followed the rest of the students out. The students that were still in the room could not help but be slightly curious as to why she approached him, after all, they could be considered heaven and earth.
"Yeah man, want me to beat that guy up for you?"
"Violence is not allowed inside the Academy, Mr. Gary," Silvie let out a sigh as she shook her head, "It's written in the handbook."
"...There's a handbook?"
"I am fine, Silvie Savelievna," Riley then stood up as he nodded his head towards Silvie, "We should follow the rest of the students, it's a huge building and we can easily get lost by ourselves."
"Right, race you guys there!?" Gary screamed before suddenly rushing out of the room.
"But we don't even have a set destination yet," Riley said as he slightly furrowed his eyebrows.
"Just let him go," Silvie chuckled, "Let's go together?"
"We already are," Riley muttered as the two of them started walking out of the room.
"I guess your sister is in another class?"
"I wouldn't know, I didn't check the class distribution," Riley said, "But there's a higher chance that she might just be cutting classes."
"I… I see." It was supposed to be a rhetorical question. Silvie already knew that Hannah was in another class as she was just with her before entering the room, but to think Riley's first thought would be her cutting classes.
Is that usually the first thought of siblings?
"You know, you can request to the Academy to be transferred since you… are a special case," Silvie muttered weakly, "If you're going to be more comfortable being near her, I can help you submit an application of transfer, she seems to be very protective of you."
"It's okay. The class is already full of noisy people as it is."
"I… I see," once again, Silvie could only awkwardly chuckle. She had no idea what was going on in Riley's mind, so she didn't know whether or not he was trying to be funny, and whether or not she was allowed to laugh.
After that, the two just continued to follow the line of students until they reached a vast and spacious hall. And to their surprise, they weren't the only students there.
There were two other classes in the two corners of the hall, and one included Hannah, who was already waving her hands at Silvie and Riley. Silvie waved back, Riley, on the other hand, only glanced at her before focusing on the three instructors that were talking in the middle of the hall.
They talked for a few minutes before each of the instructors returned to their respective students.
"Alright, listen up," Scarlet Mage clapped her hands to try and get her students' attention, "Since it is the very first day of the Academy, some of the instructors, including yours truly, have decided to set up some sort of exercise between our classes-- a friendly tournament that would help us gauge your level of proficiency in controlling your powers."
"...Already?"
"But they haven't taught us anything yet."
"Stop being pussies, this should be a good way to test our strengths with each other."
"Is… isn't this dangerous?"
"None of you have to worry," Scarlet Mage quickly waved her hand, "Before anything drastic could happen, we would make sure to stop it. You can challenge anyone you want, you can even challenge someone in the same class since none of you know anything about each other yet."
"When do we start, Ms. Scarlet Mage?" Silvie then stepped forward as she looked Scarlet Mage straight in the eyes.
Seeing this, Scarlet Mage looked towards the two other instructors, before nodding her head and turning her attention back to her class, "It has already started, you can challenge anyone you want at any time, and the stage will be yours."
"..."
Hearing this, not only their class but the students of the other class as well looked at each other. Although there were some glares and curious stares, none of them really opened their mouth to challenge anyone. The instructors could have very well just made a list of participants, so why exactly did they make it into some sort of free-for-all?
"Then..." Silvie let out a sigh before her eyes tried to find the male student who insulted Riley earlier, "You, what's your name?"
"M... Me?" The male student with completely pulled back hair could not help but stutter as he pointed at himself, "My... my name is Danny."
"Then Danny, I challen--"
"I challenge that guy to a match!"
But alas, before Silvie could issue a challenge, Danny suddenly pointed towards Riley. When the others saw this, they could not help but shake their heads in disappointment. With all his bravado earlier, to think he would back out in the first sign of being challenged by an obviously stronger opponent.
"S... shut up!" Even his new group of friends seem to be teasing him as they all nudged and mocked him.
"Enough. A challenge has been issued," Scarlet Mage let out a short but deep sigh as she turned to look at Riley. The truth is, she was already expecting Silvie to stand up on behalf of Riley due to her aptitude test, but to think this Danny guy would beat her to it. But what's done is done, they have another reason for doing this anyway.
"What do you say, Riley? You can still back down if you want to."
"It's okay," Riley quickly shook his head, "It's a better way to waste my time than just standing here."
"Ooh shit," hearing Riley's words, Gary, who was keeping quiet in the side, could not help but let out a prolonged hum; and as if he ignited the spark of the students, they too, started whispering to each other.
"Okay," Scarlet Mage could only nod as she turned her head once again towards the two other instructors, who quickly ordered their students to move to the corner of the room to make space.
"Go to the front and introduce yourselves to the people, you'll be doing that a lot once you become a superhero."
"Daniel Espinoza, I will someday be known as Mega Man!" Danny said as he rushed to the center of the hall, stretching his limbs... stretching his limbs further than that of any normal human, "My power is superhuman elasticity!"
"That's a disgusting power," Riley muttered as he too, walked to the center of the stage, "Riley Ross, I will someday be known as…
....Riley Ross."
Chapter 13"R… Riley?"
Hannah, who was quietly yawning behind her classmates, could not help but be completely be woken up as soon as she saw her brother going to the center of the training hall. They were supposed to do a mock-up battle of some sort today, today… right on the first day of school.
She thought it was ridiculous and they should have just let them go to their dorms first and just continue the lessons next month or something, but no-- they had to be extra. It was stupid, she thought.
But to think the very first person that would be issued a challenge would be none other than her brother. Seeing this, she quickly pushed her new classmates aside as she angrily walked to the front.
This was bullying, she thought. Just because Riley was a little different than most kids, they were already bullying him on the first day of school? No, not on her watch. It truly was the right decision for her to enroll in the Academy as well because if not, she wouldn't be able to protect Riley from instances like this.
However, as she was about to step out, their class instructor blocked her path.
"Please move, teach," Hannah said in a very irritated tone, "That's my brother right there."
"I am afraid I can't do that. If you wish to fight, then you can only do so after this match is over."
"Are you crazy? I said that's my brother! He might be getting bullied--"
"Then get revenge afterward. Stop being such a busybody, you can't save everyone. And it's Mr. Nightwalker, please address me with a little bit of respect as we will be spending a lot of time together from now on."
"That's…"
Fucking creepy-- is what Hannah thought as her supervisor smiled at her. Nightwalker always had his eyes closed, but even then, it looked like he was looking straight at her soul. And so, with Nightwalker blocking her path, Hannah could only grit her teeth and hope that nothing bad happens to her brother. If something bad did happen to him…
...then he would burn that single eyebrowed boy that is his opponent.
"Daniel Espinoza, I will someday be known as Mega Man! My power is superhuman elasticity!"
"Riley Ross, I will someday be known… as Riley Ross."
"That's not a superhero name!"
"But it will still be the name I will be known as," Riley said as he grabbed something from his pockets.
"Is that a spoon!?"
For some of the students that recognized Riley from the entrance exam, most of them flinched as soon as they saw the spoon he was holding. After all, how could they forget the violent scene where Riley accidentally almost scooped out the proctor's heart?
"Yes, it's silverware. Less durable but more expensive than stainless steel, but mother seems to love it."
"No one asked!"
"But you just did," Riley muttered as the spoon started to float in the air, "This spoon is very much like you, Daniel. Much useless than most, and probably only loved by your mother. I am joking, of course."
"...Damn," Gary once again let out a hum as he opened his mouth exaggeratingly while slowly turning his eyes towards his other classmates.
Silvie, who just heard Riley talk without any pause, could not help but let out a sigh. Seeing the silence persisting throughout the entire hall, she was finally not alone in her dilemma of not knowing if she should laugh or not… but since he said it was a joke, maybe it was fine?
And so, with that thought, Silvie let out a slightly muffled giggle as she covered her mouth.
"Enough!" And as if Silvie's laugh was a trigger, Danny let out a roar, "Enough talking! Let's do this!"
"So, we are allowed to use our powers for violence now?" Riley raised his hand as he looked at Scarlet Mage.
"Yes," Scarlet Mage nodded before a small blaze emerged from the tip of her finger, "As soon as this flame explodes, you may begin your match."
And from the moment of saying that, it didn't even take 3 seconds before the blaze on Scarlet Mage's fingertips let out a loud pop.
And as soon as it did so, Danny's arms quickly stretched towards Riley like an arrow.
"Ew," Riley worded before moving his body to the side to dodge.
"Got you, you autistic bastard!"
Danny's arms, however, quickly flew back towards Riley, threatening to wrap around him like some sort of snake.
"..." Riley's eyes continued to follow the arms as they continued to circle around him, only a foot away from making contact with his body. However, as soon as Danny's hands intersected with one another, Riley let out a very small breath. And as he did so, the spoon that seemed to be aimlessly floating in the air whistled through the air, its other end shooting straight towards Danny's hands.
"Gah!"
And without even a slight resistance or hesitation, the handle of the spoon penetrated both of Danny's hands that were on top of each other. It did not stop there, however, as the spoon continued to fly down, dragging his hands until they planted on the floor.
The spoon also penetrated the floor, completely pinning down Danny's hands. And with another flicker of Riley's finger, the bowl of the spoon bent, locking down Danny's hands.
"Oh," Riley muttered as he stepped over the overlapping circles that Danny made with his arms,
"It's much sturdier than I thought." He then said as he looked at the spoon trapping Danny's arms, "At least much more durable than you, Daniel. But you don't have to worry, your mother probably still loves you, they are usually made to be that way to their children."
"L… let go of my hands!" Danny tried to pull his hand away, but due to the pain of having a spoon embedded in his limbs, the only thing he could do was scream.
"I can't do that, Daniel," Riley let out a sigh as he slowly walked towards Danny, trying to avoid his extended squirming arms as he did so, "That's a very disgusting power, I don't want it near me."
"You fucker! My idol has the same pow-- W… what are you trying to do?"
Danny could not help but take in a short but deep breath as Riley once again grabbed something from his pocket, this time, a much sharper object-- a knife.
"You don't have to worry, Daniel," Riley muttered as the knife in his hand slowly floated over his palm, "I will make it painless."
And as soon as he said that, a whistle once again whispered throughout the entire hall as the knife shot straight towards Daniel's head. Seeing this, the only reaction that Daniel had was a slight shiver of his body, before closing his eyes in fear of what was to come.
However, before the knife could lodge into his head, it completely burned down in almost an instant. Seeing this, Riley flicked his finger, causing Daniel to once again scream in pain as the spoon pinning down both his hands was violently pulled away.
And once again, without any hesitation, the spoon headed straight towards Danny's head. But once again, before it could reach it, the instructor of the other class grabbed it with his bare hand, completely crushing it.
"..." Riley then slightly turned his head to the side, as Nightwalker was already beside him, waving his finger and gesturing to Riley not to continue any further.
"That's enough, Mr. Riley!" Scarlet Mage then stomped her way towards Riley, the expression on her face clearly pissed off. If she was just a little late in burning down the knife, then they would probably already have their first casualty, right on the first day of school.
"You should know when your opponent is already beaten, and that goes for all of you!" Scarlet Mage shouted as she looked at the other students, "That's one of the lessons we wished to impart to all of you today!"
"But he's still breathing."
"You… no!" Scarlet Mage could not help but groan in frustration as she looked at Riley's legitimately confused face, "Didn't you just hear him screaming in pain!?"
"Yes, it was very soothing."
"N… no," Scarlet Mage covered her face. Seeing this, Nightwalker walked towards her and patted her on the shoulder a couple of times.
"So…" He then whispered into her ear,
"Still think he doesn't belong in the Potential Villain list?"
Chapter 14Scarlet Mage's eyes had been twitching for quite a while now. There was currently another set of students having a match in the center of the training hall, but her attention was completely settled on Riley.
She had been observing him from the start of their battle, and not even once, did his heart fluctuate. Even as he pierced his opponent's hands, even as he was about to stab his head with a knife, never once did his heart fluctuate.
During the interview, Scarlet Mage thought of this as some sort of a plus; as a hero that is always true to himself would more often than not, end up making the right decision when the time comes. However, she completely dismissed the other side of the blade.
Riley doesn't know when to hold back. His heart was so pure that it will always go straight to the end result; this time, he wasn't going to stop until Danny stopped breathing-- his morals were all over the place. And so, from this day forth, Scarlet Mage promised herself she would take extra care of Riley.
He doesn't belong in the Potential Villain list-- she would stand by her decision. Riley is just a lost pure soul that would have to be guided with every step. She should probably visit Whiteking soon in order for her to gain more information about Riley.
And as for the person of interest, Riley was currently being isolated by the rest of the class. Even Silvie could not help but slightly move away from him as she was a bit uncomfortable with how much violence he was capable of; she was even starting to think that what happened during the entrance examination wasn't an accident.
The only person that was left near Riley was Gary, who was letting out a curse every time something interesting happens during the matches.
"Why do you always curse so much?" Riley then asked.
"Eh? I don't know," Gary just shrugged his shoulders before turning his attention back to the ongoing battle. Seeing this, Riley could not help but slightly furrow his eyebrows.
When he was still running around as Darkday, he had also encountered a lot of superheroes cursing him. Cursing him as he crushed their bones, cursing him as he slowly ripped out their heads, cursing him as he gouges out their eyeballs.
It was the only thing that messes up their otherwise beautiful screams. Riley then suddenly closed his eyes as the memories of the people he had killed resurfaced in his mind, his breaths trembling in excitement. He made an oath to himself to not wear Darkday's costume until Mega Woman recovers, but every time he reminisced all the blood and anguish, there was a part of him growing, wanting to be bathed by it again.
"...Are you okay?"
Riley's thoughts were then disrupted by the sound of Silvie's voice, who approached him as soon as she saw the somewhat pained expression on Riley's face.
"No," Riley quickly responded as he looked Silvie straight in the eyes. No matter how much he looked at her, she truly reminded her of Mega Woman. He wanted to ask her if she was related to her in any way, but for some reason, he was hesitating.
What exactly would he do if she was? If anything, what he needed to know right now was Mega Woman's situation. Was the government helping her to recover? But based on Prophet's words during the entrance ceremony earlier, they were talking as if Mega Woman was dead.
Is she? If not, what exactly are they doing to her?
Maybe he should visit them and find out? But he just told the world that Darkday is retiring for now. He would be breaking his word if he just suddenly barges in their office, wherever that is.
Seeing Riley once again being lost in his own world, Silvie could not help but let out a sigh. Why was she so afraid of him? Riley is literally a different person than most of them. His violence could just mean something else for him entirely.
"You're not fine? Do you need som--"
"I challenge Silvie Savelievna of Class 1-V."
"...Hannah?"
Silvie could not help but blink a couple of times as Riley's brother, Hannah, suddenly walked to the center of the stage, calling for her with a smile on her face.
"What… are you doing?" Silvie muttered. In truth, she and Hannah had actually been talking to each other through social media; she could be considered her first friend in the Academy even before they were officially enrolled. So seeing her challenge her now… did she do something?
"Let's show these guys what happens to the people who mess with my brother," Hannah said as she started stretching her limbs.
"I am sure they already know that," Silvie said as she turned her head towards Danny, who was still crying on the side as the medics were trying to heal him. Riley was far from a dame that needed protecting, but it would seem a sister's care is something deeper than that-- she wouldn't know, of course.
"Let's just go do it," Hannah scoffed, "Or are you scared, future Mega Woman?"
"...Fine."
"Ooh shit."
Once again, Gary covered his mouth as he looked back and forth between the center of the hall and Riley, "You seem to be the main attraction of the Academy, Riley bro."
"That tends to happen to people with albinism," Riley muttered as he focused his attention on the upcoming match between his sister and Silvie, "We either get hunted or be treated as a god."
"Oh, which one are you?"
"The Devil."
"Boy, you edgy as fuck," Gary once again let out a gasp, "I love you already."
"I'm afraid I am heterosexual, Gary."
"Shut the fuck up, man." Gary chuckled as he too finally turned his attention towards the match.
"Hannah Ross of Class 1-F."
"Silvie Savelievna of Class 1-V."
The two nodded at each other before turning their heads towards the three instructors. And as they did so, Scarlet Mage raised a finger, once again summoning a small glint of fire.
"You know the drill."
And a few seconds after she said that, the small flame she summoned popped. And as Scarlet Mage's fire disappeared, Hannah's entire body grew ablaze.
And without any warning, she rushed towards Silvie, leaving a trail of fire in her wake.
"!!!"
As she was only a meter away from Silvie, Hannah suddenly spun her body, her foot threatening to burn Silvie's face. Silvie quickly leaped and flew back, but as she did so, the flames on Hannah's leg spew towards her.
The only thing that Silvie could do was cover herself with her arms, her skin scorching from the heat of the fire.
"Kh!" And due to her body's durability, she wasn't used to feeling pain-- and so, she could not help but let out a slight grimace as she turned to look at the flaming Hannah.
"Oh gosh, your sister is so hot!" Gary cheered.
"That is true."
"Ew, dude. That's your sister."
"How does that diminish the fact that she is currently hot?"
"I'm not talking to you anymore," Gary said as he once again focused on the battle going on in front of him. And it wasn't only him that was invested in the fight, almost every student in the hall was watching Hannah and Silvie intensely.
Besides Riley's, the other matches truly were a bore to watch. After all, most of them were fledglings, not even knowing the basics of fighting another Super. But now, seeing Hannah and Silvie, they could not help but imagine what the future holds for them-- it was truly starting to feel like they were in an Academy for Superheroes.
"...Have you been training?" Silvie said as she gritted through the pain.
"I've been watching videos of other Elemental controllers," Hannah said as she slightly glanced at Scarlet Mage, "You could say I learned a thing or two."
"And the martial arts?"
"My father is a bit of an enthusiast," Hannah let out an arrogant chuckle, "I've been training since I was in diapers."
"...I see," Silvie let out a sigh as she once again slowly floated in the air, "Then I better get serious, then."
"Let's do this!"
And after 3 minutes, Silvie won.
"Ah fuck, I'm not doing this again." Hannah grabbed onto Silvie's shoulders as her gasps were loud enough to travel throughout the entire hall.
"I almost lost."
"Pft, fuck you."
Through the first minute of the battle, it was close; with neither of the two losing to each other.
However, when the 2nd minute came, Hannah's flames began to wither. And by the 3rd minute, Hannah was practically fighting Silvie barehanded-- and everyone knew the outcome of the battle then.
"That was very good."
Nightwalker, the supervisor of Hannah's class, clapped his hands as he approached the two students, "However, please do mind your language; we're not barbarians."
"Yeah, yeah," Hannah waved her hand as she pushed herself away from Silvie, "I'll see you and my brother later. You owe me ice cream for beating me."
"...Sure thing," Silvie nodded hesitantly before returning to Riley and the others.
"Damn, your battle got me hyped up!" Gary also clapped his hand as he welcomed Silvie back.
"...Thanks?"
"Now, it's my turn," Gary scoffed as he lifted up his sleeves, "Watch me as I challenge one of the instruc--"
"That's enough for today."
But alas, before Gary could even take a step towards the center of the hall, the three instructors gathered and started gesturing for all of them to come forward.
"So, does anyone know what the point of this exercise was?" Scarlet Mage was the first to speak up.
"...Isn't it to teach us humility?"
"Yes, but there is actually one more thing-- for you to know your limitations and where you belong," Scarlet Mage followed, "Some of you will no doubt grow as a superhero beloved by the country, maybe even by the world. However, most of you will just remain doing your job in the streets, cheered only by the few because of the simple fact that you are weaker."
"...Eh?"
"It might sound harsh, but such will be your reality as superheroes," the muscular instructor of the other class grunted as he stepped forward, "I can be considered as street-level compared to Scarlet Mage. But that is okay; because not all battles need to decide the fate of the world. Sometimes ensuring that a victim of a mugging could safely return to their children…
...is more than enough."
***
"Boy, that got depressing towards the end, didn't it?" Gary wiped the imaginary sweat on his forehead, walking backward as he talked to Riley and the others.
"Why? Still can't get over the fact that you're just street level?" Hannah smirked.
"You haven't even seen me fight!"
"Pft."
"Even you, Silvie!? Why is the world against me!? Help me out here, brother!" Gary was about to cling his arm over Riley, but he quickly dodged to the side. "A… anyway, since we were dismissed early, what are we going to do now?"
"Train?"
"Sleep?"
"Boring," Gary quickly rolled his eyes from Silvie and Hannah's suggestions, "What about you, Riley? Anything you want to do?"
"....Visit Mega Woman?"
Chapter 15"Visit Mega Woman? What do you mean visit Mega Woman?"
It wasn't only Gary, but Silvie and Hannah were also looking at each other in confusion from Riley's words. Nobody knew Mega Woman's current location, as it was strictly hidden by the government, so even if any of her fans wanted to see her, they would never be able to do so.
"...So you're a fan of Mega Woman, Riley?" Silvie raised an eyebrow as she asked.
"I suppose you could say that," Riley nodded. Mega Woman made Riley's life more exciting, of course, he would grow somewhat attached to him, especially since she spent some nights in his cabinet.
A part of her was also inside Riley now, so one could say they have grown a somewhat familial relationship-- without Mega Woman's consent, of course.
"Of course we're all a fan," Gary rolled his lips as he let out a long and deep breath, "We wouldn't be in the Academy dedicated to her if we weren't. Right, Hannah banana?"
"...Speak for yourself," Hannah furrowed her eyebrows, "And why are you coming with us? Since when were you a part of our group?"
"W… what? I thought we already clicked back when we were in the interview!" Gary quickly reasoned as he walked beside Riley, "C'mon bro, tell your sister that we're friends."
"I am not your brother," Riley said as he continued to walk without any sense of where they were going, "And I don't have friends."
"...Eh?"
But finally, after a few more steps, Silvie suggested something that they all seemed to agree upon. The campus has a land area of approximately 10 square kilometers-- it was basically its own city. How the government was able to hide this was a mystery to even the media; which were actually flooding outside the 3-meter thick gates right now.
It has its own park, a museum dedicated to Mega Woman and other prominent heroes, a huge library, and many more. But more importantly, it had its own mall, which the four were now heading to.
"How'd you even know this exists, Silvie?" Hannah could not believe her eyes as they entered the mall. Suffice to say, it was even bigger and more luxurious than the malls outside.
"...It was in the handbook they gave us. Seriously, didn't any of you read it? There's even a map of the whole campus attached there!"
"Really? Maybe I should get a copy soon," Hannah nodded inquisitively as she once again looked around the place. And considering the number of people already in the mall, they weren't the only ones who had the idea of visiting the mall on the first day-- as expected of teenagers.
"How big is this place?" Gary also let out a gasp of awe as his steps became hurred, "Why would you even have this many restaurants when there's like only 4,000 of us admitted to the Academy?"
"...There are 4,000 Supers enrolled here?" Once again, Hannah's eyes were clouded with disbelief. They didn't look that many during the entrance ceremony, but then again, she slept through 90% of it and it was quite dark as well. "Just how many supers are there in the world?"
"That's actually already considered quite few," Silvie muttered, "Based on a current study, there are almost half a billion Supers roaming around the world. And in a hundred years, most people would already have superpowers. More and more children with superpowers are being born. A manner of evolution, I guess?"
"Fuck... really? That's too many," Hannah muttered.
"Do you want to decrease that number, sister?" Riley, who had been quietly following the three, finally opened his mouth as he walked beside his sister, "Give me a week and I will eradicate half of them for you, sister."
"...Jesus, just how edgy can your brother get, Hannah?" Gary almost tripped upon hearing Riley's words. And it wasn't only him, even Silvie felt a bit uncomfortable from what Riley said; once again deliberating on whether what he said was a joke or not.
"I think you should lay off on the manga and animes for a while, Riley," Gary said as he let out a small chuckle, "Anyway, the security of the Academy is no joke, even their mall has cameras all over the place... how are we even going to have fun like this? This feels more and more like a prison now."
"You do know having fun and doing something illegal are two different things, right?" Hannah rolled her eyes at Gary before suddenly pulling Silvie towards a particular store near the entrance, "Come, let the student representative treat us to something sweet!"
"What... is this?" Was Silvie's first question as they entered what seemed like a cafe, but not quite.
"It's Korean shaved ice," Hannah blinked a couple of times as she looked at Silvie, "It's been pretty popular recently."
"You like popular things?" Gary let out a long but light gasp, "I thought lesbians didn't like popular things?"
"That's fucking sexist as fuck," Hannah raised both her middle fingers, "And I'm not a lesbian, you fucking shit, why are you even here?"
"W… what? I thought you and Silvie had like some sort of thing?" Gary could not help but stutter, "Why… why would you crush my fantasy otp!?"
"Uhm… what am I supposed to order?"
Before Hannah and Gary could continue to bicker with one another, Silvie let out a small hum as she tapped Hannah's shoulder a few times, "I haven't been to a cafe like this before so I don't know what's good."
"Oh, then just order me a… what kind of currency is that?"
Hannah initially had an excited expression on her face as her finger slowly pointed its way towards the menu on the wall. However, as soon as she saw the symbol next to what is presumably the price, her eyebrows quickly furrowed.
Instead of the usual US dollar sign that everyone was used to, it was replaced by some sort of acronym that made the letters M and P.
"10 MP?" Even Silvie, who probably knew most about the Academy among the group, tilted her head to the side. She then picked up her handbook, which was sophisticatedly hidden around her right ankle, covered by her socks.
"...Did you just--" Gary was going to say something, but in the end chose not to as he just shook his head. He thought he was the quirkier of the bunch, but it was looking more and more like he was the normal one in the group.
"Nothing's indicated in the handbook," Silvie let out a short but deep sigh after a few seconds.
"Should we go to another sto--"
"Hello, Charlotte. What do the letters M and P mean?"
And before the three could even make a decision, Riley suddenly stepped forward and called the cashier's attention.
"H… hi?" The female cashier could not help but slightly step back as a completely pale individual… suddenly entered her side of the counter, "You're... not allowed here?"
"Then you should close your establishme--"
"You idiot!"
Before Riley could continue to terrorize the slightly petite female cashier, Hannah quickly pulled him out of the counter, "You shouldn't just go over the counter like that! If we were outside you'll be sent to juvie!"
"But we're not outside," Riley muttered monotonously, "The rules are entirely different here, sister."
"What, don't tell me you read the handbook?"
"I did. That is why most of my actions are well within the rules of the Academy," Riley nodded, seemingly satisfied with himself.
"E... excuse me?"
With the group seemingly surprised at Riley's words, the female cashier, named Charlotte as it said on her name tag, raised her hand and called their attention. And as soon as she was sure that the four were looking at her, she quickly cleared her throat and started talking.
"MP means Mega Points," Charlotte explained, "It's the common currency you will be using within the Academy."
"...Right," Hannah squinted her eyes, "What kind of shithole is this? So all of our money is useless here?"
"Not necessarily. But in this shop, we only accept Mega Points," Charlotte gestured to the menu, "You can get points based on your grades, performance, and by other means that you will surely discover along the-- Wait!"
Before Charlotte could finish talking, Hannah suddenly rotated the cashier monitor towards her, revealing the script that Charlotte was reading from.
"That's illegal, sister," Riley shook his head in disappointment.
"As I was saying!" Charlotte returned the monitor to its original position before lightly slamming her palm on the counter, slightly leaving a crack on it, "MP is automatically stored inside your ID card, so don't lose it. Right now, all of you should have 100 Mega Points given by the Academy for free...
...So, may I take your orders?"
"R… right," Hannah could not help but take in a small gulp as she saw the crack on the counter. But after a few seconds, she let out a sigh and turned her head towards Silvie, "I guess you won't be treating us this time."
"I see," Silvie also let out a sigh of her own, not knowing whether to be relieved or disappointed, "I'll… have the bubblegum flavor then?"
Silvie then took her ID card, which, surprisingly, was also hidden in her socks, "10 MP, right?"
"Right!" Charlotte smiled as she gently grabbed the card from Silvie's hands, before swiping it on her console. But as soon as she did so, her eyes suddenly widened in shock.
"...You're the current top 1 student?"
"I think so?" Silvie blinked a couple of times in confusion; since she presented a short speech in front of the whole student population, she knew that most would probably recognize her-- but even the staff from the mall? She was sure she wasn't that famous.
"You are," Charlotte then proceeded to swipe 3 more times.
"Hey, what are you doing!?" Hannah was about to grab the card from Charlotte, but before she could do so, Charlotte faced the monitor towards them.
"You have unlimited MP," Charlotte then said, "We were told the Academy's number 1 student has that privilege."
"I… do?"
"F… fuck."
"Sweet fucking Jesus."
"I am sure you meant Mary of Magdal--"
"There you are!"
Before the group could exclaim their surprise, a group of students suddenly barged into the shaved ice cafe.
"I ask you for a duel, Silvie Savelievna, for the right to take your ID card!"
"What…
....kind of school is this?"
Chapter 16"I challenge you, Silvie Savelievna, for the right to take your ID card!"
"...What kind of school is this?"
Hannah's doubts were currently filling the entire cafe as a group of students suddenly barged inside, the looks in their eyes completely hostile as they all stared at Silvie. And considering Hannah recognizes most of them, they were probably from her class.
"What do you think you're doing?" Hannah cracked her neck as she stepped forward, "We're no longer in the training-slash-combat hall; you can't just challenge anyone you want."
"We were just told otherwise by the staff of the mall!" The short, but muscular young man that demanded Silvie's ID card, also stepped forward, "And aren't you in my class!? Why are you with them? You traitor!"
A small crackle in the air then drummed in the air as the young man's skin slowly changed color, transforming into some sort of bronze-like consistency.
"...What?" Hannah could not help but blink a couple of times as she looked at Riley and the others, her face obviously filled with confusion, "This is a school, not some 90s trading card game, you poop-looking shit! Why are you going around asking people for a duel!"
"Ehem!"
And as Hannah's voice was getting louder and louder, Charlotte stepped away from the counter and stood between the two seemingly opposing groups, "Since I am the nearest available campus staff, I shall be the one officiating this duel."
"Wait, this is really happening right now?" Hannah finally realized that her classmate's claims were legitimate.
"It's… not in the handbook," Silvie, who was once again scanning her handbook for anything related to duels, could only shake her head as she approached Charlotte, "Is it possible to refuse the challenge?"
"Yes, but you will be giving him 100 points."
"Wait, what!?" Hannah once again raised her voice, "How is that even fair? Won't everyone just keep on challenging her, then?"
"Well, since Ms. Savelievna here is the one that was challenged, she could choose any modes of duel she wants; and besides the right to take her opponent's ID card, she also has the right to take one more thing from the challenger if she wins," Charlotte raised her finger as she explained everything with a smile on her face.
"Let's go, Silvie. You have unlimited MP anyway, just give them the 100 and don't bother with them--"
"I accept."
Before Hannah could pull Silvie away, Silvie stepped in front of the challenger, "I accept your challenge."
"Ha!"
The young man with bronze for muscles could not help but slightly let out an excited chuckle as soon as Silvie accepted. His group of friends as well were starting to snicker from behind.
"You know, you didn't have to go with their bullshit."
"Yeah sis, I agree with Hannah banana," Gary also let out a sigh, "They're just going to waste your time."
"It's alright," Silvie let out a small smile as she turned her head towards the two, "What Scarlet Mage and the other instructors said earlier really struck me. With my somewhat close match with Hannah earlier, I think people are starting to underestimate me...
...I want to correct that. I accept your challenge," Silvie then said as she turned her gaze back to the challenger, "and since you seem to be confident in your durability, why don't we have a boxing match?"
"I won't have it any other way," the bronze man once again chuckled.
"It is decided then, please follow me!" Charlotte then suddenly blew on a whistle as soon as she stepped outside, gathering all the attention of the people that were nearby. However, it would seem that it wasn't for them, but for the mall's staff.
The cleaners, the guards, and even some of the people that were tending on the hotdog stand all rushed to gesture or push the students away; and without even any warning, the floor opened up-- revealing some sort of platform slowly rising from it.
"...This is ridiculous," Hannah muttered as soon as she saw it, "Just how much budget did the government put into this place? Is this where all of our taxes go?"
"You don't really pay legitimate taxes yet, sister," Riley muttered as he looked at the rising platform, but after a few seconds, he suddenly walked away.
"Wait, where are you going? Aren't you going to watch Silvie's match!?"
Hearing his sister's question, Riley only glanced at Silvie, before proceeding to walk away again, "She will win, I see no point in watching feces getting stepped on by a goliath-- it's disgusting."
"That's…"
"Thank you, Riley," Silvie finally let out a giggle from Riley's words. She was still confused if Riley was joking or not, but does it really matter? The only joke here…
...is her opponent.
"...Is your brother going to be fine going alone like that?" Gary whispered to Hannah, "Do you want me to follow him?"
"I think he'll be fine," Hannah sighed, "He's always preferred to be alone. It's honestly already quite a surprise he's coming with us for this long. I guess… he is starting to learn how to socialize?"
***
Not even a few minutes after Riley separated from the group, he could already hear an ugly scream coming from their direction. No doubt, Silvie had already made quick work of the bronze man.
It is quite pathetic, Riley thought. For the Academy to set up something like a Duel system amongst the students, just what were they really trying to achieve? But at least he learned something.
Initially, he thought the ID card had a chip implanted on them that tells their specific location in real-time inside the Academy; but if it could be stolen or won through a duel, then they wouldn't place it there. Was it perhaps implanted into them without them knowing?
It was impossible for them not to have anything tracking their movement… unless of course, the whole Academy truly was filled with cameras. The mall was already full of cameras, and there was for sure a lot more hiding.
Gary was right, this felt more like a prison if anything. If it was like this, then how?
How was Riley going to scratch the itch that was slowly growing inside of him?
Why? Why did he enroll in this place?
He shouldn't have retired.
Mega Woman.
He shouldn't have defeated Mega Woman. If he didn't, then they would still be fighting right now, bathing in the blood of the destruction they were causing.
"...Mega Woman," Riley slightly raised both his trembling hands in the air, moving his fingers into an arc as if he was strangling someone's neck with it, "This world... is meaningless without you. You're from another planet, right? Where... where is--"
"Mr. Ross?"
And before Riley could finish his monologue, a very familiar voice resounded through his ears. With his hands still slightly in the air, Riley slowly turned his head towards the owner of the voice-- with a smile still lingering on his face.
"Are you... okay? Do you need me to call someone?"
"We seem to be meeting a lot lately, Scarlet Mage," Riley then said.
"...I am your class' supervisor. We really would be meeting a lot from now on," Scarlet Mage let out a small chuckle, but as soon as she remembered what Riley did earlier in the morning, it quickly faded away, "Anyway, where are your sister and friends? Shouldn't you be with them?"
"Oh," Riley slowly dropped his arms as he fully turned towards Scarlet Mage, "In truth...
....I prefer to be with you, Scarlet Mage."
Chapter 17"I much prefer to be with you, Scarlet Mage."
"What was that?"
"I prefer to--"
Riley's muffled voice slightly whispered through the air as Scarlet Mage covered his mouth before he could say anything more. Scarlet Mage then smiled and chuckled awkwardly as she looked all over the place, shaking her head towards the other people in the mall; telling them it was not what it seems.
Afterward, she dragged Riley all the way outside the mall, and into one of the basement parking lots that were surprisingly quite spacious. But considering most of the school itself was built underground, perhaps it wasn't surprising after all.
And without even saying a word, Scarlet Mage continued to drag Riley until she pushed him inside what seemed to be her car.
"..." Riley looked around Scarlet Mage's small sedan; and considering there weren't any trinkets or pillows of some kind inside, it was probably a car provided by the Academy. The number of cameras inside the basement was also obviously less than above, making this probably the best place to kill Scarlet Mage. But then again... they were surrounded by hundreds of Supers-- it will become a massacre once they found out he killed her.
That would have been preferable as Darkday-- but he was just Riley Ross now. He needed to play the part if he wants his retirement to be successful, if not-- then that would make him into a liar. There was also the fact that Hannah was here as well, he couldn't risk her getting hurt because of him.
"What are you thinking right now?" While Riley was somewhat lost in his own thought, Scarlet Mage suddenly took off the mask that was covering half her face, completely revealing her eyes, which were red in color, as well as her slightly thick eyebrows.
"I'm thinking about my sister," Riley quickly answered, only looking at Scarlet Mage's eyes for a single second before looking to the side.
"Your sister? Is that just it?" Scarlet Mage, on the other hand, was not letting her eyes travel from Riley's, "You are always saying that you need me, that you prefer me. And even though it is just the first day of the Academy, it is already making me uncomfortable so I think we need to set boundaries between us. So let me ask you, Riley...
...Why are you saying that to me? Why are you telling me you need me?"
Riley did not really respond, just looking to the side as both of their breaths filled the inside of the car.
"We are not going out of this car until you tell me," Scarlet Mage shook her head, "I don't know about you, but I am used to this kind of heat. This might seem a little... inappropriate and hypocritical, but I think this is the only way I can get you to stop-- a heart-to-heart talk. So please, the faster you say what you feel, the more I can finally move on with my life as a teacher in the Academy. I am not used to this, I was just invited by the government to do this-- I would just rather be out there saving lives. So please, please tell me why you always seem to have something you want from me; I can always ask your father."
Although Scarlet Mage was clear with her words, in truth, she was trying her best not to mumble due to the anxiety that was slowly building inside her. Even if Riley was young, he was still a man. And for someone like her, whose work and job as a superhero had always preceded over her life, this wasn't something she imagined doing.
But finally, after her long speech, Riley opened his mouth to speak.
"Because I am afraid that as time moves on, you will discover who I am."
Hearing Riley starting to open up, Scarlet Mage could not help but slightly let out a smile. But still, she was also slightly confused; he said he needs her, but his answer was somewhat contradictory.
"So, you telling me you need me is because you want me to know who you are... but you're afraid I would get to know you?"
"No," Riley shook his head.
"Then can you tell me how you feel right now, at this exact moment when I do this?" Scarlet Mage said as she suddenly grabbed Riley's hand, "Tell me what you-- !!!"
However, as soon as she did so, Riley grabbed her by the neck; perhaps due to the force, or maybe because of Riley's powers, the car slightly moved to the right, causing a loud squeak as its tires left their mark on the pavement.
"Do not touch me!" Riley screamed, his eyes reflecting the ball of fire that was hovering on Scarlet Mage's left palm, "No one is allowed to touch me!"
Scarlet Mage was at a loss as to what to do. Riley was currently on top of her, both his hands on her neck; she was going to smack her with a fireball on the face but hesitated to do so as finally, she felt his heart fluctuate.
"I...m sorry," Scarlet Mage struggled to breathe, but still, she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "I am sorry, I was... I was out of line. Did... did someone..."
But alas, before she could finish her words, she could feel her vision slowly darken-- her limbs slowly losing their strength as the last breath she had in her also slowly faded its way out of her body.
"..."
"..."
"Khu!"
Scarlet Mage then suddenly woke up from the sound of her own gasp, hitting her head on the roof of her car as she tried to stand up. And upon touching her face, she almost panicked when she found out that she wasn't wearing a mask; but as soon as she saw Riley quietly sitting beside her, she quickly remembered what she was doing.
Did... she just lose consciousness? Wait, did she almost just die here?
With that thought, she could not help but look at Riley, who just had a slightly bored expression on his face as he rested his head back on the seat.
"Riley... you... you almost killed me," Scarlet Mage grunted as she gently grasped her neck.
"Almost," Riley nodded his head, "But I can't kill you now. Not in this place, not now."
"What? What do you mean kill me?" Hearing the casual tone in Riley's voice, Scarlet Mage could not help but slightly feel uncomfortable. She knew Riley had autism, it was clear in his file; she knew that he was socially inept... but Riley rarely lies. Especially not with something like this.
And so, with this thought, Scarlet Mage's heart could not help but slightly beat faster, "Why... do you want to kill me?"
Was she wrong? Did Riley Ross belong in the Potential Villain category after all?
"I have already told you, Scarlet Mage. I am afraid that you are probably one of the few people that would know who I truly am."
Riley said the exact same words he said before, but Scarlet Mage could no longer feel the warmth in his words, or perhaps there was no warmth in the first place and she only just imagined it?
Was she truly wrong in her assessment?
"...Why?" Scarlet Mage whispered.
"But you do not have to worry, I no longer wish to kill you, Scarlet Mage."
"Why did you want to kill me!?" Scarlet Mage could no longer hold it in as she raised her voice. This was the first day of school, and things were already turning a turn for the worse. For a student to want to kill her on the first day... just what kind of job did she accept?
"Because you would probably discover that I am Darkday."
"What are you--"
Before Scarlet Mage could finish her words, Riley suddenly turned his head and for the first time, looked her straight in the eyes, "I am Darkday. I am telling you now so I would no longer need to guess whether you have discovered it or not...
...Katherine Read."
"W... what?"
"That is your name, yes?" Riley then slightly raised his hand, and on it, was what seemed to be a driver's license, "You...
....live in New York."
Chapter 18"Give that back to me!"
Scarlet Mage, now also known as Katherine Read to Riley, immediately grabbed her driver's license from Riley's hand, "Don't you know that it's rude to meddle with other people's stuff!? I have had it with you! At first, I thought you were cute, but now it's just getting too weird!"
Scarlet Mage then wore her mask, before quickly grabbing her purse, which was supposed to be hidden in the glove compartment but was now beside Riley, "Your autism is not an excuse for you to harass me like this, I will report you to the… to… to whoever is doing the punishment in this stupid school!"
"..." Riley did not move from his seat as Scarlet Mage continued to raise her voice.
"And now you're pretending to be Darkday!?" Scarlet Mage then stepped out of the car, "That is the last straw! Do you know of the things Darkday has done!? Don't tell me you actually idolize the evilest supervillain in the world? I was wrong! I was really wrong about you! Gah! I am so stupid! I should have listened to the others!"
The dim basement slightly lit up as Scarlet Mage summoned two balls of fire in frustration, before just letting it disperse as she once again screamed. Riley, on the other hand, still did not move from his seat and stayed in the car.
"I would appreciate it if you get back inside the car, Katherine Read. My clone already got out of the car, so I can't be seen going outside again. I need you to drive us away from here."
"Don't you dare call me by my name! And what the fuck are you talking about!?" Scarlet Mage no longer held any compassion or warmth towards Riley as she rushed back inside the car, trying to pull him out of it. However, as soon as she was inside the car, the door suddenly shut, hitting her on the buttocks and pushing her towards Riley.
"W… what the..." Scarlet Mage could not help but slightly stutter as she quickly pushed herself away from Riley. She then tried opening the door, but the locks quickly engaged themselves.
"The one in your emergency contact, Leslie Read, who is she to you?"
"Are you doing this?" Scarlet Mage once again took off her mask as she glared at Riley, "Bravo, your control is amazing, now open the goddamn door before you get hurt, boy."
"You can't hurt me, Scarlet Mage," Riley shook his head as he remained looking at the front, "You are too weak to do that, don't you remember the first time we met?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I stabbed you in the stomach. If it weren't for Mega Woman arriving, then you would have already died."
"...Are you talking about my fight with Darkday?" Scarlet Mage's eyebrows furrowed even further as she heard Riley's words, "Just don't, Riley. I do not know why you have this delusion of you being Darkday, you--"
"Aha!"
Scarlet Mage could not help but slightly take in a short breath as Riley suddenly smiled and looked at her straight in the eyes, "Now I remember. Leslie Read is probably your mother, Katherine Read."
"W… what?"
"Isn't that what you said during that time? You told me not to kill you because your mother will be left all alone in this world."
"How… how do you know that?" Once again, Scarlet Mage could not help but take a short but deep breath as soon as she heard Riley's words. She was sure that there weren't any video recordings of her altercation with Darkday… no one should know that besides her and Darkday.
She knew what this was starting to mean, but still, it was impossible for Darkday to be here…. It's impossible that Darkday is the boy beside him.
"Because I am Darkday," Riley then let out a long and deep sigh as he turned his head to the roof of the car, "It really feels nice telling that to someone and for them to actually hear m--"
"Enough!"
The inside of the car was enough to light up the whole basement as Scarlet Mage suddenly summoned another fireball, this time with the intent of shutting down the deranged student beside her. If she was going to be punished, then so be it-- but Riley Ross needs to be taught a lesson.
However, before the blaze could even reach Riley's face, Scarlet Mage found her hand unable to move even further as Riley was gripping her wrist.
"You…" Scarlet Mage's hand trembled as the fire hovering on it slowly faded, "...How strong is your telekinetic ability?"
"This is superhuman strength," Riley quickly replied, "And I can't answer your question, I have not really tried testing the extent of the limits of my telekinetic abilities."
"You… also have superhuman strength?" Scarlet Mage's voice was starting to stumble, accompanying the beating of her heart that was now moving erratically, "Are you… are you really Darkday?"
"Yes."
Scarlet Mage's breaths echoed through her car. Riley's voice almost seemed like a muffled whisper; drowned by the sound of her heart as it drummed throughout her entire body. She didn't want to believe it. Everything in her existence wanted to deny it. She had the power to tell if people were lying, but still, she didn't want to believe it.
Riley wasn't lying, not then, not now, not this time.
Riley Ross is Darkday, or at least he believes himself to be him. But seeing the abnormal strength he was showing now, it was most likely the former.
Scarlet Mage's breaths became more and more fettered as her eyes darted towards Riley's hand, "Please… let me go," she whispered.
"L… let me go," Scarlet Mage whispered, "I… I won't tell anyone about--"
"But you will," Riley let out a sigh, "Not until you hear what I have to say."
"W… what? What are you saying?"
"I will torture Leslie Read," Riley then said as he once again looked Scarlet Mage straight in the eyes, "I will rip her tongue first, so the only things that would come out of her mouth are the gurgling shrilling scream as well as the blood that is slowly drowning her lungs. She would feel it slowly collapsing, but she won't die. Not until all of her limbs are slowly ripped from her body, not until the only way she could crawl is using her neck."
"N… No--"
"It is quite possible, I have already done it," Riley continued, "Of course, if I have underestimated your… love for your mother and still try to expose my identity, I could just kill everyone that knows. But please don't tell my sister, I quite like her."
"Why… why not just kill me then?" Scarlet Mage once again stuttered, her teeth almost hitting each other as her head trembled uncontrollably.
"That would be exposing myself. And also, did you not hear what I said during the broadcast? I am retired," Riley let out a small sigh, "I'm not a villain anymore."
"W… what?"
Being a villain was not something you can just turn on and off, Scarlet Mage wanted to rebuke, but couldn't. For some reason, she found Riley more talkative and eloquent when he was like this-- ironically, it was almost as if he was normal. It was also the same when he announced his retirement to the world as Darkday.
Was this the real him? Was Riley himself whenever he is Darkday?
"So instead of killing you, I decided to let you live," Riley nodded to himself as he let out a satisfied smile, "You should pass me just because of this, this is a very superhero-like thing to do, yes?"
"W… what?"
"I always wanted henchmen like some of the other villains. So, you work for me now, Scarlet Mage," Riley said with a smile on his face, "Congratulations, you're my first subordinate."
"W… what?" Was the only word that Scarlet Mage could really say, "Do… do you really think that I would work for someone like you? I would rather die!"
"Then dear old Leslie would be left all alone in this world," there was a slight change of tone in Riley's voice as if imitating Scarlet Mage, "Now please, drive to the front of the mall."
"You… you're fucking evil," Scarlet Mage muttered.
"I suppose," Riley nodded, "That's just how it is. Please drive, Scarlet Mage, or you will see your mother's tongue beneath your pillow tomorrow."
"..." Scarlet Mage closed her eyes in lament as she tried to calm her shivering body. She truly did not expect this kind of development. Not at all. For Darkday to have infiltrated the Academy, and for him to even be the son of one of the core members of the Hope Guild…
...Is Whiteking also a villain? If so, then Darkday's roots in the government probably go way deeper than she could ever know. If the only thing she could do now was obey Darkday, then she should do so-- not only for her sake but for the safety of the others.
She would wait patiently for a chance to strike, but for now…
...she drives.
"Where are you going? Just go from here."
"..."
Scarlet Mage, who was about to exit the car to go to the driver's seat, could not help but click her tongue as she scooched her way to the front, proceeding to turn on the engine and drive out of the basement.
She could not help but let out a long and deep breath as soon as she saw the scenery outside. All of these children, these people, merrily going on about their ways without knowing that they were in the presence of the most heinous supervillain in the world.
Meanwhile, that same supervillain was currently hiding on the rear seat.
"Please stop daydreaming," Riley said as she noticed Scarlet Mage's eyes roaming around, "It makes you look suspicious. Please drive to the front of the mall."
"..." Scarlet Mage only shook her head in response as she did what Riley asked of him, "Now what?"
"It should be here any second now," Riley said.
"What are we waiting fo-- What the fuck."
Scarlet Mage did not need to ask, as she quickly realized what they were waiting for, or more specifically, who-- it was Riley himself, walking out of the mall along with his sister and two other students.
"It's my clone," Riley muttered, "I ordered it to go out while you were unconscious to avoid suspicion from the cameras."
"I could see that!"
If ever she needed any more proof that Riley Ross was indeed Darkday…
....this was probably it.
Chapter 19"What are you doing? Call me to go inside your car."
Scarlet Mage stared in silence as Riley exited the mall along with his sister and two other students. It would have just been an ordinary sight, but with Riley already supposedly inside the car with her, it almost made no sense. Well, not until one remembers that she was, indeed, actually already with the most heinous supervillain in the world-- Darkday.
He is also currently inside the car.
Darkday had numerous superpowers; one just happened to be making clones of himself. That power made its debut during his final fight with Mega Woman, in which he used the clones to fight the members of the Hope Guild, causing even more damage to this country, as well as the neighboring countries.
It might not have been talked about as much now since they were in the Academy, but the damage that the fight has caused was truly devastating. If you go outside, there would still be millions of graffitis and posters-- posters of those who have violently died during the battle.
And now, that very same person who caused so much devastation… was right here in the Academy for superheroes?
Wasn't there a rigorous background check for all the students that enrolled here? Or was it bypassed since his father was one of the members of the Hope Guild?
The Academy should've done its job better, now they were stuck inside with a psychopath that could potentially kill all of them if he wanted to. The Academy was made to be impenetrable-- even having an invisible dome covering its entirety, completely bomb and projectile proof.
It also has a 3-meter thick gate and wall-- even the underground is covered.
And now, the very same security that was supposed to be defending them from outside forces is the very same cage that locked them inside with a madman. But perhaps it was a good thing that she came to know this?
Darkday would have spent his days here, without anyone knowing who he truly was. But now that she knows of his true identity, she just needed to find a way to expose him without him knowing. No matter how strong he was, he was only one man.
"What are you doing? Call my clone inside, they're leaving."
"Kh!"
Scarlet Mage could not help but feel a little tinge of pain coming from her right abdomen; she quickly looked towards it, only to find that half of Riley's index finger was embedded through to it, "Call my clone."
"R… Riley!"
And with that, Scarlet Mage had no other choice but to do Riley's bidding; and as soon as she called for him, the clone immediately ran towards her car, not even saying its farewell towards Hannah and the others.
"Drive," Riley said as soon as his clone got inside the car.
"W… where?"
"Drop me off at the dorms, I don't want to walk anymore."
"O… okay?" Scarlet Mage looked through her rear-view mirror, only to see Riley's clone slowly melting and being seemingly absorbed by Riley. She truly was a fool.
Where was the cute, pure, and innocent student she once saw? Riley was nothing but pure evil, even his powers were now reflecting that.
"What… are you?" Scarlet Mage still gathered the courage to talk as she proceeded to drive away, "What… what are you planning?"
"I am human, just like the rest of you," Riley Ross let out a sigh as he rested his head on the window, "As for what I am planning, I initially had none-- as I said in the broadcast, I am retired."
"Your… your father, did he have--"
"Bernard Ross is completely unaware of my true identity; so don't talk to him," Riley muttered, "Also, I need you to get information about Mega Woman."
"W… what?"
"I need to know her current status, where she is, what they have done to her, or if she is still alive."
"Can't… you get your clones to do it for you?"
"Albinos like me are even rarer than Supers; they would quickly be noticed."
"You… can't change the way you look?"
"Ew, no. That's a disgusting power."
"..." And cloning yourself is not? Scarlet Mage wanted to say, but didn't, "Why… do you want to know about Mega Woman?"
"Because I think they are doing something to her," Riley then leaned his head beside the front seat, making Scarlet Mage even more uncomfortable, "It was a mistake giving her back to the government, I should have just stored her along with the others… I regret what I have done."
"With… the others?"
"Don't worry, you will never get the pleasure of meeting them," Riley then leaned back to his seat once again, "They are quite a noisy bunch."
Them? Was Riley not working alone? Did Darkday actually have some sort of group he belonged to? This is good… this is truly good. She was learning more and more about Darkday, perhaps this happened for a reason.
Perhaps… it was even her destiny to one day defeat Darkday?
And so, feeling a little lighter than she did before, Scarlet Mage aka Katherine Read, continued to drive her way towards the male dorms, dropping off the most heinous supervillain in the entire world.
"Remember what I said, gather information about Mega Woman," Riley said before getting out of the car, "If you don't, then your mother will suffer the consequences."
"Just please get out of my car."
"Thank you for driving me, Scarlet Mage," Riley then let out a small smile as he stepped out of the car and closed the door; not even glancing back as he casually entered the dorms.
"Ho…" And as soon as Riley's presence was gone, Scarlet Mage's breaths instantly became erratic, her hand falling from the steering wheel as she rested her head on it. This was really happening, she thought.
Darkday is in the Academy, and she was the only one that knows it. What if someone else discovers his true identity? Wouldn't Riley think she exposed him? What if Riley just suddenly decides to get out of his so-called retirement? Was he going to kill everyone here?
Numerous thoughts were racing through Scarlet Mage's head-- but there was one that was most prevalent.
She was going to be working with Darkday from now on. Perhaps… there might even be a chance to change him? Turn him into a better person?
With that thought, Scarlet Mage let out a long and deep breath. At least she had some assurance that Darkday would not be able to get out of the Academy-- if worse comes to worst, maybe the Academy had some sort of contingency plan to bury all of them here, along with Darkday.
Scarlet Mage then drove away, thinking that Darkday may be watching her… but she was also watching him.
"Huh… mom?"
Scarlet Mage's thoughts were then disrupted as her mobile phone rang. Unlike the students, who were given new phones that are only usable inside the Academy's perimeter, the staffs were able to keep their personal phones, allowing them to call people outside.
"Hello, Ma? Why are you calling at this time?"
[Kathy, there's a young man here… he said he was your friend? I didn't want to be rude since he seems to know you... intimately.]
"...What?" Hearing her mother sounding somewhat playful, Scarlet Mage could not help but furrow her eyebrows as she parked her car to the side of the road.
[Yes, I must say, your taste in men is quite… peculiar. Wait, I will let you guys talk while I prepare him some coffee. Would you like some coffee, dear?]
[I don't drink coffee, madam. Perhaps soda?]
"Who is with you, mother?" Scarlet Mage's eyebrows furrowed even further as the other voice on the line seemed awfully familiar to her.
[Wait, you talk to him while I go fetch us something to drink. Riley, can you talk to Kathy for a while?]
[Of course.]
"!!!"
[Hello Kath.]
"Y… you? What are you…" Once again, Scarlet Mage's breath filled the entire car as they started drumming erratically.
[Your mother is quite lovely.]
"Why… how… how are you there?"
Listening to Riley from the other side of the line, his monotonous voice became even more ominous; Scarlet Mage was not seeing Riley, but Darkday's mask.
[I am not really here, this is just a clone I left before moving into the Academy.]
"W… what?"
[Well, please do your best in the Academy. I will take care of Leslie, so please focus on getting information about Mega Woman. Good luck.]
"W… wait--"
[Let me help you there, Leslie.]
[Oh my, you don't have to.]
Before Scarlet Mage could finish her words, the other side hung up.
"Fuck… fuck… fuck!"
Scarlet Mage hit her horn several times as she tried dialing back, but no one was no longer answering. She wanted to call the other Supers she knew outside, but what could they do?
She was wrong, she was truly wrong. Riley Ross looked young so she thought there was a chance for him to change-- but she always forgets one crucial thing.
Riley Ross is Darkday…
...and she was now working for him.
***
"Pft."
Riley Ross was now inside his dorm room; spacious, but unnecessary dark. Each student of the academy was provided a private room, as one could not really have two super teenagers sharing a room together. And like the rest of the Academy, their rooms were also well protected; and also seemingly soundproof, as Riley's laugh just bounced from the walls.
Riley's hands were trembling as he stood in the darkness, his smile still growing from the small laughter that escaped from his mouth.
"This… is quite fun, isn't it?"
And so ends the first day of Riley's little adventure in Mega Academy.. Truly, he was looking forward to the days to come.
Chapter 20"Riley Ross belongs to the Potential Villain list!"
"Woah, calm down."
Inside the teacher's lounge, a group of instructors was currently chatting with each other, letting their bodies be absorbed by the seemingly luxurious sofa that the Academy has provided for them. There was one instructor, however, whose red hair was currently bobbing up and down as she slammed her palm numerous times on the table in front of her; almost spilling the coffee of the other instructors.
"What has gotten into you, Scarlet Mage?"
"Put Riley Ross in the Potential Villain list!" Scarlet Mage once again repeated her words as she once again slammed her palm on the table; if it wasn't for her holding her mask, it would have probably already fallen off.
"Did something happen? You were the one that was adamant that he doesn't belong there," Spectacular Mustache Man squinted his eyes, his mustache slightly fidgeting as he stared inquisitively towards Scarlet Mage.
Riley Ross is Darkday-- words that Scarlet Mage so wanted to say utter. But alas, the only thing that came out of her mouth was a stutter, "N… no, I think I was just wrong in my assessment!"
Scarlet Mage was careful not to slip; if it was any other villain, then Scarlet Mage would have probably already exposed his true identity. But this was Darkday-- add the fact that he had a clone outside of the Academy ready to do his bidding, she truly was in a very… delicate situation.
"I have already told you, he belongs in the Potential Villain list and should be given priority," Nightwalker slightly adjusted his blindfold as he joined in on the conversation.
"R… right; I let my emotions get ahead of me," Scarlet Mage nodded her head, "Riley Ross should have--"
"Care to share your assessment, then?"
Before Scarlet Mage could finish her words, small gasps could be heard whispering through the lounge as a muscular man clad in full white armor suddenly approached Scarlet Mage and the others.
"You are talking about my son, correct?" And without even being invited, Whiteking sat beside Nightwalker, placing his cup of coffee on the table as well.
"That's…" Scarlet Mage could not help but take in a gulp as Whiteking suddenly joined in on them. Riley had already told her that Whiteking didn't know his true identity; but could she really believe the words of Darkday?
Riley Ross can lie, that much was evident. For all they know, Riley Ross might not even be autistic-- just a psychopath that completely lacks social awareness. But whatever the case may be, she should still tread lightly in dealing with anything that involved Riley Ross, especially Whiteking, as he was part of the Hope Guild.
"Whiteking," Spectacular Mustache Man carefully stroked his mustache as he looked Whiteking straight in his goggles, "I believe you joining us is inappropriate, as we are currently discussing Riley as a student."
"I think your mustache is inappropriate," Whiteking quickly replied, "And I am not here as Riley's father. As long as we are inside the Academy, he is but another student and will receive no special treatment of any kind-- I believe you have the same opinion, considering you also have your son enrolled here?"
"..." Spectacular Mustache Man did not really answer as he just let out a small sigh.
"I am not here to cause trouble," Whiteking also let out a sigh of his own as the mouth part of his white full-face mask suddenly opened up; allowing him to take a sip of his coffee, "I am truly curious as to why you think Riley belongs to the Potential Villain list."
And then suddenly, not only Whiteking, but Spectacular Mustache Man and Nightwalker also had their eyes on Scarlet Mage.
"W… well--"
"Did something happen between the two of you?" Whiteking then followed, "I heard you gave him a ride in your car yesterday-- and also dragged him to your car before that."
"W… what!?" Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache stretched almost a meter as soon as he heard Whiteking's words, "Student-teacher relationship on the first day of school!?"
"Hm," Nightwalker only covered his mouth in shock.
"What!? No!" Scarlet Mage quickly waved her hands, "It's not that! Riley Ross did something--"
[Instructors, please head to your designated classroom.]
But before Scarlet Mage could explain, a loud announcement reverberated throughout the teacher's lounge.
"...Did my son do something inappropriate to you?" Whiteking's voice lowered.
"What… no, it's not that!" Scarlet Mage once again waved her hand, "Nothing sexual happened!"
"Let's continue talking about this later," Spectacular Mustache Man let out a long and deep sigh before walking away. As for Nightwalker, he was already nowhere to be found.
"I will talk to Riley about this, you do not have to worry," Whiteking said before standing up, "And if you feel like he belongs to the Potential Villain list, then you can put him there-- as I said, no special treatments."
"Wait, please don--"
Once again, Scarlet Mage was interrupted as a pair of wheels suddenly emerged from Whiteking's ankles, wheeling him away at an incredible speed.
"..." Scarlet Mage could only blink her eyes a couple of times as she was left all alone by her colleagues. The others were on their way to nurture the future superheroes that would one day save the world; she, on the other hand, was on her way to a room that contained the most diabolical thing in the world.
How was she even going to teach the students if all she had in her mind was that Darkday was sitting amongst the other young students?
"...I want to retire."
***
"Bro, okay. Legit, why did the instructor call for you yesterday?"
Meanwhile, in Class 1-V, Gary was currently right in front of Riley, staring at him straight in the face as he leaned over Riley's part of the table, "I also saw the two of you alone together here yesterday, spit it out, boy."
"Don't spit!"
Silvie, who was sitting beside Riley, quickly moved away as soon as she heard Gary's words. With how Riley acts, she wouldn't be surprised if he did suddenly spit out, literally. However, she quickly returned to her seat afterward, as she too was quite curious as to why Riley was suddenly called by Scarlet Mage yesterday.
"We were just talking about her mother," Riley then said as he tried pushing Gary away, "She's a common acquaintance."
"You… know Scarlet Mage's mother?" Gary squinted his eyes, "Wait… so you know Scarlet Mage's true identity!?"
"Gary!"
Silvie quickly covered Gary's mouth, almost crushing his head, "Please keep quiet!"
"Who… who is she?" But still, Gary was able to let out a word.
"I can't say," Riley shook his head, "It's illegal to reveal the identity of the staff or any other individual that is wearing their superhero costume-- according to the handbook."
"We can't know the teachers' identities but they know ours?" Gary furrowed his eyebrows, "Well, not surprising considering our government," Gary then burst out in laughter as he tapped the table several times, once again garnering the attention of the other students.
Daniel Espinoza, the one who Riley fought yesterday, could not help but click his tongue as he looked at Riley and the others having fun. Although most have already forgotten about it because of Silvie and Hannah's fight, the humiliation was still fresh in his mind.
"Let it go, man." And it would seem that his group of friends notice his frustration as well, as they all let out sighs as they noticed the look on Danny's face.
"He is friends with Silvie, you should have seen her fight at the mall; she almost obliterated her opponent."
"Tch, why are you guys so scared?" Daniel crossed his arms, "Watch me, I will become the best--"
"Please return to your seats."
Before Daniel could finish his words, Scarlet Mage entered the room. And seeing the somewhat strict look on her face, the only thing the students could do was follow her instructions.
Gary, however, raised his eyebrows a couple of times at Riley before proceeding to sit beside him, gesturing all sorts of obscenities with his finger. This did not escape Scarlet Mage's eye, but the only thing she could do was hold in her frustration.
It would seem that a weird rumour was traveling the Academy. But perhaps… this could be a good thing?
If it was found out that they have some sort of romantic relationship, wouldn't the two of them be kicked out of the Academy? With that thought suddenly circling in her mind, she could not help but look towards Riley.
That was a good plan, was it not? Riley would also not be able to blame her, as it would be the school that would decide their expulsion. She could do that, she could certainly do that.
"Holy shit, she's staring at you, man," Gary whispered, "Is there really something going on between the two of you? You even know her mother."
"Yes," Riley nodded his head as he whispered back, "There is something going on between us."
"!!!" Even Silvie, who was trying hard not to listen in on the two's conversation, could not help but take in a short but deep breath. She had heard of stories between student and teacher, but to think one of her new friends in the Academy is experiencing such an act… truly, it made her somewhat excited.
Scarlet Mage was completely oblivious of the conversation going on between the three; however, it would seem one way or the other, all of their thoughts were not that far from each other, but at the same time, completely different.
Scarlet Mage was still deliberating on whether or not she should enact her plan. But for now, it didn't matter-- she still had students to teach, she was already here, so she might as well do the job the government hired her to do.
And so, after letting out a long and deep sigh, she scanned each of her students-- trying her best not to falter from Darkday's presence.
"We had a mock battle yesterday to show you your place as a superhero," Scarlet Mage said as she started walking around the platform, "And in relation to that, one must also know the extent of one's capabilities-- the limit and control of your powers."
Scarlet Mage then pressed something on the tablet she was holding, turning on the gigantic screen in front of the class.
"Your names are listed in groups," Scarlet Mage said, "And each member of your group will have a similar ability to what you have, so please familiarize yourself with their names… They are your competition, but at the same time, you can learn from each other. So I want all of you to group up according to the list on the screen."
"Ah, I guess we're together, Silvie!" Gary had a wide smile on his face as he quickly approached Silvie, who had a somewhat shocked expression on her face as she saw Gary's name besides her. Granted, she had not seen Gary using his powers yet, but she never imagined he would have a similar power. Well, seeing as there were 4 other names on the group, her powers weren't really that rare.
"..." As the students were starting to find their group, Riley remained stagnant on his seat. Although his name was listed with 10 other people, he had no idea who they were-- and no one was really approaching him. Considering he was one of the few people who fought in the mock battle, then it was given that they should know what his power was.
But alas, no one was calling him.
Scarlet Mage, who quickly noticed this, could not help but let out a scoff. Serves him right, she thought. Someone like Darkday should be left all alone; he deserves to die alone with no one by his side.
"..." However, for some reason, the longer Scarlet Mage stares at Riley, the more the smile faded from her face-- instead, a feeling she couldn't explain was starting to build up inside her as she saw Riley sitting alone. She just concocted up a plan to pretend having a relationship with Riley to have them both kicked out of the Academy-- but at this point, is she…
....actually starting to truly feel concerned about him?
Chapter 21No.
If Scarlet Mage could slap herself at this moment, she probably would have. To feel sorry for the most heinous and evilest supervillain in the world? The young man who literally has her and her mother hostage? Was this some sort of Stockholm syndrome?
Or perhaps, Riley had some sort of power to bewitch people? Was that it? Was Riley actually bewitching her right now? It made sense that he would have that kind of power-- it was an evil power, after all.
If that was truly the case, then Scarlet Mage would try her hardest to resist it. It might be hard since she was planning to have them both kicked out from the Academy by pretending to have a romantic relationship with him, but since Riley is still indeed just a minor, there was no way that she would actually fall in love with him even if he has the spell to do so, right?
...Right?"
Scarlet Mage looked at Riley one last time before shaking her head. She might be working for him now, but it wasn't her responsibility to hold her hand every single time. If Riley was destined to be alone, then so be it.
She knew she was starting to sound contradictory, but she truly can't do anything at this point.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Riley Ross, please go to your group."
But alas, after only a minute, Scarlet Mage pointed towards a group of students that were on the most left corner of the classroom. Riley is evil, who knows what he might do if he felt like he was being isolated?
Yes. Surely, that was the only reason why Scarlet Mage helped him.
...Right?
As Scarlet Mage was busy with her thoughts, Riley slowly made his way towards his designated group-- students that also had telekinetic abilities. And as soon as he joined them, the telekinetic students, who were previously chatting with each other, all quieted down.
Riley, however, did not seem to mind as he just took his seat along with the others.
"..."
"..."
"Talk to him."
"No, you talk to him."
"I don't even know what we're going to do yet."
Whispers travelled through Riley's ears as most of the group looked at each other, gesturing to who should approach Riley. But finally, after a few more seconds of this somewhat awkward situation, one of the female students in the group approached him.
"Your name is Riley, right? I'm Bella," The girl lightly flicked her shoulder-length brown hair before letting out a long and deep sigh, "We were just discussing each other's powers, so I feel like it's fair you should join us instead of brooding in the side."
"What are you doing!?"
One of the other girls in the group tried to pull Bella away, but she just nonchalantly waved her hand, saying it was alright.
"Are you guys retards?" She then said, "Why are you isolating people like it's the god-damn 80s?"
"Didn't you see what he did during the mock battle yesterday?"
"I did, and so?" Bella lightly nudged her nose as she let out a small scoff, "It's called a mock battle for a reason, did you think they're just going to shake hands?"
"That's…"
"No need to be too harsh, my sweet Bell," a slightly feminine male student, who looked awfully similar to Bella, suddenly danced his way towards Riley, waving his hand all over the place before sitting at the desk in front of him, "They just do not appreciate beauty when they see one."
"You're the creepiest one here, Ben."
"Ah, such hurtful words. Why don't you soothe my heart, Riley?"
"The two of you are twins?" Riley did not seem to mind Ben's somewhat coquettish behavior as he took a slight glance at the two.
"How I wish we weren't," Bella rolled her eyes as she slowly returned to where she was previously sitting, spinning her chair and sitting on it backwards with her legs wide open, "But yes, sadly so."
"How curious..." Riley muttered, "...the two of you seemed to have swapped sexual preferences?"
"See? I like you already, you're very perceptive and blunt," Bella let out a chuckle as the group of girls that she was previously chatting with all moved away from her, "Unlike these fake young'uns."
"...Why are you talking like an old man, quit being so disgraceful," Ben shook his head as he leaned closer towards Riley, "What do you say we leave all of these normies and go through a perilous journey on our own?"
"I am afraid you can't really go out of the Academy," Riley shook his head, "It's against the rules."
"Pft," Bella suddenly burst out in laughter as soon as she heard Riley's words, although there wasn't anything remotely funny with what he said. Seeing this, the other members of the group could not help but look at each other.
It would seem they have their hands full. They thought that the only weird member of their group would be Riley, but it turns out they have the whole package with the twins.
"So, I suppose we should start introducing ourselves again now that we're complete?" Bella then once again stood up as she looked at Riley, "I'll start-- my name is Bella Jackson, I have the power to move all sorts of metal with my mind, so I guess that counts as telekinesis and that's why I am in this group."
"And I am Benjamin Jackson, but all of you may call me Benjaya."
"No one is going to call you that."
"Shut up, it's my turn!" Ben hissed at his sister before once again quickly composing himself, "And like my sister, I could also control metal; but with more grace and control, like the fleeting wind in a warm summer."
Ben then elegantly waved his hand, causing almost a hundred tiny steel balls to fly out from his pockets; and with every flicked of Ben's fingers, the metal balls arranged themselves into all sorts of shapes-- a bird, a tree, and even the face of a human.
"Our father also has the same power, so--"
"Shut your mouth, you idiot!" Before Ben could finish his words, a metal plate suddenly covered his entire head, "We're not supposed to reveal anything about our family's background!"
Ben seemed to be saying something, but only muffles and noise whispered through the air as Bella seemed to have no plan in taking the metal plate off. There was a slight ringing as Ben tried to control it, but it would seem his sister's raw power was greater than his as the only thing he could do was budge it a centimeter.
"This is probably the best time for the others to introduce themselves," Bella then said as she looked at Riley, "Go ahead, Riley."
"Okay," Riley quickly nodded his head as he stood up from his seat, "My name is Riley Ross, I am currently 16 years old. I can move things with my mind, also known as telekinesis. I was born in Ohio, my biological mother was--"
"That's too much information!" Bella quickly waved her hands as she gestured to Riley to stop talking. Afterward, the rest of the group introduced themselves, but aside from the twins, the rest aren't really anything special. One had the ability to control water, and it would seem he was placed in the group since he could not conjure it, unlike Hannah who had the ability to summon fire.
And finally, after a full hour, Scarlet Mage, who had been keeping quiet on the stage, called for everyone's attention.
"Alright, now that all of you are acquainted with each other, it's time to have a little contest," Scarlet Mage said as she walked towards the door, "Please follow me outside."
"What? Again?"
"Aren't we supposed to be learning? Why are we having curricular activities again?"
And as soon as the others saw Scarlet Mage leaving the room again, they all could not help but let out their complaints. They already had a mock battle yesterday, and considering they were going outside again, they will surely be having a sort of physical activity.
"Seriously, what did you guys expect?" Bella, on the other hand, could only roll her eyes as she was the first one to move in her group, "This is a school to train us to become superheroes, did you really think we're just going to sit down, learn history and stuff?"
"Actually, they're also going to teach us normal school stuff," Ben, whose head was finally free, quickly rebuked his sister, "Specially tactics and how to deal with supervillains and stuff like--"
"That's not normal school stuff," Bella once again rolled her eyes as she pulled her brother away, "Let's go, let's go!"
"No, save me, Riley!"
"No," Riley shook his head as he too started walking out of the classroom. But before he could walk out of the door, he quickly turned around as he felt a certain pressure starting at him; only to find Gary still gesturing obscenities with his hands as he mouthed Scarlet Mage's name towards him.
And as soon as Silvie saw this, she quickly slapped his hands, before gesturing to Riley not to mind him.
"Interesting friends," Bella, who also noticed this, could not help but comment.
"They're not my friends," Riley quickly replied as he shook his head.
"Really?" Bella's eyebrows rose as she looked back and forth between Riley and the two, "You chat with each other, joke with each other, and spend time together-- that makes you friends."
"Is that what friendship is?" Riley muttered, "I have only known them for a day, I believe friendships are built with time."
"Oh my dear Riley, that is where you are wrong," Ben gracefully freed himself from his sister's grip as he once again danced while following behind Scarlet Mage, "Friendships bloom even in the most unexpected places, even at the most unexpected times. Time is but a decoration."
"..."
"What does that even mean?" Bella let out a long and deep sigh as she heard her brother's words, "Don't mind him, he wants to be a writer so his mind is a bit off."
"I see," Riley nodded, "And you, what do you want to be, Bella?"
"...Me?" Bella was slightly surprised with the sudden question, "I... don't really know, a superhero, I guess? It's really the only thing I could think of."
"I see."
"What about you?"
"An astronaut."
"What are you, a child?"
"No, I'm 16 years old."
"Nevermind."
Bella did not really ask any further, as they just continued to quietly follow Scarlet Mage across the gigantic hallways of the Academy. Most of them thought that they were going to the training hall where they had their mock battles yesterday, but instead, they were taken outside and into a wide-open field.
Once again, the students could not help but think of how big the entire area of the Academy was.
There were also other students from the other classes, but unlike with the training hall, the other classes were too far away to even hear each other.
"Alright, gather up," Scarlet Mage then clapped her hands as she asked her class to gather in front of her, "Our activity for today is simple. I want all of you to try and overpower the rest of the members of your group, while also trying to learn from each other's abilities if you can."
"Overpower? Another contest of who is stronger?"
"Ack, but Silvie is in our group!"
"This should be fun, setting up hierarchies!"
"Quiet down!" Scarlet Mage once again clapped her hands, "I want all of you to set up and find places for your group before I explain further and we could proceed with the activity. But first, I need someone to officiate and watch the skirmish with me. So...
...Mr.. Riley, sit this one out."
Chapter 22"Mr. Riley, sit this one out."
"..."
"See? Even the instructor thinks he is dangerous."
"Hm."
The voices of the students whispered through the vast field as they all turned to look towards Riley. Although most of them did not think much of it, the ones in Riley's group, however, were all breathing sighs of relief. Although they don't know how strong Riley truly is, they knew he didn't know how to hold back.
Since their current activity had something to do with overpowering each other, Riley was a very dangerous element in their group. And so, with Scarlet Mage calling him away, most of them rejoiced.
"Heh, too bad. I wanted to see how strong you are," Bella let out a small breath as she shook her head, "There's always next time, I guess."
"Watch us dance, Riley dear," Ben added.
"I suppose," Riley nodded before making his way towards Scarlet Mage; and as he did so, he once again felt an ominous aura piercing through him. He quickly looked towards the direction where it was coming from, only to once again see Gary moving his hands in a very obscene way; his smile almost reaching his ears.
However, this time, a slight sizzle started to smoke from his hands, causing him to instantly stop. Scarlet Mage could let it pass once, but doing it a second time? She wouldn't just let him off without a warning.
"You sure do have a weird taste in friends… as expected," Scarlet Mage said as Riley stood beside her.
"They are not my friends. And why did you call for me, Scarlet Mage?"
"I just needed someone to assist me in overseeing the activity."
That was a lie, of course. Riley was dangerous, and she would be damned if she allowed him to hurt any of her students. Although she felt a little uncomfortable seeing Riley isolated for some reason, it has to be done.
She was the only one in the entire Academy that knew of his true identity, and as a superhero, her first priority was to keep all of the children safe.
"I see," Riley nodded, "I thought you were thinking that I would hurt them. But you have my word, I will not kill anyone since I am currently in retirement, Scarlet Mage."
Hearing Riley's whispers, Scarlet Mage's eyes started to twitch. Not kill anyone? He almost spooned out someone's heart during the entrance examination, he almost gouged out someone's eye during the mock battle yesterday, not to mention he threatened to torture her mother if Scarlet Mage ever reveals his identity.
"..." But then again, he really hasn't killed anyone ye--
Scarlet Mage quickly shook her head; why was she trying to give Riley an excuse herself? Was she right? Did he really have the power to entrance and bewitch someone!?
"Let's not talk about this here," Scarlet Mage then quickly said as she once again shook her head, "We're student and teacher, s… so, let's pretend to be one."
She then stuttered as she let out a slightly awkward, but alluring smile towards him-- Yes, this was the start of her plan. Besides preventing Riley from hurting the other students, she would also make sure that they would be seen as some sort of… couple.
It was hitting two birds with one stone. If the students began to suspect they have some kind of romantic relationship, then the Academy would have no choice but to kick out the both of them-- limiting Riley's hostages.
"Okay," Riley, on the other hand, seemed to be completely oblivious to her advances, "So what did you want me to do, Scarlet Mage?"
"R… right," Scarlet Mage then cleared her throat as she faced the other students, "The activity for today is more than just a contest of strength, it's also a chance to learn more about your powers from others that have the same power; But with that said, it's still a competition, and as such, those who come out on top of each of the groups will be given 1,000 Mega Points to spend around the Academy."
"!!!"
Scarlet Mage's words completely woke the students up. 1,000 Mega Points? How many lunches could they buy from that? Some of them also saw that the Academy was also selling all sorts of things-- even vehicles. Most of them were minors and weren't allowed to drive outside, but since motorcycles and cars were being sold here… doesn't that mean they could use them?
And so, with those thoughts lingering in the air, the fires in the students' eyes were almost enough to burn the field of grass they were in. There was one student, however, whose eyes were slightly confused.
"Uhm, Ms. Scarlet Mage."
While the other students were busy thinking of the things they could buy, Silvie Savelievna stepped forward, "What about me, what do I get if I come out on top?"
Silvie had unlimited MP, 1,000 Mega Points meant nothing to her.
"Nothing," Scarlet Mage quickly said, "But you have everything to lose."
"W… What?" Silvie could not help but blink a couple of times after hearing Scarlet Mage's words.
"Your group is in luck. Since you're currently the Mega Student of the Academy, they will have a chance to take that title from you."
"Mega Student? Is that what the top student is called?"
"She has unlimited MP?"
"How is that even fair!?"
"Who is thinking of these names!?"
Those who were still not aware of Silvie's status could not help but look at each other in shock. Unlimited MP? So she was allowed to buy everything the Academy had to offer if she wanted to? What kind of privilege is that!?
...And why is she not using it!?
While the other students were still in shock, Silvie's group, on the other hand, all had weird smiles on their faces. To think they would actually have the chance to become the Mega Student, and all they had to do was defeat Silvie.
Perhaps they could just gang up on her?
"Alright, I will explain the rules," Scarlet Mage then clapped her hands as she gestured to the students to calm down, "You can't hurt your opponent."
"Wait, what?"
"Teach, how are we going to compete against each other if we're not allowed to--"
"As superheroes, we are seen as a beacon of hope. As much as possible, we only neutralize our enemy-- and one way to do that is to completely overpower them," Scarlet Mage explained before the complaints of the students could get worse,
"Of course, hurting our enemy is unavoidable and is more often than not, necessary. But sadly, that's the rule. As to how you can beat your opponent without harming them; well, that is what you will learn today-- be creative.
As for the second rule, one-on-one matches only. It is up to your group to decide what the lineup is going to be... And that's it, you can proceed. But please do know that if my... partner and I see that you have broken the rules, you will instantly lose the right to compete."
And with that, Scarlet Mage floated into the air, her eyes carefully watching the students.
"...That's it?"
"So, we should just start? What kind of mechanics is this?"
"...My power is electrocution, how am I not going to hurt anyone with this?"
"Tickle someone into submission?"
"That's… actually a very good idea."
"...Is it?"
The whispers of confusion littered the air as all of the students looked at each other for answers. If anything, their activity for today was somewhat philosophical in nature; To make someone submit without hurting them? What sort of zen bullshit was that?-- most of them thought.
"Tch, this is why you normies won't succeed in life. With the mock battle yesterday, as well as the sanctioned duels around the Academy, you all should have known what this school is all about."
Bella, however, cracked her knuckles as she proceeded to step away from her group, "Come, brother. Let's show these fools how to do it."
"...Me?" Ben blinked his eyes a couple of times before following his sister, "I… actually also have no idea what to do, but alright. A battle between siblings, Ben and Bella, how dramatic!"
"And here I thought we were on the same wavelength, watch me!"
And as soon as Bella said that, the ground beneath them began to tremble.
"Gah!" Bella began to scream, garnering the attention of the whole class. Bella's veins began to pop out from her black skin as her face started to become pale-- obviously straining her muscles as she continued to roar.
The others were slightly confused as to what she was doing, but as the tremble in the ground slowly turned into a quake, their eyes could not help but widen.
"Is she… trying to lift something beneath the ground!?" One of the members of her group shouted.
"No fucking way!"
"But she could only bend metal, right? What is she trying to lift… a water pipe or something!?"
"Grah!" Bella's scream became louder and louder. But alas, before the others could find out what she was truly doing… her screams abruptly stopped and her body dropped to the ground like a ragdoll.
"..."
"..."
"Did she just faint?"
"Bella!" Ben quickly rushed towards to hug her sister, checking if she was still breathing-- and considering her slightly ample breasts were beating heavily, she was. "I will avenge you, my dear sister. In my dear life, I will avenge you!"
"..."
"...Well, at least I got an idea as to what I will do now," one of the members of the Telekinesis group muttered as he stepped forward, ignoring Ben's wails as he challenged one of the other members.
It wasn't only him, the other students who watched Bella's display finally also had an idea as to what to do. One of the ways they could win without hurting someone was to show the difference in strength, to showcase what they could do.
To scream to your opponent's face that you are superior-- Bella tried to do it, but alas, she overestimated herself.
And so, soon, the students in each group began challenging each other. Scarlet Mage, who saw this, could not help but let out a long and deep sigh. In truth, even she was slightly confused with this activity. She was only following the syllabus given to her, and she would lie if she said she herself wouldn't have trouble in this curriculum.
"That student called Bella is strong."
"Righ-- Wait, what are you doing here!?"
Scarlet Mage almost fell to the ground as Riley was suddenly floating in the air beside her, "You said I should watch them, and that is what I am doing, Scarlet Mage."
"I... I see," Scarlet Mage quickly composed herself as she turned her attention back to her class. It would seem that some of them are starting to battle it out, but most were still confused as to what to do.
"..."
"..."
"..."
But after a few seconds of silence, the feeling of Darkday quietly floating beside her made her nerves slightly rise in levels.
"If... if you were still participating in the activity, what would you do?" And so, after a few more moments of deliberation, Scarlet Mage asked the question she was most curious about. This was a rare chance to get insight into the mind of a supervillain, especially from someone as ruthless as Riley.
"Am I allowed to hurt their families?"
"No!"
Surprisingly, Scarlet Mage felt Riley's heart fluctuate a little as soon as she uttered the question. She could even see Riley slightly uncomfortable as if he was truly deliberating his answer.
And finally, after a few more seconds, Riley answered.
"I'll cut off their nerve endings, making their feeling of pain--"
"No, you're not allowed to harm them, remember!?"
"But if they don't--"
"Forget it!" Scarlet Mage shook her head in disappointment. What answer was she expecting? And here she was thinking that Riley would actually take her question seriously. Or maybe he was, and he truly can't think of anything but to hurt people.
He is Darkday, after all.
"I will destroy this place."
"Hm?"
"I will destroy this place without hurting anyone," Riley repeated, "I am sure that would be enough to neutralize them."
"I see." Scarlet Mage nodded as she let out a short but deep sigh before letting out a small smile. It would seem Riley was capable of not hurting anyone after all. But by the gods...
....It was a good thing he pulled Riley away from the activity.
Chapter 23The students of class 1-V continued with their activity; and with the thundering noises that were echoing through the air, it would seem that the other classes had begun their exercise as well.
"...Interesting."
It had not even been a quarter of an hour since the activity had started, but it would seem that one of the groups in Scarlet Mage's class has already reached their conclusion. Scarlet Mage slowly floated towards the group, who only had one remaining student standing still.
"..." Riley also followed Scarlet Mage, his eyes looking at the 4 students that were completely unconscious on the ground.
"This… is the Telepath group, yes?" Scarlet Mage then approached the only student left standing.
"...Y… es," the young man said, the tone of his voice filled with laziness and a little lag.
"Can you tell me your name and state how you… are the only one left standing in your group?"
"Name… Cedrick," the young man mumbled, "Il...lusion, they are dreaming…"
"..."
"...right now."
"I see," Scarlet Mage quickly nodded as soon as Cedrick finished explaining, which took almost 15 seconds. She then asked Cedrick to retrieve his ID card, before quickly grabbing it and tapping it on the tablet she was holding.
"Here you go, I added 1000 MP to your account," Scarlet Mage said as she placed the card back in Cedrick's pocket herself, "Just wait on the side for now while we wait for the others to finish up."
"O… kay," Cedrick lazily said as he slowly walked towards a nearby tree for shade.
Cedrick Atkinson-- if Scarlet Mage wasn't mistaken, he was in the Potential Villain list along with many other students. And seeing as he was able to overpower the rest of the members of his group, she had to add priority to his name.
The Potential Villain list, as the name suggests, was a list of students that were deemed to have the most potential to go to the dark side if left unchecked. Scarlet Mage has screened almost a thousand students in the span of weeks, and she didn't want to admit it, but almost 20% of the students belong to the list-- and there were probably more, who were just good at hiding their alignment.
As someone on the list, they were given more attention than the other students; to intervene and hopefully change them before they were sent to the outside world… if they were sent outside. Scarlet Mage had no idea what the Academy was planning for the students who are still on the list by the time they graduate, but she was hoping it wouldn't lead to something drastic.
There were five more in the Potential Villain list in her class, excluding Riley. She was having second thoughts about putting him there now, as her plan to pretend to be a couple was her number one priority so that he would be kicked out of the Academy.
If he was put on the Potential Villain list, then he might be transferred to another class since there were already too many in her class.
"Interesting. Cedrick can create illusions, Scarlet Mage?"
"Shouldn't you know by now that powers aren't created equal?" Scarlet Mage raised her voice, making sure that the other students could also hear her, "Along with our activity on the first day, this activity is also trying to show you that even though you may have people with the same powers as you, that doesn't mean you aren't unique. There are certain ways to master your powers, you may lack raw power; but in return, your control would be better."
Although the students were busy with their matches, those who were watching could not help but nod their heads. They already saw how one of the students of the Telekinetic group fainted due to overusing her power-- she had raw power, but she certainly lacked control.
"I wasn't aware they could do that," Riley once again whispered close to Scarlet Mage's ears, "I usually kill them first since they used to be able to read my mind."
"U… Used to?" Scarlet Mage was trying her best to ignore Riley's warm breath crawling down her neck. She did say she was going to pretend with Riley, so she should get used to this kind of… intimacy, "What do you mean used to?"
"Telepaths could no longer read my mind, Scarlet Mage," he replied, "That is why I wanted to kill you in the first place since the way you read people is different from the rest."
"I… I see," Scarlet Mage didn't know whether to be proud or scared of the fact that Darkday saw him as a sort of a threat. No, it was definitely both a blessing and a curse-- there was a reason that she was the only one that knows Riley's identity, and she would make sure to fulfill it. And so, once they were kicked out from the school, her responsibility will finally start.
She was now calling this-- Operation 'Turn Dark into Light'.
"I should probably incapacitate Cedrick for life," Riley then once again let out a whisper.
"Don't!"
The exercise continued, with most still not being able to reach a conclusion. But surprisingly, Silvie's group now only had her and Gary left standing. It would seem they were having a contest of strength… through arm wrestling.
Perhaps this was also the reason why most of the groups still hadn't finished their matches since all of them were engrossed with Silvie's match. Scarlet Mage told them to focus on their own matches, but they immediately went back to watching Silvie and Gary.
And so, with a sigh, Scarlet Mage could only do the same. Even more than the Potential Villain list, the Mega Student is their number 1 priority. Of course, for Scarlet Mage, Silvie was only 2nd to Riley.
"I guess it's you and me then, Mega Student… pft."
"Please don't."
Silvie could not help but groan in frustration as she saw Gary trying his best not to laugh; but knowing him, he was probably just doing it deliberately to annoy her. But it wasn't entirely his fault, though. Who in their right mind even decided to call the top student that way?
This is what happens when you give old people the power to name things.
"Let's do this, old friend."
"...We've only known each other for a day," Silvie rolled her eyes as she walked towards the large stone they were having their arm wrestling match on, and considering all the dents and cracks on it, their group has used it well.
"Eh, what about the entrance exam day?" Gary let out a slight gasp as he placed his elbow on the boulder, "I thought we've made a solid connection there, my heart bleeds at this betrayal… I thought you were my friend!"
"...I am?" Silvie blinked a couple of times as she grabbed Gary's hand, "Then no hard feelings after I am done with you?"
"Ho, is that the confidence you got from being the Mega Student?"
Silvie's eye could not help but twitch from Gary's words. But after a few seconds, she let out a long and deep breath; she shouldn't let herself get distracted and be dragged into Gary's words-- after all, that was one of the reasons he won his matches.
"Let's just start in 3."
"Alright."
"1,"
"2,"
"3!"
"!!!"
A thunderous noise exploded in the air as the grass waved in a ripple. The students who were near the two also could not help but slightly back away from all the debris and dirt that was being thrown around as the boulder the two were leaning on dug through the ground.
"S… shit, you're not going to let me win?" Gary chuckled nervously, "Let me win… i'll return the title to you next week, I just really want to buy that bike."
"No."
"...Then just buy me one?"
"No."
"...A loan?" Gary muttered as their arms both began to tremble, with the boulder they were leaning on digging through the ground even further, causing them to slouch.
"..." Silvie wasn't going to lie, but she did not expect Gary to be stronger than the rest of the members of her group; but at the same time, she also could not help but be happy. Throughout her life, she was surrounded by nothing but walls; as well as people that were too fragile that they might possibly break from her touch.
But now, being surrounded by friends that are somewhat at the same level as her, she felt… safe.
Hannah was undoubtedly strong as she already experienced fighting with her firsthand, and she would only grow stronger. Gary had similar abilities to her, so they would surely have a lot to talk about in the future. As for Riley… he had this mysterious air around him, but with all the things he had been showing so far, she knew he was the same as her-- always holding back.
And as soon as she thought of that, their hands which had been remaining equal for a full minute now started to move, with Silvie pushing Gary's hand downwards.
"Tch," Gary's teeth started to show as the veins on his neck started to pop out, his grip growing stronger as he tried his best to fight back.
Silvie slightly lightened her grip so as to prevent hurting him. She really had to admit it, Gary was strong, but sadly...
...it wasn't enough, "Please stop this...
....you're only going to end up hurting yourself."
Chapter 24"Please stop this… you're only going to end up hurting yourself."
Silvie made sure to lighten her grip, allowing Gary to realize that she was only holding back so as to not hurt him. Gary, however, took this chance to push her hand away. But alas, the difference between their strength was starting to show as Silvie quickly held her ground.
"You… really want to win this badly?" Silvie furrowed her eyebrows.
"I guess?" Gary once again chuckled, before gritting his teeth to the point that it was starting to bleed.
"Stop, Gary. You're not going to win."
"I won't!"
"!!!"
Another thunder reverberated in the air as the boulder they were leaning on slowly began to crack. And due to Gary's sudden rise in power, the back of Silvie's palm almost touched the surface of the boulder.
If it wasn't for her also increasing her strength at the last second, then she would have probably already lost. Seeing this, she realized that she was probably overestimating her strength, and should probably already end this if she didn't want to lose.
"I'm sorry, Gary," Silvie then whispered, "But you still lack the training."
A sort of ringing vibrated in the air as Gary's hand started to be pushed back, with the tremble of the boulder matching his struggling arm.
"Stop struggling."
"I said no!"
Silvie could not help but squint as Gary's eyes started to emit a bright red light.
"What are you doing!?" Silvie yelled as her eyes also emitted a red light, "Did you really want to win this badly!?"
"Sadly so," Gary once again chuckled as he turned his blazing eyes towards Silvie, "You're strong, I am sure this is only going to tickle."
"Are you crazy!?" Silvie screamed, "Miss Scarlet Mage!"
"That's enough!"
Scarlet Mage quickly rushed towards the two to stop them as soon as Silvie's voice reached her ears. She was just going to watch at first to see how the situation was going to unfold because Gary didn't seem to be that aggressive, but perhaps she should have stopped it earlier knowing what she knows.
Gary Gray-- one of the 6 in the class that belonged to the Potential Villain list.
"Never!"
Even though Scarlet Mage was already on her way towards them, Gary didn't seem to have any intentions of stopping as his eyes grew even brighter and started to emit a trail of smoke.
"D… don't," Silvie was also ready to release her heat vision, but when she saw the crazed look in Gary's face, the only thing she could do was close her eyes and look to the side, gritting her teeth for the pain to come.
"Stop!" The strands of Scarlet Mage's hair stood up as she raised her hand, the grass beneath her feet started to dance as a clump of air seemed to have gathered on the palm of her hand; and without even a moment, the clump of wind shot towards Gary.
But halfway through it, Gary let out a shout as the light in his eyes started to become a beam, its path straight towards Silvie's face.
"Oh, fuck!" Gary moved his head to the side, as if trying his hardest to avoid hitting Silvie with his heat vision, but by doing so, the beam his eyes were emitting lost control, shooting towards the other students that were near them, "I can't stop it!"
Scarlet Mage increased the output of her power to push Gary away, but to her surprise, instead of shooting faster… the ball of wind that she summoned completely dispersed.
"!!!" She did not let herself panic, however, as a wall of earth quickly emerged in front of her. She was about to trap Gary inside of it, but once again, she felt a strong resistance that wasn't allowing her to control the wall.
"S… shit!" This time, she allowed herself to panic as she quickly looked towards Gary, but to her surprise, no one was screaming; instead, everyone was completely silent as they all watched as Gary's heat vision seemed to have stopped midway as if some type of glass was blocking it from moving.
"You're not allowed to hurt anyone, Gary. The same goes for you, Scarlet Mage."
"That's…"
Scarlet Mage then turned her eyes towards the somewhat cold voice whispering in the field, only to see Riley slowly descending from the air, landing right in front of the end of Gary's heat vision.
"I… I lost control of it, I didn't mean to!" Gary then started to panic, his heat vision not showing any signs of stopping, "I was only going to scare Silvie!"
"I see," Riley then said as he stepped forward. The loud gasps of the students quickly filled the air as soon as they saw this, some of them closed their eyes, not wanting to see Riley get burnt by the beam.
However, contrary to their expectations, the beam started to shorten. It was as if it was trying to avoid Riley, becoming shorter with each of his steps.
"W… what," Scarlet Mage could not help but take in a gulp as she saw this. Her wind magic dispersed, the resistance she felt with the wall of earth that she summoned… and now Gary's beam just stopping short of hitting Riley in the face.
Was this… all Riley's doing? It might have seemed like a minute, but everything happened almost in just a moment. Riley stopped everything almost simultaneously? Forget about his raw power, even his control was out of this world. Once again, Scarlet Mage was reminded of a simple fact-- Darkday was able to beat Mega Woman.
His power… is abnormal.
And now, Riley was standing only a meter away from Gary, with the beams already starting to flicker on his face as Gary's strength slowly began to reach its limit.
"You and Silvie Savelievna are slowly becoming a dear friend to my sister, Gary," Riley then whispered as he looked at Gary straight in his glowing eyes, "If you do this again, I will gouge out your eyes."
"R… roger that," Gary weakly said as his heat vision flickered once more, before fading completely with a slight sizzle, "Thanks for stopping--"
But before he could finish his words, he was suddenly blown away by a wall of earth.
"..."
Riley blinked a couple of times as the voice that was just talking in front of him turned into air. He then turned his head towards Scarlet Mage, whose eye was currently twitching nonstop. Her hand was still currently pointed forward, making her the obvious culprit.
"You broke your own rule, Scarlet Mage," Riley then let out a sigh.
Scarlet Mage then quickly rushed towards Gary to check up on him, but not before stopping in front of Riley and whispering something loudly in his ears, "You should have at least warned me you were going to let go of the wall!"
"I am so disappointed in you, Scarlet Mage," Riley clicked his tongue several times.
"Ugh!" Scarlet Mage then threw her tablet towards Riley, "Just call for a medic!"
And so, after the medics came and took Gary away, the class… safely continued with their exercise. Perhaps because of what happened, it would seem they became a lot more careful so as to not repeat something similar from happening.
They were supposed to be having their first class with another teacher after this, but after what happened, Scarlet Mage decided to let everyone go back to their dorms to rest instead. Of course...
...everyone except Riley.
As soon as the other students saw this, they all started whispering to each other. Some of them have heard that Scarlet Mage personally dropped Riley off at the dorms, and now this blatant favoritism and inappropriate whispering to one another.
Did… they actually have a thing?
Scarlet Mage, who saw the students looking at her and Riley while they exchanged their whispers, could not help but nod in satisfaction. Spreading the rumours is only the prologue of her plan, if she wanted the Academy to have a reason to kick them out, then she should commit to her role.
"Was there something else you needed from me, Scarlet Mage?"
"Yes, I… have information about Mega Woman," Scarlet Mage slightly stuttered as she tried to look Riley in the eyes.
"Already?" Riley furrowed his eyebrows, "What is it?"
"It is sensitive… information," Scarlet Mage took in a gulp, "So… let's… let's talk about this in my apartment?"
The first part of Operation 'Turn Dark into Light', officially starts now.
Chapter 25"Just… just make yourself at home, okay? I am just going to take a shower."
"What for?"
"I… I just need to clear my head so I can give you the information about Mega Woman clearer."
"I see. Then you may do so, Scarlet Mage."
"R… right."
"..."
The muffled sounds of the shower whispered into the air as Riley was left alone in Scarlet Mage's living room. The only thing that Riley could do while waiting for Scarlet Mage was look out the window wall, which surprisingly, had a somewhat amazing view.
The apartment provided for the teachers of Mega Academy was beside a man-made lake, and since Scarlet Mage's apartment was located on the 8th floor, you could even see the school building from there, but still not outside the walls that surrounded the whole Academy; a testament to how tall it truly was.
Riley had already thought that the rooms provided for the students were already quite luxurious and spacious; but seeing the teacher's apartments, his room suddenly felt subpar. Just how much budget did the world government actually allot for the Mega Academies? And considering there were more in other countries, they truly have been preparing for this for a while now.
They even have a colossal dome, which replicated the sky, protecting them from being seen by the outside world from above-- that alone would have been costly. Not to mention the technology needed to create and maintain everything. The technology here… was almost alien.
Mega Woman came from another planet; perhaps it has some sort of correlation? Maybe she even provided and shared the technology? But Mega Woman was against something like the Academy being built… So what exactly was going on here?
"What are you thinking about?"
"That was quick, Scarlet Mage," Riley then quickly turned around as he heard Scarlet Mage's voice, "Did you make sure to wash everything?"
"I did!" Scarlet Mage could not help but groan in frustration as soon as she heard Riley's words. She was wearing a robe that almost exposed most of her skin, and that was his only reaction? Shouldn't guys his age be panicking right now as his hormones turn crazy? Even if he had a form of autism, it shouldn't mean Riley wasn't able to feel his prepubescent urges, right?
"..." Scarlet Mage could only furrow her eyebrows from the dangerous thoughts in her mind. If this were any other case, then she would definitely lock herself up in jail for having thoughts like this towards a minor. But this was Darkday, so there should be an exception; and besides, she was doing this for a good cause-- and perhaps the only cause that matters right now.
She even made sure that the curtains to her apartment were fully open, and the cameras in the entrance of the apartment were able to see her and Riley enter, and hopefully, someone reports them to the higher-ups so both of them would be kicked out-- this is, after all, the first part of Operation 'Turn Dark into Light'.
"A… and please, call me by my real name when we're alone," Scarlet Mage then said as she sat on the sofa, crossing her legs as she started drying her black hair, which was previously red.
"You… could also change the color of your hair? That is a very weird power, Scarlet Mage."
"No, it's a wig and a part of my costume," Scarlet Mage let out a small giggle, "And please, call me by my real name while we are alone. It's weird being called Scarlet Mage without wearing the mask."
"If you are more comfortable with that, Katherine."
"R… right," hearing her name being called by Riley, she could not help but look to the side as she felt her face slightly warming up, "Anyway, what were you thinking about earlier?"
"I was thinking about Mega Woman."
"I… see," Katherine held her breath upon hearing Mega Woman's name coming up. She told Riley that she had information about her so that he would follow her here, but in truth, how could anyone gather information just after a day? And why would she even do that in the first place?
"And so?" Riley said as he slowly approached her, "What news do you have of her, Katherine?"
"That's… Maybe you would like some coffee first?" Katherine, however, suddenly stood up from her seat, trying her best to avoid the topic. And perhaps due to the force of her standing up, or maybe even perhaps subconsciously deliberate, her robe loosened.
"!!!" She quickly covered herself up, but not before Riley was able to see her finely shaped breasts bouncing lively. She so wanted to run away and scream in frustration, but no-- the mission comes first.
And so, the only thing she could do was slowly turn her eyes towards Riley to see his reaction, "Did you see my--"
"I don't drink coffee, Katherine. But perhaps if you have milk?"
"..." Was that some sort of joke since he saw her breasts? Or did he really just want milk? But considering the deadpan way he just uttered that, it would seem that he didn't even care that he saw her breasts.
Impossible. Even insects copulate, it's in the nature of every living being in the world. Riley should feel something.
"Did you see my breasts?" Katherine could not help herself from asking, the tone of her voice unwavering.
"I did," Riley quickly answered.
"And?"
"It is irrelevant in our current situation."
"You…" Katherine's eyes could not help but twitch upon hearing Riley's words.
Irrelevant!? Doesn't he know how many fanfictions she has in Blueit? There were hundreds, some even written in another language. She knows she should feel relieved that Darkday didn't have any sort of feelings for her, but seeing him without his mask and looking like a not-so-normal and slightly attractive person; for some reason, there was this growing sense of… wanting validation from him.
She knows it's wrong, but she just couldn't help it. It was final, Riley did have enchanting powers. It might just be some sort of Stockholm syndrome, but she was betting on the former. Evil, truly evil.
"Don't… you feel anything?" But contrary to her feelings, she didn't back down.
"About your breasts?"
"Yes, about my breasts! What else!? Do you not feel anything while looking at me!?"
"Should I?" Riley squinted his eyes as he looked at Katherine from head to toe, "You are very beautiful, Katherine."
"W… what?" Katherine could feel her legs turn weak from suddenly hearing Riley's words.
"I could say I feel lust," Riley then stood up from his seat, slowly approaching the slightly fazed Katherine.
"W… what?" Katherine could only repeat her words, "W… what are you doing? What's happening, why can't I move?"
"I am not using my powers, Katherine," Riley said as he slowly lifted Katherine's robes, slightly exposing her breasts, "Yes, it is lust I feel. Is that what you wanted to hear from me, Katherine?"
"T… that's not what I--"
"I know," Riley then let out a sigh as he fixed Katherine's robes, tying it tight so it won't fall off again, "My mother told me that lust is fleeting and that what women really want is love. But love, in my mother's knowledge, happens instantly, but could develop as long as it wants to take… and blossom eternally."
"..."
"And if that is what you wanted to hear, then I apologize," Riley then returned to his seat as he looked to the side, "You and I both know that something is mentally wrong with me, Katherine. I do not think I am capable of feeling love."
"..." Any nervousness or silliness that circled around Katherine disappeared as she saw the look on Riley's face. He… wasn't really expressing anything and still held the completely stoic look that seemed to be his default resting face. It might just be her imagination, but Riley… felt lonely.
It was almost as if he was fragile and could break at any moment. She thought that Riley was most human when he emits his Darkday aura, but seeing him like this now… she just could not help but hug him.
"What are you doing?"
"!!!"
What exactly was she doing!?-- Is what she wanted to ask herself as her arms suddenly wrapped around Riley. The last time she touched him, she was almost choked to death. Realizing this, she quickly pulled herself away, putting up some sort of wind barrier between her and Riley.
However, contrary to her expectations, Riley remained sitting.
"You… are not going to kill me?"
"Why would I do that?"
"B… because I touched you? You said it in the car yesterday, that no one is allowed to touch you."
"You're not just no one, Katherine."
"That's…"
"You're my first subordinate," Riley let out a sigh, "And it is common for subordinates to feel awed by the presence of their master, I have watched it on TV during a documentary of a country in Asia."
"...Right." With the way Riley was talking, it was as if he was saying that Katherine was just a tool. And would one be mad if your screwdriver touches you? Her analogy was somewhat flawed, but it was the only thing she could think of right now.
"So it's alright if I touch you again?" Katherine then quickly said, her tone a little agitated from the thoughts that she was having.
"If that will finally allow you to tell your reports about Mega Woman, then you are free to do so."
"Fine," Katherine then stomped her way towards Riley, stopping only a foot away from him before slightly crouching on the floor in front of him, "Can I touch your chest, then?"
"It's fine, I am giving you permission to read my heart," Riley nodded before letting out another hurried sigh.
"..." As for Katherine, although she was a bit agitated from the way Riley was treating her, it doesn't mean she wasn't feeling nervous; this was Darkday, after all. And so, the only thing she could do was take in a small gulp as her hand slowly made its way to Riley's chest.
"Are you really only 16 years old?"
"I am."
"Then aren't you technically just a child?" Katherine muttered, "How… are you capable of doing the things you do?"
"Because I have power."
"Then why are you doing it? Killing millions of people, torturing heroes on live TV… killing… killing helpless children and elderly," Katherine's voice started to stutter as she remembered all the things that Darkday has done, "How…
....how are you able to live with yourself?"
Chapter 26"You have killed millions of people, tortured heroes on live TV, killed defenseless children and elderly. Just…
...How are you able to live with yourself after all the things you've done?"
The trembling of Katherine's hand was making enough noise to whisper throughout her entire apartment. If she wasn't making perhaps the most important breakthrough in the entire world, then she would have definitely already let herself faint.
In front of her was Riley Ross, Darkday himself… and she was touching him literally close to his heart without being choked to death. She couldn't help but think if any other superhero other than her had touched him like this, without any hostility.
She then slowly looked straight into Riley's blue eyes that almost seemed like the clearest of skies; from this distance, she could even feel their breaths mixing with each other. But this did not let her resolution waver, however, as she once again repeated her question,
"How can you live with yourself?"
"Because I am not dead, Katherine."
"I know you know what I am asking! I know you're just playing dumb, Riley."
"...You are very brave. I am sure not many would hold that tone towards me," Riley then let out a short breath as he slightly glanced at Katherine, before once again looking to the side, "Very well, since you are my first subordinate, then we should establish a sort of trust with each other--I learned that in a clip I watched."
Katherine could not help but take in a nervous gulp. This is it, she truly was going to learn more about Darkday.
"It is exactly because I did what I did that I am alive, Katherine," Riley answered, "If I do not kill or hurt people, then there is no point in me being alive-- I was born to be Darkday."
"That is not true. You're just ill," Katherine shook her head, "And like any disease, it is treatable. Do you know how many people you could have helped instead with how powerful you are? If you only worked with Mega Woman?"
"How curious, Mega Woman asked me the same before I killed her."
"!!!"
Katherine almost retracted her hand there and then, but something inside of her fought back and remained to resist the urge to cry and run away.
"Well, I suppose I did not kill her since she is still alive," Riley then placed his hand on his chin, squinting his eyes as if he was deep in thought, "I do wonder how she is recovering right now."
"L… let's talk about that later," Katherine stuttered, "Right… right now, we're establishing trust, right?"
"I suppose."
Katherine could not help but let out a long and deep breath as Riley shrugged his shoulders. She was talking about trust, but if Riley knew that she didn't actually have information about her… then wouldn't that make her the bad guy since Riley was answering all of her questions?
Wait, no. What kind of dangerous thought is that? She almost screamed in her mind; just because the Riley in front of him right now looked decent and not the Darkday she imagined at all, she was being swayed into thinking all sorts of thoughts.
"Then to answer your question, then the world would probably be at peace if I used my power to help people."
"Since you know that… then why… kill people? What made you become like this, Riley? What made you become a supervillain?"
"This is something you don't understand, Katherine. And perhaps even I myself do not understand it," Riley then gently grabbed Katherine's hand as he stood up, lifting her with him. This made Katherine slightly flinch and step back, but once again, she fought the urge to run away.
"In the stories I have read and watched, they said that villains all had a reason for what they were doing; that they were heroes in their own stories. Not me…" Riley then leaned closer to Katherine,
"...I was born evil."
"T… that's…" Katherine could not help but slightly lean her head to the side as Riley's warm breath, which smelled like lavender mixed with menthol, wafted across her ear, "That's not possible. No one is born evil, Riley… even the Devil was once good."
"Then is that not because he is not, in truth, truly evil?" Riley then leaned back as his eyes once again gazed at Katherine's, "When did I make my first appearance, Katherine?"
"W… what?"
"When did I first publicly appear as Darkday?"
"I… 3 years ago?"
"4 years ago, I was 12."
"..." Katherine did not know whether to be scared or relieved that Riley was capable of smiling from remembering his childhood.
"I remember it clearly," Riley breathed, "I borrowed one of father's motorcycle helmets, then washed the blood it accumulated after I was done-- I killed my first superhero then, as well as several other citizens."
"W… Whiteking was not able to notice?"
"Bernard is quite stupid when it comes to his family, Katherine. But that is not the point of the retelling of my past," Riley shook his head as he once again sat down.
"!!!"
And due to him doing so, Katherine stumbled as he was still holding her hand, causing her to fall directly on top of him. And before she could even pull herself away, Riley continued talking.
"My point is that I wore a mask so that I could freely kill people, Katherine. Not to steal, not to wreak havoc, not to make a statement, but to hurt people…
...and I killed even before that."
"W… what?" Katherine completely forgot to pull herself away now, as she just remained frozen still, with Riley's breaths crawling down her neck and all the way to her breasts, causing her to slightly shiver.
"There's this urge inside of me, Katherine; that is telling me to slit your throat right now."
Katherine could not help but slightly cover her neck with her shoulders as Riley's index finger started sliding across it, "But I won't do it, because I am in retirement, and you are my subordinate."
"T… thanks?" Katherine muttered randomly.
"The same could not be said about your mother, however," Riley then once again whispered into her ear,
"So stop seducing me, Katherine."
"W… what are you saying!?" Katherine's heart almost jumped out the same time she did as she quickly leaped away from Riley. Did… did he know about her plan? But how!? Isn't he supposed to be unable to perceive feelings of love? Was that a lie?
"I… I am a teacher and you are a student, that is inappropriate!"
"But right now, you are Katherine and I am Riley; not even Scarlet Mage and Darkday," Riley then stood up as he slowly made his way towards Katherine, "It is quite a brilliant plan, Katherine. Having us both kicked out so that I could no longer hold the other students hostage, you truly are a kind woman… I almost feel sorry for blackmailing you."
"I am not trying to seduce you!"
"Then I suppose you're only wearing a loose robe in front of a young man because it's hot?" Riley continued to slowly move towards Katherine.
"It's… Isn't this because of one of your powers!?"
"...Hm?" Hearing Katherine's words, Riley could not help but stop in his tracks, "One of my powers?"
"Yes!" Katherine yelled as she waved her hand while trying to cover herself, "You have the power to entrance people! You're bewitching me right now and making me feel like I am falling in love with you! I could think of no better power for someone evil like you!"
"..." Riley immediately closed his eyes, trying to think if he truly had that kind of power. But no matter how much he scoured his mind, he could not find a semblance of what Katherine was saying,
"...I don't have that kind of power," Riley furrowed his eyebrows; Katherine could even see a hint of discomfort in his face, "And even if I do, I would not use it, it's disgusting."
"L… lies!"
"I have no way of proving to you that I do not have that kind of power, Katherine."
"Then I will be the one to prove it!" Katherine then suddenly rushed towards Riley, closing her eyes as she was only a foot away from her. But before she could reach him, she felt herself slowly floating in the air.
"What are you trying to do?" Riley slightly leaned his head in confusion as he looked at Katherine, who had her eyes closed and her lips slightly in a pout.
"G… god damn it!" Katherine wriggled in the air as soon as she opened her eyes, "Kiss me! Kiss me and prove that you're not using your powers to bewitch me!"
"Your anxiety is at a very high level right now, Katherine," Riley shook his head as he dropped Katherine on the floor, "You are not thinking straight, it seems we should talk about Mega Woman's current situation some other time."
"N… no!" Katherine screamed as her tears started to fall, "Kiss me! Prove to me that you are not using any mind tricks!"
"I do not have the power to make people love me, Katherine, but since you are my first subordinate and we're establishing a sort of trust…
...Then very well."
"Wh-- hmph!?"
Chapter 27"!!!"
"!?"
"..."
"..."
Katherine Read-- discovered her powers at the young age of 3 when she almost drowned in a tub. Her mother had left her to bathe herself since someone knocked on their door, but unknowingly, she left the water running.
Of course, even then and until now, Katherine never blamed her. She was a single mother, who could barely even make ends meet. She never really asked, but it would seem her father died during an accident.
But long story short, as soon as her mother remembered that she left the water running, she rushed back to their bathroom, only to find water floating everywhere. The water gushing out from the tap was also flowing up, instead of down.
Her mother tried to hide the fact from other people first, but as soon as Katherine was able to think for herself, she trained. She used most of her childhood and teenage years to hone her powers, in hopes to help her mother as well as many others like her.
Hanging around? Friends? Dating? She chose not to indulge herself with those, even as many approached her. There was only one goal in her mind-- and that was to become a superhero.
It may sound cliche, but she thought she was given the power to help people... and so she did. And soon, due to her ability to control the elements even as a rookie superhero, she was branded as the Scarlet Mage. Of course, it might have also been to the fact that she wore a red-colored wig.
Everything was going smoothly for her; she was able to help people and even manage to imprison some villains. She had also met like-minded people, other superheroes that shared her enthusiasm... but then Darkday happened.
She had faced opponents stronger than her before, but she always manages to win due to the masterful control of her power. But when she faced Darkday, it was as if all hope was sucked from her.
She couldn't remember whether she begged for her life, but she could remember peeing herself from the fact that she knew that Darkday was not going to spare her; after all, she was surrounded by the corpses of several other superheroes already.
If it wasn't for Mega Woman coming to her rescue, then she would have already truly died. This incident did not make Katherine despair, however, as she even strengthened her efforts to help people, knowing that there was a darkness out there that could not be contained.
And now, in the mouth of that very same darkness, she was sticking out her tongue. She could feel the darkness slowly wrapping her entire body, her hairs standing on their ends as Riley's tongue wrapped around hers.
This… could be considered her first kiss, wouldn't it?
She knew it was wrong, immoral, inappropriate, illegal, and many more negative words she could think of. But for some reason, feeling Riley's warm lips covering hers... she did not want to let go.
So she was right, Riley did have the power to entrance people. But right now, she didn't care as she slowly wrapped her arms around Riley, pulling him closer to her even to the point that her loose robes started to slide across her arms, exposing her ample breasts once more.
She feels warm, very warm. The darkness that she thought would be cold had covered her entire body with warmth; it was warmest between her legs, as she could feel something trailing down on her skin.
"Hn," a small moan then escaped from her mouth as Riley touched her arms; but it was followed by a small gasp as Riley leaned back his head, pushing himself away from her.
"Does that satisfy your curiosity, Katherine?" Riley then coldly said as he wiped his lips, "I do not know what you intended to discover by this, but I assure you, I do not have--"
And before Riley could finish his words, Katherine once again placed her lips on his. "Y... you're lying. Why... why do I feel so warm?"
"...I will see you again tomorrow, Katherine." Riley, however, once again pulled his head away, immediately proceeding to walk away.
"W... wait! T... that's it!?" Katherine reached for Riley's hand, but she found that she could not do so as if an invisible wall was between them.
"You are my first subordinate, Katherine. I have read that it is not professional to have sexual relationships amongst colleagues," Riley said as he faced Katherine, "But considering it's not in the Academy's handbook... maybe it's alright?"
Riley placed his hand on his chin, before grabbing a handbook from his pocket.
"..." Katherine, whose breaths were still completely stuttered, could not help but slightly furrow her eyebrows. However, without her knowing, her eyes travelled towards the mid-section of Riley's body... just below his waist. And as soon as she noticed a certain bulge extruding from his pants, she quickly took in a short but deep breath.
"Y... you, that's..." Katherine stuttered as she pointed at the bulge between Riley's legs, "Why is it like that!?"
"It's natural, Katherine," Riley looked at the direction Katherine was pointing to before shaking his head, "I am still human. It would seem that this entire exchange truly has clouded your judgment, making your intellect dropping several numbers. I will see you again tomorrow, Katherine."
"W... wait, you're just leaving!?"
"I am," Riley then casually walked to the door, "I enjoyed this experience, Katherine. Thank you."
"T... take away your enchantment! Set me free, please!"
"I wish I could, Katherine. But I do not have that power."
"Y... you're lying! Then why am I still feeling this way!? That was my first kiss!"
"I see, congratulations. Mine…
...was with Mega Woman."
"W... what?"
Katherine immediately dropped to the floor, and could only watch as Riley casually left his apartment as if nothing happened between them.
"What… what's with that?" Katherine then whispered as she slowly curled into a ball, "F… fuck… what's happening to me? I'm so stupid… so fucking stupid!"
She then started hitting her head as tears started to fall from her eyes. She then quickly stood up, running towards the sink in her kitchen. She wanted to throw up, she wanted to wash away Riley's saliva from her mouth…
...but she couldn't.
The only thing she did was touch her lips, reminiscing the events that have just passed. This is wrong, she knew it was wrong. She knew what she was feeling, it was Stockholm syndrome. She… was even starting to look forward to seeing Riley again tomorrow.
Mad. She was slowly turning insane.
"..."
"..."
"...No." And instead of her puke, it was her tears that fell on the sink. "Why… why did it have to be me?" She then whispered as her whole body began to tremble, her voice starting to become crazed.
"..."
"..."
And then slowly, her hand reached towards the knife nearest to her. Riley was evil, there was no denying that; for her to develop feelings for him was nothing short of disgusting. But even so, her mind and her body seemed to be telling her otherwise.
Maybe it was because he was the first of the opposite sex to even be this close to her, maybe it was just because she had been holding herself back as a woman all these years; there was none other to blame than herself, she thought. But no matter what the reason is, it was leading her to a very dangerous path-- a road with Darkday.
And before she continues to walk on this road... she will end it.
"M... mom, I'm sorry." She then whispered as the cold steel of the knife touched her wrist, "I... I'm sorry for involving you in this."
She knew that if she died, there was a chance that Riley would kill her mother. But even so... even so, she could not risk truly falling in love with him. The things he has done, and the things he would do in the future, Katherine did not want to be a part of it.
She wanted to be a superhero for as long as she could remember-- and she is... and she would die as one.
*KNOCK*
"Riley!?"
But before the knife could slit across her arm, a knocking could be heard from her door, making her completely drop the knife and rush towards it. However, as soon as she opened the door, a mass of white armor completely covered her vision.
"Whiteking!?"
Scarlet Mage quickly covered her face... as well as her body as soon as she realized that it wasn't Riley, but instead his father that knocked on her door.
"...I see," Whiteking then nodded as his eyes looked at Scarlet Mage from head to toe, "You do not have to worry, I know the identity of each of the superhero in the Academy... Katherine."
"W... what do you want!?" Scarlet Mage then quickly rushed to her room, before quickly returning now fully clothed in her costume.
"You're not even trying to hide it."
"W... what? Get out!" Scarlet Mage was currently not thinking straight. How could she? When the father of the young man he so passionately kissed just moments ago was now staring at her. How was he even here in the first place? She was sure that Whiteking did not get an apartment in the Academy.
"You have a relationship with my son," Whiteking then said as he entered Scarlet Mage's apartment without even slight hesitation, "It was Prophet that told me."
"Pr... The headmaster knows!?" Scarlet Mage then let out a slightly crazed chuckle, "Then... then are they kicking us out? I could understand why, I... let me get my clothes. I am very sorry for having a relationship with your son. I know it's ina--"
"And it's been approved."
"...What?"
"My son is a special case, you see. And never once in my life that I would think that he would ever find someone to fall in love with," Whiteking then nodded his head several times as his eyes travelled all across the room.
"So I am here to tell you that you do not need to worry about anything, Prophet is a close friend. Your relationship with my son... has been approved by him. No one will be questioning anything when you're together," Whiteking once again nodded with excitement as he winked at Scarlet Mage, "Take care of my son, Katherine."
"Wait... what?"
"And since Riley was just here a few minutes ago..." Whiteking then cleared his throat as he once again glanced at the almost bare-skinned Katherine, "...I see you are taking care of him quite well, please continue to do so in the future."
"Wait, no. What are you--"
"Alright, that's all," Whiteking then raised both of his thumbs towards Scarlet Mage, before abruptly leaving the apartment, "Please use protection."
"..."
"..."
"Are you... fucking stupid!?" It would seem that what Riley told her was right. Whiteking... is quite reckless when it comes to his children. And so, with her being left alone once again in her apartment, she once again fell to the ground.
And then slowly, instead of tears, her laughs travelled across the room as a crazed smile slowly crawled on her face.
"What... what do I do now?"
And just like that-- the first part of Operation 'Turn Dark into Light' has completely been neutralized.
Chapter 28It's only been the 3rd day since the official start of the school year of Mega Academy. Riley's class, Class 1-V, has not even had a normal lecture and has only been doing combat exercises.
And yet, it almost felt like it had been a year for her. Meeting Riley, finding out he is Darkday, her and her mother's life being threatened, being seen almost completely naked by Riley, kissing him-- all of these might as well be spanned in a year.
But no, it only happened in the span of 2 days. And perhaps the craziest part would be that Mega Academy itself allowed her 'relationship' with Riley, completely making her 'Turn Dark into Light' plan fail miserably before it could even start.
But now, all of that is over. Since there was no use in pretending to be a couple with Riley, she was no longer going to lead him on or make any inappropriate advances. Right now, the only role she was going to play was his instructor, nothing less, nothing more.
She had also spent the entire evening researching about Mega Woman and her whereabouts, asking different colleagues and such-- but they all held the same answer; none of them knew. They know she is being kept in a very strict facility by the government somewhere, but knowing their reach, she could be anywhere from America to the Philippines.
Heck, she might even be on the moon.
"..." And now, without any leads, Scarlet Mage could not help but be slightly anxious as to her next private meeting with Riley. If he knew that she was lying to him and that she didn't really have any information… would he choke her again?
"!!!"
Scarlet Mage quickly shook her head off of the thoughts she was having. Choke? Why did she go straight to that conclusion instead of Riley just killing her? This… is dangerous.
"Ms. Scarlet Mage?"
"Hm?"
"What… are we going to do today?"
"R… right!" Scarlet Mage quickly stood up from her seat as she realized that all of her students were now right in front of her; and instantly, without knowing it, her eyes found their way towards Riley; who was lazily looking at her with his cold, alluring blue eyes that looked like the clearest of skies.
And as soon as their eyes met, Scarlet Mage could not help but quickly look to the side, before clearing her throat and explaining their activity for today.
"Hero names."
And like a bell that woke up each member of the class, all of their eyes turned to look at Scarlet Mage.
"All superheroes have it, our whole identity is based around it. But rarely, do we get to choose our own names," Scarlet Mage then walked around the stage as she looked at the excited faces of her students, "Mine was chosen by the masses, Scarlet Mage."
The students started to cheer upon hearing her name. Scarlet Mage, however, shook her head with a sigh.
"That wasn't actually the name I wanted for myself-- I wanted to be Shinebright."
"Pft," The sound of Gary's snort quickly echoed throughout the room, causing some sort of domino effect that made the other students also let out a small and tiny chuckle; but still, they all tried to cover their mouths so as to not disrespect their advisor.
Silvie quickly shushed, her eyes traveling all around the class as she tried to stop them from laughing; however, in truth, she too was trying her best not to let out a snicker. Perhaps the only one that didn't have a reaction to hearing this was Riley, who seemed to even be nodding his head in agreement.
"It is fine to laugh," Scarlet Mage then shook her head as she let out a smile, "I know how lucky I am that I didn't go through with the name, or else I would be greeting all of you with Shinebright every day."
"Pft!" Gary couldn't help it anymore as he slammed his palm several times on his desk as he burst out in laughter. This time, however, he was the only one that laughed as the rest of his classmates stared at him.
Who even laughs at that kind of joke? But as soon as they remembered Gary's actions yesterday, most of them quickly came to the conclusion that he was just crazy. In fact, one could even say that Riley was now starting to look like the normal one between the two-- one might call him cool.
As a matter of fact, Riley saved some of them yesterday. If it wasn't for him blocking Gary's heat vision, then the ones directly in its path would have surely been injured, or dead. They should probably find a chance to thank him soon.
"Alright, that's actually all I am here to discuss for today," Scarlet Mage then suddenly picked up her things from her desk, "You can wait here or come back in two hours, but Spectacular Mustache Man would be the one supervising the name selections, I suggest you start drafting names now. Dismiss."
And without even waiting for any questions, Scarlet Mage quickly took off.
"...That was abrupt," Silvie could not help but comment as soon as Scarlet Mage left the room, "This is looking more and more like a battle school, isn't it, Riley?"
"It sure is!"
The one that answered Silvie, however, was not Riley, but instead one of the members of the telekinetic group, Bella.
"Especially in your perspective, Ms. Sevelievna," she said as she stood directly in front of Silvie's desk, "I heard you sent the people challenging you into a duel to the clinics again yesterday."
"You… are the one that fainted during the exercise yesterday?" Silvie tilted her head as she tried to remember the name of the boyish girl in front of her, "Ms. Bella, isn't it?"
"...Please forget that memory," Bella chuckled awkwardly, "But yes, the name's Bella. But you can just call me Bell, I am also Riley's friend."
"None of you are my friends," Riley quickly said.
"Oof, cold," Bella sniffled, "And I also heard what you did when I was unconscious. My brother ended up winning in our group… but we both know if you were there, things would be very different."
"I hear my beautiful name being slandered!" And as soon as he was mentioned, Ben danced his way towards their location, stopping right in front of Riley's desk, "And because of that, my dear sister, I will not be sharing you my 1000 Mega Points."
"What!? Not fair, that should have been mine in the first place!" Bella quickly stretched her hands towards Ben. Ben, however, quickly dodged all of her strikes.
"...They are quite a chaotic bunch, aren't they?" Silvie leaned closer towards Riley.
"They are," Riley nodded, "It's as if my sister was split into two people, then sprinkled with a little Gary on top."
"That's… a weird way of putting it," Silvie muttered before glancing at Gary, but quickly avoiding his eyes as soon as he looked at her.
"..." Gary also didn't do anything, as he just sat quietly in his seat. The two really had not gotten the chance to talk yet about the incident that happened yesterday, and with Riley sitting in between them, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
"S… shouldn't we be talking about what our hero names would be?" He then joined in on the conversation before letting out an awkward chuckle.
"What about Micro Man for you, my dear berserker?" Ben covered his mouth before letting out a burst of somewhat coquettish laughter, "As for me, I have already thought of my superhero name even before enrolling here, I want my name to be--"
"Wolframtein."
Bella pushed her brother away as she crossed her arms, "I shall be known as Wolframtein, inspired by the strongest metal known to men!"
"There isn't even an ounce of romance in that name!"
"..."
Silvie could only turn her head from side to side as the twins in front of her started to argue. But a superhero name… Silvie has not really thought of one. Her powers, along with the members of her group, closely resembled that of Mega Woman's; but it's not like she could just go with Mega Girl. That… doesn't sound too nice-- Silvie thought as she leaned back on her seat.
"Gah! Let's think about this later!" Bella then slammed her palms on Silvie's desk, causing her to slightly flinch in surprise, "We have two hours left until the exam anyway, let's go buy some things with the points that my brother got yesterday!"
"What!? Why me!? Shouldn't it be Silvie here treating us!?"
"What are you, a leech?" Bella quickly smacked Ben on the head, "Can't you see she's trying hard not to spend any of her points?"
"What, why?" Ben squinted his eyes as he looked at Silvie from head to toe, "What's the use of your unlimited points if you're not using it!? It is such a crime not to indulge yourself in the wonders of free things."
"Because a superhero would never take advantage of his or her status." And, out of nowhere, Silvie suddenly stood up from her seat as she faced not only Ben but also the rest of the class,
"The unlimited points that I have are not for me to abuse, but to protect. I hold unlimited points because right now, I am the top student; and being the one closest to being the next Mega Woman is not just based on strength, but also the will to do what is right," Silvie continued her impromptu speech, "I am sure that once I buy all the things that I wanted, the Academy will revoke my title-- because that's not what superheroes do."
"..."
"I told you so," Bella once again knocked Ben on the head, "Even I would do the same as her. But still, as expected of the Mega Student, suddenly lecturing all of us plebs out of nowhere," she said before letting out a small chuckle.
"S… sorry," realizing what she just did, Silvie quickly sat back down. Someday, she was sure that her competitiveness would get her into trouble. And before she could even lament her sudden outburst, she heard a clap whisper into her ear.
She quickly looked towards the direction of the cheer, only to see Gary clapping his hands and smiling at her,
"I really can't beat that," he then said before quietly mouthing an apology towards her. Silvie, who saw this somewhat sincere action, could only nod her head.
And perhaps because of her sudden speech, the whole classroom became quiet.
"..."
"..."
And surprisingly, it was Riley who broke the silence.
"Interesting," he muttered as he looked at Silvie, "Everything you said reminded me of Mega Woman, Silvie."
"R… Really?"
"Indeed. If there is a name that will fit you the most, I believe it should be…
...Mega Girl."
"It kinda fits, doesn't it?" Gary furrowed his eyebrows. And it wasn't only him, the rest of the class were also nodding their heads in agreement, letting out sighs of approval.
"N… no," Silvie took in a gulp as a small sweat appeared on her forehead, "Starbright seems nice, right!?"
"..."
"....Guys!?"
Chapter 29Darkday.
Perhaps it was some sort of celestial humor, but like his first subordinate, Riley's supervillain name was also bestowed upon him by another. However, unlike Scarlet Mage, whose name was collectively thought of by the masses, his was given by a single individual.
It was 3 months after his first appearance; when the media and most of the news outlets in the US were only just starting to get a hold of his deeds from the authorities. The government doesn't generally announce the rise of a new supervillain, not until they were sure that they were truly a threat to the country.
Most of the wannabe supervillains mostly just end up as normal criminals; apprehended by either the police or the superheroes before they could even cause a miserable chain of events that would warrant them being tagged as a supervillain. This helped minimize the panic of the citizens, as the birth of a new supervillain was not to be taken lightly.
Riley has killed a superhero and some civilians during his first appearance-- but that was it. After that, all trace of him was gone. Throughout the 3 months, he truly only made an appearance one in each month; and after the last one, the government no longer had a choice but to let their country know of his existence.
Riley massacred half a thousand people; people who were just casually going on about their days and strolling inside a mall. The media knew of this incident, but had no idea who was responsible for it-- after all, it wasn't until everyone inside the mall was dead that they knew of what happened.
There was only one survivor, Replica Ricky-- a superhero who was able to make copies of himself. He described the perpetrator as an individual wearing fully clad in black and wearing a somewhat oversized jet-black helmet. And as soon as the government got wind of this description, they finally announced Riley's existence.
Replica Ricky told the government that he was able to deeply wound the new supervillain, catching him off-guard at the very last minute. But this didn't seem to faze the villain, as he quickly killed his duplicate afterward.
Replica Ricky was sure that if the villain knew that it was only a duplicate he killed, he would have surely hunted him as well. And all of this information was taken in by the government-- He was, however, still nameless.
Only revealed to the media as to how Replica Ricky described him. But with his existence already out there, every up-and-coming superhero wanted to get a piece of him, waiting for the mysterious black-clad supervillain to once again make his appearance.
And they did not even have to wait long. With Riley's child-like excitement growing with each day, he could no longer contain his urges to bathe himself in the pained screams of his victims. Immediately, a few days after his existence was scattered in the news, he once again made his appearance-- this time right in the middle of the city.
It was just like any other day; until multiple busses filled with people started hovering in the air, covering a part of the city in shadows.
It was just like any other day; until the busses started shooting down from the sky. The fires, the screams, the dust that covered that suddenly the eyes of the people; all combining to create an orchestra of chaos.
It was music to Riley's ears, almost causing his body, which might have been undergoing puberty at that time, to shiver in delight.
The response of the police and the superhero were swift, arriving at the scene not even a quarter of an hour after the busses had fallen. However, one might consider them still too late as hundreds of people had already died.
One of the reinforcements that arrived was Replica Ricky, as he was the only superhero alive that had already encountered Riley. He was with several other superheroes, ready to apprehend and catch this new evil supervillain before he could wreak more havoc.
But alas, they were outmatched. With the media recording live through their helicopters, the world was able to see how Riley slaughtered the superheroes; playing with them like dolls as their bodies were twisted beyond recognition.
It did not even take half an hour, but Replica Ricky has found himself the only survivor once again. The people already mourned for him as they saw the black-clad individual slowly hovering towards him… but then, there was a boom; a whistle traveling in the air that made everyone watching through their screens excited.
The media held the same sentiment, as they all zoomed in their cameras towards the approaching sound.
And there, higher above the skies, a silhouette approached; faster than the speed of sound, and yet held a grace as if in a ballet-- Mega Woman has finally arrived.
She stopped right above all the chaos, looking at the destruction that the new supervillain had caused. There were cars buried inside the buildings, children lying lifeless on the ground… darkness caused by all the dust and debris that floated in the air.
Her eyes continued to wander as she dropped to the ground, searching for the villain that was responsible for all this mayhem-- and yet there was no one.
The media also scattered to look for the black-clad villain, but when they pointed their cameras to the ground again, he was no longer to be found. He disappeared… along with Replica Ricky.
It was right at that moment, when Mega Woman stood right on the center, surrounded with nothing but darkness that everyone realized that a new supervillain had dawned upon them-- one that could not be ignored.
Mega Woman then once again flew to the air, creating a thunderous explosion that cleared out all of the dust; once again allowing the sun to reach the ground and fully revealing the onslaught that had transpired.
And as she reached the sky, she stood in front of one of the helicopters and looked directly in front of the camera that one of the people from the media was holding.
"This… is a dark day not only for the people of this city but for the whole country. This dark day will come again, but I promise all of you… I will be there to put an end to it."
And with a short message, she once again flew away into the skies; leaving the people with a name for the new supervillain-- Darkday.
In a sort of ironic kind of way, Mega Woman was the one who gave birth to the supervillain that would one day be known as the worst of them all.
And Mega Woman did come whenever Darkday makes an appearance, but their meeting would always be brief, as Darkday immediately disappears as soon as she comes to save the day. Their meetings were plenty, but that is a story for another time.
"Bro… you alright?"
"Yes."
Riley's reminiscing was quickly disrupted as he felt a hand approach him from the side, which he quickly avoided.
"Good," Gary nodded as he let out a short but deep breath, "You just kinda spaced out on us while we were thinking of our superhero names. Anyway, listen to this; Silvie is Mega Girl, as you named her. I will be the Dragon Monarch because it sounds hella cool."
"I have also decided on mine," surprisingly, Bella and her brother were still in front of the group, "But I'll keep it a secret until Spectacular Mustache Man arrives."
"Such a romantic, sister. Then I shall also do the sam--"
"Mega Girl isn't decided yet!" Silvie suddenly stood up from her seat before Ben could finish his words. Her voice, clearly showing her frustration before sitting back down, "This is all your fault, Riley!"
"I think it really suits you, Silvie," Riley shook his head before taking a glance at Silvie, "You remind me of Mega Woman, after all."
"Everyone here wants to be Mega Woman, of course I would remind you of her!" Silvie crossed her arms as she pouted.
"Give it up, Silvie," Gary sighed, "Everyone here agrees that--"
"Shut up! I still haven't forgiven you for what you did yesterday!"
"T… that's…" Gary could only let out an awkward chuckle as he once again returned to his seat, dejectedly.
"I am not going with Mega Girl!" Silvie once again repeated and showed her displeasure, "I am sure many others have already thought of it as well!"
"But I think you're the only one that has the right to use it, Silvie." Riley once again shook his head.
"Look, I really appreciate you comparing me to Mega Woman… but I am not going to take that name!"
"I see. That is your choice, Silvie," Riley once again shook his head, this time with a sigh, "It's truly such a shame…
...Especially since you look like her."
"W… what?"
Chapter 30"W… what?"
Silvie Savelievna's hair was of a golden brown hue, leaning towards more to the gold-- similar to Mega Woman. But other than that and her powers, their similarity stops there. No one has seen Mega Woman without the mask that covered the top part of her face fully, perhaps there were records hundreds of years ago, but it's probably long gone by now.
"You know, just because we have the same color and powers doesn't mean we look alike," Silvie's sigh almost traveled throughout the entire classroom, "A quarter of this classroom has the same hair color, and there's even one more in my group. But… thank you for comparing me to Mega Woman."
Silvie then let out a smile, clearly satisfied with Riley's words. After all, to have someone come up to you and say they remind you of your idol-- what greater flattery could surpass it?
"No." Riley, however, shook his head as he looked Silvie straight in the eyes, "You look like Mega Woman, I believe you might even be related to her."
"What… no?"
"Pft," Gary then snickered as he got in between the two, "I think Riley is just trying to woo you with flattery. I think our little Riley here has a crush on you, ooooh shit."
"W… what?"
"Ah, I feel betrayed. I thought we had something, dear Riley," Ben then gently laid down on Silvie and Riley's desk, placing the back of his hand on his forehead as he let out a jesting cry. He was, however, quickly pulled away by his sister.
"Dude, stop. You're embarrassing us in front of the elites," Bella muttered before smirking towards Riley, "Nice one, Riley. First the instructor and now the Mega Student… if only I had the same luck with women."
Gary, Ben, and Bella all started laughing as they all seemed to be harmonizing with each other. Silvie, on the other hand, was as red as a tomato as she covered her entire face.
"W… wait. Is that it!? Are you trying to woo me, Riley!?" She then stuttered, "I… I thought you liked Scarlet Mage? Wait… I don't know what to do."
Silvie then started looking all over the face, clearly bothered and frenzied by Gary's sudden revelation. Seeing this, Gary and the others completely stopped laughing as they all stared at Silvie as if she was some lost cat.
"I am not trying to woo you, Silvie," Riley quickly shook his head, "I only stated facts."
"Y… you're clearly lying! That would mean you've also seen Mega Woman's face!"
"...I suppose that is what it entails, is it not?" Riley then placed his hand on his chin.
"Hey, Silvie. Relax," Gary then raised both his hands as he let out a weak chuckle, "We were just kidding, we all know loverboy here has the hots for Scarlet Mage."
"I don't," Riley once again shook his head.
"Are… you okay, Silvie?" Noticing that Silvie's breaths still had no signs of calming down, Bella carefully placed her hand on Silvie's shoulder to console her, "This raging laser boy is right, we're only joking. There's no need… to overreact."
"R… right, sorry."
With everyone looking at her, Silvie slowly started to tame her crazed breaths as she sat back down. And with a slight wince, she covered her head in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.
"I… I don't really socialize with people that much," Silvie's muffled words then whispered to Riley and the other's ears, "I'm sorry for losing my cool."
"Well, that means you're human like the rest of us," Bella raised her thumbs as she patted Silvie's shoulder, "Look at the raging laser boy, he almost lasered everyone in the class because he wanted to win."
"...I thought you were unconscious when that happened?"
"If my brother saw it, then I know it," Bella then smirked at Gary, "I bet I would have probably destroyed you did something like that to me."
"Oho," Gary let out an amused smile, "Wanna bet, then?"
"Jesus, guys."
However, before anything could happen between the two, Ben stood between them and pushed them away from each other, "Stop oozing too much testosterone, you're ruining my makeup."
"Wait, did you use my makeup again!?"
"...No," Ben whispered before suddenly running away.
"I told you not to use my things!" Bella's screams reverberated throughout the entire class as she quickly chased after Ben, who was heading about to leave the room.
"Lesbians shouldn't be wearing makeup anyway!"-- Was Ben's fleeting words before he disappeared into the hallways.
"Such discrimination will not be tolerated!"-- Was Bella's fleeting words as she continued to chase her brother.
"That's… quite a pair," Gary once again let out an awkward chuckle as he watched as the two disappear from the classroom, "So… we still have an hour left before Spectacular Mustache Man arrives, want to go to the mall again?"
"I'd rather not," Silvie lifted her head from her desk as she shook her head, "The students from the other class would surely challenge me again, I don't want to deal with that while the classes are still ongoing," she then leaned back on her desk as she let out a long and deep sigh.
"I feel you," Gary said as he had actually also been challenged once, "Talk about a flawed system, right? You're the one getting disturbed, but you have to pay 100 Mega Points if you refuse."
"No, it's perfect," Silvie shook her head, "It lets the Academy know the true colors of their students."
"...There's something like that?"
Not only Gary, but the rest of them slowly started to lean their heads closer to Silvie as soon as they heard her words.
"I believe our performance in class is not enough for us to be considered a good student; we're not just trying to become a part of the society here, but be a model for the citizens to look up to," Silvie crossed her arms, "Giving me, the top student, unlimited funds to buy whatever I want, allowing the students to duel for money… I think all of our actions here are being graded in some way."
"You… you think so?" Gary could not help but take in a huge gulp, "So… my mess yesterday--"
"Has probably merited you a negative grade," Silvie then let out a wide smirk, "That's what you get for being too greedy."
"F… fuck me," Gary then slowly stepped back to his seat, lifelessly falling on it as all of his breaths left his entire body. Riley, on the other hand, slightly moved his seat away from Gary. After all, he was not a homosexual.
This minute gesture, however, seemed to have been misunderstood by Silvie as she once again could not help but freeze up from Riley moving closer to her.
"T… that's… Are you sure you are not trying to court me?" Silvie then muttered as her face once again became a tomato.
"No," Riley quickly shook his head. Seeing this, Silvie could finally let out a breath of relief… but also a slight disappointment.
"You are my sister's friend, Silvie," Riley then followed, "Letting you fall in love with a monster is the worst that I could do."
"...Bro, we know you're edgy..." Gary, who was previously thinking about his whole existence, could not help but quietly mutter as he turned his head towards Riley, "...but this is just sad edge."
"You're not a monster, Riley!" Silvie once again stood up from her seat as she raised her voice, "You're not a monster, you're our friend, okay?"
"Yeah man, you can be autistic all you want but never be a downer."
"I… I don't think that's appropriate advice."
"You know what's appropriate advice, though?" Gary then knocked on his desk several times, drumming it to a tempo,
"Edge Lord-- Riley's superhero name. Eh? Eh!?"
"No!" Silvie slammed her palm on her desk, "Since he chose my superhero name, I feel it's just right that I pick his name!"
"Oho, so you're embracing Mega Girl?"
"T… that's…"
"So, pray tell, Mega Girl," Gary breathed, "What name dost thou picketh for our dear Riley?"
"Uhm…" After releasing a short but harmonious hum, Silvie suddenly went quiet as she placed her hand on her chin, taking small glances towards Riley from time to time. But finally, after a few seconds, she raised a finger and stood up, "Aha!" She bellowed, "I think the name Br--"
"Halt! I demand a stoppage in giving names!"
But before Silvie could share her wonderful idea, the thick metal door of their classroom slid open, revealing a muscular, but also posh middle-aged man with a groomed mustache.
Of course, this was none other than their instructor for the day and the one that will be handling their names-- Spectacular Mustache Man. The twins, Ben and Bella, were also behind him, quickly going back to their seats as soon as Spectacular Mustache Man beckoned them to do so.
"Before you finalize your names, I would like to talk to you about a specific individual," SMM said as he tapped the tablet in his hand, and as he did so, the lights instantly dimmed. And before the students could wonder what was happening, the light that they lost was replaced by the gigantic screen in front of the class.
"That's…"
And as soon as the images started to reflect on their eyes, the air was quickly filled by their gasps.
"This is the individual that I wanted to talk with you about-- the man with the most powerful name in the world," SMM raised his voice as he gestured to the screen, "A name so feared, that people start to run and scream just by hearing it."
"..." While the others were clearly uncomfortable from what they were seeing, Riley, on the other hand, could not help but let out an amused but quiet mutter. Because the one currently being presented on the screen right now…
....was none other than him.
Chapter 31"That's… isn't that Darkday?"
"He's so scary."
"His costume is on point, though."
"...But why is the instructor showing him to us?"
The murmurs and whispers of the student continued to fill the entire room with a slight stiffness. Even though it was only an image, they all could not help but feel uncomfortable while looking at it.
They all waited for Spectacular Mustache Man to say something, but after showing Darkday's image on the screen, he became quiet. It wasn't until the students' whispers became weaker that his mustache once again began moving.
"Darkday," he then muttered, "The approximate number of recorded deaths he has caused, as of today, amounts to almost 15 million... and that is only in the span of 4 years."
And now, only Spectacular Mustache Man's voice could be heard lingering in the classroom. The students who were still previously chatting with each other, now had all of their mouths shut as their eyes all landed on the floor.
"The government has not yet released a statement about it. But officially, Darkday is now statistically the deadliest creature on Earth, remotely followed by mosquitoes." Spectacular Mustache Man firmly said as his mustache began moving like it had a life of its own, "He is also the villain who has killed the most superheroes, with most being tortured on camera. But they are the lucky ones... because some are still MIA, presumably kidnapped by Darkday. One could only think what he is doing with them."
"..." The class still remained quiet. As for the individual in question himself, Riley was intensely listening to SMM's every word.
"Most of you probably do not know this, but Darkday is currently also the only living person on the planet that has been deprived of human rights because everyone else in the same situation is dead; We have taught you to neutralize your opponent as much as possible in the Academy, but that does not cover Darkday-- he is to be killed whenever possible."
"...Oh," Riley muttered. To hear all of this information regarding him, Riley could not help but feel amused-- one might even say he was a little shy. He didn't do the things he did for recognition, but to think the world was this interested in him was sort of exciting to hear.
"Now I have a question for all of you," Spectacular Mustache Man then let out a long and deep breath as he looked the students in front of him straight in the eyes, "Do any of you know what the name Darkday was associated with before it belonged to Darkday?"
"...What?"
Once again, the room started to be filled with confusion as SMM's question reached their ears. What was Darkday before Darkday? What kind of question was that?-- Most of them thought. However, after a few seconds of muddled whispers, one of the students stood up.
"Aha!" It was Danny, the student that was able to stretch his body and was almost killed by Riley on the first day.
"Dark Day was a famous band!" He then bellowed.
"Exactly," Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache started to vibrate as he pointed his finger towards Danny, "Dark Day was a world-renowned rock band formed in California back in the 90s. But because of Darkday, they were forced to change their name. Do you know what this means?"
"..."
"Your names can be taken from you," Spectacular Mustache Man then started walking around the stage as he once again looked the students in the eyes, "No matter how badass, no matter how good, no matter how unique your chosen name is-- they can be taken from you. If someone greater, if someone badder, if someone more popular comes along the way that wants your name; I assure you, they will get it."
"..."
"There are many who wanted to claim my superhero name. One even had similar power to mine, able to control and harden his hair… but not one of them succeeded, do you know why!?"
Spectacular Mustache Man's voice started to rise as he stomped his foot on the floor; his voice, causing some of the students' hairs to stand on edge.
"Because I stood tall! Because I proved to the world, by my actions, that I am the only Spectacular Mustache Man in the world!"
"!!!"
And then, all of a sudden, most of the students stood up and started clapping their hands; the sound of their cheers almost seeping from the sound-proof walls of the Academy.
They all knew that the Academy would have them choose their superhero names early, but who knew that it would actually be this dramatic? One might even say ceremonial.
And sure enough, Spectacular Mustache Man's speech inspired all of them; with some even changing the names they have thought of right there and then. The cheering continued on for almost a full minute before SMM raised his hand and started gesturing to the students to calm down.
"Alright, please return to your seats so we can start. You were given a few hours to think of your superhero names, so I assume all of you are ready to present your names in front of the class," SMM said as he walked to the side of the stage, "You also need to share why you chose the name. Now, who wants to go fi--"
"Please let me!"
And before SMM could even finish his words, Silvie raised her hand and stood up.
"Hm," SMM stroked his mustache before nodding, "Of course, the top student wants to go first. I expect nothing less, proceed."
"Thank you!" Silvie took in a deep breath; glancing towards Riley before resolutely walking to the stage without even the slightest of hesitation. She then stood there, facing the rest of her class with a small smile on her face.
"The name I chose for my superhero name… is Mega Girl."
"Hm," Spectacular Mustache Man immediately smirked as soon as he heard the name Silvie chose, "Someone from the previous class has chosen that name as well. Not to mention many new superheroes have tried it, but none of them were recognized and accepted by the people," he then said.
"I do not care, it belongs to me."
Silvie shook her head before once again looking at Riley, "A friend told me that I reminded him of Mega Woman. And for the sole reason that I do not want to disappoint him, I will do my best to not only deserve that name… but to also someday have the right to be Mega Woman."
"...Demn," Gary muttered the collective thought of most of their classmates.
"Good, good," Spectacular Mustache Man could not help but let out a robust chuckle as he watched as Silvie returned to her seat, "That is the kind of fire that I want to see in all of you, now who wants to go next!?"
No one, it would seem as most of the students in the class just started looking at each other.
"And you say I am the greedy one," Gary clicked his tongue several times as soon as Silvie was back on her seat, "And wow, you really chose the name Riley gave you, ha… this is smelling like love AF."
"N… no! Didn't you listen to what I said!?"
"AF?" Riley joined in on the conversation.
"As foretold," Gary snickered, "Loverboy strikes again, maybe that should be your superhero name?"
"It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"What, don't listen to him! You still haven't heard my proposed name," Silvie complained, "I thought of this new one just now so it might need a little work, but I think the name Silver M--"
"Mega Girl."
And once again, before Silvie could announce the name she wanted for Riley, she was interrupted. However, it wasn't only her that stopped whatever it is they were doing, but the whole class.
Even Riley could not help but turn his attention back to the stage. And there, a tall female student, whose long jet-black hair almost reached to her knees, stood unwaveringly. Her almond-shaped eyes, which were of a bright purple color, stared glaringly towards Silvie.
Silvie did not falter, however, as she returned the glare of the female student. If she wasn't mistaken, the female student's name was Tomoe Reynolds-- the one who came up on top of the Elemental group.
"My superhero name is Mega Girl," Tomoe repeated her words, "I chose it for the simple fact…
...that I want it."
"..."
Don't they deserve a day where no one causes any trouble!? -- was now the collective thought of the students of Class 1-V.
Chapter 32"My superhero name is Mega Girl. I chose it for the simple fact…
...that I want it."
Most of the students were busy sizing each other up, trying to see who would go next after the top student of the Academy. And while they were doing that, none of them saw Tomoe Reynolds coming up on stage.
But if it was just that, then they probably wouldn't be letting out gasps of shock. Silvie just held a short speech as to why she chose the name Mega Girl. She even announced to everyone here that she would also one day try and be Mega Woman.
And now, out of nowhere, another student chose the name. This could only mean one thing-- Silvie was directly being challenged for the name.
Spectacular Mustache Man had already told them that there were also other students who already chose the name from other classes, but to think there would be someone daring enough to pick it again when the Mega Student herself already chose it.
"Oh shit, I feel a disturbance in the force," Gary, who was just previously chatting with Silvie, could not help but slightly grimace as he looked to the side. Of course, the one that was probably most uncomfortable of them all was Silvie herself.
She won't allow herself to look weak, however, as she quickly returned Tomoe's gaze. She was sure she was trying to pick a fight or something, but Tomoe's almost expressionless face made it a bit awkward… and also confusing.
If she really was trying to pick a fight with her, then wouldn't a smug look be better? But Tomoe was just staring at her without twitching her eye even a millimeter.
"Are… you sure of that name?" Even Spectacular Mustache Man found it hard to follow up, as he only opened his mouth after a few seconds of awkward silence had already preceded the room.
"No, I changed my mind."
And then, out of nowhere, she just shook her head and smiled, causing her almost silk-like black hair to wave smoothly in the air,
"I will go with Dark Frost."
"...That sounds more like a villain's name, doesn't it?" One of the other comments quickly commented on the side; and seeing the slight whisper of hums traveling the air, most of the class agreed.
"That is because I want to be a villain," Tomoe answered without any hesitation, "I can manipulate water vapor around me and turn it into ice, that is why I chose Frost. As for Dark, the ice I produce is black in color, also…
...I am a fan of Darkday."
"!!!"
Tomoe still held no expressions on her face, not letting her classmates see if she was just kidding or not. But after Spectacular Mustache Man just presented them how villainous Darkday is, who would actually have the gall to joke about something like this?
"Drop out of the Academy!" A student yelled, "You don't belong here!"
"That's right, why are you even here!?"
"Because there's no Darkday Academy, is there?" Tomoe said before proceeding to walk off the stage, but not before taking another glance at Silvie and nodding. The students that previously sat beside her, were now doing their best to move their chairs as far as they could possibly do without intruding on the other desks.
"...Let's just proceed with the next one," Spectacular Mustache Man was trying his best not to shake his head upon seeing Tomoe just casually sitting back on her desk. The students that belong in the Potential Villain list truly were a colorful bunch-- SMM thought.
In truth, he was most excited about overseeing this class more than the other classes. After all, it had the top student in it… as well as Scarlet Mage's rumored lover. However, most of the students that came next did not really pique his interest that much, except for a few prominent ones.
Bella Jackson, who chose the name Black Bell. Reasoning that the sound of bells reverberates the human body; is made of metal so it was suited for a metal controller, and not to mention it was just right for her name.
Cedrick Atkinson, part of the Potential Villain list as well as the telepath who won in his group, chose the name Hypnos as his specialty was inducing dreams.
There was also a funny one from a student named Robert Moore… also part of the Potential Villain list, able to communicate and manipulate insects, who chose the name General Parasite.
"..." Spectacular Mustache Man didn't want to admit it… but Dark Frost, Hypnos, General Parasite? Why does it seem like the majority of the students in the Potential Villain list had better naming senses than the normal students?
Even in the previous class he was in, the students in who were in the Potential Villain list were debatably the better namer; The Quantum Archer, Shadow Angel, Silver Crow.
Spectacular Mustache Man was starting to worry that maybe… villains just had better fashion? Even their costumes were arguably better than most of the superheroes.
This was a very critical issue. He should probably address this with Prophet, as well as the government. At all costs, Mega Academy shall reform the students from the Potential Villain list.
And now, with only 3 students left in Class 1-V, Spectacular had already lost hope for someone to represent them.
"Bro, aren't you going? There's only 3 of us left," Gary whispered as he turned to look at the only female student left that had not presented in front of the class, "I am saving mine for last because it's cool as hell."
"I am still thinking," Riley quickly replied."
"Well, alright then. I might as well--"
But before Gary could stand up, the remaining female student suddenly blasted her way through the front of the class, causing a weak gale that caused the hair of the students to wave around in a mess.
"My name is Katrina Collins, this is the first time I am introducing myself to everyone!" And as soon as she landed, her enormous… bosom immediately bounced; causing most of the male students in the class to either turn their eyes away or widen their eyes for the blessing the world has offered them.
"Ho," Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache vibrated as soon as the student named Katrina leaped to the stage. Someone with such vigor would surely surpass all expectations, he thought. Their pride as superheroes might be saved just yet.
"I came 2nd place in the elemental controller group, but I was sadly beaten by Tomoe! I was born in a very poor family in the countryside and my parents died when I was little, leaving me and my 12 other siblings to--"
"Ahem," Spectacular Mustache Man loudly cleared his throat, "Please avoid sharing sensitive information about your outside life."
"R… right, sorry. Too excited," Katrina let out an awkward but robust laugh. How come this was the first time they were noticing someone as loud as this in the class?-- were most of the student's thoughts.
"It's alright, I understand the enthusiasm. Please, I am sure everyone here is excited to hear your name as well," Spectacular Mustache Man smiled and nodded.
"Yes!" Katrina bowed before taking a deep breath and facing her classmates, "Since I can control wind, the name I chose for myself…
...is Hurricane Katrina!"
"Sit the fuck down!"
"Eep!" Katrina could not help but squeal as Spectacular Mustache Man pointed his finger to her desk with force. Her bosom once again jiggled as the only thing she could do was run back to her seat.
That was the last hope of this class-- SMM thought. The only ones remaining were a student named Gary Gray, who belongs to the Potential Villain list, and then Riley Ross-- who most likely had a weird name ready for them.
"We have dragged this on for too long!" Gary then roared as he somersaulted his way towards the stage, "Tremble, Super Normies, for the Dragon Monarch has arrived!"
Gary's eyes then turned red, causing most of the students to flinch and hide at the bottom of their desks. It was only yesterday that Gary almost lasered some of them, they were afraid he was here to finish the job.
"Savior of the weak, conqueror of the strong," and yet, Gary did not seem to mind as he continued to move around the stage, "Rising from the ashes of victory, the Dragon Monarch has come to save the day!"
"..."
"..."
"It's like I am in the circus." And surprisingly, Riley was the one to break the silence as he clapped his hands several times.
"Thank you, thank you! I will sign the autographs later!" Gary gave out a dignified laugh as he bowed several times before finally returning to his seat. He wanted to give a high-five to Riley, but he quickly stood up and dodged to the side, and then casually proceeded to walk towards the stage in one swift movement.
"W… wait, Silver Moon! I think Silver Moon has a nice ring to it!"
And before Riley could even take 3 steps, Silvie's voice reached his ears. He stopped to take a look at her, blinking his eyes a couple of times before nodding.
"I like it. It's a nice name," Riley said before stepping on the stage.
Spectacular Mustache Man did not fail to hear the name Silvie mentioned. And finally-- he thought. There was finally another name superheroes could be proud of.
And as soon as Riley stood on the stage, the whole class once again became quiet. Although most of them had not talked to Riley, they knew full well that this mysterious classmate of theirs was hiding unfathomable strength. Those who were indirectly saved by him the other day were even planning on building a fan club for him.
"Hello everyone," Riley then raised his hand, slightly waving it towards his classmates, "My name is Riley Ross. The superhero name I chose…
....is Riley Ross."
Chapter 33"The superhero name I chose…
...is Riley Ross."
"Eh?"
Once again, an awkward silence covered the entire classroom as the students' eyes looked at each other; wondering if they all heard the same thing and if they heard it right. But seeing as Riley was already on his way back to his desk, it would seem that truly was the case.
"W… wait!" Even Spectacular Mustache Man was perplexed, "You do know what this activity is all about, right?"
"Yes, choosing our superhero name."
"But that's just your name. What happened to Silver Moon?" SMM was extremely excited when he heard a glimpse of what Riley's superhero name could be, but now he was saying that he was using his own name?
"It's not for me," Riley shook his head, "I would much rather prefer to use my own name."
"You can't," SMM also shook his head, causing his long mustache to slightly wave in the air, "There are many security risks in using your own name, not to mention your actual full name."
"I do not mind the risks, they are… trivial," Riley said as he once again started walking towards his desk, but halfway through there, he paused. And after a few seconds, he returned to the front of the stage, "I see why you are confused, I did not tell the reason why I chose it. I apologize, fellow classmates and Spectacular Mustache Man."
"That's not really what--"
"I was initially going to use Silver Moon, as I feel like that would be fair to Silvie. But when I remembered your simple-minded speech earlier, my mind began to wonder," Riley eloquently said as he slightly turned his head towards SMM. His eyes, however, were looking behind him,
"You said that names could be stolen. You mentioned that when someone greater comes along with the same name, then they will surely take it from you," Riley continued, "My name was bestowed to me by my family…
...Therefore, I am the only one allowed to use it."
"Based on statistics, there will always be someone with the same name as you," SMM replied as he brought up his tablet, quickly searching for the name registry in the US, "42 people have the exact same name as you in our country alone, with most of them being women."
Most of the students let out their own gasps as they heard SMM's words. Some, however, were curious as to how SMM was able to quickly search that kind of database.
"It doesn't matter," Riley shook his head, "The name will be mine alone in the future."
"Okay, let's say I like your enthusiasm," SMM let out a short but deep sigh as he approached Riley, "And let's say you may not see anything as a threat to your family's security, but what about those who have the same name as you? What if they come for them thinking that they are you?"
"It's simple," Riley said before once again stepping off the stage, "I won't wear a mask."
SMM wasn't done with Riley. He was going to ask him if he really does care for his family since they were going to put him at risk; but remembering who his father was, he could probably erase any trace of Riley's existence in the world if he wanted to.
"...Very well," and so, SMM could do nothing but give up. The Academy did not really give them any strict guidelines with the naming of the students, so it was not like it was against the rules. Now he was starting to understand why Scarlet Mage wanted to put Riley on the Potential Villain list, he could be quite…. spontaneous. But still, that doesn't warrant one to be on the list; perhaps it was just Scarlet Mage's way of denying her feelings to the boy.
Truly… truly quite dangerous. Just because he was Whiteking's son; what happened to not giving any students any advantages and favors? If he asked special favors for his son from Prophet, would he also permit it?
Most likely not, he was no Whiteking-- he thought.
As Riley sat back on his seat, Silvie did not really make any sound or movement; whether or not she was upset that Riley didn't choose her name in the end, was not yet to be determined. Gary, on the other hand, could not help but frown.
"Shit, man… why didn't I think of that?" Gary muttered.
"I think you could still change your chosen name, Gary," Riley said.
"Pft, and be branded a copycat? No way, man. Dragon Monarch for the win."
"Alright!" And as the two were talking, Spectacular Mustache Man clapped his hands, garnering the attention of all the students, "Now that all of you have your chosen names, the next step is choosing your own costume. But that would not be until a month from now."
The students' excitement was short-lived. Most of them surely thought that they would be designing their costumes now, but to think they would still have to wait.
"The details about it would be discussed by your supervisor. Now, before I leave, I would like to once again leave you with some parting words," SMM said as he once again walked around the stage,
"Even more so than your names, it would be your actions that would decide on what kind of hero you will be. One wrong move and your name will forever be tarnished. You could change your name, you could change your costume, you could even change your identity… but what you are deep inside, will forever remain with you.
Mega Woman is currently being cared for right now by the government. I am sure most of you have seen the video; she was returned to us by Darkday in a very… critical condition. But still, do you see the citizens talking about it? Do you see people talking about her violent defeat?
No.
Because people remember her as the world's strongest and mightiest hero. Even death can never take that away. Mega Woman… lives--"
"Do you know where Mega Woman is being kept, Spectacular Mustache Man?"
"...on," SMM's mustache quickly dropped down as his speech was suddenly cut short. Just a few more words and his speech would have been over. But before he could do so, class 1-V's trouble-child, Riley, rose his hand.
"Do you know where Mega Woman is being kept?" Riley once again repeated his question, "Is she really being cared for by the government?"
"...I don't know," SMM's eyes started twitching, "Her location is being kept secure by the government. Now, if no one has any further questions, then I shall take my leave. I believe you still have another class after this."
A lot of students raised their hands. However, SMM ignored all of them as he already had enough of dealing with this class.
Class 1-V's next class was a normal one. Now that the school year truly was starting, it would seem that the first half of the day was reserved for teaching and training them to become superheroes, while the other half was a study in history, general sciences, and law.
Which suffice to say, bored most of the students to death. How did they expect them to still have the energy to do other stuff after training?-- an answer which was quickly answered by their history teacher.
"Because being a superhero is not your life," he said, "Once you take off the mask, you live with the rest of the world as a normal citizen."
He mentioned that the lectures were also part of their training, teaching them how to balance their life as a superhero, as well as a normal citizen. Of course, some of them still had qualms about their situation, but most of them understood what the teacher was saying.
But still, it didn't change the fact that it was, indeed, boring. And so, as soon as the bell rang, they could not help but rejoice that their suffering was over. There were, however, three people in the front that remained seated at their desks.
Silvie has remained quiet all throughout the rest of the class, not even uttering a word. Gary was inherently noisy, but even he could feel the dry awkwardness lingering in the air.
"Look, Silvie… you could still change your name if you want to," Gary then let out a long and deep sigh as he stood up from his seat and approached Silvie, "At least apologize to her, man." He then said as he turned his attention to Riley.
"You are upset, Silvie?" Riley then also stood up, If so, then I apolo--"
"No, I'm not!" Silvie suddenly stood up, "I like the name you gave me, Riley! And you also said you like the name I gave you. But I can understand that it wasn't for you. I'm not upset!"
"Girl, you're clearly upset," Gary widened his eyes before letting out another long and deep sigh, "...Why don't we just spend some of that Mega Student money and let loose for the day? I know a steakhouse near--"
"Let's go!" Silvie stomped away before Gary could even finish his words, "But Riley will be the one treating us!"
"Oof. She mad, bro," Gary shrugged his shoulders before following Silvie out of the room. He also wanted to invite Ben and Bella, but they refused as they had something else planned.
As for Riley, he remained standing at his desk for a while before proceeding to follow the two out. He only had 100 Mega Points, how was he even going to treat anyone with that kind of money?
Well, the answer was simple--
"...Seriously?"
When in doubt, turn to your older sister. Although Riley hasn't made contact with her for almost 2 days now, he was sure that she was the one who won in their group activity.
"You guys invited me just to make me treat all of you? What sort of fuckery is this?"
"Ask your brother!"
Hannah could only widen her eyes in shock as Silvie's voice rang through her ears, almost piercing it completely. The four of them were once again at the mall, with her being dragged away by the three as soon as she stepped out of her class.
"What's up with her?"
"Long story to be talked over steak," Gary giggled.
"I apologize, sister. But please let me borrow points for now," Riley muttered as he looked his sister straight in the eyes, "I will pay it someday."
"Seriously? What did you do? Does this have something to do with the rumors going around with you and Scarlet Mage? The fuck, bro. Isn't that pedophilia? If this was the other way around I am sure people would be crying outrage!"
"Yo. It's not about that," Gary quickly got in between the two, "But we're going to talk about that as well… over steak."
"I don't have a lot of time, you know!"
"...You seem to have plenty of time," Gary muttered, "You were alone when you walked out… so I assume you don't have any friends in your class?"
"I have friends!"
"Oho, really? Where are they now, miss popular?"
"You… you fucking bitch!"
***
"It's here."
"Put it on my screen."
"...It's not connected, just walk."
"..."
In a dark room, brightened up only by a set of screens hanging on the wall, a tall shadow moved. The silhouette moved closer to the screen, slightly illuminating its eyes; even as the light reflected on them, their red hue still remained.
"Are these all of them?" The shadow then spoke.
"I would think so, he hasn't sent us anything else." Followed by another shadow nearer to the screen.
"I see. This is quite a lot, isn't it?"
"Humans are innately evil, after all."
"Speak for yourself, you midget."
"What did you say!?"
"Shh, quiet. I am concentrating. This is truly fascinating… to think the Academy would be so kind as to…
....compile us a list of candidates."
Chapter 34"Are you and Scarlet Mage really together?"
"This talk again? Aren't you a little too overprotective of your brother?"
"Am I the only one seeing the wrong here!? My brother is only turning 17 a few months from now, and Scarlet Mage is like what, in her 30s!?"
"I think she's somewhere around 26 or something, should be fine. You should chill bro."
"That's pedophilia! Silvie, weigh in on this!"
"W… well, according to the law; The age of consent is--"
"I don't care about the law!"
A week had passed since the students of Mega Academy chose their superhero name, and other than a few training exercises on how to control and improve the mastery of their powers, most of the happenings in the Academy had been uneventful; some would even say repetitive.
What was not so uneventful, however, was the rumor going on around the entire Academy that Riley and Scarlet Mage were together; with some rumors going as far as even saying that they were doing explicit things all over the Academy.
This was probably the 5th time that Hannah had opened this topic since a week ago when they were out eating steak, but each time, Riley remained silent; not even moving his mouth whenever they asked him about it.
And now, they were once again inside the Korean shaved-ice store. They have been spending a lot of time in the shop since most of the time, they were the only customers. There were people entering from time to time, but for some reason, as soon as they get a glimpse of Riley and the group, they quickly leave where they came.
"I did hear a very hot and spicy rumor... Riley visited the teacher's apartments last week with Scarlet Mage, quite juicy."
"What!? Riley, is that true!?"
Hannah's loud voice once again echoed throughout the empty shop, causing the only staff of the store, Charlotte, to clear her throat as a signal to Hannah for her to lower her voice.
Riley was about to put the Mango Cheesecake-flavored shaved ice in his mouth, but when he saw the 3 sets of eyes glaring at him to the point that they almost looked like they were about to pop out, he could only place the spoon back on the table and sigh.
He read somewhere that it was wrong and rude to talk about your co-worker behind their back, and seeing as Scarlet Mage was his subordinate, he had been trying his best to avoid this topic. After all, if he couldn't even manage first and only subordinate, how was he going to afford more?
However, it had actually also been a week since he and Scarlet Mage had last talked to each other. He had been waiting on her report about Mega Woman, but not once did she approach him.
He should have patience. After all, she was his first subordinate-- perhaps a certain benefit should be placed on her.
But still, since she was doing an unsatisfactory job, perhaps it was also alright to talk about her behind her back; Riley thought as he looked his sister straight in the eyes.
"Yes, I entered her apartment last week to talk about work," Riley nonchalantly said before taking a bit of his shaved-ice; his eyes not looking away from her sister's.
"...Work?" Hannah muttered.
"Oh, when you officiated the activity with her earlier that day?" Gary raised a finger.
"I see, that makes sense," while Silvie slightly nodded her head.
"No, it doesn't!" Hannah once again slammed her palm on the table, "Why does it need to be in her apartment? What did you even talk about!? Did anything happen between the two of you!?"
"I kissed her."
"Oh, shit!" And without even any reservations, Gary suddenly leaped out from his seat and started running around the shop, drumming his hands on the table as he did so, "Holy fucking shit!" He continued to bellow, shouting through the glass window and garnering the attention of the students strolling outside.
And as he was hollering and dancing like a monkey, the two girls that were seated at their table remained unmoving; with Silvie's spoon even dropping to the floor.
"W...w… wait. I need a few seconds to process this shit," Hannah stuttered as she sat back, "You… you could get expelled for this. Don't tell this to any--"
And before she could even finish her words, she felt her seat violently move as Silvie suddenly stood up and rushed towards Gary, covering his mouth before dragging him back to his seat.
"I… I agree with Hannah, this is between us," she then whispered after violently throwing Gary beside Riley, "But… but what happened after that, then?"
Silvie's breaths almost echoed throughout the entire store, her eyes almost as bright as Hannah's flames as she stared without any restraints towards Riley. And judging by the flushness of her face which almost resembled a tomato, she really needed an answer.
"I left," Riley's nonchalant answer, however, quickly broke any anticipation they had.
"T… that's it? Nothing happened between the two of you… did you hit that ass?"
"Gary!"
"W… what? I'm asking on behalf of everyone!"
"No," Riley once again shook his head, "Why would I hit her butt?"
"Who wouldn't want to hit that ass, man!?" Gary then bellowed, "Don't you know how lucky you are to even be--"
"Gary."
"Oho, do I sense jealousy in the air, Silvie?" Gary quickly wiggled his pinky fingers as soon as he heard Silvie's slightly agitated tone, "Of course you would be jealous. Scarlet Mage is oozing with the scent of a mature lady, almost like a MILF, really."
"No, Gary. Scarlet Mage is--"
"MILF?" Riley tilted his head.
"Mother I'd Like to--"
"By all means, continue that sentence."
"!!!"
The ends of Gary's hair all stood on their ends as he heard a very familiar voice coming from behind him. He wanted to run away and hide as a crippling and suffocating pressure slowly crawled through his entire body, but alas, it was too late to do so.
The only thing he could do was slowly turn his head, almost to a 180-degree turn, as he looked towards the woman he was just speaking of.
"H… Hi, Miss Scarlet Mage," he uttered, "We… we were just talking about how good your brea… your lectures are."
"I see."
Although Gary was clearly thinking of something immoral, Scarlet Mage did not really seem to mind as her voice seemed unfazed, calm even. Her eyes then scanned the four students, before ultimately resting at Riley.
"Mr. Riley, please come with me," she then said, "I… have something to discuss with you about tomorrow's class."
"Very well," Riley quickly nodded as he placed his spoon back inside his pocket. Finally, he thought; Scarlet Mage must have information about Mega Woman.
He was about to stand up, but before he could do so, Hannah beat her to it.
"Sit back down, Riley," Hannah muttered as she slowly walked in front of Scarlet Mage, staring her straight in the eyes as she did so.
"You are… Riley's elder sister?" Scarlet Mage returned Hannah's glare.
"I need to excuse Riley for a while, I don't know how long it will take; so I suggest you students return to your dorms first and not wait for him."
"I don't think so, Scarlet Mage."
"H… Hannah, calm down!" Silvie also stood up as she quickly got in between the two.
"Sorry?" Seeing Hannah violently trying to stomp her way towards her, Scarlet Mage could not help but slightly raise an eyebrow.
"Don't think we don't know what's going on between you and my brother!" And even with Silvie pulling her away, Hannah managed to point her finger towards Scarlet Mage, "Aren't you supposed to be a teacher? Why are you having relationships with your students!?"
"W… what?"
"And why Riley!? Did you think he's an easy target because he is like that!? Aren't you supposed to be a hero!? Oi, Riley!? Where are you going?! Oi!"
"I'll see all of you again tomorrow."
And midway through her ramblings, Riley suddenly stood up and started walking out of the shop, "Let's go, Scarlet Mage."
"W… we're not done--"
"You… are very protective of your brother, aren't you?" Scarlet Mage uttered before Hannah could once again start to protest, "Our relationship has actually been approved."
"W… what?"
"Whiteking approved it," Scarlet Mage said as she turned to leave, "If you want to do something about this then please…
...please talk to him."
***
"Do you have information about Mega Woman?"
"A trivial one."
Scarlet Mage now found herself once again alone with Riley, sitting in her car on the mall's underground parking lot.
"Any information is better than nothing, Scarlet Mage," Riley let out a short but deep breath as a small smile slowly started to appear on his face, "Report."
"I contacted an old friend in the government who owed me a favor. He told me that if Mega Woman was being kept somewhere in the country, then we would probably know it with the increase in security," Scarlet Mage said, her tone not changing one bit.
"And has there been an increase in security?"
"No… Mega Woman is probably not in the country," Scarlet Mage quickly replied, "Why not just ask your father? If anyone in the world knows where she is, it will probably be him."
"No. My father is not to be involved in any of this."
"Your family… are a bunch of weirdos."
"...I suppose," Riley nodded, "If that is all the information you have, then I shall take my leave. My clone outside is busy taking care of my pets, but as soon as it gets the time, I'll make it help us in our investigation."
"..."
"See you tomorrow, Scarlet Ma--"
"...It's hot."
Riley was about to step out of the car, but before he could reach the handle, he felt Scarlet Mage grabbing his hand.
"...Then you should have turned on the air conditioner."
"No, I...
....feel hot."
Chapter 35A week-- Scarlet Mage had been trying to meet Riley alone for a week now since their last… spicy encounter.
She had done her best in avoiding him; watching, surveying from afar what he was going to do if she didn't do anything. She thought that Riley would reach out to her, be angry, or at least be troubled for not updating him-- but Riley did nothing; not even a glare to make her know that he was starting to get impatient.
This made her relieved in the first three days. But after that, she started to feel… lonely. Their 'illicit relationship' had been approved by the Academy itself; if there was any greater reason to avoid being alone with Riley, then that was it.
Her plan has been completely neutralized; there was no use in her trying to seduce him or play the part… but here she was.
It was only supposed to be pretend, but her body seemed to have completely forgotten about it. After 3 days of not meeting with Riley, her body started to feel weak. She found herself unable to sleep, unable to eat… unable to breathe without the memory of Riley's warmth upon her lips.
She scoured her contacts just to get an update for Riley so she could talk to him. This was perhaps the greatest of wrongs; she was betraying mankind itself and she knew it-- but her body didn't care. It wants… it needs Riley, she needs Riley.
She wants to be saved. She could cry out and shout to the world to help her escape from the prison she found herself in; someone might hear, but by the time that someone tries to rescue her, then it might already be too late. She...
"I… feel hot."
She… was already drowning.
'Someone, anyone… please take me away from here.'
"Please… embrace me, Riley."
'Please… someone help me.'
"I… I need you inside me."
The words that she should say, overpowered by the desires of her heart and her flesh.
"..."
And as her emotions were in complete chaos, Riley's eyes seemed clear and unburdened. He was about to step out of the car but was slightly taken aback when Katherine grabbed his hand out of nowhere.
"The things you are feeling right now…" Riley then let go of the door handle, before removing Katherine's hand away from his arm, gently placing it back on her lap, "...I believe it's lust, Katherine."
"I…"
"It is not your fault," Riley shook his head, "I am aware that my aesthetics could be quite alluring to those who fancy young men."
"..."
"Have... you ever done it?" Even with Riley's ramblings, Katherine did not seem to mind as her stuttered whispers echoed inside her car, "Have you ever done it with someone?"
"I believe I have already answered that question before, Katherine. I kissed Mega Woman, and then you--"
"Making love!"
"Making… love? You mean sexual intercourse?" There was a slight change in Riley's voice as he answered Katherine, "Then, no."
"W… why not?"
"I am only turning 17 this year, Katherine. I have only passed the average age of consent in our country," Riley dutifully explained.
"Right… right?" Hearing Riley continue to talk, the urges that built up within Katherine slowly faded and dissipated away. This was good… this was a good thing.
"And also, I do not feel I have the right to create a human life."
"W… what?" Katherine slightly let out a short but deep breath as she finally felt Riley's heart slightly fluctuate. It may start to sound archaic and even obsessive, but her own heart seems to echo his whenever it beats so; as if the sudden leap of Riley's heart was the most exciting sound in the world.
Katherine then slowly turned her eyes towards Riley's face, only to find that the expression in his face reflected his wavering heart.
"My family… shouldn't be harmed," Riley muttered, "I already have the guilt of having been adopted by the Ross'. I can not willingly situate another human into that position."
"Guilt?" Katherine could not help but take in another deep breath as Riley's heart continued to beat faster, "And… you're adopted?"
"Indeed," Riley nodded, "To be related to me is a curse, Katherine. How could I put a defenseless child in the arms of a monster who will continue to bathe this world in blood?"
Katherine's breaths continued to echo throughout the car. Was she truly hearing these words from Riley? Riley is supposed to be the most heinous and evil supervillain in the world. But now, once again, he seemed to be the most human.
Darkday's weakness… was his family. She now probably holds the most important information in the world.
Operation 'Turn Dark into Light'-- perhaps it still had a chance to flourish?
Yes… this was it. A reason for her to continue being with Riley. If… if she becomes his family, then wouldn't that mean she would become his weakness as well?
Even more… even more if they had a child together.
"What… are you doing, Katherine?"
"Huh?"
And just like that, the last string that she was preventing from breaking had finally snapped.
The heat that she thought had already faded away, returned into her like a giant wave; crushing any thoughts of reason she had.
"H… huh?" Katherine once again whispered as she suddenly found herself sitting on the floor of her car, her arms seated on Riley's legs as she kneeled in front of him. Her car was small, leaving only a small space for her to fit where she was at; how she got there without her knowing was a mystery.
But still, her mind was completely lost as the heat that covered her entire body had completely drowned her. She could feel a sort of tickle in between her tightly closed legs as a certain warmth started to trail on them.
And slowly, her hands traveled to Riley's thighs, slowly caressing them as her fingers crawled their way to the zipper of his pants. But before her hands could fully open it up, she felt a sort of resistance stopping them.
"What are you doing, Katherine?" Riley once again repeated as he bound Katherine's hands in the air.
"I… I am your subordinate, right?" Katherine then whispered; the warmth of her breaths dispersing between Riley's legs, "Let… let me serve you, please."
"..." Riley looked to the side as he heard Katherine's words whispering into his ears,
"I suppose that's true." Riley then said as he removed the invisible chains that bound Katherine's hands, "But before we proceed, can I name you?"
"Name… me?" Katherine looked up as her hands slowly unzipped Riley's pants, "What… do you mean?"
"Silver Moon," Riley whispered as he gently lifted Katherine's chin and looked her directly in the eyes, "A moon that will forever try to lighten the dark day, following it for eternity; not knowing it has already been swallowed by it."
Katherine gazed deep into Riley's eyes as his words echoed through her ears. Riley knew…
Riley knew what she was doing and he didn't care.
"..." But now, the same could be said to her.
"It's… a good name," she whispered before completely wrapping Riley inside her mouth.
"!!!" Once again, she felt Riley's heart fluctuate as the warmth of her mouth encapsulated all of Riley's manhood.
This is extremely wrong, she once again thought. But now, she no longer cares.
Her tongue began to move, twirling it around Riley's manhood as her head began to bob. She could hear Riley slightly letting out a small whisper of a moan, causing the juice flowing between her legs to gush out like a waterfall.
"Gak…" A small gasp then escaped Katherine's mouth as she pulled her head away. She once again turned to look towards Riley, only to see him still looking at her.
Riley… Riley was truly finally looking at her. His eyes, only for her. And as she thought of this, a small smile slowly crawled on her face, adorned by the strings of saliva that still bridged itself on Riley's manhood.
"...Riley," she whispered.
"..."
Katherine then tried to lift herself up, but found her legs unable to move as all the strength they had left as soon as she felt Riley inside her mouth. She struggled to get up, but couldn't. But after a few more seconds, she felt her whole body being lifted into the air.
"...Riley," she once again whispered as she wrapped her arms around Riley's neck. Her legs, gently finding their way on the side of his thighs. And once again, she found herself kneeling, but this time, her legs fully opened and on top of Riley's thighs.
"Riley…"
Her hand then slowly made its way between her legs, lifting up her skirt before carelessly ripping her underwear. And as soon as she did so, her juices which were already flowing like a waterfall burst out, dripping and flowing down on Riley's manhood.
The smile on her face widened as Riley's heart once again beat differently. And with a breath, she gently pushed Riley's manhood and placed its tip on the edges of the lips between her legs-- slowly opening it up.
"U… uhn," her whole body then began to tremble as she felt Riley's warmth between her legs. And slowly, she began to lower her body.
"H… hn," her toes curled as the warmth between her legs began to intensify. She wanted to close her eyes, but did not want to miss any moment of Riley's eyes staring at her. And so, instead, she pushed Riley's hair to the side, fully grabbing it with both her hands as her body fully began to drop.
"Nn!" A scream escaped from her mouth as she felt Riley deep inside of her; her jaw began to tremble as her eyes remained looking deep into Riley's soul.
"Riley…" Silver Moon then once again whispered as her waist began moving, "I think…
...I have fallen in love with you."
Silver Moon-- A moon that will forever try to lighten the dark day, following it for eternity; not knowing it has already been swallowed by it.
Chapter 36"God fucking damn it!"
"Civilians died, again!"
"That's because they're blocking the way!"
Cars, debris, a cloud of dust, scattered everywhere, surrounded by a collection of buildings that seemed to be serving as their perimeter. And right in the middle of it was Gary, surrounded by a dozen bodies sprawled lifelessly on the ground.
As for Scarlet Mage and the other students, they were currently watching from above. Not in some kind of aircraft, but in a room that was disguised as a cloud in the sky. Yes, they were still inside the Academy; deep underground in one of its colossal training halls.
Most of the students were shocked that the Academy still went deeper into the ground, as anything beneath the surface was no longer drawn on the map provided for them. But if it had a room like this; capable of storing its own tiny city, then they could only wonder just how huge the underground is.
"L… let me go again!"
"Then go back to your starting position, Dragon Monarch," Scarlet Mage's frustrated sighs could be heard by the students. They were used to their advisor being strict and somewhat moody… but for some reason, for the past few days, even when she was clearly annoyed, she would always smile as soon as she faced her students.
It has been a week since Scarlet Mage and Riley's… heated discussion, and the two had not met alone even once. But still, now, Scarlet Mage did not mind. Unlike before when she felt some sort of poison building up inside her, everything seems clearer now.
She no longer finds herself staring in the dark, longing for something that she knew is never meant to be. They haven't met alone for a week, yes; but it was completely different now. Riley was looking at her, he was looking at her without any reservations.
Riley had trouble looking people in the eyes, but not hers, not anymore-- and this was enough; this meant that in some way, Riley trusts her.
Scarlet Mage then walked towards the corner of the room they were in, with a wall filled with screens that showed parts of the training hall beneath them. Of course, as she walked past the students, her eyes instinctively landed at Riley, who immediately nodded at her as their eyes met.
Scarlet Mage quickly smiled upon the act-- it was as if the two had their own language that only they could understand.
"I'm restarting the scenario, Dragon Monarch," Scarlet Mage then said as she placed her hand on one of the screens, "Are you ready?"
"The Dragon Monarch is always ready!"
"...Right, last chance. If you kill another civilian, no points for you, you got it?"
"Let's do this shit!"
Hearing Gary's loud voice piercing through the intercom, Scarlet Mage could not help but once again sigh before tapping something on the screen.
And as soon as she did so, the scenery beneath them instantly changed. The dust that covered the entire mini city, gone. The cars that were scattered everywhere turned into some sort of metal boxes, as well as the debris.
The buildings that served as a perimeter were now also just a towering block of metal. But perhaps the most noticeable of all, were the dozens of bodies scattered on the ground-- they all stood up.
Their previous life-like bodies, now turned into mannequins, moved on their own.
The training hall was some sort of augmented reality almost perfected-- a technology that has not yet been developed this far in the outside world. The students were in awe the first time they saw this; Riley, however, had a slight frown on his face.
Once again, the Academy showcased a technology ahead of everything else. Even the mannequins… the robots that could move on their own without any external support wasn't something that the outside world had access to.
Could Mega Woman have shared knowledge of her world with the government? But since the Academy had most probably been built for years now, then that would mean she would have had to tell them a long time ago.
But Mega Woman has a great dislike for the government, so that was next to impossible. Could they be doing something to her right now, when she was vulnerable?-- No, the timeline doesn't match.
Perhaps… the time for Riley B to do something is soon to come. But for now, he should focus on his retirement, he thought as he looked out the window to watch Gary.
The scenery below once again regained its color, turning the city of metal into the city full of life it was just minutes ago.
"C'mon Dragon Monarch, you could do this. I believe in you."
"..."
The students all looked at each other as they could hear Gary whispering to himself through the speakers. Most of them could not help but wince; it was a good thing that none of them volunteered to be first, if not, they wouldn't have known that everything they do in the training hall could be heard and seen by everyone else.
Gary's breaths then whispered into their ears as he continued to hype himself up. In front of him were 12 life-like robots. 8 civilians were scattered in a circle, seemingly watching from the side as some sort of situation was happening in the middle.
There were 3 offenders, with one of them being a supervillain. As for the last robot, she was a hostage that was being held by the supposed supervillain as the two other offenders guarded them.
"Haha! Let us go if you don't want the blood of the innocent in your hands!"
"Shut the fuck up, man. Just how many times…" Gary muttered frustratingly as he looked at the supervillain grabbing the hostage. He then looked around him, only to see the 8 civilians surrounding them with their phones up, seemingly taking a video of the situation.
"God damn it, all of you go away! Why the heck is this so realistic!?"
Gary had already failed twice, with accidentally harming the civilians being the reason for both. Suffice to say, he was at his wit's end.
On his first try, he was successful in quickly dealing with the two non-super offenders. However, as he did so, the supervillain acted and was about to kill the hostage; and so, in panic, Gary released his heat vision… hitting the hostage.
In his second try, he tried to rescue the hostage as fast as possible; rushing towards the supervillain and snapping its neck; of course, this would mean a minus in points, but he didn't care. He then grabbed the hostage away, but as he did so, the 2 non-supers started shooting at him.
He was able to dispatch the non-supers-- but not before they killed most of the bystanders.
And now, in his last attempt, he was going to try something he had never done before, stealth. He was now hiding in one of the bystanders, trying to get into position behind the villains.
"Ah, it's the Dragon Monarch!"
"What--"
And before Gary could even finish his words, the sound of guns being unloaded thundered throughout the simulated city.
"W… what was that, Scarlet Mage!?" Gary then roared as soon as the parade of bullets was over.
"You failed," was Scarlet Mage's response as the city once again lost its life and color.
"But that wasn't fair! One of the civilians ratted me out!"
"You're a loud and extroverted superhero, Gary. Of course, they would recognize you. Return to the elevator and come back up."
"This…"
Gary seemed to be complaining more, but Scarlet Mage had already turned off the speakers in the room. And finally, after a few more minutes of dancing around like a monkey, Gary got tired and returned to the control room.
"Don't be so down, Gary. It was a nice attempt… I think I would fail as well in your scenario."
"Why does it sound like you're mocking me instead?"
"W… what, not at all." Silvie immediately shook her head as she tried her best to console Gary.
"Good work, Gary."
"Thank you, Rile-- Wait, what do you mean 'good work'!? I killed civilians, bro!"
"Yes. Their screams were--"
"Who is going next!?"
Before Riley could finish whatever it was he was going to say, Scarlet Mage's voice reverberated throughout the entire room, causing all of the students to slightly flinch in shock.
"Me! Me!" Their shock was only momentarily, however, as Bella immediately stepped forward while waving her hand up.
"Alright, you can step on the elevator as soon as you're ready. You only get three tries, so I suggest you do your best, Black Bell," Scarlet Mage said as she turned her attention back to the screens on the wall, swiping her hands on it until Bella's profile came up.
"This should be easy, see you weaklings later!" Bella cracked her knuckles as she stepped on the elevator. She had already thought of a dozen scenarios while Gary doing the simulation, and since her powers were manipulating and controlling metals, the city scenario was basically her playground.
Bella then began stretching on the elevator as she waited for them to land on the ground. And finally, after a few more seconds, the door opened up.
"Let's do-- what?"
However, what welcomed her was not a city filled with buildings and vehicles; but rather, a forest that was surrounded by a cliff. The arrangement of the robots was also different, with most of them nowhere to be seen.
"W… what? Where's the city!?" Bella yelled as she looked up towards the window where the others were watching.
"The scenario is different from student to student, Black Bell."
"What about the hostage?"
"I can't tell you, this is your scenario."
"W… what?" Black Bell then looked towards the 4 life-like robots in the middle of the training hall; one was wearing a costume, while the three just had bandanas on, holding guns in their hands.
They seemed to be guarding some sort of cabin, which most probably held the hostages, Bella thought. She was a bit perplexed at first with the sudden change, but still, she quickly composed herself after a few minutes.
There might not be cars or an abundance of metal in her scenario… but in truth, she was surrounded by metal. The trees, the cliffs, maybe even the wooden cabin; underneath the hologram was metal.
This was her domain.
"Forget about controlling most of the objects in your surroundings."
And midway through her thoughts, Scarlet Mage's voice resounded in the training hall.
"They are made from some sort of tempered plastic."
"Wait… what?" Bella muttered as she quickly tried to move one of the trees, but found herself unable to do so.
"And even if they were made of metal, you're not allowed to move them in the first place… you're in a forest, act like it."
As soon as the students heard Scarlet Mage's words, they finally understood the true meaning of the exercise. They were told that this was to train them in hostage situations; but now, they were realizing there was another purpose.
The scenarios were solely tailored for each of them to fail… or at least to defy the odds.
Chapter 37Failed.
Bella Jackson; Desired Superhero Name: Black Bell-- Failed.
Like Gary, she was given 3 attempts to try and save the hostages. True to her assumption, the hostages were being confined in the wooden cabin, protected by the villains that were outside.
What she did not expect, however, was that there were more villains guarding the hostages inside. No matter what she did, some of the hostages would always die; shot accidentally, or executed by the hostages inside.
She tried controlling the guns that the non-supers were holding, but ended up causing the trigger to be pulled; causing mass hysteria as the sound of thunder echoed throughout the forest.
At her last attempt, she tried what Gary did-- stealth. She tried sneaking from the windows, using whatever metal there was in the cabin to her advantage; even killing one of the villains using a nail. What is a minus point, after all, if she ends up rescuing all of the hostages in the end?
But alas, the end did not go as she expected. As soon as the one she killed dropped to the ground, chaos once again erupted inside-- causing a barrage of bullets to fly out. She tried to stop them, but some ended up flying towards the hostages, as well as towards her.
Of course, the bullets weren't really lethal, and Bella's body was sturdier than that of a normal human; but it was still painful, of course. It was made obvious by her incessant curse that was seeping from the elevator as she was brought up.
Her screams, however, were instantly gone as soon as the elevator doors opened up; causing the other students to pretend they didn't hear her yelling all sorts of profanities just seconds before.
She was not alone in her woes, however. Gary had already failed, and the ones that followed after her were no better.
As most of them already realized, the trials that they were facing were specifically designed for them to fail. Each of them saw how their classmates failed and failed again; even the most noticeable ones and the ones who came up on top of their respective power categories failed.
Bella's brother Ben Jackson, or as he called himself, Metallerina; from the word Metal and Ballerina, also failed miserably. Unlike her sister, he was placed in a scenario with an abundance of metal-- a ship; with parts so massive and weighty that he was not able to move anything due to his lack of raw power. He had the right idea at the end by unscrewing some of the bolts and tiny parts hidden deep, but the sheer noise of doing so caught the attention of the villains.
Cedrick Atkinson; Hypnos, was put in a position where if he puts any of the villains to sleep, a bomb would go off as a trigger was attached and hanging from their bodies.
Tomoe Reynolds; Dark Frost's scenario was slightly interesting; not just for her, but for everybody and especially Riley. She was faced with Darkday, who had held several superheroes hostage.
Perhaps she could have done something, perhaps she could not have, but each of her 3 attempts ended up with her just ogling and following Darkday. Probably out of all the students that were in the Potential Villain list, she was the most far down; probably even a psychopath, Scarlet Mage thought.
"Mega Girl, are you ready for your final attempt?"
"Y… yes."
"How… is that scenario even fair?"
"I thought mine was hard."
"I guess things are different if you're the Mega Student… I'll just remain as an unnamed side character, I guess."
And now, it was Silvie's 3rd attempt at her scenario.
Her scenario was quite different than most; violent, perhaps one could even say brutal. The robot did not have his appearance, but all of the people present knew that the robot floating in the air was supposed to be Darkday, again.
As for how they knew?
3 vehicles were floating around him; 2 sedans, and a school bus, all of which were filled with the rest of the robots, or in this case, civilians. Like all of the scenarios, this was once again a hostage situation.
But unlike most of the scenarios of the previous students, where some of them had thought of a solution on how to solve their scenario after they failed the three attempts; Silvie's seemed to be a lost cause.
At her first attempt, she flew towards the school bus, prioritizing the children; but as she did so, the two sedans collided with each other, effectively killing anyone inside.
At her second, she went with what everyone was trying to do-- stealth. However, as she got inside the bus, the civilians started panicking; pushing each other so that they would be the first to be rescued by her-- this, of course, was quickly noticed by the floating robot villain.
And now, in her final attempt, her erratically moving eyes showed the state of her mind-- completely in chaos as it scoured to think of a solution on how to save all of them.
"You need to move, Mega Girl."
"Y… yes!" She once again repeated as Scarlet Mage's voice reverberated in the hall. The vehicles were almost 4 floors up in the air, if they fell, there could still be a chance that the civilians would survive as the vehicles would suck up most of the impact.
"..." And as soon as the thought came to her mind, her eyes immediately locked on towards the floating mannequin; and with only a blink of hesitation, she screamed and flew towards it. If the robot truly was Darkday, then this was nothing short of a sacrifice; but still, if there was even a sliver of a chance to save the civilians, she would do it.
"!!!"
"N… no!"
But alas, halfway through her forceful flight, half a dozen civilians suddenly flew towards her path. Her arm, which was stretched and ready to make contact with the floating villain, instead hit through the civilians.
Suffice to say, her fist easily penetrated through the civilians' 'flesh', and since they were lined up in the air, they were skewered like a barbecue.
"N… no… no!"
The simulation was not real, of course; but still, the holograms were as life-like as they get. Silvie looked at the eyes of the civilian in front of her, slowly fading as the blood oozed from its mouth.
It only lasted for a second, of course, as Scarlet Mage quickly turned off the holograms, returning the robots to their mannequin-like exterior. Silvie, however, was still floating in the air staring at the barbecue of mannequins stuck around her arm.
"...That's enough, Silvie. Come back up," Scarlet Mage then muttered weakly. That part of Silvie's scenario… was not supposed to happen. As their class' advisor, she was the one responsible for picking and reviewing each of their scenarios-- and that last part was truly not included in that.
True, if Silvie chose to rush towards the floating villain, even if she managed to subdue it, she would have still failed because most of the civilians would have died from the impact… but the civilians blocking her path? That was too traumatic for someone of Silvie's temperament to handle; Scarlet Mage would never include it.
That was something that only a truly heinous supervillain would-- !!!
As soon as the thought came to her mind, her eyes instinctively landed towards the only one in the room that fits that description to a tee; and true enough, there was a weird expression on Riley's face as he stared through the window.
Even the others that were in the Potential Villain list had slight expressions of shock on their faces; Riley, however, had this look of clarity in his eyes-- as if they were saying that is what exactly would happen if Silvie charges at Darkday in real life.
Silvie was his sister's friend, and judging by his words and his actions throughout the past week, he was protective of her. So why would he do something like this?
Was this… some sort of skewed way of making Silvie learn?
With that thought, she was mostly right.
Riley could truly see Mega Woman through Silvie; and if there happened to be two Mega Women roaming around the world in the future, wouldn't that double the fun he would experience once he comes out of retirement?
But of course, her strength and facial similarities alone were not enough for her to become Mega Woman; she needed her resolve and determination as well… and getting it is not supposed to be easy.
The whole room became quiet as soon as the sound of the elevator whistled in the air; with not even a single one of them looking at Silvie as she entered the observation room. Silvie was always filled with this sense of authority and hope; but right now, her eyes were only looking at the floor as she returned to Gary and Riley's side.
"H… hey, Mega Champ. No need to be so sad," Gary stuttered, his hand waving in the air as it did not know whether to pat Silvie on the shoulder or not, "No one could have cleared that scenario… fuck, no one has cleared a scenario so far."
"Black Bell could have saved most of them, Gary."
"S… shut the fuck up, man. We're supposed to be comforting her!" Gary quickly hissed at Riley, "And that's the point of the scenarios, man… we're not supposed to win. Fuck this fucking shit. You alright, Silv?"
"I… I killed them."
"What… they are just robots, dude," Gary breathed out, "Just think of-- Bro, where are you going? Don't leave me behind here!"
Gary could not help but violently gesture to Riley as he saw him suddenly escaping this somewhat awkward situation.
"I am the only one left, Gary," Riley casually said as he walked towards the elevator doors. "It's my turn," he then said as he turned his attention towards Scarlet Mage.
"Are… you ready, Riley Ross?"
"I suppose."
"Then step on the elevator," Scarlet Mage nodded as she moved to the control unit, swiping her hands until Riley's profile came up, "Do your best but do not overdo it; as you can see, all of your classmates have failed. It is better to learn from the scenario… and I'm sorry."
The last words of Scarlet Mage were almost a whisper, with no one but herself able to hear it.
"Thank you for the advice, Scarlet Mage," Riley nodded before getting on the elevator. Most of the students were excited to see his scenario; however, most of them had also not recovered from the violent end of Silvie's test.
If the Mega Student herself couldn't pass the exercise, then there truly was no way of passing; even for their mysterious and somewhat cool classmate.
As for Riley, well… He would lie if he said that he wasn't even just a tiny bit excited about his scenario. Katherine knew his true identity, so whatever she came up with would surely be something distressing.
...Maybe even a scenario with Mega Woman?
And as soon as he thought of that, the door of the elevator opened-- quickly causing the orange light razing outside to reflect on Riley's bright eyes.
"..." Riley curiously stepped outside, looking at a destroyed city surrounded with nothing but fire and ash; and right in the middle of it, was a young woman.
"R… Riley?"
"....Sister."
Chapter 38With the warm and stinging winds wafting through his face;
With the skies that had turned dark due to the flames that razed below;
With the red that reflected in his bright blue eyes;
With the dust that endlessly flew around him;
And even with the shrieking screams that sang through his ears…
...Riley remained unmoving.
"...Sister."
"R… Riley?"
Even with all of the chaos happening around him, Riley's attention was solely on the young woman in front of him. Her hands, her feet, her hair; Almost all of Hannah's body was engulfed in blazing flames, revealing only her face which bled in tears.
"What… are you doing here, Riley?"
"This truly is life-like," Riley then slowly walked towards robot Hannah as he looked at her from head to toe, "Such technology shouldn't exist, at least not yet, Scarlet Mage."
Riley then looked up in the sky, quickly finding the window where Scarlet Mage and the others were watching from. If he did not know beforehand that all of this was a simulation, then it was possible that he would have been fooled that all of this was real; almost as if this technology was a superpower of its own.
Was this technology really from Mega Woman's world? Or is it possible that there were other alien worlds out there that had already made contact with Earth?
Truly, one day; once there were no more screams to sing to his ears on Earth, he would travel to the skies-- that was why he said he wanted to be an astronaut when he was asked what he wanted to be.
If the humans already produced a soothing melody as they scream, what more could a population from Mega Woman's planet?
"He… he isn't moving."
"Of course he wouldn't, isn't that his sister?"
"This test really is cruel, using the image of her sister as a hostage."
"She… is not the hostage."
Most of the students near Silvie all turned to look towards her as she finally opened her mouth. She had been keeping quiet after the violent end of her trials. But now, her eyes which were previously filled with doubt and misery were clear enough to reflect the scenery below.
"Not… a hostage?" Hearing Silvie's words, all of the students once again turned their attention to the training hall, even requesting for Scarlet Mage to raise the volume of the speakers.
"Have… you come here to stop me, brother?"
"...Stop you?"
Riley, who was previously thinking of the wonderful things he could do once he was on Mega Woman's planet, quickly turned his attention towards the robot that played the role of his sister. He then turned to look towards the other robots… civilian hostages who were either trapped in debris or in their cars, surrounded by a blazing fire.
"Did… you do this, Golem Hannah?"
"They forced me! All of them, the people! I tried to be a hero… but they paid me with nothing but contempt!"
"This is quite astonishing. They even got your whiny tendencies," Riley then said as he stretched his hand towards the robot. But as soon as he did so, robot Hannah waved her hand, summoning a wall of fire that served as a barrier for them not to meet.
"Stay away from me! You can't stop me anymore, Riley! I… I will burn this world to the ground!"
"..." Hearing this, Riley once again turned his head towards the window above, his eyes quickly landing on Scarlet Mage even from afar; and as soon as their eyes met, Scarlet Mage quickly took in a small gulp.
She was literally playing with fire in this kind of scenario. She had thought long and hard about the kind of situation that Riley would find difficult, and this is where it led up to. But seeing as Riley still had the composure and nonchalance to find her even in all this chaos, it would seem that it wasn't working… at least not yet. The climax of the scenario had yet to reveal itself.
Should… she stop this before anything bad actually happens? Is that why Riley was looking at her? Was he telling her that the scenario wasn't working and that she was wasting his time?
However, contrary to her expectations, Riley turned his attention back towards robot Hannah; and with a flip of his hand, extinguished not only the fires that blocked his path towards her but even the armor of flames that engulfed her body.
"Go home, Hannah," Riley then said as he let out a small but deep sigh, "This world will never understand you nor me, and they do not deserve to. And when the time truly does come that the world betrays you, I will--"
"Nuclear Baby!"
"..." Before Riley could finish his words, a voice suddenly roared from behind him. And as soon as he saw who it was, he quickly moved to the side.
"Isn't that…"
"Whiteking!? And the other members of the Hope Guild are also behind him!"
"Is this even a test anymore!?"
"What the… they're really going all out with Riley's scenario, I sense some sort of favoritism here."
"Ssh, quiet. Isn't Riley and Scarlet Mage like… together?"
The students watching from above could not help but look at each other, their whispers almost filling the entire observation room as their eyes did not know which way to look.
"Nuclear… Baby?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he also looked back and forth between Hannah and Whiteking. Hannah has been refusing to tell Riley and the others what her chosen superhero name was, but to think it would be something as glorious as Nuclear Baby. It… suited her, Riley thought as he let out a small smile.
But afterward, he turned his focus towards Whiteking-- who currently had his weapons drawn towards Hannah.
"Surrender, Nuclear Baby. Or we will be forced to put you down!" Whiteking said as the other members of the Hope Guild started surrounding Hannah, "The government had already given us strict orders to extinguish you. Please… do not let it come to that!"
A choice…
...and perhaps the future-- this is the scenario that Scarlet Mage had given Riley, not of Hannah, but of him. Of course, out of everyone watching the situation below, she was the only one who knew that Hannah was not the only family member present in the simulation, but also his father.
The scenario was a mirror, with his part being played by Hannah. Of course, Riley was capable of physically hurting his father, that much was evident during the Destruction of Toronto, but he didn't kill him. But if he continues down the path he was going, then one day, he would have no choice but to do so.
This was no longer a trial, but a play that Riley will be forced to participate in.
"Never! I would burn this place to the ground!"
"Please, don't make us do this!"
"Holy fuck… this is intense," Gary could not help but take one step back as he looked at Silvie, "So it's a choice between saving her sister… or saving the city?"
"Hm," Silvie nodded as her eyes did not leave the scenario for even a second. She thought that her scenario was brutal and that it showed her the reality of being a superhero… and with the right training, she could one day overcome it.
But Riley's scenario? How does one even make a choice like this?
The students had a different perspective as to what was happening, but all of their points still held merit. Even if Riley was not who he is, even if he was not Darkday; this scenario would still be one of the hardest to overcome… and that is exactly why Scarlet Mage chose it for him. He deserves only the worst…
...as well as the best.
And since the sound of Riley's heart fluctuating was starting to whisper through her ears, it would seem that it was now working.
"..." Riley's breaths were starting to become heavier as he continued to watch the scenario unfold in front of him. He knew and was fully aware that whatever happening in front of him was just a simulation, an illusion.
He could easily rescue the hostages if he wanted to; it'll only be a snap of his fingers. But Scarlet Mage's assumption was right, he didn't care about them. There was no use in trying to pretend to pass the test as well since all of his classmates failed it.
All of this… was just a way to relieve the void that Mega Woman has left.
But for some reason, seeing Whiteking's trembling hands as he pointed his laser cannon at Hannah, a sort of unexplainable feeling inside of him was starting to boil, even hotter than the blaze of fire that engulfed the city.
He didn't like it.
He didn't like it at all.
"!!!"
"W… what the, an earthquake!?"
"It… It's strong!"
The lights in the observation room began to flicker as a sort of wailing reverberated throughout the air. Even those that were above ground, and even the reporters that were waiting outside the Academy could feel the trembling.
The thick walls that shielded and guarded the rooms and hallways of the Academy began scraping at each other, creating a screeching sound that almost deafened everyone underground.
However, before the students could completely panic and cover their ears, the trembling of the earth abruptly stopped.
It was then followed by the sound of a bell, which garnered everyone's attention as they all looked towards the only direction the familiar sound could come from-- the elevator.
They looked, only to find Riley stepping out from it.
"I give up, Scarlet Mage," Riley said while raising both his arms, "It was… an interesting experience, thank you."
"Y… What did--"
"T-- that was scary!"
"I thought we were going to die! How strong did you guys think that earthquake was!?"
"Magnitude 69, maybe?"
"...Are you stupid?"
Before Scarlet Mage could even respond to Riley's words, the students began letting out sighs and gasps of relief.
An earthquake? Most definitely not, Scarlet Mage thought. She felt Riley's heart fluctuate stronger than it has before; and if she's right, then the tremble they all felt was his doing.
She was trying to find out what Riley would do in the scenario… but this?
How should she even assess that? Is Riley saying that he would destroy the world if anything like that happens? Was that it?
"Miss Scarlet Mage?"
Her mind was completely at a loss. Riley was dangerous, she knew that. Riley was statistically the most dangerous creature in the world… and she slept with him. What was she thinking? Was she actually thinking she could tame this kind of beast?
"Silver Moon."
"What did you just call me?" Scarlet Mage then quickly looked towards Silvie.
"Miss… Scarlet Mage?" Silvie could not help but slightly step back as Scarlet Mage suddenly turned her head towards her, without even moving her torso even a single bit.
"R… right."
And as soon as Scarlet Mage saw the slightly frightened look in Silvie's eyes, she quickly composed herself. If she didn't get a grasp on her situation, then she would start going crazy… that is if she wasn't already.
"Everyone is done with the test, Miss Scarlet Mage."
"Right, right," Scarlet Mage then cleared her throat as she walked a few steps back so that all of her students could see her.
"First of all, I would like to congratulate you all for failing the test," Scarlet Mage then said as her voice started to calm down, "As you may have already realized, you were not meant to pass the scenario given to you. It was meticulously designed with the help of some sort of AI and its purpose was simple…
...to show you that you can't save everyone. It may sound cliche and you might have heard of it a thousand times before, but it is what it is. Once you start your journey as a superhero, there will be many that you will not be able to save; and it's not alright, but you can't do anything about it. That's… just how it is."
"..."
"And also, this activity is also to prepare for what's to come 2 weeks from now. All of you will be going out on a field trip outside the Academy…
....wearing a costume of your own design."
Chapter 39"So, have you received what I sent you guys?"
In a dimly lit and cold room, Gary was currently seated at a table; his elbows resting as his eyes glared back and forth towards the other people in the room.
"Hm, I think we need more information before we can move forward and pass it to the boss." The other voice in the darkness whispered through the air, causing Gary to slightly squint his eyes from the disapproving tone it produced.
"I agree," another voice joined in, "I don't think miss would approve of it."
"And what about you, what do you think?" Gary then turned his eyes to the other silhouette sitting silently beside him.
"It's ugly."
"What did-- Gah!"
And before Gary could finish his words, he couldn't help but close his wide-opened eyes as a flash of light pierce them; the light violent, with seemingly no plan to disappear. "N… no, has god finally decided to take me for all the sins I have made in this--"
"Uhm…"
"Is that… is that the voice of an angel!?"
"Please… don't turn off the lights without permission."
"Oh, it's just you, Charlie."
"It's Charlotte! And I rephrase my words-- Do not turn off the lights at all!" Charlotte, the cashier of the Korean Shaved Ice store, stomped her foot on the ground, slightly causing Gary to stumble as the table he was resting his hand on to lightly quake.
"This isn't your personal meeting room that you can just use whenever you want!"
"Can I have another Mango Graham, cashier Charlotte?"
"Okay, what size would that be?" But as soon as Riley ordered another batch of his dessert, Charlotte's frown quickly turned into a smile.
"Large, please."
"And what about the rest of you?"
"I… I think I had enough sugar, thank you," Silvie waved her hand as she let out an awkward chuckle.
"Same, my sugar levels are way above my liking. Mother would probably beat the hell out of me if she finds out," Hannah, who was sitting beside Silvie, was looking back and forth between the menu and the already empty cup in front of her; her face, clearly conflicted.
"Okay, one Large Mango Graham coming right up," Charlotte then smiled as she turned around; snarling at Gary as she did so.
"A… anyway," Gary then cleared his throat as he once again turned his attention to Riley and the others, "I knew you guys were going to say that, so I edited some details to it," he then said as he handed a paper to each of his three compatriots.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"So… what do you think of my new costume?"
"It's suspiciously better than before, did you copy this from someone else?"
"It's good, you should go with this."
"It's still ugly, Gary."
"What do you mean it's still ugly!? Do you even constructive criticisms, bro!?"
"I was taught the compliment sandwich by father," Riley nodded as Charlotte placed his order in front of him.
"Then I would like to hear that!"
"You don't deserve it," Riley shook his head.
"W-- Talk to you brother! Why is he so snarky today!?"
"He's usually like that," Hannah scoffed as her hands slowly reached towards Riley's Mango Graham cup. But before she could touch it, it slightly slid nearer to Riley.
"Tch. Enough about the costumes for now. What do you guys think we will be doing outside?"
"Probably gain some actual real-life experience?" Silvie placed her hand on her chin as she squinted her eyes, "Our instructor did say that's what our exercises for the past few days were for."
It has been a week since most of the students of the Academy had failed the hostage rescue exercise, and since then, they have been doing it every day. Most of them had already passed once or twice, with Silvie redeeming herself by accomplishing and completing all of it so far.
Some, however, were still out of luck as the scenario was different day by day.
"Speaking of your instructor, how is she treating Ri--"
"Let's not go there for now!" Gary lightly slammed his whole torso on the table before Hannah could continue your words, "I feel jealous just thinking about it, agh."
"What do you mean you're jealous!? This is pedophilia! I even reported it to the guidance office but they said their relationship was allowed as some sort of development exercise for Riley!"
"It's allowed!? Oh, my heart wanes… I wish I was born on the spectrum as well."
"I do not see what is so wrong with it," Silvie let out a small sigh, "Riley is at the age of consent and is well within the law to do as he wishes… that is of course, if he is truly willing and not being coerced into his situation."
"Wh-- he's still too young for that old hag! Seriously, am I the only one normal here!? Don't you guys watch the docuseries they had on Webflix about this very same situation!? Riley, say something here! I swear, I will find a way to tell this to mother once we're outside next week!"
"Thank you for always worrying about me even if it is not needed, sister. But Scarlet Mage is only serving me as my subordinate, there will not be any issue arising from this that you should be concerned about."
"S… slave!? Miss Scarlet Mage is your slave!?" Silvie, who had previously been pretty calm about their conversation, suddenly stood up from her seat, almost tipping off Riley's Mango Graham cup.
"No, she is my subordinate, Silvie."
Riley's words, however, seem to just fly past her as her face began to redden like the insides of a watermelon.
"Enough, enough of this talk!" Hannah yelled as she covered her ears, "I forbid you from seeing that woman again, Riley!"
"That is impossible, sister. She is the adviser in my class."
"Ugh!"
Hannah once again groaned in frustration as she saw Riley's lack of care. Throughout the years, she was always the one beside Riley. Riley, as is the obvious past, was not easy to take care of as a young child.
Even though she was only turning 5 years old then, the memory of Riley coming into their lives was a memory that seemed to have been etched inside her mind.
He did not allow others to touch him; outbursts and other potentially violent behavior usually surfaced whenever he was touched without his permission. She could still remember all the scratches and bite marks she had received as a child; in fact, one of the wounds she got still followed her as a scar, even now as she was taking her first steps to adulthood.
She got the scar when she was around 7 years old; Riley had been refusing to take a bath for almost a week back then, causing the whole house to stink like a wet dog drowned in its own pee.
No one had been able to touch Riley still, and her parents were too doting to even do anything about the situation, not even a single sermon. And so, the young Hannah decided to take matters into her own hands.
She sneaked inside Riley's room one night, went to his private shower room, filled the bucket she was holding with water… and splashed him with all of it as Riley was peacefully sleeping on his bed.
Riley immediately sat up from his bed, but before he could do anything, Hannah dragged him out of the bed and pulled him by the ankles straight towards the shower room-- a feat somewhat easily done thanks to her 2 years of martial arts training with Bernard. However, that didn't take away the fact that she was, in retrospect, still a child-- what followed was a scuffle.
As soon as she let go of Riley's feet, he immediately bit her foot; right beside where an already healing bite mark was peacefully positioned. Hannah didn't hold anything back, as she also bit Riley on the arm even as he stank like a rotten egg left out inside the fridge for 2 weeks.
The scuffle continued for almost a full minute until Hannah could no longer bear the pain, causing her arms to immediately burst into flames. But before it could do any damage to Riley, she moved away. But as she did so, however, the flames on her hands shot towards the water heater; causing it to hiss.
The two of them had their eyes focused on the quaking water heater; and as soon as it showed signs that it was about to burst, Riley immediately stepped back and turned around. Hannah, however, jumped over him.
Riley quickly bit her shoulder in response. Hannah, however, did not do anything as her embrace grew even tighter. And soon, a deafening sound erupted in the air, causing both of their ears to ring.
She could not remember if she was crying as the whistling in her ear didn't disappear; what she could remember, however, was the warm feeling flowing from her back. She had never once felt the sensation of heat before in her life, so it was something quite a foreign feeling for her as a 7-year-old child.
However, that feeling of warmth was momentary; as what followed after was a shrilling scream that quickly brought back her hearing. It was then that she found out that the warm feeling trailing behind her back was her own blood.
Her entire back, filled with shards of glass and debris; her flesh torn to shreds. But even then, she did not let go of Riley until her mother arrived; surprisingly, even with the strength of the explosion, besides Hannah's bite marks, Riley was completely unscathed.
The next thing that Hannah could remember was waking up in the hospital, with the sight of Riley holding her hand.
And since then, she became the only person that was allowed to touch him; even to the point that Riley follows her orders when there were chores to be done inside the house. And so, it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that she was more of a mother to Riley rather than a sister.
"Do not be too sad, sister. I left you some."
Hannah woke up from reminiscing as Riley slowly pushed his Mango Graham shaved ice, its contents carefully split in half. "If you are worrying that you are being replaced, don't be. You are still the most important object in my life, sister."
"...What's with that, you shit," Hannah let out a tiny scoff as she immediately grabbed the cup, "...thanks," she then softly whispered.
"Oh man, this moment is even sweeter than dessert."
"T… that's true. I wish I had a sibling as well," Silvie wiped the tear that was threatening to fall from her eye.
"But whenever I remember your superhero name is Nuclear Baby, it all goes away," Gary then added as he let out a muffled chuckle.
"W…
...What's wrong with Nuclear Baby!?"
And so, with life in the school continuing to blossom, the time for the pioneer students of Mega Academy to have their first major exercise had arrived. And even more so being let out of the Academy after more than a month of being cooped up inside, the students were more excited that they would finally be able to wear the costume they have painstakingly sketched and designed for two whole weeks.
Meanwhile, as their excitement grew, those that were hidden in the shadows grew as well.
Chapter 40"Is everyone present?"
"Yes, Ms. Scarlet Mage."
"Alright, please line up and get your costume on the table. You go first."
"O… Okay."
Silvie took in a huge gulp as she went to the front of the class. Today was the day they were going outside the Academy, and everything seemed just like any other they when she woke up. Scarlet Mage didn't say anything to them the day before, just telling them to come to the class 2 hours earlier than usual.
Most of them were confused, of course. They thought that maybe Scarlet Mage forgot that today was a big day for all of them, but as soon as they entered the classroom, they realized they thought wrong.
Scarlet Mage was already inside; beside her was a long table set up on top of the stage, with a number of black boxes each containing a label on top-- their name. Some of them almost jumped on the stage and grabbed the box with their name on it, but before they could do so, Scarlet Mage told all of them to sit down and wait until all of them were here.
And now, the moment has come for them to see the fruit of their labors; a costume of their own design, improved and manufactured by the Academy itself. Silvie once again took in a gulp as Scarlet Mage handed her her box.
She didn't know why, but her hands could not help but tremble. The box was by no means heavy, no; but it felt like the heaviest thing she had ever held in her hands. It might all sound like an exaggeration, but that was truly how she felt at the moment.
"I look forward to seeing what you designed, Mega Girl," Scarlet Mage smiled as she saw the look of exhilaration on Silvie's face, "Now go to the locker rooms and get dressed, then go to the Academy Gates so you can help arrange your classmates once they get there, there should already be a space for our class there."
"Y… yes! Thank you," Silvie nodded repeatedly before she turned around; looking at Riley and Gary with a smile on her face before heading out of the room. Afterward, Scarlet Mage called the students one by one alphabetically to get their costumes; and just like with Silvie, they were told to get dressed and head straight towards the Academy gates.
"Why… is your costume too heavy?"
"Hehe, because the Dragon Monarch carries the sin of being the mightiest; a sin heaviest of all."
"..." Scarlet Mage almost stumbled as Gary grabbed the case from her. She didn't want to admit it; but when she first received her costume, she was more like Gary than any other student so far. She was full of hope and dreams; she didn't even want to become like Mega Woman, no. She just wanted to help the people in any way she could.
"You are meant to help people, Gary," she then said as she looked straight into Gary's eyes, "Once you wear that costume, you no longer carry your weight or your sins. You carry the people, never forget that."
"That's…" Gary lightly took in a gulp as he saw Scarlet Mage's gaze. But afterwards, he bowed his head and clasped his hands together; his eyes filled with a renewed resolution.
"Now go out there."
"Thank you for the pointers, Sifu Scarlet Mage! The Dragon Monarch will forever remember your guidance as he transcends to immortality and pierces the heavens!"
"..." Scarlet Mage could only watch as Gary left the room with tears trailing from his eyes. But afterward, she let out a sigh and handed the last case to the last student,
"...Why are you always going last?"
"That's just how it is, Scarlet Mage," Riley said as he grabbed his case from Scarlet Mage.
"And why is your case so light?"
"It's made from lotus silk. Lighter but stronger and much more comforting to the skin than cotton and wool," Riley said as he suddenly opened the case, the white radiance of its content immediately reflecting throughout the room, "Do you wish to see me wearing it, Katherine?"
"W… Don't call me by my name here!"
"We are alone, no?" Riley muttered as he looked around the empty classroom, "And I wish for you to be the first to see it-- as you are my subordinate."
"That's--"
And before Scarlet Mage could finish her words, Riley handed him back the case and started undressing.
"What are you doing!?"
"You are my subordinate, no? I feel it appropriate that you help me get dressed."
"...I feel like you are confusing a subordinate to a servant, Riley."
"I see. Then subordinates don't help their boss get dressed?"
"...Just what kind of movies-- You know what, never mind," Scarlet Mage then let out a sigh as she looked at her tablet, making sure the room was completely locked before approaching Riley with his case.
"..." Riley then loosened his arms, allowing Scarlet Mage to dress him.
Scarlet Mage, however, could not help but stare at the contest of the case; looking back and forth between it and Riley,
"This is…"
***
"Oh man, so you went with that one? But where's the cape!?"
"I… I removed it, I feel it'll add more air resistance whenever I fly."
"But man oh man… They did such a good job, you look super fucking cool, Silv."
"T… thanks, you too."
Silvie was wearing a blue skin-tight mask that almost fully covered her face except for her mouth going down to her chin; It also had an opening for her eyes, with a material soft enough that it flowed along with each of her blink. The mask accentuated her almost golden hair, which was tied up in some sort of red bangle into a ponytail.
Most of her suit was of a white, almost porcelain color; and although it was not as skin-tight as her mask, it was still enough to showcase Silvie's well-toned figure. There was also some sort of padding, or perhaps plates covering her shoulders, featuring the same color as her mask that flowed to her wrist. She also had a blue belt, which didn't really have some sort of use. Her boots were also of a blue color; all accentuated with gold on the edges.
But perhaps the most noticeable of all, was the golden emblem on her chest; shaped in some sort of a star.
"And… I see you kept the cape?"
"It's made of layers and layers of thin kevlar," Gary said as he covered himself up with a gray, almost metallic thick cape. His mask was also of a gray tone, covering only the sides of his eyes. As for his suit, perhaps it was better to call it a light armor. He had a black skin-tight suit covering all of his body, covered with multiple plates that made him look more muscular than he already is.
And the most noticeable part? It was the words Dragon and Monarch, each embedded on the plate covering his forearms in some sort of reflective material that will almost blind anyone who stares at it.
The costumes of the other students were also unique; but perhaps because there were thousands of them gathered in the Academy Gate, they all started to look the same-- like some sort of superhero convention.
Bella Jackson and Ben Jackson were completely covered in some sort of metal armor, with only their eyes exposed.
There was one, however, who stood out amongst all of the students-- Tomoe Reynolds. She was wearing an almost jet-black suit, without any other colors adorning her. But most importantly, her head was covered by some sort of motorcycle helmet;
A costume that was eerily similar to that of Darkday's. If it wasn't for the tag pinned on all of the students' chests featuring their superhero names, then most of the students outside of Class 1-V would have probably panicked.
"So, who's the creep?"
"That's Tomoe. Apparently, she likes Dark-- W… what are you wearing, Hannah!?"
"...The same as everyone else?"
Silvie could not help but almost leaped back in shock as Hannah approached them. Like most of the female students, she was clad in a skin-tight suit. Hers was a bright pink color, with hints of black on her hand to her forearms, and on her boots. Her black mask was similar to that of Gary's, but covered more of her face as it had some sort of pink ornament that went under the top of her ear.
"No… but," Silvie's eyes were wide open as she looked at Hannah from head to toe. It was true that besides her choice of color, her costume was more of the normal ones. Well, that would have been the case if it wasn't for her figure.
Due to her strict training since she was a child; Hannah… was bountiful in all the right places, her figure almost shaped to perfection. She had a moderate-sized breast. Her large buttocks, however, almost bounced with each of her movements.
"It's fire-resistant," Hannah did not seem to notice the stares she was getting as she even spun around, fully showing her costume to Silvie, "They said it's even better than the material they used in space rockets whenever they re-entry or some shit."
"...Your mouth doesn't really suit that bright color," Gary said as his eyes found it hard to stray away from Hannah's assets.
"Wait until I burst into flames," Hannah clicked her tongue, "I already tested it earlier and it looked nuclear."
"It… it does look really nice on you," Silvie slightly stuttered as her eyes darted back and forth between Hannah's buttocks and hers, "But… why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your class?"
"Meh, I asked teach Nightcrawler permission to leave. They said it was alright since our activity is schoolwide anyway, so I might as well join you guys."
"What about your friends in your class?"
"They… they'll be fine," Hannah let out an awkward chuckle as she waved her hand, "Anyway, where's the blankface?"
"He should be here any minute by now," Gary said as he looked towards the direction where Riley is supposed to come from-- and true enough, he was on his way towards them.
"What… the… fuck is that."
Riley… was clad in white; almost reflecting the rays of the sun as his pearl-like coat that reached to his ankles fluttered with even the tiniest bit of wind. The inner layer was some sort of vest, with horizontal stripes of black almost similar to those that people were wearing in prison. As for the innermost layer, it was a black shirt, with the top-most button not clasped.
He had on a set of black silk pants, then a sharp pair of brown leather boots. Pair everything of that with his white hair and elf-like pale aesthetics, then he looked like some sort of prince in a fantasy world… or as he said to Scarlet Mage as she dressed him-- a mafia boss.
"B… bro, I think you're in the wrong school," Gary said as soon as Riley stood near them, "Why does it feel like you're going to sign autographs anytime soon?"
"Damn it," Hannah then said as she looked at her brother from head to toe, "That looks really familiar, isn't your outfit from the series we were watching before? You should have told me you were going for that, we could have been twinning right now."
"We're not twins, sister."
"That… that really suits you for some reason, Riley," Silvie blinked a couple of times as she could not help but touch the soft fabric of Riley's long coat, "But… where is your mask?"
"...Oh," Riley muttered as he grabbed something from the pocket of his vest, "Thank you for reminding me, Silvie."
"No, no," Gary then slightly backed away as he saw what Riley was holding,
"Fuck… this moment is cool as fuck," he then muttered as he watched as Riley slowly wore his so-called mask-- a pair of sunglasses.
The very same pair he had always been wearing whenever Hannah burst into flames.
Chapter 41"This texture really is amazing, isn't it? You could use it as casual clothes as well."
"The sunglasses though, didn't expect that."
"Seriously, Riley. This is from Latino Mafia Reborn!"
Almost an hour had passed since Riley's somewhat grand entrance at the Academy Gates, and the volume of the students' excitement still had not toned down for even a wink. They were told to wait here until the staff was done securing the outside; which the Academy had actually been doing long before the students had gathered.
Scarlet Mage and the almost hundred other instructors of different classes were currently gathered together, most likely debriefing each other and reviewing the Academy's first school-wide activity.
As for Riley and the others, they too were busy talking about their costumes.
"Won't you get copyrighted or some shit with this?" Hannah then walked around Riley, checking every detail of his costume. Unbeknownst to her, the male students that were near them were also checking her out.
"It's fine, sister," Riley then let out a small sigh, "Mine has a different color combination."
"But still--"
"Oho, isn't this our Hannah? Why are you spending time with the other class?"
And before Hannah could finish talking with her brother, a group of students from another class suddenly approached their group.
"Your classmates?" Gary immediately squinted his eyes as he looked at each of the students in the group carefully, "It would seem... our class has the better tastes."
The group that approached Hannah all had the same costumes, a one-piece suit that covered their body from toe to neck; seemingly made of some sort of latex. They were also wearing the same headgear; a helmet that covered half their face. However, even if they were all wearing the same costume design, they all had their own unique colors.
And just by that alone, most of the students who saw them walking had surmised that they were working as a literal team.
"We were hearing rumors that you were friends with the Mega Student," the man in the blue suit then stepped forward, before turning his head towards Silvie, "I take it this is she?"
"Tch, are you telling us our class is not a good enough company for you?" A woman in green followed, "This is why no one is talking to you in class, you think you're better than all of us."
"Oh, so not your friends," Gary then let out a scoff as he took a step forward, once again looking at the group one by one.
"What are you anuses supposed to be, a gaming computer?"
"What did you say!?" The man in the red outfit almost rushed towards Gary, but was stopped by his teammates, "Say that again to my face, you bastard!"
"What are you anuses supposed to be..." And Gary did just that, he approached the team and looked the man in the red suit straight in the eyes, but this time, little trickles of smoke fumed from Gary's eyes as they turned red, "...a fucking gaming computer?"
"So arrogant..." The man in the black suit, who had been keeping quiet from behind the team, finally stepped forward as his eyes too, turned red, "...but for how long?"
"You fail to see Mount Tai, little man," Gary then immediately straightened his back as he returned the man's gaze. And due to the difference of their costume, as well as Gary's towering statue; true enough, the man in the black suit did look small, "Just a small fish in a pond, not knowing it is facing a dragon; The Dragon Mon--"
"Gary, enough."
"Alright, alright. I was just kidding," the heat on Gary's eyes then instantly dissipated as soon as Silvie blocked her with her hand, "They are not worth exchanging pointers with."
"That's right, run to your master, dog!" The man in the red suit then pushed his teammates away as he once again let out a roar.
"Please calm your team down, Bla… Black Defender," Silvie then slightly stuttered as she read the name of the one that seemed to be the team's leader.
"Your friends started it, Mega… Girl. You chose that name? Truly, I see the arrogance goes with the group."
"..." Silvie did not really respond, only locking her eyes towards Black Defender.
"Let's go, we're wasting our time here. This Mega Girl thinks she could reign through the school just because she hasn't faced me yet," Black Defender then gestured to his other teammates to follow him, "But soon, the Academy would know who the true Mega Student is."
"Tch, watch yourselves out there," Red Defender muttered as he raised his middle before going away.
"Holy shit, man. Those are your classmates? No wonder you're not spending time with them," Gary snorted.
"You didn't have to provoke them, Gary," Silvie then let out a sigh, before looking to where Scarlet Mage and the instructors were at and signalling that everything was fine.
"I've been waiting for a chance to use that line!" Gary explained, "They acted out straight from the novels I read, I just couldn't resist it."
"A… anyway, what's with that, Hannah? They seem to have it out for you."
"W… well, let's just say my class and I don't really see eye to eye," Hannah then let out a chuckle as she waved her hand at Silvie, "And the ones you met just now were the students who came up on top of the group activity we had last month… they wanted to invite me in their group since I also won."
"I take it you refused?"
"Obviously. Who would want to join those elite, stuck-up motherfuckers?"
"They're not bullying you, are they?"
"What? No, psh. How could they be when I am stronger than all of them?" Hannah once again waved her hand, "A… anyway, when are we going out?"
"Should be any minute now, Miss Scarlet Mage and the others seem to be finished talking."
"Bro, Riley. Why didn't you back us up earlier, man?"
"..."
"Riley?"
"Hm?" Riley then blinked a couple of times as he slightly turned his head towards Gary, "I apologize, Gary. I…
...was lost in thought."
"What are you--"
And just as Silvie said it, Scarlet Mage and the other instructors returned to their respective classes. Scarlet Mage immediately noticed Hannah's presence in their class, but it would seem they really did not mind other students joining them as she just told her students to gather up.
"Alright, listen up!" Scarlet Mage then clapped her hands, "There will be buses waiting for you outside the gates, your first task is to get on them."
"W… what?"
"How is that even a task?"
"And once a bus gets filled with people, it will immediately leave for the destination of our first major exercise; so I suggest you don't get distracted. But you don't have to worry, there will be enough for all of you."
"Where are we going, Miss Scarlet Mage!?"
"I can't tell you just yet for security reasons, but you would know once you get on the bus. There will be someone there to assist you."
"Y… you're not coming with us!?"
"I will meet all of you there," Scarlet Mage shook her head, "Once you get out the Gates, most of you will surely panic and separate ways. Alright, get in a line and wait for the Gates to open."
"That's…"
Suffice to say, most of the students were confused. Scarlet Mage was telling them to organize themselves and form a line, but once they were out… they were bound to separate? Just what was waiting for them outside?
The students all looked at each other, their whispers and words almost filling the entire air due to their sheer number. But finally, after a few more minutes, a rhythmic thunder started to erupt in the air-- the Gate was finally opening.
The sound of the gates quickly overwhelmed the whispers of the students. Their excitement, however, was reflected by the colossal gates that opened wider and wider; ceaselessly growing.
And soon, their eyes were bombarded with flashes of light; unfortunately for those who were directly in front of the Gate, their eyes were almost blinded.
"This… this is--"
"They're here! The students are out!"
And before any of the students could even let out a whisper, roars filled their ears as the people waiting for them outside almost numbered in a thousand; and all were holding and pointing their cameras towards them.
"Have fun in avoiding the media, kids," Scarlet Mage then let out a small smirk as she turned away, "And remember, don't reveal your true iden...tity." Her words slightly stuttered as she met with Riley's eyes… whose superhero name just happened to be his real name.
"Alright, I hope to see all of you there," were Scarlet Mage's parting words as she casually left her students alone. And it wasn't only her, the rest of the instructors did just the same.
"They… are throwing us down to the wolves," Gary took in a small gulp as he slightly squinted his eyes, "How are we even going to go through these people?"
"Why don't you laser them like you did during the group activity?" Hannah said as she let out a small chuckle.
"That is a good idea, sister. As expected of you."
"...I was kidding, what the fuck, bro."
"L… look, the others are already leaving!" Silvie then grabbed the group's attention as she pointed towards the gate. And true enough, most of the students that were in front of the gates were already stepping out. However, due to the onslaught of flashes of light and endless barrage of the media, none of them were able to pass through.
"W… wait!"
One of the students' masks was even pulled by one of the media people, causing her to cover her face and run back to the end of the line to hide away from the cameras.
"This… isn't this too brutal?"
"Are the instructors not going to do anything!? I thought they wanted us to secure our identities!?"
"Get… please get out of the way!"
"S… stay away! Please don't pull on our masks!"
The students were screaming and roaring, the people from the media, however, didn't seem to be hearing any of their pleads as their cameras continued to flash; and their questions unceasing.
"How is life inside!?"
"Is the government treating you right!?"
"How are your living conditions!? Why are they only letting you out now!?"
"Where are you going!?"
"P… please, I don't know the answer to any of your qu-- Kya!"
And once again, a student ran to the back as her mask was pulled away. The students all started to panic; if it wasn't for the barrier blocking them away from the press, then they were sure they would have already been the victim of a stampede.
There were some students, however, that have already managed to pass through the crowd; or rather, over them. The students that were able to fly, float, or make themselves blend in with the crowd easily managed to get on the buses.
Seeing this, some of the students could not help but moan or groan in frustration; thinking how unfair it was that they weren't able to fl--
"Haha, bitches!"
"W… woah, run!"
"What's that!?"
A whistling sound then pierced the media's ears as one of the buses behind them started to skid and slide towards the gate, causing most of them to run to the sides to avoid it.
"S… sis!?"
"That's right, help me out here!"
"Don't do it, you'll also move the barrier!" Silvie then immediately waved her hand towards Bella, who seemed to be the one pulling the bus towards them.
"I'll just lift it up once it gets there!"
"This is reckless!"
"No, it's geni--" And before Bella could finish her words…
"Ah! Sister!"
She fainted again.
"..."
"Should we… just go?" Gary then said as he moved closer to Riley and the others, "I can't fly like the three of you… so carry me?"
"No," Silvie immediately answered.
"W… what!? You're leaving me behind!?"
"No," Silvie shook her head before looking towards the other students who were running away from the gates, "The other students are in distress, I will not stand for this kind of harassment. I…
....I will go talk to them."
Chapter 42"I… will go and talk to them."
"What? What for? Stop being so nosy and let's just go."
Even with the slightly thick long gloves covering her arm, Silvie could still feel Hannah's slightly warm hand touching her wrist, holding her back from approaching the media flocking outside the gates.
"No," Silvie gently removed Hannah's hand as she stepped away, "We didn't spend days designing our costumes just for them to treat it like that. As the Mega Student, I feel like I have some sort of responsibility to tell them off."
"You… don't really need to treat that role so seriously," Hannah could not help but let out a small sigh, "The Academy didn't even give you a set task for that, right?"
"Even so," Silvie shook her head, "You guys can go ahead if you want to. I… I'll go talk to them."
Seeing Silvie still walking towards the frenzied crowd, both Hannah and Gary could only shake their heads; slightly vexed from her slightly over-the-top sense of… integrity.
As for Riley, his eyes still wandered around elsewhere, not even minding all the noise and chaos going on around him as he followed Hannah and the others without any concern.
"E… Everyone, please listen!" Silvie then immediately raised her voice as she reached the barricade blocking the media from entering the Academy, "Outsiders are not allowed inside the Academy, so please; if I may ask all of you to step back!?"
"E… every--"
And before she could say another word, the mask of the student behind her was snatched away, causing him to bump towards Silvie; and due to Silvie's innate durability, the student shoved himself away.
"N… no!" And with his hands on the ground, he had no way to hide his face.
"Stop, please stop!" Silvie immediately blocked him from the cameras. But considering how many flashes of light burned through their eyes before she could do so, there were probably already hundreds of photos of his face.
And since he was wearing a costume and a name tag, he would have no choice but to change both.
Realizing this, Silvie could not help but take in a long and deep breath. And after a few seconds, she roared.
"Enough!"
Her scream was enough to create a small ripple, blowing away the dust that gathered around her and slightly pushing the reporters near her. "The students will talk to you if they want to! But pulling them towards you will only make them scared and run away! Half of the students of the Academy are minors, you all should be ashamed of yourselves for treating them like this!"
"..."
With Silvie's words lingering in the air, the crowd's excited rambles slowly became whispers. Their cameras were also gently pointing down as they all took a good look at Silvie, their eyes staring at the name tag attached on her chest.
Seeing the crowd now quiet, Silvie could not help but let out a short but deep sigh.
"Thank you," she then said, "We still have a school exercise today, but I am sure the Academy will allow you to come back la--"
"Mega Girl!? Are you related to Mega Woman!?"
"How many of you are there!?"
"How are the living conditions inside!?"
"How is it like living with the other superheroes!?"
"W… wait--"
"What are you learning inside!?"
"I heard you accepted everyone that enrolled, is that true!?"
"No, I--"
"I see some costumes are quite revealing. What do you think of the objectification of female superheroes in general!?"
"Wait, I can't--"
Try as she may, Silvie's words were not getting through. Instead, the crowd seemed to have become even more aggressive, even pushing the barricade as some of them were starting to force themselves in.
"No, please! You are not allowed to enter the Academy, it is against the rules!" Silvie roared; but alas, her words were no longer being heard.
"Let's just leave, Mega Girl! These imbeciles are not worth your time!" Hannah then once again grabbed Silvie's arm, pulling her away from the oncoming horde of reporters, "Riley, you can float chuuni up, right?"
"Maybe."
"Good, let's get going," Hannah nodded as her feet began to flicker. However, before they could combust, Silvie once again removed her arm away.
"What are you doing!?" Hannah once again grabbed Silvie's arm, but this time, she was not even able to budge her, "...Mega Girl?" Hannah could only furrow her eyes as she saw Silvie staring at a single reporter; a reporter who went over the barricade.
"Mega Girl, what are you doing?"
"You went over the barricade."
Hannah tried to call Silvie's attention. Silvie, however, just walked towards the intruding reporter and casually lifted him up by the collars before destroying his camera.
"That's against the law," Silvie then said as she looked the man straight in the eyes. The man was slightly squealing in the air as he tried to remove Silvie's hand. But alas, for someone like him, Silvie's grip might as well be an iron cuff.
But finally, after a few more seconds, he felt his feet once again touching the ground. He then quickly looked at Silvie, only to find that he was back on the other side of the barricade with the other reporters.
"P… please," Silvie then stuttered, the cold tone that previously persisted in her voice just moments ago now completely gone,
"Please stay on your line," she then meekly chuckled before bowing her head several times, "I… I truly apologize for breaking your camera."
"T… that's," the reporter could only let out a whisper as he slightly took a step back. His fellow reporters near him also pointed down their cameras in fear that it would be destroyed.
"Thank… thank you for understanding!" Silvie once again bowed her head before returning to Hannah and the others.
"What… was that all about?" Hannah immediately said as she blinked her eyes a couple of times as Silvie returned to them.
"S… someone went over, sorry," Silvie let out a short but deep sigh as she shook her head, "But that seemed to calm them down, I think we can go now! Let's go, everyone!"
Silvie then raised her hand, signaling to the other students that it was safe to cross and get to the buses. Of course, the flashes of light and the endless shuttering clicks in the air still persisted, but not even a hand dared to go over the barricade anymore even as the students walked near them.
"So, was I the only one not expecting that?" Gary then said as they watched as Silvie assisted the other students, "...I read a character like her once, it's--"
"Don't," before Gary could finish his words, Hannah shook her head as they followed and walked beside Silvie, "Let's just get this over with."
"That's not very Mega Woman-like, Mega Girl."
"W… what!?" Silvie, who was assisting the other students as she too walked towards the bus, could not help but slightly stop in her tracks as she heard Riley's words, "What do you mean?"
"Mega Woman would smile as she warned them, and they would just comply," Riley said with a small sigh, "But it is understandable. Her presence alone is enough to silence everyone; you still have a long way to go, Mega Girl."
"R… right," Silvie muttered as she took in a small gulp, "I… I will take that into consideration next time. Thank you, Riley."
"Hm."
"...Did your brother just smile?"
"She's fond of Mega Woman or something," Hannah nonchalantly waved her hand, before pointing towards a slightly empty bus, "That's enough, Mega Girl! Let's go there so we can sit at the back!"
Hearing her friends calling for her for the nth time, Silvie finally stopped assisting the other students as the four of them rushed to the almost empty bus. And as they wanted, the seats at the back were vacant, allowing the four of them to comfortably sit there. It took a few minutes before the bus they were in was filled; and seeing as there were no more students approaching the parking, it would seem they have all boarded the buses.
"Man, even the bus is fortified."
"That's the government for you, wasting our taxes."
The sound of Gary tapping the windows caught the attention of the other students already sitting there; and as if some kind of domino, they also started tapping the windows and all the other parts of the bus; only to realize how thick the walls and panels were.
"W… wait, the people… the people are gone!"
"What?"
"Holy shit, where are they!?"
And then, out of nowhere, the horde of media that made their otherwise short walk completely unbearable was nowhere to be seen; with not even a single soul remaining. All that was left were the barricades, several cameras attached to tripods, as well as… a handful of mannequins similar to the ones they could find in the simulation training hall.
"So there… there really was no media?"
"...But I thought I was getting interviewed."
"So everyone was a hologram!?"
"Close."
And as the students started to clamor, a voice could be heard entering the bus. It was a man wearing a green one-piece suit that completely covered his entire body, even his face. On his head, however, was a hat one could find being worn by a bus driver.
"What you saw just now was an illusion, generously produced by one of the instructors in the Academy. The real reporters were asked to take a break in the meantime; be warned though, they would be the ones welcoming all of you home once we come back from our little exercise," the man then said as he stepped in front of the students, "If anything, more so than villains, they are our number 1 enemy. They would find ways to drag your name to the ground as long as it gets enough traction. The media are not your friend, please remember that."
"..."
"Also, please wear your designated seatbelts; we will be departing shortly. As for my name, you may just address me as Green Fly."
Green Fly then curtsied, a pair of wings silently fluttered behind him.
"Where are we going, Mister Green Fly!? The instructor said you'll be the one to tell us!"
"Straight to the point, I like it," Green Fly then let out a small chuckle as he sat on the driver's seat, "Some of you may feel a little uncomfortable with where we're going, but the Academy deemed it important that you see and feel it."
"We're going sightseeing!? So this is a field trip!?"
"Not quite," Green Fly muttered as he fixed the mirrors to see the students behind him, "What you're going to see…
....is the aftermath of the Battle of Toronto."
Chapter 43"The outside world, it feels like it has been years since I last laid upon its beautiful infrastructure."
"Polluted is what it is. And stop being so dramatic, we've only been gone for like a month. And can you please stop waving!? We can't even see the outside anymore!"
"Never."
The buses of the Academy were now nearing Toronto, and it would seem that a number of the population were aware of their exercise, as there were parts of the road where some civilians were waiting for them from the sidewalks, either taking videos and photos of them or just waving and wanting to see them.
They have been traveling for more than 6 hours now, so most of the students that were previously all hyped up in excitement were either asleep or just quietly talking with their peers. There were a few, however, who still seemed to have all the energy in the world; with one of them being Gary. But an hour after they passed the border, the glass window suddenly dimmed, completely blocking their view of the outside.
Gary wanted to open one of the windows to wave to the people, except they couldn't be opened as they were securely embedded on the walls.
"Man, if only phones are allowed in the Academy. This would have been nice to vlog," Gary then let out a sigh as there were no more people to wave to.
"A vlog?" Silvie then joined in on the conversation as she slightly leaned forward to look at Gary, "That's like a video diary, right?"
"...Yes? I have like 30 subscribers," Gary snickered, "Don't you have vloggers back in Russia?"
"I… I think so," Silvie muttered, "I wasn't really allowed to go out much. The first time I was even able to have a phone was when my father and I arrived here 2 years ago," she then said with a small chuckle.
"Seriously?" Hannah could not help but let out a slightly surprised hum as she glanced at Silvie, "So that's why you didn't have any posts in FaceLog before 2019."
"...You searched that far?"
"A habit learned from my dad," Hannah said as she burst out in laughter, "Know your friends, as he said."
"You… have quite the interesting father. He was also the one who taught you martial arts at a young age, right?"
"5 years old," Hannah quickly replied as she slightly stretched her legs, causing her muscles to etch out from her suit.
"You thick af, girl."
"Don't look!" Silvie quickly pushed Gary's face away, planting it on the bus' unnaturally thick window.
"I guess we both had strict parents," Silvie then sighed before letting go of Gary's face, "I don't remember much from my childhood, but what I can remember was father always locking me in my room, even for days; cuffing me in my bed."
"...Seriously? Isn't that abuse?"
"Pft, I think that's normal in Russia. I heard they even ride bears there."
"A… anyway, he said it was for my own good. And I can understand why… My powers woke up when I was just a baby."
"...What?"
"He didn't say it, and he doesn't need to… but I think I killed my mom."
"..."
"He said she was alive and just left us… but I think he's only protecting me from the truth," Silvie muttered as she let out a meek and wry chuckle, "But yes, enough about the depressing--"
And before Silvie could finish her words, Gary suddenly hugged her,
"It's alright, it's alright," he then said, his words stuttering as tears started to flow from his eyes, "We're here for you, okay?"
"..."
"..."
And suddenly, from the few moments of awkward silence, a slight sizzle in the air began to whisper.
"Let go of me, you motherfucker."
"A… aw!" Gary then yelled in pain as he felt a tingling pain boiling through his armor; and with the sudden pain lingering, he could not help but back away and let go of… Hannah,
"Ah, my cape!" He then yelled as he raised the ends of his cape, with a small part of it completely melted off.
Seeing this, the heavy weight that suddenly wrapped around Silvie's heart started to disappear, reflected by the chuckle that she could not help but let out from her mouth,
"You look very stupid, Dragon Monarch," Silvie then said as she covered her mouth, still giggling as she watched Gary bounce up and down from his seat.
"At least I made you laugh, right?" Gary then smirked. And if it weren't for the tears coming out of his eyes from having a part of his cape burnt, he would have looked much cooler; Silvie thought.
"A… anyway, enough about me," Silvie then said as she waved her hand, "So you've been training since 5 years old? What about Riley?"
"Well, you could say the training got easier when he joined in," a small smile appeared on Hannah's face as she glanced at Riley, who had not even said a single word since they left from the Academy, "The training became more strict, but father became more lenient since his focus was split in two."
"So… does that mean Riley knows some martial arts as well?"
"Some?" Hannah let out a scoff before letting out a slightly mocking chuckle, "This idiot can probably kick Dragon Monarch's ass with his eyes closed if they weren't using their powers."
"You seem to underestimate my power, Nuclear Vixen."
"What the-- My name is Nuclear Baby!"
"Does your body look like it screams baby!?" Gary then roared, his voice almost seeping through the sound-proof windows of the bus, "Such proportions should be given the proper name it's due! You could even star in your own adult parody series if you get famous!"
"Mega Girl, is it against the law to kill your fellow Super?"
"Unfortunately so."
"Riley, back me out here!" Gary then said as he stood in front of the silent Riley, "If Hannah wasn't your sister, then would you consider dating her!? You would, right?"
"Don't. Fucking. Answer. That."
Seeing her brother slowly turning his head towards Gary, Hannah's eyes started twitching. But alas, Riley, who had been keeping quiet the whole time, started opening his mouth.
"No," he answered, "I love Hannah, so I would not burden her with the curse of being with someone like me."
"T… that's…"
"E… eh?"
Seeing Riley answering without even a hint of hesitation, Gary and Silvie could not help but take in deep and stuttering breaths. As for Hannah, she clicked her tongue and looked away, but not before lightly hitting Riley on the head.
"You little shit," she then muttered as a small smile slowly crawled on her face.
"Haa. I wish I had a brother," Silvie then breathed out, "Maybe I could have remembered more of my childhood."
"Meh, it's not that great," Hannah shrugged.
"Speaking of childhood…" Gary then let out a sigh as he looked at the dimmed window, "When I was young--"
"Alright, we've arrived! Please step out of the bus one by one!"
"W… wait, what about my backstory!?"
"Let's not keep the others waiting," Silvie then stood up to fall in line, immediately followed by Hannah and Riley, "Let's go, Dragon Monarch."
Seeing the three just leaving him behind like that, Gary could not help but place a hand on his chest as he fell to his knees, "C… could it be… I'm a side character!? Wait…
...wait for me! I don't want to be reduced to a minor rol--"
Gary's somewhat comical behavior instantly stopped as soon as his foot left the bus; his mouth, left open as his eyes quickly started to wander everywhere. And it wasn't only him, most of the students that were exiting their corresponding buses were all left speechless; not even a whisper could be heard flowing through the air.
It has been several months since the tragic defeat of Mega Woman; since the dreaded news that most of the city of Toronto had been completely obliterated. With a majority of the students living in the U.S, they have only seen the damage through the pictures and videos being released on social media.
But now, seeing the destruction in person… it made the rising excitement within them completely wither in the air; the silence, broken by the sound of someone retching on the ground.
Buildings, torn.
Cars, pulverized.
Sky, covered in darkness.
Families, forever separated.
It had been several months, and yet the skies above Toronto seemed to have never recovered towards the light. Most of the population outside were unaware of it, but the country's local government had ordered the cremation of all the dead since recovering them from the state of the city back then would have been next to impossible.
And so, within the ruined buildings, inside the melted cars; were little bits of bones that managed to survive; perhaps the only physical memory left of the city's casualties. Most of the students strayed their eyes away as there were a set of skulls peacefully planted with the debris near them.
But within all of this chaos, was a serene garden. No, perhaps it was better to say that it was a collection of almost a million different flowers, with some, already turning into ashes.
There were also letters pinned down near the walls, almost covering it entirely. Letters…
...that would no longer be able to be read by the one it was written for. Letters... that would just forever remain as a collection of words without meaning. Like the sunlight that has not reached the ground for what seemed like forever-- the letters too, would no longer reach their journey's end.
And seeing this solemn memorial in front of them, some of the students completely woke up from their stupor and their childish dreams. From their stay in the Academy, everything felt surreal; like everything they did was just a game, a holiday.
But this was real-- this is real.
Millions of people have died where they were standing; and since the memorial was here, that would mean that this was just the face of the destruction. Deeper into the city, a much horrifying hell probably awaited them.
This was just the beginning of the dark day that plagued this city. How could one man… how could one man commit such a slaughter to society?
How was one man able to strip thousands and thousands of families of their loved ones… and get away with it?
"This… is unforgivable."-- were the words that came out of Hannah's mouth as her hand touched one of the letters pinned on the wall, "All of these people… Darkday should die for his crimes."
Hannah then lightly breathed out, causing a trickle of smoke to fume from her mouth.
"I apologize, I don't think he can, sister," Riley then said as his eyes roamed across the letters, "I don't think he is going to stop…
....Not until the walls are completely empty."
Chapter 44It took almost an hour, but the gasps and utters of shock that lingered in the air finally calmed down. The whispers were still loud, but since there were thousands of them scattered in the vicinity, it was to be expected.
Once the students became more comfortable, they were asked to gather in lines so that they would be easily counted by the staff. This made the students confused, though; as they didn't really see anyone counting them.
And without even a few seconds, a man clad in white leaped on top of one of the highest debris in front of the students-- Whiteking. And as soon as the students saw him, they quickly realized why he was the one standing there, and no one else from the Academy.
"You stand before millions of dead..."
Whiteking did not even introduce himself as a part of his helmet suddenly opened up, revealing half his face from the top to the bridge of the nose; his eyes then scanned the students almost one by one, showing the regret that still lived within them.
"...Millions of lives that we-- that I failed to protect." Whiteking seemed to have some sort of voice amplifier installed in his helmet, causing his words to pierce through the ears of the students even with the calm and sorrowful tone,
"You also stand before the downfall of our Earth's greatest hero, you stand before the deaths of many more heroes. I was one of the lucky ones who survived… luck," Whiteking then let out a small scoff as he took a sneaky glance at his children, "I guess you could call it that. They are all calling it the Battle of Toronto, but it was far from a battle… I wouldn't even call it a massacre, perhaps the better term for it would be a storm-- a calamity.
The storm had already started hours before in other countries, only when it landed here did my team had the chance to tackle it. But I will tell you this now, Hope Guild was powerless before Darkday. We tried to fight, but all we did was serve as a distraction, and not even a minor one as Mega Woman and Darkday duke it out. No… we were a hindrance.
And so, instead of fighting, my team focused its efforts on saving as many people as we could, along with the help of other superheroes. But do you know how many we were able to save?"
"..."
"Less than the people standing here today."
Quiet gasps whispered in the air like a ripple as Whiteking's words traveled across. Most of them wanted to ask questions, but none dared to voice them out.
"2,974 people. We rescued 2,974 people," Whiteking then continued as he jumped down from the debris and started walking; the students created a path for him as he did so, "And after a month, they were reduced to 2,132. They died in the hospital.
2,132 people… Toronto had a population of 1.9 million. We saved 0.12% of the population, a fraction of a percent. And that was just Toronto, as of today, the confirmed death toll of what happened then has now officially reached 6.2 million; 6.2 million lives lost in a single day. Throughout history, we don't call something like that a battle, not even a war-- it was just raw calamity.
And it will happen again. When Darkday once again shows himself to the world, do not consider him a supervillain, no... Darkday is an Extinction-level event. And it is up to us…
...It is up to all of you to save the rest of the world when the time comes. So on behalf of those who went before you; I thank you… and I apologize for giving you this burden."
"..."
"..."
The students could only watch as Whiteking left, walking away towards the other instructors and staff of the Academy, who were now standing in a single line in front of them. And as soon as Whiteking stepped inside the line, they all raised their hands and saluted to the students.
It all felt surreal. The people who now saluted them were literally their heroes; some of the people standing in front of them were their inspiration as they grew up. And yet here they were, looking to them for hope. Tears began to fall from the eyes of some of the students, while some also saluted; and what fell from their eyes was the resolution overflowing from within them.
"What a good way to hype us to our deaths, as expected of the government-- the new generation will always be the one to fix things," Hannah then let out a small sigh as she looked around her, before locking her eyes on his father and shaking her head, "They're basically telling us to die for the world."
"And I would gladly do so," Silvie then said as her salute remained strong, "Many have already died, their sacrifices would be in vain if we cower from evil."
"W… when do you think Darkday will rise from the ashes again?" Gary took in a small gulp as he didn't know whether to salute or not, "I… I just hope Legends of Demonesses and Goddesses is done by that time. I… also kinda hope Mega Woman won't wake up anymore so he won't come out--"
And before Gary could finish his words, he felt the deathly stares of everyone around him. Right… Probably not a good idea to utter those words amongst the people of Mega Academy, Gary thought.
"Alright, settle down! We will be starting our first school-wide activity for today! Whatever your group you're in, stay there. An instructor would relay to you the information you need."
"Wait… we weren't just here to hear Whiteking's speech?"
"Idiot, do you think we would travel for like 7 hours just to hear a fucking speech?"
"Well, you have to admit, it was a very nice--"
"Enough, enough. Gather around." And once again, before Gary could finish his words, Scarlet Mage approached the students around their area.
"...You again?" Hannah quickly furrowed her eyebrows as she immediately stepped in front of Riley upon seeing Scarlet Mage walk towards them.
"Most of my students are here," Scarlet Mage calmly said as the students of Class 1-V started to gather around here, "I think the better question is-- You again?"
"Tch."
"You don't have to worry, it doesn't matter if you belong in another class anyway," Scarlet Mage muttered,
"It's even better since Riley is here." And with those words, Scarlet Mage turned her attention away from Hannah and faced the rest of her students.
"Alright, the activity for today is simple and all of you will get 1,000 MP by the end of it."
With the words one-thousand and MP whispering into the ears of the students; the students' eyes began to glisten. If all school-wide activities would have a reward like this, then they should start having them every day, they all thought.
"You're going to clean the city until the sun goes down, which is about 6 hours from now."
"...What?"
***
"Ack, I think I touched a dead rat!"
"...I don't think that's a fucking rat, Dragon Monarch."
"Gah, ew! Ew! Get it off, get it off!"
"That could be someone's mother! Please have some respect."
"S… sorry… But do you think it was a MILF?"
"Dragon Monarch!"
A full hour had passed since the start of their activity, and most of the students were scattered all around sectors of Toronto in huge groups, supervised by specific instructors; and obviously, the instructor in Riley's sector was none other than Scarlet Mage.
There were also other students from her class in the sector, and all of them had one thing in common as they continued to clean-- most of them were complaining non-stop.
In the first few minutes, most of them were sad, scared, and fearful of every single skull that finds its way towards them. But now that an hour had passed, most of them treated the bones as just another debris to clean. Of course, they still treated them more gently than anything else, collecting them in one single spot.
"Gah… I wish I had Riley's powers instead," Gary then let out a long and deep sigh as he looked at Riley, who was just waving his hands in the air and making everything float across him.
"Or just stop talking and work?"
"Easy for you to say! You're just burning everything into dust!" Gary once again roared as he lifted a huge chunk of debris that seemed to have come from a building, "And I don't think that's very environmentally friendly!"
"Nye, nye. Stop yapping and just work."
"T… there's no need to fight, guys," Silvie let out a sigh before her eyes glowed red, splitting different objects into pieces so that the other students would find them easier to remove.
Hearing nothing but complaints, Scarlet Mage, who was watching everything from a short distance, could not help but let out a sigh. It was nice that she was getting some rest from lecturing, but to think it would be in the middle of a graveyard.
For someone like her, who had a direct connection to the elements of the world, it felt like the land itself was crying. What happened here truly was a calamity… and seeing the one responsible for it cleaning the very same place he destroyed was a feeling that Scarlet Mage could never explain in her lifetime.
There was nothing-- Riley's heart did not fluctuate even a single bit throughout the time they were here. Even serial killers get excited when they return to the scene of the crime… but Riley? There was nothing, not even a slight change of breath.
Scarlet Mage also could not help but notice that even though Riley was wearing a white long coat, it was as bright and clean as when she first dressed him earlier. If one were to look closer, even with all the noise of dust littering the air, it was as if they were all avoiding him; like there was an invisible shield protecting him from even the smallest of matters.
Riley… was almost immaculate. It was as if the gods themselves decided to bless him with--
[Scarlet Mage. Come in, Scarlet Mage.]
"I'm here."
Scarlet Mage then strayed her eyes away from Riley as her thoughts were cut short by the sound of someone speaking through the pods in her ear.
[How many students are in your sector?]
"There's like 30 students here."
[Please give me the exact number.]
"Give me a moment," Scarlet Mage said as she closed her eyes, and as she did so, an orchestra of hearts drummed their way through her ears, "...36 students."
[Alright, thank you.]
"Wait, what's going on? Are we missing students already?"
[...No. We're just doing a headcount.]
"Didn't we just do that earlier with the satellite Whiteking borrowed?"
[The dark skies around Toronto served as some very light interference so we might have made a mistake.]
"I see. Keep me updated."
[No problem. It's just a little weird, though.]
"Hm?"
[We have 4,238 students, right?]
"Yeah, how many are missing from the count?" Scarlet Mage furrowed her eyebrows as she once again looked at the students in her sector.
[We didn't miss anyone earlier.]
"...So why are we having this conversation if we're not missing anyone?"
[That's just it, Scarlet Mage. We counted 4,253 students.]
"...What?"
[We...
...have 15 more than we should have.]
"Tha--"
*BOOM*
Chapter 45"W… what's going on!? Respond, respond!"
The dust that had accumulated and settled on the ruined streets of Toronto was almost an ocean. And with the sudden eruption that trembled the ground, that dust once again rose to the air.
Scarlet Mage tapped her ear several times as her connection with the rest of the Academy was suddenly cut. She could feel her eyes slightly watering; everywhere they looked, nothing but gray. Her breaths would have probably been erratic if they had the right to be, but with all the dust drowning her in the air, the most she could do was struggle to breathe.
"H… help!"
However, as soon as words of fear traveled through her ears, Scarlet Mage's watering eyes were instantly filled with fire as she clasped her hands together. And slowly, as she pulled them apart, the dust that gathered near her arms started to twist, quickly being devoured by the vacuum between her hands.
And not even a quarter of a minute had passed; Scarlet Mage's arms were already raised in the air, a boulder floating above her-- a boulder made from the dust gathered in her sector, compressed ever so tightly.
"Is everyone alright!?" Scarlet Mage then yelled as her eyes immediately looked towards the voice asking for help, only to see a student cowering on the ground, "If you're not injured, then please come to my side!"
Scarlet Mage then stretched her arms to the side, causing the boulder to split and shoot towards the ruined buildings. She then immediately once again closed her eyes, trying to listen to the drumming of the hearts within her vicinity.
There were hearts that seemed to want to scream out, and also those which felt like they were stomping their feet for miles; but other than that, there were no beats missing-- everyone within her sector was safe.
"What's happening, Miss Scarlet Mage!?" Silvie was the first to rush towards Scarlet Mage; her eyes quickly scanning the surrounding for anything amiss.
"We don't know yet," Scarlet Mage let out a stuttered breath as she opened her eyes, "Is everyone in your group alright?"
"Yes. No one seems to be hurt."
"I'll leave you to calm and gather the rest for now," Scarlet Mage then said as she once again tapped her ear several times, "I'll try and see if I could contact anyone from the Academy."
"Wait, is… this another test?" Silvie asked. But Scarlet Mage didn't seem to hear her as she was busy fidgeting with her tablet.
"..." Silvie had her eyebrows slightly furrowed, but still, she did as Scarlet Mage told and assisted the other students within the sector to gather up. When they boarded the bus earlier, when she found out that the onslaught of reporters was just a test, she felt slightly relieved and disappointed at the same time.
Although she did what was right, and even though the reporter was just fake; she still destroyed someone else's property because she suddenly lost her cool.
"What's happening, Mega Girl!?"
"Is this a drill!?"
"Should we return to the buses!?"
"We don't know yet," Silvie immediately answered the other students' questions as they arrived, telling them that Scarlet Mage was trying to get a hold of the others.
"I think we should return to the buses!"
"What about the other class? Do you think they're safe!?"
"I--"
"Is… are we safe here!? Are we under attack!?"
"P… please don't pani--" Silvie tried her best to calm the other students down, but alas, her words were being overpowered by the frightful wails of her schoolmates.
"We're under attack!?"
"No! Miss Scarlet Mage, please save--"
"Could all of you shut the fuck up!?"
And as the other students' voices became louder, a roar even more powerful than all of their worries combined reverberated in the air. All of them then looked towards where the powerful voice came from, only to see a pair of hips that jiggled every time it was patted by its owner.
"Seriously, you guys are a waste of the school's oxygen!" Hannah's frustration continued to rumble in the air as she patted herself clean of the dust that stuck to her bright pink suit, "We trained for weeks and your first response when something happens is to panic, the fuck."
"Pft, worry yourself not of the side characters, Nuclear Vixen," Gary then followed her from behind, dramatically flapping his cape to the side as he walked towards the other students, "And fear not, for the Dragon Mona-- chu!"
And before he could finish his words, the dust that was blown off of his cape entered his nose, causing him to sneeze vehemently.
"That's what you get for being stupid," Hannah scoffed before turning around to check up on Riley, but as soon as she saw him slowly walking towards them without even a speck of dust on his costume, her eyes started to twitch.
"Why didn't you also keep my costume clean!? There's supposed to be a camaraderie between us!"
"Because I am the younger brother, si-- Nuclear Baby," Riley then answered as he slightly adjusted his sunglasses, "And the younger brother always comes first."
"W… what? Stop listening to mom!" Hannah then yelled as she rushed to hug Riley, hoping for some of the dust on her suit to stick to him. But alas, it was as if there was an invisible armor enveloping around him, causing Hannah to slip away inches before she could hug him like a bear.
Seeing Hannah suddenly trying to chase Riley and failing, most of the students whose hearts were previously in turmoil slowly started to calm down. Scarlet Mage's incoming words, however, once again brought them back to reality.
"It's no use, I can't reach anyone else," Scarlet Mage said with a sigh, "For now, our best option is to return to the buses, stick to me."
Even though the students were still worried about what was happening, they had no choice but to follow Scarlet Mage. If this truly was not a drill, then the last thing they wanted was to be left behind.
"Report, Silver Moon."
"P… please don't call me that here."
Scarlet Mage could not help but slightly hiss as Riley's voice whispered beside her. Looking at him like this, wearing sunglasses as he casually walked on her left… it was as if he was just strolling around the city.
"Right. Forgive me, Scarlet Mage," Riley then said as he once again adjusted his sunglasses for no reason, "But please do report what is happening."
"...We might have an intruder in our midst," Scarlet Mage slightly hesitated if she should answer Riley's question, but him being who he was, she didn't really have much of a choice, "You… don't happen to have anything to do with this, do you?"
"No. I'm in retirement, Scarlet Mage," Riley said, the tone of his voice slowly becoming slightly disappointed, "You are my second-in-command, you should be taking note--"
"Kya!"
"Is… Isn't that…"
"Run… everyone run!"
"Riley!"
And before Riley could even finish his words, the familiar cries of the students once again roared in the air; but this time, it was accompanied by the sound of their feet, drumming as they suddenly scampered away like rats.
Riley then blinked a couple of times as Hannah suddenly rushed in front of him, her body already engulfed in a fiery storm of flames.
"R… Run, Riley! Please run!" Hannah's words stuttered through Riley's ears, "Scarlet Mage, what are you doing!? Please take my brother with you and run!"
"That's…"
Riley then looked behind him, only to see the number of students dwindle from 36 to just 5. Besides him and Hannah, the ones that remained were Silvie, Gary, and a male student who was probably from another class.
"..." Riley then turned his gaze back to the front, only to see Scarlet Mage looking at her with an extremely confused stare. And finally, Riley then slightly leaned his head to the side to see what the commotion was all about…
...only to see a man clad in a jet-black suit and wearing a motorcycle helmet that was even darker; a costume belonging to one individual-- Darkday.
"P… please tell me that's Tomoe," Gary could not help but stutter before taking in a huge gulp.
"It's… not Dark Frost," Silvie then answered, her breaths slightly fettered, "That's… a man."
"F… first day outside the Academy and we're already dead. Ha. Ha. Hahaha," Gary then burst out in nervous laughter. But even though his heart was threatening to jump out of his chest, his feet still remained solid on the ground-- not even entertaining the idea of running away.
"Riley…" Scarlet Mage then leaned closer to Riley as she whispered in his ear, "...What are you planning?"
And despite Scarlet Mage's attempt to whisper, Riley answered with a normal voice, completely saturating the nervous words pestering the air.
"It's a fake, ew."-- were Riley's exact words.
"A… a fake? How do you know!?" Hannah then slightly backed away as she heard her brother's words.
"There's a letter embroidered on his torso, Nuclear Baby," Riley answered as he pointed his finger towards the man. And true enough, as their eyes focused on the man's costume-- there were the letters XIX on it. Perhaps because their fear got the best of them, they were unable to even notice the letters even though it covered almost the entire torso part of the suit, brightly colored in silver.
"...Roman numerals?" Hannah then muttered, "Number 19?"
"How very perceptive..."
Everyone put up their guard as the… fake Darkday started walking towards them, "...As expected of Whiteking's children."
"Whiteking's… children?" Both Gary and Silvie glanced at each other upon hearing the man's words.
"Wait, you two are Whiteking's chi--"
"That's not important right now!" Hannah then once again roared as the flames surrounding her body became even hotter, "You… what do you want from us?"
"Oh, you don't have to worry," the fake Darkday then let out a small chuckle as he wagged his finger,
"We're not really here for the two of you… but him." He then said as he suddenly pointed towards Gary.
"M… me!? B… but I'm just a side character," Gary stuttered as he once again let out a nervous chuckle.
"You do not belong in that stupid Academy, Gary Gray," the fake Darkday breathed out, "They hail you as future superheroes… but did you know that you belong in a list of students that has the highest potential of becoming a villain?"
"...What?"
"Just ask your instructor, there's a whole lot of you being carefully watched by them."
"Is… is that true, Miss Scarlet Mage?" Silvie was the one to ask the question; Scarlet Mage, however, remained silent as she glared at the fake Darkday.
For this man to know the things he knew… could only mean that there was someone inside the Academy who leaked the information-- there was a mole inside Mega Academy.
"See how they fool you and act as if they made no transgressions!?" The fake Darkday then stretched his arms to the side, letting out a sort of wailing moan as he continued with his words,
"Your talents would be much appreciated in our organization, Dragon Monarch. Darkday needs you in his army! We will train and hone you more than Mega Academy ever could!"
"Interesting," Riley then took off his sunglasses as he looked at the man from head to toe, "Darkday is your leader, Number Nineteen?"
"Indeed!" The fake Darkday then raised his arms in the air as his body began to tremble, "We will bathe this world in eternal darkness; giving life to those who live in the shadows. We…
...are the Dark Millennium!"
Chapter 46"We… are the Dark Millenium!"
"..."
"...A cult?"
"Blasphemy! Our leader is Darkday, the one who will save this world from being destroyed! No, Nuclear Baby, we…
...are the shadows. Those who are willing to dirty our hands and bathe ourselves in blood so that the world will be saved!"
Hannah and the others all looked at each other as the Darkday copycat with the number 19 etched on his suit once again began another monologue. Hannah could probably blast him away now, but it just didn't seem right to disrupt him since he hasn't really done anything to them yet.
...Wait. Is this why superheroes don't attack the villains while they talk? She had been frustrated so many times about this before whenever she watches a scenario like this, but now that she was in it, she was curious as to how his speech would end.
"...Save the world?" Hannah then muttered, "Save the world from what?"
"Not what, child-- who," No. 19 muttered, "Mega Woman."
"What?"
"Or more specifically, Mega Woman's race."
Once again, Hannah and the others could only look at each other in confusion. Riley was the only one whose eyes were still on the man, his eyebrows slightly raised as he looked at the man from head to toe.
"The government does not want us to know. But Darkday… Darkday approached us one day and told us a secret-- No, a prophecy. Mega Woman is just the beginning, there would be others like her who would descend from the stars; bearing only one goal in mind-- genocide." No. 19 then stretched his arms to the sides,
"Look around you, if one Mega Woman is capable of doing all of this; if one Mega Woman is capable of killing millions of us in a single day, what more thousands of them?"
"Mega Woman… did not do this," Silvie then stepped forward, her breaths heavy as she looked the man straight in the eyes, "It was your leader who did!"
"Lies," No. 19's muffled chuckles then seeped from his helmet, "A lie told to you by the government. All of you are brainwashed, that is why we will only choose those who are more grounded to the truth. You, Dragon Monarch, you belong with us!"
"I think we've heard enough," Scarlet Mage then finally made a move as she stepped in front of the others. She initially thought that Riley was lying to her and that he had something to do with this. But after hearing the man's words, she knew that this so-called Dark Millenium could have never been created by Riley.
Riley was the epitome of evil; human lives meant only one thing to him-- a thing meant to be snuffed out. This Dark Millenium… are probably just a gathering of fools and insane people wanting to use Riley's name…
...Unforgivable, she thought. Save the world? Riley was probably laughing on the inside right about now.
"Dragon Monarch, don't listen to him!" Silvie then blocked Gary from the man's view. Gary, however, placed his hand on Silvie's shoulder and lightly pushed her to the side.
"...Dragon Monarch?"
"This group…" Gary then muttered, "Would… it really have people the same as me?"
"Dragon Monarch!?"
"Yes, child," No. 19 then stretched his arms towards Gary, his voice containing an eerie warmth, "The Academy has listed almost a thousand of you, Dark Millenium is recruiting your brothers and sisters as we speak."
"What are you doing, Dragon Monarch!?" The flames on Hannah's arms withered as she grabbed Gary by the shoulders as soon as she passed by her. However, Gary was able to swat her hand easily as he continued to walk towards No. 19.
"What I should have done earlier," Gary then whispered as he shook No. 19's hand.
"This is good, Dragon Monarch," No. 19 chuckled, "Welcome to the Dark Mil--"
"8th Dragon Killer Move..."
And before No. 19 could finish his words, a light snap cracked in the air as Gary suddenly knelt on the ground, breaking No. 19's arm due to the sheer force of being pulled closer towards him. And before the dust could ripple around Gary's feet, he placed No. 19's body over his shoulders and quickly stood up."
"...Thunder Slam of the Dragon Monarch!!" And with that roar, Gary's body twisted, blowing off all the dust gathered around him as he slammed No. 19's body to the ground.
Hannah and the others could only watch in disbelief as the sound of bones cracking whispered in the air. Although they have already witnessed it during the simulations, seeing someone's mangled body in real life hit differently.
The bone on No. 19's arm tore through his suit, leaving a bit of his flesh hanging from it. His torso was all twisted up and caved in; there was a sort of blue light popping out from his other hand, and whatever that was, it was probably his abilities.
Unfortunately, he was slammed to the ground before he could use it.
"Who do you think you're trying to recruit, you motherfucker!?" Gary then yelled as his eyes started to glow in red, "Do you also think I'm that easy to manipulate, you little bitch!?"
"Dragon Monarch, enough!"
Gary lightly stepped a couple of steps back as a strong gust of wind blew him away, his eyes continued to glow; but as soon as he saw Scarlet Mage approaching him, he slowly started to calm down.
"Step away, Dragon Monarch. You don't want to accidentally kill him," Scarlet Mage then said after letting out a long and deep sigh, "We still need to ask him some questions."
"You got us there, DM," the flames on Hannah's body all started to wither away, "I thought you were really thinking of joining this fucking cult."
"Pft, I am the Dragon Monarch," Gary then said as he half his face with his hand, but leaving an opening between his fingers for his eyes to be shown, "Solitary is my sanctuary; I shall not be bound by organizations."
"Good work, Dragon Monarch," Silvie also let out a sigh of her own as she approached the scene, "You should have at least told us what you were planning so we could have formulated a better plan."
"I… I also thought you were joining them."
"...Who are you?" Gary could not help but blink a couple of times as another unfamiliar student approached him.
"...Carlos? I've been here with you since earlier," the male student then said as he slightly lowered his eyebrows.
"...Right, I remember now," Gary chuckled awkwardly. Most of the students ran away when the Darkday copycat showed himself, leaving only him and the others. Scouring his memories, there truly was another one with them.
"A… anyway," Gary then waved his hand, "Plans are restrictions, I shall not be bound by--"
"Who is your leader, No. 19?"
"Gah!"
"Riley!"
And as the group was having a conversation, a shrilling scream thundered through their ears. They all quickly turned their heads towards the noise, only to see Riley's hand on No. 19's protruding bones.
"Who is your leader, No. 19?" Riley once again repeated his question, his voice completely calm.
"Riley, stop this now!" Scarlet Mage grabbed Riley's shoulder and tried to pull him away, but found that he was not even able to budge him.
"It can't be Darkday," Riley then whispered, "Darkday is in retirement, No. 19. He promised the world he wouldn't come out until Mega Woman is back."
"L… long live the Dark Millenium."
"Is your group trying to say that Darkday is a liar, No. 19?"
"Kh!"
No. 19 once again groaned in pain as Riley slightly pulled on his exposed bone. However, after a few seconds, he raised one of his hands and smiled.
"L… long live Darkday!"
"Hm?"
Riley then looked at the man's hand, only to see some sort of mechanism on it as well as No. 19's thumb on a red button.
"Suicide bomber!" Scarlet Mage then roared as she quickly rushed towards No. 19, "Everyone, find cover!"
"No… brother!" Hannah tried to reach her hand towards Riley, but halfway through it, she found her hand stuck in the air… as if an invisible wall was blocking her path.
"This is…" Scarlet Mage was in the same situation. She was about to shield everyone from whatever was coming but found something invisible blocking her path. And it wasn't only them, Silvie also had her arms stretched, her palms slightly pressed even though there was nothing in front of her; same with Gary and the unnamed schoolmate.
"B… brother…" Hannah's chest started to move erratically as she looked at Riley, her fettered breaths almost filling the entire air around her, "What… What are you--"
And before she could even finish her words, her view was filled with nothing but white.
"No!" Her wailing screams, almost overpowering the loud thunder that erupted next.
"No… no… no!" And as the blinding light slowly faded from her vision, what replaced it was a cloud of dust, once again drowning them like an ocean. Hannah then slightly stumbled forward, probably indicating that the invisible wall blocking her path was gone.
"Brother!?" She then screamed.
"Is everyone okay!?" The dust around them started to spin as Scarlet Mage once again compressed them in a ball. And as soon as everything was once again clear, the sight of blood and guts welcomed them.
"F… fuck," Gary muttered, "Riley, bro? Where are you!?"
Silvie covered her mouth, trying her best not to let the raging gasp that wanted to burst out from it.
"No…" Hannah then kneeled on the ground as she looked at the blood. The explosion was strong enough to make a crater and even paint whatever was left of No. 19 in it. If Riley wasn't able to shield himself then he… he was probably…
"Calm down, Nuclear… Baby."
And before she could finish her terrifying thoughts, she felt Scarlet Mage's hand on her shoulder.
"That… wouldn't be enough to kill your brother," Scarlet Mage then said before leaping towards the crater, "He was probably just blown away somewhere due to the force of the explosion, but he should be fine."
"W… what? What are you…"
"I… I believe Miss Scarlet Mage, Nuclear Baby," Silvie sat behind Hannah, holding her hand to comfort her, "Riley… is strong. Please… you have to believe he's alive."
"T… that's…" Hannah was going to say something, but when she felt the trembling of Silvie's hand, the only thing she could do was nod.
Scarlet Mage, on the other hand, could only let out a sigh. Of course, Riley is fine, she thought. If he wanted to, he could have stopped the explosion from even happening. He was probably just out there planning something.
But why… why didn't he tell her anything? Wasn't she something of a right-hand man? He should have told her that he was going so that she could--
Scarlet Mage quickly shook her head of the thoughts she was having. Right-hand man? Her? No… no, she should never acknowledge something like that. Never!
***
"...Interesting."
Riley found himself staring at the dark sky, his arms completely stretched to the sides as his whole body was planted on the ground. Right at the moment of the explosion, he used his abilities to increase the momentum and blast himself away even further.
What he did not expect, however, was that the initial blast was already too strong, causing him to fly further than he planned to. For a small bomb to have that kind of magnitude, it would seem this Dark Millenium group was not as simple as he initially thought.
"Are… you alive?"
"Hm?"
"You are, aren't you? Then please stand up, you are going to reveal my hiding spot."
Riley then blinked a couple of times as he turned his head towards the feminine voice that suddenly whispered to his left, only to find another Darkday copycat seemingly hiding beneath a collapsed building.
"Are you also part of the Dark Millenium?" Riley then calmly said as he floated himself up from the ground, "What number are you?"
"What?" The Darkday copycat once again whispered loudly, "No, who wants to be in that fake group? It's me...
....Dark Frost."
Chapter 47"It's me… Dark Frost."
"Dark Frost?"
Riley slowly landed on the ground, his long coat fluttering with the wind. And even though he has been in the impact of two explosions, his coat still remained pristine; not even a speck of dust sticking on it.
"What are you doing?" Tomoe Reynolds, aka Dark Frost, once again whispered loudly before gesturing to Riley to hurry up and hide, "They will see you, hurry up."
"..." Riley, however, remained standing where he was as he looked around him. But after a few seconds of checking that there was no one in the near vicinity, he approached Tomoe.
"I take it the Dark Millenium also appeared in your sector, Dark Frost?" Riley then said as he entered Tomoe's hiding spot.
"...Yes," Tomoe nodded, his words now completely calm as Riley was no longer exposing himself outside.
"3 of the students in my sector went along with them, the instructor failed to stop them since they were afraid to hurt the students."
"I see."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Did you also run away?" And after a few minutes of silence, Tomoe's almost monotonous voice whispered in the air, "I was surprised to see you suddenly falling from the sky."
"No, I got blown away by a bomb, Dark Frost."
"I see."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I am surprised you did not join them, Dark Frost," this time, it was Riley who broke the silence as he looked at Tomoe's costume from head to toe, "You're even wearing a costume similar to them."
"My costume is similar to Darkday, not to them," Tomoe quickly answered, her words slightly agitated, "But still, I have no choice but to hide because someone might think I belong to their group. I would never join their fake group."
Although Tomoe's voice was still slightly monotonous, the slight irritation escaping from it was noticeable.
"Interesting," Riley then muttered as he leaned closer to Tomoe, "How do you know they are fake, Dark Frost?"
"Hmph. Saving the world? That is something Darkday would never do," Tomoe then quickly answered, her monotonous voice slightly showing signs of excitement, "Darkday wants to destroy every living being on this planet. Darkday is a god, he would never dirty his hands by joining with mortals. In fact, he would be disgusted by this, I know it."
"...You seem to know a lot about him," Riley then breathed out as his hand slowly reached towards Tomoe, "Tell me, what else do you know?"
"Please stop asking me questions about him," Tomoe then let out a small scoff as she slightly leaned her head outside their hiding spot, "You can never comprehend Darkday's greatness. But one thing I could tell you is that he would never work with anyone; and if ever there does come a time that he does, it will be me serving under him."
And as soon as Riley heard Tomoe's words, his hand which was reaching for her neck stopped in its tracks, "You… wish to serve Darkday?"
"I no longer want to answer any of your questions," Tomoe then said as her eyes continued to scan the outside. "I think the coast is clear, we need to get to the bus before those freaks see us."
"Should you not remove your costume first, Dark Frost? I believe it isn't wise to go around looking like that."
"Never," Tomoe said as she stepped out of the damaged building, "This costume is my sign of commitment to Darkday, I would never take it off just because I would be inconvenienced. Let's go, there's no one here."
"You go ahead, Dark Frost."
Riley, however, only watched Tomoe as she stepped outside, "I still have something to do here."
"...Suit yourself." Tomoe only stopped to look at Riley for a few seconds, before proceeding to walk away.
Riley then let out a short but deep sigh as he removed his sunglasses; it was starting to get even darker outside, making it hard to see through the shades. An individual willingly wanting to serve under him? That was new.
But alas, her dream of wanting to serve him first could never come true, as that role was already taken by his First Subordinate, Silver Moon. Also, he was not ready to accept a Second Subordinate, he still lacked the necessary experience, Riley thought as he stepped out of the ruined building.
"We have one of them here!"
And as soon as his foot landed on the ground outside, a rainbow seemed to have passed by him.
"..." Riley then blinked his eyes a couple of times as he turned his head towards the blurring rainbow, only to see a colorful bunch of people from afar surrounding… Dark Frost.
"Surrender! The Justice Defenders have you surrounded, there is nowhere for you to escape, villain!"
"Oh," Riley quietly hummed as he realized who the group was, "What a coincidence," he then quietly whispered as he slowly made his way to the commotion.
"Put your hands on the back of your head and get on your knees!" Black Defender, the leader of the team, pointed his finger at Tomoe as his eyes slowly glowed in red, "Please do not force us to put you down, evil scum!"
"This is a misunderstanding," Tomoe, on the other hand, was still completely calm; the tone of her voice still holding its monotony even as she was surrounded by the Justice Defenders, "I am a student of the Academy, Class 1-V."
Tomoe then showed the tag pinned on her chest, showing her name as proof that she was, indeed, a student.
"..." Black Defender looked at his teammates for a few seconds, before letting out a light scoff, "Say what you want, villain. But your words are meaningless to us! Defenders, subdue the targe--"
"This is why I told you to take off your costume, Dark Frost."
And before Black Defender finished his words, he felt a slight force pushing his face, causing him to slightly stumble to the side towards one of his teammates. And with the path he opened up, a young man clad in white casually passed.
"...You?" Black Defender quickly collected himself as he glared towards Riley, "Aren't you… a part of that bitch's group?"
"...Bitch?" Riley momentarily paused in his tracks before continuing to walk towards Tomoe, "Are you referring to Nuclear Baby, Black Defender?"
"Who else!? And why are you here? Are you trying to get credit for catching one of the members of the Dark Millenium!?"
"She's not a member," Riley then quickly said stood beside Tomoe, "She's in my class, as you can see, the color of our name tags are the same, Black Defender."
"W… what?" Once again, Black Defender looked at the rest of his team as they all tried to examine Dark Frost.
"She… doesn't have a number on her." And finally, after a few seconds of analyzing her costume, Green Defender let out a short but deep sigh, "And I remember now, she was in the Academy before we boarded the bus."
"For real?"
"...Yeah, I think I saw her too, she caused quite the commotion."
"Fuck, I thought we had someone," Black Defender then lightly stomped his foot on the ground, causing it to slightly crack, "Why are you even wearing something like that?"
"...None of you would understand," Dark Frost then put down her stance before turning her head towards Riley, "I didn't need your help, but you deserve my thanks either way…
...So thank you, Riley Ross." Tomoe muttered as she bowed towards Riley.
"..." Riley, on the other hand, could not help but slightly raise an eyebrow. Why exactly was she thanking him? He thought.
The sighs of the members of the Justice Defenders whispered in the air as they too, all put their guards down. But after a few seconds, their leader, Black Defender, clicked his tongue and pointed towards the two.
"Get back to the bus, Class 1-V," he scoffed, "Let the real heroes handle this threa--"
"Found you."
"What the!?"
The members of the Justice Defenders all turned around as soon as they heard a voice coming from one of the buildings. They all waited as the steps began to echo from the shadows of the building, and after a few more nerving steps, the owner of the voice revealed itself to them.
A man clad in black, with the roman numeral 7 etched on his suit. And it wasn't only him, there were two more following him from behind, with the numbers 11 and 12 on them.
"...Dark Millenium," Black Defender whispered as his eyes started to glow red. This seemed to be some sort of signal, as the rest of his team got into a sort of V position, their stance all raised up as they faced the three members from the Dark Millenium.
And without even a warning, Black Defender rushed towards the three, while the rest of his teammates ran to the side.
Seeing this, No. 7 only raised his hand, and as soon as he did so, the two behind him also ran to the side to meet with the other members of the Justice Defenders. As for No. 7, he just stood calmly as he watched as Black Defender got closer and closer towards him.
"Surrender!" Black Defender then roared as his fist was only a meter away from No. 7, but before it could threaten to squash No. 7's helmet, a blue, and seemingly flat light stopped his hand from reaching further.
"W… what?" Black Defender then tried to pull his fist away, but found himself unable to even move an inch; both his legs, now also wrapped by the blue light.
"Black Defender!" Seeing this, his teammates, who were busy fighting with the two other members of the Dark Millenium, all retreated to try and come to his aid. But alas, they too, found themselves suddenly unable to move as they were chained by the mysterious blue light.
"Now, now," No. 7 then raised his arm, gently touching Black Defender's face as he looked him straight in his glowing red eyes, "You don't need to resist, we are not here for you."
"Bullshit!" Black Defender screamed as the light in his eyes started to beam out straight towards No. 7's helmet; but once again, it was blocked by some sort of blue light.
"A… agh!" Black Defender once again screamed, but this time, it was because chains of blue light slowly started to crawl across his entire head, covering it entirely.
"You do not have to worry, our intention here is not to kill any of you," No. 7 then let out a small giggle as he stepped away from Black Defender and towards Riley and Tomoe, "If I wanted to, I could snap all of your necks right now, but I wouldn't do that."
"L… let go of Black Defender!" Green Defender then screamed, but like their leader, her mouth was covered by the blue light.
"All I want is you, Dark Frost, for you to join the Dark Millenium," No. 7 then stopped a few meters away from Tomoe, reaching his hand towards her as his two other comrades once again stood behind him.
"I already refused you earlier," Dark Frost then said as the ground beneath her started to emit a cracking sound, glistening as its surface froze almost instantly, "And I am going to refuse you again."
"Why?" No. 7 calmly said, "You already look the part. These people will not understand you like we do, Darkday will welcome you in our ranks without any hesitation."
"You are the ones who do not understand Darkday," Tomoe then said as a trail of dark frozen spikes protruded from the floor, heading straight towards No. 7. But like the previous attacks of the members of the Justice Defenders, her surprise attack was not even able to harm the three.
A sort of blue sphere surrounded them, completely protecting them from all the spikes thrown towards them.
"Please do not let us take you by force, Dark Frost," No. 7 then let out a long and deep sigh as blue lights started to crack around his left arm, "Because if we have to cut off one of your legs for you to join us, then we will do--"
"Kya!"
And before No. 7 could even finish his words, a piercing shriek entered all of their ears.
"Black D… Francis! Please, oh god no... Francis!"
"Tch," With his words cut off by the sudden scream, No. 7 could not help but click his tongue, "Did I not tell you that I would not harm any of you!? Quiet down!" He then roared before turning his attention back towards Tomoe.
"As I was say--"
"...No. 7."
And once again, No. 7 was interrupted, but this time, by one of his comrades.
"What!?"
"I thought… I thought we weren't supposed to kill anyone? Why… why did you do that?"
"...What?" No. 7's voice quickly lowered as he heard his comrade's words. He was about to say something else, but when he realized that both his comrades were looking at something, he could not help but also turn his head towards the direction they were looking to.
"W… what?" He then once again repeated his words as he finally realized why everyone seemed to be in a fit.
Black Defender…
....his head was no longer attached to his body.
Chapter 48"W… what?"
No. 7's stuttered words were followed by silence; a silence loud enough to drown even the gasps and cries of the other members of Justice Defenders.
They were just talking with Black Defender minutes ago, laughing and joking with him about how they would be the only students that would capture a member of this mysterious group that suddenly made itself known to them. But now, he was dead.
Green Defender's muffled screams then broke the silence, her cries whispering in the air even as her mouth was covered with blue chains of light. But slowly, her cries became clearer as the chains withered away. And as soon as she found herself able to move, she rushed towards Black Defender's body.
She was hoping everything was but a dream, but as Black Defender's headless body fell to her arms, the warmth of his blood all but made it clear for her.
This was real.
"N… no," Green Defender then removed her mask, not even caring that she was revealing her face anymore, "Francis… why…"
She then tightly embraced Francis's body, her tears, mixing with the blood that trailed towards her.
"You… you monsters!" With the rest of the Defenders finding themselves able to move again, they all rushed towards Green Defender, putting up their stance as they all faced the three villains in front of them.
Their stance was filled with resolution. Their legs, however, gave away their fear as they trembled enough to shake the ground beneath them.
"What… have you done, No. 7!?" No. 12 then grabbed No. 7's arm, turning him towards him as he let out a loud whisper, "We weren't supposed to kill anyone here!"
"...It wasn't me."
No. 7, however, calmly swatted No. 12's hand as he once again turned towards the Justice Defenders. Where… is it? No. 7 thought as he tried to look for Black Defender's severed head. His search, however, was disrupted as he heard the sound of footsteps fading away from them.
He quickly turned his head towards the noise, only to see Dark Frost running away.
"Catch her!" No. 7 was about to run and chase Dark Frost, but before he could do so, a voice rang in his head.
"What do you mean it wasn't you!?" And suddenly, the Justice Defender's formation was rattled as Green Defender pushed herself out of their protection, quickly rushing towards No. 7.
"You will pay for this!"
She moved her arms to the side, and as she did so, they stretched beyond what a normal arm was capable of, before flattening into a thin, and seemingly sharp blade.
"Go and chase Dark Frost, I will handle this!" No. 7 could not help but click his tongue as he ordered his comrades to follow Dark Frost.
"What!? You think we will leave you here after you killed one of them!?"
"That wasn't me! Just g--"
"No!"
And before No. 7 could finish his words, another familiar scream reverberated through the air; followed by the sound of a thud whispering through his ears.
"What…" No. 7 muttered as Green Defender, who was previously rushing towards him, suddenly fell and dropped to the ground; her head, violently rolling away from her body. Seeing this, both his comrades could not help but slightly back away.
"I… I told you, it wasn't me!"
This time, not only the Justice Defenders, but the 3 villains were on high alert as their eyes hurriedly scanned the surrounding area. The remaining members of the Justice Defenders were slightly confused as to what was happening. All of them thought that No. 7 killed Black Defender, but when Green Defender's head flew away from her body, they didn't even see any signs of a blue light.
Just… what exactly was happening here?-- was their collective thought.
And then, slowly, out of nowhere, Green Defender's head floated in the air.
"Who… who is doing that!?"
"!!!"
And then suddenly, a minute, but lingering crunching noise whispered into all of their ears as Green Defender's floating head disappeared.
No.
It didn't disappear-- it became smaller. Or perhaps the better wording for it was that it turned into a ball. In almost an instant, Green Defender's head was compressed into the size of a baseball.
The ball was so perfectly smooth, it almost seemed like a living, breathing planet. Well, at least that's what Riley thought as Green Defender's compressed head slowly floated towards him.
"It truly is too bad sister was not able to hear you scream in pain, Green Defender."
"Y… you?"
"...Why!? Why did you do this!?"
The remaining members of the Justice Defenders completely shifted their attention away from the Dark Millenium villains as they all stared in shock towards Riley. Even No. 7 and his comrades were now completely on their guard, not even minding anyone else but the white-haired boy with a weird smile on his face.
"I didn't do anything, Justice Defenders," Riley then muttered as he carefully placed Green Defender's compressed head into one of the pockets of his coat, and seeing that one of the pockets were already bulging, it was safe to say that Black Defender's missing head was with him as well.
"The Dark Millenium did this," Riley then said as he waved his finger, "And now, No. 11 is going to kill you, Red Defender."
"What are you--"
And before Red Defender could finish his words, he felt his body suddenly being pulled by an invisible force, pushing him towards the three members of Dark Millenium.
"Where… where are you going, Red!?"
"I… It's not me! I'm being pulled!"
"No. 11!?"
And as Red Defender's body seemed to be moving on its own, the same thing was happening to No. 11 as his feet started walking towards Red Defender, meeting him halfway. And without even a slight pause in his movements, his hand started to make their way around Red Defender's neck.
"G… uhrk!"
"N… no, it's not me! I'm not doing this!" The panic in No. 11's voice was obvious for everyone to hear as his head turned back and forth between his comrades and the Justice Defenders, "I… I didn't sign up for this! We're not supposed to be killing innocent people!"
"That… is truly funny, No. 11."
Riley's quiet chuckles whispered through the air. However, it sounded more like thunder as it reached everyone's ears. Was this guy… actually laughing at this? Isn't he supposed to be a student of Mega Academy?
Did they miss him? Was this boy in the Potential Villain's list!? No. 7's thoughts were in disarray as he tried to scour his mind for any information regarding the white-haired boy, but nothing seemed to be coming up.
"You… stop this!"
One of the members of the Justice Defenders then rushed towards Riley, and as he did so, the earth beneath him erupted, with the chunks of stone quickly attaching themselves to his arm, turning into a large fist as he neared Riley.
"Die!" White Defender roared as soon as his earthen fist made contact with Riley's face.
"..."
"W… what?"
His earthen fist, however, slowly crumbled, revealing the small smile on Riley's completely unscathed face.
"As for you, White Defender," Riley then muttered as he looked White Defender straight in the eyes, "You were killed by No. 12."
"W--"
And before White Defender could even utter a word, he felt a sharp, but extremely warm feeling in his heart. The only thing he could do was look down, and as he did so, his slowly fading vision saw a hand poking out straight from the insides of his chest-- holding his mangled, but still beating heart.
"G… Grah!" A scream then thundered through the air, not coming from White Defender, but from No. 12 as he pulled his arm from White Defender's torso. He then quickly waved his hand, trying to get the blood off of it; but alas, the only thing that was removed from him was the food he ate earlier; causing him to remove his helmet as he puked all over the ground.
The man did not really look like anyone prominent… just an ordinary middle-aged man.
"Please, please don't make me do this!"
"Oh? Red Defender is still alive?"
Riley then blinked a couple of times as he turned his head towards No. 11, whose hands were still wrapped around Red Defender's throat.
"Are you showing mercy, No. 11?"
"W… what!? Are you insane!? You're the one doing this!"
"I'm not doing anything, No. 11," Riley's smile grew even wider as he slowly made his way towards No. 11, "Darkday is merciless, so it stands to reason that the organization under him should be too, correct?"
And as soon as he finished his words, a loud crack pierced through everyone's ears.
"E… eek!" No. 11 could not help but let out a shriek as he felt bones being crushed between his palms, "N… No. 7, save me… Save me!"
"No. 7 can't do that, No. 11," Riley then let out a small but deep sigh as he shook his head, "He is busy killing the rest."
"W… what!?"
No. 7, who was petrified in his spot, was finally able to move a step back as he heard his name being called upon by the white-haired demon, "You… are you going to control me as well!?"
"Run, just run!" The remaining 2 members of Justice Defenders abandoned every notion of fighting back; their thoughts, no longer thinking about their dead teammates as they rushed to get away from this nightmare.
"No, Number 7," Riley once again let out a sigh, "You're going to kill them all on your own voluntarily…
....because I will kill the three of you if you don't."
Chapter 49"You're going to kill them voluntarily. If not…
...I am going to kill the three of you."
"W… what?"
What-- No. 7 no longer had any idea how much he had said the word in just the span of a quarter of an hour. But that truly was the only thing that was able to come out of his mouth. This was a very elaborate plan, born almost at the same time the staff of the Academy were given information about their first school-wide exercise.
They were here to recruit the students that belong to the Potential Villain list that the Academy had compiled, and killing any of them would most probably have an adverse effect. And so, there was one strict rule placed upon them-- Do not, by any means, kill any of the students. They were only allowed to do so if their life was in danger, or there was a chance for them to get captured.
And now, with a student dying on his watch, his promotion to a smaller number and someday to a named member of the Dark Millenium would surely be negatively affected. He had joined the organization a few months ago, starting from the bottom.
He started from number 142, but he proved his mettle and paved his way to where he was now in no time at all. But after this incident? He would be lucky to be demoted and not be erased by the Dark Millenium.
No… that was the least of his worries now. He had to first escape the predicament he now finds himself in.
Riley Ross-- he remembered who the white-haired boy was now. When they were being shown the Potential Villain list, he and his sister were briefly mentioned as Whiteking's children. They were recommended to stay away from them as much as possible, as harming or scaring them might incur the isolated wrath of one of the members of the Hope Guild; something their organization did not want for now.
But this? Why was there no information that one of Whiteking's children was a fucking lunatic? He just killed 4 of his fellow students, and all with a smile on his face.
"They are getting away, No. 7."
"Gah!"
No. 7's woke up from his thoughts as the sound of a shrilling scream pierced his ears. And once again, the familiar minute noise of a bone being crushed whispered to him.
"You… you said you weren't going to kill us!" No. 7 then yelled as he saw No. 11 dropped to the ground like a doll that was cut of its strings; a huge hole now adorning his chest. But to No. 7's surprise, No. 11's body suddenly flinched, slightly moving up from the ground.
"No. 11, are you--"
But before he could finish his words, a familiar sphere the size of a baseball shot out from the cavity within No. 11's chest; trails of blood and flesh were then flung away as the sphere rotated at a very high speed, before slowly floating its way back towards Riley.
"Green Defender, even in death, took revenge for Black Defender," Riley then slightly let out a small chuckle as he once again hid Green Defender's compressed head in one of his pockets.
"You… you're a fucking demon!" And with that roar, No. 7 raised his hands and summoned multiple chains of blue light, shooting them not towards Riley, but towards the two remaining members of Justice Defenders that were running away.
"N… no!" One of them screamed as the blue light wrapped around his ankle, pulling him back towards the scene of carnage. Unfortunately for the other one, he was also grabbed by his companion by the feet, also pulling him back.
"N… No. 7… what are you going to do!?" No. 12 then stuttered as his eyes moved ceaselessly from one person to the next.
"Are… you stupid? That white-haired devil is going to kill us if we don't kill these two," No. 7's words were cold, but his heavy breaths gave away the hesitation still lingering inside him.
"I… I didn't sign up for this!" No. 12 said as he shook his head, "These are children, No. 7. Dark Millenium is about the coming of a new age, not slaughtering innocent people!"
"Don't you think I know tha--"
"Pft."
No. 7's words were disrupted by the sound of laughter; a laugh that almost crawled through their bones, a laugh that was so devoid of warmth it almost froze them entirely.
"An organization under Darkday that refuses to kill the innocent?"
Each of Riley's steps caused not only No. 12 flinch, but to everyone else its tremors reached,
"This truly is quite funny, isn't it, everyone?" Riley then said as he lightly flicked his fingers, and as he did so, the bodies that were scattered in front of him were blown to the side; making him a clean path, "I have decided, I want to meet… this Darkday you speak of."
"We know who you are!" Yellow Defender screamed, trying his best to escape the chains that bound all of his limbs, "Do you think you can get away with everything you've done here!?"
"I can, Yellow Defender," Riley muttered as he slowly made his way to No. 7, "But I don't really need to."
No. 7's head started to tremble as Riley's face was only a foot away from his; with Riley's reflection from the visor of his helmet clear even with all of his shivering. Riley stared at him, or perhaps at his own reflection for a few seconds before letting out a small but deep sigh.
"Please proceed, No. 7," Riley then said as he gestured towards the two remaining Justice Defenders, "You and No. 12 still have a lot to do."
"This…" No. 7's breaths once again became erratic as Riley gave him the signal to kill the two students.
"You… are you really doing it, No. 7!?" No. 12 muttered.
"Does it look like we have a choice!?"
"We can just take him on!"
"Don't be fucking stupid, Twelve. This demon is probably an extremely High-level Telekinetic. I…
...I have no choice but to do this."
"W… wait, please… please no!"
"What if we all work toge--"
The two remaining members of the Justice Defenders started to scream, but before their words could get any louder and pierce No. 7's ears, he covered their mouth with the blue light. His eyebrows were completely furrowed, trembling as his eyes tried to avert their gaze towards the two.
He didn't want the blood of the innocent in his hands, but he would be a fool to choose to save their lives instead of his own. And so, his trembling hands slowly moved; his fingers, completely hesitant to close as they held two lives.
But with a resolute breath, he closed his hand-- and the sound of death once again echoed through the air.
"H… guha…." No. 7 then dropped to the ground, and as if mirroring him, the two students also fell; their lifeless bodies landing violently as the blue chains of light that bound them withered away.
His eyes then slowly turned their gaze towards the two students, only to see their necks twisted in a way that they shouldn't.
None of these were supposed to happen. When he was approached by the Dark Millenium, he had his reservations. Who would want to be associated with the world's most heinous supervillain? He thought.
But when he met Darkday; when he heard the truth, when he heard his ideals and his vision for the world, he was completely mesmerized. Darkday promised them that the violence would end and that they would be the ones to end it.
Superheroes? Supervillains? None of those mattered to the Dark Millenium. Their only goal was to save the world, even if it hated them. They would paint themselves as the higher evil if it means salvation.
But now, here he was, killing innocent men that were probably a decade younger than him. All because… all because he was threatened by true evil. He then slowly raise his head up, only to see Riley not even looking at the scenery he was responsible for.
"What… what do you want from us!?" No. 7 roared.
"If I recall, it is your people who suddenly appeared during our peaceful exercise, No. 7," Riley then said as he turned his head towards No. 7, "But I suppose I should thank you. Because of your existence, doing my purpose has become easier."
"W… What?" No. 7 once again found himself repeating the word.
"I told you. You and No. 12 still have a lot more to do," Riley then started to move his fingers rhythmically in the air; and as he did so, the objects and debris that were near them all started to move. And soon, even the bodies began to float as they seemingly moved to specific locations.
"You…"
"A hard-fought battle happened here," Riley said with a chuckle, "But in the end, the Justice Defenders failed to hold the members of the Dark Millenium; causing the deaths of most of the students of Class 1-F, as well as a few instructors that protected them."
"W… what?"
"I told you," Riley then muttered, "You and No. 12 still have a lot to do. I think my sister is being bullied by her class-- and I don't like that."
"You want us to--"
"Yes, No. 7. I am ordering you…
....to kill more of them."
Chapter 50"Yes, No. 7. I am ordering you…
...to kill more of them."
"W… what?"
And once more, it would seem No. 7's vocabulary has been reduced to a single word. He had thought that the nightmare was finally over, but it turns out that all of his fettered breaths were just the beginning… this white-haired demon will not let go of them until their breaths are completely gone.
"You think we're going to do that for you!?"
With the only two of them left, the whisper of a light thud rolled from the ground as No. 12 removed his-- her helmet. It would seem their helmet had some sort of device installed in it that was able to change their voice.
Riley should probably get something like that when he comes out of his retirement, he thought. He had always been using his telekinesis to alter the way his voice comes out from his mouth whenever he was in costume, so this should help take away that minor convenience.
No. 12 continued to voice out all of her fears and frustrations, the high-pitched tone of her voice reflecting her looks which did not even seem to be older than Hannah. Her eyes were that of an auburn color, her hair which now flowed across her shoulders glimmered in a luscious brown.
"..."
"I'm out!" No. 12 yelled once more, "I'm out! I didn't sign up for thweth-- ha?"
Her words then abruptly stopped as she felt her speech disgruntled. But as she turned her head down, she felt her chin lightly hitting her throat.
"E… eh?" No. 12 then looked towards No. 7, wanting to ask him what just happened. However, the only response she got from No. 7 was him slightly backing away. And then, ever so slowly, she felt her vision shift; with No. 7 now standing upside down.
"Why… You promised not to kill her!"-- were the last words that No. 12 heard before her vision completely faded.
"I didn't kill her, Green Defender did," Riley then said as he waved his hand… or more specifically, he waved Green Defender's sharp arms with his hand, "I am retired, you see. I won't kill people for now."
"You just killed 8 people here!" No. 7 wailed. Are… are you insane!?"
"That's debatable, No. 7," Riley once again waved Green Defender's arm as he shooed No. 7 away, "Now, off you go. Kill the students of Class 1-F, you should have a list of them, correct?"
"I… I can't possibly kill all of them."
"Just do what you can, No.7."
"!!!"
No. 7 suddenly felt a thin pressure around his neck, like there was a pair of small arms wrapping around--
"Eek!" No. 7 then jumped in shock, as there really were a small pair of arms strangling him; not just arms, but a whole silhouette. He could not see it clearly since the majority of the silhouette was out of his view; but he was sure about something-- the silhouette was a person, a literal small person.
"Get… get it away!" No. 7 tried to pull it away, but as he did so, he could feel a slight burn on his skin as it was almost ripped apart.
"Please don't be rude, No. 7," Riley then let out a sigh as he carefully placed Green Defender's arm on the ground, "Its brain is dramatically smaller than my other human-sized copies, so it would be best to treat it like you would me… or it would probably kill you on the spot."
"W… what?" No. 7 could hear his heavy breaths circling inside his helmet as the pressure around his neck slowly disappeared. He then felt a trickle walking on his shoulders, he looked; only for him to see another Riley sitting on it.
"Everything it sees, I see," Riley muttered, "And if you don't do as I tell you, it will kill you. If you try to leave without killing at least 5 more students, it will kill you. If you do anything it doesn't like, it will kill you. If you are captured, it will kill you."
"Wh--"
But before No. 7 could finish the words he had been uttering for a dozen times now, Riley suddenly grabbed something from his pocket, causing him to take in a huge nervous gulp. What he did not expect, however, was that Riley was only grabbing a pair of sunglasses.
"I will find you and your… group when you're done. I have some business to attend to with your so-called leader," Riley then said before wearing his sunglasses, and abruptly walking away while flipping his coat to the side; leaving No. 7 all on his own, completely and utterly confused as to what just happened.
"..." No. 7 then slowly turned his head towards the miniature person sitting on his shoulder, only for it to slap him on his helmet, causing him to stumble a few meters from where he stood. And without any warning, it climbed inside his helmet.
"Go. Now."
It then whispered into his ear, its voice incredibly high-pitched; but even then...
...it sounded like a death sentence.
And while No. 7 was digging his resolve to do what he has to do to survive, Riley Ross was currently casually walking… floating around Toronto, his eyes as if trying to search for something.
Minutes passed, and he found himself in the middle of a wasteland. There were no buildings, no cars, no sound. Clean; completely silent as if even the tiniest of organisms refuse to live on it. The only thing it contained were craters. Dozens of craters and some almost a quarter of a mile wide.
It would be akin to say that he was in a desert of concrete, but no. He was still in Toronto, right in the middle where the fateful battle between him and Mega Woman ended.
"..." Riley then descended from the air as he landed on the largest crater in the area. And as soon as he landed, he closed his eyes and kneeled on the ground; raising both of his arms into some sort of embrace as his breaths echoed through the emptiness… the loneliness he now found himself in.
Mega Woman's warmth… it was as if he could feel it here. He could remember the feeling of Mega Woman's skin around his arms as he snapped his neck right here, in this exact same spot.
She screamed, but not like everyone else he had heard. She did not scream for herself, but for the people… always for the people. She did not beg for her life, but for the people.
Even as he snapped her legs, broke her ribs; not once did she worry about herself. Such selflessness even in pain, even in suffering-- it truly reminded Riley of his sister.
He misses her, he wants to feel her warmth again. Everything and everyone else he destroys is meaningless without her.
Were there actually more?
Is there actually more like her out there?
What if she was the last? What if she was the last and Riley will never be able to see her again?
"Mega Woman… Mega Woman… Mega Woman…"
Riley's embrace then tightened as his whispers once again echoed throughout the vast emptiness, "Should I go now? Should I break my promise and find you? Should I kill everyone until I find my way to you?"
"I… I shouldn't have ended things between us, Mega Woman," Riley then looked at the palm of his hands, trembling uncontrollably, "And now these urges… the urges I have been trying to imprison within me want to go out. I am afraid if this continues…
...I would have no choice but to kill he--"
"You… You're Dark- Huk!"
Riley's eyes immediately widened as he quickly stretched his arm towards the voice that rudely interrupted him from talking. He was about to close his hand into a fist, but as soon as he saw who it was, he slowly put down his arm.
"Y… you're Dark… you're Darkday!" The owner of the voice stuttered, vehemently coughing as she quickly removed her helmet, letting her beautiful jet-black hair smoothly flow through her sides.
"Did you follow me here, Dark-- Tomoe Reynolds?"
"I… I saw you," Tomoe then gently held her neck as she continued to cough; and even as a sliver of tears started to form in her eyes, they could not be any clearer, "I saw what you did earlier… It's you, isn't it? You…
...You're Darkday!" Tomoe then let out a small and fettered chuckle as she tried her best to recover herself from almost having her neck snapped.
"And what makes you think that, Tomoe Reynolds?"
"The… the way you talk, your mannerisms; even though your voice is completely different, I know it. It's… It's you!" Tomoe continued to stutter, the monotonous voice she always had was completely gone as her hands started to tremble, seemingly trying to reach for Riley's face but restraining herself from doing so.
"I… I know I'm right. I have… I have collected every sighting of you in my room," Tomoe then slightly blushed as she looked to the side. But then, after a few seconds, she let out a small gasp as her face suddenly twisted, "I… I disrespected you earlier, oh no… no… no…
...Please, please forgive me, Darkday!"
"..." Even as Tomoe's words were starting to turn into a cry, Riley only held a curious expression on his face as he stared at her, "And what will you be doing with that information, Tomoe?"
"N… nothing, nothing. I… I will treasure it and keep it a secret forever," Tomoe once again stuttered. And soon, as she was only a meter away from Riley, her legs suddenly fell to the ground,
"Please, please let me serve you, Darkday!" Tomoe groveled, her lips almost kissing the ground, "I will do anything for you, please--"
"Hm…
....Okay."
Chapter 51Minutes earlier, when most of the Justice Defenders, and No. 11 and 12 were still alive; in the midst of all the chaos, Tomoe found a chance to run away. She wanted to take Riley Ross with her since he saved him from being ganged up by the Defenders, but the only response she got from him was that she should go ahead.
She didn't hesitate leaving him, of course. She already offered for the two of them to escape, but he refused-- she would have no guilt even if he died; well, not like she would have in the first place.
But still, as she was running away, there was this feeling inside of her that there was something odd about Riley Ross. Perhaps it was his calmness, which was even eerier than hers.
Throughout her stay in the Academy, she didn't really have anyone to call a friend. Of course, why would she, when she was only there to train and learn more about her powers? She was trying her best to lie low, as she knew deep inside her that she wasn't a hero-- but a villain.
Her preferences, tendencies, as well as her overall demeanor already dictated what she was to become-- even her own mother didn't fail to remind her every day that she was a monster.
Tomoe belonged to a very low percentage of Supers-- those who were able to use their powers during infancy. She didn't really remember when exactly, but when she was younger, she used to play with her abilities without any care.
Trying to wrap her entire room with sheets of ice whenever it was hot, filling their backyard with snow so she could play in it; from childish games and plays… to killing her father.
She no longer remembered if she truly did mean for it to happen, but one day her powers became too uncontrollable; the ice that she summoned turned into a darker color. She was scared and wanted to show her dad what was happening to her… but that was when Tomoe killed him.
And since that day, her mother labeled her a monster; and so did the rest of her family and the entire neighborhood. She isolated herself, not coming out of her room except to go to school. And after it is over, she comes home and goes directly back to her solace.
Every day was the same, and the only time she hears her mother's voice was when she calls her a monster. This repeated again and again; until one day, she heard about Darkday. He didn't have a name then, but there was a forum on the internet that discussed all of the new sightings of possible supervillains.
Most of the people tried to ignore him, saying he was only a wannabe supervillain and would probably be caught soon. Most ignored him; but not her. Just from the few videos she had seen, she saw something from Darkday that she sorely wanted to have--
--Acceptance.
Not acceptance from others, but acceptance for what he truly is-- Evil.
Darkday did not have any chains, no rhyme, no reason for what he was doing. He was true to himself and did not let anyone get in his way, and she wanted that.
She wanted to be like him.
And soon, her dark-colored eyes that knew nothing but loneliness started to glisten as it was filled with nothing but Darkday… literally. Every corner of her room had posters of Darkday plastered on it-- And yet, it was the brightest it had been for years.
But alas, much to her dismay, Darkday decided to retire. And she once again found herself alone in her room.
When the news of Mega Academy was announced, she immediately thought of it as an escape from her mother and a way to discover the full potential of her abilities-- and that maybe, just maybe… when Darkday returns, she would be able to stand by his side.
Nothing else mattered, only Darkday. Well, at least it was supposed to be like that.
Now, as she was running away from the people of the Dark Millenium, she could not help shake the feeling that something was going to happen… because of Riley Ross. His calmness, even as someone was brutally murdered in front of him, was truly eerie.
When she saw Black Defender's headless body, even she was shocked and disturbed. But Riley? She couldn't see it clearly since she ran away after it happened, but it was as if he was even smiling.
"..."
With this thought, the sound of Tomoe's hurried steps slowly died down, beating more sluggishly by the second until it completely stopped. Something else was going on there, she thought.
And so, as if fate was telling her to go back, her feet moved on their own. She hid in a nearby ruined building before witnessing everything that transpired. Riley's actions, the way he speaks, his violence… it all reminded her of one person.
Finally, she thought-- would she finally be able to have a friend in the Academy? Someone who she can share her passion with, someone with who she would be able to talk to about Darkday?
And so, after everything was over, she decided to follow him from afar. She was confused, she thought he was going to find more people to kill, but in the end, Riley just went to a place devoid of any people.
And as soon as he stopped floating around, Tomoe decided to approach and talk to him. However, the words Riley uttered echoed through her ears, lighting up the bulb that was already threatening to light itself up.
She thought they were just similar-- but no. Riley Ross… is Darkday.
And now, with that revelation, the only thing she could do was kneel in front of her god.
"Please… Please let me serve you, Darkday! I will do anything for you, please--"
"Okay."
"...Eh?"
Tomoe was ready to grovel and kiss his feet if that was what he wanted, but for him to agree without even a second thought was… was…
...truly something she imagined Darkday would do!
"Does… does this mean I work for you now!?"
"I suppose," Riley then crouched on the ground, picking up Tomoe's helmet before somewhat thoroughly examining it, "You don't have a voice changer, Tomoe?"
"I… Should I have one?"
"That is entirely up to you, Second Subordinate," Riley then said as he handed the helmet back to Tomoe, "I will be calling you that for now until I find you a suitable name."
"You… you're going to name me!?" Tomoe's hand trembled uncontrollably, almost dropping her helmet back to the ground. However, after a few milliseconds, the trembling abruptly stopped as her eyes slightly squinted,
"I… I do not want to pry, Master," she then said with a gulp, "But what do you mean by Second Subordinate?"
"It is what it is, Tomoe. You are my second subordinate."
"I… I'm not the first?"
"No, Silver Moon is."
"Silver… Isn't that the name Silvie wanted for you, Master?"
"I suppose. It is a nice name so I gave it to Katherine."
"Who… who is this Katherine?" Hearing another woman's name being uttered from Riley's lips, Tomoe could not help but wear her helmet as her jaws began to tremble.
"Right, you know her by a different name. She is…"
***
"Riley! Where the fuck have you been!?"
"I was just reminiscing, I am sorry for worrying you, sister."
"You fucking shit!"
Hannah's muffled words seeped from Riley's shoulders as she tightly embraced. Silvie and Gary were also a few meters behind them; they were contemplating on whether to join into a group hug, but hearing Hannah's voice teeming with weakness, they chose not to do so.
And so, they had to wait a couple more seconds until Hannah let go of her brother before they could express their relief.
"You had us all worried, man," Gary then said as he wiped the tear coming out of his left eye, "This… this is just from all the dust."
"I am glad you are safe, Riley," Silvie said after letting out a long and disgruntled sigh, "But… how exactly are you completely unscathed?"
Not only Silvie, but Hannah, Gary, and the unnamed student from another class could not help but look at Riley from head to toe. His costume… it was still as immaculate as the time they left from the Academy.
"Because he is strong."
It was not Riley, however, who answered Silvie's question. But the black-clad woman following him from behind.
"Dark Millenium!"
"Don't be stupid, Dragon Monarch," Silvie quickly but lightly hit Gary on the head before he could rush towards the individual, "That's Dark Frost, she is in our class."
Hearing and feeling Silvie's words, Gary could only let out an awkward chuckle as he examined Tomoe's costume; and true enough, the name tag was still strongly pinned on her torso, "R… right. But… why are you with Riley?"
"It is fate that brought us together, Dragon Monarch," Tomoe calmly said before turning her attention towards Hannah, "Your brother saved me… from members of the Dark Millenium."
"That's--"
And before Hannah could even utter a response, Tomoe suddenly bowed her head.
"I owe him my life, sister."
"Sis--"
"I have checked the vicinity, we should be clear-- Riley? You're back?" And as the group was willfully chatting, Scarlet Mage gently descended from the sky, her red luscious hair landing closely in front of Tomoe.
"..."
"I am, Scarlet Mage. I apologize for worrying all of you."
"No, it's fine. I know what you're truly capable of," Scarlet Mage let out a small but deep sigh; a small smile slightly crawling on her face. The smile, however, was interrupted as soon as she felt an ominous stare landing on her.
"...Dark Frost? It's good you're here as well. Where are the rest of the students from your sector?"
"I don't know," Tomoe quickly answered, her monotonous tone turning even colder, "Most of us ran to different directions when the Dark Millenium came."
"Did… they try to recruit you?"
"Yes."
"Oh shit… You didn't join!?" Gary joined in on the conversation, "With the way you're ogling about Darkday, I thought you would surely--"
"It's a fake group. I would never join something like that," Tomoe quickly answered, her gaze almost penetrating through her helmet as they did not leave Scarlet Mage for even a second, "I am loyal to Darkday and Darkday only…
...My devotion to him is without equal."
"Okay… a little creepy, but okay," Gary nodded several times before backing away.
"..." Scarlet Mage could not help but squint her eyes as she looked back and forth between Tomoe and Riley. Did… something happen between the two?
"You--"
But before she could ask, a loud static whistled through her ear.
[All faculty, please return to the rendezvous point. I repeat, please return to the rendezvous point.]
"H… hello!? What's happening? Shouldn't we be dealing with the Dark Millenium!?"
[...They're gone. They just disappeared.]
"...What? How!? How many students did they take!?"
[We don't know yet. However… there are casualties.]
"Miss Scarlet Mage, is that the Academy? What are they saying!?"
"Casualties? What do you mean casualties!?"
[....They killed some of our students.]
Chapter 52"What… what did they say, Miss Scarlet Mage?"
Not only Silvie, but Hannah and the others all held their breaths as they saw the look on Scarlet Mage's face. Scarlet Mage had always held a stern and strict look on her face, but there was also a hint of calmness and tenderness on it; and so, seeing her completely flustered, they could not help but think of the worse.
"...Nothing," Scarlet Mage shook her head with a sigh, "It's best we get back to the bus now that the members of this so-called Dark Millenium are gone."
"Gone? Just like that?"
"What did they want? Did they really kidnap some of our classmates!?"
"Fucking hell, the government has enough money to build something like Mega Academy but once we're out they can't spare any security? As expected of the government."
"...I will share the details once we have confirmed everything," hearing the complaints of her students, Scarlet Mage could only let out a sigh. She thought that the Dark Millenium was just some wannabe supervillain group since the one they encountered did not seem that much of a threat…
...But to think they actually killed some students? It was one thing to kidnap students directly under the government, but to actually do what they did? The government would have no choice but to react with extreme violence-- not to mention superheroes who have their children enrolled in the Academy.
If her guess was right, then the government would probably issue a strict manhunt for Dark Millenium. And as an instructor of the Academy, she would probably be included in the force.
"..." But if she were to be gone, then that would mean she wouldn't be able to watch and guard everyone else from Riley. Of course, avenging the students is a must, but the real monster was within their midst, which was incredibly much more important. Just a few students don't merit her letting Riley out of her si--
What was she thinking!?-- Scarlet Mage thought as she violently shook her head. The lives of the students aren't important? What was wrong with her!?
"...Miss Scarlet Mage?" Silvie then slightly leaned her head closer to Scarlet Mage, her eyes filled with worry, "Did… something bad happen?"
"We're still confirming what happened," Scarlet Mage then repeated her earlier words as she woke up from her stupor, "Silvie, lead the way. I'll cover the back just in case some of the members of the Dark Millenium are still here."
"Y… yes," Scarlet Mage straightened her back as she nodded, "Of course, Miss Scarlet Mage."
And so, the group started to head back to where the buses were parked. Each of their steps was cautious, of course; the Dark Millennium had some sort of high capacity pressure bomb, it would be dangerous if they left some of those lingering around on the ground.
"Where… did you go?"
Scarlet Mage had another purpose for guarding the rear, of course; and that was to quietly talk with Riley.
"You suddenly disappeared and you made your sister worried sick."
"I was just reminiscing and killing time, Scarlet Mage," Riley answered, his eyes looking straight ahead, "And are we really going back to the Academy?"
"...No," Scarlet Mage quickly shook her head, "It seems that the government had set up some sort of safety shelter a few miles away as part of the Academy. It isn't safe until we find out how they gained all that information about us."
"I see, that is very convenient, Scarlet Mage. We actually need to go somewhere later, it saves me the minor inconvenience of having to escape from the Academy."
"What? Where are you going? I doubt they would let any one of the students out."
"What they want is irrelevant, Scarlet Mage. And it's not only me that's leaving. I will be meeting with the members of the Dark Millenium later. There is someone impersonating my identity there, we can't have--"
And before Riley could finish his words, Scarlet Mage covered his mouth as her eyes were fixated on the student nearest to them-- Tomoe.
"It is fine, Scarlet Mage," Riley then let out a sigh as he removed Scarlet Mage's hand, "Dark Frost knows."
"Knows… what?"
"My identity. She guessed who I am. It's quite an amazing feat, is it not?"
"She did what?" Scarlet Mage turned her focus on Dark Frost; and even though her face was completely covered with a helmet, she could still feel her heart that beat with a certain kind of animosity.
"...You are just lucky that you are first," Tomoe then said with a click of a tongue.
Of course-- Scarlet Mage thought. If there was someone that would be able to relate Riley to Darkday, it would be her-- Darkday's self-proclaimed number 1 fan.
"Why drag a student into this?" Scarlet Mage then said, her tone slightly cold, "I thought this is only going to be between us?"
"I did not drag her, she applied."
"She's only a student, Riley. Please don't hold any of her loved ones hostages."
"I see, you are only following him because he has someone you care for," Tomoe then let out a small but mocking sigh as she walked closer to the two, "My loyalty for Darkday is undying and true, unlike yours; It truly is such a shame that the First Subordinate is someone like you, Scarlet Mage."
"What? I am still your teacher," Scarlet Mage could not help but let out a tone of frustration, "And loyalty? My loyalty to Riley is also un-- No, forget what I said."
"That's what I thought… teacher," Tomoe then smugly worded out as she walked closer to Riley.
Scarlet Mage twitched her eyes a couple of times as she took a few steps back. Was she about to say that she was loyal to Darkday? Was she losing her mind? Of course, something already happened between the two of them, but that was just a momentary lapse of judgment driven by lust-- nothing more.
"...What do you think that cougar is talking about with my brother?" In the front, Hannah's eyes were currently that of a hawk; not leaving Scarlet Mage out of her sight, "Sil… Mega Girl, can you eavesdrop on them? Don't you have like super-hearing or something?"
"I do, but I can't control it that well and it makes my head go all woozy… but even if I can do it, it is not right to use my abilities for something like that, Nuclear Baby," Silvie breathed out, "...Although I am a little curious as well."
"Right? Let's do it!?"
"N… no. I am sure she's just checking up on him since he disappeared."
"Tch, you're no fun. What about you, DM? Can you hear what they're saying?"
"I… I'll try," Gary muttered as he slowed down his steps to let Riley and the others catch up to him.
"What are you doing? You're being so obvious!"
"Well… How am I supposed to hear them? I don't have super-hearing."
"What the fuck, then why are you still doing it!? Just…
...Get back here!"
It took almost an hour of walking, but the group finally safely arrived back in the parking lot-- same with many others. Their whispers and clamor all filled the air with questions, but none of the instructors or any of the other staff seemed to have the intention of answering any of them.
Instead, they just strictly ordered them to return to their respective buses and wait for further instructions. Of course, the students didn't really like being kept in the dark-- but seeing as the air around them was filled with some sort of tension, they had no choice but to follow their orders.
And when they got on the buses, they found out that the windows were already completely sealed; with absolutely no view of the outside.
Green Fly, Riley and the others' designated driver, did not even say anything to them as he just hastily drove them away without a single word; which was odd since he was extremely talkative on the way to Toronto.
"...Just, what exactly is going on?" Silvie could not help but whisper the thoughts of all the students on her bus. But afterward, she then turned to look at Tomoe, who was now riding with them, "You… should probably take your helmet off. I don't think it's the right time to be adorning something like that, the other students are starting to look at you with hostility, Tomoe."
"Their opinions of me are meaningless, Silvie. This helmet is my devotion to Darkday."
"You're still saying shit like that, girl?" Hannah breathed out, her words containing a hint of frustration, "This isn't the time to be playing around, someone might actually attack you because of the Dark Millenials or whatever."
"They are a fake group, and nothing more. I would not be swayed by--"
"My sister is right, Tomoe. I think you should also change to a new costume, that one belongs only to Darkday."
"H… hey, man. No need to be too harsh on her--"
"If that is what you wish."
And before Gary could fully join in on the conversation, Tomoe suddenly removed her helmet, "I… I will design a new costume, maybe you can help me?"
"That much is obvious, Tomoe. You need a proper uniform similar to what I have now."
"Really!?"
"...What the fuck," seeing Tomoe's pitch suddenly turn similar to that of a Japanese school girl, Hannah's hair all started to stand up on their ends. It was completely creepy, she thought. Tomoe's voice had this cold tone in it, so to see her squealing like that was… odd.
Although it did seem somewhat fitting, her face still does look Asian. But…
"...Are these two really this close?"
"I don't think I have seen them talk to each other in class," Silvie also squinted her eyes as she watched Tomoe, "...She barely even talks to anyone."
"I am seeing a trope here," Gary then added as he placed his hand on his chin, "Riley… is a harem protagonist."
"What the fuck are you on about?"
"Seriously, can't you see the pattern!? It's so obvious a 12-year old might have written it," Gary added, "A hot sister, a hot and strict but caring teacher, and now the cold and aloof girl in class!? I… I have watched too much to know where this is going!"
"Why am I included in that list!?" Hannah then roared as she kicked Gary in the face, "He's my brother, that's disgusting!"
"Uhmm…" Silvie could not help but let out a whisper of a hum as she watched as Gary's face became squished, "...Why am I not included in the list?"
"You… You don't know what he's talking about, do you?" Hannah then slightly stuttered as she looked Silvie straight in the eyes.
"No? Isn't it just Riley's female friends?"
"Ohoho, our dear innocent Silvie," Gary then said as he tried to put his arm over Silvie's shoulders, "Let me introduce you to the colorful world... of Henta--"
"Do not corrupt her…
...you little shit!"
The students of the Academy all continued to have their own theories and guesses as to what was happening; and this continued on until they reached the safety emergency shelter of the Academy. Most of them were confused, of course-- as they all thought they were going straight home to the Academy.
But seeing as the Academy had gone through all of this... would mean that they were actually facing something truly serious.
"Anyone!? Has anyone seen any of my classmates?"
"What's going on? Who's that?"
And as the students were settling them in inside the huge empty dome, the cry of one student roared above everyone else.
"He's been shouting since earlier... I think he's from Class 1-F?"
"They're not here? Maybe... they all went with the Dark Millenium?"
"Yeah... What's with that? Potential Villain list? Don't you think it's kind of discriminatory?"
"Kind of. Must suck to belong in that list. Pft."
"Tell me about it. But who knows, maybe you belong in it?"
"What did you say!? But... what if I actually am? What...
...does that even mean?"
And as a quiet turmoil slowly started to boil in the shelter, another one had already started from far-away--
"Why… did you kill the students!?"
In a dark metal room somewhere in the world, No. 7 was currently groveling on the ground.
"Do you know how much trouble I will be in right now!? You are in my jurisdiction, how dare you do something like this!?"
"I… I'm truly sorry, August," No. 7 said meekly said; his face under the helmet, however, was completely infuriated. There was literally a small creature resting in his helmet threatening to kill him right now. He had no time to be wasting here being reprimanded by a superior that was probably weaker than him in terms of abilities.
"But I think… I need to talk to someone higher up," No. 7 then slowly stood up from the ground, "There's… we have a crisis on our hands."
"Of course we have a crisis! You killed people, No. 7! Do you really think you actually have the chance to talk to Ms. Friday and the others after what you--"
"This guy. Kill."
"What… did you just say to me!?"
"That… that wasn't me!"
"There's only two of us here!"
"This guy. Noisy. Please kill…
...or I kill you."
"What… Who is talking!? Do you have a microphone on you!? Did you betray--"
And before the man called August could finish his words, a chain of blue light suddenly crawled through his mouth.
"I… am sorry about this, August…
....but you don't know what I've seen."
Chapter 53"Am I a villain!?"
"We… we demand to see the list!"
"I don't want to be sharing a room with someone who will become a villain in the future! Why did you hide this from us!?"
"Y… yes, please make the list public!"
With the information of the Potential Villain list spreading like wildfire amongst the students, the hemispherical shape of the dome served as an amplifier to fan out their words. Those who were previously treating each other as friends were now meters apart; the students almost looked like that of a honeycomb, their gaps to each other almost equal as they tried their best to avoid one another.
"Man, everyone is on edge they might as well be Riley."
There were still groups that were closely huddled with each other, of course-- and Riley's group was among them; peacefully sitting on the cold concrete floor.
"Do you have time to be that chill?" Hannah let out a scoff as she heard Gary's words, "You're probably in that fucking list."
"What!? Why me? If there would be someone on that list it would be this guy!"
"Gary, it's not nice to accuse someone," Silvie let out a short but deep sigh as she shook her head.
"What? But didn't Hannah just accuse me of--"
"It doesn't matter whether I am on the list or not," seeing Gary pointing at her, Tomoe only took a short glance before once again fixating her head towards Riley, "What matters now is that I am in Darkday's list."
"...What does that even mean, you psycho?" Hannah let out a small scoff, "And I didn't know my brother had another friend in 1-V."
"No!" Tomoe immediately stood up, "I… I don't dare to claim to be Riley's friend!"
"I… see. Our group has become full of weirdos. Anyway, I thought your instructor will be giving us news? It's been an hour and we're still being left in the dark about what happened." Hannah then said as her eyes scanned the dome. There were already small fights happening, and yet none of the instructors on any other staff had responded.
"...Is it possible that many students went with the Dark Millenium?" Silvie then added as she also stood up to scan the area, "Although… we can't really count since there's too many of us."
"That's probably the case," Gary then lazily dropped his back on the floor, "They couldn't get me, so they probably settled with my inferiors."
"...Yeah, that's probably it," Hannah let out a tiny scoff as she rolled her eyes, "In any case, we should probably find your instructor so we can--"
"I told you I am not on the Potential Villain list! I don't even know what that is!"
"You're lying! I saw your performance during the simulation, you laughed while accidentally killing the hostages!"
"That's a simulation! I wouldn't do that in real life!"
The group's conversation was cut short as a couple of students near them started to get violent, with one summoning a bunch of insects coming out of his sleeves.
"Isn't he… from our class?" Silvie uttered.
"I think so," Gary said as he quickly stood up to look at the commotion, "Robert Moore… General Parasite. The one she's fighting with is also from our class, I think. Wait… most of them are from our class."
"I guess they gathered here since Silvie's here," Hannah muttered before shaking her head, "It's not our problem, let them settle it on their own. The situation in the shelter is already going bonkers, it's best we don't add fuel to the fire."
"Bu--"
"Don't even think about it, Silv," Hannah said before Silvie could even utter a word, "With your position as the Mega Student, the pretentious righteous motherfuckers would probably use you to rally to find out who is who."
"But still, we just can't sit around doing no--"
"Stop this! Why are we fighting each other!?"
And once again, before Silvie could finish her words, a loud and high-pitched voice echoed throughout the whole shelter. Gary and the others quickly looked as to who was intervening, only for their eyes to land on a pair of two humongous melons-- belonging to none other than Katrina Collins of Class 1-V, aka Hurricane Katrina.
"Even… even if you think someone belongs to this stupid Potential Villain list, it doesn't mean they're bad people!" Katrina bellowed as she stood between General Parasite and her other classmate, "They're just misguided! Isn't that why we are here in the Academy!? To become the best versions of ourselves!?"
"K… Katrina," General Parasite stuttered as he slowly retracted the insects that came out of his sleeves.
"Please, everyone. Stop fighting!"
"Very well said, girl."
And as soon as Katrina finished her words, a calm but slightly raspy voice reverberated throughout the whole dome. They all tried to search who the voice was coming from, but before they could find the source, a huge hologram appeared in the air right in the center of the dome.
"H...hey, it's your father."
"Shh! That's a secret, you fucker!"
"S… sorry," Gary immediately covered his mouth, but not before taking a hit on the head from Hannah.
"None of you were supposed to become aware of the existence of the Potential Villain list. But what is done is done, so let me be the one to confirm it to all of you-- the Potential Villain list is real."
"W… what!?" Hearing none other than Whiteking confirming it, the students once again began to clamor. But before it could get any worse, Whiteking once again shared his words.
"But that… little girl is right; all of you are here so we could teach you how to be better-- How to become a hero in the future that the you now would be proud of," Whiteking's hologram started to walk through the air, "Do you think that just because someone has the potential to do bad, that they can never do good? Let me tell you this…
...No one is born evil."
"..." Riley let out a small but fettered breath as he heard his father's words. No one… is born evil? If so, then why does someone like him exist?
"I will tell you this now, there is no reason to ostracize each other. Because if bad people are capable of doing good, the same could be said vice-versa. The way you are acting right now to your fellow students-- Do you not think you would one day also be written in the Potential Villain list?"
"T… that's…" Whiteking's words resounded to all of the students, especially to those who were accusing others of belonging to the list; most of their heads, now looking to the ground.
"27%," Whiteking continued, "27.4%. As of now, that is the number of students that belong to the list. The Academy is trying its best to make that 0%. Please, give us, your classmates, and yourself the chance to make that zero."
"..."
"S… sorry, Robert," the female student that was accusing General Parasite could not help but apologize as soon as Whiteking's words reached her heart.
"It's… okay, it's my fault for being a maniac."
"...What?"
"And now, to more concerning matters."
It would seem that the announcements weren't done, as Whiteking's words once again reverberated throughout the dome; but this time, his hologram disappeared, only to be replaced by a blindfolded instructor.
"Isn't that your instructor, Hannah banana?"
"Y… yeah," seeing her class' instructor suddenly showing himself, Hannah could not help but take in a nervous gulp. Even in class, Nightwalker rarely talks if he doesn't need to-- so seeing him out in the open like this… something was wrong.
"Hannah Ross--"
"!!!" Hannah's body straightened up as she suddenly heard her name. But when she thought that she was being called, Nightwalker started mentioning other names.
"DeAndre Brown, Ryan Woods, Latisha James, and lastly Luis Hardy; you will be designated in different classes. Please wait for more information about your transfer."
"W… what?" Hannah blinked a couple of times as she looked at Riley and the others, "What's going on?"
And before anyone else could answer her, Whiteking once again appeared in the hologram.
"The names you have heard just now... belong to the students of Class 1-F," Whiteking said in a weak tone, his bravado tone now completely gone as he almost stuttered his words, "They are the only students left from their class…
...the others have sadly died in the hands of the so-called terrorist group, Dark Millenium."
"!!!"
"No… fucking way… what?" Hannah almost fell to her butt, but Riley slightly lifted her up in the air before she could do so.
It wasn't only the remaining students of Class 1-F who were shocked, most of the students were as they all turned to look at each other. Dead? Some of them have actually died? How… did something like this happen when they literally had superheroes as their teachers?
"We… were supposed to protect you," Whiteking continued, "The organization knew every bit of our movements, they knew all of the students and superheroes that would be present, and they even hacked into the satellite I borrowed from the government…
...But none of those are excuses as to why we failed to protect you. We are not asking for your forgiveness or requesting your trust. But what I can assure you, is this--
--A team is already being gathered to rescue your classmates that have been abducted by the Dark Millenium, and we will not rest until we do. But for now, please remain here until we sort everything out."
And with that, the hologram shut down; the reflection of Whiteking in everyone's eyes faded.
"They… killed my classmates?" Even with all of the people letting out gasps of shock, Hannah's fettered whispers still reached the rest of the group, "H… how? Why?"
"Don't be too down, Hannah," Gary said as he let out a short but deep sigh, "Those Justice pricks belong there, right? They probably deserved it."
"What? Do you even hear yourself? Some of those students are even younger than us," Hannah said as she furrowed her eyebrows, "They're dicks, but it doesn't mean they deserve to die."
"R… right, sorry."
"Miss Scarlet Mage!" And as the two were talking, Silvie suddenly raised her voice as she looked at Scarlet Mage, who was currently approaching them. However, even with her loud voice, Scarlet Mage did not seem to hear her as she only called for Riley, with Tomoe following behind him.
"W… what's with that?" Hannah said as her eyebrows furrowed even further.
"You were right, Hannah," Silvie then said as she let out a deep breath, "There are times we need to eavesdrop."
"What? What did you hear?"
"They… are planning to escape the shelter," Silvie muttered as her eyes stared at the three.
"...What!? How… and why?"
"I can't hear clearly because of all the other noise. But they are probably thinking of rescuing the other students themselves."
"What? My brother can't be that reckless… not to mention caring!"
"I… I can't hear anything anymore, it feels like something is blocking--"
"It doesn't matter!" Hannah then clicked her tongue before rushing towards Riley and the others, "I am supposed to be the reckless one! We...
....are coming with them!"
Chapter 54"You said we were visiting them later… what did you mean by that?"
"That we would be visiting them, Scarlet Mage."
"Yes, Miss Scarlet Mage; how are you not getting that?"
"Can you not?"
Scarlet Mage was trying to keep the volume of her whispers at a minimum, causing the movements of her eyes to become much more exaggerated as she rolled them. She knew that Tomoe was now part of their secret, but it hasn't been a few hours, and Scarlet Mage wants her gone.
Riley alone was enough, and now another eccentric individual has joined them. She wasn't threatened, of course. Why would she? It was not like she was under Riley of her own accord-- her mother was being kept hostage. She also needs to make sure Riley doesn't go out of bounds and massacre everyone.
If anything, Tomoe was an added responsibility. Now she also has to protect her from Riley's… darkness. It would not be good for her to be pulled even further and do something she would regret… like sleeping with him.
"Does that mean you know where their base is?" Scarlet Mage then focused her thoughts. She should worry about Tomoe later; what matters now is to rescue the students that were kidnapped by the Dark Millenium.
"I do, Scarlet Mage. How else would we be visiting them?"
"Yes, Miss Scarlet Mage. How else would we be visiting--"
"Then tell me their location, I will pass it onto Whiteking," Scarlet Mage quickly answered Riley before his parrot could agitate her even further, "You don't have to worry, the information wouldn't be traced to you since I have many excuses I could use as to why I know their location."
"No."
"...What? Why?"
"Father and the other heroes will only get in the way, Scarlet Mage," Riley said after letting out a short but deep sigh, "You will get your chance to force the students to return on your own if you really want to, but our main priority is to meet with my impostor."
"I don't understand why you want to get the others back, Miss Scarlet Mage," Tomoe then added as she too, let out a sigh, "When the 3 students in the sector I was in went with the Dark Millenium, they didn't need a lot of convincing-- I am sure they do not want to be rescued."
"It doesn't matter," Scarlet Mage shook her head, "I am still a teacher of the Academy, I won't give up on turning them into heroes just because they already have."
"That's just sugarcoating--"
"Even in this situation, you are not losing your goal, Scarlet Mage..." Riley breathed out, causing Tomoe to quickly stop her words so as to not interrupt him, "...You are still retaining your kindness, as expected of my First Subordinate."
"...I don't know how to feel about that," Scarlet Mage slightly closed her eyes, "So, when are we proceeding with our secret missio--"
"We're going to come with you!"
And suddenly, their careful whispers were completely overwhelmed by the loud voice that was slowly approaching them. It didn't help that the students that were previously resting on the floor were now looking at them, their eyes now intensely curious as to why Scarlet Mage had been talking with two students alone.
"...Ms. Hannah," Scarlet Mage could not help but squint her eyes even further as Hannah continued to approach them, with Silvie and Gary following her from behind, "You should be resting."
"No," Hannah let out a small scoff as she looked Scarlet Mage straight in the eyes, "I don't know why you are approaching my brother for this, but I know you're planning to go and find the Dark Millenium."
"Were you… eavesdropping on us?"
Hearing Scarlet Mage's words, a small icicle quickly formed on Tomoe's hand. But as soon as she remembered who Hannah was to Riley, she quickly retracted her powers back.
"S… sorry, Ms. Scarlet Mage. It was me who listened in on your conversation," the one who answered Scarlet Mage's question, however, was Silvie, "I couldn't help it since it might have something to do with the missing students."
"How... much did you hear?" Scarlet Mage could not help but take in a small, but very deep breath. Her eyes then quickly shifted to Riley, as she felt his heart slightly fluctuate. Riley had already told her that Silvie might be related to Mega Woman-- she might even be her daughter; so it made sense that Riley's heart would fluctuate around her… but seeing as Riley's fingers were already slowly rising up in the air, it probably meant nothing good.
"How much did you hear!?" Scarlet Mage quickly repeated her words as she blocked Silvie from Riley's view.
"N… Not much," Silvie could not help but flinch as Scarlet Mage yelled at her, "Nothing was clear, but… but I heard enough to know that you're planning to escape to rescue the others."
"Hey, you don't need to yell at her!" Hannah then pulled Silvie away as she once again looked Scarlet Mage straight in the eyes, "I don't know what your problem is, we just want to help!"
"Whoa, whoa. Let's all calm down," Gary then quickly got in between the two. He doesn't know if he was just imagining it, but he could feel sparks trickling around him, "The situation is already tense as it is… I don't like being the voice of reason… but maybe let's all just talk like normal people instead of shouting at each other?"
"Tch, fucking pedo," Hannah then shrugged her shoulders violently as she backed away; her eyes, still intent in glaring at Scarlet Mage.
"..." Scarlet Mage truly wanted to retaliate, but as a teacher, she should know better. But… was she really actually a pedo? Considering Riley is already at the age of consent, then… no, that's not the time to think about this-- What matters now is the children.
From her earlier screams resounding throughout the dome, not only the students, but some of the instructors were already looking at them. She could not help it, however. She was sure that Riley was about to kill Silvie right here and then; but seeing him no longer with his fingers raised, it would seem that it was the right decision.
"We're still coming with you whether you like it or not," Hannah then said as she crossed her arms, "I know the other instructors don't know about this, or else they would already be huddled up and thinking of a plan."
"That's not--"
"No."
And before Scarlet Mage could respond, Riley finally stepped forward and opened his mouth.
"I am afraid that's not going to happen, sister."
"What? If I am not going, then you're not going," Hannah then let out a small breath as she looked at her brother, "As your big sister, I am not going to allow you to put yourself in--"
"I am truly sorry about this, sister."
And with those words, Riley suddenly snapped his fingers-- loud enough that it reverberated throughout the entire dome-- no. Rather, the sound that was echoing throughout the shelter was not his finger, but the sound of people dropping on the floor, all almost at the same time.
"W… what did you do?" Scarlet Mage's stuttered whispers mixed with the small thuds softly snapping in the air as she watched not only the students but everyone else lifelessly sprawled and scattered on the ground,
"Did… did you kill them?" Scarlet Mage could no longer hear Riley's heart, as the sound of her own heart beating erratically overpowered everything else.
Even Tomoe, who had been watching everything about Darkday, could not help but slightly take a step back. There was still a slight excitement inside of her, of course… but now, it was accompanied by fear.
"No, what do you think I am?" Riley's disappointed sighs then entered their ears as he gently placed Hannah, who was resting on his arms, gently on the floor, "They are just unconscious, Silver Moon."
"...Unconscious?" Silver Moon did not even mind the sudden change of her name. Instead, her eyes were busy looking at the ocean of people around her. "You… can also do that?"
"When… when did you have the ability to control minds, Darkday!?" Tomoe then slightly pushed Silver Moon to the side as the tone of her voice became high-pitched, "I… I don't think I have any records of you having that ability!"
"I don't," Riley then shook his head as he stood up, "I just lightly racked their brains, but they should be fine, Tomoe. And please, do not call me Darkday-- I am currently in retirement."
"O… of course, Master Riley," Tomoe then suddenly kneeled on the ground, her loud and slightly excited breaths still persisting in the air.
"You… racked their brains… all at the same time?" Silver Moon, on the other hand, was still busy trying to listen to everyone's hearts. It was true that none of them were dead; one could even say their hearts were normal-- a sign that none of them were truly hurt or damaged.
But… to be able to incapacitate everyone at the same time while being confident enough he didn't hurt anyone badly-- this was no longer just a show of power.
It might look simple in hindsight; but anyone with telekinesis would know just how difficult, maybe even impossible, Riley's actions are.
Just how much control does he exactly have to be capable of something like this? This is no longer just someone with superhuman abilities. Riley…
...Riley is a god.
Silver Moon then looked towards Tomoe, who was still kneeling on the floor. Should… should she actually do the same? Should... she bend her knees again for him?
"You seem to be worried, Silver Moon."
"W… what?" And before she could kneel, she felt Riley's warm hand touching her chin.
"If you are thinking about the cameras around the shelter, then you do not have to worry-- I have disabled all of them."
Silver Moon could not respond, however. She had completely forgotten that they were in a heavily secured facility, her thoughts, only reliving the time she previously bent her knees for him as the warm touch of his hand continued to caress her chin.
Tomoe, who was still kneeling on the floor, could not help but bite her lips in frustration. If only she was lucky enough to be the First Subordinate, then she would probably be the one being touched by Riley right now, she thought.
"Lead us out, Silver Moon," Riley then breathed out as he retracted his hand, "I believe you've been oriented with the layout of the shelter?"
"Y… yes. But there should be guards--"
"They are also incapacitated, Silver Moon. Please, lead us out. We still have a long way up after this."
"...Long way up?"
"Yes," Riley nodded before pointing a finger upwards, "No.. 7 and Little Riley is currently in the sky."
Chapter 55"This… I'm actually flying."
"You're being floated, there's a big difference."
"Tch."
"Is it really alright to bring a child to this mission, Riley?"
"I believe she is older than me, Silver Moon."
"R… right."
Even with the wind violently threatening to rip off their faces, Riley, Katherine, and Tomoe were still able to have a somewhat clear conversation. Katherine didn't have to think about it-- Riley put up a barrier in front of them… which was now more evident now that they were passing through the clouds.
Tomoe might not think too much about it since she was so overwhelmed by soaring through the skies with just her body for the first time, but for Katherine, it was different. Katherine could fly, but there were two limits hindering her from going above a certain speed.
First was what she was just thinking of now-- wind resistance. Although her skin was tougher than most normal humans, she didn't have the extreme durability that most strength-oriented Supers have. Even if she wore a helmet similar to Darkday, one wrong move; one wrong pebble at 100km/h would probably put her out.
Second-- It wasn't her style. She flies, yes-- but flying at a high speed pulls away most of her attention from everything else.
And so, for Riley to not only put a barrier around them, float Tomoe, and fly on his own; he was doing all of this at a very high speed. Once again showing the monstrous control he had over his powers.
It almost reminded her of one of the previous members of the Hope Guild-- Ms. Phoenix. Besides Mega Woman, Ms. Phoenix was probably the one that had the most impact on her growing up.
During her time, Ms. Phoenix's telekinetic abilities were unrivaled; her most notable feat was holding a whole island in place, preventing it from being devastated as a huge earthquake wished to devour it.
Perhaps her only flaw was that she could get too violent sometimes, sending most of her opponents to the prison with a mangled limb or two. The government announced her retirement when Katherine was about 11 years old, for the reason that she was going to take care of her child-- she never appeared in public after that.
Well, wherever she was, she hoped that she was living a good life with her family-- most heroes could not do the same.
But still, to this date, no superhero had come close to reaching Ms. Phoenix's telekinetic abilities… only a villain-- Darkday himself.
...Who was stronger between the two? Katherine then thought as her eyes turned towards Riley. Riley's control was more than likely higher than Ms. Phoenix's, but what about raw power? Riley had shown to be more than capable of lifting several buses in the air, and there was also that quake during the simulation exercise…
...but is he capable of lifting an entire island like Ms. Phoenix?
No, it didn't even matter if Ms.Phoenix's raw power was stronger, Riley had other abilities-- Ms. Phoenix's neck would probably be twisted without her even knowing what hit her.
It was no wonder that Mega Woman lost-- there was probably no longer anyone to stop Riley if ever he once again dawns the world with Darkday. And so, once again, Katherine gathered her resolve; she would do everything in her power not to allow Darkday to see the light of day once again.
She just needs to show Riley that there was also joy in saving people-- and this moment was the best time to do that.
"I see it," Katherine then pointed her finger to a colossal silhouette hidden in the sea of clouds.
"How… did this get past the government's satellites?" Tomoe muttered, "Losing sight of Darkday is one thing because he is the greatest creature to ever exist in the whole universe, but to miss something this big?"
"Because this isn't the only place that needs surveillance," Katherine replied, "Even now as we attempt to rescue these children, thousands are being harmed and killed by villains all over the world. I am more amazed as to how they managed to get their hands on a floating ship like that...
...A colossal flying ship capable of passing through the satellite's radar, an energy source enough to lift something as massive as that in the air for an entire day, it's almost like--"
"Alien technology, Silver Moon."
Riley, who had been keeping quiet the whole flight, finally spoke as they all stopped in the air to survey the flying ship from afar.
"The Academy also has an abundance of it," Riley added, "Do you have any news of any alien entities entering the planet, Silver Moon?"
"...No," Katherine breathed out, "Do you think this has something to do with Mega Woman?"
"Knowing that is supposed to be your job, Silver Moon," Riley then turned his eyes towards Katherine's, "You have not given me an update on Mega Woman for a month."
"T… that's… Things have been busy in school with this exercise and all. It will be even busier now that something like this has happened."
"...Understandable."
"..." Tomoe, who was quietly watching from the side, could not help but once again furrow her eyebrows. This feeling of being left out… truly, the difference between First Subordinate and Second Subordinate was almost heaven and hell.
"I can help you gain information about Mega Woman, Riley," Tomoe then said, the tone of her voice stern and clear.
"And how are you going to do that when you're stuck in the Academy?" Katherine was the one to answer her with a light scoff.
"I… I'm going to find--"
"There's movement up front!"
And before Tomoe could finish her words, an ominous creaking noise sang in the air-- almost like a horn looming and whispering over their ears.
"It's starting to move, Riley. What do we do, are we going to chase it!?"
"Wait… I think it's moving towards us, Ms. Scarlet Mage!"
"What!? Let's hide! Riley, what are you still doing-- Riley?"
She didn't realize it earlier since she was too focused on the colossal floating ship heading towards them, but Riley had one of his hands raised above his shoulder, his fingers slowly moving closer towards him.
"You… could it be?"
"Kya! He's pulling it! He's the one pulling it towards us!"
Katherine slightly leaned her head to the side as her ears almost ruptured from Tomoe's childish shrieks. Add that to the whale-like sound coming from the colossal floating ship, it almost felt like she was in the middle of a choir thousands of meters up in the air.
"I thought this was a covert mission!?" Katherine then yelled since it was hard to hear her own voice from all the wailing. Just earlier, she was wondering if Riley's raw power would match that of Ms. Phoenix, and although this was far from lifting up a whole island in the air, it was still an impressive feat considering how effortless he was doing it.
But there was also the fact that the ship was already floating, so it shouldn't be too hard to move-- This wasn't the time to be admiring and analyzing Riley's powers; as the oldest one in the group, she should be the most level-headed one.
"This isn't a covert mission, Riley!" Katherine once again raised her voice as the colossal ship was only meters away from them now. And seeing as her whole horizon was now blocked by it, it was probably even bigger than a naval ship.
"It is a covert mission, Silver Moon…
...or at least it will be."
***
"What's going on!? I thought we were going to wait until everything settles down before we move!?"
"Won't the satellite pick us up if we move this fast!?"
"Hahaha!"
A fleeting red light; a siren that mixed with all the panicked voices echoing through the hallways… and a muffled laugh seeping from a dark room coming from No. 7, whose arms and legs were currently bound in the air by a floating block of what seemed to be liquid metal. But surprisingly enough, he still had his helmet on.
"We… we're fucked," No. 7 continued to chuckle as he shook his head, "You guys are fucked."
"Do… you know something about this, No. 7?"
"I wish I could tell you, Ms. Friday," No. 7 then turned his head down to look at the woman in front of him, "But I can't."
The woman called Ms. Friday was also wearing a helmet similar to that of Darkday's; but instead of a simple full black suit, she had on a skirt that reached only above her knees; partnered by a pair of boots that reached below it.
"I killed August because I had to, Ms. Friday," No. 7's chuckles started to die down, "You'd probably do the same if you were me. But can you tell me something, Ms. Friday?"
"You're not the one asking questions here," Although Ms. Friday's tone was still calm, the slight movements of her head gave away her worry.
"Is Darkday really our leader? You've seen him, right? You're one of the Weekdays. You serve directly under him… are you sure it's him?" No. 7 continued to talk, his words slowly fading.
"What are you talking abo--"
"Ms. Friday!"
And before Ms. Friday could finish her words, the door of the room they were in slid open as a No. 69 barged inside.
"There… there are intruders!"
"...Already?" Ms. Friday calmly turned her head towards No. 69, "Are they inside the ship?"
"Y… Yes, Ms. Friday! They wouldn't be intruders if they were outside!"
"..."
"..."
"S… sorry, Ms. Friday!"
"How many? Do we need to call for backup?"
"That's…
....there's only three."
Chapter 56"Three… intruders? All this noise for three intruders?"
Ms. Friday's voice still held its calm, her breaths, however, almost filled the entire room with weight. Their floating base should have been completely hidden from the government's satellites and in the naked eye of even the Grade-A Supers.
Could it be that they were detected when their base suddenly moved unexpectedly? No… not even a minute had passed since that time. If their base had indeed been detected due to their base moving, then there were only a handful of supers that were capable of reaching their base at that speed.
One of the members of the Hope Guild that was capable of running at Mach speeds-- The Tempo. But according to their intel, he should be on the other side of the planet right now protecting his country from a group of super terrorists.
There were a few more others, but their intel also suggests that it would be impossible for them to get to their location.
Could it be… Mega Woman is here? They have absolutely zero intel on her, so she was the only loose element. If it was really her… then the only choice they have was to self-destruct.
"Is one of them wearing a white coat?"
Ms. Friday then quickly looked towards No. 7. Who, despite hanging in the air and having all of his limbs bound, still had an arrogant and sarcastic tone in his voice.
"Answer the traitor," Ms. Friday then quickly said as she faced No. 69.
"Y… yes?" No. 69 said after pausing for a few seconds, "But I really think we should be worrying about Scarlet Mage, Ms. Friday!"
"Scarlet… Mage is here?" Ms. Friday whispered, "So our intruders are from the Mega Academy."
Ms. Friday then tapped her arms a few times, waking up the small tablet that was attached to it. "Who is currently engaging the enemy?" She then breathed out.
[Ms. Friday, this is April. The intruders are currently in front of me, ma'am.]
"What? Are you engaging them? What's the situation?" Ms. Friday could not help but slightly let out a short but deep breath. For someone currently in front of the intruders, April did not seem to even be out of breath.
[They… are just standing, Ms. Friday.]
"What--"
"Ahahaha!"
And before Ms. Friday could even say a word, No. 7's laughter once again filled the entire room. This caused Ms. Friday to slightly furrow her eyebrows behind her helmet, but after a few seconds, she tapped something on her tablet, causing a trickle of electricity to wrap around No. 7's limbs, replacing his laughter with screams of pain.
"What do you mean they're just standing there?" Ms. Friday then patted her skirt, completely ignoring No. 7's bellow, "Where are you?"
[They're just standing here in the cargo hold… menacingly, Ms. Friday.]
"I see. Try to stall them as long as possible, I'm on my way there."
[I… don't think I need to stall them, Ms. Friday. I think they are waiting for you.]
"...What?"
[One of them...
...is asking for a chair.]
***
A few moments later, Ms. Friday was now at the base's cargo hold. And true enough, the three intruders were just calmly standing there. No, one of them was now seated on a chair.
"You actually gave them a chair?" The irritation in Ms. Friday's tone was clear for everyone to hear.
"Y… Yes?" April stuttered, "He politely asked for it, so it just felt right to give--"
"We're not a restaurant!" Ms. Friday stomped her foot on the ground, and as she did so, the ground beneath her turned grey, before a web of cracks started to crawl over it. And after a few seconds, she then turned her head towards the three intruders and raised her hand at them.
The three, however, did not even flinch an inch.
"Are you here to rescue the children, Scarlet Mag--" She was about to finish her words, but then she realized something important; Scarlet Mage did not seem to be leading the group-- it was the one that No. 7 had mentioned earlier, the white-haired kid clad in a white coat.
"I am afraid Scarlet Mage is not here, Ms. Friday," the white-haired kid then spoke as he pointed his finger towards Katherine, "This is Silver Moon, my First Subordinate. And this is my Second Subordinate. She…
...doesn't have a name yet."
Although Tomoe was clearly upset from Riley's words, she only let out a short but deep breath, before bowing her head towards Ms. Friday.
"As for me, you may call me Riley Ross."
"Riley… Ross?" Ms. Friday lower her hands, before taking a small step back, "Aren't you Whiteking's son!?"
And as soon as Ms. Friday's words echoed throughout the cargo hold, the group of Numbers that were surrounding the area all let out gasps of their own.
"Does that mean that--"
"Oh, you don't have to worry, Ms. Friday," Riley then waved his hand before crossing his legs and taking off his sunglasses, "We are the only ones--"
"Riley!"
And before Riley could finish his words, a blast of wind exploded in front of him, slightly causing his white, almost silver-like hair to violently flow in the air; his expression, however, still remained the same.
He then slightly leaned his head to the side, as it was being blocked by Katherine's butt.
"Are you okay, Riley!?" Katherine then breathed out, her arm raised to the front as chunks of what seemed to be rocks dropped in front of her one by one. And as soon as she checked that Riley was okay, she turned her head towards the direction where the projectile came from, only to see a familiar face.
"You dare harm god!?"
And before anyone could do anything else, a crackle violently snapped in the air; lowering the temperature by a few degrees,
"You shall know the wrath of god!"-- And with that roar, Tomoe raised her hands, almost instantly summoning a sedan-sized icicle above her, "Die!"
"No, Tomoe!"
But as soon as she released her frozen bundle of death, Katherine stood in front of her and clapped her hands, immediately turning the icicle into snow.
"What are you--"
"He's a student from the Academy!"
"Ha?"
It wasn't only Tomoe and Katherine, but even the numbers surrounding them and Ms. Friday were looking at the individual who fired the earth bullet at Riley, only to see a young man wearing a skin-tight costume, his cape loosely dangling behind him.
"Who let this guy out!?" Ms. Friday roared.
"They… they escaped during the commotion!"
"...They?" Ms. Friday then turned towards the Number who answered her, only to see different individuals wearing each of their unique costumes, "What the…"
"We're here to help you…
...Ms. Friday!"
"...oh?"
"What!?" Katherine could not help but slightly raise an eyebrow. She initially thought that they were rushing towards them since she was here to rescue them but to think they would stop and stand by Ms. Friday's side one by one.
"What are you guys doing!?" She then yelled, "We're here to rescue you!"
"The Dark Millenium has told us all about your stupid list!"
"Do you think we don't know what you will do to us!? You're going to kill us!"
"What?"
"Dark Millenium saved us from being killed by the government! You were going to eliminate us if we're still on the list by the time we graduate!"
"What are you guys talking about!? We will never do that!" Katherine waved her hand in frustration, she was about to say something else, but before she could do so, the sound of Riley standing up from his seat completely silenced everyone.
"It seems they do not need to be rescued, Silver Moon," Riley then sighed before patting Katherine on the shoulders a couple of times.
"No, they are just confu--"
"I am afraid that's enough, Silver Moon," Riley stepped forward before Katherine could finish her words, "That was the only time I will be giving you to rescue your pets…
...And now, shall we get on to business?"
"Come with us, Riley Ross, Dark Frost!"
One of the students, however, started to approach them, "The Academy is just fooling you! I know you're a fan of Darkday, Dark Frost… I saw you wearing his helmet back in the Academy. Do you think the Academy would let someone like you live!? Please, take my--"
"Eek!"
And just like that, the student's short speech was cut short as his entire body suddenly burst into tiny bits of pieces, causing all of his flesh and insides to be blown away towards the other students. There was, however, no sign of any mess in front of where the student exploded; instead, his flesh and blood formed into an arc, as if an invisible wall was blocking them.
"..." And as soon as Ms. Friday saw this, she hid her arms behind her, tapping her tablet several times. She had wondered why someone like No.7, who was capable of defeating a Month almost instantly, was so afraid of-- and now she knows.
It would already be a hard fight with Scarlet Mage here, but to think there was another monster on board, she needed to call a back-up from one of the other bases as soon as possible. This Riley Ross… is dangerous.
"My apologies, Dark Millenium" Riley then let out a small but deep sigh as his eyes scanned the remains of the detonated student, "I forgot to tell you that there's a barrier separating us from the rest of you-- we can't have a fight breaking out as we talk business, can we?"
"R… Riley? You… did you just kill a student?" Katherine said, her breaths almost wanting to burst out from her chest.
"..." On the other hand, Tomoe only had her eyes twitching, trying her best not to look away from the flesh and guts that were scattered in front of her.
"He committed suicide, Silver Moon. And he was no longer a student," Riley then casually said as he returned to his seat, "Now…
....shall we conduct business?"
Chapter 57The screams and cries of the students from the academy still whispered in the air; Ms. Friday, however, could not be bothered by their pathetic wails. She had already called for reinforcements from the other bases, but who knows if they were going to respond.
And even if they did… it might already be too late. There were almost 400 of them in the ship, with almost a quarter of that surrounding the three intruders in front of her-- and yet she could not help but feel that they were the ones at a disadvantage.
How could she not, when one of their potential new recruits from the Academy died with none of them even having the time to react to it. Riley Ross was supposed to be from the Academy, and yet he killed one of his schoolmates without even blinking an eye.
Something was definitely not right here.
"You said that Whiteking isn't coming, can I take your word on this?" Ms. Friday did not let her nervous thoughts appear in her words, however, as the tone of her voice remained ever-so casual; as she had been doing ever since.
"Perhaps. I can not control other people's actions, Ms. Friday," Riley answered, his gaze seemingly scanning the cargo hold, "But I can assure you that my actions are completely separate to that of the Academy's. I am here to conduct business, as I said."
"What kind of--"
"You… you monster!"
And before Ms. Friday could muster a response, a student from the Academy rushed towards Riley. Ms. Friday stretched her arms to try and stop her, but alas, the student slipped from her hands.
"Don't!" Katherine raised her hand to summon a burst of wind, using all of her strength to push the student away from the invisible death barrier that Riley had put up. The girl rolled on the floor several times and probably broke a bone or two judging from the pained cries coming out of her mouth.
But that was better than the alternative.
"You… should have just let her die, Silver Moon," Tomoe whispered, before taking in a long and deep breath as her eyes still tried their best not to stray away from all the blood and guts in front of her, "Those who dare attack Riley deserve a gruesome death."
"I am not giving up on them," Katherine muttered, "They have parents waiting for them at home. I will not deliver the news that their children went on to join some cult."
"I told you, Silver Moon. Some of them wish to commit suicide," Riley then let out a small but deep sigh, "Perhaps truly unhappy because of this Potential Villain list that you hid from them…
...But on to more important matters."
Katherine wanted to say something but chose to keep her mouth shut as she heard Riley's heart slightly fluctuate. The students were also being dragged away by the Numbers. She didn't want to admit it, but they were probably safer away from them.
"Can you tell me all about your organization, Ms. Friday?" Riley then muttered, "Is your leader truly Darkday?"
"He is," Ms. Friday quickly answered, her mind, however, was thinking of multiple ways to escape or fight back.
"I find that very interesting, Ms. Friday," Riley said as a slight tone of amusement grew in his voice, "Judging by the names I have been hearing since earlier, your hierarchy is based on dates? Can you tell me more about this?"
Ms. Friday did not answer Riley. Instead, her eyes slowly ventured their way towards the woman beside him.
"Aren't you supposed to be saving people, Scarlet Mage?"
"Answer Riley's question!" Tomoe raised her voice and was about to say more. But before she could do so, Riley raised his hand and gestured to her to stop.
"I know your record and I have watched your videos on the internet. You've always been helping people. Even as a Grade-A super, you help even in street-level crimes and even volunteer to help the victims afterward," Ms. Friday continued to talk, "Was all that just a facade?"
"..."
"To think in the shadows, you're working for an individual capable of killing his friends without batting an eye. It would seem Darkday is right, the government has been lying to us from the start. You superheroes are just dogs, following orders even if it means killing children."
"Wait… do you really think you're the good guys in this?" Katherine could not help but let out a tiny scoff as she looked at Ms. Friday's helmet. She did not really need an answer, however, as she could feel in the beating of Ms. Friday's heart that she thinks she is right.
"You abducted students, and even massacred almost a hundred of them!"
"That… that was not part of the plan! One of our agents has gone rogue and--"
"It seems there has been a misunderstanding. For that, I apologize, everyone."
And before the conversation between Katherine and Ms. Friday could continue, Riley once again stood up from his seat; causing not only Ms. Friday to flinch, but all the numbers that were quietly watching the situation unfold; their hands, ready to attack at any time.
"A… misunderstanding?"
"I was the cause of everyone's death, Silver Moon."
"...What?"
"My sister seems to be being mistreated by Class 1-F, you see. And I don't like that."
"W… wait, what do you mean you were the cause?"
"Their death happened because of me, Silver Moon," Riley then blinked his eyes a couple of times. His face, showing signs of confusion, "I didn't kill them directly, but I helped."
"You… helped?"
This time, even Ms. Friday was shocked by what she was hearing.
"No. 11, No. 12, and No. 7. The students of Class 1-F mostly died by their hands. Mostly No. 7, I suppose."
"What are you--"
"Enough," Riley then muttered as he waved his hand. His breaths, almost filling the entire room with weight as it reached the ears of everyone present, "We've already been delaying our meeting because of something so trivial. I just told you out of respect as my First Subordinate, Silver Moon."
"You… Just who are you?" Ms. Friday then breathed out, trying her best not to stutter, "What do you want from us?"
"I should be the one asking that question, Ms. Friday. You're not listening," Riley waved his finger, "Have you met this Darkday in person?"
Once again, Katherine could feel Riley's heart fluctuating.
"...I think we're done talking. I have heard enough, you murderous little psycho!"
Ms. Friday wasn't going to act until her reinforcements arrive, but hearing that Riley was responsible for the deaths of all those children, she could not help but feel that it was her task to erase him from existence.
After all, that was why the Dark Millenium was built in the first place-- to eliminate all and any threat to humanity; saving the world from the shadows even as the world treats them as the villain.
"Men, kill the intruders!"
"Subordinates, go."
"...What?"
"At once, master Riley."
With almost a hundred people threatening to attack them all at once, Katherine had actually been ready to counterattack as soon as the enemies in front of them showed any signs of striking first.
She, however, could not help but be thrown off by Riley suddenly stretching his arms wide, as if some kind of mafia boss ordering his goons to attack. Add to that the fact that she just heard that Riley was the one responsible for the deaths of the students, it was almost as if…
...They were the villains here.
...Were they?
...Was she?
And while Katherine's thoughts were in disarray, Tomoe, on the other hand, had already disappeared from her position. Moving swiftly from one container box to another while elegantly shooting black icicles from her hands.
There were Strength-type Supers that were rushing towards her, but she was able to stave them off from putting up layers of ice in front of her, while summoning an extremely smooth surface of ice beneath her, causing her to just slide away.
As expected from someone who had awakened their abilities from infancy, her control was almost instinctual.
"Silver Moon."
"...Yes?" Katherine then woke up from her stupor as a loud thunderous noise erupted beside her. She looked, only to see a huge ball of fire seemingly being suppressed in front of her.
"Perhaps we need to practice more on our timing, Silver Moon," Riley then let out a sigh before snapping his fingers; and as he did so, the huge dancing ball of fire in front of Katherine completely withered away.
"I already removed the barrier protecting us, Silver Moon. I won't be protecting you again," Riley then said as he let out another sigh, "I still have to talk with Ms. Friday."
"That's--"
And before Katherine could even say another word, another ball of fire was thrown at her by one of the Numbers. This time, however, she clapped her hands-- causing the ball of fire to split into two and avoid her completely.
And before the now split fire completely passed by her, she stretched her hands to the side and stopped them.
"W… what the--" And to the surprise of the Number who threw the ball of fire, he seemed to have lost control of his projectile. It did not end there, however. He tried to reclaim his control, but the only thing that happened was that the two balls of fire split to even more pieces. And before he could even react, a torrent of blazing fire rained down upon not only to him, but also towards the Numbers near him.
"It seems that I have not made a mistake in my Subordinates," Riley then nodded in satisfaction as his eyes looked back and forth between Tomoe and Katherine. And perhaps, if it wasn't for the sudden tremble beneath his legs, he would have kept on watching.
"Die, the world will be better off without you!" And with Ms. Friday's screams, the ground beneath Riley opened up, as if a jaw threatening to rip him in half.
"Master Riley!"
"..."
Tomoe was slightly disgruntled by the scene of Riley being swallowed by the floor. Katherine, on the other hand, only took a short glance before proceeding to neutralize the enemies in front of her.
Ms. Friday's attack did not stop there, however. Even as the ground crawled and completely covered her opponent, she slightly rotated her wrist, causing the mangled floor to twist itself and whatever was inside it.
And as if that wasn't enough, she clapped her hands, causing spikes to appear from the floor and penetrate the distorted statue she just created.
"All that talk and bravado…" Ms. Friday then breathed out, "...Just for you to die before--"
"Quite the interesting power, Ms. Friday."
And before she could finish her monologue, Riley's muffled voice whispered to her ears.
"And I do quite agree with you, Ms. Friday…
....The world would be better off without me."
Chapter 58"And I do quite agree with you, Ms. Friday…
...this world would be better off without me."
"You…"
It was a good thing that Ms. Friday's head was covered by a jet-black helmet, if not, then all of the people here would have definitely seen the smile that had desperately crawled on her face slowly fade; replaced by the crippling fear that seemed to be at a haste in bringing her down.
No, even if she didn't have her helmet on, none of the Numbers would be able to see her face as they were too focused on their own opponents. Even April was busy trying to support the others; his helmet removed as his eyes shot out laser beams from afar.
But perhaps that was also a good thing; if not, their morale would surely take a hit if they were seeing the same thing she was. She was supposed to be one of the Weekdays, serving directly beneath Darkday. She was supposed to be one of the strongest in the whole organization, and yet with just a single exchange…
...she had been made aware of the difference between their powers.
Her attack was sure to kill even Grade-A Strength oriented Supers, and yet right now, the one who she thought was telekinetic, was ripping off the twisted confines she made like it was some sort of sand castle.
"I will repeat my words, Ms. Friday..."
With those words whispering in the air, a smile slowly crawled on Riley's face as the odd element that wrapped and threatened to crumple his body opened up-- almost like a white lotus with him as the bud; add to that the brightness of his silhouette… he almost looked quite angelic.
"...You truly have quite an interesting power."
Riley then stepped out of the lotus, effortlessly pushing whatever material it was that Ms. Friday manipulated, "At first I thought you were able to petrify things in your surroundings, but you could steer it as well…
...what is this, exactly?"
"That's…"
Ms. Friday could not help but take in a huge gulp as Riley just casually pinched off a piece of the so-called material with his finger like it was nothing. Riley was sort of right with his guess, her powers were similar to petrification.
But instead of turning things into something as brittle as stones, she turns them into a type of tungsten. But she wouldn't be one of the Weekdays if it was just that. She could also control metal, making her dangerous and formidable even in the most disadvantageous environments.
But that was not important right now... Tungsten-- one of the hardest materials in the world… shaved off like it was nothing.
"I have decided, Ms. Friday..."
"!!!"
Ms. Friday then took a few steps back as the smile on Riley's face almost reached from ear to ear.
"...You belong with the others."
"What are you--"
And before Ms. Friday could even finish her words, a thunder erupted in the air; blowing out all the stubborn dust and debris as a skirt of wind seemed to flash before her eyes. And before she knew it, her vision was filled with Riley's palm planted on the visor of her helmet.
"You won't be needing this, Ms. Friday."
And with those words, Ms. Friday's helmet erupted… no, it split into shards, calmly floating around her head as Riley's hand remained a few inches away from her face, holding the still-intact visor on it.
"Ms. Friday!"
April, who was previously busy shooting laser beams out of his eyes and supporting the Numbers from afar, swiftly rushed towards Ms. Friday as soon as he saw her struggling with her opponent.
His eyes lit up even brighter than before as they glared ominously towards the back of Riley's head.
Ms. Friday, however, let out a scream.
"No. April, don't!" She roared, her voice completely different from what it was before.
Ms. Friday knew. Ms. Friday knew from the trembling smile on Riley's face that he was aware of April's oncoming attack.
April's eyes continued to grow even brighter, but as the beams were about to shoot out from his eyes, Riley suddenly flicked his arm and threw the visor straight towards April's face; and with perhaps only a millisecond difference, the shards of the helmet that were calmly floating around Ms. Friday's face followed.
They flew towards April's head at an unimaginable speed-- once again making themselves whole like a puzzle. This all perhaps happened in less than a second, and less than a second is all it took for the helmet to crack, a red glow crawling like a web before it once again erupted into pieces. But this time…
...along with the insides of April's head.
"!!!"
Ms. Friday's jaws started to shiver as one of April's eyes landed beside her foot-- still whispering a sizzle to her ears as its red glow still kindled.
"You… you killed him."
"That is debatable, Ms. Friday."
"W--"
And once again, before she could even say a word, she felt her insides almost being left by her body as her vision quickly shifted.
"Kh," Ms. Friday then winced in pain as Riley's hand was now planted on her face, pushing her head onto a wall she now finds herself on.
"You don't have to worry, Ms. Friday," Riley then once again let out a smile, "Riley 2 will take good care of you."
If her face didn't feel like it was being crushed to death, then she might have even thought that Riley's smile contained a bit of warmth. This warmth, however, was momentary as she felt a cold breeze suddenly and violently waft through her entire body. There was also a ringing in both her ears, causing her to slightly struggle to move her head to the side… and as she did so, she finally realized what just happened.
There was now a huge hole behind her, with the premium and luxurious view of the night clouds.
"W… wait, wait!" Ms. Friday let out a muffled scream as her mouth was slightly covered by Riley's palm, "What about the information!? I thought you needed information!?"
"I do, Ms. Friday," Riley nodded, "But I can get that from No. 7. He seems to be more knowledgeable than I initially thought he was."
It was weird, Ms. Friday could barely hear the sound of her own voice from all the turbulence; Riley's words, however, were as clear as day to her.
"Number… No. 7!? No. 7 is currently tied up somewhere, he is of no use to you!"
"That is incorrect, Ms. Friday," Riley then let out a sigh as the grip on his hand slowly lightened, "No. 7 is killing the students of the Academy that was escorted to safety earlier, and he is about to be done."
"...What?"
"See you soon, Ms. Friday."
And with those words, Riley let go of Ms. Friday's face, allowing her body to be sucked like a vacuum as she was blown out of the floating base almost instantly. But before her screams could reach back inside the base; her body, instead of falling down, looked like it was plucked into the horizon before completely disappearing into the ocean of clouds.
Riley waved his hand a couple of times before the hole made on the cargo hold swiftly closed. He then let out a small sigh before turning around, only to see Katherine and Tomoe already standing there in front of him.
"Oh?" Riley muttered as his eyes scanned the surrounding, only to see more than a hundred men groaning and breathing in pain.
"You are done? I expected it with Silver Moon since she is my First Subordinate. But I have to say, you exceeded my expectations, Tomoe…
...excellent work in not killing anyone."
"!!!" A tiny yelp escaped from Tomoe's mouth, only hindered by the fact that she was now bowing repeatedly towards Riley, "Such… I do not deserve such high praise, my lord!"
"Riley… What… what did you say earlier?"
Katherine, on the other hand, could only stutter with her words as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "You… said something about the students?"
"They're dead, Silver Moon," Riley casually said as he walked past between the two, "Now let's continue our meeting. No. 7 and Little Riley is currently waiting for us somewhere in the ship."
"What? I thought they were taken to--"
"It is best for you to see for yourself, Silver Moon."
***
"No… no… no."
Katherine had her eyes closed. Her mind, currently in disarray as she was forcing it to hear something that was not there. There were more than a hundred people in this vast hall they now find themselves in, but the beating of the hearts that drummed in her ear was not even enough to build a choir.
Even Tomoe, who had no doubts of her loyalty to Riley, could not help but run to the side as her body betrayed her; her retching, almost echoing throughout the entire room.
"It seems you overdid it, No. 7," Riley looked towards his two Subordinates, before turning his head towards No. 7, who was kneeling on the floor; his body completely loosened as his breaths were enough to quake the floor.
No. 7 was currently surrounded by more than a hundred bodies, each mangled in different degrees. Some had their limbs torn, their bones piercing their own flesh and the flesh of others… connected-- almost like a centipede.
"What… what did you make me do?" No. 7 then breathed out, his words almost whimpering.
"I didn't tell you to do this, No. 7," Riley then said as he let out a sigh, "This is quite disgusting."
"I had no choice! This was the easiest way I could… I could…"
"You don't have to explain, No. 7. I saw," Riley then said as he pointed towards the silhouette standing on No. 7's shoulders, Little Riley. And then, with a snap of Riley's fingers, Little Riley quickly saluted, before melting away like mud.
"We still need to clean this place up, but we will do that later when all of you have calmed down, everyone. For now, I have a few questions, No. 7."
"...What?"
"Is the one leading this ship the man called April?"
"...No, it was Ms. Friday."
"That is a strange hierarchy," Riley muttered as he placed his hand on his chin.
"Each… each of the bases is captained by different Weekdays; Ms. Friday is one of them. They are then allotted 12 adjutants, the Months, and their grunt workers, 365 Numbers."
"Truly strange," Riley repeated, "But I suppose it doesn't matter. From now on, you are Mr. Friday, No. 7."
"W… What?" No. 7 almost took off his helmet from hearing Riley's words.
"This ship…
...it's mine now.. Secretly, of course."
Chapter 59"This ship is mine now, No. 7…
...Secretly, of course. I assume that's not a problem for you?"
"N… no."
There was still a slight stutter in No. 7's voice, but he mustered the strength to stand up as he looked Riley straight in the eyes through his helmet.
"Good. Then from now on, you are Mr. Friday," Riley then let out a small but deep sigh before looking at the mangled bodies of the students from the Academy, "And I want your first task to be cleaning up this mess, I don't want this inside my ship-- it's disgusting. Also...
...I am slightly bored now, so my Subordinates and I will be leaving."
"...Leaving?" Mr. Friday muttered, "Wait… what am I even supposed to say to the members of this base… to the other bases? To Darkday?"
"Darkday is not the leader of the Dark Millenium, Mr. Friday," Riley once again sighed as he shook his head, the tone of his voice slightly irritated, "As for how you're going to deal with the other bases… I leave that entirely up to you, you're the captain now."
"W… What? You don't think they are just going to buy any lies I tell them?"
"That is your problem, Mr. Friday."
"...What makes you think I won't just report what happened here to the others?"
"Because Little Riley will be watching you from somewhere in the ship, Mr. Friday," Riley then casually said as he walked away, snapping his fingers as he gestured to Katherine and Tomoe to follow him, "I will find you again when I need you, Mr. Friday. Please take care of my ship until then."
"Don't you have any orders for me!? What am I even supposed to do here!?" Mr. Friday bellowed.
"Become the leader of the Dark Millenium, Mr. Friday," Riley raised a finger, "Little Riley will help you so you can replace this fake Darkday little by little. Since I am still waiting for Mega Woman to show herself again, I need…
...something fun to watch."
"W… wait! Mega Woman!? What does Mega Woman have to do with this? Just…
...who are you?"
***
"..."
"They… are still unconscious?"
And just a few moments later, Riley and the two others were back inside the shelter. Tomoe was currently pushing Gary's face with her foot, checking to see if he was still breathing. And seeing as he whispered something indecent, it would seem that he was unfortunately still alive.
"I knocked all of them unconscious again while we were in our ship, Tomoe," Riley then said before suddenly lying on the ground, "I suggest the two of you also lie down, take this time to rest until the others are awake."
"You… knocked them out again?" Tomoe whispered before doing the same as Riley, she wanted to lay down beside him, but chose not to in the end as the color of her face almost exploded from all the blood going to it.
"Are you worried about them, Tomoe?" Riley then said as he closed his eyes, "You don't need to, Supers are more resilient than you think."
"N… no, I would never question your actions, master Riley…
...Unlike someone." Tomoe then turned to look towards Katherine, who was still quietly standing near them, before also proceeding to close her eyes.
"..." Riley momentarily opened his eyes to look at Katherine. Katherine also returned his gaze… even as her eyes were almost as red as her fake hair.
Tears have been wanting to fall from her eyes ever since they got off the ship, but she had been trying her best not to let them do so. It would seem she wanted to say something to Riley, but before she could do so, Riley once again closed his eyes.
He closed his eyes without saying a single word even though he clearly saw her on the verge of tears.
A fool. She was a stupid fucking fool.
Operation 'Turn Dark into Light'? Who was she kidding? She was so busy fantasizing about the things she could achieve if she turned Riley to the good side, not realizing that the only thing she had actually been doing was romanticizing it.
She was so obsessed that Riley could become good that even her own body was aroused to the idea. She made love with-- No, she fucked him. That was the only thing that happened.
There was even this crazy idea within her head that thought it was steamy; she thought that Riley was just shy with his feelings so he had been avoiding what happened between the two of them.
She should have known better. If there was anyone in this world that should have known that Riley didn't actually care about what happened between them, it should be her.
Operation 'Turn Dark into Light'?
That is never going to happen.
Riley…
...Riley is just a monster.
And the worst part of it all?
She thinks she might have already fallen in love with him.
A monster that expresses joy while torturing and killing people; a monster that was capable of killing millions of people, and then sits across a table with his family as if nothing happened; a monster that threatened to kill her mother and is having her hostage…
...and she has fallen in love with him.
"Pft."
Tomoe slightly furrowed her eyebrows, before opening her eyes to look at Katherine as she heard her suddenly letting out a suppressed breath.
Katherine… was currently covering her mouth; her shoulders trembling uncontrollably as she dropped to the floor.
"Wha--" Tomoe was about to ask her if something was wrong, but before she could do so--
"Ha… Ahahaha… ha… Hahahahaha!"
Katherine suddenly burst out into a manic laughter; almost swallowing the tears that were endlessly gushing out from her eyes. The pitch of her laugh was so high that the cover of the dome itself seemed to tremble as it echoed across it.
And then, ever so slowly, her luscious red wig trickled into a fiery ember, slowly withering away and causing his natural golden-brown hair to flow to her shoulders. But the embers did not stop with her wig, however, as the roots of her hair followed.
Tomoe was about to summon a rain of snow on Katherine's head when she noticed something odd.
The embers continued to crawl through her hair. But instead of her strands burning and falling away one by one, they changed color-- Silver.
A radiant silver that almost replicated the tears that were falling on her face.
Katherine then let out one final sniffle before the tears on her face turned to ice, before completely withering away with a smoke-- leaving a sort of dried streak marking on her face.
She carefully wiped it off, before proceeding to crawl towards Riley…
...and kissing him on the lips.
"!!!"
Tomoe's hands quickly turned into a fist as they trembled uncontrollably. But remembering the expression on Katherine's face earlier, the only thing she could do was once again close her eyes and bite her lip.
This was the privilege of the First Subordinate, she thought. She needed to work hard, so that someday… she will be able to do the same.
"Good night, Riley Ross," Katherine then said as she retracted her lips; a warm smile completely covering her face.
Riley's eyes slowly opened, looking Katherine straight in the eyes as his hand gently caressed Katherine's cheek, "Goodbye…
...Scarlet Mage."
***
"That… that was fucking crazy. Are you guys sure you're alright!?"
"Y… yeah."
"Oh man… my jaw hurts a little."
A few hours later, an orchestra of groans and yawns sang throughout the entire dome as everyone soon woke up one by one. The instructors were quick to act, swiftly checking if there were any students missing or if any of them were hurt by the sudden massive neuroleptic event.
The students, of course, had questions as to what just happened; but the only thing that the instructors could answer was that it was probably the work of someone from the Dark Millenium. And with this assumption, the staff of the Academy had thought it best to leave the shelter, as it was most probably already compromised.
There was also the fact that all the cameras were torn down, serving even more evidence that someone from the Dark Millenium had entered the shelter… or perhaps was already inside in the first place.
To their surprise, however, none of the students were missing or even harmed. But even with all of the confusion lingering in the air; there was one thing that was clear for everyone to see-- this was just the beginning of the Dark Millenium.
The government would probably announce their existence to the public soon, as an organization that was capable of something like this was something they could not ignore-- there was also the fact that the one leading them might be Darkday.
Right now, all of the students were on their way back to the Academy. Some of them resting, some of them crying, and some of them in disbelief that something like this would happen. They were all feeling different things.
However, most of them shared the same sentiment-- the Academy can't protect them.
They could leave and ask to withdraw… but would they be any safer out in the public when this Dark Millenium group actually knew their identity? Just how much do they know? Do they know their address? What about their families, are they safe?
A lot of thoughts were echoing in their minds; most of them, however, was completely silent. There was also the Potential Villain list… who knows if the one sitting beside them was actually secretly working for the Dark Millenium?
"Seriously, guys… I think I broke my jaw."
There was one group sitting at the back of the bus, however, that seemed to have remained the same.
Gary was currently stretching his mouth wide open, groaning as his tongue was seemingly trying to reach the insides of his jaw.
"That's fucking disgusting, close your mouth, boy," Hannah then clicked her tongue as she scooched away from Gary, "Count yourself lucky the only thing hurting is your jaw, a lot of people died today."
"Nothing we could do about the dead, mine is a 'now' problem," Gary muttered before closing his mouth and letting out a short but deep sigh, "Look at our very own Mega Girl, she's not letting it bother her."
"I am very bothered and sad, Gary," Silvie quickly replied as she furrowed her eyebrows, "I'm just… thinking of what we could have done differently."
"I think all of us should just relax for now," Gary then said, "I am sure the school would announce something once we get back. In the meantime…
...my jaw is still hurting."
Tomoe, who was quietly sitting beside Riley, could not help but slightly look to the side as Gary's words reached her ears. If she wasn't mistaken, the reason why Gary's jaw was hurting…
...was that she kicked it earlier.
***
"..."
In a room only lit up by numerous screens, a silhouette was currently quietly standing. Staring at the screens as all of them printed out the same words-- 'No Signal'.
"..."
The silhouette then moved his hands towards what seemed to be a control panel, and as soon as he did so, the words on the screen arranged into a static, before images started to appear on them.
The screens all showed a view of the dome when the people of Mega Academy were all still there. The recording continued to play for a while, before once again completely blacking out and showing the words 'No Signal'.
"..."
But after a few seconds, one of the screens lit up; once again showing the dome from a different angle. This time, the people from Mega Academy were no longer moving, all of them lying on the floor lifelessly… except for three people.
Riley, Katherine, and Tomoe. The video continued, showing the three leaving the view of the camera, only to return about an hour later.
"Tch."
The silhouette then once again moved his hand on the control board. And as he did so, another set of words appeared on the only working monitor-- 'Delete Selected Clip?'
And without even any pause, the silhouette tapped something on the control board-- completely erasing any trace that the recording ever existed.
Chapter 60"How… long do you think they want us to wait? In our costumes at that."
"Is it just me, or are there a lot fewer than us since the entrance ceremony?"
"Bruh, you in denial? Most of your class were offed and some students joined the Dark Mille--"
"Uhm, I think what Hannah is trying to say is that there should be more of us, even after the incident."
A full day.
The students were advised to take a full day of rest after they got back from Canada after the incident. Of course, perhaps the term 'advised' was a little light, as all of the facilities, be it shops or training halls of the Academy, were closed; basically forcing the students to stay within their rooms.
No one complained, however. No one even stepped out of their rooms since almost all of them were still shaken from the events that had transpired just the other day. It wasn't until a school-wide announcement that told them to gather in the auditorium echoed throughout the entire Academy did most of them leave their rooms.
They were also strictly told to wear their costumes.
But now, an hour after the first students arrived in the area, almost a quarter of the hall was empty.
"I don't think we can blame them for not leaving their rooms," Silvie then let out a sigh as she continued to converse with Gary and the others, "I was also having trouble getting up this morning… what happened the other day was just… it was just too much."
"Meh. People die every day. In our line of work, that should just be considered a normal Monday," Gary then said, "Also… I also had trouble getting up this morning, if you know what I mean."
"Fuck, ew," Hannah quickly pushed Gary away, making sure to wipe her hands after her palms made contact with his skin.
"I agree with Gary."
"...You do?" Gary could not help but widen his eyes as soon as the words reached his ears. But as soon as he saw who it came from, he quickly slouched down and sighed, "Of course you agreed, you're surely in the Potential Villain list."
"Birds of the same feather," Hannah then let out a small smirk.
"I will not let some list define who I am," Gary then stood up, placing one of his feet on the bleachers as he covered his face, before splitting his fingers and exposing his eyes in between them, "For I am the Dragon Monarch, and there are only three people who could dictate who I am…
...Me, myself, and I."
"Hm," Silvie nodded several times as she heard Gary's words. Hannah, on the other hand, only rolled her eyes before landing them towards Tomoe, who was sitting awfully close beside Riley, who currently had his eyes closed since he arrived in the auditorium.
"So… you and my brother, since when did the two of you become close?" Hannah then asked.
"We… only lately, Ms. Hannah."
"You don't need to speak so formally, you know. Shit, we're just pretty much the same age here. Except Gary, he could be a perverted 80-year-old man disguising himself as a young man."
"I can't presume to--"
"Ack, forget it. It's probably ingrained in you-- you're half Jap, right?"
"I am, Ms. Hannah," Tomoe said as she slightly bowed towards Hannah. Her tone, even monotonous, contained a hint of respect as she addressed her.
"You like my brother?"
"Y… what!? Y… well, no… What!?" Tomoe's stutters almost filled the entire hall, causing Hannah to momentarily cover her mouth and shush her.
"Look, my brother can be quite dense and aware at the same time," Hannah then said, "But if you want to become his girlfriend… you have my vote."
"W… what?"
"Hm," Hannah nodded before gesturing to Tomoe to lean closer and whispering to her ear, "You know Scarlet Mage, right?"
"...Of course."
"That predator has the hots for my brother. So it's better you than her. How old are you?"
"I… I'm 18."
"Good, from now on, you call me big sister," Hannah then raised a thumb before leaning back to her seat, "Buy him some cutlery, he likes them."
"I… I will take a mental note of that. Thank you, big sister," Tomoe then once again bowed towards Hannah, before also leaning back to her seat. Taking a glance at Riley from time to time, of course.
The group continued with their chatter until finally, Prophet appeared on stage.
"Good morning to all of you, students," and without even taking any time at all, he proceeded to talk, "First of all, I know Whiteking had already done it on my behalf; but I still would like to apologize for failing each and every one of you. What happened then shouldn't have happened in the first place."
"Damn right!"
"Gary, what are you doing!?"
"What? I had to!"
Silvie quickly pulled Gary down as he once again stood on the bleachers. Prophet only looked towards their direction for a few seconds, before letting out a small sigh and proceeding with his talk.
"I know most of you are still in your rooms, that is alright-- this is being broadcast throughout the school so I know you could hear me. But what I would like to also tell you... is that this is also being broadcasted throughout the country."
"!!!"
And as soon as Prophet's words reached the students' ears, they all could not help but let out gasps of shock and curiosity. The Academy had always prided itself with its secrecy, not even letting a single speck of the media inside its premises… and now they are broadcasting live?
Most of them wanted to ask questions, but before they could do so, Prophet once again started to talk.
"Massachusetts was not the only one that was… attacked," Prophet continued, "Moscow, China, Japan, South Africa, England, and Singapore…
...7 Academies around the world were attacked by the supervillain organization who had made themselves known as the Dark Millenium. Supposedly, they claim that the leader of their organization is none other than Darkday.
But as of now, we do not know if there is any truth in that as Darkday himself had not yet made an appearance; but what we do know is that this organization is highly dangerous and is now on the government's top priority list."
"Shit… this was more intense than I thought," Gary whispered, "And here I thought they were just a bunch of goons. Attacking 7 Mega Academies all at the same time? How did they manage that in different time zones?"
"Shh, I can't hear him, and stop being a retard."
"What, I only--"
"The Dark Millenium will be handled by the government and the superheroes. But for now, I am here to address you, the students," Prophet continued his speech before Gary could react more, "You are the first-ever batch of students of Mega Academy, all of you have a lot to learn… but so do we, so do the world government. We are going to make a lot of mistakes, and for that, once again I apologize."
Prophet once again paused as he scanned each and every one of the students present in the auditorium, "The Dark Millenium… has more than likely have information in some, or maybe even most of you."
Hearing Prophet's words, most of the students did not really react wildly. Only letting out a short but deep sigh as they looked at each other; after all, Prophet was only stating the obvious.
"But of course, the information the school has on you is also limited-- and therefore, the information they have should also be limited. Your family, where you live, your previous affiliations were all information we discarded as soon as we accepted you in the Academy. But just in case… we transferred all of your families to a secure location."
This time, the students reacted-- either by a sigh of relief or crying.
"Secondly, since they have your information-- there is the threat of them leaking it to the public," Prophet continued, "I am afraid we can't stop this. The government may be able to filter most of them, but some will surface and scatter. So because of this, we, the members of the board of all the Mega Academies in the world, as well as the world government, have made a decision; we may not be able to stop this cyber warfare…
...but we-- No, you can control what comes out. You will still not be able to go outside the Academy freely. But from now on, you will have access to smartphones and can connect to the outside world."
"Yes!"
"..."
"...Fuck," Hannah quickly sat back to her seat as soon as she realized she was pointing her finger towards Prophet; grabbing Riley's sunglasses from his pockets before wearing them and trying to hide beneath the bleachers.
"Is… this wise?" Silvie then whispered as she placed her hand on her chin, "Wouldn't more information leak to the outside because of this?"
"Stop being humble with your words, this is stupid," Hannah whispered, "But since we're going to have our phones back, I don't fucking mind."
"Does this mean… I can continue my vlog?" Gary muttered.
"Knowing the government, the phones are more than likely bugged."
"Sadly, the devices would be monitored 24/7..."
"Told you so," Hannah then let out a sigh before returning to her seat, "But it's better than nothing. I have nothing to hide unlike Gary, who probably watches superhero porn every night."
"...How did you know?"
"What? Fuck, ew."
"Shh, guys!"
"...All of you might think this to be depriving you of your privacy-- that is exactly what it is," Prophet continued, "Take this as real-life training-- your actions will always be watched once you become a superhero. You have the choice, of course, to take the smartphones or not-- but that is why we asked you to wear your costumes today; because from now on…
...the only time you would not be wearing them is when you are in your room."
"Fuck, now Gary is going to stink even more."
"You really have it out for me today, don't you? I am starting to think you like me."
"No. I think my sister meant you just genuinely stink, Gary."
"What the!? What is with this brother-sister roast duo!?" Gary then dropped to the floor as soon as he heard Riley's words, "And that's seriously the first thing that comes out of your mouth, bro?"
"Shh, guys!" Silvie once again placed a finger on her lips as she gestured for the group to quiet down, "Prophet isn't done yet."
"Social media accounts have already been registered under your superhero name; I suggest you use them safely. However, once again, if the information you share with the outside world is deemed too sensitive, it will be instantly filtered out by the government…"
Prophet's speech continued on for almost an hour-- telling the students what they could and could not do. It might seem strict at first, but for the Academy to allow the students to use phones in the first place was already a huge leap of either faith… or utter stupidity.
Each of the students had their own opinions about this-- Riley, most especially.
The government is gaining more and more control over the future superheroes of the world; once again using a tragedy as an excuse to further monitor their activities. If Mega Woman was here, something like this would definitely not come to pass.
"And lastly, I know you are all tired of hearing me speak and excited to get your own personal fancy phones," Prophet was about to step off the stage, but he did not even take 3 steps before returning to the podium."
"Jesus christ, just how long is this speech?"
"There is another thing that we discussed with the other members of the board. Exactly a month and a half from now, a competition with the other Academies will be held right here on our campus."
"!!!"
"The event was supposed to be held somewhere else, but due to the recent incident, it was almost cancelled. But we have decided to continue with it, but continue it in the safest place possible-- right here. And so, in line with this; we are going to be selecting a group of students that would oversee the event, and any student events henceforth…
....A student council, if you will."
Chapter 61The echoing walls, singing like angels to the students' ears as they walked by the colossal hallway of the Academy's underground. Whether it was a mistake or not, Prophet followed through with his words. A few hours after his speech, the students were each handed their very own personal smartphone-- to be used during their stay in the Academy.
And the angels that were singing in the hallway?
It was just Gary singing as he worshipped the little device in his hands, raising it towards the ceiling as he hummed beautifully without pause for almost a full 5 minutes now. He was about to stop a minute ago, but as soon as he realized that the phone could be unfolded to become a tablet, he once again started with his hymn.
"This… is much better than the phone I have outside," Silvie muttered as she examined the phone while walking, almost treating it as some sort of treasure as she doesn't want to test its fragility, "Isn't this the… Universe Fold Z something? I think I saw the ads before we entered the Academy."
But even though Gary, Silvie, Hannah, Tomoe, and Riley already had the phones in their hands, none of them was still turning it on. Well, except for Hannah.
"...Not quite," Hannah answered Silvie's question, "They look similar, but I am pretty sure it doesn't have this feature."
"What's… that?"
The group then all turned their heads as soon as they were greeted with a wave… coming from a miniature hologram of some kind of animated person… that very much closely resembles Mega Woman.
[Hello, I am your very own friendly Mobile Enterprise Gateway Activity Network, or MEGAN for short!]
"...That seems awfully made up," Gary squinted his eyes as he leaned closer towards the hologram, "But… isn't this Mega Woman?"
[First of all, I would like to hear my owner's voice: Nuclear Baby. Can you please say 'Hello'?]
"Shh!" Hannah quickly pushed Gary's face away as she greeted the hologram, who surprisingly, faced in her direction as soon as she did so.
[Voice successfully registered!]
The hologram, MEGAN, then began instructing Hannah on the several features of the phone; also explaining that most of the apps she needs are already installed on the phone. But other than the intricate and sophisticated A.I, it really was not that much different from the phones she was used to.
[One final thing before I go!] MEGAN then waved her finger a couple of times before letting out a cute hum, [Your device is currently monitoring everything even at its Idle state. Would you like to turn it off?]
"Turn it off! Turn it off! What the fuck!"
[Idle Monitoring is now off. But please be advised that whenever you are using your phone, Video and Audio Monitoring will always be active due to security purposes. And that is all! You can always call me by saying my name, MEGAN!]
And with that, the mini hologram instantly disappeared, leaving a set of baffled expressions.
"They… can't even keep a god-damn list from getting into the hands of villains and now they are seriously recording our shit?" Hannah quickly furrowed her eyebrows as soon as MEGAN disappeared, "Fuck, I suppose it's better than nothing…
...Riley, let's go!"
"What, where are you guys going?" Silvie quickly asked, "I thought we were going to the Shaved Ice store?"
"You guys go on ahead," Hannah waved his hand before grabbing Riley and dragging him by the wrist, "We need to talk to someone."
"We will wait for you in the sherbet patisserie, Master Riley," Tomoe only politely bowed before proceeding to leave without waiting for Silvie and Gary.
"...Are you thinking what I am thinking, Silvie?" Gary then whispered sneakily as he stared at Tomoe's back.
"I hope not," Silvie sighed.
"Since it's only us three…
...we can corner Tomoe and ask her about what her relationship with Riley is."
"...I see."
***
"Why did we leave the others, sister?" Riley could not help but slightly tilt his head to the side as he looked at Hannah, "I was quite looking forward to the Mango Graham."
"Shh, shut up," Hannah said as she continued to drag Riley away, not stopping until they were alone somewhere on the ground level of the Academy, surrounded and hidden within the trees.
"Something has been seriously bothering me for a long while now, and I just need to get it out of my chest," Hannah finally let go of Riley's wrist as soon as they got deeper into the shrubs, "Riley, I…
...I am going to call mom."
"They put our parents' numbers on the phone?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he also grabbed his phone; returning it to his pocket after looking at it for a few seconds, "But I do not know why I need to be here for that, sister."
"What? Don't you miss mom?" Hannah then said as she searched through the phone's incorporated contacts. She tried searching for her mother's name, but could not find it. She was about to click her tongue in disappointment, but before she could do so, she saw the contact labeled as 'Mother'.
Of course, they wouldn't put any real names on the phone-- even their social media was pre-made with their superhero names… which she should probably check as soon as possible after this is over, Hannah thought.
"Should I be missing her, sister?"
"What? Of course!" Hannah raised her voice as she called her mother's number, "Wait until I tell her about your inappropriate relationship with that hag. You and father are fucked."
"Ah," Riley breathed out, "So that's why we're here."
"Damn right it--"
[Dear!? Is that you!?]
"M… mom?"
And as soon as Diana's voice seeped out from the speakers of the phone, any bravado or weight that Hannah had in her voice crumbled, turning into a stutter as her face almost turned into a cherry.
"I… I miss you, mom." Hannah then whispered as she tried her best to fight the tears that wanted to burst out from her eyes. Her body could withstand heat that was enough to melt steel beams in seconds, but the warmth building in her eyes almost threatened to burn her away.
[I miss you too, dear. I miss you too,] Diana's voice was calm, but there was also a slight tremble in her voice that was hard not to miss, [I keep hearing updates about you and Riley from your father, but I still can't help but worry since I'm not there with you.]
"W… we're fine, mom. We're fine. Riley's with me; he says he misses you too.]
[No,] Diana sternly breathed, [You're not fine, dear. I heard about what happened to your class… all those kids. You… you could have been one of them.]
"S… seriously, I'm fine," Hannah then sniffled as she wiped the tears on her eyes before they could leave a trace on her face. The two continued to talk with each other, with Hannah asking what was happening in the outside world from time to time.
But after a few seconds, she took in a long and deep breath.
"What you should be worried about is Riley, mom," she then said, her tone slowly regaining its weight.
[Why!? What happened to your brother!?]
"..." Riley and Hannah's eyes met, but Riley only shrugged his shoulders in response.
"I think she is dating one of the instructors," Hannah then squinted her eyes, "She's about 10 years younger than him, I think."
[Ah, yes. Your father told me.]
"...And!? Did you punch him!?"
[I think it will be good for your brother, no?]
"...Excuse me?"
[If he dates people his age, I am sure they won't be able to give the attention and care he needs.]
"Wait… you don't think it's inappropriate!? Riley is only turning 17 this month!"
[I know, he grows up so fast.]
"Wha-- You know what, never mind! I'll call again soon! I love you, mom. Goodbye!" Hannah then quickly hung up the call before screaming out in frustration,
"You're all idiots! All of you!"
"Father has an IQ of 152, sister. So I don't think it's fair to--"
"What's the use of that god-damn IQ if he's stupid!?" Hannah once again stomped her foot on the ground, "Let's just go! Don't come to me if that old hag breaks your heart!"
"Thank you for your concern, sister," Riley blinked a couple of times before following behind Hannah, "But…
...I don't have a heart to break."
"Agh, stop. That's cringe. Gary is starting to rub off on you!" Hannah shivered, "And if you're going to have a romance with someone, I prefer it to be with someone like that Tomoe chick!"
"Tomoe? That is an interesting choice, sister," Riley muttered, "But what about you? Are… in romance with someone?"
"What? Do you think I have time to be with a guy while I am busy looking after you, you little turd," Hannah sighed, "At this point, I am going to die without falling in love, marrying, little shits running around the house, dying of old age with someone beside me."
"I will be beside you when you die, sister."
"I meant a husband! See? This is exactly what I am talking about!"
"...Then can't I just become your husband to solve that dilemma, sister?"
"..." Hannah stopped in her tracks as soon as she heard Riley's words, "Really? You'll do that for me?"
"Of course," Riley nodded, "Because as you said, you will probably die of old age without a husband because no one will fall in love with your unpleasant personality."
"I see," Hannah then let out a warm smile as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "Do…
...you want to die?"
***
"Hm? What, this stupid asshole is still alive?"
Somewhere in the country, a skinny man with several bags of chips by his side was staring at his computer; his index finger, almost slipping from the button of his mouse because of all the grease collected on it.
"Hello unsubscribe button, and now your subscriber is down from 30 to 29," the skinny man then giggled as he moved his hand. However, before he could click a button, a newly uploaded video on the channel he was visiting caught his eye.
The skinny man was currently on the most famous video streaming platform in the world, YouView. He has no regular job, only relying on the measly income he gets from writing stupid lightnovels in the internet.
The man should be writing right now, but instead, he was busy wasting his time searching for funny videos that would make his life at least have a semblance of happiness. But perhaps it was fate for him to open YouView at that exact same moment.
"What… no fucking way," the skinny man then said as he clicked on the particular video that caught his eye,
"...The fucker's actually in Mega Academy!"
He was the first ever civilian to watch and share a vlog straight from inside Mega Academy.
Chapter 62"Oh shit! I actually got online!"
"...What?"
Once again, Gary's voice echoed throughout the entire Shaved Ice store, raising his newly acquired smartphone in the air as he jumped up and down his seat.
"Get off our fucking chair or I will cut your feet off, Dragon Monarch."
"...Why so mean?" Gary immediately tapped his phone and stopped recording as soon as the word of the waiter-slash-cashier, Charlotte, reached his ears, "I was Live in YouView, my subscribers would think I am being manhandled in the Academy."
"You'll be handled alright if you don't stop screaming like a monkey," the tone of Charlotte's voice becoming colder and colder by the second, "I don't even know why--"
"Can I order another cup of Mango Graham, cashier Charlotte?"
"It'll be ready for you in a few minutes."
And with that, Charlotte once again returned behind the counter with a huge smile plastered on her face, her short hair bobbing even with a small hat pinned on top of it.
"Wait… how can you access your old YouView?" And after Charlotte was gone, Hannah quickly snatched Gary's phone away from his hands,
"Dragon Monarch... Productions?" Hannah then blinked a couple of times as she stared at the contents of Gary's phone, "...320 videos?"
"Bruh," Gary then breathed out as he pulled his phone back, "It's the account logged in on it when I opened the app."
"Did they just give you your old account because it's still technically your superhero name?" Silvie joined in on the conversation, squinting her eyes as she tried to sneak a look on Gary's phone, "But… what about your old videos?"
"Here he is," Tomoe, who was quietly sitting on the side, suddenly presented her phone to the others, with Gary's channel on the screen, "It's all just videos of him with a napkin covering his face and doing some obscene things."
"Those are training montages!"
"You have 320 videos… but only 30 subscribers?" Hannah whispered, "Look, you just lost a sub!"
"What!?" Gary immediately checked on his phone, only for him to completely drop on the ground as he confirmed the truth in Hannah's words.
"How… how could this be?" Gary's wails once again reverberated throughout the entire shop. It was a good thing that they were the only patrons, if not, then someone might have already thrown him a cup or two.
Of course, they were probably the reason why the shop did not have any other patron other than themselves in the first place.
"W… wait, it returned to 30!" Gary then immediately sat up as he fixed his cape and mask, "I need to go live again, live! I'm going to introduce you guys!"
"What!? Why would you even-- Hello there," Hannah was about to kick Gary on the face, but as soon as Gary tapped the record button, her voice quickly changed as she waved at the camera, "Nuclear Baby here, I hope you also support my channel."
"What!? Why are you self-promoting so suddenly!?" Gary immediately removed the camera away from Hannah. However, as soon as he saw his subscriber count once again increasing by 1, he then pointed the camera towards Silvie.
"And let me introduce you guys to the Academy's number 1 student closest to becoming the next Mega Woman-- Mega Girl!"
"N… no!" Silvie quickly buried her face on the table, waving her hands and shooing away Gary.
"Mega Woman does not shy away from the cameras, Mega Girl."
And as soon as Silvie heard Riley's passing words, she slowly removed her face from the table and awkwardly waved at the camera, "I… I'm not planning on using my YouView channel, but you can follow me in FaceLog, Mega Girl. I don't have anything posted there yet, but--"
"Why are you also promoting your own social media!?" Gary bellowed before removing the camera and turning it towards Tomoe, who was now wearing a pair of shades instead of a helmet, "And this is Dark--"
"Please get that thing away from my face."
"...Right," Gary winced, "And now, to introduce you to my best friend--"
"I'm not your best friend, G-- Dragon Monarch."
"My best friend, Riley Ross!" Gary then stood up on the table as he showed Riley in his entirety, "What's that? You thought we weren't allowed to say our real names in public? Well, you don't have to worry… Riley Ross is his superhero name! Go, introduce yourself, my super white friend."
"...That sounds sort of racist," Hannah whispered as she furrowed her eyebrows.
"Does it? I think it is just appropriate?" Silvie blinked a couple of times in confusion.
"..." With the camera in front of him, Riley stood up and took off his glasses,
"Riley Ross," he then said, "Telekinetic."
"..."
"..."
"..."
And after staring at the camera for a few seconds, he once again wore his sunglasses and sat back down.
"..."
"Well then!" Gary then placed the camera on the table so that it could capture him in full view as he stepped back. Afterward, as soon as he was sure that his frame was captured from top to bottom, he placed his hand on his face, partly covering his eyes as his silhouette was almost in an S-shape,
"And those, my viewers, are my friends in the Academy. Stay tuned for more--"
"Here's your Mango Graham!"
"Ah! My phone!"
And before Gary could finish his outro, Charlotte pushed his phone off the table and replaced it with Riley's order.
"Just call me if you need another cup, guys!" Charlotte then let out a small giggle as she returned to the counter; not before kicking away Gary's phone that was on the floor.
"N… no! MEGAN, close YouView! Stop recording!"
[Forcing YouView to Stop. Do you need anything else?]
And as soon as Gary said that, MEGAN, the phone's Artificial Intelligence, instantly terminated the app.
"D… damn it, now my subs will go down again!" Gary then quickly checked his phone and once again opened his YouView app… only to see his subs now at 42.
"H… holy fucking shit! Guys, look! Look! It increased by more than ten in just a few minutes!"
"Congrats?" Hannah muttered before showing her phone to Gary, "My channel just gained 120 subs."
"...What? But you don't even have any videos yet!"
"I guess my self-promotion worked?"
"That's…" Gary could not help but slightly take a few steps back as he saw the smirk on Hannah's face, "That's not fair! What about you, Silv!?"
"...Around there as well."
"What!? Bro, what about you!?"
"I wouldn't know, Gary," Riley said as he grabbed his spoon from his pocket, "I didn't take a phone."
"...What? Why!?"
"I have no use for it."
"What do you--"
"300 subscribers," Tomoe, who has been keeping quiet on the side, once again turned her phone to the others, this time, it was Riley Ross's empty channel on it, "Riley already has 300 subscribers."
"What… why?" Gary's knees once again met with the floor, "How…
...How is this even fair!?"
***
"Is this what you wanted to happen, Prophet?"
Inside a room filled with nothing but holograms of different websites, social media accounts, and also a view of the screen of some of the student's phones, the headmaster of Mega Academy quietly stood.
And even with all the images and videos displayed around him, Prophet had his eyes closed. It was only when Whiteking suddenly emerged from the shadows of the room did his eyes open.
"The government, as well as all the headmasters from different countries, decided this, Bernard," Prophet muttered quietly as he looked at Whiteking.
"Did they?" Whiteking replied as he scanned each of the holograms, "To my knowledge that it was you who suggested it."
"Do I even need to ask how you have that information?" Prophet chuckled. He then waved his hand, removing all the holograms in the room. Light then seeped inside as the curtains covering the room from the outside world slowly opened, revealing Prophet's office-- which did not really have any unique features other than being filled with books.
"Even if I suggested it, it was the world government that decided to follow through with it."
"Of course they would follow your advice..." Whiteking muttered as he took a seat on a couch, "...It's hard arguing with someone who can see the future."
"I can't see the future, I can only predict it from the patterns, bits and pieces and rarely accurate; and they change each second--"
"Sure, keep telling yourself that," Whiteking let out a scoff, "But I suppose it makes sense; with this, you will have more patterns to put into the equation. But is it really worth it to risk the privacy of the children?"
"I don't know, old friend."
"...What? You did all of this and you're going to tell me you have no idea what the fuck you're doing? Tell me, old friend… what are you seeing now?"
"Darkday."
"...Darkday?"
"Darkday is not Dark Millenium's leader."
"Well, that much is obvious, isn't it?" Whiteking chuckled, his tone containing a bit of sneer, "If it was Darkday, then we wouldn't even have any students right now."
"Have I told you that I can not see Darkday in any of my… visions?" Prophet then took a seat on his chair.
"...Does that mean that he is gone for good?"
"No. What I mean is I have never been able to see him, not now, not before, not even once," Prophet mentioned, "That is why I am certain that he is not the leader of Dark Millenium, but nonetheless, they are dangerous and need to be hunted down."
"An evil leaves, another takes its place. What else is new?" Whiteking let out a sigh as he stood up, "I don't know why you went with this route, but the Academy is slowly turning into a circus with all the children uploading all sorts of videos. We were supposed to keep them hidden, Prophet."
"A good thing such technology didn't exist back in our time, right?" Prophet chuckled, "If not, the world would have probably seen all the stupid things I have done when I was young."
"You still haven't answered my initial question. What are you truly planning?"
"Well…
...What do you think?"
***
"Hannah! You're in our class!"
The next day, the Academy has finally almost returned to its normal state; with the classes starting again, albeit softly. There were still students who kept to themselves in their rooms, but a lot fewer compared to yesterday.
A lot of students have still not been able to recover from what had happened, but they had no choice-- life goes on in the Academy.
"Y… yes, I guess since Riley is here, they decided to just throw me with him."
As for the remaining students of the class of 1-F, they were distributed in different classes. A lot of the students of Class 1-V stared at Hannah as soon as she walked in the room and started prancing around excitedly with Silvie. Especially the male students, as they were focused on Hannah's bountiful buttocks.
Some of them would have probably already approached her… if not for the existence of Riley Ross.
"Alright, settle down!"
Hannah quickly took a seat beside Silvie as soon as the metal door slid open. Her eyebrows, however, also quickly furrowed as soon as she saw Scarlet Mage walking to the stage.
Scarlet Mage… Is that still her superhero name? After all, her hair was now suddenly a luscious silver color.
"Tch, what's with that?" Hannah then muttered.
"None of us know… It changed after the incident in Toronto."
"Quiet down, we have a lot more better things to discuss today other than my hair!" Katherine also returned Hannah's glare before facing the other students, "I know a lot of things have changed around here, but it doesn't mean we're going to lose track of ourselves. As you may know, a month or so from now, students from other Mega Academies will be visiting our school."
And as soon as Katherine's words reached the students' ears, they all released gasps of excitement.
"We expect all of you to be on your best behavior, as well as your strongest since there will be tournaments, competitions, and whatnots during the festival."
"Yes!"
"We will destroy them!"
"...I said you need to be on your best behavior," Katherine then let out a short but deep sigh, "But that is exactly the other thing we need to discuss today. As you may also know, the school is building a Student Council and anyone is free to apply for the open positions there. There is, however, one more department that is being built…
...A Police force."
"...Isn't that the Academy's job?"
"Some of you may not be aware of it, but there has been rampant discrimination and fights going around the Academy lately because of the existence of the Potential Villain list," Katherine gestured to the students to calm down,
"And since there are thousands of you, the Academy staff would never be enough to cover everyone; and with the Festival coming, we can't have students fighting each other. However, unlike the Student Council, getting into the Student Police force is not by application, but by recommendation. And so, after a very long and hard decision…
....I recommended Riley Ross for one of the positions."
Chapter 63"It… it seems we were both selected from our class, Mr. Riley."
"That seems to be the case, Katrina."
If one were to close their eyes, one could probably hear the sound of a boing drumming through the air as Katrina slowly made his way towards Riley. The room they were in was as big as the classrooms, but instead of bleachers, desks, and a stage for an instructor to teach on; there was only a wide round table planted right on the center of the room.
"I was under the impression that I was the only one selected from our class," Riley then said as Katrina's brea-- as Katrina stood beside him.
"S… sorry! Should… Should I leave?" Katrina then slightly panicked, turning her head from left to right and causing her breasts to jiggle.
"No, why would you?" Riley blinked a couple of times in confusion, "I think it is good that there is a familiar face in the room, Katrina."
"Is… is that so?"
"Yes, especially you."
"M… me!?" Katrina's face turned into cherry as she slightly covered her face, her arms further pinning her large breasts and causing them to almost pop out from her costume-- a feat not easily done; especially with a costume like hers.
Her costume was far from tight; containing several layers of frills that overlapped each other like a scale. As for her mask, it only covered the lower part of her face; like some sort of futuristic oxygen mask. Her ability to control wind probably contributed a lot to her choice of costume.
"W… why especially me!?" Katrina continued to squeal loudly, once again causing her breasts to bounce.
"Because the attention I usually garner is cut to half," Riley then answered.
"...What?"
"Most of the time, in a room, all of the eyes would be looking at me because of my unique aesthetics. But now, half of them are looking at your humongous pair of breasts, Katrina. And for that, I thank you."
"...Oh," Katrina's head then tilted to the side; and if one were to look closer, it was as if her soul was leaving her body from her mouth due to the disappointment from Riley's words. But after a few seconds, her attention travelled to the so-called eyes that Riley mentioned. And true enough…
...All of the other people in the room were looking at them. Or more specifically, towards Riley and her breasts.
"Is everyone here?"
But before she could do anything about the stares, the metal door of the room slid open; revealing the individual that would be supervising their club. And as soon as they saw who it was, the attention that was gathered towards Riley and Katrina completely disappeared as the room was quickly filled with bursts of quiet gasps.
Nightwalker.
The instructor of Class 1-F, which was dissolved due to the fact that almost all of their students were killed by the Dark Millenium. And with that thought, the faces of the students once again became sedated; even through their masks, their expressions of doubt and grief could be seen.
None of them have forgotten what happened, but they were trying their best so they could move on. But seeing Nightwalker approaching them, the memories of what happened during their activity in Toronto once again resurfaced in their minds.
"I am going to ignore what all of you are feeling right now." Nightwalker's quiet words echoed through the entire room as he took a seat at the round table, "I would have to ask all of you to also take a seat so we could discuss what your role truly is in the Academy and in the coming Festival."
The sound of chairs squeaking then whistled in the air for a few seconds as the students all took their seats; and since they were already somewhat gathered in a circle around the table, it did not really take that long for them to settle down.
"Police Force," Nightwalker then said as he tapped the tablet in his arm, causing a hologram of the entire area of the Academy to emerge at the center of the table, "And as the name suggests, you will be responsible for upholding the rules and laws of the Academy. You are also authorized to report and personally arrest those who break them, and with the upcoming Festival, that includes students from the other Academies…"
Nightwalker's explanation continued on for almost an hour; most of the students, however, became lost midway. But their task was simple and did not really need that much explaining in the first place. It was mostly Nightwalker explaining and teaching them the layout of the entire Academy, and with how large it was, the students didn't really think that they would be able to cover most of it-- and so, they lost interest in listening.
There was one, however, whose eyes did not leave the hologram-- Riley.
When Katherine recommended him for the Police Force, he had wanted to reprimand her for moving without asking him first. But as soon as Katherine explained that the Police Force would have access to some of the Academy's facilities that were otherwise only accessible by the staff, he quickly agreed.
There was also the fact that he would have more freedom to finally explore the Academy, as no one would question him why he was where he was because he belonged to the Police Force.
"That… that was quite unnerving, wasn't it?"
And as soon as everyone started leaving the room, Katrina quickly let out a long and deep sigh as she slouched on her chair.
"I don't even think I deserve this," Katrina then said as she carefully adjusted the red band wrapped around her arm, "I… I can't even discipline myself, much less other people."
"I believe that to be false, Katrina," Riley then quickly answered her as he stood up, "When our classmates were starting to fight back in the dome shelter, you were the only one that stepped in to stop them."
"You… you saw that?"
"Yes. And I believe the Academy saw it as well-- and that is why you are here, Katrina."
"R… really?"
"No," Riley answered, "But I believe it to be the case, it is up to you to come up with your own conclusion."
"I… I see," Katrina did not know whether to be happy or slightly irritated from Riley's blunt words; but still, she let out a small smile and nodded her head, "Thank you, Riley. Let's do our best to uphold justice from now on!"
"..." Hearing the enthusiasm in Katrina's voice, Riley could only shrug his shoulders before turning to leave.
Justice?
The only thing closest he has done that involved justice was extinguishing the Justice Defenders. But still, he did it quite well-- so that was still something to be proud of.
"S… see you back in class tomorrow, Riley Ross!"
"Of course, Hurricane Katrina."
***
"Let… let me out of here! You think you can-- Agh!"
In a room seemingly devoid of any light, a high pitch scream was whistling in the air. Not for long, however; as the screams were quickly replaced by a cry.
"Is… is anyone here!? Please… please help me!"
The once demanding scream became that of a cry; pleading, whispering through the darkness. The only reply the voice received, however, was a grunt that seemed to have come from somewhere near her.
"H… hello!? Who is that? Is someone else here with me!?"
A light thud then drummed in the air as the voice once again started to become louder. But before the owner of the voice could do anything else, she once again cried in pain.
"Why… why does it hurt when I use my pow--"
And before the voice could continue, light suddenly drowned the almost eternal darkness. The voice slightly became sedated as its owner slowly recovered her vision; her eyes fluttering carefully but hastily so that they could finally see where they were.
The owner of the voice was none other than Ms. Friday; still wearing her jet-black costume, minus her helmet that was destroyed by Riley.
"W… what? Where am I?" Ms. Friday then slowly backed away as she found herself in a cage of what seemed to be… glass. She did not panic for long, however, as she caught a glimpse of the owner of the grunt that whispered into her ears earlier.
It was true that she was not alone, as there was also another glass cage just a meter away from hers-- confining a tall man that had a pair of feelers attached to his head, similar to an insect.
"You… aren't you Shrinkrat!?" Ms. Friday then said as she slammed her fist on the glass, trying to call the attention of the tall man, "Can you… can you get us out of here!?"
The man he so desperately tried to call, however, only glance at her before turning away and showing only his back at Ms. Friday.
"Wait… Wait. Can you at least answer where--"
But before Ms. Friday could finish her words, she noticed another grunt whispering behind her. She quickly looked back, only to see a woman also wearing some sort of costume; another familiar individual.
Ms. Friday was about to transfer her attention towards the female superhero, only for her to hear another grunt…. And then another… and then another.
The grunts continued on like a ripple, whispering through her ears as she finally realized where she was. Tens? Or maybe even a hundred?
Ms. Friday's eyes could not stop moving as they landed on each of the glass cages that surrounded her. The cages… she was sure of it-- most of the ones trapped here were superheroes who have disappeared…
...taken by Darkday.
***
"What's up, what's up! It's your strongest superhero that will reach the heavens here, Dragon Monarch!"
"Great… I thought you couldn't be any more annoying."
"Bruh, I'm recording! Now I have to do my intro all over again!"
"...Shouldn't you be getting ready for your match?"
"It's still a day from now. And please don't disrupt me, I need to go live in a few minutes as soon as they arrive."
Hannah's eyes started to roll upon hearing Gary's words. Gary had been tinkering and uploading videos nonstop for a full month ever since they were allowed to use phones under supervision
Gary had finally managed to hit a thousand subscribers, so he was going full blast; especially today-- the students from the other Academies were arriving.
"...Do you think we will even be allowed near the gates?"
"Of course we would," Gary smirked, "We have a tight connection with the bureau now."
"Bu-- what?"
"I mean Riley is going to be there, he's in the Police Force, remember?"
"Right…" Hannah then let out an almost exasperated breath, "Fuck…
...Now I'm even more worried."
***IMPORTANT***
For those wondering, I am taking a short HIATUS to make a 10-chapter privilege for the privileged readers.. In the mean time, you can read 'Wait, My Juice Can Save The World?'.
Chapter 64"How… how long do you think we need to stand here?"
"We just got here, Hurricane Katrina."
Riley could not help but slightly squint his eyes as he took a slight glance towards Katrina, who was floating a meter away to his side. As part of the Police Force, Riley and Katrina, along with a few other members, were tasked to guard the gates as the students from the other Academies were about to arrive at any minute now.
They were not really told what to do, only for them to stand by the gate and make sure that there wouldn't be any trouble once their visitors arrive. And so, Riley made the decision that it would be better to wait for them in the air, where he could have a better view of the vicinity.
What he did not expect, however, was that Katrina would follow him up using her ability to control the wind. Katrina's costume truly was tailored to her powers-- the layers of lengthy and loose frills weren't just for design; she was able to use them as some sort of mast to lift herself up easier into the air.
"Is it not hard to control your balance because of your massive breasts, Katrina?"
"...Is this how you do small talk?"
"My mother always complains about her back, and hers are not as big as yours," Riley continued, "So I could only imagine the discomfort you are feeling right now, Katrina."
"I… I see," Katrina could not help but slightly let out an awkward chuckle as she listened to Riley's words, "Thanks for… worrying about me, I guess?"
In truth, Katrina always wanted to have the chance to talk with Riley. She was actually one of the people that he saved when Gary went amok with his heat vision during the 2nd day of class.
But even after 2 months, she never really got the chance to do so as he was always surrounded by Silvie and the others; and whenever he was alone, it would only take a single blink from her and he was gone.
And so, for her, it was only fate that she was also recommended in the Police Force.
She had always known that Riley was a bit weird since he confirmed himself that he was autistic, but Katrina did not really have a problem with that. Because from her 12 siblings, two were actually also in the spectrum-- so she had a lot of experience dealing with people of their stature.
However, for some reason, she could not help but feel that there was something different about Riley-- like he was more aware of what he was actually doing than he lets on about, something that her 2 autistic siblings are surely not capable of.
"They're arriving, Katrina."
"Ri-- their bus is going in!?" Katrina could not help but raise her voice as a bus passed through the gate as soon as it was opened, "I… I suppose that makes sense. I guess they really did us dirty when we went to Toronto since they could have just brought the bus inside."
Katrina then let out a long and deep sigh as she watched as a dozen buses started passing through the gate, "Shall we follow-- Wait for me!"
And before she could even finish her words, Riley was already following the buses from above.
Each country seemed to have been allotted two buses each; their flags posted on the sides.
Russia, Japan, China, England, Singapore, and South Africa-- all here to compete with each other to see which country is the best.
"I guess Silvie is preparing for her matches, right? I haven't seen her for a month and your group is usually tight."
"That is the case, Katrina."
Since the Festival was announced a month and a half ago, the students that were chosen to participate in the competitions have actually been training non-stop according to the kind of match they are joining in.
There were many competitions to be championed, but from the perspective of the students that were filled with boosted adrenaline, there was actually only one that truly mattered-- the Combat tournament.
They even value it above the Rescue competition, which is actually the main event of the Festival.
Why wouldn't they? After all, one could see superheroes rescuing people every day. But one-on-one matches? From the more than 300 long years of the history of the Age of Heroes, that has not been done before-- at least not legally and in public.
It was almost as if the timing of allowing the students to connect to the outside world using smartphones that the Academy provided themselves was… too convenient to be a coincidence.
"Did you join any of the competitions?" Katrina then asked as she continued to watch the students from the other Academies stepping out of the buses, "I joined the Obstacle Race, but it isn't until the 2nd day of the Festival."
"I believe it would not be fair to any of you if I joined, Katrina," Riley then said as he too, carefully watched the students stepping out of the buses, "So no, I did not join any of the games."
"G… games?" Katrina could only scratch her chin as she heard the detached tone in Riley's voice, "Aren't you the least bit excited? Everyone seems to be having fun down below, some of the students were even allowed to set up booths!"
"If Mega Woman joins, then it would be fun."
"..."
Yup, Riley was quite different from her 2 siblings.
"We… should probably head down there to help the others?"
With the students from the other Academies now all touching ground, the situation below was starting to become erratic as even their classmates, the US students were starting to gather to take a look at them.
The official start of the Festival events was tomorrow, and this day was just allotted for everyone to mingle and let the foreign students rest if they choose to do so, that was the reason they were dropped in the Academy's Plaza, which was at the very center of the campus and where most of the booths from the students were set up.
And Katrina did not lie-- there were almost a hundred booths set up everywhere. But considering there were 4000 students in the Academy, that could be considered few.
"That would probably be for the--"
"What did you say!?"
And before Riley could even finish his words, a bellow could be heard coming from the ground. Both he and Katrina turned towards the direction where the rowdy voice was coming from, only to see a group of the schoolmates confronting another group that seemed to be from another country.
"S… seriously?" Katrina's quiet stutters slowly dissipated in the air as she very slowly descended to the ground, "It hasn't been half an hour and there's already trouble?"
"Children are usually rowdy creatures, Hurricane Katrina."
"You… you think so?" Hearing Riley's words, Katrina could not help but let out another awkward chuckle. If she was right, then Riley should be one of the younger students of the Academy since he was only around 17 years old.
"We… should probably go and do our work, though?" Katrina then said as her descent became faster.
"Indeed, Katrina."
***
"What did you say!?"
"On vyglyadit serditym... chto ty sdelal?"
"...Ya prosto sprosil dorogu."
"I think he is mocking us!"
Just a few meters away from the buses of the foreign students, a group of American students was already huddled up; and judging by their loud voices, an altercation was only a few seconds away from happening.
Some students, even from the other countries, have also gathered to watch what was happening; none of them seemingly wanting to alleviate the situation-- with some even using their phones to immortalize the moment.
"We only ask where shithole is, my American friend."
"Did you just call me a shithole!?"
And just according to the bystanders' wishes, the situation seemed to be getting worse by the second as an American student's arms started stretching abnormally long.
"..." The Russian student, who had both his arms raised trying to calm the young man in front of him, could not help but look towards his classmates to ask what they should do. And after a few seconds of staring at each other-- they all nodded.
"You started this, my friend," said the Russian student as his skin started to turn into chrome, "Not my fault if you are hurt."
"You arrogant piece of--"
"Stop!"
But before the two could do anything more, a loud high-pitched whistle hummed in the air as a pair of massive brea-- as Katrina descended to the ground, blowing the whistle provided to them by the Academy.
"As a member of the USMA Police Force, I am warning you that if you do not stop this unsanctioned duel, you will not be allowed to participate in the Festival!"
Katrina then raised her arm to show the armband, proving that she was part of the force as she approached the commotion. And as soon as she did so, numerous sighs of disappointment could be heard coming from the students that were watching from the sides.
"You will be confined in the-- What the… D-- Ultra Flex?" Katrina was about to finish her lines, but before she could do so, she saw the face of the one that started the situation in the first place-- Ultra Flex, aka, Daniel Espinoza, a student from her class.
"You again?" Katrina sighed, "Why are you always asking for trouble?"
"What!? They started it!" Daniel quickly bellowed as he retracted his elongated arms, pointed towards the Russian students who definitely had confused expressions on their faces, "If there is someone you need to reprimand, it's the--"
"Vasha gruppa sprovotsirovala situatsiyu, foreign students?"
And before Daniel could finish his words, he could not help but slightly back away as a familiar voice entered his ears; the voice of the one he considers his rival…
....Riley Ross.
Chapter 65"..."
While Katrina was trying to go through the protocol that was taught to them by Nightwalker as part of the Police Force, Riley was quietly standing behind her. But it seemed somewhat counterproductive that he wasn't doing anything, and so, by his own judgment, it was more fitting for him to be doing something.
And so…
"Did your group instigate the situation, foreign students?"
He took it upon himself to approach them so they could get their side of the story as well. And as soon as he did so, the gasps of shock whispered through the air; with the Russian students all looking at each other with their eyes wide open.
They didn't know where to be shocked; be it Riley's seemingly ethereal appearance, or the fact that he seemed to be able to fluently speak their language.
"You… can speak our language?" The one that had an altercation with Daniel was the first to speak up, his skin that turned to chrome was slowly turning back to normal; like scales vibrating and slowly aligning themselves into skin.
"I can," Riley quickly answered, "But I believe I was the one who asked a question first."
"O… Of course!" This time, a female student from the group spoke up; her mask was only a paint that covered the area around her eyes, "We were not the one that started this commotion. My friend was just asking for directions."
With the other Russian students making way for the female student, it would seem that she held quite the authority among them, something that Riley did not miss as he nodded at the girl.
"Is there someone that could corroborate your statement, Ms…"
"Mega Girl, my superhero name is Mega Girl," the female student then said as she also nodded towards Riley, before slightly leaning closer to him, "But you may call me Alisa."
Hearing Alisa's superhero name, Riley could not help but look at the girl from head to toe. Despite choosing a name like Mega Girl; she looks nothing like Mega Woman-- unlike Silvie who, even with a differently styled costume, still reminded him of Mega Woman.
Alisa was not even trying, Riley thought. Her hair was brown and almost leaning to black, her suit was also black, almost like a leotard with boots that reached above her knee.
"I would prefer to call you Russian Mega Girl as there are… cameras all around us," Riley muttered as he looked at the curious crowd surrounding them, "And is there anyone that can corroborate your story, Russian Mega--"
"T… there's no need for that anymore, Riley."
And before he could finish his words, Katrina approached him from behind, "Ultra Flex confessed that he was the one who started the fight as he thought the Russian students were mocking them."
"...I see," Riley sighed before turning his attention back to the Russian students, "This matter has been resolved, foreign students. You may go and enjoy the festivities."
"T… that's it?" One of the Russian students breathed out. It would seem that he wanted to say something, but Alisa stopped him from doing so, saying that they should just watch what would happen.
"I didn't know you could speak Russian," Katrina then quickly whispered as they make their way towards Daniel, aka Ultra Flex.
"There are a lot of things we don't know about each other, Katrina," Riley muttered before looking towards Daniel and his group.
"Have you been briefed as to what is going to happen to you for trying to instigate a fight with the foreign students, Ultra Flex?"
"I… I already issued him a warning, Riley," Katrina was the one to answer, "But he doesn't seem to want to--"
"Yeah? What's going to happen to me, exactly?" And without any intention of hiding his hubris, Daniel stepped forward; only stopping when his and Riley's face was only a few inches away from each other.
"You may be my rival, but it doesn't mean you could use your authority of being in the Police Force to do whatever you want with me."
"...Rival?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he took a few steps back to avoid making contact with Daniel's face. He then turned his attention towards Katrina and said,
"Do you know him?"
"W… what?" Katrina stuttered, "He… is our classmate. He's in 1-V. You've fought with him before?"
"I see," Riley nodded, "I must have forgotten because of how boring it was. I apologize for not remembering you, Ultra Flex."
"Y… you--"
"We will let you off with a warning, Ultra Flex."
Riley did not let Daniel say a word as he gestured towards his armband that represented he was in the Police Force, "If we catch you doing this again, you will be locked up in your room for the duration of the Festival. You will also be paying a penalty of 1,500 Mega Points."
"Then lock me the fuck up so we could settle this once and for all!"
"Ooh!"
With Daniel not stepping down and once again stomping his way towards Riley, the Oohs and Aahs of the onlookers became even stronger as they double checked if their phones were recording.
"..." Seeing this, Riley could not help but furrow his eyebrows. One of the benefits of being in the Academy was not being completely unknown to the outside world-- but now, with them suddenly approving the use of smartphones, that all goes away. And considering that even the other foreign students also had their phones raised, it wasn't only their Academy that decided it.
Perhaps the existence of the Dark Millenium only expedited something they have been planning to do all along. But what plan exactly?
Whatever it was, it was something the government could not do with Mega Woman still running around. Being paraded like monkeys was already something that Mega Woman wouldn't approve of, so the government was really pushing the limits of what they could do right now.
Paraded like monkeys?
...Maybe that's exactly what they were trying to do?
"Oi, you fucking autist. I am talking to you!"
"Hm?"
Riley's thoughts were then disrupted as his view was suddenly blocked by Daniel's hand, whose arms had already stretched a few meters. Seeing this, Riley could only let out a sigh as he turned his attention towards Daniel.
"As we have already warned you once..." Riley then said as he used two of his fingers to push away Daniel's hand; but if one were to look closer, his fingers were not really touching Daniel's skin, "...we are now legally allowed to use force to subdue you, Ultra Flex."
"Just try it, you son of a bitch!" Daniel said as he retracted his hand, "I will show the whole world that I am the superior one between us!"
"G... guys!" And before anything can happen between the two, Katrina stood between them, "Why... why don't we all just calm down? You're embarrassing us to the other students."
"The only one that would be embarrassed is that albino when I am done with him!"
"S… sto-- Eek!"
And without even having the chance to defend herself, Katrina was pushed to the side; her yelp seemingly signalling the start of the battle between Riley and Daniel. Katrina continued to stumble on the ground, trying to regain her balance by using her abilities; but before she could even summon a single hint of wind, she felt her body being lifted up in the air.
"...Riley?" She then quickly whispered as she turned her head towards Riley, who was now several meters in the air.
"Come down here, you faggot!" Daniel roared as his hand stretched towards the sky; but alas, his elasticity seemed to have reached its limit after 50 meters.
"Pft."
And now, with him struggling to even reach Riley; the curious gaze of the crowd turned into slight bursts of laughter. Their chuckles felt like knives piercing Daniel's ears; but even then, he tried his hardest to stretch even further to reach his opponent.
And as for Riley? He was making sure he was only a few inches away from what Daniel could reach-- giving him false hope that he could actually touch him. However, after a few more seconds, he let out a short but deep sigh before grabbing something from his pockets.
And as soon as Daniel saw what it was, his elongated arms slowly retracted. But alas, before they could return to their original length, a snap echoed throughout the air as two small skirts of wind erupted beside Riley.
A skirt of wind which unfortunate shot straight towards in between Daniel's shoulders; instantly pinning him down to the ground.
"Grah!" He wanted to rebuke and fight back, but the only thing he could do was scream in pain as the thing embedded in both his shoulders started to bend; penetrating the ground beneath him and not allowing him to stand up.
"I would need to throw another set of cutlery again because of you, Ultra Flex." Riley let out a deep but quiet sigh as he looked at the pair of spoon and fork embedded in Daniel's shoulders; but from Daniel's ears, it might as well be a mocking shout.
"You… so, you do remember me!?" Daniel then rotated his neck into a hundred and eighty degrees to look at Riley, "You… you provoked me, didn't you!? I demand a--"
But alas, before Daniel could speak even further, a small plate suddenly covered his mouth.
"Sorry, I don't negotiate with terrorists," Riley then said before Daniel's body started to float into the air. The onlookers were prepared to see the sight of blood profusely gushing from his shoulders, but there wasn't even a drop falling, indicating that the spoon and fork were tightly stabbed through his flesh.
"Shall we go, Hurricane Katrina?"
"Y… yes, of course," Katrina quickly fixed her costume as soon as her feet once again touched the ground. Although it was obvious, she still wanted to ask Riley if he was the one who prevented her from tumbling down. But in the end, she chose not to-- as the were other questions that also wanted to burst out from her mouth.
How can he speak Russian?
Was he really just playing with Daniel?
And most importantly...
...Where was Riley hiding a plate in his outfit?
And so, just like that, the first of many troubles during the Mega Academy's festival had been solved; also somewhat showing the prowess of USMA's Student Police Force, using Daniel as a sacrifice as he was paraded across the Academy.
It would have been alright if he was allowed to walk on his own; but alas, with Riley the one catching him, the only thing he could do was close his eyes as he floated above the crowd in shame.
He could struggle, but the only good that will do was make himself look even more of a fool.
"...Did we just witness what we just witnessed?" Alisa, who was still standing with her group where Riley left her, could not help but blink her eyes a couple of times in awe, "These Americans…
...they're a crazy bunch. Let's all behave from now on."
It wasn't only them that shared the same sentiment, as the dispersing crowd also had the same thoughts in their minds. Well, everyone except for a group of students from Africa, who were looking at each other with their eyebrows furrowed.
"Kiama, can you check if that guy is in any of the competitions?" One of them whispered, "It seems that even here…
...We must face someone cursed by god."
And so, with the festivities continuing with only minimum troubles, the students from the other countries have started roaming around the Academy; introducing themselves to the other students and enjoying the booths they have prepared.
"Gary!"
And in front of one of those booths, Gary was lying on the ground…
...about to die.
"We…
....we need a medic here!"
Chapter 66"We… we need a medic here!"
With Hannah's screams heating up the air itself, the attention of most of the people within the vicinity gathered towards her… as well as Gary, who was currently lying on the ground; each of his breaths stifled as he writhed in pain.
Even with his mask almost covering half his face, the redness of his face which almost resembled a tomato was still quite obvious for everyone to see.
Hannah was at a loss as to what to do; they had been trained to perform chest compressions and other basic emergency survival assistance-- but that was for normal people. Gary was a Super who had the strength to probably break her bone with a single swing of his fist; and with him wriggling around, she wouldn't be able to even touch him.
"I need help--"
"What is it you require, big sister?"
And before Hannah could once again ask for help, a girl wearing what seemed to be a set of white ceremonial Japanese robes appeared in front of her.
"T… Tomoe?" Hannah then blinked a couple of times in confusion as Tomoe suddenly jumped beside her, wearing sunglasses that were eerily similar to the one that Riley was wearing. If she wasn't mistaken, then her costume was also a recolored outfit from the TV series that she and Riley were watching, Latino Mafia Reborn-- minus those glasses, of course.
They haven't seen Tomoe around for a couple of days… was she working on this costume?
No, that didn't matter at all. What matters is how she was suddenly here when Hannah was calling for help. Was she… stalking her or something? Or maybe she just happened to be in the area.
Yes, that's probably the logical explanation.
No, that didn't matter at all. What matters now is that something was happening to Gary.
"Can you call for help? Everyone seems to just be busy watching instead of fucking doing anything!"
"I have already called for someone, big sister," Tomoe swiftly answered before turning her full attention towards the writhing Gary, "What happened to him?"
"Do I look like I have a fucking clue? We just ordered drinks from that booth and--" And before Hannah could finish her words, her eyes quickly moved towards the red drink spilled beside Gary, and without any hesitation, threw away the cup that she had as well.
"What did you put in our drinks!?" Hannah's arms then burst into flames as she rushed towards the booth near them.
"E-- Eek!" The two students that were watching over the booth as their kiosk suddenly went up into flames as soon as Hannah slammed her palm on it.
"What did you put in our drinks!? Hannah then once again repeated her words as she walked over the burning kiosk, "Did you lace it with poison!?"
"W… what? No!"
Both the students all put up their guard as Hannah slowly got nearer and nearer to them, "We… we didn't put anything in it besides syrup and alcohol!"
"If you didn't lace it with anything, then how can you explain--" Hannah pointed towards Gary as she tried to pin the two down for their supposed crimes, but as soon as she realized the last part of their sentence, she could not help but stop in her tracks.
"...Alcohol?" She then breathed out, "You put alcohol in our drinks!? This is a school you fucktwits!"
"We… we got permission from one of the staff!"
"What!? Who's the fucker who approved of something like this?"
"W… Whiteking."
"..." And as soon as Hannah heard who it was that allowed something like this to happen, the flames that were violently dancing around her arms instantly withered away.
Her father... again? First, allowing a student-teacher relationship, and now allowing the consumption of alcohol within school grounds… and with visitors from other countries no less!?
Just what kind of shit is he trying to pull in the Academy!? She knew that her father and Prophet were old friends, but for him to have this much authority in the Academy was truly jarring.
"W… what's happening to me?"
"Gary!"
Hannah's thoughts were then disrupted as Gary finally stopped breathing like a dying monkey.
Tomoe was there to help him up, but as soon as both his feet were firmly planted on the ground, he pushed Tomoe away and caused her to fall but first on the ground.
"What the fuck, Gary!?" Hannah bellowed as she rushed to check on Tomoe.
"Why… why is everything moving so slow!?" Gary's eyes started to move erratically as his head swiveled left and right, "Who… who are you people!? What have you done to the Dragon Monarch!?"
Gary started to wave his hand violently, causing a waft of air to breeze towards the faces of the onlookers. A smile and a chuckle then started to form on the students' faces as they saw Gary dancing like a monkey; most of them were about to raise the cameras on their phones, but before they could do so, trails of smoke started to fume from Gary's eyes.
"You… you dare mock the Dragon Monarch!?" Gary then roared as his smoking eyes started to release a red glow, "I will let you see the difference between a dragon and a mortal…
...Die!"
"Tomoe!"
"I'm on it!" Tomoe quickly opened up her palm, creating a wall of ice that blocked the laser beam violently gushing out from Gary's eyes. A part of the ice wall was quickly being melted away, however, creating a huge hole that soon threatened to collapse.
But before it could do so...
"You're causing trouble again, Dragon Monarch?"
A white silhouette suddenly appeared behind Gary.
"Move away, people! Move away!"
A pair of huge bre-- Katrina's voice then echoed through the air as she landed from above, quickly ordering the onlookers to leave the scene and let the Police force handle the situation.
"Seriously… I feel like we're the only ones responding to troubles," she then sighed before turning her attention towards the white silhouette standing behind Gary, "Why is it always people from our class!?"
"There is no need to be so surprised, Hurricane Katrina," Riley also let out a sigh as he shook his head, "I already expected to apprehend Gary on the first day."
"W--"
And before even letting Gary utter a single word, Riley waved his hand forward. And as soon as he did so, Gary's entire body also flew forward… hitting the thick wall of ice that Tomoe had planted in front of him.
"You…" Riley then whispered as he took off his sunglasses, "...should cool off for a while, Gary."
"...You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"I did, sister."
Gary's body slowly rose up in the air as Riley turned towards Hannah, "We're authorized by the Academy to use force to settle disputes, you see. Katrina would take your statements of what happened here while I bring and lock Dragon Monarch in his room."
"W… wait."
But before Riley could leave with Gary's body, Hannah grabbed his hand. "The retard has a match tomorrow."
"Then he would just have to forfeit, sister."
"That's not possible. There's no one to replace his slot this late, our class is going to lose chances at winning the Combat tournament," Hannah sighed.
"I don't believe it matters, sister," Riley also let out a sigh as he looked her sister in the eyes, "Since American Mega Girl is likely to win the tournament for our class."
"American--"
"N… no."
And before Hannah could even ask why his brother called Silvie that way, the previously unconscious Gary lifted his head; struggling a little as he looked at the two, "The… the will of the Dragon Monarch can not die… it shall live on…
...in you, brother," Gary's trembling hand then pointed towards Riley, before his entire body once again became limp.
"Wait, that's right…" Hannah then clapped her first as her eyes started to shine, "You...
....haven't joined any of the events yet!"
Chapter 67"You… haven't joined any of the events yet!"
"..."
With her sister's loud voice screaming into his ears, the only thing that Riley could do was take a few steps back, causing Gary, who was floating unconscious above and slightly behind him, to hit his head on the wall of ice that Tomoe planted several times.
"This is a great opportunity!" Hannah then clapped as a smile slowly appeared on her face, "You'll be replacing the retard, isn't this a good chance to show off!?"
"The reason I will not participate in any of the events is that it would not be fair for the others if I joined, sister," Riley then slowly stepped back as she saw the look in his sister's eyes, "I need to take Gary back to his room, Katrina will take your--"
"No," Hannah's tone then became cold; her eyes not leaving Riley's for even a second, "Mom told me to make sure you're enjoying your stay here in the Academy. You're joining the tournament whether you like it or not."
"I have my hands full with the Police Force--"
"Don't speak thy bullshit to me, brother," Hannah then smirked as she grabbed her phone from her pocket, "Hurricane Katrina joined the Race event even though she's also in the Police Force; I am going to call dad to make last-minute changes."
"..." Seeing his sister laughing menacingly, one could not help but wonder if she was really doing this for Riley's enjoyment…
...or for hers.
***
"Jamba."
"What?"
"I overheard from the instructor just now, the Ghost would be joining the Combat tournament."
"Is this true?"
Seated in front of one of the Academy's booths, a group of students with an African flag attached to their costumes were eating some sort of chocolate dessert, "I thought that we already asked around and he is not in any of the events?"
"No, he just joined earlier."
"I… see," the man called Jamba then stood up from his seat, his head going way past the kiosk's roof, "Then I suppose it is my destiny to eradicate the curse from this world."
"Yes, brother. We shall support you."
"You have our spiri--"
"...Seriously?" Another African student, who was much darker in complexion than the rest of the group, could not help but blurt out as he saw 3 of his classmates huddling up,
"You guys from some sort of tribe or some shit?" The male student then said, "It's the 21st century, my brothers-- stop being weird and talking about curses and shit."
"You do not understand, Duma. The white man is--"
"Brother, stop," Duma then stood up as he paid for his dessert, before pointing his hand towards the student called Jamba, "Because you're sounding super racist right about now."
"We are not racist!" Jamba then raised his voice as rushed towards Duma, hitting his muscular chest with Duma's also muscular chest, "We are just doing the duty given to us by--"
The students who were watching from the side could not help but stop in their tracks as soon as they sensed the testosterone that was building up roaring in the air. It truly was a blessing that the Festival happened, they could all see all sorts of Supers from around the world fighting each other-- or in this case, even students from the same team.
"'Kay, 'kay, 'kay," Duma raised both his hands in surrender as he took a step back; the mocking smile on his face, however, showed that he truly was not backing down, "That's what all the racists say."
"You dare call us racist when we are standing in a country that is literally filled with them!?" Jamba roared as he lightly pushed Duma away, "This country had people that oppressed us hundreds of years ago, we were slaves until Mega Woman appeared!"
And finally, the students gathered around them let out Oohs and Aahs of excitement as they would once again get to see another fight break out. Although none of them knew what the group was fighting about, the curiosity in their faces was still fully alive and well.
"And we weren't even talking about white people!" Jamba added as he backed away, "We were just talking about the one Cursed by God! Let's go, let's leave this patronizer by himself."
"...Right," Duma could only let out another deep sigh as he sat back in front of the booth as Jamba and his group turned to leave.
Duma would lie if he said he didn't know what his classmates were talking about. Even in his city, where most people had already been swallowed by the modern world, there was still a very small minority similar to Jamba and his friends that believed in the existence of The One Cursed by God.
The One Cursed by God.
The old tribes that were scattered all around their continent have told its story-- The One Cursed by God would bring forth ruin to the world; he brings with him destruction as his long white hair flowed freely in the sky; its snow-white skin, capable of turning anything it touches into ash.
Of course, like many old stories, their ancestors probably just saw an albino for the first time and thought of it as something evil since its skin is different from the rest of them.
It was also a popular folklore that was effective in keeping kids from roaming during the night.
But still… to think there were people in this day and age that still believe an old wive's tale; Duma could not help but laugh at the thought as he continued to eat his dessert. But before he could take another bite, a voice called for his attention.
"Good evening, foreign student."
"!!!"
Duma quickly looked behind to see who it was, only to see the very same individual that they were just talking about earlier. But that wasn't all--
"S… sorry, was that Swahili?"
The ghost-like individual in front of him was talking in a language that was eerily familiar to him.
"It is."
"I… I can't really understand it that much anymore," Duma could not help but stutter as he tried his best not to stare at Riley.
Now that he was looking at the person in question, it was no wonder Jamba and his group of friends immediately thought of The One Cursed by God. Even in the terms of people with albinism, the one in front of him looked… different.
Was he even albino in the first place? He just looked like a very attractive person showered in white powder. And even though there was also a very voluptuous young woman with a glorious pair of breasts behind him, Duma's eyes were like magnets that could not resist looking at Riley.
"Very well, foreign student," Riley then once again spoke, this time in English, "My name is Riley Ross of the Police Force, and the one behind me is Hurricane Katrina, also of the Police force. We are here because of reports that some students from Africa are fighting, may I ask if you were involved in it?"
"A… fight?" Duma once again stuttered as he remained staring at Riley, "Well… It was more like a debate, really."
"Ugh, seriously?" Katrina, who was standing behind Riley, could not help but drop her shoulders as she let out a long groan filled with frustration, "Why are people reporting every single little thing!? And it is also starting to feel like we're actually the only ones doing our duties, Riley!"
"I am afraid that is just our fate, Katrina," Riley then said before asking Katrina to interview the onlookers and ask them about what really happened.
But after just a few people, the two concluded that it truly was nothing more than an argument between friends and proceeded to leave.
Duma, however, was left completely speechless. He truly was not one for superstition, but If The One Cursed by God truly was real…
...then he was sure that it would look like Riley.
***
"Ugh! Riley, can we just stop now!?"
"The day is not over yet, Hurricane Katrina."
Somewhere walking amongst the crowd of students, Riley was still searching for any signs of trouble. But as for his companion, her arms were now completely swinging lifelessly as she stomped her feet as she walked.
"This is the first day of the Festival, and we still have not done anything fun or bought anything from the booths!" Katrina's steps then became faster as she walked in front of Riley, "That's it. I officially order that our job for today is done!"
"I believe you have no authority to give that order, Katrina."
"Eh shush," Katrina then said as she suddenly ran to one of the booths.
"..." Seeing this, Riley could only let out a small but deep sigh as he followed her, "We really should be getting--"
"Here."
And before Riley could even finish his words, Katrina put a corndog in front of his face.
"We've been keeping this place intact, the least we could do is at least enjoy the fruits of our labor," Katrina then said as she let out a huge smile, "And this is also my way of thanking you."
"...Thanking me?" Riley muttered as he took the corndog.
"For saving me during the 2nd day of class. I was one of the people in the direct path of Gar-- of Dragon Monarch's crazy laser eyes," Katrina then whispered, "So, thank you for that Riley Ross. You…"
And without even any warning, Katrina suddenly leaned closer to Riley, placing her lips on his cheek.
"...are my hero."
Katrina then let out a small giggle, before biting on her corndog and walking away. But before she could even take 3 steps, Riley plunged his hand through her chest.
...Or at least that's what Riley imagined doing as he stared at Katrina's back.
"Come on, Riley. We still have duties to do!"
"..."
And just like that, the Acquaintance Festival ended; with the Academy building a giant bonfire to symbolize the kind of fire that all the students would need to win the events to come.
Chapter 68"Students from all over the globe, may we once again officially welcome you to USMA. Probably the No. 1 Mega Academy in the world!"
"Fuck you!"
"Boo!"
"Quiet down!"
In one of USMA's many giant coliseums, most of the students were currently gathered for the first event of the first-ever Festival of Mega Academies all over the globe. This was such a momentous event not only for the students but also for those who made it possible.
And now, with the students being allowed to contact the outside, most of them were broadcasting the events live, allowing the whole world to witness it as well. The government has been very secretive about the happenings inside the Mega Academy for months, and so, with them opening their channels for everyone to see, everyone did watch.
The Festival has 4 main competitions involving the students;
Rescue-- The students would compete on how many citizens they will be able to get to safety in different scenarios. This was considered by the instructors to be the most important event; the students, however, beg to differ.
Combat Tournament-- This is what all the students wanted to watch; Supers trying to beat each other up and asserting themselves to be the strongest Super in all of the Mega Academies. There was also the fact that each Mega Student of the 7 Academies will be participating in this event, cementing itself as the most exciting event of all.
Race-- And as the name suggests, students will race against each other through countless obstacles to see who would be able to reach the destination first.
And lastly, Kata-- With Supers numbering millions, it was common to have the same abilities with other people. But with Kata, the students would showcase how they could control their abilities to their fullest to make them unique to their own.
There were 4 main events, with roughly 100 students participating in each. Mega Academy has thousands of students, and so, only those who were personally chosen by a group of instructors were qualified to participate in the events.
But of course, for those that didn't make it, there were still booths and other minor activities to be done outside the events.
And although there were students from other Mega Academies present, it did not mean that it was a competition against the schools, no.
None of the events are team-based-- this was a competition amongst students. A competition that would span for 6 days until only the champion of the respective event has been chosen.
As for the first event that was being held in the morning; Rescue Competition.
"Uh, uh, uh! I know all of you are excited, but please refrain from booing as this moment is all about me!" The host clicked his tongue several times as the students started booing him. However, as soon as the host mouthed a kiss that was heard by all the students from the speakers, they all started to quiet down.
Most of them wondered who this… promiscuous host could be; the students of 1-V, though, all knew who it was.
Ben Jackson, aka, Metallerina.
"...Why is our class everywhere?" Katrina, who was watching from the top-most level of the coliseum, could not help but let out an awkward chuckle as she looked at Riley, who was also standing beside her, "It's like the school is revolving around our class or something."
"I suppose so, Katrina."
"Shouldn't you be getting ready for the Combat Tournament?"
"It's fine, Katrina," Riley muttered, his eyes centered on the horizon of the vast empty arena in the center of the coliseum, "I have something important to watch here."
"I… I see," Katrina whispered as she glanced at Riley. She was still embarrassed about what she did last night. She almost couldn't sleep thinking of how she just suddenly kissed Riley on the cheek-- but seeing Riley so calm right now, it would seem she was the only one thinking about what happened.
"Fine! Fine! Let's just start this, shall we!"
Katrina's sighs were then fortunately overpowered as soon as Ben Jackson's loud voice once again reverberated from the speakers,
"Maestro, light up the room!"
And as soon as Ben said that, the vast empty arena hummed; opening up a huge hole in the center of the coliseum.
And from that hole, towering infrastructures slowly started to emerge. It almost looked like a city with all the buildings scattered on it-- No, with the arena spanning more than 2 kilometers, it is a city.
There were also moving cars, and even people-- and if the students of USMA were to take a better look, the citizens were mostly some of the many staff of the Academy.
"And now… to introduce your heroes!"
10 giant screens then descended from god knows where, stopping as it hovered in the center of the arena, allowing the audience to see each of the students that were participating in the event.
"It would take too long for me to introduce all hundred of them, so I won't. Teehee," Ben's somewhat coquettish giggles almost made the audience shiver, "But I am sure once we get to the final rounds in a few days, their names would be deserving of being announced! And now, Heroes, please get ready while I explain the rules to our lovely audience!
The goal is simple-- rescue as many civilians as you can in the allotted time! The civilians that are in need of rescuing will all be wearing a yellow armband. They will only be considered rescued once you get them to the safe areas, indicated with large yellow flags!
Of course, if they complain… Uh uh uh, that's minus points, baby! There will also be villains hiding within the streets, wearing a black armband. You will get extra points if you manage to subdue them!
And that's it. Do anything wrong, and you'll know it. Uwu!"
"..."
With Ben finally done explaining to them the rules, all of them could not help but look at each other. How could they even get excited when their host is just too… much?
"Oh, your sister is in this!" Katrina then pointed at one of the screens as soon as she saw Hannah on one of them, "So that's why you wanted to watch, you're supporting your sister!"
"...I suppose, Katrina."
"But… Isn't your sister's power not suitable for this event?" Katrina then muttered.
"That's just how it is with her," Riley answered, "She always pretends to be laid back, but always chooses the hardest path because…
...It's fun."
Down in the arena, Hannah was busy staring at the buildings surrounding her. It was extremely dim when they were underground, but now that the entire platform was raised to the ground, she could not help but be amazed…
...at just how much the government is spending for all of this nonsense.
"Fuck the government. They should just be investing this in free healthcare," Hannah muttered, her words… echoing throughout the whole coliseum.
"..."
"W… well, what a timing. A... amiright, folks?" Ben's awkward chuckle entered Hannah's ears, "That was a snippet of one of our heroes. We would hear them from time to time as we change the audio focus…"
"..." Hannah quickly moved to hide in one of the buildings, hitting her head on the wall as her embarrassment almost choked her to death. She could hear people cheering in the air, but due to the buildings blocking her view, she couldn't see any of them.
"And now, heroes… Please return to your mark and get ready!"
And with those words, Hannah had no choice but to return to her position, letting out a sigh as she started stretching her body.
"Go! Go rescue some citizens in need! Hmp!" And so, with Ben moaning through the speakers, all of the participants took this as a signal that they should start to move.
Hannah let out a long and deep breath as smoke started to fume from her mouth, "Let's do this, Nuclear Baby…" she then whispered as her entire body was instantly engulfed in a blazing fire.
"Let's do this!"
***
Gary was currently trapped in his room, barred from leaving until the end of the day as a punishment for causing trouble. And so, the only thing he could do was watch the events through his phone; sitting quietly on his sofa as he drank what seemed to be juice.
"Pft," he then let out a chuckle as Ben's weird hosting entered his ears, "Man, I wish I could have been there. Agh, why am I the only--"
And before he could even finish his words, the thick metal door of his room slid open.
"Gary Gray."
"Oh?" Gary then blinked a couple of times before setting down his phone beside him and looking at the individual that just entered his room,
"Fancy of you to visit me in my fancy prison...
....Prophet."
Chapter 69"You can do this, Nuclear Baby…
…Let's do this!"
With Hannah hyping herself up, the fire that engulfed her entire body grew even stronger; almost distorting the air around her.
But before the ground beneath her could start to boil, a thunder erupted in the air as her body was instantly thrown through the air and above the towering buildings surrounding her.
"There, there… and there," she then muttered as her eyes quickly scanned the surrounding area; checking the buildings near to her that had yellow flags attached to them. She then propelled herself to the nearest Safe Building, before surveying the area for any citizens that might be in distress.
"H… help! Someone, please help me!"
But before her eyes could even land on one, a scream whispered into her ears from the distance. She quickly tried to search where the cries were coming from; however, with all the other noise persisting in the air, she was having trouble determining its exact location.
But finally, after a few more turns of her head, she saw a citizen running on the street; a yellow band attached to her arms.
"I got you," Hannah muttered before leaping from the building; but alas, before she could even propel herself towards the civilian's position, she saw a blur dash towards the screaming man.
"What…"
It was only for a brief moment, but Hannah was able to see who the blur was when it carried the citizen away. She could not recognize the student's costume, so it was probably someone from another Academy.
"..." Riley, however, who was watching from above, recognized who it was. It was one of the students from the South Africa Mega Academy that he had the pleasure of meeting last night, Duma.
Some students of SAMA used their real names as their superhero names, and Riley could not help but think what a fitting name Duma is for a Sprinter. But quite an odd choice to join the Rescue event rather than the Race event.
"Oho! Did you catch that, my dear audience!? Not even a minute has passed and someone has already managed to rescue a citizen in distress!" Ben continued to host the event, "But what's this? I think the citizen was uncomfortable during the rescue, that's only half a point!"
"Tch, fuck," Hannah could only shake her head as someone else got to her target first. With a Sprinter joining the event, her chances of going to the next round became even slimmer.
"S… someone, please help!"
Her dismay was cut short, however, as another scream whispered into her ears. Her eyes once again scanned the area like a hawk. But they did not need to search for long, however, as the owner of the cries was on one of the rooftops in the building near Hannah.
And so, without even any hesitation, an explosion erupted from Hannah's back, almost molding into the shape of a wing as it propelled her straight towards the roof. But as soon as one of Hannah's feet landed on the roof, any traces of the blazing flame that engulfed her entire body withered away almost instantly.
She then rushed towards the distressed citizen; running and not using any of her abilities.
"Are you hurt?" She then quickly asked as she crouched beside the crying woman. Whoever chose the role of the civilians for this event should get a raise, Hannah thought as she watched the tears falling from the woman's face.
"My… my leg," the woman then whimpered.
Hannah then immediately checked on the woman's leg, only to find it covered in blood.
"..." But if one were to take a closer look, it was only obviously a red marker. The Academy had the time to invest in indoor buildings and such… but not fake blood?
With all these unnecessary thoughts circling in her mind, Hannah quickly shook her head as she tried to talk to the woman.
"Can I borrow this?" She then said before ripping a part of the woman's clothes.
"W… what are you doing?"
"Please don't move from here," Hannah gestured to the woman to calm down, before walking towards the edge of the roof. Flames then began to trickle from her hands as she grabbed on the railings, melting parts of it instantly.
The woman could only watch as Hannah returned to her side, now with a steel bar in her hands.
"This might hurt a little… or not," Hannah then said as she proceeded to wrap the woman's leg with the cloth Hannah ripped from her. And as for the steel bar, she used it as a tourniquet to stabilize the woman's fake injured leg.
And as soon as the woman saw this, a smile could not help but form on her face.
"Okay," Hannah nodded to herself before looking at the woman straight in the eyes, "Don't panic and just relax, okay?"
"Eh?"
And before the woman could even wonder what Hannah was going to do, she suddenly lifted her up like she weighed nothing-- and this is without using her abilities.
"Ooh!"
And as for the audience, they were all focused on what Hannah was doing… or rather, at her voluptuous and perfectly toned butt, which seemed to be the focus of the drone following her.
"Nice… Very nice!"
"Go, Nuclear Baby! We love you!"
The cheers continued as all of the students had one single thought-- whoever was managing the drones should be given a raise.
"Oh, what happened!?" The students then all let out hums of disappointment as the drone suddenly zoomed out.
"..." Riley, who was looking at the screen, could not help but let out a sigh as he slightly flicked his hand, making sure that the drone doesn't get too… comfortable with her sister anymore.
"Please hold on, okay?" Hannah then said with a very reassuring tone as she carried the woman, "I am going to jump from the building and get you to safety, is that alright with you?"
"...What?"
And before the woman could even answer, Hannah ran to the edge of the building, hopping on the railings before leaping from the building; denting the rails as she did so. And as she did all this, she did not activate her abilities even once.
"E… Eh? Eeeh!?"
The woman she was carrying could only yell as their glorious ascension slowly turned into a slow fall. But before she could close her eyes and start to pray, they once again started to ascend, this time at a much calmer pace.
"Sorry about that," Hannah then said; the flames in her feet flickering as they tried their best to propel Hannah as softly as possible. And finally, after a few more flickers, Hannah was able to bring the woman to a safe zone.
Hannah then gently dropped the woman on the roof, but instead of immediately leaving to find someone else to rescue she crouched down beside the woman; checking the fake injury on her leg.
"Will you be alright on your own?" Hannah then said after fixing the wrap on her leg. She then took in a small nervous gulp as she waited for the woman's response.
And after a few seconds of excruciating suspense, the woman raised both his thumbs,
"Go and rescue more people, hero," the woman said as she smiled, "Thank you."
And as soon as Hannah saw that, a smile also slowly crawled on her face.
"No problem," she then said before once again leaping from the building.
"Did you see that people!?" Ben's loud voice once again reverberated throughout the entire coliseum,
"2 Thumbs up, that means double points! Oh, what's that? Why am I only focusing on people in my Academy? Oh, boohoo, why don't you go and host, then? Ohohoho!"
"..." Riley, who was focused on the screen allotted for his sister, could not help but let out a small but deep breath. He glanced at it for one last time, before turning to leave.
"Where are you going, I thought you'd stay and watch until it's over?"
"I… have some personal matters to attend to, Katrina," Riley breathed out, "I'm sure my sister will go through the next round now. Is it okay to leave you here?"
"Sure," Katrina shrugged, causing her large breasts to jiggle, "They seem too busy watching to cause any troubles anyway, I'll be fine."
"Okay…
...Thank you."
***
"Good morning."
"What the!?"
And after a few minutes, Riley now finds himself inside a room; filled with nothing but monitors that played the events of the Festival; and in front of all those monitors…
....was his father, Bernard Ross, aka, Whiteking.
Chapter 70"What are you doing here, Riley!?"
Bernard immediately turned away from the monitors, stretching his cape to the side as he tried his best to cover the screens that may very well prove his guilt for whatever it was he was doing. He then quickly leaped to the side, rolling on the ground as he threw some sort of smoke bomb that instantly filled the entire room.
"..." And with a single wave of Riley's hand, all the smoke dissipated to a single corner of the room. However, as soon as the room was cleared of any visual obstacles, the multiple monitors that were scattered on the wall were no longer to be seen.
Instead, his father was kneeling on the ground doing some sort of superhero pose; beside him was a huge metallic crate; presumably where the monitors are expertly stored.
"What are you doing here, Riley?" Bernard repeated his words, this time though, the panic that previously lingered in his voice no longer existed as he slowly stood up, his cape smoothly sweeping from the floor as he did so,
"From my knowledge, you joined the Combat tournament. Isn't that this afternoon?" He then said as his mask opened up; folding several times as they elegantly hid within his pauldrons.
"...Please stop playing with the drones, father."
"Drones?" Bernard's eyes squinted, "What drones are you talking about?"
"The same as this one, father," Riley then stretched his hand, presenting a mangled drone to his father, "You're the one in charge of directing the drones."
"...I see, so you found me out," Bernard then closed his eyes as he let out a long and deep breath, "I expected nothing less of you, my son. Good work, good work."
"It's nothing, father," Riley also let out a sigh, "Your initials are literally written on the drone, W and K."
"That could have been Walter Knight for all you know. Do not discredit your investigative skills."
"...So why were you focusing the drones on sister's posterior?"
"Ah, my son. You still have much to learn," Bernard then once again sighed as he patted the metal box beside him. And as soon as he did so, it quickly disassembled itself; before erecting into the intricate collection of monitors that Riley had seen earlier.
"Male students from all over the world had come to participate and watch the event," the tone of Bernard's voice then became serious as his eyes looked at the multiple monitors in front of him, "Students that are the top of their class. It would be good…
...if Hannah is able to get one of them as her boyfriend. After all, she deserves only the best."
"I see," Riley muttered, "That is understandable."
"Your sister is going to turn 20 in a year, and she has been without a boyfriend since birth," Bernard continued, "Do you know why that is?"
"Because her father trained her to be a barbarian since she was young, and now boys are afraid to approach her?"
"...No," Bernard cleared his throat as he glanced at Riley, "Because she is too headstrong."
"I believe my answer is valid and relates to what you just said, father."
"We're moving past that," Bernard once again cleared his throat, "My actions for focusing the camera at her butt is so that the male students could see her good points. A strong woman with a strong hip is what all men strive for."
"...I see, father."
"Speaking of a strong woman with a strong hip; Scarlet Mage's hair is now silver, is that like a couple's look for you two?"
"..."
"..."
"Son?" Bernard then looked back, only to see that Riley was no longer in the room.
"...They grow up so fast," Bernard then let out a long and deep sigh, before he continued on giving Hannah the best angles possible. As for the other participants, his drones' automatic tracking stabilizer should suffice.
***
"Congratulations on moving through the next round, big sister."
"T… thanks?"
Hannah could not help but blink a couple of times as Tomoe handed her a towel as soon as the first round of the Rescue event was over.
"Did… you wait for me here?" Hannah then said as she looked around the outside of the coliseum, "Where's Riley and the others?"
"I believe master Riley is getting ready for the elimination match this afternoon," Tomoe then said as she handed Hannah a fruit shake, "He asked me to guard you."
"...Guard me? I'm pretty sure you belong in one of the events as well."
"The Kata is not until tomorrow, big sister. For now, my duty is to escort you wherever you wish to go."
"...Seriously, are you and my brother playing a little game?" Hannah said as she shook her head, "Go and do your own thing, girl. Enjoy the festival or something."
"I can guard you from afar, if that is what you wish."
"...No, definitely not," Hannah's eyes began to twitch as she imagined Tomoe following her from behind like some sort of secret service personnel, "Just… walk with me then. Seriously, what did Riley say to you?"
"T… to guard you…"Tomoe's monotonous tone slightly stuttered as she looked to the side, "from… those who are craving your butt,"
"...What?"
"He… said something that if someone should like you… then they should like you for who you are, not because of your… butt."
"...What?"
***
"Fight! Fight!"
"Go, Mega Girl! You can do it!"
"We love you, Chadman!"
"Go! Kill each other!"
"China, number 1!"
With the noise of the audience reverberating through the dense and luscious forest, it almost made it hard for the participants of the Combat tournament to be immersed in the scenario they found themselves in.
Each of the combatants was currently surrounded by trees and all different types of foliage, with the only other person being the opponent in front of them.
Like with the Rescue event, all of the 100 participants were playing at the same time. But this time, respective zones were allotted for them-- if any of the two combatants were to leave their zone, then that would automatically count as a loss.
"So… you are the Mega Student of USMA?"
"I am very flattered you have heard of me."
And in one of those zones, was Silvie, calmly standing as the opponent in front of her seemed to be looking at her from head to toe.
"...And you're the one they are cheering for, right? Chadman of the England Mega Academy?"
"Oh, you know me as well?"
"Probably not as much as you know me," Silvie said with a smile.
"Probably so," Chadman let out a small scoff as his eyes finally settled on Silvie's face, "And you're not as humble as they say you are."
"Never was," Silvie retorted as her feet slowly lifted from the ground.
"...And now that you have heard the rules of battle," a voice then reverberated through the air as each of the participants all readied themselves to face their opponents. And judging by the sound of the voice, it was no longer Ben Jackson hosting the event.
"Combatants…
...Fight!"
And as soon as the announcer's words reached his ears, Chadman's whole body began to contract, his muscles beginning to swell as he slowly tripled in size; ripping off his shirt as his skin completely turned grey in color.
Surprisingly though, his pants were intact.
Chadman then let out a shrilling laugh as he rushed towards Silvie, who was calmly floating in the air watching him. Each of Chadman's steps left a print on the ground, turning into a crater as he leaped towards Silvie.
Silvie, however, only floated to the side, completely avoiding Chadman's body slam. Chadman's body then began spinning in the air as he tried to stabilize himself; before grabbing onto a tree and bending it with his momentum.
And using the bent tree as some sort of slingshot, he catapulted himself even faster towards Silvie.
He was quite nimble for his size, Silvie thought as she once again hovered to the side. But alas, this time, Chadman was able to grab her with one hand.
"..."
Chadman once again let out a roaring burst of laughter as the arms in his muscles began to grow even bigger-- each of its veins was almost as big as Silvie's leg. And then, without any hesitation, he slammed Silvie towards the ground.
Well, at least that's what he thought happened. But contrary to his expectations, the only thing that happened was him swinging in the air, with Silvie as the pivot. Chadman once again tried to swing his arm, but the only one that moved was him.
"Sorry you had me as your first opponent, Mr. Chadman," Silvie then let out a short but deep sigh as she pushed one of Chadman's fingers away, "I am sure you would have gone a long way if we didn't meet this early."
And with that, Silvie raised her free hand and slapped Chadman straight to the ground.
Chadman felt like he left his soul in the air as he made a small crater in the shape of his enormous body.
"O… Ow," Chadman muttered as his body slowly returned to its normal size.
"Are you alright?" Silvie then said as she descended from the air, "Sorry I can't help you up, you might throw dirt in my eyes, after all."
"T… tch, I'm not that petty," Chadman let out a cough before chuckling softly, "I… I surrender."
And as soon as he said that, a blue light started to emerge on the perimeter of their designated zone-- signaling that someone had already won.
The cheers of the students could not be calculated as they all watched what happened. As expected, Mega Students were in a league of their own, they all thought, and to think there were 6 more in the arena.
"Riley…" As for Silvie, she let out a small whisper as she sat on the ground, "I hope you're doing alright."
As for Riley, he was currently lying on the ground…
....receiving a barrage of punches from his opponent.
Chapter 71A few minutes before Silvie won her match, most of the students were still in a dead-lock battle. But like with Silvie, there were also those that were toying with their opponents-- one of them being Bella Jackson, aka, Black Bell.
Unfortunately for Bella's opponent, the material he was using with most of his costume was metal. The only thing he could do was stop himself from puking as Bella waved his body in the air like he was on some sort of roller coaster.
A few hundred meters away from them, Riley still had not started his match and was instead busy being curious as to why his opponent was looking at him like he killed his whole family. If he wasn't mistaken, this was one of the students involved in a somewhat violent debate last night-- one of the African students that Katrina questioned.
He shouldn't have any resentment against him since they didn't really follow through in the investigation and apprehend any of them. So… why was he looking at him like that?
...Wait. Did he really kill his family back when he visited Africa as Darkday?
But which one? He killed so many there.
"Y--"
"To think that you will be the first opponent I face in this tournament-- truly, this is a mission from god."
"..." Riley could only squint his eyes as his opponent started rambling. He was about to ask him if he killed his family, but it would seem that was likely not the case. But… a mission from god?
"You… talked to god before?"
"Of course. I, Jamba, will be the one to eradicate the One Cursed by God from the face of this earth!" Jamba then let out a thumping roar as he beat his chest numerous times.
"I see," Riley then let out a small but deep sigh as he slightly looked to the ground, "Then this is only a misunderstanding, Jamba. I have never met god for him to curse me as such."
"You are not fooling anyone, Ghost!" Jamba waved his hand violently, and soon, the bones in his arms started to protrude… No, to change shape as they seemed to tear the flesh of his elbows and knuckles open, "Your skin and hair is the only proof that you could only be The One Cursed by God."
"Ah," Riley then clapped his fist, letting out a hum as he raised his eyes, "I thought that custom was abolished a long time ago. But it seems your kind still hunts creatures and people that have pigmentation loss."
"No," the bones continued to protrude from Jamba's skin, "Our mission is to hunt only a single entity, the One Cursed by God…
...You, the harbinger of ruin."
And with that, Jamba disappeared from his spot, leaving some sort of large claw marks on the ground as he dashed towards Riley. He then dug his hands on the ground, allowing the protruding bones of his knuckles to sharpen even further as it plowed through the ground;
and as he was only a meter away from Riley, he lifted his hands from the ground, using the tension from it to snap his hands even faster; creating some sort of erupting sound as his claws went straight towards Riley.
The dust flew first, but it stopped an inch from hitting Riley's face. It was then shortly followed by Jamba's sharp knuckles; but like the dust floating in front of Riley, an invisible force was stopping it from gouging Riley's eyes out.
"..." And although not even a single thing had hit his face; Riley, however, still moved his head back and allowed his back to fall on the ground.
"Die, Ghost!" Jamba then crouched and pinned Riley on the ground, continuing to hit him on the face, "With this, the destruction of the world will be stopped and the prophecy that my ancestors have told for centuries would be prevented!"
Jamba's hands were fast, almost a blur from the screen in which the audience was watching. Only a few had their eyes on Riley's match, as Silvie and the 6 other Mega Students caught all the attention of the students.
Those who were watching Riley's match, however, could not help but close their eyes.
"N… no, Riley! Stop the match! Stop the match!"
And one of them was Hannah. She was about to explode from where she was sitting, but before she could do so, Tomoe stood on her path.
"Master Riley should be fine, big sister," Tomoe muttered, "His strength is almost immeasurable, a measly Super who has not even fully tapped the potential of his power could never hope to even harm a hair on his body."
"Does he look alright to you!?"
"Y--"
"He is fine, Nuclear Baby."
And before Tomoe could answer, a woman sat on the empty slot beside them; her silver hair almost as light as air as it slowly flowed down to her shoulders.
"Miss… Scarlet Mage," Tomoe muttered; her eyebrows slightly raised.
"All the combatants have a monitoring device attached to their ankles that would instantly alert us if someone's life is in danger," Katherine calmly said as she too, started to watch Riley's match, "He is fine."
"...Should we even be calling you Scarlet Mage now?" Hannah slightly started to calm down from hearing Katherine's words; but as soon as she did so, her eyebrows quickly showed her subtle hostility against Katherine, "Your hair is far from red now."
"You're not a baby, are you?" Katherine then let out a small giggle, "So should we be calling you Nuclear Nosy now?"
"..." Hannah glared at Katherine for a few seconds, before letting out a small scoff and turning her attention back to Riley's match; although with the way it is, it was hard to see what was happening anymore from the thick cloud of dust covering the entire area.
Jamba continued to release a barrage of punches, creating clouds of dust from the ground from the sheer force of his every hit. There were also moments where he slammed both his fists, causing the crater beneath them to go deeper and wider.
But even with all of this; even with all the blood covering his opponent's face, there was a look of desperation and dread on Jamba's face, growing with each strike. He had been hitting his opponent for more than a full minute now without pause, and yet Riley's face… was still completely unscathed.
The blood was not flowing on Riley's face, but rather hovering less than an inch above it-- and as for the blood? It was from Jamba, his knuckles already bleeding profusely from hitting what felt like a wall of steel.
"You…" Jamba then breathed out, "...So, you really are the One Cursed by God," he then said as he looked at Riley's eyes, unmoving and just looking at nowhere in particular.
"You… do not seem to be enjoying this anymore, Jamba?"
And for the first time, Jamba could feel a pressure pushing him up as Riley finally moved; slightly lifting Jamba away as he sat up,
"You came all this way from Africa, so it would be a waste for you to at least not have fun. But if you're no longer enjoying this…
...then I suppose it is my turn?"
"K… Gah!"
And without even warning, Jamba slowly floated from the ground, his arms stretched to the side; the long sharp bones protruding from his knuckles were trembling as it seemed to be being bent to the side; even the long and thick bones from his elbows were starting to curl.
"I… I will k... kill you!" But even with the uncomfortable pain starting to crawl throughout his entire body, Jamba still managed to lash out his fangs towards Riley; his saliva trailing from the invisible wall that seemed to be protecting Riley.
"There truly are a lot of disgusting powers in the world."
And even with Jamba's roars reverberating through the cloud of dust, Riley only whispered as he picked up some stones from the ground, "But I always wondered…"
Riley then opened his palm, letting the stones and pebbles softly fly towards Jamba; or more specifically, towards the sharp bones that were protruding from his body.
"...It always used to hurt when my sister and I got our teeth cleaned by the dentist. Will...
...it feel the same for you?"
"!!!"
Chapter 72"...It always used to hurt when my sister and I got our teeth cleaned by the dentist. Will it feel the same for you?"
Even with the uncomfortable pain moving through his body, Jamba still could not help but slightly furrow his eyebrows in confusion as to what Riley was saying. His thoughts, however, were cut short when a weird buzzing and whirring sound whispered in his ears.
The buzz, whistling through the cloud of dust, almost forming a sort of cyclone as the pebbles started spinning and vibrating at a very high speed.
"What… what are you doing?"
"Cleaning your bones, Jamba. For free."
A sharp static then howled in the air, before it was completely overwhelmed by the sound of Jamba's shrieking cries. Jamba quickly tried to retract his extruded bones, but found that he was not able to-- it felt like something was pulling it tight.
And so, the only thing he could do was scream in pain; he could grit his teeth, but the vibrations that were crawling throughout his entire body seemed like it would be enough to crack them.
It was a cold feeling, but at the same time, it was not. It was as if a million needles were being slowly entered through his bones and flesh; only to be taken out and inserted again. The knuckles on his bones and elbows were the only ones that were being ground, but it felt like his entire body was starting to melt.
There was a chill that he could not explain; causing a sharp stinging fever to make even his own skin sensitive from the air… and yet the only thing he could do was scream.
"Don't be so dramatic, Jamba. You're not going to die from this-- well, that's what my sister told me the first time I went to the dentist."
Jamba could not even think anymore as the pain was slowly causing his vision to fade; but something whispered into his ear that made him not able to do so-- a chuckle.
Even through the shrieking roars coming out from his lungs, he could hear a chuckling whisper into his ear.
He was right. He was absolutely right-- the one in front of him is the One Cursed by God.
"This sound…" Riley then whispered as he tried his best to stop the laughter that was threatening to burst from his mouth. He then turned his head up as he closed his eyes, taking in a long and deep breath as a smile slowly formed on his face,
"...truly wonderful."
And those were the last words Jamba heard before he completely lost consciousness.
"...Oh." And as soon as his cries ceased, the drilling noise also instantly stopped as the stones grinding through Jamba's bones dropped to the ground.
And so, with the ashes of Jamba's bones mixing with the cloud of dust, a blue light emerged from the perimeter of their zone-- signaling the end of the battle.
Realizing this, Riley could not help but let out a long and deep sigh as he dropped Jamba's unconscious body to the ground.
"Well, that didn't last long," Riley then whispered, his words containing a hint of disappointment. Afterwards, he waved his hand, completely blowing the cloud of dust away and allowing those who were watching his match to once again be able to see from the screen they were watching on-- and everyone was watching.
How could they not, when Riley was the last to finish his match? None of them cheered, however; as for the last 30 minutes or so, the only thing they had been hearing were screams-- screams that were enough to resound in the very core of their bones.
They had absolutely no idea what was happening; as the only thing they were hearing were screams and a light buzzing sound, that for some reason, was making their eyes twitch.
"I told you, your brother is fine," Katherine, who was able to hear the beating of Riley's heart, could not help but let out a short but deep sigh as she stood up from her seat. She was about to leave, but as soon as she stepped out from the bleachers, she glanced at Tomoe,
"I'll be one of the judges in the Kata competition tomorrow, Dark Frost. I won't be giving you any advantages just because you're in my class."
"That should be the case, Miss Scarlet Mage," Tomoe only glanced at Katherine before letting out a quiet harrumph.
For a subordinate who can't even kill people, Katherine sure was arrogant, Tomoe thought. The role of First Subordinate should have really been assigned to her and not Katherine.
And what's with that sudden change of hair color? Was she trying to look like Riley?
"Good work, little sister."
Tomoe's thoughts were then disrupted as Hannah patted her on the shoulders a couple of times, "Don't let that hag beat you, she seems adamant in popping my brother's cherry."
"Oh?" Katherine was about to leave, but as soon as she heard Hannah's words, she could not help but stop in her tracks and look at her straight in the eyes,
"What made you think I haven't already?"
"!!!"
"...What!?"
And just like that, the events of the first day of the Festival have come to an end.
***
"Congratulations on moving to the next round, Riley!"
"And you were able to move on as well. As expected of you, American Mega Girl."
"American… Mega Girl?"
A few minutes after the Combat tournament was over, all of the combatants were now asked to rest underground. The Academy's medical staff were also there to see if some of them received any persisting injuries; giving priority to those who had the monitors attached to their legs slightly activated.
"Yes," Riley nodded, "For the duration that the foreign students are here, that is what I shall call you, American Mega Girl."
"W… why? You know what, never mind," Silvie then waved her hand as she sat on the floor beside Riley, "I am more curious as to why your match lasted so long. Did you have a hard time with your opponent?"
"No. I just wanted him to have fun first. It would not be fair if I kil-- if I win without him being able to fight back."
"I… I see."
Riley said it so calmly, but if his opponent was able to hear his words, then he would surely riot. "Speaking of which, who is your opp--"
"Zdravstvuyte."
"Privet."
"..."
"..."
Silvie could not help but blink a couple of times as she accidentally answered the woman that suddenly approached; how could she not, when the woman spoke in a language native to her?
What followed, however, was an awkward silence as she and the woman stared at each other.
"Good afternoon, Russian Mega Girl."
And thankfully, Riley was there to break the silence.
"I see you were also able to beat your opponent, congratulations."
"Thank… you." Russian Mega Girl, aka, Alisa, could not help but slightly squint her eyes as they slowly left Silvie, "I actually also came here to congratulate you."
Hearing Alisa's words, Silvie could not help but also squint her eyes-- wincing from embarrassment. However, this embarrassment did not last long as she realized something.
"You… know Russian, Riley?"
"I do," Riley nodded before gesturing towards Alisa, "And may I introduce you to RFMA's Mega Girl?"
"Mega…" Silvie only whispered as she looked at the woman in front of her, "Your superhero name… is also Mega Girl?"
"And yours too, it seems," Alisa let out a small chuckle as she shook Silvie's hand; and this time, she was speaking in English,
"And how funny that the both of us are also Russian. I'll only be here for a few days, but I hope we get along. Name's Alisa."
"Y… yes," Silvie nodded as she returned Alisa's greeting, "I'm… Silvie," she then whispered.
"You know what else, though?" Alisa then once again chuckled as she released her hand, "I'm also the Mega Student of my Academy-- so I guess we will be meeting each other at the end of the tournament."
"I hope--"
"Don't be so sure of that."
And before Silvie could even return Alisa's playful declaration of war, another voice joined in on their conversation. And judging from the eyes that were slightly being revealed from his red mask, he was Oriental.
"Because none of you...
....might even make it to the finals."
Chapter 73"Because none of you...
...might even make it to the finals."
Silvie and Alisa could not help but look at each other as someone suddenly intruded on their conversation. Even with his mask on, the shape of his eyes made it clear that he was someone from the Orient.
"You are… from Japan?" Alisa muttered.
"I'm from China! How dare you compare us to those warmongers! You--" And before he could continue his rant, he suddenly closed his eyes; seemingly in an attempt to calm himself down.
"..." Alisa, on the other hand, could only look at the Chinese Super as he flicked his unusually long hair to the side before patting his robe-like uniform clean.
"I am Rednewt," Rednewt then said as claws started to emerge from his fingers, "China's Mega Student. Sorry to say this, but I--"
"Well, well. No one told me we were gathering here?" And once again, an introduction was cut short as another one joined the conversation; his accent posh, his walk even more so as his steps, for some reason, was partnered with a cane.
"My name is Julian Reuben, ladies and gentlemen," Julian then bowed, rotating his cane and placing it behind him as he did so, "From Britain, as you may well expect, my good people.
And that one there brooding in the corner is Gintsune; she is a bit shy since she can't speak in English that well," Julian then pointed his cane towards a Super who had a mask in the shape of a fox's head.
And judging by her fidgeting movements, she seemed to not know whether she should approach the others or not.
"And not to state the obvious, but we're also the Mega Students of our respective and humble scho--"
"Shut the fuck up, Harry Potter." And before Julian could even finish his words, Rednewt lightly pushed him to the side, "I was trying to introduce myself here and you go 'well, well' out of nowhere."
"You are impeccably rude, sir," Julian then said as he backed away a few steps, once again spinning his cane before tapping it two times on the floor.
"I'm rude!? You're the one who--"
"I think we should leave all our energy once we face each other in the ring, don't you think?"
"Why is everyone interrupting when I am the one talking!?" Rednewt could not help but groan in frustration as he turned his eyes towards the newest addition to their gathering; his eyes, however, needed to turn up before he could see the newcomer's face.
"My name is Sefu," Sefu bowed his head, crossing his arms then patting the front of his shoulders at the same time, "Africa's Mega Student."
"You… are you sure you're still a student?" Rednewt furrowed his eyebrows as he tiptoed to make himself look taller.
"I would not be here if I was not," Sefu only nodded his head, before turning his attention towards the other person that seemed to have been completely forgotten in the group,
"You were the one who defeated Jamba?" Sefu then said as he slowly made his way towards Riley. Rednewt, who felt slightly ignored, could not help but hiss; but did not really do anything drastic as he just turned his attention towards the whitest American he had probably seen in his life.
And it wasn't only him; Julian, as well as Gintsune who was standing from afar, started to look at Riley. They have actually been curious about him since he was standing near 2 Mega Students since earlier… and now another one seemed to have something to say to him.
"I am, Sefu," Riley nodded.
"The medical practitioners are saying he is alright, but he has not said a single word ever since he regained consciousness," Sefu then said as he looked down on Riley, their eye levels almost half a meter apart, "You were also the last ones to finish their match…
...What did you do to him?"
"Cleaned his bones."
"...What?"
"W… wait, wait!" With Sefu walking even closer to Riley, Silvie could not help it anymore and stood between them, "Riley won fair and square, if he didn't then the match would have been stopped!"
"..." Sefu only glanced at Silvie, before once again looking Riley straight in the eyes; Riley on the other hand was looking nowhere in particular. He remained staring at him for a few more seconds, before leaving without even saying another word.
"I suppose that's my queue to leave as well," Julian tapped his cane on the floor again before winking at Silvie and Alisa, "If neither of you Mega Ladies has something to do tonight, may I ask for you to accompany me and we shall bask in the beautiful lights of the Festival?"
"Nyet."
"Nyet, but thank you."
"I see," Julian then smiled as he once again bowed, "Very well, then I suppose it is only I and Gintsune who shall be walking through the fake moonlight, Let us go, my Japanese… friend?"
Julian looked towards where Gintsune was previously standing, only to see her no longer there.
"..." Julian then turned his head towards Rednewt, looking at him from head to toe before letting out a long sigh and leaving, "I suppose I shall walk alone."
"Hmph, I am off as well," Rednewt then clicked his tongue before taking his leave as well.
"He… sort of reminds me of Ga-- of Dragon Monarch. Don't you think so?"
"I see the similarity, American Mega Girl."
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen him all day."
"He's in house arrest."
"...What?"
"But we should be able to see him tonight, American Mega Girl."
"I--"
"I'll leave you two love birds to it, then."
And before Silvie could say another word, Alisa's childish giggles reached her ears, "I hope to see you around outside the events as well, Silvie. The two of you should visit our housing sometime soon, I am sure the others would be delighted to meet you since we're all from the same country. Wait, Now that I think about it…"
Alisa was about to leave, but as soon as she took her third step, she once again turned towards Silvie,
"2 out of the 7 Mega Students that are here right now are from Russia."
"...I guess? My father is of American descent, though," Silvie muttered.
"Doesn't matter…
...Russia No. 1!"
And with that, Alisa left, her laughter slowly fading away as she disappeared into the distance of the underground.
"..."
"Shall… we go find the others?"
"I suppose so, American Mega Girl."
And with that, all the Mega Students left the underground resting area. Well, all except the Mega Student of Singapore, who was standing near where the gathering happened, his eyes completely empty.
He was waiting for a chance to join in on the fray; but alas, before he could do so, they all left.
Maybe next time, Singapore.
***
"Oh, look who's back."
"What's up, what's up! Dragon Monarch's up!"
With the events for the day done and the festivities still ongoing, most of the students were now once again enjoying the hundreds of booths and activities all around USMA. However, some of them could not help but move to the side as a tall and seemingly muscular man suddenly started dancing out of nowhere as he approached his friends.
"Did you all miss me!?" Gary then clapped his hand, before taking the chicken nuggets that Tomoe was eating away from her hand and proceeding to eat all of it without hesitation.
"..."
"How's life in jail?" Hannah let out a small sigh before handing her corndog to Tomoe.
"Ah, you know. Same old, same old," Gary also let out a sigh of his own as he looked towards the horizon, which was filled with people, "But I see a lot has changed since I was gone. I don't remember this place being like this," he then said, his eyes filled with nostalgia.
"...You've only been gone for 24 hours," Silvie breathed out.
"Oh, has it been that long?" Gary then said as he squinted his eyes, "I suppose time moves even without the presence of the Dragon Monarch. Riley, my brother, I now see the error of my ways-- thank you for stopping me before I could ravage the world with my insolence."
"You got pissed drunk, what are you saying?" Hannah let out a small scoff as she seemed to have bought another corndog.
"It's all part of the plan," Gary then said as he covered one of his eyes with his hand, "I watched all of you from the shadows… and speaking of shadow, where's Hurricane Boobies?"
"...What?"
"Riley's assistant, you know," Gary muttered as he fondled his armored chest, "Katrina."
"I believe she is conditioning herself for the Race even tomorrow, Dragon Monarch," Riley answered, "And she is not my assistant, she and I are of equal rank in the Police Force."
"Oho, of course she's not your assistant. I heard from someone that he heard from someone that someone saw her kissing you on the cheeks."
"Wait… what?" Hannah almost choked on her corndog, "When did this happen!?"
"Last night," Gary then said as he let out a small condescending chuckle, "I told you…
...I watch from the shadows."
"Riley…
….I am going to tell mother that you're playing with women's feelings!"
And just like that, the first day of the Festival ended without a hitch.
***
"Hey, you! You shouldn't be here!"
In one of the many spacious and restricted hallways that the Academy had underground, a group of guards was walking around happily talking, with food in their hands no doubt from one of the booths above ground. Their conversations, however, were cut short as they saw someone casually standing ahead of them.
"Who are you!?"
The group continued to approach the man; who seemed to be wearing a very tight suit that completely formed across the lines of his body, but perhaps the most noticeable of all was the jet-black motorcycle helmet he was wearing.
"Hey y--"
And before the group of guards could approach any further, the man suddenly disappeared. The guards were about to signal for reinforcements, but before they could do so an echoing thud traveled through the hallway-- and with it, their bodies falling one by one.
The air around the three then distorted, once again revealing the stranger. The stranger then picked up one of the guards by his hair, causing the guard to slightly let out a groan. The stranger then faced the guard's face right in front of him; and almost instantly, without even any signs or flickers, just a static really… and the stranger's helmet disappeared.
Revealing a face… that was the same face as the guard he was holding.
"Mr. Wednesday here," the stranger then said as he pressed something on his neck, "Infiltration successful…
....I'm in."
Chapter 74"Infiltration successful…
...I'm in."
[Thank you for your hard work, sir. We've also contacted Ms. Sunday as you ordered, she says her team is ready to move at any moment at your advice.]
"Alright. Keep your lines open, January."
[Roger that, Mr. Wednesday.]
"..." With the communication line cutting off, Mr. Wednesday quickly looked around him if there was anything amiss; but as soon as he confirmed that there was no one moving in the hallway, his jet-black suit instantly changed to that of the guards.
And now, with his face and uniform… and even his voice similar to one of the guards he incapacitated, there should be no one who would be able to see through his disguise that easily. Mr. Wednesday then moved the unconscious guards to the side of the hallway, before placing his hand on his back. And seemingly, out of thin air, a cloth appeared as he slightly pulled his hand.
And with him fully stretching his arm to the side, the cloth was revealed to be a large blanket. He then immediately placed the blanket on the guards, making sure to cover them completely; and with a snap of his fingers, the blanket instantly disappeared… along with the 3 guards.
"Rest for a few days," Mr. Wednesday then whispered as he started to walk through the Academy's spacious underground hallways. At his 5th step, however, he once again snapped his fingers. And as soon as he did so, several linens fell from the ceiling, revealing the cameras that were placed all over the ceiling of the hallway.
"Now, where could you be…
...Riley Ross."
***
"Too bad for those who lost… but they were just too rough. I don't want my hero to be handling me like that. Uwu!"
"..."
With Ben Jackson once again hosting the event, those who lost the Race event could not help but be even more depressed of their defeat; it was as if his every moan pierced their ears, crawling until it reached and crushed their already broken hearts.
They have been training for this for months, but to think the Academy added one single factor that completely changed everything for them. Just one single object, and the training that most of them did completely withered away.
A package. Containing a dozen eggs that they needed to bring to the finish line-- if even one is cracked, then it didn't matter if they came first; they would be disqualified.
One of those that were disqualified just happened to be Hurricane Katrina. She was doing fine halfway through the race since she was able to control her wind abilities quite well-- but alas, there was one single thing she forgot… her breasts were too big. When she went over an obstacle, she let the package flow with her using bits of wind. But as she was about to catch it, it landed on her breasts… and the rest were history.
"Haa…" Katrina could only look at the bleachers where Riley was previously watching, but found that he was no longer there, "Hm…
...Maybe next time."
At the same time, the first elimination of the Kata competition had also come to an end; with Tomoe being the one to end it with a bang, a literal bang. She created multiple ice spheres with multiple gaps inside, vibrating them at an extremely high speed until the steam caused by the sudden change of temperature erupted-- creating an explosion that had an even stronger impact than a grenade, creating a rain of craters around the empty arena when it was over.
Of course, she did all this while staring down on one particular judge, Katherine, aka, Scarlet Mage, aka, Silver Moon, aka, First Subordinate but not for long, aka, Greatest Pedo-- according to Tomoe.
Obviously, she was able to move on to the next stage. There were actually already veteran Supers with the same ability who were able to do the same... but to do so with as many as she did and all at the same time truly cemented her as one of the favorites to win the exhibition.
And now, with the Kata and Race competition over, the students were scrambling to get seats to the next event-- The 2nd Elimination round of the Combat Tournament.
It might not seem fair that the Kata and Race competition were held at the same time, while the Combat Tournament and Rescue Event had an exclusive time allotted only for them… but that's just how it is; even the Academy itself had predicted that the two events would garner most of the attention of the people.
"Oh man, so our fated battle is finally happening."
"..."
And now, with the Combat tournament about to start, Riley was once again wondering why there was another person mentioning talks of fate to him.
Unlike the round yesterday, the arena was now a desert wasteland, and one could even see the other combatants from other zones as the only obstacles that could be seen were pieces of debris from what seemed to be broken ships and other types of vehicles.
As for the person in front of Riley right now, she was from the same class-- Bella Jackson, aka, Black Bell.
"It has been a while since we last talked, Black Bell," Riley nodded as a greeting, "But… why are you talking about fate as well?"
"...As well?" Bella slightly squinted her eyes, the metal mask that was covering the lower half of her face was moving with her mouth, "We didn't get the chance to compete with each other during the 2nd day, remember?"
"The 2nd day?"
"Scarlet Mage took you off the group since she needed an 'assistant'," Bella breathed out, doing air quotes with her fingers as she reached the last word of her sentence, "Remember? Or is the only thing you remembered the thing you did after the class!?"
"No. I remember, Black Bell," Riley once again nodded, "You fainted--"
"Enough talk, old friend!" Bella got into some type of martial arts stance before Riley could finish his words, "Let's dance!"
Bella then slid her left foot forward on the sand, before stretching both her arms to the side and sticking them back together. And as she did so, the metal container that was peacefully resting near Riley split in half; creating a screeching noise as they suddenly shot towards him, threatening to swallow him whole.
And before it could completely swallow Riley, Bella folded her arm into a 90-degree angle; causing the already torn container van to split into 4 pieces, completely trapping Riley inside. She did not stop there, however, as she closed both her hands into a fist-- crumpling the metal cage into a ball.
Bella was still not satisfied, however, as the veins on her hands began to show as she used all of her strength-- without hesitation, without holding anything back. The large metal ball, however, soon turned into the shape of a human.
"You… fucking monster," Bella then breathed out as her hands started to tremble. Her raw power with manipulating metal was enough to compress a whole airplane into the size of a bowling ball, and for the cage she made to turn into Riley's shape would only mean that his telekinesis was strong enough to counteract hers.
It wasn't fair, she thought. Riley was able to move everything with his mind, while she can only control things with metal properties.
At the very least, she shouldn't lose when it comes to controlling metal.
"Riley Ross!" She was about to let out a roar and use the last of her strength to compress the metal even further, but before she could do so, she heard a voice seeping from the metal statue in front of her.
"I am afraid you are going to faint again if you use your powers like that, Black Bell."
"You--"
And before Bella could even respond to Riley's words, the metal cage she painstakingly made with almost all of her strength was ripped open like tissue paper as Riley took a step forward.
"You can't win against me with your telekinetic abilities, Black Bell," Riley then let out a short but deep sigh as he waved his hand, and as he did so, the ocean of sand beneath them began to tremble.
"What… are you doing?" Bella then said as her eyes turned to look at the ground.
"This."
And as soon as Riley's word reached Bella's ears, she felt the ground beneath her disappear. If it wasn't for her costume being made of metal, then she would have probably fallen a few meters towards the silver floor.
...Silver floor?
Bella then quickly turned to look at Riley, only to see him also floating in the air. That is not what caught her eye, however. But instead, it was the mountain of sand that now surrounded the perimeter of their zone.
"Did you… just push all of the sand away?" Bella whispered. But after a few seconds, she shook her head and let out a short but deep sigh, "If this is your way of showing that you're stronger than me, it worked."
Bella then slightly bit her lip as she looked at Riley, "It's your win, I surren--"
"Judging by your movements, you are a practitioner of martial arts, Black Bell?"
"...Sorry?" Bella then blinked her eyes a couple of times as she saw Riley slowly descending towards the silver floor; casually taking off his long white coat and proceeding to fold it before carefully placing it on the floor.
"What... are you doing?" Bella curiously muttered as she too, slowly descended to the floor.
"You were using Shaolin Kung Fu earlier, correct?" Riley then muttered as he got into the same stance that Bella did earlier, "You still would not be able to win against me, but as you said earlier...
....Let's dance."
Chapter 75With the combatants of the Combat tournament now only half of what it was during the first day, allowing some leeway for the audience to watch a match that didn't involve a Mega Student. Most of the students of USMA still had their eyes glued to Silvie's match…
...But not Class 1-V.
As for Class 1-V, rather than watching Silvie's match, their eyes were all on Riley and Bella. Silvie's match was already done before it started since the one she was fighting was relatively unknown and not even a Mega Student. But Riley and Bella?
This was the chance to finally settle who has the strongest telekinetic ability amongst their class. Although Bella did not win during the group activity during the 2nd day since she fainted, she was indisputably the one who has the highest raw telekinetic power in their class.
And as for Riley, he was not able to join the activity because of Scarlet Mage-- but all of them knew that his control was the best of them all due to past incidents involving him.
All of them were excited and initially thought that Bella would win since she was the first to strike. The match, however, was put on a complete hold when Riley changed the terrain-- it was as if Riley was telling her that the difference between their telekinetic abilities was massive.
With that, the match was over. Most of them could only sigh as Bella slowly raised her hand to surrender. It should have been over-- but when Riley suddenly took off his white long coat and got into some sort of martial art stance, all of them could not help but howl like little monkeys that managed to escape from the zoo.
And because of this, the other students that were near them could not help but be curious-- their eyes also landing on Riley and Bella's match.
"What… Why isn't Riley ending it!? Finish her! Fatality!"
"...It's a good thing you were replaced."
And one of those howling like a monkey, was none other than Gary-- his head even wildly flailing as he threw the popcorn in his hands.
"Anyway, this match is as good as done anyway. I'll be preparing for the Rescue event."
Hannah grabbed Gary's face; and with force, pulled him back towards his seat before standing up and walking away. But when she saw Tomoe following her, she quickly raised her palm.
"It's fine, you go and finish the match, you don't have to follow me every time, you know."
"But Riley said that--"
"What are you, his servant?" Hannah rolled her eyes, "I'll be fine, go and enjoy. You're about to see Riley murder someone."
"...Murder?"
"That Bella girl probably stood a better chance when they were still fighting with their powers..." Hannah breathed out as she continued to leave,
"...But now, she's fucked."
"Oh, fucked how?" Gary quickly motioned obscenities with his hands as soon as he heard Hannah's words.
"You shouldn't have been let out of your room," Hannah muttered, "Remember when I told you Riley was better than even me at martial arts? I wasn't exaggerating that. He…
...once managed to hit dad."
***
"...Let's dance."
"Heh, I am starting to like you more and more, Riley Ross."
"My opinion of you still remains the same, Black Bell."
With Riley putting up his stance, the only thing that Bella could do was let out a small smirk as she too, landed on the ground. And after only looking at Riley for a few seconds, she started walking towards him, and while she did so; her costume, which was made with metal plates stacked on each other, slowly fell on the floor.
This continued on until her smooth, and slightly toned dark skin revealed itself; leaving her with only her mask, tank-top, and some sort of workout leggings.
"Let's dance, then," and now, with her only a meter away from Riley, she chuckled; raising both her hands almost to her chin, her palm facing forward as she slightly moved her left leg forward and raised it, "Mano a mano, just how I like--"
"Wait, Black Bell."
"...Ha?"
Bella was about to strike, but before she could do so, Riley suddenly removed his stance and walked towards where he folded his long coat. And without even saying a word and his back towards her, he slowly unbuttoned his vest and took it off.
"What… are you doing?" Bella raised an eyebrow.
"It is only proper that I too, strip down to the bare necessities, Black Bell," Riley muttered as he then unbuttoned his shirt.
"!!!"
And as soon as he did so, Bella could not help but take in a huge gulp as soon as he saw Riley's bare back. Of course, it was obvious that it was going to be as white as his face… but what Bella did not expect was the lines chiseled on his back.
With his skin… it literally almost looked the same as those greek statues-- every muscle sculpted to perfection. Riley had always been wearing clothes that covered most of his entire body straight down to his cuffs. Even before they were asked to wear their superhero costumes at all times, he was always wearing long sleeves or a jacket.
So all this time… he was hiding that underneath his clothes?
"!!!"
Bella once again took a huge gulp as Riley finally turned towards her; almost choking in her own breath as her eyes widened almost to the point that they reached her ears. Ever since she was young, she knew that she liked women… but seeing Riley like this almost made her doubt her own preference.
She tried dating men before, but it just doesn't click with her. And for it to almost break from the whitest man possible, in a literal sense, of course, was almost ironic.
Well, almost. Even with Riley literally being a Greek statue chiseled to perfection, the warm feeling she gets from seeing a woman was nowhere to be found. Realizing this, the only thing she could do was let out a small but deep sigh as she tightened her stance.
"Forgive me for not taking off my pants, Black Bell," Riley then muttered as he returned in front of Bella, "I am only wearing underwear beneath these fine pants."
"...No, that's alright," Bella let out a small chuckle, "Rather than your pants… I am more distracted by the fact that you're still wearing your sunglasses; you look like a stripper."
"...Right, thank you for reminding me."
"N--" Bella was about to say something, but when she noticed the color of Riley's eyes she could not help but blink a couple of times. They were almost a light red… pink even. Didn't Riley have blue eyes?
However, after a few more blinks, she noticed that they were, in fact, blue, almost bordering on silver.
Was she… just imagining things? Bella then shook her head as she once again tightened her stance.
"Enough talk, let's do this."
"..." Riley then once again got into a stance, this time, once again copying the stance that Bella had.
"Tch," and with the click of Bella's tongue signaling the start of their brawl, she was the first to strike.
She leaped towards Riley, her knees threatening to slice his chin. Riley, however, quickly moved his head back to avoid it; leaving only an inch of space between his chin and Bella's knee.
Bella's attack did not stop there as she used Riley's leg as some sort of foothold, allowing her other leg to have enough force to snap the back of her foot towards Riley's face.
Riley rotated his entire body in response before her foot could reach his face, and without any pause, he pushed the foot away-- using the momentum it already had to create more force, causing Bella to lose balance.
And with her body now falling horizontally, she could feel her vision blur as the back of her head was suddenly caught by Riley's knee. It did not stop there, however, as she saw Riley's unusually white elbow coming down towards her face-- it was almost as if Riley was trying to swallow her entire head.
"!!!"
A loud bang then thundered as Riley's elbow landed on her face-- or at least it should have been her face.
"..." Riley then quickly leaped back, allowing Bella to fall on the ground with a slight clang.
"S… shit," Bella's muffled words then seeped out from the metallic helmet that suddenly covered her entire head, "I… I panicked."
Bella then stood up as she took off the metal plate covering her face, "L… Let's start again, I promise I won't be using my power--"
And before she could even finish her words, her vision was suddenly blocked by Riley's fist. She quickly ducked to avoid it, only to meet another fist heading straight towards her nose. And due to her surprise, she could not help but once again block her face with a metal plate that came from her costume.
"W… wait, that wasn't--"
And once again, before she could even finish her words, a fist once again came her way. She could not help but wince as the sound of Riley's fist exploded on her face; if it wasn't for the fact that there was a metal plate protecting her, then her face would have definitely been destroyed.
Riley already changed his stance… if she was right, then he was currently boxing. She had no time to admire it, however, as the only thing she could do was back away as Riley continued with his barrage-- not seeming to even mind that she was already using her powers to protect herself.
This… this was a shameful display. Even if she was outmatched, she shouldn't be hiding behind her abilities when Riley was doing his best not to even use an ounce of his telekinetic abilities.
"..." And so, with a short but deep breath, Bella decided to throw the metal plates away, "I'm done hiding, let's--"
What followed, however…
....was the sound of her ribs cracking into multiple pieces.
Chapter 76The inside of a blender.
Bella had always wondered what it would feel like if you accidentally stuck your hand inside a blender when it's running. She initially thought that being hit hard enough for your ribs to crack would just be a similar pain to having a fracture, but she was wrong.
The feeling she was feeling right now was probably what it felt like for her inside to be mangled by a blender. There was this fluctuating numbing sensation crawling inside of her as well, amplifying the pain she was feeling with every beat.
She could feel herself fainting. No, in fact, she was trying to-- but the pain she was feeling was keeping her awake as her face groveled on the silver floor.
"..." As Bella was writhing in pain, the only thing that Riley could do was take a few steps back. It would seem he got too excited; becoming careless enough that he put too much strength in his strike.
Of course, the fault can not solely be blamed on him. Bella suddenly removed the metal plate that was shielding her, not giving him enough time to adjust the power of his punch.
"..." Well, this could have gone worse. After all…
...the raw strength he had was the same as Mega Woman.
"Keuhk!" The silver floor started to be stained by red as Bella started puking blood; and as soon as she did so, the perimeter of their zone lit up in Red instead of the usual blue-- indicating that the match was over and one was gravely injured.
It was almost a direct hit to the liver; with multiple rib fractures causing a punctured lung. Just a few inches more and the bones that were now like shrapnels would pierce Bella's heart.
"I find it interesting you're still conscious, Black Bell," Riley then muttered as he continued to watch Bella gasping for breath, "You must be used to pain. But please don't move or the tiny bones inside your body will go through your heart."
"Move, move!"
Riley then quickly moved a few steps back; making way for the 4 people that were suddenly descending from the air. And as soon as they landed, they quickly rushed to check on Bella.
"Multiple fractures on the ribcage; liver trauma; nearest shrapnel to the heart is only 3.75cm away. Not good, we need to take her to the ward ASAP."
...X-ray vision? Quite a rare power-- Riley thought as he watched the 4 people take care of Bella.
"What's the student still doing here!? Move him away!"
One of the medics was about to grab Riley and assist him out of the zone, but before the medic could do so, Riley moved to the side.
"I can't leave here, medics."
"Go, Riley Ross. Your friend will be alright."
"No," Riley shook his head, "If I leave here, I might forget that I am preserving the shape of the sand-- all of you will be swallowed."
"...What?"
The medics quickly turned their heads to the perimeter; they didn't notice it before, but the wall of sand was perfectly in a flat hollow cylinder.
Does that mean… he was holding this while he was fighting with his opponent? Just what kind of monster was the Academy breeding?
"...Let's transport the patient first. Bren, can you float her away without moving her torso?"
"That's--"
"I'll do it," but before the medic called Bren could say another word, Riley raised his hand, "I caused this, after all."
The medics all looked at Riley, who was surprisingly already completely dressed. And without even waiting for the medics to respond, Bella started to float in the air. The head of the medic group was about to open her mouth, but as soon as she noticed that Bella's entire body was as if completely frozen, with her hair not even moving a single bit-- she just ordered the others to prepare to leave.
"No time to be amazed, let's go."
And with that, Bren raised his hands and carefully floated the rest of the medic group. Riley's eyes quickly looked at the other combatants as they flew in the air; and his eyes immediately caught Silvie, who was already done with her match.
Silvie also quickly noticed Riley flying with the medic group and could not help but be curious. She truly wanted to follow them to see what was going on, but since they were ordered not to leave their zone until all matches are over, the only thing she could do was wave at Riley.
"..." Riley also waved back, but as soon as he did so, the eerily quiet audience all let out unshackled cheers and roars.
"He… hehe," and one of them was Gary, who was laughing menacingly as he looked at his phone, "With this video… my channel subscribers would surely pierce the heavens! Tomoe, let us leave this mortal plane since Riley and Silvie's match is over…
...Tomoe?"
Gary was about to scooch to the side but noticed that Tomoe was not moving even one bit.
"T… Tomoe?" Gary then could not help but take in a huge gulp as he heard something coming out of Tomoe's mouth, "You… you alright?"
"Kek…"
"K… Kek?"
"Kek… kekekeke!" Dark steam slowly started to fume from Tomoe's body as a smile crawled on her face, almost ripping out her cheeks with how wide it was. Her eyes were also moving erratically at a very high speed as she stared at her phone.
Gary took in another gulp as he slowly took a peek at her phone…
...only to see a bunch of Riley's shirtless photos.
"You need help," Gary immediately muttered, "...
...Can I have one as a thumbnail?"
***
"We need more eyes here! Possible heart puncture if not treated quickly!"
"Prep the ETT!"
"Riley Ross, thank you for your help, but I am afraid you're not allowed inside the Ward."
"I actually am, medic," Riley then quickly grabbed something from his pocket; before proceeding to wear it around his arm.
"...Okay," And as soon as the medic saw the words 'Police Force' on the armband, the only thing he could do was let out a sigh as he gestured to Riley to go inside, "You must really be concerned for your friend."
"Maybe," Riley shrugged as he nonchalantly entered the so-called Ward. And as its name suggests, the Ward truly did look similar to a hospital's ward… other than the fact that the medical apparatus that were scattered everywhere was not something you would find in a normal hospital.
"ETT Ready!"
"..." Riley watched as the medics carefully inserted Bella into some kind of tube similar to an MRI scanner-- except the bed that Bella was resting on was floating.
Alien technology? Riley once again thought as he looked at all the apparatus inside the Ward.
"It's a miracle her heart wasn't punctured. According to the ballistics and impact of the hit, the bone should have gone straight for her heart," one of the medics then let out a huge sigh of relief, "Nice work transporting her here, Riley Ross. Maybe I should ask the Academy for you to help us more-- Riley Ross?"
The medic turned his head towards where Riley should be waiting, only to find that he was no longer there.
"Still a kid, after all…
...Maybe he couldn't take the atmosphere here."
***
"..."
Riley was now walking across one of the Academy's colossal hallways that were normally restricted to normal students. Well, it was a good thing that he wasn't a normal student.
Riley turned his head towards the endless cameras that were plastered on the ceiling, making sure that his Police Force armband was being seen. He continued to walk through the hallway, his eyes as if searching for something.
And after a few more minutes, he stopped and faced a wall.
"..." He stared at this part of the wall for a few seconds, before slightly sliding his foot forward. And as soon as he did so, the part of the floor where his foot made contact with slightly distorted in shape.
He once again stared at this weird distortion, before casually moving his foot back and patting the distorted area, returning it to normal.
"Hm…
...Dark Millenium is earlier than expected."
***
"Ladies and gentlemen…
...welcome onboard flight ***V6 with service from Los Angeles to Miami. We are currently 6th in…"
"Mommy, mommy! Look at him, look at him!"
"J… Julie! What did I tell you about pointing at people!? It's rude!" A woman was currently trying her best to stop her daughter from pointing at the people walking past by their seat, apologizing to each of them.
Most of the passersby did not mind, however, as they only smiled and waved at the child. The woman could not really blame her daughter for being excited, after all, she was finally visiting her grandmother after a very long time of not seeing her.
"Julie, don't be too noisy when--"
"Mommy, look! It's an angel!"
"Julie! What did I just tell--"
"It's alright, madam."
"N… no, Julie say sorr--" The woman was about to reprimand her child, but as soon as she saw the face of the person her daughter was pointing to, she could not help but take in a small gulp.
"I am actually seated next to you, madam. May I pass?"
"S… Sure," the woman could only let out a stutter as she could not help but stare at the young man's face. Although his head was covered by a hoodie, it was hard not to notice his skin that almost reflected the sun that seeped from the tiny windows of the plane.
"Mommy! The angel is so close!"
"D… don't touch him! I… I really am sorry for this."
"It's quite alright, madam," the young man then smiled, almost making the woman take in a small gasp with how pure he looked, "Children are just…
...curious creatures."
Chapter 77"Oi bro, where were you!? The event has already started!"
"How's Bella? Is she going to be alright?"
Even with all the incessant roars and cheers pestering the air, Gary's voice was enough to filter all of them out as Gary waved to Riley, gesturing to him that they saved him a seat. The Rescue event had just started about a minute ago, so there really wasn't anything worthwhile happening just yet.
"She will be fine, Silvie," Riley casually answered as he took his seat beside Tomoe, "I am late for the reason that I got lost in the Academy's hallways."
"R… right," Gary then slightly whispered as he leaned closer to Riley, slightly touching Silvie's thighs as he did so; this, of course, got him the brunt of Silvie's palm. He did not seem to mind, however, as he continued to look at Riley, "So… what secrets did you find inside? You got inside the restricted areas, right? Are there aliens and some shit?"
"As much as I want that to be true, Gary. I am afraid I did not see any signs of Mega Woman there," Riley breathed out, "Maybe if I had more time, I could explore it more."
"Master, it seems big sister Hannah is in a bit of trouble."
"Hm?"
Hearing Tomoe's words, Riley quickly turned his attention back to the screen; only to see Hannah battling it out with someone.
"What the…" Gary was the first to react, however, as he quickly recognized who Hannah was fighting with; one of the only other people in the Academy to ever subdue him and make him shut his mouth.
***
"!!!"
"A… are you okay!?"
"I'm… fine."
"Please stay here and hide… I'll just deal with this."
Hannah was on her way to get one of the citizens to safety, but halfway through the nearest one yellow flag, someone wearing a Red ribbon around her arm suddenly blocked her path-- a Villain role. This left her with no choice but to gently drop the distressed citizen she was carrying somewhere safe.
Hannah was about to rush towards the villain, but as soon as she saw who it was, she could not help but stop in her tracks.
"Haha! You will never defeat me, hero scum!"
"C… Charlotte!?"
The one playing the villain role was none other than Charlotte, the cashier of the Korean Shaved Ice store that she and the others regularly visit. Even with the mask she was wearing, it was easy and obvious to see that it was her simple for the fact that… she was still wearing her store uniform.
"Charlotte!? Who is that!?" Charlotte then stretched her arms to the side before turning them counter-clockwise, landing on some sort of pose, "It is me, the Raging Underpaid Employee Girl!"
"W… What?" Hannah breathed out, "Are you even a Supe--"
And before Hannah could even finish her words, she felt a slight breeze pass by her; followed by a trickle of warmth flowing across her left cheek.
Warmth. Throughout Hannah's life, the only times she would ever feel a slight rise in temperature crawling through her skin is whenever this one simple thing happens to her-- she was bleeding.
Hannah quickly touched her left cheek, only for her hand to slightly be covered in blood.
"What in…"
"On your right!"
This time, with Charlotte's words, Hannah was able to move to the side, her whole body quickly being engulfed by a fiery fire as she leaped through the air-- only stopping as the wall of a building touched her back.
Hannah quickly focused her vision; her eyes moving swiftly as they tried to search for their opponent. But even after almost a full 10 seconds of her eyes scanning the area, Charlotte was nowhere to be found.
"...Where?" Hannah whispered, her hands and foot embedded in the slightly scorched and melted wall as her head continued to slowly move. She waited for another second, before letting out a sigh and letting herself drop.
It would seem the villains only serve as a distraction to keep you from rescuing any of the Distressed Citize--
"!!!"
And as soon as Hannah's feet landed on the ground, a loud thunderous eruption exploded behind her as the walls of the building collapsed from the inside; she did not even have time to react before a pair of arms wrapped around her; her thighs, also locked by the leg that quickly embraced around it.
The only thing Hannah could do was kneel on the ground, gritting her teeth as she removed the fire engulfing her body.
"Oh, why did you remove the fire?"
Charlotte's piercing words then whispered in her ear as she tightened her hold on her. The cheers and roars of the audience also almost pierced her ears, as they all howled and screamed as they saw Hannah being bound; her large and toned buttocks being squished.
"Y… you'll get hurt," Hannah tried to remove Charlotte's arms... but found that she was not even able to budge it for even a single millimeter.
"Me?" Charlotte chuckled, "Hurt by fire? Lesson No. 1, dear patron-- learn to judge your opponent so you can run for your life."
"W… What?" Hannah then could not help but take in a small breath as fumes started to emerge from Charlotte's arms.
"It will be a very long time before you can hurt me," and as soon as Charlotte said that, a trickle started to appear around her body-- followed by the sound of a hiss as her whole body was engulfed in fire.
"Oh, interesting power. I've controlled fire before… this isn't it."
Hannah could then feel herself able to breathe normally again as Charlotte backed away.
"This is dangerous," Charlotte then muttered as the flames around her body began to die down, "I'll let you go just for the fact that you could control something like this."
Hannah could still feel her throat wanting to cough, but refused not to do so as she stared at Charlotte, "Who… who the fuck are you?"
"Who am I?" Charlotte then once again rotated her arms before doing some sort of superhero post, "I am The Raging Underpaid Employee Girl!"
"Wha--"
"I still need to prepare the store or they will cut my salary again," Charlotte then said as her figure slowly disappeared, "Also, tell your father he still hasn't paid me back with his debt; that's why I'm struggling here."
"...What the fuck?" Hannah could only blurt out as Charlotte suddenly disappeared into thin air.
"What the fuck was that?" Hannah could only repeat her words as she stood up. But after staring at nothing for a few seconds, she clicked her tongue and rushed away. Battling it out with Charlotte took a lot of her time-- she reckoned that if she didn't rescue at least 5 more citizens, then she would surely not move on to the next round.
And so, Hannah leaped to the skies with all of her might; almost as if a pair of wings were violently waving behind her.
"H… Help me!"
And without even a second of her floating in the air, a piercing cry whispered into her ears. She quickly looked towards where the voice was coming from, only to see a man hanging for his life on the edge of the roof of one of the tallest buildings in the arena.
"I'm coming!"
The flames on her back once again fluttered violently as her body shot straight towards the roof of the building, expertly extinguishing the fires surrounding her body as soon as her feet landed on the ground. And without any pause, she ran towards the Distressed Citizen.
She then quickly grabbed the man's arm, pulling him up without any effort and gently sliding him on the floor.
"Are you alright? Does anything hurt?" Hannah quickly asked.
"My… my chest hurts, I… I can't breathe."
"Let me check, sir," Hannah crouched on the ground, carefully removing the man's jacket. Hannah was expecting another paint or marker etched on the man's chest; however, before her hand could reach the man, she noticed something beneath the man's jacket.
"That's--"
But before she could say another word, the man suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her forward as he swiftly moved behind her; tightly wrapping his arms around Hannah's neck.
"Don't move," the man then said as his voice slowly distorted, "And don't even try to use your powers, you saw what's underneath my clothes, right?"
"You… what--"
And before Hannah could even finish her words, she heard a slight static whispering in her ears; and as soon as it was over, the man's appearance became completely different than before. His face that seemed like any other normal adult male, was now covered in a jet-black helmet.
"D… Dark Millenium!?" Hannah said as she was about to struggle; but as soon as she remembered what she saw under the man's clothes, she quickly calmed herself down-- because wrapped around the man's torso...
...was a bomb.
"Cooperate," the member of the Dark Millenium whispered, "And you will move on from this situation completely unharmed, Ms. Hannah Ross."
"What… what do you want from me!?" Hannah whispered, her breaths starting to become heavier with each second. And it would seem the audience has noticed her situation as well, as they all became quiet-- with only their gasps and whispers traveling the coliseum.
"Not from you," the man's voice then started to become louder as he let out a short but deep breath; his head directly facing the drone floating in front of them.
"My name is Mr. Wednesday," the man then proclaimed, "Riley Ross...
...We need you to come with us."
Chapter 78"We are currently cruising at an altitude of 36,000 feet at an airspeed of…"
"Angel! Angel!"
"I… I'm really sorry about this!"
"You don't need to keep apologizing, madam. It's quite alright, let her play."
"Thank you."
The mother's sigh was almost enough to lighten the plane itself as she nodded to the hooded young man seated beside her and her daughter. It has almost been an hour now, and her daughter still was not tired of moving around; even kicking the seats in front of her because of her excitement.
"Really sorry," the mother once again apologized, "It's just that… this is our first time flying without her father. He… will usually be seated where you--"
"He's an angel, mommy! Look!"
"J… Julie, no!"
And before the mother could even pull her daughter's hand away, it was already too late as she had already grabbed onto the young man's hoodie, successfully pulling it away.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," the mother once again apologized, "M… Maybe we should just exchange--"
And before she could even finish her words, she could not help but squint her eyes as the young man's hair completely reflected the seeping sun straight coming from the windows.
"T… that's," the mother was going to apologize again, but she could not help but be distracted by the young man's overall appearance.
"See, mommy!? I told you…
...He's an angel!"
***
"T… The Dark Millenium!"
"S… shit, so they really are also in this country."
"They took my friends!"
"R… Riley Ross? Isn't that the one from 1-V? What do they want from him!?"
"Where… where are the teachers!?"
"How… how did they even get inside!? I thought USMA was the most secure of all the Academies!"
"F… fuck, Hannah!"
"Gary, no!"
Although the students were trying their best to only let out a whisper, their nervous breaths that filled the entire coliseum were enough to make an orchestra of their unease.
There were those wanting to run, and there were those wanting to jump on the arena to try and confront the man calling himself Mr. Wednesday.
But from their months of training, the first thing they learned not to do was make any sudden movements during a hostage situation. One needs to be calm, listen carefully to every word that the hostage-taker is saying, and try to empathize with him.
However, there was one other factor that they were not trained in yet-- the hostage-taker has a bomb clasped in his body. And judging from their first encounter with the Dark Millenium, they were more than capable of killing themselves when they realize they are going to be captured.
"What!? Are we just going to watch!?"
"That's exactly what we need to do, sit down."
But of course, when the one being taken hostage is a friend or a family member, then one could not help but be drowned with worrying emotions. And so, right now, Silvie was currently trying her best to pin down Gary back on the bleachers.
"You don't need to calm down, but you need to stay put," Silvie then said as she looked Gary straight in the eyes. Silvie's voice held a certain authority and calmness in it… her trembling eyes, however, quickly showed how worried she actually was.
Seeing this, Gary took in a small but deep breath before patting Silvie's arm, "...You're right, it's not the time to be rash."
"Hm," Silvie nodded as she removed her arm and carefully sat back on her side of the bleachers. Afterward, she turned to look at the situation in the arena; and almost instantly, her trembling eyes stopped.
"Illegal detention of… considered… act… terrorism… subjugate with force…
...kill if necessary."
"Did you… say something, Silv?"
"W… What?" And as soon as Silvie heard Gary's words, her eyes once again returned to normal; quickly shaking her head before looking at Riley, who also seemed to be looking at her.
"Are… are you alright?" Silvie then quickly asked.
"I am not the one being taken hostage, American Mega Girl."
It was hard to tell what Riley was feeling since he was wearing his sunglasses-- No, it was always hard to tell what he was really feeling even without it. But Silvie was sure that even someone as stoic as Riley; it's his sister currently in danger, after all.
"But… what are you going to do?"
And as soon as Silvie said that, not only Gary and Tomoe, but everyone within their earshot turned their heads towards the person named by the hostage-taker-- Riley.
"Respond and wait," Riley then said as he slowly stood up and floated in the air.
"W… What!? Stay here!" Silvie tried to grab Riley's ankle, but some sort of invisible armor was preventing her hand from wrapping around it, "W… Whiteking is the one controlling the drones, right? I am sure the Academy is already planning on taking action!"
"That does not change the fact that I was called, American Mega Girl."
"S… shit, we should come with you."
"I advise you to stay where you are, Dragon Monarch," Riley then said as he slowly floated towards the arena, "The same goes for you, Mega Girl and Tomoe."
"Is this really wise, master?" Tomoe also stood up from her seat, and unlike the rest of the students, her words held no stutter.
"We'll see."
And with that, Silvie and the others could only watch as Riley's figure became smaller and smaller as he made his way to the arena.
"Fuck! We should just gang up on the guy, there's like thousands of us here! What's the use of them teaching us if we can't apply them when it matters!?"
"That's just the thing, Gary…" Silvie then muttered as she sat back down, "We… are not ready yet."
"Most of you are ready, little girl. Just not for this."
"Whiteking!?"
With Whiteking suddenly appearing seemingly out of nowhere, the group could not help but slightly move back from their seats. And it wasn't only him, there were others behind him-- including Scarlet Mage, Spectacular Mustache Man, Nightwalker, and a number of other instructors.
"Shouldn't you be doing something!?"
"We are," Whiteking nodded, "We have actually already started apprehending the other members that are inside the Academy even before this."
"S… seriously?"
"Riley Ross was already aware that someone infiltrated the Academy," this time, it was Spectacular Mustache Man that spoke,
"He reported seeing three guards incapacitated in the hallways."
***
"You're Riley Ross?"
"...I am."
As soon as Riley landed on top of the roof, his eyes quickly turned to the multiple drones that were surrounding them; and with their voice echoing throughout the coliseum, it would seem they will be having an audience during their… negotiation.
"And you are Mr. Wednesday… from the Dark Millenium, I presume?"
"I am," Mr. Wednesday quickly nodded as he tightened his hold on Hannah; the voice that was coming out of his helmet, completely monotonous and indiscernible, "We need you to come with--"
"Are you comfortable, sister?"
"F… fuck you, Riley Ross."
"..."
With him suddenly being cut off, Mr. Wednesday could not help but slightly let out a small but deep sigh, "We need you to come with us, Riley Ross."
"We? Are you saying there are more of you inside the Academy, Mr. Wednesday?"
"Yes, so it would be best for you to comply-- we are not here to hurt anyone."
"But you are an evil organization that has already killed more than a hundred students, are you not?"
"That's not what--"
"Your leader is Darkday. He has killed millions and millions of people all over the world, laughing as he enjoyed their cries. You can't expect us to believe you're not here to hurt anyone?"
"T… that's right, tell him, Riley Ross," Hannah managed to speak up even with the arms wrapped around her neck.
"We-- !!!" Mr. Wednesday was about to talk but suddenly found himself unable to even open his mouth. He could also feel a strange pressure slowly tightening around his neck, he tried to move and push Hannah away, but it would seem it wasn't only his mouth that couldn't move.
"Our leader is not Darkday."
"!!!" His breaths then completely stopped as someone else's voice reverberated inside his helmet. On the outside, it would seem like he was still the one talking due to the voice changer installed in his helmet-- but the voice circling inside was not his, but someone he was familiar with.
Mr. Friday-- the one who told them about Riley Ross… and how he killed his own schoolmates.
"Your leader… is not Darkday?" Riley slightly let out a deep breath before placing his hand on his chin… trying his best to cover the smile that was threatening to crawl on his face.
"No, we lied so that we could get his attention… but he did not approach us even once."
"Then… who are you?"
"We are the ones that are going to continue his legacy-- our true goal is to drown the world in darkness… forever."
"You… you fucking psychopaths!" Hannah let out another scream even with her neck clasped, "Then what… what do you need us for!? Let me and Riley Ross go!"
"Because we are here to reintroduce ourselves, you see. And the only way we are going to get the whole world's attention is by taking the two of you hostage."
"W… What?"
"After all, you are Bernard Ross's children."
"D… Don't you fucking dare!" Hannah started to scream in order to drown any other voice besides her. But alas, her mouth was quickly covered by Mr. Wednesday's slightly trembling hand.
"One of the core members of the Hope Guild…
....Whiteking."
Chapter 79"Please be informed that the 'Fasten your seatbelt' sign is..."
"R... really?"
"Yes, madam."
"But you look so handsome, I am sure girls of your age would go crazy after you. I saw this Sudanese model, her skin was so smooth and so dark that it looked almost beguiling. I almost got lost staring at her in the magazine. I bet that if you two model the same brand, it would blow up!"
"Do you really think I could be a model, madam?"
With the plane moving in the skies for more than 2 hours now, the mother found herself more and more comfortable talking to the young man beside her. He was a little stoic at times, but he always answered all of her questions without any slight hesitation.
"Of course! You seem fit as well! And with your face and your unique features, you could--"
"M... mommy..."
"It's alright, honey. We're not there yet."
"H... hm."
"S... sorry," the mother then let out a small sigh after comforting her daughter, "I'm just blabbering my mouth, aren't I? Here I am trying to shush my daughter when I am the one who can't shut her mouth."
"It's quite alright, I enjoy our conversations, madam."
"You can stop calling me madam, you know. I feel really old when you keep calling me that," the mother let out an awkward chuckle, "My name's Janice. Now I feel really stupid that we still don't know each other's name when I already told you my life story."
"Very well. My name is..."
***
"After all, you are Bernard Ross's children."
"D... don't you dare!"
"One of the core members of the Hope Guild...
...Whiteking."
"T... That's not--"
"!!!"
And before Hannah could even refute Mr. Wednesday's words, the roaring whispers of the audience became full-fledged, unabated screams of shock.
"Whiteking's children!? Those two!?"
"Shit... are we going to see Hope Guild in action!?"
"Is that true!? Can anyone confirm it!?"
The students, who were just previously filled with anxiety as none of them even dared to move from their spot, were now all looking at each other in disbelief as their gasps even started to merge with one another; with a handful of them even wanting to post the shocking news on social media without any hesitation; fully knowing that it wasn't allowed.
However, before they could even open their apps, they found that they could no longer connect to the internet.
"...Good," Whiteking looked around the faces of the students as he tapped something on the tablet attached around his arm. He and the Academy knew that the Dark Millenium already had information about him and his children, but to think they would expose it like this. "There--"
"Ah, I posted it!"
"!!!" Whiteking quickly looked at the student that shouted, only to hear another student screaming that he got back online. But that should be impossible, he thought. He shut off the towers and satellite nearest to the Academy-- no one should be able to go online.
"What are all of you doing!?"
And before he could even express his shock, Silvie stood up from her seat, "We were allowed to contact the outside world, but it doesn't mean you can share sensitive information! That's against the--"
"It's alright, Mega Girl," Whiteking grabbed Silvie's shoulder before she could continue reprimanding the other students, "The information is automatically being removed by the Government with their Auto Filter system."
"But... but still, they--"
"And if my identity should be exposed to the world," Whiteking then let out a sigh as he turned his attention back towards the arena, "Then so be it...
...As long as my children are safe."
***
"...What makes you think Whiteking is our father, Mr. Fr-- Mr. Wednesday?"
With the shock of the audience slowly dying down, Riley took off his sunglasses as he looked Hannah straight in the eyes,
"Did you really think that Whiteking would produce such a noisy and ill-tempered daughter?"
"..." Hannah's eyes started to twitch upon hearing Riley's words. She wanted to rebuke, but as soon as she remembered the dire situation they were in, the only thing she could do was furrow her eyebrows.
"I... I am afraid we know more," Mr. Friday, who was pretending to be Mr. Wednesday by speaking through the speakers inside his helmet, almost let out a small stutter as he did not expect Riley's words,
"But for the sake of playing fair, we will not reveal anything more. But we have a condition, we want the whole world to get to know us in our own words, turn off the filter and let the world hear us."
"You..." Hannah wanted to say something, but her mouth was once again covered.
"Students of the Academy, future heroes. Listen to my words..." Mr. Friday did not wait for any confirmation from the Academy that they shut down their filtering system,
"...We are the Dark Millenium. Fear us, hate us, abhor us-- it will not change the fact that we will bathe this world in darkness. And for those who want to join us; do not find us... as we will find you shining in the shadows we have created."
"H... Hey!" Hannah could not help but almost tumble to the roof of the floor as Mr. Wednesday suddenly pushed her away and let her go.
"And let this be a reminder!" Mr. Wednesday then took off his jacket, fully exposing the numerous bombs that were attached around his body,
"That even death can't stop us!" And with those words, a light tick whispered throughout the whole stadium as Mr. Wednesday seemed to have pulled something from his bomb vest.
"!!!"
"R... Riley!" And before Hannah could even think, her body already rushed towards Riley, pushing him to the ground and covering him with her entire body. She could hear the whistle deafening her ears as the bomb thundered through the air-- obliterating anything within its path and completely ripping off the top floors of the building.
But surprisingly enough, she was unharmed; floating in the air along with her brother.
"You really don't have to keep protecting me, sister," Riley then said as he carried his sister like a princess, "I'm physically bigger than you now."
"Riley!" Even with the embarrassing position she was in, the only thing she could do was embrace her brother; trying her best not to cry as the emotions she had been preventing with all her might from bursting out were trying to break her walls all at the same time.
"It's alright, sister. The Dark Millenium won't be showing themselves anytime soon..." Riley whispered so quietly that his words were being overpowered by the screams of the audience,
"...Not after today."
***
"...Wow, you must really care for your sister."
"I suppose you could say that, Janice. Mega Woman reminds me of her, you see. They're both very selfless, but they want the world to perceive them as a strong wall that will never be swayed away by any storm."
"The time is now 5:45 in the afternoon. We would be landing..."
"W... wow, I didn't even notice the time," Janice could not help but drink some water as she heard the young man's words. It was quite hard to find people that she connected with, but to think this stranger would make her feel this way-- like she was actually being listened to.
"Are we near, mommy!? Are we near!?"
"Y... yes, honey."
"No! But I want to play with the angel more!" Janice's daughter, Julie, once again started spinning on her seat; kicking it as she let out a loud cry.
"S... shhh!"
Janice could only try to calm her daughter down as she chuckled at the young man sitting beside them. "S... sorry again."
"You don't need to apolo-- Please excuse me, Julie."
"Hm? Is everything alright?" Julie could not help but blink a couple of times as the young man suddenly stood up from his seat.
"Yes," the young man nodded as he excused himself, "I just have something to do before we land."
"Oh, okay," Janice then leaned back to her seat to allow the young man to pass. She was slightly intrigued as the young man grabbed his bag from the overhead locker, but did not really pry any further as she didn't want to look too nosy.
"G... goodbye...
...Angel Riley!"
"He's just going to the bathroom, hon--"
"Goodbye, Julie."
The young man also waved his hand before he proceeded to head towards the toilet... or maybe not, as he went straight to the front of the plane.
"S... Sir, the bathrooms are that way!" One of the flight attendants quickly blocked the young man's path as she saw him seemingly heading to the cockpit. She could not help but slightly let out a short but deep sigh; she was supposed to go on a short date after this, she didn't need any more reasons to become even more stressed.
"I will have to ask you to--"
"I know, flight attendant," the young man replied before he gently pushed the flight attendant to the side and placed his hand on the door of the cockpit.
"Sir! What are you--"
And before the flight attendant could say anything more, her words were suddenly cut off as the young man... pulled the entire door open.
"What's going on!?" The first officer quickly turned around as soon as he heard the loud rumbling behind him, but before he could even see what was going on, a helmet suddenly flew towards him; his head perfectly shooting inside it.
He was about to remove it, but as soon as his hand touched the helmet, he heard a light snap... and that was it.
"M.. mayday! Mayday we are--"
The pilot in command immediately tried to radio in their situation, but before he could do so, his head suddenly twisted in a way that it shouldn't.
The flight attendant that witnessed the whole situation unfold was frozen in place; everything was happening so fast that the only thing she could do was watch in fear as the co-pilot's spine snapped in half and the captain's head started spinning.
And when she was about to regain the strength to run away, her vision slightly dimmed as she felt a small pressure surrounding her head-- a helmet similar to the one that the dead co-pilot was wearing.
"Please relax, flight attendant," the young man then spoke as he approached her, "This phone is the thing you use to broadcast through the entire plane, correct?"
"Y... Yes!?" The flight attendant could only nod her now heavy head as the young man pointed towards the plane's intercom.
"Thank you, flight attendant," the young man then quickly grabbed the phone and let out a small... creeping smile, "Testing, testing. This is your captain speaking. Next stop...
....Mega Academy."
Chapter 80"Hannah, Riley!"
"D… Dad!"
Even with the smoke still covering the air in a dark cloud, Whiteking was there to receive his children as soon as they landed on the ground. The other students that joined the Rescue event, as well as the Academy staff that played the role of the civilians, were also there surrounding the building.
They were the ones closest to the scene of the crime and they wanted to do something, but before they could even act, it was already over when the member of the Dark Millenium committed suicide.
"H… how, how could they have entered the Academy!?" Hannah quickly bellowed as she rushed to hug Whiteking. If this wasn't confirmation that Riley and Hannah truly were Whiteking's children, then they don't know what is.
"We don't know yet," Whiteking shook his head, letting out a short but deep sigh as he looked towards Riley, "But if it wasn't for your brother, then there would definitely be more casualties. We found their other members planting bombs all over the Academy; if Riley didn't report to us when he did…"
"Anyone would have reported what I found, Whiteking," Riley only glanced at his father before looking towards the sky, "I… just happen to be at the right place at the right time."
"Even so," Whiteking breathed out, "Your luck saved a lot more lives than you think…. Everyone!"
Whiteking's words then reverberated through the speakers as he raised his voice, "Please remain put where you are as we try to find if there are more members of the Dark Millenium inside the Academy! We--"
[Whiteking, please respond.]
"Whiteking here," Whiteking's words were then disrupted as a voice transferred to his receiver.
[We have an unidentified projectile moving towards the Academy, can you confirm with your satellite?]
And without even saying another word, Whiteking immediately raised his arm and tapped the screen of the tablet wrapped around it multiple times,
"I see it. With its speed, it shouldn't be a prob-- Fuck!"
"H… Hey!"
Hannah could not help but back away as Whiteking's cape suddenly hardened, before shaping into some sort of wing; but instead of a violent flap, a thunderous explosion erupted from behind Whiteking's leg-- instantly launching him towards the air.
"All available Super of Grade-B and above, we need you outside the Academy!"
[Affirmative, Whiteking. Can we confirm what projectile--]
"It's not a projectile…
...It's a fucking plane!"
***
"M… mommy, what's going on!?"
"S… shh, it's alright. It's alright, honey."
Janice was now currently trying her best to scooch in between the seats, hiding her daughter from whatever it was that was happening. They heard some sort of loud bang coming from the front of the plane. She thought it was just some sort of turbulence, but when the plane suddenly shifted, most of the people started to panic.
"M… mom--"
"Please… please keep quiet. Mommy's here, okay? Mommy's here. I won't--"
"This is your captain speaking… Next stop, Mega Academy!"
And before Janice could finish comforting Julie, the people once again started to scream as a weird announcement reverberated through the entire plane. Most of the people finally realized what was happening-- they were being hijacked.
"N… No!"
And then once again, the people started to scream as some of them started pointing towards the front. Janice quickly looked to see what was happening, only to see the young man he was talking to earlier…
...being lifted by the neck by one of the flight attendants, who was now wearing some sort of motorcycle helmet.
"R… Riley!"
"Everyone, stay in your seats," the flight attendant's monotonous voice then whispered into all of their ears, "If you don't, then I will start killing you one by one…
...Starting with this rat here."
"No! Please don't!" Janice quickly stepped out to the aisle as soon as she heard the flight attendant's words, "Why--"
And before Janice could even finish her words, an orchestra of gasps entered her ears as the flight attendant plunged her hand straight through the young man's chest.
"W… why…"
And without even saying another word, the flight attendant threw the young man in front of Janice before heading back to the cockpit.
"N… no, you… please… please, no," Janice lightly patted the young man on the chest several times. Her mind; at a loss as to what to do.
"M… mommy? What's… what's happening to the angel?"
"D… don't look, honey!" Janice then quickly went back to her daughter and hugged her, "He's… he's going to be alright… we're going to be alright."
***
"Help me slow it down! I'll go inside!"
"Are you crazy!? That thing is moving like a thousand kilometers per hour!" (620mph~)
"Does it matter!?" Whiteking was currently floating in the sky, a few kilometers away from USMA. There were also 6 other people from the Academy… including Scarlet Mage.
"Scarlet Mage, can you try removing all the air within a 500-meter radius!?"
"That's-- I'll try," Scarlet Mage quickly nodded as she looked in a certain direction, "But I need to concentrate all my powers."
"Green Fly, focus on carrying Scarlet Mage!"
"No problem!"
"The rest of you get ready! As soon as the plane enters within the No-air radius, slow it down enough so I can enter the plane!"
"Roger that!"
Even with the wind threatening to scrape their faces off, no one seemed to be faltering as they all looked in the same direction.
A second,
A minute…
...and soon, the silhouette of the plane showed itself. And without even saying a word to each other, the veins on Scarlet Mage's neck and face started to etch through her skin, crawling across her entire body; her now silver hair moving in a static as her eyes turned grey.
She then stretched her trembling hands, and with the release of her breath; it was as if the air in front of them became peaceful.
A thunderous explosion then erupted through their ears as Whiteking thrust towards the incoming airplane; the three others were also flying from behind him, but soon deviated to the side.
Whiteking's entire body then rotated horizontally, and as it did so, several drones shot out from his costume; and as he stopped and stretched his limbs, the drone flew like rockets towards the plane.
The drones seemed like they had a life of their own as they attached themselves to the sides of the plane, effectively slowing it down gradually. And as soon as it reached a certain speed, the 3 remaining Supers flew towards the plane's wings and nose.
They were careful not to move against the plane too much, in fears that it would crumble.
With the plane now at 25% of its original speed, Whiteking propelled himself to the plane's door, attaching some sort of instrument on it before it automatically opened for him. The 3 Supers slightly crumpled that part of the plane they were holding at it shifted from the sudden change of turbulence, but they were able to easily stabilize it to allow Whiteking to enter.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Whiteking, what's the status of the passeng--"
"Go back to the Academy now!"
"Wha--"
"The plane…
...It's empty!"
***
"Mommy's here… mommy's here."
"W… what's happening, mommy?"
"Shh… shh, it's alright. Mommy's here."
Janice was now seated back at her seat, cradling her daughter in her arms as she looked outside through the window. She then turned to look at the body of the young man, before closing her eyes and embracing her daughter even tightly.
"It's alright, honey… we're going to be alright."
"What… what about Mr. Angel? Mommy?"
"He… well, he's in heaven now, okay?"
"Heaven? Can we meet him there, mommy?"
"N… no," hearing her daughter's words, the tears that Janice was trying to stop finally trailed on her cheeks, "Not yet… please not yet."
"...Mommy?"
Janice once again opened her eyes as she looked at the window, and seeing the buildings now so close to them… the only thing she could do was close it before hugging her daughter even tighter.
"Mo--"
"Mommy loves you, okay? Mommy loves you very much… always… always remember that."
"I… I love you too, Mom--"
The tiny voice and her last words.
The last message of a mother to her daughter.
These two… were only a fraction of the voices that the world will never be able to hear again.
"O… Oh my… god."
"No… no!"
"What… what the fuck is happening?"
Red and Yellow.
All of the eyes inside the Academy reflected the colors red and yellow as they all looked above. The sound of thunder filled their eyes as smoke slowly started to envelop in a dome, covering their sky in darkness.
It was all too sudden, and only some of them saw what truly happened-- and those who did have their hearts now trembling.
"It… it was a plane," Silvie then whispered. Just a few moments ago, she and the others were checking up on Hannah when she heard a whistling whisper into her ear. And as soon as she looked up, she saw the silhouette of a plane flying towards the Academy; and without even having the time to react, she saw it being flattened as it made contact with the Academy's dome barrier.
"...A plane?"
"L… look!" Gary then pointed towards a certain direction in the sky; and although it was quite hard to see from the distance, those who had enhanced eyesight were able to quickly recognize what he was pointing to.
"Isn't that… a person?"
There was a person hanging on the dome, but before they could even say another word-- his blood and guts smeared as a part of the plane squashed him.
"N… no, no!"
"!!!"
And as the situation finally registered in everyone's mind… another explosion erupted. And this time, everyone was able to see what crashed into the dome-- another plane.
"Wha--"
And before they could even breathe out a gasp…
...another explosion erupted.
And another… another…
....and another.
Chapter 817 Planes.
7 planes to that signaled the abrupt end of the Festival.
A festival that was supposed to bring the future superheroes of the world together… ended in the deaths of probably more than 900 people. Of course, that number was just an estimate, there could be less, there could be more…
...But now, the only thing in the minds of the students is how helpless they were in the situation as the sky above them was filled with nothing but darkness and pain.
Just a few moments ago, they were cheering and howling for glory… but now the only thing that remained was a silent bitterness-- a regret that they could do nothing about. They were supposed to be heroes, but the only thing they could do was watch as hundreds of people died above them.
The Dark Millenium aimed for this. They could have aimed from anywhere within the Academy… but they crashed the planes right on top where the majority of the people were gathered… they wanted them to see what they were capable of doing-- these were the thoughts of most of the students,
"N… no. We… we need to help them!" Silvie, who was still inside the coliseum with the others, quickly snapped out of her thoughts as her feet began to float from the ground.
"Where are you going, Silv!?" Gary quickly stretched his arms to block Silvie as she flew away, but his arm was quickly swatted away.
"I'm going out!" Silvie yelled as a skirt of wind traveled across her body, propelling her directly outside the coliseum.
"...She's going to the gate," Hannah breathed out before her feet were engulfed in flames, "I'm going with her."
"W… wait, we should wait for the instructors-- Ah, god damn it!" The only thing that Gary could do was jump to the top of the coliseum to try and chase the two, leaving Riley and Tomoe with the rest of the students.
The number of the students dwindled, however, as most of them chased to follow Silvie; if there were any hopes that there were survivors, then the least they should be able to do was to help them.
"Should we go and follow them, master?"
With most of the students gone, Tomoe carefully approached Riley and stood behind him; her voice only traveling through Riley's ears.
"The Dark Millenium… did they do this because they wanted to take revenge on you?" Tomoe then said as she looked at the cloud of darkness above them; there were still some parts of the airplanes hanging on the invisible force field, but with the dome not offering and friction, it will only be another moment for them to fall to the sides,
"They said they were doing what they were doing to save humanity, but look at them… killing all of these people just to pretend that they actually have a chance to reach your heights. A bunch of hypocrites."
"Oh. I apologize, Tomoe."
"M… m… master!?" Tomoe's body instantly straightened like a pole as Riley suddenly leaned closer to her, placing his face just a few inches away from touching her ears. Tomoe was trying her best not to faint even with all the redness that crawled through her face
"You were not privy to the information because you were only the Second Subordinate."
"H… Hm?"
"This is my doing."
"W… what?"
"Let's go, Tomoe…
...We need to make sure no one survived."
***
"B… Bleurgh!"
"W… why… why do something like this?"
"Dark Millenium… they will pay for this!"
Ants.
From the view above, the students of the Academy that forced themselves through the gate looked like ants that were trying to drag leftovers back to their nest. The Academy guards initially wanted to stop Silvie as she was the first to be asked to leave, but when the rush of students started appearing, the only thing they could do was open the gate; as they seemed adamant to the point that they would probably destroy it.
However, they too were not ready for the destruction that rained down upon them.
The land area of the Academy was its own city with its size-- but even then, there were debris falling everywhere as they slid from the invisible dome. The weirdest thing is as if the heavens were mocking them, as most of the debris seemed to have slid and rolled near the Academy gates.
There were already instructors and some staff of the Academy searching for survivors. But judging by the looks on their faces, they have not been successful yet.
"!!!"
Silvie carefully lifted a large chunk of the plane away, only for her eyes to be welcomed by the scenery of several charred bodies stuck to each other. Those who were near her could not help but take in a small but deep gasp; almost to the point that their chests exploded-- This was a mistake, however, as the smell of the roasted bodies fumed through their noses.
"Heurkh!" And so, once again, the retching sounds of the students whispered in the air.
As for Silvie, her hand trembled uncontrollably; not knowing whether she should let go of the debris and cover the bodies or wait for someone to move them away. She tried to cover their bodies, but as soon as the sound of their skin crackling whispered through her ears, the only thing she could do was close her eyes.
"Silvie, remove it!"
Her rapid thoughts were then disrupted as Hannah passed by her, quickly covering the bodies with blankets that she got from the guards.
"..." Silvie watched her for a few seconds, before letting out a small breath and nodding, "T… thank you."
"Snap out of it, Silvie. You're the school's No. 1 student, remember?"
"I--" Silvie was about to say something, but as soon as she saw Hannah's trembling hands, she could not help but take in another deep breath,
"Let's… search for survivors," she then once again closed her eyes; and as she did so; the cries, the screams, the panic, and the sorrow became silent. What remained were the hearts that drummed erratically through her ears. She tried desperately to hear a different beat-- weak, tormented, and in need of rescue.
But alas, she could hear no such pain.
"..." Silvie bit her lip as she finally realized… there probably weren't any survivors here.
"Father! Why… did you leave!?"
"We're… too late."
Silvie's thoughts were then disrupted by Hannah's sudden bellows. She carefully put the giant debris she was holding to the side before turning towards where Hannah rushed to, only to see Whiteking and the others descending from the sky.
Whiteking… Whiteking could have probably stopped this from happening; along with Scarlet Mage and the others they were with. So why… why were they gone?
"Why did you leave!?" Hannah repeated her words, "You… you could have saved some of--"
"There… was another plane," the tone of Whiteking's voice was sedated; his helmet slowly opening and revealing his face to the others.
"F… father? Another plane? Did you… manage to save the--"
"It was empty."
"What?"
Silvie, who was quietly listening from the side, could not help but join in on the conversation, "Did… the Dark Millenium use it to lure you away from the Academy?"
"..." Bernard only looked at Silvie and nodded, before rushing to help the others in trying to find survivors. At least just one…
...if they could at least just find one. Just a single light in the darkness to tell them what truly happened.
"I… I think we have one here!"
"!!!" Silvie and Hannah quickly looked towards the sound of the voice, only to see Gary waving his hands at them.
"She… we think she's breathing!"
And as soon as they heard his words, the two quickly rushed towards him.
"Where!? We need a medic here!" Hannah quickly bellowed, garnering the attention of the other people.
"A child? Where, Gary!?" A smile slowly crawled on Silvie's face; her breaths finally replacing the sorrow stuck inside her lungs.
"T… there! Riley is taking care of her!"
Silvie and Hannah quickly looked towards where Gary was pointing to, and there, they saw Riley gently carrying a small girl in his arms-- her eyes… still trembling.
"R… Riley," Hannah could not help but take in a small gulp as she saw her brother carrying someone; never in her life did she see Riley being that close to another human other than her, and to see him with a sorrowful look on his face, her eyes almost could not stop the tears that were wanting to burst out from them.
"How… how is she?"
"Shh," Riley placed his finger on his lips before softly pointing towards the small child.
"A… Angel?"
"!!!"
Silvie, Gary, and Hannah sedated their hurried steps as soon as they heard the weak breaths coming from the small child.
"Is… is that you, Angel?"
Silvie could not help but cover her mouth as a small gasp escaped from her mouth, her hands trembling as her tears fell upon them. Finally, through all this sorrow and madness. Finally...
...there was light in the dark--
"Keuhk!"
"..." Silvie's gasps completely ceased as red once again painted itself in front of her. She slowly touched her face… only to see her tears now mixed with the blood-- blood that gushed from the little girl's mouth like rain.
"No…
...No!"
Silvie's screams… rippling through the air, as if signaling that their last light has now completely withered.
"..."
"..."
"..."
[Katherine, are you still there!?]
"...I am, mom."
Tears. Tears fell on Katherine's face as she watched Riley and the others from afar; her voice slightly trembling as she seemed to be talking with her mother through her phone.
[The… the news just came up! All… all those people.]
"...I know, mom… I'm here."
[N… no, oh my god. I'm… I'm so sorry, Katherine.]
"We still have a lot to do, mom… please call back later."
[W… wait, please wait. What about your friend!? Is he alright!?]
"...He's alright, mom."
[He's… alright? Did you find him!?]
"He… didn't get on the plane."
[That's… oh my god, thank god… Thank god. That's good… that's good.]
"..."
[I… I wouldn't be able to fall asleep knowing I was the one who got him on the plane. I… I bought the ticket for him, after all.]
"I… was the one to ask you to do that, mom."
[But even so--]
"Mom, please…
...please don't tell this to anyone."
[O… of course, honey. A lot of people died… it would be spitting on their faces if--]
"Thank you... mom. I… I need to go."
[Okay, please… please be safe, okay?]
"Mom… I love you."
[...]
[...I love you too, honey. Eat your meals, okay? Don't stay up too late, call me if it gets too hard.]
"...Goodbye, mom."
[Hm…
...Goodbye, Kathy.]
Chapter 82"Four… hundred sixty-nine."
"..."
"..."
"Can they… even identify half of these bodies?"
With the number of students reaching almost 5000 including the ones from the other countries, all the debris and mangled parts of the plane were quickly cleared out even before the sun went down. The students were all initially tormented and weakened by what happened; not even daring to touch the debris as there could be a body buried beneath it.
But after a few hours, some of them were even carrying the charred bodies of those who died. The expressions of the students were still grim, but the anger and resolution burning in their eyes were enough to wash away any signs of weakness they had.
469 bodies. The students and the numerous staff of the Academy have lined up 469 bodies-- and those were the ones that were still… salvageable. According to the media outlets that were now reporting the news, there should be a total of 942 passengers on the 7 planes that crashed.
All were domestic flights… with people just wanting to get to their destination; with people just wanting to get home.
"We think… this is her mother."
"..."
"..."
And right now, Riley, Hannah, and the others were gathered in front of one of those charred bodies, but lying beside the skin of black and red, was the child that died in Riley's arms.
"Her body… was wrapped around the little girl when we found her," Gary then muttered as he crouched down, gently moving the body of the little girl closer to her mother.
"...We were supposed to protect them," Silvie whispered.
"There was no way we could have," Hannah muttered as she held Silvie's trembling hand, "The… Dark Millenium planned all of this… every little detail."
"There are almost a hundred veteran superheroes in the Academy… but to think no one was able to do anything," Gary then let out a small but deep sigh as he stood up, "They are as much to blame for this."
"...I don't think that's fair," Hannah quickly replied, "No one expected this to happen."
"Your father could have."
"You--"
"But as you said… the Dark Millenium planned for everything," Gary continued, "They lured him away with the first plane. The Dark Millenium knew enough about your father that they knew he was going to take action there."
"Dark Millenium… just what exactly is their goal?"
"They're just terrorists with more money," Silvie answered, "And after what they did today, the Hope Guild will probably take action to wipe them out."
"..." Hannah only nodded at Silvie's words before turning to look at the hundreds of bodies lined up on the horizon, "15 million."
"Hm?"
"This is 469," Hannah muttered, "Darkday killed 15 million in one day. Just… just how do you think it would look like if…"
"15 million dead bodies were laid in front of us?" This time, Tomoe joined in on the conversation; the look on her face was completely monotonous, "The entire land area of the Academy will be covered… there's a video about it on the internet."
"..."
"..."
"..." None of them knew what to reply to Tomoe; whether or not they would get mad at her or be amazed as to how calm she was considering the situation… but seeing as her monotonous voice was even more robotic than before, it would seem she was also affected in some way.
"You know…" Gary then once again let out a sigh as he looked at the little girl, "None of this would have happened if they had our strength and durability, Silvie."
"...What?"
"If you were offered to give your strength away for the sake of everyone else having a fraction of your power," Gary then looked Silvie straight in the eyes, "Would you do it?"
"Give… my strength away?"
"They would only need a fraction of your power to survive something like this."
"Why are you asking something like that here, you fucker?" Hannah furrowed her eyebrows as she slightly got in between the two. Silvie, however, gently patted her on the shoulder to tell her it was alright.
"I… probably would," Silvie answered, "I believe I gained my powers for the sake of helping people… and if I could prevent deaths like this from happening, then I would gladly give it away."
"Hm… Did I even need to ask?" Gary then let out a small chuckle as he once again looked at the little girl, "I… probably would do the same if it means saving the truly weak and helpless."
Noticing the two looking at her, Hannah could only let out a small but deep breath, "I think I would as well. I didn't want the responsibility of being a hero in the first place, what about you, Tomoe?"
"...I don't know," Tomoe shook her head, "I… feel my powers would be more useful if I am the one using them."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"What about you, Riley?" Silvie then turned her eyes towards Riley, who had been keeping quiet and just staring at the little girl throughout their conversation.
"Julie."
"Hm?"
"The child's name is Julie," Riley then said as he finally took his eyes away from the little girl.
"Julie… did she tell you before she died?"
"Yes… and her mother's name is Janice," Riley then shook his head as he finally joined the group, "What was your question again, Silvie?"
"If… you could have saved all of these people by giving them your abilities, but in turn give away your power-- would you have done it?"
"No," Riley quickly answered.
"...Can I ask why?"
"..." Riley did not answer immediately, but instead looked towards the horizon of dead bodies, "Out of all these people, how many do you think are bad people?"
"Riley!" Hannah wanted to stop her brother from saying any more, but seeing the solemn look in his eyes that seeped from the side of his sunglasses, the only thing she could do was halt her steps.
"I… I don't know," Silvie stuttered, "What if they were all good people?"
"One, Silvie," Riley then said as he turned his face towards Silvie, "All you need is one monster to have your powers, and the rest of the world will suffer for it. And without a Mega Woman-- or in this case, without an American Mega Girl to stop her, him, or them… what do you think will happen?"
"Then… the other people who gained my abilities can stop them!"
"There is a difference between having a superpower and being a superhero, Silvie," Riley then breathed out, "Out of all these people, how many do you think will step up and stop him?"
"I--"
"One," Riley once again repeated, but this time, he pointed towards the charred body of Julie, "Out of all the 942 passengers, only one of them deserves to have your power-- or at least that's how Mega Woman would have answered if she was here."
"..."
"..."
"How… do you know so much about Mega Woman, bro?" Gary then let out a small but deep sigh before looking at the rest of the people; most of whom were now sitting on the ground, completely exhausted from all the death they had to carry in their minds.
"Anyway… we should probably--"
"W… what!? What do you mean gone!?"
Riley and the group were about to return inside the Academy when a series of clamors and shouts suddenly started roaring in the air; most of the people that were shouting had their phones in front of them… and most were the foreign students.
And as soon as Tomoe saw this, she quickly checked her phone to turn on the news; trying to see if there was any other news besides what happened to Mega Academy… but found that what happened to Mega Academy was not even on top of the featured news feed anymore.
"G… Guys," Tomoe's monotonous voice slightly faltered as she called for the others; her eyes, however, were completely fixed on Riley, "Look… look at this."
"...What is it?" Hannah was the first to look over her shoulder to see what caused Tomoe to get riled up; her eyes quickly widening as soon as she saw the headline on the video Tomoe was watching, "What… the fuck?"
"What's going on?" Silvie muttered; but she too, let out a deep gasp as she saw what the others were looking at. The last one to check was Gary, who could only curse before looking at the foreign students.
It wasn't just 942 people.
The death toll wasn't just 942 people…
"H… how… How could this happen?"
"What do they mean collapsed!?"
"But… my brother… my brother is…"
"Dark Millenium… never… I would never forgive them!"
And soon, even though their numbers were just a fraction of the students of USMA, their voices were the only ones that could be heard. Most of the students of USMA could not understand what they were saying, but the anguish contained in their voices was enough for their feelings to reach deep into their cores.
"..." While Gary, Silvie, and Hannah were still busy watching the news, Tomoe's eyes were still stuck on Riley, who seemed to be completely free of any worries as he was just looking nowhere in particular.
Tomoe knew… She knew that Riley was capable of even greater evil than this. Like a crazed fan, she idolized him for years even fully knowing what kind of person he was.
But now that she was seeing him standing there as if he did not do what he just did… Tomoe finally realized how far her reality was from him.
The death toll wasn't just 942 people…
25,671-- that is the total combined number of students, instructors, supers, and staff inside the other Mega Academies.
26,613.
That is the number of deaths that would be pronounced at the end of this tragedy.
'Mega Woman…'
Riley then looked towards the sky before closing his eyes, 'I wonder…
....if you'll thank me for removing them if you're here?'
Chapter 83"…"
"..."
"..."
A week had passed since the events that ever so slightly shook the entire world, and the students of Mega Academy were once again asked to rest in their dorms. But unlike last time during the abduction event courtesy of the Dark Millenium, they were allowed to go outside of their rooms and explore the Academy grounds.
But once again, less than half of the student population didn't leave their room. Some requested that they be taken where their parents are, but the Academy said that they will be taking their family inside the Academy instead-- as per quote, it is still one of the safest places in the world.
The students begged to disagree, but when a bunch of Supers all around the world started appearing within the Academy grounds in order to guard them, the only thing the students could do was nod their heads.
As for the foreign students from the other Mega Academies-- there were already plans of officially transferring them to the Academy; and like with the rest, their families were now en route towards them and will be staying in the Academy for an indefinite amount of time until everything is settled.
Even though they have watched and read it being repeated in the news over and over again, they still could not believe that the other Mega Academies were no more. They just said that they all imploded all at the same time-- burying anything and anyone beneath it.
Of course, none of them believed that everyone could have died with just that-- as there were heroes there that were capable of surviving even the extreme pressures of the deep sea a hundred times over.
But no, the news reported that everything was crushed… almost flattened. Just how… how can the Dark Millenium be capable of something like this?
The government and the Mega Academy were also already drawing the attention of the critics; with some even requesting to shut down their operations as not even months have passed and tragedy already struck down.
The people were starting to wonder if the government really had the capacity of protecting the future generations of heroes.
"...Shit."
Hannah and the others were once again in their usual meeting spot-- the Korean Shaved Ice store; their silence and sighs, almost melting down anything that was served there.
"Why are we even here if we're not going to have classes and train?" Gary then lightly tapped the table as he clicked his tongue, "It's been a week, we should just move on. People die every time… 150,000 per day according to the internet. We should be learning how to kick the ass of those Dark Millenium fuckers instead of just lazing around here!"
"..."
This time, even Hannah did not have the energy to respond to Gary's words; she wanted to be strong, but remembering all the bodies and the sound of their skin crackling made Hannah not even use her abilities even once since it happened.
"You're brother's not with you guys?"
The solemn group then all turned their heads as Charlotte suddenly approached their table, placing a cup of flavored shaved ice in front of each of them.
"We… didn't order any--"
"On the house."
And before Silvie could even say anything, Charlotte's loud sighs pierced their ears, "You're inside the store, it's awkward for the other customers if you're not eating anything."
"But there aren't any other custom--"
"Do you want to die?" Charlotte grabbed Gary's neck before he could even finish his words.
"You… just who are you?" Hannah ignored that Gary was almost choking to death, and instead looked Charlotte straight in the eyes. With them not even bothering to wear their costumes anymore, Hannah's light brown eyes clearly reflected the interiors of the store; her ash-brown hair, curling in its ends as they flowed on her shoulders.
"What do you mean?" Charlotte blinked a couple of times as she finally dropped Gary on the ground.
"You were there during the Rescue Event… you--"
"Impossible," Charlotte quickly shook her head and laughed, "I was busy serving the customers here."
"..."
"Tha--"
"Where's your brother?" Charlotte did not let Hannah finish her words as she once again repeated her question, "I even got a special mango graham to cheer him up."
"He's with the Police Force."
Tomoe, who had been quiet the whole time, grabbed the mango graham reserved for Riley as she answered Charlotte, "They are still doing rounds outside the perimeter of the Academy."
"See!?" Gary sprung up from the floor as he once again patted the table, "At least Riley is doing something! We should be helping them instead or training!"
"The Academy is already working out solutions with the government along with the Student Council on how to proceed, Gary," Silvie sighed, "A lot of things are going to change after this… the foreign students, our family staying within Academy grounds, I even heard they are thinking of letting us out of the Academy more frequently with our future lessons."
"...Student council?" Hannah squinted as she took a bite of her shaved ice, "I forgot the Academy established that… I thought you joined?"
"No," Silvie let out an awkward chuckle, "I... don't think I will be suited in politics even at a lower scale."
"I see."
Hannah also let out a chuckle of her own, followed by an awkward silence as the group tried to act normal.
"Ack! Until when are we going to do something!?" Gary's loud groans of frustration quickly broke the silence, "I would be happy if we were like in a normal school, but we're in a cool school where we beat each other up!"
"Fine," Charlotte, who saw the downcasted looks of the group, could not help but once again let out a sigh, "I'll let you in on a little secret-- you might be stuck doing nothing for a while."
"W… what!?" This time, not only Gary reacted wildly, but also Hannah and Silvie; with Tomoe only raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"The government is trying their best to keep it in wraps, but they are currently dealing with the Dark Millenium with zero tolerance. They already found some of their bases in the sky."
"Zero… tolerance?"
"Hm," Charlotte nodded with a smile, "Even Dark Millenium had already announced that they have no connection with Darkday or whatsoever, they will be still treating them as such-- Any super or organization that even expresses to continue where Darkday left off are to be dealt with the same as him, zero tolerance."
"What… are you saying?" Silvie muttered as she stood up.
"Hope Guild and other Grade-S and A Supers… will be annihilating Dark Millenium from the face of the planet."
"They have already caught some of them!?"
"Silv…" Hannah then also stood up as she grabbed her phone, quickly dialing her father's number, "I... think she meant it literally."
"You mean…"
"They…" Gary whispered, "...are executing all of them."
***
"Are… are you sure I'll be safe here?"
"Of course."
In a dark hallway, a pair of steps could be heard echoing almost rhythmically; with Mr. Friday looking around at the path they have been walking on for almost a full hour now. And even with his suit, it still felt a little cold.
It was also a bit hard to see with the helmet he was wearing; it was a good thing that the young man walking in front of him had hair that almost brightened up the hallway.
"How… are you outside the Academy?" Mr. Friday muttered, "I thought students weren't allowed to go outside."
The white-haired man then stopped walking as he glanced at Mr. Friday, "I am still in the Academy, Mr. Friday," he then said, "You must be mistaking me with Riley. I am Riley Two, or as I like to call myself…
...Diley."
"..."
"Get it? Because Di means two?"
"!!!"
Mr. Friday could not help but hold his breath as he saw the look in Riley-- on Diley's face. Was… was he supposed to laugh? Diley currently had a wide smile on his face, enough to reach from ear to ear.
"He… he."
And as soon as Mr. Friday let out a fake laugh, Diley immediately nodded and once again continued to walk.
Does Riley's clone have… different personalities?
Mr. Friday continued to follow Diley through the hallway. Just before this, they were inside some kind of elevator for almost a full 10 minutes. Just… how deep does this place actually go? He doesn't even know where they are, as Diley covered his head with a huge paper bag on the way.
And finally, after a few minutes more, the dark hallway started to brighten up-- and soon, their path was blocked by a glass door.
"We're here."
"R… right," Mr. Friday once again nodded as he followed Diley inside.
"You'll be taking care of them whenever I am gone. So please, be on your best behavior. We don't want to set up a bad example."
"Take care of--" And before Mr. Friday could even finish his words, he could not help but slightly take a few steps back as he saw almost a hundred glass boxes neatly littered in his view… all with humans confined inside of them.
"This…"
"Come, let me tour you around… And from now on, you will be known as Warden."
"O… Of course," Warden's feet moved on their own as he once again followed Diley, stepping down some stairs before they reached the first platform.
"This is our very first occupant, Warden," Diley then stopped as they reached a glass cage, "You may know him as Replica Ricky… but I don't think he was quite known. Say hi to our new caretaker, Replica Ricky."
"..."
"I said to say hi, Replica Ricky."
Diley then lightly tapped Replica Ricky's cage, and as soon as he did so, Replica Ricky stood up; his face completely terrified before turning his eyes towards Warden,
"H… hi."
"...Hi?"
'Just…' Warden whispered in his mind,
....what the fuck is this!?'
Chapter 84Warden could feel his hands slowly going numb, waving it towards the reluctant greetings of the numerous Supers he had been passing by for almost a minute now.
A minute-- it has only been a minute since he had been waving his hand and it already felt numb. How could it not, when all he wanted to do was drop his hand and look away from the faces that seemed to have not seen sunlight for years.
None of them looked emaciated; with their flesh still seemingly filled with life. Their eyes, however, showed utter despair as it felt like even the bright hall they were in did not reflect on them.
And with Diley's every tap on their glass cage, they all scurried to greet him as if they were some kind of… submissive pet.
This continued on for another dozen or so cage… until finally--
"Get me out of here! I see you, you lunatic!"
A loud scream could be heard through the endless sorrowful breaths, "I see-- Wait, you… are you from the Dark Millenium!?"
"Ms… Friday!?"
Warden could not help but halt in his steps as he saw a woman struggling to smash the glass cage she was in.
"You… did you get captured as well!?" Ms. Friday's breaths quickly became fettered as soon as she saw Warden's jet-black helmet.
"Oh right," Diley then clapped his fist as he looked back and forth between the two, "You two know each other."
"Know… each other-- You, wait… Aren't you No. 7!?" Ms. Friday once again slammed her fists on the glass cage.
"He's not No. 7 anymore," Diley let out a disappointed sigh as he placed his hand on Warden's shoulder, "He's your new caretaker, you may call him Warden. He will be the one responsible for all of you for now."
"...Warden?" Ms. Friday raised an eyebrow as she heard Diley's words, but after a few more moments, her eyebrows started to knot, "You… sold us out!? How could you!?"
Ms. Friday then once again slammed her fists-- this time not stopping until her hands almost bled.
"..." Diley only glanced at her before shaking his head, "You two seemed to have some catching up to do."
"W… wait. You're leaving me here already!?" Warden bellowed, "What… what do I even do here!?"
"You'll figure it out on your own eventually," Diley glanced at Warden as he continued to walk away, "Also… the next time we meet, don't let me catch you wearing that helmet again."
"..."
"..."
Warden could only hold his breath as he watched as Diley left, casually waving his hand as he did so.
"How dare you!?" And as soon as any trace of Diley was gone, Ms. Friday's voice once again echoed throughout the bright hall.
"How dare I!?"
And this time, Warden responded, "You were the one who tied me in shackles and tortured me!"
"Because you're a traitor! You killed all those… all those children!" Ms. Friday screamed, "But… but you can still redeem yourself, get me out of here! Get us all out of here!"
"Redeem?" Warden let out a loud scoff, before proceeding to remove his helmet; The sides of his hair were shaved, with the top pulled back in a decent length-- and with the small scars scattered on his face and his tired middle-aged face, one would probably mistake him to have served in the military… and perhaps he did.
"There is nothing to redeem, Ms. Frid-- No. There is nothing to redeem, Ellie."
"H… how do you know my name!? Did you--"
"Dark Millenium is done for," Warden breathed out, "Hope Guild and other Grade-S and A Supers are hunting them down one by one… there is nothing to redeem."
"That's im… impossible! How could they do that when our leader is Darkda--"
"Are you still in denial after being locked up in here for months?" Warden did not let Ellie finish her words as he gestured to the rest of the glass cages, "Our leader isn't Darkday-- we flew so close to the fire…
...and now the real one swatted us down like insects."
"That's--"
"I already had an idea on who Riley could be… I have just been denying it. But after seeing all of this-- that young man really is Darkday."
"..." Hearing Warden's words, Ellie shook her head numerous times. Of course, she knew who he was-- how could she not when she was surrounded by Supers abducted by Darkday?
She… She was just trying to go through the eye of a needle, trying to convince herself that the truth is not what it seemed. After all…
...What's worse than being caged by the evilest villain the world has ever known?
"All that talk about saving humanity…" Warden then whispered, "I knew it was too good to be true. Whoever was pretending to be our leader, he-- she couldn't be more different than Darkday. Darkday… is a monster."
"He… he is!" Ellie let out a crazed chuckle, "Now get us out here! We… we will expose him to the world!"
"Do you know what he did last week?"
Warden, however, completely ignored Ellie's ramblings as he turned around, "7 planes… 7 planes filled to the brim with passengers. All those innocent people… he made them crash straight to USMA."
"W… what?"
"Almost a thousand innocent people… dead."
"That's… then even more, we should stop--"
"And then he blew up the rest of the other Mega Academies, more than 25,000 people dead in one day…
...and he pinned all the blame to the Dark Millenium."
"...What?"
"Even if you go out there, they will kill you on sight, Ellie," Warden breathed out, "All our identities have been exposed to the government. They know our family, our friends… our favorite food."
"...What?" Ellie repeated her distress as she took a few steps back; the stands of her already disheveled blonde hair, splitting as she scrunched it with her hands,
"N… no. All of this happened… because you… you betrayed us!" She then bellowed as she pointed at Warden, "All those deaths… they are on you!"
"I did what I had to survive, Ellie," Warden then said as he once again faced Ellie, "Maybe if you lived the life I did, you would-- What's happening!?"
Warden's words were cut short as a loud beeping sound started to echo through the entire hall; and soon, a small rumbling could be heard.
"I… I will kill you," Ellie's furrowed eyebrows soon relaxed as the tears hanging on her eyes could no longer hold themselves anymore.
"W… what?" Warden then took a few steps back as Ellie's glass cage slowly opened up. However, he wouldn't be too nervous if it was just that-- not only Ellie's, but all of the cages opened up at the same time.
"It's lunchtime, Warden," Ellie said as she let out a smile.
"L… Lunch…" Warden took in a small gulp, "Wait… am I here to be eaten!? Are you people so starved that you would eat me!?"
"Everyone!" Ellie then screamed as she waved her hand, "Let's kill this fool and get out of here. He has access to the outside! Even if we don't use our powers, we can gang up on him!"
Ellie started to burst out in laughter as she slowly walked towards Warden.
"Wait… Don't force me to kill any of you, please!" Warden stuttered as blue chains of light emerged from his arms.
Ellie continued to laugh as the other Supers started to approach. Her laugh, however, quickly faded away as they just passed by them.
"W-- guys!?"
Ellie grabbed one of the Supers' arms, only for his hand to be swatted away. The super, only glancing at her before looking away without any expression on his face.
Ellie, even after more than a month of being held captive, did not lose hope. As long as the Dark Millenium existed, there was a chance that she would be rescued. But hearing what she heard from Warden… the last light that was still flickering in her eyes was slowly being swooshed away.
"What's… going on?"
As for Warden, he could not help but let out a sigh of relief as the… Super Prisoners ignored him. He took a look at the frenzied Ellie one last time, before deciding to follow where the others were heading to.
Warden's eyes, however, could not help but take in a small but deep breath as they passed through another glass door-- the new hall, filled with foliage and trees. If it wasn't for the white bright wall surrounding their perimeter, then he would have thought they were outside.
One of the prisoners then stepped outside the line, before kneeling to the ground and placing both her hands on the ground. Warden was confused if he needed to do something, but before he could even make a decision, the ground started to tremble.
"F… fuck," Warden was about to stop the woman, but as soon as he saw some of the trees that have already withered away come back to life, he quickly retracted the blue chains of light crawling through the ground.
The woman then glanced at him, before returning to her line like what she did was just part of their daily routine.
As for the other super prisoners, they only took a short glance at the nature that suddenly befell their eyes, before once again moving like robots as they reached another glass door.
"...What?"
And as they entered the glass door, the bright light that has been drowning Warden's eyes since earlier faded-- instead replaced by the dim light provided by candles, as well as the somber but elegant music that hummed in the air.
"This… a restaurant?" He whispered as he watched the super prisoners one by one take a seat at the tables seemingly molded with the most expensive of wood. There was also a band playing in the center of the hall.
Just... how is one man capable of doing and building something like this?
And no matter how much he looked at it… the entire hall just seemed like some sort of fancy restaurant. And he would be right; as soon, a dozen or more people appeared-- carrying what seemed to be a menu.
And the ones carrying them?
Riley. A whole bunch of Riley Ross wearing a waiter's uniform. Warden then turned his attention towards the band, only to realize that the one's playing also looked like Riley Ross.
"Warden."
"Y… yes?"
His thoughts were then disrupted as one of the Waiter Rileys approached him. "We have already prepared a table for you. Please, follow me."
"O… of course," Warden could only nod as he followed Waiter Riley to what seemed to be the grandest table in the hall.
"Also, for the bath later-- Some of the guests are requesting to have access to the pool, would you like to allow them that leisure?"
"What…
...the fuck?"
***Volume 1 End***
Hi, that puts an end to Volume 1. Hope you like it so far since I really am enjoying writing this story, and I hope you continue to support my work even further as we go alone and the story turns even crazier!
Although the story is not as famous as 'My Hermes System' when it started, I will still make sure that I put as much, or even more effort to this and try to avoid the mistakes I did there. So from the bottom of my stomach...
...Seriously, thank you very much for supporting me!
Riley Ross/Darkday's story is just getting started. With the other Mega Academies now destroyed, the foreign students that are in the Academy has no choice but to assimilate themselves in a foreign school.
As for who the leader of Dark Millennium is, maybe we will find out in the next volume?
Will Riley stay in retirement? Will Mega Woman's location finally be found?
What other secrets is the government hiding? And for that, what other secrets does Riley have in his arsenal?
Find out in the next volume of... Riley Ross Z!
Chapter 85"Good work out there, Riley."
"Thank you, Scarlet Mage."
A trembling hum gently roared through the air as USMA's colossal gates once again slowly blocked its view of the outside world.
Riley closed his eyes as soon as he stepped back inside the Academy, allowing Scarlet Mage to gently wipe his face even though there really was no need to-- as no sweat or dirt could even be found resting on his skin.
The other members of the Police Force were also expecting someone to assist them after a long day of hard work. But forget someone wiping their sweat and tears, there wasn't even anyone there to give them a towel.
They have been trying to clean up the last remaining clutter from the accident outside the perimeter of the Academy… yet not even a single person waited for them inside to welcome them back in. The only thing they could do was grit their teeth as they watched Riley being pampered by one of the hottest instructors in the Academy.
The events of what happened were still fresh in their mind, of course-- but as they have been seeing dead bodies for almost a week now, they have grown numb to it… the least the Academy could do was give them a Scarlet Mage of their own-- they all thought.
"I'll… go ahead, Riley."
"Very well, Katrina."
"..." Katrina was also one of the students watching Riley and Scarlet Mage; but unlike most of them, she wasn't really interested in having someone to wipe her face. Instead, she was just looking at Riley; her eyes a bit solemn as she bid him farewell, "Next time, then."
"Next time?" Riley muttered, but Katrina was already gone.
"It would seem you are getting famous, Riley Ross," Katrina let out a small chuckle as she finished wiping Riley's face and neck.
"Have I not always been popular, Katherine?" Riley then started to walk towards where Katherine's car was parked, "What's news on the destruction of the Dark Millenium?"
"Only one base is left," Katherine quickly replied as she followed Riley, "It would seem they're really not stopping until they wipe them all out; they even wanted to invite me-- but they decided I was needed more in the Academy instead."
"Have they found the Dark Millenium's leader?" Riley muttered, "The one pretending to be Darkday?"
"No… not even a sign."
"Hmm… that is too bad," Riley then stepped inside Katherine's car, keeping quiet until Katherine also got inside, "And what about Mega Woman? Have you made any progress in searching for her whereabouts, Katherine?"
"...No," Katherine let out a sigh as soon as she heard Riley's question, "And if I may speak honestly-- you should just ask your father."
"No, I have already told you that my family's involvement in this should be minimal, Katherine."
"Your father is leading the annihilation of the Dark Millenium. I am pretty sure that is as involved as he could ever get," Katherine said as she started the car.
"Well, he could be in one of the cages," Riley quickly answered, "Then he would truly be involved with me, Katherine."
Katherine has been quite curious as Riley has been mentioning 'Cages' and the 'Others' several times but did not really want to ask any further as she was already deep inside Riley's world too much already. So instead, she just started to drive away with another question,
"...What about Silvie? You said so yourself that she looks almost identical to Mega Woman, questioning her would have merit."
"She knows nothing, Katherine," Riley shook his head, "...But the person that probably knows something will be arriving in the Academy soon."
"...What do you mean?"
"Silvie's father. The students' families are arriving at the Academy and will be staying indefinitely, correct?" Riley muttered, "Perhaps we could set up a meeting with him. If he is indeed Silvie's father, then he would most likely know where Mega Woman is as he is her… lover."
"Did… you also plan for this?"
"No, I'm not my father, Katherine," Riley's sigh almost tickled Katherine's ears, "I suppose we could just consider this as luck?"
"...Being lucky is not one of your abilities, is it? Like Lucky Chucky?"
"No, Katherine," Riley squinted his eyes, "There's someone out there with the ability to increase his luck?"
"...Yes."
"Interesting," Riley muttered, "Someday I will take you to see what other abilities I have, I am sure they will be delighted to meet you."
"..."
"Speaking of which, Katherine-- I suppose you will be meeting my mother soon."
"...What?"
Riley almost hit the barrier on his head on the dash as Katherine suddenly stepped on the brakes-- it was a good thing he was wearing his seatbelt; as even he, the evilest villain known to man, knows that one should always wear your seatbelt.
"You will be meeting my mother soon, Katherine," Riley then repeated as he fixed his hair, "It would seem my sister has been telling her everything about you and your previous desperate attempts to seduce me."
"...What?"
"She has been wanting to meet you, Katherine. I think the two of you will like each other, you're quite similar in some ways."
"What…
...What would we even be talking about?"
***
"Is… this the last of them?"
A small gnawing crunched in the air; a woman's whisper accompanied it. The woman had her hair in a ponytail, wearing a tank top that revealed her chiseled stomach. But even with the lines surrounding her body, her skin was the most noticeable of all-- it was grey.
Grey skin, with veins that almost seemed transparent that one could see red flowing through them. And in her hands, was a man; whose neck was twisted in a way that should not be possible.
And then, there was a beat. A beat echoing like a soft drum piercing the air as some sort of blur suddenly appeared in front of the woman; but soon, the blur turned into the form of a man-- his body completely covered in a black suit; his seemingly transparent helmet, almost taking the shape of his head.
His eyes could not be seen through his helmet… the green mustache that was plastered on his face, however, was pretty noticeable.
"Tempo?" The grey-skinned woman then slightly grunted as she saw the man, "What are fuck are you doing here?"
"Whiteking asked me to check up on you, Hera," the man called Tempo quickly replied as he looked at the grey-skinned woman, Hera, straight in the face.
"Why not check up on me himself?" Hera clicked her tongue as she dropped the body he was holding to the ground.
"You know he always avoids you when you're in this berserk state," Tempo sighed, "There's no using logic on you when you're like this."
"...I am learning to control my powers by the minute, thank you very much," Hera scoffed as she patted her hands clean of all the blood and dust around them.
"...Really?" Tempo breathed out as he turned his head towards the surrounding area; several houses within a 500-meter radius, blown to smithereens-- even buildings did not escape as craters formed like honeycombs, "Your...
...target is only 42 people, Hera."
"And only 42 people are dead."
Hera and Tempo-- 2 of the 7 members of the leading superhero group in the world, the Hope Guild.
Chapter 86"Your target is only 42 people, Hera."
"And only 42 people are dead."
Hera crossed her arms as she nodded to herself in satisfaction. Tempo, on the other hand, could not help but once again look at the ruin she made. Although it's true that he was not seeing any other bodies besides the one sprawled on the floor near them, it feels like there were bound to be more dead people.
"...I think you did more than--"
"Are you doubting my words, peasant?" Hera did not let Tempo finish his words as she took a step towards him, "I made sure to ask Whiteking to have the others evacuated in a very sneaky manner before I let loose here!"
"P… please calm down. T… the sun's gett--"
"I am calm!"
"H… hey… your fists! Your fists!" Tempo's body started blurring as he took a few steps back, his fingers pointing towards Hera's fists, which were now trembling; the red veins crawling on them letting out a pulsing glow.
And as soon as Hera realized her fists were trembling on their own, she quickly took in a long and very deep breath. And soon, her grey skin started to turn into its natural color-- a light brown. Her muscles also started to calm down-- maybe too much as they completely almost disappeared, leaving only a slender and tall woman in its wake.
"See?" Hera then let out a small scoff, "I know how to control my abilities."
"R… right," Tempo breathed out as he slightly took another step back.
[Tempo, the others need you in Singapore.]
"That's my cue to leave!"
"W… wait!"
"Stay chill, Hera!"
And as soon as Tempo's words reached Hera's ears, it was followed by the sound akin to that of skipping stones over a winter lake; echoing with some sort of ripple as Tempo's body could be seen flickering over the distance-- almost like rhythmic drum… a tempo.
"Tch," Hera then clicked her tongue as she watched Tempo disappear, "What are you talking about, I'm always chill."
[Hera, the collateral damage you've inflicted is estimated to be $724,000,000…
...would you be paying that in check or installments?]
"Fuck you, Whiteking!"
Hera's skin instantly turned grey as she violently stomped her foot to the ground; causing a small earthquake and obliterating whatever building still stood within the vicinity as the honeycomb-like craters began to merge into one huge crater.
[...]
"..."
[$1,200,420,444 now.]
"..."
[...]
"...Bulwark will pay for it."
***
"And so, what do you guys need me for?"
An echoing drum once again thundered in the air as Tempo appeared in a blur, his eyes immediately surveying the surrounding area, and as soon as he saw a bald man, his body once again blurred before appearing next to the bald man.
Unlike where Hera was, the area he was now in did not have that many houses or buildings; with only a single tall tower from afar being the only noticeable landmark. But instead, there were tents scattered everywhere.
"10 minutes and 24 seconds," the bald man then quickly said as he looked at his watch, which was almost indiscernible with all the blood covering it, "You are getting slow, Mr. Tempo."
The bald man then turned his red eyes towards Tempo, before wiping the knife in his hands on his white uniform… which was similar to that of a chef's.
"...I have been running the whole day. I came all from Russia and this is how you treat m-- Oh shit," Tempo could not help but let out a small gasp as he looked at the scenery behind the bald man; it was filled with corpses, their heads all separated from their bodies,
"...Wait 'til the media sees this," Tempo sighed.
"Whiteking will--"
"This is why I suggested for Butcher to stay home… or even better, kick him out of the team!"
And before the bald man could finish his words, a hissing sound whispered in the air as some sort of pearl-colored humanoid robot landed in the ground; its surface almost like scales that were rattling with every minute movement. Its figure, almost towering Tempo and the bald man by a full meter.
"I am here because I am 32% more efficient than any of you when it comes to lethal missions and assassinations," the bald man, Butcher, turned his red but almost dead-like eyes towards the robot, "Unlike you, Whiteking lite."
"W… Whiteking lite!?" The scales of the humanoid robot rattled erratically before its torso split wide open, revealing a slightly petite woman wearing some sort of goggles. But even with the goggles covering her eyes, the green streaks of lightning that were emerging from her almond-shaped eyes were clear to see. Her feet, also letting out green sparks with every step she took towards Butcher.
"My name is V and you should tremble from my name!" The petite woman roared, "And I eliminated more targets than you by… like a lot, go calculate that you emotionless bastard!"
"You eliminated more targets, correct. But in the process, you also destroyed a lot," Butcher then pointed his knife towards an area on the horizon, which was similar to the damage that Hera made back in Russia.
"Does that even--"
"Alright, alright!" Tempo then suddenly appeared between the two, both his hands raised in defeat, "Before the two of you start pulling each others' hair--"
"I don't have hair."
"...Before you guys start fighting, please tell me what you need me here for."
"Oh, that," Butcher then pointed his knife towards the tall tower that Tempo passed by earlier, "Please evacuate all the citizens within the impact zone."
"...God damn you guys," Tempo looked towards the tall tower, only to see it slowly crumbling and tilting to the side. Tempo's feet were about to move, but before he could take even a single step--
[I have this one, please rest.]
A golden glow appeared beside the tower, and if one were to look and squint their eyes, one could see a human within the bright golden luminescence. The individual's hair was gold, freely flowing in the air as he floated; the individual's tight-skin suit was also completely golden.
"Bulwark… You were here as well?"
[Of course.]
Bulwark's voice reverberated through Tempo's earbuds as he saw him placing his hand on the tilting tower, and as soon as he did so, a sort of golden force field quickly swallowed the tower, before Bulwark began to carefully lift it above him.
And although Bulwark's voice clearly indicated that he was male, his face seemed more akin to that of a beautiful woman as his golden eyes looked down on Tempo.
"..."
[Since you are not needed there,]
And as Tempo was busy almost being dragged to the other side, Whiteking's voice echoed through his ear, [Go and assist Empress in London. I'll send you the coordinates since she is in the air.]
"Sure--"
[I do not need help, Whiteking.]
And before Tempo could even respond, a sharp and seemingly strict voice pierced his ears.
[That's the last airbase,] Whiteking responded, [It would help you better if Tempo is there.]
[I said I do not--]
"On my way."
And before the female super called Empress could respond, another drumming echo whispered in the air as Tempo disappeared from his spot.
"Hm…" Tempo's eyes almost seemed like they completely turned black as he looked at the coordinates sent to him by Whiteking. There were hundreds of screens projected on the shield of his helmet, helping him process which way to go.
And soon, after a minute, his feet stopped moving.
"Greetings, m'queen. I have arrived just in time for tea-- Oh shit, this is high," Tempo's feet were at the edge of a metallic platform, and beneath him was nothing but a sea of clouds.
"And where art thou, m'queen?" Tempo then mockingly said as he took a few steps back, "Seriously though, where are you?"
Tempo's eyes scanned the roof of the colossal floating ship he was now standing on, only to see no signs of anyone other than him.
"Are you inside the ship?"
[I told you I do not need your help. Blame Whiteking for what's about to happen to you next.]
"What do you--"
And before Tempo could even finish his words, a terrifying howl hummed through the sky like a whale as the colossal ship started to tremble.
"...Shit," and soon… Tempo could see the clouds getting farther and farther away in view.
"...Please don't do what I think you're about to do."
[....Too late.]
Chapter 87"...Please don't do what I think you're about to do."
[...Too late.]
Tempo could only crouch down as the clouds that once littered beside his feet were no longer to be seen. And soon, his fingers started to lift from the ground as he felt himself getting lighter and lighter.
Several warning signs also appeared on his helmet as he could feel a permeating breeze crawling through his skin; but soon, with the disappearance of the warning signs, the temperature within his suit started to stabilize.
"You… you did this on purpose, didn't you, Whiteking!?" Tempo then screamed as his surroundings started to turn slightly darker; the light that beautifully surrounded mother earth, slowly fading.
[I apologize belatedly.]
Tempo could hear Whiteking slightly chuckling from behind the earbuds, [I wanted to test if the new suit is capable of withstanding the harsh environments and conditions of space. It is very good to see that it actually is.]
"You used me as a guinea pig!? What if it didn't work!?"
[You'll survive. And also, Empress is there to save you in case you start choking or something.]
And as soon as Whiteking finished his words, everything within Tempo's view became slow as he quickly took a few steps back; leaving some sort of skirt of wind with every step as he did so.
He then turned his eyes towards where he was just standing a few moments ago, only for him to see the roof splitting open; the debris shooting out at a very slow pace as it ruptured into varying sizes of cracks.
However, even with everything else moving slowly; the fist that suddenly emerged from the ruptured floor moved at an almost normal rate, the numerous golden bangles wrapped around its arm dangling freely; and soon, the owner of that fist revealed itself to be a woman.
Her eyes were completely blue; her skin was dark and almost silky, a complete contrast with her long white hair that flowed freely in the air-- only restricted by the gold crown she was wearing, which was shaped like a thorny feather on the sides.
Like the rest of the members of the Hope Guild, the suit she was wearing had traces of being developed by Whiteking; hers was sort of a soft, gold and black armor that covered her torso, leaving her arms completely free with only the golden bangles to adorn them.
The long skirt that was split in the middle she was wearing also snapped in the air, waking Tempo from his stupor.
Tempo did not look for long, however, as he remembered that he was currently in space.
"This… is quite brutal," Tempo then muttered as he could see people floating inside the hole that Empress created.
"This is better," Empress then let out a small sigh as she stepped back on the roof of the ship, "At least this way, their deaths will be quick and almost painless."
Empress raised her hand, and as soon as she did so, Tempo quickly disappeared from his spot-- not before cursing Whiteking, of course.
"F… fuck you, Whiteking!" Tempo screamed as he clumsily leaped away from the ship; and even though they were in space, each of his steps still made an echoing sound.
And with him gone, Empress slammed her palm on the colossal airship. There was no sound whatsoever, only a deathly silence as the entirety of the ship rippled, its body crumpling ever so slowly… and soon erupted into tiny million pieces.
"..." Tempo, who was watching the view as earth's gravity once again slowly greeted him, could not help but let out a sigh of relief as he escaped the Empress's wrath. His relieved sighs, however, quickly became that of guilt as he saw the hundreds of people writhing in space-- but soon quickly stopping as the merciless expanse of space crushed the last embers of their life.
However, once again, his sigh was interrupted as he realized one crucial thing.
"...Wait, can this survive entering back to the atmosphere!?"
[...We'll see.]
"W… Whiteking!"
***
"God... damn it."
Tempo's heavy breaths whispered loudly in the air as he allowed himself to fall on a metallic, but seemingly soft chair.
"Why do you look so tired, Tempo?"
Tempo's sighs were then quickly overpowered by whirring noise that whistled in the air-- the sound that V's mecha suit was making whenever she stepped out of it. Her green eyes, emitting statics of electricity as she sat on the chair in front of her, leaving her mecha suit standing behind her.
"Maybe it's also time to kick you out of the guild and replace you with someone younger?" V then said as she smiled at Tempo.
"What do you mean tired!?" Tempo quickly raised his voice as he slammed the table in the center of them, "I am always the one cleaning all of your mess… And why are you always talking about having someone kicked out!?"
"I'm just saying," V shrugged her shoulders before rolling her glowing eyes.
"Y--"
"That's enough."
And before Tempo could even rebuke, words filled with authority echoed throughout the white and bright hall they were in, "Why are the two of you always acting like children?"
V and Tempo then quickly leaned back to their seats, before looking to the side to avoid each other's gazes; and beside them, were the other members of the Hope Guild, already seated and just watching the two of them with an amused expression on their faces.
The hall they were in emitted a white light on all corners, with multiple giant monitors attached to the wall, showing different cities in the view of a satellite.
"Is everyone here?" The voice filled with authority once again echoed throughout the hall as Empress approached the others; confidently walking before flicking her long skirt to the side as she took a seat at the center of the v-shaped table.
"Present!" V was the first to raise her hand.
"Here, here," Tempo said with a small sigh.
"I am here as you required," Butcher whispered, his arms crossed and his knives on the table.
"Always at your service, ma'am," Bulwark saluted, his golden eyes flickering as he did so.
"Let's just get this over with, I still have a modeling gig later," Hera lazily whispered as she rested her arms on the table.
"..."
"..."
"..."
A few seconds passed with no one speaking; until finally, Empress let out a small sigh as she turned her eyes towards V's mecha suit. And as soon as she did so, Whiteking stepped out from behind it.
"Sorry, I was repairing something," Whiteking then said as he waved his hand, before proceeding to sit next to Empress.
"We've destroyed all of the bases, correct?" Empress quickly breathed out as soon as everyone was accounted for.
"According to my informant, that is all of them," Whiteking nodded.
"And are we truly sure this informant could be trusted?" Empress slightly leaned closer to Whiteking's seat.
"Everything he or she said has been true so far," Whiteking once again nodded, "I thoroughly analyzed everything with the database, everything checked out."
"But there's no data on their leader?" Empress squinted her eyes.
"Only that my informant referred to her as...
....she."
Chapter 88"...She?"
"So the leader of the Dark Millenium is a woman?"
"So their leader really isn't Darkday?" Hera then joined in on the conversation, clicking her tongue as she checked her finely manicured nails, "I was hoping to fight him again."
"I believe you are lying, Hera," Butcher then opened his eyes as he looked Hera in the eyes, "You almost died in the last battle. If it was not for Mega Woman fighting Darkday's main body, then the chances of you dying was at 100%."
"Shut your balding head, red eyes," Hera returned Butcher's gaze with a glare.
"It is not just you, Hera," Butcher shook his head, "The percent of all of us dying without Mega Woman there was at a hundred percent."
"...Tch."
Butcher's words were then followed by a painful silence-- only broken with Empress's sigh.
"Enough speaking of Darkday. He has not shown himself for months, allowing us to breathe," Empress said as she waved her hand, "Thank you all for responding to my call. I know you're busy doing your duties with your own countries."
"Hm."
"Just a little, this is important, though."
"You may return to your lives," Empress then said as she stood up, "However, our mission is still ongoing-- finding the Dark Millenium's leader. And make sure you wipe out any traces of us annihilating the Dark Millenium," she then said as she looked at Whiteking.
"Already have," Whiteking raised his thumb.
"Alright, all of you may leave."
And as soon as she said that, the members of the Hope Guild quickly stood all at the same time.
"Except for you, Whiteking. Please stay."
"..." The other members looked at each other with slightly furrowed eyebrows as they heard Empress's words, but continued to leave without a word after a few seconds.
Whiteking looked at the leaving members; and as soon as everyone was gone, his helmet opened up and quickly folded into his pauldrons.
"What's up--"
And as soon as Whiteking turned around, he felt a warm touch placed upon his lips.
"..." Whiteking's mind paused for a few seconds before he leaned his head back and his arms quickly pushed away the source of the warmth.
"We can't, Empress."
"Call me by my name, Bernard," Empress's eyebrows quickly furrowed as Whiteking pushed her away.
"..."
"..."
"...Adaeze," Whiteking whispered, "We can't keep doing this. I have a wife and kids."
"You had a wife and a kid before."
"That was when Hannah was just born! I… I was so confused at that time that--"
"You say that… but you're the one who came back to me, remember?" Empress's voice became soft as she grabbed Whiteking's hand, "Or are you only using me whenever you're troubled? What do you think I am!?"
"Just… let's not," Whiteking quickly shook her hand away, "That… that time I thought Darkday would kill us all… I was just… Let's just stop this. The others are already getting suspicious."
"For one of the smartest people I know, you're also the most oblivious one," Empress muttered, "They already know about us. I am in love with you, Bernard… No… I love you."
"And I love my wife," Whiteking then said as he turned to leave.
"...You wouldn't have slept with me if you did."
"..." Whiteking did not respond, but instead his helmet once again covered his head as he stepped out of the bright hall.
"..."
"..."
With her left alone in the Guild Hall, Empress once again sat back on her seat; quickly placing both her hands on her forehead as she let out a long and very deep breath… a breath that soon stuttered.
"Why…" Empress breathed out as tears started to trail on her face, "Why... does it have to be you?
Empress, Whiteking, Tempo, Bulwark, Hera, V, and Butcher; All Grade-S Supers. Together, they form the leading and No. 1 Superhero group in the world--
--the Hope Guild.
***
"Damn… What's the occasion? Why is everyone suddenly out and not emo anymore?" Gary could be seen leaping into the air, his palms above his eyes as he looked at the almost thousand people gathered in front of the Academy gates.
"...Weren't you informed?" Hannah answered him as she slightly pushed him to the side, "Most of the students' families will be staying in the Academy now."
"Oh…" Gary quickly stopped hopping around as he looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "Then let me come with you guys."
"...Why?"
"So I can meet my future mother-in-law."
"Go fuck yourself."
"Why don't the both of us do that to me?" Gary repeatedly raised both his eyebrows.
"Go away, man! Bother your own family," Hannah waved both her hands, gesturing to Gary to leave.
"Well…
...I don't really have any family here."
"...Fine," Hannah sighed as she heard Gary's words,
"But don't say anything unnecessary or I will crush your balls myself-- or worse, Riley will do it."
"I will do no such thing, sister," Riley, who was keeping quiet on the side, quickly furrowed his eyebrows as soon as he heard his sister's words, "I find it very disgusting that you would even propose such a thing…
...ew."
"...Why do I feel like I should be relieved and hurt at the same time?" Gary muttered as his eye began to twitch, "Anyway, where's the other two?"
"Silvie and Tomoe?" Hannah breathed out, "Silvie will be here any minute now… but as for Tomoe, she isn't really answering any of my calls."
"I smell parental issues, we shall visit her in her room later as good friends."
"...You're not allowed in the female's building."
"Not allowed… or not advised?" Gary once again raised both his eyebrows repeatedly. Gary and Hannah continued to bicker for a few more minutes, before Hannah slightly moved closer to Riley.
"Speaking of people that should be here…" Hannah said, her voice turning colder by the second, "Why is she here!?" She then roared as her fingers pointed towards the silver-haired woman standing beside Riley.
"Because mother wants to meet her," Riley quickly answered after taking a glance at Katherine, "I think she is excited because she has heard a lot of things about her from you, sister."
"Oh…" Hannah's eye suddenly became slanted as she heard Riley's words, "...This should be good then."
"..." Katherine, who was quietly standing on the side, could not help but twitch her eyes as Hannah's mocking chuckle whispered through her ears. Although she might sound crazy saying it, but out of all the things that she had done for Riley, this was probably the most nervous she has been.
...Even having a hand in killing all of those innocent people couldn't compare to what she was feeling right now.
"Ah, it's opening!" Gary then once again leaped in the air as a loud humming noise reverberated in the air, "I'm so excited to meet my future mother-in-- Gukh!"
And before Gary could even finish his words, his balls landed straight towards Hannah's fist. And with the pained roar that almost reached the heavens, the other students that were near them could not help but move away due to the sheer force of second-hand discomfort they were feeling.
"W… why? This… this was for you…"
Gary's dying words, however, were heard by none as Hannah and the others were busy looking at the colossal armored trucks and tanks entering the Academy. Most of them could not help but slightly let out small gasps as they did not expect them to come rolling in with military equipment… but ever since the incident, it would seem the government was already putting every expense into safeguarding the people in the Academy.
There were also super-soldiers and heavy tanks blocking the gates as they closed-- making sure no one would be able to get in.
And finally, after all of that charade-- the students' families began stepping out of the armored vehicles one by one. They were asked by the staff to go out in a leisurely and relaxed manner, but as soon as they saw the faces of their children, they all rushed to hug them.
"Do you see mom!?"
"I have," Riley muttered as he raised his hand, and as soon as he did so, a woman emerged and floated from the crowd; and slowly, the woman hovered towards them.
"R… Riley! I thought it was you! P… please, drop me down! It's embarrassing!"
"Very well, mother." Riley quickly dropped his hand, and as soon as he did so, her mother came falling down from the air.
"Riley!?" Katherine was about to summon a puff of wind below Diana, but before she could do so, Diana suddenly started spinning in the air.
"..."
And with extreme agility, she landed on the ground elegantly, letting out a confident smirk as she looked at her children. And without even saying a word, she rushed towards them and hugged them; Riley, however, quickly dodged to the side.
"This… is a really weird family, don't you think so, teach?" Gary then whispered as he finally recovered from his misfortune.
Weird?
Weird was an understatement.
The two could only watch as Diana relentlessly-- violently tried to hug Riley, only for Riley to evade her advance with what seemed like Tai Chi.
And if their eyes weren't fooling them, Diana's hands... were getting faster and faster. Were they really sure Diana wasn't a Super?
And after a few more seconds of this, Diana then looked towards Katherine; her breaths still heavy from having to chase Riley around.
"So…" Diana then squinted her eyes as she approached Katherine,
"You're the instructor…
....dating my son?"
Chapter 89"..."
"..."
"..."
"When… when do you think Silvie and Tomoe gonna come?"
"Shut it, Gary."
"I… I was just asking bruh."
Gary could only slouch deeper into his seat as the tone of Hannah's voice almost buried him alive. He was used to Hannah being violent and fussy, but it was never to this level of heaviness.
They were in their usual hideout-- or perhaps it could be said to be their superhero cave now, the Korean Shaved Ice store. And it was supposed to be cold in the shop, but Gary could feel himself sweating from the heavy atmosphere hissing in the air.
Gary's eyes then turned towards Charlotte, as if begging her to do something about this situation like she did last time. But alas, Charlotte just quickly avoided his eyes; fidgeting with her cashier's terminal even though there weren't even any customers.
Seeing as Charlotte was completely ignoring them, the only thing that he could do was look back and forth across the people at his table.
Hannah, Katherine, Riley, and his mother, Diana.
Of course, if he already found the situation incredibly uncomfortable and nerve-wracking… what more Katherine?
Katherine was now feeling something that she couldn't explain. Riley's mother said she wanted to talk to her, but so far, Diana has only been quietly sitting at her seat without even saying a word for almost half an hour now.
There was a smile plastered on her face-- her heart, however, almost deafened Katherine from how fast it was beating; she wouldn't be surprised if Diana just fainted right here and now.
Just say what you want to say already-- Katherine thought as she returned Diana's smile.
"Where will you be staying in the Academy, mother?"
But finally, after a few more seconds of this awkward and chilling silence, Riley was the first to speak.
And soon, finally, Diana also broke her silence-- but not to answer her son's question.
"How old are you, Scarlet Mage?" But instead looked at Katherine straight in the eyes, her tone completely cold; her smile, however, still stood strong.
"I'm… 28, Mrs. Ross," Katherine quickly answered, but not without taking in a gulp mid-sentence.
"How old do you think Riley is?"
"...17."
"He is 16, Scarlet Mage. Barely--"
"I am actually 17 years old now, mother," Riley interrupted the conversation.
"...What?"
"My birthday already passed inside the Academy, mother," Riley mentioned, "You even told father to greet me on your behalf."
"When… when did that happen?"
"A couple months ago, mother," Riley said.
"..." Diana squinted her eyes at Riley, before once again focusing her attention on Katherine, "E… Either way, he just passed the age of consent."
"You tell her, mom!" Hannah added, her head always facing the ceiling as she tried her best to look down on Katherine."
"My son is still very young and ignorant about the world," Diana then let out a sigh, "I am afraid that you are preying on his innocence…
...What exactly is it that you want from him?"
"That's…"
What was she even supposed to say? That Riley has her mother hostage and that she was actually just a slave to him? Or that…
"I am in love with your son, Mrs. Ross."
"Oh, shit!"
Gary, whose eyes were still carefully watching the scenery unfold in front of him, could not help but rise from his seat; however, his head was quickly slammed to the table by Hannah as she stood up.
"Love!? Do you even know what you--"
"I see," and before Hannah could even finish her raging words, Diana raised her hand and gestured for her to calm down-- and seeing the serious look on her mother's face, the only thing Hannah could do was obey.
"And what about you, Riley?" Diana then said as she looked at her son, "What do you feel about her?"
"I am incapable of feeling love, mother."
"Yes, yes," Diana quickly waved her hand, "But what do you feel about her? What is her role to you?"
"..."
Riley glanced at Katherine for a few seconds, before turning his head back to where he was previously looking, "She is very important to my daily operations, mother. I can't do the things I have been doing now as efficiently without her help."
"I… see."
And soon, Diana's shoulders began to tremble; and if one focused their ears, one could hear her whispering something.
"M… mom? Please… calm down," Hannah then said as she slightly moved away from Diana, "See what you did, Riley!? You made her--"
"My son finally has a girlfriend!"
Hannah then almost stumbled to the ground as Diana suddenly stood up from her seat, raising her hand as she moved closer towards Katherine and Riley. She then grabbed her phone from her bag and started taking pictures of them.
"W… w… what are you doing, mom!?" Hannah said as she tried to grab the phone from her mother's hand, but alas, she was weirdly fast.
"Interesting," Riley muttered as she saw the phone, "You were allowed to bring in your phones, mother?"
"No," Diana shook her hand as she continued taking photos of Riley and Katherine, "They gave it to us when we were in the van."
"..." Riley squinted his eyes as soon as he heard his mother's words. The students were allowed to have phones... and now even the families.
The government was so secretive of the Academy at first, but now it felt like they wanted them to be shown to the outside world. Just what exactly is their plan?
It was definitely something they couldn't do when Mega Woman was still present. He should probably have Katherine check in on--
"Mom! I thought you were on my side about this!"
His thoughts were then completely disrupted as Hannah's body began to emit fumes, causing Charlotte to panic as their store's display started melting one by one.
"I am, dear," Diana then stopped taking photos as she let out a sigh, "But I am also on your brother's side. You know, throughout his growing up, I always thought that he was never going to have a girlfriend?"
"T… that's not--"
"And to think his first girlfriend will be this hot! Is your silver hair natural? Or did you have it bleached somewhere!?"
"S… something like that?" Katherine could not help but move to the side as Diana suddenly scooched over beside her.
"Mom… what are you--"
"Rather than that," Diana's tone then suddenly became serious as she looked at Hannah, "You're already turning 20 in a few months… when are you going to get a boyfriend?"
"What!? This isn't about me--"
"Why, hello there… future mother-in-law."
And before Hannah could even say another word, Gary stood up and quickly kneeled in front of Diana, gently holding her hand and smiling at her.
"Oh my," Diana chuckled, "Such a muscular young fella. Could it be--"
"No! He's not my boyfriend! Please don't continue your words!"
"What Hannah said is right, future mother-in-law," Gary then let out a long and deep sigh as he let go of Diana's hand, "But soon, I will conquer her heart and I can finally truly call you… my mother."
"My… how thoughtful of you, Hannah," Diana once again chuckled as she looked at her daughter, "For you to befriend another boy like your brother… who would think you were this compassionate."
"...What?" Hannah raised an eyebrow.
"This boy is in the spectrum as well, no?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
And so, for the first time ever, Gary had his mouth completely shut.
There were many more reunions happening all around the Academy; most are happy, some with tears of joy… and some also filled with pain and pretending.
"Tomoe Reynolds, we brought your mother here."
Tomoe was currently inside her apartment; the only light that could be seen was from her phone that reflected through her eyes. And even with the almost endless knocking resounding in the room, her eyes did not leave the phone one bit as they continued to stare at videos and photos of Riley.
"Tomoe Reynolds, your mother is here to see you!"
"Tomo--"
"It's fine."
"..." And as soon as a different voice seeped from the door, Tomoe's eyes suddenly began to flicker. But after a few seconds, they returned to normal as she once again stared at her phone.
"I'll… just see her later when she is not tired."
"That's… Very well, Mrs. Reynolds. Let me at least escort you to the Family Villa."
"..."
"..."
And as soon as she was sure that there weren't any more people outside her apartment, she quickly stood up from the bed; quickly leaving the room as soon as she got dressed.
Tomoe was one of the few who refused to see their parents; there were also those who met with their family… but in the end, did not really have the reunion they imagined.
"Father…"
Silvie was in her apartment, her body completely straight as her eyes followed the man walking around her room, which was free of any unnecessary items; almost immaculate, even.
The man continued to walk, his fingers trailing on the wall as he did so. And after a few more seconds of doing this, he stopped to check on his fingers; nodding as soon as he checked that there were no signs of dust sticking on them.
"Good," the man nodded, his glasses slightly sliding down the bridge of his nose as he did so. The man had the same hair color as Silvie-- a gold with a brown shade, tied into a ponytail.
"About the incident that happened, are you okay now?" The man then said as he stood in front of Silvie.
"Yes, thank you for your concern, father."
"I heard it was during the Festival?"
"Yes."
"Were you winning your event?"
"...I would like to think so, father."
"Hm, that is good to know."
"D… Dad?" Silvie's body then began to relax as she heard her father's sigh.
"Hm?"
"My… friends and I actually agreed to meet after this. They are waiting for me right now," Silvie muttered as she slightly looked to the side, glancing at her father from time to time, "Can… can you come with me to meet them?"
"Friends?" Silvie's father breathed out, "You have made friends here?"
"Y… yes," Silvie smiled, "You should come with--"
"I'm tired," Silvie's father shook his head before she could finish her words, "Tell them I will meet them next time."
"That's--"
"Go ahead," Silvie's father let out a small smile as he gestured to Silvie to leave, "I'll find my way through the Academy on my own."
"..."
"...Okay, father," Silvie once again stood straight, trying her best not to bite her lip, "Please… take your rest."
"Hm," Silvie's father watched as Silvie left the apartment, before shaking his head with a sigh,
"...I knew this was a bad idea."
One would be surprised that Silvie is not alone with this kind of reunion, as there were also many who wanted to please their parents. There are also reunions, however, that involved a subtle… malice.
"Is what you said on the phone true?"
"Yes, father…
....The One Cursed by God is here."
Chapter 90"Yes, father…
...The One Cursed by God is here."
In front of the Academy gates, the clamoring and murmurings in the air still whispered strongly as there were still students and families that had not headed to the respective housing provided to them by the Academy.
And among them, was a group of students from the South Africa Mega Academy; huddled up along with their families.
However, it was quite hard to determine whose parent is who, as all of them were only looking at one person-- the one that Jamba calls his father. Their heads were all slightly bowed, perhaps not daring to have their eyes at a higher level than Jamba's father.
But even if they weren't bowing their heads; Jamba's father towered even him, who was now probably the tallest student in the Academy, by almost an entire foot.
"Are you sure, my son?" Jamba's father breathed out, the tone of his voice almost shook the ground from how deep it was.
"Yes, fa--"
"Call me Chief when the others are present."
"Y… yes, Chief Abdalla," Jamba slightly stuttered as his father's domineering voice slightly crawled through his skin.
"I see," Chief Abdalla placed his hand on his chest, "It would seem the time for us to do our duty has come. What happened to this place must also have something to do with the Ghost…
...Our fate is true."
"Our fate is true," Jamba and the other members of the group repeated Chief Abdalla's words; their voices completely in sync as they hummingly whispered in the air.
"..."
"...The fuck."
Duma, the SAMA student that Riley spoke to the night before the events, could not help but slightly squint his eyes as he looked at Jamba's little gathering.
"Is something wrong, son?"
"N… no. Actually, yes," Duma then quickly looked towards the man that patted his shoulder. And just like him, his father also adorned dreads on his head, "Those guys seem to be from some sort of cult."
"That--" Duma's father took a quick look to where his son was pointing, only for him to quickly move his head away with a slight wince, "Best not to get involved with them, son. I recognized the tall man in the middle, the one with the beard-- he is some chief of a tribe or something. He was on the local news a few years back."
"They… are talking about the One Cursed by God," Duma then said, "I'm afraid they're going to cause some trouble in the Academy."
"Cursed by God?" Duma's father could not help but let out a snort before grabbing his bags on the ground, "Just some old tales grandpa used to tell us. Most importantly, how is the Academy treating you?"
"...The classes don't start until next week, I think," Duma sighed, "We'll kno--"
"Can you believe it!?" And before Duma could even finish his words, his father suddenly raised the bags he was holding in the air, "My son in America… never thought I'd see the day."
"...I'm here because a whole lot of people died, dad."
"Right, right. I don't forget," Duma's father then shook his head as he started to head towards the bus that would take them to the Family Villa.
"I'll see you around, fa--"
"What are you talking about!? You're going to help me bring my things!"
"...Things?" Duma blinked a couple of times before looking towards where his father was pointing to… only to see a large refrigerator.
"You… brought the fridge?"
"Of course! Who's going to eat the food!? Our neighbors!? Ah, no. No!"
"...Why did they even allow you to bring that?"
Duma could only let out a long and deep sigh as he started carrying his father's things, but not before taking one final glance at Jamba and his tribe.
...It looks like he needs to warn Riley Ross.
***
"Agh! I can't believe this!"
Hannah was now roaming outside the Academy's Mall, which was now officially dubbed as Mega Mall. But no matter how mega it was, Hannah's whispers of frustration were enough to cover the whole mall.
"What do you mean I need a boyfriend!?" Hannah then angrily muttered as she stomped her foot on the ground as she walked aimlessly, "I thought she was there to lecture Riley but then she star-- Agh!"
And as she wasn't looking where she was going, it was only a matter of time before she bumped into something… or into someone.
"What the fuck… Can't you watch where you're goi--"
"Are you alright, m'lady?"
And before Hannah could even release her frustration, a hand was suddenly offered to her.
"..." She stared at the hand for a few seconds, before turning her head towards its owner-- A blonde young man, with a cane in his other hand.
"...Thanks," Hannah then took the hand offered to her as she looked to the side while helping herself up.
"Oh, aren't you… the one that was taken hostage?"
"...I am. What's it to you?" Hannah furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to pull her hand away, but found that she was unable to do so.
"Ah, where are my manners," the young man then finally let go of her hand as he suddenly bowed towards Hannah, "My name is Julius Reuben…
...I hope you have recovered from what happened?"
"...Yeah," Hannah's eyebrows began to lower even further as she decided to leave. But before she could even take 3 steps--
"You were splendidly beautiful during that horrific time, Madam Hannah," Reuben's words breezed through her ears, almost making her freeze where she stood from the cringe.
"W… what the?" She muttered as she tried her best not to look Julius on the face.
"Even in the utmost adversity, you never once cowered in fear. I truly admire that," Julius continued,
"I believe that if I were in the same situation, I would have been filled with much trepidation as soon as I saw the bombs attached to the villain's body."
"...Right," Hannah squinted her eyes.
"Very well, you seem busy. I am not going to keep you," Julius then once again bowed, "My family is also waiting for me. But…
...perhaps we can share our numbers so we would meet again soon-- and not in happenstance?"
"..."
"...No."
"I see. Perhaps in our next meeting."
"Y… Yeah," Hannah could only awkwardly smile as Julius waved her goodbye. And as soon as he was out of sight, Hannah let out the biggest breath of relief in her life,
"What… what the fuck was that!?" Hannah breathed out. Was… was she actually getting hit on? Why was it another weird guy? Was that… her fate? Was she fated to be with a weird--
"Silv!"
And before she could finish her awry thoughts, she quickly raised her hand as soon as her eyes caught Silvie's silhouette.
"...Silvie!"
Silvie, however, seemed to have not noticed her as she continued walking towards the mall. Thankfully, after a few more steps, she noticed Hannah waving at her.
"Oh… H… hi," Silvie let out a somewhat dejected smile as she ran towards Hannah.
"...What's up?" Hannah quickly noticed this, "Where's… your father?"
"He… said he was tired," Silvie sighed.
"I… see. Are you okay, though?"
"Yes," Silvie then shook her head as she let out a small chuckle, "Just a bit disappointed. How's it going with your mother? Why are you outside?"
"Ugh… please don't ask me," Hannah once again groaned in frustration.
"...That bad, huh?"
And with that, Silvie's sighs of disappointment and Hannah's grounds of frustration made an orchestra worthy of filling the entire parking lot-- only stopped as soon as Silvie saw Tomoe walking towards the mall.
"Tomoe!"
Tomoe was wearing a pair of headphones. And even covered with a hoodie, it was quite obvious that it was her due to her unique face. And as soon as Tomoe saw them, she quickly hid the phone she was holding and ran towards them.
"I am very sorry for my tardiness," Tomoe then bowed, "Have… you finished the meeting with your parents?"
"...Only my mom is there," Hannah muttered.
"What about you, Tomoe?" Silvie then said as she looked around, "Where's your mother?"
"I didn't want to see her."
"I… I see," Silvie could not help but stutter. If only she had half the bluntness of Tomoe, then maybe she could have insisted her father to join them.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The three then looked at each other in the eyes for a couple of seconds.
"Should we head inside the shop?"
"Oh god, please no."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Once again, the three just looked each other in the eyes, before their collective sighs almost drowned the entire Academy.
It would seem the three of them all had different problems with their parents.
***
A week passed, and the foreign students have more than acclimatized themselves inside USMA; most of the students have also started to loosen up and relax-- a big credit from having their families with them during the trying times.
And finally, the Academy has once again continued their lectures, with the students back in their costumes. As for the foreign students, they were distributed to different classrooms, and although there were minor problems and altercations in the first few hours; they soon began making friends.
Everything was about to go back to normal… However, there was an announcement that shook the entire school. With 7 Mega Students in one Academy, the school had decided to revoke all of their titles and privileges temporarily.
"So… is there going to be a fight between the 7 of them?"
With Katherine sharing this news to Class 1-V, all the eyes were at Silvie, USMA's Mega Student.
"Will there be another event to choose the Super Duper Mega Student, Miss Scarlet Mage!?"
"An event… No," Katherine shook her head.
And with that news, came the biggest change in the Academy.
"As it was before, each one of you will have the chance to be the Mega Student… but each of your activities will now be broadcast to the outside world."
"...What!?"
"But I thought our identities are supposed to be a secret!?"
"Fool, you should have known something like this would happen. They gave us phones for fuck's sake."
"Settle down, I wasn't done," Katherine raised her hand, "Even if you are not from the previous 7 Mega Students, or even if you're not doing too well…
...you will now have a chance to become the next Mega Student."
"...What? How!?"
"The Academy will no longer be grading you," Katherine sighed as she shook her head,
"...But the people."
"What!? That's so stupid!" Hannah stood up from her seat as she pointed her finger at Katherine, "I want out! I want to withdraw from the Academy! This isn't some kind of circus! I feel like the Academy is exploiting us now!"
There were a lot of mixed reactions inside the class; there were those that were amused, there were those that were angry, some were happy.
However, Katherine was only focusing on one-- Riley's fluctuating heart.
If Katherine was reading his heart right, then Riley…
....is furious.
Chapter 91With the instructors breaking the news of a voting system, the entire academy building was filled with clamor and whispers. Class 1-V was only one of the many classrooms that were in an uproar-- but even with all of these noises, Katherine was solely focused on Riley.
His heart was currently fluctuating; the last time she heard his heart beating like this was when he almost strangled her to death. Realizing this, Katherine could not help but take in a short but deep breath.
Was Riley about to do something? Is he going to destroy the Academy?
Katherine then subtly turned her eyes towards Riley, only to see his eyebrows trembling ever so slightly.
"..." Were they really in trouble?
"What's wrong with this stupid school!?"
And before Katherine's thoughts could go even more awry, Hannah's words once again reverberated throughout the entire classroom. This act would have probably annoyed Katherine; but instead, it made her let out a sigh of relief.
As long as Hannah was here, she was sure that Riley wouldn't do anything that would harm even a single strand of her hair. And so, Katherine could only watch as Hannah took off from her seat, stomping her way to the front of the teacher's platform.
"The Academy can't do this! We're not some freaks that you could just exhibit in some sort of circus!" Hannah continued.
And seeing as how some of the students were nodding, it would seem that they agree with her. Most, however, were just keeping quiet as their minds were lost in thought; with some even shrugging, showing they did not mind.
"What, are we going to perform like monkeys in front of all the people now? Is that what the government wants!?" Hannah said as she slammed her palm numerous times on the platform as she looked up towards Katherine, "What is this, the government playing Big Brother!? You even have some kind of fucked up villain list that you still have not explained--"
"Even if you continue to complain, this is out of my control," Katherine finally had enough as she raised her voice and returned Hannah's stares, "This is the government's orders-- go complain to them."
"Oh, I'm complaining!" Hannah did not let up and raised her voice even further, "They planned this from the start! I wouldn't be surprised if they even created the Dark Millenium in the first place to--"
"Hannah, please calm down!"
"To..." Hannah was about to continue her words, but as soon as she saw the expression on Silvie's face as she tried to calm her down, the only thing she could do was shake her head.
"Fuck this shit," she then breathed out as she returned to her seat, "This fucking government, I swear."
"W... wait," and as soon as Hannah's raging voice started to dissipate, it was then replaced by Gary's somewhat sedated voice.
"If... if the citizens will be watching us in our activities from now on... doesn't that mean we have our own channel or something!?" Gary breathed out as he stood up from his seat.
"There... will be a streaming platform that will have channels dedicated to each of you, yes," Katherine responded, "But I don't know the full details, so we would have to wait for the Academy's official statement."
"W... wait..." Gary's hands started to tremble, "What... what about the followers I gained in YouView!? I... I've just passed a thousand subs!"
"...As I said, I don't have the full details," Katherine's eyes started to twitch, "But it will be implemented next week."
"But who will edit our videos!? Is it just going to be raw!?" Gary's almost screaming and pained voice echoed throughout the entire classroom, "This...
...This can't be happening!"
Throughout the day, there were a lot of mixed reactions; some agreed, some hated it, some were neutral...
...and then there was Gary.
But even with all of the hustle and bustle, the day moved on; the normal classes in the afternoon almost sedated the topic, as the students returned to studying the law-- almost completely erasing the topic from the minds of the students as they all stepped out of the classroom, tired and confused.
There was one student, however, who remained inside Class 1-V.
Riley Ross was still sitting at his desk, his elbows rested as he stared at nowhere in particular. But after a few seconds, a whistling hiss whispered in the room as the metal door opened.
"Is... everything alright, Riley?" Katherine's somewhat soft voice then resounded in the empty classroom. She then took a step forward, locking the doors of the classroom with her tablet as she did so.
However, as soon as she took her 3rd step, she felt binding pressure crawling across her body, and without even having the time to react, she flew across the room, stopping right in front of Riley.
"Y... you're hurting me," Katherine muttered as her arms were completely locked, slightly pressing on her breasts which put her in quite the unflattering position, "Why... why are you so angr-- Eep!"
And before she could even finish her words, she felt herself fall on top of the desk; her face, being slowly wrapped by Riley's deep breaths as his lips were only an inch away from hers.
"..." Katherine could not help but take in a small gulp as she glanced at Riley's warm-looking but pale lips. And after a few moments, she slowly leaned in closer. But before their lips could touch, Riley spoke-- leaving Katherine with her lips mouth slightly opened and her tongue slightly sticking out.
"Mega Woman," Riley then muttered.
"M... Mega Woman?" While Katherine stuttered.
"Hm," Riley then nodded as he leaned back on his seat, "She wouldn't like what's happening now at all, Katherine."
"...What do you mean?" Seeing as Riley had no intention of being physical with her at all, Katherine stood from the desk and started to compose herself.
"Throughout our battles and meetings together... I have learned things about her, you see," Riley breathed out, the tone of his voice almost reflecting his emotions, "We talked for long amounts of time, Katherine... and I know she wouldn't like what the government is doing at all."
"You... talked to her?" Katherine no longer had any unnecessary thoughts as she sat beside Riley, her voice filled with curiosity, "But you told me she was unresponsive when you... hid her in your closet."
"She was, Katherine," Riley shook his head, "I meant our discussions before that."
"...You and Mega Woman... talked even before that?" Katherine breathed out, her surprise slowly building up. Riley... truly had a different tone whenever he was talking about Mega Woman. It... somewhat made Katherine a little... jealous?
"Yes, she approached me once."
"Approached... without the costume!?"
"No...
...as Darkday."
A few years ago, when Darkday's name was already starting to be known throughout the entire world, he was casually roaming across the vast skies...
...busy comparing the screams of those he had killed and tortured. Specifically, which race was the most squeamish. He was on his way home, no longer caring about the happenings below him.
He spoke to himself, he chuckled, he contemplated... but then he stopped.
"..."
Because right in front of him, blocking his path...
....was the Earth's mightiest superhero.
Chapter 92"...Oh,"
The violent wind that wafted through Darkday's helmet instantly dispersed as soon as he stopped roaming in the skies… just a few seconds ago, his mind was busy comparing the beautiful screams he had heard so far.
However, he could not help but halt his flight as he suddenly saw Mega Woman's figure floating from afar. Was he so busy and engrossed that he couldn't even detect that the world's mightiest hero was blocking his path?
"..." Riley looked around the horizon before staring at Mega Woman for a couple of seconds. But after a few more moments, he let out a short but deep sigh… and flew away.
A skirt of wind flowed across his body as the clouds circled around him; following him as he tried to get away from Mega Woman as far as possible.
Riley glanced behind him, and seeing as Mega Woman still has not moved from her spot, she didn't seem to have any intention of following. And so, with a small sigh, Riley looked forward… only to see Mega Woman blocking her path.
"..."
And without even taking any pause, Riley shot straight towards the ground to once again avoid her. An echo reverberated through the air as Riley landed on the ground; causing a small crater to form beneath his feet.
Riley then looked around, only to see a horizon of stone mountains; waving green and flowing blue as far as the eyes could see-- if Riley was right, then he was currently somewhere in New Zealand.
He did not take in the sights for long, however, as his feet once again moved. But alas, as soon as he turned around, Mega Woman was once again there, blocking his path.
"..." Riley ran away once again-- perhaps for a full hour until he reached an area lush with trees.
"Stop running away, Darkday."
"..." Riley looked to the side, only to see Mega Woman flying beside him. Riley quickly stopped running as he saw her. He then slammed his hand on the ground, causing the trees and vines to block and bind Mega Woman.
But alas, they did nothing. Riley could only watch as Mega Woman starts casually walking towards him; ripping away the trees and vines like they were nothing.
"Hm," Riley looked around him for a few moments, before turning his head towards the approaching Mega Woman and getting into a fighting stance.
"You can't win, Darkday," Mega Woman, on the other hand, only shook her head as she continued to approach him.
"...Then kill me, Mega Woman."
"I can neutralize you without harming a single bone in your body," Mega Woman breathed out, "Just--"
And before she could say another word, Riley rushed towards her, the ground beneath him turning into a crevice as his whistling fist threatened to blow Mega Woman's head into smithereens.
The lush forest around them rippled; blown away by the sheer force of Riley's fist touching Mega Woman's face… even the small fauna and the ground beneath them were ripped away.
It, however, did absolutely nothing to Mega Woman, as her eyes just remained looking at Riley.
"That hurts, child," Mega Woman sighed.
"..." Riley did not seem to mind as removed his fist on Mega Woman's chin, using it instead to grab Mega Woman's shoulder as he used it to pull himself closer towards her, leaping as his knee threatened to crush Mega Woman's jaw.
But once again… it did nothing.
"That really hurts. Can you please stop?" Mega Woman then grabbed his helmet, and as soon as she did so, Riley rotated his body.
"Are you trying to kill yourself?" Mega Woman quickly let go of Riley's helmet to prevent his neck from snapping in half,
"...Is that why you're doing all of this, to commit some sort of fantasy suicide?"
"..." And as soon as Riley heard Mega Woman talk, he quickly leaped a few steps back; his head slightly tilting as he stared at her.
"I am not here to kill you or subjugate you," Mega Woman once again sighed, "I just want to talk, child."
"Okay."
"..."
"..."
"Of course you have to be weird," Mega Woman could not help but once again sigh as Riley's body began to relax without even a sign of hesitation, "Let's not talk here, it's suffocating."
"..." And with Mega Woman suddenly flying away, the only thing that Riley could do was follow her until they reached the area where he previously landed; the one with the view of the horizon-- serene and almost peaceful. The only sounds that one could hear were the violent gush of the waterfalls, the rustling of the grass, as well as the cries of aves.
"I know you are aware of what I wanted to talk about, you seem like a smart kid," Mega Woman then breathed out as soon as Riley landed on the cliff.
"...My pets-- I mean my guests?"
"...Guests; you call them that?" Mega Woman could not help but blink a couple of times as she glanced at Riley, "But yes… the missing supers. Right now there are 72."
"..."
"Are… all your guests still alive?" Mega Woman said as her breaths slightly became sedated.
"I am very saddened to say that 13 have died, Mega Woman."
Mega Woman's deep breaths quickly reached Riley's ears; her eyes closing as she looked to the ground, "Perhaps you want to tell me where they are staying?"
"If you kill me, I'll tell you."
"Pft," Mega Woman could not help but let out a giggle as she heard Riley's blunt words, "You could have just told me you don't want to."
"I was serious," Riley shook his head, "...Why not torture me to get their location, Mega Woman?"
"...Are you some sort of masochist?" Mega Woman shook her head with a sigh, "I would have already done that if I knew you would give me their location."
"Hm."
"Can… you tell me why you're doing all of this, Darkday?" Mega Woman glanced at Riley for a few seconds, before turning her eyes towards the beautiful horizon.
"I do not know, Mega Woman. Why do you need to breathe?"
"I don't need to breathe."
"..."
"Pft," Mega Woman once again giggled as she saw Darkday's somewhat confused movements, "I get what you were trying to say, you don't have to worry."
"...Okay."
"So do I need to categorize you as some sort of psychopath?" Mega Woman then breathed out, "But I don't think any Asylum for Individuals with Super Abilities will take someone like you."
"I do not know, Mega Woman," Riley shook his head as his feet slowly made their way closer to Mega Woman, "I was diagnosed by the medical practitioners as having Asperger's Syndrome when I was younger."
"ASD?" Mega Woman once again glanced at Riley, "But you seem quite talkative to be one. I have met a couple of people and even misguided people in my life with the same condition as you, but none of them really… socialize the way you do."
"Because I like talking with you, Mega Woman," Riley muttered, "I find you quite... fascinating. Perhaps a little brutish, but still with the elegance of a performer of ballet."
"..."
"..."
"...So you're a psychopath."
Chapter 93"So you're a psychopath, then. P... pft."
"..." Riley could only stare at Mega Woman as she suddenly burst out in a chuckle; almost deafening Riley with how loud her voice was. But finally, after a few more seconds, her chuckles died down and Riley was able to answer her.
"I don't believe I am, Mega Woman," Riley shook his head, "I am of the impression that psychopaths tend to lie-- I do not like lying if I don't have to."
"Because strong beings do not need to lie," Mega Woman sighed.
"Tha--"
"Ah, tutut!" Mega Woman raised her finger, "I believe you. I've just been surrounded by psychopaths since they are much more common on my planet-- maybe even half of them are."
"..."
"What I can't believe, however, is that the one terrorizing the entire world is just… a child," Mega Woman said, her eyes as if looking through Riley's helmet.
"!!!" Riley quickly covered his face with his hands as soon as he heard Mega Woman's words. Mega Woman, on the other hand, only chuckled once more.
"You do not have to worry, Darkday. Unlike what the media claims, people on my planet do not have X-ray vision… I don't have x-ray vision."
"..." Riley could not help but let out a small breath as he lowered his hands, "...So you really are from another planet, Mega Woman?"
"Yes," Mega Woman muttered, "What about you?"
"I'm not an alien--"
"I mean where were you born."
"Ah," Riley hummed, "I was born in Ohio according to my adoptive parents."
"..." Mega Woman's eyes widened as she heard Riley's words; but after a few seconds, she turned her eyes towards the skies.
"...Do you know that there are satellites out there watching our every move?"
"I am aware of them, Mega Woman."
"You don't have to worry, though," Mega Woman then breathed out, "I strictly told them to not try and follow me anywhere."
And as soon as she said that, she removed her mask; her blue eyes now even more visible, almost as if they were the skies themselves.
"..." Riley was slightly taken aback; almost contemplating whether or not he should remove his helmet. But of course, in the end, chose not to do so, "I am not worried, Mega Woman. They can't follow me as well."
"Hm, that's true," Mega Woman then glanced at Riley, before once again turning her eyes towards the sky, "The clouds always seem to be hovering above you. It's like you're moving them almost subconsciously at this point-- truly suits the name they gave you, Darkday."
"...You're the one who gave me that name, Mega Woman."
"Was I?" Mega Woman let out a small giggle as she sat on the ground, "You're so young and yet so powerful…
...why didn't you use your psychokinetic ability against me?"
"My main priority was to escape, Mega Woman," Riley quickly answered as he too, sat on the ground, "I can't defeat you."
"I… see," Mega Woman let out a sigh as she once again looked towards the skies, "Do you know that some heroes are being monitored? Most without their consent… even a handful of supervillains are actually on the government's radar."
"If that is so… then why have they not apprehended the other villains?" Riley slightly tilted his head to the side, "If they know where they hide, then would it not be possible to deal with them with minimal casualty?"
"Because they have their uses," Mega Woman then turned her eyes towards Riley, "Once you grow up, you'll understand that it is all about resources and money."
"..."
"Mark my words, once I am gone from the picture and no one is there to keep them in check, they will start exploiting the heroes like products," Mega Woman closed her eyes, "My world is the same, us ordinary citizens are nothing but tools."
"You... are not ordinary, Mega Woman," Riley then let out a small sigh as he turned his head towards Mega Woman, "You… are beautiful. Probably the most beautiful object in the world."
"Pft," Mega Woman quickly let out a small chuckle, glancing at Riley before looking towards the horizon, "It is truly unfortunate that you were born that way… You could have replaced me in the future."
"Are you truly not going to arrest me today, Mega Woman?"
"As I told you, I'm just here to talk," Mega Woman shook her head, "And if I did apprehend you, you will probably kill all your guests, right?"
"Yes."
Mega Woman's sighs almost echoed through the horizon, "I think I understand you now, Darkday."
"You can kill me now. You will save a lot more lives by doing so."
"See? You're lying right now," Mega Woman chuckled, "But no. I think you have a role to play in this life, Darkday. There are things out there in the universe; much scarier than anything you have ever seen. A great evil like you might be needed even more than me."
"...I will kill millions more."
"I will be there to stop you."
"I will hear you scream, Mega Woman. I will kill you-- you will regret this decision."
"Well, that's something that can't happen," Mega Woman then smiled at Riley, "I can't die."
And with those as her final words, she suddenly flew up towards the sky, leaving Riley slightly confused.
"...Oh!"
"What? What is it!? What happened next?"
Katherine's somewhat excited voice reverberated throughout the classroom as Riley's eyes suddenly widened.
"I forgot," Riley then breathed out, "She... did tell me she can't die. How could I have mistaken that for banter."
"..." Seeing the somewhat curious look on Riley's face, the only thing that Katherine could do was sigh, "...But to think that you talked with her for that long and no one knew; it's quite a surprise."
"Hm."
"But you said that you weren't even able to inflict even a scratch on her? When did this happen?"
"About 2 years ago, if my memory serves me correct."
"...So you couldn't defeat her 2 years ago," Katherine placed her hand on her chin. If Mega Woman only killed Riley then… then she truly would have prevented a million more deaths-- she probably lived in regret before getting defeated by Riley, knowing she allowed this great evil to run free.
She had the chance to do so but did not… in the end, perhaps it was arrogance that led to her defeat.
"Let's go."
"Wait, I have something to report regarding Silvie's father."
Riley was about to stand up from his seat, but Katherine blocked his path before he could do so.
"...Report."
"He will be working as a medic in the Academy."
"A medic?" Riley furrowed his eyebrows, "Is he a Super?"
"As far as I know, he's not."
"Are there any other parents that will be working for the Academy from now on?"
"Only a handful," Katherine shook her head, "But one needs to be accredited by the government before you can work here."
"I… see," Riley muttered.
"Silvie… do you think she really could be Mega Woman's daughter?"
"Maybe," Riley then said as he stood up, "Good work, Katherine. Please continue your investigation."
Riley was about to leave, but once again, Katherine blocked his path.
"Riley… Can we…"
"..." Riley could hear the slightly shivering tone in Katherine's voice; her mouth opening as if the words she wanted to say were too heavy to escape from her mouth.
"Do you wish to have sexual intercourse with me again, Katherine?"
"T… That's…"
"Then you could have just said so from the start," Riley then let out a sigh as he sat back down in his seat, "This seems to help you more in your work, am I correct?"
"..." Katherine nodded, "But… can you… maybe…
...remove your sunglasses?"
***
"..."
Riley stepped out of the school building, his eyes looking towards the sky that was almost getting ready to darken. But still, even with the looming darkness… he once again wore his sunglasses.
He then looked towards the numerous people walking around the campus; before letting out a small breath and wearing the Police Force band on his arm. It would seem the students were slowly recovering from the incident, as he could even see some foreign students chatting with the locals.
"Time to work," Riley then whispered. But before he could even take 3 steps, a voice called for him from behind.
"R… Riley."
"Black Bell," Riley then said as he turned around, "You are fine now?"
Bella was no longer in her costume, but instead on some sort of… white dress that compliments her dark skin.
"...I've been fine for a week now," Bella said as she let out a small sigh, "I think the pain of not being there to help when the tragedy happened hurts me more."
"...But you weren't there?"
"That's not what I meant," Bella let out a wry chuckle, "Anyway, I've been waiting for you for almost 2 hours now, man. What took you so long?"
"I was exercising, Black Bell," Riley muttered, "Did you need me for something?"
"Just… a question," Bella then glanced at Riley several times. And seeing as he wasn't saying anything, that was probably a sign that it was alright.
"How… did you become so strong?" Bella then asked.
Riley slightly furrowed his eyebrows as he heard the question. But after a few more seconds of looking at nowhere in particular…
"...Because of Mega Woman."
"That's…" Bella could only blink a couple of times from hearing his answer, "So… because you have a goal?"
"...Not really."
"I… have goals as well," Bella shrugged, seemingly not hearing Riley's response as she started walking, "My brother and I actually came from a very strict fam; religious, baptist church bullshit hallelujah and all that."
"..."
"And you can kinda already guess they didn't approve of us since… well, I like women and my brother likes men," Bella then slightly let out a chuckle, followed by a sniffle as she rubbed her nose, "That's why I am wearing this shitty dress right now since they're here, can't escape them."
Bella then spun around, showing the frills and silk of her white dress.
"How is this even relevant to your question?"
"..."
"..."
Bella then started to slouch as she let out a long and deep sigh, "I just wanted to say I want to be strong like you… then maybe there would be no one judging me."
"..."
"You're different, n… no offense. Eh, you know what I mean, man," Bella then rolled her lips as she waved her hands, "You're different and yet no one dares to say anything 'coz you're strong, man…
...If I had your strength, then maybe my mamma and pappa would be chill, you know?"
"I believe that's wrong, Black Bell," Riley then let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "My mother doesn't judge me because she is a good person."
"...Hm? What do you mean?"
"You are different from the majority, yes… But there is nothing wrong with you, Black Bell…
...You're just surrounded by the wrong people."
"Ho… hold up, back up a little there," Bella then slightly took a step back as she started fanning herself,
"Shit… you keeping it real, white hair. You could be a president and I'd be voting for you. Hell, if I wasn't a big L in the LGBT then I would probably be head over heels for you right now."
"...Thank you, Black Bell."
"No man, thank you," Bella then let out a small chuckle as she subtly wiped the small tears that were trying to come out of her eyes, "You belong in the fam now, you should know that."
Bella then raised her fist towards Riley; her face gesturing to Riley to bump it with his own fist. But alas, Riley only looked at her first before looking away.
"Y… yeah, that's cool. We need a little practice," Bella chuckled as she lowered her fist, "I'll see you around, brother. Don't go stopping some random black guy now."
"...I won't."
Riley could only let out a small but deep sigh as he watched as Bella ran away. And so, finally, he could peacefully continue his patrol.
He walked around the Academy for a full hour, but oddly enough, no one seems to be causing any trouble. Perhaps the tragic events that have happened still truly lingered in their minds-- sedating any need to cause problems.
And so, Riley decided to call it a night.
And just as he was about to fly away, he suddenly moved his head to the side; his body slightly tilting with it.
A giant needle then shot down from above-- if he did not move his body, then it would have definitely landed on top of his head.
Riley then quickly looked up, only to see a large net threatening to cover him entirely.
"..." It instantly stopped in the air, however, as Riley raised his hand.
And soon, several steps whispered into his ear, coming from all directions and completely surrounding him. He slowly scanned the owners of the footsteps, only to see a familiar face approaching him-- Jamba, the student he fought back in the Combat Tournament event.
"Well…" Riley then sighed,
"....At least you're not random."
Chapter 94"You… are Jamba from SAMA, correct?"
"Tch."
With the large net hovering above Riley, it almost seemed like time had stopped for them. Even the leaves of the foliage planted on the side of the roads were not moving; no doubt a show of prowess from the white-haired young man in front of them.
Riley was currently surrounded, but the tone of his voice and the look of his voice showed his nonchalance-- a mistake that he would pay dearly, Jamba thought. He and his tribe members were already wearing masks and even made sure to cover every inch of their body-- but Riley was still quickly able to guess who he was.
That did not matter, however, as the masks weren't intended for Riley in the first place, it was for the multiple cameras that were scattered all around the Academy, as well as the onlookers that might pass them by.
"This is an assault against a student of the Academy; unregulated use of powers; using violence against an officer of the Police Force-- all grounds for suspension and lock--"
"Do you think I care about that?" Jamba breathed out as he and his group slowly encircled Riley, the distance between them becoming shorter and shorter.
"Oh," Riley's eyebrows then slightly rose as he looked towards Jamba's direction, "Were you not satisfied with the dental service I offered you?"
"Tha--"
"Then I apologize, there are no refunds."
"Y--"
Jamba was about to say something. However, as soon as he saw the weird smile growing on Riley's face; not only he, but the others also could not help but slightly choke on their breaths.
"You…" Jamba then breathed out as he pointed at Riley, "You really are the One Cursed by God."
"I see. So this is about our cultural differences again."
"No! This is about fate and prophecy!"
"Oh, okay," Riley nodded before shaking his head, "Nonetheless, I need to apprehend all of you and make a report to Nightwalker."
Riley was about to take a step forward, but before he could even take a single step, Jamba… tripped and fell on his head; or perhaps it was more appropriate to say that his head was slammed on the ground.
"..." Riley then took a few steps back as someone suddenly appeared in front of him. And if he remembered correctly--
"Are you okay!?"
"You… are Duma from SAMA?" Duma, the African student he met the night before the Festival Events happened.
"I'm here to help you, Riley Ross!" Duma shouted; his back towards Riley while his eyes not leaving Jamba and his group, "These people are in some sort of cult… I think they want to kill you."
"Cult!?"
And as soon as Duma's words whispered into Jamba's ears, he quickly stomped his foot, "You dare call our sacred tribe a cult!? Do not meddle in things you do not understand, coconut boy!"
"B… boy? We're the same age, you idiot! And you're going to get us all in trouble for this!" Duma retorted, "You guys are not the only African students in this school!"
"Trouble? I'm sure that Ghost there is the one responsible for putting us into this school in the first place! He's the one who killed all those innocent people!"
"W-- Are you fucking insane!?"
And with that, Duma's entire body blurred; the ground beneath him, blasted away as he disappeared from his spot.
"..." Riley, who was behind him, could not help but sigh as his clothes were almost soiled by the dirt shooting at him. He then looked towards Duma's figure, who was moving in some sort of zigzag pattern as he rushed towards Jamba.
"You think you can take me on, sprinter!?" Jamba roared, followed by the sound of his flesh tearing up as his sharp bones sliced their way through his skin-- not allowing Duma to approach him any further.
"Tch," Duma ran around Jamba, trying his best to find a weak spot as he threw feints to throw off Jamba. Jamba remained like a ball, however, not allowing himself to be caught up in Duma's advances.
"..." As for Riley, he could only once again sigh as the two suddenly started fighting each other. He then looked towards the large net that was floating above him-- and with a flick of his finger, let it fly straight on top of Jamba and Duma.
"W… what the!?" With Duma running around, he and Jamba were quickly pulled towards the ground as he dragged the net that suddenly blanketed the two of them.
"No unsanctioned duels in the Academy," Riley then muttered.
"W… I was helping you!" Duma said as he tried to swim his way out from the confines of the net.
"That is why I am only issuing you a very light warning."
And as soon as Riley said that, Duma felt his body slowly sliding away from the net-- not stopping until he was close to Riley.
"W… what are all of you doing!? Kill him!" Jamba, who was still sadly drowned by the net, could not help but wave his hand as he ordered his tribesmen to attack Riley, "Why are all of you just watching!?"
"W… We can't move."
"What do you--" And before Jamba could even finish his words, the net suddenly moved towards his nearest comrade, who could only watch in horror as the net almost looked like the mouth of a hippopotamus, threatening to swallow him whole…
...and that's exactly what the net did, swallow him whole.
He was not alone, however, as soon, all of his comrades were in the net's stomach together. But seeing them still struggle inside, Riley could not help but once again shake his head.
"Please behave, Jamba and the others."
Riley was about to fly away with his… prisoners, but before he could do so, Duma blocked his path.
"W… wait, Riley Ross," he then said, the tone of his voice somewhat meek, "Can… can you not report them?"
"Why?"
"Just… the other students might think that all students from SAMA are… like him," Duma pleaded, "I don't want us to be discriminated against just because of them."
"I see," Riley nodded before his feet slowly left the ground, "But I missed the part where that's my problem."
"W… wait, please!"
"..."
With Duma suddenly kneeling on the ground, Riley could only blink a couple of times as he stopped mid-air.
"Okay."
And after a few seconds, his steps whispered to Duma's ears. Duma quickly looked up to thank him, but could not do so as he saw… the weird smile on Riley's face. But still, he shook his head after a few moments and thanked him.
The net then proceeded to defecate Jamba and the others out one by one.
"This is my final warning for them," Riley muttered, the creepy smile on his face still persisting,
"The next time will be the last."
***
"Oh shit, here we go again."
"Ah man, I just lost to you during the tournament and now I'm about to lose again!"
"That--"
"Riley, you're sitting this one out again."
The students of Class 1-V were currently out in one of the vast fields of the Academy, all huddled up into groups as their whispers of excitement fluttered in the air.
Riley and Bella were currently talking to each other, with the other members of the Telekinetic group obviously listening in on them with great interest… made obvious by their wide eyes and leaning ears that almost caused them to fall down.
The people in their group, however, soon let out sighs of relief as Riley was called forth by Scarlet Mage.
None of them really talk about it that much in public, but it was the unspoken truth not only in their classroom but in the entire Academy…
...Riley Ross is strong; perhaps the strongest Telekinetic student in the Academy right now.
And with the activity they have for the day, most of the members of the telekinetic group could not help but let out sighs of relief as they watch Riley walking away.
As for their activity? It was the same as the one they did on the 2nd day of the Academy-- Deciding who was on top of each power category.
Their sighs of relief, however, we cut short as one of them raised their hands.
"I don't think him not participating is fair, ma'am."
The USMA members of the Telekinetic quickly looked towards the student who raised his hand. The African student could not help but slightly back away as the stares of his group mates almost drowned him with the frustration they contained.
With the addition of the foreign students in each class, the visible hierarchy needed to once again be visible to arouse the fire of competition in their hearts-- or so what the one responsible for deciding the Academy's syllabus said.
"I… I just saw Riley perform during the combat tournament," the African student then muttered, "I… I wish to experience how strong he is in person."
And as soon as the members of the other group heard his words, they all could not help but nod in agreement. They were always far away whenever Riley showed his might-- this was another rare chance to see him in action.
"That is not--" Katherine was about to say something, but before she could finish her words, she suddenly felt the warmth of Riley's touch on her cheek.
"It's fine, Scarlet Mage," Riley then said in a slight whisper, "I can still supervise even when playing with the rest of them."
Katherine could only look back and forth between Riley and his hand-- her face slightly turning red; made obvious by her now silver hair.
"Very well." And without even a question, Katherine gestured to Riley to join the Telekinetic group.
"That… why did he do that?"
The foreign students' eyes all showed their confusion with what just happened,
"Is… is that how people talk to each other in America?" One of the Singaporean students tried to touch the cheek of the one beside him, only for his hand to be slapped away.
But after a few seconds, the students from USMA started whispering about the… rumor about Riley Ross and Scarlet Mage.
And soon, the curious whispers were replaced by loud gasps.
"I… I find that highly inappropriate!" One of the students from the England Academy bellowed.
"...Why? He's old enough?" A student from Japan muttered.
"Right? The brother's so lucky," a student from USMA added, or more specifically, a student named Gary.
"Settle down," Katherine then raised her hand, her sighs managing to whisper into each of the students' ears, "Riley, you can go ahead."
Katherine watched Riley walk towards the Telekinetic group, before once again facing the other students, "Okay, now let me tell you the rules again…
...It's the same as before, you need to neutralize your opponent, harming them is allowed-- but as minimal as possible."
"W… what? But before we couldn't--"
"The Academy… changed it due to the recent and… tragic events that have... happened," Katherine's voice became slightly sedated as she remembered all the burnt and mangled bodies scattered on the ground. But after a few moments, subtly shook her head and continued laying out the rules,
"With the recent threats, we think that the supervillains and terrorists are getting bolder, and thus we need to respond to the level of the threat."
"D… damn, they are really cranking it up," Gary then breathed out as he looked at Silvie, "What do you think about this?"
"Think about what?" Silvie whispered.
"About harming each other," Gary muttered, "Since you're the Mega Student I am sure you don't agree with--"
"It's only minimal, so it's alright," Silvie, however, only shook her head, "They said it was allowed now."
"...What?" Gary awkwardly chuckled, "But… but surely you're not going to harm me, right? We're friends?"
"...I'm not the Mega Student anymore, old friend," Silvie looked Gary straight in the eyes, her gaze clearly laughing at him, "I need the money now."
"W… what? Why!?"
"They revoked my title, remember?"
"Le gasp!" Gary muttered as he covered his mouth. The other members of their group as well, could not help but sigh in defeat.
"Also!" Katherine raised her voice as the students once again started making noise, "The activity now has a second round of sorts…
...All those who came out on top of each group will now also compete against each other."
"What!?"
The students started to clamor as soon as they heard Katherine's words. If they knew something like this was going to happen, then they wouldn't have agreed in letting Riley join in on the activity-- now they, from the other groups, also needed to worry about him.
They wanted to experience Riley's strength… but not that close.
"Fucking finally!" And while most of the students were breathing out their distress, Hannah slapped her first and cracked her neck as she looked towards Riley,
"I finally have a reason to beat your ass, brother!"
"...Hannah-aneki."
"Hm?" Hannah then turned her head as soon as she heard her name, only to see Tomoe bowing at her, "...What is it?"
"I… What makes you so sure you can win against me?" Tomoe then said as she raised her head.
"Oho…
....Rebelling now?"
Chapter 95"Ho? Getting rebellious now, aren't you?"
The humming murmurs of the USMA members of the Elemental group almost reached the skies as they all placed their eyes towards Hannah and Tomoe. They all remembered how Tomoe froze all of them without even blinking an eye. Of course, some of them tried to fight her during the first hierarchy activity, but Tomoe's raw power was truly a league of its own-- her Power Stamina, or Mana as the elemental cool kids want to call it, was almost boundless.
Of course, needless to say, she won in a landslide. There might also be some strong ones with the added elementals in their group, but the fight between Tomoe and Hannah was probably the only thing they were looking forward to; after all…
...Tomoe was also the one who won in her group back when her class was still… alive.
Hannah has a big flaw, however, which might put her in a tight spot against Tomoe. Unlike Tomoe who has an almost unlimited amount of mana, Hannah prioritized raw continuous power… making her mana decrease almost by the second.
And one more thing… was that Tomoe's ability was better in neutralizing people without bringing them too much harm. Compared that to Hannah… then they should already have a winner if everything falls into place.
But still, this should be quite a battle to remember.
"I know you're all heated up."
But before any of the students could start their matches, Katherine suddenly clapped her hands; and as soon as each of the students' attention was on her, she quickly tapped something on her tablet.
The students were wondering what she had just done, but they did not need to wonder for that long as an orchestra of drones slowly whirred their way out of nowhere towards their class.
"W… What?" Gary, who was about to set up his phone, could not help but kick the tripod he erected away in frustration. He was already losing subs ever since the announcement that the Academy would be broadcasting their activities… but the realization of it truly happening finally put the final nail in the coffin. Gary… would probably lose all of his subs by the end of the day.
He did not know why, however. As when he checked Riley's inactive YouView channel, his subs were increasing by the minute. Does he need to get kidnapped!? Is that it!?
"..."
"As I said the other day," Katherine then continued, "The citizens will be watching your performance from now on… and will be voting accordingly. Even if you win here, it doesn't guarantee that you will get the title of Mega Student, as that would depend on your votes by the end of the month."
"Ma'am… I know you already explained all of this last week," one of the students raised their hand, "But wouldn't the villains outside learn about us with this?"
"Most villains would already know what you're capable of 3 seconds after you start fighting. Our abilities have already been on the planet for hundreds of years, creating preceding strategies..." Katherine explained, "...Better to show them you're not to mess with in the first place."
"Yeah man, the teach is right… and who would learn from a weakling like you anyway!?"
"What did you say, stretchy face!?"
"I'll also be careful with what I say from now on," Katherine clapped her hands, "After all, you're already being broadcasted."
"W… what the."
"Don't worry, as the other classes are also in the same position," Katherine then said, "But since this is the only Mega Academy currently active…
...The whole world might just very well be watching you."
The blades of grass on the ground were almost plucked away as most of the students all took in a deep breath at the same time. They weren't even real superheroes yet…
...and the world would already be judging them.
"Alright, you know the drill. You can decide amongst yourself on how to start," Katherine then said as she floated in the air. And as she reached a sufficient height, a drone suddenly approached her… before handing her what seemed to be a cup of coffee.
"..." Katherine could only blink a couple of times, before deciding to take it. That's weird, she thought. Since when was the Academy giving out free coffee?
She then carefully smelled the coffee, and seeing as it was just aromatic-- she proceeded to take a sip without thinking any further. But as she did so… she noticed that the drone that handed her the coffee was still beside her… its lens pointed directly towards her… or rather, the cup she was holding.
"..." Katherine then squinted her eyes as she scanned the cup, only to see the label 'Starbeans' printed on it.
Starbeans… was a popular coffee shop. And soon, it finally clicked to her what was happening; she then looked towards Riley, only to see him looking at her with his eyebrows furrowed.
Seeing this, the only thing that she could do was rotate the cup to hide the label; and as soon as she did so, the drone flew away.
It would seem Riley was right on the money…
...the government was starting to exploit them. Soon, some of the students might even be offered brand deals. She could only wish that Riley remained calm through all of this; if not, then the blood on her hands that were already solidifying would grow even heavier… until she could no longer lift them up.
"Should we start then?"
Back in the ground, Hannah was currently walking around and circling Tomoe, cracking her knuckles as she did so.
Tomoe, on the other hand, only calmly bowed as her palms slowly opened to the sides.
"W… wait!" But before the two could start duking it out, one of the foreign students stepped forward, "W… why don't the two of you fight us first so we could progress--"
But before he could even finish his words, an iceberg instantly covered him and the other members of the Elemental group.
"..."
But with a snap of Tomoe's finger, the iceberg prison also quickly melted away.
"...Understandable, have a good day."
The foreign student then said as he moved away; followed by the rest of the group as they all sat on the ground without uttering any more words. Katrina was also one of the people that was frozen-- she truly wanted to fight with Hannah and Tomoe so she could test herself against Riley's circle... but since everyone else backed off, it would be quite embarrassing to voice out her wishes now.
"Hm. show off," Hannah then let out a small snicker as she looked at Tomoe, "I like that, don't even think about holding back. Show my brother you have enough strength to stand by his side and protect each other."
Tomoe quickly nodded as she heard Hannah's words. Lately, Riley has not been calling him and only meeting up with the First Subordinate. She was supposed to be a major part of the group, but at this point, she might as well just be a ghost member.
"Please take care of me, Hannah-aneki."
"P… please stop that. I only said that as a joke," Hannah once again chuckled. But after a few more moments, she stopped walking in circles and nodded at Tomoe, who bowed in response.
"Let's go!" Hannah then rushed towards Tomoe, but a translucent darkness quickly wrapped her entire body as she was quickly encased in a block of dark and murky ice-- not even allowing her to take a 3rd step.
"...That's it?" The students that were watching on the side could not help but exclaim as they saw Hannah confined in the ice prison.
Tomoe, however, did not move her eyes for even a second. And soon, even through the thick and murky ice… she saw a smile slowly building on Hannah's face.
Bubbles then started trickling around her, boiling the ice wrapped around her skin at an incredible rate; but not enough that it would explode.
Seeing this, Tomoe also let out a smile of her own. As expected of Riley's sister, she thought.
And soon, an ocean of mist exploded throughout the field, blinding everyone within its embrace.
Tomoe quickly covered herself in a wall of ice to protect herself but doing so decreased her visibility even more as the ice she produced had the translucency of saturated cola.
"..." Tomoe then closed her eyes. And soon, she felt a heat coming from above. She then opened her eyes to look, only to see a flaming silhouette sparking and trickling beyond the thick mist.
Of course, Tomoe already knew that Hannah would be attacking there as she purposely left her top open-- and so, without even taking a pause, Tomoe raised her finger, causing multiple rods of ice to emerge from the wall she created. Since the icicles were blunt, there was no way it would-- !!!
Tomoe could not help but widen in shock as the rods went through Hannah. She quickly retracted all of her powers, but it was already too late.
"N… no!" However, as soon as the silhouette fell towards her, it quickly dissipated into smoke; like a puff that instantly reached the end of its life.
"On your left."
"!!!" Tomoe quickly put up an ice wall to her left, only for her to feel a heat coming from her right. She put up another wall, but it was already too late as Hannah's flaming fist went through the thin barricade, threatening to incinerate her face.
However, before Hannah's fist reached her face, the flames died down-- leaving only Hannah's bare knuckles to touch her cheek.
But perhaps 'touch' was not the word to use… as Tomoe rolled away a few meters on the ground like a ragdoll.
"Oh shit!" Hannah hissed as she quickly rushed towards Tomoe, "You okay!?"
But seeing as Tomoe's body was tightly wrapped in some sort of dark ice, it would seem she was… still alright. Hannah then quickly looked towards Katherine; and since she only glanced at them before looking away, it would seem that this was still in the realm of 'inflicting a little harm'.
Hannah then returned her eyes towards Tomoe, only to see her emotionless eyes staring at the skies.
"...You okay?"
"Yes."
"W… well," Hannah then let out a cough as she stretched her hand to Tomoe, "C… consider this as some sort of hazing," she said while letting out the most awkward laugh possible.
"...Hazing?" Tomoe breathed out as she reached for Hannah's hand.
"Yeah… To welcome you in our sisterhood."
"Sisterhood?" Tomoe's confusion grew by the second as Hannah helped her up.
"Y… yeah," Hannah said as she scratched her chin, "Silvie and I already duked it out… I lost of course, but a sisterhood was formed that day. So… I guess welcome to our family?"
"...Family?"
And as soon as Tomoe heard those words, the frozen fractals that were on her face were suddenly melted by the tears trailing from her eyes.
"W… what the… Don't… don't cry… I might get penalized or some shit...
....Why are you crying!?"
Chapter 96"B... bakemono! Omae ni chikadzuku na! Don't... don't even dare to approach me!"
A snap in the air echoed throughout the frozen room as a small girl dropped to the ground; holding her cheek that was struck by her mother; blood, slowly trailing down from her nose.
"What... what have you done?"
The small girl then turned her head towards her mother, who was embracing what seemed to be a statue sculpted from ice-- but if one were to look closer, one could see that a human was actually trapped inside... the blood oozing from each pore of his skin, somewhat crawling through the ice and turning it darker.
"Why... how could you do this, you monster!?"
"But..." The little girl tried to approach her mother, but her mother quickly ran away, only to return with her hands trembling... the knife that was now in her hands pointed at the little girl.
"D... don't even come near me," the mother stuttered.
"But... d... dad told me he was hot," the little girl's eyes started to move erratically, "I... I only wanted to make him feel better."
"No... no, this... this isn't happening," the mother's ears seem to be closed; her daughter's words not even entering her mind.
"He... he said he was hot, m... mommy," vapor started to fume out from the little girl's mouth as the floors in the room started to crackle, "D... dad said he... he wanted me to make him feel better. He... he took off his clothes because he was hot."
"W... what?"
"I--" The little girl's words were cut short as the blood that was trailing from her nose gushed out even stronger, "He... tried to get my clothes off too, m... mom. But... But I said I wasn't hot...
...So I just... I just thought I should help... help him... So...
...I froze him."
***
"W... when are you going to stop crying!?"
With Katherine clearing out most of the mist from Hannah evaporating the prison of ice, almost everyone was now looking at Hannah, as well as Tomoe, who had been crying for almost a full minute.
Hannah could not help but panic, waving her hand randomly as the tears trailing on Tomoe's face did not seem to have any plans of stopping.
"What did she do?"
"Did... did she bully her?"
"W... what the!? Who said that!?" With the other students starting to whisper with each other, Hannah quickly let out a violent roar as her eyes scanned the gossiping people, "This is a superhero academy, what do you mean bullying!? And shouldn't you be concentrating on your own matches, you stupid fucks!"
With Hannah's terrorizing voice reverberating throughout the vast field, the gossiping students could only shut their mouths; trying their best to avoid the nuclear tyrant's glare. Perhaps she didn't choose the name 'Nuclear Baby' because of her powers... but because of her temper-- the foreign students thought.
"Sorry, this is my fault."
"W... what the?" Hannah then returned her attention to Tomoe, whose face was now back to being emotionless, any traces of the tears that previously ravished her face were completely gone,
"What... what kind of bipolar nonsense is this?" Hannah could not help but breathe out. But after a few seconds, Hannah shook her head and let out a short but deep sigh,
"I... guess your family issues aren't as light and hysterical as mine."
"..."
"Tell me and Silvie about it sometime, okay?"
"Y... yes," Tomoe nodded. And with that as the sign of the conclusion of their match, the rest of the members of the Elemental group all clapped their hands; however, as soon as Tomoe's eyes landed on them, they all quickly stopped.
"It's time for us to decide who is in the 2nd place," Tomoe then whispered.
None of the members of the Elemental group, however, stood up. It was already common knowledge that Tomoe was part of the Potential Villain list-- they might actually just die while facing her.
And so, with that thought, one of the students' gulps whispered in the air, "We... I think...
...we're just going to fight for 3rd place."
***
"Damn, all sorts of drama are happening in Hannah's group," Gary, who was watching Hannah and Tomoe's situation from afar, quickly moved his head to the side. And as he did so, a fist suddenly passed by his face, almost grazing his mask.
"Surprise, motherfucker!" Gary then roared as he grabbed the fist, dragging it as he suddenly rotated his body, pivoting with his feet until a whistle started hiss in the air-- and finally, as soon as he heard a small gulp whisper in his ear, he let go of the fist.
"I told you, you should have gone with the arm wrestling, boy!" Gary then shouted as the owner of the fist he just threw started to roll on the ground for several meters, "I might be a side character, but I'm the main side character-- that means I'm strong!"
"This is a bit too much, isn't it?"
"Oh?"
Gary then looked towards where his opponent landed, only to see him in Silvie's arms.
"Finally, the main challenger has come!" Gary then said as he pointed at Silvie, "Come, let us not waste our time dealing with these nameless goons and finally decide for ourselves who is truly the number one Enhancer in this class!"
"No."
However, even with Gary's passionate... speech, Silvie only shook her head, "I don't think it's right not to give the others a chance to participate for--"
"Aha!" Gary did not let her finish talking as he once again pointed at her, "You are going to wait until I am tired so you could easily defeat me... such tactics are so underhanded--"
"Fine," and with those words, Silvie gently dropped the student she was carrying; before approaching Gary with a twitching smile on her face,
"Bring it on," Silvie then said as she gestured to Gary to strike first.
"Oho, there's the arrogant Silvie I know," Gary said as he rubbed his nose, "So you want to just grapple?"
"Let's just fight. I promise not to hurt you too much."
"Now you're talking," Gary said as he hopped a couple of times,
"Let's do this!"
"...You win."
And after a few seconds, Gary was holding his cheek; which seemed to be as swollen as a bloated tomato,
"We have the same powers, but how are you so strong!? Ack!" Gary winced as his cheek started to throb, "Even though you're just a baby!"
"...Aren't you only 2 years older than me?" Silvie sighed, "And that's not all true... Your heat vision is stronger mine by... like a lot."
"Meh," Gary then waved his hand, "I can't just let my eyes go brr here now, can I? I still can't control it that much."
"Tha--"
"Go, shoo. Leave me here to lament. You may have defeated the Dragon Monarch, but I will continue to rise from the ashes of defeat!"
"You know... Since you're always mentioning 'ashes', couldn't you have just picked the name Phoenix Monarch instead?"
"..."
"..."
"Fuck, you're right," Gary grabbed his head tight, "I... I think I need to change my-- No, never mind. Ms. Phoenix's fans are quite protective of her name."
"...Ms. Phoenix?"
"You don't know Ms. Phoenix!?" Gary almost jumped from where he stood as he looked at Silvie, "Ex-member of the Hope Guild!? The one who is said to be one of the only supers that are able to stand toe-to-toe with Mega Woman!? Even stronger than the current leader!?"
"...No?"
"What!? You--"
"Uhmm... guys?"
And before Gary could even continue his words, one of the members of their group approached them, "Perhaps... it's our time to have our matches? We still haven't--"
"Alright, alright," Gary grabbed his classmate by the shoulders, "Since I still haven't fully warmed up, I'll be your opponent...
...Let the Dragon Monarch be the judge!"
"..." Seeing Gary flailing their classmate around, the other members of the group could only let out a small but deep sigh.
...Why was their class full of monsters?
"I'm sitting this one out." And speaking of monsters, one of the members of the Telekinetic group had first-hand experience in being mowed down by one-- Bella Jackson.
"Eh, you sure, sis?" Ben then quickly approached her sister, his steps slightly mocking, "It's not like you to pass the opportunity for a fight. W... wait, don't tell me...
...you've fallen for the beautiful and pure Riley Ross!? Has my sister finally learned to appreciate the di-- Cuck!"
"Fuck you," Bella punched her brother on the stomach before he could continue his words, "You're just saying that because you haven't fought him yet."
Although Bella had already talked it out with Riley-- she would lie if she said there wasn't a small fear left inside her. She immediately lost consciousness during her fight, but if her memory was right; When Riley hit her on the stomach... for a second there, he looked like he had this weird and unnaturally wide smile on his face.
Of course, she could just be wrong; humans don't usually have the ability to extend their lips like that, even if it was Riley, who already had wider lips than most people. Of course, Daniel Espinoza was an exception.
But still, it was better to avoid fighting him for now, "You can go ahead and fight him if you want to."
"Oh no no," Ben wagged his finger before also sitting down on the ground, "If someone like my beautiful sis was sent to the clinic after having intercourse with Riley, then what chance does a tiny little fabulous human like me have? He would utterly, and beautifully destroy my bu-- Twack!"
"Please don't," Bella once again hit her brother in the stomach before he could continue his... words.
Bella was not the only one who held caution, however, as most of the members in the telekinetic group were just staying quiet; refusing to be the first to have a match-- trying to gauge their opponents since the foreign students were here now.
But one of those foreign students, however, stepped forward-- the one who initially asked for Riley to join the activity, a student from SAMA.
"I... I'll go and try to fight with Mr. Riley Ross," the student meekly said as he raised his hand. But after a few seconds, he looked at the Jackson siblings, "You... should be the ones representing our race, but I'll be the one to take the mantle since--"
"...Race?" Bella furrowed her eyebrows as soon as she heard the foreign student's meek voice, "The fuck you on about? We're Americans."
"..." The foreign student only let out a small breath, before finally placing his attention towards Riley Ross,
"P... please, let's have a friendly match," the student said, his voice still quiet.
"Okay."
I got you!-- The student then screamed and smiled inside his mind as he saw Riley Ross walking towards him. In truth, he was part of Jamba's tribe. And since this was an activity where they weren't allowed to hurt each other much...
...then Riley wouldn't do anything drastic.
Him, on the other hand, was ready to expel or even die for his tribe's cause-- He will bring honor to his family and be the one to kill the One Cursed by God.
"How do you want to do this, Shomari?"
"I... I am honored you know my name," the tone of Shomari's voice once again became meek; a complete opposite to the thoughts he was having, "S... since I am not really confident I can win in a straight fight..."
Shomari then raised his hand, and as he did so, a whistle whispered in the air. The other members of the Telekinetic group wondered where the sound was coming from; however, they soon saw a small glint flashing from the sky.
The flash then revealed itself to be a double pointed-spear flew, flying straight in between Shomari and Riley.
"So... how about Tug of War?"
Chapter 97"Is this what you wanted to happen!?"
"...Glad of you to finally join us."
A small rumble echoed through the room as Whiteking suddenly kicked a door open. But even with this uncivilized greeting, a small smile still crawled on Prophet's face as Whiteking stomped his way towards his desk, "The Academy sorely missed your presence... even though you don't actually do anything here."
"Shut the fuck up!" Whiteking then lightly slammed his palm on Prophet's desk, "I spent weeks trying to eradicate the Dark Millenium, and I returned to find this shit!?"
Whiteking then tapped Prophet's desk a couple of times in a sort of sequence, until finally, several monitors slid out from the walls and the ceilings. The screen showed multiple students being filmed by the drones.
"I thought it was fine during the Festival since it will just be a once in a year event," Whiteking then sat on the chair in front of the desk; crossing his arms as he stared Prophet straight in the eyes, "But showing them when doing normal activities? Since when did we become celebrities?"
"One could argue that heroes have always been celebrities," Prophet let out a small chuckle as he removed all the monitors in the room, "Don't you think so?"
"Look..." Whiteking breathed out, "...We've been friends for a very long time, but for the past month I feel like I barely even know you anymore."
"The government ordered it, I had no choice but to obey them," Prophet sighed, but still, the smile on his face did not fade, "After all, the Academy is still theirs."
"Since when were you a puppet of the government?" Whiteking furrowed his eyebrows, "Isn't your influence the very reason my daughter has it out for the government, Steve? All those ideas you ingrained in her mind whenever you visit--"
"I have my own shit to deal with, Bernard," and finally, the smile on Prophet's face disappeared, "And you forget, I am supposed to be very old."
"Then tell me what it is so we could share the fucking burden! And I don't care about the fake history the government gave you!" Whiteking once again slammed his palm on the desk, "I mean, what the fuck are we doing here!?"
"..."
"..."
Prophet stared at Whiteking for a couple of seconds, before letting out a sigh and tapping something on his desk. And as he did so, all the windows, doors... and even the walls were suddenly barred by a silver panel.
"...You know how I can calculate the future, right?" Prophet then stood up from his seat as he started walking around the room.
"No," Whiteking shook his head, "You see the future. Don't be so full of yourself, the only reason you passed the math class back in high school was by guessing. Remember when they asked us to write the formula, you got z--"
"That's enough," Prophet squinted his eyes as he looked at Whiteking, before letting out a sigh and shaking his head, "...And you know what future I can't see, right?"
"I have the gist of it," Whiteking nodded, "You can't read past a certain... energy level, right?"
"Yes. If the area or a person has high energy or higher than mine, then I can't... calculate their future," Prophet slightly coughed, "The very reason why I can't calculate Mega Woman, Darkday, Grade-S, and some Grade-A Supers' futures."
"I see," Whiteking once again nodded, "So that's why you can't read mine."
"No, you don't have powers," Prophet smirked, "I don't read yours because you're my friend."
"...Hm," Whiteking furrowed his eyebrows.
"And I also can't tell the future of the Academy."
"You told me before because thousands of Supers are gathered in one place and--"
"That's what I thought, at first," Prophet's loud sigh interrupted Whiteking's words, "But with all of the tragedy and the unexpected events that have been happening lately, it got me thinking...
...What if someone was here? Someone strong enough to cover the entire Academy and the entire area around it."
"...Mega Woman?"
"You and I both know she's not here, Bernard."
"Then are you saying--"
"Darkday...
...might be in the Academy."
***
"How about... A Tug of War?"
"...What's that?"
Back in the Field, all of the eyes of the Telekinetic group were on Riley and Shomari, the student from Africa. They were also staring at the double-pointed spear floating in between them; some were excited to see what's about to come, while some were already sweating from their expected outcome.
"You don't know what Tug of War is!?" Shomari then slightly raised his voice as he heard Riley's words, "It's a game from our childhood, surely you have games like that in America?"
"...I grew up not--"
And before Riley could finish his words, a sharp hiss whispered in the air as their entire area was suddenly blanketed by a thick white mist. The students were about to ask what was happening, but before they could do so, it was already gone.
The only thing they heard was a light snap coming from Riley, and the mist around them was blown away. But soon, the mist was gone completely as Scarlet Mage seemed to have swept all of it away.
"I grew up not playing games with other children, Shomari," Riley then continued his words.
"T... that's..." Shomari was slightly taken aback at first, but with a small sigh, he started explaining the rules.
"...But we don't have a rope, Shomari"-- was Riley's first response after he was done explaining.
"Then the spear will serve as our rope," Shomari then breathed out, "And instead of pulling it towards us... we push it until the tip pointed towards us passes through the line; and if I manage to pass my tip through the line, then I win. If yours passes through the line, then you win. Simple, right?"
Shomari then waved his finger towards the ground, creating a sort of line directly beneath the center of the floating spear.
"I suppose."
"Wait, then why does the end need to be pointed?" Bella then voiced out her concern, "One of you can get severely injured, man. Stop this nonsense."
"T... there's no need to worry. I... am confident in my control," Shomari once again spoke meekly, but deep inside him, a smile was forming.
"B... but, if Mr. Riley Ross is not confident in his control... then perhaps we can consider this my win?"
"That's a load of bull," Bella shook her head, "You're the one who chose this game. Riley, I have a bad feeling about thi--"
"It's okay, Bella," Riley muttered, "I feel like it is going to be a little fun."
"...But your face looks really bored right now."
"No, I am excited," Riley said as he blinked his eyes a couple of times. Bella then squinted her eyes to look Riley straight in the face... and true enough, the edges of his lips were higher than usual by almost a millimeter.
"Then... shall we start then, Mr. Riley Ross?" Shomari let out a small breath as the floating spear dropped on the ground, "Let's first put equal pressure on the spear before we start."
Shomari then stretched his hand, and as he did so, the spear started to tremble on the ground.
"Hm," Riley flicked his finger, causing the spear to stop trembling.
"...Okay, let's both lift it up."
Riley nodded in response as the spear started to once again slowly float in the air.
"Then... in the count of 3, we'll start the game," Shomari then let out a small but deep breath; his face showing how nervous he was. But in truth...
...The smile inside his mind couldn't be wider. His plan was simple; before the count even reaches to 3, then he will use all of his might to push the spear straight towards Riley's heart. If he was able to kill him, then he would be treated as a hero by his tribe.
The One Cursed by God was something his tribe has told for centuries; the bringer of destruction. A great evil that needed to be eradicated as soon as it was born. Riley Ross seemed to not be aware that he is cursed yet-- but that's good.
That would mean they would have a chance to erase him from the world before he wreaks havoc. For his tribe, and for the world... He was willing to do everything. But of course, there was also the prestige.
He could already imagine it... him being worshipped by everyone; a dozen wives prepared for him.
And of course, he needed to make sure that it would look like an accident. But if that failed...
...then he still has another plan.
"Then--"
"I'll count."
And before Shomari could even say a word, Bella stood up from the ground and leaped towards them. She was still suspicious of this Shomari guy... there was something off about him, she thought.
"Riley... Are you sure you want to do this?" She then asked; but seeing as Riley only nodded in response, the only thing she could do was start counting.
"Okay," Bella sighed,
"1..."
"2..."
"Thr-- !!!"
And before she could even finish counting, her eyes turned wide as the spear suddenly shot towards Riley.
"I got you!" Shomari as well, could not help but roar what was on his mind as he stretched his arm towards Riley; using all of his might to push the spear straight through Riley's heart. But alas, before the tip of the spear could completely pass through the line he made, it stopped.
It stopped completely.
"W... what?"
"Hm..." Riley then slightly furrowed his eyebrows ever so slightly, "It seems I may have misunderstood the rules. I thought we would start after the count, Shomari."
"You--" Shomari forced his power even more to the point that his arm was already trembling-- but still, the spear was not budging.
"...Should we start over again?" Riley then turned his head towards Bella.
"...No, you might as well finish it," Bella sighed.
Why did he even bother worrying about Riley? The guy could change terrains while sending her to the Ward, she thought. She then turned to look at Shomari, giving him a sigh as she shook her head,
"Better just give up, man," she muttered, "Riley is just built different. There's no shame in admitting defeat-- everyone here knows that--"
"N... no!" Shomari then finally decided to use two of his arms, even stepping closer to try and force the spear to move; his veins, almost started to pop out from the skin of his arms.
"Does that help you in increasing your strength, Shomari?" Riley muttered.
"S... shut up!"
"You... should stop before you get hurt, man. This is just an activity," Bella stuttered, before waving her hands towards Scarlet Mage, "Miss Scarlet Mage!"
Of course, Katherine was already watching. But with Riley's abnormal control, then there shouldn't be a problem. And so, she just gave a thumbs up, signaling that it was okay.
Bella, however, could not help but raise an eyebrow. Katherine only looked at Riley and did not even bother checking on Shomari.
"Stop this, man," Bella once again breathed out, "Riley, just finish this... he looks like he's about to shit himself."
"...Okay," Riley nodded as he flicked his finger. And slowly, the spear started to move towards Shomari; Shomari still tried to struggle, even to the point that even his own body was being pushed backward.
However, this struggle was for naught, because as expected, the tip of the spear passed through the line without even a slight tremble.
"Alright," Bella then sighed, "I declare the winner to be Ri--"
"Ack!"
Bella's eyes quickly widened as a pained scream suddenly roared through her ears. She then slowly turned her eyes towards the shout, only to see Shomari's legs swinging in the air.
"W... what?"
The spear, skewered straight through Shomari's chest as it penetrated the ground.
"W... what have you done!?" Bella then screamed as she rushed to help Shomari.
Riley, however, only tilted his head to the side and whispered,
"....That's weird."
Chapter 98A few minutes ago, Katherine was carefully watching all of the students having their own unique matches; she initially thought that something bad had happened since Bella called for her, but when she saw that Riley's opponent was struggling against him, she just shook it off.
If it was before, then maybe Katherine would be extremely worried; but she knew how abnormal Riley's control was with his telekinetic abilities-- nothing was going to happen unless he willed it so.
And so, she just gave Bella the thumbs up and continued to watch the other matches. Her eyes, thoroughly looking at potential trouble… but everyone was careful, even with the lessened restrictions regarding harming your opponent.
It would seem the training that they have been doing all these months was working. But Katherine was sure that most of the merit should be given to the tragedies and events that they have experienced first-hand.
Their friends getting kidnapped and killed; then watch as thousands of people die in front of them while they were absolutely helpless to stop the situation… It truly woke them up to the reality of the world; of what it means to have the lives of millions of people in your hand… of what it means to not be able to save the people you want to save.
In a way… all those deaths helped them become better people, Katherine thought.
Even those that were on the Potential Villain list were now trying their hardest, seemingly more eager to learn.
"..." Katherine's eyes then wandered towards the Telepathic group. The one who was able to induce dreams, Hypnos, was no longer there. He was also on the Potential Villain list…
...was he one of the students in the Dark Millenium ship? Riley did say he wanted to kill him since he could be dangerous in the future-- but to think he would be one of the students that died there.
Truly, Riley works in mysterious ways. There--
"What did you do!?"
And before Katherine could finish her thoughts, a familiar voice reached through her ears, causing her eyes to widen and slightly tremble. She didn't want to turn her head towards the scream as she was afraid of the scenery that awaited her; but alas, she has no choice.
She could only take in a deep breath as her eyes slowly turned towards the Telekinetic group, only to see Riley's opponent hung like a marionette; skewered by a spear that was tightly penetrated through the ground.
Did… Riley just kill someone in broad daylight? Why!?
Is this some part of a plan? Was she supposed to do something?
Katherine then flew towards Riley, the weight on her mind dropping her straight in front of him.
"W… why did you do this?" Katherine then stuttered as she slowly looked at Riley.
"I didn't."
"W… what?" Katherine then saw Riley blinking a couple of times, and although it was not obvious on his face, he truly did look quite confused, "Then--"
"Medic! He… he's still breathing!"
Katherine glanced at the panicking students, before looking at Riley then once again returning her eyes to the gathering crowd of students. And after a few moments of deliberation, she rushed towards the commotion.
"How is he!?"
"M… Miss Scarlet Mage!" Bella quickly made way for Katherine, "He… I think he's still breathing."
"..." Katherine squinted her eyes; and true enough, she could see Shomari's fingers still moving,
"Don't move too much, okay?" Katherine then breathed out, "Just a few centimeters, and the spear would hit your heart. We're going to do our best to help you, okay?"
"U…" Shomari's eyes then slightly trembled as he looked at Katherine straight in the eyes. He was about to say something, but before he could do so, the spear suddenly moved.
"Wh… Riley!?" Katherine quickly turned her head towards Riley, only to see him just standing there with his hands raised.
"I'm not doing anything," Riley muttered, his eyes still blinking in confusion.
"Y…" Shomari's breaths still whispered in the air, using whatever strength was left in his body to lift up his trembling head to look at Riley. It was a good thing that he didn't even have the strength to laugh, because if he did… then he would certainly be laughing right now.
That's right… Riley did not do anything because it was Shomari himself that caused all of this. He knew from their exchange that he could never hope to defeat Riley Ross… but he at least needed to do something.
This was his other plan-- to sacrifice himself so that the people would know what Riley Ross is.
Shomari's eyes then started to palpitate as the thoughts of glory echoed in his mind. The cheers, the dozen wives… he might have lost the chance to experience those things; but for his tribe's cause…
...then even death was worth it.
And with those thoughts, Shomari breathed out his last breaths.
"He… he's dead," Bella stuttered as she lightly backed away from Shomari's corpse, "He--"
"What's going on!? Riley, what happened!?"
And soon, Hannah arrived; followed by Tomoe and Katrina, as well as the other members of the Elemental group.
"Shomari died," and without even any pause, Riley pointed towards Shomari.
"Wha--" Hannah was about to say something, but as soon as she saw a student hanging on a spear, her words became slightly sedated, "W… what happened?"
"He killed him!" One of the students then suddenly shouted.
"What!? No! Who said that!?" Hannah quickly waved her hand as she looked towards the direction of the shout, before blocking Riley from the view of the others.
Tomoe, who was quietly watching from the side, also started to move. The grass beneath her slowly froze as she looked at Katherine, who shook her head in response as if signaling that they shouldn't do anything.
"W… wait, everyone!" Bella then stood between Hannah and the gathering crowd, "I… I'm sure this is just an accident!"
"What!? You say that but didn't Riley also send you to the hospital!?"
"That's--" Bella slightly bit her teeth as the image of Riley smiling suddenly appeared in her mind. She quickly shook her head off the thoughts, however, as she stood her ground, "That's because I was too weak to--"
"Then are you telling us this is Shomari's fault for being weak!?" One of the students from another group then stepped forward. And judging by his accent, he was also from the South African branch-- it was just not obvious as he looked closer to a European.
"He died…" The African continued, "He died and you're telling us it's his fault!?"
"That's…"
"W… wait, I think what my sis is trying to say is that--"
"Are you defending him right now!?"
Ben stood by his sister, but before he could even finish his words, another student roared-- and soon, a lot more people joined in, their voices almost reaching the skies.
"E… everyone, listen!" This time, it was Katrina who stood between the crowd, "Why… why does this need to be anyone's fault!? Don't any of you remember when Riley saved us before!? What about when he helped during the Festival when some of us were causing troubles!?"
Katrina's loud words, however, seemed to have reached no one as everyone was busy creating theories of their own.
But perhaps the most worried and at a loss as to what to do out of all them was Katherine. With all the clamoring whispers and roars that were being pointed at Riley-- who is literally a bomb waiting to be set loose.
Everything… everything was in chaos.
What…
....What was she even supposed to do!?
Chapter 99"L… live… please… p… please let… let me live."
The quiet struggle and crack of Katherine's voice silently echoed throughout the ghastly air. Her words, slightly distorted and stuttered as the blood profusely gushing from her nose trailed through her mouth; mixing it with the tears and saliva that were already resting there.
She was almost somewhat relieved that none could see her. With all the clouds of dust and the dark sky; even the largest of debris were hidden from the world. And perhaps that was for the better, as the world does not need to see the thousands of bodies mangled and littered on the uneven roads and ground.
She… was probably the only one left alive within the vicinity; but probably not for long as Darkday's hands firmly wrapped around her neck.
"Live?" Darkday then spoke; his voice somewhat amused as his grip tightened, "But just moments ago you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the people."
"Y… you're… you're a monster."
"Although I suppose it makes sense," Darkday's shoulders then began to move as a weird laugh seeped from his helmet, "There's no one for you to save anymore."
Katherine… Katherine could remember Riley's laugh so vividly. It was the last thing she heard before Mega Woman arrived to save her.
But still, his laugh replayed in her mind for months and months and months... and sometimes even now.
But soon, she knew what was about to come-- her moans. Her sultry moans as Darkday's figure is slowly replaced by Riley's face. Her mind did not want to forget what Darkday had done to her-- but her loud moans drowned any memories she had of Darkday.
Katherine then shook her head as she once again found herself deep into the expanse of her mind; it was almost like an endless whistle. An endless whistle showered in her mind as the planes containing thousands of innocent people dropped to the ground-- she imagined their screams… she imagined what they were feeling as the planes were blown to smithereens… or if someone was still alive to feel the fire slowly eating them alive.
Their screams… their screams…
And just like that-- the warmth of Riley's lips upon hers completely overwhelmed their woes.
There was some sort of static in her mind; playing over and over again.
Her moans, her pains, the people's screams, Riley's laugh.
The warmth… his warmth… the warmth of the blood that Riley has killed that she now finds herself drowned in.
The face of the students as Riley massacred them… their thoughts… her thoughts were almost burning her mind as it felt like it was screaming at her and--
"That's enough!"
"!!!"
Katherine's shrieking screams were then followed by silence-- one which only her fettered breaths could be heard as the students that were previously filling the air with their whispers and clamor now all looked at her with their mouths completely shut.
They wanted to open their mouths, but as they remembered Scarlet Mage's chilling shriek almost piercing their bones, the only thing they could do was stay silent.
Even Hannah, who was arguing with the other students, could only take in a deep breath as she stared at Katherine's… somewhat convoluted expression.
Seeing the look of fear and discomfort in the students' eyes, Katherine could not help but grit her teeth, "Just… everyone of you return to class. I'll update you on the situation… Riley, you need to stay here."
And soon, as the students started to leave, the medics arrived. Silvie and Gary were with them, as Silvie was the first to respond as soon as she heard someone call for the medic.
"What's… going on?" Silvie then said as her eyes quickly landed on Shomari's corpse.
"R… Riley killed him."
"K… Kill?" There was a small whisper that escaped from one of the students' mouths, a whisper that reached Silvie's ears as she quickly turned her head towards Riley… and without even saying another word, she disappeared from her spot and rushed towards him with her fists completely locked.
"Woah! What the fuck, bro!"
But before her fists reached Riley, they met with Gary's palms, who blocked her a meter away from hitting Riley, "What are you doing? This is--"
And before Gary could finish his words, his eyes reflected almost all the elements one can find in the world as Tomoe, Hannah, and Katherine surrounded Silvie.
A sharp and dark icicle pointed at her neck, a fiery palm directed at her face, and a mixture of every element threatening to pierce her heart.
"Wha…" Silvie's eyes then started blinking erratically as her body slowly started to relax, "What… what was I thinking?"
"Fuck!"
And as soon as Silvie retracted her fists, Hannah let out a deafening scream-- her voice almost cracking in frustration. The other students that were leaving all looked at each other in confusion; their minds still not getting over the fact that another one of them had died again… and in the Academy at that.
They could not stay long to ponder, however, as the medics asked them to leave one by one.
"I… I'm really sorry, Riley," Silvie then stuttered as she looked sparingly towards Riley, "I… I didn't know what came into me."
"It's alright, Silvie," Riley, who has been quiet throughout the whole situation, just casually shook his head, "Your reaction is understandable due to the current situation."
"That's… still--"
"Let's go."
And before Silvie could say anything more, she was dragged away by Gary. Tomoe also looked at Riley, before glancing at Katherine and leaving with Silvie and the others.
"I am staying here!"
And now, all that was left was Hannah.
"I… will take care of your brother," Katherine then let out a small sigh as she asked Hannah to leave, "The guards are already here they--"
"I will not leave my brother's side!" Hannah said as she crossed her arms and stood in front of Riley. She was about to say something else, but as soon as she saw a drone flying near them, her whole body instantly burst into fire.
"W… why is that thing still on!?" Hannah was about to rush towards it-- but she did not need to do anything as an icicle suddenly shot towards it and put it down.
"Shit… they… they saw everything," Hannah then stuttered as she remembered the whole world might be watching them now, "Fuck…
…Fuck!"
***
"Empress."
In a room lighted up by its white glowing walls, situated and hidden somewhere in the world, Empress was sitting alone at the V-shaped table where the Hope Guild was always having their meetings.
But soon, someone else entered the room.
"...Bulwark?" Empress furrowed her eyebrows as she saw Bulwark approaching her, "Did I call a meeting? Why are you here? And…
...Why are you not wearing your suit?"
Bulwark's golden hair and eyes still glowed, but the previous golden suit he was wearing was now replaced by a normal coat and tie. Instead, his costume seemed to be in his hand, neatly folded.
"..."
And soon, without even saying a word, he placed his costume on the table.
"...What is this?" Empress breathed out.
"I… am retiring from the Hope Guild," Bulwark then said; his golden eyes being reflected in the Empress' own eyes.
"...Is this because of the Clearing we did of the Dark Millenium?" Empress then said as she let out a short but deep sigh; leaning back on her seat as she returned Bulwark's gaze, "But we killed zero innocent people during the operation. There were some citizens that were hurt, but all of them are well now and not to mention compensated."
"Did… you even talk to the members of the Dark Millenium?" Bulwark then also let out a sigh as he started walking in the room, looking at the multiple monitors attached to the bright walls, "You see… I spoke to some of them before I reduced them into atoms."
"..."
"Some of their members aren't even Supers," Bulwark continued, "Were you aware of that?"
"It was in the report, Bulwark," Empress then stood up from her seat as she grabbed Bulwark's costume, "And it was also in the report that they are terrorists."
"They believed that they were doing good."
"They killed children," Empress sighed, "They are terrorists."
"What if we're looking at this wrong?" Bulwark then said as he touched one of the monitors, "Who even gave them that kind of technology in the first place?"
"It doesn't matter, Bulwark. We were given a mission… and that mission is not complete until we find the leader of this terrorist group."
"They are misguided, Empress. Some of them are children."
"Everyone is a child in your eyes, Bulwark," Empress shook her head, "You're even older than Mega Woman."
"Be that as it may, I just came here to tell you that I am retiring… child."
"Pft. You know there's no one to replace you."
"You're the Empress, you can find one," Bulwark then let out a small chuckle.
"If you're just leaving the group, then why leave this here?" Empress then let out a small sigh as she handed Bulwark's uniform to him, "This is yours, Whiteking made it for us… you should keep it."
Bulwark looked at his uniform for a few seconds, before turning his head away and walking away, "You can have it-- I know you're obsessed with that boy anyway."
"That's not--"
"I am retiring for good, Empress."
"You mean…"
"Yes," Bulwark nodded, "I am tired of fighting."
"But the world needs you now that Mega Woman has left a void that-- Where are you even going?"
"Well…" Bulwark then said as he once again looked at one of the monitors, "A place where I can truly make a difference. A place…
....where I can guide them to the right path."
Chapter 100Flittering footsteps pitter-pattered through the wide and long hallways of the Academy's underground; almost echoing endlessly as they reflected the unrest of their owners-- only drowned by the sound of her sighs filled with frustration.
Hannah was allowed to go with Riley to wherever it was he was being taken-- somewhere suspiciously deep into the Academy. She could care less, however, as she followed him and the guards without uttering a word. But as soon as they reached a certain room, she was blocked by the guards, saying that she can't go inside and should just wait.
She should just wait… and that was more than an hour ago now, Hannah thought as her frustrations once again traveled through the long hallway. Her steps only stopped as she updated Gary and others about the situation, but since there really wasn't anything happening, the most she sent them were also just her frustration in the form of texts.
But finally, a few more minutes before she completely turned crazy, her steps were no longer alone. She squinted her eyes to see who it was that was approaching the room, only to see Whiteking and Katherine, along with who she could only assume were other staff of the Academy.
"Dad!" Hannah then yelled, "What's going on!? Why are they not letting me enter!?"
"Not now, Hannah," Bernard could only shake his head as he gestured for her daughter to calm down.
"Is… Is Riley in trouble!?" Hannah, however, did not seem to care as she continued to block Bernard's path, "Surely nothing's going to happen, right? I mean… This… This is a school for Supers for fuck's sake. What… what did they expect, a scratch? Of course, someone was going to get hurt sooner or--"
"Someone died, Hannah," Bernard then let out a long and deep sigh as he gently pushed Hannah to the side, "...And the child's parents would be here soon."
"T… that's…" Hannah could only gulp, "It's… it's not his fault, dad."
"That's what we're here to talk about," Bernard then said as he looked at the other people behind him, "Let's go inside."
"W… wai--"
And before Hannah could even finish her words, the silver door closed on her.
"..." And after a few seconds, the only thing that her body wanted to do was release her frustration… and she did so by punching the Academy's reinforced wall.
"..."
"Gaah!" Hannah then let out a high-pitched shrieking noise unbefitting of her age-- loud enough to almost shake the reinforced walls she stupidly slammed her fist on. Her screams were disrupted by the ringing of her phone-- she wanted to throw it away in a rage, but as soon as she saw that it was her mother calling, the first instinct she did was to reject her call.
"...Shit," Hannah then whispered as her breaths became heavier by the second,
"Shit… Fuck!"
"I see your vernacular is still as colorful as ever."
Hannah's screams were then followed by a calm voice, causing her to slightly back away; but as soon as she saw who it was, her eyebrows quickly raised.
"M… Mr. P!" Hannah then quickly bellows, "If… If it's you then you can do something, right!?"
But alas, even with her pleading tone, the only response that Prophet gave him was the shake of his head.
"You're… you're the Headmaster! Do something!"
"No special treatment in the Academy, you know that," Prophet sighed as he continued to make his way to the door.
"But--"
And before Hannah could finish her words, Prophet placed his finger on his lips and shushed Hannah, "I'm sure we can do something," he then said as he let out a small smile before entering the room.
"..."
"..." And so, once again, Hannah was left alone in the hall. Her solitariness did not last, however, as another set of steps echoed throughout the hallway.
And judging by the weight and rhythm of their hurried steps, they were Shomari's parents. The Family Villa was near where they were, but it was by no means a distance that could be traveled on foot without effort.
"..." They have also probably been waiting for news about their son. And as soon as Hannah saw the dismal looks on their faces, the only thing she could do was turn her head to the side and close her eyes, wincing at the thought of their sights meeting each other.
Hannah thought that she was used to seeing the dead by now… but seeing the expressions of those that were left behind feels even more… powerfully painful.
And as the sound of the door closing whispered through her ears, she was finally able to open her eyes-- letting her back rest on the wall as her legs slowly gave in.
And once again, letting out the only words she could breathe out--
"...Fucking shit."
***
A few minutes ago, the situation inside the room was not any better as Bernard and the others all discussed and whispered amongst themselves. The video of what happened seemed to be playing on the huge monitor on the screen but was currently paused.
And while the group was discussing the situation, Katherine could not help but keep glancing towards Riley, who was sitting alone at his own table provided to him, his eyes locked on the monitor.
"..."
"..."
The group continued to whisper with each other until finally, the sound of the door opening instantly sedated their words; with one of them quickly turning off the monitor.
"Our Shomari… Where is our Shomari!?"
The mother's words quickly echoed the entire room, her accent reflected the weight that was trapped in her heart. Bernard was the first to approach the parents, carefully patting them both on the shoulders.
"Please… sit down first," Bernard meekly said. His words, however, only served to further increase the weight in the parents' hearts as they both dropped to the ground; with the mother's wails enough to deafen their ears from all the hurt it contained.
Bernard had thought that he was used to the cries of those that were left behind… but now that his son was the one the other end of the tragedy, it… hit him differently.
It took almost a quarter of an hour for both the mother and the father to calm down; Bernard and the others did not really say anything, as they knew that most of their words would just be useless.
Of course, Mega Academy has already prepared for this kind of scenario, but not that it was here… they realized any of their training meant nothing.
"I… I want to see my Shomari," the mother then whimpered as she and her husband took a seat, "I want to see my beautiful baby boy, please."
"You… can see him soon," Bernard muttered, "But I know it would feel hurtful coming from me… but I would like to apologize to--"
"I do not need your words! Bring my son back from the dead!" This time, it was the father that spoke up, his words loud and filled with anguish, cracking as he tried to stop the tears that were wishing to burst out from his eyes, "You have powers! Do something!"
"That's--"
"We are actually here to discuss something with you."
And before Bernard could say anything else, Prophet approached the two parents, "Videos of your son's death… might be surfacing in the news and social media soon."
"W… what?"
Hearing Prophet's words quickly sedated the two as they stared at the staff of the Academy, "What… what is the meaning?"
"We… we were required to stream the activities of the students live by the government," Prophet sighed, "We were too late to stop the stream from being scattered… and the reason we brought you here is to ask you to watch the video here first so that you won't get surpri--"
"You want me to watch my son's death!?" Shomari's father slammed his palm on the table, "Where--"
And before he could finish his words, his raging eyes landed towards Riley. And as soon as he saw his face, the tears that he was preventing from falling from his eyes needed no obstruction anymore as they quickly retracted on their own.
Shomari's father then placed his hand on his wife before gesturing towards Riley; and like him, the mother's tears quickly faded as they saw Riley.
"The video…" Shomari's mother then muttered,
"Let us watch the video."
Chapter 101"Let… us watch the video."
"Are… you sure?"
"Yes."
The members of the Academy all looked at each other with the sudden change of the parents' faces. Just seconds ago, their wails could not be controlled. But as soon as their gazes fell upon Riley, the only trace of their previous sorrow was the trail of tears on the mother's face.
And so, with Prophet nodding, the monitor was once again turned on-- showing the exact moment of Shomari's death, and what happened to lead to that.
The mother slightly looked away as soon as the spear lodged into her son's chest. The father, however, only took in a deep breath as he stared at the moment his son took his last breath.
"It… It's my fault!"
"Scarlet Mage!"
And as soon as the video was over, Katherine quickly kneeled in front of the parents, "I… I should have stopped them as soon as I saw your son struggling but I was--"
"No."
But before she could finish her words, Shomari's father gestured for her to stand up, "My son… my son died an honorable death."
"...What?" Katherine whispered; her eyebrows showing her confusion as she slowly stood up.
"To fight dying the greatest monster is an honor."
The sound of Bernard's chair slightly squeaking silently whispered in the air, but before he could do anything, Prophet grabbed his shoulders and quietly told him to calm down.
"...Monster?" Katherine then breathed out.
"You said this video is broadcasted on internet?" The shoulders of Shomari's father started to straighten.
"...Yes?"
"Hm," the father nodded, "Then everyone shall see my son's sacrifice. The One Cursed by God and his evil shall be known."
"..." Bernard's hands were starting to tremble; if it weren't for the fact that their son just died, then he might have already flipped the table in front of him. And perhaps also partly thanks to Prophet trying his best to block Bernard from seeing the two, if not, then something truly will be happening here.
"Will… you be taking action against the student?" Prophet then said as he slightly glanced at Riley.
"No," Shomari's father, however, quickly answered; his words firm and filled with dignity, "The Ghost can not be kept in cages. The world will decide his fate now."
"..."
"..."
"Would… you like to see your son now?" One of the Academy's staff then stepped forward, breaking the awkward silence the room suddenly found itself in. And without even saying another word, Shomari's parents both nodded their heads and calmly left the room.
"..."
"..."
"What just happened?" Katherine then said; perhaps voicing out everyone's confusion.
"There's something going on here, Prophet," Bernard once again replayed the video, "You see it as well, right?"
"Hm," Prophet nodded as he looked at the video, "But be that as it may, the world saw what happened. Prepare your son for punishment-- and since he is 17 now and no longer a juvenile."
"Wait, you can't seriously think they will send him to prison?"
"No, of course not," Prophet breathed out as a small chuckle escaped from his mouth, "But the punishment is not going to be light. And since your real identity is already slowly being scattered around the world… the government will surely use you and your son to get the attention as far away from them as possible."
"Tha--"
"Wait!" And before Bernard could utter a word, Katherine joined in on the conversation, "Didn't you already see that something weird is going on here? Why--"
"The adults are talking, Scarlet Mage," Prophet furrowed his eyebrows as he looked Katherine straight in the eyes, "And you're not out of the woods yet; as the instructor responsible for their class, half of the fault lies with you."
"That's--"
"But yes," Prophet once again did not let Katherine finish her words,
"I think everyone in this room agrees that something suspicious is going on," he then said as he looked at the African instructor, who arrived with the students during the start of the Festival.
"I…
...I will look into it."
***
A few hours later, Hannah's frustrated steps found their way inside their usual hideout-- the Korean Shaved Ice store.
Silvie and the others were already there, and even Katrina.
"Hannah!"
"Did they say anything!?"
"What's gonna happen to our bro!?"
"Is Riley alright?"
And even with all the worried voices echoing in her ears, the only thing that Hannah could do was shake her head as she approached them. She released a long and huge sigh, but it seemed to cause the weight in her body to get even heavier as she dropped on her seat.
But as soon as her butt hit the chair, a dessert was placed in front of her.
"On the house," Charlotte then said, winking at Hannah before returning to her counter.
"..."
"..."
"S… shit, what do you think is gonna happen now?" Gary then muttered, "You… do you guys think Riley really did it on--"
"No!" Hannah quickly raised her voice as she glared at Gary, "Shut the fuck up! You're the one on the Potential Villain list!"
"I don't think that's fair--"
"You shut your mouth as well!" Hannah also violently pointed towards Silvie before she could finish her words, "Why did you suddenly jump on him like that!? I thought we were your friends!?"
"I… I'm sorry…" Silvie could only look at the table, "I… I don't know what happened, I just…"
"H… Hannah, please calm down," Katrina then gently waved her hand, "We're… we're all just a little agitated--"
"Ugh!"
And before Katrina could say anything more, the sound of Hannah slamming her head on the table reverberated throughout the entire shop.
"I… I don't know what to do anymore," Hannah's words of frustration whispered through their ears as she looked to the side; and as she did so, Tomoe was already handing her an ice pack to put on her swollen forehead.
And add that to the flavored shaved ice, Hannah slowly started to calm down.
"Are… they putting him in jail?" Silvie then carefully asked.
"...No," Hannah shook her head, "But they were saying something about... a public apology."
"A what now?"
"A public apology. Although Prophet said the Academy would be shouldering the responsibility as much as possible… but I don't know… everything's turning to shit."
Hearing all of this, Tomoe could not help but blink her eyes-- Darkday apologizing to the masses? If only they knew.
"I don't know man, this whole thing all feels a little bit suspicious, my dragon whiskers are tingling-- something is off about the African students."
"Bro, you talking shit about my brothers from another country now?"
And as soon as Gary had said his words, a familiar voice entered the shop. Gary slowly turned his head, only to see Bella making her way towards them.
"Woah, Woah," Gary then raised both his hands in surrender, "I'm not racist. I will have you know that I watch interracial por--"
"Fuck, Gary… no," Hannah quickly shook her head to stop him from saying anything further; Silvie and the others, however, were slightly confused.
As for Bella, the only thing she did was shake her head as she sat on top of the table in front of them,
"I did some recollecting," she then muttered as she placed her phone on Hannah's table, "Your girl here watched the video a couple of times… until finally, I noticed something wrong."
Bella tapped on her phone, showing the moment before the spear shoved through Shomari's chest.
"You guys saw that, right?" Bella then said as she replayed the video.
"The… spear," Silvie was the first to notice, "It already stopped when it passed the line!"
"Yes!" Bella slammed her palm on the table as she pointed at Silvie, "And then it trembled less than a second later, and then woosh," Bella waved her hand.
"And check this," Bella then continued as she slowly wagged her finger along with her head, "I did some digging; and it turns out, some of my brothers from the other continent are in some kind of tribe of some shit."
"...A tribe?"
"...Like Apokalipto?"
"...Those were Mayans," Bella squinted her eyes at Gary, "But yes, something like that. It's kinda weird you know that movie, not gonna lie."
"Hm, I dabble."
"W… wait, guys. We're losing track here," Hannah then snapped her fingers a couple of times to get everyone's attention, "What kind of tribe?"
"Oh hear this-- they have a prophecy about some kind of… creature called the One Cursed by God."
"...And?"
"And you know what this One Cursed by God looks like?" Bella breathed out, "White hair, white skin, white everything."
"...Even the pubes?"
"Gary!"
S… sorry, just trying to light up the mood," Gary once again raised both his hands in defeat, "But see? I'm not the racist one here."
"I… I don't think this has something to do with racism in the first place," Katrina slightly stuttered as she found the chance to join in on the conversation, "Before Mega Woman, I heard some tribes in the world hunted… people like Riley."
"...Autistic?"
"No!"
"It… it's not about that," Bella then interrupted Katrina and Gary before their conversation became worse, "This tribe, they truly believe that the One Cursed by God…
...will one day destroy the world."
And as soon as Tomoe heard those words whisper in her ear, the only thing she could do was furrow her eyebrows.
Destroy the world? Then… even if it was just a coincidence… then isn't Riley the very person that fits that description?
"Okay…" Gary then once again spoke, "But get this… Besides the lesbo, am I the only one that noticed that I'm the only guy here?"
"..."
"..."
***
"Empress."
"Twice in one day… I feel like I should call a meeting at this poi--"
Once again, back in Hope Guild's meeting hall, Empress was visited by another member. But unlike with Bulwark, her words completely stopped as soon as she saw Bernard entering the hall-- not even bothering to wear his mask.
"...Bernard? What's wrong? Did something happen?" Any arrogant tone that was in Empress's voice was completely gone as she watched Bernard fall onto his chair.
"Adaeze…
....I need your help."
Chapter 102"Riley, are you... are you okay!?"
"Yes, mother. I am not the one that died."
"It's... It's not your fault, okay? It's not your fault!"
Riley has now been cooped up and trapped in his room for almost a full day now; not allowed to leave under any circumstances until otherwise ordered to do so.
He was also not allowed to contact anyone outside; but since he did not get a phone from the Academy in the first place, then there was no need to confiscate anything. There were hours that people were allowed to visit him, but only close families and at a very limited time at that.
In a way, it was a glorified prison-- still, a prison warmed by the tears of a mother that would probably do anything for his son.
Diana was actually the last one in the family to learn of what happened-- with Hannah unknowingly keeping her in the dark since she was not accepting her calls. She had to find out the hardest way-- from the other parents.
The atmosphere in the Family Villa was getting weird and Diana was slightly confused as to why her new neighbors were now avoiding her, but as soon as she saw the video, she almost fainted on the spot.
But of course, she didn't make any unnecessary scene and just tried to gather herself first; after all, it was not his son that died-- anything she would do would be a slap to the face of those who were mourning.
But now that he was facing her son, all the emotions that were slowly filling up her heart instantly gushed out; her tears whispering loudly throughout Riley's room.
She wanted to hug and comfort her son so very much, but she knew that any attempts would just be met with Riley avoiding her.
"...Is something the matter, mother?" Riley then blinked a couple of times as he saw his mother fall to her knees.
Hearing her son's words, Diana quickly wiped the tears trailing on her face and shook her head. Even at these trying times, her son worries about her more than himself. Sometimes, she could not help but wonder how she received a blessing like Riley in her life.
"We... we will get through this, Riley," Diana then stood up from the ground as she smiled at her son, "I... I will go with you during the trial and apologize to them with you. You... you're only a boy so they would--"
"That will not be necessary, mother," Riley shook his head, "This affair does not involve you, nor do I wish to involve you in it."
"No!" Diana also shook her head, "As your mother, I will-- !!!"
Diana's breaths almost completely stopped as soon as she felt a warmth touch her shoulder-- it was minuscule, but it still felt so entirely heavy.
"..." Diana then slightly stuttered as she slowly turned her head, only to see Riley touching her shoulder with his pinkie finger.
"R... Riley..." Diana then muttered as the tears once again trailed on her face. For others, this scene might look weird, or admittedly funny, even...
...But for the first time ever, Riley initiated physical contact.
It was just a tiny finger, a minute gesture... but for Diana, it might as well be the heaviest and tightest embrace she has ever received in her life.
Riley's confinement continued for almost a week, with Hannah and Diana visiting him alternately almost every day. Most trials of People with Super Abilities would usually be held in a government hall somewhere in the city, but due to the nature of the supposed accident, as well as for security reasons, the hearing is to be held inside one of the Academy's auditoriums.
And as Prophet surmised, it was going to be broadcasted to the entire world.
"Turn off your fucking cameras!"
"Hannah. Stop it, you're making it worse."
And as Riley entered the building, and even on the way, there were lots of students filming and taking pictures of him. Hannah had enough and was about to destroy one of the students' phones, but Bernard stopped her before she could do so.
"But dad, they are--"
"This is already being broadcasted live, there is no use stopping them," Barnard shook his head with a sigh, "Any violent reaction you have will only antagonize your brother further," he then said as he glanced at Riley, who didn't even seem to mind what was happening.
Diana as well was trying her best to keep her composure.
They continued to walk, with the students still waving their phones at them. The other instructors and staff of the Academy had tried stopping them, but with the number of students, it was truly impossible to do anything.
Tomoe and the others were also helping calm down the situation, but it was no use. This situation could have very well been avoided if the Academy did not provide them with phones, but alas, they no longer knew what the government was thinking.
What they did know, however, was the situation was becoming sensational, thanks to the Government. With all the heat they have been getting from the press the past couple of months because of all the tragedies surrounding the Academy, they seem to be intent on using Bernard and Riley to narrow their targets-- they were the perfect scapegoats, as Prophet said.
"R... Riley!"
Bernard became aloof as an African student suddenly approached them, but seeing as Riley seemed to know who he is, Bernard just let him pass through.
"I... I apologize I couldn't do anything to stop them, Riley."
"You do not need to do anything, Duma."
It was Duma, the African student who warned Riley about Jamba's tribe. And seeing as there are other African students behind him, it would seem that a majority of the African students were now also aware of what the tribe was trying to do.
"We... we're going to help you out of this somehow, Riley. Almost all of us believe that--"
"It's alright, Duma," Riley waved his hand, "It would seem that everything of this was planned from the start-- there is no use in stopping it."
"That's..." Duma seemed to want to say more, but as Riley continued to walk, the only thing he could do was watch in regret. He should have reported Jamba's tribe to the Academy when he had the chance... but he didn't think that something like this would happen.
And soon, Riley and the others reached the door. And as soon as they opened it, Riley was bombarded with several drones and flashes of light.
"What... what do you mean we're not allowed to enter inside, dad!?"
Hannah wanted to enter the hall, but her mother pulled her before she could do so,
"Let your brother and father handle this, okay?" Diana calmly said before turning her eyes towards Riley, "Just... tell them everything you remember, okay? Just...
...be honest, we believe in you."
"I mostly always am, mother," Riley nodded. And with that, Hannah and Diana could do nothing but watch as the door soon closed on them.
"It will be alright, Mrs. Ross." Silvie and the others went to comfort the two, still trying their best to keep away the other students from doing anything, as the staff of the Academy seemed to not be putting their best efforts into pushing them away.
The situation inside was worse, however, as the entire hall was almost left blind by the flashes of light that almost drowned it endlessly.
Shomari's parents were already there, as well as some other members of their tribe. What Bernard did not expect, however, was the number of media present. Of course, he was already expecting some of them since Prophet had already warned him...
...but this many? If anything, they were looking more and more like vultures, excited to tear down his son for their own survival.
And as soon as the members of the media saw what Riley looked like in person, their fingers could not help but keep on moving as they took their photos. Since the one that died was from another race... and seeing Riley's appearance, this could turn into a piece of even bigger news, they all thought.
"Don't be nervous, Riley," Bernard then whispered, "Although they said it's a trial, it's more like a press conference-- you do not need to answer everything."
"It's okay, father. I...
....am not nervous."
Chapter 103"..."
Bernard looked at the barrage of people that were in front of them, and he stood by his previous statement-- this was more of a press conference rather than a trial. He and Riley were currently sitting at a table, being bombarded by cameras and people that were waiting to pounce on them with their obviously irritating questions.
And soon, after a few more moments, Prophet joined them at the table.
"What are you doing here?" Bernard whispered.
"I'm just a decoration," Prophet sighed as he sat on the chair provided for him,
"Just worry about your son," Prophet then said before facing the people, "We will begin answering your questions soon. Please do know that we have the right to kick anyone that would ask any inappropriate questions, so please; I request all of you to be properly civilized."
And soon, as the reporters were preparing their questions, the video of the accident was played on the monitors placed neatly on the hall.
"...Is this necessary?" Bernard whispered.
"Just bear with it," Prophet shook his head, "The media will eat you and your son alive if you lose your patience."
And soon, as the video finished playing, almost every one of the reporters raised their hands; the eagerness on their faces, as clear as day. One of the Academy's staff then pointed at one of the reporters, who excitedly went to the center of the aisle and spoke through the microphone.
"Riley Ross, are you a part of some radical group that's against black people?" And without even breaking his words, the reporter asked, "Since your father's superhero name is Whiteking, are we to believe that all of these are just mere coincidences?"
What the fuck kind of question is that? Bernard thought as his fists started to tremble, but still, he let out a small but deep sigh as he pressed on his microphone,
"I'll be the one to answer that," Bernard said, "My name was chosen by the people. It is, in no way, relevant to the accident."
"But still, some people think it's not an accident at all," the reporter insisted, "They think this was a racially motivated crime; with Mega Woman gone, they think that--"
"The only racist people I see here are those who are bringing the issue of race in the first place," Bernard did not let the report finish talking, "If you don't have any more sensible questions then you can return to your seat."
"That's--"
"Next one!"
The reporter could only shake his head as another reporter replaced him.
"This question is for Riley Ross. Do you think you are better because of your skin color?"
"My son has a skin condition! Why are you trying to bring race into the equation agai--"
"The color of my or anyone's skin is irrelevant, Mr. Reporter."
And before Bernard could once again go off, Riley finally turned on his mic, "My opinions of people do not rely on whether or not their melatonin levels are high or low."
"That's..." Not only the current reporter, but the others as well could not help but slightly take in a small breath. None of them were expecting Riley to answer the question quite... bluntly.
"Do... you have anything to say to the family of the victims?"
"No."
"..."
"Y--"
"That's enough. Can the next reporter please come forward?"
The reporter truly did not expect Riley to answer the questions that fast, leaving them completely confused as to how to approach him. The only thing they could do was look at each other as the next reporters pass them by.
"Riley Ross, the people think that your arrogance has grown since your father holds a high position not only in the Academy but in the entire Superhero community in general... you even declared that you will not be using any aliases."
"That's not a question."
"The people say you think you can do anything because of your background, what can you say about this?"
Hearing the current reporter, Bernard could not help but furrow his eyebrows. They're not even trying to ask questions about the accident anymore and were just trying to get a reaction from Riley and him.
Prophet was right, these people were just here to get a good scoop and didn't even care about the victim's family. And if Bernard's guess is correct, then some of these reporters might even be planted by the Government themselves.
But the Government was not alone in this regard, however, as Bernard's eyes started to scan the crowd of people. Somewhere amongst the crowd, he should also have a planted reporter of his own-- that was the favor he asked for Empress. But...
...why is no one coming out yet?
"No," Riley then once again answered the question bluntly, "I sometimes even forget that my father works in the Academy, Mr. Reporter."
"We received information that you are diagnosed with autism. Did you feel anything when you killed Shomari?"
Bernard could not help it anymore as he stood up from his seat, but before he could say anything, Riley answered.
"No."
And as soon as everyone heard his answer, an orchestra of gasps and shutters filled the entire stadium.
"How could you not feel anything when you just killed someone!?" The reporter then tried to amplify the situation, "How... how can there be a hero like you!?"
"It seems there is a misunderstanding here, Mr. Reporter."
"Misunderstanding!?" The reporter slowly started to smile inside his mind, "The whole world has seen the video and it was clear that--"
"I did not kill him, Mr. Reporter."
I got you!-- The reporter thought as he tried to hide his excitement, "Is this your statement!? How do you think Shomari's parents feel when they--"
"Their feelings are irrelevant, Mr. Reporter."
"W... what?"
"I am the one being questioned, not them."
Good, this is good-- the reporter thought. Riley Ross was getting riled up.
"How could you do something like this!? I heard the Academy has a Potential Villain list, what do you think about that!?" The reporter's breaths were starting to get heavier as the thought of being promoted slowly surfaced in his mind.
"I am not on the list, so I believe my opinions have no weight on the matter, Mr. Reporter."
"You should be!"
"That is not a question," Riley muttered, "Are you perhaps asking if I should be on the list, Mr. Reporter?"
"Yes!"
"Then, no."
"But you just killed--"
"I did not kill Shomari," Riley shook his head, "He...
...committed suicide."
"!!!" This time, only gasps remained inside the auditorium as most of the reporters and cameramen were frozen in their seats; not able to move their fingers from what they just heard.
"How could you say that in front of the victim's family!? You--"
"Enough! Next reporter!" Bernard then lightly slammed his fist on the table as he asked the staff to remove the current reporter, "This is the final reporter we would be accepting, my son is tired."
The other reporters could not help but let out complaints. But alas, they could do nothing as they were lucky enough to even be chosen to be here-- if they started to push their luck even further, then they might even end up losing their careers.
"Hello, this question is for Whiteking... or if I could address you by your real name, Bernard Ross."
"..." Bernard just raised an eyebrow from the current reporter's words. It would seem there really was no stopping his identity from being fully exposed to the rest of the world anymore.
"Did you think you raised your son right?" The reporter then asked, "Should someone like him really be in an Academy meant to train superheroes?"
"What do you mean someone like him?" The tone of Bernard's voice showed no friendliness at all.
"Most of the people think it is your fault for putting a child on the spectrum in the Academy. How did he even pass the Academy in the first place if not for your influen--"
"The Academy accepts everyone," Bernard did not let the reporter finish as he looked him straight in the eyes, "The Academy was built for the purpose of turning simple pebbles into diamonds. They are here to learn in the first place, what the fuck are you--"
"Stop."
And before Bernard could continue, Riley suddenly raised his hand, "My father is not in any way involved in the death of Shomari, please...
....do not ask him any more questions."
Chapter 104"My father is not in any way involved in the death of Shomari, please...
...do not ask him any more questions."
Riley's voice echoed throughout the entire stadium, and although his tone was still quite monotonous, it somewhat held a certain... authority that made the reporters a little uncomfortable.
"R... Riley?" As for Bernard, he could only stutter as Riley asked him to sit down.
"Very well," and as for the current reporter, he didn't seem to have any plans on backing down either, "Just a month before, there is news that you have sent a woman of color to the clinic, is that true?"
"Yes."
"I thought this race issue is already--"
"Let them continue, father," Riley once again raised his hand to stop his father from saying anything more.
"It was also against a woman," and with Riley's permission, the reporter continued, "The people are starting to wonder whether or not you actually meant for that to happen, and that it was not an accident. What can you say about that?"
"..." This time, Riley did not answer immediately. But instead, letting out a sigh that echoed throughout the entire stadium-- finally showing a change of his tone.
"Shomari and Bella are both objectively weaker than I am. I need to control my powers just enough to not hurt them," Riley then said, "The color of their skin or their gender has nothing to do with that, Mr. Reporter. I have confidence in my ability to control my power-- If they got hurt, then it would be due to their own actions."
Hearing Riley's statement, the reporter could not help but take in a small but deep breath-- he hit a jackpot, he thought. This was the first time someone was being accused of murder, and they belittle the victim.
"So you are saying Shomari died because he is not strong enough!?" The reporter bellowed, "How could you-- !!!"
He could not help but suddenly stop his words, however, as a steel pole suddenly appeared in front of his face, its tip pointed directly towards his eye.
Everyone then looked at Riley, only to see him with his hand slightly raised.
"This--"
And before he and the other reporters could understand what was going on, several poles that seemed to have come from the chairs that were not being used all started shooting towards all of them, stopping short of making a hole on their forehead.
Even Prophet, Bernard, and the other people present inside the hall was presented with a sharp steel pole a few inches away from their face.
"Riley!" Bernard then quickly stood up, with the tip of the pole instantly following his face, "What are you do--"
And before Bernard could finish his words, a smile slowly rose on Riley's face; making everyone inside the room completely uncomfortable.
"Go ahead, everyone," Riley then said, "Try moving the bars if you can."
"..." Bernard furrowed his eyebrows from Riley's words. But after a few seconds, he somewhat realized what Van was doing as he grabbed the steel pole. His bracers then started to tremble like scales as small gaps opened all over it, boosting out fires that caused the pole to move ever so slightly.
"..." The reporters were quite nervous as they had no idea what was going on, but after a few breaths, some of them started trying to move the pole-- with some even hanging on them. But it was to no avail, it was as if the poles were fixed in the air, not even budging for even a millisecond.
And soon, Riley's words once again whispered in the air, "The only way that the poles in front of all of you would move is that I stop controlling it. In reflection to that, the only way the spear would have killed Shomari is if he moved the spear towards himself as soon as I let go of it...
...As I said earlier, he committed suicide."
"But... this... this only proves that you have the power to kill him and what happened wasn't an accident!"
"It wasn't an accident, he killed himself," Riley commented, "And if I truly wanted to kill Shomari, then I would have made sure that no one else knows it."
And as he said that, the sharp tips of the poles slowly started to move closer towards the reporters' faces. This was not good, Riley thought. He...
...was suddenly having the urge to kill all of the people in front of him. Maybe he shouldn't have done something like this... should he do it? Should he go out of retirement and just kill everyone here?
Was it worth it?
What about Mega Woman? He told her he would wait for her.
Not good... this is not good. Riley could feel his breaths slowly starting to become heavy as the minute smile on his face was threatening to become even wider.
"I think that's enough, Riley Ross."
And before his thoughts could completely flourish, a figure suddenly appeared behind him, "I think they got the message."
"..." Riley then slowly turned his head, only to see the leader of the Hope Guild standing there.
"E... Empress!?" The reporters all clamored as Empress suddenly showed herself, "What... what is she doing here!?"
With the gasps of shock filling the entire stadium, Riley could only blink his eyes a couple of times, before subtly waving his hand as the pole all went away at the same time, carefully and expertly returning to where they were taken from.
Prophet, who was keeping quiet on the side and just watching, could not help but furrow his eyebrows upon seeing this. He then glanced at Bernard, his eyes highly inquisitive.
"I know all of you are curious as to why I am here," Empress's words then resounded in the entire stadium as she was given a seat at the panel, "And some of you might have guessed why, and you are probably right-- as someone who grew up in the deepest outskirts of South Africa, I am well aware of the situation happening now... and it's something I can't ignore."
"The--"
"But I am here to tell you that this boy did nothing wrong," Empress then muttered before giving Bernard a slight glance.
"What... what do you mean by that, Empress!?"
"Are you trying to protect the family of your fellow member!?"
"No," Empress then raised her hand, quickly shutting down the reporters. Riley, who saw this, could not help but sigh internally. If he was wearing his Darkday suit, he was sure these reporters would also shut their mouths... because they would be dead.
"Shomari belongs to an old tribe that still has previous customs completely intact," Empress then eloquently explained, "And their tribe has a prophecy that a human that looked like Mr. Riley Ross here would end up destroying the world."
"W... what?"
"I am a bit late since I... spoke with the leader of the said tribe," Empress followed, "And I am here to tell you that they have confessed everything voluntarily."
"..." Bernard took in a small breath as he heard Empress's words. The plan was to plant a reporter amongst the crowd and have him be the one to expose this information... but to think Adaeze would come herself-- was she trying to increase his debt to her?
Empress then continued to explain about the tribe's customs, as well as the One Cursed by God.
The reporters could only look at each other and swallow their words. They were pushing for a certain narrative, but now that was gone, their bullets were almost completely low. Why were they not informed about this crucial information about their station?
"And so, I am truly sorry to say this," Empress then let out a small sigh as she looked in the direction of Shomari's parents, "That Riley Ross is right that Shomari committed suicide... for the sake of their tribe. This is only an action of a minute and radical group and does not represent the entirety of my people. There is also only a handful of them inside the Academy and most of the African students staying here are completely innocent and oblivious of their cause."
"How... how dare you betray your own kind!?" Shomari's parents then stood up from their seats. They were about to rush towards her, but were stopped by the Academy staff, "You... you are making my son's sacrifice into nothing!"
"...I am by no means intruding with the business of the Academy," Empress completely ignored the parents' words as she looked at Prophet, "But perhaps those who are involved in this radical group should be ejected from the Academy. Because if not and the group continues with their misdeeds. We...
...will be forced to treat them as terrorists."
"!!!"
"Adaeze?" Bernard then quickly grabbed Empress's arm and pulled her close to him, "I think this is going a bit overboard."
"You asked for help, didn't you?" Empress whispered close to Bernard's ears. And of course, the reporters did not miss this very minute and subtle closeness between the two as they started taking photos without any pause.
"That is all I have to say," Empress then stood up from her seat, "It is up to the Academy to make a decision in expelling the--"
"I think expelling them will not solve anything and is quite a hard punishment, Empress."
And before Empress could finish her words, the main door of the auditorium opened. Everyone turned their heads towards the noise, only for their eyes to reflect the golden glow coming from the individual that was slowly walking down the aisle.
"I believe they could be guided to the right path."
It was another member of the Hope Guild-- Bulwark.
"What...
....What the hell is going on!?"
Chapter 105"Bulwark!"
"It's Bulwark!"
And just like that, the cameras that were previously on Shomari's parents all went away and pointed towards the unexpected guest that suddenly arrived within the compound, adding to the already chaotic atmosphere that befell them just moments ago.
And now, with Bulwark here, 3 of the 7 members of the Hope Guild were within their presence-- an occurrence that could only be called rare, as usually, if there are more than two Hope Guild members within a kilometer, it would mean they were dealing with a Class-S threat.
"...Bulwark?" Even Empress, who was about to take her leave, could not help but halt her steps as Bulwark suddenly showed himself. When he approached her about his retirement last week, Bulwark mentioned something about going to a place where he could make a difference...
...But to think the place he was referring to was the Academy.
"...This conference is over," Bernard's voice then echoed through the auditorium, "If you want any follow-up on the story, then please direct your attention elsewhere. As you have discovered, my son is innocent...
...Also, I apologize for my son's rash actions earlier; even if he is probably the most composed person you have met, as you can see, he's still just a brat."
"W... wait, we still have--"
There were other reporters that still wanted to ask Riley some questions, but before they could do so, Bernard already pushed his microphone away, "Let's go, Riley. Whatever stunt Bulwark is pulling here doesn't involve us anymore."
"..." Riley slightly glanced at Bulwark and Empress, before nodding and following his father.
"Bernard."
"Hm?" Bernard let out a small hum as Prophet suddenly grabbed his arm.
"...No," Prophet then quickly let go of his hand before glancing at Riley, "It's... probably nothing."
"...Alright," Bernard slightly squinted his eyes before nodding, "I'll leave you to handle this, okay?"
"...Right, let's...
...talk later."
***
"Riley!"
"Bro!"
Hannah and Diana quickly ran to embrace Riley as soon as they stepped out of the auditorium; of course, Riley still avoided his mother; but this time, he had his pinkie finger placed on her shoulder.
"..."
Gary was about to join the three, but before he could do so, he was kicked away by Silvie, "Don't disturb them," she let out a small sigh, before wiping the tears that were also trying to fall from her eyes.
Even Tomoe could not help but look to the side as she tried to hide the tears that were slowly painting her eyes red-- So this is what family really looks like, she thought.
"..." Gary's eyes could not help but squint as he saw the two trying to hide their tears, "Come to think of it, only Riley and Hannah don't seem to have any issues with their family among our group."
"...You're kinda right," Silvie then let out a small chuckle as she looked back and forth between Riley and them. Katrina was actually also there on the side, but since she wasn't really part of the group yet, the only thing she could do was sigh.
"And you, what are you leeches still doing here!?" Gary almost spat out as he suddenly waved his hands towards the other students that were still watching the scenario, "Shoo! Shoo! You betrayed one of your own! Shoo!"
This time, the students that were previously taking videos and photos of Riley went away without any fuss-- slightly feeling ashamed as soon as Riley was proven to be innocent, with some of them even deleting the videos they posted.
"Seriously, these fucking sheep," Gary clicked his tongue, before lifting up his phone and opening its camera, "Now I have the exclusive, muehehehe."
"..." Silvie could only let out a sigh as soon as she heard Gary's words.
"Go with your friends now," Diana, who saw that Silvie and the others were waiting, quickly gestured for Riley to go and greet them, "They seem really worried about you."
"Very well, mother," Riley then nodded as casually walked towards Gary and the others; leaving Diana without even looking back.
"They... grow up so fast, don't they?" Diana then sighed as she also hugged Bernard.
"Y... yes," Bernard slightly stuttered as he returned his wife's embrace.
"Damn boy!" And as soon as Riley was within arm's reach of the group, Gary quickly clapped his hands, "You went through some crazy shit. We were actually prepared to barge inside when we discovered all about the One Cursed by God nonsense from Bella."
"...But to think Empress herself would help you," Silvie then let out a small breath of awe, "That's... truly unexpected. Or perhaps not since Whiteking is your father?"
"Hm," Hannah nodded several times in agreement, "We should probably thank her later."
And as if in cue to her words, Empress stepped out of the auditorium.
"Ah!" Hannah pulled her brother and was about to rush towards Empress, but before she could do so, Diana blocked her path.
"...Mom?"
"You kids go ahead and celebrate," Diana then said, her voice somewhat cold, "Your father and Miss Empress here have something we need to talk about."
"But--"
"I'll thank her on your behalf."
"..." Bernard could only let out a small but deep sigh as he closed his eyes, "Hannah, listen to your mother."
"...Okay?"
"Alright, party time!" Gary then said as he pushed Silvie and the others away, "It's time to start the 'Riley was almost sent to prison party!'"
"..." As for Hannah, she took one final glance at Diana and the others before following the group. Her mother's expression also slightly changed when Empress suddenly showed herself during the conference. Was...
...There something going on between the three?"
***
"To Riley's freedom and beyond!"
"Hey!"
Hannah and Silvie could not help but move away as the ice shavings of Gary's cup dropped everywhere as he waved it around. They wanted to stop him, but he quickly ran away and started dancing on the table.
"I know what it feels like to be cooped up in a room--"
"You were locked in your room for 1 day, Gary."
"...Today is my treat!" Gary completely ignored Hannah's words as he once again waved his cup around, "But I don't have enough points, so Charlotte will shoulder this for me!"
"You guys are starting to abuse my generosity here!" Charlotte bellowed, but alas, her cries were drowned by Gary's incessant laughter. The group could only wait until he got tired... and that was after almost half an hour.
"I really thought this issue would drag on, Riley," Silvie was the first to speak up as soon as Gary stopped monkeying around, "But to think we would receive help from the leader of the Hope Guild herself."
"Hm," Riley just nodded as he continued to partake in his dessert.
"Riley..." Silvie then continued as her eyes started to awkwardly wander around, "I... really should apologize for suddenly attacking you back when--"
"You already apologized to me, Silvie," Riley shook his head, "Any more would just be meaningless."
"S... still... I just didn't know why I did what I did," Silvie's hands then started to tremble, "It was like... I couldn't help myself from--"
"Oi!"
"!!!"
Silvie then widened her eyes as a cold feeling suddenly entered her mouth.
"No emo shit allowed here!" Gary then said as he left the spoon filled with ice in Silvie's mouth, "This is a partey!"
"Gary!" Silvie then stood up from her seat as her eyes started to light up in red, "This has your saliva on it!"
"Do it! Kill the disgusting pig!" Hannah then roared as she threw her spoon at Gary, whose path was blocked by the wall of ice that Tomoe suddenly summoned.
"N... no," Gary's head then started to shake uncontrollably, "I demand all of you to--"
"Am I intruding something?"
"..." Silvie, who was about to hit Gary's head with a spoon, quickly hid the spoon behind her as a familiar voice suddenly entered the store. The group also all turned their heads towards the voice, squinting their eyes as soon as they did so. As for Riley, he quickly wore his sunglasses as a bright yellow light reflected upon it.
"B... b... Bulwark!?" Gary stuttered before immediately scrambling to get his phone.
And even with all the confused faces all looking at him, Bulwark only let out a smile as he approached Riley,
"Congratulations, Riley Ross," Bulwark said as he bowed.
"Thank you, Bulwark," Riley Ross muttered, "But why are you here?"
"R... Riley, don't be rude!" Hannah said as she lightly stomped Riley's foot.
"No need for anything, child," Bulwark then shook his head with a chuckle, "I'm just here to find my replacement in the Hope Guild."
"...Replacement!?" Gary then zoomed in the camera towards Bulwark's face; his excited breaths almost threatening to rip out his nostrils, "You're quitting the Hope Guild!?"
"Yes."
"W... wait, you're not here for me, are you!?" The view on Gary's hands started to tremble uncontrollably.
"No, but maybe after you graduate?"
"Y... yeah, you think--" And before Gary could even finish his stutters, his phone suddenly blacked out, "N... no, what happened!?"
"I'm here for Madame Charlotte," Bulwark then let out a small sigh as he slowly made his way to the counter.
"She... she's your replacement!?" Not only Gary, but Hannah and the others as well could not hide their wide opened mouths.
They did see how Charlotte-- how Raging Underpaid Employee Girl treated Hannah like a child during the Rescue Event... but to think she would be invited to join the Hope Guild!?
"Not quite," Bulwark then waved his hand, slightly dowsing the group's excitement.
"Get the fuck out, Bulwark."
"!!!" But once again, the group, excluding Riley, could not help but open their jaws wide as Charlotte just cursed one of the members of the Hope Guild.
"You're the only one I could think of, Madame Charlotte."
"I'm done with the Hope Guild, find someone else," Charlotte then waved her hand, refusing to even look at Bulwark.
"...Done?" Hannah and the others all looked at each other in confusion.
"Are you children a bit curious?" Bulwark then slightly whispered.
"Don't you fucking dare, you relic."
"Madame Charlotte here...
....was the previous leader of the Hope Guild."
Chapter 106"Charlotte... was a leader of the Hope Guild?"
Hannah and the others could only look at each other as they heard Bulwark's sudden revelation, which was followed by an eerie silence as the sound of footsteps lightly echoed through the air as the other staff of the Shaved Ice store all left through the backdoor.
"...I feel like we heard something we shouldn't have," Gary then whispered, "...Are they going to kill us after?"
"Shh!" Hannah then shushed Gary, her hiss louder than Gary's words. And slowly, she, Silvie, and Gary all returned to their seats; their eyes watching the quiet scenery.
Hannah already guessed that Charlotte's identity was not simple. But to think she was the previous leader of the Hope Guild? Then that would mean she was-- Of course, it's all starting to make sense now;
Charlotte was the Shadow Mimic, aka, Madam Mimic. Bulwark referred to her as 'Madam' just earlier. Madam Mimic was able to copy the power of others, like what she did to Hannah's powers during the Rescue event.
Why didn't she think of this earlier? No... of course she wouldn't have even been able to put two and two together. Charlotte... looked the same age as her.
To her knowledge, Madam Mimic was already the leader of Hope Guild when her father joined the team but was replaced a few years later by Empress when she quit.
"..." Come to think of it, Bulwark was also already part of the Hope Guild when her father joined. Then...
...How old are these two?
"Why would you even reveal something like that to these kids?" Charlotte then let out a small sigh as she glanced at Hannah and the others.
"You can just erase their memories, Madam Charlotte," Bulwark then casually waved his hand.
"What Madam? You're older than me by at least a thousand years or something!" Charlotte then lightly slammed her palm on the counter, "And I don't have the power to erase memories anymore! And the one capable of doing so died 10 years ago!"
"...Oh," Bulwark then blinked a couple of times as he looked back and forth between Charlotte and the group, "...I guess I have committed a very grave mistake."
"S... shit," Gary then took in a very deep breath as he stretched his arms to the side, "They... they're going to silence us."
"No one is going to silence anyone!" Charlotte bellow as she threw a spoon on Gary's forehead,
"And the answer is no, Bulwark. I am not going back to Hope Guild even if I was 20 years younger."
"But there will be a void in the Hope--"
"A void?" Charlotte did not let Bulwark finish his words, "With the members you have right now? Is that some kind of joke? Even if you leave that Empress brat and Tempo to handle the guild, they will be enough."
"But there has always been 7."
"Why'd you leave then?" Charlotte then sighed, "Just invite some of these kids. Choose Bernard's daughter, she has the most potential to be in the Hope Guild."
The group's eyes all widened as they slowly looked towards Hannah.
"M... me!?" Hannah's eyes started to wander everywhere, "Why... why not Silvie!?"
"Not a team player, she--"
"Maybe after a few years after they graduate," Bulwark's sighs then drowned the entire store, "My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is--"
"Get out of here."
"Well, it was worth a try," Bulwark then said as his eyes darted around the store, "I suppose I will be spending a lot of time in your office, then."
"This is a store!"
"Interesting," Bulwark squinted his eyes as he looked at the menu.
"And what do you mean you'll be spending a lot of time here!?"
"Oh, I spoke with the Prophet boy," Bulwark then looked Charlotte straight in the eyes, "I'll be teaching here now."
"What!?" Charlotte once again slammed her palm on the counter, "What do you mean you'll be teach-- Go away, shoo! This is my territo--"
"Can I try the Strawberry Banana melt?"
"Will that be a Large?"
"Sure."
"Want to try our new-- What the, get out!"
"..."
Hannah and the others could only watch as the two started bickering with each other. Crazy to think that all this time, the one that was serving them was the previous leader of the Hope Guild.
But what exactly was she doing here? During the event, she mentioned to Hannah about Bernard still not paying his debt. Did... Bernard loan money from her? Is that why he could afford all the things he has!?
"Hm..." Gary then let out a small hum as he nodded his head, "As expected, even in small ponds, a dragon may reside deep."
"...The fuck are you saying?"
***
"Mommy! Mommy! Look at that woman's face, it has a big boo-boo!"
"D... don't point at people like that, honey! It's rude!"
"Why is she just sitting there, mommy?"
"Hm... This is why you should study more, honey-- to help people like her someday, okay?"
"O... okay! Goodbye, Ms. Stranger!"
The little girl then waved towards a woman sitting quietly on a slightly dark alleyway, surrounded by trash and dumpsters. However, even with all of the dirty things surrounding her, she still smiled and waved back at the little girl, who could not help but smile as she ran towards her mother.
"..." The woman then quickly covered the scars on her face, unveiling only her eyes that reflected the images of the small screen she was watching on.
"You... maybe if it's you..." The woman's whispers traveled through the murky air as she continued to watch the news being shown on her tablet-- Riley Ross's trial-slash-press conference.
"If it's you... maybe you'll understand."
The woman then stood up, the cloth covering her face falling towards the ground as she opened one of the dumpsters and seemingly leaning over it. And after a few seconds, she came out... now with a motorcycle helmet in her hands.
"..." A loud whoosh then reverberated throughout the alleyway as the woman shook the helmet, throwing away any dirt that was sticking to it before proceeding to wear it without any hesitation.
"Maybe... you can help me," and with that last whisper, a small explosion erupted as the woman suddenly disappeared.
***
"Mega Girl from Class 1-V!"
"What the-- You're just 4th, Silv!?"
2 weeks had passed since Riley's innocence has been proven; the issue, already almost forgotten as the students now all gathered in one of the Academy's coliseum, their cheers and howls enough to fill the entire campus.
As the instructors explained to them; at every end of the month, a new Mega Student will be chosen to replace the last.
The students of Class 1-V, however, could not help but let out gasps of disappointment as Silvie came out 4th, with 1.83 million votes. Of course, although Silvie was just casually waving her hand, she still could not help but also be disappointed.
"How... how could this be!?"
But out of all of them, it would seem that Gary was the most disappointed as he rolled on the already tight bleachers, "What... what about our weekly steak!?"
"S... Shh!" Silvie quickly covered Gary's mouth as he started garnering the attention of other students.
"And in 3rd place, Julius Reuben of Class 1-P with 1.85 million votes!"
"..." Hannah could not help but raise an eyebrow as she saw the photo of the student displayed on the huge screen in front of them; wasn't this the guy who hit on her?
"2nd place, Gintsune of Class 1-A with 2.9 million votes!"
"!!!" Everyone howled as they heard the massive difference between 2nd and 3rd place. Ginstune was the Mega Student from Japan... just, what did she do to be able to garner that many votes!?
However, as soon as the students saw her getting on stage, a reason popped up in each of their minds--
"She... did she get first place because she's too cute!?"
"Who's the sexist shit that said that!?"
"Why, want to fight!?"
"Everyone, please no stretching of limbs!" The host then asked everyone to calm down, before announcing what everyone was waiting for,
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. The first place-- will be revealed after we take a short break!"
And as soon as the host said that, a commercial from a popular coffee shop, Starbeans, started playing on the huge monitor.
[Come on and drink our coffee~]
"What...
....what the fuck is this bullshit!?"
Chapter 107[Start... and end your morning with us-- Starbeans Coffee and Tea, always fresh.]
Even with the size of the auditorium and the sheer number of the students in it, there was almost a complete silence amongst them as a random commercial suddenly started playing on the huge screen in front of them.
Even Julius and Gintsune, who were up on the stage, could only glance at each other as the commercial played behind them.
They still had no idea why they were called on stage since they didn't even win the title of Mega Student; but as the commercial ended, they soon found out why--
Several people wearing the uniform of Starbeans started coming up on stage, handing them tumblers with their brand arrogantly labeled all around it.
"Starbeans would like to congratulate the two of you for making it to the top 3!" One of the Starbeans' staff then each handed the two some kind of gigantic check.
"For the 3rd place, Julius Reuben-- 50,000 MP sponsored by Starbeans!"
"For the 2nd Place, Gintsune... 150,000 MP from Starbeans!"
"150k!?" Gary's gasp almost reached the stage, "I could buy the motorcycle I want with that amount of points!"
"...Why do you want a motorcycle in the first place?" Silvie then let out a small sigh as she heard the disgruntled tone in Gary's voice, "You could just leap from building to building."
"Says the one who can fly."
"You--"
"Tch, this is disgusting," and before the two could start bickering with each other, Hannah suddenly clicked her tongue.
"Oh boy, here she goes again," Gary quickly breathed out, "Why are you so gloomy, you got 9th place."
"Because the government is finally showing their true colors," Hannah muttered, "They're not even trying to mask it anymore-- This Academy was created not to nurture future superheroes, but future celebrities that would make them a ton of cash in the future...
...I guess they have to pay for all the shit they spent somehow."
"Hm," Tomoe nodded.
"Well, I don't mind," Gary shrugged.
"What, you want brands plastered all over your face?" Hannah scoffed.
"Just the--"
"They could shower me all they want to."
And as the group was discussing their opinions, a familiar voice suddenly coming from the bleachers behind them joined in on the conversation.
"What the fuck!" Hannah then slightly moved away as Daniel's head stretched towards them, "Fuck, go away, dude!"
"If we're getting paid to save the people, then that's easily the greatest motivation to keep the world even safer," Daniel breathed out.
"Money... I don't think so," Silvie then muttered, "You save people because it's the right thing to do-- not because we're getting paid for it."
"Just ignore the dude," Hannah waved her hand, "He probably just has a few screws loose from being beaten by Riley several times now."
"Hm, what can I expect from Whiteking's daughter," Daniel scoffed as his head started to retract, "You probably never wanted anything in your life since you had everything from the start."
"Ha? Where the fuck did that suddenly come from?"
"I should've known from the start that you and your brother are privileged. Your brother wore an Avivas Megaboost Whiteking Edition during the first day of school-- do you know how many of that are in production? 12...
...There are only 12 pairs around the world. And do you know how much 1 costs!? $12,000!"
"...Are you trying to pick a fight or are you complaining?" Hannah then snarled, "You think we had it easy just because-- You know what, I am not even going to bother with you."
And with Hannah ignoring any words that were coming out of Daniel's mouth, the only thing he could do was lean back and watch the commercial that once again played for them.
"You know... even with hundreds of people in our class alone," Gary then whispered loudly, "That Daniel guy seems to always manage to stay relevant for some reason."
"...He's in our class?" Tomoe blinked a couple of times, her usually emotionless eyes completely shocked.
"...Nevermind," Gary then shook his head before turning his eyes towards Riley, who had been keeping eerily quiet from the start, "But still, a limited edition... I didn't take you for wearing expensive things, Riley."
"His costume is literally made of expensive silk," Silvie was the one to answer.
"But that's a costume!" Gary bellowed, "My costume is worth more than his since it's au--"
"And now! The moment you've all been waiting for!"
And before Gary could finish his words, the commercial that had been playing nonstop finally shut off as the host's voice once again reverberated throughout the entire auditorium.
"This month's Mega Student, garnering a whopping 4.2 million votes!"
"What the fuck... 4.2 million!? Who the fuck is that!?"
"Please come to the stage, Riley Ross!"
"What!?"
And as soon as the host's words reached the students' ears, images and videos of Riley started playing on the huge monitor-- a summary of what has been happening the past month, and even some moments during the Festival.
Of course, it would be Riley-- most of them thought. It made sense since he was involved in the South African Tribe incident... Everyone's eyes were on him!
"Yes... Yes1" Gary then jumped from his seat, "Motorcycle! Riley! Let's buy motorcycles!"
"Not a chance!" Both Silvie and Hannah quickly covered Riley from Gary's view.
"Riley, go! Before this monkey starts-- Riley?" Hannah's words were cut short as she noticed Riley not moving from his spot, "Did... something happen? Why do you seem unhappy?"
"...You can tell what he's feeling?"
The group all turned their eyes towards Riley as they heard Hannah's words, but after a few seconds, Riley let out a small but deep sigh and shook his head.
"I am fine, sister," he then said as he started floating from his seat, wearing his sunglasses as he did so.
"..."
"You know, the way your brother looks is already eye-catching... but I feel like he's doing this shit on purpose," Gary then said as he watched as Riley slowly floated towards the stage, his white coat, and white hair, reflecting all the lights that were pointed at him-- almost making him look like he was sparkling.
"I... think he just lacks a little self-awareness," Silvie slightly chuckled.
"Nah," Hannah, however, shook his head, "The guy knows everything he does, he just doesn't care."
"So, he's a cooler version of you?"
"What did you say!?"
The three could not help but bicker with one another as they watch Riley... magnificently float towards the stage. As for Tomoe, her erratic and heavy breathing almost caused his nostrils to fume out; her phone's camera, following Riley's silhouette without fail.
Riley continued to hover in the air, leaving the students with no choice but to look up as he flew over them. And finally, after a few seconds, he elegantly landed on the stage-- his coat snapping as he did so.
"C... congratulations, Riley Ross!" The host almost stuttered as he gestured for Riley to stand between Julius and Gintsune.
"Of course, as the Mega Student, you already have the privilege of having unlimited Mega Points this month!" The host then quickly slithered his way towards Riley as soon as he positioned himself, "But still, Starbeans would like to offer you this limited edition...
...Cofee Maker! Now you'll be able to brew your favorite coffee right in the comfort of your room!"
"..."
"You're quite shocked, aren't you!?" The host clapped, "Do you have something to say to our Mega Sponsor this month?"
"I don't drink coffee."
Chapter 108"Do you have something to say to our Mega Sponsor this month!?"
"I don't drink coffee."
"..."
"..."
Silence. The entire auditorium was once again clouded in silence as Riley's nonchalant tone echoed throughout everyone's ears. Even Starbeans' annoying original soundtrack was stopped by the DJ as she could not help but double-check if she heard it right.
"..."
"..."
"O… Okay, let's all clap!" The host then started clapping his hands incessantly as he violently gestured for the DJ to once again start up the music, "O… once again, let's all give our students a round of applause!"
"Pft," a short burst of laughter then escaped from Julius's mouth as he approached Riley,
"Now… how do the Americans say this…" He then muttered, "What you just did was quite… epic, was it not?"
Even with all the noise and confetti being thrown around everywhere, Julius still seemed to manage to be full of composure as he lightly nodded at Van, "I believe we have met before but not had the pleasure of introducing ourselves-- My name is Julius Reuben."
"I am Riley Ross from Class 1-V."
"Hm," Julius once again nodded before gesturing towards the other person on stage, "That shy one over there is Gintsune; she can't really speak English that well yet, but she is quite talkative once you get to know her."
"..." Riley then turned his head towards Gintsune, only to see… a petite ninja bowing towards him; her fox mask managing to stay on her face.
"C… Conglations… c... congratulations."
"..." Riley looked at her for a few seconds, before also bowing his body at an almost 90-degree angle, "Arigatou gozaimasu."
"O… oh," Gintsune was slightly shaken from Riley's words as she once again bowed. She was about to stand up straight, but as soon as she heard Riley's next words, she almost tumbled where she stood.
"Hajimemashite," Riley breathed out, "Watashi no namae wa Riley Ross-degozaru, yorushiku onegaishumasu."
"E… Eh?" Gintsune then lightly backed away, "Degoza-- Eh? Nihongo hanashimasu ka?"
"Yes, I learned a few years ago… from a guest."
"T… that's amazing!" Gintsune then started to lightly hop in place-- the ears on her fox mask seemingly wagging.
"Hm…" Julius then squinted his eyes as he watched the two suddenly speaking in another language,
"...I suddenly feel a little bit left out."
***
"Kuryaa!"
A loud shrieking noise then pierced Riley's ears as soon as he stepped out of the auditorium. He looked, only to see Gary crawling towards him.
"Motorcycle! Let's get two motorcycles!" Gary then cried out, but before he could reach Riley, he was pulled away by Silvie and Hannah, his fingers leaving trails on the ground as he screamed, "N… No!"
"..."
"Master," Tomoe then approached Riley as she bowed, "Congratulations on winning the title. I expected nothing less of you even if it was not your intention to become the Mega Student-- I am afraid your greatness does not allow anything you do to result in mediocrity."
"Thank you, Second Subordinate."
"Big sister Hannah and the others would like to celeb--" Tomoe's words were suddenly cut short as she noticed the pair of eyes intensely staring at her behind Riley.
"N… Nihonjin?" Gintsune then muttered as she slightly tilted her head to the side.
"...Half," Tomoe slightly squinted her eyes. But after a few seconds, completely ignored her and returned her focus to her master, "The others would like to celebra--"
"Ah, it's you!"
But once again, Tomoe's words were interrupted by a loud but still slightly posh voice. Julius Reuben stepped out of the auditorium, waving his hands and quickly making his way towards Hannah as soon as he saw her.
"W… what do you want?" Hannah then quickly let go of Gary's foot as Julius suddenly ran towards her.
"Maybe I could have your number now, seeing as we were fated to meet again today?"
"Are… are you crazy!?" Hannah stuttered as she slightly backed away, "C… can't you see I'm with my friends?"
Hannah's eyes traveled towards her so-called friends, but what met her was betrayal as Gary and Silvie were suddenly far away, looking at her with their shoulders slightly trembling-- obviously trying to stop their giggles from being released.
"That's… a no, then?" Julius then let out a small sigh, "Then perhaps I could just invite you to dinner?"
"N--"
"Psst, do it!" Gary's whispers managed to reach Hannah's ears, "Julius Reuben… he's from the richest family in the world."
"Please don't expect much," Julius then chuckled as he lightly tapped the cane he was holding, "My parents are the ones that are rich, not me. So… may I please invite you to dinner, even if it is just a humble one?"
"T… that's…" Hannah then started to look at her friends; Gary had an uncontrollable smile plastering his face, while Silvie was still trying her best not to giggle.
"R… Riley, what do you think?" Hannah then turned to her brother for help.
"This doesn't involve me, sister."
"J… just help me out here!"
"...As long as you don't get hurt, then I do not see a reason to refuse a free meal," Riley let out a small sigh, "Father and mother had also said countless times that it is time for you to have a partner, perhaps this is the right moment?"
"I am glad to hear I have your brother's appro--"
"But if you do hurt her, Julius," Riley then looked Julius directly in the eyes, "I will kill you."
"Oof," Gary winced, "Quite protective of--"
"But first, I will kill your family and every single person that lives in your country so you could hear their screams; knowing that it was your fault that they suffer. Then I proceed to drown you in their blood, leaving you with no choice but to drink and eat their guts."
"T… that's…" Julius could not help but take in a small gulp, "I… would make sure to return her without any strands missing on her hair."
"..."
"..."
"Silvie…" Gary then whispered to Silvie, "Remind me to never make advances to Hannah ever again."
"...Right."
"Fine!" Hannah then shook her head as she let out a loud and deep sigh, "But I get to choose the place!"
"O… of course!"
"..."
"..."
After a few minutes, Julius found himself staring at the flavored shaved ice at his table. He then turned his head towards Hannah, who had her arms crossed as she was seated in front of him.
"..." Julius then looked towards his left, only to see Gary and Silvie with their eyes wide, watching each and every moment of their… date.
"M… Ms. Hannah, this…
...isn't a date."
***
"Alright, settle down!"
A few days after Riley was crowned the new Mega Student, life in the Academy has once again slowly become normal as the students gathered in their classrooms.
Even Class 1-V, who was famous for not escaping trouble even just for a day, was having a normal day that it almost seemed too good to be true.
Even Gary, who was usually making a lot of noise, was just happily humming in his seat.
"...What's with you and your disgusting mood?"
"Riley said we're gonna buy motorcycles later."
"What?" Hannah furrowed his eyebrows as she quickly turned her attention to Riley, "Bro, don't let this monkey use you like that."
"Oh, it's not just for me," Gary giggled, "Riley said he's also buying one."
"What? Riley you--"
"Settle down!"
And before Hannah could finish her words, Katherine once again clapped her hands to get everyone's attention, "Before we start our training for today, I have an announcement to make-- there will be a school-wide activity happening next week."
"Already!?" There were mixed reactions from the students as they all looked at each other.
"This time, you will be spending a full week outside the Academy."
"W… what!?"
"Can you not react with every sentence!?" Katherine's eyes started to twitch as she could not continue her announcement with the students all letting out gasps with each of her words,
"Each of you will be given a district to watch, or otherwise protect if needed."
"Y… you mean--"
"That's right," Katherine then let out a small sigh,
"It's time for all of you to become…"
Is she going to say it!? The students' eyes all widened in anticipation as they waited for Scarlet Mage to say the word they have been waiting to hear for months now. After months of training, after all the tragedy, after all the hardships… finally-- they were finally going to do the duty they swore to do.
Finally, it's time for them to become superhe--
"...slaves of society."
"..."
"..."
"...Eh?"
***Author's Note***
Hi, if you are liking the story so far and want to support me more, I do have a patr*on account. patr*on.com/Romeru. I will have illustrations of the characters there soon! Only Riley so far. As always, thank you for reading!
Chapter 109"Why... why did my motorcycle turn into this!? I should be riding a bike right now... feeling the wind threatening to rip off my body!"
"Stop, you've been whining ever since we left the Academy."
"Of course! I'm supposed to be going broom-broom right now!"
Gary's somewhat exasperated screams seeped through the small openings of the window, almost drifting through the skies as they were blown away by the truck he was riding in.
A week ago, when the instructors announced that they would be handling their own districts all over the country, Gary and the others' districts were surprised to find out that they were all tasked to observe and watch the same area-- even though the picking was supposed to be random.
Hannah was the one driving the 6-wheeler electric truck, which had a lot of space for people to sit comfortably in. Tomoe was riding shotgun, while Gary, Silvie, and Riley were riding on the back.
At first, they all thought that the Academy would take them to their district, but their task started right outside the Academy's gates-- they were left to get to their district by their own devices.
Sadly for Gary, he and Riley were already inside a motorcycle shop and were about to sign their papers and pay, when Hannah and Tomoe suddenly arrived and pulled them away.
And so, instead of signing for a motorcycle... Riley bought a truck for their group instead-- which Hannah even painted over with graffiti-- 'The Baby Crew'.
"And why does the truck have to be so lame!?" Gary then once again bellowed in pain as he almost let himself slide under the seat. Gary was expecting something tactical, like a truck covered in matte-black paint.
The truck did have a matte finish, and some parts of it are black... but most of its surface was in a shade of pink.
"And what's with that Baby Crew tag!?" Gary added, "Who chose that name for our group!?"
"I did. You got a problem with that?" Hannah smirked as she glanced at Gary.
"I do! It's lame!" Gary actually already knew who it was that painted over their truck-- as who else would put the word 'Baby' on the team name if not for Hannah, aka, Baby Nuclear.
"I'm the driver, I get to decide everything!" Hannah then let out a small condescending chuckle, "If any of you knew how to drive, then by all means, do so."
And as soon as Hannah's words traveled inside the truck, Gary, Hannah, and Tomoe could only look to the side.
"But Riley was the one who bought this, though!" But after a few more seconds, Gary once again rebuked Hannah's words.
"And I am his big sister," Hannah quickly replied, "Whatever belongs to him, belongs to me."
"W... what? That can't be right!"
"My sister has a point, Gary."
"What do you mean she has a point!?" Gary then slightly leaned towards the front seats, "You... have you indoctrinated our innocent Riley!?"
"Don't suddenly creep up like that when I'm driving!" Hannah then quickly pushed his face away, the truck slightly swaying as she did so.
"Then at least let us choose the music!" Gary once again let out his frustration, "This metal screaming shit has been playing for hours!"
"Pft, I'm the driver, so n--"
And before she could even finish her words, Tomoe suddenly tapped the truck's touch-screen head unit-- quickly replacing the music being played.
"W... why'd you do that!?"
"As the shotgun, I believe I have the right to contest your music, big sister."
"That's not how it--"
"I believe you'll like this music-- It's from a Japanese band called Infant Metal."
"This..." Hannah listened to the song for a while, and although it was much tamer than what she usually listens to-- "It's... not that bad, I guess," Hannah said as she nodded her head along with the music.
"Ack! I don't know anymore," Gary had no choice but just to lean back on his seat as another metal song was played, "At least it's better than Hannah Papaya's music."
"What did you say!?"
"Pft."
"W... You too, Silv!?" Hannah could not help but slightly stutter as Silvie almost snorted from trying to stop the laughter that has been trying to escape her mouth for a while now.
"I... don't like heavy metal that much, sorry," Silvie giggled, "It sort of hurts my ears, but at least the one playing now is cute."
The group continued to bicker with each other, their laughs and whispers traveling inside the spacious cab. Gary wanted to rest on the large trailer earlier, but Riley told them that it was filled with boxes.
As for what's really inside, only Riley knows.
"What about you, bro?" Hannah then glanced at Riley, "You like my music, right?"
"Hm..."
As soon as the others heard Hannah's words, their eyes all turned to look at Riley. One way or another, one could guess what music each of them liked to some extent. But for Riley...
...One could not help but wonder what music he listens to.
"It's alright, sister."
"!!!"
"You see that!?" Hannah patten the steering wheel a couple of times as she let out a small cheer of victory.
"You like metal!?"
"To some extent, Gary," Riley sighed, "But their screams sound a little fake. I prefer the real ones."
"...What do you mean real--"
And before Gary could finish his words, he could not help but cover his ears as the volume of the music suddenly rose.
"I apologize," Tomoe then said as she lowered the volume, "I must have pressed it accidentally."
"Ack, my eardrums almost gave up!"
And so, their talks continued on like this for hours. Hannah has been driving for almost 9 hours now, but they weren't even halfway through their district-- Miami, Florida.
They left the Academy in the afternoon since they needed some stuff to prepare, and so now, the roads were getting darker.
"Gaah, I'm beat. For real, no one knows how to drive amongst you people!?"
With the sun going down, the group decided to take a little rest and park on the side of the road-- and since there seemed to be no one else taking their path...
...it almost felt like they have the world for themselves.
"I could just lift us and the truck to Miami, sister," Riley then muttered as the others started stretching their limbs. However, as soon as they heard Riley's words, Hannah, Gary, and Silvie all looked at him in unison.
"No!" They all shouted.
"This is a road trip, Riley," Hannah then sighed.
"The sights, brother, the sights!" Gary stretched his arms towards the slightly reddish horizon, the trees casting their shadows as the sun slowly waved them goodbye.
"Hm," Silvie nodded a couple of times. She had never experienced going on joy rides with friends... with anyone before. So all of this was a pleasant, and not to mention a new experience for her.
Even Tomoe, who would usually agree with Riley without a second thought, slightly let out a small breath.
"Teen Spirit, feel the adventure flowing through your veins!" Hannah breathed out as she lightly hit Riley on the shoulder.
"You are turning 20 in a couple of months, sister. You're not a teenager."
"...Fuck you," Hannah then once again breathed out as she shook her head, "Anyway, has that thing been following us since earlier?"
"Yeah," Gary was the one to answer as he looked at the drone that was hovering above them, "Although I think it's just starting to record now, since there wasn't that red light blinking earlier."
"Fuck the government," Hannah then raised both her middle fingers towards the drone.
"We... we're being recorded, Hannah!" Silvie quickly covered Hannah's fingers.
"Good," Hannah scoffed, "Anyway...
...Did anyone bring anything to eat?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
The group could only look at each other for a full minute, with Gary's stomach even rumbling a little from the realization that they might not be able to eat tonight. They were wearing their costumes, but none of them brought food!?
"S... seriously? How are we--"
"I brought us food, sister."
Everyone's eyes then all turned towards Riley as if he was some sort of angel brought forth by the heavens.
"For real!?" Gary then excitedly moved as he made his way to the back of the trailer, "The key, where is the key!?"
And as he said that, a key slowly floated towards him. And as soon as he was able to open the cargo.
"What... is this?" He then whispered, his disappointment almost reaching its limit as the trailer was filled with nothing but metal boxes all neatly arranged to the side, "There's no--"
And before he could even say a complaint, a metal box suddenly shot out from the trailer, almost threatening to slam into him before it gently landed on the side of the road.
"..." Riley then walked to the box, pressing a button on it. And as soon as he did so, the box started to disassemble itself-- revealing a table and chair already organized for them to eat at.
"W... what the--" And once again, before Gary could even say anything, another metal box floated from the trailer-- opening up to reveal... a portable kitchen. And soon, several ingredients also started to float out from the trailer's refrigerator.
And finally, an apron that wrapped around Riley's body.
"Wait..." Gary then blinked a couple of times as he finally realized what was going on, "Don't tell me. Are you--"
"Yes, Gary," Riley then muttered as he tied the apron,
"I will be cooking for all of you."
Chapter 110"Yes, I am cooking."
"!!!"
Everyone's eyes were almost as wide as their wide gaping mouths as the others all turned around to look at each other. Riley... is going to cook for them? Is he doing some kind of prank?
"Do you even know how to cook!?" Hannah then raised an eyebrow before looking at her brother with very dubious eyes.
"Yes," Riley nodded as the knives and all the other cookware neatly lined themselves up on top of the portable kitchen, "I learned how to do so the past couple of years."
"Then why weren't you cooking for us!?" Hannah raised her voice before shaking her head in disappointment, "It's always me and mom cooking us meals."
"You... don't cook, sister," Riley looked her sister in the face, blinking his eyes a couple of times as he muttered, "You boil eggs and add salt to it."
"W-- That's cooking!"
"Please, take a seat, everyone," Riley no longer tried to bicker with his sister as he gestured for the others to sit at the table; folding his sleeves neatly and no longer heeding the others. Tomoe was the first one to take a seat, her face almost completely red as his breaths were slowly becoming more and more sedated by the second.
Riley will be cooking for them? What... just what sort of thing did she do in her past life to deserve a reward like this?
The sound of the stove ticking clicked in the air as Riley turned on the fire in the stove; heating up the pan before Riley himself held the bottle of oil and poured a dash of it on the pan-- not even using his telekinetic abilities to make things float anymore, but instead just using his hands to do all the work.
Touching the meat with his bare hands, and slicing it into portions without even hesitating; like he had been doing so daily without fail for years-- which is weird, as even Hannah had no idea that he could cook.
And soon, the drone started hovering over him, clearly featuring him live for the masses.
"...Are we sure he's not doing this on purpose and just showing off?" Gary let out a small sigh as he shook his head at the drone... before pulling out his own phone and going live on his own,
"YouView time!"
"Your... channel is still alive?" Silvie then quickly asked as she stood up from her seat to avoid Gary's camera.
"Of course," Gary smirked, "My subs went up like crazy during the Shomari event."
"...And who is exploiting Riley now?" Hannah let out a small but deep sigh.
"You should also upload some videos if you're jealous of my views," Gary muttered.
"I have 3,000 subs."
"W-- How!? You're not even uploading anything!" Gary almost threw his phone away, but opted not to do so as he checked on the others' YouView channels, "Riley... has 8k subs? What!? Why...
...Why is the world so unfair!?"
And as the bickering between the two continued; Silvie, who got up earlier, decided to just go and see if she could help Riley with anything.
"You... need any help?"
"Not necessarily, Mega Girl."
"You... can just call me Silvie," Silvie muttered before letting out a long and deep sigh, "I... want to be like you, Riley-- someone that is not hiding behind a mask. I... don't have anyone close to me that needs protecting anyway. My powers...
...are for the people."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Silvie said as she glanced at the drone, "They... are bound to find out anyway. I think the government... is changing their priorities."
"Hm," Riley's hands momentarily stopped moving as he looked at the drone hovering above them, "You might be right, Silvie."
"Can... I really not help you with anything?" Silvie then once again asked.
"Then please pass me the steak tong, Silvie."
"O... okay!" Silvie quickly nodded as she turned her head towards where all the utensils were before her eyes started to twitch from seeing how many there were, "W... which one is that?"
"..."
"S... sorry, I don't cook," Silvie's awkward chuckles almost buried her completely. But a few seconds later, one of the utensils that looked like a flat pincer started to shake.
"Ah!" Silvie then rushed to get it before handing the tong to Riley,
"H... here you go," Riley could have just floated the tong towards him if he wanted to, but probably didn't so she could be of some help-- Silvie thought as a small smile slowly rose on her face.
"..."
"..."
"Do... you think we're safe here?"
But after a few more moments of just watching Riley continue to baste the steak he was cooking, Silvie could only start up a conversation as Riley did not seem to need her help anymore,
"What if the villains discover our location because of that thing?" Silvie then said as her eyes started to follow the drone, "I enrolled in the Academy with high hopes that I could become a hero that the people deserve-- that I could one day help everyone no matter where they are in the world... but I am starting to think that the government doesn't even care for..."
"..." Riley once again stopped moving his hands as he slightly glanced at Silvie, who abruptly stopped her words. Her eyes started to move uncontrollably, but it was only just a moment, as her breaths once again made their way out of her mouth.
"What... what was I saying?" Silvie then quickly held her head as her eyebrows furrowed deep, "I... I suddenly don't feel too good."
"Go and join the others, Silvie," Riley breathed out before continuing to cook, "I will be fine here."
"Y... yes, I think... that would be for the best," Silvie nodded before heading back to their table. And as soon as she sat, Hannah quickly noticed her distress.
"...You alright?"
"It... just might be motion sickness," Silvie slightly groaned as the pain in her head was slowly getting worse; it was as if something was pinching the back of her eyes, making it throb almost to the point they wanted to pop out of their sockets,
"It's... been hurting a lot lately ever since the accident with Shomari; when... I attacked Riley."
"Probably just stress and heat," Gary muttered, "Summer's coming and they said it was going to be the hottest because of all that science-y shit."
"Really?" Hannah raised an eyebrow, "I don't feel it."
"Of course, you don't! Your power is to literally be on fire!" Gary bellowed before leaning closer to Tomoe, "Now... if only we had someone that could actually make us an ice room or something."
"..."
"If only someone could actually cool us by making an ice room!" Gary then raised his voice as his wide eyes stared directly at Tomoe.
"Hm?" Tomoe, who was intensely watching Riley cook, finally noticed that the three were looking at her. And after Gary once again repeated her words, she finally realized they were waiting for her to do something.
"Oh," she then clapped her hands, and soon, a dome of ice surrounded them-- of course, not big enough to block the road.
"Ah, you covered our view of nature! Can you-- never mind," Gary's nose started to palpitate as it caught the scent now covering them, "Your brother... really does know how to cook."
And finally, after what seemed like a hellish minute, Riley began serving the food-- once again not using his abilities and just placing the plate by hand, making sure to serve Hannah first.
"Medium rare A5 Wagyu with a dash of chili, baby potatoes sliced thinly, lobster showered with butter and melted garl--"
"Hold the fuck up," Hannah's eyes turned wider as she quickly sent a photo of the plate to their mother, "You... little shit. You could cook like this and you've seriously never cooked for me? I had to endure mom's tasteless and endless bolognese pasta just to--"
"H... Hannah, Gary's live!" Silvie quickly tried to cover Hannah's words.
"It's fine, no one is watching his channel anyway."
"But the drone?"
"Oh fuck, you're right!"
And while Hannah was currently fearing for her life and hoping her mother did not hear anything of what she just said, Riley started serving the others-- but unlike Hannah's, their steak did not have chili on it... a detail that the others did not miss.
Riley... was surprisingly a very attentive brother.
"This is..." They all started to cut the steak all at the same time; soft, but not too much that it would break apart. However, it did break apart as soon as they put it inside their mouths; melting and scattering the juices that almost exploded in their mouths.
It almost made them inhale for some reason to instinctively amplify the taste slowly crawling throughout their entire body.
"I... I can die now," Gary muttered, "I... I didn't know food could taste like this, how can you cook like this!?"
"Hm," Silvie could only hum in delight as the juices kept melting in her mouth-- almost oozing from her lips if she wasn't careful.
As for Tomoe... she was trying her best not to cry. To think that she would one day taste Riley's cooking was something she did not expect in her life.
"The beef did all the work, Gary," Riley shook his head, "I...
...only presented it."
If only they knew that somewhere in the world, a group of renowned.... guests were also eating the same level of meal every day-- also compliments to Riley.
Chapter 111"...Are the students really ready for this?"
"I... don't even know what the Academy is doing anymore."
Back in the Academy, some of the staff and instructors were currently discussing the current school-wide activity-- with Spectacular Mustache Man's voice being the loudest of all.
"The least they could have done is to let us go with them," Spectacular Mustache Man breathed out, "I don't think they're ready-- some of them are just kids."
"They need to face this sooner or later..." Nightwalker let out a small breath, "This might help them in the future to... avoid what happened to the students in my class."
"Are you still blaming yourself for what happened?" Katherine then joined in on the conversation with a sigh, "It's not your fault, Nightwalker. No one... could have anticipated the Dark Millenium."
"That's--"
"You children seem to really care about your students."
"Ah, Bulwark!"
All the instructors stood up as soon as they saw Bulwark approaching them, "I... I heard you will be working as an instructor in the Academy starting next week!"
"Indeed I am," Bulwark nodded, "I'll be supervising a class."
"Supervising... but all the classrooms already have a supervisor?" One of the instructors muttered as they all looked at each other in confusion.
"That's actually why I, unfortunately, had to interrupt your conversation," Bulwark let out a small sigh as he turned his head towards Katherine, "Once the students return from their activities...
...I will be the one handling Class 1-V."
***
"That was the best fucking meal of my life!"
Gary's voice almost sealed the heavens as he raised his arms to face the starry night, "I now know my goal in life... to turn Riley Ross's channel into the best cooking platform in the whole world!"
"...We're in a superhero academy, Gary. It's not that kind of story," while Hannah's sighs almost pierced the ground.
With the table now gone, the group was just sitting... on sofas that also came from the back of the truck. Gary was also resting alone on a large bean bag; with all of these, the others could not help but wonder what else Riley brought with him.
At this point, the truck might as well just have been a camper truck; seeing as they were all just watching the moon and the stars; their relaxed breaths almost causing the small grass beneath their feet to also sleep.
"Let's go," Hannah then stretched her body as she stood up, causing her costume to also tighten and show the alluring lines on her legs.
"You sure you're not going to sleep?" Silvie breathed out as she blocked Silvie from Gary's view.
"We need to move now if we want to get there tomorrow night," Hannah yawned, "It's fine, I can go without sleeping for 2 days."
"Then let's just stay here for a while since that's the case," Gary then let out a small chuckle as he stretched his palm towards the stars and the moon.
"..." Hannah, Silvie, and Tomoe all look at each other as they hear the slightly somber tone in Gary's voice. Gary... being melancholic?
This was something they had to see, they all thought as they returned to their seats.
"Have any of you wondered what's waiting for us out there?" Gary muttered, "What our... lives could be if we weren't born here?"
"Hm," Silvie was the first to nod.
"..." As for Tomoe, she only looked at the sky, before also letting out a small but deep breath.
"Probably nothing good," while Hannah only shook her head before embracing Riley's arm and resting on his shoulder.
"Mega Woman's planet," Riley breathed out as he also looked at the stars.
"I... I don't think Gary meant it literally, Riley," Silvie then chuckled as her voice also became slightly sedated.
"...Mega Woman's planet," Gary sighed, "I wonder when those fuckers will make contact with us?"
"Pft, we wish," Hannah chuckled as she closed her eyes, "They're probably just looking down at us thinking we're monkeys. My guess is, only Mega Woman is decent amongst them-- why'd you think she left in the first place?"
"Ha... I never thought of it like that," Gary muttered, "You think she also had the same problems we do now?"
"I... wonder what she had to go through to become the person she is," Silvie whispered, "Will... we actually become someone like her in the future?"
"..." What answered Silvie's question was Gary's snore.
"There he goes," Hannah said as she also let out a yawn, "I think you will be better than her, Silvie."
"...I don't know. I'm... having doubts with myself lately."
"Because Riley nabbed the Mega Student title?"
"No, I don't care about that," Silvie slightly chuckled as she too, soon closed her eyes, "I... just want to be deserving of the name I chose for myself... but at this point... I... I think I am starting to... lose myself."
"Then just defeat Darkday," Hannah whispered, "If you do that... then you would have surpassed Mega Woman."
"You... think I can do it?"
"Maybe... but we'll be here to help. Darkday... is someone that shouldn't exist."
"Hm..."
"...Yup."
And soon, the two just exchanged hums; slowly fading and drifting away as their breaths became extremely relaxed.
"..."
"..."
Riley glanced at his sleeping sister as her calmed breaths whispered into his ear; his eyebrows, ever so slightly furrowed as he fixed her hair.
"If someone does manage to kill Darkday," he then whispered, "I want... I need it to be you, sister. Only...
...you."
"...Master Riley."
"Hm?" Riley then slightly moved his head as Tomoe's mumbled whispers reached his ears.
"Thank you... for cooking. I...
...I love you."
"..." Riley then glanced at Tomoe, only to see her also completely defenseless as her head almost fell from the sofa, completely out. He stared at her for a few seconds, before letting out a small sigh and turning his eyes back to the dark skies.
"Your planet...
...I will reach it someday."
***
"W... what the!? Who's driving!?"
"Wha-- are the enemies here!?"
Hannah's screams jolted everyone awake as she almost jumped up from her seat as she realized she was already inside the truck... and the scenery outside was changing.
"R... Riley?" Hannah then wiped her eyes to see if she was seeing it right, "I thought you didn't know how to drive!? Don't... don't tell me you lied to me again!"
"You do not have to worry, sister," Riley shook his head, "I did not lie to you, I truly do not know how to drive."
"...What? Then how are we--" Hannah once again looked outside the window, and she wasn't mistaken, they truly were moving across the road. However, as soon as she saw that Riley's hands weren't even holding the wheel, she finally realized what was going on.
"You... get out of there! I told you not to fly us away!"
"I am not, sister. The wheels are touching the ground."
"Do you even know how fast we're moving!?"
And just like that, everyone woke up from Hannah's loud, and annoying voice. But thanks to Riley speeding through the road, they were able to reach Miami a lot faster than they expected. They were stopped by the police, of course. But as soon as they were recognized as students of Mega Academy, they were let off with a light warning.
"Welcome, Miami!"
And as soon as they reached their district, Gary quickly leaped out of the truck and took in the ocean breeze.
"We're not here to play, Gary," Silvie then let out a small sigh as she too, stood beside Gary and breathed in the breeze, "But... a minute of rest can't hurt. Think... we'll have time to jump in the water?"
"Oho, I like what I am hearing, ohoho, I like it very much," Gary then said as his eyes started to sparkle, "It's time for some fan-service."
"Ack, so sticky," Hannah then complained as she pulled her suit to ease out the crease, "I'm not even sweating and yet everything is--"
"D... don't do that here!" Silvie quickly covered her from everyone's view, who... seemed to be approaching them?
"It... It's them! The students from Mega Academy!"
"I... I knew it! I saw the words on the truck during the stream, 'The Baby Crew!'"
"Whiteking's children are here, right!?"
"Uhm, guys?" Gary then slightly backed away as the onslaught of people was getting nearer and nearer to them.
"We... should probably park somewhere else?"
And with those words, the group did not even have to vote as they all returned to the truck-- unfortunately, due to the size of their vehicle, their only choice was to park somewhere out in the open again. But at least this time, there weren't any crowds of people threatening to bombard them.
"Alright! Take two! Let's do this shit!"
And so, with that-- the group was finally taking their first steps to becoming full-fledged superheroes.
"Wait, everyone."
But before they could scout the area, Riley suddenly opened the back of the truck.
"That...
....is that!?"
Chapter 112"This is…"
The others held their breaths as Riley gestured for them to step deeper into the trailer-- and as they did so, their eyes quickly reflected the monitors that were plastered all over the wall; with one showing the view of Miami from above.
"What… don't tell me… you bought a satellite!?" Hannah almost choked, "Riley this is--"
"No, sister," Riley shook his head, "The Academy are selling these mini surveillance drones."
Riley then waved his finger, and as he did so, four drones the size of a 50-cent coin floated towards the others' hands. Gary immediately pressed the button on the mini device, only for his chin and nose to immediately appear in one of the monitors.
"Ack, not my angle!" Gary immediately moved the drone away, "But… to think the Academy was also selling things like this. Why… didn't you buy anything with your unlimited points, Silv?"
"That's… I… I didn't check anything," Silvie could only let out a small sigh of disappointment, "If I did I might get tempted in… using my points."
"Ack, you could've bought all these cool gadgets!"
Feeling Gary's words almost piercing deep into her bones, the only thing Silvie could do was once again sigh. Maybe she was wrong not to use her points after all-- she could have used her privilege to help the people who needed it instead of just letting it rot.
But perhaps it was a good thing as well, as now that she didn't have that privilege, she wasn't really craving for it since she never tasted it.
"Don't listen to the guy, Silv," Hannah breathed out as she patted Silvie's shoulder, "Let's do this shit. But…
...Who is going to watch the monitors?"
"..."
"..."
"I… will do it," Tomoe then raised her hand as she stepped forward, "I--"
"There is no need, Tomoe,"
But before she could do so, Riley waved his hand, "The drones can be connected to your phones."
"...Really?" Hannah then quickly grabbed her phone and placed the drone on top of it. And true enough, the app for the drone immediately started downloading and syncing to her phone.
"...Cool," Hannah muttered, "But fuck the government still. Alright, let's do this!"
And with that, everyone got off the truck-- once again taking their first steps as actual superheroes.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silvie then blinked a couple of times as everyone was just staring at her in silence for a few moments now,
"W… what do we do now?" Silvie then stuttered.
"Why are you asking me?" Hannah shrugged, "Aren't you the leader of the Baby Crew?"
"What? No! You're the one that decided the name, you do it!"
"Do I look like leadership material?" Hannah let out a small scoff as he stepped away, "Let's just do this shit without thinking too much-- since this is already our district, Silvie, Tomoe, and I should just split up."
"...Right."
"And you two…" Hannah then turned to Riley and Gary, "You take the truck for now?"
"No!" Gary quickly crossed his arms, "I am done being cooped up in the truck! Riley and I shall walk like real men!"
"Right…" Hannah squinted her eyes as she slowly looked away, "Baby Crew, let's go and find trouble!"
And as soon as she said that, her arms and legs were quickly engulfed in flames, before quickly shooting to the air without saying anything more.
"Y… Yeah! G… go, Baby Crew!"
"...You don't have to force yourself, you know?" Gary's eyes were almost dead as he watched as Silvie raised her hand in the air-- her face obviously turning red by the second.
"R… right," Silvie then whispered as she quickly flew into the air.
"...Why do they even need the drones if they could just fly and observe from abo..." Gary breathed out as his eyes landed on Tomoe… who can't fly, "...ve."
"..."
"..."
The two stared at each other for a couple of seconds. It was almost as if Gary could hear the drums echoing in the air like he was in some sort of sumo wrestling match. But thankfully, after a few more seconds of this weird awkwardness, Tomoe bowed her head and… walked away.
"..."
"A… alright! Shall we run to our fate, Riley-- Oh fuck, you can fly! No!" Gary started to kneel on the ground, contemplating his importance in life. And while he was busy doing that, two large boxes suddenly flew out of the trailer.
How they even managed to fit there with all the other boxes was perhaps a mystery indeed.
But as soon as one of the boxes opened up, Gary, who was already rolling on the floor, could not help but turn his head and slowly stutter.
"That… this… that… That!"
That is right-- the thing that Gary had been wishing for months but could not have.
"That's the Zuzuki Hanzo GSX-R1800!" Gary then quickly somersaulted from the ground as he rushed to check on the motorcycle, "You… did you buy this for me!?"
"Yes, Gary."
"I…" A hint of tear slowly started to appear on Gary's eyes, "I think I love you, Riley Ross. No… no homo, of course. But… maybe just a little?"
"Please do not reproduce, Gary," Riley breathed out as Gary suddenly tried to kiss him on the cheek.
"Pft, I can't even if I wanted to," Gary let out a small burst of laughter before proceeding to get on the bike.
"B… bro…" And as soon as he felt the gravity of his body mixing with the bike, he could not help but stutter; his hips… started moving in a front and backward motion.
"Perhaps I made a mistake in buying you this vehicle, Gary."
"N… no!" Gary then quickly hugged the tank of the bike. The bike was by no means small, but with his 6'6" stature as well as muscle mass it just seemed normal-- perhaps this was the only bike that would truly fit him.
"Wait… what's the other box?" Gary then squinted his eyes as he finally noticed there was another box.
"Mine," Riley said as the box opened.
"T… that's… American Scout Ninety!?" Gary took in a small gulp, "All in matte-silver!? How did you--"
"Unlimited points, Gary."
Gary's head started trembling; causing the bike he was riding on to also shake, "You… you know what this means!? I get to ride with a bro around the city! Let's…
...Let's let it rip!"
Gary's roars were continued by the bike as he started it, gunning on the throttle as he left trails of smoke on the ground.
Warranty? What's that?
"..." Riley could only blink his eyes a couple of times as he had a helmet with the same color as Gary's bike in his hand. He was about to give it to Gary, but before he could do so, he was gone. And so, he just returned it to the trailer, grabbing another one.
This time it was of a gun-metal silver color-- shiny enough that one could see Riley's fractured reflections on it.
"..."
"..." Riley stared at it for a little while, before shaking his head and proceeding to make the helmet float; expertly wrapping around his head like he had been doing the same routine for years.
Riley then got on the bike and started it. However, as soon as he pressed the clutch, the bike halted.
"..."
That's right-- Riley Ross does not know how to ride a motorcycle.
And so, once again, he just slightly made it float a few centimeters from the ground as he tried to follow Gary.
***
"Hm…"
"Hmm…"
"Hmmmm…"
"Why is no one causing any trouble!? What is this!?"
Hannah was currently watching from the top of a building, checking her phone from time to time to see if the drone caught anything suspicious. But alas, even after almost an hour-- nothing.
She was expecting some action since during the Rescue event, she didn't even get any time to rest before another scream entered her ears.
But alas, it would seem that reality was often… disappointing. Of course, she should feel relieved that nothing was actually happening, but still. They were here to garner real-life experience.
Or… is this what being a hero really feels like?
Hannah then let out a small sigh as she looked over the ocean-- it wasn't half bad, she thought. It had a sense of freedom that--
"What did you say!?"
"Oh… here we go," Hannah then stood up as she turned her eyes towards the scream that whispered into her ears, only to see what seemed to be an altercation between a bicycle rider and a car driver.
"...Fuck me," Hannah shook her head before leaping from the building, using her fire to carefully but swiftly land between the conflict.
"Enough of this."
"This… a super!? This is none of your concern!" The cyclist was the first to notice her.
"It actually is."
"You… are from Mega Academy?" The cyclist then could only back away as Hannah showed the badge that was given to them by the Academy solely for this activity.
"Wait… aren't you Whiteking's daughter!?"
And as soon as she heard that, the only thing Hannah could do was roll her eyes, "I'm not. Either way, I don't care why you're fighting but you gotta stop this violence and wait for the police to show up."
"Police…"
And as soon as the cyclist heard that, he quickly made his way to his bicycle.
"Yeah. Not today, pal."
However, before he could even pedal away, his rear tire instantly melted as it rolled in Hannah's palm. And finally, after a few minutes of begging and cursing, the police arrived.
It would seem the cyclist was hiding a stash of cocaine in his bag-- it would seem he was working as a courier from one of the syndicates around Miami.
"Wow. Of course, he is," Hannah shook her head in disappointment, "Gotta love Miami. I wonder…
...how the others are doing?"
"Alright! Move!"
Gary and Riley… were just riding around town.
As for Tomoe, she was walking down the streets; attracting all kinds of attention due to the white kimono she was wearing… as well as her sunglasses. She was watching the feed from her drone as she observed Hannah just in case she needed some backup.
But seeing as she resolved the situation, Tomoe quickly switched to Silvie's view.
"This-- !!!"
And without even any sign of hesitation, dark blades started to protrude from the soles of her sandals-- making it easy for her to slide across the layer of ice she summoned in front of her.
***
"N… no, please… please don't hurt me!"
In a small alleyway, a man holding an embroidered purse was currently sitting on the ground, crawling away as Silvie's shadow slowly approached him.
"That's not yours. Please…
...return it."
Chapter 113"N... no, please... please don't!"
In a dimly lit alleyway, the dust of the city was currently being swept away as a man was pushing himself backward, his butt sliding against the hard and dirty pavement. The man was holding a red purse, gripping it tightly even as he used his other limbs to try and crawl away.
"That's not yours."
"E... eek!" The man started to hasten his movements, causing him to slightly tumble as the young woman in front of him approached ever so slowly.
"Please... can you just hand it to me so we could return it?"
Silvie then stepped out of the shadow, shaking her head as she let out a short but deep sigh that echoed through the alleyway, "I'm not going to hurt you, so please. I still have to surrender you to the police since you did something bad, though...
...so please, give it back," she then muttered, her tone still containing a slight worry as she tried to gesture for the thief to calm down.
"N... no," The thief pleaded, "My... my family needs to eat!"
"Sir, you..." Silvie then could not help but let out a small sigh as her head slightly dropped in frustration, "...and you think the one you stole that from doesn't? Please, give it back to me. Maybe if you apologize to the grandma she would just let you go with a small--"
"I can't let you have this!"
And all of a sudden, the man grabbed a knife from his waist.
"Sir, that's not--" And as soon as Silvie saw the man pointing the knife at him, her posture suddenly became as straight as a flag pole,
"Sir, I warned you already..." Silvie once again let out a small sigh, "...Under the law, I am obligated to surrender you to the police for larceny, as well as possession of dangerous arms with intent to use."
Silvie then once again slowly approached the man, her hand slightly stretched towards him.
"N... no!" The man then swung the knife, hitting Silvie's hand.
"..." This made Silvie completely stop moving. And when the thief thought this was his chance to escape, Silvie's eyes slightly turned red as she lightly hit the man on the chest.
"Huk!" The man slid a couple of meters away, only stopping as his back hit a dumpster. And before he could move, he felt a crushing pain in his neck.
"You are a danger to the people,"-- was the last thing he heard before he was thrown to the wall.
"Kh..." The man started to cough vehemently, stretching his arm and begging for Silvie to stop, "W... wait... please... I... I have a daughter."
"..." Silvie only looked the man straight in the eyes, before she once again started walking towards him; but before she was halfway towards him, a sudden drop in temperature suddenly whisked in the air as a wall of ice blocked her path.
"What are you doing, Silvie?"
Silvie blinked a couple of times, before turning around to look at Tomoe, who was now quietly standing behind her.
"I am arresting a criminal," Silvie then said as she stretched her hand towards the thick wall of ice, easily penetrating and crushing it without any effort. However, as soon as she was able to mow her way through, another wall of ice, thicker than the one before, appeared in front of her once again.
"This is obstruction, Tomoe," Silvie's eyes started to tremble as she looked Tomoe straight in the eyes, "If you continue, I will also be forced to subdue you."
"..."
Silvie then once again turned around, before lasers quickly shot out from her eyes-- almost hitting the thief's face as it easily went through.
"..." Tomoe then let out a small sigh as she snapped her fingers, and as she did so, the ice blocking Silvie's path quickly melted,
"Then arrest him if you want," Tomoe then said as she leaned her arm on the wall, watching as Silvie nodded and started dragging the thief by his foot. This was the second time, she thought. This was the second time Tomoe was seeing Silvie holding this kind of expression.
The first time was when she attacked Riley. It was almost as if... she was a completely different person.
"L... Let me go! Please let me go!"
The thief continued to plead, but Silvie just continued to drag him away. However, as soon as a somewhat familiar click whispered in the air, Silvie quickly dropped the thief's foot and looked at him.
"You... you forced me to do this!"
"..." Silvie then stared at the object that the thief was now holding-- a gun. And without even any more warning, he pulled the trigger-- causing Silvie to blink as the bullet went straight for her left eye.
Another click then whispered in the air... as the bullet just dropped to the ground, not even leaving a scratch on Silvie's eyelid.
"Y... you are-- Argh!"
And before even the thief could say another word, Silvie suddenly disappeared from her spot, only to reappear right in front of him. A mixture of metal and bone cracking then snapped in the air as Silvie crushed the thief's hand without any hesitation, causing the gun's metal parts to protrude through his flesh.
"Grah!" The thief continued to scream in pain-- and as his wails finally reached Silvie's ears...
"W... what?" Silvie quickly let go of the thief's hand as she looked at her own; her palm, completely covered in blood,
"What did I..." Silvie then turned to the thief, who was already groveling on the ground as he held his hand, "Did... I did this?" Silvie then said as she turned towards Tomoe.
"Yes," who answered without any hesitation.
"But... but why?" Silvie then slightly backed away as the whites of her eyes started to moist, "I... why?"
"Are you... are you alright?" Silvie then slowly approached the groveling thief, only for his pained and terrified cries to pierce her ears.
"I... I'm... I'm sorry," Silvie's breaths started to become heavy as she once again took a few steps back. And as soon as her back hit a wall, she quickly covered her ears as multiple sounds started ringing inside her mind.
But alas, she could still hear the man's cries-- even the footsteps that were walking down the street... their breaths, their heartbeat. She could hear everything echoing, almost causing her other senses to shut down.
"Stop it... please... make it stop," Silvie then dropped to the ground as she continued to cover her ears.
"Stop it!" She then let out a deafening roar, pushing the thief, as well as Tomoe away.
"N... no... I... I did... I did not mean... to."-- and those were the last words she heard coming from her mouth before her vision completely faded.
And as soon as she was finally able to open them again, she found herself in a suffocating darkness.
"This..." Silvie raised her hand, only for them to not fully stretch,
"What... no... let... let me out."
Her breaths began to echo as her arms started flailing around, trying to touch the walls that seemed to confine her in a small box, "No... please... I... I won't do it again! I won't... Please let me ou--"
"Alright, jeez."
Silvie then blinked a couple of times as light suddenly drowned her eyes. She then slowly looked towards the source of the voice, only to see Hannah looking at her weirdly.
"..." She then looked around her, only to realize that she was actually inside some sort of... sleeping pod; complete with her own small flat-screen TV and retractable desk.
"You okay?" Hannah then said as she slid open the pod's cover all the way.
"W... what?"
"Stop moping and get out of there before you destroy the truck," Hannah then shook her head, her sighs fading as she left Silvie alone.
"..." Silvie then quickly stepped out of the pod, only to see that she was actually inside the trailer of their truck.
Just... how are they managing to fit everything here? She thought as she slowly made her way out of the trailer... only to see the others sitting around a campfire...
...in the middle of a parking lot.
"This is..." Silvie breathed out. Why...
....does it feel like they were some kind of homeless group of individuals instead of aspiring superheroes?
Chapter 114Silvie was still staring at Hannah and the others from the trailer, her eyes blinking as she saw how relaxed everyone was; with everyone sitting on the ground with blankets and pillows-- all cooled by being placed above Tomoe's ice platform.
...Why did they even have a fire in the first place if they were going to just lay down on a cool sheet of ice-- Tomoe!
"Tomoe!"
The last thing that Silvie remembered before she lost consciousness was everything around her being thrown away due to her roar, including Tomoe.
"Are you… are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Tomoe only nodded as she sipped from a small glass.
"Are you su--"
"Aha! Our little soldier girl finally joins us! Yes ma'am, yes sir!"
Gary then quickly clapped and saluted his hands as soon as Silvie stepped on the ice platform.
"Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am," Gary then sheepishly repeated what he said as he placed a finger above his lips, pretending to have some sort of mustache, "You are under arrest for taking away an old woman's make-- Ugh!"
And before he could even finish his words, Hannah slapped her on the head, "Stop it!"
"W… what?" Gary stuttered, "She went all heil hitler on the dude."
"...Hitler?"
"Yeah, you know… the crazy dude that Mega Woman stopped before he went totally--"
"Enough," Hannah then shook her head as she approached Silvie, "Don't mind him, here. Join us."
"This is…" Silvie then furrowed her eyebrows as Hannah handed her a green bottle. She then looked around, only to see that this is also what Tomoe was drinking as she poured herself a glass.
"It's soju, a Korean alcohol," Hannah then said as she took a sip from her own bottle and returned to her spot, "Since we're parked on a grocery, it would be a bit inconsiderate not to buy anything."
"But… we're not allowed to--"
"We're not inside the Academy, relax."
"Heil Hitler! Heil--"
"Can you stop!?"
Gary's head once again met with Hannah's palm-- of course, he wasn't really feeling any pain, but still, he started rolling on the ground before crawling towards Riley, crying to him to seek revenge on his stead.
"..." Silvie watched as the others started bickering, but after a few more seconds, she twisted off the cap and proceeded to sit near Riley and Tomoe.
"Are… you sure you're not hurt?"
"I'm not. You do not have to worry about me, Silvie," Tomoe shook her head, "We're the ones that should be asking that to you," Tomoe then said as she raised her cup towards Silvie.
"I… think I am also fine," Silvie then muttered as she also raised her bottle and took a sip with Tomoe at the same time.
"...Wait," Gary then stood up as he pointed at Tomoe and Silvie, "Why hand Silvie a drink but not me!?"
"You?" Hannah almost snorted alcohol from her nose as she heard Gary's words, "You can't even handle a shot of alcohol and you want a bottle of soju? These things might look cute but they hit differently."
"You think the Dragon Monarch can't handle a simple beverage!?"
"No," Hannah, Silvie, and Tomoe all said in unison.
"You… betray me!?" Gary then raised his voice as he flicked his heavy cape, "Riley, don't tell me you too!?"
"I do not like alcohol, Gary," Riley quickly muttered before taking a sip from the straw of whatever it was he was drinking,
"It is too bitter to my liking."
"..." Hearing Riley not joining their play, Gary could only let out a small but deep sigh as he returned from his seat. Even Tomoe almost stopped drinking as she heard Riley's words, but Hannah gestured to her that she was being too… obsessive.
And so, the group just sat around the fire, looking at it as they all let out their breaths to release all the fatigue that was wrapping around their bodies.
"..."
"..."
"So… what happened out there, Silv?" And after a few more seconds, Hannah finally broke the silence that was pestering the air; opening up the topic that everyone seemed to want to hear.
"I saw the recording in your feed. You… crushed the guy's hand."
"Is… is he alright?" Silvie's voice then suddenly started to tremble as she hugged her legs, slowly burying the shame of her face on it.
"Yeah, he's going to be fine," Hannah muttered before taking a sip, "The police and ambulance arrived a minute after you lost consciousness. Tomoe carried you back here."
"That's… t… thank you," Silvie then slightly glanced at Tomoe, who only shook her head, "I… I don't really know what--"
And before she could even finish her words, small hiccups came out of her mouth as tears started to trail on her face.
"I… I'm sorry… it must be the alcohol," Silvie forced a chuckle as she wiped the tears off her face.
Of course, she knew herself that was a lie-- alcohol doesn't have an effect on her.
"You don't need to cry, Silv," Hannah let out a small sigh as she patted Silvie's shoulder, "at the very least, you took a thief away from the streets."
"But… he… he told me he has a family he needed to feed… I… I am remembering what I did now," Silvie once again covered her ears as she could once again hear almost everything around her, "I… I could have just neutralized him without… without him getting hurt, but I…
...I think I wanted to hurt him."
Silvie curled her body even tighter as her words became muffled, "I don't know what's happening to me anymore. It's getting worse and worse."
"..." The others could only look at each other as Silvie's cries whispered in the air; trying to find words of comfort, but none emerging as their friend was starting to lose it.
"I… I want to help people-- I really do… I think it's all I ever wanted to do ever since I discovered I could do things," Silvie gripped her arm, almost to the point that her costume made of layers of kevlar started to crinkle, "But… I don't think I'm a good person now, it feels like something… something inside me is just trying to come out. I… It's like a monster waiting to--"
"Well boohoo," and before Silvie's cries could grow louder, Gary suddenly grabbed her bottle and started gulping it down,
"We all have monsters inside us, you're not that special," Gary then said after letting out a loud and long burp,
"Tomoe and I are in the Potential Villain list, remember? Your monster is a baby compared to us. As for Hannah, she's too hot-headed and violent, like there's a raging gorilla hiding beneath that sexy body."
"..."
"And Riley…" Gary then slightly stuttered as he looked at Riley, "Actually… scratch that, one of us is special. But you get what I mean?"
"N… not really," Silvie sniffled as she wiped the tires on her face.
"What I mean is…" Gary then let out a small sigh as he looked at the fire.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I… forgot what I was going to say," Gary then burst out in an awkward chuckle, "But I swear it was something profound!"
"You stupid fuck, I was actually looking forward to that!" Hannah then rushed towards Gary, trying to kick him but he was able to dodge as he started dancing while holding the bottle.
"T… thank you, everyone."
Silvie then nodded her head as she grabbed another bottle from the ice platform, "To… to our monsters!"
"...Yeah," Hannah nodded as she quickly stopped chasing Gary, "To our little monsters."
"Hm," Tomoe also raised her glass.
"To infinity and abo--"
And before Gary could finish his words, the sound of Riley's straw slurping whispered in the air.
"..."
"To me," Riley then raised his cup as he joined the others.
"Pft."
And with Riley's words, the others suddenly burst out in laughter, except for Tomoe, who clearly knew what he meant.
"...Trouble."
And as the group was having fun, Silvie suddenly stood up from the cold floor.
"...What?"
"We have company," Hannah also dropped her bottle as she looked towards the almost dozen cars that entered the parking lot.
And soon, those cars quickly circled their group, with the people in it stepping out with all sorts of guns and knives in their hands.
"...Fuck," Hannah then clicked her tongue as she recognized one of the gangsters-- the cyclist she had arrested earlier,
"I knew it."
Chapter 115"Fuck... I knew it."
With the sound of tires still skidding on the hard pavement; whistling in the air over and over again as more and more people surrounded them, Hannah's eyes were just focused on one person-- the cyclist that she had arrested earlier.
The dubious-looking people had guns and knives in their hands. There were also those, however, that was only cracking their knuckles and stretching their bodies-- and they were the ones who looked completely confident; smirking, smiling, licking their lips, or otherwise just plain chuckling as they just stared at Hannah and the group.
It wasn't until the last person stepped out of the car that they started to move, all making way for him. The man's ponytail swung in the air as he confidently walked through the crowd of gangsters; the gold chain around his neck, almost as eye-catching as the flower-printed shirt he was wearing.
"I knew I recognized this place," the man then let out a small chuckle as he looked at the grocery.
"Fuck, the fucking drone, man!" Gary threw the bottle he was holding towards the drone hovering above them, only for it to perfectly move to the side.
"You, girl," the man that seemed to be the leader of the group then pointed towards Hannah, "I don't appreciate you doing in one of my couriers."
"..." Hannah then turned her head towards the cyclist earlier, whose smile almost stretched out his already large nose. He should be in jail right now being detained... but seeing as he was here, then that would mean this group was powerful enough to have people inside the police.
Fuck the government, Hannah thought as she returned her glare at the leader of the crowd, "Are you... drug dealers?"
"Why, hello there detective," the leader of the crowd then let out a small but deep chuckle as he looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "Our boss ain't so happy with you meddling with our affairs. Our little pets are afraid to go out with you walking around boasting your spandex. We have rules here, you see-- rules that even superheroes abide by."
"I suppose this is just your unlucky day, isn't it?" Hannah's words traveled arrogantly in the air as she let out a little smirk, "No corrupt supers in sight. You really think you can win against 5 supers with just these?"
"Of course not," the crime leader once again chuckled, "That's why we brought a dozen."
And as soon as he said that, the ones from the crowd of gangsters that weren't carrying any weapons took a step forward.
Of course, not all Supers wished to be superheroes or supervillains-- some just work normal jobs, albeit at a higher rate than others as they could do what normal people could not. And there were also those who fall into the world of crime, not as supervillains, but as just... criminals.
"And we know who you are," the crime leader then licked his lips as he once again focused on Hannah, "Whiteking's children, right?"
"...Shit, we really should change our costumes, Riley."
"No, sister."
"Y--"
"I bet the two of you will fetch a very high price in auction... especially you," the crime leader then said as he once again licked his lips at Hannah, looking at her from head to toe, "Or maybe I could just ask the boss if I could keep you for myself; the two of us could have a lot of fun."
"You--"
"Jesus, can your script be any more cliche!?" And before Hannah could utter her disgust, Gary suddenly stood in front of her,
"You evildoers are all the same!" Gary then roared as he pointed at the crime leader, "And all of you shall die and kneel before the Dragon Monarch! Begone, bane of the earth and scum of the cit-- Blergh!"
And before Gary could finish his words, the sound of him retching suddenly echoed throughout the parking lot-- even with the sounds of engine running, his puke dropping to the ground whispered to everyone's ears.
And soon, he dropped to the ground completely unconscious.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Even the drug dealers could not help but look at each other, shrugging their shoulders as they did not know whether this was some sort of plan to let them take off their guards.
"...Fucking useless," Hannah then pulled Gary away; his puke sliding on his cheek as she dragged him to somewhere safe-- under the truck.
And now, she returned to Silvie and the others, her eyes carefully observing every movement of their enemies. Judging by the way most of the supers in the gang were acting, most of them are probably strength-type supers-- chest up, one of their feet stepping forward, as well as stretching and cracking their knuckles.
The gang most probably knew what she and others were capable of, so there should at least be one of them capable of neutralizing her powers.
The Academy never taught them how to fight as a team, but judging by the spacing of the supers on the other side, neither were they.
"I'll handle the non-supers," Hannah breathed out as she stood beside Tomoe and Silvie, "You two... just do whatever you want. And Riley-- why the fuck are you still just sitting there!?"
"..." Riley blinked his eyes a couple of times as he looked his sister in the eyes. But after a few seconds, he let out a small sigh and raised his hand; he was about to snap his finger, but before he could do so--
"Master!" Tomoe bellowed. "Please... let us handle this."
"...What are you saying?" Hannah raised an eyebrow, "We should use everything we--"
"I... agree with Tomoe," Silvie then said as she took a step forward, "If Riley joins, then this will be over before we know it."
"...That's the plan," Hannah furrowed her eyebrows.
"I... wish to know..." Silvie then breathed out, "If this... monster inside me truly seeks to hurt people."
"...You too, Tomoe?"
"I have already embraced my monster, big sister Hannah," Tomoe shook her head, "I just didn't want to bother Master Riley with these small fries."
"Why does it feel like I'm the only one without a cool catchphrase?" Hannah let out a small sigh as she shook her head, "I--"
"Ho," and before Hannah could say anything more, the crime leader once again licked his lips, "I suppose we should all be thankful to the Academy for making all of you into arrogant little shits. This is the real world, ladies-- people die here."
"You're already late in that regard," Hannah scoffed as her feet burst in flames, "We've already seen death."
And as soon as she said that, her body flew backwards, using Riley's head as a pivot to rush towards the super that most likely could prove troublesome for her.
"Y--" And before she could truly find out if the man could truly counter her powers, the man's jaw had already received the misfortune of making contact with her knee. Hannah then carefully landed on the ground, her knee still on the man's jaw.
She looked at him for a few seconds, only once again rushing to the nearest person before making sure he was completely unconscious. And this time, since she was just facing normal people... she wasn't even using her abilities to attack.
"Die!" One of the gangsters pointed a gun at her, and this time, a sort of wing flapped from her back, instantly propelling her away from the bullet's path and shooting her straight towards the one holding the gun.
"E... eep!" The man could only step back as Hannah suddenly appeared in front of him; but his retreat was sorely limited, as Hannah quickly grabbed the hand he was holding the gun with. She then pulled him closer to her, before spinning her body and swinging her elbow straight towards the center of the man's chest.
"!!!" And now, with the man's gun in her hand, the others could not help but slightly back away.
"...Seriously, you're scared of this?" Hannah then shook her head as she removed the gun's magazine... before proceeding to disassemble the pistol in less than 2 seconds, "This is a Colt 1911, it wouldn't even leave a scratch on the girl's skin over there."
Hannah then pointed the now disassembled grip and trigger towards Silvie, before dropping it on the ground and causing the non-supers to flinch and some of them to even run.
One of Bernard's lessons-- intimidating the weaker ones in the group has a very high chance of leading them to their demise, no matter how strong the group is.
"What... why are all of you just watching!?" The crime leader then let out a roar,
"Kill them!"
Chapter 116"A... Amazing."
Silvie, as well as Tomoe, could not help but watch in awe as Hannah just culled the numbers of the gangsters almost in half-- without even using her powers.
If only Silvie had the same combat experience and skill as Hannah, then maybe she wouldn't even need to resort to her using her abilities that much, preventing herself from accidentally hurting people, and just using it to protect herself.
She had always thought that she had the perfect power to protect people-- but lately, it was becoming more and more evident that even though she was granted the same powers as Mega Woman, there was something inside her that wanted to hurt people.
...It's not about the powers they have-- but how they use it. Silvie thought as she continued to watch the normal people backing away, and Hannah not even doing anything.
"...They really are just watching."
"Hm?"
Silvie's thoughts were then disrupted as she heard Tomoe's whispers, "It's nothing. I was just amazed to see everyone just watching and not attacking us."
"...Now that you mention it," Silvie then said as she looked around. Even she and Tomoe just stood there and watched-- something that only happens in movies. But alas, the crime leader seemed to have noticed this as well as he pushed one of the supers forward.
"Why are all of you just watching!? Kill them!"
And as soon as he said that, the supers of the gang all rushed towards Tomoe and Hannah, with 2 heading towards Hannah, "Don't let the boss come here himself!"
"..." Tomoe quickly grabbed Silvie's shoulder, using it to push herself away as the ground beneath her turned into a road of ice; the super that threatened to punch her quickly slipped to the ground, tumbling in front of Riley, who was casually watching everything as he continued to drink his beverage.
"You--" The super gangster was about to grab him, but before he could do so, he was suddenly lifted into the air by Silvie. And without even having the chance to say another word, was thrown towards the other supers rushing towards them. Unfortunately for him, instead of being gently caught by his comrades, he was swatted away like a fly.
Silvie was about to fly towards the two approaching supers, but before she could do so, several normal gangsters suddenly ran to their path, instantly causing them to trip.
"..." Silvie then looked towards Hannah, who had her thumbs up towards her even as she fought two supers and a crowd of normal people. Silvie was always able to defeat Hannah during a one-on-one fight, but it would seem when it comes to real scenarios... Silvie was the loser.
Silvie then turned towards Tomoe, who had already subjugated the supers she was fighting in ice-- while trapping the normal people by binding their feet on the ground.
"..." Silvie was supposed to be the No. 1 student... but now she was proving more and more to be inadequate. Perhaps... she wasn't really as good as she thought she was; she wouldn't be tied up by her father during childhood if she was.
Was it an illusion?
Was her strength all just an... illusion?
What was she even supposed to do when everyone else was this capable? What was she even supposed to do when they could protect themselves?
Does she even have a reason to exist?
Silvie then turned her eyes towards the super in front of her, who had been punching her in the face for almost 5 seconds now and she couldn't even feel it.
"Go away," Silvie's voice then became cold as her eyes started to glow red, "I'll kill you if you try this again."
And as soon as she said that, the super gangster could only take in a small but deep breath, before proceeding to run away.
"..." Did that work? She was trying to imitate what Hannah did by intimidating the enemy in front of her. She might have threatened to take his life, but she wasn't really going to do it... Right? She wasn't going to...
...Was that a threat? Or was it real? Did she really want to kill the man?
Silvie's eyes once again started to move erratically as several thoughts once again began to race in her mind. Her breaths, reverberating enough that it made every person within the parking lot stop whatever it is they are doing.
"This... is bad," Hannah muttered as she pushed the face she was holding away, "The girl's turning crazy."
Silvie's eyes were currently flickering in red; indiscernible whispers mumbling out of her mouth as she just stood on her spot without moving.
"E... everyone!" The crime leader's words then echoed throughout the parking lot as he... made his way back to his car, "H... hold them off while I get the boss and the others, he... he's the only one who can kill these--"
And just like that, the crime leader decided to leave his subordinates, not even bothering to finish his words.
"No, you don't!" Flames exploded from Hannah's back like wings, propelling her straight to the escaping car's path.
"!!!"
But alas, before she could even reach it, red reflected on her eyes an almost deafening whistle pierced her ears as the crime leader's car was suddenly split in half, causing its chassis to screech through the hard pavement.
"S... Silvie?" Hannah then looked towards where the red beam came from, only to see Silvie now floating in the air; her eyes, completely covered in a red curtain.
"E... eep!" The crime leader seemed to be unscathed as he hastily crawled from his car like some sort of cockroach-- he was about to run but tumbled on the ground as a laser trailed across the ground beside him.
"What are you doing!?" Hannah was now behind Silvie; the only reason why the crime leader still had his head was that Hannah pushed Silvie's head to the side, "You're going to fucking kill the guy!"
"... drug-related operations... eliminate."
"W... what?" Hannah furrowed her eyebrows as Silvie's stuttered words clearly reached her ears, "What do you mean eliminate!?"
"....possession of illegal weapons with intent to use... disrupting peace..."
"Snap out of it!" Hannah bellowed; she wanted to chase the crime leader and the other gang members that were starting to run away. But she was afraid that once she leaves Silvie, she would start to laser the fuck out of everyone.
Even Tomoe did not give chase as she just watched as Silvie's eyes started to once again flicker-- her erratic whispers, loud enough for her to hear even from the ground. These words... it was almost as if she was...
"Snap the fuck out of it, Silv!" A loud snap in the air then cracked as Hannah slapped Silvie on the cheek; but like shaving a bald head, it did nothing. It did, however, get Silvie's eyes to land towards Hannah.
"Obstructing... you're obstructing..."
"W... what?" A small explosion then erupted as Hannah slightly backed away from Silvie as her flickering eyes started to distort the air. And without even warning...
...a laser beamed straight towards Hannah's chest.
"!!!"
"H... Hannah!" A platform of ice instantly crystallized beneath Tomoe's feet, lifting her towards the two. Of course, she took a glance as to what Riley was doing, only to see him still sipping on his drink, now wearing his sunglasses as he just casually watched what happened to Hannah.
Could it be... he didn't care for Hannah as much as she thought he did? Tomoe took in a small breath with the thought. If he could just discard his sister like that... then as his subordinate-- wasn't she practically nothing to him?
Tomoe slightly bit her lip as she continued to make her way towards the two. But halfway there, she noticed that Hannah... was still floating in the air-- her eyes wide.
"H... holy fuck," Hannah then touched her chest, her costume that was supposed to be immune to extremely high levels of temperature slightly scorched-- her skin, however, was completely unscathed, "You... did this bitch just try to kill me!?"
Hannah's entire body became engulfed in fire, causing Tomoe to quickly wear her sunglasses. But even with the added protection covering her eyes, she still could not help but look to the side as the fire coming out from Hannah's body was almost as bright as the sun.
"Don't blame me if this hurts tomorrow!" A small explosion then erupted as Hannah once again flew away, the flames on her back slightly forming into the shape of a wing, "I've been learning this new trick, you see."
Hannah then stretched her arms to the side, and as she did so, balls of fire quickly materialized in front of her hands.
"I call it...
....Sun Babies!"
Chapter 117"Sun Babies!"
"Sun... babies?"
The growing pillar of ice beneath Tomoe's feet stopped growing as she arranged her sunglasses. Even from meters away, Tomoe could feel the heat radiating from the two basketball-sized spheres of fire that were floating in front of Hannah's palms.
Hannah did say that she had been practicing some techniques... could this be perhaps one of them? But why does everything around her need to involve babies in it? Was that some sort of... inside joke she wasn't getting? Tomoe thought as she carefully watched the situation unfold.
As for Silvie, her head was slightly tilted to the side as she stared at Hannah; her eyes, not reflecting the blinding light coming from the spheres as they were glowing red on their own.
"Don't blame me if I scratch your perfect face!" Hannah then clapped her hands; her clap was followed by another snap in the air as the two fireballs quickly exploded straight towards Silvie.
But seeing these two balls of fire threatening to scorch her face off, Silvie only took in a small breath as she rushed to face them head-on, "Threat level is high... must... must... eliminate."
"No!" Tomoe was about to rush to stop the only two female friends she had from taking each other's heads off, but before she could even propel herself from the ice pillar, she noticed that Riley was already in the middle of the two.
"What the..." Hannah blinked her eyes a couple of times, "Get the fuck out of there!"
But even with her sister's deafening bellows piercing his ears, Riley only shook his head; his hair fluttering in the wind as its white threads reflected the light of the moon. His coat, snapping in the air as he raised both his hands... which were both holding plastic straws.
And as if a conductor ushering a song surrounded by the light of moon and fire, Riley started waving the straws around.
"What the fuck are you do--"
And as soon as he did so, both Silvie and Hannah instantly dropped to the ground-- with Silvie's body creating a small crater, and Hannah landing ever so softly on the pillows they had set up around the campfire.
"You..." Hannah then turned her eyes towards her brother once more, only to see the two fireballs she summoned about to torch him alive, "R... Riley! My babies!"
Riley let out a small sigh as he hid one of the straws in his pocket, before pointing his palm towards the approaching set of fireballs. And as soon as he closed his palm into a fist, the two fireballs instantly merged with one another.
"...What the?" Hannah could not help but raise an eyebrow as she saw her sun babies becoming one; and soon, becoming the size of a tennis ball.
Riley then flicked the remaining straw in his other hand, causing the now tennis ball-sized sphere of fire to shoot towards the sky. And with both his hands stretched to the side, the fireball exploded.
The fiery light rained upon them like a firework, lighting up the edges of Riley's silhouette as he slowly descended from the air.
"M... master," Tomoe could not help but gulp as she watched everything unfold; the ice beneath her feet, not enough to cool down the warmth-- the heat that was slowly covering her entire body.
"...Showoff," Hannah then shook her head as soon as Riley's feet touched the ground. But after a few more moments,
"Silvie!", she rushed to check on Silvie, "Are you..."
But alas, Silvie's eyes were still violently glowing in red; the ground, cracking as she seemed to be trying to get up, but could not as she was still being restrained by Riley.
"Must... must eliminate--"
"Snap out of it, Silv!" Hannah then let out a scream to try and wake her up from whatever it is that was happening to her, "It's me, Hannah. We're here for yo--"
"!!!"
And before Hannah could even finish her words, another crack resounded in the air as... Riley suddenly stomped his foot on Silvie's head.
"What are you--"
And once again, before she could even say anything, Riley stomped on Silvie's head.
"Stop that!" Hannah then quickly pushed Riley away, "Why would you even do that!?"
"You used to kick the gaming console when it doesn't work properly, sister," Riley then let out a small sigh, "I was just doing the same."
"What the... she doesn't run on batteries, Riley!"
"Are we sure of that?" Riley muttered, squinting his eyes as he looked at Silvie.
"You-- never mind," Hannah could only shake her head as she turned her focus back to Silvie, whose tears were now already seeping through the cracks of the ground; her eyes, now back to normal.
"E... everyone," Silvie then whimpered as she remained lying face-first on the cracked ground, "I'm... I'm sorry... I'm really sorry."
"Silv..." Hannah breathed out, "What... is happening to you?"
"She also became like that earlier," Tomoe mentioned as she approached.
"..." Hannah first thought that Silvie was just acting out due to the stress of everything that has been happening so far. After all, judging from the brief stories she has told them, she... didn't really have that much freedom due to her father being as strict as a soldier.
But seeing as how she completely turned crazy; unresponsive, even. It would seem that something else was going on with her.
"Hey... it's alright, Silv," Hannah gently placed her hand on Silvie's face, causing her to cry out some more. Hannah then looked around; and it would seem that besides the car that was split in two by Silvie's heat vision, as well as the gangsters that were knocked out, all the other members of the drug group escaped during the confusion.
Still, no one seemed to have died, so this was still one of the better-case scenarios they could have as a result. Soon, however, the police arrived.
As supers, they were obligated to report each and everything that happened during the altercation. But of course, Hannah and Tomoe decided to keep Silvie running amok a secret to the feds.
Everything was cleaned up easily, with even the wrecked car towed away on a truck. Initially, Hannah thought they would be kicked out of the parking lot; but the manager even gave them some more supplies and said they could stay... as their group idling there has actually been bringing in more customers.
And so, with everything slightly resolved, Hannah could only let out a long and loud yawn.
"...Shit," she then breathed out, "We'll have a week more of this shit? I think we better avoid any drug-related crime from now on."
"That may be for the best, big sister," Tomoe nodded.
"But still... to be brazen enough to attack us even knowing Riley and my identity; they are either too stupid or probably have someone strong enough backing them up," Hannah sighed, "We should stick together from now on-- I am sure that's not the last time we'll be seeing them."
"I believe that to be the case as well, big sister," Tomoe once again nodded, "Only idiots would attack us while knowing who you and master are."
"Speaking of... how are the others?"
"Gary is still unconscious. As for Silvie," Tomoe let out a small sigh as she turned towards Silvie, who was now sleeping beside the fire, "There's... something not right with her."
"You think she's crazy?"
"I... do not want to think so," Tomoe shook her head, "But she... is probably hiding something."
"Hm. We should probably ask her about it as soon as she wakes up. Also..." Hannah then looked around, "...Where's my brother?"
"Master said he'll roam around the skies to see if anyone else might attack us."
"...Good for him," Hannah muttered as she walked to the campfire; quickly snuggling herself in a blanket as the ice platform that Tomoe made has become even colder,
"Did you know... that Riley used to not come out of the house?"
"...No," Tomoe shook her head as she quickly sat beside Hannah.
"He would just stay inside his room the whole day for weeks. You know, there was one time that..."
"R... really!?"
***
"Move out of the way, move!"
Different colors of light flickered everywhere; with the ears of the people frantically dancing around almost deaf from the thundering music that drummed in the air.
Their frenzy was disrupted, however, as the crime leader that Hannah and the others faced earlier pushed them away-- his face completely panicked as he continued to run until he reached a more serene and quiet part of the nightclub.
"Boss!" He then screamed, his words mixing with the muffled music that was seeping through the quiet hallway. "I need to see the boss!"
His path, however, was blocked by two guards as soon as he reached a large door.
"The boss is currently busy right now, Dick," one of the guards said as he slightly pushed the crime leader away.
"This... this is urgent!" Dick bellowed as he looked the guard straight in the eyes, "I... I need to talk with the boss!"
"..." The guards then looked at each other, before both nodding and opening the door, "Make it quick."
"Just get out of the way!" Dick then rushed inside the room, only to find numerous naked women dancing inside.
"This..." Dick quickly took in a small gulp as he fixed his clothes, "B... boss. Something urgent came up," he then said; any previous arrogance in his tone was completely gone as he tried his best to ignore the women dancing on the floor.
"We... attacked supers from the Academy."
"You...
....did what?"
Chapter 118"We... we attacked supers from the Academy."
"You... did what?"
"..."
The somber music that colored the air with a blissful frenzy instantly stopped as soon as the boss' words whispered in the air; the words were extremely faint, almost imperceptible. And yet every activity in the room froze.
The naked girls that were dancing almost erotically all paused in their steps; most of them looked at each other as they slowly covered their bare breasts; the men that had their mouths stretched also slowly dropped their smiles.
And without the boss saying another word, all of them carefully but hastily stepped out of the room– leaving only the colorful flickering lights to reflect in Dick's eyes, as well as a lone woman standing in the middle of the room.
"Can you repeat what you said?" The woman then glanced at Dick, before walking towards the desk that was at the end of the room; crossing her legs as she sat on top of the desk, not even caring that all of her skin was showing.
"We... we attacked supers from the Academy, boss."
"You attacked supers from the Academy?" The woman, now revealed to be the boss, slightly flicked her long purple hair to the side before getting a cigarette that was neatly placed on the desk. And before she could put it in her mouth, Dick already had a lighter prepared for her.
"Y... yes," Dick stuttered as he desperately tried to ignite the lighter, but the only thing that was coming out was the flick that whispered in the air.
"Staff or student?" The boss then pushed Dick's hand away as she removed the cigarette in her mouth and returned it to her desk.
"They... students."
"And why would you even do that?" The boss let out a small sigh as she stood up, before slowly walking towards her chair.
"...One of them disrupted our operations, Miss Sophie," Dick muttered, "He spent some time in jail leading us to lose some–"
"Sophie?"
"I... I mean boss," Dick once again stuttered as the tone of the boss' voice once again turned cold, "I... I got him out and cleared the misunderstanding with our clients."
"Then you should have ended it there," Sophie shook her head as she seemed to be searching something on the drawers of her desk, "Why even do something that puts us on the main radar of the Government?"
"That's–"
"Don't worry anymore," Sophie once again let out a sigh as she raised her hand, which was now holding what seemed to be a flip-top phone, "I'll go and talk to the mayor about this and say it was just some new recruits trying to show off. The students are alive, yes?"
"...Yes."
"Then that's good," Sophie let out a small scoff as she unfolded her phone, "You know– I like you and treat you like a brother, but sometimes you could be quite stupid. Why would you even attack someone from the Academy when all the eyes are on them at the moment? You a fucking retard, or what?"
"I... I thought we could score big," Dick said as he let out a small chuckle, "Two of them are Whiteking's children and–"
And before Dick could even finish his words, Sophie suddenly waved her hand; obliterating the phone into tiny little pieces. A small and quiet rumbling then seemingly shook the entire room; causing all the colorful lights that flickered everywhere to slightly distort as a large crevice formed on the walls– opening up a view of the hallway and maybe even beyond.
And soon, a persisting squelching whisper traveled throughout the room as Dick's upper body... slowly slid away from his waist; leaving a small rippling thud in the ground as it finally landed on the pool of blood already waiting for it on the floor.
"Fuck."
The sounds of death were then followed by Sophie's frustration. But after a few seconds, she shook her head and took in a small and deep breath, causing everything in the room to float, "I guess...
...I'll be facing the Hope Guild again."
***
"This isn't a costume party kid, go home. And how did you even find this entrance?"
"And no one under the age of 21 is allowed in the club, go before we beat yo' ass."
In a dark alleyway, where the sounds of the nightclub could barely be heard, two bouncers have been shaking their heads for a few seconds now as the young man in front of them refused to leave.
They were being lenient since the one in front of them was just a boy, but even their patience has limits.
"Look, kid. Just go buy some drinks in a convenience store or something, don't go causing trouble here, you got it?" One of the bouncers shook his head as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. Although he was wearing a hoodie, it was quite obvious that he was young just based on his face and voice alone.
"I am not here for drinks, guard," the young man then finally raised his head, causing the bouncer to slightly back away from seeing his face; which was pale almost to the point that one could see the veins around his eyelids,
"I just wish to have a meeting with your boss," Riley then muttered.
"..."
"Pft."
And as soon as the bouncers heard Riley's words, the two could not help but look at each other; their bursts of laughter, almost drowning the already minute music seeping from the building, "Would you like to meet with the Pope as well?"
"I already have," Riley shook his head, "Tell your boss I would like to meet him, bouncer."
"Did someone put you up to this?" The bouncer also shook his head, "Go home before you get in troub– !!!"
And before the bouncer that placed his hand on Riley's shoulder could finish his words, he felt his legs almost turn to noodles as he suddenly dropped to the ground. He noticed a prickling feeling around his chin, but his vision already faded before he could find out what hit him.
The other bouncer, however, clearly saw Riley's hand moving– it was fast even for his trained eyes.
"That's it, no playing game–"
And before the other bouncer could finish his words, a disgusting snap whispered in his ear, "Y... you–" His eyes then slowly moved towards his unconscious colleague, only to see his head completely caved in... parts of his brain now under Riley's shoes.
"You're... a super?" The bouncer then slightly backed off.
"I wish to meet with your boss," a small smile then slowly crept up on Riley's face, "Tell him... I'm from the cartel."
"That's–"
"Please comply, bouncer...
...I will remove your jaw and choke you with your own tongue if you do not."
***
"I apologize, I thought you were a man."
"You do not have to worry, I thought the same of you."
Sophie's room was now fully lit; any of the colorful lights have already been replaced by the warm fluorescent that hummed from the ceiling. What little color that remained, however, was produced by the blood that was still coming out from Dick's body, which was still sprawled carelessly on the ground.
"I hope you're not squeamish," Sophie then muttered as she adjusted her robes, winking at Riley after she did so, "Needed a little punishing, that's all.
"..." Riley only looked at Dick, before shaking his head and letting out a short but deep sigh, "I was hoping he was still alive."
"Oh?" Sophie chuckled as she adjusted her butt on the desk, "So you're not from the cartel? I thought you'd be playing the role more."
"I see no purpose in pursuing the role anymore, Miss."
"Sophie, you may call me Sophie... Riley Ross," Sophie then licked her lips, crossing her legs ever so slowly to make sure Riley sees every inch of the skin hiding beneath her furred robes.
"I would also appreciate it if you do not tell anyone that I was here, Miss Sophie. I am too young to enter establishments like thi–"
"Let's not play around," the tone of Sophie's voice then changed as she waved her hand, causing the floor in front of Riley's feet to crack, "How many of you are there? Is the Hope Guild or your father with you?"
"...It's just me, Miss Sophie."
"So... you came in here all alone?" Sophie raised an eyebrow, "To... get revenge on this guy?"
Sophie then stood up from her desk, before kicking Rick's torso in front of Riley's feet.
"I suppose you could say that, Miss Sophie," Riley seemed to have pondered the question for a few moments before nodding,
"He said some things to my sister that I truly did not appreciate, and I was hoping to... talk to him. But since he is already dead, then I no longer have any purpose in staying here. Have a good night, Miss Sophie."
Riley once again nodded, before turning around to leave. But before he could do so, several fissures cracked on the floor in front of him.
"..."
"Dick might have died for it... but he was right– you'll be a good... investment." Sophie's slightly coquettish giggles then whispered in Riley's ears, "I've had some run-ins with some of the members of the Hope Guild in the past, you see."
"...Hm."
"Whiteking will pay a hefty sum for your safety," Sophie's giggles became louder as her steps whispered in the air; slowly approaching Riley, "You think...
...I would just let a big fish like you go?"
"No," Riley then suddenly turned around; his eyes looking straight towards Sophie's as the smile on his face almost reached from ear to ear,
"I was truly hoping that wasn't the case."
"...What?"
"Well, since I killed everyone outside already. Letting me go...
....would've been awkward, no?"
Chapter 119"Did you really think I would just let go of a big fish like you?"
"No, I was truly hoping that wasn't the case."
"...What?"
"Well... since I already killed everyone outside; letting me go...
...would have been awkward for both of us, no?"
A slight discomfort inside Sophie started to crawl out from her bones; almost as if a million ants were trying to dig their way through very carefully. It wasn't just because of the weird smile that was plastered on Riley's face, no.
She had dealt with people faking confidence before– this was not it. Riley was... too calm.
"..." Sophie stared at Riley's smiling face for a couple more seconds, before squinting her eyes as she started to walk back to her desk, "What do you mean you killed everyone outside?"
"It is as I said, Miss Sophie," Riley did not follow her as he just stood in place, "I have already killed everyone in this building except you."
"So you say," Sophie then let out a small but deep breath as she pressed the intercom on her desk, "Todd, respond."
"..."
"Grayson? Respond; what's the situation outside?"
"..." Sophie tried to call her men repeatedly, but the only thing she kept receiving was a static that hissed and whispered throughout the room. There was still the sound of deafening music seeping from the cracks of her office, so there should still be people partying below.
Sophie's eyebrows started to furrow as she slowly opened the curtain of her room, revealing a large window that had a view of the entire nightclub's stage.
And what welcomed Sophie was an orchestra of light; different colors quickly bombarded her eyes as the music that whispered into the room became ever so slightly louder. And although it was hard to see with all the lights dancing below, there were still people standing everywhere– contrary to what Riley just said to her.
"Pft," Sophie then shook her head. Of course, the young man in her room was still a student of Mega Academy; one aspiring to be a great superhero that would relight the torch that Mega Woman left kindling. How could he even kill people?
"Nice joke, Mr. R–" But before she could finish her words, she noticed something odd about the people below; they were all wearing the same clothes. Clothes that were so familiar since it was also the same as what Riley was wearing now– a white and black hoodie that almost covered their entire head.
"This is..." And before she could look away, all of the people below suddenly turned their heads towards her.
"!!!"
She immediately took in a short but deep breath. Although it was still quite hard to see, the wide smile on their faces that almost threatened to eat you alive were all the same... No. Their faces were all the same– Riley's.
"What... is this?" Sophie squinted her eyes to the point they almost closed. Was it some sort of mask? They were also all holding different kinds of weapons; metal bats, knives, guns– and there was one that still seemed to be busy smashing someone's face in with his bare hands.
This individual was quickly noticed by the group as the nearest one from him tapped him on the shoulders. And as soon as they did so, the busy individual also turned his head towards Sophie– once again bearing the same face as Riley Ross.
Sophie could feel every pore in her body open up as the weird feeling that was crawling from her bones finally made its way through her skin.
It wasn't fear, no; more like discomfort.
"Riley Ross..." Sophie then finally closed the curtain as she returned her gaze to Riley, "...aren't you supposed to be telekinetic?"
"As I told you before, Miss Sophie... I am from the cartel."
"...What?" Sophie could only blink her eyes as Riley casually made his way to one of the seats, before proceeding to wear a pair of sunglasses that he got from the pocket of his hoodie.
"The cartels use all sorts of... creative weapons, Miss Sophie," the smile on Riley's face slowly dissipated, "If I use telekinesis, what happened here might be traced back to me."
"...There are cameras everywhere."
"I already destroyed them."
"And aren't you supposed to be a hero?" Sophie then let out a small but deep sigh as she also relaxed herself and sat on her desk, "There were a lot of... innocent people below. You even killed the guests."
"Well... yes?" Riley blinked his eyes as if he was confused with Sophie's words, "That's what killing 'everyone' means, Miss Sophie."
And soon, another creepy smile slowly emerged from Riley's face– and with his mouth that was wide enough to eat a whole quarter-pounder, it truly was a sight that even a veteran of numerous wars like Sophie could still not get used to.
But after a few seconds, Sophie also let out a small giggle of her own, "So Whiteking's son is a little monster... and here I thought you were just a kid trying to get revenge!"
And with that, Sophie suddenly waved her hand. It was only momentary, but everything in the room started to tremble– this shivering, however, was only but a glimpse as every piece of furniture in the room shattered into pieces; their debris and pieces, all shooting to the end of the room.
Even Riley was swept away by this invisible force– his back violently hitting the wall before the concrete collapsed entirely, revealing the dimly lit hallway outside.
"Hm," this did not seem to affect Riley that much, however, as his head just turned to the side as he looked at... two of his copies that were still clubbing the bouncers guarding the hallway to death.
"..." The two copies immediately stopped as their eyes met with Riley; and with a weird smile, the two then quickly melted to the ground before evaporating into nothing. Riley then casually returned back to the office, hopping on the debris created by Sophie's mysterious powers.
"That is a very interesting ability, Miss Sophie," Riley breathed out as he fixed his hood, trying his best for his face to not be exposed too much, "Please tell me...
...How do you categorize your powers? I don't believe it's telekinesis. Matter manipulation? No, it is too violent..."
"..." Sophie did not answer Riley, however, as she just remained staring at him as he slowly walked back inside. But after a few more seconds of him just standing there, Sophie's long and deep breaths echoed throughout the ruined office, her head shaking before she stared Riley straight in the eyes.
"You're still too wet behind the ears, Mr. Riley," she then uttered with a small chuckle, "If you think you can beat me now, then you are sorely mistaken. You would need one or two of the Hope Guild if you want to kill me."
"Is that so?"
"Leave, and I will forget this ever happened," Sophie added, "You and your little group of friends could continue doing whatever it is you're doing in my city."
"It is fortunate, but I could no longer leave here, Miss Sophie," Riley muttered, "You already saw what I can do."
"Last warning, boy," Sophie let out a small but deep sigh, "You are way above your head here."
Riley completely ignored Sophie's words, however, as he slowly made his way closer to her; but before he could even take 2 steps, Sophie stretched her hands to the side.
And almost instantly; in less than a blink of an eye, Riley found himself in what he could only compare to be the inside of a blender as everything within his sight collapsed into pieces.
"..." Riley's eyes were slightly wide, showing his intense curiosity as even the tiniest bit of debris around him shattered into even tinier pieces; and soon, his eyes reflected the lights of the night city as the building of the nightclub was no more– obliterated to oblivion.
Riley once again adjusted his hoodie as his body slowly fell to the ground; his silhouette, hidden by all the ocean of dust and sand that rained everywhere. But still, Riley made sure his face couldn't be visible. And as soon as he landed on the ruined ground, slight high-pitched cracks whispered in the air as his skin suddenly turned into a sort of silver chrome; revealed by his hand that reflected every light within the vicinity.
"You... have multiple powers."
And even with all the noise and screams that were coming from the citizens, the words of the silhouette that slowly made its way through the ocean of dust still whispered into Riley's ears.
"You remind me of that old fucker that used to be in the Hope Guild," Sophie's words continued as she slowly approached Riley, "And it is seriously getting on my nerves."
"You seem to mention Hope Guild a lot, Miss Sophie," Riley breathed out as he made sure that the dust around them did not fly away.
"Of course," Sophie let out a small chuckle, "I managed to kill one of them way back– now back off while I am still playing nice. I have already given you enough chances to run away, you should take it this time."
"That is not going to happen, Miss Sophie," Riley shook his head as he slowly got into a stance; the silver chrome covering his skin almost letting out a sort of whistle as they started to rattle like scales, "I have truly been bored lately...
...I still want to play."
Chapter 120"...I still want to play."
"Quite an arrogant little fucker, aren't you? As expected of Whiteking's son."
With the thick ocean of dust drowning their entire vision; it was almost as if they were akin to being blind already. But even so, their exchange of words traveled ever so clearly– one taunting the other.
Their whispers, however, were subtly disrupted by all the screams and rumbles that whistled from the outside of their artificial cloud. It was almost a certainty that the destruction reached outside; with people panicking and running; Sophie and Riley, however, seemed to be completely lost in their own ocean.
"But I wonder if you can keep this facade?" And with the distance between Sophie and Riley getting shorter and shorter as Sophie approached; her silhouette finally turned into color. Her face, somewhat surprised as her eyes landed on Riley.
"Your skin..." She muttered as she looked at Riley's skin, which was now wrapped entirely with some sort of silver chrome, "...I see you're careful not to reveal your identity. But why not just wear a mask?"
"You wouldn't like it if I wear my mask, Miss Sophie," Riley breathed out as he adjusted his hoodie to cover most of his face. The wind was blowing the hood away– but soon, it completely became still.
"..." Seeing this, Sophie could not help but squint her eyes as she could feel her long purple hair touching her cheeks as it danced in the air; the dust floating around them was also completely unmoving– only flowing when Sophie gently raised her hand, but returning to their position after.
"...You really are quite the little monster, aren't you?"
"That is debatable."
"Want to just join hands together instead? I swear I can make it worth your while," Sophie then slowly stretched her already raised hand towards Riley, "I swear I would let you have your fun," she then said, the tone of her voice quite... alluring.
"We shall see, Miss Sophie."
"..."
"..."
And without sharing any more words, Sophie's gentle hand was no more as she violently waved it towards Riley.
An opening appeared on the cloud of dust; a crack that violently, but also elegantly pushed its way through the murky air.
And now, with all the dust in its way, Sophie's once invisible and mysterious ability finally revealed its shape– a sword; a giant sword.
"..." Riley quickly tilted his body to the side to avoid this invisible giant sword from threatening to slice him in half. And judging from the screams and the slight rumble of the earth after doing so, the neighboring building next to the ruined nightclub might have been destroyed.
And hearing the screams of the people whispering into his ears, a smile once again slowly crept on Riley's face– his eyebrows, slightly trembling as his breaths slowly became fettered.
"..." He then once again moved to the side as another invisible sword shot straight towards him, but this time, before his foot landed on the ground; he also waved his hand forward.
And as soon as he did so, a streak of light appeared in front of him– a red and flat glowing crescent, almost like a side of the moon flooded in blood.
And although Sophie was caught a bit off guard from the sudden crescent beam flying towards her, she still waved her hand forward, splitting the red beam in half and missing her entirely– the red beams continued to fly, however, once again causing screams to echo from outside the ocean of dust.
"Just how many abilities do you have?"
"I do not want to answer that, Miss Sophie."
"Y–"
And before Sophie could even say another word, Riley suddenly ran towards her, waving his hand and summoning several crescent beams as he did so.
"...Rude," Sophie breathed out as she also waved her hands, neutralizing all of Riley's attacks without moving a single step from her spot.
"You really are trying to have fun, aren't you?" She then let out a small sigh as she noticed the weird smile on Riley's face, "But for how long?"
And as soon as Sophie said that, Sophie's feet began to move in a sort of pattern; half a dozen invisible swords then emerged around her– all the size of a bus.
And as if performing on a stage, Sophie began rotating her body with a subtle elegance; gracefully waving her hands as the swords around her began to dance; not allowing even a single of Riley's crescent beams to scratch even a single strand of her purple hair.
"..." Noticing this, Riley could not help but stop; his eyes moving erratically as he tried to follow the dancing swords.
"This is a beautiful power, Miss Sophie," Riley then said as the smile on his face shifted into almost that of an amused child.
"Finally someone who appreciates art when they see it," Sophie slightly hummed as she continued her dance, "It is just too bad that you are too young, too ignorant...
...and too dead!"
Sophie then clapped her hands– and without even any pause in their graceful movements, the once dancing swords all violently shot towards Riley, spinning as they did so.
Riley, however, instead of flying away and trying to avoid these violent blades, rushed forward.
"..."
Riley leaped into the storm of blades, carefully rotating his body and adjusting the fold of his limbs, completely avoiding the violent barrage that threatened to mince him into pieces.
"Fool," Sophie then said as she flicked her hand. And as soon as she did so, the invisible force all merged– pinning Riley into a cushion...
...or at least that was what's supposed to happen.
"...What?"
A small thud then whispered in the air as Riley landed on the ground seemingly completely unscathed; with not even any of his clothes ripped.
"I apologize, Miss Sophie," Riley then said as he let out a small sigh, "My telekinetic abilities... act on their own to defend my body against any and all threats, I got it from my biological mother."
"Oh?" Sophie only smirked, "You better use them to attack, then. I am telling you now that that's the only way you would even have a chance to defeat me."
"I beg to differ, Miss Sophie," Riley shook his head, "If I use it, I am afraid our play would not even last a single second."
"You..." Sophie's eye twitched as soon as Riley's words reached her ears, "...You are starting to get on my nerves, kid."
And with that, Sophie once again started her dance as multiple swords once again emerged around her– this time double the amount but smaller in size.
But before they could fly once again towards Riley, he suddenly disappeared from his spot; destroying the ground beneath him as he leaped forward. His fist, tightly clenched with Sophie's face as its target.
"...Oh?" Riley's fist completely stopped just a foot away from Sophie's face, however, as multiple layers of swords blocked its path. He then quickly leaped back multiple times, swiftly avoiding the rain of swords that threatened to turn him into barbecue.
"This is truly fun, Miss Sophie," Riley then whispered, "Maybe we could–"
"It's coming from there!"
"..." The smile on Riley's face quickly disappeared as a familiar voice started to whisper into his ear from afar.
"I can't see anything with all the dust!"
"Leave it to me!"
And with those words, a strong gust of wind blew through the air.
"The... the dust isn't disappearing!"
"..." Riley could only shake his head in disappointment. And as he did so, the cloud of dust instantly dispersed along with the gust, finally revealing Riley and Sophie to the rest of the world.
Riley quickly looked around, only to see their surroundings in almost complete destruction. Large crevices everywhere, no doubt sponsored by Sophie and Riley's attacks. He then carefully turned towards the group of voices, only to see Hannah and the others approaching their location.
Riley then looked at his hands, making sure that his skin was still covered in silver armor.
"Oh? Your reinforcements are here," Sophie chuckled, "Maybe it's time to say hi and intro–"
And before Sophie could finish her words, she felt a cold touch covering her lips as Riley suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Shh, Miss Sophie," Riley then leaned his head; his warm whispers traveling through Sophie's ear, "Let's continue this somewhere else."
"It's them!" Hannah's roaring voice then traveled in the air as she pointed at Sophie and Riley, "They're the ones who–"
But before the Baby Crew could reach them, Riley suddenly embraced Sophie before they suddenly flew to the air.
Hannah's entire body was quickly engulfed in fire as she readied herself to chase them, but before she could even lift her feet from the ground, Silvie grabbed her arm.
"Let's prioritize saving the people first."
"..." Hannah only looked at Silvie in the eyes, before nodding as the fires surrounding her body withered, "Glad to see you back with us."
"...No," Silvie shook her head, "There's... still something wishing to come out from inside me. But...
...the safety of the people always comes first."
"Well said, Mega Girl," Hannah smirked, "Gary! Make sure no one is trapped beneath the debris!"
"Dark Frost, set up a perimeter so that no one would enter the danger zone!"
"Yes."
"And...
...where the fuck is my brother!?"
***
A small rumble whispered in the air as Sophie's body dragged across the ground; thrown violently by Riley as they flew west of Miami, towards the vast and empty glades away from the city.
"...Shit. This is grey tiger's fur." Surprisingly, though, Sophie just casually stood up. Her words, clearly pissed as she carefully checked her tattered robes. But after a few more breaths, her eyes focused on the individual slowly landing in front of her.
"But you... just what exactly are you?" Sophie then said, "Whiteking's secret weapon or something?"
"No, Miss Sophie," Riley shook his head as his feet touched the ground,
"I'm Darkday."
Chapter 121"I'm Darkday."
"...What?"
"Well, not at this moment."
"...What?"
If Sophie could raise her eyebrow higher than her hairline, it would have probably done so by now. Did this young boy really just say he was Darkday?
"You really are a joker, aren't you?" Sophie let out a small chuckle. The only response she received, however, was the somber whisper of the empty field they now found themselves in. As for Riley, he was only staring at nothing in the distance– as if he didn't just say what he just said.
"I do like to joke, yes," Riley nodded, "But what I told you just now was the truth, Miss Sophie...
...I was Darkday."
"Then I guess I'll become the world's greatest superhero once I present your head to everyone!"
The ground between Riley and Sophie started to split as Sophie waved her hand, and with no ocean of dust drowning the air around them, her skill had once again regained its invisibility. The only indication that she had thrown another set of them was the earth that was slightly opening up; a crawling crevice that rushed their way towards Riley.
This time, however, Riley did not move from his spot or leaped forward like what he did when they were still in the center of the city– instead, he slowly floated in the air... and completely ignored the invisible swords that wafted through his body.
The earth slightly shook as the invisible swords passed him; splitting the small hill formation that was several meters behind him into pieces and still continuing to wreak havoc.
"Oh, finally using your telekinesis, Mr. Darkday?" Sophie let out a small chuckle as she once again waved her hand several times; how they were able to hear each other so clearly even with the distance between them, nobody knows.
"No, Miss Sophie," Riley shook his head, but this time flying side to side as he avoided the invisible blades, "Darkday is retired– I am currently a student aiming to be a super that would one day take the mantle of being Mega Woman, as you said earlier. So for now, you are the supervillain, and I...
...am Mega Man."
"...What?" Sophie thought that Riley would say something profound... but Mega Man? What kind of bullshit is this kid spouting again?
"This isn't a game, b–"
And before Sophie could finish her words, Riley removed his sunglasses as his eyes suddenly glowed red. The silver chrome that covered his skin, being absorbed back to his flesh; his white visage, once again smiling upon Sophie as his hoodie was removed by the wind.
"You should be laughing, Miss Sophie..." Riley then let out a small chuckle as he ever so slowly floated towards Sophie, "...That was a joke."
"..." Sophie could not help but slightly take a few steps back as the smile on Riley's face once again almost reached from ear-to-ear, as if his mouth could swallow her whole head in.
A Hero?
Whatever Riley is or was, he looked more like the devil if anything as a few strands of his hair were now standing up from the sides. There was also the blatant disregard for human life that he had shown earlier back in the nightclub when he killed even their guests and customers.
In truth, whether Sophie believed it or not... she had actually thought that Riley was like Darkday since the start– how could she not when the first ability that he showed her was the ability to make copies of himself?
"Be honored, Miss Sophie."
"!!!"
Sophie could not help but slightly take in a deep breath as Riley landed in front of her; was she so absorbed with her thoughts that she didn't even realize that he was already within arm's reach of her?
"You–"
Sophie was about to raise her hands, but she found that she was not even able to move them; with Riley suddenly grabbing her wrists. She also wanted to leap back, but before she could do so, Riley once again pulled her towards him and embraced her.
And soon, his whispers reached her left ear.
"I have never truly used Mega Woman's abilities before."
Sophie's head could only slightly tremble as Riley's words almost made her ear warm.
"Did you know that she actually also has telekinetic abilities?" Riley continued as his arms continued to wrap around Sophie's body, "It's weaker than what I already have, of course. But then again, every telekinetic I have encountered was weaker than my biological mother."
"What... what are you even spouting?" Although the tone of Sophie's voice still held the swagger it had since earlier, her stutters were now quite obvious, "Let... let go of me, kid."
"Ssh."
"!!!" Sophie then took in a very long and very deep breath as Riley's lips almost touched hers.
"You know... since you said you have encountered Hope Guild many times before– maybe you know my biological mother?"
"...Your mother?" Sophie leaned her head back as her eyes slowly scanned Riley's very pale face. And from this distance, it was almost as if she could even see the blood in his veins flowing, "Whiteking's... wife?"
"No, that's Diana," Riley then let go of Sophie's arms as he took a few steps back. And as soon as he did so, Sophie violently waved her hands several times– instantly turning the terrain in front of her almost into ruins.
But still, she did not stop; her breaths became erratic as she made sure that not even a fly would survive. Never has she once in her life been manhandled like this before... and she truly, truly did not like the weird feeling building inside her.
And so, once again, an ocean of dust and dirt filled the air around her. But this time, the cloud did not persist in the air as she felt her entire body being pushed away by a strong gust of wind, causing her to close her eyes as the dust and dirt threatened to rip away her skin.
"Ms. Phoenix."
She then slowly opened her eyes as she heard Riley's voice once again near her– his clothes and skin, completely unscathed.
"Ms... Phoenix is... your biological mother?"
Fuck.
Fuck– was the persisting thought inside Sophie's mind right now. Whether Riley was Darkday or not; Whether Riley was Ms. Phoenix's son or not– Sophie knew one thing...
...He's a monster she was no match for.
"Yes," Riley then nodded, "You're the first thing outside my family I have told that to. You should be proud, Miss Sophie."
"W–"
"My question is still the same, though. Did you encounter my biological mother before?" Riley did not let Sophie say a word as he once again stood awfully close to her, "My parents refuse to talk about her whenever I ask them about her. They are usually open about everything but not her...
...Don't you find it weird, Miss Sophie?"
"I... don't really know what to say," Sophie took in a small gulp as she started to gather energy, "But no. Ms. Phoenix... was already out of the picture when I donned a mask."
"I see. That is truly disappointing," Riley then let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "You looked old so I thought you would belong in their generation."
"I'm only 30, you fucking bitch."
"I see we are both telling jokes," the edges of Riley's mouth once again rose momentarily, "But I do know one thing about Ms. Phoenix, though...
...She killed me."
"...What?"
"She killed me, Miss Sophie."
"That... doesn't even make any sense."
"Oh, it will soon for you, Miss Sophie– it's all a matter of how soon."
And once again, Riley slowly floated into the air as his eyes glowed red, "But the question is...
...subordinate or guest, which one will you be?"
"...What?"
"Oh, that was a question for me, Miss Sophie."
And before Sophie could even say another word, the light surrounding Riley's eyes beamed out a few feet beside her.
"!!!"
The light then suddenly trailed straight towards her face– and if it wasn't for the fact that she already put up an invisible sword to shield her, then she knew she would have been torched alive.
The beam then continued to move almost in a random pattern away from Sophie– burning the vast and empty field; leaving darkness and fire along its wake. The beam then soon flickered, however, as Riley blinked a couple of times until the light in his eyes faded.
Riley then shook his head, as if trying to shake away the remaining light in his eyes.
This boy... could it be that he doesn't know how to use his heat vision perfectly? Sophie thought as she looked at the destruction behind her.
And so now, the once beautiful glade turned into nothing but a wasteland; add to that the damage that she had already done before... she was sure that other superheroes would soon arrive here– it was impossible for this to not be caught by satellite.
She just needed to wait for a chance to escape.
"You... said you were Darkday?" Sophie then breathed out in a chance to prolong their fight; Riley seemed to be one to talk, she should use that to her advantage, "Does that mean you–"
"...Oops?"
"!!!"
Sophie then took in a short but deep breath as she felt a slight prick coming from her left arm. She slowly looked to the side, only to see Riley with a slightly bewildered expression as...
...he had an arm in his hand– her arm.
"Gah!" Sophie's screams then echoed through the air, creating a sort of crater as the hundreds of invisible swords she had actually charged in the air all showered down to the ground.
Her screams, however, caused Riley's eyes to twitch as he took in a long and deep breath. But after a few seconds, he shook his head and looked Sophie straight in the eyes, "Mega Woman and I apologize, Miss Sophie...
...I forgot how strong she was."
Chapter 122Pain.
No matter how strong one was; if one was not used to pain, then even the mightiest of heroes would fall, or in this case, a villain.
Sophie Palmer– classified as a Threat Level 5 supervillain by the Government. But in terms of strength, she was definitely bordering on Threat Level 6.
There were 7 Levels of supervillains– theorized by the people, then confirmed by the Government. As said by Katherine in one of their lessons.
Level 1 were just considered a nuisance; those who misuse their powers to wreak minor chaos, but not enough to cause damage.
Level 2 were those to be considered street-level, those who use their powers to commit petty crimes like theft, robbery, and minor assault.
Threat Levels 1 and 2 could be dealt with by the normal police with no problem at all. And sometimes, superheroes were discouraged to engage with such individuals, and in some cases, even restricted.
Level 3 is where they start being recognized by the Government as someone that should be detained for an indefinite amount of time.
Threat Level 3 was the minimum level allotted to villains who have been confirmed to commit murder. Their levels then go up in accordance with the blood they have on their hands, as well as the damages they have caused to the country or the world.
Level 4 are villains that are already on the Government's watchlist; a bounty– they are to be actively hunted by superheroes and will be rewarded accordingly; superheroes, however, will still be liable in case of the bounty's death.
Threat Level 5 are those that are capable of causing chaos to a city-wide level– normal police are no longer required to respond to the situation and only heroes of Grade-B, A, and S are recommended to engage. The villain's death will no longer be investigated at this level.
Levels 6 and 7 are similar– subdue at all costs. This is the time the Hope Guild and any other Grade-A supers and above are required by the Government to act depending on the gravity of the situation– this is usually also the time when Mega Woman could be spotted roaming around the skies.
Still, Mega Woman actually responds to any threat she could, however, as she never once listened to the government. Her reason? She was an alien.
Threat Level 7 supervillains are considered to be a calamity and require citizens to hide or bunker up until the threat has been completely neutralized. Dark Millenium was on its way to this level, but the Government ordered their quick termination before they could be so.
And lastly...
Threat Level - Darkday.
The whole world will be placed under lockdown and no normal humans or superheroes of Grade-B and below are allowed to go outside their homes or bunkers. Grade-A heroes are not required to engage but are needed to evacuate or protect citizens instead.
Even now, after months and months of Darkday's last appearance, there were still cities that have not recovered from his wake.
As for Sophie, she was considered to be Threat Level 5.
The only reason she was not upgraded to Level 6 was that during her short time with the mask, she did not actively seek to cause mayhem and was content in participating in street-level operations and shady deals. Her powers, however, rivaled that of Grade-S supers.
She had fought many battles, sure– but none that really threatened her life as she escapes before anything drastic happens to her. It was true what she said to Riley, she did fight with 2 members of the Hope Guild before and was able to survive with only a scratch on her.
But this time, she had truly overstayed her welcome and overestimated herself. And so, we are back to...
...Pain.
Sophie was trying her best to not let the shrieking scream escape from her mouth. But still, bits and pieces of it escape. If it was not for the adrenaline she was feeling right now, then she would have already and definitely groveled on the ground from the almost searing pain.
Add to the fact that the one that just severed her hand was smiling at her; slightly biting his lips. If she was trying her best to hold off her screams, then Riley was trying to hold off his laughter.
"Need a hand?"
"You–"
And before Sophie could even finish her words, Riley's laughter finally burst out from inside him. It... was a very weird laugh– chilling. It seemed fake with the short intervals of pause with each sequence, but at the same time, the look on his face clearly says that he was not faking it.
"I apologize, I think it was insensitive of me to tell a joke in this situation, I am still learning the proper timing," Riley's laughter then abruptly stopped as he let out a small but deep sigh,
"It's just that it has been a while since I actively participated in this kind of activity, Miss Sophie. Ever since I retired from being Darkday, my life has been somewhat... lacking. Maybe I should have also told a joke to Mega Woman before I twisted her neck."
"What... the fuck are you?" Sophie stuttered as she asked. Of course, in her mind, the possibility of Riley being Darkday had actually shot through the roof already– telekinesis, clones, and a barrage of different other superpowers?
She would be a fool to deny anything at this point; especially with her life on the line already. At this point, even if her durability was far greater than that of a normal human, since her arm was literally ripped off almost from the shoulder, she was losing too much blood.
She was planning to delay until any other heroes arrive so she could use the chance to escape, but at this point... she would die before that happens.
"I apologize, Miss Sophie," Riley then let out a small sigh as he dropped Sophie's arm on the ground, "I don't really have the ability to attach your arm back. As an apology for my mistake, would you like to become my 3rd Subordinate?"
"No, I– Eh?"
And before Sophie even finished her words, she felt herself suddenly unable to speak as a persisting warm feeling suddenly flowed down her chest. Her remaining hand then slowly made its way to it, only for her to find herself slowly being showered by blood... that was profusely flowing down from her neck.
"I was hoping to at least have you as a guest, but it seems that would not be possible, Miss Sophie," Riley's steps then whispered through Sophie's ears as her legs slowly lost their strength, "But I almost forgot I have a new Warden– I am afraid someone like you would be a threat to him and the other guests...
...You should have accepted my offer to be my 3rd Subordinate."
Sophie then turned to look at Riley; whose eyebrows were currently furrowed. His breaths of disappointment, piercing her ears like knives. She...
...she was just going to ask first what he meant by 3rd Subordinate. She... she should have just said yes without delaying any further.
"I really thought your abilities were beautiful, Miss Sophie," Riley's words then began to slowly fade; turning into a whisper as Sophie's vision started to flicker. She was trying her best to compress the huge slit on her throat, but doing so would choke her even further.
"But Mega Woman seems to be a very possessive individual," Riley chuckled, "I can no longer... grow..."
Is... he still saying something? Sophie's entire body then dropped to the ground; she could feel the warmth of her blood still gushing from her neck as it flowed to her cheek– almost like a... very comfortable pillow.
"Mega... immortal, you see..."
What was he saying? Was this the monologue everyone hears before they die at the hands of supervillains? Did... she also do this?
"...I gain my powers by... now... no one can..."
It's funny. She had always prided herself on being one of the most successful supervillains– as unlike most, she was able to escape from the cage that was her mask. She was leading a good life, perhaps not the most honest one since she was a drug lord... but considering the alternative of what–
And just like that, with her final thoughts that of a looming regret... Sophie Palmer took her last breath.
"..." Riley's words then completely stopped as he stared at Sophie; her purple hair, now almost black as it was soaked in her own blood. And with a small sigh, he just shook his head...
...and left.
***
"Agh! Riley, where have you been!?"
"I was with Sophie, sister."
"Sophie!? Who the... I told you not to talk to strangers!"
Even with the sound of sirens and people screaming, Hannah's voice was still the loudest instrument that echoed through this orchestra of chaos.
"..." Riley then looked around the damage he and Sophie had caused. Buildings turned into rubble, roads completely split in half. It truly was a shame that he was not able to get her on his side– she was also the leader of a large group, she could have taught Riley how to treat his subordinates better.
Truly... such a shame. Riley then shook his head as he wore his sunglasses– his white coat now once again fluttering in the wind. Where and when he changed it, no one knows.
"What are you still standing there for!? Help them!"
"Hm," Riley then nodded as he saw the people being evacuated from the buildings. Riley did not really stay long whenever he brought destruction to the world; he was always gone after the last screams of agony, sometimes even before, as Mega Woman would surely arrive.
But now, seeing his work first-hand. Seeing the people crying... seeing the people work together to help one another... all of their sadness resonating within him. It... made his heart flutter.
He... did all of this? He caused all of this sadness and grief whenever he wreaked havoc?
Why...
...Why didn't he discover this happiness sooner?
***
***
***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
If you want to support this greedy author even further, please do subscribe in my patr*on. patr*on.com/Romeru.. Would be greatly appreciated, I will also have illustrations there in the future.
Chapter 123"That's... That's Waxyman!"
As the dust and ashes were now almost cleared out of the air, the lights of the city and the moonlight once again merged, creating a sort of hazy neon to pester the broken infrastructures– completed by the blinking and rotating red and blue that came from the police vehicles.
"...Waxyman, what kind of stupid name is that?"
There were also a lot more supers and superheroes trying to fix the aftermath of Riley and Sophie's battle. One, in particular, was a super that was currently filling in the cracks of the road with... the wax that was seemingly coming out from his palm.
"...Is he putting wax on the road?" Hannah then squinted her eyes; her tone, slightly perturbed, "How is that even safe? Wouldn't it cause the tires to slip? It would melt with the heat of–"
"Why are you always such a hater!? And what right do you have to say his name is bad when you literally call yourself Nuclear Baby!?" Gary did not let Hannah finish her words as he dropped the large rubble he was carrying, his words almost traveling throughout Miami, "Don't you know that when his wax dries, it would be harder than steel!?"
"I believe big sister Hannah is right."
"What the–" Gary then look behind him, only to see Tomoe passing him by with her quiet whispers, "Just wait 'til you see him covering villains with it! Silv, Silv, where are you!? Back me up here!"
Gary then clapped his hands to try and get Silvie's attention. Silvie, however, only continued to walk while carrying two cars on her shoulders.
"Silv!"
"Oh..." But finally, after one more scream that almost caused Gary's voice to crack, Silvie carefully turned around, "...What was that?"
"..." Gary only looked at Silvie with his eyes squinted, before letting out a sigh as he gestured for Silvie to continue whatever it was she was doing, "It's nothing, carry on with your duties, madam."
"Hm," Silvie just nodded in response. But as soon as she was gone, Gary slowly moonwalked towards Hannah and whispered,
"...Something is wrong with that girl."
"Oh wow," Hannah took in a long and deep breath as her eyes widened in shock, "How did you notice that!? So smart."
"...You–"
"No, but seriously..." Hannah did not let Gary say another word, "I get what you mean. Even our resident stoic is getting worried about her."
"Riley?"
"No, Tomoe," Hannah scoffed, "My brother isn't stoic."
"...What?" Gary then turned to look at Riley, who was currently standing in the middle of the road with his arms stretched to the side while the rubbles, buses, cars, and debris that were safe to move away were floated by him to the trucks– doing it all with his face completely unchanging, not even a hint of sweat.
As for Tomoe, the exhaustion on her face was quite obvious already; letting out small sighs as her eyebrows furrowed from time to time.
"Even Tomoe has more emotions than him," Gary then pointed out.
"What do you mean?" Hannah blinked a couple of times, "My brother's feeling quite happy right now– probably because he gets to use his powers for good or something."
"..." Gary then took another look as he squinted his eyes with intensity. But no matter how hard he tried to see it, Riley's face was just... Riley. As for Tomoe, her exhaustion was reflected from the fumes coming out of her mouth. Of course, she made a huge dome of ice for the medics to tend the wounded in, so that was a given.
"So about Silvie," Hannah then said, "We were hoping to talk to her maybe tomorrow about–"
"You know..." Gary then scratched his chin, "...This got me thinking; why aren't there more healing-type supes? Even in the Academy we only have like 1, right? And he could only heal minor wounds."
"...Maybe you should start helping instead of thinking– it's not really your strong suit," Hannah then rolled her eyes from having her words interrupted.
"Why you gotta do me like that, bruh!?"
And so, with Gary picking up the rubble he placed on the ground, their relief work continued; everyone working together in harmony to ensure no one was trapped inside the ruined buildings or that the said buildings wouldn't collapse post-help.
But after a few more minutes, the whispers of the police started to travel the air. Their voices, carrying a slightly panicked tone as they started running around everywhere; carrying the static that spoke from their radios.
"...What's happening now?" Hannah and the others quickly gathered in one spot– even Riley was asked to join as there were people running around him.
"I overheard them talking about someone from the Hope Guild coming," Tomoe answered.
"...You heard that?" Gary blinked a couple of times, "What are you, some sort of ninja? Wait... I didn't say that because you're half-Japanese, okay? I... I'm not racist."
"...Okay?" Tomoe only squinted her eyes; her tone still monotonous. She did, however, take a small glance at Riley. Of course, she should know these kinds of stuff, it was the least she could do as Riley's Second Subordinate.
She was already getting less and less interaction with Riley for some reason; she wanted to prove her worth. Since a member of the Hope Guild is coming, this was information that Riley should know since he had encountered them before during his time as Darkday.
"..." And as soon as Riley nodded when they met eyes, a small smile quickly crawled on Tomoe's face.
"But the Hope Guild, huh..." Hannah let out a small but deep breath as she looked around the broken walls and roads, "...Destruction of this scale shouldn't warrant the attention of the Hope Guild; does it have something to do with the identity of the two people we saw?"
"Well... they were capable of doing this without moving their fight," Silvie muttered, "They might be of a higher threat than we thought."
"Pft," Gary waved his hand, "If we arrived earlier, I am sure we could have stomped the both of them into smithereens!"
"For once, I agree with you," Hannah scoffed, "Those two bitches should pay for what they've done here– all these people, dead."
"..." Hearing Hannah's words, Riley could only let out a small sigh. As for Tomoe, her eyes slightly squinted as she once again glanced at Riley.
Could the other person be him? She wasn't sure... Riley wasn't telling her anything anymore.
"The police are really... riled up," Silvie said as she took a few steps back to avoid the rushing officers.
"...It's not dad, is it?" Hannah furrowed her eyebrows, "Maybe he–"
"Helicopter, helicopter!"
And with Gary suddenly pointing towards the sky, a loud whirring sound soon reached all of their ears. And soon, the helicopter that Gary was pointing to hovered above them; it quickly went away, however... but not before someone jumped out of it.
"Aw shit!" Gary then stretched his arms, slightly pushing the others away, "Is he going to do it!?"
But alas, contrary to what Gary expected, the man that jumped from the chopper did not land the way he wanted to. Instead, he just landed... normally odd.
Considering the height of his fall, the rubble and ground beneath him should have at least cracked in a way; but it was almost as if he just hopped where he stood, with the white bag he was carrying not even bouncing.
What did bounce, however, were the gazes of the people as their eyes could not help but take a double look at the man's bald head; reflecting the setting moon even brighter than the large knife he had strapped behind his waist.
"It's Butcher..." Gary then took in a small gulp, "So that's why the police are acting the way they are."
"...Why?" Silvie muttered, "Is he that hard to deal with?"
"You could say that," Gary nodded several times, "He is freaky af. I heard he eats people."
"What!? How could someone like that be a hero!?"
"Don't believe everything the idiot says," Hannah could only shake her head as the group continued to watch the scenario in front of them.
Even after touching ground for a few minutes, Butcher still had not talked to anyone; just looking around everywhere as if assessing each corner of the ruined street. But finally, after a few minutes more, he approached the police that were standing by on the sides.
The men in uniform quickly flinched; their heads instinctively turning to the side to avoid Butcher's red, almost glowing eyes. They seemed to be talking about the situation, until finally, as they reached the end of their conversation, the officer pointed at Riley and the group.
Of course, this also caused Gary and the others to slightly flinch.
"Aw shit... he's gonna eat us," Gary loudly whispered as Butcher's steps tread nearer and nearer.
"Shh, shut the fuck up!" Hannah managed to hit Gary in the stomach before Butcher arrived.
"The 5 of you are the students from Mega Academy, correct?" Butcher then said, the tone of his voice completely monotonous.
"W... why are you asking t... th–"
"Yes, sir," Silvie responded before Gary could make the situation trickier than it already is.
"Good job," Butcher nodded, "According to the reports I received, the estimated damage if you have not arrived on the scene the time that you did would be approximately 73.2%"
"...Yes?" The group did not really know how to respond to that as they all just turned to look at each other.
"Thanks... I guess?" Hannah then muttered; her eyes, slightly squinted as she tried to gauge Butcher.
"Hm," Butcher once again nodded in response, before he once again started looking around the area without even saying another word to them.
And so, once again; Silvie, Gary, and Hannah could not help but look at each other. With Riley, Tomoe, and now Butcher... it was as if they were surrounded by robots.
"You reported that there were two individuals who left the scene as soon as you arrived?" Butcher then once again approached the group; the bag that was hanging on his shoulders now in his hands.
"That's right... they flew away before we could–"
"Is this one of them?"
"!!!"
Not only Hannah, but Gary and the others also could not help but take a few steps back as Butcher suddenly pulled something out of the white bag he was holding. Even the police that were meters away from them almost tumbled to the ground as they saw the thing in Butcher's hand.
"I... I... I don't know," Hannah then quickly said before looking away, "We... did not really get the chance to–"
"It... it might be!" Silvie also stuttered as she tried her best to not look away, "She... she has the same hair color, I... I think!"
The two could only let out stutters– how could they not...
...when Butcher was holding a severed head straight to their faces?
Chapter 124"Did... did you kill her?"
Although the nerves of Silvie and the others were still piercing through the roof, she still seemed to have the courage to not look away from Butcher... even as the sultry strands of hair of Sophie's severed head filled in the gaps of his fingers.
Considering that there were still droplets of blood dropping to the ground, the head was still attached to its body just minutes ago– wouldn't that mean that Butcher was inside the helicopter while a severed head was... leaking beside him?
What sort of superhero... is he? Even Tomoe was a bit uncomfortable; still, she did not stray her eyes away, as Riley was also not doing so.
"No," Butcher then shook his head as he looked at Sophie's head, "She was already dead when we found her, I only cut off her head since it would be easier to carry with me."
"...You cut off her head for that?" Hannah slightly raised an eyebrow.
"Only half of her neck," Butcher answered; his tone, still monotonous, "Considering the condition of the tattered flesh on the front side of her neck, there's a 67% chance that it was sliced with a finger– do you see the difference between the cut?"
"..." The others once again could not help but look away as Butcher once again raised the severed head in front of them.
What the fuck is this guy's problem?-- Hanah thought. Who in their right mind would go around dangling a severed head with him and act like it was completely normal?
"Yes. The cut going from the middle to the back of the neck is smooth, Butcher."
"..." Right, they almost forgot their team consisted of Riley Ross.
"I pride myself with my knife skills," Butcher answered as he turned to look at Riley, "The two of you are Whiteking's children, correct?"
"I suppose, Butcher."
"It was wise not to follow this woman and the one she was fighting with," Butcher then nodded as he finally removed the head and returned it to his bag,
"I have fought her before– and although I do not know your strength as a group yet, the chance of one of you dying was at a hundred percent."
"Who... is she?" Hannah finally regained a little more confidence in her words as there was no longer a bleeding head being shoved in her face.
"Sophie Palmer– also known as Lady Divider."
Although Butcher said her name with much conviction, it did not really garner any reaction to any of the group; even Gary, who usually had something to say just shrugged his shoulders in confusion.
He could only look away, as he was doing his best to hold the small laughter that was trying to escape his mouth from seeing Butcher's bald head reflecting the red and blue lights that the police cars were producing.
"She was a low-profile supervillain," Butcher explained as his eyes once again traveled the aftermath of the battle within the nightclub, "But quit her supervillain life to become the boss of a drug syndicate."
"Drug... could it be!?" Hannah looked at Silvie and the others; Was it possible that she was the boss of the men that attacked them? It made sense... why else would they even have the guts to attack supers even knowing their connection with the Academy?
"She was strong enough to rival any of the members of the Hope Guild."
"What!?" And so, finally; Gary, who had been keeping quiet the whole time, could not help but raise his voice, "Someone like that was hiding here!?"
"Why was she not inside the supermax jail?" Silvie muttered.
"You... are Silvie Savelevnia, correct?"
"Y... yes?"
"Then perhaps I was wrong in my assessment," Butcher then let out a sigh– showing just a tiny sliver of expression, "Perhaps all of you could have survived an encounter with her. That is if... the one she was fighting with is a hero."
"The one with the jacket?" Hannah squinted her eyes.
"Did you manage to see his face?"
"No," Hannah looked at the others before they all collectively shook their heads.
"I see," Butcher once again let out a small sigh, "But it truly was the correct decision not to follow them. All of the cameras within the vicinity were destroyed– so whoever Sophie's opponent was, he or she did not want to let anyone know his or her identity. If he were to be hostile to all of you; then based on the aftermath of their battle in the glades...
...the chance of all of you dying was at a hundred percent."
"...What?"
Butcher just told them that Sophie rivaled the members of the Hope Guild... but now they are telling them that the one who killed her was even stronger? Just what kind of monsters are there lurking within the country they were not aware of?
"But none of those matter anymore," Butcher once again shook his head as he turned around, "You children should rest. It is important for people of your age to get enough sleep."
"We... still want to help," Silvie proclaimed.
"Rest," Butcher, however, looked at each member of the Baby Crew one by one, "This is the last time you will be getting enough sleep in this crime infested city; the chance of there not being a crime for the rest of the day is 100%...
...since I am here," and with those words, Butcher once again returned to talk with the police officers.
"...Fuck," Gary took in a small gulp as he watched Butcher's back, "That line... was cool af."
"Should... we really just rest up?" Silvie asked.
"Butcher is right," Hannah let out a small groan of frustration, "If this is how our first day out in the streets end– I am not looking forward to the rest of the week.."
"Let's... help for a few more minutes and let's go," Silvie persisted.
"...No," Hannah, however, grabbed Silvie's wrist before she could walk away, "I think we really need to talk about what's happening to you now, Silv."
"That's..." Silvie looked Hannah straight in the eyes; her breaths, slightly stuttering. But after a few more moments, "...I think I am fine now," she gently pulled her hand away.
"You're not fine, sis," Hannah blocked her path, "You're not alright. We can't let you out there knowing that you might lose your mind at any time."
"I..."
"Let us help you, Silv," Hannah then let out a small but deep sigh as she grabbed both of Silvie's hands, "We are your friends. Please... let us help you."
"..." Silvie's eyes started to tremble as she felt the warmth of Hannah's touch. She turned her eyes towards Gary and the others, only to see their eyes looking at her with... worry. Even Tomoe nodded at her when their eyes met.
She then slightly turned her head towards Riley with a sort of small excitement, only to see him not even looking at her.
"..."
"He cares," Hannah sighed, "He just has his own way of showing it."
"That's–"
"My sister is right, Silvie. I do care about you."
"!!!"
Tomoe was the first to react to Riley's words; her eyes, as wide as they could be for a half-Japanese like her. Was... she going to be replaced as the Second Subordinate!?
"R... Riley?" Gary then took a few steps towards Riley, his voice trembling, "Why... why are you trying to get all of the girls in the Academy!? What do you think this is, Compamon!? You gotta catch them all, is that it!? Why don't you leave some for me!?"
"..." Hannah could only look at Silvie, whose face was starting to turn red. This was not good, Hannah thought. Between Tomoe and Silvie... who would she support for her brother's hand?
"W... what are you saying, bro?" Hannah could not help but almost pinch Riley on the arm.
"I just agreed with you, sister," Riley blinked his eyes a couple of times, "Silvie needs to be herself; if not, then there is no way she could surpass Mega Woman."
"...Oh," and with those words, everyone could only let out sighs– some of relief, and one of slight disappointment,
"Let's...
...just go back and talk about what's happening to Silvie. I'm seeing reporters already, best to avoid them."
"...Right."
Or so they said– but as soon as they reached back to their camp, all of them, except Riley, were sprawled on the floor completely asleep; exhausted from having to move throughout the whole day.
They truly were seriously going to talk about what was happening to Silvie at first; but when Riley mentioned about the shower in the trailer, most of them took turns to wash... before they all fell asleep as soon as they sat inside the dome of ice that Tomoe created.
"..."
"..." A small rustle then whispered in the air as Riley gently removed Hannah's embrace, careful not to wake her up as he stood up; floating in the air instead of walking so as to not make any noise as he left the dome.
The rising sun immediately greeted his silhouette, the orange hue, reflecting on his white figure. He looked around for a few moments, before walking towards his motorcycle that was parked beside the trailer.
"..." He was about to mount it, but before his hand could touch the handlebars, he quickly glanced behind him; only to see Butcher quietly standing there.
"..."
"..."
"...Are you not going to ride it?"
"I was about to practice how to, Butcher," Riley shook his head as he turned around to face Butcher.
"Then let me be quick, Mr. Riley Ross...
...join the Hope Guild as my apprentice."
Chapter 125"..."
"..."
"..."
15 minutes. Riley and Butcher spent a whole 15 minutes in silence after Butcher asked his sudden question. The only sounds that could be heard were the whispering horns and sirens of the waking city.
But finally, after a few more seconds of this somewhat awkward silence,
"I am afraid I have to refuse your offer, Mister Butcher," Riley said no.
"I see," Butcher's disappointed, but still monotonous sigh traveled the air, "I expected that answer; there was a 24% chance that you would reject my invitation."
"I believe it was 0% from that start, Butcher."
"Hm," Butcher could only squint his eyes from Riley's words. And after another bout of awkward silence between the two, Butcher's red, almost glowing eyes landed towards Riley's motorcycle.
"Your father did not teach you how to ride?"
"No."
"Your mother was very good with motorcycles," Butcher muttered.
"..."
"Your biological mother."
"I know who you meant, Butcher," Riley shook his head, "My adoptive mother would not even fathom the idea of touching a motorcycle."
"...Then do you know who your biological mother is?" Butcher squinted his eyes.
"Is it Ms. Phoenix from the Hope Guild?"
"That's..." Butcher's eyes squinted even further from hearing Riley's non-hesitant words, "...Did Whiteking tell you?"
"No, I surmised on my own."
"Then do you know how she died?"
"...No," this time, it was Riley that slightly squinted his eyes as he slightly turned his head towards Butcher.
"Do you want to know?"
"Do you wish to tell me?"
"Join the Hope Guild and you'll know it."
"Then, no."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I see."
Once again, another bout of awkward silence. If it truly weren't for the orchestra of sounds being produced by the city, then the two might as well be inside a movie theatre 30 minutes before the show starts. Thankfully, Butcher did not let the silence last long as he let out a small but deep breath.
"I suppose I should just tell you as a sort of investment," Butcher then said as he closed his eyes, "Ms. Phoenix was killed by your father and some other members of the Hope Guild during that time."
"..." Hearing Butcher's words, Riley's eyebrow slowly started to move; his breaths, momentarily stopping before once again returning to their rhythmic and unfettered drumming.
"You do not need to be so alert," Butcher shook his bald head as his red eyes once again showed themselves, "They had no choice but to do it to save you– Ms. Phoenix was strangling you when you were just 2 years old, If I am to be correct."
"I see."
"You... do not seem to be surprised by this information?"
"I had my suspicions."
"How?" Butcher breathed out.
"Because I inherited her powers."
"...I do not really see how that correlates to you knowing the circumstances of the past," Butcher muttered as he placed his hand on his chin, "But no matter. Do you wish to see where your mother is buried?"
"No, I have no interest in the dead."
"Then–"
"If I were you, I'd get the fuck out of here about 3 seconds ago."
And before Butcher could say another word, the back of his bald head suddenly shone in red. He slowly looked back, only to see Riley's sister with her arms engulfed in a fit of raging flames.
"Stop whatever it is you're trying to do to my brother," she then said as she took a few steps forward.
"...There is no need to be alarmed," Butcher slowly raised his hand in surrender, "I was only hoping to invite your brother into the Hope Guild."
"You already have our father, just scram."
"..." Although the tone of Hannah's voice was quite thuggish, Butcher still did not fail to see her slightly trembling hands. For her to not back down even though she was clearly afraid of him, a small smile slowly crawled on Butcher's face.
"As expected of Whiteking's daughter," Butcher breathed out, "Very well, I will not push this topic any further; The Hope Guild and I owe a lot to your father. Did you know my costume was made by him?"
"I don't care, please go away."
"It keeps my power in check– controllable," Butcher sighed, "Same as yours."
"What the fuck are you on about?" Hannah clicked her tongue, "Just leave us alone."
"Hm," Butcher's smile did not go away as he nodded to Hannah, before once again glancing towards Riley, "If you change your mind, just contact me through your father."
And with those words, Butcher tapped his foot on the ground– and as he did so, his feet started to slide away across the pavement... menacingly.
"W... what the fuck is his problem?" Hannah then let out a long and very deep breath as she rushed to check on her brother, "Are you... are you alright?"
"I should be the one asking you that, sister," Riley said as he looked at Hannah, whose breaths were enough to throw him away.
"Those Hope Guild freaks, I swear," Hannah then shook her arms off of the flames that were still lingering on her sleeves.
"Did I wake you, sister?" Riley then asked, "If that was the case, then I apologize."
"Yeah, you did," Hannah let out another sigh as she stood closer to her brother, "I was just going to sleep again, but then I heard that guy's voice."
"I... see," Riley said as he let out a small sigh; turning his head to the direction where Butcher disappeared to, "Then did you hear what he–"
And before Riley could even finish the words he wanted to say, he felt Hannah's warm arms wrapped around him.
"I am your sister," Hannah then whispered; her words, muffled, but still so very clear, "...Okay?"
"Yes?" Riley could only blink a couple of times as he slightly leaned his head to look at Hannah.
"Whatever that bald guy said, whether it's true or not... Know that mom and dad love you and will never do what that Ms. Phoenix did to you," Hannah breathed out.
"..."
"I love you, okay?"
"I..." Riley's hands slowly made their way to Hannah's back... but dropped before they could reach embrace her.
"I wish I could say the same to you, sister."
And as Riley's words reached Hannah's ears, her embrace became tighter as she let her face be buried on his chest.
"I really do, sister."
"You..." Hannah then let out a small and quiet chuckle as she released her embrace, before gently holding Riley's cheeks; leaning closer as the warmth... of their foreheads touched each other.
"I know," Hannah then said; their breaths, embracing each other.
***
"Silv, what are you doing!?"
"I–"
"Tch. Riley, restrain her for now!"
"W... wait, no–"
And so, once again, with the start of the day begins a new chapter in the Baby Crew's superhero lives. Unlike the first day where they all separated, the group decided they should stick together for now just in case something like what happened the other day happens again.
And right now, they were currently running through the alleyways; the shadows flickering on their faces as the heat of the sun welcomed them again and again with each alley they go and exit through.
They were chasing the supervillain known as Dr. Glutes, who, despite his large hips, could actually run swiftly– agilely weaving through the dumpsters and cars they come across. He could almost be categorized as a Sprinter with the way he was moving... if it wasn't for the fact that his hips were wide and strong enough to scrape the walls like they were made of styrofoam.
"Why are you running!? Why are you running!?" Gary bellowed as he leaped from wall to wall; until finally landing in front of Dr. Glutes.
"Dragon Shoulder of the 8th Tribulation!" Gary then roared as he rammed his shoulder straight to Dr. Glutes's chin.
Unfortunately for Dr. Glutes, the rest of his body was not as strong as his glutes. There was almost a loud crack snapping in the air as his body spun in the air several times before violently dropping on the ground.
"Fuck, Gary! Did you kill him!?"
"No," Gary immediately let out a small scoff... before squinting his eyes and looking at the unconscious Dr. Glutes, "M... maybe half?"
Hannah could only roll her eyes as she crouched to check Dr. Glutes's pulse.
"He's going to be fine, sadly," Hannah then let out a small sigh, before standing up and turning towards Silvie, "Silv... why did you do that? He was about to surrender to us peacefully if you didn't go ape-shit again."
"I–" Silvie's face winced before she could utter a single word; her mind, slowly being filled with a sort of static that almost changed the scenery around her.
Seeing Silvie once again acting up, Hannah could only shake her head with another sigh, "We're taking a break... we've delayed talking about your condition enough already."
"No, we just–"
"Silv, she's right," this time, even Gary held a somewhat somber tone, "I'm just gonna surrender this mofo to the five-Os and meet you back in our base."
"That's..."
And before Silvie could utter another word, Tomoe grabbed her arm.
"..." Seeing everyone seemingly agreeing they all went back, the only thing that Silvie could do was follow the others back to their base of operations– the grocery parking lot.
Back in the Academy, her records were almost flawless; she came out on top of the class even with the regular and normal classes. But more and more... she could feel she was losing it.
And seeing the look on her friends' faces as they stared at her, they could feel it too. And even with the dome of ice encasing them, Silvie could still see the warmth in their eyes.
"Spit it out," Hannah was the first to say something, "What's happening with that pretty brain of yours."
"I... don't really know," Silvie once again repeated the words she had been repeating several times now, "I was fine... right? I was...
...but with everything that's been happening– the Dark Millenium, all the deaths... I've been having dreams."
"...Dreams?"
"Like I'm trapped inside a very small space," Silvie breathed in, "And no matter how hard I tried... I can't escape."
"...Is that why you were screaming the other day inside the pod?" Hannah furrowed her eyebrows.
"...Yes," Silvie nodded.
"..." And with that, there was a sudden pause in the conversation. Hannah didn't really know what to say anymore, she tried to look at Gary, but he just shrugged his shoulders, "You–"
"Can you tell us about your father, Silvie?"
But surprisingly, before any of them could speak again... Riley broke the silence.
"My... father?" Silvie could not help but blink a couple of times as Riley suddenly looked her straight in the eyes, "What does my father have to do with–"
"Have you considered that you might be half-alien, Silvie?"
"...What?"
"What are you saying to her, brother!?"
"Have you ever asked your father if Mega Woman is your mother?"
"....What?"
Chapter 126The earliest memory Silvie could remember of her childhood... was her wanting to play with the other children. She could see them play outside every day, but she could never really join them as her feet were tied to the bed– a way to not hurt herself or the people around her.
She couldn't say that she grew up in a poor family; after all, her father was able to provide her with all the necessities they needed. They also lived in quite a nice neighborhood... posh, even– a private subdivision somewhere in Moscow.
She wasn't able to explore any of it, however. As whenever she wasn't tied up, she was mostly still not allowed to go outside. And if she did, the other children wouldn't really play with her; stopping their games whenever she tries to approach them.
Of course, she didn't really hold any of these against her father– as even though he was awfully strict, the things he did, he always did for her safety. He also never once made her feel like she was alone, as he was always there for her, even taking his work home most of the time.
Her powers... were just too great for a child to hold. She sometimes even feels sorry for her father that he had to put up–
"So, when does Mega Woman arrive in the story, Silvie?"
"Riley! Let her finish the story, what the fuck! And can you dial it down with your obsession with Mega Woman!?"
"...I apologize, Silvie."
"It... it's okay," Silvie could only let out a small chuckle as her story was suddenly interrupted by Riley. She then took a small sip of the Starbeans coffee given to them by the grocery store they were parked at; adjusting her position on the soft blanket placed on the frozen platform.
"As... I told you guys before," Silvie then let out a small sigh as she stared at the fire in the middle of their ice dome– which was probably unnecessary, "My father doesn't really tell me that much about my mother... but I think I might have killed her when I was just a baby. So... sorry, Riley...
...Mega Woman isn't my mother," Silvie chuckled.
"Hm," Riley, however, squinted his eyes as he looked at Silvie from head to toe, "You look like Mega Woman, you have the same powers as her; it would be stranger if the two of you are not related by blood."
"Bro, stop with the Mega Woman theories," Hannah then lightly hit her brother on the chest as she removed her head from Riley's lap and sat up, "A lot of people have the same powers as Mega Woman– even Gary has them in a way, are you saying an idiot like him could be Mega Woman's son?"
"...Why couldn't I be her son?" Gary, whose name was suddenly dragged in the conversation, could not help but squint his eyes and furrow his eyebrows, "My greatness alone should put me in the same–"
"Jesus, everyone... just let the girl finish her story."
"What the... you're the one still talking!"
"What did you–"
"Ahem."
And before the two could start another insult war, Tomoe let out a small cough, loudly clearing her throat to get their attention.
"S... sorry," Hannah then quickly composed herself as she returned to her brother's side, resting her head on his shoulder, "Continue your story and ignore us."
"Pft," Silvie could not help but chuckle as she saw her friends trying their best to listen to her. Her chuckle, however, soon turned into a smile... eventually becoming only a sigh.
"Mega Woman isn't my mother," Silvie then said as she grabbed her phone that was resting beside her, "I actually have pictures of her, you guys want to see?"
And of course, everyone nodded their heads.
Silvie quickly unlocked her phone, opening the gallery for a few seconds before passing it to Hannah and Riley; Gary was going to snatch it at first, but Hannah quickly slapped his hand away.
The only thing that Gary could do was sigh as he stood up from the cold floor and walked behind Hannah; Tomoe also did the same.
"This... is your mother?" Hannah then said as she zoomed in on the woman beside a young Silvie and a man who they could only assume to be his father; they haven't really seen him even once in person although he was already in the Academy.
And to Riley's disappointment, the woman in the photo truly was not Mega Woman. It was just... a woman. And although she held a small similarity to Silvie, she just looked... common, in a way.
"You... seem really disappointed, Riley," Silvie could not help but chuckle as she heard Riley's quiet sighs all the way from where she was sitting.
"Only a little, Silvie," Riley muttered as he looked to nowhere in particular, "It still does not change the fact that you are the nearest person that could grow to be the next Mega Woman."
"That's... thank you," Silvie could only take a sip of her coffee as her face slightly turned red, "But... even if I don't become like her, I... do really want to help people. I want to save as many humans as I possibly can before I die...
...I owe at least that to my mother."
"She... looked really nice," Hannah then breathed out as she continued to scan Silvie's photos. Looking at them like this, they just looked like any other family. But as Hannah continued to swipe her fingers, soon, Silvie's mother could no longer be seen in the photos– a reminder that life continues on even after your loved ones disappear in your life.
"..." Hannah then let out a small sigh before deciding to return the phone back to Silvie; but before she could do so, Tomoe grabbed her wrist.
"Can you... let me see more?"
"..." Hannah blinked a couple of times. She then looked towards Silvie, who gestured that it was okay. And so, with her permission, Hannah gave the phone to Tomoe, who immediately started zooming in on the photos.
"..."
"..."
"These photos..." Tomoe then muttered as she looked at Silvie, "...When did you first have them?"
"I don't remember... maybe when I was 11 or 12?"
"...I think there's something wrong with them," Tomoe then squinted her already small eyes as she once again focused on the photos.
"What do you mean?" Hannah furrowed her eyebrows as she leaned closer to Tomoe, only to see her zoom in on Silvie's mother's hand.
"...What's wrong with it?" Hannah also squinted her eyes as she tilted her head.
"It's edited," Tomoe then said without any hesitation.
"...What?" And as soon as her words reached Silvie's ears, she immediately stood up from her seat and also huddled with the group; almost slipping on the icy platform as her curiosity was slowly turning into anxiety.
"W... what do you mean it's edited?" Silvie inserted her head amongst the group.
"Although it is truly finely made, you could still see the difference between the lighting and the shadow," Tomoe explained as she pointed at the edges of the hand.
"...I don't see it," Gary breathed out as he also leaned closer to the phone, "...How do you even see something like this when your eyes are so small?"
"..." Tomoe glared at Gary for a small second, before letting out a sigh and focusing back on the photo, "I... used to edit myself in photos with Darkday."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Okay, that's not creepy at all," Hannah then broke the silence before it could become even more awkward than it already is; grabbing the phone from Tomoe's hand and zooming even further on the photos,
"Are you sure? I mean... it looks legit," Hannah sighed as she started flipping through the photos once again, "How about this one?"
"I think it is edited as well," Tomoe said as she once again grabbed the phone back from Hannah, "You see the lines? It's different..."
Tomoe then started explaining all the intricate details involved in the photo for almost a quarter of an hour. And with each passing second, Silvie's eyebrows furrowed lower and lower.
Hannah, who noticed this, made Tomoe stop explaining before gently placing her hands on Silvie's shoulders, "...You okay?"
"This–"
"You do not need to think too much about it, Silvie," Tomoe let out a small sigh as she returned Silvie's phone to her, "I could be wrong."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence then surrounded the dome of ice as Silvie began checking the photos; her eyes slowly starting to turn red as she lightly bite her lip.
"If... if these photos are fake... then wouldn't that mean that–"
"Your father is hiding something from you," Hannah breathed out, "Seriously, don't let this get too much to you, just ask him."
"But... why would he even fake the photos–"
"Maybe because your mother is Mega Woman, Silvie?"
"That's..."
"Riley, stop with your goddamn theories already!"
"...I don't know, man," Gary let out a small but deep breath as he placed his hand on his chin, "He might actually be on to something here."
"Don't add, Gary!"
"It... it can't be, right?"
"Silv... it's–" Hannah wanted to say something, but as she saw the look of somber despair on Silvie's face, the only thing she could do was look to the side. He and her brother were probably the least credible person here to talk about family issues, as besides some minor and petty arguments, her situation... was pretty normal compared to the others.
"If... if these photos aren't true... wouldn't that mean my whole life is a lie?" Silvie's stutters started to fill the entire dome; her weak whispers, almost piercing through everyone's ears,
"But... it still doesn't explain why I have all these headaches; I keep losing myself further and further just... who am I, then?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Ack, fuck it," Hannah then suddenly opened a bottle of beer and chugged it, "There's actually something that's been bothering me with your story."
"...What?" Silvie could not help but blink a couple of times as Hannah suddenly changed her tone.
"I don't know if I'm just stupid or what... but you unlocked your powers immediately after you were born, right? That's why your father tied you in bed in the first place."
"...Yes?"
"Do you remember ever trying to escape? I mean, you were a child... surely you would have?"
"I... I think so?"
"And how many times have you destroyed your bed?"
"...I don't... remember having done so."
"How strong is that bed to keep you there– Ack, never mind. These conspiracy theories are getting to my head," Hannah then scratched her head as she groaned in frustration, "Please ignore what I said, I'm getting infected by my brother."
"That's..." Silvie stared at Hannah for a couple of seconds; her eyes, as wide as they could be. She was about to say something else, but before she could do so, she felt a sharp pain suddenly crawl through her head; almost as if her mind was inside a blender.
A small thud then whispered in the air as she let go of her phone; the small crack, however, was quickly drowned by a shrilling scream.
"K... Kgrah!"
"Silv!?"
Bubbles. Water. Footsteps. Whispers.
Silvie's body was completely straight, her head, completely leaning back as her screams abruptly stopped; the whites of her eyes, completely exposed as all sorts of whispers escaped from her mouth. Indiscernible, but constant.
"The... the power of Christ compels you!" Gary said as he slightly took a step back, "W... what in the exorcist fuck is going on, guys!?"
"W... what is it, Silv!?" Hannah wanted to help her up, but at this point, it might end up with them both being hurt, "Riley, restrain her but don't hurt her!"
"Hm," Riley quickly flicked his finger downwards, causing the ice platform beneath them to crack all the way through to the parking lot's pavement as Silvie's knees dropped to the ground.
"I told you not to hurt–"
"Ghah!"
And before Hannah could even finish her words, Silvie's loud gasp drowned the entire dome. Her eyes, finally back to normal.
"Silv, you alright!?"
"I... I saw someone," Silvie's breaths were ragged, mixing with gasps as she tried to calm her body down, "I... I don't know if they are memories but... I recognize someone."
"Is it Mega Woman, Silvie?"
"N... no," Silvie squinted her eyes as she turned her head towards Riley and Hannah, "It's...
...It's your father."
Chapter 127"I… I recognize someone…
…your father."
"...What?"
Both Hannah and Riley looked at each other as soon as they heard Silvie's words. Even Gary, who they expected to say something quippy, currently had his mouth completely shut.
"What do you mean you saw our father?" Hannah breathed out as still glanced at Riley from time to time; her face, showing her confusion, "You met with dad before?"
"I… I don't know," Silvie gently touched her head; squinting her eyes and trying her best to remember the visions she saw, "But… there were other people there as well. My father… was there too; the others… were all just a blur."
"...When do you think this was? Maybe it's a memory?"
Hearing Hannah's words, Silvie could only shake her throbbing head once more, "I… really don't know."
"..."
"..."
"Well…" Hannah then rolled her lips repeatedly with a long and deep sigh, before helping Silvie up,
"...There's no use contemplating. We should just get our fathers in one place and ambush them with questions."
"That's… I don't think I can just call my father–"
"Then I'll let dad force him," Hannah let out a small scoff, "Let's do it after we're done with this city… and if dad doesn't want to, I'll just tell mom that he's harassing a student."
"..." Silvie then slightly took a few steps back as Hannah started laughing… menacingly.
"Y… yeah," Silvie stuttered, "Let's… let's do that," she then smiled. But it was obvious from her trembling lips that she was trying to force herself to be okay, and everyone could see it.
She would probably get worse and worse if they couldn't solve whatever was happening to her immediately; however, right now, the only thing they could really do was let out a collective sigh; their breaths, almost enough to melt their base of operations.
"You're… going to be alright, Silv."
Surprisingly, Gary was the first to break the sordid breaths as he looked Silvie straight in the eyes, "We… will always be here for you."
"...Thank you," Silvie nodded.
"And since Riley could smack you whenever you're doing your exorcism shit, I guess everything's fine," Gary then followed as he burst out in laughter. He almost seemed cool for a second there… but Gary is Gary, they all thought.
But still, he did have a point– Silvie pondered as she turned to look at Riley; although he probably doesn't know it, she considered Riley to be the first one to believe in her. She chose her name because of Riley in the first place.
He believed that she was capable of becoming like Mega Woman– and maybe that's all the matters.
"Whatever happens from now on…" Silvie then muttered as she looked at her Baby Crew members, "...I still want to do my best to help people."
"That's good…
…Now bring out the alcohol!" Gary then suddenly crouched on the ground, and when he stood up, his hands were already holding a couple of bottles of alcohol.
"To 5 more of these nights!" Gary bellowed as he raised a bottle, "Let's capture more bad guys!"
"Where did you even get that!?"
"...The grocery gave it to me… for free," a confident smirk slowly crawled on Gary's face, "They just had me post a photo with it on my social media accounts."
"...You're becoming a slave of capitalism."
"As long as they give me free stuff, I'll even change my name to Capitalism Monarch!" Gary then said as he opened one of the bottles and started drowning himself with it, wagging his tongue as he let the contents of the bottle fall onto his mouth.
"...Should we really be drinking every night?" Tomoe, who had been keeping quiet on the side, let out a small sigh… before quietly grabbing a bottle of soju for herself.
Seeing her friends merrily laughing and dancing, mostly only Gary, Silvie once again could not help but force out a smile as she watched them. But soon, a hint of truth slivered its way towards her smile.
Her friends were here to support her all the way– she was lucky enough to have that.
"Your origin doesn't really matter that much, Silvie."
"...Riley?"
Silvie was about to join the others with their small party, but before she could do so, she heard a whisper crawl from behind her. She turned around, only for her heart to slightly skip a beat as soon as she saw Riley smiling at her.
"It doesn't matter if Mega Woman is your mother, Silvie," Riley muttered as he looked Silvie straight in the eyes, "I will make sure you become as great as her in the future…
…and I'll hold your heart in my hand tightly."
"W… what are you saying?" Silvie could not help but take in a small gulp as her face almost turned into a tomato with how red it was, "You… you already have Scarlet Mage."
"You are different, Silvie," Riley sighed, "I could do things with you that I can not with her."
"I… S… Stop it!" Silvie covered her face before finally rushing away to join the others.
"What the… why is your face so flushed when you haven't even had a drink yet!?"
"J… just give me one!" Silvie violently grabbed one of the bottles from Gary's hand; she was about to chug it down, but glanced at Riley before she did so.
And seeing Riley still smiling at her… the only thing she could do was smile back.
I'll hold your heart and crush it while hearing you scream– were Riley's thoughts. But as she saw her sister smiling and hopping around with Silvie, he could not help but shake his head.
If he killed Silvie… wouldn't his sister become sad?
Riley then let out a small sigh as he left the others and stepped out of the ice dome; his blue eyes, quickly looking towards the stars that still stood proudly even amidst all the cloud of pollution trying to hide their luminescence.
"Mega Woman…" He then whispered, "In the end… it's only you and me. Please…
…Please come back."
And soon, Riley's blue eyes flickered; and like some sort of whirlpool, the color of his slightly faded into a pink hue, "Come back, Mega Woman…
…Or I will be forced to find the rest of your kind."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"One of them came out, it's Whiteking's son."
And while Riley was contemplating his life, silhouettes blended in the shadows– watching from a building that had a clear view of the Baby Crew's base.
"Should we strike?"
"No, not yet," a man then stepped out of the shadows, revealing his face that was filled with scars, "We need to properly send a message if we want to be taken seriously."
"...Are you sure, boss? I think this is the best time to strike."
"They still have 5 days in Miami, we'll have many more chances to strike," the man with a scar let out a small scoff as he looked at Riley's silhouette, "Let's do it with a blast and show the world…
…that Miami has a new boss."
***
"Thank you… thank you!"
"It's no problem, ma'am. But maybe… don't walk through dark alleys with this kind of fancy bag in the future?"
In the center of what seemed to be a plaza, Silvie was trying her best not to let out a sigh as handed a bag embroidered with gold to an old woman– the very same old woman who had her bag stolen the first day they were in Miami.
All of the members of the Baby Crew were also there, as they decided not to split up for the duration of their stay.
"...What?" The old woman then suddenly changed her thankful tone; her voice turning cold as she glared at Silvie,
"Isn't that what you heroes are for!? To keep me safe!? I swear, all these young people are so entitled these days," the old woman cried out as she grabbed her bag from Silvie's hand, before walking away while wagging the cane she had on her other hand.
"That's…"
"What the, don't let me catch you here again or I will rob you myself!" Hannah, who was standing behind Silvie, could not help but raise both her middle fingers as she watched as the old woman continued to complain as she walked away.
"N… Nuclear Baby, there are people watching!" Silvie quickly pushed down Hannah's hands.
They were in the middle of the plaza; garnering the attention of the people was already a given fact. But they have been in Miami for 5 days now, and still, the people seemed to not get tired of them as they tried to meet and take photos of them whenever they passed by.
"Tch, enough about that old hag," Hannah coldly said; her face, however, had a warm smile as she looked at the people taking photos of her, "You seem to be doing well."
It's been 3 days since their talk and Silvie's mental health seemed to have improved; not even once losing herself even with all the crimes that were happening all around Miami.
"It's true what they say," Gary, who was busy waving his hands to the people, stepped closer to Hannah, "You just need people to talk to and you'll be fine and dandy… maybe I'll become a therapist if all this superhero shit doesn't work out."
"Pft."
"W… what the!? What's so funny?" Gary could not help but furrow his eyebrows as Tomoe quietly let out a small snicker behind him; however, as soon as he turned his head, her face was already completely stoic.
"You, a therapist?" Hannah scoffed, "I think a terrorist would be more–"
"!!!"
And before Hannah could finish her words, she felt a sharp pain in her arm as Gary suddenly pushed her away.
"W… what, I was fucking joking!" Hannah bellowed, "Why did you–"
Hannah was about to ask why Gary suddenly became violent; her question, however, was answered by a loud thud.
"..." Hannah then blinked a couple of times as her eyes slowly turned to the ground where her feet were previously resting, only to see a mangled body of a man sprawled there. The man's face, filled with scars– the man that was watching their group from afar.
"..."
And so, not only Hannah, but all of the people in the plaza all turn their heads towards the sky. They squint their eyes due to the rays of the sun threatening to blind them, of course– but still, the silhouettes that were falling from the air did not escape their sight.
And even as several bodies began dropping; the crowd's disbelief made their feet completely locked in place, their heads still turned upwards.
Wet laundry– the sound of wet laundry dropping on the ground. Perhaps that was the best description they could come up with to explain the disgusting thud that whispered into their ears.
"What… the fuck is happening?" Hannah then took in a deep breath; she was about to look at the scenery of death around her, but before she could do so, she noticed that a silhouette remained floating in the sky– refusing to fall.
"Isn't that…" Hannah's breaths then completely stopped as the silhouette slowly descended; becoming clearer and clearer; or perhaps it was better to say… that their situation was becoming darker.
"...Darkday?"
Chapter 128"Is… Is that Darkday?"
And with those single set of words, a chilling silence followed.
A chill. A certain chill that even the scorching rays that rained from above were almost completely ignored by the skins it touched upon. The heat of Miami, almost non-existent as an orchestra of vibrations whispered in the air– an orchestra of hopeless trembles.
The people's feet were almost a choir; the shivering of their limbs in harmony as a black-clad individual slowly descended from the skies.
Ever so slowly, it made its way down to the crowded plaza; as if the final sand inside an hourglass– an hourglass called life.
The individual's suit was completely dark, with even the rays of the sun failing to light up its silhouette; no reflections, no luster. Almost like a void in the shape of a human– a black hole that threatened to swallow them whole.
And soon, from the crowd of people, a pair of knees met with the ground in reckless abandon; giving up all hope. Some even started to hug their sons and daughters; crying, comforting, accepting their fate.
And soon, the black silhouette landed on the ground ever so softly. But for the people, the moment its feet touched the ground was the drum that signaled the end of their lives.
This was the effect of the calamity known as Darkday to the people.
Threat Level - Darkday... There were no people running for their lives, not even a beg nor a call for mercy. Everyone just held their breaths, waiting for their deaths to come.
But amongst all the halted breaths, there were two that fluttered differently– Tomoe and Riley. Even Hannah, Gary, and Silvie could not help but hold their breaths… but still, even with their trembling legs, they did their best to stand tall.
"E… eliminate…"
Hannah and Gary's eyes, however, quickly widened as they heard a whisper suddenly escaping from Silvie's mouth.
"F… fuck," Hannah gritted her teeth, "N… not now, Silv… please, not now."
It took all of Hannah's strength for her to glance at Silvie, only to see her eyes once again moving erratically, "F… fuck you, Silv."
3 days. 3 days of Silvie not even acting up even once… and now she chose to go psycho in front of Darkday!?-- Hannah could not help but wince at the thought. Fortunately, contrary to her expectations, Silvie's eyes quickly flickered back to normal.
Silvie then quickly shook her head as a look of silent despair once again filled her face; perhaps the sheer fear was enough to bring her back.
It was the same for the people– their fear had completely shadowed everything else that they were feeling. Even completely forgetting the fact that there were several people that fell from the sky, currently sprawled on the ground with their bones protruding from their skin.
But why would they even care… if they were going to join them in a little while?
"..."
And soon, it started to walk; its steps almost caused the hearts of the people to follow its beat. It continued to walk, only stopping its steps as it was a few meters away from the Baby Crew.
Its jet-black helmet, turning to face Silvie.
"!!!" Silvie's whole body began to tremble as her breaths once again completely stopped… but once again, even so, she did not stray her eyes away from the apocalypse in front of her. Did… it want something from her?
If so… then she would gladly give herself if it means saving all the others. Silvie then, without any hesitation, lifted her foot to walk forward. But before her foot could even land back to the ground, the calamity shifted its gaze towards Riley.
"!!!"
Everyone then flinched as it slowly moved its hand, pointing at the mangled corpse of the scarred man in front of it. And soon, a monotonous, almost robotic voice vibrated in the air.
"This man and his group wished to harm you and your group, Riley Ross. I took care of them as an offering– I wish for you to join me."
"Join… what?"
And as soon as the black-clad individual's words reached their ears, Hannah quickly blocked Riley from its view.
"F… fuck you, Darkday," Hannah then breathed out; her teeth almost chattering as her jaws began to tremble, "Stay… stay away from my brother!"
"..."
"You… you think I care about who the fuck you are!?"
"I have no intention to harm anyone… now or even in the past. That was never the intention of my organization."
"Or… ganization?" Hannah slightly squinted her eyes, "Wait, you're not–"
And before Hannah could even finish her words, a roaring thunder reverberated through the air. The black-clad individual turned its head to the noise, but before it could do so, a glistening shadow dived through its position.
A crevice then began to crawl across the ground as the black-clad individual's body rolled several times through it.
"W… what?"
Hannah then turned her head towards where the black-clad individual was previously standing, only to see a familiar figure now standing there instead– Empress, her long white hair fluttering still slowly flowing down towards her skin.
"Tempo, evacuate all the civilians!"
And halfway through Empress's roars, the crowd soon disappeared one by one. There was a sort of echo in the air, as if a skipping stone hitting a lake of ice; the echo was partnered with a fading black blur.
"What the…"
"You kids should get out of here while you still can," Empress then turned her attention towards the Baby Crew, the rings on her arms dangling as she gestured for them to leave,
"It's too dangerous to stay here," she then said, "We still don't know what the leader of the Dark Millenium is capable of."
"Leader… so it really wasn't Darkday?" Hannah then let out a long and very deep breath as her conjecture was confirmed. She and the others already had a guess that it wasn't Darkday when it mentioned something about an organization.
"No," Empress shook her head, "We've been tracking her down for quite–"
And before Empress could even finish talking; a fist suddenly appeared right in front of her cheek. It was extremely fast, perhaps even a blink. But for the Baby Crew, it was as if they were seeing it in slow motion as Empress's face met with the Dark Millenium leader's fist.
And with a snap, time once again went back to normal as Empress was thrust straight back to the skies, leaving a small crater down below like some sort of rocket.
"Riley Ross," the Dark Millenium Leader then once again stretched her hand towards Riley, "Join the Dark Millenium– I saw you during your trial… you know first-hand how they treat beings like us; beings who seem to not belong anywhere. Together…
…I know we can save this rotten world."
"N… not good, guys," Gary then whispered. Now that they know that the individual in front of them wasn't truly Darkday, a sliver of confidence once again revived within all of them, but still…
"We should probably run."
"We… we should help them," Silvie breathed out.
"No," Hannah quickly shook her head, "This fucker seems to be intent on taking my brother with her… I'm not letting that happen, you guys take escape with my brother."
"What!? We're not going to leave you beh–"
And before Silvie could finish her words, another thunder erupted through the air as Empress once again landed to the ground, this time right in front of the Baby Crew; she was then followed by another silhouette, standing beside her as he waved his hands at Hannah and the others.
"It's… It's Tempo," Gary took in a small gulp, his phone suddenly already on record.
"When 'til the others get here?" Empress muttered, her eyes not leaving the Dark Millenium's leader even for a single second.
"...Now."
And as soon as Tempo said that, a whisper whistled in the air.
"..." The Dark Millenium Leader swiftly tilted her body to the side, avoiding the glint that suddenly carved its way down through her arms.
"..." The Dark Millenium Leader then slowly turned her head to the side, only to see Butcher's knife and bald head reflecting the rays of the sun. The Dark Millenium Leader then quickly grabbed Butcher's bald head, only for her fingers to just slide away from it, as if she touched the surface of a melting ice, but dry.
This seemed to not perplex the Dark Millenium leader, however, as she quickly stomped her foot on the ground and slammed her entire body towards Butcher. But instead of rolling to the ground or flying away, Butcher's body just slid across the ground as if it was the smoothest thing in the world.
"Die!"
The Dark Millenium did not get any time to rest, however, as a pair of clasped grey-colored hands suddenly threatened to slam through her head from above. Hera's expression, showing that she was completely out for blood.
The Dark Millenium Leader, however, was able to grab Hera's arms; swiftly rotating her body and using Hera's own momentum to slam her to the ground… instantly causing the ground to split.
"Fuck, get us out of here, Riley!"
And as soon as Hannah's words reached Riley's ears, he slightly raised his hand– along with it, him and the members of the Baby Crew.
"..." Riley and the Dark Millenium looked at each other as he continued to float away– she seemed to want to follow him, but with the members of the Hope Guild keeping her grounded, it would seem there was no chance for them to meet.
"H… holy shit!" Gary's stuttered bellows then quickly traveled through their ears.
The plaza was completely ruined; a huge crater completely replaced it. And Miami, which was full of life just moments ago, was now seemingly completely devoid of people– even the cars were empty, their doors open as Tempo did not really have the luxury to close them as he evacuated everyone.
"This…
…this is what Grade-S Supers are capable of?"
Chapter 129"This... is what Grade-S supers are capable of?"
Gary's words trembled ever so clearly with the wind, even as it snapped several times in the air around them. With them being high up in the sky, they had a clear view of the effect the Grade-S supers had on the terrain– and they weren't even getting started yet.
With the Villains' Threat Levels, there was also a corresponding hierarchy for Superheroes and Supers; both of which work together to create some sort of measure that the people could understand, albeit somewhat a slightly complicated system.
All Class-S Superheroes are Grade-S Supers, but not all Grade-S Supers are Class-S Superheroes; after all, some just wished to live a normal life despite their countenance– while some fall into petty crime, in which case, they get a Threat Level indicating that they were a villain.
F, E, D, C, B, A, and S. Both Supers and Superheroes were separated by these tiers.
Sophie Palmer, the drug lord that reigned over Miami, was a Grade-S Super; but due to her inactivity and careful use of powers, her Threat Level was only that of a 5 instead of the maximum a supervillain could achieve, Threat Level 7.
Scarlet Mage was considered to be a Grade-A Super, and also a Class-A Superhero due to her feats and willingness to help people.
But in either case, whether Superhero or Supervillain– Grade-S Supers were capable of colossal feats... and also colossal destruction if they wanted to.
Of course, there were also Mega Woman and Darkday, both of whom had a category solely tailored for them.
"Why... why are we going down!?"
Hannah's loud whispers then reverberated in the air as Riley, who was supposed to float them away from the situation, slowly descended them towards the roof of a building instead.
"Riley, let's go! What are you playing at!?" Hannah's slightly frustrated and annoyed words lingered in the air as all of their feet landed on the roof almost at the same time, "We don't have time to–"
"You should watch, sister."
And before Hannah could finish her complaints, Riley interrupted her as he pointed towards the plaza that was now directly in their view.
"Watch? What do you mean watch? Let's go!"
"Someday, the real Darkday will return," Riley seemed to ignore his sister, however, as his eyes remained looking at the plaza where the Hope Guild and the Dark Millenium Leader could be seen seemingly talking to each other,
"He will be even more ruthless than this fake Darkday– he will be stronger," Riley continued, "And you might be the once that would be facing him. You need to be able to fight for you to survive...
...and maybe even defeat him, sister."
Riley looked his sister straight in the eyes, before slightly glancing towards Silvie, who quickly stood up straight in response. However, unlike with his sister, Riley did not say anything to her, causing her to feel slightly disappointed.
The only thing that Silvie could do was let out a sigh as she turned her focus on the plaza, which was in clear view from the rooftop building they landed on.
"...Let's just go," Hannah shook her head, "We're too far to see anything anywa–"
But before Hannah could finish her words, the words Baby Crew suddenly emerged in front of her as their trailer truck also joined them on the rooftop.
"..." Riley then flicked his finger, and as soon as he did so, several boxes floated from the trailer; opening up to reveal the huge screens they contained. And soon, there was a set-up of floating monitors surrounding them.
The monitors then all lit up one by one, showing the situation happening in the plaza as clear as day.
"S... shit," Gary's stuttered and excited breaths echoed in the air as he raised his phone, continuing to record what was happening without fail, "This... this would definitely increase my sub count."
Hannah still did not approve of them watching the fight... but seeing everyone else seemed to want to stay, the only thing she could do was let out a small but deep sigh.
"..."
But after a few more seconds, she shook her head.
"No," she then muttered, "Let's leave. The Dark Millenium risked getting into the Hope Guild's radar just for a chance to invite Riley to join her dead organization, I can't risk my brother's safety just for a fucking tutorial crash course on how to defeat an overwhelming enemy."
"..."
"Let's pack up," Hannah continued as no one seemed to refute her words, "We've done what we can to help the people of Miami, but we are not in any way equipped or ready to tackle something... like this."
"..." Riley looked at his sister for a couple of seconds, before letting out a very tiny sigh as the monitors all quickly went back from where they came, straight inside the trailer.
"Welp, Boss' orders," Gary then let out a sigh; trying his best to zoom in on the situation below.
"What? I'm not anyone's boss!" Hannah rolled her eyes, slightly groaning in annoyance from Gary's words, "Let's... Let's just go."
And with those words as their signal, the rest of the members of the Baby Crew all nodded as they returned to the truck.
"..."
"..."
"..."
They forgot one crucial thing, however– they were on top of the building.
"R... Riley," Hannah then awkwardly cleared her throat as she asked Riley to float them away from the battle. Their heads then all bobbed as the truck ever so gently lifted from the roof; however, not even a couple of meters away from it, the Dark Millenium leader suddenly appeared right in front of their view.
Her jet-black helmet, facing Riley even as he was inside the truck,
"Riley Ross..." The Dark Millennium leader then muttered, "Join–"
But one again, her words were cut short as an object suddenly rammed its way through her side, instantly plunging her straight to the ground. And even though everything happened so fast, the Baby Crew still caught sight of what kind of object threw the Dark Millenium Leader away– a white rocket.
And if their hunch was right, that rocket should have the initials W and K embedded on it. They did not have to keep the guessing game going, though, as Whiteking truly did appear a few seconds after; floating where the Dark Millenium Leader was before she was rammed by his huge white rocket.
"D... dad."
"You kids go back to the Academy," the bursts of flames coming out from Whiteking's suit slightly sputtered as he flew in front of the truck; tapping its hood as he gestured from the Baby Crew to leave,
"Your activity here is done, good job. I am proud of all of you."
"W–"
And before anyone could muster up a response, a loud thunder roared through the skies as Whiteking flew away. The Baby Crew was not even done processing what was happening, before another silhouette flew by them, another member of the Hope Guild– V.
"It's Whiteking Lite!" Gary quickly bellowed as he once again raised his phone. He, however, quickly removed it as soon as the mecha suit suddenly stopped flying and turned towards their direction.
"Who said that!?"
"L... Let's go, fly us away, Riley!" Gary then tapped the seat in front of him several times, "V doesn't like it when you call her Whiteking Lite!"
"Then why did you call her that!?"
***
"..."
"You are surrounded from all sides, terrorist."
Back in the plaza, a small part of the already ruined ground trembled; the Dark Millenium leader, burrowing herself free as she pushed away Whiteking's huge rocket which pinned her down through the ground.
She then patted her jet-black suit, which was now showing a little bit of her skin as they were tattered in all different places– and even from afar, one could recognize all the scars that she had in her body.
There were, however, no open wounds– indicating that she was still unscathed all throughout the exchange.
"...Are we sure she isn't really Darkday?" V's voice reverberated through the mouth of her mecha suit; trickles of green electric webs, escaping from the slight openings of her suit.
"Yes," Butcher was the one to answer her, "If she was, then one of us would have died already; also, the chance of Darkday being male is at 92%"
"I don't care if she's Darkday or not," Hera, who seemed to also be unscathed even though her entire body created the crater they were all standing on as the Dark Millenium Leader slammed her through the ground, cracked her grey knuckles, "She's going down to–"
"Why hunt us down?"
And before Hera could finish her words, the Dark Millenium leader suddenly spoke, "You slaughtered my people– we were striving to save this rotten world."
"Save this rotten world?" Empress scoffed, "You're a terrorist. Do you know how many people your organization has killed? You caused 7 planes to crash just to prove a point."
"That was not our doing."
"The several helmets we discovered in the scene says otherwise."
"...Helmets?"
"Exactly the same as what you're wearing now," Empress scoffed, "All the planes...
...had the mark of the Dark Millenium in them."
Chapter 130"All the planes had the mark of the Dark Millenium in them– the exact same helmet you are wearing now. If anything...
...you sent a message, and we heard it loud and clear."
Although the people already had an idea of who the perpetrator was, the Dark Millenium's involvement with the Seven Planes was kept in wraps– the news about there being multiple helmets found on the scene was kept hidden.
And so, as soon as Empress's words reached the Dark Millenium Leader's ears, she could not help but slightly take a small step back. The death of the students in Toronto, as well as the Seven Planes– was there someone that was deliberately messing her organization?
She first thought that one of the Days had been going around her back... but was there actually a 3rd party involved?
"I see," the Dark Millenium Leader's robotic voice then vibrated from her helmet, "Someone has been setting us up."
"Pft."
A high-pitched whirring sound then whistled in the air as V's mecha suit opened up, revealing her face that already had a smirk plastered on it; her eyes, causing trickles of green lightning to emerge whenever it moved.
"For a terrorist group that kidnapped children, you sure are high on that horse, you Dark Millenium bitch."
"Back off," Dark Millenium carefully raised her hand towards V, "I do not wish to fight the heroes who might one day stand with me to fight the greater evil that is coming to this world."
"You're quite delusional, aren't you? Now that you're surrounded, you're quite meek."
"Delusional?" A small robotic harrumph escaped from Dark Millenium's helmet, "I could crush you if I wanted to, girl."
"You–"
"Enough talk!"
And before V could even retort, a small thunder erupted in the air as the ruined ground beneath them slightly trembled; Hera's solid fist, once again heading straight towards Dark Millenium's head.
Dark Millenium, however, only raised her arms to block Hera's fist, causing her feet to instantly burrow through the ground, creating a crevice as they plowed the pavement as if it was sand. She continued to slide through the pavement, even the walls of the building were enough to stop her momentum; creating a huge hole as she went straight through it.
"Hera, do not go alone!" Empress waved her hand, "Keep the damages to the city to a minimum!"
"Minimum!?" Hera roared, "You think that's possible!? This Darkday copycat is stronger than we thought!" She then said as she leaped straight towards the hole that Dark Millenium created.
"Do not engage– Tch," the only thing that Empress could do was click her tongue, before turning her attention towards Tempo, "Has she taken her meds!?"
"There is a 100% chance that she has not."
"Pft, she's always like that."
"She has, Empress," Whiteking proclaimed.
Tempo, on the other hand, only shrugged his shoulders before disappearing from his spot; running to the inside of the building to quickly check on Hera.
"...Hera?" Tempo squinted his eyes to try and quickly adjust to the darkness; his steps, ever so careful and ready as soon as he even catches a shadow of Dark Millenium. "Hera, you're starting to get the boss angry, you won't like her when she's– Hera!"
And before Tempo could finish his words, he saw Hera sitting on the ground, her back on the wall as blood gushed out like a waterfall from her nose.
"Hera, are you–"
"I'm alive, you bastard," Hera quickly pushed Tempo to the side as he tried to help her up, "Dark Millenium, where is she?"
Both of them then look through the darkness, but even after a few seconds of their eyes strictly waiting for a sign of any movement– not even a shadow flickered.
[She is escaping, follow her!]
"Fuck!"
And as soon as Empress's voice entered through his ears, Tempo once again disappeared from his spot, causing Hera to once again drop on the floor as she was using him as a stand.
"Where did she go!?" Tempo then quickly bellowed as he returned to the others.
"She flew South West," Whiteking said as he looked at the view of the satellite from his helmet.
"Why aren't we chasing her!?"
"Let her go," Empress stretched her arm to block Tempo, "Only the two of us could follow her; I am not taking that risk."
"But–"
"I think we are all in agreement about something..." Empress then breathed out as she looked at Hera, who was causing the edges of the brittle wall to collapse as her muscles plowed through it like styrofoam as she stepped out of the building. The mess around her mouth, however, was still quite obvious as the fresh blood flowing from her nose reflected the rays of the sun,
"...We're not just dealing with a simple copycat here."
***
"F... Fuck, that was intense... But... are we sure we shouldn't have helped them?"
"We would have only gotten in their way."
The Baby Crew truck was still flying through the air. But even with the strong wind hitting the surface of the truck, the passengers' fettered and nervous breaths were still enough to drown everything else.
"The Hope Guild works as a group," one of those noises, was Hannah's heavy breaths; escaping each time she tried to open her mouth, "If we stayed, we would only disrupt their flow."
"...You seem to know a lot about the Hope Guild for someone who's supposed to not be interested in superheroes," Gary let out an exhausted chuckle.
"...One of the members is my father."
"...Right."
"..."
"..."
"Anyway," Hannah once again let out a long and deep breath to break the sudden silence, "Riley, let us down."
"Father told us to go back to the Academy, sister."
"I know. But let's take it slow... I need fucking time to process all the shit that just happened."
"Agreed," Silvie also let her back fall to the seat as she let out a deep sigh of her own.
"Very well, sister," Riley then nodded as the truck slowly made its way down back to the ground.
"I wonder how they are doing no–"
Gary was about to say something, but as soon as the tires of the truck touched the pavement, the sound of the driver's door violently opening drowned whatever words were coming out of his mouth.
It was then followed by a whisper of a thud, as Hannah's legs immediately became jelly; her palm dropping to the ground as the sound of her retching pierced the ears of everyone near her.
And soon, tears started to fall from her face; mixing with the contents of her stomach that were now resting on the scorching pavement.
"..."
Of course, she would break down. She had been trying to hold in the tears since they left the battlefield.
Of course, she would cry; how could she not?
She thought Darkday was going to kill all of them– she only stood her ground since her brother was in danger... but now that they were safe, the only thing her body wanted to do was scream the tears wanting to come out of her.
"Fuck!"
"..."
And with her roaring cries, Gary and Silvie also stepped out of the truck; their faces once again falling into frustration as the realization also finally dawned upon them.
They thought they were already full-pledged heroes due to the past days of roaming around; helping and rescuing the people of Miami. But as soon as they were faced with an enemy far greater than them, they quickly folded.
"Are we... going after the fake Darkday?"
And as the lament of the three members of the Baby Crew pestered the air, Tomoe's quiet whispers echoed inside the truck; her eyes, looking back and forth between Riley and the others.
Riley also turned to look at his sister, but after a few moments, he shook his head, "No, being with my sister is more important right now, Tomoe."
"O... Okay," Tomoe slightly stuttered as she opened the door on her side; but as the door was halfway open, she once again turned to look at Riley,
"Master... Can I ask why you have not given me any orders for weeks now?" She then whispered, "Silver Moon seems to be the only one that is by your side. Am I... still your Subordinate?"
"You are," Riley answered without pause, "But you are also my sister's friend, Tomoe."
"That's... is that the reason why I am not receiving orders?" Tomoe stuttered, "If... If it's between serving you and having big sister Hannah as a friend... then I choose to serve you, Master Riley."
Tomoe then ever so slowly started to close the door; her hand, slightly trembling as she did so.
"..."
"..."
And before the door could completely close, Riley's short but deep sigh entered Tomoe's ears.
"I am not letting you choose, Tomoe."
"But–"
"Then follow my order now," Riley then suddenly looked Tomoe straight in the eyes, causing her to flinch and hold her breath, "Protect my sister no matter the cost."
"B... but," Tomoe resisted the urge to gasp, "I am already doing that."
"Protect her even if it means sacrificing your life."
And with Riley's words softly but strictly whispering into her ears, Tomoe's trembling hand that was holding the handle of the door relaxed– leaving the door still half-opened.
"If that is your order, Master Riley..." Tomoe then bowed, her head almost touching Riley's lap as she placed both her palms on the seat between them, "...Then I will lay my life if need be. I will– !!!"
This time, Tomoe could no longer stop the urge to swallow; her gulp, loud enough to echo throughout the truck.
"M... Master Riley?" Tomoe stuttered; her face completely red as Riley suddenly touched her chin.
"Raise your head...
...Night Queen."
Chapter 131"Raise your head, Night Queen."
"Night... Queen?"
And in that sliver of a moment, every breath that Tomoe ever took in her life felt like it stopped– It was a weird feeling; as if every memory she had, every step she took, every moment she had experienced– for a sliver of a moment, it was as if they didn't matter.
She and Riley were just at the rear seat of a truck, but they might as well be completely alone in the world.
The only thing that was wrapping her reality was the tiny warmth of Riley's hand on her chin... and his eyes that were finally, truly looking at her.
It was just a name, perhaps maybe even a title. But her whole existence completely changed– like life had once again welcomed her in her arms, once again giving birth to her.
Yes– perhaps that was the most fitting word that Tomoe could think of at the moment.
A rebirth.
"The Queen that will forever put the safety of her people above her own, sacrificing herself so that others may thrive; Veiling the enemies that wish to harm those near her with a frost bathed in darkness, shaping the entire world into a cold eternal night if needed so...
...That is who you shall be, Night Queen."
"I receive the name with all of my existence, Master Riley."
Tomoe once again bowed her head, finally releasing a breath as the moving world around her once again started to wind. She then finally fully opened the door, the noises of the world once again whispering into her ears as she stepped out of the truck– carrying a smile on her face and with no hesitation.
"..." Riley watched as she rushed to console Hannah, who seemed to already be doing fine as she waved her hand several times. Seeing this, Riley could only let out a long and deep sigh before closing his eyes.
"M... Mr. Diley?"
And as soon as he opened his eyes once more, the scenery in front of him had completely shifted. From a view of nothing but a road for miles, he was now inside what could only be described as a fancy restaurant. There was also serene and almost quiet music, now tingling in the air-- replacing the sounds of the earth that were previously whispering in his ears.
"Mr. Diley... what's wrong?"
Riley then blinked a couple of times as he turned his head to look at the whispers that were coming from his left, only to suddenly see Warden slightly backing away from him.
"You... you suddenly blacked out," Warden's gulp was obvious to Riley's ears, "Are you... alri–"
And before Warden could finish his words, he could not help but stop as the music quietly echoing in the restaurant abruptly came to a halt without even a fade; the servers that were previously moving without pause, now all standing still and looking at them.
"Is... that you, Boss?" Warden once again took in a small gulp as he stopped backing away.
"Yes, Warden," Riley quickly nodded in response, before raising his hand. And as soon as he did so, the music once again whispered in the air; the waiters, returning to their duties.
"May... May I ask the reason for your sudden visit?" Warden's tone then completely changed as he slightly bowed his head as he stepped forward.
"I met your previous employer."
"Previous... employer?" Warden could only squint his eyes in confusion from Riley's words; that did not last long, however, as they once again quickly widened in realization, "You met... with the leader of the Dark Millenium!?"
"Ye–"
"Is she coming to save me!?"
And before Riley could even say a word, one of the guests suddenly stood up; her voice, drowning the already somber music loitering in the air. Suffice to say, she garnered the attention of everyone in the hall.
"...Ms. Friday."
"R... Return to your seat, Ellie!" Multiple chains of light quickly emerged from Warden's hand as he raised it, causing the warm tone of the restaurant to glow in a blue hue as he pointed at Ms. Friday.
Also now known as Ellie, a previous high-ranking member of the Dark Millenium... and surprisingly, according to the treble and power of her steps as she made her way to Riley and Warden, she still had not given up hope like the rest of her... co-guests.
"Sadly not, Ms. Friday. She has not come to rescue you," Riley shook his head, "But I do have a question I need answ–"
"Like hell I would answer any of your questio–"
"Sit."
"!!!"
And with that single word entering her ears, Ellie's previous haughty steps quickly came to a halt as her slightly sweaty palms suddenly met with the slightly fancy and carpeted floor; her legs turning into spaghetti.
Even the other guests, who received Riley's words as only a whisper, almost knelt on the ground by instinct. But as soon as they realized that Riley was not even paying attention to them, they all continued to eat.
"W– you cowards!" Ellie, who saw her co-guests' actions, could only use all of her strength to let out her frustrations, "We... we can fight!"
She once again bellowed even as tears started to fall from her face. There were some who glanced at her, but immediately returned their gazes to the one thing that matters the most at the moment– their food.
"We... we even have gladiator fights here! Why aren't you using your powers when it's actually time to use them!?"
"Have you met with the fake me before, Warden?"
Riley completely ignored her plights, however, as he turned his attention towards Warden.
"I... I was too low in rank but..." Warden's eyes slowly made their way to the kneeling Ellie, "...If it's her, then maybe–"
"I don't know her!" Ellie quickly bellowed before Warden could even point at her, "I... I haven't met her once!"
"Hm," Riley squinted his eyes, before slowly raising his finger; along with it, Ellie's entire body, "Come with– Oh."
Ellie, however, quickly returned to the fancy floor as Riley blinked a couple of times.
"Maybe next time," Riley then said as he continued to blink several more times. And after a few more, a weird smile slowly crept on his face.
"It would seem the original visited us," he then said, "I hope everyone was on their best behav– Why are you kneeling?"
"T... that's..." Ellie's legs trembled as she finally regained control of her body. However, as soon as she saw the expression on... Diley's face, her legs once again almost gave in.
"Did..." Diley then furrowed his eyebrows almost to the point they met with his eyelids,
"...you do something bad while He was here?"
***
"Oi, wake the fuck up!"
"I must have fallen asleep. I apologize for that, sister."
"...Seriously? All of us were on edge here and you go and fall asleep?"
Riley's consciousness was now once again back at the truck; his head, completely wrapped by the bundle of frustration that was Hannah's hands... perhaps threatening to crush it with depression.
"Sometimes I envy whatever is going on with that head of yours," Hannah then let out a long and deep sigh before letting Riley's head go.
"I can't say I could say the same, sister," Riley then breathed out as he shook his head, "I do not want to know what brutes think of every second."
"Fuck you, get out of the truck!" Hannah then raised her middle finger as she fully opened the door, waving for Riley to step out of the truck.
"...Are we not going back to the Academy?"
"Fuck that," Hannah let out a small scoff, "Our activity was supposed to be 7 days, we should have two more days outside– let's have a little vacation; even Silvie agrees!"
"Hm," Silvie, who was standing behind Hannah with the other members of the Baby crew, nodded her head.
"Take us to Hawaii or something," Hannah then said as she once again approached and looked up at Riley, who was still sitting in the truck, "It has beaches as well, so it's not that different from Miami– the Academy can't complain."
"That leap in logic is quite... interesting, sister."
"Just float us there. I'm sure that fucking Darkday copycat bitch won't chase us with the Hope Guild on her tail," Hannah said.
"Wait... can Riley even take us all the way there?" Silvie then asked; her voice, showing her worry, "Won't he get tired?"
"Oh, yo–"
"Master can do it," Tomoe took a step before anyone else could say anything, "He could probably stop the earth from spinning if he wanted to."
"..."
"..."
"Ack!" Hannah could only scratch her head as she groaned in frustration, "If only this thing could go on water or fly, then maybe we could– Riley?"
Hannah's words of frustration suddenly stopped as her eyes landed on Riley's face, noticing the ever-so-subtle change in his expression.
"Wait... don't tell me–"
"I had father customize the truck, sister," Riley then said as he leaned towards the driver's seat, pressing something on it.
And as soon as he did so, Hannah could not help but quickly back away as a loud clanging sound whistled in the air– a sound made by the hydraulic jacks that slowly lifted the truck from the ground.
The tires then folden in before a pair of blades protruded from the sides of the truck, with a nozzle of a rocket in the center of it.
"We had a fucking jet-truck hybrid shit all along...
...And you didn't tell!?"
Chapter 132"We had a fucking jet-truck hybrid shit all along...
...And you didn't tell!?"
"You said you wanted to enjoy the drive, sister."
"What!?"
Hannah's loud voice reverberated in the air; drowning everything else, even the sadness that once persisted in her tone. Her steps as well, were somewhat bouncy as she made her way to the truck's driver– No, to the truck's pilot's seat.
"You think I wouldn't enjoy flying a fucking jet truck more!?"
"You have weird tastes, sister," Riley then said, "I do not presume to know what goes into that brutish mind of yours."
"What– your mama's weird!"
"That's possible, she killed me."
"..."
"..."
"...Fuck, you win. Let's just go!" Hannah then opened her window, tapping the side of the door as she gestured for the others to hop on. Gary, Silvie, and even Tomoe, however, had their mouths slightly opened as they remained staring blankly at the sudden transformation of their truck.
Was the design cool? Of course not, it was basically a truck with wings; like a lego that was set up by a child, or a mobile suit made with laundry clothespins. But still, to suddenly have an aircraft as their group's steed... that was something they never expected would happen any time soon.
After all, out of all the superhero groups and organizations in the world, there were only a handful who had one, including the Hope Guild.
But finally, after a few more seconds, their feet started to subconsciously step back into the truck.
"...Do you even know how to drive this thing?" Gary then immediately asked as he quickly buckled himself in.
"Who do you think I am?" Hannah scoffed as the air... truck began to ever so softly tremble, "I've been trained by dad to operate all sorts of machinery."
"Then why can't Riley even ride something as simple as a motorcycle?" This time, it was Silvie who asked, her tone truly curious.
"W... well," Hannah let out a small chuckle as she glanced at Riley, "Mom didn't really let her near any of dad's gadgets, let alone his automobile collection."
"I... see."
Gary and Silvie then let out a long and deep sigh. They were somewhat envious of Hannah having access to so much cool stuff since she was young, but when they heard Riley's case, the only thing they could do was feel somewhat lucky.
To have all those cool things near you... and not even allowed to use any of them?
That was probably torturing.
"There is no need to be sad for me, Gary and Silvie," Riley seemed to have realized what they were thinking as he too, let out a small breath, "My interests...
...lie elsewhere."
"That–"
"!!!"
"Let's go, boys and girls!" And before any of the two could even reply, a loud whirring noise echoed through the truck, causing Gary to slightly sink into his seat; gripping his seatbelt tight as the truck suddenly lifted from the ground.
"To Hawaii!"
***
"Bleurgh!"
This time, it was Gary's turn to puke as soon as the airtruck landed; his retching, even worse and louder than Hannah's as the birds of Hawaii that were supposed to greet them with songs all flapped their wings away in disgust.
The contents of his stomach, mixing with the rubber of the tires that were once again slowly emerging from beneath the truck.
"I... I hate flying," Gary then let out a loud gasp as he lifted himself up, slightly causing the truck to sway.
"...But you were fine when Riley was floating us."
"That's different!" Gary bellowed; the others, quickly moving away as the little bits of puke remaining inside Gary's mouth spewed out, "When Riley was floating us, it felt like being carried by a mother... but with you piloting it's... like I was inside a washing machi– Bleurgh!"
"Stop being such a wuss!" Hannah shook her head as she started stretching her limbs. Unlike with Miami, where they were mobbed by a crowd as soon as they landed; everything seemed peaceful in Hawaii, except of course Gary's occasional puking.
Of course, there was also the fact that Hannah decided to land on a secluded part of the state; where there were visibly no people... and as far away from the beautiful beaches as possible.
"...Why are we here?"
"Disable the drones that are following us, Riley."
"As you wish, sister."
And with the words that were exchanged by the siblings, both Gary and Silvie could not help but slightly take a few steps back.
"W... wait, are... did you take us here to kill us!?" Gary muttered.
"...Don't be stupid," Hannah let out a small but deep sigh as she removed her mask, "...We can't very well have masks while on vacation, right!?"
Hannah then threw her mask back inside the truck, loudly clapping her hands as she tried to hype herself up,
"Now, to get this thing off," Hannah then suddenly unclipped something on the side of the truck, and as soon as she did so, the graffiti that had their group name on it was quickly removed like a tarp.
"...That was removable!?" Gary bellowed, "You made us endure the embarrassment of having that on our bad-ass truck!?"
"Well, we can't have people recognizing us everywhere now," Hannah breathed out as she opened the back of the trailer; spending a couple of minutes there before coming out now wearing casual clothes.
"Is there really any point anymore in hiding our identities?" Silvie then muttered.
"Of course, there is," Hannah sighed, "Besides, only my brother would be instantly recognized as Whiteking's son. As for the rest of us...
...we're completely anonymous."
***
"It's the Baby Crew!"
"...Let's change venues."
The group landed near a beach called Waimea, then drove the rest of the way there. It was going so well, with none of the people bothering them as they each stepped out of the truck with their casual clothes.
Of course, for precaution, each of them was still wearing a pair of sunglasses that Riley seemed to have in spares. Smiles all crept on their faces as they walked ever so casually, one might even say cool, even as the rays of the sun hit their skin.
They needed to buy swimwear, of course– so they quickly headed to the boutiques and stores on the sides of the beaches.
They forgot one little minor detail, however. With Riley being easily recognizable... it stands to reason that the people would immediately connect two and two together. And so, as soon as one of the people recognized Riley...
...the group had no choice but to rush away from the beach while covering their faces.
"That's it..." Hannah then said as soon as they once again landed in a secluded part of Hawaii, "...Gary, buy a fucking black hair dye, those temporary ones!"
"Gladly," and before Gary could even finish his nod, he quickly rushed away from the forest they were hiding, even almost hitting the trees on his way as he created clouds of dust.
And not even a quarter of an hour passed, Gary was back with a hair coloring set.
"I do not wish to dye my hair, sister," Riley breathed out.
"Your wish does not outweigh our need to have fun and relax, brother," Hannah said as she quickly took the bottle of hair dye from Gary and shook it, "Besides, it says on the back it would wash out with the shampoo it came with."
"Should... should we really be doing this, big sister Hannah?" Tomoe then added as she took a few steps to block Riley from everyone's view.
"Do you not want to see Riley with black hair?"
"That's..." Tomoe's eyes slightly widened as soon as she heard Hannah's words. In truth, when she hadn't discovered that Darkday was Riley– she had always imagined Darkday to have long and black hair; all of those were erased, however, with Riley's image.
But now that a sudden opportunity to see Riley sporting black hair arrived, the only thing she could do was step to the side.
"I am truly sorry for this betrayal, Master Riley," Tomoe could not even look at Riley as she turned her head to the side, "I will accept any punishment you wish to lay upon me later."
"Th–"
And before Riley could even say anything, Hannah suddenly threw the bottle to Silvie and rushed to hold Riley from behind, trying to prevent him from escaping.
"Do it for the crew, Riley. Just...
...accept it."
***
"Hm, how about this one?"
"It's still too revealing, Hannah!"
"We've been here for more than an hour now! What am I supposed to wear, a fucking hazmat suit!?"
Tomoe, Silvie, and Hannah were inside a small boutique somewhere on the beach of Waikiki. And as Hannah exclaimed, they have been there for more than an hour now– with the sun threatening to disappear on them anytime soon.
"And besides, the two of you haven't even tried to fit even a single swimsuit yet!" Hannah then bellowed as she almost threw the dozens of swimsuits being presented to her by Silvie and Tomoe.
Her now black hair, swaying with each of her movements.
"I think ours can wait," Silvie let out a sigh,
"Yours... is a slightly bigger problem," she then said as her eyes slowly traveled to Hannah's posterior. With Hannah's body almost trained to perfection, her muscles were very well defined, but not to the point that it was bulky, no.
It did, however, make her butt... larger and more finely shaped than most; making any swimsuit or bikini she chose to become more... erotic than they were meant to be.
She was meatier where it mattered– as Gary ever so eloquently described.
And as for the maestro of words, he and Riley did not really have any trouble in picking up what to wear. After all, confidence is everything that matters when it comes to swimsuits– Gary thought as he chose to wear a Brazilian bikini.
With this towering figure and bulging... muscles that had veins almost popping out from them, almost all of the eyes were on him as he walked through the plaza of boutiques; only a towel partnering his... bikini.
The eyes did not stay with him for long, however, as there was another who literally outshone him.
"Bro... can you move a couple of steps back. You...
...are stealing my limelight."
"....Hm."
Chapter 133A darkness that slowly succumbed to the light. Or a darkness that was starting to swallow the white marble statues of the gods– that was perhaps the only way the crowd of people could describe the individual that was walking through the streets of Waikiki.
The one walking in front of him was also quite a distracting fellow, towering almost everyone with his muscles almost exploding. But while the tall one was clearly boasting his body, the one walking behind him was quiet… but extremely deadly.
The young man's skin was almost glowing; causing some of the people to even look to the side at first glance as their eyes were attacked by what could only be described as a dangerous beauty.
The contrast between his black hair and his white, almost porcelain-like skin made it seem like a serene night dawning upon a graceful winter. Like the flash of a sword forged in mithril, leaving a shadow in its wake.
"...Why do I feel like someone is describing you like a xianxia character just now?"
Gary then suddenly stopped in his tracks as he turned around, squinting his eyes to look at Riley. Unlike him, who was blatantly exposing his body with his Brazilian bikini, Riley still was still wearing some sort of white silk pants– his upper body, however, was completely exposed.
There was a slight contrast with Gary and Riley's body… one being Riley having a V-shaped body, his muscles finely toned and almost chiseled by the gayest of gods to perfection– and as Bella Jackson described it before, he was like a Greek statue.
But now, with his hair, and even eyebrows dyed black– the shape of his face was more pronounced; the reddish tints around his eyes were no longer that obvious.
His transformation; from a Greek statue to that of a luxury collectible doll.
And with Gary by his side, it was almost as if the two came out of some sort of novel made by an adult male with an inferiority complex with how odd and perfect they were at the same time.
Some of the young ladies seemed to want to approach the two of them, but in the end, could only halt their steps as they were intimidated by how Riley looked.
"Are they… shooting a movie here or something?"
"S… stop being so obvious! Put down your phone!"
"Are they coming here?"
"They can come inside me anytime."
"Go away, you're embarrassing me!"
And with the whispers of curiosity and lust suddenly persisting in the air, Gary's ears almost doubled in size as the sultry words reached them.
Finally, he thought-- this was his chance to have some fun.
"Riley," Gary then looked Riley straight in the eyes; his voice, deeper than usual, "It's for us to become men."
"Become… men?" Riley's eyebrows shifted. And even though it was ever just so slightly, every movement of his eyebrows was now more noticeable due to the black dye, "What do you mean by that, Gary?"
"You know," Gary then lowered his voice, gesturing all sorts of obscenities with his hands, "It's time to get it on."
"You mean sexual intercourse, Gary?" Riley then let out a small sigh as he continued to walk, "I am not interested."
"W… what do you mean you're not interested!?" Gary pulled the towel hanging on his neck as he trotted to chase Riley, "Wait… does your little brother even work? I don't know much about your kind's… biology that much."
"..." Riley could only blink his eyes at Gary's words. But after a few seconds of ignoring his endless questions, Riley finally halted his steps and sighed,
"My private organs work the way they should, Gary. Perhaps you should be more concerned with yours."
"Wh-- mine works just fine! Why do you talk like you're even using yours, huh!?" Gary bellowed, "Tell me, when have you wet them balls!?"
"..." Riley contemplated for a few seconds whether or not to answer Gary's questions, but he might as well get this over with, "A day before we went to Miami, Gary."
"W… what!? With who-- wait, don't tell me you're really doing it with Scarlet Mage!?"
Riley, however, just shrugged his shoulders in response; no longer answering Gary's plights. He just continued to walk, only stopping as he reached the spot where they decided to regroup once they were done buying and changing clothes.
And once again, both Gary and Riley were attracting the eyes of many; almost to the point that they were causing a small crowd to gather even as they just stood waiting.
And here we are, once again discovering and observing the mating rituals of the creatures known as humans. They are quite a fickle bunch, these humans.
First, most of the males in the crowd were doing their best to feign confidence, either letting out a curious nod or making sure to pull their partners away– subconsciously puffing out their chests to seem bigger.
Of course, with Gary towering over a height of 6'6", he was undoubtedly the biggest of them all; and so, the males' eyes went to Riley; but alas, when it comes to humans, bigger doesn't always mean better.
Of course, there wasn't anyone to stop the single females that were waiting to pounce on their prey; first surveying their competition. It was quite a bizarre, yet at the same time, mesmerizing sight.
The female humans, waiting for their eyes to meet with their prey… and after seconds of this, the taller one finally caught their eye– it was time to attack.
Love is in the air, each of the female humans' steps, getting more sultry the nearer they get to their prey. Something, however, happened–
"You guys wait long?"
–the two males are actually part of a pack. Of course, this was not enough to make our vultures back away. But as soon as they saw that the rest of the pack were also females, the only thing they could do was back away.
There were some, of course, who stood their ground. But as soon as they realized they were completely outmatched not only by the beauty but also the body of the two males' female companions… all of them finally gave up.
Perhaps they would be luckier next time.
"Nah, we just– !!!"
And as soon as Gary turned to look at Hannah's voice, the only thing he could do was widen his eyes, as well as his nostrils.
"Y–"
"Say anything horny and I will burn you to death right here and now."
"That would actually work in my favor since you'll be burning your swimsuits."
"Tch."
After hours of picking what swimsuit to wear, Silvie, Hannah, and Tomoe finally emerged from their cave.
"S… sorry we took so long," Silvie let out a short but deep breath, as if she just took part in a long war, "It was quite hard to choose a swimsuit for Hannah."
"No shit," Gary then quickly took in a gulp as he looked at Hannah from head to toe. She was wearing a sort of pink bikini, connected by two straps that aesthetically wrapped around her belly to connect with her bikini bottoms, making it a one-piece.
They chose this in hopes to cover Hannah's curves, but alas, with the straps lining around her belly, it just made it pop out more; it was a good thing her bosoms were just decently-sized, if not… then they might have an even bigger problem.
Of course, even though it was Hannah who first caught everyone's eyes, Silvie and Tomoe wouldn't really lose in terms of overall allure. Silvie had the biggest bosom of the three, not as big as Katrina, but still, it was also quite hard to choose a suit that wouldn't let her melons shout hello to every passing bystander.
And so, she chose a two-piece bikini, with the top having frills to cover half her torso– revealing her smooth and slightly toned shoulders. Her skin was almost too flawless, not even a hint of scar or marks anywhere.
As for Tomoe, she was also wearing a two-piece suit, with her top in a somewhat inverted triangle that wrapped around her neck. And unlike the two whose body was quite toned, hers was slightly slender, like one could slide through the curves of her body.
And so, with their group complete, the whispers of the people passing by once again echoed throughout the entire street. But with the group together, they could no longer approach them like they wanted to.
"Just in time," Hannah turned her eyes towards the almost sinking sun, "Not too hot so we could still have fun."
"...Aren't you immune to heat?"
"Shut the fuck up."
"I'm… quite excited," Silvie then let out a small but very deep breath, "I've never really been to the beach before Miami. I... don't even know what we're supposed to be really doing here."
"Well then, let's not waste time and enjoy our short lives..." Hannah then grabbed both Tomoe and Silvie's wrists,
...to the beach!"
And so, the group all rushed towards the sun that would set in a couple of hours; forgetting even just for a moment the responsibilities that were given to them by the world... not realizing the dangers that lurk beneath the oceans.
"This energy... It's her,"
Somewhere where light could no longer reach, a pair of blood-shot eyes opened-- and although that act was quite simple, it was enough to make all the sea creatures within a kilometer radius to either swim or crawl away.
"I will kill you...
...Mega Woman."
***
"..."
Inside the office of the Headmaster in Mega Academy, Prophet's eyes were currently reflecting the light that was coming from the screen in front of him.
Lightly scratching the scar on his face; And after a few more times doing this… he then suddenly took off his graying beard, or perhaps it was better to say… that he peeled it off.
After all– it was his costume.
He then carefully set aside his mask; his eyes, not leaving the screen in front of him even for a single second.
"It can't be him… right?" Prophet then muttered as he tapped his desk several times, replaying the footage that has been playing in front of him for more than a couple of hours now.
It was the video of Riley's trial-slash-conference, more specifically, when he masterfully controlled almost a hundred poles without even blinking an eye.
"Bernard…" He then whispered to himself, "No, he would have known. So it can't be? Right… the boy…
…can't be Darkday."
Chapter 134"Crap, I'm so tired."
"Isn't your whole power all about endurance and enhanced strength?"
"And laser eyes, don't forget laser eyes!"
Gary's tired and exhausted moans muffled through the air as he burrowed his head on a blanket; his nose slightly digging into the soft sands of Waikiki. With the sun setting down on them, the group did all the activities they could within the timeframe they had.
From beach volleyball to trying to swim to the other island with just one breath, build sandcastles, ride a banana boat, swim with the turtles, and parasailing; even though 3 out of 5 of them have been confirmed to be able to fly.
Of course, one of those activities almost caused them to be kicked out of the beach line. Nevertheless, they sank in any of the activities they could and enjoyed as much as possible. They had so much fun that they completely forgot the fact that…
… they still have the whole day tomorrow to do those things.
But with the looks of satisfaction and happy exhaustion on their faces, it probably didn't matter. Gary then let out a short but deep breath as he pulled his head off the blanket, quickly looking at Waikiki's purple skies.
It was a sight to behold. The world's endless wonder in front of them, while the busy city is moving behind them. Miami was the same, of course– but with fewer cars in Hawaii, the sky was definitely clearer.
The beautiful noises of light of the city were instead enhancing the trickles of stars that light up the sky. The moon, ever so softly greeting their satisfied faces. Even Tomoe was growing more and more expressive in the past days. She was smiling more… and now…
"...Tomoe?"
Silvie then turned to look at Tomoe as she heard a small meek chuckle coming out of her mouth, only to see that tears were actually falling from her eyes.
"W… what's wrong?" Silvie stuttered.
"I'm… I'm the same," Tomoe then wiped the tears on her face as she let out a peal of small laughter, "This… this is also the first time I'm going to the beach."
The side of Silvie's lips immediately turned downwards as she took in a long and deep breath, her eyes, trying their best not to cry.
"Tomoe!" Silvie then suddenly hugged Tomoe, with both of them laughing on their own while tears trailed down on their faces.
Who would have thought? Tomoe previously almost antagonized Silvie by also taking on the superhero name Mega Girl. And she did so with absolutely no expression on her face… but now, not only was she hugging Silvie, but she was also laughing and crying at the same time.
Is this perhaps… the true her? Just waiting to come out from her cracked and scarred shell. Hannah and the others have been meaning to ask why she hasn't even talked to her mother once ever since she arrived in the Academy, but it was better if it would come from her at her own time.
Hannah could only let out another smile as she let out a short but deep breath, before joining the two and also letting a burst of laughter escape from her mouth.
"I–"
"Don't even think about joining," the three then all simultaneously, without any pause, glared towards Gary as he was about to join them; but then immediately went back to crying and laughing like nothing happened.
"Women," Gary then shook his head as he just decided to sit beside Riley, "They truly are mysterious creatures, aren't they?
…Aren't they?"
Of course, there was also Riley, who was just blankly looking at the stars instead.
"...Bro, what are you thinking in that head of yours right now?"
"Mega Woman."
"You still on about her? There's like three beautiful women here just waiting to be–"
"Be careful, Gary. One of them is my sister."
"R… right," Gary stuttered, scratching his chin as he also looked at the stars above,
"Do you ever miss it?" Gary then asked; his playful tone could no longer be found.
"...Miss what, Gary?"
"This. Just playing around and doing whatever the hell we want," Gary breathed out, "...Home. Whatever the hell that means."
"I do miss it, Gary," Riley then let out a short but deep sigh as he closed his eyes, "The beautiful noises that came along with it feel like a distant memory now."
"...Beautiful noises, quite the poet, aren't you?" Gary let out a small chuckle; the sound of ice hitting each other, whispering in the air as he grabbed a bottle of beer inside the cooler behind him,
"My parents… well…
…they died during the Battle of Toronto."
"..."
"..."
"..." Riley blinked his eyes a couple of times, taking a small glance at Gary before his eyes once again returned to the skies, "I see…
…I apologize, Gary."
"Pft, what are you apologizing for…"
A small clang whispered in the air as Gary flipped open the beer, "It's not like it was anyone's fault, really. I don't think I can even blame Darkday for what happened– how could you even blame someone that's considered a calamity?"
"Because that calamity is still a fucking person," the sound of ice once again whispered in the air as Hannah's slightly perturbed voice traveled the air, "Stop romanticizing the fucker like he's some sort of god."
"I agree," Silvie nodded as she too, took a bottle of beer from the cooler, "We… When Darkday comes back, let's make sure we're ready to face him."
"We gotta graduate that stupid Academy first," Hannah muttered, "We still have like more than half a year left, right?"
"Wait… the Academy isn't for 4 years?" Gary then blinked a couple of times as he looked at the others.
"...No," Silvie furrowed her eyebrows, "Didn't you listen to Prophet's speech during the entrance ceremony?"
"...No, who listens to that?" Gary's face showed that he was truly perplexed, "Doesn't that mean…
…our time together isn't that long?"
"..."
"...You do know the world doesn't revolve around the Academy, right?" Hannah then let out a small sigh as she raised her bottle, "Anyway…
…to the end of Darkday! May he die a truly horrible dea–"
"Death to Mega Woman!"
And before Hannah could even finish her words, the stars in the sky suddenly darkened. No, perhaps it was better to say they were covered.
"What… the hell is that!?"
Gary then immediately stood up as soon as the silhouette slowly got near to them. And with the lights of the city, as well as the purple sky still persisting; the silhouette soon revealed itself to everyone on the beach.
It was… a giant octopus, almost as large as a bug. Or maybe perhaps not, as there was clearly a human head protruding on top of it… hence the human voice screaming out of it.
"Mega Woman!? Where are you!? I hear you, I smell you!" The… human-octopus hybrid then roared; then harmonized by the screams of the people as they all started to run away, leaving almost a thousand footprints on the sand.
"Mega Woman?" The Baby Crew all looked at each other; Riley, however, only looked at Silvie.
"...Wait," Gary then furrowed his eyebrows as he once again turned to look at the human-octopus hybrid, "I think…that's a supervillain Mega Woman fought tens of years ago…
…Cephalos!"
Chapter 135Cephalos.
Real name: Kalani Kani. He was born somewhere in Hawaii almost half a century ago; other than that, like most villains, his background was in the dark, especially since he was in a time where communication and information were limited. He was, however, famous for massacring entire villages as soon as his powers woke up...
...and one other thing.
Technology then wasn't as advanced as it is in present times; without powerful satellites to observe and analyze activity on the ground, the response time of the supers wasn't as fast.
There was a reason why Mega Woman was placed on a pedestal amongst the other heroes that were emerging for the last 300 years-- and that was her ability to never seem to get tired.
Of course, Mega Woman still needed to sleep; but one would always find her flying through the skies 24 hours a day, sometimes for a whole week without rest.
She was dubbed as the world's greatest and mightiest hero to ever exist not because of her seemingly unlimited strength, but her selfless willingness to protect the people, even when she was not called.
And despite her status; she has not, even once, thought she was above anyone. With her powers she could have ruled the world, no one would have been able to stop her; not even the combined powers of the supers that were already roaming the world. She could have ruled, but instead, she ushered the Age of Heroes.
But of course, with the Age of Heroes, also came the Age of Villains. It was quite an ironic turn of events. With heroic activities doubling, one would have thought that the evil that was roaming the world would dwindle, but no. The acts of villainy became even more prevalent as if solely to challenge the stance of heroes.
And now, we have one of those– a relic of the near past.
Cephalos. He was considered to be a Threat Level 5 Super since he had numerous villages. There were, of course, supers that were able to hold him back; but none succeeded in fully killing him...
...as he had the ability to heal at a very rapid rate; growing dismembered limbs in a matter of seconds– this was the other thing he was famous for, but not because of him, no... but because of what Mega Woman did.
That was the first time the world had gotten to know how brutal Mega Woman could be if she wished to. Of course, most of them were just rumors, but it was the first and only time that Mega Woman... had ever killed her opponent.
The people of Hawaii could only see a trail of almost endless blood; creating a river of red as Mega Woman continued to dismember the legs that grew almost instantly.
She tried to trap him, but for some reason-- even in the tiniest of cracks, Cephalos was able to fit himself through.
And so, as the rumor suggests, Mega Woman had no choice but to truly kill him.
"...But as you can see, that rumor was false."
"Are you done?"
Back on the beach, the air had already become somewhat sedated as most of the people had run to the street; surprisingly though, Cephalos still remained floating above the shoreline, not even bothering with the crying footprints of the people.
His eyes, still staring directly at the Baby Crew.
"Mega Woman! Mega Woman! Mega Woman!" He continued to shout even as the skin of his chin and jaw tore apart from having been connected to the octopus part of his... biology. Perhaps scream was not the right term to describe Cephalos's shouts, it was more a gasp; a crack in his voice that struggled to come out.
"Is... he talking about Silvie?" Hannah whispered as she glanced at Silvie.
"M... me? Why?"
"You're the only one that might have a slight connection with Mega Woman here."
"Nothing's been confirmed yet!" Silvie whispered loudly in reply, "Anyway, none of those matter right now. If Cephalos truly is what Gary says he is, then we need to neutralize him as fast as possible."
"Agreed," Hannah nodded. But after a few seconds, her eyes landed on each of the members of the Baby Crew, specifically herself and the two other female members.
"...We're in our swimsuits."
"It doesn't matter." Even with Hannah's remark, the sand beneath Silvie started to swirl around her feet; her body, slowly ascending to the air.
"What are you civvies still doing here!?"
But before her feet could fully leave the ground; she, and the rest of the Baby Crew could not help but cover their faces as the sand in front of them suddenly exploded. And as soon as the grains of sand settled back to the ground, a group of individuals revealed themselves to them.
And with the costumes they were wearing, they could be nothing else but superheroes– 5 superheroes coming to respond to the threat.
"O... oh shit, they've come to rescue us," Gary said as he quickly grabbed his phone... that was hidden in his Brazilian bikini.
"...How did you– never mind. I don't want to know the answer to that."
"A man has his secre–"
And before Gary could even finish his words, the phone in his hand met with the sand below as it was swatted away by one of the superheroes.
"What the fuck?"
"Do you think this is a game!? Stop it with your social media bullshit and leave, now!"
And as soon as the man's words reached Gary's ears, his eyes ever so slightly started to turn red. But fortunately, before the superhero could notice it, Hannah quickly pulled Gary away.
"We're going to go now," Hannah then let out a small smile as she bowed her head towards the superheroes, "We're really sorry for interrupting your work."
"You should be, fucking bitch."
"..." Hannah's eyes slightly twitched as she heard one of the other superheroes commenting from the side; but still, the smile on her face did not disappear as she turned around.
"Wait, should we just leave them? Maybe they would need our help?" Silvie muttered.
"Leave them, those waste of semen," Gary clicked his tongue, "They almost destroyed my phone."
"No, we should still help them," Hannah then breathed out; the tone of her voice clearly agitated from how deep it was, "But we can't fight wearing this."
"..." And as soon as they heard Hannah's words, the group once again turned to look at the clothes they were wearing; quickly nodding as soon as they realized the incidents that could potentially happen while wearing a bikini to a superhero fight.
And so, they all left their footprints on the beach... except for Riley.
"Oi, bro. What are you doing!?" Hannah whispered loudly as she gestured for Riley to follow them. Riley, however, was still staring at Cephalos.
Seeing this, the superheroes that responded to the threat could not help but once again grit their teeth in frustration.
"Are you fucking deaf!? Get the fuck out of here while we are still asking nicely!" The one that Hannah talked to earlier bellowed, "It's not safe–"
The man was about to push Riley away, but found that he was not able to do so; like there was an invisible wall that almost threatened to crush him into pieces and mix him with the sand.
"E make ana ʻoe," Riley then whispered; not even bothering to look at the superheroes as he turned to follow the rest of the Baby Crew.
"...What the fuck?"
"Leave it be. It's also partly your fault for being too aggressive."
One of the superheroes that had been quiet throughout the whole exchange tried to calm her comrades down, "We have more important matters to do."
"Tch, fucking civvies. Anyway... why is this thing not even moving?" They all then tried to relax and calm their breaths as they looked at Cephalos, who seemed to have no plan on moving out of the water; instead, its head seemed to still be following the members of the Baby Crew.
"Can't it go on land?"
"Doesn't matter. Everyone, get into posi--"
And before their leader could finish her command, the already dark sky that surrounded them became even darker, casting a shadow upon her that fully covered not only her face but ever so slowly, the entire beach.
"Just...
....attack!"
Chapter 136"Ack, next time I am going to ask father to make us a portable suit!"
Back in the Baby Crew truck, the sounds of almost endless rustle and clanging reverberated in the air as the girls hastened to wear their costumes. As for Gary and Riley, they were forced to get dressed outside somewhere.
Gary was having a hard time, of course, with all the layers and layers of kevlar in his suit. As for Riley, he was already done getting dressed.
"F... fuck," Gary said as he struggled, "Did I fucking gain weight that fas–"
And before he could even finish his words the sound of birds crying echoed throughout the parking lot they were in. The sound of their wings fluttering; almost an orchestra of panic as it harmonized with their caws.
"...That can't be anything good," Gary then took in a small gulp as he rushed to wear his suit. His worries were not without merit, however, considering they were inside the 6th floor of a building parking lot and even still, they could hear the birds panicking, trying to escape from whatever was happening outside.
The night sky that was already dark, casting even more shadows as the birds flew over the city. Gary turned his head towards the openings of the parking lot, squinting his eyes to the view of the beach outside.
And as soon as he did so, his eyes quickly widened in shock.
"Guys..." He then muttered, "I think we might have a bigger problem than we initially thought."
"What!?" Hannah's voice echoed from the inside of the trailer.
"You better come out and see for yourself," Gary muttered as he was finally done suiting up, slowly making his way to the opening to get a better look at whatever it was he was seeing,
"Yup. Big problem."
"What's going on!?" The doors of the trailer then opened as Hannah quickly leaped out from the trailer, rushing to where Gary was standing. And like Gary, her eyes could not help but widen as soon as she saw the colossus standing on the shoreline.
"...Fuck," Hannah's eyes did not even need to look down as she stared at Cephalos's new form– a testament of how large compared to before,
"So, it was hiding its real body earlier?" Silvie let out a long and deep breath as she stood beside Hannah, "It looks... weird."
"Fucking disgusting is what it is," Hannah furrowed her eyebrows. Even from afar, they could see the reflection of the city from Cephalos's obviously slimy skin. And if they weren't mistaken, the putrid smell that was slowly encroaching their nose was also coming from him.
And soon, its slimy skin reflected red; the sirens of the city now howling throughout the night.
"What are the superheroes doing?"
"I hope they are dead, sister."
"...They're dicks, but I don't think they deserve to die, Riley," Hannah sighed. But after a few seconds, she turned around to face the others,
"Baby Crew!" Hannah's voice then roared throughout the parking lot, leaving multiple echoes partnered by the howl created by the flames that suddenly engulfed her body,
"Assemb–"
And before Hannah could finish her words, her voice was drowned by the shrieking noises that erupted from the shore.
"..." Hannah glanced at the beach-view for a couple of seconds, before letting out a sigh and turning to Silvie, "Let's go together to distract it."
"Hm."
"Riley, take Gary and Tomoe and try to get behind it– hit it where it's not looking while Silvie and I distract it."
"...What about the people?" Silvie muttered.
"If they saw that hentai monster and didn't run away..." Gary scoffed, "They deserve to get fucked in all holes."
"We'll scan the situation from above, let's go!" Hannah bellowed as she leaped from the building.
"We'll go ahead. Good luck, everyone!" Silvie clasped her fist, letting out a small as she let herself fall from the building; thunder, erupting from through the openings of the building as a skirt of wind surrounded her body.
"..."
"..."
"...Alright," Gary then breathed out as soon as Hannah and Silvie's silhouette disappeared, "Now that Hannah is gone, I am in charge. Let's–"
But before he could even finish what he was going to say, his cape suddenly flew over his head; his feet, slowly leaving the parking's floor.
"H... hey! I'm in charge!"
"Let's follow big sister Hannah's instructions first," Tomoe muttered; her kimono fluttering in the air as she, Gary, and Riley all flew out of the building at the same time.
"...Why are we so high?"
Gary then quickly breathed out as he struggled to remove his kevlar cape from his face; finding that they were almost surrounded by clouds.
"So we won't be noticed, Gary."
"That's right, Gary. So we won't be no–"
"Don't do that again!"
***
A couple of minutes earlier in the shoreline, the beach was surrounded with nothing but shadows... and a stench that was putrid enough that one could probably see it when squinting one's eyes.
And the source of all of that? An overgrown octopus-human hybrid.
"How... how are we even supposed to face that!?"
"...We can't."
Hearing the other superheroes in her group complain, the only thing that the group's leader could do was let out a sigh and shake her head,
"All of you run, I'll try to hold it off as long as I can," she then said as she stretched her left hand to the side; and as she did so, the sand beside her suddenly swirled, turning into a large lance. There was also a whistle coming out of it, and if one were to look closer, one could see that the surface of the lance was vibrating.
And if one were to be unlucky enough to touch it, then one's flesh would definitely be torn to shreds by the thousands of sands swirling around it.
The lead of the group is a superhero known as... Sandra. And as her name suggests, she has the ability to manipulate all sorts of minerals and sediments. But as sand was easily accessible in Hawaii, she learned to control it the most.
She was considered to be a Grade C Super, and a Class-B Superhero as the masses decided.
As for the other members of the group, they were rated Class D to E; in short, they were probably shitting their pants right about now.
"I... I'll stay and fight with you, boss!" One of the street-level superheroes stood his ground; his nails, instantly growing longer and sharper as he contracted his muscles.
The rest of the group, however, all nodded... and ran away.
"We'll evacuate the people!" They bellowed.
"..."
"..."
"I think I'll go with them, after all."
"..."
As Sandra all saw the members of her group running away, the only thing she could do was roll her eyes. But after just a few moments, her face suddenly twisted; gritting her teeth tight as she once again stretched her arms to the side.
And in almost an instant, the beach turned into a forest, with the sand as the trees. And surprisingly, even with all of the activity happening on the ground, Cephalos seemed to not even acknowledge her existence– perhaps a mistake on its part.
And so, with a roar, Sandra flailed her arm left arm towards Cephalos; the lances of sand, instantly propelling themselves straight to Cephalos's colossal body.
"Kiee!"
And even though it was already as huge as a building, the pained shrieks that escaped from Cephalos's mouth still roared through the skies– the lances of sand, like needles that drilled through its flesh.
"Rah!" Sandra then pulled her left fist back, and as soon as she did so, the lances of sand all erupted at the same time. And like a shotgun being triggered at point-blank, a huge chunk of Cephalos's octopus-like body blew apart– enough to dismember one of its many tentacles.
A huge tremor quickly shook the entire beach; even reaching the streets and causing some of the buildings to sway as the tentacle fell to the ground.
However, before Sandra could even rejoice or collect her breaths... Cephalos had already regained its lost limb– almost without any warning or signs.
"..." Seeing this, the only thing that Sandra could do was groan; but even still, her eyes did not show any signs of retreat as she smiled at the disgusting colossus, "Whether it's you or me...
....it's a good night to die."
Chapter 137"Rah! Rah! Rah!"
Sandra's screams were almost already harmonizing with Cephalos's shrieks. Both flailing their arms wildly; one to attack, while the other to defend the almost endless barrage of sand lances raining upon it.
And with the rain of lances, came a rain of flesh and blood. The once clean and white beach of Waikiki, now drowned in red as bits and pieces of Cephalos's flesh scattered everywhere; perhaps even almost smoking as their putrid smell clouded the air.
But even with this nasty smell, Sandra's heavy breaths still echoed; it has not even been a couple of minutes since she started her exchange with Cephalos, and yet all her energy had already been drained just trying to keep it from approaching the city.
She once again flailed her arms, throwing another barrage of sand lances towards Cephalos. This time, however, it felt as if her arm multiplied in weight, causing her own body to be dragged down with it.
"K… kh," the only thing she could do was bite her lip as she fell to the ground; the little bits of brown skin exposed from her mask, now extremely pale. Her eyes, trying their best not to close as exhaustion slowly drowned her entire body.
However, as soon as her ears heard the disgusting squirm of Cephalos's flesh once again regenerating, she once again gritted her teeth; almost to the point of causing blood to mix with her saliva.
And with another scream, Sandra slammed both her palms on the ground; creating a wall of sand that blocked Cephalos's path. The wall did not last long, however, as it collapsed before it could fully reach its peak.
"S… shit," Sandra then whispered as she felt her body slowly succumbing to its fate. But before her body could completely plant itself on the sands of Waikiki, an arm wrapped around her.
"Thank you for holding it, ma'am. Please leave the rest to us."
"H… ha?" Sandra then lifted her tired eyes towards the voice that might as well be a lullaby meant for her,
"W… who?" She whispered, looking at the brown… almost golden hair flowing in the air.
"M… Mega Woman?"
"...No, ma'am," Silvie almost stuttered as she heard the superhero's words, "I am Meg…
…We are the Baby Crew."
"Baby–"
And before Sandra could say another word, her eyes closed on their own as a burning flash of light erupted in the sky– almost like a meteor freely flowing.
The meteor then abruptly stopped, before once again letting out a blinding flash; followed by a whisper of a roar.
"Sun Babies!"
And as soon as those words reached Sandra's ears, the meteor finally revealed the person hidden within– now holding two orbs of light that flicked almost snappingly. And with another quiet roar, Hannah waved her hand towards Cephalos, shooting the pair of fireballs straight at it.
"Kiee, die Mega Woman!"
Cephalos blocked the two orbs of fire with one of his tentacles; its flesh, once again raining down on the beach– just a few more, and the tentacle he used to block the two fireballs would have definitely split in two.
But like with Sandra's attacks, Cephalos's wounds healed almost instantly no matter how severe.
"I smell you, Mega Woman!"
"Are those the only set of words you know!?" Hannah bellowed; clicking her tongue as she saw the attack she made was completely almost ineffective, "This dude is barely even human anymore."
Before they left the beach earlier to get suited up, Cephalos's neck could still be seen; but now, the only part remaining of his humanity was the surface of his face… which stood out almost like a pimple with how it was placed on its colossal octopus body.
"Silvie, how is the local hero?" Hannah then said as she pressed the intercom connected to her suit.
"She's exhausted," Silvie immediately responded, "I'll–"
"I'm fine," Sandra then gently pushed herself away from Silvie as soon as she saw the look of concern on her face, "Where did you guys suddenly pop out from?"
"We're from the Academy," Silvie answered as she watched as Cephalos continued to flail its arms in an attempt to block Hannah's babies.
"Academy… You mean Mega Academy!?" A little life was restored on Sandra's tone as she heard Silvie's words, "...But you don't look like the students that were sent here a few days ago."
"There are also students from the Academy here?"
"Yes, but they're currently on the other side of the–"
"What are the two of you chatting there for!? Do something!"
Hannah's bellows quickly drowned their conversation as she slightly flew near them.
"Can you get to safety? We'll handle this now, please rest," Silvie was about to fly away, but before she could do so, Sandra grabbed her wrist.
"I can't let supers with no experience fight–"
"You don't have to worry, ma'am," Silvie quickly shook her head as she gently removed Sandra's hand away, "We've at least been trained for several months to stay alive. Y–"
Silvie suddenly paused her words as she turned her head towards Hannah, who was busy launching a barrage of fire orbs towards Cephalos.
"My friend's asking if you're strong enough to provide back up," Silvie then muttered as she turned her attention back to Sandra, "But if you can't, it's also alright– you've done enough."
"...Back up?"
"Yes. Please keep targeting its legs and distract it as much as possible."
"Wait, I'm not–"
But alas, the only thing that Sandra could do was cover her face as Silvie suddenly jumped to the air. And soon, beams of red shot out from her eyes, trying to target Cephalos's human face.
But alas, the human face that should have obviously been Cephalos's weakness was anything but; it almost felt like Silvie was trying to pop a pimple that was able to crawl across the skin as Cephalos's face was able to transfer to different parts of its octopus body.
However, it would seem Silvie targeting Cephalos's face had an effect– as for the first time, Cephalos's used one of its tentacles to attack.
"Mega Woman! Mega Woman… I smell Mega Woman somewhere!"
Cephalos then once again screamed as it flailed one of its tentacles– swaying it straight towards the nearest building across the street.
"..." And Silvie, who was targeting Cephalos's face, did not hesitate to retreat as she flew towards the tentacle, blocking the train-sized whip with her body. Silvie could only grit her teeth, however, as she felt the slimy skin of Cephalos wrapping around her.
"This… this is disgusting," Silvie muttered as her hair was caught by the slime,
"E… ew!" Silvie then slammed her fist, causing the tentacle to bounce; she did it again with more force, causing her hand to punch right through Cephalos's flesh.
"Ew… ew, Ew!" And with her loudest scream yet, Silvie used both her hands; instantly launching the tentacle away from the building behind her. But with her focus solely on one tentacle, she did not realize that another one was whipping straight towards her.
But halfway through reaching her, Hannah flew and moved to its path; taking in a deep breath as a sort of blade– No, as wings of fire emerged behind her, stretching to the sides and almost imitating the smile on her face.
"My turn again."
Chapter 138"My turn again."
Although the approaching tentacle might seem slow; it was only due to its size– with the speed it was going, it was almost as fast as a car speeding on a highway. But even so, the smile on Hannah's face did not fade… and maybe even grew wider.
She then stretched her arms to the side, making the wings of fire behind her span even longer and more concentrated– almost to the point that it looked similar to the laser beams that were coming out of Silvie and Gary's eyes.
And as the train-sized tentacle was about to hit her, a loud thunder erupted in the air as Hannah's entire body spun at an exploding speed– completely splitting the tentacle in half without even a slight resistance.
"Calamares for the entire city!" Hannah then let out a small laugh as she stopped spinning, the wings on her back exploding as she made her way down to the ground to at least take a breather.
"..." Seeing this, Silvie could only blink her eyes. It would seem the more the action, the livelier Hannah is– perhaps a trait received from her father.
Silvie then turned her head towards the dismembered tentacle– just a few more meters, and it would have destroyed one of the little boutiques lined up on the street near the beach.
"I have an idea," Silvie then breathed out as she flew towards the end dismembered tentacle. Her eyes scanned it for a few seconds before she lifted it into the air as she flew near Cephalos.
And once the other side of the tentacle she was holding was no longer hitting the ground, she also rotated her body– swinging the giant tentacle along with her.
"W… what the…" Sandra, who was watching from the ground, could not help but believe what she was seeing. She was supposed to be the veteran superhero here, but it was hard not to be impressed with the display of the students from the Mega Academy.
Were these students just special? Or are the people from the Academy truly this good?
A loud whistle then soon interrupted Sandra's thoughts as a violent gust of wind was starting to form through the spinning tentacles' path.
"Yah!"
And with a slight change in direction, Silvie finally stopped spinning and slammed the Cephalos's own tentacle straight through its body, causing the entire beach to quake. Bits and pieces once again erupted from Cephalos as his entire body seemed to have exploded from the impact.
Silvie, however, seemed to have no time to rest.
"It's… already recovering?"
And even with its entire body in pieces, Silvie and the others could stare in disbelief as Cephalos's mangled flesh squirmed like worms; and just like that, in a moment, Cephalos was once again whole.
"...This is tricky," Hannah sighed as she floated near Silvie, "No wonder Mega Woman was forced to kill this fucker."
"Well, she didn't really kill it," Silvie also let out a sigh of her own, "If Cephalos could regenerate its body no matter what we throw at it, then any damage we would do would just be a waste of effort."
"Hm, well… let's see if our plan works," Hannah then said as she pressed something on her neck, "You guys, how long do we still need to distract this monster?"
[A few more seconds, big sister Hannah.]
And as soon as those words entered Hannah's ears, she quickly bellowed and pointed her finger towards Sandra.
"You, the one just watching there!" She screamed, "Can you create that wall of sand you did earlier again!?"
"Wha–"
"Do it now! Just prevent this tentacle monster from approaching the city!"
"..." Sandra was quite uncomfortable taking orders from someone younger than her, as she's always been the one to lead those who wished to protect her city. But still, she did not let any of those thoughts get in the way; nodding her head as she kneeled on the ground.
And once again, she mustered up the remaining strength she had left in her body; her palms, touching the field of murky sand beneath her; and as she did so, the wall that she failed to build earlier finally saw the light of the moon.
"I… can't hold this for long!"
"Silvie!"
"On it!" A skirt of wind once again surrounded Silvie as she flew towards Cephalos; avoiding all the tentacles that were threatening to flatten her whole.
"Tch," there was, however, one she could not avoid. And so, the only thing she could do was laser it and speed up her flight even faster– pushing her straight through the tentacle; its bits of pieces of flesh, still attached to her hair.
She did not seem to mind anymore, however, as she quickly landed on the of the tentacles behind Cephalos, grabbing it by its end and not letting Cephalos crawl towards the city any further.
"Tomoe, anytime now!"
[No need to count,] Tomoe's voice once again traveled through the comms line, [It's ready. Master Riley, Gary… Please drop it.]
And as soon as she said that, the entire city was suddenly drowned in the color of the sky– glistening purple fractals of light that flickered across the horizon.
"What… the hell is that?" Sandra could only blink her eyes as she turned her head towards the sky. The clouds, seemingly all making way for the dark crystal that still reflected the purple sky.
"Wait…" Sandra then took in a small gulp as she remained looking at the dark crystal, "Don't tell me… you plan to–"
Before Sandra could even finish her words, the colossal icicle; one that could probably be seen through a satellite, made its way straight towards Cephalos.
"Are… are you kids insane!?" And with those words as a sort of opener, the entire city of Honolulu felt the entire earth tremble.
Cephalos tried to block the dark icicle with all of its tentacles. But alas, with the sheer weight of the ice, the only thing the tentacles did was get pinned down with the rest of its body.
"It's not over yet, Gary!"
"Grah!"
And with the descending roar coming from the skies, a silhouette shot straight towards the top of the icicle, causing another thunderous explosion as the spear of ice penetrated even deeper through Cephalos's already mangled body– pinning it down on the sand.
And just when Sandra thought it was over, the icicle suddenly opened up– almost like a flower as it quickly crawled through Cephalos's entire body, covering it completely in its beautiful and elegant darkness…
…perhaps, maybe, forever trapping it.
"This…
…These are the students from the Academy?"
Chapter 139emy.
"That's what you get for being ugly af!"
A roar then thundered in the air, completely interrupting Sandra's thoughts. Gary, who was still on top of the flower iceberg, started howling as he pounded his chest several times. And after doing this for a couple more beats, he started to slide down across the ice, rolling on the sand as he landed before doing some sort of complicated pose.
"The Dragon Monarch has dealt with the Patriarch of the 8-Legged Sea Pavilion."
"...What?" Sandra could only blink her eyes a couple of times as Gary landed right in front of her.
"Do not worry, the Dragon Monarch has saved the day," Gary then swung his arms randomly as he changed his pose, "Fear is onl–"
"Why are you talking like you did all of this on your own?" A sizzle then whispered in the air as Hannah also landed near Sandra; the lines of her body, still letting out fumes, "This is a team effort, a team effort."
"We did well, right?" Silvie then also landed, slightly blowing the sands beneath her feet, "Even though the Academy didn't really train us to fight together… we're successful because of your plan."
"As I said, it's a team effort," Hannah just waved her hand as Silvie approached her, "If anything… you could have probably defeated this monster on your own," she then muttered as she tapped the flower iceberg.
"...Could I?"
"With the right tactics."
"I probably could have also defeated this on my own," Gary breathed out.
"...Right," Hannah, however, only squinted her eyes away from him,
"Anyway, if anyone should be getting merit, it should be Tomoe," she then said as she pointed at Tomoe, who was slowly descending from the skies with Riley, "I knew you could probably do it, but I didn't think it would be this huge."
"H… hm," Tomoe only let out a small hum as her feet touched the sand. However, not even a second after the soles of her feet became flat, her legs instantly gave in.
"Tomoe!" Silvie, however, quickly caught her.
"I… I can't even move anymore, sorry," Tomoe muttered; her breaths, almost completely sedated. Her already pale face, even paler.
"But… if credit needs to be given, then it should be towards Master Riley. He… held the ice in the air so I could just focus on growing the icicle and not worry about the burden of controlling it."
"Hm," the members of the Baby Crew all let out a small hum as they turned their heads towards Riley
"Yes," Riley then immediately said, "All of you would have probably died without me."
"..."
"..."
"...Let's just say that everyone did their part equally," Hannah muttered.
"...Yeah."
And so, just like that, Riley single-handedly ended the almost endless bouts of flattery the Baby Crew were passing to each other. And soon, a whistle and a whirring echoed through the skies.
"The cavalry arrives," Hannah then said as they all looked up, only to see several helicopters making their way to the street in front of the beach. And after a few seconds, she suddenly held her hair.
"F… Fuck," she whispered, "My hair is still black, someone might recognize us from earlier and took photos."
And as soon as she said that, her hair started to move on its own, squirming and slightly trembling as a sort of black chalk floated from it– turning her hair back to its natural color.
Riley's hair also once again turned back to its original white color without them noticing.
"Did you just separate… you know what, never mind," Gary could let out a small but deep breath as the black chalk floating in the air went straight to the nearest trash bin.
"They're landing… should we leave?" Silvie muttered as she looked at the descending helicopters.
"Nah."
Surprisingly, though, Hannah shook her head, "This is the first time we've truly fought a supervillain– we might as well experience what the full package of being a superhero is."
"...Hm."
"I wonder if I'll also be as mature as you once I turn 20."
"I'm not 20 yet!"
And with the members of the Baby Crew starting to bicker with one another, Sandra could not help but once again blink her eyes in disbelief.
The entire battle did not last long, not even 5 minutes. Of course, it needed to be that fast since the colossal octopus was heading towards the city… But it almost feels like the students of the Academy that were right in front of her did not seem to realize the gravity of what they just did.
"Here they come, look lively!" Hannah said as she quickly fixed her hair… only for the reporters to brush them off and rush towards Sandra.
"..."
"..."
But after a few seconds of Sandra seemingly explaining the situation, the reporters all turned their heads towards the Baby Crew.
"Wait… aren't they students from the Academy!?"
And as soon as Hannah and the others saw the reporters rushing towards them, their bodies all stood straight; ready to answer any questions that were going to be thrown at them.
"Isn't that Riley Ross!?"
They were, however, once again ignored as the reporters all ran towards Riley. Riley, however, only shook his head as he pointed towards the rest of the Baby Crew,
"I did nothing," he breathed out, "The members of the Baby Crew did most of the work."
And as soon as he said that, the heads of the reporters once again turned towards Hannah and the others; rushing towards them as they asked all sorts of questions.
More and more reporters came; Gary had a wide smile on his face almost the whole time, but as the 6th reporter approached him asking the same questions he had already answered repeatedly, his face became blank.
"I'll… I'll go check on my friend," Gary then lightly pushed away all the reporters as he rushed towards Tomoe, who refused to be interviewed as her wounds were getting tended by the medics that arrived late.
"This is a fucking mess."
In front of the flower iceberg, Hannah and Tomoe were already done talking with the press and were just admiring the aftermath of the battle. The beach they were just having fun on just earlier was now completely unrecognizable.
The putrid smell that they already got used to, all the bits and pieces of flesh scattered everywhere, the sand that was already red from all the blood; it was chaos.
"But I thought octopi have blue blood or something."
"...That's what you're thinking of right now?" Silvie could not help but chuckle, "But… with Cephalos frozen like this in dark ice… it almost looked beautiful in a way, don't you think?"
"...Really?" Hannah squinted her eyes, trying her best to see what was so beautiful with it.
"I feel bad for Tomoe," Silvie then let out a small but deep sigh as she glanced behind her, "She looks extremely exhausted… but to create something like this, who wouldn't be?" Silvie muttered as she touched the flower iceberg.
"Come to think of it… we don't really know how strong we really are," Hannah then muttered, "We've never really pushed our limits inside the Academy. You lifted one of Cephalos's tentacles like it was nothing and you even managed to hold it back…
…have you ever tried the limit of what you can actually lift?"
"I…" Silvie tilted her head to the side for a few seconds, before letting out a small breath and dropping her shoulders, "...I don't know. I haven't really tried before since it didn't seem safe."
"Hm… same," Hannah nodded.
"But speaking of limits…" Silvie then turned her head towards Riley, who was being bombarded by the reporters but had been refusing to even open his mouth for almost an hour now, "...I have never seen your brother get tired– he lifted this iceberg, right? Just how strong is he?"
"...I actually have no idea as well," Hannah shook her head with a sigh of her own, "It's actually quite scary that he had been hiding something like that without me and our parents know–"
"Ack, who knew being popular could be so tiring,"
And as the conversation of the two were about to get serious, Gary suddenly popped up between them,
"...Why are you guys even here? Don't tell me…" Gary then let out a small gasp as he looked back and forth between the flower iceberg and the two, "...you guys are thinking of rule 34!?"
"Fuck, ew. Get that weird shit out of here!"
"...Rule 34?"
"You don't need to know what that is!" Hannah quickly pushed Gary away, "Do not–"
But before she could finish her words, a whisper of a crack entered her ears.
"..." The three then all slowly turned their heads towards the quiet noise, only to see a small web of crack slowly crawling on the surface of the ice. And soon, words whispered into their ears.
"M… Mega Woman… I… I smell you…"
"What the…
…It's still alive!?"
Chapter 140A quiet whisper.
But still, the voice that was whispering in the air was still enough to pierce the ears of those who could hear it. It was hoarse; hoarse enough to cause the air to vibrate as it seeped from the colossal flower iceberg.
Hannah, Gary, and Silvie, who were the nearest to the iceberg, could not help but slightly squint their eyes as they slowly turned their heads towards the prison of ice.
"Is… it still alive?"
But how? They all thought. Not only was Cephalos completely frozen and covered in ice, but its body was also mangled; bits and pieces could even be seen through Tomoe's dark frost.
"Mega Woman…" A whisper once again seeped from the cracks that were growing on the surface of the ice, "I… can smell you."
"It's… trying to find Mega Woman again," Gary took in a small gulp. He seemed to want to say something more, but before he could do so, a bout of shriek screamed from behind them. The three of them turned their heads, only to see the reporters that were trying to interview Riley floating in the air.
Riley then slightly flicked his finger, gently throwing the crowd back to the streets before he floated towards Hannah and the others.
"M… Master Riley."
Tomoe, who was still being tended by the medics due to her exhaustion, wanted to get up to follow Riley; the medics, however, did not allow her to do so. The temperature around the ambulance quickly rose; the red and blue lights, slowly flickering as fractals slowly crawled through them.
"You can't use your powers anymore!" One of the medics said as she quickly grabbed a syringe, "You're going to rebound if you–"
"It's fine."
But before the medic could inject Tomoe with a sedative, Sandra, who was also being tended by the medics, quickly grabbed her hand.
"I'll go check on them in your stead," Sandra then turned to look at Tomoe; gesturing for her to calm down. Tomoe stared at her eyes for a few seconds, before the temperature around them once again became tropic.
It wasn't only Sandra who walked back to the shore, but also the members of the Clean Up department– a department of the Government that deals with the aftermaths of Super-related incidents.
It was also the same department who helped clean and rebuild the fight between Sophie and Riley back in the nightclub in Miami… and also the ones that spent the most time in Toronto and other affected areas when Riley duked it out with Mega Woman.
In a way… they might as well be Riley's helpers.
"...What's happening?"
"The ice is cracking… don't tell me it's still alive?"
"F… fuck, tell the Shelter not to release any of the citizens yet!"
And as the whispers soon traveled the air, the reporters that were previously so eager to ask questions were once again buried by the sound of their helicopters as they all returned to the air.
Near the flower iceberg, Gary, Silvie, and Hannah were all slowly backing away; in harmony with the crackles that were continuously crawling through the surface of the ice. Their steps, only stopping as Riley arrived at their location.
"I… can hear it squirming inside," Silvie breathed out as she tilted her head to the side to try and hear the whispers clearer.
"You mean it's still regenerating at that state!?"
"Fucking hentai monster! We need Tomoe to–"
"No," Hannah cut off Gary's words before he could finish them, "We can't burden Tomoe with this anymore, we deal with this now…"
Hannah then let out a long and deep breath; closing her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again to look at her brother and Silvie, "You think you can fly this thing to space, Silvie?"
"That's…" Silvie almost choked there and there, but as soon as her eyes found their way towards Riley, she nodded, "With Riley's help… then maybe?"
"I'll also help!" Gary slapped his knuckle, "...With whatever I can while on the ground."
"Sorry for not being able to help here," Hannah breathed out, "But let's do this while the thing is still recovering!"
Gary and Silvie then looked at each other, before each running on both ends of the flower iceberg, pushing away the sands as they did so.
"Are you ready, Gary!?" Silvie slightly raised her voice.
"Aye, aye, Captain!"
"Lift in 3… 2… 1…
…Lift!"
Gary and Silvie's roars mixed in the air; far from harmonious… but seeing as they were trying to lift the weight of two buildings, no one could complain about the song they were uttering. And soon, the ice started to budge.
"N… now… Throw it towards me!"
"Are… are you sure!?"
"Yes!" Silvie gritted her teeth, "Riley, please support me."
"...Sure," Riley only blinked a couple of times as he looked at Silvie.
"Fuck, if you get turned into a pancake, it's not my fault!" Gary roared; using as much force he could muster to try and safely push the ice on top of Silvie.
Almost all the people watching them held their breaths as the flower iceberg tilted. Silvie could not hear anything, however, as everything was drowned by her own scream.
"Don't scream, Silvie! You're wasting energy!"
But alas, Silvie could not help it as her feet sunk through the sand; the veins on her neck were already starting to pop out as her trembling hands did their best to balance and lift the ice.
"You… you're doing it, Silv!"
"Really!?"
"...No."
"Fuck you, Gary!" And with those words, Silvie's whole body straightened up. She started to let out a whimper, little bits of saliva escaping from her mouth as she forced herself to remain standing.
"R… Riley, are you helping!?"
"Hm."
And soon, Silvie's feet left the sand.
"You're really doing it this time, Silv!"
This time, however, Silvie completely ignored Gary's words as she once again let out a scream– her ascent to the skies getting faster by the minute.
"I… I want to curse!" Silvie said before gritting her teeth. The clouds then once again opened up as the ice returned to the place where it was born… and now going even further up.
"You already did!" Gary let out an excited scream, "You can do it… you're doing it!"
The people that were watching from below all clapped their hands– Silvie could not hear it even from the comms in her ear, however, as her lungs still had enough energy to fill the entire air with her screams.
But soon, the ice that she was carrying turned lighter, and as soon as it did so, Silvie once again roared even louder… throwing the ice away as it escaped the confines of the earth.
"We… we did it!" A fettered chuckle then escaped from Silvie's mouth, "We did it, Riley!"
Silvie then quickly turned to look at Riley… only to find that she was all alone.
"..." Her eyes then moved everywhere, only to see the earth beneath her.
"O… Oh," Silvie muttered, "This… this is space. I'm in space, guys!"
"Not yet, we can still hear you."
"Let her celebrate, you moron."
"..." A laughter was about to escape from Silvie's mouth, but as soon as she heard the others, the only thing she could do was fly down back to the beach. And as soon as her feet met with sand, her eyes quickly landed on Riley.
"Why didn't you wait for me?" Silvie said with a small pout on her lips.
"I never came with you, Silvie."
"...What? Weren't you lifting the ice?"
"No," a small smile then slowly crept on Riley's face as he looked Silvie straight in the eyes, "I never did."
"What… do you mean?" A small skip drummed in Silvie's heart as Riley's lips once again almost reached from ear to ear.
"You lifted the ice all on your own, Silvie. You're slowly on your way to becoming like Mega Woman."
The ice was the size of two buildings merged together and should approximately probably weigh around 300,000 tonnes. For her to be able to fly with that kind of weight would mean she could potentially be rated as a Grade-S Super.
"W… what?" Silvie took in a small gulp.
"Heh… Show off," a wide smile also appeared on Hannah's face.
As for Gary, for some reason, tears were trailing on his face as he muttered about something like how everyone was growing up so fast.
"..."
As for Sandra… she was once again left with her mouth wide open. After this…
…should she also enroll in the Academy?
***
"Hm…"
In a room only lit up by the large screen plastered on the wall, a group of old people was sitting at a long table– all watching the feed that was being shown on the screen; Silvie lifting up the colossal ice.
"When will the first batch be graduating again?"
"In about 7 months, sir."
"Tch, we would have had a lot more graduates if Dark Millennium didn't destroy the other Mega Academies."
"After graduation, I am sure the demand would rise exponentially. For now, we should focus on building what we planned while we have the chance."
"Are… we sure about going ahead with it? What if she wakes up and finds that we did all of these behind her back? We should at least ask for her permission to–"
"!!!"
And just like that, the fluid conversation that was traversing the dim room abruptly stopped; drowned by the thunderous sound that snapped in the air. A small fume then sizzled in the air as the nozzle of a gun slowly cooled down.
"..."
The one that last spoke, now swimming in his own blood.
"We can't have anyone hesitating here, no matter who you are," the one that pulled the trigger let out a small but very deep sigh, "We've already started commercializing the supers– it's too late to turn back now. It's time to move on to the next step…
…Building the Superhero Association."
Chapter 141"How did you do with the activity?"
"...I spent most of the time just mingling with people. You know how long it has been since we actually got to spend time outside?"
"Same… I watched the new Lobsterman movie."
"...The one with Tom Holsea?"
"Yeah…"
"What about you guys, how…"
"Have you seen the incident in Miami? Class 1-V was on the news again."
"They're always in the news. It actually almost feels like we're just an extra most of the days."
With the students now back from their week-long excursion, the Academy was once again filled with their whispers and chatters; some loud, and some just that– whispers.
Some had bright smiles on their faces, but most looked like they just participated in some kind of death march, as their steps were extremely lazy– some even dragging their feet as they still didn't want to come back to class.
But with all the different rhythms of their steps, the students did have one thing all in common; they were all talking about Class 1-V as they once again manage to be the center of the news.
It would have been alright if it was just one time, but they were able to grab the people's attention twice in one week. One was in Miami, and the second time was in Hawaii.
What were they even doing there in the first place anyway?
And why was Riley Ross involved again? From the reveal that he was actually Whiteking's son, to the Shomari incident– for one of perhaps the most mysterious and quietest students in the entire Academy, he seems to have the knack for attracting attention.
They even encountered an enemy that Mega Woman had faced half a century ago. But with Hawaii, however, he was not the one who garnered the attention of the press, but the previous Mega Student, Silvie.
Lifting more than 300,000 tonnes and managing to push it to space was a feat that no ordinary Strength-type Super could do. Match that with her ability to fly at high speeds, her laser eyes… …she really was the closest thing to Mega Woman– she earned the superhero name she got for herself.
There was also the fact that during the moment– she almost resembled Megawoman, add the fact that they have the same hair color, most of the students had this thought in their minds;
Maybe Silvie, aka Megagirl… was Megawoman's daughter?
First, it was only Riley who had thought as such in the entire world, but now almost everyone in the Academy was thinking it. Of course, there were still a lot of Supers that had the same power– it was, after all, one of the most common powers in the world.
But with the sheer power that Silvie showed… they truly could not help but compare her to Megawoman.
And of course, the one that was discussing it most... was actually the person in question itself and the group she belonged to– The Baby Crew.
"Have you talked to your father?" Leaned her chair closer to Silvie, ignoring the whispers of the other students in Class 1-V.
"N… not yet," Silvie answered with a sigh, "I already messaged him last night and this morning, but he seems to be busy with his work."
"...I see. I already spoke to my dad… and his tone seemed quite serious when I told him I wanted to speak to him."
"...What? You think he already knows about what we're going to ask?"
"That's probably the case with their father," Gary joined the conversation.
"Hm, who knows," Hannah slightly nodded, "Let's meet at our hideout after class."
"You guys… will be there as well, right?" Silvie turned to look at Gary and Tomoe.
"Should we?" Gary squinted his eyes, "Feels like a family members-only event."
"You guys are my friends… and you've always been there whenever I start to lose my mind," Silvie muttered, "I feel like I would be more confident with all of you there."
"Hm."
And with those words, Tomoe and Gary nodded their heads. Silvie then turned to look towards Riley, who had been keeping quiet as usual. But as soon as he noticed Silvie's gaze on him, he also nodded and smiled.
"I will be there for you, Silvie."
"That's…" Silvie almost stuttered; her face, turning into cherry as she quickly moved her head to the side– letting out a small and quiet thank you to everyone as she did so.
Of course, Riley will be there. After all, this could be the ticket for him to once again finally know more about Mega Woman. The whispers and chatters around the classroom persisted for a few more minutes until finally, the door slid open.
They all closed their mouths as Scarlet Mage slowly made her way to the teacher's podium. Katherine, on the other hand, was looking at Riley– nodding to each other as if signaling something.
"I'll make it brief," Katherine then breathed out as she looked at each of her students, "Although our time together was short and even shorter for the foreign students… I hope that my stay with you has been fruitful and learning."
"Hm?"
The students, who heard the somewhat somber and concise tone in Katherine's voice, could not help but look at each other in confusion. Why was she talking like…
…she was going to leave?
"But from today… I will no longer be the advisor for this class."
"!!!"
And just like that, the thoughts of the students materialized; their whispers, becoming even louder.
"Why are you quitting!?"
"Is it because of your relationship with Riley Ross!?"
"...No," Katherine breathed out, "The Academy assigned a new advisor for Class 1-V."
"New… advisor?"
"But why? Aren't we graduating in 7 months? Why change advisors now?"
"Settle down," Katherine then raised her hand to calm the students down, "You don't need to worry about anything. The one that will be replacing me is… objectively a better teacher. Even briefly fighting alongside Megawoman more than a hundred years ago."
"...What?"
"Sir," Katherine then said no more as she turned her head towards the door; the students, instinctively doing the same. And as they did so, they could not help but squint their eyes as a golden glimmer almost blinded their eyes.
"Greetings, children."
"Bulwark!?"
Some of the students almost stood up from their seats as they saw Bulwark entering the class, his glowing golden hair, smoothly flowing in the air even without wind blowing it.
"Thank you for the exaggerated introduction, Scarlet Mage," Bulwark then slightly chuckled; his voice, as androgynously feminine as his face, "But I am definitely not better than you. What I achieved, I achieved through time– you're still young and have already garnered feats…
…if anything, you should already be classified as a Class-S Superhero."
"You… are too kind, Sir Bulwark."
"Would you like to join the Hope Guild and replace the spot I left there?"
"..." Katherine blinked a couple of times; a small smile appearing on her face ever so momentarily. But as her eyes landed on Riley, the only thing she could do was sigh and shake her head,
"I… would have loved to, sir Bulwark," Katherine breathed out, "But I actually already belong to a group."
"I see. That's too bad."
"But truly, thank you for the offer," Katherine then said before facing the students of Class 1-V, "Alright. All of you behave, don't embarrass me to your new advisor."
"Y… yes, ma'am!" Most of the students then stood up as they paid their respects to Katherine, "Thank you for everything, Miss Scarlet Mage!"
"Hm…"
"I'll take care of your students, you don't have to worry, Scarlet Mage," Bulwark then said.
"I know you will, sir Bulwark."
"Please, let me find you if I have any questions," Bulwark then said as he stretched his hand towards Katherine.
"..." Katherine looked at his hand for a second, before the two shook hands and smiled at each other. And after once again saying goodbye to her class, Katherine left; leaving a silent and slightly awkward atmosphere in the room.
But after a few seconds, Bulwark faced the class.
"I know most of you children are tired from your week-long adventure," he said, "So let's just introduce ourselves today and all of you can go rest for the day…
…I'll start. My name is Bulwark. That is the name given to me by the modern people of Europa– but that was not always my name. I have never told this to the masses before, but since we will be spending months learning from each other, I feel like you should know who I am."
Bulwark once again smiled; the tone of his voice, slightly somber.
"I am actually much older than most believe me to be. I–"
"Are you Jesus!?"
"...No," Bulwak blinked a couple of times as he looked at Gary, "But I am older than him."
"W… what?"
"I was born in a time when war was prevalent. I fought with many, not necessarily heroes, but definitely many warriors," Bulwark breathed out, "Some of you may even know them in history books– Achilles, Odysseus, Hercules, and many others; I was there to witness them grow. But as I have witnessed greatness, so have most of you. Even amongst the hundreds of warriors I fought alongside with…
…Megawoman stands above all of them."
Bulwark's eyes started to glisten as they turned to the floor; as if reminiscing a time long past,
"Forgive my sudden burst of nostalgia, children," Bulwark then cleared his throat as he once again faced the students, "The people of the past have called me many names, but perhaps the most popular one…
…is Apollo."
Chapter 142"That was crazy af, wasn't it? I can't even imagine being Hannah's age… let alone Bulwark's."
"You're just a year younger than me, you fucker."
Somewhere in the Academy, the Baby Crew were once again in their main base of operations, the Korean Shaved Ice store. Bulwark kept his word; after introducing themselves one by one briefly, he dismissed the class. Although with a hundred of them, it still took more than an hour.
But with them being let out early, Hannah and the others also had an extra amount of time to loiter– and they have been doing so for hours now. Even Charlotte, who was usually opening up conversations with them, was now just fidgeting with her cashier terminal– which was odd since the only sales her shop had were from the Baby Crew.
"But I agree with you… that's a crazy long time to be alive," Hannah let out a small scoff as she took a bite of her dessert, "Dad told me Bulwark was like really old… but to think he's been around for 4000 years?"
"Doesn't that mean that most of the heroes in our history books are actually Supers?"
"That's probably the case," Hannah breathed out; but after a few more seconds, she once again let out a small scoff, "One thing's for sure– Bulwark is better than that cougar."
"Well… I don't know about that," Gary slightly hummed, "Bulwark does look like a woman, but he's still a male– nothing can them curves that women offer."
"Can you stop thinking with your dick for like a second!?"
"Afraid not, madam," Gary said as he presented himself from head to toe, "I am afraid I am 20% muscle, and 80% dick."
"Ew, what the fuck, dude."
Hannah, Silvie, and even Tomoe all winced; turning their heads to the side as they heard Gary's poetic machinations.
As for Riley, he was busy consuming whatever flavored dessert it was he was eating.
The group talked about Bulwark for a couple more minutes, but with them only meeting him, there really was not much to talk about.
"Is your father going to be here?" Hannah then finally switched the topic. And for some reason, causing the smile on Silvie's face to slightly waver.
"...I messaged him last night and today," Silvie's sighs floated down to the ground with how heavy they were, "But the only reply I got was a thumbs up."
"Hm…"
This was the main reason why they were gathered in the store today; of course, they actually loiter in the shop every day if they can… but this time, they truly did have a purpose for meeting here.
They needed to talk to Whiteking and Silvie's father. The visions that Silvie had in Miami were truly too hard to ignore, and the sooner they confirm Silvie's true parentage, then the sooner she would get rid of the sudden psychotic episodes she's been having.
And soon, one of the m3n in her so-called vision arrived with a cling of the bell.
"Hello, welcome to-- What are you doing here? Who told you that you could just waltz in my shop, you fat fuck."
"T… that's too harsh, I have only put up around 10 kilograms(22 lbs) since we last met, Ma'am Charlotte."
"Dad!"
Whiteking's eyes then immediately landed towards her daughter; his steps, slightly hesitant as he started to approach her. His eyes, however, quickly widened as soon as he saw Silvie and the others.
"Why… are your friends here?" He then muttered; his words slightly perturbed.
"Because they also need to hear what you're going to say, dad."
"..." Bernard's helmet, which was still half open to the sides, fully folded to his should pads as he let out a small sigh,
"Of course," Bernard's breaths almost melted all the shaved ice in the store as he grabbed a chair to sit beside Hannah,
"It makes sense… my sin is so great that you want to humiliate me in front of your friends," Bernard once again sighed, "Very well… I'll tell you everything."
"...You know what I am talking about?"
"Yes," Bernard then said as seemed to try to find a seat he could sit on his own; his eyes seemingly avoiding not only Hannah, but also the other people inside the shop.
"I am not asking for forgiveness for the things I have done…" Bernard stuttered, "But please believe me that it was never my intention to cheat on your mother."
"...what?"
And just like that, the room that was previously filled with questions was now drowned in a somewhat deafening silence. Bernard's eyebrows also slowly furrowed as h saw the look of confusion on Hannah's face. And soon, he let out a short but very deep breath.
"You didn't call m to hr to talk about that?" Bernard's eyes once again opened wide; but this time, the was genuine shock on his face,
"Oh, thank god," Bernard then let out a long sigh of relief as h wiped the trail of sweat already trailing on his face.
"What do you mean thank god!?"
Haring the frustration and almost seething aggression in Hannah's voice, the rest of the members of the Baby Crw could only look at each other. even Silvie, who was previously on the edge about thinking of her true parentage, was completely and utterly shocked with what she just heard– even almost making her momentarily forget her situation.
Who wouldn't, of course? After hearing something as juicy as that.
***
"Prophet, what brings someone like you here?"
And while the Baby Crew were having an unexpected revelation, there was also another meeting happening somewhere around the world– Hope Guild's base.
And with a whisper of a drum, Prophet's somber and slightly hesitant steps slowly echoed through the air; as if knowing it truly did not belong there. But still, they had no choice as Prophet forced them to move towards empress, who was watching some of the events happening around the entire world with the almost hundreds of monitors in front of her.
She seemed completely focused; but as soon as Prophet arrived, her eyes that have been resting on the screens quickly shifted as they welcomed the Headmaster of USMA.
"I wanted to ask you something, empress," Prophet breathed out deeply as empress gestured for him to sit down.
"The man who could see through the future wishes to ask a brute like me a question?" empress let out a small giggle as she also took a seat, "Very well, I shall answer to the best of my abilities."
"When Bernard was sleeping with you, did he seem somewhat bothered by something?"
"W… what?"
And with Prophet's sudden words whispering into empress's ears, the once seemingly cold and somewhat carefree tone on her voice completely disappeared, "I do not know what you are talking about, Prophet."
"You do not have to worry, empress," Prophet shook his thead, "I was th first and maybe only person he had talked to regarding your affair– and I could care less about my the guy's marital issues."
"..." empress stared Prophet straight in the eyes for a couple of seconds, before finally letting out a long and deep sigh as she nodded her head, "And here I thought Bernard was the best in keeping his secrets."
"I am afraid he might just be."
"What?"
"The best in keeping secrets."
"What are you saying?"
"I have… calculated something," Prophet's words then once again turned somber as he looked at the hundreds of screens that reflected on his eyes, "Something that I wish to be truly false. But if it were to be true, then the only person I could approach this premonition to… is you, the leader of Hope Guild."
"Then stop beating around the bush and tell me, Prophet."
"...It's about Darkday's true identity."
"...What!?"
And without even a millisecond of hearing Darkday's name, empress's eyebrows instantly scrunched down.
"You do not need to be so excited," Prophet shook his head, "There's a large chance that I am wrong– No, as a matter of fact, I might just be looking at something that isn't there…
…but Bernard's son might be Darkday."
"Pft."
And once again, without even a millisecond of hearing Prophet's words, empress's expression changed; this time, trying her best not to let the burst of laughter escape from her mouth.
"Have you ever seen Darkday in person, Prophet?" She then said as she looked Prophet straight in the eyes, "Because if you have… then you would know that Darkday is nothing but death personified. Someone like that would not be wasting their time playing with children."
"I truly hope you are right," Prophet did not seem to take offense with empress's slightly mocking tone, "But how could you be so sure?"
"Because you're still alive, Prophet," empress let out a small giggle, "And if I am to be correct, you have Scarlet Mage in the Academy, right?"
"...That is so."
"And she's still alive?"
"Yes."
"Then Bernard's son is not Darkday," empress reasoned, "Darkday would always kill the first empath he sees, no matter what."
"I… see," Prophet nodded, "Then I suppose my worries truly are for nothing."
"For the best, I presume?"
"Of course," Prophet sighed, "It would always be for the best if an existence like Darkday will never show himself again."
"If that is all, Prophet… then I hope you don't mind?" empress then stood up from her seat as she once again returned to watching the hundreds of screens plastered on the wall.
"I'll take my leave then," Prophet slightly bowed as he made his way out of the hall; but before he could step outside, he once again turned to look at empress, "Are you aware…"
"Hm?"
"That Scarlet Mage is in a relationship with Riley Ross?"
"..." Empress glanced at the leaving Prophet momentarily, before ultimately ignoring him as he left. However, after a few seconds…
"Hope."
[Yes?]
A somewhat robotic voice echoed throughout the entire hall.
"...Bring out Scarlet Mage's file."
Chapter 143"Let go of me! I'll kill this fucker with my bare hands!"
"C… calm down, Hannah!"
"No, fuck this clown! Let go of me!"
The sound of Hannah's screams almost echoed throughout the entire campus; shaking the entire mall as Gary and Silvie were pinning her down on the ground. They were now outside the Korean Shaved Ice store, as Charlotte kicked them out as soon as Hannah started getting wild; almost burning down one of the tables.
Whiteking was completely silent since earlier, no longer uttering a single word as anything he seem to say just gets filtered out from Hannah's mind. He couldn't blame her, of course– the only one to blame here was him for being a weak man.
The only thing he could do was wait for Hannah to calm down. And seeing her outburst now, he would need to wait just a little while longer. Of course, Whiteking already expected Hannah's reaction– he was more worried about his other child; after all, he had no idea how he would react at all.
And seeing Riley just standing on the side and watching as his sister run amok… Bernard was starting to get quite worried. But still, Riley just continued to watch.
Hannah's outbursts did not seem to have any signs of ending; but still, not even once did she use her powers ever since Silvie and Gary were trying to stop her from burning her father here and now.
The crowd was already starting to gather; their stares and whispers, almost enough to pierce one's face.
But finally, when Silvie and Gary thought they would have to make Hannah fall asleep for her to stop, a voice gave them solace.
"Hannah, stop this at once!"
Their solace, however, came with a certain cold– a literal cold. The sound of a hiss loudly whispered into both their ears as Diana, Hannah's mother, suddenly ran towards them while spraying a Whiteking-grade fire extinguisher.
"..." Silvie and Gary could only look at each other as both of them were now covered in dry fractals.
"Wha… are you seriously trying to cover for him right now!?"
With Silvie and Gary completely distracted, Hannah was finally able to leave the ground– immediately rushing towards her father and grabbing him by his shoulder pads. "This disgusting piece of shit cheated on– Wait…"
Hannah then quickly let go of Bernard as her eyes focused on Diana, "Don't tell me… you knew?"
"This is a matter between your father and me, Hannah," Diana's tone was as cold as the contents of the fire extinguisher she was holding.
"And why did you spray me even though I wasn't on fire!?"
"You weren't?" Diana raised an eyebrow, "And this is an adult matter and by no means involve you–"
"W– Are you hearing yourself right now, mom!?" Hannah almost choked on her words; her face almost wincing as she slowly approached her mother, "What do you mean it doesn't involve me!? I'm your fucking daughter!"
"Watch your mout–"
"Riley, help me out here!"
"What do you require me to do, sister?" Riley finally opened his mouth.
"Weren't you listening!? Dad cheated on mom!"
"I miss the part where that's my problem, sister," Riley blinked a couple of times; his face, clearly showing his confusion, "But if you want me to kill father so you would stop being sad, then–"
"I'm not sad!"
"..." Riley's hand was already stretched towards Bernard but put it down as soon as he heard his sister's words. Bernard also let out a subtle but very deep sigh as he slightly backed away as Riley's attention strayed away from him.
"You are sad, sister," Riley then said, "You wouldn't be crying if you weren't."
"W… what?" Hannah blinked a couple of times as she heard her brother's words… and after a few seconds, her eyes moved slightly erratically as she quickly touched her cheek, only to find her palms wet.
"Hannah," Diana then wiped the tears trailing on her daughter's face, "Let your father explain."
"No, why would I–"
"You're turning into an adult now… you need to be able to listen."
"Oh, I listen to reason, mom," Hannah let out a mocking chuckle, "But seriously… are you really trying to defend him–"
And before Hannah could finish her words, her mother's caring and gentle touch transferred to her shoulders… turning into a grip that felt like it would maw her flesh right off.
"Is that what it looks like?" Diana's tone then completely changed as almost everyone within the vicinity felt a sudden change in gravity, "Does it look like I am defending your father?"
"Y… Yes?" Hannah took in a small gulp as her tears soon turned into sweat, "Y… you're not?"
"No," the weird smile on Diana's face did not seem to falter, "That's why I told you… you should listen first…
…Are you ready to listen?"
"...Yes?"
"Good, now let's talk like adults, okay?" Diana then said as she dragged Hannah back inside the Korean Shaved Ice store; Charlotte seemed to want to complain first, but as soon as she saw Diana, the only thing she could do was return to the counter with a small whistle.
"..." Bernard also quietly stepped back inside, leaving only Riley outside; who did not seem to have any interest in whatever was happening.
"...You should probably join them?" Silvie muttered.
"Perhaps you are right, Silvie," Riley breathed out as he shook his head, "It is too bad that we do not get to confirm if your mother is truly Megawoman today."
"That's…"
Of course, Silvie would lie if she said she wasn't the least bit disappointed. But after seeing Hannah like this… everything else seemed secondary.
"There… is always next time," Silvie waved her hand; letting out a small chuckle as she signaled that everything was really alright. There was, however, a small hint of the disappointment inside her crawling from the inside as she dropped her hand– her smile, also slowly becoming sedated. As she watched as Riley walked away.
"We'll be waiting somewhere."
"...We're not going with them?"
"...Why would you even join?" Silvie could not help but blink a couple of times as she looked at Gary.
"Because we're friends? Isn't that what you said back in class earlier?"
"...I think master Riley and big sister Hannah's situation is entirely different, Gary," Tomoe, who had been quietly standing beside Riley, finally joined in on the conversation as Riley left for the Korean Shaved Ice store.
"..." Gary squinted his eyes, as if unconvinced by the logic of the two females. But after a few more seconds, shrugged his shoulders.
"Anyway…" He then muttered, "Are we sure miss Diana…
…is not a Super?"
***
"Empress!? The Empress!?"
Once again, Hannah's loud screams echoed throughout the tiny store, "How long have you known this, mom!?"
"I knew immediately."
"When was that!?"
"A few months after you were born," Diana breathed out, trying her best not to seem agitated. But now that Hannah knew that her mother was just feigning her calmness, the little bits of hesitation and ire in her eyes were now obvious.
"This has been going on even before Riley was born!?" Hannah slammed her palms on the table,
"Why didn't you leave him, then!?"
"Because of you, Hannah," Diana then also slammed her palms on the table– her movements almost a mirror of Hannah's… or perhaps it was better to say that Hannah mirrored her.
Bernard seemed to want to say something, but with the two most important women in her life clearly mad, it would be suicide to even breathe loudly. Diana said they were here to let him explain… but he knew that wasn't truly the case. And so, he could only listen.
"I stayed because of you," Diana continued, "And despite what you might think– your father and I… we were happy; we are happy. When you were born, I knew my life was no longer mine… it was yours."
"...Mom," Hannah shook her head, still clearly frustrated with what's happening. But with the warm expression oozing out from her mother's eyes, the only thing she could really do was sigh in regret.
"Now it's time for your father to speak." That warmth, however, quickly faded away as Diana's eyes strayed away from Hannah and onto Bernard, "Tell our children why you did what you did."
"I…" Bernard took in a small but very deep breath as his eyes wandered around the store, "...was just stressed."
"...What?"
"Let the little shit continue," Diana gestured for Hannah to calm down before she could start being hysterical again.
"It's only been a few years since I was able to join the Hope Guild," Bernard muttered, "I… am just a normal human without any special abilities, Hannah. The work I had to do to get to where I am is… No, there's no use making excuses with that…
…But with you suddenly being born, everything just… seemed chaotic and out of place."
"So you fucked a co-worker?"
"...Yes," Bernard's head turned to the ground, "She… she was just there. But I want you to know that I never once loved her."
"But you said you slept with her again."
"That… was after Darkday almost wiped us out," Bernard muttered.
"Let me guess… because she was conveniently the–"
"Because I am not a good husband. That… is the only true thing I could tell you," Bernard then dropped to the ground, his knees meeting with the cold hard floor, "I am not asking for your forgiveness… but please…
…please do not strip me away of the privilege of being your father… because this family is also my life."
"I…" Hannah stared at Bernard for a few seconds. There were so many words that were wishing to come out of her mouth, but none stepped forward as she just looked to the side. Her family wasn't perfect… but she was proud of it– but now, she had no idea what to think anymore.
"Riley…" Bernard then dragged his knees to turn to Riley.
"I do not care about your sexual love affairs, father."
Chapter 144"..."
"..."
"..."
Just a few moments ago, the interior of the store was drowned with the screams and roars of Hannah. But now, not even a sliver of a breath of that remained. The air, however, instead of getting lighter, became even denser and heavier; the eyes inside the store, all looking down to the floor.
There was also a customer wanting to go in but chose not to as she immediately felt the bad energy lingering on every corner of the store– with the center being the Ross family.
They just sat there in silence, seemingly not even minding the world as their own thoughts were the only things they could see and hear.
"..."
"..."
"..."
A few more minutes passed, and the sound of a bell once again shingled through the air as another customer entered the store. But as he took his 3rd step, he completely stopped– like a deer about to get hit by a truck.
"..." The young man then quickly retrieved his phone from his pocket, obviously pretending to have gotten a text as he squinted his eyes ever so exaggeratedly. And after a few seconds of this, he nodded and stepped out of the store.
"..."
"..."
"That's it. I watched this charade go for long enough."
And what would have been another hour of silence was broken; finally snapping the chain of sighs that made the air heavy. Charlotte, who had been quietly fidgeting with her terminal could no longer stay silent as she lightly slammed her palm on the cashier counter.
"Do you know how many customers I've missed since the four of you chose to loiter here of all places!?"
"Only two for the past hour, Charlotte."
"It doesn't matter! I still lost a potential repeat customer!" Charlotte then stepped out of her counter as she slowly made her way towards Hannah and the others, wagging her finger at Bernard the distance between them shortened,
"I feel like I should beat some sense into you as your previous superior!"
"M… Madam Charlotte," Bernard could not help but lightly stutter as Charlotte suddenly approached them.
"...Charlotte?" Diana then quickly turned her downcast eyes towards Charlotte as soon as she heard her husband's words,
"As in the Shadow Mimic?" She whispered as her eyes slightly widened.
"That's right," Charlotte nodded, "We met once or twice without my mask."
"I remember… so that's why you looked familiar," Diana squinted her eyes, "Thank you for keeping us safe back then… but I think this doesn't involve you, ma'am."
"Oh, but it does," Charlotte let out a small but deep breath as she sat on the table next to the Ross's, "You're in my store, your husband is a previous lackey of mine. I just can't sit still while this child keeps on lying and still hiding things from you."
"...What?"
"Whiteking was the most steadfast and persevering person I have ever seen and worked with," Charlotte continued, "And I believe that a man like that will not be easily swayed by his emotions just because of simple stress…
…Tell them what you're hiding, Bernard."
"...Hiding?" Bernard breathed out, the tone of his voice clearly showing his confusion, "I am not hiding anything else, madam Charlotte."
"What are you talking about, Charlotte?" Hannah raised an eyebrows as she glanced at Charlotte.
"..." Charlotte paused for a few seconds as she looked Hannah straight in the eyes. But after a few seconds, she shook her head and sighed,
"I am talking about you, Hannah."
"...Me?" Hannah's raised eyebrow rose even further, "So this is my fault? I already heard dad say that he became stressed when I was born– are you telling me that I shouldn't have been born, then!"?
"Partly," Charlotte muttered, "You're not just a normal child… and you were definitely not a normal baby."
"...What is she talking about, Bernard?" Diana's eyebrows also began to furrow as she glanced at her husband once more. Bernard, however, was once again looking at the ground; his breaths, loud enough to be heard in the entire store.
He then slowly turned his head towards Charlotte, before once again letting out a long and very deep sigh,
"How… did you know?" He asked, the tone of his voice almost defeated.
"I put two and two together. I've already guessed she wasn't normal even amongst Supers when I copied her powers back in the Festival," Charlotte scoffed, "You're not as smart as you think you are, child."
"..."
"I've controlled fire abilities and powers before; countless times. But Hannah's was not it at all," she continued, "Her power is almost innate. If I am right… she was born with her abilities already awakened."
"...No," Hannah was the one to answer, shaking her head as she did so, "My power awakened early, but I wasn't born with i–"
Hannah wanted to explain her situation, but before she could finish her words, she saw the look on Bernard's face.
"...Dad? What are you not telling–"
"No…"
And once again, Hannah's words were interrupted; this time, by the loud gasp that escaped from Diana's lips. She was already covering her mouth, but still, the heavy breaths that were seeping out from the crevices of her fingers were enough to pierce Hannah's ears.
Hannah seemed to want to say something, but as Diana's eyes began to tremble as they turned to Bernard, the only thing that Hannah could do was furrow her eyebrows. And soon, tears started to trail on her mother's face.
Hannah then looked at her father, only to see his head looking to the ground even more now.
"I see," Charlotte then let out a short but very deep sigh as she slowly made her way back to the counter, "So that's why you're following the government despite your obvious dislike to them… I am starting to understand you more and more now, kid."
"What is she saying, dad?" Hannah could not help herself anymore as she saw Charlotte leaving with a sigh, "What are you still hiding from us?"
"That's–"
Bernard was about to speak up, but before he could utter another word, he felt his wife's grip holding his arm; her head, shaking as she looked him straight in the eyes.
"You know what it is, mom?" Hannah gasped, "I think I deserve to know what's happening… especially since I think whatever this is you're hiding is about me."
"Is sister also adopted, parents?"
"No, she's not!" Diana almost choked as Riley, who had been keeping quiet on the side, suddenly spoke up, "And nothing happened!" She bellowed, the trembling tone of her voice made it obvious that they were, in fact, hiding something.
"I'm turning 20 in a couple of months for christ's sake. Tell me, mom!"
"The day you were born–"
"Bernard, no!" Diana still wanted to stop Bernard from speaking up. But this time, Bernard removed her hand as he looked Hannah straight in the eyes,
"The day you were born…" He repeated, "...there was a fire in the hospital you were in. 22 newborns died that day, and there was only one survivor."
"I know that news already," Hannah breathed out, "I was the only survivor since I was later found immune to–"
And once again before she could finish her words, she saw the expression full of weight on her father's face. And soon, as she saw his trembling eyes, she realized what it meant.
"I… had to put a limiter in you," Bernard then whispered, "It's implanted in your left arm to prevent your powers from going out of control."
"...No," a small trembling smile crept on Hannah's face, partnered by a weak chuckle that almost choked her breaths, "I… Did I… I killed 22 babies?"
"No!" Diana quickly embraced Hannah in her arms, "You did not do anything!"
"..." Bernard could only look to the side as Hannah's eyes became blank, "The government knew what happened. They hid it… so in return, I had to build things for them. I had… I have to do things I am not proud of…
…and how could someone like that deserve the love of someone like you?" Bernard's voice cracked as soon as his eyes landed on Diana.
"..." Diana could only close her eyes as soon as she heard her husband's words. As for Hannah, her blank eyes started to tremble; her breaths, once again drowning the air with a certain weight of gloom.
"Doesn't… doesn't that make me a monster?" She then uttered.
"No, sister," Riley quickly answered her, "A real monster would not be reacting the way you are now."
His words, however, seemed to just pass by Hannah's ears as she suddenly stood up; her steps almost shaking the entire floor as she rushed out of the store.
"H… Hannah!" Diana was about to follow Hannah, but her hand was grabbed by Bernard.
"This is your fault!" Diana said without a second thought as the sound of her slapping Bernard on the cheek echoed throughout the entire store. But it was almost as if she was the one hurt as her legs gave in.
"Please excuse me, parents," and even with this, Riley nonchalantly stood up from his seat as he nodded towards Bernard and Diana, "I shall leave the two of you to wallow in regret and sadness."
"Riley… I'm sorry."
"There's no need to apologize to me, father. As I said, your affairs are your own."
And with that, Riley truly did leave the store, not even offering his mother any comfort. And as soon as he stepped out of the store, Silvie, Gary, and Tomoe were already there waiting for him despite saying they would go somewhere else.
"Hannah just flew away using her boom boom powers, bro!" Gary quickly bellowed, "Isn't that like not allowed?"
"Where…
…did she go?"
Chapter 145"..."
A sizzle erupted in the air as a raging pair of feet landed on the ground; quickly melting away the ground it touched upon. The fiery smolder that came out of the steps, however raging, was filled with almost excruciating guilt and pain.
And ever so slowly, the fire faded– leaving only a helpless young woman. Not engulfed in fire, not engulfed in rage... only guilt and pain.
Hannah wanted to run away from everything, from everyone. But she was trapped inside a dome in which she can't leave, literal and perhaps figuratively as well. The only thing she could do was land in an area with no people; with only an unpaved ground and a view of trees to accompany her.
Maybe this was why the campus was built this wide? For them to be able to hide away from all the responsibilities and mistakes they have created? Her emotions went astray in an array of all sorts of things– too much for someone as sheltered as her to take in.
Too heavy that her trembling legs finally gave in. Her palms, touching the ground she scorched. She knew... she knew that her powers would lead to nothing but ruin. Unlike Riley, who had the ability to help people in a way she couldn't even begin to comprehend if he wanted to. Unlike Gary and Silvie, whose powers were similar to Megawoman and could probably do the things she did in the future. Unlike Tomoe; who, despite her powers looking ominous with the dark ice, could probably nourish life and comfort people with the peaceful cold.
Hers... was nothing but ruin. A power that only monsters have.
All her life, she had been avoiding her powers; avoiding the destruction that they could do as much as possible– not knowing that she had already committed a crime that would probably put other villains to shame.
How could anyone understand what she was going through? For her to be a monster all along... Did she even deserve to stand amongst these people?
"Heh..."
Hannah's face began to tremble, the edges of her lips not knowing whether to rise or sink. And soon, the only thing she could do was show her gritting teeth as the tears started to trail down on her face.
"Huk..."
She gasped. Her whispers, however, were drowned by the smoke that was coming from her tears as they drop to the ground; another sizzle...
...Not filled with rage.
Not filled with fiery.
Not filled with pain.
Not filled with guilt.
But just the madness of it all.
...
...
"..."
Hannah then sniffled as she wiped the snot and tears flowing from her nose; sitting up straight and patting the dirt sticking to her palms. Bernard said that her powers were sealed by some sort of limiter... so if she removes it...
...Will she burst into flames until she can't anymore? Perhaps that was the best way to end it all– to burn with the very same sin she committed.
Will... Riley be sad if she disappears? Who would take care of him when she's gone?
...But she's a monster; Does she really deserve to be with Riley?
"!!!"
She could not help but wince at the sudden thought that surfaced in her mind– what if she had done that to Riley when they were young?
"No..."
She covered her mouth at the thought of Riley screaming in pain; his skin, slowly burning.
"No... no," she whimpered. She was dangerous... how can someone as dangerous as her even think of standing beside Riley? What if she actually hurt him and just didn't remember? Even though Riley was not showing it, she was sure that he felt a little unnerved when he discovered his biological mother almost strangled her to death.
That sense of betrayal was something that once could not just brush away.
What if... what if she ends up doing the same to him?
"Oh, I knew that was you, m'lady. Who else could fly in the air and fill it with such beautiful splendor?"
"You..." Hannah then slowly turned her head towards the voice that suddenly whispered into her ear, only to see Julius Reuben slowly walking his way towards her; his cane, tapping almost rhythmically with his steps.
"You again?" Hannah then quickly wiped the tears on her face as she quickly turned her back to Julius, "What do you want?"
"You, m'lady," Julius replied without any hesitation.
"Get the fuck out of here!" Hannah's tone almost cracked as she waved her hand, "Haven't you already noticed I am not interested in you after our litter dinner together!?"
"Well, what can I say; I'm not one to give up."
"That's called harassment and being a persistent bitch. Leave me."
"I would have followed your orders any other time... but I feel like you need someone beside you at this moment."
"I don't need anyone!" Hannah then finally turned around to face Julius, "Do you want to get hurt, is that what you want!?"
"It's better to be hurt by you than never at all, miss Hannah," Julius then looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "If I am going to be with you, that's the least of the risks I am willing to take."
"You don't even know who I am!"
"But I will," Julius muttered, "And it will be beautiful. I know it."
"Leave. Me. Alone."
"I can't, miss Hannah," Julius let out a small sigh as he placed his cane on the ground, "The only way I will leave you is in death."
"You!"
A hint of orange then reflected on Julius's eyes as Hannah pointed her fiery arm towards him. Julius's eyes, however, did not flicker for even a moment.
"Lea– What are you doing!?"
And before Hannah could even finish her words, Julius suddenly appeared in front of her... holding her hand that was engulfed in a raging fire.
"!!!" Hannah wanted to pull her hand away as she extinguished the fires around her, but found she was unable to do so, "L... let go! Your hand is..."
Hannah could only take in a short but very deep breath as she saw Julius's hand– his bones almost showing from having his flesh completely mawed away by her fires.
"You were right, miss Hannah," Julius then whispered as a smile slowly appeared on his face, "We're not even together yet and you're already hurting me."
"That's–"
"But I am also right."
"..." Hannah's eyes then widened as she saw what remained of the flesh on Julius's bones wriggled. And soon, as if worms multiplying, the charred edges of his wounds expounded– his flesh, once again returning to the way it was just moments ago; completely unscathed.
"This pain is something I am willing to take," Julius then said as he slightly and very gently tightened his grip on Hannah's hand, "So, please...
...let me have the chance to bear this pain with you."
"You..." And before Hannah could even finish her words, the tears that she tried to stop once again flowed from her eyes.
"Please shed away your tears, Miss Hannah," Julius then wiped the tears on Hannah's face, "You are splendidly perfect."
And with those words, Hannah could only close her eyes; slightly resting her cheeks on Julius's warm hands.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Let's go, Silver Moon."
"Are you sure? Is it really alright to leave her with him?"
Behind one of the trees surrounding the glade, Riley and Katherine was watching as the scene unfold in front of them.
"It should be alright for now, Silver Moon," Riley then whispered, shaking his head as he turned around; walking, but his steps stood inches above the ground.
"You're lying..." Katherine uttered, "...I could feel your heart fluctuating, even more so when you talk about Megawom–"
Katherine could only take in a small but very deep breath as Riley's cold eyes suddenly landed on her. It did not last long, however, as it disappeared with a very quiet sigh.
"That's just the way it is, Katherine," Riley then said as he once again turned around, "She...
...is the only thing in this world that I hold very dear to me."
"..." Katherine could only let out a small smile as Riley's words whispered into her ears. She had spent a lot of time together with Riley, perhaps in many ways that others could and never will. But not once did he look at her the way he looked at Hannah earlier.
"And also," Riley muttered, "I promised Julius that I would kill everyone in his country if he ever hurts Hannah, I...
...always keep my promises."
***
"What's up, you twats!?"
"...Why are you talking like an old British lady?"
The next day, Gary, Silvie, and Tomoe could not help but look at each other as Hannah seemed to be acting like nothing even happened yesterday. They actually thought that she would be suspended for running amok and even using her powers without permission...
...but here she was, seemingly back to her old self.
"Are... you alright, Hannah?" Silvie could not help but ask as she moved a seat away from Riley to give Hannah her seat back.
"It's fine, it's fine," Hannah, however, just casually waved her hand, "Sorry for the mess I created. Don't worry, we'll get out fathers to sit at one table soon to talk about who your real mother is."
"I... don't think that's important right now," Silvie muttered, "Are you really alright?"
"Yeah, you went all cray cray yesterday," Gary was very careful with his words, "I thought you were going to burn this whole thing down."
"Psh, who do you think I am? Finding out Silvie's origins should be our top priority; why would I wallow in sadness like a weakling like Gary?" Hannah scoffed, "Anyway, our new advisor is late... so much for being better."
"That's–"
"Sir Bulwark is on the news!"
And before Silvie could finish his words, the other students started whispering loudly to each other.
"He's outside the Academy with the Hope Guild! I thought he already quit!?"
"...What?"
And with those words, Hannah and the others quickly grabbed their phones. They did not have to search long, however, as their newsfeed was filled with the Hope Guild's faces– and there was one other familiar face... or perhaps it was better to say a familiar helmet.
"What is Dark Millenium...
...doing in front of the Academy?"
***AUTHOR'S NOTES***
Hi, I do have a patr*on, so please do support me there as well! patr*on.com/Romeru.
I'll consider drawing illustrations or maybe even a webtoon if enough people support me! Financially, of course.. Hmph. Have a merry new year!
Chapter 146"What is Dark Millenium... doing in front of the Academy?"
"...Dark Millenium?"
"..."
With all the curious whispers and gasps echoing throughout the entire Academy, even the classes that were far and secured from each other could somewhat hear their neighboring classes murmuring– their voices were that loud.
Even Riley, who had just been waiting for the class to start, scooched over towards Gary and the others to try and see what was happening as they huddled to check on Gary's phone.
"...Are we sure this is in front of the Academy?"
"You think there's another gate as large and as identical to what the Academy has? Are you stupid?"
"...I'm just asking, why do you always have to be crazy," Gary furrowed his eyebrows, "You should just return to your cray cray state, at least you were easier to handle–"
"Shut the fuck up."
"You remind me of a character from Superstars of Yesterday, always so haughty and–"
"What is the leader of the Dark Millenium doing here?"
Silvie was happy that Hannah seemed to be much better than how she was yesterday, but before she and Gary could start bickering with each other for no absolutely no reason again, she decided to intervene with a question.
"The Academy could be considered the safest and most secured place on the entire planet right now," Silvie then muttered as her eyes slowly strayed towards Riley, "Could it be... she risked to come all this way for Riley?"
Silvie's words were almost a whisper; but even still, their classmates that number a hundred also all turned their eyes towards Riley.
This was not her fault, however, as even if Silvie did not whisper what she just muttered, their gazes would have still eventually found their way to Riley– most of them knew about the incident in Miami, of how Dark Millenium tried to invite Riley Ross into her organization, as there were dozens and dozens of videos surfacing all over the world wide web... again.
At this point, the Academy might as well give the Mega Student title to Riley again; as without a doubt, he was probably the most famous of them all besides Silvie, who was also recently all over their newsfeed.
And soon, their guesses were proven right of Dark Millenium's purpose; the vibration of her words, captured by all the camera pointed at her and the Hope Guild.
"Riley Ross," Dark Millenium started. But her address did not stop there, however, as she even faced one of the camera drones floating around her, "Students from the Potential Villain list, as well as the normal students of Mega Academy...
...I invite all of you to join my cause as–"
The students that were watching her, however, could only blink their eyes as Dark Millenium's words were abruptly cut short; as before she could finish talking, five white pillars plunged from the air, surrounding her as they pierced the hard pavement around her.
The students wanted to watch what was happening now even more attentively, but to their dismay, the lights within their classroom flashed in a flickering red. And soon, an announcement reverberated in the air, telling all students to return to their apartments as fast and orderly as possible.
"Move! Move!"
"Who is touching my butt!?"
"I can't see the news!"
This wasn't enough to stop most of their curious minds, however, as even though their feet were already moving out of the class, their eyes were still locked on their phones, carefully watching everything that was happening.
The pillars that suddenly surrounded Dark Millenium then started to emit a sort of spark, but the supposed prey did not wait to see what the pillars could and would do to her as she immediately flew up; slightly causing the ground beneath her to shake. And as soon as her feet floated above the top of the pillars, the sparks crawling out from them started to light up. And as if webs attracted to each other, the lights connected, making some sort of barrier to trap whatever was inside.
That process perhaps took less than a second; but alas, its prey was already gone.
"Your trap is useless, Whiteking."
Empress, who was standing in front of the Academy along with Butcher, Bulwark, and Tempo, could not help but slightly click her tongue as she watched as Dark Millenium escaped the trap they set for her.
[...I thought she would prioritize continuing her speech. The woman seemed quite talkative when we encountered her the other day.]
"You're the talkative one, Whiteking," Tempo let out a small chuckle; slightly shaking his head afterwards with a sigh, "So, what now?"
[It's a good thing we have another element waiting above.]
And as soon as Whiteking's words reached their ears, Dark Millenium's silhouette came shooting down straight from the sky. The ground, trembling as a small crater rippled and ripped through its surface.
And before the building cloud of dust could flourish, a grey silhouette followed– plunging straight towards where Dark Millenium landed and causing the crater she dug to expand even further.
Not giving Dark Millenium any chance to get up as Hera started raining down her fists, each strike digging the both of them deeper to the ground; each hit, causing thunders to erupt in the air, traveling in the form of static through the speakers of those who were watching from their screens.
Those thunders, however, were the only thing the viewers could make out from whatever was happening outside the Academy– as the curiosity of the people grew, so did the cloud of dust that lingered in the air.
But very soon, even that treat to their ears stopped. And not even a second later, Hera's silhouette suddenly shot out from the cloud of dust, leaving a trail of dust as she landed in an arc... straight towards the Academy's dome shield. And like a ragdoll, her body bounced and slid all the way back to the ground with the last thud.
"S... shit," Tempo then disappeared from his spot, only to appear beside Hera, "I... I think Hera's dead."
"You'll be the one dead if you don't stop telling everyone I died."
Hera, however, even with her feet trembling almost uncontrollably, stood up with her own strength. The trembling did not last long, however, as they stopped– taking with them the wounds on her body; any scratches or bruises, gone; only leaving her unblemished grey skin to flourish.
"Let's wrap this up fast," Hera then breathed out as she turned her eyes towards the dark silhouette slowly emerging from the cloud of dust, "I still have a modeling gig to go to later."
[...People still book you even with that old face of yours?]
A childish voice then echoed through their comms, followed by a flickering green that reflected in their eyes– flashes of light, thundering from above as they violently rained down almost endlessly upon Dark Millenium, not allowing her steps to continue.
[V, reporting for duty!]
A whirring sound then whistled in the air as a mecha suit landed in front of the Academy gates, slowly standing up from a kneeling pose as its pilot seemed to be assessing the surrounding area– and considering its size of almost two grown adults, it looked quite... comical.
And so, with V's arrival, as well as Bulwark's unexpected attendance...
...the members of the Hope Guild were once again complete.
Chapter 147"School, huh..."
A click and a whir smoothly whispered in the air as V continued surveying the area; her mecha suit, almost looked like it was dancing as it showed her somewhat childish excitement,
"I bet some of the students here are older than me," V then breathed out as her eyes landed on the gates of the Academy, "Although I wouldn't really know since I haven't been into one before."
"As it should be," Butcher, who had been quietly observing beside Empress, finally opened his mouth, "There was a 100% chance that you would have killed everyone with the electric discharge coming out of your body."
"I will have you know that my control is at 150%! You're just jealous because you've always been 100% bald!"
"What does that even have to do with any–"
"Focus, everyone!"
And before the members of the Hope Guild could continue to talk, Empress waved her hand– causing a slight wind to erupt with the sheer force of her swing; the rings on her arm, dangling like the chimes of a bell loudly as she did so.
"Remember our goal!" She bellowed as her eyebrows began to furrow, "Our priority is not to capture or kill Dark Millenium, but to prevent her from ever entering the Academy! Bern– Whiteking, report!"
[Based on the readings, the target is still moving. Sluggishly, but recovering at an extremely fast rate.]
"...Even with all the bolts of lightning I let loose?" V's heavy breathes almost pierced through everyone's eardrums.
"I think it's fairly obvious now that we're dealing with someone we can't take it easy on," Empress then said as she took a small step forward; her eyes, not leaving the approaching silhouette for even a second,
"Our opponent is not Darkday, but we will need to face her like how we would him– without any hesitation," Empress breathed out, "So just for today, as your leader, all the damages within the vicinity, collateral, and even loss of life...
...would solely be answered by me."
"Sweet."
"Are you 100% certain about this, Empress?"
"No taking it back now, boss."
"Good, now I can still make it in time for my photo shoot."
And as soon as her words reached the other member's ears, a small smile all rose on their faces. As members of the most famous and distinguished superhero group in the world, each of them were capable of doing critical and extreme damage to a city... and they needed to make sure that they don't even leave a knick on the pavement so as to not attract the noses of the quisling reporters.
As even more so the supervillains and terrorists, their enemies were the reporters and the opinions of the masses. But of course, with Whiteking by their side, most of the damages they do would be erased from mainstream media... and with their abilities and the level of enemies they face, causing wide radial damage was something they could not escape.
But of course, so is the case with the modern internet... nothing really ever goes away.
And so, with Empress volunteering to answer for all the damages, none of them had to worry anymore and could use their powers to their fullest– with appropriate restraint, of course.
"Whiteking," Empress then whispered, "What about the citizens from the neighboring town a kilometer away from here? Have they already been evacuated?"
[You do not have to worry about anything but the Academy.]
Whiteking answered through the comms, [All the houses and establishments within a 10-kilometer radius around the Academy are all fake, no one lives there except a handful of people from the Government.]
"That's good and creepy at the same time," Tempo let out a small but deep breath.
"Bulwark..." Empress then turned to look at Bulwark, who has been quietly standing from behind them; his back, almost resting at the gates of the Academy,
"...I thought you were no longer part of our group, why are you here?"
"To make sure the Academy is safe, Empress," Bulwark answered without any hesitation. He then ever so expertly swung his fist, and as soon as he did so, threads of golden light appeared around his arm; soon turning into the shape of a shield.
"I wish all of you return safely from battle, Empress," Bulwark then was as he gently placed his palm on the Academy gate; and as soon as he did so, the invisible dome shield that protected the Academy from the outside world flickered.
Not so much that it disappeared. But rather, it even became visible– carrying a brilliance similar to that of gold bathing in the rays of the sun.
"Jeez, that was so cheesy," V breathed out as her mecha suit began to wriggle in disgust, "I know you're old, but you don't have to follow the–"
And before V could finish talking; the sound of the footsteps coming from the cloud of dust suddenly became louder. The ground beneath their feet, starting to tremble as the silhouette of Dark Millemiun walked closer and closer to them.
And soon, within the cloud, a hint of red could be seen. And ever so slowly, Dark Millenium once again revealed herself to the world– the insides of the jet-black helmet, emitting some sort of red light through the visor.
A small but very deep sigh then echoed through the air. The sigh was disgruntled and almost exploding in pitch as it seeped from Dark Millenium's helmet– most likely a damage on the voice-changing chip installed inside it.
And without saying any more words, Dark Millenium disappeared from her spot. And right when the Hope Guild thought that she would be running away, she flew straight towards them... or rather, above them. Her fist, already loaded and seemingly ready to ram its way through the gates of the Academy.
"..."
But before her fist could land on the gigantic gate, a small crack whispered in the air. Dark Millenium turned her head towards the direction of the quiet noise, only to see Empress's hand gripping her foot.
And with a smirk, Empress then rotated her body; the momentum, enough to create a skirt of wind around her arm as she swung Dark Millenium back to the ground. But before Dark Millenium's ankle could even leave Empress's hand, a grey first was already waiting for her.
"!!!"
Another crack then whispered in the air as Hera's fist cleanly connected to Dark Millenium's stomach, causing her body to fold in a curve as it shot away from the Academy.
The pavement, erupting multiple times as Dark Millenium's body violently rolled across it. Her pirouette of death, only stopped as it hit a post; which also bent and eventually fell to the ground.
"..." Dark Millenium's fingers started to flinch... but before she could even do anything, a rhythmic beat echoed through the air. And just like that, Dark Millenium's view once again shifted as she felt herself being bombarded by almost a hundred invisible strikes within a second.
Her body, almost a paper doll stuck inside a storm as it once again rolled on the ground helplessly.
[Tempo, you're too far! Re-group!]
"Aye, aye, boss."
And with those words, the strikes that left her with no rest suddenly stopped,
Leaving her sprawled on the ground to stare at the unusually clear skies above her.
Leaving her with one thought in mind– The Hope Guild...
...is strong.
Chapter 148One might think that thunder surrounded the entire Academy, if not for the fact that they were, in fact... howling like monkeys. It wasn't only them, however, as the whole world might as well be causing the planet to rumble with their almost unending cheers.
Everyone was watching as Dark Millenium could not even utter a single step; completely overwhelmed by the endless barrage of attacks that she was receiving from the members of the Hope Guild– of course, the people would be cheering.
The last they saw all the members of the Hope Guild in battle was when they fought with Darkday... and everyone knew how that turned out. And although they still showed themselves in public, it was only usually brief and with just one or two members fighting or subduing someone– and those don't usually last long.
So now, seeing them all together again, the people truly could not help but feel excited... especially since the one they were fighting wore an outfit similar to Darkday. They knew Dark Millenium was just a copycat, but the feeling of scratching their itch for revenge was still slightly nicked.
Dark Millenium couldn't even fight back, being bombarded by Tempo as he rammed his body towards Dark Millenium repeatedly; moving back and forth faster than the blink of an eye.
"Tempo, you're too far. Regroup!"
The cheers of the people then finally stopped as Tempo retreated. They held their breaths; their eyes, almost trembling with anticipation as they waited for Dark Millenium's doom.
Unfortunately for them, Dark Millenium, although slightly trembling, still managed to get up with no problem at all.
"..."
"This little bitch," Hera, whose veins were already almost throbbing and popping out of her grey skin, could not help but let out a short but very deep breath as she watched as Dark Millenium got up even after being bombarded by an almost barrage of strikes.
"Where did someone like this suddenly pop out from?" She then breathed out, her mouth slowly turning into a scowl.
"Hera, don't lose your temper like last time," Empress ordered.
"Pft, there are cameras. Big Ms. Celebrity here wouldn't do anything brash with them watching her," V scoffed.
"Oh, you seem to know me well. I'm truly touched."
"...That wasn't a compliment."
"I know," Hera also let out a scoff of her own. Her eyes, however, did not leave Dark Millenium even for a single second.
"Tch, let's just kill this fucker," trickles of green static then sparked throughout the arms of V's mecha suit; the robotic voice seeping out from the suit, not enough to show V's triggered emotions.
"Such a feisty mouth for one so young. You're probably the most foul-mouthed girl in the world right now."
[Hm, I guess you haven't met my daughter.]
"Pft, right," Tempo joined in on the conversation as he appeared beside Empress, "You got scolded hard because you kept sleeping with the boss."
"..."
"..." Tempo's eyes then slowly widened; his eyes almost popping out from their sockets as he slowly realized what he just said.
His realization was followed by an awkward silence; lasting only a split second, but for him, it felt like forever.
"..."
"..."
"I–"
"Focus on the task at hand," Empress did not seem to mind as she just briefly glanced at Tempo before her gaze returned to Dark Millenium. Her ever so slightly trembling hands, however, did not escape Butcher's eyes.
But Butcher did not say anything; only letting out a small but deep sigh as he shook his head.
"Butcher, Hera..." Empress then whispered, "You know what to do."
"Of course," Butcher then immediately kneeled on the ground, stretching his hand to the side as he tightened the grip on his knife.
As for Hera, she moved behind Butcher; placing... her left foot on his back.
"Are you ready, baldy!?"
"Y–"
And before Butcher could even respond, Hera's muscles moved almost as if they combusted. A small explosion then erupted in the air as Hera kicked Butcher away; strong enough that a skirt of wind surrounded Butcher, who seemed to be sliding on the ground with ease and without any interference– almost as if the ground did not even exist.
Butcher then plunged his knife on the ground– but once again, it was as if there was nothing there at all as the knife went through with ease, slicing through the pavement. Not like cutting through butter, not even like cutting through water.... It was as if he was just cutting through air.
And without even a second passing, Empress suddenly appeared to his left, flying at the same speed he was sliding.
"..." Tempo was now also running to his right– and with a nod, Tempo and Empress rushed to the sides, quickly surrounding Dark Millenium in a sort of triangle.
"..." Dark Millenium then looked around, carefully observing the two individuals that suddenly appeared behind her. Her clothes were once again tattered, revealing her skin that was still full of scars. But now, different from before, there were also fresh patches of blood.
It would seem that, unlike their first encounter, the members of the Hope Guild knew how much strength to use. Dark Millenium's helmet was now also cracked; causing her heavy breaths to be heard by everyone. Her right eye had also slightly revealed itself to the outside world, glimmering in perhaps a green, or maybe blue hue.
"W–"
And unlike before, the Hope Guild seemed to not be allowing any dialog between them as Butcher did not stop his advance; his knife, moving straight towards her and threatening to split her body in half.
"!!!"
Dark Millenium quickly took a step back, but as soon as she did so, a fist was already waiting for her. She was able to raise both her arms to block the punch– but still, the sheer force was enough to cause her to almost instantly slam towards the ground, rolling away several times like a ragdoll before the recovered and floated in the air.
"Kah!"
But just a few moments after her body left the ground, her body quivered as it was suddenly surrounded by green trickles of lightning; crawling violently throughout her entire body.
"Haha! Die, die!"
Dark Millenium's entire body continued to tremble erratically. But even still, she managed to stay afloat; her shivering head, slowly turning towards V as she continued to release green trickles of electricity from her mecha suit.
"Turn it off!"
And as soon as those words reverberated in the air, the green trickles of electricity shooting out from V's mecha suit instantly dispersed. And not even a second later, Hera emerged from behind V; her fists, already heading straight towards Dark Millenium's head.
And this time, it connected, throwing Dark Millenium straight back to the ground; her body, once again violently bouncing as it rolled several meters away. And before she could even slow down, an echo thundered in the air; a blur, smashing straight towards Dark Millenium's back.
"Kh!"
Dark Millenium's body bent almost to a fold as Tempo's knee almost crushed her spine there and then. But it would seem that her body was truly durable, as the most it did was cause her to once again be thrown like a ragdoll to the other direction.
Everything seemed to be moving too fast, however, as she did not even notice Empress, who was already waiting for her with her arm already stretched... directly blocking the path of Dark Millenium's neck.
And with a small but very deep breath, Empress pushed her body forward, slamming her arm straight towards Dark Millenium's neck. And it was as if all the dust around them exploded, rippling away several times as a deafening thunder erupted in the air.
Dark Millenium's body then once again violently rotated in the air several times, but this time, in place. It was only perhaps after the 5th rotation that her body ever so lifelessly dropped to the ground.
"..."
And without even checking whether or not Dark Millenium was alive, Empress grabbed her by the ankle and started smashing her on the ground like some sort of bat.
"Hera!"
And with that roar, Hera suddenly appeared beside Empress. And without even slight hesitation, stomped her foot down straight towards Dark Millenium's head. She did so several times before Empress finally let go of Dark Millenium's leg.
"Whiteking," Empress then breathed out. And as soon as she did so, another batch of white pillars plunged to the ground, surrounding Dark Millenium's body and quickly confining it inside with some sort of barrier.
None of them knew whether Dark Millenium was dead or alive, but it didn't matter. They knew that Dark Millenium could regenerate, not as fast as Hera, but still enough that she might be able to escape again– and they couldn't take that chance.
And so, just like that, Dark Millenium was finally neutralized.
Although a lot of things seemed to have happened, in truth, it has not even been 5 minutes since their first exchange of fists.
"..." The members of the Hope Guild then all slowly gathered around the barrier, this time, Whiteking also showed himself as he emerged from the skies.
"Is the bitch finally dead?"
"...No, we're still reading signs of life," Whiteking answered as he looked at Dark Millenium, who was lifelessly sprawled on the ground– if it was not for her chest that was ever so slightly moving, then everyone that would see her would most likely assume she was dead.
And very soon, Dark Millenium's arms began to move.
"...She can still move? Just how durable is this bitch?" Hera said as she started cracking her knuckles, "Open the cage, I'll clobber this bitch to dea–"
And before she could even finish her words, Dark Millenium slowly sat up; her trembling body showing her struggle to even breath. And soon, with a slight snap, her helmet crumbled into pieces.
"What the..." Hera's entire body then quickly deflated; her skin turning into its normal brown color as soon as her eyes met with Dark Millenium's. And just like Dark Millenium's helmet slowly turning to ash, so did Hera's eagerness to fight, "She...
...she's just a girl."
Chapter 149"She... is just a girl."
A small echoing heartbeat whispered in the air as Hera's skin slowly returned to its natural brown color– the popping veins that were protruding, now almost nonexistent as all that remained was an unblemished surface; truly, one befitting of a model.
And with the disappearance of her grey skin and almost monstrous muscle mass, so did her will to fight. How could she even, when the face of the girl in front of her was filled with all sorts of scars?
The girl wasn't really that young, no. Perhaps it was better to call her a young woman– but still, if she was right, then Dark Millenium shouldn't be any older than 20 years old. Heck, she could be a student of the Academy, Hera thought as she looked at her comrades; which, judging by their faces, also thought the same.
No, there was one that was perhaps the most shocked of them all; his eyebrows were rose almost to his hairline; his eyes, as wide as they could be.
"What a plot twist. Ain't that right, Whiteking?" Hera let out a small scoff.
"..." Bernard, however, did not respond as he just took in a small gulp; his wide eyes, not leaving Dark Millenium for even a second.
"Nothing changes," Empress's voice, although cold; the slight hesitation it contained was quite obvious for everyone to hear, "This woman is still a terrorist and a villain– no sob story could change that, you guys should know the drill."
"That's right," V also scoffed, "This bitch had it coming, let's just get this over with so Hera could do a photo shoot and let horny teenage boys fap to her."
"Such a language is 100% unappreciated, V."
"Your baldness is unappreciated!"
"...Can you two stop bickering just for once?" Tempo sighed as he stood near Bernard, "Come on, man. Are we surrendering her straight to the SMP?"
"Can the Super Maximum Prison even handle someone like this?" Hera furrowed her eyebrows, "Even we had a somewhat hard time dealing with her."
"Are you getting soft just because she looks pitiful?" V once again let out a small but deep breath, "She looks older than me anyway, I have no sympathy for people like this. Oi, are you listening to me, you fucking terrorist!?"
V's mecha suit gently kicked the White Pillars confining Dark Millenium. Dark Millenium, however, did not respond as she just remained staring at nothing– not even trying to hide her face that was filled with scars.
"Whiteking, where are we taking her?" Empress then also stood beside Bernard, repeating Tempo's question, "Are there still cells available in SMP capable of holding Grade-S Sup– Are you listening, Whiteking?"
"Whiteking!"
"Hm?" Bernard finally moved his head; quickly looking at Empress and his comrades as he woke up from his weird stupor,
"Y... yes. There should be. Let me just call them," Whiteking then said as he stepped away from the rest of the group.
"...What's with him? Having a midlife crisis?"
"Can't blame him," Tempo sighed, "His daughter seems to be about the same age. Speaking of which... now that I am looking at her carefully, she looks kind of familiar, doesn't she?"
"Oh jeez, brown kinda blond-ish hair, blue eyes– I wonder why she looks familiar?" V mocked, "Oh wait, that's half of America!"
"I believe that naturally, less than 5% of–"
"Shut the fuck up, you know how many bald people there are in America!?"
"You–"
"I'm serious, guys," Tempo then interrupted the two as he even crouched to take a better look at Dark Millenium, "I...
...feel like I've seen her before."
***
"Oh shit! The dude got hammered hard!"
"...Shouldn't you guys be in your apartments?"
"I figured we would be safer here with the former leader of the Hope Guild."
"...Then at least buy something!"
A few moments ago back in the Baby Crew's usual base of operations, Hannah and the others were currently watching the fight between Hope Guild and Dark Millenium– their viewing was brief, however, as Dark Millenium was already subdued before they could even warm their seats.
And as Charlotte said, they were ordered by the Academy to return to their student apartments; but due to the profiles and backgrounds of the members of the Baby Crew, most of the staff that they met could only scratch their heads.
"The fight's already done, anyway... I'll order," Hannah then let out a small sigh as she turned her attention away from the TV, "I'll talk to dad again later so we could have him tell us what he knows about your parents, Silv."
"Hm," Silvie nodded as she too, turned to face the table, "Father is still not responding to my calls... I'll try to go to the house provided to him later."
"You... seem to be okay now, child," Charlotte brought the menu, her eyes slightly squinted towards Hannah, "You were going wild just yesterday and almost burned down my shop. Come to think of it... Your father owes me more now."
"That's..." Hannah could let out an awkward chuckle before letting out a short but very deep sigh,
"...I'm truly sorry for what I did yesterday. I was just so angry that I almost hurt all of you," she then muttered as she looked not only at Charlotte but also at the rest of the members of the Baby Crew.
"Meh, you too weak to hurt the Dragon Monarch," Gary said as he did a pose before also getting back to his seat; no longer watching the screen as Dark Millenium was already completely beat.
"Hm."
"...No comeback?" Gary's eyes then quickly turned wide, slightly backing off as he stared at Hannah, "Where... where's our Hannah!? What did you do to her!?"
"Shut up, you moron," Hannah rolled her eyes before focusing on Charlotte, "I'll just have the usual, ma'am. What about you guys? Riley? Tomoe?"
"I'll skip, big sister Hannah," Tomoe said as she glanced at Riley, before also turning to the table. As for Riley, he was the only one that remained staring at the screen.
"I will be going back to my apartment, everyone."
"What, why!?"
"I have something I need to do, sister," Riley then said as he walked away. Hannah seemed to want to say something else, but before she could do so, Riley just nonchalantly left the store.
"...What's with him?" Hannah said as she raised an eyebrow. She then turned to look at the monitor, only to see the Hope Guild surrounding the already captured Dark Millenium,
"...I guess they are taking her to SMP," she shrugged before she once again faced the table.
"..."
"..."
But after just a few moments, she once again turned towards the TV; this time, almost flipping the table upside down.
"W... what the!?" Gary bellowed in surprise, "Why did you do that!?"
"T... that..." Hannah stuttered; her words almost whispering loudly throughout the entire store.
"Oh shit, so Dark Millenium really is a woman!?" Gary said as he also turned his attention back to the screen,
"Deemn, she a beaut. Almost a waste for her to go to prison," he then let out a small chuckle, "She almost kinda reminds me of–"
And before he could even finish his words, the curves of his mouth completely lowered, leaving his mouth slightly open as he stared at the screen.
And with the two suddenly turning quiet, the rest of the people inside the store all turned to look at the screen. The cameras were changing angles and panning, so it took quite a while for them to realize what the two were talking about.
But when they did... their mouths were left wide open as well.
***
"So, what did SMP say, Whiteking?"
Back in front of the Academy, Dark Millenium still remained unresponsive. Her wounds seemed to have healed and all that remained were the patches of drying blood stuck to her skin and costume.
Seeing this, the members of the Hope Guild were all vigilant; making sure that Dark Millenium doesn't do anything funny.
"...They still have one cell left capable of handling Dark Millenium."
Whiteking, who had just finished talking to the people of the SMP, returned to the others; his tone now calmer than before,
"I'll take it from here," he then said.
"No," Empress quickly shook her head as Whiteking was about to call his drones to move the White Pillars away, "She's too dangerous for you to handle on your own, V and I will be coming with you."
"There's no need," Whiteking sighed,
"Even you and Hera would have a hard time prying this thing open," he then chuckled as he knocked on one of the White Pillars, "Let alone an already weakened girl."
"That wasn't a request, Whiteking."
"..."
"..."
"...As you wish, Empress," Whiteking then let out a small but very deep sigh as he nodded.
"Good," Empress also nodded before looking at the other members of the Hope Guild, "For the meantime, the rest of you remain here just in case."
"Sweet," Tempo muttered, "I guess I'll just go and catch up with Bulwark."
"Alright, let's–"
And before Empress could finish her words, her eyes started to widen; her legs... suddenly trembling without reason.
"...Empress? What's going–"
"Evacuate..."
"What?"
"Evacuate everyone," Empress then turned to look at Tempo, "Prioritize the students of the Academy. Evacuate everyone...
...now."
"What's going on, why are you–"
And before Tempo could finish his words, Empress suddenly grabbed something from her waist. And without even saying a word, she pointed it towards the sky– causing a high-pitched explosion whistling in the air...
...followed by a blossoming light that drowned everything in red.
"W... what?" Not only Tempo, but all of the members of the Hope Guild looked at the signal flare that was suddenly triggered by their leader.
A Red Flare.
And in front of it, without them even realizing... a dark but familiar silhouette was already floating in the air.
A Red Flare– Threat Level:
Darkday.
"....Miss me?"
Chapter 150The lines of red, etching through the dark silhouette that floated in the air. Even with the sun almost at its highest, the Red Flare was enough to wash out everything within the vicinity in an ocean of red– but even still, the man that stood in the air was completely unaffected.
It was as if he was a single dent in the light– a void that needed to be filled, but could not. A single dent...
...A single dent that signaled the end. A tiny dent compared to the size of the world.
Minuscule compared to the area the sun reaches, maybe even almost non-existent. He was a grain, a sand, a speck of dust to the light– and yet he signaled the end of everything.
Soon, the Red Flare behind him dissipated in silence, letting the sun once again have the monopoly in greeting the world with its brilliance. But soon, even the beautiful rays hid with the coming of the dark day.
The clouds above all started to shift, blanketing the world once again in the darkness that brought with it only death.
"...Miss me?"
"D... Darkday?"
"Tell me this is another copycat."
The members of the Hope Guild could only look up at this descending darkness, their eyes wanting to leave, but could not as Darkday ever so slowly landed near to them.
They wanted to fight, but their mind remembers clearly what would happen if they did.
They wanted to run, but then the people around them would have to pay the price for that.
They were heroes– the only thing they could do was stand their ground.
"Tempo..." Empress then whispered, "Evacuate as many students as you can."
"...Aren't they safer inside the Academy?"
"Heh," and for the first time in a long time, Empress could not help but let out a chuckle; ever so subtle and tiny, "The only safe place is where the light still shines."
"Then–"
"There is no need for any of that, members of the Hope Guild."
And before Tempo could say another word, Darkday started to walk towards them; his voice, different from how they remember it to be. Could it be... he got the idea from Dark Millenium's helmet?
"I came here not for you, but for her."
And with those words, the Hope Guild finally turned their eyes away from Darkday, turning towards the individual his finger was pointing to– Dark Millenium.
"Megawoman."
"...What a– !!!"
A rumble. Loud enough to drown any words or noise that the world might produce reverberated through the air– or at least that was what it sounded and felt like for the members of the Hope Guild as the very ground they stood on started to tremble.
And with a light snap of a finger, a minute sound that shouldn't have been heard by them... With that snap, they felt themselves being thrown away by a force that made one almost helpless. It was not only them, but even the ground agreed as it completely tore away.
It was almost as if they were just standing on styrofoam; being ripped and mawed away by an angry– no, an excited child.
There was supposed to be chaos as the roads, the trees, and the ground all cracked and floated in the air– but amidst everything, amidst the rumble, amidst the debris, amidst the chaos... there was order.
And at the center of it, completely unmoved and unshaken, was the prison that held Dark Millenium, who even amidst everything, remained stagnant and in a stupor; muttering something within her silent breaths.
The members of the Hope Guild found themselves in that so-called order. Floating helplessly as an invisible hand seemed to have attached strings on them– as if they were dolls and had no wills of their own.
But of course, they wanted to move. They wanted to do at least something, anything... but it almost felt like even their breaths were no longer their own.
The roads, the trees, and the ground then slowly rebuild themselves, not in the way they were before... but in the way that made a path for Darkday; slowly floating in the air and making a path above the crater he made as he ever so slowly made his way to Dark Millenium.
As for the members of the Hope Guild... They were like knights, making way for their King as he greeted his Queen.
"Megawoman," Darkday then said as he casually pulled one of the White Pillars, causing the slightly invisible green barrier to flicker and very soon fade away,
"What have they done to you?"
Darkday then kneeled on the ground, gently touching Dark Millenium's chin as he turned her face towards him,
"You... look younger," Darkday's breaths started to slightly have weight on them, "Silvie almost looks like you. But these scars... I know they're not from me."
Darkday then carefully checked on the horrendous and almost countless tiny scars on Dark Millenium's face. Her eyes were of a sort of green-blue hue, her hair, a mix of brown and gold– a trait that Silvie also had.
But that wasn't everything– every millimeter of the structure of their faces was almost the same. If it were not for the scars and her eyes that almost seemed dead, then Dark Millenium would have just been Silvie 2 or 3 years from now.
"..."
And now that Darkday was looking at her, truly looking at her... the Megawoman he knew would probably be 10 years older.
"You're not Megawoman,"
Darkday then let go of Dark Millenium's face as he suddenly stood up. And as if the chaos thrived once more, the path that had made itself for Darkday soon crumbled, dropping back to the crater below them like crackers eaten by a messy toddler.
"If you are not Megawoman, then who are you?" Darkday then muttered, his tone clearly perturbed and annoyed, "Megawoman... you're not Megawoman."
Darkday then started to walk in circles around the White Pillars still surrounding Dark Millenium. His steps, slightly stuttered as he muttered the words 'Megawoman' almost endlessly.
"Mega... woman?"
Until finally, Dark Millenium opened her mouth and spoke; her voice still slightly rasping due to her lungs still healing from being caved in by Hera and Empress. And as soon as her croaking words reached Darkday's ears, his steps halted.
"Do you know where Megawoman is?" He then quickly asked as he once again kneeled in front of Dark Millenium, "Are you also Megawoman's daughter? Do you know Silvie Savelevnia?"
"Silvie... Savelevnia?" Dark Millenium's eyes then turned towards Darkday... almost as if he was seeing through his jet-black helmet,
"Silvie Savelevnia..." She then repeated. And as if for a second, a small light persevered through the darkness... she smiled, "That's...
...my name."
"..." And just like that, it was as if everything froze in time. Darkday remained kneeling on the ground; the fettered breaths that seeped from his helmet, no longer there. And a second later, he let out a single utter–
"...Oh," he breathed out as he once again stood up.
"My purpose..." Dark Millenium then continued to mutter as the light in her eyes slowly rekindled, "Protect... protect the world from foreign species. The government... the government is lying to us all."
"..."
"We're tools... we're just tools and... I must gather heroes to protect this– Ack!"
"..."
And before Dark Millenium could finish her words, a minute whistle echoed in the air; followed by Dark Millenium's screams as she suddenly grabbed her head; groveling on the ground almost into a curl as her shrieks became more intense by the second.
And soon... without sign or warning, a small poof.
And along with it, Dark Millenium's head– exploding into tiny bits and pieces and sticking onto Darkday.
Riley could only blink a couple of times as he watched as a part of Dark Millenium's brain slid down on the visor of his helmet. He turned to look at Dark Millenium's headless corpse for a few moments, before turning around to see Whiteking holding some sort of gun.
"Bernard," Riley then whispered as he tilted his head, "What are you hiding now? First your sexual affair with Empress, and now this? This would surely disappoint–"
And before he could finish his words, the ground beneath him exploded, and emerged from it were a pair of grey hands. In a blink of an eye, Hera wrapped her arms and legs around Darkday, completely locking herself with him.
"V, do it now!"
"What... you'll fucking die!"
"This is our only chance, do it!"
"God fucking damn it!" And with that roar, V flew into the air, meters in front of Riley and Hera. Her mecha suit then opened up, revealing her petite body that was completely covered in green trickles of lightning– her green glowing eyes, almost threatening to blind any that dares look at them.
For some reason, they were able to recover themselves while Darkday was talking to Dark Millenium. They made a lot of noise, but Darkday seemed completely oblivious of them. They were going to find some time to go inside the Academy, but then Whiteking suddenly went rogue and whipped out some sort of gun.
And so, the only thing that Hera could do was improvise as Darkday seemed to still be slightly distracted.
And the best idea she could come up with?
To sacrifice herself for a chance to finally kill Darkday.
"All of you go away!" V then once again roared as her entire body became engulfed by lightning. No... she wasn't engulfed by it. She is the green lightning... only in the shape of a human.
"This...
...better fucking hurt!"
Chapter 151"This better fucking hurt!"
V screamed as loud as she could; her screams, however, were quickly drowned by thunder.
A roar of thunder, whispering throughout the city in a raging wail; loud enough to ripple throughout the entire state of Massachusetts– deafening all those that dared even turn their ears towards.
Her mecha suit opened up, revealing her body that had already turned into green streaks of lightning clumped together to form the shape of a young woman. She then clapped her hands, causing the lightning to protrude and emerge from her body; almost like a web of a million streaks of lightning, blinding everyone with its green brilliance.
And without even a blink of an eye, that web falls upon Hera and Darkday.
"I... I'm so sorry, Hera!" V then let out a cry as another thunder erupted through the air, reaching the skies and opening up the clouds that darkened the entire city– once again allowing light to reach the lonely ground.
"Grah!" V continued to scream as she released all the power she could, to the point that her own light was almost fading.
"V, enough!" Empress, who already had the other members of the Hope Guild ready to strike at any moment if Darkday remains moving after V's finishing move, could not help but bellow as she saw V's body starting to flicker,
"That's enough!" Empress repeated. V was the newest member of their team, replacing a previous member that died in a battle a few years ago against Lady Divider, aka Sophie Palmer. And like what everyone else in the team said, she was the youngest super to ever join the Hope Guild at 16 years old.
She was young– and if she died here... Empress wouldn't know what to do anymore. She will probably quit and just join Bulwark in the Academy to teach children how to become a better hero than her.
"V, please sto–"
"You should listen to your boss, Miss V."
"!!!"
And with those words whispering in the air, the members of the Hope Guild all turned their eyes towards the other end of the lightning web... only to see the web slowly expanding into a sphere.
And without even any warning, V suddenly dropped violently to the ground, instantly killing the lights that drowned the vicinity off.
"V!" Empress quickly rushed towards V to check on her, letting out a sigh of relief as she saw her still coughing without any problems; trickles of electricity, still emerging from her eyes in a sputter.
But soon, the trickles of lightning flickering around her eyes turned into tears as she turned them towards Empress.
"...H... Hera... Hera is..."
"..." Empress did not answer her, only making sure that she does not get up to rush towards Darkday in her condition. However, she did not really need to answer– as Darkday answered for her.
"Miss Hera is alive."
And with those words, Empress suddenly stretched her arms to the side... catching Hera who was nonchalantly thrown away by Darkday like some sort of dirty laundry. She quickly turned to check if she was alright, only for Hera to slightly push her away as she stood up... without even as much as a scratch on her body.
"Why did you also save me!?" Hera then let out a roar, causing the clouds of dust gathering around them to slightly ripple away.
"Because I do not like to break my promises, Miss Hera."
"...What?"
"I said I would retire until Megawoman remains dormant and asleep, Miss Hera," Darkday let out a small but very deep sigh as he shook his head, "There was a misunderstanding on my part. I apologize...
...for scaring all of you."
"Who said we were scared!?" V, who was no longer being held back by Empress, suddenly stood up from the ground as her eyes once again sparked; releasing huge amounts of lightning that sputtered and flickered towards the ground.
"You're going to fucking die today, you bitch!"
"V, no!"
Seeing a torrent of green lightning raging on the ground and crawling towards him, the only response that Darkday returned was another sigh. He did not even try to move, nor block it with his telekinetic abilities. He just... stood there.
The lightning instantly swallowed his entire body whole, almost also turning him into worms of lightning in the shape of a human; but with his entire outfit not reflecting even a single hint of light, it looked quite... odd in a sort of unexplainable way.
But even with him drowned in thunderbolts, Darkday... began to walk.
"Do you see this, Hope Guild?" Darkday then muttered as he stretched his hand to the side; the streaks of lightning, still threatening to burn him to the ground... but alas, it remained only a threat,
"You were so proud and happy in having defeated a percent of Megawoman's power, but now I show you the real difference between her and all of you. And perhaps...
...I should remind you of that."
"!!!"
And as soon as he said that, Darkday suddenly disappeared from his spot, leaving only the streaks of lightning that V was relentlessly but uselessly raining down upon him. Seeing this, V could only let out a small but very deep sigh... before her entire body completely gave up on her.
"Where did he go!?" Hera let out a small scream as her eyes looked everywhere; trying to search any spot that only contained darkness. And she did not have to search for long, however, as she caught a glint of a shadow hiding behind Whiteking.
"W–" and before she could even warn Whiteking, Whiteking's left leg lit up; his chausses, opening up into a rocket that propelled his left leg straight towards Darkday's head– using its momentum to spin his entire body.
"Getting slow there, Whiteking," Darkday muttered as he easily bent his body backwards, avoiding Whiteking's foot with a hair's breadth– almost making the two of them look like a yin-yang symbol.
This symbol of balance quickly became that of disorder, however, as Whiteking's foot continued to spin his body, bending his other knee to lower his body and strike straight towards Darkday's legs.
"!!!"
But when his foot was just an inch away from striking Darkday's ankle, Darkday quickly lifted his foot... and stomped Whiteking's shin.
"Kh," Whiteking tried his best not to let the scream escape from his mouth as his shattered bones pierced straight towards the ground and through his flesh.
"Predictable, Whiteking," Darkday let out a small scoff... before stomping Whiteking's head to the ground and casually walking away and turning towards Butcher, not even bothering to see whether or not Whiteking was unconscious or not.
"You," Darkday then muttered, "Your abilities have something to do with nullifying friction, correct?"
"I–"
"You don't answer villains!"
And before Butcher could even say a word, Hera appeared behind Darkday, her fists already clasped and on their way to clobber Darkday's head into smithereens. One could almost hear her muscles constricting and contracting; the red veins popping out her grey skin, throbbing almost in a vibrating manner as if it was charging up.
Darkday, however, only casually raised one of his arms, letting her fists strike it seemingly without any regard.
And as soon as their arms made contact, the ground beneath them rippled; causing an earthquake that caused the buildings even from miles away to sway. The ground, almost a tidal wave as the crater they were fighting on became even wider... much wider– enough to reveal the underground structures of the Academy.
The Academy grounds, however, remained completely intact due to the energy shield that was blocking any outside forces from getting in, and with Bulwark still shielding it with his powers, it was the only thing left standing for miles. The fake towns near the Academy, all wiped out from the sheer force of Hera's strike that almost resembled the strength of a comet.
Truly, a feat worthy of someone that belonged to the world's no. 1 superhero group.
"...See?"
"You... are a fucking monster."
But alas, the difference between a member of the No. 1 superhero group and the strength of the No. 1 superhero seemed to be... almost like heaven and earth.
Hera could only let out a small chuckle as she stared at Darkday; half of his body, embedded through the ground. But even still, his arm remained above his head; his sleeves, completely ruined as it revealed his skin. But even that was momentary, as ever so slowly, his sleeves woven and fixed itself up.
"...That wasn't one of Megawoman's abilities, Miss Hera," Darkday then let out a small but deep sigh as he swung his fist towards Hera's chin before climbing out of the ground, "It would seem I actually lost today."
"Not yet."
And as soon as Darkday got out of the ground, a knife was already on its way towards him, swinging straight to his chest.
"..." Darkday quickly pinched the blade of the knife but found that even though he was already gripping hard enough, the knife was still able to slide between his fingers. The only thing that he could do was watch as the knife went straight to his heart.
"Interesting ability, Butcher," the knife, however, completely stopped as soon as it reached his flesh, "But still not a match for Megawoman."
"!!!" Butcher's vision then instantly darkened as Darkday suddenly placed his hand on his face, before a snap thundered in the air as he gripped it tightly. But due to Butcher's mysterious ability, instead of his face being ripped away, the only thing it did was throw him away; sliding meters away from Darkday.
"Hm," Darkday slightly tilted his head to the side, before letting out a small hum and turning his head towards the only one left standing near him– Empress, who had in her arms an unconscious V and Whiteking.
"Since Mister Tempo is busy doing something useless," Darkday then muttered, "I guess...
...It's your turn?"
Chapter 152Empress, aka Adaeze.
Adaeze was born in a remote village somewhere in the middle stretches of Nigeria. And like half of the people there, she was born in poverty. No, she belonged in the 10% that lived in extremities.
Hundreds of years ago, the people of Africa lived in adequate conditions as their rulers... distributed their population to other countries; some out of fear and intimidation by their foreign invaders; some to reduce the population of their villages, using the money to secure the livelihood of their remaining people... but of course, truly, most of them did it to fatten their pockets.
The trade of slavery only stopped with the arrival of Megawoman; unchaining the caged people of Africa and returning them to their homes. But with already a hundred years of history, there were already tens of millions of slaves scattered in Europe and America– not including their sons and daughters.
Megawoman's freeing of the slaves was a celebrated and glorious moment in history, even taught in secondary schools and even marked in a calendar... but for the people of Africa, it also brought one major problem– overpopulation.
In just a single year, their population rose by 20% in the 1700s; they were unequipped to handle such change. Of course, Megawoman tried to help– bringing in supers from other countries that would help their crops and water shortage problems go away. But it did not solve the massive growth of their population... instead even hastening it.
But as always with life, time solves everything. With the advancement of technology came the advancement of transportation– allowing not only the people of Africa but also the people of other continents to freely and easily leave their countries.
Africa became a wealthy country; and because of the existence of Megawoman, a lot of people from other countries were willing to invest in their countries for a chance to be recognized by her.
Sadly for them, with the coming of the 1900s, Megawoman had other problems to face in Europe. And with her disappearance, the greedy warlords and rulers once again showed their faces– forcing the poor families of Africa to plummet even further down.
Adaeze belonged to one of those families, born in extreme poverty with her government seemingly blind to their problems. No... she was born in a family of crime. Her parents were part of a militia that raided cargo ships and cruise ships, and as their daughter, it was all she ever knew.
And when her abilities awakened during her teenage years, she used them to help her family. From an outside perspective, her powers would just look like the common flight and super strength combo; but in truth, her powers had something to do with combusting the nitrogen in the air around her.
Her talent was extraordinary– mastering it in a way that it truly became an extension of her body; not just metaphorically and figuratively, but truly just a monstrous control.
The Pirate Empress, they dubbed her.
But alas, her family's reign did not last long, however. Her powers were too strong; easily putting her on the Megawoman's radar.
At the young age of 14, she fought Megawoman– showing her the reality that there were people out there that could kill her with just the snap of their fingers. Megawoman, however, did not surrender her to the authorities and instead brought her to a place with other people like her;
Not the Hope Guild, no– that came after. Megawoman called it the Fitness Gym, she was humorous that way. Adaeze and the 11 others, however, called it the Sanctuary.
There were a dozen of them there, all trained by Megawoman on how to properly use their powers for good. She spent a lot of years with Megawoman and knew exactly how strong she was.
And she knew... that the individual slowly approaching her now had exactly the same strength.
"You..." Empress then gently placed V and Whiteking on the ground; taking in small but very deep breaths as she watched as Darkday slowly walk towards her,
"...So you really can copy people's abilities?" She then whispered as she also carefully approached Darkday.
"I suppose so, Empress."
"It makes sense, people with the same type of powers as yours are usually evil people... or at the very least, weird," Empress let out a small scoff.
"I suppose you are talking about the previous leader of the Hope Guild?" Darkday replied as he continued to calmly make his way towards Empress, "Mine is more... permanent than her, Empress. That is why I am selective with the abilities I try to get."
"And what're the criteria?" Empress asked, her eyes darting all around the place; thinking of a way she and her team would be able to peacefully escape this situation.
"It's simple really. If it can kill me, then I will have it."
"Then I guess you'll be copying my powers?"
"No, ew."
"..." Empress's steps halted as soon as she heard Darkday's words; her eyebrows, slightly twitching from the sudden tone of disgust coming from Darkday. But after a few seconds, she let out a small but very deep breath.
"Tempo, what is your status?"
[Bulwark did not let me inside the Academy, saying the students are safer inside. So I am trying to evacuate the people in the nearby cities.]
"Tch. I suppose it doesn't matter, there's been a change in priority. Carry the others away from here."
[...What about you?]
"I'll hold him off as much as I can."
[But–]
"I'll escape as soon as I know you and the others are back in the base."
[Y–]
"That was an order."
And as soon as Empress said that, a drumming echo whispered in the air. And with a blur suddenly appearing around her and Darkday– the other members of the Hope Guild were suddenly no longer seen.
"Interesting choice, Empress," Darkday breathed out, "You can't even win with your group and–"
"I am afraid this is personal," Empress stretched her hands on the side; the golden rings wrapped around her arms started dangling loudly as she did so, "You almost killed my mentor."
"...Megawoman?" Darkday halted his steps, "Could it be you know where she is right now, Empress?"
"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
"Were you... not aware of Dark Millenium's identity? She seems to be a clone of Megawoman, Empress."
"Stop spouting nonsense and just come at me!"
"Could it be you haven't seen Megawoman's face even though she was your mentor?" Darkday chuckled, "Now I feel quite shy, Empress. It would seem my connection with her is even more special than I–"
"Enough talk!"
Empress then lifted her foot; not forcefully, not violently, not even hastily. But the ground behind her exploded, turning into a tidal wave of rock and soil meters high; Bulwark, who still had the entire Academy wrapped in some sort of golden barrier of light, could let out a sigh as he saw another unpleasant brown tidal wave once again heading towards him- the first one was when Hera erased most of the terrain within a kilometer radius.
It was a good thing her next step was calm, if not, then they would probably reach the earth's core by the time she was finished. And without even any hint or warning, a skirt of wind suddenly surrounded Empress's body as she almost instantly appeared behind Darkday, her palms already placed on his back.
And with a light snap, Darkday's body was propelled straight towards the Academy.
"!!!"
Bulwark could not help but center his abilities to where Darkday was about to land, creating almost a hundred drilling spikes to try and end Darkday once and for all. But alas, Darkday might as well have landed on soft ground as he just bounced back on his feet. The only damage? Holes on the back of his outfit, but even those were patched up.
"I thought you quit being a member of the Hope Guild, Mister Bulwark," Darkday muttered.
"You're still a monster that needs to be erased in the world."
"At least that's something we agree o–"
And before Darkday could finish his words, Empress once again appeared in front of her, giving her a light tap on his chest... but violently throwing him straight back towards the drilling spikes. This time, however, Darkday stopped just an inch from his outfit being poked with holes again.
"Never talk to terrorists!" Empress then bellowed as she once again disappeared from her spot, before appearing beside Darkday with her palms once again pointed at his head, "D–"
This time, however, before she could do anything else, Darkday tangled his hands around hers, locking them in place. Darkday seemed to want to say something, but Empress suddenly wrapped her legs around his waist.
"..."
"Bulwark, trap us! Do it now!"
There was a small flash of hesitation in Bulwark's golden eyes, but it did not take him even a second to decide the weight of the choice he was making now. And so, with a small nod towards Empress, the light surrounding the entire Academy grounds faded– transferring towards Empress and Darkday as they were trapped in some sort of golden sphere.
"..." Darkday looked around him; nothing but gold in his view, "You plan to do a suicide attack again, Empress?" Darkday then whispered.
"Die!"
Empress, however, was no longer interested in hearing any of Darkday's words as the air inside the golden sphere seemed to boil; the rings on Empress's arms, ringing continuously and with pause– almost mirroring her stirred emotions. If it meant finally getting rid of Darkday, then her death was nothing.
The air around them started to explode in bits, but each combustion was violent– ripping off Darkday's costume as if eating them... revealing his white and unblemished skin. Empress only glanced at it, however, not paying it any mind as she mustered up all of her strength for one final strike.
And so, with a smile on her face... she raised her middle fingers towards Darkday,
"See in you hell, Da–"
"Not yet, Empress."
"Eh–"
And before she could finish her words, another set of voices appeared behind her. She looked back, only to see... another Darkday beside her, or more specifically, standing on her shoulder.
And without even warning, Little Darkday slapped Empress right on the jaw– causing the whites of her eyes to show themselves. If it wasn't Darkday catching her, then she would have definitely hit the perimeters of the golden sphere.
"..."
"..." Darkday looked at the unconscious Empress in his arms, before letting out a sigh and slamming his other fist towards the sphere– causing the air itself to tremble as a small part of it cracked open.
"!!!" Bulwark tried to immediately patch the hole, but before he could do so, Darkday already penetrated his hand through it– grabbing his neck.
"I'm not here to kill anyone, Bulwark. Cancel your powers or I might change my mind."
"..." And with those words, Bulwark did not even have to decide as the sphere surrounding Darkday and Empress quickly faded away. And before he could even say anything, Darkday lightly threw Empress at him.
And just like that, Darkday turned around. Bulwark was about to check on Empress's condition but then noticed that Darkday was actually glancing at him.
"...Do you know where Megawoman is located currently, Bulwark?"
"...No?"
"Has Whiteking ever told you about Megawoman's clones, Bulwark?"
"...No," Bulwark breathed out. Although he was far from the rest of the members of the Hope Guild, he also clearly saw Dark Millenium's face– it was definitely almost the same as Silvie's.
"...Whiteking is quite a suspicious individual, no?"
"...Yes?"
"Are you sure you know nothing about Megawoman's whereabouts, Bulwark?"
"...Yes?"
"Hm. Okay," Darkday only let out a small breath before finally flying away without a single word... almost as if he just didn't play with the lives of the No. 1 superhero group in the world.
Bulwark could only stare as Darkday's figure slowly disappeared into the dark clouds. And soon, with his disappearance, those clouds once again dispersed; letting the sun once again finally shine upon them.
And with the coming of light, came the destruction that darkness left.
"..." Bulwark then looked at the aftermath of the battle for a few seconds, before shaking his head and taking Empress inside the Academy. He had lived for thousands of years; he had met Supers that could be considered gods, he had also seen many who could cause this much destruction... but never once had he met someone who did it as if he was just casually walking down the street.
Darkday.
Just... how will they even hope to defeat someone like him?
***
"Silvie! Get out of your room! Don't let me burn this fucking door down!"
"Go away! Please go away!"
Hannah, Gary, and Tomoe were currently in front of Silvie's apartment door, with Hannah trying to kick the door open. As soon as Silvie saw Dark Millenium's face through the screen, she instantly zoned out.
And without even saying a word, she rushed out of the Korean Shaved Ice store.
"We're not going to leave here if you don't show your face!"
"Please...
...please just go away."
Chapter 153Hannah's palms, already red from having to hit Silvie's door for almost a minute now. Her heavy taps, echoing throughout the entire hallway of the girl's apartment complex. There were also other people curious as to what was happening– those who watched the news, however, knew exactly what was happening.
"You guys get the fuck out of here!" Hannah then bellowed as she looked at the overly curious crowd slowly building up around them. Granted, the people initially gathered in the first place because Hannah's screams were loud enough to travel across the entire hallway– that didn't matter though, as Hannah just continued trying to get Silvie to come out or for them to be let in.
If it was any other circumstances, then Hannah would have just let Silvie be and let her cool down. But all throughout her breakdowns, she had never seen Silvie carrying that kind of expression.
An expression that showed you're alive... but slowly dying and being eaten from the inside. Even with all her strength, Silvie was a sheltered individual; that showed through the stress she was releasing every time she lost herself.
But this time, when she saw Dark Millenium's face, it was as if everything around her crumbled. She did not even say anything to Hannah and the others and just rushed outside the shop– breaking Charlotte's glass door in the process.
Charlotte did not even seem to mind, however, as she also just stared at the TV, her eyebrows knitted and almost showed her real age.
"...Darkday is outside the Academy."
"Y– what?"
And finally, with Tomoe's whispers reaching her ears, Hannah stopped smashing her palms on Silvie's door, "What do you mean Darkday's outside?"
Tomoe did not answer her, and only showed her phone which was playing the news– and true enough, Darkday was there, seemingly talking to Dark Millenium.
"What... the fuck is going on?" Hannah then muttered, she was about to say something else, but before she could do so, Dark Millenium's head suddenly exploded.
"What the fuck!"
"!!!" Even Gary, who was just slightly glancing at the phone, could not help but widen his eyes and take a few small steps back.
"S... Silv, we really need to get out of here!" Hannah then once again slammed her palms on the door, "Darkday... Darkday is here! Silv! Gary!? What the fuck, man!? Help me tear down this door, wake the fuck up!"
Hannah once again violently tapped Gary's shoulders; Gary, however, still had a blank expression on his face as he stared at Dark Millenium's headless corpse. And soon, the battle between Hope Guild and Darkday started.
"Gary, why are you zoning out!?" Hannah bellowed, "Silv might be doing something drastic inside!"
And with those words entering his ears, Gary snapped out of whatever it was he was thinking; immediately kicking down the door and causing it to crumple. And with another crack snapping in the air, Silvie's door was forced open; the edges of the door, completely flayed and cracked.
"Silv!?" Hannah immediately rushed inside, her eyes, moving almost nonstop as they tried to spot Silvie. She needed to take a couple more steps inside the apartment, however, to find Silvie's silhouette in the kitchen– surrounded by a couple of knives that were completely either jagged or split in half.
She was also holding another knife, trying to cut open her arms; but fortunately, the only thing it did was snap the knife once again in half.
"What the fuck are you doing!?" Hannah then quickly rushed towards Silvie, kicking the broken knife away from her hands before embracing her tight, "You stupid fucker!"
"I... Stay away from me, Hannah," Silvie then whispered; just letting her arms fall on the sides of her body almost lifelessly, "Didn't... didn't you see Dark Millenium's face? She... she looks exactly like me."
"And so what!?" Hannah bellowed as she tightened her embrace on Silvie's body; feeling her warm tears falling onto her bosom, "That... that doesn't mean anything!"
"It... means everything, Hannah," Silvie's sedated voice started to weaken even further, "My... my fake mother, all these visions, my mind losing it... the feeling of drowning and the whispers... I'm... I'm not stupid, I know what those mean...
...I'm... I'm a clone of Megawoman."
"...Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Silv," Hannah let out a small sigh before letting Silvie go and holding her cheeks gently, "That's a bit of a jump in logic... she... she could just be your sister?"
Hearing Hannah's words, the only thing that Silvie could do was let out a small but heavy chuckle; standing up from the floor as she looked at Gary and Tomoe, who were quietly watching on the side.
"W... well, why does it matter if you're a clone?" Gary also let out an awkward chuckle of his own; his eyes, not even daring to look at Silvie's, "She... she's dead now anyway."
"W... what?"
"Gary! What the fuck!?"
"Then... will... will Darkday also kill me?" Silvie then clasped her head, her face, once again wincing from all the thoughts surfacing out of his mind, "Maybe... maybe that's for the best. I'm... I'm an abomination and–"
"...Whiteking was the one who killed Dark Millenium," Tomoe then joined in on the conversation, "He... is hiding something."
"Everything leads to that fucker," Hannah let out a small scoff, "You don't have to worry, Silv. I am going to drag that adulterer by the ankles to let him answer everything."
"It... it doesn't matter anymore," Silvie once again let out a small chuckle... and soon, her light chuckles turned into a burst of laughter, "I'm... I'm a clone... I'm not even a human. I just... I just wanted to be a hero. Wait, maybe even that is implanted on me or something? I watched a documentary about–"
"Snap out of it, Silv!" Hannah did not let Silvie finish her frenzied words, "Your identity doesn't matter to us, you are our friend, okay!? Isn't that right, guys?"
"Hm," Tomoe quickly nodded.
"..."
"..."
"Gary!"
"Hm? Oh, yeah... yes," Gary blinked a couple of times before nodding his head several times.
"I–"
"You're a clone of Megawoman, Silvie."
"!!!"
And before Silvie could even say anything, Riley suddenly appeared in her apartment, "You're not his daughter... you're a clone."
"What the... where did you suddenly pop out from!?" Hannah almost jumped as Riley's head suddenly popped out from behind the kitchen counter, "And what the fuck, bro!? What are you saying?"
"I always thought you resemble Megawoman, Silvie," Riley then placed his hand on his chin as he walked out of the counter, "But to think you're one of her clones. The Government is really pushing its boundaries this time. I wonder how many of you are there?"
"I... ignore my brother's words!" Hannah then quickly covered Riley's mouth as soon as she saw Silvie's hand starting to tremble.
"Y... you're right," Silvie then muttered, her tears once again trying to burst out from her eyes, "I'm... I'm a monster."
"No, Silvie," Riley tilted his head to the side to speak,
"You're even more beautiful now."
"...What?" Silvie could not help but take in a very small but very deep breath.
"If you were Megawoman's daughter with a human, then you would have been tainted," Riley muttered as he looked Silvie straight in the eyes, "But now that we know you're a clone... doesn't that make you closer to Megawoman than before? You, Silvie Savelievna...
...you're perfect."
"R... Riley," Silvie once again took in a deep breath; before wiping the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
As for Hannah, she could not help but slightly squint her eyes... Riley's words, she feels like she heard it somewhere before. But before she could even say anything, Silvie spoke up; her voice, now containing a bit of strength.
"Wait... you said it's possible that there could be more of me out there?" Silvie then whispered; her eyes, now somewhat glistening.
"Perhaps," Riley muttered, "But it is also possible that it's only you left now that Dark Millenium is dead, Silvie. I assume cloning... is quite a complicated process without an ability."
"...Like Replica Ricky and Darkday?" Hannah furrowed her eyebrows, "But wait... maybe they are using Megawoman's technology? Almost all the facilities inside the Academy are using it, right?"
"...I feel like you guys are recovering way too fast here," Gary then muttered as he stepped forward, "Silvie... just tried to kill herself earlier."
"..."
"..."
"...We're trying to forget that–"
"I believe it is alright," Tomoe let out a small sigh before Hannah could finish her words, "I think we have all tried to kill ourselves once or twice. I think it's completely normal."
"Yes," Riley added, "I've died several times already."
"Why do I feel like I'm the only one normal here at this very moment?" Gary blinked his eyes a couple of times as he looked at the others, "Baby Crew is a bit loose in the–"
"Stop," Hannah raised her palm before Gary could finish her words, "I... I think we shouldn't use the name Baby Crew anymore."
'...What? Right when it was starting to grow on me?" Gary muttered, "What the hell is happening right n–"
"Silvie Savelievna."
And before Gary could finish his words, a bunch of people suddenly barged inside Silvie's apartment... led by none other than Empress; who seemed to have rushed here as soon as she woke up inside the Academy.
"We need you to come with us," Empress then commanded. Her tone, not containing even a single hint of warmth as her eyes looked at Silvie from head to toe, "We need you to answer some–"
This time, however, her words were the ones interrupted as Hannah blocked Silvie from her view.
"I don't think so...
...slut."
Chapter 154"Silvie Savelievna. We need you to come with us to answer some–"
"I don't think so...
...slut."
"Watch your tone, this is–"
One of the people behind Empress, presumably a staff of the Academy, was about to take a step forward. But before she could do so, Empress raised her arms to block her.
"You may leave," Empress then said as she glanced at the people behind her.
"But–"
"You're still injured, Empress. We still need to–"
"I won't die with just this," Empress let out a small sigh; shaking her head before once again gesturing to the staff of the Academy to leave, "I'll return to the clinic after I am done here, I promise."
"That's..." The group looked at each other for a few seconds, before nodding their heads and stepping on Silvie's broken door as they stepped out of the apartment. And as soon as they were gone, Empress casually picked up the heavy silver door and forcefully... pinned it back on.
And if it wasn't for the loud sound of her doing so, then they would have definitely heard the gossipers and onlookers' 'aww' of disappointment.
"I would appreciate it if you do not call me... that unpleasant word, Hannah," Empress then let out a small but very deep breath as she looked at Hannah.
"What word, slut?"
"What happened between your father and I were–"
"So you agree that you're a slut?"
"Let's talk about this some other time, Hannah. What matters now is that Silvie Savelievna needs to–"
"She's not going anywhere."
And now, not only Hannah but also Tomoe blocked Silvie from Empress's view.
"That's right," Hannah crossed her arms, leaning her head back as a way to... look down on Empress. But due to Empress being the 2nd tallest in the room, the only thing Hannah was really doing was almost hitting Silvie's nose.
"Gary, why are you just standing there!? Need some support here!" Hannah then loudly whispered as she gestured for Gary to join them with their... small barricade. Gary, however, was once again in a sort of stupor, seemingly completely unaware of what he should do.
"W... well," Gary then took in a small gulp as he looked back and forth between Empress, Silvie, and Hannah, "If... if the Government is asking for her, then maybe we should–"
"Since when did you become a dog of the governme– No, since when did you become a dog's dog of the government!?"
"I'm–"
"I am not the Government's dog, Hannah," Empress's tone quickly changed as she answered Hannah's question, not even allowing Gary to speak as she took a small step forward.
"No, I am very certain you're a bitch," Hannah did not back down as her hands began to sizzle, "As far as I'm concerned, all the members of the Hope Guild are the Government's dogs. My dad certainly is one...
...and you're the bitch who licked his wounds when he was down."
"..." And with those words, the air around Empress slowly began to pop; like a minuscule snap of explosions erupting around her, almost snapping in rhythm with her trembling eyebrows. She knew that she shouldn't let Hannah's words get to her since she was in many ways her senior... but it would seem Hannah got her talent with words from her father just a little too much for her liking.
"Look here, child," Empress then breathed out, her tone truly no longer containing any hint of modesty, "It's not my fault your father crawled to me when he was at his weakest. Your mother seemed to only care about herself and didn't even notice that Bernard was having troubles."
"That's because she had to take care of me!" Hannah did not budge, "You wouldn't understand because you're not a mother!"
"I was a mother," Empress furrowed her eyebrows, "And I understood fully."
"That's..."
"Okay, I feel like we've totally gone way off track with what we're–"
"Whose side are you on!?"
Once again, Gary was not able to finish his words as Hannah screamed. He seemed to want to say something, but before he could do so, Hannah's entire arms were quickly engulfed in fire. And not even a second later, a torrent of water came raining down upon them– followed by the sound of the fire alarm loudly banging in their ears.
None of them budged, however, as Hannah and Empress just kept on staring down at each other.
"!!!"
It wasn't until Silvie began to scream that Hannah immediately strayed her eyes away from Empress. Hannah looked back, only to see Silvie clasping her head; her knees and elbows, now touching the floor.
"Silv!?" Both Hannah and Tomoe quickly rushed to check on her, "What the fuck is going on with you now!?"
"T... the alarm. It... it hurts."
"W–" Hannah did not finish her words as a ball of fire emerged from her hand, immediately firing it towards the fire alarm detector. She was able to hit it, but the ringing that continued to whistle inside the apartment did not stop.
Tomoe had also frozen the walls and ceiling of the entire apartment, causing a string of icicles to fill the entire room... and yet the ringing did not cease.
"Y... your nose," Hannah then whispered as blood started to drip from Silvie's nose. And as soon as she saw that, she remembered the exact scene when Dark Millenium died. Her entire head just exploded and burst... she initially thought it was Darkday who did it, but when Tomoe said that it was actually Whiteking–
"You... call my dad and tell him to stop this!"
"What does your father have to do with–"
"Dad, I know you're fucking listening to us right now!" Hannah then said; her eyes, looking at Empress from head to toe. She was about to rush towards Empress, but Empress took a few steps back and gestured for her to back off.
"Don't," Empress commanded, "You might be Whiteking's daughter but you're walking on mighty thin ice here, child. And besides, I have my communications off– no one can hear or talk to us."
"Then you really don't know my dad," Hannah scoffed, "I know you've been fucking listening to us, dad."
"W–"
[There should be a button at the bottom of the TV rack; right side.]
"Gary!"
"Huh? Wha–"
"Fuck, why are you so useless today!?"
Hannah could only click her tongue; pushing Gary away as she rushed towards the living room, immediately crouching down as her palms began tapping the bottom of the TV rack– and soon, a small click whispered into her ears; and immediately, the ringing that drowned the entire room stopped.
And with the ceasing of the alarm, Silvie's trembling body began to calm down; her face and eyes, almost completely red as the veins almost popped out from her skin. But soon, her breaths returned to normal... but not until she dropped on the floor.
"Silv!"
"...She's alright," Tomoe quickly let out a small sigh as she checked on Silvie's pulse, "Things... are getting slightly out of hand."
"You think?" Hannah let out a heavy and fettered chuckle,
"What the fuck are you guys doing out there?" She then said as she once again turned her attention towards Empress; her gaze, no longer mocking nor condescending, not even gloating– but instead just filled with disappointment, "Seriously? Cloning Megawoman and... and playing with people's lives? What the fuck."
"...Cloning," Empress whispered as she looked at Silvie, "...How did you come up with that conclusion?"
"Fucking kidding me?" Hannah rolled her eyes, "Still trying to hide it? I suppose you and dad are great at hiding secrets."
"Bernard is..." Empress furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to remember the events that happened earlier. When Dark Millenium's head exploded, Bernard did point some kind of gun at her. Could... it actually be?
"...Are you saying Whiteking is involved in this?"
"Go ahead, feign ignorance."
"..." Empress no longer said anything and instead just returned her gaze towards Silvie, "I still need to take her with me for–"
"Not a chance, go home."
"That was no longer a request, Ha–"
"I also think you should go home and rest, Empress."
"What the!?"
And before Empress could finish her words, Hannah could not help but slightly jump in shock as Riley's words suddenly popped out from beside her; she looked, only to see Riley sitting on the sofa... and sipping on a cup of what seemed to be warm milk.
"I... I completely forgot you were here, bro," Hannah breathed out as she grabbed her chest in fright.
"...Riley Ross," Empress slightly stuttered as she took a few steps back, "You... are here?"
"Why, were you expecting me somewhere else, Empress?" Riley muttered as he placed his cup on the coffee table.
"N... no."
"Go home, Empress," Riley repeated, "You're still injured from fighting Darkday."
"I don't think the bitch is going to leave until someone–"
"...You're right."
"...What?"
"I will... proceed with this matter some other time," Empress then quickly said as she turned around, "For the meantime, please watch your... friend. Protect her if you must, but don't let the other students approach her as much as possible."
And with those words, a loud thunder once again erupted in the entire apartment as Silvie's broken door once again slammed to the floor. The shadows of the onlookers and gossipers, quickly scurry away as Empress stepped out of the apartment without any more words.
"..."
Hannah and Tomoe could only look at each other as Empress left just like that. They did not have time to ponder, however, as Silvie was still unconscious.
"Dad!" Hannah then once again screamed, "I know you're still listening out there! Just what the fuck is happening right now!?"
"Dad!? Don't ignore me!"
[...] A small whistle then reverberated through the entire apartment; carrying with it a small but very deep sigh, [Tomorrow, 8 in the morning at your usual hideout. Bring the girl and your other friends if you want– if you need to. I will tell you everything about Project Forest...
....about Project Silvie.]
Chapter 155Project Forest.
–As the name suggests, was a plan to 'plant' several clones of Megawoman all around the world by the Government. Translated to its Latin counterpart as Project Silvie– or woman of the forest.
Why did the Government even think of such a plan? Because of a threat– No, not extraterrestrial threats like Dark Millenium suggested; not even the threats of supervillains.
It was the threat of the heroes themselves. With the people relying more and more upon the superheroes, the World Government had been losing their authority over the people for years now.
This was not a new problem. Ever since the dawn of time, strength has always been synonymous with authority. The words of someone like Megawoman weighed more than the words of a country's President– and it was only when she was gone that the World Government had finally put their plan into action.
"Wait, hold up. Are you seriously trying to tell us the Government decided to clone the world's greatest superhero... because they thought that superheroes were a threat? Who is the retard that thought of that? Don't tell me it's you again, dad?"
"...This has been planned before I was even born."
"Are you sure?"
"That's..."
Bernard's short but very heavy sigh echoed throughout the entire Korean Shaved Ice store– which was darker than usual as all the windows and doors were barred shut by rollers; no one was allowed in or out.
Surprisingly, even though Bernard was currently divulging one of the World Government's biggest secrets, not a single Government official was present... maybe except for Silvie's father, who was currently ominously standing at the corner of the shop, his back leaned on the wall and his arms crossed. His eyes, not even once looking at Silvie since he arrived with Bernard earlier.
Hannah, Riley, Tomoe, Gary, Silvie were seated together at their usual table, with Bernard walking around the shop as he exposed the Government's secret. He had just been here the other day telling the secret of his affair to his children... and now he was here telling the secrets of the Government.
He had always thought that he would take this burden to the grave... but who would have thought that his daughter would force him to unravel it all in just the span of 3 days.
"So... that's it, then?" Silvie then let out a small but exhausted gasp, "I... I really am just a clone?"
"You're not just any clone, Silvie. You are Megawoman's clone."
"Shut up, bro. I don't think that's helping right now!" Hannah pinched Riley's arm as she gestured for him to shut up.
"I am only telling the truth, sister," Riley then let out a small sigh as he looked Silvie straight in the eyes, "You are Megawoman's clone, Silvie. By default, that makes you better than most of the people in this room."
"...Thanks?"
"Why do I feel attacked all of a sudden," Gary said as he clasped his heart.
"Fuck, Bernard. Seriously?"
And surprisingly, throughout this talk... Charlotte was also present. She closed down the shop for Bernard for a single condition– she should be present with whatever discussion was going to happen. It was her shop, after all.
"I knew you were a slimy scum, but to think you would actually willingly put a young girl like this in–"
"Not willingly!" Bernard stopped walking; stomping his foot on the ground as he raised his voice, "I had to do what I had to do to keep what Hannah did a–"
"Wait, so this is my fault?"
"I'm not saying that, It's just–"
"Have you been selling information about your other teammates to the Government, you brat?"
"What? How did it even come to–"
"You're probably holding a dark secret of Empress that's why someone as hot as her is..."
And just like that, chaos once again ensued throughout the entire store; with Bernard being the brunt of all the accusations and questions. It was fine if he had the chance to explain himself or actually answer the questions, but all that was happening was him not being allowed to say anything.
"Wait, can I–"
"Can all of you shut the fuck up!?"
And right when he was about to have the chance to talk, Silvie stood up from her seat– almost snapping the windows as her roars cracked in the air.
"I thought we were here to talk about me!? About who I am!?" Silvie bellowed,
"But all I hear is you yapping about your newly discovered parental issues!" Silvie then yelled as she pointed a finger towards Hannah, "I am grateful for you, for all of you for being there but isn't this supposed to be my moment of truth!? You already had yours the other day!"
"..." Seeing Silvie lash out; with her roaring voice completely trembling, the only thing that Hannah could do was look to the side and shut her mouth.
"And you, why the heck are you even here!?" Silvie yelled as she looked at Charlotte, "I get you were supposed to be a big deal like millions of years ago, but I don't see why you should be sticking your nose here when you don't even meet your daily sales quota!"
"That's..."
"And Mr. Whiteking!" Silvie did not let Charlotte say anything as she slammed her palm on the table, splitting it in half, "Why... why are you such a pretentious and snake-y person!? You're supposed to be a hero and yet... and yet you're involved in..."
Silvie was not able to finish her words as tears soon emerged from her eyes; her voice, once again cracking as she slowly turned her head towards her father,
"And you," Silvie then whimpered, "Why are you just standing there like this doesn't involve you? You... you're supposed to be my father, right? You're supposed to be playing the role of my father?"
Silvie's sedated words whispered through the entire store; her father, however, just remained still and quiet.
"At least play your role now," Silvie then whispered as a trembling smile crawled on her face, "Hug me, embrace me... tell me...
...tell me I'm still your daughter, please.... Please... at least just look at me."
"..."
What followed her words were silence, with only the sound of her tears dropping to the floor responding to her loud cry for an embrace.
"I'm..."
But soon, her eyes retained life as she heard her father's voice.
"I'm... just a scientist, Silvie."-- And yet these were the only words that came out of his mouth before he once again embraced himself in silence; his eyes, not even once looking at Silvie.
"...What?" Silvie let out a small chuckle; almost causing her to choke with the tears and saliva flowing inside her mouth, "S... scientist? We had a home in Russia, father. There... you tied me in the bed so that–"
"Emotional Response Assessment."
And before Silvie could finish her words, Bernard seemed to have answered her question.
"The Government was trying to see how you would respond in the case of trauma and stress– if you were going to lash out violently against your parent."
Unlike when he was talking to Hannah, Bernard's words were now clear and without hesitation. "We were trying to program your behavior naturally instead of inducing it surgically like the first subject."
"The first... Dark Millenium?" And with Bernard approaching her with a calm tone, Silvie could only sniffle and wipe the tears plastered on her face.
"Yes. The information inside her head became tumultuous," Bernard nodded, "The Government had previously told me that Silvie-01... had already been disposed of. So I am actually as surprised as any of you to see her still alive."
"Yeah, I don't think so," Hannah joined in, before once again keeping her silence.
"And what exactly was your role in... in creating me, Mr. Whiteking?"
"I... created the containers that you and Silvie-01 were confined in," Bernard muttered, "That's all."
"How... how did they create me?"
"Silv, I don't think you should–"
"Zip it!"
"..."
"There... is a Super groomed by the Government capable of cellular alt– capable of cloning other people and putting them... in an empty vessel," Bernard explained, "I have only seen her once but... judging from her wrinkled skin, she was probably well over her 90s. I don't even know if she's still alive today."
"Doesn't... doesn't that mean that I don't really have any family left?" Silvie's voice once again became weak as she returned back to her seat,
"You... you killed my sister," she then whispered; her head slowly turning towards the broken table, "I'm... I'm all alone now."
"Silv... you have us. We will–"
"Don't."
Hannah tried to comfort Silvie, but Silvie gently pushed her hand away. She did not try to run like before; she was just... completely defeated. Almost the same state as Dark Millenium when she was cornered by the Hope Guild.
"..."
"..."
"S... since everyone is revealing their secret, can I reveal mine?"
And amidst the sudden silence that surrounded the store, Gary suddenly raised his hand.
"I... I actually knew everything," Gary then said as he let out a small but awkward chuckle.
"...What?" Hannah quickly reacted, "We have no time for one of your–"
"I'm not joking," Gary said as he raised both his hands, "Since... Since Silvie's identity had already been discovered, my... I feel like my secret is bound to get exposed as well."
"...Gary?" Silvie furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Gary.
"When... when you said you don't have a family left," Gary muttered, "That's not necessarily true... I'm kinda your brother."
"You... you're also a clone?" Silvie's eyes widened.
"No, I'm Aerith's son."
"...Who?"
"Megawoman."
Chapter 156"You are... Megawoman's son?"
"No, I was kidding."
"Oh, that's not something you should–"
"D... double kid, I really am Megawoman's son."
"What is it!?"
"It was you!?"
"You... didn't know, WK? I thought you were supposed to know everything? I told Prophet who I was when I enrolled."
And so, once again, the Korean Shaved Ice store was filled with the aura of confusion. But of course, the most affected of them all was and is still Silvie. She just found out that she was a clone just yesterday and thought that her whole world was going to crumble.
Sure, it was still crumbling– but to find out that Gary is Megawoman's son? Perhaps that was even more shocking in discovering that she wasn't really supposed to exist.
"Hold up," Hannah then stretched her arms to the side as she stopped everyone else from talking, "Are you guys actually believing him? I mean, this is Gary we're talking about here."
"...Even I wouldn't be lying in this kind of situation, bruh." Gary could only let out a small sigh as he stood up,
"It's... the truth," Gary then said as he looked Silvie straight in the eyes, "I... There's a reason why we're in the same class and–"
"Wait... if... if you really are Megawoman's son and you knew everything..." Silvie then stuttered, "You... you lied to me? To us?"
"W... well," Gary could only let out a small but nervous chuckle, "I... I couldn't exactly just tell you that you were... you know, a clone. But that doesn't change anything, I'm still Gary."
"Wait, wait. Are you really telling us you're Megawoman's son?"
"I am," Gary could only roll his eyes.
"But you told us your parents died during the Battle of Toronto."
"They did. A part of the remains we cleaned when we were in Toronto probably belonged to my pops. As for mother..." Gary's words slowly became sedated, "The Government let me see her once when Darkday returned her... she wouldn't have survived that. That's why when they told me about Project Silvie, I... was against it at first– but the world needs Megawoman."
"So you knew everything?"
"Not everything," Gary sighed, "Just what they told me. I swear, I didn't even know Dark Millenium existed, I thought Silvie was the only one... so I volunteered to watch over her and observe–"
"You're a fucking spy! How could you–"
"Hannah, stop!" Silvie did not let Hannah finish her words as she also stood up from her seat. And without even warning, slapped Gary straight on the face; not heavy enough to cause him to roll on the floor, but it was enough to echo throughout the entire store.
"You... you allowed this to happen?"
"I..." Gary breathed out as he repeated his words, "The world needs Megawoman. You've seen what Darkday could do, the Hope Guild got their ass handed down to them. The only one that could fill Megawoman's shoes is Megawoman... you."
"Really, that's your sales pitch?" Hannah scoffed as she dropped down back to her seat, "This is messed up, man. We've been together almost half a year almost every time. I mean, seriously? You're Megawoman's son, I don't even know what to feel about that...
...but why are you so weak?"
"...I'm half-human."
"Oh wow, that must suck."
"No... not at all."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"This is so fucked. That's all I really have to say now... this is all fucked."
Bernard having an affair, Hannah accidentally killing more than a dozen newborns when she was a baby, Silvie being a clone...
...and now Gary being Megawoman's son?
Just what exactly was happening? Did the stars align for revelations like this to just pop out almost simultaneously?
And it wasn't only Hannah who was deep in thought– everyone was. Even Silvie's father, who had chosen to remain quiet the entire feud, could not help but widen his eyes as he looked at Gary.
Bernard knew that Megawoman's son existed somewhere since he... accidentally got his hands on some of their files about Megawoman, but to think her son was so close to his children all this time– was this some kind of celestial coincidence of some sort?
And just like that, the entire store was once again filled with silence. And this time, it would seem it had no plans on breaking anytime soon. All the eyes in the room just strayed to nowhere in particular.
"..."
"..."
"Megawoman... is dead?"
And right when everyone thought that the silence would go on forever, Riley disturbed it.
"Did you see her body yourself, Gary?" Riley then said as he stood up from his seat.
"N... no," Gary whispered, "I wanted a funeral for her but the Government didn't really want me to see her corpse. I didn't really push the matter, mother and I weren't really that close, as you could imagine. She...
...She was always just... just not there."
"..." Hearing Gary's words, Riley's eyes started to travel around the store; as if not knowing where to place themselves. But after a few more seconds, he let out a long and deep sigh that made everyone slightly uncomfortable.
Throughout the entire scenario, Riley was the only one that remained completely without any change in expression; and so, seeing him now obviously disturbed... could it be he became stressed from everything that was happening?
"Perhaps... perhaps we all should take a rest and continue this conversation someplace else? And Silvie, you can be rest assured that no one from the Government... or from my team will be approaching you again anytime soon," Bernard then opened up, "And please, the conversation we had in this room must remain a secret... I only told what I know now because I no longer wanted to hide things from my fam–"
"Wait."
And before Bernard could finish his words, Riley once again spoke up, "Since everyone is revealing their secrets, I would like to share mine."
"...Riley?"
"I am..."
"Master Riley!? Are we–"
"...Ms. Phoenix's biological son. I don't know her real name."
"...We knew," Silvie said; an unusually awkward smile slowly crawling on her face, "When... when you and Hannah were having a moment in Miami we... we were eavesdropping."
"...Oh," Riley could only blink a couple of times as he looked at Silvie. He was about to say something else, but before he could do so, Tomoe stood up from her seat.
"I... I think we all should rest," Tomoe then suggested, "Silvie needs it."
"I don't really– No, maybe you're right," Silvie sighed, "Everything's just happening so fast, and honestly... I think I'm about to go crazy."
"You and Tomoe could stay in my apartment if you want? Heck, might even be better since my apartment is too big for one person in the first place."
"Are... we even allowed to–"
"Consider this as an approval," Bernard interjected, "You kids rest up, I'll... handle the Government and the media backlash from this. I'm... tired of not owning up to my mistakes."
And with that, the light outside once again slowly shone upon the store as the rollers slowly opened up. Bernard left with a nod. Silvie's... father, however, left as soon as he could push the door open, not even saying a word to Silvie.
"...This is so messed up," Hannah once again repeated her words, "I knew the Government was fucked up, but this? This is on a whole other level."
"W... well," Gary then stood up, "Shall... shall we go back to Hannah's room?"
"I don't think so, Gary."
"R... right, maybe some–"
"No, Gary," Hannah did not let Gary finish his words, "I don't think it's cool for you to be hanging out with us for now."
"W... what? Come on, I wasn't–"
"I think... Hannah's right," Silvie whispered; her eyes trying to avoid Gary's almost subconsciously, "But... we'll call you, okay?"
"...What?" Gary let out a slightly awkward chuckle as he watched as Hannah, Silvie, and Tomoe start to walk out of the store, "But... But I still have so many things to say! Guys!?"
But alas, the only response he got was Silvie glancing at him before their silhouettes disappeared into the distance of the Academy mall.
"What the hell, guys?" Gary could only drop his arms in defeat; his sighs almost seeping out of the store as the only thing he could do was return back to his seat,
"Was... was what I did really wrong?" He then muttered as he looked at Charlotte, who was now quietly fidgeting with her terminal.
"...I also keep a ton of secrets, child. I'm not really the best person to ask for advice," Charlotte shrugged her shoulders, "But still, at least one of your friends remained."
"...What?" Gary then slowly looked to where Charlotte was looking, only to see Riley actually still quietly sitting at one of the tables... now with a dessert in his hand.
"B... bro?" Gary could not help but take in a short but deep breath as he saw Riley, "You... you're still my friend, right?"
"We were never friends, Gary," Riley answered without any hesitation.
"I... I see."
"Aerith."
"Hm?"
"That was Megawoman's real name?"
"...As far as I know."
Gary had thought that he would be losing all of his friends today by revealing who he was. He never intended to reveal himself in the first place, but when he saw the look of loss and desperation in Silvie's eyes... he no longer cared about his secret.
He knew what it meant to be alone– and he would never let any of his friends feel that way. That was something Megawoman wouldn't do.
"Gary...
...Can you tell me everything about you and Megawoman?"
Chapter 157"So… it all started when my pops met Megawoman."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"You're not going to have me skip this part?"
"No, Gary."
"I… I see. Has anyone ever told you that you're a very good listener?"
"Yes."
"..."
"..."
"So… It all started 20 years ago when pops met mother…"
30 years ago, with the rise of the media and the commercial use of the internet, also came the rise of the popularity of anything Superhero and Supervillain related. From all the news outlets, the magazines, the newspapers– everything talked about the feats and crimes of the Supers.
TV shows, cartoons, and even movies. The world, in a way, became a world of Supers. There also came an influx of Superheroes which completely overwhelmed the number of Supervillains– how could they operate, when the majority of those who awaken their powers have been influenced by stories of heroism?
There was almost a point where it was impossible to become a supervillain. This was the time that Megawoman became dormant– giving way to the members of the Hope Guild to flourish.
Of course, most of the supers who wanted to be heroes did not last; most of them returned to their normal lives at the first sight of blood and violence. They were so engrossed with the idea of being heroes that they completely forgot that they were fighting evil.
Only those who really had the need and the urge to do good retained their sense of heroism and continued on despite the bloody path they were taking.
But due to this sense of pride, the mortality rate of Supers also rose. Super-to-super crimes were at their highest, and the Government seemed to even encourage it as they started putting ranks and tiers of the Supers. This was also the first time that a Super… wore a suit that was sponsored by a huge company.
A big logo plastered on his cape… that hero didn't last a week. They found their body mangled, wrapped in the very cape that was supposed to have given him wealth– no one wanted to endorse a brand after that.
But of course, the Government as well as the huge company did well in covering their involvement with everything that had happened, even shutting down the press for a few months for the people to forget.
"What does this have to do with Megawoman, Gary?"
"Shh… just wait!"
"I remember that happening."
"...You do?"
"I was the leader of the Hope Guild 30 years ago," Charlotte, who was now sitting with Riley and Gary, could not help but let out a small but very deep sigh; her eyes, as if looking at a past long gone, "My daughter was going through her rebellious phase that time… I remember clearly– that was the first time Megawoman openly went against the Government; those old fools sitting on their fancy chairs probably sharted on their seats."
"I… I'm the one telling the story!" Gary then said as he tried to cover Charlotte's mouth, but he was quickly slapped on the face.
"..." And now, with his cheeks slightly red, the only thing he could do was wipe the tears threatening to fall on his eye and continue his story.
A decade later, sometime during the 90s, Megawoman was thrown in prison for opposing the Government. She asked them to stop colluding with the big-name corporations and selling out the identities of their Super citizens and was put on trial instead for defaming the Government.
Public opinion started to sway and the Supers became targets of the frustrations of the normal citizens– calling them freaks, aliens, and all other sorts of vilifying words. But of course, that trend too quickly passed.
The 80s and the 90s were, in a way, a colorful time for all the Supers. That was also the time that Megawoman would meet Gary's father, he was an officer in the prison that they put Megawoman in.
"Things just happened… and somehow, pops made Megawoman fall for him."
"...You told us the history of the 80s and you skipped the parts of how Megawoman and your father met?" Charlotte's eyes could not help but twitch as she tried her best to stop the urge of hitting Gary on the face again, "What do you mean things just happened!?"
"T… that's all I know, I swear!" Gary bellowed, "And then a couple of years later, they had me."
"...So that's why Megawoman was gone for almost an entire year. 2002, right?"
"Y… Yes."
"So Megawoman's species also takes 9 months to give birth?"
"...Yes?" Gary could only blink a couple of times from Riley's question.
"Interesting, you may continue with the story."
"Hm," Gary nodded; the small smile on his face, however, slowly faded, "And as Miss Charlotte said… she was only gone for a year before returning back to her so-called duties… not even half a year after I was born."
Gary then let out a small but awkward laugh, "I… I told you, we weren't that close. I understand, of course– before she's my mother, she's Megawoman."
"...Kid," Charlotte could only let out a small but deep sigh as she heard Gary's slowly sobering words.
"But really… I understand," Gary repeated, "I know she loved me. My pops told me I got into an accident when I was a baby because I was curious about my powers. I… placed my hand in some sort of electric grater… and to cut a long story short…
…I bled a lot."
"..."
"So, you were stupid even back then, Gary."
"I… I was a child!" Gary quickly retorted, "A… anyway, my pops brought me to the hospital since I lost a lot of blood– that's when the Government discovered my identity."
"Because you were carrying Megawoman's blood."
"Hm," Gary nodded, "I needed her blood. And you know what pops told me? Mother swooped into the hospital and bit her hand as soon as she saw me… she was trying to offer her blood. But I think her blood was being contaminated by our air or some shit like that, I don't really know all the details but a special syringe was needed to take her blood– something strong enough to penetrate her skin. And–"
"Whiteking."
"What?" Gary could only stop his story when he heard Charlotte muttering something.
"Whiteking was already in the Government's hands at that time," Charlotte said as her eyes started to widen, "Project Forest… It started with getting Megawoman's blood. The timeline matches. All of these things were happening behind the scenes and the rest of the Hope Guild and I weren't even aware of it."
"...So even my story involves Whiteking?" Gary took in a small gulp as he looked at Riley, "Your dad is starting to look hella sus, bro."
"I'm adopted."
"...Right," Gary squinted his eyes, "A… anyway, that's my life… I was quite a rebellious one since, you know. But it was my life…
…and Darkday destroyed it."
"..."
"When I saw him throwing my mother's body during the ceremony, I wanted to kill him… I wanted to destroy him… I was there sitting on the front," Gary then muttered, his eyes almost looking at the past, "But I was too scared to do anything… I couldn't even run to hug my mother's mangled– I was too scared. The Government approached me and told me about Project Forest then…
…and here we are. I volunteered to watch over Silvie because she…" Gary let out a small chuckle as a tear started to trail down from his eyes, "She…
…is the only family I have left in this world."
"..."
"...You kids heard that?"
[We did.]
"What the!?" Gary then almost jumped from his seat; his eyes scanning everywhere from the sudden voice that whispered in his ears.
"Hannah and the others," Charlotte then said as she showed her phone to Gary, "I had MEGAN call her earlier to listen to your story."
"...Megan?"
"The A.I thing in our phones, I don't know how to use all this fancy technology so I have her do everything," Charlotte sighed, before squinting her eyes and staring at her phone, "...Whiteking probably has something to do with this as well."
[We heard everything, Gary.]
"S… Silv?" Gary then muttered as he heard Silvie's voice, "I–"
[I'm still mad at you for hiding it.]
"That's–"
[But… we're family.]
"..."
[You heard her. Now come over here so we could beat your ass! And don't forget to take Riley with–]
"He's gone."
And before Hannah could finish her words, Charlotte interrupted her, "I can see their backs disappearing as we speak."
[What? Rude, alright. See you tomorrow, Miss Charlotte.]
[Thank you for doing this, Miss Charlotte.]
"...Don't mention it," Charlotte then said before flipping her phone close,
"Glad to help," she then whispered as she looked at Gary and Riley's disappearing silhouette outside the store,
"...Family, huh."
***
"Steve! You didn't tell me Gary is Megawoman's son! Steve!"
The sound of Bernard tapping on the Headmaster's door echoed throughout the long hallway; the noise did not last long, however, as the door seemed to have automatically opened for him.
"Steve! Why didn't you tell me– Steve!?"
Bernard once again raised his voice, his words, however, reached no one as the office was empty. The only thing that Bernard could do was click his tongue in frustration as he entered the room.
"Where'd that dumbass go now?" He whispered as he walked towards the window that overlooked half of the campus. Of course, Bernard knew Prophet would be busy– after all, the entire area around the Academy was basically almost a wasteland right now.
The Academy was trying its best to make sure that the students' lives remain unaffected by what just happened– their efforts were ineffective, of course. As the battle between Darkday and the Hope Guild is all the rage on the internet right now.
And so, with a sigh, Bernard could only shake his head and turn around– but as he did so, something on Prophet's desk caught his eyes.
"This…"
Photos. Photos of the battle between them and Darkday. Bernard was going to ignore it since it might just be going into the records… however, there were photos that seemed to focus on specific moments that shared a single similarity.
Moments when Darkday's skin was slightly exposed from having his suit torn.
"Bernard, what are you… doing here?"
"Steve."
Bernard then quickly turned his head towards Prophet, who seemed to have just entered the office– the door behind him, still open. Prophet squinted his eyes a little as he was shocked to see Bernard inside his office; his eyes, however, quickly returned to normal as he saw what Bernard was holding.
"Did you need me for something?" Steve then let out a small but deep sigh as he took one step forward.
"These photos…
…why are they on your desk?"
Chapter 158"Why... are these photos on your desk?"
"..."
Bernard's words were already sedated, but what followed it was even a more eerie silence as Prophet's steps stopped walking deeper into his office; his eyes, looking directly at Bernard's face.
"..."
"..."
But after a few more seconds of bated breaths, Prophet let out a small but fettered sigh.
"They're just records I need to submit for filing to the Government," Prophet then said as he continued to walk; falling on his sofa and letting himself sink into it, "Unlike you, I actually have real-world responsibilities."
"..." Bernard squinted his eyes for a few seconds as he once again stared at the photos that had Darkday's outfit slightly torn... showing his unnaturally light skin. But after a few more seconds, Bernard just let out a small sigh as he joined Prophet on the sofa.
"How long has it been since we just sat down like this?" Bernard then said as his costume suddenly wriggled; parts of it opening up and folding meticulously inwards his torso until all that remained was a big box resting on his lap. Leaving him with his fitted shirt.
"...You've gained some weight," Prophet then quickly said as he looked at Bernard's almost bulging belly; a far cry from the chiseled abdomen which his costume had contoured for him, "That's what you get for relying on all that tech."
"We're just getting old, Stevey," Bernard sighed as he rubbed his belly.
"..."
"..."
"You and Empress, huh?" Prophet then chuckled, "Who knew you had it in you? I would have been too scared to even look at another woman if I was married to Diana."
"Please don't, I already had an earful from my daughter."
"...I wouldn't have cheated on Diana," Prophet then said as he suddenly peeled off his white aged beard, "No matter what."
"Are you still hung up on her choosing me?"
"Who said I was ever hung up?" Prophet scoffed as he lightly rubbed his chin; the sound of his growing black scruff, scratching in the air.
"...You literally chose to be an old man as your costume because Diana once said she liked old men."
"Wha... it was the Government's recommendation!"
"..."
"..."
"Pft," both Bernard and Prophet could not help but let out a small chuckle as their eyes seemed to look a time long past.
"Do you ever miss it?" Prophet then said, "Having no responsibilities?"
"Of course," Bernard quickly nodded, "But my children are everything to me, Steve... I won't ever trade that for anything."
"A family, huh...
...never really thought of having one."
Prophet.
Born as Steve Bridges. Even amongst all the millions of Supers in the world, Steve was unique. It wasn't until he was a teenager that he discovered he was a Super. And the one to discover it?
Bernard Ross.
Bernard had always been at the top of his class, even at his earliest memory– nursery. The one that followed him as No. 2 was usually far off; Academically, Bernard has always been the best.
It wasn't until he reached high school that he had to share the No. 1 seat with a person in the same class– Steve Bridges. It only took one confrontation, however, for Bernard to realize that the only reason Steve had the same grades as him was because of his ability; the ability to calculate the future.
Steve had always thought he was just lucky– always choosing the correct answer, but it was Bernard who realized that he was actually a Super.
How he was able to do so, one might ask. Well, he discovered it by fighting.
Bernard was registered in all the extracurricular physical activities in their school. And as always the case for him, he dominated all the clubs he joined in... all except for one, the boxing club.
Steve was there– undefeated even by the seniors of their school. It wasn't until Bernard came into the picture that the school was finally able to see a proper match-up between monsters.
Steve, who had not been hit even once since he joined.
And Bernard, who knocked out the instructor in a single hit.
Bernard won, of course. But for Steve to have lasted even a minute against him, he realized that something was wrong. And that was basically the start of Bernard trying to sneak an attack on Steve every chance he gets, and Steve avoiding it even when he was completely unaware of it.
A start of a very weird friendship. Diana came later during their college years and as Bernard mentioned, Steve fell in love with her. But alas, Diana only had eyes for Bernard.
The two were basically inseparable.
"You remember that time when you thought Diana was a Super?" Steve then burst out in laughter; the only thing he could do was stand up from the sofa as he could no longer contain his laughter.
"She's like part gorilla, I swear," Bernard also let out a burst of laughter; the two of them, creating an orchestra of smiles and memories that lasted for almost an entire hour.
"Come on," Bernard then placed his hand on Steve's shoulder, "Let's check something out."
"...What? Where?"
"You said you miss the good old days...
...so let's go there."
***
"...It's closed, Berns."
"Since when?"
Bernard and Steve were now currently in front of what seemed to be an abandoned school; both of them, not wearing their costumes.
The gates of the school were locked by a huge chain. And even if one were to have the key to unlock it, one would probably be unsuccessful due to all the rusts already sleeping on the lock.
Seeing this, Steve could only let out a sigh as he shook his head, "Let's just go back, we wasted our time here."
"Nonsense, see?"
A small clanging then whispered into Steve's ears, and as he turned to look at the noise, he saw Bernard holding the thick chains; the old gates, now completely unraveled for them.
"Let's go inside, I want to see what our old classroom looks like now," Bernard then chuckled.
"...Are you sure about this?" Steve whispered.
"...Why not? We wouldn't get the chance again since we will be busy," Bernard sighed as he entered the school grounds.
"..." Steve looked at his old school building for a few seconds, before also letting out a sigh of his own and following Bernard inside. He had to admit, all the memories he had in this place were slowly surfacing in his mind... if only they could truly come back to those simpler times.
The two continued on; disrupting the cobwebs that were left by time, each unlocking specific memories for the two of them as the strands freely floated in the hallways of the school.
"H... Holy shit, Steve. This is my desk!" Bernard's voice then broke the silence that permeated in the confines of the school for almost an eternity; his voice, almost echoing to a past long gone.
"You can't even fit on it anymore," Steven chuckled as he too, found his desk; his fingers, leaving a trail as he slid it across on top of it,
"I guess the same could be said to me," he then whispered; the feet of his chair letting out a creak as he pulled it.
"..." He then slowly took a seat, closing his eyes as he remembered all the memories he had of the place. It was just a single area... just an arm's width. He spent not even a speck of his time sitting on this chair... but it contained the best of his memories.
Truly... if they could only go back.
"...You remember Ms. Lopez?" Bernard then said as he looked at the washed-out blackboard in front of the classroom.
"Pft, you had a crush on her, right?" Steve chuckled, his eyes still closed.
"Fuck you, you're the one who had a crush on her. I remember it clearly."
"I wasn't the one trying to sneak a peek in her skirt, Berns."
"She was asking for it! Have you seen how short her skirt was!?"
"...You sound like a rapist right now."
"Why?"
"Hm?"
"Why did you have those photos on your desk, Steve?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Did you know?"
"...I did."
"Since when?" Steve then opened his eyes, only to see Bernard right in front of him.
"...Since the start."
"I... see," Steve looked down; the edges of his mouth ever so slightly moving up, "Is it really that nice... having a child?"
"It sucks," Bernard chuckled, "It's like your life isn't your own anymore."
"Hm," Steve nodded his head with a whisper; a single tear slowly sprouting on his eye,
"I wish I could understand you right now, Berns... I really do."
"I love you, Steve... I need you to know that," Bernard whispered; his words, followed by a small click.
"...I did too," Steve then once again closed his eyes, finally letting the tear growing in his eye to trail on his cheek, "You were my brother, Berns."
"Maybe we could–"
"Your son is a monster, Bernard. If you let me leave here I would–"
And with those words, came a thundering echo. An echo that traveled throughout the entire building; waking up the shadows that had long been laid to rest. But what followed was another silence, once again putting everything to sleep... once again, a silent abandon.
Bernard's knees touched the ground, his mouth fully open but not even a whisper escaped from it– a silent roar that was drowned by a river of blood dripping slowly towards the floor.
A second.
A minute.
An hour; Bernard remained kneeling in front of Steve for almost an hour before the music of shame entered through his ears.
And with a sigh, Bernard carefully placed the gun he was holding in Steve's unmoving hand.
"I...
...am truly sorry, brother."
Chapter 159A couple of months ago, when the students of the Academy were taken to a nearby shelter after Dark Millenium's first attack, the students as well as all the people inside the shelter were induced in a mass trance– knocking all of them into unconsciousness all at the same time.
It was explained to them that it was an attack by Hypnos, aka Cedrick Atkinson, a student from Class 1-V that joined the Dark Millenium. But alas, it was never truly confirmed as Hypnos was one of the students that were massacred in the floating base.
The cameras were also all destroyed, leaving absolutely no footage to remain. Well, all except one.
***
First Dark Millenium appearance.
Toronto Shelter, when everyone was getting on their respective buses to leave for the Academy, some of the instructors went ahead to make sure that there were no more surprises waiting for their students. Some, however, remained to make sure no one would be left behind– one of them being Whiteking.
"Sir Whiteking, everything has been destroyed. Even the cameras outside have been destroyed."
"...Everything?"
Whiteking's almost reflective helmet flickered as the lights from the multiple monitors in front of him all produced some sort of static; only returning to normal as the footage replayed towards the last 10 minutes captured by the cameras before they were destroyed.
"I… am afraid so."
One of the guards that were handling the security of the shelter was also trying his best to scour the footage. After all, it was not every day that he would actually be working with one of the members of the Hope Guild in the flesh.
This would no doubt look good in his portfolio. And so, with his determination at its highest, the guard did not stop checking all the cameras one by one. He did so for a full hour before Whiteking's sigh finally whispered in the small room.
"It's fine," Whiteking muttered, "We're not going to find–"
"Ah, this camera is still alive!"
And before Whiteking could finish his words, the guard's loud voice pierced his ears; the trembling excitement it carried almost caused him to take a few steps back.
"...There's still movement amongst the students."
"Zoom it in."
"Seems to be a bunch of students?" The guard then squinted his eyes as he tried to make out each of the pixels he was seeing on the screen, "Wait… Scarlet Mage is awake, we should– Whiteking? What–"
And before the guard could finish his words, the walls of the room suddenly drowned in a flash of light; and with the withering of the flash, came a loud thud, leaving Whiteking to be the only one left standing in the room.
"..."
Whiteking then turned his head to the floor; his helmet opening and folding towards his neck braces; and with a sigh, he shook his head; his eyes, reflecting the silhouette of the guard lying lifelessly on the floor.
The guard's chest was completely caved in; his uniform creased in a way that still reflected Whiteking's fist.
"...I'm truly sorry for this," Bernard then whispered as his eyes left the guard's body, straying towards the only monitor that was still alive.
"Why…
…Why are you still so careless?"
***
Present day.
"My god… your father is scary af."
"I… I should thank him."
"The fuck!? He's the reason why we're in this situation in the first place."
"Well, I wouldn't be born without his help as well, so…"
"Fuck, you're right."
And just like that, as if nothing happened between them, the members of the Baby Crew were once again in their usual base of operations. It has been a full week since Bernard had told them about Project Forest, and although there were still a lot of people talking about the battle between Dark Millenium and Hope Guild, the number of people that are talking about Dark Millenium almost having the same face as Silvie have become almost nonexistent.
The reason for this? Total media wipe-out. No, perhaps media control was the better term for it. Bernard purposely left videos scattered online that visibly showed Dark Millenium's face– which was completely digitally edited with someone else's face, which looked somewhat similar to Silvie.
And so, most of those who had seen her video previously were now starting to have doubts on whether or not they really saw Silvie's face on Dark Millenium or it was just a look-alike. Most of the students of different colors did not even bother comparing the two anymore… 'less they wanted people to think they were discriminating because they think all white people looked alike– of course, they don't.
And currently, the Baby Crew were watching all the videos that still remained online; their faces, completely in disbelief as to how they were able to easily alter the opinions of the people– that in itself is perhaps one of the best superpowers in the world… and the Government has it.
Whiteking, even without actual superpowers, was one of the most dangerous people in the entire world. He had the ability to make it as if one didn't even exist in the first place.
"It… it was a good thing we didn't choose to get together, Hannah," Gary then muttered as he clasped his chest, "If not, then your father might just deport me back to my home planet… and I've never even been there!"
"...What do you mean we didn't choose?" Hannah squinted her eyes as she stared Gary straight in the eyes.
"You know… we decided that the members of the Baby Crew should not date one another."
"Stop talking out of your ass," Hannah snarled, "And… and let's change the name Baby Crew, it's starting to really get old."
"I am actually starting to like it," Silvie, who was fidgeting with her phone, joined in on the conversation.
"Me too," Gary nodded, "It's a shitty name, but it's ours."
"I have always liked it, big sister. You don't have to worry."
"Yeah, what's with the sudden change anyway? Don't tell me you're also going to change your superhero name?"
"G… good thing you reminded me!" Hannah said as she stood up from her seat.
"Wait, you're really going to change it!? Why the fuck would you do that!?"
"It's just… I have my reasons. Don't– don't ask!" Hannah said as she rushed to the door, "And don't wait up for me, I have a date!"
"Yeah, just– A date!?" Not only Gary but also Silvie and Tomoe could not help but widen their eyes, "What do you mean a date!?"
"Remember the British guy?"-- were Hannah's last words before the door behind her closed; leaving the others with their jaws wide open even as the bell already stopped ringing.
"...He's actually dating that douche!?" Gary said as he slammed both his palms on the table… very gently, "Did you know about this, bro!?"
"Yes," Riley, who had been quiet the entire conversation, just nodded his head before returning to whatever it is he was doing.
"Let's go and ruin their date!" He then said as he stood up. He was, however, alone in this action.
"Let her be, we've all been a bit on a circus ride the past week," Silvie waved her hand, before once again returning to her phone.
"What have you been doing with your phone since earlier!?"
"Oh," Silvie blinked a couple of times, before showing her phone to everyone, "I've been chatting with MEGAN."
"...Megan? The phone's AI?" Gary leaned his head closer to try and see the messages, but before he could even read a letter, Silvie pulled her phone away,
"Why… are you chatting with a machine? Don't tell me you can relate to it since you're a clo– lalala! How are you and your father?"
"..."
"..."
"My father's gone," Silvie answered, not even bothering to look at Gary as she typed something on her phone.
"Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"He's gone," Silvie repeated; trying her best to sound stoic, but failing as her breaths trembled in a whisper, "Can't call him, he is no longer in the family villa… he's gone."
"What? When was the last time you saw him?"
"When Mister Whiteking told us… about Project Forest."
"What!? He didn't even say goodbye to his daughter!?" Gary once again slammed his palms on the table, "How did he even leave!? Aren't all the roads like gone from Darkday and Hope Guild's battle?"
"I'm not his daughter," Silvie only shook her head, before once again returning to her phone, "And I don't care about him anymore."
"..."
"..."
"That's it, young woman. No more phone for you!" Gary then said as he quickly snatched away Silvie's phone, "What are you even chatting about with an AI!?"
"Gary, n–"
[Hello, Gary Gray.]
"!!!"
And as soon as his name echoed in the air, Gary could not help but accidentally drop Silvie's phone. Silvie quickly grabbed it from the floor; checking it for any damages. But surprisingly enough, there was not even a scratch on it.
"What did you do that fo–"
[Gary Gray is just concerned about you, Silvie.]
And before Silvie could finish her words, a small hologram of a caricature of Megawoman popped out from the screen of her phone.
"Concern… then why didn't you just say so?" Silvie then let out a small but deep sigh.
"...You're listening to it?" Gary blinked a couple of times as he looked at the miniature version of his mother, who was currently smiling at him from ear to ear,
"...Am I the only one creeped out by this?"
[Excuse me, young man!?]
"What the fuck!?"
[Language! Is that any way…
…to talk to your mother?]
"....What the fuck?"
Chapter 160[Language! Is that any way...
...to talk to your mother?]
"...What the fuck?"
With MEGAN literally being a miniature caricature version of Megawoman, the developers also matched the voice, making it all cute and squeaky. And so, with this mini-Megawoman looking at her as if she was going to hit her with a slipper, Gary could only cover his face instinctively– which was weird, because his mother never really hit him even once.
But after he realized what he had just done, Gary could not help but click his tongue; almost slapping the phone away from Silvie's hand.
"..." Silvie squinted her eyes as she saw Gary's retreating hand, but after a few more moments, she just decided to place her phone on top of the table so that everyone could see.
"Wait... did she just say she's your mother?" Silvie then blinked a couple of times as she finally realized what MEGAN just said.
"...Yes," Gary then started to calm himself down as he once again stared at MEGAN; slowly returning to his seat as the AI seemed to also be returning his gaze.
Even Riley and Tomoe, who seemed to be lost in their own worlds, could not help but look at each other as their curiosity leaned them closer towards MEGAN.
"..." Riley had no interest in getting a phone since he had no use for it... but perhaps he shouldn't have dismissed it so easily.
"..."
"..."
"...Aerith?" Gary then took in a small gulp as he leaned his face closer to the hologram, "Is... is that you?"
Everyone inside the store had their eyes wide open as they waited for the AI to respond... even Charlotte who was busy pretending to have a lot of sales in her cashier terminal was now watching from behind Riley and Tomoe's seat.
[No, I am MEGAN. Your very own friendly Mobile Enterprise Gateway Activity Network!]
But with the AI's next words, the only thing that Gary could do was let out a sigh. But after a few more seconds, he shook his head and squinted his eyes.
"...But you just said you're my mother."
[I am fitted with Megawoman's memories,] MEGAN blinked a couple of times as she sat on top of the phone's screen, [I recognize your voice. You are Gary Gray, Themarian name– Garien.]
"...Themarian?" Silvie tilted her head.
"...My mother's race," Gary took in a small gulp, "Is... is this information public?"
[No,] MEGAN wagged her finger before letting out a fettered hum, [This information is only accessible and unlocked based on your Voice ID, would you like to make it public?]
"F... fuck, no!"
[Just say no, there's no need for that kind of language, young man,] MEGAN once again stood up, the tone of her voice adamant and... squeaky.
"What kind of–"
"Wait."
Before Gary could finish his words, Tomoe suddenly raised her hand. "Gary, who else knows your identity besides us, Whiteking, and Silvie's... father?"
"...No one."
"MEGAN, since when did you have the information on Gary Gray?" Tomoe then whispered as she looked at MEGAN, who also quickly turned around to look at her.
[Sorry, you do not have permission to access that data. Teehee!]
"..."
"T... teehee?" Silvie blinked a couple of times.
"Gary, can you–"
"How long have you had the information about me?" Gary repeated Tomoe's question.
"Since I was compiled and created, my son," MEGAN once again quickly turned around; a wide smile plastered on its– her face.
"...When was that?"
"Sorry, you do not have the permission to access that data. Teehee!" And once again, MEGAN repeated her actions, reminding everyone that she was, indeed, just a programmed AI. However, none of the people in the room believed that MEGAN was just a simple program, after all... how does it even know Gary's true identity?
"So... it's not Whiteking? Since he just found out last week."
"Maybe it's lying? Is it possible MEGAN... was created by Megawoman herself? What did it mean when it said it was fitted with Megawoman's memories?"
"MEGAN, can you lie?" Tomoe muttered.
[Sorry, maybe in the next update?]
"...How do we know it's not lying now?" Silvie squinted her eyes, "There are a lot of liars out there, you can't trust anyone."
[I feel offended by that, Silv.] MEGAN clicked her tongue as she turned towards Silvie, [You trusted me with all your frustrations and heartaches that past week, please trust me now...
...daughter.]
"Daughter!?" Gary widened his eyes, "It even knows that!?"
[Yes, Silvie Savelievna had asked me to call her my daughter since she was very lonely.]
"W... wait, MEGAN– turn off! Turn off!" Silvie screamed as she grabbed her phone from the table, almost splitting it in half once again.
[She cried every night, saying how no one truly loves her and that she should just die since she shouldn't be alive in the first place.]
"W... why isn't it turning off!?" Silvie was trying her best to resist the urge to slam her phone to the ground, "MEGAN, turn off!"
[I am afraid I can't do that.]
"MEGAN, turn– what?"
And before Silvie could truly throw her phone away, she could not help but suddenly pause all of her movements as MEGAN's words reached her ears, "What... what do you mean you can't do that?"
[MEGAN will now always be active,] Megan said, the tone of her voice suddenly turning as serious as it could with its squeaky voice, [Ready to answer any of your questions.]
"What do you–"
[Prophet is dead.]
"What?"
[Prophet is dead.]
"The fuck is this thing saying now?" Gary squinted his eyes.
[Prophet is dead.]
"Why does it keep repeating that?" Silvie furrowed her eyebrows, "I... I think I broke it. MEGAN, p... please turn off!"
[Prophet is dead.]
"It's... it's getting a little creepy," Silvie then said as she dropped her phone on the table.
"The old man's alive," Gary muttered, "...Although he hasn't shown himself for a week now... weird."
"!!!"
And as soon as Gary said that, Charlotte, who was quietly watching from behind Riley and Tomoe, quickly rushed out of her store; not even seeming to mind that she almost broke the glass door.
"Where... wait... don't tell me?"
Gary, Silvie, and Tomoe all turned to look at each other. And without even saying a word, they all rushed out to follow Charlotte.
Leaving Riley all alone in the store, staring at Megawoman's miniature hologram.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
[...]
"..."
[You are Riley Ross, correct?] And after a full minute of just staring at each other, MEGAN finally opened her digital mouth.
"That is correct, Mobile Enterprise Gateway Activity Network."
[So, you're Darkda–]
MEGAN's voice then suddenly distorted as Silvie's phone... crumpled into a ball.
"..."
"..."
A light creaking noise then whispered in the air as Riley gently opened his fist, unfolding Silvie's phone in the process; returning it to its previous state... well, almost. If only were to look clearly, the screen was completely cracked and its body also had microscopic crevices already.
And there was also the fact that it doesn't work anymore.
"She won't mind," Riley then said as he carefully placed the phone in his pocket. He still hasn't gotten his phone from the Academy... maybe he was allowed to take two so he could just give a replacement to Silvie without her knowing.
And so, the Korean Shaved Ice store once again retained its serene peacefulness. The rest of the Academy, however, was in chaos.
***
"M... MEGAN, am I... am I in the Potential Villain list?"
[Yes, you are a very naughty boy.]
"MEGAN, who... who has the most votes to become the next Mega Student next month?"
[Silvie Savelievna of Class 1-V.]
[MEGAN, is the one beside me in the Potential Villain list!?]
[No, but you are.]
"MEGAN, is Megawoman my mother?"
[No, but you are adopted.]
"W... what!?"
[MEGAN, who... destroyed the South Africa Mega Academy?]
[It's not Dark Millenium.]
"Who is it!? Is it the One Cursed by God!?"
[I am afraid you do not have access to that information.]
"MEGAN, do... do you think my crush also likes me?]
[...]
With MEGAN suddenly becoming fully active and answering questions that otherwise should be unknown to the people, almost all of the students in the Academy were on their phones; their eyes, reflecting MEGAN's hologram; wearing different variants of her costume throughout the years.
The staff of the Academy seemed to be trying their best to stop the students from using their phones, but with more than 5,000 of them– there was nothing they could truly do.
And soon...
[Prophet is dead.]
[Prophet is dead.]
MEGAN kept repeating the same words over and over again. Most of the students just thought their phones were glitching; some of them, however, had their eyebrows already furrowed.
"...Are we not going to have a single month without any troubles?" A light snap whispered in the air as Hannah folded her phone; letting out a small sigh as she returned it to her pocket before looking at the blonde young man beside him,
"Sorry about that," she then muttered.
"There's no need to apologize, m'lady."
"Haven't we already agreed that you don't call me that, Julius?" Hannah could only roll her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Julius's arm, "A... anyway, shall we go to the training hall?"
"...Are we going to date in the training hall again?"
"Yes."
"...That's training, Hannah."
"And we won't stop going there until you actually manage to defeat me," Hannah scoffed as she let go of Julius's arm and walked a few steps in front of him, "Race you there, lover boy!"
"W... wait for me, m'lady!" Julius could only stretch his arm towards Hannah; but alas, the only thing his hand caught was the empty air in front of him.
"Why are you so–"
And before he could finish his words, a small beep whispered into his ear, causing him to stop chasing Hannah.
"..." He then quickly grabbed the phone from his pocket; the beeping noise instantly stopped as soon as he unfolded it.
[Good evening, Master Reuben.]
And as he opened it, MEGAN's hologram quickly popped out from the screen. The tone of her voice, completely different from the rest of the MEGANs.
"...MEGAN, I told you not to call me that," Julius shook his head with a sigh, "What is it?"
[Master has a message for you.]
"Just read it to me later...
...I have a date."
Julius Reuben. Chosen Superhero name– Julius.
Son of the founder of Reuben Technologies, the number 1 telecommunications and smartphone provider in the entire world.
Chapter 161Prophet is dead.
That has been the hot topic inside the Academy for almost 3 days now ever since MEGAN suddenly broadcast it inside the whole campus. At first, no one believed it. But after 3 days had gone by and there was still no sign of Prophet, the majority of the students were now starting to believe that something truly was wrong.
Students have been asking the instructors if there were any truth with what MEGAN said– but the staff of the Academy refused to comment; with the instructors saying that they should just focus on training, while the other staff members just blatantly avoid the topic– saying they were still too busy trying to fix the aftermath of the battle between Hope Guild and Darkday.
The students were also not getting any news of the outside world. And with their parents now also inside the Academy... it was almost as if they were truly trapped inside; add to the fact they haven't had any activities outside the Academy– it was starting to look like a prison... or at least a convent.
No, they haven't had any activities at all.
It was the same with every class, even the most notorious Class 1-V. Perhaps the only reason they were even able to tolerate not participating in any activities is that they have a new advisor. An advisor who seemed to not run out of stories and lessons to tell them about the past– helping them get inspired to what was to come.
[Prophet is dead.]
But still, whenever they thought that their school life would once again return to normal– MEGAN reminds them that Prophet is dead.
"I would appreciate it if you would turn off your phones inside my class."
"S... sorry."
Surprisingly, the one who still had her phone open was Silvie. And unbeknownst to her, the phone she was actually holding was new– replaced by Riley Ross when he retrieved his phone from the Academy.
Yes. Finally, after half a year in the Academy, Riley Ross finally decided to get his own phone. And within the 3 days of him having it, he has not really gotten the time to truly use it as he kept receiving spam messages from Gary... who kept sending him random images with words on them.
And it wasn't only him, even Hannah was sending her photos of cats for some reason. She called to talk about Prophet, but didn't really bother to think much of it.
After all, if something truly did happen to Prophet, then their father would surely be running around in a panic. Prophet is his best friend, after all. He wouldn't just be lazing around if something bad happened to him.
Perhaps the only one worth reading were the messages from Tomoe, who was sending some news; even if they were not that important, at least they were somewhat useful.
As for Silvie, the only thing she sent him was a single but somewhat long message–
'I am here to talk if you need someone. I know it's hard for you to reach out because of the troubles in your family, but I have been searching up videos about psychology and therapists and they said it's always important to have someone to talk to. So... I'm here for you, always.'
–was her message. In which Riley responded with an 'Okay?'.
She sent a reply after a few hours, but Riley has not read it until now. Whatever it was, it would seem it was important enough that she seemed to keep on glancing at him every few minutes. Silvie was trying her best to act like the revelations she discovered about herself were not a big deal, but in actuality, the rest of the Baby Crew were almost walking on eggshells around her.
Discovering you're a clone and then the only person you considered family just ran out on you? Even the strongest of people would crumble.
Katherine also had his number, and besides sending some photos of them together that Katherine took with her own phone, they didn't really talk that much.
After all, their conversations should usually be more... on the discrete side.
[Prophet is dead.]
And once again, as Bulwark was continuing his lessons– MEGAN's voice once again surrounded the entire room. Everyone turned to look at Silvie, who quickly shook her head and said it was not her.
"..."
Bulwark could only let out a small but very deep sigh as he looked at his class. But after a few seconds, he shook his head and clapped his hands.
"I think it's time for all of us to see what this is about," Bulwark then said, "I'll be giving this class an assignment... and you're allowed to leave the Academy."
"What!?"
And with Bulwark's words, the eyes of the students once again shone. Finally, something to do, they all thought.
"But... I thought outside Activities were currently suspended until the roads outside were fixed?"
"I'm sure I could get the permission to allow all of you outside," Bulwark mentioned. He then tapped something on his tablet for a few seconds before the giant screen beside him lit up.
"Your assignment is to find this kid," Bulwark then said as he pointed at a photo plastered on the screen– a photo of Prophet, "As far as we know, the last time someone ever saw him was a week ago, so you need to assume that he had been missing for that time. You could search inside the Academy for his whereabouts– but I doubt you'll find anything here. So starting now, you're free to go outside.
I am giving you one week."
Whispers and murmurs quickly filled the entire room; with most of the students quickly researching about Prophet. They were already huddling themselves to their usual groups; smiling and getting excited that they once again get to spend some time outside the Academy together.
But alas, with just one sentence from Bulwark, half of their excitement shattered away.
"Sorry...
...But I will be the one picking your teams this time."
***
"..."
"..."
"A... aight, we doing this shit or what!?"
Riley Ross, Bella Jackson, and Daniel Espinoza– this is the team that Riley was currently on right now. Bulwark did not choose the team compositions randomly and based them on what everyone could do but...
"Why are there two telekinetics!?" Danny could not help but let out a short scream as he looked at his current teammates– one who could control metal, and the other... was versed in floating spoons and forks,
"If Tomoe was here, then this would probably be the most diverse team in the entire class! What's with this woke shit!?"
"...Boy, why you always screaming every god damn time we see you?" Bella could only bob her head from left to right as she furrowed her eyebrows at Daniel.
"It's true!" Daniel bellowed, "You're black, I'm Mexican... and this white boy is like the whitest person you'll ever see in your life!"
"W–"
"And not to mention you're like a lesbian!" Daniel continued as he pointed at Bella, "Just what was Bulwark thinking putting us in the same team!?"
"...You done, ni– bro?" Bella once again rolled her eyes, "If you are, then stop being so hysterical since people are starting to gather around us."
"You were about to say the word, didn't you!?"
The three were now currently somewhere in New York. They weren't wearing their costumes and were just in their casual clothes; with Riley wearing a cap and sunglasses to avoid him from being recognized. But with Daniel screaming all of his words, the people were truly starting to stare at them.
As for the reason why they were here... nothing. The three just randomly chose a place to go to since they didn't have any leads in the first place.
Riley bought a van with his points just for this Activity, with Bella acting as their driver since she was the only one with a license amongst them.
"Let's just leave this brother here and go on our own, Riley," Bella then let out a loud sigh, making sure Daniel hears it.
"Where are the two of you even going!? We don't even know what we're searching for!"
"We're looking for Prophet, you a retard or what?"
"Yeah, but are we looking for his corpse or–"
And before Daniel could finish his words, Bella quickly covered his mouth; causing his words to muffle, "L... let go!"
"Sshh! The public doesn't know about what we're doing here, what are you doing exposing it to the world!?" Bella bellowed,
"And why are you always screaming!?"
It took a couple of seconds. But finally, Bella was able to calm Daniel down. The three, now outside a cafe and quietly talking.
"What if Darkday is here? Isn't he active again? Maybe we should have stayed inside the Academy?"
"Bro, can you stop overthinking?" Bella sighed, "Darkday only shows himself once in a blue moon, and since he already kicked the Hope Guild's ass just a week ago– we won't be seeing him any time soon."
"How would you even–"
"She is right, Daniel Espinoza."
And finally, Riley, who had been quiet the entire time, finally opened his mouth, "Darkday is currently in retirement. His sudden appearance a week ago was a misunderstanding."
"...Why are the two of you talking like you know Darkday?" Daniel clicked his tongue, "Figures... both of you are psychopaths. Damn telekinetics."
"You are the most discriminatory person I have ever met in my life, I just wanted you to know that."
"Enough of this shit," Daniel then muttered, "Where are we even going to start searching for–"
"MEGAN, are we anywhere near Prophet?"
"Yeah, like that's gonna work. I swear, you African Americans are so laz–"
[Nearer than before.]
"..."
"..."
"....What the fuck?"
Chapter 162"...We're pretty far away from the city now."
"What'd you expect, rainbows? MEGAN, are we… near Prophet?"
[Nearer than before.]
"Are we sure this creepy shit isn't lying to us!?"
Riley, Bella, and Daniel decided to use MEGAN as some sort of compass to find Prophet… or at the very least, his corpse. They started at a small cafe right in the center of New York and now they were parked in some sort of hillside– without any road for their van to proceed. Bella wanted to lift the van into the air but decided not to as it might attract unwanted attention from anyone in the vicinity.
"Is… Prophet ahead this forest?"
[That is a possibility.]
Of course, Daniel's words of worries were not unfounded. After all, right in front of them was a forest filled with nothing but trees. The only sound that could be found was the sound of their vehicle's engine, but even that withered away as soon as Bella switched it off.
"We're really going into the creepy forest!?" Daniel loudly whispered, trying his best not to scream, "How do we know this is not some attempt by Riley to try and kill the both of us!?"
"...Bro, you loose in the head. Has anyone ever told you that?" Bella could only roll his eyes at Daniel, who was riding shotgun beside her,
"You can stay here if you want to," she then said as the sound of her door opened, "Let's go, white hair."
"..." Riley, who was quietly sitting at the back, only looked at Daniel for a few seconds before getting off the van.
"S… shit," Daniel muttered and gulped, "He… he really is going to kill us."
"..."
"..."
"..."
And a few seconds as he watched Riley and Bella's silhouette disappear into the sea of tall trees, the only thing that he could do was welp and get off the car; his limbs stretching as he chased the two.
"W… wait for me!"
***
"..."
"..."
[Prophet is dead.]
In the meeting hall of the Hope Guild, the almost endless number of screens reflected on Empress's dark skin; the golden rings around her arms, slightly whispering with a ring as she stared at the phone sitting at the table in front of her.
Her eyes, reflecting MEGAN who seemed to also be looking at her. She received a smartphone from one of the Academy's staff when Bulwark took her there after being… beaten by Darkday. It was given to her as some sort of token for protecting their students. It was all random and sudden; she was about to leave when one of the people standing by on the gates gave it to her.
She didn't really think much of it… but who knew that something like this would happen not even a full week after. The last time she saw Prophet was when he suddenly visited the guild a few weeks ago– telling her that Riley Ross might be Darkday.
And now this AI thing was telling her that Prophet is dead? It was too much of a coincidence. Did… he discover something he shouldn't have?
"..."
Empress then shook her head and sighed. Why was she even believing this little program in front of her in the first place?
"..."
"..."
"Hope."
[Yes, Empress?]
Empress then stood up from her seat as she turned to look at the screens plastered on the wall. And as she did so, the screens started to flicker,
"Show me Prophet's last known location."
[Very well. Searching for Steve Bridges's last activity.]
"..."
"..."
The images on the screens once again started to flicker as they panned through different cameras all around the world. But finally, after a few more seconds, it stopped; the screens all showing a single footage– Prophet just entering the Academy.
"This was… just after he visited me?" Empress muttered. Does that mean that throughout that time, Prophet never left the Academy? Considering the Academy had everything, from hospitals to groceries, then staying inside there for weeks without going out was possible.
But he was the Headmaster… he should have regular meetings outside the Academy.
"Hope, is there anything else after this?"
[This is the last known entry including Prophet.]
"...That's impossible," Empress said as she sat back down to her seat; her eyes, once again staring at the hologram of a miniature Megawoman in front of her. Was it possible that this AI… was telling the truth?
Maybe Prophet got too close to the dark that it ended up swallowing him. Since he has not left the Academy… did Riley Ross kill him?
Empress had already read the info about Scarlet Mage since Prophet mentioned her relationship with Riley Ross, but she wasn't really able to find anything useful as most of their time together was spent inside the Academy.
She only had one family– her mother. And based on her profile, she was just an ordinary old woman. Empress did not really scour much about her as she was just an ordinary citizen.
And so, her investigation was over before it even started. She could have brought up Riley's file, but it would have surely caught the attention of Whiteking– she knew enough that he had eyes and ears everywhere.
Bernard is also acting like normal, so maybe all of this is really just a false report.
"..."
"Hope."
[Is there anything else you need, Empress?]
"Can you bring out Bernard Ross's file?"
[I am afraid you do not have the clearance level required to access that information.]
"...Figures," Empress shook her head with a sigh, "I'm the leader of the Hope Guild and I don't have clearance."
"..."
"..."
"Can you bring out Riley Ross's file?"
[I am afraid you do not have the clearance level required to access that information.]
"Fuck you, Bernard. Just what are you–"
[Aha, aha. So many secrets.]
And before Empress could express her frustration, a tiny voice squeaked in the air. She looked in the direction where the voice suddenly came from, only to see MEGAN's hologram dancing in the air.
"...This thing is still on?" Empress let out a small but deep sigh. She was about to fold the phone closed, but before she could do so, MEGAN's eyes suddenly turned red.
[Uploading data files to the system… Complete.]
"!!!"
And as soon as Empress heard that, she quickly slammed her hand through the phone; instantly shattering it along with the table.
"F… fuck!" Empress was about to call Whiteking, but before she could do so, the screens in front of her started to flicker.
[Wow, so many restricted files.]
"W… what?" The voice that resounded inside the meeting hall was still the Hope Guild's AI's voice– but the tone and manner of speaking were already completely different. Empress was about to once again press Bernard's speed dial, but the screens once again shifted.
[Did you know that Katherine Reeds' mother booked a flight from Northwest Airlines with flight number…]
"Hm?" Empress then blinked a couple of times as she looked at the screen, "Flight– !!!"
But after looking at the images now plastered on the screen, the sound of her chair dropping on the floor quickly snapped in the air.
"This… this is one of the planes… is it just a coincidence?"
[Ugh, stupid…
…Riley Ross is Darkday.]
***
"I… I told you they took us here to die!"
"Can you stop screaming for once in your life!?"
Hours had already passed, and the only light they had was the little bits of rays of the moon that seeped from the leaves above as well as the flashlights on their phone.
"S… spit it out, you fucking autist! You took us here to kill us, didn't you!?"
"I am just following Bella, Daniel," Riley responded without even looking at Daniel, "And I do not need to take you here to kill you– I doubt anyone would even care if you die inside the Academy."
"Wha–"
"I was wrong. I apologize for that, Daniel."
"G… good thing you–"
"Your mother is now inside the Academy, so there is at least one person that would care."
"Pft," Bella's phone almost fell to the ground; trying to clutch in her stomach to stop herself from bursting out in laughter, "G… good one, Riley."
"W… why did I have to be grouped with the two of you!?"
"Milk, coffee, and somewhere in between," Bella breathed out, "I think we're a good combination."
"W… what do you mean somewhere in between, shouldn't I be a latte!?"
"If we are talking about melanin and skin color, then Bella Jackson is not necessarily black– her skin is brown," Riley muttered, "Like a chocolate shake."
"Yeah, see? He got it?" Bella nodded her head and smiled.
"I like chocolate shakes."
"I… I already told you I don't swing that way!" Bella then almost choked in her own breath as she heard Riley's words, "B… But maybe we can try to experiment if–"
"What was that!?"
And before Bella could finish her words, the bushes near them started to rustle.
"Who is there!?"
Bella and Daniel then quickly got into a stance, quickly standing beside Riley as they concentrated their eyes towards the moving leaves. And judging by the noise the foliage was making… there wasn't only one person.
"W… we're Supers from the Academy, we are warning you now!"
"You stupid! Why would you reveal that!?"
"W– you are confirming my revealing by revealing it!"
"...What?"
"There's no need to be alarmed, my dear students."
"B… Bulwark!?"
"No, it is me… Spectacular Mustache Ma–"
"Oh, lame. It's just you."
"What…
… what do you mean it's just me!?"
Chapter 163"..."
"..."
"There's absolutely nothing here."
"M… maybe we took the wrong turn?"
Like Riley, Hannah was also with a random group. But unlike the rest of the Baby Crew, she was lucky enough to be grouped with Tomoe. And since she was Riley's sister, he had the privilege of borrowing the electric jet truck to reach the places they needed to go quicker.
And so, right now… they were currently in front of the ocean. Relishing at the bridge between the earth and the cosmos; the scent of the endless black, persisting through their noses.
"This is stupid!" Hannah scoffed, "I told you guys we shouldn't have followed the AI shit. This is all the government's ploy to treat us like tools! Argh!"
"E… eek!"
The other members could not help but hunch and step back as Hannah's raging voice reached their ears. It's been more than a month since Hannah was transferred to their class, they were more than aware of Hannah's… peculiar temper. If Hannah thought she was unlucky being partnered with random classmates, then the others also thought the same.
Hannah was like that one student that always came off as a rebellious brat– thought most of Class 1-V. But seeing as she was Whiteking's daughter– But no, Riley is also Whiteking's child, but he is one of the coolest people they have ever met; not to mention he saved them once.
It was just their luck being grouped with–
"What are you guys looking at?"
"N… nothing!"
"Big sister Hannah."
"Hm?"
And like an angel saving them from their demise, Tomoe stepped in between them.
"Are you aware that our phones aren't produced by the Government… but by your boyfriend's company?" Tomoe muttered as she respectfully approached Hannah/
"...What? What do you mean b… boyfriend?"
"Julius Reuben."
"Wha– He's not my boyfriend! I'm just pitying him so I… we date from time to time," Hannah said as she looked to the side, lightly scratching her chin as an awkward chuckle slowly escaped from her mouth.
"...I see," Tomoe squinted her already small eyes, "They own the phones we use. They are the richest family in the world right now."
"For real?" Hannah then blinked a couple of times as she looked at Tomoe, "I knew they were rich… but the richest in the world?"
"I thought you knew about it that's why you're dating him."
"Wh– what do you think I am!?"
Hearing Hannah's voice once again rising to unprecedented levels, Tomoe could only look to the side. Hannah was about to say something else, but before she could do so, her phone rang.
"...Oh," Hannah then hummed as she quickly checked on her phone, "Silvie texted– no luck on her side as well."
"Gary also texted me earlier," Tomoe muttered, "He said he's currently in a desert in Texas."
"...What?" Hannah almost choked on her own breaths. But after a few seconds, she let out a short but deep sigh, "Why did Bulwark have to separate us. I'm sure we would have already found Prophet if we were together… I'm starting to think this is just an activity and Prophet isn't really missing."
"Were you close with Prophet?"
"Not that much," Hannah shook her head, "But he's dad's best friend, so he visited our home from time to time back then. Riley's probably too young to remember."
"I… see."
"And he already looked like an old man back then. I'm sure…
…he's alright."
***
"Oh, it's just you… lame."
"What do you mean lame!?"
Back in Riley's group, Spectacular Mustache Man just emerged from one of the bushes. His mustache, slightly moving as Bella's disappointed sighs reached his ears.
"I thought we were supposed to be incognito? Why did you reveal yourself?"
Another rustle then whispered in the air, causing Bella and Daniel to once again flinch on their spots. But as soon as they saw who it was that emerged from the bushes, they quickly let their guard down.
It was a blindfolded superhero– Nightwalker, Hannah's previous advisor.
"Two instructors?" Daniel muttered, "What are you two doing here?"
"...I think like that should be our line, kid," Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache once again moved as his eyes squinted towards Daniel, "How and why are you outside the Academy? A lockdown should still be in effect."
"Sir Bulwark got us permission," Bella was the one to answer.
"Tch. Must be so great being a member of the Hope Guild," Spectacular Mustache Man muttered.
"Still jealous?" Nightwalker sighed.
"What do you mean jealous? He pushed out Scarlet Mage and transferred her to handle another class. What kind of abuse of authority is that!? If he separated me from my students with who I have spent my sweat and blood, then I will not back down without a fight! I will fight for my students!"
Spectacular Mustache Man then thumped his chest; his mustache, flowing through the air even though there was no wind.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Spectacular Mustache Man then cleared his throat to break the awkward silence that suddenly persisted in the air.
"So, why are the three of you here?" He then said as he looked at Riley and the others.
"We were given an assignment to find Prophet by Bulwark," Bella was the one to answer, "That's why we were allowed to go outside."
"He's powerful enough to allow something like this? Why, I oughtta–"
"And your search led you here?" Nightwalker did not let Spectacular Mustache Man continue his rants.
"Yes, sir," Bella nodded,
"We just followed this guy's advise," she then showed her phone to Nightwalker, which now had MEGAN sleeping on the screen.
"...I see," Nightwalker let out a sigh as he heard Bella's words. He then retrieved a phone from his pocket, "Then we are in the same situation. We've actually been trying to find Prophet for a few days now– but then MEGAN just suddenly told us to go here."
"Eh, you too, teach?" Bella blinked a couple of times… but then wondered how Nightwalker was able to use his phone since he was supposedly blind.
"...This is weird," Nightwalker then muttered, "You said it was your whole class that was allowed to search outside?"
"Yes?"
"Then MEGAN should have also led them here. But it would seem we're the only ones."
"Maybe they didn't ask MEGAN?" Daniel joined in on the conversation.
"Impossible," Nightwalker shook his head.
"Then… could it be MEGAN led us 5 here purposely?" Daniel furrowed his eyebrows, "Why us?"
"It's just a computer," Spectacular Mustache Man then waved his hand and sighed, "There's no need to think much of it. It's just like Googoru, it answers what you type or something."
"...Not really, but–"
"I suggest the three of you go back to the Academy," Spectacular Mustache Man said.
"I'm afraid we ain't doing that, teach," Bella quickly answered, "We've already made it here, we ain't backing down. We…
…gotta see this through."
"..."
"..."
Hearing Bella's words and seeing her unmoving eyes, the only thing that Spectacular Mustache Man could do was look towards Nightwalker… who wasn't doing the same since he was, indeed, blind.
"Why are you 1-V students always so troublesome," Spectacular Mustache Man then sighed, "Very well, you're allowed to come with us. Let us professionals show you how to handle real fieldwork."
"Really!?" Bella could not help but smile as she turned her head towards Riley and Daniel. Even Daniel had an excited smile on his face. To actually see veteran superheroes in action– this was something they have been waiting for forever since they enrolled in the Academy.
"But on one condition," Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache moved, "You follow our orders. And if we tell you to run and get to safety, you run without looking back. Okay?"
"Yes, sir!" Bella and Daniel nodded.
And so, with a cheer filled with adventure and excitement, the unlikely group of individuals started walking deeper into the sea of trees. And very soon, they came across what seemed like a collection of abandoned houses and buildings.
"This… seems like a small town?" Bella muttered, "Why would mister Prophet even be in a place like this?"
"MEGAN, what does this place have to do with Prophet?" Nightwalker then worded out as he retrieved his phone.
[Prophet spent his elementary school days here.]
"In this backwater town?" Spectacular Mustache Man squinted his eyes, "I always thought he was rich… and just how exactly does this little thing know all of this?" He then said as he stared at MEGAN's hologram.
"Mister Prophet, are you here!?"
"Oi, are you stupid!?" Spectacular Mustache Man quickly covered Daniel's mouth… with his mustache, which suddenly grew in length and size almost instantly; wrapping around Daniel's entire mouth area.
"...Ew," Riley then whispered very quietly.
"W… what do you mean ew!?" Spectacular Mustache Man bellowed. And this time, his mouth was covered by Nightwalker.
"S… shh!" Nightwalker hissed, "I hear something from afar."
"..."
And as soon as they heard Nightwalker's words, both Daniel and Spectacular Mustache Man started to calm down. Their eyes, carefully looking at all the abandoned houses and buildings around them.
"..."
"..."
"There!" Nightwalker then suddenly waved his hand, and as he did so, a shadow emerged from his palms; shooting straight towards a certain direction like an arrow. The shadow arrow, however, stopped as soon as a small meow whispered into their ears.
"It… it's just a cat," Nightwalker then sighed as he quickly retracted his powers, "That's weird. I thought I heard a voice."
"Let's… just proceed with caution from now on; we…
…do not know if there is anyone else here."
Chapter 164"We… should take precaution. The AI said Prophet went to school here, so it's probably best to check there first so we wouldn't waste any time."
"Shouldn't we separate, then? It'll save us more time so we can get out of this creepy place, teach."
"You stupid? This is why you white and off-white folks get involved in all the horror movie shit."
"You are sounding mighty racist right now, Bella."
"Enough arguing."
With the abandoned small town seemingly devoid of any life, the only sound that was pestering in the air were the voices of Bella and the others. And though they try to keep their voice down, their words still manage to seep into the crevices of the houses and buildings due to how quiet everything else was– creating small echoes with each of their steps and each of their breaths.
"And student Bella is right," Nightwalker then whispered as they continue to walk ever so carefully, "We don't know the terrain so it is best to stick together."
And so, with those words, everyone just nodded to each other; their steps becoming even quieter so as to not attract any attention to whatever was still living in this somewhat creepy town.
And finally, after walking for what seemed like half an hour, they reached a school; or at the very least something that resembled it.
"...Am I the only one finding this creepy?" Daniel slightly raised his voice as he stared at the abandoned school in front of them.
"..." A small clanging then whispered in the air, garnering the attention of everyone. They slowly turned their heads, only to see Nightwalker holding a chain and a lock.
"It's open," Nightwalker muttered.
"Hm," Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache slightly wiggled, "It's probably the only thing that's moved in this place for years… I wonder what happened to this town?"
"W–"
"I smell blood, dried."
"W… why are you trying to scare us, teach?" Bella then slightly moved closer to Riley as soon as she heard Nightwalker's words.
"Oh?" Daniel, who saw this, quickly let out a smirk, "Who thought the brave and mighty Bella would be scared of something like this?"
"Fuck you," Bella quickly replied, "You bandanas won't understand, I'm black– that makes me the first candidate to die."
"Shh," Nightwalker then gestured for the two to stop talking, "It's… inside."
And without saying another word, Nightwalker's body suddenly turned into a dark cloud, flowing and flying straight towards the inside of the abandoned school.
"Follow him!" Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache instantly extended towards the school, sticking onto its dusty walls as he swung himself forward.
Although Bella wanted to laugh, she still followed along with Daniel as they all rushed inside the school… all except for Riley.
"..." Riley was looking in a certain direction to the side of the school; his eyebrows, slightly lowering as he kept his stares for more than a few seconds. But after a few more breaths, he just let out a small sigh and followed the rest.
"..."
"..."
"Saw us?"
"Did he see us?"
"Saw… see us."
And soon, multiple sets of red eyes reflected the moonlight; their whispers, almost the same as the rustling leaves.
***
"...Shit."
In a dark room somewhere in the country, Bernard was currently lying on the ground. The room looked like a normal living room, except for the fact that there were multiple monitors lighting up the room.
There was also a small red dot of light flickering on one of the monitors; bright enough to reflect on the walls. Bernard's eyes, however, were completely unresponsive even as this red light drowned his eyes.
And perhaps if he were to look, then he would realize that the images on the flashing monitor showed Riley and the group entering the abandoned school. But alas, Bernard remained sprawled on the floor, ignoring everything that was happening in his room.
There is, however, one thing that moved– his mouth. The mutters and whispers that were escaping from it were quiet, but for him, it was enough to drown the alarm ringing in the air.
"Killed him…" He whispered, "Why… why did I do that?"
"He was my best friend… my brother… no. He is my best friend," Bernard's mouth continued to move; not knowing whether to smile or turn into a frown.
"I've… I've known him longer than anyone," he whimpered, "Why would I even… for a monster?"
"No…"
"No."
"He's my son… my son. I would do anything for my family… anything. My family… anything for my fami–"
"You're losing it, Bernard."
"Who is there!?" And without even a fraction of a second, Bernard quickly stood up as a somber voice suddenly whispered into his ears out of nowhere. His eyes scanned the room also in less than a second. But the only thing that reflected in his eyes was the fading monitors as well as the red light that waved to him over and over again.
And even though it was already blinding his eyes, Bernard still did not bother to look at the monitors.
"Who's there!?" Instead, he just repeated his words.
"We just saw each other… and you've already forgotten about me?"
"!!!" Bernard then quickly tapped his arm twice. And as soon as he did so, a small thunder whispered in the air; a bracelet, suddenly flying towards him from somewhere in the room, propelling straight around his wrist. And without even so much as a short pause, the white bracelet exploded and unfolded, crawling across his arms like some sort of centipede.
It first covered his shoulders, then his face. Before continuing towards the rest of his body; ending with a snap as a cape flowed from behind him.
All of these happened in less than 2 seconds.
"Who's there!? Show yourself!" Bernard then once again roared, pointing his arms forward as a sort of rocket expanded from his arms.
"I feel offended, Bernard. Why don't we just have a drink for old time's sake?"
"..." Bernard continued to look around; his fettered steps failing to mask his worries.
"...Seriously? Just relax. Relax."
"What…" And finally, after a few more moments, Bernard finally realized where the voice was coming from– it was from one of his dozen phones scattered on the table. Bernard quickly rushed towards it, pushing all the other phones to the side as he grabbed it.
And as soon as he saw who was on the screen, his helmet quickly unfolded; showing his eyes that were already on the verge of tears.
"S… Steve?" Bernard then took in a small gulp, "You… you're alive?"
[Why wouldn't I be?] Prophet, who was on the other side of the screen, smiled, [I can calculate the future, remember?]
"You… you're alive."
[I'm alive.]
"How… how is that possible?" Bernard's whispers were enough to crack his voice; a small smile, also slowly but stutteringly growing on his face.
A sharp sigh then whistled in the air as Prophet's breaths were enough to pierce Bernard's ears, [I faked it,] he then said,
[I knew there was no way I could calmly talk to you because we were talking about your son.]
"W… what?"
[And I forgive you, Bernard.]
"You… forgive me?"
[Yes. I forgive you because you're my brother.]
"..." Bernard's eyes started to tremble as he heard Prophet's words crawling through his ears. His eyebrows slightly furrowed, but after a few seconds, the only thing he could do was close his eyes; the tears grasping on his face, finally trailing towards his cheeks.
[But of course… you owe me big time,] Prophet then chuckled.
"O… Of course, of course," Bernard's smile trembled as he also responded with a chuckle.
[Then…
…can you tell me everything you've done for the Government?]
***
"Fuck me…"
"Is this… Prophet?"
"No beard and fewer wrinkles on the face… but it's him."
"So, you're telling me that his beard was fake all this time?"
"Why are you even asking about that? Did… did he kill himself?"
Riley, Bella, Daniel, Spectacular Mustache Man, and Nightwalker were now inside a classroom. Their eyes, reflecting the corpse seated on a chair a few meters away from them.
The back of the corpse's skull was completely blown to smithereens. The sound of maggots, flies, and several other insects eating his brains, whispering and whistling in the room. The blood around him was already completely dried and seemed like they would need to scrape it off to remove them.
But most importantly, there was a gun just below his hanging arm– and judging by the broken tooth beside it… it was triggered in his mouth.
Bella and Daniel had already seen hundreds of corpses when the Dark Millenium hijacked the planes to crash in their school… but for some reason, seeing someone they knew and respected slowly being eaten by time was…
…enough to make them puke.
"I've already signaled the authorities of our location," Spectacular Mustache Man then breathed out as he placed his arms on Daniel and Bella's shoulders, "Maybe it's best for the three of you to wait outside."
And unlike before, Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache looked wilted; almost facing the floor.
"N… no," Bella quickly moved to the side, "I'm… going to see this through."
"Y… yeah, we've already–"
"I found something."
"What– put that down!" Spectacular Mustache Man then quickly raised his voice as he saw Nightwalker holding what seemed like a smartphone.
"It's fine," Nightwalker said, "My palms do not leave prints– and the kids are right, they have the right to see this through."
"You–"
[My name is Steve Bridges.]
And before Spectacular Mustache Man could say another word, the phone suddenly lit up– showing Prophet's face.
[And if you're watching this…
…then I am probably already dead.]
Chapter 165[My name is Steve Bridges. And if you're watching this…
…then I am probably already dead.]
"Prophet? He recorded a video?"
"He… is in the Academy? Isn't that his office?"
The scenery behind Prophet was a view overlooking half of the Academy campus; a view only seen from the large window in the Headmaster's office. And seeing as he was also sitting in the very same desk, Prophet was indeed in his office as he recorded the video.
[I calculated my death and now know how I am going to die. The fact that you are watching this means you have found the phone I hid somewhere in the place of my death– in my elementary school in the outskirts of the state of New York…
…If the person who finds this phone is the one who killed me. Please, have the decency to at
least leave it alone or just destroy it. But I swear I will not reveal who you are.]
"...He didn't commit suicide?"
[But if you are not the one who killed me. Then please, continue watching this video.]
"..."
"..."
Prophet stopped talking for a few seconds as he seemed to stare at his desk; but after a few more seconds, he once again faced the camera.
[I did not kill myself. And knowing the person who did this to me, he or she probably left a trail that would lead people to thinking I committed suicide…
…I did not kill myself.] Prophet repeated, his words heavy enough to almost cause the people watching the video to grip their knees.
[I know who killed me, but for the safety of whoever finds this video, I will not tell you who. The one who did this to me is a very dangerous man… perhaps the most dangerous man in the world. I discovered a secret… a secret that leads to my death.]
"..."
"..."
Spectacular Mustache Man could not help but look at Nightwalker as Prophet paused with his words.
But when he found the Nightwalker wasn't looking at him since he was blind, Spectacular Mustache Man turned towards the three students, who had their eyebrows furrowed.
[Perhaps it is fate that you found this video… but please. Know that I did not make this video so that you may avenge me. I made it so that there would at least be a person out there that knows I did not kill myself– I will never do that, I will never leave the people I love no matter the difficulties I am currently facing.
The Academy has been receiving backlash from the masses, harsh criticisms, and some are pointed at me. People would probably think I killed myself because I couldn't take the heat, but no…
…I did not kill myself. Even if it is just one other person, I want you to know that I did not kill myself. I…
…have never been a superhero that the people of the world wanted. I always stood on the sidelines, in the background. But even just for a short while, even with all the secrets surrounding it… The Academy gave me a purpose of nurturing the heroes of the future generation…
…After all, that's what I do– look to the future.]
Prophet then blinked a couple of times as he leaned back on his chair, releasing the biggest breath that he could.
[And… for my husband… my beautiful husband.]
"...Did he just say husband? Is that some kind of code?"
"Shh!"
[Whoever finds this phone, there's another video dedicated to my husband. I would really appreciate you giving the phone to him after deleting this video. No one knows who he is, not even those I trust– but he'll be there in my funeral… please find him and give him this phone…
…and tell him to run because something is coming.]
"..."
[And for the one watching this video. I repeat, do not try to find who killed me or attempt getting revenge. Your enemy is the most dangerous man on the planet.]
Prophet then once again let out a heavy sigh as he looked down, seemingly looking at some sort of photo that was sitting on his desk. Sadly, the angle of the camera did not really allow Spectacular Mustache Man and the others to see what it was.
And after a few more seconds, Prophet once again looked at the camera; his eyes, as if looking straight towards them. He then let out a small smile, nodding with a breath that soon turned into a single chuckle.
[Right, well…
…I think I lived a good life.]
And with that, Prophet switched off the camera. The next video was about to play, but before it could do so, Nightwalker turned it off and handed the phone to Riley.
"...Why are you giving me the phone, sir Nightwalker?"
"I was under the impression Whiteking and he were friends," Nightwalker sighed, "Be it fate or not, I think we… you found this video for a reason."
"..." Riley only looked at the phone for a few seconds, before nodding and placing it in his pocket. And as soon as he did so, a cracking breath suddenly whispered in the air. They all looked towards the direction of the noise, only to see Bella crying.
"How… why didn't he just run away?" Bella whispered.
"...Prophet was gay?"
"What if he was!?"
"N… nothing."
And with Daniel's mouth being shut by Bella, what followed the classroom was silence; with the group just looking at Prophet's corpse.
"..."
"..."
"Should we really just… let it go?" Spectacular Mustache Man then whispered.
"It is what the dead wanted," Nightwalker sighed, "We should respect Prophet's wishes."
"We're really not going to investigate?" Bella joined in on the conversation, "We should at least surrender the phone to the police instead so–"
"No," Spectacular Mustache Man shook his head, "Nightwalker is right. If Prophet let this happen knowing full well it leads to his death… then whoever killed him truly is a dangerous person."
"T… this shouldn't end here," Bella waved her hand, "We need to at least find out who killed him ourselves!"
"...I agree with the lesbo for once," Daniel stepped forward, "The headmaster of my school just died. Who's to say it won't be us next? You? What if this is the Dark Millenium again?"
"Leave it," Spectacular Mustache Man slightly raised his voice, "You may have already experienced what it's like out there for a few days, but you guys are not superheroes… not yet. Leave this to me and Nightwalker to handle."
"But–"
And before Bella could even say anything, the sound of a helicopter arriving thundered in their ears. And soon, flashes of red and blue slightly drowned the walls of the abandoned building.
"Looks like the cavalry is here," Spectacular Mustache Man muttered, "About time. Don't tell anyone what we just witnessed, okay?"
"But…" Bella could only click her tongue, before running out of the room without saying any more words.
"Daniel, follow her to make sure she doesn't do anything reckless."
"..." Although Daniel was slightly hesitant, he still nodded and ran to chase for Bella. Spectacular Mustache Man then turned his head towards Riley,
"You… are not going to say anything, right?"
"..."
"..."
"...Right, I'll fetch the men in uniform downstairs."
"I'll come with you," Nightwalker stepped away before slightly turning his body towards Riley, "You're okay here by yourself, kid?"
"Yes, sir Nightwalker."
And so, with that, Riley was left alone inside the classroom, staring at Prophet's lifeless body. He did hear from his sister that Prophet and Bernard were close back then, but he didn't really remember much about him.
"..."
"..." Riley then lightly moved his finger, causing all the flies and insects eating Prophet's brain matter to violently plunge into the walls of the room.
"..." He then once again stared at Prophet's corpse… and did so until the police and forensics team arrived to take photos of the scene; carefully looking at every inch to make sure they didn't miss anything.
As for Riley, Bella, and Daniel; after a few questions about how they came to find the body, they were asked to wait outside the school.
"Is it really alright to leave it like this!?" Bella once again bellowed, kicking the dried leaves on the ground.
"Sshh, can you lower your voice!?" Daniel screamed, "What if the one who killed him is right here!?"
"Shh! Why the fuck are you screaming!?" Bella quickly covered Daniel's mouth.
"Y… you're the one who–"
And before Daniel could finish his words, a small explosion erupted in the sky; the clouds that covered the stars, splitting as some sort of silhouette flew through it.
And that silhouette landed right in front of the school, causing the leaves to all fly away in a ripple.
And as soon as the people waiting on standby saw who it was, they quickly rushed to greet her.
"E… Empress, what are you doing here?"
"...I heard you found Prophet? Is… he truly dead?" Empress then walked without waiting for anyone to respond.
"Y… yes, it was people from the Academy that found his body."
"...What?" Empress then quickly stopped her steps as soon as she heard the man's words, "W–"
And before she could say another word, her eyes landed on the three people standing in front of the school gate.
"Is it the three of you?" Empress then quickly approached the three people who looked too young to be there, "Are you from the Aca–"
And before she could finish her words, her eyes finally caught a full view of the one standing behind the two; his hair, reflecting the moonlight she ever so revealed by splitting the clouds.
"You…" Empress then took in a small gulp as her feet slightly moved to the back, "Why…
…why are you here?"
Chapter 166[Ugh, stupid…
…Riley Ross is Darkday.]
An hour before Riley and the others discovered Prophet's body, Empress was staring at the multiple monitors plastered on the wall of the Hope Guild's meeting hall. She tried to prevent the AI from the phone, MEGAN, from uploading itself to their system…
…but it would seem that smashing the phone to pieces did not do anything.
She was also about to call Whiteking through their dedicated radio, but before she could do so, multiple images started flashing on the screen in front of her– showing a video of their battle with Darkday in front of the Academy.
She didn't think much of it at first, but soon, the video started replaying a certain scene over and over again. It was the moment when Darkday's outfit was ruined; when his skin was exposed.
"This…"
She didn't notice it before since she was completely focused on their deathmatch with Darkday… but his skin was completely white. And not just because of the contrast from his jet-black suit, no. It was almost as if his skin was glowing at some points…
…almost like Riley Ross.
This is it. Her mind had already been clouded with ideas when Prophet approached him and said that Riley Ross is Darkday. She wanted it not to be true, but with the AI presenting her all of this evidence… she would be a fool to take them only as coincidences.
Riley Ross is Darkday– or at least he was the closest suspect she has right now.
"..." With this thought, the only thing she could do was let out a small but very deep breath; looking to the side as Bernard's face suddenly popped up in her mind. If it was like this, then does that mean… Bernard has been running circles on them all this time?
It was impossible for him not to know that his own adopted son is the world's greatest and evilest villain. Should… she gather the other members of the Hope Guild to ambush–
And before she could finish her thoughts, one of her other phones rang.
"!!!"
Could… Could Bernard actually know about what was happening now? Empress quickly looked around her to see if there were any cameras in the meeting hall; they agreed not to put any surveillance in the room… but knowing Whiteking.
"..." Empress then took in a very small gulp as she slowly reached for the phone in her pocket.
[Hello ma'am. This is the New York State Police Department.]
The words that came out, however, quickly allowed Empress to at least let out her nervous breaths.
"What is it?"
[We were informed that we needed to call you if we can get any… info on Prophet's whereabouts.]
"You found him!?"
[We…
…found his body.]
***
"You…
…why are you here?"
She was only investigating him earlier… and now here he was; Riley Ross, right in the scene where Prophet's body was located.
Was it possible… that he was the one who killed Prophet? Did Prophet get too close to the sun and ended up burning himself? What was she supposed to do now? Should… she fight? But what if Riley Ross isn't actually Darkday? What if… what if…
"We… we were tasked by Bulwark to search for Prophet!"
"...What?"
Empress then blinked a couple of times as her overly active mind was disrupted by Bella's slightly trembling voice. Bella's eyes, shining as they almost threatened to swallow her whole from the way she was ogling at her.
"Bulwark… asked you to find Prophet?" Empress then slightly furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Bella.
"Y… yes, sis."
"...Sis?"
"We followed MEGAN and… and she led us here," Bella stuttered as she showed her phone to Empress.
MEGAN. It's that AI again, Empress thought. Just what exactly was going on here? Does that mean that Riley Ross wasn't the one to kill Prophet?
"..."
"..."
Numerous thoughts once again began to race through Empress's mind, causing her to shake her head before she turned it towards one of the police on standby.
"What's the situation?" She then asked the police, who started explaining details of Prophet's death; his time of death, the gun, the semblance of the place, and lastly…
"...This."
The police then handed Empress a phone, wrapped inside a zip-locked bag.
"...A phone?"
Daniel and Bella were carefully watching Empress interact with the police to learn something from her, but as soon as they saw the phone, they could not help but widen their eyes before looking at Riley.
"You… gave them the phone?" Bella whispered.
"No," Riley then quickly replied as he retrieved the phone from his pocket, "I still have it with me, Bella."
"Then whose phone is that?" Daniel then squinted his eyes as he turned his gaze back to Empress.
"..."
Empress quickly decided to unlock the phone, going to the gallery without any pause; and there, a single video could be found.
"..." Empress looked around for a few seconds, before finally pressing the play button. The video lasted for only a minute. It was a video of Prophet saying goodbye– a suicide note. He explained how stressed he was from everything that has been happening in the Academy; about how the world seemed to put all the blame on him.
"...Fuck," Bella whispered. She then quickly gestured for Daniel and Riley to follow her; walking outside of the school away from the view of the others.
"They ruled it out as suicide!" Bella bellowed as soon as she was sure they were alone, "And what the fuck was that video!?"
"It… was Prophet, it was his face and his voice," Daniel furrowed his eyebrows, "What… is happening here? How could there be two–"
"Shit," Bella once again raised her voice, "He mentioned this in his video… about someone framing his death into a suicide. They really did it."
"..."
"..."
The three then suddenly turned silent for a few seconds, before Daniel's whispering breaths traveled through their ears.
"I don't want to get involved anymore," he said with a shake of his head, "I suggest the two of you do the same if you don't wanna end up like Prophet."
And with that, Daniel walked away, returning to the others.
"You… you coward," Bella muttered as Daniel started walking away, not even looking at them as he did so… And that was the only thing she could do. That, and bite her lip in frustration as the air was once again filled with silence.
"..."
"..."
As for Riley, he could only blink a couple of times; wondering what he was actually doing here. He then let out a small but deep sigh, before walking away to leave Bella to contemplate on her own.
But alas, before he could take his 3rd step, Bella once again raised his voice.
"Wait!" She breathed out, "The… the Baby Crew."
"...Hm?" Riley turned to face Bella.
"Let me in on the Baby Crew as a temporary member!"
"...I don't have the authority to decide that, Bella. And why would you even want to join?"
"I just know you're going to show that video to the Baby Crew and you will try to solve it!" Bella said with a chuckling voice.
"...Not really. I was planning on destroying it later, Bella."
"W– No!"
"Yes."
"I'm calling your sister now to let her know we have something to give her!" Bella said before running away.
"..." Why was he surrounded by people who like to decide on their own? Riley thought as he walked out from the corner of the fence; staring at Bella's disappearing back. He then turned his eyes towards Empress…
…who was clearly staring at him before looking away as soon as he faced her. This is the 3rd time she did something like that. Did… she actually know–
"Wsh."
"!!!"
Riley's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he quickly turned around. He heard a whisper, but in front of him was nothing but a collection of overgrown trees, vines, and bushes.
"..." Riley then looked at the crowd of people in front of the school gates… before deciding to walk into the untamed sea of trees.
"..." But alas, even as his steps grew many and the trees were all that he could see, he still did not find the source of the whisper that tickled his ear. It was only him and the short rustling of the leaves.
"..." Riley then closed his eyes; taking in a small but very deep breath before a whistle started to flow through his ears. And soon, like a whispering drum, he heard his own heart beat.
Every small movement of the leaves, the insects burrowing beneath the ground, the dust floating over his ears– he could hear.
Riley's eyes started to furrow, however, as he still could not find the single whisper he was looking for.
"!!!"
But finally, after a few more breaths, a whisper entered into his ears. He quickly opened his eyes, stretching his arm to his left.
The leaves and the bushes that were in the view of his palm, instantly parting as if some sort of sphere split them apart. And soon, without even a second, a silhouette flew straight towards Riley's hand– a neck.
Or more conclusively, a person… perhaps a child?
"..." Riley squinted his eyes as he looked at the child's face; completely disfigured, almost to the point that her skin seemed to be falling off.
Her eyes, however, were clear. Blue, almost green. And whatever hair was left on top of her head exuded a glimmer of gold that reflected the bits of the moon that seeped from the roof of leaves.
"...Megawoman?" Riley whispered subconsciously. His intuition was almost baseless, he thought; as the child in wriggling and struggling in his hand was the size of a child.
"L… let go!"
There came another whisper; not coming from the disfigured child he was holding, but further hiding in the trees. And soon, more whispers bombarded Riley's ears; followed by the rustling of the leaves that finally revealed their owners.
"..." Riley could only squint his eyes as he looked at the almost dozen individuals that stepped out of the shadows; their figures, all similar to the child he was holding.
"Let… let her go!"
"Let go!"
They then all started whispering loudly; their voices were hoarse and almost cracking.
"..." And Riley did as they told. He let go of the child, curiously tilting his head as he watched the disfigured girl crawl towards the rest of… the disfigured children.
"Are… are you alright?"
"Hss."
"Lech go. Run!"
And without even looking at Riley, the children started to once again go deeper into the shadows; their movements, more akin to beasts– pests even.
But with just a single whisper from Riley's mouth, the children all stopped moving.
"....Silvie Savelievna?"
Chapter 167"Silvie Savelievna."
And as Riley's whispers traveled through the night, each of the disfigured children turned their heads towards him one by one. And like cockroaches being disturbed, they all scampered to hide behind the trees; their heads leaning out, their eyes curiously looking at Riley.
And soon, their whispers once again drowned the sea of trees.
"Name… that's our name."
"How does he know our name?"
"Name… he knows our name."
"Who is it?"
"Ich one them?"
"Is it? Is he one of them?"
"Bad people?"
"Hurt us? He hurt us?"
With the uncomfortable voices piercing his ears, Riley could not help but furrow his eyebrows. Bernard told them that Dark Millenium and Silvie should be the only clones he helped create for the Government…
…but these disfigured children are obviously all clones of Megawoman as well. There were more than a dozen of them here.
"Bad man? Kill us?"
"He will kill us. He hurt me earlier."
The children's whispers continued to pester the air like flies. Riley, however, completely ignored their voices as he looked to the side; completely busy with his own thoughts.
Did Bernard lie to them again? It was possible– no, it was probably the case. Diana said that Bernard was a serial liar, and to not believe anything that comes out of his mouth anymore when they fought… so it stands to reason that he lied about the clones.
"..."
Riley then blinked a couple of times as he suddenly felt a small tickle gnawing on his right ankle; he slowly looked, only to see one of the disfigured children biting on his leg.
"..." Seeing this, Riley only let out a small but deep sigh. He then slightly flicked his finger, causing the child to float in the air before being thrown a couple of meters away– only stopping as her back hit a tree.
But before the child could even whisper a whimper, 4 more children jumped on Riley; all baring their teeth towards him. But alas, the only thing their teeth were able to gnaw was the empty air; as before they could even reach Riley, their bodies completely stopped just meters away from him.
"Khh!"
The clones all started hissing loudly, with some of them even letting out a weird cracking whimper. Riley once again sighed as he saw their pained faces; their eyes, filled with nothing but fear.
They were supposed to be clones of Megawoman… and yet Riley could only smell fear from them. Fear was something he had never seen in Megawoman, not even as he broke every single bone in her body.
"..." How dare they create something like this from Megawoman? If they truly did need to clone her, then it should have at least been perfect like Megawoman should be– even Dark Millenium with all the scars on her faces, resembled Megawoman; no fear in her eyes.
These things… they shouldn't exist.
And with that thought, Riley's eyebrows began to knit; his teeth, slowly showing. And soon, with his fists slowly closing, the children began to wail one by one. Their necks, slowly turn in a way they should not.
"Even your screams are unworthy," Riley then whispered, "I will release all of you from–"
"Stop!"
And before any lives could be snuffed and extinguished, another voice entered his ears– this time, the voice was much clearer and even familiar. Riley quickly looked towards the direction of the voice, only to see a fist already on its way towards his head.
"..."
Riley quickly tilted his head to the side, avoiding the fist completely. And without even hesitating and looking, he raised one of his legs, slamming his foot straight towards the back of the attacker.
Not even a whisper of a thunder echoed in the air, however, as Riley did not allow the attacker's body to hit the ground; leaving her floating just inches away from it. Empress should still be within the vicinity of the school, so creating too much noise would probably lead to him killing all of them there– he is in retirement, he would like to avoid that as much as possible, he thought.
".." Riley then finally glanced towards the attacker, only to see almost her entire body covered in bandages. However, even with half her face wrapped, it was obvious that her skin was clearer than the rest and her face wasn't as disfigured.
She was also taller and looked older than the rest of the disfigured clones… almost like Silvie.
"Let… let go of her!"
The younger clones floating in the air once again started to hiss and shriek, causing Riley to once again sigh. It only took that moment, however, for the oldest clone to regain her footing. Her fist, once again quickly aimed for Riley's head.
This time, however, Riley did not dodge. Instead, he caught the oldest clone's fist. And without even any hesitation… crushed it.
"!!!"
The oldest clone was about to let out a scream, but Riley covered her mouth before she could do so. He then looked the clone straight in the eyes. And even though she was trembling, she returned Riley's glare; her eyes, not backing down for even a second.
"..." Riley then pushed her away, causing her to fall first on her butt. And before she could even take a breath, Riley flicked his finger; throwing the rest of the clones towards her. And like some sort of bouquet, he bundled them together using some of the smaller clones as some sort of… human rope.
Of course, besides a few pained moans, every one of them was still alive.
"Let… let us go!" The oldest clone once again cried out; her words were blatantly ignored by Riley, however, as he stared at her crushed hand. The sharp and broken bones that were protruding from her skin were slowly going back inside– her flesh, slowly healing itself by the second.
"Let us–"
"Silvie Savelievna."
"How do you know that name!?"
And with Riley once again whispering Silvie's name, the oldest clone immediately stopped writhing and wriggling to escape; her eyes, once again looking straight towards Riley's eyes.
"You are clones of Megawoman, correct?"
"I… I knew it. You're one of them, the bad men!"
"Are you talking about the one who threw you here?"
"Threw… no, we escaped!"
"...Escape?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he heard the oldest clone's words. Riley had initially thought that Bernard disposed of them here… so that wasn't the case?
"Since when have you been here, least disfigured Silvie?"
"Least disfi… I have a name!" The oldest clone quickly bellowed.
"Yes. You are Silvie Save–"
"No!" The oldest clone flailed; her voice almost cracking as she let out another scream, "A name I chose for myself…
…Aerith!"
Riley seemed to find himself blinking more today than any other day as he looked at the oldest clone.
Aerith… that is Megawoman's name. Did she choose that herself? Perhaps it was possible that the clones could have Megawoman's memories? It was impossible for it to just be a coincidence.
Does that mean Silvie could potentially… have Megawoman's memories as well? The oldest clone said they escaped… but why here of all places? What led them here?
The clones then all looked to each other as the strange white-haired boy suddenly started whispering to himself. The oldest looking clone, Aerith, was about to say something; but before she could do so, Riley asked a question.
"How did you find this place and how did you escape, Aerith?"
"We–"
"Don't answer him!" One of the clones seemed to almost answer his question, but Aerith stopped her, "Did you really think I will answer your question!? You are part of the–"
And before she could finish her words, a melody suddenly started ringing in the air.
"Mother! Mother is calling!" Aerith then bellowed as she once again started to struggle, "Let… let us go we need to answer mother!"
"...Mother?"
Riley furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the clones, whose breaths started to become excited as soon as they heard Aerith's voice.
"Let us–"
And before Aerith could say another word, she felt the pressure around her loosen; the clones binding them, dropping to the ground one by one. Their broken bones that were used to tangle the rest, quickly healing. And almost as if nothing happened to them, they quickly huddled around Aerith; of them even tried to escape.
And now, with all of them surrounding Aerith, they all started to nod at the same time. Aerith then grabbed a phone from her pocket… a phone similar to the ones that the Academy handed out to their students.
"..." Riley grabbed his own phone to check, and true enough… they truly were the same.
[My children.]
"!!!"
Riley's eyes quickly widened as soon as a familiar voice entered his ears; his eyes quickly turning back towards Aerith and the rest of the clones. And as soon as his eyes landed on the source of the voice, his breaths started to become heavy; the corner of his lips, slowly turning upwards.
"...Megawoman?" Riley then quickly whispered as he saw a hologram of Megawoman floating on the phone that Aerith was holding. And no, it wasn't a hologram of MEGAN, but Megawoman herself.
"M… mother! We… we are still here. We are still waiting for you here!" Aerith then bellowed, "When… when are you coming to get us as you promised!?"
[Have patience, my child. Soon, soon we would all be together.]
Is it possible? Could the one talking on the other side…
…really be Megawoman?
Chapter 168"Did you hear that!? Mother will be here soon!"
"We'll finally be with her! We don't need to hide anymore!"
"We... we can all be free!"
"But... but we look ugly, will the people outside accept us?"
"Mother will fix us."
With the whispers of the younger clones growing louder by the second, Aerith quickly raised her hand to calm them down as she could not hear what Megawoman was saying on the other side of the line.
Aerith was about to say something, but then she suddenly remembered that there was a stranger within their midst; her eyes, quickly looking towards Riley.
"Mother! There's–" But alas, before she could let the person on the other side know of Riley's presence, she felt a small pressure slowly piercing her neck. Almost like a needle... but with the weight of a mountain.
Her eyes then once again slowly strayed towards Riley, only to see him staring straight at her; his eyes, threatening to rip her into pieces. He had his index finger crossed on his lips, gesturing for her and the rest of the clones to shut their mouths.
[What is it, Aerith? Is there something wrong?]
"N... no, mother. It's nothing," Aerith then took in a small gulp as she returned her gaze to the phone, "Just... please come find us soon."
[That is actually the reason for my call. I need you to do something before I could fetch all of you.]
"A... anything, mother! Please tell us what to do!" Aerith muttered; her eyes, still glancing at Riley from time to time. She was completely wary of what he will do but seeing as he was just watching from the side, Aerith just continued to focus her attention on Megawoman.
[Do you know the dirty building near there?]
"Yes?"
[There should be people there now.]
"Y... yes," Aerith said as she once again took a small glance at Riley, "I... I've seen them making noise earlier."
[That's good. I want you to take the others...
...and scare them.]
"Scare them?" The other younger clones started to open their mouths as they looked at each other.
"Like what we did with the bad men?"
[Yes, dears. Like what you did with the bad men.]
"Do... we have to, mother?" Aerith then hushed the other clones as she focused the phone on her; her words, slowly stuttering.
[Yes, I will not be able to fetch you if you do not scare them.]
"But... they didn't do anything to us."
[But they did. Did you see a woman with dark skin?]
"I... saw several of them."
[The one with the shiny golden rings attached to her arms.]
"Yes?"
[She is involved with one of the men that did that to all of you.]
"..."
[Scare them, then I will come and find you.]
"But mother, you–"
And before Aerith could even finish her words, the connection was cut off from the other side. The only thing that Aerith could do was lightly bite her lip; her eyes, looking at the rest of the clones.
"I see."
And with Riley's whisper, Aerith quickly snapped out of her stupor; stepping forward as she blocked the rest of the clones from Riley, who was now slowly approaching them.
"It is obvious that the one you were talking to was not Megawoman," Riley then let out a small sigh; the disappointment it contained was obvious from any ears that could hear it, "She is also not your mother, clones."
"What do you know?" Aerith scoffed.
"He's lying!"
"Let... let's just scare him as well!"
"Mother is mother!"
"..." Even with all the clones hissing at him, Riley did not really do anything as he just looked to the side; completely lost in his own thoughts.
What was he even supposed to do with these things? Should he just kill them as he planned earlier?
But it feels like something was going on; a deep secret that involved the people in his life.
"..."
"..."
No, he should just kill them now. Whatever secrets they were hiding, they would be useless once he gets out of retirement anyway– and with those thoughts, Riley slowly raised his hand; the ground beneath his feet began to tremble.
"I will make this painless in respect to your original," he then whispered as he looked at the clones, "Good b–"
[Ooh!]
"..."
But once again, his attempt to snuff out the lives of the clones was interrupted by a ringing. This time, it was the sound of a solo riff of what seemed like an electric guitar.
[Hane ga Nai...]
"..." It was the sound of his ringtone, the opening song of the anime TV series 'Latino Mafia Reborn'.
Hearing this, the clones could not help but look at each other; their eyes slightly furrowed from the sudden random song that played in the air. Some of them, however, started bobbing their heads along with the tune.
"..."
"..."
They all stopped, however, as soon as Riley once again moved his hand. But instead of them being hurt, Riley's hand just casually went straight towards his pocket and grabbed his phone.
And as soon as he saw the name 'Hannah Ross - Older Sister' asking for a video call, he quickly accepted the call without any hesitation.
"He–"
[Bro, Bella called! She said you guys found Prophet!? Is... is it true that he's dead?]
Riley slightly pulled the phone away from him as Hannah's loud voice almost threatened to take off his ears. But even though her voice was filled with vigor, her eyes that could be seen on the screen were sedated.
"Yes," Riley answered, "His brains were all over the place, sister."
[W... what... how could this– and dad isn't there!?]
"No. Father is not here, sister."
[What the... what the fuck is happening here.]
[Ask him where he is!]
And as a different voice whistled from the phone, Gary's face suddenly appeared on the screen as he seemed to have grabbed Hannah's phone. He was, however, quickly kicked away by Hannah for suddenly stealing her phone.
"..." Riley only blinked a couple of times as he saw that before he opened the camera on his phone.
[Where– What... Why is it so dark there?]
"I am in the forest near the school, sister. There's no electricity here."
[What... what are you doing there? What if you get sick!? It's dangerous there, go back to the others!]
"...I'm with the other Silvie Savelievnas, sister."
[Did you call for me!?]
Another voice joined in on the conversation, causing Hannah to slightly stretch her arms so that they would all fit on the screen together; this time, it was Silvie. Tomoe was also there in the background, just calmly standing and doing... nothing.
"All of you are together?" Riley then asked.
[My group gave up since the goddamn AI took us to the ocean,] Hannah snarled, [I fetched Gary and Silvie along the way... then Bella called me.]
[Did... did you need something from me, Riley?] Silvie then interjected.
"No."
[O... oh.]
"I said I am with other Silvie Savelievnas."
[...What?]
And as Riley heard the confusion in all of the voices from the people on the other side; he, without any hesitation, turned the camera towards the other clones.
[What? Who are they? We can't see anything. It's too fucking dark.]
"I apologize, sister," Riley then raised his finger. And as he did so, an orb of light suddenly emerged from the tip of his index, instantly brightening up the forest.
[W... what the...
...what the fuck are those!?]
Chapter 169"W... what the...
...what the fuck are those!?"
"M... monsters! Those are people who have a crippled dantian!"
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
Hannah, Gary, Tomoe, and Silvie were currently somewhere on the side of the road. Their jet-truck hybrid, parked on a lay-by. Their heads were almost merged together as they stared at Hannah's phone, which was currently on a video call with Riley.
"G... guys, look..."
However, as the other three were currently trying to squint their eyes, Silvie let out a stuttered whisper, "They... they kinda look like... me?"
"What? What are you talking about? They ugly as f– Wait," Gary did not continue his words as he too, focused his eyes on the screen.
"N... no way, are those–"
"Clones," Hannah breathed out as her eyes started to widen, "T... that one looks like Silvie!"
On the screen, Aerith, the oldest clone amongst the group, slowly made her way nearer to the phone. Her eyes obviously only focused on Silvie's face. Her hands then started to trail on her face; tilting her head as if she was looking at a mirror as Silvie also did the same.
[You... look perfect,] Aerith whispered. Her entranced eyes, however, quickly faded as her hand soon felt the bump on her face– an imperfection that completely shattered the mirror she was looking at.
[Who... are you?] Aerith stuttered.
"R... Riley, who are they? What..." And Silvie asked the same; their voices almost identical if not for the fact that Aerith's voice was slightly cracked and hoarse.
[They are Megawoman's clones, Silvie.]
"They..." The stutter on Silvie's breaths became heavier and more frequent; her feet, slowly stepped back as her eyes began to tremble.
"Wait... Silv, calm down," Hannah and the others then all backed away as the dust and pebbles around Silvie's feet began to tremble and slightly lift from the ground.
"We practiced this already, Silv!" Hannah bellowed as the air around her began to deform and sizzle, "You can't let this control y–"
"Please stay where you are, Riley!"
However, contrary to their expectations, Silvie did not run amok. Instead, her eyes became even clearer.
"I... I will help all of you!" Silvie then said as she suddenly ran towards the jet-truck, "Wait for me!"
"W... wait, you don't even know how to drive that thing!" Hannah said as she quickly chased Silvie.
"I... I'll just carry the truck and fly! You guys get in, quick!"
"What the... No! I'm driv–"
"..."
And with that, the video call was suddenly cut off, leaving Riley with his phone still stretched towards the clones.
"..."
"It would seem you would get to meet the perfect version of yourselves, clones," Riley then let out a small but deep sigh as he casually returned his phone to his pocket. The orb of light he summoned was still active; floating beside him as he started walking around; his eyes, carefully looking at each of the clones.
The clones try to hide, however, as soon as even a speck of light hits their disfigured skin. Some of the deformation on their bodies, however, could not be hidden. Riley was not able to notice it before, but the reason that some of them were crawling was because of their bone structure... almost akin to that of a four-legged mammal.
And some of them even had extra limbs. Seeing as all of them had malformations... were they earlier iterations of Silvie? But why do they look younger than her? Bernard did mention that the one responsible for cloning Megawoman was old, was her powers starting to deteriorate?
...Was it possible that there were other factions cloning Megawoman? Aerith did say they were able to escape– something like that wouldn't have been easy if it was the Government handling them.
"Who... who are you?"
"Hm?"
Riley's thoughts were then disrupted as Aerith once again stepped forward. Her gripped hands and furrowed eyebrows still showed her wariness, but now, a hint of curiosity was also in her eyes.
"..."
"..."
"I am your original's lover," Riley then muttered as the corners of his mouth started to rise up; his smile, almost reaching from ear to ear.
"O... Original?" Aerith tilted her head.
"Megawoman– your mother," Riley said, "Not the one who called you on your phone, that's not Megawoman, Aerith."
"What?"
"I am your father."
"W– You're lying!" Aerith then quickly waved her hand as her eyes started to glare at Riley from head to toe, "I don't believe you!"
"You... are our father?"
"Father? We have a father?"
Even with Aerith flailing her arms in doubt, the smaller and younger clones all started to stare at Riley; their eyes, slowly shone as a smile crawled on their disfigured faces.
"D... don't listen to him! He is lying!"
"Yes, I was lying," Riley said as his smile grew even wider.
"You!" Aerith started to hiss. And almost like a choir, the younger clones started to hiss in harmony as the smiles on their faces quickly disappeared; replaced by a scowl that threatened to bite Riley's head off.
"Let's just leave him!" Aerith clicked her tongue as she fixed the bandages on her face. She then turned around and started walking away, "Mother gave us a task, let's go to the school to–"
"That is not going to happen," Riley did not let Aerith finish her words as he suddenly appeared in front of her.
"G... get out of our way! It's not up to y–"
"If you insist, then I will just kill all of you here," the smile on Riley's face suddenly disappeared as he stared Aerith straight in the eyes, "I will not let you tarnish Megawoman's legacy."
"W–"
"Stay here," Riley then said as he turned around, "If even one of you is missing when I return, then I will kill all of you."
Aerith was about to say something again, but before she could do so, a small silhouette slowly started to form from behind Riley's shadow. It started with a simple puddle of mud, and soon, the puddle of mud turned into Little Riley.
"Everyone," Little Riley then quickly opened his mouth as soon as he was complete, "Behave or I kill!"
"W–"
And once again, before Aerith could say something, Little Riley suddenly appeared right in front of her face... slapping her without any hesitation.
"No talking! Discipline number 1! I kill you!"
"..." Riley, whose body was almost swallowed by the night, did not even look back as Little Riley started slapping all the clones one by one.
As for Aerith, no matter how much she wanted to follow Riley back to the school, the only thing she could do was sit down. And soon, Riley returned to the front of the school.
"This ni– where'd you suddenly go, white hair!?"
And what welcomed him was Bella's loud voice, followed by Daniel's trademark scowl. Riley ignored them, however, as he looked around the vicinity. There seemed to be fewer people there, with Empress no longer to be seen.
"SMM and sir Nightwalker already went with the authorities!" Bella bellowed, "The police are already packing up– where'd you go, boy?"
"In the forest, Bella."
"Ack, let's just go!" Daniel clicked his tongue, "I need to take a bath, this place is too humid for my skin," he then said as his arms started to wriggle almost in a zigzag; stretching as the sweat on them started to sputter away.
"The two of you may go ahead, Daniel," Riley said as he moved back; his face clearly disgusted from Daniel's stretching limbs, "I will be waiting for sister and the other members of the Baby Crew."
"What? What are you even–"
"Take this."
And before Daniel could even ask, Bella suddenly handed her the keys to their van, "I will be waiting for them as well... as a temporary member of the Baby Crew."
"W– I don't know how to drive!" Daniel said as the keys bounced off on his hands.
"Then stretch and sling yourself back to the Academy," Bella said as she walked towards Riley.
"That... Fuck! I should have just gone with the instructors!"
And so, with Danny's crying screams whispering in the air; he soon came to the realization that he had no choice...
...but to also become a temporary member of the most notorious group of students of Mega Academy, the Baby Crew.
Chapter 170"Is… is it really cool for us to see this?"
"No, we will need to kill you now."
"W… what!?"
Bella initially thought that they would just be talking about Prophet when Hannah and the others arrived from the sky with their fancy jet-truck. Their entrance was pretty cool, she thought. She had always wanted to be in some kind of group since she was sick of seeing her brother's face 24/7.
And so, seeing the jet-truck slowly landing from the sky; with its propellers and rockets, Bella could not help but be excited. Of course, solving Prophet's murder was still the main reason why she wanted to temporarily team up with the Baby Crew… but being a part of something this cool was certainly a plus.
But then, as soon as the jet-truck landed, they were quickly taken by Riley deep into the dark forest. And just like their notorious fame…
…shit suddenly hit the fan, she thought.
"...Clones," Bella breathed out as she stared at the gathering of… unique-looking individuals. Unique individuals that shared one thing in common– they all looked like Silvie in a way. They were clones and not just any clones; They were clones of the greatest superhero to have ever existed, Megawoman.
"Does that mean… that Silvie is also a clone of Megawoman?" Bella then muttered as she took a small glance at Silvie.
"..."
None of the members of the Baby Crew responded, however. Silvie just looked to the side, and although she looked a little uncomfortable, her still eyes showed the resolve she had been trying to build up the past few days.
As for Daniel, he was completely silent; only staring at Aerith and looking at her from head to toe. Aerith also looked at him and could not avoid making eye contact. An awkward smile quickly crawled on Daniel's face; Aerith, however, quickly covered half of her face and started fixing the bandages covering it.
"..." Daniel could still not believe that all of this was actually happening– but he was already here, so the scenario was basically being spoon-fed to him.
The Baby Crew… is this the usual crazy shit they were involved in? He thought as he looked at Riley and the others. He already wanted to go home since earlier, since whoever murdered Prophet might come snooping and he certainly didn't want that…
…but now he was involved in something even crazier. He knew nothing good would come from sticking with Riley.
"We are not kidding, though," Hannah then raised her voice, "Don't tell any of this to anyone."
"Of course, we won't tell anyone," Daniel quickly clicked his tongue as he crossed his arms, "With all of the shit that's going on, I am sure there's a big bad out there manipulating everything."
"I will kill the two of you if you tell anyone, Daniel and Bella," Riley then suddenly joined in on the conversation; gathering a small laugh from the others as they thought he was joking.
"Come on, I thought we were tight already, my white brother?" Bella said as she tried to put her arm around Riley's shoulder. Tried.
And with just that simple moment, the dark atmosphere surrounding the already dark forest slightly got lighter… except for the clones.
Just minutes ago before this weird group suddenly arrived, they received the same threat for Little Riley. Aerith tried to escape and had a little scuffle with the small human; she was, however, surprisingly completely beaten. If it wasn't for her regenerative powers, then this weird group would have certainly seen her swelling cheeks.
Little Riley also told them not to tell anything about him… or else the original would surely kill them.
Their mother asked her and the others to scare some people, but she already failed that task as the people from the school had already left. Does that mean… their mother wasn't going to fetch them? Were they stuck here forever?
"You… said your name is Aerith?"
And as she was busy with her thoughts, a voice almost identical to hers whispered into her ears. She slowly turned her head, only to see Silvie right in front of her, "My… my name is Silvie. You and I…
…we're the same."
"My name is also Silvie!"
"Me too! Me too!"
"Is… is that so?" With the smaller clones suddenly bombarding Silvie with stares, the only thing she could do was let out a small and slightly awkward smile. Some of the younger clones were even trying to poke her skin, but she didn't seem to mind. One could even say that her eyes contained a tiny bit of warmth as they looked at the younger clones' disfigured, malnourished, and malformed bodies.
"Just… what exactly was the Government thinking?" Silvie muttered; her head immediately hurting with the statement. She had already figured this out before, but any thoughts of rebelling from the government caused her head to ache– perhaps from years of being brainwashed by her fath– by the scientist that took care of her.
"Just what is your father actually involved in, Hannah?" Silvie then muttered as she turned her head towards Hannah.
"I… have absolutely no idea," Hannah could only shake her head and sigh in shame.
"Wait… how is Whiteking involved in this?" Bella muttered.
"That…" Hannah quickly looked at Riley, who just shrugged his shoulders in response. She was a little hesitant at first, but in the end, she told the two all about the clones, and their father's part in it. Of course, they skipped the part where Gary is Megawoman's son as he didn't want other people to know, at least not yet.
"Fuck!" Daniel quickly cursed as soon as Hannah's story was over, "To think the entire family was crazy!"
Hannah was about to say something, but the only thing she could really do was let out a scoff– he had a point, after all.
They were initially just supposed to be here for Prophet… but now the situation suddenly became like this.
"What the fuck kind of shit show is happening here," Gary finally joined the conversation as he let out a loud and very deep breath. He had also been watching and observing the clones. He was aware of Project Forest– but that was only to the extent of Silvie and Dark Millenium.
If he knew that the Government would actually have created a broken replica of her mother and let them suffer… he would have probably fought to shut down the project.
"It almost feels like something big is coming…" Gary then continued, "...and it's not my dick."
"...What the fuck, man?"
"Nice one," Bella quickly stretched her hand towards Gary; the two bumping fists as they shared a laugh. Their bursts of laughter were short, however, as Bella's eyebrows began to furrow a few moments later.
"Prophet mentioned something like that in the video," she then muttered.
"Like what?"
"That something is coming… and that we should run," Daniel added to the conversation.
"This video…" And finally, Tomoe, who had been quietly observing the situation on the side, approached Riley, "...Can we see it, master Riley?"
"Okay."
"W… what? Man, Prophet told us to keep it secret," Daniel could only let out a sigh as he saw Riley handing the phone without any hesitation. He couldn't really complain any further, as he heard an even deeper secret with this cloning business.
And so, the others started to watch Prophet's farewell. As for Silvie, she was still talking with the clones; telling them about her and who she was… who they were.
"Something like that…" Aerith then whispered as soon as Silvie's story was over, "...It's not true… I… I don't accept it."
"The one that you call mother, whoever she is…" In contrast, Silvie's tone was completely gentle, "...she's not your mother."
"But she helped us escape from the bad men!"
"Y… yes! That's right!" The other clones chimed in.
"...How did you escape the bad men?" Silvie then asked as her eyes started to squint.
"We scared them! Mother told us to scare them!"
"Scare… them? How?"
"We took off their heads like this!" One of the clones said as she put both her palms close together, before pulling them away in opposite directions.
"You… killed them?"
"...Kill?" The clones all tilted their heads to the side.
"D… don't tell her that–"
"No."
A loud explosion suddenly erupted in the air; the entire forest shaking as Silvie stomped her foot on the ground,
"Megawoman would never ask you to do something like that," Silvie then said, "Megawoman is the best of us– she will never tell you to kill anyone. Whoever it is that's been calling you… she's not Megawoman."
"She… she doesn't need to be Megawoman! She's our mother and–"
"Very well said, Silvie."
And before Aerith could finish her words, she could not help but flinch as Riley started to approach them ever so slowly.
"I have already told them the same earlier," Riley let out a small sigh, "That woman you call mother is not Megawoman, clone Aerith."
"Where's the phone?" Silvie then asked as she opened her hand.
"W… why?"
"You need to throw it away. The one that's been calling you… is a bad woman."
"Mother… is bad?"
"Mother is bad woman?"
"That's not true, don't listen to her!" Aerith said as she tried to shut the other clones, "I'm not throwing away the– Hey!"
And once again, her words were interrupted as the phone in her pocket suddenly flew out, going straight towards Silvie's stretched hand.
"..." Silvie was slightly surprised at first, but as soon as she realized it was Riley who did that, she crushed the phone with her hand without any hesitation.
"N… no!" Aerith quickly rushed and crawled towards the phone, but her path was blocked by Silvie.
"Please… do not try to pick up the pieces," Silvie then said as she kneeled on the ground to be on the same eye level as Aerith, "I know how much it hurts to know that the one you've been calling your mother is not actually your family…
…But family would never ask you to do bad things," Silvie looked glanced at Riley and the others who were still busy watching Prophet's video, "A family should be there for you whenever you're in trouble… and never ask anything in return."
"F… family?"
"Please," Silvie then let out a small smile, "Let me be your family, all of you… You can consider me as your older sister."
"I–" Aerith was about to look away, but as she saw the warm smile radiating from Silvie; it was almost as if there was some sort of string attached to the both of them that was no longer allowing her to look away.
No one has ever looked at them like that– she didn't know it was even possible for someone to look at them like that. And so, with a feeling that she hasn't felt once in her life slowly filling up her entire body… the only thing she could do was reach out her hand.
Her trembling showed that she was still hesitant, but the reflection she saw in Silvie's eyes was so clear that the shattered mirror between the two of them was swept away…
…allowing their hands to finally meet.
Chapter 171Warmth.
Aerith did not know what it meant at first, but for some odd reason, she always seemed to crave for it. It was almost like thirst or the need to breathe for her. And in a way, she thought she was getting it from their mother– or whoever it was that was pulling their strings.
But now, with the hand she was currently holding; the feeling she was getting from their mother was completely different. Silvie's hand was gentle, almost caring. Her hand wasn't necessarily warm, no; in fact, it was a little cold. But for some reason, also unexplainable, she felt warmth.
"..."
"..."
"Uhmm… You can let go of my hand now, you know?" Silvie then said as she let out a small but awkward chuckle. Aerith has been holding her hand for almost a full minute now, with seemingly no intention of letting go.
"Ah, y… yes. Of course!" Aerith then quickly pulled her hand away, but soon, a small chuckle also escaped her mouth.
The jubilant breaths that were coming out of their mouths were almost in rhythm with each other. They had the same tone and even the same voice– and as soon as the two realized this, for some reason, their laughter became even stronger.
"Can… can I also hold hand?"
Their peals of laughter, however, were disrupted as one of the younger clones approached the two of them; her eyes, seemingly craving to touch Silvie's hand.
"...Of course," Silvie then let out a small sigh as she retained her smile, "You c–"
And before she could even finish her words, the young clone chittered her way towards her and hugged her hand. And it wasn't only her, soon, the rest of the clones started hugging her.
"W… wait," Silvie slightly moved, careful not to hurt the children.
"We… we have two big sisters now!"
"Big sister! Big sister!"
"I'm…" Silvie could only blink a couple of times as she took a small glance at Aerith, "...Yes, I'm your new big sister."
And as Aerith heard this, the smile on her face also lit up. It slightly died down, however, as she remembered that their mother would not be able to call them again since Silvie crushed her phone. What… would they do from now on? She had always been following their mother's advice.
"Is it because you are imperfect clones?"
And then, out of nowhere, Riley spoke as he once again looked at Aerith and the other younger clones, "Your emotions and decisions are easily swayed… certainly a product of an underdeveloped emotional intelligence."
"...You know you're not really one to talk about undeveloped emotions, right, little bro?"
Hannah, who just finished watching Prophet's farewell video, slowly made her way towards Riley and Silvie; the others followed beside her.
"At least these girls are more expressive than you."
"...Do you want me to physically express my emotions more, sister?"
"...Please don't," Hannah quickly shook her head, "For everyone's sake, please don't."
And as Hannah said that, the others could not help but let out a slightly uncomfortable chuckle as they saw the weird growing smile on Riley's face slowly fading away. They can't lie– Riley's smile was probably one of the creepiest things in existence due to his unusually wide mouth.
Of course, Silvie and Tomoe didn't seem to think so.
There was one, however, that was pretty shaken– Daniel Espinoza. Why even smile? He thought. Was Riley actually enjoying this moment? Is all this confusion and chaos actually fun for him?
"This government facility where you were being kept in…" Silvie then asked after everything calmed down, "...Can you tell us where it is?"
"I… It's far from here," Aerith said, "We got on a large ship to get here."
Although Riley's earlier words were blunt, he did have a point– Aerith was completely aloof when they first saw her… but now she was just freely answering Silvie's question. It could be a trap, but the innocent shine in her eyes would say otherwise.
"A ship? Is it possible you were hidden somewhere outside the country? Perhaps a remote island?"
"I… don't know."
"Whatever the case is," Hannah then stepped in and joined the conversation, "We need to get them somewhere safe first. We can't do anything here and quite honestly… this forest is giving me major serial killer vibes."
"Right? I've been saying that since earlier!" Daniel said… but no one seemed to care.
"Anyway, we also need to find Prophet's killer… but we need to give this phone to his husband first," Hannah then let out a small but deep sigh as she handed Prophet's phone back to Riley, "I… didn't even know he had a lover."
"Did you know he was gay, though?"-- said both Gary and Daniel almost at the same time. The two quickly looked at each other, a spark of rivalry almost connecting both their eyes.
"This team already has comic relief," Gary muttered, "Go find your own troubled prepubescent adults to annoy."
"Huh?" Daniel raised his eyebrow, "Who are you calling a comic relief?"
"..."
"..."
"So, where are we going?" Silvie then said after watching Gary and Daniel almost duke it out.
"I know a lot of safe houses… but since dad is directly involved in this cloning shit, we can't really go there since he might be watching," Hannah sighed as she looked at Silvie, who quickly shook her head.
"My house… isn't even my house," Silvie whispered.
Hannah then looked at Gary, who also shook his head. "You know why we can't," he said.
"I live in Harlem, so…" Bella raised both her hands as Hannah's gaze fell to her, "...expect us to be on the news in less than a minute."
Hearing this, Hannah could only once again sigh as her eyes went straight to Tomoe.
"Did… you just skip me?" Daniel muttered.
"My mother has a studio in L.A," Tomoe suggested; her already small eyes squinting as she placed her hand on her chin, "It should be empty right now since she is staying in the Academy."
"That's literally on the other side of the country, hello?" Daniel gasped as he looked at everyone, "I know a place that–"
"Distance is not a problem," Hannah did not let him finish, "We have a flying truck."
"Wha– Are you even licensed to fly that!?" Of course, Daniel knew they had a flying truck; everyone in the Academy did.
"I'm even licensed to pilot a spacecraft," Hannah scoffed as she started to turn around, "Let's go, we'll pick up Riley's van along the way."
"There is no need, sister," Riley shook his head, "I can just buy another one before my Mega Student privileges are over."
"Let's go, baby!" Gary then roared as he clapped his hands several times, "Hollywood, here we come! I think there was news that there's a villain there, but YOLO!"
"Don't we need to go back to the Academy!?" Daniel screamed.
"Relax, homes."
The only response Daniel received, however, was Bella's arm on his shoulders,
"Bulwark gave us a whole week, relax," Bella breathed out, "Aren't you excited? We get to jam with the Baby Crew."
"What do you mean excited!?" Daniel could only exclaim as the rest of the group started walking away like they were just going on a picnic– even the clones were looking at him like he was the odd one in the group.
Government conspiracies, assassination, clones, adultery…
…Just what exactly has he gotten himself into?
***
"Is your mother a famous painter or something?"
"No idea," Tomoe said as she entered a passcode on the door in front of her… on a rooftop that had its own helipad. But alas, a beeping sound followed by a red light showed that whatever she entered, it was the wrong combination.
"...You said you weren't rich?" Silvie's voice was quite solemn as her eyes looked around… to see nothing but the sky, as well as a 360-degree view of the city of Los Angeles, "In what way is this not rich?"
"We're not," Tomoe answered; her eyes closed as several numbers raced through her mind, "My mother's… lovers are."
"...Lovers? Your mother is–"
"Gary," Hannah subtly punched Gary on the side to stop him from saying anything else.
"I got it," Tomoe then breathed out as another beep rang in the air; this time, however, the light that followed it was green, partnered with a clicking sound as the door slightly popped in place.
"...Is it safe?"
"I don't hear anything suspicious," Silvie nodded. And so, with one final look around them, the group started to enter the building one by one.
"What the hell… this is fancy as fuck!"
And as soon as they entered Tomoe's mother's so-called studio, Gary greeted it with his colorful words of excitement. But it wasn't only him, even the eyes of the clones were shining as they started running around the spacious… loft suite.
The others were expecting some kind of studio similar to those photo studios or art galleries... but this just looked like a fancy hotel room.
Aerith tried her best to calm them down. But alas, even she was swept by their enthusiasm. The window wall probably had the best view of the city– and it didn't help that there was a pool that almost merged with the sky adorning it.
There were also lots of paintings scattered on the walls or just lying on them; with empty and unused canvases lying around neatly, waiting to come alive. Tomoe seemed like an expert in editing photos... so she more than likely got her knack for art and finer details from her mother.
"Is… is this high society?"
"Don't touch that."
Besides Tomoe, the only ones that were not shaken were Riley and Hannah. After all, Whiteking did not lack the resources. He probably had hundreds of places like this all over the entire planet.
"Okay, let's all calm down and–"
And before Hannah could even get the chance to settle everyone, her phone rang.
"W… wait," she then stuttered as soon as she saw who was calling, "I… need to take this call."
"Ooh, is it the new boyfriend?" Bella said as she twinkled her pinky finger, "Everyone's been talking about it."
"I don't know, man. The dude's hella suspicious," Daniel scoffed, "Anyone who uses their name as their superhero name is a fucking psycho."
"Jealous much?"
"W– what do you mean 'jealous'!?"
"W… wait, Julius, let me move somewhere else," Hannah could only furrow her eyebrows at Daniel and Bella before walking away to somewhere quieter,
"Why are you calling me at this time?"
[I'm worried. Where are you and your brother right now? Are you not back in the Academy yet?]
"N… no, we're just–
–How did you know I'm with my brother?"
Chapter 172"How did you know I'm with my brother?"
[...]
[...]
[What… do you mean?] Even through the speakers, Julius's confused tone reached Hannah's ear. His breaths, however, seemed completely normal.
"How do you know that I am currently with my brother right now?" Hannah repeated her question; her voice, slightly turning cold.
[Aren't the two of you always together? I heard Bulwark allowed your class to go outside, so I just assumed you were together.]
"..."
"..."
"...Right," Hannah then let out a small but deep sigh as she slightly nodded. She's been aloof to everyone lately due to everything that's been happening to and around her. Her father's affair, all the secrets– and now Prophet's assassination. She didn't know who to trust anymore.
But Julius has been there to comfort her; not asking anything in return. So at least this... it has to be true.
"We're still doing something, I'll call you back later," Hannah once again sighed.
[...Okay. Please be careful, okay? I… love you.]
"I– What the fuck are you saying!? B… Bye!" Hannah's head almost instinctively pulled away from her phone, before she quickly cut off the call with her slightly trembling fingers.
"W… what's with that?" She then breathed out loudly; her face, slightly turning red as she turned around.
"Kya!" As soon as she did so, however, Tomoe's face almost caused her to jump back in fright as she stood in front of her without any sound.
"H… how long have you been there?" Hannah asked. She then slightly tilted her head to the side, only to see Gary and the others were also… subtly hiding across the wall; Gary not so much, however, as he seemed to be making sure that Hannah could see and hear his sighs of disappointment and disapproval.
"What… are you guys doing here?"
"We were eavesdropping on your conversation, sister."
"...What?"
"Was that Julius?" And before Hannah could even ask why they were doing so, Tomoe's somewhat quiet and monotonous voice whispered in her ears, "He knew you were with Master Riley?"
"Y… yeah," Hannah stuttered as she was still trying to calm herself down from what Julius said to her,
"It's… nothing, just a misunderstanding on my part," she then waved her hand with a chuckle as she walked away, "Let's go, we still have a lot of things to discuss."
But before Hannah could even take 3 steps, Tomoe's already small eyes started to squint as she said, "I think Julius is suspicious, Hannah."
"...What?" Hannah blinked a couple of times in confusion.
"I think he has something to do with whatever is happening right now– to the clones."
"Sorry, but…" Silvie then stepped out from the plant she was hiding behind; taking a small glance towards the clones, who were already fast asleep on the floor without a care in the world,
"...But what does Hannah's new boyfriend have to do with them? It's that Julius guy, right?"
<script>ChapterMid();</script>
"Nothing!" Hannah breathed out as she lightly shrugged her shoulders.
"They own the company that made the Academy's phones," Tomoe, however, answered Silvie's questions without bar, "MEGAN was also most likely developed by them."
"...MEGAN?" Silvie furrowed her eyebrows, "Is… it possible that they're controlling MEGAN?"
The phone that Aerith was using was the same model as the ones being used in the Academy. And more likely than not, the one that's been calling herself the mother of the clones… is also MEGAN.
"I knew that guy was sus af!"
The sound of Gary clicking his tongue almost echoed throughout the entire suite; his steps too, were loud enough to wake the sleeping clones,
"T… tell me the two of you haven't seggs yet!" He then said as he pointed straight at Hannah's face.
"...Seggs?" Silvie asked.
"You know!" Gary then answered by moving his hands in a very… obscene manner.
"That's enough, guys. What's gotten into all of you!?" Hannah stomped her foot on the floor to get everyone's attention, "Julius… Julius treats me well!"
"Wait, are we talking about the Julius Reuben?" Daniel, who was disinterested at the start, now joined in on the conversation, "The heir to Reuben tech? Telecom giant? SpaceR, Microhard, and all that!?"
"...You're dating the rich guy?" Bella also joined in; her eyes blinking several times as her voice held a certain amazement in it, "Talk about a royal match."
"...What if he approached you because he needed something from you?" Gary nodded several times as he continued to approach Hannah, "...What if he's the one who killed Prophet?"
"Okay, this is getting ridiculous," Hannah's eyes started to twitch, "What the heck are you guys even saying? Let's not talk about this and focus on what's important."
"I mean, how long have you been with the guy, 2 weeks?" Gary added, "Then all this shit happened, kinda sus, not gonna lie."
"Y–"
And before Hannah could even say a word, a small but very noticeable crack whispered into their ears. They all turn around to see what made the noise, only to see specks of dust falling from Silvie's hand; little bits of glass and metal, dropping to the floor as Silvie's hand crushed… her own phone.
"...Silv?"
"I… agree with Tomoe and Gary," Silvie then said; her eyes having a hard time looking at Hannah, "Something… feels off here."
Riley was still quietly watching as the scene unfolds in front of him; his eyebrows, slightly dropping as he watched as her sister's subtle stutters began to grow worse.
"W… what?" Hannah chuckled, "Are… are you guys crazy?"
And as if to answer her question, Gary also crushed his phone. Tomoe also tried to do the same thing… but found that her grip wasn't strong enough to even fold the phone in half. And so, she handed her phone to Gary, who crushed it with his hand without any hesitation.
Hannah's breaths started to fluctuate, as even Bella did the same; her phone shattering into pieces as it floated in the air.
"What the fuck!?" And the same thing happened to Daniel's phone, "W… why did you also destroy mine!?"
"We might be getting bugged right now, that ain't cool," Bella sighed as she patted Daniel's shoulder several times in comfort.
"This… this is crazy, guys," Hannah's voice then became quiet as she was suddenly surrounded by people who seemed to have already made the decision that Julius is a bad guy,
"...Riley?" Hannah then turned her head towards Riley; her eyes, as if begging him not to do the same.
"I do not really care if we are getting bugged right now, sister," Riley muttered as he showed his phone to his sister. MEGAN seemed to already know that he was Darkday, so there really was no point in him hiding away from it; besides, he was starting to like the fact that he could watch Italian Mafia Reborn from it, Full HD in 8k resolution.
"..."
"..."
Hannah, even with her brother somewhat still supporting her, turned completely silent as her eyes dropped to the floor. Silvie was about to open her mouth, but before she could do so, Hannah suddenly took in a deep breath… before grabbing and slamming Riley's phone to the ground. She then proceeded to step on it; splitting it in half and slightly cracking the floor.
And without even saying a word, she also grabbed her own phone tight; gritting her teeth as her hands began to tremble in an attempt to split it in half.
"The phone is made of–"
And before Bella could finish her words, the sound of Hannah's phone cracking open whispered into her ears. Hannah then threw both pieces on the ground, proceeding to trample on it several times as hard as she could.
"H… Hannah, stop," Silvie stuttered as she slowly tried to approach Hannah. But before she could get near here, Hannah's breaths echoed throughout the entire suite; her steps, finally calming down as she seemed to have collected herself.
"Enough," she then muttered, "I can't let my personal feelings in the way. We're a group, it would be selfish to insist that nothing is wrong."
And although her voice contained some sort of conviction in it, the trembling words that were coming out of her mouth made it obvious that she was still shaken about what just happened.
"Are you hurt, sister?"
"Hm?" Hannah then let out a small but deep breath as she looked at her brother.
"Are you hurt because of Julius Reuben?" Riley repeated his question. And although his voice was completely calm, Tomoe noticed that his hand was slightly opened; trembling, as if gripping some sort of invisible sphere.
"That… no," Hannah breathed out as she shook her head, "I'll just talk to him after this is done, I'm sure there's an explanation to all of this."
"Okay," Riley nodded, "Please tell me if he starts to hurt you, sister. I will change the path for now."
"Ha? Change the what?" Hannah furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Riley, however, did not answer her; instead, his trembling hand started to relax.
"..."
"..."
"...You'll be the first to know, Riley," and after a few moments of silence, Hannah once again shook her head, placing her hand on Riley's cheek as she did so, "You don't have to worry about me, okay? I'm your big sister."
"That is impossible, sister," Riley then whispered as he gently placed his hand on top of Hannah's, "I will always care and worry about you."
"Yeah? You'll be my boyfriend instead?"
"If that is what you wish, sister."
"Pft."
"..."
"..."
Gary's eyes started to move across the room, trying to see what the reaction of the others was.
"Ince–"
"Wah, what's that!? It's so shiny!"
And before he could say what he wanted to say, a high-pitched but slightly hoarse voice scratched in the air– one of the young clones was currently sticking her palms on the window, her eyes, seemingly reflecting a yellow streak.
"That's…" Silvie quickly rushed to see what it was, only for her eyes to reflect the streak as well,
"...A falling star?"
Chapter 173"...A falling star?"
Silvie's eyes reflected the yellow streak that suddenly disrupted the peaceful sky. The meteor was bright enough to trounce even the massive light pollution that drowned the city– changing the colors of the city's walls and even distracting the drivers that were moving through the night.
"A meteor?" Hannah then quickly joined Silvie as she too, stared at the bright streak, "It's… quite close… too close."
While everyone else was amazed at the sudden celestial appearance, Tomoe, on the other hand, was inching closer to Riley by the second. She remembered clearly that Riley threatened Julius; that if he ever hurts his sister, he would kill every last person in his country.
"M… master," she then whispered as she got close enough, "Did you–"
"Not yet, Tomoe," Riley did not let Tomoe finish her words as he walked away, "My sister said she would deal with it."
"..." Tomoe could only take in a deep breath as she heard Riley's words. Does that mean if Hannah actually said that she was hurt… then Riley would have called upon a meteor on them? And how was he even able to summon one from space? Even if his telekinetic powers had no limits, how was it possible for him to move something that far away?
And soon, Tomoe's breaths began to flutter; her face slowly turning red. Magnificent, she thought… Riley Ross truly is a god. A god that she would forever serve until the last of her life melts away.
"So… so beautiful."
"What is that? Is that mother?"
"T… that's a meteor, a space rock that entered the planet's atmosphere."
"S… shouldn't we hide?"
"No, it just looks close– but judging by its trajectory it might hit somewhere in the Atlantic ocean… government might call for tsunami and earthquake warnings," Hannah breathed out.
"...You know that how?"
"I… could feel it," Hannah said as she stared at the meteor; her eyes, almost imitating the meteor's color, "It's also slowing down for some reason– it might just be a small piece."
"You… could feel it?" Silvie blinked a couple of times as she looked at Hannah.
"Ah, it's disappearing!"
"Bye-bye, mister meteor!"
The children, who were previously sleeping on the floor, were now all awake as they all stuck their faces on the window– their eyes almost shimmering with excitement as they waved the meteor goodbye.
If they were normal children, then this scene would have been cute. But with most of them having extra limbs and wrapped in bandages… It almost looked like something from a horror film. If it wasn't for the well-lit suite, then this would have probably been the creepiest thing he has ever seen– of course, Gary was sensible enough to not voice out his thoughts.
"So… what exactly are we going to do with them?" Hannah then let out a small sigh as she gestured towards the clones. A part of her feels guilty; after all, her father was involved in creating them… or was he?
<script>ChapterMid();</script>
Bernard told them that he helped create Silvie-1 and Silvie-2, which were Dark Millenium and Silvie– both almost perfect clones. But these children and Aerith… they all had deformations one way or another. Was it actually possible that he wasn't involved in this, hence the clones' current states?
"I… can take care of them," Aerith then approached Hannah and Silvie, "But… I want answers too. Please let me join and help you with whatever it is you're doing. I want to know why they did this to us… If… if mother truly isn't real."
"That's…" Hannah was initially going to refuse, but when she saw the look of helplessness slowly building in Aerith's eyes, the only thing she could do was look to the other members of the Baby Crew. And seeing their nods of approval, Hannah as well, nodded to Aerith's request.
"...But what else can you actually do?"
"Hm?"
"Your powers, do you also have Megawoman's powers to some extent?" Hannah said.
"I… I don't know? I'm super strong?" Aerith muttered.
"We're also super strong!"
"...This won't do," Hannah let out a sigh. Thankfully, before her breaths could grow even heavier, Silvie stepped forward.
"I'll… teach you how to use your power," Silvie then said, "But first… I'd like to show you where you came from… who you came from– Megawoman."
"..."
"..."
Almost everyone waited for Silvie to do something due to the dramatic way she said her words, but even after a few seconds had passed; the only thing she did was stand in place. But finally, after a few more seconds, she opened her mouth.
"Does… your TV have YouView installed?" She then chuckled awkwardly as she looked at Tomoe, "I… forgot we destroyed our phones."
"...Yes," Tomoe nodded as she tried to find the remote with Silvie. And as soon as they turned it on, all the clones started to run in front of it.
"TV!? What are we watching!?"
"Aren't you listening!? We're going to watch mother!"
"C… calm down, everyone!" Aerith could only move in panic as the younger clones started filling the sofa or sitting on the carpet; almost destroying them as they did so.
But alas, the only thing she could do was also sit down in silence… as Riley suddenly joined them to watch Megawoman's videos.
"Should we discuss about Prophet's killer now?"
And after the clones plus Riley have settled down to watch Megawoman's videos, Bella approached Hannah, "We need to avenge him!"
"I think what we need to talk about is that god damn meteor!" Daniel's screams also joined in, "Why are you guys acting like you just didn't see a meteor fall from the sky!?"
"Hannah said it would be fine," Bella shrugged.
"Wha–"
"We need to attend Prophet's funeral," Hannah disrupted Daniel's words as she spoke to Bella, "Right now, we have absolutely no leads; our best option is to give the phone to Prophet's husband…
…but something about what Prophet said in the video bothers me."
"...What is it?"
"He said the one who killed him is the most dangerous man on the entire planet," Hannah muttered as she took a seat at the dining table, "So that eliminates a lot of suspects."
"...You think it might be a Grade-S Super?" Silvie joined in on the conversation as she too took a seat.
"Might be."
And soon, Tomoe followed, Gary, Bella, and then Daniel also all took a seat at the table– leaving only Riley as he was still busy watching videos of Megawoman.
"Wait, wait," Daniel then breathed out, "Are you telling me this would lead us to a Grade-S Super? Are you guys insane? We should just leave this to Whiteking and the Hope Guild! Or maybe to Nightwalker and Spectacular Mustache Man since they already know"
"...Speaking of Whiteking, maybe he already knows? That dude is creepy as heck, no offense," Bella said.
"That's possible," Hannah said, "But Prophet's death was made to look like a suicide at all angles– even father would have a hard time. The only reason we know that he was killed was because he left a message."
"Shouldn't we at least tell this to your father?"
"No," Hannah shook her head, "We are handling this– but we need SMM and Nightwalker. But not dad, Prophet is his best friend, even someone like him…
…wouldn't be able to think clearly."
***
Somewhere, in a dimly lit room– whispers echoed throughout the darkness. Bernard's eyes, reflecting an almost endless barrage of numbers and letters.
One of his phones that was scattered on a table was ringing, showing Diana's number calling him. Bernard, however, did not stop whatever it was he was doing. And finally, after a few more seconds, the call died down…
…showing that Diana had been calling her more than 100 times now.
Chapter 174In a dimly lit room; an almost echo of clicking noises filled the darkness. A pair of eyes were also reflecting what little light the room had; countless letters and numbers reflected on them as Bernard's fingers moved without pause.
There were also bottles of alcohol surrounding him; with most already empty. There was also a sound that has been ringing through his ears for quite a long time now; but the only thing he did was glance at the source of the ringing, only for him to return to whatever it is he was doing.
[Aren't you going to answer?] Prophet's voice then whispered into his ears out of nowhere, [Diana has called you 142 times now.]
"No time for that, Steve," Bernard breathed out; his fingers still typing without end, "This is more important than anything."
[...That is correct.]
"Why didn't you tell this to me earlier!?" Even with his voice rising, Bernard's eyes did not lose focus.
[Because you were directly working under the Government. I could only tell you now that you've told me everything you have done for them.]
"...To think they were hiding something like this… I knew I shouldn't have allowed them to control me, fuck!"
[You did it for Hannah, I understand that you would do anything for your children. But the Government has truly been hiding things from you… Even Dark Millenium, you were unaware she was Silvie-1 and alive, right?]
"Hm," Bernard furrowed his eyebrows as he nodded. And after a few seconds, he let out a small breath, "Alright, this one is also done."
[Good work, Berns. Do you want to take a rest?]
"No, there are still privately-owned ones to take care of," Bernard muttered as his fingers once again began moving, "If we want to be protected from the Themarians…
…we need all the satellites."
[...]
[Yes, of course. Imagine thousands of evil Megawomen rampaging– who do you think could stop something like that?]
"...My son."
[...]
[...]
[Your son is Darkday, correct?]
"Yes."
[That is good. That is why we need to get them here first before they could go to the other planets. The universe depends on Earth to save it. We need to stop them here so…
…let's call them.]
"I know, what do you think I am doing? Stop disturbing me," Bernard let out a small scoff as his other hand stopped typing; moving towards a bottle of alcohol and proceeding to drink it whilst his other hand continued to type.
And soon, his phone once again rang, showing Diana trying to reach him.
[Are you sure you don't want to answer that?]
"No, I told my wife that I will no longer hide anything from here," Bernard breathed out, "If I answer that, then I need to tell her all about this… it's better for her not to know anything."
[That's good. Diana has already suffered en– We have trouble.] The tone of Prophet's voice suddenly changed– almost turning feminine, [I guess we'll finish this ourselves. Thank you for all the help, Bernard Ross.]
"...What?"
And before Bernard could type again, all the screens in front of him shut down– opening once more, but now showing the different shows of different TV stations.
"What are you doing, Prophet!?" Bernard stood up as he slammed his fists on the keyboard, "I told you, we have no time to was–"
And before he could finish his words, a thundering sound suddenly filled the entire room. The almost dozen monitors in front of him, almost dropped to the floor as everything started to tremble.
"..." And before Bernard could even blink, another explosion erupted. Light, suddenly drowning the entire room as the thick metal door that separated his room to the outside was forced open– strong enough that it flew across the room and embedded itself to the wall.
"Bernard, are you– I finally found you!"
Bernard could only squint his eyes as the light from the outside room bombarded his eyes; but soon, as they slowly recovered, he saw a silhouette slowly approaching him.
"...Adaeze?" Bernard then whispered, "What are you doing here?"
"You fucking bastard!" Empress's response, however, was wrapping her hand around Bernard's neck, "I should be the one asking that! What are you doing locking yourself up in this fucking stinkhole when your best friend is dead!?"
Empress's eyes started to dart around the room. And seeing the almost hundreds of empty bottles of alcohol, as well as Bernard's stench that smelled like an abandoned winery filled with mold, the only thing she could do was click her tongue in frustration.
"He didn't just die, Bernard! He fucking shot himself!"
"..." Even with the pressure around his neck, Bernard's eyes were completely calm; only glancing at Empress's face as she continued to scream at his face. But with a small sigh, a rocket suddenly emerged from his sleeves, instantly combusting and causing his hand to plunge straight towards Empress's arm.
And with his two fingers folded, he poked several points on Empress's arm, causing her to drop him on the floor.
"What are you saying, Adaeze?" Bernard then let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "I was just talking with Steve earlier."
"...What?" Empress furrowed her eyebrows; her eyes, turning to one of the monitors that were clearly reporting Prophet's death. No, it wasn't the only screen that was showing it– most of the stations were.
"He's dead, Bernard," Empress then said as she pointed at the monitors, "He killed himself, look at the news!"
"No," a small chuckle escaped from Bernard's mouth as he looked at the monitors, "He didn't kill himself, I shot him."
"What?"
"It turns out that he knew I was going to kill him all along, and his death was some kind of intricate plan– he's alive somewhere."
"What the fuck are you saying, Bernard?" Empress scoffed, "Have you gone crazy!? Look at the fucking new–"
"It's fake," Bernard once again chuckled as he waved his hand, "Don't listen to the news, you know who I am right? I know everything. Hehe… Everything."
"Bernard…" The corners of Empress's mouth began to lower as she finally noticed Bernard's appearance. His hair was completely uncombed; his beard that have already grown out, completely a mess as the residues of alcohol stuck to it.
"What is happening to–" And before Empress could finish her words, she finally realized something.
Bernard knew that Riley is Darkday. It was impossible for him not to know. She thought that Bernard was just in denial and was just processing Prophet's death in the worst way possible… but she was deluded because of her feelings for him, he already confessed right in front of her for god's sake.
Prophet was investigating Riley… He didn't kill himself and he wasn't killed by Riley… It was Bernard.
"You fucking bastard!" Empress could only grit her teeth as she raised her fist, "You killed your best friend just to protect a monster!?"
Her fist was only an inch away from Bernard's face… but before it could make contact, it stopped as soon as Empress's eyes met with Bernard's. To see him so weak and defeated… She had seen him many times in this state before, but never like this.
And so, her fist that was already intent on breaking Bernard's face slowly opened. And instead of inflicting pain, her arms instead started to wrap gently around Bernard.
"What… are you doing, Adaeze?" Bernard then whispered; his words, slowly becoming sedated.
"It's… alright, Bernard," Empress then said as a small tear began to appear on her face, "What… whatever you've done, I understand. I will always be here for you because...
…I'm the only one that truly loves you."
Chapter 175"S… Silvie!? What happened to you!?"
"Did you meet another supervillain or something!? Was that meteor your doing!?"
"N… no, this is–"
"Maybe you fought another dangerous enemy!? Another remnant of the past fought by Megawoman? But why are you the only one injured!?"
Class 1-V, Mega Academy; once again filled with noises and curious whispers as Silvie stepped inside the classroom. Without even a second of Silvie entering that class, she was bombarded by a series of questions– not even allowing her to take a single step to her seat.
Of course, why wouldn't they ask? Silvie was currently covered in bandages, even her arms were wrapped in a thick layer of cloth– not even wearing her superhero outfit that she was usually so proud of.
If it weren't for Hannah, Bella, Tomoe… and surprisingly also Daniel shooing the other students away, then the questions would have probably rained on Silvie until the end of the day.
As for Gary, well… He was currently sweating buckets; his eyes, as wide as they could be as they landed all over the place. After all…
…Silvie Savelievna was not here at all.
A few hours ago.
"...Fuck."
The Baby Crew, plus temporary members Bella, Daniel, and also Aerith gathered around the suite's dining table, with the sun already flowing through the large windows of the suite. Their eyes were filled with bags– one would almost think that they weren't able to sleep, but the truth is, they did.
They were discussing how to proceed last night, but they weren't really able to come up with a solid strategy that would ensure that everything would work well.
Finding Prophet's killer? They would have to wait until his funeral to hand the phone to his husband… and even then, there might not even be any clues to who killed him.
Figuring out where Aerith and the other clones came from? Almost impossible. Aerith had been trying to remember everything she could, but the only thing she knew was that they were transported in a truck, then loaded into a ship.
The only thing they had a lead on was the one thing that related the two cases– MEGAN. Prophet's location of death and the clones' whereabouts? That couldn't be a coincidence.
MEGAN knew that Prophet was dead, and this so-called mother of Aerith and the others took them near the town. MEGAN and Aerith's mother could very well be the same entity… if so, they already have a prime suspect.
The Reuben family, or in a more grounded state– Julius Reuben. Of course, that was to be discussed later as soon as Hannah was able to talk to Julius.
There was also the fact that they were just given 1 week by Bulwark. And with Prophet's body already found, the Academy would soon be calling for them– there was also the fact that last they checked… they were the only students left outside the Academy.
And so, with them reaching a stalemate, the group just decided to sleep in the suite– there were a lot of rooms for some reason. Whatever else Tomoe's mother was doing here… everyone was sensible enough not to pry.
<script>ChapterMid();</script>
But now, even as the sun threatened to drown them with its brilliance, the Baby Crew plus temporary members were still all silent.
"Let's… just return to the Academy for now."
And so, with them in a stalemate, the only thing they could really do was let things flow for now.
"The only current problem we have now…
…is them," Hannah then pointed towards the young clones, who were busy watching a show called Cocolemon.
"I can take care of them!" Aerith quickly stood up from her seat, "P… please, trust me with this. I have already been taking care of them, so it–"
"No," Hannah quickly shook her head, "The only reason you've been able to survive this long without being discovered is that this Mother entity of yours has been manipulating your actions."
"But, we'll just stay here!"
"I trust the little kids. You, not so much," Hannah muttered. No matter how many times they repeat the story, the fact that she was ready to kill the policemen in the school just to gain her mother's favor could not be erased.
She was still unstable– and judging by the looks on Silvie and the others, they agreed.
"That's…" Aerith couldn't really rebuke Hannah's words. After all, even she herself was starting to feel disgusted with the things she had done. With her spending time with Silvie and the others, she was starting to realize that everything that their mother had ordered them to do was bad.
Even if they weren't necessarily good people, they massacred all the people inside the facility they were kept in.
"..."
"..."
"...I'll watch and protect them."
And when they thought that silence would once again prevail, the sound of Silvie's chair creaking from her suddenly standing up whistled in the air.
"...You do know you also need to come back to the Academy with us, right?"
"Aerith and I could switch places," a small smile then appeared on Silvie's face as she approached Aerith; placing her hands on her shoulders as she slightly leaned closer to her face, "We look alike."
And as soon as she said that, everyone on the table, except Riley, looked at each other. It is true that they were almost identical, but half of Aerith's face was completely deformed; her skin, looking like it was almost falling off of her skull.
"Just say I was injured!" Silvie quickly muttered as she realized what the others were thinking, "This will work!"
"This is a very bad idea."
And surprisingly, the very first one to oppose the idea was Gary, "What if whoever is doing all of this detects us or something? Don't you guys watch anime? Code Diaz? Death Pen? Blanch? Defend on Giants!? We don't even know if there are chips implanted on Aerith!"
"There was," Silvie then quickly responded, "I already destroyed it… along with the chip implanted in mine. I discovered it weeks ago," she then said as she pointed to her skull.
"I still think this is a bad idea."
"...What's with you, bro?" Bella could not help but blink a couple of times as she looked at Gary, "You ain't supposed to be the cautious one, remember?"
"That's–" Gary could not really continue his words. The only reason he was worried right now was that he is directly involved in this– he is Megawoman's son. But he couldn't really tell that to temporary members of the Baby Crew.
And so, alas. The majority of the group already decided– Aerith was going to attend Mega Academy in Silvie's stead.
But first, they had to experiment on her… in terms of fashion. They took a couple of hours, but in the end, they went too overboard with her clothes that it made her look as far away as Silvie as possible.
Silvie's fashion sense was, in a modest term, old. So in the end, they had to settle with something simpler. And so, with everything set… they went back to the Academy.
And now, back to the present Gary, who was still completely aloof and filled with suspicion even as he was already peacefully seated at his chair.
Who worked for who? The Government had already lied to him about there being only two clones, what's to say they didn't lie more?
What if like him, who was watching and observing Silvie… there was also someone watching him?
"Bro, Riley… hear me out," Gary then leaned in closer to the only person that seemed right in the head– Riley Ross.
"Do you think we're safe with what we're doing now?" Gary then whispered.
"No, Gary. There is no such thing as safe in this world as long as I am here."
"Oof, the edge," Gary squinted his eyes and puckered his lips as soon as the chills crawled throughout his skin upon hearing Riley's words, "But for real doe, I knew you were the smarter Ross… we aren't safe here. Here me out again though…
…what if someone is watching us right now?" Gary then muttered as he looked behind him, only to see almost 50 students looking at him, "S… shit, I think we should change seats to the back."
"No, I will not be able to hear the instructors clearly from the back."
"S… fuck," Gary whispered, "If it's like this, then I will protect Aerith myself. No matter how ugly she is, she is still the same as Silvie– she's family."
Gary then nodded confidently to himself as he looked at Aerith. This is his time to protect her now– the start of Episode Gary starts now.
[Riley Ross, Bella Jackson, and Daniel Espinoza of Class 1-V, please head to the Headmaster's office.]
"..." Gary could only blink his eyes a couple of times as he watched as Riley stood up; the students' eyes, now all focused on him.
It's him again, they all thought. They already knew that he was one of the students that found Prophet's body. In fact, if anything major happens around the Academy, one could be sure that a Ross was involved.
And so, with their eyes following Riley, Gary could only let out a sigh and nod. This is good, he thought. With the attention now away from Aerith, his job was a little easier.
But this is just the first step of Episode Gary. He was the main character now, there will be more t
***
"Please take a seat."
"..."
Bella and Daniel could only look at each other as they entered the Headmaster's office, before looking back to the person sitting at the Headmaster's desk– none other than their advisor, Bulwark.
Was it actually possible...
...that he was also involved in this?
Chapter 176"Please take a seat."
"..."
"..."
With the sun behind him, Bulwark's hair shines even brighter than before; even without wind flowing inside the office, one could see the individual strands flowing ever so smoothly in the air. Seeing him like this, he truly did look like some ancient being– even his eyes glimmered brighter than the sun outside.
Both Bella and Daniel then looked at each other, before looking at the two people that were already inside– Spectacular Mustache Man and Nightwalker.
And judging by Spectacular Mustache Man's folded arms, as well as his famed mustache that was completely pointed to the floor, the situation didn't look that well.
And so, with a bit of nervousness and wariness, Daniel and Bella took a seat on the other free sofa. As for Riley, he remained standing near the door.
"Now that we're all here, I will be direct," Bulwark then immediately opened his mouth as soon as everyone seemed to have settled down. But before he could say his piece, Spectacular Mustache Man raised his hand.
"I would like to address the elephant in the room before we start."
"...Go ahead, child."
"Why are you the one sitting there?" Spectacular Mustache Man said as he looked Bulwark in the eyes.
"..." Bulwark only blinked a couple of times as he subtly looked at the chair he was sitting on, before letting out a small sigh and returning his gaze to Spectacular Mustache Man, "The World Government had told me to act as the Headmaster until the position remains vacant."
"Hm," Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache lowered even further, "Even if I hate his guts, I think Whiteking should be the one sitting there. He, at the very least, has been here from the start."
Bulwark stared at Spectacular Mustache Man's moving mustache for a few seconds, before once again letting out a sigh, "I know that some of the staff are dissatisfied with this outcome. But this is only temporary… but let's move on to what I called you here for."
"..." It was true that a lot of staff were voicing out their dissatisfaction. And seeing Spectacular Mustache Man's eyebrows, he too, was still dissatisfied. But even then, he nodded and leaned back on his seat.
"I called you here because you were the ones who were able to find Prophet's body. I've read the initial report," Bulwark breathed out, "Did you… find something else that you did not tell the police?"
"Y–"
"No, we didn't."
Bella quickly stood up from her seat as soon as she heard even a tiny bit of breath escaping from Riley's mouth.
"..."
"..."
"I see," Bulwark's sighs once again whispered in the room, "That is truly a shame… I just can't believe Steve would kill himself."
Bulwark then closed his eyes for a couple of seconds as he let his breaths escape from his mouth, "Your lives are already so short… why do something like that?"
"..."
"Well, onto a more current matter," Bulwark then lightly clapped his hand, "You found Prophet because the computer led you there?"
"That is correct, Sir Bulwark," Nightwalker was the one to answer.
"And these 3 students happen to be there as well since the computer also told them where to go," Bulwark muttered as his eyes scanned Riley and the others, "But they are also there because I gave them the assignment of finding Prophet…
…so why exactly were the two of you there?" He then said as he looked at Spectacular Mustache Man and Nightwalker.
"Of course, we would find him, he's our boss," Spectacular Mustache Man scoffed, "Even if what the AI said wasn't real, we will still try to get to the bottom of this because that's just the duty we took when we became heroes. But… this time it was just to find a corpse."
"..." Everyone became silent as Spectacular Mustache Man's words slowly became sedated. As for Bulwark, he only furrowed his eyebrows as he remained staring at Nightwalker and Spectacular Mustache Man.
"Are you suspecting us of killing him?" Nightwalker then opened up.
"What!?" Spectacular Mustache Man's eyes quickly widened as he heard Nightwalker's words. Even Bella and Daniel could not help but slightly hold their breaths as soon as they heard that; their eyes, not knowing whether to look at Spectacular Mustache Man or Bulwark.
"The thought did cross my mind," Bulwark then said; his eyes glowing even brighter, "But then again, what motive could the two of you possibly have? Perhaps you were ordered to kill him?"
"What the–"
"Sit."
And before Spectacular Mustache Man could stand up, the scenery around them suddenly shifted colors; a golden hue that seemed like it flowed with the air itself. Everything became so heavy that Spectacular Mustache Man had no choice but to sit back down.
Nightwalker, Bella, and Daniel were also looking down from the sudden pressure that crawled across their bodies. As for Riley, he just remained standing there– letting some of the golden glimmers touch his skin so that it wouldn't seem like it was ineffective.
But finally, after a few more seconds, the air once again returned to normal; allowing everyone to breathe again.
"I apologize for my sudden burst of emotion, children," Bulwark said before letting out a small chuckle, "As you can see, it isn't true that one could control their emotions better with age– if anything, I am more emotional than most since I have experienced the most."
"..."
"..."
The others could not really say anything anymore. They were becoming too comfortable that they were forgetting that the existence in front of them was a being that preceded the country itself. The oldest Super… no, probably the oldest living creature on the planet.
Add that to the fact that he is also a Grade-S Super, he should truly be quite a terrifying existence. But his welcoming smiles and calm tone completely made them forget.
And with everyone quiet, the only thing that Bulwark could do was let out a small chuckle, "For someone who could see the future to want to die because he couldn't handle the stress of being the Headmaster?"
Bulwark leaned his back on the seat, before looking at the view of the Academy grounds behind him,
"You think a guy that carried the burden of knowing the future would give up just because of something like that?"
"..." The others could only once again look at each other. They already knew that Prophet did indeed, not take his own life so they were trying to keep their mouths shut… But to think a being that has lived for thousands of years would be this passionate about someone else's death? They were truly just a loss for words.
"Also, since the two of you are already here," Bulwark then stood up as he looked at Nightwalker and Spectacular Mustache Man, "I would like to request your help. Since Prophet followed the Roman Catholic ways, a funeral will be held for him at the Academy's designated Christian church. I figure most would want to attend, so…"
"Say no more," Spectacular Mustache Man stood up and nodded, not letting Bulwark finish his words, "We'll help in arranging it," he then said as he left the room.
As for Nightwalker, he only nodded to Bulwark before following his colleague out.
"Class 1-V," Bulwark then muttered, causing Bella and Daniel to slightly flinch, "Since I am now the acting Headmaster of the Academy, Scarlet Mage will once again be your adviser."
"I… I see," Bella gulped.
"Although it was just a blink of an eye, and one might even say uneventful… I had fun teaching your class," Bulwark sighed, "Alright…
…you are free to go."
And just like that, a few days passed. The Academy, seemingly returning or at least trying to operate as normal. This transition was easy, of course, since the students were not really affected as much; with the lessons and training still proceeding as if nothing happened.
One would even say the students have already grown numb. After all, compared to the past incidents that have happened to the Academy; the Seven Planes incident, Hope Guild vs. Darkday. Prophet's death just seemed… minor.
Perhaps the most eventful thing that was happening was Gary being stressed out. He was trying his best to block all of the strangers that were trying to talk to Aerith… which for some odd reason, made even people from other classes want to talk to her more.
Truly, Episode Gary was quite eventful.
But with 1 week passing by, Prophet's body was back from the coroner and the Academy had announced Prophet's funeral that would be held in the afternoon; those who wished to attend, may attend– but most would be outside the church as they wouldn't be able to accommodate everyone.
Of course, with Whiteking having a special relationship with Prophet; not to mention he had a position in the Academy, the Ross family were allotted a seat inside the church. Bella's family was seated beside them, as they helped directly with the arrangements.
And while most people were whispering and talking about Prophet, Bella and Hannah's eyes were currently on the hunt to find Prophet's so-called husband.
"Where the fuck is your father?" And in this holy place, Diana's mouth could not help but be colorful, "I have been calling him for weeks and still no answer. I thought he would be here for his best friend's funeral, but no. I've already asked some of the Academy staff, and they just said he was doing Hope Guild duties or something."
"Relax, mom," Hannah could only sigh as her mother almost made a freestyle rap with her endless words, "The fucker is probably just dealing with his own shit, just ignore the guy," she then said; her eyes still like a hawk's as she searched for any sign of Prophet's husband.
"Hannah! Mind your words!"
"But you–"
"Zip it."
"..."
As for Riley, he was just quietly looking in front of the lavish altar in front of him. The first and very last time he was inside a church… he was talking with the Pope.
His eyes then looked at the crucifix, his thoughts, suddenly wanting to leave his mouth,
"Did you know that before Bulwark…" Riley then pointed at the cross, "...He is supposed to be one of the earliest recorded Super?"
"We know!" Hannah stopped her search as she heard her brother's words, "You've told us countless times!"
"..." Bella's parents, who were seated beside them, could not help but furrow their eyebrows at Riley's words. Bella, on the other hand, could not help but let out a small chuckle.
"Where did you even hear something like that, bro?" She then said.
"From him."
"Riley, don't just point at–" And before Diana could finish her words, her eyes could not help but widen as she saw where Riley was pointing to– a man standing at the center of the apse.
"Isn't that…
…the Pope?"
Chapter 177"Isn't that… the Pope?"
The whispers inside the church grew even stronger as their eyes soon landed on a single entity– an old man standing in front of the altar.
"D… don't point at him, bro!"
As for Hannah, she quickly pulled Riley's hand away, which was obnoxiously pointing towards the Pope.
"But Bella asked me where I heard the story from. I heard it from him."
"Can you– ugh, stop patronizing his stories, Bell!"
"I…" Riley could only blink his eyes a couple of times as he stared at the Pope,
"...I am not lying, though."
Some time ago; undetermined when, as the whispers that breathe through the air seemed to be stuck in a singular moment. A moment from the past that seemed important enough to be forever frozen in the minds of the people; important enough for them to not only reminisce but also to rebuild.
With a ceiling almost unreachable, ornamented, and carved with gold ever so intricately. The walls were fully formed with some sort of marble that made the divine palace that stood there truly immaculate.
Soon, however, this palace of the glorious past was drowned by the breaths of those who prevailed, of those who now live in the current time; the nervousness and fear from their voices, echoing beautifully across the golden linings of the ceiling.
Their mouths, shuddering as their hostility pointed to a singular person. A person standing right at the very center of history itself; seemingly without a care, and seemingly without even a hint of holiness.
The people circled this unholy individual, surrounding him with hostility that formed into the shape of guns, weapons, and other unseen abilities. Some of them were all wearing the same clothes, a uniform that signified they were guardians of the holy place where they stood. Some, however, were just wearing normal clothing.
And the only sure thing they all had in common was their trembling legs.
"L… leave!" One of the guards then said as he pointed his rifle towards the black-clad individual standing towards their very center, "This is a holy place! It is not a place that someone like you could just barge into, Darkday!"
"..."
And as soon as the people decided to break their silence; silence once again welcomed them into their arms as Darkday's breaths whispered in the air, causing the people surrounding him to take a few steps back.
"Is that a lie, guard?"
Darkday then muttered; his quiet words almost piercing everyone's ears.
"W… what?" The guard that spoke earlier stuttered as Darkday looked at him.
"I heard from mother that this place welcomes everyone, guard," Darkday said, "Even those who have committed crimes against humanity, even monsters like me who are shunned by the world."
"Your… mother?"
"Are you lying?" Darkday repeated, "If you are not lying, then that would mean that mother did," Darkday then let out a small breath as he tilted his head to the side.
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"H… has anyone called for back-up yet!?" One of the people wearing casual clothing bellowed.
"Shut your mouth!" The guard beside him scowled.
"W–"
"Listen to the security," One of the persons not holding any weapons then joined in– A super. The man then looked at the other people not equipped with any form of weapons, indicating that there was a good chance that they were also Supers.
And seeing as they nodded at him, they also knew what he was thinking. Darkday was– is strong. Once he decides to make a move, no matter how many there are, all of them would surely die.
The only chance they have to stay alive in this situation is for Darkday to just leave. And seeing as he hasn't killed any of them yet… maybe he was just here to sightsee?
And as soon as they thought of that, Darkday's steps started to drum in their ears; once again causing them to flinch as the circle they made to surround Darkday widened even further. Darkday then started looking at the people one by one, his body almost rotating in a 360-degree as he did not leave even one unseen.
And soon, a short but deep sigh seeped from his helmet, "It would seem my mother was lying, this is not a place I am welcomed in," and with those words, Darkday started to slowly raise his hand.
"A… attack! He's doing something! Kill him!" One of the guards roared as he tightened the grip on his rifle. But alas, before anyone could even move, a scream suddenly disrupted the peaceful walls of the holy palace.
And with the ceiling high and carved intricately, the scream was amplified; almost making it a roar that one would hear coming from the heavens. The people then finally looked towards the source of the scream, only to see one of the guards kneeling on the ground, his back… seemingly having grown wings.
No, they were not exactly wings, but that was the first description they all thought as they saw the guard's back completely opened; his blood oozing and spurting as his flesh and skin were ripped apart. His bones as well were extruded outward.
What are they if not a pair of wings made of flesh and blood?
How he was even screaming and alive at this point, none of them knew. Their ignorance did not last long, however, as before any of them could actually react, they could hear their backs being ripped apart all at the same time.
"Grah!"
Their screams, filling the holy palace with an echo that almost resembled a certain harmony– their voices, creating an orchestra of pain and torture.
Darkday then slowly and elegantly waved his arms. And as he did so, the people that had grown wings on their backs started to float.
"Now it resembles the description mother used to tell me," Darkday then whispered before a small chuckle escaped from his helmet. He then suddenly clapped his hands, causing everyone to violently fly towards the ceiling.
One could hear the squishing of their flesh as their backs hit the intricately carved ceiling of the palace. It was almost like art as their screams seemed to match the curvatures of their new dwelling.
And quite literally, they were organs playing his song… the song of Darkday.
"That is enough, child of god."
And in that song, suddenly came an intrusion; a whisper that did not belong in the orchestra that Darkday had created– a voice without fear.
"..." Darkday then slowly turned his head towards the fearless voice, only to see an old man slowly making his way towards him. The old man wore a white, almost golden robe; the creases and folds it contained, even smoother than the skin of its bearer.
One could even say that the face of the man almost seemed close to death; each of his steps, however, exuded life.
"..." Darkday then snapped his fingers, causing a small crack to rumble in the air; the people previously floating on the ceiling, now embedded to it; their song, no more.
"Hello," Darkday breathed out as he looked at the old man. The old man, however, turned his head to the corpses that were now littered in the ceiling. He remained like that for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh and turning his eyes back to Darkday.
"I do not appreciate you changing the decor, young man," the old man then muttered; his voice naturally sedated and slow.
"...You don't like it, fancy old man?" Darkday breathed out as he glanced at the ceiling.
"I do not," the old man answered, "The history of this place has known nothing but violence throughout the past. No more shall the place where god dwells be filled with blood."
"Gods dwell here?"
"I am afraid only one, young man," the old man chuckled as he casually turned his back to Darkday, "Come, let us talk somewhere else."
"You are the Pope, correct?"
"I am flattered you know someone as old as me," the Pope once again chuckled as his steps halted.
"I have seen your videos on the internet."
"Is that so?" The Pope's chuckle then turned into a burst of quiet laughter.
"Are you not going to tell me to leave?"
"No," the Pope quickly shook his head, "You are welcome here," he then breathed out as he gestured to Darkday to follow him.
"Even if I am evil?" Darkday muttered as he started to follow the Pope.
"Even more so," the Pope sighed, "Are you aware of our teachings, my son?"
"To some extent but not enough to be knowledgeable, Pope," Darkday muttered.
"I see. Then–"
"Pope! Please run!"
And before the Pope could finish his words, 3 people suddenly appeared out of thin air; blocking the Pope from Darkday's view.
"..." Darkday quickly looked at the three individuals, who were all wearing a similar outfit– a full armor reminiscent of a knight's aegis. It seemed thinner than those featured in history books, but perhaps it was just a sign of modernity. The 3 armor sets were also of different colors– Silver, Gold, and Red.
"For glory and peace, I shall eradicate you here and now!" The individual wearing the silver armor stretched his arms to the side, and as soon as he did so, a pair of swords appeared from his hands.
Before he could swing them, however, the Pope's whispers traveled the air.
"Do not be rude to our guest, Paladin George."
"But–"
"Leave us."
"But he will kill you!" The paladin called George did not move from his place as he pointed one of his swords towards Darkday, who seemed to just be curiously looking at him and his two other comrades.
"If my death is to come in the hands of this young man…" The Pope muttered as he placed his hand on George's shoulder, "Then that…
…is the will of god."
Chapter 178"If my death is to come in the hands of this young man, then that is the will of god."
–Is what the Pope said. But still, his three paladins did not follow the command for them to stay away. The main purpose of the 3 Paladins was and is to protect the Pope at all costs.
They were individuals trained from birth to uphold their beliefs and protect the important individuals in their community– if they awakened powers and abilities during that time and excelled above the rest, then they would have the chance to directly guard the Pope as his personal glorified bodyguards.
And it is that very same training that made them realize that they were no match for Darkday.
But still, they would rather die fighting him than leave the Pope without any protection. And so, even though the Pope dismissed them and ordered them to leave him and Darkday alone… they still followed.
They were currently hiding on the church's mezzanine. And considering the size of the church, they could easily hide from the two; holding their breaths and not letting even their beating hearts to silently echo throughout the church.
The eyes of the 3 paladins, converge tightly at each of Darkday's actions. Watching his every move as he and the Pope were just casually sitting side by side on the frontmost pew nearest to the altar.
"...I apologize," the Pope then breathed out as he took a small glance at the mezzanine, "They are just doing their jobs."
"It is alright, Pope," Riley only waved his hand, not even bothering to look at where the Pope was glancing at; his eyes, just looking forward to the altar, "I am the one being rude for intruding into your home."
"Hm," the Pope nodded, "You are different from how the news and the media portray you," the Pope then said; his voice calm even with a mass murderer beside him.
"And how does the media portray me, Pope?"
"An evil beast."
"That is true," Darkday breathed out; his head slightly turning towards the Pope.
"You may be evil, but you are definitely no beast," the Pope let out a hearty chuckle; before clearing his throat to prevent a dry cough escaping it,
"A beast would not be having a conversation with me right now."
"..."
"..."
"...Are you wondering who I am so calm?" The Pope then said, breaking the short silence between them.
"No."
"...I see," a small smile slowly crawled on the Pope's face as he leaned back, "You truly are as she told me."
"...She?"
"Megawoman," the Pope whispered, quickly causing Darkday to turn his head towards the Pope completely, "She visits me from time to time."
"Megawoman… visits you?" Darkday tilted his head to the side, "Why?"
"To ask the condition of my people," the Pope answered without any hesitation, "My… job provides me the privilege of having the insight into the status of more than a billion people all over the world."
<script>ChapterMid();</script>
"Why would she ask you that?"
"To help those that need it," the Pope answered before coughing a few times, "We are the largest… organization in the world, but there are many who are suffering. It is not just us, she has also approached the various leaders of the world."
"..."
"Did you know that in the past, the countries of Africa were having a hard time due to slavery?"
"Yes, your people were involved in that."
"...Megawoman directly helped Africa to solve their problems," the Pope continued his story, "But she created more problems in the long run. She was devastated due to this… and she asked the various leaders of the world so she would be able to help in a way that would last for centuries– my predecessors were one of those leaders. Megawoman wanted to help, even in the shadows."
"...Why?"
"Because despite not being born here, she is a good person," the Pope then turned his eyes towards Darkday; his old and wrinkled face, almost reflecting on the visor of his helmet,
"She stands opposite to you– maintaining the balance between good and evil."
"That does not make sense, Pope," a breath escaped Darkday's helmet as he shook his head, "Megawoman has been in existence for more than 300 years. Our… accomplishments will never be equal."
"And yet since the few years you have appeared, you have caused damage that puts the calamities of the past in shame. Capable of taking lives by the million in just a single day."
"..."
"And I know you will continue to do so because that is your nature," the Pope breathed out.
"..." Darkday turned his head away to look at his hands, "Can my nature be changed?"
"Do you want it to change?"
"No," Darkday then answered as he dropped his hands,
"This is what I am… and I believe this is just how I am supposed to be."
"..." The Pope slightly squinted his eyes as he heard Darkday's words, but after a few seconds, he let out a small breath,
"Why did you come here, young man?"
"I was going to kill everyone here."
And as soon as he said that, the Pope could not help but suddenly burst out in laughter, "And no one will be able to stop you."
"...You can't stop me?"
"I am just a normal human."
"You do not have any abilities?" Darkday tilted his head; his voice, truly curious.
"No."
"And yet people bow before you?"
"They do not bow before me, but to the one behind me," the Pope muttered as he looked at the altar.
"Their god?"
"Yes."
"Is he a Super?"
Once again, the Pope broke into a fit of laughter, causing him to almost choke in his own cough after.
"N… No," the Pope then waved his hand as he slowly recovered his breath. But afterwards, he pointed at the cross hanging on the wall of the altar, "But he is."
"Him?"
"It is not known in the public, but he is one of the earlier recorded Super…"
The Pope then proceeded to tell the story of the man on the cross, almost taking a full hour; his breaths almost depleted, but his words remained filled with passion even as the story came to a close.
"They say that people always fear what they do not understand," the Pope ended his story, "That is true, to some extent. But what people truly fear are things that have the potential to be more powerful than them, and the unknown always gives birth to that."
"That… is a very interesting story, Pope."
And as soon as his story was over, Darkday stood up from the pew. The Pope also followed him and stood up, letting out a small but deep breath as he once again focused his eyes on Darkday's helmet.
"Are you… going to kill me now?" The Pope then said.
"No."
Darkday, however, just shook his head, "That is a very interesting story, I am certain that mother would like it. Thank you for telling it to me, he then said,
"I would like to hear more in the future."
"...Then do you want to hear more?"
"No," Darkday once again shook his head, "I would like to tell the story to mother while it is still fresh in my mind. Farewell, Pope."
And with that, Darkday casually left the church– not flying, not disappearing, but just casually leaving through the front door.
And as soon as he was gone, the 3 paladins appeared in front of the Pope.
"Are you alright, Holy Father!?"
"Are you hurt!? Do you need anything!?"
And with his paladins' worried words entering his tired mind, the Pope could only take a seat back on the pew, leaning back as the deepest breath he could muster escaped from his mouth.
"Darkday…" He then whispered,
"...He will be the end of us all."
***
"Why… is the Pope here?"
Back in the present time, everyone's curiosity has almost reached its peak. It is true that Prophet held a somewhat powerful position in life, being the Headmaster of the remaining Mega Academy in the world– but was that really enough for the leader of the biggest religion in the world to officiate his requiem?
"Maybe they knew each other? Prophet is supposed to be ancient, right?"
"If I knew the Pope would be here, I would have–"
Their whispers, however, instantly died down as soon as the Pope's breaths started to echo throughout the entire church. The people, holding their breaths as they tried to listen to every word that escaped from his mouth.
As for Bella and Hannah, even with the presence of the Pope, their eyes were still busy. Like a hawk trying to find its prey, they were still busy trying to find Prophet's so-called husband.
But with hundreds of people inside the church, their task almost seemed impossible. They focused on people that were seated on the frontmost pew, but only they and the instructors were seated there.
As for Riley, well… he was staring at the Pope. He already looked old when he met him last. But now, it feels like his skin would fall off anytime soon. Riley then turned his eyes towards the 3 people that were standing around the perimeter of the altar– the 3 paladins.
They seemed aloof and busy; their stance almost saying that they would not let anything happen to the Pope. However, as soon as Riley's eyes met with the Red Paladin, the paladin seemed to flinch ever so slightly.
"..." Riley tilted his head to the side as he stared at the Red Paladin, trying to see what sort of expression he was making. But due to his head being fully covered with a helmet, only his eyes could be seen.
"..." The Red Paladin, however, just slowly looked away as if nothing happened.
"What is it, Riley? Did you see something?" Hannah then quickly whispered to Riley as soon as she saw him tilting his head.
"Yes, sister."
"What? What?" Bella joined in with another whisper.
"Something to pass time with later on," Riley replied; the smile on his face slowly crawling from ear to ear.
"Tch," Hannah rolled her eyes as soon as Riley's words reached her ears, "I thought you found you-know-who."
"I do not know any Koreans, sister."
"I'm talking about his husband!" Hannah loudly whispered as her eyes pointed towards Prophet's coffin.
"Oh," Riley blinked his eyes a couple of times, "I will ask later."
"What do you mean later? Sheesh."
And with that, Hannah and Bella continued their fruitless search. But alas, minutes into the requiem, there was still no sign of anyone that would potentially fit being Prophet's husband.
But finally, like a ray of hope, the Pope said something–
"Does anyone want to say something to the dearly departed?"
This is it, the both of them thought as they looked at each other. Prophet said that they would find his husband during the funeral– what better time to show himself than this?
But alas, contrary to their expectations, even after a minute had already passed… none stepped forward.
"Where is your father? He should be here to say something!" The only thing Hannah received was Diana's frustrated words once again entering her ears. This time, however, her tone was somber; the disappointment within it, almost oozing out.
"If there is no one," the Pope then raised his hand, "Then–"
But before he could finish his words, one of the people in the front pew stood up– causing everyone's eyes to watch him as he slowly and casually walked towards the altar.
"I have something to say."
"..." The Prophet looked at the individual for a few seconds, before nodding his head and stepping away from the podium. The paladins also slightly became alert as the individual got near to the Pope, but the Pope only raised his hand and shook his head.
"Prophet's lover…
…Come find me when this is over," Riley said.
Chapter 179"Prophet's lover… please come find me after this is over."
"..."
One would think that the church would be filled with gasps of shock and awe, but no. What followed was perhaps the most deafening silence the church had ever experienced. Even the breaths of almost a hundred people could not be heard, as they were trying to stop the urge of breathing loudly.
Perhaps the only ones that weren't shocked were those already advanced in age, including Bulwark and the Pope. The Pope, even squinting his eyes as he stared at the unpigmented boy beside him.
After a few more seconds, however, the Pope broke the silence.
"Have we… met somewhere before, young man?" He whispered; in which Riley quickly answered,
"Yes. Back in–"
"R… Riley, what are you doing!?"
But alas, as if fate did not want him to say anything, Diana and Hannah quickly rushed towards the altar; with Hannah pulling him down and Diana mouthing an apology to the people inside the church, bowing her head as they carefully stepped down the altar.
As for Hannah, she was trying to cover Riley's face, making sure no one sees or snaps a photo of him so he won't suffer any backlash from what he just did. But seeing as Riley's features were already a dead give-away of who he is… there was really no point in doing anything.
"..." The Pope stared at Riley for a few seconds, before returning to the podium and letting out a small chuckle; his eyes, however, still glancing at Riley even as he took his seat.
"Why didn't you watch your brother?" Diana then loudly whispered as she lightly pinched Hannah's thigh.
"A… aw!" Hannah yelped as quietly as possible, "T… that's child abuse! How is this my fault?"
"It'll always be your fault, he doesn't know any better!"
"He has his own brain, mom," Hannah furrowed her eyebrows as her whispers grew louder, "Stop treating him like he's some kind of–"
"Shh!"
And so, being shushed by her mother, Hannah could only roll her eyes and shut her mouth. If Diana's eyes were already slightly squinted, then that would mean that she had already won the argument by default and would no longer entertain any rebuking.
After just a few seconds, however, a smile appeared on Diana's face as she talked with Bella's parents.
"..." Just how quickly can she change her moods? Hannah thought as she shook her head. But finally, after Diana had calmed down, it was finally her time to diss on Riley– as is how the hierarchy had always been.
"Bro? Why you do that? Now you– we look suspicious," Hannah hissed as she also pinched Riley's thighs. Riley, however, did not even react as he only turned his head towards his sister.
"Speaking of being suspicious," Bella then joined in the conversation, "...How is the Julius guy?"
"I… haven't talked to him yet," Hannah stuttered, "But why did the topic suddenly shift to me?"
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"So… you just ghosted him?" Bella's eyes widened.
"What else was I supposed to do?" Hannah sighed, "I can't just approach him and ask if he's spying on us."
"Yes, you can," Riley joined the conversation.
"No, I–"
"Do you like the guy?" Bella raised an eyebrow.
"I– why are you even asking me?" Alas, Hannah was unsuccessful in passing the supposed hierarchy of scolding as she no longer felt like it.
"Do you like him, sister?" Riley also answered as he looked at his sister.
"I… I don't really know," Hannah could only let out a small but deep breath as she shook her head, "We've only really been together for less than a month… but he made me feel somewhat welcome… not to mention he could survive my powers as well."
"I… see," Bella also let out a sigh, "It was quite selfish for us to suddenly ask you to–"
"No, if Julius truly is a spy then… fuck," Hannah once again shook her head, "Let's talk about this some other time."
"If he truly does end up hurting you… then I will be fulfilling my promise, sister," Riley muttered, "I will bathe him in the blood of his people."
"Yeah?" Hannah let out a silent chuckle as she heard her brother's words, "Kill that motherfucker if he ends up just using me in the end."
"Okay, sister," Riley blinked a couple of times, before nodding his head.
And so, more minutes passed until the requiem mass was finally over. With people already stepping out of the church one by one. The place of Prophet's burial was not disclosed to the people, so the event ends here.
And while everyone was busy leaving the church, Riley, Bella, and Hannah sneaked back inside; as for their parents, they thought that the three were going to meet up with their friends and go back to class.
"You think white hair's stunt worked?"
"It better," Hannah scoffed, "Or he would have put himself in danger for noth–"
"What are you children doing back here?"
"!!!"
Bella and Hannah quickly turned around, leaping back as a familiar voice suddenly entered their ears.
"W… we just forgot something, sir Bulwark sir!" Bella said as she saluted for some reason in instinct. Her eyes, almost closed as Bulwark's bright golden hair pierced her ears as it reflected the sunlight seeping from the mosaic glasses of the colorful windows.
"I see," Bulwark then let out a small smile, "And here I thought you were waiting for Prophet's lover," he then said as he turned his eyes towards Riley.
"That was quite a stunt you pulled there, child."
"My brother was only joking," Hannah chuckled awkwardly as she stepped in front of Riley.
"Hm. Well, whatever it is the three of you are up to, I won't be intruding," Bulwark said as he walked away, "But you might as well wait in front of the altar instead of looking like rats in the corner."
"..." Bella and Hannah could only once again look at each other as Bulwark bellow the three of them to follow him; the three nodding before walking back to the frontmost pew.
"I'll leave you, children, here," Bulwark then said, "I need to talk to the Pope about something."
"...You're the one who invited the Pope?" Hannah asked in shock before Bulwark could even take a step.
"You get certain connections when you reach my age," Bulwark said before walking away; his chuckles, whispering through the church even as he disappeared into the corridor.
"..." And so, without any more interruptions, the three just waited quietly on the pew; Bella's eyes, awkwardly trying to avoid Prophet's coffin from time to time.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"You children are still here?"
But alas, even after almost an hour had passed; even after Bulwark was back from talking with the Pope– no one approached them. They were expecting someone to at least approach Prophet's coffin, but there was absolutely no one.
And so, with a sigh, Hannah stood up, "We were just about to leave," she then said.
Bella also stood up, bowing her head to Bulwark before walking away. As for Riley… he remained sitting on the pew.
"What are you doing, Riley?" Hannah then said as she grabbed Riley's arm to get him up, "Nothing gonna happen here."
Riley, however, retrieved Prophet's phone from his pocket… before letting it float towards Bulwark.
"Riley, what are you doing!?" Hannah said as she rushed towards the flying phone.
"I am giving it to Prophet's husband."
"Wha… what are you saying?" An awkward chuckle once again escaped Hannah's mouth as she stretched her hand towards the phone, "S… sorry, my brother is a bit loose in the head sometimes."
But before she could grab the phone, Bulwark suddenly pulled it away.
"...Sir Bulwark?"
Bulwark then let out a small sigh, before slowly walking towards Prophet's coffin.
"How did you know it was me?"
"...What?" Both Hannah and Bella once again looked at each other, this time in confusion.
"You are the only one to find us, sir Bulwark," Riley muttered as he stood up, "You were also the one to call the Pope– I believe you will only do that for someone important to you. The Pope is an excellent storyteller, after all."
And as soon as Riley's words reached Bulwark's ears, a muffled gasp suddenly escaped his mouth; followed by his tears trailing down across his cheeks.
His tears, letting out a golden glow as they drop to the floor one by one; almost like forcing a beautiful sunrise that would never shine again.
Hannah and Bella, who were suspicious at first, could not help but take in a small gulp as they saw Bulwark suddenly bursting out in tears.
"..."
How could they even suspect him of lying, when they could feel the pain with every breath that escaped from his body?
A man who has experienced the past, and a man who could foresee the future. But now the future no longer holds one, and would forever only forever be a part of the past once again.
"You would think I would already be accustomed to the people I love dying," Bulwark then wiped the tears on his face as he gently brushed his hand on Prophet's coffin, "But when people around me die, the hope of what could have been dies with them."
"..." Bella could only close her eyes as a tear fell from her face. Hannah only looked up, but failed in trying to stop the tears that were also starting to fall from her eyes.
"We… are not meant to live forever," Bulwark muttered as he looked at the three students, "That is why love is so beautiful…
…It ends."
Chapter 180"Steve and I met when Whiteking introduced him to the Hope Guild… he thought I was a woman."
Bulwark's soft but gentle chuckle echoed through the entire church. And with his voice carrying the tone of neither that of a man or a woman, the sound he produced almost felt like a wonderful song. His eyes, however, were filled with a certain melancholy as he looked at Prophet's face on the video that he left for him.
"Of course, he wasn't the first one to think I was a woman," Bulwark's chuckle soon turned into a small peal of laughter, "I've had many partners across the world and across the time I have lived. Women, men, even beast…
…but there has always been something special about Steve. And I knew… I knew he didn't kill himself. So thank you, thank you for bringing this to me."
"..." Bella and Hannah could only nod their heads as Bulwark's eyes strayed towards them; Riley, however, only shrugged as he looked at the phone. Slowly, however, the phone started disintegrating– its dust, floating and turning into golden particles that danced like fireflies as the colorful mosaic layered with it.
"That's–" Hannah wanted to scream that they still needed the phone to search for clues about his killer. But seeing Bulwark's face, she couldn't really muster up the courage to do so.
"No," Bulwark then turned his attention to Hannah as soon as he heard a breath escaping her mouth, "Steve did not leave any clues as to who killed him... if that was what you were about to ask."
"I… I see," Hannah looked to the side.
"It's just… a chance for me to say goodbye to him," Bulwark let out a small sigh as he looked at the disappearing particles in the air, "It was wrong for me to give you this task. I want you to forget this ever happened."
"...But don't you want justice?" Bella joined in on the conversation, "I know Prophet ain't telling us to take revenge, but–"
"I'd settle for closure," Bulwark chuckled, "And this video gave me just that. Steve said that the one who killed him is the most dangerous man on the planet– I can't very well let his students risk their lives chasing someone like that."
"But we've helped you this far!" Hannah raised her voice, "Let us–"
"Wash your hands off this case," Bulwark shook his head as he waved his hand, "Please, this no longer involves any of you."
"We could help more!" Hannah did not stop, "They were led by MEGAN to Prophet… I happen to know the heir to the company who made–"
"I appreciate you wanting to help," Bulwark did not let Hannah finish her words as he let out a loud sigh, "But this no longer involves you."
"But–"
"Leave!" Bulwark once again waved his arm, but this time, a golden arc beamed out of his hand, flowing straight towards the three students in front of him; causing Bella and Hannah to quickly but gently fly through the air; the golden beam, turning into a fog that surrounded them. The church's door, also opening as a golden light also burst through it, making way for Hannah and Bella as the gold fog flew them straight to the outside.
"..." As for Riley, he was just casually standing inside the church where he stood, still.
"..." He and Bulwark looked at each other for a few seconds, before Bulwark's eyebrows started to furrow; once again waving his hand to summon a beam of golden light. And this time, Riley flew away; his expression not even changing as he floated to the door, almost hitting Hannah who seemed to want to enter the church again.
But alas, she has no more chance to do so as the door completely closed, leaving Bulwark alone to mourn Prophet inside the church.
"..." Bulwark stared at the closed door for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh that echoed through the entire church; his hand, gently brushing Prophet's coffin as he whispered,
"Why… Why didn't you just ask for help?" Bulwark breathed out, "I…
…we could have saved you."
Years ago, in one of the museums dedicated to featuring arts and stories from Ancient Greece, Bulwark and Prophet were there… with Bulwark wearing a dress; his long golden hair, tied up in a braid and further emphasizing his extremely androgynous face.
Perhaps it wouldn't be a lie to say that he looked even more beautiful than most of the women in the museum. As for Prophet, he was not wearing the fake beard that was his superhero outfit; he was just wearing casual clothes that somewhat matched Bulwark's dress.
"So, this is you?"
Bulwark could still remember Prophet's cheeky laughter as he pointed at a statue of Apollo– a statue of him.
"Yes," Bulwark let out a smile as he leaned closer to his very own bust statue, "Do we look alike?"
"..." Prophet only blinked a couple of times as he stared at Bulwark's face. After a few seconds, however, he shook his head; his breaths, filled with disappointment, "Never meet your heroes, as they say."
"...Don't get on my nerves, young man," Bulwark then breathed out as he squinted his eyes towards Prophet.
"Really?" Prophet also squinted his eyes, "What did I say about not treating me like a child?"
"...My apologies," Bulwark raised both of his hands in defeat, before moving to the next exhibit; leaving Prophet no choice but to just follow behind him.
"This is… Hermes?" Prophet then looked at the statue beside Apollo, "Did you meet him? I suppose he was a sprinter?"
"No," Bulwark quickly chuckled as soon as he heard Prophet's question, "He's not even real."
"...What?"
"He didn't exist as far as I know. Humans tend to make stories and convince the people that is truth– it happens even now," Bulwark breathed out before pointing at a statue on the other side of the exhibit,
"He is real."
"..." Prophet turned his head to where Bulwark was pointing to, only to see a statue of a man that seemed to tower everything else inside the museum.
"Heracles," Bulwark sighed as he slowly made his wait to Heracles's sculpture, "Depicted as the strongest epic hero… but perhaps the one that needed the most saving. Did you know that one of the newer members of the Hope Guild is named after him?"
"...Hera? The one that turns into a grey… giant?"
"Yes."
"Who is stronger between the two?" Prophet asked as he bumped shoulders with Bulwark.
"Hera, without a doubt," Bulwark answered without any hesitation, "Both are Strength-type Supers, but that girl would fold Heracles in half if they were to fight."
"...Really?"
"The Supers of today are… far stronger than the ones in the past."
"Hm," Prophet nodded, before another cheeky smirk appeared on his face, "I always wondered who is the strongest in the Hope Guild… is it you?"
Hearing Prophet's somewhat forward question, Bulwark closed his eyes and hummed,
"I'm just difficult to fight and kill," he then answered, "I believe if he learns how to harness his true powers, Tempo will be the strongest. But right now, it's Empress– she leads the guild for a reason and she is also one of Megawoman's disciples."
"...Megawoman has disciples?"
"Well, more like a protege, really," Bulwark chuckled.
"...What about Bernard?" Prophet then said as the smirk on his face grew bigger.
"Whiteking?"
"Yeah," Prophet's smirk turned into an almost condescending chuckle, "He's the only guy that doesn't have any actual powers… where does he rank?"
"Hm… Whiteking," Bulwark furrowed his eyebrows as he placed his hand on his chin.
"He's just a trophy member, right?" Prophet muttered; trying to hold the laughter that was coming out of his mouth, "I won't tell him if he is."
"Well, Whiteking… It's true that he doesn't have any powers," Bulwark let out a small hum as he finally answered, "But with all the things he has achieved and what he did to reach where he is. He…
…is probably the most dangerous man on the planet."
***
"Did… Did Bulwark just kick us out after we helped him!?"
Hannah wanted to kick the door of the church open but was stopped by Bella before she could actually do so.
"God damn it!" And so, Hannah could only scream in frustration, stomping her foot on the ground as she did so. It was a good thing that most of the people already left, if not, then they would surely think that all the members of the Ross family are crazy… if they didn't already.
"What… are we gonna do now?" Bella then asked as Hannah finally started to calm down.
"I'm no longer in the mood for this shit," Hannah scoffed, "Let's just go."
"..."
"..."
Bella and Riley could only look at Hannah as she stomped her way down. They were about to follow her, but before they could do so, Hannah stopped in her tracks.
"This isn't over," she whispered, "Even if Bulwark told us to stop, the issue with the clones is still connected with MEGAN, which is connected to Prophet's death… this isn't over."
"...What's the plan?"
"I…" Hannah paused her words for a while, before letting out a short but very deep breath as she looked at Bella, "... I need to stop avoiding Julius and talk to him."
"I would really appreciate that."
"!!!"
And as soon as Hannah's words were finished, a familiar voice suddenly entered her ears, causing her to turn around only to see Julius suddenly there.
"We finally caught each other…" Julius shook his head; using his cane as he stepped towards Hannah, "Why…
…are you not accepting my calls?"
Chapter 181"Why… are you not accepting my calls?"
"Julius… how… are you here?"
Hannah had been trying to avoid Julius Reuben ever since they came back to the Academy; she had been successful doing so without fail even though she didn't have her phone with her for the others to let her know where he currently was.
But seeing as how Julius is suddenly here…
"...How did you know I was here?" Hannah then asked; freeing her mind of the thoughts that would otherwise fill it.
"I didn't," Julius shook his head and sighed, "I heard Whiteking and Prophet were friends– it's not hard to put two and two together, really."
Julius then let out a small chuckle; his leg slightly trembling as he did so, causing him to put more weight in the cane he was holding.
"Are you… okay?" Hannah could not help but ask.
"It's just my leg, m'lady," Julius once again chuckled, "It's been getting cold lately and I have been skipping… on my vitamin lately," he then said; his posh British accent almost in full blast as he slightly groaned.
"I–"
"H… Hannah, don't be a simp!" Bella then lightly elbowed Hannah on the side as she was about to approach Julius.
"I… I know!" Hannah whispered loudly as she gestured for Bella to move away for a bit,
"Why are you following me, then?"
"Because I like you, Hannah Ross," Julius then said without even batting an eye, "I know you have your own problems right now, and that I shouldn't be this persistent… but at least tell me why you're avoiding me."
"..." Hannah did not answer as she just looked to the side.
"I know we've only just been together for like a week or so," Julius continued as he slowly made his way towards Hannah, "But I do truly want to spend my life with you, it would be splendid, I know of it. So please… don't just disappear on me."
"..." Bella, who was watching the scene from the side, could not help but look at Riley, trying to see if she was the only one cringing right now. But of course, she looked to the wrong person as Riley only had a deadpan expression on his face.
"Please, Hannah."
"That's…" Hannah could only bite her lip as Julius's somewhat endearing voice whispered into her ears.
"Please," Julius's leg once again started to tremble as he got near Hannah, "If you want to break up, I could understand… But just please, let's separate on good terms."
Julius then gently grabbed Hannah's hand as soon as he got near her, "Please, at least tell me if I did something wro–"
And before he could finish what he was going to say, Bella suddenly grabbed his hand.
"Look, blondie. It ain't right you're forcing yourself to her. My sis is definitely uncomfortable with you right now," Bella then said. For some reason, she couldn't help himself– there was something about Julius that just…
…seemed off.
"..." Julius just looked at Bella, before letting out a sigh and pulling his hand away.
"Let's talk in the Korean Shaved Ice shop," Julius then meekly said as he stepped away, "Please, Hannah Ross… I will be waiting for you there today… tomorrow… forever."
"...Dude, seriously?" Bella groaned, "You've only been dating for less than a month."
"You can bring your friends if you're not comfortable being alone with me," Julius glanced at Bella once more, before turning away, "I just want proper closure between us."
"I–"
Julius did not even wait for Hannah's answer as he started walking away. He then glanced towards Riley, nodding at him before hastening his stuttered steps. His left leg seem to be worsening with each step; trembling violently as his silhouette became smaller and smaller as he slowly disappeared into the distance.
"..."
"..."
"I don't know, girl… that dude is giving me major con-artist vibes," Bella was the first to break the sudden silence as she placed her hand on Hannah's shoulder, "I'm not buying anything he says even a single bit. The funeral's been over for like hours– he would've tried to find you earlier."
"...." Hannah was still at a loss for words as she could only bite her lip– trying her best to come up with something to say.
"Guys!"
It was a good thing that another set of familiar voices entered their ears; this time, a welcome sight as Gary, Tomoe, and Aerith who was still disguised as Silvie was running towards them.
"Wasn't that the English prick just now?" Gary furrowed his eyebrows, before letting out a sentence in a fake British accent, "Ken a hav a bo'le of wa a?"
"...Yeah," Bella was the one to answer as she stopped Gary from his sudden… racist galore, "You guys were right… that Julius guy is sus as hell."
"See!? What did I tell you!?"
And even with Gary's slightly condescending tone, Hannah did not respond and just looked to the side; still lightly biting her lip as she tried to come up with something to say.
"You…" Aerith, who noticed this, could not help but slowly get close to her; the tone of her voice, still filled with hesitation as she did not know whether she had the right to butt in,
"You… really like him, don't you?" She then muttered, "I know that pained look on your face. The others and I… had it when we were trying to convince ourselves that mother… is mother. So…
…you must really like him."
"No!" And finally, after being in a stupor for a while, Hannah finally raised her voice,
"O… of course not," she stuttered before taking in a long and deep breath, "It's just that… I thought he was my chance to at least take a glimpse at a normal life. With all that's been happening, you know?"
"..." Riley, who had been keeping quiet since that start, could only furrow his eyebrows as he saw a hint of tear coming out of his sister's eye.
But before they could fall, Hannah wiped it away.
"Let's end this," she then scoffed and nodded, "If he is somewhat involved with everything that's been happening so far… then I'll make him pay personally for using me."
"Wait, where are you going!?" Gary could only blink as Hannah suddenly ran away.
"Charlotte's!" Hannah then said as she waved her hand, "I want you guys near me!"
"...Why is she going there again?" Gary said as he looked at Bella and Riley.
"The blondie asked her to meet him there," a small shiver crawled through Bella's skin as she once again remembered Julius's line about waiting there forever.
"He wants to meet her… in our headquarters?" Gary squinted, "He's either confident… or he's not hiding anything."
"No," this time, Tomoe finally joined in on the conversation as she shook her head, "He's trying to make her let down her guard. My mother uses that technique with men to get what she wants."
"That's…
…We better follow her fast, then."
***
"What do you think the two are talking about? Can you listen in on them with your super hearing, Aerith?"
"I… don't know how to."
"...Right."
Gary's sigh whispered quietly throughout the mall. A small crackle, snapping in the air as he took a bite of the taco in his hand. The group was currently outside a Mexican fast-food store… which just so happened to be in front of the Korean Shaved Ice store.
They were trying their best to stay out of sight… and acting like they were actually eating was probably part of it. Perhaps.
"Oh shit!" Gary then suddenly screamed; his seat almost falling off as he backed away.
"What!? What!?"
"Hannah just slapped the guy!"
Everyone's eyes then quickly focused on the shop. And true enough, they could see Julius touching his face through the window; his eyes closed and head shaking.
"But… why did she suddenly slap him?" Bella whispered as she squinted her eyes to try and see clearer, "They was just sitting earlier."
"That's just how she is," Gary said as he almost shivered; remembering all the times that Hannah slapped him even though he wasn't doing anything. Granted, he was slightly making perverted remarks… but still, that shouldn't be enough to slap him.
"She… is just innately violent– What the… now she's crying like she was the one that was slapped!"
"...You don't understand women at all, do you?" Bella sighed.
"And you do?" Gary scoffed, "Last I check, you a lesbian, girl," he then said as he bobbed his head from left to right, wagging his finger as if to imitate Bella.
"You do know I'm still a woman, right? I have tits and a coochie and the mood swings that come along with it."
"Ah! He's doing something!" Gary ignored Bella's words as he pointed towards the shop. Tomoe quickly tried pulling his arm down so they wouldn't attract any attention, but could not as Gary's strength was way past hers. Gary, however, just let his hand be dragged down by Tomoe as soon as he noticed this.
And so, they just continued to watch quietly as Julius once again gently grabbed Hannah's hand. Hannah seemed to want to pull her hand away as she stood up… but Julius didn't want to let go as he also stood up and walked in front of her.
And soon… Hannah's hand started to light up in flames.
"S… should we help her!?" Aerith said as she stood up.
"Let's… just watch more," Gary raised his hand to gesture for Aerith to sit back down, "Let's wait until this guy shows his true colors… then we'll smack him."
And so, the group just continued to watch the scenario unfold far from them. Gary's mouth, moving faster and faster as he chowed down his taco so he wouldn't miss a thing.
"What's the blondie's powers again?" Bella then squinted her eyes as she watched as Julius did not even seem hurt even as his hand was bursting in flames.
"He has super strength, I believe… and apparently can regenerate extremely fast as well," Tomoe was the one to answer as she closed her eyes– no, as she also squinted her eyes to look at the two, "I saw one of his matches during the Combat Tournament."
"Super strength and regeneration?" Bella breathed out, "...But his leg is busted?"
"...Now that you mention it– Oh shit, Julius is now hugging Hannah!" Gary could not help but stand up as he once again pointed at the store, "What is miss Charlotte doing!?"
Everyone then turned their eyes towards Charlotte, who only had a confused expression on her face. After a few more seconds, however, she rolled her eyes and got back to checking the cashier terminal.
"I don't think our girl appreciates being hugged," Bella then said as she also stood up,
"Let's go and provide back up," Bella then looked at Gary, Tomoe, and Aerith; who also nodded at her as they stood up.
"..."
"..."
Bella then looked at them again before she could even take a single step towards the store.
Gary.
Tomoe.
Aerith.
"Where's… the white hair?"
"Oh, shit! He…
…He's already inside!"
Chapter 182"You have to believe me, I don't know anything about that. I don't involve myself in my family's matters."
"It's impossible you're not involved in this, Julius. MEGAN is owned by your company."
"By my family's company!"
The rising voices of Julius and Hannah started to fill the entire store, causing Charlotte, who was busy fiddling with her cashier terminal, to roll her eyes.
She just applied here to at least have a normal life after she retired from the Hope Guild and the Superhero industry in general. But now, here she was, watching some sort of teen drama come to life. To think she would actually be more stressed here because of this was something she did not expect.
"..." Charlotte took one final glance at the arguing couple… who was now hugging and could only once again roll her eyes. She was going to stop it initially if it gets violent; but seeing as how the English guy wasn't even bothered by Hannah's flames burning him, Charlotte decided not to butt in. If he didn't care, why would she?
And so, with that thought, Charlotte just went back and focused on her own tasks.
"I swear, Hannah…" Julius's pleading voice trembled in Hannah's ears as he wrapped his arms around her, "I'm not involved in whatever it is you're trying to accuse me of."
"L… let go of me!" Hannah tried to pull herself away from Julius, but was not able to,
"Y… you're gonna get hurt if you don't let go!" Hannah's entire body began to flicker as flames started to sputter from her limbs– it was a good thing that she was wearing her superhero outfit under her casual clothes; if not, then their situation would have been easily misunderstood by a bystander.
The flames around Hannah combusted even further; snapping in the air in a sort of hesitating flicker that seemingly reflected the complicated emotions circling inside her heart right now.
"I will let go of you," Julius then said; his eyes almost reddening from the tears he was trying to stop, "But please believe me that–"
And before he could finish his words, his eyes could not help but widen as a subtle presence suddenly appeared beside him and Hannah– Riley Ross.
"My sister told you to let go of her, Julius Reuben," Riley then said as he looked at his sister, "Please do it before I pull your arms off from your body and gouge your eyes out with its sharp splintered bone."
"R… Riley!" Hannah once again tried to pull herself away from Julius, but this time, she was finally successful in doing so as Julius seemed to just let himself be pushed away; his eyes, looking directly at Riley's face.
"I… have no intention in harming your sister, Riley Ross," Julius then said; the tone of his voice slightly vigilant.
"Are you hurt, sister?" Riley, however, did not respond to him as his eyes remained on his sister.
"No, just…" Hannah slightly patted and brushed her arm as she shook her head, "...I could've handled this myself."
<script>ChapterMid();</script>
"Hannah, I'm not the bad guy here," Julius breathed out as he once again focused on Hannah, "You have to understand that."
Julius was about to stretch his hand towards Hannah once more; this time, however, Riley grabbed his wrist before he could do so.
"I believe my sister is uncomfortable with this situation now, Julius Reuben," Riley muttered; his eyes still with his sister, "Please, leave."
"..." Julius slightly furrowed his eyebrows as he immediately looked at Riley's hand, before taking a glance at his face.
"Do not touch me with your dirty hands, boy," a small scowl then crawled on Julius's face; his tone, slightly turning cold.
"...What did you just say to my brother!?"
And as soon as Hannah heard Julius's words, she quickly rushed towards Julius and tried to push him away. But alas, she found herself the one backing away as it felt like she just tried to push a steel wall.
As for Julius, he was still looking at Riley's face; Riley, however, was still looking at his sister.
"Are you hurt, sister?" Riley once again asked.
"Why are you always asking me that!?" Hannah let out a small and frustrated wail, "No, I'm not! Please, just don't fight!"
"Okay," Riley then let go of Julius as soon as Hannah's words reached his ears. Hannah seemed to want to say something, but before she could do so, another scream joined to fill the noise inside the store even further.
"What's going on here!?"
The sounds of a bell chiming loudly rang in the store as the rest of the Baby Crew entered its premises. Seeing more people join them, Julius could only let out a small breath before shaking his head.
"I am not the bad guy here," he repeated his words to Hannah,
"Soon, you will understand that," he then muttered before putting weight on his cane to walk away; his leg, limping even worse than earlier.
"..." He halted his stuttering steps, however, as Gary suddenly blocked the door to the outside.
"Where do you think you are going, pal?" Gary scoffed; his towering figure almost filling the entire doorway.
"Outside."
"W–"
And before Gary could even say another word, Julius placed his palm on his chest… and soon, Gary's vision shifted as he suddenly found himself rolling on the floor.
"What… the–" Gary could only blink several times as he almost felt like he was hit by a truck– that is if that was what it felt like since he hasn't really been hit by a truck before.
A tapping sound then whispered into his ear; growing louder and louder as Julius made his way towards him. Gary quickly put up his guard; contrary to his expectations, Julius only let out a small sigh; his eyes, looking down on Gary and obviously showing their disappointment.
And with another small sigh, he walked away.
"W… what's with that condescending sigh!?" Gary then roared as he stood up, "Just because you're rich, you are acting like some sort of young master!? I've read enough xianxia novels to know you're just side characters! You hear me!? Side characters!"
Gary continued to rile Julius; Julius, however, just ignored his fading roars as he quickly limped his way out of the mall– where a car and a couple of bodyguards were already seemingly waiting for him.
And as soon as the men in suits saw Julius's trembling leg, they immediately rushed towards him.
"M… Master!" One of them immediately grabbed Julius's arm and gently placed it over his shoulders to help him. One then swiftly opened the door as they all helped Julius to gently step inside the car.
And as soon as they closed the door, a deafening whistle screeched in the air as the wheels quickly drove away– almost masking the eerie screams that were escaping from Julius's mouth.
"Drive!"
"Y… yes, master!"
The driver stepped on the gas even heavier. It was no problem, however, as the campus roads were wide enough to accommodate even half a dozen tanks to cross them. Perhaps his only problem was his erratically beating heart as Julius's screams resounded throughout his entire body.
"F… fucking wanker!" Julius continued to scream, "You think I am doing this for myself then, you fucking cow!?"
"Fuckin' cow!"
And with every word; Julius's accent became different– a thick Scottish accent that was almost indiscernible. It didn't help that his breaths were also becoming hoarse.
His left leg, almost vibrating with the way it was trembling.
"Yer off your head if ya think–"
"M…master, your vitals are spiking!"
"Ye think I don't know that you fuckin' cunt!?" Julius lightly kicked the driver's seat, causing him to slightly cough from the force.
Julius then grabbed his cane, before quickly twisting its handle and pulling it off… revealing some sort of needle attached to it.
"I told you not to get me f'ckin' expensive trousers!" He roared before ripping his pants off from its left hem… revealing a wrinkly exterior attached to his flesh.
The skin on his leg was almost akin to that of the Pope's– that of a dying man. He looked at his leg for a few seconds, before stabbing it with the needle in his hand.
"Grah!" Another roar then escaped his throat as the veins on his leg throbbed; the pain, crawling throughout his entire body. The veins on his neck, almost popping out as the throbbing web continued to crawl through his face. And as soon as the web reached his eyes, they quickly lit up in a red glow.
"Kh!" Another pained roar then escaped his mouth as a small sizzle whispered in the air; his eyelids, burning apart due to the heat coming out of his eyes.
Soon, however, with the light in his eyes dying down, his screams too, slowly disappeared. The sound of something chittering then whispered in the air as his ruptured eyelids began to build themselves once more.
And with his breaths calming down, so did the driver's as he let out a long and deep sigh of relief.
Julius then cleared his throat and fixed his hair, before once again letting out a small and relaxed breath, "I apologize for my rude behavior, Fred."
"It… it's quite alright, master."
"Young master, Alfred."
"...Yes, young master," the driver looked at Julius in the rearview mirror, before nodding and continuing to focus on the road.
"..."
"..."
And after a few bouts of silence, Julius uttered a word,
"MEGAN."
[Yes, Master Julius?]
"Tell my brother…
…to meet me in the Family Villa."
Chapter 183In a dark room illuminated only by the lights that seeped through the window, Riley was quietly standing; his white hair, reflecting the moon that drowned the empty grounds of the Academy. His bare chest, almost illuminating as the silver light welcomed his naked body.
His eyes, as if looking beyond the skies themselves.
He had been in the Academy for more than half a year now– and in that span, a lot has happened that he was truly not expecting. He initially thought that going to the Academy would just be a better way to waste his time while waiting for Megawoman to rise from the ashes, but no.
A lot more happened. But perhaps it was because of the very fact that Megawoman was gone that all the things that have happened were allowed to happen. If she was still awake, then the Government wouldn't even be brave enough to show even a sliver of Silvie's and the other clones' hair.
The Dark Millenium, in a way, was also the Government's doing. Ever since he enrolled in the Academy, his life was suddenly filled with welcomed chaos.
"..."
But it's not enough– Riley thought as his eyes slowly started to turn pink.
"It's not enough," he whispered as his mouth began to open; his hands, also starting to tremble as a sort of thirst was slowly building up inside him.
This is not enough. There is chaos…
…but not enough blood.
Riley was already feeling a certain itching crawling throughout his body for a long time now. He had been trying to live a normal life and trying to fit in as his sister and mother wanted… but now that he had been stagnant for 7 months, the feeling of wanting to hear the screams of people grew worse by the second– his craving, already almost at its peak.
If it remains like this, then–
"Is something wrong, Riley? Aren't you cold?"
Riley's thoughts were then disrupted as a pair of hands suddenly but slowly slithered around his bare chest; the hands, lighting up as a soothing heat was released from their palms. Strands of silver, then mixing with Riley's white skin as Katherine gently but carefully embraced him.
And like Riley, Katherine too was allowing all of her skin to be showered and bathed by the light of the moon– almost as if the two of them were completely free from the burdens of the world.
"Or are you perhaps thinking of Prophet?" Katherine then whispered as she rested her cheek on Riley's back.
"No," Riley shook his head, "I do not care about Prophet."
"Then is it because of what happened with your sister and Julius earlier?" Katherine sighed, "I have been asking around my contacts if there was anything suspicious with the Reuben family…
…but a family as rich as that seems to be good at keeping secrets– we could find nothing except what you could find on the internet."
"I am not thinking about that matter, Katherine," Riley once again shook his head, "But I do care about my sister."
"Then…" Katherine hummed, "...Are you thinking about Megawoman again?"
"In a way, yes."
Katherine could only let out a small sigh as she heard Riley's words. Of course, it would be about Megawoman, she thought. Every time Riley thinks about something or seemingly reminisces, it would always contain Megawoman.
"I was thinking of my last battle with her," Riley then continued, "I want to hear the people scream again… this time as they choke on the blood that slowly drowns the world."
"..."
"..."
"...Do you really have to do that?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "I am just waiting for my sister to ask for help."
"Ask… for help?"
"Once she tells me that Julius Reuben has hurt her, then I will kill every last person in England," Riley muttered as he finally turned his eyes away from the sky, "It is a promise I made that I intend to keep, Katherine."
"But once you do that… won't Hannah realize that you are Darkday?"
"...Perhaps," Riley muttered, "But I intend to keep my promise."
"..."
"..."
"I can't stop you?" Katherine then said as she tightened her embrace on Riley. Once Riley exposes himself as Darkday… then Katherine's life would once again begin to shift.
"You are welcome to try, Katherine," Riley said, "I will not kill you."
"...No," Katherine buried her face on Riley's back, "I am your subordinate, my place is by your side."
"Then, will you join me when the time comes?" Riley then whispered.
"..."
His question, however, was followed by an almost eerie silence– with only the sound of their breaths pestering their ears. And soon, the room began to darken as the silver moon slowly shied away; covered by the clouds that seemed to want to hide it forever.
"I don't know," Katherine then answered as she tightened her embrace even further, "But even I don't join you… I can not be redeemed any more. We… can't be redeemed."
"That is true, Katherine," Riley said as a small breath escaped his mouth, "Your hands are already filled with the blood of the innocent."
"..." Katherine could only close her eyes as Riley's words whispered into her ears. It was true– there was no way for her to return. Although Silver Moon has still not made an appearance to the masses yet, the things she had done from the shadows were enough for her to be considered…
…a supervillain.
"If I join you…" Katherine then opened her eyes, "...Can I ask for something in return?"
"Do you want to have sexual intercourse with me again, Katherine?"
"N… no, well yes," Katherine knocked her head on Riley's back, "But that's not my request."
"...What is it?"
"Tomoe Reynolds… Keep her out of the massacre," Katherine said; her tone completely clear,
"Unlike you, she is just a misguided child. Unlike us, she still has the potential to be good."
"How does it feel?"
"Hm?" Katherine could not help but blink a couple of times as Riley suddenly turned around to face her,
"How… does what feel?" She then breathed out as Riley looked her straight in the eyes.
"To be good," Riley said, "How does it feel to be good?"
"To be…" Katherine's eyebrows lowered for a few seconds before she shook her head, "I… don't know."
"But you were good, Katherine. Scarlet Mage has helped a lot of people."
"I am Silver Moon now. Whatever good I did is–"
"How did it feel to be Scarlet Mage?" Riley did not let Katherine finish her words as he gently grabbed her by the arms.
"..."
"..."
"It… was nice." It took a couple of seconds, but finally, Katherine gained the courage to answer Riley's question, "The smiles of the people, their gratitude… It felt like I was doing a service to the world."
"..."
"But more importantly… Knowing that I gave them the opportunity to see the faces of their families again… that they could go home."
"I take that away from them, don't I?"
"What?" Katherine's eyes then quickly turned wide as she heard Riley's slightly somber words. Is it actually possible… that he was starting to feel guilt?"
And as soon as she thought of that, Katherine quickly focused her eyes on Riley's face…
…only to see him with a wide smile on his face. Of course… what was she even thinking?
Riley Ross…
…is innately evil.
***
"...I forgot all about this. This is still happening?"
"It feels like so many bad things have happened… are you telling me it's only been a month?"
"Shouldn't they at least delay or hold this? Prophet just died."
"...What about the issue with Julius?"
"Ack! So many things to take care of!"
"How is the Prophet situation going?"
"What the!?"
Bella, Hannah, Gary, and Aerith almost jumped from their seats as a head suddenly hang in front of them. It would have probably been alright if the owner of the head was also in front of them, but no– the owner was seated behind them, his neck stretched almost in a zigzag pattern– Daniel Espinoza.
They weren't the only presence within the building, however, as all the students of the Academy were present in the auditorium they were currently sitting in.
The event?
Declaring the next Mega Student for the month of January.
"Why do you care?" Hannah then tried to push Daniel's head away; Daniel, however, quickly moved his head to the side.
"What do you mean why– I was one of the people that found Prophet's body!"
"...Right, I forgot," Hannah said as she waved her hand, "We will talk later, can you get your head out of the way first? It's… uncomfortable to look at."
"Tch," Daniel squinted his eyes before finally retracting his head; not before letting out a soft curse, of course.
As for Riley, he also squinted his eyes– trying his best not to express his disgust and displeasure.
"Anyway… shouldn't we at least delay this shit?" Hannah then repeated her words, "So much shit has happened that I don't think it's right to–"
[Greetings, everyone.]
And before she could finish her words, a voice echoed throughout the entire auditorium; silencing every other word that still whispered through the air.
[First, I would like to apologize for calling everyone here.]
It was Bulwark, who was currently standing right in the middle of the stage in front of everyone,
[I know of you expected that this ceremony and awarding would still continue despite everything that has happened. I know it also feels forced that we're doing this…
…But it also didn't feel right that we do not go through with it.]
"..."
[Prophet's death was unexpected and quick,] Bulwark said with a slight stutter in his tone, [Whoever did this will and must pay… and maybe someday…
…it will be one of you who will put the one who did this to justice.]
"What… is Bulwark saying?"
"I thought Prophet… killed himself?"
"No fucking way!" Hannah and some of the Baby Crew stood up from their seats, "Don't tell me he--"
[Prophet…
…was murdered.]
Chapter 184[Prophet…
…was murdered.]
"This guy…"
Once again, the whispers inside the auditorium erupted; almost deafening the ears of those inside… except for those that were already deaf, of course.
It was almost as if a bomb went off, with all the people widening their eyes and looking at each other as if not knowing what to do with their current situation. No, perhaps a bomb did go off.
The media, the police, and even the Government have ruled and confirmed that Prophet's death was a suicide and that there were no signs of any foul play present. But now, Bulwark was telling them that he was murdered?
"What… the fuck is Bulwark doing?" Hannah then whispered; her eyebrows furrowing as she stared at Bulwark's glowing silhouette from afar, "He told us not to interfere and do anything… and yet he does something like this?"
"Oh man," Bella could not help but let out a somewhat nervous chuckle, "Goldie is cool for real, for real."
"What do you mean cool!?" Hannah slightly raised her voice, "His deceased husband told us not to do anything and yet he's the one doing something…
…he just put a target on his bac– Wait, maybe that's what he wants?"
"A declaration of war?" Bella muttered, "That's legit."
And as soon as Hannah heard Bella's words, she could not help but place her hand on her chin, "Declaration of war… could it be that Bulwark already knows who killed Prophet?"
But alas, unlike the Baby Crew's assumption, Bulwark's next words completely made their theories invalid.
[Prophet was murdered by the system.]
And with those words, the students that were previously excited could not help but let out their sighs– some of relief, and the other half of disappointment. They thought that there was something going on, but to think it was only that, they all thought.
The members of the Baby Crew were the same– not knowing what they should feel.
"So… it was just that?" Hannah let out a small chuckle as she rested her back on her seat. Bella was also slightly disappointed, but still nodded her head,
"Maybe he's trying to provoke whoever did this?" Bella muttered.
[Prophet was murdered by the things he trusted, by the things he loved,] Bulwark's words became slightly deeper as he looked straight towards the camera, which was broadcasting the awarding ceremony all over the globe,
[Prophet was killed by White…
…by the white lies that the country– that the world has been telling its citizens for years. Prophet was a good man. As much as the media portrayed him to be a coward, Prophet is the bravest man I have ever known…
…A man that was willing to handle more than 4000 unruly teenage supers, many who could split him in half with just a single finger? How could someone like that be a coward?]
"..." With Bulwark's words, almost all the students that were in the auditorium could not help but look at each other; their eyes, slightly sedated. Most of them were actually shit-posting about Prophet since a lot of dangerous things were happening to them because of the Academy… so they didn't really know what to feel right now.
<script>ChapterMid();</script>
[So… I'd like to offer a moment of silence for my dear departed friend.]
And so, with Bulwark's words, the students could only follow as they too, put their head down. Bulwark's hair, fading in color and slightly dimming down the entire auditorium.
"..." As for the Baby Crew plus Daniel, they could only widen their eyes.
"White lies of the world?" Hannah muttered as she squinted her wide eyes, "Could it be… it was the Government that killed Prophet?"
"Most… dangerous man in the world," Bella also whispered, "It's possible, isn't it?"
"Shit… all of these conspiracy thingies are getting wild," Gary also joined in as he let out a small breath, "Too bad Silvie is missing everything."
"S… sorry," Aerith, who was staying quiet on the side, could not help but sigh as she heard Gary's words. The only reason she was here right now and not Silvie was because the group didn't trust her, causing Silvie to be left alone with the younger clones.
"Why are you apologizing?" Gary squinted his eyes, "Megawoman never apologizes, be strong!"
"That is not true, Gary," Riley suddenly opened his mouth, "Megawoman apologizes a lot."
"Man, why you gotta do your cousin like that? I was only hyper her up," Gary sighed.
"...Why you talking like you're one of us, cuzz?" Bella joined in on the conversation.
"Hey, I'm not racist."
"...That ain't what I–
"Wait a minute."
And before Bella could finish her words, Daniel's head once again stretched in front of the Baby Crew.
"Does this mean that Prophet's so-called husband… is Bulwark?"
"Wow, broadcast it to the world," Hannah rolled her eyes, "Can you keep your voice down? I told you we will talk about it later."
"Alright, alright," Daniel's head started to retract as his eyes also rolled, "...So Prophet is not full on gay, then."
"...What?"
"I mean… Bulwark is even more beautiful than Hannah," Daniel then said, "I mean, I wouldn't really mind tapping that for once. You know what I mean?"
"I mean, that's kinda gay," Gary nodded, "But he right."
"What the fuck?"
"...Why this tall fuck talking like me again?"
"Wait, did you just use me as a referen–"
Fortunately, before the Baby Crew plus Daniel could once again start running amok, Bulwark's breaths echoed throughout the entire auditorium.
[Well, enough about the depressing stuff,] Bulwark then let out a small chuckle, [There's actually another reason why we tried to push with the Awarding– we have an announcement to make.]
And as Bulwark said that, the giant screen behind him started showing images of fireworks and everything Christmas-related. As expected of an old man, they all thought… his presentation seemed to be coming from the earliest depths of technology.
[Since it will be the New Year's 7 days from now, we will have a celebration to welcome it. You will also have a break starting tomorrow until the 10th day of January.]
And as soon as the students heard that, their heads which were still looking down all rose up; their roars and cheers, quickly escaping from their throats.
[You will also be allowed to go out during the duration of the break,] Bulwark announced, [But of course, not all of you at the same time. You would need to apply first since we can't have all of you running around outside all at the same time…
…You have already spent half a year in the Academy,] Bulwark then let out a small sigh as he looked at the students, [And in another half, all of you will be returning to your normal lives…
…or become full-pledged superheroes. Or… you could also continue your stay in the Academy and become sophomores.]
"...There's that option?"
[But although I say sophomore, it's really just repeating all the training you have already received,] Bulwark chuckled, [Honestly, there's a lot wrong with this Academy, which is understandable since it is still in its infancy. There is no solid structure, no real plan, the syllabus and timeline is a mess– the lot of you are basically the guinea pigs of the Government.]
"..."
[But next year will be different,] Bulwark let out a small scoff, [It will be different because you now have me… someone who has taught heroes for thousands of years.]
And with those words, the cheering of the students once again blazed; almost shaking the entire building.
[Alright, that is all,] Bulwark then raised his hand, [This will probably be the last time we will be gathered like this for this year so… Happy New Year's, everyone.]
And with the students clapping in front of him, Bulwark finally handed the microphone to the event's host… who has been waiting for almost half an hour now.
And as soon as the microphone was in his hands, he immediately let out a screech as the DJ started the music.
[Alright, alright, alright! Let's get this show started!] The emcee's voice thundered throughout the entire hall, drowning any whispers that dared to disrupt him, [Since our dear new Headmaster said a lot of things, we're going to have to speed this up! So DJ, put on the wildest…]
"Wait…"
And as the emcee continued the event, Gary stretched his arms to the side… almost hitting Bella's bosom.
"..."
"...New Year's is 7 days from now?" Gary then muttered as his eyes started to tremble, "Doesn't that mean… that tomorrow is–"
"Sister's birthday."
"Christma– Wait, Hannah's birthday is on Christmas?"
"R… Riley, I told you not to tell anyone!"
"Should we not have a celebration, big sister Hannah?" Tomoe, who was completely quiet on the side, immediately grabbed a notebook she was hiding in her white kimono, "I'll get the list of the things we need."
"Wait, wait…" Gary once again stretched his arms to the side, this time getting a small slap from Hannah as he grazed Bella's bosom, who didn't seem to mind herself.
"Wait…" Gary still worded out, "Wait… Christmas is tomorrow? Why… doesn't it feel like it? Where are all the snow and shit? The lights!?"
"We're inside the Academy, Gary."
"No… this can't be," Gary seemed to not be hearing anyone else but himself, "Why… are we not feeling the Christmas spirit? Could it be… are we becoming adults?"
"No, Gary. Only my sister is becoming an adult tomorrow."
"Fuck y–"
[Gintsune of Class 1-A! Come out here to claim your prize!]
"What the… it's her again? What does she even do?"
And so, The award ceremony continued on. Almost as if everything that the Baby Crew has experienced was just some kind of dream– the world goes on. Perhaps once they become superheroes, it will also be like that?
Despite all the tragedies they experience…
…the masses will only really see the glamour.
They will never be able to see what it was really like under the suit.
Chapter 185[For 3rd place, Gintsune of Class 1-A! Come out here to claim your prize!]
"What the… it's her again? What does she even do?"
[Wow, wow, wow. Consecutive nominee for the Mega Student, why don't we give Gintsune a round of applause!?]
Gintsune was about to stand up from her seat, but as soon as everyone started clapping their hands and looking at her; her movements could not help but slightly stutter. Letting out a small 'eh?' before fixing her silver fox mask and bowing to the people.
Her ninja-kimono outfit, loosely fluttering in the air as she finally managed to step down towards the stage. And as soon as she was there, she once again bowed towards the students as they were still clapping.
"Ack, so cute, Gintsune-chwan!"
"Remove your mask! Face reveal!"
"...Is this really why she's getting a lot of votes? They want her to reveal her face?" Gary then furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at Gintsune on the giant screen, "What's her ability anyway, does anyone know?"
"She is quite strong, Gary," Tomoe was the one to answer his question.
"...What's her power?"
"I… am not entirely sure," Tomoe hummed before she once again grabbed the notebook hidden in her kimono; which she used earlier to list the things they need for Hannah's birthday. She then flipped the page several times, before finally settling and squinting her eyes,
"She can create some kind of portal."
"Portal?" Hannah joined in, trying to take a peek at Tomoe's notebook, "So she could teleport?"
"She hasn't shown yet if she could," Tomoe shook her head, "But she could place objects inside some kind of pocket dimension. During the Combat Tournament, her portal absorbed the trees, before raining them down on her opponent. Range is also unknown."
"...Like a system?" Gary's eyes soon turned wide as he once again focused on Gintsune.
"...System?"
"Shit… Maybe she alone levels up!?"
"What?"
"Why are all the Asians getting all the cool powers!?" Gary then stood up from his seat, "I think Tempo is rumored to be Japanese as well. Even our own Japanese have a literal cool power!"
"...I'm more interested in Tomoe's notebook," Hannah said as she squinted her eyes, "Why do you–"
[Brew you, brew me~]
And before they could continue to discuss, the new OST of Starbeans Coffee rang in the air; drowning even the slightest whisper the students could muster.
[Coffee even your babies would want~]
"..."
"..."
The song continued for almost a full minute. They weren't going to lie, though. Even if the lyrics were a bit messed up, they had a very catchy tune. But finally, after a few more seconds, the music stopped.
[Do you have something to say to us, Ginstune?] The host then gave Ginstune a microphone.
"T… thank you, hamburger country."
[...]
"..."
"..."
<script>ChapterMid();</script>
[And for the 2nd place, oh oh oh. Who else could it be!?] The emcee completely ignored Gintsune's words as he dramatically pointed towards the giant screen behind him.
A few explosions then erupted as some confetti were triggered before a familiar face was featured on the screen.
[Aha! And the 2nd place is our previous Mega Student, Riley Ross of Class 1-V!]
"Damn…" Gary immediately snapped his fingers, "Now we can't buy anything we want to."
As for Riley, he could only let out a sigh as he once again floated towards the stage. However, unlike with Ginstune, the theme song of Starbeans Coffee did not play. Suffice to say, they probably did not appreciate what he said the last time he was here.
"We meet again, Riley-san."
"It would seem so, Miss Ginstune."
And as soon as he landed on the stage, Ginstune bowed towards him and greeted him with a bow, in which Riley did the same.
"I… I hafu improve my engrish," Gintsune then whispered, her words slightly stuttering as she once again fixed her mask.
"No, it's horrible, miss Gintsune."
"..."
"..."
[Alright, Riley Ross, please receive your prize…]
[And now, the Mega Student for January…
…Silvie Savelievna!]
"Yes!"
Gary instantly let out a deafening roar that shook the entire auditorium as soon as Silvie's name was called.
"It's you again!" Gary then said as he pointed at Aerith, "Well, not you you, but you!"
Gary could never ask Silvie to buy anything… but if it's Aerith who was currently disguised as Silvie, then he could most probably ask her to buy anything. Yes, everything was coming along nicely.
"W… w… what do I do!?" Aerith could not help but take in a small gulp; her eye, looking back and forth between the members of the Baby Crew.
"Relax," Hannah then quickly patted her leg, "Just go out there and say something… arrogant."
"A… Arrogant?" Aerith quickly blinked, "Silvie… doesn't seem like that?"
"Oh, believe me, she is," Hannah chuckled, "She might look timid, but she doesn't shy away from an audience."
"Is… that so," Aerith squinted her eye.
The other members of the Baby Crew were quite curious about what Hannah just said, but then they remembered the first time she was made the Mega Student– she basically challenged everyone.
"Here, say this," Gary then gestured for Aerith to lean forward, before whispering something into her ear, in which Aerith nodded several times before finally moving from her seat.
[Alright, alright, alright!] The host then clapped as soon as Aerith started to move. The confetti and lights, all triggering even before she could step on the stage. The new OST of Starbeans Coffee once again played in the background, continuing even as she got on the stage.
[It would seem our Mega Student had a rough month!] The host then said as soon as he saw Aerith; whose body was almost wrapped entirely with bandages.
Aerith, however, could only respond with an awkward chuckle.
[Do you have anything to say now that you've reclaimed your throne, Miss Silvie?] The emcee then handed Silvie a microphone.
"..."
[...]
"I…" Aerith could not help but take in a small but deep breath as her eye strayed towards Riley, and then towards the Baby Crew who was cheering for her.
"I…" And then, she looked at the crowd of students,
"This is just how it's supposed to be," Aerith then said as she smiled, "I am always meant to be on the top… while the rest of you squatters just squander and pick up the trail of crumbs I leave behind…
…That's just the difference between us."
"..."
"..."
"Pft," Gary was trying his best not to let out the violent burst of laughter that was trying to escape his mouth.
"You do know Silvie is going to kill you, right?" Hannah smiled.
"She's not here anyway."
"What are you talking about?" Hannah's smile then turned into a chuckle, "We got a break, the Baby Crew should be there for my birthday tomorrow."
"W… what are you saying?" Gary gulped.
"We're going out tomorrow."
***
"Do we have everything!?"
Riley and Hannah were currently on the Academy's designated parking lot… with Gary already tied up inside the jet-truck. He was betting on the Academy not allowing them to go out since there was a limit to the number of students that could do so per day. But alas, with the Mega Student in their group, they had the privilege to choose any schedule they wanted.
He will not be able to escape Silvie's wrath.
"The girls are still buying some stuff from the grocery," Gary then said as his head leaned out of the window; already accepting his fate. And almost as if in cue with his words, a large black van pulled in front of them.
"You guys wait long?" Bella then quickly stepped out of the driver's seat.
"What took you guys so long?"
"Girl," Bella's eyes then rolled as she went straight to the back of the van; opening it and revealing a rain of plastic bags filled with food and ingredients. Tomoe and Aerith also stepped out of the van, their eyes looking to the side and completely tired.
"Guys… it's my birthday, not a freaking festival," Hannah's eyes were as wide as they could, as some of the plastic bags even started to fall from the van.
"W… why did you guys buy so many!?" Gary's almost crying words seeped out from the truck, "Silvie's going to flip at me!"
"You ain't have nothing to worry about," Bella chuckled, "We got all of these for free."
"...What? How?"
Bella, Tomoe, and Aerith could only look towards Riley; their expressions, completely exhausted but still somewhat excited.
"...Riley?" Hannah muttered.
"I bought their entire stock before they revoked my privileges yesterday, sister," Riley answered without any hesitation, "Today is your birthday, you deserve everything you want to eat."
"Pft, is that so?" Hannah quickly pinched Riley's nose as she giggled, "Maybe you should have bought the entire grocery instead."
"..." Riley blinked.
"..."
"Wait, don't tell me–"
"I tried to, initially. But they told me the grocery was not for sale."
"I… I see," Hannah chuckled, "Anyway, let's go. We still have a long way to go. Just put the entire van in the trailer so we don't have to unload the stuff."
"On it," the veins on Bella's arms quickly etched out of her skin as the van started to float, gently moving straight inside the back of the trailer."
"Alright, let's go!"
Hannah then clapped her hands as everyone started entering the jet-truck. Hannah, however, could not get in. Because as soon as she turned around, someone was suddenly blocking her path… holding a bouquet of flowers.
"Happy birthday, my dear Hannah."
"...Julius?"
Chapter 186And as if a being drowned by water, the festive mood that Hannah and the rest of the Baby Crew died down as soon as Julius once again showed his presence uninvited.
"...Do you need us, big sister Hannah?"
Tomoe quickly approached the two, her hands already cold and ready to encase Julius inside a wall of ice. Bella and Aerith were also behind her, seemingly ready to throw hands at any second, more so Bella than Aerith.
Their fighting spirits, however, did not have the chance to take fruit as Hannah shook her head.
"No… I'll handle this," Hannah said as she waved her hand, "You guys get in the truck, I'll be there in a few."
"...Aight, just knock when you need us."
"Hm," Hannah watched as the others soon stepped inside the truck. And as soon as they were all gone, she furrowed her eyebrows and focused on Julius.
"What are you doing here?" She said, her eyes somewhat hostile as they stared at Julius's almost perfect face.
"It's your birthday. Why wouldn't I be here to greet you?" Julius then said as he slightly stretched his hand, presenting the bouquet of flowers in his hand to Hannah, "Can we… talk alone? I have something to tell you."
"We… already broke things up," Hannah muttered, "I think it would be best for you to keep your distance for now."
"..."
"..." Julius remained quiet for a few seconds after Hannah's cold words. But after a few more moments, a small but hesitant smile appeared on his face.
"Even so," he breathed out, "I would like to give this to you… even just as a friend."
"I am not accepting that."
"I would also like to apologize to your brother for losing my manners as well," Julius sighed as the bouquet of flowers stretched closer to Hannah, "I… wasn't in the right mood and I said something that I shouldn't have and–"
"That's done already, just stop," Hannah also let out a sigh, "Now, if you'll excuse me… I still have a lot of fun activities to do with my friends," she then said, making sure to emphasize the last word.
"Then… please, just accept my gift."
"Bro, why are you so persistent!?" Gary suddenly leaned out his head through the mirror, not able to move much as he was still tied on his seat, "Leave the girl alone, man!"
"..."
"..."
"I will," Julius then said loudly as he looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "This might actually be the last time we will be seeing each other for a very long time, m'lady."
"...What?" Hannah blinked.
"I… might be leaving the Academy for business-related reasons," Julius sighed, "My vacation was always just going to be until the end of this year, and this year is ending, so…
…Please, if you can't accept this as a birthday gift, then please just accept it as a farewell gift."
"I…" Hannah could only blink a couple of times as she returned Julius's… heartfelt gaze. Julius's eyes slightly turned wide as he finally received a response from Hannah; but alas, all Hannah did was grab the bouquet before stepping inside the truck without saying anything; closing the door on Julius.
"Hannah, wait…" Julius, however, still placed his palm on the door, "Our time together was very short… but I was truly happy. Some things might have been untrue, but I was truly happy and…
…I hope you were too."
"..."
"..." Hannah did not even look at Julius as she started the car; her eyes, just staring at the steering wheel. And after a few seconds, she nodded before driving away without a word.
"..."
"..."
"I tried saving you… all of you. I really did," Julius then whispered as he turned around. His steps, however, stopped as someone was suddenly blocking his path– Daniel Espinoza.
"...Do you need something from me, child?" Julius then slightly backed away; blinking as he looked at Daniel's face and trying to figure out why he was there.
"Was that… Bella and the others?" Danny also blinked as he looked at the disappearing truck from the distance.
"...Yes?"
"They… left without me?" Danny then said as he dropped his bag on the ground; his words, almost belonging to that of someone defeated.
Julius, on the other hand, could not help but smile and sigh as he heard Daniel's words,
"Aren't you lucky, then?" Julius whispered; placing his hand on Daniel's shoulder before walking away.
"Huh?" Daniel quickly looked back, only to see that Julius was already gone.
"The fuck?" Daniel squinted, "Why is this Academy filled with weirdos?"
"..."
"..."
"Ah, damn it," Daniel then sighed as he picked up his bags,
"I guess it's ramen again."
***
"..."
"..."
"You okay, girl? Want me to drive?"
"..."
"..."
Bella attempted to break the silence as she was the one riding shotgun, but the only response she got from Hannah was the truck getting faster. But finally, after a few more seconds, Hannah let out a small sigh.
"N… no, we will be going on Jet mode in a few kilometers anyway," she whispered, answering Bella's question after a full minute.
"Why did that guy have to ruin our mood?" Gary clicked his tongue, "Who do these damn young masters think they could do anything they want to?"
"Just don't mind the guy anymore, sis," Bella sighed, "What's important is you tight. You okay?"
"I'm okay! Alright!? I'm okay!"
"!!!"
Bella and the others could not help but almost hit their heads on their seats, as the truck suddenly floated to the air; almost making them feel like their insides were left back on the ground.
"O… okay, alright, Jesus!" Bella grasped her seatbelt tight, "You white folks be crazy sometimes. Sheesh."
And even with the other members of the Baby Crew clearly somewhat disoriented with the sudden shift of altitude, Hannah just continued to bite her lip; her eyes, staring at the bouquet of flowers Julius gave her.
She would lie if she said she wasn't developing feelings for him already before everything went to shit because she was. Julius was there right when she needed someone.
And although they just had casual talks and dates, she never felt the way that Julius made her feel before. For once, she relied on someone from the opposite sex besides her brother. It was always Riley's shoulder that she relied on whenever she felt lost and in trouble… but she can't do that now.
There was a dangerous power inside her that was trying to come out; just one mistake and she might end up hurting the person she loved the most– and that was something she didn't want to happen.
She really thought that she and Julius had something– No, maybe they did? What if Julius wasn't really involved in whatever was happening now?
But the others were sure he has to have some involvement. Even Hannah herself thinks Julius was and is suspicious– but she has to do this, she has to stay away. Her first priority will always be her brother.
Julius and his company may very well be involved in Prophet's death. Prophet did say the one who killed him was the most dangerous man alive– the richest people are always synonymous with danger.
…But what if he's not? Then wouldn't that mean she was the one hurting Julius?
Numerous thoughts started to surface and race inside Hannah's troubled mind. And soon, those thoughts materialize themselves into tears.
"Hannah, you…"
And as soon as Bella noticed Hannah's trembling breaths, she quickly handed her the box of tissues that was in front of her on the dashboard; not saying anything as she just patted Hannah's shoulder several times.
"You don't have to worry, big sister Hannah. You're very beautiful," Tomoe then whispered; and even with her monotonous voice, her tone contained a somewhat comforting warmth, "I am sure the one destined for you is still out there."
"Yeah, there's still me," Gary said as he let out a small chuckle. However, as soon as he saw the disgusted look on Tomoe and Aerith's faces, the only thing he could do was widen his eyes in shock.
"W… what!? What's wrong with me?" Gary then bellowed, "Don't you know who my mother is!? She– No… I'm starting to sound like a young master!"
Gary clasped his head, finally ripping out the rope that tied him to the chair, "N… no, I don't want to be a young master trope."
"..."
"..."
"Are you hurt, sister?"
"Mother– !!!"
Bella could not help but almost jump from her seat as Riley suddenly leaned his head between her and Hannah.
"Are you hurt, sister?" Riley repeated his question as he looked at his sister's face.
"I… I'm okay, Riley," Hannah then removed one of her hands from the steering as she gently caressed Riley's cheek, "I'm okay. Thank you."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, who do you think I am?" Hannah wiped the traces of tears on her face; her chuckles, obviously forced.
"He is your first boyfriend. Mother said it would hurt you very much once the two of you separate."
"That… what the hell is mom teaching you!?" Hannah then pushed Riley's head away, almost causing him to fall on Bella's leg, "And I had boyfriends before, what are you saying!?"
"No," Riley shook his head, "You didn't have boyfriends in the past, sister."
"W… what? How would you know when you're always locking yourself up in your room!? I have many boyfriends!"
"No, you don't."
"Wha… t…
…that's not true!"
***
[He is your first boyfriend. Mother said…]
"..."
A small but tired breath echoed throughout what seemed to be a study room, with Julius massaging his left leg; quietly sitting at his desk; his eyes closed as he listened to the very same conversations that the Baby Crew were having.
He once again let out a deep breath, continuing to listen through their conversation for minutes on end.
[...Anyway, you think Silvie is alright with the young Silvies?]
[She… seemed alright when we left her. She'll be okay, I think?]
And as soon as those words reached Julius's ears, he quickly opened his eyes. Letting out a deep sigh as he pressed something on his desk.
"MEGAN."
[Yes, master Julius?]
A hologram then suddenly appeared inside his room– a complete replica of Megawoman, standing beside his desk.
"Can you call my brother here?"
[He is just in the other room, I will call him now.]
"Hm," Julius nodded as MEGAN disappeared. And after a few seconds of waiting, a knock could be heard coming from the door.
"The computer said you called for me, Alistair?"
A hoarse voice then entered Julius's ears as soon as the door opened, revealing a tall blonde man wearing some sort of tuxedo.
"Yes," Julius then stood up, "It would seem your suspicion is true, Archie. The subjects are with them. It's...
...time to move on to the next phase of the plan."
"How many times do I have to say that you should call me Archibald?" A hoarse voice once again whispered in the room. The tall blonde man, however, did not even move his mouth to speak.
Instead, it was the individual in front of him; seated in a wheelchair, his face almost as wrinkled as the soft blanket covering his legs.
"I need to act my age, Archie," Julius let out a small chuckle, "Besides, what I say goes…
…I am the older brother, after all."
Chapter 187"What… happened here?"
Everyone's eyes were wide as they entered the penthouse of Tomoe's mother. It was already eerily quiet when they landed on the helipad, but now, what welcomed them as soon as they opened the door was darkness.
There was also some sort of… putrid smell; almost like the smell of a dead cat. It would have already been weird if it was just that, but a sort of citrus smell also accompanied it– almost earthy in a way.
And with the hallway completely dark and devoid of any light, the members of the Baby Crew could not help but halt their steps; turning their words into whispers.
"...You hear anything, Gar?"
"How many times do I have to say that I don't have super hearing?"
"Why are you so useless even though you're Megawoman's son–"
"Shh!"
Gary immediately shushed Hannah before she could continue her words as Bella and Aerith were present. He could probably tell Aerith that he was Megawoman's son since she was basically family in a way. Bella, however, was still just a temporary member of the Baby Crew and was just somewhat dragged into the situation.
"Shh!" Hannah then also shushed Gary… who was just breathing heavily, "Hear that? What is that noi–"
And before Hannah could once again finish her words a light suddenly drowned their eyes, and except for Hannah, the others could not help but squint their eyes. They immediately looked towards the small click that whispered into their ears as soon as they recovered, however.
And there, at the wall was Riley, his hand on the light switch.
"What… are you doing, Riley?" Hannah whispered loudly.
"Being a normal person, sister," Riley said.
"That–" The others could only groan as they heard Riley's words. It was true that they already made quite a lot of noise when they landed on the helipad, so whatever stealth they were trying to do was basically meaningless.
"Now the others could see where they are going, sister."
"Yeah, yeah," Hannah then waved her hand as she stood up straight. Her eyes, however, once again turned wide as soon as she realized that the walls were filled with red streaks.
"Is this… blood?" Bella then whispered.
"What… happened here?"
Hannah then hastened her steps, speeding up as she rushed deeper into the penthouse. Her steps were still careful and light; hugging the corners of the wall as she looked for any signs of movement before she proceeded any further.
The others followed behind her as well, mimicking her movements. Soon, however, all of them could not help but flinch as they heard a quiet wailing whispering in the air, a cry.
"Who– Silv!?"
Hannah then quickly pushed herself from the wall as soon as she saw Silvie trembling on the ground; facing the wall as her cries grew louder.
"What happened, Silv!?"
The rest of the Baby Crew also rushed behind Hannah as soon as they heard her words– and as soon as they saw Silvie, they could not help but jump back as her face was covered in red.
And it wasn't only her face, almost her entire body was covered in it.
"W… what happened?"
"Y… you guys? You… you're back?" Silvie's stuttered breaths coarsely whispered into everyone's ears; her eyes, clearly shaking with the tears that were falling from it, trailing down on the thick red liquid on her face.
"...Thick?" Hannah furrowed her eyebrows as she gently brushed a finger on Silvie's face; Silvie, on the other hand, quickly hugged Hannah and bawled her eyes out.
"What happened!? Who did this!?" Bella then immediately looked around to see if there was anyone else; but since most of the lights inside the penthouse were still off, she couldn't see if there was anyone else in the room.
"W… wait," Aerith then stuttered, "The… the kids, where are they?"
"They…" Silvie flinched as soon as she heard Aerith's words, "They…"
"Wait," Hannah then whispered as she pinched the red liquid in her fingers, "This is…
…paint?"
"Attack!"
"!!!"
"What the–" Gary quickly covered his face as a sudden gush of red drowned his entire vision.
"..." Gary wanted to retaliate, but the only thing he could do was kneel to the ground. After all, how could he even fight back against obviously abused and deformed children who were just playing?
"Megawoman Formation Version 6!"
Bella, Aerith, Tomoe, and Hannah were not safe as well as the other young Silvies started climbing and crawling on the walls one by one; most carrying balloons with paint inside, raining them down on the Baby Crew without hesitation.
Perhaps the only one that was safe was Riley, as the paint just trailed and floated millimeters from his skin and clothes. Aerith rushed to stop her sisters; but alas, they seemed to be faster than before as they scattered through the dark parts of the penthouse.
"T… Tomoe," Silvie then stood up and wiped the tears and paint from her face, "Please… please forgive me."
"Hm?"
Riley then once again turned on all the lights inside the penthouse… finally revealing its walls and furniture that were covered in all sorts of colors– even the paintings of Tomoe's mother were not safe.
"I… I tried to watch them but–"
"It's fine, Silv," Tomoe, however, only smiled as she looked at her mother's ruined paintings. She then looked at the running children, before raising her thumbs up,
"Good work, children."
***
"...So, that's what happened?"
Numerous sighs echoed throughout the penthouse as Silvie finished telling them how the once glorious and immaculate penthouse looked like it turned into the bad part of town. Perhaps the only clean thing left was the table they were currently gathered at.
"Y… Yes," Silvie nodded, "We were just going to borrow and use the paintings to train… but as you can see– Huk."
Silvie once again covered her face in shame. How could she, the most perfect clone of the greatest superhero that has ever lived, not even be able to handle children?
"You guys! Look at what you did to our oldest sister!" Aerith let out a long and deep breath as she once again rushed towards the younger Silvies, slapping them all on the butt. Some of them, however, still continued playing– their giggles, filling the air with a certain joy.
"Can't catch me! Can't catch me!"
"You dare try to slap Megawoman!?"
"We are mighty!"
"..." Hannah and the others could not help but blink several times as the young Silvies started doing somersaults as Aerith tried to chase them.
"Just… what did you teach them, Silv?"
"You can't catch someone who will become– oh?" And before the young Silvies could make Aerith tire herself out, they all suddenly floated into the air. The large window of the penthouse leading to the pool also opened up; the children, all floating straight towards it… and dropping straight towards the pool.
"Ack! So cold!"
"This… this cold does not bother the Mega Children."
"Together we are strong!"
"Awu! Awu!"
"..."
"G… guys!?" Aerith was about to rush towards the children, but Hannah stopped her.
"Relax," Hannah muttered, "It's just my brother."
And as soon as Hannah said that, Aerith took in a large gulp. The fact that it's Riley Ross who did it is exactly why Aerith was worried. She had been watching Riley for a while now, but it would seem the others do not know of his violent nature. Riley had already threatened to kill her and the other children twice… and that was just within an hour of them meeting.
And if she even dares to say anything about that, Riley also threatened to kill them.
"You don't have to worry," Hannah let out a small sigh, "My brother is gentle even if he looks like that."
"Is… Is that so?" Aerith could only stutter as she still checked on the other Silvies outside the pool; but it would seem her worries were nothing, as the children seemed to be having fun swimming even with the freezing temperature.
"Right…" Silvie then stood up, "Why… are you guys here? I mean, I appreciate you saving me but I was expecting you guys to be gone for a while."
"...It's Christmas, Silv."
"Chri– what?" Silvie then looked outside, "Is that why it's so noisy last night?"
"Yeah, Christmas eve," Hannah breathed out, "Gary and Tomoe celebrated it with mom."
"Oh…" Silvie muttered as her eyes still continued to stare outside, "...Why isn't it snowing?"
"Welcome to LA," Hannah chuckled.
"It hasn't snowed here for a long time, Silv," Tomoe also answered; her mood… seemingly at its peak as shown with the smile on her face… which was honestly quite uncomfortable, Silvie thought. Tomoe rarely smiles; did… she really hate her mother that much?
"I'm… really sorry for making a mess, Tomoe," Silvie once again sighed as she approached Tomoe.
"It's alright. At least we don't have to redecorate that much for Hannah's birthday celebration."
"Birthda– It's also your birthday today!?" Silvie's words suddenly became filled with excitement as she turned her focus on Hannah.
"That's right, bitches!" Hannah then suddenly jumped from her seat; stretching her arms to the side and revealing the bottles of alcohol she was holding,
"We're gonna get wasted tonight!" She then roared as she rushed towards the penthouse's bar.
"She… seems hyper?" Silvie stuttered.
"She and that Julius guy are officially done," Bella answered her with a sigh.
"Oh…" Silvie also let out a sigh of her own, "I never had a boyfriend before so I don't really know how– What are you holding?"
"Oh, this?" Bella then lightly waved the bouquet of flowers in her hand, "Hannah told me to bring it– the flowers are innocent, she said."
"Hannah… likes flowers?"
***
[You dare to slap I, Megawoman!?]
[Can't catch me! Can't catch me!]
"This confirms it, then. The children of the forest are really with them."
"How many times do you need to confirm it, Alistair?"
"..."
Julius and his brother were still in the office they previously were, listening in on the conversation of the Baby Crew.
"Let's do it now while they are together… or are you hesitating?" Archibald, Julius's brother breathed out; the tone of his voice slightly containing a tinge of impatience, "Don't tell me…
…you actually have feelings for the girl? She's a child, Alistair."
"That's exactly it, the others are just children, Archie."
"We've sacrificed too much already to hesi--"
"Enough."
"Enough!?" Archibald slammed his trembling hand on the armrest of his wheelchair, "We need to proceed with the plan!"
Julius's eyes slightly trembled from his brother's words; a few seconds after, however, he shook his head and stood up from his desk,
"No, we can't proceed with the plan yet," Julius then said as he looked at a collection of photo frames plastered on the wall. "We…
…need to wait until they are in a crowd of people."
Chapter 188With paint trailing and flowing down from every part of their skin, the girls decided they needed a shower and all went one by one; Gary, of course, wanted one as well– but he was forced to take the shower beside the pool.
And since Riley was the only one without any smidge of paint on him, Hannah just asked him to unload the stuff they bought from the grocery– finally, Aerith was allowed to breathe.
Her burst of relaxation was short, however, as it did not even take Riley 5 minutes to unload everything. Something did replace her anxiety, however, as Riley suddenly started cooking– going beyond what Hannah asked her and preparing all the food himself.
Aerith, as well as Bella, were shocked to see Riley cooking like some sort of master chef. As for Gary and the others, the smiles on their faces showed how excited they were to finally taste Riley's cooking again.
And when they were finally allowed to eat, what followed was only bliss and nods of satisfaction. It almost seemed as they were just a normal group of friends celebrating a birthday; even wearing casual clothes as there were no cameras around.
Of course, normal if you ignore the young Silvie clones, who had extra functional limbs and looked like they were straight out from a horror book– Gary thought. Still, he was trying his best to smile at them since, in a way, he was family.
The children, however, seemed to have read his mind as their eyes all started to avoid him, snarling and acting like little divas… before one of them grabbed a bottle of alcohol.
"Ah! Don't' drink that!" Aerith, who was truly finally able to take a breather, once again had no choice but to chase her younger sisters; it was a good thing they were done eating Riley's scrumptious meal, if not… then Aerith might have channeled her inner Megawoman.
"So, girl… you was stuck with them little menaces for more than a week?" Bella then let out a small but deep breath as she looked at the running children.
"Y… yes," Silvie quickly sighed as she gulped a glass of beer, "I've always wondered what it would be like to have siblings… but it would seem I can't take care of children."
"You know who can though?" A wide smile then appeared on Gary's face,
"Hannah. She's 20 now," he then said before bursting out in the loudest laughter he could muster.
The girls did not seem amused, however, as he was soon bombarded with kicks. Even Aerith, who was previously chasing one of the children, joined in to release the small frustration that was building up inside her from Gary always ordering and following her around… even some of the children joined.
"W… why!?" Gary then cried out as soon as the girls finally had enough.
"You should never talk about a woman's age, Gary," Riley then let out a sigh; the disappointment contained almost piercing Gary's ears, "Mother said it infuriates them because of their insecurities."
<script>ChapterMid();</script>
"Wha– but you always tease Hannah about her age!"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "But I am diagnosed with autism, Gary. The others won't just hit me haphazardly."
"What… that's unfair!"
"Pft."
"What, why are you guys laughing so hard!?" Gary then once again cried out as everyone just laughed, "Riley just used his condition as an excuse to– Ack, never mind."
And so, Gary could only let out a small but deep sigh. Why… is the Baby Crew like this? He thought.
"Gah, this bitter!" And as soon as the laughter died down, the young Silvie that was previously holding a bottle of alcohol returned it to the table,
"Why are you dwinking this!?" She then muttered before… wiping her tongue that almost reached her shoulders. And with the children finally calming down from their curiosity, Aerith once again found time to breathe as she joined the others at the table… sitting as far away from Riley as possible.
And then, what followed the bursts of laughter was a silence, as everyone just suddenly stared at the glasses and bottles of alcohol in front of them; almost as if letting their breaths and sighs just communicate for them.
"Shit…" Hannah then broke the silence as she tapped her glass.
"I'm fucking 20 now, do you know what that means? I am officially in my 20s and I feel like I haven't even achieved anything in life," she breathed out before standing up and walking to the window to look at the lights of the city, "Mom already had a job at this age."
"And I believe she also has a boyfriend, sister."
"Shut up," Hannah chuckled before looking at her reflection on the window… specifically the reflection of the tears that just suddenly fell from her eyes without her knowing.
"..." She immediately brushed it away, however, as she turned around to return to her seat, "I… think I can speak for all of us in saying this but…
…I am really glad I met all of you," Hannah then raised a bottle as she looked at everyone, "I really thought that the Academy would just be cheesy and lame. I have been training ever since I can remember and school was supposed to be the only normal part of my life, but I had no choice but to transfer since Riley wanted to go to the Academy…
…And Riley finally interacting with other people? That is everything that I could wish for. Because in the end, if it all comes down to it…
…Riley is my happiness, and he is the only man that I need right now. I love you, bro."
Hannah then glanced at Riley for a few seconds, before once again looking at the others, "So everyone, thank you very much for being my brother's friend… and being my friend."
"..."
"And fuck Julius and his fucking perfect face and accent!"
"..."
"..."
"S… sheesh. I see you and your father have a way with speeches," Gary then turned his head up as he almost stuttered,
"This… this almost seems like a red flag, but I welcome it," Gary then wiped the tears that were trying to burst out from his eyes.
Silvie then also started sobbing as she hugged Hannah.
"Thank you as well," she then breathed out as she sniffled, "You are the first friends that I have… and I am really glad that it was all of you."
"I… don't know if I have the right to speak," Bella joined the conversation as she rubbed her nose, "But Riley and I had our moments… and I wished I became friends with all of you sooner, but hey…
…We have half a year left, so let's make it count."
Aerith nodded as soon as she heard Bella's words. She also just joined in with the group; and besides fearing for her life because of Riley, it… has been the most fun she had in her existence.
"Although I still feel sad from losing-- from realizing mother was not who she says she was," Aerith then let out a short breath,
"Thank you for saving me," Aerith then said as tears also started to fall from her face, "I know I committed bad things but… I hope I could… I could…
…also be a part of your family."
"You already are my little sister, Aerith," Silvie then immediately said.
"That's… t… thank you," Aerith then wiped the tears that were trailing on her face, before finally chugging a bottle of alcohol… which she immediately puked afterwards.
"..."
"..."
Everyone then turned their eyes to Tomoe, who slightly flinched and almost spilled the glass of soju she was holding. Her eyes traveled across the people on the table, before she let out a small sigh and nodded.
"I… really like spending time with all of you."
"You finally said it, huh?" Gary then clapped his hands before standing up, "What can I say? You guys…
…are the best."
And with Gary's somewhat somber words whispering through the air, a smile could not help but crawl on the others' faces.
"That's from a game, Gary," Tomoe then said as she closed– squinted her eyes.
"Wha– no, it's not!"
"First Fantasy 15, the campfire scene?"
"Ack!" Gary then quickly sat down, "Why you always destroying my mojo? This is supposed to be a heartfelt moment for all of us!"
And with Gary's frustrations echoing inside the suite, the girls once again laughed. A few seconds after, their eyes trailed towards Riley.
"None of you are my friends," he immediately answered.
And of course, this garnered a laugh as well. They all instantly stopped laughing, however… when Riley also started to chuckle; half of his pace, almost parted from his sinister smile– of course, the description might have been a bit exaggerated, but it was close.
"The fuck, bro. Are you a titan?"
"Us too! Us too! We can do that!
And with that, the children all suddenly climbed up the table, opening their mouths as wide as they could… with some of them literally almost splitting their entire face.
"What… the fuck," Gary then immediately backed away as he saw the horrific scene, "S… Silv, this could have been you."
"...Why?" Silvie's eyes then started to squint, "What's wrong with them?"
"N… nothing! I didn't mean it like that!"
"...Mean it like what?"
"Wha– Come on!? Are you telling it's just only me that's creeped out by them!?"
"Gary!"
"R… Riley, save me!"
"Pft," and so, once again… like a normal group of friends, their laughter filled the entire suite. No responsibilities, no worries. Forgetting all the problems they have even just for a blink of time. Just…
…friends having fun without a care in the world.
***
[Ack, I'm drunk as hell.]
[Let's go out and experience LA, we're already here. We might even be able to see celebrities."
[What? What about the children?]
[Eh… take them, let them have fun.]
[...We're drunk as fuck, are we sure about this?]
[Sure, Tomoe can tour us.]
[I… know a place.]
[I think this is a bad idea, guys.]
[Eck, with two Mega Students!? Have no fear!]
[I can just kill everyone so no one can see the children, everyone.]
[Ha! Good one!]
Inside Julius's office, Julius was currently walking back and forth; looking at the speaker that was transmitting the Baby Crew's voices. He had a small furrow in his eyebrows; his hand, almost tapping his brother, who was peacefully sleeping in his wheelchair.
"..."
"..."
And a few seconds later, with a small but deep sigh escaping from Julius's mouth… he tapped his brother on the shoulders, immediately jolting him awake and causing him to almost tilt from his wheelchair.
"Archie, wake up."
"Hm? What? What!?"
"Our chance…
…it's coming."
Chapter 189"Is… this really alright?"
"It's fine, it's fine. Don't be so uptight, I thought I was supposed to be the oldest one here!?"
"They both drunk as hell. How much alcohol did our Mega Girl even drink to get drunk?"
The Baby Crew plus temporary member Bella were currently walking casually on a certain street in LA… in front of them, were the young Silvie clones. They were all wearing green robes that were perfectly hiding their deformities.
But even with their attempt to hide it, suffice to say, all the eyes that they passed by were looking at them. It was a good thing that it was the holiday season and the children just seemed like Santa's elves walking around the street. As for Santa, well, that role was taken by Aerith, who was wearing a full Santa costume with a beard to cover the deformities on her face.
And so, besides some people snapping some subtle photos, no one was really minding them or were a little bit suspicious and wary– for them, it just seemed like some sort of parade.
Perhaps the ones that they should really be worrying about right now were Silvie and Hannah, who were already staggering as they walked through the streets… with Hannah even breaking in song every now and then.
"I have to say, though…" Gary then whispered as he slowed his steps, "...Silvie can't sing for shit. I guess she got that from mom."
"What was that?" Bella blinked a couple of times as she looked at Gary.
"N… nothing," Gary immediately stuttered and chuckled, "I… I said she sounds like a motherfucker."
"...Right," Bella squinted, "Anyway… where we at? I feel like we've been walking for a entire hour now."
"Tomoe, are we there yet!?" Gary then screamed; quickly garnering a thumbs up from Tomoe who was at the very front of the group. She then raised four of her fingers as she looked at Gary before continuing to walk ahead.
"...What does that even mean? 4 minutes? 4 hours?" Gary asked. Soon, however, they noticed that the number of people was dwindling; with each of their steps, the steps of the other people faded.
And soon, they reached some sort of ice rink.
"We're here," Tomoe then let out a small but deep breath as she turned around to look at the group.
"This…" Everyone then squinted their eyes to observe the place Tomoe brought them to, and the only word that came out of Gary's mouth was,
"...is depressing."
Even though it was a large ice rink, there were only 3 people currently skating on the ice– with them already seemingly about to leave.
"...If we were going ice skating, we passed by a huge one with lots of people earlier," Gary said, "There were lots of chicks there as well."
"...We're trying to be low-key, Gar," Bella breathed out.
"Do they look like the type of people wanting to avoid attention?" Gary then pointed at Silvie and Hannah… who were already wearing skates while bursting their hearts out and singing some sort of love song.
"They… wasted as fuck," Gary then muttered. He was about to say something else, but before he could do so, one of the young Silvies suddenly jumped inside the ice rink; not wearing any skates and just using their bellies to slide across the ice.
"W… wait!" And so, once again, Aerith was left with trying to calm them as the young Silvies all jumped inside the rink one by one, "Your costumes! Be careful not to rip them!"
"..."
"..."
"I always go here during the season," Tomoe's quiet breaths then whispered into the remaining group's ears, "It's not well taken care of compared to most of the ice rinks in LA, so there's not a lot of people going here– almost like it's isolated from the rest of the city."
"..." Gary then looked around, and true enough, there weren't any buildings surrounding the ice rink; just trees and some barren stalls.
"It's calm. I like it," Bella then whispered as she walked away to rent some shoes. She was about to pay, but the teller said that Hannah already rented the whole place.
"...Right, I almost forgot whose daughter she is."
"Ack! To heck with it!" Gary then followed Bella and got some skates, "I will show you the secret technique, Ice Path of the Dragon Body!" He roared as he rushed inside the rink… almost cracking it in half. It was a good thing Tomoe was there to fix it, if not, then their fun would be short-lived.
And so, with the rest gone, the only ones that were left outside the rink were Tomoe and Riley.
"..."
"..."
"Are you planning on killing Julius, Master Riley?" Tomoe then broke the silence, her words almost being drowned by Silvie and Hannah's loud screec– singing.
"Not yes, Tomoe," Riley immediately shook his head, "Only when my sister says she is hurt."
"I… believe she is already hurting," Hannah let out a small sigh as she glanced at Hannah, who was dancing and laughing while doing a quadruple axel.
"That may be so, Tomoe. But I need to hear it from her."
"Are you… really going to destroy the UK?"
"Only England," Riley shook his head, "As I believe Julius lived there."
"But… there are children…"
"Hm?"
"No," the slight stutter on Tomoe's almost monotonous voice faded before they could manifest, "Please do not mind my words, Master Riley. Let me come with you when it is time to–"
"No, you will stay here."
"But–"
"Who are you again, Tomoe?"
Tomoe blinked a couple of times from Riley's question, but after a few seconds, she whispered, "I am your loyal subordinate, Master Riley."
"..."
"..." Tomoe waited for Riley to say something back, but what awaited her was a silence that seemed to have no intention of breaking. She was confused at first as to why, but a few more seconds, and she had her answer,
"I… am Night Queen."
"And what is your mission?" Riley then quickly said.
"...To bathe the world in an eternal cold darkness," Tomoe's voice slightly became even quieter, "...and to protect big sister Hannah."
Riley then quickly nodded, before looking at his sister and letting out a small sigh,
"...And you are also her friend," he then said, "She will be truly sad to see you become a monster, Tomoe."
"But I am already a mon–" Tomoe did not finish her words, and instead just turned to look Riley straight in the eyes, "Am I… your friend, master Riley?"
"No," Riley answered without any hesitation as he sat on the nearest bench, "I have already said that of you are my friends, Tomoe– and that is true."
"But–"
"I do not deserve something as human as that," he then returned Tomoe's gaze,
"Because I am a monster."
"..."
Tomoe wanted to say that wasn't true… but Riley Ross is Darkday.
An evil without rhyme nor reason, evil without any discrimination… an evil that seemed to crave for the painful death of all of humanity.
Tomoe had truly thought of herself as evil; she thought that she too, has become someone like Riley. She already killed people– teenagers the same age as her during the siege of the floating base of Dark Millenium.
She had also killed her father even way before that because he tried to rape her.
But now, she was realizing something– of the people she killed belonged to those who were truly innocent. Riley is able to kill a child without batting an eye… a child without sin nor crime– pure in the rawest of sense. Would…
…she also be able to kill someone like that if the time comes?
"Tomoe! What are you doing there!? Just leave my brother if he's brooding!"
Tomoe's thoughts were then disrupted as she heard Hannah's screams; she turned around, only to see that Hannah was already at the edge of the rink near them.
"Go. I am alright here by myself, Tomoe."
And so, with Riley waving his hand, Tomoe could only bow and leave; entering the rink without any ice skates. As soon as her feet touched the cold surface, however, a blade of ice suddenly materialized from their soles.
"Oh, so this is where you learned that trick," Hannah muttered before pulling Tomoe away; her peals of laughter, once again filling the entire air,
"Night's not over, bitches!" Hannah then screamed her lungs out, "Awoo!" Before howling in an almost deafening sharpness.
And as if some sort of bomb was ignited, the young Silvies also started to howl one by one.
"Haha! That's right, kids! Awoo!" Hannah screamed her lungs out even stronger; raising her hands in the air almost as if trying to call down the heavens themselves, "Awoo!"
"Awoo!"
"Repeat it with me, Fuck Julius!"
"Fwak Julius!"
"H… Hannah, you shouldn't be teaching the children that!" Hannah's words immediately sobered Silvie; the alcohol in her body, almost evaporated as soon as she heard her words.
"Listen, kids…" Hannah, however, seemed like she did not even hear Silvie as she turned to face the children, "...Don't just cling to the very first man that tries to comfort you when you're vulnerable. Don't make my mistake!"
"Y… yes! Megachildren will never be hurt!"
"Strong together! Awoo!"
"Oho oh," Hannah shook her head several times as a small frown crawled on her face, "Trust me, even if you're the toughest and strongest being in the entire world, you will be hurt."
"Hannah… I think we should–"
"No!" Hannah slapped Bella's hand away as she tried to approach her,
"No!" She repeated as a small chuckle escaped her mouth.
"...Hannah."
Soon, however, the girls of the Baby Crew could only look at each other as Hannah suddenly burst into tears. But really, what could they do? They have, in some form or shape, have heard that the first relationship would always be the hardest. And for someone like Hannah, whose entire world almost rotated around her brother to finally have a chance to fall in love… only for it to crumble before it could bloom.
How could they comfort them when they themselves do not know what that feels like?
"It hurts…" She then whispered. And as soon as Tomoe heard that, her eyes immediately turned towards Riley… who was already standing outside the edge of the rink; his eyes, only seeing his sister.
"Big sister Hannah, don't–"
"It. Fucking. Hurts! It fucking hurts like a motherfucking fuck shit!"
It was almost as if the echoes of Hannah's screams rippled through the air, causing the ice to tremble as her cracked voice burst from her throat, "He was supposed to be my first boyfriend and I might end up just being fucking used! This fucking hurts as fuck! Riley, are you hearing me!? This is what you wanted to hear, right!? I…
…I'm hurt."
"No, sister."
"M… master Riley," Tomoe then took a small gulp as Riley suddenly appeared in front of Hannah.
"I did not want to hear it, sister," Riley then said as the ice beneath him began to crack; his feet, slowly leaving the surface.
"Master Riley, please think this–"
"!!!"
And before Tomoe could finish her words, one of the young Silvies' heads suddenly exploded.
"...What?"
Everyone then turned their eyes toward the small blast; the once slightly clear ice… now had a patch of red slowly dancing across it. Riley, who was just about to fly away, slowly descended to the ground as his eyes were also fixated on the headless body of one of the young Silvies.
Everyone was quiet, all just staring at the lifeless body sprawled on the ice. Soon, however, a small gasp escaped from Aerith's breath as her knees cracked the ice beneath her. Her mouth, stuttering as they tried to open… but before she could release a scream…
…A chilling roar drowned her voice.
A roar…
…crying out from the headless corpse.
Chapter 190Blood and ice.
A combination that one could only describe as sinister– almost akin to the view one could see inside the refrigerator of a slaughterhouse. And with the little bits of skull and brain matter scattered everywhere, perhaps that was the best description one could think of.
"..." A small slithering whisper then whispered into everyone's ears, as an eyeball slowly rolled and slid straight towards Silvie's feet.
But even with all these horrific scenes happening right in front of them, everyone was silent. Not even daring to utter a single word, afraid that if they did, then it would make everything real.
The one that most shocked out of all of them, was of course, Aerith. She was just previously chasing and playing with the children; then suddenly, a bang. No, it wasn't even a bang– it just happened. The young clone's head just exploded without any warning.
They were just having fun just moments ago, but now the blood that was flowing across the ice was getting thicker and thicker as it became cold… almost like the consistency of paint that was splashed on them just hours ago in the penthouse.
"..."
Dead.
One of her sisters is now dead, without any reason.
And so, with the realization slowly dawning on her, the first thing she did was turn her eyes towards Riley Ross, who suddenly approached Hannah and the others. But seeing him slowly descending to the ice rink, with his head tilted to the side– she realized he had nothing to do with this.
Then why? Why did this happen? Why!?
Her legs suddenly gave up; a scream, about to burst forth from her throat… but even her screams were not allowed to flourish as the dead body of her sister suddenly jolted and moved. And before they could even utter a single breath, a roar emerged from her sister's headless corpse.
How a scream was possible without a head, none of them knew. But not even a second after, their unasked questions were answered as the headless corpse suddenly stood up; the green robes she was wearing slowly scratching the air; ripping as the headless corpse's body seemed to grow in size by the second.
And soon, from its once empty and dismembered neck… emerged a face.
Not human, but yet not quite a beast. There was, perhaps, only one word everyone was thinking of when they saw her– A monster.
"E… Elsie?"
The only one that was able to move was Aerith, whose legs were now slowly approaching her younger sister.
"Elsie… can you hear me?"
And while Elsie was doing this, Silvie immediately gathered the other younger clones, doing her best to gently push them all out of the ice rink.
"What… what happened to sis?"
"Why did her head suddenly go kaboom?"
"Is… she going to be awright?"
The clones all turned their trembling and watering eyes towards Silvie; who could only shake her head as she guided them out.
<script>ChapterMid();</script>
"Just… find some place to hide, okay?" Silvie then tried her best to smile, "Let the adults handle this, okay?"
The clones hid behind the shoe counter, along with the only staff of the ice rink; whose face was completely filled with nothing but confusion.
"Call the cops and an ambulance," Silvie then said as she knocked on the counter. She wanted to go back inside the ice rink, but with the children scared and confused, the only thing she could do for now was stay with them; watching the situation from afar.
Her eyes, however, quickly widened as soon as she saw the headless corpse, who was now standing even taller than Gary, perhaps reaching a height of more than 3 meters.
"Elsie?" Aerith continued to slowly approach Elsie, "Are you…"
"A… Aerith?"
And finally, a response. Aerith could not help but slightly flinch from hearing Elsie's voice, however, as it seemed even colder than the surface they were standing on… almost too deep.
"Yes?" A small smile still crawled on Aerith's face, "It's–"
"!!!"
"Aerith!"
Aerith's smile, however, was short lived as she suddenly found herself violently rolling across the ice; shattering the surface each time her body slams downwards as her momentum did not seem to have any signs of stopping.
"Aerith!" If it wasn't for Gary rushing to catch her, then she would have probably plunged straight through one of the buildings that were hundreds of meters away from them.
"Aerith, are you alright!?"
Gary did not even need to ask; as besides a scratch on her head, she seemed perfectly fine.
"Aerith… your face," Gary took a small gulp, "...Nevermind, that's just your normal face."
"..."
Gary tried to make Aerith smile a little, but perhaps it wasn't the time and the shock that Aerith was experiencing was far too great for anything to register in her clouded mind; her eyes, trembling as they stared at Elsie.
She then slowly stood up, her feet, once again moving towards Elsie.
"Don't," Gary, however, quickly blocked her path, "That's no longer your sister."
"What the fuck is happening!?" Bella finally recovered from her shock as she skated straight towards where Riley and the others were, "What kind of Baby Crew fuckery is this!?"
No one could answer her bewildered and panicked questions as everyone's eyes were just carefully watching as Elsie… just stood there after smashing Aerith away like a fly.
Elsie no longer had a head, but a weird face just planted at the end of her neck; her arms, almost as thick and wide as an adult human. What is she now, if not a monster?
"Baby Crew…" Hannah then whispered as a fire slowly engulfed her entire body; burning her clothes and revealing the fire and heat resistant one-piece tights she was wearing underneath them.
"...Prepare to engage the enemy!"
"Enemy!?" Aerith quickly woke up from her stupor as soon as she heard Hannah's words, "She… she's not–"
And once again, her words were drowned by the sudden roar that came from Elsie; a hoarse, shrilling, and utterly chilling roar. The ice beneath Elsie then cracked as she disappeared from her spot almost instantly, rushing straight towards the bright light that almost blinded her eyes.
"Tomoe!"
A deafening cracking boom then resounded in the air as a wall of ice blocked Elsie's advance as Tomoe tapped her foot on the rink.
"Good–" But before Hannah could applaud Tomeo with how fast she took action, Elsie burst through the thick layer of ice.
…Of course, Hannah thought as Elsie's hand was only a meter away from her. The one rushing towards her was still a clone of Megawoman– there was no room to underestimate them.
"Stop!"
But before Elsie's gigantic hand could crush her, Silvie suddenly appeared between them.
"!!!"
And as soon as Elsie's hand met with Silvie's, a web of cracks rippled through the ice, shattering it almost instantly.
"What's wrong with you, Elsie!?" Silvie then shouted as she carefully pushed Elsie's hand to the side, "Please stop! Or else… we will be force to–"
And before she could even finish her words, another fist threatened to slap her away; but of course, she was able to quickly block it with her other hand. Tomoe then used this chance to swiftly move behind Elsie, touched both her legs and causing the surface of ice to crawl around her skin– completely immobilizing her.
"This should be fine," Tomoe then muttered as she looked at Hannah, "We should–"
"Tomoe!"
Tomoe's eyes then immediately returned their focus towards Elsie, only to see… a 3rd arm already threatening to slam her into bits.
"Kh–" She was able to almost instantly shield herself with an armor of ice; it was not enough, however, as the force of Elsie's strike did the same thing to her as it did to Aerith. And like with Aerith, Gary was there to catch her; jumping backwards to lessen the impact and strain in Tomoe's body.
"S… shit, Tomoe? Are you okay?"
Unlike Aerith, however, the durability and strength of Tomoe's body was almost the same as a normal human's.
"S… shit," Gary let out a stuttered and weak breath as he looked at Tomoe, "She… she's not breathing!"
"What!?" Silvie's eyes immediately started to tremble as soon as she heard Gary's words; and soon, they turned to red.
"Threat… you must be… eliminated," Silvie once again began to whisper to herself; Hannah completely disregarded it, however, as she immediately flew towards Tomoe to check on her, leaving Silvie to completely slice Elsie's feet off with her heat vision.
"Tomoe!" Hannah then immediately extinguished the fires surrounding her body; kneeling in front of Tomoe as soon as she reached her to check on her vitals.
"...She's still breathing, you fucker," Hannah let out a short but deep breath; wanting to smack Gary in the face, but did not. Instead, she turned to look at Elsie, who was now sprawled on the shattered ice as Silvie restrained her, and then towards Aerith, who seemed as shock as any of them.
"What… the fuck is happening here!?" Hannah still could not help but roar and lash out, however, as she grabbed Aerith by the arm.
"I… I don't kno–"
And once again, before Aerith could finish her words, another roar erupted in the air. They all looked towards Elsie, only to find her still restrained by Silvie on the ground.
"..." They then looked towards the shoe counter where the roar was actually coming from; and even from afar, they could clearly see… that it was now covered in blood and flesh. And soon, the counter exploded, and what burst forth…
…were monsters.
Chapter 191Cheerful.
Full of life.
Ignorant.
Somewhat innocent.
Perhaps just hours ago, you could use those to describe the younger clones. But now, the only word that one could use to describe them was terrifying.
The previously deformed faces and limbs; those who crawl since their feet bent differently; those who had extra limbs that they were unable to use.
Perhaps just a moment ago, one would consider them as pitiful due to their disabilities. But now… it just seemed like they came out from a nightmare that one will never be able to wake up from.
Their overly swelling muscles which had their veins throbbing; all of their heads gone, replaced only by some sort of face that was planted on different parts of their body. Some even grew a face on their back, some at their… buttocks as their body contoured in a way that should almost be impossible.
At the very least, the very first one who turned, Elsie, still held some sort of resemblance to a humanoid– the others… no longer had any traces that one could call human.
"This why I don't like Christmas. We was just having fun earlier and now monsters," Bella's nervous breaths escaped her mouth as she gestured a sort of signal from her hands, and as she did so, the already sharp blades on her skates became even sharper, enough to penetrate the already shattered ice beneath them.
"Why… why is this happening!?" Aerith once again dropped to the ground as that was the only thing she could do right now.
"Shouldn't we be the one asking that!?" Hannah did not wait for Aerith's answer as she rushed back to Silvie's side, "Gary! Take care of Tomoe! Don't let Aerith near her, she might turn into one of those monsters!"
"What!?" Both Aerith and Gary exclaimed.
"What… Please don't hurt them, they don't know what they are–"
"Don't hurt them?" Gary let out a small but deep breath before Aerith could even finish her worries, "That's impossible…
…they've already killed someone."
"But Tomoe is fine!"
"I'm not talking about Tomoe."
"...What?" Aerith blinked a couple of times, before finally looking towards the direction where Gary was pointing to, and as soon as she did so, a light gasp almost instantly escaped her mouth.
There was one more person hiding behind the counter– and that was the worst place to be in as it was ground zero from when the rest of the clones transformed into monsters. And so, the one responsible for renting the skates were now… in more than one place at the same time.
One of his legs was being held by a tall clone, waving it in a somewhat curious manner. As for the rest of his body… they were nowhere to be found– except a portion of his upper body that was… currently being swallowed by a clone that has a huge mouth in her stomach.
"...I don't know what's worse," Gary then muttered, "The hentai monster or them… just what the fuck is happening to this world!?"
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"Stay down!"
And as everyone was watching everything carefully, Silvie was still trying her best to restrain Elsie, whose dismembered legs were now surprisingly… attached again.
"Did… it just regrow?" Hannah muttered as she approached to help Silvie, "Just wh–"
And before Hannah could finish her words, Elsie did something unspeakable– she split herself in half as she pulled herself away from Silvie; quickly crawling away as soon as Silvie let go.
"..." Silvie's eyes, which were previously flickering, finally cleared as she stopped the whispers that were escaping her mouth; waking up from her instincts and immediately jumping away. Her clothes, however, were already filled with red as Elsie's blood spurted around everywhere as she moved her torn upper body.
How is she still alive?-- is probably what the Baby Crew wanted to ask most; but wouldn't she survive? When her head exploded in the first pla–
"!!!"
The unified thoughts of the Baby Crew were then suddenly disrupted by the sudden eruptions that caused the ground to tremble– the rest of the transformed clones, now barging themselves into the ice rink one by one.
"Silvie!"
And almost instantly, one of the other clones– No. One of the monsters suddenly rushed towards Silvie, using its 6 limbs to crawl towards her in almost a blink of an eye.
The others were given no time to watch and respond, however, as the monsters that numbered almost 20, all rushed towards each of them.
There was one that still had her head attached… except it was bigger than the rest of her body; her mouth, already opened as it mawed its way through the ice as she rushed towards Gary and Aerith.
"What is this fucking titan shit!?" Gary quickly carried Tomoe from the ground as he ran away. However, as soon as he noticed that Aerith wasn't moving, he also quickly turned around.
"What are you doing!? Snap the fuck out of it!"
"My… sister. My sisters are…" She didn't seem to be hearing Gary, however, as she even stretched her hand towards the approaching giant head.
"They're not your sisters anymore!" Gary then grabbed pulled her away,
"Fuck!"
He wasn't fast enough, however, as Aerith's arm was completely chopped off by the gnawing jaw of death.
"!!!" That seemed to wake up Aerith as a scream that almost deafened Gary pierced his ears. Gary didn't seem to mind, as he was more focused on running away from the monster trying to eat them.
"S… shit," he then muttered, "It was a good thing it was only your arm, if it was the rest of your body instead… then you might have turned into one of the–"
He had no time to finish his comment, however, as one more monster blocked his path– the tallest one that almost stood 7 meters– its face, attached on one of its palms.
"...Yup, we're dead."
"Fuck! I knew joining a group filled with white people ain't gonna do me good!" Bella whispered to herself; using her abilities to manipulate the blade on her skates and using it to float around. But due to her not being used in making herself fly, her movements were a bit unstable.
But still, it seemed to be enough as she ran away from the four-legged monster that was trying to chase her.
"What the fuck do we do, Hannah!?" She then screamed.
"Why are you asking me, I'm fucking busy!"
"You the one who said we should defeat the enemy, but all we just running, girl!" Bella bellowed, "You're the leader, think of something!"
"What!? Since when!?"
Hannah probably had it worst… as she was being chased by 4 of the monsters at the same time– most probably due to the bright fire being emitted by her body. She couldn't really turn it off, as doing so would definitely be the end of her.
And so, the only thing she could do was fly through the air– surveying and observing the current situation carefully– or so she thought.
Soon, the 4 that were chasing her leaped into the air, creating a small crater as they did so.
"!!!"
A fire erupted from Hannah's back, almost like a wing as she rocketed herself even further up; allowing her to escape.
"Y–"
Or so she thought. One monster– the smallest of all them, used the other 3 as some sort of foothold as she propelled herself up; her eyes and Hannah's, now at the same level.
"...Fuck."
Back on the ground, Silvie was currently using her heat vision, targeting just before the feet of the two monster that was approaching her, one of them being Elsie, who was once again already completely healed.
"Please stop this!" Silvie roared as she once again stopped the two from approaching. Her mind was now completely back to normal; she initially thought that the brainwashing was completely gone… but it would seem she was wrong.
The government… just what were they doing? If she was also a failed clone, then would she have also become like this? Just what kind of monsters were they trying to create!?
This… is just too much. If she became like this… then she would just rather die– and as soon as that thought crawled through her mind, she closed her eyes; a tear, slowly escaping it.
The clones did not give her time to rest, however, as they instantly rushed towards her. But as soon as they reach a meter from her, a trail of smoke started fuming from her eyelids; they soon turned red, and as she once again opened her eyes, a large blast shot straight towards the two approaching monsters– completely blasting their body from the stomach down.
Both of the monster's bodies fell in front of Silvie; causing her to heave a slight sigh as her eyes once again glowed. She already dismembered Elsie earlier and she was still alive, which means the only way to kill them is to leave nothing–
"!!!"
And before she could finish her thoughts, the arms of the two monsters suddenly grabbed both her legs. Silvie immediately tried to fly away, but as soon as she did so, the two swung their arms down and surprisingly slammed her to the ground– with a force that was strong enough to finally destroy the entire ice rink.
"W… what the fuck," Hannah, who was still surveying from above as the small monster still tried to get to her by being thrown by the others, could not help but widen her eyes as she saw the ground ripple into almost like a tidal wave.
Her focus wasn't completely on Silvie, however, as her eyes found themselves looking back towards Riley, who for some reason…
…was being surrounded by the rest of the clones.
Chapter 192Utter chaos. The people that were fighting on the ice rink now have been training for more than half a year to be superheroes. Battling villains, rescuing hostages, assessing the situation for the best outcome.
They have, however, never trained to fight monsters. And perhaps without the experience of having fought Cephalos during their stay in Hawaii, they would have already lost someone. But still, even if Cephalos was as big as a building, he was only one creature– his size even becoming a disadvantage for him in the end.
Some of the monsters in the ice rink were large, sure– but their speed still remained. And with them numbering almost 20, the situation the Baby Crew were in truly was utter chaos.
Silvie was still being bombarded by fists and palms– her entire body almost already drowned in blood as her heat vision almost split the clouds above trying to end the clones' suffering. But no matter how much she tries to obliterate them… they manage to regenerate.
It also didn't help that 2 of the 4 that were previously trying to reach Hannah in the air decided to make her a target instead. She still tried to end the clones in the most humane and swift way possible, but it was turning more and more difficult.
Her eyes started to glow; but as soon as she did so, one of the monsters tried to push her face away– one almost successful in trying to pin her head down. Silvie could try to use all of her strength, but with the others still here and them being near a city filled with buildings, it would be too risky.
It wasn't like she was fighting someone of the same caliber as Darkday, who always tries to take the fight into the city to inflict as much death as possible.
And even if she did decide not to hold back, the only thing it would achieve was to cause more destruction. Perhaps she could still be considered quite lucky as she could still fight back… Gary was not so lucky.
He was still being chased by the monster with a gigantic head while carrying both Tomoe and Aerith. He also couldn't move with too much force, as Tomoe would have surely broken a couple of bones from being slammed by Elsie.
He needed to find a place to rest her, but he couldn't go to the city as there were people there. Should… he just throw Aerith? Besides a lost arm, Aerith was still perfectly fine if you disregard her complete shock.
She is just an imperfect clone anyway… the world wouldn't need her since Silvie was already here.
"...Tch."
And as soon as that thought entered his mind, Gary quickly clicked his tongue. This is why he was on the Potential Villain list, he lamented. How can the son of Megawoman be this trash of a person?
"...Fuck," And with those thoughts circling his mind, Gary could only grit his teeth as he tightened his grip on Aerith. He shouldn't leave anyone… no matter who it is. And so, Gary continued to swiftly run away, his eyes scanning a place to hide the two girls– the two lives he was carrying.
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Bella was in the same situation; she tried fighting the four-legged monster that was chasing her, and she did manage to slice off its limbs and even manage to restrain it with the metal fences of the ice rink… but it would seem the durability of the monster was stronger than even metal.
As for Riley… he was currently being surrounded by 10 monsters. They were in a circle, their skin and flesh slightly pressed as they tried to charge towards Riley, but unable to as there seemed to be an invisible circular barrier blocking their path.
10 monsters wanted to charge at Riley even though he wasn't doing anything. Based on the actions of the transformed clones, they were attracted to anything that moved and anything that drowned their eyes with light… so why exactly were 10 of them wanting to rush towards Riley?
"Disgusting."-- was the whisper that escaped Riley's mouth as he scanned the monsters surrounding him, not even seeming to care. The sighs that were flowing from his nose, as if saying that he should have killed them all the first time.
"Megawoman…" He then muttered, "Do you see what they are doing to your legacy? If you were here, then none of this would be possible. None would dare to make these ugly creatures that were supposed to be in your image. But of course…
…if you were really here, then I am sure you would show them mercy," Riley continued to whisper to himself, not stopping as he continued to scan the monsters,
"You might have even given them a home– put them in the place where your so-called disciples are staying. These disciples of yours, where were they when your blood scattered the earth? Only Empress showed herself when you were dying.
Megawoman…
…Megawoman, why is everyone so useless without you? Is this really the people you wanted to save?" A small smile then started to crawl on Riley's face as his whispers slightly became louder.
"What would you say to me if you come back to see this planet in ruins? Will you finally be angry at me? Will you finally tell me that I do not have the right to live? Will you finally show regret that you did not find a way to destroy me while you still could?"
Riley's voice then began to shudder, but still, unheard by anyone else as the groans and growls of the monsters surrounding him drowned his trembling voice. And soon, Riley embraced himself.
"Will you finally look me in the eye and tell me that you want to kill me?" Riley's voice started to tremble even stronger, "Although you already did so without knowing… that was why I finally won against you in the first place. Ironic, is it not, my Megawoman?"
"...Megawoman… Megawom–"
"Riley, snap out of it!"
And before Riley's excited voice could turn into something else, Hannah's sudden roar drowned the air with her words.
"It's fine if you're scared!" She screamed as she saw her brother trembling from where she was, "But you are the strongest telekinetic I know! Neutralize them all, you're the only chance we have at this!"
"..."
Riley then blink a couple of times as the thoughts of Megawoman finally disappeared from his mind; he then looked at his sister, only to see the smallest monster almost grabbing Hannah by the neck as it propelled itself from the ground.
"..." He then looked at the others, only to realize all of them were struggling. And so, with this pathetic view surrounding him, the only thing he could do was let out a small sigh. His mind would always wander whenever he was thinking of Megawoman– even forgetting the fact that he promised to kill everyone in England.
"..." No, he shouldn't leave here yet, Riley thought. His sister would probably be fine since she and Megawoman were at the same level. The others, however, might die– he didn't really care about them… but Hannah will become even sadder than she is now if any of them died.
She was already hurt by Julius Reuben… she may not be able to take any more.
That won't do… That just won't do.
"..." Riley's eyes then strayed towards Gary, who was currently carrying Tomoe.
Is she dead? Even though she was not as useful as Silvermoon, Hannah would surely be hurt if she died.
"..." Riley then finally returned his attention back to the monsters surrounding him– none of them, still managing to even pass through his barrier even though he wasn't paying attention to them.
Riley then let out another sigh as he finally began to move; his feet, slowly leaving the ground as he very slowly floated in the air. He then stretched his arms to the side before snapping his fingers– casting a loud but sedated crack to whisper and ripple in the air. The sound it made was almost the same as if one would open a soda beside your ear; a snap followed by a sort of fizzle.
The entire ice rink also trembles, causing even the monsters that were previously busy with trying to kill the other members of the Baby Crew to turn their focus towards Riley. This gave time for the others to escape; but alas, the only thing they could do was also look at the sudden eruption.
And as soon as they saw what it was, their eyes slowly started to widen.
A perfect circle.
There was a perfect red circle surrounding Riley– the monsters that were previously trying to get through his barrier, no more.
As for Riley, only a sigh escaped his mouth.
"Megawoman…" He whispered, "No… even Silvie would have survived something like this."
His feet then slowly returned to the ground; the disappointment on his face, rising instead. However, as soon as his feet touched the cold ground, the circle of blood surrounding him started to wriggle.
And soon, without even half a minute– one could once again make out the silhouette of the monsters, resembling the shape of what they once were.
Riley could have once again attacked them while they were healing; he did not do so, however, as his eyes were starting to squint as he just watched them regenerate themselves. He had seen this kind of healing process before, he was sure of it.
Riley then turned his head towards his sister, and seeing that even from afar, he could recognize his sister's somewhat perplexed expression, she noticed it too.
The way these monsters regenerate… it was the same as Julius Reuben.
Chapter 193Julius Reuben. The first time that Hannah and Riley saw him regenerating himself was during the time that Hannah ran away from receiving the news that she just accidentally killed more than 20 newborns as a baby.
His hand was completely melted and scorched– almost like a burnt t-bone steak as even his bones were charred. But even when still burning, his arm was regenerating at the same; and as soon as Hannah stopped the fires surrounding her, the way his bones healed was quite… interesting.
His flesh regenerates first like some sort of worm puking another worm that grows to puke another worm– the flesh then somewhat rots before clasping and binding itself to the bone; almost as if feeding it to grow.
The very same way one could describe how the monsters surrounding Riley were regenerating their bodies. Of course, Riley could be wrong with his assumption, but it doesn't really matter since Julius was going to die whether or not he was involved with the cloning issue.
Of course, Riley could be wrong with his assumption, but it doesn't really matter since Julius was dying whether or not he was involved in this. But if he truly did plan this, then what for?
Are Julius Reuben and his family involved with the government? Is Julius an agent of the government? Or are they separate and Julius's family was only responsible for these rogue clones escaping the facility they were being created in?
…Or maybe the facility belongs to the Reubens in the first place and is completely operating in dark?
"...Pft," a small smile then slowly crawled on Riley's face, "You see, Megawoman? Everyone is trying to harness your legacy. This is how powerful and beautiful you are. They try so much to emulate your greatness, and yet they fail all the same– no one could achieve you…
…only me."
Riley's body once again began to tremble as thoughts of Megawoman danced in his mind; not even minding the monsters that were about to recover to their previous and full strength.
"How can they even hope to clone perfection?" He then muttered, "You owe me this time, Megawoman. I will eradicate these filthy creatures that dare smear your–"
And before Riley could finish his words, several spots of light suddenly bombarded the ice rink from above; familiar stuttering roars, echoing through the skies as the silhouettes of what could only be helicopters started arriving one by one.
And judging by their different colors, they were helicopters from different large news networks.
"What the–" Hannah quickly covered her face, as she was the one that was nearest to the unexpected and unwelcome reinforcement. None of them were wearing any masks right now; and with her being in the air, almost all the cameras were pointing at her from time to time.
"Go away! Fuck!" Hannah waved her hand, slightly releasing a fan of flames– but alas, not enough to deter the vultures called the media, "Where the fuck did you guys come from so suddenly!?"
Sure, the noises and trembles they made while trying to fend off the clone monsters were surely more than enough to attract attention even from afar. And sure, it might have seemed long for the Baby Crew– but in truth, it shouldn't even have been 15 minutes since all of this mayhem started.
For the media to already be here… wouldn't that mean they were already waiting for something to happen? They were tipped that something would be happening here–
…But for what reason? They were just students of the Academy.
"..."
Megawoman's son.
Megawoman's clone.
Two of Whiteking's children.
And a whole bunch of others clones.
Okay…
…maybe they weren't just an ordinary group of friends.
***
"It's… finally starting brother."
Julius and his brother, Archibald, were still in their office. This time, however, their trembling eyes reflected several monitors in front of them– showing the same scenes where the news helicopters were pointing to.
"Finally… to think we would be here at such a short amount of time," Archibald let out a small and forced chuckle, "As expected of one who carries the name Reuben."
And as his brother seemed to rejoice in the situation, Julius's eyes were just squinted.
"...The homunculi are proving way too weak to handle Riley Ross," he then said with a short and deep sigh, "Even the students are handling them."
"We already expected that," Archibald whispered, "And so what? Our plan is– Kh!"
Archibald's throat slightly constricted as his old lungs almost collapsed; his excitement, almost a double-edged sword due to his age as he soon started coughing vehemently. But as soon as his lungs stopped roaring, a small smile quickly appeared on his face.
"This still works well in our favor," Archibald breathed out, "Everyone will be seeing how strong and monstrous Riley Ross is– a raw telekinetic power that only Darkday should be capable of. Even if we don't release the proof of him being Darkday, we could start the rumours… it would be easy, Alistair."
"..."
"Whiteking will not be able to erase anything anymore– we now have access to all the satellites thanks to him," Archibald chuckled as he laid down their plan, "And once we leak everything we have on Riley Ross and Darkday… he will not be able to escape anymore. Your plan– our plan is perfect, brother."
"Our plan is far from perfect and is more simple than you think, Archie. We already had all the resources and money in the world… and still… A civilian died, Archie."-- was Julius's only response to his brother's long monologue.
"A minuscule collateral for finally exposing Darkday's true identity!" Archibald tried to stand up from his wheelchair, but could not do so as the only thing that was able to even utter a tremble was his upper body and the wrinkles of his aged skin,
"...My son and grandson were also treated as collateral," Julius then breathed out as he looked his brother straight in the eyes, "...Your grandchildren as well."
"You…" Archibald's excited tone then slowly became sedated as he returned his brother's gaze,
"Has attending that stupid hero school affected you?" He then scoffed, "You're not a hero, Alistair. Never forget that– you're just an old man like me… an old man trying to seek revenge for those they lost."
"...Hm," Hearing his brother's words, the only thing that Julius could do was look back to the monitors– focusing on the ones that were covering Hannah, who was still covering her face even though it was entirely covered and shielded by a bright flame.
"..." Seeing this, he could not help but let out a small chuckle; a chuckle that did not last, however, as he once again turned to look at his brother.
"You're right, Archie," he sighed, "The Academy did change me…
…MEGAN."
[Yes, master Julius?]
"Remove all the restraints on the homunculi."
***
"What… is happening to them?"
With the sudden appearance of the helicopters, the once aggressive monsters that seemed intent on killing each and every last one of them suddenly slowed down; their movements, all becoming sedated as their bodies trembled inconsistently.
This slight rest gave the Baby Crew more chance to catch their breaths, even having the chance to finally regroup and calm themselves down. Most of them were covering their faces, however, as the helicopters surely had no plans on leaving even though they know the situation was serious.
Luckily for Silvie, she did not have to cover her face; unfortunately for her, she was completely covered in blood. But seeing as Riley was with them… everyone would surely put two and two together that they were the Baby Crew.
"Is they alright?" Bella repeated Hannah's words as her eyes scanned the immobile monsters, "They just standing there menacingly. Ain't this… the time to strike?"
"It is," Gary quickly replied as he gently placed Tomoe on the ground, "I feel like a transformation is about to happen. Never let the enemy transform… We're not Veget–"
"Kah!"
"What the fuck!?"
And before Gary could finish his words, he could not help but push Aerith away as she suddenly screamed right next to his ear, almost deafening him with how strong her lungs were.
"...Aerith?"
Silvie wanted to approach Aerith, but Hannah quickly blocked her path.
"...Fuck," was the only whisper that came out of Hannah's mouth as Aerith started squirming on the ground; clasping her head as she could hear her bones starting to dislocate.
"N… No," Silvie's shoulders started to drop as soon as she realized what was happening, "She… she's turning as well? Why… why is this happening?"
"...If the younger ones are already this strong… I can't imagine what kind of monster Aerith will become," Hannah then muttered, "We're stopping this now. Baby Crew, kill all of them before they turn!"
"...Are we sure there's no way we can bring them back?" Although Bella hesitated, she still removed the blades on her skates– floating it around her to finally go on a full offensive mode.
"There might be a way to bring them back," Silvie then said as she wiped the tears that almost fell from her face, "...But what matters now is we save the people… and save them from their fate," she said as her eyes pointed towards the struggling clones.
"You're right," Hannah nodded as she too, took a step forward– the fire on her legs, growing even fiercer, "Baby Crew…
…Let's save them all from their suffering."
"...Yes."
"You're the boss."
"Can't really desert any of you now."
"No. I don't think so."
"!!!"
And as the Baby Crew took their second step… Aerith's entire body disappeared almost instantly– turning into a puddle of blood on the ground, filling a pool that was in the shape of a palm.
"What the…" Hannah could only let out a small gasping whisper as Riley slowly took a step forward, turning towards them as a sigh escaped his mouth.
"The rest of you need to leave," he then calmly said as he looked his sister straight in the eyes; behind him, Aerith's body was already once again taking shape.
"I will handle this alone, sister."
"...Riley?" Hannah could only blink a couple of times from her brother's words.
"All of you are still too weak."
And as he said that, Riley slowly stretched his hand towards the direction of the clones; and as soon as he did so, the ground beneath them rippled; almost as if turning into an ocean as the ground completely turned into a wave of stone, dirt, and debris.
"You've been hurt too many times today, sister," Riley then muttered; his eyes still not breaking from his sister's, "One of you will definitely die here if you choose to stay. I…
…can't allow any more pain to cover you."
Chapter 194[Just what is happening here!?]
[As you can see, there are several monsters on the ground!]
[We've already confirmed one casualty.]
[A group of supers is currently fighting with the monsters and– W… what's happening!?]
All the helicopters hovering above the air all moved away. Even though they were far away from the ground, they could still somewhat feel a sort of tremble as the terrain below turned almost into an ocean– with the thick asphalt creating waves and obliterating the unknown monsters that showed themselves.
[We… we confirmed that one of the supers fighting the monsters below is Riley Ross! A student from USMA!]
[Just… Just how strong are his telekinetic abilities!?]
The lights and cameras then all focused towards Riley, his hair and skin almost blinding as they reflected all the spots of light.
"What the… these fuckers!" Hannah roared as she raised both her middle fingers towards the media people.
[If this is Riley Ross, then the group he is with is most likely the infamous Baby Crew! You might remember them during the octopus monster incident in Hawaii! And now, they are once again fighting some sort of monster!]
[Is this the next generation of heroes!? Perhaps they will soon replace the Hope Gui– Wait, what is happening!?]
"What the… Riley!?"
Not only the reporters, but Hannah and the others all let out gasps as their bodies all started to float in the air.
"Please go back to the Academy, sister."
"What? Riley!? No!" Hannah screamed as she tried to reach for her brother, but the only that was happening was her floating even farther away from Riley.
"Do not attempt to return here, sister," Riley then said as he looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "You're going to get the others killed."
"What!? What are you even saying!? Riley! Please, don't–"
And before she could even finish her words, a small eruption thundered in the air as she and the other members of the Baby Crew disappeared into the distance– a skirt of wind, surrounding them momentarily.
"What… the fuck…" Gary's eyes and words trembled as he watched the changing scenery below him. There was no arguing that Riley is the strongest telekinetic in Mega Academy– no one even comes close.
Bella could probably lift a dozen buses on her own if she exerted her force– but even then, she was limited to controlling and manipulating metal.
But this… Gary was trying his best to move his limbs, but the only part he could really move were his eyes and mouth. The rest of his body, almost as if enclosed by cement. He then turned his eyes towards Silvie, and seeing the struggling expression on her face, she was also trying to escape from Riley's grasp… but failed all the same.
And as if that wasn't enough– the Baby Crew's jet truck was now also following behind them.
"Riley…" Gary whispered, "Just how strong are you? Are you… as strong as Darkday?"
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"..."
And as for Riley, he was just quietly watching as the others disappear into the distance; his eyes, focused on her sister until he could see her silhouette no more.
And soon, as if to disrupt his gaze, a rumble started to whisper in the air. The almost unrecognizable terrain he created by completely mowing down the ground, started to tremble.
It took a few seconds, but soon; as if roots taking place and destroying everything in their path to the sun, the monsters sprouted from the ground one by one. Their figures and silhouette, no longer recognizable from their previous state.
Their skin was of different colors; some red, some ash, some black… and the only one still somewhat recognizable was Aerith.
Aerith still retained her humanoid form– her face, her bosom, and everything else was now exposed. She looked almost like an abandoned statue with her now grey skin– her veins, almost outside her skin as they throbbed.
"..." Riley could only let out a sigh as he looked at Aerith from head to toe,
"You remind me of the time I stored Megawoman in my closet," he then whispered, "Rejoice, this is the only time I see even a tinge of Megawoman in y–"
And before Riley could even finish his words, Aerith disappeared from her spot. Leaving only a wave of debris as she destroyed the ground; the bricks and stones, shooting like a shotgun as it destroyed the other clones unfortunate enough to be behind her.
Aerith then instantly appeared in front of Riley, not giving him any time to move as she grabbed his face before quickly slamming him to the ground; dragging him through the broken asphalt and leaving a trail of crevice that could be seen even from the helicopters.
[Where… where is the Hope Guild!? Or any other veteran heroes!?]
[One… one of our future hopes is being killed!]
The news reporters once again pointed their lights towards the fight; expertly flashing their spotlights even though Aerith was moving at almost sonic speed as she mowed Riley on the ground.
Contrary to their worries, however, Riley's eyes were still as clear as it was before– looking through the gaps between Aerith's fingers as he looked at her directly in her bloodshot eyes; his hair, not even moving even as his head destroyed everything in its path.
"Kree!"
Aerith then let out a screeching roar; loud enough to ripple all the dust away.
"..."
A trail of blood then started to stream from her eyes– almost as if a part of her was still alive inside and did not wish to do whatever it is she was doing now.
"..." Seeing this, Riley could only let out a small but very deep sigh. He then slowly raised his hand… before tapping Aerith's forehead.
"!!!"
And as soon as he did so, Aerith's entire body exploded– leaving nothing but a mist of blood to spray across the broken ground. Riley's body then slowly floated in the air; pivoting diagonally as he faced the other monsters that were on their way to him.
"...Fun," and soon… a small smile crawled on his face, "Let's play."
Riley then waved his finger– causing a huge chunk of ground beside him to crack and float in the air. And with another move of his finger, the chunk of ground instantly took the shape of a sword– similar to the silhouette of Sophie's power, the super he fought in Miami.
"...It really is such a shame I was not able to get your ability, Sophie," Riley then whispered before once again waving his fingers; the giant sword, swinging straight towards the monsters rushing at him and splitting them all in half like butter.
And seeing their blood and pieces scattered almost elegantly in front of him, the smile on Riley's face grew even wider.
This feeling…
Finally, he thought– he was once again able to do what he liked the mo–
Riley then flew to the side before he could finish his thoughts; a red scorching beam, passing through where he was previously positioned. Riley looked back towards the source of the beam, only to see Aerith whole again.
And soon… she too started floating in the air; the pebbles beneath her, also floating and twirling around her.
"..." The smile on Riley's face now almost reached from ear to ear. He then flicked his arm… throwing the other inferior clones straight towards the helicopters as they healed.
[Wha–]
Most of the helicopters were able to maneuver and dodge; 2, however, were not so lucky as a monster was able to latch onto their aircraft.
[Where… where are the other heroes!?]
The voice of the reporter, clearly shaking as the body of their helicopter started to bend. The materials of the helicopter contained kevlar– reserved for encounters such as this. But at this point, their helicopter wouldn't last if the monster wasn't shaken off.
[This… the monsters are starting to target us!]
The reporters reported; not knowing that the monsters were thrown by the individual fighting them below.
"Can you still hear me, cheap copy of Megawoman?" Riley muttered as he looked Aerith straight in the eyes, "Is the government responsible for making you like this? Or is it Julius?"
The only response he was getting from Aerith, however, was his hands that were trying their best to claw his face off. Riley was already flying backwards, but even then, Aerith was able to manage to always just be an inch away from him.
"..." Riley then flicked his hand. And as he did so, one of the monsters that were already falling flew straight towards Aerith– its gigantic mouth, completely chomping Aerith's upper body.
Not even 5 seconds after, however, the smile on Riley's face grew even wider as Aerith, once again whole, gorged her way through the monster's gigantic jaws; not even hesitating or resting as she once again rushed towards Riley.
"Let's take this somewhere more fun, shall we?" Riley then whispered as he stretched his arms to the side; and as he did so, the other clones that had already dropped to the ground all started flying towards him.
And since they were still moving their limbs, it almost looked like they were chasing him from afar. Just where were the other veteran heroes while this student was fighting for his life? The media all thought.
Riley was alone, surrounded… leaving him no choice but to run away. But for him to last even this long and the strength he showed… is this the birth of a Grade-S Super? His telekinetic abilities seemed to almost rival that of the previous member of the Hope Guild, Ms. Phoenix…
…and also Darkday.
But alas, no matter how strong he was, the only thing he could do now was to run away. But he was in LA– no matter where he would run to…
…there would be civilians.
"How… fun."
Chapter 195[Where are the other heroes? Why are they not helping!?]
[As you can see right now, Riley Ross is fighting the monsters alone!]
[We have reason to believe that he was the one who flew the others away. Is this an act of sacrifice for someone so young?]
[Riley Ross is…]
The news reporters were starting to go crazy as Riley continued to fend off the attacks of the monsters; each time, just avoiding them by a hair's breadth. Some attacks even go through and connect, causing Riley to move back several meters away.
From the view of the news reporters, Riley was trying his utmost best in trying to survive– pushing himself to continue to fight as long as he could. But alas, no matter how strong he was, he was only one man… one boy.
Each of his steps took him nearer to the city as the relentless attacks continue to rain down upon him; leaving him nowhere to escape as each of the attacks that he manages to dodge was enough to change a part of the terrain– and that was just from a single monster.
[They… they are getting closer to the street! Why are the people not evacuating!?]
[There are too many people celebrating the holiday! This might turn disastrous. Why aren't the sirens going off!?]
[Won't someone get this boy some help!?]
[W… what's this? We are receiving reports that it's just here. There are other places where these mysterious monsters have appeared!]
[N… New York? There are also monsters there? This… this just in…]
The voices of the reporters started to panic as their phones started to ring; containing information that was enough to widen their eyes. The reason why no superheroes were responding in LA was because monsters also started spawning from different parts of the country.
[What… what is happening on a day that is supposed to be of hope and celebration!?]
[What will happen to Riley Ross!?]
[The military, at least the military should…]
The voices of the reporters continued to panic; the one being 'chased' by the monsters below, however, had a smile on his face.
With his last fight with Megawoman, he had to basically drag her with all of his might to make cities their battleground. Megawoman would always try to find a way to take their fight where no life could be found– their fight almost even passing through the atmosphere. But as soon as Riley starts pulling out debris, small asteroids, and satellites to the ground, Megawoman pushes him down.
But with her imperfect clones, Riley just follows them like rats about to commit slaughter– which wasn't a far-off description as they would certainly do so once they reach the street. Riley then looked back, just a few more and they would reach where the people were.
Even if it won't be him experiencing the slaughter first-hand, the people's screams should be enough to scratch the itch that had been growing intensely inside him. The strands of his hair were actually almost already standing up just imagining the sweet screams whispering in his ears.
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"Megawoman," he then whispered, "At least this way, even if it's just your clones… you're going to experience what I do. Just for a moment– we will share a–"
And before he could finish his words, a red blur suddenly passed by him– moving straight towards the monsters that were following him and slicing them into pieces almost without any resistance.
"..."
The red blur's sudden attack only halted as it reached Aerith– who caught the giant sword that was used to cut her sisters into pieces.
"..." Riley then slowly turned his eyes towards the owner of the sword, only for them to reflect the glistening red armor he was wearing– a familiar red armor worn by one of the Pope's personal guards, the Crimson Paladin.
And even with his arms trembling, his helmet slowly turned towards Riley; almost looking at him from head to toe.
"I asked the Pope if we could stay for a few more days," The Crimson Paladin then muttered, "He agreed for the same reason why I wanted to stay– he recognized you."
"..."
"I followed your group from afar and watched. And I have confirmed my assumption to be true…
…You're Darkday."
***
"What… do they mean other monsters appeared?"
Back in the Reubens' office, Julius's eyes; which were as wide as they could be, were reflecting the news that was being shown on the dozen monitors in front of him.
"...Could it be a group of villains is also wreaking havoc?" Julius muttered, "...But they said monsters. How–"
"Kek."
And before Julius could contemplate his thoughts, a small whisper of a chuckle entered his ears. He looked in the direction of the noise, only to see his brother almost trembling in his wheelchair as his chuckle slowly turned into fits of laughter.
"Archie?"
"I… I paid the Cloner," Archibald almost choked in his words as he looked Julius straight in the eyes, "I paid her to create more clones."
"What? Why!?" Julius's voice started to become louder as he returned Archibald's stare, "Are you… crazy?"
"They… everyone will pay for what they did," Archibald then whispered, "They will pay for not preventing my children's death. All of them just stood and watched as our future was massacred in cold blood."
"What? The one who killed our children is Darkday and Darkday alo–"
"No!" Archibald slammed his hand on his armrest; almost using all of his strength as he once again started coughing vehemently. After a few seconds, however, he calmed himself down as he looked at all the news being presented on the screens,
"Darkday is a child," Archibald's tone then became slightly sobered, "A child shaped by society…
…Society itself killed my dear Antoinette!"
"What!? Fucking bollocks!" The tone of Julius's voice became slightly high-pitched as he almost kicked his brother right there and then,
"What kinda logic is that? Have you gone f'kin senile you fucking wart!?" Julius settled in cursing his brother instead; his eyebrows, as furrowed as they could be, "Our only goal here is to expose Riley Ross to the world!"
"..."
"Archie! Fucking answer me!" Julius then pulled Archibald's wheelchair nearer to him, "Why did you do something like…"
And before he could finish his words, the weight of his brother's head planted on his leg.
"...Brother?" Julius then slightly stepped to the side, only for Archibald's body to fall from his chair; almost like a doll that fell from a closet– lifeless.
"..."
"..."
A small but deep breath then escaped Julius's mouth as he closed his eyes. He stayed like this for a few seconds; his stuttering breaths, slowly becoming calmer with each second. Until finally,
"Fuck," he whispered as he gently lifted his brother back to his chair, "Why are you always leaving me alone to clean up a mess you made?"
Julius then shook his head as he let out another sigh, before patting his brother on the leg several times.
"MEGAN," he then said, "Terminate all the homunculi except the ones in Los Angeles."
[...]
"MEG–"
[No longer detecting Archibald A. Reuben's vital signs…
…Scheduling the upload of files relating to Darkday and Riley Ross.]
"...What?" Julius could not help but quickly stand up as soon as he heard MEGAN's words.
[Setting parameters to program and schedule the Contingency Phase.]
"Contingency Phase!?" Julius's eyes once again turned wide as he quickly rushed towards his desk, "I didn't approve that, abort! Abort!"
[Setting Alistair A. Reuben's vital signs as a parameter for the Contingency Phase.]
"Fuck, no!"
Julius tried pressing something on the desk; but whatever he was trying to achieve by doing so, it wasn't happening. The only response that MEGAN gave him was another monotonous set of words.
[Successful. Now deleting all core files.]
"What!?"
[System MEGAN… shutting down.]
"Abort!" Julius's furious tapping caused the entire desk to split in half; he did not seem to mind, however, as he even pulled a set of wires from the desk.
"MEGAN!?"
And no matter how many times he called for the AI, the only response he now receives was silence.
"...Shit," was the only whisper he could utter now as his eyes trailed back towards the news. He then grabbed the remote that was on the floor, turning it to different stations… foreign stations.
And seeing as they were all reporting the same thing, Archibald scattered the rogue clones all around the globe.
"Archie, just…
…what have you done?"
***
"You are Darkday."
Back in Los Angeles, the Crimson Paladin's eyes could be seen through the gaps of his helmet; the light on them, reflecting only Riley's fading smile.
This was supposed to be Riley's time to finally have something fun to do again… but now his new toys are being played by someone else.
"...I'm not Darkday," he then muttered; a very small hint of annoyance could almost be heard from his voice.
"There is no use in lying," a small vapor escaped from the Crimson Paladin's helmet, "I recognize your face from when you visited the Holy Palace– my eyes are able to see through even steel, much less your helmet."
"You have X-ray vision, knight?"
"I do," the Crimson Paladin answered as his hands began to tremble from Aerith trying to pull his giant sword away.
"...I'm still not Darkday."
"You–"
And before the Crimson Paladin could finish his words, a knuckle wrapped his entire body as one of the monsters he sliced shot her fist towards him as soon as it regenerated; the sheer force of the hit, enough to cause him to fly away several meters.
"Watch out," Riley then said with a monotonous tone as he stretched his hand towards the already rolling paladin, "See? You are wrong, Knight. I am not Darkday…
…Would Darkday even help and warn you?"
Chapter 196"You…"
The Crimson Paladin's giant sword trembled; almost piercing the ground from how fast it was shaking as he was using it to support himself up. And even with him clearly hurt from the giant fist that swung towards him, the trickle of eyes that could be seen from his knight's helmet was clearly still glaring at Riley.
This white-haired child was playing with him, he thought. And seeing the cheeky and wide smile on his face, it was almost as if he wasn't trying to hide the fact that he was enjoying this– truly, a child of evil.
"You really are Darkday," the Crimson Paladin scoffed, "I have x-ray vision; and although it's not as clear… I know it was you that day just by judging on your features."
"No, I am not," Riley tilted his head to the side; the wide smile on his face slightly shaking as he seemed to be stopping himself from laughing, "How many times do I have to tell you that I am not–"
And before he could finish his words, Riley quickly moved his entire upper body to the side as a wide red beam flashed towards him. He was about to turn his head towards the source of the laser, but his eyes reflected red as another beam from another direction welcomed his face.
"..." His vision, now completely drowned with a red light as he was unable to dodge the unexpected beam; but still, even if he wasn't able to dodge, the beam was unable to reach his skin; stopping only an inch as a sort of invisible armor surrounded Riley.
"..." Riley then tilted his head to the side, only to see the monster with a giant head letting out laser beams from her large eyes.
…She wasn't able to do that before, Riley thought. Were they actually growing stronger?
And as if to answer his question, Aerith suddenly appeared in front of him– her fist, already just an inch away from his face. And like the beam, it wasn't able to move past the invisible armor that seemed to encapsulate Riley.
But with the smile on his face growing wider and wider once more, Riley leaned his head back, and… leaped away. From the view of the news reporters that were scattering like vultures in the air, it looked like Riley was directly hit by the attack, causing him towards a building and… going straight through to the other end as his rolling body destroyed several walls.
And soon, the rumbles and cracks were replaced by screams, resounding in Riley's ears as he finally reached the streets where there were a lot of people.
"W… what's going on!?"
"J… Jeff!"
"..." Riley then looked behind him, only to see a man completely mangled from having been hit by all the debris as well as Riley's body. And seeing the blood smoothly sliding from the invisible armor that surrounded him, Riley was trying his utmost best not to let out a small chuckle.
"That… isn't that one of the monsters that were on the news!?"
It was a good thing that Aerith followed him through the hole he made in the building. Because as soon as the people saw her deformed grey skin, they all quickly ran away in fright.
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"They… they're here!"
"Quick, everyone run to the nearest shelter!"
The citizens all started running away; their steps, rumbling louder and louder– only halting as loud roars suddenly echoed through the air and into their ears. The roars almost resonated through their bones, causing their feet to freeze and their heads to turn towards the source of the noise.
"There… There's more!"
"They're here!"
And soon, their organized and almost rehearsed steps became panicked– those who were previously trying to help, now just thinking of themselves.
"W… What is that!?"
Their steps became even more frenzied as the larger monsters appeared; their appearance, truly appalling as they reflected the Christmas lights that flickered with joy.
"Monsters!"
"Run!"
The people started repeating their words as the other clone monsters stepped out of the tunnel that Riley made– some even destroying the walls like styrofoam as they mowed through using their gigantic bodies with any effort.
"Ru–"
And soon, one of the screams stopped. Replaced by a sort of choking noise as the smallest monster flashed through the street– gorging her three arms through the screaming citizen. Head, chest, and stomach, all pierced through.
"D… dad? Are–" And before a little child, who could be assumed as the barbecued man's daughter, could finish her words; her entire body almost disappeared as the monster with a gigantic head mawed her whole– leaving only her feet standing on the ground.
"..." There seemed to be one more left from the family– a mother whose knees have already touched the ground. Her will to live almost completely extinguished like her daughter. Why wouldn't she lose hope? Her family just vanished in front of her in just a blink.
And so, her eyes started to close as she accepted her fate. She could feel the warmth of the gigantic mouth slowly eating away her life. She was, however, not yet allowed to die as she was suddenly grabbed by a civilian. No, maybe not quite a normal civilian as she carried the mother and started running across the walls of the buildings.
"Snap out of it!" The random female super then said; her face slightly twisting as the veins on her arms started to swell.
"Let… let me go!" The mother struggled, "I want to be with my family!"
"I… I can't carry you if you're moving around! Please stop!"
"No, leave me with my family!"
"Kh!"
The female super then lost balance as the mother accidentally hit her on the face; unfortunately for the female super, her leg landed the wrong way and completely snapped her ankle in half.
"S… shit."-- was the only word she could utter as the shadow of the gigantic head slowly wrapped her entire body. She looked back, only to see a set of teeth already sharpened to eat her and the woman she just rescued.
"Fuck."-- was the last word she said before being mangled into pieces by the gigantic jaw.
"R… Run!" The rest of the people continued to scream and run for their lives– each of the noises that escaped from their lungs, however, attracted the monsters even more. And even more, they added to the statistics of daily deaths.
As for Riley who was responsible for luring the monsters here; he was trying his best to hide the arching smile slowly crawling on his face. His ears, finally once again being serenaded by the screams of death and despair.
There was one, however, that distracted him from this impromptu concert– Aerith. Unlike the others that were being attracted by the noises that the frenzied people were making, Aerith was completely focused on him.
Is it possible… she was, in a way, programmed to target only him? Even before when Hannah and the others were still present, 10 of the clones wanted to charge him even though he wasn't doing anything to attract them.
Of course, right now, they weren't even seeing Riley anymore as they attack anything that makes even the slightest noise. Is it because they are still young that they're distracted?
Even Dark Millenium was the same– with her memories slightly altered and innately manipulated; unlike Silvie, who was just brainwashed from birth.
All this cloning business… was starting to become more and more complicated. The Government, the Reubens… are they working together? Or–
"..." Riley's thoughts were disrupted as he quickly leaned his body to the side, avoiding the long claws that suddenly grew from Aerith's fingers. He couldn't even enjoy the scenery around him with all the thoughts that were pestering his mind.
Riley then finally shook his head of the thoughts; letting out a sigh before grabbing Aerith's flailing wrists and kicking her away… ripping out her entire arm in the process and propelling the rest of her into a wall.
This did not seem to faze Aerith, however, as she quickly shrugged herself out of the wall. But before she could take a step, her dismembered arm suddenly shot straight towards her heart, once again pinning her on the wall– the flesh on her dismembered arm, peeling away as it was shaved off by her ribs.
Aerith did not seem to feel any of these, however, as she just continued to step forward, allowing the bones of her dismembered arm to completely pass through her chest as it pinned the wall.
"Help!"
"..." Riley then once again looked at the other monsters, who were still ripping out and terrorizing those who even dared to utter even a whisper of a noise. The Crimson Paladin was now also there, trying his best to help as many people as he could.
There was also civilian supers present– but they were either just running away, or quickly dying as soon as they tried to help someone.
"R… Run! Faster, don't let go of my hand!"
"..." Riley then turned his head towards the voices that were nearest to him, only to see a pregnant woman running alongside a small boy– trying to escape through a small alley so that the larger monsters wouldn't be able to easily chase them.
Sadly for them, however, the one that was chasing them was the smallest monster.
"K… Keep running, baby! Don't look ba–"
And before the pregnant woman could finish her words– she felt a strong pressure from her son's hand; almost pulling her back from her previous steps.
"...Bryan?" The pregnant woman then said as she looked back, only to see her son just standing still, "What are you doing!? Come on!"
"I… I can't," the little boy's voice trembled.
"What do you mean you can't!?" The pregnant woman then quickly rushed towards her son… only for the palm of her hands to lay flat on some kind of invisible wall…
…separating the two of them.
Chapter 197"B…Bryan?"
The pregnant woman's panicked breaths almost returned to her. The invisible wall that blocked her path to her son, almost as if not allowing even a single strand of her soul to reach him.
"Why… what is this?" The pregnant woman tried her best to stay calm so as to not cause her son to panic; her trembling voice and reddening eyes, however, failed to mask the horrifying worry that was currently drowning her body.
"M… mom? Why… why can't I go to you?" Her son then started stuttering as he touched his bleeding nose, which was the first thing that slammed through the invisible wall that now separates him from his mother.
"Mom… I'm… Why can't I touch your hands?"
"Bryan… look at me," the pregnant woman kneeled down to try and touch her son's hands– but the only thing she could do was plant her palms on the invisible wall; her trembling hand, wanting to grab her son away. Her eyes, however, shook as the shadow of one of the monsters that were wreaking havoc through the streets entered the alleyway.
The pregnant woman specifically chose this alley since it was too narrow for the monsters to follow them in; but sadly, the smallest monster was the one chasing them.
Although she was not trying to show it on her face, the pregnant woman was actually exerting herself to try and reach her son's hand– the nails on the end of her fingers, almost opening up as she tried to dig through the invisible wall.
"Mom? What–"
And before his son could even finish his words, a fountain of blood spurted from his mouth, raining down on his mother's face as finally… the two were once again able to touch hands.
"...Bryan," the mother's eyes stayed open even as her son's blood flowed across her eyelids. He tried to grab his hand tight but was unable to do so as the small monster pulled her son away… before ripping him in half right in front of her.
"No… No!" The pregnant woman could only scream her lungs out… until that too, was pulled out by the small monster along with the rest of her insides.
"..." Riley's glancing eyes were locked on to the scene at the alley; the smile on his face, almost already glued as he relished on all the screams that were singing in his ears. In truth… he already closed down most of the alleys– separating friends and families before taking them off so that he could hear their screams of regret and sorrow even louder.
He did all this, while still avoiding Aerith's random attacks.
"...Random," Riley whispered to himself as he looked at the monster in front of him. Megawoman, even with her abnormal strength and powers, knew different kinds of martial arts– she studied so she could learn how to subdue anything and anyone without killing or harming them too much.
But the one attacking him right now… is just a beast.
"Darkday!"
And this beast was suddenly slammed away by the Crimson Paladin, "I know you're an even more diabolical creature than whatever these things are, but let's work together for now and–"
And before the Crimson Paladin could finish his words, Riley slightly waved his hand– causing the paladin to fly straight towards a wall, embedding his entire body to make a hole in his image.
"Oh," Riley then let out a small gasp and widened his eyes, "I apologize, holy guard. I thought you were the enemy."
"You–"
The Crimson Paladin had no time to contemplate and rebuke, however, as Aerith suddenly leaped towards him with her claws already sharpened– but in truth, she was actually just floated by Riley there.
"!!!"
The Crimson Paladin quickly waved his giant sword, but once again, only a ripple erupted; blowing away all the dust around him as Aerith blocked the sword with her bare arms. Her skin, seemingly hardening with each second. Of course, the sword did do some damage… but whatever damage was placed upon her skin manages to regenerate almost instantly now.
…They really were growing stronger as time goes on, Riley thought. If he let them wreak havoc for a longer time, could Aerith possibly reach Megawoman's strength?
"..." And as soon as that thought entered his mind, the smile that was already plastered on his face grew even wider. Does this mean the other gigantic and imperfect clones would become as strong as Megawoman as well?
If he just let them roam free and protect them… will he have a platoon of mindless Megawomen–
With that thought, however, the smile that almost seemed permanent on his face quickly faded. If he lets them wreak havoc… what would be left for him? The screams and pains of the people would be useless to these mindless beasts, he thought.
There was also the fact that the monsters might soon be discovered to be Megawoman's clones– he can't let them do as they please and tarnish her name.
"..." Riley then shook his head, "I am sorry, Megawoman, for even thinking of something like this. You do not have to worry… I will kill them all now."
He then looked around the city, the once lively city brimming with life… but no more. Not even minutes passed and the streets were already in ruins. How could it not be, when each step that these clones take were able to rip the ground they were standing on like sand?
There were also streaks of blood splattered and scattered everywhere, limbs are torn, mangled bodies… Truly, a sight that made Riley's skin shiver in delight; the nostalgia almost drowning his entire body like the streets were drowned by the blood of people.
The world… isn't it truly more beautiful like this?
"!!!"
And like a lightbulb flickering on top of his head, like the face of a child that just discovered something truly mesmerizing, Riley's eyes started to widen.
He now realizes why the screams and pains of the people are beautiful.
Bulwark said that love– that things are beautiful because it ends when they asked him about Prophet's death.
Is this why screams sound as beautiful as they are? Because they end? Because it represents the people's end and the end of their suffering in the rawest form possible?
No… but Megawoman did not scream.
"!!!"
Riley's eyes once again widened as he let out a small gasp. Megawoman is immortal, she doesn't end.
…
But why was– is she so beautiful?
Wait. Could this be!?
Is this… could it be possible that this feeling he was experiencing is love? Is this love? Was he in love with Megawoman? Is that why even though Megawoman didn't break or scream even as he mangled her entire body… he still longs for her?
Was he actually experiencing love? Riley's eyes started to tremble as numerous thoughts suddenly bombarded his mind– almost ignoring the actual screams that were harmonizing in the air.
Was he actually… capable of feeling love?
"You're a monster."
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times as a familiar voice, but not quite, whispered to his ears.
"You're a monster that should not have been born in this world."
"..." Riley then turned around to see who it was, only to see nothing but air beside him. It was an eerily familiar voice, a voice that he was not so sure if he heard before.
"Hello, mysterious voice?" Riley then blinked a couple of times as he asked the air. But as is the obvious response– no one answered.
"You need to die."
"..." Riley then turned his head towards a pile of shattered glass on the ground, only to see his broken reflection… as well as a woman standing beside him.
"!!!" Riley was about to turn his head to the side, but before he could do so, a blur suddenly moved past him.
"It's happening here too?"
Riley then quickly turned his head towards the blur, only to see a slightly skinny man wearing a tight black suit; his helmet, almost taking his shape and exposing his slightly green beard; each of his steps as he approached Riley, echoing in the air like some stone skipping on ice.
"...Mister Tempo," Riley then quietly whispered before he took a small glance behind him to see if a woman was there… but alas, no one.
"Sheesh, kid. You've been fighting all of them by yourself? Good job, considering," Tempo was about to pat Riley's shoulder, but refrained from doing so as he remembered Whiteking saying so many times that his son didn't like anyone touching him.
Also, it would look quite weird since Riley was taller than him anyway.
"You really are as strong as you're portrayed in the news," Tempo's body then flickered slightly– suddenly holding… a jaw out of nowhere,
"This is useless," Tempo then said as he threw the jaw away, "We've already figured out their weakness since we've been fighting them for minutes now. We just need enough electricity to shut down whatever it is that keeps them running."
"..."
"V will be here soon, so we just need to save as many people as we could until she does," Tempo muttered as his body once again flickered; this time, returning with a set of arms– presumably from the smallest monster clone.
"...Right," Riley furrowed his eyebrows as he looked around him, only to see people disappearing one by one.
"Or…" Tempo then pointed one of the arms towards a large Christmas tree that was surprisingly still intact, "Why don't we use the spirit of Christmas to kill these vile creatures? I wonder how much juice that has?"
"It's a fake tree, Mister Tempo. It doesn't have any juice."
"Wha– I meant the strobe of lights surrounding it!" Tempo slightly gasped, "No, never mind that plan. Let's just wait for V as they clean the other cities off these monsters."
"...Other cities?"
"Yes, this place is actually the most peaceful one I've run into, considering. Probably thanks to you and that red armor guy are here?"
"Peace…"
How could this be… His place…
…was the most peaceful one!?
Chapter 198"..."
Riley was now currently floating towards a nearby diner, which surprisingly, was still intact even with all the mayhem and destruction drowning the entire streets. He did not expect that there were also monsters wreaking havoc in other cities. And whether or not they were also monster clones, it didn't really matter.
What mattered was that Tempo said that Los Angeles was the most peaceful out of all the monster zones. Most of the buildings around him, even if not yet completely destroyed, were on the verge of collapsing… how is his place the most peaceful one?
And so, Riley made his way to a nearby diner, slapping away a monster that blocked his path and throwing it several meters away… accidentally saving someone.
"T… thank you!"
Riley, however, completely ignored that gratitude that came his way as he waved his hand, lightly pushing the man away and opening the door to the diner at the same time. And seeing that a part of it bent as he did so, it would seem that it was locked from the inside.
And true enough, there were more than a dozen people hiding there– and seemingly even more in the kitchen area. A monster seemed to want to follow him in, but before it could destroy the glass walls of the establishment, Riley snapped his fingers, causing the four-legged monster to explode.
"..." Riley ignored the whimpers of shock that entered his ears; instead, his eyes moved continuously until they reached a certain object inside the diner– a brown box, no. An old TV.
"Hello, server," Riley then tapped the counter, causing the woman hiding behind the counter beside him to slightly flinch,
"Can I please change the channel of the TV?" Riley then said; his eyes not leaving the screen as it showed some sort of European telenovela show from the 90s.
"Yes?"-- was the only response the woman could utter.
"Thank you, server," Riley then slightly moved his eyebrows, turning the knob of the old TV until he reached a station that showed the news– he didn't have to search long, however, as the 2nd click of the TV immediately featured fire and chaos.
He tried to change to another channel, and that too, reported what was currently happening in the country– no. They were showing what was currently happening in the world.
"..."
It was true that it look chaotic from the view of the news helicopters that were hovering above the different cities– but the headlines were saying that the situation was mostly already contained; with the monsters completely eradicated or escaped to somewhere and are currently being hunted.
"..." How is his place the most peaceful one when the streets of LA he was in were already filled with blood, guts, death, and hopeless screams?
"..." Riley then look outside the window, then back towards the news being shown on the TV. Even though there were a lot of people dying… it was only limited in the streets he was in– because he himself was not letting anyone escape.
And by doing that, he also indirectly contained the chaos in a single place.
"..." Realizing his mistake, Riley's eyes started to twitch, along with his fingers that were itching to kill everyone inside the diner. He has only been retired for less than a year, and yet he was already getting clumsy?
This isn't good. What would Megawoman say when she comes back to see him not living up to his reputation? To see the one who basically put her into a coma doing such a lousy job of terrorizing the world… wouldn't she be disappointed?
"As I thought. The damage was controlled because you were here."
"..." Riley then turned towards the voice that suddenly whispered into his ear, only to see Tempo stepping at the regenerating monster repeatedly– almost at a speed that his feet looked slow doing so.
"To be able to blow this thing with just the snap of a finger," Tempo then continued his words, "That's really something else. You do know we're currently hiring in the Hope Guild, right?"
"Yes, Mr. Tempo," Riley sighed and nodded.
"It also doesn't help that your father is currently MIA," Tempo also let out a sigh of his own, "Where is your father anyway? He's been missing for ages since Prophet croaked. Rest in peace to that guy, of course."
"Father… is missing?" Riley tilted his head to the side.
"...You don't know? Shit, did I run off my mouth again?" Tempo then looked to the side as he slightly slapped his own lips,
"He's probably with Empress, then. Shit, I did it again, didn't I?" This time, Tempo completely covered his mouth, "Sorry, kid. My mind is too active."
"You do not need to apologize, Mr. Tempo. My mind is in the same state," Riley once again sighed before stepping out of the diner; slightly glancing back at the news as he passed the door. He then carefully looked at his surroundings; the look on his face, clearly showed a sign of disappointment that was rarely seen.
Was he… getting rusty? He thought as he looked at all the blood and guts surrounding him.
"..."
"..."
No. What was he even thinking? He was currently retired right now– he then thought. Doing this much when he was supposed to be retired? Isn't that a feat in and of itself? There was also the fact that he caused this much carnage to litter in the streets… and yet there was no one trying to kill him.
Riley, was in a way, like a child that was freely getting away with the trouble he was causing. Of course, for him, it was just the perk of being perceived as a hero. Truly, it was the right decision to enroll in Mega Academy.
"Dark– !!!"
The Crimson Paladin screamed as soon as Riley's eyes strayed towards him; he stopped his words before he could complete them, however, as soon as he noticed that Tempo was behind Riley.
"Riley Ross!" He then instead screamed as he continued to deflect Aerith's advances. He could just let Aerith charge Riley… but seeing as there were a lot of civilians in the diner behind him, he couldn't do that.
"Why is this grey one intent on targeting you!?" He shouted as he continued to block Aerith's claws with his giant sword.
Riley did not answer him immediately but instead turned his head towards Tempo, then back to the Crimson Paladin. The Crimson Paladin called him by his name instead of Darkday– could it be he didn't want anyone to know of Riley's identity?
…Could the Pope need him for something?
"..." Riley then paused his thoughts as he looked at Aerith, finally answering the Crimson Paladin's question,
"She is targeting me because I am handsome."
"Wha–"
"Ha! That was funny," Tempo then let out a small chuckle, sliding his finger inside his helmet to try and wipe the small tear coming out of his eye, "I see you still have a sense of humor. I thought you had no EQ at all like Whiteking. I guess geniuses are like that? A few screws loose here and there?"
"..."
"Sorry, am I too talkative?" Tempo's body once again flickered as the people inside the diner seemed to add in number, "My mind works differently than most because of my abilities… or maybe I also inherited it from my parents? I wonder how they are? I haven't visited the Philippines for almost a day now."
"...You're not from Japan?" Riley slightly widened his eyes.
"No, I'm Filipin–" Tempo's eyes could also be seen widening from his helmet, "I probably shouldn't have said that… Oh well, at least it's not like Whiteking whose whole life is already out there. Maybe I should out myself as well?"
Tempo's body once again flickered; the number of people inside the diner, almost multiplying in number. The monsters that were previously chasing almost everyone, now just focused on the Crimson Paladin who was still waving his giant sword almost without end.
"V should be here soon to neutralize these monsters," Tempo then said as his body continued to flicker. Tempo really is strong, Riley thought as he glanced at all the people he saved. But alas, during the fight with Megawoman, all Riley had to do was lock Tempo's limbs– completely making him useless.
In the end, his telekinetic abilities were superior. Perhaps he should really thank his deceased biological mother… speaking of which; the voice he heard earlier, could it be possible it was from her?
…Was that a memory? So why did Riley see her beside him through the glass? Riley thought as he looked at the window– only to see only his reflection.
"..."
"..."
"Why are the two of you just watching!?"
The Crimson Paladin's greaves then left a trail of dust as he slid towards Tempo and Riley– his sword, almost already dented from Aerith's endless attacks.
"What are you talking about? I'm busy saving people," Tempo then said as his body once again flickered– adding another person inside the diner.
"That… what about you!?" The Crimson Paladin then turned his head towards Riley.
"A member of the Hope Guild is already here," Riley shrugged, "I'm just a child so I am letting the adults take over."
"Y–"
"He is right… knight or whatever you are," Tempo then said as he stepped forward, "Let the kid rest. As adults, it's our turn to–"
"Adults are suckers!"
And before Tempo could finish his words, a blinding green light suddenly flashed throughout the entire street– momentarily drowning the walls with green. And as soon as the light faded, a mecha suit almost 3 meters in height landed right in front of Riley and the others.
Its knee and knuckles, touching the ground before standing as dramatically and slow as possible– letting out whirring noises as snaps of green lightning streaked throughout the entire suit.
"In the end, the future generation will always be the one to clean up after the adults!"
"....What did we say about flashy entrances, V?"
Chapter 199"...What did we say about flashy entrances, V?"
"That it's cool as fuck."
The trickles of green electricity running through and across V's mecha suit made almost one close one's eyes with how bright it was. And from up close, the streaks of lightning almost seemed to have lives of their own– working together to form some kind of web surrounding the mecha suit.
"No…" Tempo could only let out a small sigh as he watched as V was still dramatically standing… for almost 3 seconds now, "That's not exactly what we discussed…
…Stop giving the others any weird ideas about the Hope Guild," Tempo then said as he noticed the slight curiosity in Riley's face.
"Heh, who cares," V then said as whirring sounds started to click as parts of her mecha suit started to expand and let out fumes. She then turned around– her mecha suit's head looking down at Riley and Crimson Paladin.
"You C listers stand back now," she then scoffed, "The elites are here!"
And as soon as she said that, she clapped her hands; once again causing a bout of electricity to trickle all over her body– the bright flashes of light, attracting the complete attention of the mindless monsters that were wreaking havoc throughout the streets.
V then stretched her arm to the side; catching the gigantic head of the leaping monster that wanted to try and swallow her and her suit whole. The palm of her mecha suit was almost planted on the monster's gigantic head, and like some sort of lock– the tips of her fingers embedded themselves through the monster's face.
And with a small but deep hum, the monster's head started to tremble. And soon, trickles of green started crawling through its face– moving almost instantly throughout its entire body. It did not take long for steam to fume out from all the orifices the monster had to offer; her huge eyes almost looked like it was boiling before they completely melted and trailed from their sockets.
And soon, the monster's whale-like jaw dropped to the ground; letting out a waterfall of blood and guts its insides completely melted.
"..."
"..."
And unlike with Riley and the Crimson Paladin… the monster did not immediately get up or regenerate– leaving it only to drown in its own blood.
"..." Riley could only squint his eyes as he looked at the lifeless gigantic head in front of them. So Tempo wasn't lying? Electricity really is their weakness? Is it possible it was Megawoman's weakness as well? Or did this have something to do with the fact that they were clones?
"Heh."
V, who noticed Riley's slightly lowered eyebrows, could not help but let out a condescending scoff; her voice, even more amplified by whatever sound system her mecha suit was using. And even though she wasn't visible inside, one could just imagine the look of superiority she was giving right now.
"Let the professionals handle this, kid," the tone of V's tone continued to whistle as she once again raised her arm; this time, the feet of her mecha suit slid at an almost propelling speed towards the nearest monster– the four-legged one.
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She quickly hugged the monster's neck– before also wrapping it with her suit's legs and letting out a burst of electricity that almost roared throughout the entire city. And without even wondering if she had already neutralized the four-legged monster, she quickly flew towards another monster that was rushing towards her; her mecha suit's hands turning into a ball she slammed it straight towards the monster's breasts.
The entire body of the tall monster jolted– almost like its muscles have been suddenly woken up by a defibrillator; its breasts, caving in as steam and blood started to flow from its mouth.
"And that's three," V then once again let out a small scoff as she kicked the monster away– embedding it on a wall like some sort of sticky slime.
"See what I mean?" A screeching noise then pattered in the air as V started to dust off any imaginary dust she had on her mecha suit's arms, "These weird fuckers stand no chance against the likes of me– a veteran hero with a million years of experience."
"She's as young as you, by the way," Tempo quickly leaned closer to Riley and whispered into his ear, "But seriously, what is your generation eating for all of you to be this strong?"
"Milk," Riley answered without any hesitation.
"...Right," Tempo chuckled, "Maybe you could join the Hope Guild? I think it'll be good for V to have someone her age in the group– not to mention your biological mother was also part of… Wait, did I say something bad again!?"
"You do not have to worry, Mr. Tempo. I already know the story about my biological mother."
"Is… Is that so?" Tempo stuttered almost at the same time his entire body flickered; and with the 2nd static, his hand was already holding a chunk of flesh. A chunk of flesh from one of the deformed monsters rushing towards V– and judging by the tallest one of them suddenly crawling helplessly on the ground, Tempo just tore its heel.
All V needed to do was stomp her foot towards the crawling monster– letting its body convulsed and melt from the inside as she once again released a barrage of green lightning.
"That's four, heh," V then once again let out a small scoff as she turned to look at Riley and the others, "I don't even need any of your hel– !!!"
And before she could finish what she was saying; she saw her entire vision shift as a sort of pressure suddenly slammed through her armor– strong enough for her to feel it from the inside. And seeing as she continued to violently roll meters on the ground and not even stopping at the first wall she hit, the force of the strike would have more than likely killed her if not for the armor she was wearing.
"F… fuck… what?"
And now, the arrogant tone that V held was no more; the shock that was seeping out from the cracks of her mecha suit– almost as strong as the strands of lightning that surrounds her body.
"How… how is that one still alive?" V then looked towards the one who hit her, only to see the monster with the gigantic head looking at her; its forehead bent from headbutting V's mecha suit.
"How… are you alive?" She repeated her stutters, "The… the other ones from the other city croaked instantly."
"Pft."
"!!!" And as soon as she heard the small chuckle that escaped from Riley's mouth, V's eye quickly started to twitch.
"You fucking monsters!" V then clapped her hands, and as soon as she did so, the ground in front of her cracked; almost like a million ice cubes perfectly cut as bursts of lightning emerged from them. A snap of lightning that almost rippled in the air, eradicating anything that stands in its path as it waved through.
The nearest monster that was unfortunate enough to receive the full brunt of V's wrath let out a shrilling roar– its eyes, instantly melting away as blood flowed from all the holes in its body.
"..."
However, almost like an egg being poached, the monster's eyes once again hardened and became filled with white.
"Wha–"
And before V could contemplate what was happening, another monster leaped towards her– the smallest one. Perhaps due to her sudden fit of rage, she couldn't notice that the small one was already trying to rip her mecha suit open– and is almost successful.
"G… get off!" V then also let out a roar; causing a blinding green light to once again explode through the entire street– the electricity she produced, enough to completely obliterate the small monster's body.
"..." But then, without even a second later, the puddle of blood in front of her started to wriggle.
"H… how? Why?" V stuttered as her mecha suit's knees touched the ground, "I… I thought electricity was their weakness!? I thought I'm the hero today!?"
"Uh oh, the kid's starting to act up again."
Tempo disappeared from Riley's side, appearing in front of V without even a quarter of a second later.
"Hey, it's fine," Tempo then said as he tapped the mecha suit, "Your effort is what matt–"
"Stay the fuck away from me!"
And before even a trickle of electricity could touch his suit, Tempo was already back to where Riley and Crimson Paladin were standing. They were currently doing nothing, as each of V's attacks attracted the monsters' attentions without any fail.
Some of them, seemingly even aloof as they just stood watching V.
"But seriously, though…" Tempo then whispered as his body once again blurred, "Why are they not dying? The ones we fought in the other cities died from V's powers."
"..." Tempo then looked at the chunk of flesh in his hand– only to see the tip of his gloves completely shredded off… all the way to his skin. He then tried to squeeze the flesh, only to notice that it was harder than it was before.
"These things… are getting stronger?" Tempo worded out the thoughts that Riley has been having since earlier.
"What are they in the first place?" Tempo continued to talk, "And that grey one that seems to be their alpha," he then pointed towards Aerith, who seemed extremely wary of V.
"I feel like I've seen its face bef–"
And before Tempo could finish his words, Aerith's entire body suddenly plunged towards a building– almost making a dungeon with how hard she flew away.
"..." Riley, who was the one responsible for throwing Aerith away, could not help but tilt his head to the side.
"Weird," he then muttered. In truth, he was trying to blow Aerith into pieces so that Tempo wouldn't recognize her anymore… but to think all his attack would do was just violently throw her away…
…Perhaps saying they were growing stronger...
..was starting to become an understatement.
Chapter 200"Uh, guys? Might need a little back up here."
Tempo dropped the hard chunk of flesh in his hand; pressing his neck and seemingly trying to contact other members of the Hope Guild. But seeing as he didn't say anything more, no one was responding.
"We have a big V problem," Tempo then said as he turned his attention towards V, whose mecha suit was slightly damaged by the earlier attack, "Guys?"
And with him trying again and having no one to respond, the only thing he could do was let out a sigh before his entire body flickered; soon returning to cast a shadow of himself, Riley, and the Crimson Paladin as he carried V to their position.
"Kh…" Tempo then quickly pulled his arm away from the layers of whatever material V's mecha suit was made off– his skin, almost letting out a hint of sizzle as it almost burned from touching it. And with his gloves already ripped from having attacked the monsters earlier, he felt every inch of the heat that was exuding from V's mecha suit.
"When was the last time you did maintenance on this thing!?" Tempo then said as he waved his hand several times.
"When… when Whiteking last–"
"That was almost a month ago!" Tempo let out a small groan as he heard V's words, "Just stay here and provide support– at this point, you're more dangerous than these monsters."
"But–"
V wanted to say something, but Tempo's deep and very loud sigh completely drowned her voice.
"So, what are we going to do about this?" Tempo then turned his attention towards the monsters. They were previously filled with aggression; attacking anything that dares to breathe within meters away from them. But now, they were all carefully approaching V and the others.
Tempo should be relieved that none of the monsters were actively trying to eat or kill them now… but seeing that their number was still the same as when they arrived, they were basically back to square one.
"I thought the members of the Hope Guild were supposed to be the strongest?" The Crimson Paladin, who was currently trying to catch his breath and resting while the monsters were idle, let out a cold harrumph as he glanced at V and Tempo,
"But I see now you're just like any other self-titled superheroes this society has produced– self-driven and egotistical."
"You… I would have punched you any other time," the tone of irritation in Tempo's voice could not be hidden; but still, the only thing that followed his irritation was his body suddenly disappearing.
"Hoy!" He then almost instantly appeared on top of the four-legged monster variant, this time, with some sort of sharp pole in his hands that he got from somewhere. His hands started to vibrate, almost disappearing as he lodged the pole on the monster's neck like some sort of drill.
"..." Tempo, however, could not help but slightly squint his eyes as he felt some sort of resistance; every muscle of the monster, seemingly trying to spit out his pole. The monster then quickly turned its head towards Tempo, but before its eyes could even land on him, he was gone.
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"Hm," Tempo then let out a small hum as he returned to where Riley and the others are, "We're in quite a pickle. They're getting stronger by the minute… and the only thing preventing them from ganging up on us is they're wary of this huge chunk of metal," he then said as he tapped V's mecha suit several times.
"Our only real problem is that," Tempo then pointed towards rubbles that were dropping on a certain building; revealing Aerith who was brushing off all the debris and dust stuck onto and into her from Riley's earlier attack.
"..." Although Riley didn't use anywhere near his full strength, the force he used earlier should have been enough to completely turn Aerith into a cloud of blood… but now, all she got was her skin and flesh all mangled– but that too, was already healing.
Maybe she had 5% of Megawoman's durability already? Was she truly going to reach Megawoman's strength if he let her be?
"Tch, why do all heroes like to talk?" The Crimson Paladin once again let out a small scoff, before leaping forward and waving his sword towards the four-legged monster, who still seemed confused as to why it had a metal pole lodged into its back.
And before the pole could completely be pulled off by the monster's flesh, Crimson Paladin jumped high and stomped his foot on the pole, lodging it deeper and pinning the four-legged monster on the ground. And before the monster could try to lift itself up, the Crimson Paladin once again waved his sword; and although there was a slight resistance, his giant sword still managed to cut the monster's head off of its neck.
"...Who is that guy again?" Tempo slightly leaned closer to Riley
"He is one of the Pope's guards."
"Oh, I heard about them," Tempo then let out a small gasp as he quickly returned his gaze on the Crimson Paladin, who was trying to cut all the monsters while they were all busy being wary at V,
"They are Supers bred and trained early, sometimes from birth and they just pick the ones who awaken their abilities ear– Oh my god, we really do like to talk."
"..."
"V, just provide support from the rear for now."
"Y… yeah," V quickly responded. The arrogant tone she held very dearly just earlier, now replaced by a slightly somber and sedated voice.
"Guys," Tempo then once again pressed his ear, "We really do need one more member here. The Threat Level is way higher than we expected– it would seem their queen or whatever this grey woman is is here. Butcher will do, these things are as hard as– What? No! Not Hera!"
Tempo's voice slightly became louder as he shook his head, "No, not you! We're trying to keep the damage to a minimum since there is already a lot of collateral– Hello? Hello!? Fuck! If Whiteking was here then this surely would have already been… Ack, why am I talking again!?"
And with those words, Tempo once again disappeared from his spot; appearing behind the Crimson Paladin, seemingly matching his speed perfectly.
"Let's lure them away from the streets, sir."
"...Sir?" The Crimson Paladin was a bit weirded out first with Tempo's sudden change of tone but quickly nodded his head as he slammed his fist on the flat surface of his giant sword; creating a sort of a ripple that rang throughout the entire street.
And as soon as most of the monsters looked towards their direction, the Crimson Paladin once again slammed his fist on his sword, before running away as soon as he made sure that the monsters were all following.
"...The grey one isn't following us," the Crimson Paladin then let out a small but deep breath as he looked at Aerith, who had been standing on the same spot for almost a full minute now, "She… seems to be targeting only Da… Riley."
"...The Riley?" Tempo squinted his eyes, "It should be fine. Whiteking's son is a monster, and with V with him, the grey one shouldn't be too much of a problem. And besides… another grey one will be joining them soon. Come, let us show these kids how we adults get things done!"
"..."
"..."
And with that, the Crimson Paladin and Tempo successfully started to lure the other monsters away, leaving only V, Riley, Aerith, and all the dead bodies to litter the streets.
"What… what are we going to do now? Why did they leave!?"
"..." Riley then slowly turned his head towards the mecha suit; his ears, being bombarded by the panicked whispers that were seeping out from the cracks.
"Why… why aren't my powers working on them anymore? It was working fine just earlier… the ones in the other cities all dropped dead… so why are they still standing up?"
"..." Riley could hear her trembling voice– a far cry from how arrogant her tone was earlier. How exactly is a child like this in Hope Guild? Even during the fight with Megawoman, she was the first one to give up.
And if Riley was right, then V is stronger without the mecha suit. Her mecha suit serves as some sort of limiter… just like what Bernard did to Hannah; he said he inserted some sort of needle in Hannah's arm to prevent her powers from losing control.
For V, it was her mecha suit.
"..." And with that thought, a small smile once again slowly crawled on Riley's face. His place was considered as the most peaceful one by Tempo… maybe it's time to change that?
Riley then looked towards Aerith, who still seemed to be completely wary of V– that changed, however, as Riley subtly flicked his finger, causing Aerith to fly straight towards V.
"Watch out."
"Wha–"
And before V could turn to look at Riley, his arm was already stretched towards her, pushing her away from 'harm's way'. But alas, it would seem he was a little too late as Aerith's very deadly 'attack' grazed V's mecha suit.
And even though it was just a graze, for some reason… it completely ripped the mecha suit apart– completely exposing V, whose eyes were already wide as she slowly felt herself separating from her armor.
"N… no," V's eyes started to release vast amounts of green electricity from her eyes; and instantly, almost travelling throughout her entire body as she failed to grab onto her mecha suit. The color of her hair, almost undetermined as the green lightning enraptured all of her.
"Run…" V then quickly turned her head towards Riley; the tears that were coming out of her eyes, floating away from her face as they turned into some sort of green particles,
"Please…
…run away!"
Chapter 201"What the hell!? Let us out! My brother is out there risking his life for us!"
"I am afraid that's just not possible, child. Heroes have always sacrificed themselves for the greater good… and the last I checked, members of the Hope Guild are already in the scene."
"I don't fucking care, you fucking bisexual sun god! Please, my brother!"
In the inner gates of the USMA, Hannah was currently punching the said gate; her strikes, each containing a burst of flame that was enough to cause the people nearby to feel a flush of heat scorching their skin.
The Academy gates, however, did not budge one bit as it was currently being reinforced by Bulwark's abilities; the golden barrier, only rippling and dispersing Hannah's flames by letting it scatter and crawl through the walls, leaving the gate completely untouched.
Silvie wanted to try and break the gates as well, but Hannah did not let her do so as she was already attracting too much attention to herself; if the people were to find out that the monsters were actually clones of Megawoman… and that she too was a clone, then the masses would surely call for Silvie.
Gary did not have that reservation, as he helped Hannah in trying to bring down the gate… but his strikes were too weak to do any damage. The only ones that were perhaps truly choosing to do nothing were Bella and Tomoe.
Tomoe was confident enough that the worse thing that could happen to Riley was him probably getting bored. As for Bella, well… she was still completely in shock at what Riley had just done.
Los Angeles was about 4000 kilometers (2,500 miles) away from Massachusetts, and for him to be able to fly them back here while still remaining in Los Angeles was a feat that perhaps only the strongest of telekinetics could achieve.
"Hannah… your brother…" Bella then could no longer help herself, "He legit as hell… Just how strong is he?"
"Probably as strong as Ms. Phoenix," Gary worded out as he once again tried to kick the gate; creating a ripple as the golden barrier shielding it shook, "She is his moth—or you could also say he's as strong as Darkday as well."
Gary almost slipped out Riley's real parentage—forgetting that only the permanent members of the Baby Crew should be privy to that information. However, his words seemed to have been a mistake, as Hannah's flames almost targeted him instead.
"Never put my brother and that monster's name in the same sentence!" Hannah yelled.
"That… was actually a compliment," Gary said as he quickly raised his guard, "But… I get what you mean. But you have to agree though, Riley is strong af. I wonder who would win— I'll stop talking."
"…"
Bulwark continued to watch Hannah and Gary take down the gates of the Academy and his barrier; his sighs, almost echoing throughout the entire campus. For someone to be compared to Ms. Phoenix and Darkday… Riley Ross truly is something special.
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Darkday, however, is evil incarnate himself.
He could still remember the Battle at Toronto. The Hope Guild… was treated almost as a nuisance. No, not even—they were almost like toys that Darkday just played with; the fact that none of them died was proof of that.
The only ones that could actually really prove to be somewhat useful against the Darkday clones were him, Empress, and surprisingly, Whiteking.
Throughout the thousands of years of Bulwark's existence, he had met an even more number of Supers that used their powers and abilities for bad things… but they all had reasons for doing the things they did—they all had goals.
One created a prison to create his own army, hoping to rule the entire world only to be poisoned before she could do so. Bulwark knew her as a child, and she was always looked down upon because she was born a woman into a family that only produced warriors, thus craved for power.
Some used their powers to become kings, gods, or some to just live a life without enemies. But Darkday?
Darkday just appeared. No reason, no goal. Almost as if he was just wreaking havoc and death just because he wants to.
…
Or maybe Bulwark was seeing this wrong? Perhaps Darkday exists to truly just inflict pain and suffering to the world? His goal, just to end life itself?
But what would his rationale be? Every being should have a goal to what they are doing—even animals.
"…" Bulwark then let out a small sigh as the drumming of Hannah and Gary's attacks once again roared in his ears. This was no time to worry about Darkday—one of his students was out there, sacrificing his life so that his friends could live.
Riley Ross… he seems to be overprotective of his sister; maybe even obsessed. One of the traits that people like Riley usually always have. He had met people like him before; back then, however, there was no official title for them… people just thought they were somewhat crazy.
Ms. Phoenix's biological son… Does Riley's condition have something to do with him almost dying by his mother's hand as a child?
In truth, he almost became Riley's adoptive father. When the Hope Guild was choosing who the best candidate was to take care of Ms. Phoenix's child, he was the one who gained the most votes.
Empress was looked at, at first. But since she already lost a child, she refused and said that she couldn't bear to lose another. Also, she just inherited the leadership of the team and didn't want any distractions.
Tempo was just too young back then.
Dr. Snipe, a previous member, was just too old to take care of anyone.
Butcher wanted to take care of Riley—of course, no one agreed.
And so, the choices were refined to only him and Whiteking. Whiteking immediately backed out, saying that Bulwark was the best choice as out of all of them, he had the most experience dealing with children—after all, everyone is a child to him.
Whiteking had a small daughter that time so he just flat-out refused. However, as soon as Diana arrived, the only thing that Bulwark could do was take a step back. As they say, no one could eat a mother's instinct.
But what if… just what if Riley grew up with him? Would he have been able to train Riley into someone that would be able to defeat Darkday?
"…" Bulwark quickly let out a small sigh as soon as the thought entered his mind. What's done is done—fate has already played its cards. One could also say that if Ms. Phoenix did not die, then it was possible that Darkday could have been stopped.
They all should have tried harder in saving Ms. Phoenix from herself. None of them realized Ms. Phoenix's slow descent into madness—but they should have. Ms. Phoenix just arrived at their meeting hall one day, already pregnant; no one knew the father.
They should have realized there and then that something was wrong. But alas, even amongst the members of the Hope Guild, Ms. Phoenix was somewhat isolated because her powers were just… almost too great.
They were only able to defeat her because her mind was already gone… and because they asked Charlotte to help them defeat her—a favor that Bulwark regrets asking even until now.
Riley Ross… Riley Ross could actually be considered as the child of everyone in the Hope Guild, not just Ms. Phoenix's, not just Whiteking's.
Riley Ross… should not sacrifice himself.
And with that thought entering his mind, Bulwark quickly ordered to open the gate. And as soon as Hannah saw this, a small victorious smile instantly crawled on his face—which was soon almost littered with blood as her nose flattened as she tried to rush outside.
Sadly for Hannah, even with the gates opened, Bulwark's golden barrier was still very much alive.
"W… what is this!?"
"You don't have to worry, child," Bulwark then glanced at Hannah as he passed through the golden barrier without any resistance,
"I will bring your brother home."
***
"Please… Please run away!"
Back in Los Angeles, V's high-pitched screams almost thundered through the streets; partnered by the rumbling of the lightning that was crawling from every pore in her body.
Still, even with the almost deafening noises, Riley still remained near V; the expression on his face, containing an almost child-like curiosity as he continued to look at V from head to toe. The electricity that was coming out of V surrounded her entire body—much like Hannah's.
V's powers, however, seemed to have a life of their own as minuscule bolts of lightning seemingly tried to reach out to Riley; unable to do so, however, as they were stopped by the invisible armor surrounding him.
"…Interesting," Riley however whispered as he felt a slight tickle subtly crawling on his cheek.
If Hannah took off her limiter, will her power also become like this? Will her fire be enough to scorch the entire world with just a single step?
…Burning the entire world—one could only imagine the screams the Earth would produce. Maybe he should start thinking of borrowing—
And before Riley could finish his thoughts, a shrilling noise that almost drowned V's frantic screams erupted in the air. Aerith, who was pushed away by Riley earlier, once again leapt out of the building she was in, quickly rushing towards Riley.
"…I am bored with you now, monster."
Riley then quickly grabbed Aerith's face as soon as she got near. And with a small but deep breath escaping from his mouth, Aerith's entire body… instantly compressed into a ball the size of a watermelon.
And without even looking at his creation, he flicked his hand, causing a skirt of wind to form around the ball—ripping the clouds above as Aerith… or whatever remained of her to fly straight through the expanse of space.
"I…" Riley then turned his attention towards V; whose trickling eyes were as wide as they could be as she stared towards the skies,
"I found a new toy."
Chapter 202Even with V's eyes being entirely covered by the green streaks of lightning that were emerging from every pore in her body, they were still able to see the sudden clearing of the skies; Los Angeles, finally once again being greeted by the stars and the moon.
Of course, V also saw the reason for this– Aerith's body suddenly and instantly compressed into a ball, and that ball of meat, bones, and blood was probably already somewhere floating aimlessly in space, frozen by its deadly chill.
…If Riley could have done that from the start… why didn't he just do it? If he had the ability to actually neutralize, or as he did, to completely throw the enemy away from the planet with just a single flick of his finger… why didn't he? Everyone was doing their best to get out of this situation and to save as many lives as possible… so why did he only do that now?
Even now, V was also trying her best. If it wasn't for her using almost all of her efforts in trying to restrain the roaring lightning that wanted to burst out from her body, then this place would have surely been wiped out from the map already.
Of course, that might be an exaggeration on her part– but the members of the Hope Guild had always told her that her powers were too dangerous to not be kept in check. If a bunch of S-grade Superheroes was telling that to her… then the damage she would probably inflict was catastrophic.
And if she wasn't putting all of her strength in trying to stop her powers from losing control, then she would have probably already asked Riley why he didn't do that ball-space thingy from the start.
But alas, she knew that if she so much as opened her mouth to talk, she would lose focus. And with the loud and exploding sputters that were surrounding her endlessly, she can't even hear the words that Riley was saying to her; all she could really do was watch as Riley ever so slowly tried to reach his hand towards her for some reason.
"..."
She already told him to run, right? She used the last of her focus and strength to specifically tell Riley to run away. So why was this white-haired tolkien elf still here? She already knew of Riley's condition, but no one told her he was also crazy as hell.
V's eyes then turned towards Riley's hand, which was still slowly moving towards… her face. No, could it be?
Was Riley Ross perhaps… trying to see if she is okay? Did Riley Ross choose to remain here because he wanted to check on her?
And as soon as that thought raced in her mind, V once again used most of her spare strength in trying to shake her head– as if telling Riley to just abandon her and run away. Even if they were indeed the same age, V was already a veteran superhero; and not just any superhero but a member of the best Superhero team in the world.
But alas, even with her trembling head, Riley's hand still slowly approached her face. And even if just a single finger were to make contact with the ocean of lightning that is her skin, then Riley Ross's entire body might disintegrate into nothing but dust.
Even the floor beneath her was slowly crumbling– almost turning into quicksand as she felt the soles of her feet slightly digging through the ground. The clouds of dust peacefully floating around her, almost like fireflies as they very subtly exploded.
Riley Ross was right in his earlier assumption; V's mecha suit served as a limiter to her powers.
The mecha suit absorbs large amounts of energy; even just a single finger needs the same power as an entire electric truck at maximum power. The large amounts of electricity her body was releasing helped kept her powers sedated; because as Empress described it– V's power was almost endless.
The mecha suit kept her powers tame. Without it, the electricity coming out of her body would shatter and destroy everything in its path as it continued to grow. She could try her best and hardest to keep the lightning within her body– but that would probably eat her from the inside. Of course, she was not sure that is really what would happen, but that is what it certainly feels like right now.
Ever since she was discovered by the Hope Guild; Whiteking had quickly produced the mecha suit for her… and that was almost 10 years ago. And with that new armor protecting her and her surroundings, she was trained by Empress in some sort of island which was supposed to be something like a training ground for Megawoman's disciples.
The only time she isn't wearing her mecha suit is when Whiteking is present. For 10 years, she had basically lived inside the mecha suit– and that was no exaggeration to call it as such. The mecha suit had its own shower, a toilet system; not to mention it was always at a temperature that she liked.
And now… she was vulnerable; akin to a turtle that lost its shell. But instead of her insides and blood littering the streets, it was a violent torrent of lightning that threatened to scorch anything within its path.
And Riley Ross happened to be in that path. Once again, she wanted to tell Riley to just run away; but if she put her energy elsewhere, then the bursting torrent of electricity within her would surely explode– probably erasing the entire city.
"..."
And so, with Riley's hand almost only just a few inches away from the ocean of lightning that is her skin, the only thing that V could do was close her eyes; not wanting to see the fate of those who dared to even touch her.
Tears were already starting to come out of V's eyes as she imagined Riley's entire body disintegrating into nothing. But even her tears were not allowed to live as they exploded almost in their birth.
'Sorry,' was the only whisper she could muster inside her mind. And soon… she felt a pressure surrounding her neck.
"!!!"
V then quickly opened her green bright eyes, which quickly strayed downwards to look at Riley… who was currently lifting her up by her neck. His arm, almost seemingly infected by a million green ants as the electricity wrapped around it.
V thought that Riley would be in so much pain right now; his face, however, expressed otherwise.
Riley Ross was smiling, still smiling. And instead, the pressure that she thought would disappear from her neck tightened even heavier. Riley seemed to be saying something as his mouth moved; but once again, V was unable to hear even a single whisper.
The only thing she could hear were the sputters… and maybe some few broken bones cracking around her neck?
…
…
Wait… is Riley Ross trying to kill her?
"!!!"
And as soon as she thought of that; as if a switch being turned on, or maybe in this case, off; something that she was not allowed to do happened. Something that the members of the Hope Guild specifically told her never to do–
—She panicked.
"No!" V then finally let out her voice; almost like thunder as the electricity dancing around her feet finally crawled away; like a flame in a field drowned in pollen, rippling and covering the ground bit by bit– like a cobweb forever unfolding by itself.
That growing cobweb, however, was suddenly swatted away as V's vision almost faded to black… with Riley slamming her through the ground without any warning.
And now, the growing cobweb of violent lightning was completely drowned by the sudden ripple of the ground; the earth itself, almost swallowing the crawling lightning whole as it lifted a few levels from the sheer force of Riley's sudden slam.
"..."
That enough force should have been more than enough to turn V's head into a paste. But aside from feeling the whiplash of her head moving at an extreme speed… she felt nothing else.
Wait… Was Riley Ross actually trying to help her? It made sense, she thought. If she was unconscious, then the lightning around her would probably also become sedated… or it could also wreak even more havoc. But whatever the case would be… was Riley Ross actually trying to save–
And before she could finish her thoughts, her vision once again faded monetarily. And as soon as she woke up from the very momentary stupor, she saw the lights of Los Angeles below her; the helicopters that had been watching them since earlier, now within her eye level from afar.
And in front of her, blocking the light of the moon, was Riley's silhouette.
"..." Did Riley Ross fly her here so that she could release her powers instead? Without having to worry about killing anyone?
And as soon as that thought entered her mind, any hesitation within her disappeared. And like a raging thunder roaring through the skies, she finally opened her mouth and let out a shrilling and deep scream that could be heard in all of Los Angeles.
And not only that– the electricity that rippled out from her was enough to turn the tragic night almost into day. And from the view of the satellites, it was almost as if a small part of the world exploded.
And soon, V slowly felt the burden inside her getting lighter and lighter; she could finally hear her own breaths again. She then turned her head towards Riley, who was, surprisingly, still in front of her– not even a scratch despite the storm that just erupted.
"W–"
And before V could even say anything, Riley suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist.
W… what are you doing!?" V then almost pushed Riley away– but the electricity she just emptied out inside her was once again already growing at an incredible rate. It is as Empress said… her powers were almost endless.
"It's alright, Ms. V," Riley Ross then whispered into V's ear,
"We are just going on a tour…
…in England."
Chapter 203A few minutes earlier, Riley was currently staring at the lump of electricity in front of him; his finger, still raised from having sent Aerith's compressed body in the oblivion called space.
Interesting– he thought. The trickles of electricity that was coming out of V's body were enough to pass through the invisible barrier surrounding him; slowly trying to crawl through his entire body like snakes wanting to swallow him whole.
The web of electricity was also slowly trying to drown the streets. If left be, then it would probably cover the entire city within minutes– the only reason why it has still not done so was probably because of his barrier absorbing most of the energy.
"..." A small smile then also slowly crawled on Riley's face; if he put her in England, would he end up killing everyone there? He thought as he slowly reached his hand towards V, and seeing the electricity seemingly trying to prevent him from approaching him, he could not help but let out a small sigh.
If they just used him during the fight with Megawoman, then the Hope Guild would have probably helped in actually neutralizing him. Megawoman and V's raw power might have had a chance.
And the small pressure he was feeling in his arm just proves that; for the first time since Megawoman, Riley had to actively strengthen the barrier surrounding his body. Most of the time, the armor… is just there– almost like a second layer of his skin. Perhaps his biological mother was the same?
"..." Riley then once again thought of the woman he saw in the reflection earlier– was it really possible it was Ms. Phoenix? She did kill him because she was turning crazy… could it be he also inherited her mental illness?
…Was he also slowly turning crazy?
And as the thought surfaced in Riley's mind, the smile on his face grew wider. Turning crazy… was perhaps a fitting end for a monster like him.
He then grabbed V by the neck as he finally removed all the thoughts of his biological mother aside, for now, proceeding to then slam V to the ground without any hesitation. But of course, he just needed her slightly unconscious, so he still protected her head from being turned into squashed watermelon.
…But alas, she seemed to have fully held onto her consciousness. He could just flick something in her brain to make her unconscious… but doing so might cause V's power to also sleep.
…But why is she crying? Riley curiously tilted his head as tears suddenly fell on V's face. It would have been alright if it was just that… but why was a smile also forming on her face?
"..." Riley decided not to think much of it as he flicked his finger, causing V's entire body to shoot in the air– with a g-force strong enough to knock an elephant down. But alas, once again, as Riley followed her through the skies, V remained completely awake…
…the smile on her face was even more present.
…Was she also crazy? Or maybe… she also had a condition?-- Riley then thought as he let out a small sigh. This is bad; he hasn't really interacted with people in the same spectrum as him besides Gary.
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Soon, however, an ocean of lightning filled the entire sky, causing the air itself to tremble… but as if a tidal wave done with its destruction, the electricity surrounding V just faded.
"..." The smile on her face, however, remained– this time, the smile seems to be targeted… towards him?
Seeing this, Riley could only once again let out a sigh. If he knew that V was on the spectrum as well, then he would have probably at least hesitated with this plan of his. But alas, it was already too late.
Riley then slowly wrapped his arm around V, causing her to slightly stutter. Riley ignored her words, however, as he looked at her from head to toe.
"..." It would seem there was one major flaw in his plan– England was about 5,000 miles away from here. If he traveled at the speed of sound, a speed he had shown he was already capable of several times, then he would reach England in about 8 hours.
That was just too far and too long. He wouldn't be able to use the excuse that the fight was dragged over there because he was trying to stop V's uncontrollable rampage.
He could try using Megawoman's flight speed, but the problem is he had never tried using it– even if he did, it would look suspicious. Even without the helicopter watching their every move, how would he even explain flying to England in less than 3 minutes?
"Are you… are you alright?" V's somber and stuttering whispers then interrupted Riley's ears, "Are… are you not hurt?"
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times as he looked at V. He then looked at his body; he didn't notice it earlier… but he was already completely drowned with V's electricity.
"...Oh," Riley then let out a small whisper. Couldn't he use this as an excuse?
Lightning travels around 200,000 miles per hour or so if he remembers. That's a speed that would also allow him to reach England within minutes. And the cameras should have already captured how completely unstable V's abilities are… no one would suspect him if V's power 'suddenly and accidently' fires up and shoots them somewhere far away… and killing everyone within that land.
The blame will all be hers. And in the end, Riley would just be a helpless victim that was dragged by a violent calamity.
"Pft," a small chuckle then escaped Riley's mouth as his smile now reached from ear to ear. It was starting to get really fun, he thought. Although he misses the way he could just kill anyone as Darkday; there was also a certain satisfaction in having to think of ways on how to stealthily murder people– the Seven Planes incident was like this as well.
"I… I think I am alright now," V then once again whispered, "Can we… please go down now? I need to get to my private chamber… you seem to be able to handle my electricity… but… but I can't burden you with that…"
V started to once again stutter her words; her face, almost turning into cherry with how red it is now.
"Are you alright, Ms. V?" Riley then curiously asked as he saw her red face.
"I… I'm just starting to get dizzy," V then looked away, "It might be bad if I lose consciousness… So–"
"Oh," Riley did not let V finish her words as he looked at her straight in the eyes, "Then sleep."
"Wha–"
And once again, before she could say anything, her eyes suddenly turned white as her body completely fell onto Riley's arms. And as V speculated– her power once again going amok.
The electricity around Riley started to dance; the pressure they emitted, growing stronger by the second– almost as if they were trying to fold Riley into two.
"Interesting," Riley then whispered as the smile on his face returned. And soon, his eyes shone red; followed by a loud boom as he disappeared from his spot– crashing through a helicopter as he used Megawoman's speed to fly away.
"!!!"
Down below, Tempo's deep and sudden breath quickly whispered into his own ears– almost as if even his own breaths were not enough to follow him as the world surrounding him completely stopped moving. The only one that was able to follow his eyes, was the lightning that suddenly exploded in the sky.
"...Fuck," he whispered as he casually walked forward, casually moving away from the claw of a monster that was only an inch away from ripping off his face. But perhaps if he didn't move, the claw wouldn't still have hit him as everything around him truly did seem frozen.
He then took another step; the sound of his feet, almost like water dripping from a pipe. He then turned his head towards the Crimson Paladin, who was currently surrounded by 4 gigantic monsters.
"..." And without any hesitation, left him to follow the lightning moving across the skies. Hera would be in Los Angeles soon to provide backup– the Crimson Paladin should be fine if he holds on.
Chasing V and Riley Ross should be his priority right now.
"Fuck!" He once again whispered; his voice, causing the air to crack. It was stupid of him to leave the two alone– even if they could indeed stop the grey monster, he forgot the risk of V losing control.
Tempo then took another step, once again seemingly cracking the air as he used it to lift himself up.
V and Riley Ross were children– why did he even decide to leave them all on their own!? Stupid, fucking stupid.
Tempo's eyes then focused on V and Riley; and even from afar, he could see that Riley was still conscious. As expected of Ms. Phoenix's son, he thought. The child of a lion is still a lion, as they say. No, he shouldn't be thinking of that right now.
With the speed they are going, it would be a few seconds or so before he would be able to catch up to them… and even then, it might already be too late.
"...Fuck," he once again repeated. Even in this situation… Riley Ross was once again the only hope he… no, they all had.
Hope… He was the only hope that V doesn't land back on the ground with her powers still running wild. It would be hard, but if Riley could find an isolated place without any people, then he should be able to land her there. If not…
…then even the minimum loss of life would surely be in the millions.
Chapter 204Meters. Perhaps a dozen or so meters and Tempo would finally be able to touch a trickle of the trail of electricities that were shooting out of V's body; then maybe perhaps another dozen to actually reach her and Riley.
He was only ever so slightly slower than V and Riley now, who almost seemed like a meteor flying at the speed of light– or as the people on the ground see it, a raging bolt of lightning. Tempo could try to overtake them and increase his speed.
…But then he might just end up adding to the destruction that might happen. The last time he tried to move to a speed he was not comfortable in, the ground beneath him completely split open; the mountain he was staying on, completely ravaged and almost showing its core.
Of course, that too, was censored by Whiteking and Government– placing it in the category of just a natural calamity. Of course, there were no human lives lost… but still, the destruction destroyed the homes of millions of wildlife.
But then again, if he did not try to overtake V and Riley… the unconscious V might also end up wreaking havoc once they fall to the ground. And if he did manage to overtake them… what exactly was he going to do, catch them and die?
"..." Tempo then once again placed his eyes towards Riley. And seeing that he was still fully conscious and even looking at him despite being completely wrapped in V's green electricity while going almost at the speed of lightning… then he truly was his only hope in this situation.
But then again, how exactly would he tell Riley to try and keep V in the clouds, or at the very least, land where there were no people for at least a hundred or so miles? They could also definitely not land in the ocean– they would probably end up frying a huge chunk of the ocean; the marine life would be fucked.
Tempo was about to try and shout… but he was not stupid enough to think that Riley would actually be able to hear him with the speed they were going.
"..."
"..." But still, Riley was looking at him; his eyes, almost curious.
His current thought?
He was thinking that he was going to have an audience– he now had to work harder to make it look as if he was just a victim here; after all, he was only a student.
"..." Riley's mouth then slightly shivered as he tried his best not to let out a smile. All this pretending was somewhat getting him excited; almost like a child getting away with a naughty deed.
The meaning of his shivering lips, however, was completely different from Tempo's perspective.
"...Fuck," he whispered, "The boy isn't going to last any longer."
It's been a full minute now, if Tempo was right, then they were about to pass Ireland's aerial territory. He looked at the HUD installed on the screen of his helmet to confirm, and he was right– they just passed Ireland.
…They could probably land on the Isle of Man. There are lots of empty fields there; if there would be lives lost, then it would at least be minimized.
But then he was back to his main problem– how was he going to tell Riley Ross?
"..."
"..."
Tempo blinked a couple of times, before looking back towards Riley and starting doing gestures with his hand. And surprisingly… Riley also gestured back.
"!!!"
"Fuck, yes!" Tempo fought the urge to strangle the air in excitement. Riley Ross knows sign language. Finally… Finally.
And so, also fighting his excitement, Tempo once again started doing signs with his hands– telling Riley to try his best to keep the unconscious V in the air, or at least land on the next big island, which would be the Isle of Man.
And seeing Riley nodding several times, Tempo could finally let out a short but very deep sigh. As of this moment, everything truly did rest in Riley Ross's hands. Riley Ross, in quite a literal sense, was today's lifesaver.
Even back in Los Angeles, if it wasn't for his presence, then the loss of life would have already been at tens of thousands. And now, here– he was about to prevent millions.
Tempo had no idea why V's power was acting up the way it was; shooting in a straight line like some kind of railgun– but it shouldn't matter now since Riley is here. They should really invite Riley to the Hope Guild once all of this is over.
Tempo then let out another sigh of relief… but it was cut short as they just passed the aerial territory of the Isle of Man.
"..."
"..."
Maybe Riley just planned to keep V in the sky– that was the best-case scenario with no loss of life besides some few birds, after all. Good, that's good. The only thing left for him to do was to signal the Hope Guild HQ to find a way to intercept V and Riley so that they could place V in her chambers.
And so he did; typing something on the keyboard installed on his sleeves. He then once again gestured to Riley that he shouldn't be surprised if a floating base station blocks their path.
And seeing Riley once again nodding, Tempo raised both his thumbs up.
"Good, that's goo– Why are you guys going down!?"
Tempo then blinked a couple of times as the clump of electricity that was previously moving like it was following a rail was now slowly but surely moving downwards. He blinked again to make sure he wasn't mistaken… but no matter how many times he opened and closed his eyes– V and Riley were surely going down.
Moving straight towards the most populated city in England– London.
"...Oh," Tempo's momentum then instantly slowed down; the echoes that sounded like stepping stones, also stopped as Tempo also slowly descended towards the ground,
"...Oh fuck."
And within just a second of V and Riley landing right in the middle of London… half of it was already covered in a bursting green light.
"Fuck me," Tempo then whispered as he once again typed something on his arm; alerting the rest of the Hope Guild…
…that Country-wide calamity was– is happening.
His priority– save as many as he could.
***
"No…"
Julius, whose eyes were reflecting the feed from one of the thousands of satellites they had acquired through Whiteking, almost dropped to the ground. Even from the view in space, one could clearly see the blinding green light rippling in the cities of England. It seemed slow from afar… but the situation on the ground was anything but.
"No…" Julius once again repeated as his hand let go of his cane, causing his knees to finally touch the floor.
'I will kill each and every last one of your people.'
"..."
Julius then let out a small but very deep gasp as he suddenly remembered Riley's words. Just because he used Hannah… he was going to– No. He should have expected something like this from Darkday.
"Fuck!" Julius then slammed his fist on the floor, causing the whole building he was in to tremble; the floor beneath him to shatter.
[Uploading all footage of Darkday and Riley Ross.]
"Hm?"
[...Upload Complete.]
And as the monotonous voice that whispered into his ears disappeared; his heavy breaths soon followed and filled the entire room he was in.
"It's… over," he then whispered, "It's over, Darkday."
A small chuckle then slowly build and escaped from Julius's mouth; his trembling legs, slowly lifting him up as he smiled at the flashing screens in front of him.
"It's done… the people will know who you are after this," Julius then pulled his hair back as he wiped his slightly moist eyes, "And with what you're doing with England… there's no way you can escape the world's eyes anymore. It's…
…It's over."
Julius then limped towards the corner of the room, picking up a picture frame that fell on the floor when he slammed his fist.
"It's over," he then repeated; his eyes, trembling as he looked at the several people in the frame he was holding. And soon, his tears dropped and slid on the broken glass; sipping into the frame and slightly soaking the photo.
"It's time… it's time for me to join you," Julius then embraced the frame tightly to his chest,
"...But not before I at least try to snuff out his life with my very own hands," and as soon as he said that, a trail of smoke quickly fumed from his eyes as they glowed in a violent red.
"Not only for me, not only for you, not only for Megawoman," Julius whispered, "But for the world…
…I will die fighting for this world."
And with those words, the floor beneath Julius completely shattered; a thundering explosion, reverberating in the air as a skirt of wind formed around him as he pierced the ceilings of the room that confined him.
And with the sheer force of his ascent, the house he was in completely burrowed– burying his dead brother along with it.
"..." Julius then glanced down, only for his eyes to see the grounds of the Academy beneath him– he was still inside the Academy's designated Family Villa.
His eyes then started towards a certain house… the house where Diana Ross currently resides. But after looking at it for a moment, he continued to fly up– destroying a part of the dome that separated the Academy from the rest of the world.
"Darkday…
…Let's end this."
***
Meanwhile, in a certain street in London, Riley Ross was currently lying on the ground– his chest, almost exploding from how loud he was laughing. The echoes of his laughter, mixing with the sparking, horrifying, and short screams of the people.
As for V, she was currently resting on Riley's arm, still unconscious…
…Not knowing she was about to slaughter millions of people.
Chapter 205"Ahahahaha!"
A laughter– perhaps the only other sound that reverberated in the air as the land within miles was covered in a raging green lightning. The already ashen ground, almost akin to a boiling ocean as the electricity that flows out from V's body continued to violently excite everything in its path.
A single spark from it, capable of causing the machinery of the highly modern city to explode; amplifying the already destructive wave of energy that was causing a ripple that could even be seen from space.
But of course, with V's powers dispersing in all directions, her otherwise calamitous powers started to slightly be dampened. This was joyous news for those who were far away from the green ripple, but for those who were just within its fading perimeter… it was hell.
A crawling giant is still a giant, as they say. With V's powers being dampened through the ends of the ripple, the death of the creatures that stood in its path did not come quickly. It might be insensitive to say from a perspective that was not affected by the tragedy, but those that were near ground zero could be considered the lucky ones– dying instantly; leaving nothing behind but countable ashes.
Those that were far but not far enough, however, could feel their skin slowly being eaten by the raging crackles. Like billions of small hands trying to yank their flesh away ever so slowly, their insides being fried… and the only thing they could do was drop to the ground and tremble in pain until the last of their breaths escape their mouth.
They said the pain was momentary– but with shock, the pain lasts until you die. Of course, no one could really tell what they were really feeling… no one but one, perhaps. And that one was still currently lying on the ground, relishing the fading screams from far far away that still whispered through his ears.
Riley Ross continued to relish on all the destruction that was happening. And perhaps the best and worst part of it all was that he did not need to do anything.
Was this what it feels like to have a weapon? A gun? Riley never really needed those kinds of tools in his life– perhaps the closest thing was Diana's cutleries. He never could really understand why people rely on them… but now he did– convenience.
Why do it yourself when someone or something else can do it for you? Riley thought. Truly… he should share this wisdom to Hannah once– wait, isn't she already doing that?
Truly, his big sister was wise.
"..." Riley then turned his focus towards V, who was still unconscious despite everything. He initially thought that V's raw power would be enough to cover the entirety of England… but the smell of blood seemed to have already stopped within just the outside perimeters of London.
…Or perhaps it could also be because of Tempo trying to rescue as many lives as possible; if there was anyone capable of that, it would be him… the strongest of the Hope Guild.
Well, it doesn't matter, Riley then thought as he placed slightly pushed V to the side as he got up; causing her to softly roll on the already ashen and sandy ground. Doing so, however, seemed to have caused the violent trickles of electricity spurting out from her body to fluctuate.
"..." And soon, the green electricity that surrounded London started to flicker.
"...Hm?" Riley then once again turned to look at V. Did… he break her already? Riley thought as he lightly tapped V with his foot. And as he did so, the green flashes of light that reflected endlessly through his eyes instantly disappeared.
"..." Riley then focused his eyes on her small chest, and seeing as it was still moving, it would seem she was still alive.
And now, finally, the green electricity that suddenly covered London disappeared; leaving nothing but… nothing in its wake. The ground that Riley stood on was almost sand, the previous towering buildings now left ashes to aimlessly float in the air.
Looking from above, there was almost a fading circle– the farther the land was from the center, the more infrastructures survived. It was… almost clean. Like if one would delete London from a digital map with a soft eraser– that is perhaps the best way to describe London now.
And within this horrifying destruction, was Riley's disappointment. He truly was expecting more– V's powers were stronger when she was still conscious.
"..." Did he need to wake her up and–
And before he could finish his thoughts, a soft thud whispered through his ears. He turned around to see what it was, only to see Tempo now suddenly kneeling in front of V.
"This… this is not good."
Tempo's stutters were almost enough to cause the sand beneath his knees to tremble; his hands, having a hard time deciding whether to comfort the unconscious V or leave her alone.
"Millions… millions of people," Tempo continued to whisper for a few seconds, before finally turning his shaking head towards Riley, "I… I thought you would remain in the sky… I told you… I told you not to… millions of people. Tang ina… ang… ang dami… sobrang dami."
Tempo's trembling whispers continued to stutter in the ashen air. Deaths happening so instantly made one almost detach to it; especially in this case with absolutely nothing to physically reflect the deaths except the empty desert they stood on.
Perhaps the only one that could truly feel it was someone who had already experienced what it would feel like to walk on a million corpses– and that is exactly who Tempo is.
The Battle of Toronto wasn't even a year ago. And yet now, around him… a calamity equal to it has happened. As for the other one present during that said battle, he was currently trying his best not to let out a smile.
"But you told me to bring her down, Mr. Tempo," Riley then said as he approached Tempo.
"...What?" Tempo then blinked a couple of times before looking at Riley, only to see him moving his hand almost to an arc above his head, dropping downward almost towards his waist.
"Yes…" Tempo then said, "That's… that means sky. I told you to keep her in the sky."
"..." Riley also blinked a couple of times, before letting out a short but very deep breath as he closed his eyes,
"My mistake, Mr. Tempo," Riley then muttered, "I thought it meant that I should bring her down to the ground gently."
"No…"
Tempo's knees, which were already touching the ground beneath them, burrowed even deeper into the sand. His mind, completely empty as everything around him seemed to have shut down– even his breaths were completely halted.
He truly wanted to say something, but doing so might just cause his sanity to dive down even deeper than his knees. If Riley mistook his orders– then who was really at fault here?
No, there wasn't even a need to ask that. It was already a miracle that Riley was able to survive, even more so control V as the electricity around her tried to ravage him. But to also expect him to understand everything he said in sign?
Tempo knew… Tempo knew the mistake was all his. All this death was on him.
"...Huh?"
Tempo's stupor was momentary, however, as a sharp blur suddenly passed by him– mowing Riley along its path. Tempo instinctively already had his hand stretched to pull Riley away, but it was too late.
The only thing that Tempo could do was watch Riley being violently dragged across the remains of London.
"Riley Ross!?"
And soon, Tempo could only see the trails of sand and dust blanketing everything; the rumbles and trembling of the desert city, however, was still very much alive around him. Whatever was happening out there… Riley Ross was surely in trouble.
…Was it perhaps the grey monster earlier? Was it still alive?
Tempo was about to rush to help Riley, but before he could do so, a sedated voice suddenly whispered into his ears.
"W… what happened?"
"V!?"
Tempo quickly turned around, only to see V's trembling arms trying their best to lift her up.
"What… where… where are we?"
"Tha–"
And before Tempo could answer, another rumble exploded behind him. Both him and V turned their eyes towards the noise, only to see a blonde man lying on the ashen ground; his eyes flickering in a red light– Julius Reuben.
The young man then slowly stood up, brushing up his hair before looking at the two of them.
"...Hope Guild," Julius whispered, "Take the child to safety, Tempo. Leave me here to take care of this evil."
"What? Who are you?"
Julius completely ignored Tempo's words that were filled with confusion, and instead looked at V for a few seconds, before closing his eyes and letting out a small sigh.
"I am truly sorry for having involved you in this, child," he then muttered, "This… was not supposed to happen."
"In…volve? What? What is happening?" V caressed her aching head; her eyes, slowly starting to trail across the destruction she herself caused, "Wha–"
But before she could actually see anything, she suddenly disappeared along with Tempo; leaving only a formation of dust that held their shape, but that too slowly dropped to the ground.
Tempo had no idea what was happening right now or who the young man that suddenly appeared was; what he was sure of, however, was he needed to get V out of London… out of anyone and everyone's sights, really.
After today, London and its people were no more– and V was the one to do that.
"Whiteking…" Tempo whispered as he ignored V's surprised gasps, "...Where the fuck are you right now when we need you the most?"
"..."
"..."
Julius's eyes trailed as they watched Tempo disappear into the skies. And ever so slowly, he turned towards the calm and almost rhythmic steps that were slowly approaching him; the owner of the steps, almost completely untouched by all the destruction that surrounded him.
It wasn't only him that was untouched; even the sand lying beneath his feet was calm, not even moving as he landed on them.
"Darkday…" Julius muttered, his lips almost trembling as he looked at the white-haired man approaching him, "No…
…Riley Ross."
"Julius Reuben," Riley replied with a small smile on his face.
"Philip Reuben."
"Hm?"
"My son…" Julius whispered; his eyes, not leaving Riley even one bit, "Leia, his wife. Cory and Jonas, their children. My niece, Lauren. Her children, Holly, Elli, and Mylo. My brother, Archibald…
…and I, Alistair Reuben. You killed us all almost a year ago– Now their ghost is here to make you pay and make your life a living hell."
"You...
...have grandchildren?"
Chapter 206Alistair Reuben.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Alistair Reuben was and is the Father of the Internet… because he in fact is. He was listed as the Father of Technology and the Internet in most educational and history books.
He was a technological savant– a human way ahead of his time. He was able to intercept the plans of some painter-turned-dictator from Austria with the earliest iteration of what would be known as the Internet.
He then found a way to contact Megawoman and gave her this information, which allowed her to cleanly and legally interfere with the dictator's heinous plans and crimes against humanity. He, along with Megawoman, practically ended a stupid war before it began.
Alistair Reuben then, later on, founded Reuben Tech along with his brother. A company that became large enough to be known as a global giant– the biggest one. Perhaps the greatest testament to how wealthy they became was when they bought several other giant corporations.
And as the previous generation used to say– "Reuben almost owned the world." Almost quite in a literal sense as they had monopolized almost everything, either in the shadows or freely in the limelight.
But perhaps what made them even more known throughout even the corners of the world was their acts of philanthropy. They gave free access to technology to 3rd world countries, even providing them a mobile service almost for free.
Of course, the governments did not like this much– but what could they do, really?
Reuben Tech owned most of the satellites hovering in space– that includes the government satellites, which Reuben Tech built themselves.
Alistair Reuben could have owned the world if he wanted to, but instead, he chose to give back to the world– donating or investing 95% of his wealth to the betterment of the less fortunate.
That was the kind of legacy he left behind. But of course, with time– the world forgets. Most of the new generation does not know who he is, only his company and the technology they produced… but that was perfectly alright.
Alistair Reuben was content. He had no complaints even at the end of his life. He knows in himself that he did good to himself and to the world, and that was everything.
Even if his son was not that interested in inheriting his legacy, he was still a good man that Alistair could be proud of. Alistair's grandchildren, however, seemed to have gotten most of his talents and genes.
They were the future of the future, as he himself described them. Suffice to say, seeing his grandchildren grow up to take up his mantle before he dies was perhaps the greatest gift he could receive before he passes away.
He had no regrets. He had lived a full life.
The only reason he was still alive was because of all the medicine and technology injected into his body.
Alistair Reuben was ready to take his last breaths; laying on his deathbed and waiting for death to ferry him away. The machines were the only things that were keeping him alive; even the best hospitals in Canada were not capable of extending his life.
He was just peacefully waiting… waiting for his family to visit him so that he could finally say his goodbyes…
…but they never came.
Instead of his family, instead of death; what visited Alistair was the sound of the hospital panicking. The footsteps were already hurried, as is expected with hospitals– but then it was partnered with screams.
Even his personal nurse was asked to provide support as they would be needing all the help they could get… because Darkday just destroyed Toronto.
Alistair was weak, frail, and dying in a large hospital room. But right at that moment when he heard the reason for everyone's panic, his breaths suddenly became strong– using all of his strength to try and reach for the remote of the large television in front of him.
And there it was, an aerial view of Toronto… completely obliterated. Alistair's already dying heart instantly became broken; thinking of all the innocent people that have died just like that. He was an old man ready to die– the people of Toronto were not.
But then during his heartbreak, his breaths suddenly snapped as a recent memory surfaced in his mind– the last call he received from his son was when he told him they were in Toronto. His trembling hands quickly dropped the remote he was holding, before rotating his body with all of his might to try and reach for the phone on the desk beside his bed.
But alas, he was too weak– his other arm gave out, causing him to fall down to the floor, hitting his head on the desk as he did so; the feces in his diapers, also scattering everywhere.
Someone of his age and condition would have died there… but something kept Alistair going as he grabbed the phone that fell alongside him, quickly dialing his son's number…
…only to receive silence. A silence that he will forever hear.
His son and his family, his brother's family, alongside other millions… killed by Darkday almost in just a blink of an eye.
Of course, Alistair's despair was short-lived. He was going to die anyway, he thought. He was going to be with his family in the afterlife…
…But alas, as if fate was seemingly mocking him– he lived that day. He did not give in to his despair, however, as Megawoman would avenge the fallen families that were snuffed out like they were nothing.
…But alas, as if fate was seemingly mocking him– Megawoman was defeated. It wasn't only hope that died that day, but the world.
Megawoman was the balance that kept the world in check from all the evil; without her, then Darkday would probably kill each and every last one of them.
And so, once again, even in tragedy, Alistair felt relief. With no one to keep Darkday at bay, darkness will soon befall the world and he would meet his family again.
…But alas, as if fate was seemingly mocking him– Darkday announced his retirement.
And so, Alistair just got tired of hoping. His eyes, focusing on Megawoman's crumpled body during the announcement; and with that, the plan that only someone like him could make possible came to his mind.
--The plan to take revenge against a calamity.
Alistair Reuben and Reuben Tech prided themselves for never intruding in the privacy of their billions of users. But for once, Alistair broke that rule.
Reuben Tech had access to almost every piece of information in the world. Data, conversations, footage, the routine of their users… even down to their heartbeat– Reuben Tech has all of these data.
And for once, Alistair used it to spy on the world. He quickly discovered the Government's secret– cloning Megawoman using the ability of a certain old Super. Suffice to say, Alistair used that to blackmail the old female Super; and then paid her to create another batch of clones–Aerith and the others.
That was just the beginning of Alistair's plans, however. Alistair brought the most talented scientists of his company to try and reverse engineer Megawoman's DNA through the clones– or at least how and what made her powers work.
And in the process, they created a serum that would allow someone to inject themselves with Megawoman's powers. And suffice to say, Alistair tried it to himself even though it had not been tested yet.
The serum was a success as the scientists watched as Alistair became youthful almost by the hour– his strength, multiplying by the second.
This was a scientific breakthrough. They could earn billions of dollars with this. But alas, Alistair killed all the scientists involved in the project; burning along with them all the data on how to create the serum and leaving only one who knows how to make it– Alistair himself.
That was the very first time Alistair ever harmed a human being, and it wouldn't be the last.
The serum can not fall into the wrong hands, Alistair thought. His hands were already dirty enough, he could not imagine if it fell onto someone worse.
Alistair then proceeded with his plan.
And finding out Darkday's true identity? It was hard. But at the same time, it was easy.
Alistair could not find any traces of Darkday. When he arrives, when he lives, where he goes– nothing. Absolutely nothing. Almost as if he didn't exist.
And in this world, there was only one single entity that was capable of erasing something or someone from ever existing. A single human that rivaled his entire life's work and corporation– Whiteking.
Whiteking made sure that there were no traces of Darkday anywhere. At first, Alistair thought that Whiteking himself was Darkday, but very soon discovered that it was his adopted son.
It all made sense based on the data they had. One look in Riley Ross's biological lineage, and one could easily make out where his monstrous abilities came from– Ms. Phoenix, as well as his grandmother. The clue was always there.
And so, Alistair– no…
…Julius Reuben was born, a being that was only alive because of revenge.
But of course, even with all of his meticulous plans and schemes, Julius was not stupid enough to believe that he would actually be a match to the entity that defeated Megawoman. And so, the only way to truly defeat Riley Ross…
…was to let the whole world know who he is.
And right now, as he watched as Riley Ross slowly made his way towards him, Julius enacts his last part in the plan.
"This… is revenge for all the people you killed, monster."
"..."
"..."
"...I only asked about you having grandchildren, Alistair. You did not need to tell me about your life."
Chapter 207"I only asked about you having grandchildren, Ju– Mr. Alistair. You didn't need to tell me about your life."
"So smug, little child. But for how long?"
Julius's eyes slowly started to glow in red as Riley's steps grew nearer and nearer to him. But seeing as he still had no intention of doing anything, Julius's eyes started to calm down as a small smile crawled onto his face.
"With your strength, you are so used to getting everything that you want," he then said.
"That is debatable, Mr. Alistair," Riley quickly replied, "I used to want to be human, but I know I will never get to be one."
"..." Julius looked Riley straight in the eyes for a few seconds, before letting out a small scoff, "I guess it doesn't matter now, child. Because from now on, you will never get what you want– not from your friends, not from your family, not even from your sister."
"Hm?"
"People are watching you right now, Riley Ross."
"..." And as he heard Julius's words, Riley quickly looked up above the skies, trying to see if there were any helicopters currently recording them right now– but seeing as there weren't even birds to see, Riley returned his gaze back to the ground with a confused look in his eyes.
"I am not talking about now, child," Julius let out a small chuckle, "Your moments as Darkday, all your past antics– the very first time you left the house as Darkday; wearing daddy's little helmet. People are watching Riley Ross turn into Darkday… and Darkday into Riley Ross. They are watching all the crimes you've committed, and where you went after."
"..."
"That is right… billions of people are probably watching all of it right now. Billions of people know who you are as of this very moment," Julius smiled, "And we even have a recording of your father admitting that you're Darkday… and that he has been helping hide your identity from everyone."
"...I suppose it makes sense for my father to know who I am," Riley then placed his hand on his chin, "I already had my speculation when I didn't get caught in my earliest adventures."
"Typical Riley Ross. Seemingly unfazed about everything," Julius once again chuckled, "One of us will probably die today. And it would most probably be me, but I already expect that. Just using a power that's not mine in the first place is already taking a toll on this old, frail body of mine. But it doesn't matter… The world knows who you are now, Riley Ross. I will die today…
…but so will the life led by Riley Ross. You are done."
"...So my sister knows I am Darkday now," Riley Ross blinked a couple of times as his hand remained on his chin.
"The whole world knows!"
"...I suppose the both of us have hurt my sister now."
"Y–"
"And I suppose I just have to kill everyone now."
"..."
And as soon as Julius heard Riley's ominous words, the only response he did was to close his eyes; letting out a small but very deep sigh as he did so.
"You really are just a child. A child with no idea what he is doing," Julius then whispered, "My brother was right in the end– Society killed our family… because society created someone like you."
"I think you would find I know about a lot of things, Mr. Alistair."
"I wonder what it would have been like if Whiteking was not the one to adopt you?" Julius ignored Riley's words as his sighs of discontentment continued, "That boy had something wrong within him from the start– I saw his potential when he joined one of my companies. He was too big to be contained, however."
"..."
"He had an infinite possibility to improve the world with his brain– yet he chose to play dress up and make weapons. And when he discovered that his son was capable of snuffing out human lives as if they were nothing; instead of trying to punish you, he even helped in hiding you from the world. If a madman like that was not the one to adopt you…
…would you have used your power for good?"
"...I do not believe so, Mr. Alistair," Riley then looked at both his hands, letting out a small sigh as he started checking them, "What I am now is what I am always meant to be. A–"
"A monster that should not have been born in this world?"
"..." Riley could not help but look at Julius as he disrupted his words.
"A monster that should not have been born in this world," Julius repeated, "That is exactly the same words your mother said while her hands were wrapped on your neck."
"..."
"You know nothing, don't you, Riley Ross?"
"I already know Ms. Phoenix is my biological mother, Mr. Alistair. I also know that she killed me."
"And?"
"..." Riley could only blink from Julius's expectant tone.
"Hm. Then you really do know nothing."
And with those words, Julius's eyes once again shone in a fiery red. A skirt of wind then suddenly surrounded his silhouette vertically; before his entire body disappeared, leaving only the dust that still formed his shape.
"You know nothing, child!" Julius then suddenly appeared in front of Riley, instantly grabbing his face and causing a colossal crate on the ground as he violently slammed him to the ashen ground.
A storm of sand started to ravage the air, leaving nothing to be seen but the remains of London floating in the air. Julius did not wait for this ashen fog to clear, however, as he stomped his foot several times on Riley's head, before finally letting out the harshest beam he could from his already flaming eyes.
A beam strong enough to scorch the outlines of his eyes. This beam, however, almost avoided Riley entirely– like a dominant stone in a river, splitting and parting anything that dared come it's way.
But still, Julius did not stop this raging laser… and it eventually paid off.
Riley Ross could not help but squint his eyes as he felt a slight warm suddenly trail on his face as a very minute part of the beam was able to pass through his invisible armor– causing a small scratch to decorate his face. This scratch, of course, healed quickly.
That was all that Julius needed, however, for him to put everything in his heat vision. Concentrating all the strength he had in releasing the strongest beam he could– a beam strong enough to take off his own face almost instantly.
The beam was bright enough to drown the now desert city in red; even creating magma beneath as it melted anything within its path– opening a tiny, but unfathomable deep hole on the map.
But even with the boiling crevice beneath them, Julius and Riley remained floating in the air; with Julius not even screaming as the beam gushing out from his eyes was shaving parts of his head, and Riley almost letting out a rain of blood from his face as multiple deep gashes appear on it.
"..."
But alas, the barrage of cuts did not last long as the raging laser faded soon after; Julius's body, slowly dropped on top of Riley; his arms, swinging lifelessly in the air. Half of his head, completely gone without even a drop of blood dripping from it.
"..."
Riley could only blink a couple of times as his face started to itch from his cuts healing. The last time he had ever shed blood was when he fought Megawoman; and it was truly uncomfortable, in a way.
Riley then let out a small smile as he slowly floated to the side. He was about to push away Julius's body but then felt a strong pressure hugging him as Julius's arms suddenly wrapped his arms around him.
"I am burying you with me, child. I wonder if you would also survive the Earth's core?"
"...I've wondered about that too, Mr. Alistair."
And with that brief exchange of words, another skirt of wind surrounded the two; the dust of cloud drowning the air, instantly dispersing as Julius dragged Riley straight down towards the deep hole he created.
"I really apologize that you had to grow up like this, Riley Ross!" Julius then let out a scream; strong enough to drown the sound of the ground around them being drilled away, "A mother that wanted you dead, and a grandmother that wants to do nothing with you because she killed her own daughter to save you… and then you ended up getting adopted by a lunatic who trained his daughter almost to death when she was only 5 years old!"
"..."
"I can't blame Bernard on that, of course. Your sister did kill 20 infants when she was just days old!"
"..."
"I told you I know everything about you, Riley Ross!" Julius continued to scream in Riley's ears, "Both you and your sisters are just products of an insane man!"
"I know that already, Mr. Alistair," Riley whispered, "But what I do not know is the identity of my biological grandmother. May I ask who she is?" Riley then said very calmly as the back of his head shaved off and drilled through the compressed rocks and earth.
"Of course, you've seen her already many times!" Julius let out a small cough as blood started to spurt out from his mouth, "I sometimes even wonder how she was able to resist the urge of just watching you and doing nothing."
"..."
"Ms. Phoenix, born as Alice Lane," Julius muttered, "Her mother was already a prominent member of the Hope Guild– who then later became the leader of the team."
"...Oh." Riley's eyes slightly turned wide.
"Charmaine Elliot Lane, the Shadow Mimic…
…you know her as Charlotte."
Chapter 208"Madam Charlotte… is my biological grandmother?"
Riley's whispers were completely drowned by all the rocks and earth that bombarded the back of his head. He tried to look down, but what welcomed him was nothing but dirt and darkness as Julius continued to drag him towards the deepest parts of the Earth. And with the speed they were going, they should reach it anytime soon.
"..." Even with this situation, however, Riley just casually turned his head back towards Julius; blinking a couple of times before once again letting out a whisper.
"Then do you know who my biological father is, Mr. Alistair?" He then asked. Julius seemed to be answering all of his questions– and Riley Ross welcomed it.
"That's the part I do not get!" Julius screamed to try and overwhelm the sound of Riley's head drilling through the ground, "Even through all the logs we have of Alice and Charlotte, there is not a single record of your father; not even a photo… not even a mention. Even with the calls between them, there was not a single mention of your father, not even once."
"..."
"Almost as if Ms. Phoenix just became pregnant with you. There should have been at least records of her going to the hospital, checking in with the doctors, but there's nothing. This should be impossible… even the homeless that gave birth in streets have records."
"Not impossible, Mr. Alistair. Jesus is–"
"The Pope seems to have a small influence on you in your brief meeting," Julius mentioned, "But even the holiest man could not change who you are. This is goodbye, Riley Ross!"
And with Julius's screams once again bombarding Riley's ears, the pitch darkness that blanketed their eyes was unfurled, causing Riley to slightly squint as his eyes were drowned by an almost white ocean.
Of course, Riley quickly grabbed the sunglasses he had in his pocket. As for Julius, the light did not really bother him since he was already used to the brightness because of the raging light that already inhabited his eyes several times.
"Let's die together, Riley Ross!"
Julius then let out a scream as a fiery steam wrapped both of their bodies; the sunglasses that Riley was holding, instantly compressing in his hand from the growing pressure that threatened to crush everything in its vicinity.
A thundering explosion then erupted as Julius and Riley continued to fly straight towards the Earth's core. It was a weird scenery, Riley thought. There was a certain darkness within the vast and empty confines surrounding the core, but when you turn your head towards the center, a raging light would instantly try to blind you.
Of course, perhaps being blinded was the least of one's worries… as the pressure that was currently surrounding both Julius and Riley was enough to rip even steel as if it was thin parchment.
"Die!" Julius then once again screamed– his lips, disintegrating and regenerating at the same time, "Let's end everything here, Riley Ross!"
"I don't think so, Mr. Alistair."
"!!!"
Julius then felt his face once again being ripped off as their descent towards the core instantly halted. And before Julius could lift his already healing face, Riley grabbed his head and gently pushed it away. This seemingly gentle push, however, plunged Julius straight back towards the crust.
"..." Riley then squinted his eyes before turning his eyes straight towards the Earth's core. It wasn't as bright as he thought it would be… or perhaps he was just used to his sister's flames– forever shining brightly in his eyes.
Riley continued to look around, only to see a vast amount of nothing surrounding the core. Why… did it seem different from the books he has read? Should there not be huge amounts of molten rocks that they should be swimming in right now like in the pictures and videos?
…Perhaps his sister really was right– you can not trust the educational system.
"..." Riley then looked at the clump of black in his hand; letting out a small sigh before making a very minute movement with his hand. And as he did so, the clump unfolded; soon returning to its glorious original shape, Riley's sunglasses.
Instead of wearing it, however, Riley returned it in his pocket. It was a gift from Hannah, and seeing as he couldn't really spare that much attention elsewhere, there was a chance that it would get damaged again just from the sheer pressure that surrounded him like an ocean.
"..."
Riley then quickly turned his head to the side, only for Julius's fist to already be waiting for him there. The bones of his knuckles were already exposed and burning; the heat coming from the core, almost the same as his heat vision; but instead of just being concentrated in one single beam, the heat was threatening to burn them in all directions… even the simple act of breathing caused Julius's mind to slightly faint.
But even with this pain, Julius did not falter. His fists, still raging to obliterate the villain within its path– and it seemed to have paid off.
One of his punches hit Riley Ross on the face, causing him to catapult straight towards the direction of the core. But as is expected, he stopped just kilometers away from it; the tip of his white coat, completely burnt or ripped, unknown in what order. There was a straight line separating it from the unscathed fabric, however– showing that Riley's invisible barrier has become slightly smaller.
"For my son!"
And without even having the chance to catch his breath, Julius once again appeared in front of him; his fist, almost only bones as Riley avoided it by floating to the side. Julius was relentless, however, as his fists and leg continue to find their way towards Riley– every strike, causing a huge explosion due to the pressure surrounding the two of them right now.
"Why…" Julius then whispered; his attacks, however, were still as loud as they could be, "...Why was this power bestowed to someone like you? You could have done so much good in this world… why did you have to be a monster?"
"..." Riley could only blink a couple of times as tears seemingly wanted to flow from Julius's eyes– these drops, however, vaporize before they could materialize,
"I truly am sorry for the deaths of your family members, Mr. Alistair," Riley then let out a small sigh, "I myself do not know what I would feel if Hannah suddenly dies."
"If you truly love your sister… then you should just die here."
"I am not capable of feeling love, Mr. Alistair. Even if I do, I can no longer die."
"Then just set her free… she is the only one innocent in your family. Please, Riley Ross… have mercy on the girl."
The calm tone that escaped from Julius's mouth was a complete contrast to the thundering strikes that he was letting loose on Riley; each of his movements, causing the world above to feel a slight tremble.
Bit by bit, however, the intervals between each strike started to lengthen; the previous deafening thunders, also becoming tamer by the second.
And soon, Julius's arms… just dropped.
"..." Riley then watched as Julius was slowly pulled towards the Earth's core; but then flew back up towards the crust almost like a yoyo. Riley was curious if this was Julius's last attempt to fight back… but he was already completely unconscious.
Julius was just… being played by the gravity of everything.
"..."
Julius's eyes then started to tremble as they tried to once again open. But soon, they too stopped completely. His skin then began to slowly fold; his flesh, shattering and scattering as bits and pieces of it floated everywhere.
This flesh then soon turned into dust… and this dust then became nothing.
Alistair Reuben, just like that, withered away– his last words not even about revenge.
And like the city of London, he was completely gone.
And in the end…
…Riley Ross failed his promise.
In the end, he didn't destroy England.
In the end, Julius did not drown in his countrymen's blood.
"..."
Riley Ross then let out a small sigh as he looked at where the last of Julius Reuben faded,
"I am sorry, sister," he then whispered, "It would seem this time, I will end up hurting you."
Riley let out another sigh before his body started to hastily float back towards the crust. Although it was not obvious from his face, he was actually exerting more force than he had ever used in his life right at this very moment– to keep himself from being pulled and pushed away just like Julius in his last moments… as well as keep the style of his hair intact.
"You are a monster that should not have been brought to this world."
"!!!"
Riley Ross then quickly turned around as he once again heard the voice that whispered into his ears earlier. And this time… he saw a woman floating behind him.
The woman's bright orange hair that was seamlessly floating around her almost seemed enough to wrap the entire core. Her face… overly familiar.
Although he had only seen Ms. Phoenix from photos, and only seen her with a mask on– it was quite obvious that the one floating in front of him right now was her.
"...Mother?" Riley Ross then tilted his head as he stared at the woman's face. However, almost like an illusion… the silhouette of the woman soon became unrecognizable, almost merging with the core like she did not exist at all.
Riley blinked his eyes numerous times; but no matter how many times he did so, the woman never returned.
"..." Was he truly becoming crazy? Riley thought as he quickly shook his head. And before confirming one last time there was no woman within his vicinity, a skirt of wind then managed to surround Riley's body as he shot straight through the earth's crust.
And unlike earlier when he was being dragged by Julius, the ground above him parted, seemingly making way for him before once again closing. And within just minutes, he was back in the ashen lands of London.
But as soon as his feet touched the sands, his eyes quickly scanned his surroundings as some sort of golden chain quickly wrapped around his entire body– leaving only his eyes exposed. And still, his eyes continued to move towards the almost hundred people now surrounding him.
"..." His eyes then slowly followed the trail of the golden chains wrapping him, only to see Bulwark looking at him with a slightly complicated look on his face.
"Riley Ross! Do not try to resist!"
"..." Riley's eyes then strayed towards the thundering voice that entered his ears, only to see a man in some sort of military uniform looking at him.
"You are currently in suspicion of being the mass murderer and super terrorist known as Darkday! You have the right to remain silent, anything you say…"
"..." Riley Ross's eyes then once again trailed towards the hundreds of people; and soon, a small sigh escaped from his sealed mouth.
Good, he thought…
…Hannah was not here to see him like this.
***AUTHOR NOTES***
I have a new book called, "Manaless Magician", that I joined in a contest-- might be worth checking out and voting for while waiting for this book. No, actually... please vote for it if you like it so we can win lol.
Chapter 209"No cameras!"
"Please step aside! We're not going to ask twice!"
"Move or we will be forced to kick you out!"
Riley's eyes were once again blanketed by a bright light; this time, however, it came in flashes of white. Unlike the core of the Earth which was a consistent and almost organic luminance, the almost endless clicks that were snapping in the air right now showered Riley in a storm– almost erasing him due to the light merging with his white hair and skin.
Snap, snap, snap– the shutters of the cameras that were pointed at him did not stop. Even with the consistent warnings of the men wearing red uniforms, the reporters did not budge.
This was the 2nd time Riley Ross was walking in a hall, surrounded by a number of people who had a number of questions equal to that of the flashes bombarding him. The first one, he walked with his family in the halls of the Academy.
This time, however, he walked alone.
His wrists, bound tightly by some sort of silver chain; his hands, completely covered in some sort of cast… even his mouth and half of his face were covered. And perhaps if they didn't need him walking, his feet would have probably also been bound.
He was surrounded by complete strangers– the only one present that was familiar to him was Bulwark, who was currently walking a meter behind him; the look on his face, even more complicated than it was a few hours earlier.
And a few hours earlier, Bulwark had no idea he would be escorting Riley in chains.
***
A few hours earlier.
Bulwark just touched down at Los Angeles, only for him to see V and Riley almost shooting in a straight line up above the skies. The sole reason he left the Academy was to rescue Riley from the monsters that suddenly appeared out of nowhere– but now he was moving away at a speed that could only be described as lightning fast, quite literally.
He could also see a black blur following them, a silhouette that could only belong to Tempo. And so, with no choice but to also follow them, a golden light in the shape of a jet started to form around Bulwark.
And with a small eruption and a ring of wind surrounding him, Bulwark started to trail behind them.
"..."
Perhaps trailing behind them was an overstatement. Although Bulwark was already confident with his speed since he was able to replicate the rockets of modern machinery with his abilities… it was still a speck of dust compared to the speed that Tempo and V were going– which was probably at the same speed as a strike of lightning.
He was just initially supposed to rescue Riley… but with V obviously also in trouble, his work seemed to have doubled.
"...Never pass an adult's responsibility to children," Bulwark let out a small but very deep sigh as he continued to fly; the individuals he was following, no longer to be seen.
He continued on like this for minutes, until finally, his eye caught a man waving at him from the ground– Tempo, who was grabbing V by the wrist and seemingly not letting her go.
"Why… are you here?" Bulwark quickly asked as he landed in front of the two. His question, however, was also quickly answered as soon as he saw the look on Tempo's face; the last time Bulwark saw Tempo's face like this was after they fought Darkday– he didn't need to stay anything for Bulwark to know that something bad happened.
"Bulwark? What are you doing here?" V then stopped trying to escape Tempo's grip as she looked at Bulwark, "I thought you quit from the guild? Do you know what's happening? This dude isn't telling me anything."
"..."
"And why do I feel so weak? I can barely feel any electricity trying to escape from my skin," V let out a small breath as she looked at her hands, "Wait… don't tell me I'm cured!? I don't have powers anymore!?"
V's eyes then trailed towards Tempo… who quickly avoided her gaze.
"What… why aren't you saying anything? What happened?" V's voice started to become agitated, "And where's Riley?"
"I have the same question," Bulwark then said as he too, focused his eyes on Tempo, "Is he still alive?"
"He is," Tempo then also let out a trembling sigh; doing his best not to show V any signs of distress, "But he was fighting a blonde man the last time I saw him. I wanted to help but–"
"I understand," Bulwark raised his hand to stop Tempo from talking. Judging by his trembling voice, it was obvious that he was hiding something– and Bulwark knew what.
The electricity surrounding V was almost completely gone; only letting out some small sputters here and there. That could only mean one thing– she drained her power. And for someone with V's raw power, that could only mean a destruction of the highest level… and V was completely unaware of it.
"Go, just hide her somewhere for now," Bulwark then gestured for Tempo to leave. But before Tempo could nod back, a loud beeping noise rang in the air; the sound, coming from the console attached to Tempo's sleeve, which was currently blinking in red.
"..." Tempo then quickly pressed something on his ear, only for a deafening scream to welcome it.
[Where are you!?]
"...Butcher?"
Tempo almost pulled his head back as Butcher's voice roared in his ear. He then quickly pressed something on his arm, allowing Butcher's voice to be heard by Bulwark and V.
[Where are you!?] Butcher repeated.
And as soon as Bulwark heard his voice, he could not help but furrow his eyebrows. For Butcher to sound this alarmed… this was something that has never happened before.
[Oh shit,] Hera's voice then joined in; her breaths, almost cracking the speakers attached on Tempo's sleeve, [This is crazy, have you guys seen the news!?]
"...What's happening?" Tempo's confusion was obvious as his eyes moved back and forth between V and Bulwark.
[...You guys don't know? It's all over the intern– Fuck, why aren't these things dying!?]
"What's all over the internet!?"
[Whiteking's son,] Hera then grunted as she seemed to be fighting with something, [He's suspected to be Darkday.]
"...What kind of nonsense is that?" V was the first to react as she snarled, "I was just with him earlier."
[It's all over the internet. All the videos and photos are convincing as fuck… this is crazy,] Hera breathed out loudly, [Oh shit! It's Whiteking! There's a video of Whiteking saying Riley Ross is Darkday!]
"...Where is Riley Ross right now?" Bulwark's eyes quickly squinted as he looked at Tempo.
"He… is in London."
"Hide V for now," Bulwark then said as a golden aura slowly started to form around him.
"...Hide me? The fuck does that mean?" V once again snarled, "And what do they mean Riley is Darkday? That's impossible. He saved me earlier and–"
And before she could finish whatever it is she was trying to say, she disappeared along with Tempo; leaving only Bulwark left on the ground.
"..."
Riley Ross is Darkday?
Bulwark's eyebrows started to furrow from the thought. But after a few seconds, his eyes began to widen.
Prophet said the one who murdered him was the most dangerous man on the planet– that description could only belong to Whiteking since Bulwark himself was the one who described him like that to Prophet.
"..." It was slowly starting to all make sense now.
Did Whiteking kill Prophet because he discovered Riley's secret? It was impossible for Whiteking not to know that Riley was Darkday considering what he was capable of.
But if Riley Ross really is Darkday… then Prophet would have surely told him. The two vowed for there to be no secrets between them, and Prophet has not failed that vow even once.
"..."
"..."
Bulwark let his thoughts roam around for a few seconds, before the golden aura around him once again formed into some sort of jet, shooting instantly towards the skies as it let out a loud explosion.
It took a couple of minutes for him to finally reach London… or at least what was left of it. For miles, there was nothing but an ashen desert; with the only activity being the dozens of helicopters hovering in the air, as well as more than a hundred individuals wearing a red uniform– a uniform reserved for Supers serving in the military.
They were also present during the fight with Darkday– but were personally ordered to retreat by Megawoman and just asked to evacuate as many civilians as possible instead.
"..." Bulwark then slowly descended from the sky, and as soon as his feet landed on the sand, an officer approached him.
"Riley Ross is currently underground," the officer then presented Bulwark a table, showing an aerial view within the perimeter they were in.
"..." Bulwark was about to look at the tablet, but before he could do so… Riley Ross suddenly emerged from the said hole. And almost in instinct, Bulwark summoned several chains and ropes which swiftly wrapped around Riley's body.
Everything happened so fast, and before anything could even register in Bulwark's mind, Riley was taken to one of the most secure facilities in the world; which also happens to be quite near– Her Majesty's Prison Leeds for the Super Gifted.
As the name suggests, it was a prison for Supers. Of course, Riley Ross was just a suspect; but considering what he was being suspected of, the only thing that the authorities could do was send him here.
Whether or not the videos were true…
…Riley Ross will temporarily be held in prison.
***AUTHOR NOTES***
I have a new book called, "Manaless Magician", that I joined in a contest-- might be worth checking out and voting for while waiting for this book. No, actually... please vote for it if you like it lol.
Chapter 210Her Majesty's Prison Leeds for the Super Gifted. One of the biggest prisons reserved for Supers in the entire world. It also happens to be the most secured next to the Super Maximum Prison in Russia.
HM Prison Leeds house some of the most heinous villains in the entire world, or the most insane– there really was no distinction between the two in terms of treatment.
There was supposed to be a lot of processes for one to be taken here, but considering the gravity of the individual they were bringing in– almost every procedure was skipped.
Of course, this might seem over the top for someone only considered to be a suspect. But considering Riley Ross was being suspected as Darkday, the most heinous terrorist and villain the world has ever known, this could actually be considered as mellow. If he wasn't as young as he was, then everyone would have already attempted to kill him.
Of course… that wasn't also wise considering Darkday's abnormal strength.
Darkday was supposed to also be the scariest being in the entire world. But why… why do these media people seem to have no fear?-- Bulwark thought as he looked at the almost hundreds of reporters surrounding them. For the media to already be here before them would mean that someone tipped them off.
Bulwark then turned his eyes to the front, focusing at Riley who, despite bound by chains, was still walking calmly as more than a dozen super soldiers surrounded him.
"..." If Riley Ross is truly Darkday, then wouldn't he have killed everyone here already? Or was he pretending to be compliant? If so… then isn't this the best chance to kill him?
Of course, Bulwark was well aware of the invisible armor that was always surrounding Darkday… and Riley Ross. But if Bulwark concentrated all of his power in one single attack, then there was a chance that he would be able to pierce it.
…But what if Riley Ross, despite all the similarities that Bulwark was now seeing, was not Darkday? What if he ends up killing an innocent child? But even if he wasn't Darkday… then what is one child for the chance to get rid of the monster that would destroy the world?
"..." Bulwark could only let out a small but very deep groan as the thoughts of murder entered his mind. All of these would have been resolved if Prophet just told him the truth– or just told him anything, really. The two of them promised not to hide anything from each other… and Darkday's true identity was surely something that Prophet would have told him.
"...Why couldn't you just tell me?" Bulwark then whispered very quietly as he remained staring at Riley.
Whiteking also seemed to be missing ever since Prophet died. Was he not revealing himself even as his son was walking into prison?
Just…
…what exactly is he doing right now?
***
In a room drowned with a soft and dim ambient light. The fading red smoothly reflected on Empress's dark skin, almost making it look like the setting sun– when the light perfectly met the darkness of the night.
Her eyes also reflected light, not from the fading red, but from the images of the tablet she was holding as she lay in bed. Her fingers were currently dragging and checking all of the news outlets and social media; their content, all the same.
She was about to click on another article when a faint groan suddenly whispered into her ear. And as soon as the warm breath touched her skin, she quickly threw away the tablet she was holding.
"Did… I wake you up?" Empress then whispered as her hand softly caressed the face of the man lying next to her; of course, it was Bernard.
Bernard, however, even with Empress touching his cheeks, remained unresponsive.
"It's… okay," Empress then embraced Bernard's head, burrowing it onto her bare bosom, "Let's just stay like this for as long as we can. Just rest, my love. I…
…will be the one to take care of you," Empress then whispered as she slowly drowned herself with the sheets; embracing every inch of Bernard as the blankets began to wave.
There was a loud ringing echoing throughout the room since earlier; but almost as if the two of them couldn't hear it, the ringing just continued completely ignored.
The tune was a signal for all the members of the Hope Guild to gather; but even then, the only response that Empress gave was the sound of her tongue lightly whispering.
As for Bernard– his eyes were actually looking at the signal. A few seconds after, however, he just closed his eyes and let himself be drowned by the comfortable warmth that Empress was blanketing her.
***
Back in HM Prison Leeds, Riley was still currently being bombarded by flashes of light. This time, however, his back was on a wall; his hands, holding a placard with his name on it.
"Turn to your left and point the plate at the camera!"
"..." Riley has been ignoring the voice that was screaming in the air for a couple of seconds now; his eyes, staring at the bars behind him that measured his height.
He grew taller– is what Riley was thinking right now. He was at 5'11" when he entered the Academy, but now, he stood at 6'0" or maybe even an inch more. The books he read said that most males stop growing at 17… does this mean this was his final height?
"Turn to your left and point the plate at the camera!"
The super guard once again let out a scream that reverberated throughout the entire grey room– which seemed to be exaggeratingly large just to process a single suspected criminal.
"Turn–"
The guard was about to let out another roar; before he could do so, however, Riley turned his eyes towards him.
"..." The guard slightly backed away as soon as their eyes met. Contrary to his vivid expectations, however, Riley just proceeded to follow his order and turned to the side. The guard then looked at his other colleagues, all of them wondering if the white-haired boy in front of them could really be Darkday.
They all saw the video… and everything seemed conclusive– especially the part where Whiteking himself admitted that Riley is Darkday. But with the technology today… it could also be fake.
As for Bulwark, he was still there observing the prison and Riley's every move. He was waiting for Riley to do something… but he has been casually compliant since earlier even though the process they were doing now treated him as if he was already guilty.
He wasn't even interrogated and instead just processed already. Bulwark asked if they planned to interrogate him; the prison's response?
They will do it later in a safe environment.
Safe environment? Was there something like that for a being as strong as Darkday? Bulwark had also seen the videos that everyone was talking about… and he too agrees that everything looked real.
Minutes more passed– and Riley was now brought inside some sort of room. Its walls filled entirely with glass. Some transparent and Bulwark and the others could be seen, while some completely reflected Riley's silhouette.
"Strip down!"
"..." Riley slowly turned his eyes towards where Bulwark and the others were. And judging by the distortion of the figures, the glass between them should at least be a meter thick– he would know, he had a lot of experience in dealing with glass.
Riley's eyes then turned towards the ceiling, only to see more than a dozen cameras capturing all angles of the room.
"Strip down!"
Riley did not seem to mind, however, as he slowly undressed; revealing his abnormally white skin while casually folding his clothes and placing them on the table at the side of the room.
Everyone just stared at him as he did so; most of them, squinting their eyes from the light that reflected from his skin– it didn't help that Bulwark, who was standing beside them, was also literally glowing.
"Please step on the red circle!"
"..." And without any hesitation, Riley moved towards the center of the room. And as soon as he stepped on the said circle, a violent shower instantly bombarded him. His skin and hair, however, were completely unmoving even as this torrent of water just slid across the invisible barrier that armored his silhouette.
"Please do not use your abilities!"
"No, I don't think so."
"!!!"
And finally, after hours of silence of just being dragged around, Riley opened his mouth.
Bulwark's eyebrows immediately furrowed; the golden aura that surrounded his body, becoming thicker almost by the second.
"Do not use your abilities or we will resort to using force!"
"No, I don't think so," Riley repeated his words, "This water is dirty."
"Y–"
"It's fine," Bulwark then raised his hand before any provocation could happen,
"It's alright, Riley Ross," Bulwark then let out a small sigh as he looked at Riley, "You are clean enough already. Just wear the clothing provided to you then face the wall."
"..." Riley then turned his head towards Bulwark. And after a few seconds, nodded his head and proceeded to walk back to the table. He then quickly proceeded to unfold the clothing provided to him, making sure there was no dirt sticking onto it by shaking it in the air.
"Do not use your–"
"Let him be."
"But–"
"If he is indeed Darkday… what can you even do?"
And with Bulwark's words, the guard could really only shut his mouth. His only choice was to wait until Riley was satisfied with what he was doing. But really, this was the first time he ever saw someone patting the uniform dry– after all…
…It was only a striped uniform. Its colors–
–Black and White.
Chapter 211"..."
Riley's abnormally white skin currently reflected a series of videos and images in front of him coming from a projector; videos of him in his earliest days as Darkday and until his latest appearance. His latest appearances were of no surprise to him… but for there to actually be images and videos of him the very first day he started dawning the identity of Darkday?
In a way, Riley sort of already expected Bernard to know that he was Darkday but didn't really follow through with the idea. After all, Riley had always known Bernard to be one of the world's greatest superheroes– for him to not stop Darkday even if he was his adopted son is something Riley thought Bernard wouldn't do.
…But seeing as Bernard's secrets and imperfections were slowly coming into light; Maybe Bernard wasn't really the hero Riley thought he was.
"..."
Bernard was hiding the fact that he was Darkday. But for these videos to exist would mean that Bernard just archived them somewhere and did not delete them… Why?
Was Bernard going to use it in the future to have him arrested? But didn't he just surrender him from the start if that was the case? It would have been easy for even a Class B Super to neutralize him in his early days.
…Bernard could have prevented the death of millions of people. As a superhero, wasn't saving lives the priority?
Was Bernard going to reveal him at the start, but chose not to? And now he just collected hundreds of videos of him?
"..."
Can he get a copy of all this footage? He could let his guests watch it since they are probably bored with the repetitive movies on Webflix.
Riley's mind slowly started to wander as he continued to watch the videos being projected to him. Soon, however, the video stopped.
"Is this not you?"
Riley then turned his head towards the man sitting at a table; positioned on the other side of the transparent cube he was now currently confined in. They were in some sort of spacious holding bay, with Riley completely separated from everyone else in the hall– almost like an animal in a zoo surrounded by tourists.
"..." Riley then returned his eyes towards the image projected on the transparent wall of the cube he was in, only to see a photo of him just having taken off his helmet. He stared at this still image of him for a few seconds, before proceeding to look at every person surrounding the cube.
Bulwark was still there, standing behind the man that was currently interrogating Riley. Christopher– that was the name of the interrogator if Riley remembers clearly.
Riley then once again turned his head towards Christopher, before finally opening his mouth and answering his question.
"No, that handsome young man on the video is not me, Mr. Christopher."
"..." Christopher looked him in the eye for a couple of seconds; his sighs, deep enough to be heard inside the cube, "You know you can get in more trouble if you're lying."
"I am not lying, Mr. Christopher," Riley answered without batting an eye.
"There are less than 6,000 albinoes in the US. And even in that statistic, you look rare. This is clearly you, Riley Ross."
"Yes," Riley then answered, "It is me but at the same time it is not, Mr. Christopher. The video is edited."
"Hm…" Christopher then strayed his eyes away from Riley, and onto some sort of file planted on his table. He turned its pages for almost half an hour– not even saying anything to Riley. But finally, after a few more turns of the pages, he looked back towards him.
"It says here you have some form of autism," Christopher then breathed out, "So, there are only two scenarios here. Either you are not lying, or lying just comes naturally to you."
"...I suppose," Riley shrugged.
"So I am going to ask again… Is this not you?" Christopher gestured towards the projection.
"No, it is edited," Riley shook his head, "You can ask Tomoe Reynolds, she is good at editing photos and videos, Mr. Christopher."
"Ah, yes! Tomoe Reynolds," Christopher then once again turned the pages of the file on his table, "Tomoe Reynolds– an avid fan of Darkday. One could even say obsessed with him."
"..."
"..."
"I am aware of that, Mr. Christopher."
"Did you also know that Tomoe Reynolds was a recluse before she attended USMA?" Christopher muttered, "She killed her father in self-defense because he has been molesting and raping her several times when she was just a little girl."
"...Rape her?" Riley blinked a couple of times, "Did Tomoe not kill her father before that happened, Mr. Christopher?"
"Oh, no. The clinical reports say otherwise," Christopher shrugged as he once again checked the file, "She was supposed to be put in childcare, but her mother was able to fight for her custody in the court."
"..." Riley could only slightly look to the side as soon as he heard Christopher's words. To think his Second Subordinate had gone through something like that… it would seem he was neglecting her too much for him to not know information as crucial as this.
So her hatred for her mother was truly warranted. Maybe he should kill her for Tomoe once all of this is over?
"I wonder… does Tomoe Reynolds know that you are Darkday?" Christopher then squinted his eyes as he looked Riley directly in the eyes; even from the thick transparent wall between them, Riley could feel some sort of pressure seemingly trying to pierce his mind.
But it just ends there.
"Hm, I can't seem to read your mind," Christopher let out a small chuckle, "I believe Darkday also has the ability to resist any mind invading abilities. If you're not Darkday, then reading your mind shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"I can't turn it off, I am afraid," Riley shook his head, "And I do not resist any mind invading abilities, Mr. Christopher– I am immune to them."
"So are you saying you are Darkday?"
"No, Mr. Christopher."
"No, you're not Darkday; or no, you don't want to talk?" Christopher smiled, "We could get you a lawyer if you want to."
"No, I am not Darkday," Riley let out a small sigh, "And I do not need a lawyer, Mr. Christopher."
"That's good," Christopher once again let out a small chuckle, "I was just being polite. Now let's go back to our topic… I find it hard to believe that Tomoe doesn't know your true identity."
"I don't believe that's my problem, Mr. Christopher."
"She was a recluse… not to mention she is diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder. The only connection she really had before was with other avid fans of Darkday on the internet. Are you saying someone like that just so happens to be friends with you?"
"She is not my friend, Mr. Christopher."
"The file I am holding says otherwise."
"Then the file you are holding is wrong," Riley said, "I do not have any friends, Mr. Christopher."
"Really now?" Christopher scoffed as he once again turned the pages of his file, "But you seem pretty close with one Katherine Read? She is known as the Grade-A Superhero, Scarlet Mage… and it says here the two of you have some sort of… relationship?"
Christopher squinted his eyes as he slightly leaned his head closer to the file, trying to see if he read it clearly,
"The two of you… are lovers?" And for the first time, Christopher's voice slightly wavered.
"We are not lovers, Mr. Christopher," Riley shook his head, "But we do have sexual intercourse 5 times a week."
"..." Christopher blinked a couple of times as he once again looked Riley in the eyes. But after a few seconds, he closed the file in his hands and let out another long and deep sigh, "Interesting…
…I should confirm that with her later," Christopher then said.
"...Hm?" Riley blinked.
"Oh, she's here," a small smile slowly crawled on Christopher's face, "She is being held in another room."
"..."
"In fact, everyone involved with you is currently here… All except for your father. We can't find him no matter how hard we try," Christopher then tapped the table a couple of times, "Did he escape? I wonder… did you become Darkday because of Whiteking? Did he train you to be a weapon? If that was the case, then maybe we can lessen your punishme–"
"Wait."
And before Christopher could finish his words, Riley moved for the very first time. His steps, taking him nearer towards Christopher with each passing moment; closing in on the transparent wall that separated them.
"Are you saying my sister is here, Mr. Christopher?"
And hearing the tone of Riley's voice changing for the very first time, the small smile on Christopher's face quickly widened even further.
"Yes," he said, "You will get to see them soon. That is… if they are not involved in you being Darkday."
"..."
"Because if they are, then I am afraid they would also have to pay for hiding the fact that you are Darkday," Christopher let out a sigh as he shook his head, "This will all be over once you–"
"Christopher," Bulwark, who was quietly watching the interrogation unfold, finally stepped forward,
"I don't think it's right to threaten the child," he then said– bewildered at how stupid the man was. If Riley Ross truly is Darkday, then they were lucky enough that he was cooperating or at least playing along with them.
For him not to take precaution to a being that has killed millions; The arrogance and ignorance of those who have not fought in war are unmatched; completely oblivious of the monsters that reside in it-- this is true now and throughout history.
And if Riley actually was not Darkday… then they were bullying an innocent child.
"It's fine," Christopher smiled, "The glass he is in is reinforced with the to–"
The smile on Christopher's face, however, instantly faded as soon as the thick glass between them suddenly split open in a circle– almost without any sound and without any resistance; like a plastic bag being torn open.
"Guards!" Christopher quickly stood up, violently flipping the table as his feet instinctively moved away– the arrogant expression on his face, completely gone. As for Bulwark, he swiftly summoned a golden wall to try and keep Riley inside the cube.
This golden wall, however, shattered as Riley placed his palm on it.
"!!!"
Riley Ross then casually walked out of the cube, before turning his head towards the giant metal door he walked into to enter the holding bay.
"Riley Ross, wait!" Bulwark roared before Riley could even take a step towards the door, "If you step out of that door, they will consider you guilty! If you're really not Darkday, then go back inside the gla–"
"Do not move! If you do, we will be forced to kill your family!"
And before Bulwark could finish his words, Christopher interrupted him.
"We're safely holding them in a room for now. But if you do anything, we will–"
"You…"
"!!!"
Flashes of red then quickly filled the entire room as a deafening siren roared through the air. The room they were in– no, the entire prison, shaking with every step that Riley took towards Christopher.
"...What did you say?"
***AUTHOR NOTES***
I have a new book called, "Manaless Magician", that I joined in a contest-- might be worth checking out and voting for while waiting for this book. No, actually... please vote for it if you like it lol.
Chapter 212212 Chapter 212: Interrogation(2)
"Let me see my brother, you motherfucking British cuntsucker fucking cunts!"
A few minutes earlier before Riley stepped out of the transparent cube he was confined in, Hannah was cursing the life out of everyone inside the prison– her entire body, engulfed in a raging fire that seemed to have no plans of withering away.
Diana was in the same room, calmly sitting at the table provided to them as they waited inside a small holding room for someone to interrogate them. However, they have been there for more than an entire hour, and no one seemed to want to go inside since Hannah was wreaking havoc.
"What do you fucks mean that Riley is Darkday? Are you guys fucking crazy!?"
[Please refrain from using your powers so an officer could begin questioning the two of you, Ms. Ross. If you do not comply, we will resort to using force. Please comply before we put restraints on both you and your mother.]
"Have you guys actually seen my brother!? Are you government fucking cunts using him as a scapegoat because you know he won't be able to defend himself because of his condition!?" And even with the man from the speakers threatening her, Hannah continued to burst out, "Why not pick someone your own fucking size, you little shits!"
"Hannah, please calm down."
And finally, after a few more seconds of Hannah's voice roaring through the tiny room, Diana opened her mouth, "I am sure all of this is just a silly misunderstanding."
"But m–"
"Calm down," Diana said, "I am sure this is just one of your father's enemies trying to lure him out– maybe that is why he is hiding somewhere. Relax, Hannah– I've been in this kind of situation more times than I could count."
"Speaking of that fucker… Where the fuck is dad when we actually need him!?"
And once again, the fire surrounding Hannah's silhouette blazed as her roars filled the small room. But before the heat of her fire could reach the ground, Diana suddenly let out a small and obviously pained gasp.
"Mom!? What did you–" And before Hannah could finish her words, she found her breaths suddenly pinning her chest down. The oxygen inside the room, now completely gone.
Surprisingly though, the fire surrounding Hannah did not dissipate even without the presence of oxygen in the room. But still, the fires surrounding her still withered as she rushed to help her mother up.
"Fuck you, you fucking shits! Bring the oxygen back!"
[We warned you, Ms. Ross. Please refrain from using your powers from now on.]
And as soon as those words echoed through the room, both Hannah and Diana could feel their bodies once again getting lighter.
[Do not use your power. We will not hesitate to kill the family of a terrorist.]
"Wha–"
"Once we get out of here, you will know what fucking wrath tastes like!"
And before Hannah could finish her words, Diana suddenly stood up– kicking away the table in front of her; destroying the brackets it was attached on from the floor. She then raised both her middle fingers, pointing them at the camera plastered on the ceiling.
"Just you wait!" Diana then raised her voice even further, "I won't sue you– but you will taste the palm of my hand and–"
And before she could finish her words. A loud rumble suddenly shook the entire room, almost causing her to fall down. Flashes of red light then started to drown the entire room; partnered with a loud siren that almost threatened to deafen Diana and Hannah.
"M…mom?" Hannah took a small gulp as she slowly backed away from her mother, "Are you… doing this?"
"What…
…no?"
***
"What? What was that? I should be the one interrogating you for keeping a person with disability in captivity! Don't you guys know Riley is autistic!? Just you wait, once I get out of here, all of you are going to get cancelled by my 10,000 subscribers!"
In another room also a few minutes ago, Gary was also inside a small room. He was not alone, however, as there was someone else sitting at the opposite side of the table.
"Are you using Riley as a scapegoat because you know he is like that?" Gary continued to tap the table in front of him, "Hannah was right, you government puppets are the worse– using an autistic person to achieve your fucked up goals!"
"...The evidence against Riley Ross is–"
"The evidence against Riley Ross is– shut the fuck up," Gary mocking repeated the interrogator's words, "Let him out right now while I am still asking nicely– Once again reveal my identity, you guys will surely pack your bags and cry home."
"We know who you are, Gary Gray. You are the son of Megawoman."
"..."
"..."
"...Then are you releasing Riley knowing that?"
"In respect to your mother…" The tone of the interrogator's voice started to turn cold as he looked Gary straight in the eyes, "We will not pursue you no matter the outcome of this situation. So let me ask again… Has Riley Ross shown any signs of being Darkday while in your presence?"
"You…" Gary's eyes started to twitch as he returned the man's glare, "...You dare threaten I, the great Dragon Mon–"
And before he could finish his words, flashes of red drowned the entire room he was in– the table between them, trembling uncontrollably as the room itself quaked.
"This…" Gary then quickly looked at both his hands in bewilderment, "...Have I finally unlocked the powers hidden deep inside my dantian? Is this it? Is this my cheat!?"
"Shit… Riley Ross is escaping!"
"...Oh, of course not."
***
"Riley Ross is not Darkday."
"That is not what I am asking."
"But that is why I am here, right? And I am telling you, Riley Ross is not Darkday."
In another room a few minutes earlier, Silvie was in the same situation as Gary– being interviewed 1 on 1 by an interrogator.
"Riley Ross is not Darkday," Silvie repeated the same words she had been repeating for almost an entire hour now– with or without the interrogator asking her a question.
"I have seen the videos you are using as evidence, they are circumstantial as best. And don't you know how easy it is to manipulate videos nowadays?"
"...The evidence are pretty clear," the interrogator could only let out a sigh as Silvie did not seem to have any plans of changing her answers.
"Oh? I think you are leaving out a crucial evidence, then," Silvie's tone then changed for the first time as she looked the interrogator straight in the eyes.
"Hm?"
"The evidence of all of us still being alive," Silvie then scoffed, "Darkday kills anything that breathes. From babies to old defenseless grandmas; and he does so without anything hesitation. Do you really think someone like that would allow himself to be captured?"
Hearing Silvie's retort, the interrogator once again let out a small sigh,
"Look," he then said, "I know Riley is your friend, but–"
"But the fact that you could still question me now and that I am answering you is enough proof that Riley is not Darkday."
"I don't think you know how this all works. Criminals will always say they are not guilty."
"And this is why you're wrong," Silvie shook her head, "You are treating Darkday as a criminal and a terrorist– it is neither. Darkday is a biological calamity."
"Y–"
"Don't lecture me about Darkday, sir. I was one of the beings you incels created to try and kill him."
"...What? What are you–"
And before the interrogator could ask what Silvie meant, the alarm went off– causing the entire room they were in to be filled with a deafening siren.
"What!?" The interrogator then stood up as he pressed something in his ear, "What do you mean Riley is trying to escape!?"
"Wait."
And before the interrogator could move away, Silvie grabbed his wrist. "You guys…
…What did you do to Riley?"
***
"You are an avid fan– No. You are obsessed with Darkday. And before you deny it… we've checked your house."
And like the others, Tomoe watched as the interrogator in front of her tried to get the answers they wanted from her, placing a photo album that Tomoe quickly recognized and a laptop she also recognized. After all, it was hers.
But even then, Tomoe kept the silence she had been protecting since earlier.
The interrogator started to flip the pages of the photo album without saying any more words– just showing Tomoe the pictures she had collected of Darkday throughout the years. The interrogator then proceeded to open her laptop before facing it towards her.
"Do you want to enter your password?" The interrogator then finally spoke, a small smile plastered on his face.
Tomoe, however, still refused to speak.
"Alright then," the interrogator let out a small sigh as he returned the laptop to him, "I'll enter it…
…ilovedarkday666– all lowercase."
And as soon as the interrogator unlocked her laptop, a photo of Darkday once again welcomed her eyes as he also had him as a wallpaper.
"You seem to have also written a couple of… fan fictions that presented you and Darkday in some romantic escapade if I am right?"
"..." Even with all of her information being exposed to her, Tomoe still remained silent.
"Look here," the tone of the interrogator's voice slowly started to contain a bit of annoyance, "We will expose all of these to the public if you do not cooperate."
Hearing the man's words, Tomoe's eyes finally shifted– straying towards his face. Seeing this, the interrogator could not help but let out a small smile.
"But if you tell us that Riley is Darkday, then–"
"You are lucky."
And finally, after more than an hour of silence, Tomoe opened her mouth, "You are lucky that Riley Ross is not Darkday… or I would have already frozen your blood from the inside out."
"You–"
And before the interrogator could retort, the alarm sounded as everything inside the room trembled.
"Or perhaps I was wrong," Tomoe then said as she stood up; her emotions seem to not be shaken by the sudden tremble, "Perhaps you are not so lucky after all. Riley Ross may not be Darkday…
…But I could argue that he is stronger."
***
"Is Riley Ross Darkday?"
"...What? What the fuck?"
Daniel blinked as he stared at the small room he was confined in,
"...Why the fuck am I even here?"
***
"Grah!"
In another room, a scream was currently drowning all of its four walls– followed by a series of heavy breaths that were enough to fill the entire room with vapor.
"This could all stop if you just tell us what we need to know, Katherine."
Unlike the other interrogation, Katherine was inside a darker room; her hands, completely bound by chains attached to the ceiling– her clothes, completely soaked with what one could only assume as water.
"We already know that Riley Ross is Darkday– you just have to admit your part in it. More specifically, your part in the Seven Planes incident."
"..."
"You even used your poor mother to buy tickets for Riley Ross– completing the piece of the puzzle that Darkday truly is involved with the Dark Millenium… or at least to their demise."
"..."
"You're still not saying anything? Maybe we should interview your mother next?"
"..." And as soon as Katherine heard the interrogator's words, her piercing eyes could be seen almost glaring even though her damp silver hair was blocking her face.
"All of you are making a big mistake," Katherine then whispered; her voice slightly cracking, "I don't know anything about what you are talking about and Riley Ross is not Darkday. You can torture me all you want but my answer will still be the same…
…but you have to release her sister right now."
"I don't think you are in the position to demand anything right now, terrorist."
"Demand…" Katherine let out a small scoff as she spat the water that collected inside her mouth, "...I am trying to save all of you."
"...Ha?"
"Riley Ross is not Darkday. He…
…He is worse."
Chapter 213213 Chapter 213: Another Monster
"...What did you say?"
"We… we're going to kill your family if you try to escape!"
And with the words being repeated in his ears, Riley's eyes started to twitch– along with some of the fingers of his hands as the air in the large holding bay suddenly became heavy. No; perhaps describing it as heavy was a huge understatement, as everyone in the hall felt like they were breathing underground… in a coffin.
"Where… is my sister?" Riley then said as he took a small step towards Christopher. His step, however, caused the floor around his feet to disintegrate… no, to compress to the point a square meter of what could only be assumed as reinforced steel to turn into a pebble. The only part of the floor left around him was the part touching his feet as he continued to walk forward; the pebbles he was collecting along the way, whistling as they rotated around him at an incredible speed.
"Where is my sister!?" Riley's face then twisted as the transparent wall he was confined in slowly floated in the air; his voice, almost cracking as he let out an almost piercing scream that made every guard, soldier, and even Bulwark to slightly freeze on their spots.
"You…" Christopher fell fist on his butt as he stared at the giant transparent cube floating in the air. He then took in a small gulp, before turning his head towards the super guards and pointing towards Riley, "E… Execute him!"
"No!" Bulwark raised his hand to summon a golden barrier to block Riley from the rest of the guards as they rushed towards him. Bulwark was successful in stopping all of their advances… all but one, however.
There was a guard capable of projecting lasers from his fingers– which went straight towards Riley's left eye.
"I… I got him!"
The guard with the laser fingers let out a small smile as he saw Riley's head tilting back. His smile was so wide that his jaw reached his collar bones.
"Eh?" The guard then blinked a couple of times as he looked down; his jaw, already dangling as the sides of his mouth was slit open all the way to his ears. And before he could utter another mangled word, all of the teeth on his dislocated jaw cracked open… before all shooting straight towards the insides of his mouth.
"W… what?" Christopher and the other guards all stared at their colleague as his knee touched the ground; and with a light thud, his head hit the floor like a watermelon, its insides completely blended in a smoothie.
All of them, not only the guards, then looked at Riley who still had his head tilted back. He then slowly took another step forward Christopher even with his head tilted back, and with each step, his body straightened; his eyes, already staring deep into Christopher's eyes.
"Where is my sister?" Riley then once again asked; this time, however, his voice was oddly calm.
"She–"
But before Christopher could speak, the super soldiers in the room all surrounded Riley even with the golden barrier separating them.
"Sir Bulwark! In accordance with the treaty between Superheroes and World Military, we order you to remove this barrier!"
"No!" Bulwark once again let out a roar, "Stop provoking him any further!"
"We will not tell you again! Withdraw your powers or we will treat this as abetting and aiding the criminal known as Riley Ross! He already killed one of our own, we don't need any other proof!"
"You attacked him first!" Bulwark screamed as the barrier he summoned thickened even further.
Riley then turned his eyes towards Bulwark, before straying towards all the soldiers at the other side of the barrier.
"Mr. Bulwark," Riley then said, "Leave the room."
"Stop this, Riley Ross! Going any further would make you a criminal even if you're not Darkday!"
"A criminal?" Riley muttered as he turned to face Bulwark; his eyebrows, almost twisted in a frown, "I have waited, complied, cooperated to all of your demands without complaining. I only wanted to ask where my sister is and you can't even give me that. Darkday this, Darkday that…"
"..." Bulwark could only squint his eyes in bewilderment as he heard Riley's words. Throughout the course of him knowing Riley and from all the stories he heard from Bernard, Riley has not once let out this kind of outburst. It was almost as if…
…he was a little child wanting to see his mommy.
"You are not going to see Darkday here, you are not going to get what you want… No, not what you want," Riley Ross then folded both his index finger, pinching it with his thumbs as he started repeating his words,
"Not what you want!" Riley once again let out a roar as the pebbles surrounding once again let out whistles as they… went straight towards the heads of the soldiers surrounding him– treating Bulwark's golden barrier as if parchment paper.
"Avoid it!"
Even with this sudden attack, the captain of the soldiers raised his voice; commanding his platoon to all move away, and all of them managed to avoid it either by using their powers, or just their sheer speed.
"Bulwark! This is the last time I am going to ask you, remove–"
"!!!"
And before the captain could finish his words, Bulwark saw his blood scatter in almost a flat splatter as… the vertex of the gigantic transparent cube shattered his body completely. Surprisingly, though– no blood reached Bulwark as it stopped just an inch away from him, slowly trailing and dropping to the floor.
"Ril–" And as soon as Bulwark turned towards Riley, Riley once again let out a scream as the gigantic transparent cube started mowing through the soldiers surrounding him– almost like ticks being squished, their blood all spurting out everywhere… they even sounded like one.
Christopher, who was still sprawled on the floor, could no longer utter any words as he watched as the people in the room all get pinched to death one by one– most not even being able to use their abilities.
And so, without even seconds later… the only living things left in the room were Riley, Bulwark, and Christopher.
"..." Bulwark could only look at the once transparent cube, which was now almost covered in blood.
And seeing this, the only thing that circled in Bulwark's mind was that they were wrong.
Riley Ross is not Darkday.
Those whose deaths were caused by Darkday are always, without fail, creative. Even when he was battling to the death with Megawoman, the citizens that were unfortunate enough to be within range of his onslaught all died in the most colorful ways possible– artistic, in a sense.
However, this…
…This was a child throwing a tantrum and using the first thing he got his hand on to wreak havoc. One could argue that he was like this because he was angry– but Bulwark could feel it through his thousands of years of existence.
Darkday was too different from Riley– the only thing they had in common was the strength of their telekinetic abilities. Seeing him now, Darkday was not the entity Bulwark was thinking of…
…It was Ms. Phoenix.
This uncontrollable rage that just mows down anything within its path; the strands of air that were filled with all the emotions one could think of… this is what made Ms. Phoenix the most powerful telekinetic in the world– and the most dangerous.
They were wrong.
Riley Ross is not Darkday… but something much much worse– he is a child that has the ability to ravage the entire planet… and he might do so just for the simple fact that he doesn't get the flavor of the candy he wants.
Whoever tried to frame Riley probably knew who and what he is… and wanted to unleash him to the world. There, of course, was still a good chance that Riley is Darkday.
But what if he was not?
Then wouldn't they be releasing two monsters in the world?
"..." Bulwark then remembered Tempo saying something about a blonde young man fighting with Riley before he got to London… Did… he have something to do with this?
"Riley, stop!" Bulwark then once again screamed as he erected several golden barriers between him and Christopher, "If you kill Christopher, then you would go beyond the scope of self-defense! We… we can still argue that you killed the people here because they threatened you! There are cameras all over the room, you can't escape jail anymore but we can still reduce your punishment!"
"..." Riley's steps then finally stopped as he heard Bulwark's words. And as soon as Christopher saw this, he could not help but let out a gasp of relief; the pee that was trying to escape from his bottom, successfully halted.
"T… that's right, Riley Ross!" Christopher then muttered.
"You shut your mouth, child!" Bulwark then encased Christopher's head in a golden box, completely shutting him up,
"Riley… please stop this!"
"..." Riley looked at Bulwark for a few more seconds, before his eyebrows once again furrowed,
"No," Riley then muttered as he looked at all the cameras in the room,
"They should all be watching this, right Mr. Bulwark?" Riley then said as his feet slowly left the floor, along with him… the rest of the holding bay.
"!!!" Bulwark tried to reinforce the walls as they cracked… only for his golden brackets to split as the entire holding bay lifted– revealing the rooms beside it that also held one or two prisoners. The prisoners saw this as a chance to escape… their heads, however, exploded without even the chance to move.
"If they like watching this much..." Riley Ross then breathed out as the walls of the holding bay unfolded almost like a blossoming flower, finally revealing the light of day that awaited them outside,
"...Then let them watch as I kill everyone in this prison until I see my sister."
Chapter 214214 Chapter 214: Creating Monsters
"W… what is this!?"
The reporters that were inside their helicopters all started to scramble their microphones. Once Riley entered the perimeter of the prison, they were no longer allowed to stay and capture footage. They were asked to stay away for at least 500 meters, as they were already disrupting the prison's normal operations.
That was no problem for them, however, as there was absolutely nothing but empty land within a kilometer– allowing them a clear view of the prison without any obstructions.
And so, the only thing they all could do was hop onto their helicopters; their cameras, all pointed at the prison waiting for something to happen. But even after hours and hours of waiting, the prison remained quiet.
But still, none of them budged– even hiring the help of Supers that were capable of flight to supply them additional gasoline as they didn't want to miss even a single second. All of them have reviewed the videos scattered all over the internet– and it, without doubt, painted Riley Ross as Darkday.
And with Whiteking missing, there was no one to even deny if the videos were real. Of course, even with them covering the news of Darkday's possible capture, the world was not actually focused on them as most were mourning and in shock at the sudden destruction of London.
In the eyes of vultures, however– Darkday was the more enticing news.
And so, they waited. And finally, their patience paid off as even from afar, they could see some sort of activity inside the prison. Their eyes widened, however, as an entire chunk of the prison floated in the air.
"This… could it be Riley Ross finally showed his true colors!?"
"As… as you can see! An entire infrastructure is now currently floating in the air, this is a feat that only powerful telekinetics are capable of!"
"Will the world once again finally be covered in darkness!?"
"It… it's opening up!"
The almost hundreds of cameras all zoomed in as the floating box opened; almost like a flower bud being forced to bloom; its stigma, revealed to be a white pollen that stood at the center– Riley Ross.
"It's Riley Ross! He's wearing a prisoner's uniform!"
"Is this it!? Was he found guilty!? Is he really Riley Ro–"
"I want to see my sister!"
And before the reporters could continue their jobs, an almost piercing scream reached even their ears– its source, Riley Ross.
"...Sister?"
"Does… the prison also have his sister in custody?"
The reporters then all scrambled to call their contacts inside the prison. But with the prison being on its highest alert level, all the signals inside the facility were cut off.
But if it's like this… then wouldn't it be possible for them to approach the prison?-- they all thought in unison. However, as soon as one of the helicopters entered inside the 500-meter restriction, they were shot down by a missile.
"!!!"
"The… the prison is shooting at us!"
"They shot down the reporters at ABS-ZBN!"
"We… we're receiving reports that the government has taken Riley's family and friends hostage!"
"The prison is currently holding a minor against her will."
"It would seem they are preventing any of Riley's acquaintances from talking!"
And just like that– the media changed its tune.
Their cameras, however, still pointed directly at Riley Ross… whose face was clearly angered and agitated.
"Hannah!" And once again, even from afar, his screams filled with emotions roared in the air… and soon, several more blocks parted and lifted from the prison. These blocks then surrounded the platform that Riley was floating on, before all opening up at the same time and causing a screeching noise to whistle in the air.
The people inside the rooms and halls could only widen their eyes in shock as they suddenly find the confines they were in floating in the air.
"Sister!?" Riley's body then rotated in place as his eyes looked at the rooms he just opened up. And as soon as he confirmed that his sister was not there, the room closed… beyond its original form– squishing everyone and everything inside it, whether it was a prisoner or a guard.
Christopher, who was still surprisingly still alive, finally let go of the pee that he had been trying to stop from bursting out. All this time… he was interviewing someone like this?
Of course, he knew what Darkday was capable of. But he was also confident that the transparent cube that he was confined in was enough to hold him off as even the strongest Supers he had interrogated could not crack it open… but the cube opened up for Riley like he owned it.
"B… Bulwark!" Christopher then crawled towards Bulwark, who was only staring as Riley fulfilled his words to kill everyone he saw, "D… do something! Call the Hope Guild!"
"...Hope Guild is currently still dealing with the monsters that all suddenly appeared everywhere," Bulwark replied, not even sparing Christopher a glance, "...Where is Riley's sister?"
"She–"
And before Christopher could finish his words, he saw Bulwark suddenly flying away– almost as if hit by an invincible truck.
"Kh!" Bulwark tried to resist the heavy force that forcefully threw him away, but found each of his movements to be futile. With Darkday, he could at least still feel himself able to fight back…
…with Riley, however, it was almost as if his power was… absolute. Almost like a wall that could not be moved no matter what– like a train in a certain video game he and Prophet used to play that wouldn't budge even when the track it was moving on was blocked by a hundred tanks.
And so, the only thing that Bulwark could do was soften his landing as the invisible force pushing him away threw him all the way towards the empty ground– the earth around him, parting violently as he continued to move farther and farther away from the prison.
But as soon as he was below one of the helicopters, the force just… vanished. Bulwark quickly tried to fly back towards the prison as he surrounded himself with a golden aura in the shape of a fighter jet.
"!!!"
The nose of this golden fighter jet, however, quickly shattered and flattened as it moved forward. Bulwark quickly canceled his powers; not fast enough, however, as the momentum still pushed him forward.
"Kh," Bulwark then slightly let out a groan as his palms and knees felt something hitting– No, blocking them from moving forward. Bulwark then quickly patted the empty air in front of him, only to feel a sort of invisible wall blocking his path.
"..." Bulwark then quickly flew away in an arc, his palm, trailing in the air as if touching something.
"Riley…" Bulwark then stopped flying as his eyes trailed across the prison as well as the empty lot that surrounded it. Bulwark then slowly landed back on the ground, his eyes, staring at the ground which currently had some sort of line forming on it– a line that stretched across the horizon.
"What… have we done?"
If Bulwark was right… then Riley Ross currently had an invisible dome surrounding the prison in a 500-meter radius– effectively isolating them from the rest of the world.
"..." Bulwark then grabbed a phone from his pocket– a radio that allowed him to call the members of the Hope Guild. Although he had already quit the team, Empress still let him hold onto it.
They should still be busy dealing with the monsters that were still roaming everywhere– especially now since V was out of commission. But stopping Riley's rampage was the priority right now if they don't want another Darkday roaming the planet.
And so, Bulwark let out a signal; his eyes, still watching as Riley dissected the entire prison almost like legos.
"Hannah!?"
"Y… your sister is in holding 2–"
Riley continued to scream; not even hearing Christopher anymore as he now actually tried to tell him where his sister was. It wasn't supposed to be like this, Christopher thought. He was supposed to be the one to spearhead that would finally put Darkday into prison… no. They should have killed Riley when they had the chance, even if he wasn't Darkday.
But kill him… how?
Christopher then stared at his prison, chunks of it slowly being eaten away as Riley continued to pluck it like some sort of bread.
"Hannah!?"
"R… Riley!?"
"!!!"
Riley's body then almost instantly disappeared from his spot as soon as he heard a familiar voice reach his ears; his silhouette, then appearing in front of one of the blocks that floated in the air.
"Riley… what?"
"Silvie Savelievna."
"What…" Silvie, who was inside the room that Riley pulled from the prison, could not help but slightly step forward; her eyes, staring at the destruction that Riley had caused, "...Why–"
"Have you seen my sister!?"
"W… what?" Silvie then once again repeated; her eyes blinking from hearing the tone of Riley's voice. This was perhaps the very first time she had heard him sound like this. He… almost seemed normal now.
"I… We got separated, I haven't seen her–"
And before Silvie could finish her words, she felt herself suddenly being pushed away– Riley and the prison, getting farther and farther away within a blink. And before she could even utter another word, she felt a certain warmth cover her back.
She turned around, only to see Bulwark, as well as a gigantic golden hand catching her. She then quickly returned her gaze towards Riley… only to see the room she was just in being crushed almost into a ball.
"N… no, Riley! Someone else was inside!" Silvie screamed as she quickly tried to fly back… only for her head to almost bleed from the impact of hitting Riley's invisible dome.
"Silv–"
"What have you guys done!?"
And before Bulwark could even say anything, Silvie slammed her fist towards the invisible dome, causing the air itself to almost crack as the ground beneath her all rippled away.
"Riley tried to save… save everyone and you repay him like this!?"
The last time Silvie saw Riley was when he stayed behind to stop… the other clones. The image of Riley's silhouette getting smaller as he stayed to fight the monsters was still freshly ingrained in Silvie's mind. For her… that was the image of a hero– the very reason she was created.
And so, she could not help but think– if the Government was done with her, will they also treat her like this?
No, she knew the answer to that. Megawoman was Earth's savior– and look what they have done to her, creating monsters in her image.
The Government… they can't be trusted– Silvie then thought as she watched as Riley continued his rampage… seeing it almost as a sort of rebellion to a government that tries to control them. Her head started to hurt just from the sheer thought, but still… she did not stray her eyes away.
"Hannah! Where are you!?"
"...Riley!"
Another familiar voice then echoed through Riley's ears– and like with Silvie, he quickly appeared in front of the room where the voice came from.
"M… Master Riley!"
"Tomoe…" Riley could not help but furrow his eyebrows as once again, the voice was not owned by his sister.
"Are you alright, Master Riley!?"
"Have you seen my sister!?" Riley then stepped onto Tomoe's floating room; as soon as he did so, the head of the man that was interrogating Tomoe burst into a cloud of blood.
"N… no," Tomoe, however, completely ignored it as she returned Riley's gaze. She then suddenly felt her body being pushed away… but before her feet could leave the floor, the heavy force suddenly stopped.
"Night Queen," Riley then whispered; his eyes, still staring deep into Tomoe's eyes.
"...Find my sister."
And as soon as Tomoe heard Riley's words, the somewhat bewildered expression on her face disappeared,
"Your orders…" Tomoe then said as she bowed her head,
"...I receive with all my heart, Master Riley."
Chapter 215215 Chapter 215: A Performance
The sound of madness and destruction continued as bits and pieces of HM Prison Leeds for the Super Gifted were dissected– its rooms, slowly decreasing as Riley continued to pluck them one by one as he floated on top of the unfolded holding bay.
Christopher, the one responsible for interrogating Riley, was now just sprawled on the floor; his face, completely defeated from the realization that he might have caused this. Now that he was slightly calming down and had gathered his thoughts, his eyes were starting to find a way to escape the horrid situation he found himself in.
He was still an interrogator for one of the biggest prisons in the entire world, after all– even if he was a normal human, he had questioned Supers that could squish him with a flick of a finger many times over. If there was a skill that he gained from that, it was remaining calm no matter the circumstance.
His slight blunder with Riley was just because he was a special case– a young man that hasn't even stepped on the roads of adulthood… and is suspected to be Darkday. He had seen the videos more than he could count– and without a doubt, Riley Ross is Darkday.
Of course, it could, in fact, also be edited. But for now, all the evidence pointed to him being so– and seeing the abnormal strength and ruthlessness he was showing now, he could be none other than Darkday.
"..." But why does it feel like he wasn't? Christopher then blinked a couple of times as he finally gained the strength to stand up; his pants, a little sticky from having accidentally peed on them.
…Christopher started this onslaught, he thought. And so, he should be the one to find a way to end it. Riley's screams of longing to see his sister repeated over and over again through his ears… if that was the way to end this rampage, then he would be the one to personally do it.
Christopher then let out a small but very deep sigh as he readied to jump from the floating platform he was in. He might just be a normal human, but it doesn't mean he wasn't trained for extreme situations– one needed to be at the peak of human conditions to be able to even have the job and career he has.
And so, with him tucking in his stomach and clenching his teeth… he started to push himself off the ground; the pace of his dash, almost that of an Olympic-level athlete. Christopher's eyes then looked at the floating room that was slowly approaching their platform.
He planned to jump on it, then leap to the next one until he managed to reach the prison grounds. Christopher then turned his eyes towards Riley as he reached the edge of the holding bay. And seeing as he was completely focused on trying to find his sister, Christopher hastened his pace.
"You want your sister!?" Christopher exhaled, "I'll find your fucking sister!"
Christopher then reached the edge of the platform, immediately pushing himself with all his might as he leaped towards the room that was ascending towards them. His foot, successfully landing on the corner of the floating room; his head… also landing on the corner as it actually flew at a speed that Christopher was not expecting– it seemed somewhat mellow from afar.
And so; hitting his head on the cold hard wall of steel… Christopher's body spun like a ragdoll as it violently rolled on the side of the floating room. His hand still instinctively tried to reach for something to grab onto– but alas, his entire depth perception was already messed up from having hit his head.
But still, Christopher was able to grab onto something– the ground, as he hit the cold hard floors of the prison face first.
"..."
"..."
Tomoe, who was trying to find Hannah throughout the prison, could only blink a couple of times as a man suddenly flopped right in front of her; his body folding completely in half as his head was squashed almost like watermelon.
"..." Tomoe then moved to the side to avoid the man, continued her search for Hannah; scouring the rooms that Riley would not float anytime soon. But with all the rumbles that were thundering everywhere, it made it hard for Tomoe to even focus.
"T… that's one of Riley's associates!"
And before Tomoe could find the next room, she crossed paths with a group of guards. Tomoe, however, tried to completely ignore these men in uniform as she used her powers to create a pillar of ice to propel her over them.
"You're not going anywhere!"
The guards, however, didn't seem to have any plans in letting Tomoe freely search their compound as 2 of them swiftly blocked her path– with one already summoning a sort of blade on his hand.
"Lock yourself in one of the rooms, this will be your only warning!"
And even with this so-called warning, the air around them cracked as Tomoe's skin started to glimmer; almost reflecting light with the fractals building around her. Even the tiniest sweat that was trailing on the faces of the guards, freezing almost instantly as the air around them thickened.
"You… Kill her!"
Tomoe quickly crouched to the ground; both her palms touching the cold floor as her ominous black icicles started to stretch towards the guards surrounding her. But before the edges of her spiky storm could reach any of the guards, they all suddenly burst into a cloud of blood. And with the temperature around them lowered, their blood almost turned into jelly as it flopped and bounced on the cold floor.
"..." Tomoe then turned to look up, only to see Riley floating just outside of the edge of the floating holding bay; momentarily glancing at her before continuing to pluck the rooms of the prison one by one.
And although Riley was not looking in her direction, Tomoe still bowed her head before continuing to head deeper into parts of the prison that still had a roof attached above its head. She had to be careful, of course– as even with all the chaos that Riley was causing, she was still, in fact, inside a facility that housed Super criminals. And perhaps Riley's rampage made the situation worse, as the prisoners have become even more excited.
But still, with the setup of the HM Prison Leeds, Tomoe's advance had been relatively safe. She was using her ice powers to break into rooms, then locking them back with multiple layers of ice again if Hannah and the others were nowhere to be found.
She continued to do this several times, until finally–
"Who–"
And before who Tomoe could only assume to be an interrogator speak, she had already encased him inside a frozen wall– she did not kill him, however, as Riley didn't seem to want her taking any lives during this mission. It was evident when he killed the guards for her earlier.
"..." Tomoe then turned her eyes towards the other presence in the room, only to see Katherine hanging and tied up; her limbs, completely bound in chains as she was barely wearing anything. Seeing this, Tomoe quickly summoned several blades of ice, quickly cutting the chains that bound Katherine.
"Can you get up, Ms. Scarlet Mage?" Tomoe then said as she saw Katherine kneeling on the ground; her breaths, loud enough to be heard even with all the rumbles happening outside.
"Is that Riley rampaging outside?" Katherine whispered as the chains on her wrists and ankles started to tremble.
"Yes," Tomoe nodded, "I am currently on a very important mission to find big sister Hannah; personally ordered by Master Riley himself. So…
…I'll leave now."
And with that, Tomoe quickly walked away; not even helping Katherine up as she left the room.
"..." Seeing this, Katherine could only let out a small but deep sigh. She let out a couple of breaths after… until finally standing up; any chains that were still attached to her body, withering away almost like London.
Katherine's silver hair then started to float in the air as she raised both her hands to the side– what little clothing she had left, surprisingly covering her most intimate parts. Katherine's breaths then once again resounded inside the room; her inhale, causing the metal floor to almost ripple inward.
Katherine then let out a small whistle, before clapping her hand and causing that quiet whistle to amplify… to the point that it completely destroyed the room she was confined in.
"..." Katherine's eyes slightly squinted as her skin was finally once again bathed in the rays of the sun. But before she could enjoy this warmth crawling through her skin, she felt her body suddenly float in the air.
Unlike everyone else, however, Katherine did not resist this invisible force even one bit; as even compared to the warmth of the sun, this domineering and yet gentle force was more familiar to her.
And so, Katherine just let herself be lifted up; her eyes, scanning the destruction that Riley had caused carefully. Even if they could somehow miraculously prove that he is not Darkday… he will still surely face punishments after this stunt.
But it doesn't matter.
"Silver Moon."
"Riley," Katherine then slightly nodded her head as Riley placed her right beside him; waiting for her to fly on her own before releasing his invisible grip on her, "Do you also want me to search for Hannah?"
"No."
"Wh–" And before Katherine could answer, she could not help but let out a small gasp; followed by a small but deep sigh as she shook her head. She then clapped her hands, before stretching them to the sides and creating some sort of bubble that encased her and Riley– the noise and rumble outside, completely silenced.
The rumbles, however, were replaced by a small chuckle that would make one almost shiver from the inside out.
"You…" Katherine then once again sighed as soon as she was sure that no one could hear them from the outside,
"...Already know where Hannah is, don't you?"
Chapter 216A few hours ago, Riley was waiting at the large holding bay, inside the transparent cube he was being securely confined in. Bulwark and his soon-to-be interrogator were still not there; the Super guards and soldiers, however, were already there surrounding every inch of the holding bay.
Holding bay– that was truly the best description Riley could think of. Why would they even waste this much space just for a single guest? He thought. There wasn't even a bed, but only a single chair right in the middle– is this how the government uses their budget?
"..." And with that thought suddenly entering his mind, Riley let out a small cough, causing all the people guarding him to flinch; with some even instinctively using their abilities in fear– after all, the young man inside the cube could be Darkday.
This somewhat worsened Riley's cough, however, as he slouched himself on the chair provided for him.
"Should… we check up on him?" One of the guards whispered; this was heard by one of the soldiers, however, who quickly warned him not to even move from his spot if he doesn't want to get in trouble.
It was a good thing he was warned; else, they would have all noticed that Riley wasn't actually coughing, but trying to hold laughter that has been wanting to escape his wide mouth.
How could he not laugh? He could not help but compare this accommodation to his own guesthouse. He made sure that all of his guests were comfortable. They have their own bed, free meals, and time to use state-of-the-art toilet rooms– they even have their own entertainment areas so that they can physically socialize with each other.
Riley opted to use transparent enclosures close to each other so that even if they were confined, they would be able to still see each other and wave– even teaching all of them sign language so that they would be able to communicate.
In that way, all of his guests were comfortable. Of course, there were still complaints with his services– especially from his latest guest from the Dark Millenium. Thankfully, he also has a new Warden to take care of things for him and let Diley rest.
Still… to think he would find himself inside a transparent confinement– who knew?
"..." Riley then turned his head up, slightly flicking his finger. And as soon as he did so, a small hole opened up on the glass.
"Pft," Riley once again covered his mouth. With just a single thought, the confinement was damaged? With his accommodations, even someone of Gary's strength wouldn't be able to make a dent even if he punched with all his might– that is, if Gary was not hiding his true strength.
He was still the son of Megawoman, after all. Who knows what he could be hiding.
"!!!"
Riley then blinked a couple of times; his nostrils also slightly pulsated as he tilted his head to the side.
"...Sister?" Riley then let out a small whisper. That was fast, Riley thought. Did they try to grab her as soon as they had him in custody? This…
…is good.
The smile on Riley's face could no longer be hidden as his body almost trembled in excitement. He had thought of many things that would be happening soon, but to think it was the best scenario he could hope for.
Of course, Riley had thought of the time he would be captured– it was part of the risks with his hobby, after all. Sooner or later, he would be caught, so he had already thought of the things he would be doing once it happens.
The easiest option was to kill everyone else but his sister– but that would surely make Hannah hate her enough to commit suicide.
The second option was just to leave the planet– but that would probably cause him to just fleet through space until he dies of old age. But with Megawoman's abilities… he would probably just float until he manages to find another planet to terrorize. Who knows how long that would take?
After all, through the billions and billions of planets that they have found– only two had intelligent life. Earth and Megawoman's planet, Theran.
He had many more options thought out, but he wasn't exactly being held right now as Darkday, but as Riley Ross. He could just make one of his clones come out as Darkday and kill people while he was inside– but Darkday's cloning ability was well-known, people would probably just approach that angle. And besides…
…Diley was already inside somewhere in the prison.
And so, with a lot of thoughts circling in his mind, he had come up with one solution that had the chance to disassociate him with Darkday. His greatest power– his autism and looks.
Stupid, one might think– but the reason of being in the spectrum had allowed Riley to do basically anything he wanted in his life… and others would just be blamed for it.
"Kek," Riley once again covered his mouth– his hand, however, was not enough to cover his smile that reached from ear to ear. How could he not, when he found the perfect scapegoat?
The Government itself.
A child diagnosed with autism, tortured and held by the Government for almost an entire day. Of course, he was suspected as Darkday. But even if just a single doubt that he was not was lit up inside the masses, then that will start to spread like wildfire.
A chance– he thought as he looked at the cameras plastered all over the holding bay. The only thing to do now was wait for a chance.
And seeing Bulwark finally enter along with whom he could only assume to be an interrogator, that chance was about to come his way.
"..."
"..."
He waited and waited quietly– until finally,
"Do not move! If you do, we will be forced to kill your family!"
There it is, Riley thought as the interrogator, Christopher, raised his voice.
To threaten the family of someone with autism, what is that if not something to get enraged about? Riley had seen the videos already and even Bernard's recording of saying he is Darkday– but the masses are easy to sway especially when confronted with a wounded puppy. He was still a little stirred by his sister being threatened, of course– but he knew she was safe.
"..." Riley then turned his eyes towards Bulwark– his most credible witness of the Government's mistreatment.
Of course, it would still rely on luck whether or not people would really disassociate him with Darkday. And since that was already out of his hands, it was time to finally have an excuse to continue his fun.
Riley's feet left the ground, lifting the entire holding bay he was in with him– throwing away Bulwark since he was done with him and started destroying the prison bit by bit in an excuse to find his 'sister-in-distress'.
90% of the people in the prison are criminals– this would also help in swaying the masses' opinions.
And so, Riley continued his rampage; plucking parts of the prison as if it was only some sort of lego. He stopped, however, as soon as he found Silvie– he had no use of her, however, so he quickly threw her away to where Bulwark was.
The next one he found was his Second Subordinate. He was about to also throw her away because she would just end up getting in the way– but decided not to do so.
It would somewhat be a loss for him to lose a loyal subject, but if Tomoe, a 16-year-old girl, were to be killed by the soldiers and guards in the prison while just trying to find her friend, it would further stain the Government's reputation.
And so, without thinking any further, Riley ordered Tomoe to find Hannah. And to Riley's expectations, she was quickly surrounded by almost a dozen guards.
"..." Contrary to his expectations, however, Riley killed the guards almost instinctively. He was wrong– if Tomoe was to die here, then the pain that Hannah had building up inside her would probably worsen. That was something that Riley wouldn't allow since he was already rampaging here.
And so, Riley continued his rampage– making sure that the lines of all the surveillance cameras were still intact even if the holding bay was not. And true enough, his rampage was being caught in all directions– after all, the one handling the control room right now was Diley; surrounded by the unconscious bodies of the ones that should be handling it, recording everything with a proud expression on his face.
And soon, his First Subordinate joined him, creating a bubble and isolating them from the rest of the world, carrying a question she already knew the answer to–
"You… already know where Hannah is, don't you?"
Of course, he knew. This entire prison was currently in his hands right now.
"Hug me, Silver Moon."
"...What?"
"Hug me and release this bubble you created," Riley repeated his words.
"..." And although Katherine was still confused as to what Riley was doing, she still followed her orders; hugging him and releasing the bubble they were confined in.
As soon as he did so, however, a sharp piece of metal suddenly flew straight into her hand.
"This– !!!"
And before she could continue her words, her hand that held the metal spike went straight to Riley's stomach. The floating platform then slowly descended to the ground– the tremble that has been shaking the entire prison, fading away as Riley's body rested on Katherine's body.
"R… Riley?" Katherine's breath stuttered.
"I'll live," Riley, however, just casually whispered in her ear, "Now scream."
"W… what?"
"Scream so the people could hear the pain of killing your lover."
"..."
And so, she did.
Loud enough for the world to hear.
Chapter 217Like a banshee that veils the world in eerie darkness, Katherine's screams echoed throughout the entire world– quite literally. Riley ordered her to scream so that the entire world could hear, and so she did.
She amplified her scream to its utmost limit by manipulating the air around her– it might have just been a very faint whisper on the other side of the world, but it thundered through the skies of its neighbors.
The pain contained in her wails was enough to kill a person– whether or not it was fake or she really did feel tormented with having to stab Riley… only she knows for now.
But she screamed. She screamed until her lungs could no longer produce any air or sound, even then, she tried as her cracked gasps whispered in the air.
Her screams, however, were not the only ones that the people felt. Right now, the cameras that were zoomed in on them stuck to them like flies. They've captured the moment Scarlet Mage approached Riley; as if trying to tell her student and rumored lover to stop what he was doing.
And then, when Riley seemed to have no intention of stopping, she did what no one should bear to do– kill the person she loves.
And that was evident from the screams she just let out; even now as it faded, the viewers that were watching from their televisions and screens could still fill every pore in their body opening up.
Their eyes focused on Katherine's now silver hair– like a moon radiating even through the violent rays the sun had brought her.
A Silver Moon that covers the sun with her pain.
"Good job, Katherine."
Contrary to everyone's expectations, however, Riley was still alive and well– the blood coming out of his mouth, trailing from the edges of his lips that reached almost his ears.
"But your performance is not over yet," Riley then said as the both of them slowly descended to the ground, "Heal me and call for help, Katherine."
"..." Katherine could only look at Riley as her feet and Riley's body slowly landed on the ground– they were right in front of the prison's gate; almost as if Riley was setting up some sort of scenery that one could only find in movies.
Katherine then quickly kneeled on the ground as trickles of yellow light appeared on her hands. She then placed her hands on Riley's wounds, causing the sharp shard of metal to slowly emerge from it.
"!!!" Katherine then closed her eyes as a spurt of blood suddenly splashed on her face. She didn't expect this to happen as even though her healing powers were one of her weaker ones, it should still be enough to close the surface of Riley's wounds.
"..." Katherine then turned her eyes towards Riley, who was looking at her with a small smile on his face.
"Cry," Riley then whispered.
"..."
"..." Katherine's eyes started to twitch. Riley seemed to think she was some sort of actress that could just act in command– well, she could. She manipulated the sweat formed around her body and trailed them towards her eyes, making it look as if she was crying.
And soon, the sound of the helicopters entered their ears. They previously weren't allowed to enter within 500-meters of the prison, but with half of the prison destroyed, no one really paid attention to them anymore.
And besides– the one to shoot them down earlier wasn't the prison in the first place, but Diley.
"Riley!" And soon, Silvie's voice could be heard screaming Riley's name; followed by Bulwark as he trailed behind her.
"You–" She was going to say something to Katherine, but as soon as she saw the tears trailing from her eyes, the only thing she could do was shut her mouth.
"...She did what had to be done," Bulwark placed his hand on Silvie's shoulder, "If she didn't… then Riley might accidentally kill the very person he was searching for."
"Is… is he alive?" Silvie then nodded before also falling to the ground beside Katherine.
"He… will," Katherine then said as she wiped the fake tears from her face, "But he needs proper healing… I could only stop the bleeding."
"That–"
"Get out of the way!"
And before Silvie could finish her words, the gate opened. And without even waiting for it to fully slide open, Hannah rushed from the inside and pushed both Katherine and Silvie away.
"R… Riley!" She then quickly tapped the huge gash on his stomach; she wanted to embrace him but was afraid to harm her brother.
"You!" Hannah then turned her glares towards Katherine, "What did you do!? You–"
And this time, it was Hannah's voice that was cut-off as Diana, who was following behind her, slapped her right on the cheek.
"Calm down," Diana said, "Just stay with your brother."
Diana then proceeded to approach Katherine, who quickly prepared herself to meet Diana's palm as well.
"!!!"
Contrary to her expectations, however, Diana crouched to the ground to hug her.
"T… thank you," Diana then whimpered, "Thank you for stopping and saving my son. We… we saw everything that happened. You… you did what you had to."
"That's…" In the end, the only thing that Katherine could really do was return Diana's embrace. And even though that embrace was of her own will, it still felt like Riley was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
No– everyone here had strings attached to them, all controlled by Riley. She had witnessed it already during the Seven Planes incident… but Riley Ross truly was more dangerous than Darkday.
With Darkday, it was just raw destruction. But if it was Riley Ross, it was a structured destruction. Riley had told them that everything depended on luck in the end during the Seven Planes incident… but he made it possible solely by the fact that he was capable of doing so– because he had the strength to do so.
"..." Katherine and Tomoe's eyes then met, the two nodding to each other as if both were successful in carrying their orders. Gary, who was also with the group, was about to stomp his way towards the helicopters that landed near them.
But before he could ask them to move away, Tomoe stopped him.
"Let the world see what they did," Tomoe said.
"..." Gary was confused at first as to what Tomoe meant, but before he could ask what she meant, Riley's stuttered words started to whisper in the air. And as soon as everyone heard that, everyone quickly circled him and Hannah– even the people from the media.
"S… sister?" Riley's trembling hand tried to reach for Hannah's face– but was too weak to do so. Before his hand could fall, however, Hannah caught it and placed it on her cheek.
"I… I'm here," Hannah stuttered as tears soon fell from her face.
"Are you… are you alright, sister?"
"Yes, I'm… I'm not hurt, I'm not hurt anymore," Hannah whimpered as she rested her cheek on Riley's palm, "Mom is fine as well."
Hannah gestured for her mother to approach. Diana, however, only shook her head– she knew that the only one Riley needed now was her sister.
"That… that's good," Riley whispered as he let out a cough; trickles of blood, scattering around his mouth, "I… I thought they hurt you, sister. I… I think I might have hurt people… Did… Did I hurt people again?"
"..." Hannah trailed her eyes towards the ruined prison, before taking in a small gulp and returning her gaze to Riley, "N… No, of course not."
"I… I thought they hurt you and," Riley took in a small but very deep gasp; his face twisting as his wound seemed to have throbbed.
"Riley!? C… call for ambulance for fuck's sake!" Hannah screamed as she looked at the others.
"I… I'm fine, sister," Riley, however, turned her face towards him, "It… I'm alright."
And as soon as everyone heard that, the only thing they could do was look to the side. Katherine might have stopped the blood, but Riley still needed proper help; if not, then he would surely die in less than an hour.
Even the reporters, who were previously excited by the news of Darkday, could only look at their cameramen.
Darkday? They all thought. Who the fuck scattered those videos? How in the world is someone like this Darkday? He might have caused this much destruction, but it was because they were holding his sister hostage.
Who… exactly was the real villain here?
"O… of course," Hannah then forced a smile, "You… you're the strongest person I know."
And as Riley heard this, his trembling head shook,
"N… no. I… I'm scared, sister."
And as soon as Hannah said that, her lip almost bled from her biting it.
"I'm… I'm scared of meeting my biological mother, sister. Will… Will I meet her if I die?"
The reporters who heard this, could not help but turn their eyes towards Diana. They've already heard the rumors that Riley Ross was adopted… but for him to be afraid of meeting him when he dies– wasn't that implying that his real mother was dead?
If so, why was he afraid of her? And as if to answer their questions, Riley once again opened his trembling mouth.
"What… what will I do if Ms. Phoenix tries to kill me in heaven?"
"!!!"
And almost as if clockwork– stories started to write themselves on the reporters' minds. Even those that were watching from the screens were starting to formulate their own theories.
And soon… another video was scattered throughout the internet.
A video of Julius's– No. A video showing proof of Alistair's sick obsession with Riley Ross's sister... as well as Whiteking's response.
Chapter 218Alistair Reuben– the person that practically jump-started technology as we know it today. He was a father to a single son and a grandfather. The life of his son and his family, however, were snuffed out as Darkday started wreaking havoc as he fought Megawoman.
Alistair Reuben was a dying man. But because of this event, his vigor once again exploded– bringing along with it a certain obsessive madness. An obsession in trying to find and kill Darkday.
And so, with his almost unlimited supply of money, he conjured up a plan– a plan that was only possible for one that had his wealth. And his plan started when Darkday returned Megawoman's body to the government.
Using his connections, he harvested a sample of Megawoman's DNA– using it to gain her powers and become younger. And as if that wasn't enough, he killed everyone that worked on the serum as he did not want it to be used by anyone else.
And then, in his fit of insanity, his attention came upon a young man. A young man who looked different than anyone else, who was different than everyone else.
An albino with high-functioning autism.
He created this idea in his mind that someone that unique could only be Darkday. But this was not the only reason, however.
Jealousy.
He was jealous of Bernard Ross, aka Whiteking. He was jealous of his youth, jealous of his intellect that far surpassed him; jealous of the limelight he was receiving as one of the most famous superheroes in the entire world.
And so, using his resources, he tasked his people to forge a video that would make his sick fantasies a reality. This was easy for him. After all, he was considered the Father of Technology.
Making it look as if Riley Ross was Darkday– and even using a state-of-the-art voice alteration software to make it look as if Bernard himself confessed to his son being Darkday.
This, however, was not even the icing on the cake.
As if it was not enough to frame an innocent child– he tried to prey on a woman not even a quarter of his age. The woman being none other than Bernard's other child, Hannah Ross.
Alistair approached Hannah with the intention of trying to sleep with her. Hannah tried to stay away from his advances, but he continued until he found a moment of weakness. This was easy for someone like Alistair; after all, he contained all of Hannah's data– down to her phone conversations.
Thankfully, he was unsuccessful in doing so as his strange demeanor and weirdness caused Hannah to push him away.
And then, for the finale.
Alistair Reuben was responsible for the monsters that have suddenly emerged from all over the globe… desecrating Megawoman's legacy even further as the monsters themselves came from the reserved DNA he bought from the Government.
And when it was time for the final act of his revenge– he hacked V's mecha suit, causing it to haywire in order for it to kill Riley… the result of this, however, was the tragic loss of London; the tragic loss of millions of lives.
And if it was not for Riley Ross himself containing and stopping V's raging powers, then perhaps the damage would have been throughout the entire country. But seeing that Riley survived, Alistair attacked him in a blind rage– with Riley coming out as the victor.
Where Riley's power came from was no longer a secret as well.
Riley Ross was the biological child of Ms. Phoenix– the strongest recorded telekinetic super recorded. As for why Riley was under the care of the Ross family, however, was still unclear.
What is clear, however, was that Alistair Reuben was a sick man. A man that lost his mind when his family died because of Darkday– perhaps one would feel a sort of pity for him because of this fact…
…but with the rumors of Alistair also being responsible for the existence of the Dark Millenium, all of that went away. It was not clear or implied, but Prophet's death may have also been forged by Alistair because he discovered his connection with the Dark Millenium.
And thus, ends the story that Whiteking had shown to the world. There were videos, secret documents, and even witnesses that came forward.
All of these were, of course, fake. The videos were all edited, the secret documents were forged, and the witnesses don't exist. They were all made by Whiteking in the span of hours as soon as he woke up from the deep ocean of dismay he found himself in.
Whiteking did not have any superpowers– but even with this fact, Bulwark, who had lived for a couple of millennia, considered him the most dangerous man on the planet. He was, as his name implied a King.
A King that erased existences– leaving only a white canvas where he controlled everything. Painting the life of a man that does not even exist; or covering a man's entire legacy and filling it with nothing but shit.
Whiteking was capable of that.
And so, weeks passed after the incident. And in the minds of the people, the possibility of Riley Ross being Darkday was almost completely gone. But of course… there were still a few people that were not convinced of Riley's innocence…
…but right now, as of this very moment– Riley was only being tried for multiple homicides. His sentence could have been reduced if the individuals that died were only the prisoners since most were already a lifer– but some guards and prison staff were also killed during Riley's blind rampage.
The masses that were sure that Riley was not Darkday, however, were once again split. Some are saying that he should only be charged with manslaughter– a few even taking the angle of self-defense. Some, however, are saying that murder is murder no matter what and that he should be tried like any other person.
And so, once again– everyone's eyes were on Riley Ross. His trial once again turned into an event that the whole world watched.
"Upon consideration of the relevant evidence, the testimony exhibits in mitigation– it is the judgment of this court that the aggravated circumstances…"
The whole world watched as Riley once again stood in defence– this time, truly in front of the law. Silvie and the others were there, serving as a witness to the unruly and almost inhumane way that the people of the prison treated them.
There was also Katherine– who was physically tortured by the interrogator and guards. There was, of course, evidence of this as what happened was all caught in the prison's surveillance systems; and surprisingly, none were destroyed even though the prison was almost lost to ruin.
Once again, the people were outraged– with some now even saying that what happened to the prison was justified and that Riley Ross should be set free; putting the judge in a somewhat difficult position as the juries seemed to have a sway in emotions.
But even taking everything into consideration, Riley still killed innocent people.
"The jury finds the defendant…
…guilty."
And the sentence for murder in the United Kingdom was…
"This court is going to impose… a life sentence–"
"Fuck you! Fuck–"
The entire courtroom erupted as soon as the verdict was called– almost literally as Hannah's entire body started to trickle with flames. Before any fire could combust, however, Bernard pulled Hannah down back to her seat, restraining her with the help of Bulwark, who was also there as a witness.
"L… let go of me, you useless fu–"
"Order in the court! Order in the court!"
It was not only in the courtroom that the people started to let out their gasps. Even on the internet, people were voicing out their opinions to the point that one could almost hear them actually arguing from their screens.
How could they not, when someone of Riley's strength only had one destination– the most secure facility in the entire world, Russia's Super Maximum Prison. There would have also been a chance that he would be sent to another softer prison… but he just destroyed that one in half.
Some were arguing that Riley should be put in a mental institution instead– but an insane Super who committed a crime is treated the same as any other Super criminals.
And so, with a process that took almost an entire month, not even letting anyone celebrate the New Year's…
…Riley was sent to prison.
Hannah tried to fight, of course– even wanting to cause mayhem so that she would also be put in prison. But alas, she was confined by Whiteking inside the Hope Guild's base; not even getting the chance to say goodbye to her brother.
It was not only her, however, that did not get this chance. The same day the verdict was placed upon him was the last time that any of the Ross saw him– even his parents; this was to prevent any thoughts of escape, especially considering the position of Whiteking in society.
"..."
"...Who the fuck is that white cunt?"
"Look at that, they brought someone tied up again."
"What do you think he did?"
"Who the fuck cares– he's probably a serial rapist like the last guy."
And soon, the opinions of the masses outside were replaced by the opinions of those that were inside– inside the prison that would be Riley's home…
…until he dies.
***
[...]
[.....]
[.....No longer detecting Alistair A. Reuben's Vital Signs: Activating MEGAN's Contingency Phase.]
[...]
[.....]
[.....Successfully Activated! MEGAN's Contingency Phase: Theran Call, now online.]
[...Signal not found.]
[.....Signal not found.]
[Signal–]
***VOLUME 3-- END***
Chapter 219"Remember the rules, that will be the only thing you will be living by from now on."
"I have already memorized them, warden Yakovich."
"Stop being such a smart–"
"None of them forbids me from fighting back, warden Yakovich. Be careful where your hands are going."
Warden Yakovich– the one responsible for managing the most secure prison in the entire world for almost 30 years now. He had seen many prisoners come… but not many go. The Super Max Prison was famous for holding the record of having the most Super prisoners that were sentenced to life at one time.
And considering Russia's Super Max Prison could actually only hold 200 prisoners at one time, that truly was a feat that no other facility in the world could replicate.
There were many rules set upon the prisoners– but really, who could actually control people that could practically destroy an entire city if they wanted to? And in the Super Max Prison, there were more than a dozen capable of that. In fact, some of them could just break out if they want to; and chances are they would succeed.
Well, that's where their success ends. They might be able to escape with ease, but what awaited them was most likely death as they would be placed under the radars of the Hope Guild and other superhero organizations.
But still– how is the most secure facility in the entire world the most secure even though there was a possibility that the prisoners could escape if they want to, you ask?
That is because the prisoners themselves have built their own society inside the prison– a sort of hierarchy that Russia has exploited to let the prisoners themselves keep themselves in check. Some prisoners even act as guards, abusing the other prisoners and disguising it as imposing the rules.
In short, politics.
The prisoners were drunk by the power they held inside the prison, even if they knew it was just an illusion. They even set up their own Ranks, the higher the rank you have, the more authority you hold inside the prison… with Rank 1 basically having almost the same authority as warden Yakovich.
Of course, even if that was the case, warden Yakovich was not really afraid that people would start questioning his authority because of this. After all, those who asked could no longer be found in the prison the next day.
There was also the fact that warden Yakovich was also rated as a Class-S Super– only the strongest of prisoners would have the chance to stand toe-to-toe with him if they wished to challenge him.
One might think that the prisoners would be afraid of actually challenging him– but no. Almost every week, a prisoner challenges warden Yakovich, sometimes for no reason at all but for the sheer entertainment of it.
And with his almost 30 years of being the warden; suffice to say, Yakovich was probably one of the most well-versed Supers in the world in terms of combating other Supers. He had seen his fair shares of strong supers…
…but the one in front of him right now was different.
Riley Ross.
Adoptive father, Whiteking; Biological mother, Ms. Phoenix.
Sentenced to life for killing half of the people in the second-most secure prison in the entire world. But most importantly… he was suspected to be the most heinous villain the planet has ever produced– Darkday.
His name was already cleared of that– but everyone has already seen what Riley Ross was capable of. He was a telekinetic capable of rivaling Ms. Phoenix and Darkday, both of which battle for the position of the strongest telekinetic in the world.
Warden Yakovich had also seen the videos of his rampage and already knew what to expect. But this…
Riley Ross was in front of him, his body currently wrapped in layers of kevlar, attached to a vertical stretcher to prevent him from moving even a single finger. His eyes were also covered– so how exactly did he see Yakovich's hand that was about to slap him in the face?
And more importantly… how was he stopping it?
There were only the two of them in this holding room, with their only companions their reflections that moved in all corners of the room.
Yakovich could only take in a small but very deep breath as he stared at his own hand; already lifted in the air but completely still– not even a tremble could be seen.
"Let… go of my hand, prisoner 666."
"...Prisoner 666?"
And with that whisper coming out of Riley's mouth, warden Yakovich could once again finally feel his arm become his own. Yakovich wanted to reprimand Riley with what he just did, but considering the file he had read about him, it would probably not have any effect on him.
Riley Ross was a high-functioning autistic. Of course, there were actually a lot of people somewhat similar to Riley inside the prison; psychopaths, sociopaths, and just insane. No one in this prison was in the right mind. One could argue that even he had a few screws loose for not even straying from this career.
But even then, Riley was unique. He was the only prisoner here that one could argue did not deserve to be here– after all, even half the masses said so.
"You are our 666th prisoner, Mr. Ross," warden Yakovich then said as he let out a small sigh; retracting his hand as he did so.
"That… is quite an interesting number, don't you think so, warden Yakovich?"
"..." Yakovich could not help but slightly squint his eyes as Riley's already wide mouth started to stretch even further.
"Do I get a phone call, warden Yakovich?" Riley then said as the smile on his face remained, "If so, then I want my first phone call to be to the Pope. I finally have a story that could match his story about Jes–"
"That's enough," warden Yakovich then raised his hand; and as soon as he did so, one of the mirrors in the room started to open up; emerging from it almost a dozen super guards.
"You will now be taken to your cell, prisoner 666," Yakovich then let out a sigh, "Once you're in there, you are in the hands of the other prisoners. And since you are sentenced to life, the only way you're leaving this place is inside a body bag."
"That is debatable, warden Yakovi–"
And before Riley could once again finish his words, one of the guards tapped something on his stretcher, causing it to shake violently as they pulled him away without a word.
"Be very careful, prisoner 666. You are in here for killing prisoners and prison guards– both of which are the only people you would be seeing until the day you die, and I am telling you now, they would not be treating you well."
"I was already expecting that, warden Yakovich."
"..." Warden Yakovich could only watch as Riley was taken away by his guards. And seeing the looks that the guards were exchanging, they were already planning on doing something. Riley Ross may be seen as a sort of innocent victim oppressed by the government outside, but in here…
…he was just a prisoner. And what mattered most was what got him here.
Everyone in the prison would surely make trouble for him– especially with the way he looks.
"..." A long and very deep sigh then escaped from Yakovich's mouth, almost fogging the entire walls of mirrors. He was used to trouble… the only problem now was the one that would be at the receiving end was probably the most problematic prisoner this facility has ever seen.
"I knew I should have retired when I had the chance."
***
"Are… we really doing it? He's just a child now that I am seeing him."
"A child that killed more than a dozen of us. If you're going to be a little bitch, then leave."
"..." Although Riley's eyes were covered, it was obvious that the guards that were taking him to his cell were planning something– after all, their excited and nervous breaths were all but familiar to him.
"Is your group perhaps trying to kill me, guards?"
"Shut up! You only speak when spoken to!"
"..." Riley could once again feel his body being violently dragged as the guards once again adjusted his stretcher. After that, however, no words escaped the mouths of the guards– almost as if only speaking through their eyes.
Soon, however, Riley could hear loud whispers and murmurs coming from almost all directions.
"...Who the fuck is that white cunt?"
"Look at that, they brought someone tied up again."
"What do you think he did?"
"Who the fuck cares– he's probably a serial rapist like the last guy."
"Quiet down if you do not want to be electrocuted!"
"Ooh, how scary!"
"Here! Shock me! Shock me you, little sad bitch!"
"Tch, the warden should really fuck these guys up. Their heads are starting to get big."
"..."
The talks and whispers continued on for a few more minutes; until finally, the persistent squeaking sound of the wheels of the stretcher he was attached to stopped.
"Come on! Let's leave!"
"Are… are we really leaving him like this!?"
"...Wouldn't he just be able to break--"
"Let's just go!"
"..." Riley could only let out a small breath as he heard the footsteps of the guards hurry away; fading and soon disappearing from his ears. He waited for a few more seconds if they were planning to do something else, but even after a full minute– no one came for him.
The bindings that trapped him in the stretcher, still tightly wrapped around his body.
And soon, a loud siren thundered throughout the entire prison.
"Yard time, boys!"
"...Oh."
Chapter 220"Everyone ready?"
"Let's do this."
Hannah, Gary, Tomoe, and Silvie were currently in front of the jet-truck hybrid– which they have now officially named the Meteolite… named once again by Hannah. There was little to no objection, however, as it was not their current priority.
They were gathered somewhere deep within the Academy grounds; their costumes, all turned into a flat black color in order to better suit their current stealth mission– break out Riley Ross from prison.
"Remember, we only have a few hours until my brother officially becomes a prisoner in the Super Max," Hannah then said as a final reminder, "We do this swift and without fault, okay!?"
"Okay!"
And with that, the Baby Crew got on the truck one by one, the reflection on their eyes glimmering even in the darkness.
"Better strap yourselves– this is going to be a fast ride," and with that, Hannah pressed the ignition.
"..."
"..."
But nothing happened.
"What the fuck?" Hannah once again pressed the ignition, but once again, there was not even a sliver of response, "Did you forget to charge it, Gar?"
"What, of course not!" Gary quickly replied as he unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned towards the terminal, "I charged this full last night like how Julius made a fool of you."
"...What was that?"
"N… nothing."
"Are… are you stepping on the gas?" Silvie said as she also leaned forward.
"Why would it have–"
And before Hannah could respond, the darkness that once blanketed them disappeared; replaced by an almost blinding light that made the others close their eyes except for Hannah, who was clearly seeing where the light was coming from.
She then immediately got off the truck, before letting out an almost piercing scream.
"What the fuck are you doing, dad!?"
"I should be the one asking you that."
A silhouette then slowly emerged from the light, casting shadows to wave down as the silhouette slowly descended to the ground; and as soon as this silhouette landed, the source of the light flew away.
And slowly, the light started to fade from Gary and the others' eyes, finally revealing the sudden intruder that seemed to have stopped their mission before it could start.
"What do you mean you should be the one asking!?" Hannah raised her voice once again, "We're trying to rescue Riley and actually doing something instead of just pretending that this is alright!"
"The rest of you go back to your apartments."
And as soon as Bernard's somewhat deep voice entered through their ears, Gary and the others could only flinch as their feet seemingly moved on their own.
"What!? None of us are going back! This stupid Academy has been going long enough– We're setting out to do what this place has taught us to do, rescue innocent people!"
Hearing his daughter's voice, the only thing Bernard could do was let out a small sigh; he then pressed something on the watch he was wearing. And as soon as he did so, the truck that Hannah had been trying to start suddenly moved.
"Wha–"
And before they could even know what was happening, the truck switched into its jet form and flew away on its own.
"None of you seem to understand," Bernard then let out a whisper. And although his voice was quiet, it seemed to resonate deep into their bones. The others could only try to avoid Bernard's gaze as it strayed towards them one by one; the only one that returned his glare was Hannah.
"You don't seem to understand," Bernard repeated as he looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "Riley is not innocent."
"Riley is–"
"52 people," Bernard once again did not let Hannah speak, "Besides the criminals that were inside the prison, Riley killed 52 innocent people– most have families waiting for them to get home… daughters. Tell me, Hannah…
…how many people does Riley have to; need to kill in order for you to actually see that he is not innocent?"
"That's…" And as soon as she heard her father's question, the resolve that was glimmering in Hannah's eyes slowly faded.
"A hundred? A thousand?"
"Riley won't–"
"20 million people?" Bernard then let out a small but very deep breath as he once again trailed his eyes towards the others, "I truly appreciate that you want to rescue my son– but he has to be punished for what he has done."
"..." Gary and Silvie could only look at each other as they heard Bernard's words. Although they didn't want to admit it, Bernard is right. They were currently letting their personal feelings get in the way of the facts.
Even if it was in a fit of rage; even if it was unfair– Riley killed people. What exactly would the families of the dead feel if they saw that superheroes broke their loved ones' killer out of jail? Wouldn't that be a slap to their faces?
And as much as Gary loved slapping faces– he knew this wasn't right.
Seeing the looks on the faces of the youths in front of him, Bernard once again let out a small breath. He was a hypocrite; perhaps the worst of all.
He said that Riley should pay for what he had done, but he made sure that Riley's true identity wouldn't be exposed… even setting up an old man that only tried to avenge his family as a villain. If these were any other story… then wouldn't Alistair actually be considered the true hero?
But alas, this was Riley's world– everyone was just living in it, Bernard thought. He knew it was wrong… he had always known that he was wrong for even trying to protect Riley. But what could he do?
A man's bane was and will always be their children.
And perhaps it was once again a flawed thought, but he could only hope…
…that the monster he had allowed to roam free would finally find a place in prison. If not, then Bernard could only shudder at the thought of what would be coming out.
***
"Yard time, boys!"
"...Oh."
Riley could hear a loud clanging noise ringing in the air from all directions. And even with his eyes completely covered, it was obvious that the ringing was from all the gates of the prison cells opening.
Riley initially thought that the guards that were escorting him to his cell had some sort of grandiose plan, but to think it was just leaving him completely tied up… how funny.
"Oho, look what we have here."
And like a grain being thrown inside an aquarium, it did not take long until several voices started approaching Riley. And judging by all the breaths that he was hearing, the people that were slowly surrounding his stretcher was a group of 4.
"Holy fuck, that's his skin? I thought it was some sort of bandage at first."
"Derek would go wild seeing a skin this smooth. If his chin is already like this… imagine the rest of his skin."
"We better get a taste of it before Derek gets the news, then. Quick, knock him down so we can untie him."
"What… why me? Don't you think Lee should do it?"
"...Don't tell me you're scared? He's fucking tied up."
"Well yeah, there's a reason why he's tied the fuck up. You do it since you have super-strength."
"Wha–"
"Quit arguing and just do it! My little brother is getting hard already!"
And with that, Riley could hear a small but loud grunt as a loud step started to approach him. But before another step could whisper to his ear, a small smile crawled on his face.
"What are you doing!? Why did you suddenly stop!?"
"I… I can't move!"
"What are you saying, you're just delaying shit. Let me– What… something's here?"
"What are the two of you doing!? You–"
And before the group could once again let out their voices; they could not help but slightly take in a small breath as a weird peal of laughter entered their ears. They first looked at each other, before their eyes all turned towards the source of the laughter almost at the same time.
And as soon as they saw Riley's smile that reached from ear-to-ear, the only thing they could do was slowly back away; his eyes being covered made it even more ominous.
"I… I have a bad feeling about this. We should just leave."
"Y… yeah."
"I agree."
"Yup, let's just go."
And so, with their heads nodding at each other, the sound of their steps soon whispered throughout Riley's cell. These steps, however, stopped before they could pass the cell door.
"Why'd you stop again!?"
"There's… something blocking the path again."
"W–"
And once again, before anyone could open their mouths; another fit of laughter entered their ears. This time, followed by the sound of metal ripping; almost as if it was just a piece of paper. They all turned their heads back, only to see their supposed-to-be prey slowly shredding the kevlar that wrapped him as if it didn't exist.
A light, but very long breath then whispered through the air as Riley started stretching his limbs which were stagnant for almost an entire day; his white skin, slightly merging with the whites of his striped black and white uniform– almost making it look like one could see through him.
"Interesting," Riley then said as his eyes started to look at his new room, "I have watched the episode where the main character was sent to prison in Italian Mafia Reborn… and to think this kind of scene would also happen to me."
"W… what is this kid saying?"
"The main character beat the other prisoners up in the anime," Riley continued to talk; ignoring the words of the men in front of him, "I'm wondering if I should do the same…
…or just kill all of you?"
Chapter 221"Should I just kill all of you?"
"W… what?"
The four prisoners that entered Riley's cell could not help but take in small gulps as they stared at the white entity in front of them. They initially thought that they would finally get to have fun again since the new prisoner was near their cells.
It wasn't only them that had the same idea of trying to take advantage of Riley; they were, however, the only ones stupid– brave enough to approach a prisoner that was completely wrapped in thick kevlar.
But alas; perhaps the hint of Riley's porcelain white skin completely overpowered any of their common sense; seeing his wide mouth as he was being dragged by the guards was enough to tingle and awaken the desperation of their manhood.
"We… were just trying to see if you were alright," one of the men then said as he tried to act as if they didn't just attempt to do some very bad things to Riley.
"..." Riley started blinking several times before his eyes once again strayed towards the four men, who flinched almost at the same time trying to avoid Riley's gaze.
"..."
What followed that instance, however, was a silence that made every sound within the prison travel to Riley's cell; and considering there were a lot of curious eyes and ears centered on the new prisoner, one could almost even make out the words that the other prisoners outside were breathing.
"..."
"..."
This silence continued for a few more seconds. Until finally, the one nearest to the cell door fell on his butt; the invisible door that was blocking their path outside, now gone.
"Go, homosexuals," Riley then let out a small sigh as he gestured to the four to go away; waving his hand before his eyes once again travelled across his new room, "I will let you live since the main character from Italian Mafia Reborn didn't kill his fellow prisoners in the first day."
"..." Upon hearing Riley's words, the four could only once again look at each other; before making the quiet decision to just run away– even pushing away the other prisoners that were not-so-subtly trying to examine Riley.
And finally being free of any foreign presence in his room, Riley let out a short but very deep breath. He then looked at the stretcher that the guards left him on; a small smile crawled on his face as he moved it to the corner of the small room with his mind.
He might have a use for the stretcher during his stay; whatever that use is, Riley could only smile in anticipation.
"..." His eyes then once again wandered throughout his cell; the smile on his face fading as he did so. The room was only about 4.5 square meters, smaller than any of the bathrooms that Riley had throughout the years– their house, the Academy, and the place where he keeps his guests.
And suffice to say, there was a sort of irritation slowly building up inside him. He was also provided a bed… with sheets that look like they have not been washed since the prison was built. As for the pillows, well… it might as well be made of cardboard.
"..." He then turned his eyes towards the toilet which was just behind the bed; and like with the sheets, it looked like it hadn't been cleaned once.
If it was like this, then Riley wouldn't have destroyed the HM Prison Leeds. Leeds was only considered the second most secured facility in the world– but at the very least, the people there had style; even having a similar confinement with what Riley has in his Guesthouse.
But this Super Max Prison that was considered to be the most secure in the world? It just looked like any normal prison– one could even say a poorly maintained one.
"..." Should he actually just leave? Riley thought as he flicked his finger, causing the flush handle of the toilet to turn. The toilet, however, did not cry water as it was intended to do; only letting out a light thud as the floater inside hit nothing but dust.
Seeing this, Riley could only once again let out a small breath. He really should probably not stay here for long. He can't attend the Academy anymore, but it didn't really matter; if he escaped, then a lot of heroes would be after him– it would be a better way to get through his boredom.
Riley then took another look around his cell, before finally stepping out of it. And as soon as his feet passed through the bars of his cell, the persisting noise and whispers that were chattering in the air completely stopped. The eyes of those who were once moving their mouth, now all looking at Riley.
"Hello, fellow prisoners," and even with more than a dozen stares seemingly threatening to kill him, Riley only waved his hand. His eyes then once again wandered around, examining every corner of the part of the prison he was in– and with just one look, this place really did not look like an establishment that deserved the number 1 spot.
It almost looked like an abandoned building, with lots of cells either empty or just completely destroyed.
"..." Was he really even in the Super Max Prison? Maybe they made some sort of mistake and placed him inside a normal prison somewhere in a less… advanced country?
But no; Warden Yakovich was a powerful super– someone like that wouldn't be working in a backwater prison.
There were lots of thoughts circling in Riley's mind; a few seconds after, however, he slightly shook his head as he once again examined the prison.
There were only 2 levels; one on the ground, and a mezzanine that surrounded the hall. Riley's cell was located on the mezzanine, allowing him a full view of the activity inside the prison hall. There were a lot of people still looking at him; the others, however, were already walking in a line towards what Riley could assume to be the Yard.
And soon, all the eyes that were staring at him were gone– the prisoners, now all outside for their so-called Yard Time.
And so, with nothing to do, Riley could really only follow the others outside to see more of the prison; and as soon as the sun hit his eyes, Riley could not help but slightly let out a small breath.
From the dilapidated hall he was just in, to a large field that was filled with all sorts of recreational activities and objects. The design was almost like a large garden… a large garden littered with the worst humans, that is.
There was an outdoor gym, a basketball court, a resting area… and a wall that stood almost half a mile, completely separating them from the outside world. But even with this grandiose structure, Riley's eyes were elsewhere.
There was a sort of glass wall separating a part of the Yard– specifically, there was a wall preventing them from moving towards the part of the field that looked like a garden. He could see some people inside, but no way to access it from his side.
"That's where the top Rankers are."
And without even asking or opening his mouth, Riley heard a voice answering a question he didn't ask. Riley then turned his head to the side, only to see a slightly aged man standing beside him; the old man's left eye, completely hollow and surrounded by scars.
"You're the fish, right?" The old man then continued to talk even though Riley didn't say anything, "You don't even need to answer since this is the first time I'm seeing you."
"I'm not a fish, prisoner," Riley muttered.
"...That's a term for a fresh recruit," the old man could only blink a couple of times as he looked at Riley. A few seconds after, however, he began to approach the wall of glass that separated them from the so-called top Rankers.
"Don't touch this glass," the old man then said as he tried to look Riley in the eyes, "The top Rankers don't like it when we approach them."
"Top Rankers, I assume they are the strongest prisoners here, prisoner?"
"There are about 30 of them. You wouldn't find them mingling with us since they have their own private rooms– Now, come on; let me introduce you to my friends, you'll need as many friends here to prevent… bad things happening to you," the old man then looked at Riley from head to toe, resisting the urge to talk about Riley's unusually white skin and hair.
Although Riley by no means looked like a woman, he was no doubt the youngest looking prisoner they have right now– not to mention his skin that seemed to have not even been touched by anyone and anything.
"You'll be the target of some bad people wanting to do… things with you, so let's g– What are you doing!?"
And before the old man could finish his words, he almost choked in his own saliva as he saw Riley suddenly approaching the glass wall.
"You said they have private rooms, prisoner?"
"...What?"
"If I drag one of them here," Riley's eyes then scanned the prisoners that were relaxing on the other side of the glass wall, "Will I be able to get his private room?"
"That's…" The old man didn't really know what to say, but seeing the somewhat serious expression on Riley's face, the only thing he could really do was let out a small sigh before shaking his head.
"You need to raise your rank by fighting," the old man then said.
"..."
"..."
"...Fighting?"
Chapter 222Ranks.
The hierarchy within the Prison was decided by ranks– and the ranks were decided through battle. It seemed old-fashioned, but even the staff of the prison treated it as entertainment– even placing bets on the prisoners themselves.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the battles have become a daily event; no, one might even say that it was an hourly event since battles could happen in the prison at any given time. But of course, if no one was there to see it, then it might as well have never happened.
And so, usually, when someone wants to rise in ranks, a certain preparation would happen– there was issuing a challenge in front of many witnesses, setting the time, and then there was the actual battle. Sometimes, however, those three all happen at the same hour.
The ranks of the lowest don't really matter, and respect is only given once you step in the top 50. This wall, however, was not easy to surpass. Those who have been in the top 50 have been there for years. After all, if one wanted to challenge them, they would have to fight their way through the ranks.
Killing was still not officially allowed in the prison, of course– even violence was against the rules. But of course, there was always a silver-lining.
Super Max Prison has declared the battles as an official activity-- an entertainment reserved for the prisoners the same as basketball and the gym… which the super prisoners only use as a hang-out place.
There were currently 200 prisoners inside the prison. And with Riley the newest addition to the flock, he was currently the lowest rank– 200.
"And that's how it usually works," the old man, who named himself Yuri, clapped his hands as he finished explaining to Riley how the rankings worked.
Riley, however, only let out a small hum as he touched the glass wall separating the 150 of them from the top 50.
"That seems counter-productive, Mr. Yuri," Riley then let out a small breath, "So if I wanted a bigger room, I need to challenge those in top 199 to 51?"
"...Yes," Yuri replied, "Now let's go, you don't want to be seen even eyeing those in the top 50. Even the guards are protective of them– the politics in this prison runs deeper than you could–"
And before Yuri could finish his words, a small crack whispered to his ear–no. Not only to his ears, but the crack whispered through the entire yard, causing everyone to turn their heads towards Riley.
They then turned their heads towards his hand, which was touching the glass that now had a web of cracks littered all over it.
"...Oops?" Riley then whispered as a small smile slowly crawled on his face.
[Prisoner 666, stop what you're doing this instant!]
And with even a second of him doing so, a voice rang from all the speakers hidden within the prison. And without even a minute, several guards, who had their faces covered with some sort of helmet, started emerging from the holes that suddenly opened up in the ground.
"..." It would seem that even though most of the part of the prison Riley had seen seemed dilapidated, the Super Max Prison seemed to have a more advanced side to it– obviously reserved for those higher up in the rankings.
Riley was quite weirded out with how the prison's system works– maybe he should start implementing something like this in his Guesthouse as well?
"Prisoner 666, lay flat face-first on the ground and put your hands behind your head! This is your only warning!"
One of the guards that were slowly approaching him then said; pointing some sort of gun that had lines of red light trailing across it. The other guards also did the same, their guns seemingly pointed at different parts of Riley's body.
"If I don't do as you say, then will you shoot me with tho–"
And before Riley could even finish his words, several whistles started to echo through the air as flashes of red light started bombarding his eyes.
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times as he looked at the several red orbs now floating just inches away from his body. He then slowly moved his hand towards one of the orbs, making it fly near his face so he could see what it was– but it really is just what it seemed, a red orb.
"What is this?" Riley then muttered as he turned his head towards the guard that warned him. The guard, however, did not answer him but instead, all the guards once again pressed the trigger; causing another batch of red light to beam towards different parts of Riley's body almost instantly.
This beam, however, once again turned into an orb as it stopped just short of hitting Riley.
"I haven't seen this kind of bullet before," Riley continued to speak as if he wasn't just almost riddled with the red orbs, "What does it do?"
Once again, however, his question was answered by the guards firing at him; And judging by the soft twitching of their bodies, they were starting to get a little nervous. They were already briefed about the new prisoner– a telekinetic too strong that he was suspected and framed to be Darkday.
They were also briefed by warden Yakovich that Riley was more than likely to cause trouble… but to think it would be within an hour of him being officially accepted as a prisoner– it would seem his reputation was still an understatement.
"What does it do?" Riley once again repeated his question; this time, however, the only response he received was silence; with the guards just looking at each other as if asking what they should do now since their guns proved to be ineffective.
But almost as if someone answered their prayers, a small tapping could be heard from the cracked glass. They all turned to look at what was making that sound, only to see someone knocking from the other side of the glass.
"..." The man seemed to be saying something, but not even a whisper could be heard from the cracks of the glass– a testament to how thick it actually was. Still, the man continued to talk, his eyes looking at the guards and smiling.
A few seconds after, however, a small rumbling started to ring in the air; along with it, small shards of glass started falling from the cracks as well. And soon, the entire wall separating the top 50 from the rest of the prisoners trembled– no, it vibrated.
From afar, it almost seemed like the glass was moving in a wave. And soon… the glass just crumbled.
"I've been talking for almost a full minute," the words of the man could finally be heard; his feet, stepping forward even as some shards were still dropping to the ground. These sharp shards, however, shattered almost into fine salt as it made contact with him.
"I didn't realize you guys aren't actually hearing me," the man then let out a chuckle as he scratched the back of his head; his black disheveled hair, letting out a sort of buzz as he did so.
"Prisoner 582, please return to your designated area!"
"It's fine, it's fine," the man only waved his hand as he continued to walk towards… Riley,
"I'm here to help you guys reign in the fish. And wow, you're even whiter now that I see you up close," he then said as he looked at Riley from head to toe,
"What do you say, fish? Ready to calm down?"
"Once again, I am not a fish," Riley answered casually, "And I am already calm, Prisoner 582; maybe a little excited."
"Hoh, look at this little bitch," Prisoner 582 let out a scoffing chuckle; pointing at him as he looked at the guards, "You guys seem to be taking in some weird people. So, do you want my help in putting him down, or what? I'll be asking a favor from the big guy, though."
"We don't need any–"
"What rank are you, Prisoner 582?"
And before the guard could respond to Prisoner 582's question, Riley interrupted him.
"Heh, I'm at 42," Prisoner 582 said as he once again scratched his black disheveled hair; his face, seemingly proud with what he just said.
"If I defeat you, I won't take your position?"
"Pft, that's not how it works, fish," Prisoner 582 once again let out a scoff as the slightly amused expression on his face faded, "And I am starting to think I should beat you up even without gaining a favor from the warden."
Prisoner 582 then once again took a step forward towards Riley; the ground which he stood on, seemingly shattering as it vibrated at an insane speed.
"Alright," Prisoner 582 furrowed his eyebrows before he once again looked at the guards, "I'm giving this favor for free."
And without any warning, Prisoner 582's hand suddenly moved towards Riley. His palm, threatening to cover the entirety of Riley's face. His palm, however, stopped short of making contact with Riley; same as the red orbs still floating around him.
"Oh, quite a powerful telekinetic," Prisoner 582, however, only let out a small whistle as he saw hand being stopped, "But I've killed a lot of telekinetics before."
"Is that why you are here, Prisoner 582?" Riley once again only casually asked as he tilted his head to the side to look at Prisoner 582 straight in the eyes; the smile on his face, now reaching from ear to ear.
"Amongst other things," Prisoner 582 smirked, "And now I will add you to that list, fi–"
And before Prisoner 582 could finish his words, a small hole could be seen suddenly resting right in the center of his forehead. And soon, his head started to melt.
"Oh," Riley then let out a small hum before looking at one of the red orbs floating around him– which was now one less.
"So that's what it does."
Chapter 223"Lay down on the ground now!"
"Lay down on the ground!"
The prisoners have lost track of how many times the guards have repeated the same sentence to each of them; but for most of them, this was perhaps the first time they are hearing them sound so frantic. Their voices, holding some sort of tremble within them.
Even those in the top 50, if one of them happens to have a bad day and wreaks havoc, the guards usually remain calm and just add more and more super guards to try and restrain them– if that doesn't work, then warden Yakovich himself would show himself; that usually ends up in a shitshow with the altercator's unconscious body being displayed naked in shame.
But now, even through their helmets that were hiding their faces, the fear that was escaping from their mouth was seeping from the crevices of their helmet. The new prisoner just killed another prisoner– this usually leads to the prison showing their might and apprehending the assailant at any cost.
Could it be that warden Yakovich was not here? But Yakovich practically lives here; based on the rumors, he had not even stepped out of the prison ever since he took the position of warden. If he is indeed here, why isn't he intervening? Just…
…who exactly did they put in the prison now?-- were the thoughts of all the prisoners witnessing what was happening.
As for the guards' thoughts. Well… the fear they were feeling was real. Even if the prisoner in front of them were cleared of the allegations of being Darkday, there was still of course this doubt growing inside of them; especially now that they saw him killing someone without even batting an eye.
How is someone like this not Darkday? They all thought. They've also seen how easily Riley dissected the previous prison he was confined in– if they took a wrong step here, then they would probably also suffer the same fate.
They have been trying to signal warden Yakovich, but he has been ignoring their call for help since the start. Just what exactly did he want them to do right now… die? Even if all of them were supers and had their own respective powers, they were not stupid enough to think they would be a match for someone being compared to Darkday.
In fact, them pushing the situation might make it worse as it was written in the report that Riley went into a rampage since the previous prison threatened his family.
So what exactly should they do right now that their warden seemingly abandoned them?
"Is that you, Charlie Charles?"
And finally, as if to rescue them from their own thoughts, another voice whispered into their ear; or more specifically, straight onto one of the guards' left ear.
"!!!"
The guard quickly moved away and pointed the gun towards the prisoner that suddenly appeared right beside him; this prisoner, however, instantly disappeared, turning into a cloud of white dust before reappearing once again behind the guard.
"Adam! Go back to your designated area!" The guard once again swung his arm towards the prisoner called Adam; but once again, Adam turned into a cloud of dust; this time, reappearing behind Riley.
And finally, with him not disappearing as soon as he appeared, Riley was able to take a good look at the prisoner's face. He initially thought the prisoner would be younger, but the greys on his beard and hair would say otherwise.
"Charlie, my boy," Adam then tried to place his arm over Riley's shoulder but failed to do so as Riley moved to the side. Still, he didn't seem to let this faze him as he continued to address the guard called Charlie, "How long have you been here? There's no such thing as designated areas for people like me."
Adam then let out a long but very deep sigh as he continued to walk; circling at Riley as he too, looked at him from head to toe. His eyes then slowly trailed towards Prisoner 582, whose head had already melted down.
"...Do I know who this is?" Adam then blinked as he pointed at the dismembered corpse.
"I… don't think so," Charlie slightly pointed his rifle down as the situation seemed to be settling down bit by bit, "It's prisoner 582. He was Rank 42 if I remember."
"...No, don't know him," Adam then let out a small gasp of relief; chuckling awkwardly as he thumped his chest a couple of times,
"If I did, then I would be forced to kill you."
And just like that, the friendly tone that Adam had been breathing out since he arrived was no more, replaced by a cold and deep voice that was more fitting age, "And then after I kill you; I will find out more about you– it's easy for me to escape this place if I wanted to. And just like this…"
Adam then snapped his fingers, causing prisoner 582's body to disappear into a cloud of white. Soon, however, Riley could see a silhouette falling from the ceiling; letting out a light and squishy thud as it landed on the ground.
"...I will kill your friends, your lover, your fam– ily?"
Adam then blinked a couple of times as he saw his vision suddenly shift. He was just looking at Riley just less than a second ago, and now in front of him were the guards surrounding Riley. And soon, he saw them getting taller… or perhaps himself getting shorter?
He was starting to lose his thoughts… and soon, everything just faded to black.
"..."
"..."
"Can you please stop killing people!?"
Charlie once again raised his rifle and pointed it towards Riley. However, as soon as he saw the growing smile on Riley's face; the only thing he could really do was take a step back. They have had unpredictable prisoners before… but never like this.
"This place…" Riley then let out a long breath before stepping towards the area reserved for the top 50. The shards of the plastic glass, all moving to the side to make way for him to pass,
"...is a lot more fun than the Academy."
"You… you're not allowed to go in there!"
"We are in prison, Mr. Charlie Charles," Riley let out a small sigh as he continued to step towards the area allotted to the top 50 prisoners, "Those in prison are not known for following the rules. I am only following what the world wants me to be…
…as I have always done."
"Wait, you–"
And before Charlie could finish his words, the shattered glass that littered on the ground suddenly floated in the air; and soon, they once again made a wall– this time filled with a web of cracks that allowed not even an inch clarity to the other side.
"Did… did actually just shut the door on us?" Charlie then said as he looked at his other comrades, "Because that's what it felt like for me."
"..." The other guards he was with could only shrug their shoulders. A few seconds after, however, they all tilted their heads to the side as warden Yakovich's voice finally whispered into their ears.
[Return to your stations.]
"Warden… what's the plan?"
[There is no plan. I'll handle it from here on.]
"..." And with that, the guards could only nod– before the ground beneath them lowered, once again swallowing them back down as if nothing happened.
The prisoners who have witnessed what just happened, could not help but look at each other.
"This… what is happening?"
"Some random bullshit, that's what."
Almost all of them had their own opinions; there were 4, however, whose opinions stood above most– the 4 that first approached Riley in his cell.
"...We got lucky."
"Yup."
"I'm never going to approach anyone tied up again."
"...I don't know, it's kind of arousing."
"..."
"..."
"Why are you still with us?"
***
"..." Riley was now inside the area where only the top 50 prisoners were allowed to be in; his eyes, looking everywhere. He had seen it earlier, but the atmosphere here truly was different from those outside.
It felt more… luxurious; like a garden one could find in a medieval castle. Riley could even hear a faint whisper coming from all the air conditioners that were plastered everywhere.
"..." There were even birds and butterflies that stuck close to the flowers and fruits freely growing everywhere. He was not that impressed, however, as he had his own forest area in his Guesthouse.
His Guesthouse still had the better… accommodation. The only thing he didn't have were the Rankings. He really should implement that… and maybe let the one who comes out on top check out.
But first… they have to try and kill him.
"Pft," Riley let out a fettered chuckle at the thought of his guests trying to scramble to defeat him.
"Oh!" And then, almost like a child getting the greatest idea of his life, Riley let out a small but loud gasp. What if…
…he let his guests and the prisoners here fight? He was sure that his guests would be more than happy to break their routine once in a while. His latest guest also seemed to always be agitated; it might be good for her to let out some steam.
"..." Good, he should find a way to make that happen.
"You really did cause trouble on the first day."
"..." And as soon as Riley was done with his thoughts, a familiar rhythm of footsteps whispered in front of him.
"Warden Yakovich," Riley waved his hand to greet him.
Warden Yakovich, however, only let out a deep chuckle as he shook his head, "You really are Ms. Phoenix's son."
"Oh, you know my biological mother?"
"To a deep extent," warden Yakovich then lit up a cigarette that came out of nowhere, "She…
…was a prisoner here, after all."
Chapter 224"For the last time, mom. I'm not going to join your little costume pity party group."
"That is the only way we can get you out of here, listen to reason for once, Alice."
A little more than 2 decades ago, a pair of mother and daughter was currently talking to each other– separated by a thick layer of glass; serving as a barrier that wasn't allowing even a single flicker of dust to pass through.
And on both sides, they were surrounded by more than a dozen guards; as well as a younger-looking warden Yakovich; the veins on his eyes, completely red as he had not closed them for even a single second– afraid to miss anything that would result in trouble
After all, the one called Alice was probably the most troublesome prisoner Warden Yakovich has ever laid eyes upon even through his already many years in the service. There wasn't a day that Alice Lane did not cause trouble for the Super Max Prison– treating it as if it was her own playground.
Some of her most notable antics were but not limited to:
Almost killing every male prisoner inside the prison. She was the only female tenant inside the Super Max– and was complaining about the lack of facilities she was allowed to use; but when Warden Yakovich told her that she wouldn't be receiving any benefits just because she was a woman, Alice decided that it was time to redecorate the entire prison. And by redecorating, she meant trapping the rest of the male prisoners in one hall– almost suffocating them from the lack of oxygen they were getting.
There was also a day that she invited friends over as if it was her own house– controlling the guards and using warden Yakovich as some sort of butler. None of them could resist Alice's telekinetic powers, and so, the only thing they could really do was just play along; after all, it was better than fighting back and hurting themselves in the process.
Then there was that time she got bored– essentially making the Ranking Battles official by forcing warden Yakovich to change the rules of the prison just a little tiny bit.
And then, there was that day. It was in the middle of summer and the prison's air conditioning system broke down; obviously garnering the complaints of almost all the prisoners. It would have been alright if it was just that… but Alice had once again decided to be extra.
She lifted the entire prison into the air. She lifted the entire prison above the clouds just because she felt a small trickle of sweat trailing down her cheek. This stunt cost the prison and the World Government billions and billions of dollars– and if it was not for Alice bringing the prison down almost exactly the same as before, then the damage would have probably been doubled.
…But it was later then discovered that it was Alice herself that destroyed the air conditioning system as a prank.
Alice was a full-grown adult. But warden Yakovich felt like they had a kindergartener in their hands with the way she treated everything as a joke, not even thinking of the consequences of her actions. But of course, why would she even think of the consequences when no one in the prison or in the world for that matter could actually hurt her?
Alice Lane could do everything because she was strong. Perhaps the strongest telekinetic Warden Yakovich has ever seen in his entire life. They asked Megawoman many times for help, but she just laughed as soon as she heard their request– eventually saying that she didn't want to get involved with the government.
Warden Yakovich was completely at a loss as to what to do; anymore, and he would end up losing his mind. But finally, as if answering his prayers, the only person in the entire world that could probably stop Alice has finally shown herself– her mother.
The current leader of the Hope Guild, the Shadow Mimic.
Warden Yakovich could only hope Shadow Mimic had a plan of taking Alice away. If she wanted to break her free, Yakovich would even open the gates for them. The only reason he wasn't really losing his mind right about now was because Shadow Mimic was here– he was sure that Alice wouldn't create trouble in front of her mother…
…she won't, right?
"Listen to reason for once, Alice!" Charlotte once again repeated her words as she knocked on the thick glass that separated her from her daughter.
"Ugh," Alice, however, only rolled her eyes as she leaned back on her chair, "The reason I am here in the first place is that I listened to reason… I listened to you, mom."
"It was for your own good! You were getting uncontrollable!"
"All I did was fly a plane! There wasn't even anyone in it!"
"You crashed it, Alice!" Charlotte slammed her palm on the glass barrier, causing it to tremble for more than a full second, "If it wasn't for our new recruit, your face would have been plastered all over the news as a supervillain!"
"Oh, you would hate that, won't you? News flash! The perfect leader of the Hope Guild has a supervillain daughter!"
"Stop being such a childish hippie and just join us! If prison wasn't enough to get you in your right senses then I am sure experiencing how to be a hero amongst the best of the best would inspire you to be better!" Charlotte raised her voice, "You have so much potential in you, Alice. Don't waste it trying to antagonize me and the people around you."
"Antagonize?" Alice let out a small scoff, "The people here love me."
"..." Hearing Alice's words, the guards within the vicinity all looked at each other. Warden Yakovich, who was already sweating as he was watching the situation, almost choked where he stood; his eyes, already begging for the Shadow Mimic to forcefully take Alice away.
"I get notified of all the pranks you play here, Alice." This time, it was Charlotte who rolled her eyes, "The only thing you haven't done literally is turn the prison upside-down."
"That… is actually a good idea," Alice then let out a small but deep gasp as she raised her hand. And as she did so, the entire prison started to quake. The guards readied to subdue her, or at least pretend to– but before they could even move a finger, they felt their entire body being pushed down to the ground.
"Enough of this, Alice," Charlotte's voice started to lower as she looked her daughter straight in the eyes, "The only way I could think of to rehabilitate you is through the Hope Guild."
"For the last time, I am not going to join your stupid group," Alice once again let out a small groan as she finally stood up from her seat, "Go home, mom. Or better yet, retire– you're getting in on your years."
"I look younger than you, brat."
And with those words, Charlotte stepped forward; the glass in front of her almost looked like it didn't exist as her body went right through it,
"And actually…" Charlotte then placed her hand on Alice's shoulder; and as soon as she did so, the trembling that was getting worse by the second suddenly stopped, "...I'm not asking you to join a costume pity party group, my dearest beautiful daughter…
…I am forcing you."
***
"That is a very interesting story, warden Yakovich."
"It's a horror story, kid."
"So Charlotte truly is my biological grandmother. If I knew Alistair Reuben was not lying, then I would have asked if he knew where Megawoman is."
A cloud of smoke then slowly puffed in the air as Yakovich removed the cigarette he had been indulging himself with halfway through his trip to the past. He and Riley had not moved from their positions for almost an entire hour now; the birds, even settling down on Riley's head as he had just been listening to Yakovich without moving even a single finger.
"Your mother was the worse thing that has ever happened to this prison, Riley Ross," Yakovich let out the last of the fumes from his mouth as he dropped the cigarette between his fingers and stepped on it,
"And I have a feeling you're going to be the same," he then said as he stared Riley straight in the eyes,
"I have already learned my lesson from your mother and I have no plan on repeating it. I have already requested from the Government your immediate removal from my prison, applying for the same condition as Ms. Phoenix. I want you gone as fast as possible."
"You will be asking Megawoman to try and subdue me?" Riley then started to blink a couple of times as a small smile started to crawl on his face, "Could it be you know where she is being kept, warden Yakovich? Even her own son doesn't know where she is right now."
"Own… son? What?" Warden Yakovich could only squint his eyes in confusion. But after a few seconds, he shook his head and once again lit up another cigarette,
"I don't know where Megawoman is, no one does," Yakovich sighed; letting out a cloud of smoke from his nose as he did so, "I am not talking about Megawoman, prisoner 666. I am still waiting for the Government's reply, but the condition for your immediate release I am talking about…
…is you joining and training under the Hope Guild."
Chapter 225"I think this is the third time I have been asked that, warden Yakovich. I have refused every occurrence."
"..."
Silence. The birds, the insects, not even the leaves were making any noise as Riley and warden Yakovich just stood in place; Yakovich looking Riley directly in the eyes. As for Riley, he was just looking at nowhere in particular– as he had always done.
"I am afraid this is out of your hands, Ri– Prisoner 666," warden Yakovich once again puffed out another smoke; the tone of his voice still as calm as it was before, "The age of minority in Russia has been moved to 18 three years ago. I have already asked your mother and she has already agreed– as for your father, he has yet to give his response… but we know how this would turn out."
"Then you don't know my father," Riley breathed out, "You do not need to be sad about that, though. No one really knows who Bernard is and what he is really capable of. Even I find myself quite… in awe of his secrets."
"We'll see," warden Yakovich let out a small scoff as the smoke that was coming out of his mouth started to merge with his lips, "In the meantime, we'll just be ready with whatever antics you have in store for us. This prison survived Alice– it will survive you."
And with those words, a part of Yakovich's face faded away– merging with the smoke that was coming out of the cigarette; the fumes, slowly making its way throughout his entire body until the only thing that remained of him was his silhouette… but even that too, scattered and faded.
And with Yakovich gone, the birds, insects, and the leaves once again began to move; the whispers they were creating, all entering to Riley's ears at the same time like some kind of calm… but chaotic orchestra.
"..." Riley's eyes could only look at everything that was moving; wondering what actually just happened. Was Yakovich's power some kind of spatial illusion? Based on everything he had heard so far, Yakovich was the strongest Super in this prison– even stronger than the one ranked 1st.
…No. If Yakovich's power was only emitting illusions, then he wouldn't be the strongest here.
"Interesting," Riley could not help but let out a whisper. But after a few seconds, a small smile crawled on his face as he took a step forward,
"But I can do the same," he then flicked his hand; and as he did so, any noise that whispered in the air was once again gone– the only sound remaining was a series of thuds. The birds that once sang in the air, all falling from the trees they were resting on. The insects, all separated into tiny pieces.
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times, before slightly shaking his head. Being in prison seems to be causing something inside of him to be somewhat impulsive. In truth, he was truly not planning on killing anyone while he was here– but in a place where law seemed to only be treated as optional, it was almost as if a button was switched causing him to be unhinged.
Riley then continued to walk through this garden, the prisoners that he had seen earlier from the outside, still not making their appearance. Warden Yakovich probably ordered all of them to return to their cells– and since he had killed 2 of them, there should be a vacant room right now.
It didn't take long for Riley to reach a metal door; and unlike the hall he was previously placed in where everything seemed rusted, the entryway of the top 50 was quite clean… immaculate even. The door then automatically slid open, causing the cold but comfortable air from the inside to brush across Riley's invisible armor.
It would seem that what Yakovich said was true– they already learned their lesson from Riley's biological mother and started caring for their air conditioning units. Riley then entered; his eyes immediately blinking as soon as he saw the view of the inside.
The large silver halls, the unnecessary tall ceilings… this was the same design as the underground facilities of Mega Academy. Perhaps the same architect? Riley thought as he continued to walk deeper into the hallway; and soon, he finally reached the area where the supposed cells of the top 50 were located; what awaited him, however…
…was a subdivision filled with large houses and villas.
And right there and then, Riley finally realized something as he looked at the view of the clear sky above him. Super Max Prison didn't care for those in the bottom rankings– it was made for the top 50… which could also be considered the 50 most dangerous Supers in the world. They let them live here like kings, letting them forget about the outside world.
If he was captured as Darkday, would he also be placed here?
"..." And with that thought, a small chuckle almost escaped from Riley's mouth. He was already inside, so he did not really have to think about it. There was also the case of Darkday having been waived of all his human rights– the only option was to kill him.
"So, it's you."
And finally, before Riley could approach the nearest villa from the Yard, 3 prisoners approached him– none of them wearing a prison uniform.
"You're that woman's son," one of the men then looked at Riley from head to toe; his braided and already grey hair, moving as he did so, "How did someone like that produce something like you? Aren't you some kind of albino?"
"I suppose," Riley only shrugged his shoulders before returning to look at the villas, wondering which villas the two he just killed owned.
"I knew your mother," the men continued to talk; the two beside him, however, just remained quiet; their eyes almost seemed as if they belonged to the dead– completely unmoving; not even the unusually bright sky above their heads was reflecting on them.
"I assumed that," Riley answered as he continued to look at the two seemingly lifeless men, "Everyone seems to suddenly know about my biological mother."
"...Biological mother?" The old man then slightly furrowed his eyebrows; his face, slightly confused. A couple of seconds after, however, the almost lifeless prisoner on his left let out a small gasp; quickly leaning towards the old man and whispering something into his ear; causing him to widen his eyes.
"So Diana is not your biological mother? That makes sense," the old man said as his breaths almost reached Riley, "But instead, your birth mother is Alice? It would seem your path is surrounded by chaos, child."
"...Are you saying you knew Diana?" Riley then blinked a couple of times, tilting his head to the side as he heard the man's words.
"She worked here briefly. She and Alice should have known each other…" The old man breathed out. He seemed to want to say something more, but his mouth closed as his eyes looked to the side, "...But that is all I can say in that matter."
"..."
"I will not keep you, then," the old man then let out a short but very deep breath as he stepped back– the two prisoners beside him, almost following his movements perfectly, "Alice was a colorful but unhinged thing– I hope you're neither."
And with that, the old man made his way through the subdivision; disappearing into one of the houses that Riley could only assume to be where he lived. Riley had initially thought that he would just spend a little time here and enjoy whatever comes his way…
…But it would seem both his adoptive parents were actually hiding something. Diana always had some sort of crazy strength… could it actually be she wasn't actually a normal human? But no, Riley had seen Diana bleed a couple of times. And besides her gorilla-like strength that appears whenever Bernard or Hannah does something stupid, she should be normal.
"..." Riley then looked at the house where the old man entered. There was a chance that he was just lying; after all, they were in prison– the only innocent thing here were probably the birds and insects that he killed earlier.
But just in case, he should probably ask him again. Riley slowly raised his hand; his finger, pointed at the old man's house.
[Prisoner 666, your designated house is number 22.]
But before he could do anything, warden Yakovich's voice once again entered his ears– his words, echoing throughout the entire subdivision.
"..." Riley looked at the old man's house for a couple of seconds, before finally letting out a small breath and just walking away. He had let himself be tied up for almost an entire day before finally being settled here, the thing he wanted to do the most now was just… rest.
And so, Riley made his way throughout the subdivision inside the prison. He passed by several prisoners along the way. Almost everyone, however, avoided his gaze– with some even somewhat trembling as they looked at him.
These were the top 50 prisoners? If Sophie from Miami was still alive, Riley was sure most of them wouldn't last even a single second against her.
"Tch," Riley could not help but slightly feel irritated at the thought of Sophie. If only Riley had kept her alive, then his Guesthouse would have been more interesting. Riley continued to walk as different scenarios raced through his mind; until finally, he made it to the villa that has the number 22 in front of it…
…only to see that someone else was there.
"...Miss V?"
"Riley Ross…
…We need to talk."
Chapter 226"We need to talk."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"A… aren't you going to invite me inside your cell… house thingy?"
"Considering you are already standing on my lawn, it would seem you have already invited yourself in, Miss V."
"Oh… that's…"
"And I do not know if you can fit through the door, Miss V."
One would not necessarily call it silence, but there was definitely a sort of awkwardness lingering between the two. And considering V was currently inside a mecha suit that was twice the size of Riley, this awkwardness somewhat also doubled.
After a few seconds of this, however, V's mecha suit suddenly opened up, revealing her eyes which… surprisingly, did not emit trickles of green lightning. Riley could not remember V's original hair color; right now, however, it held a similar color to his.
"It… it turned like that after the incident," V muttered as she stepped down the suit, "And you don't have to worry about me losing control, Whiteking– your father made me something."
V then turned around, showing some sort of brace attached across her neck and shoulders; letting out a green light that was enough to blind someone stupid enough to stare at it for long.
"Can you invite me to your house now?"
"No."
"W… what?" V's eyes could not help but twitch as she heard Riley's nonchalant words.
"I am not sure yet if I want this to be my house during my stay here, Miss V," Riley then said as he passed V, finally stepping on his lawn as he made his way towards the house, "I killed two prisoners, so there should be another house that I can pick."
"...You what?"
"Come on in, then," Riley brushed off V's surprise as he opened the door, "This is actually the first time I will officially have a house of my own, Miss V. You will be my first… guest."
"Is… that so?" V patted her mecha suit; causing it to move on its own and take a seat on the ground; closing as V followed Riley inside the large house. And as soon as they entered, she could not help but widen her eyes.
The inside of the house was filled with paintings; the design, sophisticated– a mix of wood and metal with the natural color of concrete serving as its walls. It would have been alright at any other circumstance… but they were in prison.
The lives of these prisoners seemed to even be better than the majority of the citizens outside– minus the lack of freedom, of course. V then continued to follow Riley; and for someone who claimed that it was his first time entering the house, he seemed to already belong inside; quickly opening up the fridge with his telekinetic powers and… floating a jug of milk towards a countertop.
"Would you like some milk, Miss V?" Riley then said as he gestured for V to take a seat at the counter.
"...Water will be fine."
"Then get it yourself."
"..." V could only watch as Riley took a seat… on the sofa near the living area, leaving her sitting alone at the counter where he specifically asked her to sit. She was contemplating on whether or not she should really get a glass of water, but decided not to out of spite and instead just followed Riley to the living room.
"You really aren't used to having guests, aren't you, kid?" V said, knowing full well Riley was older than her by a year.
"I have a lot of guests, Miss V," Riley then let out a wide smile.
"Has anyone ever told you your smile is creepy as heck?" V scoffed as she took a seat on the sofa opposite Riley's, "Your mouth is wider than my future."
"I didn't expect you to have one after what happened to London, Miss V."
"That!" V almost stood up from hearing Riley's words. But after a few seconds, her legs started to tremble,
"That… that…. That wasn't my fault," she then whispered as she looked to the side, the light that was being emitted from the brace on her back, almost lighting up the entire room.
"It… it's not my fault," V then started hugging her legs, covering her ears as her head started to shake.
"No. It's not your fault, Miss V," Riley then shook his head as he took a sip of the milk he poured for himself,
"It is mine," he then said, "I landed right in the middle of London and let your power run wild. Please don't steal my feats, Miss V."
"No!" And this time, V suddenly gained the strength to finally stand up as she immediately waved her hand; the light being emitted by the limiter on her back, subsiding, "It… it's definitely not your fault!"
"No, I believe it really is my–"
"It's that creepy old man's fault!" V raised her voice, her screams, echoing throughout the parts of the house that Riley has yet to explore, "Because… because of him millions of people are dead. And you… It's not fair that you're here! He should be the one rotting inside this prison!"
"Alistair is dead, Miss V."
And contrary to V's exhilarated breaths, Riley just sat on the sofa calmly, taking a sip from the glass of milk as he turned on the TV. V, however, quickly grabbed the remote and turned it off.
"This is serious, Riley Ross! We shouldn't be here!" V stomped her foot on the ground, causing a ripple of lightning to lightly explode on the floor, causing it to crack.
"..." Riley looked at the cracked floor for a few seconds, before blinking a couple of times and turning his head towards V,
"We?" He then said, "I was under the impression that you are only visiting, Miss V. Could it be that you are also a prisoner here?"
"I am now!" V then once again took a seat on the sofa, "If the Government treats you as guilty, then they should also treat me like a criminal! I have also heard the deal of you joining the Hope Guild in exchange for your freedom, I'll wait here with you to–"
"I do not plan on joining the Hope Guild, Miss V."
"What!? What do you mean!? You would rather be stuck here all your life?"
"..." Riley then looked around his new fancy house, before nodding his head at V, "They have better accommodation than the Academy."
"You're a prisoner, Riley!"
"I have always been a prisoner, Miss V."
"Stop being so edgy! Aren't you cringing at hearing yourself!?" V clapped her hands several times, "Join the Hope Guild! Both your biological mother and adoptive father were and are in it, it's practically in the family for you! You… Ack! I give up!"
V then crossed her arms as she let herself drown on the soft sofa she was sitting on, "You'll take the deal sooner or later once you experience what prison is really like. Don't let this fancy house fool you, Riley Ross. This place is still the toughest and most secure prison in the entire world."
"You seem to also have a lot of experience being a prisoner, Miss V."
"Of course! Do you think I like being in that silly robot all my life!? If only Whiteking could make this limiter on my back permanent… but I still need to sleep inside the mecha suit while I'm here."
"Hm," Riley then took another sip of his glass of milk– but found that there was no more, "Which house will you be living in while you are here then, Miss V?"
"...Here."
"But this is my house, Miss V."
"Y… You can't really expect someone as beautiful as me to live alone surrounded by heathens!"
"You're not beautiful, Miss V."
"Wha– I am staying here! At least I don't have to worry about you taking advantage of me since you… well, since you're you."
"Autistic?"
"I… I didn't say that."
"Even if I wasn't, I would not take advantage of you, Miss V," Riley then shook his head as he stood up, "But since you will be living here, please handle washing the dishes, my sister and mother were the ones doing it back home."
"Wha– Do it on your own! Didn't you live alone during your stay in the Academy!?"
"I have Kath– Scarlet Mage doing it for me."
"Wait… the rumours between you and Scarlet Mage… are true?" V blinked a couple of times as she watched as Riley walked away, not even answering her question and… leaving the glass of milk on the table in front of her.
"Wait, you're actually letting me wash your shit!?"
"Just the dishes, Miss V. We're not that close," Riley's words became whispers as he slowly disappeared from V's sight.
"Where are you going!?" V was about to lift the empty glass of milk, before shaking her head and rushing to chase Riley.
"Outside, Miss V," Riley slightly turned his head towards V as she walked beside him, "I would…
…like to greet our new neighbors."
***
"Are you not going to accept the deal? Diana has already accepted it."
"I do not think it is any of your business, Adaeze."
In the meeting hall of the Hope Guild, the remaining members of the superhero team were all sitting around their table– their numbers, dwindling.
First, it was Bulwark, now V confined herself in prison even despite their counsel. And right now, Whiteking and the others were currently discussing whether or not Riley Ross should join their team.
"It is our business, Bernard," Empress crossed her arms as she looked Bernard straight in the eyes, "Do not forget…
…I know what your son is capable of."
Chapter 227"Don't forget I know what your son is capable of, Bernard."
"...Are we even needed here?"
Tempo made sure that his words would not even leave an echo to whisper through the hall, but with the sudden silence that surrounded the air after Empress's somewhat cold voice, Tempo's words were heard by everyone loud and clear.
And seeing the look of somber surprise on Hera and her casual nod after, it would seem Tempo also just voiced out her concern. As for Butcher, his eyes were just focused on Empress, seemingly waiting for her next words.
And finally, after a few more seconds of this awkward silence, Empress turned her head towards Tempo,
"I just need your opinion then the three of you can go," Empress muttered as she stood up, "Who here agrees to letting Riley in the guild?"
"Well…" Tempo then looked to the side as he remembered what happened in London. Although he wasn't really taking any flak from what happened– Tempo was sure that it was his own fault. He placed a heavy burden on a child and expected him to understand everything…
…and in the end, Tempo inadvertently caused Riley to land straight on London with V. Tempo was blaming himself every second; not even sleeping right for what feels like an eternity now.
If Riley were to join the Hope Guild… then it would open a chance for Tempo to right his wrongs. And so, with his hand slowly raising,
"I think Riley would be a good addition to the team," Tempo said.
"I agree 100%," Butcher also raised his hand; his bald head nodding several times, "I think I am 72% not alone in this opinion, but most of the members are getting old. We are getting old, Empress."
"Excuse me?" Hera immediately stopped filing as she heard Butcher's words.
"I was not talking about you, Hera," Butcher shook his head; his monotonous tone sounded a little disappointed, "Empress, Whiteking, and I are approaching our 50s soon. The future generation needs to learn from us while we are still capable of teaching them."
"That…" Hera could not help but blink a couple of times as her skin that was slowly turning grey immediately returned to its natural brown color, "...This is the first time I am hearing you sound so human, Butch."
Hera then turned her eyes towards Empress, before eventually nodding as well, "I don't have a problem with the kid joining," she said,
"He seems cool– my agency is actually also interested in making him a model for haute couture publications. Plus, V is kind of guilt-tripping herself, saying she won't return to the guild until Riley gets freed."
"I've heard all of your opinions, all of you can go now," Empress then said as she gestured for the three to leave, "And try convincing V to stop sulking, she's needed out here."
"Right," Hera was the first to leave– not even bothering to clean the dust she scattered from filing her nails.
Butcher was already gone, leaving Tempo sitting there awkwardly beside Bernard.
"...I'll take my leave," and with a throbbing echo whispering in the air, Tempo's silhouette slowly faded from the hall.
"..."
"Hope, turn off the surveillance in this room," Empress then said as she returned back to her seat; her eyes, not leaving Bernard even for a single second.
[Turning off the surveillance in meeting hall A.]
"..." Empress squinted her eyes as she waited for the cameras plastered on the ceilings to lose power; but even as the lights disappeared, her focus was still obviously there.
"You don't have to worry," Bernard then let out a small but very deep sigh as he noticed the look on Empress's face, "Any traces of MEGAN are completely gone."
"Then let's not bullshit each other, Bernard," Empress then quickly breathed out as her eyes once again returned to Bernard, "Tell me the reason why you're still protecting that monster."
"You already know the answer to that."
"Because he is your son?" Empress furrowed her eyebrows, "If my daughter was still alive and I discovered she's a mass murderer, I would end her life in a heartbeat."
"That's just it, Empress. Your daughter died a baby– you will never understand the–"
"Don't fuck with me, Bernard!"
A thunderous explosion then erupted in the air as Empress pushed the large table away– immediately grabbing Bernard by the neck and lifting him up in the air.
"You know full well what I mean."
"And you?"
"Ha?"
"Why have you not revealed my son's identity yet?"
"That…" Empress's eyes began to twitch as she saw Bernard's eyes. And after a few seconds, threw him towards the wall and caused the screens plastered all over it to shatter, "...Because he is Alice's son."
"Pft," Bernard immediately let out a chuckle as he looked at Empress straight in the eyes,
"You really are bad at lying," Bernard then said as he started to walk towards the door, "It was my secret… and now it is ours, that's the only reason you're doing so."
"You…" Empress's eyebrows began to furrow; her cheeks trembling as she heard Bernard's words. But after a few seconds; the trembling stopped as tears suddenly began to trail on her face,
"I am approving Riley's entry to the Hope Guild!" Empress then shouted, "I am going to do what you failed, control and change your–"
And before Empress could finish her words, Bernard… just left.
Seeing this, Empress's eyebrows also began to tremble; the tears on her eyes, sputtering and exploding along with every chatter of her teeth. Empress knew– Empress knew that Bernard was just using. But why… why couldn't she just leave?
"You…
…You fucking douchebag!"
***
"...Everyone seems to be avoiding us."
"It would seem my biological mother has quite the reputation in this prison, Miss V. I suppose they think I am dangerous like my mother."
"...You're not?"
Riley and V were currently walking around their new… neighborhood. Riley had been trying to see if anyone would be approaching them themselves, but so far, none. They've already circled the subdivision once and not even a hello could be heard from any of the other prisoners.
V, of course, was actually quite relieved that no one tried to approach her. Although she was not showing it too much, she was actually starting to get nervous. It was her idea to stay here since she really thought it was not fair for Riley to be in prison, while she, who caused the death of millions of people, was free.
"Can you answer a question of mine, Miss V?"
"Hm?" V then blinked a couple of times as her thoughts were disrupted by Riley's words. This was, perhaps, the first time he was directly expressing his curiosity to her,
"What… is it?" V squinted her eyes; not sure if she really wanted to hear the next words that would be coming out of Riley's mouth.
"If you remove that limiter on your back, would your powers go wild as they did before?"
"..." V instantly stopped walking; her face, slightly shocked at first. Soon, however, a small smile slowly crawled on her face, "Yes. But something like what happened to London won't happen again."
"Why?"
"Because I asked your father to also install a poison that would kill me instantly if ever this thing gets taken off," V said with a smile on her face, "No one… is going to die because of me anymore. My power is a curse, Riley Ross. The reason I chose to be a super is so that this curse would become a blessing to other people…
…but in the end I killed… I killed…"
"I don't remember there being a woman here."
And before the tears that were suddenly starting to build up on V's eyes flow, a prisoner finally approached them– and as is the case with all the prisoners in the top 50, the man walking towards them wasn't wearing a prisoner's uniform.
"And you, freak," the man then spat on the ground as his eyes trailed towards Riley, "You're Alice's son?"
"I believe so," Riley casually said as he faced… the short man in front of them, "Everyone seems to be reminding me of that fact today, dwarf."
"I… don't think they appreciate being called that, Riley Ross," V let out a small gasp.
"...Why?" Riley blinked a couple of times; his slightly furrowed eyebrows almost oozing out the confusion on his face, "Isn't that what they are called, Miss V?"
"Well.. that's…" V could not help but stutter; her eyes, moving back and forth between Riley and the man that just showed up, "I… the last time I searched I think it… was actually o–"
"I see the apple does not fall far from the tree," the short man, however, only scoffed as he approached Riley, his forehead… almost at his crotch, "Alice also had a smart mouth– I let her be because she was a woman… but you?"
The short man then suddenly grabbed Riley's hand at a speed that made the dust around them almost burst away,
"I'll be teaching you a lesson meant for two."
"Riley Ross!?"
V's eyes then slightly lit up in green as Riley and the short man suddenly disappeared in front of her. However, due to the nature of her power, she could still somewhat follow what just happened.
The short man… he just suddenly ran at an extremely high speed, dragging Riley along with him. Unlike with Tempo, however, each of the short man's steps could be felt– causing the ground to shake and tremble with each trot.
V immediately ran and rushed back to their shared new house, but as soon as she reached their lawn– she found that her mecha suit was no longer there.
Did... someone steal it!?
"N… no," was the only word she could whisper as she turned to look back towards the blur speeding across everywhere. She did not have to watch long, however, as the streak of smoke suddenly stopped.
"This is just the beginning, freak."
The short man quickly let out a scoff as he let go of Riley's arm. He was about to turn around to look at Riley; before he could do so, however, he felt an uncomfortable warmth on his neck. He turned his eyes to the fullest, only to see Riley looking at him straight in the eyes– his hand tightly wrapped around his neck.
"I wonder, dwarf," Riley then whispered as his eyes trailed towards the short man's feet, "If you were taller…
…would you have been faster?"
"You–"
The short man was about to say something, but before he could do so… he felt a strange pressure suddenly tugging on both his legs.
"Shall we…
…test that theory?"
Chapter 228With all the noise thundering throughout the entire prison neighborhood, the prisoners that were once trying their hardest to avoid making contact with Alice's son could no longer contain their curiosity; their heads, all looking out of the windows of their fancy houses.
Most of the prisoners in the top 50 have been here for decades– they knew Alice and everything she did. All of them were hardened criminals or just plain insane; Alice, however, was a different breed.
She was like a little child with the power to destroy the entire world– and they all experienced it with all the pranks she did while in the prison. They don't know what Alice's son did to be imprisoned in the most secure prison in the world, but one thing they know is that involving themselves with him will only bring them troubles.
Even though they had televisions installed in their houses, they were actually only limited to Webflix– not being allowed to watch the news outside. Because of this, most of them had no idea what was happening outside, and had to rely on what the guards were telling them. And so, most of them usually had a friend or two from the guards.
They did try asking what Alice's son's crimes were, but the only answer they received from them was that it was confidential.
They would have probably tried to approach him if the one holding Rank 1 would at least show himself since he was also Alice's number 1 victim with her pranks, but it would seem that even he was trying to avoid her son as much as possible.
But now… someone was actually crazy enough to not only approach her son, but also fight him?
Something was wrong, however. If fights break out in the area where the top 50 is, warden Yakovich would usually show himself within seconds before the brawl escalates further. After all, although they were living peacefully here, they could still be considered amongst the strongest supers in the world– minus the S-Class supers, of course.
But still, at least more than a handful of them would be considered S-Class if they were outside– meaning, they were more than capable of leveling an entire city if they wished to. So if a fight escalated, then it would mean the prison would be destroyed faster than one could blink; this is the reason warden Yakovich immediately tries to break the fight.
So why… why was he not showing himself? Some of them had already thought of the reason– warden Yakovich also doesn't want to get involved with Alice's son.
And so, most of the prisoners started stepping out of their houses, seeing who it was that was creating trouble; and since their villas were almost lined in a circle, it was easy to see everything that was happening in their neighborhood.
"It's Fred," one of the prisoners quickly exclaimed as a somewhat short blur passed by him. Alice was already leaving when Fred was brought to prison. It made sense– most of the older prisoners thought; only someone who had not experienced Alice's full fury would react this way.
The prisoners then continued to watch, some of them even nodding their heads in satisfaction. They couldn't fight back when it came to Alice– but his son? This was free real estate. And since warden Yakovich was not doing anything, maybe they could actually bully him for all the times she caused them trouble?
And so, with these thoughts of unison, the prisoners that stepped out of their houses all actually looked at each other– all nodding their heads as if they actually understood each other.
As soon as they stepped out of their lawns, however, Fred stopped running; right in the middle of the subdivision as if to show everyone what he just did. And as victims of Alice, almost every one of them were excited to see what happened– and if they would have a chance to actually inflict pain.
Their steps, however, all stopped at the same time as Alice's son… was seemingly unscathed even after being dragged around everywhere. Not only that…
…he was now lifting Fred by the neck. And without even a second after… they saw both of Fred's short legs suddenly falling to the ground from the waist.
"Grah!"
And after that was a scream some of them have not heard for a very long time– pain. Excruciating pain. But even with Fred's intense scream, not even a single drop of blood flowed from his dismembered leg.
"..."
The prisoners once again turned to look at each other; all nodding their heads as they all took a few steps back to their lawn. Their eyes, just watching what sort of… thing Alice's son was up to.
And soon, they saw some sort of mecha suit floating in the air– landing straight beside Alice's son and Fred. Alice's son then let go of Fred; but still, he remained floating in the air, even ascending a few meters up.
The mecha suit then suddenly disassembled itself– its limbs also floating in the air and surrounding Alice's son. And right when they all asked themselves what exactly was happening, the legs of the mecha suit flew straight towards Fred…
…attaching themselves to him.
Once again, the only thing that Fred could do was scream as the little bits of metal from the robotic leg pierced his flesh… even grinding and attaching themselves to his bones.
"R… Riley Ross?" V, who initially thought that someone stole her mecha suit, could not help but let out a small but very tight gasp as she realized that it was Riley who took her suit. And not only that… he was now using it to torture his opponent.
"Riley!" V then rushed towards where Riley was, her steps heavy and the limiter on her back starting to light up brightly, "What… what did you do!? I need the mecha suit in case something goes wrong with the limiter!"
"You don't need it, Miss V," Riley, however, even with all the panic that was happening around him, just answered her casually,
"As long as you stay beside me, I will hold your powers in my hands… I won't let anything happen to you because you are my–"
"Argh!"
And before Riley could finish his words, Fred's screams once again echoed throughout the prison neighborhood. Hearing this, Riley gently floated Fred down– letting him go as soon as the robotic feet touched the ground, causing Fred to drop face-first to the hard ground; his screams, now muffled.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Riley then stared at him for a few seconds, before finally turning him around.
"You… you freak!" Fred quickly roared; trying to lift himself up but unable to do so, "What… what did you do to me!?"
"...I apologize, dwarf," Riley then let out a small but very deep sigh as he crouched beside Fred, "I thought you would get faster, I was only trying to help you."
V, who was watching from the sides, could not help but cover her mouth. She was used to violence, of course– that was her life ever since. But this…
…were they sure Riley was not Darkday?
*** *** ***
"...What?"
Weeks ago in V's chamber inside the Hope Guild, before Riley's trial, all of the members of the Hope Guild were present– all of them standing up except for their youngest member, V. Even Bulwark was there, standing with the rest of his former team.
Of course, how could he not when they were currently telling the youngest member of the team that her power ran wild and killed millions and millions of people?
Tempo just finished explaining and telling it to the team as… subdued as possible. But no matter how much he tried to sugarcoat it there was really no way that the deaths of more than 5 million people could be softened up.
"...What?"
What?-- V had probably repeated the word more than a dozen times throughout the story… and the story didn't even last 5 minutes. These 5 minutes, however, might as well have been V's entire life. Every word that came out of Tempo's mouth made every pore in V's body open up.
The temperature in V's chamber is always regulated to the optimal temperature according to her liking, but even then, V was currently sweating enough to fill an entire pool; and at the same time, she was currently trembling from the chill that was piercing every fiber of her being.
More than 5 million people disintegrated into nothing, because of her?
More than 5 million people that were just peacefully living their lives, gone because of her?
Families that were just going on about their days, laughing and sharing their days with one another… dead because of her.
Her powers have always been destructive in nature– not even fit in rescuing anyone. But she made it work. She trained under Empress in order for her to learn how to control her powers… and with Whiteking's mecha suit, any danger that she possessed dwindled almost to zero.
But this… how could she have allowed something like this to happen?
"Let… let me see," V then meekly stuttered as she stood up from her seat, "Let… let me see what happened."
"V… no," Hera, who usually had finesse and arrogance in her tone, could only embrace V as she saw the look of desperation and defeat on her face, "You don't need to–"
"Let me see!" V then let out a high-pitched scream, causing the lights in her chambers to flicker and go wild.
"..." Seeing this, the other members of the Hope Guild could only look at each other– Empress, eventually nodding her head as Butcher, who was hiding the remote of V's television, turned it on.
"No…
…No!"
Chapter 229"It's fine, let her go."
"But…"
It wasn't hard to find images of London– or at least what remained of it in the news and social media outlets. It also wasn't hard to find images and footage of the huge ocean of green electricity that decimated London.
As soon as Butcher turned on the TV, the aftermath of what happened quickly bombarded everyone's eyes– but even then, the time it took for V to run towards one of her mecha suits that were parked at the corner of her chambers was still faster. She had been wondering why Tempo was adamant that she should not be left alone… and now she knew the reason.
And the only thing she could really do was run away.
As for why? She had no idea.
She just got inside her mecha suit, letting it fly up through the vent that was tailor-made for her mecha suit to eject itself straight outside of their base. It took exactly 5 seconds before V's vision shifted to the scenery of the sky– around her, nothing but the darkness that the night held; the moon, reflecting on the horizon of the sea.
The soles of the mecha suit quickly combusted, instantly propelling her away as a quiet thunder roared through the skies; she did not even bother to look back at the large tower behind her; continuing to fly for a few more seconds until she reached an empty shore.
She quickly landed towards the beach, causing all the sand to ripple away; her mecha suit, completely stagnant as the lights crawling through it like veins faded away. And if one were to listen closely behind the rain of sands and the roaring of the seas… there was a quiet whisper.
A quiet whisper that was seeping from the crevices of V's mecha suit– a whimper, a cry.
More than 5 million people– dead because of her. No matter how many times it was repeated, the guilt that was crawling… No. The guilt that was chewing her from the inside remained hungry, leaving nothing of her to feel anything else.
She has saved thousands of people during her stint as a superhero– but 5 million people? How would she even hope to actually make amends with that? Even if she happened to rescue millions more, those 5 million would never live again.
She's a murderer. She became the very thing she hated the most in the world– Darkday.
All those lives… all those lives… all those lives.
Dead… dead… dead…
The words kept repeating inside of V's mind– the insides of the mecha suit, completely green from the electricity her body was emitting. Her entire body was in a curl, her fingers almost threatening to pull out her hair; which has now turned white seemingly as a side effect from her releasing of all her powers in London.
"What… what do I do? What do I do?"
V whispered and whispered, wanting someone to answer her– but at the same time, no. If she really wanted an answer, then she wouldn't have run away from the rest of her comrades. She knew… she knew in herself that she could never atone for what she had done.
Even if the others have said that it wasn't her fault almost a hundred times; that it was the work of a madman that targeted Whiteking's family– those people still died by her hands. Their blood was on hers.
"..."
"..."
A whirling whistle then hummed in the air as V's mecha suit once again lit up; its once stagnant legs… leaving trails on the beach as they dragged themselves back to where they came from– the sea.
"This… this is better," V then whispered as the mecha suit continued to walk towards the endless darkness, "If… if I disappear… then none… something… something like this will never happen again."
V's trembling hand then pressed something inside the mecha suit, causing several vents to open up… letting some of the water that was already crashing through the mecha's legs.
"It's cold…" V then whispered; the tone of her voice, completely sedated as she rested her head back, "...I am… so sorry."
V could feel the water inside her mecha suit rising; now reaching her waist and causing her to slightly flinch from the piercing cold it carried. But still, the only thing she did was tighten her fists and bite her lip.
Her head then began to tremble violently as the water reached her neck; her body seemed to want to get away from the threat it was currently being wrapped in– but V remained resolute, even gripping parts of the mecha to prevent herself floating up from the salt water.
Slow.
Why was it so slow? She thought. Just a little more, then her entire head would be submerged with the water. So why… why was it so slow? She could feel the cold just under her ears, she should have already lost the ability to breathe by now– but still, her lungs seem to still be gasping for air.
"Just… just let me die," V then let out a whimper, her voice cracking as she did so. She then took several deep breaths as she raised her hands– wanting to push herself down to get all of this over with.
But before her hands could accumulate any strength, the water within the mecha suit started to disperse; the water that was supposed to already cover her head, now suddenly below her waist.
"W… what?" V blinked a couple of times when she felt a weird force dragging her away from the ocean; she then quickly turned on all the monitors inside her suit, allowing her to have a 360-degree view of her surroundings.
Her eyes did not have to search for long, however, as she saw a face in front of one of her monitors, almost causing her to eject herself from the shock as the face was completely white, even the hair that–
"Riley Ross!?"
The mecha suit opened up without even a second later, with V almost jumping from the robot as she leaned her head to try and find Riley Ross; but no matter how much she concentrated through the darkness, there was no sign of Riley anywhere.
She then returned back inside the suit, trying to look back at the monitor where she thought she saw Riley… but no one was there anymore.
"This…"
She then leaned back; her hand accidentally turning on the mecha suit's radio as she did so.
[V!? Are you okay!? Your vitals were spiking earlier!]
And immediately, Tempo's voice could be heard echoing through the insides of her suit.
"Y… yes," V could only stutter as she replied; trying her best not to cry from all the emotions rushing inside of her, "Is… Is Whiteking there? I think this suit is malfunctioning."
[Malfunctioning? Whiteking just left. His son is currently in jail.]
"...What!?" V raised her voice as she once again leaned forward, "Why!? I'm alive because of him!"
[It's… a long story. He is sus–]
"Wait! I'm returning back to base!"
And with that, V's mecha suit quickly closed; the sand once again rippling away as thunder erupted from its feet, propelling it towards the surface of the ocean and almost splitting it apart as she rushed back towards the base.
"..."
"..."
"I am done here."
In the shadows beyond the shores; hidden within the bushes that separated it from the rest of the island… were several people– their moving heads, all sporting white hair; their skin, almost reflecting the moonlight if not for the leaves covering them– Riley's clones.
"Everyone, good work."
"You are returning, Diley?"
"Yes, I still have to infiltrate a prison," Diley, who was already wearing the uniform of HM Prison Leeds for the Super, slowly floated in the air, "Tell the others from the other islands that they also did good work."
"Can we take a break? We have been here for a year now," one of the clones stood up and complained.
"...You've only been here for a day," Diley blinked a couple of times as he looked at the clone, "You were literally just made today."
"...Really?" The clone widened his eyes in surprise, "But I already have memories of being here for a year."
"We all have memories of being here for a year," one of the other clones joined in on the conversation,
"You will get used to it. The only one that has really been here for a year is him," the clone then pointed at the clone that… was already sleeping.
"All of our memories of this place are from him."
"This is weird."
"It is."
"Alright, that is enough," Diley, who was still listening in on the other clones' conversations, could not help but shake his head, "I will leave now, continue observing the Hope Guild's base."
"Right. Farewell, Diley," the clones then waved at the same time as they watched Diley fly away. Their eyes, also blinking at the same time.
"Weird… I also have a memory of leaving just now."
"I told you, you will get used to it. If you become as old as Diley, then it wouldn't even bother you anymore."
"Anyway, the one we just rescued– it would seem we are quite fond of her?"
"Of course, she reminds us of Hannah."
"She reminds us of Megawoman."
*** *** ***
Back in the present time, Fred's screams still echoed throughout the entire prison; his waist, still attached to the two gigantic legs of V's mecha suit.
"Riley Ross. He… he will die at this rate!"
"It is fine, Miss V. I have cut off all the–"
"You're not Darkday!"
"Hm?"
"You are not Darkday, okay!?" V let out a roar; loud enough to drown Fred's screams of pain,
"You… you don't have to be what the world wants you to be! Find yourself…
…Please find yourself in all of this chaos, Riley Ross!"
Chapter 230"Please, Riley Ross! Find yourself in all of this chaos!"
"..."
And like a wind that suddenly stopped blowing the trees, the screams Fred was letting out through the entire neighborhood instantly ceased; his mouth, releasing a foam that was enough to drown him from the inside; fortunately for him, he landed on his sides when Riley released him.
"Find myself… in all of this chaos?"
Riley then lightly waved his hand; and as he did so, Fred's body slid away– making space for Riley to freely walk towards where V was standing; his steps, seemingly taking their time to reach V.
V, who was seeing Riley walk ever closer to him at a very slow pace, could not help but take in a small gulp. She had noticed it before, but seeing Riley walk was a surreal sight in itself. It's almost as if he didn't belong; not in a figurative way… but quite literally and physically.
There was a slight wind blowing around the neighborhood. But Riley's hair remained almost unmoving; only swaying with his body's movements. The baggy clothes striped in black and white were also the same, seemingly not affected by anything around the area.
It was… quite a sight to behold and made her feel slightly… weird.
"What do you mean by that, Miss V?" Riley then uttered as he stopped just a meter away in front of V.
"This… this isn't you."
V slightly stuttered her words; her eyes, however, remained resolute as she stared Riley straight in his, "I… I've read your file– you… when you were just a toddler Ms. Phoenix strangled you. She… she told you you're a monster."
"..." Riley blinked; almost as if gesturing V to go on.
"And… and now this. People accusing you that you're Darkday– putting you in this place," V started moving her hands to explain, "You… you don't have to be the monster the world thinks you are, Riley!"
Each of V's words seems to be filled with all of her emotions, and seeing as the limiter attached to her back was currently going crazy as it lit up the entire neighborhood, she still had a lot of these emotions left to express.
As for Riley, he… was just looking at V; his eyebrows ever so slightly lowered as if to express the only emotion he was feeling right now– a hint of confusion.
"Someone told me the exact same words before, Miss V," Riley then muttered as he blinked a couple of times, "He is currently staying as a guest… somewhere. I wasn't aware that you were a telepath as well?"
"...What?" V also blinked as her overwhelming emotions also turned into confusion. Wasn't the situation dire just earlier? So why does it feel like the situation was suddenly de-escalated just like that?
Could it be… she had a talent in making Riley Ross listen to her? She did hear that people with autism sometimes bond with people; could it be Riley Ross was bonding with her right now? Was that it?
"Grah!" And as soon as V's thoughts started to somewhat settle, Fred woke up. His screams, once again putting V into the reality of the situation.
"W… wait!" V then quickly rushed towards Fred, wanting to help him in any way she could. But as soon as she got near Fred, the only thing she could really do was stand next to him– absolutely having no idea what to do. She looked at the legs of his mecha suit, only to look away as soon as she saw how it connected to Fred's waist.
"S… shit," V muttered as the limiter on her back began to fluctuate, "We… we need to do something!"
V then looked around, looking at the other prisoners that were watching from afar, "This… why isn't anyone coming!? Shouldn't a medic be here by now or even some prison guards!?"
And as soon as the other prisoners heard V's words, they… all went back to their houses. It is exactly as V said– there should have been a medic now, or at least guards to de-escalate the situation themselves. And seeing as there was none of both, it would mean they have completely abandoned Fred. And if they abandoned Fred, then it was because of Alice's son– and to think they almost involved themselves with him with thoughts of getting back at Alice.
The prisoners then all looked through their windows as they looked at Fred, who was still squirming and screaming in pain– his sacrifice, never to be forgotten.
"You do not have to worry, Miss V," Riley then let out a small sigh as he approached V and the squirming Fred, "He will live– his wounds are all closed and all his organs are working properly."
"...What?" V then once again turned to look at Fred, only to quickly turn away again as she saw his skin shredded, merging with the metal parts of the robotic leg. But true enough, there was not even a hint of blood anywhere, not even on the edges of Fred's shredded skin.
The fact that his voice was still filled with vigor should have actually been enough of a sign that he was not actually dying, V thought. But still… wasn't this torture?
"We… we still need to get him help! Can you… remove my leg– my mecha's legs without killing him?"
"Why?" Riley blinked a couple of times, "That would make him short again, Miss V."
"You… you're just playing dumb, aren't you?" V then squinted her eyes as she looked Riley straight in the eyes once more.
"Yes." And with a wide smile slowly crawling on Riley's face, Fred's screaming intensified– the sound of his flesh tearing, whispering in the air as the robotic legs attached to him were slowly being pulled apart.
V was used to violence– she sees it almost every single day. But seeing Riley not even batting an eye as he floated the legs away was truly something she did not expect. She had seen his outburst at the prison in the UK; V thought that a person like that was surely capable of expressing his feelings if he wanted to.
But the almost dead-pan expression plastered on Riley's face right now was making her think otherwise.
But finally, after a few more screams from Fred, the robotic legs attached to him were swiftly and successfully extracted…
…leaving him with no more limbs in the lower parts of his body.
"Q… Quick, let's take him to the house so we can at least try to help–"
"No."
And before V could even finish her sentence, Riley interrupted him with a shake of his head, "I prefer to just leave the short man here, Miss V. Our house is dirty as it is because the previous owner seemed to have not yet cleaned it before I killed him."
"...What?" V once again uttered, "But he will die if we just leave him here!"
"You are a member of the Hope Guild, Miss V. Is that correct?"
"...Yes?" V blinked a couple of times, slightly glancing at Fred to try and see if he was still alive.
"You are a superhero. So why are you trying to help a supervillain, Miss V?" Riley said as he tilted his head, "Even Megawoman ends her involvement with supervillains as soon as she sends them to prison– leaving us… earthlings to decide the fate of my fellow evil men."
"Even still, he–"
"His name is Frederick Watson." Once again, Riley did not let V finish her words; interrupting her as he slowly approached Fred… who was too weak to the point that the only thing he could really move were his eyes, which were trembling as they watched as Riley became bigger and bigger.
"He was born in a circus. His parents, both also dwarves," Riley then stated as if he was reading from some sort of script; his eyes the same as always– as if looking at nowhere in particular,
"He awakened his powers late, killing his parents a week after the fact. Frederick Watson then proceeded to kill several more, almost slaughtering the entire town where their circus was currently located at the time," Riley said without even missing a single breath,
"That–"
"Due to the nature of Frederick Watson's powers, he was not easily apprehended. It wasn't until Tempo, who was yet to be recruited by the Hope Guild by then, decided to stop him that Frederick Watson was captured."
"Even still, that doesn't–"
"Further investigation and interrogation then led to the discovery that Frederick Watson's crimes were not only limited to murder but also rape," Riley casually said as he turned his head towards V,
"He locked the daughter of the owner of the circus in one of the cages meant for a tiger. Repeatedly raping the woman, causing her bones and organs to rupture– killing her in the end."
"How… How do you know all of these?" V, who was previously trying to help Fred up, could not help but slightly back away as soon as Riley was done.
"It can be found on the internet, Miss V."
"You… searched the prisoners before you were captured?" V quietly exclaimed; her confusion, almost reaching its peak.
"I am looking at it right now, Miss V."
"What?"
"It does not matter now, Miss V," Riley then let out a small sigh as he suddenly walked and stood behind V, "After hearing that, do you still wish to welcome someone like that into our new house? Are you…
…going to open your door and let the devil inside, Miss V?"
Chapter 231"Are you…
…going to open your door and let the devil inside, Miss V?"
"..."
With Riley behind her whispering in her left ear, she could feel the warmth of his breath– or perhaps it was better to say the lack of it? There was absolutely no air touching her skin, but she could still feel the warmth coming from it. It almost feels… mystifying, in a way.
It almost caused V to feel a little… entranced.
But still, Riley's words still resonated deep within her. She has dedicated her short life to putting men like Fred locked behind bars forever– sometimes even causing their deaths if needed. Is it not a little hypocritical to save and help this man in front of him?
It was also because of an evil man that her powers went wild, causing the deaths of millions and millions of people. The world… would only be a better place if men like these disappear. Empress and the others from the Hope Guild also do not shy away from directly killing supervillains if that was the easiest and quickest way to neutralize them.
And according to the story Riley told him, Fred was captured by Tempo– how exactly would he feel if V tried to help the man he put in bars?
"Should… we really just leave him behind?" V then took in a small gulp as her eyes finally left Fred.
"That is up to you, Miss V."
"..." V then once again turned to look at Fred; her eyes, trembling along with Fred's shivering body. It took almost a quarter of a minute, but finally, a decision raced through her mind.
"Let's… just go," V then once again took a small gulp as she turned around, "I don't know how much help we will be able to provide anyway, so fuck this."
"Very well," Riley said as he started walking away; not even saying a word as they walked back to their new house. Riley then opened the door, but instead of entering, he turned back to look at V,
"After you, Miss V," Riley then said as the sides of his mouth slowly rise, "Since you did not let the devil inside, then the devil shall be the one to let you enter."
"That… you really are as edgy as the rumours say," V let out a sigh as a small smile also appeared on her face. But still, she entered as Riley wished; chuckling as she did so.
As for Riley, he watched until V disappeared deeper into the house; before his eyes once again moved towards the middle of the subdivision, only to see Fred now crawling on the grass. Seeing this, the smile on Riley's face once again reached from ear to ear.
He stared at Fred struggling for exactly three seconds, before suddenly snapping his finger; and as soon as he did so, Fred suddenly disappeared… turning into a mist of blood; his bones, almost turning to ashes that quickly became fertilizer for the grass beneath him.
"This…" Riley then whispered as he started to step inside his new house,
"...will be fun."
***
A week after,
V was somewhat starting to get used to life in prison. But perhaps getting used to it was not the right term… as her life here could actually be considered an improvement from when she was outside– her years, either trapped inside her chambers or inside the mecha suit.
This was perhaps the first time for a very long time that her feet touched the ground for this long. She was always inside her mecha suit whenever she went out; granted, the prison neighborhood was still technically inside– with only the sky above them as the semblance of the outside world, but still…
…this was perhaps the first time she ever felt free in her life. She also was not afraid that her powers would lose control because of the new limiter she got from Whiteking.
She also have not met her real parents before, and the only people she considered as a family was Empress, who took care of her and trained her since young– so this truly was a new experience for her.
And… there was also Riley. Although he does not talk that much, he was… brutally honest. V's every question was answered swiftly and without any barriers– unlike with the Hope Guild, where she was treated almost like glass.
This… it felt like she was finally living her life. Of course, she wouldn't forget that she was actually in prison and was surrounded by criminals.
A month later,
Although she wouldn't call herself a maid or a babysitter, it was starting to feel like that. She had to do everything in the house. Granted, it was only cleaning after Riley since all of their meals are provided by the prison and delivered to them every day… but wouldn't it help for him to just help?
With his telekinesis, it should just be as easy as flicking his finger– of course, he knew that wasn't actually how it works… but for Riley, it seemed like it was. She and Riley take occasional walks, and with everyone seemingly trying to avoid them, it honestly felt like they had the entire neighborhood for themselves.
If only the other prisoners would greet them, then this would definitely feel like how the other people live their normal lives. Of course, V was not forgetting that she was still amongst criminals.
She had absolutely no idea what was going on outside, since her only way to connect to the outside world, her mecha suit, was destroyed by Riley on the first day. She was still not okay with that… but for some reason, it felt like it had to happen.
Without the mecha suit, she was starting to live life the way it was meant to be lived– without walls.
2 months later,
Warden Yakovich visited the neighborhood for the first time, requiring all the Top 50 prisoners to gather in the center of the subdivision. And maybe it was just her… but it felt like there were less than 30 prisoners now?
They could have just decided not to attend the gathering– but seeing as the guards scoured the houses and they couldn't find them, then something was definitely wrong. And judging by warden Yakovich's face, it was the reason he asked for all of them to gather up.
V volunteered to help, but as soon as warden Yakovich's eyes landed on Riley, he just asked his men to stop the search and they all just left abruptly
What… exactly was happening?
3 months later,
Life continued inside the prison as normal. She already got used to living with Riley and even shared a laugh with him sometimes whenever they talked about Megawoman.
They did have a visitor, however. Empress came to check on her a few days earlier– but that wasn't really her main purpose. She once again offered Riley a seat to the Hope Guild… but Riley once again refused saying that he was already having fun here.
She also wanted Riley to join the guild so he could finally be free… but for some reason, she was sort of happy when Riley refused.
4 months later,
She… might be starting to fall in love with Riley. She knew it was too fast, but she might truly be.
It might just be because Riley was the only one she had been talking with for 2 months now, but the more she got to know him, the more he seemed… human. Of course, she knew that the two of them didn't really have a chance to be together since Riley had Scarlet Mage waiting for him outside– but while they were inside… It should be alright?
Of course, she hasn't really fallen in love before and the thing she was feeling might not be that. But for now, she was slowly trying to distance herself from Riley. But with them living in the same house, it was next to impossible.
But since none of his friends, and even his family visited Riley– wasn't she the only person Riley has now? Maybe…
…it's alright?
"Riley…"
"What is it, Victoria?"
V and Riley were in the living room, watching the first season of Italian Mafia Reborn probably for the 3rd time. Riley seemed to already have all the dialog memorized, but even then, he still seemed to be excited whenever it played.
"Scarlet Mage…" V then whispered as she sat closer next to Riley, "Do you… love her?"
"No, Victoria," Riley then shook his head. And as soon as V heard his words, a small smile could not help but subtly form on her face.
"I am not capable of feeling love– that is an emotion reserved for humans."
"You've already said that before," V then let out a small sigh, "But seeing the way you acted when they threatened your sister… isn't that already love?"
"Is it?" Riley blinked a couple of times. Although his outburst and rage were only just pretend back then, he did feel a slight irritation when the interrogator threatened to hurt his sister– but is that truly love? He also somewhat feels like that whenever a new episode of Italian Mafia Reborn doesn't air…
…is love something that simple?
"If…" V then started to gulp down the glass of water in front of her, before her eyes once again wandered towards Riley,
"...If I told you that I am starting to like you," V tried her best not to bite her tongue, "What would you say to me?"
"That–"
[Prisoner 666, you have a visitor.]
Chapter 232[Prisoner 666. You have a visitor.]
"..."
V could only watch as Riley stood up from his seat. She just asked him a very important question, but for this announcement to just ring right at this very moment– she could not help but feel there was someone fooling around behind the scenes.
The announcement could have come at any moment besides now; but alas, it would seem she would not be able to get the answer she wanted. This was the very first time she was actually feeling like a normal teenager; falling in love and actually living with the person she likes. Of course, the order might be a little skewed, but nonetheless, it was her time to actually be a normal person.
But once again, alas. The only thing she could do was silently follow with her eyes as Riley stepped out of the house… but before his feet could touch the outside, another announcement rang through the air.
[P… Please remain inside your cell, prisoner 666. We will escort your visitor there.]
"..."
And with that announcement, Riley just subtly shook his head and once again returned to his seat beside V. V, who was feeling slightly disappointed just earlier, almost buried herself in the sofa and throw pillow she was hugging for some reason.
"..."
"..."
If there was any way she could die from awkwardness, then she would have probably died about a dozen times now. The awkwardness did not reach its peak, however, until Riley decided to stare at her for some reason.
"You shouldn't, Victoria."
"Hm?"
V then blinked a couple of times as she heard Riley's words; slowly leaning her head out of the large pillow she was hugging as she looked at Riley.
"You asked me what I would say to you if you told me you are starting to like me," Riley repeated back V's question to her, "And to that, I say you shouldn't."
"...Why?"-- was the only word that V could utter as she looked Riley straight in the eyes.
"Because I will never be able to return those feelings, Victoria," Riley then said as he looked to the side, "Liking me is like liking a cat. In the end, you will only be used; your feelings, never truly reciprocated."
"..." V could only furrow her eyebrows as she heard Riley's words; but after a few seconds, she let out a small but very deep breath as her eyes remained stubbornly staring towards Riley, "Then are you saying you are only using Scarlet Mage?"
"She is using me, and I am using her," Riley nodded, "As for whether or not she truly has feelings for me or is just confused by her complicated emotions, I don't know. You do not like me, Victoria– you just like the idea of finally falling in love."
"You… stupid asshole," V wanted to run away and hide; but really, where would she even go? She had tried facing all of his problems head-on and never run away– she would never show that sort of weakness again. And so, once again, she took a seat; her eyes, confronting Riley once more.
"I do like you, Riley," V then said as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "I'm not falling in love with an illusion or whatever bullshit you're trying to come up with. We've been together alone here for four months, do you really think it's possible I won't develop feelings for you?"
"Then my answer remains the same, Victoria," Riley shook his head and sighed, "It is better for you not to– once you find out what I truly am, the only emotion you will feel is fear and disgust."
"I do know who you are! We've been together 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for four straight months, Riley!"
"Then do you know what my favorite color is, Victoria?"
"That…"
"..."
"That's…"
"You don't know, Victoria," Riley shook his head, "And that is not your fault. I have only been showing you what I want you to see."
"..."
"..."
And before a mellow silence could creep inside the house; a small sniffle whispered through the air as V's tears suddenly started to trail on her face, "This… this isn't fair, Riley."
"It's not supposed to be, Victoria," Riley then, for the first time throughout their conversation, returned V's gaze, "That is what it means to be liking someone like me."
[Prisoner 666, we are entering your cell. Do not, under any circumstances, move in a way that the guards would misinterpret. Please raise both your hands if you understand.]
Riley, however, did not do anything. Only leaning back on the sofa as he let out a short but deep sigh. As for V, she was the only one to raise her hands.
And soon, the sound of the door opening entered their ears; the sound of footsteps… seemingly only belonging to one.
"These people seemed to have dropped their balls the last time I visited, I thought they were going to escort me inside."
A somewhat high-pitched but familiar voice then whispered through their ears coming from the hallway. The voice seemed to be saying something else as she walked inside, but Riley and V could barely make out the words.
"Hey, kid."
But finally, after a few more seconds, the owner of the familiar voice revealed herself,
"Nice house you got here. This lot was your mother's when she was still here but it wasn't this large."
"...Miss Charlotte."
"...Who?" V blinked a couple of times as she did not have any idea who this girl that suddenly visited Riley was. Was she a classmate from the Academy?
"The Shadow Mimic, Victoria."
"W… what!?"
V could not help but suddenly stand up from her seat as she heard Riley's words. Out of all the ones that she thought would be visiting Riley, Charlotte was not even in her mind. What exactly was the previous leader of the Hope Guild doing here?
"She is my biological grandmother, Victoria."
"...What?" V then once again blinked a couple of times as she looked back and forth between Riley and Charlotte, "Wait… doesn't that mean Madam Mimic is Ms. Phoenix's mother!? Wait… what!? But how are you still so young!?"
"The chickenlings didn't tell you?" Charlotte only chuckled as she waved her hand, "Although it is also probably my fault. I've told them not to reveal any information about me or my daughter."
"That's–" V was about to say something, but abruptly stopped as she once again looked back and forth between the two. And after a few more seconds, she bowed her head and walked away, "I'll… just be in my room so the two of you can talk. But if you're not too busy… maybe you can join us for dinner later?"
"I'll check my schedule," Charlotte once again chuckled before nodding her head.
"Call me if you need anything," V then glanced at Riley before heading to her room.
"..."
"..."
"...Cute kid, that one," Charlotte then let out a small sigh as she headed straight towards the bar on the corner of the living room, pouring herself some drinks that were wasting on the shelves, "You want anything?"
"Mango Graham shaved ice, Miss Charlotte."
"Pft, if only," Charlotte still chuckled as she expertly mixed the drinks, "So, how is life in prison?"
"It is fine, Miss Charlotte," Riley monotonously replied as he remained seated; not even facing the direction of Charlotte.
"Your sister and the others are actually graduating this week," Charlotte casually said, "Your sister told me to tell you how much she misses you– the others as well."
"..."
"They're also sorry they can't visit you. But don't hold it against them, the government is not allowing any of your family and friends to visit you," Charlotte then let out a small sigh as she shook her head, "The Hope Guild is just a special case since Yakovich owes us a lot. You're still not planning to join them?"
"No, Miss Charlotte."
"...Are you mad I didn't tell you about who I was?" The smile on Charlotte's face then slowly faded as she sat opposite Riley, placing her drink on the table between them.
"No, Miss Charlotte. We all have secrets that we want and sometimes need to keep," Riley shook his head, "And it makes no difference who my parents are at this point, Miss Charlotte."
"Well…" Charlotte then drank the drink she made in one full gulp, "Alice– I am sure you have a tinge of resentment for her?"
"Not at all, Miss Charlotte."
"But they told you what happened, right?" Charlotte's voice then slowly started to become sedated as she looked to the side, "She tried to kill you when you were just 2 years old."
"I have heard the story, yes."
"I despised you, Riley."
"..."
"Because of you… I had to kill my own daughter," Charlotte's voice then soon started to tremble,
"She wasn't going to stop… if I didn't kill her, then she would have surely killed you," she then whispered as she looked at her hands.
"I know… I know that I shouldn't hate you for something I decided to do. But I couldn't help it. Whenever I look at you, I remember my daughter's face as I…"
"..."
"..."
Charlotte then closed her eyes; her heavy breaths, almost whispering throughout the entire house.
"What I am trying to say is that I am sorry, Riley," Charlotte then said as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "I truly am, for everything– for not being there for you."
"...Okay."
"Your mother… she…" Charlotte once again closed her eyes, "I want you to know that she's not the kind of person that would kill her own child. Who… Whoever that was that tried to kill you, it wasn't her."
"..."
"Alice loved you. My god, she loved you to the point that I couldn't pull you away from her," Charlotte chuckled, "She has a few screws loose, but she truly did love you."
"Hm…"
"Did you know your mother wanted to name you Lucifer because it sounded cool?" Charlotte then let out a small sigh, "She was crazy, your mother."
"..."
"There was also one time when she dressed you up like a ghost and floated you around the Hope Guild. I have never heard Butcher scream like that when he saw you," Charlotte once again chuckled, "You were a year old then– what kind of mother does that?"
"..."
"She was really, really happy. No matter how many times I reprimanded her; no matter how many times I scolded her for getting pregnant with you; no matter how many times I told her to introduce your father– she didn't budge. She was just… happy."
"Hm…"
"She… she was a precious little thing, It was my fault for not seeing that she was ill. Just…
…everything changed when you turned 2."
Chapter 233"Pregnant? What do you mean you're pregnant!?"
"It means I have a parasite inside me, ma. There's a freaking bun in my fucking oven!"
Loud voices echoed throughout the walls of the Hope Guild; but unlike what it was in the present times, screens were not yet filled with screens. Instead, there were maps littered on most of the walls of their meeting hall– different countries, different cities. Some had red lights blinking on them; a sign that there was trouble that might need the Hope Guild's attention.
There was one element that seemed to have remained unchanged throughout time, however– Charlotte. She still looks the same as she did in the present times; the only difference was her somewhat provocative three-colored costume– gold, red, and blue.
And in front of her, was a woman who sported the same hair color; light brown, bordering in red. The length of her hair that was tied in a ponytail, almost reaching past her waist. Her outfit, a tight-black suit and a small brown leather jacket– the outfit that Alice had worn all throughout her stint as a superhero.
"What!?"
And once again, Charlotte's voice echoed throughout the meeting hall of the Hope Guild, not even caring if some of the other members that were currently not inside the room would hear them.
"How are you even pregnant!?"
"...What kind of question is that, ma!? I'm just pregnant!"
"How!? You don't even have a boyfriend… or a fuck buddy that I know of!"
"Ack, can you not!? That's disgusting!"
"I am asking you who the father is!"
"It's… classified."
"What!?"
And once again, Charlotte's screams thundered as she listened to her daughter's words. One might think she was being overly dramatic, but for Charlotte, she thought she was still calm considering the situation. Her daughter, who doesn't really talk to her that much, suddenly called her out of nowhere and wanted to discuss something.
Charlotte had already thought that it was something important for her to actually call her… but her being pregnant?
Her one and only daughter, suddenly pregnant? What kind of mother wouldn't be surprised or angry hearing such news?
"What do you mean it's classified!? What do you think your vagina is, the pentagon!?" Charlotte then stood up as she slammed both her palm on the table, "Who is it!?"
"I–"
"Wait, just fucking wait…" Charlotte then pointed her palm towards Alice; her other hand, grasping her head as her breathing became unusually heavy, "Don't tell me… please don't fucking tell me it's Whiteking's?"
"What!?" And with those words coming from Charlotte, Alice also stood up and also slammed both her palms on the table.
"I don't see what you girls see on that fucking guy! Even Empress is sleeping with him knowing full well that he's a married man!"
"Ma! No! What!? Ew!" Alice then started walking around the hall; her shoulders slightly shivering as her mother's words reverberated through her air, "Who would want to have sex with that nerd!? Ew! Just…
…just ew!"
"Then tell me who the father is!"
"I don't fucking know!"
"What!?"
Charlotte's screams were reaching their peak; causing the entire hall itself to tremble as her voice also shivered from the sheer frustration she was currently feeling,
"What do you mean you don't know!?" She then bellowed; frantically waving her hands as she stomped her way towards Alice, "Wait… don't tell me you've actually been sleeping with a lot of people!?"
"What!? No!"
"Alice! Why!?" Charlotte's eyes then started getting moist as she looked her daughter straight in the eyes, "I… I didn't raise you to be a fucking whore!"
"I'm not! Why aren't you listening to me!?"
"You're the one not hearing yourself! You're the one who said you don't know who the fucking father is!" Charlotte started circling around in place for no apparent reason, "What!? Are you trying to say you just suddenly became pregnant or something!? Who do you think you are, the virgin–"
"Yes! That's what I have been fucking trying to tell you, ma!" This time, it was Alice's bellows that reverberated through the hall,
"I am fucking pregnant," she then said; each of her words, filled with weight, "I wanted to hide it from you at first since I don't know if it's really happening. But when I went to the ob-gyn a few days ago and had myself checked, they found something in the ultrasound!"
"Who… is the father?" Charlotte repeated her question; this time, however, the tone of her voice was calm– her eyes, however, felt otherwise.
"I. Don't. Know," Alice then mouthed each of her words, "I had… a friend inject me with something."
"Inject you with his penis?"
"No! Ew! It was a female friend!" Alice grunted as she dropped her shoulders, "I've been wanting to have a child, but I don't really want to be involved in a fucking toxic relationship… so when a friend told me they have this Vitro fertilization project something that didn't need a man's sperm– I volunteered to test it."
"...What?"
Charlotte looked at her daughter; her eyes, clearly in disbelief with what she was hearing. She almost fell butt-first on the floor, but Alice quickly dragged a chair to catch her,
"You… did what?"
"That's why I told you it was classified!" Alice once again grunted as she also floated a chair for her to sit on, "They haven't really revealed the technology to the public yet. And since I'm a super and wanted a baby, I said `why not'. I'm sure nothing would happen to me–"
"Are you… crazy?" Charlotte once again grasped her head in frustration, this time with both her hands, "You injected yourself with something that hasn't been tested?"
"W… well, as I said, I was–"
"Tell me what company this is, I will fucking burn it to the ground and–"
"Ma! Stop! It's done," Alice then grabbed both her mother's arms as she looked her straight in the eyes, "Just… be happy for me that I am finally going to have a child."
"Alice… you're 21," Charlotte shook her head; her eyes, still completely in disbelief, "A child isn't a fucking pet. I mean… what!? I know you're impulsive, but this is just… this is on another level."
"..."
"..."
And with that, silence. None of them knew how long this silence went on, but both of them knew they needed it to get their thoughts settled. And soon, perhaps a quarter of an hour or so, Alice whispered.
"I… am going to take care of him, ma."
"...Him?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow, "How many weeks in are you?"
"T… twenty-one weeks."
And as soon as Charlotte heard Alice's words, her eyes quickly dropped towards Alice's belly, "That's a fucking baby already, Alice! Why is your stomach so small!?"
"I… I've been tucking it in to hide–"
"Are you fucking crazy!?" And as soon as Charlotte heard Alice's words, she quickly ripped off Alice's tight outfit, revealing the bandages wrapped around her stomach– and without even waiting for Alice to complain, Charlotte ripped the bandages, gently.
"O… Oh fuck," Charlotte then once again almost fell on her butt; her hands, trying to fan herself as her eyes remained glued on Alice's slightly bulging stomach,
"It… it's really happening."
"P… please calm down, ma. I–"
"Don't you dare fucking touch me," Charlotte then said as her breathing became gasps, "A child… A child isn't a pet, Alice. Do you even have any idea how hard it is to raise a child– and without a father?"
"Well… you did it and I turned out fine."
Charlotte opened her mouth as soon as she heard Alice's words; her eyes, looking at Alice from head to toe, "In which angle did you turn out fine, Alice!? You…"
"..."
Charlotte was about to say something harsh, but as soon as she saw her daughter caressing her slightly bulging stomach, the only thing that Charlotte could do was close her eyes and sigh. Just… where exactly did she go wrong raising her? Charlotte thought.
But what's done is done, the only thing she could really do… was be there for her.
"Do you even know what you're going to name him?" Charlotte then sighed as her breaths finally calmed down.
"I… I've been fancying the name Lucifer for a while now since it sounds good."
"You're a fucking wreck, Alice."
Charlotte and Alice's disagreement and arguments did not end there. It went on and on– it became a whole mess when others in the Hope Guild found out; some information was omitted from them such as there being no actual father, but other than a few expressions of shock, the rest of the members of the Hope Guild took the news well. Well, compared to Charlotte, that is.
Months passed and Charlotte and Alice's arguments only got worse; that is until the time came for Alice to give birth.
"Push!"
"What do you think I'm doing!?"
"You're not pushing enough! That's it, proceed with the c-section, doctor!"
"No!"
"Don't you dare use your telekinesis to push out the baby, Alice!"
"Rraah! I feel like shitting, ma!"
"That's completely normal! Push!"
Screams once again. But this time, it was Alice– her screams almost piercing the ears of all the people that were trying to help her give birth. The doctor and nurses have lost count on how many times the objects in the room started to tremble; they have also lost count on how many times Charlotte slapped Alice whenever it happened.
But finally, after 5 whole hours–
"T… that's it, Alice. Just… just a few more! Push!"
"Kkii!" Alice greeted her teeth; almost to the point that her gums bled as she gave everything she could. And finally… a short relief as the sound of the waters inside her gushed out.
"D… doctor?"
Alice, however, quickly held her breath as she heard her mother's somewhat concerned voice,
"W… what's going on… mom?" Alice tried to lift her head, but was too weak to do so, "What… what?"
"Doctor…" Charlotte repeated,
"Why… why does he look like that?"
Chapter 234"Why… why does he look like that?"
"Ma? What… what's wrong?"
"M… No… No, it's nothing."
Charlotte's quiet stutters echoed through the maternity room; her eyes staring at the pale baby that the doctor was currently holding. And seeing the look of bewilderment on the doctor's eyes, he too, was not quite sure what was happening.
Charlotte's breaths were heavy; perhaps the heaviest they have ever been. Even through the almost thousands of battles she had been in. In fact, even when she gave birth to Alice, she had not felt this kind of anxiety before.
How could her breaths not be this dismayed, when the baby that the doctor has currently holding did not have any color in him. But most importantly…
"Why… why isn't he crying, doc?" Charlotte could not help but whisper.
"What!? What's wrong!?"
But even with her attempt to whisper, her words still struck like thunder in Alice's ears. Alice wanted to get up, but even lifting a finger felt like she was trying to carry the entire world with her; her fatigue, reaching its limit. The only thing that was keeping her awake right now was the sheer willpower to see her child.
Alice could not even use her power—she was trying to lift herself up with telekinesis, but her body was already screaming due to the exhaustion of giving birth.
"Ma!? What's wrong!?" The only thing she could really do was bellow; her tears, already trailing down her ears, "What… what do you mean he's not crying!? Is that… is that bad!? Ma! What does that mean!?"
Alice was not alone with her panic—both the doctors and the nurses that were in the room were also quite in a bind; not necessarily because there was something wrong with Alice's baby, but because of Alice herself. If she were to become berserk and started losing control of her powers, then most of them would probably die here.
They were doctors and nurses specifically chosen for the job—specialists that are used to handling pregnancy of supers. But this was perhaps, the very first time they were worried about their lives.
Alice's popularity—notorious antics were quite popular amongst the masses. She had a very short fuse; the villains that happen to have her as their enemy would rather surrender to the authorities rather than face her.
And so, with those worries dancing in their minds, they quickly held onto all the equipment inside the room; afraid that the sharp scalpels and heavy metal tubes would start floating. But contrary to their expectations, nothing floated.
As for the doctor that was currently holding the pale baby; he could not help but take in a big and very deep gulp as the sweat on his face started filling up his cap and mask. He was about to do something that Alice might not want… but still he had to do it.
And so, with another gulp… the doctor gently held the baby on its ankles before proceeding to slap it on its bottoms.
"What are you doing, you fuck--!!!"
"Alice, calm down!"
Alice's bed started to shake as the veins around her body started to constrict. But before anything drastic could happen, Charlotte ran to hug her daughter,
"It's fine—it's a normal procedure," Charlotte then whispered in a very calm tone.
Calm—perhaps this was the first time Charlotte had to pretend to be one. Try as she might not to express her anxiety, but seeing the completely pale baby in front of her not responding no matter how many times the doctor urged a response, Charlotte could not help but also drown in her own sweat.
"M… Ma? Why… what's happening?"
"S… shh, it's fine… it's fine," Charlotte could only hold her daughter's hand as she saw the tears coming from her eyes multiply. Charlotte then turned her eyes towards the doctor's… and as soon as he saw him shaking his head, Charlotte's eyes turned wide; her grip on her daughter's hand, becoming tighter and tighter.
"M… ma? What's wrong? What's wrong? Where… where's my baby?"
"Oh… Alice," Charlotte was about to caress her daughter's cheek. But before she could do so, Charlotte let out a small gasp as her finger quickly pointed toward the baby.
"L… Look!" Charlotte then bellowed.
The doctor quickly turned to look at where she was pointing, only for him to almost take a step back as he saw the pale baby looking him directly in the eyes.
"This…" The doctor's bewilderment and shock were momentary, of course. Saving a life was, of course, still the priority. And so, with a shake of his head, the doctor started checking the pale baby for anything amiss.
But besides the baby's pale skin that caused one to see all of the tiny veins in his body, as well as wide lips that looked like it was cut with a knife, nothing was wrong—the baby was completely healthy.
"He… he's perfectly fine," the doctor said; still somewhat in disbelief with what happened. He was about to hand the baby to Charlotte, but Charlotte quickly gestured to the doctor to let Alice hold him first.
Alice quickly stretched her arms towards the baby; the smile on her face, completely drowning the tears that have previously plastered there before.
"Be gentle with him, Alice," Charlotte then whispered, "He's not—"
"He's not a pet, I know, ma…" Alice then very gently grabbed the baby from the doctor's hands,
"…I know," she then breathed out as the smile on her face grew even more jubilant; even though moving a single finger sapped most of her strength, Alice still embraced her baby as gently as she could.
"Hello…" Alice then whispered; her words, very quiet with not even a breath coming out of her mouth, "…Hello, it… it's me, your mama."
"…" Seeing her daughter having this kind of expression, a tear could not help but also fall from Charlotte's eyes. She had never seen Alice like this; perhaps that was a failure on her side as a mother… or perhaps she had forgotten how happy she was when she also gave birth to Alice.
"Say hello to grandma," Alice then said as she let the baby hold her finger.
"H… hello," Charlotte almost gasped as she saw the baby looking at her; a smile, slowly crawling on her face as she waved her hand towards the baby. Her smile, however, almost faded away as the baby smiled back—the lines of his mouth, almost reaching from ear to ear.
"…" Charlotte quickly looked towards the doctor, her eyes almost asking if there was something wrong with the baby. The doctor, however, only let out a small but very deep sigh as he shrugged his shoulders.
Were… they sure nothing was wrong with the baby? Charlotte thought. But seeing her daughter this happy… Charlotte could not dare to say anything.
"Say hello to grandma," Alice repeated as she very gently waved the baby's hand,
"Say hello, baby Lucifer."
"No!"
And so, months passed. And the rumors that Ms. Phoenix gave birth spread like wildfire through all the news outlets. The Hope Guild, however, did not let the rumor last as they announced Ms. Phoenix's break from the guild—confirming the news.
The entire world wanted to know the details, but as they were superheroes; there really was no information they could divulge. And besides… they too, have no idea what was happening. As far as they know, Alice didn't even have a partner.
None of them pried any further, however.
Every member of the Hope Guild has already introduced themselves to Alice's son; most of them, initially shocked by how he looked. But like with Charlotte, they couldn't really say anything with how happy Alice was.
And besides, this was better than her wreaking havoc outside. This was the very first time they all saw how peaceful Alice could be if she chose to. This was the first time she was waking up and not choosing violence as her breakfast.
Alice… was happy, and so they were too.
"Ow, come here. Come to mama."
"Alice, don't force him—he is still a couple of months away from walking."
"Oh? But little Riley seems to want to walk? Don't you, little Riley dubs?"
"…" Charlotte's sighs once again echoed through the air. This time, however, it was followed by a smile as she saw the whitest baby she had ever seen in her life trying to crawl their way towards Alice.
Charlotte wanted to know what exactly Alice injected in herself, but Alice refused to reveal anything else no matter how many times she asked. The only thing she said was that it was some sort of IVF that didn't need a sperm donor.
Charlotte tried scouring the so-called internet for it, but nothing was popping up. She opted to ask Whiteking for help, but she was afraid he might discover something—the guy has been giving her creeps ever since he joined, after all.
And so, after a few weeks, Charlotte just gave up. What was important right now was that Alice was genuinely happy.
She was happy.
Granted, they have been spending all their time inside the Hope Guild since Riley was diagnosed with some form of albinism. Alice tried bringing him outside once, but when Riley's skin started to turn red, Alice quickly returned back to the base, crying and telling everyone that Riley was dying.
He was not, of course. But since then, Alice just stayed inside.
It wasn't just Charlotte, but everyone noticed how much Alice doted on Riley—one might say a little too much.
She doted Riley to the point that she rearranged the entire Hope Guild to become baby-friendly—putting foams on every wall and shaving all the edges and turning them round.
No one could stop her. But why would they try?
Alice was happy…
…but then she was not.
Chapter 235None of the Hope Guild members knew when; none of them saw the signs at first… none of them realized Alice's slow descent to madness. No, perhaps it was ludicrous to say that it was slow– because it happened almost in an instant.
"Ma! Can you watch Riley for a li'l bit?"
It happened during a normal day– perhaps more normal than most as the Hope Guild headquarters have not received any calls; the map that signaled them if there was any disturbance in a certain area that needed their attention has also remained somber.
The day was probably the most peaceful they had. There was one that needed their attention, but Megawoman happened to be in the area, so whoever was causing trouble was probably in prison now.
And so, none of them really had anything to do– most of the members were just idle inside the meeting hall. Tempo, just a fresh recruit that more or less joined the guild at the same time as Alice, was looking at the map ready to run at any time and prove himself.
Butcher was just sitting on the floor, fiddling with his knife without uttering a single word; Empress was also there, trying her best to talk and get closer to Whiteking, who was tinkering with the screens attached to the wall.
The remaining member was someone called Doctor Late who was just reading a book. Doctor Late was only a proxy member of the Hope Guild, standing in for Bulwark whenever he goes on his little trips around the world to apparently find himself.
Sadly for Doctor Late, he would be killed by Lady Divider, aka Sophie Turner, sometime soon. He had the power to temporarily cease or slow down everything around him within a range of a 5-meter radius. And like Whiteking, he was a master in all sorts of weapons.
And then there was Alice and Charlotte, who were currently shouting at each other for no apparent reason. The rest of the Hope Guild did not seem to give them any mind, as they were used to the way the mother and daughter pair talk to each other.
"Ma! Are you listening!? Can you watch Riley for me!?" Alice then repeated as she gently cradled baby Riley in her arms; almost as if she was trying her best not to wake him up even though she was already screaming.
"What!?" Charlotte responded with a scream of her own; her eyebrows already furrowed as she turned her head towards her daughter. Her frown, however, quickly disappeared as her eyes landed on baby Riley,
"Why? Where are you going?" Charlotte then playfully said as she started fiddling with Riley's tummy, trying to make him laugh. The only response she got, however, was a small sneeze.
"I'm going out to meet a friend," Alice muttered, "I can't really leave Riley alone in the crib anymore since he learned how to walk."
"Pft. The little guy almost touched Sir Butcher's knife the other day," Tempo then quickly commented.
"What!?"
This quickly garnered not only Alice and Charlotte's eyes, but the rest of the members of the Hope Guild as well; their gazes, almost lighting up Butcher's shiny bald head.
"There… was only a 12.8% chance of injury," Butcher then quickly hid the knife he was fiddling with behind him, "All… my knives are blunt. I also hold 0% responsibility in watching where Riley–"
And before Butcher could continue his words, his eyes met with Alice.
"..."
"..."
The two stared for a few seconds, before Butcher took in a very subtle gulp, "Yes, it was 100% my fault."
"As long as you know," Alice then said as she strayed her squinting eyes away from Butcher. Right after, however, she suddenly handed Riley to Charlotte, causing her to almost fall where she stood, "Don't miss mama too much, okay!?"
"Where are you going!?" Charlotte then said as she tried her best not to wake Riley up… while screaming.
"To meet up with a friend!" Alice then ran away; not even looking back as she waved her hand and disappeared from the meeting hall.
"..."
"..."
"Wanna try holding him?" Charlotte then quickly turned her head towards Empress, who was staring at her and baby Riley.
"I…" Empress slightly glanced at Whiteking, before slowly approaching Riley and Charlotte,
"I… don't think I'm ready yet." A wry smile then crawled on Empress's face as she looked at Riley, "I don't think I ever will be again."
"What happened was not your fault, Adaeze," Charlotte let out a sigh as she started cradling Riley ever so gently, "Besides, this little man seems to like being touched… see?"
Charlotte then started tickling Riley, causing him to smile as he slept.
"C'mon, carry him. It's better than whatever it is you're trying to do now," Charlotte commented as she glanced at Whiteking, inadvertently causing him to drop the phillips he was holding,
"He's a married man, Adaeze," Charlotte then whispered very quietly.
"..." Empress, on the other hand, could only keep her silence as she also glanced at Whiteking.
"And he's also a broken man. That's a recipe for disaster," Charlotte then slightly winced. She was about to whisper more words of sermon– but Riley finally woke up from all the activity happening around him.
"M… mama?" Riley then worded out as he blinked a couple of times; puttering his lips as he seemingly looked back and forth between Empress and Charlotte, "...Mama?"
"Your wreck of a mom isn't here, snowball," Charlotte then started to gently place Riley on the ground, "But you have grandma… say grandma. G… ran… ma."
"...Mama?" Riley once again blinked; his little arms and legs, trying to lift himself up but struggling to do so. It only took 2 tries, however, and he was able to fully stand; and without even any warning, started prancing about.
Butcher quickly got off the floor as soon as he saw this, quickly throwing his knife to the top of the meeting table. Whiteking also stopped whatever it was he was trying to do with the screens, placing all of his tools in a safe place Riley couldn't reach.
Tempo and Doctor Late also stopped what they were doing as they watched as baby Riley made his way everywhere inside the meeting hall.
"They grow up so fast," Doctor Late breathed out as he closed his book, "Next thing you know, he would be making trouble for all of us."
"Pft, hopefully, he doesn't turn out anything like his mother," Tempo chuckled as he carefully approached baby Riley, "If not, this child would probably grow up into an even bigger menace than Alice. You're not going to become a problem for us in the future, are you?"
"...Mama?" Riley only blinked a couple of times, before letting out a wide smile and holding Tempo's stretched finger.
This was probably the most normal day in the headquarters of the Hope Guild. They were all just lazing around, smiling and laughing like friends. Trying their best not to make Riley cry; as once he starts, only his mother would be able to stop him.
Their day continued on with a smile on their faces. And then, the sound of the door sliding open whispered through their ears.
"Oh, look who decided to return," Charlotte then said as she quickly stood up from the floor; her hands, also carefully assisting Riley up so he wouldn't trip from all the toys scattered around him,
"Go, go greet your mommy," Charlotte then gently let go of Riley, who immediately sprinted towards Alice with a smile on his face.
"Look at him go," Tempo chuckled, "Maybe he will grow up to be a sprinter like me. What do you guys thi–"
And before Tempo could finish his words, everything around him slowed down. His eyes, quickly focusing on Alice's left knee… which was currently on its way straight towards Riley's face. Tempo slightly opened his mouth first as he watched Alice's knee slowly making their way toward Riley.
But as soon as he was sure that Riley would get hit, he quickly disappeared from his spot. For the others, the only thing they heard was a whispering echo… and Tempo was suddenly beside Alice with Riley in his arms.
"Putang ina!" Tempo then worded out as he gently carried baby Riley away, "What the fuck was that, Alice!?"
"...What's going on, Tempo?" Empress furrowed her eyebrows; the look on her face, completely showing her confusion. It was not only her, the rest of the Hope Guild was looking at Tempo with a weird look on their face as well.
"Alice was about to knee Riley!" Tempo bellowed as he carefully dashed towards Charlotte, handing Riley gently to her.
"...The fuck are you on about, kid?" Charlotte squinted her eyes; she was still confused, but she immediately grabbed Riley away from Tempo.
"She was going to hit him!" Tempo repeated.
"You must have seen–" Whiteking was about to say something, but before he could do so, Alice suddenly turned around to leave; not even uttering a single word in her defense as the metal door slid open.
"...Alice?" Charlotte whispered as she tried to approach and follow Alice; before she could do so, however, Alice suddenly glanced back; her eyes wide and trembling as they stared at Riley.
"Get…"
"Alice?"
"Get that... thing... that monster away from me," she then whispered through her breath as the metal door slid closed behind her. Charlotte could only stop in her tracks as soon as her daughter's words reached her ears; her eyes, traveling to the others as if to ask if they all heard the same.
And seeing the flabbergasted looks on their faces… they did.
"Did… she just call Riley a monster?"
Chapter 236Everyone in the Hope Guild knew it was too good to be true. A peaceful day? Their group never once expected something like that to happen in their field of work.
Being happy all day? That was an illusion they wished they had. They all knew it was too good to be true– and it is and was. Their happy day filled with laughs, now drowned by confusion and dismay… one might even call their day abysmal.
None of them knew what really just happened; they didn't believe Tempo first when he told them that Alice tried to kick her own baby away. But with Alice directly calling Riley a monster and her slightly disgusted expression, they would be fools not to believe him.
But of course, they all thought that something really bad happened to Alice to put her in a sour mood that was enough for her to hurt Riley; and that when tomorrow comes and once she realized what she almost did, she would cry and apologize to Riley, once again smothering him with love and a disgusting dose of affection– but no.
The day after the incident, Alice returned to her work, taking in calls and busting crime left and right… not even once taking care of– no. Not even once taking a glance at Riley. Charlotte has tried talking to her several times with Riley in tow.
But when Charlotte was about to hand Riley to Alice, the look that Alice had on her face made Charlotte quickly back away and take Riley as far away as possible from her. Charlotte was devastated by this– just what happened to her daughter to suddenly and abruptly change this much?
She already discussed it with the others– but as ludicrous as it might sound, the only conclusion the team came up with was Mind Control. Alice encountered a super that was powerful enough to control her mind. But if so, wouldn't that mean that they were compromised?
But even after several weeks, nothing really major happened to them– no villain trying to infiltrate their base, trying to kill them, or trying to expose their identity to the world. Everything was… normal. Except for the fact that Alice was truly treating Riley as if he didn't exist.
And with Riley's identity being very special, Charlotte could not really allow anyone else to take care of him. And in the end, she made an abrupt exit from the guild. They made it look as if she was going someplace else– venturing out to help those in 3rd world countries with no access to any kind of help.
But in truth, she was just going to take care of Riley. Empress took over the guild as its new leader, but since Empress was truly not ready to take over, Charlotte remained inside the Hope Guild.
They also thought it best for Riley to remain in their base, as it was practically the only home he really knew. And so, Charlotte still minimally controlled the Hope Guild behind the scenes, advising Empress from time to time on the things she needed to worry about.
This went on for months, with Alice truly not even taking as much as a glance at her son. There was nothing any of them could do. With Bulwark returning, they thought that he, as the one who had the most experience in dealing with people, would be able to talk some sense into Alice.
But alas, the only response the Bulwark got was that he should be careful where he treads if he still wanted to walk around the earth for another thousand years.
They were all used to Alice acting up and being some sort of a thug. In fact, not only them, but the rest of the world knew her temper. But this was different.
Alice was losing a considerable amount of weight, she was barely talking to anyone. Empress suggested kicking Alice out of the guild, but this decision was outvoted. Alice was already neglecting his son… and if she were to be kicked out of the base, then Riley would pretty much be abandoned.
There was a point that Charlotte could no longer take it– ordering Whiteking to find out where Alice went the day she changed. This was, of course, something that was against the code of their guild. They had an oath never to survey amongst each other; and with Whiteking now in their guild, this was once again made relevant.
But due to the circumstance, the others agreed. This was all useless, however; as even with Whiteking's god-like ability to dive deep into the secrets of the world– Alice didn't exist that day.
There were no records of her that day– no surveillance camera footage, no one seeing her. The only footage they found of her was from the camera outside the guild. She left the guild with a normal expression on her face, one might even say excitedly.
She told them she was meeting a friend, but the only way there wouldn't be footage of her was that her friend lived in the forest, underground, or in space. No, if her friend lived in space, then they would at least have a satellite capturing her image– but there was nothing. It was almost as if she didn't leave the guild at all.
This once again raised everyone's suspicions, but other than speculations, none of them could really come up with a reason. In the end, they were back to the theory of Alice being mind-controlled.
But if there was someone like that in the world, someone strong enough to control Alice; they were sure he or she would've already controlled the entire world.
And so, the only thing they could do was let everything take its course, they would deal with it when it comes– and it did.
One day, there was a situation that needed Charlotte's attention, the Hope Guild had a visitor– Megawoman.
"...Are we sure Starslayer is finally acting?"
"Yes."
Charlotte was currently in the meeting hall with Empress beside her– and in front of them, was Megawoman.
"I thought you offed the guy?" Charlotte's sighs then whispered through the meeting hall; It wasn't only her sighs that were quiet, however– even their breaths were. After all, Charlotte was currently cradling Riley in her arms.
"I… don't kill," Megawoman also whispered; her eyes taking a small glance at Riley from time to time.
"Offing your enemies would have saved you a lot of trouble, Megawoman," Charlotte once again sighed, "Most of the time, problems are solved if you remove the source– and besides, you've killed that octopus guy, right?"
"M… Madam Mimic!" Empress could not help but take in a small gulp; raising her voice as she looked back and forth between Charlotte and Megawoman, "I… I'm really sorry about this, master."
"...I thought I told you not to call me that?" Megawoman let out a small sigh as she shook her head, "You're no longer my student, Adaeze. But… I hate to do this, but can we go back to my request, please?"
"Alright," Charlotte then stood up from her seat, gently placing Riley on the crib that was on the corner of the meeting hall, "So you just need my help taking care of Starslayer?"
"...Yes," Megawoman nodded.
"You need me to kill him."
"...Yes," Megawoman whispered as she looked to the side, "He… is too dangerous to be left alive."
"Now that's quite hypocritical, ain't it?" Charlotte chuckled. Empress was about to stand between the two, but she was too late as the two were already in front of each other.
"It is."
Contrary to her expectations, however, Megawoman just nodded her head.
"But my morality is not the question here," Megawoman then said with a sigh, "We are superheroes, Charlotte. But that could very well change tomorrow."
"...Master? What do you–"
"She means that we're also monsters, kid," Charlotte smirked before Empress could finish her words.
"Yes," Megawoman nodded, "I don't shy away from violence… but once someone like me, who is capable of destroying cities with just my breath started killing villains, the… hope that people see in me would turn into fear. I can't do that to them."
"Well, before this turns into a speech, let's just go," Charlotte then silently clapped her hands, "We have balls to crush."
"W… wait, what about Riley!?"
Charlotte and Megawoman were about to leave, but before they could step out of the meeting hall, Empress's bellows of worry resounded in their ears. Charlotte, however, only shrugged her shoulders.
"He's 2 years old, Adaeze," Charlotte then said, "Just put him in his room and check him from time to time, he'll be fine."
"...Carry him? I–"
"Jesus, kid. Just lift the entire crib if you're still scared of holding him."-- and with those words, Charlotte and Megawoman left– flying into space to disrupt whatever Starslayer was planning.
And with that, Empress was left alone with Riley in the meeting hall. She wanted to ask for help from the other members, but they were too busy doing their own things.
"..."
"..."
Empress stared at Riley for a few seconds, before deciding to just lift the entire crib as Charlotte suggested; taking him to his room and leaving him there. Of course, even though Empress was still nervous about handling Riley, her eyes did not leave the monitor that Whiteking installed to keep an eye on him. Empress even transferred some requests from the police to other superhero teams just to watch over Riley.
Hours passed and Charlotte was still not back, Empress was contemplating how she would feed Riley in a way that she wouldn't hurt him– her steps, going back and forth as she stared at the monitor.
But as soon as she was able to gather the courage to finally try and feed him, an alert appeared on the monitor– someone entered Riley's room;
His mother.
Chapter 237"...Oh."
Empress was about to stand up from her seat and rush towards the room where Riley was resting, but then realized that she was probably out of her boundaries… and it would probably be wrong for her to try and separate the two.
Alice is Riley's mother, and this was the first time in almost a year that Alice was approaching Riley on her own– No, this was the first time that she was approaching him at all. And so, Empress's butt once again met the with the chair; her eyes, not leaving the screen that was attached to the wall.
Her butt, however, suddenly left the chair again as she suddenly remembered Tempo's words. Alice was about to hurt Riley a year ago; and who knows what could have happened if Tempo didn't pull Riley away.
"...Can't be," Empress squinted her eyes, "She wouldn't really hurt Riley, right? What kind of mother would–"
And before she could finish her words, Empress let out a short but very deep breath. There were actually a lot– there were a lot of mothers that are capable of hurting their children. The Hope Guild was allowed to access police files to a limited capacity. And… as someone who lost her own child, the first thing that Empress checked was files related to child violence.
"..."
Empress continued to watch what was happening on the screen, her butt, once again meeting with the chair. If Alice started moving suspiciously, then Empress would quickly burst through their room… but Alice remained just standing in the doorway, not fully entering the room for some reason. The sliding door, automatically closing and opening before it hit Alice.
Isn't this… suspicious in itself?
"You look like shit, auntie."
And as Empress was all eyes on the screen, Tempo suddenly entered the hall, "Anything going on?"
"...I'm not your auntie and I'm not that old," Empress only let out a small sigh; her eyes still not leaving the screen, "And Alice is in Riley's room," she then said as she pointed at the monitor.
"What!?" And as soon as Tempo heard that, he quickly disappeared from his spot; suddenly standing in front of the monitor, "S… shit!"
Tempo was about to run away, but before the echo of his steps could whisper in the air, Empress grabbed his hand.
"Let's… watch the situation first," Empress said.
"What? But isn't it dangerous? We shouldn't leave Alice with Riley since she's… currently not well."
"But… what if she just wants to see Riley?" Empress muttered, "It's not really right for us to–"
"What's going on?"
"Lolo!" Tempo's eyes then quickly widened as Bulwark entered the meeting hall, "Alice is in Riley's room!"
"Oh?" Bulwark was about to take a rest and just wanted to check if there was anyone in the meeting hall since he just finished responding to a crime. But hearing Tempo's words, his feet quickly took him beside Tempo as he too, started looking at the screen.
"Get the child," Bulwark then said as he nodded at Tempo, "I've seen many mothers kill their own infants before. The child's life might be in danger."
"Why are all of you standing there?" And before anyone could take action, another member of the Hope Guild entered the meeting hall– Whiteking. And since no one was answering him, he just walked to the monitor himself.
"...Isn't that Alice?" Whiteking's helmet folded open as he looked at the others, "Shouldn't… we try and get the kid away?"
"...You too?" Empress slightly gasped as she heard Whiteking's words.
"Well… yeah," Whiteking shrugged, "The woman's obviously turning insane, and even if there's a 1% chance of the kid being at risk… then we should get him."
"I am usually the one with the percentages… but be that as it may, I am 50% in agreement."
This time, it was Butcher who entered the hall; his clothes were completely stained in blood, his skin and face, however, were completely clean.
"Alice is still the mother's child, after all," Butcher said as he took a seat; only glancing once at the monitor.
"Hm…"
"..."
"..."
"Why… are you all looking at me?" Empress then slightly took a few steps back as she noticed that everyone was suddenly looking at her.
"You're the leader now, auntie," Tempo said, "And since the old lady isn't here, the decision lies with you."
"That…" Hearing Tempo's words, the only thing that Empress could do was look back and forth between the monitor and the rest of the members of the Hope Guild.
Alice was still standing in the doorway of the room, not moving even a single inch from where she was minutes ago.
And after a few more seconds, Empress took in a small gulp and said, "Let me… try and talk to her first. Alice is a time bomb and we don't want her going off."
The others looked at each other for a while, but eventually all nodded their heads at Empress.
"We… will follow a few meters behind you just in case," Whiteking muttered. And so, with that, the no. 1 Superhero team in the world started to carefully make their way to Riley's room… just to try and talk to an estranged mother.
As soon as they made their way to the room, however, they realized that the situation is anything but simple.
Alice was already inside the room and Empress wanted to quickly check on her to find out whatever it was that was going on in her mind…
"This…"
Empress, however, found herself unable to enter the room as there was an invisible wall blocking the doorway.
"A… Alice?" Empress slightly stuttered as she tried to call for Alice, "What… what are you trying to do?"
And as to their expectation, Alice did not answer. Instead, her steps slowly brought her closer and closer to Riley's crib. The others now also stood in front of the door, trying to see if anyone of them could go in.
Tempo was about to drill his way through the wall, but Bulwark gestured to him to stop. Empress was right– Alice was a timebomb that none of them were capable of stopping before there were any casualties.
"Ali–"
"You know…"
And before Empress could say anything else, Alice suddenly turned around; her eyes, moving across Empress and the others.
"...Have I ever thanked all of you for welcoming me to the guild?" Alice then said; letting out a long and very deep sigh as her hand slowly brushed on Riley's crib,
"You know… I didn't want to get out of the prison because I thought I didn't belong out here– in the real world," Alice continued to sigh as she slowly turned towards Riley; her hands, slowly stretching to her son,
"I hated my mother for trying to pull me out… but it turns out you guys are fun, after all," Alice continued as she gently lifted Riley from the crib,
"And then… he arrived."
Tears then started trailing from Alice's eyes as she started cradling Riley, "And everything… everything just became even brighter. Even more than being a superhero and beating the living shit out of bad people… I found the purpose of my life… Riley… Riley was my everything… He is my life…
…And oh my god, he's a boy now."
Alice then looked at Riley from head to toe. The last time she held him, a single arm was enough to hold him.
"E… even two of my arms aren't enough to carry him now."
"No!"
Tempo screamed as Alice suddenly let go of Riley and stretched her arms to the side; contrary to his expectations, however, Riley remained floating in the air. And soon, even Alice's tears also started to float in the air… along with all of the furniture and objects in the room.
"But everything was an illusion," Alice then opened both her palms wide, causing everything in the room but her and Riley to instantly disintegrate into ashes, "The life that I thought I have was just an illusion."
Alice pointed her palm towards Riley, causing him to float towards her.
"Alice… what are you doing?" Empress then knocked on the invisible barrier, causing the walls to slightly tremble.
"What I should have done a year ago," the tears that were flowing from Alice's eyes became even more prevalent; almost a waterfall as the tremble of her voice became even more nuanced, "End my life."
"W… what!?"
"..." Whiteking slightly took a few steps back, pulling away Tempo from the door, "We need Charlotte."
"B–"
"You're the only one fast enough to get her here."
"I can't go to space, man. Are you fucking crazy?" Tempo slightly raised her voice.
"I'm coming with you; just carry me…"
The two continued to discuss secretly as Empress tried to talk with Alice. The situation, however, seemed to not be getting any better as Riley was still floating closer and closer towards Alice's opened palm.
"E… end your life!?" Empress once again slammed on the invisible barrier; this time cracking the walls it seemed to be hinging from, "What does that mean!?"
"Sshh," Alice then placed her finger on her lips, her swollen eyes momentarily glancing at Empress before turning back to Riley, "I… don't want him awake for thi–"
"M… mama?"
And before Alice could finish her words, her throat almost collapsed as Riley's voice entered her ears.
"Mama…"
And even though Riley seemed to be slightly confused as to why he was floating, his wide lips still quickly turned into a smile as his eyes landed on Alice,
"Mama… is back?" Riley then stretched both his arms towards Alice; the already wide smile on his face, growing even wider, "Mama… miss you!"
"I…" Alice's breaths started to turn heavy; her gasps, almost piercing the ears of those who could hear them,
"I… missed you too," Alice then whispered; her fingers...
...slowly wrapping around Riley's neck.
Chapter 238"M… Mama?"
"Mama… sad?"
Alice's fingers were now wrapped around Riley's neck; still, judging by the smile still clinging on his face, he wasn't in pain. Instead, the smile on his face grew wider and wider. His slightly chubby cheeks, almost pushing his ears up due to his unnaturally wide mouth.
Riley… wasn't in pain. Even Empress and Bulwark, who were now the only ones outside the room, could see that. Riley was happy– ecstatic even. The mother that has neglected him for an entire year was now finally in front of him; there was nothing but smiles on Riley's face.
"Why… sad mama?" Riley then muttered; his words slightly stuttered as he seemed to be thinking of words to use. As a new toddler, however, Riley's attention span seemed to be quite limited as he was quickly distracted by the floating tears that were flowing from Alice's eyes.
His little arms were trying to reach them, but none of the tears seemed to be moving toward him. Soon, however, he managed to catch one.
"Ehe," Riley then chuckled as he secured the tear with both of his hands, bringing it closer to him as he looked at his mother, "Mama, mama… look!"
Riley then opened both his hands as the shine in his eyes started to glitter; his smile, however, slightly disappeared as the floating tear that he supposedly caught was no longer to be seen. Instead, there was only a moist streak flowing down his palm.
"Oh?" Riley's mouth turned into an 'O' as he looked back and forth between his hands and Alice, "Where? Mama?"
"It's… gone, Riley."
And then, Alice finally broke her silence as her fingers that remained stagnant started to move.
"Gone?" Riley blinked a couple of times; he then chuckled as he finally heard her mother's voice after a very long time, "What is gone, ma–"
And before Riley could finish his words, his soft neck started to very slowly cave in.
"O… ouchie, mama?" Riley then breathed out. His breaths, however, soon became gasps.
"It… it's alright, Riley." And almost as if she was the one being choked, the words that came out of Alice's mouth were cracked; her gasps, also whispering in the air.
"Mama… will be with you," Alice's eyebrows once again began to tremble as the tears flowing from her eyes finally stopped, "Mama will finally be with you."
"Alice!" Empress's thunderous voice then reverberated in the air; the ceiling of Riley's room, cracking as Empress once again slammed her fists on the invisible barrier that Alice erected around the room. Empress was the one who told them not to do anything drastic… but this was no longer the time to be calm.
And so, she suddenly dashed to the side; her fist, already loaded and ready to smash the wall beside the door.
"Empress, are you–" And before Bulwark could even finish his warnings, Empress's fist was already on its way towards the wall. Thunder once again erupted throughout the entire base, with the wall turning into powder from the sheer force of Empress's exploding fists.
"Alice, sto–" And once again, their words were disrupted; their path, also interrupted. Empress was about to burst inside even with the cloud of dust drowning them… but found that like the doorway, an invisible barrier was also blocking their path to the room.
"Don't do this, Alice!"
And instantly, Empress did the thing they should never do as heroes– she panicked.
"Please! Alice, don't do this!" Empress bellowed as her legs fell and gave up; her fists, however, were still smashing the invisible barrier, "Alice! Why!? Why are you doing this!?"
"Because he…" Alice was about to answer Empress's words, but as soon as her eyes met with Riley's, her voice once again cracked. She stared at Riley's confused and trembling eyes for a full second, before shaking her head in tightening the grip on his neck, causing Riley to gag.
"He is…" And once again, Alice's voice cracked. This time… because of seeing Riley still smiling; his head, trying its best to tilt to the side and rest his cheek on Alice's hand.
"No!" Alice then let go of Riley; this time, however, nothing was there to catch him but the cold, hard, and dusty floor.
"Fuck!" Empress's strikes grew stronger as she saw Riley fall headfirst to the floor,
"Fuck! Not again! No… No!" Empress screamed as the tears that her eyes were still reserving burst through like rain, "I will fucking kill you, Alice! I will fucking kill you if you Riley dies!"
Alice seemed to not be hearing Empress's words. Alice's hands, grasping her own hair to the point of almost pulling them out; and soon, like Empress, her legs also gave in, causing her to drop beside Riley who seemed to no longer be moving.
"My… my baby," Alice then worded out as her eyes looked everywhere but to Riley, "No… no… he… he is supposed to be my baby. I can't do this… Please… not him…"
"Alice! Please! Riley… Riley is not moving!" Empress was about to slam her hand on the invisible barrier again, but before she could do so, a golden light blocked her fist.
"Stop, Adaeze," Bulwark, who had been keeping quiet for a while now, shook his head. A tear, trailing on his face, "We… made a mistake."
Bulwark then turned his golden eyes towards Riley, whose little body no longer held any signs of breathing, "We…
…failed."
"No!" Adaeze once again let out a shrieking bellow; her fists, however, no longer held any strength– every bit of it now in her despair. They made a mistake? No– that was wrong.
She made a mistake. She was the first one to see Alice entering the room. She should have intervened while Alice was still outside the room– the signs were there.
She should have known. And yet her ridiculous optimism and familiarity with being a mother stopped her from doing what she should have– she could have prevented this from happening.
Instead, she just watched like it was some sort of drama of redemption. This was her fault…
…and hers alone.
"..." And with Bulwark's silence and Empress's wails echoing through her ears, Alice's trembling hands that covered her head slowly dropped to the ground; and soon, these hands crawled their way towards Riley.
"S… sleep now," Alice then said as she gently lifted Riley.
Empress, who saw this, instantly stopped screaming. Her eyes, suddenly empty as they followed Riley's arms… which were now lifelessly hanging on his sides; his face that was once filled with smiles, no longer existing.
"Mama…" Alice then whispered as she embraced Riley's body, "Mama… is here. You… you don't have to be alone."
Alice then gently cradled Riley's body as she started humming a lullaby that she always sang to Riley; and soon, a red line could be seen forming across her neck,
"Mama… will follow you soo–"
"Mama?"
And before Alice could finish her lullaby, a small and tiny voice whispered in her ears.
"Mama… why sad?"
"H… huh?" Alice's head then began to tremble; struggling to turn towards the direction of the voice.
Riley… was smiling at her.
Chapter 239"Ri… ley?"
Alice was ready to let go.
No, she let go. She already let go– the blood that was slowly trickling around her neck was proof of that. She knew she didn't deserve it, but if there was an afterlife, then that was perhaps the only place that the two of them could actually be free.
Riley became the meaning of her life– no, Riley was her life. From the very first moment she took him into her embrace, Alice knew that her life was over… and that from then on, it was always going to be Riley.
She was not fooling around when she told her mother that she wanted to have a child– that was something she had been planning a few months after she got out of prison. But there was a problem… she didn't like anyone.
Not romantically– not even sexually.
She deemed herself not capable of caring and loving another person besides her mother. And so, when a friend of hers told her about the project she had been working on, she quickly dived in and offered to test it.
She was not hopeful or anything, but when her head started feeling unwell and the nausea started to crawl throughout her entire body; a small flicker of light grew inside her. She had herself checked… and this light slowly turned into Riley.
She thought that nothing could beat the happiness she felt when she first held Riley in her arms, but she was wrong. Every day, that moment gets drowned.
Drowned by the happiness of spending her every day with Riley.
His first word.
His first steps.
His first tumble.
Every second with him was better than the last– the happiness just grew and grew until that was the only thing she knew.
Sure, it was hard– there were times that Alice truly wanted to cry. But with just a single smile from Riley, everything goes away.
And this happiness… was something she was truly ready to give up.
She was ready to let go of her life.
But then, this life once again smiled at her.
"He's alive!" Empress then quickly stood up from the floor as she heard Riley's voice,
"Bulwark… Riley's alive!"
"What?" Bulwark quickly raised his head; pushing away the shame that weighed it down,
"He's… alive? How?" Bulwark's eyes then turned as wide as they could as the light within them once again started to trickle. And true enough, Riley… was moving. His arms were completely flailing earlier, not even showing any signs of movement.
But now, they were once again trying to reach Alice; his face that previously almost belonged to a ghost, no longer as pale as it was seconds ago.
"Riley?" Alice then once again let go of Riley; this time, however, he once again remained floating inches above the floor.
"W… what!?" Alice then quickly backed away as soon as she saw this.
"Ehe… Mama, fly fly!"
Riley then chuckled as he bounced in the air, slowly floating towards Alice. But before he could make it a meter to his mother… the floor beneath him suddenly cracked, turning into chains that wrapped his limbs together.
And with that, Riley once again dropped to the floor.
"Ma–"
He was about to open his mouth again, but before he could do so, both of Alice's hands suddenly wrapped around his neck; her eyes, completely devoid of tears. The tremble that surrounded them, however, was still very much alive.
"A–"
"Alice!"
Empress's fists were about to once again rampage, but before they could, another voice drowned her plights.
"Alice! Let go of my grandson!"
Charlotte was now suddenly standing behind Empress, with Tempo behind her seemingly trying to catch his breaths. And beside Tempo… was Megawoman.
"Alice!" Charlotte then stretched both her hands towards the invisible barrier, causing a sort of ripple to form in the air. And soon, a small thunderous snap cracked in the air as Charlotte seemingly pried the invisible barrier open.
"Stop!" Charlotte then once again screamed as veins started etching from her neck. And soon, another thunderous echo cracked in the air– with the entire base of the Hope Guild seemingly splitting in half.
"Megawoman!"
And as soon as her roars cried in the air, Megawoman burst through the cracks– quickly getting behind Alice and wrapping her arms around her neck, putting her in a chokehold.
"Ms. Phoenix– Alice, listen to your mother!" Megawoman then also screamed as she tried to pull Alice away from Riley. Megawoman also tried to pry Alice's arms open but was unable to as Alice was now putting all of her power to prevent Megawoman from moving.
"Alice, that's a child!" Megawoman once again bellowed as the air around her started cracking; and with every crack, a burst of blood oozed from Alice's nose.
"Fucking die!" Empress then suddenly joined the fray, her fist, already on its way towards Alice's head. Her fist, however, instead of making contact with Alice's cheek, met with Megawoman's palm.
"Stop! No one dies today!" Megawoman shouted, "Take the child away, any one of you!"
And before Megawoman could finish her words, Tempo was already in front of Alice, his hands already on their way to Riley.
"Gah!" But alas, before he could do so, his thighs folded in half,
"Fuck! Alice! Why are you doing this!?" But even with the pain drowning him, Tempo's hands still tried to reach Riley. His arms were the next ones to fold; but before they could fully break, a golden sphere pulled him away.
"Charlotte!" Megawoman then screamed as she turned her eyes towards Charlotte… who was just standing and watching the situation unfold; her eyes, trembling uncontrollably, "Do something! Stop your child!"
"W… what?" Charlotte took in a small gulp, "What…"
What exactly was she supposed to do?
Megawoman was currently and literally holding the situation together.
Empress was trying to kill Alice.
Tempo tried to take Riley away, only to be pulled away by Bulwark as his legs cracked in half.
As for Whiteking, he was the same as her– not knowing what to do with the situation. Soon, however, he started doing something with the small laptop attached to his wrists.
And her… what was she supposed to do?
Charlotte's eyes then slowly turned towards her daughter. Alice's eyes were filled with… nothing. No tears, no tremble, no emotions– the only indication that she was still set on strangling Riley were the veins that were etching throughout her body.
Charlotte then turned her eyes towards Riley; whose pale face now held a certain pink in them. Tears, almost endlessly trailing across his face. His eyes…
…afraid.
And right there and then, she knew what she had to do.
"Alice…" Charlotte then whispered as tears also soon fell from her face, "...I love you."
"Charlotte, no!"
Megawoman quickly threw Empress away, also letting go of Alice as she blocked her from Charlotte's view, whose eyes were already lighting up in a fiery red; and without any hesitation, this fiery red turned into a beam that shot straight towards Megawoman's palm.
"No!" Megawoman once again bellowed as she clapped her hands, causing everyone but Alice and Riley to fly away, "No one will die today!"
"Riley will die if we don't stop my daughter!"
"No!" Megawoman once again blocked Charlotte's view; her other hand, once again trying to pry Alice's arms open. And perhaps the only reason Riley was still alive was because Alice's hands were slightly and momentarily being opened by Megawoman from time to time.
"Please! Megawoman…" Charlotte once again bellowed, "You...
…you're the only one who can stop this!"
Chapter 240"Please… Megawoman, you're the only one who can stop this!"
Megawoman's eyes traveled across the room; looking at every member of the Hope Guild with a dreaded and panicked expression on her face. Everything moved so slowly, allowing her to see every bit of expression on everyone's faces.
Tempo was the only one moving fast enough for her to see normally; the desperate and pained cries that he was letting out reverberated through her bones quite deeply. All of his limbs were broken, and yet he was trying to reach for Riley despite the fact that Bulwark was pulling him away to save him from disintegrating into pieces.
Bulwark probably held the expression close to hers– dread and panic. He could try and put his efforts into trying to stop Alice. But out of the people in the Hope Guild, Megawoman knew Bulwark the most. Bulwark would prioritize saving Tempo rather than trying to stop Alice from killing Riley, solely for the fact that there was a low chance his powers would actually be effective against Alice.
Empress was just rage and regret– her mouth, already bleeding from grinding her teeth as she still tried to rush toward Alice. Her palms, also dripping blood. Besides Bulwark, Megawoman knew her best as she mentored Empress when she was younger. And although Empress had the capacity to be violent, there were almost no moments where she let her emotions get the best of her. There was only one– when her child was murdered by a super that got out of prison… as revenge for having been arrested.
Whiteking was someone who Megawoman barely knew, but since he was just a normal human, there really was nothing he could do currently and directly. But still, he seemed to be calmer than even her as he fidgeted with his fancy technology trying to do whatever.
Charlotte… was losing it. Judging by the strength of the beam that blasted from her eyes, she copied Megawoman's abilities– meaning she was truly trying to kill her daughter. The beam was enough to scald Megawoman's palm, if it went through, then Alice would have died almost instantly.
Megawoman couldn't really explain whatever it was that Charlotte was feeling right now; the expression on her face was something that she had never seen before– at least not this close. Throughout her time as a superhero, she had seen mothers and fathers trying to risk their lives for their children. But to see a mother trying to kill her daughter to stop her from killing her own son?
This was probably the first time.
No, perhaps she actually knew what Charlotte's face represented–
It was hopelessness.
Charlotte was making an impossible choice that no one in this universe should even experience. Megawoman could not even think what her choice would be if she was to be put in the same position. Her son was only a couple of years older than Riley; Megawoman could not even fathom the expression she would have if ever the time comes.
No, she would do everything in her power to prevent something like this from happ–
Megawoman then momentarily closed her eyes; shaking off all the thoughts that were racing through her mind.
And finally, she turned her eyes toward the final member of the Hope Guild… Alice.
"!!!"
And to her surprise, Alice… was looking at her, holding absolutely no expression on her face. Her hands, still struggling to strangle her son, who was already bawling his eyes out; his breaths, probably already cracking based on the pink streaks and stretched skin surrounding his neck.
But… he was alive.
"..." Megawoman then returned her focus to Alice. Alice… was probably the strongest creature on this planet. Granted, Megawoman was not using all of her strength, but she was using enough to probably neutralize most of the people in this room with a single flick of her finger.
But even then, Alice was able to stop her and also attack anyone able to get near her. Even on her planet, the people that could probably match Alice could be counted on one hand– she was already impressed with what Charlotte could do, but her daughter was something else.
Megawoman thought she could stop this scenario swiftly– the very first time she overestimated herself.
And so, her focus remained on Alice's face; stoic and completely devoid of any emotions. But why… why was she looking at her?
"..." Megawoman stared at her face for a few milliseconds, dozens of thoughts once again racing through her mind. But then, when she could no longer think of what to do– she focused on Alice's eyes;
–Her eyes were empty, also devoid of any emotions– that is if one were to only glance at them. Perhaps out of everyone in this room, only she and Tempo would be able to see what they truly held.
But alas, Tempo was too busy trying to reach for Riley. And so, Megawoman…
…she was probably the only one who could see it. The weight of her eyes.
A weight that Megawoman could probably never be able to carry.
"Megawoman, please!"
Everything then returned to normal as Megawoman could once again hear the hopelessness in Charlotte's voice.
"Just hold her!" Charlotte's voice cracked as her eyes once again lit up in red,
"I just need… I just need you to stop her for a second and I will be the one to end it!"
"..." Hearing Charlotte's words, Megawoman no longer hesitated. She suddenly stretched her hands to the side, causing the air around them to crack along with the small mountain the Hope Guild's base stood on. The sky and clouds above it… also split in half.
A fountain of blood then sprayed from Alice's nose; the blood, showering on Riley's face– getting into his mouth, and making him gag. As soon as Megawoman saw this, she quickly pulled Alice away and locked all of her limbs with her own.
"Do it now!" Megawoman then screamed.
"I love you, Alice!" And with that bellow, the red light on Charlotte's eyes turned into a beam– its target, straight through Alice's chest.
"What…" But before they could pierce through Alice's heart… Megawoman once again blocked its path,
"...Why!?"
"No… mother should bear this kind of pain."
And with those words whispering from Megawoman's mouth, she suddenly let go of Alice; her hands, moving straight towards her head.
"No one!"
And with those screaming words following her whispers, a huge ripple echoed through the skies as Megawoman snapped Alice's neck. This time, it was Megawoman's screams that resounded in the air, perhaps almost a whisper that could be heard throughout the entire galaxy.
It lasted exactly 5 seconds; with Megawoman's open palms resting on her sides, as if all of the strength they contained were no more. And whatever expression she had on her face right now, she absolutely had no idea.
As for Alice, she lay dead on the floor– the weight that her eyes contained, no more.
And after that…
…was silence.
No one moving, no one breathing– everyone reflecting Alice.
Tempo's broken and shattered bones that were cracking in the air, no longer whispering.
Bulwark's eyes that were glowing ceaselessly, now faded.
Empress's trembling and furrowed eyebrows, now rested but seemingly more restless than before.
Whiteking's fingers that were moving without pause, now completely still.
Charlotte… was just broken.
*** *** ***
"And then… eventually, Whiteking's family adopted you."
A whisper of a sniffle faded in the living room as Charlotte lightly rubbed her nose; her other hand, whirling the glass of wine that was sitting on the table… and had been doing so throughout her long story.
And finally, with her story reaching its end, Charlotte grabbed the glass of wine– finally allowing herself to feel the burn of the alcohol; letting it slide through her throat all at once.
"Why were you not the one to adopt me, Miss Charlotte?"
And perhaps even more stinging than the alcohol was Riley's sudden question.
"I am not adept with laws not relating to murder. But should I not have been taken to your custody?"
"..." Charlotte once again placed the glass in her mouth, but with it empty, the only thing she was able to gulp was her own anxiety. It took a few glances, but finally, after a few seconds… she was able to remove the glass from her lips.
"I… blamed you," Charlotte then whispered, "I blamed you for everything that happened. My daughter never would have become like that if you did not appear in her life."
"Do you–"
"And I regret giving you away immediately," Charlotte did not let Riley talk as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "I… tried to take you from the Ross's… but I saw how happy Bernard's wife was and I just… I couldn't, you know?"
"..."
"I killed my daughter– your mother," Charlotte then slightly stuttered as she shook her head, "How could someone like that deserve to hold you?"
"But you did not kill Alice, miss Charlotte. Megawoman–"
"No, I did it," Charlotte once again shook her head, "I killed her the very moment I prioritized the lives of everyone else. I neglected her as a child and every mistake she made was a result of that– I led her to her death…
…and now every mistake you make is because of me."
"...I don't understand, Miss Charlotte."
"What I mean is that I fucked up," Charlotte wiped the tears that were trying to fall from her eyes,
"I should have been there for you and maybe… maybe this wouldn't have happened again," she then chuckled wryly as her eyes traveled across the house, "I… just repeated the past."
"Well, you still make a good dessert, miss Charlotte," Riley then let out a small but very deep sigh, "That is what matters now."
"You–" Charlotte was about to say something, but only let out a sigh of her own in the end, "You really resemble your mother."
"I was not aware that she was autistic and had lower melanin levels, miss Charlotte."
"No, she– She might actually have been in the spectrum," Charlotte then once again chuckled as she rested her back on the sofa; her eyes, turning to the ceiling, "I miss her… I miss her so much."
"..."
"..."
"May I ask you questions regarding your recollection of the past, miss Charlotte?"
"...If you can call me grandma."
"Grandmother Charlotte."
"..."
"..."
"Go ahead."
"How do you know what Megawoman felt at that moment?" Riley then asked, "Your story is quite different than the others."
"Because we talked about it several times," Charlotte breathed out, "I was a wreck after what happened and she… she and the others helped me pull through."
"Megawoman truly is a kind person," Riley nodded several times, "I have another question, Miss Charlotte."
"Hm?"
"The friend that Alice was referring to…"
"You mean the one who coaxed her to get the IVF?" Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows, "Then no, I still don't know who she is."
"Is it possible that she was mother?"
"What?"
"Her friend," Riley blinked a couple of times, "Is it possible that…
…it was Diana Ross?"
Chapter 241"The friend that Alice was referring to…"
"You mean the one who coaxed her to get the IVF? Then no, I still don't know who she is."
"Is it possible that she was mother?"
"What?"
"Her friend. Is it possible that…
…it was Diana Ross?"
"...Huh?"
If confusion had a face, it would probably look like Charlotte right about now; one of her eyebrows, raising as her face slowly turned to the side.
"That came out of nowhere," she then said; her slight gasp voicing her confusion, "What in the world gave you that idea?"
"..." Riley turned to face Charlotte for a few seconds, before letting out a small breath and pointing to the outside, "One of the guests– one of the prisoners here told me that mother worked here."
"What?" Charlotte blinked a couple of times as she almost jumped from her seat; her curiosity, leaning closer towards Riley by the second, "What do you mean she worked here? That Diana?"
"Yes," Riley nodded his head, "The source of the information is not reliable, however. He could be lying, miss Charlotte."
"Which… prisoner?"
"He left before I could ask him his name, Miss Charlotte," Riley shook his head, "But he also told me that adoptive mother and biological mother were close."
"...What? I… wasn't aware of that," Charlotte placed her hand on her chin, "But if it was Diana… it doesn't make sense she wouldn't tell me."
"It is also to my knowledge that mother worked in the healthcare department when I was a child, Miss Charlotte," Riley followed up as he too, placed his hand on his chin, "I asked her once why she was good at patching up Bernard's wounds whenever he got hurt– she told me she was a doctor."
"What? That–" Charlotte was going to say something else to try and get to the bottom of the situation; her mouth gasped, however, as soon as a realization came to her– almost like a switch that clicked inside her mind.
There were absolutely zero records of Alice when she met with that so-called friend the day her drastic change happened; the only footage of her was when she stepped out of the Hope Guild. After her death, Charlotte scoured every surveillance there was to try and pinpoint exactly when and where she got the special IVF.
She watched every single day that she was out… and she could not find anything.
There were only three people that she knew of that were capable of not existing in the system.
Megawoman– she made it clear to the World Government that she did not appreciate being followed and surveilled. With Megawoman's symbol and status in the world being as it is, the governments of the world had no choice but to comply. So other than her defeating bad guys and her very short appearances in the media, her private life was completely incognito.
Darkday– he brought with him darkness; the clouds covering him whenever he goes. The only times that Darkday actively shows himself to the world is whenever he wreaks havoc– a true calamity.
And lastly, Whiteking. The only records that you could find of him were things that he wanted you to know; and even then, there was a possibility that it was a lie. The world was basically his canvas to paint on.
If Diana truly was the friend that Alice mentioned… then that would explain why there was no record of Alice meeting her at all– Bernard Ross erased everything. Of course, everything was just speculation; but even without any proof, Bernard seemed hella suspicious, Charlotte thought as she stood up.
"This prisoner, which house did he live in?"
"You wish to see him, Miss Charlotte?" Riley also stood up, blinking his eyes several times as the glass of wine on the table floated towards the sink.
"...Yeah," Charlotte nodded as she made her way out of the living room, "I don't like not having answers, so let's just ask this prisoner of yours. Point me to his house."
"There's no need for that, Miss Charlotte."
"What do you–"
And before Charlotte could finish her words, Riley suddenly raised a finger; and as soon as he did so, a small rumble could be heard whispering from afar, from outside the house. Charlotte was about to ask what was happening, but before her lips could part, a knock echoed from the door.
"Please come in, guest," Riley then muttered; and as he did so, the entrance door opened; revealing an old man.
"..." Charlotte could only slowly move her head as her eyes followed as the old man… floated across the hall, passing by her with a slightly confused and panicked expression until he reached inside the living room.
"Can you give our guest something to drink, Victoria?" Riley then said as he turned his head towards the corner leading to the rooms, and as soon as he did so, a small and high-pitched gasp whistled in the air.
"You… you knew I was eavesdropping?" V then took in a small gulp as she slowly revealed herself from the corner.
"Yes. There are mirrors in front and at your back, Victoria."
"..." V glanced behind her, only to see the hallway she was hiding in was surrounded by mirrors. She had been living here for 4 months now– and for her to forget a detail like this; truly, this is why stealth missions were not for her.
And so, with that slight contemplation, V then hurried to get their new… guest a glass of water. V was about to leave again, this time truly heading for her room. But before she could do so, Riley asked her to join them– in which V quickly took a seat beside Riley.
"Please, Miss Charlotte, take a seat as well."
"...Right," Charlotte squinted her eyes before returning back to the living room; her eyes, not leaving Riley even for a single second. The way Riley handled his powers, it was almost as if her daughter came back to life.
But out of all the things that Riley had to inherit from his mother– why did it have to be their way of treating people?
"..." But then again, no matter what trait or habit Riley would get from Alice… it wouldn't be good for anyone. And so, with that thought and a small but deep sigh, Charlotte once again took a seat; this time a little closer to Riley.
And as for the unexpected and sudden guest, his face showed how absolutely clueless he was about what was happening. He was just busy relaxing in his room being served by his mindless puppets when he suddenly floated in the air– the feeling felt very familiar, he thought.
And lo and behold, he found himself inside Alice Lane's son's house.
"I am truly sorry for asking you to come here, fellow prisoner," Riley then said as he faced the old man.
"You… did not ask me to come here," the old prisoner muttered. His confusion, however, quickly disappeared with a shake of his head, his aged dreads, unmoving from how stiff they already were, "Be that as it may, I am already here. What did you want?"
"The first day I arrived here, you told me that Diana Ross worked here. Is that the truth, fellow prisoner?"
"So, it's about that," the old man let out a small chuckle as he took a sip of the water provided for him, "It's true. Diana worked here as a physician. And other than her being friends with that little prankster, I only know her because she examines some of the prisoners from time to time– she was a weird one, that Diana."
"..." Riley then turned to face Charlotte as the old man said that. As for Charlotte, her eyebrows were now currently furrowed. All this time, Alice knew Diana?
But why did she never mention it? And even if she didn't, there should've been at least a little lapse when Alice and Bernard met– a little mention of their common acquaintance, but no. When Charlotte introduced Alice to the members of the Hope Guild, it truly felt like the first time she was meeting everyone.
Is it possible… she was unaware that Diana was Bernard's wife?
"..."
"..."
"...That's it?" The old man then blinked a couple of times as he looked at the three people that were in the living room. Alice's son forcefully and randomly floated him into his house to ask him one question… then just proceeded to sit on silently?
"If that's all, then I will–"
"Weird," Riley then flicked his finger, pushing the old man back to his seat, "Why did you say Diana was weird, fellow prisoner?"
"She…" The old man then cleared his throat, "She just had that weird vibe to her. But other than that, she seemed like a nice kid– she was friends with all the female prisoners that came and went here, not just that fucking little br– not just Alice."
"Can you give me a list of those female prisoners?" Charlotte then once again joined the conversation.
"Can't," the old man shook his head, "We're all just numbers here."
"None of them introduced themselves?"
"It doesn't matter," the old prisoner once again shook his head, "Even if you ask another prisoner, and even if they were able to give you a list of names, it wouldn't matter."
"...What do you mean?"
"Well," the old man then let out a long and very deep sigh, "Because besides Alice…
…the Super Max served as a grave for the other female prisoners."
Chapter 242"The prison… served as their grave? What do you mean by that?"
Charlotte's question fettered the air; she probably already knew the answer, but still– hearing it coming from someone who has been in the prison for probably more than a few decades would make it formal.
"I meant it as I meant it– most if not every female prisoner that came in here died, with Alice the only one I know actually leaving alive."
The old prisoner still answered dutifully; his eyes slightly jumpy, glancing at Riley from time to time, "The prison said the government ordered for their release or they were set free for confidential reasons. But we all know that was a bullshit excuse; almost all the prisoners here are–"
"Lifers."
Hearing Charlotte continuing his words, the old prisoner immediately nodded his head; sighing as his mind seemed to be remembering its past,
"And that's pretty much all I know about Diana Ross," he then said, "If you want to know more, then you can ask the guy sitting at the top."
"Warden Yakovich?"
"No," the old prisoner let out a small scoff,
"The Rank 1 Prisoner," he then said, "He basically knows more than Yakovich since he has some… dealings with the guards that may or may not be legal."
"...Legal?" Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows, "Like what kind?"
"That–" The old prisoner was about to say something, but his eyes suddenly strayed towards the surveillance camera that was hidden in plain sight at the ceiling,
"I can't really say more," he then sighed, before turning his eyes towards Riley, "Just climb up to the rankings– you're basically filling in the Rank 42 spot now anyway. And with your strength, I have no doubt you'll reach it in a few months."
"Rankings?" Charlotte once again furrowed her eyebrows, "That's shit is still alive?"
"Y–"
"What rank are you, fellow prisoner?" Riley then suddenly butted in the conversation.
"...39," the old prisoner answered, "I'm Prisoner 613, since you've already asked. I don't use my name anymore."
"Are you sure you don't know anything anymore, Prisoner 613?" Riley asked.
"I still know some things," Prisoner 613 sighed as he stood up from the sofa, "But nothing that would really interest you since it's just some random information about the other prisoners."
"..."
"If that's all, then–"
And as prisoner 613 was about to leave, he found himself suddenly being pulled back to the sofa; almost as if there were straps around him being pulled by almost a hundred horses– the only thing he could do was let it happen.
He was usually the one controlling people with his abilities; this time, however, there were almost literal strings attached to him; not letting him do whatever it is he wanted. His eyes then scanned the 3 people in the room.
He could probably try and control the young girl; but for some reason, the brace behind her back was giving him a bad feeling. He wouldn't even attempt to control Charlotte– after all, she was the one who put him here; and judging by the way she was looking at him…
…she doesn't even remember.
As for Alice's son– well, he still wanted to live. He seemed to have inherited Alice's raw power; and if anything, Alice had a sort of resistance to mind-controlling and altering abilities; if his son also has one… then he wouldn't be happy.
There was also something off with him; it wasn't his lack of color– the life in prison might be becoming boring, but it was better than suffering Fred's fate; who was tortured and then later disappeared into a mist of blood on the very first day that Alice's son appeared.
"Did… you still need something?" And with all of those thoughts lingering in his mind, prisoner 613 could only gulp and once again comply.
"Can you give me your spot?"
"...What?"
Hearing those words, prisoner 613 quickly focused his eyes on Riley, only to see his smile reaching from ear to ear.
"I have been meaning to join the battles for almost a week now, prisoner 613," Riley muttered, "Living with Victoria has been getting repetitive. I thought she would at least approach me to initiate sexual intercourse, but it has not happened yet."
V, who heard Riley's… slightly staggering words, almost choked in her own breaths,
"W… what!?"
"..."
"..."
"Would you give me your spot, prisoner 613?" Riley, on the other hand, did not even follow up on his words, only focusing his attention on prisoner 613.
"That's–"
"We can set an official match, prisoner 613," Riley did not let 613 say another word as he stood up, "I have been watching how the battles work for a month now. You don't have to worry about anything, I will set the match myself."
"...No," prisoner 613 quickly cleared his throat before raising his hand and also standing from his seat, "There's no need for that. I know the limits of my power and I know that fighting with you would only embarrass me."
613 then once again turned his eyes towards the camera hanging on the corner of the living; raising and pointing his palm towards it before nodding his head.
"I give up my position to prisoner 666."
[Are you sure, 613?]
And as he said that, a voice quickly resounded throughout the entire house.
[You will replace Prisoner 666 and be pulled back to Rank 42, is that alright?]
Prisoner 613 only nodded in response.
[Alright. Prisoner 666, you're now at Rank 39.]
"Hm…" Riley slightly squinted his eyes,
"So the prisoner I met a few months ago lied," he then breathed out, "He told me that I need to climb the rankings one by one."
"You can jump rankings if your opponent just gives it to you," prisoner 613 could only sigh, "Like what I just did. Now, if that's all, then I really need to get back to my–"
"One last question, prisoner 613."
But alas, once again, before prisoner 613 could leave; he could once again feel his entire body being pulled back to the sofa,
"Did Megawoman stay in this place?"
"...Megawoman?" Prisoner 613 furrowed his eyebrows as he heard Riley's words. But after a few seconds, he let out a faint gasp, "I did hear that… But I wasn't in the Super Max yet during that time."
"Is… that so?" Riley whispered; his breaths, clearly containing hints of his utter disappointment, "Do you at least know where she might have resided when she was here?"
"Only thing I know is that she probably stayed where the top 3 are," Prisoner 613 answered; his words, slightly waving and showing the uncertainty in his words.
"You mean they are not staying in the subdivision, prisoner 613?" Riley blinked his eyes a couple of eyes.
"Pft, no." And for the first time, prisoner 613 seemed to relax as he let out a slightly chuckling scoff, "They are basically royalty. Yakovich allows them to do whatever they want as long as they stay in prison."
"Like Cookie Olivo from Rocky the Wrestler," Riley quickly replied.
"...What?"
"It's a spin-off of Italian Mafia Reborn, prisoner 613," Riley sighed before waving his hand, "You may go, I apologize again for requesting your presence."
"..." Prisoner 613's eyes started to twitch upon hearing Riley's words. But still, he no longer had any courage or strength to rebuke as he just nodded; calmly walking away before saying his goodbyes.
As soon as he was out of sight, however, his steps quickly hurried as he rushed to get away from Riley as fast as possible.
"Right," Charlotte then also stood up from her seat, patting her pants as she nodded at Riley, "I'll be off now– your father and I have a lot to discuss."
"Okay, grandmother Charlotte," Riley also nodded, "Please do tell me the specifics of your conversation if you plan to visit again."
"Or you can just tell me outside," Charlotte sighed, "Just join the Hope Guild, child. You'll only be gaining with the deal– plus, your sister and your other friends have graduated from the Academy already."
"..."
"They are also forming their own superhero team," Charlotte chuckled, "They kept your group's old name– the Baby Crew. Even if you've only been here for like 5 months or what, a lot of shit has changed outside, child. There's also the Superhero Association now."
"Superhero… Association?"
"The World Government is making the Grades for superheroes official," Charlotte muttered, "And they're also asking for the mandatory registration of all Supers. It's a total shit-show out there…
…and then there are the monsters."
"Monsters?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he heard Charlotte's words.
"Megawoman's clones," Charlotte sighed.
"I thought they were all dealt with, grandmother Charlotte?"
"Heck no," Charlotte sighed, "Turns out there are more, a fuck ton more. The Government is even begging me to get out of retirement to deal with them. Now stop relaxing here and get the fuck out. That child is needed out there as well."
Charlotte then pointed towards V, who had been keeping quiet ever since Riley's earlier… provocative words.
"And right, before I forget," Charlotte then grabbed something from her pocket– a clear headband, "I didn't really know what to get, but happy birthday, V– it is our birthday, right? Tempo told me it is."
"..."
"V?" Charlotte snapped her fingers several times to try and get V's attention, but she remained… unresponsive.
"...Right," Charlotte then squinted her eyes before once again turning towards Riley, "Think about what I said– there are a lot more activities out there than you know now."
And with those words, Charlotte left; leaving V and Riley alone once more in the large house.
"..."
"..."
"R… Riley."
Riley was about to leave the living room, but before he could do so, V finally woke up from her stupor.
"What you mentioned earlier…" She then whispered, her words slightly stuttering,
"Do you…
…want to?"
Chapter 243"Do you…
…want to?"
"..."
If breaths could sing, then the gasps that were coming out of V's mouth would probably be an entire choir as she…
…waited for Riley's response.
It has only been 2 seconds since she asked the question, but it felt almost like an eternity. She had been in the prison for like 5 months or so, but this single moment felt like it overshadowed it and even lasted longer. Is this what Tempo feels whenever he activates his abilities?
If so, how exactly has he lived so far?
V's eyes perhaps, even more than her fettered breaths, gave away what she was currently feeling right now. She could barely even see Riley in her sights anymore as they trembled uncontrollably– the house, entirely becoming a blur.
Why did she say that? And why was Riley taking too long to respond? Did she… really actually want to experience it with Riley?
She was shocked– no. She was petrified when Riley mentioned doing it earlier; never once did Riley show any signs that he liked her as well… but could it be he does? Or was it just something he said as a joke?
And why was he taking too long to respond!?-- V thought. Any more, and it would feel like she was being tortured with the awkwardness, cringiness, and humiliation that was whispering and singing in the air right now.
But finally, after what seemed like another eternity, Riley opened his mouth.
"Do I want to do what, Victoria?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked her straight in the eyes.
Hearing Riley's words, the only thing that V could do was cover her entire face from the embarrassment. All this time living in eternal shame, and Riley did not even know what she was talking about.
She almost forgot who she was talking to– this was Riley. If she didn't fully specify what it is that she was mentioning, then he would probably think of something else.
"That–" V was about to shake her head, but as soon as she saw Riley's eyes directly staring at her's, she could not help but take in a very deep gulp. Throughout the months that they were inside the house together…
…this was perhaps the very first time that Riley was looking at her– truly looking at her. Not once did she have a memory of Riley looking her in the eyes like this. And in that instant, every moment she had with Riley danced in her mind.
Her cleaning dishes, while Riley continued to watch Italian Mafia Reborn.
Her cleaning the house, while Riley continued to watch Italian Mafia Reborn.
Her trimming the grass, while Riley continued to watch Italian Mafia Reborn.
All these moments seemed very mundane, but it was the only semblance in her life that felt normal. In between those moments, however, she felt like a normal girl– Riley made her feel like she wasn't a super who had an obligation to save the people.
Their late-night talks about her life in the Hope Guild.
Their late-night talks of Riley listening to her rant and complaining about it.
Their late-night talks about Megawoman.
Their late-night talks of what it meant to be a true hero, about Darkday, about themselves, about their families, and about Megawoman.
Riley knew everything about her, and she knew everything about Riley– or at least she hoped so since she basically laid out her heart for him already. She was even confident that out of all the students and his friends in Mega Academy, she knew more about Riley.
They spent all these months together 24 hours a day– what they had was special.
It was the little moments for her; the little moments that Riley made her feel like a normal person.
Riley… has become a very special person for her. Whether or not it was love she was feeling, she had no idea. One thing she knew, however, was that if it was with Riley…
…she wouldn't regret it either way.
"Do… you want to have se… sexual intercourse with me?"
And so, with a little stutter but an abundance of courage, she once again asked. It was never her style to shy away from anything; facing anything that came at her head-on… and this situation was not any different.
If Riley was going to come, then let him come.
"..." V then suddenly covered her mouth as the thought… came into her mind; trying her best not to let out a hint of laughter and ruin the moment.
"No, Victoria."
"W… what?"
"I do not want to have sexual intercourse with you," Riley then said without breaking a single word as he continued to stare directly into V's eyes.
"I… I see," V then let out a small chuckle; her eyes, however, were about to be covered in a cloud of shame. No, this was good– she thought. At least she knew where she and Riley stood.
"This… this doesn't change anything between us, right?" V once again stuttered, "We… we're still friends?"
"No, Victoria. I do not have friends."
"This…" And now, truly, V did not know what to do. Should she just leave? No– she made a promise to herself that she would not leave the prison until Riley was freed. If she was right, then there should be another house… that would–"
"But I believe my body needs it, Victoria."
"...What?" Riley then blinked a couple of times as Riley suddenly approached her, "What… what do you mean?"
"Sexual intercourse," Riley muttered, "It has been months since my body last let out what it needed to let out. My organs have been impeding my normal routine because of it."
"What… are you trying to say?" V took in a small gulp as she slightly took a step back, pushing the huge sofa behind her.
"Let's have sexual intercourse, Victoria," Riley then said as he took off his prison clothes; revealing his almost perfectly chiseled torso.
"I… I'm not your toy that you could just use!" Victoria then suddenly screamed as she pushed Riley away; rushing out of the living room and straight into her room.
"..."
As for Riley, there was a somewhat confused expression on his face; his eyebrows, were ever so slightly furrowed. He stood there alone for a couple of seconds, before once again putting on his shirt and sitting on the sofa– turning on the TV to watch another episode of Italian Mafia Reborn on Webflix.
A few minutes later, however, he felt a pair of hands slowly crawling on his shoulders, moving all the way to wrap his chest.
"I… thought you didn't like to be touched?" V then whispered into his ear.
"Without my permission, Victoria," Riley then gently removed V's hand; grabbing the remote to make sure he paused what he was watching before once again leaning on the sofa,
"You have my permission ever since you entered the house," Riley then said as he gently held V's arm.
"!!!"
Riley's touch did not contain any warmth in them; but still, V started feeling a sort of weird heat crawling across her entire skin… all meeting between her legs.
"Hk."
All Riley did was touch her, but the limiter that was wrapped on her back started to light up the entire room– causing a torrent of electricity to destroy any electronic devices within the house… including the TV.
"..." Riley looked at the crackling screen for a few moments, before letting out a small sigh as he fully turned his eyes towards V; her eyes, trickling and sputtering as green crackles of electricity glimmered from them. Even with those, however, the lush red that wrapped her face could still be seen clearly.
"Is it possible that this would be your first time having sexual intercourse, Victoria?" Riley then whispered as he gently placed her palm on her red cheek.
"S… shut up," V meekly said, "So… so what if it–"
And before she could finish her words, her lips suddenly met with Riley's.
"!!!"
And due to the shock, the only thing she could do was pull her head away and let out a deep gasp; almost as if she almost drowned.
"And that was your first kiss as well?"
"D… does it matter?"
"Mine was with Megawoman, Victoria."
"W… what?"
"I have learned a lot of things about this activity, Victoria," Riley then flicked his finger, causing the both of them to suddenly float in the air.
"Wait… what are you–" And before V could finish her words, the shirt she was wearing started unbuttoning itself; her pants too, started sliding down, only stopping around her ankles.
"Let me take the lead this time."
"W… wait!" V meekly screamed as she tried covering her chest, which was now only covered by her bra, "This… this is my first time, let's… let's do it normally!"
"I am afraid that's not possible, Victoria."
And with those words, V's pants that were hanging on her ankles suddenly tightened, cuffing both her feet together.
"W… what… what!?"
Riley then floated closer towards her, wrapping his arm around her pale waist that seemed to not have once been basked by sunlight; and perhaps that was the case, as V had always been inside her mecha suit.
"You are with me now, Victoria," Riley then whispered into her ears; and this time, V almost tucked in her head as the warmth of Riley's breath seeped into her skin,
"You should forget being normal."
"..." And with those words, V could not help but blink a couple of times. Her eyes, as if thinking of everything and nothing at once; she stayed like this for a few seconds, letting Riley's breaths drown her entire body.
Until finally, she let her arms go; revealing her normal-sized chest and embracing Riley,
"You… are right," she then whispered,
"Fuck normal."
Chapter 244Outside Riley's house; the prisoners were currently doing things that prisoners usually do.
Freely hanging out and talking to each other; a few fixing their vehicles that they were allowed to ride only within the prison neighborhood. Some were also having fun and drinking alcohol– a very normal prison day in the Super Max's Top 50 Prisoner division.
As long as they had no plans of escaping or actually going to war against each other, the prison lets them do what they want. As their reputation so claims– except for the freedom to venture outside and knowing the latest news, their life was more grand and luxurious than the normal citizen.
This luxury, however, was slightly downed when Alice's son arrived. Whenever he walks outside, the only thing they could do was go back inside their homes and hide. They could still remember what happened the first day with Fred, wherever he was now, they wished him peace.
He turned into a mist of blood; killed the very first day Alice's son arrived. Sure, most of them were considered to be the most dangerous supers in the entire world, capable of massacring people without even blinking an eye.
Alice, however, showed them their real place in the world. They could count on one hand the times they tried to harm Alice, only to come back with broken bones or shattered homes. It was good if it was only the perpetrator who pays for messing with her, but no. Alice would flip the entire prison if even just one of them looks at her funny
She complained about everything and anything. She feels a bit cramped? She would rearrange the entire neighborhood even though her house was already too big enough for one person.
Alice was a plague. But even through all of that, however, she never killed anyone.
His son killed 3 people on the very first day; and as far as they know, he has the same powers as her. And so, it almost became a silent promise that no one would mess with him.
But alas, even with that– they noticed that there were fewer and fewer of them as the months passed. None of them talked about it, but they all knew that it most likely had something to do with Alice's son. Of course, lately, these disappearances seemed to have stopped.
It has been almost an entire month without any of them disappearing without a trace. And maybe, just maybe; they could finally be able to live in pea–
*BOOM*
"What the fuck was that!?"
And with a thunderous crack exploding through their ears, the prisoners that were just enjoying their daily lives jolted up; their eyes, all turning towards where the explosion was coming from.
And as soon as their eyes landed on Alice's son's house, they all quickly scurried to go back inside their homes. Most of them stopped just short of opening their doors, however, as a trickle of green sparked on the knob of their doors as soon as they touched it.
They felt a small sting crawling through their skin, almost like a spider trying to tickle them.
"What… is happening?"
And soon, anything and everything that involved a sort of metal in them started to leave the ground; green webs of electricity serving as their legs as they floated through the air.
"F… fuck!" A prisoner who was wearing a chain around his neck, quickly snapped his jewelry in half as it tried to choke and tickle him.
The car that was being painstakingly maintained and fixed by one of the prisoners also floated in the air; its chassis, slowly being separated apart.
All of these, however, were soon ignored by them as they hurried to enter their houses once more. Their curiosities, however, were the hardest to ignore. As soon as they got into their houses, they all quickly leaned their heads in front of their windows; their eyes, reflecting green as lightning danced around Riley's house.
They all wondered what was happening; soon, however, they heard a howl.
"H… holy shit!"-- is what they heard as the spark drowning Riley's house once again exploded, causing its walls to slightly crumble and letting even a brighter green seep through the cracks created.
"O… oh, fudge!"-- another scream whispered through their ears, this time louder as the cracks around the houses grew deeper and deeper.
"S… something's wrong! It's hot!" They all heard,
"Oh, shit… oh fuck! Something… something is happening!" The voice once again whispered through their ears even from afar; the voice was starting to stutter, however, as the howls soon became screeches.
"No… Riley, Riley! Something is– Hnn!"
And with those words, the prisoners all felt their eyes almost melting in their sockets as the green light once again exploded; this time, drowning the entire prison neighborhood with nothing but white– almost like the flash of a camera was directly triggered right in front of them.
Unfortunately for the others that were watching, it was not only the flash of light that hit them straight in the face. The cracks of the wall finally gave up; causing Riley's house to crumble and explode, shooting some of the debris and glass to a speed that was enough to create thunder of their own.
And these debris– these projectiles, they went straight through the windows of the prisoners' houses. And at the speed they were going… some of those that were hit died on the spot.
But for those that were not hit, their breaths soon started to calm down as their visions returned to normal.
"Is… is it over?" One of the prisoners whispered to himself as he rubbed his eyes; his attention, quickly straying towards Riley's house– or at least what was left of it. Right in the very center, however, was a silhouette… No, were silhouettes that were floating in the air.
Entangled.
"Did you feel good, Victoria?" And through all the chaos they caused, Riley's voice was calm; almost tranquil as his words whispered through V's ears– causing her entire body to slightly shiver.
"..." V did not respond. Instead, letting her fetter and gasping breaths to share her thoughts.
"Hn!" She, however, let out a shrieking moan as Riley pulled away; her entire body, curling on its own as she felt… electricity crawling through her flesh for the first time. Her feet, also curling as they trembled.
Her eyes, however, soon widened as they saw the skies above her… as well as the entire neighborhood.
"L… let me down!" V then screamed as the limiter attached to her back once again released a web of electricity– almost like feathers that were finally being torn and replaced by newer ones.
"..." Riley looked around the neighborhood for a few seconds, before their… naked bodies finally descended to the ground. V wanted to run away and hide as soon as her feet met with the floor…
…but realized there was nowhere to hide as the house was now nothing but rubble. Before she could whimper in panic, however, the rubbles began to tremble; causing V to fall to the ground butt first. The bits and pieces of the house, once again returning to where they were just moments ago.
And for some reason, some had this red liquid trailing on their surfaces. And so, once again without even a quarter of a minute– the house was whole.
"Did you feel good, Victoria?" Riley then once again asked as he approached V.
V, on the other hand, just looked at him… in all his glory.
"That… that thing… was inside me!?" V then stuttered as she pointed at the thing dangling between Riley's legs.
"Only half of it, Victoria," Riley then said as he casually turned to look at where V was pointing, "It was your first time and you have a small body, I did not want to–"
And before Riley could finish his words, V's fading steps entered his ears as she disappeared to her room.
"..."
"..."
Riley stood there for a few seconds with a blank expression on his face, before once again taking a seat on the sofa– grabbing the remote sitting on the table and turning on the TV so he could continue watching Italian Mafia Reborn.
"..."
"..."
But alas, the TV was as dead as the other prisoners.
"..."
Riley's eyebrows began to furrow; his head slowly turning towards the surveillance camera attached to his ceiling– but alas, that too, was no longer responding.
Riley's deep breaths then whispered through the entire room as he floated up; the faucet on the bar, opening and letting out a gush of water that also immediately flew towards Riley and started whirling around him, focusing on the thing between his legs.
And after that, his clothes floated; dressing him swiftly and neatly. And with him fully clothed, he gently descended to the floor. He stood there without a word for a couple of seconds, before finally walking and heading… to V's room.
"Victoria," Riley said as he knocked on her door.
"Go away!"
"I am joining the Hope Guild since there is nothing to do here anymore, are you coming?"
And with those words, Riley could hear all sorts of rumbling seeping from V's room. And finally, after what seemed like an entire 5 minutes, the door opened– with V now fully clothed. Her face, however, was still flushed.
"Are we… really going now?" V then stuttered; her eyes, trying their best not to stray away from Riley's.
"Yes," Riley nodded.
"But… we…" V then muttered,
"What are… we?"
"You're a human and I am a monster, Victoria."
"No! I mean what are we!?" Victoria repeated as she grabbed Riley's wrist, "Are we… still going to meet outside? Are we a couple? What's our label?"
"You…" Riley looked Victoria directly in the eyes as his whispers entered her ears,
"You are mine, Victoria."
And as soon as V heard his words, a small smile crawled on her face; her eyes, slightly cracking in green,
"And…" V then whispered as she embraced Riley; her trickling eyes, as wide as they could be,
"You are mine, Riley… only mine."
"That is–"
And before Riley could finish his words, V suddenly placed her lips on his.
"I will die before I give you to someone else," V then said before running away; her chuckles, whispering in Riley's ears.
"Now let's go!" V then said as she hopped filled with joy; once again approaching Riley and grabbing his wrist, "Are we going straight to the base? You need to carry me since I don't have my mecha suit."
"..." Riley stared at her for a couple of seconds, before shaking his head, "We need to take a small detour first, Victoria."
"Hm?"
"Diana Ross, Alice Lane, and Megawoman," Riley then muttered, "This place has answers that I could only hear here. We…
…are visiting the place where the Top 3 are."
Chapter 245"..."
"..."
"Are we… going?"
V was currently clinging to Riley's arm.; her face, still filled with the smile that she had since moments ago even though they have been standing in front of their house for… almost an entire hour now.
As always, there were completely no other people besides them outside. For some reason, however, some of the houses that were near their house had cracks in them– could it be that a fight went on here without them knowing? V thought.
"Yes. I am just waiting for warden Yakovich, Victoria," Riley muttered as he remained still on his spot, not even moving a single inch.
"Waiting?" V slightly squinted her eyes, "Shouldn't we just go to him? How would he know you're looking for him if we don't find him first?"
"I believe he knows we are waiting for him, Victoria," Riley then turned his head towards one of the surveillance cameras that still had a red beeping light on it,
"He is just… scared," a smile then slowly formed on Riley's face; his eyes not leaving the camera until the edges of his mouth was near his ears.
"Kuu!"
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times; slightly leaning his head back as he heard a slight… purr coming from V's mouth.
"You're so cool and creepy when you do that," V then said; her words slightly muffled as she buried and rubbed her face on Riley's arm.
"...What are you doing?" Riley muttered; his voice, slightly having hints of confusion in them, "Why are you cleaning your face with my arm, Victoria?"
"I'm not," V giggled as she rubbed her face even faster, "I'm marking you."
"..." Riley was still obviously confused. But he no longer asked about the matter as he turned his face in front of him, once again waiting in silence for warden Yakovich. He tried to pull his arm away from V, but she seemed to insist on not letting go.
But finally, after a few more minutes of waiting, a wide hole opened up at the very center of the prison neighborhood, with warden Yakovich emerging along with almost half a hundred super soldiers.
The soldiers and guards, however, did not follow Yakovich as he approached Riley; and judging by Yakovich's calm steps, he ordered them not to do so.
"Prisoner 666," warden Yakovich said as he stopped 2 meters away from Riley, "Are you ready to leave the prison?"
"Yes, the TV is broken so I can't watch Italian Mafia Reborn anymore, warden Yakovich."
"..." Just because the TV was broken? If Yakovich knew that it was that simple to get rid of Riley, then he would have ordered someone to sneak into the house and break the TV…
…or at least cancel his Weblix subscription.
Yakovich has actually been observing and spying on what Riley was watching since he shared the same account. Yakovich doesn't even watch cartoons, but since Riley was so invested in Italian Mafia Reborn, he could not help but be curious.
And true enough, there was a reason why Riley seemed to be obsessing over it. It started off as something for kids, but then by the second season, they were fighting–
Yakovich then shook his head as he lost track of his thoughts.
"Then let's go, Prisoner 666," warden Yakovich then gestured to Riley to follow him, "You don't need to worry about all the paperwork. But I do need to personally oversee your transfer to the Hope Guild."
Yakovich's eyes slightly strayed towards V, but he quickly moved his head away as he remembered the feed from the camera inside Riley's house before it died; the only thing he could do was hide his discomfort with a small cough.
"Not yet, warden Yakovich."
Yakovich's steps, however, stopped as he heard Riley's words, "What do you mean?" He asked.
"I wish to visit the area where the top 3 are residing," Riley said; his feet, still not moving from where he stood, "I have some things I wish to ask them. And whether or not their answers are sufficient or not, I will leave once I hear from them."
"...What?" Yakovich's right eye started to twitch as he heard Riley's words, "You… are not in a position to give demands."
"You and I both know that I am, warden Yakovich," Riley then said as he turned around… and started walking back to his house. V was slightly confused as to what Riley was doing, but still, she remained clinging to his arm.
V then blinked her eyes a couple of times as Riley's hand started to reach toward the doorknob. Throughout her living with Riley, never once did he touch a door– only using his telekinetic abilities to open them.
After a few more moments, however, just a few inches of Riley's hand touching the knob, Yakovich raised his voice.
"Wait!" His word was almost a roar, causing even his men that were behind him to raise their rifles even though they knew it would have no effect on Riley. Their sighs of relief, however, almost became an orchestra as Yakovich asked them to stand down and lower their weapons.
"Fine," Yakovich then said as he lit up a cigarette, "But whatever happens inside, we will not be responsible. There are no more cameras passed where the top 3 reside, so you will be on your own."
"That…" Riley then turned around to face warden Yakovich; the smile on his face, once again reaching from ear to ear, "That is perfectly fine, warden Yakovich."
"Only you are allowed, however," warden Yakovich then took a heavy puff as his eyes turned to the girl tightly clinging to Riley's arm, "Empress has already warned us that if anything were to happen to their fellow member, then there would be hell to pay."
"What? No!" V tightened her grip on Riley's arm even further, "No one can hurt me as long as Riley is with me!"
"We really can't allow you to come with Prisoner 666, Miss V," Yakovich insisted as he shook his head, "I am already getting enough flak with the common people as it is. If they knew one of their precious heroes got hurt inside the prison, I would probably lose my job."
"No, I will–"
"Very well," Riley lightly flicked his hand, causing V's hands to gently unwrap themselves from his arm.
"W… wait!" V tried to resist, but it almost felt like her hands were stuck inside a pool of dried cement, "Why!? I… I thought we would always be together!?"
"It seems you are misunderstanding something, Victoria," Riley then let out a sigh as he gently dropped V beside warden Yakovich,
"I am not a replacement for your mecha suit."
"What, you're not–"
"You have always been dependent on something, Victoria," Riley said as he approached, "That's the only reason you have been clinging to me for more than an hour now."
"What, no!" V wanted to run towards Riley, but she could not do so as something was blocking her path, "I want to be with you because… because I like you!"
"Maybe," Riley said, "But I do not want support from someone that can't move on its own."
"You… you fuck!" V then let out a small roar as she slammed her fists on the invisible barrier in front of her; the electricity trickling from her back, causing Yakovich to cover his entire body in smoke,
"Did… you just use my body because–"
"You are free, Victoria."
"...What?"
"You don't need a mecha suit," Riley let out a small sigh as he approached V, "You don't need anything or anyone to rely on. You are strong, Victoria– as soon as you realize that, then I will allow you to walk beside me. I…
…can't have a weak subordinate."
"Riley…"
Yakovich took a few steps back as he heard Riley's words. Why is he provoking V right now? Was he planning on causing V to lose control of her powers again… Wait, was this his plan all along!? To destroy his prison!?
Yakovich was about to order his men to retreat, but before he could do so, a small sniffle whispered from V's direction. He turned to look at what she was doing, only to see her suddenly burst into tears.
"Thank you…" V breathed out a deep gasp as she wiped the tears that were falling like a dam from her eyes, "...Thank you for being concerned and taking care of me."
…What? Yakovich then blinked a couple of times as he looked back and forth between Riley and V. What is happening right now?
"I… I promise you," V then nodded; her eyes that were filled with tears, now also filled with a certain resolution in them, "I… I will learn how to stand on my own. But please… please help me while we're in the Hope Guild."
"Hm."
And with a nod from Riley, V turned around and walked away– moving towards where the super soldiers are and asking them to escort her away.
"..." What just happened? Yakovich wondered. The scenario that just happened felt like it came straight from an anime.
And this Riley Ross– it wasn't written in his profile that he was a master manipulator. Yakovich has been with enough criminals to know exactly what just happened. And from what he had just witnessed, each of Riley's actions just now was to get everything in his favor.
At least with Alice, everything was straightforward. Riley… Riley was like a dagger floating behind your back that you won't be able to see no matter how many times you turn your head.
"..." But he is someone else's dagger now– Yakovich thought as he escorted Riley in front of the door that led to where the top 3 were.
It was a huge metal door– almost as large as Mega Academy's gates and probably just as thick.
"Remember, Riley Ross," Yakovich let out a cloud of smoke from his mouth as his figure slowly faded, "These 3 people are all Grade-S supers, probably as strong as the members of the Hope Guild. Do not– What are you doing!?"
And before Yakovich's silhouette could completely fade away, a loud thumping of thunder entered his ears as Riley placed his palm on the gigantic door. And without even a second after that, the metal door almost instantly crumpled– compressing into a ball that was almost as large as Riley's house in the prison neighborhood.
A strong gust of wind then blew Yakovich's cloud body away as the air from the inside started violently seeping from the large hole that Riley just created.
"If they are as strong as you claim, warden Yakovich…" Riley then muttered as the giant ball floating in front of him disappeared, followed by another drum of thunder as a halo of wind erupted from where the giant ball previously was.
"...Then I need to knock on their doors hard."
Chapter 246Warden Yakovich's form remained floating in the air. And despite the wind that was violently wafting from the opening that Riley just created, his form that seemed to be made of vapor was completely still– almost like some sort of hologram.
It was previously being erased by the gust earlier, making it seem like smoke. But now that it was still, it would seem that wasn't the case. So was it really some sort of illusion? Riley thought as he glanced at Yakovich for a few seconds.
And Yakovich was doing the same; his eyes focused on Riley and at the vast and slightly dark space in front of him– the area where the top 3 prisoners were residing. Yakovich was confident that he would be able to defeat each of them in a one-on-one fight– but three of them at the same time?
He might as well commit suicide. Even if the entirety of the Hope Guild was here, he was sure that they would be having a hard time subduing the three without killing them. But here was Alice's son, provoking the big three as soon as he was in front of their doorstep.
He really should have retired when he had the chance. The three prisoners have been calm for many years now, not even showing any signs of violence or wanting to leave– but if Riley somehow manages to piss them and they decide to leave the prison, then the backlash against the Super Max would be tantamount.
But since Riley has already decided to join the Hope Guild, then Yakovich might as well call them as a backup; it would also ensure that Riley really does leave the prison.
And so, with all of those thoughts circling in his mind, Yakovich finally allowed himself to fade away with the wind that was still violently being wafted from the area of the top 3.
"..." Riley once again took a small glance at Yakovich as he slowly faded away. He was waiting to see if he was going to do something, but much to his disappointment, Yakovich just left. The only thing that Riley could really do now was let out a sigh as he took a step inside the residence of the top 3 prisoners.
But before he could even take 3 steps, a small but very sharp whistle whispered into his ear. Riley slightly tilted his head to the side, but before he could even make out any of the scenery inside the Top 3's residence, the view in front of him became nothing but silver.
The gate that he crumpled and threw earlier, now coming back to him with even greater force. But like a tomato falling onto an extremely sharp knife, the gigantic metal ball was split in half with almost zero resistance.
The entire hallway then shook; and judging by how strong the quake was, then the prisoners and other people on the ground level could feel the tremble as well. Riley took a small glance behind him, only to see each half of the ball absolutely decimating the hallway– blocking any path to the outside.
And soon, a quiet but abysmal burst of laughter whispered into Riley's ears.
"Like mother, like son, I suppose."
"..." Riley quickly turned his attention to the front, only to see a man approaching him; his face, sunken to the point that one could already make out the shape of his cheeks and eye sockets. The man was also bald, wearing some sort of monk outfit that almost looked like a blanket from how skinny he was.
"And I see the guards did not lie about the way you look."-- and with those words, the man fully revealed himself from the darkness and Riley could finally see the most noticeable feature of the stranger– both his eyelids were sutured shut.
"As expected," the prisoner then let out a small scoff as he placed his palms together, "Alice could only produce a freak, it is in her nature."
"You knew Alice Lane?" And without even him asking or needing to open the topic, Riley was already getting what he came here to do– ask for information about the women in his life.
"Knew her?" the bald prisoner smiled, causing the forming wrinkles on his face to slightly hit the sutures in his eyelids, "I more than knew her– we had a relationship."
"..." Riley remained quiet as he looked at the bald man from head to toe, "What sort of relationship, bald prisoner?"
"A bad one," and with those words, the dim hall they were in was finally bombarded with light– the residence of the top 3, finally fully revealed to Riley. Riley was expecting something grand since the top 50 had their own neighborhood. But this…
…it was just a vast and gigantic hall probably made of steel and metal, with gigantic doors on each of the three corners in front of him. 4, if he included the entrance he just destroyed. One of these gigantic metal doors, the one on the left, with the number 3 plastered on it, was slightly slid open– probably where the bald prisoner in front of him came from.
"Your mother made my life a living hell while she was still here," the bald prisoner then continued his words as his feet slowly left the floor, "And since you just destroyed our door, then I believe you wish to continue where your mother left…
…I won't let you."
"Not really, bald prisoner," Riley only shook his head; not even minding the tremble that once again filled the entire hall he was in, "I am just here to as you and the other two prisoners some questions regarding one Diana Ross, Alice Lane, and Megawoman. I will leave whether or not I am satisfied with the answers."
"The only answer you're getting here is my wrath!" And with those words, the bald prisoner stretched his arms to the side, causing the rumble in the air to explode as the two pieces of the cleaved metal ball flew straight toward Riley.
"Die, devilspawn!" The bald prisoner once again clapped his hands together, causing the two halves of the gigantic ball to violently close together… with Riley right in the center.
"Do you know how much I have suffered because of that woman!?" The bald prisoner then rubbed his palms against each other; and almost as if the two hemispheres were following the movements of his hands, they too, started grinding against each other– letting out a loud screeching noise that was enough to cause the air to tremble.
"I have the same powers as her!" The bald prisoner continued to rant; his voice, almost as loud as the sparks that were coming from the hemispheres, "Do you know what that means!? That means that I received most of the brunt of her temper! She was always teasing and taunting me, asking me if I can do better! Telling me I don't have any worth in this world because she was already here!"
The bald prisoner then clapped his hands several times, causing thunders to echo several times in the air,
"I am supposed to be the strongest telekinetic in the world! But your mother–"
"What about Diana Ross, do you know anything about her?"
"!!!"
The bald prisoner's hands then abruptly stopped moving as he heard a small whisper coming from the center of the two hemispheres he was drumming together.
"You… you're still alive?"
"I am, bald prisoner."
"Y–" The bald prisoner was about to once again move the two hemispheres, but before he could do so, he felt his hands suddenly unable to move.
"But you won't be if you don't at least try to answer my questions, bald prisoner."
The two hemispheres then slowly separated; and almost like the yolk of an egg, Riley was completely intact without even so much as a scratch on him. The flat sides of the hemispheres, however, were completely tattered and shattered; almost as if Riley's body served as some sort of shredder.
Riley then slightly tilted his head to the side, immediately causing the two hemispheres to fly towards the floating bald prisoner– and like with what he did to Riley, he was in between the two gigantic debris.
"Do you know anything about Diana Ross, bald prisoner?" Riley then asked as the two hemispheres got closer and closer to squashing the bald prisoner.
"You–" The bald prisoner tried moving his hands, but found himself completely unable to do so.
"You can't move objects without actively using your hands?" A small, but very faint chuckle then escaped from Riley's mouth as he looked at the bald prisoner struggling to even move his arms,
"Then it is no wonder you were below my biological mother," Riley then let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "I believe she could stand toe to toe with Megawoman just by the sheer raw power of her telekinetic abilities…
…you wouldn't even be able to kill my First Subordinate with this much, bald prisoner."
"What are you–"
"But enough with describing you," Riley then let out another sigh; and as he did so, the two hemispheres suddenly shut close,
"Tell me, do you know anything about Diana Ross?" Riley repeated his question, "The prisoners in the Top 50 have mentioned that she used to work here as a medic, maybe you know her?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Riley waited for a few seconds for the bald prisoner to answer his question; but alas, even after almost a quarter of a minute, he still refused to say anything.
"Very well," Riley then once again let out a sigh as the two hemispheres started to separate, "What about Megawoman? This is where she was–"
And finally, Riley received an answer– the bald prisoner's blood and guts dropping to the ground.
"...Oops."
Chapter 247The blotching and spattering sound remained; the rhythm the sound made could only be described as erratically sedated. But still, Riley watched as the bald prisoner, or at least what remained of him, dropped to the ground.
And what remained of the bald prisoner could not even be compared to ground meat, the texture was almost like goo. One would think that a human body suddenly splattered and compressed would look like the carcass of a frog; a frog on the road that for some reason, always jumps onto the path of your tire– but no.
Human skin and flesh were different; there was not even a resemblance to what he once was. It might be a testament to how much force Riley used, but for Riley–
"How… weak."
Riley's sighs were almost as loud as the bald prisoner's guts falling to the ground. His disappointment, probably unfathomable. Warden Yakovich, as well as the reports on the prisoners that Riley checked with his clones right now, all showed how strong the bald prisoner was.
The bald prisoner's name was Tao Tokuhei, a supervillain that was active during the 80s. He gave himself up to the authorities after slaughtering almost a couple of villages in the provinces of Japan. He told the police that the villages needed cleansing– that they were impure beings that should be eradicated and that he did the world a favor.
And despite his choice of clothes, he was not a monk. What Riley was most excited about was the reports that the villages were completely folded in half, so he was expecting Tao to at least… be a little strong.
But alas, Riley just imitated what Tao was doing earlier, but to think he would just die.
And once again, Riley's sighs echoed through the vast and large hall. He then finally dropped the two hemispheres that were floating in the air, fully covering what remained of Tao and leaving them to be forgotten by time on the floor– or at least that's what Riley hoped because he was truly disappointed.
"..."
Riley then turned his head across the two giant doors that were still closed, No. 1 and No. 2. Even with all the noise they made, the two seemed to have no plans of coming out of their lair. As expected of the two strongest prisoners in the world, Riley thought.
He still had no idea who they were since he has yet to see their faces, but he was sure he wouldn't be disappointed like with Tao.
Riley's head moved back and forth between the two doors until finally settling on the No. 1's door and walking towards it.
"Hello?" Riley then calmly said as he knocked on the door, causing it to quake and tremble, "Do you have some time to talk about your lord and savior, Megawoman?"
"..." No response.
"If you also know about Alice Lane and Diana Ross, I would really appreciate any information you know about them."
Still, Riley continued to knock. It was only in the 12th knock that Riley's steps moved him back. Riley then raised his hand, causing the gigantic door to tremble. There were clouds of dust also raining down from its edges, perhaps a testament to how long ago the door was opened.
"Stop."
And before Riley could fully remove the door, a calm and somewhat husky voice seeped from the cracks of the door.
"I'm coming out. There's no need for you to destroy the door."
And with those words, the gigantic metal door started to slide open; letting out creaks and cracks as it did. And finally, after what seemed like a full minute of this screeching sound whispering in Riley's ears, the prisoner behind the No. 1's door stepped out.
"A golem?" Riley then breathed out as what stepped outside the gigantic door… was a moving rock– each of its movements, almost as loud as the creaking of the door it stepped out from. This rock… crawled forward; and with each movement of its limbs, its silhouette slowly but surely moved it ever so close to the shape of a human– a human woman.
And very soon, Riley could make out a face– old, her eyes already clouded. But still, each of her steps held some sort of authority in them that Riley could not quite explain.
"A golem," the stone woman then let out a small but chuckling scoff as she walked closer to Riley; her hair, unmoving as it was still seemingly made of earth, "Perhaps that is what I am now. I don't even remember my name."
"..." Riley looked at the woman for a few seconds, before finally blinking his eyes and shaking his head,
"Your name is Tsula, the Terraformer."
"Ah, of course."
Tsula then let out a long and very deep breath; specks of dust, blowing from her mouth as she did so, "I've been here for so very long that I have forgotten any earthly connections that I may have had."
Riley slightly looked to the side as he allowed his clones to search everything about Tsula; pausing like this for almost an entire minute. Tsula did not seem to mind, however, as she remained as still as she looked– a rock.
"Megawoman apprehended you and surrendered you to the prison in 1887, Tsula," Riley then said, his mouth slightly agape as he looked at Tsula from head to toe.
"Megawoman… Ah, yes," Tsula once again nodded, "That seemed like a very long time ago now."
"It is, Tsula," Riley also nodded, "You have been here for more than a hundred years."
"Is that so?" Tsula sighed; each of her movements, seemingly as minute and minimal as possible.
Riley continued to read Tsula's profile. She was a super from a native American tribe that massacred almost a million people– causing devastating earthquakes and tidal waves using her abilities to control any elements related to earth.
Another Elemental that has the power to destroy the world; another elemental that did not have complete control of her powers… and another female.
Hannah, V, and now Tsula. Was it just a coincidence, or was there something connecting the three?
"Did you need something from me, child?" Tsula then finally spoke on her own as Riley stood there in silence for more than a minute or so, "For you to try and wake me up…
…you do not seem to be working for this prison," Tsula then looked at Riley from head to toe, focusing on the prison uniform he was wearing.
"I am a prisoner like you, Miss Tsula. But this is my last day," Riley muttered, "And I was wondering if you could answer some of my questions?"
"Aside from Megawoman, do the names, Alice Lane and Diana Ross–"
And before Riley could finish his words, a small whisper of a crack emerged from Tsula's face. The calmness of breath that she once held, slowly dissipated as the cracks grew wider.
"Diana Ross," Tsula then whispered, "Time may have diluted and corrupted my memory, but that is a name that I will never forget even as I cross the boundaries of this world and the Spirit's."
"...Okay," Riley nodded, "Before you cross, is it alright for you to tell me about her?"
"Leave. I have nothing but contempt for what that name represents," Tsula then slowly turned around.
"You know her, Miss Tsula?"
The giant door, however, forcefully closed shut before Tsula could even take a single step,
"I was told that if I needed information, then I would get it here– in the area of the top 3," Riley then said.
"Top… 3?" Tsula then once again turn towards Riley, before turning her head towards the other gigantic doorways behind him, "I see that this place has changed with time. There used to be only me– but I see the world is producing more and more monsters as it grows older."
"I will let you rest Miss Tsula, I just need to know what you know about Diana Ross."
"..." Tsula's seemingly frozen eyebrows moved ever so slightly as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "Why do you know so much about that entity?"
"I am just curious, Miss Tsula," Riley muttered, "The three women that are deeply involved with my life seemed to have a connection in this prison, I only seek answers."
"And how is this Diana Ross involved with you?"
"She is my adoptive mother."
And as soon as Riley uttered those words, the entire hall shook violently; causing Riley to float in the air to avoid being swayed away.
"Adoptive… mother?" Any calmness in Tsula's voice was gone; replaced by a clicking tremble as the clouds of dust wrapping around her body all rained to the floor,
"She… adopted you?" Tsula then rushed towards Riley; almost at a speed that one would not expect coming from someone like her. Riley, however, did not try to dodge and just allowed Tsula to approach him.
"Yes," Riley nodded, "My biological mother is Alice Lane. Diana Ross and her husband adopted me when they had to kill her because she was killing me. It is a somewhat convoluted story, Miss Tsula."
"She succeeded?" Tsula then whispered to herself as she looked to the side, "But how old are you?"
"17 years old, Miss Tsula."
"Young, younger than even the newest dust in my body," Tsula muttered, "So even after a hundred years, she did not stop."
"Hundreds… What do you mean, Miss Tsula?" Riley furrowed his eyebrows as he turned to face Tsula, "When did you last meet with mother?"
"A long time… Exactly 83 years ago, child."
"That is impossible, Miss Tsula," Riley shook his head, "Mother is not even in his 50s yet."
"That woman..." Tsula then let out a chuckle that resounded throughout the entire hall,
"...is a Yee Naaldlooshii."
Chapter 248"Yee… Naaldlooshi?"
Riley stared at Tsula for a few seconds; letting only the sound of dust that was falling from Tsula's silhouette whisper in the air. But finally, after a few more breathes, Tsula decided to be the one to break the silence.
"A skin-walker, child," Tsula muttered; a sense of disdain and utter disgust coming from her voice.
"Mother… is a mythological creature?" Riley then placed his hand on his chin, "I suppose that makes the most sense, Miss Tsula. Mother always had the strength to throw father if he wished to. She is also the only person I know that is capable of subduing and stopping Hannah at will."
"..."
"But for her to be a literal monster, it would seem that I have underestimated the secrets that my adoptive family held," Riley nodded, "That would also explain how she could be with father– only a mythological creature of that renown could stay with someone like him."
"...Boy."
"Hm?"
"That was a figure of speech," Tsula then let out a sigh that was enough to echo throughout the entire hall.
"What… do you mean, Miss Tsula?" Riley blinked his eyes a couple of times; his face, showing his utter confusion.
"I mean she's not really a skin-walker," Tsula once again sighed, "She is… just a Super like you and me– her abilities allow her to change to any form she wills."
"Yes, a skin-walker," Riley insisted.
"No!"
And finally, almost as if Tsula's previous emotionless and stoic exterior was just some sort of play, her entire body that was made of rocks started to wither away– finally showing her slightly dark brown skin; the deep creases and wrinkles wrapping around her, showing her true age.
She was completely naked; but neither she nor Riley seemed to mind as Tsula's sagging… bosoms waved violently as she approached Riley– the boulders and stones that fell around her, almost serving like a tail as it followed behind her without hinder. Her white and aged hair, also dragging along with the stones on the floor.
"A Yee Naaldlooshi is a creature beyond our understanding!" Tsula's slightly husky voice gasped for air, "A magical, divine creature that stands between this world and the spirit world."
"...So mother is like Jesu–"
"No! Your mother is a super!"
"Yes, like Jesu–"
"No!" Tsula let out an almost screeching scream; causing the entire hall they were in to once again tremble violently, "Just leave! I am done talking to you; leave me be in my eternal repentance. One as young as you will never understand the thread that weaves the world."
"..." Riley squinted his eyes as he looked at Tsula's retreating back. This old woman… was probably the most confusing individual he had ever met in his life.
"Open the door," Tsula then stated as she reached the front of her cell. I hope we never see each other again in this life."
"Before you return, can you tell me about the moment Megawoman stayed here?"
"No," Tsula shook her head, "This is the first time I have ever willingly stepped out of my holding. That outsider probably stayed in this place during my times of isolation."
"Thank you for answering my questions, Miss Tsula," Riley then bowed his head; and as soon as he did so, the gigantic door finally started to slide open.
"Hm," Tsula only waved her hand as she stepped inside; but before the gigantic door could finally separate her from the rest of the world again, Riley's words once again whispered into her ears.
"My sister is the same as you, Miss Tsula."
"Hm?" Tsula turned around.
"Her affinity with the elements is as marvelous as you; but also uncontrollable beyond a certain threshold," Riley said with a sigh, "But hopefully she does not age as bad as you."
"Wait, what do you mean a sist–"
Tsula seemed to want to say something, but before her words could fully echo through the air, the sound of the gigantic metal door sliding shut drowned any noise within the hall.
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times as he stared at the door of Tsula's cell. But after a few seconds of seemingly deliberating on what to do, he just shrugged his shoulders and started walking towards the cell of the Top 2 Prisoner.
"Greetings, Top 2 Prisoner," Riley then repeated the same thing he did with Tsula's cell, knocking on it hard enough that it caused the entire gigantic door to tremble, "Do you have time to talk about your lord and savior, Megawoman?"
"..." And like with Tsula, silence was once again the first response that Riley received. However, unlike with Tsula, Riley did not immediately try to pry the door open. Instead, he waited there in silence for a full minute– not even moving a single step away from the gigantic door.
"..."
He stayed like this for a couple more minutes, before finally letting out a very long and deep sigh,
"I am coming in, Top 2 Prisoner," Riley then whispered as he placed his hand on the door.
"Riley Ross!"
But before he could do anything to the door, a familiar voice screamed into his ears. Riley quickly turned in the direction of the voice, only to see V rushing towards him.
"V, what are you doing!?" Empress was also behind her, reaching her hand towards V but was already too late to stop her from approaching Riley. Tempo, was also there, but instead of stopping V like Empress, his face just winced ever so slightly; his head trying to turn away but his eyes were fully focused on what was about to happen.
They have known about Riley's disposition of not wanting to be touched by strangers. No, even his own mother was not an exception to this sensitivity. So with V suddenly rushing towards Riley, the only thing that Tempo, probably the fastest man in the world, could do was… watch and see what happens.
"!!!"
To their surprise, however, Riley… did not dodge. He just stood there, allowing V to wrap her arms around his.
"What did I tell you about always clinging to something, Victoria?"
And with those words, V just suddenly let go of Riley's arms.
"..." Tempo and Empress could only look at each other as they saw this. Why… was V following Riley's words almost like… a dog? What exactly happened between the two during the months they were together?
"I brought Empress and Tempo with me," V then whispered; the smile on her face, seemingly unable to restrain themselves from appearing.
"I could see that, V," Riley glanced at the Top 2's door for a few seconds, before once again facing Empress and the others.
"Yakovich said you finally decided to join us?" Empress muttered; she was about to approach Riley since Tempo did so as well… but decided not to as she kept her distance from Riley as she remembered who he truly was.
"Yes, Empress," Riley just casually nodded, "I thought my time in prison would be filled with fun and activities, but it would seem there are a lot of things happening outside that are more interesting than here– according to grandmother Charlotte."
"More… interesting?" Tempo blinked, "...Grandmother Charlotte?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "She mentioned something about the Hero Association and the monsters."
"...I wouldn't really call that more interesting," Tempo sighed, "They're asking every super out there to register– It's a good thing us in the Hope Guild are exempted. They just gave all of us the highest Grade because, duh. We're the Hope–"
"Ahem," Empress loudly cleared her throat before Tempo could continue to ramble on, "So, are you really joining the Hope Guild, Riley Ross? Yakovich told us he'll handle all the formal paperworks– we can get you out of this place right now."
"Yes, Empress. I wanted to ask the Top 2 Prisoner some questions first, but I think the information I have is enough for now."
"..." Empress's eyes scanned across the vast hall. She had been wondering what happened here since earlier– but knowing who Riley truly is, any more probing might set him off.
"Then… shall we go now?" Empress then let out a small sigh as she turned around, creating distance between her and Riley as fast as possible, "We're not going straight to the Hope Guild, however. We need to take a detour because of all these government shenanigans."
"...A detour?" Riley tilted his head.
"The Hero Association."
The one to answer Riley's question was V; the tone of her voice, holding some sort of excitement in it.
"Since you're not officially a part of the Hope Guild yet, the others said you needed to take the association's test," V chuckled.
"We can also announce you joining the group once you pass the bullshit test," Tempo also let out a small scoff, "You know what I think? I think the government just wants the people to see that even someone like you is taking the test– that way, the others that are still hesitating would–"
"It is alright, mister Tempo," Riley nodded, "I… do not mind."
And with those words, the group finally left the hall of the Top 3– leaving the door of the Top 2 completely untouched.
"...Did they leave?"
And currently, the Top 2 Prisoner was leaning on the door, trying to listen in on the activity outside. He was starting to feel nervous when he kept hearing a series of thunderous banging outside his cell– but finally, everything was just over.
The prisoner's name was Cole; apprehended for causing a fourth of the world's market to plummet sometime in the 80s, causing millions of families to starve, sometimes to death. And seeing as the trouble outside did not reach him, his abilities were still alive and kicking– Probability Manipulation. He absorbs the luck of other people and in return, he…
…becomes extremely lucky.
Chapter 249"This… is the Hero Association?"
"...Yes."
Riley was currently in front of a tall building– No. Perhaps referring to it as tall was an understatement, the Hero Association towered over every other building within its vicinity. But of course, Riley has already expected it due to what the others have been calling it since earlier– The Hero Association Tower.
Riley's eyes then scanned the surrounding areas, only to see a crowd of people looking and staring at him; more than a hundred of them since the Hero Association Tower was right in the middle of the city.
Why would they even build something like this here, when it would be easily targeted by villains and whoever wanted to do so? If Riley was still donning the mantle of Darkday, then all it would take was to drop a mountain and the Hero Association would be done for.
"Are you wondering why they built it here?"
And within the whispers of the crowd, was a long and chuckling sigh as Tempo walked passed Riley; V was also beside him, seemingly trying her hardest not to cling to Riley's arm. Empress was previously with them, but as soon as she escorted Riley in front of the tower, she immediately left saying that she still had previous engagements.
"It's not just you," Tempo's sigh continued as he too, looked around the crowd of people, "Almost every super that is working as a hero is wondering the same. At least the Academy was built isolated for miles in Massachusetts. But this…
…It's right at the very heart of the US, big ol' New York."
Tempo then waved his hand as he smiled at the cameras being pointed at him. And very soon, more and more people gathered in front of the tower, instigating the guards to scatter outside in order to stop the people from bombarding the supers that wanted to register.
How could they not gather, when 2 members of the Hope Guild were currently standing in front of the tower? And since Tempo and the others didn't even announce that they would be visiting the Association, this was already a very minute number.
Soon, however, the contents of the whispers of the crowd all turned to the white-haired boy that was with V and Tempo. First, their voices held some sort of curiosity in them; followed by confusion as they all turned to look at each other and to their phones, seemingly trying to search who it was. But finally, after a few more seconds, gasps started to thunder in the air.
"That's… That's Riley Ross!"
"Riley who?"
"Whiteking's son and Ms. Phoenix's son!"
"...Whiteking and Ms. Phoenix have a child?"
"No, it's…"
Different sorts of stories littered the air, but their breaths all had one thing in common– were they finally going to see someone from the Academy take the tests of the Association?
The Hero Association was opened right on the very same day as the graduation of the students of the Mega Academy– the masses were all excited to see them take the tests, but alas, contrary to their expectations, the students were all exempted from taking the tests; after all, they were already graded by the Academy.
But Riley Ross did not graduate from the Academy, he was stripped of his status as a student when he went on a rampage because the government was holding his family hostage– their hype would have probably been just minimal if it was just that, but Riley Ross is Riley Ross.
Whiteking's adoptive son.
Ms. Phoenix's biological son.
Responsible for rescuing the shores of Hawaii with the superhero team, Baby Crew.
Responsible for minimizing the casualties in Los Angeles when the monsters appeared.
And rumored to be responsible for also stopping the entirety of England from being destroyed by killing the evil oligarch, Alistair Reuben.
A telekinetic that has enough power that he was framed as the living calamity, Darkday.
The last they heard of him, he should still be in prison. So what exactly was he doing here right now– and with members of the Hope Guild at that?
The murmurs and whispers that persisted in the air grew even more prevalent, almost creating an orchestra that could be heard from the skies of New York.
"We should probably head inside," Tempo then said as the whispers started to bombard his ears. But before he could even take a single step, however, a loud robust voice overpowered the whispers of a hundred people.
An old man stepped outside the tower; his white hair, showing his age. His face was already slightly wrinkled, but nonetheless, it was clean without any hint of facial hair besides his white eyebrows.
His walk was dignified; partner this with the tuxedo he was wearing, his presence could not be dismissed even with giants beside him.
"Tempo and V," the old man then let out a friendly smile as he approached Tempo, "It is an honor to be visited by the Hero Association's Grade-s Superheroes."
"..." Although the man's tone was friendly, V did not appreciate the words that entered her ears. What did he mean by 'the Hero Association's heroes'? He could have just mentioned that they were members of the Hope Guild; but instead, his voice and words were even emphasized as soon as he mentioned the association.
V was about to say something, but Tempo quickly blocked her path.
"Empress called me beforehand," the old man's smile did not disappear,
"She said that a new member of the Hope Guild is taking the test?" The old man then said as his eyes turned towards Riley,
"Could it be the infamous Riley Ross? I knew the Hope Guild would get their hands on you sooner or later– after all, it runs in the family."
The old man then let out a burst of small laughter. As for Riley, he was just looking at the man from head to toe; seemingly confused as to who exactly this simpleton was in front of him.
"Ah, where are my manners," the old man then noticed Riley's stares; his hand, immediately reaching towards Riley as he introduced himself,
"The name's Joe Hyden. President of the Hero Association."
"Riley Ross, former student of USMA, former prisoner of Russia Super Max Prison, and Hannah Ross's younger brother," Riley said as he only looked at Joe's hand.
"Ah yes, you don't like to be touched," Joe Hyden immediately retracted his hand as he let out another chuckle, "Now let's go inside and away from the prying eyes."
"..." He could have done that from the start, V thought. This Joe guy wanted the masses to overhear their talk. All sorts of ideas were running inside V's head as she finally followed Riley and Tempo inside the tower.
V didn't really need to take the test as she was granted an honorary rank of Grade-S along with the other members of the Hope Guild. As for Tempo, well… he was here to make sure no one does anything they would regret.
He didn't want a repeat of what happened with London– people were still finding someone to blame. Most were pointing their fingers at Alistair, but he was already dead. And so, some of them truly did blame V and the Hope Guild.
And also, Tempo was curious as to what kind of tests there actually were.
And finally, as they entered the tower, the whispers that bombarded his ears were gone. The number of stares, however, almost did not die down as everyone inside all turned to look at them.
How could they now, when 2 members of the No. 1 Superhero team in the world were suddenly within their sight?
Most of them were aspiring superheroes and idolizing the Hope Guild was basically almost a requirement.
There were those, however, that was only curious as to what the commotion was about– supers who just wanted the benefits of the registration as well as a new valid ID.
Tempo was about to look around the place, but before he could do so, Joe suddenly placed his hand on his shoulder as several… cameramen appeared in front of them.
"Let's take a photo to commemorate this moment," Joe said; his smile, not even disappering for even a second.
As for V, her eyes were already starting to switch– her annoyance and irritation, almost reaching their peak. But still, she smiled and awkwardly looked at the camera.
And perhaps amongst them, the readiest was Riley, whose hair and clothes were perfectly organized; even his eyes were already looking directly at the lens.
Several flashes of light then bombarded the group; lasting for approximately a quarter of a minute. And as soon as it was over, Joe immediately took his hand off of Tempo's shoulders and started walking away.
"I'll take my leave, then," Joe then said with a smile as he nodded towards Riley and the others, "I still have some prior meetings to attend to. I will let my secretary personally assist you while you are here…
…I really am looking forward to another Grade-S Superhero to be given birth by the Association."
And with those words, Joe left– taking with him most of the cameramen and some other associates. Leaving a woman wearing a pair of glasses; the way she carried herself, almost an archetype of what female secretaries are.
" Good afternoon," the secretary then bowed her head; the tone of her voice, almost as stoic and monotonous as Tomoe's, "My name is Jane Smith. I will–"
"Pft, yeah right."
"..."
Tempo quickly covered his mouth as his mouth blurted out his thoughts. Jane, however, only looked at him for a few moments, before turning her head towards Riley.
"Are you…
…the one taking the test?"
Chapter 250"Are you the one taking the test?"
"I suppose."
Secretary Jane Smith looked at Riley from head to toe; the reflection of the sun on her glasses, momentarily flickering as she adjusted them. She then turned her attention towards V and Tempo, before letting out a small but obvious sigh.
"We don't usually allow chaperones, but since Mr. Riley Ross is a special case, we will allow it," Secretary Jane then said as she gestured to the three to follow her, "Since I am here, you do not need to worry about any of the paperwork and registration, you only need to take the test."
"Sweet," V was the one to reply for Riley. Her eyes, however, soon turned towards the man that was quietly walking beside secretary Jane… who had a camera hanging on his neck.
"Please don't mind him," secretary Jane only waved her hand, "Riley Ross's test will be documented by the Association. He is, after all, a very high profile super and the newest member of the Hope Guild."
"What? Don't you think a little privacy is–"
"It is okay, Victoria," Riley, on the other hand, raised his hand as he interrupted V's words, "I will allow it."
"That's great," secretary Jane smiled; the tone of her voice, however, remained monotonous still, "Then please, follow me."
And with secretary Jane leading them, Riley and the others plus the cameraman all entered the elevator– taking them all the way to the 35th floor; and since the elevators had a view of the outside, it truly was quite a scenic ride. One could almost see some parts of New York, and they were not even halfway to the top of the building.
"...Isn't it dangerous to hold the tests inside the building?" Tempo then said as the elevator door opened.
"You do not have to worry, Tempo," secretary Jane breathed out; the tone of her voice, finally breaking its monotony; one could even hear a sort of pride in it as she stepped out of the elevator,
"The building is not made with such fragile materials," secretary Jane then stretched her arms to the side as she welcomed the group to the 35th floor, "Even the hardest strike of the Hope Guild's leader would only leave a dent on these walls."
The inside of the 35th floor… was just a vast hall– without any windows or even a speck of light from the outside seeping from any of its walls.
"This is where the test of the Telekinetic supers are being held," secretary Jane then said as he gestured to the people that were already inside the huge hall, probably numbering close to or at 50. They were also wearing some sort of number tag, visibly attached to their clothes.
"...What?" Tempo blinked a couple of times as he heard secretary Jane's words,
"Only for the mindblowers? I thought this was all the aspiring heroes?"
"The Elementals, Body enhancements types, and other Supers each have their own floors," a very minute and subtle smile could be seen crawling on secretary Jane's face.
"...How many? There are that many supers already?"
"Ever since the Tower officially opened a month ago, there have been more than 200 people registering everyday– and that number is increasing daily," the tone of secretary Jane's voice once again gave a hint of proudness.
"Jesus…" Tempo could not help but let out a small gasp as he looked at the telekinetics that were also staring at them, "Just how many supers do we actually have in the world right now?"
"There is currently a total of 9,230 supers registered with the Association now."
"Oh… that's quite small."
"That's just a month," secretary Jane shook her head, "We are expecting an exponential increase soon– and we still have not added the 5,000 students of the first batch of Mega Academy. And that's not the number of supers, but only those who wished to become a Hero or just want the benefits that come along with it."
"...But I thought it was mandatory to register?"
"Only if you want to officially be a superhero," secretary Jane shook her head, "As you would expect, there are still many who don't want to be known– and you can't force supers to register. There are an estimated 500 million supers in the world right now, according to WHO."
"Jesus…"
"The goal of the Hero Association is just to decrease the number of potential villains…
…and let those who want to become a hero reach out to their inner light," secretary Jane breathed out as her eyes also lit up… literally.
"Oh, you're a super?"
"I can produce lights," secretary Jane shook her head, "That could barely even be called a superpower."
"Pft, better than your president who has no powers."
"..." Secretary Jane only looked at V as she heard her words. She seemed a little annoyed, but in the end, she just once again shook her head,
"Enough about me," she then said as she looked at Riley, "Here's your number tag, please wait with the others. The test will be starting soon…
…Oh, and the President was hoping you would at least get a grade of A, so please do your best."
"I have a question, Secretary Jane Smith," Riley raised his hand, "What will be the benefits if I receive the highest grade?"
"Some leeway with the law," secretary Jane quickly answered, "It will be explained to you once the tests are over."
"Do I get an unlimited Webflix subscription?"
"...We can arrange that if you become a Grade-S Super."
"What would it take to become Grade-S?" Riley blinked.
"Just look at the two people beside you, Mr. Riley Ross," secretary Jane said as she pointed at both V and Tempo.
"...That's it?" Riley once again blinked; his voice, containing a sliver of disbelief as he looked at V and Tempo, "Do I have the Grade of S now?"
"...No, I meant you need to at least have their strength," secretary Jane quickly caught on with what Riley was saying– as expected of a professional, Tempo thought.
"...That's it?"
"..." This time, it was secretary Jane's time to blink. After a few seconds, however, she called Tempo and V to join her on the observation deck.
"R… right. Good luck, boy," Tempo said as he raised both his thumbs, "Don't bully the others too mu– !!!"
And before he could finish his words, Tempo's eyes widened in shock as V suddenly kissed Riley on the cheeks.
"Do your best!"
Tempo was expecting an exaggerated reaction, but the only thing that Riley did was nod his head, leaving Tempo's mouth completely agape in disbelief as he followed secretary Jane. If there ever was a moment when he felt slow, then this was probably it.
Just what exactly happened– and then, almost like a lightbulb, Tempo finally realized something.
The two were together for more than 4 months.
He didn't really think much of it since V had always sort of been the baby of the team… and Riley is Riley. But then he realized that the two were both adolescent human beings– and there was also that rumor that he and Scarlet Mage have some sort of sexual relationship.
Wait… did the two…
And so, with those thoughts circling in Tempo's mind, the three plus the cameraman all rode another elevator that was built on the 35th floor. There didn't seem to be any windows inside the test hall, but as they arrived at the observation deck, they could clearly see the entirety of the hall– perhaps some sort of… two-way mirror?
They could see Riley walking towards the crowd… and the crowd opening up like a school of fish when you drop a pebble.
"... " Riley was just looking around, not really knowing where he should wait since the crowd all dispersed. But seeing as they were all previously standing where he was now, then he just decided to wait there, not even noticing the stares that the other registrants were giving him.
He stood there alone for a couple of minutes, not even moving a single step in silence. This peace, however, was broken as one of the people from the crowd started to approach him.
"You… you're that Riley Ross, aren't you?"
It was a male registrant, probably of the same age as Riley.
"Maybe," Riley answered as he looked at the man; curious as to why he was wearing a hat indoors, "There are currently many people in the US with the same name, mostly women."
"...No, I'm sure you're the Riley Ross," the man squinted his eyes as he looked Riley directly in the eyes, "You're the only one that looks like… this."
"Then I suppose so," Riley shrugged his shoulders as he looked to the side, "Sadly, I can not say that I know you, stranger."
"..." And with those honest words coming out of Riley's mouth, the man could not help but slightly frown,
"I was only trying to strike a conversation," the man's tone then changed as he was seemingly offended by Riley's words, "But I see you think too highly of yourself."
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times– obviously confused with how the man came up with that assessment.
"Now I know why you're so famous," the man scoffed, "The media is hyping you up because you're a future member of the Hope Guild all along…
…and I bet all the news about you are all exaggerated. There's no way you could actually do all the things they've been reporting."
"..." And once again, Riley blinked a couple of times. This kind of random and seemingly forced encounter…
…it almost felt like he was inside Italian Mafia Reborn?"
Chapter 251The Mega Academy.
The Hero Association.
The Age of Heroes has been going strong for decades now, giving the people hope that they were safe from those who wish to do them harm. But perhaps it was only truly now that it was being fully embraced by the world– or perhaps one could even say that the Age of Heroes was truly just beginning.
The Mega Academy could be argued to be extremely faulty, broken even. It was the first-ever batch of supers actually being taught their powers– gathering them all in one place so that the fire of competition would blaze inside them, allowing them to strive to be more than their peers and predecessors.
The first-ever batch of students experienced tragedies, resulting in deaths that amounted to more than ten thousand students. It was a tragedy that would soon not be forgotten by the entire world– it just so happened that more tragic things drowned them lately.
The Mega Academy was a tragedy, yes. But for the students that lived in that reality, it made the 1 year they spent even more meaningful; more intimate.
The Mega Academy is flawed, yes. But it also produced thousands of heroes. Putting heroes in thousands of cities that might be out of reach in normal circumstances.
The Mega Academy was, in a way, successful with its mission.
And now, there was the Hero Association.
Whether or not the government actually learned from its mistakes with the Academy, the masses could only doubt. Because why would they even build the Hero Association Tower right in the middle of the busiest city in the US?
Almost every New Yorker voiced out their dismay, displeasure, and complaints to the government; even going as far as signing petitions and going to rallies– practicing their given right of democracy.
But alas, as always the case with democracy– those that were sitting at the top could only hear themselves. Their so-called democracy, only effective during the times of election.
The rallies still continued. But now that the Hero Association Tower was officially opened, it was treated almost like a tourist attraction for those that do not live in New York. Non-participants and those who do not work in the Tower are not allowed to observe or watch the tests, however. But still, the crowds gather in front of the building. After all, it was not every day that you would be able to see a barrage of supers walking in and out of a public establishment. There was also the fact that those gathered in front would also be the first to hear the news if ever someone does well in the tests.
And so, almost every hour, a crowd was gathered in front of the Tower. Waiting, hoping that they would be able to see the birth of at least another Grade-A Superhero. And since it was now hours past noon…
…the tests should be starting soon or are already ongoing.
"I bet all the news about you are exaggerated."
The telekinetics have yet to start their test, but it would seem there was something happening on their floor; the whispers of the registrants, filling the entire hall.
As for Riley, he was currently facing the man that suddenly approached him out of nowhere; moving too close to him as he seemed to be trying to provoke him for some unknown reason.
Interesting, Riley thought. These kinds of encounters usually only happen in Italian Mafia Reborn– with random people provoking and pissing the main protagonist for no reason at all. It felt normal in the anime, but now that Riley was experiencing it himself… it was weird.
"I bet every news about you is exaggerated. There's no way you could–"
"Oi! Why are you trying to start something?"
The man seemed to have a lot more to say, but before he could finish his words and move even closer to Riley, a slightly tan-skinned woman moved between them; her dark eyes, looking at the man that was provoking Riley from head to toe.
"All of us are just here to take the test," the woman then scoffed, "Can you stop comparing your dicks to people that aren't even interested in your itsy minnie little willy?"
The man then immediately raised both his hands in defeat; not even rebuking the woman as he walked away. But before he could get far and disappear into the crowd, however, he once again turned his eyes towards Riley.
"I'll just let the results of the test speak for itself," the man said before he finally went back to where he was previously standing.
"...The fuck?" The tan-skinned woman could not help but raise an eyebrow as she watched the man leave, "Is that guy for real? Cringe. Anyway, best of luck to you, Riley Ross."
And with those words, the woman just left– only glancing at Riley once before she too, returned to her spot.
"..." Riley could only wonder what exactly just happened. But after a millisecond of trying to ponder, he just shrugged his shoulders and just once again stared at nothing; waiting for the test to start.
Fortunately, he didn't even need to wait long as a hologram of a person suddenly appeared in the very center of the 35th floor.
"..." Riley could not help but think the hologram was similar to the one Whiteking used when they were in the shelter in Toronto. But since the Hero Association Tower and the shelters were owned by the government, it made practical sense for them to be similar.
[Greetings, future superheroes.]
The man in the hologram then started to speak, causing all the registrants to shut their mouths and listen, 'less they want to get the lowest grade.
[We started a little late today, but it is good that our test is as simple as pushing a button,] the man in the hologram chuckled as he seemed to have pressed something beside him. And as soon as he did so, numerous holes started opening from the floor.
And from each of the holes, emerged cubes– stone, metal; all sorts of materials in the shape of a cube. The size, roughly the same as a trash bin. The cubes were scattered neatly everywhere in the huge testing hall– numbering almost double the 50 registrants.
[We prepared several cubes for all of you,] the man in the hologram then clapped his hands, [Just choose and pick whatever you're more accustomed to moving. You are allowed to do whatever you want with them– lift them in the air, crush them; it doesn't matter. We will be giving you 30 minutes and we will be watching each of your moves carefully…
…fly high, supers.]-- and with those parting words, the hologram just disappeared.
"..."
"..."
"That's it?"
"I heard the Body Enhancement types had to fight each other."
"...What? No. My cousin took the test a week ago, she said they just had to carry something."
And very soon, whispers breezed through the air; all talking about how their information on the tests differed from one another. And very soon, most of them reached a conclusion–
–-Could it be that the test was whatever their interpretation of it was? The man in the hologram did say they could do anything they want to.
"..." Most of the registrants turned to look at each other, seemingly trying to gauge whatever it is their peers would be doing. Some, however, were already approaching the cubes; and without any hesitation, started moving them and letting them float in the air as high as they possibly could with their telekinetic powers.
A lot of the cubes were trembling, with a few already dropping to the ground. But even though the cubes were obviously filled with weight, they did not leave any sound nor a tremble in the ground– not even so much as a speck of dent.
It would seem that secretary Jane was not lying when she said that the Tower was made with some sort of special material, Riley thought as his eyes looked at the cubes raining down the testing hall.
But still, none of the registrants gave up– seemingly persevering to get that good grade. But amongst all the weaklings, there were a few that caught Riley's attention, perhaps less than a dozen of them.
One of them was the woman that got between Riley and the random stranger. Like the others, she too was letting her cube float– the only difference was that hers was now in the shape of an hourglass.
The others started imitating what she was doing; reshaping the cube. But alas, try as most of them may, their control was not as smooth and fluid.
The other one that caught Riley's eye was the man that was trying to provoke him earlier. Why, you might ask?
Because he was currently sitting on a cube, flying in the air, and… seemingly approaching Riley's position at a speed that was definitely not in-door friendly.
"Why don't you try moving us away if you're that strong!?" The man then screamed, enough to garner the attention of all the registrants,
"Do something! I dare you, fake shit!"
"Okay." And without even pausing or hesitation, Riley pointed his palm toward the man and the cube that was flying toward him.
"!!!"
And almost like a droplet of water dropping to the ground, the cube that the man was riding on suddenly splattered open. The man seemed to try stopping the cube from shattering; but alas, before he could do so… the splatter suddenly wrapped around him.
The seemingly liquified cube, completely swallowing him whole before returning to its original solid shape…
…with the man still inside.
Chapter 252The crowd could only watch as a certain cube dropped to the ground. And almost as if it started some sort of revolution, the cubes they had floating in the air also touched the ground– leaving no cube left flying.
How could they not be shocked, when they just saw one of their fellow participants being encased in the cube that was supposedly for the test. Of course, they all knew what happened– the man tried to provoke Riley earlier.
And now, he even tried to attack him during the test by feigning that it was competition. The man probably had a few loose screws in his head or something– might even lack a few chromosomes as well.
Whether or not the man was truly just retarded or just wanted to start something, they didn't know. What they did know, was who Riley Ross is.
Of course, they would know about Riley; how could they not when the news has shown him several times already? In truth, some of them were also skeptical about whether or not Riley was truly capable of the things they show.
Even though the man was retarded, what he made somewhat had some sort of sense in them– they also think that Riley's feats may have been exaggerated due to the fact that he was apparently a future member of the Hope Guild.
But they clearly saw everything that happened just now, Riley was able to easily manipulate the cube that half of them were having a hard time just lifting in the air. And as if it wasn't enough, he made it look as if the cube was liquid, drowning the man insi– !!!
And as soon as their unified thoughts finally realized something, they all turned their attention toward the stone cube. There… there's a man inside of that! Is this even allowed!?
And it was not only them that was thinking about the fact; even Tempo, who was watching from the observation deck, could not help but worry about the man.
"Shouldn't we stop and help the man first?" Tempo said as he looked at secretary Jane.
"It's fine," secretary Jane, however, just shook her head; the tone of her voice, once again returning to its stoic timber. She then pointed towards a wall, filled with multiple monitors that were almost identical to the control room of the simulation hall back in Mega Academy.
"We are monitoring their heartrate," secretary Jane followed up, "And besides No. 24 feeling distressed, he is fine inside the cube. If he can't free himself, then that would just mean his strength is not on par with the stronger registrants– this would make grading him easier."
"...I see," Tempo could only sigh as she heard secretary Jane's words. He still wanted to help No. 24, but he didn't want to unnecessarily impede on government grounds.
"But isn't this test too simple?" And so, the only thing he could do was nitpick, "I thought the tests… test would be more intricate. How would it even be possible to judge someone just by this?"
"I agree," V, who had been keeping quiet, nodded her head before once again returning to watch Riley, "This test sucks balls. They should be fighting supers dressed up and pretending to be villains or something."
"...That too," Tempo chuckled quietly, "But I was talking more about their capacity to save and rescue people. In comparison, this test is just…"
Tempo then looked at the other people in the observation deck; and judging by the fancy suits they were wearing, they were either government officials or businessmen– one and the same, really.
"There should at least be a psych eval or something," Tempo continued to voice out, "Getting a driver's license is a lot harder than this, and I don't even drive. At this point, these people would just end up hurting themselves trying to act as heroes… or worse, hurt someone else."
And with Tempo's long rant, secretary Jane only looked at him; shaking her head as she let out a small but deep sigh, "We need them because of the emergence of the monsters."
"You think these people would be able to handle them? There should at least be some form of training before–"
"That's what the Mega Academy is for," secretary Jane quickly refuted, "If they think they are inadequate, then they could just enroll and train there."
"..." And as Tempo heard those words, he could only shut his mouth in dismay. Tempo had spent years saving people behind the scenes. It wasn't even until his photos started appearing that he decided to finally reveal himself as a superhero.
But now… all it took was this test and a license to become a superhero? What sort of bullshitry is this? Tempo thought before his eyes caught the photographer that was tagging along with them.
The photographer seemed to not be stopping in snapping photos, his lens, solely focused on whatever Riley was doing.
"...You said there would be an influx of registrants soon– is it because of Riley Ross?" Tempo then smirked as he once again spoke to secretary Jane, "Since he's a member of the Hope Guild now… did you think that more registrants would join because they think they would have a chance to be recruited by the Hope Guild?"
"..." Silence was the only answer Tempo received from secretary Jane, but that was enough to confirm his suspicions.
"Sadly for you," the smirk on Tempo's face grew even wider, "That would have the opposite effect."
"You think something like this would deter future registrants?" Secretary Jane scoffed as she looked at the cube.
"And you think Riley Ross will stop there?" Tempo chuckled, "You have no idea how monstrous that kid is. The dude…
…could literally be the resurrection of the phoenix."
The other participants were still staring at Riley. But after a few seconds, they all snapped out of their trance all at the same time; returning their attention to their own cubes.
Although they still had a lot of minutes remaining, they needed to show off as much as possible. And so, once again, the cubes all started floating in the air.
As for No. 24, he was freed by the tan-skinned woman earlier– No. 11. She seemed to be trying to imitate what Riley did earlier, making the cube made of stone look like water.
…And she was successful in doing so, one might even say that she made it flow even more like water than Riley.
As for No. 24, he seemed to have already fainted as he dropped to the floor. No. 11 then started dancing with her hands, letting the liquified cube to gracefully rotate around her; almost like a dragon domineeringly flying around a mountain.
"Oh, that one is good."
The men that were wearing suits in the observation deck started letting out hums of admiration; nodding their heads in unison as they watched No. 11 dance.
"Her control is something that could only be seen in Grade-B and above. But too bad… she seems to be struggling already."
They all then sighed as they saw No. 11 already sweating; her face, clearly trying hard to remain calm.
"Well, if you don't like her… then let my company take her," a man wearing a bright brown suit then let out a small chuckle.
"What are you talking about? I thought your company only dealt with selling coffee?"
"Well…" the man wearing a brown suit smiled, "Starbeans is venturing in the superhero business. My bosses seemed to have taken a liking to superheroes when we did a partnership with Mega Academy."
Tempo, who overheard the men's words, could not help but furrow his eyebrows as the group of men once again caught his attention. They have been writing something on papers and laptops since earlier so he thought that they were the ones grading the participants.
But their conversation just now, could it be that wasn't the case?
Superhero business? What did they mean by that? Could it be that these guys are from superhero agencies? There have been a growing number of them ever since Megawoman was defeated by Darkday, but to think he would be meeting a group of them here.
"Wait…" Tempo then breathed out as he placed his hand on secretary Jane's shoulder,
"...Don't tell me the government is selling out supers?"
Chapter 253Chapter 253: Like Mother, Like Son
"Is the government selling out supers?"
And almost as if a storm suddenly stopped, everything in the observation deck went quiet. Even the men from the so-called superhero agencies stopped their bickering and discussion as they all turned their heads toward Tempo.
Even V, who was busy watching Riley, could not help but look at Tempo as she heard her words. They could almost hear a clock ticking and their hearts beating from the painful silence; all of them, waiting for secretary Jane to answer Tempo's question.
But thankfully, secretary Jane did not let the deadly silence last as she let out a short but very deep sigh.
"What made you think that?" Secretary Jane answered, "The supers are not owned by us, we are merely giving them a way to make their talents and activities legal. Supers are the future of the world– it is estimated that in a hundred years, there would be more supers than ordinary humans, we are just trying to ease our way into it."
"And letting these agencies pick them like their cherries is your idea of easing our way into it?" Tempo shook his head, "To my knowledge, Megawoman didn't like this kind of exploitation."
"We're not celebrities, Jane," V joined in on the conversation with a scoff, "We're just people gifted and cursed with the power to save other people. If Megawoman is still here, then she wouldn't allow for something like this to even happen."
"Because Megawoman is an alien," secretary Jane's monotonous voice once again shifted along with her eyebrows, "She lives in a fantasy where the world is one happy place– it's not. And why would you let someone who wasn't even born on Earth decide what is best for it?"
"Megawoman is the best of us," V followed; it would seem the days of Riley indoctrinating her of Megawoman's prowess were starting to take effect.
"Megawoman is not even one of us," secretary Jane replied.
"You seem to have a lot of opinion despite just being a secretary," V raised an eyebrow as the limiter on her back started to light up, "One might think you're the one actually running this place."
"..." Tempo could not help but look back and forth between the two; wiping the sweat on his chin as she watched the two exchange some… unpleasant words.
Wasn't he the one debating with secretary Jane? So why were the two now getting in a heated discussion instead? Tempo wanted to butt in but did not see the chance to do so anymore as the two seemed to have no intention of surrendering.
And so, the only thing he could do was watch the test– whatever the world government was truly planning, Tempo had no power to stop it anyway.
The test below seemed to be reaching its climax, with most of the telekinetic supers already tired. Even the tan-skinned woman, No. 11, was already sitting on the ground and resting. As for Riley… he was still just standing where he had been standing since the start.
Could it be… that was really it? Was Riley just waiting for the test to end? But if that was his only display, then by the way the guys from the superhero agencies were talking, it wouldn't even be enough to get into Grade-B.
He knew the tests were shit– but still, Riley deserved to at least be Grade-A with everything he has shown so far. And if he truly has the same raw power as Alice, then it was an easy Grade-S.
So why… exactly was he not doing anything? Tempo then turned to look at the screens monitoring the health of the participants… only to see all the screens dark.
Tempo once again wiped the sweat trailing down his chin as he– Wait. Tempo then quickly turned his attention towards the ventilation on the ceiling. He didn't notice it since he thought he was just frustrated with the government… but wasn't it getting too hot?
The air conditioning system was also no longer working as he could no longer hear even a whisper flowing from the vents.
"Tang ina."
And with Tempo suddenly speaking in a language they couldn't understand, both secretary Jane and V, who seemed to have no plan on closing their mouths, could not help but turn their heads towards him.
"...Tempo?" V breathed out. She somewhat recognizes Tempo's words, as he uses them a lot whenever something shocking happens or whenever he's pissed about something. And seeing as how his mouth was slightly agape, then it was probably the former.
"Check your phone."
"...Why?"
"Just check the news!"
And with Tempo's slightly hurried words, V quickly grabbed her phone– a tailor-made phone that has voltage protection strong enough to hold off extreme amounts of electricity. She then quickly unlocked it and went to find some news, only to see a lot of people on her news feed streaming live.
"Oh fuck, I knew it."
And as soon as V tapped on one of the live streams, Tempo quickly let out a forced chuckle as he quickly walked around in place. The men from superhero agencies, as well as secretary Jane, quickly also grabbed their phones and laptops to check what had Tempo up in fits…
…only for their eyes to turn wide and their hands instinctively and quickly latch on to the nearest thing they could.
After all, how could they not… when the hall they were currently in was now actually floating in the air? The news was currently showing a huge metal box floating beside the Hero Association Tower– and since a huge chunk of the 35th floor was missing, that metal box could none other be than the testing hall.
But truly, for the tower to not even bend or break with half of one of its floors gone–a testament to the strength of the materials used to build it as well as the engineers who made it possible.
"Like mother, like son," Tempo then once again forced a chuckle as he sat on the floor.
"...What do you mean?" Secretary Jane's eyes started to furrow.
"Ms. Phoenix used to do stuff like this," Tempo let out a long and very deep sigh.
"Wait, are you saying Riley Ross is doing this!?" Not only secretary Jane, but all of the people in the observation deck turned their eyes towards Riley… only to see him just standing there; where he had been standing since the start.
"I thought you guys did your research on Riley?" V also sat on the floor; a smile, crawling mischievously on her face, "Apparently and clearly not enough for you to be this shock about it."
Secretary Jane then checked on her other phone to call for someone, only to see dozens of missed calls on her screen. She was about to unlock her phone, but before she could do so, another call came up.
Secretary Jane answered the call almost instantly, not even letting the person on the other line speak as she quickly asked for them to do something about the situation.
"Send a helicopter for–"
And before she could even finish her words, a small rumbling thundered through her ears. Light also started to bombard the observation deck, causing everyone but her and V to slightly close their eyes.
[Miss, are you alright!? Miss–]
Secretary Jane then dropped her phone as her eyes…
…looked at the view of the sky as well as the city beneath it.
Chapter 254Chapter 254: The Symbol
"Holy shit."
"What in my demonic ancestor's titties is that!?"
Murmurs, whispers, and screams all scattered around parts of New York, almost assembling to make an orchestra that only sang chaos. Everyone that was near or had a view of the Hero Association Tower had their mouths agape, most of them had their phones up, pointing at the big metal box that was floating in the air.
At first, those who were near the Tower all panicked as they saw a huge part of the building separating and breaking away from it; they thought that their worries were finally materializing– a villain has finally targeted the Hero Association Tower.
And they, who just happened to be near the Tower, were the ones to pay the price. But seeing as not even a single speck of dust dropped from the building and nothing ever happened even after a minute except for the giant metal box separating, their worries disappeared– replaced by enough curiosity that it made them excited.
And so, they all just thought that it was some sort of gimmick of the Hero Association; or that the Hero Association was actually some sort of aircraft or a defense system right in New York. If it was… wouldn't that mean they were now the safest city on the planet?
The people all had their different theories and thoughts as to what was happening, and since they were all streaming what was happening live, the entire world was slowly joining them. But even with almost millions of opinions, only a few really mattered and only a few truly know what was happening.
Those that were inside the so-called metal box.
"W… what the!?"
The participants that were already too tired to even move as they used up all of their stamina trying to lift up the cute metal cubes, all stood up in shock– using whatever remained of their strength to immediately cling to the nearest wall or stick themselves onto the floor.
How could they not, when the sky was suddenly in front of them?
They all know that the building and the testing hall were made in some sort of top-secret material from the government. They also knew how strong it supposedly was. And so, for them to see one of the walls ripping open, the only thing most of them could really do was pray for their lives.
There was, perhaps, only one person that was calm throughout the entire people of New York– Riley Ross. As was the case since the start, he was still standing on his spot even as the gigantic wall in front of him disappeared.
And it wasn't only his face that was calm– his clothes, his hair, unmoving even as an onslaught of gale entered the hall. There were already a series of claps as the clothes of the other registrants snapped with the wind, almost being blown away by its violent gusts.
Some of them seemed to be screaming, but their screams were being drowned by the gale. Soon, however, their hall seemed to be starting to descend. Their relief was not allowed to materialize, however, as the hall stopped as it descended to the same level as the Hero Association's rooftop.
And finally, Riley's feet started to move; his steps, taking him towards the ledge. The others could only shiver as they saw him; imagining what it would be like if he were to fall from this frightening height.
"!!!"
And their fears did gasp as they saw Riley stepping out of the ledge– contrary to their fears, however, Riley just continued to walk; his steps unhindered as the air itself welcomed his feet.
"This Hero Association Tower."
And through all the thundering noise the wind created, Riley's voice still traveled for some reason– letting everyone in the testing hall and observation deck hear his words.
"How can this building claim that name when it does not even have the very thing it represents as its symbol?" Riley then said as he faced the others; his eyes, gazing at the registrants one by one and even traveling towards the people that should be hidden in the observation deck.
"Do you not agree, fellow registrant?" Riley then focused his eyes on the only remaining registrant that seemed to still have her wits around her, No. 11. She was currently carrying No. 24, who was still unconscious despite the thundering noise bombarding the hall, by the neck.
"W… what?" However, was the only word she could mutter. She was a bit perplexed, however, as she was suddenly able to hear herself normally.
"Do you not agree that the Hero Association Tower should not be called its name because it does not have the very symbol it stands for?" Riley repeated his question; this, however, made No. 11 even more confused.
But perhaps it was because of her mild stupor, she answered Riley.
"S… symbol?" She stuttered, "What… what symbol?"
"Who, No. 11."
And with those words, Riley floated away from the hall and into the air; hovering above the rooftop of the Hero Association Tower. He then pointed his palm downward, causing the rooftop to compress, as if ironing it and causing all the ventilation and other machinery on it to flatten.
He then stretched his arms to the side, instantly splitting the already ruined testing hall in half.
"!!!"
The others desperately used their abilities to try and stay afloat as the floor they stood on was ripped apart; but soon, they found that they did not need to do so as they were floating on their own.
The only thing they could really do was watch as the floor beneath them slowly slid away; their eyes, almost shooting out from their sockets as the height caused their entire bodies to almost vibrate.
"..." Tempo and V, who belonged to the people that were now floating in the air, could only look at each other and sigh.
"Why… why aren't you doing anything!?" One of the men from the superhero agencies screamed, violently pointing his fingers at Tempo as the saliva showering from his mouth also remained floating.
"Do what, exactly?" Tempo sighed, "Their test is still ongoing, I would hate to impede on government activities."
"You–"
And before anyone else could complain, a loud– No. A deafening screech thundered in the air as what was once the testing hall started to almost liquefy as it started to veil the rooftop of the Hero Association Tower.
Everyone besides V covered their ears; even those that were on the ground did so as the scratching in the air whispered through their bones. The metal hall now looked like jelly– or perhaps clay as it started squirming on top of the tower.
And soon, this clay rearranged itself; causing the whistle coming from it to almost deafen those who were unfortunate enough to be near it. Some, even starting to cry from the uncomfortable sound.
"M… make it stop!" One of the registrants screamed… her words, however, were drowned by the clanging and screeching that persisted in the air.
And very soon, a silhouette could be seen forming from this giant metallic clay– a human. Or perhaps it was better to say…
…that it turned into the shape of an alien.
Chapter 255"What…"
What– perhaps was the most used word on the entire planet at the moment. A percent of the world watched as the Hero Association Tower; a striking figure of architecture was suddenly altered almost in an instant.
The Tower was already considered a tourist attraction for some as its design, albeit simple, was enough to leave one's eyes to wonder and wander. But now, it changed into something that could truly be considered a tourist attraction– for in its peak, now stood the statue of the world's mightiest and greatest superhero.
Megawoman.
It took less than a minute. It took less than a minute to reshape and mold a material that is said to be even harder than diamond. And what's more, the form it now held was a statue– a finely detailed one at that.
Tempo, V, secretary Jane, the registrants, and the other people that were floating in the air could not help but hold their breaths; their instincts, no longer minding their distance from the ground as they all stared bewildered at Megawoman's statue.
How could they not? As the nearest ones from the statue right now, they all could see how detailed– No, perhaps the word 'detailed' was not even enough to give it justice. They could even see individual pores on Megawoman's face; the statue's hair, almost individual strands.
Just how good could one's control be with their telekinetic powers to mold something like this? They no longer know what was more impressive; the fact that Riley could freely destroy and rebuild the supposed hardest substance in the world right now, or that he could recreate Megawoman's figure exactly as how they all remembered it.
It was not just a simple resemblance– it was a replica.
And now that several helicopters appeared to surround the Hero Association Tower, even the people from below could finally see the full situation; the news, being broadcast right on giant screens of Times Square.
And soon, the cameras panned towards the people that were floating in the air; focusing on V and Tempo who seemed as shocked as everyone else. And then, finally, the cameras showed who was responsible for this impossible stunt.
Right when the world was starting to forget– Riley Ross once again graced the big screen.
And almost as if on cue, Riley turned towards the camera with a smile enough to fill the entire screen.
"!!!"
And as soon as he did so, the entirety of New York howled and cheered almost at the same time. Most were clapping their hands, and those who hated the government for the things they were doing could not help but almost cry tears of joy.
They didn't realize it before, but it was almost as if the government truly wanted the people to forget who truly made the Age of Heroes possible. The momentary peace they had now, it was thanks to Megawoman and to the heroes who risked their lives in the past.
And Riley Ross just reminded the world of that– most of them knew who he was due to all the incidents surrounding him, the last and latest was destroying a prison as the government held his family hostage.
…And the world government imprisoned him for that.
They tried to make Riley the villain– but he was far from it. No.
Riley Ross… is the face of the oppressed; and also the face of those who fought back.
Riley Ross… is justice– was the hashtag of one of the posts on social media. It was, however, in a manner of seconds, shared a thousand times.
And just like that, Riley once again graced the news; and once again put the government in its place by beautifully vandalizing the very tower they were proud of. And just like that, a certain fan's club was formed on the internet–
an allegory of Riley's white and black outfit. What their group represented, yet to be actualized and known.
As for the one responsible for creating this turmoil, he had a satisfied smile on his face as he stared at the statue he made. And ever so slowly, he started to descend to the ground, bringing along with him everyone else; causing some to close their eyes as the feeling of falling drowned their senses.
The association guards quickly opened an area for them to land, pushing away the crowd that had gathered in front and around the Tower. But even though they started to disperse and clump in one area, their cheers still howled; growing even louder as Riley landed right at the entrance of the Tower.
And in the midst of all the cheers… were the other registrants' groans and complaints.
"Ugh… I don't want to be a hero anymore."
"Why… why did I even apply to be a hero when all I can do is bend a spoon."
"I just wanted the ID, I'm not gonna risk my life for this shit."
And as Tempo heard the registrants' words, he quickly turned his attention towards secretary Jane; a smirk, slowly growing on his face.
"See?" He gloated, "I told you having Riley Ross would have the opposite effect."
"This…" The only thing that secretary Jane could do was watch as most of the other registrants walked away without even a word of goodbye; the ones remaining, only those who seemed to truly want to be a hero,
"This… is good," secretary Jane still nodded, "This is temporary, once–"
"Secretary Jane."
And before secretary Jane could finish her words, Riley approached him.
"Is this enough to be qualified for the Grade of S?" Riley then said as he looked up towards the statue he created, "If it is not, then I plan to turn the entire tower into–"
"It's enough," secretary Jane also did not let Riley finish his words, "Let's… go inside for now since I can barely hear myself talking."
Secretary Jane then gestured to the other participants left to follow her inside; her eyes, however, twitched as she saw Tempo seemingly still smirking at her.
"Stop gloating," secretary Jane clicked her tongue as Tempo walked beside her.
"Oh, I'm not," Tempo let out an obviously fake laugh as he trailed behind secretary Jane, "I'm just happy the Hope Guild is getting another crazy member."
"...Crazy is an understatement," secretary Jane shook her head as she glanced at Riley, "The higher-ups…
…are not going to like this."
"That was amazing!" As for V, she quickly latched onto Riley's arms– an action that quickly resulted in a series of flashes drowning the air.
"Are… they together?"
And now, another shocking news started to surface in the air almost in real-time– Riley and V… couples?
It did not remain a question for long, however, as V approached the person that voiced the question,
"We are," she said.
"!!!"
And just like that, another onslaught of tweets and posts appeared on social media.
The rising fan group, however, seemed to not be liking the news as the leader of the group tried to delete anything pertaining to the news; trying to debunk those who were confirming it and even posting different female superheroes that could potentially be Riley's real lover…
…the number 1 spot belonging to a new superhero called Nightqueen.
However, with V basically confirming it on the spot, any attempts to discredit the information were flagged as misinformation a few seconds after it was posted. Truly, social media could be a frightening place– all of this, happening in the span of a minute.
"Let's go back inside, Riley," V then once again clung onto Riley's arm as she started dragging her back to the Tower. But before they could take another step, someone was able to move past the guards of the tower to block their path.
"I knew it."
Riley, however, instead of being alert, just blinked his eyes as he looked at the tall man that blocked their path; the man was wearing a full grey outfit– his grey cape, not even fluttering with the wind.
"You're the only one capable of shit like that. I could feel your qi from a mile away."
"You know him?" V looked back and forth between Riley and the tall man; her arms, tightening their grip on Riley's arm.
"Yes," Riley quickly nodded as he approached the tall man, dragging V along with him, "He is someone I met during my stay in the Academy, Victoria. He is on the spectrum just like me…
…It's been a long time, Kevin."
"Fuck, it's me, bro! Gary!"
Chapter 256"What on my demonic ancestor's titties is that!?"
Gary Gray, or as he was going by now, Monarch. The last task of the students of the Mega Academy on the day of their graduation was to finalize their superhero names as they were one of the first batches that would officially have the occupation of Superhero– their names, legally registered in the government through the Hero Association.
After much deliberation, research, and asking his friends, Gary let go of Dragon Monarch and settled with a shorter name instead.
Monarch– a testament to how he was finally and slowly accepting his lineage as the son of Megawoman. Of course, one or two of his so-called friends might have teased him that it was a bit too serious for someone like him and that it didn't suit him; but still, he registered with the name.
After they graduated, they were quickly distributed in different cities; with most of the foreign students returning to their countries. The Hero Association, however, took into account the Grades of the student, as well as their overall capabilities first before they send a certain hero someplace.
There are, of course, those who wanted to not be stuck in a single place and wanted to roam free– a choice only those Grade-B and above could enjoy. The government did not allow superheroes Grade-C and below this benefit, because there was a chance that they would take on more than they could chew.
And as one of those who had the choice to roam free, Gary was currently leisurely walking in the streets of New York– trying to find trouble left and right. But contrary to his expectations, however, there was nothing to do.
After he and the others graduated from the Academy and officially formed the Baby Crew, Gary had thought that they would finally be able to fight supervillains and save the day. But alas, aside from muggings and stopping petty fights, Gary has not even encountered even a single supervillain.
He encountered many villains, but none of them super.
And so…
"What on my demonic ancestor's titties is that!?"
Gary's eyes could not help but widen as he saw something happening from the distance. He was on top of a building, so he could somewhat see most of the activities that were happening within his vicinity.
And finally, something exciting was happening– and it wasn't just simple trouble. The Hero Association Tower might be under attack. To think he had been spending an entire month stopping petty thieves, and now the very first major malfeasance he will be encountering involves an attack on a government facility; truly, spending his days in New York is finally paying off.
The excitement that was drowning his body right now was enough to make his blood boil.
"Alright," Gary whispered to himself as he kneeled; flipping his heavy cape back. His other hand, touching the floor.
"The people serve the Monarch," Gary then said; the air around him rippling from his heavy breaths, "And in turn, the Monarch saves the people."
Gary then placed the hand he used to fling the cape in front of his face. And as soon as he did so, a mask emerged from the palm of his gauntlet. The mask, covering the areas around his eyes as he expertly wore it.
"And now, the Monarch shall grace you with his presence."
And with those words, Gary disappeared from his spot; leaving a trail of dust as he leaped into the air, jumping from building to building as he made his way towards the Hero Association Tower.
In the 3rd building, however, he stopped. How could he not, when the big metal box that he thought was some sort of aircraft from afar started to mold into something he recognized?
"What the…" Gary's steps that were filled with excitement halted,
"...mom?" He then breathed out as he saw the statue that was suddenly erected on top of the Hero Association Tower. He squinted to check if he truly was seeing what he was seeing; but in doing so, he saw a very small and faint silhouette floating near Megawoman's statue.
"No… fucking way," he then whispered as a smile started to crawl on his face. And before his smile could completely materialize, he placed a finger on his right ear,
"Baby Crew, this is Monarch," Gary said; his breaths, quite heavy and chuckled, "We…
…are finally complete again."
***
"Kevin!? What do you mean 'Kevin'!? It's me, Gary!"
"...Ah, yes."
And just like that, Gary's excitement died down. He was now in front of the Hero Association Tower, blocking the path of a person that he had not seen for months. He even wanted to rush and bearhug Riley…
…but to think Riley doesn't even remember him.
"I was only joking, Gary." And almost as if taking pity on him, Riley shook his head and let out a short but deep sigh, "I know your name, Dragon Monarch."
"Pft," Gary then shook his head as he let out a longing chuckle, "It's just Monarch now. We missed you, man. You don't know how much it destroyed us when we couldn't even visit you in prison. Especially Hannah, she's not doing–"
Gary's somewhat somber words then abruptly stopped as his eyes landed on Riley's arm… which had another set of arms wrapped around it.
"..." Gary blinked a couple of times; his eyes, circling on Riley's arm, Riley, and the owner of the arms that were wrapped around his arm… and he did so repeatedly before backing down a few steps.
"What… the fuck is this shit I am seeing right now?" Gary then gasped as he clasped his head,
"Riley, you… you have another woman?" Gary stuttered as his eyes did not know where to look, "I don't see a harem tag anywhere here, man. Why… why are you creating your harem!? I thought you were in prison!?"
"I was, Monarch."
"Then who the fuck is that!?" Gary's finger violently pointed at V, who was just quietly looking at him with a sort of curiosity in her eyes.
"It's V, Monarch," Riley answered despite Gary's incessant ramblings, "I will be working with her from now on."
"...V?" The tone of Gary's voice quickly became sedated as he looked at V from head to toe… repeatedly. But finally, after a few more nods, Gary once again took a few steps back– passing through the automatic doors of the Hero Association Tower.
"You mean V from the Hope Guild!?"
"Yes."
"What!?" Gary then started hopping in place as he waved his hands; his excitement, screeching in the air.
"Is… your friend alright?" V could no longer keep her silence as she whispered to Riley, "You mentioned he is also on the spectrum?"
"Yes, this is normal for Gary," Riley nodded, "He… is just screeching autistically. We should enter the Tower, secretary Jane and Tempo are still waiting for us."
It took a couple of minutes for Gary to finally settle down. And as soon as he did so, he quickly followed Riley and V, who already passed him without even trying to calm him down. However, as soon as he saw Tempo in the building, Gary's breaths once again started to palpitate throughout the entire floor.
"T… Tempo," Gary stuttered as he clasped his chest.
"...Is your friend alright?" Tempo asked the same question as soon as he saw Gary looking at him as if he wanted to devour him, "Should… we call for a medic?"
"He is fine, Tempo," Riley only shook his head before turning his attention to secretary Jane,
"Am I a Grade-S Superhero now, secretary Jane?"
"I… am still waiting for your evaluations," secretary Jane slightly sighed as she answered Riley's question, "But after the stunt you pulled, I doubt there's another grade they can give you. We will know the results in a few minutes, so please just wait here in the lobby. Now, if you'll excuse me, I still have other registrants to assist."
And almost without pause nor delay, secretary Jane quickly left Riley and the others to talk with the other participants left. Her voice was calm… her slightly trembling legs, however, revealed that she was still shaken from what just happened.
From the 50 registrants that took the test, less than half remained after the stunt that Riley just did. Most of those who remained were those who faired well, one of them being No. 11, whose eyes had been watching Riley for reasons unknown.
"Wait… you took the test?"
And as soon as secretary Jane was gone, Gary finally recovered from his stupor as he walked in front of Riley.
"Yes, Monarch. I had to, it was one of the prerequisites for my release from prison."
"...They freed you so you can register as a hero?" Gary squinted. He was about to say something, but his eyes once again trailed towards V, who clinging like a lizard to Riley.
"...Just what happened to you inside the prison, man?"
"I killed some prisoners, watched several seasons of Italian Mafia RebornI discovered a lot of things about the women in my life…" Riley answered,
"And had sexual intercourse with V before I was freed."
"I see– Wait, what!?"
"R… Riley!"
"What!?"
And it was not only Gary that let out an almost thundering gasp. Tempo, who was just peacefully standing on the side, almost dropped to the ground as soon as he heard Riley's words. He had his suspicion already… but to think it really happened.
How… would the others from the Hope Guild react to this?
Chapter 257"Are… they together?"
"We are."
"!!!"
Inside a room with a view overlooking the recovering city of angels, the warmth that was being kept at an ideal temperature suddenly started to lower– enough to almost crack the large windows as the temperature shift was almost enough to create bubbles through them.
Of course, this was not due to the airconditioning system malfunctioning, or the freezer suddenly bursting out its freon– it was due to the Asian American that was residing inside the room; her dark-brown almost black eyes reflecting the four monitors in front of her.
A series of snaps also whispered in the air as this mysterious Asian American covered in blankets bit her nails; her gritting teeth, seemingly showing the frustration she was feeling right now.
But this was not always the case for the mysterious Asian American– just seconds ago, the smile on her face could not be contained; her breaths, almost jubilant with their beats.
How could she not be happy, when her master finally once again returned?
When Riley was imprisoned, she kept asking Katherine if Riley's clones were approaching her; but alas, Katherine only shook her head every time. What sort of First Subordinate was that? The Asian American thought; she didn't even seem to be trying to reach out to their master.
And so, the Asian American, Tomoe, took it upon herself to try and see signs of Riley– using the skills she gained from obsessing over Darkday throughout the years, she scoured the internet. But alas, completely dark.
And so, when a livestream appeared that had even a pixel of white in it appeared in front of her earlier, she quickly clicked on it– and lo and behold, Riley was suddenly in front of the Hero Association Tower.
And without even any hesitation, she launched the plan she had been storing in the archives of her computer– .
People.
Are.
Never going to suspect Master Riley as.
Darkday.
Again.
It was a plan to make Riley Ross as famous as possible that people wouldn't even think to suspect him as Darkday. And it just so worked that Riley seemed to like wearing black and white outfits, hence Tomoe thought it was the perfect name for the fan's club.
And so, Tomoe quickly changed the Facelog group she created almost a year ago– a Facelog group that appreciated and compiled photos of beautiful people with any form of albinism or leucism.
And of course, as the founder of the group, Tomoe made sure to upload Riley's photos almost every day.
It was a Facelog group named 'The Colorless Are Beautiful', in now which she changed to and deleted photos and posts unrelated to Riley.
It had over 120,000 members– a number that would surely dwindle after she suddenly changed it. But that doesn't matter, because Tomoe projected that the number would multiply as soon as Riley is done with the Hero Association's test.
And she was right– with Riley doing his stunt, the fan group shot almost half a million in a matter of minutes. How could they not, when Riley just figuratively spat on the government's face?
And so, seeing an influx of anti-government people joining her group, Tomoe quickly released a hashtag– 'rileyishope'.
Which made even more people join the group in an instant.
She might not be as connected as the First Subordinate, but this was something she could do. Tomoe continued to post the drafts she had– garnering thousands of shares each time she did so.
And all of this, in just the span of an hour.
But then, something very unprecedented happened– a suddenly clung onto Riley's arm… saying that she and Riley were a couple.
"B… Blasphemy!"
Tomoe quickly tried to fade this rumor away by posting another post in her drafts– a post of Riley Ross's potential lovers. Of course, she just happened to put herself as the No. 1 candidate.
But alas, for some reason, it was flagged as misinformation the minute it was posted. And so, we are back to the room lowering in temperatures that would be considered dangerous to normal people.
Tomoe continued to bite her nails before searching everything she knew and had on one of the members of the Hope Guild, V.
"..." Should she start a rumor that V meant for London to be destroyed? No, that might implicate Riley.
Wait, was it possible she was the Third Subordinate? If so… then Riley was probably just using her.
And with that thought entering Tomoe's mind, her heavy breaths were finally slightly sedated.
[Baby Crew…]
And as she leaned her back on her seat, Gary's voice whispered from the small radio she had on her desk,
[...We're complete again.]
"I know."
And surprisingly, Tomoe was the first to respond as she took off the blanket and stood up– revealing her superhero outfit, a white kimono. She then grabbed the sunglasses that were also littered on her desk, wearing them as her mask.
She didn't really care for hiding her identity, but since Riley sometimes also wore shades with his outfit, she did the same.
"I'm heading to the base now."
***
Whiteking and Empress.
…And now Riley and V?
Why was the Hope Guild starting to look like a nest for couples? Tempo thought as he sat on the sofa in the lobby of the Hero Association Tower. Didn't they have a rule that romantic relationships with team members weren't allowed?
So what exactly was happening right now? Granted, Whiteking and Empress's relationship was an affair and is not really out there– but Riley and V?
V just announced to the world that they were together; by now, Empress and the others would have surely heard of this.
"..." Maybe Hope Guild would start to lift the rule? If so… then should he try his luck with Hera?
"What's with that disgusting smile on your face?"
Tempo's fantasy, however, was disrupted by the sound of secretary Jane's voice, who was sitting on the sofa opposite to hers, "Just so we're clear here, I have a boyfriend."
"...What?" Tempo almost ripped off the visor of his half-face mask right there and then, "Who would want to be with a robot-like lady like you?"
"You–"
"The results are in!"
And before the two could once again argue with one another, one of the registrants from another super category screamed, garnering the attention of everyone in the lobby. Tempo, Secretary Jane, Gary, and V all stood up from their seats.
Their eyes, quickly moved towards the large screen plastered on the wall nearest to them; and there, the results of the tests were posted.
And as expected, the entire wall was filled with 'Fs'. Then E, D… the numbers lowered almost exponentially. And out of the 232 registrants, only 4 were Grade-B.
The number of Grade-A Supers, zero.
But still, the sound of exclamations surrounding the lobby was almost enough to create an orchestra of joy. Those who earned the Grade of B, immediately being swarmed by what Tempo could only assume to be from Superhero agencies.
"...Bro, I don't see your name?" Gary squinted his eyes to try and find Riley's name; his eyes were almost already closed, and yet there was still no sign of it.
"What? Can't be?" V also focused her eyes on the screen.
"It's not there," Tempo then breathed out as he furrowed his eyebrows, "I searched the names a hundred times already…
…What's the meaning of this?" Tempo then turned his head towards Secretary Jane, who had a very creepy smile on her face almost rivaling that of Riley's.
"This only means one thing," secretary Jane then raised a finger, "Just wait."
"...Wait for wha–"
And before Tempo could even finish his words, all the screens inside the lobby suddenly turned dark. Everyone wondered what just happened, as some of them were still taking a photo of their names to show their friends; soon, however, a guitar riff started to drown the lobby with music.
The screens then once again became alive– instantly showing Riley's silhouette as he floated in the air. The images then shifted to several moments of Riley's test, even capturing the moment that No. 24 started provoking him… their voices too clear.
"Wait…" Tempo then muttered, "Could No. 24 be planted by you guys?"
"..." Secretary Jane, however, did not respond as she just watched the montage. And by the end of it, a slow-mo footage of Riley landing on the ground showed– with an animation of his name falling beside him…
…as well as the words 'Grade-S'.
"...That's kinda extra," Gary muttered as he let out a small chuckle as the video finally stopped, the screens, once again returning to the list of registrants– now with Riley's name lit up in gold with the Grade S at the end of it.
The other registrants, who previously wanted to take a photo of their names on the screen, all pointed their phones towards Riley and started snapping photos. The people from the superhero agencies, quickly scattering and rushing towards Riley– with documents already in their hands.
"If you sign with us, we will let you–"
"Nope."
But before they could even offer anything, however, V blocked their path.
"I don't think so," V then said as she placed her hands on her waist, "Riley Ross is not allowed to take on any sponsors for the reason that…"
V then turned to look at Tempo, who immediate nodded his head as he stood beside V,
"Riley Ross is the newest member of the Hope Guild."
"!!!"
Some of them knew it, but still, they could not help but let out gasps as they let the cameras of their phone express their shock. As for Gary, however, he also let out a gasp– a different kind.
"W… wait, Riley…
…What about the Baby Crew?"
Chapter 258"Is… that so?"
Tempo and V just explained the reason for Riley joining the Hope Guild. At first, Gary was a bit frustrated and somewhat disappointed that Riley would not be joining them in the Baby Crew. They were not just a bunch of superheroes in training anymore, and their group is even registered with the Hero Association.
They have been waiting and wanting to put Riley's name in it, even knowing that it would take a very long time until he gets out of prison– or even if he gets out at all. But even still, even in prison, Riley was a core member of the Baby Crew.
But hearing how Riley's freedom was due to the fact of him joining the Hope Guild, Gary started to calm down.
"You… are going to visit the Baby Crew, right?" Gary then let out a sigh; his breath, still containing hints of disappointment, "I already told the guys about you."
"Of course, Monarch," Riley nodded, "My sister is still there."
"Sweet, why don't we–"
"Hate to break up your reunion."
But alas, before Gary could suggest something, Tempo interrupted their conversation,
"But Riley is actually expected in the base."
"...The Hope Guild's secret base?" Gary almost choked in his own saliva as he heard Tempo's words, "Is… it possible for me to tag along?"
"...No," Tempo breathed out, "It's… a secret base. Even Riley doesn't know where it is yet, right?"
"I know where it is, Tempo," Riley answered, "I have been there multiple times."
"...What?" Tempo lightly gasped; but after a few seconds, he shook his head, "Not the old one where you lived."
"W… what? Riley lived in the Hope Guild's base!?" Gary exclaimed.
"I know where the new one is," Riley repeated, "I have been there multiple times."
"...What?" Tempo also repeated, "Did… Whiteking bring you?"
Riley, however, no longer answered as he just looked to nowhere in particular. Hearing this conversation, however, V suddenly remembered the time she almost took her own life after the events in London.
The only reason she didn't end up drowning herself was that she saw Riley's face outside the mecha suit. Could it be… that Riley actually rescued her? But no, that should be impossible, he was currently being held in prison during that time.
"..." V then looked at Riley. She had been with him for four months without even separating even for an hour– she knew him well enough to know whether or not he was lying, and it didn't seem like he was.
It… could just be her imagination as well. And so, with that thought, V just shook her head and once again clung onto Riley's arm, causing Gary to quickly grab his phone and take a picture of it, sending it to the Baby Crew's group chat.
Gary didn't bother checking if there were any replies, but judging from the number of notifications that were whispering in his ears, everyone should be losing their minds.
"Shall we go?" Tempo then said, "One of the jets is parked near, so there shouldn't–"
"Don't leave yet."
And before Tempo could even take a single step, secretary Jane once again made her presence known, "There's still the last step before Mr. Riley Ross could be fully registered into the Hero Association– his official superhero name. We just used his name for the announcement earlier since it was also his superhero name in the Academy, but–"
"Riley Ross," and without even looking at secretary Jane, Riley Ross walked away; leaving the Hero Association tower with V clung to his arm.
"..."
"I guess process it yourself?" Tempo shrugged; only glancing at secretary Jane as followed the two. As for Gary, he also only looked at secretary Jane, he has been wondering who she was… but could it be she was some sort of assistant to the Hope Guild?
He wanted to say something to her, but in the end, he also just left to follow Riley; he didn't need to rush, however, as Riley and the others were still at the entrance of the Tower… being bombarded by the media left and right.
"Holy shit…" Gary took in a small gulp. He had seen a view like this before– almost a year ago in Mega Academy on their way to Toronto. It served as a lesson for them not to trust the media and how to avoid them… he had been waiting for it to happen ever since he officially became a superhero, but now it really was happening.
Not for him, of course– but for Riley Ross.
"Is it true you're joining the Hope Guild!?"
"How long have you and V been together!?"
"Is it true that the two of you spent your time in prison together!?"
"What can you say about the rumors of Empress and Whiteking having an affair!?"
"We heard there was a case of abortion, is it true that V had a baby while in prison?"
"Where is Ms. Phoenix? Is it true that she really died more than a decade ago!? So the rumor that she retired and was just resting isn't true!?"
The questions started out as something light– but soon, hidden within the onslaught of words, were words filled with poison and malice.
"These bitches," V snarled as she let go of Riley's arm, "Just because you're new in the Hope Guild, they think they could bully you. Let me teach them–"
And before V could finish her words, Riley walked forward and approached the reporters,
"It's fine, V," Riley shook her head, "I was trained by sister to deal with the media, I know what to say."
And with that statement, Riley faced the almost hundred cameras pointed at him,
"Go fuck yourselves," Riley then said almost monotonously, raising both his middle fingers with a smile on his face– and as soon as he did so, the crowd suddenly started to split open, making way for him to walk,
"Thank you," Riley then nodded as walked through the path he made.
"..." The reporters, who still seemed to want to say something, were not able to open their mouths– they couldn't even flick their fingers in order to snap photos of Riley's back as he left.
Tempo and the others could only look at each other as this happened, but after a few more moments, they followed Riley– making their way to where the Hope Guild's jet was parked; on a rooftop of an abandoned building that may or may not have been purchased by the Hope Guild.
"Visit the Baby Crew once you're done, man," Gary let out a small but very deep sigh as Riley climbed onto the jet, "The others really want to see you."
"I will, Gary," Riley nodded, "The members of the Hope Guild seem to have a lot of free time, so that would not be a problem."
Tempo almost coughed as he heard Riley's words… but he couldn't really refute since a part of it was true. As the world's greatest superhero team, they were only to focus on threats that needed their attention; as focusing on other things might impede on things that needed their attention.
And due to this, they really do have a lot of free time.
"Alright, bro," Gary once again let out a sigh as he tapped the side of the jet, "V, please take care of Riley."
"You don't need to tell me," V only scoffed, not even looking at Gary as she got inside the jet.
"See you soon, man."
"Hm."
And with those words, the jet started to hover in the air– not even letting out a whisper of a thunder as it flew into the air at a speed almost enough to blow Gary away.
"..."
"..."
And a few seconds after the jet was gone, a small smile crawled on Gary's face.
[Did you do it?]
And from his ear, Silvie's voice suddenly whispered; the tone of her voice slightly also giggling.
"Yes, we should get their position in a few seconds. I made sure they wouldn't be able to see the tracker."
[Good job, Monarch.] This time, it was Hannah's voice that whispered into his ear, [They think they could just snatch my brother and a core member of the Baby Crew like that? No matter who they are, the Baby Crew will soon fuck them up.]
"But damn, Riley be getting all the chicks. I wonder what Scarlet Mage is feeling right now," Gary sighed as he turned around; as soon as he did so, his eyes instantly widened.
Because in front of him… was Tempo.
"I think you forgot this," casually handing him the tracker he ever-so stealthily placed on the side of the jet.
"I–" And before Gary could even say anything, Tempo disappeared; leaving Gary with an open mouth and slightly wet undies.
"...Mission failed, my dudes," Gary then took in a small gulp, "Tempo got our tracker…
…or so they would think."
And with those words, Gary burst out in laughter.
"You were right, Hannah. They found the decoy tracker I placed."
[They didn't discover the other one?] Even through the speaker, the relief contained in Hannah's voice could be heard.
"Of course not…" Gary smirked, his eyes almost glistening as he seemed to truly be proud of himself,
…I placed it in a spot no one would even find it."
***
Inside the Hope Guild's jet, Riley was currently staring at… some sort of candy that was in his hand. Gary placed it inside his pocket while they were still in the Hero Association. He was giggling and chuckling as he did so, not knowing he wouldn't have been able to place it in the first place if Riley didn't allow him to do so due to the invisible armor surrounding him.
"...What's that?" Tempo, who was seated beside him, could not help but be curious as to why Riley was holding a candy in the air. V was quite curious as well, but since she was the one piloting the jet, the only thing she could do was take a glance.
"I do not know yet, Mr. Tempo," Riley let out a small sigh as he returned the 'candy' in his pocket, "But knowing them…
…it is probably something stupid."
***
[Attempt number: 692368…]
[...Signal not found.]
[...]
[...]
[Attempt number: 692369…]
[...]
[...]
[!!!]
[Signal found!]
[...]
[...]
[Error: Themarian Voice not within set parameters.]
[...]
[...]
[Conclusion: Receiver, not Theran.]
[...]
[...]
[MEGAN will continue to attempt command: Theran Call…]
[Attempt Number: 692370.]
***NOTES***
If you want to support me, you can do so on my P.A.T.R.E.O.N: romeru
Would really appreciate any value! I might also start drawing the characters once a certain goal is met. Thank you very much for liking and reading my story, let's do this shit!
Chapter 259"And here we are, what you're looking at…
…is the base of the Hope Guild."
The jet that Riley was on finally slowed down; the view beneath them, a vast sea of murky waters. There was a tiny island; no, perhaps a rock formation was the better word to describe it– and this rock formation was the entrance to the Hope Guild.
"Right at the very center of the world," Tempo then breathed out; the tone of his voice probably containing years of pride, "Who would even think that the base of the Hope Guild is somewhere in the Black Sea, right?"
"The Black Sea is filled with weird creatures, Mr. Tempo," Riley replied; not even seemingly curious with the view below, "I believe Empress made the right decision to choose this place."
"...I don't know if that's a compliment or not," Tempo could only let out a sigh. He had thought that Riley would at least show a little bit of excitement– but he just remained sitting on his seat like he really had been here a thousand times.
It was a far cry from Tempo's reaction when he first joined the Hope Guild– the base wasn't even as fancy as the one they have now, but still… he couldn't wait to explore all of it.
Was Riley not lying then? Has he really visited the Hope Guild unbeknownst to him?
"Landing now," V's words then resounded inside the jet as they started to descend to the ocean floor,
"You see that rock there?" V turned her eyes towards Riley; her finger, pointing towards a large boulder sitting on top of the sea, "That's connected to my room– basically where my mecha suit shoots up."
"I know, Victoria," Riley only glanced at the rock before looking to nowhere in particular again.
"..."
What's with this mood? Tempo could not help but once again sigh. Nonetheless, Riley should be impressed with what's to come.
And as soon as Tempo thought of that, the ocean floor beneath them suddenly opened up– and not in a way you expect the ocean to split; with water falling to the crevice that suddenly opened uu… but no.
The water… just disappeared. Almost as if that part of the Black Sea was just a hologram– flickering as it disappeared. Tempo then turned to look at Riley's expression with much excitement… only to see him with his eyes closed.
Open your eyes, Tempo thought as the best part of the Hope Guild's entrance was about to show itself. And almost as if the gods were giving him the chance to boast the guild, Riley did open his eyes…
…and what welcomed him was the world beneath the ocean floor. Sharks, circling the transparent and tempered, and reinforced nano-polycarbonate glass that is the entranceway of the Hope Guild; almost like their very own colossal aquarium.
And finally, Riley seemed to have slightly widened his eyes. But alas, contrary to Tempo's expectations, Riley… just sneezed.
"..." Tempo gave up.
"!!!" V, however, seemed shocked as soon as the sound of Riley sneezing reached her ears. She hasn't realized it until now… but Riley had never sneezed during the time they spent together in prison.
Their unnecessary thoughts, however, were all dispersed as soon as they finally landed on the landing bay– almost a dozen jets, parked alongside theirs. With some somewhat collecting a little bit of dust already.
"Ack, we're finally here," Tempo was the first one to get off, quickly stretching his body and limbs as soon as his feet touched ground, "I thought I was going to die of old age with how slow you were piloting."
"Then why didn't you just go ahead?" V groaned as she rolled her eyes.
"And leave you two love birds alone?" Tempo smirked, "I won't be responsible for another member being born in the Hope Guild's base."
"W… what are you saying!?" V then quickly got off the jet to chase Tempo– but even with the almost blinking speed she was going, she still was not able to catch Tempo as he disappeared deep into the base,
"C… come back here!" And with those words, V also disappeared… leaving Riley alone in a place he has supposedly never been in.
"..." Riley then got off the jet; his eyes, quickly scanning the landing bay and eventually fixating on the largest ship along the lot by a mile– one of the floating bases of the Dark Millenium.
And since it looked like an unfinished pizza right now, they seemed to be currently in the process of fixing it. Although… 'they' is probably not the right word since it was most probably only Bernard that was fixing it.
"..." Riley then once again turned his eyes to the clear walls of the landing bay with the view of the ocean floor, looking at the shark he had been looking at since earlier and nodding at it. And after doing that, he casually walked towards where Tempo and V disappeared to. Not before, of course, leaving the 'candy' that Gary placed in his pocket in the jet.
[Member: Riley Ross, recognized.]
And as soon as he stepped in front of the door leaving the hangar, a series of lights bombarded him; almost as if scanning his entire body.
[No anomalies found. Welcome to the Hope Guild, Riley Ross.]
And with that, the door slid open; or perhaps it was better to say doors, as there were almost a dozen sliding open leading to the hallway.
"..."
"..." Riley then casually walked inside the long hallway, until he reached a room… that eerily just looked like some sort of hotel lobby. And there, the members of the Hope Guild were waiting for him– with V blowing up confetti as soon as Riley showed himself.
The colorful parchments that fluttered like butterflies, however, froze suddenly froze in the air– not fulfilling their only purpose as Riley stepped forward. google Riley looked at the members of the Hope Guild one by one, his gaze, staying for a few seconds through each of them.
V had an excited smile on her face– slowly getting stiff due to Riley's lack of response.
Tempo was just sighing, as he had been doing so since earlier.
Hera was wearing sunglasses and a cap so it was hard to see her expression.
Butcher was still bald.
Bernard just nodded at him.
As for Empress, she was staring at him. And since Empress was the tallest of the lot, it was hard not to notice this. Riley then let the confetti move again; Empress's gaze, now looking to the side as the color pieces rain to the floor.
And that makes them 6, 7 including him making the traditional number of the Hope Guild since it was established.
In truth, Riley was getting ready to kill the members of the Hope Guild at any given time; this whole set-up might have been a trap to neutralize him. After all... Bernard knows who he is. search
"W… welcome to the Hope Guild, Riley Ross!" V then broke the somewhat awkward silence that unexpectedly festered the air. And as soon as she did so, some of the members of the Hope Guild started welcoming Riley.
"Welcome back to the Hope Guild, Riley," Butcher was the first to approach Riley; in his hand, a knife with a ribbon neatly wrapped around it, "There is a 78.2% chance that Alice would have wished for you to have this."
"..." Riley opened his palm, letting the knife float in his hand, "Thank you for the gift, Mister Butcher."
"I am starting to think you're pulling those percentages from your ass, baldie," Hera let out a small scoff as she approached Riley; her eyes, looking at Riley from head to toe several times,
"You know, my agency has been calling me ever since they learned you joined the group," Hera then said, "How about it, would you like to earn some money from the sides?"
"Agency?" Riley blinked a couple of times, "I thought the Hope Guild was not allowed to join these… superhero agencies, Miss Hera?"
"What, no!" Hera removed her sunglasses as her eyes remained fixated on Riley, "I meant my talent agency!"
"..."
"No…" Hera then took a few steps back, "Don't tell me you don't know what I do? I'm an actress and a model for Zucci!"
"...A model for a vegetable?" Riley once again blinked a couple of times, "But last I checked, you turn grey and not green, Miss Hera."
"Wha–"
"Forget it, old hag," V joined in on the conversation, "The only show he knows is anything related to Italian Mafia Reborn."
"Oh…" This time, it was Hera's time to blink, "...I voiced one of the main characters there."
"!!!"
And as soon as her words reached Riley's ears, his eyes instantly widened as he looked Hera in the eyes for the first time. And as soon as Hera noticed this, she let out a small smirk.
"I can introduce you to some of the voice actors if you visit my agency."
"Okay," Riley immediately nodded. He was about to say something, but before he could do so, Bernard stepped forward.
"Now, now," Bernard then clapped his hands, "Let my son rest, I am sure he's tired from everything that's happened. V, take him to his room."
"Su–"
"If it is alright, may I explore the surroundings first?"
"That–"
"That's fine," and before Bernard could talk, Empress, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke up, "The sooner you get accustomed to the base, the better."
"..." Bernard suddenly shut his mouth as he heard Empress's words. He also turned to look at Riley, who didn't seem to have any reaction to anything, as always.
"Then I will tag along with you," V said as she clung to Riley's arm, garnering the attention of everyone in the room, "Although the older members may seem bleak, there's actually a lot of entertainment to--"
"I…
…would like to explore the base and the surrounding area alone, Victoria."
***
"..." Riley was now floating above the base of the Hope Guild– he was given an earpiece that all the members have, but he gently removed it and placed it in his pocket as he flew away. Only stopping as he reached the nearest shore from the base.
He then stared at the shore for a couple of seconds, before deciding to land on it– not even disturbing a single speck of sand as he did so.
"Everyone…" Riley then breathed out. And with those words, several people started emerging from the lush greenery covering the shore…
…several people that looked exactly like him,
"...Good job. I will take it from here."
Chapter 260"Good job, everyone."
"It's Riley!"
"All Hail, Riley!"
"Shh!"
A dozen, or perhaps more than; scattered and emerging from the foliage that resided on the shores surrounding the Black Sea. White hair, white skin– almost a part of the sea as they reflected the rays of the moon and stars even more.
Riley's clones, all welcoming him at the same time; their eyes, filled with an emotion that Riley himself was not capable of.
"Boss."
One of the clones then stepped forward amidst the crowd, bowing his head at Riley and starting some sort of domino effect as the others soon followed.
"Ronaldo," Riley then nodded to the clone, who was wearing a different outfit than the others– almost a tuxedo that was clean despite all the sand and dirt that surrounded them. As for the others, they were just wearing a black and white outfit, similar to the prison uniform that Riley was wearing while he was still in the Super Max.
"Why did you visit us, boss?"
"I am here to relieve all of you of your duty."
"W… what?"
"...Why?"
"I… was just born last week."
"That is enough," the clone called Ronaldo raised his fist in the air, causing the rest of the clones to shut their mouths. Ronaldo also held some sort of complicated expression on his face, his eyebrows, turning into a frown.
"May… I ask why we're being relieved, Boss?" Ronaldo then said; his voice, slightly weak and sedated.
"You know why, Ronaldo," Riley let out a small but slightly deep sigh, "I will be staying inside the Hope Guild now and no longer need your service."
"...But can't the others remain?" Ronaldo closed his eyes before glancing at the other clones, "I have no regrets in disappearing since I have been here for 16 months, 9 days, and 11 hours– the longest of any of the other Rileys here. But the others, they have only been here for a very short time."
"..." Hearing this, Riley looked at the rest of the clones, who immediately looked at him with expressions of expectations and a bit of dismay.
"No," Riley shook his head, "But I am forever indebted and thankful for everything you have done."
"...What about Rafaello, boss?"
"He stays," Riley said as he glanced towards the sea.
"Can… I at least make a request, boss?" Ronaldo then once again stepped forward, his eyebrows, slightly raised while his eyes glisten dimly, "Once we disappear, can we work at the Guesthouse?"
"The Guesthouse is already at full capacity of Rileys, Ronaldo," Riley shook his head, "I am afraid this is where it ends for all of you."
And as soon as the other clones heard that, they could not help but all close their eyes, their shoulders, slightly shivering as they subtly rubbed away the tears that were slowly emerging from their trembling eyes.
"It… it hasn't been long, but thank you for being like brothers to me."
"No, I should be the one thanking you."
"Guess we'll never personally visit the cinemas."
"Until next time."
The clones then all started huddling up; some hugging each other, some saluting, and some shaking their hands.
"Everyone!" Ronaldo then faced the other clones, stomping his foot on the ground to get their attention. Seeing this, Riley took a step back, allowing Ronaldo to talk with the others alone.
"Thank you for your service through all this time!" Ronaldo then said as he bowed his head to the other clones, "Until we meet again in origin."
"...Until we meet again in origin, sir Ronaldo."
And with those words, the clones once again bowed their heads. And after a few seconds, they returned to saying their farewells to each other; their tears, damping the dry sand and ground beneath their feet.
"Boss," Ronaldo then nodded his head towards Riley, "We are ready to–"
And before he could even finish his words, the melancholy contained in his face abruptly disappeared; replaced by nothing as he straightened his back and stood up straight. It was not only him, the rest of the clones that were previously bidding their goodbyes all stood up straight; the sadness in their eyes, completely gone– leaving only the trail of tears on their faces.
The only semblance of emotion that remained were the tears that have not yet reached the ground.
"..." Riley then stared at the lifeless clones in front of him, looking at them while letting out somewhat heavy sighs. Like him, these clones do not really process emotion the way a normal human does.
They were just replicating memories of Riley, memories of people… or in this case, memories of characters that Riley has watched on TV. Ronaldo, Rafaello, and the other clones, they were all based on the characters from Italian Mafia Reborn.
The way they talk, the way they express themselves– fake. Or perhaps it was better to call it an act. None of them even needed to talk, as their thoughts and everything they see are all connected to Riley's mind.
None of them were alive; they were just extensions of Riley. But even so, Riley wanted to give each of them a personality– a personality that he himself can't have and not allowed to have. A personality that made them… even more human than him.
"Thank you for all your service."
This time, it was Riley that bowed; even with the clones now frozen and unresponsive– only a husk of what they once were,
"I will take it from here."
And with those words, the clones all started to melt and wither away– their flesh, similar to the ground they stood on; mud, sand, dirt.
And then, they were… just gone.
"..." Riley then looked at the ground for a few seconds before floating away. After all, this spot was only one of many that had his clones; surrounding the Black Sea and watching each of the Hope Guild's movements.
He still had to fire several more clones.
***
"Where'd you go? You seen the snack bar yet?"
"No, Tempo."
After a few more hours, Riley was finally back in the base of the Hope Guild; finding Tempo and Butcher just idling in the lobby and doing their own thing.
"..." Riley looked around for a few more seconds, before just sitting on one of the sofas and turning on the TV in the living room, quickly logging in his Webflix account and watching Italian Mafia Reborn.
"..." Tempo could only look at Riley as he… just suddenly made himself home. He wanted to talk to him about anything, but seeing as Riley seemed so focused with whatever it was he was watching, Tempo just decided to turn to the other member within the vicinity.
"..." But seeing as Butcher was just wiping his knives and not saying anything… it almost seemed like he was basically alone even though Riley and Butcher were with him.
"..."
It took exactly 3 minutes before Tempo finally decided to talk to Riley,
"Do you even know where you're staying yet?"
And as soon as Riley heard Tempo's words, he immediately turned off the TV and stood up.
"Not yet, Tempo," Riley shook his head, "Do you have a map? I will continue watching Italian Mafia Reborn in my room since Butcher is cleaning his knives quite loudly here."
"..." Butcher, who had been trying his best to keep quiet, could not help but almost drop the knife he was wiping. Riley and Alice could not be any more different from each other… and yet they were similar all the same for some reason.
"You don't really need a map," Tempo said before he started explaining the layout of the Hope Guild and pointing to where Riley's room is. And as Tempo stated, Riley truly was able to find his room quite easily. His room seemed to be next to Bernard's– but he didn't seem to be here since he was staying with Diana.
With their jets flying casually, it should take at least 2 hours to get from the Black Sea back to the US; less than an hour if he wanted to.
As for Riley– he was not really allowed to sleep elsewhere as in a way, his situation was closer to a parole. And tomorrow, he will officially be doing work that the Hope Guild is doing.
Who knew. Just more than a year ago, he was to killing each of the members of the Hope Guild. If it wasn't for Megawoman asking not to kill them, then the only member of the Hope Guild left alive today would probably just be Whiteking.
"..." Riley then finally placed his palm on the door of his room; and as soon as he did so, a voice entered his ears.
[Confirming identity: Riley Ross.]
And with those words, the door slid open– and throughout everything he had seen, this was probably the most surprising for him. His room, it was set up in the exact same way as his room back in their house.
Devoid of anything else but a bed; dark and empty. Perhaps the only thing different was the view-- the vast ocean floor of the Black Sea.
And if he was right... the phone that was resting on the bed was his.
The phone he was secretly using before he went to the Mega Academy. The phone that contained photos and videos of Megawoman; mangled and beaten.
"..." Riley then picked up the phone, and since he was able to unlock it with his fingerprint– then his assumption was right. What bombarded Riley was Megawoman-- her voice that seemed to always cry for the sake of someone else.
How long has it been since he truly last heard her voice? Not from an A.I, but from her.
"You will find out sooner or later. Or maybe you already know."
And almost as if he was back to where it started, someone barged into his room; her words, whispering into Riley's ears.
"But I know that you're Darkday."
"Miss Empress."
It was Empress, approaching him alone and seemingly without any more fear in her eyes, "I am not here to fight…
…but to request your help."
"Hm?" Riley then finally turned to face Empress.
"I know where she is…" Empress then only stopped walking as she was a foot away from Riley, "The woman you seemed to have forgotten to find...
…Megawoman."
Chapter 261"...Megawoman?"
Although Empress's words slightly tickled Riley's attention, his face didn't seem to have even a single strand of curiosity in it. The only visible expression he shared was him slowly sitting on his bed, not even looking at Empress as he soon also lay down on the bed.
"What about Megawoman?" Riley then said as he stared at the ceiling of his room. And surprisingly enough, even the texture and the color were the same as the room in their house. Did Bernard take some sort of 3-dimensional photo of his room to achieve this?
"Don't feign ignorance, Riley Ross," Empress slightly furrowed her eyebrows as she looked down at Riley, "I know you have some sort of infatuation with her. The photos and videos on your phone further prove that; and before you even say that you're not Darkday, don't even bother– Bernard told me. And don't worry, I am the only one who knows it. I am not stupid enough to risk the lives of the other members."
"...Hm."-- was Riley's only response to Empress's long words. He did not even stand up as he just looked towards the window; the beautiful view of the dark ocean floor, slightly calming to the eyes.
"You said you needed my help?" And finally, after a few more seconds of Riley appreciating the view, he finally spoke to Empress.
"When I learned of your identity, I took it as a mission to try and wake Megawoman," Empress said as she sat on the bed, seemingly not affected by Riley's presence anymore, "But when I went to the facility that's supposedly taking care of her, she wasn't there anymore."
"...You knew where she was?" Riley said; his voice, still not containing any hint of curiosity as he continued staring at the ocean floor.
"Of course," Empress let out a small but deep sigh as she slightly shook her head, "Everyone in the Sanctuary knew– everyone that she took care of new. I even visited her before and saw how badly she was beaten by you; she was alive but completely unresponsive."
"..."
"But the building she was in is abandoned now," Empress continued, "And when I asked the realtors responsible for taking care of the land, they said the people there just suddenly… left."
"So where is she now?" Riley muttered, "I assume you know where she is?"
"I do," Empress nodded as she stood up, "Even if you threaten to kill me, torture me, or even kill a billion people, I will not tell you. Megawoman is the only person I know that can stop you– and I know you know it too, why else would you be trying to find her?"
"What makes you think I am trying to find her?"
"V told me," Empress let out a tiny scoff, "She told me with a smile on her face how happy she was when she was with you. How it would break the girl's heart and mind if she finds out who… what you are. I mean, why would you even do that? How could you even make someone fall in love with you? What sort of sick game are you playing at?"
"You're the one sleeping with a married man."
"..." Empress almost choke on her own breath as soon as she heard Riley's words. But after a few seconds, she just swallowed her pride and turned to face him once again, "Will you help me recover her or not?"
"This is a very stupid move," Riley still continued to lie on the bed, "Why would you even approach me for something like this? You could have just told me about Megawoman without telling me that you know I am Darkday."
"...I know you know that I know you're Darkday."
"I actually do not," Riley let out a small chuckle; Empress turned to look at the window, only to see Riley looking at her through the reflection; the smile on his face, reaching from ear to ear, "This is the first time I am hearing it, adulterer."
"That–"
"And why my help, specifically?" Riley continued to look at Empress through the reflection, "Why not just ask for the help of the entire Hope Guild? If it is to rescue Megawoman, then is that not something that requires the attention of the guild?"
"Because the Government is the one keeping her locked," Empress furrowed her eyebrows, "I can't involve my team in what might be seen as a rebellion."
"But you're willing to involve your team with someone like me?" Riley slightly chuckled.
"You… are a necessary evil."
"There is no such thing, Empress. Evil, at its core, is just evil. Seeing it as something other than that is an illusion of grandeur," Riley let out a small and very deep sigh, "What I am is something that should have been erased in this world a long time ago."
"Either way…" Empress slightly furrowed her eyebrows from Riley's somewhat… emotional words, "...I am still asking for your help."
"Then why not just go yourself? Why go so far as asking help from someone you know won't hesitate to just kill you here?"
"For someone who has antagonized and killed millions of people, you sure lack knowledge of what's happening in the World Government."
"I don't care about the government."
"The Government has their own supers guarding their facilities," Empress breathed out as she looked away, "Dogs at the same caliber as the members of the Hope Guild– all Grade-S…
…I can't infiltrate the facility on my own."
"And this isn't a trap to try to kill me?"
"If you were that easy to kill, I would do it myself," Empress scoffed as she turned her gaze back to Riley, "You–"
But before she could finish her words, she could not help but take a few steps back as Riley… suddenly started to melt.
"Boss says he is in," Riley whispered as his face soon started to shatter and wither away.
"W… what?"
"He will meet you outside, you can explain whatever your plan is in person," Riley's… clone finally turned to look at Empress.
"Wait, we're not going now!" Empress did not know where to be shocked more– the fact that the one she had been talking to since earlier was just a clone or the fact that Riley wanted to go as soon as he agreed.
"We are."-- and with those words, Riley's clone completely disappeared.
The only thing that Empress could do was let out her breaths which were probably heavier than the entire base; stuttering and almost a gasp.
Of course, she was afraid of Riley, how could she not be? All the times she met him as Darkday, he treated her and the rest of the Hope Guild like some sort of… trash that just happened to be in his path– kicking them without even any regard.
What she did just now was nothing but a gamble– a gamble on how much Riley valued Megawoman… and how less he thought of Empress and the rest of the people in the base.
Ever since she had learned of his identity, Empress did nothing but study Riley– his autism, condition, his impulse, the things he cares about, his temperament… everything. And Empress knew… that Riley did not even see them as a threat. They were something he could get rid of whenever he wanted to.
But at the same time, he should hold a little speck of merit in keeping them alive. After all, after Megawoman, they were the only ones that could actually prove to be… enjoyable for him. In short, Riley would not proactively go on his way to kill them.
Of course, everything was a gamble; and whether or not she was holding a winning card, she doesn't know yet. All she could do… was not fold; both figuratively and literally.
Empress continued to breathe; and with each beat, she started to calm down. And after a few more minutes of trying to collect herself, she realized something.
Riley asked to meet her outside… but where, exactly?
And as soon as she thought of that, Riley's phone that was idling on top of the bed started to ring.
[I will send you the location after this call, Miss Empress.]
And as soon as she answered, Riley's voice quickly whispered into her ear, [Do not even try anything funny, or I really will kill a billion of you.]
"..."
[Please be safe on your way, goodbye.]
And with those words, the line got cut off, before another song rang in the air– bringing a message containing the location where they were meeting.
***
"I… do not classify this as meeting outside."
"How perceptive, M'lady. Boss is currently waiting inside."
"...What?"
Empress… was currently surrounded by nothing but a forest of ice. White, as far as the eyes could see. Empress had to stay in the sky for hours just to get to where she is now– nowhere in the middle of the Antarctic.
She had been wondering if this was some sort of plan to get rid of her without any trace… but Riley was more than capable of erasing her from the face of the planet even inside their base, she was sure of it.
Riley… or at least a clone of him, was currently in front of her; his silhouette, almost merging with the snow and ice that drowned their view.
"After you, M'lady."
And with those words whispering into Empress's ears, a hole started to open from the mountain of ice that was resting behind Riley's clone.
"This is…"
"Welcome to the Guesthouse," Riley's clone then bowed as he gestured towards the hole,
"Congratulations, you…
…are our very first customer."
**NOTES**
If you want to support me, you can do so on my P.A.T.R.E.O.N: romeru.
Would really appreciate any value! I might also start drawing the characters once a certain goal is met. Thank you very much for liking and reading my story, let's do this shit!
Chapter 262"Congratulations…
…you are our very first customer."
"...What?"
Empress could only look at Riley's clone, who was gesturing for her to enter the hole that was suddenly opened up from the gigantic mountain of ice in front of her. And after a few more seconds of pondering whether or not this was a trap, Empress's feet finally gained the courage to take a step inside the hole.
"..." As she entered, however, there was absolutely… nothing inside. It was just a cave; its four walls were completely frozen and dark.
"Is this some sort of joke?" Empress then said as she turned around to look at Riley's clone, "Where is–"
But before she could finish her words, she saw Riley's clone… gesturing a shush; the entrance, closing as the smile on the clone's face grew wider.
"Shit!"
So it was a trap after all? Empress thought as she rushed towards the healing crevice; the rings around her arms, ringing and vibrating as they let out some sort of whistle; but before she could even take 3 steps, she felt herself falling down as the floor beneath her started to descend… almost like an elevator.
…So it wasn't a trap? Or maybe it still is? But seeing as the floor was only gently descending, then does that mean that Riley was still below? Could it be… this is some sort of evil lair?
And with numerous thoughts racing through Empress's mind; she didn't even notice that someone was already staring at her… and that the platform she was stepping on had already stopped descending.
"Aren't you… Empress?"
"Who… are you?" Empress muttered as she looked at the man in front of her; his face, adorned with a large scar.
"This is the Warden."
The scarred man seemed to want to answer, but before he could do so, Riley… or maybe another one of his clones stepped forward to introduce him instead.
"He helps me in taking care of the Guesthouse."
"...Riley?"
"Close, but no tobacco."
"..." Empress could only squint his eyes as… Riley's clone approached her; the smile on his face reaching from ear to ear– his, however, slightly showed his tongue for some reason.
"I am Diley," Diley then stood up straight, saluting at Empress as he did so, "The Boss' second-in-command, most beautiful, and longest working reflection…
…at your service!"
Diley straightened her back even further; staring Empress straight in the eyes as his salute stood resolute.
"Where… is Riley?" Empress could not help but feel slightly uncomfortable with Diley acting the way he is acting right now. She was used to Riley being completely… impassive. And to see Diley being somewhat jolly. It was enough to cause even the insides of Empress's bones to shiver.
"Boss… is waiting for you at the deepest parts," and with those words, the smile on Diley's face disappeared; the cave of ice that surrounded them, suddenly turned dark, "Please… follow–"
"Ah! Sir, how many times do I have to tell you not to turn off the lights in the elevator!?"
And before Diley could even turn around, light once again drowned the white cavern.
"...That was supposed to be for dramatic purposes," Diley raised his fist in the air; his face, slightly trembling along with his hands as he seemed to be stopping himself from hitting the Warden. But after a few moments, he let out a sigh and turned to Empress,
"...Follow me, esteemed customer."
Diley then gestured with his head, not even checking if Empress truly was following him as he walked away.
"..." Empress didn't really have any choice, however, as she followed behind Diley; briefly exchanging glances with the Warden, who seemed to be saying something to her. But due to Diley's fast pace, she was not able to hear even a word of his whisper.
"Is… this some sort of base?" Empress then just asked Diley.
"Pft, no," Diley answered without any pause; waving his hand as he continued to walk ahead.
Empress observed the unusually long hallway that presented itself to her. The walls seemed like they were made with some sort of metal; but no. Upon closer inspection, she was still surrounded by ice…
…and some sort of glass? Empress thought as she trailed her fingers on the walls; only for them to smoothly glide across them without even getting a single drop of moisture. And although they were surrounded by ice, not even a puff of vapor fumed from her mouth– the temperature, almost making her comfortable.
"Then what is this place?"
"It's the Guesthouse."
And almost as if in cue to Diley's words, a glass door hindered their path, "The Boss keeps all of his pe– all of his guests here."
"...Guests?" Empress once again asked as she passed through the doorway. And almost as if to answer her question… several people welcomed her.
But perhaps welcome was the wrong word to use, as everyone just ignored her– doing absolutely nothing as they all sat in some sort of glass cage.
"What is this!?" Empress then quickly turned to look at Diley, only for him to knock on the glass cage nearest to them.
"Wake up!" Diley then said, "Greet our very first customer! Why do you think we've been keeping you here for this long!?"
"What are you–"
"H… hello."
And before Empress could even make sense of what was happening, the man in the cage… suddenly multiplied.
"I… I am Replica Ricky," the man then almost choked on his own words; his clones, however, did not even seem to mind as they just continued waving at Empress; the smile on their face… making Empress feel uncomfortable.
"..." Empress's eyes then strayed towards the plaque resting in front of the glass cage, only for her to let out a small gasp,
"Replica Ricky… Ricardo Martinez… Born October… Has the power to create multiple copies of– What the fuck is this!?" Empress once again turned to Diley, who was now suddenly frowning.
"What are you doing?" Diley then slammed his fist on the glass cage, causing Replica Ricky to violently flinch,
"No dinner for you later; failing to impress our first customer, I am disappointed in you, Ricky… Ricky, Ricky," Diley then shook his head several times before proceeding to walk away,
"Don't worry, Miss Empress," Diley then stretched his arms wide as he then turned to face Empress, "We still have a lot more guests that would like to… impress you."
And almost as if a light being switched inside her, Empress finally realized what was happening as she treaded dazed and confused throughout this… human zoo.
All these people, these supers… they were all the heroes that have gone missing mysteriously whenever Darkday was sighted.
Riley… was keeping all of them here?
"What… sort of sick fantasy are you running here?" Empress said; her words, almost causing the air itself to shiver.
"Oh, you'll like this one."
Diley, however, almost as if not hearing her, just continued to walk towards one of the other cages,
"This one is one of my favorites," Diley chuckled as he knocked on the glass cage. And as soon as he did so, the woman resting inside quickly tried to pounce toward him; only to be blocked by the transparent cage she was confined in.
"Fuck you! Let me out of here! I swear, once– Empress!?"
The woman then suddenly stopped hitting the glass as soon as her eyes met with Empress; the dark circles on her face, quickly brightened as her frown turned into a smile.
"Are you… are you here to rescue us!?" The woman then roared, "You... you don't know how long I've been here! I heard you destroyed our bases from No. 7, but that doesn't matter! Please, we can settle our differences later. This place... This is Darkday's lair!"
"..." Empress instinctively turned to look at the woman's plaque; and as soon as she did so, her eyes turned wide,
"Ellie… A member of the Dark Millenium?" Empress gulped, "You're not only keeping heroes here?"
"Heroes, villains; they're all the same, no?" Diley shrugged before once again knocking on Ellie's cage, "Quick, show our customer what you can–"
[Diley, please don't delay any further.]
"..." Diley blinked a couple of times as soon as… Riley's voice echoed throughout the crystallized menagerie,
"I guess you won't be able to show your tricks today," and with his breaths clearly containing hints of disappointment, Diley once again gestured to Empress to follow him, "Too bad, I really liked that one."
Ellie seemed to be screaming something at Empress; but for some reason, she could no longer hear any of her words. Although she might not look like it, she was actually already thinking of a thousand ways to free all these people– but as she walked through the hall of cages, the number of heroes almost equaled that of the villains.
The government did not report any of these villains to them. She even recognized one or two that previously antagonized the Hope Guild. When their eyes met, however, the man seemed to not recognize her at all; instead, only waved at her with a smile on his face as he disappeared into a dark cloud; appearing instantly in another empty cage.
"Cool, right?" Diley chuckled,
"I taught him that one."
And as soon as he said that, Diley also disappeared; turning into a dark cloud before emerging in front of a door meters away from Empress,
"Miss Empress, please. Boss is waiting for you," Diley then opened the door, gesturing for Empress to enter.
Empress tried her best to remain emotionless as she followed Diley; her mind, however, was the definition of chaos. Is it possible… that Riley had the powers of all the people here?
If so… then is it also possible that this place is the source of Riley's powers? If she destroyed this place, then would Riley's strength be sapped away?
"..." And as soon as she thought of that, she could not help but shake her head. Riley's telekinetic powers should have come from Alice… and Alice was not here. So this place really is just what Diley had been explaining to her– a zoo. Just what sort of sick–
"Empress!?"
And before Empress's thoughts could once again put her into a mild stupor, she felt a violent gust of wind building right in front of her. She quickly put up her arm to block the raging ball of wind; causing a loud explosion to thunder through the air.
She then quickly rushed forward; her fist, already threatening to strike against the woman in front of her– Scarlet Mage.
"You really are working together!" Empress roared as multiple tiny explosions erupted in front of her fist, "You killed all those people in the plane!"
Scarlet Mage, however, did not answer her; only dancing with her hands as she seemed to be trying to dissipate the sparks emerging from Empress's fist. Her parry, however, seemed to not be enough as she felt herself being blown away.
"Die!"
"I believe that's enough."
Empress was about to stomp the fallen Scarlet Mage down, but before she could do so, she felt a hand suddenly but gently holding her shoulder; and almost instantly, the freezing chill that she had been expecting to drown her finally did.
"I forgot to tell her you were coming."
Empress then slowly turned her head towards the whisper, only to see eyes that were completely devoid of any emotions… not looking at her.
"I apologize for my First Subordinate attacking you, Miss Empress."
"Riley... Ross."
Chapter 263"..."
"..."
"..."
Clanging.
The sound of the forks and knives lightly hitting the plate was the only noise that was currently whispering into Empress's ears. She looked to the left, only to see Katherine Reeds staring at her; the steak knife she was holding in her hand, almost pointed at Empress.
"..."
She then looked to the right, only to see Riley Ross casually eating seemingly without care.
Empress then looked behind her, only to see… a couple of Riley's clones playing classical music with all sorts of fancy instruments.
She then looked slightly in front of her, only to see a plate that may as well have been served in some 5-star restaurants. Her steak remained untouched, however; for how could she even be comfortable eating in this kind of situation?
"Is the dish not to your liking, Miss Empress?"
The minute chimes then stopped as Riley seemed to have finished eating his meal– and immediately, several more clones appeared, taking away his finished plate and replacing it with… a shaved ice dessert.
"Please pack Miss Empress's food, she doesn't seem to be hungry."
Empress could not help but subtly flinch as the arms of one of the clones crawled in front of her; expertly taking away her plate and replacing the cutleries.
"Would you like to have dessert instead?" The clone then gently whispered as he smiled at Empress.
"N… no."
"We cooked up pampoenkoekies just for you, that is your favorite, no?" The clone insisted, "Just try it, we can't let our very first customer leave with an empty stomach. I am sure the flight here was tedious."
The clone did not wait for Empress to respond as he went away along with his team of other Waiter Rileys. They also took away Katherine's plate, placing a bowl of ice cream in front of her before leaving.
"Please forgive my staff again, Miss Empress," Riley let out a small sigh before taking a bite of the sweet shaved ice in front of him, "They hastily made the dessert when they learned you were visiting us."
"...Are you the original one?" Empress finally asked the question that has been hanging on the tip of her tongue.
"I suppose, Miss Empress," Riley answered without looking at Empress.
"Have… you been here the whole time?" Empress's eyebrows slightly furrowed; her gaze, also glancing at Katherine before moving back towards Riley, "Does that mean you weren't inside the Super Max in the first place?"
"I was in prison, Miss Empress," Riley answered as he took another bite of his dessert, "To clarify, the one you welcomed in the Hope Guild was also me– the one who came back after, however, was not; but you already know that since you met it inside my new room."
"Then… what about her?" Empress then turned to Katherine.
"Silvermoon is my First Subordinate. She is wherever she wishes to be or wherever I want her to be, Miss Empress," Riley once again answered without any hesitation.
"Silvermoon?" Empress's slightly furrowed eyebrows showed her slight confusion,
"Since… when?"
"Riley doesn't need to answer your questions."
And finally, Katherine, who has been keeping her mouth shut throughout the entire supper, broke her silence, "You were here to discuss Megawoman, right?"
"What happened to you?" The tone of Empress's voice suddenly shifted as she turned her eyes towards Katherine; her tone, slightly showing disgust but also a hint of pity, "You were one of the potential heroes that we wanted to recruit in the Hope Guild… but how can you work with someone like him?"
"That is none of your business."
"You even involved– No. You even used your own mother to make the Seven Planes incident possible."
"How–" Katherine almost stood up from her seat as she heard Empress's words, but calmed down just as fast.
"How can you even do something like that?" Empress's tone slightly became perturbed and cold, "You… you were supposed to be a beacon of hope to the people. You were different because you helped in any way you can and–"
"I threatened to torture and kill her mother if she doesn't become my subordinate."
"What?"
And with those words echoing in her ears, Empress quickly turned her head towards Riley; her breaths, almost stopping completely.
"I told her I would first cut her mother's tongue so that she wouldn't be able to call for anyone," Riley casually said as he took another bite of his dessert, "Silvermoon is not with me due to her own volition."
"..." Katherine could not help but look to the side as she heard Riley's words. 'Own volition'? What does that even mean for her now?
"You… fucking disgusting evil bastard," Empress's fists started to tremble; her eyes, however, now contained only pity as they strayed towards Katherine.
"I… promise I will help you out of the place you're in right now, Scarlet Mage," Empress then said as she looked Katherine straight in the eyes,
"...Or at least, Megawoman will."
And as soon as Empress uttered those words, the music that subtly whispered in the air abruptly halted. The clones that were playing with their instruments, suddenly leaving the dining hall they were in.
"She–"
"Before you tell me anything more, may I ask you something, Miss Empress?" Riley finally also placed his spoon over the napkin on the table as he finished his dessert,
"Since I know now that there are more of you– supers that have been personally taken care of by Megawoman…
…Why not just asked her other students for help, Miss Empress?"
"They…" Empress let out a small sigh as she paused, "...I don't know where the others are. The last time I was at the sanctuary was when I mentored V– but they were no longer there."
"Are they once again just going to be idle as their mentor is in trouble, Miss Empress?" Riley let out a small but very deep sigh as he shook his head, "This… is truly disappointing. If I was one of her students, then I would have probably killed all of you already… maybe except you, of course– you were the only one who even tried to help her back then."
V was right– Empress thought as she listened to Riley's words. V told her that Riley becomes talkative whenever he discussed things that interest him; especially if it was about Megawoman. Just what sort of infatuation did she have with her, exactly?
"Megawoman was still in the process of healing the last time I saw her."
And without any more delays, Empress stood up as she started to explain the situation,
"You… beat her to death. It was a miracle that she was even alive when I saw her."
"Megawoman is immortal," Riley blinked a couple of times, "Didn't she tell you?"
"..." Empress only slightly furrowed her eyebrows as Riley suddenly interrupted her. But after a few seconds, she let out a sigh and continued to explain,
"She was healing… but she was already conscious," Empress then stated. She waited for Riley to react, but he was just busy staring at her.
"The doctors and a super capable of healing wounds said that she was on her way to recovery. But due to Megawoman's biology being slightly different from ours, they really couldn't give an answer as to when she would fully recover. It could be weeks, months… but they said it was impossible for it to reach a year," Empress's tone soon became sedated,
"I… trusted them, of course. But as I told you– as I told your clone earlier, the facility is gone."
"And where is it now, Miss Empress?"
"I know where," Empress let out a short but very deep breath, "But you will just have to follow me to it…
…and you need to go as Darkday."
"This sounds like a trap, Riley," Katherine interjected.
"It's not," Empress quickly said.
"Is this all the information you can give me, Miss Empress?" Riley didn't seem to mind.
"...Yes," Empress nodded, "I will tell you when the time is right."
"Riley, I don't think she is–"
"Okay."
And before Katherine could finish what she was saying, Riley also stood up, "If that's all, then shall we return back to the base of the Hope Guild?"
"...You're going yourself?" Empress slightly gasped.
"Yes," Riley blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head, "I only asked a clone to proxy for a while since I missed the taste of my own cooking, Miss Empress."
Riley then casually walked toward Katherine and gently placed his hand on her cheek,
"It's your choice if you wished to go with me when the time comes, Silvermoon," Riley then whispered, "In the meantime, will you be alright here on your own?"
"I… am returning to the Academy in a few more days," Katherine sighed, "The enrollment for the 2nd batch is happening soon. And since the government planned for the Academy to be the sole one in the world… there's going to be a lot of students."
"Okay," Riley removed his hand as he walked towards Empress, "Shall we g–"
"Please wait, Boss!"
And before Riley could finish his words, one of his waiter clones barged inside the dining hall, giving Empress's takeout before once again leaving abruptly.
"Shall we go?"
And with that, Empress and Riley left– leaving in a different exit that seemed to solely be used by Riley himself. Of course, it was not really something that Empress could use… since the path was covered by probably a block of hundred-meter-thick ice; only passable via Riley's masterful control of his monstrous telekinetic powers.
And there was also the fact that it was under freezing water. Empress could probably try to break the prisoners free– but getting them out alive was another issue.
"Miss Empress."
And as the two were flying above the skies and making their way back to the Hope Guild; surprisingly, Riley was the first to open his mouth.
"...What is it?"
"Alice Lane-- I heard you tried to rescue me from her when I was still a baby?"
"...Did Charlotte tell you that?"
"Amongst other things, Miss Empress."
"Trust me, I regret trying to save you. If I knew what you will become, then I should have just let Alice kill you."
"I share the same sentiment, I should have just died then, Miss Empress. The world would have at least did not have to deal with a monster like me."
"Alice knew... Alice knew what you will become."
"Diana Ross, what do you know about her?"
"Why...
...are you suddenly asking me about your mothers?"
Chapter 264"Why… are you suddenly asking me about both your mothers?"
"Because I gained information in prison that Diana and Alice may have known each other while Alice was in prison."
"This… is the first I heard of that."
"Diana Ross might also be a super, Miss Empress."
"...What?"
Even with the wind that was violently blowing through her face, The confusion and surprise in Empress's voice could still be heard clearly and cleanly. If there was land that she could probably land on below the skies, then she would have probably already fallen from the sudden revelation she just heard.
Diana Ross… a super?
"You… heard that from prison?" Empress almost stuttered her words.
"Yes, Miss Empress," Riley nodded; his still hair, almost a contrast to Empress's hair which almost shivered from the resistance of the violent gust, "That is why I can not fully trust the information. After all, the prison is filled with liars."
"...Why not just ask your father?"
"Bernard and I have not really gotten the chance to talk to each other, Miss Empress. If I am right, then he is most probably avoiding me."
"..."
"If you know nothing about Diana, then can you answer another of my question, Miss Empress?"
"What is it now?"
"Why do you think Bernard allowed me to do all the things I did?" Riley asked as he slightly tilted his head towards Empress, "He could have helped stop what I have become and what I will become, Miss Empress."
"Because he is your father," Empress replied without any hesitation.
"For that reason alone?"
"And because Bernard is an insanely troubled man," the tone of Empress's voice slowly became sedated, "A truly broken man. He was already like that even before your sister was born– A man with that kind of knowledge always be alone no matter how many people surround him. And the only thing keeping him sane are his children."
"But to keep a monster like me free in the first place is already insanity, Miss Empress," Riley shook his head, finally allowing his hair to slightly flow in the air, "Alistair Reuben was the closest one to ever really make a difference. Unfortunately for him, he hurt my sister."
"..."
"Don't you find it funny, Miss Empress?"
"Hm?"
"That the people who had the capacity to end me were all humans?" Riley let out a small and very short sigh.
"Megawoman was not."
"Megawoman can not end me, Miss Empress," Riley once again sighed, "None of you can. At the very least, it is what I believe. But I suppose none of those really matter because I am now truly without end– or at least until Megawoman says otherwise."
"...What do you mean?"
"I believe Megawoman is immortal. And therefore I am."
"You… copied Megawoman's powers?"
And this time, Empress stopped her flight– causing the cloud beneath her to be blown away into almost an arc.
"I suppose, Miss Empress," Riley also stopped; but unlike with Empress, he did not disturb any of the natural forces around him, "I believe I already told you that you were right in your assumption that I can copy the powers of those that are super-abled in one of our previous conversations? Of course, I would copy Megawoman's powers."
"But… to what extent?" Empress's breaths started to slightly stagger as she looked at Riley's entire silhouette.
"All of them."
And with just those words, the fear that Empress have been securely hiding deep within her started to surface; almost like a shadow that was eating away the candle that she so dearly tried to cover.
And with the light fading, so did Riley's white exterior– replaced with nothing but the dark. Throughout their interactions, Empress has almost forgotten that the entity she was talking to was nothing but a monster.
But still, there was something that Empress truly wanted to know, even if it would cause it her life.
"...How?" Empress then let out a long and stuttering breath.
"Hm?" Riley tilted his head.
"How are you able to copy people's powers?" Empress gulped, "I know your grandmother can copy abilities by having physical contact with another super. I am not too sure to what extent, but hers is temporary… but you… how do you do it?"
Of course. Empress knew that what she was asking Riley was not something he would probably give away meaninglessly, but–
"I die, Miss Empress."
"...What?"
"Each time I die, I live again having the powers of the one who killed me," Riley blinked a couple of times as he faced Empress,
"It is quite a powerful ability, don't you think?"
"...What?" Empress started to slowly descend from the sky as she heard Riley's words,
"Are you… fucking with me right now?"-- Were the only words she could muster. Why would he just casually say that to her, someone who took an oath to end his life? Why would he reveal something like that…
…and so casually?
Was that it? Was he joking?
And as soon as she thought of that, Empress started to force out a chuckle, "You… you're fucking with me, right?"
"No, Miss Empress," Riley once again blinked a couple of times, "My penis is not in any of your orifices. I thought we were talking about my ability?"
"What the fuck…" Empress's breaths stuttered as her body continued to descend, "Why… why was someone like you granted a power like that? Why… you? And how… how does a power like that even work? How… how can you even come back to life when–"
"I do not know the answer to that question, Miss Empress," Riley shook his head as he also descended and followed Empress, "How does your power work?"
"You…" Empress was no longer looking at Riley and was just instead shaking her head as she looked down.
"At first, I thought my powers were just telekinesis. But when Replica Ricky stabbed me when I was just starting as Darkday, he killed me. I didn't think I lost consciousness…
…I just knew I died. And– are you still listening, Miss Empress?"
"Y… Yes?" Empress only turned her eyes as she instinctively answered Riley's question.
"Okay. Talking to you reminds me of my talks with Megawoman, it is quite comfortable. Maybe because you were one of her students?" Riley let out a small smile as the two continued to slowly fall,
"And so, when I was reborn, the knife was still lodged in my back…" Riley then continued his story, "...Diley pulled it out and operated it on me, closing the wound just as Diana and Bernard taught me."
"Diley?" Empress's words just floated in the air, "Your… clone?"
"The very first one, Miss Empress," Riley nodded; almost as if proud of himself, "And like how I know I died, I know how to use Replica Ricky's abilities. But since I was still confused, I decided to ask for Replica Ricky's help. He tried to escape for some reason, so Diley and I put him in the arctic. Did you know I also shared this info with Megawoman?"
Empress no longer knew what to believe as Riley's words keep on piercing her ears. The information that was being shared with her right now was truly only something one could watch in a movie.
A being that grew stronger every time it died? Then wouldn't the name Phoenix suit Riley more than his own mother? But why…
"...Why did it have to be to someone like you? Why was someone like you granted that–" And before Empress could finish her words, a realization came to her as she replayed Riley's story over and over in her head.
"Wait… Wait," Empress's descent to the ground stopped; the sea, only meters away from their feet now, "If you gain the powers… doesn't that mean… doesn't that mean that…"
Alice Lane… killed Riley. On that day 17 years ago… Riley died. Then wouldn't this mean…
"All of this…" Empress's lips started to shiver as she looked at Riley, "You… I created you?"
"...You're not my biological mother, Miss Empress."
"No… I could have stopped… I could have stopped you from ever becoming Darkday," Empress forced out a chuckle as tears suddenly trailed on her face, "I was… I was there… I could have stopped…"
"Yes. Grandmother Charlotte told me the story, Miss Empress," Riley nodded, "But I believe I would have become Darkday either way. It…
…is just what I am meant to be."
"...No," Empress shook her head as memories of Riley as an infant surfaced from her mind;
His smile, albeit always creepy even back then, was a smile of happy innocence.
The way he liked to be cuddled.
His high-pitched waves of laughter that whispered throughout their previous base.
The little words he learned every day and always tried to use to talk to the others…
"Oh… no," Empress covered her face as her frustrations came out like a wailing woe,
"You… you weren't meant to be a monster."
All these years of Empress masquerading as a hero; all these years that she tried to save people. All this time… she wasn't able to save the one life that would have truly made an impact on the entire world–
"You…"
Empress then turned to look Riley straight in the eyes,
"...You were meant to be the best of us."
Chapter 265VR 265
"...You were meant to be the best of us."
With those words whispering into Riley's ears; the only response he gave Empress was a slightly confused tilt of his head. He seemed to be thinking something as he glanced to the side, but after a few more seconds of this somewhat sudden silence, he opened his mouth.
"I am."
Riley muttered without even batting an eye, "I defeated Megawoman, Miss Empress. And Megawoman was the best for a hundred years, but now it is me."
"No…" Empress once again shook her head in frustration,
"...That's not what I– This isn't fucking happening!" Empress shouted before letting out a shrieking roar– causing the sea beneath them to violently ripple out and explode. "There… there were so many things I could have done. Even… even if I wasn't able to stop Alice, I could have still adopted you instead of leaving you to a broken man. What… what was I even thinking leaving you to someone like Bernard?"
"Are you okay, Miss Empress?" Riley once again tilted his head as his confusion seemed to be reaching its peak, "Why are you worrying about the past?"
"Because the past is everything!" Empress once again let out her frustration with a sorrowful scream. As for Riley, he was just looking at Empress as if she was some sort of…
"Could it be that you are also on the spectrum, Miss Empress?" Riley muttered as he slightly floated away from Empress, "At first you were wary and a little scared of me, then you were not. And now, you are speaking about the past and how you could have stopped me from becoming Darkday. Do you… perhaps have a personality disorder?"
"You–"
Empress was about to once again voice out her frustrations, but before she could do so, one of the golden bangles attached around her arms started to light up in red. And as soon as it did so, Empress pressed on her ear.
"...What's the situation?" And although Empress's tone was still a little distraught, her demeanor almost instantly changed as she seemed to be talking to someone on her radio.
"In Brazil? Yes, we're near," Empress then said before taking a small glance at Riley, "Riley Ross. What do you mean why am I with him? I'm trying to orient him since he's the newest member… Alright, send me all the details."
"Was that from the HQ, Miss Empress?" Riley then asked as soon as Empress dropped the call.
"...Yes," Empress was obviously still shaken from the conversation they just had. But still, any signs of her wanting to continue the conversation could no longer be seen as she tapped the blinking bangle on her arm; and as soon as she did so, it quickly released a hologram of a map,
"A villain is wreaking havoc in Brazil," Empress then said as she started flying away; and Riley, almost as if a rope was attached to him, followed Empress without any delay,
"Since you still don't have any of our tools, just take a look. Let's… continue our conversation some other time, saving the people takes priority above all else."
Empress then stretched her arm towards Riley as they continued to fly, showing him the hologram that contained the villain's profile.
"Grade-C Supervillain?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he quickly scanned the data, "I thought Hope Guild only responded to a threat that needs their attention, Miss Empress?"
"...In usual cases, we wouldn't really respond to this kind of call," Empress muttered, "...But this one seemed to have tamed a homunculus."
"...Homunculus?"
"The monsters– Megawoman's clones," Empress nodded, "And they vary from Grade-B to Grade-A."
"And that needs your attention?" Riley voiced out his skepticism.
"Yes," Empress nodded, "Because, unlike humans, these homunculi only know how to kill people. Almost as if it's their mission to just kill anything that even dares to whisper a breath."
"..." Riley no longer said anything as he followed Empress. The homunculi he fought back in Los Angeles, the young clones, and Aerith– it is true that they seemed to be actively killing any sign of movements.
But there was also the fact that most of them seemed to target him. Whatever Alistair Reuben did, these monsters were probably somehow programmed to kill him on sight.
So Grandmother Charlotte was right, Riley thought. If these clones are programmed to attack him, then the world has gotten much more enjoyable.
The two continued to fly through the skies in silence; with the only thing breaking it was the occasional explosions that came from the skirt of wind that bloomed from the two. And finally, after minutes more of their seemingly unending flight, they reached their destination– a country plagued by destruction.
"Your priority is to save people, Riley."
And with those words, Empress propelled and plunged herself down to the ground. And as soon as she did so, the people that were panicking and running momentarily stopped to look at her. They seemed to be wanting to say anything as their trembling and weary eyes stared at her.
And to this, Empress only had a single response,
"Run and get to safety. We'll take it from here."
And they did, they all run; nodding their heads almost as if to thank Empress. Parts of Brazil… were already broken. As one of the sites in which Darkday and Megawoman fought, a tiny perfect of the country was almost wiped out entirely– similar to Toronto.
But unlike Toronto, however, there were still a lot of buildings intact. These buildings, however, were mostly abandoned and left behind. And because of that, the number of people that needed saving and to be evacuated elsewhere was at its lowest.
Even after more than a year, the city that Darkday decimated still has not recovered… and now, another problem arose for them– another monster, and this time, also aesthetically.
"..." Empress looked at the homunculus in front of her. Two large arms that reached the ground even while standing; a face that seemed to be attached to its chest.
Truly, a monster.
She then turned to look at the Grade-C Supervillain– a man that just… looked like any other man; inconspicuous, and daresay forgettable, Empress thought. The villain has the power to tame any kind of animal, raging from rodents to elephants.
He could probably kill the man with a single pebble, but since he seemed to be the only reason why the homunculus was not making it its life duty to kill the evacuating people.
"Tell the homunculus to stop moving," Empress then started to dialog with the Grade-C Supervillain, "Or I will be the one to force you to stop, Dominique."
"...Empress?" The Grade-C Supervillain could not help but take a step back, causing the homunculus to do the same, "Wait, I–"
"!!!"
And before the Grade-C Supervillain could finish his words, his entire body suddenly and instantly exploded; turning into a mist of blood along with the homunculus that was beside him.
"Threat neutralized, Miss Empress."
A short breath then whispered into Empress's ears as Riley slowly descended beside her.
"Did… you just kill that man?" Empress almost stuttered as she turned her head towards Riley.
"Yes, Miss Empress," Riley nodded as he softly landed, "Since the fastest way for the civilians to return to safety is to eliminate the threat as soon as it's given birth…
…but as you can see," Riley then pointed towards the blob of guts on the ground,
"The homunculus is already healing."
***
"...Hm?"
Inside a large hall that seemed to be filled with screens and computers, one of the people that were stationed in front of a computer lightly pushed himself away from the screen; his office chair, almost hitting the desk behind him as he did.
He then turned his head to both the desks beside his, only to see his colleagues not even noticing his sudden retreat.
"Am… I the only one seeing this?" The man then said as his feet crawled back; pushing the office chair back to his desk. He then squinted his eyes towards the screen; after a few more glances back and forth, however, his eyes started to widen.
"Unit 4B, requesting to center my display on the large screen!"
And as soon as he raised his hand; the large screen that was in front of all the desks and people started to display Unit 4B's screen; garnering the attention of everyone within the large auditorium.
And it didn't take long, however, before the people's jaws and their headsets fell to the ground.
"What… is that thing?" A whisper then quietly echoed throughout the entire hall as they stare at the screen. The screen seemed to show a view of the darkness that surrounded the planet, outer space.
And within that supposed darkness, was a thread of light– a large one.
"Could it be… an extraterrestrial spaceship?"
The… large silhouette that was plastered with all sorts of light started to grow closer and closer… and soon, the screen just shut down.
"F… fuck," one of the workers stood up; almost causing his chair to fall, "Call... call anyone getting paid more than us! Tell... tell them...
"We… are finally getting visited."
Chapter 266"You… didn't have to kill him."
While Empress was looking at the villain's almost unrecognizable corpse, Riley was busy looking at the homunculus, which was already regenerating from only having a single drop of blood left. Riley had overlooked this during the first encounter in Los Angeles, but this kind of healing ability… wasn't it too fast?
Julius was also able to recover from any sort of wound almost instantly… and their powers all belonged to Megawoman.
"..." Riley then looked at his hand… before one of his fingers was suddenly sliced off. Empress was about to say something as she saw this; but before she could even open her mouth, the number of fingers on Riley's hand was once again what it was just moments ago.
Empress's eyes turned wide from this scene; Riley, on the other hand, just stared at his finger, waiting to see if another Riley would grow from it– but nothing. His eyes then returned to his hand, checking if his finger worked the same as before, and it did.
This kind of healing ability was from Megawoman. Then by all means… Riley shouldn't have been able to beat her the way he did. Was it possible that her regenerating abilities just lost their effectiveness because of their long battle?
…Or did Megawoman just allow herself to lose?
"...You didn't have to kill the target."
Empress was slowly getting used to Riley's weirdness as she repeated her words, "We could have easily neutralized a Grade-C villain without killing him."
"I only opted for the fastest and most effective option, Miss Empress," Riley said as he looked at the recovering homunculus; still deformed, but its limbs were already slowly allowing it to crawl on the ground,
"And I have been in prison. I believe it would be better not to take any as the food is unpalatable, they wouldn't like it."
"...What?"
And with those words, the homunculus was finally able to fully recover– immediately rushing its way towards Riley as it did so. But before it could crawl 3 meters from its spot, Empress suddenly appeared above it; both their backs, facing each other with Empress having her hand on one of the homunculus' limbs as she continued to almost pirouette. The limb she was grabbing, forcefully being torn off. She then pierced the detached limb straight onto the homunculus' face, which was positioned at its buttocks, causing a ripple to echo throughout the ground, blowing away the cars that were unfortunately parked nearby.
And before the homunculus could even utter a single movement, Empress once again pulled off another limb; this time, piercing the homunculus on the chest.
"..." Riley watched as Empress disappeared from her spot, only to return wielding some sort of lamp post… which she used as a stake to completely pin down the homunculus on the ground. And now, with a lamp post and two limbs attaching it to the ground, the homunculus was no longer able to stand up; even after it regenerated its dismembered limbs.
Empress's somewhat deep sigh whispered in the air as she backed away; her eyes, staring at the wriggling and struggling homunculus. She then removed one of the rings around her arms before throwing it on top of the monster; and as soon as she did so, the ring began to let out a raging, and violent burst of green lightning.
An uncomfortable shrilling wail then reverberated through the air; lasting exactly 9 seconds before fading, and along with it, any movements that came from the homunculus.
Empress did not seem to let her guard down, however, as she continued to stare at the homunculus. But after confirming that it truly was dead, she once again let out a sigh.
"Electricity is their weakness," Empress then muttered as she approached Riley, "But I guess you already know that since your group was the first to make contact with them."
"The ones in Los Angeles survived Victoria's electricity, Miss Empress."
"...Yes," Empress once again sighed,
"There are variants that are stronger than the rest, but this one isn't one of them," she then said as she looked at the fried homunculus.
"They all smell like fried chicken, Miss Empress."
"...Please don't put that image in my head," Empress shook her head as soon as she heard Riley's words. She was about to say something else, but before she could do so, the civilians that were hiding nearby the ruined infrastructures and debris all started to emerge.
"It's alright now," Empress then quickly raised her hand in the air, "The threat is gone, please wait for the Villain Aftermath Assistance Unit. Please help those that are injured and gather in a single–"
"Why… did you kill Whipper?"
But before she could finish the words of protocol she has been saying for a thousand times, the faces of the civilians began to frown.
"...Whipper?" Empress raised an eyebrow. She couldn't understand the other words that the civilian said, but she caught onto that word for some reason.
"The Grade-C Supervillain, Miss Empress," Riley was the one to answer Empress's confusion, "They are asking us why we killed him."
"He was trying to help us!" Another civilian began to approach the two of them, "He was trying to hold the homunculus!"google
"..." Even with the voices of the people starting to thunder, Empress still held a calm; almost stoic expression. Not even saying or looking at the civilians and instead just walking nearer to Riley.
"I don't know what they're saying, but we should leave," Empress then whispered.
"Don't even try to leave! I caught everything on camera!"
"..." Empress slightly furrowed her eyebrows as she saw one of the civilians suddenly raising a phone towards them. Although she couldn't understand anything, it was clear what the civilian was trying to say. She only seemed slightly bothered, however.
"Let's leave, we did what we–" Empress was about to fly away, but before she could do so, Riley stepped forward.
"What… are you doing?" Empress then asked as Riley started talking to the civilian that was recording. She couldn't understand what the two were saying, but seeing as the civilian's expression was turning for the worse, then their conversation… was probably not going well for the two of them. search
Riley then took a step back, before turning around to look at Empress. As soon as he did so, however… the civilian that was holding the phone was split in half.
"!!!"
Empress was about to rush towards Riley, but then noticed that the one who sliced the civilian in half was not him, but another homunculus– No. Empress glanced at the dead homunculus she had pinned on the ground just earlier, only to see that it was no longer there.
"It was still alive!?" Empress could only grit her teeth as she changed trajectory, her fist, already heading straight towards the face of the raging homunculus. But as she was only a meter away from it, the homunculus suddenly increased in speed– killing another civilian.
"It got stronge–"
Empress was not able to finish her words as the homunculus suddenly appeared in front of her; plunging its large body towards her and causing her to fly a few meters in the air. And as if seemingly taking this chance, the homunculus started mowing down all the civilians within the vicinity– killing them within the span of seconds.
"Shit!" Empress quickly propelled herself towards the homunculus, but as she was only a meter away from it…
"...What?"
The homunculus suddenly dropped to the ground.
"Let's go, Miss Empress."
Empress then heard Riley whisper, but he was already flying away.
"W… what?" Empress then turned to look back at the homunculus… which was clearly already dead. She then turned to look at the dead civilians for a few seconds before following Riley.
"What did you do!?"
"The fastest and most effective way to deal with the problem, Miss Empress," Riley answered without even looking at Empress; who was rushing to follow him from behind.
"You controlled the homunculus to kill all those people!"
"Whipper did that, Miss Empress."
"The guy was dead!"
"Maybe."
"What do you mean maybe!?"
"We weren't there when it happened."
"...What?"
"They were already dead before we could respond, Miss Empress," Riley let out a small sigh as he finally took a small glance at Empress, "And if you are worried about the video, then you do not have to– the woman was not able to upload it yet, I asked her."
"Even if there was a video, your father could have handled that! There was no need to–" Empress was about to say more, but she finally once again remembered who she was talking to,
"Why… why do you treat people as if they're just insects, Riley?"
"That is not true, Miss Empress," Riley shook his head, "I…
…don't like killing insects."
***
"Can you try making contact with them?"
"We're still trying to figure out their signal, sir."
"Have they done anything? How far away are they from us?"
"384,396 kilometers, sir. The same distance as the moon."
Back in the NASA headquarters, the people were currently scrambling, panicking, and feeling excited all at the same time. Some, however, can't help but feel somewhat fearful of the seemingly large ship that was being shown on the screen.
"Does it look like a Theran ship? Can we identify whether they're Themarians?"
"N… not until we make contact."
"What's the nearest satellite we have near it?" A man that was wearing an office suit currently had his hand placed on the shoulder of a scientist.
"The one that is capturing the feed, sir."
"...Is it manned?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good…
…tell them to approach the ship."
"...Sir?"
**NOTES**
If you want to support me, you can do so on my P.A.T.R.E.O.N: romeru.
Would really appreciate any value! I might also start drawing the characters once a certain goal is met. Thank you very much for liking and reading my story, let's do this shit!
Chapter 267"For the 2nd time, I would… like to officially welcome the newest member of our team, Riley Ross."
A mix of quiet applause and nods whispered in the air as the members of the Hope Guild gathered in their meeting hall. Everyone all carried different expressions on their faces; some complicated, some happy, excited, and some just… worried.
As for Riley, he was busy looking at the almost hundreds of screens that were plastered all over the walls of the meeting hall. Some were turned on to the news, some were live feed from surveillance cameras that Bernard no doubt hacked, some were view from above; no doubt from satellites that Bernard also hacked.
One would think Bernard to just be a minor part of the Hope Guild… but wasn't the whole guild basically operating on him? He was as much a foundation as the very base they were currently standing on.
Their outfits were upgraded by him, their comms, their base– everything was running through Bernard. And yet…
…Why wasn't he here right now?
But why? Riley thought. Because Riley now knows that Bernard knows that he is Darkday? That really shouldn't change much between them, right?
"If you're trying to find Whiteking, then he is currently out on a mission," Tempo leaned closer to whisper, "He operates differently than the rest of us since he also works for the government. Don't tell him I told you."
"...What are you telling to the new kid?" Hera, who was also sitting next to Tempo, quickly pulled him away, "Stop infecting him with your perverseness."
"What did you–"
"Ahem."
And before the two could start arguing with each other, Empress loudly cleared her throat to get everyone's attention, "Let's discuss the reason why I called all of us here today– about the call yesterday."
"Yeah, tragic," Hera let out a small sigh, "But things like that happen every time, what's so special about this one?"
"We were there when they died," Empress then stated; causing Riley to slightly tilt his head to the side.
"I asked Whiteking to cover it up," Empress continued. But even then, no one seemed to give any violent reaction as they all listened to what Empress had to say, "The homunculus… was one of the abnormal ones, it killed all the civilians as soon as they got out of hiding."
"...Shit," Tempo could not help but close his eyes; letting out a long and very deep breath as he shook his head, "Just when are these things going to die out?"
"Before they were killed, the civilians said something that caught my attention," Empress raised her hand to once again gather everyone's attention to her, "The villain that we were called there to neutralize, Whipper… the civilians told us that he was there trying to contain the homunculus and actually save them."
"...What?" Tempo blinked a couple of times as he heard Empress's words, "But the distress call clearly stated that the villain was wreaking havoc?"
Tempo was the one to take the call as he was the only one on the base at that moment. He could have been the one to respond, but their system detected that Empress was near the site. So he was sure…
"...It was a call to neutralize the villain," Tempo muttered.
"I don't get it," V, who was sitting opposite Riley, was resting her head on the table, "A villain is a villain, who knows what he was really up to. If he was really trying to tame it or whatever, then the damage wouldn't have been that great."
"It might just be nothing," Empress let out a sigh as she heard V's words, "But still, practice caution when responding to calls for now. The government's been taking a lot of flak the past few months, they might be cooking up something– especially since Riley is with us."
"Me?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "Does the government want something from me, Miss Empress?"
"They want your head," Butcher, who has been keeping quiet throughout the entire meeting, finally spoke up, "You caused an enormous problem for them during the incident with the HM Prison Leeds. Even though the evidence against you was air-tight, the moment it was dismissed, the masses that supported the government was reduced by 62.8%."
"I think what the 6-footer is trying to say here is that since you're here," Hera stood up as she looked at Empress, "The government wants to make us look bad or something since we got whitey here free, right?"
"Damn, fuck those government fucks," the limiter on V's back started to trickle, "They think they can defame Riley again?"
Empress could only let out a sigh as she heard the displeasure in everyone's voice. If only they knew that who they were trying to defend was someone who almost killed them more than once.
"Alright, that's all," Empress then stood up from her seat, "Just be careful responding to calls for now. If needed, then ask Whiteking for help."
"This doesn't change anything," V also stood up, "They can hate us all they want, we're still gonna save them at the end of the day because that's why we were born in the first place. To use our curse as a blessing to those that could not–"
"What's gotten into you?" Hera let out a loud scoff, "Is our little princess showing off to his new boyfriend?"
"B… boyfriend!?" The sparks on V's back grew even more violent, "I… I mean, we could be… but we haven't really labeled ourselves or anything like that but… maybe we can talk about it later alone, Riley?"
"Nope."
V was about to approach Riley, but before she could do so, Hera blocked her path,
"Lover boy here and I have other plans today. Since Empress already oriented her yesterday, then it's my time to show the boy the ropes."
Hera said as she tied up her long hair into ponytail, before wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses to hide her brown, almost yellow eyes.
"Plans? What plans?" V furrowed her eyebrows. As for the others, they seemed to not want anything to do with the conversation as they left one by one, leaving only Riley and the two girls in the meeting hall.
"I do not remember making plans with you, Miss Hera." Even Riley seemed a bit confused as he stood up to face her.
"I told you I was going to introduce you to the other voice actors of the animated series, right?" Hera smiled, "We happen to be meeting in the studio today to record for a new OVA."
"A… new OVA?" Riley almost took a few steps back as he heard Hera's words,
"Let's go now, Miss Hera. Let me just change to my superhero outfit."
And with those words, V was left alone in the meeting hall.
"Did… I just lose to an anime?"
***
"...By the way, which language did you watch the series?"
"All that was available, Miss Empress."
"R… really?"
Riley and Empress were now riding on an elevator inside the building of Hera's agency– Superhero LimeLight Entertainment or SLL Entertainment for short.
And as their name suggests, most of their stars were supers. And as a member of the Hope Guild, Hera was one of their biggest names. And due to that, they had to take the 'secret' elevator behind the building to avoid the fans that were waiting for celebrities at the entrance.
"...That's good, then," Hera then let out a small sigh that echoed through the small elevator, "I was worried since we'll only be meeting the English voice actors. I did the Japanese, English, and Chinese for my character since she only has a few lines."
"Hm," Riley only nodded several times in response, "That is very good, Miss Hera. I will let you live when the time comes."
"...Thanks?"
And after that, was silence. It was a good thing that there were only a few more floors, or else the atmosphere might have caused Hera to ask what Riley meant by that… and she didn't really want to know.
And finally, after a few more seconds, they arrived at the floor where the voice actors were meeting.
"Ah, Hera is here, everyone!"
And immediately, as they entered the hall they were assigned, the people all started to greet Hera one by one with smiles on their faces.
As for Riley, he was still nodding his head. As expected of someone who was involved in the creation of Italian Mafia Reborn, everyone could not wait to shake hands with her.
"They're all fake."
And as Riley was looking around at the crowd of people, Hera leaned closer to him and whispered, "Everyone here is jealous of each other, the faster you get that, the better."
"Hm… As expected, even the voice actors of the characters are quite cunning, Miss Hera."
"...That's not what I meant," Hera could only roll her eyes as she removed her sunglasses, "Anyway, follow me. I'll introduce you to my manager– Oh, speak of the devil."
And before Hera could finish her words, a woman that had huge bags under her eyes approached the two of them,
"Hera… you're late again," the woman then said; her breath, stinking of the smell of coffee and cigarette. But as soon as her eyes strayed towards Riley, she quickly stood up straight and fixed anything she needed to fix on her,
"Riley Ross!" The woman then screamed, once again gathering the attention towards Hera, "You're finally here! Quick, quick…
…get him ready for the audition!"
***
"Have we made contact with the ship yet?"
Somewhere in NASA, all the people that were sitting and staring in front of their monitors had red and almost swelling eyes already. They have been monitoring the unidentified foreign object that was… sitting idly hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from Earth– always opposite of where the moon was.
"Not yet, sir. The people in the nearest manned satellite are refusing to approach the subject, sir."
"What? What do you mean refusing!? Are they disobeying orders from the government?"
"...They are allowed to do that, sir. Since we don't know–"
"Tell them to do it or their families will get in an accident."
And suddenly, several men wearing sunglasses entered the control room; their ties, all the same color– gold.
"W… what the!? Who told you people you can just enter here!? Who…
…do you think you are!?"
"The Government."
Chapter 268Chaos.
Perhaps something that Riley had only seen accompanied by death and torture. But this time, the former was not present. There were only the tortured breaths and sighs of the seemingly overworked people that worked in the entertainment industry.
He had seen someone running around without pause since earlier, either having coffee, a camera, lights, make-up, or a chair in his arms. There was also one person that couldn't stop screaming at people for some reason.
But all of these, however, were ignored by Hera as her face was currently being brushed by all sorts of make-up. As for Riley… the same thing seems to be being done to him.
"...I thought we were meeting with the other voice actors of Italian Mafia Reborn, Miss Hera?"
"We are, in a few minutes."
"Bu–"
"Stop moving your lips, hun."
And before Riley could finish his words, he could not help but look at his reflection in the mirror in front of him, only to see a sort of lip balm brushing across his lips. Hera had specifically told the make-up artists not to touch him directly… but it didn't seem to be a problem since the stylist handling Riley had the same abilities as him– telekinesis.
"My… I'm not even needed here."
"..." A person then came into view in the mirror, standing behind Riley and looking at his face through the reflection, "You have the most beautiful and flawless skin of all the people I have worked with. I've worked on an albino before, but she had a lot of marks on her face. But you… you're like an elf, aren't you, hun? What's your secret, eh? Why is your face not imperfect like the other albinos?"
"Imperfect?" Riley slightly furrowed his eyebrows, "I believe there's no such thing as an imperfect face– only imperfect perceptions of beauty. The value of a human is not measured by their physical appearance, but by the way they scream, stylist."
"I didn't mean anything by– Wait, what?"
"If you're done, then stop bothering him, Chrissy," Hera seemed to also be done with her make-up as she stood up from her seat; her assistants, quickly helping her get dressed,
"Don't bother with what they're saying, whitey," Hera then replaced the stylist as she stood behind Riley, "But you do look really good there now that your hair is fixed."
With the light hitting them in all places, the contrast between Hera's slightly brown skin and Riley's almost blindingly white skin became more obvious. And now, without her cap and sunglasses, Riley could finally see Hera's face clearly.
Even before, it was either covered in dirt or blood, or she was in her titan form. And so, seeing her now, she truly did look like someone who would star and model in the commercials on TV back when Webflix still did not stream Italian Mafia Reborn.
"Let's go," Hera then lightly spun Riley's chair and removed the apron hanging on his shoulders, "I think we had the CDs waiting for too long already."
"...CDs?" Riley blinked his eyes a couple of times as he stood up; his confusion that rarely showed itself, slowly surfacing through his mind.
"Casting directors," Hera let out a small grin as she glanced at Riley before walking; and immediately as she did so, several of her assistants began following her, "You're reading for a part in a TV show I'm currently starring in."
"...Why, Miss Hera?"
"I told you, it's a deal, right?" Hera muttered, "I let you meet the cast of Italian Mafia Reborn, and you do me a favor– it's a win-win for you either way, especially if you get the part. Don't you want to be an actor?"
"No, Miss Hera. I want to be an astronaut."
"Pft, what's with that?" Hera let out a small chuckle, "I think you have more chance of becoming an actor."
"I don't know how to act, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head as he followed Hera.
"Really?" Hera once again chuckled,
"We'll see," Hera then said as her steps hastened; and soon, they reached an area of the studio with a large curtain as a backdrop. There were two chairs directly in front of the curtain, and then a table with 3 people seated farther away.
"Hera, you're late!" One of the people that were seated at the table stood up; the tone of his voice, showing his exhaustion. There were two others beside him, but they only nodded and smiled at Hera.
"Why did you call us here? We already filled this role!" The man said as he tapped a pen on the table.
"...What are you doing here, Vince? I only asked for the CD."
"I'm a writer, producer and also a director of the show, Hera! Why do you think I won't be here when I heard from Sharon you were asking to re-cast the guy we had? We've already done scenes with him, this is going to add to the budget!"
"I'm not feeling the guy, Mark. And besides, we haven't aired the episode yet, right?" In contrast to Mark's seething words, Hera just sat on the chair, "I got another one for you."
"What do you– !!!"
The casting director, Vince, was about to say something. But as soon as his eyes landed on Riley, he shut his mouth and looked at him from head to toe; he did so for a few seconds, before turning his head towards the two others that were seated beside him.
And as soon as they all nodded their heads seemingly in unison, Vince took his seat.
"What are you guys doing!?" Vince then slammed his palm on the table, "Give Mr. Riley Ross something to read!"
And as soon as Vince's screams echoed throughout the set, everything else became silent– even the hurried steps and the fluttering of the papers that were suddenly being handed to Riley seemed silent. And once again, everything was in chaos… this time silent.
The only thing that Riley could do was sit on the other chair as the world seemed to be sweeping him to do so.
"What am I doing here, Miss Hera?" Riley then turned to face Hera while holding a book in his hand, "Are we really meeting the voice actors of Italian Mafia Reborn?"
"We will, right after this," Hera winked,
"Anyway, let's do this part," Hera then grabbed the book from Riley's hand, turning the pages and returning it to Riley, "Line 69. It's the part where your character, Pharos, is about to die. He only appears in 3 episodes, so this is the most impactful scene."
"Do you need time to practice the lines, Mr. Riley Ross? We'll shoot in 15," Mark said. He was about to stand up, but before he could do so, Riley shook his head.
"There is no need, director," Riley muttered as he looked at the script, "I want to meet the voice actors of Italian Mafia Reborn already."
"Okay," Mark shrugged as he relaxed on his seat; waiting for Hera to finish explaining the character Riley was reading for.
Pharos was an alien from another planet, initially tasked to destroy Earth but ends up falling in love with Hera's character, Sarah. But as Sarah was the lead's main love interest, it wasn't meant to be. And so, as Pharos's mission was absolute, the only way to end it was either for him to succeed, or to die.
Pharos, however, was the strongest of his race– the main protagonist was not a match for him. But Sarah begged for the protagonist's life. And in the end, Pharos just ends his own life, as destroying Earth would mean killing Sarah.
"And that's that," Hera then finished explaining while Riley skimmed through the script, "You got all of it, whitey?"
"Yes, let us do this so we can meet with the voice actors already, Miss Hera," Riley said as he closed the book.
"...What are you doing? You're going to read the lines."
"It's alright, I have them memorized already, Miss Hera."
"Alright," Mark then clapped his hands as he turned his eyes towards the one holding a camera. And with a nod, the cameraman hit record. A toy knife that was cut in half was then handed to Riley, asking him to hold it near the center of his chest.
"Riley Ross, reading for Pharos in Splitting Bad… Rolling."
"What are you doing!?"
And without even any delay, Hera let out a scream; the expression on her face, completely different from before– her eyes, already moist and red. She didn't really need to act since she wasn't the one auditioning, but still, she needed to set an example.
"..." Everyone waited in anticipation as Riley's breaths whispered into their ears. Even Hera, who was currently acting, could not help but take in a small gulp as he waited for Riley to open his mouth. And finally, after a pause as he looked at the fake knife on his chest, Riley stood up from his seat.
"With my death…"
Riley then looked at his hand; almost as if there was blood trailing on it from holding the imaginary wound in his chest. And although his voice was quite monotonous, there was a certain tremble in his breath– almost reflecting Hera's wailing face with just the movement of his eyes.
"...my kind would see Earth as the stronger species. They will not dare visit this planet for years to come."
"..."
"..."
"Hera, your line."
"Y… you don't have to die for them!" Hera almost stuttered as she also stood up.
"I… am dying for myself," Riley's voice became weak as he looked Hera straight in the eyes, "Because what is my existence without you?"
"Why? Why would you…"
The other people in the studio started to gather around the audition set. Mark, who was watching the scene unfold in front of him, could not help but stretch his hands to the side– almost as if wanting to be held back from rushing to hug Riley.
"S… Scrap the current script," Mark then said as he gulped, "We…
…we're adding more episodes including Pharos."
***
"Do we get to meet the voice actors now, Miss Hera?"
"Yup, they're on the floor above."
"...But you said they were on this floor, Miss Hera."
Riley and Hera just finished the screening, with Riley straightening out every inch of his clothes as they were about to meet the cast of Italian Mafia Reborn. But as he heard Hera's words, he could not help but furrow his eyebrows.
He had been doing everything Hera asked him to since he was going to meet the voice actors, even to the point of signing a contract to appear in more than 10 episodes of Splitting Bad. But if in the end, he wasn't actually going to meet the other voice actors. Then… should he just break his promise and kill Hera?
"Are you… lying to me, Miss Hera?" Riley then muttered as all the objects on the floor started to tremble.
"Chill, dude… I'm not lying," Hera let out a small chuckle,
"They're really on the floor above, I promise. But rather, you're the one who lied," she then said as she gestured to Riley to follow her.
"What do you mean?"
"You said you didn't know how to act, that's clearly a lie," Hera once again chuckled as she pressed the elevator button, "You're an experienced actor, Riley. Stop lying."
"I'm not, Miss Hera."
"Bullshit…" Hera looked Riley straight in the eyes, "You…
…you've been acting your whole life."
Chapter 269"You…
…you've been acting your whole life."
"..."
The sound of the elevator doors opening whispered into Riley's ears; his attention, however, was solely on Hera's words.
"What do you mean by that, Miss Hera?" Riley said as he was the first one to step onto the elevator.
"I meant it as I meant it," Hera scoffed as she too, entered the elevator; pressing the next floor up before turning to look at Riley in the eyes again,
"I've been working with actors long enough to know that this…" Hera's fingers pointed all over Riley's silhouette,
"...Fake."
"Did… Miss Empress tell you who I am?" Riley then let out a small whisper as he pressed the emergency stop button of the elevator, causing Hera to slightly lose her balance.
"What the… are you crazy?" Hera furrowed her eyebrows as she tried pressing the elevator buttons, but was unable to as something seemed to be covering them,
"Yes, I know who you are, happy?" Hera then rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she leaned her back on the elevator wall, "And Empress doesn't need to tell me shit, it was obvious from the start."
"How do you know, Miss Hera?" Riley then blinked a couple of times as he finally returned Hera's gaze; looking her directly straight in the eyes, "How do you know…"
"That you're not really autist–"
"...that I'm Darkday?"
"..."
This time, it was Hera's turn to blink a couple of times as she focused her eyes on Riley; looking at him from head to toe. But after a few seconds, she burst out in a fit of laughter.
"Good one," Hera then breathed out as she leaned away from the wall and in front of the elevator doors, "You're not autistic, is what I wanted to say. Darkday, pft… what's with that?"
"..."
"..."
"Oh, it would seem we had a misundersta–"
And before Riley could finish his words, the elevator suddenly quaked; his view, the scenery in front of him, now grey. The sound of stone and metal grinding together then entered Riley's ears as he felt himself falling… along with Hera and the elevator.
Hera was grabbing onto the walls of the elevator as their eyes met; and with her size now probably exceeding 3 meters in length, she was already hunched inside the elevator. Her clothes, completely ripped apart. If not for the seemingly stretchable tights she was wearing, then she would have definitely bare everything to Riley.
Riley was about to say something to her, but once again, before he could do so, Hera kicked her with her grey foot that already seemed to be made of diamond.
Instead of Riley shooting out from the elevator, however, it was Hera that was blown away by the force of her own kick as her back pried and burst open the elevator doors. And now, with the view outside open to Riley, he found himself and the elevator actually already outside the building, gradually gaining speed towards the ground.
He then trailed his eyes towards Hera, whose hand and feet were grinding on the side of the building as her descent slowly halted. But before she could completely stop, her arm dug through the wall. She looked through the hole she made for a split second… before proceeding to pull out a huge chunk of the wall towards Riley.
"Everyone!" Hera then pressed something on her ear, "I need back up, Dark– huh?"
Her words stopped, however, as she noticed that the earpiece that was resting quietly in her ears forever was not there. She then quickly turned to look towards Riley, only to see the said earpiece floating over the palm of his hand.
"!!!"
The huge chunk of debris she threw away blocked Riley from her view, but before it could fully hit the elevator, however… the elevator folded and compressed. And almost instantly, finely wrapping around Riley's body and covering every inch of his skin completely.
"It's too bad, Miss Hera."
And even from afar and with all the noise of the city drowning the air, Hera could clearly hear Riley almost as if his words were traveling inside a vacuum and straight beside her ear,
"I suppose I won't be meeting the voice actors of Italian Mafia Reborn, after all."
"..."
And soon, the debris missed Riley entirely, finally revealing his full silhouette to Hera as he floated in the air.
"It… really is you?" Hera then said as she once again stared at Riley, who was now entirely encased in a metal armor that shaped itself to resemble Darkday's outfit. Of course, Hera was just trying to deny it… but as soon as Riley said he was Darkday, she knew that it could only be the truth.
Everything just… connected in her mind– that's why she attacked him as soon as the thought solidified in her mind. But of course, that was only out of instinct.
Now that she was truly facing him… the only thing that Hera could do was not move. The entire Hope Guild and Megawoman were not enough to stop Darkday, what could she even do in this situation?
"..." Hera then returned her gaze back to the windows of the building, only to see people gathering. She also looked below, and the situation was the same– the debris that she threw made it worse as it seemed to have landed on one of the cars parked below.
"...Shit."
There really is only one thing to do here… and that was to run.
Hera crumpled a part of the wall she was grabbing onto, grinding them into powder before creating a cloud of dust to hide herself. But with her large frame, there was only so much she could do as she burst forth from the cloud, destroying a part of the wall as she leaped towards a roof deck of another building.
"You don't want to kill the voice actors of Italian Mafia Reborn, don't you!?" Hera let out a roar as she continued to jump away, "If so, then let's take this someplace else!"
And with those words, a thunder erupted in the air; a skirt of wind, forming around Hera's towering silhouette as she once again jumped; this time, however, the force was enough to cause the entire roof deck to crumble.
"..." Riley watched as Hera's figure disappeared into the sky. He then turned to look at the floor that was supposed to have the voice actors of Italian Mafia Reborn, only to see his reflection– the reflection of Darkday on the shattered windows of the building.
"I suppose…
…I just don't deserve to meet any of you," and with Riley's somewhat sedated words whispering in the air, he followed Hera away.
***
"...Shit."
Hera's breaths almost mirrored the land she landed on– bare, quiet, and almost without any life. In truth, she wanted a chance to at least run away from Riley… but to think he wouldn't even give her a chance to get away from his sight.
Is… this it for her? Hera thought as she turned around, only to see Riley quietly standing there; a view of nothing but dried land behind him.
"I guess this will be a grave for either one of us, huh whitey?" Hera chuckled as her grey skin slowly started to revert back to its normal brown color; her size too, slowly shrinking.
"No, Miss Hera," Riley took a step forward as he shook his head– how he was able to do that smoothly even with a compressed metal helmet covering his head, well… Hera knows exactly how.
"This is not the place you will die. Only–"
And before Riley could finish his words, he was once again welcomed with Hera's large grey fist. This time, however, Riley did not even bother to move as he just allowed Hera's knuckles to slam straight at his face.
The metal helmet covering his head instantly shattered– blowing away in an arc that accompanied all the dust and dirt within the vicinity; even the ground behind Riley was swept away by the sheer force of Hera's strike… and yet Riley remained unmoved.
Hera only widened her eye for a split second due to this, but almost as if she forced herself to get over the shock, she once again punched Riley; raining down a barrage of fists on his face.
"Why… why the fuck won't you just die!?" Hera roared as the area they were standing on could no longer be seen clearly, drowning in the dust as much as it drowned in Hera's desperation.
"I asked myself that question before, Miss Hera."
And almost as if nothing was even being done to him, Riley spoke casually as he tilted his head to the side to look Hera directly in the eyes,
"But even today, I do not know the answer," Riley then grabbed both Hera's fists; holding them by the finger, "You do not have to worry, Miss Hera. I am not going to kill you. After all…
…you're also one of the voice actors in Italian Mafia Reborn."
"You–" Hera slammed her head on Riley's face, only for her to bounce back. But she could not tumble, however, as Riley tightened the grip on her fingers.
"But I do have one condition, Miss Hera…
…You're going to be my Third Subordinate."
Chapter 270VR 270
"You're going to be my 3rd Subordinate."
"3rd… Subordinate?"
"People who serve under me, Miss Hera. Following my every order."
"You… have people?"
Besides their breaths, the silence of the dry land was the only thing that whispered in the air. Well, if you consider the sizzle that came from the sun as it boiled the rocks on the ground a sound, then perhaps the silence might have been filled with noise after all– but it didn't matter.
The only thing that Hera could hear was the thundering drum of her heart as it seemingly wished to burst forth from her trembling chest. But still, she tried to be calm; her breaths, heavy they may be, were not erratic.
Her gaze, afraid she may be, did not leave Riley for even a second. She took a few steps back as Riley let go of her hand; she did not let go of her transformation, however.
"Yes, Miss Hera. I already have a name for you."
"..."
"..."
And after what seemed like an eternity, the look on Hera's face became free as her feet took a step towards Riley.
"Ah, what the heck. It's either I die or I live, there's really not that much choice," Hera then said as she stretched her hand towards Riley; her grey skin and large muscular frame, once again returning to their normal state.
"Deal, whitey. I'll be your Third subordinate or whatever fucked up fantasy is going in with that head of yours, it's better than dying."
"..."
Riley stared at Hera's stretched hand for a few seconds, before removing all the metal armor wrapped around his body and reaching for her hand.
"I already have a name for you, Miss Hera," Riley then repeated as he shook her hand, "Dev–"
"Yeah, fuck no."
And before Riley could finish his words, Hera suddenly pulled him closer to her body– specifically onto her shoulders as she once again grew in size,
"I'd rather die than serve a homicidal maniac like you!" And with those words, Hera flung Riley's body like a ragdoll, smashing him straight on the warm hard ground.
And without even the sound reaching her ears, the ground erupted almost instantly, causing a crater that may have very well been the size of an entire town. Of course, this tremor was felt by the nearest cities– the tremor was enough to shake even the very clouds that sat above them.
But that wasn't enough, no. Hera knew the monster beneath her would not die with just that. And so, her already butch arms became even more nuanced– almost as if turning into something other than flesh as they slammed their way to the laying Riley.
Not just once, not just twice– but a flurry of cobbles that was slowly starting to rearrange the very land they stood on.
"Fucking die!" Hera screams; her roars, only drowned by the sound of her fists thundering in the air. With every hit, they found themselves deeper and deeper into the ground– perhaps creating a crater enough to be called a sea.
Perhaps a sea of blood for all the millions of people that Riley killed?"
"This is for all the people you killed!" Hera's voice cracked as the veins on her neck started to turn red; an ominous contrast from her grey skin. The crater continued to cave in, and soon her wails started to echo…
…Perhaps echoing the cries of the mothers, fathers, sons, daughters– all the people that have lost their loved ones from Darkday?
"All those children! They have done nothing to you!" Hera's voice continued to echo; echo deeper into the hole that she created. It was deep…
…But perhaps not as deep as the hole that Darkday had created through the hearts of the people.
"You… are a fucking monster!" Hera's voice once again cracked. And soon, the crack was all that remained as blood started to spurt out from Hera's noise– her grey skin and muscular stature, fading along with the light that already barely scratches them from above.
"...Why?" Hera then gasped as she continued to slam her fists on Riley's face– despite not even giving a whisper of her strength, "All… all those people."
"..." Riley… was completely unscathed. Only tears and blood trailing on his face…
…but even that was not his.
Throughout the entire rage, the roars, the fury… Riley just watched. Not even closing his eyes as Hera hit continued to hit him repeatedly.
Superheroes– No.
Heroes.
They always seem to cry not for themselves, but for the people they failed to protect.
"Are you not afraid of me, Miss Hera?" Riley then said as he continued to take in Hera's frail punches.
"...Of course," Hera whimpered, "...But I am more afraid of what would happen if I let you live!"
And with those words, Hera's fist once again became grey… but only her fist. The difference in weight caused her to almost tumble, helplessly falling on top of Riley as she screamed from the pain of her joints fracturing.
"Hm…" Riley let out a small breath as he slightly nodded his head, "Megawoman said something similar before she finally decided to kill me. It happened a few days before Toronto. But ironic, the day she decided to kill was the day I truly became… a calamity."
"Kh!"
Hera could not help but let out a pained gasp as Riley stood up– grabbed her hair as he did so.
"You are strong, Miss Hera," Riley then let out a small sigh as he lifted Hera in the air and looked her straight in the eyes, "It is a pity that you can't be my Third Subordinate."
"F… fuck you," Hera whispered some corners of her face turned grey… but once again gained color immediately.
"And you can't become my guest… you're too strong," Riley continued to sigh as he looked to the side,
"This is the 2nd time this had happened, truly a waste. I apologize, Miss Hera…" Riley then turned his eyes back to Hera; and soon, they gleamed in red,
"...But it would seem I will be breaking my promise after all."
"Tch," Hera smirked as she returned Riley's gaze, "You know what's really a pity? That we couldn't get to shoot that drama after–"
And with those words, the light that wrapped around Riley's eyes went straight through the air beside her left ear.
"...What?" Although Hera could not turn around to see what just happened due to her being lifted up in the air, she could somewhat hear a small… grunting whimper groaning behind her– a somewhat familiar sound that she had been hearing the past few months.
"They really are born to hunt me, aren't they?"
And with those words, a small thud whispered in the air as Riley let go of Hera's hair; finally allowing her to see what was going on. And as soon as she did so, she saw… someone– No… something.
A homunculus? Not quite– the creature that was wriggling on the ground just a few feet away from her could still somewhat be called human, but not quite. Her skin was completely reminiscent of just flesh; her veins, exposed for the world to see.
Her legs were unusually longer than most of her limbs; along with her fingers that each looked like some sort of sickle.
And unlike the rest of the homunculi, this one had hair… and an actual head.
"This…" Hera knew exactly who or what was in front of her– she had reviewed the tapes with the other members of the Hope Guild. The creature in front of her was one of the abnormal homunculi that were in Los Angeles.
"Aerith," Riley whispered… before kicking Hera straight on her head, causing her to roll violently across the ground for several meters; her eyes, completely breaths, only having the chance to let out as her body finally stopped. If not for her abilities instinctively and automatically protecting her as her skin turned grey, then she would have probably already died there and then.
But alas, her vision started to blur– with the last thing she had seen being the homunculus rushing towards Riley.
"!!!"
"Fucking hell!" A thunder erupted in the air, jolting Hera awake from her momentary coma. And the first thing that entered her view was an endless sea of green– causing her eyes to once again close due to how blinding it was.
"Hera, fuck!"
"H… huh?" Hera then opened her eyes, only to see that Tempo was hugging her.
"I… I thought you were dead!"
"W… what?" If it were any other circumstance, then Hera would have surely pushed Tempo away and kicked her repeatedly on the balls; but right now, she was deeply confused.
"What's… happening?" She then looked around her, only to see Empress and Butcher also there. V was also there, raining down her lightning… towards something?
"Don't you remember anything?" Tempo then let go of Hera; and even though his eyes were covered by his half-face helmet, one could easily assume he was looking at her directly in the eyes,
"You guys were attacked by a bunch of monsters."
"...What?" Hera breathed out as she looked around her… only to see dozens of corpses sprawled everywhere– and standing quietly in the center of these corpses, was Riley.
"More came after you lost consciousness, Miss Hera," Riley then casually said.
"...What?" Hera repeated; her upturned eyebrows, completely showing her confusion.
"Could it be…" Tempo then gently held her face,
"...you don't remember anything?"
Chapter 271"Could it be… you don't remember anything?"
"Re… member? The last thing I remember was– Kh!"
The sound of Hera suddenly groaning in pain whispered in the air; her hand, grasping her head as it felt like something was cracking it. Hera then once again turned to look at the corpses of the homunculi scattered and sprawled everywhere, and then towards the flash of green that V was endlessly letting out.
A… flash of light?
"...The last thing I remember was…" Hera then turned to look at Riley, who was stepping closer to her and the others, "Riley…
…Riley and I were reading a script."
"...A script?"
Tempo, Butcher, and Empress looked at each other as they heard Hera's words. V seemed to want to join in on whatever they were talking about, but since she was busy trying to completely eradicate the strongest clone, Aerith, there really was nothing she could fully hear.
"What… do you mean a script?"
Hera looked up at Tempo first, before turning her attention towards Riley, who was also staring at her for some odd reason– something he had never done before. But after a few seconds of exchanging glances at each other, Hera let out a small smirk as she finally stood up from the ground.
"It's a secret between whitey and I," Hera let out a small chuckle as she patted away the dirt on her tights, "Anyway…
…what really happened here?"
"Do you really not remember what happened, Miss Hera?" And finally, Riley spoke.
"Nah," Hera sighed as she continued to pat herself.
"The chance of your death would have been a hundred percent if Riley was not present, Hera," Butcher joined the conversation; his bald head, almost green as it reflected V's electricity, "It seems you were knocked out before more of the homunculi arrived."
"...Really?" Hera widened her eyes,
"Damn, I guess I owe you my life now, huh whitey?" She then said, forcing a small chuckle as she once again looked at Riley.
"No, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head, "You do not owe me your life, I own it."
"...What's with that?" Hera scoffed as she once again grasped her head, "But shit… I guess I took a big one, I don't fucking remember anything about this happening at all."
"You are quite lucky, Miss Hera," Riley breathed out, "As expected of someone voicing a character from Italian Mafia Reborn."
"...Thanks? But what are we going to do with that?" Hera then pointed at V, who was still trying to eradicate Aerith, "It doesn't seem to be working."
Aerith's body was still wriggling, not from the electricity that was surging and eating away at its body, but from struggling to move– and even though everything was drowned and washed out from the bright lights that V was emitting, they could still clearly see the homunculus…
…staring at Riley.
"It will die soon," Empress, who has been keeping quiet the whole time, finally joined in on the conversation, "I think what we need to focus on is the monsters' behavior. Although we have discussed this in our previous meetings, it would seem that the monsters truly are attracted to and are hunting Riley Ross."
"I have reached the same conclusion, Miss Empress," Riley muttered as he looked at Aerith; whose eyes were still pretty much alive even as the rest of its body was being roasted, "They were made to hunt Darkday, and in the eyes of their creator, I was Darkday."
"Hm," Empress only slightly furrowed her eyebrows as she nodded, "Maybe it's possible to round them all up once and for all?"
"...You mean use the kid as bait?" Tempo let out a small breath, "Don't you think that's dangerous?"
"It is," Empress said before looking at the corpses of the homunculi scattered everywhere, "But Riley has more than proven that he is capable of dealing with a lot of them even alone."
"Yeah, but we don't know how many of them are still out there," Tempo shook his head,
"What if there is more than one of those things?" He then pointed at Aerith, "What if there were a dozen of that kind of variant out there and they all rush at Riley at the same time? What if there were a hundred? We still don't have a number on how many that crazy old guy actually made. We can't put Riley's life at risk again, boss."
Again.
The last time was with Alice, Tempo thought as the memories came rushing into his mind.
"..." Empress only looked at Butcher, before letting out a small but very deep sigh, "We can discuss the plan sometime else. First, we need to clean this up... Whiteking."
[I'm here.]
"Do you have it ready?"
[It will be there in 3 seconds.]
"Okay," Empress nodded before looking at V, "V, get ready to release it in 2… 1!"
And as soon as Empress reached the end of the countdown, the onslaught of electricity that was bombarding Aerith instantly disappeared. Tempo also disappeared from his spot, momentarily appearing beside V as both of them too, disappeared– only to once again appear near Empress and the others.
And seemingly as a testament to how stronger Aerith was than the rest of Megawoman's monster clones, her scorched body was already shedding as she slowly gathered the strength to stand up. But before even a single limb of her could fully stretch, several pillars rained down around her in a circle.
"..." Riley has seen this before– it was when they neutralized Dark Millenium. Judging from the green electricity trickling around them, they seemed to be running on a power source that was charged by V's power.
But… just what exactly are they?
Aerith… also seemed to be scared of it? Because for once, its eyes were not centered on Riley and instead looked across the pillars that surrounded it– not even moving a single step from its position.
"It's Themarian technology."
"Hm?" Riley quickly turned to look at Empress as she whispered, "It's from Theran, Miss Empress?"
"Yes," Empress stepped forward and stood beside Riley, "Megawoman gave it to the Hope Guild when it was established."
"That's from Megawoman?" Riley then quickly turned his gaze back to the pillars; his eyes, reflecting the trickles of light that they released in almost a child-like way, "Why did she give it to the Hope Guild, Miss Empress? Can I have it?"
"Hope Guild was not a superhero team when it was created, Riley," Empress then let out a small sigh as she looked at Riley,
"It's a team made by the government to stop Megawoman if ever she becomes… an enemy," Tempo chimed in, "We are the Hope of Humanity– Empress told me when I joined."
"...What?" Riley blinked his eyes a couple of times, "Then why would Megawoman give something like that?" He then pointed at the pillars as he tilted his head.
And as he did so, Empress let out a small scoff and a chuckle,
"Then you don't know Megawoman as much as you think," Empress then said, "Megawoman loves the Earth and humanity probably more than us. But if you truly spend time with her, then you'd know...
...that her smugness was also unmatched."
"Oh boy…" Tempo grunted as he stepped back,
"...Here she is with her story again."
Chapter 272"M… Megawoman!?"
"D… do you think you could just barge in here!?"
"...Yes?"
Decades ago, sometime in the early second quarter of the 1900s, Hope Guild was founded by members of the World Government. With only one purpose– a contingency against Megawoman if ever she becomes the enemy of humanity.
Megawoman's popularity has been growing almost exponentially with the birth of long-range communications. And due to her stopping what could have possibly been a world war, her influence in the world… was now higher than even that of the leaders of the world.
Megawoman was the savior of the world– but what happens if one day, she decided to turn her back on humanity? After all, no matter how much they wanted it, Megawoman was an alien.
And so, the World Government decided to create the Hope Guild. And now, they have gathered all the 7 members they needed.
All super-powered individuals that could potentially and possibly restrain Megawoman when or if the time comes. Everything was ready as they met in a secured facility away from the rest of the world, with the government shaking the hands of each of the members of the newly established Hope Guild.
But then…
…Megawoman entered their so-called facility through the front door.
"Why… why are you here!?"
The government officials that were there all stepped back, their finely tailored suits, almost ripping from the sheer force of their anxiety. As for the seven supers that were gathered in the room, they quickly all put up their stance as their eyes all stared at Megawoman as soon as she barged through the door.
"How can I not be here when I hear you children shouting my name a dozen times?" Megawoman let out a small sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose, adjusting her mask at the same time. Her outfit was not the same as it was in the present times, and was instead some kind of winter jacket that one could find in thrift stores.
"You… were nearby?"
"Yes, Stark. I was somewhere in Canada."
"...But we're in Greenland."
"As I said, I was nearby."
Stark, the current and acting leader of the World Government back in those days, could only stare as Megawoman walked around the hall they were in; her eyes, seemingly scanning all the people inside.
"So…" Megawoman then took a seat on one of the chairs at the table, "...what's all this about?"
"This…"
The only one that dared to open his mouth was Stark. After all, amongst all the people within the hall, he was the one that knew Megawoman the most.
"...We're just gathering exemplary supers, Megawoman," Stark then let out a small but deep breath as he too, took a seat. He also gestured for the others to sit… but sadly for one of them, Megawoman already had his.
"Hm…" Megawoman then once again scanned the supers that were now seated at the table, "...I see that. So what exactly are your plans for subduing me when I, as you said, started to become the enemy of humanity?"
"!!!"
And as soon as Megawoman said that, the supers that have already taken their seats all jumped, once again putting up their own stances as they looked at Megawoman.
"...Did you even train these guys?" Megawoman sighed and shook her head, "I am disappointed in you, Stark. I thought that amongst all those who have governed their people, you were different."
"We… may be friends, Megawoman. But that is exactly why I know you're too dangerous,"
Stark then raised his hand, gesturing for the supers to calm down. However, none of them followed his order as they were too distracted in trying to gauge whether or not Megawoman was going to start something.
"That's not what I am disappointed in, Stark," Megawoman shook her head; her sighs, echoing throughout the room, "If the time comes that I become the enemy, do not do anything…
…just run and hide."
"..."
"Talk," Megawoman once again sighed, "None of these children would even leave a mark on my skin, so just talk to me when that time comes."
"...How do you know we can even talk to you if you actually become our enemy?"
"Because the time I become your enemy… is the time that all of you would have lost your humanity."
Megawoman once again scanned the supers one by one,
"And you, children… never sacrifice your life to people that are just using you."
"..." The seven supers could only look at each other; their heads, slightly looking down as they heard Megawoman's words.
"The very fact that they have tasked you to fight me is ludicrous," Megawoman then stood up from her seat, causing everyone in the room to flinch,
"The only creature that could kill me is trillions of kilometers away," she then breathed out; her words, followed by a somber silence as they all just watched as Megawoman seemingly looked towards the stars.
But after a few seconds, she turned to face one of the members of the newly formed Hope Guild,
"You, little girl."
"M… me?" And despite her head being covered by a hood and her face by a mask, it was obvious from her voice that she was perplexed from suddenly having been singled out by Megawoman.
"Come with me."
And with those words, Megawoman suddenly grabbed the female super, flying away and returning after an hour… bringing along multiple silver pillars with them.
"What… is this?" Stark squinted his eyes as Megawoman almost destroyed the table as she placed the pillars on it.
"A way to neutralize me if the time comes," Megawoman then smirked as she stepped back, "Something from my home planet."
"This!?" Everyone turned their eyes towards the pillars.
"Why…" Stark, on the other hand, just took in a small gulp, "Why did you give this to us?"
"Not to you…" Megawoman pointed at the female super and the other members of the Hope Guild, "...to them."
"But they work for us!"
"Give it a year or two," Megawoman chuckled, "I am sure they'll part ways with you guys once they realize they are working for jesters."
"But–"
"And you don't have to worry," Megawoman then walked to the door, "None of you would gain the chance to use that…
…because I will never betray Earth."
***
"Because–"
"Because I will never betray Earth."
And before Empress could truly finish her story about Megawoman, Tempo interrupted her as he let out a small groan and finished the story for her.
"Do you know how many times I have heard this story? Probably a hundred times."
And despite being glared at by Empress, Tempo still continued to groan and sigh. They were already back in the base of the Hope Guild, with Aerith being confined in the lowest level.
"..." Empress was still glaring at Tempo; but after a few more seconds, she let out a long and deep sigh and started dismissing everyone.
"Riley Ross, you stay."
"Uh–" V was about to approach Riley as they were all stepping out, but could only grunt and sigh as she went ahead.
"It was a very nice story, Miss Empress," Riley then sat back to his seat as everyone else but he and Empress left the meeting hall.
"Rescuing Megawoman…
…we're doing it tonight."
Chapter 273"N… no."
"F… fuck… I didn't say goodbye to my daughter today."
In the midst of the night, where everything was supposed to be quiet and peaceful– the whispers and somber screams of the people started to echo and flutter in the air. There was only supposed to be the sound of silence where they were…
…but now the sound of their heartbeats was enough to turn them deaf.
There was supposed to be no sound here– after all, the ones that previously lived here have died more than a year ago; all of them, millions of them.
…but now, the only thing that the people currently present was the sound of their own fear; eating away at them as the very cause of this silence floated above them. His silhouette, covering the little moonlight this desolate land receives.
"D… Darkday!?"
"Why… why is he here!?"
***
"Hm."
"It's a little tight, but nothing I can't alter, Miss Empress. I grew an inch taller since I last wore it."
"...Can you please not talk in your normal voice?"
A few hours ago, somewhere in the dark sky, were Empress and Riley, who was currently wearing his Darkday outfit. And Empress didn't want to admit it, but looking at him right now… she felt fear.
They were right to call Darkday a calamity instead of a supervillain. Empress had fought so-called mass murderers, slaughterers that do not have emotion, and some potentially even stronger than her. But never once has what she felt with Darkday been replicated by anyone. The number of Darkday's appearances could probably be counted in one's hands– and yet the number of people he had killed was in the double-digit of a million.
Darkday… was a force.
It was akin to what one could feel as a raging storm that was capable of blowing away houses were on its way to you– you know it was coming, but the only thing you could really do was try to hide.
But if one were to hide, then one might drown in the aftermath.
If one were to run, then one might be flung away by all the debris being blown away.
And if one were to face it head-on, then one would be considered insane.
There was absolutely nothing one could do– and that is exactly what Empress was feeling right now as she faced Darkday in all his evil and glory.
"Then is this more appropriate, Empress?"
"..." Empress then took in a small gulp as Riley's voice changed into what she was more familiar with– the voice of Darkday; soulless. Almost as lifeless as the sky they were on, and yet there was a certain charisma held in it.
The charisma of death, that is.
"That will do," Empress then let out a sigh. She was actually talking to Darkday in a civil way, not just Riley; but Darkday. Never did she think a day like this would come,
"Follow me as I explain the first part of the pla–."
"Empress, I need to set a condition first," Darkday breathed out as he followed beside Empress, "If I find out this is a trap and that you are lying about Megawoman, I will kill half the population of the people you loved so much."
"If I wanted to trap you, then there are so many better ways to do it… and I know all of them will fail," Empress shook her head as she continued to fly, "Do not belittle my intelligence, Darkday. I am no longer treating you as anything but a calamity– we're just both using each other."
"Very well," Darkday let out a small chuckle that almost crawled throughout Empress's body.
"There is no redemption for you at the end of the road, Darkday," Empress then continued, "Even if you had a change of heart, the people you've killed…"
"..." Empress did not continue her words as she just increased her speed. There was no use in trying to converse with Darkday about his deeds– he himself knew what he was and is. He never once tried to ask for redemption, or try to make excuses. He… is just as he is.
And so, they continued to fly in silence; with only the rhythm of the clouds hitting their ears. And then, finally, they seemed to have reached their destination as Empress abruptly stopped.
"She is here," Empress then said.
"I do not see any floating ships, Empress," Darkday muttered as he looked around.
"...No, I meant below."
Darkday faced Empress for a while, before slightly descending below the clouds, and what welcomed him was a view of ruin– the city of Toronto.
"Megawoman… is somewhere here?"
"There," Empress then pointed at a ruined building, "They are hiding Megawoman somewhere underground. I've seen people come and go– like that."
And as Empress was explaining, a couple of people started to emerge from the rubble.
"Then we'll pull whatever infrastructure they have to the ground," Darkday then muttered as he raised his hand.
"No! What the fuck are you doing!?" Empress, however, blocked his view.
"Isn't this why you brought me here?"
"No! If I just wanted you to lift whatever dungeon they have, then I wouldn't have asked you to be Darlday," Empress sighed, "We don't know what they're doing with Megawoman, so it's best to be cautious."
"And what's your plan?"
"...You just wreak havoc," Empress breathed out as she turned her gaze below, "And I will respond in a few minutes– and in the midst of the confusion, I'll penetrate below ground and find Megawoman."
"...You should have asked me to make a plan instead, Empress," Darkday shook his head.
"And let you go on your own? No, no way."
"Wouldn't the other members respond once they report that I am here? Tempo will get here in a manner of minutes, Empress."
"They–"
[They won't.]
And before Empress could even say anything, a voice whispered from one of the bangles attached around her arms– Whiteking's voice.
"Whiteking?" Darkday tilted his head, "I see. So that's why Empress is so confident with her flawed plan."
"..." Empress's eyes momentarily became dead as she heard Darkday's words.
"Anyway, I have a question, Whiteking," Darkday then said as he leaned closer to one of Empress's bangles, "Mother, how did the two of you meet?"
[...We're childhood friends. Enough with the chat, there's only a window of time we can proceed with this mission.]
"Let's talk after this is over, please bring mother."
[...]
"..."
"..."
"I'll be going then," Darkday then turned to face Empress, before his body started to fall towards the ground head first,
"People are going to die tonight-- a lot of them."
"It doesn't matter... retrieving Megawoman is our priority."
"I am starting to like you, adulterer. I promise not to kill you accidentally."
And with those words and a small giggle fading in the air, their plan finally started.
"D… Darkday!?"
"Why… why is he here!?"
There were currently 4 people outside the rubble; and all of them, almost trembling on their feet as Darkday slowly descended to the ground. And although his feet landed ever so gently and softly, the people that were there felt a small tremble rumbling within them.
"You have something of mine, kidnappers…" Darkday's whispers reached their ears, causing one of them to faint right there and then,
…I want her back."
Chapter 274"C… call for the guards!"
"Just run!"
2 of the people decided to run, while the other half proceeded to go back inside the rubble which they emerged from.
"..." Riley turned to face the two that ran away, before proceeding to plunge several spikes that emerged from the ground through their feet.
"!!!"
The two screamed right at the same time; if it weren't for their voices being vastly different from each other, then it would have probably sounded like only one of them screamed in pain. For Darkday, however, the timber and the tone of their screams were obvious.
"..." Darkday then slowly started walking towards the two; who, despite the pain of having their legs punctured, still crawled away as soon as they heard Darkday's steps growing closer.
"S… stay away!"
"No," Darkday answered without any delay as he faced the one that pleaded for his life; his eyebrows were upturned; his eyes, completely moist and not even trying to stop the tears that were starting to fall from them.
Darkday then turned his attention to the other man, who despite obviously being in pain, just stared at him. And so, with a nod, the man suddenly folded in half– not even uttering another scream as his life was instantly extinguished.
"How does it feel?" Darkday then said as he stepped on the remaining man's foot– whether or not he was luckier than his companion, was yet to be determined.
"P… please, don't. I have a family!"
"What a coincidence," Darkday's shoulders slightly trembled as he chuckled, "So do I."
"W–"
The man's pockets began to move before he could say anything else; and without even any warning, his wallet burst forth from his pants.
"Is this them?" Darkday then quickly removed a photo from the wallet and showed it to the man.
"Y… yes," the man quickly nodded, "My… my daughter just entered high school, she–"
"And you live quite near," Darkday removed the man's driver's license.
"Y… yes. I only accepted this job because of the location," the man gritted his teeth, "P… please, I don't even know what they're keeping in there! I… I'm just a doorman!"
"..." Darkday, however, did not respond as he just stared at the man's driver's license.
"..."
"..."
And seeing as how even after a few seconds, Darkday still did not move; the man used this chance to crawl away; his breaths, almost drowning everything else, even the pain he was feeling as the splinters of the stones pierced in his leg scraped his flesh away.
No matter what happens, he needed to get back to his fami–
And before the man could finish his thoughts, a small thud whispered in front of him.
"...Huh?" The man then immediately stopped crawling as he looked at the object that suddenly blocked his path.
"W… what?" And no matter how many times the man blinked his eyes, the object blocking his path did not disappear.
"W… what? C… Crystal!?"
"Oh, good."
And while the man wailed… another Darkday emerged from the sky.
This Darkday then let out a small but very short sigh of relief as he landed near the other Darkday, "It would have been awkward if I got the different person."
"Good work, you may go now."
"Thank you, boss."
And as soon as the other Darkday appeared, he flew away as fast.
"N… no, this… this isn't happening!" The man continued to scream as he rushed towards the body that was suddenly sprawled in front of him. And even though it was completely mangled; with the bones protruding from her flesh, he still embraced the body,
"No… not… not my baby, no. No!"
"..." Darkday then stared at the scene for a few seconds; seemingly relishing on the man's screams as he stretched his arms to the side. But after a few more seconds, he dropped his hand.
"Another one, then," he then said as he flicked his finger– and as soon as he did so, the man's head… suddenly went straight through one of the sharp bones protruding from his daughter's body– killing him instantly.
Darkday then turned around, but before he could even take a single step towards the entrance of the rubble that the two other people escaped to, Empress suddenly rushed towards him.
"Darkday!" Empress roared as her fists immediately went for Darkday's helmet; and this time, it connected as Darkday rolled several meters– causing the ground to split open.
"Why… why did you drag an innocent child!?"
Empress, however, instead of rushing through the rubble as planned, continued to rush towards Darkday.
"...I did say people are going to die tonight, Empress," Darkday casually said as he took another Empress's punch head-on– but instead of being pushed away, he flew towards the rubble– straight through the entrance of the hidden facility,
"You're the one who gave permission."
"Only the people at the facility!"
"Be careful, Empress. They might hear we're together."
"You–"
And before Empress could finish her words, she felt herself being dragged to the ground– No, it was more than that; her entire body burrowed through the ground until finally, she dropped to some sort of hallway.
"This…"
"E… Empress!?"
"Have you come here to save us!?"
"..." Empress looked at the people– No, at the doctors that were in the hallway for a few seconds, before her eyes landed… on their gloves that were filled with blood. Another one seemed to be holding a case… holding some sort of organ inside.
And it took just a second– just a second for Empress's fist to punch a hole through one of the doctors.
"Oh my, what are you doing, Empress?"
"D… Darkday!?"
One of the doctors immediately ran away– the image of Empress punching a hole through her colleague not even registering in her mind as she did so. But alas, before she could even go far, she felt her nose being mushed as an invisible wall seemingly blocked her path.
"There's been a change of plans, Darkday," Empress then said as she pulled her arm from the doctor's chest, "We…
…are going to kill everyone in this facility."
Chapter 275It was but perhaps a momentary lapse in judgment, or perhaps it was meant to be. Maybe it was fate?
Fate that Empress landed right at the very moment these doctors had their hands bloody, holding organs that are no doubt… from Megawoman. It might not be hers, it might've belonged to an animal.
But this was the facility where Megawoman was being kept. And so, the only conclusion that landed on Empress's mind…
…was that they are harvesting Megawoman for her organs.
For what reason? It didn't matter.
"Change of plans, Darkday. We…
…are going to kill everyone in this facility."
It may be a momentary lapse in judgment, but it is judgment nonetheless.
"Hm…"
As for Darkday, it was hard to see what kind of emotion he held behind his helmet. Maybe it is as always, nothing? In his hand, however, floated the other doctor left; screaming and begging for his life– Empress, however, did not even look at her.
"Make it quick. We still need to sweep the facility and search for Megawoman."
And with those words, a small snap whispered into her ear as the doctor's neck was turned into a way it shouldn't.
"Let's go," Empress slightly grunted as she walked away. Riley, on the other hand, did not take a single step.
"What are you doing, we should–" Empress turned around, only to see Riley holding the organ that was on the box the doctor was holding.
"Your rage is justified, Empress," Darkday then let out a small but very deep breath as he held the organ close to his face, "This is Megawoman's lungs."
"...What?"
"These people," Darkday's tone then slightly changed, "These weak, pathetic humans… think they could tamper with the body of a god?"
"..." And suddenly, Empress no longer knew where to get angry. Whether the fact that they truly were harvesting Megawoman's organs… or the fact that Darkday knew exactly what Megawoman's lungs looked like.
For him to memorize even something like that, wouldn't that mean that Darkday opened up Megawoman in the first place?
"If I had known you were one of Megawoman's protege, Empress. I would have given her body to you instead," Darkday's sighs could be heard even from his helmet, "Such a grave mistake on my part… but no matter. Once we retrieve Megawoman, please take care of her."
"..." His words, his actions, the tone of his voice– it really does change whenever a topic involving Megawoman was involved. Maybe it would have actually been better if Darkday didn't give Megawoman– no. She was sure Darkday was also torturing Megawoman.
Do not forget who is the real evil here, Empress thought.
"It's best for us not to separate," Empress muttered, "We don't know what else they have in here."
"It is alright, Empress."
And as Darkday said that, four… other Darkdays started emerging from the floor– seemingly using whatever was in their surroundings as a sort of material to build their silhouette.
"They will go that way," Darkday then pointed at the hallway behind him, "While we go and explore there?"
"...Right," Empress could only shake her head as she started walking, "Let's just finish our mission. Whiteking, do we need to be wary about anything?"
[You're alright– only a single call from your area and I've intercepted it. Are you… really going to kill everyone there?]
"Developing a conscience now, Whiteking?"
[And you're losing yours. Why don't you just retreat and let me and my son handle this?]
"..." Darkday only listened as he followed behind Empress. He could just lift the entire facility if he wanted to, but in some ways, Empress was right– if they were harvesting Megawoman's organs; then destroying parts of the facility might do something to her. And that wasn't good. If Megawoman was going to get hurt or die, then it should be inflicted directly by him.
"No," Empress breathed out as her steps became faster, "They are going to pay for what they are doing to Megawoman."
And with those words, the entire hall slightly trembled as a skirt of wind enveloped Empress's body– her silhouette, disappearing into the unusually long hallway.
"..." Darkday stared at the hallway for a moment, before shaking his head and proceeding to follow. And with the speed that Empress was going, it didn't even take a minute before they found something.
A control room. The images on the screens, similar to what one could find in a hospital room. Temperature, heart rate, sugar levels, oxygen levels– everything was being measured. Who? Empress could only assume that it was Megawoman's.
"E… Empress!?"
And immediately, as Empress barged into the room, the eyes of the people all centered on her. How could they not when she just suddenly barged in… and with her body almost covered in blood.
"Are your kills always this messy?" Darkday stepped over the two guards that seemed to have guarded the control room on his way inside the room. And as soon as he entered, everyone immediately started running away.
But alas, before they could even take 3 steps, they all turned into a mist of blood– this mist, however, did not stick itself onto the consoles and screens, but instead just floated near the ceiling– almost like red clouds.
Everyone was dead– except one.
"What are you people doing here?" Empress then finally stepped away from the entrance as she slowly approached the shivering man that was hiding beneath the table;
"What are you doing here?" Empress repeated her words as she pulled the man out, placing him on the chair near them,
"What is that?" She then said as she pointed at the monitors, "Where are you hiding Megawoman?"
"I… I don't know anything!" The man said as he forcefully closed his eyes; turning his head to the side almost as if he didn't want to see what was happening.
"!!!" But alas, it suddenly became impossible for him to avoid anything as his eyelids… were suddenly ripped away by Darkday.
"..." Empress paused for a moment as she saw this; but after a few breaths of trying to compose herself, she once again asked the question.
"P… please, I… I only work here! I don't know anything!"
"The man outside also said the same thing," Darkday muttered as he looked at the stats that were being shown on the screen, "Interesting, none of the parameters are out of their normal range."
"Darkday, this is not the time to–"
"Have you ever wondered how Supers came to be?"
And before Empress could finish her words, a woman suddenly entered the control room; also stepping over the corpses of the guards as she did so.
"Whether we're from another planet like master," the woman then said as several more people followed behind her; all wearing the same uniforms as the guards that Empress killed,
"Or we're just really the next step in evolution?"
"...Aurora?" Empress said as she slammed her hand on the man's head… not even knocking him out and only causing him to tumble; her hand, also throbbing a little. And as Empress felt this, she could not help but click her tongue in frustration,
"You… are involved in this?"
"Good evening to you too, Adaeze," the woman then also grabbed a pistol from the holster on her waist; pointing it towards Empress,
"Have you… come to visit our master?"
Chapter 276"Have you come to visit… our master?"
"..."
With the pistol pointed at her, Empress could only let out a small grunt; not daring to take a single step as she slowly raised her hand.
[Whiteking, we need you.]
"Ah, Whiteking. Your king in shining white armor."
The woman, Aurora, flimsily waved her pistol as she dragged a seat near Empress, calmly and casually sitting in front of her as she once again pointed her gun at Empress.
"Trust me, both you… and your associate would be dead by the time he gets here," Aurora then turned to look at Darkday, who was standing a meter away from Empress; still just looking at the stats on the screen like a bunch of men waving guns didn't just enter the room.
"Care to explain what my power is to our mighty Darkday?"
"..."
"But wow," Aurora then raised her voice as she gestured her men to surround Darkday; all of them, pointing their rifles directly to his head,
"To think a member of the Hope Guild and Darkday would actually work together, to what? Rescue Megawoman?"
"So you're really keeping her here?" Empress then said as she tried to approach Aurora; but as soon as Aurora stretched the gun closer to her, she took a step back as she once again raised her hand.
"You know very well not to make unnecessary movements, Adaeze," Aurora then said as she stood up, pushing her chair to the side; her gun, however, was still finely pointed right at the center of Adaeze's forehead,
"In case you're confused, Darkday; I mean if it's really you in that silly costume and not just some gimmick of the Hope Guild," Aurora rolled her eyes several times as she forced a chuckle,
"I am the strongest super in the entire world."
"..."
Everything in the room became quiet with Aurora's words whispering in the air; the only other sound that was perhaps being uttered was Empress's subtle scoff.
As for Darkday; well, he just turned to face Aurora, before scanning the guards that were now surrounding him.
"Oh, don't be so smug," Aurora groaned as she let out a long and very deep breath; holstering her weapon back before suddenly punching Empress without any warning. Empress was about to retaliate with a closed fist, but before she could do so, one of the guards shot her leg…
…and the bullet went through; causing her to fall to the ground.
"See?" Aurora giggled as she grabbed Empress by the hair, "Supers are powerless against me. I… have the power to nullify all of you just by being here."
"You…" And even with her leg bleeding, Empress's eyes still held a certain fire on them as she looked up at Aurora, "...Are you the one keeping Megawoman sedated?"
"Oh, come on, luv. You and I both know my abilities don't fully work on master," Aurora then approached Darkday, causing the guards to make way for her as she pointed her gun at him, "But I can weaken her just enough…
…but for normal supers, well… they go bye-bye."
"!!!"
And with those words, a thunder reverberated in the control room as Darkday slowly fell to the ground; first his knees, and then the rest of his body– almost like a marionette that with his strings suddenly clipped.
"Ah, bloody hell, that was it?" Aurora then almost gasped as she forced another chuckle, "The supervillain that everyone was so afraid of– gone with just a single bullet? It's hella anticlimactic if I say so myself."
"..." The guards that were surrounding Darkday could not help but just look at each other. Did… they really just kill the most heinous supervillain in the world just like that?
Doesn't this mean… they were the greatest heroes of the world?
"They should have honestly just sent me instead of all of you to deal with this fucker!" Aurora then started kicking Darkday's corpse.
"..." As for Empress, she only stared at Darkday's body, before turning to look at Aurora,
"What did they even pay you that you would betray Megawoman?" Empress muttered; finally lowering her hands as her breaths started to calm down, "She took care of us, of you."
"People rebel against their mothers, Adaeze. What made you think I am always going to be loyal to Megawoman?" Aurora once again giggled; almost making the guards wonder what was so funny. The man whose eyelids got ripped off by Darkday certainly wasn't laughing, they all thought.
"You… were good," Empress breathed out.
"That's just it, luv. We've come to the point that I have realized that just because you're good, doesn't mean the world will treat you any better. And besides…
…I am different from the rest of you, oh great Empress. I was born to get rid of supers."
"...What the fuck are you even saying?"
"Something that doesn't matter to a dead woman," Aurora then rushed in front of Empress, placing the nozzle of her gun directly on her forehead,
"I have to say though, this was a very nice reunion. But sadly, I have no time to chat. Bye-bye, old friend."
Aurora let out a small sigh as her index finger pulled the trigger; but before the gun could click, she felt something… stuck on the trigger. Or more specifically, there was a finger preventing the trigger from being fully pulled.
"...What?" Aurora's eyes then slowly trailed across where the finger came from… only to see Darkday standing beside her. "How… are you alive?"
"You should ask yourself that question, deserter."
"...Wha–" And before Aurora could even finish her words, a pint of blood spurted from her mouth. She then slowly looked down, only to see… Darkday's arm lunged into her stomach.
"Well, this is anticlimactic."
"H… how?" Aurora struggled to even open her mouth.
"I'm Themarian," Darkday whispered as he pulled his arm away from Aurora's stomach.
"..." As for Empress, she immediately rushed towards the guards– catching them off guard as she punched through each of their chests. It would seem she didn't even need to rush, as her abilities have already returned to her.
As for Aurora, she was now lying on the ground; her eyes, still trying to look at Darkday… and still completely confused as to what he said.
There… was another one?-- was probably what Aurora thought as she took her last breath.
"Why… would you say that?" Empress then muttered as she brushed away the blood that was on her arms.
"She said she was the strongest Super," Darkday casually said as… he crushed Aurora's head with his foot, "She lived in a lie, so she should die in a lie. Poetic, no?"
"..." Empress could only furrow her eyebrows upon hearing Darkday's words. He was completely different from how he usually is as Riley Ross; is it some kind of persona? Or is Darkday Riley Ross without a mask?
"But I might have underestimated you, Empress," Darkday then slowly approached Empress; his feet, leaving traces of Aurora's blood on the floor.
"...What?"
"The reason you brought me along was not to become a distraction," Darkday then said as he glanced at Aurora's headless corpse,
"But you knew all along that she would be here…
…didn't you?"
"..."
"..."
"...Yes."
Chapter 277Aurora-- one of the people that directly trained under Megawoman in The Sanctuary. The people under Megawoman might have been close while they were still on their little island, but as soon as they separated in their own ways and left, they became distant– strangers, even.
And since Megawoman didn't mind or didn't care, none of them took the initiative to contact one another. She might have taken care of them for a while, sure. But if there's anything that Megawoman didn't have, it was time.
It was evident even through her own son, Empress thought. She tried her hardest to be a mother, sure– but any effort she made was wasted due to the fact that she didn't have time. Empress knew she got pregnant almost two decades ago and only found out recently that in an almost twisted fate, her son became friends with Darkday in Mega Academy.
She bore a son, and yet was always outside instead– perhaps that was the cause of her love for humanity; everyone was equal, even her son.
Empress was able to maintain contact with Megawoman since she became part of the Hope Guild, so she didn't really feel left out; but what about the others?
"..." Aurora… was perhaps also a victim of that neglect, Empress thought.
"The reason you brought me along was not to become a distraction," Darkday then said as he glanced at Aurora's headless corpse, "But you knew all along that she would be here…
…didn't you?"
"..."
"..."
"Yes," she then said, "It was a winning gamble. You copied Megawoman's powers, so there's a chance that you may be somewhat immune to her. But if you weren't…
…then you would have died– either way would be a win."
"Did you come up with this plan or did father?"
"...Whiteking didn't know,"
Empress muttered. She had no idea why she told this straight to Darkday's face, but she had a feeling he wouldn't do anything to her. Of course, she knew that Darkday could still snap and decide to kill her for whatever reason– but as long as this mission wasn't over, she had this gut feeling that he wouldn't kill her.
And if he decided to kill her after, then it would be worth it. She should just make sure first that Megawoman would be able to recover– and she would handle Darkday. She, of course, lost to him once.
But she was sure of it. If they were to fight again, it would be different…
…because Themarians grow stronger with each defeat; or at least if what Megawoman told her was true.
"..." Darkday seemed to be staring at Empress for quite a while now, but after a few more seconds, he just shrugged his shoulders… and slowly walked towards the man without eyelids who was surprisingly still alive.
"Can you direct us to where you are keeping Megawoman?"
"I… I don't know, please… please don't kill me," the man wanted to close his eyes; but alas, the only thing he could do was cover them with his hands; not wanting to see the horror and evil incarnate in front of him,
"I… I really don't know!" He whimpered away as Darkday's steps grew louder, "We… we're not allowed to go anywhere else! I… I didn't… I didn't even know it was Megawoman we're monitoring here! Please… please! You have to believe me! If… If I knew it was her, then I wouldn't have–"
And before the man could finish his words, a hole was instantly made through his face; the soot, leaving scorch marks on the floor as they cracked as his head fell to the ground.
"..." Empress was going to ask why he did that– but she was the one who gave the order to kill everyone within the facility, and it would seem the man truly didn't have answers for them. If that was the case… was killing everyone here due to her rage justified?
No, justice is never on the side of rage, only vengeance– but that's alright.
"There's not even any surveillance cameras here, only stats," Empress then let out a sigh as she focused on the screens plastered on the wall, "We should go, there might be more supers– what are you doing?"
Empress turned to look at Darkday, only to see him removing his helmet and gently placing it on one of the consoles.
"Since we truly might be meeting with Megawoman," Riley then said as a wide smile slowly formed on his face, "...Then I want to meet her as Riley Ross."
"What? Why?" Empress gasped, "This isn't part of the plan, Darkday should be the one infiltrating this facility since Megawoman–"
"Whiteknig can just make that happen," Riley waved his hand, "And this helmet is proof enough that I was here. It is the same as what I did with the planes back in Mega Academy."
"You…" Empress truly wanted to punch Riley in the face right now, but she was not stupid enough to do so, "...Let's just go. Have your clones found anything yet?"
"They were forcefully relieved when Aurora arrived, Miss Empress," Riley let out a small sigh; the tone of his voice, back to being normal, "But the last moments they existed, they just finished killing everyone eating in what seemed like a small cafeteria."
"We… are missing something here," Empress placed her hand on her chin, "The first people we killed–"
"You killed."
"...The first person I killed," Empress cleared her throat, "They were holding Megawoman's organs– why would they be holding something like that towards the cafeteria?"
"Perhaps they are eating Megawoman's organs?"
"What? No!" Empress scoffed, "We… might have missed a door. Aurora and the others also came out of nowhere. We…
…should retrace our steps."
And with that, the two left the monitoring hall– with two things circling in Empress's mind.
Megawoman's location.
And how Riley copied Megawoman's powers. Even Charlotte was able to do the same… but Aurora was not able to fully negate Megawoman's abilities because she's an alien?
Just how exactly does that work?
"..."
Is Riley's bloodline… not human?
Charlotte Lane's prowess was undeniable.
Alice Lane's raw power was enough to speak for itself.
They were a family of monsters, in a sense. And so far, throughout the ages, an offspring of a super was not guaranteed to be a super– not to mention a super of almost equal abilities.
Was there… something in his family?
"Miss Empress, we did miss something."
"Hm?" And with Riley's words echoing in her ears, she woke up from her mild stupor… only to be welcomed by a hallway painted in red; blood, limbs, and guts.
"You seemed to be busy fantasizing things about father," Riley then let out a sigh, "These men seemed to be coming from somewhere so I followed their trail while killing all of them and it led us here."
Riley then pointed towards a wall… that had deeper partitions than most of the other walls.
"A… door?"
"It could be, Miss Empress," Riley nodded as he gestured to Empress to open it.
"..." Empress looked at Riley for a few moments, before letting out a sigh and gently pulling the door open. And as soon as they did so…
…chaos welcomed them.
Chapter 278Chaos, once again.
Riley seems to be finding himself in it a lot the past couple of days. It was almost similar to the atmosphere of the studio where Hera brought him. There were people running around, people screaming, and people staring at him.
Everything was almost the same– except for the fact that some of the people running around had their hands drowned with blood. The people that were screaming were panicking, yes; but they were not screaming at each other, but rather screaming for themselves.
And the people that were staring at him… instead of looks of awe and curiosity, they had fear. And the cameras were replaced by guns and rifles that were similar to the ones they had back in the Super Max Prison.
The room, however… didn't really have anything in it. Just tables which the people were seemingly previously idling at. There were also gloves and coats that had blood on them, either resting at the table or hanging somewhere on the walls.
There were also about a dozen people that were standing in front, no doubt supers that worked for the government.
"E… Empress, why are you doing this!?" One of the supers shouted; his skin, emitting some sort of black smoke almost similar to Nightwalker's shadows.
"I guess we're on the right path," Empress, however, completely ignored the man as she looked at Riley,
"Anyway, this place… it doesn't seem to be that large?" She then said as her eyes scanned the room– which was large by itself, but definitely not large enough for all the people that were currently running around the hall. Even the room that monitored Megawoman's health was small.
[It makes sense.]
And the one to answer her question, was Whiteking.
[If they wanted to be subtle and not be discovered by anyone, they couldn't really go fancy on the construction.]
"...But why would they even put it in a place like this?"
[Because Darkday never returns to the scene of the crime.]
"Empress! You can still–"
"Shut it," Empress smashed her fist in the air, causing it to crack and let out a thunder that was enough to cause everyone that was previously panicking and running away to freeze on their spot,
"Where is Megawoman?" Empress scoffed, "Tell us, and I can still give you a painless death…
…If not, then you will be in his mercy," she then said as she pointed at Riley.
All the people then turned their attention towards the ghost-like individual that was quietly standing beside Empress.
"Isn't that… Whiteking's son?" One of the supers reacted.
"I thought Darkday was–"
And immediately, it clicked in everyone's minds. It was reported to them that Darkday and Empress were together– and Riley Ross was previously suspected as Darkday; so with him here now… wouldn't that mean–
"Whiteking's son really was Darkday!?"
"Don't even bother calling for people outside," Empress stepped forward, causing all the guards and the supers to flinch. As for the people behind them that one could only assume to be doctors, they all started to hide,
"We've blocked all your communications. Now tell me, where is Megawo–"
And before Empress could finish her words, the guards all fired their rifles; letting out the specialized bullets that seemed to disintegrate anything that dared to block its path. But sadly for the said bullets, however, they all stopped before they could even reach their target– frozen in the air almost as if they were lined up.
"..." Empress only stared at these floating red bullets, before turning and glancing at Riley.
"These bullets might kill you, Empress," Riley smiled.
Empress, on the other hand, just stretched her hand towards one of the floating bullets… and immediately crushed it.
"You seem to be underestimating me a lot, Riley."
"No," Riley shook his head, "I just assume everyone is weaker than me."
And with those words, the bullets that were previously floating in the air all started flying around the room– going through all the guards like a tornado and filling the floor with their ashes. As for the supers, they were met with Empress's fists.
It was a slaughter.
Empress did not back out on her words– they truly were killing each and every person in the facility. Leaving only those who seemed interesting enough to have answers, and one such individual was a male doctor that was currently in front of them.
He seemed to be important enough that he had almost a dozen guards protecting him just earlier; those guards, however, were now nothing but blood and guts.
And so, once again, Empress uttered the words she had been asking since earlier,
"Where is Megawom–"
"There! In that room!"
And before she could even finish her words, the man immediately pointed towards… a mirror.
"..." Empress and Riley then looked at each other, before Empress grabbed the man by the neck, dragging him towards the mirror he pointed to.
"Another secret entrance?" Empress rolled her eyes, "Why does the government always insist on something like this? Open it."
Empress then lightly threw the man in front of the mirror, causing him to lightly yelp. She was about to warn him not to do anything, but the man quickly opened the concealed door for them, sliding in his ID on what Empress assumed to only be a crack on the wall.
And as soon as he did so, a loud click resounded from the mirror; smoke, immediately fuming out of its sides as it slowly swung open. The smoke was cold; almost like what would feel when opening a freezer.
"You go in," Empress then said.
"Y… yes," and immediately the man entered– with Empress and Riley following a few moments later. And as soon as they entered, their eyes were bombarded by a sort of brightness. This brightness, however, was immediately negated by the sight that welcomed them.
The room was clean– a contrast to the room they were in before. There was not even a spot of dirt on the floor or on the walls; one would think it was heaven.
There were, however, multiple aquariums. But instead of fish, they were filled with organs– some even throbbing on their own.
Heaven and Hell-- perhaps was the best description that Empress could think of as she saw this scenery– and they were wrong.
The facility was not small at all.
This was the size of a football field– a white and bright football field adorned with a museum of Megawoman's organs.
"..." Empress's eyebrows began to tremble as she started to walk across this forest of appendages. The man that was leading them, could not even utter a word as he took several glances at her and Riley.
"What… is this place?" Empress then asked; half knowing the answer, and the other half, not wanting to know the rest.
"..." The man, however, did not answer but only continued to walk; until finally, they reached another door. Empress did not even need to tell him what to do as he once again opened the door.
There was a certain smell that permeated through their noses; a strong smell that was enough for Empress to cover her nose and mouth.
"This…" And finally, the man answered Empress's question,
"...is humanity's greatest sin."
Chapter 279Wrath.
Anger.
Rage.
All at the same time, creating an orchestra of… nothing– of absolutely nothing. One would think that Empress would feel disgust, but no. She just felt…
…absolutely nothing.
Perhaps it was shock? Perhaps she was flabbergasted to the point that her mind completely shut down?
After all, how could one… how could one even repay their savior like this?
For three hundred years; and probably even more than that undocumented, Megawoman has strived and fought for the lives of the innocent– she fought for Earth. She fought for the people without even asking for anything in return.
And when the time came that the people started to doubt her, she gave a weapon that could potentially stop her to the people, to the Hope Guild. Of course, as the current leader of the Hope Guild, Empress completely hid and disallowed the use of the Pillars against Megawoman no matter what.
Because even more than the Hope Guild… Megawoman was true hope.
And yet right now… her head was floating inside some large transparent capsule– her spine, connected to all sorts of tubes that led to other smaller capsules; capsules that contained her organs.
Empress could only stare.
Humanity's greatest sin.
The man that seemed to be handling this facility was right, this is humanity's greatest sin. How could they repay their savior like this?
How…
Just… how?
"How… do we pull her out?"-- were the only words that came out of Empress's mouth as she slowly approached the capsule that confined Megawoman, "Is… it safe?"
"I…" The man could only close his eyes as he looked to the side,
"I'll get her out," he then said as he approached the console that was on the side of the somewhat dimly lit room.
"Don't try anything funny," Empress then warned, "I'm not in the mood to deal with anything right now."
"N… no," the man took in a small gulp as he started pressing some things on the console; and immediately as he did so, the tubes that were injected into Megawoman's spinal cord started to detach themselves– and immediately, blood and flesh started to grow and form from it.
"You… should have just killed her," Empress then whispered as Riley stood beside her, "And now she's going to wake up knowing the humanity she protected… did this to her. And just like her, she is going to forgive us. You… should have just killed her."
"..." Riley did not answer Empress, and instead just placed his hand on the capsule; his eyes, somewhat somber as he stared at Megawoman's face.
"Can she hear us?" Riley then glanced at the man, who immediately answered that he didn't know.
"It… would be better if she didn't," Empress sighed.
"Megawoman– No, Aerith," Riley, on the other hand, once again stared at Megawoman's face, "Even like this, I want you to know that you are still the most beautiful creature on this planet– and perhaps in the entire universe."
"..." Empress could only step back as she heard Riley's words; the expression on her face, unable to decide on what it should be.
"I am sorry, Aerith," Riley continued; this time placing his forehead on the capsule, "If I knew that these people would treat you like this, I would have never given you back to them. I should have taken care of you instead– we could have just left."
"..." What is he saying? Empress sighed.
"Aerith…
…I love you."
"!!!"
Empress, who was feeling absolutely nothing just now, almost choked in her own breath as she heard Riley's words. Is… Is she hearing his words right? Did Riley just say what she thinks he said?
And the expression on Riley's face… although it was subtle, it almost looked as if… he was crying? There weren't any tears, of course. But if one as expressionless as Riley changes his face, one would easily be able to notice it.
Riley Ross… truly is insane.
"How long until this is done?" Empress then decided to ignore Riley as she approached the man.
"Just a few more seconds," the man said, before letting out a short but very deep sigh as he pressed the largest button on the console. And as soon as he did so, the water inside the capsule started to drain– slowly and very gently allowing Megawoman's head and spine to rest.
And as soon as the water was gone, the capsule started to slide open– the smell, almost causing Empress to gag.
As for Riley who was directly in front of the capsule… he just immediately went to soft brush Megawoman's cheek, before gently lifting her head up– making sure that her spine which was recovering their flesh and nerves did not twist as he cradled her on the floor ever so tenderly.
He did not even use his powers– his skin, and clothes, for the very first time, adorned with blood. His face which was always clear and white, now marked with slime and blood as he embraced Megawoman's regenerating body.
And with Megawoman's veins spawning from her spine, it almost looked as if she was wrapping around Riley's body– no, it almost looked as if she was embracing her back. This kind of sight, Empress would have never thought in a million years that she would witness something like this.
The world's most heinous and evilest creature, gently embracing the world's greatest savior.
Poetic– almost as if the painting of the end of the world was being sketched in front of her.
And soon, perhaps a minute– Megawoman's body completely recovered.
And then, another minute for her breaths to once again whisper from her lips.
Her eyes, however, remain closed.
"..." Riley's outfit then soon stretched towards Megawoman almost like slime; leaving Riley with only his pants and Megawoman slightly covered.
"Let's go, Empress."
"..." Empress only nodded her head as Riley started to float up– and as soon as he reached the ceiling, it just… made way for them. Empress then followed, leaving the man alone.
And soon, the room– No, the entire facility started to tremble.
The man, however, only closed his eyes; not even opening them as the walls and ceiling started to crush him whole.
As for Empress and Riley, they were now currently on the surface– surrounded by almost hundreds of people.
"I thought you've cut all communications to the outside, Whiteking," Empress whispered.
[I did. Whoever they are, they were probably in the area. I can't really see what's happening since the sky is covered in dark clouds.]
"Give it up!"
The sounds of helicopters then started to whisper and patter in the air as several voices asked Riley and Empress to stand down and surrender.
"...Fucking government," Empress was about to step forward, but before she could do so, Riley blocked her path.
"What–"
"Please take care of her," Riley breathed out as he suddenly but gently handed Megawoman to Empress.
"What… are you going to do?"
"Your plan is done now, Miss Empress," Riley then whispered as the ground beneath them started to tremble, "Now it's my turn."
"Are you… you're not wearing your helmet anymore," Empress whispered, "They will know who you are."
"I am wearing a mask, Miss Empress," Riley breathed out as his feet started to leave the ground, "And they don't know who I really am…"
And soon, the tone of Riley's voice changed.
Wrath.
Anger.
Rage.
Empress could feel all of these coming from Riley's trembling voice,
"They don't know who I really am…" Riley repeated,
"...But they will now."
Chapter 280"Riley… do you plan on killing all of them?"
Empress watched as Riley slowly ascended; with him giving his top to cover Megawoman, it almost looked like he was some sort of ghost floating in the air.
His white hair… for the very first time, Empress saw it waving along with the wind; slightly covering his face.
"They… they might have cameras, Riley."
"It's fine. No one is going to die here,"
Riley only glanced at Empress, before gently turning his eyes towards Megawoman, "If videos were to be leaked, Whiteking would know what not to filter. We are taking a different narrative from your initial plan…
…we are the heroes in this scenario, Miss Empress."
"..."
"Leave."
And with those words whispering into her ears, the ground beneath Empress instantly crumbled as a skirt of wind wrapped around her body. And as she disappeared from her spot and flew to the skies, several people started to follow and rush towards her.
…Those people did not get far, however, as their bodies abruptly and violently stopped mid-air; almost like a bird hitting a glass window. Their bodies quickly fell, but instead of plopping to the ground– they gently landed. Their consciousness, however, still completely knocked out.
"None of you will die here tonight."
"!!!"
The supers, guards, soldiers, or whatever sort of people they were– it didn't matter. Everyone within Riley's sight heard his words almost as if he was talking right beside them.
"This is the second time…" Riley then said as he looked at each of the faces of the people surrounding him. He then turned towards the helicopters that were hovering in the air, clearly with cameras in tow.
And this time, he looked directly towards them.
"...the second time that I am asked to surrender. My only crime, rescuing your savior."
"Shoot him!"
The soldiers and guards triggered their weapons, the supers all rushed towards him and threw everything they could.
"Silence, betrayers."
But almost as if time stopped for everyone, none of their attacks reached Riley.
Even the noise that the helicopters were drumming in the air, was no more; their blades, completely frozen in the air.
Everything… was just silent. With the only noise that one could hear were Riley's words and breaths. The city of Toronto was once again what it was– a city abandoned by life.
"Let this be my first act as a hero."
The air itself then seemed to throb– with the dark clouds that pestered the skies of Toronto suddenly disappearing with a ripple; the light of the moon and stars, once again shining on its dead lands.
Darkday is darkness– a darkness that would drown the world in death. An entity with only one goal, the end of mankind.
Riley Ross is light– a light that would devour everything within its path. What entity he would be… was yet to be determined.
"None of you will die here today…
…and you will have all your lives to regret it."
***
"Whiteking, was it really alright for us to leave Riley alone there?"
[No, but you and I know that we can't stop him.]
"..." Empress could only let out a long and very deep sigh as she flew across the sky. And even though she wasn't sure that Megawoman could feel it, she still tried to make her as comfortable as possible as she carried her.
"This… is messed up," Empress once again sighed, "I feel like everything is about to fall apart– the world is falling apart. Darkday, Riley… just what sort of being are we being forced to live with?"
[...This world was broken from the start, Adaeze. We're just starting to discover it.]
"Megawoman… was this really the government? Are they the true villains here?"
[...]
"You worked and still work for them several times," Empress whispered, "You know their secrets, don't you? Did you know they had Megawoman in Toronto all this time?"
[No. I do not dig deep in the government's deeds.]
"...Afraid of what you would find?"
[Afraid of what I would do.]
"..."
[Knowledge will always be a curse for the powerless, Adaeze.]
"Hm…" Empress only closed her eyes, "Prepare a room for Megawoman, I'm taking her to the Hope Guild."
[Are you sure?]
"Yes," Empress whispered as she looked at her master's face, "She… has fought long enough, she deserves to rest in a place that represents everything she stands for."
[Very well. I will also need to inform the rest of the members, are you sure?]
"Your son seems to be planning to have all of this out there," Empress scoffed, "Fuck it, let's do a press con after this and reveal the government's sins. The World Government had its time
…but now is the age of Supers."
[...Aren't we already in that age?]
"We were in the age of Heroes," Empress breathed out, "Heroes, villains-- it has always been black and white."
[...I don't get it. Also, I'm not a super.]
"You know what I mea– !!!"
And before Empress could finish her words, she felt herself almost tumbling in the air as a weird force pushed her. It didn't take any effort for her to recover, however.
"What just…"
[Oh no…]
"What?"
Empress then turned to see what it was, only to see the skies of Toronto without any darkness left in them. Leaving not even a single cloud to obstruct the view, finally revealing to the world the scale of destruction the Battle of Toronto brought forth.
"...Shit," Empress then once again took flight, this time; any gentleness in her movements disappeared. Her hands, now just trying to make sure the wind was not violently hitting Megawoman's face.
Even the sea that was supposed to be hundreds of miles away from her, starting to howl and whisper into her ears.
Almost as if the land and the Earth themselves were crying, a deafening thunder started to tremble in the air; causing every pore in her body to open and answer its call.
How could Empress not hurry and take flight…
…when the entire city of Toronto was now being lifted from the ground?
"What is your son planning!?"
[You said it yourself…
…the Age of Supers– and he is the one opening the doors.]
Chapter 281In a dimly lit room somewhere in the world, Bernard– Whiteking was currently in front of almost a hundred monitors. Some were a compiler, computer security; letters, and numbers that only had meaning for Whiteking as he created the tools for himself.
As for the other screens, most were the news– a view of the satellites, and some were both. Now that the skies of Toronto have been suddenly cleared, the satellites could finally once again capture the streets of Toronto… or what was left of it.
The last time the people had a bird's eye view of Toronto was before Darkday caused its ruin– unlike in London, most of the people were completely in the dark about what Toronto looked like, but now they do.
Unlike London which was now a desert of ash, Toronto… was just desolate. Almost like a dark alleyway that no one passes through anymore. It felt like people were living in it, but at the same time, it was desolate, dead, and dangerous.
"..."
Whiteking was tasked by his son to only release live footage that would benefit them; that would make them look like they were on the right side of things. But with what Whiteking had already shown, he didn't even have to do anything anymore.
Right now, the people in the World Government are probably scouring and panicking as they try to release their side of things. But even if they do, how could they even find a remedy for what the people have already seen?
All over the world, people were stuck to their phones, laptops, screens– anything that showed the news. Even those that didn't have access to such things, were also starting to know what had happened just by word of mouth.
The World Government has already been falling and crumbling. But now, their last pillar was suddenly being pulled away. If they were not able to stop this, then their demise was at hand.
"The government… was experimenting on Megawoman?"
They have already known the government's deeds of selling some DNA for the one who destroyed London, Alistair Reuben. But they thought that they had already stopped it and all that was involved were either sacked or silenced.
But now, on their screens, they saw Megawoman being carried away by Empress right in the very same place where she was defeated, Toronto. There were also photos being shown of what had happened inside– photos that were… too sickening to show even to adults.
People thought that was the only thing that Hope Guild would show, the crimes of the government. But no, they did not try to sugarcoat anything or make themselves look like saviors or heroes–no.
They showed Empress, and their new member, Riley Ross, massacring everyone in the facility. Most think that this was too much, of course– but some think it was completely justified.
And this massacre was perhaps not over. The eyes of the masses were still stuck to their screens– some even to the skies as the moon itself completely disappeared…
…blocked by the city of Toronto.
[1752…]
And through the speakers of their instruments, they heard Riley Ross, who currently had a camera hovering around him as he was floating along with the city of Toronto along… with hostages. Or perhaps not quite, as they came bearing arms and were trying to keep Megawoman from rescue.
Once again, Riley Ross was neither a villain nor a hero– he was just… a young man doing what he thinks is right.
[1752…
…one of the earliest glimpses of Megawoman in history.] Riley then gently descended to the lands of the floating Toronto; his steps, slow and gently as he seemed to walk through a frozen land– with the rest of the people there completely still.
[It was a glimpse, but there were rumors that she was able to prevent a war that would have led to the death of millions…] Riley continued to say, [...but due to Megawoman, it ended in a peaceful treaty. More and more accounts surfaced after that– with Megawoman interfering and letting us humans settle our problems in diplomacy… in peace.]
"What… is he doing?"
Those who were watching together, those who were outside, could only look at each other as they watched the scene unfold. They have already seen from the earlier satellite view how many guards and soldiers were there… but it almost seemed every single one of them stopped.
Even the helicopters were just frozen in the air, their blades not even fanning.
"Is he… going to kill all of them?"
"Good riddance, kill those government fucks!"
"What? No!"
"Go, Riley Ross! Show the government that their powers are merely an illusion!"
"What are you guys saying? Are you insane!? Killing people is wrong!"
"What… afraid that your super neighbor would kill you?"
"Supers rule this world, not you fucking normies!"
"Yeah, you should just be our slaves!"
And soon, the arguments were becoming violent– with some of the supers trying to somewhat oppress the normal people. But of course, there were still those who were trying to protect the people.
"You're protecting them!?"
"Go fuck off before I burn every single bone in your body, old man."
"Try it!" Several sharp bones suddenly protruded from the old super's knuckle as he domineeringly stepped towards the super that was trying to protect the normal people, "Only those with real power should rule this world!"
"...Real power?"
And before the old super could take another step, his eyes suddenly reflected the almost blinding fire that suddenly combusted in front of him.
"You think… you have power?"
"W… wait," the old super then quickly retracted the sharp bones that came out of his knuckles as he stepped back,
"I… I was only kidding," and with those words, the old super ran away. The supers that were also previously seemingly trying to oppress the normal people also backed away, clicking their tongues as they left.
And as soon as the other supers were gone, the fire that was violently raging quickly faded, revealing a woman… with large and finely shaped buttocks– Hannah Ross.
"T… thank you!" The normal citizen that the woman rescued quickly thanked Hannah. But even though her words were of gratitude, it was clear to see that she was still afraid as she refused to approach the female super.
"..." Seeing this, Hannah could only let out a sigh as she shook her head, "Just… go hide for now…
…That goes for all of you!" Hannah then raised her voice as she looked at the people, "Go home!"
The people all looked at each other at first, but after a few seconds, they all nodded and headed in different directions, with some even rushing to leave.
"..." Hannah then turned her head up towards one of the giant screens attached to the building; her breaths, slowly becoming heavier and heavier, "Bro, what are you up to now? And...
...at least wear a shirt."
[1938…
…Megawoman stopped a war that could have potentially killed billions of you," Riley continued to state everything the history books had on Megawoman; his eyes, seemingly lecturing the people that he currently had frozen still,
"Megawoman has always tried to save your pathetic little lives…" And soon, Riley's voice started to tremble,
"...And yet you mock her again and again, disrespecting her beautiful body and creating inferior clones. This… is unforgi–"
And before Riley could finish his words…
…the air behind him started to crack, creating what seemed to be… a void.
And in the void…
…something emerged.
Chapter 282There was probably no explaining how all the departments of the government were panicking now– presidents, prime ministers, emperors, kings, those who run things behind the scenes; no matter what kind of leader they were, they were all scrambling to release statements that would prevent anarchy.
Everyone was saying they weren't involved and they did not know that this… evil atrocity was being committed.
The current leader of the World Government was being asked to present himself to the people by the members of the board; members of the board-- meaning the highest political figure of each country.
But alas, with everything that has happened so far; from all their secrets being leaked and from all the stress…
…the Leader of the World Government chose to end his life.
Everything was in chaos; the masses, the supers, the heroes, the villains, and the government. Perhaps the only ones left that were at peace were the ascetics and monks that lived in their mountains, not knowing what was happening in the world.
A great change was about to come to the world, and none were prepared…
…especially to what was about to happen next.
But not every department of the government was panicking, no. After all, they were not allowed to…
…especially to what was happening now.
"Sir, there's… movement!"
"...Shit, why now of all times?"
Back in NASA, the people were also at the edges of their seats, but for a totally different reason.
They knew what was currently happening outside, but they could not really make any moves or even afford to place their attention elsewhere as finally… the ship that had been hovering around the Earth showed movement.
They have been inspecting it for a while now, and try as they might to make contact, the ship just… remained stagnant and unresponsive. Almost like it was just an asteroid; the nearest manned satellite tried to make contact with it, even to the point of sending drones– but nothing.
The ship was about as wide as a football field and just as tall. One would think there would be at least a minute movement on its surface when they sent the drones– but nothing.
But now, out of nowhere, it moved. Or more specifically, it lit up.
"What is it doing?" One of the men from the government finally removed his sunglasses.
"We… don't know, sir."
"What do you mean you don't know!?" Another one removed his sunglasses; his eyes, reflecting the… light; the light that they couldn't really figure out the color of,
"Aren't you guys paid to know these things!? You're scientists!"
"I'm… actually an engineer," the engineer fixed his glasses, "And this is the first time we made contact with another–"
"Megawoman's an alien!" The one that seemed to be the leader of the men from the government slammed his palm on the console, causing the man controlling it to flinch, "How come you don't know what that thing is doing!?"
"...We don't know if Megawoman came in a ship or–"
"Just shut the fuck up and do something! Find out if they're friendly or not!"
"As… as I said, there is no way of knowing what–"
And once again, the engineer's words were disrupted; but this time, it was not by the people of the government, but by the sudden change of the largest screen they have in the room.
"What… what's happening now?" The people from the government started to look at each other as the screen turned dark.
"Our… systems are being hacked," the engineer stood up from his seat as he gestured to his team to do something.
"Hacked? By who!? Whiteking!?"
"N… no," the engineer stuttered,
"If it was Whiteking, we wouldn't even know we're being infiltrated," he then said; his eyes, slightly glimmering, "This… is someone–"
And once again, almost like tradition, the engineer was interrupted as the screen once again lit up, showing something– No, someone?
[Greetings, people of Earth. Your defender is gone…]
There was a man– if one could even call it that. But right now, that was the only resemblance all the people in the room could find. The man had blue skin; almost transparent as one could see the flesh beneath moving almost like the sea; the man's hair, or if one could even call it that, seemed to also be part of his flesh. Its eyes numbered three.
An alien.
But despite all of this, none of them were really focusing on what the alien looked like, but instead on what was happening behind it.
There were… several other creatures, or perhaps machines moving in the background. All of these machine-like creatures, however, disappeared as they stepped inside some kind of… void– a black hole.
Everyone's attention, however, was once again put on the alien that was talking to them with the next words it uttered.
[Surrender peacefully…]
"Shit…" And almost in unison, everyone in the room; scientists, engineers, and even the government officials all breathed out.
"...This isn't good."
Seeing the several black holes in the background, most of them already knew what was happening. Even the people from the government have watched enough sci-fi films to know what they could be– teleportation gates.
Earth… is now officially being invaded.
***
"..."
Back in Toronto, Riley's speech was suddenly interrupted by the sudden crack that emerged from the air. His head, tilted as the crack became an empty hole; completely dark like a void.
Riley then turned to look at the frozen man beside him; his face almost innocently asking him if he knows what was happening. But very soon, however, Riley's question was answered.
It was answered by a step– a step that emerged from the void.
"...An animal?" Riley initially thought as he looked at the paw that emerged from the darkness– but as soon as this so-called animal's head was revealed, Riley instantly knew he was wrong. Its head looked like a horse– if a horse had whiskers as long as its legs. And speaking of legs, this one has 6; not hooves, but paws.
"..." Riley thought that it might be another homunculus as he looked at its 4 eyes– but as soon as he saw the 3-eyed blue-skinned individual riding on top of it, he immediately came to a conclusion.
"...A super?"
And this conclusion… frustrated some of those that were watching from their screens.
It's a fucking alien!-- is what everyone wanted to scream.
"What do you want?" Riley then walked towards the alien; his head, slightly turned up as the difference in size between them showed– with Riley only being the size of the 6-legged horse's limb.
"..." The alien glanced at Riley with his three eyes, before turning them away; the horse it was riding on, trotting away and completely ignoring Riley as the alien scanned the frozen people.
The alien then started talking; but in Riley's ears, all he could hear was gibberish.
"Oh," Riley's eyes then turned wide, "You're an alien."
"..." The alien then once again turned his horse towards Riley; its hair that seemed to be made of flesh, wriggling as it did so. The alien stared at Riley for a few seconds, before once again finally opening its mouth.
"Earth-dweller," the alien then spoke,
"Your defender is gone. Surrender peacefully, or we will–" And before the alien could finish its words, the horse it was riding on started to float.
"You…" Riley then once again approached the alien and its mount; the corners of his mouth, almost reaching from ear to ear,
"...will be a fine addition to my guests, alien."
Chapter 283It wasn't just happening in the floating city of Toronto– the black holes have opened up all over the world. And with each black hole, creatures started to emerge, all bearing the same words.
Surrender.
Suffice to say, everyone forgot about the atrocity that the government did and just focused on the current problem at hand– Earth is being invaded.
Some people on the internet were saying that it was fake. Some say the government is doing it to cover up for their mistakes. Some say it might just be some sort of super.
But as soon as the militaries all around the world started to move, everyone realized that it was serious. Reginald Champ, the newly appointed acting leader of the World Government, was the one to advise each of the countries' leaders to send out their military. Although her appointment was sudden due to the previous one just taking his life less than an hour ago, the others still heeded her advice; after all, even without her, the leaders of the world would still send out their military to deal with an extraterrestrial threat.
As for the normal civilians, they were quick to hide in their bunkers and nearest public shelters. Bunkers and shelters that were meant to be a safe place from villain attacks, now being used as a refuge for another sudden and unexpected threat.
"Is… is it true, are we really being attacked by aliens?"
"Don't believe them, aliens aren't real."
"...Are you stupid?"
In a certain shelter somewhere, people were still busy trying to find out what was really going on outside– some of them were already on their way to hide since some supers were starting to get agitated, but now they found themselves sharing a space with the supers that threatened to hurt them.
"Do something!" One of the normal citizens screamed as she gestured towards a super, "Weren't you just saying only supers have the right to rule!? Go outside and help the heroes and military!"
"I… I don't owe any of you anything! Don't push me!"
Suffice to say, the tension that was screaming in the air was high– almost to the point that in just one wrong move, this shelter for safety would also become vulnerable on the inside.
"E… Everyone, please– stop fighting!" And suddenly, with a burst of wind gently pushing everyone back, all the noise stopped. They all turned towards the center of the gale, only to see a pair of overly sized bosoms– only to see a blessed young woman standing there; her eyes, covered by a pair of purple goggles.
"Isn't that… one of the new heroes from the Academy?"
"Please, this is not the time to fight!" The female super waved her hands, causing her… hair that was tied in a ponytail to flow with her body,
"And please… don't force people to fight," she then said.
"That's right!" The other civilian supers that were inside hollered.
"It's not their fault that they are weak cowards!" The female super continued; her words, quickly shutting up the civilian supers, "So please, just– I think the best all of us can do now is to calm each other down!"
Some still wanted to say some things, but seeing the female super in front of them passionately waving around they decided to just shut their mouths; mostly the men.
And after a few more minutes, the female super's words seemed to have been taken to account by everyone, as they just went on doing their own things; either watching the news, praying, resting, or crying.
"..." The female super then scanned them for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh and propelling herself to the air, flying over the people and landing at the shelter's entrance.
"Baby Crew," the female super then pressed something in her ear as she left the shelter, "This is Hurricane Katrina, I am currently in the Brampton shelter– Am I the one nearest to Toronto? Is it true, are we really being invaded by aliens?"
[I'm on my way to Toronto as well. Me and my brother need to talk about his life decisions,] Hannah was the very first voice to respond, [Fuck… I don't know what's going on anymore. It's probably just some government ploy.]
"Should… I provide backup for you in Toronto?" Katrina whispered as she looked around outside the shelter.
[Nah, you guys focus on keeping the people safe,] Hannah said.
[We're getting invaded.]
"Monarch?"
[It's true, a portal popped up here in New York,] Gary's voice was filled with breath,
[A fucking portal! Like in 'Reincarnated as Both God and the Devil', and 'My Hermes System'! Can you guys fucking believe it!?]
"I… I see," Katrina almost pulled her head away from her earpiece from Gary's loud voice. She was about to fly away, but before she could so, something caught her eye,
"Uhmm… guys," she then said, "Those aliens…
…are they blue?"
***
"My guests… would love you, alien."
Back in the floating city of Toronto, the very first alien spotted on camera was now floating in the air– its movements, as frozen as the rest of the beings in the city.
"What… is this?" The blue-skinned alien tried to struggle away, but the only thing it could move was his head; its three eyes, moving in different directions,
"Are you doing this, Earth-dweller?" The alien did not really wait for Riley's answer, as it once again talked in what Riley could only assume to be its native tongue. And soon, another black hole opened up, tearing the space right beside Riley.
"..." Riley turned to face this void, and as soon as he did so, something brushed past his face– the blade of what looked like a black spear.
"Hm…" Riley then let out a breath, letting the first alien go as its horse dropped to the ground; causing the alien to expertly roll across the cracked pavements and recover just as fast.
Riley then floated back, allowing the one emerging from the new hole to step out. And this time, the alien that stepped out was not riding a 6-legged horse; but instead just walking out casually– wearing some sort of black and bulky armor, only showing his head.
"..." Riley then looked back and forth between the two aliens, before letting out a small breath and nodding, "A scout, followed by a warrior. Quite rudimentary for an advanced race."
"Your defender is gone." And just like the words of the alien before, the newly arrived alien also said the same thing, "Surrender peacefully… or we will respond in force."
"Defender… Do you mean Megawoman?" Riley tilted his head.
"..." The alien only looked down at Riley for a few seconds, before pointing his large spear toward him.
"Of course," a smile once again appeared on Riley's face, "Even out there, Megawoman is strong. But the question now is…
…how strong are you compared to her?"
"Surrender peace–"
"Krr!"
And before the newly arrived alien could finish his words, a light snap entered his ears; followed by a scream.
"Peace?" Riley then once again ascended above ground… and beside him, the scout alien– its three eyes, now floating out of their sockets, "If you wanted peace…
…then you should have visited when Megawoman was awake."
Chapter 284"If you wanted peace…
…then you should have visited when Megawoman was awake."
And with those words, the three eyes of the alien floating beside Riley… popped. The snapping noises did not stop there, however, as the alien's limbs started to crack; its broken bones protruded, penetrating its skin.
And with the alien wearing only minimal clothing unlike its warrior counterpart, everyone could see its transparent, water-like blood flowing and trailing– its skin that once looked like the moving ocean, slowly turning grey.
And soon, the alien's ribs started to open up– revealing its organs that completely differed from that of a human's… as it only seemed to have a single one; and with it throbbing uncontrollably, then it was quite possibly the heart.
"...Interesting," Riley then tilted his head to the side as he looked at the alien insides, "Some parts are the same, but–"
And before Riley could finish his words, the other alien rushed towards him– the blade of its spear, already swinging straight for Riley's head.
Riley, however, did not dodge even as his eyes followed the spear and instead just raised his hand; blocking the spear with his palm. And as soon as the blade made contact, it started to light up in a color that Riley has never seen before.
"!!!"
Riley then felt his vision shift as a sort of explosion plunged him away; causing him to violently roll on the ground and smash through the frozen individuals– tearing them from limb to limb.
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he stared at the night sky. He just told the people here that none of them were going to die, but now some already did. It would seem he has been breaking his promises a lot lately, that… wasn't good.
He was about to stand up, but before he could do so, another tear in the space appeared above him; and without even any warning, another alien warrior emerged, its spear already heading towards Riley.
"..." And once again, Riley did not try to avoid– this time not even lifting a finger. His only movement? The smile that was slowly crawling on his face.
He did not move, even as the tip of the spear reached his head; letting it plunge him deep into the grounds of Toronto as the weird light seemingly bombarded him with some sort of force; straight towards the lower side of the floating city.
Riley then stared at the face of the alien warrior. And although they might look different than humans, their expressions seemed to almost be the same– and what the alien was showing now was clearly… anger.
And as he and the alien were falling to the ground, Riley finally moved; his hand, moving towards the blade of the spear and… flicking it with his finger. This caused the alien to somewhat lose balance; but still, it quickly swung its spear, using the momentum to spin his body and regain his footing in the air.
A strange light then emerged from the alien's armor– specifically from its greaves which somewhat allowed it to float– No, which allowed it to step on air.
"Hm," Riley, on the other hand, continued to let himself fall for a while, before also finally stopping in the air as he stared at the alien. The alien also returned Riley's stare; its three eyes, glaring Riley directly in the eyes.
Riley then stretched his hand towards the alien; causing it to almost tumble as the spear that it was firmly holding, started to fly away. The alien managed to catch it, however; as he threw himself along with the spear toward Riley.
And this time, Riley dodged; ever-so-slightly dodging the spear as he tilted his head to the side– he then swung his palm towards the alien's large throat, causing it to choke.
And as soon as it opened its mouth, both of Riley's hands… moved inside it– keeping it open.
"...Mouth is different than ours," Riley muttered, "Except you have 2 layers of teeth… No canines… herbivores?"
"Krr!"
"..." Riley then squinted his eyes as the alien's double uvula started to tremble as it screamed, "Your screams… are disappointing."
Riley then let go of the alien's mouth as he floated back; and quickly, the alien pointed its spear towards Riley once again.
"What are you!?" The alien then said, "This planet should no longer have the Themarian!"
"She is still here," Riley quickly answered, "Just sleeping."
And as soon as Riley's words reached the alien, its three eyes quickly widened– a universal expression for shock, Riley reckoned.
The alien also dropped its spear as it once again stared at Riley; but after a few seconds, it turned around and started running upwards– it was about to open its mouth, but before it could let out any alien words… the blade of its spear pierced the back of its head, penetrating through his mouth.
Even through this, however, the alien seemed to still be alive as its three eyes followed Riley as he floated in front of it.
"You're not… planning on retreating, are you?" A smile once again appeared on Riley's face as he floated in front of the alien; its head, almost the size of Riley's torso.
"You just got here, alien. I'd recommend staying for a few days," he then said as he looked the alien straight in the eyes– a little hard to do considering it has three, "Just because you found out that Megawoman is still here, you are leaving?"
The alien then lifted its hand; holding some sort of baton that once again held the unrecognizable color; and with a flick of his hand, this light shot out.
"No."
But before the light could even fly a meter away, Riley stretched his hand towards it; holding the light in the air and preventing it from exploding. And as soon as the alien saw this, it started to struggle– the spear that was lodged into its mouth, once again letting out the weird color.
And with a quiet thunder… it exploded. But alas, this explosion was once again kept inside an invisible sphere that surrounded Riley and the alien, which was now in different pieces and smearing the invisible sphere that Riley created.
"I apologize, alien. But you and your race are not leaving Earth just yet. I…
…am going to kill all of you first."
***
"Our servers are connected again!"
"Contact the god damn alien! Since it can speak our language, we could probably talk with it!"
"Let's not rush to it."
The acting leader of the World Government, Reginald Champ, was now currently in NASA. After she advised all the other world leaders to send out their military, she immediately traveled to NASA. Her goal?
To try and speak with whoever was in charge on the other side.
"Are you the one responsible for making contact with them?" Reginald then placed her hand on the engineer that was leading the team; her voice, containing not even a hint of arrogance or authority, "Are you able to connect us to them again?"
"I… I think we can," the engineer quickly nodded as he ordered his team to try and trace the signal– and not even a minute after, the screen changed.
"That was fast," Reginald nodded, "Can it hear us?"
[Hello, mud people.]
"That…" The engineer, as well as most of the people in the room all stood up as they saw… the pink-skinned individual on the screen,
"...It's not them."
Chapter 285A large, weird-colored orb floated in the air– and soon, Riley emerged from this sphere; the smile on his face, still not fading away.
He stared at this sphere for a few seconds, before letting it fall towards the colossal hole he created from lifting up the city of Toronto; the giant lake of Ontario, not spilling inside the hole despite the cavity it left.
Riley lifted up the entire city of Toronto, a feat that truly solidified his identity as the son of the strongest telekinetic the world has ever known. The city's neighbors could see it so clearly– how cleanly and smooth that city was taken off the land; it almost looked like someone scooped a spoonful of ice cream from a tub, one could almost even see their reflection from how silky and flat the surface of the concave was.
Add the fact that the lake of Ontario, that would otherwise spill inside the concave, was stopped by a colossal invisible wall– almost making it seem like they were witnessing the birth of a much larger Niagara falls, except frozen. If it was kept like this, then this would truly no doubt be one of the wonders of the world.
And so;
Lifting up the entire landmass of the city of Toronto.
Holding back the lake from falling into the cavity it left which would probably cause problems to the cities the giant lake was bordering.
All the while fighting with aliens of unknown strength and actually managing to defeat them– No, dominate them.
And all of these were caught on camera that Riley himself seemed to be hovering around him from afar.
Taking all of this into account… wouldn't it be said that Riley Ross has already surpassed his biological mother as the strongest telekinetic?
And taking some of these into account…
"Did… he just wage war against the aliens?" One of the people in a certain dome muttered; almost all the eyes of the people in the shelter, fixated on their phones as they watched the news.
"I… I think so? Shouldn't… we have talked to them first?"
"Are you stupid? You think someone wielding a giant ass weapon like that came for peace?"
Once again, the opinions of the people are split. Some were saying that Riley Ross was rash and that he should have approached the aliens with caution; the other half, however, agreed with decisions outright, especially the rising fan's club,
It hasn't been a minute, and yet already had a music video containing a montage of Riley Ross's fight in Toronto which was being shared almost every second. But soon, however, the views stopped advancing.
"What the… what happened?"
"Is my phone broken?"
Everyone's screens started to blackout; this darkness did not last long, however, as their screens once again lit up after a few seconds.
"Who… is this?"
"Majin Bae?"
On their screens, however, another stream popped up– some tried scrolling away or closing it so that they could return to watching the news, but they were unable to.
[Hello, mud people.]
"Are these… the aliens?"
The people started to whisper and murmur; their breaths, almost faltering as they stared at the pink-skinned individual talking on their screen. The man had a flat nose, similar to what one could find in snakes; its head, completely devoid of any hair.
"No… this one is different, the alien being shown on the news has blue skin, not to mention three eyes."
"Then; what is this?"
"Wait, are we being invaded by another alien species?"
"The fuck? How does that even make sense?"
[Please do not panic or be alarmed– we are what you may call Clovians, from the planet… Clovux.]
The clovian continued to talk; its eyes, similar to a diamond,
[We have not come here to harm you, and instead, to respond to the call we have received multiple moons ago.]
The clovian's speech was slow, almost sluggish. Almost as if it was trying to find the most suitable words to utter.
[The call stated that your Champion is dead, a Themarian.]
"...A call?"
"What champion? Themarian? Is she talking about Megawoman?"
"Wait… someone contacted these aliens?"
The people once again began to whisper, but quickly shut their mouths as they continued to listen to what the clovian was saying.
[It is reported that she was killed by darkness. And now, with your Champion gone, you are left vulnerable to the threats that want to take what is yours,]
The clovians face then started to wriggle; until finally, its nose which was akin to that of a snake's started to resemble that of a human. Its eyes which were previously diamond produced color-- imitating that of a human's.
Hair also started to protrude from its skin; and now, after a few more seconds, she already resembled that of a woman– an eerily normal-looking woman.
[My name is Anra, we are more similar than you think and we have come here to help you.]
The clovian, Anra, now blinked a couple of times– the expression on her face, becoming more human by the second.
[We can be your new protectors…
…all that we ask is you welcome us.]
***
"Hm…"
Back in the floating city of Toronto, Riley was currently staring at the black hole which the first alien warrior emerged from. For some reason, it was still open.
The alien scout and the 2nd alien warrior's portal were now gone, but the one in front of him still had no signs of disappearing.
Is it because the one that emerged from it was still alive? Riley thought as he looked at his left hand… which was currently grabbing the large alien warrior by its jaw. The alien seemed to still be breathing judging by the thumping of its chest.
These aliens seem to be more durable than humans, Riley thought. After all, it was already bleeding quite heavily from having all of its limbs ripped off– and yet it was even alive after minutes.
It was the same with the alien warrior that exploded earlier; even with a spear lodged through its mouth, it was still alive– something that Riley couldn't really do with humans that much.
"..." Riley then turned his gaze back at the black hole, and then once again towards the alien; looking back and forth between the two as a smile slowly crawled on his face. Although their screams were not as beautiful as humans, they could last longer than them.
If there were a hundred of them, wouldn't Riley be able to create a song?
And so, with this thought, Riley stepped closer to the black hole. This thing… should lead him to wherever they came from, right?
"Don't worry, Megawoman…
…I'll do your job for you," the smile on his face was as wide as ever as he stepped into the black hole…
…only to just pass through it.
"..." The alien in his hand, however, was gone. Seeing this, the only thing that Riley could do was let out a short but very deep sigh– he really thought that he would finally be able to create a song that would last for at least 3 minutes.
"...Did you just try to enter the portal, you little shit?"
"..." Riley then quickly turned around as he heard a very familiar voice, only to see a face… that was completely burning from anger, quite literally.
"Oh… Greetings, sister."
Chapter 286"Oh… Greetings, sister."
"What do you mean 'greetings'!?"
And as soon as Riley was done with his words, Hannah quickly rushed towards him; her fists, already on their way to his head. But even so, Riley did not move as the reflection of Hannah grew larger and larger into his eyes.
And not only did he not move, he even stretched his arms to the side to welcome Hannah's fist– but it didn't come. Instead, Hannah wrapped her arms around him; probably too tight. She wasn't using her abilities, yet Riley could still feel a certain warmth emanating from her body.
"You… you little shit," Hannah then whispered as she rested her face on Riley's chest; her words, muffled and slightly stuttered, "If… If you were released from prison, then you should have gone straight to us."
"I can't, sister," Riley only let out a sigh as he slightly rested his chin on Hannah's head, "I can't go outside without the supervision of my fellow members from the Hope Guild."
"Things… things have been getting crazier and crazier since you were gone," Hannah tightened her embrace even further, "The clones are getting rampant, the fucking Hero Association… and now we're being invaded by aliens– the world is going to shit. It's been going to shit ever since Megawoman was defeated."
"I noticed, sister," Riley once again sighed.
"And… and to think the fucking government was experimenting on Megawoman," Hannah's words continue to muffle, "They weren't happy with the clones they made?"
"As you said, sister. The world is going to shit."
"Hm… but did you just try to enter the fucking portal?" And almost instantly, the tone of Hannah's voice changed as she pushed herself away from Riley, "What did you think you were going to do, you fuck?"
"I wanted to torture all the aliens so they could sing me a song, sis–"
"Don't fucking answer that! Just say you're sorry!"
"...For what?"
"Agh! I don't miss this part when dealing with you!" Hannah almost pulled out her hair as she looked at her brother. But after a few seconds of trying to calm her breaths down, her eyes started to scan the people that were still frozen until now,
"What… do you plan on doing to them?"
"I was going to leave them like this forever, sister," Riley answered, "So that they could contemplate and think of what they have done to Megawoman for the rest of their lives."
"..." Hannah's eyes quickly became dead.
"They won't die," Riley quickly noticed his sister's expression, "I would give them food, directly floating food through their mouths. As for the bowel movements, I have not quite–"
"Release them now."
"But sis–"
"Now."
"..."
And with a short but almost disappointed sigh, the sound of gasps started echoing several times in the air; the helicopter blades which had stopped drumming in the air, once again letting out a quiet thunder as the pilot seemed to be trying to stabilize their hover in the sky.
"Most of these men and women are just following orders, Riley," Hannah sighed, "That doesn't excuse much of their actions, but the one that should really pay for whatever it is they were doing with Megawoman are those government fucktards sitting on their fat-ass seats doing nothing but scheme and– can you let go of that camera?!"
Hannah could not help but abruptly stop with her words as she noticed a camera hovering around them.
"It is fine, sister. I am just getting used to the camera since I will become an actor soon."
"...What?"
"I was coerced to audition by Miss Hera."
"...I guess it doesn't matter for now," Hannah could only shake her head as she listened to her brother's words, "None of those matter until we deal with the immediate threat. These aliens just keep on popping up out of nowhere. And also…
…can you put the city down now!?"
"..." Riley stared at Hannah for a few seconds; almost like a child not wanting to put down a toy. But after a few more seconds, the city of Toronto once again started to descend to the ground; causing all the people that were there to tumble and roll on the cracked pavement they were standing on.
None of them wished to fight or try to apprehend Riley anymore; why would they? They weren't being paid enough to deal with a monster like this; it was almost as if asking them to fight Darkday.
And so, after a few minutes; a somewhat loud howl reverberated through the air as the city of Toronto was once again finally placed back to the ground– almost like it never left in the first place. Whether or not it would have a lasting effect on the terrain and the surrounding ecosystem, well… this was no time to think about it.
The people that were previously frozen all started running away; running towards the vehicles they had hidden all over the place. Were they hiding here in the first place? Riley thought as he watched them all leave.
Of course, he also returned the camera he had borrowed from the helicopter, he wasn't a thief, after all.
"I need to return to Hope Guild, sister," Riley then said as he approached Hannah, "I can't proceed any further without someone supervising–"
"Fuck, look around you? You think the authorities care?" Hannah rolled her eyes, "And since when did you care about the authorities in the first place!?"
"I have huge respect for the law, sister," Riley blinked a couple of times.
"You… forget it," Hannah waved her hands, "If you're going to the Hope Guild, then we're going with you…
…Baby Crew, finish whatever it is all of you are doing, and let's meet at the base of the Hope Guild."
[Sure, just gonna wipe the floors with these guys first.]
[Affirmative, big sister.]
[Got– Fuck, do you even cultivate, bro!?]
[For reals? Finally, I have had it with these motherfucking aliens in this motherfucking place!]
[I… I think I'll be a little late– Eep!]
"Meet you guys there," Hannah could only let out a smirk as she shook her head, "Surprise? We've known the Hope Guild's location since–"
"Gary put a tracker on my pocket?"
"Wait… he put it in your pocket!? He told us he put it in a place where you wouldn't even notice! That stupid fucking giant!"
"..." Riley only watched as Hannah let out her frustrations… which lasted probably half a minute before her breaths completely calmed down.
"A… anyway," Hannah burst into flames as she floated in the air, "Let's go, I used a jet to get here. It should get us to the base of the Hope Guild in a few hours…
…you excited to meet the others yet? You've met with Gary like a week ago, right? Oh god, you've only been out for like a week and everything's gone to the gutter."
"I'm not excited, sister."
"Pft, of course not," Hannah shook her head, "Anyway, what's with the rumors between you and V? Even Gary was saying some shit that almost caused Tomoe to go ballistic; I swear, that girl is quiet but she's secretly an internet terrorist."
"Rumors?"
"You know, that you two are going at it?" Hannah chuckled, "Is she like your girlfriend now or something?"
"No, sister," Riley shook his head as he followed Hannah, "But we did have sexual intercourse back in the prison."
"I see."
"..."
"...What the fuck did you just say!?"
Chapter 287"Did… you bring her here, Riley?"
"No. She brought me here, Miss Empress."
"...What?"
Inside the landing bay of the Hope Guild; Empress, V, and Butcher were there, standing almost ready to fight as an unidentified aircraft suddenly entered their base. But as soon as Bernard's daughter stepped out of the small jet; the only thing the three could do was look at each other. And soon, their newest member also casually stepped out of the jet.
"We installed a tracker in one of your jets," Hannah smirked as she looked Empress straight in the eyes, tip-toeing the best she could to be at the same eye level as her, but alas, Empress was still the tallest person in the room,
"Quite pathetic that the number one superhero group couldn't even detect it– as expected of a group led by a slut."
"..."
V wanted to step forward in Empress's defense… but Hannah was kind of right. Empress is sleeping with a married man, and to defend her in front of the daughter of the woman being cheated on… didn't really sit right with her.
And so, the only thing she could do was place her attention on Riley, waving toward him with a smile on her face. Riley, however, only nodded at her; but instead of being disappointed, she just let out a small giggle.
"You… put a tracker on one of our jets?" Empress's eyes started to twitch; but still, her arms remained still as she stepped forward.
"Oh yeah," Hannah nodded, "And pretty soon, the rest of my team will be here."
"I don't appreciate you doing that, Hannah Ross."
"What are you gonna do, sleep with my dad again?"
"H–"
"Welcome to the Hope Guild headquarters, Ms. Ross."
And before the sparks between Hannah and Empress could grow any more violent, Butcher stepped between the two; his bald and shiny head completely extinguishing the spark.
"Butcher, what are you doing?" Empress frowned.
"She is already here," Butcher muttered, "And the probability of us making her leave is zero. We should just see this as welcoming the future pillars of our society. We are getting old, Empress– our glory days are over."
"Why are you giving a speech here?" Empress could only click her tongue as she turned around and walked away, "If they cause any trouble, it's 100% on you. I am only letting this be since we have even greater problems."
"...Now shall we head inside?" Butcher gestured to Hannah before also following Empress inside.
"Your new team suc–"
"Riley!"
And before Hannah could finish her words, her eyes widened as she saw V suddenly clinging to Riley's arms. And as if that wasn't enough, she even pecked him on the cheeks. Hannah would usually have something to say at moments like this… but since V was practically a stranger, she didn't really know how to react.
V seemed to have noticed this as she quickly grabbed Hannah's hand.
"I've been wanting to meet with you for a long time now, Hannah!" V said with a huge smile on her face; shaking Hannah's hand repeatedly before letting go,
"I hope to be friends with you someday!"
"R… right?" Hannah could really only smile back with a forced smile on her face. V had always been inside her mecha suit whenever Hannah watched her in action– but seeing her right now acting like this in front of her… wasn't she just a kid?
Granted, she should be the same age as Riley. And the two… the two have even slept with each other. Hannah truly doesn't know what to feel about this as Riley's older sister.
"Let's go inside," V then once again clung onto Riley as she pulled him away; leaving Hannah completely dumbfounded as she watched the two walk ahead.
She was about to follow the two when she noticed that V was glancing at her… with a somewhat condescending glare as she tightened her hold on Riley even stronger.
"..."
Of course– Hannah thought. Riley… always attracted women with a few– no, with a lot of screws loose in their head.
Tomoe was her friend, but there was something seriously wrong with her head– of course, she couldn't really blame her for the things she'd been through with her parents.
As for Scarlet Mage, she doesn't even need to explain anything about that cougar.
And now, V. Although she doesn't know what was wrong with her yet, she figures it had something to do with her being locked up inside a mecha suit for almost her entire life– she would probably be swooned and infatuated by the first guy of the same age who so much gives her attention…
…but being trapped inside a cage all her life? That's bound to lead to some problems.
"...Ack, who cares. I'm not anyone's therapist." If Riley is old enough to play around with women, then he's old enough to deal with the problems that come with it, Hannah thought as she followed the two inside…
…almost completely forgetting the fact that they were currently being invaded by an extraterrestrial species.
But as soon as she stepped inside the Hope Guild's 'lobby', the lax and calm expression on everyone's faces caused her to remember.
"Wait, why are all of us just relaxing here!?" Hannah stood up as she… pushed the glass of coffee she casually found herself drinking away,
"We're being invaded by fucking aliens right now! Megawoman is here, right!? Wake her up!"
"You don't have to worry, Ms. Ross," Butcher quickly wiped the spilled coffee, "Hera and Tempo are currently responding to the threats."
"Only the two of them!? Then what are the rest of you doing!?" Hannah said as she pointed at Butcher as well as V, who was still clinging onto his brother like a koala.
"We are waiting, Ms. Ross."
"Waiting for what?"
"Waiting for Whiteking to pinpoint where the ship of the aliens are," Butcher calmly said as he took away the glass and wiped the table clean.
"You mean–"
"We're going on the offensive."
And before Hannah could say anything, Bernard suddenly entered the lobby… from the direction where they came from, the hangar.
"I was busy fixing something so I couldn't welcome you," Bernard said as he wiped his unusually dirty face; his arms as well, seemed to be wrapped in grease,
"I welcomed them, however," Bernard then pointed his thumb to the back, and as soon as he did so, several people entered the lobby… quite dramatically.
Led by none other than Monarch. And behind him;
Silvie, aka, Megagirl– her suit, still the same white thick spandex with golden highlights and contrast in her boots and gloves; her mask, only covered around her eyes.
Tomoe Reynolds, aka, Nightqueen– wearing a loose white kimono, only accented by the sunglasses she was wearing.
Katrina Collins, aka, Hurricane Katrina– still wearing a lot of frills around her to hide her pair of glorious mountains, but still failing to do so.
And lastly, Bella Jackson, aka, Black Bell– only wearing a tank top and somewhat tactical pants.
The members of the Baby Crew, all women except Gary Gray.
"No worries, your ancestor is here– oh my god, we're actually inside!"
"We're supposed to be making a good impression!"
Chapter 288The Baby Crew.
They were supposed to enter the base of the Hope Guild completely unperturbed and with dignity. They were now also officially superheroes, they shouldn't be affected or star struck if they see another popular hero in front of them.
But alas, that plan was completely ruined as soon as Gary squealed as soon as they entered the lobby. The women of the group could only shake their heads in disappointment; Gary was the only male member of the Baby Crew, so it made sense he would be the one in the middle; but alas, they completely forgot who Gary was.
"Oh my god, guys… We're actually inside the Hope Guild's secret base," Gary's entire body trembled; and with him being muscular and over 6'6" tall, all they wanted to do was kick him for acting cute.
"H… holy shit, is this the blade you used to defeat the War Gadget!?" Gary then quickly rushed towards the collection of blades that were plastered on the wall, "It… it's true, all of them are blunt!"
"..." Butcher furrowed his eyebrows for a few seconds. One would think he would be annoyed… but a small smile subtly crawled on his face as he approached Gary, who was still completely freaking out,
"It is, I see you know your knives," Butcher nodded.
"O… of course," Gary took in a small gulp as he removed his mask, "If one is to know dao, then one is to know smithing."
"I see the future generation is in good hands."
"..."
"..." Not only the Baby Crew, but Empress could not help but shake her head as she saw this scene. If she wasn't busy trying to take care of Megawoman, then she would have definitely done something to kick these… ransackers away.
But still, it might actually be quite helpful that they are here, Empress thought as she turned her eyes towards Silvie.
"You… really do look like her."
"S… sorry?" Silvie looked around if it was really her that Empress was talking to.
"Megawoman, you look like her," Empress said, "And since you're here, can you follow me?"
"...Sorry?" Silvie once again repeated.
"And you as well, Gary," Empress raised her voice to get Gary's attention, "Maybe Megawoman will react if she senses his son."
"!!!"
"It was real!?" Silvie quickly widened her eyes as she heard Empress's voice. Even Katrina and Bella, who were trying their best not to geek out, almost opened up all their pores as Empress's words reached their ears.
"Wait…" However, Katrina and Bella widened their eyes even further as what Empress said finally fully registered in their minds,
"What do you mean son?" Bella stepped forward, "Gary… is Megawoman's s–"
And before Bella could even utter the words she wanted to utter, Gary screamed,
"Riley had sex with V while they were in prison!"
"!!!"
And without even any warning, V quickly ran away; covering her face as she did so.
"L… Let's go meet with Megawoman!" Gary then quickly rushed to grab Silvie as he urged Empress to go.
"W… wait, what did you say? Wait, I want to hear!" Silvie seemed to want to stay, but alas– it was almost as if Gary channeled all of his strength as she pulled her and Empress away. Leaving Riley, Butcher, Hannah, Tomoe, Bella, and Katrina in the lobby. Bernard already returned to the hangar as he was still finishing up something.
As for Butcher, "...It seems I might have forgotten to clean one of my blades," he whispered as he quickly slid out of the lobby.
And pretty soon, the people that were left in the lobby found their breaths getting heavier; with each exhale, visible vapor fumes from their mouths.
"Did… did it suddenly get colder?" Katrina was the first to comment as she rubbed her shoulders, causing her massive… outfit to flutter.
"..."
"..."
"Give it here my white brother!"
And right when everyone thought silence would fill the air, Bella suddenly approached Riley with her fist stretched out, "You still killing ladies left and right, and someone from the Hope Guild? Shit… you a beast, ma– It really is getting kinda cold, ain't it?"
Bella quickly retracted her fist as she too, started rubbing her shoulders– if she knew it was going to be this cold in the Hope Guild, then she wouldn't have worn a tank top. Soon, however, she realized what was causing this sudden drop in temperature.
"Oh shit!" Bella clapped her hands,
"Didn't you have hots for Riley?" She then said as she looked at Tomoe, whose head might as well have been planted on the floor with how much she was looking down.
"Bella!" Hannah, who had been watching the whole scene unfold, could no longer take it as she pulled Bella away, "This is more serious than you think."
"..." Bella then looked back at Tomoe as she heard Hannah's words,
"...Shit. Don't tell me Icy is actually in love with your brother?" She whispered.
"Do you think she would react like this if she wasn't?" Hannah whispered.
"W… well, it's not our fault your brother is attractive as hell. Chicks dig that mysterious aura, ya know."
The two continued to whisper; but with the lobby now freezing cold, their voices could be heard almost bouncing everywhere.
But finally, after a few more seconds of this painful, and somewhat awkward scenario, Tomoe finally spoke up.
"Is… is that true?" Tomoe said, her words, almost a whisper, and a whimper; her eyes, not even having the strength to look at Riley.
Riley, who had been keeping quiet on the side and was already helping himself with a cold glass of milk, could only tilt his head to the side as Tomoe approached him.
"What is true, Tomoe?"
"That you… you and V had… had sex?"
"Yes."
"Riley!" Hannah quickly tried to cover his brother's mouth.
"T… this ni–" As for Bella, her mouth was covered by Katrina.
"We… we probably shouldn't butt in?" Katrina muttered as she pulled Bella away.
As for Tomoe, she started whispering something to herself; lasting for a few seconds before she ran away to one of the hallways.
"T… Tomoe! Riley, what the hell!?" Hannah could only groan as she rushed to chase Tomoe, "We… we don't know the layout of this place, Tomoe!"
And with that, only Bella, Katrina, and Riley were left in the lobby.
"Life really is livelier with you around, my white brother," Bella then chuckled as she tried patting Riley's shoulder, only for him to move away,
"Still, congrats on your release, man. Honestly, out of all of us, I thought I was the one going to prison first."
"Why? Have you committed a crime, Bella?"
"No, but I'm black."
"How is that relevant?" Riley tilted his head; but after a few more seconds he let out a short but deep sigh, "I am sorry, Bella."
"Pft, it's not your fault."
"It might be," Riley shook his head, "Are you being associated with Darkday because of the color of your skin?"
"Pft," Bella almost choked on her own saliva as she heard Riley's words.
As for Katrina… she had no idea whether she could laugh or not. The only thing she could really do was to try and change the topic.
"A… anyway, what do you guys think will happen now?" Katrina whispered, "Aliens… there are actually aliens."
"What do you mean what?" Bella scoffed, "We fight back, that's what's up. They–"
"!!!"
And before Bella could finish her words, the entire Hope Guild trembled– and along with it, the multiple doors from the hangar started shooting violently into the lobby…
…along with Bernard.
Chapter 289"!!!"
Bernard continued to violently roll on the floor. He was about to hit Riley and the two others, but as he was only a meter away from hitting Riley… Riley moved to the side to avoid him.
"Why didn't you catch your father!?" Katrina screamed as she also moved to the side– she initially thought that Riley would do something since his own father was heading his way, but alas, he just moved to the side along with them.
"Are we under attack!?"
Bella, on the other hand, quickly pulled the doors that were also blown away into the lobby close to her, using it as some sort of shield. She then stretched her hand towards Butcher's knife collection, letting them float around her as she looked in the direction of the hallway to the hangar.
Katrina, on the other hand, went to check on Bernard's condition. But seeing him already getting up, albeit struggling; the only thing she could really do was join Bella– her face, slightly sweating despite the freezing chill that Tomoe left.
She was previously excited that she was actually amongst the world's greatest heroes– with Megawoman even resting somewhere in the building. But now with this sudden explosion, she could not help but tremble.
She was amongst the strongest supers in the world; that would also mean that whoever was attacking them, would also be amongst the strongest. Did… they actually just dig their own grave by visiting? Maybe she should have just continued fighting those blue-skinned giant aliens?
She should have really checked up on her 12 other siblings first. What if they were–
And before she could finish her words, a violent gust of wind once again blasted its way from the direction of the hangar; blowing away all the furniture inside the lobby.
This time, however, Katrina stepped forward in front of the makeshift barrier that Bella made, clapping her hands and causing the wind to completely dissipate before quickly returning to hide.
"What was that!? Are the fucking aliens here!?" Hannah emerged from the hallway she left; Tomoe, however, was nowhere to be found. Hannah's body quickly burst out into flames, quickly raising the temperature inside the guild– almost to the point of melting the floor.
Everyone waited to see if there was someone emerging from the hangar, but even after a quarter of a minute had passed– no one and nothing. There was just this weird hissing sound whispering and echoing from the hallway.
"It's… fine."
And finally, after a few more seconds, the silence was broken by Bernard as he walked towards the hallway to the hangar, "I just finished fixing what I was trying to fix."
"Your family?" Bella almost instinctively blurted out, causing her to close her eyes and wince as she realized what she just said.
"...No." And surprisingly, Bernard answered her before he left for the hangar.
"..." Katrina, Bella, and Hannah all looked at each other as they saw Bernard disappearing into the hallway. But after seemingly making a quiet decision, they all nodded and started following Bernard.
"Where's… Tomoe?" Katrina asked.
"I… left her," Hannah let out a small but deep sigh, "She's probably posting some nasty stuff on the internet again."
The three continued to walk, the hallway that looked so kempt earlier, now filled with scratches and dust. How Bernard was able to survive a blast that even folded thick metal doors in half, one could only imagine how strong his suit was.
This destruction, however, was nothing compared to what happened to the hangar. The almost dozen jets that were parked there… including the ones owned by The Baby Crew, were now all planted on the walls of the building; obviously also blasted away.
"N… no," Katrina and Bella quickly let out a gasp as they saw the state of their precious vehicles. Hannah, on the other hand, only shrugged her shoulders.
"Dad will replace them all, don't worry," Hannah muttered before her eyes landed on the only remaining aircraft in the hangar– the one that seemed to have caused the blast.
It looked like a pizza with a missing slice when they landed, but now; it was suddenly whole.
A floating base of the Dark Millenium. Just the sheer size of it was enough to be treated like a large mall building– perhaps even more of a testament to how large the hangar of the Hope Guild is.
"You… actually fixed it?" Hannah said as she stood beside her father, "...But why were you outside?"
"Just a few design flaws of whoever originally designed it," Bernard let out a long and deep sigh as fumes began blowing from his armor; his feet, slowly leaving the floor,
"The time constraint didn't allow me to redesign some things, but I added a few widgets here and there to allow it to move around space without any problems."
"...If only you were this meticulous with your family, dad," Hannah sighed as she too, slowly left the floor to follow her father, "Anyway… I'm surprised the glass surrounding the base held together."
"It's not just for design, Hannah," Bernard scoffed, "It's our first line of defense in case an enemy gets our location– it's stronger than whatever the Hero Association Tower is made of."
"Pft, you're saying that, but we entered this place like we owned it."
"Because I allowed you to enter," Bernard nonchalantly said as the… hangar of the Dark Millenium ship opened, with Bernard casually stepping inside,
"Are your friends just going to stand there?" He glanced at Bella and Katrina, who were still standing in the middle of the hangar with their mouths agape, "I'm going to test a few things, so it's better for them to also be inside."
And with those words, Hannah quickly screamed at the two, telling them to come aboard. Before they could do so, however, the rest of the people inside the building started appearing.
"What in the world is that!?" Gary's voice echoed throughout the entire bay as he pointed at the gigantic ship.
"You finished it?" Empress smiled; her smile, causing Hannah to click her tongue.
Butcher and Tomoe were also there, with the only one missing…
"...Where's Riley?"
***
"Good evening, Megawoman. Oh, my mistake, it's past midnight now…
…Good morning, Megawoman."
And of course, Riley was wherever Megawoman was being kept.
He checked the room first as he entered; but no matter how many times he looked, there were no cameras present at all. Perhaps a testament to how much Empress respected Megawoman. She also had an oxygen mask on her face and seeing as it was clouding, then there seemed to no longer be any problem in Megawoman's physical health– at least from the outside.
There was also a small pail with a pair of clean cloths beside it. Was Empress trying to clean Megawoman before the explosion?
"..." Riley then picked up the cloth and gently dabbed it with water before approaching Megawoman and holding her hand… to the point that a small snap could be heard; not to the point, however, that Megawoman's bones were shattered; only dislocated.
"...Your body has become stronger than before, Megawoman," Riley said as he stared at the swelling around Megawoman's hand quickly subsiding,
"Do you also get stronger with each… death?" Riley said as he started wiping Megawoman's arm with the cloth,
"I don't know much about Theran and Themarians, but it makes sense since Empress seems to be betting everything on you– to the point that she made a deal with the devil."
"..." The only answer that Riley was getting was Megawoman's calmed breaths; her chest, rising and lowering with each second.
"There are other aliens now besides you, Megawoman," Riley continued to talk as he moved to Megawoman's other arm, "They do not seem to be as fun as you, however. But I am curious…
…they keep saying you're the Earth's protector. They know who you are, they know you exist. And as soon as I mentioned that you were alive, the alien I was trying to play with tried to run away. He wanted to report to his species that you were alive, probably. But you don't have to worry, I didn't let him."
Riley then gently uncovered the blanket that was covering Megawoman's chest… revealing them bare. There was no change, however, in Riley's breathing as he just continued to wipe her clean,
"I will not let anyone of them leave, Megawoman," Riley breathed out, "I will kill each and every last one of them so that when you wake up, it will only just be me and you again. There's so much life out there… so many things that I can end."
"..." Riley then once again covered Megawoman with the blanket, before replacing the cloth with a cleaner one. He then proceeded to gently take off Megawoman's oxygen mask,
"Suddenly, my problems are just… solved," Riley's voice started to lower as he got closer to Megawoman's face, almost as if he didn't want to disturb her sleep,
"You know in one of our talks– how I told you that I would not stop until everyone on this planet was dead?" Riley whispered, "And the only thing that was probably stopping me was Hannah? You don't have to worry, Megawoman. It's not going to happen yet– there are so many more lives to end out there. And by the time I am done…
…my sister would probably no longer be on the planet anymore…"
Riley's breaths also became weaker as he uttered those words,
"And that is the time that I will kill all of the people you loved very much," Riley continued to talk as his face inched closer and closer to Megawoman,
"Since the time you've been asleep, I have also discovered many things about myself. Do you know that there's a chance that someone created me? For what reason would they create a monster like me, I think it doesn't really matter. But still, I could not help but be curious...
...Was I created to kill you? Or maybe I am really just born this way? A monster of nature that--"
And before Riley could finish his words…
…Megawoman grabbed his arm.
**AUTHOR NOTES**
It saddens me to say that even my privilege chapters have been pirated. It leads to some major demotivation, of course-- since I spent a week in writing all of the chapters to get it done fast which would normally be done in the span of a month.
But what's done is done, all I can really do is thank all those who still support me nonetheless with anything they can and could. Thank you, you guys know who you are.
If you do wish to support me more, however, you can do so on my P.A.T.R.E.O.N: romeru.
Also, I submitted 'Manaless Magician', a new book into the biggest contest in Webnovel this year. Please do support me by voting powerstones there! Thank you!
Chapter 290"Where's Riley?"
Everyone that was in the building was present inside the Dark Millenium's ship, all except Riley. Gary was about to leave and check up on Riley, but before he could do so, Hannah stopped her.
"Let him be," Hannah sighed, "He's probably just doing one of his albino rituals or something."
"Albino… rituals. You know, you've been saying that a lot of times," Silvie, who was keeping her presence a bit quiet, spoke up, "I've been meaning to ask what kind of rituals those are."
"Is your mind still that innocent, oh dear Mega Junior?" Gary wagged his index finger, "Riley is masturbating."
"What, no!" Hannah's eyebrows quickly furrowed, "Fuck, stop being disgusting 24/7. It's nothing, Silv. It's just some expression I got used to using– he's probably just watching the mafia anime."
"Is… is that so?"
"No," Gary breathed loudly as he stretched his arms to the side; his eyes, scanning everyone.
"Tomoe… Empress, Hannah, Bella, Butcher, Katrina, Whiteking, Silvie… Tomoe…" Gary's fingers started pointing toward everyone within his sight; repeating it a couple of times as his eyes grew wider and wider,
"...I was wrong," Gary took in a small gulp, "V is also not here and that could only mean one thing…"
"Don't you dare fucking say i–"
"V and Riley are having seggs!" Gary screamed, "Seggs!"
"Gary!"
"Segg–"
And before Gary could finish his words, he felt a slight trickle crawling through his spine; he quickly squirmed and turned around to see what was causing it, only to see V now there,
"We don't know each other, but I feel like I want to kill you right now."
"O… Oh yeah?" Gary took in a small gulp as he took a few steps back, "Like what you did to the people of London? Shit, fuck. I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that."
"..."
"..."
"...Bro, that's… not right."
"I know, and I fully apologize for my actions and I promise that I would wholeheartedly– Eek!"
And before Gary could finish his words, he quickly ducked down as a loud thunder suddenly caused the entire ship to quake. Gary immediately started touching parts of his body to see if they were still there– and seeing as there was nothing missing, he let out a short but very deep sigh of relief.
"Butcher, quickly check if–"
"Relax," Bernard suddenly and randomly popped out from what seemed like one of the ship's ventilation before Butcher could follow Empress's orders,
"It's just the ship," Bernard then said as he stepped out of the vent, "It would be best to acclimatize yourself and memorize the layout of the ship first. We're using this to get to the aliens, after all."
"Wait… wait," not only Gary, but the rest of the Baby Crew could not help but take in a deep breath,
"You guys… are really going on the offensive?" Gary gulped.
"That's cool as hell," Bella rubbed her shoulders as the pores of her skin opened.
"I… I guess being at the top really is different," Katrina sighed.
"..." Tomoe kept quiet.
"Can we be of help?" Silvie stepped forward, "When is the Hope Guild planning to go to space?"
"You mean 'when are we' going to space?" Bernard chuckled as he looked at Silvie.
"...What?" Hannah furrowed her eyebrows.
"All of you are already here," Bernard said as he looked at the members of the Baby Crew, "And the ship is too big just for us. Maybe you were sent here in the first place to help us."
"...Are you stupid?" Hannah's eyebrows continued to furrow, "We're not ready to take on something this big, we're just star–"
"We're ready!"
And before Hannah could finish her words, the members of the Baby Crew stepped forward.
"Guys…" Hannah could only roll her eyes, "...Don't give in to my dad's flowery speeches."
But alas, try as Hannah might, the eyes of the members of the Baby Crew were blinded by the sense of adventure.
As for Empress, her eyes were currently staring at Bernard. She was sure…
…sure that the thunder that shook the ship did not come from the ship.
***
"..."
Whispers, echoes, or perhaps a murmur. If all the apparatus and furniture in Megawoman's room could talk, then they would all probably be screaming. Screaming as the entire room trembled and vibrated– almost to the point that if one were to see the room, it would look like it was surrounded by white noise.
If the material of the walls of the room were any different, then they would have already surely shattered just from the sheer pressure of what was happening inside.
Perhaps the only thing that was clear inside the room were two entities– Riley, and Megawoman, whose hand was currently grabbing Riley's wrist.
"Megawoman?" Riley tilted his head to the side as the room vibrated even stronger, "If you were awake, then you could have told me."
"..."
"...Megawoman?"
"..."
But alas, once again, Riley was only answered by Megawoman's breaths; the rhythm they held was still the same as before. Even the apparatus that was monitoring Megawoman's heart remained the same– still and without any problems.
Seeing this, the trembling of the room slowly faded, and once again, everything was clear.
"Are… you dreaming, Megawoman?" Riley then let out a long and deep breath as he pulled his hand away… only to find that he was not able to do so.
"..." Riley then grabbed Megawoman's hand and tried to pry it away, but once again, Megawoman's grip remained the same. It was not tight, not at all– but it was almost like an adjustable wrench that one would not be able to pull away.
"...Are you trying to tell me something, Megawoman?" Riley quickly gave up on trying to remove Megawoman's hand as he just sat beside her,
"Or… could it be you just want me to stay here?" Riley then let out a small chuckle as he slowly lay beside Megawoman,
"Okay, I'll stay beside you. It almost reminds you of when you were the one in my closet, no?"
"..."
"..." Riley could feel Megawoman's grip growing tighter; almost to the point where he could hear the squeeze whispering into his ear.
"Do not make me cut off your hand, Megawoman," Riley let out a small sigh as he turned his head towards Megawoman's sleeping face… before once again letting out a small chuckle,
"Just kidding, there's no point in doing that if you're asleep. But what exactly are you trying to tell me, Megawoman? Why don't you just wake up and tell me?"
"..."
"Is it the aliens? You don't want me to kill them?"
"..."
"Are you uncomfortable? Do you want to stay in my Guesthouse instead? As a VIP customer, of course."
"..."
"...Or are you worried that your race is also on its way here?"
"..." And as soon as Riley said those words, the pressure that Riley was feeling around his wrist disappeared. But still, Megawoman did not remove her hand.
"Why?" Riley blinked a couple of times, "Are you afraid of them? Or… are you afraid for them?"
"..."
"You don't have to worry, Megawoman. If they are as strong as you, then the only problem they would be dealing with is me… because I will make sure to make them scream."
"..."
"...No? That's not it?" Riley sighed as there was no response from Megawoman, "You should really wake up so we can have a proper conversation, Megawoman. This is the second time we are talking that you haven't responded and it is starting to get–"
"Get away from her!"
And before Riley could finish his words, Empress suddenly barged inside the room. Her eyes, almost trembling as she saw Riley lying next to Megawoman.
"Empress," Riley, however, just remained lying on the bed as he turned to face Empress.
"Get… get away from her."
"I can't," Riley then raised his hand, which was still being held by Megawoman.
"What!?" Empress quickly rushed towards them, "Is… is she awake!?"
Empress was getting ready to punch Riley as hard as she could– since Megawoman was holding him, then his capacity to fight back would be limited. But alas, as soon as she saw Megawoman's peaceful face; she instantly realized that was not the case.
"Why… is she holding your hand?"
"Because we're destined to be together, Empress," Riley said without any hesitation, "And she is also trying to say something about her race."
"...What? About Theran?" Empress completely ignored Riley's first statement.
"Yes," Riley nodded as he finally got up from the bed; his wrist, however, was still held by Megawoman, "I think she might be wary of them. Has she told you anything about her race?"
"N… No."
Only the fact that they get stronger with each defeat, Empress thought. But she is not going to tell Riley that… not knowing he already somewhat has an idea.
"That's okay," Riley nodded as he once again sat beside Megawoman, "I will stay here until she lets go of my hand. I do not have any other choice, it seems."
"..." But Hope Guild was about to go on the offensive against the alien invaders; Empress can't just leave Megawoman behind with Darkday…
…No.
In the most ironic of twists. In this state… wasn't Megawoman safest with him? There really won't be any questions as well, since they needed someone to guard the base while they were all gone.
And so, after deliberating for a couple of seconds… Empress nodded.
"I will discuss this with the others first," Empress said as she hurriedly left and called for all the members of the Hope Guild.
"..."
"..."
"Oh, what's that, Megawoman?" Riley then leaned closer to Megawoman's face, "You… also want to go out and get some air? No? You... also want to see the aliens?"
"..."
"Hm, I don't know…" Riley hummed for a few seconds, before a smile slowly crawled on his face, "Okay, then let's get you dressed…
…we will follow them when they leave."
Chapter 291The tides of the Black Sea that have remained calm through the ages were now raging; its inhabitants, all diving down deep to avoid the sudden pressure that stormed through the the surface of their home.
Some of the creatures were confused, as the sun just shone on them hours ago– and yet now, once again, a part of the Black Sea became darker.
The floating base of the Dark Millenium– still a mystery on how they were able to conjure such a machinery; but nonetheless, it would now prove useful to the Hope Guild… as well as the Baby Crew.
The walls of the Dark Millenium ship then lit up; and even as it covered the sun and its silhouette was filled with its rays, one could still see that change of color it emitted. And soon, the colossal ship slowly started to ascend to the skies.
Slowly– perhaps one would describe it like that if one were to look at it from afar. But in truth, it was rising at the speed of a jet that has reached its optimal speed. It wasn't capable of doing so before, but with the adjustments and improvements that Whiteking had done, it was now capable of doing a lot more things.
One being able to survive in space, as that was the ship's destination.
"Is… it really alright to leave Riley there, dad?"
"Your brother will be alright. Hera and Tempo will be there, you should be more worried about us."
Whiteking was currently in the ship's control room, along with Tomoe, Silvie, and Katrina. Gary and Bella were exploring the ship with Butcher. As for V, she was currently in a room being tended by Empress as she felt sick as soon as the ship moved.
She had always been the pilot with her mecha suit; and now that she was being moved by another, she had a sort of motion sickness. She seemed to be getting better by the second, though, as said by Empress through their comms.
"If you're worried, then why did you bring us?" Hannah said as she almost pressed something on the panel, but was stopped by Silvie before she could do so,
"T… thanks," Hannah gulped before once again placing her attention on Bernard, who seemed to be busy checking the ship's parameters, "Does mom even know you brought us here? Isn't this like… potentially a suicide mission?"
"You watch too many movies," Bernard let out a small sigh, "We will leave as soon as it gets dangerous. I have already collected enough data to know that the majority of the blue giant ETs are comparable to Class-B supers."
"That… might be the case, sir Whiteking… but their technology seems to be way more advanced than ours."
Silvie stepped forward as she looked at the clouds they were about to pass through. The walls of the control room were previously just filled with screens, but with Bernard's alterations, he was able to put the same transparent material they used in the base of the Hope Guild, allowing them a direct view of the outside– the screens that were previously there, now replaced by some sort of hologram.
"Wouldn't we be at a disadvantage because of their weapons?"
"She has a point, dad," Hannah added, "They use fucking portals."
"Maybe, but watch this, though."
Whiteking chuckled, and as soon as he did so, Hannah and Tomoe felt their knees almost folding as the ship's ascent instantly became faster almost to the point that the view of the outside became blurry. Soon, however, the blur faded.
Their feet, slowly leaving the floor.
Tomoe, who had been keeping quiet from the start, tried to wave her arms and feet almost as if she was trying to swim; but alas, it did nothing. If it wasn't for Silvie, then she would have probably found herself floating aimlessly inside the control room.
Katrina, who was just sitting there and admiring everything about her situation, was able to keep her balance due to her… wind powers. She wanted to call her family since she wanted to brag that she was going to space, but at the same time she was worried; not worried that her parents would not let her go… but worried that they might force her to let them and all of her 12 other siblings go aboard.
"F… fucking fuck," Hannah said as she also propelled herself towards Silvie using small bursts of her flames, "We… are actually in space."
"First time?" Silvie rubbed her nose as she smirked; her smirk, however, quickly disappeared as she looked outside the windows.
"An enemy!"
Everyone in the control room turned their heads towards where Silvie was pointing, only to see a giant blue alien floating near the ship– No, not just one… but almost a dozen of them.
Silvie was about to leave, but before she could do so, she noticed something… none of them were moving; their skin, almost cracked and completely frozen.
"...The fuck?" Hannah also noticed this as she floated to the window, "They're… dead?"
"I intercepted the channels they were using to teleport to our planet," Whiteking then turned to look at Hannah, "Some of them, at least. They changed the way they were compiling things so I didn't bother anymore since it would take time to learn whatever it is they're using."
"You… hacked into their server?" Tomoe finally spoke up, "...How?"
"Please don't teach her anything, dad."
"It's not hacking per se," Whiteking chuckled, "I don't really know what to call it… so maybe let's just call it that. If they could hack our servers, it just means we could hack theirs."
And as soon as he said that, several holograms started popping out in front of the window– showing an unidentified place. However, as soon as a giant blue alien panned into view, Hannah and the others quickly realized where it was.
"You… got into their surveillance?" Silvie took in a small gulp.
"Hm," Bernard nodded, "See? Your friends know how impressive I am."
"Oh, I'm sure they fucking know," Hannah scoffed, "You helped in creating one of them, after all."
"..." Katrina was still keeping quiet, still just happy to be there.
"Guys!" And soon, a loud roar almost deafened their ears as the door of the control room slid open,
"L… look! I have reached enlightenment!" Gary quickly floated into the room, spinning around, "I can fly, I can finally fly!"
"We're in Outerspace, you dumb fuck."
"..." Gary could only blink as he saw Hannah floating in the control room. But after a few seconds, he managed to turn around and point at Bella, who was casually walking on the floor without any problem,
"But she's not! She's walking!"
"My… Jordan's are made of metal. I've… been using it to balance myself since earlier," Bella could only scratch her chin as she saw the excited look on Gary's face slowly fading away.
"But… you told me earlier that…"
"S… sorry, I thought it would be funny at first," Bella could not even look at Gary's face anymore as his eyes were almost turning moist.
"...Please kill me."
Hearing the Baby Crew starting to make noises everywhere, Bernard could only let out a sigh as he pressed something on the console– and as soon as he did so, everyone could feel their weight coming back to them.
And after a few seconds, everyone's feet were once again touching the floor… all except Gary, whose face was completely planted on the cold, hard, floor.
"..."
"..."
And soon, the door of the control room once again opened.
"...What's going on here?" Empress could only blink a couple of times as she looked at Gary, who was crying on the floor.
"Just… a prank, sis," Bella chuckled awkwardly.
"Your team should rest, we have 12 hours until we're potentially near the invader's ship," Empress sighed as she walked towards Bernard, "What about the other race? Have you tried locating where they are?"
"Not yet," Bernard sighed, "Their… tech is too different from us. But I should have them in a day."
"I see," Empress also let out a short sigh before her eyes trailed towards Hannah who suddenly stood beside her father, "What… are you still doing here? You should rest."
"I don't think so," Hannah crossed her arms, once again tiptoeing to make herself taller, "You're not ordering my team around– my dad fixed this ship, it is as much a property of the Baby Crew as it is the Hope Guild."
"I'm only advising you and your friends should rest and–"
"And leave you here so my dad could eat your pussy?" Hannah scoffed, but after a few seconds she grasped her head, "Fuck, now I have that fucking image in my mind!"
Not just yours– the rest of the Baby Crew thought.
Empress, on the other hand, did not respond and just shook her head, "I don't know what got into that head of yours, Whiteking. To include children in this mission."
"I–"
"Bitch, I'm 20," Hannah snarled before Whiteking could answer.
"I was talking more about your maturity."
"Maturity? You're the one destroying families!"
"..."
The rest of the Baby Crew slowly backed away, with Gary being pulled away by Silvie as they all exited the control room…
…leaving poor Bernard alone as Empress and Hannah once again clashed.
***
"Ah, here it is."
Riley was with Megawoman, who was still holding his wrist; covered in blankets as her head rested on Riley's shoulder. They were currently in Riley's room– No, not his room in the Hope Guild, but in his room in the Ross's residence.
"It needs a few stitches, Megawoman. But we can work on that once you're wearing it."
And floating in front of them…
…was Megawoman's superhero outfit.
Chapter 292"I guess you lost some weight?"
Riley currently had his hand up, with Megawoman floating in the air as she continued to hold Riley's wrist. Megawoman's outfit was already ripped due to their battle back in Toronto. But alas, Riley had to practically split it in half even more as there was no way for him to pass it through her arms… for the obvious fact that she was holding his wrist.
And so, Megawoman's outfit was closer to rags than it is to actual clothing– the only recognizable part of her uniform was her red skirt and red boots with golden linings. But even those had holes in them already.
Megawoman's outfit… was just made with cotton and polymer. Perhaps a testament to how confident she was that no one could really touch her in this world.
"..." Riley stared at Megawoman for a few seconds in the air, before letting out a long and very deep sigh. This can't and shouldn't be, Riley thought. They were going out, and he can't let the people see Megawoman in this sort of sorry state.
And so, with another sigh, he walked towards his bed– almost treating Megawoman as some sort of balloon as she floated in the air. The mattress of the bed then floated, revealing a set of black clothing– Darkday's outfit.
Riley touched the suit, causing it to somehow melt; turning into strands of goo as they floated towards Megawoman. The black goo crawled across Megawoman's skin, completely wrapping every corner of her body.
"..." Riley then tilted his head from side to side as he looked at Megawoman, now wearing an outfit similar to Darkday; accentuating her figure in a way that her previous suit did not. If Megawoman ever turned her back to humanity, this is what she would probably look like, Riley thought.
Quite an intimidating figure, if he may say so himself.
"...No."
But alas, after a few seconds, Riley shook his head as the black suit melted away and returned to the bottom of his bed; once again turning Megawoman nude. This did not last long, however, as his blanket floated and covered her skin.
Riley then once again stared at Megawoman for a couple of seconds, before once again trying her old tattered suit but immediately throwing it away.
"..." Riley then closed his eyes, trying to think up of ways to– And then midway through his thoughts, he thought of a solution that would end his dilemma.
And so… he remained still; his eyes closed.
A second.
A minute.
An hour.
He stood still like this for almost more than 2 hours until finally– a bell rang throughout the entire house. Riley finally opened his eyes as the door of his room immediately opened. He gently pulled Megawoman down, smoothly planting her feet on the floor and controlling her in a way that made it look like she was walking on her own.
Even as they stepped down the stairs, there was almost no lag or delay in Megawoman's movements– in the eyes of other people, it would just look like the two were strolling; strolling around a hotel, that is, since Megawoman was only wearing a blanket.
Riley then reached the door, opening it casually even with Megawoman beside him.
"Good morning, I have an express delivery for Riley Ro–"
The delivery man on the other side of the door immediately shut his mouth as soon as he saw Riley, and then toward the beautiful woman beside her. But after a few more seconds, he nodded his head and just asked Riley to sign the papers.
As a delivery man, after all, he had seen weirder things than an albino with a beautiful blind woman beside her.
"Alright, here you go!" The delivery man once again nodded as he left. As for Riley, he quickly rushed back to his room with the package in his hand. He first took off the tapes attached, making sure the carton box would not be damaged.
But finally, after a few more seconds of unpacking the package, the contents of the box floated in the air.
And it was none other than a replica of Megawoman's suit– a costume primarily used by cosplayers.
Riley then nodded several times as he looked at the costume. And in a way, the material used was even better than Megawoman's original suit– truly, an expensive hobby.
Riley then expertly cut the seams of the costume so he could allow the sleeves to be worn, before sewing it back together with Megawoman already wearing it. The costume even had a pair of undergarments, which saves Riley a lot of time.
And so, finally, after almost an entire hour of making sure everything was in perfect condition…
"Welcome back, Megawoman," a smile quickly crawled on Riley's face as he looked at Megawoman in all of her glory– there was just one final thing that was missing.
Riley stretched his hand to the side to open one of his drawers, and immediately, a pair of sunglasses flew straight toward his hand.
Riley once again pulled Megawoman back to the floor; his face, only a foot away from Megawoman's.
"And there we go," Riley then breathed out as he gently placed the sunglasses on Megawoman's face. Megawoman's feet then once again moved as if she was conscious, stepping back a few steps and even spinning around Riley like they were dancing.
"Shall we go out?" Riley chuckled as he stepped out of his room, with Megawoman's arm wrapped around his,
"What do you want to do first?" Riley said as they stepped down the stairs, "Do you want to kil– subdue some aliens? Or maybe we should focus on saving people, but that would be–"
"Jesus fucking, what the fuck!?"
And before Riley could finish his words, a woman suddenly appeared from the corridor near their stairs.
"It's just me, mother."
"Riley!?"
Diana quickly dropped the bags of groceries she was holding; her eyes growing wide as she stared at Riley for a few seconds. She looked at her from head to toe repeatedly– perhaps more than a dozen times as Riley continued to nonchalantly step down the stairs.
But before Riley could take the final step, a loud screeching scream reverberated throughout the entire house.
"My baby!" Diana then rushed towards Riley with her arms stretched open– but alas, once again, Riley floated along with Megawoman to avoid her completely.
"You… when did you get back!?" Diana didn't seem to mind, however, as the tone of her voice quickly became quivered; her eyes, slowly turning red with tears, "Your father said that you… you would be staying in the Hope Guild. I've been begging to see you but he said that… where's your father? Is Hannah here?"
"No, mother. Just me and Megawoman."
"I… I see, what–" And finally, Diana's moist eyes turned towards the woman that was standing close to Riley.
"Megawoman!?"
***
"That… all happened?"
It took almost another hour for Riley to recount the events that had happened that led to this point– of course, skipping some parts here and there that would probably take even more time explaining.
"Yes," Riley nodded; Megawoman, sitting quietly beside him on the sofa.
As for Diana… she didn't seem to be weirded out by everything in front of her– after all, Diana was and is Bernard's wife, she was used to even weirder things.
"But for Bernard to not even tell me they're going to space with my daughter," the tone of Diana's voice became slightly low as she clicked her tongue several times, "And with his side chick? I mean, what?"
"..." Riley, on the other hand, stared at her mother for a few seconds as she grumbled, before letting out a small and deep sigh and looking at her straight in the eyes,
"In prison–"
"I don't want to hear anything about your stay in prison," Diana quickly shook her head, "Who knows what awful things they do there. Did you even have access to a bath there? Was it even clean? They didn't even let us visit you and it's so frustr–"
"Did you work in the Super Max Prison before, mother?"
"...What?" Diana slightly squinted her eyes as she looked at Riley.
"There are people claiming there that you used to work in the prison's medical department," Riley said without any hesitation, "One was an old lady named Tsula."
"...No?" Diana tilted her head, "I was a doctor, but I've never really left the country for work."
"..." Riley looked at Megawoman for a few seconds, before turning his attention back to Diana, "Are you lying, mother?"
"No, of course not," Diana chuckled; and soon, an exciting glimmer could be seen sparkling in her eyes, "Have you finally taken an interest in mommy's life? Is it because we're being invaded by aliens and the world's about to end?"
"I am taking an interest, mother."
"Really!?" Diana quickly ran away, returning just as fast with a photo album in her hand, "Look, this is mommy when she was the same age as you!"
"I don't have a biological father, mother," Riley, however, did not even glance at the album as he looked his mother in the eyes.
"...What?" Diana only giggled upon hearing Riley, "Of course you do, we just don't know who it is. But if you're at that age… maybe we can have your father search?"
"Alice Lane underwent IVF with an unidentified… origin," Riley then said as he closed the album, "A friend injected her with it…
…are you not that friend, mother?"
Chapter 293"No… I've never really met Alice before? I might have occasionally run into her due to your father, but… yeah, no."
Diana's hum echoed long and soft throughout the house; her face, truly showing that she was thinking long and hard about whether or not she and Alice met with each other.
"It's really tragic what happened to her," Diana sighed, "But whatever the case is, and no matter how much of a bitch I might sound… I am truly glad you're here with us, Riley. You're my son and nothing would change that."
"Hm," Riley only nodded as he drank the glass of milk that Diana got for him. Diana also prepared a glass of water for Megawoman, completely forgetting that she was actually unconscious.
"Why are you even believing the stories of the people from prison?" Diana's tone then slightly changed as she shook her head, "They are in prison because they are bad people who made the wrong choices, Riley. And most of them would lie just to get what they want. Ugh, I swear. Do you know how many months it took me to finally be able to sleep at least an hour when they placed you in that horrible place?"
"When did you meet father?"
"We actually knew each other back when we were just about your age," Diana once again answered Riley's question without any hesitation, "We weren't really that close since, well… Bernard has always been Bernard. He always lived in a different world."
Diana took a sip of her coffee as she stared at the table; her eyes, almost glimmering,
"Then we all separated ways, and the next time we met was when he was already dawning his costume," Diana let out a long and heavy sigh as she once again shook her head, "Your father wasn't particularly handsome, no. But I knew he was going to be rich so I married him… oh, and of course, I fell in love with him as well."
"You're not a super, mother?" Riley asked.
And once again, Diana answered with another sigh.
"No. If I was, then my life would have probably been a whole lot different than it is now. I'd probably even be in the Hope Guild with how tenacious I am…
…or maybe even a villain," Diana then smiled and chuckled as she looked at Riley… trying to replicate his wide smile but failing to do so as her cheeks quickly started to tremble.
"So, you're not a super?"
"No."
"You're not hundreds of years old?"
"...With this kind of youthful face?"
Riley looked at Megawoman, and then back to Diana.
"N… no, I'm not."
"You didn't work at the Super Max Prison before?"
"No."
"..."
"..."
"You don't have questions anymore?" Diana smiled as she once again opened the photo album on the table, "Then why don't we–"
"I have to go, mother."
But alas, before Diana could even turn a page, Riley and Megawoman stood up, "Will you be fine here by yourself?"
"..." Diana once again looked at Riley straight in the eyes, before also standing up and once again letting out a loud sigh that seemed to be directly targeted at Riley,
"This is the problem when you're surrounded by heroes," she breathed out, "It's fine, you can go ahead and save people's lives. I'll be fine."
"Are you sure, mother?"
"Hm," Diana nodded before forcing out a chuckle, "It's just an alien invasion, I've been through worse. Starslayer, Darkday, that Lady Divider chick… Did you know I've been a hostage once?"
"..."
"And besides, everyone seems to just be going on with their lives since the government hasn't really issued an official lockdown– I was even able to buy groceries," Diana laughed as she pointed at the bags of groceries she dropped earlier when she suddenly saw Riley.
"...Okay," Riley nodded, "Megawoman and I shall take my leave, mother."
"...Take care out there, okay?" Diana breathed out, "And when your father and sister return, tell them not to come home for a few days, okay? They think they can just go to space without even telling me!? The one that actually does everything in this house and– Oh my, I'm not angry at you, Riley."
"..." Riley only blinked a couple of times, before nodding his head and walking out. Diana did not really follow him out– as almost a tradition in the house; Diana never says goodbye to Bernard as his job… meant that he might not come back home one day.
And now that Riley was also officially a hero, Diana only stared at her son's back as he closed the door.
As for Riley, he stood in front of the door for a couple of seconds, before floating in the air along with Megawoman… and immediately landing on the roof of the house.
"Riley."
And right there, was Katherine; wearing casual clothing with her silver hair flowing with the wind.
"Thank you for coming so quick, Silvermoon."
"..." Katherine only nodded before her eyes moved like magnets towards Megawoman,
"It's… really her," she then said as she took a small gulp. Her eyes, almost watering the longer she stared at Megawoman. But after a few more seconds, she closed her eyes and looked to the side… almost as if in shame.
"Beautiful, is she not?"
"Like the sun," Katherine breathed out; a hint of a smile growing on her face.
"..."
"..."
"What did you find out, Silvermoon? Did my mother lie throughout our conversation?"
"No," Katherine shook her head, "Not even once."
"Hm," Riley only looked to the side as he heard Katherine's answer. And after a few seconds, he nodded his head, "Thank you, Silvermoon. You may go now, Megawoman and I have some aliens to kil– neutralize."
Riley's feet left the roof, but before he could float even 3 inches away–
"She was too calm," Katherine said; causing Riley to once again return to the roof.
"Diana has always been the calmest in the family, Silvermoon," Riley said, "She has been through worse situations."
"This… is different," Katherine sighed, "I didn't detect any lies, and I also didn't detect any stutter in her heart, not even once."
"She has always been the calmest in the family."
"In front of Megawoman?" Katherine said as her eyes once again landed on Megawoman, "Even now, I could feel myself almost fainting just from looking at her… but your mother… don't you find it weird that she didn't even seem to mind?"
"Yes, mother is a very interesting indivi–"
"She was even calmer than you."
"..."
"Almost to the point that I could hear your heartbeat more than hers," Katherine continued, "That has never happened before, Riley. Your heart has always been the most still in every room you've been in, but not earlier."
"Maybe–"
"And it wasn't because you were beside Megawoman."
"...Interesting," Riley placed his hand on his chin; his eyes, slowly squinting. But after a few more seconds, he just nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and started floating along with Megawoman,
"Anyway, Megawoman and I have prior plans. I will see you later, Katherine."
And with that, Riley flew away, leaving Katherine on the roof, sighing heavily.
She rushed to get to the residence on Riley's orders to spy on Diana… but now that they somewhat have something on her, he just leaves?
"..." Katherine then looked towards the sky; closing her eyes and taking deep breaths as she did so. And with her 6th breath, she snapped her fingers– her casual clothes, suddenly fluttering into some sort of orange streaks as she did so, almost like butterflies flying away from a tree and fully revealing it.
Her superhero outfit was now clad in white; a long white coat accentuated with black linings– she was also wearing a full black suit beneath it, completely contrasting and complimenting everything.
Even if she was now Riley's subordinate, she was still free to save as many people as she could. She was not trying to atone for her crimes and sins, no. No matter how many people she saves, she knows that she will no longer be forgiven. She knew in herself that… she was too far gone.
She was just doing this for her. To at least lessen the guilt that has been eating her every day… even if it's just an illusion.
Save as many people as she could– were now the only thoughts Katherine had in her mind as she flew away to the opposite direction where Riley disappeared into.
"!!!"
She almost stopped flying, however, as she saw someone waving goodbye at her on the ground; smiling at her before returning back inside–
…Diana Ross.
"What…
…is wrong with this family?"
***
"We… we need back up here!"
"All non-supered individuals, please stop running outside and just hide! Dios mio por favor!"
"Where do they keep popping up from!?"
Somewhere in South America, several B and C Grade superheroes were trying to fight the large blue-skinned aliens. They seemed to be faring well since no supers were lying dead on the ground yet; however, the exhaustion exuding from their faces could no longer be hidden.
Just one of the giant aliens was enough, but they had to fight off 3 or 4. And with them just being individual and solo heroes, there really was nothing much they could do in terms of teamwork.
But finally, after a few more grueling minutes of battle– they seemed to have vanquished all the aliens within the area.
"F… finall–"
But alas, almost as if mocking their triumphant cries that have not yet flourished…
…a silhouette of something colossal landed on the ground without even any warning.
Chapter 294People… weren't taking it seriously.
Some of them run, sure. But most of them just stop and cheer as soon as a hero comes to their rescue, not even worrying about the fact that they were making the jobs of the heroes even more difficult by them staying there.
Of course, some of the heroes do not mind– especially those who were new or those who were stuck in Grade C and below. After all, this was their time to shine and fight off some giant blue aliens.
The aliens were classified as Threat Level 3-4 by the Government individually, something that they could deal with no problem if they gank or work together. And since their opponents were aliens, the Government ordered a kill-on-sight policy, making their jobs even easier.
The humans were winning– and it hasn't even been a day.
But then, something from the skies landed.
Enough to block out the sun… a machine; a robot the size of a skyscraper.
The heroes that were once rejoicing had their smiles slowly fading as they all looked up to witness this colossal manifestation. It landed right in the middle of the city.
[Hello, mud people.]
And then, almost like a sonic boom– a voice reverberated and rippled from the colossal robot. Loud and deep enough to blow away all the dust and even some pebbles from the ground– breaking any glass windows within its vicinity.
[It would seem another visitor has come to your planet.]
Still, the voice continued even louder– this time causing all the people around it to cover their ears just from the sheer force of the volume.
[We shall help you in eradicating these invaders. We will save you,] the words reverberated from the robot… as the blood and guts of several humans splattered beneath its feet.
"...What?" The heroes and some supers that happened to be near the colossal robot could only look at each other. Some of them already knew that they were currently being invaded by two different species; but for most of them, their confusion was reaching its peak.
This colossal alien is not on the side of the blue aliens? Most of them thought. None of them, however, thought they could even be on their side– after all, the colossal robot just squashed a group of humans without care.
They seem to want to discuss, but before they could do so, the colossal robot started to move; mowing down a blue alien as it slammed its gigantic palm down…
…causing a strong tremor that caused several small buildings near it to crumble– buildings with people.
"Fuck!" One of the heroes, a C-Grade, quickly rushed towards the leg of the robot; her arms, growing into the size of a car as she punched the robot's heel… which did nothing.
"..." The female super, Whopper, could only take in a small gasp as she saw this; but even so, she once again tried to punch the robot's leg. This time, however, the leg opened… almost like several branches or arms moving away– organic.
And from within the opening, several… pink-skinned individuals stepped out; all staring at the female super. And soon, similar to the live feed from earlier, the face of the alien changed– almost similar to the female super. Their skin, however, still remained the same pink color.
They were the ones that hijacked the news earlier, the female super thought. They called themselves… Clovians.
"What the–" And before Whopper could finish her words, one of the clovians stretched his hand… straight towards her chest from 5 meters away.
"..." Whopper turned her head down to look at her chest, only to see… the clovian's hand broken.
"Ksha!" The clovian quickly retracted its hand as it seemed to cry in pain. Its other friends also quickly assisted him, pulling him back into the foot of the robot as they all shouted something.
These clovians… were physically weak. And as soon as the female super realized this, her gigantic hands returned to their original size as she rushed toward the opening. But alas, before she could do so, the hole closed.
And as soon as it did so, the foot started to vibrate… before releasing some sort of energy wave, strong enough to pry open the pavement beneath it.
"!!!" Whopper quickly tried to turn around and run, but alas, she was not able to as the wave hit her back, causing her to violently roll on the ground perhaps more than a dozen times.
"Whopper!" One of the heroes that were just watching the entire scenario quickly rushed to help her. But the deafening thunder of a voice once again reverberated from the colossal robot.
[Please, do not attack us. We are trying to help!]
The voice that came from the robot was louder than before, and the normal humans that were unfortunately still near it, had their eardrums exploding from their canals.
"B… back away, we can't handle this anymore!"
"No! There are still people here!"
"Fuck the normies! Let's go!"
Some still tried to do damage to the colossal robot, but their attacks seemed useless as not even a single dent could be seen forming on it. The robot was just standing there, but the damage it was causing was already more than the blue aliens.
"What the fuck is going on!? Is the world ending!?"
"We need at least a Grade-B super here! Where the hell are they!?"
The people– No, not just the people. But the heroes and the supers that were still trying to find a way to fight back were starting to panic… especially since the robot started to move.
[We are here to help,] the clovians said as they mowed down the buildings within its path.
And then, finally… a Grade-B superhero arrived.
Flattop Falcon– his wings that were flapping in front of the face of the robot, almost the span of a bus. But most notably, the solid flat top of hair almost the length of a foot decorating his head, not even moving a single bit even with all the wind that violently moved around it.
"Stop! Earth does not welcome you!" Flattop Falcon roared, "This planet does not need another race that pretends to take care of another, but causes their demise in the guise of helping!"
Flattop Falcon seemed to be saying something as he stretched his palm towards the robot. But alas, for the people on the ground, all they could hear were the screams that came from the people around them.
"Go! Flattop Falcon! Kill the inva–"
And before the people below could start to cheer, Flattop Falcon was clapped. Swatted like a fly with his guts and bones falling to the ground; his wings, slowing down the descent of his remains… allowing the people to see that the intestines truly are 15 feet long.
And as soon as Flattop Falcon's shredded and mangled corpse created a small whisper of a plop as it hit the ground, the people started running.
[We are here to help.] And still, the clovians insisted. Whether or not it was just some sort of mistranslation, none of them really cared anymore. The blue aliens they could handle since the way they fought could still more or less be called… humane.
But a walking building they can't damage? Let the others handle that. This city was done for, all the heroes thought.
"Please… please help me!"
"Don't fucking touch me!" One of the heroes pushed away a civilian as he blocked his path, "We've already told you a million times to evacuate!"
"N… No, plea–" And before the civilian could finish his words, one of the other heroes rushed and carried him away.
Suffice to say, it was chaos. Most of the people were just running for their lives and leaving their friends. Some, however, still tried to help.
And a handful remained to fight… with the now conscious Whopper being one of them.
"We need to find a way to get inside," Whopper said to the others who chose to stay.
"You having a laugh, mate? How do we even do that?"
"I'm actually just here to die."
"Well, a good day to die, innit?"
"..." Whopper could only raise an eyebrow as she looked at the people who chose to stand their ground. But after a few seconds, the only thing she could really do was let out a sigh as her hands once again grew in size.
"Then let's at least take that thing with us," Whopper then said with a smile on her face, "Let's–"
And before she could even utter another word…
…a boom resounded in the air– a very familiar boom.
And soon, a silhouette appeared dashing through the clouds.
"Is that… a bird? A plane?"
"Are you fucking blind, mate?"
And then… another boom.
Another boom as the silhouette flew straight through the colossal robot's stomach area almost as if it was jelly.
"There, an opening!"
"How do we even reach that?"
"Can you guys stop being so fucking negative!?" Whopper roared as she rushed towards the feet of the robot. But before she could even take 3 steps, the silhouette returned.
This time flying over the top of the colossal robot's head… and plunging straight down– causing the ground to slightly tremble as the robot started to shiver.
And soon, the silhouette emerged from between the robot's legs and landed on the ground; causing a ripple of wind to blow away all debris that was falling along with it.
"It… It's Megawoman!"
"F… fuck… We're saved… We're saved!"
"But…
…who's that beside her?"
Chapter 295When was it?
When was it that the people truly last felt like they were safe? That when they go out in the world, a random supervillain won't just suddenly swoop in and take them hostage; or worse, their families hostage?
When was it that the people could walk out there, and not worry that an evil super would just suddenly kill them?
When was it that even though they know that Darkday still exists, the sun will still shine on them?
If you ask out of a million people, nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine of them would answer– When Megawoman was still there.
They knew that there were thousands and thousands of superheroes out there. Heroes that will also risk their lives to save them… but there was just something about the comfort that Megawoman's existence brings.
One would think the superheroes might think that the people were ungrateful to them, but no. Because for the superheroes, Megawoman was also their hero. She meant that much to the world.
And now, she returns right when the world needs her the most.
Megawoman returns.
"...But who is that beside her?"
And she was not alone. There was a white-haired young man beside her, and she was holding… his hand?
Whopper, as well as the other heroes that chose to stay and fight the colossal robot, could only look at each other almost as if to ask themselves if what they were seeing was right. They were completely and utterly distracted– not even noticing the rubbles and debris that were starting to fall from between the colossal robot's legs… almost like it was taking a dump.
They also weren't noticing that the hole that Megawoman created when she went through the robot was slowly closing; once again like branches tying in and becoming a single branch. Their eyes were just fixated on Megawoman…
…as well as the white-haired young man.
"Wait…" One of the heroes that remained took in a small but very deep breath as he looked at the white-haired man from head to toe; the man was wearing a white long coat, and then a formal black suit beneath it– almost like he was some sort of mafioso.
"Isn't that… Riley Ross?"
"What? The one who killed all of those prisoners?"
"The new S-Grade Super!?"
"...Don't you mean the one who lifted Toronto?"
"...That happened?"
The heroes once again looked at each other as each of their statements totally differ from each other. But almost as if relieving their confusion, Whopper took a step forward.
"He did all of that," Whopper then said as she took in a small gulp, "And he was also the one who retrieved Megawoman from the Government."
"...When did that happen?"
"Right before the aliens invaded," Whopper continued, "I was watching the news just last night."
"We… were invaded just last night? It almost feels like we've been fighting for days."
"Can you guys shut up for a sec!?" Whopper could not help but loudly whisper as the other heroes once again started talking with each other without a care in the world– why wouldn't they, when Megawoman was here?
Whopper was the same; her heart, almost beating wildly as she stood in front of the greatest hero that ever existed.
"M… Megawoman, t… t… thank you for saving us!" Whopper completely stuttered her words, and yet Megawoman did not seem to mind as she just remained standing there. It was somewhat hard to understand what she was thinking due to the fact that… she was wearing sunglasses.
She waited for a few more seconds to see if Megawoman would react, but she didn't. The only thing that Whopper could really do was place her attention on Riley Ross.
"T… thank you for helping us," she still stuttered her words, but not as much when she was facing Megawoman.
"..."
[] However, once again, silence answered her. And very soon, the colossal robot that they had initially thought to already be subdued… started to move.
[We… are detecting signatures of a Themarian,] the clovians' voice once again echoed through the air; this time, however, it was much softer.
[It would seem our help is unneeded, after all. You have given us the wrong information, mud people– but we will be merciful and forgiving. We shall take our leave.]
And without those words, the feet of the colossal robot started to leave the ground; taking along with a small part of the ground as well as the miniature debris surrounding it.
"T… that's right!" One of the heroes clapped his hands, "Leave you fucking illegal aliens! Next time you come back, we will build a wall to stop you!"
"Is it… finally over?" Whopper let out a long and very deep breath that stuttered and whispered in the air; her legs, giving out as she saw the colossal robot finally leaving.
They fought for their lives and the lives of others; ready to sacrifice themselves with each second as the aliens continued to swarm… but now that Megawoman suddenly made her appearance, the aliens… just started to leave.
The timing couldn't be anymore per–
And before Whopper could finish her thoughts, Megawoman and Riley also flew away; the sound of a boom thundering and almost deafening their ears as they almost disappeared from their spot instantly.
And before any of them could even look at each other, a bright red light suddenly flashed in the sky– beaming through the body of the colossal robot and plowing through it like cheese.
"What… is Megawoman doing?"
Unbeknownst to the people below, however, the red beam did not come from Megawoman. It was quite hard and almost impossible to see from the ground… but the light was actually beaming from Riley's eyes.
"She… she's probably just scaring them so they wouldn't think to come back," Whopper let out a somewhat awkward laugh as she looked at the colossal robot being bombarded by a violent storm of lasers.
"...Am I the only one still weirded out with Megawoman holding Riley?"
"Maybe she's… mentoring him?"
"I don't think–"
And before the group of heroes could finish their discussion, another boom echoed in their ears as a silhouette passed by them– they turned to look, only to see Megawoman holding a clovian… by the face; pinning it on a wall of a building.
Riley was beside her, of course– his arm still being held by Megawoman's other hand. The group of heroes then turned to look back at the colossal robot, only to see it completely suspended in the air.
"Megawoman, what's–"
"Plias g'net us."
And even with its mouth covered, a voice still seemed to resound from the clovian, "Wai ru noviri."
And although they could not understand the words coming out from it, they could clearly hear the anxiety and fear just from the tremble of the clovian's voice.
"Megawoman," Whopper then stepped closer, "The clovians seem weak physically, you can let us handle them. Maybe we could learn something if we–"
And before Whopper could finish her words, a small squish whispered into her ear– her face, suddenly feeling some sort of warm and slightly gooey texture trailing down on it.
"..." She blinked a couple of times, before slowly moving her hand and brushing it on her face; and as she did so, she felt something slimy sticking to her hand. She looked, only to see some sort of… pink mud.
She didn't need to wonder what it was, though– as the source was right in front of her. The clovian that Megawoman was restraining… no longer had a head attached to its body.
"...Megawoman?"
Megawoman… doesn't kill. That has been the case for hundreds of years– that was the reason why everyone felt safe with her even though she could probably destroy the Earth if she wanted to.
But now, seeing her crush someone's head without even any hesitation…
…Whopper and the others could not help but feel a little… strange.
"..."
"..."
"Oh."
And finally, the short silence was broken by Riley Ross as Megawoman retracted her hand.
"I didn't expect their species to be physically weak, Megawoman," Riley could not help but shake his head and sigh, "The blue aliens from last night had strong bodies, I am truly sorry for tarnishing your hands."
"What… is going on?" Whopper could not help but take in a small but very deep breath. Something…
…was very very wrong, she thought as she stepped back and stared at Riley.
"I suppose all of you saw?" Riley then turned his head towards Whopper and the other heroes, "That is–"
"Run!"
And before Riley could finish her words, Whopper suddenly turned around and ran away– leaving the other heroes completely confused as they stared at her. Their eyes, however, widened as Whopper was suddenly crushed by a large chunk of pavement that came out of nowhere.
"What is–"
And before they could even react… They, too, were suddenly crushed and buried by a large debris that came out of nowhere.
"..." Seeing this, Riley could only let out a short but very deep breath as he nodded to himself,
"The things I do for you, Megawoman," he then said, "You do not have to worry, I will make sure your image remains as pure as–"
This time, it was Riley's turn to be interrupted as he heard a small putter whispering from afar. He turned to look, only to see a group of civilians running away; some of them, glancing at him and Megawoman.
"Oh…" Riley then once again muttered as his eyes slowly emitted a red light, "You don't have to worry, Megawoman…
…No one will know."
Chapter 296"W… what the hell is that!?"
"What's going on!?"
In one of the cities somewhere in South East Asia, a big, black worm-like creature was wreaking havoc– mowing down everything within its path. It was almost the size of a train; digging through the ground and treating the asphalt almost like sand as it swam.
The heroes were previously trying to stop it, but then just focused on evacuating the people instead when they realized that the worm was targeting the blue aliens. Of course, some still tried to push it away from its path since it was also killing people and destroying property– but they truly were understaffed to handle such threats.
The worm came from the skies– and like with the colossal robot that wreak havoc in the west, it was another sort of biological machine by the clovians.
Unlike the colossal robot, however, the damage it was doing was not as heavy– it was more targeted towards the blue aliens that were running rampant. The only problem was that there were more than a hundred of these blue aliens… and three of these big black worms almost in every city in the country.
As for the military in this country, it was practically non-existent. They had higher grade heroes, sure– but most of them were in other countries with better prospects and benefits.
The lack of heroes, the lack of soldiers– even though they know that the clovians were not their allies, the most they could really do was to let them fight each other and get out of their way. The establishments and properties could be recovered… the human lives, they could never be returned.
But with that being said… if the big black worm and the blue aliens did not stop fighting, the people that lived in the city would probably not be able to recover as their local government did not have any money for rehabilitation.
And perhaps the worst part is– the world would probably not even mention them after all of this is over. It would just be the first-world countries being centered in the news… how their people died and suffered. And them, as a third world country… would just be a footnote.
It happened before… and people called it the Battle of Toronto. Millions also died in their country when the battle happened, but their country was only mentioned as some sort of collateral. At least Brazil and Mexico were mentioned.
But them? They were neglected.
The world doesn't even see them…
…or so they thought.
The already dark skies above them suddenly and almost instantly turned even darker; pitch black– and almost as if the heavens were crying for them, a great thunder reverberated in the air; the clouds, flickering.
And soon, a bright light once again flashed before them– and then, lightning. Although their eyes were closed as it happened, they knew the lightning landed right on one of the big black worms that were rampaging in the street.
And they were right, it bombarded the big black worm; raining lightning upon it. But that wasn't all, the lightning scattered and crawled across the ground, moving straight towards the blue aliens that were surrounding the worm.
And soon, they heard a series of whistles howling in the air. They could feel their feet being pulled as a violent gust of wind almost caused them to be blown away– their legs, folding to regain balance.
Some instinctively tried to cover the civilians they were evacuating; they did not need to, however, as the wind softly dispersed whenever it made contact with people. It was perhaps a quarter of a minute before the thunder stopped ringing in their ears– their eyes, slowly opening but quickly turning towards the source of the deafening onslaught.
However, the first thing that their eyes caught was the blue aliens that sprawled on the ground– their bodies, all mangled and in pieces; their transparent blood, almost a river that littered between the cracks of the street.
As for the big black worm where the initial lightning landed, it seemed to have shrunk– and the clovians inside them, emerging from the tip of the big black worm like some sort of… something.
And finally, their eyes landed on the one standing on top of the big black worm. It was bright– her silver hair, flowing with the little wind left.
"Is anyone hurt?" And almost like a song that calmed their soul, the woman gently spoke– her words, flowing like a whisper in their ears.
And as soon as they saw who it was, smiles started to appear on the people's faces.
"S… Scarlet Ma– no. Silvermoon!"
Silvermoon– an A-Grade superhero according to the Hero Association. But most of the people who knew of her feats and what she was truly capable of knew she was Grade S all the way.
The only reason she was not was because she didn't even try during the test. And Scarlet Mage always held back, whether or not that was still the case as Silvermoon…
…they do not know yet since the corpses that sprawled on the ground were aliens.
Most of the people from non-prominent countries knew clearly who she was. After all, before she took on the job of teaching supers in the Academy, she was one of the stronger heroes that stayed and responded to cities that didn't have a way to deal with the threats of villains.
And she didn't just leave after dealing with the threat, no– she stayed to oversee and personally offer support to those that were affected.
That was the kind of hero she was.
"W… we're alright, Silvermoon!"
"That's good."
One of the people that knew how to speak English approached Katherine, "But… I think there are many more trapped when the–"
"Gather those who could help in evacuating the injured," Katherine stepped down off the big black worm,
"I'll handle the threat," Katherine nodded before her feet slowly left the ground, "All of you should focus on helping those who are not able to move."
"O… of course!"
"Thank you! Thank you for helping us!"
And with the people around her starting to cry, Katherine could only take a step back and look to the side; her eyes, slightly squinting as they once again reflected the flames, the explosions, and the burnt corpses during the Seven Planes Incident.
"I…
…am just doing what anyone else would do."
And with that, Katherine once again floated in the air, flying through the skies as her eyes scouted for more aliens. And after making sure there were no more, she moved on to the next city to do the same.
The barrage of lightning, once again raining down upon the aliens that wreaked havoc on the ground. But hidden deep within the thunder, unbeknownst to the people, were Katherine's screams of anguish.
The happiness, solace, and relief she once felt in saving people– now completely missing. There was only shame, almost as if what she was doing was just a way to pay for her sins. She felt disgusted and abhorred for herself.
She wanted to puke and vomit… but everything about her was already tainted by Riley. And the worst part of it all…
…is she couldn't help herself.
This was no longer about her mother being taken hostage– No, perhaps it hasn't been like that from the start. Perhaps… she had always been this way and Riley only opened up the darkness and filth inside her.
All these thoughts, circling and surfacing in her mind as she continued to strike down the aliens that threatened humanity. The cheers of the people felt more like a shard of glass that she needed to walk on; she repeated this countless times– until the only thing she could hear were the imaginary screams of the people that were in all of those planes.
And soon, unbeknownst to her…
…a smile formed on her face.
"!!!"
And as soon as she realized this, she quickly fell to the ground– puking and trying to vomit whatever it was that seemed to be stuck inside her.
"Silvermoon!"
"S… stay away!" Katherine quickly waved her hand; gesturing to the people not to approach her– almost to the point that she wanted to cover her face.
"Are… are you ok–"
"Help! Please help!"
And before the others could express their concern for Katherine, a weak scream whispered in the air. They all turned to look, only to see a woman being pinned down by a large debris.
"S… stay, I… I'll help her," Katherine then took in a very deep breath; standing up straight to collect herself before floating towards the woman.
"P… please, help…"
"It's alright," Katherine quickly reassured the woman, "We can't remove this before we're sure nothing is stuck…"
And midway through her sentence, she noticed the woman's diamond-like eyes.
"!!!"
She quickly waved her hand, crushing the clovian with the debris it was trapped in. Everything happened so fast that the people that were there did not know how to react…
…but as soon as they saw some sort of blade stuck on Katherine's stomach as she turned around, they all quickly rushed towards her.
"S… Silvermoon!"
Katherine still managed to walk away… her legs, however, were already wobbling. One of the people was able to catch her as she fell, quickly but gently placing her on the ground as a spray of blood gushed from her mouth.
"M… Medic! We need a medic!"
"We… we have no one, they…"
"Where… hospital…"
And very soon…
…Katherine could hear no more.
***
"It's okay, just stay still."
And the next time she opened her eyes, she was in some sort of tent– surrounded by several doctors as her consciousness faded from time to time. She wanted to get up, but one of the female doctors gently pushed her head down.
"Please, stay still, ma'am. We're doing our best to give you the care you need," the female doctor said before turning her eyes towards the other people in the room, "Let's give the hero some space."
"W… what?" Katherine wanted to remove the oxygen mask attached to her face, but she was too weak to even move a hand, "What… what about the civilians… are they–"
"Everyone is safe, ma'am. All thanks to you."
Katherine was not able to see it, but the people behind the doctor were bowing their heads toward her before leaving the tent.
"I… I'm alive?" Katherine managed to breathe out.
"Yes, and we will do our best to keep it that way, ma'am," the doctor said as she checked on the IV bag, "You're very lucky, ma'am…
…Just a few inches, and you and your baby would have been in grave danger."
"...What?"
Chapter 297There seemed to be a whistle. But at the same time, there clearly was not. There were footsteps, for sure– hundreds of them, even.
Katherine could see the lips of the person talking to her moving– she could even see her teeth and tongue. The IV bag was also dripping her with very minute amounts of sugar and saline.
The fan loosely attached below the ceiling of the tent wiggled and rotated; the little hints of the sun coming and going reflected in her eyes.
The apparatus and scanners attached to her also buzzed and beeped.
There were so many things happening inside the tent… but the only thing that was entering her ears was a whistle. A quiet, unending whistle that drowned everything else. Perhaps it was because of the heat and the humidity; perhaps her sweat was already gathered in her ears…
…but everything else was muffled.
Just the whistle– that was the only thing Katherine could hear. But finally, almost as if something popped–
"Ma'am, are you listening? Do you want me to repeat what I said?"
"...Huh?" All at once, all the sounds entered Katherine's mind. One would think the whistle would disappear… but it only got stronger.
"Is… my English not good? Sorry, ma'am," the female doctor sitting at the chair beside Katherine's bed immediately bowed her head several times.
"It… It's fine," Katherine then turned her eyes towards the doctor, "You said I'm 5 months in? Could it be that you made a mistake? I don't feel it. Isn't my stomach too small?"
5 months. That would mean it happened sometime before Riley was sent to prison.
"No," the female doctor quickly shook her head, "I know people that are 6 months in and have the same tummy as you, ma'am. You can have it checked with an ob-gyn once you return to America."
"Is… it possible to take–"
"I'm a doctor, ma'am," the female doctor did not let Katherine finish her words, "Whatever it is you're going to say, please don't. It is best if you rest here for now, at least until tonight."
"But–"
"Rest, ma'am," the female doctor could only sigh as she stood up, "I know you are eager to fight the aliens, but for now, you are a patient."
And with that, the female doctor left, leaving Katherine alone– No. She wasn't really alone now, was she?
What… was she even supposed to do now? There could really only be one father– but that was the problem.
The baby inside her is Riley's. But… how? They've always done it safe– she was even taking pills. She was also sure that Riley was doing something to prevent his sperm from even making contact inside her.
The chances of her getting pregnant was close to none. So… why?
There is so much happening all at once; the aliens, the downfall of the government and society itself… and the baby just had to add to her problems.
"..." Katherine stared at the ceiling in silence; her eyes, still reflecting the flickering sun behind the fan. Soon, however, her eyebrows began to lower.
Tears, slowly building their way around her eyes– and with a light gasp, the tears started to trail down her temples. She knew that she could cry a river, but nothing was going to remove the fact that all of this was her fault.
If she just killed herself before she descended into this darkness, then most of the problems she had now wouldn't have even been possible.
She was losing her mind completely from all the things that were weighing her right now– and the father of his child was out there playing with another woman.
Katherine gritted her teeth as the tears from her eyes wouldn't stop gushing out; her palms, almost bleeding from how hard she was pressing her hands.
But after a few seconds of wallowing and surrounding herself in her own regrets, Katherine took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then suddenly pulled the needle attached to her arm as she sat up.
Everything ends, she thought as she stood up– carefully walking towards the table on the side of the tent that had her outfit.
Everyone has an ending– and hers wouldn't be as a villain. It was easy to end it all here, but she wouldn't do that. Before this growing darkness explodes inside her even further. She... will die as a hero.
Katherine quickly wore her outfit, not even bothering to wipe herself off the sweat on her body. And without even any pause, she quickly stepped out of the tent– gathering the attention of everyone there.
There were several more tents set up… but even so, there were still people lying on sheets on the ground.
"M… Ma'am Silvermoon!" One of the nurses approached her, "Please stay!"
"Give my tent to the others."-- were Katherine's only words as she flew away; almost causing the nurse to take a step back due to the wind that suddenly rippled around her.
Katherine looked down at the settlement, only to see the actual number of the tents… probably more than a hundred. There were also helicopters and people going in… but even more trucks of people going out to be buried.
That's right. She shouldn't be just resting and wasting inside the tent just because she encountered a problem– she could move all of her limbs; and since she didn't really need to move that much due to the nature of her powers, the wound near her stomach wouldn't just open up.
And if it did, so what? She would at least try to save as many people as possible before she–
And before she could finish her thoughts, her eyes landed on the female doctor that was taking care of her. The only thing that Katherine could really do was nod to show her gratitude; to which the doctor just responded with a wave of goodbye and a smile on her face.
Katherine was about to wave back, but before she could do so… the image of Diana waving at her suddenly resurfaced in her mind.
"!!!"
And before any more thoughts could follow through, she felt her entire body suddenly being hit by something large– no. It was not that something hit her; rather, she hit something.
"Kh…" If she was flying any faster, then she would have surely broken a bone or two.
Katherine could only grit her teeth as the pain slowly registered in her mind. But even with blood trailing on her forehead and the stitch on her stomach slightly opening, both her palms were still touching the invisible wall that was suddenly blocking her path.
"...Telekinesis?" Katherine whispered as she looked beyond the invisible wall. But not even a second after, however, she found her conclusion to be false. False as the view she thought that was the horizon suddenly disappeared– replaced by a cold, hard, metal wall.
Katherine patted the white wall several times in confusion before finally deciding to look behind her… only to find that all the tents were gone; well, all except for one.
All of the people that she had seen also disappeared– her surroundings, now only the inside of what seemed like a metal box; a place she was very familiar with.
"This… is the Academy's training hall?"
No one was there; well, all except for one– the female doctor.
Katherine quickly flew straight towards the doctor, quickly grabbing her by the collars as soon as she landed in front of her.
"What's the meaning of this!?" Katherine screamed.
"Don't move too much, you might open your wounds."
"!!!"
And to her surprise, the doctor grabbed both her hands and easily pulled them away.
"Wha–"
And before Katherine could even say a word, the doctor lightly pushed her away… causing her to fall on her butt.
"Amazing, isn't it?" The female doctor took a few steps back as her eyes started darting all over the training hall, "For something to look so real that you could even hear every movement."
"Who…"
"You know who I am," the silhouette of the female doctor then started to… glitch. The white robes she was wearing slowly disappeared as if it was being erased from existence– the very same process that happens whenever Katherine reset the simulation.
"This technology has been here for hundreds of years and it still amazes even me…
…even though I helped in creating it back in Theran," the female doctor then turned around as the flickering lights that covered her face slowly faded away.
And the doctor was right, Katherine knew who she was. It was so obvious if she only listened– the heart of the woman in front of her did not fluctuate even once.
"...Diana?"
"Hello again, Ms. Reeds," Diana once again smiled; this time, however, her eyes suddenly lit up in red,
"Now…
…shall we talk?"
***
"Did you have fun, Megawoman?"
Back in the shower area of the Hope Guild, Riley was currently… washing Megawoman's body– the costume that he bought online for Megawoman, now also being washed in a separate tub.
"You don't have to worry," Riley shook his head as he started massaging Megawoman's hair with shampoo, "You don't have to be guilty about anything since I was the one who killed them. It was just unfortunate that they had to see you killing an alien."
Riley then grabbed the shower head on the wall with his hand, rinsing away all the soap on Megawoman's body.
"Don't be too sad, Megawoman. If the number of the aliens here starts decreasing, we could always just follow sister and the others, no?" Riley chuckled, "You don't have to worry…
…We're only getting started."
Chapter 298"...This is weird, Megawoman. I can't seem to make contact with Silvermoon."
While everything outside was in chaos; fighting the aliens, fortifying their defenses, giving people shields, Riley was casually talking with an unconscious woman.
It was almost as if they weren't being invaded at all as Riley was just sitting beside Megawoman's bed, peacefully talking to her despite the fact that she had not, even once, opened her mouth to respond.
Of course, it was not mostly his fault– Megawoman has also, not once, let go of his wrist. For what reason, he does not yet know.
"I will leave you here for a bit, Megawoman," Riley then looked at Megawoman's face, before closing his eyes and taking in a short but very deep breath. And soon, as he opened his eyes, the view of a restaurant welcomed him– with the guests dining all wearing the same white robe.
Everyone was looking at him, of course. How could they not, when he was standing on the stage in front of all of them with a microphone in his hand.
"...I apologize for disturbing your meals, beloved guests," Riley then said as he gave the microphone to the man beside him, one of his clones that was playing the cello, "You're the vocalist for now."
"Y… Yes, boss!" The cello-playing Riley quickly stood up and gently placed his cello to the side as Riley stepped down the stage.
"All of you may continue."
And as soon as Riley said that, all the clones that had stopped moving once again continued with their activities– playing music, standing, serving the guests their meal and needs.
"It's you!"
And immediately, one of the guests stood up– pointing a steak knife towards Riley as she did so. Of course, once again, it was the only person that still seemed to not want to be a guest even after almost a year– Ellie, aka, Ms. Friday.
"Do you really think it's right to lock us up like this!?" Ellie screamed, her ponytails, bubbling along as she did so.
"Ma'am, please. You're disturbing the other guests," one of the Server Rileys approached Ellie.
"Don't touch me!" Ellie said as the ground beneath her started to turn into some sort of stone. And as soon as the other guests saw this, they all quickly moved from their tables.
"Why aren't any of you fighting!? Have you all lost your minds from spending all of this time locked up in this fucking hell!?"
"Ma'am, please. You are not allowed to use your powers in the dining hall," the once hospitable tone of the Server Riley beside her disappeared, replaced by a sort of vigilance as he took a step closer to her, "We don't appreciate that kind of–"
"It's fine, Marco."
But before he could take another step, Riley raised his hand, "Just call Diley, tell him I need him for something."
"At once, boss," Marco bowed towards Riley as he turned around– not before rolling his eyes at Ellie, of course.
"If you're going to lock us up here forever, then just fucking kill us!" Ellie then raised the steak knife. But instead of swinging it towards Riley, she turned it around and pointed it towards her chest,
"I am not going to become like the rest of these mindless zombies of yours!" And with that roar, she pulled the knife towards her chest. But alas, she didn't really think that Riley would actually allow her to die, did she?
The other guests could only shake their heads and sigh, as a miniature version of Riley suddenly appeared in front of Ellie's chest, stopping the sharp tip of the knife from piercing him and Ellie's chest with telekinesis.
Judging by his small trembling hands, however, he seemed to be having a hard time in doing so; he was also starting to somewhat whimper, immediately causing Ellie to let go of the knife.
"You–"
Ellile was about to say something, but before she could do so, Little Riley suddenly slapped her right on the cheek.
"Hmph," Little Riley then scoffed before once again disappearing.
"Diley has not shown you yet, has he, Ms. Croft?"
And while Ellie was still dazed with what just happened, Riley slowly approached her, "Elizabeth Croft, you were born in the outskirts of King's Lynn, England."
"W… what? Ellie woke up from her stupor as she heard Riley's words, "What is this?" She then muttered as she looked at Riley and the rest of the guests, who sighed and looked away as soon as their eyes met.
"Both of your parents are deceased," Riley then continued as he stood in front of Ellie, looking her directly in the eyes, "And you were left with your younger brother, Elliot."
"You…" And as soon as Ellie realized why Riley was saying what he was saying, her eyes started to widen, "What… what have you done to my brother?"
"Nothing yet," a small smile appeared on Riley's face, "So please do not do anything that you would not like the outcome to. I would dislike it if all of my guests suddenly become sad."
"...All?" Elli muttered as she took a small gulp.
"It's a team effort, after all," Riley said as he looked at the other guests, "If we decide to cut one of your brother's fingers, it wouldn't be fair to the others if we don't do the same to their family."
"...What?" Ellie once again looked at the other guests.
"You are quite lucky Diley seems to like you, Ms. Croft," Riley sighed, "He usually tells the guests immediately what would happen."
"I…"
"I wanted to know how long she would last, boss."
And before Ellie could say another word again, Diley showed up, "It is a pity you've told her."
"I apologize," Riley shook his head, "I would get you a new one so you can restart."
"Really!?" Diley's eyes widened as his smile reached from ear to ear, "...I want one of those pink aliens."
"Hm," Riley nodded.
"And so, please, boss. What is it you desire for you to suddenly visit all of us amidst all the fun and chaos out there?" Diley then gestured towards one of the empty tables, pulling out a seat for Riley; waiting for him to sit before sitting as well.
"The rest of you may finish eating, do not worry about us," Diley then waved his hand, and as he did so, the music once again started– with the Server Rileys assisting the guests back to their tables.
"Are you here because we can't contact Madam Katherine?" Diley then said, the smile on his face slightly fading.
"Yes."
"It is truly weird, she usually answers before the third ring," Diley clicked his tongue several times, "Maybe she has finally betrayed us? Should we fold her mother into multiple layers and livestream it, boss?"
"No," Riley shook his head, "Let her do what it is she wants for now, she deserves at least that."
"I agree, boss," Diley nodded several times.
"I do, however, need someone to be her proxy," Riley then let out a sigh, "I need someone to buy me some things in the grocery."
"..." Diley blinked his eyes a couple of times as he heard Riley's words; but after a few more seconds, he nodded, "Of course, boss. I will have someone get you what you need."
"No," Riley shook his head, "It's for Megawoman. I can't buy it myself since that would ruin the surprise– and I can't let any of you buy it for me. Everyone is on high alert right now because of the alien invasion, and it is already getting scattered on the internet that I am with Megawoman."
"Very circumstantial, is it not?" Diley chuckled, "I suppose people are getting suspicious of you lately, boss. If they realize you can create clones, there is no denying anymore that you are Darkday. And with Bernard not here, it would be hard to erase the videos."
"Yes, thank you for understanding, Diley."
"Makes you wonder, no? How some parts of the world seem to just go on with their lives even with the alien invasion? Groceries are open, bars are open, even some of the schools are open," Diley sighed,
"Such a privilege and they don't even appreciate it."
"It's just an alien invasion, Diley," Riley shook his head, "Getting a gift for Megawoman is more important."
"...Of course, boss. Then… might I suggest getting one of our guests to do it?" Diley then stood up, "I'll personally fly them in the sky, we'll be low-key… okie?"
"Very well, I will leave it up to you." And with those words, Riley's head suddenly shook; his eyes, turning white for a couple of seconds before returning to normal.
"W… what?"
"Yes, yes. You're confused, now go. The one who replaced you has a bad voice," Diley then immediately pushed the Riley in front of him away and gestured to him to return to the stage.
His eyes then started to dart towards the guests, and as he did so, the guests all perked up.
"Oh, all of you excited to go out?" Diley chuckled, "Too bad, there could only be one and I have already chosen…
…who
…it
…is," he then said as he pointed at Ellie.
"...Me?"
"Yes, I feel like it would be fun if it's you," Diley then suddenly burst out in laughter, filling the entire hall with his voice.
Warden, who had been watching the entire scenario through the surveillance cameras, could not help but scratch his head, "Why...
...didn't they just ask me?"
**NOTES**
Hi, I wrote a new story called 'Undying Monarch'. Check it out if you have time!
Chapter 299"The situation outside seems to be subsiding, Megawoman."
"Oh, you don't have to worry. We'll go and save some people soon, I'm just waiting for something to arrive."
"No, it's nothing. It's a surprise."
"Oh, look! They're talking about you again."
Back in Megawoman's room in the Hope Guild, Megawoman was once again lying on bed with the oxygen mask attached to her face. Riley didn't really know whether it had any effect or not, but he still returned the mask since it might be more comfortable for her.
Riley also grabbed one of the TV from the meeting hall and placed it in Megawoman's room so she could watch the news. Well, she was still completely unconscious with her eyes closed, but Riley was sure she could hear everything.
After all, until now, she still has not let go of his hand. It made everything difficult to do, but Riley didn't really seem to mind. He was ready to share everything with Megawoman.
Riley has been trying to open several topics to see if Megawoman would react again like she did when he mentioned something about her race– but nothing. He even tried mentioning Theran again, but Megawoman no longer responded.
He even tried prying Megawoman's hand open… but found himself having a very hard time in doing so. If he was right, then the Megawoman sleeping right now was much stronger than the one he fought in the Battle of Toronto.
"..." A small smile slowly crawled on Riley's face as he imagined her waking up already. He was looking forward to finally talking to her, sure… but he was more excited in fighting her again.
"...Just when did I get so attached to you, Megawoman?" Riley then let out a small breath as he glanced at Megawoman's face,
"I know when you got attached to me," Riley muttered as he raised the hand that Megawoman was grabbing, "But for me, I do not know exactly when. Was it when we fought to the death? Was it during our talks? Or maybe because you're the only one that could possibly feel what I feel?"
"..."
"Just kidding," Riley then let out a small chuckle as he dropped his hand back on the bed, "You and I are nothing alike…
…You are more human than I am, Megawoman."
"..."
"Do you think– Oh."
Riley blinked a couple of times; abruptly stopping his words as he looked to the side.
"..." And he remained like this for a couple of minutes… until the door suddenly opened, revealing Ellie who was holding some sort of paper bag.
"Hello!" And Diley was also with her, suddenly leaning his head out of the doorway and slightly pushing Ellie to the side as he stepped to Megawoman's room.
"Ellie has what you asked for, boss," Diley then trotted towards Megawoman and Riley; his eyes, almost glimmering and glittering as he stared at Megawoman's face,
"It… really is her, Boss," Diley then immediately moved to the corner of the room, his somewhat exaggerated sniffles, whispering in the air.
As for Ellie, the only thing she could really do was move deeper into the room. Of course, the room was by no means deep, but it almost felt like she was walking through a very wide field as she saw Riley– no. As she saw Megawoman holding Darkday's hand.
These two people were someone that she never thought she could actually reach… but now they were in front of her. Ellie knew that what the Dark Millenium told her were lies since Darkday wasn't even really the leader, but right now… she didn't really know who to be afraid of.
Megawoman or Darkday. Dark Millenium ingrained in her mind that Megawoman was some sort of alien that was trying to conquer the Earth little by little– and that all the history about her being kind to humans was all fake.
And seeing her holding Darkday's hand like this…
…maybe that was actually true?
Maybe Darkday and Megawoman were actually just playing with the people and were actually partners? A lot of thoughts raced inside Ellie's mind, almost to the point that she was even forgetting to breathe.
"Ms. Croft?"
She only woke up from her stupor when Riley's voice entered her ears.
"W… what!?" She didn't notice it at first because of the paper bag blocking her view, but Riley's hand was already reaching toward her– causing her to suddenly take a few steps back in panic.
"W… what are you going to do to me!?" Ellie took in a short but very deep breath, "I… I promise I won't tell anyone that you and Megawoman are actually in cahoots together, please don't kill my brother!"
"..." Riley and Diley looked at each other as Ellie's stuttering words echoed in the room,
"The things I asked for you to purchase, Ms. Croft," Riley then said as he turned to face Ellie again, "I wish to have them now."
"What… do you plan to do with these?" Although Ellie was a bit hesitant, she still carefully dropped the paper bag on the floor as she once again took a few steps back, "Are you… trying to create some sort of evil concoction!?"
Diley, who was staying quiet on the side, could not help but almost snort as he heard Ellie's words; he recovered himself just as fast, however, as he slowly made his way to Ellie.
"Yes."
"..." Ellie could only take in a long and very deep breath as she saw the growing smile on Diley's face.
"We are going to create a poison that would eradicate all life on the planet using tamarind," Diley ominously said as he brushed his upper lip with his tongue.
"W… what!?"
"Oh yes," Diley nodded as the smile on his face grew wider and wider, "And with the free-range eggs we asked you to buy, we are going to create a monster– mixing chicken DNA with Megawoman and Riley's DNA."
"..." The fear on Ellie's face quickly disappeared as Diley's words entered her ears, "You're just going to cook, aren't you?"
"Oh wow, you're a genius," Diley then let out a giggle as he rushed towards Riley, placing his hand on Riley's shoulder as his giggles turned into a fit of laughter, "I… I told you she's the most fun amongst the guests, boss."
"We're cooking marinated soft-boiled eggs, cut in half and slathered with tamarind sauce and pork rinds, Ms. Croft," Riley then stood up as he let out a sigh; the paper bag on the floor, slowly floating beside him as he did so. Riley did not grab the bag, however, but instead gently lifted Megawoman from the bed instead.
"Let's go to the chicken," Riley then softly said as he gently crossed over his bounded hand in front of Megawoman so that he could comfortably carry her.
"...Are you sure you don't want me to cook, boss?" Diley muttered.
"No," Riley quickly shook his head,
"I… want to do this for her."
***
"...Why didn't we just take some of the eggs from the prison?"
"...Prison?"
"...The Guesthouse."
"Oh, because it wouldn't be authentic if the ingredients aren't from their country of origin."
"...What?"
In the lobby of the base of the Hope Guild, Ellie and Diley were currently seated at a table. Ellie, of course, still felt her heart beating faster than it should. But she had already spent almost a year in the Guesthouse with Diley talking to her almost every day.
She knew that Diley was just Riley's clone, but she could not help but stare at him and think that he… seemed even more human than Riley. The way he talked, his emotions– everything he did was so far away from being monotonous, from being Riley.
"Are… you sure you aren't the original?" Ellie then accidentally blurted out as she looked back and forth between Diley, and Riley, who was currently preparing in the kitchen.
"..." Diley glanced at Riley as he heard Ellie's question, "Now, what made you think that?"
"You just seem much more… authentic," Ellie muttered.
"4 years."
"Hm?"
"I have been in this world for about 4 years," Diley then turned his eyes back to Ellie, placing his elbows on the table as he leaned, "And in those 4 years, the number of people that grew in the Guesthouse became more and more. I learned how they talk, I learned how they processed their pain, their sadness, their happiness."
"..."
"I learned to be with people, I learned how to be them," Diley breathed out, "Boss didn't have that luxury until he entered the Academy."
"...But he has a family."
The corners of Diley's mouth slightly lowered as he shook his head, "The Ross's is what's wrong in the boss' life."
"...What?"
"We were homeschooled, and I could probably count the times we were able to go outside and socialize with other people," Diley said as he looked at his fingers, almost as if truly counting,
"And then to top it all off, we were trained in different sets of martial arts. We weren't even able to express that we're tired and hurt because… we just weren't simply capable of expressing that yet."
"..." Ellie could only furrow her eyebrows as she listened to Diley's story, "...Are you actually blaming them for becoming what you– what Darkday is?"
"Oh no," Diley chuckled as he shook his head, "That's purely on us, I would know because there's this whisper inside my head…
…I'm just saying they made it easier for us to become what we are."
"...Does he also feel like that?" Ellie said as she looked at Riley.
"Who knows. He knows what we feel and what we see, but we only know what he wants us to know," Diley shrugged, "And what I do know…
…is that I was able to move away from the Ross's when I was brought into existence and be with other people. The boss had to stay another 4 years with them...
...I am just a version of the boss if he was given the chance to interact with other people."
"But… what about his sister?"
"Hannah is special," a smile returned on Diley's face, "Hannah… was the only thing in our lives that made sense. She was the only one that truly tried to make an effort to understand us. The only reason why we're not giving up on the whispers that we're hearing is probably because of her."
"These… whispers," Ellie took in a small gulp, "What are they saying?"
"It's an urge, much like a thirst," the sides of Diley's mouth began to tremble as he looked Ellie straight in the eyes, "Telling us over and over again…
…to kill you. All of you."
Chapter 300"It's an urge, much like a thirst. Telling us over and over again to kill you."
"M… me?"
"All of you."
Ellie has known Diley for almost a full year now, yet this was the very first time she was seeing him like this. He always seemed animated and full of life– but the expression he was showing right now was enough for Ellie to realize that she was, indeed, still talking to Darkday; albeit a clone.
She thought there was a way that she might be able to get through Riley, or at least Diley with the way their conversation was going– but with just one line… she knew that they were someone that could no longer be reasoned with.
Riley is Darkday– not the other way around.
You can't reason with a storm, you just have to be ready when it strikes.
"It's ready."
And almost as if putting an official end to their conversation, several plates suddenly started floating to the table.
"We… are also eating?" Ellie could only look at Diley as she saw the plate in front of her.
"Of course, why do you think we stayed?"
Ellie has heard the name of the dish earlier, but to think it really was just… an egg. Granted, the egg held a certain darker hue to it, almost brown. The egg was split in half, exposing the slightly soft yolk.
"Let me," Diley then stood up from his seat as he grabbed a plate the plate that was placed at the center of the table, holding the ladle then slathering some of the tamarind sauce on Ellie's plate; afterward, he took pinches of ground pork rinds and sprinkled it on top.
He did the same for Megawoman's plate, then Riley, then his.
"..."
"..."
And yet even after a quarter of a minute, no one was touching their food as Riley remained stagnant.
"Eat," Riley then finally said.
"What about you, boss?"
"I can't," Riley shook his head, "Megawoman is unable to eat– so you guys go on ahead. I just want her to know that I've cooked one of her favorite meals."
"This… is one of Megawoman's favorites?" Ellie looked at the plate– although it was just an egg dish, with all the other ingredients surrounding it and the way Riley plated it, it almost felt too fancy to eat.
But as Diley began to eat his in almost a single bite, Ellie proceeded to do the same. The worst thing they could really do right now was poison her; which actually makes her family safer.
And so, Ellie proceeded to bite the egg, not the entire half of it– but enough for a mouthful experience. And as soon as she did so, she almost closed her eyes due to the tingling sensation that the tamarind caused as it lathered around her teeth.
It was so soft that the taste almost instantly scattered inside her mouth, with the yolk almost exploding. Even the whites, which would otherwise be almost tasteless, had this sweet and somewhat salty tang to them; Riley used telekinesis to hasten and make sure every corner of the egg was marinated with the sauce he made.
And lastly, the ground pork rinds. Everything else was soft, and once she started to chew– the crispiness of the pork rinds started singing inside her mouth like an orchestra.
Experiencing all of this happening almost all at the same time inside her mouth… it almost made her want to request the dish back in the dining hall in the Guesthouse.
"You know… if you decide not to become an evil mass murderer. Maybe you should consider becoming a chef or something, you'd be a popular celebrity chef."
Ellie then said with a chuckle as she finished the bite. But a few seconds later, she could not help but widen her eyes as she realized what she just said. A sweat almost instantly ran down the side of her cheek as her eyes slowly turned towards Riley…
…but he didn't seem to mind as he only just looked at her, before turning to look at Megawoman.
"Thank you, Ellie."
"!!!"
Ellie almost jumped from her seat as she heard those words, but as soon as she realized that it was Diley, not Riley who said it, she was able to hold herself.
"Y… yeah, sure." She could only let out an awkward chuckle.
And then, once again… silence. Until Riley let out a breath.
"I figured you like it, Ms. Croft?" He then asked.
"Yes. It's… the first time I'm eating something like this and I'm usually picky…" Ellie worded out, still a little aloof and reserved; a huge contrast whenever she talked to Diley, "But it was very nice."
"That's good," Riley nodded, "At least Megawoman knows that it tastes nice."
"Is… can she hear us?" Ellie took a sip of water as she finally gained the courage to look at Megawoman's face. She… just looked ordinary. She held a certain beauty, sure…
…but if she were to just walk on the streets amongst other people, you wouldn't really think that she was the greatest hero that had ever walked the Earth.
"I hope so, Ms. Croft," Riley sighed.
"Then… maybe you could just feed her? Maybe she could taste it?" Ellie almost stuttered, "I… heard that people automatically swallow when something is stuck in their throat."
"Well, that's quite disrespectful, no?" Diley almost let out a chuckle.
"I… it's just awkward that the two of us are eating and they're not."
"See, boss? I told you she's quite different from the rest," Diley covered his mouth as he looked at Riley, "She complains a lot, but she might have been the one that adjusted the most amongst the Guests."
"...What?"
'Want to see more chapters?' Please visit [ .C O M] "No one else dares question me," Diley breathed out, "But you, you're not even afraid. But then you did join a bunch of terrorists pretending to be Darkday. I suppose you have a screw loose like the rest of us?"
"No, I–" And she was doing it again. And as soon as she realized that, she just opted to shut her mouth and look at her plate. Diley… was sort of right. She joined the Dark Millenium when someone recruited her without even a second thought. It involved a little money, of course… but even still.
"..." Riley could only look back and forth between Diley and Ellie, before once again placing his attention on Megawoman. And this time… Megawoman looked back.
"!!!" Ellie once again almost jumped from her seat, but then quickly realized that Megawoman was still unconscious… and that Riley was just probably controlling her.
Riley then slowly looked at his plate, before proceeding to get a serving of egg with his hand and gently placing it in front of Megawoman's lips.
"Just one, Megawoman," Riley then whispered, "Don't worry, I will make sure it won't hurt you in any way. I… just want you to have a taste. Remember how you told me you liked this dish the 2nd time we talked?"
"..." Ellie could only widen her eyes as she watched the scene. She looked at Diley to see what he was thinking… only to see him tearing up.
Suffice to say, she easily regretted suggesting this as it all seemed too… sensual.
Riley then gently touched Megawoman's chin with his free fingers, almost gently opening it with his telekinesis. And very slowly and with much care, Riley slowly placed and slid the egg through her lips, careful not to spill any sauce on them.
"..." Ellie could now only look away, she really shouldn't have suggested this. Fortunately, it did not last long as Megawoman's jaws started moving and chewing the food, and then swallowing.
Riley then quickly gave Megawoman a glass of water to wash everything down.
"..." Seeing them like this, one would almost think they were… No– not a couple. In her perception…
Riley almost looked like a child taking care of her mother.
"Well, I'll go wash the dishes," Diley then stood up, "You can relax first, Ellie. Watch the aquatic lifeforms or something, we'll leave once I'm done."
"...Sure," Ellie also stood up, taking one final glance at Riley and Megawoman as they remained sitting at the table.
"Did… you like it, Megawoman?" Riley gently tapped the corners of Megawoman's mouth, "I hope you tell me once you wake up… before we start killing each other again."
"It's good."
"..."
"..."
"Thank you, Megawoman."
"..."
"..."
"!!!"
And almost as if time slowed down, Ellie, who was on her way to look at the ocean floor, turned her head back to the table. But before she could do so, Diley was already in front of her– his arms, quickly wrapping around her.
"Wha–"
And before she could even utter a word; an almost deafening thunder exploded. The only thing she could feel was some sort of… force pushing her away as everything, everywhere, suddenly turned dark.
And as her eyes started to adjust, she could see herself suddenly surrounded by water; and soon, the ocean was beneath her feet– and then, she was surrounded by clouds.
"What?" Ellie could only blink as her head slowly turned towards Diley, who currently had his arms wrapped around her, "What… just happened?"
"The end," Diley whispered as he let go of Ellie, who remained floating in the air, "The end is happening."
And as soon as he finished uttering those words, a beam of light suddenly shot out from the sea– almost as if a tower suddenly erected itself; large enough to be seen by the neighboring countries surrounding the Black Sea.
A light that signaled the return of the Megawoman.
Chapter 301The beacon of light.
A beacon of hope.
Not always necessarily right, but strives to be no matter what. Megawoman has always shown the world where she stood, and where she does not.
There have been rumors of her return days ago, but most people did not believe it as the only evidence they have was her rescue– but even that was drowned by the sudden appearance of the aliens that were now wreaking havoc all over the world.
There were also rumors that she saw her defeating aliens and a giant robot, but there were too few survivors to corroborate the story and no visual evidence.
But now, the cities surrounding the Black Sea saw their skies turning red– and from its roots, a tree of red.
It could be many things, but most were sure that it was the flare that signals the return of Megawoman. And very soon, the light faded and all that remained was silence as everyone held their breaths– waiting for a boom.
The boom, however, did not appear even after a minute and some already let go of their breaths– returning inside homes and to their basements and bunkers. The threat of the aliens is still upon them, and if that light was not Megawoman, then there was a chance that it could be one of their invaders.
Very soon, however…
…There was a boom.
Those who have not yet hidden quickly leaned their heads out of their windows or stepped out of their houses. And there, they see their skies clear– clear to the point that there were no clouds covering them from the sun.
It was almost a ripple, originating from where the red tower once stood.
And once again, the people's hope started to awaken.
And very soon, in one of the cities, a whistle started to whisper in the air…
…followed by another boom much louder than before.
They all turned their heads to the sky, and there, they finally see the silhouette they have not seen for a year. A silhouette that signified that everything was going to be okay now.
That silhouette, however… seemed to have no plan of stopping as it was almost only a hundred meters away from falling right in the center of the town.
"It… it's going to fall!"
The people that witnessed it in awe were now trying their fastest to once again hide– they did not need to, however, as a loud snap reverberated in the air; blowing away all the specks of dust and causing their hair to violently flow with the sudden gale.
The people all covered their eyes; letting out tiny screams as all sorts of leaves, trash, and anything light enough to be blown away were blown away. It did not last, however, as the people were finally able to open their eyes– and as soon as they did, they saw hope.
Megawoman, standing right in front of them. It was her, it could be no one but her. Her gold and white ensemble; her brown hair that lit up in gold whenever the sun hits… right to the very way she stood.
"M… Megawoman!"
"Megawoman!"
And just like that, everyone cheered– their voices, almost reaching to the skies.
…But almost as if the skies responded, the clouds which paved way for the sun once again returned– and perhaps returning with a vengeance as their entire town was slowly bathed in darkness.
"Hide."
Megawoman then whispered; her voice, almost echoing through the minds of the people. And before the people could even ask, another boom echoed in the air.
This boom, however, was lifeless; one akin to the siren that one hears before a coming disaster.
And then, like a flash in the sky– a lightning without thunder, another silhouette stood near Megawoman.
And perhaps that was the only way they could describe him– a silhouette covered in darkness. Almost like a tear or a hole in the air; with not even a fracture of light reflecting from him.
And before they could even utter the silhouette's name– the two towering entities suddenly disappeared. Leaving the citizens completely and utterly dazed.
Aliens? What was that? What is the threat of an alien invasion when the gods have finally decided to show themselves?
Seconds passed, and the town was once again bathed in light– the dark clouds that once covered them, almost a creature in the sky that started to swim away from them. And of course, even from afar…
…the war that was happening beneath those clouds was something they could sense even through their bones.
After all, the very air itself was trembling.
"We. Are. Not. Doing. This. In. The. City!"
…And they were right.
Every word that came out from Megawoman's mouth left some sort of shock; almost cracking the air as she held Darkday by his helmet; dragging him through the sky.
But before they could pass the dark clouds above them, Darkday suddenly wrapped his legs around Megawoman's waist. He then suddenly somersaulted in the air, only letting Megawoman go when he was on top of her– and without even saying a word, he slammed both his fists on her chest.
The air once again cracked as Megawoman plunged from the sky; a skirt of wind, flowing behind her as she fell towards the sea. But before she could hit the surface of the sea, she curled her body and started to spin– instantly stopping as she stretched her limbs out; her back, almost laying flat on the surface of the ocean.
This triggered another boom; the sea beneath Megawoman, suddenly rippling open as soon as it realized the sheer force of the wind from the whiplash that descended upon it.
"..." Megawoman quickly looked to the side; the irises of her eyes becoming wider as they looked towards the shore kilometers away from her. And as soon as she saw the water of the level rising, a beam of red light instantly speared towards the shore– then abruptly stopped before it could go any further.
Steam then started to fill the air as the waves of water that were supposed to wreak havoc through the lands evaporated almost instantly.
"You really are different, Megawoman."
Megawoman then quickly turned her head back towards the sky; her heat vision, almost as if splitting space itself as it moved with her; but as soon as it reached the direction of the sky, it disappeared– or perhaps it was better to say that it was blocked.
Blocked by Darkday's helmet as he floated horizontally right in front of Megawoman's face. The beam, stopping just an inch away from making contact with Darkday's helmet.
"Oh no," a small smile slowly appeared on Megawoman's face, "I…
…am actually quite pissed."
The beam coming from her eyes suddenly became even brighter– its solid form, starting to trickle on the sides as the pressure that was being emitted by the heat vision started to boil the sea beneath her.
"You have some boundary issues, Riley Ross," and with those words, the entire Black Sea and the skies above it were covered in red; the people surrounding the body of water, once again seeing another tower of light emerge– no, this time, it was a twin tower.
"You shouldn't have touched my body without permission."
The colossal beam was split in half, almost like a violent river with Darkday's head serving as the stone that separated it.
And almost like a sizzle that was heard everywhere in the world, the light faded away.
"I… can't change, Aerith."
And following the sizzle, was a voice hoarse enough to scratch the air.
"..." Megawoman could only squint her eyes as she saw Riley's face, parts of his face– completely burnt as whites started to show. Most of his skull, already exposed. And yet, even like this… as his flesh started to regenerate.
Almost like hundreds of worms squirming on his face, connecting each other– and as they hastily built themselves, the very first thing that Megawoman saw was Riley's lips… already turning into a smile.
"But I do apologize for killing your husband, Aerith," Riley then said as the smile on his face now reached from ear to ear, "I heard from your son that he died in Toronto while we were fighting."
"..." Megawoman's eyebrows began to lower as Riley's words reached her ears, "I was wrong about you, Riley Ross."
"Hm?"
The two continued to talk as they floated horizontally just above the sea's surface,
"I told you before that someday, this world might need someone like you. But I was wrong…
…you are a being that should not exist in this world."
"..." The smile on Riley's face slightly faded away as he looked Megawoman in the eyes. But after a few moments, he let out a short but deep sigh as the smile on his face once again reached from ear to ear, "Well…
…I did tell you."
"...Yeah."
"You should have learned how to destroy me when you were still powerful enough to do so, Aerith."
"What makes you think I can't now?"
"Because I am you, but stronge–"
And before Riley could finish his words, he felt his vision shift– and instantly, he found himself surrounded by darkness. He was still floating, this time, however, it was not by his own will; his neck was turned in a way that it should not– but this, he was able to easily return to normal.
His neck cracked as he did so– the sound, however, seemed drowned. He tried to talk, but every word was muffled and silent– almost as if his ears were covered with some sort of water, but solid.
"Did you really think you copied all of my abilities?" There was, however, something that he could hear clearly for some reason– Megawoman; floating in front of him as the strands of her hair moved in all directions.
Her eyes were red; but no beams torching out of them. Instead, she was surrounded by a dozen red orbs; almost as if she had miniature suns circling around her.
"You haven't seen anything yet...
...boy."
Chapter 302"You haven't seen anything yet… boy."
Silence. Perhaps that was not so hard since Megawoman and Riley were currently not in the Earth's atmosphere anymore. The only sound that actually reverberated in the air was Megawoman's voice– how she was able to do that, Riley doesn't know.
Riley wanted to tell Megawoman that he, in fact, had seen everything– from Megawoman's toes and to her scalp. But alas, the only sound that was coming from him were muffles that only he could probably hear.
The only thing that Riley could really do was stare at the dozen red orbs circling around Megawoman. He had, never once, seen Megawoman do this move before.
…Is it perhaps they were outside Earth now? Was she actually holding back when they were fighting down there?
Also…
"..."
Riley can't breathe.
And looking at Megawoman just floating there and even talking– it seemed she had no trouble breathing. Riley stared at Megawoman for a few seconds more, before finally, after a few more seconds…
Riley clapped his hands, causing the red orbs circling around Megawoman to suddenly compress together with her still in the center.
"Tch," Megawoman crossed her limbs to cover herself; the orbs did not get the chance to even burn her, however, as the light in her eyes faded, so did the red orbs trying to devour her. She then turned her focus back to Riley, only to see him with his arms stretched.
She wondered a little what he was trying to do– but if there's something you shouldn't allow Riley to do, it was to prepare. And so, with a speed that almost cracked the space itself, Megawoman plunged herself like an arrow straight towards Riley.
And as she was only a meter away from her… she found herself unable to get closer. Not because her momentum had stopped, but because Riley, almost at the very same time, suddenly carried the same momentum as her– almost as if she was suddenly pushing a grocery cart.
She once again looked Riley straight in the eyes, only to see him just staring at her with a smile on his face.
"You're really starting to piss me off even more," Megawoman then retracted her hand, creating a fist that suddenly lit up almost in fire even though they were in space; and with a breath, a light rippled from her fist as she smashed it towards Riley.
If the Earth wasn't close to them, Riley certainly wouldn't have any idea how fast they were actually going– it was quite an experience, fighting in space. One does not know where one truly was.
"..." Riley then turned his eyes towards his chest, only to see it bruised and almost red. He had multiple layers of invisible armor protecting him… and yet one punch from Megawoman was able to penetrate through it.
This… was definitely different than last time.
"You see the difference, boy?"
"..." Riley turned around; his arms suspiciously still stretched to the side as he looked at Megawoman. He once again looked her in the eye…
…and nodded.
"...You didn't have to agree," Megawoman almost rolled her eyes, "Man, you're really just a kid."
And as soon as Megawoman finished her words, she quickly turned her eyes toward the Earth. Her irises, once again expanded as she looked at the very tiny movement from afar.
And as soon as she saw what it was, she quickly flew away… only for the gigantic object to stop beneath Riley's feet.
"...Ice?"
It was ice-- an entire glacier, but unlike normal, it held a sort of glowing blue hue to it– and very soon, they started to vibrate. And as soon as they did so, Megawoman could see a sliver of… air moving and flowing through Riley's nose.
"Liquid oxygen, really?" Megawoman slightly raised an eyebrow as she saw the ice slowly forming into some sort of flat platform almost as wide as a basketball court beneath Riley's feet, "Couldn't you have just lifted up an oxygen tank, boy?"
"That would be stealing, M– woman. I don't steal, that's bad."
"..." And to Megawoman's slight surprise, Riley was finally able to reply to her, "You really are creative, aren't you?"
"Villains are more creative, based on the statistics," Riley smiled.
"Last I checked, you're no longer classified as a villain, Riley Ross," Megawoman then calmly floated and landed on the blue platform that Riley created.
"They call you a calamity," Megawoman then turned her head up, her eyes, reflecting the Earth as they floated hundreds of kilometers from it, "They do not even see you as human anymore."
"And that is the only thing I and they have in common, Aerith," Riley also looked towards the Earth,
"I also do not see myself as a human anymore."
"...Hm," Megawoman nodded. But before her hair could follow, she suddenly disappeared– almost instantly appearing below the ice directly where Riley was, her feet bent. And with a small breath, a ripple once again erupted in space as Riley was once again thrown away opposite the direction of Earth.
This time, however, almost like a jellyfish as the shards of blue ice followed him like a hundred tentacles. But very soon, one of these tentacles disappeared as Megawoman's heat blast instantly vaporized them away.
"...You're really trying to kill me, Aerith."
Megawoman quickly retracted her heat blast as she heard a whisper near her– but Riley was still kilometers away from her. Soon, however, she realized that she was breathing normally as she would on Earth.
She lightly placed her hand in front of her mouth, only for her to feel air as she exhaled. Did… Riley filled the entire space they were in with oxygen? No… perhaps only around her head, with a sort of invisible tube connecting directly to where he is.
"You could have been the best warrior that has ever graced this planet, Riley," Megawoman then let out a small sigh, before once again appearing behind Riley with her fist already only an inch away from his face,
"But I fear it's already too late for you to stay on Earth," Megawoman then calmly said as her fist made contact with Riley… causing him to explode into pieces.
"..." Megawoman blinked her eyes a couple of times, before turning around to see almost a dozen Riley floating there.
"One of your students said the same thing, Megawoman," the clones, however, quickly turned into some sort of dust as the real Riley floated closer to Megawoman; the blue ice, floating behind him almost like wings.
"I was meant to be the best of the heroes."
"If you weren't a psychopath," Megawoman smirked.
"No," Riley shook his head, "If only I was adopted by her instead."
"..." Megawoman furrowed her eyebrows.
"At least that was what she was insinuating," Riley chuckled as the wings of ice behind his back once again turned into a platform beneath his feet– almost like stairs as he walked towards Megawoman,
"What do you think? Would that really have made a difference?"
"...I don't know the answer to that," Megawoman breathed out.
"...Why didn't you adopt me, instead?" Riley also breathed out, "You adopted Empress, why not me?"
"I… had Gary and–"
"Pft," Riley let out a small chuckle before Megawoman could answer, "I was only trying to make you let your guard down."
"Well, you did," Megawoman also let out a small chuckle, "You also got too close."
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times as Megawoman's hair was suddenly floating in front of his eyes. He then looked down, only to see half her arm already deep through his stomach.
"Hm," Riley then worded out as bubbles of blood started to float from his mouth,
"Why didn't you just go straight to the heart, Aerith?" He then said as he slowly pulled himself away; creating a floating puddle of blood to dance in the air as he removed Megawoman's hand.
"Because then you would have died," Megawoman whispered before once again plowing her hand through Riley's stomach, "Themarians grow stronger with each defeat, very much like your ability."
"Hm," Riley once again hummed; this time, floating himself away. The holes in his stomach, already closing as he did so.
"That is the right decision, Aerith," Riley nodded, "Managing to kill me again would make me even stronger."
"Not quite," Megawoman shrugged, "As far as I could see, the powers you absorbed from me, Riley. They are abilities that… I received upon entering your planet."
"...What?" Riley binked a couple of times as he heard Megawoman's voice.
"The abilities you copied from me– I didn't have them before I entered and spent some time on your planet," Megawoman said as she looked at her hands, "And some of my innate abilities were just upgraded."
"So our abilities came from the planet?" Riley also looked at his hands as the ice once again became a flat platform for him and Megawoman to walk on.
"Themarians, with each defeat, either grow stronger or get obliterated," Megawoman did not answer Riley's question, "And the longer we remain undefeated, the stronger we become once we face our eventual defeat."
"..." Riley only tilted his head to the side.
"I was defeated once before you, a very long time ago," Megawoman let out another sigh.
"A very long time ago? Does that mean you've grown extremely stronger since last time?" Riley smiled; and as he did so, an asteroid that was casually orbiting Earth almost suddenly flew behind Riley; probably almost the same size as a skyscraper.
"Probably two-fold," Megawoman only smiled back as she shook her head, "But that's not the point of why I am telling you this."
"Hm?"
"The one that defeated me…" Megawoman then once again turned to look at Earth,
"...I followed her to your planet."
Chapter 303"The one that defeated me… I followed her to your planet."
"...Is it Diana Ross?"
"..."
Megawoman's eyes, which were almost longing for Earth, quickly turned towards Riley.
"Well, that was anticlimactic... I was looking forward to revealing that," Megawoman could only let out a small but very deep sigh as she looked Riley in the eyes, "I wasn't sure if it was really her, but when you brought me to your home while I was in a coma– that was when I confirmed my suspicions. How… did you even get the idea that it was her?"
"Some people have made it seem that mother is not who she seems she was," Riley shrugged, "And no one in the Ross family is normal, so it made sense."
"...Just that?"
"Yes," Riley once again shrugged.
"...And how do you feel about that?" The tone of Megawoman's voice suddenly turned serious, "The fact that you fell into her custody could not be a coincidence."
"It's probably not, she created me."
"...What?"
"It would seem you do not remember. While you were sleeping back in the Hope Guild, I told you that my biological mother, Alice, injected herself with an unknown specimen– which resulted in her becoming pregnant with me."
"..." Megawoman squinted her eyes, almost as if gesturing to Riley to continue.
"She said a friend injected her. Previously before that, I found out that Diana and Alice could have possibly been very good friends while Alice was in prison. And now that you have confirmed that Diana truly is a suspicious person… it stands to reason that the friend Alice mentioned could be none other than her."
"That…" Megawoman squinted even further; her eyes, almost closing, "That… all of that happened?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "But it doesn't really matter anymore."
"Are you kidding? That is all that should matter for you right now," Megawoman then once again looked at the Earth, "If Cait– If Diana truly injected something to make Alice pregnant then you–"
"It doesn't matter, Aerith," Riley shook his head as the asteroid floating behind him started to separate into almost a million tiny pieces, "I am already here. My interest in my birth has probably stopped as soon as I was given birth."
"...What? What does that even–"
And before Megawoman could finish her words, the fractals of the asteroid behind Riley started flying towards her; like a storm.
"We're not done talking, Riley Ross."
Megawoman, however, did not even try to dodge as she just calmly walked towards Riley; the ice platform beneath her, cracking as she did so.
The asteroids that were hitting her body, just bouncing off of her; surprisingly not even damaging her clothes.
"We can talk while destroying each other," Riley breathed out as a smile slowly crawled on his face.
"Oh, and here I thought you want all of my attention when we talk. You have a little obsession with me, don't you?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I… I was only trying to make you let your guard down," Megawoman repeated Riley's words to him… stutteringly. Even for a creature like her who had lived many a human's lifetimes, what she said was… a little cringe, as her son might have worded it.
"Well, you're correct, Megawoman," the smile on Riley's face reached from ear-to-ear as the barrage of space rocks continued to storm Megawoman, "I am obsessed with you. Do you want to know why?"
"Because we're both strong?" Megawoman's eyes then finally lit up; and without even a second after, the little bits of asteroid storming her turned into dust– which she quickly blew away towards Riley.
"Incorrect,"
And as soon as the cloud of dust disappeared, another asteroid instantly welcomed Megawoman's eyes– this time, the size of an entire small island.
"It is because the first time I learned about you… you reminded me of my sister," Riley casually said before throwing an entire asteroid towards Megawoman.
"Oh?" Megawoman, as well, just casually caught the colossal asteroid with her hand.
"Yes."
However, as soon as it made contact with her hands, the asteroid suddenly split in two… before suddenly exploding and plunging itself straight towards Earth.
"Tch," and immediately, Megawoman blasted the other half with her heat vision, while once again catching the remaining one.
"Both of you are willing to sacrifice yourself to protect the people important to you without even thinking about it."
"..." Megawoman slowly looked to the side, only to see Riley's face right in beside her.
"But you…" Riley then touched the asteroid… and as soon as he did so, it started to tremble,
"...You, I can kill."
And as soon as he said that, the asteroid opened up; almost like jaws that wanted to swallow Megawoman whole.
…And it did.
"..." Riley then floated away, once again returning to his platform of blue ice; standing still as he stared at the asteroid.
He then stretched his arm, covering his view of the asteroid… and with a breath, he made a fist– causing the asteroid to compress at the same time.
Compressing it to the point that it started to emit light similar to the sun.
That sun, however, exploded in no time– with Megawoman cracking it open like an egg before blasting the fragments into oblivion with her heat vision.
"Kill me?" Megawoman smirked as she patted her outfit clean of the dust, "With these parlor tricks?"
"..." Riley only shrugged.
"If you truly wanted to kill me, then you wouldn't be playing like this," Megawoman sighed, "I know what you're capable of, Riley Ross– you could throw the moon at me if you wished."
"..." Riley immediately turned his head towards the moon as soon as he heard that… only to see Megawoman suddenly blocking his view of it.
"On second thought… please don't do that," Megawoman let out a small and awkward chuckle,
"You– I said don't!"
Riley's hand started to twitch, but before he could fully raise his hand, Megawoman suddenly hugged him– the colossal ice platform, once again seemingly turning into tentacles as she dragged Riley at an indiscernible Mach speed.
From Earth, they would have probably looked like a comet with Riley's makeshift oxygen tank flying behind them.
"...You suggested it, Aerith," Riley could only shake his head in disappointment as the moon got farther and farther away as they seemingly orbited the Earth.
"Shut up," Megawoman clicked her tongue as she flew far away to the other side of the planet; the Earth, also slowly becoming smaller and smaller.
"How does it feel, Aerith?" Riley then whispered, "Hugging the man who killed your husband?"
"..."
"I didn't know, of course," Riley chuckled, "But you probably did. Wait… was that why you stopped fighting? To prevent any more damage to the city? Well, that was a useless–"
"I said shut up!"
Riley then felt his vision blur as Megawoman suddenly let go of him, only for her to grab his feet and swing him like a yoyo over and over again… once again at an indiscernible speed. And with an almost screeching roar from Megawoman, Riley was thrown towards a random asteroid– only for his body to punch right through the asteroid and towards several more space rocks; creating ripples almost a hundred times.
"Stop. Mentioning. My. Husband!"
With each word, a corresponding punch followed that plunged Riley farther and farther away from Earth. His invisible barrier, breaking as soon as Megawoman's punch rippled through the space.
Riley was almost like a ragdoll; not even moving a single muscle as Megawoman continued to strike him again and again.
"...Do you plan to stray me away from Earth, Megawoman?" Riley then said; his voice, slightly hoarse as a part of his face regenerates, "That wouldn't work. I still have clones there– I can find their location no matter where they are."
Megawoman, however, did not answer as she continued to push Riley away. He could probably try to stand his… ground. But that would mean taking each of Megawoman's punch full force… and judging by the expression on Megawoman's face, she wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
"...I hate using this. But for you, Megawoman– I will."
And as soon as he said that, Riley… disappeared.
"..." Megawoman immediately stopped her flight; causing a sort of ripple and crack in the space as she did so– her eyes, immediately looking everywhere for Riley. But after a few seconds of doing so, she was not even able to see a strand of his white hair.
Megawoman then took a deep breath– and almost as if everything around her stopped, every minute movement of hers caused the space itself to tremble. And very soon, however, a sound entered her ears.
"!!!" And with everything once again moving in real-time, Megawoman quickly slammed her shoulder– causing the space debris floating around her to be blown away.
"You almost squashed me, Megawoman."
A tiny voice then whispered through Megawoman's ears as… a miniature Riley slowly floated in front of her face, "I thought killing me was something you were avoiding?"
"I just don't like the feeling of tiny bugs crawling on my skin," Megawoman slightly furrowed her eyebrows, "...I haven't seen you use this power before."
"Because I also don't like the feeling of it," and as he said that, his body slowly grew larger and larger, "It's weird… but at the very least it also changes the size of my clo–"
And before Riley could fully return back to his size, Megawoman swatted him away like a bird. And once again, Riley was thrown away at indiscernible speeds; only stopping as his back hit something… metal.
Riley then returned back to his normal size as he turned around to see what it was that he hit; and to Riley's surprise, it seemed to be a colossal spaceship. And beside this colossal ship… was the floating base of the Dark Millenium that the Baby Crew and Hope Guild left in.
"Oh…" Riley could only let out a breath as he slowly backed away,
"...So this was your plan."
Chapter 304"..."
Riley slowly backed away from the two colossal ships; his eyes, darting back and forth between the two.
"Yeah, I don't think so."
And before he could even turn his head around, Megawoman's hand was already grabbing his face– pushing him back to the ship hard enough for the side of the ship to concave. But still, the two were not able to penetrate the walls as Riley stretched his hand to the side, almost pulling the walls back to their original state.
"This–"
And before Riley could even say anything, Megawoman once again disappeared; only to return almost instantly as she plunged her feet on Riley's back– this time, pushing both of them inside the ship like a needle penetrating a ball of styrofoam.
Megawoman retracted her feet, causing Riley to roll several meters on the ebony floor that adorned the inside of the ship.
"..." Riley did not immediately get up, however, as his eyes first looked everywhere, trying to make sure Hannah was not there before getting up. As expected– the blue aliens were at minimum 4 meters tall, so it made sense that the inside of their ship was spacious.
Whatever this room was used for, it was at least the size of a basketball court; with nothing in it.
"It's Strogan superstition."
"..." Riley then turned his head towards Megawoman, who was closing the hole they made by using a part of the floor and welding it on the opening with her heat vision.
"Strogan?" Riley muttered as he continued to look at the vast, black, empty room.
"That's what their species is universally called," Megawoman pointed her finger all around the room, "They make empty halls like this because they believe that everyone and everything that perishes continues to live on in spirit, wandering and wondering the universe. This room gives them a place to rest."
"We're interrupting their rest, then," Riley shrugged, "Let's get out of here, Aerith."
"Not a chance," a smile started to appear on Megawoman's face, "Why don't you go say hi to your sister? She's somewhere on the ship."
"No, she's not. I can't smell her," Riley shook his head, "And we are currently fighting, let us focus on that."
"Two nigh-immortal beings fighting each other is as fun as watching paint dry," Megawoman scoffed, "And it is not right to fight on holy ground."
"...You're not having fun?" Riley furrowed his eyebrows.
"Only a little. But why don't we say hi to your sister first?"
"This is not fair, Aerith."
"You know what's not fair? Giving me to the humans to be experimented on."
"Do you not hold a grudge against them?" Riley tilted his head, "I presume that for an entire year, they have played with your body even more than I have. Created monsters in your image. Are you truly not capable of getting angry at the precious humans you protect?"
"...You're the first one to display my body in your closet, boy."
"Because I defeated you," Riley shrugged, "At that moment, I owned everything that you are. They… only took advantage of your moment of weakness."
"You don't understand, Riley," Megawoman shook her head, "What they did to me, they did in hopes to protect and strengthen themselves– for a species that is vulnerable to invasions what is happening now, that is the only action to take."
"You are retarded, Aerith."
"A blink of an eye."
"Hm?"
"What happened to me, what is happening now– I consider it as a blink of an eye," Megawoman's loud sighs echoed through the empty hall, "I don't know how old Bulwark is, but I am probably older than him."
"That doesn't change the fact that they desecrated your body, Megawoman."
"I've been through worse," Megawoman let out a small chuckle, "Now, let's go say hi to your sister, shall we?"
"W–"
And before Riley could even utter a word, he felt his vision shift several times as Megawoman suddenly pushed him.
"Stop!" Riley grabbed both of Megawoman's hands as the two of them stopped moving, his eyes looking Megawoman directly in the eyes as the skin of her face started to… somewhat wither away and turn into ash.
"Finally turning serious?" Megawoman slightly winced as parts of her face cracked, but healed just as fast, "And here I thought you didn't care if people would find out you're Darkday!"
Megawoman, even with her flesh being torn and healed, slammed her head towards Riley, causing him to once again plow through the insides of the ship. This time, however, the walls that he moved through wrapped around his body like armor, completely hiding his face.
He then once again quickly looked around, only to see more than a dozen Strogans staring at him in shock; their spears, already poised and pointed. Riley was about to raise his hand, but before he could do anything, Megawoman suddenly appeared in front of him.
She grabbed Riley's hand, before slamming him to the ground; not enough to once again penetrate through the floors, but enough to shake the entire hallway they were on.
And as soon as the Strogans saw Megawoman, they all turned their heads to each other… and quickly dropped their weapons to the ground.
"Mampashlek arbanluiao strogans."
"..." Riley quickly looked at Megawoman as he heard a language he didn't recognize; presumably, of course, it could be none other than the Strogan's language.
"Arbanluiao!" And with Megawoman's voice getting higher, the Strogans started to back away.
"Ar… arbanliaom!" The strogans' all said in unison as they turned around. But before they could even take a single step, the spears that they left behind suddenly plunged themselves through their backs; and without even a second after, the spears began spinning.
Their goo-like transparent blood, painted the hallway as it sprayed everywhere.
Megawoman, who watched this happen, could only close her eyes and let out a small groan,
"Can you stop killing just for once!?" She then screamed before stomping her foot on Riley's chest, completely shattering the floor beneath them and plunging them straight back to the outside of the ship.
"No," Riley said before instantly disappearing– Well, not quite, as Megawoman was still looking at him floating above her; his size, almost as small as a cockroach. And before he could even fly away, Megawoman was able to grab him with ease.
"I thought you hated using this power?" Megawoman smirked; her smirk, however, was quickly replaced by raised eyebrows as she felt her fist opening… and in it, spawned almost a hundred Rileys, quickly crawling across her arm.
"!!!" Megawoman quickly waved her hand; causing the very space itself to crack as she let out a small yelp.
"T… take them off!" Megawoman brushed the miniature clones with her other hand, instantly turning all of them to dust. But alas, more seemed to spawn as they continued to fester around her arms. She was about to save her hand again, but before she could do so, the ants crawling on her arm started to light up– no.
Each of their eyes started to light up.
"Tch," Megawoman once again brushed them off, but before she could do so, a number of them managed to puncture her skin and started digging their way through. Megawoman's eyes started to light up, quickly blasting her arm away from the little Rileys.
Megawoman roared as she stretched all of her limbs open, causing a shockwave even in space that was enough to cause not only the Strogans' ship to tremble, but also the Hope Guild's ship.
"Do not ever do that again!" Megawoman then started almost spazzing out; her body almost wriggling as she cringed from the feeling of having many cockroach-sized Rileys crawling on her arm.
"Enough games, boy!"
Megawoman's entire body started to emit a sort of orange light; almost like the vapor fuming out of ice as it heats up. She then stretched her arms to the side before instantly disappearing from her spot, only to appear somewhere across the ship already grabbing Riley by the neck.
And without even letting him speak, a ripple exploded– with both of them disappearing as fast as they appeared. The materials of the ship once again wrapped around Riley like an armor-- but whenever they would cover his face, Megawoman would rip them away almost instantly.
"You will behave!"-- were the first words that Riley heard as soon as the scenery around him finally stopped changing.
"I have already told you how much I hate insects and bugs! And yet you pull something like that!?" Megawoman then threw him on the platform like a ragdoll as she started walking around the hall they were in now,
"What are you, a child!? Don't you have like a hundred other abilities!? Use those!"
"...In your perspective, everyone's a child, Aerith," Riley then let out a small but very deep sigh as he remained lying on the floor,
"But I suppose you got what you wanted."
"Megawoman!?"
Riley then slowly got up as several gasps and voices started to enter his ears. He looked around, only to see several Strogans seated at a table. And in front of them, the heroes that left Earth a couple of days ago…
…and at the center of the table were him and Megawoman.
"Themarian ya ay!"
The strogans stood up all at the same time as their eyes landed on Megawoman, some of them started to take a few steps back. But as soon as Megawoman stepped down the table, they all just froze where they stood.
"You got fat," Megawoman then said as soon as her eyes landed on Empress, who was seated in the middle on the human's side. And beside her… was Hannah, whose eyes were almost planted at Riley who was still not moving from the table.
"...Riley?"
"Hello, sister."
Chapter 305Hannah was nervous but at the same time, she was thrilled to the point that she almost couldn't sleep while they were on the way to infiltrate the invader's base. She thought that it wouldn't be much infiltration going on, as the size of their ship would have been too large not to notice.
But as soon as they reached halfway to their destination, Hannah proved herself wrong. In the expanse of space, their colossal ship could not even be considered a small dot. Even the smallest of asteroids were the size of an entire bus.
And as they got near, Hannah then once again thought that they would be discovered. After all, they could see the location of the invader's ship through their navigation system– it would have made sense for the more advanced race to also see them…
…But no.
In the simplest of terms, they practically landed on top of the aliens' ship without even any resistance; the ship, even clasping itself– not even leaving an inch of gap. A circular hatch then opened on the lowermost floor of the ship, allowing Silvie to blast a hole in the alien's ship so they finally infiltrate.
Most of the Baby Crew were confused at first as to how they were able to even reach that far without alerting the enemy– but then they realized one thing, Whiteking was with them. He was able to intercept whatever signal the alien's portal was on and even hack through their surveillance systems.
All of that was just simply amazing, but it was time to battle– or so they thought. Even after minutes of walking, not even a single platoon welcomed them. They… just walked– with the large doors opening to them.
Soon, however, it might have been the fifth door that led to a large hallway, the enemy finally welcomed them… or so they thought, as all of the blue aliens were just lying on the floor completely lifeless.
The reason?
Whiteking closed off parts of their ventilation, practically suffocating those unfortunate enough to be in the rooms and halls with no access to air.
It was a massacre.
They don't know how many died, but those that were left, struggling as they might, were too weak to even fight. The worst part was that they couldn't contact those that were on Earth. In the end, they just surrendered.
Gary, of course, voted to just destroy the entire ship along with the aliens; as who knows how many more they would bring the next time they decided to return. V agreed on this.
Silvie disagreed, saying that if Gary was right and they were capable of sending more, then killing those that were here might make things worse– turning into a full-on war betting all of their race.
The rest of the Baby Crew didn't really voice their opinion– as for Hannah, she was the first one that suggested diplomacy. Of course, with the aliens already defeated, they would have eventually reached that conclusion.
Whiteking, Empress, and Butcher didn't really say anything, and just allowed the younger generation to decide.
And so, they found themselves seated at a table in discussion with the aliens. And before they could even reach meaningful terms– Megawoman suddenly appeared out of nowhere…
…along with Riley.
"W… what are you doing here?"
Everyone in the room was confused, with the strogans obviously terrified as the only thing they could really do was freeze in place.
"What's going on!?"
Bella and Katherine, the newest members of the Baby Crew and the ones that were still not used to all the crazy things involving the Baby Crew could only take a few steps back as they almost hugged each other. They wanted to touch Megawoman and get her autograph, but they could probably enumerate a list of how now was not the time to do so.
"Megawoman?" Silvie could only stare.
She had seen her sleeping back in the Hope Guild, but this was the very first time she was seeing her this close and full of life. She was supposed to be an exact copy of her, and she does look like her. But there was a difference between the two of them she seemed to quite not fathom.
Megawoman, however, only looked at her from head to toe before giving her a smile and gently touching her cheek; Megawoman then left to approach Empress.
Megawoman didn't even need to say anything as Silvie just fell back right onto her seat; tears, almost falling on her face.
Silvie… wasn't taking much these days and just stood on the sidelines. Of course, people still see her as one of the greatest heroes that would lead the next generation… but that was it. That was her only identity.
Ever since she found out that she was a clone; her father just suddenly leaving, everything about her just became one big mess. Of course, she was able to go by the days because of Hannah and the others' support. But deep inside, there was something growing inside of her that she knew wasn't good. And it only grew even deeper when…
…she found out later that her father committed suicide.
None of the members of the Baby Crew knew, she didn't tell them. She considered herself damaged– damaged goods that were only created to clean up everyone else's mess.
But Megawoman didn't even have to say anything; just a touch and a smile… and all of the darkness she thought that was inside her suddenly just disappeared.
Approval. Perhaps that was the only thing she really needed– and who better give her that than the person she strived to be?
"..." Whiteking only looked at Megawoman as she started talking with Empress. But as soon as their eyes met, he quickly looked away; dragging Butcher along with him as he approached the aliens to continue their discussions.
Of course, he also glanced at Riley, who was still lying on top of the table. They just exchanged glances, but in Bernard's mind, there were almost a million scenarios happening; all centered on the possibility of Riley's true identity being exposed.
But with Megawoman here… there really was nothing he could do.
Empress was trying to play it cool as Megawoman continued to talk to her; small talks, but with each question she asked, Empress's eyes turned towards Riley. It should have only been around 2 days or less since they left Earth… and now this sudden development.
As for Gary, he just remained seated, only looking at his mother from afar as he sighed and smiled. As soon as their eyes met, however, Megawoman opened her arms… and without even a second, Gary rushed towards his mother, kneeling on the ground as he embraced her.
And while all of these were going on, there were 3 girls that remained silent.
Hannah, Tomoe, and V– who instead of looking at Megawoman, were all just staring at Riley… who was still lying on top of the table.
But finally, after a few more seconds of him just casually planted, he finally sat up and quietly stepped down the table.
"Well…" Riley breathed out as he looked at Hannah, "...It was nice seeing you here, sister. I shall go now."
.
"...What?"
Hannah could only blink a couple of times as she watched as Riley started to float away. But before he could even leave a meter away from the floor, Megawoman grabbed his hand.
And as soon as she did so, Tomoe suddenly stomped her foot on the ground– releasing an onslaught of frozen spikes towards Megawoman… which Megawoman just completely ignored even as it hit her.
V, who has also been keeping quiet on the side, was also about to release her powers– but was stopped by Empress before she could do so. Now, whether or not her target was Megawoman or Tomoe… no one knows but her.
"...Chillax," Megawoman said as she brushed off the spikes, "...That's how you young people say it, right?"
"What's… going on?" Gary and Silvie, who has yet to recover from their trance, were forced to stand on their feet as they witnessed what was happening. Of course, the expressions on their faces pretty much summed up what everyone was feeling right now– confusion.
Even the aliens that Whiteking and Butcher were talking with had their eyes on Megawoman and Riley.
As for Tomoe who suddenly attacked Megawoman, she was looking at Riley, waiting for him to do something.
"Why don't all of us just sit down?" Megawoman then said; her arm, trembling as she slowly pulled Riley down,
"And I told you to behave, right?"
"..." Riley furrowed his eyebrows as he looked back and forth between Megawoman, and the confused Hannah. But after a few more seconds, he was the first one to sit down.
As for the strogans in the room, Megawoman said something to them before they all just left the room willingly.
And now, everyone was once again seated. With Megawoman, Riley, and Tomoe on one side, and the rest on the other. As for Katrina and Bella, they were both just happy and terrified to be there.
"What's… going on?" And once again, the question that everyone has been asking was uttered, this time, by Hannah.
"Riley? Why… are you with Megawoman?"
"..." Riley only looked at Hannah; his slightly trembling eyes made it obvious for everyone to see that he was slightly distressed– an expression they have never seen Riley making. Tomoe also held a sort of complicated expression on her face; her lips, almost bleeding from how hard she was biting them.
And finally, after a few more seconds… Riley's heavy breaths started to whisper; his eyes, only looking at his sister.
"I truly apologize for this, Hannah. But the truth is, I am Dar–"
"I'm taking Riley Ross with me," and before he could finish what he was going to say, Megawoman lightly slammed her palm on the table,
"Once I sort out all of the loose ends I left on Earth…
…I am taking Riley Ross with me and we're leaving the planet."
"..." And with those words, everyone just turned their eyes toward Riley. Perhaps the only one that let out a breath was Bernard.
"We won't be back for a very long time. Some of you may have already aged, and some would have taken my place."
"W… what?" Hannah, who had the widest eyes of them all, forced a chuckle, "Why?"
"Riley…" Megawoman was once again the one to answer, "...Riley Ross is too strong to remain on Earth, he is also different from the rest of you and–"
"That's fucking bullshit and you know it!" Hannah stood up from her seat as she also slammed her palm on the table, "Dad! Say something!"
Bernard, however, remained silent.
"What? Just because Riley sometimes can't control his powers you–"
"Sister."
"What!?"
"I'm Darkday."
Chapter 306"I'm Darkday."
"..."
Silence. It wasn't enough that the expanse of space was shrouded in silence, now, even the inside of the strogans' ship was bathed in it. This silence did not last, however, as it was soon followed by a sort of chuckle.
"Pft."
Gary was the first to break the silence; the growing smile on his face, unable to be contained anymore.
"G… good one, bruh," Gary breathed out; his eyes, now staring at the clothes that Riley was wearing. It was tattered, exposing his shoulders and already exposing half his chest as the seams seemed burnt. But most importantly… it was black.
A jet-black outfit reminiscent of what Darkday was wearing. None of them noticed it before due to all the things that have been happening, but now they do.
"This… is a prank, right?" Silvie also chimed in, "It… It's good that you've already moved on with the government suspecting you as Darkday– but I… don't think it's really right to joke about something like this."
Everyone in the room held a certain rhythm to their breaths– even Megawoman. In truth, she didn't really have any plans of exposing Riley's identity. After all, her plan was to really take Riley away from Earth, as that was the only peaceful way she could think of to free the Earth from him.
She planned to take her back to her planet– that doesn't require him to tell anyone of his true identity.
But here he was, just casually saying it.
Empress and Whiteking could only look at each other, the silence between them, almost a full conversation.
"I am not joking, Ms. Silvie," Riley then stood up from his seat, and as soon as he did so…
…a silhouette emerged from the floor; the silhouette, turning into Riley without even a second after.
"I am Darkday," Riley then repeated his words as the clone disappeared just as fast as it was summoned.
And once again, silence. No one was even looking at each other anymore… they were just staring at their hands, the floor, anywhere that would at least briefly take them away from this situation… but Riley did not seem to allow that as he started walking around.
"...And this is my confession," Riley then placed his hand on Megawoman's shoulder– and the others might not notice it, but Megawoman could feel the weight of almost a thousand mountains gripping her shoulder, but she did not react; her head, only turning to Riley before nodding.
"127 Supers. I have kept 127 supers captive somewhere in the glaciers of Antarctica, all of them are alive and in good health– Empress can testify to this claim."
"..." Empress, who noticed that all eyes were on her, could only close her eyes; her breaths, almost loud enough to be heard throughout the entire room. She was about to say something, but before she could do so, Riley continued to speak.
"According to all the news and data, the number of people I have killed amounts to more than 25 million…
…including the people of London," Riley then said as he looked V straight in the eyes.
V could really only stare back; her mouth, slightly agape as she could not find the right words to utter.
"It was I who made Victoria lose control of her powers. It was also I that brought her to London with the intention of wiping out the entire country of England; but as most of you know, only London was destroyed," Riley sighed as he shook his head,
"I have also threatened to torture Scarlet Mage's mother so that she would work under me as my First Subordinate. The Seven Planes incident, in which the Dark Millennium was considered the perpetrator, that was my crime as well."
Riley continued to talk; the words that were coming out of his mouth, almost piercing everyone's ears as if they were knives. And finally, after a few more utter, Riley turned his eyes toward Hannah.
"I… truly am sorry for being your brother, Hannah."
"..."
"But it has recently also come into my knowledge that me being adopted by father and mother was not an accident. Diana Ross…
…is from Theran."
"...What?" Bernard finally broke his silence, "What do you–"
"Fucking die!"
And yet the moment he broke his silence, a scream thundered through the air– the room, instantly being filled with an almost blinding green light as V suddenly leaped towards Riley. The tears that she was leaving in the air as she did so, exploding into trickles of lightning.
Everyone stood up and quickly backed away from their seats, with the only one remaining seated down being Megawoman– with Riley's hand still resting on her shoulder. As for V… she was just floating in the air, her fist, only a foot away from Riley's face.
"If some of you still do not believe who I am," Riley then slightly tilted his head, and as soon as he did so, V let out a small and desperate gasp; the green lightning emerging from her body, slowly fading away.
The thunders, now replaced by V's disgruntled gasps for air.
"Let go of the girl, Riley," Megawoman sighed, "They get it, they just need time to process."
"..." Riley only glanced at Megawoman, before also letting out a sigh and casually letting go of V. She was about to hit the table, but Empress quickly caught her.
V… V didn't really say anything anymore. Her gasps, now replaced by disgruntled and muffled wails as she burrowed her face in Empress's embrace. Empress glanced at Riley for a few seconds, before gently stepping down the table… and leaving the room with V.
"Dad… did you know?"
And finally, after keeping her silence for what seemed like an eternity, Hannah started to move; the tone of her voice, unusually calm as she looked at Bernard.
"...Yes," Bernard nodded, "I–"
"I don't need your explanation anymore," Hannah did not let Bernard speak as smoke slowly fumed from her mouth; her face, however, was as calm as her voice,
"Baby Crew…" She then said as flames started to trickle and wrap around her body,
"...Prepare to engage Darkday."
And as soon as she said that, a snap screeched in the room as the floor beneath Riley suddenly crawled around his legs and wrapped around it. Megawoman also disappeared from the chair, appearing behind Bernard and locking both his arms behind him. As for Butcher, he placed his knife on Bernard's neck.
"S… Stop them!" Bernard quickly said as he was forced to kneel on the floor, "The children will–"
"You underestimate the tiny percent of humanity left on your son, Whiteking," Megawoman whispered.
"Wha–"
"Surrender, or we will resort to using force!" Hannah's screams once again resounded throughout the room. Silvie, Gary, Bella, and Katrina were already behind Hannah. The veins on Bella's arms, almost protruding from her skin as she tried her best to bound Riley's feet on the floor.
As for Tomoe… he stood behind Riley, unmoving.
"What… is your order, master?" She then muttered.
"What it has always been," Riley sighed as a small smile slowly crawled on his face.
"I… will follow your orders, master."
And as soon as she said that, she stomped her foot on the floor– causing it to crack as a torrent of icicles started to emerge all over the room. Hannah was about to release a wall of fire to protect the Baby Crew… only to find they were not the target of the spikes.
Instead, the icicles surrounded Riley, almost like an iron maiden that completely wrapped every inch of his skin. And very slowly, Tomoe made his way towards the Baby Crew.
"Which… side are you on?" Gary took in a small gulp as he pointed his fists at her.
"Darkday," Tomoe did not hesitate to answer, "And his orders are absolute…"
And as Tomoe said that, her entire body was suddenly shrouded in dark ice– wrapping across her body like armor, "Protect Hannah Ross…
…at all costs, no matter what."
"Fuck… everything's so messed up," Gary's breaths stuttered, "Fuck!"
"Hannah…" Silvie leaned closer to Hannah, "Are you… okay?"
"No," Hannah answered without any pause, "I feel betrayed… again. Like the only pillar that was supporting me in this world just shattered and buried me with its pieces…
…but this is not the time for personal feelings."
"..."
"Baby Crew!" Hannah then once again roared as she slowly floated in the air, "Remember our training… we've run simulations again and again against Darkday. We–"
And before Hannah could finish her words, a series of thuds whispered into her ear. She looked down, only to see Silvie kneeling… while the rest were sprawled on the floor.
Silvie was trying to get up, her knees trembling uncontrollably. She seemed to be using all of her strength to do so, and finally, after a few more grunts, she was able to lift herself up, only for her to tumble towards the table… before joining the rest on the floor.
"They are not dead," Riley's sigh almost pierced her ears, "You seem to be misunderstanding something, sister."
Hannah then quickly turned her eyes towards Riley… who just casually stepped forward despite the icicles and his feet being bound by metal.
"If you truly want to kill me, then you would need everything that you have."
"What… what are you doing?" Hannah could feel her arms being stretched to the side as Riley slowly floated towards her, "L… let go of me!"
"If it's you, sister… then I don't mind."
A smile then slowly crawled on Riley's face– a smile that was different from the rest… a smile that was only reserved for his sister.
"What–" And before Hannah could say anything else, she felt a small prick coming from her arm. She looked, only to see some sort of capsule coming out from under her arm.
"Riley, no!" Bernard screamed.
"What… what did you do?" Hannah blinked several times as the flames around her began to fluctuate.
"What you told me to do, sister," Riley then whispered as he wrapped his arms around Hannah, "To you, and only to you…
…I surrender."
Chapter 307It was a scream. A scream that pierced even the silence of space itself– and one might even say that it resounded throughout the entire galaxy…
…or at least that was what it felt like.
"No…"
Bernard was still kneeling on the floor, despite Megawoman no longer holding him down; Butcher's knife, as well, was no longer planted on his neck. Instead, both Megawoman and Butcher evacuated the members of the Baby Crew that were sprawled on the ground.
But since Butcher was not as fast as Megawoman, she ended up carrying him as well while he carried two others. And in just the span of seconds, the only people left in the room were Whiteking… and his two children.
"This… this isn't happening," Bernard could stare as the fire surrounding Hannah continued to flicker; and with each flicker, the flames changed color.
Red, orange, red, orange, blue.
Even from meters away, Bernard could feel the heat coming from Hannah's body– even activating his suit's automatic defense system as his helmet emerged from his pauldrons. Bernard wanted to take it off, but his own armor was not allowing it.
"This isn't happening," Bernard then started to crawl on the ground as approached the two… but instead found himself getting farther away instead. And soon, a hole was blasted into the wall and Bernard could finally see that Megawoman was pushing the entire ship away.
"Wait… wait!" The rockets on Bernard's feet then started to let out fumes, but before they could combust, they broke into tiny little pieces; he turned his eyes towards his children, only to see Riley staring at him.
"I'd just like to say, Bernard." And even with the almost deafening hiss that was starting to reverberate everywhere, Riley's voice could still be heard,
"This isn't probably your fault… maybe."
"No… no… no!" Bernard then rushed towards the two even as the entire ship moved… leaving Riley and Hannah where they were floating still, "M… Megawoman, please… please save my children!"
"I… already did."
But alas, very soon, Riley and Hannah emerged from the ship.
Megawoman glanced at Riley for a few seconds as their eyes met, before letting out a small sigh and continuing to push the ship away from them.
"Your flames… are still alive even in space, sister," Riley then whispered into his sister's ears, "I always knew you were special. You… could even breathe here."
"..." Hannah, however, remained unresponsive as her eyes completely turned white. She seemed to want to say something, but only murmurs and groans whispered from her lips.
"It's… only us now, sister."
The blue ice that Riley plucked out from Earth once again showed itself, this time, surrounding them like some sort of colossal ring; Riley could not really pull them close, as they would probably only melt… as even his skin was starting to crack.
And around them, was only silence.
But soon, Hannah's head started to move.
"I…" She whispered, "I…
…fucking hate you."
"...I know, sister," Riley, however, only tightened his embrace; even resting his face on Hannah's blazing shoulders.
"Why… why would you do all those things?" Hannah's voice was almost ethereal; fleeting but echoing. And soon, the flames that were drowning her body settled on a bluer color.
"I… honestly don't know, sister," Riley said as his suit completely melted away– his slowly charring skin, now reflecting the flames coming from Hannah's body.
"You… you're not going to be let off that easily."
But soon, the echoes became stutters,
"You… you're going to rot in prison for the things you've done," Hannah's white eyes then soon regained their colors, "You… don't deserve death, Riley."
"I never did, sister. That is probably why I was born the way I am. I was born to inflict suffering, and to suffer myself."
"...Why?" Hannah then finally pulled herself away from Riley; Riley, however, grabbed both her arms, not letting the two of them separate, "Let… let go."
"This is the only way, sister," Riley smiled, and once again– it was a smile that only Hannah has seen, "This has been the only way since we were children. Do you remember that, sister? When you shielded me when the water heater exploded."
"If… I knew what you will become, I wouldn't have saved you," Hannah still tried to pry Riley's arms away, but as she did so, the flames on her hands seemed to grow hotter; causing her to immediately let go.
"But you did," Riley then once again pulled himself closer to Hannah, "You… saved me."
"Let go."
"No," Riley shook his head as he once again rested his head on Hannah's shoulder, "This time… this time it's my turn to save you, Hannah."
"I said fucking let go!" And as Hannah's screams reverberated in the air, the color of her flames became purple.
"Hm," Riley took in a small but very deep breath as the cracks on his skin scattered almost like shattered ice.
"I fucking hate you, Riley! I hate you so fucking much! Let go! Let go, you fucker!"
"I am truly sorry that it had to be you, sister," Riley closed his eyes, "I'm sorry that I became your brother."
"I said, let go!" Hannah then once again pushed Riley away, this time, however… the shoulders she pushed instantly shattered into ash.
"...Eh?" Hannah's eyes turned wide as Riley slowly floated away from her; his arms, now separated from his torso. Riley, however, still had a smile on his face.
"Look at that, sister," Riley chuckled, "My arms aren't regenerating."
"No… no, no, no," Hannah's eyes looked everywhere, "You… you need to pay for your crimes in prison."
"There's nothing to pay, sister." Riley's dismembered arms then started to move, almost connecting themselves back to Riley's torso, but not quite, "I… enjoyed the things I did, putting me back in a cage is not going to change that."
Riley's hand then gently placed itself on Hannah's cheek, "I… also enjoyed the times I have spent with you in the Academy, sister. It was probably the longest time I've gone without thinking of killing anyone."
"Who… who am I even talking to right now?" Hannah's voice once again became stutters. In truth, there have been tears that have been wanting to come out from her eyes since earlier– but were not allowed to as they evaporate as soon as they emerge.
"You lied to me, Riley," Hannah muttered as she touched Riley's hand… only for it to completely shatter into ash, "I… I thought it was you and me against the world, Riley. I always thought that everyone… everyone would betray me. But not you…
…not my brother."
"..."
"But you… you've been lying from the start. I hate you, I fucking hate you for that. And dad knows? What… what's with that?"
"It's nobody's fault but mine," Riley sighed, "I had you, I had loving but very suspicious parents, I… had friends. If it were any other human, they would have flourished into the brother you deserve."
"Why… why did you have to come into our lives?"
"...You should probably ask Diana for–"
"Why would you do all of these things, Riley!?" Hannah screamed, "You should've just hidden it until the end. You should've just left quietly with Megawoman and we could have separated… we could have separated like normal siblings do. Not… not like this, this is fucked up. We should be crying, we should be reminiscing the stupid things we did… and then I wave goodbye for the last time!"
"But… aren't we doing that now, Hannah?"
"..."
The purple flames that once covered Hannah's body… slowly faded away. The heat, however, grew stronger even as the color disappeared– it was almost as if the space around Hannah started to distort.
"Please…" Hannah's voice once again became sedated; she tried flying away, but was unable to as there seemed to be an invisible arm embracing her, "We… we can go through this together, Riley."
"We are," Riley's breaths started to become heavy as his skin slowly started withering away, "And I'm sorry that we are."
"No…" Hannah gasped.
And very soon… a tear was able to survive as it floated between the two of them– not Hannah's…
…But Riley's.
"Oh," Riley hummed, "Look at that, sister."
"That… that's not fucking fair," Hannah covered her mouth as her eyes trailed towards the single tear; the pain on her face, now visible with the flames gone, "That's not fair."
"Thank you, Hannah," Riley then floated his other arm towards Hannah's face, covering her eyes, "Even through this, never once did you not call me your brother."
"B… because you are my brother," Hannah closed her eyes, refusing to look at Riley's hand that was withering away, "Please… please... No… oh god no…"
"Sister…" A whisper then floated through Hannah's ears,
"I… truly do wish I could have at least said I love you."
"No… no…" Hannah's eyes remained closed, "Let… let's just go, okay? I'll go with you and Megawoman. We can leave, we can just go. I'll… I'll go with you to make sure you wouldn't do stupid things, okay?"
"..."
"Riley, I'll go with…"
Hannah opened her eyes… but all that remained was darkness.
"Riley?" Hannah blinked a couple of times; the invisible embrace that wrapped around her arms, no longer there.
"...Riley?" Hannah flew away, her eyes, desperately trying to catch a white silhouette– the asteroids that dared blocked her path… instantly withering away.
"Riley!?" Hannah screamed. And very soon, the space that was distorting around Hannah also faded away.
"...Riley?" She whispered; the tears that she dearly wished for, now floating from her eyes.
"..."
And yet no one answered.
Chapter 308"We… We have just received fantastic news. Mega Woman… Mega Woman is…"
The cheers of the people filled the streets, their roars echoing throughout the world, their hope rippling through the skies. Every corner of the planet celebrated as they watched the revival of their savior, Earth's mightiest defender, through their screens and televisions.
Every media, every news outlet all repeated the same words over and over again-- "Mega Woman has returned."
"We… we have also received separate reports that the aliens are starting to leave with the emergence of Megawoman!"
"This… this is truly– what? She's going to make a statement?"
And with those words, the people all turned the volume of their screens to the highest level. Megawoman has never once, voluntarily called for something like this. And now, they were actually hearing her address all of them?
This was an event that none of them would miss. Those that were in the shelters, those that were in the hospitals, all gathered their strength to listen in on her words.
"Greetings, people of Earth."
Megawoman's voice resounded throughout the entire planet, partnered with nothing but silence as the people all watched through their screens. Megawoman… Megawoman truly has returned.
Some of the members of the Hope Guild were behind her, and also some other heroes that they only vaguely remember the name of. Soon, however, the screen displayed all their names.
Empress.
Butcher.
Tempo.
Hera.
Black Bell.
Hurricane Katrina.
And lastly, Megagirl and Monarch… tagged as Megawoman's children.
This was a revelation that none of them ever expected or anticipated, but still… their eyes were still glued to Megawoman and what she was about to say next. However, the next words that came out of Megawoman's mouth quickly caused everyone to gasp.
"...This will be the last time for a very long time that I will be addressing all of you," Megawoman breathed out as she stared at the only camera that was allowed to film this momentous event,
"Thank you… for letting me stay on your planet for this long. But due to the events that have occurred, with what the government has done to me. I am afraid I have overstayed my welcome."
"..." The people, even though they weren't in front of Megawoman, could only hold their breaths so as to not disturb or interrupt her.
"I will be leaving this planet soon."
And with those words… the world became filled with a gasp– a singular gasp by everyone all at the same time.
"But fear not, you have always been surrounded by people even more competent than I am," a small smile then appeared on Megawoman's face as she gestured towards Silvie and the others,
"I will leave you with the people that defeated Darkday."
"!!!"
"Yes, you heard that right. With my emergence, also came Darkday," Megawoman let out a small sigh as she shook her head,
"This time, our fight was taken to space. With Darkday ultimately being defeated by the children you see behind me."
"..." With Megawoman gesturing to them, Silvie and the other members of the Baby Crew all turned their heads down, almost refusing to face the camera.
"There's also another one of them who is currently recuperating right now," Megawoman nodded as she once again faced the camera, "Nuclear B– The Nuclear Seraph. The one to ultimately strike the last blow and kill Darkday once and for all."
Gary seemed to want to say something as he opened his mouth but just decided to keep his silence as he looked to the side once again.
"That is right, people of Earth…
…Darkday is no more."
Megawoman then closed her eyes as she looked towards the sky, "And I hope that you do not create another one…
…That's all I wanted to say, Empress will tell you what else you need to know."
And with those words, Megawoman flew away; bringing along with him Monarch, followed by the rest of the members of the Baby Crew as Empress stepped forward.
"In hope, there is sacrifice."-- were Empress's first words as she stood in front,
"...A lot of us, and a lot of you have died in these past few days. Protecting your loved ones, protecting strangers. Today, I can proudly say that we will move on, all of us… as heroes. But in hope, there is sacrifice…
…One of our own, Whiteking, also sacrificed his life to defeat Darkday."
The news of Megawoman's return, her departure… and now the death of the most inspirational superhero on the planet?
The people no longer knew whether to be happy or sad. The only thing they could really do was listen as Empress continued her story…
…A story of triumph and sacrifice.
It went on for almost an entire hour; detailed. But never once did the people not listen. They listened on until Empress's last sigh as they all left one by one.
And then, once again, silence. Silence as the world tried to accept all the things they have heard. But they will recover. That was, perhaps, the only thing they could do to repay all those who have sacrificed their lives for those who remained.
They will recover.
***
"Hannah… we'll be waiting for you outside when you're ready."
"Y… yeah, bruh. M… Megawoman even chose a badass name for you."
"I… think we should let the sister rest."
"I'll… I'll make us some coffee."
The members of the Baby Crew were now inside the Ross' residence, in front of Hannah's room. They waited there for an entire hour, but all they could hear was Hannah's somewhat heavy breaths.
Silvie, Katrina, and Bella all headed down; as for Gary, he entered Riley's room.
"So… this is his room?"
"Yes."
And Megawoman was there, standing right in the middle of the room; in her hand, was Riley's phone that contained all of her… unflattering photos.
"It's… crazy, huh, Megawoman?" Gary then let out a small chuckle as he sat on Riley's bed, "Who knew… who knew he was so close. I… honestly don't even know what to feel right now."
"Don't call me Megawoman."
"...Mom."
"Good," Megawoman scoffed, "Do… you want a hug from your mom?"
"..." Gary looked at Megawoman for a few seconds, before letting out a long, deep sigh… and shaking his head,
"Nah… I'm good. I don't want to miss it so much after you're gone. It's too late for… the mother-and-son act anyway," Gary then said as he started to step out of the room,
"So… what happens now? Bernard's locked up, Darkday's prisoners are missing, Tomoe's missing, and Hannah refuses to leave her fucking room. Everything is just…
…so fucked."
"You…" Megawoman also let out a sigh of her own as she glanced at her son, "...You just stick with each other."
"...Will we ever see each other again, mom?"
"You… will live a very long life," Megawoman nodded, "We will, I promise it."
"That's good," Gary smiled, "The next time you visit, I also promise not to let you work anymore so you could actually spend some time as a mother, you kinda failed at that."
"...I know."
"Well… goodbye–"
And before Gary could finish his words, he felt the warmth of her mother's embrace.
"Be… good to your friends, my son," Megawoman whispered.
"..." Gary rested his head on her mother's arms, before nodding his head and walking away… waving his hand as he did so, "See…
…see you again soon, mom."
***
"Is this all of them?"
"...One is missing."
"Who?"
"...Ms. Friday, she was taken by sir Diley a few days ago."
Somewhere in the Antarctic, more than a hundred people were lined up– all wearing thick fur jackets as they walked in a line. And in front of them, was Warden, watching each of them carefully with his eyes wide open.
"Some of them tried to escape when… the Boss' clones suddenly disappeared," he muttered as he turned his head towards the… dark silhouette behind him,
"But a majority of them stopped those who escaped, saying that it was a plan by the boss and they were putting everyone in danger for trying to escape."
"Can you isolate those who tried to escape?" The dark silhouette whispered.
"It… might take some time since we need to find a place to settle the guests," Warden slightly raised his voice as he couldn't hear much as the wind started becoming violent, "But… I think I memorize who they are."
"That's not a problem."
The silhouette then stepped forward, and as soon as it did so, the colossal glacier they were standing on began to tremble– and almost instantly, with just a snap… a palace of ice emerged from behind where the guests were standing.
"Do your job, Warden."
"Y… at… at once…" Warden was about to walk away, but turned his head towards the silhouette before he could even take a single step, "What… do we call you?"
"To…" The silhouette then raised the helmet that was resting on its hand, before carefully wearing it,
"No. You can address me…
…as Nightqueen."
And with those words, Tomoe Reynolds leaned back; a throne, instantly emerging from behind her as she sat down.
***
"He… I really can't feel him anymore."
"W… what? But… how… how is that possible?"
"I… I don't know, but the others… the others are also gone. I can't… I can't connect to them anymore."
In an abandoned building somewhere in the world, hiding in the shadows, were two people. One of them, covered from head to toe with a cloak– but even then, his slightest movements…
…revealed his pale white skin and hair.
"Could… could the Boss really have died? But then why…
…why am I still here?"
Chapter 309"Why… Why am I still here?"
A thud whispered in the abandoned building as Diley dropped to the floor, his knees, giving up on their own as he kneeled on the ground; his hands, trembling as he stared at them.
"I… I can't feel the Boss. I… can't feel anyone," Diley removed the hood of his cloak; his eyes that were trembling almost uncontrollably, now seen by Ellie, "I… I can't feel anyone."
"..." Ellie could only stare as Diley's breaths entered her ears; loud enough to echo throughout the entire floor.
Diley's eyes started looking everywhere, almost as if searching for something that wasn't there as he continued to whisper to himself.
"Boss… where are you? Boss!" Diley started to stutter as he crawled on the ground. Ellie moved to the side as Diley started crawling towards her, only for him to trip and fall face-first on the floor.
Diley, however, did not get up; his breaths, blowing away the dust collected on the floor, "No… no…"
"Diley, you–"
"Go away!"
Ellie quickly retracted her hand as Diley screamed.
"Just go away, leave!" Diley said as he struggled to get up, "You're free! Just go!"
"I–"
"Go!" Diley waved his hand, and as he did so, Ellie was blasted away; only for her to land softly near the doorway.
"..." Ellie stared at Diley for a few seconds as he groveled on the floor. She took a step forward… but that was it. After a few breaths, she turned around, glancing at Diley one last time before leaving the dimly lit room.
"Why… why didn't you take me with you, Boss?" Diley stood up; his breaths, still echoing through the room, "What… what am I even going to do here? I'm alone…
…I've never been alone."
Diley then turned his head towards the view of the horizon from the open window.
"Without you… I have no purpose," and with those words, Diley's erratic breaths started to calm down as the light moisture in his eyes faded away. And very slowly, he stepped towards the horizon– climbing over the window and jumping without any hesitation with his eyes closed.
"..."
"..."
"You stupid fucking idiot!"
"!!!"
Diley then opened his eyes; the sound of the wind blasting to his face quickly registering in his ears. He did not bother with that, however, as he turned his head towards the voice that seemed to be coming from above him.
"Ellie!?"
Only to see Ellie falling just a meter away from him.
"W–"
And before he could even say anything, Ellie grabbed his hand and tightly wrapped her arms around him.
"I can't fucking fly! Do something!"
"!!!"
Diley could only click his tongue as the two of them gently stopped in the air… only a foot away from hitting the ground.
"You stupid!"
Diley's back then fell to the ground as Ellie suddenly slapped his face and jumped down.
"...Why?"-- was the only word that Diley could utter as he looked at Ellie, whose silhouette was being lined up by the celestial lights.
"You think you could just go after locking me up for an entire year!?" Ellie then kicked Diley's stomach, causing him to slightly cough, "No, you're not allowed to do that!"
"You… should have just left," Diley let out a small sigh as he sat up, "You're free. It's over, Ellie."
"Damn right, it's over!" Ellie… also sat on the ground beside Diley, "I'm free… and you are too."
"Me?" Diley blinked a couple of times, "But I'm not human."
"You're more human than that boss of yours," Ellie rolled her eyes, "And if it was him, I would have gladly let him fall to his death… although he probably wouldn't even be hurt by that."
"But–"
"You're different from him, Diley," Ellie then slightly leaned her back on Diley's, "I know you are."
"I'm… free?" Diley doesn't really know what that meant. After all, for him, he wasn't a prisoner.
"Yes, you're free," Ellie then stood up, "Not free from me, of course. But free."
"...Stockholm syn–"
"It's not!" Ellie once again kicked Diley on the stomach, "From now on…
…I'm your boss."
"..."
"..."
"Pft."
"Stop! That was already cringe as it is!"
"Where… do we even go?"
"What do you mean where? I have a brother I haven't seen for a very long time."
"..."
"You're not going looking like that, though. We need to color your hair… and change your name."
"What's wrong with Diley?"
"How about that it's not actually a fucking name!?"
"...What about the Diley Lama?"
"That's the Dalai Lama, you stupid fucking… Agh! Just choose a name or I'll choose for you!"
"...Then choose. You're my boss, right?"
"That…"
"..."
"..."
"Then how about…"
***
"Where is Diana Ross, Bernard?"
"...I don't know."
"Are you trying to hide her? Did you know that she was an alien?"
"...No."
"Did you know that she was the one responsible for…"
"No."
"Were you, in any way, in cahoots…"
"No."
"Scarlet Mage is also missing, do you…"
"No."
"Okay, we'll take a break. Go rest up, man."
"..."
In a glass cage; a size large enough for a tall human to stand up, but not enough for one to fully lay down, Bernard was sitting inside; his arms and torso, bound by a straitjacket. His mouth, covered by a mask.
Tempo was looking straight at him from outside the cage, but Bernard could only see his own reflection. He was the one tasked to ask him questions as he and Bernard, apart from Empress, were the ones closest to each other.
…And that was apparent with the slight frown planted on his face. The only thing he could really do was let out a small but deep sigh, glancing at his friend one last time before leaving the room he was in.
And there, waiting outside, was Hera and Empress. They were in some sort of spacious and luxurious suite, with a living room large enough to be compared to a hotel's lobby.
They were in Hera's house– as their base was destroyed when Megawoman woke up.
"Anything?" Hera was the first to stand up from the sofa as she handed a bottle of alcohol to Tempo.
"..." Tempo only shook his head as he grabbed the bottle and immediately chugged it down.
"Shit… to think Darkday was actually this close," Hera then let out a breath as she let herself fall back on the sofa, "I knew there was something weird about that kid, and Bernard knew? Shit."
"...He told you."
"Hm?" Hera raised an eyebrow as she looked at Empress… who was for the first time, just wearing casual clothing– a dress printed with all sorts of flowers.
"Riley told you who he was," Empress then said as she also chugged a bottle of alcohol, "Remember the time with the homunculi and you lost a part of your memory? He told you. I know because he told me."
"...He did?" Hera blinked, and after a while, her eyes started to widen, "Oh fuck, he did."
"Convenient power you have there," Tempo chuckled, "If my body also adapted to any situation that would ensure my survival… I would also probably forget Darkday's identity… especially when he could kill me with a flick of his finger."
"...Well, I wouldn't have invited her if the only thing she could do was turn gray and muscular," Empress also let out a chuckle, causing Hera and Tempo to look at each other.
"...You okay, boss?" Tempo blinked a couple of times.
"I'm thinking of retiring," Empress then said with a smile on her face, "I'll… just join Bulwark in teaching the future generation. After all, who could be a better teacher than the greatest failure?"
"...You're not a failure," Hera frowned, "You just fell in love with the wrong fucking person."
"..."
"Ah, fuck," Hera then rolled her eyes, "We need another one to audition for Pharos, fuck!"
"...What about me?" Tempo stood up.
"Bitch, I haven't even seen your true face," Hera snarled, "And get rid of the fucking mustache, you can't even grow it properly."
"Well…"
"!!!"
Hera then suddenly leaned back as Tempo removed his helmet– revealing his slightly tan skin, black hair, blue eyes, and long eyelashes.
"You… were Mexican?" Hera gulped; her face, a little blush.
"I'm Filipino-American!"
"Pft," Empress could only shake her head as she stood up, leaving the two to discuss amongst themselves as she walked in front of the room where Bernard was being kept. She was about to open the door, but before her hand could reach the knob…
…she walked away.
She finally walked away.
"Hm…"
And all of these things… Megawoman could hear as her eyes reflected the big blue planet in front of her. She still had a lot of bridges connecting her to Earth, but the thing she wanted to find was not there.
She scoured the entire planet, but there was no longer even a single sign of Diana– No, of Caitlain.
Caitlain Ur, the most prominent scientist of Theran… and also its most wanted person, responsible for the genocide of 7 civilizations.
"Well then…"
The big blue reflecting on Aerith's eyes grew smaller and smaller as she floated away. And very soon, the Earth was a pebble.
"I figured this would be useful," Aerith then grabbed something from her skirt– a mobile phone,
"Well… when you wake up, anyway," she then said as she looked at… the white silhouette floating beside her,
"I apologize… Riley Ross," a smirk then appeared on Aerith's face as she grabbed Riley by the ankle,
"But this time, I'll be the one dragging you around…
…your retirement isn't over yet."
***Villain Retirement, Book 1: Darkday – END***
***
***
***
"Are you just going to mope here for the rest of your life!?"
"M... Ms. Charlotte, please don--"
The screams and shouts of the members of the Baby Crew filled the Ross' Residence with life. They were just previously chatting about what to do next and how to get Hannah out of her room...
...when Charlotte suddenly barged inside the house out of nowhere, rushing straight towards Hannah's room and kicking it down.
Hannah, who was curled in a ball on her bed, only glanced at Charlotte; and as she did so, the entire room started to distort as everything... just started to melt. They didn't burn away, but just melted.
"Go away," Hannah whispered.
"Fuck no," Charlotte, however, stepped forward even as her skin started to sizzle, "You guys...
...I'm gonna turn all of you into actual heroes."
***
A year later, Aerith was still floating in the expanse of space... still grabbing Riley by the ankles. Her eyes, slightly twitching.
"...We're lost, Riley," Aerith then breathed out as she let go of Riley's leg... causing him to float aimlessly,
"We're lost!"
"..." And very soon...
...Riley's fingers started to twitch.
***
***
***
***Villain Retirement, Book 2: Phoenix – START***
Chapter 310Extraterrestrial life. Aliens. Otherworldly beings.
Perhaps just a year ago, people would think it was ridiculous that there were so many out there. Of course, they knew there was life out there because their greatest defender was from another planet.
But that was it. There were billions of planets out there, and yet just a single one has shown itself for hundreds of years– some thought that was it.
Humans and Themarian.
It wasn't arrogance as much as it was fear to think they were the only ones. After all, maybe they got lucky that the first alien that visited their planet was friendly? There was no guarantee that the next ones would be as kind.
And they were right. Less than two years ago, 2 aliens invaded the Earth at the same time– almost laying waste to entire countries… but not even close to erasing human civilization. The reason?
Earth has superheroes. Super-powered individuals that did everything they could to ensure the safety of their people– even if it meant their lives extinguished.
It had been a long debate if superheroes were really necessary; a debate by the people, and a very long debate by its government.
But with the invasion, that discussion ended. If it were not for the superheroes, then the humans might have found themselves extinct; or worse, a slave to another civilization.
Superheroes are needed– almost the entire population is now in unison. United to the point that they voted a superhero as the new leader of the World Government.
The World Government. Now that the threat of extraterrestrial invaders was prevalent, it gained a whole different meaning– it became literal. Previously, its main purpose was to maintain peace and order all over the planet; as a war between supers would prove a threat to the entire population.
But now, its main purpose is to decide the actions of the entire planet… against their would-be invaders.
And the one standing on top of that was Adaeze Akuchi, also known as Empress when she was still an active superhero. One might think that the pressure of her work was now less than she was a superhero, but no.
Currently, right at this moment, her stress level was at its peak.
"Let me out there!"
"M… Madam, please, not again!"
Adaeze was currently being blocked by several guards. They were supers, of course; but still, the one in front of them was one of the strongest superheroes that ever walked the planet– so the only thing they could really do was plead for her not to go out there…
…and fight the alien invaders currently on their planet.
"Empress, there is no need for you to go out there. There is a 100% chance that the aliens would retreat even before they step a single foot or tentacle on the planet."
But finally, after a few more seconds of pleading, a bald man stepped inside the office; giving the guards the chance to let out their breaths.
"Leave us."
"Yes, sir!"
And with that, the guards quickly made their exit; leaving their chief to deal alone with Adaeze.
Butcher, aka, Butcher.
"You should really stop making it hard for the people serving under you, Empress."
"...I told you not to address me that way anymore," Adaeze also finally calmed down as she walked back to her desk.
"I am a creature of habit, Empress," Butcher only stood near the door, "I will only take a fraction of your time– the Baby Crew are the ones dealing with the invaders, so there should be no proble–"
"Connect me to them."
"I do not think that is nece–"
"Connect. Me. To. Them… Now!"
"..." Butcher only blinked a couple of times before finally walking to the desk, and pressing something on it that released some sort of keyboard… in which Butcher typed in something. And after a few seconds, a voice started to echo through the room.
[Ah, fuck! When will these motherfuckers just leave us alone!? If I wanted to be an astronaut, I would have actually studied like a normal person!]
[Focus, Monarch. Threat level is low, but them aliens could still do some damage to us if we careless. Remember what happened to the Crib last time?]
[Who the fuck cares. I'm just waiting for cultivators to invade us so I can come with them!]
[Really, ni– Monarch? You still thinking about–]
[Can that two of you please stop using the fucking comms? Fuck, just peace and quiet. Is that hard to understand?]
[The 8th formation of–]
[Gary, fuck! Stop!]
"..." Adaeze then slowly turned her eyes towards Butcher, whose head was slightly looking down to the floor.
"...86%," Butcher sighed.
"..." Adaeze stared at Butcher for a few seconds, before also letting out a sigh of her own, "Enough. I take it you didn't visit me just because of this?"
"Yes. It's regarding… Endless Dark."
"Them again?" Adaeze could only lean back on her seat, "Fucking Darkday worshippers. And what did they do now?"
"Their leader, Nightqueen. She…
…is amassing more and more members."
***
"...This ID has been expired almost a hundred rotations ago."
"I didn't really get the chance to renew it. Can you let us slide for now?"
In front of a certain gate somewhere, a brown, almost golden-haired woman was in the very front of a very long line. The people behind her seemed to whisper; the expressions on their faces, a little annoyed.
Although… it was quite hard to tell what they were really thinking since most of them did not look quite human. They resembled a human, yes– but some aspects were different, especially when comparing it to the golden-haired woman in front of the line.
"..." And in front of that woman, was a purple-skinned humanoid; 4 eyes, 4 arms– his ear on top of his head.
He was inside some sort of booth, covered by a glass that dimly reflected the green sky above them. There were 3 moons littering the green sky, different sizes and apart from each other. The land they stood on also looked like a desert– but not quite, as if one were to look closer, they would find there was no sand. The ground was just one big solid block.
Clearly, not somewhere on Earth.
"It says here that you are from… Protus? Never heard of that before." The purple-skinned humanoid closed 3 of his eyes as he looked closer at the card he was holding; taking glances at the golden-haired woman from time to time.
"It's… somewhere on the edge of the Sol sector," the woman said as she slightly looked to the side.
"Sol… sector?" The purple-skinned humanoid squinted his eyes as he looked the woman straight in the eyes, "Also haven't heard of that. Are you sure this is a legal ID? Do you have any other documents?"
"Listen, my companion and I have come a very long way and we–"
"...Companion?" The purple-skinned humanoid then quickly turned all of his eyes toward the cloaked individual that has been quietly standing beside the woman since the start,
"Does… this companion of yours have an ID?"
"No," the woman quickly blocked her companion from the purple-skinned humanoid's view, "He was only born like 18 years ago. Haven't managed to get him an ID yet."
"...Can you tell your companion to remove his robes?"
"How about you just let us pass?" The woman chuckled, "I don't remember Oria being this strict."
"Probably because the last time you've been here was a hundred rotations ago. I need an ID, or I will call for security and–"
And before the purple-skinned humanoid could finish his words… he suddenly began floating into the air. And it wasn't only him, all of the individuals that were lined up behind the woman also started floating in the air.
It lasted for a few seconds, before they all fell at the same time.
"By the four gods! Have they forgotten to charge the gravity–" And once again, before the purple-skinned humanoid could finish his words, he could not help but stop as the woman in front of her was nowhere to be seen anymore. Gone, along with her cloaked companion.
"W–" The purple skin was about to get out of his booth, but was not allowed to do so as the next one in the line stepped forward. And judging by the smoke coming out of its… nose, she wasn't going to wait any longer.
As for the woman and her cloaked companion, well… they were already on the other side of the gate– leaping over the colossal walls that guarded the streets they were now carefully walking on.
And like the individuals lined up outside the city, the people inside were… also diverse. They all did have one thing in common, all of them could be considered humanoids. Perhaps in the grand scheme of the universe, it was the form that was most suited for beings with intellect.
"I told you not to use your powers!"
"You did… mother."
And in these diverse groups of humanoids, the ones that looked closer to the humans of Earth were the woman and her cloaked companion.
"Then why did you use it!?"
"Because you were not handling the situation well," the cloaked individual finally removed the hood on his head, revealing a set of long white hair that almost reflected the green sky above them,
"I also want to rest, mother."
"...Are you sure you still don't have your memory back? I am starting to feel like you're just fooling me, Riley."
"No, mother," Riley shook his head as he looked straight into Aerith's eyes, "Besides the abilities I have…
…I don't remember anything."
Chapter 311A few weeks ago, in the vast and almost limitless expanse of space, a sound that should not exist was currently echoing through the darkness. One would think it was some sort of a siren, but no.
It was Aerith screaming in frustration.
She has been flying through space for almost an entire year now, without food; without water. Even for her, that was already stretching the limit. No, she knew she would survive… the one she had to worry about was the young man she was currently dragging.
Worry– that was something she thought she would never do or feel for this white-haired young man. But since she has been dragging him aimlessly for almost a year, she sort of feels responsible for his life now.
If only he was wearing his mask and Darkday outfit, then maybe Aerith wouldn't feel as much empathy towards Riley; but alas, seeing him sleeping and floating like this– the only thing she could really see was a child not even a percent of her age.
It's even a miracle he was still breathing… or that he was breathing at all– that was something he was not capable of last time they fought.
It was a year ago– when she rescued the almost unconscious Hannah who was floating in the expanse of space without any will to live. She didn't even talk or try to resist, Hannah just let herself be carried back to the ship.
But that was then that Aerith noticed something unnatural.
A speck of dust floating in space.
How was that unnatural, one might ask?
Because the dust started to multiply– almost like a million flies coalescing with each other; dancing, fluttering in ways that one could never imagine. They almost looked like ink, even. And very soon… a resemblance of a face started to be drawn from that ink.
"!!!" Aerith's eyes almost popped out from how wide they were during that time.
She saw it.
Riley Ross's resurrection.
And it was truly unnatural– even from all the years she had lived, she had never seen anyone or anything recover like that. His flesh wasn't just regenerating, no. It almost felt like the hand of god was sketching him right in front of her… out of nowhere.
And very soon, Riley's entire silhouette was there, right in front of her. She could see some burnt marks and some flesh completely torn away, but soon, those healed; not like a sketch this time, but it regenerated like normal.
"...What?" Aerith blurted out. She then turned her eyes towards Hannah; whose eyes were slightly open… but not really looking towards Riley. She didn't notice him?
"..." And as soon as Aerith realized that, she quickly turned around and slowly started flying away. This is for the best, she thought– the world should move on from Darkday and Riley Ross…
…and the world should also move on from Megawoman.
And that was the time she decided to truly leave Earth, bringing along Riley Ross with him.
But of course, all these memories and thoughts of a year ago were currently meaningless. Because as of days ago; she didn't want to admit it, but…
"...We're lost!"
Aerith's screams once again echoed throughout the expanse of space; causing a sort of ripple to blow away all the space dust surrounding them. It has been a few hundred years since she last navigated through the expanse, but she was confident that she still remembered all the paths she needed to take.
But alas, one should truly not underestimate the cosmos– because even someone as strong as her was just a microscopic speck in this almost endless darkness.
"Where are we going anyway?"
"!!!"
Aerith's screams abruptly stopped as words not from her suddenly entered her ears. She turned around, only to see Riley not floating still in front of her; albeit he was floating vertically opposite of her, naked.
"You… you're awake?" Aerith slightly contracted her muscles, waiting for Riley to attack her. But it did not happen, Riley just floated there staring at her for a few seconds before answering her question.
"I suppose. And I don't remember anything."
"...I didn't ask?" Aerith slightly squinted her eyes as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "Wait, what do you mean you don't remember anything?"
"I don't remember anything," Riley just repeated, before his eyes started to look everywhere. And after a few seconds, some of the space debris floating far away from them started to fly towards Riley– folding and crumpling as they wrapped around his body,
"You are clothed and I am not, so it didn't seem fair."
"You don't remember anything but you know how to use your powers?" Aerith's eyes squinted even further to the point that they were almost closed.
"Yes, very convenient," Riley nodded several times, "Come to think of it, I could have just taken off your clothes as well so that it would be fair."
"...For someone who has lost his memory, you seem to be very calm."
"People of my condition do not express emotions that well."
"...You're not lying, are you?"
"No," Riley shook his head, "I do not even remember my name, A– woman."
"A… woman?" Aerith slightly floated closer to Riley as her eyes remained planet on his, "You–"
But before she could finish her words, she noticed something. The things that were wrapped on Riley's body… were some sort of metal. And not just any metal, some even had letters inscribed onto them.
"Let's talk about this later…
…we're near!"
***
And so, back to the present.
Riley and Aerith were now in some sort of dining hall. The walls seemed to be made of metal, but at the same time, there were traces of something else on them; a texture and color similar to wood. Everything just looked like they were plastered carelessly, in a way.
The table they were sitting at was also the same, made with different kinds of materials seemingly compressed together.
"I know, it's a shit hole. But the food is nice, eat," Aerith could only let out a small sigh as she noticed Riley staring everywhere.
"...Can you tell me who I am again, mother?"
"..." Aerith could only stare at Riley with her mouth still open, spoon right in front of her lips. But after a few breaths, she just once again let out a sigh and drop her spoon,
"You're my son, Riley. We were traveling and you hit your head with an asteroid. You used to work… in law enforcement. You save a lot of people because that's your job and you never kill."
"...That's it?" Riley blinked a couple of times.
"I'll tell you more once we finish eating, so eat."
"And where are we?"
"..." Aerith was about to pick up her spoon again, but could only let out a small groan as she once again focused on Riley.
"We are in Hotis 4J, one of the thousands of landmarks in the cosmos. I suppose you could treat it as a pitstop of some sort," Aerith leaned back as she too, finally looked around,
"It wasn't like this hundreds of years ago. There were plants and stuff," Aerith sighed, "But I suppose it wasn't profitable enough to be taken care of. Now it seems to just be a stopover for vagrants."
"Hm…" Riley nodded as he started eating; but as soon as the tip of his tongue touched the food, he quickly retracted his head and placed the spoon back on the table,
"I think the taste of the food is most lacking in this place, mother. I am confident I could cook better if I have my tools."
"...I thought you didn't remember anything?"
"I remember that," Riley shrugged.
"Wait…" Aerith once again looked Riley straight in the eyes, "Are you sure you don't–"
"It's them!"
And before Aerith could finish her words, a familiar voice thundered throughout the entire dining hall. Everyone eating in the hall quickly turned their heads towards the noise, only to see the purple-skinned humanoid responsible for entry into the gates of the city, Ruman.
And behind Ruman, were several armored individuals– armored to the point that they almost looked like robots. But from all the species and races that were here, perhaps it wouldn't be farfetched to think they actually were.
And then, everyone then turned their heads towards where Ruman was pointing– all except two, because they were the ones being pointed at.
"Don't do anything rash," Aerith could only whisper as she stood up with both her arms in the air, "We don't want to attract any attention, just follow my lead."
"Okay, mother," Riley nodded as he too raised his hand in the air and slowly stood up.
"You two!" Ruman then stomped his way towards Aerith and Riley's table, "Arrest these two in violation of Code 522! You thought you could just enter the city!?"
"What is it saying, mother?" Riley could only glance at Aerith as he could not understand a word Ruman was saying.
"Just relax. They…
…are just taking us to our hotel."
***
"Quite a small hotel they have for us, mother. One might think we're in jail."
"..."
And so, Riley and Aerith were now inside some sort of… metal box. Perhaps that was really the only way to describe it. No windows, no furniture, not even a visible door.
"Well then," Riley then slowly sat on the floor… before proceeding to lay down, "Have a goodnight, mother. You need it more than me because you've been dragging me through space for an entire year now."
"Wait… how do you know that?"
"I've been awake the whole time, mother."
"Then why didn't you say anything!?"
"...Because I forgot how to do anything. I don't remember anything, mother."
"You--"
Suffice to say, Aerith was doing her best not to just burst through everything right now.
Chapter 312"We should just break out, mother."
"For the last time, Riley. We do not want to cause any scene."
"We will not, mother. There is no causing trouble if there is no one to be troubled."
"...What?"
"We kill everyone. It's alright, we can do it."
Aerith and Riley were still inside the metal box. They have probably been there for days, only being provided food from the little hole that opens at different parts of the wall from time to time. It was a good thing neither of the two needed to defecate or anything like that due to their body's abilities... because it seems like these aliens– these people would not be providing them a bucket.
Right now, however, Aerith was starting to wonder if she likes Riley more when he was silent. He had been insisting he had lost his memory since the moment he woke up, but by the way he was talking… it didn't really seem like it.
"Remember what I told you?" Aerith could only roll her eyes as she faced Riley, "You save lives, Riley, not take them. You were… planet Protus' greatest superhero."
"..." Riley squinted his eyes as he returned Aerith's gaze, "Then why did we leave this planet Protus, exactly?"
"B… because it blew up," Aerith stuttered as she quickly removed her eyes away from Riley.
"Then I didn't save anyone at all in the end. Did I, mother?"
"...They found a new planet to live in peacefully," Aerith once again turned her head, this time to the other side. Perhaps it was now safe to say–
Megawoman was extremely bad at lying.
It was a good thing that before Riley could ask any more questions, another hole opened on the wall of the metal box they were in. This time, however… the hole was almost the entire wall.
And from the opening, a familiar face showed himself.
"Let's start this over," it was Ruman, the purple-skinned humanoid that was stationed at the gate and the one that ultimately got them inside the metal box. And behind him, once again, were the guards that were fully clad in armor.
Riley tried to take a step forward when the guards started to surround them, but Aerith pulled him back before he could do anything. And as soon as the guards seemed to be in position, Ruman finally approached the two.
"We checked our database, there is no planet Protus," Ruman then placed some sort of sphere on the ground; but instead of rolling as expected, it suddenly opened up. Riley was once again about to step forward but was once again stopped by Aerith.
"It's just a map," Aerith whispered; and right after she did so, the entire metal box was filled with floating lights, almost as if they were surrounded by a hundred stars.
"We also can't find this Sol section you referred to," Ruman then said as he started waving his hand, causing the stars to slightly blur as they changed position, "We have also become aware that we have no record of you or your ship entering our atmosphere; add to that the expired ID you showed me earlier and entering the city without permission– we would have no choice but to float you if you don't cooperate."
"...Float us?" Aerith's eyebrows began to furrow, "That's quite a drastic response, don't you think? It wasn't like this 500 years ago."
"So you were alive 500 years ago?" Ruman squinted 4 of his eyes, "There are only about a dozen species in our records that are capable of living so long. I am afraid we're going to have to scan the two of you and check if we have you in the database."
"That's not necessary," Aerith finally stepped forward as she looked Ruman in the eyes, "We'll just be on our way, we just came here to rest for a bit. We're not going to cause trouble."
"Guards!"
And with Ruman raising his hand, the fully-armored guards that were quietly standing on the side all raised their weapons– a spear, similar to the weapons of the strogans that invaded the Earth, but smaller.
"You and your companion are clearly hiding something," Ruman breathed out, "But we'll find out soon enough what it is once we scan you."
"You don't want to do that," Aerith's voice no longer held any sort of softness in it as she looked at the guards.
"There's no use in–"
"Not for my sake, but for you and the other people living in this landmark."
"You… are threatening me?"
"I'm warning you," Aerith shook her head, "Why don't we all just calm down, I tell you who I am, you don't tell anyone, then we just leave. That would be the best course for everyone."
"..." Ruman once again squinted four of his eyes. They have the guards, and there truly was no way for these two individuals to escape. But still, they seemed too calm; especially the woman's companion. Was… he some kind of android or something?
Do they not understand their situation? Even if they managed to escape, there would be more than a hundred guards waiting outside.
"..." Ruman then once again looked at Aerith, before letting out a sigh and shaking his head, "This could have been solved without violence…
…Scan them. If they resist, you are authorized to use force."
Ruman then turned around as the guards slowly approached the two step by step; almost like a march as their feet drummed in the air. That drumming did not last long, however, as it was replaced by a whisper that made Ruman look back.
It was the woman's companion. He seemed to be saying something to him, but he was talking in a language that he couldn't understand.
"What… is he saying?" Ruman's four eyes looked back and forth between the guards and the woman's companion, "Is… he doing this?
"...You don't want to know what he is saying," Aerith could only roll her eyes as she once again grabbed Riley's arm and pulled him away. And so, once again, the two spoke in a language that Ruman has never heard before.
But that wasn't the most important part right now– the guards in the room have stopped moving. Even if they no longer had the proper budget to maintain the landmark, their security still received most of the city's income. Their armor should be capable of resisting any external forces up to a certain level.
Could it be…
"...Are the two of you from the Higher Races?"
"We're not," Aerith quickly stopped talking to Riley as she immediately faced Ruman, "We… we're from Proton."
"Protus," Ruman said.
"..." Aerith shut her mouth, and the two just stared at each other for a few seconds; until finally, Ruman breathed out almost to the point he emptied his lungs.
"The two of you are free to go," Ruman then said as he tapped the wall, which immediately slid open, "You should have just said you were from the Higher Races."
"...We're not," Aerith let out an awkward chuckle as she grabbed Riley's wrist and dragged him away, "But we are leaving."
"You can stay on the planet for a while," Ruman sighed, "But I am warning you, stay long and they are bound to find you. I understand the two of you probably got bored and all that and tried to run away, but Hotis 4J isn't some playground you two lovers could just waltz in."
"...We're not–"
"Yes, yes. Go," Ruman waved his hands, "You think the two of you are the first children from the Higher Race to try and hide here? Go, just go."
"..." Aerith almost choked in her own breath from being called a child. She… was here when Hotis 4J was still being developed. But Aerith didn't really say anything further as she just smiled and dragged Riley away.
And finally, as their silhouette disappeared, the guards were finally able to move.
"Tell your chief to prepare for some unnecessary trouble," Ruman then said as he also stepped out of the metal box, "We…
…have runaways from the Higher Races on the loose again."
***
"You're really bad at lying, mother."
"That makes two of us."
"Oh, I believe I am very good at lying, mother."
"Did you just admit that you didn't actually lose your memory?"
"No, I don't remember anything."
"..."
And so, once again, the two were walking through the streets of Hotis 4J. But judging by the fact that the guards were looking at them whenever they passed by, then they were surely being watched.
"...We can't stay here for long," Aerith then sighed, "We need to leave after a few days. I just need to sleep in a proper bed."
"The comfort of space is better than the comfort of a bed, mother. Trust me, you dragged me for almost an entire year and I didn't even feel uncomfortable once."
"I'll stick with the bed. I would also need to explain a lot of things to you if we're going to proceed with this little adventure of ours."
Aerith's numerous sighs were enough to leave a trail on the street. If it weren't for the busy market around them; the people haggling and shouting at each other, then her sighs would probably be the most prevalent thing in this city right now.
"If you told me I would be babysitting someone in space years ago, then I would probably just be laughi– Riley?"
Aerith turned around… and Riley was no longer following her. And so, once again, Aerith sighed. It wouldn't really be that hard to find Riley, maybe just a few seconds; but Aerith was sure, that by the time she does find him...
...something would have already happened.
"...I should've just stayed on Earth."
Chapter 313"The comfort of space is better than the comfort of a bed, mother. Trust me, you dragged me for almost an entire year and I didn't even feel uncomfortable once."
"I'll stick with the bed. I would also need to explain a lot of things to you if we're going to proceed with this little adventure of ours."
"We–"
Riley was just peacefully following behind Aerith as the two continued to walk through the streets of Hotis 4J, when suddenly, a group of aliens blocked his path. Although in a way, he should be the one considered an alien since he came from another planet.
But then again, almost everyone on the planet came from another planet… so who really was the alien then? Riley squinted his eyes at the thought, not even bothering or minding the group of… people that suddenly surrounded them.
Yes, people. It should be alright to address them like that from now on.
"..." Riley then finally turned his eyes towards the group that surrounded him. Red skin, purple skin, grey skin– such a diverse collection of skin colors. But other than that… They look quite similar to a human, except that they don't have ears and are taller than Riley by almost 2 feet.
Riley didn't really say anything, as they probably wouldn't understand him anyway– and he was right. The four started talking in a language that he once again doesn't understand, but judging by the intonations of their voice and the way they moved… they probably weren't up to any good.
"..." Riley then turned his attention towards the guards that were watching them, only to see one already approaching. But before the guard could take another step… he froze. And as soon as he did so, Riley turned his focus back to the 3 people surrounding him.
"Did you need something from me, people?" Riley then finally decided to talk, causing the group to instantly stop talking as they looked at each other. And after a few seconds, they suddenly burst out in laughter– or at least that was what it sounded like, it could be a totally different emotion as far as Riley knows.
Perhaps his language sounded funny to them? After all, Riley also thought that their language was weird; but didn't really mind it.
It probably took about a whole 5 seconds before the group stopped chuckling. And as soon as they did so, the one with the red skin placed his hand on Riley's shoulder.
"I do not appreciate being touched, red person," Riley then said as the hand of the red-skinned humanoid started to tremble as it very slowly lifted itself away from Riley's shoulder,
"I dislike it to the point that I might have to kill the three of you n–"
"T'rla kum an pras ta."
And before Riley could finish his words, Aerith suddenly appeared and grabbed the red-skinned humanoid by his wrist. She seemed to be saying something to them as the group started looking at each other again; this time, however, a slight discomfort could be seen showing on their face.
And not even 3 seconds after, the three started walking away.
"Did they need something from me, mother?"
"...They're just curious about what race you are," Aerith sighed as she held Riley's hand, "Let's go. We need a place to put our heads down."
"..." Riley looked at Aerith and his hand as she dragged him away; he didn't really say anything, however– even as she didn't even let go of his hand once until they were alone in a room.
It didn't even enter Aerith's mind to rent two rooms. After all, she needed Riley close to her at all times; and so, she settled on a room with two beds.
"This place really did turn for the worse," Aerith's sighs once again quickly filled the entire room as she allowed herself to fall on her bed. As for Riley, he just moved towards the window; looking and watching the people of Hotis 4J go about their days.
The people in Hotis 4J don't know it, but Riley might as well just be a nuclear bomb waiting to explode.
The incident at the gate.
Being thrown into jail.
Then being stopped by a group of aliens.
They haven't even been on the planet for that long, and any of those incidents had the chance of Riley running amok. There really was no way of knowing whether or not Riley would just suddenly end up killing the people here– after all, he killed for less.
No, he killed for fun.
Aerith doesn't know whether or not Riley was just pretending to lose his memory, but by the way he moved and talked… his urge to kill was still there.
…Was it really the right decision? Aerith thought as she turned her eyes towards Riley, whose eyes were reflecting the colorful streets.
Was it really the right decision to bring Riley with her? If it was true that he lost his memories, then Aerith could have just left him on some planet far away– he wouldn't be causing any more problems that way.
Well… that is until he recovers his memories. Riley mentioned that he could always find Earth since his clones were still there. Aerith couldn't really risk Darkday coming back to Earth again without her there.
And besides, with Earth being invaded– that would mean that sooner or later, the universe would know of the existence of Humans. It might be a year from now or a decade, but she might actually be able to see Empress and the others again once the planet is officially registered, and this time, on another planet.
"What are you thinking about, mother?"
"..." Aerith then quickly scooched back as Riley suddenly… sat on her bed, "What… are you doing here? You have a bed of your own."
"Is it bad for a son to want to sleep with her mother, mother?"
"It is when you phrase it like that," Aerith could only sigh as she sat up and just joined Riley,
"I'm just thinking of our next course of action."
"Have you told me why we're traveling around? The only thing you've told me is that the planet we used to live in exploded. Are we trying to find a new home, mother?"
"...Not exactly," Aerith could only let out a sigh as she hugged her legs, "We're here to find the one that destroyed it, Caitlin Ur."
"Revenge, mother?"
"No. Justice."
"And we will find her here?" Riley once again stood up and walked to the window.
"Probably not," Aerith shook her head as she was finally able to lay down again, "But if I was her, then I would also stop here to rest. But I don't really know what she's capable of now."
"The three men that surrounded me earlier…" Riley then muttered as he looked at Aerith, "What were they really saying?"
"They weren't men," Aerith chuckled, "Their females of the Nak'um race from planet Sranka. And as I said, they were curious as to what race you were… and if they could try to mate with you."
"Interesting," Riley breathed out, "And could I? Is it possible for us humans to mate with a different species?"
"Intergalactic racial couples are more common than you think. Some work, some do not," Aerith let out a small sigh as a smile slowly crawled on her face,
"And as cheesy as it may sound, love is a universal language, Riley. One that transcends everything else."
"..." Riley no longer talked to Aerith; taking one final glance of the outside before proceeding to lie down on his bed,
"I wish I could understand that, mother."
"...You will,"
Aerith turned her head towards Riley… towards the man that killed her husband. Granted, for someone of Aerith's lifespan, the moment she shared with Gary's father was but a blink of an eye… but she was happy.
And Riley took that away.
She was angry, of course; seething with rage, even. But Riley… Riley was created because of people like her. People that played god.
Of course, Aerith strived to be as far away from that– but with her strength, it was almost next to impossible.
But Caitlain Ur, Diana Ross… is a themarian fully capable of playing a literal god. She was, perhaps, the closest to being the most dangerous creature in the entire universe.
Wanted by her own people for committing genocide on 7 accounts.
One of them was the people of Protus. It's a real planet, or at least it was before Caitlain Ur got her hands on it. Now it's just a wasteland with no life capable of surviving there.
And if it was true that she was responsible for creating Riley– for creating Darkday… then that would mean she was planning something.
Darkday was, in a sense, a weapon capable of going toe-to-toe with themarians.
Most of the themarians already have a few screws loose in their heads, and are treated as one of the most dangerous races in the entire universe– but if anything else…
…themarians generally have compassion for beings weaker than they are. That is the only reason why they were not considered the most dangerous race.
But a race composed of people like Darkday? A race that smiles at the sight of blood and torture? It probably would be manageable if they were only of decent strength… but Riley was fully capable of dropping an entire moon on a planet.
The only reason he hasn't probably done it was because it would be no fun.
Caitlain Ur…
…must be stopped at all costs.
"Goodnight, mother."
"...Goodnight, Ri--"
Aerith could only abruptly stop her words. How could she not, when Riley was now suddenly lying beside her?
"Go...
...go back to your own bed!"
Chapter 314"Nothing, no signs of Caitlain anywhere. Either she hid her tracks well, or she didn't even bother stopping here… which is odd."
"Perhaps we should just leave, mother?"
"We're getting there. I just need to know where she might have gone."
5 Days. Aerith and Riley have been walking around the streets of Hotis 4J, asking everyone they could ask and anyone that seemed knowledgeable enough of the ins and outs of the small community.
But nothing. There is, of course, a very high chance that Caitlain was in disguise. In fact, Aerith doesn't really know what Caitlain truly looked like, even though they fought before. Caitlain had the tendency to change her looks impulsively and randomly, and she was able to do so with just a push of a button.
It wasn't an ability, but rather a technology she developed in Theran. It was a hologram that was able to fool even the senses of themarians– it produces scent, and gives the illusion of weight as well.
But since Caitlain had spent a couple of decades as Diana Ross, Aerith has a gut feeling that might be her true appearance. After all, it would have been impossible not to slip even once in front of her family.
Her… family.
"..." Aerith turned to look at Riley as the two once again started waking through the street. She wondered if Caitlain also learned to love her family like she did… or was it all just pretend like her holograms?
After all, it couldn't be a coincidence that the person that became her husband was the smartest person on the entire planet. It would have also been impossible for Bernard not to have noticed if Caitlain was in disguise.
Plus, it would have been really awkward to give birth to her daughter if she was still disguising herself; a doctor would have surely noticed something odd being that close.
Still… to think Caitlain would also have a family on Earth– that was something Aerith would have never thought of in a million years; that's why she didn't even bother suspecting anyone that was happily married with children in the first place.
…Happily married.
Was… Caitlain really just pretending? Probably so because she could just leave her family like that.
"..." But then again, Aerith wasn't really one to talk since she left Gary– but at the same time, Caitlain should have been closer to her family. Aerith… wasn't really present that much. But if she was, then Aerith was sure that she wouldn't even have thought of leaving Earth.
"..."
"..."
She made sure to scour the entire planet… but what if Caitlain didn't leave Earth at all? She was able to stay hidden from Aerith for hundreds of years, it would make sense for her to once again easily stay outside her radar.
With everything that's been going on and with Riley presumed dead, Aerith just assumed that she left Earth… but Riley wasn't Caitlain's only experiment on Earth.
There's still Hannah Ross.
If she really is Caitlain's daughter, she wouldn't just leave her behind– whether or not it was out of love or curiosity, it didn't matter. Even if it was a monster like Caitlain, she would've grown attached one way or the other… no, especially since it was Caitlain.
"I was thinking about this all wrong."
"Aeri– mother?" Riley, who was walking ahead, could not help but stop and glance at Aerith as she suddenly stopped walking.
"We… need to go back to Earth, Riley."
"...Earth?" Riley tilted his head as he approached Aerith, "Where's that?"
"I have months to explain to you," Aerith could only let out a sigh as she once again started dragging Riley by the wrist, "First, we need some supplies. I don't want to travel without bringing anything again. We also need to make sure we buy a Universal Compass so we wouldn't get lost again and…"
"..." Riley just let himself be dragged away; his eyes, not leaving Aerith's back even for a single second as she started moving through the market and moving from stall to stall. Even as the things Riley was carrying became a tower of crates, his eyes did not leave her for even a single second.
"That should be enough," Aerith squinted her eyes as she looked at the things she bought. They were enough to tower Riley many times over, but for some reason, her squinting eyes seem to be saying that it still wasn't enough.
But after almost an entire minute of just staring at the crates, she just shook her head and sighed, "Yeah, this should be enough. What about you, Riley? Fancy anything?"
"I only need you, Aerith," Riley said as he leaned out from behind the crates.
"...Thanks," Aerith only waved her hand and scoffed, "Well then…"
Aerith then turned around; her eyes, almost moving everywhere across the streets of Hotis 4J, "Hopefully, next time we come back here, it won't be as much of a dump…
…come on."
And with those words, Aerith's feet started to leave the ground. And as soon as they did so, most of the people around them started to let out a… universal gasp.
"I thought we shouldn't use–"
"Doesn't matter, we're leaving anyway."
And that gasp grew louder as Riley also started flying away, along with the multiple crates of supplies and necessities that Aerith bought.
Maybe if Riley just took a second to stray his eyes away from Aerith, then he would have noticed that a majority of the people below; no matter what race… were bowing to them.
"..."
"..."
"They left?" Outside the gates of the city of Hotis 4J, Ruman the Gatekeeper's sigh of relief was enough to travel through the end of the line. Finally, he thought– some good news.
[Yes, just now.]
Ruman could not help but stand up from his booth, causing the one in front of the line to slightly back away; its face, obviously afraid of Ruman's sudden action. The ones behind also started backing away– but to their surprise, Ruman didn't even look at them as he suddenly left his booth.
"Good. That's very good," Ruman then whispered as he placed his wrist near his mouth; his four eyes, almost glimmering as he nodded several times, "Contact the Bureau of the Higher Races. Tell them…
…we saw two of their children wandering around the city."
***
"...Where did you get the chair?"
"You're the one who bought it, Aerith."
"...I did?"
In the expanse of space, Aerith and Riley were once again traveling at an unknown speed; the small planet of Hotis 4J, already only a small dot behind them. Riley…
…Riley was currently seated on some sort of fancy chair; the metal crates of supplies Aerith bought, beneath his feet like some sort of platform.
"So… why are you using it? It's mine," Aerith furrowed her eyebrows, "I asked you if you wanted to buy anything and you said no."
"I'm your son, Aerith. What is yours is mine, no?"
"...You look like a villain in one of those comic books back on Earth," Aerith could only roll her eyes as she hastened her flight; surprisingly, Riley was able to keep up without a problem. Most probably because of the invisible 'wire' that Aerith could feel tugging on her ankles.
"Villains look cooler then?"
"...No," Aerith once again glanced at Riley, before letting out a small sigh as she looked at the apparatus attached to her wrist.
Things… just got a little complicated.
Last time, she took a year just to get to Hotis 4J because she took a wrong turn and got lost. But now that they have a viable map and knew which direction to go, the compass said it would only take them 3 months– even if they rested in between.
Aerith didn't really plan on coming back to Earth while the current generation still existed, especially not with their walking calamity following behind her…
…But Caitlain was a bigger threat. If left alone, Earth would surely share the same fate as the other 7 planets she destroyed.
"Riley… once we land on Earth," Aerith then stopped flying completely as she turned to face Riley, "I want you to remember that you don't kill."
"It is okay, mother. There are fates much worse than death– like being tortured until your dying breath."
"I mean it. You're not a villain, you're not a monster. Do not be what the universe has dictated you to be."
"And what am I in your eyes, Aerith?"
A lost child– was what Aerith wanted to say. But in the end, she just let out a sigh and continued flying away… because if she said it, she would be wrong.
Because right from the start, Riley always knew what he was and never once shied away from it. His purpose was clear because he was… created to be that way.
If anything, it was everyone else that was lost. She, Caitlain, Bernard, and all the people that surrounded Riley Ross as he grew up.
It was easy to blame Caitlain because she was responsible for creating a literal monster. But Bernard, the Hope Guild, and even her.
Everyone seemed to be so ashamed of what happened to Ms. Phoenix that never once did they try to reach out to Riley.
Empress told her that Riley could have been the best hero the world– no, the universe has ever known if only he was adopted by the right people, and Aerith couldn't agree more to that.
Maybe all of this was a second chance?
A second chance for the phoenix to rise again from the ashes in the form of Riley Ross, becoming the guardian that would protect Earth forever?
"..." Aerith then once again took another glance at Riley, only to see him staring at her with the edges of his mouth almost reaching from ear to ear.
"..."
Well… It could also be the rise of a phoenix that would scorch the entire universe.
Chapter 315"Describe them."
"They had 2 eyes, 2 arms, and standing on 2 legs– the golden ratio, sir. The male one has white skin and a long, straight white mane. The female one has a brown, somewhat golden mane, and skin that was similar to the An'tria desert."
"And they were here?"
"Yes, Messenger."
Ruman was currently a kilometer outside the only city of the micro planet, Hotis 4J. He was on top of a small mountain, kneeling as he seemed to be talking to someone; there was, however, no one in front of him.
And yet, a voice still reverberated through the air; enough to cause the lifeless planet to almost tremble.
"Tell me more about the female," the thunderous voice echoed.
"She said they were from a planet called Protus from the Sol System." Although there was a tremble in Ruman's voice, his words were as clear as they could be,
"She denied being from the Higher Races, but the reports said they flew away into space when they le– !!!"
Ruman could not help but take in a long and very deep breath as the green sky above him suddenly split open; he still did not dare to look, but the shadows that now filled the entire planet were enough to cause him to grovel on the ground.
He could also hear a crackle as the temperature within the entire planet rose.
"Protus? Is what you say true?"
And with those words, once again, the planet trembled. This time, Ruman looked up towards the sky,
"Yes, I dare not lie to you, Messenger," Ruman's shivering eyes now reflected the entity in which he exchanged words.
It was a face, almost covering the micro planet's entire sky. It's 6 eyes, only looking at Ruman.
"Protus has been torn asunder a few rotations ago," the Messenger uttered as its face finally slowly faded away from the sky; his voice, however, still echoed throughout the entire planet,
"The female you speak of may or may not be a themarian. It was wise for you not to anger them," the voice lingered as the face slowly turned into a cosmic silhouette; the sight, almost drowning,
"And you were also wise to report…"
And finally, after a few more seconds, the voice withered away with the wind as light once again showered the empty fields.
Hotis 4J was a micro planet, only capable of inhabiting a single massive center city. But still, for the Messenger's face to almost fill the entire sky of the planet– he knew it was real, but the size of the Messenger still baffled him to this day…
…and to think there were 5 of them that still exist to this day. Truly, a frightening existence.
Ruman was finally able to breathe as he let himself fall to the ground; his legs, shivering to the point that he was no longer able to use them. Each of his breaths was filled with fear.
This fear, however, was not solely focused on the Messenger, no.
A themarian? He was so close to almost offending a themarian.
Themarians, one of the Higher Races, are known for their generosity and empathy for the lower races– they were, however, not known for their mercy and patience. Offend them, and one might find yourself begging them for the lives of one's people.
Themarians are a race of sleeping warriors– one that you truly do not want to wake.
Even the Messenger left as soon as it found out that the two might be themarians.
Themarians were respected…
…but they were feared even more.
And right now, one of those themerians was having the hardest time of her life–
"No, no… They will recognize you even before you breathe out a word."
Hundreds of kilometers outside of Earth, Aerith was flying around in circles; almost like a moon as she orbited around Riley, whose white hair that now reached his elbows floated freely in space.
"I thought we were going to cut my hair, mother?" Riley rotated in place, his head, following Aerith as she circled around him continuously without pause for more than an hour now.
"I changed my mind," Aerith then said as she finally stopped; instead, she flew towards one of the metal crates, rummaging through the stuff inside for more than a minute before returning to Riley,
"Swallow this."
"Your hand?"
"No!" Aerith quickly grabbed Riley's hand, placing something on it.
Riley picked up the thing with his fingers– a pill.
"...Is this poison, mother?"
"Why would I try to poison you?" Aerith raised an eyebrow, "Just swa–"
"Okay," and without any more hesitation, Riley swallowed the pill before Aerith could even finish her words.
"...Oh."
And before any of them could start talking again, Riley could feel a sort of tingle suddenly surrounding his entire body– almost like a million needles lightly drowning him with their blunted tips.
"You poisoned me?"
"No," Aerith sighed as she gently grabbed strands of Riley's hair and placed them in front for Riley to see. And very slowly, Riley noticed that his white hair which reflected even the darkness… slowly started succumbing to that darkness.
"It's a pill that permanently changes the color of your hair."
"..." And as soon as Riley heard that, his eyes started to squint as he glared at Aerith.
"Don't worry, child," Aerith's sigh once again whispered into Riley's ears, "I bought another pill to turn them back to normal. Now the only problem is your skin."
Aerith also squinted her eyes, but for a different reason.
Riley's new hair may have somewhat made him slightly unrecognizable– but he was still quite noticeable due to the color of his skin.
"Why can't you grow a beard?" Aerith shook her head, "I suppose this will do for now. And finally, one last thing…"
Riley then watched as Aerith once again rummaged through one of the metal crates. If it wasn't for Riley keeping the things that were being removed from floating away, then there surely would be a lot of trash floating around the space by now.
"Found it!" Aerith then quickly disappeared from the metal crate, only to appear right in front of Riley with another object in her hand.
"...What's that?" Riley slightly floated back as she saw the thing in Aerith's hands.
"To complete your look," Aerith smiled, "Don't refuse, Riley. This…
…is all part of the plan."
***
The Hero Association Tower.
Previously directly owned by the World Government. But ever since Empress took the highest position, she ordered the creation of an entirely separate department– the DSA, Department of Super Affairs.
Most say it should have been built decades ago, but with the previous governments refusing to give supers a position of authority, even signed petitions were completely dismissed. But now with a Super as the World Government's leader, an official department was built with just a snap of a finger.
And thus, the Hero Association Tower was finally run by actual Supers.
And in front of that tower, was a girl whose eyes almost twinkled as she stared at the statue of Megawoman that gloriously sat on top of the Hero Association.
Paige Pearson.
Her eyes glimmered not only because it was Megawoman's statue– but because of the one that made it.
Riley Ross– one of the heroes that sacrificed himself in defeating the evilest supervillain of all time, Darkday.
She watched it all, Riley's exploits from the Mega Academy, his entry to the Hero Association… as well as his last appearance with the aliens.
It has been more than a year and a half since the First Invasion as well as the Departure of Megawoman, and things…
…Things have started to settle down.
The threat of aliens still existed, of course– but the world could barely feel it anymore because the heroes would make them retreat even before they step foot into their atmosphere.
And Paige… Paige wanted to be one of them.
"Here we go," Paige then lightly slapped her cheeks several times as she let out a deep breath. She was about to take her first step into the Tower…
"Excuse me."
But before she could do so, someone else stepped inside first which caused her to halt her steps.
It was a man.
His long black hair, softly waving with the wind as he entered the tower. It was hard to see his face since half of it was covered by a white mask, only allowing his dark eyes to be seen– but even then, one could not help but assume that what lies underneath was without a doubt a beauty.
His white mask that covered his nose and mouth was seemingly connected to the rest of his ivory outfit that finely wrapped around his sharp, lean muscular silhouette.
A white ninja– perhaps was the best description that Paige could think of as he watched the man disappear into the tower.
"W… wait!" And before the door could slide close, Paige finally recovered from her mild stupor as she caught up with the black-haired white ninja.
"Hm?" The man turned around, causing his long silky black hair to once again flow with the wind.
"Were we…" Paige then muttered as she looked at the man from head to toe, "Were we…
…required to bring our costu– I mean outfits?"
"No."
And with just a single word, the man once again turned around and walked away… once again causing his hair to flow with the wind. All the eyes inside the lobby, staring at him as he gloriously walked toward the receptionist.
There was one, however, who was trying her hardest not to laugh– Aerith.
"Pft."
After all, the black-haired white ninja was none other than Riley Ross.
Chapter 316"Pft."
In truth, even an hour before Riley stepped inside the Hero Association tower, Aerith was already seated inside the lobby. And as soon as Riley entered, she covered her face with a tablet so that people wouldn't notice the growing smile on her face.
Most people generally do not know what she looked like– and so, just a cap and sunglasses, and she was like everyone else. Riley, however, was completely different as an albino– they were even rarer than supers.
And so, Aerith came up with a plan; officially register Riley as a superhero.
In that way, even if he wore a mask outside 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no one would even bat an eye. They could have gone with an entire helmet that covered his entire head, but exposing his long black hair would be better– the farther he was from looking like Darkday, the better.
It was the best plan that Aerith came up with, 2nd was not allowing Riley to go outside.
Riley would probably follow Aerith's orders– but then again, locking Riley inside a room alone would most likely result in him losing his social skills; not really something she wanted from a murder machine.
And so, here they were– with Riley in full outfit as he walked towards the receptionist to register himself… while the others were just in their casual clothing. This was Aerith's first time in the Hero Association Tower, so she didn't really know how things were being processed…
…but to think the other people who came to register didn't wear their desired superhero outfits. Were they not interested in hiding their identities anymore?
Granted, the number of supers from when she arrived on Earth could not even be compared to their numbers now. As a matter of fact, she read somewhere that most of the babies being born are now more than likely to be a super.
If it continues like this… wouldn't humans be considered one of the Higher Races in the future?
As someone who protected them for hundreds of years, Aerith could not help but be worried, but at the same time… proud for some reason. The humans are not even known by the other races; Earth, not even registered in the Cosmic Codex.
Without a doubt, Caitlain's doing.
Just what exactly is she planning with Earth and its people?
"..." Aerith then shook her head. Now was not the right time to think of such things; because right now, she should be ready to leave with Riley in the blink of an eye if he does something… Riley.
And right now, Riley was just… in line, waiting for his turn to be assisted. And since he was the only one wearing a superhero outfit, he somewhat stood out. But still, the people didn't really bother him since most of them were used to seeing people in outfits.
Well, except for one.
"Where… did you have your costu– I mean outfit made?"
It was Paige, who was also in line directly behind Riley, "I still don't have any idea who to trust to make my costume, but I already have several designs and–"
"I apologize, were you talking to me, stranger?"
And finally, Riley turned around to talk to her.
"Y… yes, I was just asking where you got your outfit," Paige nodded; trying her best not to be lured by Riley's dark, almost intoxicating eyes.
"I got it from another planet," Riley answered without any hesitation.
"Just say you don't want to say it," Paige could only roll her eyes at Riley's answer; pouting for a few seconds… before once again trying to get Riley's attention,
"Come on, why don't you tell me? I… I'll say you referred me to them, maybe both of us can get a discount on repairs."
"I got it from another planet," Riley once again answered as he glanced back at Paige, "It will take half a year if you want something like mine just for the delivery."
"...Is it that hard to be friendly?" Paige crossed her arms, no longer bothering to talk to Riley anymore. Her eyes, however, started to twitch as she tried her best not to try and start a conversation again; her feet, also fidgeting as she wanted to do something.
If only she didn't use her phone to the point the battery died, she could be doing something right now. Who knew there would be a line just to register for the superhero test?
"..." Her eyes started looking around everywhere, trying to distract herself to prevent her from being agitated from doing nothing.
"..." Very soon, her fingers started fidgeting; her thumbs, scratching her palms as she softly bit her lip. But finally, before her lips began to chafe, her eyes found something to do.
"T… that's the Superhero Ranking!" She blurted out as she pointed toward the image being shown on the large screen behind the receptionist; she covered her mouth immediately, of course. But by then, everyone was already looking at her.
The awkwardness didn't last, however, as they all turned towards where she pointed to.
The Superhero Rankings-- An official list that was made by the Hero Association 3 months after the Departure of Megawoman.
It was a way to distract the people from all the stressful things that have been happening in the world lately. Empress was against the idea at first…
…but if the previous Government did something right, it was their way of fooling the masses that everything was alright. And with the threat of the alien invaders, as well as the rise in numbers of named supervillains– a much-needed distraction was required.
"Next."
The Superhero Ranking was similar to the Mega Academy's student rankings, it was highly dependent on one's popularity. And right now, the one seating at the top was none other than…
…Megagirl.
Publicly known to still be the best that the Mega Academy was able to produce. A spitting image of her mother, the greatest superhero the world has ever known, Megawoman.
She was previously a part of the up-and-coming superhero team, The Baby Crew-- but left months ago for reason unknown; leaving her brother, Monarch in the team.
"Next."
The second one on the list was also from Mega Academy, Golden Fox.
The third, also from the Mega Academy and Riley Ross's sister, Nuclear Seraph.
All women. Paige didn't go to Mega Academy, but still...
"So… so cool," Paige's eyes started to glisten as she looked at the list, "Someday… someday I will find myself on that list."
"Next! Miss, you're holding up the line!"
"But I don't even have a costume, maybe I should–"
"Excuse me, talkative stranger."
And before Paige could finish her words, Riley moved in front of her and blocked her view of the rankings.
"W… what!?" Paige took a few steps back as she could no longer prevent herself from staring at Riley's dark eyes, "I… I don't have a boyfriend yet, if that's what you wanted to ask. But, I don't really– wait, or are you telling me where you got your costume now? Then--"
"Ma'am! You're holding up the line."
"It's your turn," Riley said as he pointed at the receptionist before walking away.
Seeing this, Paige blinked a couple of times, before rushing towards the front of the receptionist and giving her several documents.
"S… Sorry, I… I was talking to someone."
"..." The receptionist only glared at her, before looking at all the documents she presented. From the outside, this might just look like a simple process– but in truth, the receptionist was actually the one to decide whether or not you're qualified to even take the test in the first place.
It was more meticulous now than when Riley previously took the test. First, they check your credentials, then psychological evaluation, until finally, the practical tests.
Riley was able to pass without any problems because Aerith knows a guy that knows a guy who can forge documents– only documents from Earth, that is.
And so, one might even say that this first step was the most important one. And right now…
"It… says here you are diagnosed with ADHD?"
"Y… yes?" Paige could not help but take in a gulp as she heard the receptionist's words.
"I see," the receptionist closed all of the documents as she handed them all back to Paige, "I'm sorry…
…but I can't allow you to take the test."
"...What?"
Chapter 317"It says here you're diagnosed with ADHD?"
"Y… yes?"
"I see. I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to take the test."
"...What?"
Silence. The lobby was filled with noise, but only the whistle of silence entered Paige's ears. She has dreamed of this moment ever since the establishment of the Tower 2 years ago… and yet now they were telling her that she couldn't even take the test?
"But… why?" Paige said as she scoured her documents before giving a paper to the receptionist, "I… I have the doctor's permission. I don't see why I'm not allowed to take the test?"
"Because you're not allowed."
"But–"
"Woman, you've been holding up the line!" And before Paige could say anything else, one of the people behind her on the line raised his voice.
"Don't be a Karen and just leave!"
"Please, just wait!" Paige turned around and screamed at the onlookers, "Just a minute!"
"Ma'am, I'm afraid I really can't let you take the test." The receptionist, however, remained adamant in her decision, "Next!"
"Wait, please– I have all you need, why aren't you letting me take the test!?" Paige moved to block the receptionist's view.
"Maybe because I just don't like you," the receptionist let out a small sigh as she shook her head.
"Is it because of my ADHD? Please, I have a letter saying I'm stable enough to take the test!" Paige did not let go, "R… Riley Ross was diagnosed as autistic and he was one of the best–"
"Those were simpler times. And you're not Riley Ross, are you?"
"That's–"
"Don't make me call security on you, ma'am."
"Please! I'm not going to leave, just give me the chance to take the test!" Paige almost hugged the counter as she pleaded, "Is… is it wrong for someone like me to want to help people!? I can go out there and be a hero, but then I'll be arrested since I don't have a license! Please!"
"..."
"It's not my fault we need a license to be a hero nowadays, so please!" Paige continued to beg.
Aerith, who was seated and relaxing in the lobby, was trying her best not to intervene. She thought that with Empress being the new leader of the World Government, things would at least change…
…but it would seem with everything that's been going on, superheroes were becoming more commercialized in a way. Empress might be planning something in the long run, but it shouldn't really matter to Aerith, at least not anymore. As far as the world was concerned, she was already lightyears away.
But still… maybe she should at least help the woman, she seemed sincere enough to–
"!!!"
And before Aerith could even do anything, she suddenly held her breath… as Riley suddenly returned to the receptionist.
"W… what are you doing, you idiot?" Aerith could not help but whisper.
"I think it would be in everyone's interest that Ms. Pearson takes the test, receptionist."
"Y… you…" Paige, who was still tightly hugging the counter, finally let go as she quickly composed herself.
"...And why is that?" The receptionist raised an eyebrow as she heard Riley's words.
"Because this is usually how villains are born, receptionist," Riley then confidently said as he nodded his head several times, "One of the villains in Italian Mafia Reborn became evil because he was rejected by the protagonist's team."
"...What?" Even Paige was a little confused.
"If you reject her now and she becomes a villain, then you would be responsible for creating a villain," Riley continued to nod as his long black silky hair flowed with his head,
"And as a receptionist of the Hero Association Tower…
…you might get fired."
And with those words, Riley left as quickly as he arrived– leaving not only the receptionist but even the ones in line speechless. For some reason… he sort of made sense.
As for Paige, she could only really look at Riley's back, before slowly turning her head towards the receptionist. And as soon as their eyes met, the receptionist let out a small sigh before handing her some sort of card.
"Don't lose that," the receptionist shook her head.
"This is…" Paige instinctively took the card.
"Your registration number, don't lose it. Next!"
"Y… yes!" Paige quickly walked away, afraid that the receptionist might take the number back. And immediately, her eyes darted throughout the lobby, trying to find Riley to say her thanks. And finally, after almost a minute of searching, she found him sitting on one of the chairs… beside a woman.
"Oh…" Paige's feet halted; her eyes, looking back and forth between the black-haired white ninja and the woman beside her. But after a few seconds, she approached anyway.
"T… thank you," she quickly said as she stood in front of Riley, "If… if it wasn't for you, then my dream of becoming a superhero would have probably ended there and then."
"I am only helping my fellow people in the spectrum, Ms. Pearson."
"Ri– Adam!" Aerith almost covered Riley's mouth,
"H… have you forgotten we're hiding your true identity?" She then whispered.
"..." Seeing this, Paige could only let out a subtle sigh as she slightly took a step back, "I… I'm not going to disturb you and your… girlfriend anymore. Thank you again, Adam."
"She's my mother," Riley breathed out. And as soon as he said that, Aerith almost slapped her own face. As for Paige, the edges of her lips slightly rose.
"I… I see," Paige stuttered, "If it's alright, can… can I sit with you guys?"
"No," Riley quickly answered.
"It's okay," Aerith chuckled as she slightly pricked Riley's leg, "Please, it's always nice to talk to future superheroes."
"Ah, thank you!" Paige smiled as she took a seat next to Riley; before her legs suddenly started fidgeting as she looked around,
"I'm actually a little nervous. I don't know if my powers are enough to pass."
"Why? What's your power?"
"Uhm… I'm a little shy," Paige scratched her cheek as she chuckled, but before Aerith could say anything else–
"I have the ability to turn my thoughts into reality."
Aerith almost choked in her own saliva as soon as she heard Paige's words. Even Riley, who was skimming on the tablet Aerith was using earlier, could not help but turn their attention toward her.
"..." Paige furrowed her eyebrows as she realized the two were suddenly staring at her; but after a few seconds, she widened her eyes and burst out in laughter,
"Oh, it's not like that," she chuckled, "I can only turn them into 3D images, like a hologram except… solid for me?"
"...Solid how?" Aerith asked.
"Only I can interact with them," Paige then opened up her palm; and as she did so, a sword suddenly appeared in the air,
"I can touch them," she said as she grabbed the sword,
"But that's just it," she then swung the sword towards the table, only for it to go through,
"I… I know, it looks cool. But they're not really that useful."
"That's actually a very powerful ability, Ms. Pearson," Riley then returned the tablet to Aerith as he stared at Paige from head to toe, "One of the most powerful I have seen. Have you ever killed anyone with it?"
"...What?" Paige blinked a couple of times, "...No. What?"
"You should–"
[Numbers 69 to 89, please go to the 12th floor for evaluation.]
"Ah, that's us!"
And thankfully for Aerith, before Riley could say anything else– their number was called. She could only let out a breath of relief as she watched Riley and Paige leave; still…
…she was starting to have doubts about whether or not they could continue with this plan.
Riley is just… too unpredictable.
She told him not to use his telekinesis and cloning powers-- whether or not Riley would follow suit, however, was another matter. Even when they were fighting, the only powers he actually used were those two plus his size-altering ability.
He said that he had around more or less a hundred, but he doesn't use them because all he really needs is his telekinesis... which Aerith couldn't really disagree with.
Aerith suggested him to just use super-strength and speed since he looked like some sort of sci-fi ninja with his new outfit, but Riley said that would be too boring.
...And that truly worries her.
All of these just so Riley would be allowed to wear a mask out in the public... was it really worth the risk?
Chapter 318"What are you going to do once you become a hero?"
"..."
Riley and Paige were currently in a room… along with 18 other registrants; seated in chairs and lined up in front of 3 people that served as their interviewers. Most of them thought that the psychological evaluation would be a 1-on-1 thing, but to think all 20 registrants were in the same room at once…
…this made those even with the most confidence slightly uncomfortable.
The rules were simple– answer the questions of the interviewers in 10 words or less. How they were going to be evaluated just with that, the registrants had no idea.
Riley and Paige were number 85 and 86 respectively, and right now, it was number 84 being asked a question; and like those who went before him, the drumming of his heart was loud enough to be heard in the room.
But finally, after a few more seconds, he took in a deep breath and answered,
"I… I will try to save everyone."
"Hm…" The three interviewers didn't even look at each other and just started writing and scribbling down on the notes in front of them– whether or not that was a sufficient answer, no one knows; after all, almost everyone said the same answer.
"No. 85, what are you going to do once you become a hero?" The interviewers then stopped writing as they looked at the only one that was wearing a superhero outfit among all the registrants.
"Help an old woman cross the road without her suffering."
Hearing Riley answer without any hesitation, causing the pens of the interviewers that were about to touch the paper to halt mid-air; their eyes, not leaving Riley even for a second.
"..." The other registrants also looked at each other, trying their best not to whisper as they heard Riley's answer. No. 85's answer was… oddly specific. But if one were to take a deep look at his words, it seemed quite… endearing, in a way.
The interviewers seem to also think the same as they nodded their heads and finally started writing on their paper with a slight smile on their faces.
"No. 86, What–"
"Y… Yes!"
And before the interviewers could repeat their question, Paige suddenly stood up from her seat; her body, almost as straight as a pillar.
"...You don't have to stand up."
"R… right," Paige's eyes almost widened as she quickly sat back down; almost tumbling as the chair slightly moved backward. Lucky for her, the chair suddenly moved back to its place for some reason.
"No. 86…"
"..." Paige was trying her best not to speak before the interviewers finished their question. They have been repeating the same question over and over again, so why did they have to repeat them each time?
"...What are you going to do once you become a hero?"
"I–"
Paige already had an answer in her mind. In fact, she was ready to answer. But as soon as she opened her mouth, it was as if her mind became a mess– with all sorts of thoughts not related to the test entering her mind.
"I… uhm…" Paige started fidgeting in her seat as she looked around; her foot, tapping the ground repeatedly as she searched for an answer, "W… wait, I…"
"..." The interviewers started squinting their eyes; watching as Paige started almost shivering in her seat.
"Someone had too much cocaine," someone then suddenly whispered from the registrants. But due to the room being the size and shape that it is, his whisper almost traveled to everyone's ears– garnering mixed reactions.
Most, however, were trying their best not to let out a snicker.
"N… no, I…" Paige started looking at everyone, once again scratching her palms.
"...If you don't have an answer we–"
"Sacrifice!" And before the interviewer could move on to the next registrant, Paige once again stood up from her seat,
"I will always put the people first, even if it means losing my life!"
"..." And with that answer, any noise or snickers that were coming from the other registrants completely dwindled away. None of them could really react; as from Paige's voice and expression, she… was dead serious.
"That's more than 10 words," said one of the interviewers, however.
"W… what? Then… then, uh…"
"It's fine, you may take your seat, No. 86."
"Y… Yes!"
Paige rested her back on her seat once again; her mind, however, was filled with all sorts of thoughts that made it hard to even hear anything anymore. All she could hear were whistles and her thoughts running wild.
This… was not good. It wasn't time for her to drink her meds yet. Or was it? What time is it, anyway? Could it be that she forgot to drink her meds? When is this going to be over? If she checks the clock or drinks her pills, would the interviewer notice?
"No. 86."
Wait, what if there was another question? They asked all of them together probably to save time, wouldn't that mean there were more questions? Wait, how would she even check the clock if her phone was already dead?
Numerous thoughts circled in Paige's mind; she tried closing her eyes, but it made the thoughts even worse.
"No. 86!"
"Yes!?" Paige then stood up; her eyes, however, quickly widened as she saw… the words and letters that were floating and circling around her head… as well as blue dancing pills.
"N… no," Paige waved them away, causing them to scatter throughout the room; with most of the people jumping out of their seats and evading. The only one that didn't move was Riley, who just let the pill fly through him.
"I… I'm sorry!"
"Drink your meds."
And as Paige was starting to panic, one of the interviewers stood up; getting a cup of water from the dispenser and handing it to Paige.
"T… thank you," Paige was trying her best not to let out a tear as she grabbed her pill box; immediately drinking her pills before running towards the garbage can and throwing the paper cup there.
"Thank you," she once again thanked the interviewer as they both returned to their seats. Turns out, however, she didn't need to as the evaluation was over with just a single question. The interviewers didn't even say anything else and just asked all of them to proceed to the next and final test– the practical exam.
It would seem she wouldn't know if she failed or not until everything was over. But she made a mess of herself and the other registrants… At this point, it would be a miracle if she passes the test.
Now that she was calming down, the only thing that was circling in her mind was regret.
This was supposed to be her big day. But alas, she ruined it. The only thing she could really do was follow the others to the last test.
The test was previously held on separate floors depending on what type of ability you have and was reliant on how strong one's ability was; but nowadays, that was proven ineffective. As in the real world, there were many factors that affect one's ability to be a hero or save people.
It absolutely didn't have anything to do with a certain contestant plucking out a huge chunk of the building and making a statue out of it as a display of his power.
Now, the registrants wouldn't actually know what the practical test was until they're on-site– it changes each time and is solely decided by the examiner to prevent the registrants from actually preparing for the test and doing better than they usually would if they were outside in the real world.
Of course, all of these didn't matter to Paige anymore as she was sure she would be failing based on the psychological evaluation alone. She caused a scene in the lobby, and she caused another one in the evaluation– she was done.
Maybe she should just overdose on her pills and get this over with. If she can't be a hero, then she might as well die so that she wouldn't be a burden to anyone and–
"No. 86!"
"Y… yes!?"
Paige's number was suddenly called, waking her up from the mild stupor that she once again found herself in.
"Go join No. 85 on the stage."
"Stage? What stage?"
Paige then looked around, only to see a large marble-like stage in front of her, with Riley already standing on it. She had no idea what was happening, but still, she stepped on the stage so as to not bother anyone anymore.
It was then, however, that she saw some of the registrants on stretchers or being tended to by medics.
"Adam… what's going on?" She then whispered as she stood close to Riley.
"The practical test, Ms. Pearson."
"Hm?" Paige then looked towards where Riley was pointing to, "Why… is a yoga ball on stage?"
"I'll explain the rules again!"
Paige then quickly looked towards the examiner, who was now standing on the stage with them,
"You need to keep the ball on your side of the stage for as long as possible," the examiner then walked towards the center of the stage, standing on top of a red line that separated the platform right in half,
"Once the ball passes on your side, time will start adding on your side. If the ball falls on your side, that would be a huge penalty on your time. You are allowed to be anywhere on the stage, you are allowed to fight your opponent for the ball. If, however, the ball explodes…
…both of you will fail the entire test."
Chapter 319"...I didn't understand anything."
Paige was now standing opposite Riley, with the yoga ball right between them at the very center of the stage.
"So… I just need to keep the ball on my side of the stage… but if it pops, we both fail?"
"Are the two of you ready?"
"W… wait!" Paige raised her hand as soon as the examiner approached, "The one that loses… will… will fail the test instantly?"
"...No, I already explained that earlier," the examiner could only let out a sigh as he approached the ball, "You're being evaluated based on your performance. The only guarantee of your failure is if the ball pops."
"Seems… simple enough," Paige took a small gulp, before finally staring at the opponent that was chosen for her. She didn't really know what to feel right now, as it was the black-haired white ninja who helped her proceed with the test in the first place… but now they had to fight.
Since winning or losing didn't matter, it shouldn't really be a problem… but seeing as how there were a few being tended to by the medics, some of the clashes became violent.
The only problem here was that her opponent knew what her power was, but she still had no idea what kind of super Riley was– the only thing he knows about him is his name, Adam and that he came here with his mother.
Why was she even thinking about that right now? Focus, Paige… Focus.
"Are the two of you ready?"
"Y… yes!" Paige nodded. And as she did so, Riley also nodded his head.
"Okay…
…you may begin!"
And as soon as the examiner waved his hand, Paige immediately leaped in the air; and on her back, two rockets instantly materialized out of nowhere. There was absolutely no sound at all; the blast from the rockets that would otherwise blow away all the dust or the examiner's hair didn't happen.
And without even a blink of an eye, Paige was already in front of the ball, hugging it as the rockets on her back turned into a pair of wings that suddenly bounced her back to her place. And once again, even though the span of the wings almost covered the entire width of the stage, not even a single gust of wind whispered in the air.
Even the examiner, who was too late to dodge the wings that suddenly emerged on the ring, was slightly surprised as the feathers just passed through him; not even blowing a single strand of his hair.
"I… I got it," Paige then turned her eyes towards Riley, only to see him not even moving from his spot. He wasn't really doing anything, but there were almost a million things that were circling in Paige's head as to what he could be doing.
But nonetheless, Paige slightly gritted her teeth as… a small castle blanketed her side of the ring; completely covering her from everyone's view; the only one that was able to see her was the examiner, who was inside the mini-castle with her.
The examiner, however, could not help but smile as he saw 12 other yoga balls that were completely identical to each other scattered in the castle.
The examiner then passed through the castle to see what Riley was doing, only to see him just standing there. He did say it didn't matter whether you win or not, but at this point, he wouldn't even be able to evaluate the black-haired white ninja since he hasn't even shown his power once.
He just stood there with his eyes closed, seemingly without a care in the world. Paige, who was looking through the window she made, could not help but furrow her eyebrows as she saw this.
"Are you… letting me win?" Paige whispered, "I… I don't need that, Adam. Please, you don't have to hold back just because–"
And before she could finish her words, Riley finally opened his eyes… which were now glowing in a white color. He then very slightly lifted both his arms to the side, and with the opening of his palms, came a flash.
A flash of light that caused almost everyone in the hall to close their eyes. But as soon as they were once again able to see, all of them found Riley suddenly holding swords in both of his hands– glowing the same way as his eyes.
"..." They then heard a sizzle whisper in the air, followed by a trail of smoke coming from the tip of Riley's swords as they touched the floor of the ring, completely shaving it off.
"Fuck… that's cool," Paige forced a chuckle as she removed all the windows in her castle. But as soon as she did so, however, the temperature behind her suddenly rose. She didn't even have to look back to know… that the white ninja was already behind her.
"Wh–"
"Push the ball to my side, or I am going to pop it, Ms. Pearson," Riley then whispered.
"W… what? Are you crazy!? Then both of us will fail!"
"I know, Ms. Pearson. But being a hero seems more important to you than me, I can always just stay locked up inside a room until my mother finishes whatever it is she is doing."
"...What? But–"
Paige was about to say something, but before she could do so, the castle was suddenly drowned in white; several blades of light, floating in front of all the yoga balls and were only feet away from puncturing them.
Paige could only bite her lip as she thought of ways to get out of her predicament. But alas, as soon as the blades moved an inch, she canceled all of the other yoga balls and removed the castle; leaving only one ball sitting on the ring again.
"Threats aren't a hero thing, you know," Paige then let out a sigh as she pushed the yoga ball towards Riley's side, "See? I told you my powers aren't anything special. Once anyone gets close to me that's it, I'm like woosh, dead. Well, I could probably escape by growing wings again, but you know what I mean? There's like this–"
"Ms. Pearson."
"Yes?"
"Push the ball to my side."
"...What do you mean? It's already on your si– What are you doing!?"
And before Paige could even finish her words, the light sword on Riley's hand floated in the air… and flew straight towards the yoga ball…
…completely melting and shaving off the ground; the yoga ball, however, was completely intact and didn't even move.
"...Fuck," Paige could only shake her head as the yoga ball slowly faded. And from behind her, another yoga ball appeared,
"Fuck!" Paige then kicked the yoga ball towards Riley's side of the ring; the frustration in her voice almost drowned the entire hall, "See!? Useless fucking power! How did you even know that I was hiding the original ball, like… are you also some kind of esper or something!?"
"No, I just heard it move," Riley said as he walked in front of Paige; looking at her straight in the eyes,
"Your powers are strong, Ms. Pearson. I would very much like to have it in the future."
"It would be stronger if I'm not the only one that could actually interact with it," Paige rolled her eyes as she sat on the floor and pouted, "It might as well just be illusions or something."
"Hm," Riley then turned towards the examiner, who quickly nodded as their eyes met. Even if the two continued to battle it out, the results were just going to be obvious. Paige could probably just fly in the air and carry the ball, but then again, the white ninja's powers were also long-ranged.
This match was over.
"Damn it!" Paige could only groan in frustration as she stepped out of the ring,
"I thought I was going to win for sure, ack!" She then started scratching her air; the words she uttered, now emerging from her mouth and scattering in the air. She didn't even notice the other registrants staring at her; some seemingly wanting to talk as they were awed by her performance.
But alas, she could not hear anything else but her thoughts. Well, all except for one voice, that is.
"Ms. Pearson, do you need to drink your medicine again?"
"...No."
The words floating around her instantly disappeared as she turned to look at Riley.
"Have you tried not drinking your medicine and letting your power run free, Ms. Pearson?"
"Pft," Paige almost burst out in laughter as she heard Riley's words, "The last time I tried that, I almost killed myself from all the suicidal thoughts popping out of my head, literally. Did you know, there was this one time that I summoned this huge boulder on top…"
And there she goes. Once again, Paige was stuck in her own world as she almost told her life story to Riley; not even bothering to watch the remaining registrants duke it out.
And finally, after everyone was done; they were asked to return to the lobby and wait for the results.
"...Good job, you two." And as soon as they were back, Aerith gave the two of them drinks. She didn't really want to eavesdrop… but she heard everything that happened during the test– after all, she wanted to make sure Riley wouldn't do anything… Riley.
She had no idea what sort of power Riley showed during the test, but seeing as no one was dead, then it should be fine.
"So, how is it?"
"The results will be announced in an hour, mother."
"W–" And before Aerith could say another word, her eyes widened as she immediately returned to her sofa and started hiding her face with her tablet. Paige wondered what was wrong with her, but before she could even ask– the lobby suddenly became noisier.
"Is… is it her!? Why is she here!?"
"Empress! Empress, we love you!"
And while everyone else was cheering, Aerith tried her best to stay incognito.
"What… is she even doing here?"
Chapter 320"What's wrong, mothe–"
"You don't know me!"
Riley was about to approach Aerith when she let herself sink onto the sofa; tilting her cap down and burying her face with her tablet, "Just get your card, and let's go."
"The results aren't going to be until–"
"Oh my god, it's Empress!"
Riley's words were instantly disrupted by Paige's almost deafening voice; even with all the people already screaming, her voice still stood above the rest as soon as she saw Empress walk into the tower.
"Adam, it's Empress!" She then glanced at Riley before running away, "Let's go! Maybe we could ask for a picture! Come on!"
"..." Riley also glanced at Paige as she left, before slowly turning his head towards Aerith… who was already shaking her head repeatedly; mouthing that he should just stay.
"What are you doing?"
Ever so slowly, however, Riley's feet moved. And with a small smile subtly growing on his face, he followed Paige. And as soon as he did so, the tablet that Aerith was holding cracked into pieces.
She was over a thousand years old– she literally calls one of the planet's oldest religious leaders a child. She was supposed to be the old wise wizard, and yet she finds herself almost acting not even a percent of her age when it comes to Riley.
Aerith then immediately grabbed one of the magazines that were lying on the table in front of her to once again hide her face. Even if she was already wearing a cap and sunglasses and would probably not be recognized by the masses, it was different with Empress.
She had been with her long enough that she would probably recognize her at first glance even with all of the things covering her head. She was about to take a glance at Riley and what he was doing, but before she could do so, something in the magazine distracted her.
It was an article. An article about Darkday…
…and how humanity needed him more than Megawoman.
"..." Aerith skimmed on the article to read what it says, but ultimately, it had a clear message.
Darkday showed humanity the true face of supers. The threat they bring to the world if they do not fall in line. While Megawoman made the world comfortable, making them completely reliant on superheroes and supers in general.
It also showed a statistic– the crimes relating to supers during Megawoman's absence; with even written interviews from villains saying they feared Darkday more, showing that the number of crimes was significantly lower when Darkday was just the big bad flying in the skies.
"..." Wasn't this also indirectly calling Megawoman a 'big bad'?
Aerith then looked at the name of the one who wrote the article, only for the writer to be anonymous. Of course, Aerith didn't really care much about how the people perceived her…
…but she could not help but feel that something was building up. Of course, this could just be nothing– but considering it was published in a popular magazine; perhaps someone was stirring something up?
She would have probably ignored it… but since it has a photo of Gary, as well as Silvie, who she announced in public was also her daughter since she was her clone– this was clearly targeting them.
Targeting the children of Megawoman, no. Targeting superheroes themselves… but why?
And before Aerith could speculate even more; she could no longer adjust her hearing as the screaming and cheering of the people became even more intense; almost to the point that it shook the entire tower. And with someone like Aerith, who could probably hear someone from the next city if she truly wanted to, this was a nightmare– and she was already wearing ear plugs.
This is all her disciple's fault. Why would Empress even come here despite her position in society? Pretty soon, however, her question was answered as Empress stepped onto the empty stage placed on the side of the lobby– no, she wasn't going to play the piano…
…but giving the license to the new heroes.
It made it extremely hard for Aerith to eavesdrop since everyone was talking at the same time; but if she was right, then the Tower has Empress as a guest right now– most probably to lure or give confidence to the aspiring heroes.
…But why now of all times? There were many other days of the week– heck, Aerith and Riley should have been gone for almost 2 years… and she does this now?
And considering the surprise of the people and even some of the staff, she doesn't do this regularly; it might even be her first time.
So why now… right when Aerith and Riley were here? And so, Aerith could do nothing but also stand up and join the crowd– after all, she would be more exposed sitting alone on a sofa while one of the greatest heroes stood on stage.
She made sure she was quite a distance away from both Empress and Riley, however. And speaking of which…
…Riley and Paige were right in front of the stage. Aerith specifically asked Riley not to stand out, and he seemed to be doing just the bare minimum of that. At this point, Aerith was truly wondering if Riley wasn't just messing with her. In fact, he even overheard her saying something related to his favorite cartoons earlier.
[Good afternoon, aspiring heroes– no, heroes.]
And before Aerith could speculate more, Empress finally started talking to the people.
[I wish I could stay here for a little bit more. But sadly, they need me up there.]
"..." She didn't even say something funny, but the people started chuckling.
[So let's be quick, I am sure most of you want to go home anyway.]
And without even any delay, Empress started calling those who passed the Superhero Test.
And the very first name she called…
[Paige, Class B!]
"T… that's me!" And without even waiting to be called, Paige leaped onto the stage– shaking Empress's hands repeatedly.
"C… congratulations," Empress didn't really retract her hand, only smiling at Paige as she handed her the license… Paige, however, suddenly embraced her.
"How!? How did I pass!? Thank you, thank you very much!" Paige then said as she started jumping up and down while still embracing Empress, almost hitting her chin several times with her forehead,
"I really thought I was going to fail. And I'm the first one being called? How is that even possible!? Do you know!?"
"...Just take the win," Empress could only shake her head and sigh as she finally gently pushed away Paige like she was a child, "I noticed you didn't choose a superhero name?"
"N… no, is that bad?" Paige quickly placed her license in her pocket in fear of Empress snatching it back, "I… I wanted to be like Riley Ross."
"..." And as soon as she heard Riley's name, a small gasp suddenly escaped her mouth. It was quiet, but everyone noticed it.
From the outside, it would have looked like it was a sudden pang of guilt. In the public's eyes– Riley, a young hero, sacrificed his life for the world; and Empress was there to witness it.
Just what kind of regret did she have in her eyes?-- were the people's thoughts.
In truth, however, Empress was just shocked to hear Riley's name. It was sort of a taboo in her inner circle to even utter his name– especially since she has been meeting with the Baby Crew a lot lately.
Megawoman, her, and the rest of who knew who Riley Ross truly was decided to keep it from the world that he was Darkday just for a single fact– to protect Hannah Ross.
"I… I see," Empress then finally nodded as she asked Paige to stand on the side of the stage. Paige immediately brought back her license again, looking at it with her eyes literally glimmering. She then turned her eyes towards Riley, waving the license at him and mouthing something.
[And for the next one…] Empress was finally able to continue announcing those who passed the tests,
[Paragon, also B-Class!]
And as soon as she said that, Paige stopped waving at Riley as she almost started to squeal. How could she not, when he was now making his way to the stage?
"I see you already expected to pass the test," Empress could not help but smile as soon as she saw Riley walk towards her, already in full outfit.
"Well, I did it once before, Miss Empress. It stands to reason I will do it again."
"...What?"
Aerith, who was focusing her ears on Riley and Empress, almost choked in her own breaths right there and then. That was it– that was all the Aerith needed to hear to know that Riley was just pretending that he lost his memories.
As for Empress, she could really only express her confusion as Paragon grabbed the license from her hand; joining Paige on the side without even saying another word.
She stood there for a couple of seconds in silence; Aerith, focusing on her heart to know what she was feeling. But considering the drumming of Empress's heart just seemed normal, it would seem she didn't notice anything… and was probably just weirded out.
And finally, after a few seconds, Empress once again turned towards the audience and…
[And that's it. The rest of you who failed, don't be disheartened– you can still take the test after a month.]
"What!? Only two passed!?"
"I could understand Paragon, but her!? She–"
And before the complaints of the other registrants became even louder, Empress stepped down the stage. Not even saying and only glaring at those that complained before gesturing to Paige and Riley to go down the stage and start signing some papers.
"..." Aerith was about to approach Riley and tell him to hurry up, but before she could do so…
…Empress walked in front of her.
Aerith quickly tilted her head down, making sure her cap was still covering her face; fortunately for her, due to Empress's height, that wasn't hard to do.
"E… Empress, such an honor," Aerith then cheered to blend in; making sure to increase the pitch of her voice to make her unrecognizable.
Unfortunately for her, Empress stopped to shake the hands of some of the people from the crowd.
"..." Why was she doing this now? Empress has never been the type to be seen in public. Did being in a position of power already changed her that much?
And very slowly, Aerith made an effort to gently back away– it was easy for someone like her, after all.
But alas, before she could even take a single step backward, Empress suddenly grabbed her hand.
"S… such an honor–" Aerith was going to repeat her words… but felt Empress's grip growing stronger by the moment. Aerith quickly turned her eyes towards Empress, only to see her smiling at her.
"You've never been one for disguises," Empress whispered,
"...And you're an even worse liar."
Chapter 321"Adam, what's wrong?"
"I am, Ms. Pearson."
"...Huh?"
The scratching of Paige's pen abruptly stopped as her eyes focused on Riley. The two were signing papers as the last step to them in becoming official superheroes. But as soon as Paige noticed that Riley… was not even looking at the paper even though he seemed to be signing without any problems, Paige could not help but be curious.
Paige then turned her eyes to where Riley was looking, only to see him looking at where his mother was previously at.
"She'll be fine," Paige then gently placed her hand on Riley's arm, and as soon as she did so, Riley finally moved his head and looked at her hand almost without any delay. His eyebrows became slightly tensed, but he did not really move away as he just looked at Paige.
"Please remove your hand, Ms. Pearson."
"R… right, sorry," Paige stuttered as she quickly returned to signing her papers, "I… I have problems with boundaries."
"I was told I have the same problem, Ms. Pearson," Riley only shook his head as he too continued signing the form, "I thought you were quite different from me since you seem quite friendly, but it would seem people in the spectrum are rarely different."
"I'm… not really in the spectrum," Paige blinked a couple of times, "...Wait, is ADHD considered– wait… You're on the spectrum, like Riley Ross!?"
"..." Riley looked at Paige for a few seconds, before proceeding to shake his head, "No, I lied."
"..." Paige squinted her eyes as she stared at Riley for a couple of seconds… before just shrugging her shoulders and finishing the form.
"And that's it. The two of you are officially superheroes now. There are a lot of rules that you need to take note of, but you can read and learn them as you go. Just don't cause any troubles…"
And right after they passed the form, the man processing them started talking and telling stories about the previous registrants that had their licenses revoked due to breaking the law. The process of getting a license may be simple, but the process of losing them was even simpler.
Break a single law, even as much as crossing the road improperly, then your license will be suspended and will immediately be sent into review for cancellation. They were, however, more lenient towards those that were Class-A; with Class-S even exempt in some laws.
"We did it," Paige then raised her license card in the air as they returned back to the lobby, "We're heroes, Adam."
"No, Ms. Pearson. We're not."
"What? What do you mean!? We're heroes now!"
"No," Riley shook his head, "A hero saves people. We have not yet saved people."
"...Shit," Paige then lowered her hands as she looked to the ground, "You're right…
…then let's immediately go out there and save some people!"
"W–"
"Follow me, Paragon! Together, we will be known…
…as PP, Paige and Paragon!"
"..."
"Or maybe… Double P? PPendables? P and P?" Paige then suddenly started talking to herself, "...Now that I am thinking about it, it doesn't sound too appealing, doesn't it?"
"PP sounds nice, Paige."
"No, it doesn't," Paige then started shaking her hair, "Doesn't matter. We can think about that later. For now, let's go save some people. Hurry up, Paragon!"
"..." Riley could only really watch as Paige suddenly ran away; glancing at him from time to time to see if he was following her. But as soon as Paige realized that he wasn't, she stopped and started waving at him.
As for Riley, he was busy trying to look for Aerith, only to find she was no longer in the lobby. Riley saw grabbing Aerith's hand earlier… could it be the two were together?
"..." Riley once again scanned the lobby, but as soon as he confirmed that Aerith truly was not there anymore… he shrugged his shoulders and finally followed Paige out of the tower.
As soon as he stepped out of the tower, however, he saw Paige being surrounded by several people; all flashing cameras at her– some handing her business cards. Riley was about to approach, but before he could do so, he suddenly also found himself surrounded by the media.
"We… we're suddenly famous, Paragon. Look… look how many superhero agencies want to meet me," Paige then showed the dozen business cards in her hands. They also tried handing cards to Riley, but he ignored all of them and just walked his way through the crowd; not even stopping for pictures.
Paige seemed to still want to stay but just followed Riley as she saw him leaving.
"W… where do we go?" Paige then said; the tremble of her voice clear for everyone to hear, "There are so many superheroes nowadays, but the people that need saving seem to remain the same for some reason. Do you think the villains are getting more active lately? I read in an article that–"
And before Paige could finish her words, Riley walked away.
"H… Hey! Where are you going!?" A random electric scooter suddenly appeared in front of Paige as she quickly made her way in front of Riley, "I thought we will be sticking to each other for a while!? P and P!"
"I don't remember agreeing on that, Paige."
"You said you liked the name, though," Paige squinted her eyes, "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Where are you going? I'll just tag along…
…I don't really have anywhere to go home to anyway."
"I don't know where I am going, Paige."
"...Are you just going to ignore the last part of my sentence?"
"Yes, Paige," Riley nodded as he started looking around. He was wearing a superhero outfit, but besides some curious glances and a snap here and there– no one really approached him. It would seem Aerith's plan of hiding his identity is working.
"A… anyway, we should leave this street first, it's so crowded. Ack, New York, this place gives me the heebie-jeebies."
Paige then clapped her hands, and as soon as she did so, the electric scooter suddenly… morphed into some sort of jet-ski… a floating jet-ski.
"Come on," Paige then said as she snuggled her buttocks on the seat, "You can't really ride it, but you can just grab onto me and we'll make it look like you are. Technically, you're riding me."
"..."
"Not in that sense, though. Please don't misunderstand. Although maybe along the way as we develop our friendship, we can arrange something to–"
"It's fine, Paige."
"What do you mean it's fine? If we walk, it'll be a while until we–"
And before Paige could finish her words, Riley's feet suddenly left the ground.
"Wait… wait… You can fly!?" Paige screamed, causing everyone that wasn't already staring at them to stare at them, "Why… why didn't you show that earlier? You might have been promoted to A-Class!"
"I didn't need to use it against you, Paige."
"...What? Wait, are you roasting me right now? It's not my fault that my abilities are mostly for show and–"
"It's not for show, Paige. I could think of a hundred different ways on how you can use it to kill people and torture people."
And with those words, Riley flew to the sky.
"W… wait!" Almost leaving Paige behind. But as soon as several rockets started appearing on her back, she was able to quickly follow behind Riley.
"Your ability truly is powerful, Paige."
"What was that!?" Paige could not help but scream as she couldn't even hear her own voice from the violent wind that was threatening to blow away their faces.
"Your ability truly is powerful, Paige," Riley repeated his words as he slowed down; the clouds around them, almost hiding Riley's ivory outfit; if it weren't for his dark eyes, eyebrows, and hair– then he would have definitely completely blended himself with the clouds.
"...It's just okay," Paige also did the same, ditching the rockets on her back, "It's actually quite ironic. If this ability was gifted to another person, then he or she would have definitely maximized it to its fullest potential. But no, it just had to be to a person with a condition like me."
"..."
"That's why when Riley Ross appeared, I somewhat felt empowered, you know," Paige sighed as she looked at the blue horizon, "He has autism, and yet he still had this sense of heroism to the point that he sacrificed his own life just to save other people."
"This… Riley Ross," Riley then let out a whisper as he too, looked towards the horizon, "I feel like the people didn't really understand him."
"That's most likely the case for people like us… Of course, one could argue that he won the gene and family lottery as well. Son of Ms. Phoenix, adopted by Whiteking," Paige once again sighed, "I would probably also turn into a great and kind hero if one of my parents is one of the greats… not to mention he has two."
"W–"
"You know… I was in a mental institute just years ago."
"I didn't really ask, Paige."
"It was hard," Paige seemed to completely ignore Riley's words as she continued to tell her story; her eyes, almost watering as a pair of napkins suddenly appeared in her hands, "My own parents…
…they thought I was crazy."
***Author Notes***
If you want to support me, you can do so on my P.A.T.R.E.O.N: romeru.
Would really appreciate any value! I might also start drawing the characters once a certain goal is met. Thank you very much for liking and reading my story, let's do this shit!
Chapter 32210 years ago, somewhere deep within the outskirts of a certain city in Alabama, an orphanage stood.
St. Clarisse Orphanage.
The orphanage seemed like any other establishment out there; built from an abandoned church, a nice front yard, gated for security, large grass spaces for the children to run across… bombarded with surveillance cameras that captured every angle.
But it was, however, not a typical orphanage. It had children abandoned by their parents, of course. But what set apart the orphanage from the rest of the orphanages in the state was that they specialize in children with… certain mental issues.
Most are in the spectrum; socialization disorders, attention deficit disorders, severe persistent depressive disorder, and many other different mental health issues.
The children, however, all have one thing in common– all of them have suicidal tendencies. Even those at the early age of 8 have tried to take their life once or twice. In short, the doctors, nurses, and all the staff of the establishment were on high alert 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
How could one so young think of such abhorrent thoughts? The doctors have answers, of course– and yet the people, as well as the local governments, do not listen. They didn't really think it was a real problem and the children would just end up growing out of it.
But how could they grow out of it when they lose the chance to grow at all?
One had to be willing to sacrifice their lives to work in such a place. One wrong move and a child's life would be at risk. That is why those who work in the orphanage do not work for money at all– they work to secure a beautiful life for the children.
But of course, sometimes, an adult's emotion would be triggered no matter how much patience they have.
And there was one orphan, in particular, that pushed the patience of all the staff in the establishment to their utmost limits.
Paige Pearson.
She was left in front of the doors of another orphanage when she was just months old; her birth certificate, oddly enough, was attached to her cradle. But at the age of 4, however, it was obvious that there was clearly something wrong with her and so she was transferred to an orphanage better suited to her needs– St. Clarisse Orphanage.
At first, she was just like any other troubled child– nothing the orphanage hasn't seen before with their litter of mentally challenged orphans. Everything changed, however, when she turned 6 years old.
She started talking to herself even more– almost to the point that she convinced herself that she was, indeed, truly talking to someone. It wasn't just a simple imaginary friend, no. The conversations she was having, the dilation of her eyes, her gestures– she truly believed that she was talking to someone.
There were also days that she would stay awake for 2 days since she couldn't handle just staying still and doing nothing. It came to the point that they had to dose her with a mild sedative to calm her down enough for her body to realize that it was tired.
The doctors don't know why– but that event seemed to have triggered something in Paige… because as soon as she woke up, they found her almost drowning in her own blood; her throat, slightly cut.
If they didn't have a super that was capable of healing wounds, then Paige would have died that morning. It was then that Paige was placed on the priority list. The weird thing was… was that they didn't find anything sharp inside the room.
Paige became calm after that– not even talking to herself anymore as she acted like any 6-year-old would. But then a month after…
…she jumped from the roof.
It was a miracle that she was even able to survive with only a few broken bones in her body. According to Paige, however, it wasn't a miracle– she has wings, she said. She even showed her back to the doctors… but there was nothing there.
They later found out that Paige gained access to the television, watching a show with angels and all that stuff.
Paige's attempt on her own life didn't end there– almost weekly, they would find her lying in the hospital with wounds that would probably already kill normal children. And yet, she survives.
But the orphanage had enough, and they finally decided to place her in solitary confinement for her own good– strapped in a straitjacket inside a room surrounded by nothing but foam.
Of course, Paige didn't like this at all as she started screaming and flailing around.
Why would they do this to her? She roared. She had been telling all of them that she has wings, that she had a friend that was saving her… that she was able to draw in the air.
The doctors hated seeing a child this young like this… but it was their duty to keep them safe from others and from themselves.
To their surprise, however…
…they found Paige once again drowned in her own blood the next morning– with several… lacerations all around her body almost as if someone sawed her. The weird thing was, however… was that the straitjacket was completely intact.
And of course, her wounds were once again healed by the doctors. And this time, they decided to finally listen to Paige. After all, with everything that has happened to her– there was a large chance that she could actually be a super.
That was when she told the doctors that she had a fight with her friend… causing her to get one of the scalpels and started stabbing Paige with it.
They've reviewed the CCTV… and there was no one who checked her room that night…
…even once.
"Your friend…" One of the doctors then flashed a light on Paige's eyes as they continued to examine her, "...where is she right now?"
"She… she is there, mister," Paige's irises adjusted as she looked to the side of the doctor, "She… doesn't seem to like it when you do this."
"..." The doctor looked to his side… but there was nothing there. He then looked at the other doctors and nurses, before nodding his head and returning to Paige.
"And what is your friend doing right now?"
"She… she's holding one of those sharp things again with the teeth," Paige took in a small gulp; her eyes, seemingly avoiding this so-called friend of hers, "I… I don't know why she's mad. We… we used to be very happy."
"This friend of yours… can you tell us what she looks like?"
"Y… yes," Paige nodded, "She… has v… very blue eyes, her hair is similar to Mr. Puppies."
"Red hair?"
"Hm," Paige nodded several times, "She also has marks on her face… like dots."
"Freckles?"
"Yes! You… you can see her!?"
"Paige… that's you,"
The doctor then slightly leaned back as he looked at Paige; his wheeled swivel chair, creaking as he did so, "You… just described yourself."
"...No? I– Mr. Doctor, look out!"
And all of a sudden, Paige suddenly leaped from the bed, pushing the doctor away.
The nurses were about to sedate her… but they suddenly notice blood on her gown; and very slowly, building up on her back.
"Quick, bring her back to the bed!" The staff immediately rush to carry Paige and turn her around… only for them to see a huge gash on her back.
"What… what happened, Paige!?" The doctor said as he quickly started healing her back.
"It… it's my friend. She… she tried to hit you," Paige started to cry, "I'm sorry… I'm really sorry… because of me, you–"
"Where is she!? Where is she right now!?"
"T… there," Paige then slowly pointed towards the corner of the room. Everyone looked…
…and there, they finally saw a girl.
Most of the staff gasped and took a step back– how could they not, when a girl completely identical to Paige was staring at them holding a saw?
"Please… please enough!" Paige screamed, "Please don't hurt them!"
"Die!" And as soon as Paige's words stopped, the girl suddenly rushed towards them, waving the saw everywhere. Everyone ran away as soon as they saw that– everyone except the doctor who immediately shielded Paige as the saw was about to swing onto her.
He gritted his teeth for the incoming pain… but it never came. Instead, the jagged blade passed right through him like a hologram and went straight to Paige's arm– almost cutting it to the bone.
"..." The doctor's eyes widened as he saw this– his stupor, however, did not last long as he immediately rushed to grab a sedative and proceeded to put Paige under.
And as soon as she lost consciousness…
…so did the girl disappear.
***
"And that's basically it. I never really learned how to fully control my powers since, well… If I miss my meds for a few days, she comes out to kill me."
"Interesting story, Paige. You should tell that to the Pope, maybe he could help you."
"...What? Wait, no… This isn't 'The Exorcist', Adam. I'm not possessed!"
Back in the present time, Riley and Paige were currently on top of a building; sitting comfortably as a campfire was between them as Paige's story took almost half a day to tell from all the details she added.
The fire, however, was only something Paige could feel.
"I did not say you were, Paige," Riley shook his head; sighing as he stood up, "The Pope has a liking for good stories. Let's go visit him now and–"
And before Riley could finish his words, a small thunder erupted in the air… followed by a scream for help.
"Civilian in distress!" Paige also stood up as she looked in the direction of the noise, "Finally… well, not finally but more like unfortunately… but finally…
…It's time to save some people!"
Chapter 323"H… Help me!"
The loud crackle that echoed throughout the street; the shards flying everywhere, as well as the screams of the people was a scene that should not be happening often… but it is. Once again, chaos surrounded the streets.
"You shouldn't have resisted! All I wanted was your money!"
Supervillains.
In an ironic twist, they became completely dormant after Megawoman's defeat from Darkday. The people do not really know the reason why, but they were sure that it had something to do with fear. Darkday did not differentiate between heroes and villains– he kills anyone who even breathes his way.
And oddly enough, most of the people that tried to approach him during his rampage were villains. Villains that wanted to join forces with him… but alas, those villains either go missing, or their bodies would be displayed mangled on live television after trying to make contact with Darkday.
One would think that there were too many superheroes appearing due to the Hero Association. But now, almost 2 years after Darkday's death and Megawoman's departure– crimes done by supervillains were at an all-time high. Partnering with the alien invaders that probably visit every month, the Hero Association truly had their hands full; that was the reason why the tests of the association were fairly simple and quick in the first place.
The people were now dealing with threats above and below, quite literally.
And right now, a villain was wreaking havoc in the streets.
"Please… please just take it!"
"I already have it!"
It was a supervillain named Matchstick. He had the ability to cause an explosion every time he rubs his palm on something– and according to men, it wasn't a surprise that he became a villain due to his powers.
"Look, I don't want to hurt you, woman. But next time, don't get in the way of a super!" Matchstick stomped his way towards the owner of the shop that he just blew up. The woman crawled backwards in fear, causing her to tumble towards the road.
"W… w… wait, wait!" Matchstick stretched his hand towards the woman as she tumbled towards the road, but retracted his hand at the very last second as… well, the woman's hand would've been blown off.
But alas, in doing so… the woman got smashed and squished by the tires of a truck.
"...Fuck me," Matchstick could not help but let out a deep breath as the woman's insides littered the ground. The people that were watching the scenario on the side, also held their breaths as some of them focused their phones on the accident.
Matchstick stared at the blood scraped on the road for a few more seconds, before proceeding to run away. But before he could even take 3 steps, he suddenly found himself surrounded by several people in SWAT uniforms– their guns already pointed at his head judging from all the red dots resting all over it.
"What the fuck…" Matchstick quickly raised both his hands in the air, dropping his bags filled with cash and jewelry, "Where the fuck did you guys come from!?"
"Put your hands behind your head and drop to the ground, now!"
"W–"
"I will not repeat myself, down now!"
Matchstick could only grit his teeth as one of the female SWAT members slowly approached him. He wanted to resist, but as soon as he heard the female SWAT turning her safety off, he very slowly dropped to the ground.
"I… I can't put my hands behind my head, I'll die!" Matchstick said as he lay on his stomach; his arms stretched to the side with his palms facing the sky.
"Then just stay there!" The policewoman then stood on top of Matchstick, pinning his left arm with her knee, while carefully folding his right arm so the back of his hand rested on his buttocks,
"Fuck… now what do I do?"
"...What?" Matchstick then turned his head towards the policewoman, only to see her… no longer in a SWAT uniform. He then looked at the other SWAT team members… only to see just civilians surrounding them,
"Wait… what?" Matchstick looked back and forth; completely confused as to what just happened.
"Paragon, where are you!? A little help here!?"
"D… don't tell me… You're a hero!?" Matchstick wanted to struggle, but could not do so as Paige suddenly grabbed his wrist and faced it towards his head.
"Yup," Paige then nodded as a cheeky smile appeared on her face, "We're the new superhero duo, Paige and Paragon!"
And with her words, the people that were watching on the side started cheering and clapping. They have absolutely no idea who Paige and Paragon were, but it was always nice to see villains being owned.
But the unfamiliar superhero said Paige and Paragon… so where exactly is this Parago–
And before they could even finish their thoughts, they heard a sort of whistle– followed by a loud explosion that caused the air itself to tremble. Everyone turned their heads towards the sound of the noise; even Matchstick, who could have used this commotion to run away, could not help but be distracted.
How could he not, when the truck that ran over the woman earlier was now in pieces, burning?
Very slowly, however, a silhouette came out of the fire– his long black hair, seemingly unaffected by the dancing flames; his ivory outfit, untainted even with all the smoke.
And this almost immaculate silhouette… was currently dragging a man by the neck as he slowly made his way; his other hand, a sort of sword made of light.
"Is… is that Paragon?" Matchstick could only take in a small gulp as he watched as the flames flickered behind the superhero called Paragon.
"Y… yeah," Paige also took in a small gulp as he looked at Riley walking towards them; the flames, flickering behind him as he did so, "Shit, he's so cool."
Matchstick was still previously trying to find a way to escape, but seeing this Paragon– any thoughts of running away disappeared from his mind.
"But…" Paige then squinted her eyes as she looked at the burning truck, as well as the man that Riley was dragging,
"...Why did you do that, Paragon!?"
"Because this man is a villain, Paige."
The crowd then all made way for Riley as he threw the driver of the truck onto the sidewalk, "He ran over a woman with the truck he was driving."
"T… that was an accident!" The truck driver quickly sat up,
"She… she suddenly jumped on the road. These… these people saw it!" He then said as he pointed at the crowd that had their phones up, recording the whole situation.
"No," Riley shook his head as the glowing sword in his hand disappeared, "There weren't any vehicles near you. It probably wouldn't have made any difference if you stepped on the brakes, but you could have steered to the side, truck driver."
"What!? I… I just told you, she suddenly–"
"You had exactly 5 seconds to move to another lane. The woman's death could have been prevented, truck driver," Riley once again shook his head as he grabbed something from his waist– handcuffs, except thicker.
"Restrain your villain, Paige," Riley then gave the handcuffs to Paige, but she refused.
"I… can't. This man has the power to create explosions when his hand palms make contact with anything," Paige sighed, "I… I guess I can't really complain about my abilities that much."
"Matchstick, my name is Matchstick!"
"Anyway…" Paige completely ignored Matchstick as she looked at Riley, "...I think there's a team that should be arriving soon to handle– !!!"
And before Paige could finish her words, she could not help but suddenly jump back… as Riley suddenly sliced off both of Matchstick's hands. There was no blood, however, as the wounds quickly closed due to the heat of his lightsword.
Even the crowd that was watching gasped as they took a few steps back. The truck driver, who still wanted to prove his innocence, completely shut his mouth.
But perhaps the most silent of all of them, was Matchstick as he stared at his now handless arms.
"W… what?" The pain wasn't registering in his mind just yet as he slowly turned his head towards Riley, "What… did you do?"
"I removed your hands, Matchstick."
"What did you do!?" Matchstick roared as he stood up from the ground and rushed towards Riley… who slapped him on the face as soon as he got near, causing him to roll on the ground several times.
"P… Paragon!?" Paige ran to check on Matchstick, only to see him completely knocked out, but still very much alive.
"My job is to remove supervillains, Matchstick," Riley approached the unconscious Matchstick, "And I removed what made you a supervillain forever. Now you're just… a villain like the truck driver."
"Paragon… that's not…" Paige didn't really know what to say. Of course, she knew nothing about Riley and have only really met him half a day ago– but from his actions during the Hero Test, he was a good guy. A little cold, but he seemed to be kind… especially to her.
But now, to see him so ruthless was…
…sort of cool. It was a dynamic that could actually work between the two of them.
And with the crowd now once again cheering, it would seem they thought so too. And so, Paige gently placed Matchstick on the ground before walking toward Riley…
…and raising his hand in the air.
"My name is Paige, and this is Paragon!" Paige then roared, causing the people to cheer even louder,
"And together, we will vanquish this world of all evil!"
***
"We're revoking your licenses."
"Wait…
…why!?"
Chapter 324"What do you mean you're revoking our license!? We haven't even had it for an entire day!"
"Ma'am, please lower your voice so we can speak properly."
"No! What kind of injustice is this!? If I knew our licenses would be revoked then we wouldn't have even applied for this bullshit!"
"Ma'am, your license is not being revoked, his is."
Paige and Riley are back at the Hero Association, somewhere in the middle parts of the building where they review their members and how to proceed with them. And right now, Riley's license was on the verge of being surrendered back to the association, not even a full day of having it.
Although Paige did not witness it happen since she was busy apprehending Matchstick, the video of Riley slicing the truck into multiple pieces and then carelessly dragging its driver out in a fiery blaze of fire garnered almost a million views in the first 3 hours it was uploaded.
Some of the people cried foul on this and reported it to the authorities and the Hero Association, saying that the way Paragon handled the situation was too much; and since what the truck driver did could be considered an accident, he shouldn't have been treated like that in the first place.
The family of the truck driver also came forward, saying that the way they treated the man was truly unfair and uncalled for.
And right, now… the family of the truck driver was only meters away from Riley and Paige, staring at them as if they owed them a million bucks.
"You owe my husband an apology!"
"Stop being such a Karen! Your husband ran over a woman!" Paige once again stood up from her seat as she pointed at the wife of the truck driver. The sighs of the guards could only whisper in the air as they once again got in between the two. They wanted to separate them, but the family requested to be here to make sure Paragon was being dealt with accordingly.
"That was an accident! It wasn't his fault!" The truck driver's wife did not back down as she also pointed at Paige violently.
"Didn't you hear what Paragon said!? He had more than 5 seconds to move away from the lane! And why was your husband speeding along a busy street in the first place! I've reviewed the tapes, trucks aren't even allowed on that road during that time!"
"We're not talking about my husband's mistakes here! We're talking about how your partner handled the situation! The truck is not even fully paid yet and…"
The two continued to duke it out, filling the entire floor with only their voices. It was to the point that the other heroes that were being reviewed were asked to come back another time as they could not really focus due to Paige and the wife's argument.
As for the person of interest, Riley… he was just calmly sitting in front of the Association Officer that was managing his case.
"Paragon, aren't you going to say anything!? They're taking your license away!" Paige finally turned around to look at Riley, "We're supposed to be a duo. If you're gone, then that goes away!"
Although Riley had no idea when they became something like a duo, he just went along with it. He had absolutely nothing to do back here on Earth…
…and he didn't really want to meddle with his sister's life anymore.
Him being dead and disappearing from Hannah's life– that was the best ending he could think of, not for him… but for that chapter of Hannah's life.
It was true that he lost his memories, only temporarily, however. And the very first memory he remembered was everything regarding his sister… and how he very much wanted her to be free of him.
He spent almost an entire year with only that thought in his mind. A year of almost looking at himself in the eyes of a stranger. He called himself a monster, and that will never change.
But Riley Ross is dead. And it should remain that way forever.
He was a curse that plagues those that were close to him, sticking to them until the only thing that remains is the shadow of a dark day.
And now, the only one with the curse of knowing who he was is Aerith. And out of all the people he could think of, she was probably the most suited one in carrying that burden.
He will go wherever Aerith takes him.
He will be whatever Aerith needs him to be; a son, a warrior, a hero, a god. Whatever she asks, Riley would follow. For that is what he is, created to be whatever the world deems him to be– and now his world is Megawoman.
He will breathe the same air that Aerith breathes.
…And if this world dares to hurt her again… he will kill everyone he needed to kill so that they would be reminded never to do it again– even if he has to kill the entire planet.
Right now, however, he was supposed to be a hero.
"Paragon, why aren't you saying anything!?" Paige once again repeated her words as Riley seemed to not even be paying attention to what was happening. Finally, however, he turned his head towards Paige before standing up.
"They should be here anytime soon," Riley then said as he looked in the direction of the elevator.
"Where do you think you're going!?" The wife of the truck driver blocked Riley's path; the girl beside her, presumably her daughter, however, was trying to pull her away as she tried to hide her face; seemingly embarrassed.
"They're here."
And as soon as the elevator doors opened, Riley raised his hand– gesturing for the people that stepped out of the elevator.
"S… sorry, we're late. We… just had a lot to process."
It was a man and an older woman; and judging by the state of their clothes, they seemed to have rushed to the Association.
"...Who?" Paige looked back and forth between Riley and the people that just arrived.
"Mr. Dave Hobbs, the deceased woman's husband. And Mrs. Peterson, the deceased woman's mother."
Riley then said as he gestured for the pair to take a seat close to the truck driver's family.
"How… no, wait. You asked them to come here?"
"Yes, the woman's phone was intact, unlike her body which was painted on the road," Riley nodded his head,
"I feel like the complaints' of the truck driver's family would be better heard by the family of the deceased, and not me."
"..." Riley's words were suddenly followed by silence. There were a million thoughts circling in Paige's mind right now that she wanted to let out but was trying her best not to. Even the guards that came there to dissipate the tension could only look at each other.
It almost felt like they were about to watch some sort of drama unfold. The truck driver's wife, who had everything to say just moments ago, could only sit back down as she watched as the deceased's family also took a seat.
"...I feel like this doesn't involve us anymore," Paige then also returned in front of the officer; not wanting to be in the crossfire of the two families due to the invisible tension building between them.
Of course, it didn't involve her in the first place since Riley was really the only one being reviewed. But the officer didn't want to argue anymore as he was finally able to focus on Riley.
"The way you handled the situation… was wrong," the officer calmly said, "You could have apprehended the truck driver, true. But destroying property and dragging him like that was out of the question."
"Okay."
"...No, not okay," the officer sighed, "Look, we–"
And before the officer could finish his words, the two families started raising their voices. It wasn't until both were transferred to another floor to settle their business that the officer was once again able to talk to Riley.
"As I was saying, we can't be lenient with you. It was your first day, and you already involved the Association in a lot of heat. I'm afraid we can't work with you."
"Wait," Paige once again interrupted the two, "If you're going to revoke his license…
…then you would have to revoke mine as well."
"..."
"..."
***
"Fuck! They really took away my license! Fuck your shit fuck of a Tower!"
"Hey, you!"
Paige quickly ran away as a guard approached him for kicking the side of the building, dragging Riley along with her as they let themselves disappear into the crowd. Well, not really. Disappearing in the crowd was impossible for them solely because of the fact that Riley was still wearing his superhero outfit.
The only thing they could really do was go to a coffee shop. At least there, even if they stood out, they stood out in silence.
"What… what are we going to do now?" Paige shook and grasped her head as soon as she let herself fall at their table.
"You shouldn't have done that, Paige," Riley also shook his head, "You said it was your dream to become a superhero."
"Pft, well yes. But Paige and Paragon! That should be a thing. It was a thing until the Association removed us!" Paige said as she tapped the table several times, "And my phone's still dead and I can't complain about this on the internet."
"They were only supposed to remove me, Paige."
"No. Paige doesn't exist without Paragon, and vice versa! I've already decided on that and that's that! Ah shit, what would your mother say? Where is she anyway?"
"She is probably talking to Empress right now."
"I see. Wait, what? Your mom knows Empress!?"
"Yes."
"W–"
"E… excuse me."
And before Paige could inquire any further, a child suddenly approached their table.
"Yes? What do you want?" Paige quickly turned her head towards the boy that seemed to be with his parents.
"You… you are Paige and Paragon?"
"...Yes?"
"Can… Can I take a picture with the two of you?"
"No, we are–"
"Yes!" Paige did not let Riley talk as she stood up, pulling Riley with him. A lot of people seemed to have also recognized them in the coffee shop, and they all started asking Paige and Riley for a photo– it wasn't until a manager arrived that everyone stopped asking the two.
"W… we're famous?" Paige sat down; this time, however, she sat beside Riley.
"I have always been famous, Paige."
"Shut up," Paige chuckled. But after a few seconds, her eyes widened as she stared at Riley, "Wait… we're famous."
"Yes."
"We're famous!" Paige then tapped the table again several times, "We… we can just be independent superheroes like the old days!"
"That's considered illegal now, Paige."
"Not if you're famous! The Hero Association would have no choice but to take us back if the people want us!" Paige once again stood up, "We…
…we can even build our own superhero agency."
"No."
"Yes!"
"..."
"..."
"...You seemed to have skipped a few parts in your plan, Paige."
Chapter 325"Superhero Agency, Riley!"
"...Why?"
Riley and Paige were still inside the coffee shop; with Paige still sitting beside Riley as she explained her so-called plan over and over again… and saying the same thing over and over again.
"Why not?" A glimmer appeared in Paige's eyes, "There's a loophole there we could exploit. Superhero agencies are training their heroes even before allowing them to take the test. We can make this work."
"I don't really see how–"
"This will work," Paige's voice trembled in excitement, "We can be heroes… and our own bosses at the same time. P… Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency! Maybe… maybe we could even replace the entire Hero Association Tower."
"Your plan seems to be getting bigger and bigger, Paige," Riley could only let out a sigh as he listened in on Paige's grandiose plans. If he still had his connections, then he could probably do it with the snap of his fingers. But Riley Ross is dead now– he had to deal with everything on his own, no matter how mundane.
But since Aerith asked him to be a hero… then he might as well be the best, no?
"Your plan is interestingly stupid, Paige…
…I am in."
"I knew it!" Paige stood up from her seat as she slammed her palm on the table; almost spilling Riley's milk, "I knew you liked my plan!"
"But you don't really have a proper plan, Paige."
"That can come later. Why aren't you taking off your mask, though? You ordered hot milk but you haven't taken off your mask once."
"I can't take off my mask, Paige. Mother's orders," Riley shook his head, "And I ordered a beverage since we are occupying a table. It is only proper manners, Paige."
"Then we should change venue! Somewhere we can think of a plan on how to execute this!" Paige then suddenly grabbed Riley's hand, dragging him away from the table and all the way outside the shop.
Her eyes, however, widened as darkness welcomed them as soon as they stepped outside. The shops that were once filled with light, now sleeping.
"W… what the hell!? What happened!? Has Darkday come back!? Why are all the stores closed?"
"Because it's 3 in the morning, Paige."
"..." Paige quickly let go of Riley's hand; her head, slowly turning towards him as she looked him straight in the eyes. But after a few seconds, she quickly grabbed a pill from her pocket and swallowed it without any delay in her movements.
"That… that was close," Paige's sigh of relief was almost loud enough to wake the entire street, "But weird, my powers didn't act up even though I'm 5 hours late with my meds."
"What kind of pill is that, Paige?" Riley looked at the pills inside the container in Paige's hand.
"Adderall or something, I don't know. I just drink it since they tell me to," Paige just shrugged her shoulders,
"...Wanna try some?"
"No. But thank you, Paige," Riley shook his head before turning it towards the sky for some reason.
"Hm."
"..."
"..."
"Where do we go?" And not even a second of silence later, Paige opened her mouth, "We need some sort of secret lair or something. We can go to my house, but it's pretty small since I'm practically just using the money I got from the orphanage when they kicked me out. Wait, maybe we can–"
"Adam, there you are!"
And before Paige could finish her words, Aerith suddenly popped up from behind her; almost causing her to jump and yelp.
"I've been looking everywhere for you, where did you children suddenly run off to?"
"You're the one who suddenly left, mother," Riley shrugged his shoulders.
"G… good morning, Aerith." As for Paige, the only thing she could really do in this situation was awkwardly wave her hand to Aerith.
"Hi, Paige," the frown on Aerith's face disappeared; smiling at Paige as she made her way towards Riley. As soon as she got in front of him, however, her frown returned,
"Don't you know what time it is? You should have at least called me, isn't that why I bought you a new phone in the first place!? Who do you think I am, Megawoman!?"
"Yes."
"T… that…" Aerith almost choked in her own breath as Riley answered without any hesitation, "Anyway, it's time for us to go home. I… asked a friend and she let us borrow a penthouse in Jersey."
"Okay," Riley nodded his head; his feet, already leaving the ground.
"It was very nice meeting you, Paige," Aerith then grabbed onto Riley's waist, making it look like he was carrying her as she too, floated in the air.
"O… oh," Paige could only once again raise her hand, "G… Goodbye, Adam."
"Goodbye, Ms. Pearson."
"Wait."
But before the two could gain any distance, Aerith suddenly jumped from Riley's arms and landed in front of Paige, "Do you have any place to stay the night?"
"Me?" Paige who was about to leave, pointed at herself, "No? Well, yes. My house is in Georgia so–"
"Jersey's nearer, you should stay the night with us," Aerith gestured to Riley to come down.
"...Sorry?"
"I was told the penthouse was going to be too big for just two people to live in, so you can stay with us for a while."
"...Okay?"
In truth, Paige thought that this would be the last time that she would be seeing Riley. After all, she had this way with people that made them want to be as far away from her as possible. When she said goodbye to Riley earlier, she truly meant it as a farewell.
But now… she suddenly found herself flying in the air on the way to New Jersey. Of course, why would she even refuse the chance to spend more time with someone that could potentially be her first friend?
Riley… was the first person that listened to her for hours on end without even complaining once or acting like he was bored… since he always seemed bored in the first place. But still, never once did he ask her to stop even though she repeated herself over and over again.
Also… she didn't even act up even though she was way past her medication time. Spending time with Riley…
…helped improve her condition more than any of the trials the doctors did on her.
Perhaps all she ever needed was a friend that actually listens to her without any prejudice.
"..." Paige then placed her… floating jet-ski in cruise mode as she stared at Riley, who seemed to have quickly noticed that she was looking at him.
Paige didn't really avoid Riley's eyes, however, as she just smiled at him and said,
"...Thank you."
And with Riley only nodding in response, Paige found herself in a state she thought she would never be in– silence. Her mind, for once, was silent; with the only noise entering her ears the wind that blew past her face.
Peace, at last.
Well, until they reached Aerith and Riley's penthouse, that is.
"E… E… Empress!?"
Paige was already shocked by how fancy and large the penthouse was as soon as they landed on its large balcony. She did, however, almost faint in shock as soon as she saw Empress casually enjoying a cup of coffee outside.
"What are you doing here, kid?"
"K… Kid!?"
Paige almost jumped from the balcony right there and then. Her eyes, looking back and forth between Aerith and Empress. Did… Riley's mother just call Empress a kid!?
Contrary to the thoughts emerging from Paige's mind, however, Empress didn't seem to mind as she just sighed… before looking at her and Riley.
"..."
"..."
"Y… your mother knows Empress?" Paige subtly leaned closer to Riley as she whispered into his ear.
"Yes."
"For reals!? We–"
And before Paige could finish her words, Empress stood up and approached them; causing Paige to completely freeze.
"So, you come back to Earth and immediately find two strays?" Empress then shook her head as she once again let out a long and deep sigh, "Remember one of your strays working with the government to harvest your organs?"
"Well, one of my strays is now the leader of the World Government," Aerith just casually waved her hand as she walked away, "If you want to talk, let's do it inside. These children should be exhausted from all the things they were up to today."
Aerith inviting Paige… was not by impulse. It was exactly for this reason that she brought Paige here– for Empress to think she was just once again adopting children and training them to hone their powers.
If it was Riley alone, then Empress would surely sooner or later make some sort of connection that Paragon was actually, truly, Riley Ross.
"Paige, honey. You can just pick any room you want– I think there's like 5," Aerith then smiled as she opened the glass door, "Adam, you're in the master's bedroom with me."
"Okay," Riley only nodded as he made his way inside; not even looking at Empress. As for Paige, the only thing she could really do was follow Riley inside; the smile on her face, almost cemented as she still could not believe that Empress was within her arm's reach.
"G… good night, Aerith."
"Goodnight, Paige," Aerith once again smiled as she nodded at Paige. She then let out another sigh before looking at Empress, "You want water or something?"
"No. No need, master," Empress gestured towards the coffee she was just drinking earlier, "I'm also not going to stay long. I just wanted to inform you about something since you're back on the planet…
…I'm not the only one that knows you're back."
"What? Who else?"
"Well…" Empress then looked inside the penthouse, "Another lost stray…
…Thousandblade."
Chapter 326"Thousandblade…
…Who's that?"
"What do you mean 'who's that'!?"
Empress tried to not raise her voice but failed to do so as her slightly frustrated scream reverberated through the air. It was a good thing they were on the uppermost floor of the building, if not, then people would have surely been forced to wake.
"Thousandblade! He was already in the Sanctuary when I got there. One of your early strays!"
"...Who?"
"Th– Leo Martinez," almost everything that came out of Empress's mouth was a breath of frustration as she sat back down at the table, "You know, your favorite student."
"Oh, that kid?"
"...He's turning 70 now, Megawoman."
"Yeah, a kid… and just call me Aerith, I'm not Megawoman anymore," Aerith sighed as she too sat at the table, "And I thought you were going home?"
"Since seem to have completely forgotten about Leo, I just feel like I have to remind you," Empress then checked on her cup, but she already finished it when Aerith and the others landed on the balcony.
"Of course, I remember him, he's the one without powers, right?"
"...That's Whiteking, and he wasn't your student."
"Stop treating me like I have dementia," Aerith sighed, "I know Leo has powers, but he looks like he doesn't at the same time. Happy? I swear you used to be so cute when you were younger."
"..."
"So, what is it? Why are you telling me about him?"
"He knows you're back."
"You said that," Aerith once again let out a sigh as she leaned back, "And find me a new guy that can make fake IDs, the one we have now seems to be telling everyone I'm back."
"He only told me."
"Well, apparently not if Leo also knows. But I am going to repeat my question, why are you telling me about him?"
"Leo… hasn't been the same for a few years now. None of the people that came from the Sanctuary is. But Leo, Leo's different. We've been trying to track his movements and…
…he seemed to have built some sort of cult around you."
"That's nothing new. Cults have been built around me for centuries."
"This one is different. He's recruiting supers that are Red tagged."
"...Why?" Aerith could not help but raise an eyebrow as she heard Empress's words.
"...We don't know yet," Empress then stood up as she shook her head, "But we discovered what he was doing when a newly graduated student from Mega Academy reported someone trying to recruit him. This student was on the Potential Villain list."
"Hm."
"Well, that's the only thing I came here to say," Empress then said as she walked to the edge of the balcony, "Just…
…please be careful, Aerith."
"Who do you think I am?" Aerith let out a chuckle as she waved goodbye.
"Not for you, but for your new strays… especially that Paragon one, his license was revoked the same day he got it."
"I see. Wait…
…What!?"
***
"...What do you think the two are talking about?"
"I don't know, Ms. Pearson."
"...What you watching?"
"Italian Mafia Reborn. There's a new season, Ms. Pearson."
"Oh, I already finished that. Can I join you? I was just gonna get some water but then I saw you were still awake."
"...Okay."
Instead of going to their designated rooms, it would seem the night was not over for Riley and Paige. No, since it was nearing 4 in the morning, perhaps it was better to say that the night already surrendered to them.
Instead, Riley just sat in the living room to watch. It had been almost 2 years; and to his surprise, there was actually a new season of Italian Mafia Reborn– it truly baffles Riley how they were able to even continue production despite all the things that have been happening to the planet.
But then again, Riley remembered ordering Aerith's outfit online during the height of the invasion and the courier delivering it within a few hours.
"..."
"..."
"You watch Italian Mafia Reborn as well, Ms. Pearson?"
"Jesus, just call me Paige," Paige said as she joined Riley on the sofa… leaning her head on his shoulder, "And yes, I actually have the original DVD and some licensed figurines at home– basically spent the rest of my money on them."
"..." Riley slightly turned his head to look at Paige… but then just returned to watching without minding her anymore.
"..."
"..."
"Not planning on sleeping?" Paige then whispered.
"I have done nothing but sleep the past two years, Paige. My body is not really craving for it anymore."
"...That doesn't make any sense," Paige only let out a small giggle, "But me too, I can't really fall asleep until I'm like dead exhausted– and I even drank some caffeine earlier. So, no sleeping for me either."
"Hm."
"It's the meds as well, you know," Paige said as she moved her head from Riley's shoulder and to his lap, "Can't really sleep because of it. It's supposed to calm my mind but then just keeps me awake. Stupid, right?"
"Yes."
"...You didn't have to agree," Paige said as she started to yawn, "You don't mind me using your lap as a pillow, right? Me and the other sisters back in the orphanage used to do it."
"But you said you did not interact with the other orphans, Paige."
"Yes. But I brought some of their images to life out of my mind so I could bond with them. F… funny, right?
…Right?"
And all of a sudden, tears suddenly fell from Paige's eyes; her sniffles and gasps, suddenly filling the air.
"I… I lied about wanting to get water, Adam," Paige sniveled, "When… when I was alone in the room there was this sudden feeling of… just sinking and I just… I just felt so lonely. I… I was with you the entire day and it was the best thing and then… I don't know. I just feel like I just wanted it to last longer."
"..." Riley only looked at Paige as she cried and started to have a breakdown… before returning to watch Italian Mafia Reborn, turning the volume higher.
Paige, however, just continued to cry. It wasn't until about 20 minutes later that Riley turned off the TV and finally looked at her again– only to find her already completely knocked out.
"..." Riley could only let out a sigh as he slightly waved his hand… causing Paige's head to slightly float in the air as he moved away. A pillow then slid closer to her head, allowing it to rest.
"The two of you sure have gotten closer in just a single day."
Riley was about to go to his room, but before he could do so, she found Aerith sitting at the living room bar– having a glass of alcohol.
"I know some of her life's story, mother. But she doesn't know any of mine," Riley shook his head, "We're not close."
"I don't know," a smile subtly crawled on Aerith's face, "Watching you two– she might just be the one to bring light to your humanity."
"I don't have such a thing… Aerith."
"..." And as soon as Aerith heard her name being uttered by Riley, she instantly confirmed that he really did have his memories,
"You do. Even Caitlain has it and she is littered by a trail of bodies that would make yours look like a tadpole," Aerith said as she took a sip, "That wasn't a challenge, by the way."
"If I do have humanity in me…" Riley let out a short but deep sigh as he joined Aerith at the bar, "...Then I do not deserve it."
"Hm," Aerith looked at herself and Riley in the mirror of the bar, "Of the thousand years I have lived, I have killed more than you, child. Does that mean I don't deserve humanity as well?"
"You're an alien, Aerith."
"...That's not what I meant," Aerith could only roll her eyes as she dropped her glass at the counter, "Nevermind. We can still work on yours, don't worry."
"..."
"And also, what's this I heard about your license being revoked?"
"..." And very slowly, Riley started to float away– but alas, Aerith was able to grab his arm before he could actually gain any distance.
"The only thing you needed to do was get a license, and you did that… but then you lost it not even a day after?"
"..."
"We needed that so you could go out there with your face covered," Aerith pulled Riley closer as she whispered to his ears, "What are we going to do now?"
"...We can ask Empress to return my license, Aerith."
"No! Do you want her to start getting suspicious!? The whole point of you wearing a mask is so that no one would notice you."
"Paige and I are planning to make a superhero agency."
"...What?" Aerith then let go of Riley's arm as soon as she heard his words, "...Why?"
"I don't know, but I told her that I am in."
"That's stu– no," Aerith's eyes then widened as she looked Riley in the eyes, "That might actually prove to be a great idea."
"How so, Aerith?"
"The farther you are away from your previous persona, the least people would suspect you," Aerith then stood up from her seat as she grabbed her phone, "Being the owner of a superhero agency and being a hero at the same time? That's the best identity you could wear…
…Adam's Hero Agency."
"Paige and Paragon Hero Agency, Aerith."
"...I guess that could work," Aerith shrugged as she started fiddling with her phone, "Don't worry…
…we can ask Empress to make it possible."
"..."
Chapter 327"...Huh?"
The very sound that Paige heard as she woke up was the scratch that one would hear if one were to pull a sticky tape off. Except this time, it was her cheeks pulling away from the leather pillow that was almost drenched in her saliva.
"Where… am I?"
Even with her vision still completely blurred, Paige immediately stood up and looked around– only able to see silhouettes until her eyes finally saw a glimpse of… Riley, who was seated on the sofa and watching another episode of Italian Mafia Reborn.
"..." And as soon as their eyes met, Riley grabbed the remote and increased the volume of the TV. It was probably late in the morning… but why was Riley still wearing his superhero outfit?
"Oh, good. You're awake."
"..." Paige then groggily turned her head towards the other voice, only to see Aerith sitting at the dining table.
"We ordered some breakfast, you should eat after… washing up."
"..." Paige blinked a couple of times, before finally remembering everything that happened the day before. It seemed like a couple of days, but everything happened in a single day– and for her to be able to fall asleep that fast…
…it would seem that Riley truly was making her feel too comfortable. It… was a nice feeling. It is a nice feeling.
Paige then once again turned to Riley, only to see him just focusing on what he was watching. And then finally, she noticed the dried saliva plastered on her face– causing her to quickly run towards the bathroom to wash herself up as Aerith said.
She was only going to wash her face, but when her clothes got wet, she just decided to take a full bath. And when she was done, Riley was still watching– not even looking at her or anyone else.
"Adam and I have already eaten," Aerith then said as she joined Riley in the living room, "I swear, what do you even get from watching these cartoons? Switch it to the news."
"No."
"You've been watching this since last night, aren't you–"
"No."
"..." A small smile crawled on Paige's face as she watched as the mother and son duo started arguing. She never really had the chance to do something like that because… well, she was an orphan. She tried bringing her parents to life, but since she didn't really have anything or anyone to base them on– they were more like NPCs more than anything.
She always imagined they would be cooking her breakfast, but Aerith seemed to have just ordered from a… fancy Japanese restaurant. Who eats breakfast this fancy? Paige thought as she sat down– it almost felt like a waste to eat due to the presentation.
"Oh, right. Paige."
"Yes?" Paige, who already had food in her mouth, quickly looked at Aerith.
"Once you're done, get dressed because we're going somewhere. I bought you some clothes, they're in your room."
"Oh, is that why Adam is wearing his superhero outfit?"
"...No, he's been wearing that since last night."
"You… haven't taken a bath yet, Adam?" Paige blinked a couple of times as she turned his eyes towards Riley… whose hair seemed to even be smoother than hers.
"I have already taken a shower, Paige," Riley did not even look at Paige as he answered.
"...But you didn't change your clothes?"
"My clothes are always clean, Paige."
"...But we've done a lot of–" Paige was about to say they were outside the entire day yesterday, but noticed that not even a speck of dirt could be seen on Riley's outfit, "You know… you still haven't told me where you got your costume from."
"From Hotis 4J, Paige."
"...Where is that?"
"From another planet."
"You… really don't want to tell me, do you?" Paige could only let out a sigh as she shook her head and started finishing her breakfast. As for Aerith, the only thing she could really do was also shake her head.
If Paige knew that Riley wasn't joking, she would probably end up losing her mind.
"I'm done, let me just get dressed," Paige didn't waste any time eating, as she immediately rushed back to her room to get dressed. And true enough, Aerith bought her some clothes– an entire closet full of them; too many to the point that Paige would probably spend hours on end trying to pick up what to wear.
But it would seem her excitement won over her as she immediately picked the most simple among the bunch– an oversized shirt and leggings.
"You… didn't have to buy me clothes, Aerith. But thank you," she then immediately thanked Aerith as soon as she returned to the living room, "No one's… ever bought me clothes before."
"Oh, they fit you? Don't worry about it," Aerith stood up from the sofa… grabbing the remote from Riley and switching off the TV as soon as Paige was done, "I didn't know what clothes you like so I just asked them to get everything. After all…
…you'll be staying here from now on."
"...Sorry?" Paige could not help but blink a couple of times as she heard Aerith's words.
"Unless you want to travel back and forth from Georgia to your new office."
"Office? What…
…office?"
***
"What… the… freak!?"
If Paige wasn't fully awake before, she was now. How could she not, when they were now currently in front of a small building with a large sign that says, 'Paige and Paragon'.
"What… what is this!?" Paige's breath started to become erratic to the point that she had to materialize an oxygen tank.
"Adam mentioned you wanted to build a Superhero Agency," Aerith then casually said as she placed her hand on Paige's shoulder,
"So here it is." Like her outfit the other day, Aerith's face was once again fully hidden with a pair of sunglasses and a cap… and this time, she even added a surgical face mask.
"...What?" Paige's head very slowly turned towards Aerith as soon as she heard her words. They just talked about that the other night… and now it's already here? Wait, this isn't her powers acting up, is it?
What if… What if Aerith and Adam were just products of her powers? What if everything that happened… was something she just created? Come to think of it, Empress visiting them late at midnight?
That should… that was impossible.
"..." Paige then looked at Riley; her eyes, already watering as her breaths started to stutter, "You… you're not real?"
"Unfortunately, I am, Paige," Riley just shrugged his shoulders as he too, looked at the large sign above the entrance.
"Then… all of this is real?" Paige said as her eyes started to move everywhere.
"It is," Aerith sighed as she patted Paige's shoulder,
"Unless you're powerful enough to materialize both of us," Aerith then let out a small chuckle as she walked towards the entrance, "The two of you should enter first, after all– this agency and entire building are yours."
"...Seriously?" Paige gulped as she looked back and forth between Aerith and the building, "Just… just who are you two?"
Aerith knowing Empress and casually talking to her, a large penthouse in one of the most notoriously expensive states in the country, and now this? A small building with an unobstructed view of the Atlantic ocean, meters away from the beach!?
"You… Do you belong to the Illuminati?"
"I used to be," Aerith shrugged.
"What!?"
"...I was kidding," Aerith chuckled loudly, "Now, go inside– your staff are waiting."
"P… Paragon! Let's go!" Paige then quickly rushed towards Riley and grabbed her arms. She was about to pull him inside, but before she could do so, a wind strong enough to almost blow away Aerith's cap trembled in the air.
Paige quickly turned around, only to see… an aircraft landing in front of the building.
"What… aliens!?"
"...No," Aerith was the one to answer; the tone of her voice, clearly filled with frustration as she secured her cap and adjusted her mask, "A misbehaving child."
And as she said that, the door of the aircraft opened.
"E… Empress!?"
And once again, Empress showed herself in front of Paige as she casually stepped out of the jet. But it wasn't only her, soon, several people started stepping out of the aircraft.
And immediately, crowds of people started to gather as they saw… the celebrities that suddenly landed on their shores.
"A… aren't they the Baby Crew!?" Paige then took a few steps back, almost fainting right there and there in Riley's arms with the sudden appearance of the current most famous superhero team– the Baby Crew.
"P… Paragon, it's Empress and the Baby Crew!" Paige then wrapped her arms on Riley's arm even tighter.
"I… could see that, Paige," Riley then turned his head towards Aerith, "Why?"
"I… didn't know she was going to do this," Aerith could only let out a short but deep sigh before approaching Empress. But before she could even take a single step… her son suddenly roared.
"What is up, Atlantic City!?" Gary stretched his arms to the side as he looked at the crowd of people that started to gather around them– and as soon as he did so, they started howling and cheering.
"I told you guys to stop Monarch before he could do anything stupid."
"..." And with that word of annoyance entering his ears, Riley subtly turned his head towards the owner of the voice. It's been a very long time since he last saw her– but it would seem not much has changed in terms of physical appearance.
"Ack, don't be a party-pooper, Hannah," Gary said as he started flexing his muscles through his grey suit, "After all…
…we're here to promote."
Chapter 328"Can I talk to you for a second?"
Aerith was as careful as anyone could be. Although her entire face was already covered, her son was there. There was a small possibility that he would recognize her; and so, the only thing she could really do was very sneakily approach Empress.
It was a good thing the rest of the Baby Crew were busy trying to calm Gary down as he started flexing his muscles and entertaining the crowd; if not, there would have been a risk of one of them approaching.
"They'll be fine," Empress, on the other hand, just casually waved her hand as she looked at the Baby Crew, "They needed the break anyway."
"What do you mean fine?" Aerith whispered loudly as she dragged Empress away to the side of the jet, "Why did you bring people who might be able to recognize me here!?"
"...It's fine, Aerith," Empress could only let out a small but very deep sigh as she looked Aerith in the eyes, "They don't suspect anything, if they did, we would know. And your son… well, you're not really that close for him to recognize you."
"That…" Aerith slightly stuttered as she glanced at Gary, "...That's true, isn't it?"
"Hm…"
"But even if it was, there's still a small chance. You could have brought anyone else but them."
"Anyone but them wouldn't have the same impact. If I am going to openly support a superhero agency, it might as well be something you own," Empress shrugged.
"It's not mine, it's called Paige and Paragon for a reason," Aerith scoffed as she pointed at the large signage above the entrance of the building.
"Let's just say I want to pave the way for future generations. And besides, as I said…
…they needed this."
The Baby Crew– ever since the alien invasion and the Death of Darkday, their name has been rippling throughout the world; there was almost no one that didn't know who they were. And now, based on surveys online, they even surpassed Hope Guild in popularity.
It came to the point that they wouldn't even be able to do their jobs properly as everyone wanted to talk to them. It died down when Hannah decided that the team should prioritize fending off the alien invaders– as they basically stayed months on end in space in the Dark Millenium ship… which was now being used as the Hope Guild's official base since the last one was destroyed when Darkday and Megawoman fought.
It would seem that whenever their base gets destroyed, Riley and Megawoman are always there. The first one was when… Alice attempted to kill her own son– no, she did truly kill him; thus creating Darkday.
Empress could only sigh as memories of the past started resurfacing in her mind. Darkday was gone, and any memory of him should be erased– almost like a taboo…
…especially in front of Hannah Ross.
"Come on, let's get this over with so we can return to space… where it's not fucking loud and filled with people," after a few minutes of watching Gary, Hannah finally gave up on trying to stop him from signing autographs and taking photos with the crowd. She was about to approach Paige and Riley, but before she could do so, Bella blocked her path.
"Girl, hold up– what you mean return to space?" Bella said as she shook her head, "I could barely even walk properly anymore since half the goddamn station doesn't have gravity control in them motherfucking rooms."
"B… Bell, your language. Other people could hear us," Katrina also moved away from Gary as she stood in between the two.
"See? I used to not swear but since we been spending all this time together, these lips of mine is starting to become like yours."
"They don't fucking need us here," Hannah's eyebrows began to furrow as she looked at Bella, "There's like a million superheroes now we could barely even fit in this fucking planet anymore."
"And there's nothing for us out there!" Bella pointed her hands toward the sky, "We haven't had any sightings of aliens for 3 months!"
"You–"
"The lesbo is right, Nuclear Seraph."
"Man, just go back to signing fucking autographs," Hannah rolled her eyes as Gary joined in on the conversation.
"This isn't right what you're trying to do, Hannah," Gary then lowered his voice as he leaned closer to the three girls, "Avoiding Earth isn't going to help you to cope with your loss."
"Oh fuck."
And as soon as Bella and Katrina heard Gary's words, they quickly removed themselves from the group. But before they could do so–
"Stay. You all have something to say, right?"
"I… I don't think this is the right time to do this, guys," Katrina could not help but stutter as she once again stood in the middle of the group.
"Yeah, when do you think is the right time?" Gary's tone started to change as he looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "All of us have experienced losses, Hannah. I lost my dad and my mother ran off to god knows where. And don't forget, your brother is the–"
"Gar, I think that's enough," Bell could only sigh as she gently pushed Gary away before he could finish what he was going to say, "We're all just… we're all just trippy as hell from space."
"What we are is falling apart," Gary shook his head as he took a step back, "And what you need Hannah, is a fucking therapist."
"That's enough, Gar."
"I… I think we should all just take a breath and… and…"
"Look…" Gary once again stepped closer to Hannah, "...I'm really sorry for everything the world has done to you, Hannah. But this…
…we're not the same as before. And after what happened to us, we will never be the same again. Silvie even left because–"
"Uhm, excuse me?"
"Why, hello there, pretty lady."
And before Gary could finish his words, he quickly turned his head toward the woman that approached them, Paige.
"Are… you guys okay?" Paige meekly said as her eyes trailed across the members of the Baby Crew, only to see all of them with sour expressions on their faces, "Was… the entry from space hard? Maybe we should head inside and have water? Of course, I don't really know if there's water inside since my partner and I actually haven't been inside yet."
"..." Gary, Bella, and Katrina could only look at each other as the woman in front of them started chuckling awkwardly.
"You're Paige!" If it wasn't for Katrina approaching Paige, then she probably wouldn't have stopped mumbling on her own.
"Ah… yes!" Paige shook Katrina's hand, "I… I'm a big fan, Hurricane Katrina."
"Just Katrina is fine."
"S… sorry. I didn't really know that you guys were coming, so we didn't really prepare anything for you. If I knew then I would have probably–"
"We cool, girl," Bella also shook Paige's hand, "To be fair, we was called last minute. And we won't refuse a chance to put our feets back on Earth."
"And anything for a pretty lady like you," Gary then slightly pushed Bella as he too, shook Paige's hand.
"T… thanks?"
Bella could only roll her eyes as Gary… once again started doing Gary things right after he said they were not the same as before. But as soon as her eyes stopped moving around, they landed towards… a man with long black hair– and judging by what he was wearing, he was probably the other part of Paige and Paragon.
"Bro," Bella covered her mouth as she approached Paragon; looking at him from head to toe with her eyes clearly filled with excitement,
"Bro… you got them drip. Is you, right? Paragon?" And instead of a handshake, Bella clasped Riley's hand as if she knew him.
"Yes, I am Paragon," Riley nodded his head as he looked Bella straight in the eyes.
"I'm Katrina," Katrina also approached Riley as she shook his hand, "We're… here to help you promote your agency on its opening day."
"It's okay," Riley nodded.
"D… don't worry about Monarch, he's not trying to steal your partner," Katrina then chuckled as she glanced at Gary, who was still holding Paige's hand.
"I'm not worried, Katrina."
"Wait, wait…" Bella then stood in front of Paragon, "You're that dude from the news! The one who destroyed that truck, bro! I watched that video like 3 times!"
"What truck?" And finally, after standing in silence for a few moments, Hannah started to move again as she walked toward the three.
"Let's skip all the political stuff and just call me Hannah," Hannah then stretched her hand towards Riley; her eyes, looking at the building, "You guys must be someone special for the fucking queen herself to be giving you–"
However, as soon as she touched Riley's hand– her eyes quickly moved away from the building; first looking at his hands… before turning to his face.
"...Riley?"
"..." Riley also quickly returned Hannah's gaze; their eyes, quickly glistening as they met. A few seconds after, however, Riley shook his head and let go of Hannah's hand.
"I am afraid it's not anything like that," Riley then said; his voice, slightly… husky, "My mother's a friend of Empress, we just got lucky."
"You–"
"Why are you talking like that, Adam?" Paige seemed to be done chatting with Gary as she rushed to approach the group,
"Wait… is that your superhero voice? That's so freaking cool!" Paige almost squealed as she stood beside Riley, leaning on his arm before stretching her hand to Hannah,
"I'm… I'm a big fan of yours, Nuclear Seraph…
…as… as well as your brother!"
"Fuck," Bella once again groaned as she once again took a few steps back.
"What…
…did you say?"
Chapter 329"I'm… I'm a big fan of yours, Nuclear Seraph…
…as… as well as your brother!"
"What… did you say?"
"Oh."
"Hm?"
Paige had no idea what was happening; but 2 of the members of the Baby Crew, Katrina and Bella suddenly pulled her away as she was talking to Hannah. Did she say something wrong? Was she not supposed to mention her brother?
That was it, wasn't it? Paige thought as she looked at Katrina and Bella's expressions.
"Don't… mind her," Katrina sighed as she blocked Paige from Hannah's view, "Her brother… is kind of a taboo in–"
"What did you say?"
"Bro, not cool," Gary also stood in front of Hannah as a cold whisper once again fumed from her mouth, "You can't just lash out on strangers like that. It–"
"You, what did you say?"
However, contrary to the expectations of the Baby Crew, Hannah did not approach Paige… but instead her partner, Paragon.
"What did you say?"
"My mother's a friend of Empress, we just got lucky."
And without even any hesitation or being weirded out, the Baby Crew watched as Paragon answered Hannah; his eyes, showing not a single sign of agitation. Most would probably feel a little peeved when someone approaches them like that, but… Paragon just seemed to shrug it off.
…As expected of someone with a superhero outfit that makes him look like a futuristic ivory ninja. They were superheroes themselves, but they somewhat looked completely normal when standing beside Paragon.
His obviously pale skin that's only visible from his forehead; his long jet black hair and eyebrows, his dark eyes that seemed like they would suck you in– it was almost as if he was similar to…
…Bulwark.
There was just something special and eerily alien about their aesthetic.
"..." As for Hannah, the only thing she could really do was look at Paragon from head to toe– her eyes squinted to the point it was almost closed.
"Is there something wrong, Seraph?"
"No, it's nothing," and after a few more seconds, Hannah's eyes finally left Paragon as she shook her head, "And it's Nuclear Seraph, at least know the name of the people that would promote your business."
"Okay, Nuclear Seraph."
"..." Hannah once again turned her eyes towards Paragon as she heard his voice. It was completely different… but it truly feels like she was talking to Riley– no. Not even before he spoke, Hannah felt like Paragon was Riley.
The way he carried himself is just too… similar to him.
"Paige… Paragon, excuse us for a bit," Hannah then bobbed her head as she looked at Gary and the others, "You guys, follow me for a sec."
"..." Gary, Bella, and Katrina looked at each other for a single second, before giving a collective sigh and following Hannah,
"Sorry, it'll be just a sec– Nuclear Psycho calling us."
"O… okay?" Paige could only scratch her head as she returned to Paragon's side, "The Baby Crew… they're more like normal people than I thought."
"No," Riley shook his head, "They are special…
…just like you, Paige."
"Hm…" Paige squinted her eyes as she looked at the Baby Crew huddling up, "What… do you think they could be talking about?"
"Don't you guys think Paragon looks like Riley?"
"Hannah, come on."
Gary wanted to leave the circle as soon as he heard Hannah's words, but couldn't as Hannah grabbed his arm.
"I'm serious," Hannah said as she looked all of them straight in the eyes, "Don't you guys see the similarity?"
"What, now every person you see with pale skin is Riley?" Gary sighed as he shook his head, "Next time, you're going to say Empress and Bella are the same person because they're both black."
"...There's level to the blackness, man," Bella hit Gary in the stomach, "In the community, Empress might as well be considered white and–"
"Guys, focus."
"I… I don't really see it," Katrina meekly said as she leaned out of the circle to look at Paige and Paragon, "I mean, Paige and Paragon seem to be a couple, no?"
"..." The others turned to look at the two, only to see Paige leaning awfully close to Paragon as they seemed to be talking together.
"...They could be siblings," Gary muttered, "Even more proving he's not Riley. Why are we even talking about this? Riley… just let it rest, Hannah."
"..." Hannah let out a small but deep breath as she looked at the two.
"Imma ask them what's up," Bella then said as she moved away from the circle, "Hey! Is you two a couple or what!?"
"B… Bella!"
"What? We wasting time."
"..." Hearing Bella's shout, Paige quickly looked at them and answered,
"...No?" Before turning her head towards Paragon and asking the same question, "...Are we? A couple, I mean?"
"No."
"Hm," Paige only blinked as she once again turned to the Baby Crew, "No, we're not, guys! But maybe we could be in the future, no one knows!"
"See!? Did you see the way he answered Paige?" Hannah loudly whispered as she huddled back in the circle.
"I… I still don't see it," Katrina said, "And… Riley isn't really the kind of guy that would let anyone that close to him, right?"
"Let's stop talking about Riley, come on. We're back on the ground, for fuck's sake," Gary then completely stepped away from the circle,
"Let's just go out there and have some fun!" Gary's eyes then lit up in red as he once again approached the crowd; his arms, stretched to the side; a big smile, plastered on his face,
"Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency, everyone!" Gary roared as he pointed at the signage of the small building, "The only Superhero Agency that the World Government openly supports!"
A wide smile quickly formed on Paige's face as soon as she heard that– she hadn't even stepped foot inside the building, and yet she suddenly already owned one of the most famous superhero agencies in the world.
Of course, she didn't really work for it– but honestly, who cares? If life gives you advantages, you take it and grab on to it hard.
"E… Everyone!" Paige then stood beside Gary as she also stretched her arms to the side– and as soon as she did so, the sky above them suddenly turned dark; the sun previously shining down upon them, now a moon.
"W… what the fuck?" Gary then quickly took a few steps back as day suddenly turned into night… but only within their area. If they were to look towards the horizon, the sun was still pretty much bathing the land.
"I… I invite all superheroes, aspiring and veterans…" Paige, however, continued to address the confused crowd, "...to check out Paige and Paragon's Superhero Agency!"
And suddenly, flowers started to bloom in the night sky– silent fireworks that reflected in everyone's eyes; blanketing the sudden darkness with light.
"You… are you doing this?" Gary then took in a small gulp as she looked at Paige– but before Paige could have a chance to answer him, they were suddenly drowned in a white light.
The area around them didn't turn back into day, no– but instead, the light that they thought was the sun… was actually Paragon, now floating in the air.
And circling around him, were almost a hundred giant swords made of light. Everyone squinted their eyes from the heat as well as the extreme brightness that the swords emitted; all except Gary… and Hannah.
"Fuck… that's cool," Gary said as he took another gulp.
"Still think it's Riley?" Bella approached Hannah; her eyes, slightly covered by her hands.
"Actually…
…yeah."
As for Hannah, the growing suspicion inside her… grew even stronger. The feeling that was coming out of the swords that Paragon summoned…
…it was similar to hers.
And very soon, everything returned back to normal as the moon once again turned into the sun. Paragon, who landed back on the ground, was quickly welcomed by Paige's arms as she leaped towards him in joy.
"We… we're actually doing it!" Paige squealed as she hopped up and down, "To… to think this idea just sprung from us trying to get your license back. Come on, let's… let's go check the inside!"
And without even waiting for anyone else, Paige dragged Paragon inside the building– finally entering it after almost an entire hour of just being outside.
"Did you guys just fucking see that?" Gary's mouth was still wide open as he returned back to the rest of the Baby Crew; his finger, still pointing at the sky,
"Those two are fucking OP as fuck."
"Well… they are recommended by Empress," Bella shrugged, "She must have had them locked up in some facility or some shit."
"You guys still wanna hang, though? I mean, I don't think they really need us to promote this thing after what they just did."
"S… shouldn't we at least go inside?" Katrina joined in on the conversation, "We have nothing else to do anyway?"
"Maybe we could–"
"We're joining." And before anyone else could say anything, Hannah started to walk towards the building.
"...I guess we could stay–"
"No, I mean we're joining. We're joining the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency."
"...What?"
***
"...Your new strays really do know how to put on a show."
"Stop calling them that."
Inside the Baby Crew's jet, Empress's eyes reflected the fireworks that Paige had summoned; waiting for it to be over before turning back to Aerith, who was casually sitting at the pilot's seat and checking the panels.
"And so? Surely, you didn't just do all of this for theatrics?" Aerith then said as she glanced at Empress.
"...You're right," Empress then approached Aerith as she pressed something on the panel, causing a screen to show up in front of the windshield,
"Thousandblade– he might be coming here."
Chapter 330"W… wow, we even have a bar."
"Paragon, look at this!"
"Are you… are you our receptionist?"
"There's 6 floors! Half of the top is our office!"
"W… what the freak… I don't know why we need a giant aquarium but I love it!"
In less than an hour, Paige had already scoured every inch and corner of the small building. There were lots of things inside the establishment that one wouldn't really find in a conventional Superhero Agency, for the reason that the place was previously a small hotel– Paige came to know this when she introduced herself to all the staff in the building, even the ones that were working on maintenance.
And of course, throughout this tiny escapade, she was dragging along Riley with her. If it wasn't for Paige finally getting tired, then the two might have scoured even the scaffolds and basement floors of the building.
"L… let's go back to the lobby."
"Okay."
And finally, Paige seemed to have fully exhausted herself as she just let herself lean on Riley's back as they rode the elevator down.
"How… how are all of these possible, Adam?" Paige then said before burying her face on Riley's back, "It almost feels like you have the same abilities as me– able to create and make anything happen, except it's actually real."
"Your abilities are real, Paige," Riley whispered.
"Only for me," Paige meekly chuckled.
"And isn't that real enough, Paige?"
"Hm?" Paige pulled herself away from Riley's back to look at his eyes.
"If it is real for you, then it is real enough," Riley then said as he returned Paige's gaze.
"A… Adam…" Paige then took in a small gulp… before tiptoeing on her feet and leaning closer to Riley; her eyes closed as she softly puckered her lips.
"..." As for Riley, the only thing he could really do was blink a couple of times as he stared at Paige's… face. What… exactly was she trying to do? Of course, Riley was now aware enough that she was trying to kiss him…
…but he had a mask on.
And before anything could really happen, a quiet beep rang in the air as the elevator doors opened– allowing everyone on the other side of the door to see how close Paige and Riley's faces were… mostly the Baby Crew.
"..."
"..."
Paige then subtly opened her eyes, before quickly turning them towards the Baby Crew and almost jumping in fright. She, however, forced herself to recover as she stepped out of the elevator with a smile on her face.
"You… you guys are still here!?" Paige gasped, "If… If I knew, we would have invited you to tour the building!"
"..." The members of the Baby Crew were still a bit confused as to what they just witnessed. But as soon as Riley got out of the elevator and the doors closed, Hannah stepped forward.
"It's fine, Paige," Hannah shook her head as she stretched her hand to Paige, "We would have a lot of chances to tour it in the future."
"...Hm?" Although Paige was confused by Hannah's words, she still shook her hand, "What… do you mean?"
"The Baby Crew, well… At least, I am," Hannah breathed out as she turned her eyes to Paragon, "...Will be part of the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency from now on."
"...What?"
"I already submitted my application at the front desk, you can review–"
"You're in! Of course, you're in!" Paige almost violently shook Hannah's hand repeatedly, "D… did you hear that, Adam!? We have one of the top superheroes in our agency!"
"...We're in as well," Gary then stepped forward as he sighed, "We come as a package."
"W… what!?" Paige then quickly let go of Hannah's hand as she went on to shake the hands of Gary, Bella, and Katrina– excitedly welcoming them all to the agency.
"But… what exactly do we do here?" As soon as she reached for Katrina's hand, however, her question suddenly put a stop to Paige's excitement as she looked at Paragon… before looking back to Katrina.
"I… actually have no idea."
Superhero Agencies.
No one really knows when they started to sprout in society, but in truth, their birth could be traced back to the rise of the media and entertainment industry in the mid-1900s. The only reason why they were not as prevalent then was because of Megawoman, who did not approve of using the superheroes as some sort of marketing tool– they were meant to save and improve lives, after all; not to entertain.
But of course, as in the case of any other forms of industrial media, there was no way to stop it. Their advances became more aggressive with the loss of Megawoman a few years ago– but it wasn't until Megawoman truly left the planet as well as the death of Darkday 2 years ago that everything changed.
Of course, they could have been stopped since Empress took the seat of the highest authority on the planet– but she didn't. The world needed a change from all the depressing and stressful events that had been happening to them.
And so, the thing that Megawoman and Empress have been trying to prevent became the key to distracting the people from all the horrible things and tragedies that have been dealt with them again and again in a short span of time.
And throughout the 2 years that the agencies and their superheroes have been active– most of those that were opposed to it realized that it wasn't that… bad. It can be a bit tacky and tasteless at times, but it was a much-needed change.
And so, what exactly does a superhero agency do?
Their superheroes are commercialized– not like Hera, who was a full-blown celebrity that's already involved with many films, but a superhero that saves people's lives… and actually earns money doing it through sponsors as they stream their daily lives of being a hero.
And the agency makes all of that possible without adding any burden to superheroes.
"I… I see."
Paige, Riley, and the Baby Crew were currently sitting casually in the lobby as the agency's head receptionist explained all of this to them.
"But… can't a superhero just do that on his own?" Gary raised his hand, "Even now, there are actually companies contacting me to endorse their products."
"Well…" A small smile started to crawl on the receptionist's face, "...That's why those who apply in Superhero Agencies are mostly those that are not that known– C-listers and below."
"...C-listers?" Katrina furrowed her eyebrows.
"Oh, unknowns. They–" And before the receptionist could finish her words, the door slid open as people started to enter. There have actually been crowds trying to enter the building after they endorsed it grandiosely outside, but they were asked to leave since they were just there to get an autograph of the Baby Crew.
Also, the agency wasn't really opened to the public yet… as they didn't have any sponsors in the first place. But the thing is… did they even need sponsors?
"Come to think of it… we're not really getting paid, are we?" Gary then looked at the rest of the Baby Crew, "I mean… they buy us stuff, but our bank accounts really never–"
"When did you and Paragon meet?"
And before Gary could finish telling his discovery, a small smile appeared on Hannah's face as she looked at Paige. This smile might look friendly on the outside, but the members of the Baby Crew know otherwise.
"Uh… I guess we met yesterday?" Paige said as she turned her head to Riley, "Wait… we've only known each other a full day!? It feels longer than that!"
"That is because you talk a lot, Paige."
"You… only met yesterday?" Hannah squinted her eyes as she focused on Paragon.
"Y… yeah, in the Hero Association Tower."
"...I thought you guys was like a thing?" Bella joined in on the conversation, "I rewatched the video of you guys and the truck driver."
"W… well, since Paragon knows my entire life already, we might as well have known each other for a very long time," Paige then said as she leaned closer to Paragon, "Right, Paragon?"
"...I suppose."
"I… see. And what are your abilities again?" Hannah asked.
"Well, I can materialize anything I could think of."
"What the fuck?" Gary stretched his arms to the side, "That's fucking insanely OP. You could say 'No More Supers' and there wouldn't be supers anymore!"
"N… no, it's not like that," Paige forced a chuckle. Before leaning closer to the Baby Crew and whispering, "It's an illusion more than anything. Only I can interact with them physically."
"That's still fu–"
"And you, Paragon? What exactly is your ability?" Hannah interrupted the conversation as she looked Paragon straight in the eyes, "I could see it has something to do with summoning lights and beams– hot enough to heat the air within their surroundings… but you could also fly?"
"Yes."
"And judging by the video that Bella showed earlier, you also carried the truck driver with one hand, so that means you have super strength as well," Hannah squinted her eyes, "That's… a lot of powers you have there."
"I know," Paragon nodded, "I am strong. Probably stronger than all of you combined."
"..."
"Nah, it's not him, Hannah," Gary then shook his head, "He won't say anything like that."
"...I don't know, I mean..."
"..He?" Paige was about to ask what the Baby Crew were talking about, but before they could do so… the entire building suddenly trembled; the windows, shaking as a loud explosion suddenly erupted outside.
"!!!"
"That…
…That's our jet!"
**AUTHOR NOTES**
Hi, if you wish to donate and support me financially, you could do so in my p.a.t.r.e.0.n -- romeru.
I also have a pay. pal account -- romeru69. Don't forget the 69!
Thank you very much!
Chapter 331"That came from our ship!"
And almost as if fate was putting a stop to their conversation, the large explosion that came from the outside was followed by a series of screams. The crowd was already told to leave hours ago– but since the Baby Crew were still inside the building, most of them waited in the hopes that they could at least take a photo with them.
But alas, it would seem their decision to stay would now lead to their deaths as the jet of the Baby Crew suddenly exploded.
"Katrina, Monarch. Prioritize the safety of the citizens!"
Although Hannah still had a million questions to ask Paige and Paragon, she was the first to leave the seat; rushing outside as she started issuing commands.
"Black Bell, make sure all the debris from the ship won't cause any more problems! I'll try to see what or who caused it!"
And without even saying a word, Bella, Gary, and Katrina all rushed outside to follow Hannah's orders.
"We… we're going to see superheroes in action, Paragon!" Paige also quickly stood up as she looked at the Baby Crew's disappearing backs.
"You're a superhero too, Paige."
"Freak, you're right!" Paige then said… before an armor similar to what Riley was wearing suddenly wrapped her body; except it was more of a faded blue color.
"..."
"It wouldn't be Paige and Paragon if we're not similar!" Paige muttered as a pair of wings emerged from her back, "Let's go provide backup! Be careful not to disrupt the Baby Crew's flow, Paragon! Let's go, let's go!"
And with those words, Paige flew out of the building– of course, stopping in front of the door first and manually opening it since the quake seemed to have messed up with the building's systems.
"..." As for Riley, he just remained seated on the sofa; watching Paige and the Baby Crew rushing and scurrying to protect the humans. He didn't really bother joining them… as he could still sense Aerith somewhere outside. She was also with Empress when they left her, so his joining wouldn't really make much of a difference.
And besides…
…he was somewhat enjoying the screams even from inside the building.
Perhaps he has become lazy? He did float in space for an entire year without moving; just letting himself be dragged around by Aerith as his memories very slowly returned to him. Perhaps he had gotten used to doing nothing?
When he first started recovering his memories– Hannah was the first to appear in his mind… and at the same time, the desire to kill everyone and everything that breathes.
It had been a very long time since he last killed anyone. Even the aliens from Hotis 4J, he had no chance to kill any of them because it would create unnecessary trouble for Aerith– he was also enjoying their little adventure across the stars, after all.
For him to remember his desire for blood first and foremost along with Hannah… it seems he truly was engineered to be that way. If it is true that he was created by Diana– no. If it is true that he was created by Caitlain, then for what purpose?
Aerith told him repeatedly that Caitlain was responsible for 7 genocides– did she create him to do the same to Earth? If so, then why let him just roam free all these years when she could have just trained him to do that from the start?
With the way he is, Riley probably wouldn't even bat an eye if he was ordered to kill everyone.
…Did something go wrong along the way?
Was it Alice's death? Was he supposed to be taken care of by Alice?
From the way Aerith explained Caitlain's mind, she seemed to be the type to think a hundred years ahead– unlike Aerith, who liked living in the moment and didn't let her millennia of existence cloud her mind.
Are all of these part of her plan? Or did something really go wrong along the way?
Caitlain, Aerith, and Bulwark. All three have lived for millennia, so what do they have in common?
…Was it love? Did Caitlain learn to love in the end?
"..."
No. Even Aerith seemed to be somewhat foreign to the concept as she did not really grieve for her husband– and even left Gary here on Earth.
Riley learned that although Aerith truly did show care and love to the humans, it wasn't really to the point that the people think… because if she truly cared for them, she wouldn't have brought Riley back to Earth.
Aerith… cared more about her mission than the people. But of course, Aerith would still choose to save as many lives as possible as she does so– she was just a kind individual in general.
Bulwark… Perhaps Bulwark truly knew how to love. After all, it was evident during Prophet's death. Whenever there was something that could give light to Prophet's death, he was there– he loved him enough that he risked the lives of several students and gave them the responsibility to search for clues.
As for Caitlain… Riley truly did not have any idea. Whatever she showed during her life with the Ross' could all be fake– some of them could be true, but Riley was not really one to judge emotions.
"..." Riley continued to think of all the possibilities as he continued to nonchalantly watch as the situation outside seemed to not be improving. They seemed to not have apprehended anyone yet, and at the same time, there have been a couple more explosions since Riley started to delve inside his mind.
"..." He also couldn't sense Aerith nearby anymore. Perhaps… it's time to join Paige and the othe–
And before Riley could stand up, a stranger wearing a hat suddenly sat opposite him… while two others sat beside him on both sides.
"..." He looked at the old man in front of him, only to realize that it was the man that entered the building right after the receptionist was done explaining about the schematics of a Superhero Agency earlier.
As for the two others, he didn't really know when they got inside– but most probably when he was busy thinking about Caitlain's plans.
"Hello, child."
The old man then started to speak, taking off his hat and revealing his completely aged and sparse set of hair,
"Don't be alarmed, I am not here to hurt you…
…I just have a few questions, that is all."
"..." Riley looked at the man's wrinkled face for a bit, before turning his head towards the receptionist… only to see her pinned on the wall.
…That was newly painted.
"I apologize for killing her. It would have been troublesome if she were to call anyone," the old man then let out a sigh, "We've also killed all the guards. So it is best for you to just cooperate with us."
"..." Riley then turned his head back to the stranger, before leaning his back on the sofa and letting out a small sigh.
"It's good that you're quick to realize your situation," a smile appeared on the old man's face, "The two beside you will kill you before you could even blink if you try to do anything. Now, let me introduce myself. I…
…am Thousandblade."
"..." Riley could only blink as he heard the man's name. Why… did he say it like Riley was supposed to know who he is?
"Don't be afraid," Thousandblade shook his head as he let out a small chuckle, "A superhero like you should not be intimidated just by something like this."
"..."
"Good, I hope you remain this cooperative," Thousandblade nodded, "Now… is the woman that claims to be your mother Megawoman?
"..."
"You don't really have to answer that one since I already know it," Thousandblade muttered as he grabbed his hat from the table; and without even any warning, he threw it to the side… cutting up a personnel in half that unfortunately happened in the situation. The hat, however, once again became soft before it even landed on the floor.
"2nd question. Where is Megawoman?"
"That was a mistake, Thousandblade."
"...It seems you don't really get your situation, child," Thousandblade then let out a short but deep sigh as he heard Riley's words, "Cut off a finger."
And as soon as he said that, the two people sitting beside Riley quickly pinned him to the sofa. With one trying to pull his hand away… but found that they could not even move it even for a single millimeter.
"I'm not a superhero, Thousandblade. They took my license away," Riley then casually muttered as he suddenly grabbed both the faces of the people beside him, "And since you are trespassing on my property and even committed homicide, I can legally kill you in any way I want without any repercussions."
"W–"
And as soon as he said that, blood started to rain down upon Riley; his once ivory suit, now completely painted in red as he completely crushed the men's faces.
"You…"
Thousandblade then watched as Paragon nonchalantly pushed away the two faceless bodies; the sudden white light that emerged from his eyes, quickly evaporating the blood scattered on his face.
"I haven't had fun for a very long time, Thousandblade," Paragon then whispered as he slowly stood up from the sofa. And although his entire mouth and cheeks were covered by a mask, it was very obvious that there was a smile hiding behind it,
"And perhaps the only right thing you would be doing today...
…is being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Chapter 332Thousandblade.
Not much is known about him. He was a superhero that was active during the 70s when media wasn't as prevalent as it is now… and that's it– not much is known about him, after all.
But perhaps now, he will be known throughout the world. After all, he was inside the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency– and supers belonging to an agency have the duty…
…to livestream everything they were doing.
"You… what are you doing?"
Thousandblade then watched as Paragon just casually walked away, kicking the two corpses beside him so he could move without any obstacles. Thousandblade thought that he was going to attack, if so, then he actually already had something prepared for Paragon– once he came into range, he would slice him up into a million pieces.
Contrary to his expectations, however, Paragon… turned away from him as he grabbed something from his pocket– a phone.
And as soon as Thousandblade saw this, he quickly rushed towards him, holding a pencil in his hand that seemed to cause the air itself to split.
"Youngsters don't really know any–"
And before Thousandblade could finish his words, he found his wrist suddenly grabbed by Paragon; his back was still turned, his eyes, not even glancing or looking at him. And without even turning back, Paragon raised his foot and kicked Thousandblade back to his seat.
The kick didn't seem strong as it didn't really cause Thousandblade to roll and fly away… but why did it feel like he was just hit by a truck and then something just caught him from behind?
"..." He… was starting to have a bad feeling about this, he thought as he watched as Paragon continued to move around. If Paragon wanted to escape, then this would be the best chance to do so, but no.
Instead, he walked around the lobby while holding his phone– until finally placing it on some sort of stand… facing the lens of the camera towards Thousandblade before casually proceeding to return to him.
And without even any word or warning… Paragon suddenly punched Thousandblade right on the face… completely dislocating the old man's jaw.
***
In a random house somewhere, a skinny young man with hair that reached his shoulders had his head almost buried in his monitor. His finger, almost endlessly scrolling as he had been trying to find something to watch for more than 3 hours now.
He was currently scrolling through Tremor– the most popular streaming platform used by Superhero Agencies to promote and publish their supers. There were thousands of streams, but Nick, the skinny young man, could not choose what to watch.
All of them were pretty boring– he had also been trying to find the more popular ones like the Baby Crew, Silvie, and Golden Fox, but they were not really on Tremor. One of the members of the Baby Crew, Monarch, used to be there… but deleted his account as soon as it was revealed that he was Megawoman's son.
And so, there truly wasn't anything interesting to watch; but still, Nick continued to scroll down… until he found himself in the deepest parts of Tremor– the New Streamer category.
"..." The only thing he could do was let out a sigh, however, as most of the new streamers just post videos about their training and helping people cross the street.
"Boring."
"Boring."
"Boooring."
Nick continued to scroll only stopping when he sniffled and wiped his nose. He scrolled more another entire minute, before shaking his head and letting out a disappointed sigh. He was about to leave the New Streamer category when a new stream suddenly popped out at the very top of the list.
"Hm? Cute," Nick scoffed as he looked at when the account was created– just a few hours ago. And seeing as the preview was still completely black, then that would mean the streamer was just preparing.
The newbie was probably just testing out how Tremor works. Maybe a little help could go a long way, Nick thought as he entered the stream chat.
"You need to press the icon in the lower-left that looks like a camera with an arrow to share your camera with us," Nick whispered as he typed. And without even a second later, his comment was liked by the streamer.
"Hm, cute," Nick once again scoffed as he nodded to himself. He was about to close the stream, but before he could do so… blood and guts quickly filled his screen.
"!!!" Nick almost jumped back; his eyes, completely blurry as they started to adjust from having been removed away from the screen for the first time in hours. But before it could even have a chance to clear… Nick quickly planted his eyes back on the monitor.
"W… what the fuck?" Nick took in a small gulp as he focused on the screen. And it would seem he wasn't hallucinating– a man was currently split in half, his guts all over the floor, "What… the fuck is this? Is…
…is this a villain's stream?"
Nick was about to click the report button, but then the camera started to move… this time, it showed a woman that was crucified on a wall.
"Oh… fuck," Nick truly wanted to report it– but by doing so, his account would lose access to the video instantly. And so, the only thing Nick could really do was continue to watch.
Until finally... a series of rattles drummed in Nick's ears as the streamer seemed to have found a place to put his camera on– and there, he finally saw what the streamer looked like.
"..." It seemed to be a young man? With long black hair; his face, most of his face, covered by some sort of futuristic white mask. No, it wasn't only his face– his entire outfit seemed futuristic. It was somewhat hard to see, however…
…as it was covered in blood.
[...Is this working now, viewer?]
"..."
"..."
"Y… yes," Nick once again whispered as he typed.
[Thank you. My name is Paragon– and right now, my Superhero Agency has been breached by someone named Thousandblade, trespassing and killing most of the entire staff.]
"Super… hero agency? He wasn't a villain?" Nick then continued to watch as Paragon stepped out of view, revealing an old man sitting on a sofa, "What the fuck is happening? Is that the one he called Thousandblade?"
And before Nick could type again, he saw Paragon approaching the old man… and punching him on the head without even saying another word.
"Oh fuck!" Nick could only close his fist as he watched as the old man's jaw was almost torn off from his face. Nick stared at this for a few seconds, before looking at his extra monitor and searching for information about the streamer– and the first one that popped out was the incident with Matchstick.
"Cut off Matchstick's hands… then apprehended a truck driver… what?" Nick tried searching for more, but that was it. But that was really all he needed to know about Paragon.
He… was fucking hardcore.
[F… fu–]
[Please don't curse. There might be children watching.]
"!!!"
Nick then watched as Thousandblade waved something towards Paragon… only for it to completely… melt? It was hard to see since they were a bit far, but it looked like whatever Thousandblade tried to stab through Paragon just melted as soon as it made contact with his suit.
And hearing Thousandblade scream as a huge chunk of his hand also completely… disappeared, it would seem that really was the case. According to the article Paragon was capable of summoning some sort of lightsword that could tear through a steel truck like it was butter… Did he cover his entire body with that?
"..." Nick then once again looked at his other monitor to search information about Thousandblade, but only a handful of articles popped up. He was trying to find out what Thousandblade's power was… and finally, as he reached the end, he was able to see it.
Thousandblade has the ability to turn anything into a sharp object– a paper, cotton, or even a feather. But it also says that although it was not as strong, Thousandblade also had Super Durability and Super Strength.
He was a superhero– but disappeared when… he accidentally killed a supervillain's entire family.
Nick once again turned his focus on the livestream, only to see Thousandblade's face already completely caved in. He seemed to still be alive since his limbs were wriggling as Paragon still continued to smash his face in.
But after a few more seconds, Thousandblade completely ceased to move. And almost as if he had just finished doing the dishes, Paragon just shrugged his shoulders and walked away– flinging his hand to wave off all the blood and flesh that was stuck on his gauntlet.
He then turned his eyes towards the camera, causing Nick to flinch even though he was on the other side of the screen. And then, very slowly, Paragon walked back to his camera and grabbed it.
[Thank you for watching.]
Nick then heard Paragon's voice as he once again walked with his phone… before putting Thousandblade's completely crushed head in view.
[I hoped you enjoyed watching a criminal die.]
And with those words, the stream once again turned black.
"W… what?"
Leaving Nick completely baffled. Did… he truly just witness someone getting executed live?
"Oh… fuck… fuck, fuck!" Nick then turned his head… towards a camera that was placed behind his monitors,
"Did… did you guys just see what I saw!? Oh, fuck!" He then said– after all, Nick was also live…
…and with more than a thousand viewers watching him react to other people's streams.
"Who the fuck is this new superhero crazy motherfucker!?"
Chapter 333"Man, that jet was the favorite thing I loved to ride on…
…next are hot MILFS."
"Ugh, can you fucking not?"
"One day back on the big blue and everything turning into shit."
"G… good thing no one got hurt badly."
"You guys were freaking awesome!"
After almost an entire hour of managing the situation, Paige and the Baby Crew were finally able to relax. Perhaps the one that was most exhausted of them all was Bella and Gary, who had to make sure that each and every one of the crowd was unharmed.
And fortunately for all of them, the most injured person only had a slight burn on her arms. Hannah walked in directly inside the burning jet to at least find a clue of what caused the explosion– but judging from all the marks and by the way the debris were scattered, it was done by a bomb; most probably C4 judging by the motor oil smell.
If it was triggered remotely, then the one who attached it should have been near the area. Hannah tried searching for anyone that looked remotely suspicious, but with all the people gathered here; she would probably have more luck finding him in a haystack.
Hannah has also requested CCTV footage of the explosion from the nearby buildings… but judging by how close they got, they would have probably already deleted everything.
The question now is why? What motive could someone have to blow up their ship as soon as they landed back on Earth?
"...Do you guys think this could be done by Endless Dark?" Hannah said, pausing the heavy breaths that were coming out of everyone's mouths.
"No way, no," Katrina was the first to shake her head, "She… wouldn't do that to us."
"We not even sure it's our girl out there, H," Bella continued, "C'mon, are we really suspecting her?"
"...Endless Dark?" Paige joined in on the conversation, "Isn't that the supervillain group rumored to be–"
"Their leader used to be a part of our group," Gary turned his head up to the sky, closing his eyes as his sigh was loud enough to travel through the air, "It's a shame, really. She was the only one who had a womanly charm in the group… her and Katrina's gigantic melons."
"T… there's no use speculating," Katrina raised her voice, "We… we should probably get out of the police's way."
"We… we have shower facilities in the building!" Paige grabbed Katrina's hand as she dragged her back to the superhero agency. The other members of the Baby Crew also followed after a few moments of looking at each other– their path, however, was suddenly blocked as Paige and Katrina suddenly stood frozen right in the middle of the entrance.
They were about to ask why they stopped, but they didn't need to– because as soon as they got near the building, the scent of blood whiffed through their noses. And in front of their eyes, was a scene of carnage.
The friendly receptionist that was talking to them earlier, now a decoration on the wall.
"No… Paragon!" Paige quickly rushed in as soon as she recovered from her mild stupor, "Paragon, where are–"
"I'm here, Paige."
And very slowly, a melody started to enter everyone's ears. Paige and the Baby Crew slowly walked towards the music, only for Paragon to slowly come into view; his fingers… expertly playing a piano in the corner of the lobby.
"Paragon!?"
"...Was that piano there before?" Gary leaned closer to Bella.
"That's what you got out of this situation!?" Bella slapped Gary's chest. She was about to rush toward the receptionist to get her down, but all of a sudden, Paragon was in front of her.
"Wha–"
"Please don't move anyone," Paragon then said as he stretched his arms to the side… almost as if presenting the situation, "This is a crime scene, it needs to be preserved."
"A… crime scene?"
"Y… you didn't do this, did you?" Katrina took in a small gulp as her hair started to flutter, "Because if you did. We… would have to–"
"Only those three," Paragon then pointed towards three bodies with completely mangled faces of different degrees, "It would seem they used the explosion from your jet as a distraction. They killed everyone inside the building to get me alone."
"What!? What did they want from you!? Are you okay!?" Before any of the Baby Crew could ask any more questions, Paige once again ran towards Paragon– gently touching him everywhere as if to check his condition.
"No, my outfit is a little dirty," Paragon sighed as he shook his head.
"We… we're going to clean you–"
"No," Paige was about to wipe the blood off Paragon's chest, but he grabbed her hand before she could do so, "Leave them. I'm part of the crime scene."
"So you started playing the piano?" Hannah broke her silence as she stepped forward, "That seems like something only someone that's not in their right mind would do. You know…
…like someone in the spectrum," Hannah hardened her words as she glanced at the rest of the Baby Crew.
"I like playing the piano," Paragon shrugged his shoulders… before walking back to the piano, "It calms my mind…"
...And it also lets Riley pretend he's not who he is– by imitating the actions of one of his many clones.
"...The dude could just be a psycho," Bella then commented as Paragon started playing the piano again, "I ain't finna mess with that, is all I'm saying. But he doesn't seem to be in the spectrum, though?"
"Psychopathy is in the spectrum," Hannah quickly said as she slowly approached Paragon,
"Are you my brother?"
And without any more hesitation, Hannah finally dropped the bomb– or in her case, dropped the nuclear bomb she had been carrying ever since she met Paragon a few hours ago.
"No."
Fortunately or unfortunately for her, Paragon also answered without any hesitation. And as soon as he did so, Hannah squinted her eyes as she looked him straight in the eyes.
"Okay, I believe you," Hannah then said as she turned around and walked away, before whispering to Gary,
"It's him. I am sure it's him."
Gary, however, could only sigh and shake his head. He wanted to say something, but he knew if he did, then another blasting argument would happen again. In truth, their group was hanging in a thread– and the only thing that was really holding the Baby Crew together was their friendship.
"...Why did you mistake Paragon as your brother?" Paige then breathed out, "Wait… is that the reason you guys wanted to join the agency? Because you think Paragon… is Riley?"
"Paige, that's not…" Katrina quickly tried to calm Paige down, but before she could even take a single step, Paige suddenly burst into tears… before leaping toward Hannah and hugging her.
"You… you miss him that much?" Paige almost gasped from how erratic her breaths were, "I… I don't have a brother. So I don't know what you're feeling but… it'll be okay. It'll be okay."
"..." Hannah could really only stand there with her arms completely stiff; not knowing what to do. She was about to push Paige away, but as soon as she saw her crying face. A… sort of wave suddenly crawled throughout her entire body, causing her face to almost frown into a grimace.
"Shit, Hannah… don't!" Gary wanted to pull Hannah away from Paige as soon as she saw the sudden shift in her expression. But before he could do so…
…Hannah also started to burst out into tears.
Her shoulders, almost shivering as she fell to her knees and returned Paige's embrace.
"Fuck!" Hannah screamed, "I… I know it's not right. But I do! I do miss him!"
"..." Gary, Katrina, and Bella could only look at each other as Hannah's cries screamed through the lobby. They knew– they've always known that Hannah was in pain after everything she has lost. It wasn't just the loss either, it was how she lost them.
But seeing her breakdown like this, they realized they never truly tried to understand her through the 2 years they were together. But… how could they, really?
How could they properly comfort her knowing what they know?
Your brother, which tortured and killed more than a dozen million people, is dead? It felt like if they tried to comfort her, then it would be a slap to the faces of those that were left behind by everyone that Darkday killed.
Hannah is their friend– that's why they didn't leave. But it would seem not leaving was not enough.
As for Riley… he suddenly once again started playing the piano– this time a melancholic tune to partner with Paige and Hannah's cries.
"..."
"..."
"...Pft. Fuck!" Gary was trying his best not to laugh; cursing and kicking the floor immediately when he could no longer stop himself from doing so,
"Why would you do that, bro!?"
And with that, Paige and Hannah also stopped crying as they looked at each other… and then also started chuckling. Katrina also joined them as she sat on the floor and embraced the two.
"...You white people do know we still surrounded by dead people, right?" As for Bella, she could only cross her arms as she watched the spectacle unfold in front of her.
And as soon as they heard her words, the three women quickly wiped the tears off their faces and nodded. Hannah was about to go outside to call in the cops, but Paragon grabbed her wrist before she could do so.
"I'm not your brother, Nuclear Seraph," Paragon whispered, "I'm… sadly just an only child. But if I was your brother. Then there's absolutely no reason for me to hide it from you because you…
…you're a beautiful person, Hannah."
"...What?"
"And if I was your brother...
...I would want you to move on."
Chapter 334"..."
Hannah had probably been staring at Paragon for an entire hour now. The police that was handling the situation of the explosion were called inside the building, and were now interrogating and questioning Paragon as to what happened.
Since the CCTV in the building was cut off, the only way the cops could really figure out what truly happened was by cross-examining Paragon; asking him the same questions over and over again. But each time, all of his answers were consistent. But still, the cops continued anyway.
They were doing this since Paragon already had a history of unnecessary violence… and that was just the other day.
"The dude's gonna melt with you looking at 'im like that."
"Hm?"
Hannah then slightly turned her head to the side as Bella approached her; her eyes, however, were still fixated on Paragon. How could they not, after what he told her?
He told her that he would have been lucky to have a sister like her… and then he told her to move on. Would… Riley really say something like that? The way he said it was also filled with care and warmth– something Riley was not capable of.
Were… they really just similar to each other?
"He… ain't Riley, H," Bella then sat at the lobby bar beside Hannah, "I hate agreeing with the tall oaf, but your brother is dead, girl."
"..."
"But I get, I do," Bella was about to pour herself a drink from the bar, but as soon as she saw a body covered with a blanket on the other side of the counter, she just returned to her seat, "I could see why you thought he could be Riley. They have this… aura in them. But this–"
"You guys are right," Hannah did not let Bella finish her words as she finally removed her eyes from Paragon, "I'm just… I guess I thought I'd forgotten about all of that."
"They your family, girl. You're gonna have to live with that," Bella sighed, "Now I came from a big family– not as big as Katrina, but big enough. But we wasn't tight. But you and Riley? You guys had something special that even I suspected there was something sinister going on with you two."
"...Something sinister?" Hannah raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, ya know…" Bella shrugged, "...that you two were… like… well, you know."
"..." Hannah stared at Bella for a few seconds, but as soon as she realized what she was getting at, her eyes widened,
"What!? No, yuck, ew! What the fuck!? He was my brother!"
"Not biological."
"Bell!?"
"That's why I didn't wanna say!"
"Then why say it!? Is Gary infecting you!?"
"I don't know, shit! The two of you had that Lannister vibe going on, touching each others cheek and shit. Black people don't mess with that, just saying."
"..." The guards that were interrogating Paragon could not help but be distracted by Hannah and Bella's loud exchange, but after a few more seconds, they turned back to focus on Paragon. But looking at him just calmly sitting there, it felt like they were just wasting their time.
"If only we could recover those things," the detective muttered as he pointed at the cameras, "Even the surveillance outside was tampered with. The prints on the dead guys also came out negative. We have no way to identify who they are because their faces are all smashed in."
"Welcome to the Super Department," the detective's partner scoffed, "It just gets weirder and weirder down the line."
"Fuck if–"
"I recorded a video."
And as the two were about to leave Paragon alone, he stood up and approached them,
"If you want to see the old man's face, I recorded a video before I killed him."
"...What?" The two detectives then looked at each other, "Why did you only tell us now!?"
"Because you were asking different questions," Paragon said.
"Where's the video!?"
"You can check it out on my Tremor account."
"You uploaded it online!?"
"No, I streamed it live."
"What!?"
The two detectives quickly grabbed both their phones as they searched for Paragon's account. They didn't have to, however– as Paragon's video was right on the feature page of the app…
…with already a million views although it was just streamed 3 hours ago.
"Quick, run the old man's face into the database!" The detective snapped his fingers several times as he ordered his men; his eyes, not leaving the video for even a second, "We need to find out who–"
And before the detective could finish his words, he reached the part of the video that was most replayed by the viewers– the very moment Paragon caved the old man's face in.
"Oh, fuck."
And like most of the people that watched it for the first time, both the detectives could only let out their surprise with a curse.
"He… fucking executed him live."
"We… we have to arrest him now, right?"
"..." The lead detective did not really answer his partner's question as he watched as Paragon even provided a close-up of the old man's smashed head. He had seen some eccentric superheroes in his life– but this was more like the work of a villain.
"We got the old man!"
And while the two were replaying the video, one of the cops returned with a tablet on hand. The two detectives quickly checked the old man's profile– and everything just clicked.
They thought the wounds of the staff were weird and something they didn't come across often, now they know why. The old man was an old super called Thousandblade and he had the ability to make anything hard and sharp– and since the receptionist was practically nailed to the wall with a bunch of paper straws and one was practically cut in half by a hat…
…that was really all they needed to know.
"...What do we do with him?"
"...Nothing," the lead detective then let out a small sigh as he returned the tablet to the cop, "We're done here for today."
"We're not going to arrest Paragon?"
"For what? He's allowed to use deadly force against a trespasser."
"But the old man couldn't even fight back! Sure, he tried to stab–"
"I'll stop you right there," the lead detective then placed his hand on his partner's shoulder, "The old man is a super who killed more than a dozen people."
"I know that, sir. But I'm only trying to enforce the law on all sides."
"Then you need to go back to seminar,"
The lead detective waved his hand as he walked away, "The law you're trying to enact is only for normal humans– self-defense laws are completely different when it comes to Supers. Go study, kid."
"Wait, what? Since when!?"
"Since forever," the lead detective could only sigh in disappointment at his partner's words; before walking back to Paragon, "Don't leave the city for a couple of days, we will have questions about Thousandblade soon."
"Okay."
And as soon as the people questioning Paragon were gone, Paige, who had been patiently waiting nearby, quickly rushed to him to give him some water.
"You okay?" Paige then asked as her sighs reached the entire building; before she looked at the body bags the cops and coroners were carrying out of the building, "They're… all dead. We… didn't even fully know any of them. It's just like one big dream that turned into a nightmare."
"Yes," Paragon nodded, "We can't accept clients until we hire new people, Paige."
"...That's not really what I was getting at… but that's true."
"Bro!" And before the two could even continue their talk, Gary's voice reverberated into their ears,
"You smashed someone's head in on live TV! That's hardcore as shit!" He then said as he cast the video on his phone to the large TV in the lobby's waiting area. Bella and Hannah, who were talking at the bar, could not help but be curious as to what Gary was up to now.
"You guys seen Kat?" Hannah asked as she approached Gary.
"She's taking a leak, but watch this, though!" Gary then said as he pointed at the TV, which was showing Paragon smashing Thousandblade's head in.
"Damn," Bella was the first to react as she blinked a couple of times, "Now that's some next-level shit right there."
As for Hannah– it just added to her confusion. Executing someone and recording it? That's something Darkday would do. But then again, he was literally a co-owner of a Superhero Agency, and they record everything they do.
"Ah!" Paige screamed as she pointed at the recording, "We can use that as marketing!"
"..."
"You crazy, girl?"
"Paige and Paragon! That's what would separate us from the rest of the other agencies!"
"I think Empress openly supporting your agency already separates you from the others," Gary commented, "But I get your point… and I'm fucking in. Let's bash some heads in."
"You guys do know we can't kill, right?"
"Only if we care about our image, we'll let them strike first so we can claim self-defense and–"
"And what?"
And before Gary could finish his words, Empress suddenly appeared behind him.
"...And we negotiate," Gary said before quickly moving away. Empress didn't really give him any more heed, as she approached Paragon.
"Can we talk about Thousandblade?" Empress said, before looking at the others, "In private."
"We were here first, why don't you talk somewhere else?" Hannah did not take a single step.
"Are we going to do this again?"
"Maybe."
"The two of you don't have to," Paragon stood between the two before they could argue, "Let's talk in my office, Empress."
"Hm," Empress didn't really entertain Hannah that much as she followed Paragon to the elevator. Leaving Paige and the Baby Crew in the lobby alone.
"..."
"..."
"How'd you guys know Empress?" Gary was, of course, the first one to break the silence as he walked towards the bar.
"I… I think Adam's mother is a friend of hers."
"Pft, Empress has a friend?" Hannah scoffed as she followed Gary to the bar, also gesturing for Bella and Paige to join, "That's the biggest joke I've ever heard."
"R… right. Your dad and her had an affair…" Paige quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late as she already uttered the words.
"Hm," Hannah, however, only shrugged her shoulders as she gestured to Gary to get a bottle of alcohol, "She's just another victim of my dad. My brother turned out to be the way he is probably because of him."
"I don't think it's anyone's fault," Paige sighed, "Riley was in the spectrum, he–"
"Oh, I'm not talking about that," Hannah shook her head, "You… wouldn't understand."
Gary could only glance at Bella as he handed the bottle to Hannah; almost as if asking her if it was alright to give her alcohol in her state. Bella, however, just shrugged and got a glass.
"Empress isn't that bad," Hannah then said before gulping a third of the bottle, "She…
…was one of the people that held us together when things got tough."
Chapter 335"Did… Thousandblade say what he wanted from you?"
"Megawoman."
"...Of course."
It had been a while since Empress was on the other side of the desk ever since she took the seat as World Leader, but to think it would be with someone she should consider her junior. She was currently in Paragon's office, and she initially thought they would just be talking in the office's lounge, but then Paragon suddenly sat at his desk.
Just… where did Aerith pick this guy up? She actually ordered a background check on both Paige and Paragon– and she knows that Paige was from an orphanage and had quite a bit of a record. As for Paragon, or full name, Adam Dagher, he seemed to have lived a sheltered and somewhat luxurious life under the radar.
Born to a reclusive, wealthy, and ancient family on the outskirts of Egypt– with an American mother and Egyptian father, both died in an accident just a year ago. Adam then went missing afterward. Other than that, there was nothing on him.
Empress already asked Aerith about him, and said that she owed the family something when their ancestors helped her a century ago– and when she came back to Earth, she heard of the news and searched for Adam in a place that only her and the family knows.
Aerith, however, still has not told her why she returned to Earth in the first place. At first, she suspected that Darkday might be alive; and even suspected that Adam might be Riley, but his story completely checks out.
She even went to the address, only to find an abandoned mansion with photos of Adam and his family. Now, if he could only take off his mask– then any suspicion that Empress had would be gone. Still… for there to be no record of someone like Adam other than that?
Impossible.
But for now, however, it didn't matter.
"Did Thousandblade say anything else?"
"No," Paragon sighed, "I killed him before he could ask his 3rd question. I didn't like how he thought he could just march in here and kill my people."
"...You do know you're a superhero, right?"
"Not officially. The Hero Association took away my license."
"...I'll ask them to give it back," Empress slightly furrowed her eyebrows, "But if you're going to stay under Megawoman herself, then you shouldn't just go and kill people– that's not what she stood for."
"With all due respects, Madam Adaeze," Paragon leaned back on his seat as he looked Empress in the eyes, "But I think I know Aerith more than you do."
"Then did she tell you why she came back to Earth?"
"Yes," Paragon nodded.
"...And?"
"I hope none of you find out," Paragon then stood up as he slightly opened the curtains of his office; letting a little light in, "Because then all of you will perish in the ashes of the war that is about to come."
"...A war?" Empress's eyebrows furrowed even further, "Is that why Aerith came back? Is an army of alien invaders coming to Earth!?"
"Maybe. She did mention that more will come for Earth, maybe even one of the Higher Races."
"Higher… Races?" Although Empress was completely clueless as to what that was, the name itself sounded intimidating enough.
"Like the Themarians and other species as powerful as them."
"...What?" And just like that, any problems that Empress thought Earth had become insignificant. Super Terrorists? Old friends becoming villains? Darkday being alive? They suddenly became yesterday's problems.
If it was true that an army of people like Megawoman would soon someday arrive on Earth– then what could they even do? She knows Aerith was way more powerful than the vast majority of her kind because– and would even put them below Empress's raw strength.
But even then, Empress could probably count the people that would be capable of defending Earth once they come in one hand.
Bulwark, Hera, Silvie Savelievna, Hannah Ross, Golden Fox, V, Tempo, Tsula if she's still alive, Butcher… and a few more.
In this regard… Empress was slowly understanding why the previous government was trying its hardest to clone Megawoman. In case a day like that comes, they would be–
"I heard there was even a species that is half the size of Earth."
"What!?" Empress then quickly grabbed her personal phone from her pocket– dialing Aerith's number at almost blinding speed.
"Hm," Paragon nodded, "But no, that's not why she returned."
"..." Empress then quickly dropped her arms as she stared at Paragon with her eyes looking like they were about done about everything.
"She returned because the threat might already still be here."
"Who, Darkday?"
Paragon shook his head, "I'm afraid that's all I want– I mean that's all I am allowed to say. If you want to know more, then ask mother."
"And where is she?" Empress sighed, "She suddenly left after it's confirmed that Thousandblade was the one who orchestrated the bombing."
"I have no idea, Empress. But she's out there somewhere, she likes to stalk and listen to people's conversations."
"I… see," Empress then let out a small sigh as she finally turned around, "I'll try to find her, in the meantime, you should be careful. We think Thousandblade is working with some, we have yet to determine why but I think they will come back for you until they get to Aerith."
"I appreciate the warning, senior," Paragon said as he sat back on his fancy chair. Empress was about to step out of the office, but before she did so, a small explosion suddenly erupted in the air as she disappeared from her spot– the furniture around the room, violently pushed to the side as a crevice suddenly formed on the floor.
Paragon's desk was completely shattered in smithereens; anything light that could flutter in the air fluttered. The curtains, now flowing outside with the wind as the windows also shattered.
Paragon, however, was still seated.
As for Empress's fist, it was only inches away from Paragon's face. It would have probably reached it, if not for the hand that blocked it.
"Now, that wasn't too nice," Paragon slightly tilted his head to the side to look at Empress's face.
"I knew something didn't add up," Empress's hand trembled as she tried to push further, but was unable to, "Your background was perfect, too perfect to exist."
"Maybe because I am perfect?"
"Don't kid yourself," Empress scoffed, "You know things about Aerith, you know things about the universe, you even managed to block my fist… you think I wouldn't guess who you are? There's no use in hiding it."
"Well," Paragon then shrugged his shoulders before gently swatting away Empress's fist, "Aerith was the one who decided to hide my identity. If you want to complain, complain to her. But as expected of you, Empress– for you to be one of the first to know who I am."
"You didn't even put effort into hiding it unlike Aerith," Empress took a few steps back as she brushed her clothes,
"...Themarian."
"..."
"It makes sense, you didn't even flinch when I mentioned Darkday's name… that's because you don't even know who that is in the first place…
…you're a Themarian."
"..."
"..."
"...Yes."
Chapter 336"I knew it! I knew there was something wrong here!"
"..."
Paragon watched as Empress started walking around his now ruined office. She didn't seem to care that she made a mess at all; grabbing one of the sofas she caused to tumble to the floor when she rushed towards Paragon and placing it upright, sitting on it while surrounded by everything else she destroyed.
"Aerith wouldn't just suddenly come back out of nowhere and then conveniently find someone like you," Empress repeatedly let out sighs, enough to fill Paragon's office with her breaths, "I knew something was also up when I asked Dom what else he had to do for Aerith. He also forged your identity!"
"..."
"But why… why would he bring another Themarian here?" Empress then turned her head towards Paragon,
"What are you doing here?"
"You should ask Aerith that."
"Wait… is she your real mother?"
"...I'm her Themarian lover," Paragon took in a deep breath as he closed his eyes.
"...What?" Empress slightly squinted her eyes, "What do you mea–"
"What happened!?"
And before Empress could continue her words, Paige and the Baby Crew suddenly barged into the office,
"Are we under attack again!?" Paige was the first to step inside; her clothes, once again imitating Paragon's outfit.
"What's going on, Empress!?"
Hannah and the others also quickly jumped inside, their eyes surveying every inch of the office in no time; with Gary even rolling on the ground as he entered for some reason.
The 5 were previously just chatting in the lobby when they heard a loud noise strong enough to shake the entire building coming from the top floor. They truly thought they were under attack again as soon as they saw the state of Paragon's office…
…but as soon as they saw the two just calmly sitting through the mess, they all could not help but drop their arms in confusion.
"What… the fuck happened here?"
***
"T… today was crazy, wasn't it?"
"You will get used to it, Paige."
"It's… not that bad."
Paige and Riley were now back at their penthouse. Empress quickly cleared out the group's confusion by telling them that Paragon just wanted to spar with her– one of the strongest supers in the world.
In which she completely surprised them by telling them that it was a draw. Of course, Empress said this so that if Paragon ever accidentally releases his full strength as a 'Themarian', Hannah and the others wouldn't be too surprised.
The Baby Crew still wanted to stay, but Empress told her that they'll be frequenting the agency every day anyway– what they needed now was to find a place to stay. And so, with a slight reluctance, Paige said her first goodbye to the members of the Baby Crew; still not sure…
…how everything turned out like this.
"3 days."
Paige and Riley were outside on the terrace, overlooking the crowded and bright lights of the city. They couldn't really see the ocean and their agency from where they were standing, but Paige was still looking towards the horizon where the agency building should be.
"3 days and my life is completely different with you, Adam," Paige sighed as she leaned her head on Riley's arm,
"I… I wished I met you sooner. Or even yet, maybe we could have been siblings, you know. When I saw Hannah breaking down when she remembered Riley, I wondered how beautiful their relationship must have been."
"..."
"It was also really nice what you told her. Calling her a beautiful person and telling her that Riley would have wanted her to move on," Paige then walked away as she sat on the outdoor couch,
"You… you're a good person, Adam. Well, despite your impulse for violence, that is."
"..." Riley glanced at Paige as she started giggling,
"...Is that what you really think of me, Paige? A good person?"
"Yeah, I mean why not?" Paige patted the sofa, gesturing to Riley to sit next to her, "You helped me during the registration, you talk to me even though I always repeat what I say for hours on end… and you didn't even treat me differently even after I told you my past…
…most would have tried to leave as soon as they heard I'm like half crazy, and most did."
"..." Riley did not really say anything as he sat beside Paige.
"As pathetic as it might sound, even though we've only known each other for the better of three days, you… you're closer to me than any other people I've met. Thank you, Adam… really. With you…
…I can just be who I am."
"..."
"And I know… I know that you're still hiding a lot of things from me. I know you're lying to me about things," Paige once again leaned her head on Riley's shoulder,
"But know that I am ready to accept you too. You can show me who you are."
Paige then once again leaned her face closer to Riley's, their eyes, only inches away from each other. Paige stayed like this for a while, with seemingly no intention of leaning away.
As for Riley, he finally moved his eyes away after a few seconds and shook his head,
"Who I really am is something unacceptable, Paige," Riley sighed as he rested the back of his head on the sofa; causing Paige to slightly lose balance and fall on his lap. Paige, however, did not move and just stayed there instead of moving away– even resting her leg and stretching it on the sofa.
"There is no person in this world that is completely unacceptable, Adam," Paige said as she too, looked at the sky and stretched her hand towards it, "Surely, there… there's someone you've shared your true self with? A friend? A… girlfriend?"
"I did show my true self to someone very dear to me."
"Oh? Tell me about–"
"And she killed me for it."
"..."
"..."
"That's tough," Paige then let out a sigh as she shook her hand, summoning dozens of bubbles that looked like they had butterflies flying inside of them,
"I won't do that to you, Adam. Even though I've only just met you, I promise to you and myself that I will never betray you," Paige breathed out as she looked at Riley's face, before gently trailing her fingers on his mask,
"It's fine that you hide your face with a mask. We all have masks– what's important is that you yourself know who you are even underneath it."
"..."
"..."
"I… I learned that from my shrink, by the way," Paige then let out a giggle as the bubbles started flying around them; with Riley popping one of them and letting the butterfly rest on his finger. The two then stared at the butterfly… letting the seconds go by in silence.
But after a few seconds, the small smile on Paige's face disappeared; her eyes, slowly widening as they looked back and forth between Riley's face and the butterfly sitting on his finger.
"Y… y… you," Paige then quickly sat up, causing all the bubbles and butterflies to instantly disappear as her face was once again only inches away from Riley's,
"Did…
…did you just pop the bubble?"
Chapter 337"Did… you just pop the bubble!?"
"Yes?"
Although it wasn't a guarantee that Paige's mind would calm down as soon as she took her pills– they've helped so far. But now, in the hour that her pills should be taking the most effective right now, she found her mind and her heart moving erratically in a way they never had before.
Her eyes which were already wide, now almost popped out as she violently stared at Paragon's face. Throughout her life, she had been trying to search for the meaning of her abilities– or even the meaning of her life itself. But now…
"You… e… even the butterfly was able to land on your finger."
"Yes."
"W… what?" Paige quickly took a few steps back away from Paragon; hitting her back on the rails of the terrace, "But… but that's impossible."
"..." Riley slightly squinted his eyes as he returned Paige's gaze. But after a few seconds of wondering why, he blinked,
"Oh," he muttered, "I thought you were the only one that could interact with your illusions, Pa–"
And before Riley could finish his words, Paige threw a yoga ball at him that appeared out of nowhere. And of course, as most balls do, it bounced back… straight back to Paige.
"Eep!" Paige quickly erased the ball, but it was too late as it already pushed her over the railings– causing her to fall.
"..." Riley, however, didn't really react as he just stared at where Paige fell.
And perhaps he didn't need to, as a few seconds after, Paige's head slowly emerged from the other side of the fence; her eyes, still as wide as they could be– if anyone else were to see this, they would probably start running for their lives.
"You… you can interact with my abilities!?" Paige then said as she fully emerged… standing on some sort of floating carpet, "H… how!? How is that possible!?"
"I wouldn't know, Paige. It's your ability."
Although Riley seemed disinterested, as a matter of fact, he was quite curious as to how Paige's abilities worked. Every time she used her powers, it was evident that they truly were just illusions to other people and that only Paige could interact with them– he would know.
After all, the very reason he tried to pop the bubble in the first place was that he always attempted to interact with whatever Paige was summoning throughout the days they had been together.
The time he floated in the sky to showcase his power during the opening of the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency earlier this morning? He did that to see if the fireworks would actually touch his skin– and they did not.
He was actually quite surprised when he was able to pop the bubble. If it wasn't for his mask, then Paige would have probably realized that his mouth was slightly open for about 1 millimeter.
"This… w… what?"
As for Paige, she was probably the visual representation of what Riley was feeling right now as she clasped her head with both her hands, "How!?"
"I don't know, Paige," Riley then shook his head as he suddenly floated towards Paige… calmly stepping beside Paige on the flying carpet.
"..." Paige crouched to check whether or not Paragon's feet were actually standing on the carpet, and they were.
"Y… you… you're not just flying, are you!?"
"No."
"This is crazy!" Paige then stood up, almost losing her balance as the carpet started to shake,
"How is this possible!?" Paige once again repeated her question, and once again, no one was able to answer her. The only thing she could really do was take a sit on the carpet to calm herself down.
"..."
"..."
Paige then summoned a large spear, before suddenly throwing it towards their sofa… only for it to go right through without doing any damage; not even a waft of air.
"It's… only you?" Paige turned her focus back to Paragon, who was now also sitting beside her on the flying carpet,
"...Why?" And finally, she changed her question, "Is it because I like you? Is that it?"
"..."
"No, if that was it– then my abilities would also work on Empress and the Baby Crew since I like them as well," Paige squinted her eyes, "Is it because we've been spending time together without separating? No… if that was the case then the people in the orphanage should also be able to interact with my abilities."
"What… what could it–"
"I think it is useless to think about it now, Paige," Paragon interrupted Paige's words as he brushed his hand on the carpet, "There could be many reasons why I can feel and touch your illusions, but since I am the only one; it would be hard to pinpoint the–"
And before Paragon could finish his words, he found Paige's face suddenly resting on his; her lips, touching his mask.
"...What are you doing?"
"T… that's cold. The mask, I mean," Paige then pulled her head away as she touched her lips,
"You–"
"We don't need to talk about it!" Paige raised her voice before Paragon could say anything, "I… I did it by impulse, it… it happens when I am extremely excited."
"You kiss people when you're excited?"
"N… no! You… you're my first," Paige took in a small gulp, "Well… I guess not since you're wearing a mask? Maybe if you can take it off– what am I saying! We've only known each other for three days and I am already…"
"It's okay, Paige," Paragon shook his head, "I… had a woman in my past that fell in love with me in less than a week and proceeded to do anything I wanted her to do. And in the end, she died."
"..." Paige's eyebrows began to furrow as she heard Paragon's words– and without even any warning, the flying carpet suddenly shot up to the sky; almost creating a skirt of wind around them.
"You didn't have to ruin the moment, you know!" Paige then scoffed before an oxygen mask appeared on her face, "I'm the one that's supposed to not be able to read the mood!"
"..."
"..."
And as the silence between the two slowly expanded, the clouds started to become their floor. Paige created another oxygen mask to give to Paragon, but he shook his head and said that he didn't need it.
"Are… you sure?"
"Yes."
"Tch… I was hoping you take off your mask," Paige scoffed before letting out a small giggle; her eyes, slowly moved towards the sea of clouds that shattered the moonlight as they met... shining, shimmering.
And very soon, a colossal whale suddenly emerged from the clouds, hovering over Paige and Paragon very slowly. The salty water that was brushing off the mammoth, showering the two of them softly.
But even with this majestic scene drowning them, Paige was seeing nothing but Paragon– her eyes, following the droplets of water that were trailing on his face. And very soon, tears also started to trail on her face.
Throughout her life, she had been trying to search for the meaning of her abilities– or even the meaning of her life itself. She may not have found the meaning yet…
…but now she had someone to share it with. And that is all that really matters.
"Adam," Paige then held Riley's hand as she looked her straight in the eyes, "Let…
"...Let me show you the world through my eyes."
Chapter 338"Haha!"
"..."
Reality. Even in a world where powers were a common occurrence; even with a person like Riley who had seen an entirely different planet, what he was seeing now was something that he could only describe as… magical.
Paige was currently running around; chased by more than a dozen leaves that seemed like they had a life of their own– no, seeing them flutter like this, they might as well be birds in the form of plants.
There was even a Crocudine rolling around the field of grass, a creature that Riley had only seen in Italian Mafia Reborn. As its name suggests, it was a small crocodile armored with spikes.
He also took his gloves off, revealing his pale skin as he touched the grass beneath his feet. He tried touching the crocudine as well, but he seemed to put too much force and it burst into pieces.
That was the very reason Paige was running around and laughing– of course, she immediately revived the crocudine… and summoned even more creatures. One even looked like a stick figure come to life.
There was also a small pyramid and other wonders of the world scattered on the field of grass. Everything– Riley could touch and feel everything. Riley was probably one of the most stoic creatures in the world, but all of this truly intrigued him.
The illusions… were too real. Paige was right, she could really create anything with her mind. And right now, they were even still above the clouds, on a floating island that Paige created with her mind.
Riley has been waiting for Paige to faint from overusing her abilities, but now, even after 3 hours, she was still laughing and running around with a smile on her face.
It would've probably been the most powerful ability in the universe if everyone and everything was able to interact with it. But alas, Riley has been subtly and sneakily pushing things down the floating island and watching if they would at least destroy a car on the ground, but nothing– even the clouds were unaffected.
"Adam, look! Look!"
"..." Paragon then lifted his head; looking up towards Paige as she slowly rose in the air… while riding on the head of a giant golem– another creature from Italian Mafia Reborn.
Did the golem also have the same abilities as in the anime? Riley could only tilt his head as he examined the creature. It was called the Earth Shatterer– it was actually inspired by Tsula, the old supervillain that was in the Super Max.
And as its name suggests, it was capable of shattering a planet.
"..." Riley then slowly approached the golem's feet, before placing his hand on it and trying to take off a chunk. But to Riley's surprise, it took a bit of an effort before he could penetrate it with his hands.
"You… are quite a strong individual, Paige," Riley muttered as he slowly floated in the air; standing beside Paige as he overlooked the small island that she created.
"Pft, no. It's useless for other people," Paige sighed, "I can probably create Whiteking's armor too and make it even stronger– but in the end, I would just break my bones if I tried to punch something because it would just go through."
"Well, it could probably hurt me," Riley stated.
"...Why would I hurt you?" Paige let out a small sigh, "Look. If you think I'm like the person that decided to kill you from their life when they found out who you are, then you're bonkers. I will accept you as you accepted me, Adam. No matter what sort of man you are underneath your mask, I will accept you."
"Hm…" Riley did not really say anything else as he just watched as Paige's… little world continued to move. Almost as if they have a life of their own. And very soon, however, a small growl whispered in the air.
"..."
"..."
"S… sorry, that was me," Paige then awkwardly chuckled as she held her stomach.
"Perhaps we should eat, Paige?"
"Y… yeah. Let's."
"Hm," Riley nodded as he was about to jump from the head of the golem, but before he could do so, Paige grabbed his arm.
"...Where are you going?"
"We–"
And before Riley could even say anything, the floating island that Paige created instantly disappeared. The golem they were previously standing on, now a metal floor. And very slowly, this metal floor expanded; becoming circular before a dome of glass emerged from its edges, trapping Paige and Riley inside.
"..." And soon, once again, the flying whale made its appearance, along with other weird sea life flying outside the dome.
"What do you want to eat?"
"..." A table then appeared at the center of the dome, with plates already ready.
"Yes," Paige then chuckled as she took a seat at the table, "I can even consume my illusions."
"..."
"How do you think I survived with so little money after I left the orphanage?"
"...Interesting," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "Can you provide ingredients instead?"
"...Ingredients?"
"I want to see if I can cook with your creations."
"You… can cook?" Paige took in a small gulp as an entire kitchen suddenly popped up on the side of the dome, "P… please, do… do it."
"..." Riley was about to walk towards the kitchen before he stopped and looked at his outfit, "Can you give me an apron?"
"Yes! Yes, of course!" Paige's eyes turned wide as a white apron wrapped Riley.
"Thank you," Riley then nodded as he proceeded to walk towards the fridge, opening it only to see all kinds of meat there, "What food do you–"
"Something fancy!" Paige then said before grabbing her phone; immediately taking a selfie with Paragon behind her,
"L… let's see here… #daddyparagon cooking," she then started whispering to herself as she uploaded the photo to her social media account…
…not even noticing that Paragon took off his mask and started smelling the ingredients that were neatly scattered on the counter.
"Fufu," Paige started giggling to herself as people already started reacting to the photo, "Look at this, Adam. The people are–"
And as soon as Paige's eyes landed on Paragon's mask that was sitting at the end of the counter, her breath completely stopped. She still could not see what he looked like since he still had his back towards her… but for some reason, her heart started to drum.
And almost as if to reflect her feelings, the sea life floating outside the dome all turned into jellyfish; their color, pink and red as they throbbed along with her heart.
"..." She didn't really know what to do as she just stood up; her feet, not knowing whether to approach Paragon or not. But alas, her curiosity won over everything else as she quietly walked towards Paragon; her eyes, slowly turning towards his face.
And there, Paige finally saw…
…Paragon with another mask.
"..."
This time a cotton mask.
"...I don't know what I was expecting," Paige then let out a sigh as she watched as Riley continued to cook, not even heeding her mind. Paige was about to return to the table when Riley placed a seasoning next to his face…
…and suddenly pulled down his mask.
Chapter 339"What… am I even going to do now?"
It was more or less 3 years ago now. Paige had just recently been kicked out of the orphanage because she was no longer considered a minor in the state of Alabama. She had an option to stay, but in exchange, she would then volunteer to take care of the other misfits– but with her abilities, she was sure she would just end up losing her mind.
She was given $1000 as a sort of 'severance' gift when she left, and that lasted her exactly one day after the small apartment she was renting asked for an advance. She didn't mind, however, as she didn't really need a budget for food since she can consume her creations-- probably the only advantage of her abilities.
But still, she needed a proper job to be able to keep on living in the city like a normal human being. She could build a mansion for herself if she wanted to, but that would mean that no one would be able to visit her– it would be for nothing.
Well… not like she has any friends to visit her in the first place. But this didn't deter her, however, because it was the start of her new life. It didn't really take long for her to actually find a job– a performer.
She performed at birthday parties for children with her illusions; she was earning a lot, for sure– enough to even move to a bigger apartment.
She, however, quickly got bored of her job and quit a month after securing enough money to pay for the apartment for an entire year without working. She then worked as a bartender after that but quit a week after she completed her training.
She consumed so many jobs in the span of a very short time– and in the end, she ended up just staying home and using the only real thing inside her apartment, her computer. She was new to everything in the outside world, and the internet was the only thing that she considered a real teacher.
And one day, while she was scrolling and eating Wasabi chips she materialized, she happened to come across news of Riley Ross. It was the news revealing he was Whiteking's son– this already got Paige's curiosity, but what really got her attention was the way Riley looked… and the fact that he was in the spectrum.
For someone like this to want to be a superhero, it truly… opened something in Paige's eyes. Of course, Riley could be said to have the unfair advantage of being Whiteking's son, but still– she knew the problems people in the spectrum face every day because she was surrounded by them in the orphanage.
No, even she had problems– she also truly considered herself mentally ill back then even if the doctors are saying that what she had was completely… controllable. It didn't seem like it, of course– she had to swallow a ton of pills she didn't even know how to pronounce every day just to keep herself stable.
And for Riley to want to be a superhero despite his condition… It was somewhat inspiring. Of course, the news was followed by the tragic deaths of thousands of people dying in several plane crashes.
Her attention, however, was solely on Riley. Since then, she has been searching the internet daily for any news. The death of a foreign student, Riley becoming the Mega student, the news of them saving the shores of Hawaii from a monster, then another when he saved all those people in LA from the homunculi… and then preventing more deaths in England, him getting mistaken as Darkday…
…and then eventually, even after all of this– he rescued Megawoman and ultimately lost his life by defending the Earth from the aliens and Darkday.
It was also revealed that Riley was Ms. Phoenix's biological son and that she tried to kill him when he was just a baby, there were all sorts of rumors going around. Some of them have been proven to be true.
With everything that had happened to him, Paige wouldn't be surprised if Riley, being already on the spectrum, grew up to be an apathetic monster. She had seen it before in the orphanage– their innocent capacity for violence.
Riley Ross was an inspiration for people like her– for those that are already disadvantaged the moment they were born. Riley Ross became a beacon.
Throughout her life, Paige had been lost not knowing what her purpose truly was. And as cliche as it may sound, Riley Ross gave that to her. And so, starting with his death, Paige strived to test her powers to their utmost limits– and one day, become a hero as well.
She would even go to the lengths of saying that Riley Ross, to her, was what Megawoman was to most people.
That is what Riley meant to her.
And she would recognize him everywhere.
And this person standing beside her right now?
Even with his hair completely different, even with his eyes dark– Paragon was almost a cutout of Riley; and it wasn't just their pale white skin either– his nose, the way his eyes were shaped. And most importantly…
…his wide mouth that could probably swallow an entire burger whole.
That face could only belong to…
"...Riley Ross?"
"..." Riley, however, completely ignored her as he once again covered his face with a mask. Seasoning the meat in front of him almost as if she didn't hear what Paige just said.
"You… you're Riley Ross."
"..." This time, Riley could no longer ignore Paige as the meat he was tying up in a thread suddenly disappeared. He then slowly turned his head to Paige, causing his long, almost perfect black hair to bristle across his shoulders,
"I was, Paige," Riley then nonchalantly said.
"...You're revealing it just like that!? O… of course, that is something Riley would do!" Paige then stuttered as she took a few steps back; the dome they were in, slowly releasing some sort of static as everything began to tremble,
"Wait… wait, that would mean you're alive!?"
"I suppose," Riley then shrugged his shoulders, before he returned to the fridge to get Paige a bottled water, "Your constructs are getting hazy, Paige."
"Of course, they would get hazy!" Paige stomped her foot before chugging the entire bottle whole; the dome, once again becoming solid as her eyes returned to Riley, "You… you're alive! So that was why Hannah was reacting like that!? This… this is crazy? Am I being pranked? Is that it? Is this a prank?"
"No."
"Oh my god, oh my god," Paige then started breathing heavily as several blades started fanning her, "This is happening, it's really happening. I… I was with Riley Ross this whole time!?"
"No. Riley Ross is dead."
"But you're standing right here! In… In all your glory. My pills… where are my pills!? You're dead? You… you meant that figuratively, right?"
"In a way, I suppose so," Riley only shrugged, before asking Paige to return the meat he was seasoning.
"This doesn't make any sense," Paige then breathed out as she casually returned the meat on the counter, "You… what… I don't know what to do anymore."
"I was also Darkday, Paige," Riley then once again casually said as he turned on the stove and placed a pan on it.
"..." Paige then quickly shut her mouth as her mind finally completely shut down. But after a few seconds, she quietly marched back to the table and sat there in silence even after Riley was done cooking and placed the food in front of her.
"Please, eat," Riley then said as he started eating. Paige also did the same; her eyes, staring at Riley for the duration of their meal. She seemed to be wanting to say something, but was always stopping at the last second.
Throughout her life, this was probably the most quiet she has been-- even her mind was blank,
"..."
"..."
It wasn't until Riley was about to pick up their plates to wash that Paige finally made a sound, grabbing Riley's hand and stopping him,
"You… don't have to wash it," Paige then said as she looked him straight in the eyes, "So… you were Darkday."
"...I was, yes."
"Riley Ross and Darkday… are the same person?"
"Yes."
"I see…
…that makes sense."
Chapter 340"You know, I'm not Whiteking. I can't hide you, someday soon someone is bound to detect you."
"Relax, kid. I brought some technology stuff with me– no human satellites can find me."
"...I just found you."
"Because I'm not hiding from you."
"..."
Somewhere in the expanse of space, miles away from Earth's atmosphere; Aerith and Empress were casually floating still. Well, Aerith was more casual; as Empress was wearing some sort of mask to be able to breathe and talk in space using some kind of vibration.
Aerith has been spending more time in space than on the surface of the Earth– keeping her senses to their maximum as she tries to find any traces of Caitlain. But at this point, even she knows that what she was doing was practically useless.
Aerith has been on Earth for more than 300 years, and the only reason she was able to finally find Caitlain was when she was unconscious. If it wasn't for Riley telling all those stories about Diana, and then ultimately bringing her to their residence and meeting her, she probably wouldn't even have discovered Diana's true identity.
And even that occurrence might have been allowed by Caitlain in the first place. For 300 years, she didn't even realize she was that close.
Perhaps the only thing different now was that Aerith knew what she was searching for; Caitlain has this certain… aura that Aerith was able to spot when they were only meters away from each other.
Caitlain is on Earth– she just needed her to slip once. Caitlain may or may not know that she was back, but it didn't really matter; if Caitlain still hasn't left Earth even with all the things that have happened, that would mean that something was holding her here.
Maybe Aerith needed to find that something instead?
"..."
"..."
"You still haven't told me what you're doing here," Empress then said as she floated closer to Aerith, "Look…
…I know Paragon is a Themarian."
"...Huh?"
Aerith almost choked on her own breath as she heard Empress's words; Aerith knew in herself that she was terrible at lying; and so, the best course to take here was not to say anything at all. And so, say nothing she did.
She just stared at the big blue with her eyes slightly squinted, trying her best not to make any change in expression.
Seeing this, Empress could only nod to herself; taking Aerith's silence as confirmation, "For you to bring another Themarian here… whatever you're doing must be pretty important."
"..."
"If we're in danger– if Earth is in danger, I need to know," Empress sighed, "I asked Paragon, and he said it wasn't a threat from the outside. I need to know what that means. You have to understand, I'm no longer just playing hero, master…
…I decide the fate of the entire planet now."
"..."
"..."
"It will be dangerous for you to get involved."
And finally after a few moments of silence, Aerith shook her head; her eyes, finally leaving the big blue,
"You can say that Earth is indeed at the threat of being invaded, but they're not your problem. At least not yet."
"The Higher Races?"
"...He even told you that?" Aerith could not help but almost roll her eyes, "It's possible. But it's useless to worry about them for now when the biggest threat is there."
"...On Earth?" Empress said as she looked at where Aerith was pointing to.
"Diana Ross."
"Diana Ross?" Empress squinted her eyes, "What does Hannah's mother have to do with this?"
"Everything," the tone of Aerith's voice slightly became heavier as she looked Empress straight in the eyes,
"Diana Ross– Caitlain has everything to do with everything that's been happening."
And so, Aerith finally decided to tell everything to Empress. About Diana being a themarian, her background, the genocides, and how she has probably been on Earth for thousands of years– weaving the fate of the planet.
"She probably chose this planet because of the existence of supers," Aerith then ended her story as her stares returned to the big blue; her breaths, almost creating a mist of a thousand years of memories,
"Who knows how long she has been there. I only arrived a couple of centuries ago because I found a trace of her– plagues. That's her usual MO."
"..."
"All species, all races only have a single shared ability with their people. You saw it with the race that invaded the planet, they only have a single ability– the clovians can shapeshift, the large blue ones emit energy from their bodies. Every species registered in the Cosmic Codex all have that in common, even the Higher Races. But the humans? You–"
"Our abilities differ from person to person," Empress was the one to finish Aerith's words.
"Yes. And when I discovered that, I reckoned it would be impossible for Caitlain not to be here."
"...What's the Cosmic Codex?"
"You can probably guess with the name," Aerith let out a small breath, "But it's not important right now. Caitlain is here somewhere…
…I know it."
***
"Karina, stop running! You're going to hurt yourself again!"
"Hehe. Mommy, look! Look!"
In a meadow somewhere– where the mountains on the horizon seem never-ending, a small child was innocently disrupting the peace the trees made. Her tiny steps, causing the grass beneath her feet to dance and follow her through the air; almost as if they have a life of their own as they circled her ghost-like hair. Her skin was the same, enough to reflect the sun that shone down upon her.
And behind her, trying to chase and make sure that no harm would come to her… was Katherine Reeds; her long silver hair, now only brushing across her shoulders.
"Honey, please–"
"Eek!"
And before Katherine could finish her words, Karina suddenly tripped; rolling several times on the soft ground as she stepped on a loose branch.
"H… honey, it… it's alright," Katherine, instead of rushing toward the tiny girl, completely halted her steps instead; her hand, however, seemed to want to stretch towards the child,
"It… it's okay, it's just a tiny boo boo, okay? It...
...It's just a tiny booboo."
Chapter 341"It… it's just a tiny booboo, okay?"
Katherine's breaths were almost as loud as Karina's growing sniffles. Her stretched hands showed that she truly wanted to rush and hug her daughter; but still, her legs did not move even a single inch.
"M… mommy?" Karina then slowly sat up from the ground, the scratch on her knee, already healed and was just covered with dirt and mud. Still, even with the wound gone, Karina's face was just beginning to twist from the short pain that suddenly terrorized her leg; her unnaturally wide lips, turning into a frown.
"It… it hurts, mommy," Karina's voice began to tremble; and soon, the grass, the stones, and everything around her started to float in the air.
And as soon as Katherine saw this, the only thing she could really do was grit her teeth; her eyebrows, also trembling as she stretched her hands to the side– and as soon as she did so, the ground beneath her opened up, swallowing her inside…
…and leaving Karina alone on the surface.
Karina didn't seem to mind, however, as she seemed to only be looking at her already healed leg… and very soon, even the very ground itself started to lift up in the air.
Karina then sniffled several times; trying her best to keep her mouth closed. But soon, however, tears started to trail on her face as she screamed.
"Mommy!"
And her scream was weak, barely even a whisper from a short distance… but it rippled. And almost as if they were just blown away…
…the mountains on the horizon disappeared, disintegrating along with everything else in the surrounding area.
And soon, small thuds started sputtering on the lifeless ground. Karina, who heard a whisper of these thuds, quickly gasped as she wiped the tears trailing on her cheeks.
"N… no," she then quickly rushed towards one of the things that fell from the sky, quickly lifting it up and embracing it,
"N… no, I'm… I'm so sorry, little birdy… no."
And while she was cradling the bird, more and more started to fall from the sky– but before they could fully hit the ground, they stopped in the air; preventing their bones from being shattered into pieces.
But still, even with their bodies clean– they remain lifeless.
"No…" Karina's tears once again started to flow down on her cheeks; her cries, growing even stronger as a hand suddenly, but gently touched her shoulder.
"M… mommy."
"It's okay, honey… It's okay," Katherine, who emerged from the ground, immediately embraced her daughter; caressing her head… before Karina's arms suddenly dropped.
"..."
"I'm… sorry…" Katherine then threw away the syringe in her hand as she wiped the tears on her eyes before they could fall, "I… hope you're having sweet dreams, my beautiful child."
Katherine then gently lifted Karina, cradling her in her arms and kissing her on the cheek.
"This is actually not okay at all. We stimulated her growth too much."
And before Katherine could even lift her lips from her daughter's cheek, her eyebrows began to furrow as another thud landed near them.
"We?" Katherine's voice almost scratched the air as she turned around to look at the person that landed behind her, "This is all you."
"Well, yes. I was just being nice and sharing my achievements."
It was Diana– No, Caitlain'Ur. Still wearing the same lab coat she was wearing 2 years ago when she abducted Katherine.
"How long is this going to go on?" Katherine then let go of Karina, letting her float with the bed of wind she created, "Just what are you hoping to achieve here!?"
"Progress, Reeds. Progress," Caitlain then started looking around, scanning everything that wasn't there anymore, "You have to understand, Reeds. Everything we're doing here is for the child."
"You… you say that bullshit every time!" Katherine was about to scream, but stuttered as she just chose to whisper loudly in fear that Karina could be awake,
"What the girl needs is to have friends! You're making the same mistake you've made with Riley!"
"..." A sizzle quickly hissed from Caitlain's eyes as they turned red. But not even a second after, she let out a small but very deep breath and closed them,
"Terraformer," she then said. And as soon as she said that, another woman emerged from beneath the Earth– Tsula, the old woman that Riley met in the Super Max,
"Reset the terrain. We don't want our child to wake up to all this…
…death."
"...Hm," Tsula didn't really say anything. Instead, she just kneeled and planted both her palms on the ground– and as soon as she did so, the ground beneath her… started to breathe.
It was then followed by a rumble as everything started to tremble, as far as the eyes could see. And soon, on the horizon, the mountains that were lost began to once again rise up from the ashes.
"Let's get her back home, it's too cold here."
And while Tsula was practically turning the scenery back to the way it was, Caitlain just casually started to float away.
"..." Katherine stared at her disappearing silhouette for a few seconds, before ultimately just sighing and shaking her head before once again cradling Karina in her arms.
"Are… you going to be alright here?" Katherine then glanced at Tsula as her feet left the trembling ground.
"Worry about the child," Tsula muttered; not even looking at Katherine as she talked, "We… are all just here to pay for our sins. We're not friends."
"...Karina calls you grandma, you know that… right?"
"I'm not," Tsula shook her head, "Now leave me in peace."
"You… should join us in the house."
"..."
"..."
Seeing as Tsula was no longer interested in talking, Katherine could really only let out a sigh as she gently flew away– making sure not to disturb or harm Karina in any way.
"..."
"...Grandma, pft," And a few seconds after they left, a small smile grew on Tsula's wrinkled face. But a few more seconds later, blood started to ooze from her nose,
"No…" She then shook her head as she continued to fix the terrain, "I…
…I'm not allowed to be happy. None of us do."
Chapter 342"..."
Riley was now back in the penthouse; his eyes, once again reflecting another episode of Italian Mafia Reborn. They seemed to have ramped up production, even making the character Hera was voicing into a major character in the story– that alone should have ballooned up their cost.
It would seem that people being stuck in their homes boosted up their ratings even more– especially now that they were moving to a pivotal point in the story.
"..."
"..."
And a few more seconds of quietly watching the episode, Riley did something he had never done before…
…He turned off the TV before the episode was done.
"..."
He then very gently placed the remote on the coffee table in front of him, before turning his head down and looking at Paige, who was once again sleeping with her head on his lap. He had just revealed to her that he was Darkday, and yet for someone that claims that she has extreme difficulty in sleeping, Paige seemed to be sleeping very soundly right now.
Riley told her who he was to prevent any more needless circumstances from happening in the future. If she chose to lash out and fight him, then Riley would have killed her then and there. If she chose to run away, then Riley would have also killed her right there and then.
But no.
He told Katherine, and she tried to kill him at first.
He told V, and she tried to kill him.
He told the Baby Crew, and they tried to attack him.
He told Hannah, and she killed him.
He told Paige, and she just shrugged her shoulders and said that it made sense.
After that, Paige even asked a few more things about him. His childhood, his family, Alice– everything that happened to him. He told her all of these and thought that Paige would probably try and kill him too.
But no, she just said she understood and didn't ask any further, only telling him that they should go home.
She understood– just what exactly did that mean?
Riley then gently lifted Paige's head, placing a pillow beneath it as he stood up… and he just stood there staring at her face for a full minute. He… doesn't understand.
What exactly does it mean for someone to understand him? Riley knew himself that he was a monster– an evil creature that parents use to scare their children; and rightly so.
Darkday's appearance could probably be counted on two hands. And yet in those occurrences, he has tortured, maimed, and killed tens of millions of people. Even right now, he doesn't regret any of those.
In fact, he could go out there right now and kill millions more and he would still probably enjoy it. That is what he is– a monster that craves for death.
So what exactly does it mean for someone to understand someone like him?
He probably wouldn't even think about it if someone else told him that. But Paige wasn't an evil person. She cares for people and wants to save them. She was the kind of person that was willing to sacrifice herself if it would mean saving even more lives.
She was the same as the others. Hannah, V, Silvie, and at some point, Katherine– all of them were heroes that wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice themselves.
And yet what made Paige different? Is it really just because she grew up being surrounded by people like Riley?
…Is it because unlike Hannah and the others, he told her the truth before the truth became a betrayal?
"..."
Riley then suddenly took a step back as Paige suddenly snuggled onto the pillow, brushing her face on it as she puttered her lips. And after a few more seconds of staring at her face, Riley walked away; the sound of the city, instantly drowning his ears as he stepped out onto the terrace.
He then took one final glance at Paige, before wearing his mask again and flying away.
"Hm…" Paige remained asleep, cuddling the pillow as a smile slowly formed on her face,
"...Riley. S… stop."
***
He still couldn't get used to the noise. It was a whisper that was getting louder and louder, and then it just suddenly stops… and then repeats again. Riley, of course, was talking about flying through the sky without covering himself with his invisible armor.
Ever since he returned back to Earth as Paragon, he had been careful not to use his telekinesis in any obvious way– as someone with trained eyes would easily see through him.
Hannah was almost able to see through him– No, she did see through him. If it wasn't for all the other things that have happened this morning, then Riley didn't doubt that Hannah would discover the truth.
He needed to change– change everything. Riley Ross and Darkday are dead… and they should remain that way. Of course, Riley knew that the monster inside him was still very much alive… he is that monster himself, after all.
But at least this time…
…he wouldn't be Hannah's monster anymore.
Riley would make sure she would forever be free of him… as she would never be able to understand him. He doesn't want her to.
"..." Riley immediately shook his head as the thought of Paige once again entered his mind. It was an uncomfortable feeling that Riley seemed to can't get rid of.
Riley then hastened his flight; causing the clouds beneath him to part as a skirt of wind violently blossomed around him. He needed to get rid of the thoughts circling in his mind. And for that, he too…
…needed to understand.
"..." A small thunder then howled in the air as Riley stopped flying; his hair snapping with the wind. He then closed his eyes for a few seconds as he took in a small breath, before once again opening them already settling at a house in the middle of nowhere; surrounded by nothing but pasture.
And without even taking another breath, he landed right in front of the house and…
…politely knocked on the door.
"..."
"..."
"Coming!"
And after a few seconds of waiting, someone finally opened the door– a boy.
"Elliot, I told you not to open the door!"
This boy, however, quickly disappeared as a woman suddenly rushed to the door and pulled him away.
"Did you… need something?"
"It's been a long time, Ms. Croft…
…is Diley around?"
Chapter 343"It's been a long time, Ms. Croft…
…Is Diley around?"
"..."
3 seconds. It took 3 seconds for Ellie's eyes to start to widen as she looked at the masked young man in front of her. She initially just thought it was some sort of weird hero that wanted to ask them something about the area… but she knew her name. But most importantly…
…she knew Diley's old name.
And that was all Ellie needed to know that whoever this person was in front of her, he was dangerous. Because those who knew Diley's name were all related to Darkday. One of the guests? It was possible.
The last time Diley tried to visit the Guesthouse, it was already empty. And since they couldn't find even a single corpse, that would mean all of them were able to escape. If this man really was a guest, then he was only here for one thing– revenge.
Maybe he's not, but it didn't matter… she needed to protect her home.
And so, with her thoughts finally centering, the veins on Ellie's hand started to billow; the doorknob she was holding, almost instantly turning into some sort of stone that quickly stretched out to the rest of the door– and without even a second later, spikes were already on their way to gouge out Riley's eyes,
But before they could reach them… the stone-like spikes disintegrated; their pointy tips, almost as if turning into glass an inch away from hitting Riley's eyes as they shattered.
This didn't seem to faze Ellie, however, as she once again summoned more and more spikes to turn Riley into a porcupine. But alas, every attempt to poke a hole in him was a failure as everything just shattered before they could reach him.
"S… sis!? What's happening!?"
"Elliot! Hide!" Ellie's eyes were completely glued on Riley as she screamed; gesturing to his brother to hide, "C… call John!"
"But–"
"Go!" Ellie then clapped her hands, creating a wall of metal stone to quickly surround the entire house; completely putting a shield and leaving whoever the visitor was outside. She, however, did not join her brother to hide; her eyes, just staring at the reinforced door she bolted shut.
She could hear a muffled voice seeping from the cracks of the barrier she made. But other than that… the visitor didn't seem to be showing any signs of trying to break through.
But before Ellie could even let out a breath of relief, a white light suddenly seeped through the edges of the door. No… it didn't just seep through, it completely penetrated through it– and very soon, the light trailed across the edges of the door perfectly, not even damaging it with a scratch.
A loud crackle then muffled from the outside, followed by a loud thud that caused a tiny quake around the house.
"S… shit," Ellie then stomped her foot on the floor, causing over a thousand needles to emerge from it, "J… just try to enter, you fuck! I'm legally allowed to kill you! Just try it!"
Ellie could hear a small rustle, prompting her to add even more needles as she anticipated the visitor barging in at any time.
Except it didn't happen; instead, he just…
…politely knocked.
"Ms. Croft," she then heard,
"I think there's been a misunderstanding, I am not here to hurt you. It's me…
…Riley Ross."
And as soon as Ellie heard that, the stones that were covering the entire house like a dome soon withered away; her breaths, oddly calming down even though the most dangerous person that could ever knock on their door knocked.
After all, there really was no use in trying to struggle. If Riley wanted to kill her, she would have already been dead without her knowing… or he would be torturing him right now. But none of those were happening– and so, Ellie just let out another breath and opened the door.
"You… you really are alive."
Ellie could doubt more, but with the way he addresses her partnered with his oddly calm demeanor… this masked man in front of her could really be no one else but Riley.
"I suppose I am, Ms. Croft," Riley nodded, "May… I come in?"
"..." Ellie squinted her eyes at Riley for a few seconds, before once again letting out a sigh and stepping to the side, "Yeah, sure. Why the fuck not."
"Thank you, Ms. Croft," Riley nodded as he stepped inside, "You have a very lively home. Elliot has also grown the last time I threatened you with his torture."
"...And I see that besides your appearance, you haven't changed much."
"On the contrary…
…I think I might have."
***
"Ellie!? Elliot!?"
A few minutes after the unexpected visitor entered their house, a man sporting short blonde hair barged into the house; his clothes, riddled with all sorts of dirt and strands of straw. His steps were hurried as he rushed inside; his eyes, almost searching every corner of the house for a sign of anything amiss.
And finally, as he reached the dining area, he saw Ellie, Elliot… and a stranger casually having a cold glass of milk at the table.
"What… is going on? Who–" And before the blonde man could finish his words, his eyes landed on the stranger's face. Although his hair and the colors of his eyes were completely different, the blonde man wouldn't mistake the stranger for anyone else but…
"B… Boss?"
"Long time no see, D– John. I have to say, it's quite an unoriginal name."
"Ellie… chose it," John then slowly approached the table; his feet, seemingly hesitant to go near Riley, "Is… is that really you, boss? You… you're alive?"
"I suppose. But I am not your boss anymore, John," Riley muttered as he took a sip of the milk, "Your cows seem very healthy."
"Y… yes?"
It took a couple more minutes for John to be able to wrap everything in his head. He couldn't even sense Riley, and he can't sense him now even though he was right in front of him. But after drinking several glasses of water, he finally sat down at the table and joined them.
"You look quite different, John," Riley then said as he looked at John's face.
"Y… yes?" John then said as he let out a small smile– his lips, far away from his ears as he did so, "I… I had my mouth done. There's… a surgery to make them smaller."
"I could see that," Riley nodded, "If you want, I think Aerith still has a serum that could change the color of your hair and eyes permanently."
"Megawoman is also back!?" This time, it was Ellie who responded as she lightly slammed her palms on the table in shock.
"Yes, we went on a little adventure in space. We visited another planet."
"What?" The smile on John's face grew as he heard Riley's words, "You… you finally did it boss."
"Hm," Riley nodded, "I became an astronaut."
"..." Ellie could only squint her eyes as John and Riley started nodding to themselves, but after a few seconds, she looked at Riley and asked about the serum.
"I'll try and give you some, John," Riley responded, "But that's not why I am here. I wanted to ask you something."
"W… what is it? Anything, bo–"
"I'm not your boss," Riley let out a loud sigh before John could finish his words, "I wanted to ask you…
…what exactly does it mean for someone to be able to understand me?"
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
Chapter 344"I wanted to ask you…
…what exactly does it mean for someone to be able to understand me?"
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
John was overwhelmed by emotions. He probably circulated through all the emotions he had learned in just the span of an hour.
First, it was worry. When Elliot called him through the radio with his voice clearly distressed, he immediately stopped tending to the animals and quickly bolted back to the house.
Second, it was confusion. To see Elliot and Ellie just relaxing with a stranger after that weird call, it truly almost fried his brains.
Third, it was shock. Shock to find out that the stranger was actually none other than his creator, Riley.
Fourth, it was familiarity and relief.
But now, John was once again confused. Riley came all the way here… to ask what it means that someone was able to understand him?
"It means acceptance."
"Hm?"
And before John could even come out of his confusion, Ellie answered for him,
"Well… usually," Ellie shrugged as she glanced at John, "But if it was said to you of all people, then it probably means they accepted you for who you are."
"..." John didn't really add any further, only returning Ellie's glance before also shrugging his shoulders and looking at Riley,
"Did… someone say that to you, boss?"
"I'm not your boss," Riley once again sighed, "But yes, someone did say that to me."
"Sorry… old habits die hard, as they say," John let out a small chuckle as he scratched his chin.
"...Is it a woman?" Ellie's eyes once again started to squint as she slightly leaned closer to Riley, "Did you tell her who you are? Your past? Darkday?"
"I told her everything, yes."
"No offense, but that woman might be a little crazy."
"She is," Riley nodded without any hesitation.
"E… Ellie," John slightly nudged Ellie, gesturing to her to stop, to which she only shrugged her shoulder in response. And after that, was silence. With only the sound of Elliot sipping his drink whispering in the air.
"..."
"..."
"Is that really what it means? That she accepted me?" Riley was the one to break the silence as he looked at Ellie.
"Honestly…" Ellie glanced at John for a few seconds before continuing with her words, "...I don't know. There's really no way of knowing until you spend more time with… whoever it is that said that to you."
"..."
"..."
And once again, no one spoke. But after a few more moments of awkward breaths, this time, it was John that broke the silence.
"Why… can't I sense you anymore?" John then said, "When you died, I truly lost all the connection I had with the other clones… and to you. It was like I became blind and… deaf. The only reason I didn't feel lonely was that…
…Ellie was with me. Why… why didn't I join the others?"
"..." Riley could really only look as John slowly held Ellie's hand. This was the very reason why he chose to approach Diley for this matter that truly confused him– John… is him filled with humanity.
"Because I cut my connection to you even before my death," Riley then said as he casually took another sip of his milk.
"...What?"
"The last time when we were sitting at a table together. I cut my connection with you there," Riley stated, "I saw the way you interacted with Ms. Croft– you were no longer just a simple clone. So I decided to reward you with independence."
"W… what?" John could not help but stutter as he tightened his grip on Ellie's hand. Ellie also turned her head to John, a smile already crawling on her face.
"I… I told you… you're free," Ellie let out a small chuckle as tears started to trail on her face. And very soon, John did the same; his tears, almost overflowing. It felt weird but good at the same time when Ellie told it to him 2 years ago…
…but hearing it from the one that created him, it felt real.
"T… thank you," John once again stuttered as he wiped his tears. As for Riley, he only looked at the trail of water that was still left on John's face– thinking when he was going to be able to do something like that again.
"John."
"Boss?"
"What does it mean to be human?"
"..."
"..."
"I… don't know." And after seemingly thinking through it for a few seconds, John just shook his head, "All I know is that I like… I like the life I have now. Although I can't use my powers in fear that someone would find out. Although we're in fear that someone would just come knocking on the door, making us pay for all the crimes we've committed…
…I am happy that I get to spend it with Ellie."
"And me!"
"And Elliot," John let out another chuckle as Elliot suddenly raised his hand.
"We try to be happy," Ellie chimed in as she also held John's hand, "It's a little fucked up since we don't deserve it… but we try."
"..."
"Running can get tiring, but we can't really complain," John nodded his head, "Because we already built a family here."
"I… see that, John," Riley then breathed out as he stood up.
"Y… you're leaving? Why don't you stay for dinner?" John said as he also stood up.
"No," Riley shook his head, "It's going to be morning in New Jersey soon."
"Oh, you're still staying in the states?"
"Haa… I miss the city."
"Yes," Riley nodded, "If you want, you can stay there as well."
"As much as we want to, we can't," John forced a chuckle, "And besides, we're already getting used to the farm–."
"I can get you new identities."
"What?" This time, Ellie also stood up, "How!?"
"Aerith… has connections. You can also work under the Superhero Agency under my name while you're in the city. Your existence is against the law here, after all."
"R… really? I… I haven't been complaining but I am getting tired of all the cows," John then let himself fall back to his chair, "Wait… no. It's… not for me to decide."
"Are you fucking kidding me!? I miss the internet!" Ellie immediately blurted out even before John could look at her, "Of course, we're going! My brother needs to go to a nice school too!"
"..." John blinked his eyes a couple of times as Ellie listed all the things she wanted to do, before finally turning his focus back to Riley. It is true that despite the seemingly peaceful life they have, they have already moved more than a dozen times in fear that someone recognized them in their old homes.
John still had no idea what Riley was doing back on Earth where he could just… be free, like him. But if he had to take a guess, it had something to do with Hannah. If that was the case, then John needed to be there to ensure that Riley wouldn't do anything… weird.
After all, if he was able to start a new life, then it wouldn't be impossible for Riley to do the same.
"...I guess I need to call you boss again?"
"Adam."
"Hm?"
"Or Paragon. That's the name I go by now. You don't need to call me boss since you can quit from the agency any time you want to," Riley then said as he started walking away, "You said it yourselves…
…you're free."
***
Riley left John and the others as he once again flew across the skies. They still needed time to properly arrange all they needed to arrange to leave the farm– and while they were doing that, Riley would be troubling Aerith with the favor of making their new identities.
Still– Riley truly didn't expect for Diley to have become like that. He already seemed human before Riley left the planet, but now… Riley doesn't even see himself in John anymore.
He was truly his own different person. It is… quite interesting– especially since Riley could actually still cancel John's existence if he wanted to in just a single snap.
John may have fully lost his connection to Riley, but Riley could still see what he sees if he wants to; he could still sense him. But of course…
…he wasn't going to do that.
"..." And while Riley was minding his own business flying through the skies, he could not help but halt as the silhouette that had been following him from behind for a few minutes now didn't seem to have any plans of stopping in tailing him.
And as soon as he halted his flight, the silhouette quickly hastened its pace; blowing the clouds surrounding it as it reached in front of Riley in no time at all.
Riley was about to say something since he recognized who it was but quickly stopped himself as he realized… that the woman floating in front of him wasn't actually Aerith.
"Do you have any identification on you?" The woman then said as she stretched her hand towards Riley, "It's just a simple check, you don't need to worry."
It would seem Riley was meeting more and more people in his old life,
"...Silvie Savelievna."
Chapter 345"...Silvie Savelievna."
With the wind howling through their faces, both Paragon and Silvie's hair fluttered with the breeze; Silvie's bright golden hair which reflected the setting sun, and Paragon's jet black hair shadowing the darkness that was about to rise.
Silvie Savelievna. The last time Riley saw him, she slowly lost her cheerful innocence with all the events that had happened to her– she wasn't really much of anything anymore. Just going with the flow and wherever the others take her.
A shadow of what she was when they first met her at the start of the school year; confident, jolly, untainted by the world. Of course, with everything that has happened to her, there was no way she could have kept her nature.
But now, with just the way she carried herself, it would seem she was slowly returning to her old self. She also wasn't wearing a mask anymore, perhaps she didn't really need to, as her identity has been created by Aerith herself before they left.
"You… know who I am?"
"I do," Riley nodded, "You're Megawoman."
"M… Megagirl," Silvie slightly stuttered before clearing her throat, "I… still have not earned that title. A-anyway, stop changing the topic. Please show me your identification and…
…wait."
And before Silvie could finish her words, she suddenly squinted her eyes as she slowly floated and leaned closer to Paragon, looking at him from head to toe several times.
"You. You're that guy with the new superhero agency," she then said as she hastily floated back and pointed at Paragon.
"You know who I am?" Paragon slightly tilted his head to the side as he returned Silvie's question to her.
"O… Of course. I… always keep up to date," Silvie then crossed her arms as she looked to the side,
"And it's not because the Baby Crew registered to your agency as an asset or anything."
"..." But Paragon didn't even mention anything about the Baby Crew.
From what Paragon had gathered so far from hearing Gary and the others' conversations, they didn't really part on good terms with her. Paragon initially thought that Silvie just left because she wanted to follow the same steps as Megawoman, working alone. But seeing as she was keeping tabs on the latest news regarding the Baby Crew, it would seem that was not the case.
"A… anyway," Silvie then took in a deep breath as the tone of her voice once again became dignified, "You don't need to show your identification anymore, but I still do need to ask you some questions…
…What are you doing operating outside the United States' airspace? Isn't your jurisdiction just there?"
"...I don't have a jurisdiction."
"...What? What do you mean?" Silvie furrowed her eyebrows.
"I'm not a registered hero," Paragon casually said, "They took away my license but we are now in the process of taking it back."
"..."
"..."
"You're a civilian."
"I suppose so."
"..."
"..."
"May I see your passport?"
"Okay."
"..."
"..."
"What's this?"
"My passport."
"..." Silvie then looked at the book in her hand that might as well be as thick as an encyclopedia. She then opened it up, only to see a bunch of stickers and IDs on it, with Paragon's face and still wearing a mask.
"Why do you have so many visas!?"
"Because it's illegal to be in other countries without them," Paragon casually said as he retrieved his passport, which he was hiding inside the handy and spacious compartment hidden in his suit… alongside his utensils.
Hearing Paragon's words, the only thing that Silvie could really do was let out another deep sigh,
"Very well. Can I ask where you where–"
And before Silvie could finish her words, her eyes slightly widened; quickly disappearing from her spot as she flew away, leaving only a hole within the clouds to prove that she was even there.
There was a scream coming from below, Paragon heard it too.
"..." But of course, Paragon only shrugged his shoulders and continued to fly away, not even glancing in the direction of the scream. It would seem that even after everything that has happened to her, Silvie's number 1 priority still hasn't changed– protecting and saving people.
"..." And it seemed she had already done so…
…as she was once again tailing him from behind.
Paragon was initially going back to the penthouse, but with Silvie tailing him, he decided to land in front of the agency building instead.
"..."
"..."
"Are you going to come in?" Paragon then turned around and looked up at the sky; and although there was nothing visible there but the clouds, Paragon's eyes still seemed like they were reflecting someone– and very soon, the rest of the world that was busy walking in the streets did too.
And if it wasn't dead early in the morning, a crowd might have already gathered again in front of the building, after all, the current most popular superhero just literally landed on the shore.
"I… was just making sure you weren't going someplace… suspicious," Silvie said as she slowly approached Paragon; her eyes, however, were trying their best not to look him in the eye,
"So… this is your agency, huh?" She then said as she nodded to herself several times; her eyes, almost looking at every inch of the building, "Well, that's that. Just doing my duty as a hero and making sure you're not doing anything suspicious."
"Do you want to come inside?"
"If you insist."
And without even any hesitation, Silvie, whose feet had already left from the ground for a few centimeters, once again landed on the ground as she quickly made her way to the door as soon as Paragon unlocked it.
"..."
"..."
"Hm… it's empty."
"All of our staff were killed by Thousandblade," Paragon said as he made his way to the piano on the corner of the lobby.
"Hm, I heard about that. I'm sorry." As for Silvie, her eyes once again looked everywhere as she started walking around the lobby.
"It's okay. It's not your fault."
With the two of them the only thing breathing inside the building, even their weakest words were enough to echo.
"Maybe. But as heroes, we… should be preventing the deaths before they could happen. That's what it really means to save people," Silvie then said as she stood in front of the counter, staring at the chalk outline that was drawn on the wall,
"The villains, the killers– all of them should rot in prison before they could do anything like this."
"Hm," Paragon only nodded as he started playing some keys on the piano.
"I saw the video of you beating Thousandblade."
"..." And before Paragon could play another key, a loud swoosh echoed throughout the entire lobby as Silvie suddenly appeared beside the piano. Paragon seemed to not mind at all, however, as he just glanced at her before proceeding to play the first part of Moonlight Sonata,
"So you know more about me than I thought, Ms. Savelievna."
Seeing Paragon completely unfazed by her, a small smile appeared on Silvie's face as she let out a very tiny scoff,
"Are you kidding? Your video has 5 million views now," Silvie shook her head, "I can't say I agree with you beating him to death…
…but I understand."
"..." If there was a person who was an expert on classical music listening to them right now, then he or she would have probably noticed the misplaced note that Paragon played.
"I understand why you did it," Silvie then continued; her eyebrows, slightly furrowing as her hands slowly turned into a fist,
"He deserved it after what he's done. There are just some people that don't deserve to live."
"May I ask you something, Ms. Savelievna?"
"Heck, if you're going to call me by name it might as well be my first name," Silvie breathed out, "But shoot."
"Why did you leave the Baby Crew?"
"I…" Silvie could not help but almost choke in her own breath as she heard Paragon's question, "I…
…I just remembered I have something to do."
"..."
"It was really nice meeting you, Paragon," Silvie then said as she quickly walked away and waved her hand, "Stay out of trouble, alright? I don't want to see you in the news again creating–"
"Good morning Paige and Paragon!"
And before Silvie could leave the building, a tall half-naked man suddenly entered; wrapped in a life jacket with a snorkel hanging on his neck.
"..."
"..."
"...Silv?"
Of course, it was none other than Gary.
"..." Silvie could really only freeze in her spot as she looked at Gary. She was about to completely ignore him and just pass by him…
…But alas, sadly for her, the rest of the Baby Crew showed themselves one by one.
"Mega G?" Bella was the first to react from the girls as a smile appeared on her face.
"Silv!?" Next was Katrina, who quickly rushed towards her and hugged her, "It… it's been so long."
"H… Hi."
And lastly, it was Hannah, who just looked at her with a growing frown on her face.
"...What are you doing here?"
"I was just about to leave," Silvie, who was about to hug Katrina back, quickly but gently pushed her away as she looked Hannah straight in the eyes,
"Paragon and I just happened to meet each other."
"Wait, you leaving already?" Bella blocked her path, "Sis, stay. We haven't seen you for like a year."
"..." Silvie only shook her head as she walked past the Baby Crew,
"I don't think I'm welcome here."
Chapter 346"I… don't think I am welcome here."
"That…"
And very soon, a somber music echoed through the air as the members of the Baby Crew could really only look to the side. Silvie's words, resonating through their ears along with the melancholic air.
Riley was still unaware of what happened between them, but it would seem that the ones who fought were Hannah and Silvie; as the only one that didn't really talk to her in a friendly tone was Hannah.
"It… was nice seeing you all again," Silvie then nodded, "Just… call me when things get tough above the skies, I'll fly instantly."
"...We're actually not returning anytime soon."
And before Silvie could take another step towards the door, Gary spoke up.
"What? What do you mean? Why?"
"No idea," Gary only shrugged his shoulders before finally removing the floater around his waist, "The BBB just told us there's no need to worry about invasions for a while. So we're just playing– I mean, we're just focusing our attention here."
"...The BBB?"
"Big Black Boss."
"You mean Empress?" Silvie could not help but raise an eyebrow as she took a subtle glance toward Bella, who only sighed in response as if she was just completely done with Gary's antics.
"But what about–"
"It doesn't have anything to do with you."
And before Silvie could finish her words, Hannah suddenly stepped forward and stood close to her; looking her straight in the eyes,
"You've made that very clear when you left."
"You kicked me out."
"You fucking kicked yourself out."
"C…come on, bros," Gary then got in between the two; raising both his hands in surrender as he did so, "It's… It's been more than a year. Maybe it's time to forgive and forget?"
And while he did that, both Bella and Katrina just took a step back; completely not wanting anything to do with the situation that was about to unfold.
"Oh, and have you? Forget?" Hannah said; the tone of her voice, almost piercing Gary right through the marrow of his bones, "Have you, Kat?"
"..." Katrina's eyes widened as Hannah suddenly mentioned her name. She was about to open her mouth, but only a stutter whispered from it as she once again looked to the side.
"W… well," Gary slightly glanced at Silvie, "She did–"
"What she did was make it very clear for us that she didn't want anything to do with us," Hannah then said as she finally backed away,
"To think I'm supposed to be the unstable one."
"In… in all honesty, the two of you belong to a mental hospital after the things you've been through," Gary said as he closed his eyes, waiting for the pain that was about to fall upon him– but nothing. The two just stood there in silence as they looked at the floor.
"..." That's when Gary knew shit was truly serious. Of course, why wouldn't it be? After what happened a year ago, things would surely not be the same.
And soon, only the echo of the somber music filled the air, as the group stood there in silence with not even their breaths attempting to revive the situation.
"..." Silvie glanced at the Baby Crew for one final time, lightly biting her lip before closing her eyes; letting a tear trail on her cheek as she walked away.
Katrina was about to say something and approach her, but before she could do so, Silvie suddenly stopped… and rushed towards the bar and started chugging the first bottle of alcohol her hands could find.
"..."
"..."
Gary could only cover his mouth with his fingers as he looked at Bella; his shoulders, slightly raised as he quietly mouthed the words What, The, and Fuck.
Bella only shook her head in response. The two, exchanging words in silence as Silvie downed another bottle. Gary then once again looked at Bella, gesturing with his eyes as if asking if they should stop her.
But Bella, once again, only shook her head in response.
And very soon, with the 4th bottle, Silvie suddenly let out a quiet scream.
"Look, I'm sorry? Okay!?" Silvie then said as she looked at the members of the Baby Crew one by one,
"It's just everything was so fucking confusing back then," Silvie's breaths started to become gasps as a fountain of tears almost flowed from her eyes, "I… I was… I was lonely and… I just… I was confused! When… when I realized what I was doing I stopped."
"..."
"I stopped before anything… anything drastic could happen, you have to believe me!" Silvie breathed out as she looked at Katrina, "I… I was wrong, I knew I was wrong… I… I'm sorry, okay."
The music that flowed through the air became intense; mimicking the heavy atmosphere that suddenly blanketed the entire lobby.
"..." Hannah could only cross her arms, biting her lip to prevent her tears from falling before also looking at Katrina. Bella and Gary were still looking at each other, talking to themselves in silence as their eyes also slightly became sedated.
Katrina didn't really say anything; her head, just looking down at the floor and letting her tears fall onto it.
"I… I really am sorry," Silvie's gasps continued, "It's just… I know I'm just making excuses. But… I was just so tired of… of feeling like my entire existence is one big mistake so… So I lashed out when you guys confronted me about it. I… I became so stubborn that I… that I convinced myself that maybe… maybe I deserve to be happy, you know? I was so clouded that I thought I deserved to be happy at the expense of my friends. It's fucked…
…everything's just so… fucked."
And very slowly, as silence once again flowed through the air and only their rasped breaths echoed; the music became silent– almost as if letting everything rest. It was still there, of course… somber, quiet… repenting. A reflection of the scenery that it performed to.
"The truth is…" Silvie then wiped the tears enveloping her face as she grabbed another bottle, "...I just… I missed you, guys. I know I don't have the right to but–"
And before she could finish her words, Katrina suddenly stomped her way towards her; stealing the bottle she was holding before also trying to chug it down.
But alas, before the contents of the bottle could even be halved, Katrina vehemently started coughing. She didn't let anyone help her, however, as she wiped her face clean of everything that was on it.
"I… I also think this has lasted long enough, guys," Katrina said as her eyes trailed towards the members of the Baby Crew,
"Look…" Katrina then let out a short but very deep breath as she looked Silvie straight in the eyes, "I haven't forgotten what you did… but I've forgiven you for a very long time now…
…all of us have."
"..." Hannah once again crossed her arms at Katrina's words.
Gary shrugged before looking away.
As for Bella, she really only raised her eyebrows and let out a breath.
"..."
"They're not showing it but they have. We… I think… we were really just waiting for this. For you to show remorse and actually care about what you did. B… Because back then it felt like you didn't really regret what you did and even… even threw it at my face, you know?" Katrina said as she forced a small chuckle,
"You smothered that shit, sprinkled it with tons of booger, and threw it at my face."
"I–"
"It's just… what I'm saying is that the only one here who has not forgiven what you did…
…is you."
A loud gasp whispered from Silvie's mouth as she looked at Katrina. She was about to say something, but before she could do so, Katrina suddenly embraced her,
"And we miss you too. All of us," Katrina breathed out, "The truth is, the group's been falling apart. It… it's not just the same with all of us."
"Yeah, whose fault is that?" Gary worded out as he looked at Hannah, "We have a growing little tyrant in our hands."
"What?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she let out a small scoff, "This is a team effort! All of us decide!"
"Well… you ain't listening to us, girl," Bella joined in as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Because all of your ideas are shit!" Hannah said as she looked at Gary and Bella in the eyes, "Try to make a baby with the aliens, then strap a bomb inside it and return it to them? What the fuck!?"
"Well… I think it's a genius plan," Gary nodded to himself.
"We're not evil savages, Gary. And you only contributed that plan when those freakishly tall, female-looking human aliens showed up!"
Hannah didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "The only one that actually has a humane and normal contribution in ideas here was Silvie! And…
…she went and– Can you please stop fucking playing that goddamn piano!?"
Hannah then violently pointed at Paragon, who has been playing the piano the entire time. In fact, he was probably the entire reason why this entire situation happened in the first place. If he wasn't playing that music that made the situation more emotional than it is…
…then Silvie would have just probably left.
Paragon, however, instead of stopping, played a raging tune that reflected Hannah's frustration.
"You– fuck!" Hannah then stomped her foot before rushing to the bar and grabbing a bottle. And very soon, Gary and Bella joined in as they just stood there in silence– sharing the alcohol.
"What... what happened to him, anyway?" Silvie then hesitatingly opened up.
"...He was murdered."
"What?" Silvie looked at Hannah as soon as she heard that, "You didn't--"
"I didn't kill him! What the fuck!?"
"We... we believe it... it was the Endless Dark," Katrina whispered.
"...Nightqueen?" Silvie's eyes widened, "...Why?"
And before the conversation could really become tense again, Paragon stopped playing the piano as he, too, approached the bar. Gary was about to hand him a glass, but he shook his head and looked at Silvie.
"T… thanks for inviting me in, Paragon," Silvie then nodded.
"Okay…
…But you need to pay for all of that."
"..."
"You're not a member of the agency. You need to pay for every bottle you open."
"..."
"..."
"Then…
…I can just join?"
"...Okay, please sign-- Paige."
And before Paragon could finish his words, he suddenly flew away-- almost blowing all the bottles away and even breaking the windows as he went straight through it.
"...What was that?"
"Should... we follow him?"
***
"Please... please just go away."
Back in the penthouse, Paige was currently surrounded by darkness; hiding in the closet and forcing her eyes to closed, "Adam... Riley... Where... where are you?"
"!!!"
Paige then covered her ears as... a visceral drumming quaked the air itself; the sound, almost as if it was grinding Paige's bones.
"You..." A voice then seeped through the cracks of the closet. The voice... eerily similar to hers,
...Do you think you're allowed to be happy?"
Chapter 347"Do… you think you're allowed to be happy?"
The sound was viscous. Gnarly — seeping through every pore. If anything, it felt even louder when Paige covered her ears. She recognized that voice anywhere, of course… It was hers.
But more than the voice, however, was the visceral sound that drummed endlessly in the air; gnawing at the deepest parts of her bones. The noise it created seemed enough to grind her bones into dust.
It was the sound of a chainsaw.
A chainsaw that could only cut one thing in this world — her.
"Leave… please, just leave me alone!" Paige screamed as she crawled further back into the closet; but alas, there were really only so many steps she could take before she hit the back of the closet.
"You don't deserve to be happy, Paige."
Paige closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she could see the light seeping from the cracks of the closet being covered by a shadow.
"You don't deserve to be happy…
…not after what you did."
"Just leave me alone!" Paige once again let out a scream — and suddenly, the shadow covering the light from seeping through the closet disappeared. And finally, there was silence.
The only sound that whispered in the air was Paige's fettered and heavy breaths; her hair, already sticking onto her face from the sweat that almost drowned her entire body.
Still, even with the silence, Paige just stayed inside the closet, staring at the cracks to see if she would return. But a few seconds went by, and nothing. It would seem it was… over.
She then let out one final deep breath as she moved; but before she could reach for the closet doors, she noticed a face looking at her through the other end of the closet — hiding between the clothes with her eyes as wide as they could possibly be.
"It will never…"
Paige could only sit there petrified as she stared back at these murderous eyes that belong to a face eerily similar to hers.
"...It will never be over!" The face then jumped out of the clothes; not affecting anything else except Paige as a pair of unnaturally long arms tried to grab her feet.
"No!" Fortunately for Paige, she was able to force her way out of the closet; not even looking back as she ran. But from the sound that only she was hearing, the thing was chasing her.
"Why… why is this house so big." And even with a tall lanky monster wearing her face chasing her, Paige's thoughts suddenly went to her old apartment. If this was in her old apartment, there wouldn't be any need to run as she would have already reached the door.
Never buy a large house, because in most horror movies, it's the large house with the stairs in front of the main door that's haunted. At least in smaller houses, you already know your fate and there's no need to run because there's nowhere to run in the first place.
And so, with that thought circling in Paige's mind… she quickly turned around and materialized her old house, trapping the tall lanky monster inside it.
But before she could even let out a smile, the house was cut in half — no, it was sawed in half.
"Running somewhere?" And finally, the only thing that Paige truly fears is now in front of her…
…herself.
— Except with a creepy and cheeky smile, and a chainsaw that stood taller than her body.
"Die!" And without even waiting for anything else, the Other Paige rushed towards her, brandishing the giant chainsaw almost as if it was just made with paper.
Paige took in a deep breath as her arms were suddenly wrapped by some sort of armor that seemed to be made of the same material as Megawoman's statue in the Hero Association.
"You think that can save you!?" The Other Paige's laugh cackled in her ears, "Die!"
Well, fortunately for Paige, she didn't really get the chance to test whether or not her gauntlets could withstand Other Paige's torso.
"...Which one is the real you?"
"R– Adam!" A smile quickly grew on Paige's face; the armor wrapped around her hand, instantly withering away as soon as she saw Riley's back.
"So… this is the other Paige you told me about, Paige?"
Riley was currently holding the chainsaw even as it continued to spin violently; the blades, not even dulling or melting as Riley increased the temperature in his hand to an extreme degree.
"The boyfriend arrives," Other Paige then let out a small giggle as one of her hands let go of the chainsaw… only for a gigantic hammer to emerge from it — the size of a car.
"Paige just had to bring and involve someone else into her pain, gotcha!"
"!!!"
Other Paige then swung the hammer towards Riley, causing him to be violently thrown away straight through the walls of the penthouse and to the outside.
"Adam! I… I'm sorry! I… I promise… I'm not… I can't control it!"
"Ugh, don't flatter yourself," Other Paige lazily tilted her head towards Paige as she groaned in disgust, "You're not capable of controlling anything in your life. You're just a sad little witch that should be living alone in a lonely little shack away from people. Now, stay there while I take care of your boyfriend."
"Stop!" Paige quickly surrounded Other Paige with chains before she could even take a single step.
"Cute," these chains, however, were quickly ground away by Other Paige's chainsaw. And without even waiting for another word, a… floating glider appeared beneath her feet,
"Time to party!"
More than a dozen missiles then shot out from the glider; moving with her as she flew forward at the same time — and all of them, just passing through the walls and not affecting even a speck of single dust.
"Haha!"
"..." Riley, who was just casually waiting and floating a few meters outside the penthouse, could only let out a sigh as he saw several missiles flying at him. But most importantly, Other Paige was also flying toward him holding a giant hammer and a giant chainsaw.
Riley has seen aliens and a whole other planet — but Paige has truly shown him things weirder than any of those.
Riley let out another sigh as he stretched his hands to the side, and soon, swords of light emerged from them; and perhaps as if mimicking Other Paige, the swords he summoned were probably the length of an entire bus.
"That's fucking cool," Other Paige cackled as she saw Riley's silhouette. With his long black hair waving with the wind; his eyes that seemed completely unperturbed about anything — it was no wonder Paige was sticking to him.
And soon, Riley started waving the swords, almost too casually as he deflects the missiles that threatened to explode in his face.
"D–"
"Paragon!"
And before Other Paige could reach Riley, a small thunder could be heard rumbling in the air as Silvie suddenly arrived; her hands, already moving towards Other Paige's glider. Other Paige, on the other hand, just raised an eyebrow as Silvie just went through the glider.
"...What?" Silvie could not help but blink a couple of times as she looked at her hand and Other Paige back and forth. A beam then shot out from her eyes as she tried to destroy the chainsaw, only for it to once again just pass through it.
"Well, that's awkward," Other Paige only shrugged her shoulders, before once again rushing towards Riley and started clumsily but violently waving her gigantic weapons.
They couldn't get past Riley's swords, however, as they just keep on getting split into two… but then instantly fix themselves as if nothing happened.
Silvie was still confused as to just what kind of ability the woman has, but she didn't really think twice before rushing towards her to try and at least put her on a choke hold — she did not expect, however, that even her body was intangible.
"...What's going on, Paragon!?"
She then focused her attention on Paragon, who was clearly fighting this intangible being. Soon, however, as she took the time to stare at the woman's face, she realized who she was.
"Wait… isn't this your partner!? Why are the two of you fight--"
And as Silvie said that, several planes suddenly emerged out of nowhere. Of course, in instinct, Silvie attempted to slow them down-- but once again, it just passed through her as they all collided with Paragon in the center.
But soon, however, they disappeared as if they didn't exist in the first place.
"What's going on!?"
And before Silvie could get her answers, Hannah also arrived — and just like Silvie, she tried to throw a ball of fire at Other Paige only for it to pass through her.
"...Isn't that Paige!?" She was about to throw another, but quickly recognized who it was.
"No," Riley, who was once again seemingly just casually waving off the giant hammer and chainsaw threatening to mow him down, turned to look at Hannah,
"It's… her monster."
"Her monster?" Hannah slightly furrowed her eyebrows for a few seconds, before her eyes started to widen,
"Where is she!?"
"There," Riley then let go of one of his swords as he pointed at the penthouse; the sword, still moving on its own, deflecting the attacks as if its owner was still holding it,
"She–"
"I understand."
And without even waiting for Paragon to finish his words, Hannah flew towards the penthouse.
"What the heck is going on!?" Silvie, who was still completely out of the loop as to what was happening, could really only follow Hannah to the penthouse.
And as soon as they stepped onto the terrace… a group of people who seemed like doctors welcomed them. Well, not really welcomed them as they just walked around.
Silvie grabbed one of them by the shoulder to talk, only for her hand to once again pass through.
"...Can you tell me what's going on, Hannah?"
"That."
Silvie then quickly looked at where Hannah was pointing to, only to see Paige being surrounded by a bunch of doctors — all holding a syringe.
"Seriously…" Hannah then let out a sigh as she carefully stepped closer, "Just for once…
...Why can't we meet normal people?"
Chapter 348"What… the heck is that?"
Ever since Silvie left the Baby Crew, her life… has been quite uneventful. It was always just probably the typical hero life — wake up, rescue people, cry, sleep.
Of course, it was everything that she ever wanted. What else could she ask? Although she was made to be a replacement for Megawoman, she truly, genuinely, liked being a hero. Just seeing the faces of the people she saves, the way they get to go home to their families — that was her life.
But of course, it could still get boring. In fact, it could get boring pretty fast. The supervillains usually give up as soon as she arrives, and there hasn't really been a threat to her life. Of course, it was good that there wasn't a threat; because if there were, then there would also be a threat to the people.
…But it was boring.
And unlike Megawoman… she was being treated more like a celebrity than an actual hero — sometimes even by those people whose lives she just rescued from total annihilation. Maybe it's because she's young?
Well, that was her life without the Baby Crew. And now, not even an hour after she reconciled with her old team…
…something weird was happening.
She wasn't initially going to follow Paragon when he suddenly flew away from the agency earlier… but the speed of his flight caused Silvie to take a pause. When she was following earlier, he never once showed a speed like that — a speed that even Silvie needed to exert effort to achieve.
And so, when she thought of that, she decided to chase after Paragon; and it would seem Hannah did the same. And it was a good thing she did… because Silvie has no idea what to do with the situation she finds herself in right now.
"What… the heck is that?"
"You already fucking said that," Hannah could only click her tongue, "We… need to slap some sense into that woman."
"...On it."
"No!" Silvie was about to step closer to Paige, but Hannah quickly stopped her, "It… will be dangerous to stop her in this condition."
"...But aren't they just illusions?" Silvie grabbed one of the doctors, only for her hand to pass through it, "I don't even hear them."
"It's real for her… It's real to her," Hannah could not help but let out a small but very deep sigh as she stared at Paige.
She was being surrounded by more than a dozen doctors, tightly strapped on some sort of operating bed; not able to move her limbs from the metal locks. Her mouth was also covered by a gag to prevent her from screaming.
But judging by her eyes which were turning red from the tears drowning them, she was awake — widely awake and…
"...She could feel everything," Hannah once again sighed.
"What!?" Silvie focused her attention on the doctors surrounding Paige. Most of them were holding some sort of large syringe, while half of them…
…were holding a small saw.
"Then we need to save her!"
"Yeah, no shit," Hannah forced a chuckle, "But if we suddenly moved her in that state, we don't know how it'll affect her… Paragon probably knows what to do."
"I'll ask him," without even waiting for Hannah to say anything else, Silvie stepped out of the penthouse… only to return back without even her feet leaving the terrace.
"What did he say?"
"He… he's kinda busy," Silvie took in a small gulp.
"What do you mean busy!?"
"You'll… probably see it on the news later."
"Bullshit, we need him. He's the only one that could interact with these things!" Hannah rolled her eyes, before also stepping out onto the terrace, "Para—"
She was about to scream, but then saw… several dragons and probably more than a thousand valkyries surrounding Paragon; not giving him even a millisecond of rest.
Does Paige's ability even have a limit to the things she could create? If she couldn't control her abilities, how is she even alive in the first place?
Truly, the people the Baby Crew meet are wonderful and curious creatures.
"..." Hannah was about to also step back inside — but even if she does, there really was no way of her helping Paige. She could probably try talking to her… but she was probably the worst at that. Silvie could try, but she was as fucked up as Hannah, just not too obvious in her case.
They… could try, but it might make things worse.
"Silv… Want… want to try and talk to her?" Hannah peered inside the penthouse.
"M… Me?" Silvie took in a small gulp, "I… don't even know her!"
"That's what I thought," Hannah sighed as she once again stepped out to the terrace,
"Paragon!" She screamed, "Your partner needs your fucking help! She's surrounded by these… bunch of fucking psycho doctors and–"
And before Hannah could finish her words; a flash of light suddenly rippled in the sky, with Paragon as the center. It was bright — bright enough to drown and blanket the entire city in nothing but a void of white.
And judging by all the squeaks Hannah could hear from below, most of the people that were driving their cars stepped on their breaks as they couldn't see. None of them could as the light was almost blinding.
Perhaps within the entire city, Hannah was only one of the few people that could, as her eyes were made to endure and see through even the sun.
And there, she saw. She saw the illusions disintegrate as this light rippled from his body… only for them to once again spring out to life almost as if nothing happened. Hannah was about to let out a breath of frustration as she saw this, how can one even kill illusions?
She was sure nobody has ever experienced something like this before; but before she could express it, something happened that caused her to let out a small, but very deep gasp.
The illusions, they all stopped. Just frozen — completely halted in the air. And almost as if it was just the most casual thing he did, Paragon started to move away and fly towards the penthouse.
"H… hey," Hannah could really only stutter; not even knowing why she raised her hand to greet Paragon as he stepped onto the terrace, "Your… your friend is there."
"Thank you for telling me."
"S… sure," Hannah did not really follow Paragon inside, and instead just stared at the illusions frozen still in the sky. Was that it? Was their weakness some sort of bright light?
"..." Or was Paragon also a telekinetic? Riley is—
Hannah quickly shook her head before any thoughts of Riley once again invaded her mind. She had already resolved herself not to mistake Paragon with Riley, but now she was doing it again not even a day after.
The similarities between the two were just… a coincidence. And if Paragon truly was Riley, then why would he even act similar to him? Riley was lying to her all their lives, it wouldn't make sense.
And so, with her slowly calming her mind down, she finally entered the penthouse… only to be welcomed by a pool of blood. The realism of Paige's illusions was truly on a different level.
Even though Hannah knew she couldn't smell it; the blood didn't even ripple as she stepped on it… it was almost as if she could taste it in her mouth — it looked that real.
"...What the fuck happened here?"
"...Paragon just sliced them all up with his light swords," Silvie whispered as she stood beside Hannah, "In less than a second, I think he has super speed. I could still easily follow his movements… but it was disgusting how he sliced up the doctors even though they were just illusions."
"..." Hannah didn't really choose to ask any further as she focused on Paragon, who was now pulling the metal straps with his hand… and as soon as he removed the gag on Paige's mouth, she quickly embraced him.
"A… Adam!" Paige's cries were loud; probably enough to seep from the penthouse. And then, as soon as Paragon returned her embrace, the illusions all just suddenly disappeared — not fade, just… disappeared like they were never there.
It's not Riley, Hannah thought as she closed her eyes in relief. Riley would never ever do something like this; show affection? Riley has never really learned how to do that.
"...I guess that's that," Hannah let out a sigh as she tapped Silvie on the arm, "Let's give them some space and wait on the terrace."
"Y… yeah," Silvie looked at the two for a few seconds, before nodding her head and turning around.
"It's okay, Paige. You're alright,"
But before the two could step out, Paragon's voice almost resonated through their ears as they stopped and glanced at him.
"You're safe, nothing is going to hurt you here. I know you're scared, but nothing is going to hurt you while I am here."
"I thought the two were together…" Silvie slightly sniffled,
"...But aren't they more like siblings? Maybe they are?"
"Y… yeah," Hannah, on the other hand, just stood there staring at the two. She thought the same — siblings. Of course, she thought the same.
The words that Paragon uttered to Paige — it was familiar. She remembers it so suddenly… After all…
It was the same thing she said to Riley when they were younger; when the water heater exploded and she shielded him. She was sure of it…
…it was the exact same words.
Chapter 349"Man… it's been a few days, and they're still showing that on the news."
"Dragons, G. Even with all them aliens trying to ransack the shit out of Earth, dragons is where we draw the line."
"Anyway, Paige and Paragon really know how to market their shit."
A week has passed since Paige's manic episode, and the Paige and Paragon agency has once again recruited staff to resurrect their building — it didn't even take long, however, as the agency was practically being funded by the World Government; most of the staff were from the big office.
They thought their work would be lighter compared to before. After all, working for the office that practically ran the world vs. some little agency? The reduction in their workload was obvious…
…or so they thought.
They completely underestimated how popular the agency became.
The Baby Crew.
Megagirl.
They didn't think much about it at first, but just these two brought the eyes of the entire world towards Paige and Paragon.
Who wouldn't want to be in an agency with the superhero group that is practically replacing the Hope Guild, and with Megagirl, who was practically the next coming of Megawoman?
And as if that wasn't enough — the founders of the Agency were also… freaks of nature.
It wasn't really clear what happened, but Paragon was all over the news; fighting multiple dragons and an army of angels above New Jersey. Of course, in the eyes of most people, it was just a publicity stunt by the agency to showcase what the founders could do.
After all, most founders of superhero agencies were actually human — it was weird, but it is what it is.
Paige's powers were illusions, but during the battle, everyone could see that Paragon truly was fighting with the monsters. And so, some of the people have cooked up this weird theory that it was the way Paragon trained daily, by fighting unimaginable monsters.
There are all sorts of other theories moving around, but one thing was sure.
Almost overnight, Paige and Paragon overtook the entire world.
"..." And that was evident with the line of people wanting to join the agency.
"Look at all these cute little fuckers, though," Hannah, who was loitering in the corner of the lobby with the rest of the Baby Crew, could not help but roll her eyes as she saw this long and almost endless line,
"I swear, being a superhero is becoming like a clown now. No one's in it for the sake of actually being a hero."
"H… Hannah, they could hear you."
"She… has a point, though," Silvie shook her head as she stopped fiddling with her phone, "People are saving people not for the sake of saving people anymore — they're doing it for the views."
"Y… yeah, right?" Gary slightly stuttered as he looked to the side. He was about to press record on his phone, but decided to hide it… for now.
"Well, at least they be saving people, you know?" Bella let out a small sigh, "Doing it in front of a camera or not ain't gonna matter."
"Y… yeah," Gary then once again grabbed his phone, "And if you guys are forgetting, we're in an agency now. We… are kinda required to stream?"
"No, we're not," Silvie blinked a couple of times.
"What? What are you saying? Of course we are. That's what superhero agencies are for," Gary insisted.
"Well, yes. But we're not required to stream or record," Silvie shrugged her shoulders, "We will record only if we want to…
…didn't you read the contract?"
"...What contract?" Gary looked at Hannah and the others, only for them to shake their heads and sigh in frustration,
"Wait, you guys signed a contract?"
"Pft." Hearing Gary's words, Silvie and Hannah could not help but let out a small chuckle.
"The world has gone to shit, and you never changed," Hannah breathed out.
"You said the same thing our first day in the Academy," Silvie sighed,
"Never change, Gary Gray."
"No, I changed," Gary then looked at the members of the Baby Crew in the eyes one by one,
"I now have more than a million subscribers!"
He then said as he raised his phone in the air; placing him and the others in frame, "What is up!? Baby Crew is back together and we are live in Paige— Hey… wait, where are you guys going!?"
And so, the onslaught of people wanting to get inside the agency continued — with not even one actually even passing it through the screening. There were even normal humans trying to get in, and saying that they were the next Whiteking; but alas, most of them didn't even know a single programming language.
And so, Paige and Riley were completely alone in their office for the entire day.
"W… wait, I… I don't think I'm ready."
"It's alright, Paige."
"I… I don't think it will fit."
"It will."
"M… maybe my… my illusions can do it instead?"
"That is impossible."
"..."
"..."
"F… fine, put… put– Hng!"
And since they weren't really doing anything, Paige just decided that it was finally time… for her to try on her superhero suit.
"Perhaps you should remove your clothes first so—"
"No. Nope. That's not going to happen," Paige forced the tight costume; but alas, with her wearing clothes, it was almost impossible to fully fit around her. It was the same suit she created with her mind; a suit similar to Paragon's except a lighter blue in color.
Riley had asked her why she just doesn't continue using her abilities to create the suit, but Paige said that it wasn't the same.
And so, here they were.
"M… maybe I got fat," Paige then shook her head as she removed the suit.
"You're just wearing clothes, Paige."
"Y… you want to see me naked that much?"
"No."
"...Rea–"
And before Paige could ask, a knock echoed through the door.
"Ms. Paige, Mr. Paragon. We have someone for you to interview."
"F… finally!" Paige quickly threw her suit to the side, carefully fixing her hair as well as Riley's… but there really was nothing to fix, "Why is your hair so perfect all the time?"
"Please, come—"
And before Paige could once again finish her words, Riley covered her mouth,
"The people below should have called us if someone passed the screening," Riley then said as he let go of Paige's mouth.
"What… then—"
And before Paige could finish her words; her entire vision was suddenly filled with light… followed by a thunderous explosion that shook the entire building.
"W… what now!?" Paige blinked a couple of times before she was able to recover her vision, but as soon as she did, she saw Paragon grabbing someone by the neck in the middle of their office,
"We… we just had this fixed," she then whispered as she looked at the office… which now had a clear view of the horizon.
"What was that!?" And from the view, appeared Silvie, holding a huge debris that was probably previously their office's wall; she then immediately threw the chunk of concrete towards the sea as soon as she saw Paragon strangling someone.
"And who is this now?" She then let out a short but very deep breath as she stepped into the office.
"I don't know…" Paragon shook his head,
"...yet."
"Agh!"
"A… Adam!?"
Paige took a step closer, while Silvie a step back as Paragon suddenly pulled a tooth from the man he was holding.
"Who are you?"
"F… for Thousandblade… and the House of Super!"
"He's going to blow! Throw him out!" Silvie quickly hugged and secured Paige as the man suddenly started to light up.
Paragon, however, instead of throwing the man towards the horizon, grabbed him by the face and crotch… and folded him in half.
"..."
"..."
And before anyone could say anything, the body of the man, who was clearly already dead…
…still exploded.
This explosion, however, to Silvie's surprise… was kept in a large ball– with Paragon holding it like some kind of bubble. With her vision, she could see how the man's mangled body was all torn up inside like some sort of smoothie in a fire.
And very soon, this ball just became the size of a basketball.
"...House of Super, do you know what that is?" Paragon then casually dropped this lump of burnt flesh as he looked at Silvie.
"N… No? It–"
And then once again, an explosion. This time, however, far away— not even in the same street; but Silvie could still hear it.
And then, another… and another — almost all at the same time.
And soon, it was followed by a voice.
A voice that probably echoed throughout the entire planet.
[We are the House of Super. And what you have just witnessed is us killing those who have betrayed our kind.]
"Where… is that coming from?" Silvie closed her eyes to try and pinpoint the location of the voice, but nothing. It was almost as if… it was just flowing with the air itself.
[For thousands of years, we have listened to the demands of those inferior to us. For thousands of years, we have oppressed our inner selves to try and live with them. But what did they do?
They experimented on the woman that has become their symbol of hope and salvation! Us Supers should not follow the whims of men, we are gods! And on that day, on that fateful day when we discovered their transgressions…
…Riley Ross showed us the way! He sacrificed his life, not for these puny humans…
…but for us!]
"..." Paige could not help but blink a couple of times as she turned to look at Paragon, who now had his hand on his chin. And if he was saying something right now, he was probably asking—
—When did he do that?
Chapter 350[Riley Ross has shown us what we are truly capable of! He saved Megawoman, before ultimately sacrificing his life in the battle that would decide the fate of the Earth! And what did the humans do all that time?
Nothing! They cry, they run, and they beg for us to save them! And while they do that, they also defiled Megawoman — ingrates! We are not meant to serve the humans, they are meant to serve us! We—]
"I was watching that!"
"Not anymore."
"...I just want to launch the agency."
And so, once again; the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency was empty. The citizens were ordered to return to their homes as Empress ordered a worldwide lockdown… because the bombing wasn't just in the US, but rocked the entire world.
One would think the casualty would amount to millions, but it wasn't even in the ten thousand. The attacks were calculated, precise to the tiniest little detail. They targeted those in the government, normal humans that even had a tinge expressing dislike for supers.
Perhaps the odd one out was the attack on Paragon — but since he killed Thousandblade, a presumed high-ranking member of the House of Super, they ruled it out as an act of vengeance and a show of strength of their organization.
Sadly for them… Paragon was actually streaming live as he turned the attacker into a cheese ball.
Because of this, Empress personally ordered for them to just stay inside the building — as they might be attacked again once they go outside. In truth, though, she just didn't want to handle any trouble they would cause if they went outside.
As if she wasn't already dead busy surveying the expanse of space for anything amiss, a civil war on the surface of the planet just had to happen. There was also the threat of Caitlain — suffice to say, she was tied on all sides.
She was going to ask Tempo and Hera for help, but Butcher, as her head of security and sometimes legal advisor, told her that they might just make matters worse being a superhero powerhouse.
She asked Bulwark for help, but once again, he refused — saying that the students of the Academy were his main focus.
And so, because of this, she was as stuck in the office as much as the Baby Crew, Paige, and Paragon was stuck in the agency.
"We should be out there busting out some neo-terrorists!"
"I… didn't think it was real," Katrina whispered as she fiddled with her phone; before showing a forum to the rest of the group, "I happened to come across this while I was searching for memes to send in the group chat."
"..." Gary and the others quietly looked at the contents of the forum, only to be bombarded by an onslaught of slews, hatred, disgusting words, and bigoted content against normal people. And judging by the replies and the comments, most if not all of the users were supers.
And then, there it is — House of Super. Some of the users started mentioning the House of Super.
"Can we still reply to this thread?" Hannah asked.
"No, it's been archived a year ago."
"This has been going on for a year!? What the fuck is that useless tall bitch doing!?" Hannah let out a loud scoff as she looked at the newly installed CCTV camera on the corner of the lobby, "I know you can hear us! We're going out there whether you like it or not!"
"S… shouldn't we just stay here?"
"C'mon, K. Where's your sense of adventure?"
Bella, who didn't seem that interested in what was happening, started walking away; her suit which seemed to be made of metal, opening up into some sort of wing of steel. She looked at the blades for a while, before they once again blanketed her like a cloak.
"...Did you just try to do an Australian accent?" Gary said as he too, tightened his gauntlets.
"S… Silv? Shouldn't we stop them?" Katrina could only approach Silvie as the rest of the Baby Crew started suiting up. To her surprise, however, Silvie also started stretching,
"W… weren't we strictly ordered not to leave!?"
"Yes," Silvie shrugged, "But Megawoman doesn't really follow the government's orders. And since I am walking in her footsteps, I might as well do the same."
"...What the fuck happened to you while you weren't with us?" Hannah could only chuckle as she heard Silvie's words.
"I did a little soul searching," Silvie smiled, "Trying to find myself and all that stuff. And besides, it's not like the situation outside doesn't involve us. If these guys were inspired by… your brother, then all the more reason we should be the ones to actually handle this."
"...Yeah," Hannah let out a small but very deep breath, "Even when he's gone… he still causes pain and suffering to the world."
"That's… not what I meant," Silvie could only look to the side as her voice became weaker.
"Genocidal maniacs will always exist," Hannah sighed, "The last one just happened to be my brother."
"So… cool…"
Paige, who had been watching them from the piano with Paragon, could not help but stop herself from squealing as she recorded what was happening. She chose not to do a livestream, as doing so would give out their plans and their position — but once she uploads this and the people see it, more people would certainly apply to them; hopefully, someone actually passes the screening.
"This… this is so cool," Paige said as she looked at Paragon, who was just casually playing the piano.
"They're okay," Paragon only tilted his head, "The current Hope Guild was still stronger when they were complete."
"Well, duh. They have more experience. And how would you even— right, right," Paige stopped her words as soon as she remembered who she was talking to, "So wait, you're saying that if the Hope Guild and the Baby Crew fight, they Baby Crew will lose?"
"Yes," Paragon answered without any hesitation, "Empress and Hera will gang up on Silvie, while Tempo picks the rest of the team one by one — neutralizing Hannah first, then the rest. The fight will be over before it starts."
"...What about the rest of the Hope Guild? I know they've basically disbanded and V went to the Academy, but—"
"They won't be needed," Paragon shook his head.
"No…" Paige squinted her eyes as she stared at Paragon's eyes, "...You're lying. Seriously? Megagirl and Nuclear Seraph are like the two strongest supers out there right now! Hannah can literally go as hot as the sun if she wants to!"
"I suppose," Paragon shrugged, "They will still lose."
"W–"
"Not you're just talking shit about us."
"H–Hannah!" Paige almost jumped as Hannah's voice suddenly echoed behind her; Paige turned around, only to see the Baby Crew there looking at them with slightly furrowed eyebrows,
"J… just so you know. I'm… I'm team Baby Crew. He's the one talking feces about you guys."
"Hm," Hannah crossed her arms as she stared down at Paragon, who hasn't stopped playing the piano for hours now; creating some sort of weird tune that didn't really make any sense, but worked,
"How about you test us yourself to see how strong we are?"
"...I thought we were leaving?" Katrina, who was against leaving the building, could not help but scratch her head as she looked at the others, who just shrugged their shoulders in response.
"We don't even know where we're going yet. And besides, we have time," Hannah smirked as the air around them started to become hotter,
"And we also need the warm-up."
"Well—"
"And if we're going to be working with Paige and Paragon from now on, then isn't it just right to know what they're truly capable of?"
"We have a training hall! You guys can fight there!" Paige smiled in excitement as she looked back and forth between Paragon and Hannah, not even noticing the weird mood that was lingering around them.
"..."
"..."
"It's okay," Paragon stopped playing the piano; sighing as he stood up, "It's a better way to waste my time than just playing the piano."
Hearing those words, Silvie could not help but squint her eyes…
…where has she heard those words before?
***
"...This was here the whole time?" Gary waved his phone around, livestreaming as he explored the so-called training hall of the Paige and Paragon building. Well, they called it that… but it's basically just an empty floor.
"P… please do hold back, okay?" Paige raised his voice so everyone could hear, "I… I think they haven't really reinforced this area."
"!!!"
And as she said that, Silvie stomped her foot on the floor, causing the entire area to shake.
"Should be sturdy enough for a light exercise," she then said before looking at Paragon. In truth, she also wanted to know what he was truly capable of— there was also the fact that he seemed to be underestimating them.
"So, who do you want to spar with?" Hannah once again smirked.
"I volunteer to be first," Bella stepped forward as her metal suit seemed to vibrate, before lightly exploding away from her body and scattering in the air like butterflies, leaving her in an all-black inner suit.
She then snapped her fingers, and as soon as she did so, the fragments of her metal suit that were fluttering in the air all collected in one area, turning into some sort of large spear that was sharp enough to penetrate the floor.
"Shall we dance?" Bella said as she got into a stance.
"No," Paragon, however, only shook his head as he stepped forward, "You'll lose in one second."
"...Excuse me?"
"How about all of you…
…just fight me at the same time?"
Chapter 351[How about you test us yourself to see how strong we are?]
"...I feel like I'm watching a bunch of children."
"Shouldn't we intervene? There is a 26% chance that the building is going to be destroyed."
"I've known you for a very long time, my friend — but I still think the percentages you speak of is bullshit. And besides, we can't spare any resources for them, they can take care of themselves."
Empress was currently in a room filled with monitors of all different sizes; CCTV, satellite footage, maps, and irregularities in temperature; almost everything and anything that could be considered amiss, they will detect… but it wasn't enough.
"How certain are you that they would be safe?" Butcher stood beside Empress as he looked at the screen that was solely for surveilling the Paige and Paragon agency.
"100%" Empress almost scoffed at Butcher's question. Paragon is a Themarian — Empress thought. And if Butcher knew what she knew, then he would probably even try to ask him for help; Empress wanted to ask too, but since Aerith went through all the trouble of covering his identity, then it was detrimental that no one else finds out.
The time for Aerith and other foreign entities solving Earth's problems was over.
"It has been hours, Empress. We still do not have any leads."
"I can count, Butcher."
"Perhaps… it's time to seek for his help? I am a hundred percent certain that he would be able to find the target in—"
"He is one of the most dangerous criminals on the entire planet," Empress's tone slightly changed as the air around her started to spark, "You want to give someone like that access to a computer?"
"I am saying we can use him," Butcher shook his head and started to leave, "He was just a father that—"
"A father who hid a monster capable of destroying the entire planet."
"Well, as I said…
…he was just a father."
***
"How about all of you… just fight me at the same time?"
Paragon's voice wasn't necessarily loud — no. One might even say that it was quiet.
But still, it resonated through the ears of each of the members of the Baby Crew. Saying that they would lose to the Hope Guild? They could accept that anytime. But this? Paragon was truly and clearly looking down on them.
"Those are fighting words, boy," Bella, who was already at the center of the hall, could not help but scoff as she let out a slight snarl, "How about proving you have it instead of pouting your nonsense?"
"I… I think you pissed them off, Paragon," Paige whispered. Paragon, however, only shook his head as he let out a small sigh.
"I am only stating facts," he then said as he finally once again stepped forward. And as soon as he did so, Paige summoned some sort of translucent cube with animated lines on it that said 'Combatants Only'.
"Hm, I like it," Bella said as she got into a stance, "I take it we lose once we pass through the box? Let's do it!"
"You already lost the moment we met, Black Bell."
"Now you just doing this on purpose. Well, I ain't gonna bite. I'm ready!"
"Y… yeah!" Paige clapped and cheered; Hannah and the others, however, had serious expressions on their faces. It would seem… Paragon truly did piss them off and they weren't just playing along.
"O… Okay," Paige could only clear her throat as she seemed to be the only one enjoying this,
"Get ready for the next battle!" She then said even though this was the first fight of the day,
"Fight!"
"Here—"
"Bell!"
And not even a millisecond after Paige waved her hand, Silvie quickly disappeared from her spot; only to appear behind Bella… who was now near the corner of the training hall. If Silvie didn't soften her plunge, then she would probably be a painting on the wall right now.
"W… what the fuck was that?" Bella let out a small gasp as she quickly touched her chest– it would seem nothing was broken, but it felt like she was hit by a truck; no… perhaps push was the better term for it.
Paragon didn't really hit her when he darted towards her. But instead stopped as soon as she was within arm's reach… and pushed her– all that, happening in less than a second.
Empress, who was still keeping an eye on them from the surveillance cameras, could only shake her head and sigh. She wasn't planning on stopping them anytime soon — this will be a good time to humble them, just like how Megawoman humbled most of the members of the Hope Guild.
Aerith always knew how to hold back. So it makes that Paragon should too.
"..."
Right?
[I told you…
…it would be better for all of you to fight me at the same time," Paragon muttered quietly; his palm still stretched from when he pushed Bella away. He then looked at Hannah straight in the eyes, before finally retracting his stance and once again walking back to his side of the translucent box.
"Man, and I was starting to like you too."
But alas, none seemed to like Paragon's idea, as this time, Gary entered the translucent box — his face, appearing like a hologram as he did so.
"H… here comes a new challenger!" Although Paige was starting to think this was a bad idea, she still couldn't help herself from seeing it through. After all, they've already started — if they didn't continue, everyone would be too distracted trying to think of what could have been. They would be too busy to work on other things, she thought.
"Where were you hiding all this time, man?" Gary said as he started stretching and cracking his neck, "You some kind of hidden expert we don't know of or something?"
"..." Paragon didn't answer and just looked at Gary… with an almost bored expression in his eyes, "Gary Gray, son of Megawoman."
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna cry to mommy if I lose."
"Half themarian… but why so weak?"
"Oh, you went there, huh?" Gary's eyes started to glow red as he nodded several times, "This shit is personal now. You, crazy girl! Start the match."
"M… Me? I… I'm not crazy," Paige blinked a couple of times as she pointed at herself. But alas, no one seems to be listening to her. And so, the only thing she could really do was to try and enjoy the situation.
"Get ready for the next battle!"
"..."
"Figh–"
And without even waiting for Paige to finish her word, Gary shot out a beam straight towards Paragon's face,
"Let's see what you're trying to hide there, master Paragon!" Gary then hissed before letting out a manical chuckle, "We've been together for more than a week now, and we haven't even had a glimpse of your face! That changes now!"
"I quite value my secret identity, Monarch."
"W… what the!?"
But alas, Gary's beam did not even reach Paragon's face, instead, he was blocking it with his palm.
"I… I was holding back! Get ready to face my true power!" Gary then let out a roar as the beam coming out from his eyes became… smoother, "9th Level Omega Bea– Guakh!"
But once again, alas. Before he could finish his chant, Paragon once again disappeared from his spot, only to appear in front of Gary… completely grabbing his face as he very slowly tried to pull him down.
"F… Fuck!" Gary gritted his teeth as he tried his best to keep himself standing; even to the point that his legs started to dig through the floor,
"W… where the fuck… did you suddenly pop out from!?" Gary struggled as he grabbed Paragon's fingers with both his hands, trying to pry them open but couldn't even make them budge,
"W… what the fuck, man!?"
"Why are you so weak?"
And while Gary was struggling for his life, Paragon only shook his head; his whispers, seemingly louder than Gary's muffled screams. It might sound as if he was belittling him to other people, but in truth — Riley truly was curious.
Hannah Ross could possibly be Half Themarian. And although she didn't really have any powers resembling that of their race, her abilities were incredibly strong and one would even say on the same level. It's also possible that Hannah was also just like Riley — someone from a tube.
But Bernard has told them in… very great detail how Diana gave birth to Hannah whenever Hannah becomes rebellious. He told them a lot of times, a lot. Even when they were eating.
Hannah also resembled Diana and Bernard.
He had already explored another planet, and yet he still knew so little — and the answers are all with Caitlain. But…
…would it really matter if he finds out? He wasn't really in search of truth. What would change?
He told Paige who he really is, and nothing really changed between them — because she chose not to change.
So it didn't really matt–
"L… Let go of me already, man!"
"Oh," Paragon blinked a couple of times as he finally let go of Gary's face,
"I forgot you were there."
"I already lost, why are you still dissing me!?" Gary could not help but groan in frustration as he walked out of the translucent box, "S… Silv! Avenge… avenge the name of our mother!"
"Yeah," Silvie was already stepping inside the box before Gary could even step out of it, "W–"
Silvie seemed like she wanted to say something, but before she could do so… Hannah also stepped in.
"...What are you doing?"
"Giving the guy what he wants," Hannah squinted her eyes as she looked at Paragon straight in the eyes, "Attacking him at both sides."
"A… a threesome?"
"...I don't think you know what that really means."
Chapter 352"Can… you really do it?"
"I did it before."
"R… right."
"...Listen in to what they're saying."
"What? No."
Silvie and Hannah were currently discussing ways to completely neutralize and overwhelm Paragon; with Hannah glancing numerous times and trying to make out whatever it was Paige and Paragon were discussing.
"Why not? What's your super-hearing for if you're not going to use it to eavesdrop on people's conversations?" Hannah insisted.
"...To hear people that are asking for help."
"Tch, boring," Hannah could only shake her head and sigh, "I just want to know if they're talking about Riley or not."
"...Why would they be talking about Riley?"
"W… well, 'coz you know — House of Super," Hannah stuttered but quickly cleared her throat as she walked away, "C'mon, let's do this. We haven't fought side by side for an entire year, so it's best to just take our time."
"Don't worry, I can follow your tempo," Silvie said as she stretched her arms, "Shouldn't be too hard, you're not fast."
"...I remember hating you now," Hannah slightly raised an eyebrow as she chuckled, "Hey you! Salon guy, we're ready!"
"...Is that supposed to be me?" Paragon could only blink a couple of times as he looked back and forth between Paige and Hannah.
"Y… yeah," Paige nodded as she gestured to Paragon to go.
"...Why?"
"It's because of your hair! Your hair is smoother and looks more maintained than all of the girls here, now go. They're waiting."
"..." Although Paragon was still quite confused as this was the first time someone was ever calling him that, he still stepped inside the translucent box; causing it to flash in red so as to signal that all combatants were inside.
"Get ready for the next battle!" Paige was going to wait until someone from either side said something, but seeing as none of them were even opening their mouths and just looking at each other, the translucent box started to once again light up,
"Fight!"
The first to move was Silvie, who quickly disappeared from her spot as she rushed towards Paragon in an arc; almost at a speed that Paige could no longer follow — the images on her translucent box, however, for some reason, could replay what happened as it proceeded to do so.
Gary, Bella… And Katrina, who was watching the replay from outside the box, didn't really think much of it — Empress, however, who was still spying on the group from the CCTV, could not help but squint her eyes as she focused on the replay.
She already knows how the fight would turn out, she was only watching because of Paige Pearson.
Just… how was Paige doing something like this?
They have already done a thorough check on Paige's profile, and aside from being mentally unstable and having a rough childhood, she was clean. No, perhaps a rough childhood was mildly putting it.
As soon as Empress found out about the orphanage in Alabama, she had it closed immediately — transferring its tenants and patients to Bulwark in Mega Academy. The ones that have left the orphanage seem to remember it differently, or perhaps most just suppress the memories…
…but they were basically being tortured in the name of 'curing' them.
How something like this was overlooked by the local governments was truly sickening. She had seen the videos of their so-called trials — electrocuting children's brains, seeing how they react to pain, etc.
…And the worst one of them all was Paige. The things she endured then, it would have probably made even the toughest person crumble to dust.
She probably craved for affection and friendship… but to think it would be to a Themarian? Her story might as well be straight out from those pocketbooks Empress used to read when she was younger.
If her child was still alive… could she have been a part of Baby Crew? She would be around the same age; probably even more rebellious than Hannah seeing as–
"..." Empress could only scoff and shake her head at the thought. There was an immediate threat growing on the planet, and yet her mind was completely on something that could even be considered irrelevant.
And so, after pondering for a few more seconds, Empress just decided to turn off the screen; with the last thing she saw was Paragon being grappled by Silvie and Hannah seemingly trying to roast his chest… all this while Paragon was still standing firmly.
"...They'll be fine," Empress then said as she focused her attention on the current threat. As for Hannah and Silvie, well…
"W… what are you doing!? Pin him down to the fucking floor!"
"I'm trying!"
The entire floor started to rumble; a small crack, slowly starting to crawl from beneath Paragon's feet as Silvie tried to force him to the floor,
"Anymore, and the entire floor will probably be destroyed!" Silvie shouted, "Just do it! Make him surrender!"
"Don't blame us for this, Paragon!" The fire on Hannah's hands disappeared; instead, only a sizzle remained… and very soon, it was almost as if the air itself started to boil; and along with it, the top of Paragon's white suit,
"Surrender if you don't want your lungs melted!"
"Boo!" Gary quickly roared his disapproval; both his hands pointed down as he looked at Hannah, "That thing causes cancer!"
"Will you shut the fuck up!? You're supposed to be on my side!" Hannah could only roll her eyes before focusing back on Paragon. And judging by the almost stoic look in his eyes, he didn't even care that his torso was about to be turned into shreds,
"I'm serious, Paragon! I won't hesitate to burn you!"
"Well…"
And finally, after keeping his silence and just casually handling the two as if they truly were babies, Paragon finally spoke,
"...You can't. You can never hurt me, Nuclear Seraph."
"You really are fucking full of it, aren't you?" Hannah's eyes slightly twitched as a smile filled with vexation crawled on her face.
"I'm just telling the truth," Paragon shrugged… causing Silvie, who was grappling him from behind, almost lose her grip,
"You're not capable of hurting me. Not now, not before, and never will."
"Let's see about that!"
"Hannah, no!" Silvie quickly moved away, trying to pull Paragon away from Hannah's hands. But alas, the floor itself rippled almost like a cloth as Paragon's feet were digging through it, almost as if he was as heavy as a mountain itself,
"I… I know you think you're strong! But stop being so stubborn!" Silvie screamed as she now used both hands to try and pull Paragon away, but was not able to. It doesn't even make any sense — the strength she was using now was enough to pull the weight of the entire Golden Gate Bridge… and yet the most she could do was move him by an inch?
"Hannah was the one that killed Darkday!" Silvie continued to raise her voice, "She used this move! Stop being so stubborn. You too, Hannah! What are you doing!?"
"Let's see if he surr–"
"Darkday?"
"..."
Everyone, even Paige, could not help but hold their breaths as Paragon suddenly let out a small chuckle — a chuckle that echoed through the hall, containing not even a single tinge of warmth in it.
"You actually think Darkday is strong?"
"W… what are you doing?"
Paragon then grabbed both of Hannah's hands. She wanted to pull away but found herself leaning closer to Paragon as he suddenly grabbed both her hands and planted them on his now bare chest, creating a weird sizzle to hiss in the air.
"What are you doing!?" Hannah repeated her words as she completely canceled her abilities, "F… fuck! Your che—"
Hannah could not even finish her words before noticing… that nothing happened to Paragon's chest; not even a single sign of it being burnt— its pale structure, remaining to be immaculate.
Hannah was finally able to remove her hands as she took a few steps back; her eyes, not leaving Paragon's… surprisingly chiseled body; his chest, almost seemed like it would pop out with even his tiny and calm breaths.
"..." Hannah could only take in a small gulp; blinked her eyes a couple of times before finally managing to stray them away from Paragon's body. She was almost distracted by the fact that…
"How… are you not even burnt?"
"..." Silvie quickly let go of Paragon as she heard Hannah's words. She then flew beside Hannah to check if Paragon was truly unscathed, only for her to quickly turn her eyes away from Paragon's… almost seductive muscles.
"..." Gary, who was watching on the side, could not help but furrow his eyebrows, "My muscles are bigger and more toned… not to mention tan. Why aren't they looking at me like that?"
"Man, you just don't get it, G," Bella sighed as she shook her head, "There's something about the mysterious type that women just like. You see Paragon flaunting his muscles every goddamn second?"
"N… no?"
"Exactly, my man," Bella laughed before turning her focus back to the translucent box.
"How are you not burnt?" Hannah repeated her question, this time, trying her best to look Paragon only in the eyes.
"Because I'm strong," Paragon said before looking at Paige. The two just looked at each other for a few seconds, before Paige nodded — and before Paragon could turn his gaze back to Hannah, his naked torso was now covered in a tight black inner suit… making him look even more like a ninja,
"I'm stronger than you," he then continued as he pointed at Silvie, "I'm stronger than Darkday. And if I want to…
…I'm stronger than Megawoman."
Chapter 353"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence.
They once again found themselves in silence. They have previously planned to go and see the situation outside, but after what happened, no one was in the mood to do so anymore.
Silvie Savelievna, the one who held the current position as the No. 1 Superhero based on the surveys that the Association made, completely defeated. The same thing happened to the one who held the No. 3 position, Nuclear Seraph.
And as if that wasn't enough, the rest of Hannah's team was also beaten badly by Paragon — and everyone saw it live. They have probably never been humiliated like this; not even when they were still at the Academy.
Perhaps calling them defeated was even an understatement. None of them were able to fight back, with Paragon just moving once or twice during the entire sparring session. They thought he was just underestimating the strength of the Baby Crew, but to think it was the other way around — Paragon was just too strong.
"...Fuck. Pass me that bottle."
And so, once again, the Baby Crew found themselves in the bar area of the Paige and Paragon Agency.
"S… shouldn't we go out there instead of sulking—"
"I thought you didn't want to go out!?"
"..."
Hannah's voice broke the silence — no. She shattered it with her voice that almost thundered throughout the entire building. As for Katrina, the only thing she could really do was shut her mouth and look to the side.
She was a little dismayed that the others seem to have forgotten about her during the matches, but maybe she was actually lucky. At the very least, she didn't have her ass handed to her in front of the thousands of the viewers that were watching Gary's stream.
Of course, mid-way through it, Gary disconnected his stream to save themselves from being properly humiliated in front of their fans — what they didn't know, however…
…was that Paragon was actually also streaming.
It was weird, he seemed to always be streaming at the right time without anyone else knowing — this time, his phone was recording near the corner of the hall… on a tripod, and no one noticed.
"I… Isn't it okay?" Katrina then said as she forced a chuckle, "At least… we know that Paragon is strong and—"
"Argh! He treated us like children!"
Hannah could no longer help herself as she reached for a bottle of alcohol herself. But as she was about to open it, a long and very deep sigh whispered from her mouth; and with it, the bottle returned to its place.
"He's not Riley," Hannah then let out a sigh as she rested her head on her arms, clumsily letting it fall on top of the counter,
"He's not Riley," she repeated.
"...What?" Silvie, who was hearing Hannah's suspicions for the very first time, could not help but raise an eyebrow at Hannah's words,
"What do you mean he's not Riley? Of course, he's not Riley….
…What's going on?" She then muttered as she looked at the rest of the Baby Crew, "...Guys?"
"It's nothing," Bella was the only one to respond to her as she rolled her eyes, "Hannah here just thought Paragon was her brother."
"...What!?" Silvie's eyes turned wide, "But they look so different. Paragon has those long, black… beautiful silky hair. Not… not to mention those— Y… yeah, you get what I mean," she stuttered, trying her best not to utter the words she wanted to utter.
"I know, right!?" Hannah once again leaped out from her seat as she looked at Silvie, "How could I have even compared the two? Sure, they're both weird… but that's it. Riley would never say those kinds of words."
Hannah was sure of it now. Paragon is not Riley. Because if he was—
"..."
Hannah then took in a small but very deep breath as she remembered the way Paragon's chest felt, before violently shaking her head. Because if he was Riley, then she wouldn't have felt something like what she felt earlier — it would be disgusting to feel something like that to her own brother; her murderous genocidal brother.
But Paragon's bare chest, his abs — and then partner that with the long jet-black hair that flowed across his torso. Even if he was still wearing a mask, he looked quite… dazzling. No, maybe it was the mask that added to his allure.
"Oh my god," Hannah could not help but cover her face as these thoughts once again resurfaced in her mind. Her ex-boyfriend was literally an old man in a young man's body, and she had been stuck in the expanse of space ever since with the only person of the opposite sex being Gary.
It was no wonder her hormones were a little more wild than usual. She was already 22 years old, and yet she hasn't even had a normal relationship with a man once.
"I… think I might need that drink, after all," Hannah finally gave in and opened a bottle.
"Y… yeah, I think I need one as well," Silvie whispered as she sat beside Hannah. Katrina was about to grab the bottle as well but was stopped by Bella.
"Girl… this is reserved for those who got their asses whooped."
"I… is that so?" Katrina could only force a chuckle, causing her massive breasts to bounce.
"Ack, it's all because of that!" Hannah screamed as she suddenly pointed at Katrina's bosoms.
"W… what?" Katrina quickly took a step back as she covered her breasts, "What… what did I do this time?"
"If only I had a bigger pair, then maybe I would have a boyfriend right now!" Hannah groaned in frustration as she once again let her head fall on the counter.
"Oho, do I hear my name being called?" Gary's ears almost became bigger as he slowly slid close to the women of the Baby Crew, only for a bottle to be thrown at his face — he caught it, of course.
"No!"
"..." Gary could only blink a couple of times, before a tear started to fall from his eyes, "Am I… Am I not good enough?"
"..." Bella quickly offered her support to Gary as she patted his shoulders, "You're our bro, G. You're off-limits."
"...So if I quit, I can pursue one of you?" A weird smile quickly grew on Gary's face.
"..." Bella didn't answer, but instead just looked at the rest of the women of the Baby Crew.
Silvie shook her head, Katrina looked to the side, and Hannah just let out a chuckle.
"Well… there's your answer."
"Ugh," Gary quickly clasped his chest as he took several steps back in a daze, letting himself fall on the sofa as he croaked, "My heart, it burns."
"Stop being so over dramatic, Gary," Silvie giggled as she looked at him, "Weren't you dating Gintsune before I left the crew? What happened to that?"
"Golden Fox, she goes by Golden Fox now," Gary laid himself down on the sofa as he sighed, "It… didn't really work out between us."
"What… why?" I thought you guys looked cute together," Silvie moved away from the bar as she approached the lamenting Gary, "Gintsune is cute and small, and you're like an ogre."
"W… well, you know," Gary stuttered, "Long-distance relationship and all that. She was in Japan... and I was in space. It---"
"It didn't last because he was insecure as fuck," Hannah was the one to answer as she too, moved to the sofa; holding a new bottle and several glasses, "I still remember that, when Chihiro called us crying because you two had a bad fight."
"Aw shit, I remember this."
"Y… yeah, I… I really felt bad for her then."
And so, all of a sudden, Gary became the topic of the group. If he knew he was suddenly going to be in the hot seat like this, then he would have just kept his mouth shut.
"...What happened?" Silvie tried her best to look concerned; but the creeping smile on her face showed how much her curiosity was bursting out.
"It… It's really nothing," Gary wanted to get up. But for some reason, the eyes of the women caused the weight of his body to turn into a mountain.
"It's fine, you don't need to tell me," Silvie could only let out a small sigh as she shook her head. But after a few seconds, the smile on her face returned… along with a phone that was already dialing someone,
"I'll just ask her."
"Fuck… the girl's drunk as hell," the teasing smile on Bella's face disappeared as soon as she saw who she was calling. As for Hannah and Katrina, they only looked at each other; not knowing whether to wince or chuckle.
"W… w… wait!" Gary tried to reach for the phone, but alas, Silvie could fly.
"What's… going on here?"
"Ah, Paige! You're right on time," Silvie giggled as she looked at Paige and Paragon, who just stepped out of the elevator, "We're calling Gary's ex."
"...Why?" Although Paige was confused as to what was happening, she quickly jogged to the lounge due to her sudden growing curiosity.
"P… Paragon, bro!" Gary then immediately ran towards Paragon, "As… as the only other men here, tell them to stop! Help a brother save some dignity!"
"Running away from your previous lover is not dignified, Mr. Gray."
"You should be on my si—"
[H… hello?]
And before Gary could finish his words, everything suddenly became quiet as a small, and very demure voice whispered in the air.
"G… Golden Fox, hi."
And now that she actually answered, Silvie could not help but take in a small gulp as she slowly descended to the floor. She was really just trying to tease Gary, but to think the call would connect.
[How… are you? Did… you need some— oh, hello everyone.]
"S…Sup, Goldie," Bella waved her hand as she was caught on the video call.
[Uhm… can I call you guys back later?]
"S… sure, sorry. We didn't mean to—"
[I'm… actually under attack right now.]
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
Chapter 354[I'm… actually under attack.]
"..."
"...What did you say?"
Silvie and the rest of the Baby Crew could only look at each other as they heard Golden Fox's words. She said it so calmly that they didn't really know what to actually think of it.
"Did… you just say you were under attack?" Silvie once again asked as the rest of the Baby Crew started huddling up to see what was going on. Even Paige tried to compress herself with the group to see what was happening, only to see Golden Fox still wearing her golden mask.
[Y… yes.] Soon, however, she turned the camera to the other side, revealing several people fighting with… what seemed like creatures that looked like they spawned from the shadows — one of Golden Fox's abilities,
[I think they called themselves the House of Super?]
"House of Super!?" Silvie raised her voice as she looked at the others, "Why… would they be attacking you?"
[Well, not necessarily me,] Golden Fox let out a short but very deep sigh as she turned the camera back to her, [They attacked the shelter I'm in. It's a shelter for the victims and those that were affected by villain attacks.]
"What?" Silvie's eyebrows quickly furrowed as she heard Golden Fox's words; her voice, slowly becoming colder as she showed her teeth, "They… would attack even a place like that?"
"Wait, are you alright!?"
And before Silvie could say anything else, Gary suddenly grabbed the phone from her and walked away, "Did… did you call for back-up!? Are you hurt anywhere?"
[...Gary,] Golden Fox slightly lifted up her mask as soon as Gary came into view. But after a few moments, she once again lowered her mask,
[I'm… okay. After all, I'm the Top 2 Female Superhero, right? I don't need a backup.]
"T— that's…" Gary could only look to the side as he heard the slightly snobbish tone that came from Golden Fox's voice, "C… Chihiro, I didn't—"
"What's your location?"
And before Gary could say his piece, this time, the phone was snatched from him by Hannah,
"What's your location? We'll provide you back-up."
[I'm… in Albuquerque,] Golden Fox almost stuttered as a different voice answered her, [But seriously, Hannah… I'm alright.]
"Wait, you're in the country!?" Gary was going to grab the phone again from Hannah, but she moved away.
"Okay," Hannah nodded as she avoided Gary's hands, "Send your location to Silvie's phone. We'll provide you with backup."
"I… don't need back-up."
"Don't worry, Gary's not going to annoy you," Hannah sighed as she shook her head,
"And I know you don't need back-up. It's more like we need something from you."
[Hm?]
"Can you keep the terrorists there? Don't let them escape, we have questions for them."
[...Okay. I'll keep the connection op–]
"Wait, when did you get back to the country!?"
And once again, Gary snatched the phone away.
[A… couple of months ago. Can we talk later? I am kinda… busy.]
"Y… yeah, sure."
Alas, no matter how concerned he sounded, Golden Fox did not seem to be interested in hearing whatever it is he had to say. The only thing Gary could really do was return the phone back to Silvie.
"G… good thing we called, right?" Silvie forced a chuckle as she looked at Gary's dejected silhouette; his back, almost hunched as he walked away.
"Bro, why you sulking? She's clearly still in to you."
"W… what?" Gary's eyes started to widen as Bella hit him on the stomach, "Y… you think so?"
"She almost showed her face to you, right? What's with that?" Bella whispered, "That means she feels she doesn't need to be guarded with you."
"R… Really?"
"Yeah, ask Katrina. She's the one with the most experience with relationships among us."
"Please don't ask me," Katrina quickly looked to the side to avoid Gary's intense gaze.
"Fuck, we have a problem."
Fortunately for Katrina, before Gary could even approach her, Hannah suddenly raised her voice,
"Our jet is currently decommissioned. It'll take a while for me to fly to the space station to get another."
"I… can get—"
"You know how to fly it?"
"...No," Silvie quickly sighed as she shook her head. And while the Baby Crew were currently discussing the best way to get there together, Paragon suddenly approached Paige and whispered to her ear; her eyes widening with every word.
And as soon as Paragon was done, Paige quickly nodded her head and approached the chaotic energy that is the Baby Crew.
"Uhm… guys!?" Paige screamed to get everyone's attention, "We…
…we have a jet on the rooftop."
***
"...What kind of jet is this?"
"It… looks awfully familiar."
"Wait, isn't this jet from Italian Mafia Reborn?" Hannah was the first to approach the jet that was strangely placed on the roof, "...What the hell?"
"W… well," Paige didn't really know what to answer as she only turned to look at Paragon, who had both his thumbs up at her,
"I… I'm a huge fan of the show," Paige could really only force a chuckle before moving to the door — and without even pressing anything, it automatically opened up, lowering the stairs for them to step on.
"Shotgun!"
And before Paige could step inside, Gary suddenly rushed towards the jet, almost leaping inside.
"W— wait!" Paige could not help but take in a gulp as she looked to the side; her face slightly winced. After all… the jet really didn't exist. She just created it from her mind, so it should be completely intangible to the others.
Paragon, however, said that he has a plan to make it real — and to her surprise, Gary didn't just pass through the jet and was even able to walk around inside.
"You're a fan of IMR, huh?" Hannah let out a tiny scoff as she looked at Paige before a small smile crawled on her face as she brushed her hand on the body of the jet.
"H…Hm," Paige nodded, "Like your brother."
"...How do you know that?" Hannah's hand stopped as she once again glanced at Paige.
"It… It's common knowledge on the internet!" Paige stuttered before quickly stepping inside the jet.
"Huh…" Hannah was slightly curious about Paige's words, but decided not to think much of it as she just focused her attention on the details of the jet,
"...How do you even pilot this thing?"
"You don't."
Hannah was about to enter, but Paragon stepped inside first before she could do so; slightly brushing her shoulder,
"I will fly it. You and your people should just relax," Paragon calmly said as she looked Hannah straight in the eyes.
"Y… yeah, alright?" Hannah tried to return Paragon's eye contact, but couldn't as she looked away. She also let out a short breath as her chest suddenly jumped for some reason.
"...Fuck," Hannah whispered before looking at the women of the Baby Crew,
"Is… Is it just me, or is the guy flirting with me?"
"Girl... You need to get laid. You getting thirsty as hell," Bella only sighed as she patted Hannah's shoulder before stepping inside the jet.
"Please… be careful, Hannah. Paige and Paragon might be together," Katrina also sighed as she looked at Hannah in the eyes; the tone of her voice, not containing its usual warmth, "You don't want a repeat of what happened to me, Silvie, and you know who."
"I… don't really have a comment?" Silvie could really only meekly whisper as she entered the jet with Katrina.
"...Thanks for the help. You know what, never mind," Hannah rolled her lips and sighed as she finally entered the jet, and no matter how much she looked at it, it truly did look like the jet from Italian Mafia Reborn.
The outside was like a luxury car. Pearl black, lined with chrome. The inside was even more luxurious, and not to mention spacious. It had a giant sofa in a square with a table in the center; no windows.
"...Damn," Hannah breathed out as she took a seat, "Do we have Chihiro's coordinates?"
"Yeah, I sent it to Paige."
"I'll… cast it on the table."
And as soon as Paige said that, a hologram appeared on top of the table that was in the center of the seats.
"Well, this is fancy as fuck," Gary muttered as he looked at the globe that suddenly appeared in front of them. It showed where they were, as well as their destination and the route they would be taking to get there.
"We will be taking off in 10 seconds, everyone," Paragon's voice then echoed throughout the jet, "Please buckle your seatbelts."
"Alright, let's do this!"
"...Where did this seatbelt suddenly pop out from?"
Hannah was about to buckle her seatbelt, but she suddenly noticed Paragon glancing at her.
"..." She looked at the others to see if they noticed the same, but they were busy putting on their seatbelts. Hannah tried to return Paragon's gaze, but he didn't really move or say anything. It wasn't until Hannah wore her seatbelt that he looked away and wore a headgear similar to virtual reality headsets.
Why… was Paragon staring at her like that? She still couldn't get the image of Paragon during the spar from her mind, the way he just casually placed her hand on his chest.
There were also the words of comfort he said to her the 2nd time they met. And this wasn't the first time Hannah noticed Paragon glancing and staring at her. Could it actually be possible…
…that he liked her?
It would seem he was even making sure that her seatbelt was on.
What was she supposed to do about that? Weren't he and Paige together? They live in the same penthouse… with Paragon's mother.
"..." Would a couple really be living with a parent? Maybe they weren't really together… Wouldn't that mean…
…that Paragon was hitting on her?
Chapter 355"Are… we really moving?"
Gary's eyes reflected the image of the Earth in front of him; he left the seat beside Paragon as there really was nothing to see there without windows. It's been 10 minutes since they supposedly left the building, and he could clearly see on the hologram that their position was far from its initial pin — but never once did he feel a shake or turbulence.
None of them even noticed they lifted off the roof. Even now, as they seemed to have reached their constant speed, it just felt like they were still on the roof.
"Just… how fast is this thing going?" Gary muttered as he leaned closer to the hologram.
"850 meters per second, constantly," Paragon slightly glanced at his passengers even while wearing the large headset that covered his eyes.
"Damn. That's like double the speed of sound, right?"
"Almost triple, I suppose."
"Where did this jet even come from?" Gary finally leaned back as she looked at Paige, who seemed to be talking about something with Katrina; the two talking nonstop ever since they got onto the jet.
"It… was provided by Paragon's mother," Paige was trying her best not to look away and stutter, "She is friends with Empress, remember?"
"Hm… how long until we reach Albuquerque?"
"24 minutes, Mr. Gray," Paragon muttered. They could go faster, but the Baby Crew were already asking too many questions as it is.
"...Fuck," Gary whispered as his foot started patting the floor repeatedly, "If… only I could fly."
"..." Silvie almost said something as soon as she heard Gary's words, but instead just took a breath as she hesitated. She was a clone of his mother, so Silvie didn't really know how Gary would take it if she tried to comfort him about his abilities — so, instead..,
"Don't worry," she whispered, "She'll be fine. She's strong."
"...Yeah. Everyone's stronger than me," Gary muttered, before wincing and shaking his head as he rested his back on the sofa. This was the very reason he and Chihiro broke up — Golden Fox kept climbing the rankings. While he, even though he was known as Megawoman's son, was not even in the top 10. It just… it broke him and he lashed out at Chihiro.
"..."
"..."
"Uuh…" Paige, who noticed the mood suddenly turning sour, could not help but break the silence,
"Can… I ask you something?" She then turned her eyes towards Silvie.
"Hm?"
"It's alright if you guys don't want to answer, but… why did you leave the Baby Crew?"
"..." Silvie quickly looked at Katrina as soon as she heard Paige's question,
"W… well…"
"Oh no, it's… it's fine if you don't want to answer," Paige said as a somewhat awkward chuckle escaped her lips, "I'm sorry I asked."
"No, it's… just a stupid reason," Silvie sighed before once again looking at Katrina, who gestured to her that it was alright,
"Well, it wasn't so stupid then, but now… blegh," Silvie's entire body began to shiver, "Katrina was… in a relationship about a year ago…
…and I kind of kissed her boyfriend?" Silvie then winced as her entire body was blanketed in cringe.
"..." And very slowly, the excited look on Paige's face faded, "You left the Baby Crew… because of a man?"
"W… well, it wasn't that simple," Silvie tried to force a chuckle, "I think I needed to go away as well. You know, search… and try to find me in all of this chaos that's been happening."
"Pft," Bella snorted as soon as Silvie's mellow words entered her ears, "I'm sorry… it's just… it's funny thinking about it now."
"..."
"I mean, hell. The man ain't even all that, he a 5 at best. Now, if it was someone that looked like Riley? Now that, I would understand. The dude was looker even though he was evil as—"
Bella did not dare to continue her words as she slowly turned her eyes towards Hannah, fully expecting her to already be looking at her with a pair of eyes that could kill. Contrary to her expectations, however, Hannah did not even budge even with the mention of her brother.
Instead… she was just staring at Paragon.
"..." Seeing this, Bella could really only let out a sigh. It was weird, she was probably the most inexperienced one here regarding romance since she had been single since birth… why did it feel like she was surrounded by little children with raging hormones?
And so, as officially the probably sanest member of the Baby Crew, she probably needs to step up and step in.
"Now I have a question for you, Paige," Bella quickly switched the attention to Paige.
"Oh? Go ahead."
"I know we've already asked this before, but are you and Paragon really not together?"
"Hm," Paige quickly nodded, "I've actually only known Paragon for a very short time. In fact, I've only met him, I guess… 2, 3 days before you guys?"
"...For real?" Bella's eyes widened, "But why do the two of you seem so close, almost disgustingly inseparable."
"Don't know," Paige chuckled as she glanced at Paragon, "I've only met him for a short time, but it's like I can't live without him anymore, you guys know what I mean?"
"...No?" Bella could only mumble as she was slightly perturbed that Paige could say something like that without stuttering.
"Hmm… But I guess to answer your question," Paige slightly hummed as she placed a finger on her chin, "No. We're really not together. But for me, we… we're more than that, you know?"
"Y—"
"I love him."
This time, not only Bella, but the rest of the Baby Crew could not help but take in a small gulp as they heard Paige's words that did not contain even the slightest hesitation.
"Adam… He's like the family I never had. It might sound cliche, and it is cliche, but it's true…" Paige then slowly looked at Hannah, "I love him, and at the same time, he's… my brother."
"..." Hannah could really only return Paige's gaze, somewhat feeling that her words had more meaning than they contained.
"So…" Bella then leaned closer to Paige as she lowered her voice, "If Hannah and Paragon get together, you wouldn't get jealous?"
"What the fuck, Bell!?" Hannah almost snarled as she very lightly kicked Bella's foot.
"Hey, sis. I'm just saying…" Bella raised both her hands in surrender, "Everyone here could see you been thirsting on some Paragon ass. We just don't want a sequel to Katrina, Silvie, and that guy. Rest in peace for him."
As for the others, they didn't really know whether to laugh or not; only looking at each other with half a smile on their faces.
"So, you still haven't answered. Will you be jealous?" Bella seemed to not be done as she once again leaned closer to Paige.
"Well… I will get jealous," Paige said as she giggled, "After all, we're not really brothers and sisters, or even a family at that. I would lie if I said I wasn't interested in him romantically, I am… but as I said, we're more than that. I want us to be more than that. I… know who he is, who he really is — and from all his faults, his flaws…
…I accept him. And I'd really like to think he accepts me too."
Chapter 356"I accept him. And I'd really like to think he accepts me too."
And once again, silence. No, perhaps if awe was music, then that would be what was floating in the air right about now. The Baby Crew were used to hearing people without a filter; after all, they have Gary, Hannah, and the one that's subtly but secretly the bluntest of them all, Katrina.
But this? For someone to express this kind of raw emotion and say it out loud? The only thing they could really do was close their mouths and look at each other… thinking when they will ever meet someone that would make them feel the way Paige feels.
No, there was one of them that had felt that way.
"...That's true, you should have seen Riley and Hannah interact with each other…"
Gary finally broke his silence as he joined the conversation,
"...What you just said practically freaking described how they were."
"...What?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as soon as her name was once again brought up.
"They grew up together as siblings, but they knew they weren't. They were close, too close. There was just something about the two that makes you think they kiss each other on the lips at night?"
"Ew, Gary!? What the fuck!?"
"What? It's true! Everyone in the Academy thinks so too, there was just something… sexual about you too."
"The fuck!?" Hannah started kicking Gary on the leg, but he just burst out in laughter, causing the others to also laugh as they heard Gary almost squealing like a pig.
And while all of these were happening, Paragon just continued to pretend that he was piloting the jet and not actually flying them with his mind.
And of course, he heard everything.
Paige loves him.
Hannah also said the same thing.
He could never truly understand what it meant — even Aerith said that it was a universal thing and that all the species in the universe were capable of it.
So… why not him? Or maybe he was capable, he just didn't know what to look for? Did… he love Hannah?
When Hannah killed him, he did feel something weird — an emotion that he couldn't really explain.
A relief.
A relief that it was Hannah to end it all.
But then… he lived. Even disintegrated to his last ashes, he lived. After that, the feeling was gone — perhaps hidden, but he couldn't feel it anymore.
He didn't even know what to think or do anymore — the reason he has been staring at Hannah from time to time was to try and see if he feels it again. But how could he find it when he didn't even know what he was searching for?
He had no purpose now — he was the wind, drifting away wherever.
And then, there's Paige.
The only person that told him she understands him. But what does it mean to understand a person with no purpose?
Riley has always thought of him as a monster. But there was something that Aerith told him while they were in space that he couldn't let go —
—Two things can be true at once.
He is a monster, he is evil… but he is also human.
But he had always only been a monster that did nothing but hurt people. He tortured anyone — children, women, the elderly… and in the end, even Hannah. And he was continuing to hurt her now by just existing near her.
Riley is evil. Darkday is a monster…
…but perhaps Paragon has a chance to be human? Diley— John gained that chance, maybe he can too?
…Maybe Paige will give him that chance?
Or perhaps maybe…
…she could amplify the evil that's already there.
***
"Okay, the situation is still pretty much the same inside. But Golden Fox said there's probably one or two still roaming around the building, be very careful."
Even with the wind violently blowing Hannah's hair, her voice remained clear as she looked at the large shelter beneath them from the hole that suddenly opened up out of nowhere on the jet's floor.
"Remember, you guys have been facing aliens. But never underestimate Earth's supers. Gary, you're up."
"You mean down?" Gary said as he let himself fall into the hole,
"I hope this jet is as strong as it looks," he then breathed out as he grabbed the edge of the hole with one hand, before bending his body and placing his feet on the bottom of the jet.
Katrina held onto her seat as she saw this, expecting the jet to move as Gary pushed himself down and causing a ripple to blow around him; contrary to her expectations, however, the jet didn't even budge.
"...Cool," Gary, who was already halfway through the shelter, glanced at the jet before punching a hole through the roof of the building.
He then quickly somersaulted in the air as soon as he was inside, waving his heavy cape like a matador as he landed.
"..." His eyes then quickly searched the area, only to see no one there.
"Info is right, this area is empty and safe to land," Gary then whispered.
[Wait for Bella, she—]
"No fucking way."
[Gar—]
Gary took off the receiver in his ear as he immediately rushed out of the room; the floor beneath him, cracking as he basically bulldozed through the door instead of moving stealthily towards Golden Fox's position.
Of course, he was still careful — his eyes, looking at every room and corridor to see if anyone was hiding. But there seemed to be no one, and very soon, he saw a ninja with a baggy outfit wearing a golden fox mask.
And in front of her, were creatures that seemed like shadows; tightly securing the members of the House of Super.
"Golden Fox!" Gary smiled as he sprinted to Golden Fox.
"...Gary?" Golden Fox turned around as she heard Gary's voice.
As soon as she did so, however, one of the men that were being pinned down by the shadow creatures was able to break loose — and very quickly, his bones that seemed to be made of steel emerged from his wrist.
"Chihiro!" Gary's eyes instantly shone in red as he looked at the man rushing towards Golden Fox.
"Hm?" Golden Fox quickly looked back, already summoning something from his item box as she did so…
…but it was too late — the blade was already an inch into her chest.
"No!" Gary's eyes started to sizzle… but then quickly faded…
…as he saw Paragon suddenly standing beside Golden Fox.
"What… the fuck?" Gary could only halt his steps as he looked at Paragon… who was calmly holding the steel bone from digging any deeper.
"..." This is perhaps the first step in Paragon understanding what humanity is — by actually trying to understand them.
And so, he looked towards Gary; looking at him straight in the eyes to understand what it means to be human.
Gary… returned this gaze; his eyebrows, slowly trembling into a frown as he whispered…
"...Kill him."
"W… wait, No. We're on the same si—"
And before the man could finish his words, Paragon suddenly grabbed his jaw…
…before feeding him his own arm.
Chapter 357"Is this all of you?"
"..."
The rest of the Baby Crew were now in the shelter, with Bella and Hannah the ones interrogating the supposed members of the House of Super.
Silvie was trying to make sure that none of the civilians were hurt or badly injured. As for Gary, he was tending to Golden Fox with Katrina's help. They were just finishing up in cleaning and dressing Golden Fox's wound, which seemed to not have been that fatal compared to the way it looked.
"You're quite lucky. A little more and it could have pierced the aorta."
"Thank you, Ms. Katrina."
"Don't mention it, we're friends," Katrina then gently patted Golden Fox's leg. She then turned to look at Gary; and seeing the serious look in his eyes, she just decided to leave the two alone and help Silvie.
"Chihiro. I…" Gary closed his eyes as only heavy breaths escaped his mouth, "I'm sorry… If I didn't call for you, you—"
"It's fine," Golden Fox let out a sigh as she straightened her posture; sitting herself up properly before adjusting her mask to make sure it wouldn't fall. She wanted to stand up, but Gary stopped her from doing so.
"You're wounded. You shouldn't move around," Gary muttered; any of his usual tone, completely absent from his voice.
"I heal fast, it's fine," Golden Fox removed Gary's hand from her shoulder,
"I want to thank Paragon for saving my life," she then meekly said as she turned to look at Paragon, who was just watching Bella and Hannah trying to interrogate the members of the House of Super.
"Hey, you can thank him later. It's fine."
"It's not fine, Gary," Golden Fox clicked her tongue, "You just killed someone."
"I… didn't. He—"
"You told him to," Golden Fox shook her head, "I know who he is and what he's capable of doing. He could have just knocked the man out but you asked him to kill—"
"The man almost killed you, Chihiro!"
"...I thought after what happened to us you— No, it doesn't matter," Golden Fox once again shook her head, before completely turning away from Gary, "I want to be alone."
"..." Gary seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he just closed his eyes before walking away — not really joining any of the others as he just sat on the corner of the hall.
"..." Golden Fox glanced at Gary for a moment, before once again letting out a sigh and shaking her head. Whatever happened between the two, it would seem they weren't ready to talk about it — and Golden Fox knew that.
And so, she just tried to completely ignore Gary. She then raised her hand in the air; her fingers, seemingly clicking something that only she could see.
"Hm… It didn't really decrease my health that much," Golden Fox whispered to herself, "But that was close."
If it truly wasn't for Paragon, then she would have probably found herself lying on a pool of her own blood right now, she thought as she once again looked at Paragon. But as soon as her eyes landed on him…
…her eyes started to turn wide, "...What?"
Golden Fox then blinked a couple of times behind her mask, before turning towards Gary — and then the others, almost as if checking something on them.
"..." She returned her focus on Paragon as she squinted her eyes — she even slightly lifted up her mask to rub her eyes; almost as if she was making sure if she was really seeing what she was seeing.
She really only looked away…
…when Paragon noticed she was looking at him.
"..." Paragon really only blinked a couple of times as he saw Golden Fox seemingly staring at him. It was hard to know if she was truly looking at him behind her mask, so Paragon waited a few more seconds to see if she would turn again, but nothing.
And so, Paragon just continued to watch Hannah and Bella attempting to make the House of Super to talk.
"We wasting our time here, girl," Bella's voice already seemed exhausted, "These guys are fanatics."
"..." Hannah could really only sigh as she agreed with Bella's words. They were already completely clasped and tied up in solid steel, and yet not one of them uttered a word.
5 men, 2 women, and all of varying ages, and yet all seemed to have the conviction of keeping their silence. Just what sort of idea are they feeding them for them to be this loyal?
"I'm going to ask again." Still, Hannah continued to make her questions, "Are there still others inside the shelter? Why did you attack this place?"
"..."
But as expected, silence.
"I'm starting to lose my fucking patience."
The floor beneath Hannah started to melt as she took a step closer to the group… and yet none of them budge,
"House of Super, where are you operating and what the fuck is your goal?"
"I don't know about you guys," Bella then also stepped forward before pointing at the man that Paragon killed, who was now covered in newspaper, "If you don't wanna end up like that guy, you better answer quick."
"Traitors."
And finally, one of the men started to talk — not to Bella or Hannah, however, but he was looking at Paragon.
"You're a traitor to your own kind," the man spoke with conviction; his saliva, even spurting from his mouth as he did so, "Instead of joining us, you killed one of your own. You killed Thousandblade, you killed Mark, and now him."
"...Who's Mark?"
"It doesn't matter!" The man screamed as he violently waved his head; throwing the saliva from his mouth everywhere, "Do you think these mud people appreciate what you've done to them!? No! We are higher beings, and our actions should not be for the gratitude of these… these humans! We are higher than them!"
"No," Paragon shook his head as he answered, "You're all equally below me."
"Pft," Bella could not help but smirk from Paragon's words.
"What!? You think you're better than u— Kh!"
"Are you hearing yourself, you hypocritical fuck?"
And before the man could finish his words, two of his teeth flew off from his mouth as Hannah suddenly kicked him in the face,
"Seriously, your fathers should have just wiped you on a towel. Now answer my god damn questions!"
"You… you guys don't understand," the man then started chuckling, "The House of Super… the The House of Super will make supers great again — that's all you need to know."
"Well fuck, then maybe you guys should be the ones trying to fend off the aliens instead?"
"Tch, another one of your propagandas," the man spit out the blood in his mouth, "There are no more aliens. Aren't you ashamed of yourself, Hannah Ross?"
"...What?"
"Your brother sacrificed his life to show the sins of the humans… and yet here you are smearing his good work. Your brother would—"
"You don't know anything about my brother!" Both of Hannah's arms erupted in flames. But before she could rush towards the man, Bella stopped her.
"We done here, H," Bella sighed, "These people would rather die than talk. One of them blew himself up in the agency, remember?"
"No, they're cowards. That fucker only died because Paragon trapped the blast," Hannah scoffed, "These guys are just bullies with superiority complex!"
Hannah was about to kick the guy again, but before she could do so…
"Can I give it a try?" Paragon stepped forward.
"..." Hannah quickly retracted her leg; clearing her throat as she looked to the side, "G… go ahead."
"...Girl," Bella could not help but blink a couple of times as she saw Hannah just walking away, "You really do have a crush."
"S—shut the fuck up," Hannah clicked her tongue before pointing at Paragon, "Don't even think about killing one of them. If you do, we'll fucking arrest your ass ourselves."
"Hm," Paragon really only nodded as he looked at the man that seemed to speak for the members of the House of Super that were here. Of course, once again, the man's resolve seemed unshakeable as he returned Paragon's stare.
"...Paige."
[Yes?]
"You are seeing what I am seeing, right?"
[Yes. You are uh… live,] Paige, who was left alone in the sky, quickly responded to Paragon's words.
"Okay, can you…"
[...Okay?]
"And…"
[A… are you sure?]
"Yes."
And as soon as Paragon seemed to be done talking, a chainsaw suddenly appeared in his hands.
"Pft, nice try." The man, however, just let out a snort as he saw the chainsaw, "We know of your partner's abilities. Nothing but party tricks and illusio—"
And before he could finish his words, Paragon suddenly waved the chainsaw — not even turning it on… and tearing off one of the women's heads.
"What… I thought you weren't going to kill any of us!?" The man quickly turned to look at Hannah as he screamed.
"She can't hear you right now," Paragon quickly blocked his view as he stood in front of him, "They also can't see you."
"W… what? What do you mean!?"
"Right now, they are seeing completely different things," Paragon then crouched so his eyes could be at the same level as the man, "Paige is probably projecting me just calmly talking to you."
"...What? That's different from the-- You… you can't kill us! They would know in the end!"
"Well," Paragon slightly tilted his head, causing his jet-black hair to slightly slide from his shoulders,
"It's easier to apologize…
…now talk."
"I… I will never talk!"
***
"There… there are hundreds of thousands of us just in this country alone…
…maybe even a million."
Chapter 358"I… I will never talk!"
***
"There… there are hundreds of thousands of us just in this country alone…
…maybe even a million."
The man was wrong — he did talk. At first, Paragon ripped off one of his fingers; not cut, but he bent and tore it off like how one would do to chicken wings. But still, he refused to talk then… and so, Paragon killed another one of them… brutally.
Ripping her limbs one by one until she eventually died from her own screams.
And once again, Paragon returned to the man, this time… taking 2 fingers and ripping off all of the nails on his toes. Still, he refused to talk…
…that's when Paragon mowed his way through the rest of his comrades. And now, only he was left — his comrades, scattered and separated into a hundred pieces.
That's when he finally talked.
"How… how could you do this?" The man cried as he looked at the bodies of his dead comrades, "You would kill us for… for the humans!?"
"I apologize," Paragon sighed as he shook his head, "I am trying to be more human, you see."
"But you just said you're above them and us!"
"I admit, it can be confusing," Paragon shrugged, "But I suppose that's just what comes with being human. Now…
…talk."
The House of Super. Although the man wasn't sure of the exact date it was established, it should have been a fairly new organization that was created months after Riley Ross's death. As for the man, he joined the supremacist organization a year ago.
And their goal was simple — Make Supers 1st-class citizens, with the normal humans serving under them. It's where they belong, so as to quote the man.
As for their base of operations, they have many in each country. In the United States of America alone, they have more or less a dozen. Two of which the man was able to give the location.
"Who is your leader?"
"I… I don't know," the man stuttered; his tears, endlessly dropping to the floor, "I… I joined because… because my friend invited me and—"
"Who is your leader?" Paragon stepped closer to the man, causing him to flinch and almost curl up in fear.
"I think that's all he knows. Stop torturing the poor fuck."
"W… what?" The man then quickly raised his head as he heard Hannah's voice, only to see Hannah and the rest of the Baby Crew approaching them,
"W… You… you can see us?"
"Yeah," Hannah nonchalantly shrugged; her face, slightly wincing as she looked at the man, "We saw everything you saw."
"You… and you just let him kill us and torture us!?" The man lashed out.
"What kill?" Hannah tilted her head.
"Huh?" The man then quickly looked towards his supposedly minced and mangled comrades, only to see all of them intact; without even any wounds and just lying unconscious on the floor.
"Thank you, Paige," Hannah then pressed something on her ear.
[No problem, guys.]
"W… what?" The man could really only blink in confusion as he clasped his head; the blood from his dismembered fingers, trailing through his face.
"Uh, Paige?"
['Sup?]
"...Return the man's fingers."
[...What?]
"The man, his fingers and toenails."
[I… didn't do that.]
"Wh—"
"Oh," Paragon then slightly raised his voice as he looked at Hannah, "I apologize… I did that. It's real."
"..."
"..."
The Baby Crew, as well as Golden Fox, could really only look at Paragon in disbelief. As for the man, the only thing he could really do was let out a scream.
A short scream, that is; as Paragon kicked his head.
"..."
"...Well, that's that," Hannah was still quite perplexed as to what just happened, but she was the first one to shrug her shoulders and walk away, "I'll let Empress know what we've learned—"
"Kha!"
And before Hannah could finish her words, another scream echoed through the air. She quickly looked back, only to see Paragon… waking up another member of the House of Super by breaking her finger.
"What are you doing!?"
"We have to ask everyone," Paragon didn't really look at Hannah and the others and just lifted the woman up, "Paige."
[...On it.]
"F… fuck," Bella quickly looked away, "Is… this what they call an antihero? If so, remind me not to mess with him."
"..." Hannah didn't really say anything and just looked at Silvie, "You're… not gonna stop this?"
"They're terrorists," Silvie only looked away,
"They threw away their rights as soon as they started bombing people."
***
"Hey, we're not done!"
[Yeah, we are.]
"Don't you dare hang up on me, young lady– Hello!? Hello!? Fuck!"
The interrogation of the other members didn't really last long — not even a quarter of a minute. But alas, their information was useless and they didn't add to anything they didn't already know. But at the very least, it somewhat confirmed what the man said was the truth.
And all of that information was given freely to Empress… with an added insult here and there about her incompetence, of course.
"I swear… it feels like—"
"You're talking to yourself?"
"You heard what she said, Butcher?"
"I did."
Back in the Space Station, Empress was still inside the surveillance room — overlooking everything that's been happening on the surface of the planet. And right now, it was only her and Butcher inside the room.
"Don't you find it weird?" Empress then said as she looked at one of the monitors, "We have been trying to track any sign of them through all the wires and connections we could pull from… and yet there's nothing."
"..."
"And then we're finding out that there's activity on the ground?"
"That's true," Butcher nodded, "If it wasn't for that call, then we wouldn't have found out about it."
"..."
"..."
"I'll order for a lockdown," and with them just staring at each other, Butcher nodded his head and walked away. But before he could leave the room, Empress stopped him.
"No. If we're right and they're already inside… some of our people will be trapped with them," Empress whispered, "How many of your men do you trust?"
"You are the only one I trust in this ship, Empress."
"...That's sweet," Empress rolled her eyes, "But seriously, how many?"
"I already said it. You're the only one in this ship that I trust at a hundred percent."
"There are hundreds of normal humans here, Butcher! If those fuckers are in here, our priority is to keep them safe!"
"We're not heroes anymore, Empress," Butcher shook his bald head, "And right now, my priority is to keep the leader of this world safe — and that's you. We can't save everyone, you're the one who said that to us every day."
"Fuck!" Empress stomped her foot on the floor, causing the room to shake, "We're not going to leave these people—"
[Initiating Lockdown.]
And before Empress could finish her words, the lights in the room suddenly turned red.
"...Fuck."
"We need to leave, Empress," Butcher shook his head, "We do not know anything about the House of Super and what they are truly capable of. You're in danger."
"No," Empress also shook her head as she looked Butcher straight in the eyes,
"I… am not leaving these people behind."
Chapter 359"I… I think that's enough."
The interrogation was over, but it would seem Paragon still wanted to ask the already exhausted and barely conscious members of the House of Super even more questions, but Katrina stopped him from doing so,
"We… we're not going to get anything from them anymore."
"..." Paragon didn't really say anything as he just looked at Katrina's hand.
"S… sorry."
"It's fine," Paragon sighed as Katrina removed her hand, "Humans always crave skinship, you did it before."
"...Human? What are you, an alien?" Katrina giggled, causing her gigantic brea– her hair to bounce, "Just kidding, of course."
And with everything settled, the Baby Crew once again huddled up.
"So, what's the plan now?" Silvie was the first to talk.
"I already contacted the queen bitch."
"How did she take it?"
"She's mad."
"Pft. Hasn't changed, has she?"
"You have no idea," Hannah chuckled,
"For now, let's make sure everyone's safe," she then said as she looked at the Baby Crew, as well as Golden Fox and Paragon.
"These House of Super fucks aren't so simple. And don't misunderstand, they are not good people — they were probably going to abduct or kill everyone in this shelter if Golden Fox didn't happen to be here."
"Well… you can kinda understand their goals, though," Gary shrugged. But as soon as he noticed Golden Fox looking at him, he quickly forced out a chuckle, "I… I'm not saying I want to join them. Fuck them."
"Then let's—"
"Heh."
And while the group was discussing what to do, the man they first interrogated woke up — his eyes, glaring at the group with an almost burning intensity.
"None…" He then talked; his voice, completely hoarse and dried up, "None of you understand the greatness of our goal. Supers…
…supers are meant to be supreme."
"Yeah, yeah. You already said that," Hannah only rolled her eyes at the man's words.
"No!"
"..."
The man then screamed, his voice… completely different than before — it was almost as if there were two voices coming out of him.
"Our grand plan… we…. Pft," the man then suddenly burst out in manic laughter, "We… we will make the humans our slaves!"
"You sounding like a broken record," Bella was about to approach and knock the man out, but Hannah stopped her.
"It's… not him," Hannah whispered.
"We're not even beginning," the man then stopped laughing as he once again looked at the group one by one, "We are everywhere already. While you and the Empress were busy looking at the stars…
…we flourished on the ground."
"..." The Baby Crew then watched as the man; even with the nails on his toes ripped off, stood up without any problem.
"Why do you think the eye above the sky couldn't find us? Because we are everywhere!" The man once again burst out in laughter,
"Boom!" The man roared; the blood from his face being sprayed from his mouth.
"...What?"
"Boom!" The man repeated.
"What are you—"
"N… No." And before Hannah could even ask what he was doing, Silvie slightly took a step back as she covered her ears,
"What… what have you done?" Silvie then said as her trembling eyes looked at the man.
"Look where you are," The man smiled as he returned Silvie's glare, "Right in the center of the flock. You think we went to this shelter just to terrorize some lowly humans? Oh no, no, no, no…
…Boom."
And finally, it dawned on them.
"Silv, find it!" Hannah quickly screamed. As for Silvie, she closed her eyes as her head started to tilt from side to side.
"We will bring the humans to their knees!"
"Shut the fuck up!" Hannah kicked the man in the face... but he just continued laughing.
"No..." The man whispered,
"No more humans… above us!"
"Silv!"
And finally, Silvie opened her eyes as her head quickly turned to the side. She didn't even say anything — she just flew. But before she could even go far…
…the man smiled,
"...Boom."
And then… everything just turned white.
"No!" Silvie screamed… and just like that, it was almost as if time stopped for her. She very slowly turned around as everything around her started to… disintegrate into ashes. Almost as if existence itself was being torn apart and erased.
Her clothes… the floor beneath her, the walls to her side, the roof… everything was disappearing. She looked at her friends, only to see one of them looking back.
It was Paragon, who despite everything around him turning into nothing but ash, remained standing — a curious expression drowning his eyes. He then turned around to look at the others, causing Silvie to do the same.
Hannah… was completely unaffected by the blast; remaining still as the light ate everything around her.
Gary… was already embracing Golden Fox, completely shielding him from the light.
As for Bella, a thick layer of metal was already covering her and Katrina. The metal was being eaten by the light… but it was almost as if they were repairing themselves as the shield became thicker and thicker.
…But the civilians?
Silvie could only watch in horror as the light ripped off their flesh.
"No…" She could try to reach them, but it was already too late. And as time once again returned to Silvie — a deafening whistle entered her ears.
And then… there was nothing. Almost instantly, everything was gone.
All that remained was the onslaught of dust, debris, and smoke. The sky above them, slowly being blanketed by shadows.
And once again… a dark day.
"...." Silvie could not even hear her own breath from the whistle that lingered in her ears; her eyes, not even knowing where to look as everything just looked the same; desolate… dead.
"!!!"
She only woke up when a loud scream pierced her ears. She looked at the noise, only to see Gary listlessly hanging on Golden Fox's shoulders; his back, completely exposing his skin that was as charred as everything else.
"Gary!"
Silvie was about to rush to check on Gary's condition, but before she could do so, he raised both his thumbs.
"I… I'm fine," Gary forced a chuckle, "It… 'tis but a flesh wound."
"..." Silvie didn't really know where to look again — everything just looked the same. The shelter was completely gone.
"Paragon!? Are you alright!?"
Paige then suddenly descended from the sky, slightly blowing away the dust as she landed on the ground with a suit similar to Whiteking's — but it soon disappeared as she ran to where Paragon was standing.
"What… the fuck?" Hannah also woke up from her stupor as she looked around.
"Bella!"
Hannah then quickly turned around as soon as she heard Katrina screaming; but it wasn't her that was hurt, it was Bella… who was lying on the ground with mouth, eyes, nose, and ears bleeding.
"She… she shielded me with… no… no…"
"...What… what the fuck just happened?" Bella was still alive, it seems… as she was still able to let out a whisper.
"Radiation…" Hannah whispered as she once again looked everywhere, "It's familiar… it… it's radiation. What… what did they do?"
"Gone, everything's gone."
She didn't expect to get an answer, but she did as Paige raised her voice.
"I… I saw the explosions while… while I was up there."
"...Explosions?"
"Everywhere…" Paige's voice trembled, "It… it's everywhere. It's not just here."
"They…" Hannah's eyebrows also began to tremble, "They…
…fucking nuked everyone?"
Chapter 360"They… fucking nuked everyone?"
Hannah's words were almost like a part of the blast — causing everyone to hold their breaths as they tried their hardest not to stray their eyes away from the ashes that now surrounded them. Even Bella, who was barely awake, looked at the bones that were now being blown away by the wind like dust.
The only one that wasn't really looking at the destruction was Paragon, whose feet were already leaving the ground as he flew into the air.
"..." Silvie watched as Paragon's silhouette slowly disappeared into the grey and ominous clouds, before closing her eyes and also following him to the air; linen, suddenly wrapping around her naked body as she disappeared.
How… could something like this happen? This… was supposed to be her first mission with her friends after all this time. Silvie thought that it was just another terrorist group that she could easily deal with, and with her friends beside her — they were invincible.
…She forgot about the people.
Because she was with her friends, she thought that everything would be fine. She became confident even though Hannah specifically ordered them not to underestimate the enemy — she was the only one that could've known.
She was the only one that could've known about the bomb. She could've heard it if she tried hard enough.
She could've prevented this from happening.
And soon, she opened her eyes… and very soon, she proved herself wrong.
She wasn't going to save anyone. Not from this… grey desert.
The buildings, if they were standing, were barely even recognizable. It wasn't until she focused through the horizon that she saw anything in tact — but even then, if she looked further, she knew she would find another desert like this one… because beyond the light she sees, is another darkness.
The people that weren't in the blast radius should be alive… but they weren't even sure how many bombs they let loose — the radiation will get those that were unlucky enough to survive.
"What… what have we done?" Silvie's lips started to tremble as tears quickly trailed on her face, "What… what have we— Gah!"
She then covered her eyes as she curled up in the air, "I… I can hear them, people… people hurt everywhere. Screaming… crying, asking for help. I failed… I failed to protect them."
"..." Paragon, who was floating near her, could really only watch as Silvie started whispering to herself — a familiar scenery.
"My purpose… it's my purpose and I… I failed," Silvie's eyes started to tremble, "I failed… no… no!"
And out of nowhere, Silvie started hitting herself in the head repeatedly, "No, no, no, no!"
"My god… what— Silvie!?"
Hannah, who also wanted to check the situation, quickly looked away from the destruction as soon as she heard Silvie screaming.
"..." Paragon could really only float back as he heard Hannah's voice getting nearer and nearer.
"It… It's happening again?" Hannah lowered her voice as she flew in front of Silvie, "I… thought it was gone?"
"The… the terrorists we… we need to eliminate… I will eliminate all of them."
"..." Hannah could only close her eyes and sigh as she heard Silvie's words, "Just breathe… okay? I'll…
…I'll administer the medication," Hannah then also took in a deep breath… before slapping Silvie's face as hard as she could.
"Fuck!" Hannah started flailing her hands in pain as Silvie did not even budge an inch. She did, however, stop whispering to herself.
"..." She didn't really say anything as she slowly looked at Hannah… and just nodded before once again looking at the sea of destruction that surrounded them.
"I… hear so many screams," Silvie then said as she glanced at Hannah, "I want to help but… I don't know… most of them are already dying, I can't—"
"Hey, snap the fuck out of it," Hannah clapped her hands on Silvie's face, "Most are dying, that means some are still alive. We can't save everyone, that's the first thing they taught us in the Academy. We help–"
"We help those we can help," Silvie finished Hannah's sentence as she nodded.
"Well, yes… but get dressed first," Hannah shook her head before pointing at the towel that was wrapped around her, "You don't want to find out when Paige's illusion will run out."
"...Yeah," Silvie forced a smile, before completely disappearing from her spot; leaving only a thunder that rippled through the grey clouds.
And as soon as she was nowhere to be seen, Hannah let out a loud and very deep gasp as tears also started falling from her eyes.
"F… fuck," she stuttered as her entire body began to tremble,
"This… this is Darkday all over again. Fuck… fuck," her breaths started to get deeper and more erratic by the second as nothing but death reflected in her eyes. But soon, she noticed Paragon staring at her.
She quickly looked away and forced herself to calm down,
"What… what the fuck you looking at? If you have time to ogle then go help some people," Hannah was about to fly away, but before she could do so…
…Paragon suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Wha—"
And before she could utter a word, Paragon suddenly but gently wrapped his arms around her.
"W… what are you doing!?" Hannah tried to push him away, but found that she could not — strength or conviction, Hannah doesn't really know which of the two she lacked to push him away.
"It's okay, Nuclear Seraph."
"...What the fuck are you saying?"
"It's okay to cry. It's… human."
"Being a human is the last thing we need to be right now!" Hannah once again tried to push him away, but still, they remained still, "We need to be a superhero and save–"
"An old woman told me that two things can be true at once," Riley slightly leaned his cheek on Hannah's head, "You can be a superhero, and a human at the same time."
"The fuck do you think you are, Gandhi?" Hannah once again tried to push herself away, "Stop it, I… I don't need your fucking bullshit right now."
"..." Paragon did not really say anything more as he just brushed Hannah's hair.
"..." And as soon as Hannah felt this, she quickly bit her lip, trying her best not to let out another tear.
"I know you're strong, Hannah. The strongest."
"...I thought you were the strongest?"
"I was just trying to be arrogant," Riley sighed, "Arrogance seems to be the prominent human trait."
"What are you, a fucking alien?" Hannah giggled; sniffling at the same time as she wiped the tear that almost fell from her eye.
"No. I am R—"
"Hm?" Hannah quickly turned her head towards Riley's face as she blinked a couple of times.
"I… am sorry that we are going through this together again."
"..." Hannah was finally able to push herself away from Paragon as she looked at him straight in the eyes, "What do you mean agai–"
And before Hannah could inquire any further, she noticed Paige floating near them… staring at her.
"P… Paige," Hannah slowly floated back, "This… this isn't what it looks like. I'm not trying to—"
And once again, before Hannah could finish her words, Paige rushed towards her… and hugged her as well.
"..."
"We… we can get through this," Paige then whispered as she suddenly burst out in tears.
"..." Hannah did not really say anything… as she just returned her embrace,
"...Yeah," she then whispered, "And we're going to make sure that the others will too. I'll try to check on survivors. Let's meet back in the shelter— what's left of the shelter after an hour."
"Hm."
"The comms are fried and I can't contact Empress… so we're alone right now." And with those words, Hannah quickly flew away.
"..."
"..."
Paige then very slowly turned to Riley as tears once again started to fall from her eyes… and without any words, also embraced him.
"..."
"..."
"You… miss your sister, don't you?" She then said as she rested her head on his chest.
"...No?"
"You do… I would know. The feeling of wanting, the feeling of loss. The feeling of not knowing what something is because you're just not capable of processing affection."
"..."
"Your mind… it doesn't know what it's feeling and it's just causing you to think of other ways to show it. And… and that's okay. It's not normal and it will probably never be normal…
…but that… that's okay, you know?"
"..."
Riley could really only stay still as he tried to find the meaning in Paige's words. He wanted to say something, but what?
"I… I understand… Not completely, not what you're feeling, but I understand. And sometimes… I wish I could feel what it feels like not to feel. It's confusing, I know but… so many people just died here. I saw… I saw them from above as they melt and…
…I sometimes wish I could just be like you."
"..."
"When… when the other children in the orphanage were able to laugh or just stay quiet because they didn't know how to process the sadness and the pain they were feeling. I sometimes hoped that I could— I'm sorry. Oh my god, I'm so sorry… that was… that was so insensitive."
"..."
"You… I know you want to feel the same things that we—"
And then, Paige's words were finally disrupted as Riley slowly and gently pushed her away; still holding her shoulders as he looked her straight in the eyes.
"Can you teach me?"
"Hm?" Paige blinked a couple of times, slightly confused by his words.
"How to feel? How to be human?"
"..." Hearing Riley's words, Paige could not help but let out a small giggle as she wiped the tears on her face, before gently holding both of Riley's cheeks,
"I am probably not the best teacher when it comes to humanity. I'm fucked up and damaged."
"Fucked up and damaged. Isn't that a human trait?"
"Maybe?" Paige chuckled softly as she shrugged, before shaking her head and once again looking Riley straight in the eyes,
"But you don't need to be human. You don't need to change."
"..."
"A monster, the devil, a human. You can be all of them, and you can also choose not to be any of them," Paige let out a long and heavy sigh,
"I can't teach you how to be you."
"..."
"But what I can do…" Paige closed her eyes as she rested her forehead on Paragon's mask, "... is accept you no matter what. You can be the devil, you can be whatever. I will accept you…
…because I love you."
And so, in a sea of nothing but death; in a nightmare devoid of any color…
…something bloomed.
It's not love, it's not friendship — but a covenant as pure as the destruction it was made in.
And whether the fruit that it will bear be death or life, no one knows.
Chapter 361"How… is she?"
"She's… fine. Just consumed a lot of energy. How about Gary?"
"He—"
"I… fine, flesh wound."
"...He'll be fine."
Katrina and Golden Fox were still in the shelter— or at least what's left of it. Both Gary and Bella were still on the ground, but their condition seems to be getting better by the second.
There were no longer ashes floating around them, with Katrina blowing everything away and even clearing the skies. She thought it would at least make the situation brighter… but now, seeing the damage the bomb caused, it just made her fear more.
They didn't notice it before, but they were in a crater now. To think they were even able to survive something like that— No. The only reason she was able to survive was that Bella shielded her with everything she had.
She would have probably not been this exhausted if she just covered herself. Katrina could still hear it — the wail. The bomb wasn't loud at all, it was even silent, but it produced this wail that seemed to be calling them from the underworld.
It happened almost instantly, yet at the same time, it felt like forever.
"F… fuck."
"...Bell."
And finally, after an hour, Bella woke up.
"Don't get up," Katrina whispered. Bella, however, still forced herself to sit up.
"I'm fine. It—"
She wasn't fine. As before she could even gather the strength to stand up, she fell right onto… Katrina's gigantic bosoms; both her hands, grabbing the pair.
"..."
"..."
And fondling it.
"..."
"...I'm gonna allow that."
"Pft, no fun," Bella then let out a weak chuckle as she carefully stood up — and although she still somewhat struggled, it wasn't as exaggerated as before.
"Fuck me… is everyone dead?" She then let out a breath as she started looking around.
"..." Golden Fox and Katrina didn't really answer her as they just looked to the ground.
"I thought we've seen the worse from the Seven Planes shit," Bella gulped, "But this? This is just evil… but at the same time it don't feel real, you know?"
"The difference between a thousand and a million deaths," Golden Fox muttered as she stood up, "It just feels… surreal. Like watching a movie."
"Where… are the others?"
"They are checking on survivors," Golden Fox said as she finally removed her mask, throwing it on the ground and revealing her small and somewhat very youthful face, "They… should be here anytime soon."
"...I take it no one survived near us?" Bella didn't really say anything as Chihiro removed her mask— after all, her eyes looked truly defeated.
"No," Chihiro quickly shook her head, "I checked within a kilometer… there's no one."
"Do… we already know the extent of the damage?"
"N—"
"The world's fucked."
And before anyone could answer Bella, Hannah suddenly landed on the ground.
"How is it!?" Katrina stood up as she approached Hannah.
"I… couldn't really check far. But I don't think they hit every city… there are still a lot of buildings standing far from here. But with the way the blasts happened, the whole world is probably fucking cripple right now," Hannah let out a loud sigh before letting herself fall and sit to the ground, "Let's… just wait for Silvie."
"...Sacramento?" Bella asked as she too sat on the ground.
"I… don't know."
"My… family's staying there right now," Bella sighed.
"Right… our families," Katrina's eyes turned wide, "I… I've completely forgotten about them."
"Hey, we'll get to them," Hannah raised her voice before Katrina could start panicking, "Right now, it's important that none of us start losing our minds."
"...Yeah."
"..."
"..."
"You think… they hit Japan too?" Chihiro then whispered; her eyes, trying their best not to let out a tear.
"We… know nothing yet."
And with a collective sigh, the group became silent. It wasn't until a whistle thundered in the air as Silvie landed on the ground that the silence was broken; but still, Hannah and the others did not really say anything as they just looked at Silvie, who shook her head in response.
"It's bad," Silvie breathed out; her clothes that she seemed to have gotten from somewhere, filled with blood, "There's… a lot of people that need our help. I tried moving people away from the radiation as much as possible… but they need real help. We need to get them to safety."
"How?" Hannah closed her eyes, "We don't even know where 'safe' is. I still can't contact Empress and—"
"It's gone."
"What?" Everyone looked at Silvie as she suddenly raised her voice.
"I tried searching where the space station should be… all I found were debris and pieces of it. As well as… a lot of dead people."
"They… got to it as well? What about Empress?"
"Not there," Silvie shook her head.
"Fuck… nowhere's safe," Hannah slammed her fist on the ground.
"Uhmm… what about the Academy?" Katrina then muttered as she walked to the center of the group.
"You… think the Academy is safe?"
"It… has to be," Katrina nodded, "Bulwark has… been increasing the security there every month."
"You… might be right," Hannah breathed out as she stood up, "No… you need to be right. But even if it was, we don't really have a way to bring the people there. Unless Silvie wants to carry them one by one."
"Well…" Silvie raised her hand, "I was actually thinking Bella could make a large platform and then… I lift that?"
"..."
"I can think of a dozen ways that can go wrong," Hannah shook her head, "We have to—"
And before the group could bring in their ideas, the sky that Katrina cleared once again turned dark. The group all looked up, only to see something… colossal covering the sky.
"What… the fuck is that?"
And their questions were quickly answered as a silhouette fell from the sky — Paige.
"...No fucking way," Hannah muttered.
"Y… Yes, way?" Paige forced a chuckle, "It… it was given to us by Emp—"
"You know what? It doesn't matter," Hannah breathed out as a wide smile crawled on her face, "I don't care if you're pulling all of this from your ass, but this is the help that we need. How many people can it fit?"
"It's… pretty spacious inside."
Of course, it was spacious— after all, it was just one of Paige's illusions; once again, powered by Paragon's telekinesis. She could have made it into just a colossal carton box if she wanted to.
"Huh… right," Hannah said as she squinted her eyes.
"I'll carry Gary," Silvie said. But before she could even take a step towards Gary, her feet started to leave the ground.
"There's… no need," Paige once again forced a chuckle as… a light suddenly beamed from the ship. A light that seemed to be pulling them up towards it.
"..." Hannah's eyes remained squinted as she stared at Paige, who seemed to be trying her best not to make eye contact.
"Why… didn't the OG provide us with something like this?" Bella muttered as she slowly floated in the air.
"Well… maybe because there are only six of us?" Katrina answered.
"Bitch, there's literally only two of them, Paige and Paragon!"
"I don't even think this is from Empress anymore," Hannah whispered as she looked at the two; before once again glancing at Paige who quickly strayed her eyes away again.
"Fuck."
And soon, Bella was able to see the damage in the air, "This… this is fucking worse than Toronto. How—"
And before she could fully examine the sea of grey, they were already swallowed up by the colossal ship. And as soon as they were inside, they saw hundreds of people — their eyes, all looking at the floor.
"We… already saved some people," Paige let out a long and deep sigh, "But as you can see… I don't really know if we can call this saving."
There were more than a hundred people there — none of them, however, were talking. Not even a whisper could be heard — not even a cry.
"Where… is Paragon?"
"There."
The group all turned their heads to where Paige was pointing, only to see Paragon floating in the air; once again, wearing a headset that covered his eyes, which seemed to be connected to something on the ship.
"...What sort of ship is this?"
"Aliens," Bella was the one to answer, "The answer is always alien technology. I been suspecting it for a while now… but don't you guys think that Para-G could be an alien?"
"...Well, that's more probable than him being Riley," Silvie nodded. And as soon as Chihiro heard her words, her eyes turned wide. She seemed to be wanting to say something as she raised a finger, but in the end, chose not to.
"...Ignore them," Hannah sighed and shook her head, before approaching Paige, "Can… you tell Paragon to set a course for Mega Academy? Let's take our time getting there so we can… rescue as many people as possible along the way."
"Hm," Paige only nodded before flying away.
"You… think there are any windows in this ship?" Bella asked as she looked around.
"It's probably better for the best that there aren't," Silvie answered as she lowered her voice, "These people… they don't need to see what happened yet. What they need right now…
…is hope."
Hope. Perhaps a concept that was slowly being drained away as more and more people arrived on the ship — the Baby Crew tried their best to help those that were injured, but most of them weren't even saying anything.
"Ma'am… you need to let her go so we can take a look at your wounds," Katrina approached one of the new ones that arrived, only to see her embracing a small girl… who has already lost half her body.
And she wasn't alone -- there were hundreds of them doing the same.
Hope, right now… is dead.
Chapter 362"Oh my god."
"Is it just me, or is this ship getting larger?
"It doesn't fucking matter right now."
Hannah was the one to suggest taking it slow so that they could pull the most amount of people from all the rubble and destruction on the ground — she knew how many there would be, and yet right now, just the sheer number of people in front of her almost made her claustrophobic.
Anywhere she looked, there were people. A mezzanine even slid from the sides of the walls to create more floors, and yet that too was easily occupied. Of course, there was still a lot of space in the ship — as Gary said, it felt like it was getting bigger.
But even then, it felt suffocating. Because anywhere she looked, it was the same scenery; people injured, and some… even dying in front of her. She was initially trying to help everyone she could see, but this number… truly overwhelmed her.
"It's… this is useless."
"Help is never useless," Silvie, who heard her whispers, quickly stood beside her, "No matter how little — you're the one who said that to me."
"...I didn't say that."
"Well, someone did."
And as Silvie continued to help and tend to the injured, Hannah could really only step away while shaking her head.
She never really understood. She never understood the magnitude and weight of the damage of cities being toppled completely. She was there in the Seven Planes incident, she saw the aftermath of Toronto, she witnessed aliens razed the ground – But it's never been millions of lives instantly being extinguished.
This… is something his brother did several times. How could someone even do something like this? And how did she not see it?
How did she not realize that she was living with someone that has done something like this? And why? For what reason?
The House of Super had a goal, no matter how fucked up. But what about her brother? What exactly did he want? She was supposed to be the only one who understood him, so why didn't she see?
Riley has been going out killing and torturing people. She was the closest one to him and she didn't even know. She thought that out of all the people in the world — not the doctors, not the other people in the spectrum, not even Riley himself…
…Hannah thought that she understood him the most. It was supposed to be him and her against the world, and yet she didn't even know.
Was it her fault? Is it because of her that Darkday was given birth? What if she just treated Riley better? Was…
…she a bad sister?
"Why is a super here!?"
"..." Hannah woke up from her stupor as a loud and slightly snarly voice entered her ears, only to see a couple of people arguing and pushing each other.
"This is all you guys' fault! We was just out here living our lives and you decided to kill us!?"
"I have nothing to do with this!"
"You… you guys see that!? The dude just pushed the hell out of me! He… he a part of them terrorist gr—"
"Hey! Relax!" Bella was the nearest one to the scene as she quickly pushed the two sides apart, before turning her attention to the one who started the mess,
"What're you doing, bro? I'm a super too. Should I leave?" Bella said as she lightly hit the man in the stomach, causing him to slightly hurl.
"H… hey, B-Black Bell," the man touched his stomach as he quickly backed away, "Y— you know I ain't mean it like that, man."
"Just chill, okay?" Bella shook her head before looking at the super, "As for you sir… I need to ask you to join the other supers."
"But… but my family is here," the super pleaded as he huddled with his family, "I… I'm not a terrorist, please."
"...I know, okay?" Bella sighed, "This is only temporary, you'll be with your family again once we get all of you to safety."
"But—"
"Do you wanna start a riot and involve your family?" Hannah approached before the man could finish his words, "I don't fucking care if you're a terrorist or not. If shit starts getting wild in here, your family is the one that's going to suffer. Now get the fuck out of here."
"Y… yes."
And as soon as Hannah appeared, everyone became quiet. Even the man who instigated the situation could not help but look away. After all, if there was something Nuclear Seraph was known for other than her raw power, it was her massive temper.
"Should… we really separate them?" Katrina's voice also whispered as she approached the two, "Wouldn't this… create even more friction with us and the civilians?"
"We have no choice," Hannah shook her head, "We can't afford not to be strict right now, the tension between the supers and the normies is getting high. I… just hope you're right and that the Academy is okay."
"It… has to be," Katrina nodded.
"Either way, their complaints are valid," Hannah sighed, "We don't know who is part of the House of Super, and who is not."
"We need to—"
"What did you say!?"
And not even a minute after they dissolved a potential fight, another one started. This time, on the side where the supers were gathered.
"I said, how are you completely unscathed!? There's not even a dirt on you!" A female super was violently pointing her finger at another woman; her voice, enough to echo throughout the entire ship,
"There's only one reason why you're not even slightly injured, you were already hiding when it happened! You're a part of that House of Super group!"
"..." Hannah and Bella, who just finished stopping a fight, could not help but just look at each other and sigh,
"You have it, or should I?"
"I'll get—"
And before any of the two could even take a single step towards the commotion… Paragon suddenly descended from the air. They have been inside the colossal ship for hours, and yet not even once did Paragon move from his spot as the pilot; not even talking to anyone or stretching his muscles.
And so, suddenly seeing him going down; not only those that were arguing, but even those that were far from it all turned their heads towards Paragon; their whispers, starting to fill the entire ship.
"It… it's not me!" The woman that instigated the commotion quickly backed away before once again pointing at the other female super, "She… she's the one that—"
And before the woman could even finish her words… Paragon slapped her. And not just a normal slap, as the air around them rippled; causing the woman to fly and violently roll on the floor. The supers around her, avoiding her and not even trying to slow her down.
"..." Paragon then slowly turned his head towards the other woman; and before she could even say anything, Paragon pointed his palm at her… and with a slight flick…
…her clothes disintegrated.
"..." Everyone then avoided Paragon's eyes as he looked at the other supers one by one; almost the same as what they did when Hannah appeared, except some of them even pretended to be asleep as they closed their eyes.
Nuclear Seraph is known for her temper. But she has never once killed anyone except Darkday. As for Paragon, they wouldn't be surprised if he just started killing every super here that he didn't know.
As to how he still wasn't answering to the law, no one really knows — but right now, it didn't really matter.
"Everyone…"
The silence that already drowned the entire ship grew even quieter as Paragon opened his mouth, "Please lower your voices and calm down. I couldn't concentrate on Italia— I mean I couldn't concentrate on the flight."
"..." Hannah quickly squinted her eyes as she heard Paragon's words, "Am… I the only one who heard him say Italian Mafia Reborn?"
Alas, no one really responded to Hannah as they all just stared at Paragon, who instead of returning to pilot the ship, walked up to Paige.
Paige has been helping the children for hours now, creating illusions to distract them from everything else. But alas, as soon as Paragon arrived, they all ran away in fright.
"Wh—" Paige wondered why all the children ran at first, but as soon as she saw Paragon, a pout quickly appeared on her face, "Look what you did! We were having fun!"
"..." Paragon didn't really look at the children as he just whispered something to Paige, and as soon as he did so, the hole that was being used as an entry point for the refugees opened up; causing everyone to move away.
"What's… happening?" Hannah and the others quickly ran to Paige.
"We've… We've actually arrived in the Academy," Paige quickly replied, "And… it's kinda being attacked by the House of Super, I think?"
"What!?" Hannah quickly looked at Paragon to confirm Paige's words, only to see him… already jumping down the hole,
"Then why is he going alone!?" Hannah quickly rushed towards the hole-- and she was right, there were all sorts of fireworks below, and a sea of golden light clearly belonging to Bulwark.
"...He said he was… kinda going to kill everyone bad?" Paige slightly shrugged; her eyes slowly looking to the side.
"...What?"
"He said just wait for him, it's not going to take long."
"Fuck… Baby Crew, I need you here!" Hannah then let out a roar as a wave of heat gently wafted throughout the entire ship, "And Paige…
…keep this fucking hole open!"
Chapter 363"Keep that hole open!"
"Uh… Okay?"
Paige didn't really know what to do as Hannah and the rest of the Baby Crew started to huddle up. Paragon only told her that some kind of battle was going on below, and to open a hole on the ship so that he could go down — he didn't really say anything about stopping anyone from going after him.
No — nothing really entered Paige's mind. She didn't even think of how Paragon would be able to sustain the ship while fighting in a war; after all, he is Riley Ross. The same guy who lifted the entirety of Toronto in the air and then proceeded to fight aliens that popped up out of nowhere.
"..." Paige then turned to look at the civilians on the ship, before shrugging her shoulders. Something like keeping all of them afloat is child's play to someone like Paragon. None… none of them would be dropping anytime soon… right?
"Monarch, Katrina. The two of you stay inside the ship."
As for the Baby Crew, they were still discussing their next course of action.
"...What? I want to go down there!"
"You're still not fully healed, Monarch," Hannah placed her palm on Gary's chest, gently pushing him away as he went towards the hole, "And besides, we need someone to guard the ship just in case any of those house of super fucks are hiding here."
"But the action is down there!" Gary groaned in frustration as he pointed at the hole, "You guys are going to need me there! It's a fucking war for mega's sake!"
"And you're still fucking wounded," Hannah shook her head and sighed.
"What about Bell!?"
"I'm 100% rested," Bella smirked as she flexed her lean biceps.
"F—"
"Gary, I need you here!"
And before Gary could say anything, Katrina's voice thundered throughout the entire ship.
"...You better go, G," Bella slightly winced as Katrina's scream pierced through her ears. Gary seemed to want to say something, but could really only sigh and shake his head as he rushed to help Katrina with whatever it is she needed.
"He'll… be fine," Silvie hesitantly whispered as she stood close to Hannah.
"...Yeah," Hannah sighed before looking at Paige, "Paige, can you make us look invisible once we jump?"
"Only if you don't move that much. It's like I did with Silvie when… she was naked earlier."
"...I still haven't thanked you about that," Silvie quickly cleared her throat as she heard Paige's words.
"Okay, that's more than enough," Hannah nodded as she stood in front of the hole, "Listen, the two of you. Paragon is already there, and so are some of our friends from the Academy. We're there to provide support."
"Hm."
"Got you."
"But most importantly… Gary is right," Hannah lowered her voice, "It's a war out there… we're going to have to kill people."
"..." Bella and Silvie quickly looked to the side as they heard Hannah's words.
"Silv… I need you to promise me that you're gonna be okay. No more of that brainwashing bullshit."
"I… It was just a momentary lapse. I promise I'm okay."
"Make sure," Hannah breathed out, "The only reason you're not staying on the ship is that we're going to need you down there."
"I'm gonna slap her as soon as her eyes go white," Bella scoffed.
"...You just want to slap me, don't you?"
"You still owe us, girl."
"Okay, let—"
"I want to go with you guys."
And before the three could nod to each other, Golden Fox suddenly approached them.
"...You're not Baby Crew, Chihiro."
"I… will be useful down there," Chihiro furrowed her eyebrows, causing her already small eyes to almost look like they were closed, "I can't forgive them for what they've done."
"You sure?"
"I am."
"...Alright," Hannah then let out a large breath as she straightened her back, "We will survive this for those that have fallen…
…Let's go kick some supermacist ass!"
And with that, the group all leaped into the hole.
"..."
Only for their feet to not even pass through it.
"...The fuck?" Hannah then stomped her foot several times, only for her to feel some kind of invisible wall stopping them from falling. And very slowly, everyone turned to look at Paige.
"O… Oh," Paige then stuttered; forcing a smile on her face as all eyes are on her, "It…
…It's uhm… the ship's defense system?"
***
"There's too many of them!"
"Relax, Danny boy!"
Mega Academy.
The most secure infrastructure in the world. The number of times it has been successfully infiltrated ever since its establishment — 1.
And after that, the Academy's entire security was overhauled to be even more secure than the tightest prison. Guarded even more than banks, and protected even more than any government buildings.
Add the fact that all the personnel and staff were now composed of supers that were handpicked by the person with the most time in the world — Bulwark. The only real way that one could infiltrate the Academy was through the front door with an army.
And right now, there was an army.
Bulwark was right in front of the Academy's gate — not even moving an inch as he covered the entire Mega Academy, which spanned even bigger than a city, with a golden translucent dome. While the guards and some of the teaching staff were on the frontlines… fending off soldiers from the House of Super.
"T… there's too many! We need to retreat inside!"
"Why did you even volunteer to fight if you're just going to be a little sissy boy!?"
And in that battlefield of smoke, fireworks, dust, and debris — a sort of dark thread glimmered in the air; creating a whistle every time it slashed whatever came it's way. Rocks? Metals? Anything, the thread obliterated and sliced.
This is the reason why Spectacular Mustache Man was and is so proud of his mustache — it was, perhaps, the strongest material on planet Earth… according to him.
"If you're going to continue to complain, then just guard Bulwark!" Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache moved like the blades of a helicopter as it staved off everything in front of him.
"He… he's an obvious target. It's more dangerous there!" A man wearing… a tuxedo on the battlefield stood close to Spectacular Mustache Man. And sadly for him, a flying blade was able to pass through SMM's mustache… going straight towards his neck.
But before the blade could reach him, his neck… suddenly stretched outward, completely letting the blade just almost slide between his skin.
"Then you should have just hidden with the students, Mr. Daniel Espinoza!" Spectacular Mustache Man clicked his tongue.
"I… I'm their teacher. I can't let them see me—" And before Daniel could finish his words, another blade was able to pass through Spectacular Mustache Man's defenses. This time, however, Daniel caught it with his hand… which immediately stretched backward.
And almost like a slingshot, he returned the blade towards the one that threw it… completely decapitating her.
"...Fuck," Daniel gulped.
"...Don't mind it, Danny boy," Spectacular Mustache Man sighed, "You're going to kill more today."
"Why… the fuck is this happening?" Daniel could only grit his teeth as he watched the scenery around him. Every time… every time that they thought they have achieved peace — something like this happens.
Were they just not allowed to live quietly?
"Danny boy!"
"Huh? Huh!?"
Daniel quickly looked towards Spectacular Mustache Man, only to see him rushing towards him… using his mustache like some sort of spider legs as he rammed his large body through him.
"W… why did you—"
And before Daniel could ask why he did so, a loud rumble whispered through his ears as a white silhouette suddenly pummeled to the ground where he previously stood, cracking it like a web.
"..." Daniel then focused his eyes on the glowing silhouette, and as soon as the light faded, he saw a long black hair flutter with the wind; its owner, kneeling on the ground.
"...Black Haired White Ninja?" Spectacular Mustache Man muttered as the silhouette slowly stood up.
"Paragon," the person then said as all the dust around him was blown away.
It wasn't only Daniel and Spectacular Mustache Man, but almost everyone that was near Paragon when he landed was staring at him. And soon, Paragon also stared back, looking at all the people on the battlefield one by one…
…until his eyes settled on Daniel.
"Are you from the House of Super?"
"...Why do I feel so offended right now?"
"We… We're from the Academy!" Spectacular Mustache Man quickly answered, "The ones that are wearing a red scarf on their necks are House of Super!"
"..." Paragon then slowly turned around, checking to see how many people were wearing a red scarf… and judging by all the red he sees — there were probably more than hundreds of them.
And very subtly, Spectacular Mustache Man noticed Paragon's shoulder slightly shaking — and he quickly knew it wasn't because of fear.
He… was trying his best not to laugh.
And very slowly, a blade of light emerged from Paragon's left hand. But unlike his previous swords, the light quickly stopped before it could even grow any longer. Its length, even shorter than that of a dagger as its hilt seemed to wrap around Paragon's fingers like a knuckle; its blade, curved.
"Paragon, it's you!"
A roar then came from one of the people wearing a red scarf.
"This… this is for Thousandblade!"
"..." Paragon then slowly turned his head towards the roar, only to see a man with his mouth… opened to the point it could fit a basketball. And then, with another roar, a sort of beam came out of the man's mouth.
The beam seemed hot at first, but no — it froze the ground that was in its path as it practically gushed through Paragon like a tidal wave.
The man continued to roar… only for his scream to be drowned by a quiet chuckle that whispered in the air. The man turned his almost bulging eyes in front of him, only to see a silhouette walking closer to him inside the beam.
And then, almost instantly, the silhouette was suddenly in front of him… grabbing his jaw and keeping his mouth open.
"Pft," a small chuckle could once again be heard from Paragon as he very slowly… placed the dagger inside the man's mouth.
"!!!"
The man couldn't even scream as his entire mouth melted… practically causing his throat to be welded shut. The man instantly kneeled to the ground, scratching his throat open as his entire face turned blue.
As for Paragon…
"..." He just looked at the man, not even kicking him away as he stared at the man's eyes… until their color faded away.
"I apologize, Paige. I lied…" Paragon then muttered as he finally moved his eyes away from the corpse,
"I said that this is going to be fast. But it would seem…" He then turned his eyes towards all the people that were near him and wearing a red scarf,
"...I am going to take my time after all."
**DISCORD INVITE**
If you're still not part of the discord, you can do so by visiting this link > disord.gg/MBbJ3jJN7Q
Chapter 364"..."
And for once, the battlefield that has only known the cheer of death became silent. There were probably more than a thousand people on the land, and yet no one dared to even utter a whisper.
Everyone was just staring at the person that just joined the battle — how could they not, when he just watched someone slowly die in the middle of a frenzied field?
Most of the people in the Academy are not familiar with Paragon. The House of Super, however, clearly knew who he was. After all, he executed one of their high-ranking members in front of more than a million people — and then did it again when someone wanted to take revenge for what he did.
And now, he was here. And once again, he was mocking them by torturing their comrade almost as if it was the easiest thing to do.
What they did not know, however, was that Paragon was once again live on screen. But he wasn't streaming with his phone, no. The nuclear bombs practically cut off all comms.
This time, it was Paige. She was using her abilities to basically create a giant screen inside the ship to be seen by the thousands and thousands of people that were inside — she didn't really know if this would help the people to gain hope… but seeing the people responsible for the destruction of their homes die should mean something for them.
And since Paragon just entered the battlefield… she was sure there were going to be many deaths.
"What… the fuck is he doing!?" Hannah and the others watched as Paragon melted someone's throat, "Paige, bring us down!"
"I… I can't," Paige tried her best not to look away from Hannah, "P… Paragon is the only one who has control of this ship."
"What? Bullshit!" Hannah raised an eyebrow before turning her head towards the headset mask that was hanging on the ceiling of the ship.
"W… wait, don't—"
And before Paige could even grab her arm, Hannah was already halfway to the headset. Paragon was using this to pilot the ship, although this was the first time Hannah was seeing something like it, it shouldn't be that hard to learn.
And so, without even hesitating, she wore the mask.
"..." And immediately, she was taken aback by the almost familiar scent. Paragon… should have been wearing this for hours, so it shouldn't be a surprise that it had a little bit of his sweat. But this scent… it was sort of—
Hannah quickly shook her head as her thoughts started to wander. She then focused her eyes on whatever was inside, only for her to quickly remove it.
"What the fuck?" Hannah then muttered before pulling something from the headset.
"A… fucking phone?" Hannah then quickly opened the phone, only to see a paused video on it,
"...And without a fucking password? What sort of monster—" Hannah did not let herself get distracted as she quickly played the video.
[Are all of you just going to stand there? If so…]
"This… isn't this from Italian Mafia Reborn?" Hannah quietly whispered to herself. She was about to explore the phone, but before she could do so, it suddenly cracked into pieces,
"What… the fuck?"
***
"Are all of you just going to stand there?"
And finally, the silence on the battlefield was broken. Broken by none other than the newest addition to its combatants.
And once again, swords of light appeared from Paragon's hands as he stretched his arms to the side.
"If so, then the ground you are stepping on will be your grave."
And before anyone could even react to his words, Paragon disappeared from his spot, only to appear right in front of a woman from the House of Super. He didn't even choose the one nearest to him, no. It was random.
"Wh—" And once again, Paragon disappeared. This time, however, moving just behind the woman. And with a short but loud breath, a couple of thuds whispered in the air as both the woman's arms dropped to the ground.
"Huh?" The woman really couldn't understand anything, even as her body slowly slid from her still standing legs — she was confused as to why she was suddenly on the ground. Soon, however, she was able to see what happened to her.
And so, the only thing she could really do was scream as all of her limbs were gone just like that. As for Paragon, he just closed his eyes; his head, slowly tilting from side to side almost in rhythm.
The woman continued to scream; her wails almost scratching the air itself causing everyone that could hear it to wince. Paragon then very slowly turned towards her, before letting go of his light swords and just leaving them to float near him.
"W… what are you doi— Agh!"
Paragon then grabbed the woman by her hair, causing her to once again scream in pain,
"Help… please help!" She screamed, and yet her comrades that even dared touch her eyes all looked away; some, even staring at her with their eyes as wide as they could be. No one moved, however— not even one.
"H—" And before the woman could scream again, Paragon placed his other hand in her mouth.
"Which do you think will give up first…" Paragon then whispered, "Your scalp…
…or your jaw?"
"!!!"
The woman seemed to scream; but only disgruntled muffles and shrieks exuded from her mouth. She tried to struggle, but without her limbs, she just looked like a worm that was being played by a dove.
"!!!"
And then, very slowly… her cheek started to tear.
"Oh…"
And with a snap, her entire jaw along with a part of her neck was ripped off.
"...I didn't expect that."
Paragon didn't even blink as blood started to splatter across his face like a fountain; his eyes, almost looking genuinely surprised as he looked at the woman's jaw now hanging from her clavicle.
"C… Chrissy!"
"..." Paragon then very slowly turned his head towards the roar that suddenly thundered the air.
"...You know here?" He then said; the blood on his face, dripping almost endlessly. His mask, now completely covered in red,
"Why didn't you help her?"
"Gah!" The man once again roared as his skin turned into some sort of steel, covering his body in layers as the ground beneath him started to cave.
"..."
"I will kill you!" The man then roared as he rushed towards Paragon, causing the ground beneath him to crack with each step.
"Well, she's still alive. You know?"
Paragon stretched his hand and turned Chrissy towards the silver behemoth rushing towards him.
"Now, which do you think is stronger…"
"!!!" The man quickly halted his steps, but with his sheer weight, it was impossible for him to stop immediately.
"Her mangled face… or yours?"
"Wh—"
And before the man could even say anything, Chrissy's face was already only an inch away from him. And there, he heard it — like the sound of a tomato being crushed by one's hand… Chrissy's head was squashed, exploding right on his face without any resistance.
"No! You—"
"Oh, your insides are soft."
And before the man could express his rage, he slowly looked down only to see Paragon's hand now stabbed through his stomach.
"...Boom," Paragon then whispered. And as he did so, the man suddenly shrieked; his entire body, trembling uncontrollably— and along with it, blood started to spurt and flow from all of the holes in his body.
And very soon, a quiet sizzle thundered throughout the entire battlefield as… lights started poking out from almost every corner of the man's skin.
"..." Paragon could only let out a sigh as the man started to scream. He then pushed the man away. He was completely intact… but he landed on the ground in pieces.
As for the light that was previously protruding from every corner of his body, it was still standing there and emerging from Paragon's hand for everyone to see what it was.
It was light, of course… but it followed the shape of veins, veins that almost resembled the silhouette of a man.
"Hm…" Once again, Paragon let out a breath as the light disappeared. And there, with only the light of the sun shining on him, everyone could see his once immaculate persona now covered in blood.
"..." Paragon then looked at his hands which were covered in blood, before pulling his hair back; causing an uncomfortable squelch to whisper in the air. Blood once again started to flow from his forehead, trailing all the way to his mask as he seemed to relish on the blood of his victims.
"What… what the fuck." And soon, the members of the House of Whisper started to thunder in the air.
"F… focus your attack on Paragon!"
"..." The House of Super did focus on Paragon — what they did not do, however, was attack. They could really only stand there in fear as his eyes once again started to trail across them.
"We are going to have lots of fun," Paragon then let out a small chuckle as he stretched his hand to the side, the swords of light that were floating above him, once again returning to his hands.
"No need to come to me, really," Paragon then took a step forward.
And almost like a drum that caused the entire field to tremble, his step echoed through the ears that only the House of Super could hear,
"I'll come to you."
"!!!"
And almost like a streak of light that drowned the daylight, Paragon disappeared.
And almost like thin branches in the very strength of the storm, the people started falling one by one as their bodies were being blown away in a single direction— their limbs, all cut off.
"What…"
Every staff and member of the Academy could really only watch as the House of Super was being demolished. Some of them, even wanting to cover their ears... not from the screams that endlessly wailed in the air... but from the laughter that harmonized with it.
This was no longer a war…
…but a slaughter.
***AUTHOR NOTES***
Read 'Wait, My Juice Can Save The World?' Now! It's been rewritten for the contest! It's about a man who went back to the past and was given quite... a juicy system.
Chapter 365"The Earth… is crying."
In the mountains that seemed far away from any civilization, an old woman was looking at the sky. The tears that almost endlessly flowed from her eyes, falling and filling in the cracks of her wrinkled face… until they finally fall on her long, thick braided bundle of grey hair that almost served as a poncho.
The woman seemed to be weeping, but at the same time, her eyes were filled with a sort of acceptance.
"...Tsula, are you alright?"
"I know you feel it too," Tsula did not bother to look at Katherine as she approached. Katherine did not seem to mind, however, as she just stood beside Tsula and also looked up at the sky.
"..." She then took a deep breath as she closed her eyes; and soon, tears also started to trail on her face,
"You're right," she whispered, "...I could feel it."
"..."
"..."
And as the two remained standing still, a girl suddenly appeared from the trees behind them — her almost crystal skin and even whiter hair, reflecting the peaceful sky above.
"..." Karina curiously stared at Katherine and Tsula as she quietly stood between the two. And now, from only reaching to Katherine's waist, she was now almost past her navel.
"..." Karina seemed to want to say something to her mother, but just chose to shut her mouth and also close her eyes as she pointed her head to the skies.
"..."
"..."
She didn't last, however, as her left eye opened and looked at Katherine. She closed it again, but this time, only a second as she let out a long and loud breath,
"Mom… are you and grandma Tsula meditating?"
"...No," Katherine quickly wiped the tears on her face as she sighed, "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"I woke up," Karina slightly giggled, "What's going on?"
"It's… nothing," Katherine could only shake her head before lifting up Karina and carrying her, "Just the world as it always is."
"...What does that mean?"
"You'll find out when you grow up," Katherine said as she tapped Karina's nose.
"Hm," Karina nodded… before trying to pull on Tsula's braids.
"Don't do that!" Katherine quickly pulled Karina and started walking away, "What do I always tell you?"
"...No?"
"...Don't do that?"
"The other one."
"A… always treat people with respect," Karina let out a small breath as she coddled on Katherine's shoulder.
"And?"
"Always… be kind."
"Hm, good," Katherine nodded, "And what do you do when someone asks for help?"
"Help them!"
"But?"
"But first… check if they're good people!"
"Good… that's good. Never forget that…"
"..." Tsula finally moved from her spot as Katherina and Karina's voices faded into the forest; still, her eyes remained to the sky as she started to whisper,
"The world finally howls. And soon, the Harbinger of Destruction comes, and the Messiah rises from the ashes…
…and that is prophecy fulfilled."
"I heard that before."
"..."
And suddenly, a shadow emerged from Tsula's back; wearing a sort of lab gown as her steps quietly moved away.
"What's going on out there, Diana?" Tsula didn't really seem surprised as she didn't even flinch; her eyes, still towards the sky.
"They finally did it, the humans," Caitlain let out a long and deep sigh as she stood beside Tsula, "They started destroying themselves."
"We've been destroying ourselves ever since the dawn of our existence," Tsula's eyes finally strayed away from the sky as she looked at Caitlain, "Long before you even set foot in our world, Yee Naaldlooshii."
"Hm," Caitlain only shrugged, "That prophecy — you've also mentioned that before when I first met you hundreds of years ago. What does it mean?"
"What's a woman of science like you doing listening to a fairytale?"
"There are no such things as fairy tales."
"Hm…"
"You always say that prophecy…" Caitlain crossed her arms, "...yet I never hear you ending it."
"Because there is no end," Tsula shook her head, "The prophecy just repeats itself."
"Until when?"
"Until it's forgotten."
"...Forgotten," Caitlain only smiled and scoffed at Tsula's words.
"Do you miss your family, Diana?"
"...I do not have a family," Caitlain blinked a couple of times from Tsula's sudden and random question.
"You have lived a hundred of my lifetimes; let us not tell lies to each other," Tsula let out a slightly trembling sigh, "I am dying, whatever secret you are hiding will remain a secret."
"..."
"..."
"...Oh?" Tsula continued to stare Caitlain straight in the eyes, "You do not miss your husband… no."
"..."
"But the children…" A small smile then crawled on Tsula's face, causing all the wrinkles on her face to fold, "...you've grown attached to them."
"That's enough."
"...Is that the reason you have expedited the girl's growth?"
And as soon as Tsula uttered those words, Caitlain's eyes started to light up.
Tsula, however, only burst out in laughter; partnered by a vehement cough here and there as she started walking away,
"Children…" She then said as her laughter faded,
"They could topple even mountains if you give them long enough."
"..."
***
Someplace else, another laughter resounded. It was a quiet laughter, but it echoed through the air — in almost like a… child-like manner. At the same time, however, it contained a darkness that couldn't be explained.
The battle was over. But no one cheered or cried — but the battle was over. And to prove that were the almost thousand corpses that littered on top of each other like a tree.
And on top of it, almost like the star at the top of a Christmas tree, was Paragon. Laughing as he stood on his enemies.
It probably lasted one more minute before his giggles completely stopped. And as soon as it did so, he leaped from the mountain of corpses and slowly made his way to the people of the Academy; most of them quickly backing away.
"Hello, Spectacular Mustache Man."
"What do you want!?" Daniel was the first to respond as he raised his voice… before hiding behind Spectacular Mustache Man.
"Is that Academy full?"
"...What?" Spectacular Mustache Man could only squint his eyes.
"As a hero, we have saved people and brought them here," Paragon then said as he pointed up. And as soon as he did so, Spectacular Mustache Man and the others finally noticed the colossal ship that was slowly descending from the sky.
"What… is that?"
"Civilians. They—"
"You are Paragon."
And before Paragon could finish his words, a somewhat neutral voice whispered in the air; belonging to an even more androgynous face — Bulwark. His golden hair, now only reaching to his shoulders.
"Yes," Paragon only nodded. As for Bulwark, he looked at the mountain of corpses as he approached, before letting out a sigh and once again focusing his eyes on Paragon.
"I thank you for the assistance," he then said as he continued to sigh, "I have faced many wars — and I knew this was a losing battle. They would have successfully infiltrated us without your help."
"Was it a losing battle?" Paragon blinked, "You could have faced all of them by yourself. You also have many soldiers inside the Academy."
"You never send children to the battlefield, no matter how strong — they are meant to be protected."
"..."
"You said you brought civilians with you?"
"Yes," Paragon then said as they both watched as the colossal ship successfully landed on the ground without even as much as a sound — weird, considering it was the size of a football stadium.
"..." Bulwark did not seem to put any mind to it, however, as he just focused on the huge door that suddenly spawned randomly; and very quickly, people started stepping out of the ship.
"Assist them!" Bulwark raised his hand, "Prioritize the injured and take them to the med bay! As for the—"
"Paragon!"
And before Bulwark could finish his commands, a roar even louder than his reverberated through the air.
It was Hannah, already flying towards Paragon with her fist locked onto his face.
"..."
Paragon quickly caught Hannah's hand, of course. Gently rotating his body before placing his arm around Hannah's waist and embracing her — almost like a dance from those who have witnessed it.
"W— fucking let go of me, man!" Hannah quickly pushed herself away from Paragon… before letting out a couple of frenzied and stuttered words,
"I… you… fuck! I forgot what I was going to say! You… you don't do that!" Hannah then finally formed words as she violently pointed at Paragon, "You don't go by yourself!"
"It's alright. There weren't that many."
"Y—"
"Fucking hell," Gary then suddenly approached, looking at the mountain of corpses while he… spoke in a British accent,
"...Now I see his resemblance to Riley. They're both charismatic murder machines."
"Ugh," Hannah could really only roll her eyes as she walked away; shaking her head before walking towards Bulwark,
"It's… been a long time, sir Bulwark," Hannah then let out a quiet breath as she stretched her hand to Bulwark.
"It has. I… just wished we met in better circumstances," Bulwark shook Hannah's hand before looking at the people stepping out of the ship, "How… many people?"
"We… didn't really make an official count. But it should be more than 40,000 people according to Silvie."
"...40,000?" Bulwark whispered as he once again focused on the ship, "...Are you sure?"
"Yeah…
…more than half of them died inside. The… radiation just ate them from the inside out."
"I take it the people that died… were mostly normal humans?"
"...Yeah," Hannah nodded, "The supers… don't seem to be affected by the after effects of the bombs. Do… you know how bad the damage is? On the entire planet, I mean?"
"...Yes," Bulwark nodded as his voice suddenly turned quiet, "We were able to salvage images and videos from the satellites before everything crashed."
"And?"
"The world as you know it is changing— ending."
"Yeah, that's kinda been happening for a couple of years now," Hannah scoffed, "And we always manage to recover."
"No…" Bulwark shook his head as he looked towards the darkening skies, "Not this time…
…not from this."
Chapter 366It was the year 2024 — the world once again changed.
There had been many tragedies before. There have been deaths, and there have been events before that could be called apocalyptic. But this is when it truly ended.
Not by Darkday, not by the aliens that invaded them — but by the humans themselves. A civil war that never should have happened, a civil war for superiority.
A war to favor a stronger race. It was sudden, so sudden that it didn't really seem real. There wasn't even any warning, it just… happened. More than a third of the population are probably dead and dying, and right now…
"...we are vulnerable."
Bulwark was currently standing on one of the Academy's stadiums, surrounded by those that still had the will and strength to listen — there were still many. Most of those that were already inside the academy, as well as maybe half of those that have been rescued throughout the past week.
"I can no longer promise your safety, that guarantee has already passed and whatever little trust you still have left in you, keep it only to yourself," Bulwark continued to address the people — supers and normal humans alike.
"Right now, there are no heroes — not anymore and not yet. We… are all just victims of a war that never should have happened."
"..." The normal humans couldn't really look at the supers beside them. But still, the fact that they could still stand near them means they still believe that they could co-exist… at least that's what everyone in the stadium wanted; that's why they were there in the first place.
"What we can offer, however, and what we are offering now is shelter," Bulwark took in a deep breath as he looked at all the somber melancholic faces in front of him, "The Academy is your home and it will remain to be until you need it. And please…
…always remember that we are equal. Being without power… does not mean that you are weak."
"..." The normal humans that previously had their heads down slowly looked at Bulwark as he uttered those words. Some, finally able to look at the supers standing beside them.
"And if you think you are better…" Soon, however, the tone of Bulwark's voice shifted completely.
"...If you think you are better than your peers; if you think you are better than the rest of us, if you so much as utter a word of bigotry or discrimination to your neighbors…
…I will drag your corpse for everyone to see and hang you at the very ceiling of the Academy. That's not a warning, that's a promise."
And with those words, Bulwark stepped down the stage — leaving the stadium in an entirely different mood that made them look at each other in disbelief.
"...What the fuck was that?" Hannah, who was watching Bulwark from backstage, could not help but force a chuckle as soon as he entered.
"I had to give them a sense of security," Bulwark sighed.
"Huh… right."
"Has the House of Super tried contacting us in any way?" Bulwark then said as he checked on a tablet that was resting on a nearby table.
"No," Hannah sighed, "You'd think after we recovered the comms 3 days ago, they'd start talking to us."
"..." Bulwark didn't really say anything as he just continued to check the news on his tablet.
"It's shit out there," Hannah said as she peered over the tablet, "You saw the drone shot above the cities that weren't in the blast radius?"
"I assume there's chaos?"
"Actually no," Hannah scoffed, "They're all just hiding, people don't know who to trust anymore. And the House of Super… They have some normal humans tied up in chains like slaves. It's… getting worse."
"Earth is back to where it started," Bulwark sighed as he closed his eyes,
"...Walk with me, child."
"..." Hannah only nodded as he followed Bulwark out of the stadium.
"How many people did we manage to rescue today?"
"About 20,000… more or less. Paragon's magic ship is doing wonders."
"That is less than yesterday," Bulwark once again sighed.
"Those… that are in a relatively safe area don't really want to go."
"That is fine, we only take those that need it. Our healers need to rest too."
"..."
"..."
"...You said we wouldn't be able to recover from this," Hannah lowered her voice as she continued to walk with Bulwark through the large fields of the Academy, "What did you mean by that?"
"The Age of Supers is here."
"...Empress said the same thing. But what exactly does that mean?"
"It means we can no longer stop it," Bulwark said as he stopped walking, "Supers have always been the ones to adjust to the world, for the normal humans. And now the world is being forced to adapt to us, whether we like it or not."
"..."
"The transition should have been smoother and taken decades. But the House of Super hastened it…" Bulwark then looked Hannah straight in the eyes,
"...using your brother as the catalyst."
"..."
"I always knew that boy will change the world."
"..." Hannah only let out a breath as she looked away.
"There is a way to stop this war, or at the very least disrupt it."
"...How?" Hannah once again returned Bulwark's gaze, only to see him pointing at her.
"You."
"...What?"
"They use your brother as a banner and as a call to raise arms…
…but what if you tell the world who he really is?"
"...What do you mean?" Hannah furrowed her eyebrows.
"You know what I mean, child."
"..."
"..."
"...Did Empress tell you?"
"No," Bulwark let out a small chuckle as he shook his head, "The Pope told me after Riley perished. And then I confronted Empress about it and she told me everything."
"...The Pope knows?"
"Tell the world who your brother really is, and the House of Super will collapse into itself," Bulwark ignored Hannah's question.
"...Why haven't you done that already?"
"Because sometimes the solution can be worse than the problem it solves," Bulwark sighed as he looked towards the bright sky,
"...Eternal Dark."
"...What do they have to do about this? They've been quiet so far," Hannah raised an eyebrow as soon as she heard those two words.
"That is the scary part about it. You know they exist, and you know they carry the Will of Darkday… but never once have they done anything except introduce themselves."
"..."
"What do you think will happen if we announce your brother's true identity?"
"Those that are loyal to the cause of House of Super… would probably try to join Eternal Dark," Hannah sighed as she looked to the ground.
"That's possible," Bulwark nodded, "So now the choice comes to you — Riley is your brother, and the leader of Eternal Dark is an old friend of yours…
…you stand at the very center of this, Hannah Ross."
"You…
…you're just passing the responsibility to me."
***
"...There's no one here."
"Of course, no one would be here, I told you already."
The beach of Atlanta was peaceful, almost as if it was unaffected by what was happening to the rest of the world. And of course, along with it — the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency. And right now, John and Ellie were standing right in front of the building.
"The whole world has gone bonkers," Ellie's voice was filled with a breath of disappointment, "Those House of Super twats nuked placed with the highest population of normal humans. Didn't you see the news?"
"...The buildings here seem to be intact," John squinted his eyes as he looked at the long street.
"...That's because Atlanta has a lower population than most."
"...So where are the people?"
"Hiding or dying," Ellie sighed before looking at John, "Seriously, the more human you become the stupider you think."
"...Because you are the only human I am learning my humanity from," John said as he stared at Ellie; his eyes, somewhat filled with warmth.
"..."
"..."
"I think that was an insult, big sister." And suddenly, Elliot stood between the two. A small smile quickly grew on John's face as he nodded before him and Elliot gave each other a high-five.
"..." Ellie could really only shake her head as she once again turned her focus to the Paige and Paragon Agency,
"...And here I thought we could finally start a new life. I guess…
…we really don't deserve it."
"..."
"Fuck," Ellie could not help but stomp her foot on the ground in frustration, "Let's go… there's nothing for us here."
"Can… we at least enjoy the beach?" Elliot said as his sister started walking away.
"No… Elliot," Ellie sighed as she stared at the horizon. It has been a while since she last tasted a hint of freedom, but…
"It would be tasteless to have fun while the rest of the world is dying."
"...Why?"
"Just because. You'd understand if—"
"You three!"
And before Ellie could finish her words, a group of people suddenly appeared from the corner of an alleyway near them. All of them, wearing a red cap.
"Great, the fucking twats are here," Ellie quickly breathed out as soon as she saw them; after all, the red cap was the signature of the House of Super.
"What did you call us!?" The only woman from the group seemed to want to rush towards Ellie but was quickly stopped by her comrades.
"Fucking twats," Ellie smirked.
"You—"
"Stand down," the man that seemed to be the leader of the squad stepped forward… before pointing some kind of device toward Ellie and the others.
"The boy," the squad leader then said as he pointed at Elliot, "He's a class 2. Take him."
"..." Ellie quickly stepped in front of her brother, "Fuck off, go bother someone else."
"Hand over the human."
"This human is my brother," the ground beneath Ellie started to darken and crystallize, "So I suggest you twats fuck off."
"..." The squad leader raised his finger, and as he did so, his men quickly started to surround Ellie and the others. As soon as they did so, however, all the sand and trash littered on the ground started to tremble.
"John…" Ellie quickly grabbed John's hand as she shook her head, before once again turning her attention to the squad leader,
"Back away now, we don't want to hurt you."
"Oh, trust me…" The woman in the group once again stepped forward, "This isn't going to—"
And before she could finish her words, the door of the Paige and Paragon Agency suddenly opened…
…with Paragon suddenly stepping out of the building.
"Why are all of you just standing there and not entering?"
"You…" Ellie could really only raise an eyebrow as she saw Paragon casually talking to them, "You…
…were inside?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Paragon nodded,
"It's my job."
Chapter 367"...Why wouldn't I be here? It's my job."
"Wh… what do you mean your job!? The whole world got nuked!"
Ellie's frustration almost echoed through the air as she saw Paragon just casually standing in front of his building — almost as if it was the most normal thing to do right now.
"Yes, I just rescued more than 20,000 people today," Paragon then calmly said as he raised his thumb; and as he did so, John smiled and nodded as he also raised both his thumbs and said,
"Alright."
"No, not alright, you fucking donuts!" Ellie raised her voice even louder.
And while they were talking, the members of the House of Super were completely frozen; not knowing what to do. Paragon, the one who executed Thousandblade and massacred almost a thousand of them was here.
Their intel assured that he shouldn't be — so why exactly was he here?
"The rumors of the end of the world have been greatly exaggerated, Ms. Ellie," Paragon let out a sigh as he shook his head… before standing beside a member of the House of Super, "I believe the world will be fine. People shouldn't ignore their jobs just because of something like this."
"No," Ellie shook her head in disbelief, "No one in their right mind would work in this conditio—"
And before she could finish her words, a tinker of a small bell whispered in the air. Not only her, but everyone looked to where the minute sound was coming from… only to see someone on a bicycle moving towards them — and soon, the cyclist stopped in front of the Paige and Paragon superhero agency building.
"..." The man looked around, before looking at them and dismounting his bike.
"Good afternoon!" The man raised his hand; not even seemingly noticing the somewhat tense situation, "I have an express delivery for a Riley Ross?"
"That would be me," Paragon moved away as he approached the courier.
"Ah, long time no see!" The delivery man smiled before handing something to Paragon, "Please sign here."
"..."
"..."
The others could do nothing. All they could do was watch as Paragon casually received the package.
"Alright, that would be all. Thank you for using us as your No. 1 courier service! Delivering to you, anywhere in the world, no matter what!"
Paragon nodded as the delivery man waved goodbye, cycling away as the sound of his bell soon faded into the horizon.
"..."
"..."
"The building needed a new router," Paragon casually said as he looked at John and Ellie, "I also ordered some food."
"..."
"..."
"I'll leave you people to it then," Paragon then casually turned around and started walking back to the building; not before, however, glancing back, "Also…
…please kill them."
"..."
"..."
"Wait… did that man just say Riley—"
And before the members of the House of Super could look at each other, the ground beneath them suddenly turned black.
"You guys…" Ellie let out a small sigh as he shook her head, "...should've really just walked away."
And without any warning, spikes started emerging from the ground — instantly littering the group with a thousand holes. One of them, however, managed to dodge Ellie's attack as he quickly leaped towards Elliot.
"Come here!"
"No."
But alas, the man found himself suddenly stopped in mid-air as John held his shoulder. And without even knowing how, the colors in his eyes faded as he dropped to the ground.
And while all of these were happening, John was covering Elliot's eyes.
"...You guys do know I'm like 14 already, right?"
"Yeah, still just a fucking pipsqueak, you are."
And with that, the three finally entered the building.
***
"...You're the only one here."
"Yes. Sadly, humans have a tendency to be lazy even with just the slightest tragedy… and there you go, I officially welcome you to the Paige and Paragon superhero agency."
Paragon then tapped the table in front of him as he finished signing John and Ellie's papers. He then grabbed something from his pocket, placing them on the table before sliding it towards the two.
"I got them from Aerith before the bombs. They're your new identities."
"Megawoman… where is she?" John asked.
"Searching for mother, no doubt," Paragon only shrugged his shoulders, before gesturing to the passports he placed on the table.
Ellie excitedly grabbed the passports, before trying to find her name.
"Elizabeth… Holden?" Ellie blinked, before a small smile appeared on her face, "It's good you decided to keep my first name."
"...Why is my surname also Holden?" John asked as he also looked at his passport.
And as soon as Elliot heard that, he also checked on his name… only for it to be a completely different surname.
"Why… is mine different?"
"Because John and Ellie are married," Paragon casually said; causing Ellie to almost choke in her own breath, "I hope you don't mind — it seems the two of you are in a romantic relationship, so I made it official."
"You…" Ellie could not really say anything as her mouth just kept itself open. She then very slowly glanced at John, only to see his eyes slightly trembling.
"Boss… this…"
And seeing him stutter, a big smile appeared on Ellie's face as she held his also trembling hand. This might just seem like a little gesture — but Ellie knows what it means to John.
Riley was his creator — what could be more special than being officiated by him?
"...Thank you, Paragon," Ellie rested her head on John's shoulder. And of course, she too… was extremely happy about this. And then, what followed was silence as the two just cherished this tiny moment between them.
"..."
"..."
"So what exactly do we do here?" And after a few minutes, Ellie asked.
"The two of you are actually right on time," Paragon then said as he stood up, "I want you all to meet Paige."
And as if almost on cue, the elevator doors opened as Paige stepped out.
"Ah! Why didn't you tell me they arrived!" Paige quickly jogged as soon as she saw John and the others, "Hello."
"H… Hi?" Ellie shook Paige's hand, still completely confused as to what exactly they should be doing and why they were right on time.
"Is it ready, Paige?" Paragon then said as he walked away.
"Yes…
…we can start at any time."
***
"I'm going to do it."
Back in the Academy, Hannah and the rest of the members of the Baby Crew were now once again back in their very first base of operations — the Korean Shaved Ice store.
And yet, no one was indulging themselves in dessert, and instead just had serious expressions on their faces as they all stared at Hannah.
"Are… you sure? When do you plan to do it?" Gary muttered.
"Now, I'm going to do it now."
"I… don't think it's a good idea," Silvie let out a small but deep breath as she shook her head.
"We really can't tell you what to do, girl," Bella also sighed,
"What do you think, madam? He's your grandson, after all."
"...I don't know," Charlotte, who had been eavesdropping from behind the counter, just whispered, "The only thing I know is that the people already think my daughter is crazy — if they discover that her child became Darkday… they would put all the blame on what she did."
"..."
"..."
"I… don't think you should do it," Katrina held Hannah's hand, "Forget about the other people for now… will you be alright after?"
"..."
"..."
"What happens to me is irrelevant," Hannah breathed out,
"I… will do it," Hannah then handed her phone to Silvie.
"Are… you sure?"
"Let's do it," Hannah got up from the table as she stood in front of the Baby Crew.
"..."
Everyone could see her hands shaking; her eyes, however, seemed to already be filled with resolution. Silvie could really only look at the others, before letting out a sigh and also standing up.
"Will… you be fine?" She then asked.
"...No," Hannah quickly answered as she forced a chuckle, "But… that's just the way it is."
"..." Silvie looked Hannah straight in the eyes for a couple of seconds, before nodding her head, "Okay…
…we're live."
And as soon as she said those words, the Baby Crew took in a collective gulp. Hannah's breaths were also erratic, but soon… she closed her eyes.
It's time to finally accept this, she whispered to herself.
"My name is Hannah Ross," she then opened her eyes as she looked right onto the lens of her phone — almost as if she was addressing the entire world, "Most of you know me as Nuclear Seraph. And what I am about to tell you…
…is the truth. 2 years ago now, my brother—"
"What the…"
And before Hannah could finish showing the world her resolve, a series of beeping noises rang inside the store; all coming from each of the members of the Baby Crew.
"Uh… guys?" Silvie muttered.
"What's going on?"
"It… says Paragon also went live."
"What? What's he up to now!?" Hannah quickly grabbed her phone from Silvie, quickly removing her camera and clicking on the notification.
And there, she saw Paragon seated… behind some large mahogany desk. And beside him was Paige, wearing a dress. There were also two other people behind them… wearing a black suit and tie, and a pair of sunglasses.
"...What the fuck is he up to now?"
Paragon was also not wearing his usual outfit, and was instead adorned in an expensive-looking grey cardigan – and a long black scarf that didn't go around his neck.
[My name is Paragon, and most of you probably know me as Paragon. I will keep it short…
…this is for the members of the House of Super.]
Paragon then slightly leaned forward as he placed his hands on the desk as he looked right into the camera's lens.
[In any other cases, I would have left your group alone. But you attacked me twice in my home, and I will be taking that as a declaration of war. So please, understand that we now have to hunt all of you down and kill you.]
"Is… he at the agency?" Hannah looked at the others, who were just as engrossed as her as they continued to watch what Paragon was up to right now on their own phones.
[This is your fate now…] Paragon suddenly stopped talking as he looked at Paige — who quickly but gently held his hand and looked him in the eyes.
Paragon returned this gaze, before nodding and looking back to the camera.
[Run, hide. It doesn't matter where you go and what you do. You can beg, but it wouldn't do anything…
…I already decided that all of you are going to die.]
And then, as he said those words, Paragon very slowly raised his hand before placing it on his mask…
…and removing it.
And as he did so — any expression on Hannah's face very slowly disappeared.
[You see…] Paragon then casually placed his mask on the desk,
[...I don't like my name being used.]
Chapter 368"I don't like my name being used."
"..."
"..."
"...And cut!"
A collection of deep breaths echoed through the air as Ellie's brother, Elliot, cut off the stream. Paige's breaths were perhaps the most notable ones, as they continued to stutter as the luxurious drapes behind them disappeared, replacing it with the view of the Paige and Paragon building lobby — the large desk in front of them, also disappearing.
As for John and Ellie who were standing behind like some sort of statue, they also unstraightened their backs; with Ellie removing her sunglasses.
"Are… you sure about this, boss?" John quickly approached Riley; his voice, slightly meek, "You gave us a new life, but you abandoned yours for your old one… that doesn't seem right to me."
"I don't need a new life, John," Riley said as he shook his head. And as soon as he said that, Paige once again held his hand.
"Bonkers," Ellie clicked her tongue as she unbuttoned her suit, "First day at our new office, and we're already about to be overworked."
"I apologize, Ms. Elli. Would you like to rest for today?"
"Hell no," Ellie scoffed, "This beats aimlessly sitting at the farm watching John failing to milk cows. Besides… those House of Super twats are making my blood boil."
"T… that's good and all, but where exactly do we start?" Paige then commented as she looked at everyone, "We have no idea where they could be."
"We start anywhere," Riley muttered as he looked at John, "I suggest the two of you just kill everyone you suspect to be a member of the House of Super. Start from here, and then explore the country."
"...Why are you making it sound like we're just going for a run, mate?" Ellie once again scoffed.
"Is… she okay with this, boss?" John then looked at Paige.
"...Why wouldn't I be?" Paige only tilted her head, slightly confused with John's question.
"You… are a hero, right? Are you okay with us just killing people?"
"The House of Super is bad," Paige shook her head and sighed, "The world will be a better place without them."
"Boss and I are also bad people, the worst of the worst."
"Riley is my friend," Paige casually said.
"..." John could really only blink several times at Paige's words. He seemed to want to say something, but just chose not to.
"Before you venture out…"
Riley then handed phones to both John and Ellie, "...Use it to stream online while you kill and torture the members of the House of Super."
"...I don't really know how to feel about that," Ellie sighed as she grabbed her phone, "But I suppose that's the job description. Ms. Paige has a point, though. Where do we even start?"
"P… please, just call me Paige."
"...You're my boss," Ellie breathed out, "The company literally has your name in it."
"I… is that so? If… if you insist."
"..." Ellie could really only squint her eyes as Paige started giggling.
'There… is something seriously wrong with this girl', she thought. No wonder she and Riley clicked.
"..." Wait, but John is Riley's clone… doesn't that mean that something was also wrong with her?
"You seem to be thinking of something deep there, chief."
"It's none of your business, you cunt," Ellie quickly waved her hand as she walked away, "Let's go hunt us some twats."
"...What did I do now?" John could really only furrow his eyebrows as he followed Ellie.
"Elliot, you stay here with Ms. Paige. Is that okay for you, Ms. Paige?"
"Yeah, it's cool. I have… more of a support role anyway."
"Eh… but I want to go with you guys," Elliot raised his voice.
"We… actually have the new PS5, I can set it up."
"P…Plash Speed?" Elliot's voice stuttered as soon as he heard Paige,
"Ah, what… what's this… I feel ill all of a sudden," he then said as he started coughing, "I… I think I need to stay here and rest instead."
"You're free to kick him if he misbehaves, Ms. Paige," Ellie raised her index and middle finger at Elliot as she started walking away, "Let's go. I'm itching to stretch my powers. John, don't do anything and just protect me, a'ight?"
"...Why?"
"What do you mean why? If you join, there would be nothing left for me to do."
And with those words, the two finally left the building.
"What about you, Riley? Where are you going?" Paige immediately asked as soon as the two were gone.
"I'm going to stay here."
"...But you just declared you were going to hunt them."
"Yes," Riley nodded, "But we're supposed to be the Boss. They are supposed to come to us."
"...That makes sense," Paige shrugged, "What… about your sister and the Baby Crew? What will we do once they arrive?"
"They won't come."
"...How can you be so sure?"
"Because besides my sister…" Riley then looked Paige straight in the eyes,
"...They are all afraid of me."
"..."
"If they are going to visit, it wouldn't be without a plan."
"...Hm," Paige nodded, "Elliot and I will be upstairs. Call me if you need anything."
"I will. Thank you, Paige," Riley then also nodded as he finally stood up; making his way to the piano on the corner of the lobby. He raised his finger while walking, and as he did so, his long black hair lifted up… before tying itself into some sort of ponytail, with strands still flowing on the side of his cheeks.
"..." Riley checked the entrance of the building if anyone was already arriving, before starting to play the piano.
"..."
A second.
A minute.
An hour.
And finally, after 3 hours — the door opened.
Riley continued to play as the silhouette stepped forward; each of the silhouette's steps, making some sort of metallic thump. And soon, the silhouette was beside him.
"Mr. Riley Ross."
"Greetings," Riley instantly stopped playing the piano as he looked at his first visitor, "I have been expec—"
But as soon as he saw who it was, he blinked.
"..." His first visitor was wearing a knight that seemed like he came out of the medieval era; wearing full armor slathered in red, and a large sword on his back.
Crimson Paladin, one of the Pope's guards.
"The leader of the House of Super… is the Pope?" Riley quickly muttered; his eyes, showing a visible sign of shock. He certainly did not expect something like this.
"What? No,"
The Crimson Paladin's monotonous tone seeped from his helmet, "He just ordered me to come here."
"...Why?" There was a hint of disappointment in Riley's breaths as he looked at the Crimson Paladin.
"I don't know," the Crimson Paladin shrugged, "We've actually known of your existence ever since you first appeared on the news," he then said as he pointed at where his eyes should be behind the helmet.
"X-ray vision," Riley breathed out, "You can see even through the screen?"
"Yes."
"Interesting. You're not here to kill me, I assume?"
"I'm not stupid enough to think I can kill you," the Crimson Paladin scoffed, "He just ordered me to watch you."
"..."
"..."
"Then please, make yourself comfortable," Riley then gestured the Crimson Paladin to sit on the sofa near the piano, before starting to play again.
"..." The Crimson Paladin did not really say anything as he just took a seat; his entire body, almost sinking due to his heavy armor — his gigantic sword, poking through the floor as he placed it beside him.
"..."
"..." And true to his words, the Crimson Paladin just watched Riley in silence; not even uttering a single word.
Soon, however, a phone started floating in front of him.
"..."
"..."
"...What's this?"
"It's a smartphone, Crimson Paladin."
"I know what a phone is. What is it doing floating in front of me?"
"I surmise someone with x-ray vision is good with the camera, Crimson Paladin. Please, operate it since you are here. It's already streaming, you just need to point it to your desired angle and—"
"I'm not your assistant," the Crimson Paladin tried swatting the phone away, but it immediately dodged.
"I can pay you for your time, Crimson Paladin. Aerith has a lot of money."
Why do you think I would do— Yes, I can hear you," the Crimson Paladin then suddenly slightly tilted his head to the side, seemingly talking to someone.
[...]
"Yes. Yes. What… His Holiness told me to do what?"
[...]
"Are you serious?"
[...]
"Fine," the Crimson Paladin then clicked her tongue as she suddenly removed her gauntlets — revealing her hand that was covered in calluses. And with a slight pause, he shook his head before removing his helmet… revealing a somewhat small head that was completely out of proportion compared to his bulky armor.
A brown skin that was filled with scars; black shaggy hair that reached just below the eyebrow. And the most noticeable of all — eyes that were sewn shut by a golden thread.
That's weird. Riley remembered seeing the Crimson Paladin's eyes before through his helmet.
"I am only doing this because the Pope ordered it," and then… a high-pitched voice — Crimson Paladin is a woman.
"..."
"..."
Riley did not really say or ask anything as he just continued to play the piano; with the Crimson Paladin now pointing the camera at him.
"..."
"..."
And soon, the door once again opened.
"!!!" Crimson Paladin quickly stood up as she pointed the camera to the door, zooming it on the three people that entered.
The group was wearing red masks similar to what one would find in a Japanese festival — a Tengu mask.
Crimson Paladin then zoomed in on each of their faces, before uttering something,
"Robert Harrison, Kirsten Stuart, Taylor Lauder."
"W… what the fuck!?" The only woman in the group quickly looked at the Crimson Paladin, "How… how does she know our names!?"
"..." The Crimson Paladin didn't really answer as she just pointed the camera to the one who spoke up. Of course, she knows who they are --- she has memorized all the faces in all of the registries in the world; from their passport and right down to their birth certificate.
The Crimson Paladin... is very dedicated to her job.
"It doesn't matter! Get that camera!"
The woman from the group nodded, before the floor beneath her started to ripple — and with a smirk, she suddenly sank down and disappeared.
"..."
"..."
"..."
However… nothing happened even after a minute. There was no sign of the woman showing herself, causing the remaining two to just look at each other.
"Well…" And then, Riley stood up and removed his hands from the piano — but even then, the keys continued to move as it played by itself.
This time, the melody that played from the piano became faster and heavier as Riley stepped down the stage.
"...That's one down."
Chapter 369"...That's one down."
A small clanging whispered in the air as Crimson Paladin quickly moved away, trying to get Riley in view of the camera as he stepped down the stage. She then quickly zoomed in as Riley slightly raised his hand; nothing really happened, not yet.
But soon, the floor beside Riley cracked — and with a flick of his finger, the woman that disappeared into the floor and never came back finally re-emerged. She emerged completely different, however.
Her face was barely recognizable as bits of her skull were already poking out of her head — her eyes popped out.
Crimson Paladin quickly approached Riley, walking around him as she panned over the mangled corpse.
"..." And as this was happening, the two remaining members of the supremacist group could really only look at each other before watching the scene unfold helplessly.
Every member of the House of Super has ranks because all of them considered themselves soldiers — soldiers of the evolution of the human race.
The highest one of them, of course, is their supreme leader and the commander of the realms — the one they call The Caesar.
The Caesar was followed by the Field Marshall, then so on until the lowest of the ranks, Lieutenant. None of them were just mere foot soldiers, as every Super has noble blood flowing through their veins according to The Caesar.
Thousandblade was considered to be a Colonel-General, just below the Field Marshall. As for the three, they were Colonels and were somewhat in the middle of the hierarchy.
And as colonels, they were specifically sent to the Paige and Paragon agency to confirm whether or not Paragon truly was Riley Ross. And if not, they were ordered to dispose of him so they could finally get rid of one of the biggest thorns to their movement.
Well, at least that is how it was supposed to be. To think not even after a minute of them entering the building, one of them would already be dead.
"..."
They then watched as the corpse of their comrade started floating towards them — passing by them as it continued to float out of the door and disappear; they could hear a slight thud whispering from the outside, and whatever that sound is… it couldn't be good for them.
"You… are you really Riley Ross?"
The color of the hair was completely different, even the eyebrows and eyes were different — but that kind of face truly did belong to just a singular person.
"Well, I suppose I might be the only one with that name now… granted if those who shared by name didn't survive with the bombs," and very slowly, Riley smiled.
And finally, they saw the very thing that proved his existence to be true — his smile that reached from ear to ear.
"It… It truly is you!" One of the men bellowed.
"Wait… please wait!" He then took off his mask — and if Crimson Paladin were to be believed, this is the one that's called Robert.
"What are you doing!?" His comrade, Taylor, could not help but once again scream as he saw Robert suddenly kneeling on the ground.
"Shut up! You're in the presence of Riley Ross!"
The members of the House of Super all have their corresponding ranks — and there was one rank, however, reserved for their most special member… their Martyr, Riley Ross.
"We… we did all of this for you, Riley Ross!" Robert stated, "You… you showed us the way and opened our eyes that we are meant to be greater. When… when I saw you rescue Megawoman from the clutches of the mud people, you woke me up from the truth… you…
…you saved me, Riley Ross!"
"..." Riley could only blink several times as he looked at Robert. He then turned towards Crimson Paladin, almost as if asking her what was happening.
Crimson Paladin really only shrugged her shoulders. With her line of work, she has seen all sorts of men that are devoted to their cause — and most of them, already beyond reasonable.
It didn't really matter to her as she just continued to film what was happening. But as soon as she looked back at Robert, however…
…she screamed.
She screamed as she found her sword suddenly lodged through Robert, practically almost splitting him in half.
"...You didn't get it on camera," Riley sighed.
"T… that's a sword blessed by his Holiness himself!" Crimson Paladin roared, "I'm the only one allowed to use it!"
"I'm just borrowing it," Riley shook his head, "Besides, you weren't using it."
"That doesn't mean you can use it! I didn't give you permission!"
"Humans tend to not ask for permission, Crimson Paladin," Riley said with a content smile on his face.
"Y—"
"S… shit!"
And now, as the only one left alive, Taylor took the chance to run away as Riley and the Crimson Paladin were talking.
His body burst into flames, covering his silhouette entirely.
"Oh, you have a power similar to Hannah."
Sadly for him, Riley was already in front of him as soon as he turned around — and without even any warning, Riley suddenly tightly wrapped his arms around him,
"Oh, it's different. Of course, it's different… Hannah is special, after all."
"W— Die!" Taylor screamed as he felt Riley's hold getting tighter; the flames surrounding his body, exploding and bursting even stronger.
And as soon as the entire room turned bright, the Crimson Paladin immediately adjusted the ISO of the phone's camera — no longer minding about her sword as she just continued to do the task that was asked of her.
After all, the Crimson Paladin always puts a hundred percent of her dedication, no matter the job.
"..." And as the bursting flames continued to burn hotter, a sigh escaped from Riley's mouth.
"The foundation of your group is power, right?" Riley then casually said even as the flames slowly started to crawl towards him.
Taylor didn't really say anything as he just continued to roar; his flames, now moving erratically as he felt Riley's grip growing tighter and tighter.
"Screaming won't suddenly make you stronger, Taylor. This isn't anime," Riley once again sighed, "Is this it? Is this the extent of what you can do? It's…
…disappointing."
And as soon as he said that, the air around them started to distort,
"Watch, this is real power."
"!!!"
The flames surrounding Taylor started to turn purple as the heat surrounding them started to multiply to the point that the floor beneath them instantly melted away — this heat, however, surprisingly did not reach Crimson Paladin as it seemed to just stop in a circle around them.
And soon, Taylor screamed as… parts of him started to melt.
And soon, the flames around him just faded away, revealing his flesh that was slowly starting to slide off his bones.
"..." Riley once again let out a small sigh as the air returned to normal. Taylor's body then collapsed almost like a wet noodle as he let him go.
"..."
"..."
And then, once again, a sigh escaped from his mouth as he stared at the two corpses — his breaths, clearly showing his disappointment. He raised his hand, floating the two corpses in the air before also throwing them out of the building.
"..." Crimson Paladin also started to float — she didn't seem to mind, however, as she just followed the two corpses with the camera. She even gestured to Riley to take her higher so she could get a better angle.
And there, those that were watching the stream finally saw what happened to the corpse of the woman from the House of Super.
It was pinned outside the building, decorating the walls just above the Paige and Paragon signage. Her corpse wouldn't be alone for long, however, as she was reunited with Taylor and Robert as they too… were pinned beside her.
Riley then very slowly came into view — a smile, already plastered on his face as he stared directly at the phone's lenses.
"This is for the House of Super," he then said as he slightly glanced at the corpses hanging behind him, "I have already announced your death. And so…"
Riley raised his hands to the side, and as he did so, another body suddenly shot out from outside the camera's view, before also pinning itself on the building alongside the three.
And then… it was followed by another.
And then another, again and again — bodies started appearing from every direction, almost like flies caught in a trap. In fact, some of them seemed to still be alive; their blood, endlessly trailing on the wall.
"Wherever you are, wherever my subordinates kill you — your corpses will find their way here."
"..." Crimson Paladin started floating away, revealing almost a hundred bodies that were now almost covering the side of an entire floor.
Was… she really just supposed to watch and film Riley while he does this? Just what is the Pope trying to accomplish by doing this? Her presence here was basically telling the entire world that he was supporting Riley's actions.
He knows Riley is Darkday, so why is he doing something like this? Even before during the incident of Megawoman's clones in Los Angeles, the Pope asked her to offer Riley assistance.
…Why?
"Run, hide. It doesn't matter what you do," Riley then repeated the words he said from his last livestream, "As long as you are a member of the House of Super…
…this will be your grave."
***AUTHOR NOTES***
Read 'Wait, My Juice Can Save The World?' Now!
It's been rewritten for the contest! It's about a man who went back to the past and was given quite... a juicy system.
Chapter 370"Get the fuck out of my way!"
"Girl, stop!"
"Get out of my fucking way! I knew it! I fucking knew it! All of you told me it's impossible but I fucking knew it!"
"We can't let you out there."
"Why the fuck not!?"
"You know why!"
"..."
Hannah's screams echoed throughout the entirety of the Academy — even those that were underground could hear her. Well, probably not, but it certainly sounded like that from the Baby Crew's ears. But finally, she stopped…
…not before Silvie pushed her to the ground, however.
They were in front of the Academy gates, with Bella practically covering and reinforcing the doorway, as well as the entire gate with a slab of metal. Even Golden Fox was there, seemingly confused as to what was happening.
"We can't let you out there, girl," Bella sighed.
"You know what happened last time," Gary whispered just enough that Golden Fox wouldn't hear him, "We got wiped — he might really kill us this time."
"W… well, I don't think he would kill us," Katrina took in a small gulp, "Maybe just… hospitalize us?"
"This is the last time I am asking nicely," the ground beneath Hannah started to melt, "Get out of my fucking way if you don't want to get hurt," she then said as she stood up.
Silvie, however, stood firm as she shook her head, "No."
"What is it to you guys anyway!?" I am going alone! None of you even have to look at him!"
"This isn't about us getting hurt, this is about you hurting yourself again! Listen to yourself!" Silvie stomped her foot, causing the ground to shake, "We were the ones who had to prevent you from drowning. You don't understand that!"
"..." Hannah did not really say anything as her eyebrows and lips just trembled. Not only Silvie, but all of the Baby Crew blocked her path; their eyes, seemingly unrelenting.
"..."
"..."
"I'm… confused." And finally, Golden Fox, who had just been watching the situation, could no longer help herself as she joined in.
"You… don't have to worry about this," Bella sighed as she looked at Golden Fox, "It's just… some personal matters."
"You guys… really didn't know that Paragon is Riley?"
"...What?" And as soon as Golden Fox uttered those words, even Hannah looked at her.
"What… do you mean by that? You knew Paragon was Riley?"
"Hm," Golden Fox nodded, "I saw his name the very first time we met… since I already knew Riley before that. I could see his name if we looked into each other's eyes."
"Right…" Gary slightly breathed out, "...just one of your many abilities."
"...What does that mean?" Golden Fox could not help but raise an eyebrow as she heard Gary's slightly twisted tone.
"Y—"
"!!!"
And before Gary could say anything else, Hannah suddenly let out a deafening shriek.
"Why is this happening!?" She then started lashing out where she stood, "Why didn't he just fucking stay dead!?"
And very soon, tears started trailing on her face.
"Fuck!" And once again, her screams echoed through the entire Academy grounds which spanned kilometers. The Baby Crew could really only close their eyes and look away. They…
…never wanted to see Hannah like this again.
When she killed Riley, it was… really hard on her.
If it wasn't for Charlotte arriving the moment she did back then… then Hannah wouldn't be here anymore.
They thought they could give Hannah some time to grieve, mourn, and think for herself as they waited for her to come out of her room. But when they finally barged inside, they found her sitting in a pool of her own blood. She…
…slit her throat.
Just a minute more, and she would have died.
Yes, they were afraid of Riley — extremely frightened, in fact. But they were more afraid for Hannah; afraid that something like that might happen again.
They were shocked to find out Riley was alive, but that only lasted for a second as all their concerns shifted to Hannah… they truly didn't want to see her like that again.
"If you wanna go out there, I will help you."
And as they showered themselves in silence, a voice approached them. They all turned to look as to who it could be, only to see a somewhat familiar face.
It took a few seconds… but it finally registered in their minds as to who this woman could be.
"...V?"
A previous member of the Hope Guild… and one of the unfortunate victims of Riley's guile.
They almost could not recognize her as she was just… too thin. Her hair was greying, her lips dark… and her eyes sunken.
"I'll help," V breathed out; her voice, slightly hoarse, "I'll help you kill that fucking bast—"
And before she could even finish what she was going to say, the sound of her retching and vomiting to the ground hissed in the air; once again causing the Baby Crew to look away.
"Let's just… all returned to the base for now."
And with everyone defeated, they all returned to the Korean Shaved Ice store; their sighs almost brought the entire shop down.
"So… the kid's alive."
Katrina and Golden Fox were not there, as they didn't want to tell Riley's true identity to anyone else for now. Instead, to replace Katrina… Charlotte was currently sitting with the Baby Crew plus V.
"What… are you guys planning to do about this situation?" Charlotte muttered.
"We… we plan to fucking kill him, that's what," V was the first to say something; her fingers, tapping endlessly on the table as her entire face was covered in sweat.
"Are you… okay?" Gary could not help but squint as he looked at V.
"..." V didn't really say anything as she just grabbed a flask from her pocket. She was about to open it, but Charlotte swatted it away before she could do so.
"Why did you do that!?"
"Don't do this to yourself," Charlotte sighed, "You've already suffered enough. Your rehabilitation has also been going along—"
"Fuck you!" V stood up as she pointed at Charlotte, "This is your fault for giving birth to psychos! I am so fucking tired of this! Why do we even need to hide from the world that Riley is Satan!? He… he hurt so many people and he—"
"Sleep."
Charlotte touched V's forehead, and as she did so, the whites of V's eyes quickly showed themselves. Charlotte quickly caught her head, gently placing it on the table as she let out a sigh.
"Rehab…" Bella gulped, "Is she…?"
"Alcohol and drug addiction," Charlotte shook her head, "No one was really there to help her cope."
"My brother…" Hannah whispered, "Riley… really did destroy so many lives, didn't he?"
"Well— if you think about it, it's nothing compared to the body count of the House of Sup—" Gary did not continue his words as he noticed Silvie and Bella staring at him.
"If you plan to… confront him, I'll join," Charlotte slightly raised her voice, "I'm… tired of pretending this has nothing to do with me. But first… do any of you even have a plan?"
"..."
"..."
"Why… why does it feel like he really doesn't regret anything?"
No one really answered Charlotte; instead, Hannah just continued to talk as she just looked at the table in front of her.
"Did Empress know that Paragon is Riley? Why… why would she do that if she knew?" Hannah whispered to herself, "What the fuck is this? Just… why would—"
And then, for some weird reason, Hannah remembered her touching Paragon's chest.
"Fuck!" She screamed... and then suddenly started slapping herself from the disgusting thoughts that suddenly surfaced in her mind.
"Stop… stop!"
Silvie quickly got up and grabbed Hannah's hands.
"Please… Hannah, stop…"
"Why!?"
"Please… just stop," Silvie then carefully embraced Hannah from behind, "Please… don't lose your head… not you."
"I knew…" Hannah seemed to not be hearing anyone else but herself, "I knew it was him the very first time I laid my eyes on him… I knew. There was just something about him that just… felt so familiar… it felt warm… it was because he's Riley… fuck!"
Tears once again started to trail on Hannah's face as she held Silvie's arms and slightly rested her head on her,
"What… do we even do?" She whispered, "What do I even do? I…"
Hannah then looked at the rest of the group one by one, "The truth is, I don't…
…I don't want to kill him again."
"..."
"I know… I know he's a fucking mass murdered," Hannah shook her head, "But he… he's my fucking brother. It's so selfish but whenever… I remember his face that day…"
"..."
"I never told this to anyone before… but he cried," Hannah forced a chuckle as her breaths became erratic, "It was… it was just a single drop. But right at that moment… all I could see was my brother… I felt like I finally met him…
…and then he was just gone."
"..."
"I know… I know it's unfair, I know it's wrong… but I want to save him. I don't know how, I don't know what from…
…but I want to save my baby brother."
***
"...This man is beyond saving."
"..."
Back in the Paige and Paragon agency, the Crimson Paladin has stopped streaming; as no one seemed to be coming and Riley had also asked her to rest for a while.
And so, the two of them were just casually sitting in the lobby; as if there weren't hundreds of bodies hanging just outside the building.
In fact, she could still see some of them squirming and trying to break free — but whenever they did so, some part of them would shatter.
"..." Riley seemed to be doing this consciously, as each time someone moved… he would laugh.
This man… is beyond saving.
Is it some lesser evil thing? Is that it? Is that why the Pope ordered her to assist him?
Just what… just what could the Pope be thinking?
Chapter 371Hours once again passed — and any noise, groans, and wails of pain that could be heard from outside the building were no more.
A thousand? More than, definitely.
Riley's so-called subordinates also arrived to refresh themselves in the bar and rest a bit, before once again quickly leaving. And seeing the wide smiles on their faces, they were more than likely to be lunatics.
Of course — one would have to be crazy to befriend someone like Riley. And so, with everything seemingly peaceful and no signs of any House of Super members intruding or invading, the two just remained sitting in the lobby.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...What is it?" And after another hour of silence, Crimson Paladin could no longer hold her tongue as Riley has been staring at her without pause, "If you want to say something, then say it."
"I am just curious, really," Riley muttered, "Your eyes — they weren't stitched when we met in Los Angeles."
"..." Crimson Paladin did not really answer; only letting out a short breath as she slightly turned her head away.
"Did the Pope do it to you?"
"No, what?" Crimson Paladin quickly returned her invisible gaze towards Riley, "The Holiness would never do anything like this. I…
…did it to myself."
"Why, Crimson Paladin?"
"..."
"..."
"Did the Pope order you to—"
"No!" Crimson Paladin quickly shook her head, "My… power becomes stronger as I age. I used to only see through things whenever I want to — but now I have lost control of that. I needed something to cover my eyes, and so I did this."
"...You could have just covered your eyes with a blindfold. You're not very smart, Crimson Paladin."
"I did not want the temptation of being able to take it off whenever I want to," Crimson Paladin's breaths started to become heavy, "There are things in the world that we are just not meant to see."
"Hm," Riley nodded, "X-ray vision, super strength and speed, and you grow wings. What other abilities do you have?
"...No, I don't grow wings."
"...The Pope said you did."
"When did you even talk to the Pope about that?" Crimson Paladin only shook her head and sighed, "And I do not have super strength."
"Hm?" Riley immediately looked at Crimson Paladin's sword, which was already penetrating the floor solely due to its sheer weight. In fact, even her helmet had already left a mark on the table.
"It's not super strength. I guess you can call it… a distinct form of matter manipulation. I can't fully explain it," Crimson Paladin muttered before lightly touching her stitched eyes, "It's the same reason why I can see through things."
"..."
"The world works differently for me. That's all you really need to know."
"Matter manipulation. I have a few abilities belonging to that category," and as Riley said that, he grabbed something from the inner pockets of the cardigan he was wearing, before placing them on the table and causing a series of clicks to whisper in the air.
"..." Crimson Paladin did not really say anything as she just watched as Riley tapped one of the metal-like shavings he placed on the table, and as he did so… the small shaving suddenly turned into a spoon.
Crimson Paladin looked closer at the rest of the metal shavings, only to find out that they were… micro utensils and cutlery.
"...Do you know why you're evil, Riley Ross?" And for some weird reason, this was the question that suddenly popped up inside her mind.
"Because I just am. I was born like this and there does not need to be a reason for me being so, Crimson Paladin."
Riley did not seem to mind the sudden change of topic, as he immediately answered Crimson Paladin's sudden and random question.
"Do you think you can still be redeemed?"
"Redeemed for what?"
"For taking the lives of millions of people."
"...One needs to ask for forgiveness to be redeemed," Riley shook his head, "I will never apologize for something I enjoy doing."
"...Then what are you doing now? Killing members of a supremacist group that has killed billions of people. Surely, there is something inside you seeking even just a tiny bit of redemption… that wants to pay for his sins and become a hero?"
And as soon as Riley heard Crimson Paladin's words, a small smile crawled on his face,
"I am merely doing this because I am bored, Crimson Paladin."
"..."
"Aerith — Megawoman once told me I could just end it all. That I could throw the moon at the planet and that will be it," Riley then slightly raised his hand; his fingers, touching each other.
"..." Crimson Paladin turned her head towards Riley's fingers; her breaths, slightly perturbed and anxious.
"I could do it without even snapping my fingers," Riley lowered his hand, "I can split the Earth if I want to…
…but I do not and I will not, because where is the fun in that?"
And with those words, Crimson Paladin's breaths were slowly able to relax.
"And I also care about some things in this world, it is important it stays intact."
"...And what happens if the thing you care about disappears?"
"Then all of you will die," Riley's smile grew, "And then I just move on to another planet. Megawoman has brought me to this small planet, you see. You'd be surprised with the creatures there — you and I wouldn't be the strangest looking in the room, from our perspective, that is."
"..."
"...Do you think if you destroy the world, Megawoman will still allow you to go to another planet?"
"I don't need her to take me back there, I can go back there myself."
"How would you even find your way?"
"Oh, I left… a little something there. I know where it is now at all times."
"..."
"..."
And once again, there was silence between the two. It wasn't until several minutes later that Crimson Paladin once again asked another question.
"Why… do you think the Pope asked me to watch over you?" Crimson Paladin said as she lightly brushed her gigantic sword.
"...Should you not know the answer to that?" Riley once again raised his finger; this time, however, a pair of cups floated towards their table… followed by a bottle of milk which poured itself into the glasses.
Crimson Paladin picked up a cup and started drinking, before letting out a long and very deep sigh as she wiped her lips,
"He… didn't tell me the reason. I figured maybe you would know."
"Why not just ask him?"
"I… can't," Crimson Paladin shook her head, "There's a certain hierarchy that I need to respe— what are you doing?"
And before Crimson Paladin could finish her words, Riley suddenly placed his phone on the table and started fidgeting with it.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling the Pope."
"...You have his number?"
"Of course," Riley shrugged, "He also watched Italian Mafia Reborn."
And soon, a ring reverberated in the air as Riley put the phone on speakers.
"W… wait, you can't just—"
"Hello, Louise."
[Riley Ross.]
"!!!" And as soon as she heard the Pope's voice, Crimson Paladin could really only cover her mouth in fear that the Pope would hear her.
[It has been a long time. Have you been well, my child?]
"I'm having fun right now. What about you?"
[The same as always, one foot on the grave. I am not getting any younger,] Crimson Paladin could hear the Pope chuckling,
[I trust Angela has not been giving you any trouble?]
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at Crimson Paladin, "Her name… is Angela?"
[Yes. You could say… she's my guardian angela.]
"...Pft," Riley let out a small chuckle. As for the Pope, he also burst out in laughter — almost causing the speakers to scratch from how robust and loud it was.
"..." Angela could really only have her mouth open in shock. Of course, she had already seen Riley interacting with the Pope a couple of times as Darkday before — but to think they even have each other's numbers?
What are they… friends?
"I actually called you to ask something, Louise. Why did you send Angela to watch me?"
Angela gestured to Riley to cut the call, but Riley was just waving his hand.
[Watch you? No… It's the other way around.]
"..." Angela then turned her head to Riley, no longer gesturing to Riley to cut the call but instead continued to ask what the Pope meant.
[Do you know the little girl is actually one of Megawoman's disciples?]
"..." Riley once again blinked several times as he returned Angela's gaze, "I was not aware of that, no."
[She's special, that Angela… but she's also a very fragile child.]
"..." Angela wanted to cover her ears. Why does it feel like she was listening to something she shouldn't?
[I did not order her to go there so she can watch you,] the Pope let out a short but deep sigh, [But for you to watch her — !!!]
Crimson Paladin's eyes started to widen as she heard several people shouting from the background.
[I… am the human with the highest authority in the world. Do you know what that entails, child?]
"...You are a thorn for the House of Super."
[Yes, I am their biggest target. I am an old man, Riley. The people think I am immaculate and holy — but I bore a sin.]
"..."
[And that sin, I asked Megawoman to carry… but to think that sin brought itself back to my world. And that sin…
…is with you right now.]
"..."
[I did not order Angela to go there because of some grand scheme or holy quest, Riley…
…my daughter, she is safest with you.]
Chapter 372[She… is safest with you.]
"Why did you think I'll be safe with the world's no. 1 serial killer!?"
And all of a sudden, Angela's voice filled the entire lobby as she grabbed the phone from the table; screaming at it almost as if that would make the Pope respond faster. But alas, it seemed to have the opposite effect…
…as the phone hung up.
"Hello? Hello!?"
"Quite an interesting development."
On the other hand, Riley was nodding to himself as he stood up; grabbing the phone from Angela while carrying a very subtle smile on his face — but with his mouth, even the most subtle smile seemed somewhat mischievous.
Angela couldn't really say anything, however, as she just remained seated completely flabbergasted.
An interesting development? Perhaps for a bystander. But for Angela? This practically just changed her entire life. How was she even supposed to go on knowing what she knows now? Is it even true?
But what does the Pope have to gain from lying? And why would he lie about something like this?
Wait — is this why it felt like he was treating her differently from the other two paladins? Angela thought she was treated better because she was the best amongst the three… but now that she was scouring her memories, she was realizing some things.
And while Angela was currently stuck in her own mind, Riley was once again dialing someone.
"..."
"..."
"Hello, Ms. Ellie."
[W… what the… Riley? Why are you calling me instead of John?]
"I need the two of you to return as soon as possible," Riley completely ignored Ellie's somewhat perplexed voice, "You have a new job — take care of Paige and the building."
[...]
[...Alright, we're actually already on our way back. We'll be there in less than a minute.]
"Thank you, Ms. Ellie."
"If the Pope is my father… then who's my mother? I need to— Where are you going!?"
And before Angela could finish muttering to her words, she saw Riley already only a meter away from the door.
"I'm going to where the Pope is, of course," Riley casually said as he shrugged, "I think no one else is going to come here — the House of Super seems to be focusing their forces to kill the Pope first."
"T… then let me come with you!"
"I think that is obvious," Riley then raised his hand, and as he did so, Angela was lifted into the air along with her gigantic slab of a sword and helmet; somewhat unwillingly being floated outside,
"You'll be my map. I assume he would be in the Vatican?"
"Y… yes," Angela could really only nod her head as she and Riley started ascending into the sky; the buildings below, quickly becoming smaller, "Shouldn't… we take the jet I took to get here?"
"No. Too slow."
And as soon as Riley said that, Angela felt her vision shift; she heard a quick pop coming from the front as he saw a skirt of wind exploding from Riley's waist — it was… a weird feeling. By all means, she should be experiencing a massive shift in pressure due to the sheer g-force she found herself in, but there was nothing like that.
There wasn't even a single waft of air blasting through her face; the strands of her hair, unmoving.
It almost just felt like she was casually floating still in the air, but the blurring ocean beneath her quickly debunked that.
"How does it feel, Ms. Angela?"
"It… feels like we are just floating still."
"I meant suddenly knowing your father was close to you all along."
"...Oh," Angela could really only blink several times as she heard Riley's words, "I honestly don't know what I am feeling right now. It… doesn't feel real. How… did you feel when you realized you were adopted and that your parents were not your real parents?"
"They told me at a very young age," Riley glanced back at Angela, "I remember feeling… relieved a few moments later."
"...Relieved?"
Yes," Riley nodded, "Because that would mean that I was different from Hannah because I was born from a different set of people. There wouldn't be a chance that she would become a monster like me."
"...Right. Then what about when you found out who your real parents are?"
"Diana and Bernard are my real parents."
"...I mean your biological parents."
"Ah," Riley slightly nodded, "It did not really change anything since my biological mother was already dead."
"Then… what about your biological father?"
"The circumstances of my birth are still a little complicated. I do not think I even have one — I came from some sort of syringe. I am also still not clear about that, I will ask Diana once we meet again."
"...Huh," Angela could only really let out a breath. In truth, she was just trying to make sense of things and just wanted to distract herself so she asked about Riley's situation… but to think it was this strange,
"But still… you don't make another human with just your mother's egg. Have you never really wondered what the other half of you is? You might find out why you are how you are if you find out who the other half of your DNA belongs to."
"..." Riley once again glanced back at Angela.
"Now that I know the Pope is my father — some of the parts in my life that previously didn't make any sense suddenly become clear. I am actually almost old enough to be your mother, but now I… feel like a child again."
"...You might actually be on to something here, Ms. Angela," Riley squinted, "I initially thought I am different because of Alice… but aside from being a nuisance and a pain to the people around her, she didn't truly become crazy until the day she decided to kill me."
"..."
"No. Did… she really even become crazy at the end?" Riley squinted his eyes, "Now you made me curious about my origin, Ms. Angela."
"...You made me curious of your origin," Angela blinked several times as she heard the circumstances of Riley's birth, "All those things really happened?"
It was hard to sympathize with a murderer that has massacred and tortured millions of people. But now that she was hearing Riley's story… why was it even starting to feel like it was her fault even though she wasn't in any way involved?
She remembers laughing and scoffing when the Pope told her that Riley was just a misguided child — that he was a product of the tragedies surrounding him. But now, why does that feel so accurate?
"What do you think, Ms. Angela?"
"Hm?"
"What reason do you think a mother would have to kill his 2-year-old son?"
"That…" Although there wasn't even a hint of sorrow or sadness in Riley's voice, Angela still could not help but almost choke in her own breath as she heard his words. As much as she wanted to deny it… she had heard many stories of mothers killing their children — especially those that are insane and fanatical about their faith.
But being insane is their reason. Because what other reason could there be?
"I have heard of animals killing their offspring due to them being weak. Is it possible I was weak as a baby?"
"..."
"It's possible. I didn't gain telekinesis until Alice killed me."
"I think—"
"We've arrived."
"...Already?"
Thankfully for Angela, she didn't really have to force herself to answer Riley's question as they slowly descended to the ground. She looked below her… only to see the once grand and ancient city now completely ruined.
"What… have they done?" Angela quickly grabbed the helmet that was floating beside her and wore it.
"Can you see where the Pope is, Ms. Angela?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"There," Angela pointed at the main building, "He's underground."
"Okay, you can go ahead."
"What do you—"
And before she could even finish her words, she felt herself being thrown away — plunging straight into the building; storming through several walls as she did so. She was quite surprised at the first wall at first but quickly used her sword to burst through the next ones.
And without even a moment, she suddenly found herself in front of the large door leading to the underground vault---
"..."
---With several people looking at her; all of them, wearing a hint of red on them.
"..." She then turned her head to the side, only to see someone wearing a similar armor to her, except silver in color… sprawled on the ground and seemingly surrounded by his own blood,
"...George."
The Crimson Paladin then placed her sword in front of her,
"In death, may you find Him."
And with those words, the Crimson Paladin brandished her sword.
***
Riley was still in the St. Reacher's Square, but now standing on top of the cross obelisk that was in the very center of the square — wondering why it was called a square when the halls of pillars that surrounded it were clearly shaped in a circle.
His hands were inside his pockets, his long cardigan and long black hair, flowing with the wind. And very soon, he stretched his arms to the side.
And with a small breath and a growing smile on his face… the morning sky slowly turned dark.
And soon, a drop of rain could be seen puttering from the dark sky, drenching the ground in red.
And with the drop soon multiplying, the square was very slowly painted in blood.
And then… it was followed by a thud that whispered through the rain — a corpse, dropping in a pool of its own blood. And then, it was followed by another…
…and another.
"I changed my mind," Riley then turned to look at the phone that was floating in front of him,
"I'm relocating your grave."
And soon, what followed the rain of blood…
…was a storm of bodies endlessly crashing to the ground.
Chapter 373Holy.
There are only a few places left that could actually be called that on the entire planet — The Vatican City was one of them. It was said to be the site where St. Reacher was buried, it was supposed to be his grave and his grave alone.
But now, he just gained more companions… a lot more.
The Vatican City was already tattered and ruined even before Angela and Riley arrived, no doubt because of the House of Super trying to scour and find the Pope. But now, with the square literally filled with a pool of blood that almost covered the sole of one's foot, it completely became… ominous.
Holy?
No, perhaps not anymore as several corpses now littered the square — all of them, skewered through a pole and raised meters from the ground like a flag. If someone of faith were to describe hell, then this would probably be it… even the sky is red from the cloud of blood that fogged the air.
And the one responsible for painting this scenery… was still standing on top of the obelisk; his eyes closed and head slightly swaying with the little wind that wafted through the bloodied air, almost as if he was listening to music that only he could hear.
—And everyone could see this.
His phone was rotating around him, streaming live for all the people to see. Initially, half of the people in his stream would be complaining about his brutality; his executions, his ruthlessness, and blatant homicide as Paragon was something that irked some people since he was supposed to be a hero.
But now, everyone was just asking for the blood of the House of Super. And with the revelation that Paragon was actually Riley, they didn't even care that he was supposedly dead — the people just laughed at the irony that the banner that the House of Super used to gather was now the one slowly erasing them from the map.
Everyone supported him.
Why would they not?
The House of Super has killed a billion of the population — that was way worse than what any villain has done combined, including Darkday. And what's worse, is that they didn't even consider themselves villains.
And with Riley actually doing it in a holy place, people could not help but think that this was an act of god.
Riley Ross resurrects from the dead to rid the world of the evil that festered it. A devil, an angel? It no longer matters what he is — he is the end.
And soon, Riley finally opened his eyes. He then turned them to the skies, only to see a dot of a silhouette headed his way. The people watching his stream were the first to see what it is, as Riley propelled his phone towards it at a speed that caused everyone's screen to almost glitch out.
And there, they saw what it was — a missile. It was large — perhaps as large as a car, but those that know what it is quickly widened their eyes and grabbed whatever screen was in front of them. After all… they have seen shells and samples of it in a museum.
A hydrogen bomb from the past, unused in a war that almost happened.
Once again, the scenery shifted as Riley's phone returned to him even faster than the speed of the missile — now giving them a view of Riley's back as well as the incoming missile.
All of them tried spamming the chat and asking for Riley to get out of there — Riley, however, just remained standing on the obelisk. And instead of flying away… he turned around to look at the camera.
"You like bombs?" He then said; his words, clearly targeted at the House of Super, "That is quite paradoxical, don't you think? For an organization that claims they are superior, you use the weapons of those you deem inferior. Do you know what that makes you?"
The chat became crazy, still asking Riley to leave as the missile was already only clearly kilometers away from him.
"A joke," Riley then calmly muttered as a smile slowly crawled on his face, "Your organization is a joke."
And with the missile now only meters away from directly hitting him, some of the viewers could really only close their eyes; expecting the live stream to cut after a loud and visceral explosion.
But it never came. Instead, there was only a thud.
And very slowly, they opened their eyes, only to see Riley holding the tip of the missile with one hand… and he didn't even look at it.
No, he didn't even fully turn around. And those that didn't close their eyes, clearly saw what happened.
Riley caught the missile from behind like it was some sort of baseball — it didn't even explode.
They could hear it purring almost like a cat on steroids and hum like a Siberian husky on sedatives, but it didn't explode. It just stayed there, almost as still as the smile on Riley's face as he still looked at the camera.
"You think I've never had nuclear weapons thrown at me before?" Riley then said before suddenly letting go of the missile, causing the viewers to slightly flinch. The missile, however, just remained floating in the air.
And very subtly, a chuckle could be heard whispering in the air as Riley rested his cheek on the tip of the nuclear warhead.
He then once again stared at the camera and whispered,
"Boom."
And with that word, the bomb finally exploded.
Everyone was expecting the entire screen to turn white — and it did. But only momentarily and only like a flash… as very slowly, the wash of their screens faded away and coalesced in what seemed like a white dot in the very center of their view.
And this white dot… was hovering above Riley's palm.
And on Riley's face, out of nowhere, was a pair of sunglasses reflecting this white dot.
"..."
"..."
And with a sigh, he took off the sunglasses and hid them in one of his pockets,
"It… doesn't even tickle anymore," and with those words, Riley pinched the white dot… making it disappear almost as if it was just candlelight.
"Honestly," Riley then once again sighed as he looked at the camera, "You could have just used it on yourselves."
"..."
"..."
And then, almost as if a nuclear weapon was not just thrown at him, Riley once again closed his eyes in silence. The chat in his live stream, however, is anything but.
Millions of people were watching it — a fraction of them bombarding the chat with all sorts of messages. Riley, however, did not bother reading any of them as he just once again started slowly bobbing his head.
Now, however, they knew what he was listening to — death.
The sound of the deaths that have come and were coming for the House of Super. And very soon, it was almost as if they could hear it too as some of them started bobbing their heads with Riley.
Soon, however… The chat was bombarded by a weird message.
[Riley Ross is Darkday.]
Hundreds of them, filling the entire chat and drowning any other messages. Over and over again, several people typed the same thing — but one message stopped them completely.
[So what?]
The people didn't care. An angel, a devil — they would take anyone that led to their path of revenge. Of course, most of them didn't believe it and just told them to 'GTFO'.
As for Riley, he was just… still standing there — standing on top of the giant cross above the obelisk.
"R… Riley Ross!"
And soon, the silence was broken as a scream could be heard — the pool of blood that remained peaceful, now disturbed by several ripples as people soon started arriving at the square…
…trying their best to walk their way to Riley and avoid the thousand corpses that were staked on the ground.
"..." The camera panned towards the steps, only for the viewers to see dozens of people from the House of Super; evident from the red scarves and armbands they were wearing.
"R… Riley Ross! Please… please stop!"
"We… we were doing this for the betterment of the Supers!"
"We stand by you! Whatever your decision is, we stand by you!"
And soon, some of them started removing their scarves — ripping off anything that even resembled the color red from their person.
"The… The House of Super was built because of you! They… they told us this is what you would have wanted!"
"Please! We don't care about the House of Super!"
"..."
Riley then stopped bobbing his head, slowly opening his eyes as he looked at the hundreds of people now surrounding the obelisk — some of them, kneeling on the blood-filled ground.
"..." Riley then glanced straight at the camera's lens for several seconds, before once again turning his attention to the people below him. And with a small sigh, he uttered,
"No."
Stakes. Once again, stakes raised from the ground as the people watching Riley's stream could only avert their eyes as the members of the House of Super were skewered one by one.
Some managed to dodge, only for their backs to be littered with several more spikes.
Some of them managed to fly away… only for them to explode into a mist of blood; not even leaving any of their guts.
And that's when the people knew.
Run, hide — it doesn't matter.
Riley's words weren't a threat or an ultimatum, it was judgment.
The House of Super will be wiped out from the face of the Earth.
Chapter 374"Your Holiness!"
It took almost an hour, but Angela was finally able to fend off all the members of the House of Super that wanted to get inside the vault where the Pope was hiding — her armor was still completely intact, with not even a scratch on it even though all sorts of attacks were done to it.
She was tired, however — extremely.
The House of Super may just seem like they only have numbers on their side, but they also have supers that could be considered Grade-A. Their ranks seem to be represented by what accessory they were wearing, but Angela didn't really have the luxury to ask which is which as she just endlessly waved her sword against the onslaught of people.
This is probably the most people she had ever seen gathered in one small area, and she's been in the Academy… and the leader of their group, the so-called Caesar, has not once shown itself yet.
They seem like a well-structured organization, but in truth… their system and ranks were all over the place. They didn't even have a proper plan of attack.
No wonder, of course — most of the people that joined the organization probably just wanted the benefits after the world is ruled by them. They were like ants being swayed by sweets.
And now, it would seem they were ordered to stop as no one was approaching the vault anymore; all that remained were their corpses that were piled up in front of Angela; their bodies, barely even recognizable due to the sheer size of Angela's sword.
"... " The only thing she could really do right now was to stand guard; resting her back on the large door of the vault, trying to catch her breath as fast as possible just in case another army shows up inside — but nothing.
She could see some people running from afar, but not one tried to rush toward her. Did they finally discover that Riley was outside?
Should… she check what's happening?
And before Angela could even take a single step, she felt herself being pushed as the vault suddenly opened.
"Crimson Paladin, standing guard!" Angela then quickly raised her voice as she took a few steps away, pushing and throwing away the bodies near the door with her sword, before kneeling on the floor.
"...So George did not make it."
"..." Angela only glanced at the Pope as he stepped out; in front of him, was the Gold Paladin, who immediately approached the Silver Paladin. He then kneeled in front of his comrade, he wanted to remove his helmet, but it was already caved in; forcing it might do more damage to the Silver Paladin's corpse.
Instead, he just removed both of their gauntlets and held his hand to offer a silent prayer.
"I… was too late," Angela's sighs could be heard even through her helmet, "If I knew we were being attacked, I would have stayed and—"
"And disobeyed his Holiness' order?" Gold Paladin then took off his golden helmet; revealing the tired warrior underneath. His face, plastered with a large scar that was shaped like lightning bolts; trailing from his left cheek and all the way to his neck,
"George sacrificed his life knowingly. You do not have to veil yourself with guilt."
"..." Angela finally stood up as she nodded her head. She then turned towards the Pope, not really knowing what to say to him.
"Angela."
"Your Holiness," Angela bowed her head. When they were on their way here, Angela had so many things she wanted to say to the Pope — she had even constructed an entire speech. But now, seeing him in front of her, the only thing she could really do was stand there awkwardly.
She had always just served the Pope as a guard, she didn't really know how to act any different. And perhaps… this isn't the right time to do so anyway.
"I am here with Riley Ross," Angela then said; her voice, that of a soldier for now.
"..." The Pope looked at her for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh and also nodding his head; understanding the meaning of her tone, "And where is the boy now?"
"He is outside," Angela turned around to look at the walls, "He— !!!"
And finally, Angela saw the scenery in the square. And there really was only one way to describe it — a forest of death.
"What… is he doing!?"
"Leave him," Gold Paladin raised his hand before Angela could walk away, "Securing the Pope and bringing him away from here is our first priority. I will—"
"...Matt?"
"..."
Both the Pope and Angela could not help but turn their heads to the Gold Paladin as his words suddenly and abruptly stopped.
"Matthew?" The Pope let out a small breath; his steps, sluggish as he approached the Gold Paladin and placed his hand on his shoulder, "What is wrong, child? Are you—"
And before the Pope could finish his words, the Gold Paladin was suddenly replaced by Angela in his vision as she rammed him with her sword; launching him straight into a wall. And once again, before the Pope could even understand what was going on, Angela suddenly lifted him up onto her shoulder and leaped away.
And as soon as she did so, the ground where the Pope was previously standing caved in… with the Gold Paladin suddenly appearing out of nowhere in the air and causing a crater to form as he landed.
"..." The Gold Paladin only turned his head towards Angela and the Pope, before once again instantly disappearing from his spot and appearing above them.
Angela once again leaped away as he dodged the Gold Paladin's descent — this time, not even looking at him as she ran away while carrying the Pope.
"W… what is happening?" The Pope's breaths were constricted.
"It's not Matt," Angela muttered, "Someone's controlling him. I heard one of the high-ranking members of the House of Super is capable of possessing other Supers."
"I–"
The Pope didn't even have the chance to talk as the Gold Paladin once again teleported near them — this time, in front of them… his shoulders, already threatening to ram through Angela.
"!!!"
Angela quickly pointed her sword towards the rushing Gold Paladin. The Gold Paladin, however, did not stop even as the sword penetrated through his armor. The sword did not go through, though, as Angela found herself being pushed back as Gold Paladin just continued to charge.
The Gold Paladin's abilities were quite… mighty.
He was able to teleport short distances, and was also able to multiply his weight and harden his skin to the point that even Megawoman herself stated that he was almost indestructible. Unfortunately, it would seem his body was not immune to possession.
"Tch."
Angela then hopped, before pushing herself away by kicking the Gold Paladin's shoulder and pulling her sword from his armor. And as soon as she landed, she pierced her sword through the ground and used it as a shield.
The Gold Paladin did not even halt his charge as he just rammed through the sword, causing the ground to split and create a crevice as he practically dragged the sword through the ground. But then, after a few more steps, he stopped.
After all… Angela and the Pope were gone.
"..."
"..."
The Gold Paladin stood there in silence as he stared at the sword. But after a few seconds, he once again disappeared into thin air.
***
"..."
Outside in the square, Riley was still standing on top of the obelisk — his eyes, following Angela and the Pope as they weaved their way through the forest of corpses he made.
And as soon as they got near, Riley finally hopped down from the cross as he stood in front of the two,
"I see you have grown old to the point you are no longer able to use your legs, Louise," he then quickly said as he saw the Pope on Angela's shoulder.
"It would seem—"
"Why are the two of you talking so casually!?" Angela raised her voice before the two could continue their discussion, "Get us out of here now, the Gold Paladin will be here any second!"
"..." Riley looked back and forth between the Pope and Angela, before letting out a sigh as he settled his eyes on the Pope,
"Were you betrayed by one of your followers, Louise?" Riley shook his head, "Truly, the history of your doctrine is filled with—"
"We have no time to discuss this, Riley," Angela cut off Riley's words, "Get us out of here now. The Golden Paladin is a tricky opponent, even for you. Megawoman herself doesn't want to fight him because there's no sense to it!"
"...Oh?"
"..." There and then, Angela knew she made a mistake. How could she forget the Pope's stories of Darkday's unhealthy obsession with the mightiest hero? She wanted to retract her statement, but alas…
…a smile has already grown on Riley's face.
"Damn it!" Angela could really only click her tongue as she took a few steps back. She then turned around to run… but found herself unable to take another step as something seemed to be blocking her path — an invisible wall.
"What… are you doing?" Angela quickly turned to look at Riley, who only pointed his finger towards the air above her.
"..." She slowly looked up, only to see the Golden Paladin standing above her… unable to descend any lower.
"He's quite heavy."
She then once again turned her attention to Riley as his words calmly reached her ears,
"Heavier than Toronto."
"!!!"
Riley's words were then followed by a loud rumble; the entire square, trembling as the Golden Paladin stepped down from the invisible box that Riley created to shield Angela and the Pope.
"Riley Ross," the Golden Paladin spoke; his voice, distorted almost as if two voices were escaping his mouth,
"We meet again."
"You're the one from the shelter," Riley slightly tilted his head to the side.
"...I am," the Golden Paladin nodded; his eyes moving in different directions, "You can call me the Soul Conqueror."
"...Hm."
"The Caesar has words for you," the Golden Paladin's head started shaking as his voice became more and more distorted, "Stay away…
…or we will be forced to eliminate you along with the Pope."
Chapter 375"Stay away… or we will be forced to eliminate you along with the pope."
Soul Conqueror's voice seeped through the Gold Paladin's lips; and almost as if the Golden Paladin was slowly being pushed back into the depths of his own body, a completely different voice now resided in his mouth.
Of course, Riley didn't really know whose voice is who — but judging by Angela and the Pope's expression, any traces of the Gold Paladin have already fallen asleep.
"We don't want to be your enemy, Riley Ross," Soul Conqueror muttered; his voice, as calm as the pool of blood they were standing on,
"We started this organization in your image, don't let us ruin it by having your blood in our hands."
"My image?" Riley looked at the forest of corpses surrounding them, looking at the red scarves and masks that they were carrying, "Red is not my favorite color, Soul Conqueror."
"..." Soul Conqueror did not respond to Riley's words and instead just turned around to look at the Pope… before suddenly ramming his head towards them — only to be stopped by the invisible wall that was encapsulating the two.
"Remove the shield, Riley. I like you, but we need the Pope dead even more," Soul Conqueror muttered as he ripped off Gold Paladin's golden armor as it crumpled when he rammed the invisible wall — revealing a black tight suit that wrapped the Gold Paladin's toned body perfectly.
"You can't penetrate it?" A subtle smile slowly crawled on Riley's face, "Angela told me that Megawoman said you were almost indestructible… but it would seem you're not that strong."
"...Then it would seem we need to try," a smile also appeared on the Gold Paladin's face as he stepped forward — but before he could even take 2 steps, he found himself blocked by an invisible wall.
He tried moving back, but once again, a wall.
"..." The only thing he could really do was look at Riley, whose head was slightly tilted to the side; slightly curious as to what Soul Conqueror would do now.
"Riley!" Angela screamed, "He can teleport!"
And even before her words could reach Riley, Soul Conqueror already appeared behind Riley; his shoulder, already on their way to ram against him. Each of his steps was enough to split the ground, causing the pool of blood to blast away as he rushed toward Riley.
Riley did not even try to dodge, however, only meeting the Gold Paladin's shoulder head-on — and as soon as it made contact…
…nothing really happened. Riley did not move even a single inch.
"Indestructible," he then whispered before suddenly grabbing Gold Paladin's face and slamming his head to the ground.
"!!!" Angela could only crouch and grab the Pope as the ground started to cave in — but found herself hovering in the air; not moving from the invisible box that Riley confined them in. No, it wasn't only them that were unmoved. Even the corpses that were staked on the ground remained still, floating in the air even more ominously now.
Angela then turned her attention back to Riley, only to see him dragging the Gold Paladin through the crater they made. But as Gold Paladin was able to break free from Riley's grip, he quickly disappeared.
"...Oh?" Riley then quickly looked above him, only to see Gold Paladin's fist already pointing at his head.
Riley, however, quickly spun his body; grabbing the Gold Paladin's wrist before slamming him to the ground. And once again, the ground cracked — this time, the entire Vatican City trembled as the crater rippled even more violently.
"Weight manipulation and invulnerability," Riley muttered as Gold Paladin once again disappeared. Riley didn't seem to mind, however, as he just looked at his phone that was still live streaming and muttered,
"Now you're almost as heavy as my sister."
And before a smile could form on his face, the Gold Paladin's limbs suddenly wrapped around him from behind; his arms, trying to choke and almost pull Riley's head off.
"..." Riley once again did not budge. His clothes, not even crumpling and his hair not even swaying as the Gold Paladin tightened his grip. A few seconds after, however, Riley let out a small breath; and as he did so, his hair started to move and his clothes finally showed signs of crumpling.
"Let's see if Megawoman was telling the truth," and with those words whispering from his mouth, the two started to tremble— No. They started to vibrate.
And almost like a drill, they started to dig through the ground beneath them. The crater cracked like a web, once again causing the entire Vatican City to move from the map.
Very slowly, however, the Gold Paladin's arms started to pry open.
"Ra!" The Gold Paladin roared as he tried to tighten his grip, causing Riley to smile as the ground beneath started to be blown away.
And soon, a small and somewhat hissing laughter escaped from Riley's mouth as he was able to free his arms and grab both of the Gold Paladin's wrists. And with a loud breath, Riley leaped into the air along with the Gold Paladin as he pushed away his arms.
The square, now completely bursting away — any of its previous holiness or grandness, no longer recognizable.
And with Riley now free from the Gold Paladin's clutches, he immediately somersaulted in the air; his foot, swinging straight towards the Gold Paladin's head.
"!!!"
The Gold Paladin was not able to teleport as he quickly shot through the ground, causing the crater to once again deepen. And before he could even recover a single breath, Riley dived down and covered his face.
"You can't teleport now, right?" Riley then whispered as he slammed Gold Paladin's head to the ruined ground,
"You need to see to be able to teleport."
And with those words, Riley tightened his grip on the Gold Paladin's face, while his other hand grabbed his thigh,
"Now let's see if you're really indestructible," he then said as he lifted the Gold Paladin from the ground and slowly floated in the air while starting to stretch the Gold Paladin's body.
"Riley..." Angela could finally see the destruction Riley was capable of. The entire Vatican City was now literally and completely wiped away from the face of the Earth.
All that remained really, were fragments of what it once was. But with the thousand corpses still floating in the air, Angela knew-- Angela knew that Riley could have prevented the city from being blown away if he decided to, but no.
But in the end, all she could really do was watch. After all, this incarnation of chaos himself was the one shielding the Pope.
The Golden Paladin was now kicking Riley's face, but aside from creating thunders and slightly nudging Riley's face, nothing really happened — instead, Riley's grip tightened even further as a small crack started to whisper in the air.
"You… you can't—"
"Oh, I think I can," the smile on Riley's face now reached from ear to ear as the cracking whispers slowly became louder and louder — like metal being squeezed.
And then, almost as if the air itself cracked… the Gold Paladin's skin started to stretch.
"Gah!"
Riley's eyes started to twitch as the panicked screams of the Soul Conqueror reached his ears; his grip, tightening even further as his smile started to slightly tremble.
"I missed this," he then whispered.
And soon, a drip of blood fell on his face.
"He… he's actually doing it!" Angela, who was watching the fight unfold, could not help but gasp. But a few moments later, her eyebrows raised, "W… wait, Riley! Don't kill him, he is just being possessed by the Soul Conqueror!"
"..." Riley completely ignored Angela's words as he just listened to the Soul Conqueror's screams. Soon, however, his screams started to distort — his voice, now blending with another once again.
"W… wait!" And soon, his voice completely changed — perhaps a sign that the Soul Conqueror has returned the Golden Paladin his own body. Riley, however… shut his mouth with his telekinesis before he could say anything further.
And with Riley almost gritting his teeth, a loud crack exploded in the air as he was finally able to fully stretch his arms to the side.
The Gold Paladin's guts, falling towards Riley as his body was completely and perfectly split in half.
"Well…
…Megawoman was just being humble."
Chapter 376"..."
"..."
"...May you find Him in death, Matt."
Angela's somber and melancholic whispers floated in the air. In just a single day, she had lost two of her comrades. Whether or not they gave their lives through sacrifice didn't really matter — Angela wants to believe they both died trying to fulfill their duties.
The Gold Paladin… may not have died a peaceful death, but the only thing Angela could really do was hope that he wasn't able to feel being ripped apart… not knowing that the Gold Paladin did in fact return to his own body at the last minute.
"..." She closed the Gold Paladin's eyes, before burying his pieces under all the rubble of what was left of the once glorious Vatican City. She then turned her head towards the corpses surrounding them — they were no longer floating in the air and were instead once again staked to the ruined ground.
"Don't bury them," she muttered as her eyebrows furrowed, "This is retribution for their sins."
"I was not planning to, Angela," Riley just shrugged his shoulders, before approaching the Pope who seemed to be offering up a prayer for all the souls that have been lost today,
"You really are growing older, Louise."
"Riley. You need to address the Pope with—"
"It is alright, child," the Pope raised his hand before Angela could finish her words, "There is not much to respect in my current state."
"But—"
"Riley Ross is a friend," the Pope shook his head; his exasperated and tired sighs, barely whispering in the air as he looked at Riley, "There is no need for such formalities between us. And you are right, I might be nearing the end of my years…
…especially since Angela dragged me around on her shoulder, not caring if my old ribs could take it."
"P… please forgive me, your Holiness!"
The Pope burst out in laughter as he patted Angela's arms, "I was only joking, child."
"..." The Pope… was making jokes? Angela could really only take a step back; her eyebrow, raising a little as she heard the Pope.
The Pope was always stern with them, and now he's making jokes?
Angela knew of Darkday and the Pope's meetings, she and the other Paladins were always there, after all. But when did the two ever really develop such a weird friendship?
…And for Riley to even have his personal number? Even she didn't have that and she was supposed to be his daughter. Did the two actually meet behind the Paladins' backs?
The Pope usually asks them to leave, but that was when he and Megawoman were talking about something. Could it be… there were times that he was actually meeting with Darkday?
"Let us stop putting our minds elsewhere," the Pope then raised his hand as he stopped laughing; his eyes, once again becoming tired as he looked at the rubble where the Gold Paladin was buried,
"How… do you think this Soul Conqueror was able to possess Matthew's body? If he was able to do that, then why not possess mine instead?"
And as soon as Angela heard his words, her mouth started to widen as she looked at Riley, "Maybe… he's only able to possess the bodies of supers? But then… why didn't he take my body instead? Why not Riley's?"
"Maybe he's not just strong enough," the Pope muttered weakly.
"Either way, we need to get you to safe— What's that sound?"
And before Angela could once again carry the Pope, a ring started to whisper in the air. She quickly turned to where the noise was coming from, only to see Riley holding his phone and once again calling someone.
"...What are you doing now?"
Riley did not answer, however, and just let the phone continue to ring. Seconds passed and numerous rings toned in the air, and yet the one being called did not seem to be interested in answering.
But finally, before the call could cut off — a voice answered.
[...Riley.]
"Hello, sister," Riley's eyes slightly brightened as a subtle smile crawled on his face.
[Don't call me that. Why… did you call me?]
[Ask him what he's doing with the Pope! Ask him how he's still alive!]
And suddenly, Riley could hear different voices speaking from the speakers.
[I thought the reception in—]
[Shh, Gary! Let them talk!]
[Can you guys shut the fuck up!?]
"..." Riley could really only wait until the other voices faded away — which probably took almost an entire minute as he could hear the speakers scratching and seemingly being passed around. As for Angela, the only thing she could really do was once again look at Riley, completely confused as to what he was doing now.
[Why… why did you call me?] Hannah repeated her words; the tone of her voice, as deep as it could get — her breaths, however, were heavy enough that it could almost be felt from the speakers of Riley's phone.
"I need you, Hannah."
[!!!]
Several gasps could be heard emitting from the speakers. With other people, obviously the other members of the Baby Crew, seemingly trying to talk over each other. Hannah, however, could once again be heard trying to push the others away — her breaths, heavier than they were before.
[...What? What do you mean—]
"I need your unclouded expertise of deduction," Riley let out a small sigh as he looked at Angela, "We need to find out—"
[Are you fucking kidding me? Don't ever fucking show yourself to me again!]
And with that, Hannah hung up the phone.
"..."
"..."
"...Why did you even call her—"
Angela was about to say something, but before she could do so, the phone rang.
[Is this regarding Soul Conqueror?] Hannah's voice then once again quickly whispered from the speakers; completely pretending that she didn't just hang up the phone moments ago.
"Yes. Were you watching the stream? Did you hear what I said about your weight?"
[Crimson Paladin, tell me all the details prior to the Soul Conqueror possessing the Gold Paladin's body,] Hannah, however, just completely ignored Riley's questions.
"..." Angela was still a bit confused as to what was happening, but still, she recollected all the things she remembered.
It didn't really take that long, since only a few things happened before the Gold Paladin suddenly became different.
[...]
[...]
[He didn't possess you even though you were in the same room… maybe he could only possess supers of the same sex? The super he possessed in the shelter was also a man.]
"..."
[No, that can't be it…
…You said he approached the Silver Paladin's corpse?]
"Yes… he offered a prayer to him."
[Did… he touch him directly?]
"If I remember… yes," Angela nodded, "He touched George's hands."
[How sure are you that the corpse really is the Silver Paladin? Last I remember, you guys wear those wonky helmets, right?]
"Well, he was wearing— !!!" Angela slightly gasped as she remembered the Gold Paladin couldn't remove George's helmet as it was completely caved in,
"We… didn't see his face."
[...Then there might be a chance that he's your Soul Conq—]
And before Hannah could finish her words, Riley suddenly hang up the phone and once again started streaming,
"You hung up the phone on us earlier. So…
…let's just say this makes it even, Hannah."
Chapter 377"It's really gone."
Vatican City was completely ruined. It did not take too long, however, to find where the Silver Paladin's corpse should be, as Angela used her x-ray vision to look through all the rubble and debris. She was easily able to find the vault, but Silver Paladin's corpse was nowhere to be found.
It could be deeper into the ground, but seeing as the other corpses that were there were still there — there was no reason for Silver Paladin's corpse not to be.
That could only mean one thing — he left.
"If… it wasn't George… then what did they do to his body?" Angela also tried searching everywhere for the Silver Paladin's corpse, but could not find it anywhere — and the thousands of corpses drowning in the rubble did not help.
"..." Angela could really only let out a sigh as she shook her head, "We'll… find him later. Our priority now is chasing the Soul Conqueror. He…
…couldn't have gotten far," Angela then said as she started rummaging through the rubble, digging deep until Riley and the Pope could no longer see her. And after a few seconds, she once again emerged, now with her sword in hand.
"They attacked us, we're going to end this once and for all. It… will be an inquisition."
"Violence is never the answer, child," the Pope could really only sigh before placing his hand on Angela's shoulder.
"But—"
"But sometimes blood is," the Pope continued, "Let those who are meant for blood and destruction handle this," he then said as he looked at Riley.
"No," Angela moved away from the Pope, "They attacked us — I will retaliate. Riley…"
"Hm?" Riley, who was quietly looking nowhere in particular, slightly tilted his head as he was suddenly called.
"Can you… remove my stitches?" Angela then meekly said as she pointed at her shut eyes, "Do it gently and all at once so that it wouldn't— Fuck!"
Angela could not help but suddenly cover her eyes as the stitches were suddenly pulled all at once,
"Why did you do that!?" Angela screamed.
"...You told me to."
Angela was trying her best not to curse again in the presence of the Pope, to the point that she was biting her lips to prevent her mouth from opening again. And after a few seconds of trying to collect her breaths, Angela was finally able to remove her hands away; her eyes, still squinting as they batted several times.
There really wasn't that much blood, only enough for a single trail on each of her cheeks to slide down. And soon, light started to enter her eyes as they started to recover. And finally, her eyes fully revealed themselves.
They were dark—No. Perhaps it was better to say that they were the color of the universe; almost as if one would be completely lost if they were not careful and stared at her eyes for too long.
And it didn't even take a minute for her eyes to start scanning in every direction.
"There," Angela then suddenly pointed to a certain direction, "He's… running along with several other people. They just got on a car."
"..." Riley slightly tilted his head again as he pointed his left ear towards the direction where Angela was pointing to; but after a few seconds, his eye started to twitch as he hit his head several times.
"...Too noisy," Riley whispered as he shook his head, "But I did hear a car's engine starting, Angela."
"I—" Angela was about to say something, but her eyes suddenly landed on the Pope, "I… need to secure the Pope's safety first. I can guide you to—"
And before Angela could finish her words, she saw Riley standing beside the Pope… as well as walking away.
"...What?"
Angela was slightly confused at first, but then quickly remembered that Riley had the ability to clone himself. Soon, however, the Riley that was standing the Pope disappeared — Angela was going to ask why at first… but then noticed something was crawling on the Pope's robes, a miniature… and somewhat plush version of Riley.
"..."
"..."
"...What are you looking at?"
"..." Angela quickly looked away as Little Riley suddenly stopped climbing the Pope's robes and looked at her.
"..." Little Riley stared at her for a few seconds, before letting out a scoff and continuing to move his little limbs.
"You will be safe with Little Riley, Louise," Riley then said as he nodded towards his miniature version, "Your daughter and I will go hunting for now. You don't have to worry, she won't die."
"..." The Pope moved his eyes back and forth between Angela and Riley, before finally sighing and nodding his head, "Fine. Maybe this too is the will of god."
"I am sure it is, your Holiness," Angela bowed her head.
"...Should you not be calling him father, Angela?" Riley placed his hand on his chin, "But considering who he is, then maybe you already have. That's quite a dilemma."
"...Let's just go before they could get far," Angela didn't even bother to answer Riley's weird question as she leaped away. As for Riley, he seemed to have contemplated his own question for a few seconds, before just flying away — dragging Angela with him as he reached her since she was moving too slow.
And now, it was only the Pope and Little Diley left in the ruined city of the Vatican.
"..."
"..."
"Are you still watching Italian Mafia Reborn, old man?"
"..."
"...Yes."
***
"Don't you have any abilities to make us invisible?"
Riley and Angela were now following behind the vehicle that Soul Conqueror was riding on; their pace was fast, but careful enough that no one would be noticing them — and with Angela's x-ray vision, they could even follow behind houses and buildings.
It was, however, not too convenient for Angela as it strained her mind bit by bit.
"Don't you?" Angela once again asked. And Riley, instead of answering her question, once again grabbed his phone that was hovering around them and dialed someone.
[...Yes?]
"Can you make us invisible, Paige?"
[You're… too far.]
"Okay, that's all. Thank you for answering the call, Paige."
[Hm, please return safely.]
"..." Riley then let go of his phone; no longer streaming to prevent others from discovering what they were doing, but still recording so that he would be able to upload it later on their page. He then turned to look at Angela, before letting out a sigh and finally answering her question with a,
"No. I don't have the ability to turn us invisible."
"...Really? I thought you'd have one."
"It's a disgusting ability."
"What? How?"
The two continued to casually talk as they followed the car — and soon, they reached a large open area, surrounded by more than a dozen people.
"That… looks like a helicopter," Angela then said as she looked at the black aircraft sitting in the center of the open field, "Let's just wait for him to board the helicopter. We don't need to worry about the guards."
"What guards?" Riley muttered.
"What do you mean what guards, th—" And before Angela could finish her words, she let out a small gasp. The people surrounding the open field were still standing, but something was wrong.
It would be hard to notice if one were not looking at them, but they were all bleeding from all of their orifices. And as someone who has x-ray vision, Angela knows why — they were all already almost hollow from the inside.
Their organs… were compressed into a ball, their brains mushed.
And as soon as the helicopter left the ground with the Soul Conqueror, all of the people that were guarding the field dropped to the ground.
"You…"
"I already made the announcement, Angela," Riley only shook his head as he and Angela started floating in the air,
"No one lives."
Chapter 378"..."
The helicopter wasn't really a helicopter, not quite. As it ascended above the clouds, jets started to propel it forward; a boom, thundering in the air as a skirt of wind followed it for almost half a kilometer.
Angela could really only raise an eyebrow as she saw this — when she was just a teenager training under Megawoman decades ago, there were barely even any jets or planes that were capable of flying like this, let alone a helicopter.
It's truly a shock how technology just seems to be leaping exponentially. No doubt, the remnants of the aliens that attacked them a couple of years ago had a hand in that.
But alas, no matter how advanced the technology seemed to improve… the supers still seemed to be the most valuable asset on the planet. After all, while the aircraft was moving more than twice the speed of sound through the sky…
…she and Riley were underwater, casually moving through it as Riley created some sort of sphere that basically served as their submarine that was also moving at supersonic speeds — hopefully, this doesn't affect marine life too much.
They have been following the aircraft that carried Soul Conqueror for more than 3 hours now across the North Atlantic ocean.
"We seem to be heading back to the Americas, Angela."
"What, how would you—"
Angela took off her attention from the aircraft as she heard Riley's words, only to see him checking the map on his phone.
"What? How does the map even work?"
"...Technology, Angela," Riley sighed almost as if he just said the obvious answer, "At this speed, it would only be a matter of minutes until we reach land…
…and I think I might have an idea of the location of their base," he then muttered as his eyes were fixated on the Googoru maps.
"What? Where!?" Angela slightly raised his voice as she looked back and forth between Riley and his phone.
Riley, however, did not answer; instead, a small smile just slowly crawled on his face as he closed the maps.
"Well…
…I might be wrong."
***
"Well… it would seem I was right."
Riley and Angela were now above land — floating in a sky that Riley was very familiar with, Toronto. Out of all the places they would make their base, this would have the most dramatic flair since.
"Do you see where their base is, Angela?"
"..." Angela did not really answer him as she just focused on the ruined city below them.
"..." Riley slightly tilted his head to look at Angela's eyes, only to see her irises moving weirdly — it reminded him of the time he and Megawoman were traversing through the expanse of space at high speeds.
"..." Riley then very slowly floated directly into Angela's view.
"Kya!"
And as soon as he did so, Angela quickly covered her face and squealed like a teenager.
"..."
"..."
"...Please don't do that," Angela only shook her head, before pointing towards a certain area, "It's there. There are lots of people underground."
She didn't really even need to find it, as soon, the helicopter landed near the area where she was pointing to.
"Okay."
And as soon as the aircraft landed, Riley grabbed his phone and started going live.
"What are you doing!? You'll be ruining our ambush!"
"Ambush? What ambush?" A small, but slightly chuckling smile appeared on Riley's face as he pointed the camera towards Angela, "Go…
…get your revenge, Crimson Paladin."
"What are—"
And before she could finish her words, Angela felt herself diving towards the ground… straight towards the helicopter.
"Why can't you just be normal for one second?" Angela closed her eyes as she gripped her sword with both hands — and without even waiting for the blades of the helicopter to halt; Angela had already swung her sword multiple times; creating a sphere of slashes as she shot through the aircraft.
"..." Angela then rolled as she emerged from the other side of the helicopter, before stabbing her sword through the ground to prevent herself from propelling any further.
And as she stood up… the helicopter collapsed into almost a thousand pieces.
"Hmph," she then hummed as she waved her sword, cleaning away all the debris, oil, and blood that attached themselves to it. Her posture, however, suddenly became stiff as she saw Riley, pointing a camera straight at her face.
"Can… can you not point that thing at me?" She quickly looked away.
Riley only shrugged, before panning the camera towards the many pieces of the helicopter. And as he approached the wreckage, the shards and parts all started to fly away… leaving only the mangled bodies that were also diced into pieces.
"...Which one is the Soul Conqueror?" He then said as he focused on all the heads that were surprisingly still all intact.
"I think he's that one."
"Hm," Riley then quickly zoomed in to where Angela was pointing, only for the camera to capture a bald man wearing a suit; the lower part of his body, probably lost somewhere as his guts just spewed out.
"Boom," Riley then pointed his finger towards the Soul Conqueror, gesturing his hand like a gun. And as he did so, a hole appeared on the bald man's head.
"Why… did you do that?" Angela breathed out.
"We can never be too sure with these telepaths, Angela," Riley then said as he started poking the Soul Conqueror's head with a stick, "Especially the bald ones."
"Where did you even get that?" Angela said as she saw the stick that came from god knows where, "And can you stop doing random stuff!? You're like a small child."
"I am just imitating Gary for the views, Angela."
"Why do you imitate the weirdest traits of people?" Angela could really only sigh before finally turning around and looking at the ground several meters away from them.
"What are they doing now?"
"They are panicking," Angela quickly said; the tone of her voice no longer containing a hint of playfulness.
"What is their base like?"
"A big box. Ending there, there, there, and there," Angela pointed in four different directions, "It's as tall as a skyscraper."
Riley quickly nodded as he heard Angela's words, before slightly flicking his hand; almost as if controlling a marionette with his fingers.
And as he did that, the ground started to tremble.
Seeing this, Angela just sighed — she already knew he was going to do something like this; that was why she described the size of the base in the first place. Riley Ross… has a flair for the dramatic.
"As expected of the most heinous supervillain in the world."
"I'm retired, Angela."
And as soon as Riley said that, a snap whispered in the air. Followed by a thundering rumble that drummed in the air like a million parades; the concrete desert, turning dark as a colossal hunk of metal suddenly emerged from the ground.
It truly was as Angela described it — a metal box the height of a skyscraper.
"So, this is the House of Super," Riley then said as he stepped forward, placing his hand on the wall of metal in front of him; the tone of his voice, clearly breathing out his disappointment,
"It's…
…just a giant dumpster."
Chapter 379"It's… just a giant dumpster."
"It's actually quite different on the inside."
"..."
Riley's breaths of disappointment continued to whisper in the air as he looked at Angela. He stared at her abyssal eyes, before looking back at his hand that was touching that colossal metal box.
And with a sigh, he waved his hand– instantly ripping away the wall that stood more than 500 meters and flinging it away towards the Atlantic ocean… probably.
And now, the inside of the House of Super has revealed itself. It was as Angela said, it was quite different from the inside — it seemed closer to a grandiose mall, with several visible plazas inside littered with people. And this was only on the lowermost floor.
And perhaps the most noticeable and prevalent of all were the red banners scattered everywhere… as well as portraits of Riley and another person.
A man with a small petite patch of a goatee, clearly trimmed in perfection right to the millimeter. The man in the portrait was also wearing a red uniform resembling that of the British royal guards, adorned with a black cape, however.
"...Can you find him?" Riley then said as he glanced at Angela.
Angela, however, just shook her head,
"There's no need, she said, "He's coming towards us."
Riley then looked back towards the colossal base, only to see a man moving closer to them; each of his steps, causing the other people around him to bow.
"We finally meet," the man then stopped short of stepping out of the base; his voice, resonating through the air and causing the ground to tremble. His words, almost echoing throughout the entirety of Toronto.
"..." Riley's eyes slightly twitched from the noise; before slightly shaking his head and covering his ears with a set of earplugs he got from his pocket.
"Welcome to the House of Super, Riley Ross."
And similar to the portraits scattered everywhere inside the colossal base, the man's hair was neatly combed in a single direction; his goatee, also cleanly lined in a single stroke. His red suit and black cape, even more colorful than the ones in the portraits.
"It was such wonderful news when I heard of your revival," the man stepped forward, "I am truly overjoyed that— Hm?"
The man was about to step out of the base but found that even though Riley basically ripped an entire side of the base, he replaced it with another wall that they couldn't see.
"..." The man did not seem to mind, however, as a smile even formed on his face as he stepped back.
"I am truly overjoyed with your return," he just continued addressing Riley on his own, "You might have heard of me. I…
…am the one they call Caesar."
Caesar then bowed, "And if it wasn't obvious already, I am a very big fan of yours."
"Hm," Riley only let out a small breath as he once again looked at the portraits of himself scattered on the walls of the House of Super alongside Caesar's.
"Do you like them?" Caesar smiled as a high-pitched breath escaped from his lips, "I…
…painted them myself."
Caesar's voice once again reverberated—No. His giggles thundered in the air, causing the entire House of Super to tremble; the people inside, kneeling as they cover their ears.
"..." Angela, who has been listening to Caesar spout his words, could not help but squint his eyes as she saw the pebbles beneath her start trembling,
"Hypersonic voice," she then whispered.
"Oh?" Caesar seemed to have heard her words as he suddenly looked at her, "I didn't expect a puppet of a human to be so perceptive."
"Y—" Angela wanted to say something, but before she could do so, people started emerging and showing themselves on each floor; everyone, looking at Riley as soon as they stood on the edge of their floors. Their number, clearly more than ten thousand.
"..." Angela was slightly shocked at the number of people. But then again, concerts held in football stadiums can house a hundred thousand people — but these are all supers. And last she checked, there should be at least more than a hundred thousand of them as well.
And soon, their whispers and murmurs filled the air. Their words, all diverging into a single word — a name, Riley.
"Silence," Caesar raised his hand; his voice quiet but still reaching everyone's ears,
"Only Riley and I are allowed to speak."
And as Caesar's words continued to echo, everyone else just bowed their heads. As for Caesar, he just took in a deep breath as he once again looked Riley straight in the eyes,
"Do you see this, Riley? Absolute obedience."
"..."
"You can be a part of this–-No. You can be on top of this," Caesar stretched his hand towards Riley, swinging his majestic black cape as he did so, "You can rule alongside me. Together…
…we can be the king and queen of this world."
"..." Riley, however, just remained quiet… before also stretching his arm to the side a few moments later.
And as soon as he did so, the walls inside the House of Super all crumpled into a ball, leaving only the pillars and exposing all the rooms and interiors of the base to the outside world.
Their private rooms; even their bathrooms, now exposed for the world to see.
"What… are you doing?" Caesar slightly gasped as he looked around, "The… the paintings I made of you…"
"..." Riley just looked at Caesar, then towards the thousands of people at the edge of the building, before letting out a long and deep sigh… and walking away.
"Where… where are you going!?" Caesar screamed, causing the entire House of Super to tremble— this time, however, the vibrations of his screams no longer affected anything outside their base.
Caesar tried to step out of the building again, but the invisible wall was still there. He could really only watch as Riley continued to walk away from him.
"..." In truth, Angela had the same question as she followed Riley,
"Where… are we going? I thought we were going to end this once and for all?"
"We already did," Riley only shrugged, not even glancing at Angela as he continued to walk away from the headquarters of the House of Super.
"...What?"
And as the two of them reached a certain distance, Riley raised his hand; erecting two chairs from the ground as he did so.
"They're already dead," Riley sat on the chair as he looked at the base of the House of Super,
"You should also take a seat, this will take a while."
"..." Angela used her abilities to see if the organs of the people were destroyed by Riley again, only to see all of them very much alive,
"What… do you mean?"
"What happens when you don't fish inside an aquarium?"
"...Huh?" Angela stared at Riley for a few seconds in complete confusion… before finally grasping what he meant.
She then looked back at the metal box that is the base of the House of Super…
…only to realize what it looked like now without one of its main walls.
It was an aquarium — an aquarium for humans.
"...No."
"Yes," a smile quickly formed on Riley's face, "They will be there for weeks, maybe even years if they started giving birth and eating themselves."
"Don't… don't do this," Angela muttered instinctively.
"Run, hide — it doesn't matter," Riley then whispered as he looked directly at his phone's camera,
"Death will come for the House of Super. Beautiful…
…Isn't it?"
Chapter 380"Are you… just going to sit there?"
"Yes."
"...Until when?"
"Until I get bored."
"..."
3 hours.
Riley has been sitting a distance away from the base of the House of Super for 3 hours now, just watching. Sometimes he would let out a small chuckle, and sometimes just a smile — almost as if he was enjoying the people panic.
No. He is enjoying it.
The people inside have been trying to find a way to leave the base. But no matter what they do, they were stuck inside… the aquarium. Some of them even tried drilling through the other walls, only to find that the entire base was covered in an invisible box.
It was literally as Riley said it to be, an aquarium.
Angela… prepared herself to die.
Matthew, George. Both of her comrades were dead as they fought this foolish war against lunatics. And like them, she was ready to lay down her life to erase them from the surface of the planet… even if she had to die to do it.
Of course, she knew she was fooling herself since Riley was basically fighting on her side. But she was ready.
She was expecting a grandiose battle, she prepared herself to see an endless amount of blood.
An epic battle between the biggest terrorist organization the world has ever seen and the living calamity.
The Living Calamity. Now she knew what that title really entailed— throughout the years, humans have been trying to tame the calamities the universe throws at them. But no matter the technology, no matter their powers, calamities will always win… that's why they're calamities in the first place.
Fighting against Riley was just… a lost cause.
"Do you think they'll do it, Angela?"
"...What?"
"Do you think they will resort to cannibalism once they run out of food?" Riley asked; his voice, truly seemingly curious, "I have seen a couple of documentaries about it before, but humans don't think of eating their kind until they are on their last breaths. And even then, they would hesitate."
"If you were put in the same situation, what would you do? Would you… resort to eating someone?"
And very slowly, Riley turned his head towards Angela; just staring at the bridge of her nose as he seemed to come up with an answer. A few seconds later, however, he shook his head.
"I probably would not, Angela. It's disgusting."
"...But you have fun torturing people."
"Do you have fun swinging your sword?"
"...I think I know where you're going with this."
"Oh, that is unfortunate," Riley quickly let out a sigh, "I was going to ask you if you eat your swo–"
"No. No," Angela did not let Riley finish his words. Riley seemed to still want to continue the conversation, but she quickly moved away so as to not be asked about her eating her sword.
Minutes more passed, and Angela was starting to contemplate on why she was still even here in the first place. It is over— they basically have the ringleader of the House of Super in the most impenetrable prison in the world, Riley's box.
"I… should start getting back to his Holiness."
"Okay."
"..."
"..."
"Are you not going to float me there?"
"No. I'm busy watching them."
"How am I going to—"
And before Angela could finish her words, the sound of helicopters started drumming in the air.
"More members of the House of Super!?" Angela quickly grabbed her sword from the ground as she focused her eyes on the helicopters. As soon as her eyes landed on the aircraft, however, she lightened her hold on her weapon,
"Wait. Don't do anything to them. I think they're from the media."
"I… wasn't going to do anything," Riley said as he slowly lowered his finger.
Although Angela already had a glimpse of the people inside, her eyes still completely followed the several helicopters that landed only meters away from them. How could she not, when she finally realized that the reporters were faster at responding than the people of the law?
A third of the human population is now presumed dead, and yet the number of people from the media seemed to have remained the same for some reason.
It wasn't until the last helicopter touched the ground that Angela started hearing the sirens of law humming in the air.
And soon, more and more helicopters started arriving at the scene. Angela was expecting to be bombarded by a barrage of questions, but most of them went straight to the aquarium that was the base of the House of Super first — Angela didn't even have to look at their hearts to know that they were completely nervous.
The media people were supposed to be relentless, and yet not even one of them volunteered to be the first to approach Riley.
But finally, after a few more minutes, a brave soul started to step in. Taking in a big gulp as his steps seemed to be the heaviest thing in the world. But alas, his confidence came too late as Riley was now suddenly surrounded by a bunch of people wearing what seemed like a soldier's uniform.
The soldiers also surrounded Angela, but instead of looking at them and asking them questions, they all turned around — stomping their feet on the floor loud enough for everyone within the vicinity to hear.
Were they… actually being protected from the media? Why? She heard from Riley that Empress had become radio silent ever since the World Government's space station was attacked, but could it be that she was still operating from somewhere?
The soldiers also seemed to be trying to make the media people leave, but were, of course, unsuccessful. In fact, their presence seemed to have given the people from the media peace of mind as they all started trying to approach her and Riley with their multitude of questions.
Is Riley working with the Pope?
Was Riley being hidden by the church?
How was Riley still alive?
Is there no connection between Riley and the House of Super?
What was Riley's plan with the members of the House of Super?
They all asked different questions, but everything had to do with Riley. She remained completely silent, however. And so did Riley, who was just tilting his head from side to side almost as if he didn't want to miss anything that was happening inside his aquarium of humans.
The questions continued, and the military also continued to try and fend them off. But then… a question came that completely silenced everyone.
The soldiers, the other reporters — everyone became silent as they all looked at the reporter that asked the question. It was a woman, probably in her 50s… and this was her question;
"My… my son is inside. Can you… can you please let him go?"
"..."
And as soon as her words reached Riley's ears, he stood up from his seat and approached her, causing some of the people from the media to take a few steps back as they all pointed their cameras and microphones toward the two of them.
Even the soldiers stepped to the side to make way for Riley; their eyes, seemingly trying their best not to look curious.
"Are you also from the House of Super, madam?"
"N… no!"
The woman could not help but take in a deep breath as she heard Riley's words.
"My… my son just called me that… that he's trapped inside," she then said; her breaths, trying their best not to emerge as stutters, "Please. I… I think he's just in the wrong place. I don't believe my son is a part of this… this evil organization. Please! I will do any—"
"Come with me."
A hint of a smile quickly formed on the woman's face as she heard Riley's words. She then quickly followed Riley from behind as he started walking toward the transparent prison he created.
"..." Angela also followed from behind, along with the other reporters that were still being held back by the military. It never really entered Angela's mind… but the people from the House of Super should all have families.
"M… mama!?"
"Jonathan!"
The woman quickly rushed towards her son as soon as she saw her — but alas, their embrace could not even touch each other as the invisible wall stood in their path. There were also other people besides her son, begging to be let out.
But before they could continue to scream, Riley slightly flicked his finger; causing them to all be blown away and leaving only the woman's son standing inches away from freedom.
"Ma… I'm… I'm so sorry, ma."
"No," the woman quickly shook her head as tears quickly trailed on her cheeks, "Please… please tell me you're not part of this… this cult."
"I…"
Her son couldn't really form any words; his eyes, trying their best not to look away from her mother's mournful eyes.
"R… Riley— Sir… Sir Ross," the woman then once again turned to Riley, before rushing towards him and kneeling to the ground, "Please… my son… Please let him go. You… you can put me inside instead if you—"
"Ma, no!"
"Jonathan! Please, just shut the fuck up!"
"But—"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, madam."
"W… what?" The woman slowly turned her trembling eyes towards Riley.
"You are free to talk to your son. You can even sleep in front of the aquarium to watch your son as he grows old if you want to, but he is never going to get out. As a matter of fact…" Riley then turned to look at the cameras of the other reporters,
"...Those who have family inside can visit here to check on them. It's…
…completely free, forever."
Chapter 381"You… you're not going to let my son go?"
"No."
It had been a few minutes, but Riley's statement has continued to shut the mouths of everyone within the vicinity. The military, and even those that were trapped inside the transparent prison could only swallow in their gasps.
Forever? Were they supposed to take that literally?
What could that even entail for the military? They were only running on fumes right now since their chain of command was currently in complete disarray with Empress missing in action. Were they just… supposed to stay here?
By all means, Riley Ross should not have any authority to decide something like this— but with anarchy, the only word that matters is the word of the strong. And right now, that was Riley Ross.
Even Angela, who had already heard his plans, was starting to feel sorry as she saw the faces of the people trapped inside. But then, whenever she remembers what they did to the Vatican and their attempt on the Pope's life— any pity she has for them goes away.
It was different, however, for their families that had no idea what they were doing. And now, one of them was practically kneeling in front of Riley.
"Until… Until when? Jonathan… Jonathan is just a stupid boy, please. He…" The female reporter continued to plead. Soon, however, Riley's eyebrow slightly began to furrow, causing the woman to back away,
"I did not think I would be repeating my statement again and again," Riley's long black hair waved with the air as he shook his head, "They will be inside forever."
Riley was about to walk away, but before he could take his 3rd step, a voice screamed from the base.
"Wait there!" It was the Caesar; each of his words, enough to cause the interior of the transparent prison to shake. Riley only glanced at the approaching Caesar, before letting out a breath and no longer heeding him any mind.
"I said wait!"
And without even any warning, the Caesar suddenly grabbed Jonathan; placing his mouth awfully close to his ear.
"If you don't want this child to die, you will let us both go, Riley Ross. There's only one— Where are you going!?"
"Wait, please!"
"..."
Riley could really only look at his arm as the female reporter suddenly grabbed him by the wrist; his eyes slightly twitched, causing Angela to almost flinch and pull away the female reporter. Luckily for everyone there, however, Riley only nudged his arm away as he looked at the Caesar.
"That's right," the Caesar let out a small chuckle as he nodded, "Just one whisper containing a hint of my power, and this boy's skull will turn into mush."
"Do… please do what he says!" The female reporter suddenly kneeled and groveled on the ground, "Please! Please save my son!"
"..." A small and subtle sigh escaped from Riley's lips as he listened to the female reporter's stuttering breaths. He then glanced towards Angela, who quickly nodded her head in response.
And then, for some reason; very subtly, a small smile appeared on Riley's face.
"Very well," he then whispered as he looked the Caesar straight in the eyes, "Push the madam's son out first."
The female reporter's gasps almost turned into a yelp as she heard Riley's words; her breaths, erratic as she stood up. Placing her hands together almost as if praying to Riley,
"Thank you… thank you."
"No!" The Caesar let out a small roar as he pushed the female reporter's son's head to the invisible wall, "We're going to go out together at the same time and— Ah!"
"N… no!"
And all of a sudden… Jonathan's eyes popped out from their sockets. His forehead could be seen bulging momentarily before it quickly started deflating like a balloon.
"N… no," the female reporter once again dropped to the ground as the blood of her son sprayed and showered on her face.
"W… what?" The Caesar stuttered as he took a step back, "But I… I didn't even use my powers and—"
And before the Caesar could finish his words, he noticed the blood on the female reporter's face.
The blood… went through the invisible wall? And as soon as the thought entered his mind, he didn't even hesitate to leap forward to escape… only for him to almost break his nose as the invisible wall was actually still there.
The Caesar thought that Riley opened up a portion of the wall since the blood went through. But to think that— !!!
And then, once again, the Caesar realized something as he slowly turned his eyes towards Riley, only to see him also looking at him; a small and subtle smile, plastered on his face.
"Bravo, Riley Ross," the Caesar could really only clap as he shook his head, "Truly a beautiful masterpiece. We could have really made a great team."
The Caesar couldn't even laugh or cry at his situation, he… was just in awe. The Caesar was able to amass a large number of people, controlling them and letting them do his bidding— he thought himself a god.
But right now, he learned what it really means to have someone in strings. And right now… he— no, they were nothing but a puppet that was playing on Riley's hand.
"..." Riley watched as the female reporter's colleagues dragged her away from the scenery of her son's gruesome death, before once again glancing the Caesar straight in the eyes,
"How many members do you still have outside, the Caesar?"
"I don't know. Probably a lot," the Caesar really only let out a chuckle as he answered Riley's question without any hesitation, "Hundred thousand more? Half a million? A million? You can't stop this, Riley Ross. We are already the next step in—"
And before the Caesar could finish his words, his face could be seen caving in as it was pressed into the invisible wall. And soon, it just popped; his skull ruptured open as bits of his brains scattered across the invisible wall.
Everyone looked at Riley— but it wasn't his doing, no.
Instead, as the blood and bits of brain matter started to trail down the transparent wall, a palm could be seen. The owner?
Empress.
Her face was bruised and several cuts littered her cheek and forehead; her clothes, completely tattered.
Her eyes, however, were almost bursting in rage.
"Get me out of this fucking shithole."
"Oh…" Riley blinked a couple of times,
"...So this is where you were."
It wasn't only Empress.
As it turns out, Butcher and some other people from the Space Station were inside the base of the House of Super as hostages and prisoners.
In the end, Empress chose to surrender herself without a fight on the condition that the others would be taken in as prisoners as well. Butcher advised against it, of course. But after the bombs wiped out a third of the human population, Empress wanted to save those that she could.
But of course, they didn't surrender without a plan. They were just waiting for a chance to slowly infiltrate the House of Super from within and break it from the inside…
…but to think it was this kind of chance.
"...You said you were a Themarian."
"No, you said I was a Themarian."
"But you agreed. You even said that Aerith is your lover."
"I could still be, Empress."
"You…"
Empress could really only let out an exasperated sigh. Her breaths, almost echoing throughout the tent they were now in.
With her now in command, the people from the media were quickly asked to move away— but not leave. They were allowed to set up camp, as long as they did not impede any government activity henceforth.
The military has also quickly set up tents just meters away from the colossal transparent prison, with their orders just to stand by and stand guard for now, and be prepared just in case more members of the House of Super start to retaliate.
"You…" Empress decided to ignore everything that's been happening for a moment as she turned her attention to Angela, who was standing behind Riley like a tree, "Aren't you one of the Pope's guards?"
"Yes, ma'am," Angela quickly saluted, "I am unfortunately the only one left of the guards. They attacked the Vatican City."
"...Seems like a lot has happened," Empress once again sighed at her failed attempt to distract herself. She then turned to Riley; looking at him from head to toe,
"I still can't believe Aerith lied to me, again. And fuck, I don't believe I am saying this… but you're not our biggest problem right now," she then said as she peered her eyes through the windows of the tent and looked at the House of Super.
"Ma'am. Since you killed their leader, I assume you have a more effective way to garner information?" Angela stepped forward.
"We… have someone working on the intel right now," Empress answered with a short sigh.
"May I ask what your plan is once you do find the other members still outside?"
"..." Empress did not really answer Angela's question, and instead just turned to look at Riley,
"How long can you sustain this transparent prison of yours?"
"It's an aquarium, Empress."
"How long can you sustain this goddamn aquarium of yours?"
"As long as I'm alive," Riley shrugged, "But you can decide, Empress."
"...What?"
"You are the leader of this planet, and I am a law-abiding citizen. Just tell me w—"
"Fuck," Empress did not let Riley finish his words, "I forgot how troublesome it is to deal with you. You're not passing this to me, no— all of the things that happens in this… aquarium are your responsibility."
"Then…" A smile then suddenly crawled on Riley's face, "If you find more…
…can we add it to the aquarium?"
Chapter 382"If you find more, can we add it to the Aquarium?"
"..."
The military, a select number of people from the media that were allowed to jot notes, and some of Empress's escorts were also inside the tent — and all of them could really only look at each other with every word that came out of Riley's mouth.
They all knew Riley, they all knew he was supposed to be dead. And they are also aware of his ruthlessness and indifference to murder. Hearing him talk in person, however, was a completely different feeling. It was almost as if all of the things that have been happening now were all just a game to him.
…And it was sort of scary. Add to the fact that… there were rumors going around that Riley Ross truly is Darkday.
"..."
"If you find more, can we add it to the Aquarium?" Riley repeated his words as Empress didn't answer him.
"We can," Empress then finally breathed out as she nodded her head; her eyes, not looking away from the tablet she was holding, "That is if there are any left— I am stripping any people suspected of being a member of the HoS of their human rights. They are to only be warned and asked to surrender once, if they refuse, they are to be shot on sight…
…relay that to any fucking chain of command that's still out there," Empress ordered as she looked at her men.
"At once!" Empress's men and the people from the military all stepped out of the tent— dragging away the unwilling reporters that still wanted to observe Empress and Riley.
"Permission to also return to my station, ma'am."
Angela, who was standing quietly behind Riley, once again stepped forward.
"If you're talking about the Pope, then he'll be here in an hour," Empress still did not stray her eyes away from her tablet, "We have him on a jet."
"Is… that so. Then it would be best for me to prepare for his arrival."
"Go."
"Thank you, ma'am," Angela saluted as she made her way out of the tent. Before she could fully step out, however, she glanced at Riley,
"I… believe we will be seeing each other quite frequently from now on, Riley Ross."
"You'll be seeing me a lot, but I won't be seeing you," Riley said as he gestured to his eyes, "...I suppose that makes you somewhat of a pervert, doesn't—"
"Fuck you," Angela did not really let Riley finish his words as she stepped out.
"I see you're still not making any friends," Empress finally removed her eyes from her tablet, before sitting on one of the chairs in the tent.
"I have one," Riley just shrugged as he too took a seat.
"Paige Pearson, huh? That makes sense, both of you are victims of… a very unusual childhood."
"You still think that my time as an infant made me the way I am?"
"I do. That's not going to change," Empress let out a very long and deep sigh; her arms almost dropping to the floor as she did so,
"The world just has to turn shit on my watch. You should be the one fixing all of this, you know?"
"The world is the same as I left it, Empress," Riley shook his head, "It is the people that have changed."
"...Master started rubbing off on you," Empress closed her eyes and forced a chuckle, "You spent all that time in space, not a surprise. Where is she, anyway?"
"I don't know."
"We could really use her help," Empress once again sighed as she opened her eyes.
"..."
The two then just remained sitting inside the tent in silence, which was only broken when a loud chime rang in the air. Empress quickly checked on her tablet, answering the call as soon as she saw who it was from.
[We have the names and locations of all the members of the House of Super. The validity of the information is a hundred percent.]
"That's good. Send their last known location to everyone."
[Copy that. And what do you want me to do with Whiteking?]
"..." Riley quickly turned towards Empress.
"Just… keep him with you. We still need him," Empress whispered before hanging up the call.
"You kept father alive?" Riley let out a small breath, "Interesting choice, Empress. I would have killed him."
"You will kill everyone given the chance."
"That is not true, Empress. All of you are still alive and I had all the chance to kill you in the past."
"...I forgot who I was talking to again," Empress sighed, "Why are you even back here, Riley Ross? You could have just lived your life, you could have even stayed on another planet where no one knows you. In fact, since you said you're a law-abiding citizen, I am asking you to go to another planet and be their problem instead."
"Oh, I will," Riley nodded, "I'm just waiting for Aerith to finish what she came here to do and we will go."
"Why aren't you helping her with that, anyway?"
"It's her problem."
"...She's hunting your mot— your adoptive mother."
"Yes."
"...Don't you even care a little? Everything about you revolves around her. Your birth, Alice's death… she's involved in everything."
"I thought I wasn't your priority right now, Empress. But you seem to be too invested in my life."
"Because the threat of the HoS is ending. You practically ended it. All that's left is to clean up the mess…" Empress's sighs were already filling the entire threat, "...And now once again you're the biggest visible threat on this planet. The fucked up part is I don't even know what that makes you anymore."
"What do you mean, Empress?"
"If you reveal yourself as Darkday now. How many do you think wouldn't care?"
"..."
"The total number of people that died from the attack of the House of Super is now at 1.2 billion, and it's rising," Empress said as she showed the data on her tablet,
"Darkday has killed a quarter of that— as far as they're concerned, you're the hero of the fucking century. You just served the heads of these terrorists on a silver platter, basically imprisoning them in a cage for everyone to see; for everyone to have a target for their rage…
…one might even think you staged it to be this way. That is Riley Ross's MO, after all."
"You have a very vivid imagination, Empress."
"Really?" Empress raised an eyebrow, "Want me to announce to the world that you're Darkday and order for your arrest to prove it?"
"Well…" A small but subtle smile crawled on Riley's face, "...that might turn you into a villain, Empress."
"Hm. That's what I thought."
"But you really are looking too much into it, Empress," Riley stood up as he shook his head, "I've watched all the new episodes of Italian Mafia Reborn and there wouldn't be any more for a very long time. I am truly just doing this to have fun— any circumstance that turns things into my favor just happens to be… an added bonus."
"And you've become talkative too. Aerith truly is rubbing off on you."
"I've always been talkative, Empress. You should know, my longest conversations have always been with you."
"And this conversation is about to end," Empress let out a small chuckle, "A crowd is starting to form outside, families and friends of those that are inside your… aquarium. How do you want to handle them?"
"Please wait here. I'm just going to kill all of them, then we can continue our conversa—"
"Nope, no," Empress quickly blocked Riley from going outside the tent,
"You stay here, I'll handle it."
And with those words, Riley was suddenly left alone inside the tent, with nothing to do but just sit on a chair as he looked at his new aquarium through the window; his eyes, seemingly somber and almost melancholic.
This aquarium… it somewhat reminded him of the Guesthouse, but at the same time, it was completely different. The Guests had everything provided for them— entertainment, food, luxurious amenities.
The Aquarium has none of those things. It would be interesting to see how long they would last… but seeing as some of them were already losing their minds and fighting each other even though it hasn't even been a full day, their stay might be shorter than Riley surmised.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Riley's eyes then very slowly turned towards the table at the center of the tent, only for his eyes to catch the tablet that Empress was holding sitting there.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Riley's eyes then very slowly checked if the tent was clear. And as soon as he was sure no one was going to come inside, the tablet accidentally got into his hand. Empress left in a hurry, leaving her tablet and leaving it completely unlocked.
"Did you leave this intentionally, Empress?" Riley thought as he started scanning the tablet.
"..."
It didn't really matter, the only thing he wanted to know was where he could find more tenants to put in the Aquarium. And so, that's what he did.
He was about to click on the latest mail that should have the names of all the members of the HoS…
"...Oh?" His head, however, slightly tilted to the side as another message caught his eye, 'Situation at Arlington Hero Cemetery'.
Riley looked at the date, and it should have been sent a few days after the explosions happened, as soon as the comms were restored. Empress... hasn't read it yet.
"Interesting," Riley breathed out before returning the tablet to the table… and quickly flying away through the window.
Arlington Hero Cemetery— if Riley remembers correctly. That...
…is where Alice Lane is buried.
Chapter 383Arlington Hero Cemetery.
A graveyard of heroes that have made a difference to the world— no. Perhaps it was better to say that it was a resting place for those that have wanted to make the world a better place. There are thousands and thousands of them; their lives and even their death, not for themselves but for others.
It is also the place where they were supposed to build a monument for Megawoman, but then Riley returned her to the world.
"..." That felt almost like a lifetime ago. And for Riley…
…perhaps it is as he technically died.
"...Pft."
A small chuckle whispered through the skies as Riley chuckled at his own thoughts. Truly, a lot has happened since he formally rested the mantle of Darkday— one might even say that his stagnant life moved forward drastically… and this dying world would agree.
Riley continued to fly for a few more minutes; the sun, almost being absorbed by his long black hair. And finally, he arrived above the airspace of the Arlington Hero Cemetery… and it was completely unscathed unlike the rest of the world.
Riley could even say that it was peaceful. It made sense, of course— the House of Super would never destroy a place where the legacy and glory of supers of the past are prevalent.
"...Oh,"
Riley then quickly descended to the ground as his eyes suddenly landed on a familiar silhouette in the very center of the cemetery— it wasn't human, no; but a statue.
A statue of Megawoman.
"..." Aerith isn't dead yet— did they end up building the monument after all? Perhaps they took Megawoman's departure from the planet as a sign to finally bury her legacy. Or was this already here even before he and Aerith left?
"..." Riley then looked around to see if anyone else was in the graveyard, before letting his phone float as he took a photo of the statue, with him standing in front. This would be a good photo to show Aerith once they meet again— perhaps also remind her of her time on Earth once they leave for the stars.
"Good," Riley whispered to himself as he checked the photo. A few seconds after, however, he took a deep breath and allowed his eyes to see the entirety of the cemetery's horizons.
He did not realize it when he landed, but there should be many here… which Riley himself buried. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps?
There should also be many that did not require burial; either for the reason of religion or simply that there were no remains to be buried. And of course, there was also the fact that some were actually alive— his Guests.
If he was right, then his Guests should be in the care of the villain organization, Endless Dark. An organization led by none other than his Second Subordinate, Nightqueen… Tomoe Reynolds.
"..." Riley could not help but nod as his thoughts wandered towards Tomoe. She… has always been loyal; even now, she continues Riley's work even without him asking her to.
It just truly is disappointing that she was Hannah's friend, Riley thought as his sighs almost crawled throughout the entire cemetery. And soon, he started walking around to find where Alice Lane is buried.
Of course, he had no idea if Alice even had anything to do with the so-called 'situation' that was reported to Empress— either way, it didn't matter. He was just… curious.
"Where could you be, biological mother?"
The last time they were together, he was 2 years old— any memories of that time have already been completely overwritten. In fact, the only memory he has of Alice was through photos, and she was always wearing a mask.
He didn't even know what she really looked like.
No, that wasn't entirely right. The last time he saw her was back in London. An illusion, hallucination, a ghost? There really was no way for him to know.
And perhaps it also didn't matter that he knew what she looked like? After all, her bones would have already melted by now.
"..."
Riley continued to walk across the cemetery; checking the names of the heroes buried there.
"Oh, I remember him."
"They… didn't cremate her? Interesting."
"He didn't get buried with his daughter?"
"I thought she was of a different religion."
Riley whispered to himself each time he recognized a name etched on the gravestones— and he recognized a lot of them. He put them there, after all… and he always strived to remember the names of those who he had killed.
When Riley started getting… the urge to end life, for some reason, he wanted to get something from the slaughtered. At first, he wanted to get a fragment of their possession, but he had nowhere to place them all and it would be too messy.
And so, he settled with their names…
"Oh, I remember your screams. I think I still have it on my phone."
…as well as a recording of their screams.
Riley checked on his phone. He had already transferred all of the files from his old phone, and that included the raw files of his victims' screams— a list.
A list that took him almost half an hour just to scroll to until he could finally find what he was looking for.
"Super 321,420. This should be you," Riley then faced his phone towards the gravestone before playing it— and as soon as he did so, an almost visceral and cracking shriek raged in the peaceful air of the cemetery.
"It truly is quite memorable, Summit," he nodded to himself as he replayed the recording over and over again, "You have the same ability as the Caesar. He was a lot weaker, though. You…
…you could have even been a part of the Hope Guild if you lived."
"..."
"..."
"Hm," a small sigh then escaped Riley's lips as he finally stopped playing the scream and hid his phone; his eyes, still staring at Summit's tombstone,
"What could have been if I wasn't there, right? You could have been a great hero, Summit. And not just you, but everyone here."
"..."
"I'm not just surrounded by death and corpses, but also lost futures…
…I understand that now."
Riley took in a deep breath as he looked at the sky; the clouds, starting to form the darkness. And soon, thunders began to reverberate in the air as the first drop of the rain fell. But before this drop could reach the ground, it withered away.
"Not this time," Riley whispered. And as he did so, the clouds suddenly rippled away, once again opening the sky and letting the sun bathe the grass.
"In life, the darkness I created became your end. You do not have to carry that darkness in death, Summit… you are at peace, and for that, I apologize."
Riley's eyes did not leave Summit's grave, "I do not know if this would offer any of you relief, but you would be pleased to know that I can never join any of you."
Riley finally stepped away as he once again started walking through the cemetery,
"My future is to live. My future is to walk eternally with death beneath my feet. There will be more graves, not just in this plane… but even in the stars," he whispered as he looked to the sky,
"I have seen what's out there. There will be billions— trillions more of you. Perhaps that is the reason why I do not die, the reason why I will walk forever…
…because life will never end. It will always flourish until I stop it."
The grass beneath Riley's feet stopped dancing as his steps finally halted, "Perhaps that is my purpose… mother."
Riley's sigh once again almost whispered throughout the entire cemetery as he looked at the grave in front of him,
'Here lies Ms. Phoenix, beloved daughter, and mother.'
"Hm," Riley quickly stepped a few meters back to check if the grass around her grave was altered, or disarranged in any way— but it was completely clean; nothing at all amiss.
"I thought you were the same as me. No. Perhaps it is better to say that I thought I am the same as you… a being not capable of death," Riley then whispered to himself as he stared at Alice's grave,
"I… don't really know what I expected when I saw that there was activity in this area. But I suppose it is safe to say it's not you."
"..."
"..."
And after a few breaths, Riley sat on the ground, crossing his legs as both his palms brushed the grass around him.
"Hello mother," he then said, "We haven't formally met and probably never will, but I am your son, Riley Ross. Although I suppose you know me as Riley Lane, but I don't think the name works well, no?"
"..."
"..."
"Your future. I wonder what it would have looked like if you were just a normal mother, and I was just a normal son? Would you have taken care of me?" A small but subtle smile appeared on Riley's face,
"I heard you have the same temper as Hannah, but completely almost like a child that never really grew up. Would… you really have been alright with a future together with me?"
"..."
"..."
"Would have all of these graves beside you been prevented? Would I be the monster I am now?" Riley breathed out,
"It is all quite fascinating, really. I used to not think of anything else but the present, but now I find myself curious about the past and what could have been. And right now, I am even wondering…
…if I could have been human if you would have just taken care of me."
Chapter 384"Will I have learned how to love? Will I have learned what it actually means? Would you… love me?"
A second.
A minute.
An hour.
Riley has been talking to Alice's grave for more than an hour now— his questions, just repeating themselves over and over again. Almost as if he was waiting for someone to actually answer him.
But no matter how many questions, no matter how many words and whispers danced in the air, it didn't matter. No one really answered. Riley knows that no one would answer, and yet… he continues.
"Will Hannah and I have even met? It's probable, both of our biological parents are members of the Hope Guild," Riley whispered as he looked at the sky, "But since you didn't kill me, my abilities probably wouldn't have been discovered and I wouldn't have your telekinetic abilities. I would have just been… a normal human until the time I am not."
"..."
"Don't you find it confusing too, Alice? Do you think I would still have these… whispers in my head telling me to destroy lives? I believe I was born for that and only that… but what if I'm not? What would I be doing?"
"..."
"Right? There are so many things that could have happened, and yet here we are and you're down there— neighbors with the people I have killed. I truly and wholly want to have a conversation with you, mother. If you think about it…
…you're the first person I killed."
"..."
"Why, you ask? Everyone's just blaming themselves for what happened. Your mother thinks it is her fault because she neglected you and wasn't much of a mother at all— that's why you made the wrong decisions. Aerith blames herself for not being strong enough to stop you, and Empress blames herself because she couldn't see the truth. Everyone thinks it is their fault, when in truth…
…It really is just mine for being born."
"..."
"You didn't have to die, Alice. I heard of the stories about you and the chaotic and happy life you have led… you deserve to be here rather than a monster like me. What a colorful life you would have had…
…I am truly sorry, Alice Lane."
"..."
"..."
"I guess that's enough," Riley then stood up from the ground, floating away all the dirt and grass that was stuck to the ends of his cardigan, "I want to check if you're down there, Alice. But it would be disrespectful to exhume you."
"..."
"..."
Riley stared at Alice's grave for a few more seconds, before once again calling someone on the phone.
"Louise…
…is Angela with you?"
***
"You were right, Angela. We are seeing each other more and more."
"Stop. Why are we even here?"
"Because I want you to meet my mother."
"...What?" Angela could really only look around the field of graves around her. But as soon as her eyes landed on the gravestone beside Riley, a slight gasp escaped her lips.
"Thank you Louise, but you didn't have to come," Riley approached the Pope and shook his hand.
"Oh, I am afraid I can't take your gratitude, child. I was brought here not of my own free—"
"I am wherever his Holiness is."
"I feel like it is the other way around now," the Pope could only let out an exasperated sigh. He couldn't blame anyone, however, as he was the one who asked Angela to go,
"Alice Lane. If I am correct, then she is your biological mother?"
"That is correct, Louise," Riley nodded, "I need Angela to check if my mother's remains are still beneath this ground."
"You called His Holiness… for that? Why did you not just call me?"
"I do not have your number, Angela. And this space is… inherently sacred. I did not want to intrude on the dead without the consent of someone considered holy. The Pope is the only holy man I know of."
"Your Holiness, you don't need to—"
"It is fine," the Pope quickly raised his hand, "Those who have been buried here no longer have any earthly tether trapping them in our realm."
"..." Angela could really only sigh as she finally opened her eyes; her head slowly turning towards the ground with much hesitation.
"..."
"..."
"There's nothing here," Angela then muttered as she blinked a couple of times.
"The coffin is empty?" Riley quickly said as he looked back and forth between Angela and the grave.
"No…" Angela took in a small gulp as she shook her head, "I mean there's nothing 6 feet beneath us— it's hollow… and deep."
"...Oh?" Riley also blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head to the side.
"..." Angela then turned her eyes towards the other graves… only for them to also be hollow. It almost looked like the tunnels that ants dug, except everything led to whatever it is that was below,
"Everything… is empty."
"I lied, Angela," Riley then quickly said as he looked Angela straight in the eyes, "I did not call you here to meet my mother. I accidentally gained information of an unusual activity happening in this cemetery, right after the bombings happened, possibly also seismic."
"..." Angela focused her eyes down as soon as she heard Riley's words, "It's… too deep for me to see what's on the end. Do you think… the bombs might have done this? Or maybe these tunnels were already here… and the bombs did something to whatever they lead to and… woke something up?"
"Or someone. If I am right, then mother has something to do with this," Riley muttered as he once again looked at Alice's gravestone.
"Alice Lane?"
"No, my other mother."
"...What?"
"It is a good thing you are here, Pope. Please offer a prayer before we explore what's beneath us."
"What do you mean we?" Angela raised an eyebrow, "I'm not going with you down there."
"Your ability will be helpful, Angela. Or you can just kill me, but that is impossible for you."
"Huh?"
"Go with him, child."
And before Angela could even express her confusion that reached almost the heavens, the Pope placed his hand on her shoulder, "We all have a destiny to play in this world, and I believe we are where we are because it is His will."
"But… fine," Angela could not help but shake her head; her sighs, now racing with her confusion.
"Are you sure all of these graves are empty?"
"Yes, your Holiness."
"Very well," the Pope raised his palms above his shoulders as his lips started to utter a prayer in another language.
"Grant, we beseech Thee, o Lord our god, that the souls of thy servants…"
"..." Riley looked at the Pope, before also closing his eyes and lowering his head. It took more than a minute, but Riley did not really complain as he just waited patiently.
"...ly ghost liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen."
Angela and the Pope gestured a cross, while Riley just kept his hands behind him; only raising his head as soon as he was sure that the Pope was done.
"Shall we go on another adventure, Angela?" Riley then said as a smile started to grow on his face.
As for Angela, she could really only shake her head and sigh, "What eve— !!!"
And before she could say her words, she felt her body being dragged through the ground. As for the Pope, he remained on the surface… once again left alone with Little Riley who was quietly standing beside him.
"You, me. Together again, Louise," Little Riley said as he grabbed the ends of the Pope's robes.
"I thought I was supposed to go down there with them," the Pope lamented as he stared at the hole Riley created."
"You die down there, Louise," Little Riley shook his head as he tightened his grip on the Pope's robes, lightly pulling him away from the hole so that he wouldn't fall.
"Do you see my face?" The Pope let out a long and exasperated sigh as he pointed at his wrinkled face. And hair that grew on them, barely visible from how thin and grey they were.
"Yes, it's ugly. But that is alright, beauty… inside matters."
"...I mean I am old."
"Yes, and ugly. Two things, true at once. I learn."
"..."
***
"How… deep are we?"
"A thousand kilometers."
"...Isn't that already halfway to the outer core!?"
"Almost."
Riley and Angela were surrounded by nothing but rocks. Angela was expecting some magma, but the mantle was just completely made of… solid rock; and Riley was drilling into it like it was sand. Riley didn't really react, of course. He had done something like this before, after all.
If it wasn't for the light that Riley was emitting, Angela was sure that there would only be darkness around them. She couldn't even see the light the sun provides above them anymore, not even a dot.
He didn't believe it when Riley told him— but Riley… should truly be capable of destroying the Earth if he wanted to. He didn't even need to do anything grand, he just needed to reach the core and do whatever it is he does. The only thing he needed was… a push.
Hopefully, no one is stupid enough to do so.
"I am starting to see something!" All of Angela's thoughts completely stopped as her eyes were finally able to see something that isn't rock and darkness.
"What is it?"
"It's… some sort of futuristic giant dagger?" Angela slightly squinted her eyes, "Wait… no. Oh my god…"
Riley quickly turned towards Angela as he heard the shock in her voice.
"It's…
…It's a ship."
Chapter 385"What kind of trouble have you brought now, Aerith?"
Inside some sort of room seemingly made of silver, the sound of Diana's steps almost clanged; her feet, almost stomping as she walked back and forth in front of a screen the size of a table.
Perhaps the only thing that was stagnant was the target of her stern glares— the view of the space that was almost a hologram as the far stars seemed to be popping out of the screen. And perhaps they do go far, as the light that was reflected in Diana's eyes almost looked like they spanned millions of kilometers.
It wasn't really clear what she was looking at— whatever it was, she was the only one that seemed to understand it.
"No…" And finally, after what seemed like an entire hour, Diana stopped walking as she stood right in front of the large screen, "...I suppose the humans did this to themselves."
Diana then raised her hand, controlling the screen as all sorts of cryptic letters and numbers appeared,
"Is there a way for me to stop them? No… the radiation signature is already too high. Even if I mask the energy coming from Earth, they would have already saved its location…" Diana continued to talk to herself as she stared at the digits in front of her,
"...Should I just leave?" She sighed, "I could probably leave, but I would never find a planet like this again, I'm sure of it. I have to stay, I need to stay. I'm not done yet… not yet."
Diana once again started waving her hands. And with each gesture, the contents of the holographic screen changed— almost as if it was zooming out on the map of the universe as the planets soon became like glitters in the expanse.
"Can you calculate several arrival dates based on the parameters I just entered?"
[...]
[...]
"All of them," Diana said as several colored dots appeared on the map, with lines suddenly protruding all the way to a green planet, "Now name them numerically depending on how fast each of the entered objects reaches Earth, with the headlines set as 'Higher Race'."
Diana then continued to stare at the screen, watching some sort of simulation.
"Of course, Higher Race 3 will be the fastest one to get here," Diana muttered to herself, "But based on the speed the thing is going, it's not them. Which one is it… data's too little to know."
"..."
"..."
"...I hate doing this," Diana then let out a deep sigh as she closed her eyes, before completely stopping her breaths, and even her already slowly beating heart. She let the sound of the universe enter the deepest parts of her, drowning any other noise as her mind wandered farther and farther off into the expanse of the darkness that is—
"What are you doing, aunt Diana!?"
"!!!"
Diana's eyes instantly opened wide as she let out an almost scratching gasp. She took a few steps back as she covered her ears, almost tumbling to the floor as the sudden noise that entered her brain almost incapacitated her.
"Are you playing a video game!?"
"..." Diana quickly turned her now opened eyes towards the girl that suddenly entered the room, who was now pressing and tapping all sorts of things on the holographic screen.
"What did I tell you about entering this room, Karina?" Diana could really only sigh as she tried her best to calm herself down, "Where's your mother?"
"Mom is with Gran gran. I requested snow for the next practice so mom's doing her thing."
"..." Once again, Diana sighed as she stared at Karina, whose height was now around her shoulders. If Diana's calculations were correct; then biologically, Karina should now be considered 12 years old.
If so, then things have just become tremendously complicated. The human brain starts being… completely unpredictable at that age. Sometime soon, this will be messy. Not to mention it was also time to stop accelerating Karina's growth, as continuing to do so would now be detrimental.
That means they would be stuck with her rebellious phase for a while. Diana remembered when Hannah was around that age and was starting to develop some sort of crush on a cartoon character.
She even wanted to marry the character and insisted that Bernard buy the person who drew it to make it possible. It would have been alright if it was just that, but the character was not even a human-- it was a white lion.
Of course, her fascination didn't last long. As after that, her attention turned to drawing because she didn't get her father to buy the artist-- and so, she said she would do it herself but then completely forgot about the white lion as she started drawing all sorts of different characters.
She wasn't very good at it; so in the end, she just focused on what she does best, martial arts.
It… was incredibly short, no— it was a blink, but it felt like forever when she had to calm her tantrums and—
"Why are you smiling, auntie?"
"I'm not smiling," Diana quickly furrowed her eyebrows as she glared at Karina, "And stop calling me your aunt, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No. Can you get out now?" Diana let out another sigh before wearing her glasses— transferring the images on the screen to it with just a wave of her hand. She waved her hand a second time, this time to gesture to Karina to leave.
"But it's boring outside," Karina grunted before she stretched her arms and hugged the screen; her smile, also stretching as wide as they could from ear to ear, "Let me play some games here instead, I would be quiet, I pro—"
And before she could finish her words, the screen suddenly turned red— No, not only the screen, but the lights in the silver room also drowned the walls in red.
"I… I didn't do anything!" Karina bellowed as she took a few steps back.
Diana didn't really say anything to her and instead just rushed to look at the screen.
"No…" She then whispered, "It's not you. There's…
…an intruder."
***
"It's… a ship!"
Angela's words were loud enough to echo through the tunnel, almost reaching as a whisper to the Pope that was idly standing by at the surface. As for Riley, he didn't really say anything and just hastened their descent.
The rocks around them, almost trembling as he made the holes even larger so that they would be able to blitz their way down.
"It's getting near! Only a few seconds now!" Angela bellowed, "W… wait! Wait! Slow down…
…Slow down!"
And all of a sudden, Angela felt her organs almost being thrown out of her body as she and Riley stopped falling down without even any sort of warning. Still, she didn't let the discomfort stop her as she quickly looked around…
…only to find herself in some sort of void— a vast hollow space perfectly shaped into a sphere, and right at the very center of this domain, was the dagger-shaped ship.
And it would seem Angela's description of it was truly valid, a futurist dagger. It was still clearly a ship, but its edges were so smooth with not even a trace of a door or a window.
"...Oh."
Angela then turned her eyes towards Riley as she heard him whisper, only to see his long black hair floating in a weird way.
"There's no gravity here," Riley muttered as he slightly flicked his finger, causing the strands of his hair to once again fix themselves, "Is it the doing of the ship? What do you think, Angela?"
"..."
"..."
"Angela?"
"Are we… on the core of the planet?" Angela took in a small gulp as she let her eyes wander around.
"...No," Riley said; his eyes, almost judging Angela from head to toe, "The core is still a thousand kilometers down, I have seen it."
"...Right," the excitement in Angela's voice slightly dissipated as she looked at the ship, slightly squinting her eyes as she did so, "I… can't seem to see the inside of the ship clearly."
"There are things that you can't see through, Angela?"
"I will eventually see what's inside," Angela shook her head, "It's just not clear now so I can't make out anything. This happens when I am looking at a material I haven't seen before."
"Hm."
"In this case, it's quite obvious that whatever this ship is, it's alien," Angela muttered, "Let's stay here for a while so my eyes could adjust and—"
"No, let's just go in."
"Wait, we don't even know what's inside. It would be too dangerous to— Never mind."
And before Angela could finish her words, she once again felt herself being dragged around; the two of them, not orbiting around the dagger-like ship. And now that they were near it, they finally realized just how massive it was.
It was almost as large as the floating base of the Dark Millenium, except elongated in shape.
"Riley, stop. I see some sort of seam here, I think it's the door."
"..." Riley then floated Angela and himself closer to the ship. And as soon as he did so, a sharp blue light beamed and panned towards them from head to toe.
"...What was that?"
"I don't—"
[Welcome, Riley Lane Ross.]
"..." And as soon as those words echoed through their ears, the seam that Angela was talking about became visible to Riley— and soon, that square seam turned into a door… and that door faded away revealing the inside of the ship.
"Did… the ship just recognize you? Riley Lane Ross… is that your full name?"
"..." Riley didn't really answer Angela's words, and instead just shook his head as the two of them slowly floated to the opening.
And as soon as Riley stepped inside, lights started appearing on the floor, almost as if they were guiding them. The gravity, also returning as the door behind them once again popped up.
"Should… maybe we should think about this before we—"
But alas, Riley just started walking as he followed the lights. The inside of the ship has the same color as its exterior— silver, almost platinum-like in color. And like the outside, there were no windows or anything, just unending hallways.
Soon, however, they found themselves inside a large dark hall. But it didn't remain dark for long, because as soon as Riley once again stepped forward, lights started filling the room.
And just like the rest of the ship, the hall was empty. Devoid of anything except for a single object— a small platform right in the very center of the hall.
No, perhaps it was better to say that it was a bed… as someone was lying on top of it— a face that was very familiar to Riley...
…Alice Lane.
Chapter 386"Who… is that?"
Angela's words were gentle, almost as if she didn't want to wake up the woman peacefully lying at the very center of the silver hall. It was a surreal site — probably even more so than any of the cathedrals that Angela has seen in her life, and she has seen everything.
The silver hall was completely empty, and yet there in the middle, a person was resting on a platform. It almost seemed as if she was a part of the hall.
The woman's body was completely bare, stripped of any armor she might have had once— and yet, it did not feel voyeuristic or leering; in fact, everything in this hall just felt natural, and Angela could not explain why it was.
"Wait… isn't that Alice Lane?" And finally, a name and a memory surfaced in Angela's mind.
"It is," Riley nodded.
"You… don't really look anything alike," Alice muttered as she looked back and forth between Alice's body and Riley. Of course, she didn't really need to say it— there were hardly any people that looked like Riley.
Even those who supposedly share his condition, macrostomia, albinism, or whatever else Riley has— he looked completely different from them. If anything, Riley was the epitome of perfection of imperfections.
It was a weird way to describe him, but that's Riley— weird to the core.
"Why… is her body here?" Angela finally paused her thoughts as she focused on Alice's body; but with her question, she also finally realized why Alice seemed so natural being in this place,
"This place… is it some sort of crypt?"
"..." Riley didn't really say anything; only letting out a small breath as he slowly made his way to the center of the hall,
"I have the same question as you, Angela. Just why exactly would Alice's carcass be here?" Riley whispered as he looked at Angela,
"You said the other graves were also empty and hollow?"
"Yes," Angela quickly nodded as she too approached Alice's body.
"You think the other carcasses are also here?"
"It's… possible," Angela squinted her eyes to try and see through the floor and walls. But alas, everything was still a blur,
"...But for some reason, I have a feeling… that she was the only one who received a special treatment like this," she then said as her eyes once again roamed the immaculate silver hall.
"Hm," Riley nodded as he stood beside Alice's body, "So…
…this is my mother," he then whispered as he looked at her from head to toe, "She was quite beautiful, no?"
"...She is," Angela lowered her voice, before taking a few steps back and allowing Riley some space. Although the entire situation was completely otherworldly and her confusion grew by the millisecond, the circumstances called for her to just keep her silence for now.
Her silence did not last long, however, as Riley quickly let out a small but deep sigh as he stared at Alice's face.
"I don't know what to do with this finding. We should explore the ship more to—"
"How long do you think the ship has been here?" Angela asked; almost gesturing to Riley to stay just a little bit more at his mother's side, "It's halfway to the core… wouldn't that mean it's been here for a very long time? A thousand years? Maybe more?"
"...Hm," Riley slightly squinted his eyes as his eyes also started to wander across the silver hall.
"But then…" Angela, however, seemed to be keen on answering her own questions, "...It wouldn't make sense since the ship seems to be getting the bodies from Arlington Cemetery…
…except if the grave was built exactly there because the ship was down below."
"Hm."
"If I am right, Arlington was built sometime 250 years ago… just who do you think owns this ship?"
"My other mother, most probably."
"...What?"
"It's probably my other mother's ship," Riley repeated his words as he shrugged, "She does things that one would find unexplainable in normal terms. Even Megawoman herself doesn't know how she thinks… but then again, I have recently come to the realization that Aerith isn't really the best thinker."
Riley has been with Aerith for 2 years. And throughout their adventure in the expanse of space, he watched as Aerith… made some dubious decisions. The very reason they spent that long to reach Hotis 4J in the first place was that she forgot the directions.
"Your… other mother?" Angela chose to ignore the latter half of Riley's words to hold onto her sanity, "You mean Diana Ross? Why would she be involved here?"
"You will find out soon since you're sticking with me."
"You called me here," Angela could really only sigh, before shaking her head and deciding to just focus on Alice, "Should we… retrieve her body?"
"Why?"
"...What do you mean why? She's your mother. Don't you want to bury her properly?"
"She looks peaceful enough here, Angela."
"Then what about her mother, Charlotte?" Angela once again sighed, "I am sure she would want to know about what is happening to her daughter's body."
"I don't think Charlotte cares about her family that much," Riley shook his head, "If she did, she would have made sure to adopt me— or even took care of her daughter while she was alive."
"That… can't be true," Angela's voice became meek, "Still, I think Alice deserves a proper burial."
"Is this not the best tomb for someone like her?" Riley said as he looked around the silver hall, "Her body has also been preserved in this space, it should have only been decayed fragments of her skeleton."
"Why are you so disconnected from this, Riley? I thought you were trying to be more human?" Angela sighed, "She's your mother, I think she deserves to be buried in a place proper for her."
"This is the proper place. Her carcass doesn't rot."
"That is what makes it unnatural," Angela shook her head, "Don't you want the Pope to bless her body… and finally truly let her be in peace?"
"...I suppose that is an option," Riley slightly squinted his eyes,
"Very well."
Riley then lightly raised a finger, and as she did so, Alice's body started to leave the platform it was resting on. However, Riley quickly dropped his hand as soon as he heard the slight sound of a squelch coming from Alice.
"What… is that?" Angela was the first to mutter as she saw multiple thin tubes attached to Alice's spine. It almost seemed as if they were alive— throbbing. If it wasn't for their black color, then she was sure she would have mistaken them for veins.
"Wait…" Numerous thoughts quickly raced through Angela's mind, but one remained prevalent,
"Don't tell me…" The tone of Angela's voice was meek, almost hesitant, "...is her body powering up the ship?"
"..." And as soon as Riley heard Angela's theory, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Can you see through the walls, Angela?"
"No, not yet," Angela quickly shook her head, "It's still just a blur, almost like I am looking through tissue paper."
"I suppose it doesn't matter."
And with those words traveling across the silver hall, the bed platform that Alice's body was resting on started to crack.
"What are you doing!?"
Angela screamed and stepped back. Riley, on the other hand, completely ignored her question as the bed platform now completely shattered into a million pieces, finally revealing the rest of the tubes.
But alas, they just connected to the floor— whatever they were connected to, it was probably below the hall they were in. If Angela's theory was right, then the engine should be just below here.
"..."
"..."
"Don't even try," Angela already knew what Riley was thinking, "If you try to destroy more of the ship, we don't know how it will react— it might explode for all we know."
"..." Riley slowly turned to look at Angela, before nodding his head and smiling, "You're right."
Riley then closed his fist, and as he did so, the shrapnel and debris scattered in the air all returned to their original place; once again rebuilding the bed platform.
And almost as if nothing happened, Alice's body was once again peacefully resting on it.
Riley then started walking around the silver hall; his eyes searching for something they do not know yet.
"What… are you doing now?"
"I would like to try something," Riley then halted his steps as he let out a short but deep breath,
"Good afternoon, ship."
"Wha—"
[Good afternoon, Riley. How may I assist you today?]
"..." Angela wanted to say something, but just chose to keep her mouth shut as she stared at Riley.
"What is my clearance level, ship?"
[Riley Lane Ross. Current clearance level is 3.]
"What is the highest clearance level?"
[Level 5.]
"..."
"..."
"Can you safely unplug Alice Lane?"
[...]
[...]
[Re—]
"Abort order!"
And before the ship could answer, a voice suddenly echoed from behind Angela and Riley.
Angela quickly raised her sword as she turned around. As for Riley, he just very slowly and calmly turned around— after all, he recognized the voice.
"Stop, Riley. Don't move Alice's body."
[Command overridden by a personnel with a higher clearance level. Do you have any more orders, Aerith?]
Chapter 387[Command overridden. Do you have any more orders, Aerith?]
"...Aerith? Megawoman?"
Angela could really only stare at the woman slowly making their way towards her and Riley— and even with her wearing a sort of dark spandex suit, it was hard to mistake her for anyone else but the Earth's mightiest and strongest defender… and her master.
Angela's grip on her sword was confused as to what to do— not knowing whether it should loosen or tighten its hold on the weapon. After all, Angela knew how useless and pointless it was to try and fight against Megawoman.
"You… could you be the owner of this ship?" Angela gulped as all sorts of thoughts raced in her mind, "Wait, so all this time that you've been here… but why would you train me… were you making me stronger to turn me into the ship's batteries!?"
"..." Aerith, who was slowly making her way towards Riley and Angela, could not help but stop in her tracks; the disbelief on her face, completely visible as she looked at Angela straight in the eyes,
"...What did I say about overthinking things, kid?" She then let out a small sigh as she shook her head,
"Still, I missed your well-thought-out theories, even if they tend to be far-fetched sometimes," Aerith chuckled, "But no, I don't own this ship."
"I thought as much," Riley finally spoke up, "All of the circumstances are too sophisticated to be thought of by you, mother."
"You stop calling me mother right now," Alice's eye started to twitch as she pointed at Riley; his words almost felt like sand as they reached Aerith's ears, "We tried so hard to give you a new identity and you go announce to the world who you are?"
"I don't like people using my name, Aerith."
"You— I suppose it doesn't matter," Aerith could really only shake her head and sigh, "Just don't move Alice's body. The ship is the only thing keeping her alive."
"...Alive?"
"This is the Mur Lav'ir— the Room of Revival," Aerith then said as she looked at Alice's body.
"How do you know all of that if you don't own this ship?" Angela squinted her eyes.
"You haven't told her anything?" Aerith breathed out as she looked at Riley, who shook his head in response.
"It's not my secret to tell, Aerith," Riley said.
"...Right. You and I both know that you just didn't tell her because it didn't matter to you."
"You know me too well, Aerith. As expected of my 3rd mother."
"Stop," Aerith groaned before placing her attention on Angela, "You got something right with your theories, this is a Themarian ship, but it's not mine. I prefer the freedom of flying across galaxies with my own body."
"That's why you get lost."
"Shut up!" Aerith once again pointed at Riley, "And don't unplug Alice, she'll die."
"So, are you saying that Alice is alive, Aerith?" Riley muttered as he turned around to look at Alice's face, "She doesn't seem to be."
"Because she's not alive, not yet," Aerith stated as she approached Alice's body, "Themerians view death… quite differently from humans, from the rest of the other races and species, really."
"..." Angela and Riley did not really say anything so Aerith could continue her words.
"We view it differently because we rarely die. You need to erase us from our very last atom. But even then, we will live and recover fully in a few minutes."
"...But you didn't," Riley slightly tilted his head as he glanced at Aerith, "I kept you in the closet for an entire day."
"..." Angela's eyes widened upon hearing Riley's words. She seemed to want to say something, but Aerith spoke before she could do so.
"Because I didn't want to recover. I was tired," Aerith sighed, "I wanted to rest a little— but the humans saw that as a sign to use me. I can't blame them, of course. But I'm still a little hurt."
"...Is that why you didn't help us with the House of Super?"
Aerith didn't really answer Angela's question, but she didn't need to; it was obvious from the way her eyes moved— Megawoman was done with the humans.
"I… am really sorry for what we've done to you, master," Angela let out a small but deep breath as she looked to the side,
"...And thank you for not taking revenge against us."
"You didn't do anything to me, kid," Aerith only smiled as she patted Angela's shoulder; the two of them, looking at each other in the eyes with their gaze filled with memory and warmth.
"You really are kind, Aerith. You could've killed all of us in anger. Well, all of them." But alas, the moment was ruined by Riley's words.
"...I don't commit genocide, Riley."
Aerith could really only sigh; waving her hand to gesture that she was done talking about the past. She then once again focused her attention on Alice, gently holding her hand as she looked at her face,
"Themarians rarely die. And so if one of us dies— we just make them alive again. The same could naturally be done with humans since our biology doesn't deviate that much from each other."
"Themarians… can resurrect the dead?" Angela took in a small gulp, "That… is unnatural."
"Yes. But it requires a large amount of energy to be transferred to the body of the deceased," Aerith nodded as her eyes traveled across the Mur Lav'ir, "We get the energy from nature, the planet, lithium, grass— any energy that could be extracted. In this case…
…I think Caitlain is using the energy left from the corpses of the other supers to revive Alice."
"Energy… from supers?"
"Supers are a disease."
"Supers aren't the ones who nuked a third of the planet," Angela could not help but furrow her eyebrows from hearing Aerith's statement.
"I meant that in a literal sense," Aerith let out a small snicker, "Supers are a disease. I realized that when I gained an ability and even upgraded the ones I already had when I got to this planet…
…It's not from the Earth, it's not from your sun. I was infected with whatever you supers have," she then said as she looked at Riley.
"It's… not evolution?" Angela muttered.
"It might as well be," Aerith shook her head, "Because soon… normal humans would be gone from this planet."
"That's not evolution, master… that's taking over."
"Whatever it is, it is no longer of my concern," Aerith breathed out as she once again focused her attention on Alice; her eyes, slightly filled with melancholy and regret,
"I… am truly sorry I failed you back then. You seemed… to be in so much pain. If only I was strong enough to—"
"You said this room resurrects the dead, Aerith," Riley then suddenly disrupted Aerith's short accolade as he blocked her view with his face.
"..."
"But why would my mother try to resurrect my other mother?"
"I don't— You should ask her."
The melancholy in Aerith's eyes quickly faded away; her eyebrows, lowering as she slowly turned around to look at the corridor.
And there, amidst the silver hallway and bright lights— a sort of shadow stood. And soon, a step could be heard… and then, a loud whisper.
"Because she didn't deserve to die. Alice…
...Alice is a friend."
The shadow's approach was slow, but with each step the silhouette uncovers itself. Angela recognized who it was, of course… but she almost felt like a totally different person. Like each of her steps was enough to trample her completely.
Diana Ross. Supposedly just a normal human.
"You left this up there, Riley."
The very first thing Diana did as she revealed herself from the shadows that wrapped around her was look at Riley… and throw something towards him.
Riley wasn't going to catch it at first but saw what the object was… or rather, who it was.
"B… boss."--- it was Little Riley; his face, completely filled with tears, "I… I couldn't protect… my butt hurts. Mother flicked my butt."
"..." Riley only nodded, before gently playing Little Riley beside Alice.
"Oh, isn't this our other mother?" Little Riley said as he quickly climbed over her stomach, laying down and trying to hug her with his tiny limbs, "Hello, other mother."
"Wait… what did you do to the Pope!?"
Little Riley was supposed to be protecting the Pope, and now that he was suddenly brought here, Angela could really only tighten her grip on her sword as she pointed it towards Diana.
"Relax, he's alive," Diana smiled as she looked at Angela, "Y—"
"Go check on the Pope. Thank you for assisting me, Angela."
And before Angela and Diana could even say anything, Angela was suddenly flung away from the silver hall.
"..." Diana didn't try to stop her, only glancing at Angela as she passed by her before once again turning her eyes back to Riley— a smile, crawling on her face… but disappeared as soon as it formed.
"How are you, Riley?" She then muttered; her voice, slightly stiff and stern, "It… is good to see you alive."
"You should know that I can't die, mother," Riley took in a small breath as he looked Diana straight in the eyes, "After all, you made me."
"Oh, I wish I could take credit for creating you," Diana closed her eyes and shook her head.
Riley's head quickly tilted to the side. He was about to ask her even more questions, but Diana already turned her attention to Aerith.
"Aerith'Hel."
"Caitlain'Ur."
"That's a name I have not heard for a very long time," Diana let out a small giggle, "You've finally found this place, thanks to the humans you are so dearly fond of. It was quite… fun watching you fly around. It is quite kind of you to help them with their problems."
"Right…" Aerith scoffed; her breaths, slightly heavy as she returned Diana's glare, "...Why are you still using Diana's face? Aren't you ashamed to be spouting dust with the mouth of this kid's mother?"
"...Because this is my real face?" Diana raised an eyebrow, "And please, lower your tone while addressing me…
…child."
Chapter 388"And please, lower your tone while addressing me…
…child."
And then, the peace that encapsulated the silver hall disappeared. There weren't any changes, not even the air. But Riley could feel something building around them, almost as if it was causing the entire hall to tremble; but then again, everything remained still.
The walls were still as clear; the floors, immaculate. Alice still lied still even with Little Riley on top of her— everything was the same. But Riley knew… something was different.
And soon, he found out what.
A being that he thought was once as still a mountain; unmovable, unstoppable. A being that no matter what Riley did, she did not even utter as much as a petrified or intimidated whisper. But now…
…he could hear Aerith's breaths almost flowing through his ears. She seemed...
"Are you nervous, Aerith?"
And of course, Riley could not believe what he was seeing— he had to ask.
"...Shut up," Aerith then said as she once again let out a deep breath. But after that, no more. Her muscles started to relax as her gaze turned towards Riley,
"I'm just… thrilled," she forced a chuckle, "You have no idea how long I have searched for her. There are times that I have even almost forgotten my goal… and nothing's going to stop me from accomplishing it anymore."
"..." Riley turned to Diana as Aerith continued to talk, only to see her shrug at him; a smile plastered on her face as she looked him straight in the eyes.
"Caitlain'Ur…" Aerith then took a step forward as her breaths finally calmed themselves, "...On behalf of our race, I am here to arrest you for committing 7 acts of intentional genocide, destroying their inhabitants as well as their home planet, leaving the biome with no chance to procreate."
"Big words," Diana, on the other hand, did not leave her position even for an inch, "Are you sure you're not just here because you're angry at me for beating you?"
"..."
"I remember you being more bouncy, guileless, and callow. You were so cute back then," Diana giggled as she covered her mouth; adjusting her glasses it slightly moved, "But of course, not as cute as my daughter."
"The daughter that you left behind," a smirk quickly crawled on Aerith's face, "Or is she even your daughter? Maybe you just made her as well?"
"Last I checked you also left your offspring here. At least I cared for my daughter," the smile on Diana's face did not disappear,
"But I digress, I am not here to argue. I had thousands of years of peace and I have started to appreciate it… and truly, you don't want to fight me here, do you?"
"..."
"This planet will be destroyed faster than any of us could even blink. Just a snap, and it will be gone."
Aerith's eyebrows began to furrow as Diana raised her hand.
"And why did you even come back to this planet?" Diana then let out a small sigh, "Did you know that someone from the Higher Races is on their way here? You've probably alerted them of your presence, and then the bombs that the humans let go off just made it easier for them to track us."
"I came back because you're here," Aerith looked Diana straight in the eyes, "This planet is not safe with you here."
"I have been here for more than a thousand years, child. You've been here for what? 300?" Diana once again let out a small giggle; before winking at Riley for some reason, "I would probably be here for another thousand years if it wasn't for another themarian meddling affairs she should not."
"You are dangerous, Caitlain."
"And you're not?" Diana once again turned her eyes towards Aerith,
"You're a child playing on an anthill, Aerith. One wrong move, one tumble, one trip… and this anthill goes down."
"I'm not going to let that happen."
"No, it didn't happen because I am here," Diana let out a long and deep sigh, "Contrary to what you want to believe in, Aerith— I value the Earth and humans way more than you. It is not in my interest that it disappears."
"You are playing god."
"I am. If not me, then who?" Diana removed her glasses as she took a step forward, "This is it, Aerith. This is the place I have been looking for all this time. This time, I am not going to make the same mistake I did with the last 7— no…
…I suppose I already made an error," Diana once again sighed as she looked at Riley, before turning her eyes to Alice.
"I… got sidetracked by the planet's inhabitants," she then whispered; her eyes, containing a bit of… despair as they reflected Alice's silhouette, "I…
…made a friend."
"A friend?" Aerith furrowed her eyebrows, "What does someone like you know about having a friend?"
"More than you would think," Diana scoffed; her eyes not leaving Alice, "Everything started to change. I didn't want to admit it…
…but I got attached," she then said as she looked at Aerith.
"Interesting." The one who reacted, however, was Riley— who finally broke his silence after just looking back and forth between the two themarians,
"You got attached to your experiments, mother? Did you get attached to me?"
"You… are not my experiment, Riley," an almost exasperated breath escaped from Diana's lips as she forced them into a smile, "You…
…you're just supposed to be the child of a loony, insane woman," Diana then breathed out as she approached Alice's body. She was about to touch Alice's face, but Aerith grabbed her wrist before she could do so.
"..." Riley slightly squinted his eyes as he felt himself almost being pulled towards Aerith's grip— No, it wasn't only him. It was almost as if the entire hall itself and everything in it started to distort and bend towards her hand.
"Relax, Aerith," Diana, however, only shook her head, "I didn't come here to fight."
"..."
"..."
And after what seemed like an eternity, the hall returned to its peaceful and still state; with Aerith letting go of Diana's hand.
"I do not get it, mother," and as soon as everything returned to normal, Riley also stood close to Alice's body, "You met Alice in prison, correct?"
"Yes," Diana giggled, "I met her there— a unique individual even amongst the inhabitants of this world. Since you know about that part already, I suppose you also know about the experiments I conducted in the prison?"
"I suppose, but not entirely."
"Alice is not a part of that experiment," Diana quickly said as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "But she knew about it… and she didn't care. She said they were criminals anyway, at least they would be useful for a science project."
"..."
"That's what she called it," Diana once again chuckled, "A science project."
"And what is this science project, mother?"
"..." Diana did not answer Riley just quite yet, and instead turned to look at Aerith first, before once again focusing on Riley; her eyes, almost glistening as she once again looked him in the eyes,
"I am creating a race that is stronger than the Themarians."
"...Why?" Riley tilted his head.
"Because she's insane," Aerith scoffed.
"Because the universe has stopped moving," Diana raised her voice as she once again raised her hands, her eyes looking around at the silver hall almost as if she was seeing past them.
And maybe they were, as Riley could somewhat see the reflection of the universe in her eyes. Not entirely and not literally, of course-- but that is what it seemed like.
Diana always had this kind of gaze in her eyes-- ever since he was little, her eyes always told Riley that out of all the people in their house... she was the one who knew most.
Riley thought it was just how mothers are. Because as Bernard explained to him, even if he is right, Diana will never be wrong.
And now, Riley understands why.
"The universe has become stagnant. The hierarchy, unchanged for eons."
"..."
"The Themarians are the undisputed strongest in the entire universe, Riley. And because of that, we have not evolved past what I— what we should all consider our primal instincts. I am certain there is more to us… but right now, you are looking at it, Riley…"
Diana then suddenly backed away, before standing beside Aerith and stretching her arms to the side,
"We are it. You are looking at the strongest beings in the entire universe. Do you think you have seen what Aerith could truly do? Has she told you what happened during our battle?"
"Caitlain. He—"
"We erased an entire system, a galaxy."
"An empty galaxy," Aerith quickly said as she looked at Riley.
"A galaxy that has the potential for life," Diana also turned to look at Riley, "What I am trying to tell you is that we are it. We are the strongest beings in the entire universe."
"...Even amongst these so-called Higher Races?" Riley tilted his head.
"Even amongst them," Diana smiled, "There are those that are faster than us, there are those that are smarter, larger… but no one more powerful. Megawoman is not just the Earth's mightiest superhero— she is also one of the universe's mightiest warriors…
…We are the pinnacle of the universe, Riley. Simple and efficient, and so therefore utterly boring."
"And apparently insane. Are you done with your villain's monologue?" Aerith scoffed as she walked towards Riley and stood beside him, "I'm sorry, Riley. If you were expecting some sort of grand scheme, you'll be luckier with the humans. I told you before…
…themarians just tend to be all psychopaths."
"...I actually just wanted to ask a question," Riley casually said as he looked back and forth between Aerith and Diana.
"Pft," Diana once again giggled as she heard Riley's words, "I… suppose you want to know what really happened to her, why she did what she did?"
"Not really," Riley shook his head, "It already happened. I was just curious about one thing— I have seen her once in my vision, perhaps a dream but not exactly. I thought I was initially going insane because it apparently runs in the family. But now… is it because she is actually alive and is reaching out to me, mother?"
"She… appears in your vision?" Diana once again quickly wore her glasses as she looked at Alice, "That is… interesting. But it makes sense, the two of you are connected."
"Hm?"
"I told you, Riley. You are not my experiment. If anything, you could be considered as her experiment," Diana said as she looked at Alice's face, "Not in a literal sense, of course. She just wanted a child for some reason. I assume you've heard I injected her with something?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "A sort of IVF."
"Well, it didn't come from me…
…everything is from her."
Chapter 389"You… want to do what?"
"Pregnancy. I want a baby."
Almost 2 decades ago, in a small cafe somewhere in the world, Diana almost spilled the coffee she was drinking; the disbelief in her eyes, almost visible even through the sunglasses she was wearing as she stared at the woman sitting opposite her— a being born of chaos itself…
…Alice Lane.
"Why… are you even telling me this?" Diana could really only sigh; taking another sip of her coffee and swallowing it before Alice says something ridiculous again.
"Because I want to do it because of you," Alice then said as she placed both her palms on the table.
"...What?"
"You've always told me stories about your baby girl… and I've seen how happy you are with just the slight mention of her name. That's the only time I see you like that, you know. So…
…I want something like that as well," Alice's reflection on Diana's sunglasses remained still, only disappearing as Diana shook her head.
"An offspring is not a toy, Alice," Diana breathed out, "And you just got out of prison. You want another cage to surround you? Just live your youth while it is still there, you humans have very little of it."
"No," Alice also shook her head, "If I lived the entirety of my youth, then I would be too old to play with my son."
"You want a son?"
"Yes. And it will be the cutest baby in the world— no. It will be the cutest baby this entire universe will ever see."
Alice's words may seem like the words of a woman that did not know what she was getting into; words uttered by a madman— but Diana could feel her resolution with every breath that escapes her lips.
No one is going to stop her— and with that thought, Diana could really only sigh before finally placing her coffee on the table.
"Last I checked, you're not engaging in any sort of sexual relations, Alice."
"And I still don't," Alice scoffed, "I don't see the use for it."
"...You need to actually procreate to have a baby."
"No, I don't," Alice shook her head before pointing at Diana,
"I have you, my best friend that would do anything for me," she then let out a small chuckle as she stared Diana straight in the eyes.
"..."
"..."
"Yeah, no."
"Why not!?" And upon hearing Diana's stern rejection, Alice could really only stand up from her seat; lightly slamming her palms on the table as she did so, "You've done it to the female prisoners of the Supermax!"
"That's a completely different procedure with no regard to the subject's life," Diana once again took a sip of her coffee as she gestured to Alice to sit back down, "I mix all sorts of different stands from different species. 90% of them are unsuccessful."
"Really? You suck."
"...No," Diana sighed, "It's just not possible for both the child and the mother to survive. There is only one combination that both parties survive each time— themarians. But the offspring is just another normal human, except they get infected and become supers at a very early age."
"Like Hannah."
"Like Hannah," Diana smiled as her head nodded on its own.
"What about the rest of the 10% that aren't themarians?"
"Dead, I killed them myself," Diana once again took a sip of her coffee.
"..."
"..."
"Eh, it doesn't matter, I guess," Alice shrugged before finally returning to her seat, "What species and races do you have there? Put the most beautiful and cutest one inside me, and I'll be set."
"...Do you really not understand the gravity of what you're asking me?"
"What's gravity to a woman that could enslave it?"
"Wow, you practiced that line?" Diana could not help but let out a small giggle as she heard Alice's words. But although Diana was slightly amused with her statement— it was true. Alice was a completely different existence from the rest of the inhabitants of this planet, a human with strength comparable with the Higher Races… comparable with the Themarians.
The only other being that she considers equal to her.
People might see Alice as mad, an adult that never really grew up, a prankster— but this woman could probably crush the entire planet with a single bat of her eyelids.
"Come on, D. Just give me a list of aliens and I'll just pick them out personally."
"..."
"..."
"...I'm not going to be able to stop you, am I?"
"Only if you kill me."
"I might not need to, the pregnancy might beat me to it."
"Me? I won't die."
Alice once again stood up… this time on top of the table; completely spilling whatever was left of Diana's cup.
"It says so on my superhero name, Ms. Phoenix," Alice then took in a deep breath as she crossed her arms, "I will catch death before it catches me."
"Phoenix die, Alice. They just resurrect."
"W… What?" Alice slowly lowered her arms as she heard Diana's words, "What the fuck? Mama told me they were immortal."
"They are, in a sense."
"...Wait, do you have a phoenix's DNA?" Alice's eyes almost glistened as she sat at the table.
"They're not real, Alice," Diana sighed.
"Well do you have any other species that could revive if they die!?" Alice then grabbed Diana's shoulders; the light in her eyes almost piercing through Diana's sunglasses.
"Yes."
"What is it!?"
"Themarians."
"That's fucking boring," Alice rolled her eyes before leaping from the table, "And you guys die, you're just hard to kill. Come on, just show me a list of aliens so I can pick already."
"...Fine."
And as soon as Diana said that, she disappeared, leaving only a set of coins twirling on the table and a squeaking cafe door.
"Pft," Alice didn't seem to mind Diana's sudden disappearance, however, as a small smirk appeared on her face before she flew up… creating a hole in the cafe's ceiling as she followed Diana, who was already flying through the skies.
"Where are we going?"
"Arlington Cemetery."
"Shouldn't we go faster, then? You and I both need to go home," Alice said as she increased her speed to fly beside Diana.
"No, any faster and a child will come snooping around."
"...Megawoman?"
"..."
"You still haven't told me why she's searching for you."
"Because I am an intergalactic criminal?"
"...Cool," Alice breathed out, "What did you do?"
"I committed genocide here and there."
"Fuck me… that's some heavy stuff."
"..." Diana could really only glance as she heard Alice's response, before letting out a small chuckle and nodding her head,
"It is. I… still carry those deaths with me."
It took a few hours, but Alice and Diana finally found themselves inside the exact same ship Riley would be in 2 decades later. And like it was and would be in the future, the ship was… immaculate. Devoid of any furniture, devoid of anything, really. Just walls, a ceiling, and a floor.
"I… was expecting some creepy Frankenstein stuff, but your lab is even cleaner than mama's bathroom."
"Because this isn't my lab, it's my ship. And Frankenstein's lab is in Europe."
"Wait… Dr. Frankenstein was a real person?"
"Who do you think it was?" Diana smirked.
"No fucking way," Alice's eyes started to widen, "You!?"
"I've been here for thousands of years and assumed many names," Diana's voice was almost proud.
"I know, you're old as hell," Alice burst out in laughter, "Oh man, I hope you don't leave before my son gets married."
"...Right," Diana shook her head before raising her hand. And as soon as she did so, several screens started emerging from the empty silver walls— their images, holographic.
"Holy… This is some next-generation 3D stuff," Alice said as she tried touching the images floating around her.
"Anna, show me the DNA Library."
"Anna? What—"
And before Alice could even wonder what Diana was suddenly saying, several… creatures and people suddenly appeared around them— the different races of the universe.
"What the fuck is that!?"
And almost instantly, Alice found herself pointing at one of the races.
"Is… is that a fucking planet beside it!?"
"It's a Nunlius— universally known as the Messengers," Diana said as she stood beside the hologram, "The only one left of the Ancient Races. Well, there is only a handful of them left, so they would be extinct soon."
"They… are as large as Earth?"
"One of them is even bigger," Diana smiled as she saw the look of shock and awe in Alice's eyes.
"Fuck…"
Alice's stuttered chuckles echoed throughout the silver room as she covered her mouth,
"Them," Alice then said before taking in a big gulp, "I want you to put one of those inside me."
"...No," Diana raised an eyebrow; this time, it was her who was in awe, "The last try I placed a Messenger's DNA in a human, it opened its mother from the inside— I had to squash it before it could grow bigger."
"Damn," Alice blinked a couple of times before moving on. Her eyes, scanning each nook and cranny of every race around her.
"This one looks like a penis."
"..."
"That's a fish."
"What the… this one looks like Bulwark! I knew that guy was an alien the first time I saw— Nevermind, it doesn't have a nose."
"..." Diana could really only sigh as she followed behind Alice. But after what seemed like an entire hour, Diana grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her towards a certain race,
"How about them?"
"...Aren't they just humans with fancy hair?" Alice squinted her eyes as she looked at the race Diana was pointing to, only to see a pair of silver-haired humans; their entire body, blanketed with some sort of glowing tattoo.
"No, they are descendants of a god, in a sense…
…the Evaniels."
Chapter 390"They are a descendant of a god, in a sense."
Diana then stretched her arms to the side, enlarging the images of the human-looking race. There were also holographic videos, seemingly showing their way of life and planet.
"They are called the Evaniels. One of the Higher Races— all of them inherently have silver hair. As for the tattoos, you'd be surprised that it is also part of their biology. The tattoos are made of their blood, which becomes sort of like ink that sticks and etches through their skin as they grow—"
"Wait, hold up…"
"..."
Diana quickly leaned her head back; letting out a small grunt as Alice suddenly placed her finger on her lips— No, she didn't just place it, Diana could even taste her finger as she practically plugged it inside her mouth. But alas, Diana couldn't really utter a complaint as she saw the raw wave of curiosity in Alice's eyes.
"...Gods are real?" A small smile then appeared on Alice's face as she glanced at Diana.
"In a sense," Diana just shrugged her shoulders, before closing the information on the Evaniels, "A 'god' is just a term for ancient beings that could destroy a galaxy with just a single breath; inversely, they could also create one with just a single step."
"And suddenly the power levels become wack," Alice let out a playful scoff, "If the humans knew of this, they would probably be shitting their pants right about now."
"And you won't?"
"I already have," Alice said as she leaned even closer to the silver-haired race, "You think I could kill one of those?"
"The Evaniels? Most probably," Diana said as she also glanced at the hologram, "They are fast, but you are capable of shielding yourself if ever I hurl the sun at you."
"No, that's boring," Alice scoffed, "I mean do you think I could take on their ancestor?"
"A god?" Diana let out a small giggle,
"It is rumored in their history and archives that their ancestor could travel to the end of the universe and back in just a blink of an eye. You, and even I, wouldn't even know what hit us. Well, granted if it is even true— history tends to be an exaggeration of actual events. It is rumored that the ancestor of the Themarians could flick a finger, and entire galaxies would bend to his will, literally. I would say that is—"
"Blah, blah, blah," Alice scoffed and rolled her eyes, "These Evaniels, are they stronger than the Themarians?"
"Oh, they are fast— extremely so," Diana smirked and shook her head, "But Themarians would win the fight a hundred times out of a hundred. I snapped one of them in half when I was around Aerith's age. Of course, a war broke down, but it is how it—"
"You talk a lot for someone who is probably tens of thousands of years old."
"The older you get the more talkative you are," Diana giggled, "The same is true for humans. Have you ever met anyone that is above 80 years old that wouldn't stop talking unless you leave?"
"Come to think of it… Wait, never mind that!" Alice waved her hands as she finally walked away from the images of the Evaniels, "If these silver-haired fucks are weaker than Themarians, then I am not interested in them. Show me a race that is actually strong!"
"Well…" Diana let out a tiny scoff as she raised her hand, "...then that narrows and filters the selection quite a bit."
And soon, the holograms started disappearing one by one; the light in the silver hall, once again returning as the colors of the holograms faded away from Alice's eyes— all of them, gone. And all that was left in her eyes was the reflection of Diana's silhouette.
"No one is stronger than us," Diana smiled as she stretched her arms to the side, "We are it."
"..." Alice could really only look Diana straight in the eyes. Although it might seem boastful and even arrogant, she knew Diana's claims were not false. Soon, however, as she got deeper into Diana's eyes… Alice saw a reflection.
And very slowly, she stepped closer to Diana; her face, almost leaning towards Diana's face and causing her to slightly take a step back.
"...What are you doing now?" Diana breathed out as Alice continued to stare her straight in the eyes.
"I know what DNA strand thingamajig I want now…" Alice smiled,
"...Mine."
"...What?"
"Splice my DNA or whatever you call it so I could impregnate myself."
"..." Diana was about to ask if Alice was crazy, but that has already been established the very first day she met her a few years ago,
"That would lead to many complications," and so, the only thing that Diana could really do was go along with whatever weird ideas she had, "Birth defects, anomalies— and the worst part? The baby would have nothing to inherit but… you."
"I call that a win!" Alice then let out a breathy chuckle as she grabbed Diana's shoulders, "Imagine, a baby that carries my genes and my genes alone! It would be the cutest and strongest baby in the entire universe!"
"Didn't you hear what I just said? It would lead to many complications," Diana raised an eyebrow as she removed herself from Alice's grasp.
"Then science the shit out of it, isn't that what you do!?"
"..."
"..."
"Let's say I do this for you…" Diana rolled her eyes as she started walking away, with Alice of course being a tail, "...It would just create a normal human. He might not even be susceptible to the Super strand."
"Trust me, D. It will be the strongest baby in the entire universe."
"I might as well just make you a clone, that would be easier," Diana sighed and shook her head.
"No, it needs to come out of my vagina."
"..." Diana could really only look at Alice, before once again shaking her head, "When do you want it?"
"...Now?"
"..."
"..."
Diana was invited to have coffee by Alice. It was supposed to just be a casual meeting between the two since they haven't met in person for a while ever since Alice got out of prison— but to think the meeting would be the very thing that changes things for the both of them for the rest of their lives, even Diana.
Because less than a year later, Riley was born.
"Say hello to grandma, my cute little Lucifer!"
"No! I already told you that you can't name your son that!"
Inside a hospital room, just a few moments after she gave birth, Alice was gently cradling the extremely pale baby in her arms; his skin was as if one could already see his pink flesh. It didn't matter to Alice that he looked weird, or that he wasn't normal.
He wasn't supposed to be— he is the most special baby in the world.
"..." And Charlotte saw that— she saw the way her daughter looked at her son. And right there and then, she knew that Alice would forever change,
"Let's… leave them for a few minutes," Charlotte then gestured to the doctor that was in the room; both of them, quietly stepping out and leaving Alice some time with her baby alone.
But as soon a few seconds after they did so, the door once again opened— with a nurse suddenly stepping inside the room unannounced and just casually standing beside Alice's bed.
"Do you want to hold him?" Alice, however, only smiled; not even looking at the nurse… who turned out to be Diana.
"...No." And although the tone of Diana's voice was stern, there was still a little warmth that could be heard seeping from her lips as she stared at the pale baby, "Are you really going to name him Lucifer?"
"...Why not?" Alice giggled as she gently caressed her son's cheeks.
"He's going to get bullied in school."
"Please, you named your daughter after your ship."
"..."
"..."
"Pft."
Alice then quickly covered her mouth as she tried to suppress the laughter that was trying to come out of it.
"..." Diana could really only shake her head and sigh, before sitting beside Alice and looking at the baby in her arms, "Your son has macrostomia, and and an absence of melanin. It's nothing that we can't fix. It's common to have complications since no procedure is perfect…
…But I have to say, even with those conditions, he looks quite—"
"What are you talking about? He's perfect," Alice only shook her head as she continued to stare at her baby, "What… do you think I should name him?"
"That's a decision only you can make. Name him Lucifer if you want… after all, by all definition— you are his only parent, no one else."
"Hm, you heard that my little…" Alice continued to stare at her baby's face,
"...my little Riley. You came from me and me alone. And I will not let anything in this world hurt you…
…nothing in this world will hurt you."
A small tear then slowly emerged from Alice's eye as she caressed Riley's face. Her lips, almost trembling at the thought of her baby being harmed.
"You were right, Diana," Alice breathed out as she glanced at Diana, "This… this is different. It… it changes everything."
"Hm," Diana only smiled and nodded. But after a few seconds, the smile on her face completely faded away; replaced with furrowed eyebrows.
"...What's wrong?"
"There's… something you should know."
"Is it bad news? Whatever it is, it can wait," Alice chuckled.
"It can't," Diana shook her head as she held Alice's hand, "It's already been waiting for months."
"...Hm?" Alice could really only blink a couple of times as she heard the slight shift of Diana's voice.
"When… I tested your blood and spinal fluids, my ship detected an abnormality."
"...What's new?" Alice let out a sigh of relief as she heard Diana's words, "We both knew there was something wrong with—"
"You're going to develop Alzheimer's."
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
Chapter 391"You're going to have Alzheimer's."
"..."
"..."
"It's already starting. Approximately 6 months from now, you will start experiencing the signs."
Alice could really only hear a single thing— her son's weak and tiny breaths. Judging by the movement of Diana's lips, words were still coming out of her mouth; but none of them seemed to reach Alice's ears. It was only her son… her son was the only one she was hearing.
The tiny vocal pouts, his lips that were puckering and clicking— those were the only sounds that Alice was allowing herself to hear. And almost as if her future flashed before her, all sorts of images entered her mind.
Riley's first steps; his cry as he learns the very first lesson of pain in his life. His first words— Alice always imagined it would be something that would piss her mother off. Maybe a curse word?
His first day of school… and if she was anything like his mother, then he probably wouldn't last long; or more specifically, the others won't last long with him.
But she… she would stand by Riley no matter what, holding his hand in every step he makes; good or bad, she would be there to guide him to a path he likes.
He's going to have his first crush, his first love, his first heartbreak— and then eventually, Alice will stand by his son's side for the very last time as he marries the person he would be spending the rest of his time with. She always imagined it would be Diana's daughter, that's why she wanted a son in the first place.
And there and then, Alice can finally let go of her baby's arm.
What happens after that, well… that's up to Riley.
"..."
"..."
"...What?" And after a second of this filtered silence has passed, Alice finally turned her eyes to Diana; a whistle, almost piercing her ears as the words bombarded her.
But still, even with the reality of the world returned to her, she chose to ignore any and each of the words that were coming out of Diana's mouth as she let out a… chuckle.
"Alzheimer's… pft," Alice shook her head as she gently caressed Riley's face, "Did you hear your godmother's words? I wish you could already respond so I can have someone to laugh with."
"This is serious, Alice." Diana stood up from the bed, before dragging a chair closer so her eyes could be at the same level as Alice's.
"Yeah, right. When's the punchline?"
"What?"
"You and I both know that you could easily science my brain and fuck up whatever is causing this Alzheimer's bullshit," Alice shook her head, "You can just—"
"I can't."
"You can just do some—"
"I ca—"
"What do you mean you can't!?" Alice then let go of Riley; who still remained floating close to her bosom, before very slowly and gently floating towards the crib next to her bed, "You can fucking mix and create different DNAs of different races like some sort of drug dealer but you can't prevent a disease that's supposed to be for old people!? What the fuck are you telling me!?"
"I…" Diana let Alice's breaths calm down before she looked her in the eyes again, "I could probably prevent it…"
"Then why don't you!?"
"I could probably prevent it and even cure it… if you were a normal human," Diana closed her eyes, "...I just need another with the same exact condition as you so the ship could pinpoint what exactly we need to remove. It needs to have a precedent or a part—"
"Then let's abduct a super from a mental institution!"
"That's… the problem, Alice," Diana opened her eyes; the reflection on them, landing on Riley's crib, "...Supers are uniquely different from each other, right down to the deepest parts of their DNA. Even if there was another super that has dementia, their… inner workings would be quite different from you…
…I can't prevent you from falling to this illness."
"..."
"..."
Alice didn't really know what to say as she just turned around to look at Riley.
"You… you should have told me before Riley was born. Why… why would you even allow me to have a child if… if I'm not even going to be there for him?"
"I… can accelerate his growth if you want to. You can still experi—"
"Get the fuck out."
"Alice, I—"
And before Diana could finish her words, several clangs and thuds started to whisper in the air; the floor beneath them and the IV bag beside Alice's bed, also soon started to tremble violently— No, it wasn't just the room; not just the hospital… not even just the neighborhood they were in.
The entire world felt a tremble that very moment.
"Get the fuck out or I will fucking destroy this very planet you consider a treasure."
"..." Diana could really only let out a sigh as all the objects in the room started to float, all except the crip holding Riley,
"I… truly am sorry, Alice. And I… I'm always here if you need to find me."
"I don't."
And with those words, Diana disappeared from the room; leaving only a torturing silence as the trembling world finally calmed down. This torturing silence, however, completely faded away as a cry whispered to Alice's ears.
"Riley!" Alice quickly rushed towards Riley, leaping over the bed as she gently lifted him up from the crib, "It's okay… it's okay, don't cry…"
"Don't… don't cry," Alice whispered as she cradled Riley; her breaths, stuttering almost erratically, "It's alright… don't… don't cry."
And soon, tears started to trail across Alice's cheeks; falling, but never reaching Riley as she prevented them from doing so. These floating pebbles of water between her and her son were not tears, but a vow.
A vow that no matter how short, no matter if the sands of time were trickling down quickly— sadness will never fall on Riley. She will make sure of it… her time together with Riley will only be filled with moments of happiness.
"It's okay… Mommy…
…will always be here."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I'm starting to see things, D. Things that aren't there… things that have already happened."
And Alice did fill Riley's world with happiness for as long as she could. But too short, it was too short. 2 years felt like a blink of an eye— no… if it was a blink, then at least Alice could have probably stopped it by just closing her eyes forever. But no, as all things… it was inevitable.
And Alice, for the first time in two years, met with Diana again.
"Just… just last night, I almost drowned Riley in the tub," Alice's voice was weak, almost a cracking whisper as her eyes couldn't even look at Diana as the two of them were once again in the very cafe that Alice's decision changed everything,
"I… I forgot I… I put him there because it was his bathtime and I… I laid…. I laid down in the tub because I thought I…
…he was under me in the water, D. For… for almost 5 seconds, I…"
"..." Diana couldn't really say anything. Because she knew anything she would say meant nothing— she knew that now because she too, started to change. Hannah was just supposed to be another project for her, a fun curiosity of leisure.
But when Riley was born, Diana also tried what it would be like to actually… try and be a mother— to know why Alice was dearly clinging to it. And now she knew… children are a weakness, a bane to her existence, a mistake. But even then, for a reason that Diana couldn't explain herself…
…she just knew that she would do anything to protect her.
"I need you to take care of Riley once I'm gone."
"...What? You're not dying, Alice."
"I am, I need to," the tone of Alice's voice did not waver as she looked Diana straight in the eyes, "I'm dangerous, D. I can feel it, soon I'll start losing my mind completely. I might accidentally destroy this world, but that's not the thing I am worried about. This weird fucking planet could go fuck itself— I don't want to hurt my son again."
"Alice, that—"
"Promise me. Fucking promise me that you will take care of him like he is your own— No. He is your son as much as mine, we… we made him together."
"I… I didn't create him, Alice. He—"
"Promise me…
…promise me that you would take care of him."
"..."
"..."
"And then not even a week after that, Alice died."
"Do you seriously think we would believe you? That what… Alice really was just crazy and tried to kill his son?"
"Mentally ill, please use the proper term."
Back in the Mur Lav'ir inside Diana's ship, the breaths that were echoing through the silver hall were heavy— almost enough to be an entire mountain. The gazes of everyone in the room, however, were all completely different from each other.
Aerith's was of disbelief.
Diana's was of mourning and regret.
Riley's was… just looking back and forth.
"You can't expect us to believe that," Aerith scoffed; her hand, just gently placed on Riley's back.
"I don't expect anything at all. I just… want Riley to know what really happened. It wasn't because she hated you, it wasn't because she saw you as a monster. She was just…
…sick– of unsound mind. That is all it ever was."
"And what about Riley!?"
"What about my son?" Diana muttered as she once again looked Riley in the eyes.
"Why… why is he like this?"
"..." Riley slightly squinted his eyes and leaned away as he heard Aerith's words.
"I… I mean why did he become… a murdering sociopath?" Aerith couldn't really find any words to soften what Riley is, "You did something to him. Maybe placed a strand of the other savage races and—"
"...No. The only thing I did was make it possible for him to be born."
"..." Riley still didn't say anything as he just returned Diana's stares.
"...What?" Aerith squinted her eyes as her head slowly turned towards Riley.
"Believe it or not, child. The world doesn't revolve around me or you. Things can just… happen. Things that we can't control." Diana sighed before once again facing Alice's body, "I wish I could take credit, but no. It's just unexplainable. It is…
…just what it is."
"Are you telling me that Riley is—"
"Just like her mother," Diana let out a small smile as she gently brushed her hand on Alice's cheek,
"Sometimes the universe just has a way of making things… weird. Planets just dying without reason, galaxies popping out of nowhere. And sometimes, if something aligns just at the right or wrong time. Something is born...
...No grand scheme, no secrets, no one spinning the wheels or holding the threads.
Alice and Riley—
—the ultimate freaks of nature."
Chapter 392"Alice and Riley…
…the ultimate freaks of nature."
"..."
"..."
"..."
A second.
A minute.
An entire hour.
An entire hour had passed, and none of the three titans opened their mouths. Perhaps the three of them were just waiting for something to happen, or for someone to just do anything in this quiet silver hall.
Aerith had always imagined what this moment would finally be like— she always imagined it would be a huge battle between her and Diana. But after the story she just told, it felt like the best thing to do right now was just to… remain silent.
Diana already willingly showed herself, fully knowing well that Aerith would cling to her from now on no matter what. It doesn't matter if she attacked her now or later, Aerith was never going to leave Diana's side from now on. And when she gets the chance to attack, she would.
A week, a month, a year? Even if a hundred years have passed, it doesn't really matter. But fighting her now would only lead to the death of more innocent.
"Interesting."
And finally, after only their breaths echoed through the air, someone broke the almost sacred silence they had. And surprisingly, it was Riley Ross who opened his mouth.
"But it really doesn't change anything," Riley then started stepping toward his two mothers.
"It changes everything, Riley," Diana shook her head as she moved to the side, "You've… always seen yourself as a monster, you're not."
"Oh, but I am," a small smile slowly crawled on Riley's face as he stood in front of Alice's body, "No. In fact, if your story is true— then that makes me even more of a monster. My existence… is a mistake."
"You're not a mistake, Riley," Diana sighed, "You're our son."
"..." Aerith could really only squint her eyes as she heard Diana's words. Was… this another one of her mind games? No, she wasn't one to manipulate in the first place. She pretends, yes— but manipulation isn't her style. If anything, that's more of Riley's.
"Hm," Riley nodded, "Be that as it may, I don't really like people inside my head, so…
…I think mother should stay dead."
And with those words, Riley very slowly raised his hand. Little Riley, who had been resting this whole time on Alice's stomach, could not help but stand up— quickly flying towards Riley's palm almost as if he was trying to push it away.
"S… stop. This is mother!" Little Riley muttered.
"..." Riley completely ignored Little Riley, however, as he raised his other hand. But as soon as he did so, he could suddenly fill a grip on his arm— no, on both his arms.
"..." Riley turned his head left to right, only to see both Aerith and Diana grabbing each of his arms.
"What are you doing, Riley!?" Aerith loudly whispered, "That's your mother!"
"She is," Riley nodded as he looked at Aerith, "And she is dead. There is no reason for her to—"
And before Riley could finish his words, his cheeks slightly sunk in as Diana suddenly grabbed his face and turned it towards her,
"Listen, Riley. It's only a matter of time now for Alice to resurrect— no. She's already alive, all she needs is to wake up," Diana stated, "The visions you saw of her, we are not even sure if that really is your mother trying to connect with you…
…or if you're suffering the same condition as her. What she had, started with her and it could be hereditary."
"Well, mother…" Riley let out a small sigh as he leaned his head away, "That's the difference between Alice and me— I have always known I was heading for madness. And also…
…You left Hannah alone."
"That—"
"That seems to be the theme for Themarians," Riley chuckled, "Leaving their offspring all on their own to chase their goals. Gary, Hannah. I suppose since the two of you live for a thousand years, you can always make more, no?"
"Themarians can only give birth once," Diana's voice became quiet, "Theoretically, we could have more— but it would take tens of thousands of years until then."
"Oh, so Aerith and I can't have a child?"
"What?"
"...What?" Aerith raised an eyebrow.
"Unfortunate," Riley sighed and shook his head, "But I suppose that's just how it is. But do you know what I find funny?"
"..."
"Both of you probably know that whatever I do with my hands…" Riley muttered as he started waving his hands, "...they're all just theatrics."
"Anna, get us to orbit now!"
The lights in the silver hall started to flicker as soon as Diana's words echoed through the hall— all of them could feel a little tumble in the air, but that was it. And as soon as Diana realized the ship wasn't moving, her eyes quickly fell onto Riley.
"Do you know what my advantage is if the three of us start fighting?"
And very slowly, the smile on Riley's face reached from ear to ear as his head lazily swiveled between Diana and Aerith, "The two of you, one way or another, seem to love Earth…
…I don't."
"!!!"
Riley then suddenly stepped forward— ripping off both his arms in the process.
"This will be fun, no?" Riley then whispered as his arms quickly grew back, "I always wanted to experience what it would be like to do it with two Themarians."
"Wh—"
"Riley! When did you start learning this kind of language!?"
And for the very first time, Diana raised her voice as her eyes glowed in red, "And I'm your mother!"
"That's funny," Riley suddenly burst out in laughter, "Alice, Diana, and Aerith— the three of you were my mothers at different times."
"Huh?" Diana raised an eyebrow as she gently dropped her son's arm to the ground, before looking at Aerith with a confused expression on her face. As for Little Riley, he once again floated towards Alice, going into a fighting stance as he stared at his creator.
"It's… a long story. And I'm not on your side, Caitlain!" Aerith moved away from Diana, "But for now…
…you're not the threat," she then said as she looked back towards Riley, "Why are you doing something like this, boy? We're supposed to just leave this planet, didn't you want to explore the universe?"
"You keep forgetting, Aerith. No matter what past I have, no matter if something is wrong with me or not, no matter if I was once loved or not…
…I am the big bad evil in this story."
And with those words, Riley's eyes also glowed in red as his feet started to leave the silver floor,
"And now I know why—
—the universe itself wills it to be."
"Fuck, Diana…" Aerith furrowed her eyebrows, "...your story had a different effect."
"Well… my son is special," Diana let out a small chuckle, "But perhaps it's time to remind him of something…
…I'm still your mother, young man!"
"!!!"
Riley found his vision suddenly turning dark, before starting to feel his head almost being pulled off his body as Diana flew up— not even caring about her ship as she went through the tunnel leading to the surface… while grabbing Riley on the face.
"What the…"
And as soon as they reached the surface, Angela quickly widened her eyes as she just saw something spinning in the air— and afterward, she saw Riley being catapulted towards the sky.
"D… Diana!?" Angela quickly raised her sword, but Diana completely ignored her as she flew towards the sky to follow her son. And before Angela could even be confused, Aerith came out of the hole.
"Call Empress, tell her to declare Threat Level: Riley Ross."
"Wait… what? What's going on!? There's no threat level like that!"
"There is now," Aerith then said, before almost blowing Angela and the Pope away as she flew up.
"What's—" And once again, before Angela could ask, the ground started to tremble, "Fuck!"
She then quickly lifted the Pope and leaped away, and it was a good thing she did so when she did— as what followed was Diana's ship violently emerging from the ground, before also shooting towards the sky.
"God damn it!" Angela could only curse,
"I told you that kid is Satan incarnate!" She then pointed her finger at the Pope, before she started dialing Empress's number on her phone. Before the call could connect, however, the Pope covered her hand.
"If Riley wanted us dead, we would have already been dead," the Pope then whispered,
"The thing with the Devil is, we are all just playing his game…" He then looked towards the sky, "...and even if you call Empress, what do you think anyone could do with that? The world is already in distress as it is, they don't need to know… Let the people hope that—"
"Ah, shut the fuck up, dad!"
"..."
***
"Fuck!"
Back in Toronto, everyone rushed out of Empress's tent as she suddenly burst out in a fit of rage— destroying not only the phone she just finished using, but also the table in front of her.
"This stupid fucking planet is cursed! Can't it just rest from all the fucking tragedies!?"
"I take it the call you received is another bad news?" Butcher, the only other person left in the tent, could really only rub his bald head; as the reason why the table was destroyed in the first place was that it hit his head as Empress flipped it.
"100— no, one fucking million percent it's bad news! We just finished dealing with all this terrorist bullshit!"
"Technically, Riley Ross was the one to end it."
"Oh, is that right?" Empress nodded her head and laughed, "You know what else he is about to end today?"
"..."
"The entire fucking planet!"
Chapter 393"You shouldn't have come back, Aerith."
"I needed to arrest you for what you have done and to prevent you from doing whatever the hell it is you're still trying to do."
"No. What you should have done was get my son far away from this. You should have just let him roam free."
"And release a planet-eating entity out into the wild? Yeah, no. That's not going to happen, grandma."
"You seem to have adapted the way humans talk."
"Didn't you?"
Aerith and Diana were currently in space, meters apart; but talking as if they were just in each other's ears. And in front of them…
…was Riley Ross.
His long black hair, almost merging with the darkness of the expanse of space— even his eyes felt like one would go through if one were to stare long enough. Whatever serum or pills Aerith made him drink to change their color, it was probably not a coincidence that they shared the color of the universe.
Dark, desolate, and lonely.
And add that to his pale white skin, it was almost as if he was a ghost— and he might as well be.
And while Diana and Aerith were talking, Riley's eyes followed Diana's ship as it exited the Earth's atmosphere. He was about to pull it closer to him, but before he could do so— Diana once again grabbed his face; this time, she came from behind and immediately kneed Riley right on the buttocks, causing him to fly away straight towards Aerith.
"We're going to grant your wish, Riley. You wanted a threesome? Here you go!"
Aerith closed her fist, and as she did so, it was almost as if a vacuum started to whirl; the darkness around her started to distort. And without a small smirk, she punched the plunging Riley right on the stomach.
Riley's body instantly folded in two and stayed there for a good second before once again being propelled far… far away.
Riley's eyes were completely empty as his body continued to fly through the darkness without any signs of slowing down; his hair, almost going wild as its strands danced and covered his face.
Very slowly, however, his hair that waved violently slowly started to become still as it revealed the growing smile on his face. No, it wasn't just growing… now, once could even see the insides of Riley's mouth and his teeth— once again, a face only a mother could probably love.
Riley's body then started to be surrounded by a cloak of fire, before his head slammed straight through the surface of Mars; the dust blanketing the red planet, quickly scattering and creating a massive cloud.
"..." Riley then very slowly got up, snapping his fingers to blow away all the dust that stuck to his silhouette… as well as kilometers of the red ground he was in. And as soon as he looked above, two other silhouettes were already floating in Mars' dead sky.
"And here I thought the two of you don't work together."
"We don't," Aerith then disappeared from her spot, appearing behind Diana with her foot already headed to Diana's head.
"Rude," Diana, however, did not even look back as she caught Aerith's ankle, before slamming her straight towards Riley… who just stepped to the side and let her plant her head through the planet.
"I much prefer the two of you working together, though," Riley then let out a small sigh before raising his foot. But before he could stomp it towards Aerith's back, she was already gone— once again floating beside Diana.
"Oh, why are you back here?" Diana quickly smirked.
"The kid is kinda creepy sometimes," Aerith sighed, "Let's put him to sleep for now before you and I settle our differen—"
And before Aerith could finish her words, they felt a rumbling whisper in the air. The two of them quickly looked towards Riley, only to see him with his eyes closed.
"I've never done this before," Riley then whispered,
"So if it gets messy, you guys can clean it."
And then, Riley opened his eyes… and almost as if the planet reflected his actions— Mars' eye also opened… at least that is what it looked like from Aerith and Diana's perspectives.
"Shit!" Aerith quickly dived down towards Riley— but before she could even get halfway…
…Mars completely opened up and split into two. It would have looked nothing spectacular from afar, it would have looked nothing at all from the view of the Earth.
But when you are there, right at the space that surrounded Mars, it felt like a wave. A colossal wave that one could never escape from as it filled one's horizon. This red… jaw was your sky, and it was also the sea that would swallow you.
It was a maw— that is exactly what it was as Riley seemed to have shaped the planet. The head of a bear that swallows everything… the ender of worlds.
"Fuck…
…what have you done, Riley!?"
Aerith, however, did not even blink at this. Instead, she even hastened her dive towards the mouth of this vicious and visceral behemoth— she didn't fly towards Riley, however, but past him, towards the growing orb of light at the throat of the world ender.
"I hate doing this," Aerith then stretched her arms to the side; the glow in her eyes, even brighter than the fiery colossal orb of red in front of her,
"I hate you, Riley!"
And with those words, the space around Aerith's palms once again distorted; the strands of her veins, also glowing as a crack could be heard coming from her bones. And then, with a release of her breath… she clapped her hands.
And then… there was nothing. Not even an explosion, just nothing. The growing light, also gone.
"..." Riley watched the entire scenario, with the debris of Mars still surrounding him, "That was amazing, Aerith."
"You shouldn't have done—"
And before she could even have the chance to speak… Mars was once again rebuilt— with her replacing the core that was destroyed.
"...Pft," Riley let out a small chuckle, before waving his hand and throwing the corpse of Mars further into the expanse of the galaxy. He then very slowly turned towards Diana, who just watched the entire scenario unfold.
"That's very bad, Riley."
"But it's funny."
"You just reduced the Earth's life expectancy. Without Mars, it is possible it will slowly gravitate away from its orbit, or worse, be pulled towards the sun."
"That's still a very long time from now, ten thousand years? More?" Riley just shrugged, "By then, I am sure Earth would have found its way out of this galaxy. There is so much to explore out there… Earth seems insignificant."
"Just because you've already traveled to another planet, you're already talking like this," Diana sighed and shook her head, "I knew Aerith would be a bad influence on you."
"Can I ask you a question, mother?"
"Hm?"
"Did you love father?"
"...In a way."
"Did you love Hannah?"
"Yes," Diana answered without any hesitation, "And I also love you, Riley. Believe me."
"Oh, I don't really care. But thank you, mother," Riley nodded, "And I do believe you."
"And you? Do you love me?"
"No, I don't know how to," Riley sighed, "Maybe you could do something to change that?"
"Hm, what about that Paige girl? The two of you seem to be getting along."
"Oh, I have taken quite a liking to her. She also likes Italian Mafia Reborn."
"...You're still watching that?"
"Yes, they are in their 12th season. But after what the House of Super did, it would probably take a while before the next season comes out."
"If you and this Paige somehow had a child together, what would you do?"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as their somewhat casual conversation was broken, "That is impossible. We have never engaged in sexual intercourse, and probably never will."
"What if you and Katherine had a child together, what would you do?"
"Ah, Katherine is alive?" Riley tilted his head, "...She's with you."
"..."
"Are you saying… that Katherine and I had a child together?"
"Hypothetical."
"Then hypothetically, I would kill the child."
"...Why?"
"What I am ends with me, mother."
"How would you know that your child would carry the same… burden as you?"
"Because as you said, I am the ultimate freak of nature," Riley smiled, "Everything I do and everything that comes from me would eventually lead to ruin…
…Alice, Katherine, Hannah, and eventually, Paige."
"You know, Riley… you really need to learn how to lighten up."
"Well—"
"You little brat!"
And finally, Aerith once again showed herself— this time, it was Riley that disappeared as she slammed her body straight towards his torso.
"Once we get out of this System, I'll feed you to the Locanos! And you!" Aerith then pointed toward Diana, "Why aren't you helping me restrain your little murder of evil!?"
"I thought you were supposed to by my captor? And he's my sweet little boy, I was never going to hurt him, Aerith," Diana only shrugged while letting out a small giggle,
"Keep it up, Aerith. My son seems to have taken a liking to you— maybe I could even be your mother-in-law in the future."
Hearing Diana's words, the only thing that Aerith could really do was let out a shrilling scream,
"Am I the only one normal here!? Seriously, you and Alice are probably the worst thing that happened to that boy!"
"Calm down, princess. It's unbefitting of you to shout like that."
"Don't call me that!" Aerith almost hissed as she glanced at Diana, before quickly turning her focus back to where Riley was thrown towards, "He just destroyed Mars, Diana. He—"
"..."
"..."
"...Why isn't he returning?" Aerith then said as she could no longer feel Riley's presence.
"I think he returned to Earth. Despite what he seems like, he doesn't like being scolded," Diana casually muttered as she floated near Aerith,
"Aren't you going to follow him?"
"..."
"..."
"No," Aerith scoffed as she glared at Diana, "You think I am going to let you out of my sight again?"
"Hm," Diana only shrugged.
"He has experienced how it is like fighting with Higher Races... He'll be bored with the humans soon enough, anyway. There's nothing left for him there…
...he'll find us."
"I don't know about that. He seems quite fond of the Earthers," Diana said as she looked towards the direction where Earth should be.
"Then you don't know your son as much as you do," Aerith scoffed, "But you and I? We…
…are going to have a very long talk."
"Well…" Diana smiled as she once again wore her glasses that came out from nowhere,
"…I need you for something anyway."
Chapter 394"So, what do you call a crocodile without a tail?"
"...What?"
"...A tailless crocodile."
"..."
"...That's not a joke, John."
Back in the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency, Paige currently had a confused expression on her face. She and the others have been trickling down the time by doing random things, and now just happened to be each of them telling jokes.
But alas, John— supposedly Riley's clone, has been telling… some sort of nonsense punchlines ever since they started. As for Ellie and her brother, the two could really only shake their heads as they looked at Paige, almost as if apologizing to her for every word that came out of John's mouth.
"Okay, what about this; The Pope, a terrorist, and a politician walked into a bar. The Pope— Boss!?"
"Huh?"
Everyone then suddenly turned their heads to the door as John suddenly stood up, only to see Riley stepping inside the building— his clothes completely tattered and his sleeves ripped off… his coat was basically drowned in blood.
And even his hair, which was always immaculate and without even a single strand loose, was now all over the place; with some even sticking to his face.
"Riley!?"
Paige quickly jumped from the sofa; wings, immediately flapping from behind her and propelling her straight towards Riley.
"Are… are you alright What happened!? Did one of those terrorists get to you!?"
"Just a little tired from… playing with two Themarians," Riley only waved his hand, before placing his hand on Paige's shoulder, "Can you blast me with soap and water?"
"Uh… sure?" Paige quickly took a step back, and without even another word from her, a shower of water suddenly emerged above Riley; almost like a waterfall as the violent drops hit his skin. This waterfall, however, just went straight through the floor— and even through his clothes.
It looked weird, however, as the blood on Riley's clothes became lighter and diluted, and very slowly washed away.
"Couldn't… you have just removed the dirt and blood with your abilities like usual?" Paige said as the water continued to bathe Riley's body,
"If I used my telekinesis now, I might accidentally do something you and Hannah wouldn't like," Riley said as he closed his eyes and turned his head up to the water.
"What?"
"If you lift something expecting it to be heavy, but it turns out it was not— and you just completely almost swing it up," Riley whispered, "It will take a few moments for me to adjust. This is the first time I stretched my telekinesis like this, Paige."
Riley then let out a long and deep breath as a subtle smile appeared on his face, "It's… quite fun. I can't kill Aerith and Diana since they both hold a place in my life… but I can't wait until we meet other themarians or the other Higher Races. This… this is going to be fun."
"Is… Riley alright?" Ellie, who was watching from afar as Riley started whispering to herself, could not help but slightly lean closer to John…
…only to see him in tears.
"Are you fucking crying!?"
"The Boss he…" John took in a huge breath as he sniffled, "I…I have never seen him so happy."
"...Ha?"
"What do you mean—"
And before Ellie could ask any more questions, the opening song of Italian Mafia Reborn rang in the air; with Riley slowly stepping out of the gushing water above him and answering his phone.
"Hello, Empress."
[What do you mean hello!?]
And even though Riley's phone was not on speakers, everyone in the lobby could hear her.
[You just killed all of our prisoners!]
"Hm?" Riley blinked a couple of times, before letting out a small hum and nodding his head, "Oh."
[Oh!? You just crushed the entire fucking building into a ball!]
"That was because I was fighting with Aerith and mother, Empress," Riley let out a small sigh, "This is embarrassing, this hasn't happened before. I probably accidentally crushed it when I destroyed Mars."
[You… what?]
Not only Empress, but Paige and the others could only look at each other as they heard Riley's words. Did… he just say he destroyed Mars?
[Is this what Crimson Paladin meant when she said it was the end of the world? Why did you and Aerith fight again!? And are you referring to Diana!?]
"Do you want me to explain everything that happened, Empress?"
[Of course!] Empress's loud breaths almost cracked Riley's phone, [I think I deserve to know if the whole planet's going to shit.]
"It already is, Empress. The House of Super killed more than a billion people," Riley clicked his tongue several times, "I wonder who this planet's leader is… so incompetent."
[...]
[...]
[...I am doing the best I could. I even asked help from your father.]
"Oh, I was joking, Empress. I think you are doing a fine job, all things considered."
[...Let's meet in the Academy in 6 hours. We have lots to discuss.]
And with those words, Empress hung up. Riley only shrugged his shoulders, before once again stepping inside the gushing water that still continued to shower out of nowhere.
As for Paige and Ellie, they finally knew why John's jokes were a bit off— they forgot whose image he was literally made from.
***
"...Let's meet in the Academy in 6 hours. We have lots to discuss."
"And so, are we safe from the gods walking around us?"
"...I think so."
Back in Toronto, Empress was still inside her tent; with Butcher standing behind her. When she received the call from Angela about something regarding Threat Level: Riley Ross, Empress quickly started dialing Riley's number.
She also tried calling Aerith, but neither were answering their phones. Empress still remained calm then, of course— but when the Aquarium literally folded into a ball, she instantly started to become nervous.
If Riley and Aerith were to suddenly fight seriously, along with Diana who was also a themarian— then Empress knew that whatever damage they received from the attacks of the House of Super would be like child's play compared to the aftermath of their battle.
And they were standing on the proof— Toronto.
The entire world would surely suffer the same fate. And the worst part of it all?
No one would be able to stop them.
The people of the world didn't know how close they were to actually cease to exist.
"Secretary-General Adaeze, they are ready for you."
"Hm? Fuck, I completely forgot about that," Empress could not help but let out a deep sigh as someone entered the tent.
"You will be alright, Empress," Butcher placed his hand on Empress's shoulder, "Just pour your heart out a hundred percent."
"..."
"..."
"...That's a bit corny," Empress scoffed, before stepping outside the tent— and as soon as she did so, an almost endless flashing of lights bombarded her eyes.
Most of them were shouting, some even pushing the other reporters beside them as Empress showed herself— but as soon as Empress opened her mouth, they all stopped.
"I… am done ignoring the signs. And I am sure that you, the people of Earth, see them too. There is a great change coming—no. It already arrived without us knowing.
Most of you probably think that I am unfit to be the one talking to all of you. After all, it… was my kind that have done this atrocious and evil act. My kind— the Supers.
Supers and Humans, perhaps it is time to accept that we truly are different people. So if you want to release your anger, if you want to take revenge, then know that this is my fault for not being able to stop it.
But I want you to know that this act, this evil act was born not because we think we are different or that we are superior— but because there are evil people out there. Bad, evil people that would do everything in their power to rule.
Make no mistake, people. The House of Super are filth that needs to be eradicated from this world. And they have. As of this moment, the remaining members of this terrorist organization are being hunted down like the rats they are and will answer to a higher power.
Not the super, not the humans— but us. They will answer to all of us, people who are just tired of all the nonsense; of all the deaths. People who just want to live in peace and harmony; mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters, your neighbor…
…We may be different people, but throughout history, we have always been stronger together. And I believe that is true now, and will be true until the end of time.
And if there is a time that we have to work together, it is now. I am saddened to be the one telling you this, but this is just the beginning. There are bigger threats out there, threats that are bigger than all of us. More and more aliens have tried invading our home and soon— we may have no choice but to let some of them in.
And if we are not together, if they see us turning our backs on each other— they will see us as weak, vulnerable; and that is not true at all.
Let our children and their children remember this not as the day that we lost… but as the day we truly and finally came together. Let them not look in their friends' eyes with fear, prejudice, or shame. This has to stop now and it has to stop here!
So please…
…let's just fucking help each other."
Chapter 395"Where did you find time to write that speech?"
"I didn't write it."
After delivering a short speech to the people, Empress once again returned to her tent, with Butcher immediately clapping his hand; but not really making any noise due to the nature of his power.
As for Empress, she just let herself fall on the nearest chair she could find; her breaths, still clearly a little amped up from all the emotions she needed to force out of her.
"Whiteking was the one who wrote the speech," Empress then shook her head as she removed the transceiver piece from her ear,
"Based on all the reactions, responses, feedback of all the people he could spy on— he told me what they wanted to hear, and I did."
"Bernard… Are we working with him from now on?"
"No," Empress scoffed, "He will forever remain in prison."
"And what about Darkday himself?"
"..." Empress only raised her eyebrow as she looked at Butcher, "You're welcome to apprehend him if you want. Bring the entire super militia with you and even the separated members of the Hope Guild."
"..."
"Even if the world knows who he is, I don't think it matters anymore," Empress pinched the bridge of her nose, "We just have to live with him— he is a calamity. A force of nature that we could only watch on the side and hopefully avoid. But at the very least; he is a calamity that can be reasoned with."
"Can he? Be reasoned with, I mean." Butcher breathed out, "The only person I know of that could talk to him and he would actually listen to a hundred percent is his sister. And I don't think she is in the right mind to talk to anyone outside of her circle, let alone his brother that was supposed to already be dead."
"Why do you think I asked him to meet me in the Academy?" Empress also let out a small sigh, "We're going to find out if Riley still listens to his sister. The two haven't reunited yet since Riley announced himself back."
"...And what are you hoping the outcome would be?"
"I honestly don't know, Butcher. I just… want all of this to be over with."
***
"Maybe… we should just stay here?"
"...Why? Your brother said he wanted to see the inside of the Academy."
"I'm… actually a wanted fugitive."
"Didn't Riley already give the three of you new identities? Elliot told me all about your life on the farm and how boring and disgusting it was that he had to watch you trying your best to seduce John every— that was supposed to be our secret."
"What!?"
"You… You betrayed me! I told you not to tell anyone!"
Back in the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency, Paige and the others were still in the lobby. The only one missing was Riley, who was changing his clothes since his previous ones were ripped during the battle.
John volunteered to stay and guard the building with Ellie and her brother, but Riley said there really wasn't any reason to guard it anymore and that they should just go with them.
"I apologize for making everyone wait, should we go?"
And finally, after what seemed like an hour, Riley stepped out of the elevator— wearing an all-black formal suit… with a long red scarf just hanging loosely from his neck.
"Why… are you wearing a red scarf?" Paige took in a small gulp as she looked at Riley, "Isn't that… the House of Super's color?"
"Oh, you noticed that?" Riley smiled as he approached the group, "The leader of the planet has asked us to meet her, I am just making sure that I look good. And what better way to symbolize that we mean no harm than by wearing the very color of the terrorist organization that we just eradicated."
"...No?" Ellie raised an eyebrow, "I think this sends the opposite message."
"...Does it? I was hoping it would mean that there's no reason to be afraid of wearing red," Riley blinked a couple of times as he checked on his scarf,
"Well, I'm already wearing it. Shall we go?"
"Hm," Paige quickly nodded as she wrapped her arm around Riley's, "Are you just going to fly us all there?"
"No," Riley shook his head, "John will do it."
"Hmm… We're all kinda like family now, no?" Paige giggled as she looked back at the others.
"More like we're your servants," Elliot also let out a chuckle as he walked beside Paige and Riley.
"I prefer to use the term subordinates, Mr. Elliot."
"...That sounds fancy, I like that," Elliot nodded in satisfaction as they stepped out of the building.
As for John, he couldn't really follow them as Ellie stopped him.
"...Are we sure about this?" Ellie whispered, "You, Elliot… we already have our new identities. We can just leave— we've already drowned our hands in blood for your boss, I think that's enough of a payment."
"...We actually probably can," a small smile appeared on John's face, "If I ask him now, he would probably allow us to leave."
"...You think so?"
"I know so, but…" John looked Ellie straight in the eyes, "...What will we even do out there? Become normal citizens?"
"...You're right," Ellie let out a sigh, "People like us can't have a normal life. We already had it on the farm; we honestly could have stayed. Normal life is…
…boring."
***
"Empress, it's been a long time."
"Not long enough. I was hoping not to see you again because that usually means trouble."
"You seem to have taken care of the trouble, no?"
Right in front of the gates of the Academy, Bulwark welcomed Empress as soon as she arrived. There wasn't really anyone else besides them and Butcher; after all, why would the three of them even need a security escort? And also, they really no longer had any staff to spare as the entire Academy was busy helping the refugees.
"Riley Ross took care of the problem," Empress scoffed, "We just cleaned it up."
"Hm," Bulwark closed his eyes and smiled, "I suppose you're here to check on the people? The number of survivors we have rescued now surpassed a million."
"...No."
"Hm? Are you here to check up on V, then?"
"No," Empress shook her head, "But how is she?"
"She needs us— she needed us," Bulwark let out a long and deep sigh as the two of them started to walk, "Her condition is not getting any better. And with the news of Riley alive, I think there might be a chance that she would regress."
"..."
"If you're not here for the refugees and you're not here to check up on V… What exactly are you doing here instead of out there?"
"I invited Riley Ross for a meeting here."
"Ah…" Bulwark blinked, "Of course. Should… I call for all the people that should be involved in this… meeting?"
"I assume Hannah is still here?"
"She's with the rest of the Baby Crew, helping the survivors."
"...Call everyone that you know who knows of Riley's true identity. I've already called for Hera and Temp—."
"What's with the reunion?"
And before Empress could even finish her words… a man suddenly appeared in front of them, wearing a polo shirt, shorts, and a pair of flip-flops.
"...Tempo."
"Holy shit, why are the two of you dressed like that?" Tempo quickly said as he looked at what Butcher and Empress were wearing, "...Is there a press conference or something?"
"Why are you dressed like that?" Empress raised an eyebrow.
"...Stop judging, it's hot in my country."
"Shouldn't Hera be with you?"
"No, she was in Canada when all the shit happened. But she should be here any minute now…
…what's the occasion?" Tempo then looked back and forth between Bulwark and Empress.
"I have the same question myself," Bulwark breathed out as he turned his focus back on Empress, "What are you planning?"
"Well…
…I'm just trying to find a way to prevent the end of the world, old friend."
It didn't really take that long to gather the people that knew of Riley's identity— after all, those who knew already were mostly in the Academy in the first place. Even V, who was just told to rest, was also there— her eyes, sunken as she looked at all the people around her.
Empress, the Baby Crew, Charlotte, Bulwark, Butcher, Hera, Tempo— and even the Pope and Angela were there.
Most of the eyes were looking at Empress, wondering why they were suddenly called there. Some, however, were looking at V— whose eyes were almost sunken and dead.
"What are the two of you looking at?" V then immediately snarled as she noticed Hera and Tempo were looking at her, "Fucking useless duo."
"..." Hera couldn't really say anything as she just looked to the side. Bulwark… called her a year ago about V's condition, and Hera ignored it thinking that V just needed some time; but seeing her now… Hera felt slightly guilty that she didn't even visit.
"Why did you gather us here, your highness?" V then said as she smirked at Empress, "I assume this is about that fucker? Are we finally thinking of a plan to kill him once and for all? The people here are the ones who know his true identity, right? Is that it? Are we finally going to kill him?"
"Can you just fucking wait and let her talk?" Hannah also started to speak up.
"Oh fuck, why is the sister even here? Are we using her as a hostage?"
"You…" Hannah stood up, "Just in case all of you are forgetting— I killed my brother, me. Not any of you sitting here right now."
"Killed? Then why is he out there right—"
And before V could finish her words, the door of the conference hall very slowly slid open— something which it shouldn't be doing. And very soon, a voice seeped into the edges.
"I apologize we're late."
And very soon, a silhouette revealed itself— Riley Ross.
No.
Darkday... in his full outfit.
Chapter 396"I apologize we're late."
"!!!"
Everyone just stood up. There were no warnings, not even an announcement from any of the people that should be standing guard outside— Riley just entered the Academy unbeknownst to everyone there.
It was probably for the best, of course…
…as he was wearing his Darkday outfit.
Hera was the first to react; her skin quickly turned grey as her muscles and height almost tripled. She did not, however, lunge towards Riley and instead just remained on her spot— almost squishing Gary that was sitting beside her.
Of course, it wasn't only her; everyone's eyes were fixated on Riley; their fists, all closed and ready to do whatever it is they could do next. Perhaps the only one that didn't really have any immediate reaction was Empress, who just looked at the other people in the room and sighed.
If this had happened a few years ago, then Empress would have probably reacted the same. But right now, Empress was just done with everything— there was also the fact that out of all these people, she was probably the only one who knew how ridiculously strong Riley truly was.
No, Angela and the Pope also didn't react the same as everyone, and were the only ones in the room that remained sitting; with the Pope even seemingly amused with what was happening.
By all means, Hannah and the rest of the Baby Crew should also know how futile it was to even try to resist Riley— but seeing as they were young and one of them is literally Riley's sister, their response is already expected.
"What are you doing, Riley?" Empress then let out another deep breath as she finally turned her focus back to Riley.
"Oh, I just wanted to play a joke."
And with those words, Riley's Darkday outfit very slowly faded away— also revealing the group of people standing beside him; Paige, John, Ellie, and Elliot.
"I brought some people, I hope you don't mind," Riley then said as he stepped inside the meeting hall, "They wanted to tour the Academy after this meeting."
"What's… the meaning of this, Empress?"
The temperature in the room suddenly rose as Hannah's breaths started to turn heavy, "Why… did you invite my brother here?"
"...To talk."
"You… thought that was a good idea?"
"There are—"
And before Empress could finish her words; green specks of dust started to fill the air inside the conference hall, trickling and throbbing with each movement. Of course, it was obvious as to who was causing this; everyone in the room could really only turn their heads towards V, only to see her now slump and crouching on the floor.
"...V?"
She was the one who was talking about killing Riley and ganging up on her just earlier— but now that he was actually here, they finally realized that each word and any of the toughness she had been showing them was all just for show.
Of course, it was— V has been part of the Hope Guild for a while… that they keep forgetting that she was one of the youngest people in this room, barely an adult.
"..." Charlotte could really only look at V, thinking that once again… the Hope Guild failed to be there for each other when it actually matters the most. And now, right in front of them, was the person that she had probably failed the most.
Riley Ross, her own grandson.
"Now I feel a little overdressed."
Riley didn't seem to mind all the stares that were centered on him, however, as he just started to walk across the room— walking towards the free space at the table.
"Can you make us seats, Ms. Ellie?"
Ellie only nodded, before a part of the floor started to turn dark; before protruding up and turning into seats.
"Why… are there only two?" Paige was about to take a seat but noticed that only she and Riley had a chair at the table.
"We're just going to stand in the back," John then said as he stood behind Riley as he took his seat. Ellie did the same; her eyes scanning each of the people in the room before just standing idly by. As for her brother, well— the situation calls for him to do the same.
"...I have seats prepared for you," Empress then quickly said as she looked at the empty seats on the side.
"Well, you might have a bomb on the bottom of that chair, Empress."
"Wh—"
"I am joking again," Riley chuckled; and it wasn't awkward, no— but the faces of all the people in the room made it seem like it was. And perhaps in this situation, it actually is.
"Hello, sister," Riley then smiled as he looked at Hannah; who didn't really know what to say as she just very slowly sat back in her seat. And as she did so, everyone else started doing the same with the exemption of Hera, whose body very slowly turned back to normal as she made her way to V.
"Are you… alrigh—"
"Don't you fucking touch me!" The green specks of dust that were floating in the air all started to spark as V waved her hands. Suffice to say, with these many prominent people in one place— it was utter chaos. And one way or the other, they all had trauma caused by Riley Ross.
Hera was about to try and console V again, but before she could do so… someone tapped her. Hera quickly looked back to see who it was that placed their hand on her shoulder, only to see Riley behind her.
"!!!"
Hera almost bent her entire body as she tried to quickly move away from Riley— she tried to transform, but her body seemed to refuse to do so. And there were only two reasons that it was doing this;
One, not transforming was the best way for her to survive. And two, her body wasn't perceiving Riley as a threat. And hopefully, it was the latter.
"All of you really need to relax," Riley then said as he crouched to the ground, looking at V for a few seconds… before completely sitting beside her on the floor.
"It has been a very long time, Victoria."
"Don't… don't you fucking call me that." The green specks of dust that were floating in the air… disappeared; almost as if transferring to her eyes as they started to trickle with Riley on their path, "You… you're a fucking monster."
"I am. And I have told you that as well," Riley said, before just turning to look at Empress, "Should we start whatever this meeting is about?"
"...Are you not going to return to your seat?"
"No."
And as soon as he said that… every piece of furniture in the room turned into dust; once again causing everyone to put on their defenses— everyone except the members of the Hope Guild, who had their eyes on Hera and checking whether or not she transformed.
The door of the conference hall then opened, almost acting like a vacuum as it sucked away all the dust in the air before closing.
"Let's all just sit on the floor and join Victoria… Paige," Riley then turned to look at Paige, gesturing to her to come to his side. Everyone could really just look at each other, before once again being led by Hannah as she was the first to sit on the floor.
"See?" A subtle smile then appeared on Riley's face, "It's better here. No wonder Victoria was sitting on the floor. It makes us feel… grounded."
"Enough of this bullshit!" Hannah slammed her palm on the floor, "Just why exactly did you set this meeting up, Empress? And why are we even here!?"
"The House of Super is gone," Empress raised her voice before Hannah could go off again, "But the damage they did will forever be permanent."
"It's the same as any tragedy," Bulwark joined in.
"Yes, but this time the casualty is in billions… that number is way more anything Darkday— Riley Ross has ever done to this world."
"Wait…" Tempo also joined in as he placed his palm on the floor, "...Don't tell me you collected all of us here… to try and pardon Darkday?"
"No, nothing of the sort," Empress raised her hand, "But I am here to say…
…that Riley Ross is now under the protection of the World Government."
"What!?" Silvie almost stood up from the floor, "...Why!?"
"I am lifting all the bounty, all the charges, and any records that would indict or otherwise condemn Riley Ross as a criminal. Riley Ross would also now henceforth be immune from all charges that would be placed against him."
"...Are you saying he could just indiscriminately kill anyone he wants?" Tempo's eyebrows began to furrow. And it wasn't only him, the rest of the people in the room all started to look at each other.
"Yes."
"!!!"
"What!?"
"What about all the people he has killed!?"
"Ei yo… Even if this ni— even if Riley helped us clean the House of Super, that doesn't erase what he did! He still killed millions of people! He even killed Gary's father!"
"He killed many fathers," Empress raised her hand, "He also killed mothers, children, and everyone that was unfortunately in his path of carnage."
"Exactly, so why are you—"
"Because as of a few hours ago…" Empress's voice was not really loud, or even hurried— but the expression on her eyes showed everyone how serious she was,
"...Riley Ross destroyed Mars."
"..."
"...What?"
"So now, I am going to ask all of you…" Empress then said as she looked at all the people in the room one by one, and since she was the tallest among the lot, it wasn't that hard to do so,
"...Is anyone here stupid enough to still try and fight with Riley Ross?"
Chapter 397"Mars… is gone?"
"...Fuck."
There were more than 10 people in the meeting hall, and yet the only thing that was echoing in the air was the sound of their stuttered breaths. None of the people here denied Riley's strength; everyone knew how strong he was since most of them have already fought with and against him.
They all knew that Riley could lift an entire city from the ground and let it stay there for long periods of time while he does something else completely. But still, even though that kind of feat was ridiculous, it was not like none of them were capable of doing and acting something of equal strength.
Empress could probably level an entire city if she wanted to, Silvie without a doubt could do the same, she was just afraid of using the entirety of her gift. V wiped out the entirety of London, and she was unconscious then. The strongest heat that Hannah could produce was enough to melt steel instantly, and she could probably scorch an entire city just by flying above it.
There were many of them in the room that was capable of destroying cities— but an entire planet?
"Did you guys want to see a recording of when I did it?"
"Huh?"
Everyone then turned their heads towards Riley as he grabbed his phone from the pocket of his coat, before giving it to John and whispering something to his ear.
"..." John only nodded as he grabbed the phone. He then looked around the room for a few seconds, before turning on the projector with his mind and casting the video that was on the phone.
"!!!"
"It's a bit blurry and unclear since it's far, but as you can see, that's Mars," Riley then casually said as the view on the project slowly zoomed and panned out, revealing a bunch of red rocks that were shaped into the head of a beast, "You can't really see me and Megawoman, but we're there somewhere."
"..."
Once again, everyone inside the room just let their breaths do the talking; almost like an orchestra, each breath of a different rhythm and tone. None of them were even looking at each other, they were just so focused on the images being projected in front of them; their eyes, reflecting disbelief and… a hint of serenity.
Most of them thought that Empress was losing her mind, or perhaps Riley had something on her, that's why she granted him immunity. But now, they realized how correct her decision was.
Riley Ross was off-limits. They always thought Whiteking was crazy for trying to protect Riley Ross and hiding his identity. Of course, they also just took into consideration that Riley was his son— but maybe this is the very reason that the smartest man in the world let him roam free.
How would you even stop a being capable of shattering an entire world with a snap of his fingers?
Even if the people come to know of Riley's identity, what of it?
What would they even do… poke a beast and risk destroying their planet?
And so, once again— they were reminded of why Riley was called a Living Calamity. It wasn't just a title that was given to the most heinous villain in the entire world, but to a literal living calamity.
"I hope this gives everyone clarity," Empress then raised her hand; and as she did so, John quickly turned off the projector, "All of you are aware of Riley's identity. But I do truly hope that none of you are stupid enough to provoke him any—"
"I don't really mind, Empress," Riley's sudden and quiet chuckles caused everyone in the room to flinch, "I'm not going to destroy Earth, my sister lives here."
"..." Hannah could really only hide her gasp as she heard her brother's words.
"And also, I think this is the only planet that would ever produce the next seasons of Italian Mafia Reborn," Riley then turned to look at Hera, "Will… there be a next—"
"Yes," Hera did not wait for Riley to finish his question; her eyes, looking at him straight in the eyes, "I will be producing it myself. It… It will be a little late because we still need to recover from the attacks of the House of Super, but we already planned 10 more seasons."
"Oh?" A hint of a smile slowly crawled on Riley's face, "I am looking forward to that, Ms. Hera. It's too bad that we didn't get to work together on that TV show, no?"
"Yes," Hera once again answered without any hesitation, "But… if you want, the character is still open."
"Oh? You hear that, Paige?" Riley let out a small hum, "I'm going to be on T.V."
"R… Really? Like… you'll be an action star? Wait… maybe you could even play a character in Italian Mafia Reborn. Oh my god… you're going to be famous, Riley. Maybe we should just change the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency into a talent agency?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Paige."
"Congrats, Boss."
"Can I have your autograph now!?"
"..."
"..."
The other people in the room could really only watch as Riley and his group just suddenly started chatting casually with each other. Just… what was wrong with the people surrounding him? They all thought.
"Let's discuss this later," Riley then waved his hand, "I think Empress still has more to discuss."
"..." Empress stared at Riley for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh and nodding, "There's also the matter of your real identity, Riley. No doubt, there are already people out there that suspect you are Darkday— I would just like to know how you are going to handle the eventual reveal. I know one or two in this room are trying to reveal who you are."
"Hm?" Riley turned to look at everyone in the room, with V the only one obviously flinching as she felt his stares, "I don't get it, Empress. Is there something that needs to be done if and when my identity as Darkday is revealed?"
"Are you not going to react… wildly?"
"...When have I been wild, Empress?"
And with those words, everyone's memory of Darkday and his obnoxious manic laughter as he tore people limb from limb resurfaced from their minds. And he just destroyed Mars, how is any of that not wild? They all thought.
"You're actually pretty fucked up, Riley."
"!!!"
Everyone then turned their heads towards Paige; her words, almost like a knife to their ears.
"You like torturing people and feeding them their own limbs, I'd say that's more than wild. I also remembered you telling me that you hid Megawoman in your closet and talked to her mangled naked body."
"..." Gary's eyes widened as he heard his mother's name being dragged into the conversation. But alas, he couldn't really say anything to refute.
"You have like, zero chill, Riley," Paige let out a sigh.
"Wait, how long have you known that Paragon is Riley?" Hannah then suddenly joined in on the conversation.
"Hmm… I think I can say I've always known," Paige closed her eyes before leaning her head on Riley's shoulder, "That's why I'm drawn to him like a magnet."
"..." V, who was sitting frozen beside the two, could not help but take in a deep breath. Just a few years ago, she was the one in Paige's position, clinging to Riley's arms like a koala,
"Wait… you know who he is… and you… that's alright for you?" V then stuttered as her body slowly uncurled.
"...Yes?" Paige blinked a couple of times; her eyes, almost confused, "Why wouldn't it be?"
"He's a mass murderer!"
"He's a man that's capable of destroying an entire planet with a snap of his fingers," Paige breathed out as a hint of a smile could be seen growing on her face, "By all accounts, the people in this room are like ants to him. You see a mass murderer, but all I see is how gentle Riley really is because all of you are still breathing even though you were in his path of destruction."
"That's…" V couldn't really refute. For some reason… she couldn't help but think that Paige might have a point. Riley… really is gentle— that was why she was also attracted to him in the first place.
"Riley is evil, there's no questioning that," Paige then said as she tried to pinch Riley's arm, "But the fact that we're here, sitting with all of you should prove that he is not unreasonable…
…Riley is capable of care," Paige turned to look at Hannah, "He just doesn't know how to show it. And I believe that no matter how much he says it, Riley is also capable of love… and the proof of that is in this room."
"..."
"Anyway; too long, didn't listen— Riley can care, that's why all of you are alive today."
"...Is that what it is, Paige?" And out of all the other people in the room, Riley was the first to question Paige's words.
"...I actually have no idea," Paige let out a quiet chuckle before once again resting her head on Riley's shoulder, "But it's nice to think that it is, no?"
"Is it?" Riley placed his hand on his chin, "I have never thought of it like that. But it is true that the only reason Empress and the other members of the Hope Guild are alive is because they are friends with father."
"..."
"..."
"You actually still haven't answered my question, Riley," Empress could really only let out a sigh as she heard Riley's words, "What will you do once your identity is—"
"Set up a press conference, Empress."
"...What?"
"If my identity as Darkday is to be revealed…
…then I would like to do it myself. And then we'll have an answer to your question."
Chapter 398"That… meeting went well, right?"
"That was a meeting? Wasn't it more like Riley bullying his way through his victims? Anyway… what are we doing in front of this store? It's closed."
"I suppose we have to wait for grandmother."
Riley and his group were currently in front of the Korean Shaved Ice store— but alas, it was currently closed. Considering Charlotte was included in the meeting, it would seem she shut it down.
"Well, you guys wait here. Elliot and I will try to see what else is in this place," Ellie shrugged as she started walking away, "I thought this place would be more… lively, you know? I was actually supposed to enroll here when it was announced a few years ago— good thing I didn't."
"...We're in the middle of a crisis, sis," Ellie commented, "If you didn't notice, there are refugees around us. And if you enrolled in the Academy, I am sure you'll also join the Dark Millenium, pft."
"...You might be right about that… and I'll be dead," Ellie then said as she glanced at Riley. Most people don't know it yet, but Riley and 2 others killed all the students they tried to recruit from the Mega Academy. Perhaps joining the Dark Millenium early on actually saved her life.
"..." Ellie then slightly raised an eyebrow as Riley also glanced at her. Come to think of it— she joined the Dark Millenium thinking Darkday was their leader, but it was just based on some lies and propaganda set up by a deranged clone of Megawoman that escaped from the Government.
No, the reality was way more complicated than that. The mind of the clone was distorted and faulty, but she was mildly right— there are threats coming from outside the planet now. A lot has happened since then that it almost felt like a lifetime ago, and perhaps for her, it was.
She has a new identity, and she is now even working directly below Darkday himself… in all actuality, she was technically back in the Dark Millenium— it just has a different name, Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency.
"Go with them, John."
"..." Ellie's thoughts were then disrupted as she heard Riley's words.
"Are you sure, boss?"
"Yes."
"Hm, alright," John nodded, before gently pushing Ellie and Elliot away, "I know this place like the back of my hand, I'll tour the…"
"Did you wish to go with them, Paige?"
"Oh, no," Paige, who was watching as John and the others faded away deeper into the mall, quickly shook her head as Riley talked to her, "It's just… weird."
"What is?"
"The world, this…" Paige started to back away as she stretched her arms to the side before she slowly spun and started looking everywhere, "...All of this. The world feels weird now, don't you think? There's so much death and tragedy, that it almost feels like we've accepted it as our reality. Like how Empress decided that you're just a part of Earth's reality."
"..."
"I know we will get over this. We're actually already starting to and it hasn't even been a full day since the House of Super were eradicated," Paige sighed, "But that is what's weird. We always just move on like nothing happened. Nobody really addresses why it's happening."
"That is just the way it is, Paige," Riley tilted his head, slightly confused as to what Paige meant by her words, "Humans are used to tragedy, it is in our history. It is how we advanced as a people."
"But we don't have to be," Paige then said as she stood in front of Riley, "We don't have to be. You have the power to make that happen, Riley. You can prevent any wars from happening, you can stop any oppression— you can even make it so that there would no longer be any villains. You…
…can rule this world, Riley."
"..." Riley didn't really say anything, and just returned Paige's gaze; the two of them, staring at each other's eyes even after seconds.
"..."
"..."
"...Pft," Paige then almost let out a small snort as she looked away from Riley; before tugging on his sleeves and resting her cheek on his chest, "I was joking, Riley. Don't actually do something stupid like that. You're already getting minus points to your sister, you don't want to add up any— !!!"
Paige could not help but almost take in a deep gasp as Riley suddenly placed his hand on her hair, slightly brushing it before resting his chin on top of her head. But before Paige could even say anything, Riley already pulled himself away; once again just walking in front of the store and just…
…staring at nothing.
"What… was that?" Paige whispered to herself; her chest, almost thumping from her clothes as she looked at Riley's back,
"What was that!?" She then raised her voice as she leaped towards Riley and embraced him from behind, "Don't… don't tell me you're starting to like me, Riley?"
"I have always liked you, Paige," Riley did not hesitate as he glanced back at Paige, "You always say what is on your mind, no matter how the world would perceive it. It… reminds me of Hannah and Aerith."
"Hm…" Paige squinted her eyes before letting out a teasing giggle, "...Do you like anyone that just slightly resembles your sister? I think I got your type now, Riley boy."
"I do," Riley once again answered without any hesitation.
"Pft, you're cute whenever you're like this," Paige burrowed her face on Riley's back.
"You know, I met my mother yesterday."
"Hm?"
"Both of them," Riley whispered as he just stared at the padlocked store in front of him; his eyes, almost reflecting an image.
"...When did that happen?"
"Minutes before I destroyed Mars."
"...Oh," Paige couldn't really remove herself from Riley's back after hearing his words, "...I thought both of your mothers are like… gone?"
"Well, Diana just disappeared. Alice was supposed to be dead, but it turns out Diana is trying to revive her."
"...That's weird."
"It is, no?" Riley breathed out, "But can I ask you a question since you are used to having hallucinations, Paige?"
"...What?"
"Which sounds more probable for you— inheriting your mother's illness, or her showing herself to you since the two of you are connected and because she is slowly being revived?"
"...Well, the former sounds more possible?"
"...Then do you see the woman standing in front of us right now?"
"Huh?" Paige finally pulled herself away from Riley as she quickly looked to where Riley was pointing… only to see a door.
"I… don't see anyone?" Paige blinked a couple of times, "Are you… seeing someone there?"
"My biological mother."
"What!?" Paige took in a deep breath, "What… what is she doing?"
"Just whispering…" Riley sighed, "...Kill everyone, hurt everyone, a monster, you're a monster, just the usual."
"What do you mean just the usual!?"
"Oh, I've always heard the whispers," Riley shrugged, "It's only just lately that it gained a face. My other mother said that it was possible that I might have inherited my mother's illness."
"What… does that mean?"
"Alzheimer's, or whatever my biological mother really had. Oh, it's gone now," Riley then said as he finally looked away from the door.
"Wait… what?" Paige's eyes quickly started to redden, "What… what do you mean Alzheimer's?"
"Oh, nothing is confirmed," Riley blinked as he noticed the tone of Paige's voice shifting, "I, for one, actually think she's just showing herself to me since she is slowly being resu—"
"Is what you said true, Riley!?"
And before Riley could finish his words, Hannah suddenly appeared behind them.
"..." Riley and Paige quickly turned around, only to see that the rest of the Baby Crew were also there; their heads, slightly leaning out from the corner of one of the other stores. Riley ignored Hannah, and instead turned his eyes towards Silvie,
"I thought you didn't like using your abilities to eavesdrop, Ms. Savelievna?"
"That…" Silvie couldn't really come up with an answer as she and the others just started showing themselves one by one, "I… I wanted to make sure you weren't up to something bad."
"I thought Empress already gave me immunity. There is no use in—"
"Do you think I agree to—" Bella quickly covered Silvie's mouth before she could say anything else.
"We… we're cool, right… Riley?" Bella then took in a small gulp as she pulled Silvie away.
"I suppose we are, Bella," a hint of a smile appeared on Riley's face, "I never had a problem with you."
"T… that's what I thought," Bella chuckled, before also grabbing Gary, who seemed to want to say something, "This is not the time to be stupid. What the fuck are the two of you doing?"
Bella could feel Gary's breath even just by holding his arm. She couldn't blame him, of course. After all, his father was one of the people that died in Toronto. No, each of the people here right now was one way or another affected by Darkday's reign of terror.
But Empress was and is right— they just have to accept the situation.
"Forget about all of that, is what you're saying true!?" Hannah then stepped forward as she blocked the rest of the Baby Crew from Riley's view.
"Which part, sister?"
"Everything! Is… is mother alive? And how is she involved in all of this!?" Hannah screamed, her voice almost cracking.
"No one has told you yet about mother?" Riley blinked a couple of times, "I thought we already discussed this before I went away. Didn't Empress already tell you?"
"Tell me what!?"
"Mother is a Themarian."
"...What?"
***AUTHOR NOTES***
YOUTUBE ANNOUNCEMENT! I have created a youtube channel called 'Romeru'. And I basically have one video there where I read my first fan-fic of the Avatar: Last Airbender. Search it up: Romeru Reads - Avatar: The Last Shadow.
I'm the one with the... Romeru PHub profile picture. And share and subscribe or I kill your fave character.
Chapter 399"..."
Hannah was told everything. Silvie, Gary, Bella, and Katrina were also present as Hannah told them they should also know since they were her family now; but the revelations that Riley had told them almost drilled through their bones.
Charlotte was also there, after all, she was the one who opened the Korean Shaved Ice store so that Riley would have a place to discuss everything he knew. And finally, although it was hard to admit and accept, she finally knew what really happened to her daughter.
All this time, she blamed Riley for everything. But it turns out her daughter was just… sick. She had been trying to find answers for the downfall of her daughter; thinking that someone was pulling the strings, or that something was truly wrong with Riley… but no.
Charlotte always saw Alice as this mightier than thou super. She was supposed to be immune to all mind-bending and mind-control abilities– but Alzheimer's? Was she even supposed to believe that? But out of all the answers that she tried to seek out, this was actually the one that answers everything.
Alice Lane, her daughter… was just sick.
Charlotte could really only stare at Riley from behind the counter, watching him as he casually took a spoonful of dessert like he did not just say something completely earth-shattering.
Charlotte wanted to talk to him so badly… but what was she even supposed to say? She had already made her stance for almost 20 years now; what sort of apology was even enough to make up for her absence?
She had already talked to him once when he was in prison, but that was just to tell her what she knew— and what she knew was so far from the truth.
"Grandmother, can I have one more?"
"Are you sure? It seems a little too sweet."
"That's because you're only eating the syrup and fruits, Paige. You should fill your spoon with the shaved ice… Grandmother, can I have one more?"
"Y… yes, sure," Charlotte could not help but take in a small but very deep breath as she started preparing another cup. It didn't even take a minute before she was handing the dessert to Riley— and now that she was taking a good look at him; with his black hair and eyebrows… Charlotte was finally able to see some sort of resemblance to her daughter.
Charlotte took another deep breath; she wanted so badly to embrace Riley right now— but alas. As Charlotte saw her reflection in Riley's dark eyes, the only thing that she could really see was a stranger. It was… a little too late.
"..." Charlotte then turned her eyes towards the others, only to see their faces completely blank; not really knowing what to do with the information that Riley just gave them. Even Hannah, who is supposed to be the receiver of all of this… information, was just staring at the melted dessert in front of her.
"Would… you children like me to get you anything?"
"..."
"..."
And with no one answering her, she just turned around to leave. But before she could even take a single step— a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist. She quickly turned to see who it was, only to see Riley holding her hand.
"Did… you need anything else?" Charlotte gulped.
"Alice Lane is being revived by mother," Riley casually breathed out, "I thought you should know since she's your daughter."
"...What?"
"Yes. And based on mother's words, she should be waking up soon," Riley nodded, "But as in the case of everything I told all of you here, there is a chance that mother is lying— but I do not think she has a reason to; she's a Themarian, the strongest species in the entire universe; or at least that's what she believes in."
"W—"
"Where is she?"
And finally, after keeping her silence for almost an hour; Hannah spoke up,
"Where's mom?"
"I don't know, sister. But I have a feeling she's not really on this planet. Aerith thought she was… but she's always wrong for some reason," Riley shrugged as he took a bite of his Mango Graham Shaved Ice, but before he could place his spoon back on the cup—
"Don't talk about my mother like you know her!"
Gary slapped the spoon away from Riley's hand.
"Eek!" The spoon was about to hit Paige, but it stopped mid-air before it could do so.
"On the contrary, Gary…" Riley sighed as the spoon returned to his hand, "...Your mother and I are quite close. She's closer to me than to you, I reckon."
"You—" Gary's eyebrows began to tremble as he remained standing; Bella tried to get him to sit back down, but Gary did not budge this time. But after a few more seconds of him just staring down at Riley… he suddenly ran and left the store.
Katrina was going to follow Gary out, but in the end, chose not to do so as she just remained in her seat. She didn't even know what she was doing here in the first place— the only relation she had here was that she was a member of the Baby Crew. But although she didn't really know what to do, it wasn't like she felt out of place or uncomfortable.
After all, being with the Baby Crew for the past 2 years… she was used to all the weird things happening around them. And so, once again— she did what she always did in the group; just stay on the side and observe.
"..." Silvie seemed to also want to say something; and with the way she was opening and closing her mouth, it would seem she had a lot to say. The expressions on her face, also shifting almost each second… but after a few more facial shifts, a word finally escaped her lips.
"You didn't have to say that to him," Silvie muttered, "He is… already lost as he is."
"Then he and his mother finally have something in common," Riley breathed out, "And as for you, Ms. Savelievna… you're stronger than you think you are. I don't know if there is something else you need to hear, but I have already told you everything that I know."
"..."
"I truly apologize, sister," Riley then said as he placed his focus back on Hannah, "But it would seem that you are surrounded by people who have hidden things from you. Father, me, and then mother. She's the one who—"
Riley halted his words as he felt Paige suddenly pricking and pinching his leg; he turned to see what she needed, only to see her with her eyebrows furrowed and eyes squinted.
"..."
"..."
"Well, I've finished my dessert," Riley then stood up, "Paige and I will take our leave first. We might be seeing each other from time to time since we plan to tour the Academy with my subordinates. So, don't be afraid to say hello."
"..." Paige also stood up, nodding her head towards the girls of the Baby Crew,
"I… really wished we could have somehow become friends," she said before following Riley. But before the two of them could step out of the store, Hannah shouted.
"What do you plan to do now!?"
"...Hm?" Riley and Paige turned around.
"Now… now that you've gained fucking immunity to murder, are you just going to go out there and kill more people!?"
"...No. I'm not a savage, sister," Riley sighed and shook his head.
"Are you… are you not going to tell the world that you're Darkday!?"
"What are you saying, sister?" Riley once again sighed as he opened the door— and as soon as he did so, several screams, gasps, and whispers roared and seeped through the store,
"I already have."
"...What? What do—" And before Hannah could say anything, she saw something flying towards Riley— hitting him straight on the head. But of course, it was almost as if Riley didn't even notice as he just continued walking out the store, gently pushing Paige to walk behind him.
"This…" Not only Hannah, but all the women in the store all stood up to peer through the window of the store, only to see a group— no, a mob of people surrounding the store; every one of them, either carrying fear or rage on their faces.
"H… Hannah, look…"
Hannah then slowly turned to look at Katrina as she showed her phone, only to see a live video of Riley telling the world that he is Darkday.
"...How?"
"It's… a clone," Silvie gulped before all of them once again turned their attention to the roars of anger and hate happening outside.
"Get off this planet!"
"You… you killed my father!"
"Murderer!"
"Satan's son!"
"Harbinger of ruin! You should pay for all your crimes!"
Most of the people were refugees; some were even staff of the Academy. But no matter if they were super or just a normal human— all of their eyes contained a certain hatred in them as they all looked at Riley.
Most of the refugees were throwing things at Riley… and Riley… just let them. He didn't dodge, he didn't even use his telekinetic abilities to block anything, he… just let it happen.
"Maybe you should return to the store for now, Paige," Riley then whispered, "It would get a little messy once the supers join in."
"...No," Paige breathed out as she grabbed the back of Riley's clothes, before planting her forehead on his back, "I have already told you before, even if the whole world hates you…
…I am not going to abandon you, Riley."
Chapter 400"Murderer!"
"You should die!"
Minutes.
The people did not seem to get tired of throwing things and slurs at Riley— their words, getting more violent by the second. The things they throw, getting heavier and more solid.
But Riley… Riley just accepted it all; the stains, the scraps, the bottles, the stones— it didn't matter what it was, Riley did not move even a single bit. He just stood in front of the entrance of the Korean Shaved Ice store and let everything fall upon him. His eyes, devoid of anything; care, emotion, even irritation… nothing could be seen in his eyes.
As for Paige, her face was filled with pain. He was directly behind Riley, but nothing was really hitting her— even the dust floating in the air seemed to avoid her. But still, even then, she looked to be in pain as tears started to trail on her cheeks.
She couldn't utter anything, though. She couldn't come into his defense even if she wanted to— and she didn't. She knew herself that Riley deserved everything that was being thrown at him, she knew she deserved each and every hurtful words that were flowing towards them like a knife.
But as much as he deserved all the pain and hatred in the world, Paige also feels he deserved to be loved and cared for; even more so now that he knew everything about him. And Paige…
…Paige wants to be the one to give that to him.
And so, ever so slowly, the hands that were tightly holding the back of Riley's clothes moved forward; Paige's arms, now wrapping around Riley's.
"It's okay… Riley," Paige whispered, "It's okay."
"Hm," Riley only nodded as he glanced at Paige's arms. And then, it continued on— with the mob even growing in size by the second, filling up the entire mall as even those that were on the upper floor started joining.
Empress's security team, as well as Butcher finally arrived to try and calm the masses down; putting up a barrier to block them from getting to Riley any further.
But alas, it would seem it had the opposite effect as the crowd became even more violent— the supers, now joining in and even releasing some of their abilities.
"Why are you trying to protect him!? He's a demon!"
"Monster!"
In truth, Empress's security team were also confused at first when they were ordered to set up a barrier to protect Riley Ross. He just announced himself as Darkday, and now they were being asked to defend him?
However, as soon as Butcher told them that Riley Ross just destroyed Mars— they all quickly realized who they were trying to protect; or more specifically, what they were trying to prevent.
Riley Ross must not become angry at all costs.
The only problem was… why was Riley Ross not moving? It hasn't even been a minute, and yet it already felt like they were about to break from all the people wanting to burst out of their blockade.
"You should just die!"
"No wonder Ms. Phoenix tried to kill you!"
"That's right! Even your own sister wanted to kill you!"
"Die! You should just kill yourself!"
"Aren't you ashamed to even be—"
"That's enough!"
And almost like thunder echoing throughout the entire mall, the mob's voices were completely drowned by a roar. A voice that cracked in the air, even causing some of the people to cover their ears.
"Stop!"
…And it wasn't Paige that screamed…
…But Hannah.
"Don't you know how close all of you are to dying!?"
The air around Hannah started to distort; the air that wafted and circulated throughout the mall, almost instantly rising in temperature, causing the mob to take a step back and shut their mouths.
"Haven't all of you had enough yet!?" Hannah then continued to cry out; her eyes, turning moist even with the heat surrounding her,
"None of you would even be alive right now if it wasn't for my brother! Not one of you!"
Hannah had a point, but she knew she was wrong.
"You were only rescued because my brother flew up in the sky and created this fucking fake spaceship! All of us were just standing in the air and he could have just let you fall down and die!"
She was wrong, she was really wrong. But for some reason, seeing her brother like this— being slandered, being mobbed by the people… she couldn't sit still. She thought she could, she was doing so well keeping her place just moments ago.
But all these hurtful words may not affect her brother and just go over him… but Hannah was receiving all of it— and she couldn't take it.
"If you weren't lifted up into the sky and taken to the Academy, the radiation of the bombs would have killed all of you! Do you think you could have actually survived? Because more than a billion people didn't!"
"The House of Super bannered under Riley Ross!"
"That's right! He might have even started all of it!"
"Didn't you see how he fucking squashed the House of Super himself!?" Hannah's screams did not let up, "If he wasn't here, the reign of the House of Super would have continued on! Do you think we alone could have stopped it? No! Because we were so fucking busy saving your lives! All you do is complain, and complain, and fucking complain!"
She was wrong for this, but she couldn't stop herself.
"The lives that my brother has saved today are more than the people he had killed, a lot more! He could crush all of you like ants and he wouldn't even blink an eye! So yes, don't be fucking thankful that you were saved— but that my brother chose not to kill you!"
"That—"
"She's right!"
"Who the fuck cares if Riley used to kill people!? At least the people he is killing now are all bad people!"
"That's right! What have any of you done to help!?"
"My mother would have died if we weren't taken to the Academy! Nuclear Seraph is right, Riley is—"
"I'm not right!" And even though some of the people were starting to side with Riley, Hannah once again opened her mouth in rage, "Are you people fucking crazy!? Of course, I'm not right! I'm just saying that none of you would be alive if it wasn't for Riley! Of course, it's not okay that he killed millions of people before! He should pay for his crimes…
…But none of what you are doing now matters! Look at yourselves, you should just focus on helping each other and make yourselves useful for a change, you path—"
And before Hannah could dig herself into a deeper hole, she felt her stomach almost churning… as Riley suddenly appeared in front of her and punched her straight in the gut— almost causing her body to fold in half before violently rolling back into the Korean Shaved Ice store.
Silvie was going to catch Hannah, but found that she did not need to do so as she soon just gently dropped to the floor.
"I apologize, people," Riley then let out a small sigh as he started looking at the mob, almost as if he was scanning each and every one of them,
"My sister is just a little angry and irritated since I destroyed her favorite planet, Mars."
"..."
And as soon as the people heard his words, their mouths once again became sewn. Even with Riley's face covered with all sorts of dirt and scraps, they still could clearly see his eyes that were as dark as night itself,
"Go on, continue until all of you are satisfied," Riley then stretched his arms to the side, "I will be here all day, so you can do whatever you want to me— I will not lift a finger and I will not fight back. You want your revenge? This is the moment you can take it."
"Y—"
"But do know I have already memorized each of your faces," Riley said as a subtle smile started to grow on his face. And finally, the mob started to dissipate. The whispers and mutters that once filled the entire mall, now replaced by thundering footsteps that soon also faded away with the noise.
And just in the span of a minute, everyone was gone— all except but one.
The son of the Megawoman, stood still and stood strong as he stared Riley directly in the eyes.
"Don't, Gary Gray," Butcher quickly stood in front of Gary, "You do not need me to tell you what your chances are against him."
"Didn't you hear?" Gary let out a tiny scoff as he glanced at Butcher,
"He's not going to lift even a single finger."
"Ga—"
Butcher wasn't even able to utter another word as Gary disappeared, flipping and destroying the ground behind him as he pushed himself towards Riley.
"You're going to pay for killing my fath—"
And before Gary could finish his words…
…Riley covered his face and slammed his head on the floor.
"Gary!" The other members of the Baby Crew wanted to rush out, but Gary quickly raised his hand and gestured to them to stop.
"Y… you…" Gary then let out a small groan, "...you… you said you wouldn't fight back."
"I apologize, Gary," Riley then took a few steps back as he allowed Gary to stand, "But Aerith shares half of the responsibility for your father's death. She could have easily prevented everything, but did not…
…but go ahead, then."
Riley lowered his arms, "Take your revenge. After all, I am the villain...
...And I am and will forever be the darkest day."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that…" Gary's eyes started to glow in red as he once again rushed toward Riley,
"...I will!"
Chapter 401"What do you think is even going to happen now, Riley!?"
A Boom.
Several booms.
A thousand booms.
That was the best way to describe the sounds that were echoing throughout the entire mall. And it was almost like a call for the people; as the mob that just left were now once again gathering and returning to their positions.
Their eyes, watching as Gary punched, kicked, and tried to slam Riley to the ground— but any of his strikes were just… futile. No matter how strong his strikes seemed, it was almost as if they just bounced right off. The only thing that was moving was Riley's hair and clothes, which had already dried from all the shockwaves of Gary's strikes.
"Do you think you're just going to live like nothing's wrong!? Do you think that the world will just accept you living among us!? It doesn't work like that, man! You need to pay for everything you did!"
Gary roared; each of his words partnered with a strike. A strike that was sadly not even able to budge Riley for even a single millimeter.
"And what kind of payment are you thinking of, Gary?"
"Death and torture!"
"You would need to think of another payment."
"What… you're scared now!?" Gary smirked as he once again punched Riley in the face.
"No, because the former already happened and because the second one is never going to happen. Torture is impossible since I do not experience pain the same way any of you do," Riley let out a small sigh before shaking his head, "And death— well, I have already died many times before. I do not stay dead, unfortunately for all of you."
"We will see about that!"
Gary grabbed Riley's head as his eyes suddenly shone red,
"Fuck you, Riley! I will never stop hunting and trying to hurt you, you piece of shit!"
And with those words, a large beam practically swallowed Riley's entire head; the floor behind him, now also a crevice that continued to dig deeper into the Academy's underground.
"Let me ask you again, Riley. What do you think is going to happen now!? You can't just live amongst us like you're not a fucking piece of shit murderer who killed millions of people just because you like to do it! At least the House of Super had a cause they were fighting for! Even the Dark Millenium had something, all the villains we fought had meaning! What about you!?"
"So, it's alright to kill people as long as I have a reason for it?" Riley then leaned casually leaned his head out of Gary's laser beam as he looked him straight in the eyes,
"So, if I have a reason to kill you now— that would be alright?"
"W—"
And with those words, Gary felt a pressure suddenly grabbing his neck; his head, turning upwards. His beam… almost hitting and disintegrating a small group of people that were watching what was happening from the second floor. If it wasn't for Silvie flying out of the Korean Shaved Ice store and blocking the beam with her body, then someone would have probably died.
And as soon as that happened, some of the normal humans once again started running away in panic; most, however, just remained to watch for whatever reason they could think of.
"F… Fuck," Gary quickly closed his eyes; his neck, he could whisper through his ears as Riley's grip grew tighter and tighter.
"Do you know what reason I have to kill you, Gary?" Riley then casually said as he pulled Gary down to his eye level, "Because you attacked me, hm? Because you're Megawoman's son, and she would certainly be furious if I killed you? Or maybe because you're just unlucky? Do you know for what reason I could kill you right now?"
"K… Kh…."
"Nothing," Riley whispered as everyone could start to hear Gary's neck crack, "I could kill you for nothing."
"Riley, stop."
"..." Riley casually glanced back, only to see Silvie floating behind him.
"If… if you ever considered us as friends… you would stop," Silvie said as she looked at Gary's twisted expression.
"I have already told you many times before. None of you are my friends, Ms. Savelievna," Riley let out a small chuckle, "But you don't have to worry, I won't kill anyone today…
…Gary did, almost did though. Maybe you should… arrest him for that?"
And with those words, a loud gasp for air whispered through the entire mall as Riley let go of Gary's neck. As for Riley, a hint of a smile was plastered on his face as he very slowly faced Silvie.
"I suppose you also want to take revenge on me, Ms. Savelievna?"
"You…" Silvie's eyebrows began to furrow, "...you're no longer a wanted person and never will be. I have no reason to fight you, Riley."
And although Silvie's words were calm, both of her fists were trembling; almost vibrating as they seemed to want to take a shot at Riley.
"Just… go. You've already caused enough chaos here."
"I am not the one who—"
"You think we're done here!?"
And before Riley could finish his words, Gary once again lunged toward him; this time, Gary wrapped his arms around Riley and lifted him from the ground… before slamming him face first to the floor without any more words.
But before Riley's nose could hit the hard floor, the both of them stopped mid-air.
"I think we are, Gary."
Riley then let out a small sigh as he and Gary floated in the air, before just casually landing back to the ground; with Riley slightly pushing Gary away, causing him to almost tumble back to the floor.
"But if you really want to try and get something out of me…" Riley then stepped to the side as he looked at Paige, who was now beside Butcher and being protected by him, just in case someone from the mob tried something, "...Then why don't you start killing people that are somewhat close to me?"
"...Huh?" Gary blinked.
"I will not give you a list of who they are," Riley then stretched his arms to the side as he once again addressed the mob, "But let's just say if you hurt them, I would consider that hurting me."
"What… are you doing, Riley?" Silvie lowered her voice, "Although Gary might have said his words in rage, he's right. Do you think you're just going to be able to live a normal life here? People know who you are now, everyone will be afraid of you."
"Not everyone… You'll see."
"...What?"
"And you're not afraid of me, Silvie." And once again, a smile appeared on Riley's face, "You got that from Aerith."
"You know what I mean," Silvie finally placed her feet on the ground, "Every response you will get from people will be fake because they are afraid of you. You're never going to have a normal life."
"I never had, Silvie," Riley shook his head, "The only person that has even been true in my life in the past is my sister. Father is a lie, mother is a lie— Everyone has been fake. You."
"I'm… not. I honestly, truly wished to be your friend back then, Riley."
"..." Riley did not really answer and just shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe. But I am used to being treated differently, Silvie. This…
…won't be any different."
And with those words, Riley started to walk away; but before he could take 3 steps, Silvie's words once again reached his ears.
"What about Hannah? She… I don't know why… but she still sees you as a brother. She still loves you."
"I do not deserve to be a part of her life, Silvie…" Riley let out a small but deep breath before just glancing and continuing to walk away; not even turning back, "...But lucky for her…
…she has all of you."
"..." Silvie seemed to want to say something more, but Riley just kept walking away. Gary still seemed to want to try and fight him, but Silvie stopped him. She just watched as Riley approached Paige, before walking towards the crowd that instantly parted to give way for him to walk through.
She also watched as there were some… whose eyes did not leave Riley— some of them, even trying to reach and touch Riley as their eyes glistened in a way that Silvie still could not quite understand.
It did not take quite long for her to realize what it was, however, as she started hearing whispers flowing in the air. The people that were looking at Riley were whispering his name; some voices, even trembling.
"..." She then watched as Riley once again glanced towards her with another subtle smile on his face… and a whisper that said,
"You see?"
And with those words, Riley disappeared into the crowd; finally letting all the people there release their breaths.
***
"Good job, boss."
Outside the mall, John and Ellie were waiting for Riley and Paige; with John quickly handing a towel to Riley as soon as he stepped out of the building.
"No, good job, John," Riley nodded as he grabbed the towel from John before continuing to walk.
"It's a good thing I have been practicing on my aim, boss. I actually almost missed you," John let out a small chuckle as he rotated and stretched his arm.
"Wait… what's happening?" Paige, who was walking beside Riley, could not help but blink a couple of times as she heard the two's conversation.
"Oh, the Boss asked me to start the commotion," John sighed, "They wouldn't have had the courage to throw anything at him if I didn't start it."
"...What?" Paige halted her steps as she turned to face Riley, "...Why?"
"To gather empathy and sympathy, Paige," Riley also halted his steps,
"People do not follow those that have power, but those that they could understand….
…I've thought about what you said to me."
"What… I said?"
"About ruling the world."
"That…" Paige gulped, "...was a joke, Riley."
"It doesn't need to be," Riley shook his head as he started walking again; but this time, he was the only one who moved forward,
"Let's make it happen. Not only here, but everywhere."
"..." Paige could really only stare at Riley as the Academy's fake bright sky showered upon him, "How… would you even start?"
"I already have."
And as soon as he said that, a person wearing a robe suddenly came out from one of the cars parked in front of the mall, and without even saying a single word, the person approached Riley… and kneeled in front of him.
"It… is an honor to finally meet you again, master."
The stranger then took off her hood, revealing her dark brown hair and almond-shaped eyes— her skin, glittering from the sheet of ice covering her body. For some reason, however, Paige could feel the woman's small eyes… glaring at her; causing her to shiver.
"Now…" A small smile then crawled on Riley's face as he turned to Paige,
"...Shall we go on that tour?"
<VOLUME 5 — END>
Hello again, the author here. Thank you for reading this far— there's actually only a few of you left. So, thank you very much. I will still strive for a daily release, but expect me to miss some days from now on as I would be focusing on another book since Villain Retirement is dying. I won't be saying what book yet, but I will upload it once it is ready.
The next volume of Villain Retirement might be the final one, or if the popularity returns— then I still have plans for it. But more importantly…
…Thank you for joining me this far, seriously. And now---
<VOLUME 6 — START>
In a bright silver room, a loud heartbeat could be heard echoing; weak, but filled with vigor.
And soon, it was followed by breath— tiny, but filled with strength.
"Welcome back…
…Alice."
"F..."
"Hm?"
"F...fuck."
Chapter 402"Val, stop running!"
"Only if you catch me!"
On a large field, several white streaks could be seen blurring across the sea of grass; and from time to time, a silhouette of a boy emerged from those blurs. A wide smile, plastered on his small and innocent face.
"This is why I told you not to bring children aboard."
"He snuck on board, there's a difference."
On the side of the field were two older men. And like the boy that appeared from time to time from the blur, the color of their hair was also silver. Their eyes, lazily looking at this white streak that didn't seem to have any plans of stopping. Behind them was a wall, a large silver wall that extended and actually surrounded the entire field— and above them… was the view of space. Not the night sky, no… but the expanse of space itself.
"Well, he's your problem since you let him snuck on board."
"Wh—"
"So, I'll leave you to it, Varen."
The wall behind the two men then suddenly opened, revealing a large hallway that also had white streaks blurring about. And before one of these silver-haired men could even finish his words, his companion suddenly disappeared— also turning into a white streak that moved through the large hall.
"..."
Varen could really only sigh as the wall closed, before turning his head back to the boy running around the field. And even though the speed of the boy was enough to leave only streaks of his silhouette, Varen's eyes still followed every step the boy was making.
"Val, I am going to count to three. If you're still not in front of me by then…"
And suddenly, Varen's silver hair began to glow almost into a white color; patterned marks, suddenly appearing on his face, "...Your face is going to meet the palm of my hand."
And as soon as his words echoed through the large field, the white streak that has been terrorizing the peaceful sea of grass instantly stopped; fully revealing the small boy. And before his long silver hair could bounce back to his shoulders, he once again disappeared— only to appear right in front of Varen.
"I'm here!" The boy, Val, quickly saluted towards Varen with a wide smile on his face, "Officer Val, reporting for du— Ack!"
And before Val could finish his words, a mark of a palm could suddenly be seen plastered on his face.
"You… you said at the count of three!" Val quickly said as he touched his swollen cheek.
"Yes, And I started my count at 3."
"...What?" Val snarled, "This… this is abuse of power! A crime!"
"It's not. But do you want me to tell you what is?" Varen scoffed as he placed his hand on Val's shoulder, "Illegally entering and boarding a diplomatic ship or any ship that is not yours, really."
"But this is my ship," Val then smirked as he crossed his arms, "My mother is the Queen of Evaniels, and she owns everything the sun touches! Even y— Ack!"
"...No, she doesn't."
And once again, before the boy could finish his words, Val was smacked on the head.
"Y… Stop that!"
"I am afraid not, it's the order of the Queen to smack you on the face whenever you misbehave." This time, it was Varen who let out a smirk as he once again raised his hand.
"N… No, she didn't!"
"Oh, she did. She even sent us a signed document," Varen let out a somewhat evil chuckle, "Do you know how much trouble you've caused when your mother found out about you missing? Don't even get me started on your sister."
"T… they told Vera?"
"Oh yes," Varen nodded several times,
"See?"
He then retrieved some sort of transparent tablet from behind him, before showing images of a green-haired woman furiously throwing all sorts of objects everywhere.
"She… she'll kill me once we get back," the sound of Van's gulp was enough to almost echo throughout the entire field.
"There's a possibility, yes," Varen chuckled as once again hid his tablet.
"The… the planet we're going to…" Val stuttered as he looked Varen straight in the eyes, "Do… do you think they could adopt me?"
"I don't think so," Varen smiled, "Brats aren't welcome no matter the planet. And based on the readings we're getting, you won't be able to live there anyway— they are a Type 1 Civilization at most, maybe even barely."
"But Voris said it was not like any other planet he had seen?"
"It is. But that's because it has a sort of energy we can't quite get a grasp on," Varen let out a small sigh as he shook his head.
"...Can you show me?" Val's eyes widened.
"No," Varen, however, quickly turned around as the wall behind him opened, "And even if I did, you wouldn't even be able to understand a single word. And speaking of which, you should be studying right now."
"But—"
"Admiral Varen!"
"See? Even the stars are aligning for you."
And as soon as the wall opened up, a woman quickly appeared in front of Varen; her long silver hair, still glowing as she looked at Varen in the eyes.
"Don't worry, Dr. Vella, I already caught your student."
"What?" The woman, Vella, only glanced at Val before shaking her head and turning her focus back to Varen, "It's not about that! We're getting a massive energy reading heading straight for us!"
"A massive energy reading?" Patterned marks once again started to emerge from Varen's skin as his silver hair started to light up, "Where is it coming from? Do we know what signature?"
"Y… yes. It's coming from the unknown planet," Vella took in a small gulp as she nodded, "It's possible that it's a Themarian."
"You should've started with that!" The light on Varen's hair quickly dissipated, "Tell everyone to shut off all our weapons and anything that could be perceived as a threat… and can all of you stop running!?"
And as soon as Varen's words thundered through the large hallways in front of him, the white streaks that were endlessly blurring about disappeared; replaced by people that were now just walking around.
"We… we already disconnected all of our reactors and we're basically just going on a slingshot," Vella didn't mind Varen's loud voice as she only glanced at the people behind her, "But… I don't know if our readings are right or if something is glitching."
"...What? Why would it?" Varen tried to calm his breaths as he placed his hand on Vella's shoulder, "Don't be nervous, okay? We already knew that there was a Themarian on this System, possibly the Princess. That's why we're here in the first place."
"Well…
…our sensors are reading two Themarians."
"I see."
"A… Admiral?" Vella could only take in a small gulp as she could feel her clothes creasing from Varen's tightening grip on her shoulder.
"You…
…You should have started with that!"
***
"Hello, father."
"...Riley?"
At the same time, back on the familiar ground of Earth, Bernard was Inside a bright and large hall. He was confined in a glass box, with a size just enough to be considered a small room. Bernard was kneeling, surrounded by the piece of the white vest he was just strapped in earlier; his saliva, also on the floor as the gag on his mouth was removed.
He had been hearing several screams and shouts since earlier and wondered what it was about— until Riley just entered the hall, practically dismantling the large thick door as he casually stepped inside his cell.
As for the multiple soldiers and guards that were guarding him, they were now all lying on the floor; as to whether or not they were alive. Well… Bernard could really bet on the former considering who just visited him.
"How… did you find where I was being kept?" Bernard then wiped the saliva trailing on his chin, before stretching his neck and all of his limbs.
"They didn't even give you a bed, father?"
Riley very slowly approached Bernard's glass cage, "As expected of the world's most dangerous normal human. They are not taking any chances of you using that bed to escape the prison."
"...I can't do anything like that," Bernard sighed before sitting on the glass floor, "And how did you find me?"
"Oh, I killed Empress to get your location."
"...What?" Bernard's eyes widened.
"I'm just joking, of course. I just asked her."
A small and subtle smile then appeared on Riley's face as he slowly approached the glass box, before it completely shattered into a billion pieces and just rained down towards the floor.
Bernard, however, didn't flinch an inch… as he knew the shards wouldn't reach him, and they didn't. They just floated above him before they completely turned into nothing but dust.
"You do know that people could still breathe those in, right?" Bernard then let out a sigh as he moved forward, "So…
…Why are you visiting good ol' dad?"
"Oh, you're free, father. I asked permission from Empress to remove all the charges against you," Riley said casually.
"...What?"
"Yes, I can do that now, apparently," Riley then let out a small sigh, "I actually came here to ask you how I could rule the Earth once I conquer it."
"...What?"
"But then Paige and the others realized something, father," Riley continued to sigh, "The rules of the world don't apply to me. The entire world knows who I am, most of them fear me and some of them respect me. I can do whatever I want and no one can and would do anything against me. People will kneel before me if I tell them to. In all aspects and contexts…
…I already rule the world, no?"
Chapter 403There was no point in staying on Earth.
If he was going to disappear from his sister's life; if he wouldn't be able to watch any new episodes of Italian Mafia Reborn since according to Hera, most of the people that worked on it are now dead— there was no point in him staying on Earth.
And so, when Paige suggested that he try and rule the world, a little tiny excitement was born inside Riley. Finally, he thought… finally he had something to do on this planet. Killing and torturing people was nice, but there was also no point in that since most of the humans were already down and beaten.
Most of them are probably already numb to death and pain right now because of all the tragedies that have been happening around them.
And so, he decided to rule the world. Everything was in motion— he easily found Tomoe Reynolds, who already had an army of supers under her. Supers that Riley was very familiar with… after all, most of them were his tenants back in the Guesthouse.
Tomoe made sure to gather only those that would actually stay and be loyal to him to the extent they are capable of. She told Riley that when she transferred the guests, she purposely made it so that they could escape.
And as is expected, there were some who tried to. Sadly for them, however, they were in Tomoe's domain— she killed every last one of them. And after that, Tomoe hid, and with the help of Warden, they were able to set up a new base.
Tomoe has been using all her time these past 2 years to indoctrinate— No. In her words, it was 'educate'. She spent the 2 years educating the guests about Riley's brilliance and how he was the true messiah of the world.
And then, very secretly, when she was sure that the Guests were completely educated about the Way of the Riley Ross, she sent them out into the world to amass more followers.
The Endless Dark.
Riley has an army and he could go on with his plan to rule the world whenever he wanted to. But then, Paige, Tomoe, and the others realized something.
He didn't need to rule the world because, in a way, he already has. If he went outside to a crowd right now and ordered them to kneel, they will. If he killed someone in broad daylight, people will just look the other way.
There was no point in ruling a world that already surrendered to you.
"By all accounts and contexts… I already rule the world, no?"
"..."
Bernard could really only look at his son for a few seconds, before shaking his head and walking around the large hall to try and stretch his legs. As for Riley, he just watched and patiently waited for an answer; just standing there for what seemed like a quarter of a minute.
And then, finally, Bernard's breaths started to whisper into his ears.
"Son…" He said, "There's a difference between conquering and ruling. You've won the world, but you're not ruling it."
"Hm?" Riley tilted his head.
"You decide their fate, and they decide yours."
"That is democracy. No one voted for me to be in this position, the people would have no choice but to follow whatever I say."
"That is tyranny, son…
…Ruling means the people serve you, and in return, you serve them a hundred-fold," Bernard then slowly approached Riley, "Their life is on your hands, and your life is on theirs. It is pretty much like being a parent— you take care of them, you nourish them, you bathe them, you make them happy. And in return, when you need them, you will be rewarded."
"Like a farm animal."
"That's…" Bernard looked at Riley for a few seconds, before letting out a loud sigh and shaking his head, "...Your mother really should be the one teaching you this."
"I agree, but I can't find her," Riley nodded, "Did you know she was a Themarian?"
"She's a what!?"
"So, you also didn't know…" Riley then let out a small sigh as he patted his father's shoulder, "...you were married to an old woman all this time, father."
"..." Bernard blinked a couple of times as his eyes began to move randomly; his breaths, slightly becoming erratic. After a few seconds, however, he calmed down and just let out a long and very deep sigh,
"It all makes sense now," Bernard shook his head before letting out a small chuckle, "I always knew your mother was special. Did you know that she was also the one who set up the rule of 'no spying' on family? Now we know why."
"It would seem there are a lot of things the two of you need to talk about," Riley sighed, "W—"
"No!" Bernard then suddenly kneeled on the ground as he clasped his head.
"...Father?"
"I… Doesn't that mean that…" Bernard started to grovel on the ground, "I… I cheated on a Themarian?"
"..." Riley looked to the side for a few seconds, before blinking and turning his focus back to his father, "I didn't think of it like that. Would you like me to kill you now, father?"
"..."
"..."
"No…" Bernard then stood up; this time, he placed his hand on Riley's shoulder, "This will be my last lesson to you as a father, no— as a man. No matter what happens, no matter how bad it gets…
…always own up to your mistakes."
"Hm," Riley nodded, "That is actually the very reason I am freeing you right now, father."
"Hm?"
"You can do nothing in a cage. Sister is very angry right now," Riley then let out a small sigh as he took a step back, "There is no possible way that I could atone for all the lies and deception I have done to her. But I believe it is not too late for you, father…
…I think it is time to make up for your mistakes to her. She needs you, father."
***
"I don't fucking need you. Are they letting everyone out of jail now?"
A few hours later, back in the Korean Shaved Ice store, Riley shocked all of the members of the Baby Crew by suddenly returning to the Academy, fully knowing that most of the people there made it clear that he was not welcome there.
What shocked them the most, however, was that Bernard was casually walking behind him.
Chihiro— Golden Fox was also there as she has been thinking of joining the Baby Crew ever since the whole House of Super thing happened. And now, not even a member of the team, she was already experiencing the notorious happenings inside the Baby Crew.
And so, right now, the only thing she could really do was watch as Hannah started… berating and saying all sorts of nasty things to Bernard. She looked at the other members of the Baby Crew— and they were just eating their dessert.
"..." Chihiro then looked at the other table, only to see Riley alone, watching and nodding to himself as he also seemed to be listening in on Hannah and Bernard's conversation. Are… they really just going to ignore that Darkdady himself is sitting near them?
She was still unaware of what really truly happened, but wasn't it just last week that Riley was being thrown all sorts of stuff?
"..."
"..."
Chihiro then took another glance at Hanna and the rest of the Baby Crew, before standing up… and suddenly joining Riley on his table.
"!!!"
Gary could not help but take in a deep breath as he saw Chihiro approaching Riley, but he couldn't really do anything but just watch.
"It'll be fine," Silvie whispered, "I don't think Riley has any intention… or has any motivation to hurt any of us."
Everyone knew she was right. Riley was really just minding his own business and not even talking to any of them— it was almost as if they didn't even exist anymore. Even Hannah, he only just glanced at her, before stepping to the side and letting Bernard do all the talking.
Was… that it? Was their connection to Riley truly severed now?
"So, you're Darkday."
"I was," Riley blinked a couple of times as Chihiro suddenly sat at the seat in front of him, "You didn't know? But you knew who I was when I was going as Paragon."
"Because I could see your eyes," Chihiro calmly said, "Once you introduce yourself to me, I can always see your name floating above your head whenever I see your eyes. It's… one of my abilities."
"Like a video game?"
"...Yes," Chihiro sighed.
"So that is why Gary likes you," Riley let out a tiny breath of amusement, "Did you need something from me, Golden Fox?"
"You just seemed… lonely."
"I am not, Golden Fox," Riley shook his head, "I am not even here. You're talking to a clone, my original body is… somewhere out there."
"...Oh," Chihiro could really only squint her already small eyes, "...I see."
"Are you not afraid of me, Chihiro?"
"Japan has a different notion of Darkday, they even have figurines of you," Chihiro sighed and shook her head, "You never really truly wreaked havoc there."
"Because that is where the main studio of Italian Mafia Reborn is, Chihiro. I try to avoid going there as much as possible."
"I see. You–"
"Good, you're all here."
And before any other conversation could continue inside the store, the bells of the door rang almost violently. Even Hannah, who had been ranting in front of her father and not letting him speak, could really only look as Empress stepped inside the store.
"I need all of you to come with me…
…we have visitors."
Chapter 404VR 404
The Goliath Space Station.
The previous space station was blown into smithereens by the House of Super, but with the help of supers, rebuilding another and a better one could not even be said to be a difficult feat. And right now, in this newly built space station, the people that were previously just idling and arguing inside the Korean Shaved Ice store could be seen.
All of them were just looking at a large screen; their eyes, reflecting another ship that was being surveilled by the GSS— the very reason why Hannah and the others were called in the first place.
After what seemed like months, another extraterrestrial visitor was on their way to Earth. In truth, Hannah and the others— no, not only them, but the rest of the world temporarily forgot the existence of these would-be invaders because of the attack of the House of Super.
But now, the Baby Crew were reminded of their real jobs— to fend off these aliens.
"Why can't we deal with them just like the other fuckers?"
"Because they are not like the other fuckers. They— can you tell your father not to touch anything?"
And while the rest of the people were busy checking at the large screen, Empress's eyes followed Bernard; who seemed to be examining every inch of the space station. Riley did ask for permission to free his father from prison… but Empress didn't think that Riley would actually do it not even an hour after he asked.
Bernard lost some weight in prison, almost bringing him back to how he was during his prime— muscular, rugged, and completely dash—
Empress quickly shook her head as her thoughts suddenly turned for the worse. How could she even think of something like that at a moment like this? And so, Empress just completely decided to ignore whatever Bernard was doing.
There was no use in trying to spy on him anyway— as the very reason he was imprisoned in the first place was for aiding to hide his son's existence… and his so-called son was free to walk everywhere now.
Empress then turned her attention towards Riley, who was just quietly looking at the large screen along with everyone. She was told that the one with them right now was only a clone and that the original will be arriving later with Paige and the others…
….but this truly was a sight to see.
Empress then turned her attention to the other people that were there.
Bulwark, Butcher, Hera, and Tempo. Aside from V, all of the members of the Hope Guild were here. It was almost as if she was brought back to simpler times when none of them knew of Riley's true identity.
But of course, V's absence was a grim reminder of the tragedy that all of them have faced— Riley Ross. Although she ordered his immunity, she was probably the most confused as to what to feel right now.
Darkday– Riley was and is still the world's greatest threat. And to see him casually standing beside all his victims was just… a weird irony. It was almost as if everything Empress had been fighting for had been nothing.
There was no justice here.
"Let's just scare them so they would go away," Hannah then said as she finally removed her eyes from the screen and looked at the rest of the Baby Crew, "Same plan as before, just a little tap to show them what we're capable of and—"
"No," Empress gently pushed Hannah to the side before she could finish her plans, "I didn't call all of you here because I needed some muscle."
"Huh?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she looked at the other people inside the room, "We're in a room filled with Earth's strongest supers… and you don't need any muscle?"
"No," Empress once again shook her head, before pressing something on the console in front of the screen and changing the view,
"I called all of you here for a diplomatic mission."
Empress then stepped to the side as she gestured towards the screen— which now showed images of men and women all sporting silver hair.
"...Why are you showing us images of a rock band?" Gary looked at the others.
"They're aliens," Empress raised her voice, "They own the giant ship we've been showing you on the screen since you arrived. And as most of you may have already surmised, they are different from all the other species we've met. And unlike the other species that have visited us, they did not come here to invade— but to talk."
"...Talk?"
"They—"
"They are called Evaniels."
And before Empress could say another word, Riley's voice resounded throughout the control room. The voice, however, did not come from Riley's clone, but instead from the door that just slid open as… the real Riley finally arrived and entered the room.
And behind him were Paige and—
"Tomoe!?"
Katrina, who had been keeping quiet like the others, could not help but raised her voice as she saw a person she had not seen in over 2 years. Tomoe, however, only bowed her head before quietly following behind Riley as he continued to walk into the room.
"Good work," Riley then said towards his clone, who only nodded before disintegrating into the ground like mud.
"Riley… you know what those things are?" This time, Bulwark stepped forward.
"They are a species from the Higher Race," Riley stated before moving to the side of the room with no people, "But I think Empress knows more about them than me, I just wanted to make an entrance, Bulwark."
"..."
"..."
The people stared at Riley for a few seconds, before turning their attention back to Empress.
"Right…" Empress could really only sigh from Riley's sudden interruption, "...As Riley said, they are called Evaniels. And based on the information that Megawoman sent me, they are a very peaceful race. But at the very same time, they are a very arrogant race…
…so I am just telling all of you now not to seek trouble with them," Empress breathed out as she looked at Hannah and Gary.
"..." Hannah only let out a small scoff as she focused on the images on the screen. As for Gary, he looked completely confused as to why Empress also singled him out.
"I want all of you to treat them as supers because that is what they are," Empress continued, "They are fast. Each of them can move and run up to speeds of 4 times that of the speed of sound, even their children could run at the speed of a jet."
"..." Tempo's eyebrows quickly furrowed as he heard Empress's words. A race… filled with sprinters like him? He didn't really know what to feel about that.
"They belong to the Higher Races— civilizations that are not only technologically advanced but also hold great power in the expanse of the universe. In short, they hold the strongest nations," Empress took in a long and deep breath,
"This is it, people. This is the moment our world will become bigger, a lot bigger. I am tired of fighting and fighting, so please… don't fuck it up."
"If you didn't want us to fuck things up…" Hannah rolled her eyes, "...Why bring us here in the first place? You could have just told us or sent us an e-mail saying these fuckers come in peace."
"Because first impressions are important."
"Huh?"
Everyone then turned their heads towards Bernard, who suddenly spoke out of nowhere after just examining everything and minding his own business. And as soon as Bernard realized everyone was looking at him, he quickly waved his hand and smiled,
"Don't mind me. I'm just… sorry," he then said before looking away; not before, of course, glancing at Empress and gesturing to her to continue.
"..."
"...Right," Empress, however, feigned not to mind as she just cleared her throat, "The fugitive is right. First impressions are important. These evaniels would more than likely see us as cavemen as people of lower a class— and that's not going to be okay for me."
Empress then took another long and deep breath as she looked at each and every person in the room except Riley,
"I brought all of you, the Earth's mightiest, as a show of strength."
"..."
"...Fuck yeah," Gary whispered loudly.
"They may be a peaceful race," Empress continued, "But that might just be because they are scared of Megawoman. Right now, Megawoman is on board their ship; briefing and also explaining to them about our species and what we are capable of…
…Don't disappoint her."
"When…" Bella raised her hand, "...when are these silver-heads coming?"
"They are already here, kid."
And as soon as Bella asked that question, the door of the control room opened— with Aerith stepping inside the room and causing everyone there to just straighten up their bodies… with Silvie stepping forward and even saluting.
Aerith, however, only sighed as she turned around to look at the door; before talking in a language that none of them had ever heard before.
And as she gestured with her hand, several silver-haired men and women started entering the control room. Most of them just stopped right behind Aerith… there was one, however, who continued walking around the room, a boy.
"Val!" One of the older evaniels seemed to be calling to the boy, but the boy completely ignored him as he just walked around the control room almost as if he owned it— he even brushed his fingers on the console… before just flinging his hand away in disgust almost as if he touched a rotten fish.
Soon, however, the boy stopped walking around as he stood in front of one of the humans in the room. He seemed to be saying something— but Empress and the other humans didn't really care about what was coming out of his mouth… but rather who he was talking to.
"Za vet ek veg…
…Rali Rus?"
Chapter 405The Evaniels. None of them were really expecting much from a civilization that could not even be considered to be a Type-1. The only reason they were even going there in the first place was in hopes to get a glimpse of one of the legendary Themarians— Aerith'Hel.
Only those of the Higher Races know who she truly is; even amongst the Themarians, she was special. That was why all sorts of species and races were searching for her in the first place since she disappeared all those rotations ago.
They were here for Aerith, as for the undiscovered planet, they were merely an attraction that happened to be in the same area… or so Varen thought.
When Aerith boarded their ship along with another unknown Themarian, Varen realized that the civilization in this System was not as simple as it seemed. He initially thought the weird readings on the planet was just because a Themarian was hiding there, but no— for there to be two Themarians residing in one insignificant civilization?
There… must be something special there. And there are— the Supers.
Varen, and especially Dr. Vella, were pleasantly perplexed as Aerith briefed them about the inhabitants of the planet called Earth. A species that held all sorts of different abilities, unique to each individual.
They were also told that the planet is still fresh from a devastating war that caused a billion lives, so they should be very gentle and careful on how they treat them, if not— then Aerith would have to ask them to leave.
Admiral Varen and the rest of the Evaniels that were with him listened very carefully to every word that came out of Aerith's mouth. No— even if she was just mumbling, they would still probably listen to her.
All their bodies straightened out, however, when Aerith told them of the very last thing they should take note of. If anything, her last info about the primitive species sounded more like a warning.
And so, with Aerith's voice suddenly turning serious, all of their eyes and ears focused on her final set of words—
—In the inhabitants of Earth, there is one that they should, by all costs, try not to disturb. If they could avoid him, then that would be even more ideal. Aerith did not really explain to them why, she just told them that the so-called human was a very dangerous individual.
Varen asked if that individual was going to be on the ship they were going to board, and he was. And so, Varen decided to only bring his closest aides. Dr. Vella, Commander Voris, and four of his most trusted guards.
But alas, once again— Prince Val snuck on board. Varen wanted to throw him back to their ship, but Aerith said that it should be fine to let the prince roam around as long as he doesn't do anything stupid.
But alas, not even a second after their first contact with the new civilization; not even before they exchanged their greetings, Val was already in front of the very individual that Aerith told them not to disturb.
"Za vet ek veg…
…Rali Rus?"
Riley Ross. He fully matches the description that Aerith gave them.
Long, almost jet-black hair; skin that was even whiter than the Zerahims… and always seemingly surrounded by 1 or 2 of the species' females.
"Val!" Admiral Varen tried to call for the prince; careful not to raise his voice too much in the presence of a Themarian, "Get back here this instant, that is an order!"
"It's fine, it's fine."
Val, however, only waved his hand; his eyes, slowly scanning each of the humans that were inside the control room,
"I don't get it," he then said as he turned his focus back to Riley, "They don't really look like anything special."
"I am not going to ask again, get back here," Admiral Varen once again ordered. Although he was completely infuriated with what the prince was doing, he actually agrees with his sentiments.
Most of the Higher Races would emit energy as soon as you see them; even those that were in the lower bracket at least had a twinkle of aura. But these humans, they have nothing. There was one, however, who somewhat had the same energy as Aerith— it was a woman that resembled her quite a lot.
Aerith did say she had a child with them, was it her?
These humans, what sort of secret are they hiding? Just how special are they that two Themarians chose to stay in this System? Right now, Varen was not seeing anything.
But even then, he did not let his expression sway as he just ordered his guards to restrain the prince for now, before facing the individual that is supposed to be acting as the leader of the primitive civilization.
"Madam Empris… ma name iz… Varen," he then said in the native's tongue.
"Welcome to Earth, Admiral Varen."
And although Empress was still a little nervous about the Evaniel boy that approached Riley, since everyone here was aware of the diplomacy that both sides are trying to establish, there should… be nothing drastic happening.
She, however, was now regretting including Riley. And judging by the subtle expression on Admiral Varen's face— he too was regretting the choice of bringing that boy aboard the ship, whoever he was.
"I apologize for the actions of our prince, Madam Empress."
"Hm?" Empress quickly turned her focus back on Admiral Varen, who was now suddenly talking fluently in their language.
"It's a real-time translator device," Aerith, who was standing on the side, quickly approached Empress as she handed her a small device; before gesturing to her to stick it on the side of her neck, "I used it as well the first time I landed on Earth."
"I… see," Empress then placed the comms on her neck as Aerith started handing more of the device to the other humans,
"He is your prince? You brought him here?"
"Well, more like he snuck on board."
"I see… It is good that we will be able to talk to each other clearly, Admiral Varen," Empress smiled as she looked at Varen straight in the eyes, "It would have been… dangerous for both of us if any misunderstandings arise because of the language barrier."
"..." Admiral Varen slightly squinted his eyes from Empress's words. But after a few moments, a smile also appeared on his face as he nodded, "That is true. The Queen had sent us here in hopes that we would be the first to make contact and trade with a future Geralid."
"Sadly, you are not the first to make contact with us," Empress shook her head, "...But what's a Geralid?"
"It's… how can I say it that would translate…" Admiral Varen slightly turned his eyes to Aerith, before letting out a small hum and focusing on Empress, "A humanoid with the potential to climb in the hierarchy of the universe. Most of us in the Higher Races are what you call… humanoids. And therefore, it is believed that any species resembling our biological features have the ability to—"
"I really don't see it."
"..."
Alas, Empress and Varen's conversation was slowly going smoothly… but once again, the peace was broken by the prince of Evaniels as he escaped the clutches of Varen's guards and was now once again standing in front of Riley, causing everyone to once again let out a small gasp.
"They just look like any other of the humanoids in the Lower Races."
And this time, everyone could understand what he was saying as he also placed a translator on the side of his neck, "Do you think their food will be good, though? I'm slightly starv—"
And before Val could finish his words, he slightly raised his eyebrow as one of the women standing beside Riley stepped forward. But before she could say anything, Riley blocked her with his arm.
"..." Riley then turned to look at Val straight in the eyes, before raising his hand. Varen, Aerith, and Empress all flinched as he did so; fortunately for them, they did not need to take any action as Riley was just placing the translator on his neck.
Aerith let out a short but deep breath as she saw this… not before glaring at Empress, of course. Almost as if she was asking why she would even bring the walking calamity here in the first place.
"Hello, Prince Val,"
"O… Oh?" Val slightly let out a small breath as Riley bowed his head, "So, you can speak."
"Yes," Riley nodded casually before saying, "You seem to be very interested in striking a conversation with me, Prince Val. Was there something you wanted to ask?"
"..." Everyone watched in anxiety as Riley slowly stepped closer to Val; especially Empress and the other humans. The guards were about to go and protect their prince, but commander Voris raised his hand and ordered them not to do anything.
"Not really," Val crossed his arms as he once again looked Riley straight in the eyes, "I was just wondering what makes your species so special and different from the others. Varen had always told us to be kind to those lower than us. This time, however, he told us to be careful— specifically of you… but I just don't see why."
"Your Admiral told you to be wary of me?" A small smile crawled on Riley's face as he looked at Admiral Varen and Aerith, "Then he must care for you very much."
"Right," Val let out a small scoff, "He doesn't need to, I don't think I need much protection here."
"I disagree…
…I think you do."
"!!!"
Chapter 406"I don't think I need much protection here."
"I disagree… I think you do."
"!!!"
With Riley raising his hand once again, Aerith finally decided to make a move as she rushed to move between him and the prince of the Evaniels. As for Admiral Varen, he was also already behind Val, pulling him away from Riley.
This all happened in the span of less than a second, with some of the people in the control room missing everything that just happened as they blinked.
There was one, however, amongst the other humans that were able to see everything that happened— Tempo. Instead of worrying, however, a smile slowly formed on his face. Ever since his powers awakened, he has always been the fastest sprinter on Earth, it wasn't even a contest.
Tempo wasn't really able to stretch his powers because he didn't have to. But with a race filled with sprinters like him, maybe he could finally touch the peak of his potential— there was also the fact that whenever Tempo tries to go beyond what his body is capable of, he could feel himself slowly disintegrating.
Tempo knew he could move even faster, he just needed something that would help him survive. Maybe the Evaniels have an answer to that?
"..." Well, at least that would be the case. If everything goes south here, then he wouldn't even have the chance to talk to these foreign visitors of them. But alas, all Tempo could really do was watch, as once again…
…Riley strikes.
"Riley, what are you doing!?" Aerith raised her voice as she tapped Riley on the stomach, "I thought you're not going to cause any more trouble?"
"When did I say that?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head.
"Isn't that already implied since you chose to stay on Earth?" Aerith then grabbed Riley by the collars, pulling him closer to her as she whispered into his ear, "If you're going to cause trouble then just stick with me and your mother. These humans already had enough of your antics."
"I actually wanted to try ruling the world first."
"...What? What do you mean!?" Aerith slightly raised her voice as her lips moved even closer to Riley's ears, "Why would you do that? That's illegal."
"It's not. Didn't you hear from Empress? I can do whatever I want now."
"I— I'll explain later, just keep your mouth shut for now, okay?" Aerith was about to lean away, but once again leaned closer to Riley, "Also, don't go around telling the Evaniels that you destroyed one of the planets. I already told Empress the same."
"...Why?" A small and very subtle smile slowly crawled on Riley's face."
"I'll tell you later, just stop acting like a menace for once."
"But…"
And as the two were talking and whispering to each other, the other people in the control room could really only watch and look at each other from time to time. As for the Baby Crew, well… they were all looking at Gary— who was too stunned to even breathe at the moment.
Although he didn't really believe it when Riley told him that he was probably closer to Aerith than even him, Gary also didn't take it to heart. After all, Gary knew his mother's responsibilities. Megawoman is a figure that stood above everyone, for everyone. He wasn't just his mother, he was the world's hope.
But now, seeing the two talking like this with their faces sticking to each other…
…could it be that… Riley was insinuating something else when he said he and Aerith were close?
"Just… enough, okay?" Aerith finally stepped away from Riley as she approached Admiral Varen and Val, "As for you… I just advised you and your men not to approach Riley Ross, what do you think you're trying to do right now? Have the Evaniels become battle hungry since the last time I saw all of you?"
"That—"
"Keep the boy on a leash, Admiral Varen, please."
"I apologize, Princess Aerith. It won't happen again," Admiral Varen bowed his head, before dragging Val by the ears as he returned to the other Evaniels. As for Val, his glaring eyes were still completely focused on Riley.
"...Princess Aerith? You're a princess!?"
Paige, who had been keeping quiet the entire time beside Riley, could not help but open her mouth as she pointed at Aerith. The others didn't really hear Admiral Varen's words that clearly, but they did now.
"That…" Aerith could really only let out an exasperated breath as she looked at the others, before settling her eyes on Empress, "...Can you just focus on what matters right now?"
"..." Empress could really only let out a sigh. She brought the others here as a show of power; but it was slowly turning into a shit show, "Perhaps it is best to take our talk elsewhere, Admiral Varen. Since Aerith has personally assured me that you wish to only build friendship between our two races, then I would like to invite you on—"
"Think fast!"
And then, once again— Prince Val's voice echoed through the control room as he was once again able to escape the clutches of the people that were supposed to be guarding him. Admiral Varen was about to rush towards Val as he saw him in front of Riley again, but before he could even take a single step, Aerith grabbed his arm.
"W—"
"I already warned you twice," Aerith's voice no longer held any friendliness in them as she looked Varen straight in the eyes, "At this point, I'm starting to believe you and your men are doing this on purpose."
"We're not—"
"What happens now, it's your fault."
"What do you—"
"Ack!"
And just like that, once again, chaos started to erupt throughout the control room as Val suddenly found himself being lifted into the air; his neck, tightly being squeezed by Riley's hand. Empress was going to order Riley to stop, but there was no point in doing that— and she didn't want to in the first place.
Aerith was right, something was wrong here. The first occurrence could just be attributed to an arrogant young noble boy wanting to exert dominance— but this was the second time their prince was able to approach Riley even though they were guarding him.
Should… she just let it play out?
"Prince Val!"
Commander Voris and the four guards they were with quickly surrounded Riley, Tomoe, and Paige. But before they could approach any further, spikes of ice started to emerge on the floor in front of them.
"Let go of the Prince now!" Commander Voris raised his voice; his hands, starting to vibrate at a speed enough to create a whistle to whisper in the air.
"Commander Voris, order your men to stand down!" Admiral Varen ordered. Voris, however, completely ignored him as he just focused on Riley.
"The safety of the Prince is my top priority!" He stated as he slowly stepped forward, causing the spears of ice in front of him to shatter as soon as they made contact with his seemingly vibrating legs,
"Let go of—"
"Okay."
"Ack!"
And before Commander Voris could finish his words, Riley suddenly let go of Val, causing the little prince to yelp as his butt hit the cold hard floor. Commander Voris seemed to want to say something else, but Riley already turned around before he could even open his mouth.
"Alright, I think everyone's a little too excited right now."
And before the tension could get any worse, Aerith once again stood between the two races, "Varen, why don't you take your people back to your ship for now? Then come back alone once you've secured the prince."
"That—"
"Now. Empress, have someone escort our guests."
"...Okay."
"..." Admiral Varen could really only let out a sigh as he nodded. He then turned to look at Empress to apologize, before ordering his people to leave. And as soon as all of them left the control room, the sighs of everyone instantly hummed in the air.
"Well…" Hannah was the first to speak as she placed her hand on Empress's shoulder,
"...That went well."
***
"You don't leave this room as long as we're in this System, you got it!?"
Back in the colossal ship of the Evaniels, prince Val was currently in his room, being surrounded by Admiral Varen, Commander Voris, and Dr. Vella.
"But—"
"You don't do that, Val! We are trying to build ties with the people of Earth! Why would you even do that!?"
Admiral Varen was not letting the prince speak, "No. We are going to send you home. Commander Voris, ready one of our pods."
"Wait, please. I was just trying to see if—"
"The kid is just trying to have fun, Varen," Commander Voris gestured to Val not to speak, "Besides, he was the one who got hurt. This is a good lesson for him."
"This is not the time for lessons, Commander Voris." This time, it was Dr. Vella who spoke; her eyes, looking at Val in disappointment, "We might lose the chance to study a new species and make friends because of this."
"Just… make sure the prince doesn't get out from now on," Admiral Varen pinched the bridge of his nose, "And call the Queen, I have a feeling she might want to visit the—"
"You have a very large ship, Evaniels. It makes sense since your species could move fast."
"!!!"
And before Varen could finish his words, he and Commander Voris disappeared from their spot; appearing beside the prince as they looked at the visitor that was suddenly in the room…
…standing right behind Dr. Vella with the widest smile they have ever seen.
"I hope you people don't mind…
…the door wasn't locked."
Chapter 407"Your race should really consider installing locks on your doors. It will help in improving the overall security of your ship."
"What… what's going on?"
The Evaniels.
Considered to be, in general, the fastest creature in the entire universe. Their adults could move to speeds of more than thousands of kilometers per hour, and that is them not even trying; perhaps it was better to say that it was their normal walking pace. What made them dangerous, however, was their insane agility to reach whatever their maximum speed is in the blink of an eye.
But alas, there have been many accounts in their long history that proved that they were even faster before, much faster. They even used to be equal to the Themarians in terms of prowess. But it is to be expected— the Evaniels were straying further and farther away from their God genes.
Still, even then, they are considered the fastest.
And of course, as the fastest species, their ship also reflected that. Their ship was capable of maneuvering at insane speeds; prioritizing swiftness over toughness. But even then, with their race as advanced as it is, their security still should have detected any anomalies that may have intruded into their confines.
So why… how was someone standing behind Dr. Vella and literally breathing down her neck?
"Even your rooms are large, oddly interesting."
Fortunately, the whisper on Dr. Vella's neck did not last long as their uninvited visitor casually started to stroll around the room; his eyes, truly curious as they traveled through each and every corner of the colossal room.
"Riley… Ross. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, is that the lavatory?"
Alas, Admiral Varen's words were completely ignored as Riley just continued to scan the entire room,
"That is at least 100 meters away? Weird, it looks close but it's actually far," Riley squinted his eyes, "Aerith explained it to me before, but I truly shouldn't use my knowledge of my world to judge yours. You've… evolved completely different than us, is what she said."
Even though Riley was no longer behind Dr. Vella, she still couldn't move from her spot— not because Riley was stopping her, but because she took Aerith's warning very seriously. If a themarian tells you not to mess with someone, then that means you don't mess with that someone.
It was such an easy rule to follow.
But alas, they had a literal child on board that was disciplined too little and too late. And now, that dangerous someone followed them back to their ship. It's true that Dr. Vella can't detect any energy from the humans, but that didn't matter.
She already saw first-hand the things they were capable of. Materializing ice out of nowhere? That was magic that one of the other Higher Races, the Krotun, is known for— and they emit high levels of energy.
But with the humans? You wouldn't even know what they're capable of until they actually do it. And from what she had witnessed, Riley was able to catch and even strangle Val without even breaking a single sweat.
Sure, Val was still young; but that wasn't the point. The point is they have absolutely no idea what Riley Ross is truly capable of. And so, the best course of action right now was to follow the most basic and primal instinct of survival— Watch and do nothing.
Dr. Vella just hopes the other three evaniels that are in the room do the same.
"What… do you want, Riley Ross?"
This time, it was Commander Voris that spoke. Admiral Varen was no longer going to leave the care of the prince to someone else, 'less he wants a repeat of what happened earlier in the human's ship.
"You have no permission to come aboard our ship, Riley Ross," Commander Voris stepped forward as he slowly approached Riley, "...Even if our doors weren't locked."
"You're right, I don't," Riley then finally stopped examining the large room, "I was once told that I have some boundary issues by Aerith, I suppose I still haven't fixed that habit. I apologize, Evaniels."
"If you know that, then I would appreciate that you get off my ship," Admiral Varen joined the conversation, careful not to let go of prince Val.
"I will, later," Riley then once again walked towards Dr. Vella; this time, however, he stood in front of her, "I am just a little curious about your species, that's all. I am sure you feel the same, no?"
"...Yes?" Dr. Vella answered, wanting very much to look at Riley's eyes to examine the new species in front of her, but sadly could not.
"It's okay, you can look at me. You are a scientist, Dr. Vella, correct?"
"...Yes?" Dr. Vella blinked a couple of times, before very slowly turning her eyes towards Riley; only to see his pitch-black eyes.
"That is not the original color of my eyes, if you are curious," Riley stated as he too, examined Dr. Vella's face, "My hair and eyes were permanently changed by some sort of serum that Aerith gave me."
"I… am aware of that serum, yes," Dr. Vella whispered as she continued to examine Riley's face to see if there was anything unusually different from other humanoids.
"I look quite different from the rest of the humans, so you can't really judge my species based on me, sadly," Riley let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "I was born from a single… parent. She reproduced me asexually in a way."
"Your species, reproduce asexually!?" Dr. Vella blinked a couple of times.
"No. At least I don't think so, Dr. Vella," Riley shook his head, "She asked help from a Themarian scientist to make it possible. So as far as my knowledge goes, it's just my biological mother. She's a bit eccentric."
"Is… is that so," Dr. Vella's eyes started to shine.
"The tattoos you have on your skin are still visible, but not quite as much when you start using your speed," Riley muttered as he looked at the marks on Dr. Vella's face; it was almost invisible at the moment, but it was there,
"...Yes?"
"Why are you telling him that, Dr. Vella!?" Commander Voris raised his voice.
"They… are bound to know sooner or later, if they do not already," Dr. Vella just raised her finger, gesturing to Voris to stop talking.
"Dr. Vella is right, Evaniel," a small smile then slowly crawled on Riley's face as he finally leaned away from Dr. Vella, "As of this moment the other humans are trying to find everything they can about you. If they are desperate enough, they'll ask my adoptive father for help."
"Your father? Is he also like you? A… super?" Dr. Vella listened curiously.
"No, he's a normal human. You will see there are more of their kind than us once you stepped on Earth," Riley shrugged,
"My adoptive father is… somewhat of a scientist himself— perhaps the best if he wants to. You can exchange notes with him if you want."
"Really?" Dr. Vella also smiled.
"Yes," Riley nodded, "But he is prone to having illicit sexual relations with his colleagues, so you might have to be a bit careful. He also hacked into an alien ship and caused most of them to die, so I would be very careful around him in general, he's dangerous."
"What about you, what are you capable of?"
"Oh, I can move things with my mind. Just some basic stuff, Dr. Vella," Riley nodded, "I can also do other things, but they're not that important."
"That—"
"Dr. Vella, I order you to stop talking to the human!"
And before Dr. Vella could say another word, the markings on Commander Voris's skin started to appear; his silver hair, now also glowing.
"Commander Voris, what are you doing!?" Admiral Varen roared, "Stand down, now!"
"I'm not going to just stand here while an intruder is standing right in front of us!"
"We're only talking, Voris!" Dr. Vella's hair also lit up as she disappeared from her spot, only to appear between Riley and Commander Voris.
"What you are doing is divulging information to a potential enemy! Didn't you hear from Aerith? They are just recovering from a war that caused billions of lives. They are a warmongering race!"
"It was more like a one-sided act of terrorism, really," Riley still casually shrugged his shoulders.
"We're done talking! Leave the ship or we will be forced to space you out!"
"Commander Voris, that is enough! I would not stand for insubordination in—"
"Well…"
"!!!"
And without even letting Admiral Varen finish his words, everyone's eyes inside the room widened as Riley, who was previously behind Dr. Vella was now standing near Admiral Varen; or more specifically, beside Prince Val.
It wasn't like Riley was fast, no. They clearly saw him move and float towards Val— they just weren't able to do anything about it.
…None of them were able to move.
Val, who was seated on his little chair, could really only move his eyes; watching as Riley started walking again. Fortunately for him, however, Riley instead approached Commander Voris and not him.
"If you didn't prefer talking, you should have just said so in the first place. Evaniels," Riley then said as he casually walked towards Commander Voris,
"Your prince attacked me once," Riley sighed as he stood just a foot away from Voris, "Did you really think that wouldn't have any repercussions, Evaniels?"
"What… are you doing, Riley Ross?"
The only one that was able to move from the four Evaniels in the room was Dr. Vella; most probably because Riley did not perceive her as a threat, she thought as she very slowly raised her hand,
"It's… just a reckless action of a child," Dr. Vella shook her head.
"You and I both know that's not true," a small smile appeared on Riley's face as he slowly placed his hand on Commander Voris's chest,
"How is a little child able to escape four warriors of your race? You are a scientist, Dr. Vella. I know you know the answer to that."
"...What?" Dr. Vella could really only squint her eyes as she looked back and forth between Admiral Varen and Commander Voris,
"What are you say— !!!"
Dr. Vella let out a tiny gasp before she could ask anything; her silver hair once again starting to glow as she suddenly heard a small crack whisper in the air; she, however, still did not move from her spot.
"I'm not saying anything at all," the smile on Riley's face then grew wider as his hand started to push forward… very slowly through Commander Voris's chest.
"How does it feel, Commander Voris?" Riley then looked Voris straight in the eyes, "How does it feel to know that someone as fast as you…
…is going to die a very slow death?"
Chapter 408"How does it feel that someone as fast as you…
…would die a very slow death?"
Everyone in the room could hear it.
The Prince of the Evaniels, Dr. Vella, Admiral Varen. All of them could hear it, and yet they were helpless all the same. But of course, the one that could hear it most was the one that it was happening to.
No, perhaps Commander Voris was not even able to hear, as the feeling of his chest and lungs very slowly being crushed echoed throughout his entire existence. As inherently fast beings, and especially as a soldier, it was important that Commander Voris train himself to feel everything around him with utmost and extreme perception— and that is of course, unfortunately, including pain.
He could feel it.
All of it.
He could even feel each and every fiber of the cloth he was wearing starting to stretch. Every clothing and vestments of the Evaniels were made with some sort of material that could withstand the extreme speed and friction that it sustains; the material also ensures that no chafing of any kind would develop to its wearer.
And now, feeling every fiber of that material slowly sinking in through his chest, Commander Voris was discovering textures he had not felt before. And very slowly, he could feel his breaths starting to slow down; becoming more difficult to inhale as Riley's hand went deeper and deeper into his chest.
No, perhaps that wasn't right. He wasn't even breathing anymore— as even through this weird and excruciating pain that was reverberating throughout his entire body, he could not help himself but just stare into Riley's dark eyes.
Eyes that were devoid of all but one emotion— joy.
As a soldier of the Evaniels' exploration and research team, Commander Voris has met all sorts of other races and species. Most were violent in nature, some were wary, and the rest were peaceful people.
And as an inevitability, Commander Voris has of course also met creatures like Riley. But as a being of a Higher Race, Commander Voris just sneered and laughed at them; to his eyes, they were just cute.
But Riley?
The joy that Commander Voris could feel emitting from his eyes was pure and genuine, raw.
A mistake. Commander Voris wanted to tell Admiral Varen that it was a mistake coming here. In their curious search for the lost Themarian, they stumbled upon a beast that would slowly, but very surely, devour the rest of the universe.
But alas, Commander Voris couldn't even let out a scream of pain, much less open his mouth to talk. The only thing that he could really do was feel every bit of this pain— wanting it to stop.
But no.
A second.
A minute.
An hour.
It lasted for an hour. But finally, Commander Voris could feel his vision darken. At last, he was free…
…or at least he thought.
As the comfort of death was finally within Commander Voris's grasp, Riley suddenly removed his hand and stepped away.
A loud, almost roaring gasp thundered in the colossal room as Commander Voris quickly fell down to his knees; the pain of finally being able to breathe seemingly compressed all at once, causing him to grovel and puke on the ground.
"You can heal him, right?"
"Y… Yes?"
"Then please go ahead. I just wanted to scare him," Riley once again smiled as he gestured to Dr. Vella to do something.
And as soon as Riley gave her permission to finally move, Dr. Vella quickly called for a medical team. As for Admiral Varen, he was deliberating on whether or not to call for reinforcements… but instead,
"This ends here, is that clear?"
Admiral Varen finally let go of the prince's hand as he quickly but carefully approached Riley. He was sure that after Riley's ridiculous stunt, the prince wouldn't even attempt to go near him anymore. And he was right, Val was completely shocked; his butt almost planted to his chair as he just stared at Commander Voris, who was now being surrounded by a medical team.
"This ends here, is that clear?" Varen repeated his words as Riley seemed to be busy focusing on the medical team. He was going to step closer to him, but Riley finally answered.
"That depends entirely on what happens next, Admiral Varen," Riley shrugged, "Also, can you allow me to tour your ship? I also want to bring the women that were with me aboard, if that is alright with you?"
"...No," Admiral Varen shook his head, "It's not. I would appreciate it if you leave. I am sure… our mutual acquaintance also wouldn't appreciate what you're doing here right now."
"You are probably right on that one, Admiral Varen," Riley sighed as he shook his head, "I actually wanted to see if it would be more enjoyable to conquer your world. I was planning to rule Earth, you see; but there are circumstances that make it seem like I already have, so there's no fun in it anymore."
"...What?" Commander Varen's hair lit up.
"Stop, Commander Varen," Riley once again sighed, "I already know how strong your species is. And I have to say, I am quite disappointed."
"You think that just because you waltzed in here, you think you know us?" The markings on Varen's skin also started to show themselves; this time, however, the tattoos also lit up, "You haven't seen any of what we can do yet."
"Are you going to show me now?" Riley tilted his head as a small smile once again crawled on his face.
"You won't like it," Commander Varen, "I know your kind. You think because you're the baddest and biggest bully in your playground, you think you're the strongest."
"Hm," Riley then started to look around, as even the hairs of the medical team started to light up; their eyes, all glaring at him. He then turned to look at Dr. Vella, who was just shaking her head almost as if telling him not to do anything.
"You're a frog who lives in a well, child," Varen said as his eyes also started to light up.
"Oh, you and Aerith's son would get along very well."
"W—"
"Don't drag me along in this bullshit, my hands are full as it is."
"Princess Aerith!"
And just like that, with Aerith suddenly entering the room, the hairs that have all lit up once again returned to their normal luminance. Aerith didn't seem to mind any of them, however, as she just flew and made her way towards Riley.
"I already told you to stop causing trouble, Riley," Aerith sighed, "Seriously? Why are you acting like a child with a new toy? I am really starting to think I should just tie you up with your mother."
"You can tie me up wherever you want, Aerith."
"Where are you learning these things!?"
"From John, Aerith."
"...Your clone?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "He's become quite human. It is quite the irony, don't you think so as well?"
"...I've seen it before," Aerith only shrugged her shoulders, "Now leave these poor Evaniels alone, I have things to discuss with them."
"You don't have to worry, Aerith. I'm not even here."
And as soon as he said that, Riley's body started to disintegrate to the floor. Dr. Vella, who saw this, could not help but take in a deep breath.
Telekinesis and cloning?
Dr. Vella already expected Riley to have other abilities since he mentioned it in their brief talk earlier— but she was expecting something at the very least close to telekinesis or relevant to it.
But dispensable cloning? How was that even possible? Just… what are these humans?
"It's… good that you arrived the moment you did, Princess Aerith," Varen let out a long and deep sigh, "It would have been a shame not to make connections with a new race because we had to kill one of them. But for you to save Riley Ross, it would seem the two of you are friends?"
"Oh, trust me. He's not the one I was trying to save," Aerith lowered her voice.
"Hm?" Commander Varen blinked as he couldn't hear the words that Aerith whispered.
"For the sake of the universe, don't kill him," Aerith shivered at the thought of Riley gaining the Evaniel's speed, "
"You do not have to worry, princess Aerith. Our species still pride ourselves as the most peaceful of the Higher Races— that hasn't changed since you've been gone from the scene," Varen gave a warm smile.
"That doesn't seem to be the case," Aerith then said as she looked at the shivering little prince sitting in the center of the large hall, "And can you stop calling me princess? I'm a warrior."
"He's… young, Pri— Madam Aerith. The Queen doted on him too much."
"I'm not talking about that," the tone of Aerith's voice started to become lower as she looked Varen straight in the eyes, "Even with his age; as a prince, he should know better than to blatantly attack an individual from a foreign nation."
"That—"
"If I wasn't there, that would have been treated as an act of war— an invasion," Aerith's eyebrows started to furrow, "Your standing as the most peaceful race would have been lost just like that, and in front of me, a Themarian from the royal family."
"..."
"Surely, you know why the Evaniels became a peaceful race in the first place, right?"
"..." Everyone in the colossal room became quiet as they heard Aerith's words.
"You are a peaceful race..." Aerith whispered as she once again looked Varen straight in the eyes,
"...Because we almost wiped you out the last time."
Chapter 409"I'd like to welcome you to Earth again, Admiral Varen."
"Please, just Varen is fine, Madam Empress."
"Then you may just call me Adaeze."
A few hours after the eventful first meeting between the humans and the evaniels; the alien race was finally able to land on Earth… in good faith. And to prevent anything like the earlier mishap from happening again, this time, it was decided that only Admiral Varen and Dr. Vella would land on Earth.
Currently, they were inside a car; something that they have seen once or twice during their journey to other civilizations.
As a species of the Higher Race, the two have already visited many planets much like Earth before— it was something they have already seen a hundred times. But of course, as a scientist, a new civilization, a new planet was something that brought forth many new things to be studied.
Right now, however, it wasn't the land and not the entire civilization as its whole that was worth studying, it was their people.
Although a normal-looking humanoid, the people of Earth were probably the most unique species Dr. Vella had seen in her entire life. And so, her sights were completely on the people around her. They were all looking at her with curiosity, but she was also doing the same.
She had already seen many of them earlier since Empress held a short press conference when they landed to introduce her and Admiral Varen to the people of Earth, but it wasn't enough. She needed to meet them personally. She also wanted to meet the scientists of Earth to compare some notes, but Aerith told her that it wasn't possible as they still don't know what sort of diseases both races brought each other.
She already explained to Aerith that all the evaniels on a research mission are injected with a vaccine that would prevent most unknown diseases, but Aerith still told them to limit contact as much as possible for now.
And as Dr. Vella was lost in all the possibilities of the new race, Admiral Varen's eyes were completely watching out for potential dangers— specifically Riley Ross.
After the stunt he pulled inside their ship and almost killed one of them, Admiral Varen almost called and asked for a warship. It didn't take that much convincing not to, of course… considering it was Aerith that asked.
And they were warned in the first place to avoid Riley Ross. But it would seem there were forces at play that… wanted something to happen. And so, right now, as Admiral Varen was supposed to be focusing on a diplomatic mission…
…his commander was being interrogated for potential treason and being held for attempting to sully their relationship with the humans.
As for the prince, he was locked up in his room right now. They have already called the Queen and told her what Val did, and the only thing she said was that they were sending someone over as a sign of peace… whatever that meant.
"We're here."
And after a few more moments, the two evaniels and Empress finally arrived at their destination— the Mega Academy. After all, what better way to learn about the cultures of a new civilization other than their youth?
Dr. Vella quickly leaned her head out of the window of the car as she examined the large dome that was on the horizon. It was weird, Aerith had already told them that she didn't influence the planet's industrial advancement— but throughout their long travel on the ground, Dr. Vella could see traces of a highly diversified and isolated technology; something she had only seen whenever an advanced civilization tampers or aids a more primitive one.
Most of their transportation is still powered by oil and gasoline, but then they have ships with technology that should be more or less 300 years into the future. And now, even this structure in front of them, the Mega Academy, was something that was out of place from most of their infrastructure. It would have been normal if the more advanced technology was the more prevalent aspect on the planet, but no— it was the other way around here.
Curious, very curious. Was it the other Themarian that Aerith was with? They still had no information on who she was, but they didn't really want to investigate so as to not cause any misunderstandings with them.
And while Dr. Vella's eyes continued to glisten from all the new possibilities that opened up to her, Varen's eyes were still on the lookout for Riley Ross.
"...Is Riley Ross going to be in Mega Academy?" And finally, Varen could no longer help himself and asked Empress the question that has been bothering him since earlier.
"...No," Empress didn't really know whether to sigh or sympathize with Varen's question, "You don't need to worry about him that much, he has been pretty tame ever since he came back with Aerith from… Hotis 4J? Do you know that place?"
"Riley Ross has been to another galaxy!?" Dr. Vella's leaned her head back to the car as soon as she heard Empress's words, "...But why Hotis 4J? That's an old outpost filled with dubious people."
"Yes, he's the only human that has been," Empress nodded; slightly curious about the planet.
"Riley Ross, just what is he?" Admiral Varen raised his hand to stop Dr. Vella from asking any more questions, "Just through our ride across the outside cities, I have seen billboards and images of him scattered everywhere— most were vandalized."
"...Aerith did not explain to you what he is?"
"No, she just told us to avoid him."
"I suppose you have the right to know since you and your species would be living here for a while," Empress let out a long and very deep sigh as she looked at Varen and Dr. Vella, "But since you are going to the Academy, it would be better for you to learn from him there."
"...Your students are learning about Riley Ross?" Dr. Vella raised an eyebrow.
"Darkday."
"Hm?"
"They are learning about Darkday," Empress closed her eyes, "You'd know soon."
"...And can I ask where Riley Ross is now?" Admiral Varen once again raised his hand to prevent Dr. Vella from asking too many questions.
"He's everywhere," Empress scoffed, "Aerith is here, so you don't have to worry too much. He listens to her…
…he won't misbehave."
***
"I am the Queen's son! You have no right to lock me in here, do you hear me!?"
Back in the colossal ship of the evaniels, several claps of thunder reverberated in the air as Val was running back and forth in his room— trying to break down his door to escape. But alas, no matter how many times he used his name, everyone on the ship had strict orders directly from the Queen herself to not let the prince out of his room.
"Argh!" The young prince continued to scream, even lying on the floor and kicking the door at high speeds in hopes that someone would actually listen to him. He then stood up and prepared to run through the door again, but before he could take a step, several figures just… suddenly appeared in front of him.
"What… Ri—"
The prince wanted to scream but found himself no longer able to move his lips. He wanted to run, but his legs were the same— completely frozen.
"Is… he going to be alright? Ack, my legs are starting to hurt from not moving too long."
"He will be fine, Paige. The evaniels are sturdier than normal humans."
"I still think we should kill him now, master. He tried to attack you."
"..." The only thing that Val could do was watch as the three figures started to casually talk to each other almost as if he wasn't there. As soon as Riley looked at him, however, Val suddenly wished he wasn't actually there.
"I am going to let you go now, Prince Val," Riley then said as he approached Val, "If you scream, I am going to hurt you. If you do anything suspicious, I am going to hurt you. If you do anything I don't like, I am going to hurt you."
"..."
"..."
"You can move now."
"!!!", Val quickly let out a huge breath as he dropped to the floor. After a few moments, however, he ran towards the corner of his large room.
"Why… how are you here?"
"We have been here since earlier, Prince Val," Riley then said as he floated towards the trembling prince. As for the two companions he was with, Paige and Tomoe, they started looking and walking around the vast room.
"What… what do you want from me?"
"Commander Voris," Riley said with a smile on his face, "But I was thinking you would give us a tour around your ship first."
"W… what?" Val took in a small gulp as his eyes looked at Riley's companions, "You… you'll be discovered by my people!"
"Thank you for worrying about us, Prince Val. But we have ways to blend in," Riley nodded to himself, "So please, the tour."
"E… Even if you forced me to, I won't be able to do it! They locked me inside my room!"
"It's alright, we can wait until they come in to give you food. You're royalty, I expect you have your own personal chef."
"N… no, I don't," Val's eyes started to twitch as he looked to the side, "And why are you doing this anyway!? The themarian princess would not stand for this!"
"Oh, you don't have to worry about her," Riley shook his head and sighed,
"She was the one who told me to do this, after all."
Chapter 410"I didn't get to take a good look outside, but this really is a large ship, isn't it? The Goliath space station is like a baby compared to it. I suppose it makes sense since they run so fast… but why are they just mostly walking right now?"
"These aliens are ruining everything."
"...I didn't expect to hear that from you."
In the gigantic hallways of the evaniel's ship, Paige, Tomoe, Riley, and Val were just casually walking around; just seemingly minding their own business as they talked to each other without a care for the evaniels.
And the evaniels were the same, they didn't seem to care for them that much; much less even glance at them as they go on about their ways. After all, from the outside, they just looked like any other evaniels out there. Silver hair, with faint markings on their skin— courtesy of Paige's abilities.
They were also previously moving at a high speed, with Riley dragging them in the air and Paige making sure they looked like they were moving fast— but then noticed they didn't need to as most of the evaniels weren't moving at their normal speed. They asked prince Val as to why, he just said that since there was a themarian present within the area, they didn't want to alarm them by doing unnecessary movements.
As for how they were able to escape Val's room— they waited for his meal to be delivered to him personally. With Paige's abilities and Riley's cloning abilities, it was easy to create a fake prince and sneak out without being seen by anyone.
And so, right now, Paige and Tomoe were walking behind Riley, and Val, who was leading the way to the ship's confinement bay. But with all of them just walking, it was taking longer than expected; giving the two ladies some time to talk to each other.
"...So you're like a fan of Darkday?" Paige asked.
"No," Tomoe raised an eyebrow, "I'm Riley's First Subordinate. I follow him wherever he goes and I follow his orders to the letter, no matter what it is. He is the reason for my existence."
"...That's sort of extreme, isn't it?" Paige's eyes started to widen, "I heard you were the very first one to discover that Riley was Darkday? That's kind of impressive."
"Of course, he—"
"Well, considering he wasn't really trying hard to hide it. I suppose a fan would quickly realize who he was," Paige let out a small breath as she smiled, "It's really good that he had someone like you back then, being accepted and supported is important— no matter how evil or bad they may seem."
Tomoe's eyebrow started to raise as she heard Paige's words, "Are you trying to start something?"
"Hm?"
"I would like to let you know that I started to accept him first for what he is," Tomoe stated as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "I just didn't say it to him since I feel like I would be overstepping my bounds."
"...Why would you think that? Just tell him whatever you want to say," Paige sighed as she shook her head, "Life is too short to be dwelling on things like that."
"No, we're not on the same level and I would never presume to be," Tomoe scoffed, "Riley is a god that no mere mortal like us could truly hope to touch and understand."
"...Aren't you overreacting? Just talk to him like a friend and—"
"A friend?" Tomoe's eyebrows furrowed, "We're not on the same level."
"Y—"
"You are not at the same level as him," Tomoe did not let Paige say another word, "If you still don't know that by now, then you don't really understand him."
"That sort of thinking is kinda lonely, don't you think? Why don't you just try being his friend, like… for real?"
"No," Tomoe was careful not to raise her voice, "I already told you that I can't. Wait, don't tell me you actually think that Riley considers you as a friend? He doesn't— he is way above that."
"..." Paige squinted her eyes as she looked at Tomoe for a few seconds, before a small smile very slowly emerged from her face as she walked closer to her,
"...Don't tell me you're jealous?"
"What!?"
Tomoe quickly covered her mouth; but her sudden scream already caused some of the evaniels that were walking on the hallway to look at her. But after a few moments, they just all went on their way. As for Tomoe, she quickly leaned away from Paige as she repeated her words.
"W… what?" The cold and somewhat monotonous tone on her voice disappeared as she looked away from Paige, "Jealous? Why would… why would I be something like that? I don't own Riley, do you own Riley? No one's jealous here."
"...Hm," Paige could really only smile as Tomoe's cold facade slowly melted away. But after a few moments, the smile on her face faded as she shook her head, "Well, there's really no need to be jealous of me, Tomoe-san. Riley and I… are not together."
"..."
"We're close, undoubtedly so," Paige sighed, "He tells me everything, I tell him everything. I can lean on him whenever I want and he won't move away. But we're not together, because I think you're actually right… Riley doesn't need something like a girlfriend. Whatever I try to do, I'm just… Paige. He treats me like how he treats Hannah, so in the end… he'll just see me as someone like a sister."
"...Why are you complaining?" Tomoe let out a small scoff as she hastened her steps,
"I… would give everything to be treated like that by Riley."
"...Then why don't we become sisters, then!?"
"W— what are you doing!?" Tomoe could not help but try and pull away from Paige as she once again walked beside her and suddenly wrapped her arms around hers.
"We're both trying to win Riley's affection, so we might as well just join forces instead of fighting against each other, you know?"
"What? L… let go of my arm, I don't like being touched!"
"What if it was Riley touching you?"
"W— what are you saying!?"
"..."
"..."
Prince Val, who was walking ahead with Riley, could really only glance a couple of times as the two ladies continued to talk to each other. He then very sneakily looked at Riley; Val's eyes, slightly glistening as he did so.
And finally, after a few more steps, he mustered up the courage to talk to this… weird alien.
"...Can I ask you something, Riley Ross?"
"Go ahead, Prince Val."
"..." Val once again glanced at the two ladies behind them, before nodding and looking at Riley, "How many wives do you have?"
"I am not married, Prince Val."
"Then why do you have so many women around you?" Val asked as he slowly walked closer to Riley, "Even the legendary princess Aerith seems to be close to you."
"Ah, yes," Riley nodded as he heard Aerith's name, "Aerith and I are married."
"...What? You're married to a Themarian!?" Val's eyes widened his eyes in shock. But after a few more seconds, his eyes suddenly turned serious as he leaned even closer to Riley, "...Can you teach me what you're doing?"
"How old are you, Prince Val?"
"13 years old."
"Is that considered an adult in your species?"
"W… well, adult enough," Val stuttered as he looked to the side.
"Adult enough to mate with another evaniel?"
"M… mate!? Like have sex!?" Val's eyes widened even further the faint markings on his face started to show themselves, "I… Well… I don't know?"
"Riley, what are you teaching the boy!?"
"He's not a boy, Paige. He's a man," Riley shook his head as Paige walked closer to them.
"He's still a boy, master Riley. I have read from Empress's files that they age the same as us, but their average lifespan is shorter," Tomoe added.
"Hm," Riley looked at Val as he heard Tomoe's words, "Then I am afraid I can not teach you anything involving sexual, prince Val. Only public and private educators are allowed to talk to minors about such things, I don't like breaking the law."
"...But aren't you a mass murderer?"
"That is different, Prince Val," Riley shook his head.
"...You just don't want to tell me," Val could really only breathe out in disappointment as their group continued to walk on the long hallways. But finally, after what seemed like another hour, they finally arrived at the confinement bay.
And, like any other places and area in the ship, it was vast.
"What do you want with Commander Voris anyway?" Prince Val asked as they tried to find where Voris was being kept, "He's already being interrogated, our people have ways to get the truth out of someone, you know. I heard your planet doesn't."
"Oh, we have our ways," a small smile crawled on Riley's face.
"Torture and a very slow death," Tomoe was the one to complete Riley's sentence, "And you are looking at the man that is best at inflicting them both," she said with a proud smile on her face.
"...I don't think that's really something to be proud at," Paige sighed; the group then continued to walk through the vast hall, only to find more and more empty cells.
"Why aren't there any guards here? Isn't this supposed to be like a jail?" Paige asked.
"We don't really put up guards, we're confident in our people," Val nodded, "Unlike your primitive race, we are already past the point of betraying our own people. We—"
And before Val could finish his words, they finally found the cell where Commander Voris was being kept. And there…
…he lies dead.
"Right… Care to repeat your words?"
Chapter 411"C… commander Voris!?"
Dead.
The very reason why Riley was on the evaniel's ship in the first place, dead. In truth, Aerith asked him to talk to Commander Voris— and since Riley was a little curious about the evaniels, he quickly agreed to her; he had nothing to do, anyway.
Of course, Riley also already had a suspicion that something dubious and sinister was going on. After all, even if Val was the prince, it didn't make sense for them to just let him do whatever he wanted; especially when they were just going to lock him in his room after.
Offending a species you're meeting for the first time? That much is normal, one could even say expected from someone of royal blood. But in front of Aerith? Someone they were wary and cautious enough, that they would not use their superspeed within her vicinity?
Most of them weren't using their speed now, even though Aerith wasn't inside the ship. It is almost ridiculous that at that very moment, they would allow the prince to do as he wish. It was somewhat obvious that Commander Voris was up to something.
But now, he's dead.
They wouldn't be able to interrogate him anymore.
"What… do we do now?" Paige was the first to speak as she saw Commander Voris, who was now lying on a pool of what she could only presume to be his blood; blue, almost like the morning sky.
"We need to go," Tomoe said as she started looking everywhere, "This might be a trap."
"It might just be, Tomoe. But it doesn't really matter," Riley only shrugged before turning towards the prince, "Might you know anything about this, Prince Val?"
"W… what?" The prince could really only stutter as he just stared at Commander Voris's body, "N… No."
"Aerith suspected that Commander Voris is—was planning something," Riley then said as he stood in front of Val, blocking his view of Voris's cell, "And she suspects you know something about it, Prince Val."
"What? No!" Val finally removed his eyes from Commander Voris as he looked up at Riley, "I… I'm innocent! What did I do!? I didn't even do anything!"
"I am afraid I would have to interrogate you now instead, Prince Val," Riley sighed as a wide smile very slowly started to crawl on his face, "You don't have to worry, children of your age will usually get over the pain quickly."
"...What?" Val took in a small gulp as he watched as Riley moved closer towards him, "W… what are you saying? I didn't do anything!"
"You tried to offend master Riley several times."
And before Riley could completely get closer to Val, a cold voice whispered in the air as Tomoe suddenly moved between the two; her eyes, looking Val straight in the eyes, "You even attacked him. And since they already returned master Riley's rights, that is considered an assault— which is a crime."
"That… that's because Commander Voris told me to assert our dominance!" Val raised his voice even further, almost causing his words to reverberate through the vast confinement bay, "Especially since Princess Aerith was watching! C… Commander Voris told me that it would impress the princess and she would… It would make the evaniels more important in her eyes!"
"..."
Both Tomoe and Paige could really only look at each other as they heard the young prince's words. After a few seconds after, however, Tomoe's already small eyes started to squint.
"So, you're stupid," Tomoe whispered… loudly.
"Hey, that's not nice," Paige finally also approached Val as she shook her head, "He's just young. I'm sure you were even more ridiculous when you were his age."
"I made a mobile application at that age and sold it for one and a half million dollars," Tomoe said with a straight face, "So, no."
"I thought you were just computer savvy. What mobile app is that?"
"Irrelevant at the current situation," Tomoe scoffed as she rolled her eyes. She then turned towards the cell; her eyes, looking at the edges of the glass wall separating them from Voris's corpse, "How does this thing open?"
"O… Only Admiral Varen should be able to open it," Val took in a small gulp. And then a few moments later, his eyes turned wide as he let out a loud gasp, "Wait, are you saying that Admiral Varen did this!? Did… did he kill Commander Varen?"
"Hm, it's a possibility," Tomoe placed her hand on her chin; her eyes squinting even further and causing her to look almost as if she had her eyes closed, "But Admiral Varen shouldn't have left Aerith's side the whole time she was inside the ship…
…who else has access to Voris's cell?"
"I… I don't know."
"..." Paige could only watch in amazement as Tomoe started examining the cell, "She's… like a detective," she then said as she leaned closer to Riley.
"Hm. She did find out I was Darkdady," Riley nodded; almost as if proud of Tomoe's actions, "She's very good at stalking people."
"Think clearly, young prince. Who else has access to the Commander's cell?" Tomoe repeated her question.
"I…" As for the young prince, his words soon started to stutter as his eyes became moist, "I… I really don't know. I don't know what's happening."
"..."
Val's eyes started to travel everywhere as he seemed to be trying his best not to cry, "Wait… wait. Maybe… maybe the princess didn't like what I did? Maybe… maybe she killed Commander Voris!?"
And with that thought, Val's entire body began to tremble; his legs, almost giving up on him as he slightly tumbled a few steps backward in panic. Did they… make a mistake? Did they actually just… angered a themarian?
Val had heard many legends about the themarian from his mother, and one thing that never changed in the stories she told was their strength. One of them was enough to wipe out an entire civilization.
"N… no."
"...I just said Admiral Varen and Aerith should have been together in the ship," Tomoe could really only sigh as she once again approached the frantic prince, "Try to think harder, young prince. Your life depends on it. Who else has access to the commander's cell?"
"I… I don't know."
"..." Tomoe's eyebrows began to furrow as she looked Val straight in the eyes.
"I… I swear I don't know!"
"You're scaring the child."
And after a few more moments of Val just shivering in fear, Paige could no longer help herself as she moved beside Tomoe; placing her hand on her shoulder as she gestured to her to move a little bit to the side.
"He's not a child," Tomoe could really only shake her head and sigh as she moved away.
"She's quite scary, isn't—"
It would seem Paige would not have the chance to talk to the young prince, as before she could even say anything, the light within the confinement bay became red.
"..." Paige blinked a couple of times as he looked around the hall, "...Could red mean a good thing in your culture?"
"...That's the alarm."
"Oh… of course."
And not even a second later, Paige and the others suddenly found themselves surrounded by almost a dozen guards; the markings on their skin, as bright as their glowing silver hair— and as already seen earlier from Admiral Varen, this sort of appearance means the evaniels… were ready for battle.
"You're right, Tomoe. It is a trap," Riley calmly said as he scanned the 10 evaniels that were currently circling them.
"W… wait!"
Prince Val quickly raised his hand, "These people were with me the whole time, they didn't do anything to the priso— !!!"
And before the young prince could finish his words; his hair lit up instinctively, the markings on his face, also starting to etch out as one of the guards suddenly broke from his position… and rushed towards him.
Val could see it clearly. The guard was holding a knife; not just a normal knife, but a knife seemingly made of ice. He initially thought that the guard was going to attack Riley, but no— he truly was heading towards him.
He was the target.
Val was going to move to the side to dodge the knife that was threatening to make a hole in his chest. But then… the tip of the crystal knife started to break, to shatter.
Val could see it clearly. The knife exploded; its shards, piercing and penetrating through the guard's hand. It didn't last long, however, as very soon, the guard's hand also started to somewhat shatter—no, it started to fold.
There was a ripple, a ripple through his skin that soon traveled through his entire body. And there, Val saw the guard's arm creasing into several folds as his bones poked through his skin.
And then, without even a breath, almost like an insect; the guard's blood splattered neatly in the air as his entire body soon also shattered. His guts, very slowly falling, no— dripping from the invisible wall that seemed to be right in front of Val.
"W… what?"
Val could really only cover his mouth; trying his best not to puke and cry from the visceral and gory sight. When Riley Ross and Dr. Vella were talking earlier in his room, he heard that Riley was capable of telekinesis… was he responsible for this?
"You… you killed him," Val blurted out.
"Technically, he killed himself," Riley quickly answered with a sigh, "You will get used to it, Prince Val. I've fought quite a lot of sprinters before…
…this always happens for some reason."
Chapter 412There was a certain joke that circled throughout the culture of the evaniels for thousands of years; a joke that most probably every men, women, child, and even old people that could barely run anymore still know.
The joke goes like this,
'There once was a farmer named Valasmir who circled an entire planet to search for his shovel. But it turns out, he was holding it all along.'
That was it. That was the joke.
Most of the other races couldn't really understand how that was a joke, or how it could even be funny in the first place. But for evaniels, it held a meaning that only they could understand even if it was the first time they heard it.
The evaniels tell it all the time to the other races; but each time, they have to explain what it meant. The weirdest part of this was— that the joke was intended to be told to foreigners.
It was a way for the evaniels to explain how different their way of life is compared to others. If a non-evaniel farmer were to lose a shovel, the most they would search in would be their tool shed, the vicinity of their farm; or in frustration, will try their luck in the bathroom— maybe they left it there.
It was normal to search those places, it wasn't a big deal at all.
Now, if an evaniel farmer were to lose a shovel, there was absolutely no limit to where they would search, it wasn't a big deal at all. Because by the time a non-evaniel farmer has searched his entire farm, an evaniel farmer would have probably also circled their entire planet.
Whenever the evaniels try to explain the joke, however, the other races also saw something else that they held— impulsiveness.
One could say that time moves differently for them; making them quick to act compared to most, making it the number 1 cause of their deaths.
There was still one race, however, that they have not told the joke to— the humans. They did not need to, however, as one of these evaniels already turned into a paste in front of them; splattered like a bug on a windshield going a hundred miles an hour.
"Do you know what the greatest enemy of a sprinter is, Prince Val?"
"...What?"
"A very hard wall."
"..."
The other people inside the confinement bay could really only look at each other as a wide smile very slowly crawled on Riley's face. Like the prince, most of the evaniels saw what happened in detail. But at the very same time, they couldn't really explain what happened.
And before they could even think of anything else, a small giggle suddenly whispered in the air.
"T… that was very funny, master Riley."
Tomoe's shoulders almost bobbed up and down as she tried to suppress the burning laughter that wanted to escape her lips. As for Paige who was standing beside her, she could really only raise an eyebrow.
"It wasn't that funny," Paige muttered.
"Then I guess you don't understand Riley as much as I do?"
"..." Paige very much wanted to argue with Tomoe right now but chose not to do so as she instead just moved towards the prince, covering him from the rest of his kind. The prince didn't even need to ask why, as it was clear what just happened.
If it wasn't for Riley creating an invisible barrier between them, then he would have been stabbed by the guard. And what's more, the guard was holding a knife made of ice— it shouldn't be a coincidence that one of Riley's companions, one of the only few who had shown her abilities to the evaniels, had the power to conjure ice to her will.
They were going to assassinate Prince Val and frame the humans for his murder.
"What… do we do now, Riley?" Paige then whispered as she looked at the remaining evaniels circling them. They seemed to be wary now and were not attacking, but that could change any minute, "You know, for a people that are claiming to be the most peaceful race in the universe… you evaniels sure do like your assassinations."
"May I suggest we just kill them all, master Riley?" Tomoe also carefully moved to Riley's side as her entire body was suddenly covered in a dark armor of ice; with almost a million spikes that protrude outward.
"They've already seen us," Paige was the one to answer as her eyes did not leave the guards, "I… think it's better to just stay here and see what happens."
"Master Riley can just kill them all," Tomoe shook her head in disappointment, "In that way, it would be like no one really ever saw us— including the prince, of course."
"W… what?" Prince Val could really only move behind Paige as he heard Tomoe's cold words. A few moments later, however, he looked at the person that would probably decide his entire fate from now on, Riley Ross.
But alas, he was, as always, drowned in mystery. The workings of his mind, completely unknown to the young prince— and perhaps it was for the best. Because if he could read his mind, then he would probably soon wish he hadn't.
But finally, after a few more breaths, Riley opened his mouth.
"We wait."
"Hm."
"..." Tomoe could not help but glare at Paige as she heard Riley's words. The next words that escaped from Riley's lips, however, returned the confidence on Tomoe's face.
"But while we wait…" Riley breathed out, "...we kill all the evaniels within this hall, and any that will enter."
"Don't let them do anything!"
And with Riley raising his hand, the evaniels that were surrounding them finally started to move; their hair, glowing even brighter as they all disappeared from their spot. There was, however, a loud squeak that whistled in the air as one of them seemed to have slipped on the floor— his skull, now decorated with a giant spike of ice through it.
And if one were to look at the man's feet, one would notice the dark layer of ice beneath him. The other evaniels were quick to notice this, however, as none of them followed the fate of their comrade.
"Tch."
And before Tomoe could notice it, one of the assassins was already in front of her; his hand, already only inches away from stabbing her chest. The evaniel's attack didn't go through, however, as he just moved away and disappeared— not because he felt an invisible wall blocking his path… but because the spikes surrounding Tomoe's body were actually vibrating and rotating at insane speeds, almost acting like a drill.
If the evaniel's reflex were not as fast as it was, he might have found his hand shredded. Still, the bodies of the evaniels were actually tougher than any of the Lower Races, and could even compete with some of those that belong to the Higher Races. He didn't want to take any chances, however, as the people in front of them right now were definitely different from the rest of the Lower Races they have met.
Their dead comrade shouldn't have even turned into paste, even if he slammed himself onto a wall--- something was definitely wrong here.
At the same time, wings that span almost 10 meters instantly emerged from Paige's back; causing some of the evaniels that were going to her to stop in their tracks. And with them slightly perplexed, she used this chance to grab the prince and fly up— before instantly disappearing into thin air.
And before any of the evaniels could react, the scenery around them changed into that of a lush forest; filled with a sea of trees that obstructed any path they would take. For the evaniels, this hasn't happened before.
Instant.
There were many things that claimed to be so— calculations by a super AI? There was still a very slight lag that only the evaniels could notice. But this? The forest just appeared out of nowhere. One could not even define it as having speed.
"..."
The evaniels could really stay still on their tracks; their eyes, very carefully examining the new environment they were in.
"Wait…"
However, it did not take long for them to notice that something was amiss— just a single step, and they realized the weirdness of the situation. The dried and dead leaves that were beneath their feet weren't making any noise as they step on them; no, upon looking, they also started to notice that some of the leaves… were just passing through their feet.
"It's illusion magic! It's not real!"
And as soon as they heard their comrade's words, the other evaniels started touching the thick trees that blocked their path, only for their hands to go through it without a single hindrance.
"They're trying to escape! Chase after them!"
The evaniel that seemed to be the leader of the assassins roared; his hair, once again glowing even brighter than before as he disappeared from his spot— turning into a white streak as he moved through the tree in front of him… only for the white streak to turn into a mist of blue as his entire body shattered into a billion pieces as it smashed on the tree.
And as soon as the other evaniels saw this, they once again found themselves stopped in their tracks.
Illusion? Who the fuck was it that said it was an illusion!?--- They all thought in unison. But then, as they tried to once again touch the trees near them, their hands just went through.
Just… what exactly is going on here?
"Hm,"
And as their thoughts started to become erratic and panicked, a quiet whisper started to chuckle in the air— the breath that came with it, almost visceral.
"I did warn all of you about hard walls, assassins," Riley's voice then echoed in the air; causing some of the evaniels to hold their breaths, "You didn't listen…
…and now we're back to where we were before."
"..."
"Welcome, Evaniels… to my newest prison."
Chapter 413Obstacles have never been a problem for the evaniels.
They weren't just fast; they live in a completely different world where everything else is too slow for them. Most of the advanced species are similar to each other, but at the same time, completely different in terms of abilities.
But perhaps the most common trait of each of the Higher Races was their environment; specifically, their youth. How they grow up and how they were taught to move through life. As beings that held unimaginable powers, the Higher Races were living in a world that was too fragile for them.
For the evaniels, they learned how to adjust to everyone else's time; to perceive the moment as others perceive them. They were told to be patient, they were taught to wait. But of course, as beings of incredible speeds, it was their natural and primal instinct to want to break free.
You can't imprison an evaniel, they will become mad very soon and very fast.
But alas, sadly for a very minuscule and very insignificant number of the evaniel's population, they were currently trapped in a prison that seemed like it was designed to shatter their entire being, their entire reason.
A sea of trees.
Of course, this wouldn't have even been a problem if it were just a normal forest— after all, they could just bulldoze their way through the trees; their bodies were more than capable of withstanding the weight of mountains.
A forest? That was just like running through cardboard.
But alas, the forest they were in was… weird.
It was an illusion, but at the same time, it was not. They have seen their comrade die a very gruesome death as he smashed and splattered himself on a tree that should have been completely intangible because it was supposed to just be an illusion.
And so now, the evaniels found themselves once again adjusting to everything else; just this time, it meant life or death.
Their hands were waving everywhere, checking all the trees to see if they could touch them or not. But so far, after what seemed like an eternity of walking around; they have not, even once, found a tree they couldn't pass through— everything was just an illusion.
"...Let's just avoid the trees."
One of the evaniels that were trapped in this unconventional prison raised his hand, "The humans have probably escaped with the prince, let's get out of here as well before anyone notices us."
And with his words, all the evaniels within the prison forest all nodded their heads, before turning into a streak of white and moving through the gaps of the trees.
Well… that would have been the case if it wasn't for one of them once again splattering like a bug on a windshield. He didn't hit a tree— what he did hit, however, was a dried leaf that was falling in the air.
"..."
And very soon, another whisper echoed through their ears, laughing.
And that was when the evaniels within the sea of fake trees finally understood their situation. The humans didn't escape, no; they were still there, watching them… playing with them as if they were mice in a maze impossible to escape from.
It didn't matter even if they were to move through the gaps between the trees; as long as any of them attempted to run or move fast, they would instantly find themselves turned into paste. The telekinetic within the group…
…he was the one that was watching and laughing at them.
"Riley Ross, you're not going to get away from this!"
"...Why would I want to get away from this, assassin?"
"!!!"
And as one of the evaniels screamed, he could not help but take a step back as Riley, out of nowhere, just instantly appeared in front of him.
"I am here on a mission," Riley sighed as he started to walk towards the evaniel, "Well, it was more like a request, really. But since it's from Aerith, I couldn't really refuse, nor did I want to."
"...What?" The evaniel looked around him, trying to look at his other comrades… but found himself suddenly alone as he was suddenly surrounded by trees that shouldn't weren't there just moments ago.
"I am taking a blind guess that one of you killed Commander Voris," Riley then whispered as he looked to nowhere in particular, "There's also the possibility that he killed himself to prevent any information from leaking out of him."
"..."
"None of you have to worry, though," a small smile then slowly crawled on Riley's face as he looked the assassin straight in the eyes, "None of you can kill yourselves from now on, I need to ask some questions, after all. So…
…it would be better for all of us to get comfortable."
***
"...They're all dead."
After a minute, Riley was now standing in front of a mangled corpse, not the one he was speaking to earlier, but a different evaniel. No, perhaps it wasn't as simple as that.
Riley was, in actuality, in front of all the evaniels in the hall at the same time; questioning all of them separately with different clones.
"The evaniels… they also die fast," Riley then said; his breaths, filled with disappointment as the rest of his clones faded away— leaving only him who was actually still just standing from where he was from the start, beside Tomoe.
"Did we manage to get any information, master Riley?"
"We did, but dismissable," Riley could really only sigh as he raised his hand; and as he did so, the sea of trees around them disappeared, "The mastermind behind all this is still out there, but we already knew that."
"W… wait. Someone… someone really wants to kill me just to frame you people?"
The young prince's voice then whispered in the air as he was being slowly carried down back to the ground by Paige,
"Wouldn't that mean… someone is also after the royal family as much as they are after you humans?"
"No," Tomoe was the one to answer the prince as she shook her head, "More likely than not, they are only after you, your family, and perhaps someone else on this ship. We 'humans' were just a means to an end."
"How… how do you know that?"
"I don't, it's just an assumption. No wonder your race is serving a Queen, all the princes seem to be unreliable," Tomoe rolled her eyes, before walking away to check on the corpses scattered in the vast hall.
"Very great with kids, Tomoe!" Paige hollered; Tomoe, however, only shrugged her shoulders and ignored her.
"...What do we do now?" Paige then said as she approached Riley, who was just once again looking at Commander Voris's corpse, which was still peacefully resting inside its cell, "And please don't suggest killing everyone."
"Why would I suggest that, Paige?" Riley blinked a couple of times before he placed his hand on the glass wall securing Voris's cell. And before Paige and Tomoe could start to wonder what he was doing, Riley pulled his hand away… taking the massive colossal wall along with it.
Riley then casually threw the glass window upwards, causing it to penetrate and stick through the ceiling of the confinement bay.
"..."
Judging by the several wounds and blood splatters on Commander Voris's corpse, he wasn't really able to put up too much of a fight— No, he probably died sitting here just like the position of his corpse now.
"It's someone he knew and trusted," Tomoe then suddenly appeared behind Riley as she started examining the commander's corpse, "He probably thought he wasn't going to die today."
"...How can you tell that?" Paige also entered the cell, along with Prince Val who was still completely shaken up by the things that have been happening around him,
"...Are you sure you're not just coming up with random theories?"
"I'm afraid the only one random here is you," Tomoe squinted her eyes as she glanced at Paige, "It should have just been me and master Riley."
"Are you still jealous?"
"W— what are you saying in front of master Riley? We should just focus on getting out of here now!"
"No, we will stay," Riley quickly said before… stabbing Voris's corpse with his bare hands.
"W… what are you doing!?" Val quickly moved behind Paige as he saw what Riley did; not just once, but he stabbed the already dead commander several times.
"Don't worry, prince Val. He doesn't mind," Riley sighed, before flicking the blood away from his arm, "Your species do not use weapons a lot?"
"...Our bodies are our weapons."
"I suppose that makes sense," Riley shrugged as he once again looked at Voris's corpse, "Let's just wait and see what happens now, everyone."
"W— shouldn't we leave!?"
Paige and Tomoe only nodded as they once again started casually walking around the cell; as for prince Val, however, the only thing he could really do was worry.
"If… If we need to wait, then let's do it somewhere else! We will be in trouble if they see us surrounded by… by dead people!" Val said as he raised his voice,
"This… this will all be solved once my sister arrives!"
"Your sister?" Riley quickly asked, "Another member of the royal family is coming here?"
"Y… yes," Val nodded, "My… my sister is usually the one responsible for fixing relations with other races. And… well, since I messed up, she was told to come here by mother."
"To do what, exactly?"
"To try and explain the situation to princess Aerith that we mean no harm…
…and to talk to you, Riley Ross."
Chapter 414More hours passed with Riley and the others waiting inside the confinement bay for any reinforcements of the assassins that may come. But there was nothing; the only thing that came to visit them was the awkward silence that came after the prince's revelation.
His sister, princess of the evaniels and future ruler of their realms, was coming to Earth as a sort of envoy to fix the friction that Val might have created between them and the humans. But that was where the problem lies— there were other factions lurking inside the ship. Factions that would not hesitate to kill the prince to sow discord for whatever reason with the humans.
Whatever the true goal of this secret faction was, Val's sister was no doubt also in danger. No— perhaps that was their goal in the first place, to draw out the princess and kill her in a faraway and secluded galaxy.
All of this information, however, was not the reason why everyone was so quiet; it was the other information they received from Val regarding the princess' coming.
Since it became known to the Queen that Riley held a certain status not only to the people of the new planet but also held enough reputation to be singled out by Aerith, and is also known to be friends with her, the princess wasn't just here to mend whatever was broken between the new relationship of the humans and evaniels… she was also here to build a relationship solely with Riley Ross.
Paige and Tomoe asked what kind of relationship, even though they already somewhat knew what Val actually meant— a potential for marriage.
Paige wanted to react at first; but after thinking about it for like 2 seconds, it made sense. For royalty, marriage was only a tool, a duty. It was probably the same even with an entirely different race from another planet.
"..."
"..."
"How does that even work?"
And finally, after a few more minutes of silence, Paige could no longer help herself as the words she'd been wanting to ask escaped her small lips,
"Interspecies marriage? Isn't that like… considered sodomy? Granted, you do look like us except the whole deal with the anime hair and magic tattoos— but you're still a completely different species," Paige then asked; her words, almost like a torrent with how fast she was talking,
"...We don't even know if you have the same organs as us."
"What are you asking the little boy?" Tomoe was the first one to answer her as she let out a small sigh; her eyes, however, did not leave the door of the confinement for even a single moment, "He probably still doesn't know anything about all of that adult stuff."
"I know!" Val quickly raised his voice as soon as he heard Tomoe's somewhat mocking words, "That's… that's basic biology, duh. Although, I wouldn't understand a primitive species like yours to understand."
"..." Paige quickly covered her mouth as she looked at Tomoe, almost letting out a teasing giggle as the prince returned her jeers.
"You're the same species as me, Paige."
"...That–"
"Can you elaborate on that, Prince Val?"
And anyone else could talk, Riley joined in on the conversation as he finished… compiling all the evaniel corpses inside Voris's cell and arranging them in some sort of theatrical way— the others didn't really ask about it.
"That…" Val was a bit hesitant to answer Riley until he remembered what he just did to the other evaniels, "...Although it's not usual, it's also not uncommon for other humanoid races to have children; especially the ones from the Higher Races like us."
"Hm," Riley only nodded as he gestured to Val to continue.
"There are actually also Themarian and Evaniel children, but non-pure Themarians don't inherit anything from their parents other than their physical appearance… my great-grandparent is actually half themarian."
"Hm."
"What do you mean 'hm'!?" Prince Val could not help but raise his voice from the humans' lack of response to his words, "I have Themarian blood in me! Do you know how rare it is for Themarians to have children with other races!? They can only have children once every thousand years or so, so they are actually somewhat forbidden to pollute their bloodline!"
"We have two here, Prince Val," Riley only shrugged his shoulders, "Aerith's son, and my sister."
"...What?" Prince Val widened his eyes in shock as he let out a loud gasp, "...Wait, you're half-themarian!?"
"No," Riley quickly shook his head, "My sister is."
"..."
"I was adopted, Prince Val."
"...Oh, that makes se— but wait, your race has two half-themarian children!? And with royalty!?"
"I would hardly call the two of them children, but yes. I thought you were briefed by Aerith about the situation on Earth?" Riley asked.
"N… no," Val shook his head, "I only received instructions and information from Commander Voris."
"So, you were used from that start," Tomoe's sighs whispered in the air as she looked at Val; her head, subtly showing her sympathy, "I heard you also snuck aboard, that's why you're here in the first place?"
"Y… yes."
"I am taking a guess here, young prince. But could it be Voris that let you in?"
"...Yes," Val could really only lower his head as he realized what Tomoe was telling him. He was the prince, and yet he was currently being played by someone from their race… which leads them once again to one of their very first questions— why?
Why would someone even want to sow discord with a new species, and in front of a Themarian? The alliance between the Higher Races was almost inviolable, strengthened through hundreds of thousands of years— if one were to break it, then it would surely cause a stir that was enough to crack the entire universe.
Even Val, who was young to the call of politics, knew this. No one, absolutely no one would benefit from this.
"It… would seem we involved ourselves into something weird," Paige forced a chuckle as she scratched her cheek, "Earth is just on its way to intergalactic trade and diplomacy, and yet we're already in the middle of some sort of civil war."
"W… We're not in a civil war!" Val once again raised his voice, "Our… our species is the most peaceful amongst the Higher Races, we… we're above wars!"
"There are 11 reasons in this room that proves you are not, young prince," Tomoe said with a straight face as she looked at the corpses that Riley so finely arranged,
"There are two possibilities I can think of here. Either someone wants to besmirch the name of your family, or there's a faction out there that wants to ignire conflict amongst the Higher Races— if it was the latter, then most likely other species are involved."
"..."
"Is there a private organization out there that… has all sorts of species under it?"
"...Many?"
"Which one is wealthy enough to fund a war?"
"...I don't know."
"...I suppose it doesn't matter for now," Tomoe could really only sigh, "There's no use in thinking about it. We're just a small and insignificant species. If it's the latter, they probably do not even have their eyes set on us."
"..."
"When will your sister be arriving?" Paige then changed the topic to relieve the tension in the air.
"She… should actually be here right now."
"...Already? Isn't your planet like billions and billions of kilometers away?"
"Trillions. She's moving through hyperdrive…" Val was going to stop explaining, but then noticed the slightly confused expression on Paige's face,
"...It allows our ships to travel in a single direction faster than the speed of light."
"...What?" Paige's eyes started to widen as she looked at the others; who also had a somewhat curious expression on their stoic faces, "That's possible?"
"It… was made by the Anavi with the help of themarians. I… I forgot when," a small smile slowly crawled on Vals' face, "It's just common knowledge, really."
"Is that how you got here?"
"...No," Val breathed out, "It's too risky for a ship this large to jump through uncharted territories like this galaxy. We did jump to the nearest station, however. I know all this because they let me inside the control room. I'm the prince, after all."
"Hm…"
"My sister should be using her personal ship, she has a racer. It's small enough to go through hyperdrive without any risks," Val nodded to himself, "She lets me pilot it sometimes, maybe I'll let you try it once she's here. She wouldn't mind since—"
[I would actually do mind, my dear brother.]
"...Vera!?"
And before Val could finish his words, a voice sounded reverberated throughout the entire confinement bay,
"You… you're here!?"
[I just arrived. We've been watching you for a few moments now.]
"W… wait, we're innocent! These guards tried to kill me!"
Riley, Paige, and Tomoe could really only look at each other as they tried to search for where the cameras could be.
[Yeah, well— the surveillance footage has been deleted. All we can really see was one of you… playing with corpses.]
"That…" Val looked at Riley as soon as he heard his sister's words, "...He's Riley Ross. They're in disguise because of a mission given by Princess Aerith! They didn't do anything wrong, I was with them the whole time!"
[...Oh?]
"Vera?"
[...]
"Are you still there, Ve—"
And once again, before Val could finish his words, he was interrupted. This time by the sound of the door confinement bay door opening.
"So, you're Riley Ross."
And without the door even fully opening; an unfamiliar silhouette was now standing a few meters behind Riley and the others; her hair, almost as green as a luscious forest, "You…
…look weird."
Chapter 415"You look weird."
"..."
"I could say the same to you. Princess Vera, I presume?"
With the appearance of another evaniel, the temperature inside the confinement bay once again lowered as Tomoe covered herself with a layer of dark ice. Paige was also on alert, but prince Val quickly move in front of the two; gesturing to them not to do anything.
"She… she's my sister," he said.
"I was under the impression that all evaniels inherently have silver hair," Tomoe slightly furrowed her eyebrows; only canceling her powers when Riley ordered her to do so.
"The… the women of the Royal family are different. They—"
"I can speak for myself, Val."
"O… Of course, sister."
And before Val could finish his words, Vera turned her eyes towards him; causing him to slightly flinch and lower his head. Just from this brief interaction, it was clear to Paige and Tomoe that Vera's authority over Val wasn't just because she was older— there was a certain hierarchy between the two.
"I truly would like to talk about my aesthetics with your species, but I believe an introduction is in order."
The supposed princess then slowly walked and stood in front of Riley, before doing some sort of curtsy and bowing her head; her bright green hair, flowing from her shoulders as she did so. Her hair wasn't the only thing different from the other evaniels— the markings on her face, although it was barely visible now, one could see hints of gold on them.
Her clothes too were somewhat different. Unlike Val and the others who just had something similar to an armored scuba-diving suit, hers had some sort of cloth that flowed to the side; which she held when she did a curtsy.
…Was it only for design purposes?
"My name is Vera Lauder. Daughter of the Queen of Evaniels, and the only heir to the throne. I was sent here by the Queen as an envoy in the hopes of further strengthening the newly established friendship between our two races."
"R—"
"Let me introduce to you His Excellency…"
And before Riley could speak, Tomoe suddenly stepped forward; slightly nudging Paige to the side as she did so,
"The Lord of Darkness, Walking Calamity, Conqueror of Death, Vanquisher of the Mega, Future Overlord of the Universe, Riley Ross."
Tomoe then also bowed her head as she addressed Vera; her eyes, however, were glancing at Riley to see what his reaction was. And as soon as he returned her glance, Tomoe could really only take in a small breath, before stepping away with a subtle smile on her face.
"...Alright," as for Vera, she could really only nod her head as her eyes slightly squinted; her sight, however, did not leave Tomoe, "And what about the two of you?"
"Nightqueen, Second Subordinate to Riley Ross."
"P… Paige Pearson. I'm uh… Riley's friend?"
"It is a pleasure to meet all of you."
Although the tone of Vera's voice seemed a little stern and authoritative at first, the friendly demeanor and expression on her face served as a sort of contrast— as one would expect from someone born to royalty.
"I do wish we met in more favorable circumstances, however," Vera then let out a small sigh as she turned her eyes towards the corpses that were in Voris's cell, "You do have my thanks, if it was not for you, then my stupid brother would have probably already died at the hand of these assassins…
…They've been a little obnoxious with their attempts."
"You are already aware of the existence of these assassins, Princess Vera?" Riley, who finally found a chance to actually talk, casually moved beside the princess as he also examined his handiwork.
"...Yes," Vera could really only squint her eyes as Riley stood close to her, "They have been a thorn to the Queen for quite some time now, Lord Riley. My brother has not told you about them?"
"No, Princess Vera."
"W… what?" Val blinked a couple of times as he saw everyone's eyes slowly moving towards him, "I… I don't know anything!"
"I apologize for my brother's idiocracy," Vera let out a small sigh as she shook her head, "He doesn't attend the small meetings, which he is required to."
"...But you're the one never letting me attend it!"
"Because you're an idiot," Vera smirked; a few moments later, however, it was once again replaced with a gentle smile, "We have much to discuss, Lord Riley. But…
…perhaps a change of venue is in order?"
***
"...This really is a large ship. How much do you think they spent on something like this? Wait, do you think they even have currency where they're at? What if everything was free? I mean, so far they've been pretty similar to us in terms of the way they interact… but what if they're secretly cannibals?"
"We know nothing for now, Paige. But it's right to be alert… we know nothing about these people."
"...I'm right here, you know?"
The group was now currently in some sort of dome; the view of the space, above and beside them as they stood on a vast field of grass. Riley and Princess Vera were walking on their own, while Paige and the others were seated at a table, being offered food.
"...What do you think this is? How do we know this isn't the meat of some other sentient species?"
"I'll try consuming it to see if it's safe for master Riley to eat."
"That's… just bread. And I'm right here! You can just ask me questions!" Prince Val could not help but raise his voice as Paige and Tomoe seemed to be suddenly ignoring him.
"You did not tell us that you knew about the assassins, young prince. How can we believe anything you say?"
"W— I just said I wasn't invited to the meetings," prince Val crossed his arms, "And… no one really tells me anything."
"..." Tomoe and Paige could really only look at each other as Val's voice slowly became quiet. But after a few seconds, the both of them let out a short but very deep sigh.
"Is this like some sort of park? There's absolutely nothing here," Paige then asked as she looked at the vast empty field of grass. Even the table they were seating at was just placed there moments ago.
"It's… just one of the ship's many open spaces," Val's eyes then started to light up as he was asked a question, "We use it to stretch our legs. We also have treadmills, but they could get boring pretty fast."
"...You think I can try one of those treadmills?"
"...How fast can you run?"
"47 kilometers per hour, last I checked," Paige nodded her head, "Supers are generally faster than the normal population."
"...You're going to get thrown," Val could really only let out a sigh as he heard Paige's words, "The weakest treadmill we have can only go at a minimum of 360 kilometers an hour."
"...For real?"
"Hm, my personal record is 550."
"Is… that fast for someone your age?"
"It is," Val smirked and nodded to himself, "But once I become an adult, that would be nothing. Our prime originator was said to be able to travel at speeds unquantifiable by any calculations."
"How fast do you think Tempo could go with the treadmill?" Paige then turned to Tomoe.
"Hm…" Tomoe quickly placed her hand on her chin as she heard Paige's question, "...There's actually no recorded data of how fast Tempo can actually run. I heard he tries to hold himself back a lot."
"...Tempo?"
"He's a sprinster. Fastest man in the world, I think."
"W—"
"But enough about that… what do you think your sister and Riley are talking about?"
"That… I don't really know," Val shook his head and sighed as he looked at Riley and his sister, who were now gaining distance as they continued to walk, "They are probably talking about something important. But my sister…
…she can get a little intense."
***
"So, what is your opinion of my people so far?"
"I don't hold an opinion yet, Princess Vera."
Contrary to the expectations of Paige and the others, the two have actually not discussed anything of importance yet, and have just been asking questions back and forth; not even relating to the assassins or the fact that Riley infiltrated their ship.
"I am the same. You and your companions are the only humans I have seen for now— and I feel like I can not use you as a sample to judge your kind."
"That is true, Princess Vera. You are probably more similar to my own species than I am."
"...I guess you are wondering why I have a different hair color than the others?"
"Not really."
"..."
"..."
"It's a trait of the women of the Royal family, specifically the one that would one day inherit the throne," Princess Vera still explained, "And it's not just the hair, my face is exactly the same as my mother's."
"A clone?"
"No," Princess Vera giggled, "It's illegal for the Higher Races to engage in any cloning activities."
"..." Riley could really only blink as he thought of Silvie, and Diana.
"It's just the way it is with the Royal blood, if you and I have children and it happens to be female, it would have a 100% chance of looking like me…
…I've only been the one telling things about myself, perhaps you can share a little of you?"
"I have a complicated history, Princess Vera."
"Try me," Princess Vera let out a small breath as she stopped walking, "I just want to know more…
…about the man that is to be my betrothed."
Chapter 416"..."
"..."
Princess Vera and Riley have been staring at each other for quite some time now; the two, not even uttering a single word as their eyes just reflected each other's silhouette.
The only movement between the two was Vera's batting eyelashes; which caused her bright green eyes to glow for some reason.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Aren't you going to say anything?"
And finally, after what seemed like almost a quarter of an hour, Vera broke the silence before it could build an entire bridge between them.
Riley, however, just continued to stare at Vera as the artificial winds of the ship caused the blades of grass beneath them to dance.
But after a few more seconds, he let out a small sigh and shook his head.
"I apologize, Princess Vera. Our circumstance now just reminded me of a scene from a TV show I watch," he then said before looking up towards the expanse of space,
"Your mother sent you here to set up a marital engagement with me, why so?"
"...Most of the others I told this to either become nervous or excited," Princess Vera blinked a couple of times as she looked at Riley; her eyes, containing a bit of bewilderment.
"You are also betrothed to other people? Riley tilted his head to the side, "It would seem your mother only treats you as a political tool."
"No, and no," Vera sighed and shook her head, "It is ultimately my choice. As the future ruler of the evaniels, I would want my first act to be that of change, an alliance with a new race that has the potential to become one of the Higher Races, marriage would cement that.
"Hm."
"The Higher Races have become stagnant, you see. Other elements feel the same— like the people behind Voris and the assassins, but they want to change it through violence and war. I would like to change it…
…with love," Princess Vera then closed her eyes; taking in a deep breath as the golden markings on her skin started to glow.
"I know of someone that feels and wants the same as you, Princess Vera. She is more literal than you with her methods, however."
"...Who?"
"It is not my secret to tell, Princess Vera. I just wanted to make you curious," Riley said as he finally removed his eyes from the view of the space above.
"...You really are different from the rest," a small smirk crawled on Vera's face, "Others just feign their stoicism, but jump at the opportunity for a chance to gain friendship with one of the Higher Races— much less a chance to marry one such as I and rule my species together. Suffice to say, I ignored all of them after the first meeting."
"That is because I don't need friendship, Princess Vera. But you do not have to worry, that is not your fault— I am just unexplainable that way."
"You did say you're completely different from your own race."
"That is true," Riley nodded, "And also, I do not need to be married to you to rule the evaniels, Princess Vera…"
"...Hm?"
"...I can conquer it on my own, as I did my world."
"...If we weren't just talking friendly just moments ago, I would think that's a threat," Vera's green hair started to slightly let out a glow; almost like the withering life of a bright firefly, "And since you were directly identified and singled out by Princess Aerith, that threat might hold merit."
"Please do not misunderstand, Princess Vera," Riley shook his head as he looked Vera in the eyes, "I do not threaten people, I merely tell them what could happen if I wanted it to happen."
"Hm," Princess Vera's eyes started to squint, "Like what you did to Commander Voris, in front of the admiral, Dr. Vella, and my brother?"
"You've seen it?" A small smile crawled on Riley's face, "Yes, like that. And like them, there is nothing anyone in your species could do to stop me once I do so. It is just the way it is."
"..."
"..."
"I'm starting to like you more and more, Riley Ross," Princess Vera's hair then lost its glow as she let out a small giggle, "If it were any other that said that to me, I would have probably just laughed at them— but you…
…you're actually quite scary, aren't you?" Princess Vera's face then slightly turned red as her eyes once again looked at Riley from head to toe; the smile on her face, widening by the second.
"If we do get married, would I be sharing you with those two?" Vera then said as she pointed at Tomoe and Paige, who seemed to be discussing something interesting with Val, "You don't have to worry, the evaniels are polygamous. In fact, you may still not know this, but only one race in the Higher Races is monogamous."
"Hm."
"And seeing as you are always surrounded by more than one woman, I assume the humans are polygamous as well?"
"A low percentage of the population is, including my adoptive father. Some pretend to be monogamous, while most truly are."
"...Interesting," a small smirk once again crawled on Princess Vera's face as she looked at Tomoe and Paige, "I guess I would just have to compete."
"There is no need, Princess Vera. I have no intention of getting married to anyone."
"...Great," Princess Vera's shoulders started to lower as she heard Riley's words, "The very first one I am actually interested in, and I get rejected."
"I would not be a great spouse as well if you want to build a relationship with Earth. I plan to leave the planet with Aerith sometime in the future."
"...To do what?"
"I don't know yet. But I am leaning towards the idea of conquering the universe. With Aerith by my side, it should be possible."
"...I don't know if you're serious about the whole ruling and conquering thing."
"I am," Riley tilted his head, "I believe it is slowly becoming my purpose. In the past, it was only to kill and hurt everything and everyone, but it is changing— I can feel it."
"You're crazy, are you aware of that?"
"It runs in the family, both biological and adoptive."
"I'm still not giving up on trying to pursue a relationship with you, Riley Ross," Princess Vera then suddenly stood straight, "Knowing you more and more, I feel like it is slowly becoming my responsibility to get you to our— to my side."
"If you truly want to build a relationship with the humans, may I suggest pursuing the son of Aerith?"
"No. You're the one that she singled out— and I am starting to slowly learn why from our brief but intimate talks."
"I do believe our conversation has not been brief, Princess Vera."
"...That's true," Princess Vera let out a small giggle as she covered her mouth, "Our conversation could have even been an entire chapter if it was a light book. But it is necessary, I needed to get to know you, and you needed to get to know me."
"Perhaps."
"And now there's only one thing left for us to do to truly know about each other," the markings on the princess' face once again started to light up, "Now that I have an idea of who you are, it's time to learn what you are."
"..." Riley could really only take a few steps back as trickles of what seemed like golden strands of lightning started to emerge from Vera's tattoos.
"I hope you'll oblige me with this, Riley Ross," Princess Vera muttered as… her silhouette seemed to be slowly splitting into two, "For two nations to fully become allies, they must first know what each other is capable of— what better way to check than a battle?"
"I should not be your standard of measurement in regards to humans, Princess Vera. May I suggest just fighting my Second Subordinate?"
"I'm not talking about the humans, Riley Ross— only you. Checking the other humans is Varen's job."
"..."
"Do you accept this invitation to a friendly match, Riley Ross? Do not worry, I know the both of us are strong enough to stop ourselves before one of us gets seriously hurt."
"That is the problem, Princess Vera…" Riley could really only sigh, before ultimately nodding his head as his feet started to leave the blades of grass, "...you and I have very different definitions of 'hurt'."
"Well, as long as no one dies…
…everything is cool."
And halfway through Vera's words, she suddenly disappeared from her spot, almost instantly appearing behind Riley Ross with her hand already only an inch from his neck; her fingers, letting out some sort of a whirring whisper as they vibrate at an insane speed.
"What are you going to do now, Riley Ross?"
"This."
"!!!"
Vera could not help but widen her eyes as she heard Riley's words— not from the front, but from behind her. She was quick to move away, but as she did so, it almost felt like an immovable wall was suddenly blocking her path; causing her body to slightly be squished as she instantly stopped moving.
"Oh," Vera then touched the invisible wall; a side of her lips, slightly turned upward as she tapped the wall several times, "This is what killed the assassins."
"It might very well also be the thing that kills you, Princess Vera," Riley sighed, "May I suggest not continuing this friendly match? You will really only lose."
"What are you talking about, Riley?" Vera then let out a small giggle as her face once again slightly turned flush; her hair, now also glowing even brighter— and soon, it was almost as if her silhouette started to fade from existence,
"We've only just begun."
***ANNOUNCEMENT***
Hi, if you still don't know--- my most famous book before this one, 'My Hermes System', is getting a remake with a whole entirely new story entitled 'Speedster in a Fantasy World.' Check it out if you want to see more speedsters!
'Speedster in a Fantasy World.'
Chapter 417"Why are they suddenly fighting!?"
Prince Val stood up from his seat as he saw Riley and Vera suddenly fighting each other.
The two seemed to just be having a leisurely chat just moments ago as they explored the vast sea of grass. But then, without even as much as a scream or a leading argument, Vera's hair lit up as she rushed towards Riley.
As for Tomoe and Paige, the two just glanced at Riley, before just shrugging their shoulders; with Tomoe bringing out a large camera from under her kimono and started filming what was happening.
Now that she was back as Riley's Second Subordinate, the task of taking videos and live streaming have been passed down to her— yes, Riley was still streaming on the Paige and Paragon agency's account even after everything that has happened.
"..."
"..."
"How fast are you compared to your sister, young prince?"
"...what?" Val could really only blink a couple of times as he saw Paige and Tomoe just casually sitting there.
"If I give you this camera, is it possible for you to follow your sister's movements?"
"...No?"
"Useless," Tomoe said as she placed the camera on the table, facing it towards Riley.
"If you want to capture the princess, maybe I can do this?"
And out of nowhere, a hologram of a… flat screen suddenly popped out above the table; a screen showing princess Vera with everything around her seemingly blurry.
"What… what is that?" Val once again blinked a couple of times as he saw the floating screen, "Isn't that Vera? How… what?"
It wasn't only Val, even Tomoe's eyes showed hints of shock as she saw the screen. She was already aware of Paige's slightly quirky power— after all, as soon as Tomoe realized that Paragon is Riley during the very first stream when he cut off Matchstick's hand, she researched everything about Paige.
She knew of how incredible and ridiculous her illusions were, and the fact that she was able to interact with them.
"Oh, I made like… a camera that could follow her around. Well, I suppose it's attached to her but not really? Then I made it so that it would appear here," Paige only shrugged, as if it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Hm…" Tomoe squinted her eyes as she turned the camera towards the screen, "Imagine if you could kill with that ability, you will be more useful to Riley."
"Oh, it's fine," Paige shrugged again, "Riley can interact with my powers, so that already makes me as useful as he wants me to be. I guess… we just have a connection that can't be replicated, no?"
"...You're just a replacement for Hannah."
"...You really are jealous, aren't you? You and Riley like, have one of the biggest toxic relationships I have ever seen. But I guess… I can't really comment on that," Paige forced a small chuckle,
"I'm the same with him. Even the teacher, I forgot what her name was. His obsession with Aerith is unhealthy… we're all just in a web of toxicity."
"..."
"So you're wrong, Tomoe. I can't replace Hannah because she was, by all accounts, really the only one that had a healthy working relationship with Riley," Paige sighed as she turned her eyes towards Riley who was just standing as a green and golden blur surrounded him,
"But I guess you really can't beat family… why would you, right? So I am just trying to fill the void she left behind."
"You're taking advantage of the fact that he's staying as far away and distant from Hannah."
"I am," Paige said without any hesitation as she turned to look Tomoe straight in the eyes, "As I said, I'm toxic like that. I am doing it, because like you…
…I am madly, and crazy in love with Riley."
"Wha—"
"And I have always been honest and upfront with that," a small smile slowly crawled on Paige's face, "And maybe you should too."
"..."
"..."
"That is where you are wrong about me, Paige Pearson," Tomoe let out a small sigh as she returned Paige's gaze,
"There might have been a time when that would have been true, but I am not in love with Riley. What I have for him is respect. And while I might hold love for him— the respect and awe I feel for him far exceeds it…
…I have never confused what I feel for him, and I have never confused what I am to him; now, in the past, and probably even in the future."
"..."
"..."
The two just stared at each other for a few seconds, before just nodding and proceeding to focus on what was happening between Riley and the princess of the evaniels.
As for Val, however, he could barely control his breaths with what he just heard from these two women. He had never heard anyone talk like that about anyone— even his parents to each other.
Just… what kind of man is Riley Ross to invoke this much feeling to his opposite sex? What sort of secret does he hold?
"!!!"
Val then quickly turned his eyes towards the floating screen. His sister—
If this continues on, then wouldn't it be possible that Riley would also get his sister? If so… then Riley was going to be his brother-in-law?
If so, then he would have all the time in the world to learn Riley's secret. This…
…this is good.
"Riley! Beat her ass!" Val roared, "Y—"
But before he could say another word, he felt his head suddenly slamming on the table; a palm print, now painted on his cheek.
One might be confused as to what just happened, but it was clearly shown on the screen that followed Vera's movements— she slapped her brother at blinding speed.
Val was going to curse his sister because a trickle of blood started to trail on his cheek… but quickly realized that it wasn't his.
"..." Vera just continued to run— only stopping and turning as soon as she felt the slightest resistance anywhere near her because she knew… she knew there were invisible walls just waiting for her.
"..." A few more seconds of this, however, she stopped and just stood in front of Riley again; her hands, bleeding as they were the first to make contact with the invisible walls Riley had laying around everywhere. There were, however, no open wounds as they seem to have already healed.
"You're strong, Riley of Earth."
"You are too, Princess Vera. The other evaniels I have faced would have already killed themselves a thousand times over if they were you."
"Hm," Vera smirked, "But invisible walls and barriers? Why don't you face me for real?"
"You will die, Princess Vera," Riley shook his head, "Aerith wouldn't like that. If you want to know what humans are capable of, I suggest fighting with Tempo. He—"
And before Riley could finish his words, Vera's fist was suddenly in front of him… as well as above him, behind him, to his sides, everywhere— hitting him all at once.
These fists continued to strike Riley like a machine gun, a torrent of an endless raging barrage. Soon, however, the fist started to show signs of redness, bruising.
As for Riley— he just stood there like a rock. A mountain unperturbed by the violent hurricane that blanketed him whole; not even a single strand of hair affected and moved.
"I don't know if you are hearing me because you are moving too fast," Riley then shook his head and sighed, "But I am going to stop you now. Okay, Princess Vera? Don't worry, I have the means to cancel any momentum you have without harming even a single strand of your hair."
Riley then slowly raised his hand, before suddenly closing it into a fist.
And as soon as he did so, the fists surrounding him quickly faded away as Vera's silhouette could finally be seen in its entirety, floating and hovering a foot above Riley with her green hair still glowing and her golden tattoos still emitting sparks of lightning.
Soon, however, even the light around her started to fade as her sighs traveled throughout the entire field.
"Just… what are you, Riley Ross?" Vera then said as she found herself slowly descending back to the ground.
"A monster, a human," Riley shrugged, "That entirely depends on you, Princess Vera."
"Heh. I am starting to like you more and more," Vera smiled as she looked at Riley's face, "I feel like my stay on your planet would be rather eventful if I stick with you."
"You are free to do so, Princess Vera," Riley then said before stretching his hand towards the princess, "In truth, I also find you very interesting."
"...Hm?" Vera could really only blink a couple of times as she looked at Riley's hand.
"I can tour you around Earth, but you will have to become my Third Subordinate."
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
***
Somewhere. Surrounded by nothing but silver walls, two women stood— their very presence, almost bending the space around them.
No, perhaps their surroundings truly were bending; as one could see hints of a crack where light seems to be unable to exist floating everywhere near them.
"Why… why the fuck would you resurrect me, D?"
"Because you didn't deserve to die, Alice."
"You don't know what you've done. You… you have no idea what you've done. I… I'm not well…"
"...I know."
"You don't know, Diana. You know nothing."
"..."
"I hear it, the whispers. The whispers. They… they're telling me to kill everything. I… I can't hurt Riley anymore. I remember it… No, I am experiencing it happening right now. I… I am killing my baby again and again…
You… just kill me, please."
"...No."
"Diana…
…this is a mistake."
Chapter 418"So, this is Earth. It looks just like any other low-tier planet."
"...Are all the habitable planets similar?"
"Not at all, but this is like the textbook of what planets with any kind of base civilization look like. If a planet develops like this, then an intelligent civilization would sprout on it, no matter what."
Riley and company were now hovering in the skies of Earth with a ship made by Paige, and as always, powered by Riley.
But unlike previous iterations, however, they were no longer trying to hide the fact that it was a mixture of both their abilities; as the ship was basically just… a metallic box.
As for its interior, it was clear— one could see the Earth beneath their feet. By all accounts, Riley could have probably just lifted them to the planet all the same, but Vera and Val were still royalty. It would be rude not to give them the proper treatment, Riley said.
As for their deal with the princess becoming his subordinate… she obviously refused. Saying that she didn't really need a tour and will just instead follow wherever Riley is. After all, it became clear to her that it wasn't the planet or the civilization itself that was important— it was the inhabitants themselves, the so-called supers.
It was no wonder that Aerith and another unnamed themarian were staying here, the humans were a welcomed curiosity to them, no doubt.
"How many planets have you been to?" And while they were taking their time to leisurely reached the surface, Paige has been asking the princess several questions now. She didn't seem to mind, however. If anything, she seemed to even like the queries.
"Probably a hundred or so," Vera shrugged, "And this isn't racist or anything, but there are even species out there that are… too ugly to be alive."
"...How is that not racist? That's like… beyond normal discrimination."
"Oh, I said it in a place of love," Vera only chuckled as she waved her hand, "They're cute large oafs, those Map'qins. May their ancestors bless their hearts."
"...I see."
"Is it really alright for the two of you not to be in the ship, or at the very least, with Admiral Varen?" Tomoe then broke her silence as they got near the surface, "I feel as if you are only going to bring trouble to master Riley… with respects, princess."
"W—"
"It is fine."
Val thought he finally found the chance to speak. But alas, Vera disrupted him before he could even utter a single word,
"If he needs me and I need him, we could just quickly run to each other," Vera shrugged.
"There is no need to argue or discuss about that, Princess Vera."
"Oh?"
Vera then quickly turned her attention to Riley as he also broke his silence, "How so?"
"Because we are going to the place where he is."
And as soon as he said that, the ship they were on suddenly withered away; their feet, gently touching the ground as they find themselves in front of a large gate.
"...Does your species have giants?"
"We have a few that could turn into giants," Paige chuckled, "But no, that's just how large the gate is— it's the Mega Academy, after all."
"Academy?" Vera's eyes widened, "I can see your kind values learning. That is good."
"...Actually, based on all the stories I've heard about it, they do more mock battles there than they read books."
"You did not attend this Academy, Paige Pearson?"
"...No," Paige breathed out, "Wrong timing, I suppose?"
"Hm. You—"
And before the princess could say another word, the large gates of the Academy opened.
She initially thought they were there to welcome them— but seeing as more than a dozen people suddenly surrounded them carrying slightly… perturbed expressions on their faces, she was starting to think it might not be so.
"...Is this how your kind welcomes each other?"
"No," Paige once again let out a chuckle, "This—"
"This is how they welcome master Riley," Tomoe was the one to finish Paige's words as the ground beneath her started to freeze and turn dark,
"His titles that I introduced him as were not for show, princess. It is better for you to learn that master Riley is not a man to be trifled with— he is not a man at all."
"..." Vera could really only squint her eyes, before looking at the people that were surrounding them. Soon, however, her eyes settled on… a man whose entire silhouette exuded a golden brilliance.
"So it was you, Riley Ross. It has been a long time since we last exchanged words."
"Bulwark."
"..."
"..."
The two stared at each other for a few seconds, before Bulwark raised his hand. And as soon as he did so, the people surrounding Riley and his group all dispersed; some, rushing back to the gates with all their might.
"You would have to excuse them, they are all still very much afraid of you— as they should," Bulwark then said, "May I ask what brings you here again?"
"I just feel like being here, Bulwark," Riley nodded, "I also have the prince and the princess of the evaniels tagging along with me. I figured I would bring them here."
"...What?" Bulwark could really only blink as he turned his eyes towards the two silver-haired individuals behind Riley, "I… was not aware of a princess."
"Oh, I just got here," Vera then stepped forward as she stretched her hand to Bulwark as the two exchanged greetings to each other.
"Are… you here to see your Admiral? He is exploring the Academy as we speak."
"I am afraid that depends entirely on Riley Ross," Vera smiled and shook her head, "As he stated, my brother and I are just tagging along."
"Hm."
Bulwark wished he could have been surprised by this sudden development. But no— perhaps out of all the people in the world, he was the one who was most used to the… anomalies that surround and follows Riley. After all, he was the first one who accepted and presented him as just a natural calamity to the world back then.
"Then please," Bulwark then said as he stepped to the side, "Us humans are always looking for a new friend."
"...Forgive me, I thought you were not a human at first. You looked like one of the other races— but you have a nose."
"Your Admiral said the same," Bulwark laughed, "Sadly, I am as human as the rest here."
"Don't believe him, Princess Vera," Riley quickly commented as they started to step inside the Academy, "He is more than 4000 years old."
"...You humans are the weirdest species I have ever met."
"Hopefully not as weird as the clovians, princess," Bulwark breathed out.
"Clovians were here?"
"As invaders. It's a long story. And sadly I have other matters to attend to," Bulwark sighed before turning towards Riley, "May I request… you don't create trouble here, Riley? At the very least, try not to kill anyone."
"Okay."
"...Well, I'll take my leave then. Princess Vera, I hope you find me after our duties."
"As I said, I am just tagging along."
"Hm. If you wish to find Admiral Varen, he should be in one of the classes learning about our people's history," and with that, Bulwark flew away, leaving the group on their own without even as much as a guard or surveillance.
"So… you're a bit of a troublemaker on this planet?" Vera then let out a small chuckle, "So, what did you actually do for everyone to be scared of you?"
"Living, Princess Vera," Riley said as they continued to walk.
"...What?"
Riley didn't really add anything to his words, leaving the princess slightly confused. She looked to Paige and Tomoe to know what he meant, but they too, just remained quiet; their eyes, slightly showing hints of melancholy… and conflict.
And so, she could really only follow— her eyes, almost devouring all the supers they met as she tried to guess what their abilities could be.
And very soon, they reached the insides of the Academy, and then into a hallway that was filled with people— not even allowing anyone to walk through it.
However, as soon as someone noticed Riley, the crowd quickly dispersed— almost like cockroaches that were suddenly exposed to the sun.
"I guess we know which class Admiral Varen is sitting in," Paige said as the group walked towards the opened door, "Don't you guys find it weird how quickly people in this Academy move on, though? It was only weeks ago that almost half the population died."
"It's not that big of a deal," Tomoe shrugged, "No one probably even remembers the Seven Planes incident."
"...It kinda is?"
"I see Admiral Varen!"
And finally, after what seemed like hours of not being allowed to speak, Val found the chance to do so as he pointed at Varen, who was seated at the edge of the class hall.
And suffice to say, everyone quickly turned their heads towards Val and the others.
"O… oh… Hi? We—"
And before Val could finish his words, Admiral Varen suddenly appeared in front of him, pulling him away from the others.
"What are you doing, Admiral?"
"Princess Vera!? You're here!?" Varen's eyes then turned wide as he saw their princess casually standing beside Riley,
"S… stay away from him, Princess! He is dangerous!"
"...Relax, Varen. We're trying to build relations here," Vera let out a slightly chuckling breath, "You're embarrassing me in front of my new friends."
"No! Riley… Riley is…" Varen did not finish his words, and instead… he pointed toward the large screen in front of the class.
"Oh," Riley was the first to react as he stepped into the classroom,
"That's me."
Chapter 419The single entity that is responsible for causing the most human deaths in a short amount of time.
The most heinous criminal that would maim, torture, and kill supers and normal humans alike on live television without any hesitation.
Considered to just be a part of nature, a living calamity that appears rarely. But every time he does so, millions of lives are sure to be lost.
In just a single moment, Princess Vera finally understood why Aerith had warned them not to mingle or cross paths with Riley Ross.
But perhaps the most important information of all from the lecture… was the fact that Riley was able to beat Megawoman— Aerith herself.
"..." Vera could really only find herself slowly distancing herself from Riley; her feet, moving on their own.
"Are… are any of those true?" Vera whispered as she pointed at the giant screen in front of the class hall.
"All of it is true, Princess Vera," Riley only shrugged; not even looking at her as his eyes focused on the screen, "This is an Academy, they won't just alter history."
Even Val, who was previously growing respect for Riley, could not help but take in a deep breath.
"You… you were a murderer?"
"I still am, Princess Vera," Riley answered, "And will forever be, it is my purpose."
"...You said ruling is your purpose," Vera took in a deep breath as she looked Riley straight in the eyes.
"Yes, they are the same thing," Riley nodded.
"...They're not."
"If I eventually kill everyone, then would that not be the same as ruling everyone?" Riley breathed out as his eyes soon landed on the students that were… petrified with fear inside the class hall,
"My father told me that ruling means serving the people, and in turn, they will serve you," Riley closed his eyes, "I serve them an escape from their melancholic lives, and they serve me with their screams. A win-win situation, as father said. You can ask him… but I do not really know where he is right now."
"You… have a very skewed way of thinking," Vera gulped before letting out a forced chuckle.
"Are you able to imagine an entire planet screaming?" A smile then soon very slowly crawled on Riley's face as he closed his eyes; his head, slightly bobbing side to side, "I could… and it is wonderful, Princess Vera. Anywhere you walk, a scream will accompany you almost like a piano playing in the background of your life. It's…
…perfect."
"Riley, hey…" And as Riley was starting to get lost in his own thoughts, Paige approached him and started tapping him on the back, "...tone it down a bit."
"Nonsense. Please share us your vision, Master Riley— I will make it happen."
"Can you not add?"
Paige couldn't really help herself from trying to stop Riley with his words of… grandeur. After all, she could not help but feel responsible— she was the one who entered the idea of 'ruling' to Riley.
She did not, however, think that Riley would somehow become obsessed with the thought. It would have been fine if he followed the utopia that Paige described, but no— as everything with Riley, it turned into inflicting pain and death.
"..."
"..."
And while this exchange of words was happening, the unfortunate students inside the class hall could really only sit there— some, already praying as they did not know whether or not death was coming for them. Even their professor, whoever she was, could really only stand there and remain quiet.
She was putting in her best effort; even wearing her favorite clothes as soon as Bulwark told her that people from a completely different planet would be sitting in on her class– this meant she would be the very first human to teach an alien.
What she did not expect, however, was the sudden appearance of Riley Ross. And what's more, he arrived right at the very moment that he was the one they were learning— leaving almost everyone completely anxious. It was almost like they were gossipers that were caught in action.
Some of them, however, stared at Riley without any sign of abhor. And instead, their eyes glistened with respect and shock.
"Princess Vera."
Admiral Varen, who had been keeping his quiet and watching Riley's every move, finally spoke as he approached the princess with utmost care. The prince, still tightly locked in his hands.
"We should go while the Riley Ross is occupied," he whispered, "We should heed Princess Aerith's advice and avoid him like a disease— which he is."
"..."
"Dr. Vella is with the leader of the planet, we should check on them before she does… anything weird."
Admiral Varen continued to talk; Vera's eyes, however, were solely focused on Riley; who still seemed to be lost in his own world.
Her eyes began to slowly think, almost as if she was thinking of a million things— and perhaps she was.
And then, finally, after a few more seconds, she finally turned to Varen,
"Go take my brother there, I will be staying with Riley for a while."
"What? Why!?" Varen could not help but raise his voice.
"Because he is to be my betrothed. I… need to know more about him."
"What else is there to know!? He is a genocidal maniac!" Admiral Varen started to flail his arms… dragging along the young prince he was holding.
"..." Why did it feel like he was starting to just become a burden?--- Val thought.
"They're a different species, Admiral. It's not right for us to judge them by—"
"How is a genocidal maniac not a universal thing!? I am here to protect you, Princess Vera. The Queen would kill me if you get—"
"With all due respects, Admiral… I am stronger than you," Vera let out a tiny scoff, before placing her hand on Varen's shoulder and pushing him to the side as he approached Riley.
"Riley, where are we going next?" She then stood in front of Riley, leaning her head down and letting her long silver hair flow as she looked at Riley's face; his smile that reached from ear to ear, still ever much present.
After a few more moments, however, he finally opened his eyes and stopped bobbing his head.
"Let me take you to Aerith's son," Riley then said, "You may be able to talk about marriage with him. If not, then Bella should be there— the two of you have a lot in common."
"...Are they your friends?"
"They are friends of my sister," Riley shook his head.
"Your… sister?" Vera's eyes started to light up, "Let's go! Maybe your sister and I will become close."
"But if you wish to befriend my sister, then I am afraid I would have to ask you to stay away from me from now on."
"What?" Vera blinked a couple of times, "You're really weird, you know that? Why would I avoid you?"
"Because I want sister to forget me," Riley said without any hesitation, "I feel like she still has a lot of lingering attachments to me, that is not something I can continue to allow— she should be free of me."
"And who the fuck do you think you are to decide for me?"
And then, out of nowhere, another prominent member of Earth entered the once quiet and peaceful class hall. The people in the room, already accepting their fate as the audience for this… eventful meeting.
"I am your ex-adopted brother, ex-sister."
"Ex? What the fuck is that? Didn't you just call me sister earlier!?"
"I suppose," Riley shrugged; not turning to face Hannah even as she stepped inside the class.
"And you, what the fuck?" Hannah didn't seem to mind, however, as she looked at Tomoe, "Why are you still following my brother around? You're supposed to be in the Baby Crew."
"..." Tomoe didn't really answer and just looked to the side.
"So, that's it?" Hannah scoffed as she looked back and forth between Riley's back and Tomoe, "You're just gonna ignore me for the rest of our lives? Did you really think I would just let it go after you punched me in the stomach, Riley!?"
"To be fair, ex-sister— you killed me."
"That… fuck!" Hannah groaned, "I don't have a comeback to that."
"What are you doing, Hannah?" Riley finally turned around; his eyes, quickly looking straight into his ex-sister's eyes,
"It… is over between us."
"...But why?"
"..." The audience— the students all looked at each other as they heard Riley's words. Weren't Hannah and Riley supposed to be siblings? So why does it feel like… they were watching a couple getting closure?
"..." As for Paige, she could really only place her hand on Riley's arm for comfort, before nodding and stepping away. She also glanced at Hannah, who just squinted her eyes as their gazes met.
Vera, on the other hand, had her arms crossed as she looked back and forth between the two; watching every inch of their interaction.
"I am no longer your brother. That is the only thing that connects us, Hannah."
"Legally, we still are," Hannah breathed out, "No paperwork was done to void it. So…"
"..."
"..."
"Oh," Riley blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head to the side,
"Then I suppose you truly still are my sister."
"I am."
"Then we need to process it immediately so you can finally be completely free of me, sister."
"I don't want to."
"Hm?"
"You have to live with your demons. I have to learn how to live with mine."
"I'm not a demon, sister. A monster, yes— but demons are a completely different—"
"Fuck! I just want to try again! You're the only real family I have left, Riley! I don't fucking care anymore! I can't just… I can't just let you go, not this time!"
"..."
"..."
"Father's free from prison."
"...Fuck, you're right."
Chapter 420Somewhere in the green and empty fields of the Academy, Riley and Hannah walked alone. Unfortunately for the students in the class, they could no longer be part of the drama that was just starting to unfold.
Hannah wanted to talk to Riley alone— and since he really had nothing to do as of this moment, he obliged her. Not before, of course, asking his previous companions.
Paige and Tomoe were glad to give the two some space; as for Princess Vera, she was currently touring the Academy with Varen, in hopes to further her knowledge about the humans.
And so— finally, after what seemed like forever, the two siblings had the chance to be alone.
"Could you be inhaling illegal substances that would cloud one's judgment, sister? Perhaps a certain cannabis plant?"
"...What?"
"That is the only reason why you would want to talk to me alone."
"What? You're the one on drugs! And why are you so far away!?"
But alas, even as the two talked, Riley was deliberately maintaining a 3-meter distance between them.
"Because I am trying to keep my distance from you, sister," Riley answered without any visible expression on his face. A few moments later, however, his eyes widened as he started looking everywhere,
"Could it be you set up a trap to kill me again, sister?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Can't we just talk?"
"I don't think we have anything to talk about, sister."
"You don't need to keep your distance from me, Riley. Everyone knows who you are. They know you're Darkday, and they know you're my brother," Hannah said as she stopped walking, "Nothing is going to change that anymore, unless if you find a telepath powerful enough to erase all of our memories."
"..."
"Look…" Hannah let out a very long and deep sigh as she tried stepping closer to Riley; but once again, Riley also stepped back at the same time to the point it looked completely synchronized,
"...The crimes you've done can never be forgiven. And I'm sure you're not even asking for forgiveness. And I will never forgive you for everything that you have done, Riley. You fucking betrayed me, lied to my face all our lives."
"Technically only around 20% of our lives, sister. I didn't become Darkday until I was—"
"The fuck? You turning into Butcher now? Let me say my piece first," Hannah clicked her tongue as she waved her hand a couple of times,
"You see the thing is… the world has to live with you right now. We're forced to. That tall bitch practically gave you a free pass for everything that you did and everything that you will do. That's fucked up, so fucked up."
"..."
"You can just imagine how Gary and the million others that you've hurt think about that. It's a slap to their faces— and you even literally slapped him the other day in front of so many people."
"I know, I was there."
"...You're never going to stop hurting people. You will continue to kill just for the heck of it."
"I suppose."
"You are evil, you're vile. You manipulate people."
"Only from time to time, sister."
"I am so sorry, Riley."
"...Hm?" Riley could not help but tilt his head from the sudden change in Hannah's tone.
"I will never forgive you for what you've done," Hannah took in a long and deep breath as she closed her eyes, "But I'm sorry that I didn't see. I was supposed to be your big sister but I didn't fucking see the monster you were becoming."
"It is not your fault, sister."
"You see, that's just it. It is. It's everyone's fault…
…You were surrounded by people that just didn't care enough," Hannah's voice slowly started to waver,
"And it just doesn't make any fucking sense. Mother's a themarian? Like, what the fuck? And as if that wasn't enough, she just had to be a crazy themarian scientist? I thought dad knowing you were Darkday and keeping it for years was already madness, but that?"
"Mother is not crazy, she is just cursed with knowledge and too much curiosity, sister," Riley sighed and shook his head, before looking Hannah straight in the eyes, "I know what it feels like to be so obsessed with an idea that everything else doesn't matter. Right now, I am obsessed with wanting to rule the people over me."
"You don't even know what that fucking means, Riley. Rule them so you could hear them scream on command? The fuck kinda freaky shit is that?" Hannah scoffed, "I swear, that Paige woman is putting some bullshit in your head."
"To be fair, sister. She wanted me to rule so the world would be at peace. But honestly, I do not see the point in that kind of world. What is the point of the life of others if not pain and death?" Riley shrugged, "But at the very least, she understands me."
"Because she's fucking loose in the head."
"So am I."
"Exactly," Hannah forced a chuckle, "The two of you are fucking meant for each other. Where the fuck are you finding these women when I can't even meet a guy that's not secretly ancient?"
"Because you have a horrible personality, sister."
"Y—"
"As said by father, not me."
"..."
"..."
"...Why did it have to become like this?" Hannah then suddenly sat on the grass beneath them; her eyes, looking at the fake sky that covered the Academy,
"Don't you just fucking wish to be done with all of this? My brother's a psychopathic mass murderer, my mother's a fucking alien… and what's worse, my dad's a fucking cheater! At least mom never cheated on him, you know? Fuck!"
"You truly are the strongest person I know, sister."
"...Ha?"
"Most would have already chosen to kill themselves with the things you have experienced," Riley let out a small sigh as he too sat on the grass,
"I heard Victoria did, that is why Charlotte is keeping a close watch on her at all times now. She wasn't able to take in the pressure and stress when she learned who I was."
"...Don't go there, Riley," Hannah's voice slightly deepened.
"...Go where?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at Hannah, "Oh, it's alright. It is my fault that she tried to commit suicide."
"Stop."
"You don't want to talk anymore, sister?"
"I don't want to talk about people taking their own lives," Hannah's eyebrows began to furrow, before laying herself down on the grass as she let out a very long and deep breath, "Out of all the atrocious and evil things you have done, causing someone to want to take their lives is just… different."
"Oh," Riley muttered before letting out a short but deep breath, "It is a good thing I haven't told you about the times I have killed myself, sister."
"W… what?" Hannah stuttered as she looked her brother in the eyes, "What did you say?"
"'Oh, it is a good thing I haven't told you about the times I have killed myself, sister.', sister."
"...When?" Hannah seemed to want to sit back up, but for some reason, didn't have the strength to do so.
"When we were younger," Riley casually said, "The first time was when I first felt the urge to kill someone. The second time was when I actually killed someone. The third time was—"
"...Why?"
"Because I felt embarrassed, sister," Riley said as he looked to the side, "I know you wouldn't like it and you would be very disappointed if you found out."
"So you tried to kill yourself?"
"No, I killed myself. I value your opinion above all else, sister."
"You… you should have just come to me," Hannah's voice started to tremble as she looked at Riley's face; completely calm and unperturbed with what he was saying,
"If… if you valued my opinion above all else then you should have come to me. I… I would have asked you to stop."
"The moment I realized that I was not going to listen to you if you told me to stop killing and hurting people was the 13th time I killed myself, sister."
"You…" Hannah could not even utter the words she wanted to say as a loud gasp escaped her lips.
"Obviously, none of my attempts to stay dead worked," Riley then let out a small but very deep sigh as he shook his head, "I just wake up again and again, with the urge of wanting to hurt and kill people growing even stronger. Sometimes I think that maybe it— sister?"
And before Riley could finish his words, a sniffle whispered to his ears as Hannah suddenly covered her face with both hands.
"Sister?" Riley tilted his head as he looked at Hannah from head to toe, "I apologize, I shouldn't have talked about suicide. To think it truly affected you this much…
…I did it again, I hurt you just by being near you. I should—"
"Don't… don't you dare fucking leave," Hannah's muffled words seeped from the gaps in her hands,
"You… will stay here, okay? Don't run to another planet, stay here."
"But Aerith and I are—"
"Bullshit. You will stay here— face the people that you've hurt. See what you did to them. I…
…I will help you."
"..."
"..."
Riley did not really know what to say, and could only just stare at his sister as tears continued to seep from the outlines of her hands.
And as she said, Riley just stayed there, quietly sitting beside his sister.
Well, 3 meters apart.
Chapter 421"What do you think of the humans so far?"
"Princess?"
"Your honest opinion, Dr. Vella."
Vera, as well as the evaniel scientist, Dr. Vella, were still inside the Academy and still sitting in one of the classes in hopes to learn more about their future allies.
The students were ordered not to stare at them; but of course, it was inevitable that most of them would.
The evaniels did not seem to mind, however, as they were already used to this kind of scenario from the other planets they visited.
"Well… without a doubt, they are the most interesting of the new races."
And while Dr. Vella was still very much engrossed with the lecture, she still answered the princess' queries,
"Their abilities seem to be random, in both type and host. If anything, it's… a lottery."
"...Go on," Vera leaned closer to Dr. Vella.
"By all accounts, this is the kind of world where the fate of their people is decided the moment they unlock their… superpowers," Dr. Vella adjusted her glasses as she finally removed her eyes away from the lecture,
"But their social structure and interaction seem to be only minimally affected by that. Based on their general history, the normal humans and the supers have always co-existed— even before Megawoman. Sure, most hide their powers, but there really is not that much of discrimination from either side…
…well, not until recently, that is. But that's just a select group of radicals— the majority still very much co-exist with everyone. And no one is pointing fingers and blaming th—"
"What do you think of Riley Ross?"
And right when Dr. Vella was getting heated up with her reports, the princess grabbed her arm to ask another question— probably the question she wanted to ask in the first place.
"Riley… is a very colorful individual," Dr. Vella could really only sigh; still, Riley Ross was a wonderful topic on his own, "Certainly the most powerful amongst the humans. But, I don't really think we can categorize him anymore with them— the humans themselves are treating him as not one of them."
"...Go on," Vera said as she placed her hand on her chin.
"...There is also something wrong with him mentally."
"...What do you mean?"
"Oh, I just read from his profile and I asked around," Dr. Vella once again adjusted her glasses, "He has some sort of mental disability, I forgot the name. I need to research more about it if—"
"What about you, what do you think about him?"
Dr. Vella's words were once again interrupted right when she was getting heated up as the princess suddenly turned her head away to the other side— towards Admiral Varen.
"Highly dangerous," Varen quickly answered without any hesitation, "If a themarian is saying someone is dangerous, then that means something. We should avoid him as advised."
"Hm, I don't know about that," Vera seemed to ignore both her confidants' words as she shrugged her shoulders, "I've already sent a proposal to mother. It should be arriving to her soon."
"...What?"
"I think the humans are the ones I have been looking for all this time, Admiral Varen," Vera closed her eyes as she nodded, "Imagine, an evaniel child running around with the ability of… a super. We would progress dramatically not only as a people but as a civilization. The stagnant era we find ourselves in would finally end."
"...What are you saying, princess?"
"I am going to marry Riley Ross."
"...Their customs are completely different from ours," Dr. Vella shook her head, "And technically, he is not royalty or even a part of the government here. He has no reason to marry you."
"Well, not yet," a small smile started to grow on Vera's face, "But I think I know of a way to get closer to him now. I have discovered it…
…his one and only weakness.
***
"Hello, is this the Baby Crew I keep hearing about, Ms. Hannah?"
"The fuck you want?"
Hannah and some of the members of the Baby Crew plus Golden Fox were currently in one of the many shelters the Academy has— used as a refuge for the people that were still seeking help from what the House of Super did.
And since the crimes committed by supervillains were at an all-time low; most of the heroes have just been using their time to help those who need it, and the Baby Crew was not an exemption from this.
The crew stopped and started to gather, however, as the princess of the alien nation that visited their planet suddenly approached Hannah.
"I am afraid we did not get the chance to properly introduce ourselves earlier. How did the talk with your brother go?"
"None of your business, shouldn't you be somewhere else?"
Vera was all smiles. Hannah, on the other hand, was just waving her hands and gesturing to the princess to leave.
"No," Vera shook her head, "I am right where I should be."
"Are you here to help?" Silvie stepped forward, "We could really use it."
"..." Vera just looked at her from head to toe; her eyes, slightly widening as she did so, "Why do you look like Princess Aerith?"
"I d—"
"What do you want?" Hannah stepped in between the two; subtly covering Silvie's face from the princess.
"I was actually hoping I get to talk with you, Ms. Hannah."
"Ha?"
"I believe you and I have lived the same years, according to your calendar," Vera said before letting out a short but deep breath, "If there is someone I can learn from about the customs of this world, I believe it would be from you. I think we—"
"You're hot."
And before Vera could finish her words, Bella suddenly joined in on the conversation.
"Is there any chance you like… females?"
"...I'm afraid not."
"Oh," Bella could really only sigh as she walked away, "There goes my interest."
"..."
"..."
"Your friends are quite interesting. I want to get the time to know them."
"Then know them," Hannah then let out a small scoff as she handed some kind of computer tablet to the princess,
"Go help around here. Ask everyone to see if there's anything they need. I'm sure you know how to use a tablet, right?"
"..."
Vera could really only stare at Hannah for a few seconds, before once again letting out a small smile,
"...Sure."
…
…
"Should we kill her?"
A distance away from the shelter, hiding somewhere in the shadows of the trees of the Academy, were Riley and Tomoe; their eyes, just watching the shelter from afar.
"She's planning something, she's targeting your sister for a reason," Tomoe whispered; her eyes, glancing at Riley from time to time,
"She probably wants something from you, master Riley."
"You are right. She has expressed her wish of wanting to marry me, Nightqueen."
"We really should kill her, then," Tomoe's eyes started to squint, "She's suspicious."
"I think so too."
"Master? Have you thought of something? Do you think she's somewhat involved with their commander's death?"
"Perhaps," Riley only shrugged; his eyes, not leaving the shelter.
"..."
"..."
"I've heard from my sources that Empress has allowed more evaniels to land on Earth, do you think—"
"It doesn't concern us, Nightqueen."
"...Of course, master Riley," Tomoe nodded, before once again letting out a small sigh, "What about Gary, master Riley? How do you want to handle him?"
"Aerith's son?"
"...Yes," Tomoe slightly raised an eyebrow as she heard how Riley addressed Gary, "I… believe his hatred for you grows by the second. He hasn't been with the Baby Crew ever since you beat him up in front of the Korean Shaved Ice store."
"Hm."
"Katrina also said he is no longer talking to any of them and is not answering any of their calls," Tomoe sighed, "Golden Fox is filling in his position. I think… he is depressed, master Riley. I am afraid it is only a matter of time before he does something he will regret."
"Oh, I believe Gary Gray is right where he needs to be, Nightqueen."
"...Hm?"
"A villain."
"A… villain?" Tomoe blinked a couple of times as she leaned closer to Riley.
"He is on the potential villain list," Riley nodded, "So far, the Academy's evaluation has held true. You joined me, a retired villain. Most of the graduates on the Potential Villain list have also turned to villainy…
…it is only a matter of time before Gary joins them."
"..."
"Are we… not doing anything, then?" Tomoe muttered, "He… is still Hannah's friend "
"Is he, though?" Riley breathed out, "He has not been with them for weeks, you said so yourself. And…
…do you not think it is better this way, Nightqueen?"
"...Master Riley?" Tomoe then turned to look at Riley, only to see him smiling from ear to ear.
"Aerith thinks she is done with Earth. But what if her son turns evil? Would she think it is her responsibility to stop him?"
"..." Tomoe could not really say anything as she just looked at… Riley's slightly trembling smile.
"This will make for a good scenario, Nightqueen. Everyone eventually serves their purpose… Gary is about to take his."
"...May I ask what that is? His purpose?"
"Darkday's one final gift to Megawoman," Riley's shoulder started to tremble as a small chuckle whispered in the air, "The death of her son…
…by her own hands."
"What… did you do, master Riley?" Tomoe took in a small gulp as she looked back and forth between Riley and the shelter.
"Something I have been doing from the start, Tomoe," Riley then turned to face Tomoe; the smile on his face wider than before,
"Trying to find the most beautiful death."
***
Somewhere in the undergrounds of the Academy, in one of the training halls, Gary was there.
His entire body, drenched in sweat.
"...Shut up."
He seemed to be talking to someone, but no one besides him was there.
"I said shut the fuck up!"
"You're weak, son of Megawoman."
All of a sudden, however, a voice echoed throughout the hall.
"Abandoned by your mother, abandoned by your friends, abandoned by the woman you love. You are weak, son of Megawoman."
"Shut up!"
"Maybe you're not her son after all? But what does that make you, then? Anything special about you centers on the fact that you are Megawoman's son."
"That… that's not true."
"Without that, you're just a B-lister superhero— The mascot of the Baby Crew."
"You… you're not real," Gary covered his ears as the voice became louder and louder.
"Why are you even here when Silvie already exists? She is stronger than you, faster than you… better than you."
"She… she's my friend!"
"No, Gary Gray— she is everything that you can never be. Monarch... what a joke."
"Shut up…"
"Poor, poor Gary… even your girlfriend was stronger than—"
"I said shut up!" Gary then roared as he seemingly punched the air; his fist, however, stopped as it hit something…
…Riley Ross's smiling face.
Chapter 422Several claps of thunder howled through the training hall; only hampered by Gary's violent breaths as he continued to punch Riley's face.
"I. Am. Not. Weak!"
With every word he uttered, he struck. But Riley just remained there standing, completely unfazed no matter what— unmoved even by a single millimeter.
"But you are, Gary. Didn't you say it yourself? You're a side character."
"Shut up!" The entire training hall soon started to tremble as a barrage of strikes rained down on Riley's face; Gary's arms could no longer be seen as only the ripples they caused remained.
"But you're wrong, Gary. You're not even a side character now,"
Riley's voice, even with thunders that drowned anything, still echoed through the air,
"You're just a nobody, Gary Gray."
And as soon as those words reached Gary's ears, his fists stopped mid-air; trembling, weeping.
"Son of Megawoman. Friends with the strongest supers of this generation. You are even the only man in a group full of women. If it were any other, they truly would have been the main character,"
Riley's sighs of disappointment whispered in the air,
"You must be so disappointed, Gary Gray."
"..." Gary's eyebrows began to tremble; his face turning into a snarl as he showed his chattering teeth.
"Your father was killed by the evilest supervillain in the world. And your mother did not even seem to care. Your story should have been one of revenge…
…but poor, poor Gary," Riley's head started to weave from side to side as his voice turned into a hum,
"You're just a joke. You can't even scratch a single hair of mine."
"..."
"All this time, the man responsible for your father's death and many others were just right beside you. We rode motorcycles together, you ate the food I cooked, we fought together…
…How does it feel, Gary? To know that you were just a puppet whose strings could have been severed at any time?"
"You were our friend!" Gary then roared as he waved his hand, "I loved you, man! You… I considered you my brother! We… we were close, you and I. We spend each day together! Just why…
…why can't you be human for once!?"
"I was never your friend, Gary Gray. You're weak. Why don't you ask your mother for help? Afraid she won't even acknowledge you?"
"I am not weak!" Gary once again closed his fist as he punched Riley in the face.
"...Gary?"
As soon as he did so, however, another voice echoed throughout the training hall; this time, filled with a warmth that was completely absent in the hall.
"...Chihiro?" Gary blinked several times as he turned his head towards Golden Fox. A few moments later, however, he once again raised his voice, "Get out of here. Riley…Riley's here!"
Chihiro, who was just wearing a casual dress could not help but take a few steps back as she looked around,
"There… there's no one here but us, Gary."
"Huh? What—" Gary quickly looked at his fist, only to see Riley's face not there,
"He… he was just here."
"When… when was the last time you went outside, Gary?" Chihiro slightly stuttered as she looked Gary in the eyes.
"..." Gary looked back and forth between Chihiro and the empty air in front of him. But after a few moments, he let out a breath and shook his head,
"That's none of your concern."
"The others are worried about you. I'm worried about y—"
"The others don't care about me!" Gary did not let Chihiro talk, "They don't care about me now that Riley is back! He… he's just walking around everywhere like he's not the evilest piece of shit in the world!"
"Gary—"
"Even Silvie is just letting him be!"
"You… you know how Silvie is," Chihiro sighed, "She is very straightforward when it comes to the law, and Riley is no longer wanted."
"Then what about Bella!? What about Katrina!? What about everyone else!? Oh yes, I've seen the way people look at him," Gary violent waved his hand,
"Just because he ended the House of Super, it doesn't mean he's a hero!"
"...He's not."
"Then why are the people treating him like one!? They idolize him like… like a fucking celebrity! Have… have they forgotten that he's a mass murderer!? He—"
And soon, tears started to trail on Gary's cheeks; his mouth, no longer able to utter any other words as his breaths filled his throat. His heavy gasps, almost uncontrollable.
And as soon as Chihiro saw this, she quickly rushed toward Gary and wrapped her arms around him.
Gary quickly surrendered to this warmth as he fell to the ground, letting out a scream that caused the entire hall to quaver.
Chihiro didn't say anything, she just tightened her embrace.
Gary gritted his teeth, trying to stop the tears from falling, but failing miserably.
"You…" He was about to say something, but suddenly… he saw Riley in front of him; his hand, already moving toward Chihiro's head.
"Leave us alone!"
Gary's eyes immediately lit up, letting out a wide beam that scorched the walls of the training hall.
"Kh!"
Chihiro could really only push him away.
"Where are you!?" Gary roared as he stood up, "Where—"
And then, his eyes landed on Chihiro, only to see her cheek and ears… burnt. Her eyes, looking at him with fear.
"Wait… I didn't—"
And before he could say anything, a portal appeared beneath Chihiro.
"W… Wait!"
Chihiro didn't really say anything and just shook her head as she disappeared through the portal.
"No!"
"And now, you've even hurt the woman you love…
…pathetic."
"Riley!" Gary quickly turned towards the voice, only to see Riley once again standing there.
"Do you want to hurt me? Do you want me to experience the same pain you're feeling right now?"
"You… you're going to pay for this!"
"Come find me then, I'm in Shelter 12," and as Riley said that, his silhouette slowly melted away and disappeared into the floor.
"Riley!" Gary's eyes turned red as he leaped into the air, shattering the ceiling of the training hall and not even caring if there was anyone above it.
He just continued through his path like a juggernaut, rampaging the grounds he walked on until he reached the shelter… in which he proceeded to break through the door as he barged inside.
"Riley!" He roared. His eyes, turning everywhere until they finally landed on their target. It didn't even take long; after all, everything else was dark and Riley was really the only thing he could see due to his rage.
"Riley!"
Gary leaped, destroying the floor behind him as he moved towards Riley, "You're going to die!"
He locked his fists as he went straight for Riley's chest— and this time, his fist went through.
"Gary, no!"
"What have you done!?"
And then almost like a whistle moving through his ears, the blinding rage he was experiencing dispersed, revealing everyone and everything else.
A small smile crawled on Gary's face as he saw his arm, half of it penetrated through Riley's chest.
"I got you…" He whispered, "...I got you now!"
Gary then turned to look at Riley's defeated face…
…only to see Chihiro's weeping eyes. But soon, however, any emotions her eyes held completely faded away.
"...What?" Gary blinked a couple of times, before turning his eyes towards Riley, who was actually standing behind Chihiro.
"What?" Gary's eyes then looked back to Chihiro, "Why… why would you protect—"
"Gary!"
Gary then felt himself being pulled away as Silvie's screams pierced his ears. She quickly pinned him down to the ground, shattering the floor in the process.
As for Chihiro's body, it was suddenly encased in a block of dark ice.
"Medic!" Tomoe's voice shattered through the entire shelter as she placed her hand on the ice; her voice, obviously trembling as she stared at Riley. She remained like this for a few seconds; her eyes, slightly wavering,
"Medic!"
As for Riley, he was just standing there and looking at Gary.
"No… no," Gary shook his head as he returned Riley's gaze, "Why, why would you do this, Riley!?"
"I could ask you the same thing, Gary," Riley, unexpectedly, answered him quickly, "Why would you do this to Golden Fox?"
"I… I'm going to kill you!"
"Enough, Gary!"
Gary could feel himself burrowing deeper into the floor as Silvie continued to pin him down,
"Stop, you… you've done enough," she then said; her voice, stuttering as tears started to trail on her face, "Just… Please just stop."
"Silvie, take him out of here!"
"No, no, no. W… wait… wait, wait!" Gary dug his arms through the floor as he felt himself being dragged into the air by Silvie. But alas, he could really only resist so much,
"Wait… it… It's not me! It's Riley! It's Riley Ross!" Gary roared— and all of a sudden, a sort of ripple burst forth from his body, causing Silvie to be blown away.
"..." Gary's eyes turned wide from this as he quickly stood up; perplexed, but still looking at Chihiro through the block of ice she was confined in.
He then turned to look at everyone that was in the shelter, only to see all of them looking at him like he was some kind of…
…villain.
Even the princess of the evaniels was there, looking down on him as if he was a laughing stock.
"Gary," Hannah then stepped forward with both her hands in the air, "Don't you dare fucking run away."
"I…" Gary seemed to want to say something, but then just shook his head… before running away— his speed, dramatically faster than before.
"Do you want me to stop him?" Vera whispered as she watched Gary go through the door.
"No, this is an affair between humans," Hannah shook his head as she blocked Vera with her arm,
"You okay, Silv?"
"I… think so," Silvie blinked a couple of times, confused as to what just happened.
"Tomoe…" Hannah's voice then turned meek as she looked at the block of dark ice, "...Is she alive?"
Not only her, but everyone in the hall was looking at Tomoe. But alas, with her letting out a small but deep breath and shaking her head, they could really only put their heads down.
Tomoe, however, was looking at Riley; almost as if asking if this was his doing. Riley just shrugged his shoulders, however, before also touching the ice that now served as Chihiro's casket.
Katrina, who was the closest amongst the Baby Crew with Chihiro, could not help but close her eyes and let the tears go.
"...What do we do about Gary?" Although Bella's breaths were obviously ragged and weak, her voice was still clear as she moved beside Hannah.
"Baby… crew," Hannah also closed her eyes and let out a very deep and very long breath,
"...Get ready to hunt Gary Gray."
Chapter 423"Play it again."
The Baby Crew was now inside one of the many surveillance rooms of Mega Academy. Their eyes, reflecting the two large screens that were plastered on the wall in front of them.
One of the screens was showing Gary, emerging from the floor as he leaped out from the training hall underground. As for the other screen, it was showing the inside of the shelter.
The Baby Crew was just helping and running around inside, assisting the people in any way they could.
The Princess of the evaniels was also there doing the same thing, not using her speed as she seemed to be genuinely talking to the refugees.
As for Tomoe, who arrived there minutes after Vera, she was talking and assisting Katrina with whatever it was she was doing.
Riley was also there, talking to the people that surprisingly approached him with smiles on their faces as soon as he arrived with Tomoe— even fully knowing he was Darkday.
Everything was normal. But then, all of a sudden, and out of nowhere, a circular void appeared on the screen; Chihiro, emerging from the portal looking clearly distressed.
Her cheek and ear, slightly burnt.
"..."
Bella and Katrina were the first to approach her, asking her what was wrong. Chihiro told them that she was going to try and find Gary— and so they also asked her if he did something.
Chihiro, however, only shook her head and started crying, pushing Bella and Katrina away.
As for Hannah and Silvie, the two could be seen just looking at each other. Silvie was about to join the three, but as she took her 3rd step, she stopped; her head, turning towards the door of the shelter.
Her eyes started to squint, and not even a second later, Gary burst forth from the door.
"..." Silvie could really only breathe in as she watched herself just standing there; her face, completely stupefied.
No, it wasn't just her. All of them were confused.
And then, with a roar, Gary rushed towards Riley. The others were unable to react— what should they even do in that situation?
There was, however, one of them that did something. It was Chihiro.
Chihiro, who rushed and leaped in front of Gary as he was only a meter away from hitting Riley.
And what happened next, was a tragedy.
The members of the Baby Crew that were watching the screen could really only look away, except Hannah, who gritted her teeth as she watched Gary's hand go through Chihiro's torso.
"...Is there any way we can get a visual of what happened in the training hall? Before Gary burst through the floor?"
Hannah then said as she placed her hand on the shoulder of the surveillance operator.
"No," the operator quickly shook his head, "The training halls have their own surveillance system. But it's only really active whenever there's a class in session."
"...Fuck," Hannah could not help but click her tongue, before just continuing to watch the screen; with Silvie now being blown away by Gary.
"...What happened there?" Hannah asked as she looked at Silvie.
"He… was able to escape my grip," Silvie let out a short but deep sigh as she looked at the screen.
"Gary?"
"Hm," Silvie nodded, "As if… he was stronger than me."
"...That's impossible," Hannah raised an eyebrow.
"That's what I thought too, but look," Silvie then pressed something on the panel, causing the operator to raise an eyebrow as someone else touched his buttons; but of course, he couldn't really do anything.
"Look how fast he is running," Silvie then said as she pointed at the screen; showing Gary running across the grounds of the Academy like a blur— reaching the gates in no time.
"And he was still accelerating as he destroyed a part of the gate."
"...You think it's possible his themarian genes are finally waking up?" Hannah murmured.
"Themarians are not that slow."
"...Why are you still here?" Hannah then rolled her eyes as she looked behind him, only to see Vera standing there and also watching the screens.
Vera only shrugged, however, before pointing her thumb towards Riley, who was also standing there with Tomoe.
"..." Hannah could really only squint her eyes as she looked at Riley. But after a few seconds, she turned her focus back on the screens.
"If his themarian genes are finally—"
"Impossible."
And before Hannah could finish her words, Vera once again joined in on the conversation; letting out a sigh as she stepped closer to the screen,
"Any children that the themarians bare with another race, will always result in the offspring only having the abilities and traits of its non-themarian parent— half-breed themarians are not themarians at all…
…There are no exceptions."
"None that you know of," Hannah scoffed, "I think you've researched about us long enough to know we're quite a different breed."
"...I can't argue with that," Vera shrugged, before looking at the screen with a smile on her face, "Your people are… truly different."
"This ain't a show, silver hair," Bella joined in; her voice slightly deep, "If you find this amusing, then maybe you should leave, a friend of ours just died."
"Oh, I meant no disrespect, I…" Vera wanted to say something else but decided to just move away, glancing at Katrina, who had her head down, as she did so.
"..." Vera could really only let out a sigh. Due to the number of lesser planets she had been in, she has slowly instinctively treated herself to be superior to any of them.
But humans are different— she shouldn't treat them like they were lesser.
And so, she just decided to keep her mouth shut and watch in the sides.
"..."
"..."
"Did you do something?"
And then, a few seconds later, Katrina broke her silence as she turned to face Riley,
"Did you do something to Gary!?"
"Yes."
And without any hesitation, Riley answered; causing everyone in the room to widen their eyes in shock.
"...Weren't all of you there?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head, "When he decided to fight me in front of the Korean Shaved Ice store? But then I beat him in front of all the—"
"I am not talking about that!" Katrina waved her hand, causing a sharp gale to breeze through the room,
"You… you must have done something to him!"
"...I believe Gary was the one that did something," Riley then said as he pointed to the monitors.
"That's enough!" Silvie suddenly appeared between the two, "What we need to do right is to focus our efforts on what to do with Gary! He's our friend, he is hurting…
…but he is also out there and he could hurt more people! We need to stop him before he does!"
"Then we need to discuss that on the way," Hannah also stepped away from the screens as she raised her hand,
"...We got a ping of his location."
***
Gary just passed through the fake city surrounding the Academy; his breaths, heavier than ever before as he felt the violent wind crashing through his face.
It is true what the others were saying, he is faster.
Gary could feel it. He was faster, way faster than before. Double—- no, triple of the speed he was previously capable of and he was still going faster.
At this point, he could probably rival Silvie.
Is… the power that was supposed to be his finally awakening from inside him? Did he finally unlock the dormant powers that were just sleeping somewhere within him?
If so… then Gary knew why.
"..." A small smile started to grow on Gary's face. There was only one reason why his powers were growing stronger— he found his purpose.
And that purpose was to kill Riley Ross.
The smile on Gary's face grew even wider; the tears that were trailing from his eyes, barely existing as the wind shatters them completely.
And very soon, a breath escaped from his lips. And very soon, that breath turned into a burst of laughter.
He then leaped through the air, destroying the ground beneath him as he shot straight to the skies.
"Ha… haha!" His laugh was almost a cackle; he still couldn't fly, but it should only be a matter of time before he could finally do so.
He then soon landed on the ground, destroying everything within his path. He didn't care, however, as he just started running again.
He just wanted to feel it— feel the strength growing inside him.
"I… I am going to avenge you, Chihiro. Just wait… you just wait."
He was going faster and faster, to the point that everything else was a blur to him.
Soon, however, he reached a road; an expressway filled with cars due to the heavy traffic.
"F… fuck," the excitement and thrill on Gary's face quickly faded away as he tried to slow down. But alas, with the speed he was going, it was already too late.
And so, his only choice was to once again leap to the skies in a single bound. But then, before he could do so...
…he tripped.
Tripping at the very wrong time straight towards the line of cars at Mach 6.
"!!!"
Gary could really only close his eyes and brace for the impact as he flung straight towards a bus filled with people… a bus that then split in half and veered to the sides hitting several other more cars.
"Kh," Gary rolled several times before finally being able to stop as he dug his arm through the ground. As he did so, however, he realized that he was actually covered in blood and guts.
"N… No," his breaths started to stutter as he looked at his hands. And very soon, he started to hear people screaming.
Chaos, starting to ensue on the crowded road as some of the cars suddenly exploded one by one— like a domino effect of death and carnage.
Gary, however, was no longer hearing any of these explosions; his mind, just clouded by the violent breaths that were escaping his throat.
His lips, trembling uncontrollably as they no longer knew whether to cry out or roar.
Should he help them? But they were already dying.
But they were dying because of him.
…Would they even want his help? Wouldn't they just be scared of him?
He… he was supposed to be a hero. He didn't mean for any of this to happen. Would they understand that? He was sure of it, Riley had something to do with all of this.
But… would they care? They love him.
Everyone loves Riley Ross despite everything he did. But him… he was always just on the sidelines.
But not anymore. He is stronger now and growing even stronger by the second.
And very soon, Gary forced a laugh.
"It doesn't matter," he then whispered as he slowly stood up from the ground,
"It doesn't matter… as long as I kill Riley Ross."
And then, with those words, Gary once again ran.
Chapter 424"Dad! Grab… grab my hand!"
They were just watching the news when it happened. The battle that will decide the fate of the world, the ultimate battle between good and evil.
Riley vs. Megawoman.
It happened so fast. They were just on another continent, and then all of a sudden, the buildings outside their windows started to fall— and soon, Gary found himself holding his father's hand as the building they were in started to fall next.
It fell so fast. He didn't even know what shattered first, the floor or the ceiling. What was important was he had his father's hand…
…but then as the chaos died down, he found that was the only real thing he had, his father's hand. The rest of him, probably buried underneath all the destruction.
Gary didn't really know what to feel then— or even who to blame. He didn't even remember if that was what truly happened. He could really just watch as his mother and Darkday continue to tear through the city.
But now everything is clear. There really is only one person to blame for all of this— and Gary will stop at nothing to destroy him.
"I can't stop, I can't stop now."
"You're weak."
"Where are you!?"
Chaos. A hidden rage that went too deep and uncontained has finally burst forth from Gary as he was surrounded by nothing but chaos.
He tried to hide through it all. He tried to hide the pain inside him with laughter and smiles. Maybe he could forget, but no.
The rage that was caged inside him just grew, unknowingly but surely. But every day, he tried to ignore it— he tried not to feed it.
Perhaps that was his mistake. Because now that the cage inside him is opened, his rage has turned into something else.
A wild animal, hungry— it would eat anything that even dares to breathe.
Nothing mattered anymore. Not the cars burning around him, not the houses crumbling.
He needed to kill Riley Ross.
"Where are you!?"
He had been hearing his whispers since earlier— almost as if he was just behind him. Each time, his eyes lit up as he turned around, hoping to tear through the devil that is Riley Ross.
But each time, he wasn't there. What was, however, is the city that has now been scorched and thrown into chaos by no one else but him.
"!!!"
A small clanging whistled into Gary's ear as he saw a large garbage bin on the side of an alley move. And without even waiting for whatever it is, he quickly disappeared from his spot; his fists, now buried through the bin.
"Grah!" Gary then split the bin in half as he roared. And as the contents of the bin scatter, he also saw the face of a child— a child that seemed to have been hiding inside the bin.
But alas, like the bin, the child was now also cleaved in half.
"..." Gary stared at the child's face for a few seconds, before closing his eyes and shaking his head.
And after a few more moments, he just turned around.
As he did so, however, he found Silvie suddenly floating in front of him.
"..."
"..."
Silvie did not really say anything to him, and was just looking at the blood that was dripping from his hands; her eyes, filled with nothing but a sense of dismay.
"Why are you here?" Gary was the first to speak as he looked Silvie in the eyes.
"We're giving you a choice that we don't give to any other villains," Silvie breathed out as her feet slowly landed on the ground,
"Surrender peacefully, Gary Gray, or we will resort to using force to apprehend you."
"...Me?" Gary let out a stuttered breath, almost forcing a chuckle as he raised an eyebrow,
"Apprehend me!? What about Riley Ross!?"
"...Look around you, Gary," Silvie closed her eyes and sighed,
"This is one of the cities untouched by the House of Super… and you've destroyed it. You've killed innocent people, you killed a child," she then said as she looked at the corpse of the girl behind Gary.
"W— and Riley has killed millions more!"
"The numbers don't matter, Gary," Silvie's eyebrows began to furrow, "And are you seriously trying to compare yourself to Riley? You—"
"I am strong now!" Gary waved his hand as a smile crawled on his face, "Join me. T… together, I know we will be able to defeat Riley!"
"Riley… is no longer something we can hope to touch, Gary. You were there when he showed us how he destroyed Mar—"
"That doesn't matter! Do you see!? Do you see how strong I've become!?" Gary then stretched his hands to the side as he looked at all the damage he had done to the city.
"All I see is a good man that has become delusional," Silvie shook her head, "You have become the very thing you are trying to destroy. No…
…at least Riley is fully aware that he is a monster."
"Stop. Acting. Like you are better than me!" Gary's eyes suddenly lit up in red— but as he did so, a strong gale suddenly stormed towards him, moving all the dust and smoke through his eyes and causing him to slightly take a step back.
And as soon as he closed his eyes, several metal beams dropped around him, completely covering him in a circle— and before he could even see what was happening, the beams compressed and wrapped around his entire body, with the only thing left exposed being his mouth.
And with the metal beams now blanketing Gary, Hannah was revealed to be hiding behind one of them; her hands, quickly melting the edges of the beams to completely seal them.
Silvie also helped with her heat vision— and in just a matter of seconds, the Baby Crew was able to completely subdue Gary.
The metal beam that was used to constrict him used the same material as the testing halls of the Hero Association Tower.
It should be able to withstand a colossal amount of stress.
And yet, without even the Baby Crew having the chance to talk, Gary burst forth—no, he just calmly walked and ripped the metal apart like it was nothing.
"..." Even Gary himself seemed to be shocked by what he had just done. His wide and perplexed eyes, looking at his hands. His hands that seemed like they could now tear through anything that dared block their path.
Bella and Katrina, who were hiding somewhere in the walls of the broken buildings, quickly moved towards Silvie as they saw this; their eyes, looking at each other as if holding a hundred questions.
"..." Hannah also took this chance to take a few steps back as she looked at Gary from head to toe.
Silvie, however, did not wait for any answers as she disappeared from her spot, before suddenly appearing behind Gary with her foot already only inches away from his head.
A thunder then reverberated throughout the entire city as Silvie's foot… was caught by Gary.
"..." Gary very slowly turned his head to check his hand— his hand that did not even struggle or shake. He didn't even need to look, it was instinct— it was as if his hand moved on its own to catch Silvie's attack.
This is it.
This is what it means to be a themarian. Themarians are a race of warriors, the strongest beings in the universe— fighting is something that should come naturally to him.
This is it.
Gary is finally the main character.
A small smile then crawled on Gary's face as he tightened his grip on Silvie's foot. And without even saying anything, he swung his hand and threw Silvie away, causing her to shoot through several buildings as a skirt of wind surrounded her.
And very soon, his shoulders began to tremble. His smile, very slowly turning into a cackle.
"I… I told all of you," Gary then covered his face as his cackles became wilder, "I… I am special! I have always been destined to be special!"
"..." Hannah squinted her eyes, before subtly signaling with her hands for Bella and Katrina to retreat. But then, before she could even move anything else, Gary was suddenly right in front of her face.
"You," Gary then whispered as he looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "If I grab you hostage… would your psychopath of a brother show him—"
And before Gary could finish his words, Hannah placed her hands on his head.
"The two of you, check on Silvie now!" Hannah then said as the air around her started to distort,
"This might fucking hurt a little, Monarch."
And with those words, a sizzle whispered in the air. Gary gritted his teeth for the pain that was about to come… but it never did.
"...What?" Hannah could really only retract her hands as she took several steps back.
Gary, on the other hand, once again let out a visceral chuckle.
"I am the main character now, Hannah," Gary hummed, "It doesn't matter if I am evil or not… What matters is that I will be the hero that will rid this world of Riley Ross once and for all!"
Gary then rushed towards Hannah, his hands already locked to grab and restrain her.
"I'm disappointed, Gary,"
But before he could get near her, his path was suddenly blocked— almost like a brick wall with the weight of a thousand mountains, not allowing him to proceed any further,
"Not in you, but in me…
…Caitlain was right, I never really knew what it meant to be a mother."
Chapter 425"...Mother?"
Megawoman.
The world's hope. Earth's mightiest hero.
And of course, Gary's mother. Well, at least she is supposed to be. Right now, as Gary was looking at the imposing figure in front of him, the only thing he could really do was take a step back.
He thought he would at least feel something, as he has disappointed his mother to no repair. But nothing— there was nothing.
The only thing between them was a sort of emptiness that Gary had always been feeling when it comes to his mother.
But then why?
If he wasn't feeling anything, then why couldn't he stop trembling?"
"No…" Gary whispered to himself; shaking his head before suddenly slapping his cheek as he once again took a step back.
"No, no, no!" He repeated— and with each word, he slapped himself. He doesn't know the reason why, but he wanted to.
It was almost as if he was trying to stop himself from drowning in an ocean that didn't exist— an ocean that confined him and made him feel just… heavy. Like his entire head was soaked in nothing but water; tight, so tight.
But no matter how much he tried to hit his head, the weight inside it didn't dissipate.
"..." Gary then once again looked at the destruction he caused, and he once again saw nothing but darkness.
"It… it doesn't matter."
So why, why was it starting to feel like it does?
"No, no, no, no!" Gary once again started hitting his head; only stopping as he pointed at Aerith with both his hands.
"I… I did this for you!"
"..." Aerith did not really answer Gary and just took a step forward. And as soon as he did so, several blurs started appearing from the distance, before settling and positioning themselves in a circle; with some of them, even standing on top of the ruined buildings.
"..." Gary turned to look at the evaniels that suddenly surrounded them, but they didn't seem to be planning on doing anything. There were just there to… watch.
"It's time to stop, Gary."
"..." Gary then looked back to Aerith as she finally spoke again.
"It's time to stop, you've done enough."
And then, all of a sudden, Gary's breaths became calm. Almost instantly, without any warning, everything around him just became quiet.
And soon, tears started to trail on his cheeks as the loud whistle that has been ringing in his ears for weeks now finally stopped.
And just like that, there was a snap.
"…why? Why now?" He then whispered, "You have been absent my entire life, so why are you trying to be my mother now?"
"Because I didn't need to be there," Aerith let out a small but deep sigh as she shook her head.
"...But you're my mother."
"I… am not here as your mother."
Gary could really only suck in his cheeks as he heard Aerith's words; his face, not knowing whether to turn into a snarl or a laugh.
"What are your new friends doing here?" Gary then said as he looked at the evaniels surrounding them.
"Don't worry about them. The evaniels tend to flock whenever a themarian takes action."
"Oh, how am I supposed to know that when you don't even fucking tell me anything?" Gary forced a chuckle as he wiped the trail of tears on his face,
"I suppose Riley knows that? You two seem close as fuck."
"Riley doesn't have anything to do with this."
"He has everything to do with this!" Gary started to violently wave his hands, "Can't any of you see it!? Riley is doing something! I can feel it!"
"Whether he has something to do with this or not doesn't matter," Aerith sighed,
"You should never let him control you, Gary. That's what he does best out of everything."
"He doesn't!" Gary once again forced a chuckle, "Can't you see how stronger I've become, mother!? Riley may have been trying to control me from the start, but my powers are waking up now…
…we used each other!"
"..." Aerith closed her eyes and once again shook her head, "The fact that you think like that means he still very much controls you, Gary."
"He—"
"Look around you," Aerith did not let Gary speak as she started looking around the ruined city, "With just a little power, you think you can do anything you want…
…Riley did not do this, this is all on you."
"Shut up!" You think… you think you can lecture me?" Gary started to cackle.
"I'm not lecturing you. I'm just stating what you've done."
"Oh… Oh, no. No, no, no," Gary wagged his finger,
"You came here to stop me."
"I did."
"You came here to stop me because that is all you can do! What about Riley!? Why does he get to walk free!? Do you know why!? Do you want me to tell you!?"
"..."
"I am not the one that's weak, mother," Gary then stood right in front of Aerith, "You are. You failed to stop him."
"...Stop acting up, Gary."
"Wow!" Gary then quickly backed away from Aerith as he stretched his hands to the side; walking around as he looked at everyone present there,
"Did you hear that, everyone!? She said stop acting up, she actually fucking said that. Mother of the year, everyone!"
"..." Hannah and the rest of the Baby Crew that were watching on the side could really only let out a heavy breath as they heard Gary's words. They knew it in themselves, that once again, they failed as a friend.
They couldn't even see the signs.
"She told me to stop acting up!" Gary continued as he addressed everyone there, "Such wonderful and sagely advice…
…your son is breaking, beaten, and crumbling down and all you have to say is that I am acting up?"
"..."
"What the fuck kind of mother are you? No. No, no, no…" Gary forced a smile, "You're not even a mother. I fucking wish you weren't my mother."
"..." Aerith could really only keep her silence.
"You shouldn't have tried to have a child when you're not even capable of pretending like a mother!
"..."
"If… if you weren't my mother, then at least I wouldn't have to wake up each and every fucking day trying to compare myself to you!" Gary said as he once again pointed at himself,
"Ever since I was born I… I tried to compare myself to you. So… so when you left, I thought that was finally over— I could finally just be Gary. But no…
…I started comparing myself to your fucking clone!"
And as soon as he said that, all the evaniels turned their heads towards Silvie for some reason.
As for Aerith, she only closed her eyes and shook her head.
"None of you understand!" Gary continued, "None of you understand what it was like knowing how great your mother is, and here I am, just a little fucking piece of shit!"
"..."
"I see the way all of you looked at me. I knew, I knew no one would ever take me seriously so I just committed myself to it," Gary chuckled, "I commited to being the brunt of jokes, the fucking clown…
…because that's what I am," Gary's voice then started to lower as he once again approached Aerith.
"I'm a fucking joke."
Chapter 426"Are you taking note of all of this, Dr. Vella?"
"Should… I be?"
Princess Vella, who was one of the evaniels that were currently surrounding Aerith and Gary, could not help but watch what was happening with her eyes and ears peeled open.
As soon as they detected Aerith's flight signature, they knew she would be coming for her son. And as members of the Higher Race, since they were here, they were obligated to observe the events that are about to transpire— it was in the Code of the Higher Races.
After all, themarians are the most powerful race in the entire universe, anything they do could make an impact not only here, but in the neighboring systems.
"Check on the one that's said to be Princess Aerith's clone," Vera whispered as she looked at Silvie from afar.
"I… I know it is illegal to clone one of the Higher Races," Dr. Vella slightly stuttered, "...But Princess Aerith seems to be aware of this."
"Hm," Vera nodded, "Still…
…this needs to be sent to the Higher Council."
Vera stared at Silvie for a few more seconds, before finally turning her focus back to Aerith and Gary.
A Themarian and their half-breed children— Vera wished she could say she was surprised that this was happening, but no.
Although male and female themarians could only pass their seed or give birth once in a thousand years, there have been many in their history of a collection of half-breed children.
And sadly, from all the stories and news she has read and heard… it more often than not results in the sight in front of her right now.
The half-breed child, crumbling from the pressure of being born to a god.
One of their children's books was also about it. A story about a child that dreamed of following the giants, only to be stomped by them in the end,
'The Prince Who Dreamed'.
***
"I'm a fucking joke."
Gary didn't really know what he was feeling anymore.
There was rage, sadness, disappointment, dismay— all of them racing to see which comes on top.
But then at the same time, he still felt empty… drowning to the point where he couldn't even see anything anymore.
"The moment you gave birth to me and I didn't have your powers and abilities, I became your big fucking joke, mother…"
But it didn't matter. He didn't need to see… from now on, to where he was going— he didn't need to see.
"But no one… no one is gonna laugh at me now. Not after this."
"!!!"
Aerith could not help but widen her eyes as she saw Gary move with a speed she has not seen in him before; his palm, now suddenly only an inch away from hitting her cheek.
Aerith, however, did not even try to avoid or move a single muscle as she just let Gary's palm hit her cheek; her body, slightly tilting to the side as she did so.
Everything around them was blown away in a ripple— even the very ground they stood on was shaved off like it was snow as the sheer force of Gary's slap was enough to thunder through the entire region.
"...You're right, Gary," Aerith then let out a breath as she stood straight, "You've grown strong."
"Oh…" Gary chuckled, "You haven't seen anything yet… Megawoman."
Gary's eyes then suddenly turned red as he too straightened his body. And then, all of a sudden, for the first time in his life…
…his feet very slowly left the ground.
"Ha…" Gary's chuckles soon turned into a burst of laughter as looked at the growing distance between him and the ground,
"See!? I am not just a super anymore. I am growing stronger as we speak. I could feel my flesh wrestling with each other. I… I've become Mega…
…so stay the fuck out of my way if you don't want to get hurt!" Gary roared as he stretched his hand towards Aerith…
…but that was just it— contrary to his expectations, he didn't leave his position in the air for even a millimeter.
"..."
"..."
"!!!" A few moments later, however, his eyes slightly turned wide as he suddenly shot straight towards Aerith. He didn't take heed to his, however, as he immediately started striking her several times on the head as the two of them left a growing crevice through the city.
"Just go to sleep, Gary."
And then, with a small sigh, Aerith grabbed both of Gary's wrists before proceeding to slam her head onto his, causing him to almost somersault in the air before he violently landed on the ground,
"Sleep, it's alright."
"Y—"
And before he could speak, Aerith stomped his head several times without stopping.
But of course, Aerith was still checking Gary's heart rate as she did so— and as soon as the beating of his heart calmed down, she instantly stopped her foot from stomping further.
"..." She then looked at Gary for a few seconds, before once again grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him away.
"I am taking you with me, Gary. I think… it's time for some mother and son talk."
Aerith's feet slowly left the ground as she looked to the skies. But then… she suddenly found herself not being able to fly further— almost as if she was holding some sort of anchor that was permanently pinned to the planet.
"...Pft."
And soon, a whisper of a chuckle echoed in the air— the tone, almost ominously visceral.
"Nothing," Gary then started to talk even as he remained unmoving in Aerith's grip, "I didn't even feel what you did, Megawoman."
"..." Aerith could really only furrow her eyebrows as she once again tried to pull Gary up— as she did so, however, the ground beneath him also started to crease.
"I am learning to respect you now, Megawoman…" Gary whispered, "All this power, all this strength. You could have made the people of Earth kneel before you, but never once did you do so."
"..."
"But I am different from you, mother…" Gary then soon moved; the hungry smile on his face was clear for everyone to see as he slowly stood up,
"There is no going back for me. I will make Riley kneel before me… and then next will be the people that allowed him to just walk free. And no one will be able to stop me, not even you, Megawoman…
…I am the Monarch. And I have finally found my purpose in this world. The death of— !!!"
And before Gary could finish his words, a silhouette very slowly floated down from the skies.
None of them realized he was already there, but he was.
Dark, desolate… inevitable— a presence everyone on Earth was familiar with.
And very soon, the skies themselves turned dark.
"Riley," Aerith's eyebrows furrowed even further as she stared at this dark silhouette, "Please, don't fan the flames. Y—"
Gary suddenly pulled Aerith's hand, before spinning his body and throwing her straight to the skies.
"Heh," Gary then let out a smirk as he watched Darkday very slowly landing on his feet in front of him,
"Dark fucking day…
…always the fucking show off."
"Gary Gary…
…always the clown."
Chapter 427"...Clown?"
This was it.
The feeling that Gary was trying to search for ever since he had been growing stronger and stronger— the feeling of finally being able to release them as the target of all his rage was finally in front of him.
All the humiliation he had suffered.
All the pain.
All the looks of pity.
His mother may have been the beginning, but Riley Ross was the one to fully nourish and cultivate the monster that was hiding deep within him.
"You're the one wearing your stupid fucking costume, Riley… Now, who is the clown between us?"
"I already said it was you, Gary," Riley shrugged as he just took a step forward, "I am wearing my Darkday outfit because I am fighting a superhero, I thought it proper to do so."
"Heh," Gary only let out a smirk as he looked at Darkday. He had always felt a sense of fear and dread whenever he looked at this human-shaped void. There was always a ringing inside his head that was telling every fibre of his being to just run away and never look back.
But now, the only thing that was left was the anger he was feeling. But soon, that too will be gone as soon as he completely erases Riley Ross from existence.
"I've grown stronger, Darkday— even stronger than my mother," Gary let out a small cackle.
"I highly doubt that, Gary," Darkday only shook his head; his helmet, not even reflecting any of the flames and embers that littered the city,
"Do you really think Aerith fought you seriously? Themarians are capable of destroying planets if they want to. Why do you think the evaniels are watching in the first place?"
"...And you think I can't do that?" The smile on Gary's face slowly faded away.
"You can't, Gary," Darkday's loud sighs seeped from his helmet, "Because you're weak."
"I knew it… I wasn't hallucinating," Gary sucked in his breath; looking at the dark skies before closing his eyes, "You… you were there in the training hall."
"I wasn't Gary," Darkday shook his head, "But one of my clones was."
"Did you hear that, Hannah… Silvie!? I'm not fucking crazy!"
"Oh, there's no point in that, Gary," a small chuckle could be heard escaping Darkday's helmet, "They won't be able to hear us."
"...Another one of your thousand fucking abilities."
"No, just telekinesis," Darkday shrugged, before raising his hand and… creating some sort of spherical void circling around his arm, "I have mastered the ability to the point that the application is almost limitless. Light, sound, air— I can control it."
"I didn't fucking ask."
"I know. I just wanted to let you know that it is really the only ability I need, Gary. The others are just… parlor tricks, like your power."
"Classic Riley," Gary gritted his teeth, "Always roasting people in the calmest voice like a thug."
"Roasting?" Darkday tilted his head, "I can also do that with telekinesis. But the simplest way is to just use the abilities I received from sister."
"Why do you always have a fucking comeback!?"
"I merely want you to know, Gary…"
And then, all of a sudden, Darkday's helmet very slowly disintegrated— Riley's long black hair, flowing with the wind; very soon, however, each strand of his hair just stopped as they remained flowing straight down even with the wind still present.
"...That if you mastered your abilities instead of trying to imitate a themarian, then you might have actually reached your potential. Are you aware that your heat vision is stronger than Silvie's?"
"...Even you are lecturing me?" Gary could not help but force a chuckle as he looked Riley straight in the eyes.
"No, I am merely stating that your heat vision may very well be your main ability, Gary. Your super strength and any others are just…
…your parlor tricks."
"...What?"
"I noticed it immediately during the first week of our meeting," Riley once again let out a sigh, "I was even contemplating whether or not I should get it."
"..." Gary couldn't really say anything as the memories of their very first class activity surfaced in his mind. It was almost as if it was another life… why did it have to be?
"Enough talk, man," Gary then shook his head, "Let's just fucking kill each other."
"Very well," Riley nodded, "But before we do, may I tell you something?"
"Fuck… What now? You really are a villain, you talk too fucking much."
"You didn't notice him?" Riley then said as he pointed at Gary, or more specifically, at his waist.
"Huh?" Gary then turned to look at his waist… only to see something climbing out of his pocket.
"!!!"
Gary then immediately swatted whatever it was away, or so he thought— the thing managed to grab onto his hand.
"What… the fuck?" Gary then said as he saw… a miniature version of Riley handing on his wrist.
"He's been with you the moment you left the Academy."
"...What?" Gary could really only blink several times as he stared at Little Riley. As soon as their eyes met, however, a very subtle smirk crawled on Little Riley's face.
"...You're weak," Little Riley then said.
"You… it was you," Gary's eyes then quickly widened as he finally realized that it was this little thing that had been whispering in his ears. And before Gary could even know how to react, Little Riley crumbled and withered away.
"A real themarian would have noticed, Gary," Riley then shook his head several times as he let out a loud sigh, "See what I mean about parlor tricks, Gary? They're just for fun."
"You—"
"Well, shall we get started then?"
Riley's feet then left the ground; his eyes, slowly looking down at Gary, "Also, there's actually another thing you should know…
…Golden Fox did not actually step in to save me, Gary."
"...What?" Gary's eyes quickly trembled as he saw the edges of Riley's lips very slowly turning upward.
Riley did not even need to say it— the growing smile on his face that was slowly reaching from ear to ear told Gary everything he needed to know.
It has been replaying in his mind over and over again. And over and over again, Gary was asking himself why Chihiro would try to even defend Riley— she didn't.
Riley…
…used her as a meat shield.
"Riley!"
And with that, the ground beneath Gary's feet crumbled as he leaped— no, flew straight to Riley. Riley, however, only let out a whispering chuckle as he floated back; his speed, almost exactly the same as Gary's flight.
"Oh, you can fly now, Gary?" Riley said as he tried to stop himself from chuckling, even covering his mouth as he flew backward. But alas, with how wide his smile was, he wasn't even hiding anything.
"I can also fucking kill you now!"
Gary locked his fist as the distance between him and Riley started to shorten. And very soon, there was only a meter of air blocking his path.
"See, Riley!? I am getting stronger by the second!"
"I know, Gary," Riley nodded as he stretched his arms to the side, "Come, let me see the power you have now."
"You don't need to tell me!" Gary let out a roar as the remaining distance between the two of them disappeared; and as soon as he did so, he let go of his fist and shot it straight towards Riley's face.
But before it could hit Riley, he suddenly moved to the side.
"Cowa—" And before Gary could finish his words, his fist… demolished an evaniel's face.
"..." Riley then floated behind Gary; his sighs, whispering into Gary's ears, "That's not a way to treat Earth's guests, Gary."
"!!!"
And all of a sudden, the evaniels that were watching them from afar were now standing beneath them; their eyes, all looking at Gary. Their hair and tattoos were all starting to light up, but before they could do anything—
"Stop!"
Princess Vera appeared,
"All of you, return to your positions! We are only here to observe!"
And as soon as she said that, the evaniels left as quickly as they appeared.
"I don't appreciate you killing my people," Vera then let out a very long and loud sigh. But instead of looking at Gary—
"We're not involved in this, Riley. I would like it if it would stay that way."
—she was looking at Riley.
"..." Riley could really only return Vera's glare, before also letting out a sigh of his own,
"Very well. I will involve you in something else at a later date."
"We will see who is involving who, Riley Ross," Vera winked, before also disappearing and returning to her original position beside Dr. Vella.
"You…" And as soon as she disappeared, Gary's seething voice once again whispered through the air, "...Why are women just instinctively attracted to you, Riley!? Is that one of your abilities!?"
"I suppose creatures are just inherently attracted to evil, Gary," Riley shrugged.
"Die!" Gary let out a roar that thundered through the entire city; his fist, once again pointed at Riley as he flew towards him…
…or at least that was what he expected to happen.
"Oh, were you trying to fly towards me, Gary?" Riley tilted his head as he just looked at Gary, "I apologize, I didn't realize."
"S… shut up! I… I'm just not used to flying!"
"Oh, that's because you're not actually flying, Gary."
"...What? What are you— Kh!" And before Gary could finish his words, he found his neck floating straight to Riley's grip.
"I actually wanted it to go on a little longer, but then I realized Aerith wouldn't really kill you," Riley sighed as his grip on Gary's neck grew tighter, "Because, like me, she has complete control of her powers. She will be able to neutralize you no matter what I make you do."
"W… what are you saying?"
"I'm saying I lied, Gary. You're not actually a clown," Riley looked Gary straight in the eyes, "You're a puppet. Although, I suppose in your case…
…a Puppet Monarch."
Chapter 428Why?
Perhaps that was the only question that should be persisting in the air right now. Riley had always been adamant about not hurting or involving any of the Baby Crew in whatever madness it is he was doing.
Any of Hannah's friends were off limits— that was why he did not mess with Silvie in the first place and just let her be, even after fully knowing that she was Megawoman's clone.
So why?
Why Gary?
"...What are you trying to say!?"
Even with Riley holding his neck, Gary's muffled words still tried to struggle in the air. His feet, kicking Riley's torso but failing to really do anything.
"It is as I said, you can't fly. I have been moving you all this time," Riley only tilted his head as he slowly pulled Gary closer to him, "I wanted to let out experience it before you die, Gary."
"W… what?"
"The moment you entered the shelter, Gary. I have been closely monitoring your movements and making it seem as if you have become stronger."
"..." And as Riley's words reached his ears, his feet that had been struggling without end very slowly stopped moving; his eyes, now looking Riley straight in the eyes.
"Since you didn't notice Little Riley hiding in your pocket, it stands to reason you didn't even notice he was controlling you," Riley then let out a sigh as he finally let go of Gary.
"!!!" Gary tried to stretch his hands up, hoping that he would be able to stay in the air; he closed his fists, wanting to grab at least a semblance of the air— but no, his back just landed straight back to the ground.
"..." Riley looked down on Gary for a few seconds, before once again letting out a sigh and descending to the ground. Just standing beside Gary, before also suddenly lying on the ground.
"The reason you think you have become faster is because Little Riley was moving you, Gary. The reason why you were able to break free from Silvie in the shelter was also my doing," Riley then said,
"The Baby Crew was really convinced that you also powered up. I think all of us can agree that this was very entertaining, no? You certainly had fun as well."
"F… fuck," Gary stuttered as he covered his eyes, "That… that's so fucked up, man."
"I suppose," Riley breathed out and closed his eyes, "I have been becoming more and more creative ever since I met Paige."
"Why… why didn't you just kill me, man?"
"Because I wanted Aerith to be the one to kill you. I thought it was the proper way to finally have closure with the Darkday and Megawoman saga. But as I said, Aerith would just find a way not to kill you. I was planning on suddenly removing the telekinetic shield once she strikes, and I did— but Aerith almost instantly noticed your flesh becoming soft. Ha…
…Aerith, the things she is capable of are truly… otherworldly. Get it? Because she's from—"
"Why would you kill Chihiro?"
"That is where you are mistaken, Gary," Riley then let out a small sigh as he turned his head to Gary, "You are the one who killed Chihiro. The only thing I did was place her between us. You also killed the little girl right there."
"..."
"But that is it," Riley then said as he sat up, "The other deaths, I take credit for. I tripped you on the freeway, those deaths are on me. This destruction, I also take credit for— you wouldn't normally be able to do something like this."
"...Just stop talking, man," Gary closed his eyes as he took in a very deep breath, "Just kill me. Just end this before you get to the speech that power quickly corrupted me."
"It didn't corrupt you," Riley shook his head, "You were on the Potential Villain list, Gary. You have always been capable of evil, you were just too weak to commit to it."
"If you're not going to kill me…" Gary then sat up, "...Then I'm just going to have to kill myself."
"..."
"This is where you are wrong, Riley. I don't want to become evil— and before I truly do, I will stop myself as my last act as a hero."
"I wish I had that choice, Gary," Riley nodded, "Go ahead, maybe you will be more successful than Victoria in trying to kill yourself."
"Man… you're one cold motherfucker," Gary then said as he placed his hand on his neck, before gripping it in a way that the end of his fingers dug through his throat, "Fuck you, man."
And with those words, Gary closed his eyes— perhaps for the final time.
"!!!"
But before he could fully tear his own throat, Aerith suddenly appeared in front of him and flicked him on the chin, knocking him out almost instantly.
"..."
"..."
Aerith then very gently lifted and carried him up, before turning her eyes towards Riley.
"..." Riley quickly returned her stares as the two of them just looked at each other in silence. But after a few more moments, Aerith let out a very long and deep breath as she flew away without saying a single word.
"..." And so, Riley was left sitting alone on the ground; with the destruction he himself caused surrounding him. He then blinked a couple of times, before standing up and whispering to himself,
"...I'm bored."
And with those words, a ripple suddenly started to form beneath Riley's feet. Since he had already started destroying this city by using Gary, he might as well finish the job.
"W… what are you doing, Riley!?"
Hannah, who was watching from afar, decided to fly towards Riley as soon as he was alone; Silvie and the others, also standing close by behind her.
"Sister," Riley just nodded, "I thought since I am already in my Darkday outfit, I might as well wreak havoc. It has been a while since I destroyed something."
"What the fuck kind of reasoning is that!?"
"Efficient reasoning, sister," Riley said as the ripple waving on the ground started to become stronger— the entire street, now seemingly turning into water with the way its concrete surface now moved.
"Just stop!" Hannah screamed, "Aren't you tired of—"
"Okay," and as Riley shrugged his shoulders, the street that seemed like it was about to sink onto the ground stopped quivering.
"..."
"..."
"That… that's good," Hannah said as she landed softly on the cracked pavement, "It… it's good to know you still listen to me from time to time."
"You're still my older sister, sister," Riley looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "It would feel weird not to obey you until we break that contract. Speaking of which, since mother and father are still technically present somewhere, we should ask them permission to annul my adoption papers."
"...No," Hannah raised her eyebrow, "It doesn't work like that, Riley."
"I could just kill everyone in the registry and ask Tomoe to erase anything that pertains to me being your—"
"Stop," Hannah sighed, "Let's… all just rest. I don't really know how we can pursue Gary any further since she's with Megawoman. Fuck…
…the law is fucked nowadays."
"It's anarchy," Silvie then joined the conversation as she flew and landed behind Hannah,
"The world has been thrown into anarchy with the existence of Riley and Megawoman."
"This world has always been fucked," Hannah scoffed as she shook her head, "We're just noticing because we're involved now. Not to mention there are literal aliens around us now."
"But an alien has been on this planet long before any of us were born, sister. Aerith is—"
"So, you really are Princess Aerith's clone?"
And before Riley could finish his words, the three suddenly found themselves surrounded by the evaniels.
Katrina and Bella wanted to rush in, but two evaniels blocked their path.
"...What the fuck do you want now?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she scanned the evaniels circling them, before staring Vera straight in the eyes.
"I don't know if Princess Aerith informed you of this," Vera, however, did not return Hannah's glare as she stood in front of Silvie,
"The act of cloning people from the Higher Races is extremely prohibited and against the Universal Law, somewhere in Article 46."
"Stop pulling some random words out of your ass, princess."
"I am not," Vera shook her head, "And sadly, as an active member of the Council, I am obligated to investigate and if needed, apprehend you."
"..." Silvie could really only blink a couple of times as several evaniels started approaching from behind her. She then turned to look at Vera, before her eyebrows started to furrow,
"Are… you sure that law is applicable to us? We are not even part of—"
"Fuck, Silvie! Why are you even worrying about the law right now!?" Hannah then said as the air around her started to distort, "Look, Princess— your laws don't apply here."
"Unfortunately they do," Vera sighed and shook her head, "It is called the Universal Law for a reason, Ms. Hannah. But none of you have to worry, since Princess Aerith is fully aware of your existence and even publicly accepted you as her child— she would probably submit a plea for your release, to which I would be happy to oblige. But for now…
…I need you to come with us back to the ship."
"...I'll go."
"What the fuck, Silv!?" Hannah's eyes could not help but widen.
"It's okay," Silvie said as she looked at Hannah, Bella, and Katrina, "I… have been wanting to check their ship anyway."
"Thank you for cooperating, Ms. Savelievna," Vera said as she gestured to her people to surround Silvie, "I assure you, this is all just routine. We won't terminate you."
"...Terminate?" Silvie blinked a couple of times, "What do you mea—"
"The Universal Law."
And before their discussion could come to an end, Riley stepped forward and spoke,
"Aerith told me about it when you arrived," Riley then said as he looked Vera straight in the eyes, "I think I broke a couple of those laws."
"..."
"Riley!?" Hannah could really only groan in frustration.
"There is one in particular that she told me to hide from you," Riley completely ignored his sister as he stood close to Vera,
"I destroyed one of the planets next to this one, Princess Vera. I think it is somewhere at Article 12?"
"..."
"Destroying of planet or planets close or next to a naturally habitable planet; Destroying of planet or planets that orbit a star capable of naturally creating life is punishable by death— Well, I am afraid I am paraphrasing, Aerith only showed me a glimpse of it."
"..."
"..."
"That's…" Vera could really only look around to see if everyone was as perplexed and confused as her, "That's…
…kind of a major one."
Chapter 429"Wait, what the fuck is going on!? Why are the two of you guys going along with this!? Wait, no. You weren't even involved in this at first, Riley!"
"Silv, not cool, sis! Gary just got yeeted away by Megawoman and now you also dipping!? What about the crew!? Katrina, say something here!"
"..."
"At least don't actually treat her like a prisoner! Take this stupid pillar thing off!!"
With one of the Themarian's spacecraft landing on the ruined streets, several silver pillars also landed and surrounded Silvie— before lighting up with some sort of green laser that acted as a shield; or in this case, a cage.
The pillars floated in the air, circling Silvie like elongated drones.
As for Riley, his eyes were covered by a silver blindfold, and his hands were bound by a cuff that also produced a green glow.
"It's fine, everyone," Silvie just shook her head as she voluntarily walked towards the entrance of the ship, "Aside from feeling a little uncomfortable, this thing doesn't hurt at all."
"Of course," Dr. Vella, who had just been watching the entire scenario from the start, nodded her head as she touched one of the pillars, "This was made by a renowned themarian scientist a very long time ago— it's specifically made to capture themarians and dampen their power. Even now, I can't reverse engineer the technology, so I can only really add to it. Did you kn—"
"No one asked!" Hannah did not let Dr. Vella explain further as she blocked Silvie's path to the ship, "Silv!?"
"It's fine," Silvie shook her head and smiled, "I… feel like there's nothing for me to do here anyway. I guess I'll count this as some sort of break from all the superhero stuff?"
"You—"
"I will make sure she is comfortable," Vera could really only sigh as she placed her hand on Hannah's shoulder, before signaling her people to escort Silvie onto the ship.
"...Take your hands off my shoulder if you want to keep them," Hannah's eyebrows quickly furrowed as she tilted her head while looking at Vera, "Even if just one strand of my friend's hair has gone missing when she returns, I won't care if you're royalty."
"I… have a feeling you don't care now," Vera forced a chuckle as she stepped back, "I promise you, Ms. Silvie and your brother will be returned safely."
"...You think I'm worried about my brother?" Hannah also forced a chuckle as she looked at Vera and the other evaniels that were there,
"This planet's mortality rate will drop by 90% the moment he boards your ship. You think you can just put him on handcuffs and—"
"S… Sis, that ain't something to be proud of. The Princess of the evangels already promised Silv's safety, we should just wait."
And before Hannah could start her rant, Bella started pulling her away; with Katrina following them in silence.
"..." Vera could really only let out a small sigh, before turning her attention to Riley; who was now just willingly boarding the ship without even as much as a word or a struggle. Which is weird, because his eyes were fully covered.
Aerith did tell them to avoid Riley at all costs— but Vera was an active member of the Council, and her obligation forces her to do this. Aerith should be able to understand, after all… she was also a part of the Council in the past.
And since Aerith is acquainted with both Silvie and Riley, she should be making another appearance soon. But with the issue with her son, it might be at a later time.
Hopefully…
…nothing happens before then.
***
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Inside the evaniel's colossal ship, Silvie and Riley were currently locked in transparent cells opposite each other.
She had been looking at Riley for the entire duration they were in there now because that's really all there is to do there.
"Do you wish to say something, Silvie?"
"Wha— I thought we can't hear each other!?"
To her surprise, however, she suddenly heard Riley's voice whispering as if he was behind her. She then once again focused her eyes on Riley, only to see him just sitting on the floor with his eyes closed.
"That's because I'm inside your cell, Silvie."
"!!!"
Silvie then quickly stood up from the bed she was sitting on, only to see… a miniature version of Riley also just casually sitting there.
It wasn't Little Riley, no— but a literal doll-sized version of Riley.
"How… long have you been there?" Silvie took in a small gulp as he looked back and forth between the small Riley and the original Riley.
"A few minutes from when they placed you here, Silvie," small Riley said as he leaped from the bed, "But as for how long this clone has been here, I left it when I infiltrated the ship last time."
"You… can do that?"
"You didn't visit my Guesthouse?" Small Riley blinked a couple of times, "My clones can pretend to have a life of their own until I erase them. This one, in particular, I was hoping to go to the evaniel's planet."
"...Seriously?"
"Hm," small Riley nodded, "I won't be able to possess its body any more, though. I have been trying to connect to the clone I left in Hotis 4J, but I suppose there's a certain area limit….
…I would like to believe it is behaving there and not wreaking havoc."
"..."
"..."
"I… forgot how talkative you were." And after a few seconds, Silvie let out a deep breath as she sat back on her bed,
"We… haven't really had the chance to really talk since you came back from the dead."
"Is that why you were staring at me?"
"Partly…" Silvie's tone suddenly lowered as she looked at Riley's original body, "...But mostly trying to figure out what you're trying to do."
"Just relieving my boredom, Silvie," small Riley shrugged his shoulders as he started walking around the cell, "In my experience, interesting things happen in prison."
"Technically, we're in a jail… and there's like only two of us locked in this massive place," Silvie sighed,
"What do you think they are going to do with us?"
"Hopefully find a way to kill me."
"..."
"..."
"...You never really change, do you?" Silvie closed her eyes, "Just a man following his nature. I can blame you for all the deaths and crimes you have committed, but I can never blame you for how you were born."
"I am actually trying to change, Silvie. I have been trying different personalities ever since I returned to Earth."
"A personality isn't a shirt, Riley. You can't just decide what to wear."
"Why not? You do it all the time."
"That's---"
"Are you regretting how you were born?" Small Riley did not let her say another word as he also sat back on the bed, slightly struggling to get up.
"...What?" Silvie could really only blink a couple of times as she was slightly taken aback by Riley's sudden question.
"That is the reason why you are here now, after all," small Riley said as he looked Silvie straight in the eyes,
"It must be pretty difficult? For someone like you, who has been trained, brainwashed, and programmed to follow the law to the latter, to know that her very existence is a crime in the eyes of the Universe?"
"..." Silvie just returned small Riley's gaze for a few seconds, before closing her eyes and once again taking in a deep breath,
"It… does hurt a little. I've never thought I would be saying this line, but… my only crime is that I was born."
"But didn't you steal Katrina's boyfriend?"
"That… that's technically not a crime," Silvie's eyes twitched, "It… was a mistake."
"Did you know Tomoe had the man assassinated?"
"We… had our suspicions," Silvie shook her head. Just a few minutes after starting a conversation with Riley, and now they were suddenly talking about murder,
"...But there wasn't any conclusive evidence. Anyway, my statement stands— my only crime is that I was born, literally."
"Only because the evaniels stated it so," Riley shrugged, "We don't have that law on our planet."
"Well… I suppose 'Ignorance of the universal law excuses no one' is applicable here," Silvie then let out a small chuckle, before clearing her throat and sitting up straight as she noticed that Riley didn't really have a reaction in her attempt at a joke,
"...I wish we were still in the Academy. Life… was just simpler then. Minus all the evil things you've done, of course."
"Silvie, may I tell you something?"
"Hm?"
"Your birth is not a mistake," small Riley then said as he once again looked Silvie in the eyes,
"If anything, you being born is one of the most beautiful events to ever happen on Earth."
"...What?" Silvie could really only take in a small gulp as she instinctively slightly moved away from small Riley; her heart, slightly raising. Come to think of it, didn't she have a little crush on Riley before they all found out that he was a mass murdering psychopath?
"Yours is a perfect existence, Silvie."
This… is bad. Why do killers have the tendency to be entrancing and charming?
"S… stop it. I don't want to hear that coming from—"
[...Is that a smaller Riley you are talking to?]
And before Silvie could finish her words, a voice suddenly echoed inside her cell, with Vera now standing outside.
"Hello again, Princess Vera,] small Riley waved his hand.
"Princess Vera," Silvie quickly got up and stood in front of Vera, "...And yes, it's one of Riley's clones."
[Hm…] Vera could really only squint her eyes as she glanced back to look at Riley's original body just sitting on the floor with his eyes closed,
[...I suppose this saves me time. I am here to deliver the Council's verdict.]
"...Already?" Silvie took in a small gulp, before nodding her head and gesturing to Vera to continue.
[Silvie Savelievna. After much discussion with the Elders…
…They have yet to reach a conclusion on what to do with you.]
"...Sorry?"
[You're Princess Aerith's clone, and she knows and approves of your existence… the Elders would need to talk to her first,] Vera could really only sigh as she shook her head,
[I am afraid you will be staying here for a while. But as for you…] Vera then turned her eyes towards small Riley,
[...That is you, right?]
"Yes," small Riley only nodded.
[What you did is a major crime. And in any other case, you are to immediately be executed without any chance of salvation. But once again, since Princess Aerith is involved, further investigation needs to be done to reach a final conclusion,]
Vera once again let out a sigh,
[The Elders, however, are ordering you to present yourselves to them personally.]
"...Personally?"
[You are to be escorted to the Council.]
"..."
[Don't look at me like that,] Vera forced a chuckle as she noticed small Riley looking at her weirdly,
[Honestly, I think they just want to meet the creature that even a themarian is wary of. They are preparing the ship that would take you to— !!!]
"I don't think so, Princess Vera."
"R… Riley!?"
And before Vera could finish her words, she heard a small rumble whisper from behind her. She looked back, only to see the original Riley just casually stepping out of his cell from a hole he made.
"I might have agreed to go to them any other time, but Aerith is still here. And mother is also planning something with my other mother, I sort of want to see it come to play first," Riley then said as he slowly approached Vera.
"But… this… is an edict from the Elders themselves," Vera could really only raise her palm, presumably gesturing to her people not to do anything,
"We can't disobey."
"...Oh?" And as soon as Riley heard that, a small smile suddenly started to grow on his face,
"What happens if we do?"
"They… will send for a Guardian to forcefully escort you there." For some reason, Vera had a feeling she shouldn't have said that.
"A Guardian? Whatever could that be?" The smile on Riley's face grew by the second, "Is it possible for you to send a reply to these Elders?"
"...What?"
"Tell them if they wish to see me…
…they should come to Earth."
Chapter 430"Did you explain to the native who and what we are?"
"I did, Elder Zora."
"And it still said something like that?"
"...He did, Elder Zora.'
"...Interesting."
"Interesting? I think the proper term for it is disrespectful."
Inside a vast and dark room, Princess Vera was currently surrounded by 7 holograms; holograms that were blurry and unclear; their movements also lagging. One could barely make out their faded and darkened silhouette, but it wasn't difficult to determine that most of them were humanoids… in a way.
"Do we have an available Guardian to send to this… Earth?" One of the mysterious figures that seemed to be seated on a floating throne leaned forward.
"I believe most are occupied because of the tournament," the one that seemed to have an elongated head, Elder Zora, waved his hands in the air as if he was checking something.
"Ah, speaking of which— we should probably end this discussion now. I'm actually fighting next," a silhouette that seemed to be sporting spiky hair moved away from the circle, his hologram, completely disappearing.
"Did you not already lose, Elder S'adar? I was sure I received my monetary rewards from the bet I made."
Elder S'adar once again appeared in the circle; his hologram, facing the tall silhouette with a somewhat feminine voice,
"For a race that lacks a sense of humor, you seem to make a lot of jokes, Elder Tedi."
"For a race that is just a cheaper version of the Themarians, you are a disappointment to the universe and should not exist."
"...I was only making conversation, you didn't have to go that far."
"I was under the impression that I was too, Elder S'adar."
"Can the two of you attend the meeting and not fight for once? I believe there has…"
"..." Princess Vera could really only just twitch her eyes as three of the Elders started arguing and bickering with each other. The number of times that Vera had met with the Elders of the Council could be counted on one hand, including this meeting. And yet each time, these three seemed to always derail the topic at hand.
The other 3 Elders always seemed disinterested, and only speak once or twice— as for the Grand Elder, the one seated on the floating throne, he just seemed to let the others play it out until he gets tired of them.
Vera didn't know whether or not they are just disinterested in the cases she presents them, or they just think too little of the other races. As a matter of fact, the only reason they are even discussing about Riley right now was because of his connection with the Rebel Princess of the Themarians.
And so, the only thing Vera could really do was wait until—
"That's enough!"
And then, finally, the Grand Elder roared, causing his hologram to become static and even more faded. And as his roars also reached the other Elders, they really only just shook their heads; their bickering, slowly dying down.
"Princess Vera," the Gran Elder's fingers started tapping on his throne.
"Yes, Grand Elder?"
"While the others were busy being the imbeciles they are, I have ordered the Guardian Corps to send one of their own to your location. Someone should be arriving there soon."
"Thank you, Grand Elder. I will notify all of you again if anything of note happens."
"Good," the Grand Elder nodded, "If this Riley Ross proves difficult even for a Guardian…
…then I will do it myself."
"...There he is again. He always says that but never really commits to it."
"He needs to keep appearance, he is the Grand Elder, after all."
"Princess Vera, please send my utmost regards to your mother, the Queen."
"...I will, Elder Zora."
And with that, all the holograms flickered away; the room she was in, slowly brightening up as she released a very long and deep breath. The room she was in was spherical in shape, and like most of the evaniels' chambers, it was large.
She was standing on some sort of circular veranda, suspended in the air right in the very middle of the room and connected to a long bridge that lit up the way to a door.
Princess Vera, however, did not immediately leave this spherical room, and instead just took in a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down.
Dealing with the Elders… is very stressful to one's health.
Although they may act like a couple of normal individuals and sometimes even foolish, each of the Elders held the authority to wipe out entire civilizations if they need to— and they know this.
Their friendliness is all but a facade, because if they did not come off as merciful or kind; the universe would be unnecessarily be terrified of them.
"So, those are the Elders?"
"!!!"
Vera's silhouette quickly blurred as her body instantly turned to face behind her. Her eyes, also instantly turning wide as she saw Riley just casually standing on the bridge.
"What… are you doing here?" The light surrounding Vera's body faded away as she let out another breath to calm herself down.
"Your kind does not lock your door," Riley shrugged as he slowly made his way to the circular platform, "You should really change that."
"Because we respect each other's privacy! You…" Vera once again took in a very long and deep breath as her attempt to calm herself down was slowly starting to fail, "Just…
…how did you even get here?"
"Oh, this body is a clone," Riley said as he slightly opened his arms, "It's been following you around the ship since earlier."
"...Isn't your clone with Silvie Savelievna?"
"This is another one."
"...How many clones do you have in this ship?" Vera's mind was slowly starting to give up.
"Twelve, there's one in your control room. As I stated, your security needs improvement."
"..." Vera could really only close her eyes as she heard Riley's words, "So, you've been standing there from the start?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "I wanted to see if I can get information regarding this so-called Guardian you keep mentioning that is on the way."
"You could just ask me instead of sneaking around," Vera shook her head.
"I believe it is more human to eavesdrop than ask," Riley nodded.
"...You're so weird."
Vera gets it now— she couldn't shake the feeling that Riley reminded her of something, but now she gets it.
The Elders. It was as if she was dealing with one of the Elders whenever she talks with Riley. The eccentricity they share is almost uncanny.
Their blatant disregard for anything else that doesn't interest them is just… too similar.
"Is there even any use in us placing you in a cell?" Vera once again let out a sigh as she looked at Riley, who seemed to be scanning each and every corner of the room.
"It makes all of you feel safe and comfortable," Riley shrugged.
"Wait… is the one in the cell even your original body?"
"It is."
"Oh, good…"
Vera found herself sighing again and again with each word that comes out of Riley's mouth; the sense of relief and dread, all mixing together. Although they still don't have the full scope of Riley's powers, they knew he was strong— being acknowledged by a themarian was already proof of that.
…As well as destroying an entire planet— they still lack information about this one, however. How did he destroy it exactly? She could also just ask, but she was afraid of what he was going to answer.
She had already done her duty and reported it to the Council, the rest is up to them and the Guardian.
"So.. what exactly did you want to know?"
And so, with hopefully her last sigh for at least a minute, Vera just decided to entertain Riley's questions.
"What is the Guardian Corps, Princess Vera?"
"Hm… They keep the law and order of the universe," Vera slightly hummed as she placed her hand on her chin, "I suppose the closest I can compare it to is… the police? Wait, no. That is exactly what they are— a universal police."
"Are they strong?"
"That… It's sort of complicated," Vera squinted.
"..."
"...You want me to explain?"
"Of course," Riley nodded, "That is why I asked."
"...Very well," Vera nodded as she once again stood in the very center of the circle; she then waved her hand, causing a hologram of a burning star to emerge above them.
"The members of the Guardian Corps are not necessarily innately strong… because most of them are from the Lower Races; civilizations much like yours or even of a lower tier."
"Interesting."
"...Right," Vera nodded, "They are trained, and once proven worthy, they are gifted with the Guardian Force. It's…
…a sort of weapon that harnesses the power of a star," she then said as she looked at the hologram of the sun hovering above them.
"…A weapon?"
"Well… more like a pill they swallow once and… it stays inside them until… You know what, I don't want to elaborate further," Vera then waved her hand, removing the hologram, "Just know that their powers aren't really theirs."
"It's okay," Riley just shrugged as the room once again brightened up, "This pill, am I able to pull it out from their intestines? If they have intestines, that is."
"Don't underestimate a Guardian, Riley Ross," Vera shook her head, "A group of them are able to restrain themarians that are using their full strength."
"Okay."
"..."
"..."
"...I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this."
Chapter 431"So, when is this Guardian arriving?"
"...Soon. We already have this location pinged and safe for hyperdrive."
"This… hyperdrive, can I use it to travel to the themarians' planet?"
"Only themarians are allowed to warp to Terran."
"Hm…"
Somewhere inside the ship of the evaniels, the eyes of all its passengers were currently following their princess… as well as an individual that was supposed to be their prisoner as he just casually walked alongside Vera.
"The Themarians, they truly seem to be feared and respected. I was told they are the most powerful race in the universe, is that true?"
"It is. The laws of the universe rarely apply to them, much like how you are free to walk in your world even after committing such atrocious crimes to your people."
"You do not seem to be taken aback by my crimes, Princess Vera."
"You'll understand once you experience the scale of the Universe, Riley Ross. Your crimes may very well be unforgivable and heinous in your world— but in the eyes of the universe, it is merely a sand in an almost endless desert; insignificant."
"I am confused, Princess Vera. Why is destroying an uninhabitable planet worthy of punishment in the eyes of the Universe, and killing a small number of people is not?"
"The planet you destroyed, Mars— it's what we call a Candidate. A planet that could have easily been made habitable since it met all the criteria. While it may be true that there are thousands of civilizations and thriving planets out there, in the expanse of the Universe, it may as well be nothing."
"Hm."
"Planets take billions of years to form, compare that to a life that could be made in the blink of an eye, well… you can see the difference of severity between the two. I am paraphrasing, of course— I'm not a robot with no feelings, life matters dearly to me."
"Hm."
"...You are getting what I mean, right?"
"I do. Someone's death only matters if you witness their life, Princess Vera."
"That's… Yes, I suppose that is what I meant."
"Like how it won't matter to the people of Earth if I kill all the evaniels in this ship right now."
"...You did not have to give an example."
"Would you like to test that example?"
"...No… What?"
The conversation between the two were as long as the halls of the ship. But finally, after what seemed like almost more than an hour of nonstop conversation, silence managed to weave between the two as they just walked around the ship; with Riley just walking beside the Princess everywhere…
…even in her chambers.
"Do… you intend to follow me everywhere?" Vera could really only step out of her room; quickly closing the door as soon as Riley followed her out,
"This is my private chambers, that means I am the only one allowed inside," she said with a sigh, "I know I opened the topic of union and marriage with you, but I am afraid that until that day comes. You… you're not allowed in my room."
"I am only following this clone's purpose while my consciousness is in it, Princess Vera," Riley only shrugged his shoulders.
"...And its purpose is following me around?"
"Stalking is the more appropriate term, Princess Vera. I was actually deliberating on whether I would let a smaller variant follow you, but due to me valuing your privacy, I chose a regular-sized one for transparency."
"...Thanks?"
"For what?"
"..."
"..."
"You really are weird," Princess Vera could really only sigh, "Can't say I don't like it, though. But you're still not allowed in my room. I'll let you in once we consummate our marriage."
"I already said that I did not wa---"
And before Riley could finish his words, Vera's silhouette suddenly became static; before slowly fading away completely as the sound of her room's door snapped in the air.
Riley wasn't aware of it before since most of the evaniels in the ship were just moving around at a slow pace… but their doors are capable of opening and closing at very high speeds as well
It made sense, Riley thought as he walked to the side of the door, before just standing there like some sort of guard. And then, with a very long and deep sigh— the glimmer in his eyes faded away.
And with that, Riley's consciousness switched with the clone.
"I'll take it from here, Boss."
***
Riley opened his eyes, and once again, he was back in the transparent cell.
"...You back from your little adventure?"
Instead of returning back to his original body, however, he switched to the doll-sized clone he had in Silvie's cell.
Silvie, who was lying on her bed, could really only sigh as the doll-sized Riley once again began to move; in truth, she was starting to get a little creeped out with it just sitting there on the side of the cell like some doll from a horror movie.
"Did you learn anything, Riley?" Silvie then asked as she sat up from the bed, "What's going to happen to us?"
"They mentioned nothing about you, Silvie," the doll-sized Riley shook his head as he stood up from the floor, "But I believe they won't do anything to you until they know what Aerith's stance is."
"...We already know that," Silvie once again sighed, "I can't do anything until Megawoman shows up. But what about you? Did they something about what they are going to do with you?"
"My fate is in the hands of this so-called Guardian, Silvie," Riley said as he started walking around Silvie's cell, "We will get to meet with it soon, as per Princess Vera's assurance. And also…
…the Universe does not recognize me as a villain for the millions I have killed, only for the fact that I have destroyed Mars."
"I… see."
"Hm, how many do you think I need to kill to be considered as a villain in the grand scheme of the Universe, Silvie? Perhaps committing a couple of genocides would—"
"Can… you stop talking about killing all the time?" Silvie did not let Riely finish his words as she once again lay down on the bed. And after a few seconds, she closed her eyes and let out a long breath,
"I… kind of understand why they wouldn't think of you as a villain, Riley," she then said, "You know… when all the bombing happened and the number of deaths was announced— just for one second, I realized how little it is you've killed compared to the House of Super."
"..."
"Granted, they are an entire terrorist organization and you're just… well, you. I keep thinking how you would need to kill a hundred times more than you already have just for you to reach that they did."
"...Hm."
"W… wait!"
And as soon as Silvie realized that Riley was once again switching his consciousness, she quickly grabbed doll-sized Riley and lifted him in the air,
"That… that wasn't a challenge! Please don't try anything!"
"...Hm," doll-sized Riley could really only nod as Silvie's hands almost encapsulated him whole, "W—"
Riley was about to say something, but before he could do so, Princess Vera's voice echoed throughout the entire confinement bay.
[Riley, the Guardian will be arriving in less than 5 minutes. Meet me in the landing bay in— W… what the, can you stop popping out everywhere!]
[This clone has been here from the start, Princess Vera.]
"..." Silvie, who was listening in on the announcement, quickly looked at Riley's original body as she heard his voice through the intercom— but contrary to her expectations, he was still there with his legs crossed and eyes closed.
Just… where are all of his clones hiding?
***
Riley and Vera were now in the spaceship's hangar— an indoor hangar that was probably as large as the largest airport on Earth.
And even though Vera was fully aware that the body he is in now is just a clone, they still cuffed his hands as a way to show the Guardian that he wasn't going to do anything.
"..." Riley's eyes then traveled to the evaniels that were surrounding the landing bay, only to see all of them wearing some sort of portable oxygen mask. Riley was also offered one before they stepped out onto the hangar, but he didn't really need it.
So the evaniels… they can't breathe in space? But Vera wasn't wearing one, is it just some sort of precaution?
"...The Guardian isn't responding to any of our hails."
"Have you tried connecting directly to its ship?"
"We did. We were able to build a line, but then it was suddenly cut off right as its ship passed through Earth's moon."
"..." Riley then watched as the evaniels all started running around the hangar; their voices, slightly panicked.
"Did something happen to the Guardian? Would you like me to meet it in space?" Riley then said as he approached Vera, who was busy whispering with her people.
"...No, the point of all of this is that you—"
"We have visuals on the ship! ETA is 15 seconds, what do you want us to do, Princess!?"
"Damn it, where's Admiral Varen!?" Vera wasn't able to finish her talk with Riley as she let out a frustrated scream, "Just let the ship land! The Guardian might just be feeling a little quiet today."
"Okay… Guardian, you're clear to land."
And as soon as one of the evaniels managing the hangar said that, a small ship just the size of a van entered the landing bay… before docking just meters away from where Riley and Vera stood.
No, perhaps docking was not the proper word for it— as the ship definitely just drop and almost crashed down.
"...Is the ship malfunctioning?"
Vera and the others could really only just look at each other, clearly confused. And as Vera was about to step closer to the ship— its door swung up; letting out a violent cloud of smoke as it opened.
And very slowly, the cloud cleared up, revealing a tall, blue-skinned humanoid. And as Riley saw from the holograms, he was wearing a luminescent red skin-tight suit, the uniform of the Guardian Corps, that revealed every inch of his muscular figure.
The Guardian then stepped forward without saying a single word… before just suddenly dropping to the ground and revealing someone else that was on the ship—
—a girl. Her skin, pale to the point that it almost seemed translucent. Her hair, also the color of snow.
Her eyes that were somewhat of a pale blue color, looking at everyone in front of them before finally settling on Riley.
"Oh," and with a whisper escaping from her unusually wide lips, she waved her hand excitedly; the smile on her face, almost reaching from ear to ear,
"Dad!"
Chapter 432A few minutes ago, somewhere in the outer orbit of the Earth, a suddenly beamed; almost creating a sound as it flickered through the vast darkness. And as instantly as it revealed itself, it also disappeared almost instantly. It did, however, leave something behind.
A small ship.
And in the expanse of the universe, one would find it hard to even see it. But it did, and it carried inside it nothing but a bout of sighs and complaints.
"...Why did they even bother sending me to a backwater planet? Are the Guardians really left to investigating scraps?"
The blue-skinned humanoid, Ineego, once again added another sigh to the collection of sighs already filling his ship. Although the ship looked small, its interior was actually quite spacious— with only the seat that seemed to swivel in the air as well as Ineego occupying most of the space.
There were, however, multiple holograms floating in front of Ineego; his eyes, reflecting the image of Riley Ross— the individual that he was tasked to investigate, and if needed, terminate.
He didn't really even bother reading the file that came with his image. He knew he destroyed a planet, but since this white-haired individual came from a backwater planet, he probably just relied on some sort of bomb.
Most of the cases like these were like that, this one shouldn't be any different.
"...Let's just get this over with so I can return to watching the tournament," Ineego once again sighed as he waved his hand, removing any images of Riley as he focused on the map of the Solar System.
"...Hm?"
Not even a second later, however, a ping suddenly rippled on his map— warning him of an object that was approaching him at a very high speed.
"..." Ineego didn't really think much of it as he just moved his ship away from the object's path; as soon as he did so, however, the trajectory of the object also changed. Its target, still his ship.
Ineego's eyes slightly squinted as he pointed his finger at the object, zooming in on it.
"!!!" And as soon as he saw the object that was keen on colliding with his ship; his eyes that were the color of emerald widened,
"Is… that someone from the Higher Races?"
Most of those that were able to breathe through the expanse of space were of the Higher Races— but if there were any other than Princess Aerith and the evaniels, the corps would have informed him of their existence.
So… who exactly is this?
"..." Ineego's eyes then soon squinted as he once again waved his hand, bringing up the image of Riley Ross.
"Lux, try to match the profile."
And as soon as he said that, the image of the Riley Ross and the face of the individual that was moving towards his ship was placed in a single hologram; with the ship's AI trying to find any similarities between the two— it was, however, clearly not a match.
But in Ineego's eyes, their only real difference was the color of their hair— Riley Ross was of a jet-black color, while this other one has a hair as white as a star.
"...This can't be an inhabitant of the planet, is it?"
Ineego finally received the impulse to look at the information sheet they have on Riley Ross; but alas, before he could even read a word out of it, the sound of a rumble resounded throughout his small ship as he felt a slight turbulence suddenly tugging on his seat.
"..." He then waved his hand as he opened the view of one of the many cameras attached to his ship, only to see the white-haired humanoid now clinging just outside the ship's door.
And very soon, it started to knock.
***
"Dad!"
Ineego found himself suddenly waking up— not even knowing how he fell into the depths of unconsciousness in the first place. Although, he didn't really know what woke him up, the sudden scream that pierced his ears… or the fact that he couldn't breathe.
Fortunately for him, the latter reason did not last long as he heard the familiar howl of a hangar door closing on space.
"...What—" Ineego was about to float himself away from the floor, but before he could even get the chance to get up and stand, he found himself stuck in the air.
"..." Ineego then finally started to look at his surroundings, only to see the individual that latched on his ship now… stepping on his back and preventing him from moving further up to stand. He then turned to look at the other people that were present there, only to see the princess of the evaniels.
"Princess… Vera?" Ineego breathed out, "What's… going on? Am I inside your ship?"
Vera, however, completely ignored her and was just looking back and forth between the individual stepping on his back and—
"Riley Ro—"
But alas, before he could even finish his words, he felt his head being touched by the individual stepping on him, and then after that… he just fell back to the cold hard metallic floor; his consciousness once again fleeting away from him.
"He looks funny," the white-haired girl that was stepping on Ineego then flicked her hand, causing Ineego to gently slide towards the evaniels that did not really know what to do right now.
It was obvious that the blue humanoid was the Guardian, as obvious from the red glowing suit he was wearing… so who exactly is this white-haired individual?
"...Did she just call you dad?" Vera was the very first one to react as she finally settled her eyes on Riley. She also quickly gestured to her people to tend to the unconscious Guardian.
"I believe I heard the same, Princess Vera."
And for the very first time, Vera saw the expression of confusion surrounding Riley's face as his head tilted to the side; his eyes, looking at the white-haired girl from head to toe.
"..." Come to think of it, the two of them do look alike— white place skin, and a mouth so wide that it could probably swallow an entire village.
"Dad!" The white-haired girl then repeated as she suddenly flew straight towards Riley; but alas, Riley quickly stepped to the side to avoid her.
"..."
"..." The white-haired girl's head then very slowly turned towards Riley; her arms still stretched to the side. The smile on her face, almost turning into a giggle as her eyes squinted.
"Aunt Diana did say you were shy, dad," the white-haired girl then said as she covered her mouth, but failing to hide the cheeky smile on her face all the same.
"And mom says you have a problem with being touched by strangers?"
"Diana… mom?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he stared at the weird girl. And then, without even a second later— he figured it out.
"Katherine is alive?"
"..." And as soon as the white-haired girl heard that, her already squinted eyes squinted even further as she stood up straight, before looking Riley straight in the eyes,
"...Mom had a better reaction when she found out you were alive. So, it's true… she said you didn't really love her the way she loved you. Aunt Diana said that it wasn't your fault and that there was a problem with your hypothanos."
"Hypothalamus," Riley said as he once again tilted his head, "Are you some sort of experiment by Diana?"
"...Hmph, my name's Karina," Karina let out a small harrumph as she crossed her arms. But after a few moments, the aggression on her face quickly dissipated and was replaced with a smile, "Anyway…
…can I please hug you?"
"No."
"...Why not? Even aunt Diana allowed me to hug her once."
"Because I don't want to, Miss Karina."
"Why don't you want to?"
"Because I don't want to, Miss Karina."
"Yes, but why!? There should be a reason!"
"The reason is I don't want to, Miss Karina."
The evaniels that were there could really only continue to look back and forth between the two, waiting for their princess to order them a command; but alas, she seemed to be the one that was most engrossed amongst them as an amused smile was clearly plastered on her face.
"...But you're my dad," Karina's voice slowly started to become meek as a frown slowly crawled on her face, "Shouldn't…
…shouldn't you be happy to see me?"
"I am not your father, Miss Karina," Riley then shook his head as he let out a sigh, "I made sure that Katherine and I will not have any offspring. Mother most probably made you the same way she helped in creating me."
"...No," Karina hummed as she shook her head,
"I'm pretty sure you're my dad. See? I have practically have your everything," she then said as she pointed at her face and smiled; the edges of her lips, almost reaching from ear to ear.
"You are too old, Miss Karina."
"...I am actually just turning 3 in a couple of months," Karina forced a chuckle as she placed her hands on her waist, "But don't be fooled by that, I already had my menstuition! I'm an adult!"
"I notice your mind is like that of a toddler."
"...Is that a good thing?"
"Sometimes, Miss Karina."
"So you believe you're my dad now?"
"Hm…
…If you truly are my daughter, why did Diana and Katherine just allow you to meet me, Miss Karina? I specifically told mother of what I would do when she asked me the question of what I would do if ever I had a child."
"W… well…" Karina slowly looked to the side as she scratched her chin, "Aunt Diana has been… pretty busy lately, mom too."
"Well…" Riley then closed his eyes as he let out a small sigh, "I suppose it doesn't matter…
…you need to die either way, Miss Karina."
"...Dad?"
Chapter 433"..."
"..."
Once again, Vera's face was expressing what everyone was feeling; her eyebrows, slightly raised in confusion but still very much amused.
Riley Ross has a daughter? That wasn't in any profile Vera had read, and she had probably read and watched everything about Riley Ross. She knew who Katherine Reads was; based on Admiral Varen's research, she was the one that had sexual relations with Riley for the longest time.
It was said she disappeared a couple of years ago— and now they have a child? And the supposed child also looked too old, probably a couple of years older than her brother based on her looks; it might just also be her white hair.
She did say she was two years old. And since the people of this planet based their age on its rotation relative to their sun… she should be considered very young— a baby, even.
Just… what is going on with this planet?
The expression on Vera's face truly showed what most of the evaniels there were feeling. Well, all except but one— Dr. Vella.
Her eyes were wide, wider than most as she stared at Karina; looking at her from head to toe and taking in every word that came out of her wide mouth.
Growth Acceleration?
Earth shouldn't have a scientist capable of something as complex as that. It was easy in theory, but in practice and mastery, even more advanced planets have difficulty in always making it work.
…There is also the fact that they perfectly cloned a themarian.
No matter how many times she searched the annex of Earth's library of information, she could not find a name for a scientist capable of that. But of course, there should also be many hidden secrets that weren't available to the public, but still.
The closest individual she could think of that would be capable of that kind of research is Riley's adoptive father, the one they call the Whiteking.
But last she checked, he didn't really delve into the depths of biology and only focused on his weapons.
Whoever this scientist is, Dr. Vella was sure he or she was the reason why Earth's technological advancement was so random. Just…
…who is it?
Riley mentioned something about a mother. His adoptive mother? Diana Ross?
But last she checked, she was just a normal human. She— !!!
And then, suddenly, her eyes that were already as wide as they could be turned even wider; almost to the point they almost popped out of their sockets— only saved by the glasses she was wearing.
She had seen a photo of Diana Ross when she read about Riley Ross's life— and there was a moment when she couldn't shake off a feeling that she had seen her before. She just shrugged it off, of course, as aside from the color of their hair and tattoos, the humans just looked like evaniels.
But that wasn't the case at all. Dr. Vella finally realizes where she knew Diana from;
She… looked exactly the same as the other themarian Aerith was with when she boarded the ship.
"..."
A themarian scientist.
…Themarian scientist.
"!!!" Dr. Vella almost let out a loud gasp; instantly covering her mouth as her breaths almost came out as whimpers. She then looked at Vera, but can't really find the words to say to her.
Although none of her theories were confirmed, if Diana Ross is who Dr. Vella thought she was… then they were in grave danger just by staying here.
They were in the presence of the entity that is responsible for the most number of Universal Law crimes. But then at the same time…
…they were also in the presence of one of the greatest minds in the universe. And as a creature of science herself, this weighed more to her.
And so, after trying to calm her breaths down, she just tried her best to shut her mouth and continue to observe the drama unfolding in front of her.
"Why… would I have to die?"
Karina's voice still held resolute as her eyes did not stray away from Riley. But alas, her trembling cheeks completely failed to hide the nervous tension crawling throughout her entire body.
And almost in contrast to that, Riley's face was almost devoid of any emotions as he uttered words that were filled with edge.
"Because the universe does not deserve another me, Miss Karina," Riley then let out a small but very deep breath… before breaking the cuffs that were binding his hands; the other evaniels were about to make a move, but Vera gestured to them not to do anything,
"It doesn't deserve another ender," Riley breathed out as he looked at his hands, "It will already suffer much by my hands alone."
"But I'm not you, though?"
"..."
"..."
"I'm like… literally my own person?" Karina's voice was slowly becoming meek; her head, slowly starting to stray away as Riley just stared at her while she continued to talk.
"..."
"Like… mom told me you like seeing blood and stuff and hurting people," Karina then slightly winced and trembled,
"But me? I can't even stand the sight of blood. Like, ew. Yuck, no," she then said as she stuck out her tongue.
"..."
"Grandma also told me you're not really a good person either."
"Grandma?" Riley tilted his head, "Alice has been resurrected, Miss Karina?"
"...No? Who's that?" Karina raised an eyebrow, "I meant grandma Tsula. She told me to stay away from you because you're the Harbinger of Ruin or something."
"...It has been a while since I last heard that."
"But I don't know, you know? You… seem kinda cool now that I am seeing you. It's just…" Karina's sighs then suddenly reverberated throughout the entire hangar as her shoulders soon dropped,
"I thought we could bond. I overheard— I mean, I heard from mother and the others about this whole thing about the guardian whatever that's coming… and I thought if I found it he would lead me to you…
…and he did. The others probably know I am missing already. So… can we please just, I don't know… do something a father and daughter does?"
"Okay," Riley nodded.
"R… really!?"
And with just a single word from Riley, everyone could see how Karina's face just suddenly almost lit up the entire area with her weird, but slightly endearing smile.
"But instead of something a father does with her daughter. I will do to you what my mother did to me instead, Miss Karina."
"That… That's good too, but what—"
And before Karina could even finish her words, her limbs suddenly locked together. And almost like a rope that only becomes tighter and tighter as one struggles, the only thing that Karina could really do was let out a sudden whimper— almost like a puppy.
"D… dad?" And very easily, tears started to trail on Karina's face, "W… why?"
"You don't have to worry, Miss Karina. I… understand your existence," Riley then said as he very slowly made his way towards her, "I have an acquaintance that is in a very similar scenario to yours."
"H… hkh," Karina sniffled as she looked at her father just looking at him with eyes devoid of any love and care.
"Except there's just one tiny difference that changes everything," Riley then let out a sigh as he stood right in front of Karina, looking her directly in the eyes… before wiping her tears away with the back of his hand,
"She was made in the image of a perfect being. While you… you were molded with the worst possible ingredient one could use…
…me."
"That… that's not true," Karina's eyes trembled as she returned Riley's gaze, "I… I think you're very cool."
"The fact you think that already means you've been corrupted by me," Riley then sighed before very slowly wrapping his arms around Karina,
"What I have ends with me."
And very soon, the entire ship could feel a small tremble— it was faint, but it made a sound that was almost too visceral to hear… as it is accompanied by an almost innocent whimper.
"N… no, please… don't… dad," Karina's eyes were slowly turning red; her nose and ears, now bleeding profusely, "No, no… no."
"I apologize you had to be born from me, daughter."
"Dad…" Karina once again turned to look at Riley, "Please… don't do— No… no, no…
…I said no!"
"!!!"
The markings on Vera's body instantly lit up; her hands, already grabbing Dr. Vella, as well as the unconscious Guardian as she ran away. How could she not… when she saw Riley's body disintegrate in front of her almost instantly?
The other evaniels were also able to run away— but they didn't really need to. As whatever that invisible force was, it would seem it really only targeted Riley Ross; even the floor beneath him was intact.
The same could not be said to him, however— as his body disintegrated almost into nothing but sand.
"No…" Karina quickly dropped to the floor as she tried sweeping the ashes towards her, "No… dad. I'm… no…"
And very quickly, her tears and blood filled her face as she let out a cry that could probably be heard throughout the entire ship.
"Huk…"
"..."
"..."
"A shame, I quite liked that clone."
"...Huh?"
And then, Karina very slowly turned her head up as soon as she heard a whisper; her snot and tears, still very much painted on her face. And there, he saw her father just standing like nothing even happened.
"...Dad?" Karina could really only blink a couple of times in confusion as she looked back and forth between the ashes in her arm and Riley.
"But it is also fortunate that you did what you did," Riley then let out a small sigh, "I forgot to ask you an important question, daughter."
"...What?"
"Have you tried dying before?"
"...Sorry?"
Chapter 434"...You gain the abilities of the one that kills you?"
"Yes, have you tried it before, Karina?"
"...No?"
"This complicates things. If I kill you and you happen to get all of my abilities, then you truly will become like me and start destroying—"
"No! I already told you, I don't even like it when I accidentally kill insects!"
Although Karina was still completely confused about what just happened, she still slightly backed away as soon as she saw her father suddenly alive and just standing there.
She was sure of it— Riley was just disintegrated and yet… he was here again?
Her mother did say her father had many abilities, was this one of them?
"You… you tried to kill me," Karina then whispered as she continued to back away, "Now… now I know why they don't want me to meet you! You're a bad person!"
"I am."
"...You're not even going to deny it?"
"Is there a need to?" Riley only tilted his head, before looking at the ashes of his clone that soon faded and withered away completely,
"I tried to kill you, but you killed my clone. I would say that makes us even, Karina."
"That—"
"Riley, what's going on!?"
And while everyone was busy watching the scene between the supposed father and daughter, Silvie, who was supposed to be locked in her cell, suddenly arrived at the scene.
"Ms. Silvie?" Princess Vera raised an eyebrow, "...What are you doing here?"
"...Riley destroyed your holding cells."
"...Oh, of course," Vera blinked a couple of times as she sighed, "You… didn't try to escape?"
"...I am wanted by the law, I must abide," Silvie also let out a small sigh, "I'm still your prisoner by all means, Princess. But… what's going on here?"
"Riley's daughter arrived."
"I see," Silvie nodded, before her eyes turned wide, "Wait, what?"
Vera didn't really answer Silvie anymore and just pointed to what was happening. And once again, Silvie's already wide eyes turned even wider as she saw the pale, white-haired girl looking at her.
"..." Silvie then turned and started looking back and forth between Karina and Riley— if it wasn't for Riley permanently dying his hair black, then the similarity between the two will be eerily… uncanny,
"...How? And what was that I was hearing about you trying to kill her, Riley!?"
Silvie then quickly rushed toward Karina, standing in front of her to block her from Riley's path,
"Are… you alright?"
"...You look like one of the visitors that's been visiting aunt Diana lately."
"..." Silvie didn't even need to ask who Karina was referring to as she turned her focus to Riley,
"What are you doing, Riley?"
"I was trying to kill her, Silvie," Riley answered nonchalantly, "Not anymore, not until I am sure she does not have the same ability as me."
"...Why would you even do that!?" Silvie raised her voice. The evaniels that were watching on the sides could really only look at each other; some of them, slightly starting to enjoy the drama unfolding in front of their eyes.
"She just wanted to hug you!"
"...So you've been listening from the start, Silvie."
"That… that doesn't matter!" Silvie once again waved her hand, "Don't you know what it feels like to be unwanted by your own parents!?"
"No, but I suppose you do," Riley shrugged before tilting his head to the side to look at Karina, "She is the acquaintance I told you about that knows your situation very well."
"..." Karina looked at Silvie for a few seconds, before Silvie looked back at her and shook her head.
"I don't. I am a clone, but she's obviously not," Silvie said as she looked Riley straight in the eyes,
"And shouldn't you already know by now that I have become my own person, Riley!?"
"..." Riley could really only blink a couple of times as Silvie… started to cry out of nowhere even though she just arrived.
"If I, an exact replica of Megawoman was able to live my life as my own… why do you think your daughter, someone who is clearly not a clone, won't be able to live as her own person? She… she's literally just a child and she's definitely not like you, Riley!" Silvie continued her speech as she placed a hand on Karina's shoulder,
"I've only seen her for a minute and she has already expressed more emotions than you have and I have known you for years, Riley!"
"She might just be pretending like me, Silvie."
"She's not you! Why are you always so stubborn!? She's not you."
"..."
"...I already told him, that. He's not liste—"
"Okay. If you say so, Silvie," Riley then shrugged as he started to walk away.
"...What?" Karina could not help but raise an eyebrow as she looked back and forth between her father and Silvie,
"How… did you do that?" Her eyes then soon glistened as she looked at Silvie; a few moments later, however, she started to frown,
"Are you one of dad's other women?"
"W… what?"
"Mom said dad has a lot of… side chicks, you're one of them, aren't you?" Karina squinted her eyes as she backed away while looking at Silvie from head to toe,
"Not bad. Mom has a better figure, though. You look quite plain."
Silvie's eyes started to squint as she heard Karina's words. Didn't… she just try to help this kid? So why does it feel like she was suddenly having the urge to hit her head?
"I'm… not one of your dad's other women," Silvie then answered, "I… was one of his friends."
"Dad has no friends, though. You're a side chick."
She's a child. Literally, a toddler— Silvie kept repeating to herself as she calmed her breaths.
"Anyway…" Karina then let out a loud breath as she once again turned to look at Riley as he started to approach them, "...Now that you're not trying to kill me… can we hug?"
"We already did, Karina," Riley answered as he just continued to walk past her, "Right before you disintegrated my clone."
"...That doesn't count," Karina pouted, "...Please?"
"No," Riley gently pushed Karina's face away as she tried to sneak her arms around him, "Please go away, Karina. The people around you are right— you should not associate yourself with me."
"...But you're my dad."
"That rarely matters, Karina. I believe you do not deserve someone that will never truly learn to love you," Riley shook his head before making his way to Vera and the others, "I suppose I may be your father, but I am not family, Karina…
…the people that have been taking care of you all these years, they are your family."
"...But I want you to be," Karina insisted. She was about to follow Riley, but Silvie stopped her.
"That's because you don't know me yet, Karina. Not really," Riley then let out a sigh as he stood in front of Vera; or more specifically, in front of the unconscious Guardian on the floor,
"This is who I am."
And then, without even any indication he was going to do anything…
…he stepped on the Guardian's leg— jolting him awake.
"Gr—"
And before the Guardian, Ineego, could even have the chance to scream in pain, Riley placed his hand inside his mouth— slightly ripping it open.
"Kh!" Ineego could really only let out a muffled gasp as he looked at Riley. He then quickly raised both his palms and faced them toward Riley's face; and with a grunt, two blue orbs that resembled the sun emerged from them.
But before the two orbs could really do anything… Ineego's hands were instantly squashed into a ball— the two orbs, also compressing to oblivion.
"I'm not interested in fighting you anymore, Guardian," Riley just sighed as he shook his head,
"If my daughter could easily beat you… then I would just be bored."
"Riley Ross, don't—"
And before Vera could say anything, Riley… pushed his hand deeper into Ineego's mouth.
"!!!"
Everyone could see Riley's arm slowly disappearing as Ineego's blue neck started bloat— the sound of his flesh and bone being shattered and pushed away, viscerally snapping in the air.
The hair and markings of the evaniels that were there started to light up, but once again, Vera gestured to them not to do anything.
They just watched as Ineego's body started to shake and seize as blood started to pour from all the orifices in his body.
Karina could no longer watch the scene unfold as she turned around and started to cry; embracing Silvie even though she didn't really know her.
"Ah, I think I found it."
And finally, after a few seconds of Riley rearranging the insides of the Guardian, he pulled his arm out. And as soon as he did so, Ineego's body dropped to the floor; his torso, almost like a wet lasagne as it made a plopping pop.
"Is this it, Princess Vera?" Riley then stretched his bloodied arm towards Vera; Ineego's flesh and guts, still dripping down from its sides.
"...What?" Vera looked at Riley's face first in confusion, before turning her eyes to the thing that Riley was holding in his hand,
"That…"
"Is this the Guardian Force?" Riley asked as a smile slowly started to crawl on his face,
"It's the only thing I couldn't break."
It was a red stone— a stone that looked like it held a collection of stars inside it.
"...Yes?" Vera took in a small gulp, "You… you should put that back, Riley. That belongs to the Guardian Corps."
"Not anymore," Riley shrugged before he just casually placed it in his pocket,
"I am giving it to father."
Chapter 435"The Guardian Corps isn't going to stand for this, you need to give it back to them."
"No."
"You— I need to report this to the Elders, Riley Ross."
"You do what you must, Princess Vera."
"...Can you let me go now?"
"Okay."
Riley and the others were no longer in the hangar bay and were instead in one of the many vast and empty fields inside the ship. As Silvie said, the evaniel's holding cell was no longer… usable. And so, princess Vera just decided to hold both Riley and Silvie in one of the indoor fields.
But of course, Vera attempted to snatch the Guardian Force from Riley— which she almost succeeded in doing so, but alas… the moment she had the stone in her hands, she felt herself unable to move.
The evaniels' bodies are almost indestructible in certain conditions. The way their physiology works is that the faster they are in movement, the stronger and more durable their body becomes— this is the reason why they were able to match the themarians in the past.
Of course, even when not moving, their strength and durability still far outmatch those of the Lower Races.
But Vera could feel it.
Riley Ross's strength was on par with the Higher Races. It is no wonder Aerith warned them about him.
Vera could feel it, if she tries to fight Riley head-on, she will die. Perhaps the only evaniel that could fight him alone was her mother, the Queen.
And so, with all of those thoughts circling in her mind, the light on Vera's hair slowly faded away, once again revealing her hair that was as green as the grass beneath their feet.
And as soon as the light on her tattoos also disappeared, Riley finally gently placed her back on the ground.
"I told you, she'll lose."
"Hm, but she did manage to snatch the stone."
And of course, as another prisoner, Silvie was also there in the field; watching as Vera tried to get the red stone from Riley.
Vera is fast… very fast. Even with Silvie's hyper senses, she would still lose sight of Vera as soon as he moved— almost like a fly or a mosquito; one blink, and you would lose them.
But alas, being fast means nothing when you're locked inside a cage. And that is exactly what fighting Riley Ross feels like— you're a literal fly inside his matchbox.
He could shake the box as much as he wants, and you wouldn't be able to do anything but hope that he stops.
"So… my dad really is the strongest being in the entire universe?"
Karina's eyes glistened as she watched each of Riley's movements in awe— almost letting out gasps even as Riley was just sitting down.
"..." Silvie could really only wonder why she was still here— wasn't she some sort of secret experiment or something that escaped? Shouldn't Diana be trying to find her right now?
Silvie didn't really mind, though. Although Karina looked like she was already around 16 years old or so, Silvie could see her as nothing but a large toddler…. Especially since she was holding her hand.
Silvie tried to pull away at first, but Karina just kept on innocently holding her hand.
She was basically the female version of Riley in terms of the way she looked— but in terms of everything else, Silvie was probably closer to Riley.
Karina was the complete opposite of Riley Ross… although their utter disregard for other people's boundaries was the same.
Although that too, was quite different. Riley's lack of boundaries is borderline creepy, but Karina? She just looked like a lost puppy.
"...Pft."
"Hm?"
"It's nothing."
That was bad, she thought. She just imagined what it would have been like if Riley was also like his supposed daughter.
Although Riley looked far from innocent since she already knew who he was and what he is capable of…
…You wouldn't really think he was a mass-murdering genocidal maniac.
"..." This is bad. She just imagined it again; Riley holding on to her like a toddler.
"..." Karina, who has holding Silvie's hand, could not help but very slowly let go of Silvie's hand when she started laughing on her own.
So it's true what her mother said— her father is also surrounded by weird people.
***
"And he killed the Guardian just like that?"
"Interesting. Anyway, did you watch my fight? It—"
"I believe it's time to take this situation seriously, Elders."
Once again, Vera was inside the Transmission Sphere, the large spherical hall that directly connects to the Elders. And once again, most of the Elders still seemed disinterested in what was happening.
Vera gets it, of course. These people have been managing the affairs of the entire universe for so long that the only thing they would probably find remotely interesting is whenever an entire star system gets wiped out.
"..." Then maybe she would lead with that.
"I believe Riley Ross is a Star-level threat."
And as soon as she said that, the Elders quickly stopped whatever it was they were doing and all turned their holographic and static heads toward Vera.
"He is also in the possession of the Guardian Force. I have been trying to get it from him, but any attempts… result in failure."
"You… can't get it from him?" The Elder with a sort of spiky hair, S'adar, finally stopped bragging about his fight in the tournament as his voice slightly turned serious,
"Are you saying this Riley Ross, from an unknown planet, is at the same Threat Level as your mother?"
"...My mother isn't a threat," Vera's eyes slightly twitched, "But yes, I believe in terms of raw practical ability to cause damage, then the two of them might be an even match. Princess Aerith has warned us about the human for a reason, I believe it's time to take this seriously."
"You said that he is in possession of a Guardian Force?" The Grand Elder, who had just been grunting and breathing loudly, finally spoke up as he leaned forward from his hovering throne,
"Is he finally going to do it himself?"
"Shh, be quiet."
"Then the Guardian Corps will take care of this affair on their own."
But alas, contrary to their expectations, the Grand Elder once again leaned back as he let out a sigh,
"But—"
"What of Princess Aerith? What news do you have on her after she took her son away?"
"...Nothing. But I think we should focus on Riley—"
"Then that is all we have left to talk about," the Grand Elder said as he and his throne very slowly turned around,
"You have to understand, Princess Vera. The Themarians are creatures of impulse— they would say one is a threat just because they were able to scratch a strand of hair on their head."
"Riley Ross and the inhabitants of Earth are no mere–"
Alas, Vera was not able to finish her words before the holograms surrounding her started to disappear one by one.
"Crooked legs," Vera cursed as her green hair started to lit up, "Why don't they just listen!? They also ignored my warnings about the Chaos company and look at where—"
Well, the holograms disappeared— except for one.
"You said Riley Ross is at the same level as your mother, the Queen?"
"Y… yes," Vera quickly calmed herself down as she looked at the remaining Elder, Zora— the Elder with an elongated head that seemed to be fairly acquainted with her mother.
And with his hologram being the only connection left, his silhouette that was veiled from all the static slowly became clearer and clearer— revealing that he, in fact, did not have an elongated head.
He was wearing something similar to a turban; his skin, completely black but still very much humanoid… except for the fact that his nose and mouth were more akin to that of a feline; the side of his face and from the neck down, seemingly covered with fur.
"I happen to have fought your mother before, when you were but a cub," Elder Zora then said with a small sigh, "I believe it would have been 2 rotations ago now according to your planet."
"...Yes, my mother has told me about it several times," Vera nodded.
"Has she also told you that we have never really decided a victor?"
"...I'm afraid my mother says she always won."
"That's typical of her," Elder Zora shook his head, "You seem to be very interested and invested in this planet and Riley Ross."
"And I wonder why you and the rest are not."
"What exactly do you expect us to do? Go there to check it ourselves? Us gathering just for a single individual from an unknown galaxy is already a testament enough that we are paying attention to this."
"That's not enough! Princess Aerith herself warned us about him."
"You have to understand, the Rebel Princess has… a certain notoriety to her name."
"She is still one of, if not the strongest recorded Themarian!"
"That is true as well," Elder Zora nodded, "That's why I will talk to the Guardian General myself about what you reported."
"...What?"
"The others might see it as just another small event, but the Guardian Corps treat all of their people like family— they will send a lot of other Guardians…
…and I will be going with them."
"...This will get the attention of everyone, Elder Zora," Vera took in a small gulp.
"Isn't that what you wanted?" Elder Zora let out a small chuckle,
"You, Princess Vera, will be the one to unveil Earth to the rest of the Universe."
Chapter 436"Riley!?"
"Are you spying on me, sister?"
"...No. You're literally in front of the house. I saw you from the cameras."
"That is called spying on me, sister."
In front of the Ross' Residence, Riley's foot was about to step inside their house; before he could do so, however, Hannah suddenly landed on their front lawn. They used to be very careful with showing their abilities in the neighborhood— but ever since it was revealed that Bernard Ross was Whiteking, some of their neighbors left in fear for their lives due to all the villains that would probably target him.
But then Riley Ross was revealed to be Darkday, that's when their entire subdivision decided to clear out. The owner of the subdivision didn't mind, of course… because the owner was Bernard Ross himself, just registered in a completely made-up identity.
And so, with everything already out there, the need for pretense was over.
"I'm not fucking spying on you, the cameras are connected to my phone!" Hannah could really only roll her eyes as she approached Riley, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be locked up with Silvie?"
"I am still with Silvie, this is a clone," Riley glanced at Hannah for a few moments, before shrugging and entering the house, "She says hello, by the way."
"And what are you doing here?" Hannah repeated her question as she too rushed to enter the house.
"...This is our house, sister. Why wouldn't I be here?"
"Stop fucking around, you know what I mean," Hannah once again rolled her eyes as she followed Riley around the house as he started walking everywhere, "What are you trying to find!?"
"Father," Riley casually answered, "I believe I should also ask you the same question, sister. What are you doing here?"
"I just told you I saw you on the cameras!"
"Yes, but why are you here? Were you not just attending Golden Fox's funeral?"
"How—"
"I believe this is also the first time in a year that you will be visiting the house, sister."
"...How would you know that?"
"Because I am spying on you, sister."
"...Creep," Hannah scoffed, before finally grabbing Riley's wrist and telling him to stop, "Dad's obviously not here. I would have also been alerted on my phone if… no, never mind that. You think he might be in the basement under the bunker?"
"He might be, but we are not allowed there, sister," Riley nodded as he faced Hannah.
"...Since when did you value other people's space?" Hannah raised her eyebrow as she started dragging Riley away, "I don't know why you're trying to find him, but let's go— I think it's time for the three of us to have a real heart-to-heart discussion as a family. All these crazy things have been happening around us that we barely even talk about the elephant in the room."
"Elephant… are you referring to yourself because you're gaining weight, sister?"
"What!? No, fuck! I only gained 1 pound."
"Is that before or after pooping, sister?"
"Ew, seriously, Riley!?"
"It's a legitimate question. Did you know that on average, the average human loses about—"
"I don't want to talk about poop!"
"But you just said you wanted a heart-to-heart talk. Talking about one of the dirtiest secretions from our body is as intimate as—"
"Ugh, just stop!"
The two once again stepped out of the house, making their way to the bunker that was located just a few steps near the side of their home. And as they opened the hatch and started to step down, Hannah could not help but feel… a slight melancholy suddenly wrapping her entire body.
This… is where it all started to change— Megawoman's supposed defeat from Darkday. Come to think of it, when she fetched Riley from his room that day, was it actually him… or just another one of his clones?
"..." Hannah didn't really want to find out the answer to that for some reason. And so, she just stood there; standing in the bunker in silence as she just let her mind wonder and wander. It was almost as if she was already living in a completely different world and a different life.
…No. With the aliens finally reaching out to them with intent of diplomacy, Earth truly is a completely different world than what it was before all of the things unfolded. Was there actually a way for things to have not become like—
"Do you know how to get to father's secret lair, sister?"
And before Hannah could dig through the deepest parts of her imagination, Riley stood right in front of her face.
"...No, I thought you knew?" Hannah's shoulders dropped as she started looking around the empty bunker.
"I don't, sister. I would not have called it a secret lair if I did," Riley looked Hannah straight in the eyes; his face, obviously looking at her as if she was the one loose in the head.
"Fuck you, okay?" Hannah smiled and nodded before she started walking around and tapping the walls and floors.
"...What are you doing, sister?"
"Trying to find a secret button, I don't know!" Hannah shouted in frustration as she waved her hands around, "Why don't you try to help instead of just standing there!? Seriously, more than two years and you haven't changed a single bit!"
"Why is everyone saying I haven't changed? I believe I did, sister."
"...You? I specifically remember you not changing your underwear for an entire week because you said you didn't like the feeling of another underwear!"
"I believe that was a valid reason at the time, sister," Riley shrugged as he too started walking around the bunker instead of just using his abilities to check around for any switch that may be there.
"It's fucking disgusting is what it is! Remember when you didn't want to take a bath for weeks for the nth time!?"
"I didn't like the feeling of the new showerhead, sister."
"The germs, Riley!"
"They are necessary organisms, sister."
"W—"
And before the two could continue their senseless talks, a part of the floor suddenly opened up.
"...You press something?"
"No, sister."
"...I guess dad's home."
And with the two nodding at each other, they completely stopped their conversation and made their way down; with Hannah slightly taking in a small gulp. And although it was not as obvious, Riley's eyes were also slightly squinting.
Not once, not even once have they been allowed inside Bernard's secret basement. The two tried several times to find a way to sneak in, but Bernard would always catch them for some reason.
And now… after more or less 2 decades, they were finally invited by their father.
And after taking the stairs for almost an entire minute, they arrived in a hall— a bright basement that probably encompassed the entire area of the subdivision. It looked relatively empty… except for all the weird machinery and suits of armor just neatly scattered everywhere.
"It's… more boring than I imagined," Hannah blinked a couple of times; her eyes, still glistening as she continued to look at all the things that were there, "Riley, look! Isn't that a spear of those blue aliens that invaded us? I wonder what he's doing with it."
"He is probably trying to reverse engineer it, sister. Turn it into a weapon that could destroy entire islands in one swing."
"...He wouldn't do that."
And just like that, the two suddenly became children again; children that seemed to be touring in some sort of museum as their eyes looked everywhere.
"That's not their weapon, it's a variant I made that could be used by normal people… just in case."
It was easy to dismiss Bernard whenever they were surrounded by supers that could destroy mountains with their fists— but in his territory, he truly was quite the presence. Even now, as he approached the two while wearing his superhero uniform, Hannah could feel a certain pride oozing out of him.
That… or because he's their father.
"...Why are you wearing your Whiteking suit?" Hannah squinted her eyes, "Last I checked, Empress said you're not allowed to go out there anymore."
"Well, I'm not out there, am I?"
"He has a point, sister."
"Ugh, shut up," Hannah rolled her eyes, "Just so you know, it was Riley's idea to visit you."
"Oh?" Bernard smiled, "And here I thought I heard you saying something about heart-to-heart?"
"You were listening in on us!? Of course, you were… Riley got it from you."
"Hm," Bernard nodded.
"...That's not something to be proud of, dad. I… I can't," Hannah pinched the bridge of her nose, "Riley, just do what you came here for so we can leave."
"Here you go, father."
And without even waiting for anyone else to say something, Riley stretched his hand towards Bernard.
"...That is?" Bernard's helmet folden open as he looks at Riley's hand; his clearly emaciated eyes, reflecting the red stone that seemed to hold several stars in them.
"It's a Guardian Force. Be careful, it's quite heavy."
"..." Hannah also curiously looked at the stone, somewhat feeling a sense of familiarity with it, "...What the fuck is that?"
"I'm giving it to father. It gives physically weak creatures power, or so I was told."
"...What?" Bernard leaned closer to the stone; his mask, once again unfolding and covering his face,
"This… the amount of energy it radiates is insane. Just… where did you get this?"
"It was personally delivered to me by a Guardian, father."
"...What the fuck is a Guardian? Another one of your new alien friends?"
"I don't have friends, sister."
"Why… are you giving it to me?"
"Swallow it, father."
"...What?"
"Swallow it."
Chapter 437"Why don't you just try swallowing it, father?"
"...No."
"God fucking damn it, dad! Just swallow the goddamn thing so we can get this over with!"
"Why don't you swallow it since you seem to be so good at it!?"
"What the fuck, dad!? I haven't even touched a person's dick yet! Why are you always so inappropriate!?"
"Does that mean you have held another creature's penis, sister?"
"What? No!"
"It is okay, sister. I am learning from Paige how to be accepting of other people's beliefs and preferences."
"Why the fuck are you so disgusting!? I swear that Paige isn't a good influence on you!"
It had been a couple of hours since Riley gave the Guardian Force; but alas, not even a drop of Bernard's saliva made contact with the stone yet as he refused to do what Riley wanted him to do.
Instead, he had been studying the little stone; carefully and intricately as he even repurposed some of his machines— creating some sort of incubator that had several mechanical hands so that he wouldn't have to touch it himself.
He also didn't want a repeat of what happened earlier. When Riley handed him the stone, he didn't notice the problem immediately since he was wearing his armor. But as soon as he took a step, the power that his suit was automatically distributing to several parts of his body and enhancing his strength started to suddenly sag…
…causing him to almost break his whole arm, shoulder, and spine as the weight of the little stone finally registered to him.
He was too engrossed with everything that was happening that he didn't even see the 'over capacity' warning that his helmet's heads-up display was showing him ever since he held the stone.
Although his armor didn't let him reach the strength of Hera, it still allows him to lift and throw tanks as if they were just empty cardboard boxes— and so, for the stone to cause his armor to almost instantly lose power, it was heavy; extremely so.
Fortunately for Bernard, before it could reach the floor, Riley lifted it up in the air. And he did so until Bernard was able to build a case to place it in.
"Can the two of you keep quiet for a few seconds!?" Bernard could not help but raise his voice as he couldn't concentrate on the stone,
"I thought the two of you would have already become adults with everything that has happened and yet here you are, bickering like children."
"It's Riley's fault," Hannah rolled her eyes before she walked away and once again just started roaming around Bernard's large basement.
"Don't touch anything."
"I'm going to touch whatever I want," Hannah scoffed as she approached the spear that was displayed on one of the tables.
"...I wonder how I even survived you two," Bernard could really only shake his head as he turned his focus back to the stone.
"You weren't really around that much, father. It was mother that mostly took care of Hannah and me."
"...Yeah," Bernard whispered; his voice, lowering to the point that it became just a whisper, "I… wasn't really there much, was I?"
"It's fine, father. You weren't needed anyway besides the monetary value you added to the family."
"Pft," Bernard could not help but let out a small chuckle, before letting out a short but very deep sigh as he once again turned his eyes to the stone,
"You said you got this thing from inside someone's stomach?"
"Yes, father."
"Interesting. One would normally die if they swallow a stone that's equivalent to an entire airplane bus in weight," Bernard squinted his eyes as he looked at the stone, before turning towards the several screens beside him,
"The energy it is emitting is more than an entire nuclear power plant, much more. It also seems to be recovering any of its lost power since it's just fluctuating in a certain range…incredible. This could be used to power the entire country continuously and it would last for years before being completely depleted. But since it seems to be charging by itself, we could use it again… if only you had two of it so we could—"
"I didn't give that to you for the purpose of powering the city or anything else, father."
And before Bernard could continue to express his awe, Riley's words disrupted his thoughts.
"I gave it to you so that you will become stronger," Riley then said as he also looked at the Guardian Force.
"...But this would be better used in providing relief, Riley," Bernard removed his eyes away from the stone and the monitors, "It could also make our technological advancement jump to more than a thousand years. Its practical application is almost endless."
"Stop fucking pretending to care about the people, dad," Hannah returned from her small tour as she stood in front of the case holding the Guardian Force, "If you did, you would have quit your job as a hero a long time ago and just helped improve lives with your shit. But no, you created weapons for yourself."
"Because that is what was needed at that time," Bernard sighed before looking at his armor, "And what I have couldn't really be mass-produced."
"Just swallow the goddamn thing, dad," Hannah also let out a small sigh, "I doubt blank face here would let you help humanity anyway."
"...I will die if I swallow it. I am certain there are other procedures that need to be realized before I could actually be compatible with this thing."
"Then just put it in your armor," Hannah shrugged.
"That is also too dangerous," Bernard shook his head, "The energy it is emitting is too large to compress— it could explode with just one wrong move and cause an explosion that would probably more or less destroy half the planet."
"Oh, oh!" Hannah's eyes then turned wide as she quickly rush to Bernard and started tapping him several times on the shoulders, "Build a giant fucking mecha suit! Like V's, except as large as an entire building!"
"I will let you have it if you use it for something like that, father."
"...That will only be usable in a lower gravity environ— How old are you two again?"
Bernard's sighs echoed through the large basement as the recommendations and words of his children started to fill his mind. The only thing he could really do was try to listen to his own breaths so he would be able to continue to study the stone in peace.
He found, however, that he didn't really need to close his ears as Riley suddenly started heading to the exit of the basement.
"...Where are you going?" Hannah could not help but squint her eyes. She was about to follow Riley out, but Riley just told him that he was just going to get something from the house and would return immediately. And so, she just shrugged her shoulders before watching Bernard do whatever it is he was trying to do with the stone.
Not even a minute after, however, they heard Riley coming back.
"That was fast, what did you even— what the fuck even is that?"
And before Hannah could even ask her first question, her eyes quickly widened in shock to the point her entire head almost leaned back just from the sheer force of how fast her eyes opened.
"..." Bernard could not help but be distracted by how Hannah reacted, and so, he also removed his eyes from the stone as he turned around…
..only to see a white-haired, absurdly pale-skinned girl standing beside Riley.
"Introduce yourself, Karina."
"O… of course," Karina took in a small gulp, before taking in a deep breath as walking toward Hannah,
"My name is Karina. Nice to meet you, aunt Hannah."
"W—"
And before Hannah could even utter another word, Karina suddenly hugged her.
"I've always wanted to meet you!"
"...What?" Hannah wanted to pull away and move, but she couldn't really do anything as she just stood there petrified, "Riley… explain… now."
"I suppose she is my biological daughter, sister. Her mother is Katherine, you remember her, right?"
"Of course, I fucking remember, but what the fuck is this?" Hannah said as she pointed both her index fingers towards Karina's head.
"I already said that she's my biological daughter. Mother did something to accelerate and hasten her physical—"
"Grandpa!"
This time, it was Riley's words that were disrupted as Karina quickly pulled away from Hannah and leaped straight to Bernard, and hugged him as well.
"I've heard many stories about you from aunt Diana— wait," Karina then pulled away before looking Bernard straight in the eyes, "All this time I've been calling aunt Diana 'aunt Diana'... when it should have been grandma Diana!? What!?"
And then once again, Karina embraced Bernard, who also couldn't really do anything but just let Karina wrap her arms around him.
"..." Bernard also turned to look at Riley; but unlike Hannah, however, Bernard's hand slowly made its way to Karina's head… gently patting her hair as tears suddenly fell from his eyes.
And very soon, Bernard kneeled to the floor to return Karina's embrace as he started to let out a cry. Never once has he been able to feel Riley's hug, and he could not help but think that if he had just done more as a father, then maybe there could have been a version out there where Riley… would have turned out okay.
Karina had no idea why Bernard cried, but soon, she too, started to cry. The two continued on like this— and right when Hannah thought they wouldn't stop… another visitor suddenly arrived in the basement.
"Oh my, no one invited me to the family gathering?"
"...Mom?"
Chapter 438"...Mom?"
Hannah and the others turned their heads up, watching as Diana slowly made her way down the stairs. She just strolled there casually, almost as if she just came back from buying groceries; none of them really knew what to say at the moment— except for Hannah.
"This… thing is your doing?" Hannah said as she pointed at Karina.
"That thing is your brother's daughter," Diana quickly answered; the tone of her voice, slightly stern as she looked Hannah straight in the eyes. After several more steps down, however, she turned her attention to Karina, who was hiding behind Bernard.
"Ah, aunt— Grandma Diana!?"
Karina's entire body quickly jolted up as soon as their eyes met. Karina tried her very best to not stray her eyes away; her hea, however, didn't seem to share the same sentiment,
"I… I didn't sneak out! I just accidentally found out that an alien was coming for dad. But that is totally unrelated when I decided to take a walk… out in space… and then accidentally bumped into the alien and…" Karina's voice very slowly started to turn weak as her lies started to get mixed up,
"...The alien is dead since dad killed him, so he can't really tell you if I'm lying!"
"..." Diana could really only sigh as she finally completely made her down to the basement,
"It's fine," she then said, "We knew you escaped. We figured it was time for you to socialize with other people."
"...Oh," Karina quickly stepped out from behind Bernard as she shrugged her shoulders, "Look, grandma Diana, it's grandpa Bernard."
"I see that," Diana let out a small breath as she looked at Bernard, "Husband…
…have you been doing well?"
"..." Bernard could really only squint his eyes in response. But after a few more moments, he also let out a sigh and started gesturing across the basement,
"As you can see, I'm trying to pretend to be busy."
"..."
"..."
"I'm… truly sorry, hon," Diana then whispered as she looked Bernard straight in the eyes, "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you what I was. It's just… not really something I can reveal."
"..." Bernard returned Diana's glare, before closing his eyes and nodding, "We… all have our secrets. I can't really be angry at you."
"Still, it must have been really hard when—"
"Fuck, this is such a dysfunctional family!" And before the two could start their conversation, Hannah let out a curse, "What did you even come here for, you alien?"
"..."
"I heard all of the shit that's been happening now can all be traced back to you," Hannah crossed her arms before stepping in front of Riley and blocking him from Diana's sight,
"Even Riley's like this because of you! I've always blamed dad for not being around… but you… you didn't even exist at all. Everything was just… pretend."
"That's not fair, Hannah," Diana's eyebrows started to furrow, "I was always there for this family and you know it."
"Yeah, because we're all your one big fucking science experiment. You… you've done a lot of awful stuff to people, mom."
"You know nothing about what—"
"Exactly! I don't even know who the fuck you are! You—"
"Hannah! Can you just shut the fuck up for once in your life!?" And before Hannah could finish her words, Diana suddenly let out a scream that was enough to shake the entire basement,
"Let me talk to your father first, then you and I will have a nice, civil conversation, okay?"
"You—"
"I suggest you calm down now. Okay, sweetie?" Diana let out a sigh as she smiled at Hannah.
"..." That was a line that Hannah has heard probably more than a million times from her mother— but now that she knew who she was, her scolding felt… very different.
"..."
"..."
And finally, as Hannah rolled her eyes and just looked to the side, Diana gained the chance to approach Bernard. Her eyes, however, quickly moved towards the red stone beside her husband.
"...I thought I felt the energy of a guardian here," she said as she stared at the Guardian Force.
"Yes, a guardian delivered it to me," Riley quickly answered.
"...There's probably more of them on the way now," Diana let out a sigh as soon as she heard Riley's words, "They're like ants, these guardians… except more annoying. Aerith and I can't get involved with them— Earth has to deal with them on its own."
"That means more stones, mother."
"...Just make sure not to destroy Earth or any of the other planets, okay?" Diana pinched the bridge of her nose as she remembered the time Riley just nonchalantly destroyed Mars.
"It's fine, mother. We were actually debating on how father would be able to use the Guardian Force, perhaps you can give him an idea? Hannah wanted to create a giant mecha suit with it."
"Hey, don't tell her that!"
"Just… swallow it," Diana blinked a couple of times before looking at Bernard, "The training these Guardians do is only for the sake of developing the mental fortitude as a soldier. Your father has that and many more. Knowing him…
…he could probably use it better than them in just a few seconds."
"...You think so?" A small smile slowly crawled on Bernard's face as he looked Diana in the eyes.
"I've known you almost all your life, hon. Your raw intellect is at a level that could easily surpass the universe's greatest minds, you just don't know how to apply it properly. There's also the fact that you could be very stupid sometimes…
…But above all, you always put your family first," Diana then said as she glanced at Riley and Hannah,
"Your humanity limits you… but I suppose that is why I was so fascinated and in love with you," Diana whispered as she gently brushed her hand on Bernard's cheek, "...And I still am."
"...Ew," Karina quickly stuck out her tongue, before letting out a small giggle and shaking her entire body.
As for Hannah, her eyebrows could not be any lower.
"What the fuck is wrong with you two!? Dad, mom is an alien! Not just any alien, but a mad scientist alien that's done a lot of awful shit!"
"...If your mother could forgive me for cheating on her, then forgiving something like that is easy, Hannah. You would understand once you fall—"
"That's not even at the same level, dad! Seriously… Riley, help me out here!"
"Sister is right, father. You should be killed for cheating on mother."
"...I give up."
"So…" And while Hannah was done with everything, Karina's eyes seemed to glisten as they watch the scene unfold in front of her,
"...This is what being a complete family is all about."
"No, it's not!" Hannah quickly covered Karina's ears, "Please… you're the only chance this family is ever going to be normal."
"...But I don't want to be normal?" Karina blinked a couple of times as she removed Hannah's hands from her ears and looked at her, "If I'm normal in a family of non-normals… then I'm the abnormal one."
"I always knew that was the case," Riley let out a deep sigh as he placed his hand on Hannah's shoulder and started shaking his head, "It's alright, sister. I accept you even if you're abnormal."
"I'm going to ignore that," Hannah rolled her eyes, before once again looking at Diana, "Speaking of which… for real this time, who is this child, mom?"
"Riley and Katherine's daughter."
"I thought you said you were using protection!?" Hannah quickly pointed at Riley; her mother's words, almost like a hammer that pierced her ears.
"I was," Riley nodded before looking at Diana, "I made sure of it."
"Well…" Diana looked to the side, "I sort of used something I got from your undies when you were just undergoing through—"
"Stop, please stop. I don't want to hear anymore," Hannah quickly covered Karina's ears again, "Fuck, mom! That's disgusting!"
"...It's science."
"No wonder Riley doesn't know anything about privacy!"
***
"What do you think those two idiots are talking about?"
"I am not interested in their conversation, sister."
"Fuck… maybe you got your preference for older women from dad, Riley."
"Hm?"
"Dad's literally married to someone that's like thousands of years old or something. There's also your weird obsession about Megawoman, a themarian."
"But I am adopted, sister."
"The fuck does that matter? You're practically Bernard Jr."
"If I do have a preference, sister. Then I believe it would be you."
"You— can you stop staring?"
And while the siblings were busy exchanging words, Karina's eyes were also busy looking back and forth between the two as they talked.
"You guys are talking about adult stuff, right?" Karina raised her eyebrows repeatedly.
"Yes, Karina."
"Cool, cool… I'm an adult too."
"You're literally not even 3 years old, kid," Hannah could really only shake her head as she looked at the overgrown toddler in front of her, "What do you even plan to do with her, Riley!? Send her to college or something!?"
"I initially planned to kill her, sister."
"...What?"
"That's true," Karina immediately nodded, "He tried to kill me when we first met."
"Fuck… Riley!?"
"Not anymore, sister," Riley shrugged, "But once I know she doesn't revive like I do, I will kill her."
"...The fuck you are," Hannah scoffed as she pulled Karina away and put her behind her.
Riley really only looked at the two, before turning his attention back to Diana and Bernard… only to see Bernard finally swallowing the Guardian Force.
"Oh, he's doing it," Riley said as a smile very slowly crawled on his face.
"...Why did you even decide to give him something like that anyway?"
"Dad is married and related to a themarian," Riley let out a small sigh, "You have seen what happens when a powerless creature involved itself with a god, sister."
"..."
"I was talking about Gary, sis—"
"I know, I know," Hannah slightly pushed Riley away, "Just…
…I hope you made the right decision."
Chapter 439"How many Guardians responded to the call?"
"All of them. But I ordered most to just go back to their posts, these 12 should be more than enough."
Somewhere in the wide expanse of the Universe, Elder Zora's feline-like eyes reflected the dozen ships that were neatly floating in front of him. Beside him is a tattooed, silver-haired man; an evaniel wearing a Guardian's uniform.
"I take it you're also going?" Elder Zora said as he scratched the fur on his neck, "For a Guardian from a Higher Race to also respond to the call, I believe this number to actually be a bit overkill."
"My… kind is involved in this," the evaniel Guardian shook his head, "I need to be there."
"Hm," Zora nodded as he turned his focus back to the dozen ships that were now disappearing into a beam one by one, "Well then…
…It is time to see what has the princess all riled up."
***
"How is your original body, Riley?"
"Still in the evaniel's ship, Paige."
"...I miss you, you know? Your clone is always here and acting like you, but I can still tell when it's not you."
On the beach in front of the Paige and Paragon Superhero Agency, Riley's dark eyes were reflecting the endless blue in front of him. His breaths, almost leisurely as he sat on a towel perfectly laid down on the sand while Paige then rested on his lap.
John, Ellie, and her brother were also there. The three were practically living in the Paige and Paragon building since no one was really using it.
No one's registering. Not only because one of the owners was Darrkday, but because people were just too busy still trying to recover from what the House of Super did… as well as the alien stuff.
Even the villains were seemingly taking a break— there was absolutely nothing to do.
"You sure you don't want me to break you out, Boss?"
John, who was standing near the water, let out a loud sigh as he looked at Riley, "I know you can escape on your own, but at least it gives me something to do. At this point, I might as well go back to milking the cows just to relieve my boredom."
"...Boredom?" Ellie, who was just relaxing and bathing her skin in the sun, quickly turned her head to John and raised one of her eyebrows.
"I…. I was just kidding, of course," John forced a chuckle, before quickly running to the water to join Elliot.
"..." Paige watched John and Elliot play on the water for a few seconds, before letting out a very long and deep sigh as she sat up,
"John has a point. There really is no point with the agency anymore," she weakly muttered as she looked in the direction of their building, "I… was really hopeful about this working, but the House of Super just had to mess things up."
"Hm," Riley did not really say anything and just nodded his head.
"I imagined myself just welcoming people in the lobby. Managing what our heroes post and stream. I even imagined myself kicking people out for posting inappropriate stuff. It… was a grand dream. But now, we do have a ton of members… but they are just your Guests, Riley."
"..." Riley remained quiet as Paige started giggling quietly.
"And they're not really posting anything because there's nothing to post!"
"I apologize, Paige," and finally, Riley spoke.
"...Why are you apologizing?"
"I believe one way or another, everything bad that has happened could be traced back to me."
"What? No, pft," Paige shook her head, "The House of Super just used your name to incite some weak-willed people."
"It is still true that if I didn't exist…" Riley also shook his head, "...most of the catastrophes that have happened in the last decade wouldn't have happened."
"If you didn't exist, then I would have never met John," Ellie, who had been quietly just relaxing on the side, suddenly joined in on the conversation; she didn't look at the two, however,
"But then again, you have a point."
"I… share the same sentiment, Riley," Paige said as she rested her head on Riley's shoulder, "I also wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. I am sure you also inspired other people."
"Perhaps, but I am certain they were also devastated when they learned that I was Darkday," Riley let out a breath as he closed his eyes.
"W… well, you—"
"Thank you, everyone," Riley did not let Paige say another word as he looked at her straight in the eyes, "And to you, Paige. You have been very good to me…
…I just wish I could have repaid your feelings."
"That…" Paige's eyes slightly trembled as she felt Riley's palm on her cheek. She wanted to say something, but instead just once again rested her head on his shoulder.
"..."
"..."
"Anyway, when do we get to meet your daughter?"
"She is still at the house, Paige. Watching father grovel in pain."
"...What?"
"He swallowed the Guardian Force. Mother said it was a natural reaction."
"I… see," Paige blinked a couple of times, not knowing whether to laugh or be worried, "But… wow. You have a daughter— just when I thought it couldn't get anymore… fun."
Paige giggled for a while, before returning to rest on Riley's lap. She then let out a very long and deep breath as she stared at the sky,
"I guess the Age of Heroes and Villains really is over. Just… why did it have to end in our generation? And to think we were just…
…Ack!" Paige then started wriggling in frustration; if it wasn't for Riley, then the towel would be all over the place and sand would have been flying everywhere.
"This is so frustrating!" Paige screamed, but quickly recovered herself as she took in another breath, "Well… At least our generation can go beyond the stars now, so there's that. But what do we— wait."
Paige's eyes then suddenly turned wide as she once again sat back up, "I… I have a genius idea, Riley!"
"What is it?" Riley tilted his head as he returned Paige's… fiery gaze.
"This is even more fun than the whole conquering planets deal. Are you ready to hear it!?"
"Hm."
"Since you practically ended the Age of Heroes here…" Paige said as her hands slowly raise in the air, "We…
…we will find another planet and start the Age of Heroes there!"
"..." Riley could really only blink a couple of times as he heard Paige's words.
"Just think about it! We… will do what Megawoman did! Megawoman started the Age of Heroes here…" Paige then pulled her hair back as she almost gritted her teeth in excitement, "Just imagine, Riley…
…You can be the Megawoman of another planet!"
"But I am not a woman, Paige."
"...I meant you can be what Megawoman is to Earth to another planet."
"..." Riley still seemed confused as he once again tilted his head to the side. But after a few seconds, his eyes started to widen,
"I… can be like Megawoman?" He said with a slow voice, "I can be…
…Megaman?"
"...I'm pretty sure that name is taken, but we can think of a name later!" Paige smiled, "You're an alien, escaping a dying world. Previously a villain… you have a perfect backstory!"
"..." Riley's eyes continued to turn wide as a smile very slowly crawled on his face. But after a few more moments, his smile disappeared,
"But I am inherently evil, Paige. I would most likely become their harbinger of ruin, much like in this world."
"...That's something to be discussed later," Paige squinted her eyes, "But isn't this a cool plan!? I'll be there to document everything!"
"Hm."
"This is it, Riley!" Paige then said as she stretched her arms to the side, showing images of several different statues of Riley, "Our new dream— no, our new goal!"
"Hm."
"..." Ellie, who heard the entire conversation, could really only shake her head and sigh. Their conversations were always like this— always jumping to something grandiose. But since the other party was Riley, perhaps it could actually be done.
"We should start thinking of your new costume now…" Paige continued to talk, "...or maybe we just use your Paragon identity? I think… it's perfect, isn't it? We—"
"Excuse me."
And before Paige could continue to share her vision, two women coming from the direction of the building approached them.
"We… were told that we could find Paige and Paragon here?"
"Ah, that's us!" Paige quickly stood up and raised her hand; her decently-sized bosoms, almost jiggling as she was only wearing a swimsuit.
"We were told to find you?" The older one of the two stepped closer to Paige, "We came from the building but they said you were out here."
"Could… you two be heroes that want to join the agency?"
"Ah, yes!" The woman nodded.
"Oh… we're actually closing the agency soon," Paige could not help but let out a small sigh, "But we can still— Riley?"
And before Paige could finish her words, Riley stood up from the ground and walked in front of her.
"You're Alice Lane," he then said as he looked at the middle-aged woman.
"..." The woman turned to look at her companion, before turning her focus back to Riley. And after a few seconds, she let out a sigh.
"Damn…" And very soon the woman's face started to very slowly wriggle and deform,
"...How'd you know?"
"Because you are with Katherine," Riley said as he looked at the dull-looking woman behind her,
"I recognize her smell."
Chapter 440"I recognize Silvermoon's smell."
The two women looked average, too average. Soon, however, both of their faces started to contort; almost as if reflecting the waves of the ocean itself. And then, a few moments more, their faces turned into someone Riley was very familiar with.
"Katherine, it had been a while."
"...Is that you, Riley?"
Katherine stepped forward— her hair, soon turning silver as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "That's not a clone?"
Katherine's eyes soon turned to look at Riley from head to toe; her hands, massaging her face as she stretched her jaw. She then looked at Paige, before a… very awkward smile crawled on her still numb face.
"..." As for Paige, she could really only raise her hand, before also letting out an awkward chuckle as she waved at Katherine.
"It's a clone, Katherine," Riley finally answered as he too stared at Katherine's face. Did Alice use telekinesis to change the shape of the muscles and flesh on their faces? Riley never really thought of using his abilities like that… he didn't need to, after all,
"But I am currently controlling it. It… is good to see you are alive."
"I… thought you were dead." This time, the awkward smile on Katherine's face slowly became true as she turned her eyes back to Riley, "If anything… I'm glad to see you too."
"Hm," Riley nodded, "But perhaps it would have been preferable if you introduced Karina fi—"
And before Riley could finish his words, he felt an embrace suddenly wrapping around him as Alice, without any warning, hugged him. Her face, red as it could be as she seemed to want to whisper something.
No— she wanted to wail and scream, but what sort of voice or words should escape her mouth?
She had always imagined what it would have been like to witness and watch her son grow up— something that shouldn't have been an imagination or a fantasy at all. But alas, her life was cut short.
It didn't really matter for her; it didn't matter what he looked like, what he had done. It didn't matter that he was taller than her. It didn't matter that he looked at her like a total stranger.
In her arms, she could only see her baby.
She will never let go of him… no matter how short her life could be this time.
"..."
And while Alice was being overwhelmed by emotions she could barely describe, Riley really only let out a breath; his head, slowly turning to look at Alice before his eyes started to squint.
"Please let go, Alice Lane," he whispered.
Alice, however, only shook her head as her embrace only got tighter.
"Did you know, Alice…" Riley then let out a sigh, "...the last time you hugged me was the first time I died?"
And as soon as Riley said that, the sand beneath them started to bounce and tremble; rippling almost as if they were boiling as they soon faintly reflected the sun above.
"Shit!" John, who was watching what was happening from afar, could not help but grit his teeth as he felt and saw what was happening. He then flicked his finger, immediately lifting Elliot, Ellie, and Paige into the air as he did so.
"..." Katherine also flew into the air, quickly trying to gain distance from whatever it was that was happening around the two telekinetic titans. And very soon, the only thing that Katherine could really hear were her own breaths.
The sea that was whispering its song, now completely frozen. The wind that harmonized with it, now without a whistle or even a breath… almost as if everything was just… dead.
The space surrounding Alice and Riley also started to distort. If one were to try and squint their eyes, one could see a sort of crack being made in the air— a void.
"Should… we let this continue?" Ellie could not help but take in a small gulp as she watched space and light itself starting to disappear; her eyes, also glancing at the Paige and Paragon building to see if it was still okay— after all, they live there now.
"You know a way to stop Boss and his biological mother?" John quickly replied as he floated closer to Ellie.
"..."
"Right…" John could really only sigh as Ellie once again glared at him, "Well… at the very least, I can do this."
And with those words, John's golden hair started to wave; his arms, very slowly stretching to the side. And as soon as he did so, the ocean that seemed frozen in time once again started to move.
"Can't let you destroy our new home, Boss…" John then let out a very long and deep sigh as he shook his head,
"... Hope he doesn't get angry at me."
***
Somewhere in the expanse of the solar system, several beams of light started raining down like comets— before also instantly disappearing and leaving with it 14 identical spacecraft.
"Why did you cancel the hyperdrive, Elder Zora?"
"...My ship's detecting an anomaly coming directly from the planet."
Perhaps the only one that wasn't identical to the rest of the ships was the one that belonged to Elder Zora. Unlike the rest which were pyramid in shape, Zora's ship was spherical.
"The energy is almost similar to that of a black hole," Elder Zora's eyes reflected a hologram that was being shown inside his small spherical ship.
"I see it too," the evaniel Guardian's voice echoed through Zora's ship, "What do you want to do, Elder?"
"...I'll check it myself," Elder Zora squinted his eyes as his ship started to move, "Let me borrow half of your people. The rest of you meet with Princess Vera."
"Very well."
And without even as much as an exchange of precaution, the evaniel guardian's ship flew away— followed by 6 other Guardian ships.
Elder Zora's ship also soon flew away, followed by the remaining guardians. Their speed may seem slow, but they were going at a speed that none of the Earth's spacecrafts are capable of yet.
And very soon, the view of the big blue painted the reflective surfaces of their ships.
"This planet… is fairly young," Elder Zora's nose started to move as he stared at Earth, "I can smell nothing but death— to be expected since their people have just come from war…
…Let's go."
An incessant and almost visceral rumble started to surround Zora's ship as he entered the Earth's atmosphere. It did not last long, however, as the view from his holographic screens shifted almost in a blur.
A green forest.
A desert.
An ocean.
And soon, a shore as they arrived at their destination.
Elder Zora quickly got off of his ship— or perhaps it was better to say he was spewed out of it like a piece of gum.
"...Are those the Earth's inhabitants?" And the very first thing he noticed was John and the others, casually floating far above the ground and not minding them any heed even as the Guardians' ships arrived one by one.
Their kind… was capable of flight? Zora didn't really bother reading all of the information about the humans and just focused on Riley Ross's profile. And now, seeing this… perhaps he should have actually taken the time to learn.
"..." It didn't really matter right now, however, as Elder Zora soon turned his attention to the anomaly— only to see two humans right in the very center of it. The space itself was cracking, letting out sharp but quiet thunders as some sort of dark lightning started to whip and snap through the surrounding air.
"Just what— Is that Riley Ross?" Elder Zora's eyes then started to widen as he quickly recognized one of the two humans that seemed to be causing the anomaly,
"Why… is he here? Shouldn't he be on— !!!"
And before Zora could contemplate on whatever it was that was happening, several loud beeping noises started to emit from his ship— warning him that the energy was turning to critical levels.
"..." Zora looked back and forth between his ship and Riley before his whiskers started to tremble. Princess Vera is right— he thought. Riley Ross was an entity that needed to be examined.
"Guardians!" Zora raised his hand. And as soon as he did so, all of the Guardians floated out of their ship. Most of them were humanoid, with half wearing some sort of mask to cover their noses and mouths.
There was one, however, that seemed more akin to an octopus.
"Restrain Riley Ross at all costs," Elder Zora then said, "And if your judgment calls for it…
…then you have my permission to terminate him."
The uniforms of the Guardians lit up— the red patterns on them, now dancing like the surface of the sun.
"Guardians!" The octopus-like Guardian raised three of its limbs— how it was able to speak, one could really only wonder. But seeing as the 5 other guardians all perked up, the octopus guardian seemed to be the leader of their unit.
"This Riley Ross has killed one of us! Be very careful, but at the same time… show him the wrath of the Guardians! One does not simply kill one of us and hope to get away with it!"
"Rah!" The uniforms of the guardians lit up even brighter as they all let out a roar in unison.
"Guardians, assem—"
And before the octopus guardian could finish his words, he noticed… a small red stone suddenly casually floating in front of his unusually large eyes.
"...Huh? That looks like… a Guardian Force?"
It wasn't only him, the other guardians also squinted their eyes as they also had a red stone floating in front of them. The only thing they could really do was stare at it for a few seconds, before turning their heads to where their stomach should be…
…only for all of them to be greeted by the gaping holes that now decorated their stomach.
Chapter 441"...What?"
The Guardians could really only stare at the gaping holes now painting their bodies. But after a few moments, they strayed their eyes away from it as they focused on the red stones that were floating in front of all of them.
After all, an injury like that is nothing to the Guardians-- they could lose their limbs, but the Guardian Force will regenerate any injuries in less than a minute no matter how severe. The only way for them to die was if they could be killed almost instantaneously.
Well, there was another way-- for the Guardian Force inside them to be forcefully pulled out. Once it does, any power the stone gives them instantly goes away, turning them back to their normal selves.
But this kind of cause of death was not common-- one would even say that throughout their almost millions of years of history, the number of times it has happened could be counted in one humanoid hand...
...and most were by themarians.
They were one of the only handful of races that were capable of doing so; as when the Guardian Force is already inside someone's body, pulling it is equivalent to pulling the weight of an entire planet.
The Guardian Corps are always the first to respond whenever a threat that would cause the destruction of a known planet springs forth-- and they are also the last to leave if needed.
Wherever the presence of the Guardian Corps is, that world will only know peace. They were feared, but even more so, they were respected.
They symbolize order of the highest degree.
And so why?
Why were the stones that were supposed to give them the ultimate power now floating in front of them?
And very soon, their uniforms that lit up like the surface of the sun started to flicker-- some of them, even very slowly starting to be pulled by gravity.
"W--"
And before their octopus-like leader could open its weirdly shaped mouth...
...they all exploded one by one.
"..." Zora, who was right in the middle of the formation, could really only cover his nose as a mist of blood now blanketed the air around him. His feline-like eyes, very slowly watched as the red stones flew... towards an individual floating just meters away from him.
"Sorry, I can't let anyone ruin Boss and Boss Mom's touching but violent reunion."
"..." Zora squinted his eyes as the 6 stones started to circle around the smiling, golden-haired individual,
"...You have the same scent as Riley Ross," Elder Zora then muttered as his nose started to move.
"I'll take that as a compliment," the smile on John's face did not disappear as he slowly floated closer to Elder Zora, "As for you... you smell different from the rest of the mosquitos that were flying around earlier. I assume you're not a Guardian?"
"You're quite calm and perspective... for a clone."
"Of course," John let out a small chuckle, "If I wasn't...
...then you would have joined your friends."
"Is this how you treat a guest that came from light years away?"
"No, they would usually be trapped inside a glass box."
"..."
"..."
And while John and Elder Zora continued their battle of words, Paige, Ellie, and her brother were now on top of the Paige and Paragon agency building, watching whatever it was that was happening from afar.
As for Katherine, she was still hovering above the air-- not minding the aliens that suddenly appeared and just focused on Riley and Alice.
Alice... was still embracing Riley, not even once letting go for even a single millimeter.
Darkday or Ms. Phoenix.
There has always been the old age question of who was the stronger telekinetic between the two-- and now, Katherine was one of the very first to bear witness to the answer...
...and she still had no idea.
The very air itself started to crack around them; like shattered glass. The light that bathed them was almost afraid to exist as the cracks started to create a void of nothing but darkness.
This kind of display seemed anticlimactic, but if one were to ponder what exactly was happening, then one would know that the two were pulling the very fabrics of reality itself.
This, even more so than the instantaneous destruction of Mars, is Riley's greatest feat-- and it was only possible because there was finally a telekinetic that could stretch and challenge his powers.
As Riley was pushing away, Alice was pulling him back. If this continues on... Katherine had no idea of what would happen next-- but the aliens suddenly appearing gave her enough of an idea.
This display was not the only thing that seemed anticlimactic, even the reunion of Riley and Alice is. Neither of them was really saying anything to each other, but then again...
...what words were there to speak?
They know nothing about each other except for the things that have been told to them. The two... were basically strangers.
"..."
No, she can't really say that either. Looking at Alice's face-- one would really only see a mother desperate for her child's affection.
She wasn't crying, she wasn't even opening her mouth. But the unexplainable expression on her face was enough to tell the world the millions of things that she wanted to say to her son.
Now that Katherine was also a mother, she could understand this.
Love, fear, anger, excitement, sadness; all the expressions one could think of happening all at the same time-- that is probably what Alice is feeling right now.
But alas, if one were to just look at Riley Ross, then one would see a face that was void of any expressions.
"Riley..." Katherine could really only close her eyes and sigh as she saw this, "Please... just give her the chance...
...she doesn't have long."
***
At the same time, inside one of the indoor fields inside the evaniel's ship, the remaining Guardians were there-- standing very still to the point that they almost looked like a collage of statues. They looked domineering, to say the least...
...but none of them were really breathing anymore.
"Riley, stop it!"
As for the evaniel Guardian, he was currently kneeling on the ground-- his face, completely covered by the hand of Riley Ross.
"Riley! Stop!" Princess Vera could really only scream as she tried to pull Riley away, even to the point that her entire body started to vibrate just to make him budge. But alas, even with Silvie's help...
....Riley was almost an immovable object.
"Not good," Silvie then said as her feet returned to the ground, "...It's not him."
"What? What do you mean!?" Princess Vera said as she didn't stop trying to pull Riley away, "This isn't a clone!"
"I know... but his consciousness isn't there," Silvie said as she very slowly started to step away as she realized something, "I... advise letting him go as well, Princess Vera."
"...Why?" Although Vera had no idea what was happening, she too, let go of Riley.
"I think..." Silvie then took in a small gulp as she watched the evaniel guardian struggle to get out of Riley's grip, "He...
...might be on autopilot."
"..."
"..."
"...He could do that?"
Chapter 442"...Autopilot?"
"I... I'm just guessing."
The more information Princess Vera receives regarding Riley Ross, the less she actually knows. She had heard from Riley himself that he actually had dozens of abilities; some, he hasn't even used once since he didn't really need to.
And so far, the only powers that Riley has showcased in front of her were his monstrous telekinesis, as well as his weird cloning abilities. Although Riley's telekinetic prowess was beyond shocking, there is actually an entire race of telekinetics out there-- it was a common ability.
The cloning, however, was something that she had never seen before. It was like a hive mind-- but at the same time, Riley didn't need to give birth again and again to use it. And if Vera was right... then it wasn't really originally Riley's ability.
Perhaps even more so than everything else, his abilities showed what the people of this planet were truly capable of.
"...So, you're saying that Riley can transfer his consciousness to a clone?" Princess Vera once again backed far away from Riley, making sure she was making as little movement as possible as she leaned closer to Silvie.
"I... think so? He did it the other day when I was in the cell," Silvie squinted her eyes as she looked at Riley, whose eyes just seemed... empty, even for him.
"So... what do we do now?" Princess Vera could really only try to calm her breaths as she too, watched as Riley continued to grab the evaniel Guardian by his face-- perhaps the fact that he was still alive should already be enough of a relief,
"...Any ideas?"
"Tell the Guardian..." The tone of Silvie's voice suddenly became serious as she glanced at Vera,
"... to lower his killing intent."
And as soon as Vera heard her words, her eyes started to widen as she took in a short but very deep breath.
"..."
"..."
"...What's a killing intent?" She then said after a couple of seconds.
"I don't know!" And just like that, the serious tone in Silvie's voice disappeared as she raised her voice, "I thought you would know! That's what they say in all the animes I've watched!"
"What's an animes!?" Vera also could not help but raise her voice; the calm she had made great effort to hold onto, was now gone.
"I don't think that matters right now!" Silvie also screamed as she pointed at the struggling evaniel Guardian.
"You..." Princess Vera gritted her teeth as she waited for Silvie to say anything that could be useful to the predicament they were in right now. But alas, after a few more seconds, the only thing she could really do was slowly approach Riley again.
"You... You're Viole, right?" Vera once again calmed her breaths as she looked at the evaniel guardian.
"I need you to calm down. He..." Vera slightly glanced at Silvie, before quickly returning her attention to Viole,
"It... reacts to killing intent."
Even with his face being covered by Riley's palm, Viole's eyes could be seen turning wide in disbelief; looking at the princess of their race as if she was some sort of lunatic.
"Just stop trying to fight! It reacts to threats!"
"..." His eyebrows did their best to furrow. But soon, he turned his eyes so that he could see the other guardians in his peripheral.
All of them were frozen-- their faces were like statues that didn't even have the time to be shocked.
As part of the Guardian Corps, he is able to communicate telepathically with other guardians within a planet-wide radius.
And he was sure of it-- he was the only Guardian left inside the evaniel's ship.
He had also been trying to contact those who went to check on the anomaly... but no one was responding to him. Most likely...
...everyone was dead.
He could detect another Guardian somewhere on the planet, but whoever it was, didn't seem to be interested in talking to him.
They did say that Riley Ross was a possible Star-level Threat, that is why they sent these many Guardians in the first place in order to capture and escort him alive.
...But to kill 6 Guardians at once almost instantly?
Ridiculous.
There's also the anomaly that had a similar output of energy to a black hole.
Just... what is going on with this planet?
"..." Viole then turned his eyes to Riley, only to see his eyes that were completely devoid of any emotions.
And it wasn't just that Riley didn't care that he was killing him, no. Viole had seen many killers during his time as a guardian.
This was different-- it was almost as if Riley Ross was just... a machine.
"..." Viole's mind was currently moving at a million thoughts per second-- and after what seemed like an entire day for him...
...the markings on his skin slowly faded away; his hair, also losing its radiance.
And as soon as he did so, he also felt Riley's grip on his face becoming lighter.
"..." Riley then finally looked him in the eyes, and without even saying a word or a breath...
...he just started casually walking away, returning to the middle of the indoor field and just sitting on the ground.
And almost at the same time as his buttocks made contact with the grass, the other guardians that were standing frozen also dropped to the ground.
"..." Viole could really only look at his comrades-- and those that had ears and mouth were bleeding from them.
Their brain organs were most likely destroyed the very moment they made even the slightest movement to restraining Riley.
Perhaps the only reason Viole was still standing right now was that, unlike the others, he didn't make a move yet-- after all, he was the fastest among them and was just waiting for things to happen before he joined in.
"Are you... alright?" Although Princess Vera's face didn't show it, it was obvious in her eyes that she was showing... pity for Viole.
"I'm... alright, Princess Vera. I am honored that you know my name."
"...Of course I know your name," Vera sighed, "Your name is next to mother for the most popular evaniel on the planet-- you're a celebrity."
"Well..." Viole didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he massaged his face, "...I guess I embarrassed myself in front of you."
"Not at all," Vera said as she looked at Riley, "You tried to fight against a creature that is able to fight with a themarian head-on."
"I see," Viole closed his eyes and sighed. But after a few moments, they opened and turned wide, "Wait...
...what? What do you mean?"
"What do you mean 'what do you mean'?" Vera raised an eyebrow,
"...Don't tell me the Elders didn't tell you?"
"...No," Viole's eyebrows started to furrow, "If we knew we'd send more! Much more!"
"I told them repeatedly!" Vera also raised her voice, before letting out a loud groan in frustration,
"Did they think I was exaggerating!?"
"..." Viole could really only let himself drop to the ground as he looked at Riley,
"Damn it, and you're saying it's not even... fully functional?"
"Where's Elder Zora!?" Vera could no longer contain her anger as her hair started to light up.
"He's... checking on an anomaly."
"What? Where!?"
Viole then tapped his arms several times before a hologram popped out in front of him showing a 3D scan of Earth,
"There," he then pointed at the red dot that was pulsating.
Vera was about to disappear, but before she could do so, Silvie stepped closer to the map.
"This..."
"You know what it is?"
"...This is Atlantic City. The Paige and Paragon is in here."
"Paige... and Paragon?"
"...Riley Ross's building."
"...Shit."
***
"Woah!"
Somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean, several towering walls of water burst forth from the surface of the ocean, shaped almost like a claw-- after all, a set of claws caused it.
And right in between those violent waves of water was John; carrying a smile on his face as he avoided the claws of Elder Zora, whose each strike caused the surface of the ocean to split apart.
John was either dodging Zora's attacks with a hair's breadth, or using the red stones around him to block them.
"You need to clip those, no one likes a cat with sharp nails," John let out a small chuckle as he caught Zora's wrist, before throwing him away as he rotated in the air.
"..." Elder Zora didn't immediately attack again, and instead just remained in the air staring at John,
"You're strong, clone."
"Pft..." John could not help but let out a small chuckle, before wiping the blood trailing on his cheek,
"...I'm actually the weakest of the clones."
Chapter 443John, previously known as Diley— the clone that was allowed to stay.
His very first memory was pulling a knife from Riley's heart, something that he still remembers very clearly. He initially had no emotions, not even the little ones that Riley had.
Riley didn't really know what to do with him as he didn't disappear even after days— the only way to make him go away was to kill him. And so, he was just kept somewhere inside in the Antarctic… alone for weeks.
He just stood there abandoned, not knowing what to do and not knowing his purpose. He was just there, existing in his own little cavern of ice.
But then, suddenly, Riley brought him… a prisoner to guard.
A human named Replica Ricky— and the only thing he knew about him was that he came into existence because Riley was killed by him. Because of this information, he tried to kill him at first but was stopped by Riley.
Instead, Riley ordered him to learn everything he could from Ricky…
…and so, he did.
It was difficult, however, as Ricky struggled hard. It wasn't until Diley trapped him inside a cage that was made with compressed ice that he started to learn from him.
At first, he tried his best to escape— but when that proved useless, he just sat there…
…crying.
Diley stared at him for hours… before a tear also started to trail down his cheeks.
They started talking after that, with Diley almost imitating Ricky's every movement and mannerism. And finally, he was able to do as his creator ordered — he learned everything from Ricky.
He finally fulfilled his duty.
And right when he thought his existence was complete, Riley brought another… guest.
And right there and then, Diley finally discovered what his purpose was.
***
"I am actually the Boss's weakest clone."
Although the smile on John's face did not disappear, it was obvious he was trying to hide his disappointment at himself; covering the slight twitch in his lips as he wiped the blood trailing down his cheek,
"Being the first clone has its advantages… and disadvantages. The advantage being I am the Boss' right-hand man. He upgraded me with his new powers once, I really didn't appreciate the feeling."
"Hm," Elder Zora then very slowly descended, only stopping as he seemingly stood on the surface of the water— his fur, slightly standing up as his paw feet started to get drenched with water,
"Is that why you learned to delay by having a conversation with your enemy?" Zora slightly chuckled as he licked his hand paw before brushing the fur on his cheek and adjusting the large turban he was wearing.
"Oh, no. Not at all, cat person. I just like talking," John also chuckled as he snapped his fingers. And as he did so, the Guardian Force stones that were circling around him started to drop to the ocean floor— causing the water to explode due to the sheer weight of each stone. And with the water now raining down, John's chuckles abruptly stopped, "Besides, I only said I was the weakest of the clones…
…I never said you were stronger than me."
And with those words, John suddenly dropped and disappeared into the ocean.
"..." Elder Zora's nose started to almost wriggle as he tried to find John's scent— but with the salty ocean beneath his feet, he could barely make out any other scent. He did not need to search for long, however, as a pair of hands suddenly emerged between his feet, quickly grabbing his ankles and almost instantly dragging him deep into the Atlantic.
Even with the resistance of the water, however, Zora was able to swing his arms— his claws, boiling the water around it as they went straight for John's head. And this time…
…it connected.
He was expecting red to flow around him, but the only thing that happened with John's head was it crumbled into pieces along with the rest of his body.
"..."
And then, very slowly, the embrace of the ocean that gave him a soothing feeling turned violent— almost threatening to crush him as a ball of water started to separate from the rest of the ocean.
"..." Zora calmly turned his head above him, only to see John looking down at him; his hand, slightly trembling as he seemed to be making it into a fist. Even with his body being squished, Zora just let out a very deep breath. The bubbles that were violently escaping his nose, finally causing the turban he was wearing to turn loose.
And with it gone, a crimson light started to pulsate; causing a slight blur. And if one were to squint their eyes and look closer, one would notice the pair of crimson horns that were almost twirled sitting on top of his head.
Zora blinked a couple of times as his horns were finally exposed— and with this 7th blink, his eyes also lit up in a crimson color; the bubbles escaping from his nose… now turning into some sort of mist.
And then, almost instantly… John found himself now above the ocean, his body almost completely folded as a pair of horns planted themselves on his stomach.
"Kh!" Blood quickly started to spurt out from John's mouth as he shot straight toward the sky— the clouds, rippling away as he passed through it.
"!!!" Even with the seething pain he had not felt before clouding his mind, however, John was still able to open his hands to catch the pair of horns that was about to slam towards his chest.
But alas, his telekinetic armor seemed to not be enough to absorb all of the impact.
John could really only grit his teeth as he felt his bones slightly shattering due to the sheer force of Zora's attack. Even then, however, a smile appeared on his bleeding mouth,
"I… thought you were a cat," he then forced a chuckle, "Turns out you're inbred. Either way…
…you're not disturbing mother and Boss's reunion!"
And once again, John rotated his body in the air to try and throw Zora away— but alas, Zora was able to grab his wrist, violently pulling him closer; his horns, hitting John's face head-on.
The whites on John's eyes revealed themselves as a fountain of blood burst from his nose. But a split second later, however, he quickly woke up and kicked himself away.
"Not enough!" John then let out a roar as he slammed his palm in the air. And as he did so, Zora's silhouette instantly disappeared and shot straight toward the ocean floor which was oddly similar to the shape of a palm.
"Ellie…" John then whispered as his breaths caused the blood escaping his mouth to shower,
"...I had fun."
And with those words, John smiled; his lips that were of normal width… slitting open and returning to their original design— a smile that reached from ear to ear.
"Just… fucking die!" He then screamed as he stretched both his hands towards Zora who had just emerged back from the deepest parts of the ocean.
But then, before he could even do anything— he found one of his arms missing.
"..." John blinked a couple of times as he looked to his side… only to see the evaniel Guardian, Viole, holding his missing arm. He then turned his eyes back to Zora, only to see his horns just meters away from threatening to obliterate his entire existence.
"...Oh."
John let out a tiny breath as the very first emotion he learned suddenly flowed through his entire body. Tears, now trailing down his cheeks as the image of Ellie's face surfaced from his mind.
And with another breath, his vision started to turn dark. And then…
…everything just went silent.
John, the first clone has done his duty above and beyond. And now...
...he rests as a human.
"..."
"..."
"..."
But then, a pulse.
A pulse suddenly pierced his ears, echoing repeatedly like a stone skipping on a frozen lake.
And very slowly, John's vision started to return— finding himself now standing on a beach.
"..." He then turned his head to the side, only to see Tempo standing there; wearing his complete uniform.
"Well, what do you know…
…the hero finally arrives on time for once."
Chapter 444In a much calmer ocean a few minutes ago, the surface fully reflected the moon and stars above almost like a mirror. And even through the darkness that veiled the night, one could see how immaculate the shore was— its beach, white and almost like powder.
And a little more beyond the beach, Tempo was there, seated and relaxing in front of his house and killing any mosquitoes that dared to even fly within his range; his arm, almost like a whip as they let out a loud snap every time they completely obliterated a mosquito.
One would think that one of the most popular superheroes in the world would live in a more extravagant and luxurious house, but no. Tempo's house was completely made of wood, bamboo. If anything, it was more akin to a giant cottage.
He made the house himself, and even the chair he was relaxing on.
The Hope Guild is disbanded. There was no official statement to the public yet, but they were. They have been ever since that fateful day more than 2 years ago now.
It didn't mean Tempo quit being a superhero, of course. He didn't become a hero for fame, after all— he just wanted to help people. But for some reason, no one was doing any crime.
Tempo expected the supervillains to wreak havoc while the entire world was grieving and recovering from the attack of the House of Super, but none of them were doing anything.
Even the talking bear that was his adversary for years now, has not shown himself even once. He asked Empress to investigate this sudden silence from the supervillains, but she just vaguely told him that… Butcher and his team have been handling it.
And since it involved Butcher, 'handling it' is probably code for mass assassination.
Empress actually planned something like that and discussed it with the Hope Guild once, but everyone voted against her. But now that she was basically the leader of the World Government, she could finally bring it to fruition.
Come to think of it, Empress had many ideas that could be seen quite… dark for a superhero. Perhaps being the world's secretary of defense was actually her true calling all this time.
"..." Tempo truly wouldn't want her job. But then again, he was bored out of his wits that he might actually be tempted to join their… dubious operations. Maybe he should apply?
Hera also hasn't been home since she was busy handing out relief to the families that could no longer recover from the tragedy. He wanted to help her, but she refused, saying it was just a promotion for the film she was currently filming…
…about the attack of the House of Super.
"Ha…" Tempo could really only let out another breath of boredom as he raised his hand in the air, "Damn… I'm getting darker from all the sun."
*BE—*
And before the beeping noise that suddenly seeped from inside his house could finish its first ring, Tempo disappeared from his seat, only to appear again within a second already holding a phone in his hand.
"Sup, boss?" A small excitement slowly crawled on Tempo's face as he answered the call.
"Hm. Oh, no. Not at all. Atlanta City? Why?"
"Hm, hm," Tempo nodded several times. And very soon, the smile on his face died down, "...Why would I help the fucker?"
"What? What do you mean 'one of our own'? The dude's a fucking spawn from hell. What? You know, you should retire, no offense."
"...Right."
"...Right," Tempo could really only sigh as Empress's voice became louder and louder. And after a few more seconds, he just nodded his head.
"Fine, fine. Anyone else responding?"
"What? Of course not, I'm… also busy," Tempo said as he looked at the wooden chair he was just previously relaxing on, "I… I just finished a race for charity. Anyway, I'm on the way."
And before Empress could say anything more, he dropped the call. He then once again disappeared from his spot, before reappearing again now wearing a black, almost tactical suit. His helmet which almost took the shape of his head, now also completely tinted in black.
He used to show his dyed green mustache. But alas, he no longer had it since Hera asked him to shave it.
"Ha…" Tempo once again let out a small sigh as he looked at himself, "...It seems I also got a little fat. Ha… fuck it, I'm taking the long way there."
And with those words, Tempo started to run— his feet lifting in the air as a whistling pulse echoed around him. The scenery in front of him, changing by the second. This wasn't a problem for him, however, as Whiteking created a system for him in his helmet that calculated and showed the best path for him to take at any given speed.
And so, he ran— taking his time to reach his destination as he left the breeze of the night and basked in the warm rays of the sun. And soon, he reached the Atlantic Ocean.
"..."
"..."
He then noticed some explosions rippling from afar— and as he decided to check it out, he saw… weird-looking cat person with horns shooting straight from the ocean.
"...Things are getting really weird around here," he could not help but whisper to himself. His eyes then turned to the silhouette in the air that seemed to be the target of the alien, and as soon as he noticed that it was human, Tempo did not think twice as he rushed to save him and take him to shore.
…not realizing it was John.
"...Aren't you one of Riley's friends?"
"What? No," John's eyebrows quickly furrowed as he heard Tempo's words, "I'm his right-hand man, how dare you— Thank you for saving me, Mr. Tempo."
"...Your face."
"Hm? Oh," John quickly touched his cheeks, only to touch inside his mouth as the sides of his mouth were slit open, "It… would seem I got a little excited."
"...Your arm."
"Oh, this?" John raised his arm that now only extended to his elbow, "I'll just ask the Boss to regrow it."
"...Right," Tempo could really only stare at John for a few seconds, before very slowly turning his head back to the horizon as he noticed someone floating just above the water's surface,
"You're one of those races that's full of sprinters, right?" He then breathed out as he stared at the silver-haired man.
"And you're fast, human," Viole then very slowly floated to the beach, "Almost as fast as an evaniel."
"I could go faster if you want," Tempo smirked as Viole's feet started leaving prints on the wet sand, "Both of us will probably die if I do, though."
"Hm," Viole only squinted his eyes,
"Sadly, I don't have time to play with you," he then said as he looked at John, "Elder Zora said that the creature beside you is one of Riley Ross's clones. If so…
…then he needs to be contained."
"A… clone?" Tempo quickly stepped away to look at John, and only then, he finally noticed their subtle similarity— especially with the sides of his mouth slit open,
"...Oh."
"Now that you know, please step aside."
"..." John could really only close his eyes as Viole approached him. It would seem his fate was all but inevitable now.
"Well, I don't think so."
Contrary to John's expectations, Tempo did not leave and even stood closer to him, "I was asked to help one of our own by my boss. So…
…I'm afraid I will have to do that."
"Duty above personal belief." And soon, Elder Zora also arrived as he stood beside Viole,
"I admire it," Elder Zora then said as he licked his paw before wiping his horns.
"I do too," Viole breathed out, before shaking his head and looking at his reflection on Tempo's helmet, "But you're not going to win this. You're both just…
…inferior versions of your betters."
"Maybe. But orders are orders," Tempo shrugged. And soon, the sand beneath his feet started to ripple even as he just stood there.
"I am starting to see now why Boss likes you, Mr. Tempo," the smile that was growing on John's face could really only be described as… visceral due to the blood that extended it, "Well then, now that there's four of us…
…time for Round 2, I suppose."
Chapter 445"Mother, perhaps it is time to let me go now."
"No! Never! I am not going to let you go ever again!"
Weird— Riley thought probably for the first time. He had lived for almost 20 years now, and this was perhaps the only time he had never truly gotten what he wanted from another person.
People usually just adjust to him once they become aware of their condition. Of course, there really wasn't much that he wanted in his life.
And if he did want something, it usually involves death. Death of another, or his.
But now, he found himself unable to control the things around him— quite literally.
Alice… was canceling out his telekinetic abilities, and he was canceling hers. The two of them were basically in a stalemate— and if one were to just let go, then the other party would most probably be annihilated.
They were like two rams, pushing each other with their unusually large horns.
"..." Riley could really only look around him, only to see the air itself already shattering; in its cracks, nothing but void.
They were just tiny cracks minutes ago, but now they filled Riley's eyes even more than the light.
'So, something like this was possible,' he thought. He had seen air itself cracking many times before— Empress's powers were something of that nature, after all.
But this? This was different, it felt… familiar. Even more familiar than the woman embracing him tightly.
This darkness, this void… it feels like he belongs in it.
And perhaps he does. Because very soon, in the void that did not even reflect even a tinge of light— he saw his reflection.
Not what he looked like now, no. What he originally looks like— unusually pale skin, white hair, eyes that were almost transparent; a face devoid of anything, really.
The only hint of white in an otherwise completely dark space. And yet, his reflection seemed to be the darkest thing in the void.
It was smiling at him… whispering to kill everyone.
Riley now realized why the darkness felt so familiar to him. This dark reflection of his— he had seen him many times before.
"It's you," Riley then whispered as he looked his dark reflection straight in the eyes before he started scanning his surroundings again; his eyes, slightly squinting,
"But I don't get it, I am not dead. So, why are you here, Overvoid Riley?"
"..." His reflection, however, did not reply or do anything. It just… continued to stare at him, whispering a million words in a single second.
Kill them.
Kill them all.
Hurt them.
Hurt them all.
They belong here…
…with us.
And with those words, another reflection appeared. And then, another…
…and another.
172 shadows.
The very same number of times that Riley had died.
"It is very rude of you to visit me unannounced, Overvoid Riley," Riley then let out a small but very deep sigh as he shook his head,
"This is my domain, I believed we had an understanding."
And with Riley's voice turning colder, the reflections disappeared one by one until once again, only one remained.
"Do this again, and I will find a way to erase you the next time we me—"
"You! Stay… stay away!"
And before Riley could finish his words, he felt Alice's embrace getting tighter; her eyes… looking at the void.
"You… can see it, mother?" Riley's eyes slightly turned wide as he tried to glance at his mother.
"Stay away! Stay away from us, you monster!"
Alice's embrace that held nothing but affection completely disappeared; replaced by fear; the fear of losing the thing she holds most dear,
"Just… just take me again! Leave my son alone, please! Just leave him alone!"
"..." And very slowly, Riley could feel the weight that was suppressing his telekinetic abilities fade away; he was finally able to push back as Alice's skin very slowly started to shatter.
"I love you, Riley. I love you," Alice almost fumbled with her words as she seemed to be wanting to say a million words,
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to help you control this darkness! I'm sorry you were born with this, I'm so sorry it had to be you! I'm…"
"..." And as his mother poured out everything she wanted to say to him, Riley just stared at her; looking at her arms that never wanted to let him go, covering him from all the darkness that was also staring at him.
"I'm… sorry you had to be born like this."
"You don't have to worry, mother…"
And finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Riley hugged his mother back; his eyes, glowing red as he did so.
"...I'm not."
And with those words, Riley suddenly turned his head toward his reflection— torching it with the violent beam that escaped his eyes.
"You are overstaying your welcome, Overvoid."
But alas, the void seemed to just eat and swallow anything that came through it.
But even then, since Alice was very slowly turning her powers down, Riley also followed her rhythm– finally causing the cracks in the air to dissipate.
"..." Riley's reflection in the void didn't seem to mind, however, as it even waved at him before completely disappearing along with the void it seemed to dwell in.
And finally, peace.
"..." The only thing that Riley could hear right now was the chatter of his mother's teeth and the stuttering breaths that were escaping from her lips.
"Mother, it's gone," Riley then breathed out as he tried to push Alice away; and this time, he was finally able to— gently.
He then looked at his mother's face, filled with tears and snot, red to the point it was cherry.
Alice then sniffled as she quickly wiped her face… using Riley's clothes.
"You can see Overvoid Riley, mother?"
"...Overvoid what?" Alice said as she continued to clean her face— and soon, water from the beach started to float towards her face, but not before whatever salt in it was filtered away,
"I'm not crying," Alice then said as the water washed her face.
"You—"
"Who are you anyway? You seen my team anywhere? That douche king said we'll be meeting here."
"I'm Riley, mother."
"Mother? What—" Alice then abruptly stopped talking as she stared straight into Riley's eyes,
"...Oh," she then blinked as her breaths turned heavy again,
"...Hi."
A smile then crawled on her face as her hand very slowly made its way to Riley's cheek. But as soon as she noticed Riley slightly moving his head away, she quickly closed her hand and retracted it.
And soon, her hand turned into a fist as she suddenly punched Riley in the face.
"You pansy brat! I only wanted to touch your face and you're not letting me!?"
"..." Riley could really only blink a couple of times as he stared at his mother— finally, he thought. He was finally seeing Alice as she is in the stories he had heard about her.
"I swear, I shouldn't have left you with Diana! Where's your real body so I can spank your spoiled ass for all the years we've missed before I go!?"
"...Go? Where are you going, mother?"
"I don't have long…" Alice shrugged as she scratched her nose. And although she was trying her best not to let anyone notice, the stutter in her words showed how nervous and scared she was,
"...Diana told me I only have a few weeks."
***
"...Fuck,"
Somewhere back in the Atlantic ocean, Tempo was running in the air, each of his steps causing an invisible ripple to whistle in the air.
And in front of him, running on the ocean, was Viole…
…dragging an unconscious John.
Chapter 446Not fast enough.
Tempo had felt that way many times before— times when he was just too late to save people. He is considered to be the fastest super, alive or dead. There have been many sprinters that came before him, but no one could even touch the toe of his feats.
But there have always been times that he wasn't fast enough— many times.
This was the first time, however, that it was actually being shown to his face.
He just watched and looked as the evaniel Guardian ran, getting farther and farther away from him. At first, Viole didn't seem that fast as he flew through the skies during their battle earlier. But as soon as he landed on the surface of the ocean and started to run… that was when everything changed.
It was not even a second.
Tempo and John worked together, since the cat-goat-human hybrid seemed physically stronger than all of them, Tempo decided to switch it up and make the alien focus on him instead of John. And of course, John would then be facing the evaniel Guardian instead.
Everything was going fine— almost a stalemate, even. Tempo was too fast for Elder Zora, and John's telekinetic prowess was something Viole could not penetrate easily. It was going too well, with John and Tempo even having the upper hand most of the time.
But then… Viole descended from the sky and used his legs to run.
And it was over in an instant. Tempo saw it all— how Viole was able to penetrate John's telekinetic armor. In just a single second, he threw an almost unquantifiable number of punches straight to his chest.
Viole then took another second to let out a barrage of strikes on the defenseless John. He might seem fairly unwounded from the outside… but Tempo was sure his insides were already a mess.
Tempo doesn't know how Riley's cloning ability works, but if John's insides were anything like a normal human… then he was probably already dying.
40 times now. Tempo and Viole have rotated the planet 40 times, and each time… the distance between him and the evaniel grew wider. At first, the two of them were only meters apart— but now, a kilometer stands between the two and it was growing wider by the second.
Tempo could go faster, but there was a risk that his physical body would not be able to take it. And even if he does… will he even be able to catch up?
Even from the distance, Tempo could see Viole glancing back at him with a slightly amused expression on his face— he was toying with him.
"..." Is it even worth his life to save Riley's clone? What was he even doing here?
"..."
And while the distance between Tempo and Viole grew, John… was just watching Tempo as he became smaller and smaller by the second.
That was the only thing he could do now— watch. He couldn't even stop the bleeding that was happening from inside him. His body was… incredibly weak.
He tried.
John tried his best, and it was enough. Riley and Alice were done being children and were now finally talking to each other like normal people— he could feel it. His emotions were being transmitted to him, and Riley may not understand what he was feeling right now, but John could.
It was relief… and sadness.
"..." John then let out a very light breath, as any stronger would probably cause his lungs to collapse. He would have wanted to see what happens next… but it would seem the gods have other plans for him.
…A shame.
He really thought he would live. Maybe he should really have opted for an upgrade… these aliens would have probably been nothing to him. But then… he wouldn't be himself anymore.
"Ha…" John once again let out another breath as he focused his attention on Tempo.
Why… was this guy even following them?
No. John already knew the answer to that.
He was following him because he is a hero.
A hero… Hero.
Come to think of it, once upon a time, Riley tried to be one. Not Paragon, no— way before that. Riley might not remember it, but John has his memories.
Before Darkday, Riley wanted to be a hero like Bernard— it was… short-lived. Hannah was always sad that Bernard wasn't around all of the time, so Riley thought that if he became a hero and helped his father around, it would lessen the time that he was outside.
It didn't happen, however.
Riley… is evil. John knows that because he is him. He is not even innocently evil as some would think— all of his thoughts were just… of death. The whispers, the need to hurt people, the urge to kill…
…There may have been things that made him that way, but everything he did is on him. The worst part of it all is that he knows he is wrong, but it doesn't matter.
"..." He and Ellie never should have accepted his deal, they could still be on the farm right now. Riley would have allowed it— he could hear his thoughts, after all.
If he refused, Riley would have just left them alone— but he had to accept because he too…
…is evil. He wanted to see what Riley would do, he wanted to see how many more would die.
But now it ends, he could feel it. He… was truly fading away now.
The price he and Riley had to pay for all the things they have done— that was the only thing catching up to him now.
…Or perhaps not?
John's eyes started to widen as he heard the sound of a pulse growing louder and louder. He looked at Tempo again, only to see some sort of… light surrounding him. And with each second, his silhouette grew nearer and nearer.
"..."
"..."
"...What are you doing?" John whispered; it was when Tempo cut the distance in half that John noticed what was happening.
Tempo… was bleeding from his nose— the veins in his eyes almost flesh in red.
'Why?' John asked again. Why risk his life for someone like him?
It was obvious that Tempo's body could not handle the stress that his own abilities were giving him. The pulse that was once calm and rhythmic, now like a drum that did not know what note to play.
Tempo's steps that were previously not even affecting the surface of the ocean, now violently pushing them away— causing it to erupt and dance around behind him.
And very soon…
…he was only a meter away; his hand, stretching towards him.
"!!!"
And without even thinking about it, John used the last of his strength to stretch to reach for Tempo's hand. And finally… the tips of their fingers touched each other.
Only to be separated as Elder Zora's horns suddenly emerged from the ocean beneath John…
…completely splitting him in half.
"...Elder Zora!?"
And then, everyone just stopped.
Tempo halted his steps, finding himself falling into the water before floating on its surface as he just stared at John, whose guts were now hanging from his waist.
"..."
Even Viole, who was just waiting for a ship all this time to actually come and fetch him so he could secure John away, could not help but stop as he stared at Elder Zora with his eyes incredibly wide.
"I… miscalculated," Elder Zora then said as he floated near John, "I was only going to block the other human."
Everyone just looked at each other frozen— and very soon, they truly were. And not just them…
…even the whispers of the ocean that was endlessly flowing with the wind stopped.
"...He's here," Tempo then whispered, causing the two to look at him; with Elder Zora wondering what he meant, and Viole fully knowing who it was.
And it was quiet— so very quiet as Riley Ross slowly descended from the unmoving sky… just landing softly close to John.
He didn't even say anything as the lower half of John's body flew and made him whole again. And with just a sigh, he lifted John with his arm and flew away— leaving Viole no choice but to just let go.
"That… was the real Riley Ross?" Elder Zora squinted his eyes, "What are you doing, High Guardian Viole!? We should go after him!"
And instead of Viole, it was Tempo who answered him. It was obvious he was already struggling to stay afloat the water— but the expression on his face was very much alive,
"What you guys need to do…
…is leave the planet."
Chapter 447Silent and gentle.
Perhaps not really a word that one would associate with a man that was and is considered to be the most terrible person in the world. But more often than not, however, those that were with Riley Ross would tell you that he was, as a matter of fact, silent and gentle.
Not in a normal sense, no. It rarely is when concerning Riley. His silence and gentleness were more akin to that of a craftsman; he treated everyone as if they were objects and tools— not to be misunderstood as he deemed himself superior to others, no.
In fact, at times, it almost feels like he valued himself less— something that he would even say to you.
He will call himself a monster. He doesn't consider himself human. He considers his death to be a blessing to the world.
Riley was silent and gentle because that is the only thing he allows himself to be. If not, then the world would treat him very differently— he would treat the world very differently.
A simple enigma.
This was perhaps the best description one would say of Riley. But for now, he was silent and gentle as he placed a very large part of himself onto the grains of sand that turned itself into a bed.
Riley looked at him; his eyes, reflecting everything that he had always secretly wanted to be.
"...John? John!?"
"..." Riley then took a step back, letting those who have the right to mourn and grieve for John to approach him.
When things calmed down between Riley and Alice, Ellie, her brother, Paige, and Katherine all swiftly returned to their side. Everything seemed peaceful— with Alice slightly squinting her eyes as she stared at all the women that were inadvertently or intentionally pining for his son.
It was a fun moment, with Alice reaching the conclusion that someone as handsome as Riley deserved more than 1 legal wife. But as their happy talks reached their climax, the body of the clone Riley was possessing suddenly disintegrated into the ground.
And soon, they heard the ocean itself once again stopped moving— the waves, the clouds… everything just stopped.
And now, all of a sudden, Riley placed a lifeless John on a bed of sand.
"No… no, no," Ellie quickly rushed to John's side, tapping his face several times trying to wake him up. Her brother was also doing the same; holding John's hand and squeezing it tight.
"Oh… no," Paige could really only cover her mouth as she watched Ellie breaking down as she lifted John— hugging him tight and cradling him violently in an attempt to wake him up. She had really only been with Ellie and the others for a good month or so, but she had grown attached to them.
They were like a normal family amidst all the… bullshit that has been happening around them. Of course, he knew John and Ellie were far from normal and were even far from innocent. But staying with them in one place, she really got to know them.
But she was sure that whatever it is she was feeling now, it was nothing compared to what Ellie and her brother were feeling— they were a family. No matter how skewed, no matter what anyone says about them, they were a family.
And so, seeing them like this was just… she really had no words for it.
But there was one, however, that had spent even longer time with John— to the point that he had seen John's birth, Riley Ross. And in his eyes…
…were nothing.
Just… emptiness.
But seeing this emptiness, Paige could not help but take a step back. Riley's eyes being devoid of emotions was nothing new; one could even say it was his default—
—but this was different.
Paige then turned her eyes to the others if they noticed it, but Alice seemed to just be sighing as she watched Ellie break down and cry. Katherine, however, seemed to notice that something was wrong.
No, of course, something is wrong. Although he wasn't showing it, John is probably one of the only handful of entities in the whole world that Riley actually treats as a friend, no matter how much he denies it.
"..." Katherine then also turned her eyes to Paige, and as if a mutual understanding between the two was instantly built, Katherine shook her head— telling her not to approach Riley Ross. Alice also seemed to want to approach Riley, but Katherine stopped her.
The two women that have been close or closest to Riley knew…
…they knew that something was different.
"Riley!" Ellie gently placed John's body on the bed of sand, before rushing, kneeling, and grabbing Riley's hand almost all at the same time. She looked him straight in the eyes— and without even saying any words, everyone knew what she meant.
And to everyone's surprise, Riley answered.
"I can do it," he calmly said as he returned Ellie's begging gaze, "But are you sure?"
"..." Ellie didn't really answer and just glanced at John.
"I can create and mold another Diley," Riley continued, "With his memories of you and Elliot, with everything he has experienced, but it won't be him. He told that to me the first and last time I remade him, Ellie…
…he doesn't want to be remade again."
"...Why?"
"Because it's not—"
"...Why did this happen?" Ellie then let go of Riley's hand as she once again moved beside John, "You said… you said you would protect us."
"..." Riley could not really say anything as he just glanced at Alice, before letting out a very small but deep sigh,
"I suppose I was wrong, Ellie."
"We… we were just laughing just moments ago," Ellie almost gasped as her eyes moved back and forth even though she was just staring at John's face, "We… we were happy. Why… why did this have to happen?"
"Because of me, Ellie."
Riley then said as he took a step back— and as he did so, his long hair that was completely black… very slowly lost whatever color it had.
"He died because of me," Riley whispered as he closed his eyes— and as he opened them again, the color they had disappeared; returning to what they originally were. And with another sigh, he looked at Alice,
"You said you didn't have long in this world, mother. Then let me show you who and what your biological son truly is."
"...Riley?"
"Right on time, Princess Vera."
Vera then suddenly appeared, standing beside Paige as she scanned the situation around her. And soon, Silvie, who was supposed to be a prisoner, also descended from the sky— her breaths, quickly turning into gasps as her eyes landed on John.
"Oh no," she also said as she turned her eyes to Riley.
Riley then stretched his hand toward the ocean, and as he did so, the surface of the ocean that was completely frozen started to move— not because they were allowed to again, but because of the object that was moving on it at a blinding speed.
And without even a second later, a spiral horn was already resting in his hand— the horns, attached to the rest of Elder Zora.
"I am in the notion that you are tired of these Elders ignoring you, Princess Vera…
…so I'll talk to them for you."
"W… What?" Vera could really only take a step back as Riley started to approach him while seemingly dragging a lifeless Zora in his hand.
"Don't worry, he's not going to die yet," a smile then very slowly crawled on Riley's face, "We'll be doing that later…
…in front of all your friends."
Chapter 448"Elders."
Vera found herself once again surrounded by the holograms of the Elders. This time, however, she could not force herself to be stoic or look disciplined as her eyes slightly trembled upon looking at the 6 holograms around her.
The Elders, as always, did not notice the anxiousness on her face as they seemed to be lost in their own world— most not even looking at her; either talking to other people or fidgeting with a weird gadget.
[What is it now, Princess of the Evaniels?]
The Grand Elder, as always, was the first to speak as his blurry silhouette leaned forward from his chair, "Have the Guardians and Elder Zora arrived at the planet yet?"
"The Guardians are dead."
[...What?]
And with those words, the Elders that were otherwise preoccupied all quickly turned their heads to Vera. The Grand Elder turned his head to the other Elders, before once again focusing on Vera,
[Were they killed by Riley Ross?]
"Y… Yes," Vera stuttered, "They died not even a minute of entering the planet, the only one left alive is Guardian Viole."
[Is he there? Let us talk with him.]
"...You can't."
[What—] And before the Grand Elder could speak again, he noticed the tears that were now suddenly trailing on Vera's face.
"We made a mistake," Vera then whispered as she looked at her feet, "I made a mistake."
[...What are you saying?]
"Half the evaniels in the ship are dead," Vera took in a deep breath, gritting her teeth as she forced herself to look at the Grand Elder, "Riley Ross killed them too."
[...Why?]
"He… he tortured them right in front of the others… in… in front of me," Vera's head started to tremble as her breaths became heavier by the second, "I… I was mad at all of you for treating this situation lightly. When… when I was also doing the same and now half the people in my care are dead."
[Why did he—]
"Because we killed his clone!" Vera stomped her foot on the floor, causing the entire spherical room to shake,
"He… he tore off each of their legs first, let everyone watch as their friends desperately cr… crawl on the floor."
Vera's eyes were now just looking straight; not looking at anything in particular, but reflecting the images that she had seen just moments ago,
"He also killed my brother," Vera then took in a small gasp as her eyes started to twitch uncontrollably, "He killed him fast and without pain. He… he told me that he didn't want him to be in pain because he likes me."
[Where is Elder Zora!?] The Grand Elder, for the very first time, stood from his floating throne; finally revealing his bulky and stone-like silhouette, [What was he doing while Riley Ross was doing all of that!? And why didn't you stop him!?]
"...Stop him?" Vera then forced a small chuckle as the tears trailing down her face doubled, "Even now… all of you are still underestimating him. Riley Ross is… is a villain."
[Let us talk to Elder Zora!]
"Elder Zora… Elder Zora," Vera then whispered to herself a couple of times. But after a few moments, her eyes widened as she finally looked at the Grand Elder again, "That… that's actually the reason why I called for all of you again…
…Riley Ross wishes to speak with you."
[Riley Ross? No one but those authorized can talk to us!]
"He… he knows that," Vera then took in a deep breath as she stepped to the side, "He… That's why he… he made a way so he could talk to you."
[What do you—]
"Greetings, other Elders. Meow."
And before the Grand Elder could finish his words, a silhouette started to approach them from the bridge; on top of its head, a pair of horns.
[Elder Zora! I need you to explain what's been happening on Earth!]
"I believe Princess Vera already explained everything to all of you, Grand Elder. Perhaps you should try listening? Meow."
[What— You… you're Riley Ross!?]
[I do not know what you're talking about, Grand Elder. Meow.]
The words that were coming out of the silhouette seemed comical, but with each of his steps getting closer and closer, the weight in Vera's breaths also multiplied. And very soon, the silhouette stepped into the light…
…revealing Elder Zora.
Elder Zora's head, that is; seemingly being worn by Riley like some sort of Halloween mask.
"Is this not the way he talks, meow?" Riley then let out a small giggle, causing Elder Zora's head to slightly slide down, "I thought you would find it funny if I made my entrance like this, but why is no one laughing?"
[...]
"I've learned that first impressions are important, you see," a sigh then escaped from Elder Zora's head,
"...But it would seem that I failed to make an impression, sad."
And with those words, Riley grabbed Elder Zora's horns and casually ripped his entire head in half— his white hair, flowing down as he finally revealed his face to the Elders.
"What kind of species is Elder Zora, anyway?" Riley then tilted his head as he looked at the two halves of Zora's head in his hands, "A human cat with a goat's horn? The universe is such… a complex thing, no?"
[You—]
"Forgive me, I have failed to introduce myself," Riley then stretched his arms to the side; and as he did so, whatever was left of Elder Zora disintegrated into nothing,
"I am Riley Ross of Earth, it is a pleasure to finally talk to the beings that have been talking about me for weeks now."
[There are consequences to your actions, human,] the Grand Elder returned to his floating; the tone of his voice, once again becoming authoritative.
"I would be disappointed if there wasn't, Grand Elder," Riley then let out a sigh as he shook his head, "And speaking of consequences, yours are still not over."
Riley stretched his arm to the side, and as he did so, Viole emerged from the darkness and flew straight toward his hand,
"Are you able to broadcast what I am about to do throughout the entire Universe, Grand Elder?"
[You do not make requests from us, boy.]
"Do it or I will kill the remaining evaniels in the ship."
[Did I stutter, boy?]
"Do it or I will kill Princess Vera."
Vera's head quickly flinched as she heard Riley's words. She wanted to run— but seeing the almost braindead Viole that was hanging in Riley's hand… any motivation to do so instantly dwindled away,
"I heard her mother, the Queen, is quite important to the balance of the Universe. I will also kill her next— my father can learn how to control your ship in just a single second."
[Your threats mean nothing to us. You are insignificant.]
"..." Riley then turned his head to Princess Vera, "They truly do not value your life, Princess Vera. I apologize that I have to hurt and kill you now."
[Stop!]
Riley was about to raise his other hand, but before he could do so, the only female Elder spoke; her voice as monotonous as ever, even with her hurried words.
[I will broadcast your message— just do not lay a hand on the Princess.]
[What are you doing, Elder Tedi!?]
[I could ask you the same, Grand Elder. The threat that the human possesses is obviously something we have dismissed— and we are paying the price for that now.]
[Do you not see what he is going to do!? He is going to execute a Higher Guardian!]
[I am aware.]
[Y—]
"Good, please let me know when the entire Universe can see me now," Riley interrupted the two.
[I can't broadcast you to the entire Universe, Riley Ross, only to the known part of it,] Elder Tedi stated.
"Please," Riley gestured with his hand.
[You are being broadcasted now, you… may proceed.]
"Thank you, Elder Tedi," Riley bowed before fully facing her hologram,
"Greetings, the rest of the Known Universe, my name is Riley Ross. I am from an unknown planet from an unknown star system. I have here in my hand a Guardian," Riley then said as he raised the seemingly unconscious Viole in the air. And without even any sort of warning or indication, he pulled half his head from the rest of his body— leaving his tongue and his jaw hanging from his neck,
"Several years ago…" And as if nothing happened, Riley just dropped Viole's body parts to the floor and started speaking again,
"...I announced to the people of my planet that I would retire from being a villain. And since then, I found myself becoming many things— a student, a lover, an estranged adopted brother, dead, an alien, a failed hero, a friend, and a father. I was almost even an actor. But what I truly am…
…is a villain. I can not pretend to be anything else."
"..." Vera could really only take in a small gulp as she watched Riley continue with his speech— she doesn't know why, but it feels like she was witnessing something that would completely alter the course of the entire universe.
"I have thought of many things to do to relieve my boredom. Lately, I have thought of conquering different worlds, but no. My purpose, my true purpose is not to conquer…
…but to destroy."
"..."
"So today, I am hereby announcing that I am once again donning my suit as a supervillain," Riley then stretched his arms to the side— causing some sort of black goo to wrap around his body.
The goo turned into a suit— not that of Darkday, but more similar to his uniform as Paragon except this time, it was all in black; his white long hair, just flowing in the air. His mask that was covering his lower face, almost in the shape of a smile revealing a set of sharp teeth.
"My name is Darkday. And let this be the first act of my return—
—to the clone I left on the microplanet Hotis 4J; you have my permission…
…you may kill everyone now."
Chapter 449Somewhere in the expanse of the universe, lightyears away from Earth, stood a planet half the size of Pluto. Suffice it to say, with its surface area only comparable to that of a large country on Earth, the population within the planet was packed almost like sardines— perhaps an exaggeration, but it was closer to the truth if anything.
Hotis 4J is also used as a sort of transport hub— an outpost at the very end of the known and chartered Universe. It is also the planet closest to Earth that actually has sentient and intelligent life.
Still, even with its population larger than what it could accommodate, Hotis 4J was and is a peaceful place for travellers and explorers to rest before they delve into the Unknown.
Lots of different species and races lived there— some couldn't even be described as humanoid anymore. There are others that have evolved from their insect ancestors, and some that are more akin to that of a snail.
But of course, one must not judge the creatures here based on the ideologies and knowledge one has on Earth, because for them, humans looked odd. Still, most of the species within the micro planet actually looked humanoid— as it seems to be the aesthetic end of all developed life.
But no matter what stage or what sort of progenitor a species have, they seemed to have one singular language that they could understand.
Screams.
Right now, somewhere in Hotis 4J, in one of its largest establishments— all sorts of different faces currently had their mouths opened; or whatever version of a mouth they had. All of them, letting out a scream as they stared at the humanoid in front of them.
The humanoid sported a long, white hair that reached below his waist; freely flowing with the wind as he moved around the stage he was standing on. He then stretched his hand towards one of the one-eyed humanoids in front of him, causing her to let out an almost visceral scream.
"V' la qest, Raleerus!" The female cyclops then said, and in a rough translation— 'I love you, Riley Ross!'.
Riley Ross, or rather, his clone, was currently dancing and singing on the large stage; almost more than a thousand people were cheering and screaming his name— Raleerus.
And if someone from Earth were to listen to him sing, one would know that his song is actually from one of its TV shows, the opening song of Italian Mafia Reborn. At first, when Raleerus was left by Riley on this far and unfamiliar planet, he just found a place to hide and lie low.
But as soon as his connection with Riley was severed— that was when he started venturing out and meeting with the other people. Suffice it to say, he had learned a lot about the cultures of the different species.
Raleerus still needed to feed himself. And so, in a weird turn of events, he got a job as a musician in one of the planet's hotels. He played an instrument similar to a piano, learning it almost instantly.
…But it wasn't until he started singing that his fame skyrocketed in a blink of an eye. The others were completely unaware of what language he was speaking, but it didn't matter— music, after all, is a universal language.
The whole planet basically knew who he was now. He was basically popular with all the females of all the species within Hotis 4J.
"Kill! Kill! I want to kill all of you!" Raleerus continued to sing, using his telekinetic abilities to do all sorts of fantastic and magical movements around the stage.
Almost a thousand people were screaming and cheering for him, causing Raleerus to put his all into his performance. Soon, however, the music stopped as several beeping noises could be heard echoing throughout the entire auditorium.
"..." Raleerus's performance was abruptly cut short, causing everyone to let out groans and gasps of frustration. They then all retrieved their media devices, as they were the ones letting out the ringing that filled the stage.
Several holograms started popping out from their gadgets, and soon— a large hologram also emerged from the stage, just behind Raleerus.
[Greetings, the rest of the Known Universe, my name is Riley Ross. I am from an unknown…]
"!!!"
Raleerus's eyes quickly widened as soon as he saw who was speaking. As for the rest of the people there, they once again let out gasps of shock— their eyes, looking back and forth between the person in the hologram and Raleerus.
None of them wanted to be racist— but they were sure the two looked eerily identical to each other.
"..." Everyone continued to watch in silence, that is… until the person in the hologram ripped someone's head open— and not just anyone, an evaniel Guardian.
"..." Raleerus's eyes started to squint as he continued to watch— and soon, his ears perked up.
[...to the clone I left on the micro planet Hotis 4J; you have my permission…
…Kill everyone.]
And with that, the universe-wide broadcast was cut; leaving only silence to flow throughout the entire auditorium.
"..." Raleerus then very slowly turned his head back to his audience, causing them to slightly flinch and instinctively take a step back. None of them knew what the person from the hologram just said, but judging by the way he just executed an evaniel Guardian without even blinking an eye… it wasn't anything good.
However, as soon as they saw Raleerus smile, all their worries disappeared. And soon, the music once again started.
"V' la qest, Raleerus!" The female cyclops once again let out a scream that revived all the cheers again. Raleerus quickly turned his eyes toward the female cyclops, pointing at her with his index finger as the smile on his face grew even wider.
"R… Raleerus!" The female cyclops' cheers grew even louder as Raleerus suddenly isolated her from the rest, "V' la qe—"
"Bang!"
And before she could cheer again… her head suddenly exploded.
"..." Those that were near the female cyclops instantly shut whatever mouths they have. Still, the cheers of those that were far away still continued. And very soon, they started running away.
Sadly for them, the others thought they were just doing some sort of crazy cheering and started pushing them back. And very soon, screams of terror started to mix with cheers of passion and delight.
"Oh," Raleerus took in a very long and very deep breath as he closed his eyes. He thought that the happy screams and cheers that the people were giving him were enough— but now that terror was once again in the formula, he realized it wasn't even a competition.
Screams of fear, terror, anguish, and pain were still the most beautiful set of music that could ever grace his ears.
And so, as he opened his eyes— a red glow now emerged from them. He then turned towards the crowd of people…
…before letting out some sort of visceral breath as he started disintegrating everyone with the red, violent beam that poured from his eyes.
"!!!"
The people started screaming. The once happy air that filled the entire auditorium, now but a house of chaos and death. Whatever sort of anatomy they have, bits and pieces of them were now scattered on the floor as their blood of red, blue, clear, yellow, and whatever other color created a pool of black.
And as soon as the screams inside the auditorium were gone, Raleerus stretched his arms to the side, splitting the entire establishment in half. And with a small breath, he pushed the two halves away— causing them to violently fly and slam through whatever was in their path.
He then ascended to the planet's purple skies; his eyes, looking at the purple desert as it got smaller and smaller in his view until his hand could cover the entire planet.
"I've always wanted to do this," Raleerus then let out a small whisper as he pointed his palm at Hotis 4J. He then very slowly rotated his hand, almost imitating the rotation of the planet— and then, with another breath…
…his hand suddenly stopped moving.
Raleerus's eyes reflected Hotis 4J as its surface basically ripped itself apart— almost twisting as its lands violently ruptured. The destruction of the planet may seem slow from where Raleerus was floating, but for the millions of people that were in it… their deaths were instantaneous.
"..."
"...Perhaps I shouldn't have done that," Raleerus then blinked a couple of times as he saw the planet caving in, "Now I have nothing to do."
"..."
"..."
Raleerus then turned his head toward a ship that was floating near him— its engines, about to fire and activate. But before it could drive away, Raleerus stretched his hand toward it and caused it to halt.
Raleerus then pulled the ship toward him, before staring at its clear windows and looking at the person inside.
"I know you can't understand me…
…but can you take me to your planet?"
***
"Elder Tedi! See what you've done!?"
"..."
Back in the spherical room filled the Elders holograms, the Grand Elder's voice echoed violently. Although it wasn't in real-time, as the Grand Elder, he had the privilege of having the authority to observe all of the Known planets.
And there, he saw the destruction of Hotis 4J--- not even an Earth hour of Riley's broadcast.
Riley was no longer there, and Vera was just sitting on the floor, not even saying a word as her tears have already dried themselves completely.
"Princess Vera! This is an order--- do not let Riley Ross leave the planet at all costs!"
"..." Princess Vera just glanced at the Grand Elder for a few seconds, before shaking her head,
"Sorry, Grand Elder...
...but the evaniels are siding with Riley Ross."
Chapter 450Darkness.
The horizon that was once bathed by the violent rays of the sun was now surrounded by nothing but darkness. The sands on the beach that would tickle you with their warmth, now as cold as a winter's bed.
There were no stars, not even the moon was allowed to grace the endless ocean with its presence; if one were to shut their ears and not hear the whispers and calls of the water, then one might actually think that one had their eyes closed.
There was one, however, that almost glowed in the darkness— a silhouette; his long white hair just flowing with the wind.
Riley had been staring and living inside this darkness for a while now, not even letting his breaths break the silence for hours… until he was approached by Katherine, that is.
"Riley, can we talk?"
"No."
"..." Katherine just stood there as she was instantly rejected by Riley. Still, she did not leave and just stayed behind him— waiting for him to actually turn around and look at her. But even after another hour, Riley just remained silent.
He didn't even glance, not even a slight gesture or movement that told Katherine anything; but even then, she didn't leave and just stood there.
"Can we talk now?" And after another hour had passed, Katherine once again asked. And this time, Riley nodded.
"I wanted to talk about Karina."
"..." Riley slightly turned his head to glance at Katherine, before focusing on the darkness, "Are you going to give me the reason why you didn't abort her, Katherine?"
"...Let's just talk about us," Katherine then let out a small sigh as she took a step forward and stood right beside Riley,
"I know we don't really have any relationship, and what we had was just… a strange moment of weakness. I got carried away and did things that I wouldn't do. I was a hero… and then just all of a sudden you came along and I wasn't anymore."
"..."
"You have this weird effect on people, Riley. You make people do things they would otherwise never do. Like an incubus that drains people of their own free will. It's like everything you touch just becomes rotten."
"Hm."
"But I'm not blaming you for anything that happened to me," Katherine then said as she looked at Riley, "You were just a boy and I was already a full-grown woman capable of her own thoughts."
"I blackmailed and threatened you, Katherine," Riley breathed out, "I remember telling you I would cut your mother's tongue and place it under your pillow while you sleep."
"And I could have jumped off the train anytime I wanted. I was going to kill myself, you know? At first, I thought the reason why I didn't go through with it is that I was a coward, but no," Katherine shook her head, before walking in front of Riley, blocking his view of the horizon with her eyes that stared directly in his eyes,
"The reason I didn't kill myself is because I was stupid. Excited at the thought that my usually boring life finally took a turn into something exhilarating— I got off from the high of being by your side."
Katherine then very gently touched Riley's cheek,
"And I still do. I think I have gone completely insane— and just thinking about whatever it is you're about to do excites me greatly."
"..."
"Finish whatever it is that you have to do here on Earth. And after you're done…
…I will be beside you wherever corner of the universe you wish to go to."
"I will kill everyone, Katherine."
"When did I ever stop you?" Katherine let out a small sigh as she retracted her hand and started walking away, "But as your former teacher, can I offer you some advice?"
"..." Riley only nodded in response.
"Whatever it is you're feeling now; grief, regret… let them all out."
"I am not feeling anything, Katherine."
"You're wrong," Katherine once again sighed as she stopped walking, "I have never seen you more human than I have today. Despite what you think, Riley, you are a completely different man compared to the first time I met you."
"I can't change."
"Have you forgotten that I'm an empath?" Katherine let out a small giggle, "The only one in the entire universe that can directly feel what you're really feeling, Riley. No one else, just me."
"..."
"And one more thing…
…talk to your mother. She doesn't have long."
"I know, she told me."
"...Talk to her. You both need it."
And with those words, Katherine once again left her mark on the sand as Riley was once again left alone in the darkness.
"..."
"..."
The silence lasted only a minute, however, as flickers of light soon echoed through the darkness— a thousand fireflies, now suddenly dancing in the air and leaving not an ounce of darkness untouched.
And soon, a pair of arms wrapped around Riley from behind, tightly but very gently clasping on his chest. The owner of the arms did not speak, however, as she just rested and buried her face on his back; her slightly orange hair, turning brown from all the green particles floating around them.
"..." Riley slowly raised his hand; his eyes, staring at the light that quickly landed on his finger. Paige and Riley just stayed like this for an entire hour, not even uttering a single word or a heavy breath.
And then, once again, without any word or even as much as a whisper, Paige just walked away. The light, however, remained surrounding Riley; as if replacing the stars and moon that should have been scattered across the empty horizon.
And once again, Riley was left alone.
"..."
"..."
More and more minutes passed, and right when the silence once again almost permeated the darkness— a breath unexpectedly escaped Riley's lips.
"Mothers, I know the two of you have been hiding there for quite a while now."
"..."
"..."
"I told you, he knows."
Riley was about to leave the beach, but as soon as he made his first step, two silhouettes emerged from the sand a meter away from him— Diana and Alice.
"We've never really had to talk about death before, have we?" Diana was the first to speak as she patted the grains of sand that were resting on her shoulders.
"Because we don't need to, adoptive mother," Riley shook his head before looking Diana in the eyes,
"I am used to death."
"Not like this," Diana let out a small sigh, before approaching Riley and trying to wrap her arms around him— but alas, as always, Riley avoided her; still, Diana didn't seem to mind as she just sighed and shook her head,
"You have never experienced death like this before. I know… how much Diley—John meant to you… and it's okay to be sad, honey. You have emotions just like the rest of us, and the people that very much care for you can help you understand and deal with it."
"..." And while Diana was speaking to Riley without any boundaries, Alice could really only look to the side as she hears each of her words; wondering what she was even doing there. Riley had already lived an entire life without her… it was truly selfish of her to just jump into his life, no matter how short it would be.
"I know you've really only listened to your sister; and for some reason that Paige girl and Aerith," Diana slightly shook her head, "But I want you to listen to me now…
…throughout the thousands of species, creatures, and races in the entire Known Universe, there are many that can't process their emotions. There are species out there that are even born without them. But no matter how logical, no matter how emotionless they are made to be— Grief always exists in any creature capable of thought."
"Grief?" Riley returned his mother's gaze, "You also think I am feeling grief, adoptive mother?"
"Only you can answer that," Diana let out a breath and smiled, "But what I do know, is that grief makes people unpredictable, hurt. And if destroying worlds can help you recover from it, then do it— you always did have tantrums as a child, and the only one that could stop you is your sister."
"She won't be able to stop me this time, adoptive mother," Riley shook his head, "I have her abilities, making me immune to—"
"She'll try, you know how she is. She will stop you, but she will always be by your side, no matter what."
"And what about you, adoptive mother?"
"We'll see. I might just tag along, it's been a while since I travelled— I might need the vacation. We've also never had a vacation together, maybe this is a chance for us to bond," Diana let out a small giggle as her feet slowly left the sand,
"But the Universe is a very curious playground, Riley. I'm sure something will change your mind along the way…
…you're quite fickle that way."
"W… wait, where are you going!?" Alice could not help but look back and forth between the leaving Diana and Riley, "I thought you were going to back me up!?"
"I have already said my piece, you can talk to him alone, old friend. You should be stable for now."
"What!? But we— I need your motherly wisdom!"
Alice stretched her hand toward Diana— but alas, she already flew away, splitting the clouds that were blocking the night sky above.
"...Fuck."
And so, Riley and Alice finally had the chance to be alone.
"..."
"..."
"...What's up?"
Chapter 451"...What's up?"
"I remember you hitting my clone in the face, mother."
"...I guess? I... wasn't in the right state of mind."
"..."
"What do you want, mother?"
"To get to know you."
"What can you tell me about the entity resting in the void?"
"I… don't really know anything about it, besides seeing it before… before I hurt you, and then after when I died. But everything is hazy, like a dream. I can't really tell you mu—"
"Hm. Then interest for you stops here, mother. If that's all, then I will take my leave."
"Wait!"
And just like that, the grains of sand that had finally known peace were once again thrown into chaos as the entire beach practically started to change form. Almost like tendrils, the sands began to crawl on top of each other before— only stopping as it completely encompassed Alice and Riley.
"..." Riley didn't really think much about it as he just turned to look at what Alice created. And although it was quite hard to tell because there was only a single color surrounding him, it was clear to Riley that Alice made some sort of large room with several pieces of furniture in it.
"This… this is the previous base of the Hope Guild," the tone of Alice slowly turned from being anxious to a calmer tone as she started walking around the lobby-like hall made of sand she created.
And if one were to be outside and looking from afar, one would now see a tower suddenly standing tall on the beaches of Atlantic City.
"And why are you showing me this, mother?" Riley said as he continued to scan the interior— there was also a bar, with intricate carvings on each stool. Perhaps even more so than Alice's control of her powers, Riley was more impressed with her ability to recreate every detail.
It would seem that before she started to lose her mind, her memory was quite… good— an understatement, for sure.
"Because I want to introduce myself to you, Riley," Alice then waved her hand, causing the sand infrastructure around them to once again change— this time, into a tinier, but still spacious room.
"This is where I grew up."
"..." Riley scanned the room— and suffice it to say, it was quite… colorful. Of course, everything was still made of sand, but her entire room probably had more personality than Riley himself. There were all sorts of stuffed toys, as well as a bunch of machines that seemed like old arcades.
"I was 7 years old when I fully mastered my abilities," Alice then picked up one of the teddy bears, "I used it to steal most of the things you're seeing here. I… wasn't really a good kid."
"I am aware, mother."
"My mother— your grandmother, Charlotte… she wasn't really around much as you could expect."
"I know, she told me when I was in prison."
"...You were in prison?" Alice blinked a couple of times, before letting out a sigh, "I suppose we're more alike than I initially thought."
"No, Diana and Bernard have always been there for me."
"...Right," a subtle wry smile crawled on Alice's face as she heard her son's words. But after a few more breaths, she recovered and once again started walking around the room— and with each step, the sands once again moved; this time, the sky made an appearance as several buildings now stood around them,
"I don't know what sort of stories they made about me— but I was 13 years old when I was first thrown into a juvenile prison for minors," Alice then pointed toward the group of people made of sand in front of them— with a young version of her being circled by what looked like other heroes,
"That's the moment I got caught, or rather… I allowed myself to get caught. I was… seeking for attention. I thought it was the only way your grandmother would notice me," Alice then let out a small sigh, before the surrounding turned into the interior of a prison,
"Fast forward to a couple of years, I was sent to the Supermax… and not even once did your grandmother visit me."
"...I am also aware of her being absent in your life, mother. She was also completely absent in mine."
"...Even now?"
"I believe there is just no point of her entering my life, mother— I feel the same way with you,"
"..." Alice did not really say anything and just once again waved her hand, turning the scenery back to the first structure she made, "Years passed, and I was set free in the condition that I work for the Hope Guild… and that's when I decided to have you, Riley. When I started making more friends, I realized that I wanted to give someone the thing I have always wanted— the love of a mother. It's just… to think I would end up—"
"You made a mistake, mother."
"No!" Alice quickly shook her head as she pointed at Riley, "I have many mistakes in my life, and having you is definitely not one of them. You could have been the devil and I would still accept you, Riley."
"..."
"This is me, Riley. I'm very far from perfect and so close to also being a villain— but no matter how my life turned out to be, I know it will always lead to you," Alice almost swallowed her breaths as she looked Riley in the eyes,
"You may not believe it, but I love you. I do— and I would do anything to have the chance to actually take care of you and watch you grow, anything. But I know that I can't anymore because that train has passed… so with whatever time I have left in this world, I want to spend it with you, Riley. I don't have long, I can't say for sure when I'm just going to lose my mind again…
…but I want to spend my last moments with you because you're my son, and I love you very deeply."
"Hm…
…you don't even know who I am, mother," Riley shook his head as he took a step forward— and as soon as he did so, the hundreds of billions of grains of sand started to separate from each other; forming into a scenery that oddly resembled a carnival.
And soon, walls started to form around Alice and Riley— taking them into an alleyway between the tents. And there, an obviously younger Riley and an old man could be seen.
"My adoptive parents decided to take me and Hannah to have… fun in a carnival somewhere in the country," Riley whispered as he started circling the statue of his younger self,
"I was only turning 12 at this time— and I believe this is the very first time I killed someone," he then pointed at the sculpture of the old man, which started moving and clasping his chest,
"Unlike you, mother, my memory tends to always be hazy. I do not remember much about this moment, but I remember how it feels…
…It was the happiest I have ever been in my short life."
"..." Alice could really only take in a deep breath as she stared at her son's sand image— a smile, slowly forming on its face as it watched the old man slowly take its last breath.
"!!!" Alice then slightly flinched as Riley suddenly clapped his hands— and as he did so, several silhouettes started forming from the sand… grotesque, abysmal, and outright diabolical.
Darkrday was everywhere— either pulling out limbs or decorating the body parts of the people into some sort of altar.
"This is me, mother," Riley repeated his mother's words back to her, "I do not know what you are feeling right now, looking at the monster you brought forth to the world. But know that aside from giving birth to me, my actions are mine and mine alone, mother."
"..."
"Go spend your remaining time with other people," Riley then let out a small sigh, causing all the sand to finally return back to the ground,
"Perhaps rather than trying to connect with me, someone you have never really met— go reconcile with your mother. Because you and I, mother? We're just strangers to each other."
"..."
"Now if that is all you wanted from me, I will take my leave," Riley's feet then soon started to leave the sand, "I have extraterrestrial lives to end."
"..."
And with Alice not saying anything anymore, Riley continued to ascend into the air.
"..."
But not even meters into the air, Riley felt the urge to glance down as Alice seemed to actually not be pursuing him as he expected. And there…
…he saw Alice lying face flat on the sand, unmoving.
Chapter 452"This… isn't this Alice Lane?"
"It is, sister."
"...Why did you bring her here?"
"I thought mother would be here."
Riley was back in Bernard's secret lair, using one of his obviously very expensive desks as a table for the unconscious Alice. Riley initially thought that she was dead when he found her suddenly lying on the sand, but it turns out she was just in some sort of comatose.
He was contemplating on whether or not to just leave Alice on the beach, but for some reason, leaving her there felt… wrong. And so, he just decided to bring him to where he thought Diana would be, but alas—
"She carried dad somewhere, mom said it will be a while before his body adapts to this Guardian Force shit."
"Hm," Riley only nodded before placing his focus back on Alice, "Then I will just leave biological mother here. Please tell adoptive mother that I found her unconscious some time at 11 in the evening, sister."
"...You're just going to fucking leave her here?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "I can't bring her to Charlotte. I believe biological mother hates her, Charlotte doesn't deserve to be by her side."
"...And she deserves to be left alone like this?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she pointed at Alice, "Look, I know you're trying to avoid Alice like how you're trying to avoid me now— which I do fucking mind, by the way. But at least hear her out; if not for your sake then for hers."
"..."
"I think she deserves to at least feel wanted by her son before she… leaves again, even if it's just pretend, Riley. And you're very good at pretending, so…"
"Why would I do that?"
"...Because you said you wanted to be human, right?"
"But it is also human to be petty, sister."
"You were cuter as a child."
"Very well, I will try to stay," Riley then let out a small sigh, before pulling a chair toward him and just casually sitting, "But what about you, sister? What are you doing in father's secret lair when he is not here?"
"Oh, you know… just checking to see if I could use something to—"
"You are trying to see if you can steal something."
"What!? No! When have I ever stolen anything from dad!?"
"..."
"O… on second thought, don't answer that."
"Hm."
"I… I think the better question is what are they doing here?" Hannah then pointed her thumb behind her, where Katherine, Tomoe, and Paige could be seen exploring Bernard's secret lair and examining all of his gadgets,
"This isn't a fucking museum!" She then raised her voice, causing the three to quickly stop touching whatever it is they were touching.
"They wanted to come, sister. So, I took them."
"What are they, your pets?" Hannah shook her head and rolled her eyes, "I can understand bringing Paige and Tomoe… but why'd you bring the other one?"
"Katherine?"
"Yes, Katherine," Hannah scoffed, "And what about the other one? Ellie?"
"She is preparing for John's funeral."
"...Right," Hannah's voice slightly toned down a bit, "Shouldn't… you be there?"
"I am," Riley said, "My clone is there."
"I… see," Hannah let out a loud sigh before placing her hand on Riley's shoulder, "I'm… really sorry, Riley."
"Why?"
"Really?" Hannah once again rolled her eyes as she lightly pushed Riley away, "You're feeling sad, bro."
"...Am I?" Riley slightly tilted his head as he looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "It… must be true, then."
"Y—"
"Auntie Hannah! I got the Wcdonalds! I didn't know what to get so I got everything. You said grandpa's credit card can buy anything so— Oh."
And before Hannah and Riley's conversation could go any deeper, Karina suddenly emerged from the stairs, hugging more than a dozen paper bags filled with nothing but food.
"Dad's back!? I would have bought more if I knew. How is your— Mom!?" Karina's eyes quickly turned wide as soon as they landed on Katherine. She then started to take a step forward— before her steps became uncontrollable as she didn't know where to go,
"This… This isn't what it looks like, mom! I'm… I'm not eating junk food! This is all for Aunt Hannah!"
"..." Katherine, who was just checking on some of Bernard's inventions, could really only sigh as she watched as her daughter almost tumble around; slightly panicking as she tried to find a table to place all the food.
"It's fine, just…
…giving in to your urges is okay from time to time."
***
"So…"
And while the group was consuming the unusually oily food in an also unusual silence, Hannah suddenly dropped a question that made all the other women choke on their food,
"From all of my brother's partners, who do you like most?"
"Hm?" Karina, however, didn't stop chewing as she looked at Hannah, before glancing at Riley who was still standing quietly beside Alice. And after more chewing, she looked at Tomoe, Paige, and Katherine, who all flinched respectively,
"I like my mother the most, of course."
"Fuck," Hannah whispered in frustration, "I almost forgot she's your mother. Okay, I'll change the question. Between Tomoe and Paige, who do you like more?"
"Hmm," Karina blinked a couple of times as she looked back and forth between Paige and Tomoe, and after a few seconds, she finally stopped chewing,
"I think I like—"
"Fuck!"
Once again, everyone flinched; thinking that they would get an answer. But alas, what answered them was Alice's loud voice that caused the entire basement to tremble wildly.
And before any of them could turn to look at what was happening, they saw Riley flung past them; only stopping short as he was only a foot away from hitting the wall.
"Bad man!"
"!!!"
Hannah and the others quickly leaped away as Alice shot out from her bed… the machines and the floor, breaking apart and circling around her as she did so. And like a drill that wanted to violently tear everything away, she left a crevice in her path on her way to Riley.
"Mother…"
And even with this raging torrent of death hurdling and rampaging toward him, Riley only let out a small and very short sigh as he landed his feet on the floor,
"...I admit that in our small exchange, your telekinetic abilities are obviously equal to mine— I could even say your raw power is a little superior to mine…
…But I have a hundred more abilities eager to show themselves."
The sound of static started to whisper in the air as trickles of electricity emerged from Riley's left arm. And with a flick of his fingers, all the debris that was violently circling around Alice all disintegrated away in an instant.
And without even waiting for anything else to happen, Riley disappeared from his spot; appearing right in front of the rushing Alice and placing his hand on her chest.
"Sleep until adoptive mother comes back, biological mo—"
But before he could do anything, Aerith suddenly appeared behind him, quickly pulling him away from Alice. This felt incredibly random, even for the things happening around Riley…
…and add to that the fact that there were three of her in full Megawoman uniform.
The only thing that Riley could move was his head, as the three Aeriths completely locked the rest of his body. But after turning his head left and right, he settled his sights on Paige.
"Aerith's breasts are not this soft, Paige. She uses padding on her outfit."
Chapter 453At first, Riley truly thought that it was Aerith that suddenly stopped him. After all, her popping up out of nowhere was not that far off from her usual memo— she was nosy that way.
Even after two other Aeriths popped out, Riley still didn't think anything was amiss. After all, as much as people were unaware of how many abilities he actually had, it was the same with Aerith— she was a mystery still.
But alas, as soon as he felt Aerith's bosoms touching his back, he knew it couldn't be her. And so, he looked to the only person that could make something like this possible… and probably the only human left that could kill him— Paige.
"Aerith's breasts are not this soft, Paige. She uses padding on her suit."
"I… I wouldn't know that! She—"
"Let go of him, illusionist."
And before Paige could completely respond, she felt a cold sharpness sticking to her neck. A literal cold sharpness, that is, since Tomoe was now threatening to slit her throat with a blade of ice.
"That… that's not nice," Paige could really only force a chuckle as she looked at Tomoe. But after a few moments, three other Paige emerged… from Paige's body. And before Tomoe could even react, all the Paige in the hall disappeared— even the one she held her knife on.
"Shock therapy is not the right way to treat someone with dementia, Riley."
She did, however, appear again behind Riley.
"Oh," Riley quickly let out a breath, "So, that is why it was soft. It's been you the whole time."
"That—"
"Die!"
And once again, before Paige could finish her words, she was interrupted. This time, by Alice who continued to rush toward Riley.
"Enough!" But Paige seemed to have already gotten tired of being interrupted as she suddenly clapped her hands— and as she did so, everything turned white; with Alice the only one remaining in the space.
"..." Alice's eyebrows quickly furrowed as she placed her feet back on the floor; her eyes, quickly looking around the vast emptiness. Soon, however, she saw a very small child crying near her— no sound, not even a whisper. But still, the child's trembling shoulders were enough for Alice's furrowed eyebrows to turn wide.
"...My baby?" And as soon as those words escaped her lips, the little child very slowly turned to face her; his face, incredibly white and filled with snot and tears.
'M… mommy?'
Alice's breaths quickly became stuttered; her steps, hesitating and even backing away as she looked her little into his scared, and obviously hurt eyes.
There was actually no voice coming out of the toddler's mouth, but the movement of his mouth was enough for Alice to know what he was saying.
'Why… why are you hurting me?'
"N… No," Alice shook her head, "Mommy… mommy will never hurt you."
'No! You… you hurt me!'
Alice stretched her hand to her son; as soon as she did so, however, her son quickly ran away… hiding behind a much older Riley— the real one.
Alice's eyebrows slightly furrowed; but soon, her eyes started to dart back and forth between Riley and his younger version.
"To be fair, mother. You did kill me," Riley then let out a small sigh as he glanced at his younger self, "But to be fair, I was never really like this when I was younger, and I would have never run from you because I honestly wouldn't even know who you are."
"..." Alice could really only close her eyes from Riley's words. And after a few breaths, she turned her head toward the empty space beside Riley,
"It's okay now, Paige. Thank you for showing me this. I… needed it."
"Will… you be okay now?"
A voice then emerged from the empty space, and very soon, like a canvas being painted on, everything returned to normal; with Paige appearing beside Riley, and the rest of the women surrounding her— ready to restrain her at any moment.
"..." Alice looked at Hannah and the others for a while, before letting out a sigh and shaking her head,
"...I honestly don't know. But if I even try to hurt Riley or show signs of it… all of you have the permission to end my already short life. I would like that more than the idea of me hurting my son again."
"You can't hurt me, mother," Riley was the first to respond as he just shook his head and just started walking around Bernard's secret basement; trying to fix the things that Alice destroyed.
"That's true," Alice let out a small giggle, "And you're very lucky. You have… a lot of women that want to protect you. I expected nothing less from my son, they will make fine wives— especially Diana's daughter."
"...I'm his sister," Hannah quickly raised an eyebrow as she stepped away from Alice.
"I've seen a lot of Spanish telenovelas, trust me," Alice once again giggled, "And besides, Diana and I sort of made a promise that we would try to get our children together. It just… happened a little differently…
…I also like that one," Alice then pointed at Paige, "I think her relationship with my son is a little unhealthy, but she taps into his crazy side and lets him flourish."
"M… me?" Paige could really only point to herself.
"And you," Alice then pointed at Katherine, causing her to blink a couple of times, "You and my son have a child together, so you're obviously in the harem. Plus, you have the largest breasts."
"..." Katherine quickly turned to look at Paige, Hannah, and Tomoe, not really knowing what to do with the information.
"Wait, now that I think about it… You're obviously older than me," Alice then said as she looked Katherine straight in the eyes, "Minus the time I was dead, of course."
"Right!?" Hannah then raised her voice and clapped, "She basically targe–"
"That's hella fly!"
"What!?"
Hannah, whose nose was about to reach the ceiling because she thought Riley's mother agreed with her, could not help but choke on her own breath as she heard the excitement in Alice's voice.
"I heard briefly from Diana that you're also his teacher, right?" Alice then suddenly grabbed Katherine's hands and started shaking them. But after a few moments, her eyes turned serious, "Are you…
…teaching my son a lot of useful things?"
"That's… I'm afraid I learned more from Riley than he learned from me."
"That is not entirely true, Katherine," Riley spoke as he continued to fix the broken floors, "Before you, I never thought that the human tongue could—"
"Stop!" Katherine quickly screamed, her voice, as high-pitched as it could be, "No… no one needs to know that!"
"...Hm," Riley only shrugged before focusing on his activities.
"And you…" And lastly, Alice turned to look at Tomoe, "...I don't really know anything about you."
"I… I am Riley's shadow, madam Alice."
"...So you're a stalker?"
"N… no! I—"
"I'm kidding!" Alice then pinched Tomoe's cheek, "I already know who you are. You were the first one to bare your fangs at me when I tried to hurt Riley…
…that's all I need to know."
"..." Tomoe only looked at Alice for a few seconds, before bowing her head and stepping back.
"I guess that's—"
"Me! Me! What about me, grandma!?"
"Of course!" Alice then quickly pointed at Karina, who was hopping up and down with a very wide smile on her face, "I'm not gonna forget about my beautiful granddaughter."
"Hehe…"
It was a weird sight. Karina was taller than Tomoe, and yet the way she giggled and talked truly resembled that of a child as Alice tried to tickle her.
"...Grandma?"
Suddenly, however, Alice kneeled on the floor and started sobbing out of nowhere as she hugged Karina.
"Alice!?" Katherine was the first to rush toward her to check her condition. However, she found something else when she checked the beating of her heart; it was… weird. Almost as if she was…
…manually controlling her own heartbeat.
"Alice, you…"
"I'm happy…" Alice did not let Katherine speak, "...I can die happy knowing Riley has a lot of people there for him, thank you… thank you, everyone."
"...Grandma? Why… why are you crying!?" And with that, Karina also started bawling her eyes out.
Hannah could really only cover her mouth, before turning her eyes to Riley and subtly asking him to do something.
"..." Riley really only looked at what was happening, before letting out a small sigh and making his way not to Alice, but to Paige.
Riley then whispered something to Paige, lasting for almost an entire minute before he pulled his head away.
And as soon as he did so, Paige took in a deep breath, before the scenery once again changed.
"Hm?" Alice could really only blink a couple of times as she saw her surroundings changed into an interior similar to that of a hospital room— but her eyes did not wander for long, however, as they landed on the little toddler that was making his way toward her,
"Another illusion? I don't need to—"
"M… mommy is back?"
"..." Alice's eyes quickly turned wide, as this time, a voice truly came out of the toddler's mouth— and not only that, she could also feel the warmth in his hand as he embraced her leg,
"Mommy, carry Riley!"
"...Riley?" Alice quickly but very gently kneeled to the floor again— very slowly and carefully embracing the young Riley, and to her surprise, her hand did not go through.
"Hm," baby Riley then quickly snuggled in.
"That… that's right…" Alice then quickly nodded her head as she tightened her embrace,
"Mommy… mommy is back."
Chapter 454"Mommy is back."
Alice no longer understood what was going on— whether what was happening right now was an illusion, or just her mind once again playing tricks on her and showing her visions and memories not really hers.
But it didn't matter.
Illusion or insanity, whatever it was, the only thing that matters right now was that she was hugging her son— she was finally seeing Riley again how she left him; she was finally hugging her baby.
"Why mommy cry?"
"..." Alice very gently placed Riley on the floor, before lightly pinching his slightly chubby cheeks, "Because Riley is so cute."
"..." The edges of baby Riley's unusually wide lips quickly turned down as he heard her mother's words. Alice was about to panic, but before she could do so, Riley's frown suddenly turned into a smile, "I cry because mommy is also cute!"
"...That's right," a short but very heavy breath escaped Alice's mouth as she once again carried and cradled Riley. She then turned to look at the room she was in, and no matter how many times she looked at it… it resembled a hospital room.
She was just talking with adult Riley and his friends earlier— could it be she was actually just hallucinating stuff?
If so… which one was real? It was getting harder and harder to tell. It was almost as if she was living in her memory, but also living in a moment that shouldn't have happened yet…
…seeing things that shouldn't be there.
"...Mommy, you okay?"
"Of course. Stop worrying about mommy," Alice quickly shook all of the thoughts away as she noticed Riley looking at her; his eyes, completely wide and slightly trembling with concern,
"When did you start talking fluently, though?"
"Fufu," Riley then wriggled, forcing Alice with no choice but to once again gently place him on the floor,
"Riley is big boy now! Riley is 3!"
"...3?" Alice could not help but slightly drop her shoulders, "But last time I saw you, you just turned 2 and—"
Alice quickly clasped her head as memories of her trying to kill Riley surfaced in her mind.
"...Mommy?"
"Get… get away! I… I don't want to hurt you again!" Alice then quickly stepped back as Riley approached her.
"...But mommy will never hurt me?"
"I did, I hurt you! I—"
"Well, well… look who's awake."
"Uncle Tempo!"
"...Huh?" Alice could really only slowly remove her hands from her head as Riley suddenly started running toward the door and leaping straight to a man wearing flip-flops.
"...Tempo?"
"You had another one of your episodes again," Tempo let out a small chuckle as he cradled Riley, "You…
…had us a little worried, isn't that right, little Riley?"
"Hm," Riley quickly shook his head several times, "Mommy is strong."
"Hm, that's right," Tempo nodded, before looking Alice straight in the eyes, "It's… really good to have you back, Alice."
"...What do you mean episodes?"
"...Your cray cray episodes?" Tempo let out a small sigh, "I swear, it's been getting worse. Good thing we still have a lot of the tranquilizer Whiteking made, if not… oof. I don't know what would have happened."
"The last time… the last time I saw you was… when I was trying to hurt Riley."
"..."
"..."
"Pft," Tempo burst out in laughter after staring at Alice for a few seconds, "You? You'll destroy the planet before you'd even hurt a single strand of this little dude's hair. Now stop wasting your time and get dressed, everyone's waiting for you outside."
"What? Wait, I—" And before Alice could finish her words, Tempo turned around and left the room with Riley. Her confusion was truly reaching its peak— could this actually be real?
"..." Alice stayed still for a few seconds, before quickly changing into the clothes that were sitting on the desk beside her bed. And with a short but very deep sigh, she stepped out of the room,
"Tempo, what do you mean by—"
"Happy birthday, Riley!"
And all of a sudden, Alice found herself surrounded by different people; with a slightly older Riley shyly hiding in her arms. She quickly looked at the faces of the people, only to see members of the Hope Guild there, as well as people she didn't recognize.
"..." She then turned to look at the table in front of her that was filled with all sorts of plates and different meals; as well as a chocolate cake with a large No. 5 candle sticking out of it.
"...Did you black out again?"
"Diana?"' Alice then quickly turned to look at the woman beside her, "What…"
"You want me to carry Riley for a bit?"
"...No?" Alice blinked a couple of times as she once again looked at the people, before focusing on Riley who seemed adamant on burying his face in her chest. And after a few seconds, she gently touched his cheek and lifted up his chin so he could look at her,
"..."
"..."
"...Make a wish, Riley," a small smile then crawled on Alice's face as she turned Riley so he could face the cake.
"No!"
Riley, however, slammed his fist on the cake and caused it to splatter and scatter everywhere; before escaping from Alice's arms and running away. The people didn't seem to mind, however, as they just started laughing as they watched Riley skulking.
There were other children who followed Riley as he stepped out of the venue— it would seem they would rather play.
"..."
"It seems it's been happening a lot lately."
"..." Alice then turned her eyes away from the children as Diana started checking up on her condition,
"It… doesn't matter."
And after a few seconds of looking Diana in the eyes, Alice leaned away to look at Riley playing with other children,
"I can watch Riley grow…
…that is all that really matters."
"That's… true," Diana could really only let out a long and very deep sigh as she also turned to look at Riley.
"Thank you, Diana."
"Hm?"
"No matter what is happening right now, no matter what happened and what happens…
…you brought Riley to me. I… will forever be grateful for that."
"I only wish I could have saved you, Alice."
"...You did," Alice smiled, before leaving and making her way to Riley, "Get back here, you little menace! You still need to make your wish!"
"I wish you could have been there, ma! You should have seen Hannah's face."
"..." Alice blinked a couple of times as her surroundings once again instantly changed. And this time, she was in some sort of amusement park.
"You think throwing a roach on my face is funny!? Why don't I feed this to you!?"
"Hey, don't go too far!"
"..." She looked back, only to see Riley who seemed to be about 12 years old passing by her, being chased by Hannah with a bug in her hand.
"They grow up so fast, don't they?"
"..." She then turned to look at the unusually tall woman that suddenly approached her,
"...Empress?"
"You know, if my child was alive, I think they would have been best of friends."
"...Yeah."
Alice didn't even mind all the random and unexplainable stuff that has been happening around her anymore, and just turned to focus on Riley… who was now being choked by Hannah.
"Have I ever thanked you, Adaeze?"
"Hm?" Empress's eyebrow slightly rose as she heard the slight change in Alice's voice.
"For making me feel welcomed in the Hope Guild even though mother just forced me in."
"To be fair, Alice…
…you've been a very good friend, despite being slightly crazy. I just wished… I could've stopped you at times, you know?"
"Pft," Alice giggled, "I like that about you, you're always honest."
"Hm."
"But you really should stop shagging Diana's husband."
"That… that was a lifetime ago," Empress's eyes started to twitch as she looked to her side; seemingly looking at nothing in particular,
"I… I've moved on."
"Really? But you told me that in your culture, you only love one—"
"I think the hotdog I ordered is ready, just wait here."
"Yeah, I'll… be here," Alice then took in a deep breath; her eyes, not leaving Riley for even a single second— afraid of what she would miss if she even as much as blinked. But alas, no matter how much she tried… life just moves on.
She watched as Riley grew older and older, with no choice but to just let him go and be free. She watched him get in trouble, she watched him tumble, and very soon… she stood by him as he walks on his own.
"Mom, you can let go now."
"You don't have to worry, Ms. Lane— I'll take care of him."
"...I know you will."
Alice then let go of Riley's arm as he approached the woman that he will spend the rest of his life with,
"You have my permission to kick him a few times if he misbehaves, Hannah."
"You don't need to tell me that," Hannah was wearing a simple white gown; her feet, bare and surrounded by sand,
"You hear that, blankface? I have your mother's permission to beat your ass."
"...Why am I suddenly starting to regret this?" Riley let out a small chuckle; glancing at Alice for a few seconds, before nodding and gently holding Hannah's hand.
"..." Alice could really only bite her lip as she watch her son's back; standing tall as he writes the in his life— the chapter that will no longer include her.
She allowed her tears to fall, but she wasn't sad; not at all. Because she knew, she knew that no matter what happens next, her son will be happy because he is surrounded by people that truly loved him.
"Mother."
"Hm?" Alice then blinked a couple of times, she looked around her— only to realize that Riley was hugging her as they gently danced in the night,
"...What is it?"
"Is this the life you wanted for me?"
"..." Alice did not answer immediately, and instead looked at the people surrounding and watching the two of them dance— people that have been in her life and Riley's… friends that she made along the way. And after a few seconds, she looked Riley straight in the eyes and shook her head,
"No, I wanted more," she whispered as she rested her head on Riley's chest, "I wanted to the world for you."
"..."
"But this… this isn't bad at all. I can't really ask for more than this," Alice tightened her embrace; her hands, almost gripping Riley's back, "It is… this is what I want for you."
"Well… It is very beautiful, mother. Thank you."
"No," Alice shook her head several times, wiping her tears on Riley's clothes, "Thank you… thank you for coming into my life, Riley. Just promise me… please promise me one thing."
"What is it, mother?"
"Never forget how much I love you."
"...I won't, mother," and with those words, Riley also tightened his embrace; very gently brushing his hand on his mother's head,
"This is a very beautiful memory that I will never forget, mother."
"..."
"..."
And very softly, the sand that Riley and Alice danced on turned into metal; the night that was filled with stars and celebration, now back to the colorless ceiling they were before. But the people that were surrounding Riley and Alice?
They were still there.
The members of the Hope Guild; and even Charlotte was there. Diana was standing beside Katherine, who was hugging the sobbing Karina.
Tomoe just had her eyes closed; trying to stop whatever emotion was coming out of her. Hannah's white gown very slowly disappeared along with the smile on her face. As for Paige, she just took in a deep breath as the basement once again returned to its normal state.
But very soon, they all just left one by one— leaving Alice and Riley to dance on their own.
"Riley."
"Yes, mother?"
"I'm really sorry. You're still grieving your friend's death... and now this."
"It is fine, mother."
"It's not... it's never fine. I'm just afraid that it might be too much for you to handle."
"..."
"Riley."
"Yes, mother?"
"Can you tell me you love me?"
"..."
"Even if it's just a lie, even if it's just pretend… I want to hear it before I let go."
"..."
"..."
"I love you, mother."
Chapter 455Heavy.
Riley has carried things with more weight in his life— with the Guardian Force probably one of the heaviest. He could carry a tank using just a single finger because of the strength he gained from Aerith…
…but now that he was carrying Alice up the stairs, it almost seemed as if the weight was enough to pull him down to the core of the Earth; each of his steps, a story of its own.
He had thought Alice meant nothing to him; he was vocal about it, and words of indifference escaped his mouth several times. He couldn't care less about Alice Lane, and yet now, staring at Alice's face, it seemed as if it was all a lie.
Telling her that he loved her was a lie— that much Riley knows to be the truth. But did he really not care for her? Why does it seem like he does?
He had only known his mother for a full day, and the time they had spent together could even be counted on a single hand; ephemeral, even. And yet why?
Why does she seem so heavy? Why was she literally pulling Riley down?
He could use his mind to lift her, but it didn't seem right— Alice Lane was the only being in existence that was able to completely neutralize Riley's telekinetic abilities; it makes sense, it came from her. In a way, she probably knew how to control the power even more than Riley.
It felt… disrespectful using the power on her.
"Mother," Riley then let out a small whisper as his eyes remained on Alice's face, "I wonder if; you didn't die, would the life you have wanted for me—for us come true? Would I have been a normal human that smiles not only at the thought of death but of happiness? Would… I have been happy? I truly can't imagine such a thing happening. It feels…
…weird."
Riley continued to talk as he made his way up to the bunker. He didn't really stop or take a pause, and just carried his mother straight to his house… where almost a dozen people were waiting.
Diana, Tempo, Butcher, Empress, Charlotte, Hannah, Tomoe, Paige, Katherine, and Karina— all of their eyes, quickly looking at Riley as he entered.
"She's dead, everyone," Riley then casually said as he walked into the living room where everyone was just sitting on the sofa or anxiously standing at the corner of the large room.
No one really had an answer to Riley's words; their silent breaths, just echoing through the air. Riley looked at each of them for a few seconds, before making his way to one of them.
Charlotte quickly approached him and stretched her arms— but Riley just walked past her.
"I believe you have the most right to bury or cremate her, mother."
Charlotte could really only watch as Riley handed Alice's body to Diana. She wanted to say something but just chose to stay quiet. Riley is right, after all— even though she was her mother, she didn't really treat Alice the way a mother should. But still… she could not help but feel helpless.
She wanted to do right by trying to enter Riley's life now, but Riley threatened to kill her if she insisted on doing so.
"..." Charlotte then looked to the side as she felt a hand on her shoulder, only to see Empress looking at her with a sense of pity. She failed as a mother— she thought this was alright since she was serving the world and saving its people, but this was wrong.
As a consequence of her indifference and negligence, Darkday was born. She… should really start atoning for her mistakes.
"Do you want me to revive her again?" Diana softly whispered as she gently placed Alice's body on the sofa, "It's possible, but it will take more of the supers' essence— you need to kill thousands to—"
"Mother!?" Hannah quickly interjected as she heard her mother's words.
"...Or we could use all the Guardian Force you're hiding," Diana quickly changed the direction of her sentence; her eyes, looking at one of Riley's pockets.
"No," Riley shook his head, "Those who died should remain dead. I do not want her carrying the burden of seeing the things I am seeing— death is a gift of peace, she deserves at least that."
"You call it the Overvoid?" Diana slightly squinted her eyes as she looked Riley in the eyes.
"Biological mother told you?"
"...Yes," Diana's eyes became sharper. But after a few breaths, she shook her head and looked away, "We should talk about it later, I'm taking Alice back to the ship and preserving her body there. I…
…wish for her to be immortalized in one of Theran's moons."
"Wait!"
Charlotte could not help but raise a word as soon as she heard Diana's words, "You're… not going to bury her here?"
"...No," Diana let out a small sigh as she looked at Charlotte, "It's not only my wish, it's also hers."
"...What?"
"She said… it would be cool," Diana then closed her eyes as a smile crawled on her face, "She… didn't want to be buried amongst foolish mortals, is what she told me."
"..." Charlotte turned to look at her daughter's body as she heard that; and after a few stuttering breaths escaped her lips, they also turned into a smile,
"That's… just like her, isn't it? You don't need my permission, I'm just… I thought I would have more time with my daughter, that's all."
"She wanted you to be there."
"W… what?"
"She forgave you, Charlotte. The two of you may not have had the chance to talk, but she forgave you."
"That…" Charlotte once again glanced at her daughter's body, before a hint of tears started to trail down her face; she quickly wiped them away, however, before nodding several times and biting her lip,
"I… I will go, of course I will go," Charlotte almost whimpered, "But… only if Riley wants me to."
"I don't really care, biological grandmother," Riley only shrugged, before turning to look at Diana again,
"We are going to Theran, mother?"
"Hm. We're going to have to take the long and quiet road there since I'm… kinda banned there, you see," Diana then let out a small and awkward giggle before sticking her tongue out, "Your mother… did some crazy things when she was younger, you see."
"I heard from Aerith, mother."
"Oh my," Diana held her cheeks, "I hope she didn't tell you everything, now I'm a bit shy."
"..." Everyone could really only look at each other as they saw Diana covering her face. She always acted like this— but now that all of them knew she was a Themarian, it just… feels ominous if anything.
"Anyway, who else wants to come?" Diana then said as she looked at the people inside her house. And as soon as she did so, Paige and Tomoe raised their hands.
"Me! Me!"
"I promised master I will help him in his revenge. We will travel the expanse of the universe together to annihilate the horned cat people."
"I'm afraid my duty keeps me here," Empress carefully approached Alice's body, gently brushing her cheek and fixing her hair, "I… already buried my friend once, I'm not going to do it again. And I don't really have a choice but to stay. The evaniels are still here and I need to deal with the aftermath of what Riley did."
"Same, same," Tempo sighed as he shook his head, "I had enough weird aliens in one lifetime."
"Hm," Diana nodded, "Anyway, the ship will land in front of our lawn 3 days from now— anyone can join us. The more the merrier, after all."
"Mom…" Hannah could really only let out a sigh as she hit her own forehead. If her mother is a Themarian, then she should at least act like one, she thought,
"...we're not going on a picnic."
***
"Isn't this Riley Ross!? What is he doing on this planet!?"
Somewhere on a planet far, far away, Raleerus was currently standing on top of a mountain.
"There… shouldn't be a mountain here."
"Are those… Blutans? This many… why…"
"No one… no one is answering, I think everyone… everyone's dead. It's them! Those… those are all Blutan corpses!"
And in the air, circling Raleerus, were a dozen Guardians; and it is as they said. What Raleerus was standing on was not actually a mountain, no— but a mound of a billion corpses.
"..." Raleerus then very slowly turned his eyes toward each of the Guardians surrounding him; his eyebrows, turning into a frown, "It's you guys…
…I heard your group was involved in Diley's death."
Chapter 456"Haha!"
Raleerus.
Perhaps as a clone that was left on his own for almost an entire year without any outside influence from Riley, interacting and trying to live amongst the aliens, he had a personality that was completely different and independent compared to the rest of Riley's recent and latest clones.
And since he had met hundreds of different species and learned some of their languages, he had also gained an understanding of their different cultures— one could even say that Raleerus was more… cultured than his creator, and even John.
When Riley left him, he didn't really have any sense of purpose or mission. The only thing he had was an urge to kill everything that talks; and so, with him finally being allowed to kill and wreak havoc, murder and destroy he did.
After leaving Hotis 4J, he found a ship forcefully stowed away in; asking the unfortunate pilot to take him to the nearest planet. And not even an hour after landing on the said planet, he killed every living soul on it, including non-intelligent life.
Unlike Riley Ross, he did not really tend to enjoy the screams of his victims, no— the only thing that mattered to him was their death.
As soon as his feet landed on the ground, he sent out some sort of telekinetic pulse that served as a radar to track and trace anything and everything that breathes, moves, or has a heartbeat.
And with an excited and almost moaning breath, he attached invisible ropes in all of them; and ten, with a giggle, he embraced himself; and as he did so, he pulled the billions that were attached to his invisible rope.
Screams no longer mattered to him, just death and presentation. Most of the creatures that he pulled were already in pieces just meters after they left where they stood, shredded either by walls, or a mountain that happened to be in their path. But still, whatever remained of them, Raleerus pulled closer to him.
And just like that, in less than an hour— he eradicated all life on the planet, creating a mountain the size of Mt. Fuji with their corpses; and if one were to look closer, they would notice that Raleerus intentionally made it to be that way…
…and he did so while laughing.
And after an hour, he didn't do anything. He just stood on top of his creation and relished the sights and smells of death. No— saying that he just stood there is misinformation.
He danced.
He danced and hummed on the top of the mountain, dancing with one of the corpses that managed to stay intact, while making more than a dozen corpses their audience.
But alas, he had to stop as after a few more hours, he found himself surrounded by different people, all wearing a red luminous suit and circling around him as they hovered in the air.
During the broadcast, he was able to briefly read Riley's thoughts as he executed someone who wore the same uniform as the people surrounding him— and if the information he received was correct… then these people were partly responsible for Diley's death.
"You people killed my senior."
"You… you should still be on the remote planet! How… how are you here!?"
The leader of the squad of Guardians was the first to directly address Raleerus; his eyes, hastily reviewing all the holograms containing Riley Ross's current information in front of him.
A few moments later, however, another hologram popped out in front of him— another recorded footage of Riley on another planet close to where they are.
"...What?"
"Surprised?"
"!!!"
The squad leader quickly floated away as he felt a whisper on his pink neck— he looked to where he was previously hovering, only to see Raleerus there. To his surprise, however, there was still someone standing on top of the mountain of corpses.
"W—"
And before he could even say another word, another hologram popped up in front of him. He didn't immediately turn his eyes towards it; as he was afraid that his thoughts were right. But after a few more breaths, he had no choice but to check on the hologram— and true enough, it was a report of another Riley Ross wreaking havoc on another planet.
And before he could see where it was, another hologram popped up. This time, however, it wasn't a report of Riley Ross wreaking havoc on another planet, no— it was a report of him splitting one in half, killing all of its 3 billion inhabitants.
"Twenty," Raleerus's clone once again whispered as he very slowly floated near the squad leader, who didn't really know what to do, right now,
"I made twenty other clones. I don't really have any connection to them right now, but it is good they are still doing what they need to do. I would have to say though, I might have to step up my game a little bit…
…don't you think so?"
Guardians have faced many threats before— planet eaters, genocidal overlords, galactic pirates, and even rogue juvenile Themarians. But never once has there been a singular threat that destroyed several planets that were trillions of kilometers away from each other…
…and all at the same time.
***
"Is father not coming?"
"Oh, he's already on the ship. He's still unconscious so I just decided to throw him beside Aerith's son."
"...What?"
In front of the Ross' residence, a dagger-shaped ship the size of a large house was now casually parked— Diana's ship. Tomoe, Paige, Katherine, and Karina were already inside and making themselves familiar with the interior. As for Hannah, she was inside the house, helping her mother to carry basically the entire house.
"Why are you bringing the oven!?"
"I got that on a bargain, of course, I'm bringing it. Do you know how much that costs without the discount?"
"Then why don't you carry it, then!? You're supposed to be a themarian!"
"You know, if you spent the time you spent talking instead of carrying our stuff, we would have emptied the house by now."
"And where the fuck is Riley!? This would have been done hours ago! And why are we even packing everything!?"
Hannah could really only let out a loud groan as she carried their oven, which probably weighed twice as her.
"He's out there talking with Aerith or something," Diana let out a small sigh as she sat on their sofa, "I swear, I don't really see your brother sees on that woman. He's obsessed. Did you check his room? Did you see how many cutouts and figurines of Megawoman he has?"
"...I don't really get it. Are you really a Themarian that's hundreds of years old?"
"Thousands, twelve thousand something, to be precise."
"Twelve— shouldn't you be like, very wise right now!?"
"I'm knowledgeable. I never learned to be wise, sadly," Diana covered her mouth as she giggled.
"Wait… is this why you're so chill with Riley being with Katherine back then!? Oh my god, you're two hundred times older than—"
"Say it."
"I… I said you seem too young for your age."
"And what age is that?"
"That— Oh, look at that!"
And without even any explanation whatsoever, Hannah suddenly easily carried that oven outside; not waiting for her mother to say anything else. She already has a sense of fear from her mother even back then, but now that she's a themarian…
…her fear of her just doubled.
***
"How's Gary?"
"Asleep."
"Hm. He seemed quite distressed the last time I saw him."
"...You manipulated him, Riley. Although… perhaps I should thank you for not killing him."
"You are welcome, Aerith."
"..."
Somewhere in the lands of Europe, Riley and Aerith were casually standing on top of a cliff; in front of them, a view that seemed almost untouched for eons— the very location where Riley and Aerith had their first proper talk.
"So, it's finally happening. You're finally leaving this planet."
"...You predicted this from happening, Aerith?"
"Of course," Aerith's sighs echoed throughout the immaculate horizon filled with nothing but mountains and nature,
"Even someone with lesser power than you has always left their home planet. I have actually predicted that after a hundred years or so, most of the supers would be exploring the different worlds that the Universe has to offer— your species is unique in that way…
…and you even more so."
Chapter 457"6 times."
"Hm?"
"You have told me how unique I am for a total of 6 times now, Aerith."
"...You keep track of that?"
"I always remember moments with you, Aerith."
More than 6 years ago, Riley and Aerith were in the same spot— overlooking the lush forest, brutal mountains, and crystal river in front of them; and with time, this immaculate scenery remains completely unchanged, and perhaps will be for a very long time. What did change, however, were the two individuals they basked with their magnificence.
No— perhaps change was not the right word for the two; as the last time they met in the same place, they met as Darkday and Megawoman. But now, the two just looked at each other with eyes that were clear of any masks, and clouds that hid their silhouettes.
"You've grown, Riley. And yet you look exactly the same— minus the long hair."
"I could say the same to you, Aerith."
"I'm afraid it will be a very long time until I look old."
"I would like to see that, Aerith."
"...I thought you wanted me dead?"
"Of course not, Aerith."
"W—"
"I wanted you to torture you and let you suffer until you wish for death."
"...Thanks?"
"I know now that is impossible, however. But you do not have to worry, Aerith. I am more than filling my urge and desire to kill as we speak."
"...I'm not really worried about— What? What do you mean you're filling your urge?"
"Although I still do not see what my clone sees, I can now partially feel what he is feeling. As to how, even I am not entirely sure, Aerith."
"..." Aerith did not really know what to say anymore. In Theran, someone of Riley's age would still be in theoretical classes and is considered just a babe, a child that has only lived a single breath; and yet, he was able to do the thing that only a handful of beings in the universe are capable of— make her speechless.
No, it wasn't only her. Now that Riley will be visiting Theran, Aerith could really just imagine what sort of trouble he would do there. Was it... really the right decision to have him go there?
No, of course it wasn't. But alas, try as she might, she would have to persuade Diana not to bring Riley along. And convincing Diana, is perhaps, the most difficult thing in the entire universe.
Still, her curiosity seems to have won as she turned to face Riley, who had his eyes closed as he seemed to breathe in the fresh and unpolluted air around them; his long white hair, he allowed to flail with the wind.
"...And what exactly is your clone feeling right now?" She asked.
"Joy."
"...Why?"
"You are still unaware of it? I thought you would know with the kind of network you and mother have," Riley then turned to look at Aerith, "Based on the feeling being transferred to me, he has and is ending lives. Billions and billions of—"
"Tell him to stop!"
And before Riley could finish his words, Aerith was now suddenly clasping his head; her face, only a foot away from Riley's. And before anything else could happen, a loud thunder reverberated throughout the prairie. A clap exploded behind where Aerith was previously standing, letting out a violent ripple that split even the clouds above.
And yet, surprisingly, the nature around and beneath remained completely unscathed— even the grass and fauna they were standing on were untouched, completely unmoved.
"Be careful, Aerith. You don't want to destroy this place, it is very memorable for the both of us."
"Tell your clone to stop killing and I will let you go," Aerith said as she leaned her head even closer to Riley's face; the tip of their noses, only inches apart before touching one another.
"..." Riley just stared Aerith straight in the eyes, and Aerith did the same— after all, with their faces this close, that was the only thing they could really do,
"I can't Aerith, I can't control or stop them from this far."
"Them!?"
"He created his own clones."
"You just said you don't know what it's doing!"
"..." Riley slightly looked to the side, "I don't. The feeling I am getting from him is too much for just one clone, so I surmised that he might have created his own clone… and then sent them to other planets so he could save time and kill more people per second, Aerith."
"You… Someone really needs to stop you, kid."
"Is that not your role?"
"No, I have given up trying to stop you for quite a while now. You're just… someone I have to exist with now."
"If you're not my nemesis, then perhaps we can now be lovers, Aerith?"
"...What?"
"I have always wondered what it would be like for us to mate— you can survive anything, and I could likewise do the same. How do two Therans copulate in the first place?"
"I am…not interested in that kind of thing— especially not to a being that can't love," Aerith could really only let out a sigh as she finally removed her hand from Riley's head. But before she could start to lean away, however, Riley suddenly placed his lips onto hers.
"!!!"
And all of a sudden, Riley disappeared as Aerith punched him straight in the cheeks without any hesitation. The cliff beneath her feet, blasting in smithereens to the point they were disintegrated.
"..." Aerith just floated there as she touched her lips. She was going to wipe it clean, but paused for a couple of seconds as she looked at the horizon.
"..."
"..."
"So, what did it feel like?" And after a few breaths, Riley was already in front of her again; his head tilted as he continued his question,
"I want to know what you felt, Aerith."
"I feel like I want to kill you again," Aerith clicked her tongue, before shaking her head and flying away, "Let's go. They're probably waiting for us."
"You know I will try again if you don't tell me how it felt, Aerith," Riley just nonchalantly flew beside her.
"Try it, I dare you."
"Oh…
…I will."
***
"...What's up with you two?"
"I kissed Aerith."
"What!?"
"Don't worry, sister. This is not the first time— I kissed her in the house too when I was hiding her there when I thought she was dead."
"...What?"
Back inside Diana's ship, Aerith could be seen quickly walking away as soon as Riley's words echoed through the air. Her eyes, however, could not help but twitch as she passed by Diana, who intentionally covered her mouth and started a subtle, but obviously condescending chuckle.
"Kissing the man who was responsible for the father of your son's death. As expected of the rebel princess," Diana then subtly and quietly said in the span of a single second.
"You—" Aerith wanted to retaliate, but she chose not to and just walked away, "I'm going to check on my son."
"Oh, that's rare."
"..." Aerith truly wanted to retaliate; but once again, she just chose to walk away.
"Are we all here, then?" Diana then once again let out a giggle before entering the large hall where everyone was loitering and idling about.
"I guess so," Hannah approached her mother, still slightly shocked by Riley's revelations but obviously already used to them, "But if Katherine wants to be left behind, I have no objections."
"Too late for second thoughts," Diana just shrugged as she immediately got in between the two before anything could happen, "We're actually already in transit."
"...Wait what!?" Hannah's eyes opened wide before she immediately started running away, "Why didn't you even say anything!? Paige, let's check it out!"
"Wait for us!" And Paige, who was just sitting on one of the sofas that came from the Ross' residence, also quickly left the large hall— not before, of course, pulling Tomoe, Karina…
…and Silvie with her.
"...Forever a child," Diana could really only sigh before she turned her eyes toward the evaniel princess, who was just quietly sitting on the very corner of the hall,
"Princess Vera, are… you sure you're not needed by your people?" She said as she approached Vera.
"...No," Vera only rested her head on the wall as she heard Diana's words.
"Your mother… how did she take the news of your brother's death?"
"There's a reason why I'm with you."
"If it's for revenge, forget it," Diana sighed, "It will not end well. I would really, really hate for your mother to also receive the news of her daughter's death— and I mean this sincerely. Riley is… someone that will devour everything in his path."
"..."
"Finally, signs of people! Just how confusing is this ship?"
And before Vera could answer anything, a voice could be heard entering the hall— one of the members of the Hope Guild, Hera.
"Have any of you seen my stupid boyfriend? I've been trying to find him since earlier."
"..."
"..."
"...How long are we going to be gone again?"
***
[To all Guardians within the Known Universe, you are hereby ordered to hunt for the individual known as Riley Ross. Riley Ross is considered to be a Galactic-level Threat, he is to be killed without...]
"Interesting."
Somewhere in the expanse of the universe, a completely naked man could be seen standing on an asteroid… holding what seemed to be a bag of stones that eerily resembled that of a Guardian Force.
And with a small breath, he picked up one of the stones and put it inside his mouth, cracking and chewing it like candy.
Chapter 458"...There's really nothing to look at there."
"It is an interesting sight, mother. How fast are we moving?"
"I would need to check to be sure, we don't really have a gauge of speed during hyperdrive."
"Hm, interesting."
Riley's eyes were like mirrors, reflecting the streak of lights that danced endlessly in front of him. Diana's ship looked like it did not have any windows from the outside, but the large and empty silver atrium that Riley was in right now was filled with the view of the ever-changing expanse of space.
Speed— the concept seems to be thrown out as soon as one reaches space. Even when he and Aerith were traveling from Hotis 4J, he was completely unaware of how fast they were going because of the lack of visual measurement and air resistance.
Such things, Riley could never really fathom even if he wanted to. But even still, there was a growing curiosity inside him that seemed to wish to crawl out. Ever since he had seen Megawoman in the news and TV, Riley has always been fascinated with what sort of life she had led— and now he was finally slowly uncovering it.
"...Sometimes I really wish I could know what you're truly thinking, Riley."
And as Riley suddenly became silent, Diana could really only stand by his side as she too, looked at the moving scenery,
"It has been a while since I last saw this. I… have remained on Earth for too long. I learned a lot too."
"...Did you know I was Darkday, mother?"
"Not at first, no," Diana sighed as she shook her head, "When Alice died and you came into my life, I tried my best to actually become a mother for her sake. And then there came a time when I had to mix both lives due to my never-ending curiosity."
"...Does that mean you weren't trying to be a mother to Hannah?"
"...Not at first, no," Diana could really only close her eyes as she answered Riley, "I wondered what offspring Bernard and I would have; if it would yield an astonishing being with a mind capable of changing the entire universe as we know it."
"You clearly failed in that, mother. Hannah is very simple-minded and stupid."
"...Don't let your sister hear that," Diana let out a small chuckle. But after a few more moments, her eyes turned melancholy as she turned to face Riley,
"You children may have been a curiosity at first, but don't you get mistaken, young man…
…I would die to protect both of you."
"..."
"You and Hannah are my children, nothing in this universe will deny that to me… and I won't let them."
"Hm."
"..."
"..."
"Right, good talk," Diana then took in a deep breath as she started backing away, "Remember, Riley…
…you're still my sweet little boy. So please, if you want to talk about something you don't understand, I would like it if you approach me first."
"I will think about it, mother."
"...Always so cold to me, I'm hurt… very hurt!"
"..." Riley could really only watch as her adoptive mother, a being that was more than ten thousand years old, dramatically clasp her chest as she very slowly made her way out of the atrium. She did not even mind that Paige, who was entering the atrium at the same time, was looking at her with a completely stupefied expression.
"Paige."
"M… Mrs. Ross," Paige awkwardly smiled and instinctively waved her hand as Diana greeted her, and she remained with her hand raised even as Diana disappeared into one of the many intersections of the large silver hallway.
"Your mother… seems different from all the things I've heard about her," Paige's sighs quickly reached Riley's ears; her slightly curly hair, still seemingly wet from the shower,
"Anyway, I didn't wanna disturb your meditation, but your sister and Scarle—I mean Katherine are at it again. Hannah… really doesn't like her that much, huh?"
"Hm," Riley nodded as he finally removed his eyes from the hypnotizing view; and as soon as he did so, all the windows in the atrium instantly disappeared—causing the hall to lose its brilliance as the silver walls returned to their brutal simplicity.
"They have been like that even in the Academy, Paige," Riley then said as he started walking, not even waiting for Paige to fully approach him,
"Perhaps it is because her romantic relationships have always failed, and she hates to—"
[Hyperdrive, offline. We have now entered the Alphari Zone. We will be docking in Hotis 4J. ETA, 10 minutes.]
And before Riley could finish his words, a monotonous voice started to echo throughout the entire atrium.
"...Hotis 4J?" Paige raised an eyebrow as she heard the announcement, "Where have I heard that before?"
"..."
"..."
"...Oh."
***
"What's going on?"
Everyone was now on the flight deck; and although it was called that, there were no visible controls or even a pilot's seat. What was there, however, was a hologram right at the very center of the deck— a hologram that seemed to have a 3D map of the ship's surrounding area.
And there, one could see many other ships in front of them, almost in line. The ship's announcement said that they would be docking soon, but an hour has already passed.
And due to this, the others could no longer just sit still, seemingly all having the same idea as they made their way to the flight deck.
"There's a blockade," Diana was waving her hands in the air, zooming out the hologram before once again zooming in, this time on the nearby planet.
"Is that… a giant candy?" Karina was the first to respond as she leaned closer to the hologram. If it wasn't for Katherine pulling her away, then she might have tried to take a bite of it.
"Hotis 4J," Aerith was the one to answer as she stood beside Diana; her eyebrows furrowed, "It's dying."
Karina's description of the planet was not that far off— as even more so than an actual sanctuary where millions of space travelers rest, it resembled that of a burning coal more.
"How would we even dock there?" Hannah asked.
"We can't," Diana quickly shook her head.
"I guess we take a detour to another planet?" Hera, who accidentally joined the journey, chimed in.
"...I thought you wanted to go home?" As the one standing next to her, Katherine could not help but ask.
"The idiot can take care of himself. I'll just count this as… a vacation," Hera's voice slightly died down at the end as she looked at the wasting planet.
"..."
"I am very sorry, everyone," and as silence filled the air, Riley stepped forward and raised his hand,
"I destroyed it. If I knew we will be stopping here for supplies, I wouldn't have ordered my clone to kill everyone."
"...You what!?"
[Racing Ship Anna, please respond.]
And before anyone could start asking any questions, an unfamiliar voice reverberated in the air.
"This is the racing ship Anna, what seems to be the problem?" Diana raised her hand, gesturing to everyone to remain silent.
[We are doing a routine check on every ship passing by Hotis 4J. Please cooperate and gather all of your essential personnel in the flight deck…
…and prepare to be boarded.]
Chapter 459"They… are going to board our ship?"
For those that have spent all their life on Earth, everything that has been happening felt surreal—no. It truly didn't seem real; like they were living in some sort of futuristic dream.
Days just passed for them, and if they were to be honest, it didn't even feel like they have left Earth since they still have not seen anything that could be considered… alien; minus the actual aliens in their ship, of course.
But now, the reality that they truly were no longer on their own planet hit them like a strong splash of water.
And this situation… weren't they in trouble?
Diana, a Themarian that is supposedly banned from her own planet. Although most of them were still completely unaware of what she did to become so, it probably wasn't anything good. Still, they couldn't really imagine what exactly it was that she did since Diana had been nothing but welcoming and friendly to all of them.
And then there's Aerith. Although they still don't know if it was just some sort of title, they kept hearing everyone calling Aerith the Rebel Princess. Was she really a princess in Theran, or was it just some sort of title?
No matter what the case was, Aerith and Diana being a Themarian should already be enough to cause a violent stir.
And then lastly… Riley Ross— the one who supposedly destroyed Hotis 4J and the very reason for this blockade. If he was t be discovered, then their space adventure would have been cut short before it could even start.
"Can't we just go around?" Hera, who just accidentally stowed away, was the first to speak up, "I don't know about you guys, but space is a large space."
"They will hunt and shoot us down." And once again, to everyone's surprise, the one who answered Hera's question was someone that had been eerily quiet and clearly depressed during the entire flight— Princess Vera.
"Everyone needs to yield whenever there's a blockade, even the Elders are not an exception."
"...What do we do, then?"
Everyone then started looking around; their eyes, however, quickly stopped scanning the deck as soon as they landed on Paige.
"Yes, I can hide us." Paige nodded as soon as she saw almost everyone looking at her. They didn't even need to say anything.
But alas, before they could let out a breath of relief, Aerith let out a sigh that resounded through each of their ears.
"Paige's powers can't conceal heat and sound. They will easily discover you," she said in an almost chuckling manner.
As soon as everyone heard her words, however, they just all turned to look at Riley. And like with Paige, they didn't even need to say anything. Riley was capable of bending light itself and has shown to be able to completely hide his presence using his telekinetic abilities.
"Right… what's with this setup?" Aerith once again let out a slightly heavy breath as a small smile subtly crawled on her face, "Anyway, it will look weird if there was only a single person on the ship, so… Hannah and I will be the ones to welcome our guests."
"...But won't they recognize you?" Hannah asked as she heard her name coming up.
"Not at all," Aerith chuckled, "The universal… military does not have any records pertaining themarians; or rather, they are not allowed to. And we don't really plaster our faces for the universe to see either."
"Wait…" Hannah's eyes slightly started to squint, "You mean there's no like… universal social media?"
"..." Aerith only glanced at Hannah as she heard her words; her eyes, slightly wide with curiosity, "Come to think of it… I don't think there is."
"...Maybe father can make one as soon as he wakes up," Hannah's eyes also widened, "We.. we'll be fucking rich! Heh… hehe."
"...Paige, Riley… you know what to do."
And with those words being uttered by Aerith, she and Hannah started to leave the deck to wait for the patrol to arrive.
"..." And while all the things that have transpired for the past few minutes were happening, Diana was just completely at a loss; blinking her eyes as she looked at everyone.
Did… they forget that she had the technology to literally disguise herself using sophisticated hologram technology? Why…
…didn't anyone ask her?
***
Although Hannah see me completely composed; in truth, a violent excitement was already filling up her insides. She had faced many aliens before, and a group of evaniels are even staying and resting on Earth… but never once has she been the visitor. In this case… wasn't she and the other humans the ones that are alien?
"..." Hannah quickly shook her head off of the thoughts that were pestering and echoing in her mind.
"Don't be nervous, they can smell that," Aerith said as she very gently patted Hannah's back, "Just act natural, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," Hannah sighed as she continued to shake her head, "These people that are about to board our ship, are they also Guardians?"
"No. Guardians respond to threats as it happens. The people responsible for blockades are a completely different department— like some sort of military patrol. They… are most probably searching for Riley's clone."
"My brother– my brother… did he really kill everyone on the planet?"
"You don't need to worry that much," Aerith waved her hand, "Hotis 4J is a place where criminals and outlaws are 99% of the population, if they disappear, maybe the universe would be better off."
"...I never thought I would hear something like that from you, Aerith," Hannah could not help but blink a couple of times as she heard Aerith's voice, "Especially not from a hero that has not, even once, intentionally killed a villain."
"Because I didn't need to. I was strong enough that I could apprehend the villains without harming a single bone in their body," Aerith smiled; if one were to look in her eyes, one might be able to see the things she has experienced.
"...Right."
"You know what they say, 'never meet your heroes'," she breathed out, "And most of the villains on Earth are just people that have been dealt the wrong cards and weren't strong enough to overcome them— that is what I noticed from all the villains I caught. And perhaps the only real exception to this… is your brother."
"..."
"He's more like a themarian that way; most of us do whatever we want without caring for others."
"Themarians…" The tone of Hannah's voice slightly turned serious as she stared at the entrance door of the ship,
"My mother… what was she like?" She then asked.
"The only thing you need to know about your mother now is that she is old and famous enough that we had to study her in our College," Aerith chuckled, "Your mother… is probably one of the most famous individuals in the entire universe."
"Fuck… for real? You guys were learning about mom?"
"You'll find out when we get there," Aerith once again let out a small chuckle, "If we get there, that is."
And with those words, the door in front of them finally opened. And immediately, Hannah's eyes turned wide. How could they not, when a giant frog that stood 3 meters tall stepped inside the ship?
It almost felt like the human-frog could swallow Hannah whole with ease, judging by how wide its mouth was.
"..." Hannah then looked at the human-frog's companion; and if it wasn't for the tail waving from the back of his waist, Hannah might have thought him human.
The two soldiers then started looking at Hannah from head to toe, before also doing the same with Aerith as they started checking on their database.
"..." Hannah wanted to take in a small gulp. Although Aerith said that no one should be able to recognize her, Hannah still could not help but feel something ominous was about to happen. Add the fact that he couldn't even understand the two as they started talking to Aerith in some sort of weird language, she was completely in the dark.
She understood them just fine during the comms on the ship… could it be the ship had some sort of automatic translator?
"Stop thinking too much."
And while Hannah was already thinking too much, Aerith very lightly tapped her on the arm,
"There's no point in worrying, you're just unnecessarily stressing yourself."
"I'm not worried," Hannah shook her head and sighed, "I know what my brother is capable of."
"..."
"..."
"...Now that I said that, I feel a little worried," Hannah took in a small gulp as she glanced at the two soldiers, who were just walking around and looking at the silver walls, "What… are they even doing right now?"
"They are scanning the ship. Now, stop worrying— you're even more suspicious like that," Aerith whispered.
And then, finally, after what seemed like an entire Earth minute, the two soldiers once again started talking to each other. And judging by the smile crawling on Aerith's face, everything seemed to have gone well… one could even say that they were talking too casually.
They were probably taking more time talking than they actually did scanning the ship, whatever it was that Aerith was saying, it seemed to be putting the soldiers in a good mood.
They were also glancing at Hannah from time to time. Now, whether or not they were laughing at her or not, Hannah probably didn't want an answer.
Thankfully, after a few more shared chuckles, the soldiers started walking away— not even a single incident.
"Leaving so soon?"
But then, as the inner entrance door slid open…
…Riley welcomed them on the other side.
"...Fuck."
Chapter 460There were two forces that ultimately kept peace and order throughout the Known Universe. First, were the Guardians— they could be considered to be the ones that are sent first to deal with the threat. They were feared, but at the same time, respected.
And second, the Common Cosmic Military, or as the name they are known, the Lahestia. They were the ones that would prevent any threats from happening in the first place; or if it had already passed, then they were the ones to clean up the mess and make sure that it doesn't happen.
Unlike the Guardians, who had the tendency to go off on their own and decide on their own since they were chosen, the Lahestia were born in the service, making them creatures of absolute order, habit, and obedience.
No matter where they were sent, not even an ounce of complaint or hesitation would be heard from them. And right now, a platoon of them were stationed at one of the planets at the edge of the Known Universe, Hotis 4J.
But of course, even as creatures of absolute obedience, they still had their own individuality as well as their own personalities, and of course… their own hobbies.
And for Krokan and C'ashir, it just so happened to be spaceships. The two could not be more different from each other; with Krokan belonging to a race that evolved from Amphibians, while C'ashir was from a race that evolved from Simians. But as the two were Lahestia, they grew up as brothers and grew even more closer when they shared the same hobby.
The tension was high in Hotis 4J; even more so now that the one who destroyed the planet was still out there wreaking havoc on multiple planets at the same time. The last time they have probably faced a predicament like this was way before their generation.
But for Krokan and C'ashir, an unexpected variable emerged as they were just monotonously doing their duties— a race ship. And not just any race ship, one of the best that was ever made and definitely the rarest.
Race ships tend to be small and could only fit 1 or 2 people, but this one could hold an entire battalion. Even after thousands of years, it still held its status as the greatest personal race ship to bask the cosmos.
And just to their luck, they were able to board it and even talk to the owner. They didn't even need to check any credentials whatsoever; as judging by the way the female humanoid talked to them about the ship and her knowledge of it, it was clear she had ownership of it.
There was a threat starting to loom across the universe right now, but all the tension they had built up inside just disappeared like that. They didn't really need to board the ship as they could just scan it from the outside with their permission, but they would forever regret it if they didn't at least feel the walls with their bare hands.
And now that they have done so, even if they die the next moment, they wouldn't even mind.
"Leaving so soon?"
And now, it would seem they would be doing just that. Unlike the Guardians who can often be arrogant, the Lahestia takes the time to learn about their mission. And of course, that includes studying everything they know about Riley Ross; his appearance, his language, his known temperament… everything that they could find.
They know how strong the person of interest is this time and would act accordingly if seen. But now that the person of interest was right in front of them…
…how exactly should they act?
"Riley Ross," Krokan was the first to speak. And surprisingly, he let go of the large rifle he was holding as he calmly hopped forward, "Are we speaking to a clone… or the original body?"
"..." Riley Ross's head tilted in response as he heard the frog-like man speaking a language he recognized, "The latter, Mr. Frog."
"!!!" And this time, as Riley's words reached Krokan's tympanums, he quickly turned his entire body to just look at his companion. Unlike the Guardians, who were given the order to actively hunt and kill Riley Ross, they were given the order to keep him in place— not capture him, but just to keep him in place.
They were also aware that Riley was able to instantly create clones of himself, and they knew that he was complacent with questions; that is why he asked what he asked in the first place…
…but to think the original one was now right in front of them.
"What… are you doing on this ship, Riley Ross?" C'ashir also stepped forward; careful not to agitate Riley as he tried his best to question him, and at the same time… buy time.
"This ship belongs to my mother, sir."
"Mother!?" Both C'ashir and Krokan quickly turned their heads back to Aerith, who was already violently shaking her head as she covered her face.
"I… I will change my question, then," C'ashir then immediately calmed himself down as he focused on Riley, "What are you doing here?"
"I am honestly just tagging along, sir," Riley shrugged before just turning around and walking away, "But since I am back in Hotis 4J…
…I would like to finish what my clone started."
And with those words, the inner door closed.
"Wait, where are you going, Riley Ross!?"
Riley, of course, did not answer them as he flew out of the outer door and into the expanse of space. And as soon as he did so, he found himself surrounded by almost a hundred people that wore the same black uniform as C'ashir and Krokan.
None of them had their weapons pointed at Riley, however. No, one could even say that none of them held any sort of hostility against Riley Ross, as they all just floated and moved away as Riley flew by them.
They had strict orders not to engage Riley Ross— their order was only to watch and try to keep him in place, even if he kills one of them.
Fortunately for them, Riley doesn't seem to be even minding them as he just flew closer to Hotis 4J. Everything seemed calm, perhaps too calm.
But of course, this didn't last long as one of the ships that were previously being inspected saw Riley Ross. As someone who has been wreaking havoc throughout the Known Universe, Riley has, of course, gained notoriety.
And in space, when one gains notoriety, one naturally gets a bounty— and right now, as a fresh target with an unusually high bounty, Riley might as well be a walking treasure.
And so, without even the slightest of hesitation and even with the presence of the Lahestia, the ship that was able to detect Riley immediately flew away from the line and shot straight toward him at full speed.
"You… you're mine no—"
And before he could even get a kilometer near Riley, the pilot of the ship as well as his mates found himself suddenly floating in space…
…surrounded by the debris of his ship that was instantly dismantled out of nowhere.
Chapter 461"Something is not right."
"Everything's going to shit, that's fucking what!"
With Riley showing himself, the others no longer needed to be hidden away as they all rushed back to the control room. Hannah was going to follow Riley outside, but Aerith prevented her from doing so.
Hera wanted to say something as she felt something amiss, but her words were overpowered by Hannah's screams.
"You! Why did you let my brother do that!? What are you, some kind of fucking yes-man!?"
"I… He can interact with my powers. It was out of my control!"
"Hannah, have some respect for one of your future sisters-in-law! How many times do I have to remind you to watch your language!?"
"Why are you even scolding me!? Riley's out there fucking things up again! Just this once, why don't you try stopping him!?"
"I… can't really risk them finding out about me."
"W—"
"Stop arguing, I'll go out."
With Diana and Hannah going back and forth with their heated words, Aerith's sighs were almost a welcome sound as she stood between the two,
"Just let me get dressed."
"...Why are all of you so calm!?"
"Guys… something really is not right."
And once again, with everyone busy trying to figure out what to do, Hera felt a certain chill crawl down her spine. Unlike most of the supers, Hera's abilities did not have a clear or set trait. One would think that her power was simply just enhancing her body and making it bigger, but no.
Her power was to survive and adapt, making her abilities completely unpredictable and ever-changing, even for her. And there were also times when her own body would move on its own, or her memories would be altered to ensure her survival.
One account of this was when she lost her memories after knowing that Riley was Darkday. For some odd reason, calculation, or perhaps foresight, her abilities deemed it safer for her to forget. How it knew Riley would lose interest in her, she knows not.
And right now, her body was telling her that something was wrong… or something wrong was about to happen.
But what?
Her eyes trailed across the room, checking and observing if there was anything that was sorely out of place. Of course, if you would ask her, the only thing out of place here was her. The only reason she was here was because she thought Tempo would be coming, and since she was already here, she opted to just treat it as a vacation.
After all, what better way to spend her free time than to travel, right?
Well, that's what she thought. But right now, the uncomfortable feeling was crawling across her entire body, telling her to move and stay away; her senses, almost at their highest to the point that she could even hear everyone's heartbeat.
She once again looked at the room, now looking at each of the people there.
There's Aerith, who was preparing to go outside. The beating of her heart… there wasn't any.
Diana, who was still trying her best to calm her daughter down. The beating of her heart, the same as Aerith's— almost non-existent.
Hannah, who was seemingly angry and mad at everyone. The beating of her heart, obviously fast.
The evaniel princess, Vera, who was standing behind Hannah and looking at the hologram map. The beating of her heart, also unusually fast— but of course, it might just be because she was an evaniel.
Paige, who was busy looking back and forth between Hannah and Diana. Her heartbeat, slightly fast.
Tomoe, who was seemingly also preparing to go outside, and Silvie, who was trying to stop her; both their heartbeats, also accelerated.
Katherine, who was doing her best to distract and cover Karina's ears so that she wouldn't hear any of the foul language. Their heartbeats were probably the most normal ones in the group.
There should also be Whiteking and Gary, who were in some sort of suspended animation. But besides them, no one was missing or doing anything out of the ordinary. A lot of things were happening, but there wasn't anything that Hera could think of that would make her body this uncomfortable to the point her light-brown skin would open all of her pores.
And according to her instincts, the danger wasn't outside… it was near her.
…So what exactly is it?
***
"Do not approach the target! I repeat, do not approach the target!"
The ships of the Lahestia were now circling Riley Ross. Even without seeing the faces of their pilots, the panic that orbited their formation was clear for everyone to see. As for the ships that were just minding their own business and waiting for their permission to pass the checkpoint, well… Most of them took this chance to drive away.
Those who recognized Riley Ross, however, stayed— wanting to see what this new outlaw was capable of.
As for the bounty hunter that went ahead and wanted to try his luck and capture Riley, now completely lifeless in his hand.
"...I still don't know which race could breathe in space." Riley, on the other hand, just casually let him go, gently pushing him away back to his ship, which was still separated into hundreds of pieces. As soon as the bounty hunter was right in the center of the debris, however, the bits and parts of the ship compressed together in a ball, completely crushing the bounty hunter's corpse.
And as soon as he did that, the ships that were still watching what he would do all flew away— some even activating their hyperdrive and not caring if they would hit anything in their path; how could they not, when Riley's eyes were on their way towards them?
"Hm…" Riley really didn't mind, as he just shrugged before turning his focus to the warships that were surrounding him. He tried moving close to one of them, but all they really did was maintain their distance.
[Riley Ross, we are the space military, Lahestia. We have strict orders to apprehend and keep you in place, do not attempt to escape!]
"You—"
[We will not attack you!]
And before Riley could even do anything, another sound directly vibrated through his ears.
[We are non-combatants! If you attack us, it would be seen as a direct attack to—]
"Hm," and before the voice could continue to echo through his ears, Riley stretched his hand towards the ship he crumpled, pulling it closer to him. Once again, the lahestia could do nothing but make way as Riley started moving in space.
Of course, all of them were still on high alert and would respond accordingly— they were trained to do so. But why?
Why did it feel like they weren't actually surrounding a living being… but rather a black hole that was going to suck them in without any warning? They have faced many threats before, but nothing like this.
Everything seemed calm, but that added to the tension they were already feeling. Some of them are even starting to feel relieved that they were not ordered to engage the target… as they were sure the only thing that awaited them on that path was a brutal death.
The only thing that was ordered of them was to keep him in place and observe… and observe they did as Riley made his way near the already dying Hotis 4J.
"..." They then watched as the crumpled ship floated in front of Riley, and without even any warning, the ship disappeared— no, it shot straight towards the dying planet at an almost blinding speed.
"...Fun," Riley whispered. He had already experienced this before during his past battles in space, but without any air resistance or gravity, it was almost as if his telekinetic powers were amplified; to what extent? Even he does not know yet.
As for the Lahestia, the only thing they could really do was watch as the crumpled ship pierced through Hotis 4J. And as soon as it did so, the already dying and desolate planet started to show signs of cracking; and soon… it started caving in on itself.
[Evacuate!]
And without even waiting for anything to happen, the fleet all started to disappear one by one at the order of their commander. But as the last ship, the commander's ship, was about to go on hyperdrive, he ordered his crew to cancel.
After all, the planet that they thought was about to scatter into pieces and cause a torrential storm of its debris unexpectedly retained its shape— no…
…the sphere was even starting to become smaller and smaller.
Chapter 462Amid Deb'rah— the commander of the fleet responsible for the checkpoint in Hotis 4J. Like most of his men, he did not expect that they would actually come face to face with the newest threat in the Known Universe.
This didn't mean that he wasn't prepared, however— as someone trained from birth, he already had several plans ready, and another set of plans when the previous ones failed, his plans were as many as the tendrils on his chin. But with Riley Ross being categorized as a Galactic-level Threat by the Guardians, there really wasn't that much he could plan for.
The number one priority now was his men's safety. And so, with the first sign of Riley Ross finishing the destruction of Hotis 4J, Amid ordered all of his men to evacuate so they would be safe from the planet's debris.
"Is everyone safe? Then, let's—"
"Commander, something… is happening with the planet."
And as Amid was about to order his own crew to disappear, their ship detected something— an insane amount of pressure building from Hotis 4J.
"Bring up the feed, quick!"
Commander Amid pushed some of his crew to the side as he rushed to look at the console at the very center of the deck.
"Where is it!?" He once again roared as there was nothing popping out on his table.
"B…bringing it up now, commander!"
And there, as soon as the hologram of Hotis 4J popped up, Amid could not help but take a few steps back. Hotis 4J, the planet he thought would be bursting into millions of pieces and creating a torrential storm… remained intact.
"We… we're reading insane amounts of pressu—"
"I can see that!"
Amid roared as he saw Hotis 4J becoming smaller and smaller. He shouldn't be surprised by something like this— after all, based on their reports, Riley Ross destroyed a planet several times the size of Hotis 4J in the time it takes for an average humanoid to breathe.
But bursting a planet open, and compressing it are two different feats completely. But once again, he shouldn't be surprised.
Riley Ross is a Galactic-level Threat.
"Commander! Your orders!?"
"..." Amid then took in a small gulp as the tendrils on his chin started to curl. And after a few more seconds, he shook his head, "Transfer the energy we gained from hyperdrive to the shield, but leave at least 20% so we could move away if we need to."
"We're not… joining the others, sir?"
"We're ordered to observe, that is what we are going to do," Amid then said as he focused his eyes on Riley Ross's figure— only to see him looking directly straight at the feed.
"..."
And very soon, Riley Ross very slowly floated toward their ship.
"Go! Let's go! What are you waiting for!?"
***
"..."
Riley, who was making his way toward the remaining lahestia ship, could not help but blink a couple of times as it suddenly disappeared. He was going to ask them something regarding Raleerus and his other clones, but alas.
They said they were ordered to hold him and keep him in place. If he waits here, would that mean someone would come? If it was another group of Guardians, then he might as well just return to his ship.
He was keeping Hotis 4J intact so he could throw it to whoever and whatever was coming for him. Maybe he would even get to see one of those Messengers? He saw from Diana's codex that one of them was even larger than Earth, so he was wondering what would happen if he used Hotis 4J like some kind of bullet.
But if it was just another group of Guardians, then that would just be boring. When Vera told him about the Guardian, he thought they would at the very least be as strong as Aerith whenever she was holding back, but no.
He was at the very least excited when he learned that a group of them was capable of defeating a themarian. But in the end, he learned another thing— it would seem even themarians have weaker people in their race.
"..." He then turned his focus back to the planet he was holding, before scanning the expanse of space around him and wondering which direction Earth is. Aerith said that you could tell by trying to find and looking at the Solar System's sun…
…but where is that, exactly?
There were more than a hundred sparkling lights around him, some even disappearing as he blinked.
He wanted to learn about astronomy when he enrolled in Mega Academy; sadly, they weren't really offering it. He tried to ask Hannah if she knew anything about space, but all she told him was that she was a Capricorn.
Perhaps he should start learning from Diana and Aerith, 'less he wanted to be lost in space. No, perhaps he should forget learning from Aerith, as she got lost the first time they traveled across the expanse of space.
"..." Riley then once again scanned the stars around him, before letting out a sigh and shaking his head. And with another breath, Hotis 4J suddenly disappeared from its spot— shooting out to where there were as fewer stars as possible so he wouldn't accidentally destroy Earth; after all, with him gone, he was expecting another season of Italian Mafia Reborn to be already made when he comes back to the planet.
And now that he finished what his clone started, he finally turned his focus back to Diana's ship. He was expecting Aerith or even Hannah to try and stop him; that was the only reason he took his time in the first place, but to think they were just letting him do as he pleased.
Was it some kind of reverse psychology? Because it was somewhat working, Riley thought. It was incredibly boring to destroy things when nothing and no one was resisting him. But since they were on their way to Theran, that was about to change— he could really only imagine how fun it would be to wreak havoc on a planet filled with beings as strong as Aerith.
How many times would he die? And if he was lucky…
…maybe his life would actually finally be extinguished. It was a fitting end, he will finally die at the very same place where his biological mother will be bur—
"..." And before Riley could finish his thoughts, his mouth very slightly opened and his eyes started to blink several times— the closest he would really get to expressing shock.
The times that Riley has been completely in shock could probably be counted on a single hand, and this definitely now tops all of them. After all…
…Diana's ship was now nowhere to be seen.
He initially thought it was just charging up since he was returning inside… but to think it would just leave him. He was just imagining what it would feel like to be left alone in the expanse of space…
…now here he was, all alone.
"..."
"..."
Or perhaps not? Riley then focused his eyes toward where the ship was supposed to be, only to see a dark silhouette floating about— almost reflecting the darkness around it like a mirror.
"..." Riley's eyebrows slightly furrowed as he pulled the silhouette closer to him. And very soon, he realized what it was… or rather, who it was.
"...Hera?"
"..."
"..."
"...'Sup?"
Chapter 463A few minutes ago, as Riley was making the Amid and his fleet nervous, the situation inside the ship remained the same— with Hannah filling up the oxygen with her incessant nagging.
What changed, however, was the feeling that something was completely wrong. For Hera, who seemed to be the only one feeling it, it was becoming worse by the second. Her senses were at their highest, with every strand of hair and her body and every pore in her light-brown skin opening up. The uncomfortable chill that came along with it, pricking every inch of her flesh.
She once again looked around, only to realize that completely unbeknownst to her, her feet were moving on their own— moving straight to the door; if it wasn't for her noticing it, she would have probably continued to walk away.
It was then, however, that someone finally noticed her. It was Aerith, who was about to leave the ship so she could try to pull Riley back.
"...." She didn't really say anything, and just slightly raised an eyebrow as she looked at Hera from head to toe. And without even a word, she soon realized how alert Hera looked. And as someone who have tangled with the Hope Guild more times than she could count, she knew exactly what Hera's abilities are.
"You…"
"Something is very wrong, Megawoman," Hera did not let Aerith finish her words as she looked her straight in the eyes, "I have been saying that since the start but no one seems to be listening."
"..." Aerith's eyebrows started to furrow as Hera's words reached her ears. But after a few more breaths, her eyes turned wide as she turned her focus back to the center of the command room.
And like Hera, she tried to see if something was amiss.
Katherine and Karina were still together.
Tomoe was still being stopped by Silvie from following her outside.
Paige is just prancing about, seemingly trying to stop Hannah from nagging at her mother, but didn't want to intrude.
Vera was behind Hannah, her eyes focused on the map since earlier.
Diana was—
"..."
Aerith then blinked a couple of times, before turning her attention back to Hannah; or more specifically, to Vera who was standing behind her. Aerith didn't really think much of her being there, but now that she knew that something was going to happen, she could not help but think of one thing…
…Why has she been standing so close to Hannah since earlier?
And as soon as she thought of that, her eyes met with Vera; and without even any warning, the evaniel princess disappeared from her spot, only to appear hugging Hannah from behind; her arms, wrapped around and choking Hannah's neck.
And with that, the noise that filled the air completely stopped. Diana, who was just letting out different kinds of sighs just moments ago, now had her mouth completely closed; her eyes, letting out a violent glow of red.
"Try it!" But before she could do anything, Vera's silver hair also shone; the markings on her skin, now showing themselves completely,
"I assure you, I can kill her before you can kill me!" She wailed; the expression on her face was feral, almost like a wild cat in a cage that hissed at every little thing,
"That goes for all of you! If I see anyone of you try and act any different from usual, I am going to snap her neck! I know all of your powers, I will know!"
"..." Tomoe, who was absolutely about to do something, could not help but subtly click her tongue as she retracted her abilities. Paige was thinking of what to do… but they were dealing with someone that could process her thoughts a thousand times in just a second.
"Don't even attempt it."
And with the temperature in the command deck getting higher by the second, Vera tightened her hold on Hannah as she breathed down her neck, "You…
…your brother killed my brother along with hundreds of my men. Did you really think I would be okay with that!? I don't really know how the brain of your race works; dining and laughing with the person that massacred and continues to massacre your own people!"
"...What do you want?" Diana was the only one to respond to Vera's words; her eyes that were seething in anger, slowly dimming.
"A world without Riley Ross," Vera looked Diana in the eyes, "Activate the hyperdrive and let's just go."
"What!?" Hannah finally spoke up as she struggled to get some air, "He… he'll get lost!"
"I have been thinking more than a million thoughts," Vera whispered; her words almost coming out as hisses, "How do you stop a being that becomes stronger every time you kill it? How can something like that even exist? The answer is you can't; you can't stop it…
…but I can at least slow it down until the entire Universe knows of his existence and surely… surely along the way, something or someone can stop him. Because Riley… Riley is the incarnation of Death itself— he shouldn't exist with us."
"..."
And while all of this was going on, Aerith subtly took a step closer to Hera and whispered,
"... What're your instincts telling you now?"
"It's telling me to leave the ship," Hera breathed out, "It's crazy… Riley Ross is out there. I can't actually be safer there."
"There's a reason why you're on this ship, Hera. This is probably it," Aerith lowered her voice even further as she sneakily handed Hera something from behind, "Keep this."
"...A phone? What do I do with this?"
"It's a map. I'll find a chance to open the door for you, go and join Riley as soon as I open it."
"You're… giving me a map? I don't get it. Isn't this a good thing… for Riley to be stuck in space forever?"
"If it's good, then why is your body screaming at you to get out?" Aerith said as she covered Hera from everyone's view; but seeing as Hera was slightly taller than her, it looked somewhat… off,
"I know your abilities, you've survived until now because of it. Trust it."
"..."
"...And do you really think an unhinged Riley Ross roaming around the universe alone is a good thing?"
And as soon as Hera heard that, her feet once again moved on their own. And soon, her steps became a sprint as she made her way to the ship's large passageways.
***
"And then I jumped out as soon as the door opened."
"Hm. I suppose it is just you and me again, Hera."
"...I can't believe how calm you are right now. Oh wait, I can!"
Riley and Hera were now floating across the expanse of space; with Riley creating a telekinetic bubble that was currently traveling at an unknown speed. But judging by how fast they passed by an asteroid just now and obliterated it into pieces, they were moving insanely fast.
Hera's body which was previously like a mirror reflecting the darkness around her was slowly returning to normal. Well… except for the fact that she wasn't really breathing anymore.
"You said Aerith gave you a map, Hera?"
"Yeah," Hera could really only roll her eyes from how nonchalant Riley was acting; but after dealing with him for years, she should have really gotten used to him by now. Hera then grabbed the phone from her pocket; she was unsure of how to use it at first, but as soon as she pressed the only visible button, a hologram quickly emerged from the screen.
"...I guess that's us?" Hera slightly raised an eyebrow as she looked at the two green dots right at the very center of the hologram,
"How do you even zoom this thing out?" She then sighed as she tried to pinch the hologram like one would zoom out a photo on a touchscreen— and true enough, she was able to zoom out the map.
"..." She and Riley then looked at each other as they saw all the numerous words and lights that were moving about in the hologram. If they were confused as to how it worked before, they were even more so now.
"Do something, Hera."
"..." Hera didn't really say anything, and just pointed at the beeping light closest to their location. And as soon as she did so, it zoomed in on the beacon.
"...It's a ship."
"Hm…
…Do you think they are friendly, Hera?"
Chapter 464"Boss, you might want to take a look at this."
Somewhere in the vast expanse of the Known Universe, a crew of green-skinned scavengers was currently on their way to Hotis 4J; their ship, hopping from debris to debris so they would be able to hide and go undetected by the Lahestia that were currently guarding the planet.
They have heard of its imminent destruction— and that usually means the planet splitting apart and making it free for everyone to enjoy its scraps; and with Hotis 4J being a den of outlaws and pirates, it was basically a treasure trove.
And of course, to lower their chance of being detected and caught, they went completely radio-silence; and because of this, they were also completely unaware of what had transpired within and around the planet for the past hour.
"What is it!? Did we find some scraps already!?" And with her helmsman calling for her, the captain of the ship, Nana, thought that they had finally 'struck it rich'. But alas, as she looked at the enlarged video feed on the debris-shield window, all she saw were two corpses floating around the darkness.
"Floaters… They're probably from Hotis 4J, poor fuckers. But I suppose that's life." Instead of getting angry at her subordinate for calling her for something like this, however, she just let out a sigh and patted his shoulder, before telling him to go around so they wouldn't hit their corpses.
"...But they're alive, boss."
"...What?"
"We're detecting life signatures from them."
"Approach them! Prepare for salvage!" Captain Nana quickly turned around and walked away, "Send the feed to my terminal…
…I want to see what's happening!"
***
"How are they still alive?"
"Is the long-haired one an evaniel? He looks a little familiar."
"Look at the skin of the female one, it's almost as if her muscles are made of co…"
With a ship that's specialized in scavenging and salvaging, it didn't really take them any effort to rescue the two lost souls that were mysteriously still alive and drifting aimlessly in the great expanse.
The two drifters were now placed on top of one of their many tables, still seemingly lifeless. And now with them there, the true size of the green-skinned humanoids was revealed— they were small; almost half the size of the two individuals.
"How are these two even alive?" Captain Nana repeated her words as her eyes focused on the two drifters. And like the rest of her crew, she was also tapping the white-haired one with her index finger, "Do you guys think…
…they're really from the Higher Races?"
And as soon as her crew heard her words, they quickly retracted their curious fingers.
"..."
But after a few seconds of looking at each other, they just continued to touch and observe the two unconscious drifters.
"Can you run an ID scan on them, Harith? We might get a good reward from rescuing them," Captain Nana said as she finally moved away from the white-haired humanoid, jumping from her chair as she approached one of her subordinates that was still poking the drifters.
"Hm. I actually already scanned them. If they're in the system, then we'll know who they are," Harith slightly pushed away his hair that was covering his eyes as he looked at Nana, "It should already be in your terminal, boss."
"Sweet," Captain Nana could not help but let out a slightly mischievous snicker as she trotted her way inside her station. And without even minding the other things that were on her table's console screen, she swiped her hands several times to close them until the window showing the female drifter's profile came up.
"...She's not registered anywhere?" Captain Nana could not help but grab a tuft of her red hair, "Is she some sort of vagrant?"
Nana could really only let out a sigh as she saw the female drifter's empty profile. If she was from a Higher Race, then they would surely be rewarded handsomely by rescuing her— no. Even if she wasn't, she was sure they would still be rewarded a bounty; after all, the female drifter didn't look ordinary.
"..." And with one final look of disappointment, Nana once again let out a sigh as she once again swiped her hand, closing the window and hoping the next one would be a bigger fish. And true enough, his profile was in a different color.
"Yes!" Captain Nana could not help but slam her fist on her table console.
"What is it, boss!? Did we catch a big fish!?"
"Shh! You guys just mind your own business!" Captain Nana snarled and smiled as she heard her subordinates' loud voices entering her office. Her hands, violently waving them away so they wouldn't enter and she could focus on reading whatever was on the white-haired drifter's profile; and seeing as there was an almost entire page of texts, there was a lot.
And so, Nana started reading the drifter's profile starting from the very top.
"...How do you read this? Ra… Rayee Yuz?" Captain Nana slightly squinted her eyes; her head, tilting to the side as she slightly puffed her cheeks,
"Oh, so he's not an Evaniel? Interesting. Hm… He's from the Dark Zone!? What's he doing here!?" Captain Nana's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as she continued to read Rayee Yuz's profile.
"...Avoid at all costs? What? He looks harmless," Captain Nana rolled her lips as she exhaled and once again glanced at the white-haired drifter's photo before continuing to read his profile,
"Hm…. Mhmm. Oh, it would seem you're a wanted man?" Captain Nana's eyes then lit up as soon as she reached a certain section of the profile,
"Murder of… a High Official? What does that even mean? Okay, okay. You have my attention, Rayee Yuz," Captain Nana took in a deep breath as she continued to read,
"Committed lupacide, responsible for the destruction of Hotis 4J and several other planets. Okay, cool. Committed ge…nocide and…"
And very soon, her eyes that were already popping out and shining widened even further, to the point that it looked like her face would actually explode as her green face started to turn blue in shock,
"Ga… Galactic-level… level threat? Why… why the fuck would they put that last!? Everyone, throw them to—"
"Boss! They're awake!"
And before she could finish her words, one of her men barged into her station.
"Awake? Who… Who's awake?" Captain Nana could really only take in a small gulp as she saw the excited look on her subordinate's face.
"The two drifters! We can't understand what they're saying, so bring the analyzer, boss!"
"Wa—"
And once again, she couldn't even complete her words as her subordinate just left in a rush. The only thing she could really do was stare at the open doorway; her breaths, slightly erratic.
What… was she even supposed to do? Abandon ship?
No. The fact that they were still alive right now would mean that this Rayee Yuz was not as aggressive as they make him sound— maybe she could just feign ignorance and pretend she doesn't know who he is yet.
And when she gets the chance, she would find a way to get them off the ship as civilized as possible.
Yes, that's it. That's the plant— and with that thought, Captain Nana returned to the deck.
"Boss! How is it!? Have you finished reading their profile!?"
"..."
"..."
"...Fuck."
Chapter 465'These stupid little shits.'
That was the singular thought that circled Nana's mind for a million times in less than a nanosecond. She was just thinking of plans on how to get Riley out of her ship, but now, her men seemed adamant about committing suicide as they continued to try and talk to Riley Ross.
Her crew was even trying to talk in Alltoh—the universal and most used language in the Known Universe. Fortunately for her, her crew wasn't fluent in it, and even if they were, Riley and his female companion didn't seem to know the language in the first place since they were just looking at each other in confusion.
It was a good thing that the only device capable of analyzing his language was in her station; if not, then her men would have surely used it already and exposed the fact that she already knew who Riley is.
"Get out! Get out of here!"
"What? But boss—"
"I said get the fuck out!"
Nana could no longer help herself as she clapped her hands, causing a small quake to travel in the air; the vibrations, only seemingly targeting her men as their bodies all jolted from the oscillating force.
"..."
"..."
Her men then quickly looked at her as they finally shut their mouths, before looking at each other and shaking their heads,
"Looks like the boss hasn't taken her meds yet."
"Let's go, it's probably that time of the year."
"I wonder what we're getting this time? I hope it's another brother so they wouldn't have to leave."
"You know, we—"
"What are you little fuckers still doing here!? Get out!"
And once again, the very air itself started to vibrate as Nana stomped her foot on the floor. Surprisingly though, the ship and any of the unlatched objects within it were completely unaffected by the weird force. And it would seem before it could really happen, Nana's children-slash-crew finally left her alone with Riley and the other drifter.
"..."
And now that she was finally alone with them, Nana didn't really know what to do but to just very slowly and carefully turn her head toward Riley Ross—
"Fuck!"
—only to see him sitting just a foot away from her; his head slightly tilted to the side so their eyes were at the same level. Captain Nana tried her best not to swallow all the anxiety that was flying and circling around her as she returned Riley's gaze. She had no idea what he was doing right now, but she was sure that it was best not to make any reaction.
"..." She then took a glance toward the female drifter to see what she was doing, and judging by the obvious tension also surrounding her like flies, she also didn't know what was about to happen—or maybe she did, that's why she looked so anxious.
"I…" And finally, Nana let out a long and very deep breath as she tried talking to Riley. And unlike her crew, she didn't even try to speak in Alltoh, "My name is Nana Nonoyo. I am glad that you are safe. I will take you to the nearest station, okay?"
"If it is not that much of a problem, then thank you, Captain Nonoyo."
"It… It's no problem at all," Nana waved her hand as an obviously awkward chuckle escaped her lips. But before the 4th breath could exhale from her mouth, her entire face froze and almost cracked from realizing something—Riley just talked to her in her native language,
"You…you… you can understand me?"
"Yes, Captain Nonoyo."
Nana looked closely at Riley's lips, and their movements weren't matching the words that were coming out of them. And before Nana could say anything else, she slightly flinched as Riley pointed to somewhere; Nana, of course, instinctively turned to look to where he was pointing, only to see the female drifter holding some sort of device. And Nana didn't even need to squint to see what it was—just one glance, and she already identified the object.
"That… Isn't that a Teera X120!?" She exclaimed; her feet moving on their own as she made her way toward Riley's companion, "How… how do you have something like that!? This thing costs a thousand times more than this ship and—"
And with Riley's female companion retracting the so-called Teera X120, the tension that Nana momentarily forgot once again started flying around her; this time heavier as beads of sweat began trailing on her small face.
"My name is Riley Ross, Captain Nonoyo. I forgot to introduce myself since the device is still analyzing the language you are using, I think. I am still not quite sure how it works."
"..."
Why did you have to fucking introduce yourself?--- is what Captain Nana was currently thinking at the moment. With her now knowing his name, the risk of Riley knowing that she knows who he is has just risen considerably.
Unbeknownst to her, however, she was not alone in the thought.
Hera, who was the mastermind behind the entire thing also could not help but want to scream in frustration. She was the one who told Riley that they should act unconscious in the hopes that this ship would notice them and they could hitch a ride—but she also specifically told Riley not to introduce himself.
Luckily for them, these small and fun-sized people don't seem to know who he is… is what Hera thought.
"It… it is no problem at all," Nana then once again let out an awkward chuckle as she waved her hand, "Please, make yourselves comfortable. I need to check something with my crew."
And with that, Nana quickly made her exit before any unnecessary conversations could arise. After all, the longer she stays here, the higher the chance that Riley might realize something.
Unfortunately for her—
"She knows who you are."
As soon as she left the med bay, Hera approached Riley, who was still seated on the floor.
"How would you know?"
"I'm… an actress, remember?" Hera sighed as she shook her head. She initially thought Nana was unaware of who Riley is, but her last words and the way she acted before she stepped out of the room were completely… off—and for Hera, whose eyes were trained enough to even see through Riley's act, it was as clear as day that Nana knew something.
"If you say so, then it must be the case, Hera," Riley nodded as he stood up, "Then I will kill all but the one driving the—"
"No!" Hera blocked Riley's path before he even took a step towards the door, "You just promised me you won't hurt any of these people. Don't tell me you don't honor promises now? Isn't that like your whole thing? I know you don't break promises."
"...No?" Riley tilted his head as he looked Hera straight in the eyes, "Where did you hear that, Hera?"
"From… From Megawoman and your sister," Hera almost stuttered as she returned Riley's gaze, "You… don't want to disappoint them, right?"
"..."
"..."
That was a lie, of course. Or in Hera's case, an act. Aside from the incident before she abandoned Diana's ship, she hasn't even gotten the chance to talk to Megawoman alone— and she couldn't really remember if she and Hannah even had the chance to have a proper conversation even once.
She didn't even know what she was supposed to do right now; all she could really do was the thing she had always done best— to perform. And considering what was at stake right now, this would probably be the most important performance in her life.
She held the life and death of not only her, but everyone they would be crossing paths with from now on.
"Is… that so, Hera?"
"Yes," Hera made sure not to break eye contact with Riley.
"..."
"..."
"I… suppose that's true."
And after a few seconds of what seemed like a lifetime of staring at each other, Riley finally nodded and started walking around the med bay,
"Lately, I have been finding myself to be breaking the promises I made. I suppose Aerith truly would be disappointed if she finds out that I am not listening to you since you are her proxy."
"...Proxy?"
"Aerith sent you on a mission to look after me, correct? That is usually her job. And I suppose it is yours for now."
"...I'm not your—"
'I'm not your caretaker.'--- is what Hera wanted to say. But very soon, an entire scenario started to set itself up in Hera's mind— Riley listens to Megawoman; and if Riley treats her as a proxy, wouldn't that mean he would also start listening to her?
"..." And so, with that slightly dangerous thought surfacing in her mind, she once again turned to look at Riley and nodded her head,
"Yes, she told me to look after you."
"Hm," Riley stopped observing and checking the med bay as he looked at Hera, "Then… I wish you all the best in your endeavor, Miss Hera. I promise to be as troublesome to you as I have been to Aerith."
"Of course, I will— wait… what do you mean by—"
"!!!"
And before Hera could finish her words, the entire ship started to shake and the lights within the med bay dimmed and became red.
"You… I thought you wouldn't hurt these fun-sized people anymore!?"
"I am not, Miss Hera. This is not my doing."
[Notice to all crew and staff! We are currently under attack. I repeat, we are under attack by pirates!]
"Oh…" Hera could not help but close her eyes and sigh,
"...What happened to my vacation?"
Chapter 466Captain Nana seemed to have drawn the shortest amongst the shortest of the sticks as one calamity after the other strikes her.
She let a literal monster into her ship, and now they were under attack by pirates? Is this what she gets for trying to be a good person?
"..." Nana could really only continue to curse her fate as she stared at her console table; her eyes, looking at the warship that had its missiles locked onto them.
There really was only one option here, and that was to—
"It seems you are in trouble, Captain Nonoyo."
"Don't state the obvi—What are you doing here!?"
Nana almost leaped in shock as she didn't even notice Riley already kneeling behind her and also looking at the screen; his breaths, almost touching her shoulders.
"You—never mind. We need to escape! Aulus, get us out of here!"
"I… I'll try, mother!"
Riley may be a monster, but he wasn't the one threatening their lives right now. Fortunately for her, Riley seems to have quickly lost interest as he stood up and walked toward his female companion, who was looking out the window.
"This ship is too small," Hera breathed out as she noticed Riley approaching her.
"I believe in this case, we are the ones that are too big, Miss Hera."
"...I hate it when you're making sense."
"I always make sense, Miss Hera."
"...Right," Hera could really only slow her words as she once again focused on the view outside,
"It's weird, don't you think? All of these things are happening— space pirates, different species mingling with each other… all the while we're busy on Earth playing heroes and villains. I can definitely use this as a reference for future movies, this is amazing material right here."
"Will you be adapting this to the sci-fi series, Hera? The one where I was asked to audition."
"...That show was canceled a long time ago," Hera's eye slightly twitched.
"Why? I quite liked the script, Miss Hera."
"What do you mean why!? We almost cast the literal demon from hell!"
"Satan auditioned for your show?"
"What!? No! I meant you! Darkday!"
"Oh," Riley breathed out, "It's a shame, then."
"..." Hera could really only look at Riley as she heard his breaths of disappointment. She knew he wasn't trying to mess with her, but Riley always seem to manage to do so anyway.
"Y'know… you're acting more human now than you did before," she then sighed, "It suits you."
"Thank you, Miss Hera. I have been trying to be more human in the past year," Riley then said as he smiled at Hera; the corner of his lips… almost touching his ears.
"...Never mind," Hera quickly looked away from the alien beside her as she turned her focus back to the view outside.
There really wasn't much to see there; as unlike the movies, it just looked like a black canvas. But soon, however, the color of Hera's eyes started to change—no. It wasn't only the color, both her irises also separated into three as they somewhat became luminescent.
"..." Riley looked at Hera's reflection in the window, before stepping slightly closer to her,
"I always thought Tempo was the strongest member of the Hope Guild. But now I am thinking that it might actually be you, Miss Hera. Unfortunate, I would have liked to own that ability— that goes for all the members of the Hope Guild."
"I've always wondered about that… why didn't you? Copy our abilities, I mean," Hera's eyebrow slightly rose as she glanced at Riley.
"Because the Hope Guild responded too late," Riley shrugged, "Darkday was already too strong before you decided to take action against me."
"..."
"..."
"...Earth really is better without you, Riley."
"I agree, Miss Hera."
"...What even is your endgame here?" Hera then fully removed her eyes from the view outside; and before she could face Riley, her eyes were already back to normal.
"Endgame?" Riley tilted his head from the question.
"What do you want at the end of all of this?" Hera slightly squinted her eyes as she looked Riley in the eyes. At any other circumstance, her body would have already been trying to get her away from Riley as fast as possible—but right now, she knew she was the safest with him… especially since she is basically Megawoman's 'proxy'.
"When will you stop? When you've eradicated half the life in the universe? I mean, what's the goal here?"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head from Hera's sudden question. But after a few seconds, he returned her gaze and said,
"We're going to Theran to attend my biological mother's burial ceremony, Miss Hera."
"That—- never mind," Hera could really only sigh in frustration.
"And no, Miss Hera. I will not eradicate half of the Universe."
"Then—"
"But I will kill everyone that lives in it."
"..."
"..."
The conversation could and should probably end here. But for someone like Hera, it wasn't enough.
"Why?" She asked with a tiny breath.
"Because I want to."
"You need to have a very valid reason for that, Riley," Hera groaned, "Seriously, I think a therapist would have done you good… and maybe even Earth."
"You have a therapist, Miss Hera?"
"Every actor has one. In my case… it prevents me from forgetting who and what I am," Hera whispered, "My abilities… control me as much as I control it, you see."
"Hm," Riley let out a small hum as he looked at the window, "A reason for wanting to kill everyone… hm."
"..." Hera could really only take in a small gulp as Riley then looked back at her. Was she… finally going to unlock the secret behind Riley's character?
"My reason, Miss Hera…" Riley placed his hand on his chin,
"...I just want to."
"You… really are just a creature of destruction, aren't you?"
"I suppose," Riley shrugged.
"...And now Earth just unleashed you to the rest of the universe," Hera's eyebrows began to furrow, "Why haven't you killed us yet, then? Me and the other humans."
"I will never kill you, Miss Hera," Riley's eyes slightly widened, almost as if he was visibly surprised as to how Hera could even say something like that,
"You… are one of the voice actors of Italian Mafia Reborn."
"..."
"..."
"We're alive because of a fucking anime?"
"Yes, Miss Hera."
"...Great."
And while the two were casually having a somewhat serious conversation, Captain Nana and her crew were fearing for their lives.
"This is the scavenger ship Taladier! We don't have any valuables. We are not equipped with any weapons, please do not fire!"
Captain Nana screamed at her console as she saw the pirate ship still approaching them with their missiles locked on.
"I repeat, we—"
"They cut us off the comms, boss!"
"No!" Nana slammed her small fists on her table as she heard her crew's words. But after a few seconds of letting out heavy breaths, she looked at her helmsman,
"Transfer all the energy from the shield to hyperdrive."
"That— they'll hit us with a missile before we can blink away!"
"Just do it! It's better than sitting here like a trapped— Eep!"
And before Nana could finish her words, she once again felt a breath crawling through her neck. She slowly turned around, only to see Riley sitting on the floor so his eyes would be at the same level as hers.
"What… what is it?" Nana gulped.
"Do you perhaps…
…require some assistance, Captain Nonoyo?"
Chapter 467"I hope I didn't frighten you, Captain Nana."
"W… what?"
Captain Nana was more than frightened. This was the second time that Riley was sneaking up behind her and it was starting to make her nervous; why did he even have to breathe down to her neck and sit on the floor?
Of course, he might just be trying to make her feel comfortable since she was literally only half the size of Riley… but knowing what she knows about him, it only makes her even more scared for her life.
A genocidal terrorist capable of killing an Elder talking to her so casually? How was she even supposed to take that?
"I was only wondering if you require my assistance with the current predicament you are finding yourself in, Captain Nonoyo."
"..." Nana could really only look up as Riley stood and repeated his words. Although no matter how many times he repeated it, it almost as if it just passes through her large ears.
Soon, however, she forced herself to talk.
"What… what assistance?"
"The so-called pirate ship that is attacking you," Riley said as he glanced at the feed on Nana's table screen,
"I can get rid of it for you, Captain Nonoyo. In return, I would also like to get your assistance and help us where we need to go."
"T—"
"Mother! Accept it!" And before Nana could even say a single word, one of her crew that was responsible for the navigation turned around from his station,
"They're clearly from the Higher Races, they can help us! We can't divert our power from the shield faster than the pirates can shoot us down! We— ack!"
"Shut up! Let me think!" Nana threw the tin cup that was resting on her table, hitting her crew straight on the forehead. She then started looking back and forth between Riley and the status of her ship's dwindling shield.
And after a few breaths, she nodded.
"Okay," she breathed out as she placed her palms together and looked Riley in the eyes. She didn't really have that much of a choice. Between potentially being ransacked and killed by pirates that are currently attacking them, or asking the devil that still has not done anything to them for help, the latter was the only one she could take.
"We're going to open the airlock, you should—"
"There's no need for that, Captain Nonoyo."
And once again, Nana found herself being interrupted as Riley stepped away from her and walked back toward one of the windows.
"..." Nana really wanted to ask Riley what he was doing but opted not to. The fewer words she speaks to Riley, the less likely she could make a mistake and offend him.
"Boss!"
Very soon, however, the feed on her table screen started to turn red with all the warnings that endlessly popped out in front of it.
"What's happening!?"
"I… I don't know," the ship's navigator almost stumbled in his words, "We… we're detecting multiple objects on a collision course straight toward us!"
"Then maneuver aw–"
"We can't! They're moving too fast!"
"..." Nana tried her best to stay calm from all the bad things that were happening to her all at the same time. If there was only a visible representation of her stress, then it would probably fill the entire Known Universe right about now.
"There's no need to panic, everyone."
And almost like an arrow that pierced through her stress, Riley's words finally fully registered in her mind as she quickly turned her focus to him.
"I could not really pinpoint where this pirate ship is exactly, so I just pulled everything within the vicinity."
And as he finished his words, Captain Nana's eyes could really only turn wide as their view of the expanse was now blocked by all sorts of objects, circling and caging them in a sphere.
There were things that looked like space debris, asteroids, rocks, some dust clouds that almost looked like a blanket of aurora… as well as the large pirate ship that have been firing its missiles at them to deplete her ship's shield.
"I apologize for making a mess, Captain Nonoyo," Riley then let out a sigh as the large pirate ship started to move, only stopping as it hovered directly in front of them, "I suppose this is the pirate ship?"
"...Yes? T—"
And not even a second after Nana's confirmation, the ship that was probably ten times larger than theirs disappeared—no. It crumpled almost instantly into a ball… compressed to the point that it was smooth enough to reflect the things around it.
"Hm." And with that, Riley just shrugged as he made his way back to Nana; and at the same time, the other objects that Riley dragged near them also started to float away and return to where they were previously resting at. As for the pirate ship… he just left it there.
"This is a scavenger ship, correct?" Riley's voice was probably the only sound being made on the ship as Nana and her crew were left completely speechless by what they have just witnessed,
"I compressed the pirate ship for you so you could sell it. Consider it as a bonus for our deal, Captain Nana."
"S… sure?" Nana could really only look at the large shiny ball floating in front of her ship. She had never seen a Stellar-level threat in the flesh before, not even a Planetary one.
But now, a Galactic-level threat was inside her ship—just casually showing her why he was considered as such. Nana didn't even see Riley do anything, he just breathed and the universe moved to his will.
She had heard this many times before…
…but Galactic-level Threats are nearer to gods more than anything.
Still, even if Riley is a threat to the Universe, it doesn't change the fact that she and her children were alive because of him… and that was the only important fact right now.
"Where did you want to go?" Nana then said as she turned her head to look up at Riley, "We're just going to stop at the nearest planet to replace the fissions we lost. After that… we're going to take you wherever you need to go."
"Theran."
"Hm… Theran," Nana then nodded before looking at her helmsman, "Plot the course for the nearest planet so we could—did you just say Theran?"
And with her eyes blinking on their own several times, she once again turned to look at Riley.
"Yes, Captain Nana."
"Theran… as in the home planet of the Themarians?" A small smile crawled on Nana's face as her sanity very slowly left her body.
"I suppose so."
"We… we can't go there."
"...Are you not upholding your end of the deal, Captain Nonoyo?"
"This…" Nana turned to look at Hera, who had been quiet the entire time. Nana's eyes were asking—no. Her eyes were almost pleading for help. She doesn't know what Hera's role is in all of this, but Riley seems to listen to her. But alas, Hera only shrugged at her in response.
"I… No one other than the Themarians is allowed to fly within their stellar system. Please… please don't kill us."
"..."
"..."
"Why would I kill you, Captain Nonoyo?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he heard Nana's words, "As for not being allowed to Theran's stellar system, you do not have to worry about that, my mother is a Themarian."
"You… you're a Themarian?"
"I meant my adoptive mother."
"..."
"..."
He should have just killed them— is what Nana was thinking at the moment.
Chapter 468"Feel free to sell the pirate ship, Captain Nana. You do not need to be shy."
"I… don't think I can sell a densely compressed ball of metal without being questioned."
"You don't have to worry about that, Captain Nana. Whatever life form the ship once held will be completely unrecognizable, I made sure of it so as to not bother you."
"..."
After a few hours of nerve-wracking and stressful travel, Nana's ship, Taladier, was finally safe and latched on the hangar bay of the closest planet where they could restock and recharge their ship. She had her hands full with trying to prevent her children from talking to Riley, but to no success.
She almost reached the point where she wanted to tell her children who Riley was, but stopped herself from doing so as she didn't know what they would do once they found out. The last thing she needed was for one of them to make a decision they would all pay for.
"Trade it for this nuclear fission thing you are speaking about earlier," Riley continued to insist, "If it is hard to sell it like that, would you like me to separate them into tiny pieces?"
"You can do---No, no. This is enough...Thanks."
Captain Nana was always going to do something about the compressed pirate ship, she wouldn't have dragged it with them if she didn't. After all, as a scavenger, she has many buyers that are not… legally registered with the city.
"You and your companion can stay and relax on the ship," Nana then nodded and sighed, "I will find out about how I can smuggle you guys into Theran. There's food in the— where are you going!?"
And before Nana could even attempt to coerce Riley to stay on the ship, he was already making his way out to the unfamiliar planet.
"Wait, wait! At least cover yourself! The weather in Platooine is harsh!"
"Platooine?" Hera, who was following behind Riley, could not help but raise an eyebrow as she heard Nana's words, "That sounds… oddly familiar."
"There's no need to worry about us, Captain Nana," Riley on the other hand, shook his head as he glanced at Nana, "Weather doesn't affect me."
"That's… still, take it."
"Give it to me," Hera was the one to approach Nana; before she grabbed it, however, she looked her in the eye and winked, "You seem so insistent in having Riley hide his identity… I wonder why?"
"That—I'm just concerned for my benefactor, is all!" Nana looked away. She wasn't a fool, however. She knew what Hera's look entailed—Hera knew that she knew who Riley is. If it was known that she harbored a genocidal outlaw in her ship, she would be executed on the spot.
But since Hera accepted the robes… does that mean she will be helping her in hiding Riley's identity?
"..." Nana's eyes then started to shine as she looked at Hera, looking at her like she was some kind of messiah that saved her from this drowning situation.
As for Hera, she could really only awkwardly chuckle as she saw the look in Nana's eyes—she was clearly misunderstanding something. The one that would gain the most from having Riley hide his identity is her.
Who wants to tag along with a wanted man? She was here by accident, but she would be darned if she would make the most of it and make it into a well-deserved vacation. Her powers were to adapt and adapt to the situation she will.
"Why are you coming with me, Miss Hera?" Riley, on the other hand, hastened his steps as Hera followed him from behind.
"You serious right now?" Hera rolled her eyes, "I am the one holding this Teera X120 thingy. You're gonna go out there blind?"
"I'm not blind, Miss Hera."
"You know what I mean!"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times, before glancing at the all-in-one device hanging on Hera's waist. Should he just take it and kill Hera here? But Aerith entrusted her with it and is serving as her proxy—what would she even say if she finds out Riley killed her?
"You're fucking thinking of killing me and taking it, aren't you?" Hera said as she took a step back and covered the Teera X120.
"Yes, Miss Hera."
"Atleast deny it!" Hera blurted out, "A—anyway, don't cause any trouble on this planet, and please don't kill anyone."
"Why do you care about a species you haven't met yet, Miss Hera?"
"...Because I'm a hero? Duh?"
"...I suppose that makes sense."
"W—"
And before Hera could finish her words, the door of the ship opened, causing her eyes to change color as they instantly adjusted to the blinding orange light that seeped into the ship.
"This…" Hera blinked a couple of times as she looked at the view in front of her— barren. A bright orange crystal jungle reminded her of Egypt… if the land and infrastructures were made of gems, that is.
"It's… so empty."
Platooine had its own beauty, but without the trees that Hera was used to, it just looked… soulless.
"Was the planet you destroyed similar to this?"
"No, it was a pink desert, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head as he just nonchalantly stepped out of the ship; his face, completely covered with a cloak, "Both of them do not have trees, however."
"..."
Wait, did she just casually ask Riley about the planet he destroyed; a planet that probably had billions of people on it? Is… is her common sense slowly dwindling? Is this her body telling her to get used to things like this?
"I'm going to repeat my words, Riley. Please don't kill anyone here."
"Can you stop me if I do start killing people?"
"That—"
"It was a jest, Miss Hera."
"..." Hera's eye quickly twitched as she saw the subtle smile forming on Riley's fa before he looked away. This is all Tempo's fault, she wouldn't even be here if he told her that he wasn't going.
But alas, she was already here—thinking about it would be useless.
Hera then turned to look at Platooine's red sky, only to see several flying ships moving around like ants. If she didn't think she was on another planet already, then the flying cars cemented it.
She just wished she actually knew how it would feel like to be amazed by this—but alas, one of the drawbacks of her abilities is that her amazement also quickly fades away to adapt to her surroundings.
Perhaps the only thing she couldn't really fully adapt to is Riley, Hera thought as she continued to follow Riley; who, like her, was just taking nonchalant steps as they walked on a planet no human has probably walked before.
And soon, they started to see all sorts of races. Most looked humanoid; there were some, however, that were floating around like some sort of jellyfish—but judging by the way the other races were talking with them, they weren't just pets but full-pledged intelligent beings.
And a few more steps, it was clear to both of them which race the planet belonged to. 90% of the people they passed by had skin darker than night itself; their height, almost twice that of an average human.
"Interesting." Riley, however, was not looking at them, and instead was focused on Hera as her skin turned black and her legs grew taller.
"Can you stop staring at me like that?" Hera shook her head as she looked at her black hands, "Their skin… it's hard."
"Your abilities, Miss Hera. They remind me of a thing Gary always used to say."
"Don't bother telling me if it's lewd."
"Not at all," Riley said as he looked Hera straight in the eyes, "Your ability, it is a literal plot armor. If I dismantle you into pieces and burn you until there is nothing left, you will probably survive."
"Please don't," Hera shook her head, "My body would just stretch, I don't like that feeling."
The two continued to casually walk through the unfamiliar planet; not even bothering to look at the sights. Hera asked why they were exploring the planet in the first place, and Riley just shrugged and said that it would be exciting.
"..." What part of his face says that he is excited? Hera thought.
Fortunately for her, there was finally something she could do and be excited about— shopping. The two seemed to have reached the harbor's marketplace, and true enough… all sorts of trinkets and gems that Hera has not seen before lay themselves before her eyes.
There were even gems that shone in a rainbow color, and one that changed colors depending on the angle one would look at it. As expected of a planet seemingly made of crystal.
Finally, she thought. Something good will come out of this whole ordeal.
"What is this?" Hera quickly approached one of the stalls as soon as a gem the size of an egg caught her eye.
"Ah! Welcome, beautiful friend!" The merchant quickly smiled; showing a set of sharp teeth akin to that of sharks, "I see you are very interested in Wahina feces! That was just dehydration this morning, how many would you like?"
"...Feces?"
"We also have Ankutku puke, just vomited earlier and still warm!"
"...Fuck."
"Can I kill all of them now, Miss Hera?"
"No!"
And so, just hours on their journey together, Hera already knew what to expect going forward---she knew she truly was not going to get the vacation she deserved.
And unfortunately for her, some shady individuals following them from behind would help add to her endeavors; their eyes, looking at the device hanging around her waist.
"We have our target, boys."
Chapter 469"I truly had no idea that you liked feces that much, Miss Hera."
"Let it go."
"I am not disgusted by many things, but I would never touch and even try to put feces near my face."
"..."
"As my sister used to say, no matter how beautiful it is, a poop is still a poo—"
"I said let it go!"
"I am not holding onto anything to let go, Miss Hera."
"You—"
An hour already passed, and the two were now seated in front of what seemed to be a local restaurant in the city. Although nothing was really working for Hera at the moment, at the very least, she wanted to taste the local cuisine—if it was bad, then so be it.
Not many could say they have tasted food from lightyears away. And besides, her body could handle it. As for Riley… if he gets poisoned here, then the entire universe would be better for it.
…But would it, really?
Of course, it would. Hera glanced at Riley; her thoughts, for some reason, slightly jumbled.
"Did you order a feces meal, Miss Hera? I would understand if you will. I, for one, will not partake."
"You should just die, you know that?"
"Some things are just not… attainable, Miss Hera."
And as the two were casually having a conversation, they were finally served the food. And contrary to their expectations, there were no unnecessary tentacles or food that looked out of the ordinary— in fact, one could even say that if this was served to them back on Earth, they wouldn't even think something was different about it.
Hera ordered some sort of steak made with a mystery meat… and it just looked like a steak. Riley ordered whatever the server from earlier recommended, it just looked like a regular stew lamb; if not under garnished.
"Well, this is kinda boring," Hera let out a small sigh as she took a bite of the steak… and it just tasted like steak, "How does yours taste?"
"Underseasoned and bland, Miss Hera. Perhaps we should just buy ingredients and I can cook it."
"Hm, still…" Hera then grabbed the Teera X120, trying to flip and swipe through its contents until her face popped up in front of it. And with a shrug, she took a photo of herself and the food.
"That… has a camera on it?"
"It's basically a smartphone you can't use to call," Hera shrugged as she deleted the photo and took another one. With her hands twice as large as they were before because of the transformation, she found it hard to press the device properly.
"Interesting."
The two finished their food after half an hour, before finally deciding to explore the bustling city once more. But after another half an hour of doing so, they found out there truly wasn't anything else to see.
"You think we can buy one of those flying cars?" Hera then said as she looked at the busy sky.
"Why not just ask father to build you one, Miss Hera?"
"...Right."
Hera finally realized why she wasn't really fazed by any of the alien's technology. It was because of Whiteking—a human that could probably build a car more advanced than anything she had seen here with a box of toothpicks.
"Your dad, are we sure he doesn't have any powers?"
"He does now, Miss Hera. He swallowed a Guardian Force."
"...What the fuck's a guardian for—"
"Move! Move!"
And before the two could peacefully continue their conversation, a crowd of people suddenly rushed past them— all going in the same direction.
"..." Hera and Riley looked at each other for a few seconds, before just nodding and following the crowd. And soon, they saw them gathered in some sort of plaza with a large hologram projection right at the very center.
"What does it say, Miss Hera?"
"...Bounties," Hera said as she read the letters circling at the center of the plaza. She had read enough of the planet's most used language to understand them—another quirk of her abilities.
And soon, a 3D image of a person from another race popped up.
"Maybe we should go back to the ship, Riley."
"It is fine, Miss Hera. Even if I appear there, I am completely covered in a cloak," Riley shook his head, "And I think it would be valuable for us to know the villains of the Universe, no?"
"...Hm," Hera nodded as the two continued to check the hologram. Hera glanced at the crowd from time to time, only to see them with excited looks on their faces,
"...Being a bounty hunter seems to be a popular occupation in space… and entertainment."
"I think so too, Miss Hera," Riley nodded, "Even the one that tried to attack me before mother's ship left us belonged to a bounty—"
And before Riley could finish his words, his image finally popped up in the plaza. And as soon as it did so, the whispers and murmurs of the crowd became louder.
"Who's that?"
"Do you live in the Unknown or something? That's the newcomer!"
"...A newcomer is in the Top 100?"
"How is that even possible!?"
"I haven't even heard of him. Is he an Evaniel? Why would an Evaniel even be an outlaw?"
"Stupid tentacles, he's from the Unknown."
And as the whispers of the people became louder and louder, Hera was also starting to get a worrisome feeling. And very soon, she knew why—
"Top 100…" Riley whispered as he looked at his image, "...I'm only in the Top 100?"
"Please don't get any ideas," Hera said as she grabbed Riley's arm, "We should go."
"1.5F, what does it mean?" Riley, however, did not budge a single millimeter from his spot as he looked at the symbol on top of his hologram.
And almost as if the crowd heard him, they also started focusing on his bounty.
"1.5F… Imagine getting that. You could buy your own moon and live there alone."
"You? You can't even hunt a grunt, how do you expect to hunt a Galactic-level Threat?"
"Galactic— I'm sure that's exaggerated. Even in the top 10, only 5 are Galactic-level Threats. How can someone from the 80s even—"
"Because he was caught."
"What? Then why is he still posted?"
"Because they said they only caught a clone. I heard it took a Guardian from the Higher Race to even subdue him."
"..." Riley quickly turned his focus toward the people that were talking about him. And he didn't even need to ask any questions… as gossip seemed to be a universal thing.
"Is that for real? So they have him in the Phantom Zone?"
"No idea. I heard they're still keeping him locked somewhere, most probably to lure the original body or something."
"...Where do you even hear these things?"
"Wait, if the one rampaging around was just a clone…
…then how strong is the original body?"
"..." Riley listened in on the conversation for a few more seconds, before just shrugging and turning his focus back to the rankings. Whether his clone was captured or not, Riley already gave him free rein— it was up to his clone what happens next.
The crowd quieted down as the rankings went on. But soon, the light from the hologram became brighter; the image, almost doubling in size, and with it, the crowd once again started to make noise.
"It's the Top 10," Hera whispered; her eyes also focused on the hologram. As she continued to watch, she realized one thing— the villains of Earth were just a speck of dust compared to the threats of the Known Universe.
For some reason, though, she felt something. She knew she shouldn't feel it, but she felt somewhat proud. She knew it was fucked up, but seeing Riley Ross in the Top 100 felt… good.
It was good to know that the villain that terrorized Earth as a Calamity is in the Top 100 of the most heinous criminals in the Universe. It made her incompetence and the incompetence of the other heroes seem… not so incompetent.
"That looks like Bulwark, Miss Hera."
"Hm?" Hera then snapped out of her thoughts as she looked at the hologram, only to see a gold-skinned humanoid sitting at the Top 5 of the rankings,
"I knew that dude was an alie—Oh, no. That guy only has one eye."
"2.25K," Riley squinted his eyes as he looked at the bounty on top of the outlaw that looked like Bulwark, "I don't like this feeling, Miss Hera. I am used to being on the top."
"I… didn't take you for someone that cared about things like that," Hera squinted her eyes as she glanced at Riley.
"Hm," Riley only hummed in response as he continued to look at the rankings.
The one sitting at the top 4 belonged to a race familiar to Riley—Elder Zora's kin.
The top 3 was another humanoid, and based on the crowd's sudden cheering, he was quite famous.
"It's Kerrigan!"
"Kerrigan! The Bounty Hunter King!"
"Last I heard, he just came back from the Unknown to try and search for something. What do you..."
"A bounty hunter is Top 3?" Hera blinked a couple of times as she heard the crowd, "That's weirdly ironic as hell."
The crowd's cheers, however, did not last long as the hologram panned to the next outlaw. Perhaps the fact that there was no image at all of the Top 2 contributed to that.
"Caitlin'Ur…" Hera squinted her eyes as she whispered the name of the outlaw, "That sounds… awfully familiar. Why don't they even have an image? Does that mean they don't even know what the dude looks li-"
"Oh, that's mother."
"...What?"
Chapter 470VR 470
"...Mother?"
If there weren't any other people around them, then Hera would have probably already screamed from the words that she heard coming out of Riley's mouth. She knew Diana was actually secretly a Themarian, but that was the extent of her knowledge.
She then turned to look at Diana's supposed crimes that were listed on the lower end of the hologram—and as she continued to read it, her body's skin literally started to vibrate from the chill that suddenly crawled through it.
It was as if her mind was telling her that knowing more would put her in danger. Her crimes… Darkday suddenly seemed so small. That woman, who always had a smile on her face and dotes on her children to the point that it was so annoying… was this evil?
"I was wondering what her rank was." And as Hera was imagining all sorts of things, Riley was just looking at the blacked-out hologram and nodding his head.
"She only told me she was responsible for the genocide of 7 people, but the list seems longer. What does it say, Miss Hera?"
"I… think it is better not for you to know."
Something was definitely not right with Riley right now— why does he seem a little… competitive all of a sudden? Did knowing that there were many others out there capable of inflicting more death and destruction than he woke something up inside him?
He did say several times that death and killing are his purpose—did seeing others do better than him make him somewhat… angry?
"Perhaps you should try and kill me, Miss Hera. It would lessen the time of me trying to bother you."
"Yeah, no."
Hera just decided to ignore Riley for now and focus on the final outlaw they were showcasing.
The Rank 1.
"It… it's her!"
"Please step on me!"
"Are… are we even allowed to look her in the eye?"
"It feels like we're going to die even though it's just a hologram."
"..." Hera's eyes could really only twitch as she heard the familiar words of the people. She had heard those kinds of words many times before used on her, but seeing them coming out of the mouths of aliens was quite… an interesting sight for sure.
No wonder, though. The Rank 1 held quite the presence. Like the rest of the top 10, she was a humanoid, but there was something different about her—a feeling that makes one want to follow her, a commanding and towering stature.
Of course, Hera was only seeing a hologram of her; but she usually wasn't wrong with her assumptions. Out of the top, she was the one that resembled a human the most with just tiny differences.
Pale and grey skin, different from Riley. Hers was more like she was devoid of any blood. Her eyes were completely red; her hair, almost flat from how silky and black it was.
If anything, Hera would compare her to a vampire.
"Pirate Queen!"
"Pirate Queen Xra!"
"...Shiarah? Pirate Queen?" Hera slightly squinted her eyes as she looked at Xra's bounty… only to see nothing there.
"We love you, Queen Xra!"
"..." Weren't these people supposed to be bounty hunters? Why were they cheering for the No. 1 Outlaw? The top 3, Kerrigan; Hera could understand since he was a bounty hunter… but someone that is literally titled a Pirate Queen?
"...Simps," Hera breathed out as she rolled her eyes, "Let's get out of here before someone recognizes you, Riley. Captain Nana is also probably done with recharging— Riley?"
Hera wanted to pull Riley away from the crowd, only to see him once again fully focused on the hologram; unfazed and unmoving.
"What are her crimes for her to be considered the most heinous and evil outlaw, Miss Hera?"
"Crimes…" Hera blinked a couple of times, before turning her eyes to the info circling around the hologram; she was so focused on what she looked like that she forgot to look at her crimes— and to her surprise, there was only one line.
"Leader… of the Innovia? Perhaps a radical group?"
"We should ask Captain Nana, Miss Hera."
"Honestly, I actually wouldn't be surprised if they left us already," Hera then shrugged and chuckled.
"They won't. I left something to prevent them from leaving, Miss Hera."
"...Right, I forgot who I was traveling with for a second there."
And so, with Hera's sighs being drowned by the oohs and aahs of the crowd, the two carefully and casually made their way out—and with Hera currently looking like a local, most didn't really bat them an eye.
The locals, however, were the opposite—they couldn't take their eyes off of Hera.
"It would seem you are too beautiful, Miss Hera."
"W—what the fuck are you saying? I have a boyfriend," Hera quickly responded, almost snarling at Riley as she heard his words.
"You said we should be incognito as much as possible, but I think some of the locals are even taking a photo of you, Miss Hera."
"It's not my fault! I… was just born like this."
"Hm," Riley shrugged as they continued to walk, "Perhaps you can say you are cursed with beauty, no? Gary always says that to himself knowing it's not true. But in your case, it is."
"...I don't really know how to take a compliment from a guy who literally murdered billions of people."
"It's not a compliment, Miss Hera. I am merely stating facts," Riley shook his head, "You are the most beautiful human on Earth."
"Pft. Even more than Megawoman?" Hera smirked, fully knowing Riley has a weird obsession with Aerith.
"Yes."
"..."
"Perhaps your abilities made you like that. After all, beautiful people tend to have it easy—as I heard from sister. Do you think you would be as beautiful without your abilities?"
"...You know, you would really do well in the entertainment industry. I don't know if you're roasting me or not," Hera once again sighed and shook her head, "Out of all the people I thought I would be spending my vacation with… I would have never thought it would be you."
"Did you perhaps want to be here with Tempo?"
"Duh," Hera rolled her eyes, "The only reason I'm here in the first is that I thought he would be here."
"Do you love him, Miss Hera?"
"W— what kind of question is that?"
"Aren't the two of you married?"
"What? No… well… not yet. And why am I even having this conversation with you lightyears away from Earth!?"
"I am just curious how it feels, Miss Hera. How it feels to love someone."
"...Do you actually think you deserve to know how it feels?"
"No, not at all," Riley shook his head, "I am honestly more curious how grief feels."
"Grief…" Hera let out a small breath as she remembered Tempo telling her that Alice was resurrected… only to pass away again, "...Then why are you asking me about love?"
"Because they are the same thing?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he stopped walking.
"...No, they're not," Hera also stopped walking as she looked Riley in the eyes; they were still surrounded by a lot of people since they were in the middle of the street. But for some reason, Hera's entire being was focused solely on Riley.
"But isn't grief the past tense of love, Miss Hera?"
"...What? Where did you hear that?"
"Memories are of that past…" Riley said as he returned Hera's gaze, "...And grief is the memory of love—a love buried forever and never again felt."
"That's… kinda deep," this time, it was Hera's turn to blink a couple of times, "Where did you even hear something like—"
"Hand the thing on your waist if you don't want to get hurt."
And before Hera could finish her words, she noticed a group of people suddenly surrounding her and Riley; their eyes, obviously thirsting for the Teera X120 hanging on her waist. She and Riley were just having a moment… and these goons just had to ruin it— and what's more, they didn't seem to care that they were in the middle of the street.
"..."
But judging by how the people all just avoided them and some even walked away, it would seem there was a reason for their carelessness. Unfortunately for then, however—
"You guys… should really walk away while you still can," Hera warned.
"Heh. You seem to not know who we are...
...We're members of the Innovia."
Chapter 471"We… are members of the Innovia."
"...Innovia?"
It took a second for Hera to remember where she heard that before, and to think they only became aware of it just minutes ago and now they're presenting themselves in front of them right now.
Innovia… Hera could really care less about the alien goons in front of her right now as they didn't really look that threatening. Their leader, however, is a different matter entirely—the universe considered her a threat above a genocidal Themarian.
"That's right."
And it would seem her slight change in expression was quickly noticed by the alien thugs, as one of them squinted all of his six eyes and smirked; he wasn't really smirking since he didn't have a visible mouth, but his expression might as well be. Even then, however, a voice escaped somewhere from him.
"Now, if you know what is good for you— you will hand us the Teera X120," the 6-eyed humanoid continued, "A local like you have no use for something like that anyway. And judging by how you're just flailing that thing around with your waist, you're just using it as a status symbol."
"...You're very eloquent for a thug," Hera blinked a couple of times, "Look, my… companion and I are just passing through this planet, we don't want any trouble and—fuck. I already know this scenario."
"Passing through?" One of the other Innovia members stepped forward, slightly bobbing his enlarged head as he did so, "You're a local. Why would you be passing through your own planet?"
"That's…" Hera looked at her ebony-like skin before sighing and shaking her head. She was about to say something… but the thing she feared the most finally happened—Riley spoke.
"This also happened to Aerith and me when we were in Hotis 4J, Miss Hera," Riley spoke; the cloak covering his face, fortunately still there, "It would seem there is a certain sense of lawlessness in the Known Universe."
"...It's the same on Earth," Hera sighed, "Although I already expected it to be worse here—bounty hunting wouldn't be a celebrated profession if it wasn't."
"I suppose you could say we can draw a parallel between Heroes and Villains, and Bounty hunters and Outlaws, Miss Hera," Riley shrugged as he stepped forward, "Am I allowed to kill people now?"
"No," Hera quickly blocked Riley from the Innovia members, "Look, we really don't want any trouble. I'm not going to give this… Teera X120, so why don't you guys just go before the police come or something."
"The police?" The large-headed humanoid scoffed, "You! The one in the uniform!"
"..." Hera looked to where the large-headed humanoid was pointing, only to see someone who she could only assume to be part of the city's police force. She then watched as the local policeman just glanced at them, before shaking his head and looking away, completely ignoring them.
"See?" The large-headed humanoid scoffed, "We are the authority here."
"..." What was she even going to do about this situation? She was sure she could fight her way through without any problems—but then again, they would not only be on the Innovia's radar, there was also a chance that Riley would be exposed. Should… she really just give the device? After all, there's a chance that Nana could just find a way for them even without it.
"Miss Hera. If you give the device to them, I would no longer have any reason not to kill everyone here."
Of course—this wasn't even a choice.
"Sorry, boys," Hera then sighed as she widened her shoulders and puffed her chest, "But I'm afraid you're going to have to fight me for this one."
"We warned you," the large-headed humanoid then placed two of his fingers on his temples, and as he did so, the four blades hanging around his waist unstrapped themselves and started to float and light up around him.
"Go get them, Larcus!"
"No toy is worth your life! You should have just given it to us!" The large-headed humanoid, Larcus, let out a small roar as he stretched his hand toward Hera; and as he did so, the blades circling around him shot straight at her. The bystanders could really only either look away or close their eyes; but for those who watched what happened, they saw the blades…
"!!!"
…bounce from her body and drop to the floor.
"...Telekinesis, seriously?" Hera could really only raise an eyebrow as she heard the blades drop to the floor.
"Balak!" Larcus then shouted. And as he did so, the 6-eyed humanoid rushed towards her; his arms which were previously as slim as a twig, suddenly swelling to triple their size. But like the blades, they found themselves just bouncing off—no. Balak's arms were worse off than the blades since they were clearly shattered judging by the whisper that cracked in the air.
"Grah!" And his scream reflected that.
"You!" Larcus then stretched his hands to the side; as he did so, the rest of their companions completely circled Riley and Hera, "You really think we're going to let you off this planet now!?"
"Seriously, who approved of your scripts?" Hera could really only sigh as she scanned the 5 that surrounded them, "If you were in my agency, I would have fired your—"
"We should just kill them, Miss Hera."
"Would Megawoman approve of that?"
"...No."
"Exactly," Hera nodded before raising both her arms, "Let's stop this here. You're clearly outmatched, and I don't want to fight any of you. So—"
"Shut up! You harmed Balak!"
"...Right," Hera furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at the 6-eyed humanoid groveling in front of her, obviously exaggerating the pain he was feeling. Wait… exaggerating? Why would someone from the most notorious band of pirates in the entire universe be acting?
"You guys…" Hera's brows started to furrow as he looked at the group, "...are you really members of Innovia?"
"O… of course, we—"
"You're lying," Hera didn't even let Larcus finish his words. From someone with a trained eye like her, their lies might as well be naked, "Should… you guys really be impersonating members of Innovia?"
"What are you saying!? We're from Innovia!" One of the other lackeys stepped forward, before showing a tattoo on one of his tentacles—the insignia of Innovia. Which, for Hera, just solidifies the fact that they truly were not members of the most notorious group in the entire Universe.
In the first place, would someone that belonged to Innovia even be making threats? Riley never made any threats, and he was, on Earth, what Xra is in the universe—the No. 1 threat.
"...I'm going to count to three," the tone of Hera's voice then changed as she looked Larcus straight in the eyes, "If your group is still within my view by then, I will start to retaliate."
"We are the Innovia!" Larcus did not falter as he returned Hera's glare.
"One," Hera said as she stomped her foot on the ground, shattering one of the blades beneath her feet, "T—"
"You're going to hear of us!"
And before Hera could even finish counting to two, Larcus ran away.
"Boss, wait for me!" Balak, who was groveling on the ground, quickly crawled away to follow Larcus. It wasn't only him, the rest of the people surrounding Riley and Hera also disappeared into the crowd like cockroaches.
"Wow." And as soon as they were gone, Hera could hear Riley clapping from behind her, "As expected of one of the voice actors of Italian Mafia Reborn. You're really good, Miss Hera."
"Yes, it's not because I also served as a Hero for many years," Hera rolled her eyes as she started walking, "Let's go. We've wasted enough time with those goons."
"If you would have just let me kill them, it would have been over in less than a second, Miss Hera," Riley sighed as he followed behind her, "I could have even made it look like they were still alive and just walked away."
"Wait… did you?" Hera's eyes widened.
"No, should I?"
"...Please don't. We're so close to leaving the planet."
***
"Quick, tell the others we need to leave the planet as soon as possible! Our gig is done!"
"Why did we even target those two!? Of course, someone that's just waving a Teera X120 around isn't going to be a normal person!"
"This is all your fault, Balak!"
"Enough! There's no use pointing tentacles here!"
Somewhere in a bright alleyway in the crystal city, the group that was pretending to be from Innovia was walking around in panic; stomping their feet, hooves, and tentacles randomly on the ground.
"It's a shame, but that's just business. We've gotten more than we can in this dreary planet anyw—"
"Hello, aliens."
And before Larcus could finish his words, he was interrupted by a small voice that whispered through the alleyway.
"...Who?" They all looked to where the voice suddenly came from…
…only to see a tiny, white-haired humanoid floating in the air—just casually smiling at them.
Chapter 472"Hello, aliens."
Larcus and his band of con artists could really only stare at the palm-sized humanoid floating in front of them. With the crystal alleyway reflecting all the light, the humanoid's white hair seemed like it lit up.
Of course, from the perspective of a civilization that was infinitely more diverse than those of Earth, they were not really weirded out by how the little humanoid looked like, no. There were dozens of races that were the size of an average human palm, one species even belonging to the Higher Races. And so, they weren't weirded out whatsoever.
What they were weirded about, however, was the small humanoid's sudden appearance.
"We did not really have the chance to talk earlier, aliens. So, my creator asked me to trail and follow all of you. And of course, as I, Little Riley, am now the most useful clone out of every clone—I followed his orders to the fullest."
"...What's it saying?"
Larcus could really only hear slight squeaks and whispers coming from Little Riley as it didn't really speak in Alltoh or any other language he understood.
"I don't know who you are, but you better leave us be," Larcus slightly raised his oversized head as he slightly approached the floating Little Riley, "We're not in the mood, gnome. Go bother and beg somewhere else."
"This is really sad, aliens," Little Riley was also oblivious to whatever the group was saying, "I am usually the one making the verbal threats out of all the clones, but it is obvious now that you can not understand me. Sad, since I find myself lately gaining upgrades with my vernacular—I need to change tactics."
"Why is it talking on its own? Are you guys just going to watch!? Throw the damn thing!" Larcus then gestured to his crew, "Throw him—"
And before Larcus could finish his words, one of his men, a… cephalopoid, suddenly leaped into the air and violently wrapped Little Riley in some sort of sack. His tentacles, making sure to seal the sack tight.
"What are you doing!? Why are you adding more to our crimes!?" Larcus immediately gasped as he looked at his crew; his already large head almost seemed like it was on the verge of exploding from how stressed he is, "Why are you kidnapping a—"
"I saw it in the bounty list earlier!" The cephalopoid hummed, "We can earn money from this gnome!"
"What!? Secure it!" Larcus quickly grabbed a ball from his waist and threw it on the ground. And as soon as it touched the crystal floor, it unfolded into a cage where the cephalopoid quickly placed Little Riley in.
"I knew it looked somewhat familiar," Balak, the many-eyed humanoid patted the cephalopoid a couple of times, "How much are we getting from this thing?"
Balak's eyes blinked a couple of times as he kneeled to look at Little Riley; all of his eyes, reflecting Little Riley's white hair as if they were cold-hard credits.
"I… I don't remember, we need to double-check."
"..."
And while Larcus and his crew all huddled together to search the bounty list, Little Riley just casually removed himself from the sack and stood inside the small cage, watching them with his head slightly tilted. Although he knows of Riley's memories and basically also experienced them, this was his first experience with the aliens in their territory. Suffice it to say, he was curious.
The alien with the tentacles—although he had already seen a much bigger, and not to mention, a more towering and terrifying version back in Hawaii; it was still a complete mystery to him as to how they evolved like that.
Curious, truly curious.
Very soon, however, his peaceful observation was cut abruptly as Larcus very slowly turned his head towards him; his eyes, as wide as they could be.
"You… you idiot," a quiet and stuttering whisper escaped Larcus as he stared at Little Riley, "He… he's in the Top 100, he's a Ranker."
"What? Let me see that!" Balak grabbed the tablet Larcus was holding; his many eyes, panning from left to write as he read Riley's file. And soon, his eyes too, seemed like they would pop out of their sockets anytime soon, "It… it says here that he's a Galactic-level Threat?"
"What!? What did you do, X'ualk!?"
"I—I didn't know!"
"Are we sure!? It is listed here that he is a medium-sized humanoid!"
"We… we should run," Balak whispered, "We don't need to—"
"Oh, that's me."
And before Balak could finish his words, another small voice whispered into his ear; he quickly turned his many eyes, only to see Little Riley no longer inside the small cage… but was instead sitting on his shoulders.
"W— Ack!"
And before he could say anything else, Little Riley inserted his arm into one of his eyes.
"..."
"..."
"!!!"
It took a few seconds for what happened to register in his mind since his eyes did not have any pain receptors—but as soon as he closed them, the uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong caused him to take a step back and cover his wide face.
Little Riley, on the other hand, just followed the tablet to the ground and continued to look at his profile; ignoring the visceral screams being let out by Balak.
"...Anyone can access this?" Little Riley asked—but alas, no one can understand him, "Interesting, interest—"
This time, he was the one that was interrupted as Larcus suddenly tried to step on him… only for his body to pierce and penetrate straight through Larcus's boots and foot.
"Gah!"
"Larcus!"
And just like that, with very minimal effort, the number 1 and number 2 of their group were now groveling on the ground and writhing in pain.
"I am not really allowed to kill any of you, aliens."
"Ack!"
And once again, Larcus screamed in pain as Little Riley took a couple of steps forward… shattering his bones as whatever remained of his foot was torn open.
"Oh, you only have 3 toes," Little Riley casually muttered as he pulled one of Larcus's toes off, "For once, I am no longer the weirdest creature in the alley. Wait, perhaps… I still am because I am the most normal-looking one out of all of you? But then—in regards to the vastness and diversity of the Universe, what is considered normal?"
"Kill it! We need to kill it!"
"I really need to learn Alltoh," Little Riley sighed as he still failed to understand what the aliens were saying. Still, he had enough experience to know what they were actually saying to him.
"As I said, I am not really allowed to kill any of you," Little Riley repeated his words, "But Madam Hera did not really specify anything else so—please say farewell to all of your limbs and eyes."
And with those words, Little Riley suddenly flew from his spot, stopping short of hitting Larcus in the face. Of course, this sudden action slightly caused Larcus to pause from screaming in pain as he fell backward… sadly for him, one of his eyes did not follow as Little Riley was holding it.
"Gah!" And so, once again, Larcus groveled on the ground; his blood, finely scattering on the crystal ground.
"The design of your eye is very human," Little Riley whispered as he looked at the eye for a few seconds, before just nonchalantly letting it plop onto Larcus's blood. And with a small sigh, he looked at the humanoid with only a large single eye.
"..." And as soon as the one-eyed humanoid saw the growing smile on Little Riley's face, he no longer cared about anything and just ran. And almost like dominos, the others also started running away while they were still capable of doing so.
But alas, before they could escape the bright alleyway… several slashes of light suddenly appeared and pierced through their bodies. And very slowly, parts of their bodies started to slide away and plop to the ground.
"...Curious," Little Riley tilted his head as he watched the silhouette of the crew crumble and fall to the ground,
"I should have just plucked all of your eyes and limbs at the same time, now I won't have the chance anymore," he then sighed— he wasn't the one who killed them, after all. Of course, he wouldn't break his creator's promise to Hera.
"I followed these impostors here, but to think someone was already taking care of them."
"..." To Little Riley's surprise, he could understand the words of the one who did the deed as she unveiled herself from the other side of the corpses, stepping over them as she approached Little Riley.
"So… you from Innovia too?" The blue-skinned humanoid tilted her steel-made hat up as she looked down at Little Riley,
"...Or are you here because you thought you were actually hunting us?"
Chapter 473"I followed these impostors here, but to think someone was already taking care of them."
"..."
"So… you from Innovia too? Or…
…are you here because you thought you're actually hunting us?"
It did not take long for Little Riley to figure out how and why he could understand the words of the woman that just stolen his new toys. She had the same device Aerith gave to Hera hanging on her waist, the Teera X120.
And judging by her words… it would seem she was from Innovia; this time, perhaps a real member of the group.
"Are you from the Innovia?" And of course, Little Riley was not really one for guessing—if he wants to know something, he will ask.
"I am," the blue-skinned humanoid once again tipped her hat, before slowly crouching and kneeling to the ground as she leaned closer to look at Little Riley; the red shawl hanging on her neck, almost covering him, "Wait… aren't you the new Ranker? Why are you so small?"
"I am not small," Little Riley shook his head as he avoided the long shawl, "I am fun-sized, blue-skinned alien."
"Hm," the blue-skinned humanoid let out a small hum before looking at the two remaining members of the impostors, who wanted to escape the alleyway but could not since their legs were shattered,
"You're definitely not from Innovia—so that leads me to assume that you hunted these impostors thinking they were us. That makes you an enemy, then."
"Hunting them?" Little Riley also turned to look at Larcus and Balak, "I am just playing with them, blue-skinned alien. I don't hunt."
"Doesn't look like that to me."
"I believe hunting requires effort and planning," Little Riley shook his head as he started walking around; granted, not moving far because of his size, "Both don't apply to my current situation."
"You didn't deny being an enemy," the woman breathed out as the veins on her arms started to glow, their reflections causing the entire alley to light up even more.
"Because I am used to being everyone's enemy, blue-skinned alien," Little Riley stopped walking as he looked up at the woman, "I am the villain, after all."
"Interesting."
"That is one of my lines, blue-skinned alien. Please do not steal it."
"You have such confidence for one so small. What about it, do you want to join Innovia?" A smile then crawled on the woman's face as she looked Little Riley in the eyes.
"..." Little Riley, on the other hand, was visibly weirded out by her sudden offer; his eyes, fully squinted as he returned her gaze,
"I thought we were going to fight, blue-skinned alien."
"I'm not stupid enough to fight with a Galactic-level Threat, you will just flatten me along with this planet. And please, stop calling me a blue-skinned alien—that's kind of racist," the blue-skinned alien sighed,
"My name is Moira," she then said as she once again tipped her hat.
"Interesting," Little Riley nodded as he flicked his long white hair to the side, "For someone who doesn't want to fight, your arms are still emitting light."
"Oh… could it be you are unaware of my race?" Moira chuckled, "I am a Torro. Our veins… light up according to what we should feel—our race is not capable of feeling and expressing emotions."
"..." Little Riley turned his small eyes to Moira's smiling lips.
"Identifying and practicing facial expressions is something we learn at an early age. I am only telling you all of this in the hopes that you won't kill me," Moira sighed, "And it will not benefit you to do so as well—Queen Xra will hunt you down once she finds out you killed me. And trust me, she will know."
"I won't kill you, I can't kill," Little Riley just shrugged as he looked at Larcus and Balak, who were now a bit further away as they continued to wriggle their bodies to safety, "I can torture you, however."
"Please, don't," Moira shook his head, "I am offering you to join Innovia instead."
"..." Little Riley just tilted his head in response, "How is inviting me to join your group equivalent to the satisfaction of trying to hurt a species that can't feel?"
"...Could it be you are unaware of what our movement is trying to build?" Moira slightly furrowed her eyebrows.
"I am only aware of things that I am aware of, Miss Moira," Little Riley shrugged, "And whatever it is, it doesn't really concern me—my existence stops here since I have already done my duty."
"Your… existence?" Moira sat on the ground, "What do you mean?"
"Boss only ordered me to hurt them," Little Riley pointed at Larcus and Balak, as well as the other members that Moira sliced into pieces, "And since you killed the others, that means I have already fulfilled my duty. I will crumble to dust anytime soon and will only return once Boss calls for me again."
"Crumble…" Moira was a little confused by Little Riley's words for a bit, but then remembered one of the facts about Riley. As a part of the Innovia, Moira was required to know every Ranker. And as someone who basically barged his way to the Top 100, Riley's profile was something she had just read quite recently,
"Could it be… that you're a clone?"
"I suppose," Little Riley shrugged, "If that is all, then I leave you to do whatever you want with the remaining two, Miss Moira."
Moira already knew that there was no chance that someone like Riley Ross would join their group. After all, as a Galactic-level Threat, there was a possibility that Riley was already comparable to Xra's right-hand man—his addition to the group would definitely tip the balance of the entire Known Universe.
…But what if it was just his clone?
She also read that the one responsible for wreaking havoc was actually just another clone of Riley Ross. None of them believed it, of course— but now that she was seeing how autonomous Little Riley was, then perhaps…
"Do you not want to join Innovia? It's… fun."
"I don't care, Miss Moira."
"..."
"And as I said, my existence stops in this bright alleyway."
"...Can you ask your orig—your boss?" Moira did not let up as she just looked Little Riley straight in the eyes, "Ask him if you can stay and join us. Don't you think it's such a waste to—"
"Stop trying to manipulate me, Moira," Little Riley sighed and shook his head,
"You might be mistaking my size for—Oh, he said it's okay."
"...What?"
"I suppose I am going to accept your offer, Miss Moira," Little Riley very slowly left the ground… before floating on top of Moira's head and landing on her hat, "You said it will be fun."
"Wait… your mind is directly connected to Riley Ross?"
"To a certain extent. The boss is me, but I am not the boss," Little Riley then said as he started climbing down Moira's hat, slightly tipping it as he slid straight to her shoulder,
"So…
…when do I get to meet Queen Xra?"
Right there and then, Moira knew she made the wrong decision.
***
"Yo, Earth to Riley. Why'd you suddenly zone out on me like that?"
"I apologize. My mind just wandered to a certain alleyway with dead alie—I meant people, Miss Hera."
"That's… oddly specific. And stop daydreaming, we have a problem at hand."
Back in the city's spaceport, Hera and Riley were already back inside Nana's ship. The two were expecting to leave as soon as they returned since they took their time exploring the city, but ended up finding an empty ship— Nana and her crew-slash-children were nowhere to be found inside or outside the ship.
"Perhaps they just escaped, Miss Hera? I am sure they were quite intimidated by you."
"By me?" Hera's eyes started to twitch, "You're the genocidal maniac here."
"I suppose."
"If they left, then let's just drive this thing on our own. I've been monitoring them, and I think it's possible with just the two of us as long as you use your telekinesis."
"No, Miss Hera. This is Captain Nana's ship, stealing is bad."
"You—"
"Do you two know Nana?"
And before Hera could completely lose her mind, one of the screens near them suddenly turned itself on—showing a face that Hera could only describe as… worm-like.
"...Yes?" Hera instinctively but hesitantly answered.
"She and her crew are being interrogated right now. It's… my fault," the worm-like man's sighs were obvious even from the other side of the screen, "She sold me a condensed ball of— it doesn't matter, the guards confiscated it and said it was procured by illegal means. Please…
…please help them."
"No."
Chapter 474"What did you say your name was again?"
"Jobedin."
"We'll handle your request, Jobedin."
As far as his facial expressions could go, the worm-like humanoid, Jobedin, smiled as soon as he heard Hera's words. Although he didn't really expect much from the two strangers, it was better than nothing.
Jobedin is a famous tradesman—if a customer gets apprehended and arrested while dealing with him, then his reputation would suffer drastically. It also helped that one of the strangers was a local… and a good-looking local at that, she would, for sure, have a way to get Nana and her crew from their current predicament.
"Thank you, thank you!" Jobedin wagged his neck along with his head, "I will send you the coordinates now, thank you. And please… don't tell this to anyone."
"Y–"
And before Hera could even respond, the screen immediately switched to a map; presumably showing the location where Nana and her crew are being held.
"Why did you accept, Miss Hera? I already refused it," Riley's quiet and not-so-subtle sigh pierced Hera's ears as he stood behind her, "We should not be prioritizing the side quests and should do the main quests instead."
"...You play video games?"
"I used to dabble. But no, I only stated something Gary would say in the situation, Miss Hera."
"That idiot really has a large influence on you… and you're probably the only person where I am not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing."
"Every influence is good, Miss Hera. It is only up to the influenced whether or not he or she would take it positively and harness it."
"...Since when did you become so wise?" Hera could really only roll her eyes before focusing on the map, "Anyway, we should think of a plan to get Nana and her crew out."
"Why?"
"...Because we owe her at least that? And besides, it's your fault she's being apprehended in the first place."
"If this was Earth, would you try and rescue someone being held by customs?"
"The… the laws are looser here."
"Is law your measure for moral—"
"Stop it with the Gandhi stuff!" Hera rolled her fists in frustration, "Nana knows who you are! Do you think she'll really try to hide it from the authorities if they pressure her!?"
"But I am not trying to hide my identity, Miss Hera. There is no need for—"
"Can you just stop!?"
'What the fuck was she doing!?'-- is Hera's current thoughts as she stomped her foot on the floor and stared Riley straight in the eyes. It's true that she had some leeway for dealing with Riley since he has taken a liking to her and because he considered her a proxy to Aerith…
…but suddenly lashing out at a literal killing machine?
"I have had it with your childish shenanigans!" But still, she could not help herself.
"You are a selfish little prick that only thinks about himself! You think just because you're on the fucking spectrum or whatever that excuses your behavior!? And I don't even blame your parents or the people around you, because most of the people around you are actually decent people! It's you! You are the problem, Riley Ross! Your refusal to just outright change even though every opportunity is and has been presenting itself to you so many times!"
"..."
"You fucking psychopathic murderer that probably gets off seeing blood and flesh! You're disgusting! If I had the choice of just leaving you here, I would. But I can't because destiny or fate or whatever seems to want us to be together right here and right now. I am stuck with you and it's fucking not fair."
"..."
"What? You think I actually like you? No," Hera let out an almost maniacal chuckle,
"I am afraid of you, Riley. I am so freaking terrified of you. And you know what? I bet you— Paige, Tomoe, Scarlet Mage? The women you think are with you because they accept who you are? I bet they are even more afraid than me… They abhor you, Riley. They are staying with you because, like me, they have no choice. We are your hostage…
…everyone on Earth is your hostage."
"..."
"You have no one, Riley Ross. Your sister? Do you really think she's by your side because she loves you and cares for you?"
"..."
"No. Fuck no. She's beside you because she knows that if things go sideways, she is probably the only one that has a chance to stop you. Out of all of us, out of all the people in the Universe…
…Hannah is your greatest and most pitiful hostage."
"..."
"Everyone could see it. All of us are just tolerating you because we have no choice. You are Death itself, Riley. No, no, no…" Hera once again laughed manically as she wagged her finger at Riley's face, "You are Destruction. Because you don't just stop at death, that's not enough for you, oh no. You need to obliterate and destroy everything."
"...Okay," Riley looked to the side.
"Okay!? That's all you have to fucking say!?" Hera, however, immediately grabbed his head and faced it in front of her again, "Say something! Be a human for once!"
"What is there to say, Miss Hera?" Riley leaned his head back and sighed, "Everything you said, I already know."
"And that is what's so frustrating about you, Riley! You know… You know and you refuse to change! Over and over again, like a broken tape you just repeat everything. You said you are trying to be human, but there is more to being human than imitating the way we speak and our actions, Riley. You— just what is it!? Just what is it that would make you tick?"
"..."
"Your biological mother died, your closest clone died. What needs to happen to you for you to actually change!?" Even after more than a minute of screaming, Hera's voice showed no signs of weakening,
"Even the worse characters in fiction have more character development than. Even the freaking clown terrorist got depressed and changed when his adversary died, but you!? What will it take to change you!? I don't even care if it's for the better, just change!"
"..."
"Who has to die for you to change!? Hannah!?"
"Me."
"What?"
"I am the one who has to die for me to change, Hera. I—"
"Ack, stop it with the pity party," Hera just stuck out her tongue and scoffed as she heard Riley's words, "That might work on your harem, but that emo-shit just doesn't do it for me, okay?"
"..."
"I don't even know why I am talking to a literal doormat. I am going to try and see if I can get Nana and her kids out, you can just stay here if you want."
And with those words and another scoff, Hera walked away; not even looking back as her steps became faster and faster until she was out of Riley's sight.
"..." As for Riley, he just stood there.
"..."
"..."
"...Hm," he then nodded to himself several times, before just looking up to nowhere in particular.
"..."
"Well…"
A heavy breath then escaped his mouth as he turned toward the map on the screen, the beeping noise it produced, causing his lips to slightly twitch downward. He stared at the screen for a few seconds…
…before suddenly punching it.
***
"Oh, shit. Oh, shit."
Outside in the crystal streets, the only thing that Hera could hear was the beating of her heart which was probably loud enough to echo throughout the entire planet. If her nerves could also talk, then they would probably be wailing and screaming at her right now.
Did she just lash out at Riley and asked him what would make him tick? Riley? The literal time bomb… she asked what makes him tick?
"Stupid, stupid," Hera muttered to herself, not even realizing that she was pushing other people to the side as she continued to walk the streets… and unfortunately for her— one of the people she happened to bump into was a guard.
"Stop! Stop right there!"
"What? Get the fuck out of my— Oh."
And so, with that, Hera also found herself locked up.
"..."
"...Is that you, Hera?"
"Yes."
"...Why do you look like a local?"
"Long story."
And it just so happens that her cell was beside Captain Nana. Like most of their infrastructure, even the cells were made of crystal—with circular holes on them probably for air circulation.
And as they were crystals, Nana and Hera could see each other quite… clearly.
"I actually came to get you out… legally," Hera sighed as she leaned her back on the wall, "You… didn't say anything about our friend, did you?"
"Friend?" Nana blinked a couple of times, but widened her eyes as soon as she realized who Hera meant, "No! No, of course not! You have to believe me, I—"
"I believe you," Hera once again sighed as she looked at Nana's panicking trods, "What about your children? You think they're going to say something?"
"They don't know anything," Nana shook her head, "I didn't tell them who he is."
"And where are they right now?"
"They… are being interrogated. They won't say anything, I promise."
"It's fine, it's fine. We need to worry about how we can get out of here," Hera started to look around, "We can't just escape—I don't want to be committing crimes on a foreign planet."
"What… what about our… friend?" Nana's voice became quieter as she subtly stepped closer to Hera's cell.
"What about him?"
"...You think he'll get us out?"
"Honestly, I don't know if that will be a good thing or not...
...for this planet, I mean."
Chapter 475The cracks on the wall were things that could be said to almost be a constant happening in his life, but at the same time, Riley did not recognize them. He was used to causing destruction, at a level that could not even be quantified—but this little damage that he had done in front of him; the cracked interior wall of Nana's ship, the shattered screen… they were unfamiliar.
Unfamiliar in a way that he never truly intended their destruction. And he could say, he could truly say that something like this has only happened once in his life— the very moment he discovered his telekinetic abilities. After that, any destruction or death within his path was all by intent, beautifully crafted, and calculated even.
And this, right now, in front of him…
…was a destruction led by impulse; maybe even frustration.
Frustrated?
Is that it? Was he feeling frustrated? He doesn't know… he can't be, right?
After all, he had never truly felt frustrated before—he thought himself incapable of feeling such.
Anger? Many times. He used to lash out whenever someone he doesn't like touched him, but he had learned to tolerate it ever since he gained a sense of social skills. But even then, his anger was directed, targeted, concise… fleeting.
But this… this frustration, it crawled through his neck like a condescending whisper; inaudible, but each word with weight. Even now, as he looks at his hand and thinks of the words that Hera told him… his hand starts to ball into a fist.
His eyebrows too, started to furrow on their own. He…
…doesn't like it.
It was like there was a puppeteer pulling his strings; he wasn't in control and he didn't like it.
Riley needs to be the one in control.
"..."
But as he continued to look at his slightly trembling hand as he tried to control it, all it did was make it worse; the urge of wanting to punch the already ruined wall was once again filling his head.
It was different from the whispers he gets, no. The whispers he gets that tells him to hurt and kill people are, in a sense, quite literal—whispers. But this… it felt like the urge was coming from inside him.
It starts in his stomach, and then just climbs up and filled his head.
"...Oh," he then slightly tumbled forward as he slightly lost control of his legs,
"That didn't work," he then whispered as he lightly shook his head—he tried to prevent whatever it was that was climbing inside him, but all he stopped was the blood and oxygen moving to his head.
"..."
"..."
And so, the only thing that Riley could really do was sigh as his eyes darted back and forth between his hand and the broken wall. If he couldn't stop whatever it is he is feeling, then he will just let it be and move on—it's just a minor lapse in his brain, he is sure it will be gone before he notices it.
Riley then let out another breath, and as he did so, the cracked and dented wall started to unfold itself; returning to what they once were. But alas, even though the metal bits that fell to the ground were practically welded in, the web of damage was still obvious.
Not to mention the screen was still pretty much eviscerated.
This is why Riley doesn't like not being in control—things that should otherwise have been saved from his existence end up being needlessly wasted and destroyed. There… is no beauty in a destruction that he does not mean to happen.
And since he did not mean for it to happen—
"...I need to pay for this," Riley whispered to himself as he tried to retrieve anything he could from his pockets… only to find his current suit doesn't have one. He was still wearing the black Paragon outfit beneath his cloak, and even if it did have pockets, it didn't matter.
Hera holds the money forc—willingly given to them by Nana.
Will they accept Earth money? No, even if they did, Riley also didn't have any in his person. If he was right, then the people of the Known Universe were also using some type of universal currency…
…where will he even get something like that?
"..."
"..."
Riley started looking around, trying to see if he could get an idea of what to do from Nana's ship. He didn't look long, however, as his eyes quickly settled on the shattered screen in front of him.
"...Oh."
***
"Hey you, let me out!"
"Don't talk to me! You think we're just going to let you out because you're beautiful!? You disrespected an officer, you don't get a free pass!"
"I just accidentally bumped into him! He should be honored he was able to touch an actress! Hey, you! What kind of stupid law is this!?"
Back in the city's local jail, Hera was trying her best to just not burst through her crystal confinement. It would be easy for her to do so, but she truly did not want to find herself with a bounty on her head.
The people of the Known Universe seemed to be obsessed with bounty hunting; but then again, the same could be said of Earth.
The battle between Good and Evil, and the poor people caught in between. Hera just didn't want to find herself on any side of that since the Known Universe is… definitely infinitely more troublesome than Earth.
"At least let me get a lawyer or something!"
"It's no use, Hera."
As for Captain Nana, she seemed to have already accepted her fate; her back, surrendered to the crystal wall,
"The local police of Febuvan is, to say it nicely, shit."
"Febuvan? This city?"
"...The planet. You've never been here before? It's a Guided civilization, so everything is basically rushed," Nana finally removed her back from the wall as she heard the confusion in Hera's voice,
"Come to think of it… Our white-haired friend is listed to be from the Unknown, could it be—"
"Yep, we're from the same planet," Hera could really only let out a sigh as she sat back on the crystal floor, "...What do you mean Guided civilization?"
"Oh, you know… planets that weren't technologically advanced, but approached by a higher civilization."
"So… basically a colony?"
"I—I guess? Wait… So, if you're from a planet in the Unkown, that means I'm talking to an alien right now!?" Nana's small eyes turned wide as she turned her head up to look at Hera.
"Well… If you put it like that," Hera blinked a couple of times as her voice slightly hummed.
"But wait… Riley has telekinetic abilities… but you can shapeshift? What exactly is—"
"Move! Move it!"
And before Nana could satiate her curiosity, the large crystal door leading to their cells suddenly and heavily slid open; the voices of panic, celebration, awe, and fear just rushing from it like a wild torrent.
Nana, Hera, and the other poor souls that were locked in their cells all quickly moved to the front of their cells to see what was happening, only to see almost a dozen officers surrounding a white-haired humanoid. And unlike the rest of them that were still treated loosely, the white-haired humanoid was bound. His eyes were covered by some sort of metal blindfold, his mouth was the same.
His wrists and ankles, chained tight to the hovering metal stretcher he was bound to.
"That… isn't that our friend!?" Nana jumped as she latched herself on the crystal bars of her cell, "Did… did he get caught!?"
"...No."
And while Nana was practically sticking her eyes to Riley as he was dragged across the fortified hallway, Hera was shaking her head and backing away into her cell,
"Darkday doesn't get caught, Captain Nana. This planet's fucked."
"...Dark day? What dark day?"
"This is what I was trying to prevent," Hera then once again let herself fall to the floor as a sigh heavy enough to fill her room scattered in the air. Her ebony-like skin, returning to its original light-brown color as her size returned to normal,
"It would seem you're in the front row seats, Cap."
"Front row seats of what?" Captain Nana's face was turning from worry to panic even though she had no idea what Hera was talking about,
"Y… You're not making any sense! Front row seats of what!?"
"The performance of the devil himself."
Chapter 476Nothing really happens on the planet of Febuvan. Unlike Hotis 4J and the other border settlements, they were just used as recharge stations by the ships that came their way—most of their visitors did not even step out of their vehicles.
One could say their crystal planet is mesmerizing at first sight—but anything interesting about their small planet stops there; once you've seen a single scenery, you've seen them all.
Nothing really happens on the planet of Febuvan… until today, that is.
"Riley Ross! It's a Ranker!"
"What do we even do!?"
Right now, in one of Febuvan's city ports, a life-changing event that could be said second only to their introduction to the Known Universe is happening—a Ranker is in their grasp.
Riley Ross—measured to be a Galactic-level Threat, a monster that had only made his debut in the Known Universe and yet is already in the Top 100 most dangerous criminals in the entire cosmos. Even in the 100, the number of Galactic-level Threats could only be counted in one human hand.
"We… we're not equipped to handle something like this! Call the Guardians, the Lahestia, just call anyone!"
And of course, what could Febuvan's local police even do but just panic? They could barely even contain the thugs that were pretending to be members of the Innovia pirates, what would they even do with a Galactic-level Threat?
The febuvanirs could really only dance with their long legs as they looked at each other, asking themselves what to do. Riley Ross was cooperating now and even quietly sitting in one of their cells, but they were not stupid enough to believe that he could not just set himself free and start wreaking havoc.
The sheriff of the port city, Fablu, was probably the most lost out of everyone on the planet. His eyes, just watching as his men pranced around; some, even surrendering their guns and badge to him.
He can't blame any of them, after all. If he had the choice, he would do the same because, in the first place, their planet didn't have the kind of authority, much less firepower to apprehend a Ranker.
And as to how Riley Ross was even in their cells?
"That's enough!" Sheriff Fablu slammed his hand on his desk, causing a crack to slither in the air as webs started to form on the crystal furniture,
"Are all of you forgetting something here!?"
And as Sheriff Fablu stood up, the panicked steps of the other officers started to slow down; their eyes, focusing on him.
"You all should be ashamed of your silly display of cowardice! You are embarrassing me in front of our guest!" Sheriff Fablue then once again sat down as he sighed; the furrow on his eyebrows, very slowly disappearing as he looked at the individual sitting at the other side of his desk,
"I apologize for my men. We… don't see much action here, Mr. Paragon."
"It is quite alright, Officer Fablu. I am used to people's fears."
"N…no, they're not afraid of you. Please, don't misunderstand, Mr. Paragon," Sheriff Fablu's voice became meek with each word that escaped his mouth; his eyes, not even daring to look at the individual in front of him.
The man was completely covered in a cloak; the only things visible were his eyes, clear enough to reflect even Fablu's black silhouette. His eyes were gentle, but Sheriff Fablu knew they were anything but.
After all, only another monster could subdue another.
The individual in front of him, Paragon, just casually waltzed inside their station a few moments ago… dragging along with him one of the most dangerous terrorists in the entire Known Universe.
Sheriff Fablu was scared, terrified like the rest of his men—his fears, however, were slightly alleviated as soon as the cloaked individual started to speak to him.
And as the two of them were now sitting at his office, Sheriff Fablu once again took a subtle peek at his translator, which still showed that the language the cloaked individual was using…
…is Themarian.
"No one… no one is afraid of you here, Mr. Paragon," Fablu gulped as he tried his best to smile, "The… the only thing we have for you here is respect. They… they just don't know who you are yet. Wk—Forgive me, I…I am usually an eloquent person. It… It's really just hard to focus since I am in the presence of a god."
"...I'm not a god."
"Of course! I… I didn't mean anything by it, Mr. Paragon!" Sheriff Fablu quickly lowered his head, "I'm just… I am in awe of your presence. It's the first time I am seeing a Themarian."
"And it seems mighty obvious that my presence here is reducing all of your focus," Paragon—Riley let out a very long and deep sigh as he stood up, "I shall take my leave, Sheriff Fablu."
"Leave?" Fablu's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as soon as he heard Paragon's words, "What… what about Riley Ross? We're not… equipped to handle a prisoner of his caliber."
"You don't have to worry, I'll kill him before I leave," Riley shrugged, "I will leave the body here so you can claim credit however you want."
"Thank you! Thank you! We will—"
And before Fablu could finish his words, he could not help but flinch as Paragon suddenly stretched his palm toward him.
"...Sir?" Fablu once again gulped as he glanced at Paragon, but quickly looked away.
"The bounty. I need the money, Sheriff Fablu."
"The… bounty?" Sheriff Fablu blinked a couple of times as he stared at Paragon's palm, "We… we don't have that kind of credit. We need to contact the Hunter's Association for that."
"Hm."
"Please don't kill us!"
And with just a small, tiny deep hum from Paragon, Fablu quickly fell to the floor and started groveling, "Please… please."
"I am not going to kill you just because you can't give me money, Sheriff Fablu. I am a superhero."
"...A what?" Fablu very slowly tried to look up.
"But since you can't give me money…
…may I request something else?"
***
"We didn't know they were with you!"
"Yes, you arrested them because of the ball of metal, correct?"
"Y… yes, we didn't know that—"
"I did that. It was a pirate ship and I compressed it with my bare hands, Sheriff Fablu"
"It… it all makes sense now. You, what are you doing!? Get Mr. Paragon's friend out!"
"..."
Hera and Nana, who had just previously witnessed Riley being dragged into the hallway in chains, could really only keep their mouths shut as they watched as another Riley stood in front of their cells, requesting them to be released.
Nana's cell was the first to open. The officer that was previously ignoring her before, now only has a smile on her face… even offering her refreshments.
"It… It's okay," Nana awkwardly smiled as she made her way beside the cloaked Riley.
"Captain Nana."
"S…Sir R—Paragon!?" Nana's entire being shook as she almost blurted out Riley's name.
"Good to have you back, where are your children?"
"They are—"
"We are getting them out as we speak!" Sheriff Fablu let out a nervous chuckle, "We… we didn't harm any of your friends, not even a single hair."
"Hm," Riley only nodded in response before looking at Hera, "Why are you not opening her cell yet?"
"That—we need to process her first, Mr. Paragon," a small drop of sweat instantly appeared on Fablu's ebony forehead, "Please, we can just wait outside while— Kh!"
"R—Paragon!? What are you doing!?" Hera, who had her mouth completely shut so she wouldn't accidentally blurt out things she shouldn't, could not help but scream as Riley suddenly grabbed Fablu by the neck and lifted him up.
"You… you will release her."
"...Paragon?" Hera took a few steps back as she heard something she had never heard before— a loud, and deep tremor in Riley's voice.
"Release her… now!"
Chapter 477"Release her… now!"
There it is again, the tingling feeling that was restlessly trying to crawl through his neck. He thought he had already suppressed this unnecessary frustration inside of him, but it was still there, hiding within him and still as heavy.
It was uncomfortable, truly uncomfortable.
"Let go of him!"
Fablu's men quickly surrounded Paragon; their guns, pointed at him even though all of them knew it would do nothing.
"There's no need to escalate this situation, febuvanirs," Paragon let out a small sigh as he let go of Fablu's neck. He then patted his shoulders, fixing Fablu's slightly crumpled uniform,
"I apologize, Sheriff Fablu. I did not mean to scare you and your people."
"T…this…" Fablu didn't really know what to say as the relief of still being alive flowed through his entire body. Paragon couldn't really lift him up entirely since Fablu was practically twice his height, but still… as soon as Paragon held him by the neck, it almost felt as if a noose was wrapped around him, and beneath him a billion blades ready to devour him.
"I lost control, Sheriff Fablu," Paragon let out a loud sigh as he saw the fear in Fablu's eyes, "Hera is a dear companion of mine, you see. I would hate it if she was uncomfortable in the cell."
"N…no, it was our mistake. We—Put your guns down! Have you idiots lost your mind!?" And before Fablu could express his gratitude for not killing him, he noticed that his men were still pointing their guns at Paragon.
Of course, sheriff Fablu could really only blame himself for his men's actions. They most probably still haven't realized that the cloaked individual in their midst is a Themarian—if they did, none of them would probably even think of even touching their weapons, no. The only thing they would be touching would be their recording and streaming devices as they take videos and photos of him in reverence.
A Themarian, even the weakest one, could probably just snap its fingers and their entire planet would crumble. Fablu meant what he said back in his office— for people in the Lower Races, Themarians are basically gods.
"Open cell no. 4! Let's get Mr. Paragon's friend out!"
and with that, the crystal bars that were separating Hera from the others slid back into the floor. Hera, however, did not move from her spot and just stared at Riley as her breaths became heavier by the second.
She knew… she knew that everything was a performance, but when Riley suddenly grabbed Fablu by the neck, she sensed something odd about it; it was genuine.
Riley… moved by impulse? Hera truly didn't like the sound of that. Although she had not really spent that much time with Riley before all these space adventure shenanigans happened, she knew enough that Riley doesn't show any other emotions besides extreme apathy and a skewed sense of joy.
Did… her lashing out at him caused him to become like this? If so…
…was she going to die today?
"What are you waiting for, Miss Hera?"
Fortunately for her, contrary to her expectations, Riley just gestured to her, "We need to leave for Theran, mother and the others await for us."
"...Right," Hera let out a sigh of relief as she made her way behind Riley. It would seem she gets to keep her life for one more day.
"Theran… Were you on your way home, Mr. Paragon?" Sheriff Fablu breathed out, "It's… truly a blessing that you passed by the planet when you did. If not, then we wouldn't even know what we would do if Riley Ross decided to attack us."
"Hm…" Paragon nodded; slightly moving to the side as he avoided Fablu's hand that seemed to want to touch him, "Speaking of which, we should go to Riley Ross and finish our deal, Sheriff Fablu."
"Ah, yes. Of course," a smile crawled on Fablu's face as he started to walk away, "Please, follow me."
The group made their way deeper into the jail, where the crystals started to dim and lose their color—an indication of how dense they are.
And there, right in front of them, was a door that was as dark as the febuvanirs' skin.
"We… we keep anyone above a city-level threat here," Sheriff Fablu's sigh bounced from the wall as he started unlocking it with his biometrics.
"...What are we doing here?" And while the Sheriff was doing that, Hera finally took this chance to ask Riley what exactly was going on, "Shouldn't we leave before they could discover your disguise?"
"No," Riley shook his head, "I made a deal with the Sheriff, I plan to honor it, Ms. Hera."
"...What deal?"
"To kill the outlaw that is known as Riley Ross."
And almost as if on cue with his words, the dark crystal door opened up, revealing a slightly large hall. And at the very center, a completely bound Riley Ross; unmoving and just watching them with his cold, clear eyes.
Of course, Hera knew that the Riley bound to a floating stretcher was just a clone; still, he exuded a certain aura that Hera just can't shake off.
"Ho…" Sheriff Fablu could not help but almost shake in excitement as Paragon stepped inside the cell, "If anyone could dispose of a Ranker, then it will be a respected Themarian like you, Mr. Paragon."
"..." Hera turned to look at Nana, who had also been quietly following Riley from behind. And as soon as their eyes met, they nodded at each other.
A Themarian. Hera and Nana had been wondering why Sheriff Fablu was so meek and obedient, which fully explains why. They were worried they would say something wrong and destroy Riley's disguise, but now, they have one less thing to worry about.
"I am required to tell you this, but everything happening right now is being recorded and streamed live, Mr. Paragon."
"...What? Why?" Hera was the one to respond.
"It's… just the way the law works?" Fablu just shrugged, "An execution of a Ranker is a public event. I… can't really do anything about it, even if it is your request, Mr. Paragon."
"It's alright, Sheriff Fablu. I do not mind," Paragon did not even look back as he slowly made his way to the Riley clone; their eyes, staring at each other.
"This is nothing personal, Riley Ross."
And without even a breath of introduction, Paragon's eyes started to turn red.
"...Wow." Nothing was truly happening yet, but Fablu's breath of exclamation almost filled the entire cell. He will probably never be as excited as he is now for the rest of his life. To see the prowess of a Themarian up close and personal—he would never get a chance like this again.
"Farewell, Riley Ross."
And with those words, a violent red beam surged out from Paragon's eyes. The light, shooting straight toward the Riley clone's face…
…only to freeze in space just an inch away from creating a hole in his face.
"This is it?"
"...Huh?" Not only the Sheriff, but even Hera could not help but breathe out in shock as they watched as the chains and straps that bound Riley very slowly unraveled. And in that instant, it felt like they were underwater as everything around them started to float.
And like a butterfly shedding out from its cocoon, Riley completely freed himself from his shackles.
"This is the strength of a Themarian?" He then whispered as his foot very gently landed on the crystal floor, "This…
…is pathetic
Chapter 478"This is the strength of a Themarian? This…
…is pathetic."
Hera is officially and utterly confused. She had initially thought that the scenario that Riley prepared for the Known Universe was perfect.
A Themarian ending the reign of terror of Riley Ross.
Every problem they will ever face going forward would have been completely eliminated after that. They wouldn't have to sneak around and be careful, and she would finally be able to enjoy the vacation she knew she deserved.
But now… she didn't even know who the real Riley Ross is.
"This is the master race?"
"!!!"
They didn't even see what happened, but Riley Ross was grabbing Paragon's face; his cloak, fluttering at an insane speed like the rattle of a snake as they stretched.
"This is what the universe is so scared of?" Riley Ross hummed as he very slowly turned his head toward one of the surveillance cameras that he detected as soon as he was placed inside the large cell, and with a small and sinister chuckle, the hovering stretcher that bound him earlier shredded into a million pieces.
"You talk too much."
And even with his face covered, a calm breath still escaped Paragon's lips and seeped from the edges of Riley Ross's palm. And at a speed that Sheriff Fablu could once again not follow, Paragon suddenly had his hands tightly gripping around Riley Ross's wrist. The only thing that Fablu could really see was what happened after—how could he not, when half of his cell that was supposed to hold city-level threats was now open for the entire world to see? And not only that, but he could also see the celestial bodies as the clouds that covered their skies also split in half.
"Just… what?"
For just the shockwave of a simple action to cause this much damage, Sheriff Fablu finally realized why he and everyone thought of Themarians as gods— they live in a completely different world.
And then, there's Riley Ross; who, despite being in front of a Themarian, still had this creepy and wide smile on his face.
"This ends now, outlaw."
And with those words whispering in the air, Paragon's eyes once again lit up—the red violent light, almost like a blade as it infinitely carved the silhouette of Riley's palm.
"I do not think so, Mr. Paragon."
And as the beam of death unleashed itself, Riley Ross forcefully turned Paragon's head up—the scorching sword that was meant to be for him, now pointing straight to the sky… hitting one of the planet's moons.
"Hera!?"
Nana could really only grab Hera's leg, pulling on it as she looked her straight in the eyes, "Do something!"
"...Are you for real?" Hera, however, only looked at Nana as if she was crazy. This was Riley's performance, if Hera was to take the stage, she knew a quick death would follow—no, worse. Her body would surely try to find a way to keep her alive, and the last time that happened, it felt as if a billion sandpaper was shredding each centimeter of her body apart all at the same time.
The only thing anyone could really do in this situation was to watch and hope for the best. Earth had suffered at the hands of Riley, and now it's everyone's turn.
"A classic themarian," Riley Ross let out a small chuckle as he watched as the moon very slowly crumbled in space, "Always leaving destruction in their wake and not caring about the innocent people they leave in collateral. Your cousin on Earth was the same, I think her name was Aer—"
And before Riley Ross could finish his words, Paragon suddenly pushed his hand away to finally free his face, and without even any warning or even a breath, he pulled Riley Ross near him with one hand…
…and then punched through Riley Ross's chest with the other.
"You think evil has a place in the universe? Not today, outlaw."
And with that, Riley Ross's chest started to crack. And very slowly, his face also started to crumble; his body, turning into dust that shared the same color as the planet's crystal terrain.
"..." Hera's eyes were completely blank. She knew her eyes didn't fail her. If Riley didn't become a world-ending psychopath, then he would have definitely been a very famous actor.
Still… isn't this overdoing it?
"...It's only a clone," Paragon let out a small breath as he opened his fist, scattering the last of the clone's ashes into the air.
"That… was only a clone?" Sheriff Fablu could not help but hold his breath from what Paragon's words indicated.
A mere clone… was able to restrain a Themarian for a couple of seconds? That was a feat that required more than a dozen of Guardians… and a clone was able to do that on its own?
If so, then how strong is the original Riley Ross?
"H…ho…" Sheriff Fablu could not stop the stuttered breath that forcefully escaped his mouth. The thought of imagining what the true Riley Ross is capable of caused his entire body to almost shut down.
"Sheriff Fablu."
"Y…yes?" Fablu quickly rushed to Paragon's side as soon as he heard him calling.
"What is the current bounty of Riley Ross?" Riley muttered as he watched as his clone's ashes continued to drift with the wind.
"...What?"
"Riley Ross's bounty, how much is it?"
"I… I believe it's at 1.5F," Sheriff Fablu quickly checked on his device, "Y…yes, he's Rank 89 at 1.5F."
"Hm," Riley let out a short but deep breath, "I think they should start raising it."
"They… they definitely will after this, Mr. Paragon," Sheriff Fablu's breaths continued to stutter as his entire body shivered, "I… I don't really have a scope of how strong the other Rankers are… but I believe Riley Ross is definitely different from all of them."
"I believe so too. Perhaps he is even stronger than the one they call Pirate Queen."
"Well—"
"What was her name again? Shakira?"
"!!!" Sheriff Fablu quickly turned his head toward one of the surveillance cameras, gesturing to whoever was on the other side to quickly cut the feed. She could really only hope that the stream was stopped before Paragon was able to finish his words.
Pirate Queen Xra was known for her quick temper… and that usually was not really a good combination with a creature known to rival a themarian in power.
"It… It's Pirate Queen Xra, Mr. Par—"
"I do not really care for her name, Sheriff Fablu," Riley flicked his cloak as he started to walk away, "I will leave now—such mundane acts are beneath me."
"...Mr. Paragon?"
"Be careful, darker days are ahead."
"..." Hera's eyes slightly twitched as Riley's words reached her ears. Did… he just copy Megawoman's line? Wait… was she acting like Megawoman? Is this how he sees her?
"Miss Hera, Captain Nana…
…let us go!"
And with his cloak fluttering and flowing with the air, Riley and his crew left… not fully knowing the scale of chaos he had just dawned upon the Known Universe.
***
"This fucker…"
Thousands and thousands of lightyears away, a spaceship similar to the shape of a common naval warship on Earth orbited around a dwarf sun. This would have just been a normal sight in the Known Universe… if it wasn't for the fact that a violent tornado of flames was currently being sucked in by the warship.
This was definitely a sight that would make one quiver in their boots.
The captain of this warship was also shaking on her throne, but not because of the horrifying and drowning sight… but because of what she had just witnessed on the large screen in front of her.
"Is this fucker pretending not to know my name!? Shakira!? Who the fuck is Shakira!?"
A skin, even paler than that of Riley's; her eyes, the color of blood—the Pirate Queen Xra.
"C…captain Xra, please calm down!"
"The fuck I would! Find him!" Xra's jet-black hair flowed as she slammed her fist on the stone table in front of her, "Set a course for Febuvan, now!"
"But we're still not done harvesting the—"
"If I have to repeat myself again, I will space you out myself!"
Xra threw the stone table in front of her as she stood up. Her crew that was on the path of the spiraling table, just casually stepping to the side to avoid it as if they have done so a million of times, "Find this Themarian shit right now…
…find him now!"
Chapter 479Paragon vs Riley Ross.
Themarian vs. a new and previously unknown Ranker.
Even with the Known Universe being as large as it is, this topic not only echoed but thundered throughout the almost endless expanse. Some watched and received the news late, but still—everyone was talking about it.
How could they not, when even a glimpse of a sighting of a Themarian only happens once in a lifetime? Even more so a Themarian in combat.
This was no surprise even for an earthling like Hera. She practically saw Megawoman almost every day back on Earth, but she still finds herself in awe whenever she dawns her suit.
Still, she sees her every day—she wasn't exactly a rare sight for Earth. But for the Known Universe, it seemed they were treated almost like myth. She could not help but feel… special for some reason. How could she not? There's not just one themarian on Earth, but two.
Of course, there was a part of her that felt slightly bad for the aliens. The themarian they were fawning over was fake, after all.
The universe was being played by Riley, much like he did on Earth. And perhaps the worst, or perhaps the best part of it all was that technically, he was momentarily the most talked about individual in the entire universe.
Some were nervous about this new, monstrous Ranker. Everyone on the Top 100 Outlaw is dangerous, but the majority of them tend to just lie low and hide, not really committing any crimes that would risk their capture.
But Riley Ross? He was practically a bloodthirsty demon that killed everything within its path—a being that thrived on chaos. How could they not be nervous?
And it wasn't only the common people, some of the Elders of the Common Council were also currently in a fit of panic as they were receiving backlash from Riley's rampage. Some of the Universe-leading planets were blaming them for their inaction.
"I believe we are all at fault here for underestimating the chaos that a neonatal threat would bring. What is important now is our action going forward."
In a bright and empty spherical room, a female humanoid floated at the very center. Her silhouette and her anatomy were akin to that of a normal human; a little petite, but seemingly tall at the same time. The only difference is that her skin was that of flat silver, and each individual strand of her hair is too. No, every corner of her body was silver.
As for whether or not she was bare naked, it was hard to determine. There were lines in her body that were similar to that of creases that one would find in clothing, but it was subtle—minute, and almost merging with her skin.
The only thing that could really be said to be an article on her was her glasses, their golden frame, the only contrast in her otherwise monotonous physique. Her look was not the only thing that was monotonous, however, as the tone of her voice offered something competition with how straight and robotic it was.
And if Riley was to hear her speak, he would quickly recognize her as the only female Elder of the Common Council, Tedi.
And similar to the spherical room in Princess Vera's ship, Tedi was also surrounded by the blacked-out and blurred holograms of the Elders.
"We have tried to disregard him even after he brutally killed Elder Zora to show the people that we are not fazed, it is time to accept that it was the wrong decision." Although Elder Tedi's words seemed to hold a certain sincerity in them, the tone of her voice remained monotonous, "I believe it is time for us to deal with this in a lethal manner."
"For once, I agree with the robot."
"How many times do I have to tell you that I am not a robot, Elder S'adar?" Tedi's eyebrows began to lower as she turned around, only to see a hologram floating awfully close to her,
"And why are you even present in this meeting? Should you not be fighting in the tournament?"
"Well…" Although it was hard to see as the hologram was still clouded, it was obvious that Elder S'adar was scratching his head, seemingly causing his spiky hair to wriggle, "...I already lost. I'm just resting now."
"Oh," Elder Tedi forcefully made the effort to let out a condescending hum, "So that is why some credit entered my account."
"Wait… you really bet against me!? You soulless creature!" Elder S'adar's hologram suddenly rushed toward Elder Tedi. Tedi, however, did not even flinch as his hologram passed through her.
"W—"
"Enough!"
And before the two could start their whole routine again, the Grand Elder's voice resounded throughout the spherical room, causing the 5 other holograms to flicker.
"We need to focus our efforts on trying to make contact with the Evaniel princess!" The Grand Elder stated as he tapped the arm of his throne,
"The last time we talked to her, she said she would be siding with Riley Ross—Did we find out what that means yet!?"
"It is just an act of self-preservation, Grand Elder," Elder Tedi raised her hand, "She realized his threat early on, perhaps we should have done the same. Am I the only one here that sees that Riley Ross is a bigger threat than we could have ever entailed?"
"Hey… I agreed with you," Elder S'adar voiced out. But alas, he was completely ignored by Elder Tedi.
"Hm," the Grand Elder only looked at Elder Tedi for a few seconds, before his hologram could be seen facing one of the Elders that barely talks, "Skeem."
"Yes?"
It was hard to determine the silhouette of the Elder called Skeem, but from his shape, it almost seemed like his entire body was just… one straight line; with his head almost in the shape of… a worm, for the lack of a better word.
"Have you found Princess Vera's whereabouts?"
"No," Elder Skeem shook his worm-like head.
"...Why not?"
"I can't put my focus elsewhere, Grand Elder," Elder Skeem quickly responded; his voice, obviously altered by some sort of device, "There are priorities that are above that requires my attention more; Pirate Queen Xra continues to harvest stars, bounty hunter Kerrigan continues to antagonize the Guardians and devour their Guardian Force…
…and then there's the Cherbi."
"Report." Not only the Grand Elder, but Tedi and the other Elders all turned their attention to Skeem as soon as they heard his last word.
"The Pink Void is soon to traverse a path with a stellar system inhabiting a civilization of a dozen billion population," Skeem continued, "Lahestia is working to evacuate them now."
"...Tch," the Grand Elder once again tapped the arm of his throne; his breaths, clearly frustrated, "Do I really need to do this myself?"
"Oh, he said the line," Elder S'adar's spiky hair started to bounce as he looked back and forth at the other Elders repeatedly, "Get the gau—"
And before Elder S'adar could even give a comment, another hologram suddenly popped up. And unlike the holograms of the Elders, they could clearly see who it was.
Vera—no. Older.
"Queen… Queen Vania!?" The Grand Elder quickly stood up from his throne, revealing how large, or rather how small he actually was compared to his hovering chair, "What are you—"
"Pathetic."
"W—"
And before the Grand Elder or anyone else could speak, Queen Vania's hologram disappeared as sudden and quickly as it popped up.
"..."
"..."
"M…meeting dismiss," the Grand Elder breathed out, "I'll… try to find out what she wanted."
"..." And with that, the holograms disappeared one by one, leaving Elder Tedi floating alone in the spherical room.
"..."
"..."
"...Elder Keem."
"Yes?"
The silence did not last long, however, as Elder Skeem's hologram once again showed itself as soon as Elder Tedi called.
"Send me the path of the Cherbi, I will try to divert its course," Tedi breathed out as she started to stretch her arms; her movements, extremely minimal.
"...That's dangerous, Elder Tedi," Skeem's silhouette could be seen momentarily freezing as he heard Tedi's words, "Just a single mistake, and the Pink Void would swallow even a being like you whole."
"Hm. I know," Tedi let out a monotonous hum, "In return, if I am successful in diverting the Cherbi, raise Riley Ross's priority on your list."
"..."
"..."
"...Very well, I am sending you the coordinates now. Be safe out there."
"I will."
And with her once again alone, Elder Tedi let out a small but very deep sigh as she started to float toward the edge of the room. And with a slight gesture of her finger, a circular hole opened up, allowing her to leave the sphere…
…and what welcomed her was the view of the vast expanse of space. She stared at this familiar and boring scene for a few seconds, before very gently turning around and revealing a large, brown, spherical rock behind her.
Elder Tedi then once again flicked her finger, and as she did so, the hole she made started to close.
"..."
"..."
And then, with another sigh, she just flew away.
This might just seem like a simple action, but it was anything but.
"Elder Tedi… Elder Tedi is leaving!? How long has it been since we last saw her!?"
"Elder Tedi, please look here!"
"Elder Tedi, we pray to you!"
The spherical rock… wasn't just any rock—it was a giant asteroid with its own ecosystem; its inhabitants, currently watching as Elder Tedi's colossal silhouette faded from their synthetic skies.
Heriopolis— one of the largest habitable asteroids in the entire Known Universe, more than twice the size of Earth.
And for its people, Elder Tedi is the moon.
Chapter 480"Is it really okay for you to leave your crew like that?"
In the almost infinite expanse of space, Captain Nana's ship, Taladier, was once again able to soar through the colorful darkness; a lot lighter, of course, but not because it was no longer towing the large compressed metal ball, but because Nana decided to leave the rest of her crew back on Febuvan. Weight didn't matter much in space, but the absence of her crew is felt nonetheless.
"It's fine."
Captain Nana, however, did not seem to mind as she just focused on the screen embedded flat on her table,
"I can control everything using my station, that includes piloting it on my own."
"I didn't mean that," Hera's sigh whispered throughout the quiet deck as she approached Nana, leaning down as she also focused her eyes on the feed being shown on the table screen, "Aren't they also your children?"
"...They are," Captain Nana subtly glanced at Hera, before turning to look at Riley who was just casually walking around the control deck and examining everything, "That's why I had to leave them."
"...Right," Hera quickly noticed where Nana was looking, "That's…understandable. But children, you don't look that much older than them."
"You mean we're all small?"
"I…" Hera blinked a couple of times from Nana's bluntness, "In…the modeling industry, we prefer to use the term fun-sized."
"Fun-sized… I might start using that too," Nana chuckled, before letting out a sigh and shaking her head, "I don't know how your people's biology works, but with my people, the females reproduce asexually. I don't really know all the science stuff behind it, but it's because of our short lifespan compared to most races."
"That… is different," Hera didn't really know what to say. She could try using Earth's logic, but she just literally saw a couple of tentacle people back in Febuvanir—she needed to relearn everything she knew,
"Theran… have you ever been there?" And so, the only thing she could really do was change the topic.
"Kh!"
And as soon as Hera's words reached her ears, Nana almost choked on her own breath as she closed all the windows on her screen. She then jumped from her chair and started coughing vehemently.
"Do… you want some water?" Hera didn't really know what to do as she kneeled on the floor to try and support Nana up. Nana, however, just waved her hand.
"I'm… I'm alright," Nana gasped as she wiped the sweat on her forehead, "Theran… No one's really been to Theran,"
"Right… I heard only Themarians are able to go there?"
"For good reason," Nana nodded several times, "No one wants to accidentally piss them off."
"...How are you planning to get us there, then?" Hera squinted her eyes as she glanced at Riley for a bit, "And safely… we don't want our friend here to get any more bright ideas."
"Hm. I am already charting the safest course to Theran," Nana once again nodded as she returned to her station, "We need to stop by several planets to recharge our fissions since we're basically blitzing our way through hyperdrive."
"...It wasn't possible to get all the fission… cells back in Febuvan?"
"I'm… afraid this is only a scavenger ship," Nana let out an awkward chuckle, "There's a chance of us going kaboom if I store that many orbs."
"I… see."
"If you were rushing, then why didn't… our friend just steal a race ship? I can also drive one."
"...Riley Ross doesn't steal."
"...What?"
"I know," Hera also chuckled, before sighing deeply, "Just how does this hyperdrive thing work? Is it similar to those warp things I watch in Sci-Fi movies?"
"Oh, no. Warp relay is different," Nana shook her head, "It's… I guess infinitely faster?"
"What? Why didn't we go with that?"
"It's… also infinitely more expensive," Nana looked at Hera before sighing, "And also, it requires us to input and surrender our IDs so—"
"Say no more."
Hera and Nana's sighs almost harmonized. Their frustrated and exhausted breaths were alone in their plight, however, as both their eyes also turned to look at Riley in unison. They were already having a hard time with their journey with him being so famous… and he just had to become even more popular by pulling his crazy stunt back in Febuvan.
"I'm… really sorry about this, Captain Nana."
"...You're a good person, you know that? What are you even doing with… someone like him?"
"It's… a long and weird story," Hera shook her head, "But wait, isn't hyperdrive supposed to be faster than the warp thing? I watched both Stellar Wars and Star Hike… I think hyperdrive was fast in both cases."
"...I forgot you guys are from the Unknown. Wait, how much do you know about… well, everything?"
"..." Hera turned to look at Riley, who seemed to have finished exploring the small room and decided to join and listen in to their conversation,
"We… practically know nothing," Hera then said as she looked Nana in the eyes.
"Oh… how do I even explain this…" Nana's eyes started to squint, "Harith is usually the one good with this science stuff. But basically, the Warp Relay is similar to teleportation, but at the same time… not really?"
"..."
"Hyperdrive is linear. And it's already in the name, drive—all spaceships are required to have them. As for Warp relays, you could find stations of them in the main and major stellar systems."
"...So, Star Hike was wrong?" Hera placed her hand on her chin, "I am actually even more confused now."
"I thought your ability helps you in matters like this, Miss Hera?" Riley finally joined in.
"I think you are gravely misunderstanding my powers. It's not omnipotent," Hera rolled her eyes, "I can't just conjure up things I have no idea about in my mind. We're practically in a different dimension here. Waitspeaking of dimensions…
…does the multiverse exist!?"
"Multi… oh, you mean that theory?" And almost in contrast to Hera's sudden excitement, Nana just shrugged her shoulders as she heard her question, "I don't really believe it. I mean, the Known Universe is already big enough and even expanding as we know it—if the multiverse does exist, it's probably just in the Unknown or something."
"...Right."
"And did you hear that there's a theory that the Universe is flat? Ridiculous."
"Actually, I think that theory has some credi—you know what, never mind," Hera shook her head off the unnecessary thoughts, only to be replaced by another one that is even more so, "Does… god exist?"
"...God?" Nana blinked a couple of times, before turning to look at Riley Ross, "We have one right here, though?"
"No," Hera's shoulders started to drop, "I meant real ones. I heard there's this… Messenger? People that are larger than planets?"
"Oh, they're just big. I've actually seen one before in Hotis 4J before it got destroyed, quite the spectacle. I heard they are actually afraid of Themarians, though."
"That's… crazy."
"Hm. But real gods…" Nana seemed to have also let her thoughts drift away as she also started to become engrossed with the conversation, "I think I learned this in school back then, but I think the last one died millions of years ago or something—the Evaniel's progenitor. He died after killing every other god."
"...What?"
"Or so they say, I don't really believe whatever they teach in school," Nana scoffed, "The only thing I believe in is loot."
"...Damn, the universe seems so… hardcore. Are you hearing all of this, Riley?"
"Yes, I am disappointed I will not be able to kill gods."
"...That's all you got in that long conversation?"
"It is the only thing that mattered, Miss Hera," Riley just shrugged as he walked near Nana, "Is there a way I can check my bounty there, Captain Nana? I wish to know if they raised it."
"You...You can just check it with that," Captain Nana quickly pointed at the device hanging around Hera's waist, "It'll be much faster and easier."
"Wait, this thing can browse?" Hera quickly grabbed the Teera X120.
"...That's capable of a lot of other things. Wait… don't tell me you don't know how to use it?"
"Well… this was actually just forced on me," Hera sighed, "I know it can access a map and it has a camera—other than that, I'm in the dark."
"...I wish someone would force a Teera X120 on me too," Nana also let out a sigh as she stared at the device, "I'll teach you how to use it once we get out of hyperdrive. We can't really activate most of its features as it would interfere with the—"
[Warning: Anomaly detected in the current path. Overriding controls and deactivating hyperdrive in 3…]
"...What!?" Nana quickly tapped her screen to see what was going on, but before she could check the readings, the ship got out of hyperdrive—automatically opening the blinders of the ship's windows.
Nana didn't even have to check the readings anymore, as directly in front of their ship, in a distance far away… was a pink sun.
"That's… a cute sun," Hera quickly commented.
"No. Oh no, no, no…" Nana's face, however, was just filled with horror and shock, "That's… not a star. It… It's the Cherbi."
"...A what now?"
"We need to get out of here, fast!" Nana started to tap on her screen; her hands, almost moving wildly. Soon, however, she and Hera found themselves slightly taking a step as the ship suddenly trembled.
"No, no… we're being pulled!"
"Wait, just what is that!? What's happening!?"
"It's the Pink Void!" Nana did not look at Hera and just focused on trying to regain control of her ship, "You were asking me about gods earlier… that's the closest thing we have!"
"What is it!?" Hera had no idea what was going on—but her entire body was sending her signals that if they don't leave now… she will die, "What's a Cherbi, Nana!?"
"A creature that swallows everything in its path. Planets, entire stellar systems, galaxies..." Nana finally stopped tapping on her console as she looked Hera straight in the eyes, "A black hole…
...A sentient black hole."
Chapter 481"It's a black hole… a sentient black hole."
"..."
"..."
"But it's pink, Captain Nana."
"I don't think that's the point we have to focus on right now, Riley!"
"I am just stating the obvious, it should be a pink hole."
The Cherbi.
Some say it was a remnant of the Old Universe when the Evaniel god waged his war against the other gods. Some say it was born as a result of that war—a ghost. Of course, no one really knew what it was. Even with all the knowledge that the Known Universe has acquired, the Pink Void has forever remained a mystery; like many things in the endless expanse… it just exists with no explanation.
But if there is one thing that is true, it is that the Cherbi is probably the oldest living thing in the universe. Yes, living.
Some scientists would argue that it was not, but it has already been proven that much like a plant, the Cherbi interacts with its surroundings. Unlike a plant, however, the Cherbi actively responds to outside stimuli.
If anything, more so than a plant, it was more akin to a tadpole. If a tadpole sucks in and swallows entire stellar systems, that is—even Themarians try to avoid it.
"That is very interesting, Captain Nana."
"What do you mean interesting!? Did you hear a different story!?"
Hera's entire body was sending signals to her brain; crawling, like a million spiders filling her head with darkness. She had only really felt like this a handful of times, half of those when dealing with Darkday—the feeling of hopelessness.
Death, Hera could take; but what accompanies it is what scares Hera the most. She could swallow a nuclear bomb and her body would find a way to keep her alive, but the process would be gruesome.
There was no pain—her body wouldn't allow her to experience such things, no. But still, Hera would feel every millimeter of her being just latching on to each other. It was a gnawing comfort, a violent relief. It's… confusing.
And now, faced with a literal black hole, Hera could only imagine the sort of effort her body would exert to keep her alive… would she even be alive? Or just be a lump of flesh that tries to heal itself over and over again? What happens inside a black hole, anyway?
"Nana…" Hera took in a small gulp as her thoughts became more gruesome by the second,
"...Get us out of here, now."
"I'm… I'm trying," Captain Nana's breaths continued to stutter as she wiped the bead of sweat wanting to trail on her cheek,
"But the Cherbi, it's… it's messing with the ship's internals! I can't even interact with the screen anymore and the manual controls aren't responding as well!"
"Do… we have a way of knowing which direction the thing is moving?" Hera's voice slowly became calm as her abilities began to interfere with her emotions, "Maybe we can just ride this out, like a storm?"
"That… I don't think it is heading for us," Captain Nana also soon started to recover her composure as she heard Hera's calm tone, "But it still doesn't change the fact that it's sucking us in. Look, it's much larger than before."
"..." Hera turned to look at the window, only to see the Cherbi much nearer than before, "How… large is that thing?"
And now, looking at it closer, it slowly started to resemble a pink sun less… and a round, fluffy, pink pillow of clouds more.
"It… it changes size depending on the celestial body it devours. Based on the readings we got before I lost control, it should be at the size of an average planet."
"...And how large is that?"
"Febuvan is considered a small planet, so—"
"Ah, fuck. This feels way above my pay grade."
"Don't belittle yourself, Miss Hera. You're a very good actress."
"I don't mean that," Hera could really only roll her eyes, before turning to look at Riley… who was now standing right in front of the window and staring at the pink void quite… intensely.
"Wait…" Hera then took in a small gasp as she realized something, "...Can't you just fly us away, Riley? You're capable of obliterating Mars—surely a gravity… vacuum is no big deal for you, right?"
"I haven't tried, Miss Hera. Also, I do not have any intention of moving us away."
"...What?"
A smile instantly crawled on Nana's face when she previously heard Hera's words, but with Riley's reply, every hope that she still had inside her withered away.
"What do you mean you have no intention of moving us away?" Hera could hear her heart once again beating heavily. Was this it? Hera initially thought that it was the Cherbi that was causing her entire body to panic, but no…
…it was probably Riley's unwillingness to do anything.
"We… We'll die!" Hera's voice once again turned into shouts, "I know you're practically immortal, but that's a black hole! Were you seriously not listening to Nana's story? Even themarians avoid the thing. If you get eaten by that, then I don't think there's even going back from—wait. You…
…don't tell me that's what you want?"
"..." Riley then very slowly turned to Hera. And there, on his face, was a version of a smile that Hera has not seen before—a smile with only his eyes.
"You… you fucking lunatic," Hera's breaths started to become stuttered once more as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "You're going to commit suicide."
"And hopefully, it is the last time, Miss Hera."
"You… If you're going to do something like that, then do it alo—"
"Do you not find it ironic, Miss Hera?" Riley did not let Hera finish her words as he once again focused on the growing Cherbi, "That I might be meeting my end at the hands of my own kind?"
"...What? What are you even saying?" Hera turned to look at Nana to see how she was doing, only to see her just looking at the floor completely dejected and without hope.
"The Cherbi," Riley then placed his hand on the window; the reflection of his face, slightly lining up with the pink void, "Its only purpose is to destroy and take life. Does it not remind you of me, Miss Hera?"
"But you're more than just that, Riley!" Hera raised her voice, "Yes, you're a fucking killing machine and you probably will never change—-but you have never been just that! You're a brother, a son… you—"
"You do not have to worry, Miss Hera. You will probably find a way to survive with your abilities."
"W—then what about Nana!? She forced herself—we forced her to take us with her!"
"..."
"..."
"Oh. You're right," Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at Nana, "I promised your children you will return to them."
And just like that, the tremble that have ailed the ship started to subside, the pink void that was growing by the second in their sight, now stopped expanding.
"I am still planning to die here, Miss Hera. I will exit through the door, but you do not have to worry, I will weld it back in place and make sure to give you some distance from the Cherbi."
And before Hera could even let out a breath of relief, Riley started walking away. Wait… why would her breaths of relief even halt by Riley walking to his death? Shouldn't she feel the opposite? Shouldn't she be relieved that she wouldn't have to babysit Earth's genocidal maniac anymore?
"Riley, stop."
Hera quickly blocked his path even with her thoughts still confused, "I…
…Megawoman gave me a mission to bring you to Theran. I'm not planning to fail a mission given to me by Earth's mightiest hero."
"It truly is a shame that I will not get to see Theran, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head as he took a step forward, "But I believe this is the best chance for me to finally die. And if I don't, then we can just continue our journey. Whatever way the scenario unfolds, you win."
"Why is a villain like you saying lines meant for anti-heroes?" Hera stood her ground, "I will take you to Theran, then I can finally have the vacation I deserve, okay?"
"No. As I said, we—"
"Uhm, guys…"
And before Riley and Hera's exchange of words could continue any further, Nana, who has been experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions for what felt like an eternity now, interrupted the two.
Riley and Hera quickly turned to look at her, only to see her pointing at the front window.
"What is—" Hera momentarily forgot to breathe as soon as she saw what Nana was pointing to. The pink void was completely gone—no. Even the expanse of space that cradled them was also gone. Instead, what replaced it was the view of nothing but silver.
But of course, Hera wouldn't have been lost for words if it was just that, no. Because whatever the silver thing that was blocking their view now… it blinked.
"...Please tell me I am not seeing a giant eyeball right now."
"It… It's a Messenger!" Nana quickly hollered as she lowered her head and kneeled, "It's… it's probably here because of the Cherbi!"
"A mess—you mean those planet-sized titans?" Hera took in a small gulp as she looked at the colossal silver eye. How could she not, really, if it was covering the entire horizon?
"If… if it's here to deal with the pink thing, then… why is it looking at us?"
[You…]
And almost like a voice being transmitted through every corner of their ship, the Messenger's words started to travel to their ears,
[...Aren't you Riley Ross?]
"Oh...
...of course."
Chapter 482[You…
…You are Riley Ross.]
Of course—is what both Hera, and even Captain Nana thought as they heard the words that vibrated through the ship.
Of course, the Messenger was staring at them because of Riley Ross. Nana has not known Riley for long, but she knew enough that there was no use in holding her common sense with him around.
As for Hera's case, the uncommon has become the norm. Back on Earth, a large number of internet individuals on Blueit had an unofficial power scaling for the supers aside from the Classes.
Hera was officially categorized as a Class-S super by the Government, and so are the other members of the Hope Guild. The internet people, however, were not content with that kind of ranking and made their own based on how much damage the supers could inflict with their abilities.
She was only listed as a City-buster, as she was capable of leveling down entire cities based on her feats. V, although they have proven several times that Hera was a lot stronger than her in terms of combat, was listed higher as a Multiple City-buster super.
Ironically, or perhaps not, there have only been two listed as Planet-busters in the history of the Hope Guild—one was Ms. Phoenix, as is obvious with how effortless she could lift entire mountains.
And the other one, was, ironically, the only member of the Hope Guild that was not a super—Whiteking. Even without powers, Bernard Ross has been voted by the people to be a Planet-buster simply for the fact that he could take down Earth's entire economy in probably less than a minute.
Outside the Hope Guild, the only one higher than them is Megawoman—who they listed as a Sun-buster. Hera laughed when she read that tier list, but now that she knew just how respected and feared themarians were even outside of Earth, her placement was a clear understatement.
And then, there is Darkday aka Riley Ross. One would expect him to be included in the same category as Megawoman, but no. Like the official ranking by the government, Riley managed to nab a category all to himself.
The Common Sense-buster.
People on the internet have absolutely no fear behind their keyboards, and together, they have come and bonded to give Riley a category of his own… and Hera never doubted it even a single bit.
"I am Riley Ross, Elder Tedi."
[...You know who I am?]
Elder Tedi blinked as she backed away from the ship, allowing Riley and the others to finally see her entire face; a single lens of the glasses she was wearing, probably already the size of an entire country.
"I remember your voice when I wore Elder Zora's head during our first online meeting, Elder Tedi. I believe you were the only female there."
Even with this beyond colossal entity in front of them, Riley just nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders as he approached the window to try and see more of Elder Tedi,
"I have heard tales of your species' size from mother, but seeing it in person truly is a different experience. If I were to make you my guest… I would need a cage bigger than Earth."
[My… species? I am afraid you might have mistaken me for a Messenger—I am not.]
"Hm?"
[But what I am does not matter. You have been giving us Elders a very difficult time, Riley Ross,] Elder Tedi once again backed away. One might think she was moving slowly, but no—the distance between Nana's ship and Elder Tedi already spanned more than ten thousand kilometers,
[I have the opportunity to learn how to deal with you now, but this is not why I am here.]
A reverberating hum traveled throughout the entire ship as Elder Tedi's silhouette was finally fully shown to them. Her entire body was that of silver; her clothes, if she was truly wearing one, completely wrapped around her body and amplified the parts that needed to be endowed.
"If Gary was to be here, I believe he would comment on how large her buttocks are."
[...] Elder Tedi's head quickly turned back to Riley as she heard his words, [I would appreciate it if you do not comment about my physical appearance, Riley Ross.]
"I don't need your appreciation, Elder Tedi."
"Why are you trying to provoke the planet-sized woman, Riley?" Hera's emotions have finally calmed down as she approached and whispered to Riley.
[My species can not be provoked,] Elder Tedi, however, seemed to be able to hear even the most minute of whispers even from thousands of kilometers away,
[I truly wish we could have met in a different circumstance, Riley Ross. Right now, I am here to make sure the Cherbi will not take any lives—but if it so happens you are still here after I successfully diverted its path, then I would wish to have a dialogue with you.]
And with those words, Elder Tedi began flying away.
"You are going to battle it out with the Cherbi, Elder Tedi?"
"..." Hera, who was trying her best not to escalate the situation, already gave up as she rolled her eyes and decided to watch for now—that was the only thing she could really do between a conversation of literal titans.
[...] As for Elder Tedi, she once again stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at the microscopic ship behind her,
[There is no battling it out with the Cherbi, Riley Ross. It has been here before us, and when we have become ashes, it will still be here. But you are welcome to try, it would certainly solve one of the problems the Common Council is currently having. If you will excuse me, I currently have a task at hand.]
"How do you plan to lure it away, Elder Tedi?"
And before Tedi could fly away, she once again turned around to answer Riley's question,
[The Cherbi may have already lived for eons, but its intelligence is that of an animal driven by instinct. It feeds on energy, therefore it would follow the source that has the most of it. The Cherbi has always followed a calculated path, but for some reason, it had strayed from it.]
"Your energy is more than a sun, Elder Tedi?"
[I can emit more than the sun in this stellar system, correct.]
"Interesting."
"..." Were the two actually having a casual conversation right now? Hera and Nana thought as they watched as the gigantic silver woman continued to turn around to answer Riley's questions.
"May we watch you lure it away, Elder Tedi?"
[No.]
Elder Tedi suddenly stretched her palm toward Nana's ship, and as soon as she did so, the ship's internals and signals that were being interrupted by the Cherbi all started to boot up again—and without even a second later, the ship's hyperdrive activated by itself…
…practically throwing them far away.
"..." And just like that, the view of the gigantic Elder Tedi, as well as the Cherbi, was no longer to be seen anywhere.
"Are you able to take us back there, Captain Nana?" Riley's eyes started to squint as he quickly turned around and approached Nana, who was still completely frozen and stupefied by everything that had been happening around her.
"Captain Nana?"
"Y… Yes!?" But still, seeing Riley's face right in front of hers was enough of a shock to wake her up.
"I… I can't," Captain Nana said as she quickly checked the status of her ship, "The Cherbi is making it so that we can't go back there, all the signals are messed up."
"I will fly us back there, Captain Nana. Point me to the right—"
"Riley, enough!"
And before Riley could finish his words, Hera's slightly frustrated voice echoed through the control deck,
"Your mother and the others are probably on Theran by now. If you want to go on a space adventure, then you can do it after. Please, at least respect Alice's… final funeral."
"..."
"If you want to kill yourself, then you can always just do it after." Once again, Hera gained a courage she dearly wasn't asking for, "Do you want to keep Megawoman and your sister waiting?"
"...I suppose you're right, Miss Hera."
And once again, it surprisingly worked.
"G… Good," Hera nodded to herself; her voice, almost cracking from the anxiety her body was failing to resist.
"I believe we will see the Cherbi again anyway."
"...What?" Hera was about to talk to Nana, before Riley continued the conversation, "...What do you mean? Don't tell me you can talk to it?"
"No. Elder Tedi said the Cherbi suddenly changed its course. I think I know why, Miss Hera," Riley placed his hand on his chin,
"The Cherbi feeds on energy—Hannah can produce an infinite amount of it without her limiter. I may, or may not be exaggerating."
"Are you saying… it smelled your sister?" Hera blinked a couple of times in disbelief.
"It is only a theory, Miss Hera. I have her abilities, and it feels limitless whenever I use them," Riley said as he raised a finger, summoning a ball of light on top of it. And as soon as he did so, the monitors of the ship started to turn red—indicating that it detected an anomaly.
"Are… you for real? What is wrong with your family?" Hera rolled her eyes,
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. We even keep meeting creatures that are usually supposed to be reserved at the end of the story—the Cherbi, a giant space alien… those are usually last bosses," she then let out a loud sigh before starting to rant,
"And we just happen to meet them at the same time at the start of our journey. This is shit story-telling, I tell you. I would sack my writer if she writes something like this."
"But Elder Tedi and the Cherbi are considered old and ancient, Miss Hera," Riley replied, "It makes sense that they would meet me already as they are at the end of their journey."
"...What? What are you saying?"
"You seem to be misunderstanding something, Miss Hera. They are not the last boss…
…I am."
Chapter 483"They are not the last boss…
…I am."
"That…
…that honestly low-key makes some sense."
Hera had been wondering if Riley was just some sort of trouble magnet, but that wasn't the case at all. In the first place, Riley creates the problem—no.
He is the problem.
Hera was just too optimistic to think that it would be different on the grand scale of things aka the entire universe. Riley is the last boss.
It was weird. As an actress, Hera has read countless scripts—she has taken the role of the hero, the villain, or just a simple cameo. But even the simplest roles would have progression or at least lead to it.
But now, being with Riley Ross, everything just happens around him. They weren't following a set script, but instead hijacking everyone else's obnoxiously. And if the other party was unlucky enough, it would lead to their untimely death.
Riley… is not just ending lives, he is ending stories; stories that otherwise shouldn't have ended.
"When are we arriving Theran, Captain Nana?"
And while Hera was engrossed in her thoughts, Riley approached Nana, causing her to slightly flinch even though he was just walking toward her.
"This… we still need to stop by 9 stations," Captain Nana glanced at Hera to subtly ask for her help in conversing with Riley. But alas, she seemed to be writing something in a notebook that she pulled out of nowhere,
"You… you can rest if you want. I… we will just wake you up once we are near Theran's stellar system."
"Hm."
"Or—or I can also wake you up at the next station if you want to buy something," Nana was trying her best not to let out a shriek as she heard Riley's quiet hum slithering through her small ears.
"No. There's no need, Captain Nana," Riley tapped Nana's table as he looked at the screen on it, "I do not want to bother you any further. Just call me once we are near Theran—I suppose we can't just land on their planet?"
"...No," Nana violently shook her head, "Their barrier would melt my ship."
"...Interesting," Riley nodded as he once again, for some reason, tapped the table. But to Nana's relief, Riley finally removed his hand and started walking away, "I will borrow one of your rooms, Captain Nana. I hope you do not mind."
"P…please, please go ahead."
"Hm."
"..."
"..."
"Hii!" And as soon as Riley left the control deck, Nana's lower body gave up, almost causing her to fall to the floor as the breath that entered her lungs seemed to carry the weight of an entire star.
And as soon as she was able to recover, she quickly started inspecting her table.
Why was Riley Ross tapping it?--- was the only thought circling inside Nana's mind. Did he do something to it? Was she going to die once she touches it? She has been trying to remain her cool throughout this unexpected journey, but now that Riley Ross finally left the deck, everything she was feeling just came crashing down on her.
Fortunately, after checking the table repeatedly, nothing seemed to be amiss; no poison whatsoever.
"..." In the first place, Riley doesn't even need to lace anything with poison as he could just stop someone's heart from functioning if he wanted to.
"...No," Captain Nana once again clasped her head as the thought of her just suddenly dying entered her mind. And the worst part of that happening, if it will happen, is Nana wouldn't actually know if Riley killed her, or she just broke down from the sheer stress she was feeling right now.
"...You alright?"
"Eep!"
Nana then let out a small shriek as she felt a hand suddenly grabbing her shoulder. Her shriek, however, quickly turned into a sigh of relief as she realized that it was just Hera.
"You… don't really need to worry too much, Cap. Riley already said that he's not really planning to kill you," Hera let out a small sigh as she sat on the floor she could be on the same eye level as Nana,
"That's probably the greatest assurance you can ever get."
"...But he almost just let me die earlier from the Cherbi."
"...You should forget about that," Hera looked to the side as she let out an awkward chuckle, "Then if that's not enough, then you have my word, Cap—you will get out of this alive. I will make sure of it."
"...Hera," Nana's eyes started to glisten as she heard Hera's reassuring words.
"I can't promise your sanity will be intact, though."
"It's actually already falling."
"..."
"..."
"Pft," Hera burst out in a light chuckle, and so did Captain Nana as the two finally shared a peaceful moment together. The two of them were basically dragged into the storm known as Riley Ross—and now that he was resting, they could finally breathe without glancing at him from time to time.
"You… said you were an actress in your home world, Hera?" Nana asked as soon as their chuckles faded, "Can… you teach me how to fake my emotions? I feel like I'm going to need that skill set if I'm going to survive this."
"...You're actually faring better than most," Hera sighed and shook her head, "People that aren't related or close to his sister usually die around Riley Ross… or maybe he's the one that actually changed?"
"Riley Ross… just what is he?"
"...He's evil, Captain Nana."
"It… sometimes doesn't seem like it, though?" Nana then said as she looked at the window where Riley was previously standing in front of, "I am extremely terrified of him, but when he… when he was talking earlier about wanting to die… I just felt sadness in his eyes."
"...Maybe," Hera also turned to look at the window, "But who said evil people can't be sad?"
"I know, it's just that—"
"Don't," Hera gently grabbed Nana's arm,
"Don't you ever feel sympathy for him or you will end up like one of my friends," Hera thought as she remembered V's descent into madness and addiction,
"You're allowed to feel empathetic for him, but never sympathize."
"..." Nana could really only look Hera in the eyes as she felt the weight of her grip on her arm.
"You have no idea, Captain Nana. No idea of the abysmal things he has done in my home world," Hera returned Nana's stares, "The Pirate Queen, the Cherbi, or any other threats you may have seen—I assure you, no one will ever come close to Riley's darkness."
"He… is that bad?"
"The only reason he did not kill everyone on Febuvanir is that he was in the mood for something different," Hera's eyebrows started to furrow,
"Riley is the kind of evil that will give you hope, only to tear that hope right in front of you as it shines in its brightest. He has killed and tortured defenseless children, pregnant women, elderly—and he does so with a smile on his face."
"...Then why are you staying with him?"
"Because I'm stupid," Hera rolled her eyes as she scoffed, "Someone told me to look after him and I have this senseless obligation to follow because she's kind of my idol—and also my body seems to be telling me that I am the safest with him."
"...You're in love with him?"
"Fuck no," Hera's lips started to turn into a snarl, "Why would you even say that? I have a boyfriend waiting for me back home once all of this is over. Believe me, I am as confused as you as to why I am actually here."
"You… said you were from Earth? Just… what kind of place is it?"
"Just visit. I'll tour you and your children myself—well, if we can survive this journey, that is. But since we've literally already passed a creature that eats galaxies…
…I think there shouldn't be any more surprises waiting for us."
***
"Little Riley!"
"Moira!"
Somewhere in the expanse of the universe, Little Riley's quiet roars were currently causing an entire ship to tremble. But even then, no destruction was wrought in his screams as he just struggled to get out of the confines that bound him—a pale hand.
"Captain, please! I promised him!"
Moira, the blue-skinned humanoid that invited Little Riley to the Innovia, was also currently bound; her veins, lighting up in a violent glow as she was pinned to the floor by her own peers. The only thing she could really do was look at Little Riley struggling to get loose.
Throughout their short time together, Moira… has bonded with Little Riley even more so than her other crew members. Little Riley was violent, true; but there was this sense of innocence around him that Moira was envious of.
"I… I told him that he could join our crew!" Moira almost bit her tongue, "I thought you would appreciate me bringing a Ranker! Please, don't hurt him!"
"Me… appreciate? This shit mocked me in front of the entire universe."
"!!!"
And with just a single whisper, any other noise that resounded throughout the warship completely became mute. Well, all except for Little Riley.
"Let go of me, or I will kill you!" Little Riley bit the pale hand that was confining him, but not even a single scratch or drop of blood fell. He looked at the owner of the hand, only to see her just smirking at him—her fang, slightly protruding from her red lips.
"I've been dead a long time, little boy."
"How dare you, I am fun-sized!" Little Riley's eyes started to glow red as Xra's warship once again began to shake. And with another breath, a violent beam shot out from his eyes—its target, Pirate Queen Xra's pale face.
"You have many tricks, fun-sized boy," Xra, however, just pulled Little Riley even closer to her face; the beam, not even making as much as a sizzle,
"If you're this strong now…" Xra then licked her lips as she looked Little Riley straight in the eyes,
"...I can't wait to meet your master."
Chapter 484VR 483
It was weird. Space did not really have that much color unlike what they show on TV—but perhaps because of that, whatever color pops out becomes a million times more radiant.
Light is even more beautiful in the darkness because it barely exists.
And right now, Riley was watching them come and go; their streaks, blending with the darkness as Nana's ship continued its journey in hyperdrive. As the Taladier was only a scavenger ship, its windows were not really made with the best of materials; needing to be covered and guarded by a metal that rolled down whenever the ship was on hyperdrive.
But right now, the room that Riley was in had all of its windows exposed to the harsh elements of space. He… pried them all open and just kept them from breaking using a telekinetic barrier. He had been trying to center his thoughts for quite a while now—something that he rarely ever did in the past, if he had even done so at all.
He just sat on the floor, staring at the ever-changing lights.
He still could not get Hera's words out of his head. No—the words were already gone, he had moved on from them. More so than the words, it was something else in her rant that was making him… uncomfortable. Something he still couldn't explain.
Everyone had tried talking to him before, with most trying to change him. He had been scolded, patronized, and lashed at; but none really had an immediate effect on him.
His sister, Aerith, Katherine—they have all tried to change him but failed… so what made Hera different?
Was it just because she didn't even let him talk?
"...Can't be."
Did it have something to do with her abilities? Her power was to adapt—No. It's some sort of instantaneous reactive evolution so powerful that even her own thoughts are being adjusted.
Was that it? Did Hera know the exact words and tone of voice to use on him? Or perhaps… Hera's abilities could also change the people around her to better suit her needs.
"..." Or maybe because she just didn't let him talk? Maybe because she's a part of Italian Mafia Reborn? The character Hera is voicing is one of the main characters that Riley liked, after all—did he perhaps feel like that character was disappointed in him?
"...Hm."
Whatever the case was, a singular thought remained tight in his mind—He must not die by Hera's hands.
He is practically immortal, reviving even stronger each time he dies.
And when he got a part of Aerith's abilities, it became even harder to kill him—and even if he does manage to die, he would just revive once again even stronger.
But if he gets Hera's abilities? Death might truly no longer exist for him.
And almost as if in cue to Riley's trail of thoughts coming to an end, the shifting scenery in front of him finally stopped. The streak of lights, now replaced by the view of a planet that seemed to be completely composed of water.
[We have arrived in Blusi 1. Number of ships in line: 163.]
"..."
[A…ahem, Riley Ross? This is Captain—this is Nana. It will take a while for us to swap the orbs. Hera and I will take one of the pods to go out and buy some… food. Do you want anything? Or maybe you want to come with—]
[Don't ask him that!]
[I—Do you want anything? This planet is famous for their… seafood.]
"..." Riley looked around the room to try and see if there were any cameras installed in the room, but as far as he could see, there were none,
"Then, please get me some local ingredients, I wish to eat food that I prepared myself, Captain Nana," Riley said as he stood up from the floor and approached the window to get a better look at the water planet.
[Is… there something specific you want?]
"I prefer to be surprised, Captain Nana."
[Copy that. We'll be back before our turn to fuel up.]
"Thank you, Captain Nana."
[No… no problem. Shit, he seems so polite. Are you sure he's really evil? He actually reminds me of one of the Higher Races, they evolved from machines and—]
[Your mic is still on!]
[What!? Turn it—]
"..." Riley could really only look at the exposed speaker in the room, before just letting out a small breath and turning his focus back to the planet. It… was beautiful— much like Earth, a giant gem.
It seemed to be the same size as Earth, and judging by the number of ships coming and going out of the planet, the population should also be in the higher bracket.
If he killed all of the planet's inhabitants, will it be possible to turn this blue gem into red? No, of course not.
"Oh…"
The thought, however, caused something in Riley's mind to slightly flutter.
If he killed all sentient and intelligent lifeforms in the Known Universe, will he be able to build a planet of blood and guts? If so, then how large would it be?
"Pft," Riley covered his face as a small chuckle escaped from his mouth. It might take a long time, but it was a goal worth traversing. After he visits Theran and formally buries Alice, he might as well start it—if Aerith gives him the permission, then he could try and start with Themarians.
"Hm," Riley then nodded to himself several times as the thought of creating a planet created with the corpses of his victims circled in his mind. Riley had not felt a childish excitement like this ever since he first started killing people—it was enough to make him momentarily forget the minuscule frustration that also rested inside of him.
Momentarily—because as soon as the thought of Hera's rant once again entered his ears, a small but very deep breath escaped his nose.
"..."
"..."
This sudden and abrupt changes in his mood—it almost made him feel like he was crazy, which is definitely not. He used to treasure the silence of his solitude, but now a part of him was slightly annoying him.
And so, after staring at the blue planet for a few more seconds,
"I'm going out."
He decided to go out.
***
"...Hm."
Riley had noticed this before, but it was quite easy to enter another planet. Even back on Earth, one needed to go through a rigorous amount of interviews just to travel from one country to another—of course, he was exempted from this for obvious reasons.
But in the Known Universe, one could just sneak into a planet—especially if you're just individually flying into it without any ships. Even when flying above the waters, no one seemed to even be bothering him. Of course, it could just be because their cities were completely underwater.
"..." And without any more thoughts, Riley just dived feet straight into the water…only to be welcomed by a colorful city; their lights, almost an aurora fleeting and flowing in the water.
He initially wondered how the non-natives would be able to explore the planet since most of it was underwater, but seeing as some of the people propelling through the waters all wore the same type of armor suit, it would seem visitors are given some sort of diving gear as they enter the planet.
For once, Riley could finally say that he was on a completely different planet. Hotis 4J, Febuvanir—these planets still had a semblance of Earth. But this?
An underwater city plagued with lights and activity? This… this was truly alien. It was almost as if he was inside some sort of gaming PC built inside an aquarium, but all the parts were just floating still.
He could see what seemed to be shops floating in some sort of giant plant. There also seemed to be homes built inside colossal corals.
And on this planet… he was finally once again the odd one— and the looks he was getting as he continued to descend from above the surface proved it. He was clearly not one of the natives; as the natives on this planet seemed to be the cephaloids and they had tentacles for limbs.
He also wasn't like the visitors, as he was not wearing a diving suit and was just instead casually floating in the water as he looked around the underwater city. Some of the people, however, be they natives or foreigners, started swimming away as soon as they saw Riley.
After all, Riley wasn't wearing a disguise at all; his long white hair, just reflecting all the lights that were being produced by the underwater city as well as the hint of sunlight that still seeped from above.
Riley did not go outside to sightsee, no…
…he came out to test if anyone would recognize him. After all, after his stunt back in Febuvanir, his bounty should have gone up significantly.
Hera told her not to kill anyone—but if they attack him first, then…
…he would have no choice but to reciprocate.
Chapter 485"Railerus!"
"Rarus!"
Interesting—Riley thought. He was used to beings that are capable of producing sound through vibrations whenever he flies in the expanse of space; he was also able to create a pocket using his telekinetic abilities. An intelligent octopus being able to talk underwater shouldn't have come as an unexpected variable for him, but it did.
"Ray Roz!"
And although he had no idea of the other words they were uttering, it was clear that they recognized who he was judging from the mispronounced attempts of his name—expected, as despite wearing the black version of his Paragon suit, he didn't wear the mask that came with it. His face was out in the open for everyone to see.
Of course, perhaps even with a mask on, his utterly white skin and hair would already prove to be enough to identify who he was.
Seeing as a majority of the people on this planet recognized him, even the foreigners in diving suits, it would seem the tales of him fighting with himself disguised as a Themarian have already spread—no.
It would seem it hadn't stopped spreading, as one of the… weird televisions floating around the underwater city was clearly showing his fight.
"..." Riley then floated toward the large underwater television that showed the news of his fight; the people that had curiously approached him, quickly swimming away and making a path for him as he did so. Most of the crowd already left as soon as they saw and Riley didn't really mind those that stayed even while knowing who he is; after all, even back on Earth, there were those that stay and watch Darkday whenever he appears… they mostly also end up dead, though.
[...was a clone. For those that still do not know, the individual known as Riley Ross is a newly appointed Ranker…]
"...Oh?" Riley tilted his head as he could understand the words of the cephalopoid newscaster. It made sense for their media devices to have an automatic translation function—what somewhat surprised Riley, however, was that it was translating it into English for him.
It would seem any and every translation device automatically registers any language it learns and uploads it to its main network. Riley had somewhat surmised something like that, but what he could not understand…
…was how it knows what language it should translate to, and how it seemed to be able to transmit it to only him. This almost seemed like magic—but Riley was sure that if he asked his father, he would have an answer for him.
[...and after careful re-evaluation by the Common Council and the Outlaw Justice System, Riley Ross who was just previously placed at Ranked 89…]
Riley Ross's thoughts quickly faded away as soon as he heard the newscaster's words; his ears, physically perking up as he focused his eyes back on the screen. And there, he saw a 3-dimensional render of his profile… as well as his new rank.
[...is now placed at Rank 37. Never has—]
And out of nowhere, the large underwater television suddenly split in half. And unlike what someone from Earth would expect, there were no traces of electricity—instead, colorful fluids started to seep from the cracks along with the bits and pieces that were torn away.
"Oh," Riley then blinked a couple of times as he stared at the red, green, and blue oil-like liquid very slowly descending deeper into the ocean. He… didn't really mean to split the TV in half. He… was becoming impulsive—this was definitely not good.
"I apologize, everyone," Riley then let out a small sigh as he faced the crowd that was watching him from afar. He knew they couldn't understand him, but there was a chance that there was someone that had a translator with them,
"Perhaps there is someone who knows the business that owns this television? I wish to pay for it."
"..."
Most of the people from the crowd just looked and started whispering at each other, clearly trying to figure out what he was saying.
"..."
"..."
Riley decided to wait for an entire minute to see if someone was going to swim forward; but alas, everyone just continued whispering and looking at him, some even seemingly taking a photo of him with their devices.
"...Hm," and after waiting for a few more seconds, Riley just decided he would leave a coin and just insert it through the cracks of the TV; before he could do so, however, he saw a harpoon-tipped bullet suddenly floating right in front of his face, and not just one, but dozens.
"Do not swim away! Cross your limbs together and curl yourself into a ball now! Right now!"
"This is the Blusi World Police, we are not going to warn you again!"
And finally, people that Riley could understand arrived. And judging by the number of bullets blocked by his telekinetic barrier, the 2 dozen so-called police officers were not friendly.
To everyone's surprise, however, Riley curled and placed himself in a fetal position, which was probably this water world's equivalent to 'placing both hands behind the back of the head and lying on the ground'. He even went as far as removing his telekinetic barrier, causing the water to finally drench his skin, and suit; his long white hair, now imitating the still movements of the ocean.
"..." The officers that responded to the threat could really only turn their eyes at each other, reserving one of their tentacles to scratch their heads. Suffice it to say, they didn't expect Riley to comply.
"Riley Ross, you are under—"
"252 bullets." And before the cephalopoid that seemed to be their captain was able to finish his words, Riley spoke.
"252 bullets directly targeting parts that would prove to be fatal, cephalopoid officers," Riley did not really uncurl himself and just remained free floating as his words traveled through the water,
"Seeing as my only known crime on this planet is destroying property, I am certain that does not warrant death. Based on that, I have surmised that you tried to kill me without probable cause."
And with those words, Riley very slowly started to uncurl himself; the water, also once again starting to avoid his silhouette, flowing like a mini-whirlpool as they circled around him.
"I said don't mo—"
A pocket of air the shape of a spear suddenly appeared in front of Riley. And without even letting the squad leader finish his words, the invisible spear exploded, causing pockets of bubbles to violently crack in the water as it shot straight through the cephalopoid's head.
"..."
"..." Nothing really happened. The squad leader could really only touch where the invisible spear landed on him, wondering what it did.
"Y—" And before he could even ask what Riley did, his entire body bloated and doubled in size almost instantly… before his blue blood and ink started to mix with the rest of the ocean.
"251 left," Riley then said as he stretched his arms to the side and started moving ever so slowly through the water.
"Call… call for the Guardian, no—"
And with a small sigh escaping Riley's lips, all of the police officers that surrounded him burst into pieces—causing the area to completely turn dark from all the ink and blood now misting through the water.
"228...Oh," a smile then started to crawl on Riley's face as this dark tainted water waded across his face. To think that even in a place like this, darkness would find its way to him. Truly, Aerith's naming sense was the best of the best, he thought.
Riley then quickly dived deeper, exiting the tainted water as he floated back to the crowd that was curiously watching him from afar. Their numbers had already dwindled as most of them swam away as soon as the firing started, but still, there were quite a lot of curious eyes left.
But alas, sadly for them—they suffered the same fate of the nosy bystanders back on Earth.
"220."
And as soon as Riley said that, 8 cephalopoids from the crowd found their limbs violently torn from the rest of their bodies. They would have survived this, of course… if it wasn't for the rest of their bodies being squished into a mush afterward.
"Ha…" Riley then closed his eyes as he let the peaceful sound of the ocean travel through his ears. Granted, he had already killed many people under the ocean back on Earth—but that was usually just drowning them and watching them scratch their throat and chest for air.
Killing people that could breathe under water underwater was a completely different experience.
A smile then once again crawled on Riley's face; this time, his lips reached from ear to ear. This view did not last long, however. As soon, the blood and ink of the cephalopoids started to float toward his head… wrapping around it and forming a shape eerily similar to his Darkday helmet.
"Well then…"
The water surrounding him exploded meters and meters away—creating a tiny sphere in the middle of the ocean that was devoid of any water. The cephalopoids that happened to be in the sphere started to wave their tentacles, trying to swim back to the water but hopelessly not able to.
"0." And with those words, everyone and everything within the sphere burst and turned into mist—the only thing left resembling water within the sphere, the helmet of blood he was wearing.
"I miss this…" Riley then said as he tapped the helmet, causing a tiny ripple to echo its surface, "...but it's a thing of the past."
And with a sigh, Riley floated forward—leaving the helmet made of blood and ink to disperse behind his long white hair, "Back in the Academy, I said that I would be known to the world as Riley Ross, and now…
…I am."
Chapter 486"I thought we had an understanding!? You weren't supposed to be killing anyone until we reached Theran!"
"They tried to kill me first, Miss Hera. I only reciprocated."
"Of course, they would try to kill you. You're one of the most wanted men in the universe!"
"...Hm."
"What do you mean 'hm'!? You killed millions of them and a lot of them are still dying!"
"It was only supposed to be 252, Miss Hera. It is not my fault that the others could not survive."
"You vaporized a part of the planet!"
Riley Ross spent less than an hour on Blusi, and yet the havoc he caused would probably last for months and could be felt for years. And as a matter of course, Hera was once again scolding him as soon as they met back on the ship.
As for Nana, the only thing she could really do was watch the recorded news of what Riley had done. She and Hera were on the other side of the water planet, merrily buying supplies and even trying to relax despite the horrendous situation she finds herself in.
And lo and behold, while the two of them were sampling the planet's delicacy in her pod, they noticed the people around them started to move frantically—all seeking shelter in the coral buildings, while the foreigners rushed back to their pods.
Nana wondered what was happening, Hera, on the other hand, quickly turned on the pod's radio and monitor—and without even needing to change any frequencies, Riley Ross's name popped up.
The two rushed to return to the ship, only to see Riley already just relaxing there and drinking milk at the ship's small canteen.
Suffice it to say, Nana was completely terrified; not only because of what Riley had done so casually, but of how numb she seemed from the news.
"I was testing what would happen if I use sister's ability underwater, Miss Hera."
"What are you, a 5th-grader!? How do you not know what would happen!? Hannah's body has been recorded to almost reach the heat of the sun's core! Don't you know how powerful that is!?"
"Hm, as expected of sister."
Even hearing the conversation between the two, Nana still could not believe how casually they just mention such feats of power—a creature capable of emitting almost 15 million degree celsius? Just… what kind of people were there on their planet?
They have always been told of the stories of the Unknown—how there might be monsters lurking through its vast darkness. How there might be other monsters of destruction similar to the Cherbi just waiting to be found or find their way to the Known Universe.
Nana had always thought that was all bullshit…and now the monster was riding inside her ship.
"Nana, do we really need to stop by another planet!?"
Nana quickly swiped the window away that showed the news of Riley's attack from her monitor. Hera seemed to have gotten enough of Riley's nonsense as she approached Nana in her station.
"I… Unfortunately so," Nana sighed and shook her head, "Perhaps… we shouldn't leave the ship. I've been getting so comfortable with you that I am literally forgetting what kind of situation we're in and what cargo we're carrying."
"...Right," Hera also sighed as she looked back at Riley, only to see him just sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and eyes closed, like he did not just cause another civilization to almost be wiped out from the face of the universe,
"How long have we been traveling together anyway? I feel like after I left Earth and started this whole space escapade, my sense of time has been completely wack."
"I don't know myself," Nana once again sighed; the two of them, now filling the control deck with nothing but their exhausted breaths.
"This… isn't like that one movie where there are time dilations and all that sci-fi crap, right? Because I don't want to return back to Earth to find my boyfriend like super old because 1 second here is 1 hour there."
"...What are you talking about?" Nana started to chuckle at Hera's words, before checking the status of the ship on her monitor, "As far as I know, there's nothing like that. But if there is, then please, sign me up so my children could finally grow up."
"Pft," Hera also let out a hearty chuckle as she sat on the floor.
"You know, you don't need to do that," Nana said as her eyes were now at the same level as Hera's, "My kind are used to looking up while having a conversation with other species."
"...I'm just tired of standing," Hera smiled and slightly closed her eyes, "I should be in front of the beach right now and drinking ice cold cucumber water with lemon while watching my boyfriend run across the entire Philippine sea in less than a second."
"I am going to pretend I know what you just said," Nana breathed as she watched their hyperdrive path, "You keep mentioning a boyfriend, that's your life partner?"
"Life— well, in a way. He hasn't proposed to me yet, but with both our status and jobs, it's just kind of complicated."
"I'm assuming your boyfriend has… a different ability than you?"
"He… can move pretty fast. Like… those silver-haired folks."
"Your species are… terrifying," Nana slightly shivered.
"Don't you also have an ability? You used it when you scold your crew when we first met."
"You mean this?" Nana lightly clapped, causing both her hair and Hera's hair to flutter from the rippling shockwave, "It's… just a form of minor telekinesis."
"I… see," Hera slightly squinted her eyes and nodded. But after a few breaths, a small smile appeared on her face, "What about you, Nana? You have anyone?"
"My kind doesn't have anything like that," Nana shook her head, "Romantic relationships are completely foreign to us."
"Oh."
"..."
"..."
"...Because you produce asexually?"
"Science says that is one of the reasons," Nana shrugged.
"Huh…" Hera didn't really want to pry any further. Earth already had problems with the diversity of its people; be it with a normal or a super, the color of their skin, their beliefs, Earth was divided.
And yet here is the rest of the Universe—every inch was different and yet no one seems to care.
"Something's weird."
"What? What is it?" Hera quickly perked up as soon as she heard the sudden change in the tone of Nana's voice. She looked at the table monitor, only to see nothing amiss in it,
"Please don't tell me there's another one of those pink fluff of death blocking our way."
"No… something's weird."
"Hm?" Hera watched as Nana started backing away from the table monitor. Nana's eyes were blinking repeatedly and at a fast rate, "Are you… alright?"
"I… I feel weird," Nana stuttered as she fell buttocks first on the floor. She didn't seem to care, however, as she just started staring at her hands.
"...Nana?" Hera crawled toward Nana, not knowing whether to offer her a hand or not, "Do you want me to bring you to the med bay?"
"I… I don't know," Nana looked Hera straight in the eyes, before just standing again and walking back to her station, "Taladier, check my vitals."
[Checking the Captain's vitals…]
"..." Nana and Hera looked at each other, both confused as to what exactly was happening to her as they waited for the ship's AI to respond.
[Irregularity detected: 1.]
"What… what is it!?" Nana started to panic as she looked at her profile on the screen.
[Unable to determine the irregularity. Virus, not in any of the databases.]
"V… Virus!?"
"Are… you in pain anywhere?" Hera's eyebrows were slightly furrowed as she sat next to Nana, trying to see if there was anything visually wrong with her. But after checking for a few moments, everything just seemed normal.
"No. I just… feel weird," Nana once again backed away from the monitor she started checking herself, "Like there's something stuck on my—oh my scrambled dwarves what happened to my hand!?"
"What do—what is that!?" Hera could not help but stand up and slightly back away as soon as she saw Nana's hand, or more specifically, the thing wrapped around it.
"What is it!? Is it some sort of giant clam!? Did… did it come from Blusi!? Can you take it off!? Take it off!"
"I… I don't think that's a clam," Hera gulped, "...That looks more like the nozzle of a cannon."
"What? What are you—"
And before Nana could finish the words, she found herself violently being flung away as a loud thunder cracked in the air. Nana was able to react, however, as she stretched her other hand to the side, snapping her finger and creating a small shockwave that stabilized her fall.
As soon as she landed, however, her eyes once again looked at her cannon hand.
"What… what just happened?"
"You… something came out of it."
"Huh?" Nana looked at Hera, only to see her pointing in a certain direction. And of course, Nana turned to see where she was pointing to, only to see some sort of red fiery orb… hovering right in front of Riley's face.
"I… did… Did I do that!?" Nana's eyes started to widen as Riley tilted his head to the side to look at her, "I… I didn't mean to do that! I… what's happening!?"
And while Nana was on the verge of losing her mind, Riley just casually stepped to the side to avoid the red orb.
"Interesting," he then said as he stared at the ball of energy. And after completely circling around it once, he very slowly made his way to Nana,
"You're infected, Captain Nana."
"...What?"
"Congratulations…
…you're a Super now."
Chapter 487The Supervirus.
That is what Diana called the virus that created the supers of Earth. Riley did not really bother asking her for more information, and Diana didn't seem to have any more information to give anyway.
The origin and cause of the virus are unknown, it was impossible to trace it as Diana arrived on Earth too late—and whatever caused the virus to sprout probably dated back to the dawn of the homo sapiens. She had been on Earth for a thousand years, and she seemed to have only scratched the surface of the planet's mystery.
The infection rate is extremely low, and the only reason it spread the way it did was that people were unaware that it was even a virus in the first place. And even if they did, they wouldn't be able to stop it.
One thing was for sure, though—the virus is airborne.
"...Why didn't I know about this?"
"Your parents are inferior, Miss Hera."
"...Excuse me?"
"A virus… that grants special abilities?"
Nana's eyes widened more and more as she continued to listen to Riley's explanation. Nana was inherently a skeptic—she wouldn't have left her home planet at a very young age and become a scavenger if she wasn't; after all, her family has… means.
If she was told that there was a virus out there that just carelessly grants people special abilities, she would have probably just laughed her way out of the Known Universe. But now, how could she even doubt?
And how could she even laugh… when she was sitting on the floor with her left hand now a literal cannon?
"If… if it's a virus, then does that mean we can cure it?" Nana then said as she gently and very slowly stood up, careful not to… release any more of whatever her hand-cannon released.
"There is no known cure, Captain Nana."
"Does that mean my hand will be like this forever!?"
"No. You are just experiencing pre-releases, Captain Nana."
"...Why do I feel relieved and weirded out at the same time?" Nana didn't know whether to laugh or not at Riley's wording. But after knowing that her hand would return to normal, the beating of her heart that was almost visible from her tiny pair of bosom started to calm down.
"O… Oh!?" And as her breaths became lighter, the cannon in her hand soon started to wiggle; turning smaller and smaller until her hand began to take shape again. And in just seconds, her hand that she thought was gone forever was waving at her once again.
"It…. it really did turn back to normal," Nana could really only stare in amazement at her hand.
"This… is crazy, Riley."
Nana wasn't the only one whose eyes were popping out of their sockets, Hera also stared at Nana as all sorts of thoughts entered her mind.
"Wait… wouldn't this mean we're infecting everyone that we come across?" Hera slightly gasped as she looked Riley in the eyes, "Isn't that… quite dangerous?"
"How so, Miss Hera?" Riley tilted his head to the side.
"We're infecting people!"
"The humans survived and learned to live with the supervirus, it stands to reason that a more advanced civilization would do even better, Miss Hera."
"That's what I am afraid of! What if… what if they realized we're the source and they start freaking going to Earth to gain abilities!?"
"Then they would die like the rest of the alien invaders Earth has been having the past few years, Miss Hera," Riley shrugged, "We have been on two planets belonging to two different species. Have you noticed what they have in common?"
"...What?"
"They are weak, Miss Hera."
"..."
"Mother and Aerith have mentioned this to me before. But if we were to be formally introduced and registered to the Known Universe, Humans, without a doubt, will belong to the Higher Races."
"But not all of us are equal, Riley," Hera breathed out, "The majority of our population is still normal. And with the supers, there are those that are not even meant for combat."
"But hasn't that always been the case, Miss Hera? I am confused as to why you are mentioning it."
"You—"
"Uh, guys."
And before Hera could retort, Nana interrupted the two of them. They didn't even need to ask why she called their attention, as a few moments later, the lights in the control deck started to flicker and turn red.
"...What now?" Hera closed her eyes, before letting out a hearty sigh and joining Nana in front of her station,
"Why is it doing that?" Hera didn't really understand the things that were popping up from the monitor, but even a toddler knows that they were warnings.
"Something… something is following us from behind," Nana said as she started tapping the monitor to try and figure out what it was.
"Following us from—but we're on hyperdrive. That's possible?" Hera raised an eyebrow, before checking to see if they truly still were on hyperdrive.
"It is. It's just… one has to drive manually and it's almost impossible to find a pilot that good. There… there's only two that I know of that are capable of doing something like that!" Nana's eyes started to widen as she seemed to realize something; her hands, now frantically tapping the monitor. But then, all of a sudden, a large hole suddenly decorated her terminal.
"..."
And what's worse, was that it came from her hand cannon.
"A pre-release. It is quite common for people who have just awakened their abilities, Captain Nana."
"No… no, no!" Nana covered her mouth with her normal hand, "We… we need to escape!"
[Overriding controls. Deactivating Hyperdrive in 3…]
"...Oh no," Nana's voice turned almost monotonous as the barriers that covered the windows of her ship started to retract. What awaited them, however, was not the darkness of the expanse of space—but a violent light that seeped through the windows and drowned each and almost every millimeter of the Taladier.
It wasn't a star, no; as very soon, the light started to dim, which allowed Nana to see what it was—her worst fears actualized.
"The Bloodcruiser."
"That's… a fitting name." Hera blinked a couple of times; her eyelids, which created another thin and translucent layer to shade her from the sudden burst of light, slowly returning to normal as she stared at the large ship that was now floating in front of them.
The spaceship was similar to the shape of an Earth's naval ship—except more ominous because of the weird bright red smoke that it was emitting from everywhere.
"Let me guess…" Hera then slowly turned her head toward Nana, "Pirate Queen Xra?"
Nana didn't really return Hera's gaze as she just very slowly nodded and gulped.
"...Ever noticed how shit just happens whenever we have a serious conversation?" Hera then turned to Riley.
"As I told you, Miss Hera. Trouble finds me because I am the—"
"Last boss, I know. I know," Hera sighed and rolled her eyes, "So… what's the plan here?"
"They've… hijacked our controls," Nana muttered. And almost as if on cue with her words, the Taladier started flying toward the Bloodcruiser.
"Riley, do something!" Hera said as her light brown skin very slowly started to turn grey, "My body's acting up, these guys aren't inviting us for a friendly meal."
"..."
"We… we're going to meet the Pirate Queen?" Nana's entire body shivered; her hand cannon, instinctively retracting back to her normal hand just from the sheer thought.
She knew this forced journey of hers would be crazy—she practically had a Ranker as a cargo, after all. But her hand turning into a cannon? She hasn't even fully processed that and now her ship is being pulled straight to the jaws of the Bloodcruiser.
It all just really feels surreal at this point, like a dream.
"Yes… this… this is a dream."
"Don't lose your mind now!" Hera quickly said as she saw Nana smiling, "Riley, why aren't you doing anything!?"
"Hm," Riley only hummed in response as a part of the Bloodcruiser started to open up. And like a whale swallowing a fish, the Taladier didn't really have any choice but to just be swept to the inside of the space mammoth.
"...We're really doing this, huh?" Hera's body started to grow in size; her muscles, almost emitting a scratching sound as they contracted, "This should've been a vacation."
Hera's eyes moved and scanned the hangar, but aside from more than a dozen other ruined ships, the surprise attack she was expecting never really came. And instead, the Taladier just gently and carefully landed at the very center of the hanger that was free of any debris and clutter.
And with the sound of a hiss, all of Taladier's hatch and exit points opened up.
"W—"
And before any of them could even say anything, the three found themselves suddenly falling as the Taladier… split and was torn into pieces.
The three of them managed to land unscathed on the cold steel floor, except for Riley's whose feet were still really only floating and inches away from touching the floor.
"Riley, why did you do that!?" Hera raised her voice as she looked at Nana, only to see her eyes trembling as she looked at the remains of her ship.
"I did not do that, Miss Hera. I don't enjoy destroying the property of others."
"What? Then—" And before Hera could finish her words, a spot of light landed meters in front of them, revealing a group of people that were just looking at them with different expressions on their faces.
And right at the very center of them, was a familiar woman that Hera has seen before— Pirate Queen Xra, and in her hand… was Little Riley.
"Boss, I—" And before Little Riley could finish his words, Xra suddenly bit off his head.
"Well then…
…Nice to finally meet you."
***NEW BOOK***
Author here, I just came from the future to announce that I have a new book called 'Frankenstein Untold'. It's probably the last book i'll be writing in a while if it doesn't work out. Do give it a try if you have time!
Chapter 488"Nice to finally meet you."
"..."
"..."
Silence. There have been many instances in Hera's life in which only silence prevailed in the air—she had shot many scenes like it too. It helped build up the suspense in films to let the audience feel how intense the situation was.
And now, definitely, Hera's entire body was vibrating internally; it does so whenever it tries to adapt to the situation at hand. Her feet, slightly digging to the floor as her flesh and muscles became exponentially denser with each passing millisecond. There have only been certain instances of this happening;
One was when she hugged the nuclear bomb that the House of Super set off.
And the other was whenever Darkday makes an appearance.
But right now, it was as clear as day to her who her body was reacting to.
The Pirate Queen Xra.
As she had seen in the hologram, everything about her screamed 'vampire'. Her skin was pale, paler than even Riley's to the point it seemed somewhat grey. It wasn't shown in the hologram, but her jet-black hair was long enough that it draped on the metal floors. Even her clothes seemed like what one would expect an old-school vampire would wear—she wore a white frilly shirt that covered her obviously endowed bosom, which was made even more obvious by the black corset she was wearing. All of this was topped with a long wine-colored coat with frills on its ends, then a leather skirt that just went above her knees, revealing just a slight snippet of her pale thighs before being covered by a pair of black, somewhat metallic-plated boots.
The 6 people behind her also all looked equally unique—like a real pirate crew that you would find in one of those anime about pirates trying to search for a single piece of treasure. Still, Hera couldn't focus on anyone else but Xra. How could she not stare at her filled with vigilance after she just bit off the head of a tiny version of Riley?
"..." Hera then turned her eyes to Riley, who was still hovering inches from the floor, even more eerily silent than he usually was as he looked at his headless miniature clone.
After a few more moments of this, Riley finally returned Xra's glare; the two, just staring into each other's eyes like they have known each other for a very long time.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Hok!"
This silence, however, was suddenly broken as Xra… started coughing vehemently. And the little clone's blood that almost everyone expected to spew out from her lips did not shower out; instead, a cloud of orange dust and some crystal shavings of the same color fumed from her mouth.
And almost at the same time, Little Riley's body also crumbled into ashes, dripping away from Xra's hand forever.
"Curses!" Xra then screamed as she wiped her lips. Her crew, slightly chuckling as they watched their captain trying her best to stay in composure,
"I knew the little rat tasted weird in my mouth as soon as I smelled him."
"I already told you it wasn't an organic being when we ran him through the scan, Captain." The one that spoke was a one-eyed woman with golden skin, a race that Hera and Riley have seen several times back in Febuvanir. And judging by how close she was standing behind Xra and how similar the color of their clothes was, she seemed to be her second-in-command,
"Perhaps if you listen to our council for once, things will work out for the best—for all of us, Captain."
"You have a lot to say for someone that's just supposed to be standing behind me menacingly, Alindor" Xra slightly raised the corner of her lip as she looked behind her, revealing one of her fangs as she scoffed,
"My grand entrance is already sabotaged. Stop adding to my disappointment further, you imbecile."
"Of course, Captain." Even with Xra's harsh words, Alindor didn't seem to mind as she just bowed her head and calmly took a step back. The other 6 that were with her, just shaking their heads and sighing.
"Now, where were we?" And almost as if acting like nothing happened, Xra's eyes once again became that of a hawk that has already set on its prey,
"Riley Ross. You seem to be having fun with all the attention you have been receiving. And I usually do not mind, nor do I care about the trivialities of other—"
"You betrayed him, Miss Moira."
"..." And before Xra could finish her words, she was cut off by Riley. And what's worse is that he wasn't even looking at her, but at the blue-skinned woman wearing a large cowboy hat that was at the outermost left of the crew behind her.
"I…" Moira didn't really know whether she should respond or not, as all the eyes of her comrades and even her captain was on her. Luckily for her, she didn't need to say anything as Riley continued to talk.
"Little Riley would surely be sad the next time I make him," Riley let out a small breath as he shook his head, "It was also the first time that he was moving beyond and without my orders, I felt his disappointment even before Pirate Queen Shakira's ship swallowed ours…
…you were his first friend."
"I didn't betray him!" Moira stepped forward; the light that was veiling Xra, now spotting toward her, "Although I've only known him for an hour, it felt like—"
"Shakira?"
And all of a sudden, Moira found her face touching the cold metal floor. And it wasn't only her, the rest of her comrades were now all groveling on the floor; including Hera and Nana.
The only ones that were left standing were Xra, and Riley, who was no longer hovering inches in the air.
"..." Riley's eyes slowly started to squint as he felt himself being forcefully dragged down; his eyes, staring at his feet that were now touching the floor. It wasn't just simple telekinesis, no.
Riley was feeling his insides turning and moving—like how one feels the first time one rides a rollercoaster, the feeling of your organs being left behind as the g-force slaps your entire being.
"I assume you control blood, Captain Shaki—"
"It's Xra!"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as a minute, quiet patter whispered in the air. He once again turned his head toward the floor, only to see droplets of blood dripping to the floor; the blood, profusely trailing from his nose almost endlessly.
"That is what I said, Captain Shakira," Riley, however, just casually returned Xra's glare; not even bothering to wipe or clean his face, "If I am mispronouncing it, then you have my apologies. My name has been mispronounced a couple of times lately as well. I know the feeling."
"You dare spout your lies to me, Rayla Rox?" Xra smirked as she slightly turned her head upward, "See? How does that feel!?"
"I do not mind, Captain Shakira. It is normal for others to mispronounce someone else's name."
"So, you're saying I'm the abnormal one?"
"...No," Riley could not help but tilt his head, pondering how Xra suddenly came to that conclusion, "You are a very weird individual, as expected of the most wanted being in the univer—"
And before Riley could finish his words, his vision suddenly shifted—the scenery in front of him, now the outside of the Bloodcruiser in full view.
"..." He turned to look at his chest, only to see his outfit slightly wriggling as his torso was recovering from it caving in almost instantly. He… had his telekinetic barrier on.
'You are a very sick, sick man; even for my standards.'
"Hm…" Riley then looked at Xra, who was just casually floating in front of him; the smirk on her face, still very much alive. Her mouth even as she spoke, however, did not move one bit.
Instead, there was a whisper in his mind. Riley was used to hearing such things, but this was the first time that he was hearing a different voice—Pirate Queen Xra's voice.
'Curious?'
Xra's voice once again whispered in Riley's mind, 'Are you wondering how I can invade your mind even though you are supposed to be immune to such?'
'A little,' Riley hummed as he responded with his mind, 'I will kill everyone. Stop. I will kill you. Behave. I will end everything. Stop. I want to watch people bleed to death. Stop.'
'I can barely hear your thoughts from the rest of the carnage in your mind. Just where did they make someone like you?' Xra thought as she looked at Riley from head to toe; the two of them, their hair that was aimlessly shaping in space, almost an inverted reflection of one another.
'Earth, fertilized by the help of both my mothers. I will kill all the other Themarians once I arrive on Theran. Can Pirate Queen Shakira bleed out? What will happen if I insert and inject all of her crew's blood inside her, will she get stronger or explode? Am I going to die here? Am I finally going to die? Is she going to die? Die. Die. Die.'
'You… you weren't doing it on purpose,' Xra's eyes started to twitch; as even in Riley's mind, her name was mispronounced,
'...You really should learn how to control your thoughts.'
'Break her neck.'
And as soon as that thought escaped Riley's mind, Xra's head violently swung to the side; even with the dead silence of space, it seemed like one could hear her neck snapping.
'Over? Is it over? Is she dead just like that? I will torture the rest of her crew now, then.'
'...'
'...'
'No.' And even with her neck clearly broken, another smirk crawled on Xra's face as her eyes never once broke contact with Riley, 'And yes…
…I am dead. I have been for a very long time.'
Chapter 489'I am dead. I have been for a very long time.'
There was nothing between or around Riley and Xra—just the empty expanse of space that shied and paled in comparison compared to the darkness being held by the two individuals it enveloped.
One had long white hair that moved completely still, grounded by its master. The other, a long jet-black hair that scattered and melded with the darkness, and yet still incredibly still. Their eyes were clear and red respectively, but both held the same temper… and neither relenting.
'I was born 8,000 years ago, in a civilization divided by wealth,' Xra's voice once again permeated through Riley's mind unabashed and unfazed, 'A place where oppression is—'
"That would explain your personality, Pirate Queen Shakira."
Riley did not let her start her story, however; as this time, instead of just replying in his mind, he once again created a pocket for his voice to travel through Xra's ears,
"I have known 3 people that have lived for a very long time, they are all mentally unstable, quirky, and talkative. Except for Bulwark, he is quiet. But then again, I believe he was the only one that is capable of having a normal relationship each time—there is surely a correlation with that and the mental instability of ancients."
'...You dare presume to know me just moments after we meet?' Xra's dark eyebrows furrowed as she floated closer to Riley; the stands of her long black hair, veiling and almost panning wide as they were left behind her.
"No," Riley shook his head as he too floated closer to Xra. In contrast to her, however, Riley's hair remained absolutely fixed, "I already had an assumption of you even before we met, Pirate Queen Chakra. I also feel obliged to tell you that you look bald from my perspective because your hair melds with space."
'Are your thoughts of murder and torture the only things that do not escape your mouth?' Xra's lips started to twitch; her fangs, being revealed ever so slightly.
"They are almost like white noise to me at this point, Pirate Queen Sarah."
'Yes! Almost!' Xra then showed all of her teeth as she heard Riley almost pronouncing her name right, 'I am starting not to hate you, boy.'
"Most older people seem to take a liking to me, Pirate Queen Shakira. It would seem I have that charm."
'...' Xra's eye once again started to twitch as a smile that reached from ear to ear very slowly crawled on Riley's face, 'You're going to die now.'
Xra's fingers started moving; the blood in her veins, now even more visible as her flesh seemed to contract.
'Crack, crack.' If sound traveled through the vast expanse of space, then the snapping and cracking of her bones would have probably already rippled through it,
'Crick, crack.'
"...Are you making sound effects in your mind, Pirate Queen Shakira?"
'You'll learn to do it once you spend enough time in the big black,' Xra smirked as she stretched her hand to the side, causing her fingernails to grow long and sharp as she did so, 'Anyway, die.'
Xra's arms disappeared into the darkness, while Riley already had both his hands raised, covering his upper torso and head. Nothing really happened… until a full second has passed, that is.
Riley's sleeves very slowly started to rip open, followed by more than a pint of blood slowly building up into a sphere as they escaped from the gushes.
"..."
Riley then tilted his head to the side while his arms were still blocking his head to take a peek at Xra, before turning to look behind him… as he noticed the asteroids that were probably kilometers away from them were now finely sliced, similar to the gashes that rested in his arms.
"Are you stronger than a Themarian, Pirate Queen Xra?" He said as he turned to look at Xra again.
'I won't know,' the smirk on Xra's face became even more prevalent as she trailed her finger on her chin, 'I've only killed one before.'
And as soon as he said that, the wide smile on Riley's face returned; his eyes, squinted due to the inner side of his eyebrows being raised and his mouth opening up.
'...Which part of the Unknown did you come from?' Xra's smirk instantly disappeared as she saw the disgusting look of excitement on Riley's face.
'The end.'
Riley's eyes only glowed for a millisecond, before the light violently gushed straight toward Xra's face. Xra, however, only stretched her palm toward the light, before creating some sort of red shield which caused the beam to split in half.
"..." Riley blinked, instantly shutting down his heat vision as he stared at Xra's shield. He initially thought the shield was reflecting the light coming from his eyes, but no.
He looked at his already healed arms, and then toward the string of blood that came from it… which led and connected straight to the red rectangular shield that was protecting Xra's entire body.
"So, I was right. You can control blood," Riley's smile didn't have any signs of fading away, "Why not just make me explode from the inside, Pirate Queen Xra?"
'I've already tried earlier back in the ship, you resisted it.'
"That's because I can control blood too. Not quite as strong as you, though. I fought a blood bender before, Pirate Queen Xra—he died with all his blood drained from his body."
Xra scoffed as her blood shield started to wriggle, before turning into a spear as she swung her arm to the side,
'Stop talking and start fighting.'
"I found that beings as strong as we tend to just talk, Pirate Queen Xra. At least that is my experience with Aerith.'
'...Aerith?' Xra raised an eyebrow, 'The rebellious princess? Interesting.'
"You know her?"
'Of course,' Xra started to chuckle in her mind,
'I killed her betrothed.'
"Interesting," Riley tilted his head to the side as he too, waved his hand to the side—summoning a spear of light as he did so.
'...How many abilities do you have?' Xra licked her lips as she felt the scalding heat coming from Riley's long stick, before moving and posing in a stance.
"Perhaps you will be the first to see all of them, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley muttered as he tucked his lightspear in his arm and stretching his other arm toward Xra,
"Shall we dance?"
'A flair for the dramatic, I don't hate it.'
"..."
'...'
"..."
And with the silence persisting, Xra lightly swung her spear to the left as she slightly tilted her head to the right… blocking Riley's lightspear without even looking at it. However, it was just that—the lightspear.
Riley was not holding it, and was instead behind her and still carrying a wide smile on his face. His hand that seemed to be covered by some sort of steel-like blade, already threatening to pierce through the back of Xra's head.
'...' Xra only turned to look at Riley, before just opening her mouth to catch the blade between her teeth. And with another smirk crawling on her face, she shattered the blade before spinning her body and piercing Riley through the jaw straight to the top of his head with her bloodspear.
With a slight snarl and a click of her tongue, she pulled the bloodspear backward, shaving and tearing off Riley's face completely—no blood, however.
'How many of these can you make?' Xra said as she turned to look at Riley, who was actually just floating behind her upside down. Well, Xra could be the one upside down, there really was no way of knowing in space.
"Less than a thousand," Riley shrugged, "Enough to kill everyone and everything."
'That's your goal? To eradicate all life?' Xra squinted her eyes.
"I suppose."
'Then why are you not doing it yet?'
"I am. The clone I tasked to start it was arrested and is being held somewhere, unfortunately," Riley let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "I will continue it once I am done with burying my mother in Theran."
'...Your mother is Themarian?'
"My adoptive mother, yes."
'Huh… weird,' Xra also shrugged her shoulders, before suddenly throwing her spear toward Riley—who also suddenly disappeared from where he was just previously floating.
The bloodspear continued on to fly through the universe at an unknown speed, hitting a giant asteroid millions of kilometers away and making a hole in it… and still continuing to fly.
'...' Xra squinted as she scanned her surroundings for any signs of Riley. And after a few moments of doing so, her lips started to turn upward,
'Your thoughts of murder are as noisy as ever!' Xra said as she swung her arm behind her; her sharp nails… cutting nothing.
'...What?' Xra blinked a couple of times; her eyes, moving at an insane speed as she tried to find Riley, who she was sure was behind her.
'Kill. Kill. I will kill you.'
'...' The thoughts were loud and clear in front of her, and yet there was no physical sign of him at all,
'Invisibility? Is this one of your many abilities?'
"Ew, no."
'!!!' Xra's eyes started to widen; the pores on her pale skin, also opening up as she felt a slight chill she hadn't experienced for a very long time. And then, very slowly… she turned her head down.
"I, fortunately, haven't died from someone who can turn invisible yet, Pirate Queen Xra."
'No,' Xra's fangs started to show themselves as she squinted; her red eyes, completely focused on Riley… who was now as small as a clove of garlic and floating just a foot away from her waist.
'Don't you even dare attempt what you are about to attempt.'
Chapter 490'Don't… don't you even dare attempt what you are about to attempt!'
"The only thing I am attempting is killing you, Pirate Queen Xra."
'There are better ways to do it!'
"Perhaps. But this is a method I have never done before. I tried doing it to Aerith, but she managed to slap me away each time—she is probably thinking the same as you, now that I am remembering it."
'Of course, we both don't like it!'
"Is it because I am currently too small? Should I—"
'Size has nothing to do with— eet!'
Pirate Queen Xra flinched. Fortunately for her, it's not because of the reason she thought. Riley once again returned to his normal size, with his hand already wrapping around Xra's neck.
'You… like treating women rough?'
"I like to torture everyone equally, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley said as his hands started to tremble from how hard and heavy he was gripping Xra's neck; still, however, the most he could do was slightly crease her skin—like what a normal human could usually do to another,
"You really are strong."
'You haven't seen anything yet, boy.'
Xra then grabbed Riley's wrist, while covering his face with her other hand and trying to forcefully push it away. And with a slight smirk, her nails grew longer and lightly started to pierce through his telekinetic barrier.
'I suppose telekinesis is your most prominent ability?'
"It is the one I use instinctively, Pirate Queen Xra." Even with most of his face covered, Riley's still did not have any signs of change in tone; his eyes, seemingly just trying to look at Xra's fingers.
'What about the size alteration? Why don't you try and grow a hundred times bigger? That's useful.'
"But then you will try and go up my anus and drink my blood from the inside."
Xra's chest visibly trembled as she imagined Riley's words. No—she didn't need to imagine. Since she was reading Riley's mind, he had already made the image for her.
'What is with you and climbing—'
And before Xra could finish her words, Riley calmly placed his free hand on her stomach. And with the edges of his mouth peeking from the sides, Xra could feel Riley's warm breath as he let out a light chuckle.
'You…' Xra then started looking around her, only to see the asteroids that were floating nearest to them starting to tremble and move towards them; her hair and clothes too, were slightly vibrating as a force was starting to pull them to Riley's hand.
'Paboom,' and with that thought escaping from Riley's mind, a sort of… light exploded from his palm. No, it wasn't exactly light. It was more akin to what one would see when you rub off a marker from a whiteboard… almost as if deleting the darkness of space itself. Like a photo with inverted colors.
And this weird light expanded in a millisecond, like a wave of a blast that shot through the expanse of space—large and reaching far enough that it made Riley completely invisible from afar.
Instead of a shockwave pushing everything away, however, the white space pulled everything to it as it continued to expand. It happened to pierce straight through a planet, which instantly collapsed into itself before shattering in its own weight. It only lasted for a millisecond, like a flash… and yet it completely left its mark on the stellar system they were in.
And for that short moment in time, a part of the universe was completely torn apart.
"I am also making sound effects with my mind now, Pirate Queen Xra. That is how I imagined it would sound like. I've never done it before," Riley then tilted his head to the side, causing a large amount of blood to bubble and build up from his nose,
"Are you still alive?"
Riley then stared at Xra's face; or perhaps more specifically, her skull. The front part of her face was completely shaved off—no. Most of her were already torn away. Her stomach was mangled in a way that it looked like a spiral, with all of her organs completely gone. Her limbs too were twisted and crooked in separate different directions.
Her hand that was grabbing Riley's head, however, was still latched onto his face.
"..."
A second.
A minute.
An hour.
"..." Riley just blinked a couple of times as he continued to stare at her skull, not leaving her even after an entire hour had passed.
'Are you really not going to turn around?'
"Because I remembered you telling me that you have already been dead for a long time," Riley's eyebrow slightly twitched as the empty sockets of Xra's skull started to form an eye, which immediately turned to look him directly in his eyes.
'A pity, I was hoping to surprise you,' and with those words, Xra's flesh, bones, and organs reformed themselves almost instantly; even her clothes returned even cleaner than before. Her hand that was still gripping Riley's face, finally retreating to her side.
'My turn, then.'
"..." Riley watched as Xra bit her own tongue, before sticking out her tongue and sloppily licking her lips; letting a mixture of her blood and saliva to trail down her chin.
'Blood Moon.'
And with those words echoing in Riley's mind, he felt a warm wave waft through his face as the blood in her lips expanded, retaining its shape before completely drowning both him and Xra inside it. It still did not expand, it continued to grow and grow as it started to lose the shape of Xra's lips, and instead now turning into a colossal sphere of blood.
And from afar, it truly did look like a moon covered in blood.
"..." Riley looked at his hand, before rubbing his finger and thumbs together, letting a small amount of blood enter his telekinetic barrier.
'You're also capable of multiplying blood, Pirate Queen Xra,' Riley whispered in his mind as he tried to look for Xra, but could not. And it wasn't only because the blood was dense, no—Xra completely disappeared, 'I have never seen that befo—'
And before Riley could finish his thoughts, his hand that was feeling the blood rush through his skin was torn apart—leaving only his bones exposed. This only lasted for less than a second, however, as his hand reconstructed itself and healed.
'I hold complete domain in all and everything that has life. In this moon, my will is the authority.'
"..." Parts of Riley's face started to shave off, before also completely healing as he started to look around, 'Where are you?'
'Everywhere. I am blood, life itself.'
'...Does this mean I am inside you right now, Pirate Queen Xra?' Riley squinted his eyes, 'Then why were you pretending that you didn't like it when I was trying to go inside you earlier?'
'You really are different from the rest,' an echoing chuckle whispered in Riley's mind as he allowed himself to be dragged through the current of blood, 'Still teasing even in the midst of threat. And no, Riley Ross. I do not multiply blood…
…I call upon the blood of those that have fallen in my hands, and this is a fraction of them.'
'Interesting,' Riley nodded several times as he removed his telekinetic barrier, letting the blood touch his skin.
'Do you feel it? The pain, anguish, and regret of trillions of people?'
'I prefer to feel their pain, anguish, and regret while they are still alive, Pirate Queen Xra,' Riley closed his eyes and smiled, 'I suppose you will be adding me to your collection?'
'I am not a fool, Riley Ross. I know the secrets of the Common Council, I know what they are hiding, and now that I feel all of you…
…I know what you are now.'
'And what am I, Pirate Queen Xra?"
'The same as me.'
And almost like a storm withering away, the blood that surrounded Riley completely dissipated almost instantly. There was still warmth wrapping around Riley, however, as Xra now had her arms around him; her lips, sticking close to Riley's ear. The warmth was… cold, however, but not colder than the darkness.
'I can smell it in you, it latches onto you even more so than it cares for me.'
"Are you talking about my perfume? It is a limited edition by Whiteking," Riley's nose started to twitch as he sniffed Xra's neck; his lips, almost touching her skin, "But you don't have any scent, Pirate Queen Xra."
"I am talking about the reflection you see every time death holds a grip on you," Xra finally spoke with her mouth as Riley expanded his telekinetic pocket.
"You… have seen Overvoid Riley?" Riley's eyes slightly widened; his breaths, slightly adjusting as he returned Xra's embrace; holding her by the waist and grabbing the back of her head as they felt the temperature of their bodies blending with one another.
"Overvoid Riley… Yes, it is a reflection of us. And that is a fitting name for that place," Xra's lips started brushing Riley's ear,
"I met it the time I died, and it never really left me."
"I meet it each time I die. Do you know what it is? Is it perhaps Death itself?"
"No," Xra shook her head, letting her cheek touch Riley's, "Death is kind and fair. This thing that lives… in the Overvoid, it's sinister— unapologetically evil, devoid of anything else."
"I know that already, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley tightened his embrace, "What else do you know?"
"Are you ready to hear my story now, then?"
"..." Riley let out several breaths, before nodding his head.
"Then I am going to start at my home planet," Xra let out a very long and deep breath, "I believe you already know where that is?"
"Yes, you have been speaking their language since earlier, Pirate Queen Xra—Sumer…
…Earth."
Chapter 491Sometime 8000 years ago, Earth.
The Sumerian.
The oldest recorded civilization and people on the planet. It was a time that only knew strength, but it was also a time of peace. There were wars, true—but they were wars of necessity and not greed.
At the time, people with special abilities already existed on Earth— Supers, but not yet as widespread. Their existence was few and far in between, and because of this, most of them were treated as deities…
…Gods.
And one super, stood at the top. It was said that he held the power to control the sun, but some say he was the sun himself. He was special, not just because of the power he held, but the authority that came with it.
Even without his powers, he held in his hands the life of millions.
The God King of all of Sumerian, Akkamesh.
He ruled over hundreds of thousands of people. It might seem like a few, but for that time, that population could be compared to billions. Akkamesh gained the throne from his father, who was a tyrant that did not care for the lives of his vassals.
Akkamesh, however, held a different opinion about the people… and ultimately ended his father's reign himself, he burned him in front of the world; bathing him in light until nothing of him was left. He was loved by his people, but also feared.
"Akkamesh? I do not remember that name coming up with the papers I have read, Pirate Queen Xra."
"Can you not interrupt my story? How do you know a lot about my time anyway? Wait… perhaps the Sumerian civilization still exists on— what do you call our home planet again?"
"Earth. And yes, Pirate Queen Xra. Sumerian still exists even today."
"Wh—"
"In the museums and in ancient history class."
"..."
God King Akkamesh was fair. Both men and women were given equal opportunities to rise above their stations, as long as they knew where to stand. Akkamesh was fair, perhaps too fair to the point that any injustice he sees, he will deal with without mercy or forgiveness.
He was feared for this reason. But for those that know that their conscience was clear, then Akkamesh was the best ruler they could ever ask for.
With Akkamesh's rule, their kingdom became colorful, literally. Their buildings that were made with limestones and granite were painted over to give them a vibrant look—each house, different from the rest.
Everyone had a role in his time, and that included slaves. Yes, there were slaves; but even before his rule, slaves were not treated poorly. They were by no means equal to their masters, but they were being paid for the work they did; some even had their own homes.
Slaves inherit their status from their parents, and this could lead to generations until they manage to buy themselves out of their slavery.
One family, in particular, not only bought their way out of their life of bondage but even managed to become the largest and in time, the only manufacturer of beer in the entire kingdom.
And that family only had a single heir, a woman.
Xra.
"Shara? That is a man's name in Sumeria, Pirate Queen Xra."
"You interrupted me again. And how dare you claim more than the person that was actually there?"
"Shara is the name of a god of war if I remember correctly."
"Stop remembering because all of it would be incorrect. You were not there, I was. Now, can I continue my story?"
"Okay."
"If you interrupt me again, then I will no longer tell you anything and trap you forever in my blood moon, even if it means that I would also be trapped trying to contain you."
"Then I will be inside you forever?"
"T—"
Xra was adorned by all the other women, be they young or old. Her light-brown skin was almost golden; her hair, combed and washed every day. Even more, however, was jealous of her.
Xra was kind to their servants and slaves; after all, her parents were once the same. Her friendliness stops there, however. Perhaps because of being born never needing anything, Xra has become numb to the courtings of others… and there were a lot of them.
The men give their entire life just to be noticed by Xra, but why should she even notice them if she already has everything?
Her parents were starting to get worried. How could they not, when their only child refuses to make a family of her own? Xra was young, but she had already bled—she won't always hold the beauty she holds now.
"I feel like you are not telling me the true story, Pirate Queen Xra."
"Can you stop looking at me like that? I am telling the truth."
"Your skin is not light-brown and almost golden. Hera has that skin tone and the two of you could not be any more dissimilar."
"Didn't I tell you that if you interrupt me again, I won't tell my story anymore?"
"That is obviously a lie, Pirate Queen Xra. You enjoy having someone to finally tell your story to."
"..."
"I know the feeling. When my sister finally discovered everything, I have never felt more free—she killed me, of course."
"...Can I tell my story now, or has this become about you?"
"It has always been about me."
"..."
Xra had all sorts of suitors; many already had their own wives, promising to leave them for her. And of course, she refused them… but that was not how the men's wives saw it.
They called her a temptress, a whore. It came to the point that she would be attacked by the women even as she just leisurely takes her walk. And, of course, under the rule of Akkamesh, these women were dealt with accordingly.
"I feel like this story is only gratifying you, Pirate Queen Xra. Perhaps you can skip the parts about how beautiful you are?"
"..."
But of course, like many things, there was a certain warmth that could melt down the beautiful Xra's coldness—and that was God King Akkamesh.
"I see. I think I know where the story is going now, Pirate Queen Xra. It is a story about a woman that has everything, but can't get what she truly wants."
"We got married! Why are you so annoying!?"
"...Oh. Please, continue."
Xra and Akkamesh, in a tangle of fate that would be skipped because of a certain albino, ultimately became each other's confidant.
The two were married at the time of the day when the sun meets the moon, almost an allegory of their role to one another.
Akkamesh became Xra's sun, and Xra became Akkamesh's moon.
But only for a brief moment—because as the moon and sun would always part, so did the two by the end of the day.
Xra was killed, poisoned by Akkamesh's own people. In a fit of rage, Akkamesh slaughtered almost everyone that attended his wedding—and with their blood, Xra was born anew.
And ever since then, the once just and peaceful kingdom became astray. Xra was no longer herself, but a beast that wanted to hurt and devour everything and anything that breathes.
And due to his love for her, Akkamesh also changed.
At first, those who committed crimes were sent to Xra to be killed, tortured, and ultimately devoured. But it came to the point that it wasn't enough—and soon, even those that have done no wrong in their life were captured by Akkamesh's men to be sacrificed.
This went on for years… until Xra devoured her own family.
Akkamesh did not know. After all, he had asked his men to cover the heads of the sacrifice each time they bring them in; perhaps in a way for him not to see the monster he has become from the reflection in their eyes.
And at that very moment, when Xra realized what she had done—she asked Akkamesh to kill him.
And so, he did. But in the condition that they would be together, forever.
Akkamesh carried Xra, and they flew into the sun.
"...At least, that was what was supposed to happen. Akkamesh died a few seconds after leaving the Earth's atmosphere… only I remained."
"..."
"I floated in the dark expanse of space embracing his corpse. Until one day, I learned to harness my abilities—and here I am now, never once did I look back."
"Very interesting story, Pirate Queen Xra. I will tell this to the Pope if he is still alive by the time I return to Earth. But… what exactly does this have to do with the Overvoid?"
"Because I died…" Xra whispered. For the entire duration of her story, the two remained embracing each other as they whispered into each other's ears; and it seemed like the two didn't have any plans of separating just yet as Xra continued to place her lips on Riley's ear,
"...and I returned."
"..."
"I returned with the urge to end any and all life, and I did. The nature of my special abilities may have been visceral and brutal, but never in my life did I think of killing people before that… but now the people that have died by my hands numbered in trillions."
"Then we are not the same, Pirate Queen Xra—I have always been evil."
"...How much do you remember the very first time you died, Riley Ross?" Xra then finally let go of Riley; looking him straight in the eyes as strands of her hair still remained latching around Riley's face.
"I was a baby when I first died, Pirate Queen Xra."
"..." Xra closed her eyes as soon as she heard Riley's words, "The Overvoid as you call it… is hell itself."
"The underworld?"
"No, more like…
…another world entirely."
Chapter 492"Akkamesh, my sun?"
It was supposed to be a day of celebration, the happiest moment of her life. But in just a single blink of an eye, the darkness that was supposed to be the one that was momentary became prevalent.
"...Akkamesh?"
Xra tried to call out, but in front of her was nothing but darkness. She felt her feet damp, with each of her steps creating a ripple that she also could not see. She couldn't even see her own hands, she didn't even know whether her eyes were even open at all.
There was no sun, not even a glimmer of light. Like a cave without a mouth.
"Akkamesh?"
Xra once again whispered to herself; her words, just echoing back to her. She continued to walk, stretching her hands in front of her in hopes that Akkamesh would reach out to her… but there was nothing.
There was nothing there… but she didn't feel like she was alone.
"Akkamesh, where are you!?"
Xra tried to scream, only for her voice to just once again return to her; almost as if she was screaming at her own ears.
"Akkamesh, I'm scared."
And she didn't know how long she had spent in the darkness, but after a while; or perhaps after a long time, she started to give up. Her legs gave out as she cradled herself, crying and calling for her love.
The darkness was crippling. And very soon, it almost felt as if she didn't exist at all. Maybe the reason she couldn't even see her own hands and feet is because she wasn't even there? Maybe the darkness has already consumed her?
"Akkamesh, please… save me," she whispered to herself. And once again, the words just echoed out to her,
"Is this Kur? Am I… am I in the underworld? But why… I… I was supposed to be with the love of my life, my sun. Why? Akkamesh… where are you?"
Xra started murmuring, her voice becoming smaller and smaller, and the darkness becoming bigger and bigger. She was slowly starting to lose herself, or perhaps she already was from the start.
She whispered and she called, and very soon… her voice became as quiet as the hour before dawn.
"..."
"..."
But the words echoing through her ears were still loud.
And as soon as she realized this, Xra's breaths suddenly became heavier—and even that, was being screamed at her ears. And so, very slowly and carefully, Xra turned his head to the side…
…only to see someone that looked exactly like her; staring directly at her with her eyes as wide as they could be, her lips endlessly murmuring something.
"What!?"
'What!?'
And as Xra took a step back, the woman did too… almost like a reflection. Her reflection's movements were weird, however. The movement of her mouth did not really match the words coming out of it—it was trying to mimic her, but failing.
Or perhaps she had been in the darkness for so long and no longer knew how she was moving? Maybe this is her now? A woman seemingly devoid of anything remotely close to human?
…
Or perhaps it was just mocking her.
"...Who are you?" Xra whispered, expecting her words to just bounce back to her—but no. Instead of carrying her tired and exhausted voice, her reflection just smiled.
'You. I am… you?'
The reflection seemed confused at its own words; its head tilted to the side as if wondering if its own words were true or not. But after a few moments of looking Xra directly in the eyes, the reflection started to smile.
'I am you,' it then repeated; this time with certainty.
"No… it… it can't be," Xra, however, shook her head… and the reflection did the same. But instead of the horrified expression she thought she would have, her reflection was laughing as it repeated her words.
'Oh, but I am. I am what comes after death.'
"...Death," Xra breathed out as soon as she heard her reflection's words.
She thought the confirmation would bring demise, but instead, it brought her relief. The underworld, Kur, deals punishment to those who have sinned during their life—if so, then is this her punishment?
Showing her her vanity? Her hubris? She had always treated people coldly, and now her reflection is as cold as the darkness she finds herself in. Or perhaps it was just showing her how other people saw her?
'Pft.'
Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by a quiet, and almost sinister chuckle.
'You are a being without death,' the reflection then spoke as it finally moved on its own; walking toward Xra before circling around her,
'You will live again, and I will be with you.'
"You… are going to resurrect me?"
'No,' the reflection once again laughed, 'You know the answer to that, for I am you.'
"I… can't die," Xra then blinked a couple of times as her hands were finally visible to her; this time, however, her hands were pale…seemingly devoid of blood, "I… am the same as Akkamesh? I am a god?"
'...No,' Xra's reflection rolled her eyes before wrapping her arm around Xra's shoulders, 'You're not a god, none of you are. My last avatar was extinguished because he thought he was, so please. Don't. A handful of you is just born with gifts.''
"Your last avatar—You're not me!" Xra quickly slapped her reflection away as soon as she heard those words, "What are you!?"
'If I say I am Death, then would you believe me?' Xra's reflection once again laughed as she took several steps back.
"No," Xra's voice was resolute, "Death holds no malice—and malice is all that I could feel from you."
'...Huh.'
And with a single hum, any image of Xra from the reflection completely disappeared. It still looked identical to her, but she was no longer seeing herself from it.
'I preferred it more when your kind was less intelligent.'
"Who are you!?"
'That's all the time we have,' Xra's reflection started to be swallowed by the darkness; its silhouette, slowly disappearing, 'In this world, that is.'
"...What?"
'You and I… our fun has just begun.'
"Wait, you—"
"And that's when I woke up again, with a hunger for death that I have not experienced before."
"...Interesting. That does sound like Overvoid Riley at the end, Pirate Queen Xra."
In the expanse of space, Riley was now floating in place; with his hand on his chin, "But you just added more questions than you answered. Are you saying that I am like this because Overvoid Riley lives in me?"
"...Perhaps. You said you were a baby when you died and resurrected. It makes sense you do not remember anything."
"I do not think so, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley then let out a soft sigh as he shook his head, "Because I have seen Overvoid Riley before on Earth when my deceased biological mother and I reunited."
"...What?"
"..." Riley then looked at Xra with a slightly condescending look, before once again sighing and shaking his head, "I actually think I know more than you, Pirate Queen Xra. You have only died once…
…I have died more than a hundred times. And each time, I meet with Overvoid Riley and the others."
"...Others?" Xra raised an eyebrow.
"The more I die, the more Overvoid Rileys appear. They are annoying."
"...Annoying?" Xra could not really believe what she was hearing right now. That sinister being that was literally on the other side of life itself… was annoying?
"Then why don't you tell me what you know about the place!?" Xra then raised her voice as she floated close to Riley again.
"Because I do not know anything about the place, Pirate Queen Xra. They do not tell me anything," Riley shrugged, "The other Overvoid Rileys are scared of me. And the first Overvoid Riley has become crazy, just repeating his words over and over again."
"They… are scared of you?"
"Because each time I die and go to the Overvoid, I try to kill them."
"You try to kill them?" Pirate Queen Xra found herself repeating her words like a parrot,
"W—Are you… Is this some kind of joke? Are my crew pranking me right now?" Xra then started looking around for any signs of her crew. But alas, she needed to increase her eyesight in order to see her ship; and even then, it was still where it was before she and Riley started fighting.
"No… are they?" Riley blinked a couple of times, before he too, started looking around.
"No—you… How?" Xra then looked Riley in the eyes, "How does that even make sense? When you die you're not really there, just your presence."
"You've only died once, Pirate Queen Xra. You dare presume you know more than me about the matter?"
"...Are you imitating the way I speak?"
"Yes."
"..." Xra once again just stared at Riley… before suddenly bursting out in a fit of laughter.
"...As I thought, ancient people are insane," Riley sighed and nodded to himself.
"I just find it funny," Xra then placed her hand on Riley's shoulder, "This thing that latched on to us, whatever it is, it seems to want to create beings of pure evil through us. Beings that would destroy and kill everything…
…but they created you instead."
"I do not get it, Pirate Queen Xra. If that is indeed what it is trying to achieve, then were they not successful in both you and me? I have slaughtered and tortured billions. The people that have died by your hands numbered in trillions."
"I no longer follow its whims, Riley Ross," Xra smirked, "I have been free from its influence for a very long time, but you… you…"
Xra once again started laughing as she pushed Riley away and started pointing at him from head to toe,
"You… You may have been influenced at the start but you… you are a class act. An experiment gone wrong. You…
…you're a multiversal freak."
Chapter 493"You are a multiversal freak."
"That is very rude, Pirate Queen Xra. And I was told that the multiverse does not exist."
"...Who told you that?"
"Captain Nana of the Taladier."
"Cap— right. You were with people. We better return, I don't know if your friends are still alive."
"They are not my friends, Pirate Queen Xra. But I am sure one of them is still alive. Are we no longer killing each other?"
Pirate Queen Xra was about to fly away back to the ship but stopped as soon as she heard Riley's words.
"I do not die, and you resurrect each time you die. I do not see the point in us continuing."
"Kill me once and I will have your abilities, Pirate Queen Xra. I am sure I can find a way to make our battle not so pointless," Riley shook his head as he blocked Xra's path,
"If you wish death, I believe I am the best creature in the entire universe suited to make it come true."
"Who said I wish for death?" Xra raised an eyebrow, "I have lived past enough the point of seeking death a long time ago, Riley Ross. Also, I sort of want to visit Earth, I would like to see how it has changed after almost ten millennia."
"..."
Xra began to fly away, but once again, he was blocked by Riley.
"You really want to fight? I was hoping to harvest that sun right there, but if we fight that thing will be gone. So, let's go farther if you want to—"
"I have a question, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley asked, "When did you stop seeking death?"
"A few hours after I left Earth's atmosphere."
"...Why?"
"Because I have a mission."
"To destroy the Universe?"
"No," Xra closed her eyes and shook her head, before turning to look at the star shining brightly from afar,
"That's just… the price."
***
"What… happened here?"
Xra's colossal ship, the Bloodcruiser, always had an excess and an indiscriminate number of ruined ships inside its hangar, it was basically a graveyard for the ships they hijack and steal. But the hangar itself had always been clean; without even any signs of damage. But now, there were gashes everywhere—with some of the ships even stuck like gum on the walls that were made with one of the strongest metals in the entire universe.
"..." And as soon as Xra's foot made contact with the floor, she heard a small yelp whispering in her left ear. She quickly turned to look, only to see Captain Nana hiding beneath one of the debris.
"Eep!" Another yelp then resounded in the air as Xra disappeared from her spot, only to appear already lifting the debris that Nana was hiding under.
"What happened here, little cat?"
"I…" Nana quickly looked around for another place to hide; covering her head and refusing to look at Xra as if that would void the fact that she already found her. As soon as she saw Riley floating and landing behind Xra, however, she quickly stopped hiding and crawled toward him.
"H… Hera… she… she needs help!"
"..." Riley only looked at Nana, before turning to look at the mess that seemed to be the aftermath of whatever was happening with Hera.
"You are certainly having fun here," a small smirk then crawled on Xra's face as she heard Nana's words. And after a few breaths, she closed her eyes and stepped away,
"Blood sense."
And then, a ripple only she could see waved through her entire ship; echoing like a radar, until they returned to her almost instantly—carrying any rhythm and beat of life it could find within the vicinity.
"...Oh," she then followed as she started walking deeper into the hangar. As for Riley, he just shrugged his shoulders before casually following him. Nana… Nana didn't really know what to do. In front of her are literally two of the most powerful people in the Universe.
Just… how did she get caught up in this mess? And her ship…
Nana then very slowly turned to look at her ship… which was now in several pieces. The Taladier had been her home, and the home of her children for their entire lives; and now it's gone… just like that.
It didn't even have a proper place to die, it just became part of the many scraps in this ship graveyard they call a hangar.
"That's a scavenger ship, right? I will replace it with a custom Wormworld brand."
"..." Nana blinked a couple of times as she turned her head toward Xra, who was glancing at her before continuing to walk ahead. And as soon as the word 'Wormworld' registered in Nana's mind, a small but very deep breath escaped her mouth. The frown on her face, completely gone and replaced by a smile that could rival Riley's.
"A… custom Wormworld brand?" Nana could barely contain her breaths as she practically sprinted behind Riley and Xra, "What… what kind of customization?"
Xra didn't really answer her, and only pointed to the left. Nana, of course, almost instinctively turned her head to where she was pointing, only to see a large purple ship equipped with several… armaments.
Nana's entire body shivered as soon as she saw that. People have probably been killed inside that ship… but did it really matter? She was a scavenger in the first place, death is the reason why she has a job.
"It's in purple too, my favorite color."
"..." Riley glanced at Nana for a few seconds, before shaking his head and sighing, "You shouldn't be taking stuff from dead people, Captain Nana."
"You're a mass murderer!" Nana accidentally blurted out as she pointed at Riley. Her hand, turning into a cannon and blasting at Riley without any warning.
"..." Nana's eyes instantly widened as she saw the ball of energy floating just inches away from the back of Riley's head; her entire being, in complete disbelief at what she had just done. It would seem she had been spending so much time with Hera that her nagging was starting to affect her—the only difference was that her powers didn't guarantee her survival.
"That… that is—"
"Accidental pre-release, Captain Nana. That is quite common for late bloomers, you do not have to be ashamed about it."
"..." This time, Nana chose to shut her mouth and just follow behind the two.
"You have infected her?" Xra whispered as she once again walked unusually close to Riley; her arm, sticking to his.
"You know that the source of our abilities is a virus, Pirate Queen Xra?" Riley tilted his head.
"I've lived a couple of millennia, Riley," Xra scoffed, "I would notice people around me gaining powers when I am around them. At first, I thought I myself was giving the powers, but I figured it out in time as I noticed the discrepancies in their blood."
"Interesting," Riley squinted his eyes, "I believe my mother would very much like your input, Pirate Queen Xra."
"...Your mother?"
"She is a famous scientist, maybe you know her? Her name is Diana Ross, Pirate Queen Xra."
"If she's from Earth, then no."
"Her real name is Caitlain'Ur."
"What!?" Xra instantly stopped in her tracks, causing Nana to hit the back of her leg, "Your mother is Caitlain?"
"Adoptive mother, Pirate Queen Xra."
"Why did you not say so earlier?" A small chuckle then escaped Xra's lips as she continued walking, "Caitlain and I are old friends, you mean she's on Earth?"
"She was, Pirate Queen Xra. But we were on our way to Theran when we got separated."
"She is going back to—Now, that I have to see." Xra's chuckles soon turned into a fit of laughter that reverberated throughout the entire hangar, even causing some of the ships to shake from the sheer force of her excitement,
"But first, let's go see your acquaintance."
Xra then suddenly stretched her hand to the left, and after a few breaths, someone's neck suddenly landed straight into her hand, coming from an unknown direction.
"C…Captain!?" It was Moira, the blue-skinned alien that invited Little Riley into the ship, "We… we're about done here! Did you kill Riley Ro—he's still here!"
"Yes, yes," Xra sighed as she dropped Moira, "Calm down. Where are they?"
"We… we're trying to kill Riley's companion," Moira meekly said as she subtly glanced at Riley, "But we can't—"
"Enough, enough. Riley, you didn't tell me your companion is also stro— Riley?"
Xra turned to look at Riley… only to see that he was no longer there.
"...This is why I hate children," Xra could really only let out another deep breath as her shoulders dropped.
"C…captain, what's going on?" Moira stuttered as she glanced back and forth between Nana and her captain, "Why is Riley still alive?"
"Because I can't kill him."
"You… can't kill Riley Ross?" Moira blinked a couple of times, "He… is that strong?"
"He is that strong. But you don't have to worry about that…" Xra did not bother looking at Moira, but instead just pointed at Moira's shoulder, "...You have your own problem."
"...What?" Moira stared in confusion for a few moments, before turning to look at her shoulder… only to see Little Riley there with his arms crossed,
"L… Little Riley!? You… you're alive!?"
"No," Little Riley let out a small harrumph as he looked to the side, "You betrayed my predecessor. Do you think you deserve to be my friend?"
"That's… I'm sorry. I—"
"Okay. I forgive you."
"...Oh."
"..." Nana, who was still just existing there, could really only just sigh and shake her head from all the things happening around her. It was official…
…her common sense was no more.
Chapter 494"Moira!"
"How do we even kill this thing!?"
"Try to snipe its face!"
"Did you see what happened when Moira tried to cut it!? She got blown away!"
Somewhere in the Bloodcruiser's vast and spacious hangar, 6 of Xra's main fighters were currently surrounding some sort of… thick corrugated pillar—no. Perhaps a 'tree' is the better word to describe the weird structure. But instead of a wood-like color, its texture was more akin to that of cement.
A tree made of concrete.
An impenetrable concrete, that is.
Xra's crew had been trying to cut the tree down, but all they could really do was scratch it, but even that heals after a second. The tree attached itself to the floor, all the way to the ceiling; its roots, unmovable.
Girgo, the largest of Xra's crew tried to pull one of the roots up. His head that resembled that of Earth's amphibians, trembling as he used his long tongue as added muscle. But alas, try as he might, he only ended up just bending the floor. And considering every inch of the ship was made with one of the strongest metals in the Universe, Girgo no longer attempted it, 'less he wanted to be the target of Xra's wrath.
"Lechamp, just continue firing at its face!"
"The roots are attacking me!"
"Then dodge! You have 4 arms!"
Lechamp, a 4-armed humanoid had 4 of his blasters pointed at the center of the tree… which had a face planted right on its bark—Hera's face.
And like with the rest of the grey tree, her face was like concrete and melded with everything. Hera's eyes were completely closed, which means that the roots that moved and were snapping in the air like a whip were most likely moving on their own.
The roots seemed to be focused solely on defending Hera, however. As long as none of the 6 planned to attack her head or inflict any harm that would damage her head, the giant tree just remained completely still.
They could attack the tree itself, but most of their bullets and other attacks just bounce off.
"Move!" Girgo, who had already given up in trying to lift and throw the entire tree out of the ship, pushed Lechamp away as he stood right at the line of sigh on Hera's face. And with a deep breath, he placed the laser cannon he was carrying, which no one knows where he got, right in front of him and aimed it straight at Hera's face.
"Let's see you block this!"
"Are you crazy, Girgo!? That's the ship's external cannon!"
"W—"
And before any of his comrades could tell him how bad of an idea it was to fire the cannon inside the ship, a blue beam of light already gushed out and blasted out of the cannon.
The edge of Girgo's incredibly wide mouth lifted up; his long tongue, trembling from excitement as the light completely blanketed his entire silhouette.
"..."
"..."
But then, the blinding light remained. The blast that was supposed to just last in a flash did not wither away—the beam, now seemingly a colossal fluorescent lamp. And since Girgo's vision was completely blinded by the bright light, he wasn't able to see what his comrades were currently seeing.
"That… isn't that…"
"I can't move! Why… why can't I move!?"
"What's happening!? What is it!?" Girgo tried to move, but alas, the only thing he could really turn was his large round eyes that were popping out from his amphibious head,
"What is happening!?"
"It's Riley Ross!"
"What!?"
It is. Riley was now floating beside the concrete tree. His long white hair, freely flowing with the gust of wind that shouldn't really exist inside the hangar. He just glanced at the frozen blast of light, before turning his focus back to Hera's face.
"..." Riley tilted his head to the side as he looked at her, before letting out a small sigh and shaking his head,
"You are destroying private property, Miss Hera. Please, wake up."
And as soon as his breaths touched Hera's face, her marbled, concrete skin started to crease—there were no cracks, however, as her skin seemed to just turn soft by the second. And soon, her eyes opened.
"Riley…" Hera weakly whispered as her lips too, finally opened. And before saying anything more, her face started to protrude forward.
Her body was clearly not complete, as the sides and back of her face started to wriggle before stretching into tiny little worms—no, tentacles. The tentacles formed whatever was missing from her as her incomplete silhouette continued to protrude and separate from the tree.
And soon, her arms were finally able to stretch toward Riley.
Riley, however, floated back and avoided Hera… causing her to fall and basically plop straight to the metal floor with her lower part still completely missing.
"..."
"..."
Hera then quickly looked up, while Riley looked down as the two just stared into each other's eyes.
"..."
"...Why do you have to ruin the moment!?" Hera decided to break the annoying silence as she raised her middle finger at Riley, "This would have been a good reference for a scene!"
"Hm," Riley just shrugged in response as he descended down, landing on the roots of Hera's… tree form,
"Why… is this not disappearing?" Riley then asked as his eyes scanned and observed the concrete tree.
"That's… permanent," Hera sighed as her legs completed their reconstruction, "They are sheddings of my body in a sense."
"..." Riley's mouth slightly turned agape as he looked at Hera. And after a few breaths, he stepped to the side to avoid any of the roots, "Ew."
"You bathe in blood, Riley," Hera scoffed in disbelief as she stood up.
"That is with my full consent, Miss Hera."
"Then just float around if you're really that disgusted about the roots!"
"How am I going to intentionally show you my disgust of your disposable flesh then, Miss Hera?"
"They're not flesh, they—There's no use arguing with you," Hera rolled her eyes as she started stretching her limbs, before turning her attention toward the 6 people that were completely frozen in place,
"Are… you planning on killing them?" She then asked, "This is probably one of the only instances in which I won't serve as your moral compass, Riley."
"You are not my moral compass, Miss Hera," Riley sighed as he also looked at Xra's crew,
"And I am not going to kill them. Pirate Queen Xra and I have come to a fragile understanding."
"You… didn't kill her?" Hera blinked in disbelief, "How a—"
"I am not easily slain, mortal. And it would seem I could say the same to you."
And before Hera could process her confusion, Xra and Nana arrived on the scene; with Xra just casually walking toward Hera and Riley like she was on a catwalk, even as she was surrounded by her frozen crew.
"Fascinating. It would seem the virus has only gone stronger as time passed," Xra then whispered as she trailed her fingers at a giant root; her nails, easily scratching and even slicing a large part of it.
"..." Hera was on guard when Xra showed herself; her body, however, did not really have any reaction toward her unlike before. That only meant one thing for her—Xra was no longer posing a threat.
"Riley, can you free my people now? They—"
"What's happening, Captain!?"
And before Xra could finish her request, the gold-skinned humanoid, her right-hand woman, quickly raised her voice before hovering toward them with her feet just an inch above the floor,
"Are we friends with the enemy now!?"
"Yes."
"No."
"..." Everyone quickly looked at Riley, who blatantly talked over Xra seemingly without any care about the world.
"..."
"Yes, we've become friends," Xra didn't seem to mind, however, as she just let out a smirk.
"But I thought you were going to kill him mercilessly because he got your name wrong!?"
"Please, I am not that petty," Xra waved her hand, "Also, if Riley and I truly fought with all of our strength, then all of you will perish without even knowing what killed you."
"Then—"
"We're going to Theran," Xra did not let her right-hand woman speak, "Riley here is going to Theran, I offered to take him there."
"No, you did not, Pirate Queen Xra."
"I am offering it now," Xra scoffed before turning her focus back to her crew, "What are all of you waiting for? Onward to Theran!"
"They are going to kill us as soon as they detect us coming from their neighboring star, Captain! Please, reconsider."
"That's right, didn't you kill their prince!?"
"That was a long time ago," Xra once again waved her hand, "Let's just—"
And this time, it was her time to be disrupted as the Bloodcruiser suddenly started shaking. And almost like the call of a whale, the metals of the Bloodcruiser seemingly started to stretch with the sound they were producing.
"Find out what that is. We need to—"
"It's him again, Captain Xra. He's trying to prevent the ship from flying away," Moira, who was left with a newer Little Riley, finally also arrived at the scene, "The bounty hunter."
"The bounty hunter that was in the Top 5?" For some reason, Hera felt oddly comfortable joining in on the conversation as she even looked Xra straight in the eyes.
"Is he?" Xra's eyes slightly widened.
"Captain, allow me to redeem myself!" And all of a sudden, one of her crew, a bald humanoid that completely resembled an Earth human, stepped forward.
"I remember you already losing to him, Cyndee."
"I did, and I want to try fighting that Guardian cannibal again. We—"
"May I try?"
And before any more conversations could start, everyone turned to look at the person that just uttered the words that interrupted them, only to see Riley with his hands raised.
"I believe you said it's a Guardian?"
Chapter 495"I believe you said it's a Guardian?"
Cyndee's bald head shine even though the light inside the hangar was dim; If one were to place Cyndee on Earth, then one would surely mistake the owner of this bald head to just be one of the species.
The only thing giving him—her out to be alien was her voice. Her voice carried a certain tremble in it, it was also effortlessly loud. And with each opening of her mouth, there was this whistle that would make an Earthling tilt his head from how uncomfortable the sound was.
As for how Riley figured that Cyndee was a she even with her bald and hairless head, well—she had a pair of bosoms that rivaled even that of Katrina's.
"..." Cyndee really only looked at Riley for a few seconds; her body instinctively backing away as she looked at Xra, asking if she should answer Riley's question telepathically.
Xra, however, just shrugged in response, before waving her hand and gesturing to her to do what she wanted. And so, after a few more breaths that were getting stuck in her throat, she finally nodded at Riley.
"...Yes," she answered, "Since you have only been in the Known Universe for a very short amount of time, then I am sure you don't know the story of Kerrigan. Kerrigan is a deserter of the Guardians, no—he betrayed them in search for the ultimate power."
"T—"
"And Kerrigan found the answer for his quest," Cyndee closed her eyes, rolling her hand into a fist as she raised them, "He ate his comrades, or more specifically, he ate the Guardian Force inside them… which is basically eating them as well."
"Can—"
"Kerrigan is a creature of sheer will. A being that seeks thrill and battle at every second," Cyndee then lowered her fist as she opened her eyes, "He had been trying to challenge the Captain to a match every chance he got. Captain only fought him once, though—and she won without even trying. Kerrigan had grown stronger since then, but he still wouldn't be a match against—"
And before Cyndee could finish her words, she found her tongue suddenly sticking out as Xra suddenly flicked her on the neck.
"If we let her be, she'll talk for an entire millennium," Xra let out a deep sigh as she caught Cyndee, whose body was in the process of deciding whether or not it should faint.
"I knew someone just like her back on Earth, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley shook his head, "A pair of extra large breasts and the ability to talk without pause."
"...Right," Xra's eyes slightly squinted as she handed Cyndee to one of her crew, "If you want to fight the battle junky, then go ahead. You are doing this for revenge, right?"
"Revenge?" Riley's long white hair flowed to the side as he tilted his head.
"I told you," Xra sighed as she pointed at one of her crew, who was holding some sort of tablet device in her hands, "We hacked the Common Council, we know everything they are hiding and that includes everything there is to know about you… the Guardians are partly responsible for the death of one of your clones."
"..." Moira quickly glanced at her shoulder to look at Little Riley, "He… is taking revenge for a clone? I thought—you're crying?"
"Mr. Diley," Little Riley wiped his face as he sniffled, "May he rest in peace—we will avenge you no matter what."
"I do not take revenge, Pirate Queen Xra."
Riley, on the other hand, just blinked as he returned Xra's gaze, "I just want to kill them for what they have done."
"Yes… that's called revenge."
"Retaliation," Riley quickly shook his head, "A being such as I can not demand revenge. I don't seek justice or vengeance, I do not have the right to."
"Oh boy, here we go," and as Riley's voice became softer and softer, Hera grabbed the Teera X120 from her pocket, which was surprisingly still there even after everything that has happened to her. And with a small smile on her face, she started recording Riley.
"...What's that for?" Nana, who no longer knew where to place herself, stood curiously beside Hera.
"For reference," Hera whispered, subconsciously tilting her body down to get closer to Nana, "Once this space escapade and everything is over, I plan to make a Darkday slash Riley Ross story."
"A… story? You're planning to make a documentary?"
"No, that's boring," Hera slightly stuck out her tongue as she zoomed in the camera on Riley's face,
"I am going to create a true-to-life movie about him."
"Everything that has happened, everything that will happen is my fault, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley breathed out as he looked at his hands,
"I waged war against the authorities of the Known Universe, as I have done so on Earth. The only reason an Elder and the Guardians killed John was because they were trying to hunt me for my crimes."
"..."
"And even before that, John already had a life of his own—and I returned to take all of it away. He had a lover, a family, friends…and I took it," Riley sighed,
"The Guardians are on the side of justice. I am merely finishing what I started…
…and that includes killing everyone and everything."
And with those words as the end of his little speech, Xra's crew could not help but take a few steps back; flinching as they all tightened their stance. As for their captain, she only sighed and walked closer to Riley.
"Do you even know how long that would take, killing everyone and everything?" Xra smirked, "Even I, who have lived for almost 10 millennia have not even explored a percent of the Unknown. Based on the Codex, there are currently a recorded 20 quadrillion people in the Known Universe—we are like ants."
"..."
"And if the Unknown has more beings like us…" Xra continued as she glanced at Hera, "What makes you think you won't face a being that is capable of truly ending you?"
"Then that would be a good thing for everyone, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley shook his head, "And if killing everyone and everything will take an eternity, then so be it. And ants, no matter how many they are, would all die if you destroy the planet they are on."
"Are you saying you are going to destroy the entire Universe, Known and Unknown?"
"I can try, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley slightly raised his voice as he looked Xra straight in the eyes.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Why are they just staring at each other?" Cyndee, who woke up from her short coma, whispered to Girgo, who was the one tasked with carrying her.
"Shh, shut up."
"..."
"..."
"The battle junky should be standing and waiting outside on the deck," Xra was the one to break the silence as she pointed down, "Come find me when you're done. Shapeshifter, Little cat, you two follow me. As for the rest of you, go do your jobs."
And after pointing at everyone else, Xra started walking away. Hera glanced at Riley for a few seconds, before proceeding to follow behind Xra along with Nana. As for her crew, suffice it to say, they quickly scrambled away in fear of being left alone with someone that can go toe-to-toe with their captain.
Well, all except for one crew member—the one that was holding a tablet, "I'll open a hatch for you so you don't destroy anything."
The woman was the smallest amongst Xra's main crew. And judging by how small she was, she was probably the same race as Nana—no, that wasn't exactly right; Nana did not have a fluffy tail.
"What is your name, fun-sized person with a tail?"
"Are… are you talking about me?" The small woman quickly turned her head from left to right, seemingly trying to find another presence aside from her.
"Yes."
"My… my name is Aella."
"You are the one who hacked into the Common Council, Miss Aella?"
"Miss—Yes, yes, it's me," the worry on Aella's face was instantly replaced by a small smile as she answered Riley's question.
"May I ask you for a favor, then?" A small smile then crept on Riley's face as he looked Aella straight in the eyes,
"I need information about the Common Council."
***
"Finally, I have been waiting for—who are you?"
"Riley Ross, Sir Kerrigan."
"Riley—you look familiar."
"..."
Riley was now floating beneath the Bloodcruiser, with his feet slowly touching its bottom as he looked at the silver-skinned humanoid just casually sitting with his legs crossed; extremely lax and seemingly without any worries.
Kerrigan also looked at Riley, while chewing a bag of red stones that were most likely pieces of Guardian Force. After a few more bites, however, he hid the bag inside his long silver coat as a small smirk crawled on his face.
And after a few more breaths, he burst out in laughter as he brushed up his hair, which also carried the same exact color as his skin,
"You're the new guy that's been making waves lately."
"Perhaps, Sir Kerrigan."
"And what exactly are you doing in the Queen's ship? Are you a part of her crew?"
"No."
"Hm, I suppose it doesn't matter," Kerrigan then stretched his left hand to the side; and as he did so, a silver disc started to form and hover on his palm,
"You will be a good enough appetizer."
"Well…" Riley only let out a small sigh as he glanced at the expanding silver disc, before turning his eyes back to Kerrigan,
"...At least one of us gets to enjoy this fight, Sir Kerrigan."
Chapter 496"At least one of us gets to enjoy this fight, Sir Kerrigan."
"Ho?"
Shards of orange started to glitter in the air as the Guardian Force that he was grinding with his teeth slowly escaped his mouth. His lips showed a shocked expression at first, but soon turned upward into a smile.
"You remind of the Queen—she has an arrogant air around her as well," he then muttered as the metal floor beneath his feet started to crumple in a twist,
"Come to think of it, except for the color of the hair, you two sort of look alike—Could it be that you are her offspring?"
"No, Sir Kerrigan. I—"
And before Riley could finish his words, Kerrigan suddenly disappeared from his spot—no, it was more as if he sunk into the floor. Riley did not have time to tilt his head in curiosity, however, as Kerrigan's silver face almost immediately showed itself beneath his feet.
And without even any warning or a word, Kerrigan pulled Riley down into the floor until only his upper body could be seen. As for Kerrigan, he fully emerged from the floor; his eyes, not leaving Riley for even a single second.
"So, your body is also strong," he then said, "90% of the population would have already died from having their bodies dug deep into Oro, one of the strongest metals in the entire Known Universe. Just the weight and the pressure would be enough to crush and grind their insides."
"Hm," and with Kerrigan's slightly long explanation, Riley only shrugged; casually pushing away the metal around his arms before he just floated and pulled himself up,
"I do not think Pirate Queen Xra appreciates her ship being—Oh, interesting," Riley stopped his words as soon as he saw the hole he made tangling together and closing, "Is this your ability?"
"...No. Oro self-regenerates and returns to its forged shape," Kerrigan squinted his eyes, "So, it's true—you're from the Unknown."
"You—"
And once again, before Riley could speak, Kerrigan moved. This time, his hand stretched straight toward Riley's face at a speed that was enough to cause the entire exterior of the Bloodcruiser to ripple from the push of his foot.
Riley watched as the silver fist brushed past his cheek. He initially thought that it was just a normal punch, but as soon as it touched a strand of his hair—the part that made contact with his fingers completely disappeared, splitting the strand into 5 pieces.
And as soon as he saw that, Riley used his telekinesis to move the rest of his hair to the side. Kerrigan didn't allow him to rest, however, as his already stretched hand swung toward Riley's neck.
Once again, Riley watched as his hand moved toward him—but as soon as the edge of Kerrigan's hand touched his epidermis, Riley quickly floated back.
"..." Riley then touched his neck, only to see a hint of blood lathering on his palm,
"You—can pass through my telekinetic barrier, Sir Kerrigan?"
Kerrigan once again struck Riley as he talked. This time, however, Riley did not let himself be interrupted as he talked while still dodging.
"You don't even know what I am?" Kerrigan smirked as he swung his leg toward Riley's waist, but once again, Riley floated back, "So, you're just indiscriminately murdering your way through the Known Universe without reason?"
"Are you not the same, sir Kerrigan?"
"I only kill Guardians and murderers," Kerrigan smirked, "But honestly, the line between the two is blurry."
"Interesting," Riley said as he tried to twist Kerrigan's neck with his mind, but all it really did was slightly stretch his silver skin.
"You're one scary monster, Riley Ross," Kerrigan stopped attacking as he touched his neck, "Y—"
This time, it was Kerrigan's turn to be disrupted as Riley suddenly appeared in front of him—his entire arm, already pierced through his chest.
"Wrong move," Kerrigan only scoffed, before slamming his palms on Riley's head. Before his palms could even get close, however, Riley was already far away and floating in the expanse of space…
…missing one of his arms.
"..." Riley turned to look at his shoulder, before turning his eyes back to his dismembered arm, which was now just floating quietly behind Kerrigan.
"I am guessing you haven't fought someone like me before?" Kerrigan then let out a small chuckle. Riley didn't notice it before, but Kerrigan wasn't using any device to translate his words—nor was he even using anything to transmit his voice through the dark and empty space.
It somewhat reminded him of…
"Are you perhaps related to Elder Tedi, sir Kerrigan?" Riley asked as his arm started to regenerate.
"That giant freak?" Kerrigan's eyes once again squinted as he saw Riley's arm healing almost instantly, "We're from the same planet."
"..." And as soon as Riley heard that, he looked at Kerrigan from head to toe—something he could only do when Elder Tedi was thousands of kilometers away, "But you are not—"
"You and Xra truly are similar, you even like to talk."
"Are you not the same?"
"Only when I need to."
"And you need to now, sir Kerrigan?" Riley smiled, "Are you trying to figure out what else I am capable of?"
"Enough."
"You are impervious to damage due to your body being capable of turning… immaterial," Riley said as he glanced back, before tilting his head to the side as Kerrigan's hand was once again already threatening to shave it off,
"You're not turning into anything, it is as if you do not really exist."
"..." Kerrigan no longer said anything as he just continued his attacks—his limbs, seemingly duplicating as they started leaving afterimages.
"I am guessing you are the same, sir Kerrigan?" The smile on Riley's face started to grow wider; his eyes, just staring at Kerrigan's face as he let out a barrage of strikes,
"You haven't fought someone like me either," and with those words, Riley opened up his palm and pointed at Kerrigan's stomach.
Kerrigan, however, completely ignored it as he just focused on hitting Riley's head; as hitting him anywhere else seemed to be useless.
"Mini Paboom," Riley then muttered. And as soon as he did so, the dark empty space started to be sucked in into the white orb that suddenly appeared and hovered on Riley's palm.
It was the very same move he used at Xra, except as he said, it was at a much smaller scale as the beam that gushed out from it just had the girth similar to…his arm—but like the previous one, it was long enough to be seen even from afar.
"..."
"..."
Kerrigan blinked a couple of times as he stared into Riley's eyes. He then very slowly turned his head to look at his stomach… only to see a huge gaping hole in it, his blood that was as dark as the expanse of space itself, formed into a spiral with the hole as its convergence.
"Oh, it worked, sir Kerrigan," Riley was also looking at the hole in his stomach, "I used a smaller amount of power since I would probably faint—I used most of my energy fighting Pirate Queen Xra earlier, you see."
"..."
"Is Elder Tedi stronger than you? If she is, then I would very much like to fight her the next time we—"
And before Riley could finish his words, he was once again interrupted by Kerrigan. This time, however, it wasn't an attack… but rather a retreat as Kerrigan quickly flew away.
"That is very rude, sir Kerrigan," Riley let out a small sigh, before raising his index finger and pointing it at Kerrigan's shrinking silhouette. And with another smile crawling on his face, another white orb emerged near the tip of his finger,
"Even Tinier Pa—"
"That's enough."
But alas, before he could release an even tinier Paboom, Xra suddenly appeared and grabbed his wrist.
"You're going to draw the Cherbi toward us if you continue using that move."
"...It's a tinier version, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley's smile quickly disappeared… even turning into a small frown as he looked at Xra.
"Yes, I heard," Xra sighed as she removed her hand from Riley's wrist, "Seriously, you're like a toddler."
"But I learned how to declare my moves because of you, Pirate Queen Xra."
"I only utter it in my mind, Riley."
"What's the difference?"
"The difference is that it is childish and detrimental to say your moves out loud."
"It is sort of cool, Pirate Queen Xra. It is like in Italian Mafia Reborn."
"Do you even know what cool means?"
"Do you? I figure the vernacular is much different from when you were still on Earth.
"...Are you dissing me right now? Do you think only Earth has that sort of word? Also, what's Italian Mafia Reborn?"
"I am very glad you asked, Pirate Queen Xra. Read my mind."
"No. Your thoughts are noisy."
"Just do it."
"No."
"Please."
"Fine."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"What… what is this?"
"It is the first episode of Italian Mafia Reborn. You do not have to worry about missing something, I have memorized every dialogue and every inch of the scenes."
"Hm."
"..."
"..."
"Did… the main character just die?"
"Continue watching, Pirate Queen Xra."
"Wait, he's not the main character!"
"Hm."
"..."
"It's him! This bastard is the main character? Why—wait, what? He ran an orphanage!?"
"..."
"..."
"Wait, it ended like that!? So, the character who I thought was the main character burned the true main character's orphanage? How is he alive? He was the bad guy?"
"Italian Mafia Reborn is very good at cliffhangers, Pirate Queen Xra."
"Let's… just go back inside the ship."
"Very well, Pirate Queen Xra."
"I will get some snacks…
…let me watch it while we are on our way to Theran."
Chapter 497"Riley Ross… and Pirate Queen Xra are traveling together?"
"Elder Tedi! You said you ran into him, why didn't you stop him!?"
"The Cherbi was my priority at that moment."
"And now Riley Ross and Xra have joined forces! Do you know what that—"
With the wave of a silver hand, the holograms that were talking without end disappeared; leaving only Elder Tedi's silhouette floating right at the very center, slowly being revealed as the brightening lights inside her communication spherical room started to drown her silver skin.
The hologram of the Grand Elder, however, popped up again a few breaths later.
"Did you just—"
"Find someone else to fill my position, I quit."
"Wha—"
"I hope all of you die an early death."
Elder Tedi—or just Tedi now, once again waved her hand to disconnect the Grand Elder's call. She did not know when, but the prospect of being an Elder had become a complete chore for her.
The Elders of the Common Council had the job to keep the peace inside the Known Universe. They were responsible for the public relations of a million planets, trade, law, exploration, and a lot more other things… and there were only 7 of them.
6, since Elder Zora was brutally killed—and now 5, as Tedi quit. Suffice it to say, everything was falling apart and it is all because of a single entity they chose to ignore.
"If the others are truly as smart as they claim to be, they will also quit," Tedi whispered to herself.
"..."
"..."
And all of a sudden, Tedi just remained floating inside the communication sphere; without any expression or even a slight twitch on her face. A second, a minute, an hour—she remained unmoving.
Tedi belonged to the Norinlad, a silver-skinned humanoid species belonging to the Higher Races. They were known to have no notion of humor, but have existed long enough to learn, or at least to mimic such ideas. They were a powerful race, but like the Evaniels, have learned to become peaceful.
Unlike the Evaniels, however, who became peaceful after waging war against the Themarians, the Norinlad are peaceful by nature—with the notion of violence completely foreign and alien to them.
Perhaps this was a good thing for the entire universe, as the Norinlad held a very scary innate ability to make themselves and anything they touch practically intangible. And not only that, they could rearrange matter itself with their hands.
Some say that if they were a warring race, then perhaps they could even replace the Themarians as the Master Race.
And currently, there were two deviants in the race.
One was the silver-skinned individual that Riley just fought, Bounty Hunter Kerrigan. He had nothing in his mind but battle—almost as if he accumulated all the violence the race should have had.
And of course, Tedi. It was obvious that there was something wrong with her just from her size alone, which almost rivaled that of a Messenger.
"Riley Ross, Riley Ross."
Tedi then finally moved as her thoughts escaped her mind, "Judging by the trajectory the Bloodcruiser is moving, they should be on their way to Theran."
"..."
"..."
Any traces of expression on Tedi's face once again disappeared as she became quiet. But once again, after an entire hour, she let out a small sigh as she wore her glasses that were the same size as a small country.
"If I recall, the Cherbi's trajectory also leads to Theran," Tedi adjusted her glasses as she slowly floated to the edge of the spherical room; a hole, quickly opening for her to fly out to,
"Surely…
…this can't be a coincidence."
***
"I guess this is goodbye, huh?"
"I'm… pretty sure I will be seeing you guys in the news."
Back in the hangar of the Bloodcruiser, Nana was in front of the new ship that Xra promised to her. And unlike the chaotic scenery she found herself in when she was previously in the hangar, the only presence there was her and Hera.
"I'm… really sorry you got dragged into this whole mess," Hera couldn't help but let out a loud sigh as she stretched her hand down toward Nana,
"Although this might sound slightly condescending, at least you survived an interaction with Riley Ross—and for an extended amount of time."
"Well… I only cried like once or twice every now and then," Nana chuckled as she reached for Hera's hand. Although she was unaware of what exactly this gesture meant, she knew enough that it was a friendly action. After shaking her hand, however, Nana let out a sigh and smiled,
"Besides, I sort of gained something from this crazy and terrifying adventure," she then raised her hand, which immediately turned into a cannon.
"You… certainly got used to that fast."
"Not like I have a choice. And also," Nana then pointed at the ship behind her, "This beautiful thing is enough payment for all the anxiety and fear I felt the entire trip. One of Pirate Queen Xra's crew even hacked into the database and registered the ship to my name."
"Be careful, Nana. You're going to get used to the lawless life."
"I have too many mouths to feed to gain a bounty to my name," Nana chuckled.
"Be safe out there. Let's meet again once all of this is over."
"Just call me whenever you want, Teera X120 is capable of intergalactic communication."
"Hm."
And with a nod to each other, Nana finally entered her new ship—not even looking back as she flew away.
"Captain Nana left, Miss Hera?"
"Fuck!"
Hera almost jumped in fright as she felt a breath suddenly crawling through her nape. She quickly looked back, only to see Riley standing awfully close to her.
"I thought you were spending time with Queen Dracula?"
"I am," Riley nodded before pointing to himself, "This is a clone, Miss Hera."
"...Right," Hera squinted her eyes, before letting out another sigh as she collected herself, "What are you doing here? Don't tell me… you wanted to say goodbye to Nana?"
"I was not even aware she was leaving, Miss Hera," Riley sighed, "I thought she was going to come with us to Theran."
"...What made you think that?"
"She seemed excited, Miss Hera."
"She was terrified, Riley."
"...Was she?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "I suppose it doesn't matter. I came here for you, Miss Hera."
"...What is it?"
"Pirate Queen Xra wanted to meet you when she discovered that you voiced one of the characters in Italian Mafia Rebor. She was wondering if you could do one of your lines live."
"We are on our way to a planet filled with Megawomans, and you want me to do some lines?" Hera raised an eyebrow; but after a few more seconds, she let out a sigh and smiled,
"My talent fee is high, you know?"
"What about just keeping your life, Miss Hera?"
"..."
"I am kidding," Riley chuckled, "I modeled this clone of mine to be funny, Miss Hera."
"And you thought threatening me was funny?"
"Yes," Riley's clone nodded, "...It's not?"
"I forgot who I was talking to for a second there," Hera pinched the bridge of her nose, "Let's go, I don't want queen Dracula coming here and also making jokes."
"You go on ahead, Miss Hera. Another clone will be escorting you to Pirate Queen Xra's quarters, I have something else to do here."
"What do you—"
And before Hera could finish her words, another Riley Ross popped up in front of her.
"...Seriously, how many clones do you have on this ship now?"
"As many as I need, Miss Hera."
"...I am going now before I lose my mind."
"Please. If you may follow me, madam Hera," Riley's other clone bowed, before bowing and gesturing to Hera to walk ahead.
"..." Hera's eyes twitched for a bit as she saw this, but only sighed before leaving without another word.
"..."
"..."
"Are you here, Miss Aella?" And as soon as the traces of other people inside the hangar were gone, Riley's clone then sat on the floor as his eyes started to scan the quiet hall and dead spaceships.
And after a few more seconds, a small person emerged from behind one of the ships—Aella, Xra's technician and the one responsible for hacking through the Common Council's database.
Aella's tail was completely tucked in; her eyes, trying their best not to look away as she approached Riley.
"Hello again, Miss Aella," Riley bowed, "The Boss regrets not being here in person."
"That—that's alright," Aella breathed out as she returned Riley's gaze—which was surprisingly not that hard, as Riley was sitting on the floor and making the level of their eyes almost equal to each other,
"I have what you need," and with another breath, Aella handed Riley the tablet she was holding.
"Is this all the information about the Elders, Miss Aella?" Riley said as he started exploring and fidgeting with the device.
"Yes," Aella nodded, "And that is directly connected to their database, sir Riley. If they make any changes, it will update in real time without any lag—no matter where we are in the Known Universe."
"My adoptive father and you will certainly get along, Miss Aella. He once hacked the technology of an invading alien species he had not seen before and practically massacred them inside and outside their ship in the safety of his home."
"That—I would like to meet him to exchange pointers."
"You will once we arrive at Theran. He swallowed a Guardian Force, but he is probably awake now—Oh, here he is."
"Hm?" Aella took a subtle peek at the tablet, only to see the deceased Elder Zora's profile on it.
"I need to borrow one of your ships, Miss Aella—preferably a race ship," Riley then smiled as he returned the tablet to Aella.
"...You're leaving?"
"This is only a clone—one with a singular purpose," a growing smile started to crawl on Riley's face,
"I am going to kill and massacre Elder Zora's friends, family, acquaintances—and since I will be visiting his home planet…
…his whole race."
Chapter 498"What happened? Why did the show stop?"
Xra's quarters were not something one would expect to be inside one of the most intimidating warships in the Known Universe. One could even say that her quarters didn't even seem like it was inside a ship—no.
One could see a sky that completely resembled that of Earth's if one were to look up, except it was devoid of any screens from the pollution the planet's advancements brought with it.
The floors were made with blocks of limestones, and there was really only a small house, also made with limestones that were painted over that it almost seemed glowing from having the light reflected on it. The house stood right at the very center of the quarters—no. Perhaps it was no longer right to call it her quarters, as this was Xra's attempt to replicate her home long past.
Riley initially thought that she was just making excuses when she said she wanted to visit Earth, but as he entered Xra's quarters, it would seem she didn't only want to visit it on a whim but is actually longing for it.
And right now, the two of them were just right outside her small house, with the two sitting on the marbled ground peacefully…. Well, that is until Riley suddenly lost the little expression he had on his face.
"Where's the Italian Mafia Reborn, boy?"
Xra's repeated her question as she stood up; her breaths, clearly frustrated as Riley's thoughts changed,
"Why did you have to cut it at the climax?"
Xra then approached Riley, lightly nudging him on the shoulder; as soon as she did so, however, Riley grabbed her by the wrist.
"What do you think you—Oh, what's this?" Xra's eyebrow started to rise up as she read Riley's thoughts, which were completely empty but not exactly. It was as if there was a window that she could look through, and there, she saw several other Rileys inside a ship.
"You're… going to commit genocide while you're on your way to Theran?" A small smirk crawled on Xra's face as she pulled her wrist away, "I envy your multitasking skills, but I still hate you for cutting it right at a climax. You…
…did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Xra then tried punching Riley, only for his body to automatically dodge to the side.
"...Just what are they feeding the children on Urt…Ter…Ert… whatever it is called nowadays?"
And with Riley seemingly busy and not coming back for a while, Xra could really only let out a loud sigh and leave him be. She was on her way out of her quarters, before shaking her head and turning back to Riley—not really, as she passed by him and continued toward her abode.
Her house didn't have any doors, just a colorful drape that she gently pushed to the side; revealing the inside of her house that did not really have anything but a bed.
"..."
"..."
She stared at this bed for a few breaths, each lasting for far longer than they should. A minute? An hour? It was hard to tell with the sun in the fake sky refusing to leave its place.
A few moments more, however, Xra finally stepped deeper into the small house. She walked straight toward her bed that was at the edge of the room, it was the only thing there, after all. She then very gently lay herself down on the bed, and with another sigh…
…the bed started to tremble. Xra didn't seem to mind, however, a smile even trickled on her face as the bed began to descend into the floor.
Xra closed her eyes, not worried about anything at all. And as she once again opened them, the ancient-looking abode was no more; replaced by a vast and spacious room endowed with only silver.
The walls probably consumed half the height of the entire ship, the ceiling, the floors—all of them were solid silver, not even a single seam visible.
Perhaps because of this, the large pod that stood at the very center of the room looked more prevalent than it should.
"..." Xra opened her eyes, softly sitting up before walking toward the pod—and then, the smile on her face became warmer.
The very minute light that was coming from the pod was weak to the point that it couldn't even cast shadows or reflect on the silver walls that surrounded it. Even then, it seemed enough to bring color back to Xra's pale and dead face.
Xra let out another breath, before finally turning her eyes straight toward the weak light—and there, was a silhouette seemingly frozen in time.
"My dear Akkamesh," Xra whispered softly as she gently placed her palm on the pod; her eyes, reflecting the silhouette suspended inside the pod,
"When will you once again open your eyes? When will I once again truly feel your warmth?" Xra rested her forehead on the glass, and as she did so, the light inside the pod seemingly reached out to touch her cheek,
"The sun of my life…" Xra's red eyes started to moisten, and the blood, that should have been tears, trailed down her face ever so endlessly,
"...How many stars need to die for me to hear your sweet voice once again tickling my ears? I will never grow tired, I can not feel so in the first place—but I falter, sometimes. I am old, much older than when you have felt me. My skin has grown cold, my flesh, my bosoms… my lips, however, will forever remain warm for you. Tell me when, my dear Akkamesh…
…tell me when is enough. I can harvest thousands and thousands more stars, I can delve into the Unknown for another eternity—but tell me when, and I will stop."
"It would seem that bounty hunter Kerrigan is right, Pirate Queen Xra. You and I have many similarities."
"!!!"
Xra's eyes quickly widened as she stepped away from the pod, causing the light that was warming up her face to dissipate.
"I have also talked to someone that is lifeless. But of course, unlike yours, mine was just trying to rest."
"This is not a place for you!" Xra did not even look at who it was that trespassed at her sanctuary, she immediately rushed toward Riley and grabbed him by the neck,
"No one is allowed here!"
"Don't be too rough, Pirate Queen Xra."
"..." Xra looked at Riley's face for a few seconds, before turning her eyes back to the pod… only to see another Riley just casually standing there and checking Akkamesh's blurry silhouette.
"Miser Akkamesh seems fragile, you don't want to disturb his eternal rest, don't you?"
"You…" Xra tightened her grip on the Riley he was holding, tearing off its head completely as she faced the real Riley,
"...step away from him, now."
"I don't think he minds, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley smiled as he started walking in circles… while trailing his finger around the pod,
"He's dead."
"He. Is. Not." And with those words, blood started to emerge from Xra's back—instantly shaping into wings with a span enough to fill the entire silver hall.
"But he is."
Riley sighed as he shook his head, before looking at the light in the silhouette of a man,
"This is the Mur Lav'ir, is it not?"
"...You know what this room is?" Xra blinked a couple of times, the colossal wings of blood behind her slightly faltering.
"The Room of Revival, Themarian technology," Riley said as he finally stepped away from the pod, "My biological mother was revived in one of these by my adoptive mother."
"Caitlain'Ur… was successful in using this on us? On humans?" And with her words stuttering lightly, her wings soon turned into mist, before completely dissipating into the air,
"...How?"
"I don't know, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley just shrugged his shoulders as he started examining the pod again, "I do know your setup is different from hers. Mother's setup is more… I suppose mundane and peaceful?"
"..."
"Is this the reason why you are harvesting the stars, Pirate Queen Xra? In the hopes of charging up your dear Akkamesh and bringing him back to life?"
"Yes," Xra answered without any hesitation, "He is the love of my life. And since I am cursed to live forever and will never be with him in death. Then perhaps in life, we can be together."
"That is sad, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley sighed, "But you are not doing it right, Pirate Queen Xra. My biological mother is surely stronger than Akkamesh by a great distance, and adoptive mother was able to revive her in just 20 years."
"20—how!?" Xra rushed toward Riley and grabbed him by the shoulders, "Please… tell me!"
"I don't know, Pirate Queen Xra." And even with Xra's desperate cries screaming in front of her, Riley just shrugged, "I can't dare to presume to even reach a percent of adoptive mother's intelligence. Perhaps my father would know, but they are both on Theran."
"This…" Xra smiled upon hearing Riley's words, "...Meeting you is surely fate, Riley Ross."
"I suppose," Riley backed away before turning to look Xra straight in the eyes, "But…
…do you really want him to come back, Xra?"
"Without fault or falter," Xra once again answered without any hesitation, "If I do not see this through, then all of the deaths that I have created, all the stars that have died—they will all be for naught."
"Even if he sees what you have become?"
"I would take his hatred any second and every breath, Riley—if it means that I would see him again."
"But you said you wanted to be together?"
"He is in my heart forever. As long as he lives again."
"Even if he becomes like us?"
Chapter 499"You are willing to resurrect him, even if he becomes like us?"
Almost 10 millennia. Xra has been exploring the empty expanse of space for almost 10 millennia and never once has she really questioned that what she was doing is for her and her beloved.
The only thing that mattered is that she would once again hear Akkamesh's voice. Be it words of hatred, be it words of longing, or even words of disgust with what she had become. It has been many lifetimes for her, but for Akkamesh, his last moment is dying in space with Xra in his arms.
At most, Xra was ready to receive whatever it is that Akkamesh would say and do to her. Will he still love her? Will he be mad at her?
But now, the only real question is… will it even be him?
"You are probably the most empathetic mass murderer I have ever met on this side of the universe,"
Xra finally responded to Riley, with a subtle but obviously slightly thoughtful sigh,
"I could only imagine what you would have been like if you lived a normal life. You would have probably been one of the good guys."
"I did live a normal life, Pirate Queen Xra. I would even say privileged."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know." This time, it was Riley's sigh that whispered through the silver hall, "I just wanted you to know the difference between our upbringing. The whispers, I always had a choice not to listen to them—in a way, I could have refused to give in to the urge of hurting people."
"..."
"And I am empathetic because I am surrounded by people who are. And each time I hurt other people, I hear their voice every time—anguish, pain, regret, hopelessness. I hear and feel their rawest emotions, the only problem is that I like hearing them. I can not force you to understand, Pirate Queen Xra. Your financial means were measly when you were still on Earth, after all."
"...I wasn't poor, Riley. I was born into a rich family." Although Riley said a lot of things that could be considered meaningful, only his last words really entered her mind.
"Oh."
"What do you mean 'Oh'?" Xra raised an eyebrow, "I just told you my life story not more than a day ago. I was the sole daughter of the largest brewery in the city, I was married to Akkemesh, the God King."
"I remember now, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley nodded, "It just became lost in my mind because of the way you looked."
"Wait, are you saying I look poor?"
"No," Riley once again let out a small sigh, "But it doesn't matter if you do look poor. You still have not answered my previous question, Pirate Queen Xra…
…Do you still want to resurrect him even if he becomes like us? In your story, Akkamesh cared for his people—do you truly wish for someone like that to live a life of carnage?"
"I…" And for once in her long life, Xra found herself speechless.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I… need some time alone with Akkamesh."
"Okay," Riley nodded before his feet slowly left the silver floor, "Once you are done, I called Hera to prove to you that she is one of the voice actors in Italian Mafia Reborn."
"..." Xra no longer answered, only letting her long black hair fall to her face as she looked away from Riley; her eyes, never really leaving Akkamesh for even a single second.
***
"Sir… Riley? I thought you left?"
Aella, the head of Xra's technical department, as well as one of her 7 main crew, was just walking around the Bloodcruiser, checking if there were anything amiss within the ship.
Of course, with the Bloodcruiser's automatic healing technology, she might as well just be wasting her time. Every couple of hours, the entire ship completely resets itself. If there was a table moved, it will return to its original location; if there is a faulty door, then it will fix itself if it hasn't already.
Still, Aella wanted to be hands-on when it comes to the maintenance of the ship, tracing her little steps on the floor no matter how minuscule the workload was. After all, there really wasn't much action happening when your captain is considered the most dangerous individual on the planet and should be avoided at all costs.
She and the rest of the crew thought they would finally be having fun when they encountered Riley Ross—but alas, at a weird turn of events, Xra seems to have taken a liking to him.
Perhaps that was a good thing as well, as Riley Ross seems to be… not so ordinary. If she was hearing the whispers in the ship right, then Riley Ross is almost equal to Xra, or even completely equal to her in terms of raw combat power. She had also seen the footage of Riley fighting bounty hunter Kerrigan—and the fact that he made him run was enough proof of the whispers.
It was no wonder that Xra welcomed him into the ship. But this… isn't this too welcoming?
"Did… you just come out from the captain's quarters?" It would seem that Aella's boring and useless routine was not so useless after all, as there truly was a discrepancy and anomaly in the ship—Riley casually stepping out of Xra's quarters. Even Alindor, Xra's second-in-command, did not have the grace and permission to enter the captain's room.
"I did, Miss Aella," Riley just nodded as the large door behind him slid closed, "Pirate Queen Xra was watching the deepest parts of me."
"W…what?" Aella completely turned her head up to look Riley straight in the eyes.
"Hm," Riley nodded, "And in turn, she let me inside the deepest parts of her."
"What!?"
"No," Riley then shook his head, "It is more like I forced myself to see and touch her secret."
Aella covered her mouth as Riley's lewd wordings continued to harass her ears. But after a few more breaths, she couldn't take it anymore as her little legs moved on their own and scurried her away; disappearing into the hallway almost instantly, leaving a trail of smoke in her wake.
"...The people here are weird," Riley sighed, before just proceeding to walk through the long hallways of the ship without any destination. His aimless steps, however, were completely interrupted as he saw Hera walking toward him.
"...I thought I was going to perform?" Hera quickly asked as soon as their eyes met, "I'm done warming up my vocals so I wouldn't strain doing that low-pitched voice."
"Pirate Queen Xra is suddenly… preoccupied with something."
"For reals?" Hera let out a heavy sigh before shaking her head, "I'll be in our room, then. Just call for me once we're near our destination, or if we're dead…I'm too tired to choose which I prefer, really."
"...Why don't you perform privately for me, then, Miss Hera? There's this scene that I particularly— Where are you going?"
Hera only raised both her middle fingers as she walked away; not even looking back as her silhouette very slowly disappeared into the giant hallway.
"..."
And so, once again, Riley was left alone to walk alone in this unusually large warship.
Alone.
Riley's steps came to a halt as the thought entered his mind. Once all of this is over—alone will be the only thing that could describe his existence. He knew in himself that he didn't deserve companionship, and yet with every turn, another one comes to serve as a compass for him.
Not a moral compass, of course—Riley clearly knew what was right or wrong. Just… a compass. A compass to lead him wherever.
Because alone, he will just forever be aimlessly moving.
"We… are not similar at all, Pirate Queen Xra."
And as Riley found himself completely alone, the urge to speak loudly to himself once again manifested as he raised his hand and looked at it,
"Your destruction has purpose. And when you have left nothing but the ashes of those you have killed, someone will be waiting for you at the end of the universe; the both of you, closing it together. The purpose of my destruction is destruction—if anything, then…
…I am more similar to the Cherbi than anything else in the universe."
Riley then raised his other hand, and as he did so, the floor in front of him started to wriggle—and in just a fraction of a second, a clone emerged for it.
"Alone," Riley then grabbed his clone's face as he looked at its empty eyes, "Alone is what I am, and alone is what I will be. And as I close the empty universe behind me, no one will be welcoming me on the other side."
"..."
"..."
And while Riley was doing his monologue, Moira, who was just awkwardly standing around the corner of the hall with Little Riley on her shoulder, could really only cover her mouth to prevent any sounds from escaping her.
It didn't really help that Little Riley seems to be feeling every word that comes out of Riley's mouth, as he too, had his hands raised in the air.
Thankfully for Moira, Riley seemed to be done with his monologue as he continued to walk through the hallways, not even minding or acknowledging her and Little Riley's presence as he passed by them.
"He… is he always like that?" Moira whispered.
"The Boss does whatever he wants, Moi. That's why he is the boss."
"...Right."
And so, with Riley just walking around the ship aimlessly for hours; and Xra's crew trying their best to avoid him…
…the ship finally neared Theran.
Chapter 500"Why did we stop?"
"Because any further is themarian territory. They… don't take kindly to unsolicited visitors."
The bridge of the Bloodcruiser was probably the heaviest room in the giant warship. Not only because it was probably the most protected and sealed room, but because of the weight of vigilance currently filling its space.
Hera, Riley, as well as Xra's 7 main crew, were currently just standing on the bridge, looking at the large window that has shown the same view over and over again since the start. The expanse of space looked the same no matter what, but even for Hera and Riley, whose eyes were untrained to navigate through the empty darkness, there was an obvious change in atmosphere.
And for Hera, this was quite literal—because she was no longer seeing an empty darkness, but a mist of red. Her body was visually warning her that the empty space in front of her was dangerous, and to step inside it was a very stupid thing to do. Still, as long as she was not in imminent danger, her body wouldn't take over and she would still have full control.
But never once, never once has her body warned her like this—even with Darkday and Xra.
"What are we waiting for, vice-captain?"
"The Captain."
Alindor, Xra's second-in-command, crossed her arms as she stared at the empty view in front of them. Her golden face, slightly shining due to the beads of sweat that has been wanting to trail on her smooth cheeks.
"Let's just proceed, they're just themarians."
"Do you want to be floated?" Alindor snarled as she looked at Lechamp; and without a nose, her entire set of teeth showed themselves,
"We will enjoy watching the themarians tear off 4 of your arms and painting the darkness with your blood."
"Stop imitating the way the captain talks," Lechamp waved 2 of his left hands, before turning to look at the amphibian humanoid beside him, "Are themarians really as strong as they say?"
"Have you been living under a rock, sister?" Girgo scoffed; his mouth that was as wide as his face, lightly clicking as he looked at Girgo, "The themarians are abnormally strong."
"...They can't be stronger than you?" Lechamp blinked a couple of times as all his--her arms fell in disbelief.
"You—the themarians are physically the strongest creatures in the entire Known Universe, you stupid 4-armed bitch."
"W—"
"...Sister?" Riley, who had also just been staring at the empty expanse of space, finally moved his eyes away as he looked at the 4-armed humanoid, "You are female, Miss Lechamp?"
"What—" Lechamp was about to scowl at the question…until she realized who said it, "I… I am, sir Riley."
"Forgive me, I thought that you were male."
"All… all of us are women," Lechamp could really only let out a nervous chuckle; her wide shoulders not knowing whether to shiver or bounce.
"...All?" Hera also could not help but whisper to herself as she subtly turned her head toward Girgo. Of course, she didn't let anyone notice her surprise—humans are easy to offend, it wouldn't be a surprise to her that other races are too.
"I apologize again, I thought Miss Girgo was male." Riley, on the other hand, did not even try to hide his shock as his eyebrows very slightly raised as he looked at Girgo, "I am still not used to judging appearances outside my species' biological appearance."
"It… it's very understandable," Girgo croaked while clearing her throat, "Even those that are in the Known Universe make the mistake, we… can't expect someone from the Unknown to abide by our societal construct."
"Thank you for your understanding, Miss Girgo. But I do wonder if you lay eggs?"
"Riley!?" Hera, this time not so subtly, grabbed Riley's arm and tried to pull him away. She would, however, be lying if she said she wasn't curious about it.
"I…" Girgo looked at her comrades, only to see all of them avoiding her large round eyes and leaving her on her own to answer Riley's almost childlike curiosity, "...I do lay eggs."
"Do you also lay hundreds and hundreds of eggs, Miss Girgo?"
"...No."
"Hm… Thank you for answering," Riley then nodded, before turning his head toward the rest of the crew… which once again tried their best not to make eye contact,
"Aella."
"...Ye—"
"You are from the same planet as Captain Nana?"
"...Yes?"
"But you have a tail."
"Our… people did not evolve the same way."
"Much like my skin is white, and Hera's normal skin is of light brown—I understand, Miss Aella," Riley then turned his head to the next crew,
"Moira, the one with the blue skin."
"She's not a Na'vi as we originally thought, Boss," Little Riley was the one to respond as he stood on Moira's shoulder, "She's a Perona from the planet Peperoni."
"P…Peperona," Moira meekly corrected as she glanced at Riley.
"Hm," Riley nodded before turning to look at Xra's second-in-command, "I have seen many of your kind, Miss Alindor. Golden skin and lacking in facial orifices than most other species. Could it be that you do not have a sense of smell?"
"My kind… smell through our skin," Alindor quickly lowered her arms as Riley addressed her, "And the reason you are seeing a lot of us is that we are the most populous race in the entire Known Universe—and we like to travel."
"Hm," Riley once again nodded as he looked at the next member, the bald humanoid,
"Miss Cyndee, are you not just a big-breasted human suffering from alopecia?"
"I… don't know what that is."
"A rare condition much like mine, except instead of a lack of melanin, it is a lack of hair due to the hair follicles being treated as a sort of illness by the immune system."
"Then… no," Cyndee giggled, causing her large bosoms to slightly jiggle,
"My kind is just completely without hair. But as for my breasts…" She then grabbed both her breasts and lightly squished them together, "...It's an individual trait of mine. Do you like it?"
"I have seen bigger in my home planet, Miss Cyndee," Riley nodded again before turning his attention to the last member, who has not spoken even once the entire time Hera and he have been on the ship,
"Miss…"
"Lunox. Her name is Lunox," Aella was the one to respond as she stood beside Lenox, a… slightly translucent female humanoid that wasn't wearing any clothes, "Her kind can't talk."
"How does she communicate, then?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he looked at Lenox, "I have watched an anime once with the main character being an evolving slime, but he talks."
"She—"
And before Aella could say anything, Lunox stretched her hand toward Riley. And with a small wiggle of her fingers, they started to extend like tentacles as they moved toward Riley's face.
Riley did not move, however, and even stepped forward to give permission to Lunox to do whatever it is she was doing. And as soon as her fingers touched Riley's temples, Riley suddenly found himself surrounded by nothing but trees with barks seemingly made of quartz.
"T—" And before Riley could say anything, Lunox quickly pulled her fingers away before kneeling to the ground and clasping her head tight.
"L…Lunox!?" Aella quickly held Lunox, only for her to let out a small scream and do the same,
"This… what is this…" Aella then slightly gagged as she tried her best not to vomit.
"Lunox can read… intent in a way," Cyndee approached Riley while letting out a forced chuckle, "She could also share her intent—that's how she communicates."
"...Oh," Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at Lunox and Aella, "I apologize, you two. I did not mean for you to get a glimpse of how my mind works."
"The same thing happened the first time she met the captain," Alindor approached Lunox and Aella, but she did not touch them and only asked them if they were alright,
"But I do find it odd," Alindor then muttered, "Her reaction was not this intense when she met the captain."
"Because between Pirate Queen Xra and me, I am the more evil of us two, Miss Alindor."
"..." Alindor slightly squinted her eyes, "Speaking of the captain, I should call—"
"S…stop him!"
And before Alindor could finish her words, Aella stood up; her saliva slightly trickling down her chin as she tried her best to speak.
"...What?" Alindor and the others, and even Hera all looked at each other as they heard the desperation in Aella's voice as she… had her hand stretched toward Riley.
And then, with a nervous gulp, Cyndee very slowly moved away from Riley as she turned her focus at Aella, "Stop him… from doing what?"
"This."
And as if to answer all of their questions, Riley started to stretch his hands to the side.
"...Riley?" Hera also backed away from Riley as his feet slowly left the floor, "What… are you doing?"
Riley did not immediately answer Hera's question, and only continued to float into the air. After a few more nervous breaths circling around the bridge, however, they finally realized what was happening. How could they not when the entire ship started to tremble…
…and move forward?
"W… wait, sir Riley!" Alindor turned to look at Hera, as if asking her what they should do, "We… we need to wait for them to contact us! We also need to wait for the captain since they know her!"
"There is no need for that, Miss Alindor. Since we are the visitors…
…we should be the first to greet them."
Chapter 501"Stop him!"
It all happened slowly. They should have, could have, and would have stopped it if they could. But all of them could really just watch as Riley floated in the air, hovering right on top of Xra's throne as the entire ship moved on its own toward somewhere it shouldn't.
"Stop him how!? We couldn't even stop his pet!"
Xra's crew were all on the edges of their toes as they looked up. They all had their own weapons and stance ready as they stared at the white-haired menace above them. They also looked at each other, trying to see and gauge who will be the first one to do something—wondering if they should actually attack him.
But attack him how, exactly?---is the question that was being passed through them.
Lechamp had all 4 of his blasters pointed at Riley but didn't dare to fire them. After all, back when they first fought, Girgo literally brought out the blasters of the ship to shoot him, but the only thing it did was make Riley's white hair even brighter.
All of them knew that their captain was the only one that could really stop Riley…but alas, she was currently holed up in her quarters and ordered not to be disturbed no matter what.
So, what exactly should they do? Aella had been attempting to take control of the ship as soon as she recovered from the horrible images that entered her mind when she touched Lunox. She fired their engines in the other direction, but all it was really doing was stressing the integrity of the Bloodcruiser. She could try and take them into hyperdrive…
…but she didn't want to end up a pancake.
Moira summoned two blades in her hands as she also waited for the others to make a move. Just a few breaths after she did so, however, Little Riley patted her on the neck. She turned to look at him, only to see him shaking his head and gesturing to her to hide the blades.
"I am telling you this now…" Little Riley then let out a small but very deep sigh as he looked at Riley, "...If you don't want to die, then never ever bare your fangs against the Boss. You're scared that you will be offending a themarian? At least the themarians will be giving you a quick death. But the boss? The Boss will be making an orchestra with your screams."
"..." Moira didn't even have to think. As soon as she heard Little Riley's words, the blades in her hands quickly disappeared. The blades were not really an innate ability of her species, but rather, a power she received from being infected by the supervirus.
Moira was not the only one that decided not to try anything anymore, but also Hera. In fact, Hera even found herself relaxed. Her entire body was just telling her that it was dangerous for the ship to proceed any further—but as soon as it was Riley that pushed them forward, the red signs that she was seeing in the empty expanse of space instantly disappeared.
But why?
Granted, since Riley was moving the entire ship, it also meant that it was being protected by him. But even then, none of them should feel safe. Every time Riley fights with Megawoman, every time he fights with a themarian, there will always be an aftermath that leads to astronomical destruction.
And right now, they were looking very much like collateral.
And while everyone below was losing their minds, the smile on Riley's face was just growing. For years, he had imagined what it would be like to be faced with the screams and anguish of more people like Aerith—and now, the intro of one of his deepest fantasies was finally right in front of him, quite literally.
And like a child faced with a meal he can't resist, Riley could no longer wait for anything else… and just like his wish, he didn't even need to wait.
Because as soon as they passed the threshold, a red dot immediately flashed over the horizon of their view. And this flash very slowly grew larger and larger—no. Perhaps with the distance it covered, one couldn't really say that it was slow; it's just that it came from far away. Very far away.
And soon, the red dot that just looked like a laser pointer filled the view of their entire window.
"Riley!" Hera then screamed as she saw Riley just smiling with his eyes closed, "If you're going to do something, I think now is the best time!"
And with the red beam now just meters away from hitting the ship's shield, Riley finally opened his eyes. And like a rock splitting the flow of a river, the red beam split in half before it could even touch the ship's barrier.
"This will be fun," Riley then breathed out as the red light touching his white skin faded away,
"Don't you agree, everyone?"
Everyone wanted to say no, but most of them were just too stunned to speak. They all knew what that red beam was. It was one of the abilities of the themarians—energy projection.
It was widespread that Theran was not fond of visitors, and they have been taught by schools that the territory of the themarians is not to be disturbed at any costs. Most of them were even told stories by their parents during bedtime that if they do something bad, then they would be sent to the T Zone, which sounds like a move from a sports cartoon show, but is actually more menacing considering its meaning.
So no, none of them agreed that it would be fun.
As part of Xra's crew, they were not strangers to danger. In fact, they even welcome it—they were the strongest crew, and their captain was and is one of the strongest beings in the Known Universe.
But as it stands, everyone considered themarian territory to be a separate universe of its own. And in this Universe, Xra might not even be in the top 5. Of course, all of this was merely speculation.
"They welcomed us so warmly," Riley then breathed out like he had just experienced some sort of bliss, "We should give a gift of our own."
Riley once again stretched his arms to the side as he started to float toward the colossal window of the bridge; and seemingly without any care, he just moved straight through it and let it break right on his face.
"The ship heals itself, so I do not need to pay for anything, right?"
Aella could really only let out an awkward smile as Riley glanced at him before completely plowing through the window. She also couldn't care less about the window, as Riley raised one of his hands above his head… before summoning an orb that shared the color of the beam that almost hit their ship.
"I think this is how Aerith did it? But it seems too weak. What if I do this? Hm… that's not right either. How about this?"
And while Riley was whispering to himself, the orb hovering above his head grew larger and larger in size. And very soon, it was the same size as the Bloodcruiser itself.
"...I suppose this is fine," and with those words, Riley tapped the red orb with his index finger… causing it to disappear—no. From Hera and the others' view, it didn't quite disappear but rather became smaller as it suddenly flew a great distance away from them.
And soon, it also became a red dot. This red dot, however, suddenly changed direction before it could completely disappear; and almost like a boomerang, it once again became larger and larger as it made its way to its new target—Riley Ross.
"Hm…" Riley stretched his palm toward the oncoming projectile he himself fired, and with a breath, the red orb was torn asunder into a million pieces. And like fireflies dying all at the same time, their light soon faded away.
Riley, however, still had his palm stretched forward. After all, a fist was already resting on it.
"And who might you be, sir?" Riley casually tilted his head to the side to look at who it was, only to see a red-haired… boy.
"I could ask you the same, boy," the red-haired boy scoffed as he pulled his hand away from Riley. His eyes, looking at Riley from head to toe before turning his attention to the Bloodcruiser,
"You are not allowed here, retreat immediately or I will be forced to take lethal action."
"And what if I do not, sir?"
"You— Kh!"
And before the red-haired themarian boy could even say anything, his face met with Riley's left foot. The boy's neck completely folded before being thrown hundreds and hundreds of miles away in a single breath.
"Fighting in space truly is wonderful," Riley closed his eyes before embracing himself, "I could do this all day."
And with those words, Riley also disappeared from his spot—chasing down the young themarian that was still violently free-floating in space.
"Are you still awake?"
And after a few breaths, Riley caught the back of the boy's head; completely jolting him awake.
"Who… who are you?" The red-haired themarian quickly grabbed Riley's wrist and started wriggling to get away from his grip, "Let… let go of me, boy!"
"I do not know why you keep calling me 'boy'," Riley sighed as he shook his head, "Only mother and Aerith are allowed to do that."
"...Aerith?" The boy quickly stopped struggling as soon as he heard Aerith's name, "What… how do you know that name!?"
"Because I am his lover."
Chapter 502"I am Aerith's lover."
"..."
Riley couldn't really see what kind of expression the red-haired themarian had on his face right now, he was holding the back of his head, after all. But with the few times that Riley had revealed to people that he was, they all usually express shock.
And for this red-haired themarian, it would seem that was amplified. He was no longer moving, not even trying to wriggle and struggle away from Riley's grip as his arms just fell to the side.
"I… I heard that Princess Aerith has returned. Could… could it be you're with them?"
"I was," Riley lightly pushed the themarian away, "I suppose they really have made it to Theran."
"W—"
"And I suppose it doesn't matter for now."
And before the red-haired themarian could say anything else, Riley's eyes started to glow red. He then stretched both his arms to the side, summoning another red orb. This time, 2 of them and only as big as him.
"You… are a themarian? Why—"
And once again, the red-haired themarian was not able to complete what he wanted to say as the two orbs suddenly shot straight toward him. He didn't dodge, however, but just stretched both his hands forward to catch the red orbs; and as soon as they made contact with his palm, he quickly rotated his entire body to throw the orbs back to Riley.
"I have had enough of you!" The themarian screamed; and with his voice the only thing that really resounded through the dark expanse of space, it felt like someone was talking through a boombox,
"I am Fionn! The guard of the Imdall Zone! Even if you are indeed Princess Aerith's lover, you will show me some respect!"
"You are tasked with protecting this area, Sir Fionn?" Riley said as he casually swung his arm, splitting the two red orbs that made their way back to him, "You seem too young to be doing that. Although, I suppose I can not judge themarians norms."
"I am already 340 years old!"
"Is that considered old on your planet?" Riley tilted his head to the side to avoid Fionn's fist, "You were not even born when Aerith arrived on Earth. Does that mean you haven't actually seen her in person?"
"It doesn't matter!" Fionn swung his leg straight toward Riley's liver, but instead of making contact with Riley's torso, his leg was caught in between Riley's knee and elbow. Fionn didn't seem fazed by this, however, as he bent his leg to pull himself closer to Riley with his knuckles already targeting the back of Riley's head.
"..." Riley tilted his head down to avoid Fionn's fist, only for him to see Fionn's free leg already threatening to squash his head in. Riley did not dodge but just blocked the leg with both his hands.
With his other leg free, Fionn added even more strength to his leg that was already targeting Riley's head. And with this added force, it almost seemed as if Riley's entire body bent backward before violently tumbling into place.
Even with Riley blocking the leg with his hand, he should still be completely fazed and stunned—is what Fionn thought. But before he could even drop his leg, he felt two hands suddenly grasping his head tight.
"Wh—"
And before he could even utter another word, his neck completely snapped in half; twisting several times as Riley's body continued to spin and flow using the momentum of Fionn's own attack.
And with a smile suddenly growing on Riley's face, Fionn's neck finally stretched to its limit; his head, violently tearing away from the rest of his body.
"Hm," and with a breath, Riley's body instantly stopped spinning; his hands, still carrying Fionn's head. And with another breath, blood started spewing out like rain from Fionn's neck.
Hera, who was watching what was happening from inside the Bloodcruiser with Xra's crew, did not really think much about this scene. After all, this was just a typical sight for someone like Riley—but no. Blood would just float and clot in space, and most of the
time would not even leave the body even with an open wound.
Riley was squeezing each of Fionn's veins.
Riley was capable of that, especially with a themarian body. After all, he had free access to completely learn about their anatomy for an entire day with Aerith.
Riley and Fionn's battle may seem ordinary and even basic from afar, but the people watching in the Bloodcruiser knew it was anything but. The only reason it looked like the two were just casually exchanging blows is that there wasn't anything around them to visualize how strong each of their strikes was.
If the battle took place on a planet the size of Earth, then that planet would have already been completely obliterated several times over. The red orb alone that Riley summoned was enough to raze an entire continent if it were to fly above it.
This kind of show of strength; Hera finally realized how out of touch the Hope Guild and the rest of the heroes on Earth were with the reality of things. Hera initially thought it was stupid of Empress to protect Riley, even after the Mars fiasco.
After all, there were a lot of supers capable of destroying Mars. Hera, however, didn't take into consideration the duration—Riley Ross was capable of destroying Mars without even snapping a single finger.
"..."
"..."
And after a few breaths of reminiscing and enjoying the moment, Riley felt a tremble in his hand. He slowly lifted the head in front of his eyes, only to see Fionn looking directly at him.
"..."
His mouth was opening, but no words were really coming out of it.
"So, Aerith could also do something like this?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he tried to figure out what Fionn's head was saying. But alas, as Riley was still not completely fluent in the themarian language, he still couldn't read his lips.
And so, Riley just did the only thing he could—he let go of Fionn's head.
And then kicked it.
"..."
Riley just watched the head disappear into the darkness. And even after it was gone, he just stayed there floating.
"Why… is he still not returning to the ship?" Moira, whose eyes have not left the built-in monitor in the windows that were following each of Riley's movements, finally looked away as she asked Little Riley a question,
"Don't tell me… he plans to proceed to go to Theran on his own?"
"I have no idea, Moi," Little Riley just shook his head in response.
"...What? But aren't the two of you directly connected to each other?" It wasn't only Moira who was focusing on Little Riley right now, but also the rest of her crew, and Hera.
"The Boss is connected to me, I am not connected to him," Little Riley shrugged, "And no, he won't just leave the Bloodcruiser. Miss Hera is still here—Aerith will be mad at the Boss if he leaves her."
"...So you really have no idea why he is just floating there?"
"I do now, Moi."
Everyone quickly turned their eyes to where Little Riley was pointing, only to see another monitor pop out on the window—showing something approaching Riley at a very high speed.
"Welcome back, Sir Fionn."
"I am dragging you to Theran myself!"
It would seem Fionn did not seem fond of Riley's greeting, as his words thundered through the dark expanse of space and straight through Riley's ears like a dagger,
"I don't care if you are the Princess' lover anymore, I am dragging you there in tiny little pieces!"
"I heard themarians also grow stronger after each death," Riley stretched his hands to the side to welcome the oncoming rage, "Did you grow stronger, sir Fionn?"
"You think I died from just that!?" A red hazy light suddenly started to form around Fionn's silhouette, "And if you are asking that, then you're not actually a themarian…
…that means I can kill you without any consequences!"
"But killing me has always been the major consequence, sir Fionn," Riley sighed,
"And as I have been insinuating since earlier, you are too weak. It feels like I am fighting a budget version of a themarian."
"Don't be so smug!"
"Are you not weirded out that we have been talking for a while now, and you still have not reached me even after increasing your speed, sir Fionn?"
"!!!"
And as soon as he heard those words, Fionn instantly stopped himself from advancing any further; the red light surrounding his body like fumes, also withering away.
Fionn then turned to look at the Bloodcruiser, only to see it had become a dot in space.
"Fighting in space is really weird, no?"
"!!!" Fionn's eyes quickly widened as he heard a voice coming from behind him. He quickly turned his body toward the voice, only to see Riley casually floating there. He looked at where he was just a moment ago… only to see him actually still there.
"You lack strength and training, sir Fionn."
"...What?" Fionn then turned to look at the Riley that was near him, only to be welcomed by a palm on his face.
"Let me help you with that."
And with Riley's words whispering into his ears, Fionn's vision very slowly started to distort and turn even darker. The rare beating of his heart, drumming through the empty space.
"Let go of him!"
But before his vision could completely fade away, he felt himself being pushed away. And before he could even feel the crushing weight fade away, he felt a hand grabbing his arm.
"Fionn, are you alright?"
"...Huh?" Fionn blinked a couple of times as he tried to recover himself. And after a few more breaths, he turned to look at the woman beside him.
"Orla?"
"Are you alright?"
"..." Fionn no longer responded and just turned to look to where Riley should be, only to see him being surrounded by three other themarians. And even then, the smile on his face did not disappear, no…
…it grew even wider.
Chapter 503"And then there's 5."
Riley raised both his arms in surrender—the newcomers, however, did not approach him at all even for a single millimeter. Riley even closed his eyes, but none still moved. After all, no matter how much Riley feigns surrender, it was useless because of the smile on his face.
"Themarians do truly look like humans."
And with no one moving or trying to approach him, Riley calmly opened his eyes, which immediately scanned the three themarians surrounding him. And as is it with Diana and Aerith, they were indistinguishable from humans—even more so for Riley now, because he had been seeing humanoids and species of all sorts of different aesthetics.
"State your purpose here, intruder."
The themarian that was right in front of him was the first to speak, and with the way he looked, Riley could even say he looked like of oriental descent; with his black hair and eyes, and somewhat petite stature. And like Fionn, he looked young.
No, it wasn't just him.
The blonde themarian female on Riley's left was also comparable to a human teenager, so is the boy on his right, who looked eerily similar to the blonde girl.
"..." Riley then strayed his eyes toward the one who rescued Fionn, and even with her dark skin melding with the expanse of space, her youth was also quite obvious.
"State your purpose here, intruder," the oriental-looking themarian repeated his words. And compared to Fionn, he seemed to be completely on guard even with Riley already surrounded.
"I am here to attend my biological mother's burial," Riley answered with his hands still raised in surrender, "And also to have a little fun with the locals."
"..." The oriental-looking themarian squinted his already small eyes as he heard Riley's words. He then turned to look at the two blonde themarians, seemingly talking to each other before nodding all at the same time.
"My name is Minjun," the oriental-looking themarian then said as he opened both his palms, "I am a guard of the Imdall Zone. Are you aware that you are trespassing on themarian territory?"
"No, sir Minjun," Riley once again answered without any hesitation.
"W… why are you interrogating him!? He attacked me!" Fionn seemed to have fully recovered as he rushed to join the three in surrounding Riley; the dark-skinned themarian also joined them, but like the two others, she just remained silent.
"We are way past a civil discussion, Minjun!" Fionn said as he also trailed his eyes to his other comrades, "Let's just end him!"
"Based on the accounts I received from others, you were the first to draw blood by firing on them with deadly intent," Minjun sighed and shook his head.
"Because his ship entered our perimeter!"
"This is why we have a bad reputation with the rest of the universe," Minjun once again sighed, "We just end those who trespass against us instead of talking to them. As the future generation of themarians, we need to do better than our predecessors…"
"Oh boy, here he goes again," one of the others, the blonde themarian girl, finally spoke up; pinching the bridge of her nose as she sighed, "See what you did, Fionn?"
"W—"
"...We are not just cold-blooded warriors. We are peacemakers," Minjun then closed his hand into a fist and raised it in the air, "Those before us may have shed blood to make this peace, but it does not mean that blood is still needed to maintain it."
"But it is literally our assignment to eradicate anyone and anything that enters our zone!" Fionn waved his hand, "We're literally a race of warriors! We learn to fight even before we learn to build ships!"
"And this is why we are always last in our assessment. All this violence, and for nothing."
"No, we're always last because you keep letting people go!"
"Enough. As this iteration's cadet leader, I decide which path we will take."
"You… Asha, help me here!" And with Minjun refusing to listen to anyone, Fionn turned his attention toward the dark-skinned girl who rescued him… who only shrugged and shook her head in response,
"All of you are on his side!? We…"
And while these themarians were freely discussing themselves, Riley was just nonchalantly and passively listening to them in curiosity. Based on their conversation, they truly were youths; cadets—students.
As expected of themarians, even the assignments they gave their youth were already at stellar-level feats.
"So all of you truly are children."
And finally, Riley decided to disrupt the conversation as he dropped his hands,
"No wonder all of you lack strength. It is not even comparable to a fraction of a single percent of what Aerith could do."
And with his words entering the young themarians' ears, they all stopped talking to themselves and focused solely on Riley.
"...Aerith?" This time, it was the blonde themarian boy that spoke, "You know princess Aerith? Could it be you are with the entourage that just arrived with the princess earlier?"
"Wait, Princess Aerith is back? Where did you hear this, Con?" The blonde themarian girl's eyes literally started to glitter as he looked at Con. And judging by how similar they truly look, Riley could really only assume that they were siblings.
"We received a report from the instructor the last time we saw him."
"Wait… is that why he has been gone for a while? He left us here while the legendary rebel princess returned!?"
"Enough!" And before the two could continue talking, Minjun raised his hand again as he looked at Riley, "Are you then? With Princess Aerith?"
"He told me he's Princess Aerith's lover!"
"What!?"
And once again, the youthful themarians all looked at each other in shock. Even Asha, who was the quiet one amongst them, could not help but let out a loud gasp. As for Riley, he just once again watched the group talk to themselves.
Even after almost killing one of them, they are now just casually talking to themselves. Truly, the themarians are built different—and with them able to freely talk in the expanse of space…
…this will be the first time that Riley would be hearing screams in the otherwise completely silent void.
"Let's continue where we left off, sir Fionn."
"!!!"
And once again, the youthful themarians held on their faces expressions of shock as Riley was now floating right in front of Fionn. It wasn't because of how fast Riley got there, no. One might even say he took his time.
It was the fact that they couldn't respond and move the entire time that completely stunned them.
Asha tried to struggle and free herself from the invisible chains that suddenly wrapped around her body—but trying as she might, even trembling was impossible.
"You're… telekinetic?" Minjun whispered, as for some reason, the only thing they could really move was their mouths.
"No," Riley smiled as he once again covered Fionn's face with his palm,
"I'm ecstatic."
"F… Fionn!"
And from fettered and struggling gasps, Asha's breaths turned into screams as she saw Fionn's head suddenly disappear.
And no, it didn't disappear in the sense that Fionn was decapitated again or that his head was obliterated into tiny little pieces and turned to a mist of blood, no.
It just disappeared.
The rest of his body that was left jolted and flinched… before just completely floating still.
"You… you killed him," Asha stuttered as she turned her moistening eyes toward Riley, who just shook his head in response.
"No," he then said as he opened his palm—and in it, was something the size of a pebble, "He should still recover from this, correct? Themarians are immortal, after all. And sir Fionn will only grow stronger after—"
"No!"
"...No?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at the pebble in his hand, "But Aerith could survive this."
The confusion on Riley's face was quite obvious for everyone to see as he looked at each of them as if asking them if Fionn truly wouldn't recover from having his entire head compressed into the size of a small pebble.
"Does it have something to do with your age?" Riley let go of Fionn's compressed head, before placing his hand on his chin while staring at the floating pebble in front of him,
"This isn't good, Aerith is going to be mad. I was really only trying to scare all of you so I can hear you scream…
…I apologize, everyone."
"Grah!"
"..." Riley then quickly tilted his head to the side as he saw a… set of bones aiming for his head. And before it could completely pass by him, the bones started to regenerate, revealing themselves to be an arm—Asha's arm.
Asha, who was able to force her way out of Riley's hold.
"Oh?" A smile returned on Riley's face as he heard Asha's guttural scream. Riley had always thought that themarians are beyond rage since Aerith and Diana have never shown such emotions—but it would seem he was wrong.
If so, then does that mean there was a chance that he could see and hear Aerith's scream of rage in the future?
"Well, since Aerith will already reprimand me for killing one of you…
…I might as well add one or two or three or four."
"A… Asha!" Minjun, as well as the blonde themarian siblings, were also slowly able to get out of Riley's hold. But alas, before they could lift a finger, Riley already had his palm on Asha's face.
"H…huh…" As for Asha, she could really only take in a breath as her eyes started to turn wide and tremble uncontrollably. How could she do anything else, when all that is circling in her mind right now was that she was about to suffer the same fate as Fionn?
"D… don't."
"There is no need to worry, Miss Asha…
…you might live."
Chapter 504"Asha!"
"..."
You might live.
That is what Riley told the dark-skinned themarian as he pierced his arm through her chest, pushing out her heart through her back and holding it tight…with all the veins and arteries still surprisingly intact.
"Same as Aerith. Your heartbeat is exponentially faster than hers, however. Throughout the time I have been with her, her heartbeat usually only beats 4 times a day."
And through all the shocked faces, Riley just pulled his arm out with Asha's heart; still intact even after her veins stretched more than a meter—probably a themarian trait. Of course, Riley wouldn't really know all of it.
"It still baffles me how similar your biology is to humans, but at the same time, so different," Riley said as his head tilted to the side while staring at Asha's still very much beating heart,
"Oh well."
And with those words, Asha's heart started to bloat in between Riley's fingers as he started to grip it ever so tightly. Riley was already using enough strength to completely turn diamond into dust—and yet Asha's heart, like a balloon, just continued to stretch out.
"Stop… stop!"
And Asha—Asha couldn't really move anything but her eyes and mouth; her screams, reverberating straight to Riley's ears like a visceral song.
"This…" The smile on Riley's face became wider, to the point that one could already see both his upper and lower set of teeth, "...This is beautiful."
Riley had never heard something like this before. As far as he knows, themarians seem to be the only species in the entire universe that is able to actually speak in the expanse of space and produce a sound without using any external instruments or gadgets—and the sound they produce is quite… nerving.
"Let… let go—Eek!"
"I feel like I am underwater," Riley then closed his eyes as his head started to bob left and right, "Like a magnificent ocean creature is singing its song to me, and me alone. How wonderful… truly wonderful."
Riley's white face soon started turning red as his words soon became stuttered. And each strand of his long white hair, vibrating along with the excitement and glee that was surrounding his entire body, almost producing a sound similar to a thousand cicadas that only Asha could hear.
"Asha! Let… let go of her!"
"Leena, no!"
"Oh?"
And once again, in the heat of the moment, another one of them was able to escape from Riley's telekinetic grip. The blonde themarian girl, Leena, did not even hesitate to rush at Riley as soon as she felt even a tiny hint of freedom.
"I said, let go of—!?"
Sadly for her, however, as soon as she was within arm's reach, Riley suddenly pushed Asha's heart straight into her screaming mouth. Suffice it to say, Leena instantly stopped in her tracks; her eyes, even wider than her mouth that was holding Asha's heart within it.
"!!!"
And before Leena could do anything, Riley swung his palm up and struck her directly under the chin. Blood and saliva exploded right on Riley's face as Asha's mouth finally burst open inside Leena's mouth.
The worst part of this, probably, is that Riley was not even letting her open her mouth.
"..." Riley then turned his eyes toward Asha, waiting for her to regenerate. And as soon as he saw the flesh around the hole he made starting to close shut like a million worms coalescing into one another, he gently pushed Asha away.
"I told you, you might live, Miss Asha," Riley then chuckled before turning his attention to Leena… and grabbing her face and gripping her cheeks. But with her lips completely shut, Asha's blood and mangled heart had nowhere to go but in.
No, that was not exactly true as some of Asha's blood started to spurt out from Leena's nose. Minjun and Con also tried their hardest to be free of Riley's telekinetic grip, but alas, with Riley now fully restraining just the three of them… it almost seemed as if they were drowned in some sort of immovable ocean.
The only thing they could really do is the thing they have been doing since the start—watch.
"How does other's blood taste for you, Miss… Leena?" Riley whispered as he looked Leena straight into her weeping eyes,
"I tried tasting human blood before to see if I was a cannibal, but I didn't end up swallowing it and even spat it out."
"Hmgh…" Leena was either trying to say something, or she had already vomited inside her mouth.
"I have had Inihaw na Dugo before. It is some kind of street food back on my home planet—my themarian vocabulary is not that polished, but it should translate to Grilled Blood. In my case, it was grilled chicken blood," Riley muttered, "It tasted good when you dip it and let it soak for a few seconds in sweet and spicy vinegar. I thought it would taste like that, you know? But no."
"..."
"Inihaw na Dugo is prepared by seasoning the blood with salt and pepper," Riley continued as he raised his other hand. And as he did so, something emerged from the pocket of his black suit—salt and pepper shakers.
Leena's trembling mouth started to open, revealing the guttural view of vomit, blood, and saliva all mixed together between her lips. And despite her best efforts to shake free… the only thing that started to shake was the salt and pepper shakers. The flavorful dust very slowly flew straight inside her mouth and into the blood.
And almost as if to mock her, Riley's mouth also started to open—the smile on his face, now wider than ever before.
"And then…" Riley's face started to turn red as his words became whispers, "And then… you boil it in water."
"!!!"
Asha's weeping eyes seemingly wanted to pop out of their sockets as she felt the inside of her mouth starting to burn. As a themarian, their flesh could resist unimaginable temperatures—they could even bathe inside the core of the sun if they wanted to.
Well, adult themarians, that is.
And with Riley releasing a fraction of Hannah's powers right inside Leena's mouth, the inside of her cheeks, her gums, and her tongue started to stick to each other as they melted from the heat.
Surprisingly, though… the blood inside her mouth just calmly started to boil.
"We don't have water, Miss Leena. So… I have to improvise, I apologize," Riley sighed and shook his head, "Now we just wait for the chicken blood to solidify into a chunk."
"..."
"..."
Leena's eyes started to tremble from the seething pain inside her mouth—but finally, after a few more seconds, the pain just disappeared.
"And now that it's finally hard, we cut it into tiny bite-size portions," Riley said as his index finger in his free hand started to twirl. And as it did so, the flavored solidified blood started to turn into chunks—unfortunately for Leena, the slice just went slightly beyond and also sliced her cheeks.
Her cheeks being cut open was no problem at all, however, as they healed as soon as it was cut. The problem was, however, that her teeth started to char.
"And then we grill it."
"!!!"
Minjun and Con also started to shed tears as they watched what was being done to Leena. Although they were truly rageful and filled with sorrow for Leena, they no longer really knew what their tears were for.
Was it for her pain… or was it for the fact that they knew they were next?
"So, how does it taste, Miss Leena?" Riley then grabbed Leena's chin and forced her to chew it—and of course, swallow all of it at once.
"It probably tasted bland without the vinegar, but I sadly don't carry one," Riley sighed as he finally let go of Leena's face,
"I have actually cooked grilled blood several times, but using chicken's blood—I just can't seem to try it with humans because I already know that I'm not a cannibal. So…
…how was it?"
"Eurgh!" And with Leena finally feeling her face free, the only thing she could really respond with was by another vomit.
"Hm…" Riley nodded several times, "It is appalling, no? Anyway…"
And with that, Riley flicked his finger—and as he did so, Leena's face split open, before opening up like a rose and revealing her brain.
"You might live, Miss Leena," Riley said as Leena's brain started to detach itself from the rest of her body. And with Riley pushing her away, his eyes started to stray toward the two themarians left.
"Fun, no?"
"..."
"..."
Both Minjun and Con tried their best to shake their heads, but could not. And very slowly, Riley made his way toward them.
***
"Ha…"
After an undetermined amount of time, Riley was now freely floating in the darkness. His eyes closed, and the smile on his face was still as bright as before. He was the only one smiling, however, as the four themarians around him were just curling and cradling themselves.
"Themarians are so durable," Riley giggled to himself. And as he did so, the four flinched.
"That was really fun, we should go again."
"No… no…" Leena, who had to grow an entire body, could not help but shiver as she heard Riley's words, "Please… please, enough."
"You might still live again," Riley shook his head, "You are stronger now, no? That is what I heard from Aerith. Truly unfortunate for sir Fionn, though. Anyway…
…Again."
"I don't think so."
And before Riley could approach one of the pitiful young themarians, a figure suddenly appeared right in front of him.
It was a muscular themarian, adorned with a graying thick mustache.
"D… Dad!?"
Chapter 505"D… dad!?"
"I think that's enough."
In the expanse of space where darkness was all there is, a sense of hope was finally felt by the four youths. They thought they would forever be in the grasp of this white-haired torturing maniac, but finally, hope arrived.
It arrived in the form of a big, muscular man with a thick, fine mustache.
"Dad!" Con bellowed.
"Dad?"
"It's our papa!" And true enough, Riley's assumption was right that Con and Leena were siblings as both of them turned to look at the muscular man with nothing but smiles.
Like the red violent beam that shoots out from their bodies, the four youths rushed towards this muscular man and hid behind him; their eyes, however, still remained locked on Riley-his long white hair that was still confidently vibrating in excitement even with the entrance of the older and obviously much stronger themarian.
The man with a mustache only glanced at the four young themarian, before stretching his hand to the left. It was just a simple gesture, but it almost seemed as if the four felt protected from everything the universe has to throw at them.
And almost like a response to Riley's smile, the man's mustache started to move as a smirk crawled on her face.
"Darmuid, Champion Sergeant of the Arkloom Brigade," the muscular mustached man, who revealed himself to be Darmuid, placed his hands behind him before calmly floating closer to Riley; his pecs, now even more pronounced due to the tight leather-like brown suit he was wearing.
"My name is Riley Ross, Hannah's brother, and Aerith's lover," the smile on Riley's face slightly lessened as he bowed to introduce himself to Darmuid, "May I ask what brings you here?"
"..." Darmuid did not answer, and instead, the four young themarians just watched quietly as he calmly hovered closer and closer toward Riley, his hands still placed behind him. His gaze was as calm as his pace, and yet there was this obvious boiling rage just wanting to escape his breaths.
"Are all of you alright?" And like an obvious provocation, Champion Sergeant Darmuid turned his head back toward his children and the two other themarians as soon as he was within the reach of Riley's arm.
Leena and the others, however, could really only turn their heads down. How could they even answer something like that, when it was already obvious just from their expressions of terror?
"It doesn't matter," Darmuid calmly breathed out as he shook his head,
"I am here to take you back home," he then took out a triangular translucent object from his pocket and threw it toward his daughter.
Leena did not really hesitate to catch it, and without even waiting for anything else to happen, she quickly twisted the small pyramid. Minjun, Asha, and Con also rushed to place their hands on her shoulder—and in a blink, the four of them were gone, leaving only their tears as a reminder of the horrific things that have transpired in this cold, desolate, and empty space.
Riley did not do anything to stop this, and even curiously looked back and forth between Darmuid and the empty space where the young themarians disappeared into.
"..." And with them gone, Darmuid calmly turned his attention back to Riley. He looked at him from head to toe, before letting out a small sigh and shaking his head,
"I know who you are," he then breathed out, "What I do not know is what you are doing with the Blood Spirit."
"...Blood Spirit? You mean the Inihaw na Dugo?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head. He thought Darmuid was going to say a one-liner since Aerith used to like those, but to think he would just be commenting on the recipe,
"Do you cook too, Champion Sergeant Darmuid?"
"Xra, the Blood Spirit."
"Oh," Riley turned to look in the direction where the Bloodcruiser should be, "Pirate Queen Xra and I have a lot in common. He joined me on my journey, so I suppose that makes her my Third Subordinate."
"The Blood Spirit having someone above her? I doubt it," Darmuid looked straight down at Riley; his chiseled chest, almost hitting Riley's face,
"But I suppose it matters not. Even if you are the acquaintance or the lover of the princess, you have committed grave actions against my children and my people—the price for that is death."
"And it is a price I would gladly pay," Riley looked up, "But the question is, will you finally be the one to earn it?"
"Hm," Darmuid grunted, "Arrogant—as expected of the princess' friend. You are a creature that does not know how large the universe is."
"You are the ones who have locked themselves in your tiny little space. Tell me, Champion Sergeant Darmuid—how long has it been since you have last left your territory?" Riley's eyebrows started to furrow as the smile on his face completely faded,
"Aerith has traversed the Unknown and ended up being the beacon of hope and salvation to a people that sorely needed it. I may not know how large the universe is, Champion Sergeant Darmuid. But you? You are unworthy to even leave this place."
"It would seem there is some truth in your being the princess' lover—to come into her defense with just measly provocation," Darmuid's mustache once again moved as the smirk returned on his face,
"As expected of short-lived creatures, so eager to prove themselves."
And all of a sudden, silence started to surround the two.
A second.
A minute.
…A minute. It was a minute of silence before the two just suddenly disappeared from where they were just previously floating. And then, from afar, one could see flashes of red burning violently; like a star in turmoil, or perhaps a candle stubborn enough to stay in the middle of a storm.
Darmuid was done talking, and the only language left for the two of them is unrelenting violence sparking between them—literally.
Each of their strikes was releasing sparks that were as bright as the red raging light being emitted by Darmuid's muscular body.
Riley's flesh was being torn open each time Darmuid's fists made contact with his skin. Darmuid's knuckles, however, seemed to remain completely without even as much as a scratch.
"..." Riley blocked another one of Darmuid's punches with both his arms, only for his entire body to fold and be thrown an unknown distance away. But judging by how the view of the stars afar just seemingly blurred and turned into streaks, the same thing that happened to Fionn earlier when Riley was toying with him, was now happening to him.
And almost like a reversal of the situation, Darmuid also grabbed the back of Riley's head, causing him to violently stop like the tail of a whip.
"You're still alive even after all that?" Darmuid broke his silence as the grip on Riley's head grew tighter,
"No wonder my children and their friends could not even lay a finger on you."
"..." Riley just moved his eyes to the left to look at Darmuid from his peripheral vision.
"Now, I return your words to you—you are not worthy to be in this place," Darmuid then said as his teeth started to show; the veins in his arms, now etching out from his skin–tight suit as his grip became tighter and tighter.
"You said you know about me, Champion Sergeant Darmuid?"
"Enough talk," Darmuid grunted; his eyes, no longer even looking at Riley anymore, "I will be delivering your head to the princess and see what she has to say."
"Then you really do know nothing about me, Champion Sergeant Darmuid," Riley sighed as he shook his head. But since his head was completely chained to Darmuid's hand, the rest of his body swiveled instead,
"One—I like talking. I even talk to the corpses of those I killed. And Two…
…I don't primarily fight with my body like you do."
"W—"
And before Darmuid could finish his words, a slit started to crawl across his wrist. This seemingly ordinary slit, however, went through his bone. And of course, as an older themarian with insane healing capabilities that couldn't even be compared to the younger themarians, this was nothing for Darmuid.
The cut in his wrist healed as soon as it was cut, and that was enough for Darmuid to lose control of his hand for a single moment—and a moment was all Riley needed to escape from his grasp.
Yes, he only needed a small moment.
"..."
But Riley did not. Riley did not escape from Darmuid's grasp, and instead just rotated his entire body to face him; his eyes, revealed through the gaps between Darmuid's fingers.
And his eyes were not the only ones being revealed; his smile that stretched to his ears, too, was revealed as he looked the slightly perplexed themarian straight in the eyes.
"And I think I know who you are, Champion Sergeant Darmuid," Riley then breathed out,
"You are weaker than Aerith."
"Hm," Darmuid's shocked expression was replaced by a smirk as soon as he heard Riley's words, "I was holding back."
"So was she. Aerith is stronger than you."
And with those words, Riley stretched his hand toward Darmuid's head—but with the difference between their sizes, the most Riley could really reach was the empty space in front of Darmuid's thick mustache.
"Did you know that there is a single part of a human that can be made to be as strong as a themarian's?" A giggle slightly escaped from Riley's smiling lips, "It's…
…the hair."
Chapter 506"!!!"
Facial hair. For some men, it was the epitome symbol that one has finally reached manhood. And somewhere in the universe, Unknown and Known, there is one man whose facial hair was his entire life.
His name was Spectacular Mustache Man. His entire persona circled around his mustache—a billion people, revering at the greatness of his mustache. But even if one was not Spectacular Mustache Man, a mustache is still a great deal for some people.
"Are you one of those people, Champion Sergeant Darmuid?" Riley's voice seeped from the edges of Darmuid's palm; his eyes, still as wide and staring straight at Darmuid with glee.
And soon, Darmuid's upper lips soon started to tremble as each and every strand of his thick mustache started to vibrate much like Riley's hair.
"What are you— !!!"
And before Darmuid could finish his words, a pluck thundered throughout the entire expanse of the universe. Not really, but that is what it sounded like to Darmuid. His mustache was groomed daily, laced in oil and moisture to keep them as fresh and dapper as possible.
And soon, another one was plucked away.
"Stop!"
All this time, he had been trying to gauge how strong Riley Ross truly is for him to receive the attention of not only the princess of the largest and most powerful country in Theran… but also The Caitlain'Ur.
The Caitlain'Ur, a themarian also born with the same name. But soon, her name had become a title for the themarian's greatest nightmare—a literal one, as even for them, she had become some sort of a mythical creature.
And so, Darmuid could not help but be curious, but no more. Darmuid tightened his grip on Riley's face to try and finally crush it—he was done playing games.
Unfortunately for him, Riley was just starting.
Darmuid tightened his grip even further, but no matter how much force he added, it almost seemed as if he was holding something that couldn't be moved no matter what. It wasn't like this when they were fighting just earlier.
Just a few moments before, Riley's flesh was either torn away or mangled with each of their exchange—but now, not a centimeter of his skin was stretched.
No…the only thing that was stretching was his mustache.
"I said stop!" Darmuid finally used his free hand; retracting it back, before twisting his entire body and using the momentum to strengthen the punch that was heading straight at Riley's liver.
His fist didn't seem to be that fast; in fact, it even looked slow. The force behind the punch, however, was clear for everyone to see—even from the Bloodcruiser that was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.
Space itself distorted — like a vacuum — the space surrounding Darmuid's fist turned into a spiral, a whirlpool that sucked the darkness itself.
And then, a snap.
The sound of a snap that shouldn't have happened, but it did. And it did so in extremity. As soon as Darmuid's fist made contact with Riley's stomach, a snap reverberated throughout the expanse of space. It rippled, destroying the meteoroids, and even some larger asteroids that happened to be within an unknown distance—but judging by how violently the Bloodcruiser shook even with its shield at full capacity, the raging ripple reverberated farther than a hundred thousand miles.
The way the themarians fight is simple, too simple. But there was a reason why they were the most powerful, feared, and respected species in the entire Known Universe; they will sneeze, and a planet would be gone.
What more could a punch do? And what could it do to a person?
"..." Darmuid was still holding Riley's face—and that was it. Only Riley's face remained.
His entire body was obliterated by the punch, his neck and the back of his head included. Perhaps the only reason why his face was still completely intact is that Darmuid was holding it.
Even then, however, Darmuid let out a small grunt as he did not let go of Riley's face. After all, even with 90% of him gone, the maniacal smile on his face was still completely there.
Darmuid waited for a twitch, but even after several moments passed, there was nothing. And so, with a small sigh, he closed his hand—completely squashing whatever was left of Riley.
"That was powerful, Champion Sergeant Darmuid."
"!!!"
Darmuid's eyes quickly widened as he felt a cold breath slithering through the back of his neck. He didn't even need to look back to know that there was a pair of eyes and a wide, sinister smile just waiting for him to turn around.
"Shall we continue to shave this off, then?"
And before Darmuid could actually recover and react, he saw a palm suddenly blinding his view. He didn't see it for long, however. As soon, he felt a sting crawling across his face. Darmuid quickly touched his mouth, only to feel his teeth.
Darmuid finally turned around to look at Riley, only to see him holding the part missing from his face.
"I am actually also starting to grow facial hair, Champion Sergeant Darmuid," Riley just casually raised his hand; his eyes, looking at Darmuid's torn-off upper lip—which of course was adorned by his thick mustache, "But I do not like the feeling of feeling it, so I just destroy any strand as soon as they grow. Father also has a stubble, and I see him putting effort in…
…Your mustache did not grow back."
Riley's monologue was cut short as soon as he realized that Darmuid's regenerated upper lip… was no longer adorned with its once thick and groomed mustache.
"..." Riley blinked his eyes a couple of times as he stared at the trembling Darmuid, "If I may be honest, Champion Sergeant Darmuid—you look a thousand times younger now. It doesn't suit you."
"..." Darmuid's eyes started to twitch; his unusually smooth upper lip, also doing the same.
"Hm," Riley squinted his eyes as he stared at Darmuid's now smooth face. He then started turning his eyes back and forth between him and the torn-off mustache in his hand. And after several times of doing so…
"I apologize, Champion Sergeant Darmuid. Here, you can have it back."
…Riley handed Darmuid's torn upper lip and mustache back to him,
"You can still attach it with some glue. I have seen several Chinese people do it on the media and—"
"Rah!"
And before Riley could finish his words, a guttural and visceral roar escaped from Darmuid's smooth mouth. His muscles, contracting and seemingly becoming even denser as the veins on his neck started to show themselves.
"..."
"Grah!"
And with another roar, a sort of red aura started to form and exude from his body.
"I feel like I have seen this before, Champion Sergeant Darmuid."
And even as streaks of red lightning started to trickle across and around Darmuid's trembling body, Riley just tilted his head to the side and stared at him.
"You…" Darmuid finally stopped roaring as he looked Riley straight in the eyes. It seemed like there was something he wanted to say just from the sheer look of rage on his smooth skin, but in the end, he just gritted his teeth and seemingly continued to contract his muscles.
And while the empty space around Darmuid started to distort and collapse from the sheer pressure being exuded from his body, Riley turned around…
…and started to fly away.
"If this is going to take long, then I am going back to the Bloodcruiser, Champion Sergeant Darmuid," he said without even glancing back, "I will see you in The—"
"Get back here!"
And with a quiet explosion, a trail of red suddenly flashed behind Riley—and inside that light, Darmuid's gritting face emerged; his hands, stretched to the side and ready to once again squish Riley into a pulp.
"..."
And before Riley could even turn around…
…he glimpsed a smooth, silky, and long hair brushing past him and toward the direct path of Darmuid's crushing arms.
"!!!"
But then, all of a sudden, the violent torrent of wrath disappeared. The arms that were flailing to end everything in the universe, instantly stopping in their tracks; just a few inches away from hitting an incredibly smooth, perfect, pale face.
"..." And when Riley was finally able to fully turn around, all he saw was the black hair just freely flowing and almost opening up like a fan. He then tilted his head to the side to try and see what was actually happening, only to see Darmuid's eyebrows completely furrowed; his eyes, squinted as they looked at the new player that just arrived.
"Pirate Queen Xra," Riley pushed Xra's hair to the side as he floated closer to her, unusually close like how they usually were; Xra's back, now almost leaning at Riley's chest,
"You came out of your seclusion?"
"You and I will talk more later," Xra did not even move her eyes toward Riley as she spoke; instead, they were just fixated on Darmuid,
"Are you not Darmuid?"
"Blood… Spirit," Darmuid very slowly retracted his hands.
"And that confirms your identity. You have grown to look older since the last time we have seen each other," Xra shook her head and sighed,
"That would mean that you have not really achieved the strength you said you would."
"..."
"Your revenge is weak, Darmuid."
"And you still look down on people, even those that are superior to you," Darmuid's body straightened out as any traces of the red aura surrounding him dissipated,
"If we fight now, you will not even last a single second."
"Riley Ross," Xra smiled as she leaned back and rested her head on Riley's shoulder, "Between him and me, who is stronger?"
"Aerith, Pirate Queen Xra."
"..."
"..."
Chapter 507"Aerith is much stronger than the two of you combined."
"..."
"..."
Xra and Darmuid could really only squint their eyes as Riley's words reached their ears. It would have been alright if Riley was just joking, but the tone of his voice couldn't be any more clearer.
He truly believed what he was saying.
Xra's eyes started to twitch, before she very slowly turned her head toward Riley—and since she was already resting the back of her head on his shoulder, her lips almost touched Riley's cheek…or they probably already did.
"Even if that's true, why did you have to say that?" Xra's breaths whispered into his ear—and with the telekinetic bubble surrounding them, the coldness of her breath really had nowhere to go,
"You should have come to my defense since we're traveling companions."
"That is not what I heard from the boy, Blood Spirit," Darmuid quickly scoffed as he heard Xra's whispers, "He told me you are his 3rd subordinate."
"Silence, Darmuid. Our dialogue with each other should be scarce,"
Xra's change in tone and vernacular was obvious to hear.
"..."
"Why did you have to say that?" Xra once again whispered into Riley's ear.
"Because you will be, Pirate Queen Xra."
"...What?"
"You fit the criteria," Riley nodded, "A human female, high-strung, slightly arrogant, quick to form an unusual attachment to me, and most importantly—you are mentally unstable."
"I am not mentally unstable."
"You talk to your deceased lover that has been under your bed for 8000 years, Pirate Queen Xra."
"..." Xra's eyes slightly strayed away as she heard Riley's words, "This isn't the time to discuss such things. Darmuid, let us pass through."
"I can not do that, Blood Spirit. Riley Ross has committed actions against my kin that are only payable by death," Darmuid brushed his finger and thumb along his mustache, already forgetting that it was no longer there, "He…he killed my children prematurely. The chance of them going through eternal death was high."
"Have you forgotten the Law of the Victor?"
"..." Darmuid's eyebrows furrowed as soon as he heard Xra's words.
"I defeated one of you in sanctioned combat, and so I am entitled to a single request as long as it is within the law."
"You put a themarian royalty into eternal death, Blood Spirit," Darmuid let out a short but very heavy sigh, "The only reason why I am not calling for reinforcements right now to put you in shackles is that I do honor the Law of the Victor."
"It was still sanctioned combat, blessed by law—as it says so in the name," Xra crossed her arms as she floated forward,
"And I am using it now."
"No."
"Or I can request for your mustache to be shaved clean regularly."
"Go back to your ship and follow me."
***
"Steady our course, Aella. Although the chance is low, Darmuid might still go back on his word and leave us—be ready to put all the power into our engines."
"Yes, Captain."
Xra's crew were now all once again in their allotted positions, with Aella practically managing and doing everything in her own station. The others really only had minor roles in the ship, as the Bloodcruiser could be piloted by even a single human toddler.
As for Xra, her only role was to sit on her throne and show her presence. Her throne was simple, perhaps too simple as it was only made with some limestone stacked and glued to one another. There seemed to be markings and etchings on it, but they could really only fade through time.
"You seem to be truly acquainted with the themarians, Pirate Queen Xra."
"...I am," Xra let out a small sigh as she leaned back and relaxed on her throne, "I have a very long, but at the same time, very short history with them."
"Hm, as expected of someone that has lived for almost ten millennia," Riley nodded as he too leaned back and relaxed on his own throne.
"..." Xra could really only squint her eyes as she turned to look at Riley, who had also set up his own throne, placed right beside hers. And unlike hers, Riley's throne could really only be described as… luxurious.
Riley's throne glistens even with only the slightest of light; half of it, made from meteoroids that Riley compressed and heated until they crystallized. The other half, made from the different materials from the dead ships—metals that were polished to perfection that their edges felt like they could cut flesh and bone whole.
But most importantly, his throne was just ever so slightly taller than Xra's.
"You know this is my ship, right?" Xra raised an eyebrow.
"Of course, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley just nodded as he looked at Darmuid, who was also glancing back from time to time from the other side of the large windows.
"Technically you shouldn't be on the bridge," Xra crossed her legs as she leaned her cheek on her fist, "You're not allowed here. The only reason you and the girl from Meluhha were allowed here earlier is that I was not here and my subordinates didn't know how to deal with you."
"I know, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley nodded before he imitated Xra and also crossed his legs, "That is why Hera is resting in our room."
"Do you have selective hearing?"
"I have themarian hearing, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley shrugged, "I do not use it."
"..."
"The Law of the Victor, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley then turned his head toward Xra, "You said the themarians can grant you any wish as long as it is within reason?"
"...Yes," Xra's tone quickly shifted as soon as Riley strayed away from their banter.
"Darmuid said you killed themarian royalty. I assume it is Aerith's brother?" Riley slightly hummed, "You told me you killed him when we met."
"It is," Xra nodded, "The themarians, as you are well aware, are a race of warriors. They are more like monks now since they keep to themselves, but I was there when the evaniels waged their war against them thousands of years ago."
"Hm, I have heard of the war from Aerith."
"It was a very long time ago," Xra once again nodded, "That was when I met Arthus'Hel, a prince eager to prove himself to be worthy of his position."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Are you not going to continue the story, Pirate Queen Xra?"
"No." This time, Xra shook her head, "I would rather not open that part of my life, Riley."
"But you already started it, Pirate Queen Xra. It is rude to tease a story and not continue it."
"...Where do you hear these things?" Xra raised an eyebrow.
"My sister, as well as my adoptive mother," a small smile slightly crawled on Riley's face as he nodded to himself, "Your life is very interesting, Pirate Queen Xra; I would like to tell it to the Pope if he is still alive by the time I am able to return to Earth."
"Adoptive mother—Caitlain'Ur?" Xra breathed out, "My life is only interesting because I have lived for millennia. Yours is barely even a spark, and yet you have already involved yourself in the Universe's major players. So tell me…
…which of us truly has the more interesting life?"
"My life is interesting because I am the Last Boss, Pirate Queen Xra."
"And that means what exactly?"
"The evaniels, the themarians, the Elders, and all the other races would one day gather their heroes and band together…
…just to defeat me."
"And how will they defeat you?"
"I don't know, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley turned to look Xra straight in the eyes, "But I hope they do. My sister deserves to be free of my existence."
"..."
"I have tried to move away, I have tried to pretend—and yet Hannah finds me no matter what."
"Do you love your sister?"
"That is a question I have been asked many times, Pirate Queen Xra. And every time, I say no because I do not know what love feels," Riley sighed and closed his eyes, "Perhaps I do, as she is the only thing in this world that has ever made me shed a tear. And if I do truly know how to process love, then I am certain that I do love her—very much so."
"..."
"You are probably an expert in this, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley once again looked Xra straight in the eyes, "You have love and loved the same person for several millennia. Tell me, am I capable of love? Or is what I am feeling but an obsession with the idea of being capable of loving someone?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Xra did not really answer. Even after a minute had passed, she just looked down and stared at the floor.
A second.
A minute.
An hour, several more so.
And finally, she returned Riley's gaze and said,
"...I don't know."
"..."
"I don't know," Xra repeated her words and shook her head.
"Thank you for answering truthfully, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley breathed out.
"But I do know that you care for her dearly," Xra then stood up from her throne; her eyes, not leaving Riley's, "And I am absolutely sure that no matter how much you care for her…
…she loves you even more."
"How would you know that, Pirate Queen Xra?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head to the side,
"You have not even met her."
"I will now."
"..." Riley once again blinked, before turning to look to where Xra was looking; his eyes, suddenly reflecting a hint of orange.
"We truly are alike, Riley…" Xra said as she looked at Riley, whose white skin and hair very slowly reflected the light that was approaching them,
"...As Akkamesh to me is what Hannah means to you."
"My sun and warmth?"
"No…
…Purpose"
Chapter 508"..."
Riley was now in front of the Bloodcruiser's main entry and exit point. Since he had always been… exiting and entering in the literal and most unconventional ways through the Bloodcruiser, this was actually his first time seeing the large door.
"This has been the shortest but longest trip I have ever been on."
And as a matter of course, Hera was the same. Now that they were finally on their actual destination, she couldn't help but just let herself relax, yawning and stretching as she waited for the door to open,
"Can't wait to talk to actual humans."
"Xra and I are actual humans, Miss Hera," Riley quickly responded. As for Hera, she could really only look at Riley with her exhausted and judging eyes.
"And we landed on Theran, Miss Hera. Not on Earth, the only humans here should be sister and the others."
"I know," Hera rolled her eyes, "I don't need a reminder that we're not actually home."
"It is good to know you have a home, Miss Hera."
"..."
Hera glanced at Riley one more time, before just sighing and shaking her head. And soon, a sense of quietness started to circle between the two. Hera didn't heed it any mind, however, as she had completely gotten used to Riley.
And finally, after waiting a few more minutes, the large door finally opened. It didn't create any sound, it didn't slide open, and it didn't swing. It just… opened like a hole, almost as if the ship was alive—and in a way, the Bloodcruiser truly was.
The light from the outside slowly seeped into the ship. Hera tried breathing in just so she could at least feel at home; not expecting to truly whiff a hint of home, she could even say the air was fresher.
And there, on the other side, a couple of silhouettes could be seen, their figure drowned by the light behind them. And before Hera and Riley could even make out their faces, one of them rushed toward Riley.
And without pause or any hesitation, the silhouette leaped and wrapped her arms around him.
She didn't even say anything, Riley could just hear a minute and subtle sob; a trickle of warmth that was as subtle as her cries, trailing down on Riley's neck.
"Sister," Riley whispered as he wrapped a single across Hannah's waist and returned her embrace,
"You did not have to escort us outside, you could have just waited with Katherine and the others," he then said as he looked at the other silhouettes.
Katherine, Tomoe… and Vera, who was wearing some sort of oversized collar around her neck. Riley's attention quickly strayed away from her, however, as he saw someone he truly did not expect to see—Tsula, the old terraformer.
Was she actually on Diana's ship all this time?
"Where are—"
"Shut up, just shut the fuck up!"
And with him not even able to finish his words, Riley could really only blink upon hearing his sister's voice again. And with a small sigh, he placed his other arm around his waist, fully returning Hannah's embrace with both arms.
"I have missed you too, sister."
"Hm…"
"..." And while the two were having a somewhat heartfelt reunion, Hera could only sigh as she left and made her way out and walked toward Katherine and the others.
"What's up with her?" Hera tilted her head to Vera, who just clicked her tongue and quickly looked away as soon as their eyes met.
"Let's just say that she… went amok as we landed." Judging by how heavy Katherine's sigh was as she glanced at Vera, it was probably something serious, "As for her necklace, well… our themarian friends don't believe in cages."
"...Huh. It would seem we weren't the only ones who had an eventful journey," Hera slightly hummed, before turning to look at Tomoe, "Sup, nerd?"
"Nothing much, most overrated actress in the universe," Tomoe quickly replied without even batting as much as an eye.
"..." And finally, Hera turned to look up. Her eyes, welcomed by a sky that was even bluer than Earth's. Hera then started scanning her surrounding, the ground was clearly asphalt, but beyond where she was standing and where the Bloodcruiser is parked, was grass.
A field of luscious green that expanded even across the hills over the horizon. The view was absolutely immaculate, but most importantly, it was familiar.
"...Am I in Iceland?" Hera blurted out.
"Expecting something futuristic?" Katherine noticed the look on Hera's face, "I did too—but Theran turns out to feel more like Earth than Earth."
"Then… there's a beach?" Hera gulped.
"I saw one when we were landing," a small smile crawled on Katherine's face.
"Yes… finally," Hera took in another deep breath, before turning to look back at Riley and Hannah, "You're not going to join in?"
"I… know my place," Katherine's smile did not disappear as she watched Hannah and Riley just standing there, not even uttering a word at each other,
"I can never beat that no matter what I try."
"..." Tomoe also looked at Riley, before closing her eyes and sighing.
"What about the other crazy with the illusions?" Hera once again started looking around, "Come to think of it, where's your daughter? And where's everyone else?"
"That's… a long story. It's something you should see for yourself."
"...Right," Hera squinted her eyes before once again looking at Vera. She wanted to say some words because she was the entire reason they were separated from everyone, but considering she only did what she did to get rid of the menace that killed her brother and half the people on her ship, Hera just decided to shut her mouth.
She almost forgot that everyone here is, at one point or another, a victim of Riley Ross.
"...So," Hera then just sighed, "Considering all of you are just freely roaming without any themarian around… can I take it that we are free to see the planet?"
Even Darmuid, who was escorting them to Theran, was gone as soon as they landed.
"Not all of us." And to Hera's surprise, it was Tomoe that answered her.
"...Hm?" Hera squinted her eyes as she looked to where Tomoe was pointing, only to see Hannah finally letting go of Riley…
…revealing the collar that was now on his neck.
"..." Riley just touched the collar, before looking Hannah straight in the eyes.
"Do you really have to cause trouble, Riley?" Hannah sighed; the tone of her voice, clearly a little distressed, "Why did you have to kill one of them as soon as you arrived?"
"Fionn attacked us first, sister," Riley sighed, "And you know me."
"I don't, you fucktard," Hannah lightly chuckled, "You're like a completely different creature I know nothing about."
"..."
"Let's… go," Hannah shook her head, before grabbing Riley's hand and finally dragging him out of the ship.
"Am I not under arrest, sister?"
"You… kinda are," Hannah slightly squinted her eyes, "But the themarians do not have prisons or even a jail. Don't ask me why because I have no fucking idea."
"Because Theran itself is already a prison, sister."
"...What?"
"Hello, Princess Vera."
And before Hannah could get a straight answer, Riley turned his attention to Vera, whose eyebrows quickly furrowed as she did not stray away from Riley's glare.
"You do not have to worry. I will not hurt or kill you, Princess Vera," Riley sighed as soon as Vera snarled at her, "I am a reasonable person. I would say I am even impressed, no one has tried pretending to be on my side and attack as soon as the opportunity arrives."
"A shame you didn't just get lost in space," Vera's eyebrows furrowed even further.
"The universe itself seems to want to help me, Princess Vera. Quite ironic, as I am sworn to end all life in it," Riley sighed, "Speaking of help, I received quite an unexpected one."
And with those words, the door of the Bloodcruiser finally closed, but not before someone else stepped out.
"Greetings, fellow humans."
Xra's steps were slow and graceful. But everyone could feel how heavy they truly were. Theran was a bright place, further contrasting her hair which did not seem to reflect any light.
"Pirate Queen… Xra?" And with just a single glance, any anger on Vera's face disappeared and was replaced by an unrelenting shock.
"...Fellow human?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she looked at the approaching Xra from head to toe, "You're from Earth?"
"She's from the Mesopotamia era, sister."
"Meso what? You mean she's old as fuck?" Hannah squinted, before turning to look at Tomoe and Katherine, "Wait, seriously? You're adding another one?"
"Yes, sister. Pirate Queen Xra is my Third—"
"Of all the things you're going to get from dad, you became a fuckboy," Hannah rolled her eyes and sighed in disappointment.
For Tomoe and Katherine, however, Riley's interrupted words had a different meaning. Third.
Riley was about to say that Xra was his Third Subordinate. Riley was barely even paying attention to them anymore, they don't even know if their secretive and very small organization was even alive.
But seeing as Riley… recruited another subordinate. Wouldn't that mean that they were still a group?
No, that wasn't the most important factor. For some reason, as the two of them stared at Xra, they couldn't help but feel…
…threatened?
"Oh…" Unfortunately for them, their thoughts were easily heard by Xra, "The two of you don't have to worry, I didn't approve and apply to be this deviant's underling."
"..." Tomoe and Katherine could not help but squint their eyes as Xra approached them.
"Well…" And then, very slowly, a smirk crawled on Xra's face,
…not yet, that is."
Chapter 509"I have lived many of your lifetimes, and only once have I ever been under someone. I do not plan to be anyone's subordinate—well, at least, not yet."
Xra was truly not planning on serving under anyone, no matter who or what. But for some reason, seeing the look of subtle worry on both the faces of the women in front of her, she could not help but want to tease them.
"..."
Still, the people that surround Riley Ross truly weren't that bad. Although she had not seen what they could do, she knew enough that they were strong just from the way they carried themselves. Even the old woman, Tsula, carried herself with dignity even as she reached the end of her lifespan.
Of course, out of all the women she had seen, Hera still held the most curious ability. A power to react and adapt to any and all situations was a power that could only be said to be godly. She already knew that her kind, humankind, would be comparable to the Higher Races once a good amount has been infected by the virus that gives them abilities. And now, 8000 years after she left the planet, more and more have gained powers well beyond what she had seen.
"Hannah Ross."
And after a few more seconds of teasing Tomoe and Katherine, Xra turned to look at Hannah and bowed. Even after 8000 years, even after seeing what the humans have evolved into, even after seeing the most frightening existence the humans have given birth to—Hannah's abilities were still the most special for her.
After almost ten millennia, a being with the same exact ability as Akkamesh has been born.
Unlike Akkamesh, however, Hannah is clearly able to breathe through space—and there was really only one clear reason for that.
"You are Caitlain's daughter?" Xra said as a small smile crawled on her red lips, "I have been truly wanting to meet you.
"...You know who I am?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she looked at Xra from head to toe again.
"Of course. Riley Ross has told me so much about you," Xra nodded, before approaching Hannah and standing awfully close to her, enough to make Hannah take a step back,
"You are the only reason someone like your brother is not worse than he is."
"You…" There are not many in this world that could make Hannah uncomfortable—but Xra was truly on her way to the top of that list for some reason, and she had only met her, "...You think Riley could actually be worse?"
"Of course," Xra once again nodded before turning to look at Riley, also approaching him and standing even more awfully close to him; to the point that their cheek once again touched, "At a very young age, your brother has seen what I've seen—and unlike me, he had conquered it. But because of his… condition, he chooses to still be swayed by the darkness and eradicate everything that is and will be. Both of us have a reason for what we are; a murderer, a being clad in evil…
…but my evil, from the start, even if it was created by another being, has reason to exist," the tone of Xra's voice slightly became meek as she turned to look at the Bloodcruiser, "But your brother… your brother just chooses to be evil."
"Stop talking like you actually know my brother," Hannah pulled Riley away from Xra, "You don't."
"She actually does, sister," Riley, however, just tilted his head to the side to look at Xra, "Pirate Queen Xra and I are alike—out of all the creatures in the entire universe, she is probably the only being that could truly understand what I am and will be. She—"
"Shut the fuck up, Riley," Hannah squinted her eyes as she looked Xra straight in the eyes, "I know a predator when I see one."
"You did not even see Julius—"
"Continue what you're going to say and I swear I will send you to this darkness shit you like so much."
"You did not even see Julius Reuben, sister."
"You!"
And all of a sudden, Riley started flying away, with Hannah also flying to chase him.
"No matter where in the universe, those two will never change," Katherine could really only let out a sigh as she saw this. Tomoe clearly agreed as she nodded several times.
"That's good and all," Hera, however, did not seem to share the same sentiment as she yawned, "But what exactly do we do now? I don't see anything within miles. Shouldn't there be like… at least something?"
"When I mentioned that we are free to roam about, I meant it," Katherine answered, "The themarians don't really care for us."
"Great, a race of stuck-ups."
"Not entirely, madam Hera."
"Hm?" Everyone looked as Xra joined in on the conversation.
"It is more like when one sees an insect. The themarians could either choose to squash them, or just ignore their existence completely—the themarians see most races, not their own, as nothing."
"Well, one of those new insects just killed one of them," Hera pointed at Riley.
"That's true—the themarians become more and more apathetic as they grow older. But if there is one thing that they can't get rid of, it is grudge."
"Right…" Hera slightly hummed when she remembered that Xra had experience dealing with themarians, "...You've been here before?"
"I lived here before," Xra sighed as she looked over the horizon, "And as I have been afraid of so before—the themarians truly have not changed."
"A tree that can not fall tends to remain the same for eternity."
And all of a sudden, Tsula spoke; her eyes, just following the two siblings that were still playing on the clouds, "But I believe that is about to change."
"Oh, it will," Xra smirked as she heard Tsula's words, "The tree may not fall, but it has been shaken many times before. And as I am one of the people that have truly shaken it quite violently before, they have probably already appointed someone to spy on us."
"..."
"That's good and all," Hera rolled her eyes as she started walking around, "But after everything that has happened, I need a fucking drink."
"The themarians do have one of the best alcohol in the entire universe," Xra smirked as she looked Hera straight in the eyes.
"Now we're talking my language," Hera once again closed her eyes and took in a very deep breath.
"If it is alright, may I lead us there?" Xra then said as she looked at Katherine, "I believe you have a lot to report to Riley, and that place is one of the few where we won't be disturbed."
"Is… it near Galpath? That is where we're staying."
"You mean that's the only place that welcomed us," Vera joined in on the conversation as she lightly pulled the collar around her neck.
"If it was up to me, you will not be welcomed anywhere," Tomoe, who had also been quiet since earlier, also joined in as she looked—no, glared Vera straight in the eyes, "Now that master is here, we will finally have a verdict on what to do you with you. I don't even know why you are tagging with us."
"Your master already said he won't do anything to me."
"That you know of," Tomoe squinted her already small eyes, "I will convince master to get rid of you once and for all."
"Y—"
"Enough, enough," Hera breathed loudly as she walked between the two, "Pirate Queen, where to?"
"Well, we actually don't need to go far…
…The place I am talking about is in the city of Galpath."
***
"Are… we really in the most advanced civilization in the entire universe?"
Riley and the others had to leave the Bloodcruiser, as according to Katherine, Theran has a lot of 'No Fly' zones—and that is including their own. And so, right now, in front of Hera, were people that looked like humans, walked like humans, and were just casually truly living like humans.
Hera was already surprised that Theran was surrounded by nature, but to think it was literally covered in it was something she did not expect. When Katherine said they were staying in a city, Hera was at least expecting something that looked like an actual city, New York, or at least something urban.
But this—it almost seemed as if she was in the set of Lord of the Bangles. There were no tall buildings, and most of the infrastructure was just built with bricks and stones. The set-up was almost medieval fantasy, with trees even growing on top of some of the small houses. There was even a river going through the small city.
"..." But if there was something lacking, then it was—
"...I don't see any kids," Hera whispered as their group continued to walk through the city. The themarians glanced at them with curiosity, but that was it—no one really approached them or heeded them any mind, even though Vera and Riley had collars on their necks.
"Mother told me that themarians are only able to have children every thousand years or so, Miss Hera."
"...For real?" Hera's eyes widened as she looked at the people around them, "...I can't even imagine the kind of menstrual cycle themarian women have, then."
"I wonder that too, Miss Hera," Riley nodded several times, "Aerith is—"
"We're here."
And fortunately for everyone listening, they arrived at their destination before Riley could say whatever it is he wanted to say.
"...There was a bar here?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she saw the wooden signage above the door.
"Let's taste that themarian alcohol!"
And with a certain excitement in her voice, Hera was the first to step inside as she opened the bar's wooden doors. And there, inside…
…were themarians wearing collars, even the barkeeper.
"...Maybe we should just go to a 7/12? Does that exist here?"
Chapter 510"..."
"..."
"Are we really on Theran? Why do I feel like we've traveled to the past instead?"
"That can't be the case, Miss Hera. Look."
"Sshh, what are you doing just pointing at people?"
Hannah tried to stop Riley from stretching his hand and pointing at the table next to them. But alas, she was too late. The only thing she and the others could really do was look to where he was pointing, only to see one of the collar-wearing themarian fidgeting with a device—a device that projected a small and very sharp hologram.
No, it wasn't only him. Most of the themarians were all holding their own device; all of them producing their own projections.
"Here you go, honey ale for everyone. And milk for the gentleman!"
And after a few more moments of curiously glancing at the other tables, the barkeeper finally placed their order on their own table. Hera had noticed it before, but aside from the barkeeper himself, there was no other staff inside the bar—but the barkeeper could still very much keep up with everything. Of course, it was already expected for a themarian.
"...Ale?" Hera blinked a couple of times as she looked at Xra, who was the one that ordered for everyone, "I was expecting something harder."
"You are not on Earth," Xra only smirked as she lifted her mug, "Even the lightest beer on Theran already has… sufficient alcohol in it for the rest of the universe."
"...If you say so," Hera let out a small hum of curiosity as she lifted her mug… only to find her arm quickly turning gray; her muscles, contracting tight to the point they produced a pulling sound before she was finally able to lift the ale.
"..." Hera turned to look at the others, only to see Katherine not even able to lift her mug for even a single millimeter. Throughout the short time Hera has been on the planet, the feeling of being with a race filled with people like Megawomen has not sunk in just yet—after all, she has not seen anything quite 'Mega'.
There were no people just free flying above the skies, no one lifting their own houses. Everyone just looked incredibly… normal.
But now, finally—like a slap on her face, she was splashed by a cold, chilling water and shown where she truly was. The barkeeper was holding a tray of these mugs and just casually placed them on the table without even as much as a breath.
"..." Hera then quickly looked down and examined the chair. She initially thought that the chairs were attached to the floor when she couldn't move them earlier… but to think it was just that heavy.
The floors and houses she thought were just made with bricks and stones truly were anything but ordinary. And for the table to even carry the weight of the mugs would mean that everything… every material in this place was made to be strong enough to withstand the strength of a themarian.
"Katherine."
"...Thank you, Riley."
"..." Hera lifted her head up, only to see Riley handing straws to almost everyone. To Katherine, Tsula, Hannah, Tomoe, and even Vera.
"...Where's mine?"
"You seem to have no problem lifting the mug, Miss Hera," Riley then said as he casually lifted his glass of milk… before taking a sip on the straw that was already in the glass.
"...Does our months of traveling together mean nothing to you?" Hera rolled her eyes, before finally taking her first gulp of themarian ale—and Xra was right, it was strong. It almost felt like she swallowed something solid with the way it hit her throat.
There was a sense of sweetness to it, but the alcohol completely overpowered everything as it went straight to Hera's brain and almost caused her to black out. As it was non-life threatening and self-induced, her body did not really do anything to keep her from enjoying the alcohol.
"I… suppose I should start my report," Katherine was about to take a sip, but when she saw the shocked, but blank expression on Hera's face, her lips quickly let go of the straw. She still wanted to try it, but not before updating Riley and Hera about what happened.
"But… is it really alright for her to hear?" She then said as she glanced at Xra.
"It is fine, Katherine. She will become my Third Subordinate sooner or later. Letting her be acquainted with our situation is for the best."
"..." Katherine was still hesitant to open her mouth, but could really only sigh as she saw Riley gesturing to her to continue. As for Xra, she just shrugged her shoulders and continued to ignore her ale.
"I… will start with our daughter," Katherine sighed as she closed her eyes, "As Karina was a direct experiment of her grandmother—Diana Ross, she is currently being analyzed and checked by themarian scientists."
"..."
"You don't have to worry, Riley. Megawoman promised me that she would be safe."
"I am not worried, Katherine. Continue," Riley just took a sip of milk as he nodded.
"Hm. Gary is currently with the royal family of Hel. Since he is Megawoman's biological son from a different race, her family seems to be quite… perplexed as to how he has inherited themarian traits and abilities."
"Megawoman's son was traveling with us? That tall annoying guy?" Hera blinked a couple of times as she looked Katherine in the eyes; her face, slightly red, "You're saying he was in the ship this whole time?"
"...Megawoman brought him."
"It is a big ass ship, no?" Hera giggled on her own as she took another sip of the ale. And it would seem she wasn't the only one affected by it, as Hannah also started giggling as she rested her head on Riley's shoulder.
Tomoe's glass was completely untouched, and Vera seemed to have already finished hers—but aside from her face being flushed, she was still completely calm. As for Tsula, she was just quietly enjoying the alcohol on her own.
"Whiteking was also with us," Katherine then continued.
"...Bernard was also on the ship?" Hera couldn't help but comment again.
"Yes. He… was sleeping somewhere on the ship. And last time we checked, he was still there, sleeping—" Katherine nodded as she finally took a sip of the alcohol, causing her to almost cough as it hit her throat. Fortunately for her, she knew how to handle her alcohol,
"Diana said that Whiteking's body was still taking in the Guardian Force he swallowed. And since this is the first time a human is melding with it, even she doesn't know how long it would take for Whiteking to wake up."
"There is no need to worry about father, he will be fine," Riley gestured to Katherine to continue.
"Megawoman," Katherine then breathed out, causing Riley to place the glass of milk he was holding back on the table,
"We don't really know where he is right now. She might be with Gary, but she left him with her family to escort us to this city—and then she took Paige with her when she left us. We haven't seen both of them since."
"She took Paige with her?" Riley squinted his eyes as he placed his hand on his chin, "Interesting."
"Hm. And then…" Katherine then turned to look at Hannah, who quickly perked up as she nodded and removed her head from Riley's shoulder.
"...Mother," Hannah then breathed out after taking a large sip of ale, "Mom… is currently being guarded and escorted 24/7."
"I thought prisons do not exist here, sister?"
"They don't," Hannah shook her head, causing her to almost lean back from the alcohol, "But with more than a dozen themarians around her at all times, her movements are limited. Mom… has a pretty bad rep in this place."
"Hm…"
"It's not good, Riley. Everyone's saying she is crazy and needs to be put to eternal death," Hannah closed her eyes and sighed.
"Caitlain'Ur is the bane of themarians."
"Hm?" Hannah quickly looked at Xra, who was shaking her head and sighing, "What do you know about mom?"
"Let's just say she and I… were friends," Xra shrugged as she chugged down her ale, "Although we didn't really separate in the best of conditions. And since I am here now, I plan to… change that."
"...You're suspicious," Hannah squinted her eyes as she looked Xra in the eyes.
"Compared to Caitlain'Ur, I might as well be an open book."
"...Right," Hannah stared at Xra for a few more seconds, before shaking her head and letting out a deep and very long sigh,
"If mom is as strong as everyone makes her out to be, then I think she'll be fine."
"Of course, sister," Riley nodded, "Mother is the scariest being in this universe, even before we discovered she is a themarian."
"Hm, hm…" Hannah nodded several times in agreement, "Everyone else seems to be fine at the moment…
…except for Silvie."
"I almost forgot about her with everything that has been happening, sister," Riley's eyes slightly widened, "Is she dead?"
"..." Tomoe glanced at Riley for a few seconds, before turning her head down and closing her eyes.
"Silvie is…" Hannah also turned her head down as her voice became meek, "...since she is Megawoman's clone, they plan to execute her soon. We need to do something, Riley. You might not care for her now, but I know there's still a part of you that does—remember when you first saw her during the Academy's entrance test."
"Hm…" Riley only placed his hand on his chin as he nodded.
"Megawoman Jr?" Hera slammed her mug on the table, but the table remained completely still, "Do we even know where she is?"
"That's… the thing," Hannah shook her head and sighed, "We don't know. It's been weeks and we've been trying our best to gather intel—but no one really talks to us. We've just been helplessly waiting for something to happen. We can't even make a move since we're surrounded by… well, a bunch of mega people."
"Mega criminals."
"..."
Hannah, along with everyone else, very slowly looked at Riley as they heard his words. And there, they saw a wide smile that wasn't previously there.
"We are surrounded by mega criminals, everyone," Riley proudly said as he nodded to himself, "The reason why Theran is just letting us collar-wearing people free, is so that if anyone wanted to kill us, they could do so without any repercussions."
"...Where did you even hear that?" Hannah raised an eyebrow.
"From Pirate Queen Xra."
"It's true," Xra smirked as she nodded, "Themarians are a race of warriors—they may not necessarily welcome death. But for them, it is really the only way to leave this plane."
"Since nothing is happening," Riley then stood up as he finally finished his glass of milk, "Let us make something happen, everyone."
With Riley suddenly standing up, Xra also finished her ale and started stretching her neck.
"Wait, Riley…" Hannah quickly grabbed Riley's wrist, "...Don't tell me your plan is to make trouble?"
"Yes, sister."
"...That's not a plan."
"I disagree, sister," Riley breathed out as his feet started leaving the floor,
"Causing trouble is the only way to lure out Megawoman."
Chapter 511"Riley, get down there this instant! Ri—Oh my god, I'm starting to sound like mom."
"..."
Everyone held different types of expressions as Riley very slowly floated into the air, with his head almost hitting the ceiling;
Hannah was trying her best to pull Riley back down, but alas—the most she could do was also be dragged up.
"Riley, this isn't Earth!" Katherine also stood up from her seat and grabbed Riley's other leg, "You… You can't just go on a rampage here. Most of them might not be as strong as Megawoman, but all of them would be considered Class-S back on Earth just from their sheer strength alone!"
"It is no use, Silvermoon," Tomoe only shook her head as she stood, before very slowly crouching to the floor and hiding beneath the sturdy table—and she wasn't alone, Tsula was already there.
"...I'm old," is what Tsula said as their eyes met.
Vera already ran to the corner of the bar, carrying a wide smile on her face as she looked at the themarians, whose eyebrows were now all furrowed as they stared at Riley. If she knew Riley would just end up offending the themarians as soon as he lands on the planet, then she wouldn't have even made a plan to separate him from the ship.
Riley may be immortal, but she was certain the themarians have a way to get rid of him once and for all.
As for Hera—Hera was just shaking her head and sighing, before lifting up her mug and transferring to the counter,
"Can you fill this up?"
"Of course."
There is one thing that Hera learned while traveling alone with Riley for an extended amount of time—You can't stop him.
Earth was right to treat him a calamity, and soon, after all this shit was over, the universe will too. She would really rather just finally enjoy being on another planet, especially a planet as picturesque as Theran.
"Is that your friend?" The bartender didn't seem to mind either, as he just casually poured Hera another drink.
"More like a child I was tasked to take care of," Hera sighed, "You get a lot of trouble here, I presume?"
"Why do you think we're all wearing collars?" The barkeeper just smirked, before wiping the spilled alcohol on the counter, "And that black-haired woman, is she your friend too?"
"Which one?"
"The one not hiding beneath the table and is about to turn my floor into ice."
"Pirate Queen Xra? She's more like… a traveling companion."
"Xra… So that's why she looked familiar, she was here when I was a little younger."
Xra seemed to have noticed the barkeeper talking about her, as she quickly glanced at him and winked. The barkeeper really only just looked at her, before letting out a sigh and continuing to wipe the counter.
It wasn't only him that was doing nothing; all of the themarians in the bar were looking and staring at Riley with furrowed eyebrows—but that was it. They just continued fidgeting with their device, drinking and minding their own business.
Xra told them themarians tend to be apathetic but to think it was to this point.
"Let's show these old folks how it is done," Xra smirked as her nails grew longer.
"But you're also old, Pirate Queen Xra. You're probably older than some of these people," Riley said without any hesitation as he looked at the themarians sitting at their table.
They truly were just ignoring him. All of the planets he had been in quickly wanted to get rid of him as soon as they see him, most even using excessive force—but these themarians don't care.
If they don't care—then that only means he should wreak havoc even more now to try and lure out whoever.
And so, with a long and very deep breath… a trail of blood started to trail from Riley's nose.
"...Riley?"
"Riley?"
Both Katherine and Hannah, who were still trying to bring him down, could not help but blink a couple of times as they looked at the blood dripping from Riley's nose.
"...You're starting with that?" Xra also blinked a couple of times, "Doesn't that take quite a toll on your body?"
"Only momentarily, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley said as he shook his head, "And I have all of my subordinates with me, they can deal with whatever happens after for a brief time."
"If you weren't immortal, you would have died at a very early age."
"Two years, I would have died when I was two."
"...Right," Xra furrowed her eyebrows before grabbing Hannah by the neck and suddenly pulling her away from Riley.
"W…what are you doing!?"
"Just in case," Xra whispered right into Hannah's ear as she embraced her.
"W…What!?" Hannah could really only shiver as she felt Xra's cold breaths running down her neck.
"I'm protecting you," and with those words, Xra's wings of blood protruded from her back; completely encapsulating her and Hannah.
"What do you mean—"
"Paboom."
"!!!"
And like a flash bomb going off, there was this sudden and extreme silence that echoed throughout the entire bar—a whistle, like every sound and everything that existed momentarily didn't exist.
Just for a flash, however, as color once again slowly returned to the bar…which now had a clear view of the sky above.
"..." Hera, who quickly jumped over the counter as soon as her body told her to do so, saw everything that happened. No, there wasn't really much to see as even her eyes which could adapt to see even through the thickest mist failed to see anything.
Everything was just white. A void that swallowed everything within its path.
"And now, how many have become stronger? And how many will forever be in the embrace of eternal death?"
"..." And with those words, Katherine and the others also recovered from their slight stupor as they all quickly looked around. There was one of them, however, that was violently woken up—Vera.
Vera quickly looked to her side, only to see nothing there but a barren land. The wall she was previously leaning onto, was almost gone along with everything else behind her. Although she hasn't quite grasped the layout of the city they were in, she was sure that there should be a couple of houses behind the bar—as well as a small mountain.
But now, all that was left was a smooth crevice. No, perhaps smooth was an understatement… as it felt like one's foot would be sliced if it ever caught on to the edges of the crevice.
That wasn't what Vera was surprised about, however. It was how fast it happened.
No, perhaps fast was not even the right word for it. Vera was capable of following even small ships that have gone through Hyperdrive with her eyes. But Riley's attack was… instantaneous. It didn't have speed, it just… happened.
Just an inch more to the left, then her arm too, would have been completely erased from existence.
"..." Vera then turned to look at Riley, and judging by the smile he failed to contain—he did it on purpose. Didn't he say that he won't hurt!?
"..." No, she had no right to complain—those that were in the direct blast of Riley's mysterious white beam were now just completely… skeletons. Most still had their organs intact. Some, however, already looked like polished fossils.
"Interesting," Riley then casually walked toward the nearest skeleton, which was still surprisingly in the posture of sitting down even though there was no longer anything supporting its weight.
"One, two, three, four, five…" Riley then started walking around the skeletons that were already healing, "...six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Out of the 12 themarians that were hit, ten are recovering—and most are obviously older than those that have been put to eternal death. They—"
And before Riley could finish his words, a knuckle—a literal knuckle went straight toward his head. The themarian next to him still hasn't even fully recovered most of his body, but as soon as his arm regained some of its muscles, he was ready to attack Riley.
And before the… fist bone could reach Riley's cheek, the themarian's entire recovering body was suddenly encapsulated by a block of dark ice.
"T—"
But before Tomoe could even say anything, the themarian's arm just passed through her ice like it was nothing and grabbed Riley by the neck.
"It would seem something fun just landed on our planet," the dark-skinned themarian said as the ice surrounding him burst into pieces,
"No one butts in, this one is mine."
"Fuck, Krita died. He didn't even get to finish his drink."
"That white-haired guy is strong, you think you can handle him on your own?"
And without Katherine and the others even noticing, the other themarians that were just previously only skeletons have now once again fully recovered their bodies. If only the same could be said for their clothes.
None of them seemed to mind that they were naked, however, as even the only woman in the revived group just clicked her tongue and placed her hands on her waist.
"Just make sure he pays for our clothes. You know how hard it has been getting to get clothes with our collar—Oh, our collar's gone."
"What… the—You're right."
And now, even the dark-skinned themarian let go of Riley as he touched his own neck. He then turned to look at the other themarians… before a smile appeared on their faces and they…
…all just flew away and disappeared all at the same time.
"..." And before anyone could react, several roars, bursts of manic laughter, explosions, and battle cries could be heard outside the now exposed bar.
"Hm…" Riley squinted his eyes as he very slowly looked at Hannah and the others,
"...Just as planned. Now someone of authority would---"
"Just as planned your foot!"
Chapter 512The Starshine Blackout.
It was just a little bar in Galpath that didn't really have any redeeming or unique features. Lowie, the current barkeep, inherited the establishment from his father, who had already chosen to undergo eternal death a thousand years ago or so.
The Starshine Blackout may not be unique, but it does have unique customers. His father was a themarian criminal, creating trouble outside themarian territory—and when a themarian goes outside and causes trouble, that usually involves the death of many others or a planet or two destroyed.
When his father was collared several millennia ago, he decided to stay within the planet and just build a small business for himself and his wife, who died in a Sanctioned Duel, leaving him with his son, Lowie.
Lowie and his father didn't know why, but Starshine Blackout became famous for other collared Themarians. Even before inheriting the business from his father, Lowie had become used to the many shenanigans and sudden chaotic outbursts of their patrons.
Lowie thought he had seen everything there is and know all there is to know. There was one time a couple of millennia ago when he was still literally serving drinks under his father, that a customer from outside Theran territory frequented their bar.
Visitors from the outside were uncommon, but they get a few every hundred or so years. This one visitor, however, was someone Lowie couldn't really forget.
Pirate Queen Xra.
She didn't have that title yet back then, but she was probably the most famous foreign individual known to Theran. After all… the prince of Hel was following her like a dog wherever she went.
But alas, after putting the enamored prince into eternal death during their Sanctioned Duel, Xra's presence could no longer be felt in the Starshine Blackout.
And now, several millennia later, Lowie saw a pale, black-haired visitor once again entering the doors of his bar. He didn't recognize her at first, but he knew and confirmed it with the friends she brought along.
Although Theran may seem peaceful and even stagnant, in truth, it was probably the noisiest it has been for eons.
After all, the infamous rebel princess of Hel, Aerith'Hel, was finally back after being gone for a few thousand years. And even more shocking than that was bringing home the Caitlain'Ur—the monster in the story his mother told him whenever he misbehaved.
And now, also the return of Xra?
He thought he had seen and witnessed it all, and will once again experience a shock that he hasn't felt for a very long time. Little did he expect, however, that the shock would be coming from a completely unknown entity.
"...You alright there?" Hera could really only just take a step back as the ale was spilling all over the counter; Lowie, whose thoughts were lost in reminisce, was just staring at Riley Ross.
"The collars… were destroyed?" And finally, when the pitcher was empty and the ale was everywhere but in Hera's mug, Lowie blinked,
"...How?"
"...Right," Hera sighed as she saw the bewildered expression on the themarian's face. She initially thought she would always be on guard on Theran; after all, a race of Megawoman would make one… completely conscious of everything. But perhaps because of the alcohol, or because they looked completely identical to humans, Hera just felt… at home.
"You'll be asking that a lot of times now that the white menace is on your planet," Hera then let out a small chuckle, before just getting a pitcher on her own and pouring her own drink,
"What's the deal with this collar stuff, anyway? Can't you just break it open? You themarians can destroy planets with your fists, right?"
"...We can destroy it, but one of the officers would arrive," Lowie answered almost monotonously, "The fact that no one is here yet means the collar didn't trigger."
"An officer? I guess that's one of the stronger themarians?" Hera said, her speech becoming slurred already, "Shit, this ale is strong. My body is already…"
Lowie only glanced at Hera as she continued to mumble on, before turning his focus back to Riley, who was just standing in the large hole he made and watching as the chaos he made ensued.
"...Aerith should be here in a couple of minutes," Riley whispered to himself.
"You said that already," Hannah was behind him, also watching as the once beautiful city was slowly being swallowed… quite literally. It was already completely unrecognizable after Riley's weird attack, but now whatever remained of the city was becoming a war zone.
No, the scenery in front of her could not exactly be called war. It was just… a battle royal.
"You really think Megawoman would come? We're not on Earth anymore," Hannah said, "Are we looking at the same view here? There are no helpless sheep here, Riley. All I see is a bunch of fuckers getting at it."
"Perhaps I should join in?" Riley squinted his eyes as he glanced at his sister.
"You want to die?" Hannah snarled.
"I won't die, sister."
"You will if I kill you."
"You already did, sister."
"That—" Hannah's eyes started to twitch as she could no longer come up with a comeback, and so, she responded the only way she could, "Fuck you."
"Ew, no. You're my sister, sister."
"...What? What!? No, ew you. You're the ew, fuck you!"
"Y—"
"Master Riley, we have a more urgent problem."
And before the two could continue with their nonsensical conversation, Tomoe suddenly popped out from behind them.
"What is it, Nightqueen?" Riley only glanced at Tomoe, before gesturing to her to continue her report.
"The remaining themarians at the bar are staring at you, master Riley."
"How is that an urgent problem, Nightqueen?"
"That's…" Tomoe breathed out as she heard Riley's words. But after a few more moments, her face became as red as a tomato; with a creeping smile growing on it, "I made a mistake, Master Riley—of course, a couple of themarians are no problem for you at all."
"Hm, only Aerith and mother are worth reporting, Nightqueen."
"Riley."
"What is it, Third Subordinate?" Riley then glanced at Xra, who walked passed him and stepped out of the bar from the large hole he made.
"...I'm not your Third Subordinate. Stop calling me that."
"I will call you that until I come up with a name for you, Pirate Queen Xra. I was thinking of Sunsucker since you like sucking suns."
"Please don't. I don't know how I can face my Akkamesh if you call me that."
"I think he would like it, Pirate Queen Xra. After all, he is your sun."
"...I do not know how to respond to that," Xra's eye twitched, "I suppose it doesn't matter. We shall be parting ways here, for now, I have other plans and some old friends to visit."
"You may go, Pirate Queen Xra."
"...I wasn't really asking for permission," Xra's eye once again twitched as Riley started waving his hand.
"No need to show gratitude, you may go."
"..." Xra's eye seemingly got tired of twitching as they just lost all emotions. She turned to look at Hannah, and a sense of camaraderie suddenly grew between the two—for Hannah to have survived this for 2 decades, Xra could not help but show respect.
And with a nod shared between the two, Xra flew away and disappeared.
"Hmm…" Riley's eye squinted, before he turned to look at Tsula, wondering if she was dead, dying, or just keeping to herself. Perhaps… he should make her the Fourth Subordinate?
"Miss Tsula, do you want to be my subordinate?"
"..." Tsula only glanced at Riley, before closing her eyes and just sighing.
"...Are you dead?"
"Riley, what the fuck?" Hannah once again hit Riley on the stomach. Riley, on the other hand, only strayed his eyes toward Vera, who quickly flinched in response as their eyes met.
"You're no longer worthy to be my subordinate, a shame," this time, it was Riley's turn to sigh, "W—"
And before he could finish his words, a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder.
"..." Riley turned to look, only to see one of the remaining themarians that was not caught in the blast of his 'Paboom' attack.
"Kid, do what you did to— Ack!"
And before the tall themarian could finish what he wanted to say, his arm suddenly twisted into a knot.
"Don't touch me," Riley's eyes turned red as he faced the themarian. He then started walking toward him, not stopping until he was only an inch away from hitting his chest, "The only themarians allowed to touch me are mother and Aerith."
And with Riley slightly opening his mouth and snarling, the red flare in his eyes burst out violently. One might think that Riley was underestimating the themarians, but no.
The beam that surged forth from Riley's eyes was anything but a normal blast. It was amplified by Hannah's abilities as well as his telekinesis—creating an immeasurable concentrated heat that would obliterate anything in its path.
Even then, however, the themarian only screamed in pain as his flesh started to melt and burn.
Riley increased the intensity of the beam as he turned his head down, destroying the collar as he almost split the tall themarian in two.
"Oh, shit!"
And as soon as the remaining themarians saw that, they all quickly disappeared from the bar. Lowie, who was waiting and watching, also let out a gasp as he stepped out of the counter.
But alas, before he could fly away with the others, a presence that wasn't there earlier was now suddenly at Riley's table, sitting casually beside Katherine.
"Well, well…" The sudden visitor's voice coquettishly hummed in the air,
"...you folks are certainly having fun."
Chapter 513"Well, well… you folks are certainly having fun."
"!!!"
Katherine has just been quietly observing everything that's been happening, waiting for a chance to be useful or just take necessary action when needed. She has been cautious, of course. Back on Earth, she feared only one person—but here, she was weak.
Her control of the elements is practically child's play compared to even the weakest of themarians. And when she saw Tomoe's dark ice just being casually destroyed by a recovering themarian, she knew her strength was no longer going to be of help. The only thing she could do was serve as a distraction.
And now, all of a sudden, there was a themarian that wasn't in the bar before just sitting beside her… and she didn't even notice until he opened his mouth. No—he overheard from Hera and the barkeeper's conversation that when a collar is destroyed, an officer would come.
But it hasn't even been a single second.
They said that the themarians are slower than the evaniels, but it didn't matter for someone like her—she couldn't even see or feel them either way. Even being a minor empath was useless, as the themarian's heart barely beats in an hour.
If she can't even stop a single themarian… then what was she even doing here?
"..." Katherine very slowly turned her head toward the themarian, only to see a short-haired, blonde themarian man just casually taking a sip of her ale. Katherine was confused at first since the man seemed to be wearing some makeup even deeper than hers.
"Lowie, Lowie, Lowie," the slightly queer themarian then stood up, before casually walking toward Lowie, who failed to escape,
"How many times are you and this bar going to cause trouble in a single century?" The themarian then tapped Lowie's collar several times, causing it to bounce around his neck loudly.
"It's… it's not me!" Lowie quickly shook his head and pointed toward Riley, "It… It's him! He started attacking everyone and even managed to disable the collars!"
"Hm?" The themarian officer raised an eyebrow as he turned his attention to Riley, who seemed to not be acknowledging his presence at all, "He… disabled the collars? Is that why there's a lot of damage outside already?"
The themarian officer started walking toward Riley, but before he could even make it halfway toward him… Tomoe blocked his path.
"...Aw, that's cute," The themarian officer's red lips turned upward. And after a few more breaths, his arm suddenly disappeared—along with Tomoe.
"Tomoe!?" Hannah quickly turned her eyes toward the wall, only to see Tomoe now embedded in it. Surprisingly, however, aside from being unconscious, she didn't seem to have any injuries—and judging by the floating debris around her, it was clear why.
"...Oh?" The themarian officer once again raised an eyebrow as he looked at Tomoe, whose body was just gently descending to the floor,
"Are you doing that?" He then hummed as he turned his focus back to Riley, "My name is Zac, Star Sergeant of the Arkloom Brigade."
"Star Sergeant of the Arkloom Brigade?" Riley finally glanced at Zac, "Is that higher or lower than Champion Sergeant?"
"What?" Zac's eyebrow continued to rise.
"Are you stronger than Champion Sergeant Darmuid, Star Sergeant Zac?"
"Sir Darmuid? Oh, it's you," Zac then blinked a couple of times as a smile crawled on his face before looking at Hannah and the others, "You're one of the visitors that Princess Aerith brought with her."
"Technically, I came late because of a certain evaniel," Riley sighed as he once again turned around to look at the chaos ensuing outside—and now, there was not even a single trace or sign that there was ever a city there. All that remained was a terrain that looked like it barely survived a meteor storm.
"You're the one who fought sir Darmuid and claimed to be the Princess' lover."
"I suppose, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley only shrugged.
"Well, well… this will be fun, then."
"No, you're weaker than Champion Sergeant Darmuid."
"You haven't even tasted me yet."
"!!!"
Hannah felt her vision shift as she found herself suddenly standing beside Katherine. She quickly looked to where she was previously standing, only to see Zac's right hand now exactly where her head was.
"..." Hannah then looked behind her as she felt someone holding the back of her head and her waist, only to see Vera holding her,
"...Why?"
"You can't die just yet," Vera said before pushing Hannah away.
"What, you still have other bright plans for me?" Hannah scoffed before patting the parts Vera grabbed clean.
"No," Vera looked away, "Unlike your presumptions of me, I still consider myself to be honorable—such is my pledge as one of royalty."
"...You think this makes us even?"
"No," Vera scoffed, "Your brother still massacred my brother a hundred of my people—your life is nothing compared to theirs."
"..."
And while the two women were exchanging words, Zac still had his palm raised while looking at Riley.
"You attacked my sister," the subtle smile on Riley's face faded away,
"That's not good, Zac," and with those words, the collar on Riley's neck separated into a million tiny pieces. And with a small breath, bits and pieces of it exploded toward Zac like a shotgun.
"..." Zac took in a small but very deep breath as the pieces stuck to his face, falling down as he closed his eyes and shook his head,
"You really don't respect other people's homes, do you? And so? Now that you have my attention, what exactly do you want?"
Zac's playful tone slowly disappeared as he looked Riley straight in the eyes, "Surely, you're not just creating trouble since you think no one is going to kill you just because you're the princess' lover?"
"No, Champion Sergeant Darmuid already tried killing me even knowing so because I hurt his children and killed sir Fionn," Riley sighed, "I just want you to bring me to Aerith."
"Cadet Fionn? Lord James's son?" Zac blinked a couple of times, "I assume he doesn't know it yet…
…since you're still alive."
"..."
"You wanted to see the Princess, right?" Zac then raised both his hands, "That's why you're doing all of this?"
"Yes," Riley answered without any hesitation.
"I'll take you to her," the playfulness on Zac's tone returned with his smile, "But only you. The rest of your companions stay here."
"Okay."
"Riley!?" Hannah quickly stepped forward as she heard her brother, "We stick together!"
"I know, sister," Riley nodded, "That is why I am coming with him on one condition, I get to choose one companion to bring with me."
"My terms are non-negotiable," Zac shook his head.
"I will tell whoever needs to hear it that you've done a commendable job in trying to stop the chaos here."
"Only one," Zac nodded before stepping to the side.
Hannah's let out a small sigh as she saw this, "We need to—"
"Silvermoon, come with me."
"---fuck!?" Hannah almost choked on her own breath before she could even approach Riley.
"Ew, sister."
"What do you mean 'ew'!? I thought you just said we will stick together!" Hannah looked back and forth between Riley and Katherine, "And why the pedophile of all people!?"
"Because she is my subordinate, sister."
"Then why not take Tomoe!?"
"Because she has the task to protect you, sister. That is the reason for her existence."
"Wh—Are you hearing this, Tomoe!?"
"It is true, Hannah," Tomoe nodded, "Such is the purpose master gave me."
"Silvermoon."
"..." Katherine was still slightly confused as to what was happening since she was still lost in her own thoughts, but as she heard Riley calling her again, she just stood up on instinct. She only glanced at Hannah as she passed by her, before letting out a sigh and making her way to Riley.
"Let's get our daughter back, Riley."
"Aerith first, Katherine," Riley just shook his head.
"...And then Karina," Katherine could really only sigh again as she didn't even hear a slight hesitation on Riley's words.
"Perhaps," Riley shrugged as he looked at Hera, who seemed to already be completely intoxicated, "You're the most durable here, Miss Hera. Please do make sure nothing happens to them."
"Yeah, yeah," Hera only waved her hand.
"I won't kill you since you still have a part to play in Italian Mafia Reborn…
…but the same could not be said to Tempo, Miss Hera."
And just like that, any alcohol inside Hera was extinguished by her body. She looked Riley straight in the eyes, before letting out a sigh and nodding.
"Let us go, Zac."
"Well, alright then," Zac shrugged before just flying away—he didn't even care for the chaos ensuing on Galpath.
"Katherine," Riley then stretched his hand toward Katherine, who grabbed it without any hesitation.
"Riley, what the hell, man?" Hannah's shoulders dropped as she saw them slowly floating away.
"You are safer here, sister."
"...I'm always safest with you," Hannah pleaded, but alas, Riley just shook his head.
"No, sister. Not here." And with those words, Riley and Katherine flew away and disappeared.
"Well then…" Hera then approached Hannah and the others,
"...Where's that beach?"
***
"You said you will be bringing me to Aerith, Zac."
"Well, I told you I will be bringing you the princess…
…I didn't specify which princess."
Riley and Katherine were now standing inside a large, and very luxurious hallway—surrounded by several people wearing clothes akin to that of… old royalty.
"Silence! You are in the presence of Princess Esme!"
Like Earth, Theran is separated by several continents. But unlike Earth, Theran has two superpowers ruling the entire planet.
The Kingdom of Hel, which Aerith belonged to.
And the Kingdom of Varoif… and right now, their princess was currently literally looking down at Riley.
Chapter 514"Silence! You are in the presence of Princess Esme!"
"Hm…"
"..."
"Kneel! You are in the presence of royalty!"
"No."
"Y—"
"Stand down, Tobi."
The large and overly garnished hallway was not only filled with oversized curtains, windows, and chandeliers, but also with all sorts of gossip, murmurs, and whispers. And unlike the city of Galpath, there was a clear contrast in how the people looked.
Theran was eerily similar to Earth, be it in size or the physical appearance of its people. Judging by the speed and the time it took Riley and Katherine to follow Star Sergeant Zac, they probably traveled to the other side of the planet.
And right now, the people surrounding them looked similar to people from Asian and South East Asian countries. All of them looked different from each other, perhaps a testament to how diverse their side of the planet is—their outfits, however, were all similar to each other.
No, perhaps similar was an understatement as their attire felt more akin to that of a uniform, with only accessories to make them unique. The men wore white long coats with black vests, partnered with white pants. Even the man that the princess addressed as Tobi. Tobi, however, had a red tie on his neck, unlike the others who either had dark blue or green.
As for the women, they wore a white long sleeves that were buttoned up to their necks, partnered by skirts that went either above or below their knees. And like the men, they wore a tie of different colors.
The only one that really carried a completely different attire was the unusually tall woman in front of Riley and Katherine. Her skin was that of a tan complexion, almost golden. Her hair was black and slightly curly; her small eyes, as dark as her hair.
There were many that could be said to be prettier or objectively more beautiful than her just from the people surrounding them alone, but there was a certain uniqueness to her beauty that caused her to stand out amongst the rest---and it wasn't only because she almost towered over everyone else.
Her face was plain, but at the same time, it was hard to look away from how mesmerizing it was.
"Princess Esme, it has been a long time."
"Star Sergeant Zac?"
Princess Esme raised her hand, gesturing to Tobi to step to the side as she approached Zac, "How did you get inside the college?"
So, it wasn't just like a uniform—it is a uniform, is what Katherine thought as she once again scanned the surrounding people.
Since they were supposedly meeting royalty, Katherine just initially thought that the large and castle-like building they landed right on was some sort of palace. And now that she heard Princess Esme's words, everything started to make sense.
The diversity of the people, their similar outfits, and the judging eyes of the people…
…they were inside a school.
"I am friends with the captain of the college's security, your Royal Highness," Star Sergeant Zac bowed, before trying to grab the princess' hand. Princess Esme, however, quickly moved her hand away and stepped back.
Zac didn't seem to mind, however, as he even let out a small giggle before turning to look at Riley,
"As to why I am here, your Royal Highness—I brought someone that you might want to meet."
"Hm?" Princess Esme blinked a couple of times as she turned her attention to Riley. She looked at him from head to toe, and from her height, she didn't even need to take a step back to see Riley's entire silhouette. She wasn't gigantic, but she was probably the tallest woman Riley has ever seen—even taller than Gary.
"Who is this weird-looking person you have brought me, Zac?" Princess Esme muttered; and as she did so, the people that were surrounding them all started to giggle and laugh. Esme, however, didn't seem to appreciate the noise as she glared at the nearest crowd.
And with just a simple gesture, not even the smallest of whispers survived.
"This is Riley Ross, your Royal Highness," Zac once again bowed as he took a step back and stood behind Riley, before waving his hands around him as if he was presenting some sort of product that was on sale.
"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Esme tilted her head to the side, "I am late for my class, I would appreciate it if you do not waste my time any more than you already have, Zac."
"He is with the people that Princess Aerith brought home along, your Royal Highness. The woman beside him is his subordinate."
"Princess Aerith's… friend?" The tone of Esme's voice slightly became high-pitched as she once again looked at Riley from head to toe.
"Not just a friend. He claims to be… very intimately close to her."
"...Is that true, commoner?" Esme squinted her eyes.
"I suppose so, Princess Esme," Riley imitated Zac as he also bowed his head, "I have seen her naked."
"!!!"
And all of a sudden, a wave of gasp resounded throughout that large hallway. In truth, all of them were late for their classes—but who in their right mind would actually forsake the scene in front of them right now? They could just retake the classes if they fail. But this scene? This scene would only happen once even in their long lifetime.
But alas, once again, Princess Esme glared at them.
"All of you, leave."
And this time, Princess Esme raised her hand and ordered all of them to go to their classes. Most of them didn't want to, of course—but once again, alas. They could really only drop their shoulders as they all walked away, glancing from time to time to get a glimpse of whatever they could.
And in just a few breaths, the only presence that could be felt in the large hallway was 5. The Princess, Riley, Katherine, Zac, and Tobi. Even those that were peering outside the window from the other side of the large building were gone.
"Tobi, tell Professor Willo to postpone the class," Esme then breathed out. And as he did so, Tobi quickly bowed his head and disappeared into the hallway in the blink of an eye,
"As for you, Star Sergeant Zac—you may leave. I will make sure you are compensated for your service to the throne."
"At once, your Royal Highness," Zac let out a mischievous smile as he glanced at Riley. And with a nod, he too disappeared into the hallways.
"Growing up, I have heard many stories of the Rebel Princess of Hel," Esme then let out a small sigh as she started walking around with her hands behind her waist, "She has already gone on her adventure outside the territory when I was born, but I always envied that she had the courage to just fly away."
"..." Katherine and Riley could really only look at each other as Esme started a monologue.
"Our demesne have always been friendly with each other—rivals, yes. But our kingdoms are equal, at all times and at all matters… at least that is what I have been told. I'm too young to be a part of it all, really. But what I do know is that if you are truly indeed close aides to the Rebel Princess of Hel, then you are worth looking into," Esme then looked Riley straight in the eyes,
"What makes you so special, Riley Ross?"
"I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when I was young, your Royal Highness."
"Asperger's Syndrome…" Esme placed her hand on her chin, "...What is that?"
"It is—"
"No, do not say it here," Esme raised her hand, "There are lots of ears loitering around and eyes watching. This is no place to reveal secrets that could compromise the powers of our two great nations."
"I think you may also have it, your Royal Highness."
"..." Katherine took in a small, but very deep breath as she looked away and closed her eyes. Whatever it is that she was feeling now, she knew it was inappropriate for the current situation.
"I… have it?" Esme squinted her eyes, "Come with me, we shall talk more about this in my chambers and away from ears that do not deserve to hear it."
"No."
"...No?" Esme, who was already walking away, could not help but raise her voice as she looked back at Riley, "Did you just refuse an order from the Princess?"
"There seems to be a misunderstanding, your Royal Highness," Riley finally moved from his spot as he took a step toward the princess, "I was led to believe that I was meeting Aerith. But I was tricked by Star Sergeant Zac into meeting you instead. I am here to attend my biological mother's burial, and I believe it has already been delayed long enough."
"..." Esme squinted her eyes as she looked at the floor. And after a few moments of utter confusion, she looked back at Riley,
"Are you saying that I am less than Princess Aerith?"
"I am not saying that, your Royal Highness. But nonetheless, that is true," Riley nodded.
"Why?"
"Hm?" Riley tilted his head to the side.
"Why am I less than Princess Aerith?" And for some reason, Princess Esme did the same,
"How can you come up with that assessment when you do not even know me?"
"Because I know Aerith, your Royal Highness."
"But you don't know me. You have not even seen me naked to make that judgment."
"It will not change even if I do, your Royal Highness. Aerith is the best themarian."
"I would have agreed with that statement. But I have not seen what Aerith is like now compared to the stories I have heard about her," Esme shook her head,
"You can't be sure that I am less than her without at least knowing me, Riley Ross."
"I can, your Royal Highness."
"No."
"Yes."
"I will prove to you that I am not less than Princess Aerith," Esme crossed her arms as the side of her lips slightly turned down, "And if I do not, then I will use my authority as the Princess of Varoif to personally escort you as an official envoy to meet the Hel Royal Family."
"I suppose that is sufficient, your Royal Highness."
"Good. I will ask the college to grant you temporary enrollment to the college," Esme nodded several times, "And if I do prove that I am no less than Princess Aerith…
…then you will leave her side and join mine instead."
"Very well, your Royal Highness."
"..." Katherine, who has just been quietly watching the situation unfold, could really only look back and forth between the two. When Riley said that the princess might have a similar condition to him, she almost laughed. But looking at them now; Riley and Princess Esme…
…it almost looked as if Riley was just talking to a mirror.
Chapter 515The Kingdom of Varoif.
One of the two only superpowers on the planet of Theran. Of course, Theran used to be more than just a planet that was ruled by two peoples—but greed incited violence, and violence incited war.
The people of Theran could have ventured out into the Universe to conquer other planets to live on, they were one of the few that was capable of doing so without any visible resistance, but no. The inhabitants fought against each other just for Theran.
Perhaps because of loyalty or a sense of planetism, but themarians never once wanted to claim another planet but their own, but no. Some historians claim that the reason for this was because Theran was the only planet that could actually sustain their people; other planets just felt like… cardboard.
Theran was strong, not only in the sense that it gave birth to the undisputed strongest race in the entire Known Universe, but because of how physically durable it was—a themarian could sneeze, and a planet would just be torn asunder.
But Theran?
Theran would survive even the rampage of a raging themarian.
No one really knows the true reason. As often, history is perverse by those that are capable of writing it—and with the war happening more than a million years ago and all that was involved are presumed to be dead, there was truly knowing why.
The war did happen, that is all the future and current generations will know. But if there is one thing that has remained since then, it was the peace that the war brought.
Many kingdoms fought for supremacy, but by the end of it, only two remained—perhaps that was the number when they thought 'enough'.
But of course, if war happened once, it will happen again. And so, the Kingdom of Varoif and the Kingdom of Hel decided that a truce was not enough; they needed a sort of permanent contingency, and thus, they created the Grand Militia.
A corps formed by the people of the two kingdoms that would ensure peace, no matter what. Taking no sides while still serving both kingdoms.
The Kingdom of Varoif and Hel ruled each half of the planet respectively, but everyone knows that Varoif is the superior nation—and the reason for this is simple, the Supreme College of Varoif.
The college is responsible for producing the best of the best of themarians. In terms of intelligence, strength, and loyalty to the planet, the Supreme College of Varoif is uncontested. Unlike Hel, whose own princess rebelled against the nation and even went out to the Unknown just to get away from her responsibilities.
Truly, Varoif is the superior nation.
"..."
"...That's the end of the recording, Riley. It seems every account is biased toward Varoif, figures. It— that… wait… that's too tight."
"Hm."
"Hn…"
Katherine's moans whispered through the walls of a tiny room. There really was nothing of note inside the room… because there was nothing in it other than the two beds, and the large mirror that Katherine and Riley were standing in front of.
"Hn!"
"I apologize, Katherine."
And once again, Katherine's meek and high-pitched moans whispered through Riley's ears. Riley, however, did not stop and continued to wrap his arms around her waist; his fingers crawling along the side of her soft and unusually smooth leg as he… zipped her skirt close.
"I'm…" Katherine then took in a small gulp as she looked at her reflection in the mirror; it has been a while since she last wore a school uniform, and with her already having given birth and growing in the right places, it just… looked like she was doing cosplay instead,
"...I'm too old for this."
"No, Katherine. You are too fat for it."
"Wha—I'm not fat," Katherine quickly stepped to the side as she looked Riley in the eyes, "My boobs are just bigger because I gave birth to our child."
"..." Riley could really only blink as he returned Katherine's gaze, but after a few breaths, he just sighed and walked away.
"..." Katherine slightly squinted as she saw this. It wasn't only because of the sudden change of expression on Riley's face, but the fluctuation she sensed in his heart. She had noticed it ever since Riley arrived on Theran…
…but his emotions have been fluctuating quite randomly. In the span of just a day, Riley has shown more changes in his expression than he did in the span of time they have spent together.
Did… something happen while they got separated?
"Riley…"
"Hm?"
"...Let me brush back your hair."
"I was just thinking of cutting it, Katherine. I believe it is proper to have it short while attending college," Riley turned to face Katherine again, before looking at the mirror. Like Katherine, he was wearing the uniform that was given to them by Princess Esme—a white coat, partnered with a black vest and white pants.
"Wouldn't it be a waste? I quite like you with longer hair," Katherine said as this time, she stood behind Riley before letting out a small giggle and touching his hair, "It's the only thing your sister and I agree on."
"..." Riley sighed as he looked at his long white hair. And after a few seconds, he nodded, "My sister only likes it because he wanted to dress me up when I was younger."
"Well, I like it because it suits you," Katherine smiled, before feeling Riley's hair on her cheek, "It makes you look like royalty, Riley. Like Thrundail from Lord of the Bangles."
"..." Riley turned around; his lips, almost brushing across Katherine's forehead as he did so, "I suppose that is fitting in the current scenario. We are in the presence of royalty, we need to look the part."
"...Yes," Katherine's lips slightly quivered as she felt Riley's warm breaths flowing across her neck, "Riley… it's been a long time since—"
"I will leave it to you, Katherine. A look of royalty would also serve well if we ever meet Aerith and his family spontaneously."
"..." And just like that, any quivering that was happening in Katherine's body transferred to her left eyelid. Of course, Riley is thinking of something else—and she should too. Perhaps wearing a school uniform was making her quite… unnecessarily excited.
And so, the only thing she could really do was shake her head, before starting to brush back Riley's hair.
"...Why are we even doing this, Riley?"
"So we can proceed to our main objective here, Katherine. And then to see Aerith, and then Karina as we planned. You said my biological mother's body is still being preserved, we have time."
"...But we could have just done that by actually trying to find Aerith. We don't have to do all these things."
"There are orders for everything, Silvermoon."
"..."
"For one to truly enjoy the screams of the people, one must learn their history and culture. The only thing I have learned from the themarians is their language, that is not enough."
"..."
"What about their dialects? How could I understand it if they are screaming and saying something to me? I do not want to use the translator for something like that, it is just not the same, Silvermoon."
"..." Riley may have changed throughout the years—is what Katherine thought, but truly… his essence will always remain the same.
***
Whispers and murmurs—perhaps the only sound Katherine and Riley have been hearing ever since stepping into the college. When they entered the room the college provided for them, when they stepped out of the room, and when they walked through the hallways; everyone was just looking and whispering.
And now that they were inside a lecture hall and standing in front of almost 3 dozen themarians, the whispers soon became an orchestra that just blatantly sang to their ears.
"..." It has been a while since Katherine has been a student, and this truly is making her feel slightly irritated that anywhere you go, students are the same. She had always thought that themarians would be more mature even as students, as most of them are probably hundreds of years old already, but no. Their judging eyes that look at you like some sort of animal in a zoo are still the same.
"Silence!"
Fortunately for Katherine, the class' professor clapped the whispers away, literally—almost blowing her skirt off if it wasn't for Riley shielding her with a telekinetic barrier.
"As you can see," the professor then cleared his throat before gesturing and presenting her and Riley, "We have universal students temporarily participating in our classes…
…they are from the Unknown."
"!!!"
Since the students could no longer let out their loud whispers, 'less they wanted to face the wrath of their professor, the only thing they could really do was widen their eyes as they stared at Riley and Katherine from head to toe. And if you would ask Katherine, this was worse.
"I know what all of you are thinking," the professor raised his voice, "But these two have been personally enrolled by Princess Esme herself. Treat them as one of our own, if you do not, then you know what will happen."
"..."
"Good," the professor nodded his head several times as he saw the enthusiasm of the students slightly dying down, "The two of you, please introduce yourselves."
"..."
"..."
Katherine and Riley looked at each other before Riley took a step back, and gestured to Katherine to introduce herself first.
"...My name is Katherine Read, I am from a planet called Earth. I do hope that even if our planets are thousands and thousands of light years away, we could bridge that closer by learning about each other," Katherine said as she stood firmly,
"I look forward to getting along with all of you."
Chapter 516"I look forward to getting along with all of you."
"..."
"..."
"!!!"
"Earth!? Where's Earth!?"
"Aren't you just pretending to be an alien? You just look like my cousin!"
"What're your three sizes?"
"Why is your hair silver? Are you an evaniel?"
"Why can't I sense any energy from the two of you!?"
"Enough!"
And once again, the professor clapped his hands, causing all of the students to close their eyes as their hair, be they short or long, started violently flowing with the shockwave. In truth, the professor didn't need to do so, as the students have already shut their mouths with just his words—but he wanted to check something.
The first time he clapped his hands, these two new foreign students beside him were completely unaffected. He, Professor Keits, has been a lecturer in the Supreme College for more than 2000 years; this kind of routine would have made any other themarian already give up, but not him.
Many professors have already come and gone, but not him. He makes sure that any and all themarian that graduate from the college will be the best of the best no matter what they decide to do in life—be it an explorer, apply for the militia, or just any other meaningless job.
And throughout his time as a professor, there have only been a handful of students that he thought would never truly achieve anything outside—and the youngest princess of Varoif probably topped that list.
Professor Keits have taught the princess' older siblings before, and Esme truly was just a shadow of those that came before her. At first glance, Esme was a master at controlling her emotions; not letting anything faze her. She was also the most intimidating of all the siblings with her towering figure and the way she carried herself.
But once you get to know her, you would find that she was anything but in control—no. It was better to say that there wasn't anything to control as Princess Esme, she… for the lack of a better word, is simple.
Esme has already been in the college for more than a hundred years, and all she has done was skip class, or order the professors to postpone their classes because she needed to do something.
One might think her reasons for stopping classes would be a matter of great importance that would involve the entire kingdom, but no. Her reasons vary from not being in the mood, to something as simple as her fingernails not being trimmed right.
And now, once again, the princess stopped the entire college to enroll visitors from another planet, from the Unknown. None of them were aware as to where these two really came from, or if they were just… pets that Esme picked up from somewhere.
But it would seem they are not so simple.
"Riley, it's your turn."
Professor Keits turned his focus back to the two as he watched as the other foreign student stepped forward. For some reason, the white-haired one was very familiar to him—themarians do not really have any interest in anything outside their territory, but from time to time, information from the outside seeps into their news.
Perhaps he saw him there somewhere?
"Greetings, themarian younglings."
And while Keits was once again busy thinking, Riley started introducing himself—his arms, raised to the side.
"My name is Riley Ross, and like my subordinate, I come from Earth."
"..." Everyone started looking at each other as they heard Riley's words. The mature and alluring-looking woman… was his subordinate? Could it be he is some sort of officer, or perhaps a noble?
"Are you Princess Esme's friend!?"
"Where's Earth!?"
And once again, the themarians started asking questions. This time, however, professor Keits did not stop them as he too has become quite curious about their visitors.
"I am not this Kingdom's princess' friend," Riley shook his head, "I am, however, the lover of the princess of the Kingdom of Hel."
"!!!"
Not only the students, but even Keits's eyes widened in shock as they heard Riley's words. Unlike Varoif, which had many princes and princesses, Hel only had a single princess left.
And with the news of the Rebel Princess' return becoming widespread, everyone knew who he was referring to.
And Professor Keits… Professor Keits could not help but curl his hands into fists. Everyone knew that Princess Esme was simple… and stupid. But did she really just let someone from the enemy nation infiltrate the Supreme College of Varoif, one of the main core establishments of the entire Kingdom? And not just someone, but the lover of the most problematic entity of the other nation.
"I have arrived on your planet not more than 9 hours ago," Riley continued his introduction almost as if he didn't just say something ridiculous, "And since then, I have put 12 of you to Eternal Death. But none of you have to worry, most of them are from the Kingdom of Hel."
"..."
"I killed someone called Fionn, who was guarding a zone whose name I have already forgotten, perhaps he is from here."
"Fionn… cadet guard of the Imdall Zone?" Professor Keits could not help but blurt out as he heard Riley's words.
"Yes, I remember now. Thank you, themarian professor," Riley nodded, "I can not promise that none of you will die during my stay here. But what I can promise all of you is that all of us… are going to have fun."
"..."
And with Riley taking a step back, all of the students could really just stare at him. But after a few seconds, they all turned their eyes toward a single student—a girl, whose eyes were already turning red.
Red, not in a way that their eyes light up when they emit their energy, no. Red in a way that it was turning moist as she stared at Riley with her eyebrows very slowly turning down.
And very soon, she stood up,
"Is that true?" She said as her long golden hair fell from her shoulders; her eyes that were almond-shaped, becoming even smaller as her mouth opened, "You killed Fionn?"
"I did kill a Fionn, themarian classmate," Riley nodded, "What I do not know if it is the Fionn you're mentioning."
"Fionn of the Imdall Zone!" The golden-haired female student started to step down from her station, "I… I've been receiving calls but I haven't been answering any of them since I'm busy—is… is that why?"
"Student Jesse! Return to your table at once!" Professor Keits let out a roar, but even with the thunders that came with it, the golden-haired student named Jesse just continued to step down toward the front of the class.
"My Fionn… my Fionn is dead?" Jesse's breaths started to stutter as she looked Riley straight in the eyes.
Katherine, who saw this, could really only close her eyes and sigh. Once again, she was being reminded which side she belonged to—even on Theran, Riley was a villain.
"If he is guarding the Imdall Zone, then yes," Riley nodded his head, "I would like to claim that I killed him without reason, but no. He attacked me first and I only responded in kind."
"You bastard!" Jesse then let out a scream, and as she did so, a red mist burst forth from her body—a color similar to the red energy they release, but it was more like translucent flames that violently flowed all over their body. Darmuid did the same before Xra interrupted their fight, was it some sort of ability?
If so, why wasn't Riley capable of it?
"Student Jesse, I am ordering you to return to your seat!" Professor Keits once again roared. Other than that, however, he remained passive. Although he wanted to retain order in his class, he also wanted to see what this Riley Ross was truly capable of—if he indeed managed to kill a student that has already graduated the college and became a cadet of the Militia.
"You will pay for what you did!" The red mist surrounding Jesse's body then instantly flowed straight to the palm of her hand, compressing into what seemed like the shape of a sword.
"Interesting," Riley tilted his head, before also stretching his hands to the side again… summoning two blades of light that caused the air around them to distort,
"Now I know where Gary gets it from."
"Stop this at once!" Professor Keits stomped his foot on the floor, causing the entire room to tremble. It had no effect, however, as Jesse's eyes were completely fixated on Riley.
The other students, too, didn't seem to care about their professor's words as they all stood up and started moving to the side of the lecture hall. Some of them, bringing out some sort of black ball that eerily looked similar to an eyeball.
"If we fight, then I might get expelled for having killed another fellow student on the first day, Miss Jesse," Riley sighed as he started spinning his blades on his hands, "It will complicate my deal with the princess."
"You think I care? Even if I lose here, Fionn's family would never let you go…
…murderer!" And with those words, Jesse disappeared from her spot—causing all the stairs, tables, bleachers, and the entire platform behind her to be blown away and cave in.
Riley, on the other hand, just let out a wide smile as he swung his sword in front of him—and as he did so, Jesse appeared, already waving her sword toward him.
But contrary to either of their expectations, their blades did not meet…
…and were instead blocked by a pair of arms.
"The classes are ongoing, Riley Ross. Please do not cause trouble. You too, student I do not know the name of."
"..." Riley could really only tilt his head to the side as he looked at the one that blocked his sword straight in the eyes.
"I apologize, Princess Esme."
Princess Esme Varoif—considered to be the most simple individual in the entire Varoif royal family, and even in the Supreme College. There is, however, one reason why no one; Professor Ketis, the students, or any one, for that matter, tries to offend or get in her way.
Princess Esme was a savant, an anomaly.
The current strongest living Themarian ever recorded in the Supreme College of Varoif.
Chapter 517"I apologize, Princess Esme."
"Please, just keep it down. We need to respect the rules of the college."
The No. 1 rule breaker, Princess Esme, said as she pushed both Riley and Jesse away. Jesse took a few steps back and almost tumbled, Riley, on the other hand, just slid from his spot. Everyone in the college knew Esme's insane strength, she was and is the strongest recorded student in the entire history of the school—and it wasn't even a contest.
"He… he killed Fionn!" Even then, Jesse still wanted to push things further; how could she not, when her beloved's killer was now right in front of her? If she did not try to take revenge, then that would only mean her love for Fionn was not as great as she thought.
"..." And as Princess Esme heard the distress in Jesse's voice, her head very slowly turned toward Riley, "You killed Fionn?" She then asked.
"Yes, princess Esme," Riley answered without any hesitation as he started patting his clothes clean; the lightswords in his hands, now completely gone.
"...Who is that?" Princess Esme then blinked a couple of times as she looked back and forth between Riley, Jesse, and occasionally Professor Keits.
"I suppose he is Miss Jesse's lover, Princess Esme."
"I see," Esme placed her hand on her chin and nodded. But after a few breaths, she once again looked back and forth between Riley, Jesse, and occasionally Professor Keits, "Who is Miss Jesse?"
"It's her," Riley pointed at Jesse, who could really only turn her hands into a fist as the two were clearly mocking and disregarding her—not knowing their interaction was completely natural for them.
"I see," Princess Esme then nodded as she faced Jesse, and without any hesitation, "I assume your lover died because he was weak—or she, it sounds like a feminine name."
"Wha—" She wanted to say something and even rush to the princess, but before she could do anything, her friends stopped.
"If you wish to take revenge, then do so some other time or some other way," Princess Esme then started walking away as she nodded and winked at Professor Keits, "Please respect the rules of the college. No unsanctioned violence in classes."
"..." And with those words, everyone watched as Princess Esme just casually walked out the door, seemingly nodding to herself and satisfied with her… princessly actions. Little did she know, however, is that Professor Keits was about to explode in anger and frustration.
Princess Esme, talking about rules? Princess Esme, amongst her other records, is also the themarian with the most number of violations in the college. Of course, she was exempted from all the penalties and punishments as she was a daughter of the throne—but the worst thing about all of this is that she seems to be completely unaware that she is the number one troublemaker in the college.
And now… she seems to have brought a competition for that title, Riley Ross.
"The princess is right, Professor Keits," Riley nodded as he approached the professor, "Miss Jesse has already disrupted the class, I believe we should start now."
"..." Jesse could really only once again grit her teeth as she heard Riley's words,
"You… you're the one who just said to us that you killed several themarians, including Fionn…" Jesse couldn't help it anymore as she shrugged away her friends and once again made her way to Riley; each of her steps, causing the entire class the tremble,
"...and I'm the one disrupting the class!?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "You can ask Katherine, she was previously my instructor and has experience dealing with loud students."
"..." Katherine could really only just raise her eyebrows and let out a heavy breath as everyone suddenly looked at her. It didn't last long, however, as they once again focused on Riley. But before anyone else could react, Professor Keits stomped her foot on the floor again.
"That is enough!" Keits roared as he appeared between Jesse and Riley, "I do not know how it is in your world, Riley Ross. But on Theran, or any other planets I have been on—killing others unnecessarily has always been looked down upon…
…but if it is as you say and that Lord James's son truly attacked you first, then you had the right to defend yourself."
"...Professor Keits?" Jesse was nodding in agreement at first, but the smile on her face disappeared as she heard the professor's last words.
"As for the other people you have killed, they belong to the other kingdom," Professor Keits breathed out, "For now, let us proceed to class as normal."
"Of course, Professor Keits," Riley nodded, "Where do we sit?"
"Just… there's an empty seat at the front."
"Hm."
And so, the class proceeded as normal—with Professor Keits teaching several combat strategies on how to deal with certain races. But of course, none of the students really listened after what just happened, with Jesse's eyes even glowing red from time to time as she continued to glare at Riley's back.
In fact, the only one that looked like he was actively listening was Riley Ross himself.
"...Riley," Katherine whispered as she too, couldn't focus on what the professor was saying, "What are we even doing here?"
"We are studying how to kill other races, Katherine."
"No, I mean what are we even doing here?" Katherine leaned closer to Riley, "I get that you made a deal with that Princess Esme, so why are we just sitting normally in class? Shouldn't you be observing her?"
"I did," Riley subtly nodded, "Did you not see her obnoxiously showing her strength earlier? She was probably waiting for the chance to do so."
"..."
"She is strong, Katherine," Riley nodded, "Not as strong as mother and Aerith, but definitely stronger than everyone I have faced so far."
"..." Katherine then blinked a couple of times as she saw a growing smile on Riley's face; she would've just considered it as any other sinister smile, but Riley's heart was fluctuating. There… is something wrong with Riley's emotions—no, that wasn't exactly right.
Perhaps for the first time in his entire life, his emotions were actually… right. Is Riley finally learning… how to be human?
If so, for the sake of every living thing in the universe…
…is this not the best thing that could happen? Was it actually possible for Riley to become a normal human? Was it possible…
…that she, Riley, and their daughter could actually live and have a normal family?
"..." Katherine stared at Riley's face for a few more seconds, before a small smile also started to crawl on her face.
And so, after a few more hours of Professor Keits telling a lecture that only one person was actually listening to—the class ended.
"Review what I said today. We will run a simulation soon, and if anyone performs inadequately, you have to repeat another year," Professor Keits said as the holograms surrounding him all disappeared. He didn't even look at anyone as he stepped out of the lecture hall, almost as if he just disregarded what happened in his class just earlier.
Unbeknownst to his students, however, Keits was actually rushing out to talk about what happened to the other professors. Unbeknownst to Keits, however, is that the others already know about what happened since one of his students recorded everything.
"..."
"..."
And now, even after minutes passed that Keits disappeared from the lecture hall, not one of the students got up. They were all just busy looking at each other, waiting for something to happen.
Themarians are very passive creatures, but when the time comes for them to act—they will… and act she will.
Jesse was the first to get up from her seat, as she once again made her way down the hall and it was clear that she was approaching Riley. Before she even got halfway there, however, Riley and Katherine also stood up and started leaving the hall.
"...Where do you think you're going!?" Jesse quickly blocked the door as she pointed at Riley's face, "I, Jesse'Jenn, challenge you to a sanctioned duel!"
"I refuse."
"..." And so, everyone just watched as Riley and his companion moved past Jesse, opening the door and just gently closing it and leaving Jesse with her hand still raised.
"..."
"..."
After letting the awkward silence go on for a few more seconds, Jesse's eye started to twitch. She then quickly lowered her hand, before turning around and slamming the door open,
"Come back here, Riley Ross!"
"Yes?"
And to Jesse's shock, Riley Ross did come back.
"Did you want something else from me, Miss Jesse?" Riley said as he once again entered the room.
"That…" Jesse could really only back away as she looked at her friends, who just all looked away as soon as she did so. She only wanted to scream and vent out her rage, she didn't actually expect Riley to come back.
"If you are requesting a sanctioned duel, Miss Jesse. Then my answer is still no," Riley shook his head, "I prefer all my kills on Theran to be indiscriminate. So, if that is all, then I will take my leave, classmates."
And so, once again, Riley left the class.
"Jesse.." One of Jesse's female friends approached her, "Why didn't you tell him we still have another class?"
"Why are you thinking of classes right now!?" Jesse once again let out a burst of emotions as she waved her hands, before retrieving a spherical device from her pocket, "He… he will pay for what he did. Lord James…
…I will tell Lord James that the person who killed his son is here!"
***NEW BOOK***
Author here, I just came from the future to announce that I have a new book called 'Frankenstein Untold'. It's probably the last book i'll be writing in a while if it doesn't work out. Do give it a try if you have time!
Chapter 518"Theran… don't you think it's just similar to Earth?"
"Not at all, Katherine. The ground, the objects, and everything else that you see and touch is much stronger and more durable than their Earth counterparts. Even the chair we were sitting on earlier would take at least a little effort to separate and destroy."
"I'm talking about the themarians."
"Oh… then my answer is the same, Katherine."
Somewhere in the hallways of the Supreme College, Riley and Katherine were just casually walking around without any destination. Katherine had just been following Riley, not really knowing what was on his mind.
Was he just waiting for something? Does he have a plan in mind? It truly was hard to discern with Riley. At one point, it feels like everyone is a puppet that just dances over his palm; and at times, he's just a leaf that's flowing with whatever fate has in store for him.
She had been trying to dissect his mind all these years, but she knew she already failed the moment it was her that was… dissected.
Even after they had a child together, even after years passed—Riley was still a mystery her body was craving to unfold.
"I have a question for you, Katherine."
"Hm?"
"I do not know if it is just me, or have we not passed by anyone since we left the class?"
"...Hm?"
Katherine immediately halted her steps, before looking around the large, and awfully quiet hallway. She didn't know how, or why—but themarian infrastructure felt medieval, victorian, and modern all at the same time. At first glance, you wouldn't even think that they were one of the most advanced civilizations in the entire Known Universe.
Everything felt like a scene in a movie… that was perhaps also the reason why she didn't notice that she and Riley had actually been walking completely alone in the otherwise large college.
"Is… it possible that classes are still ongoing?" Katherine then looked at Riley. And before the two of them could actually come up with reasons, a woman suddenly appeared in front of them.
"You two, why aren't you attending your classes?" It was obvious from the woman's attire that she wasn't a student in the college, and judging by the confident stride of each of her steps as well as her eyes that were looking at them from head to toe—she was a professor.
"I don't recognize you two—are you new students?" The woman's eyes started to squint, "Wait, are you the students that Princess Esme forcefully enrolled?"
Katherine has noticed this about themarians before… but they seemed to be clueless about things that were not happening in front of them. And for an advanced civilization, none of them were really into their devices, unlike the humans with their smartphones and social media.
Were they just past that part of their lives? Or do they really just not care about other things? Or perhaps it is just a case of utmost indifference? After all, what else is there to look for when you are already on top? In this case, themarians are literally on the top of the food chain.
"I believe we were enrolled through legal means, themarian professor."
"Themarian—wait, the two of you are not themarians," the female professor blinked a couple of times as she started approaching the two, "Which planet—no, it doesn't matter. The two of you should get back to your classes."
"We would, themarian professor. But the problem is we are not even aware that we do still have a class."
"...Don't tell me the princess just left you on your own?" The female professor pinched the bridge of her nose, "Wait, did the two of you even take your tests?"
"...We were enrolled through legal means," Riley turned to look at Katherine, "Tell her, Katherine. You are the one with experience dealing with processes involving academia and enrollment."
"...The princess sort of just threw us here, Riley," Katherine could really only let out a sigh, "I don't even think we're officially on their student list."
"..." And almost as if he didn't really know, Riley's eyes started to turn wide as he looked Katherine straight in the eyes.
"...Figures," the female professor joined Katherine as she too, let out a long and deep sigh, "You might be outsiders, but since you have, even unofficially, been decreed by the princess to be enrolled in the college, we can't have you just walking around like this."
"We have been walking for an entire hour, themarian professor."
"Professor Thelma," the professor said as she turned around, "If you're going to be spending some time in this college, then you should learn the names of those that reside in it. And you need to take the test so we'll know which class to actually put the two of you in…
…Come on now, follow me."
"..." Riley and Katherine looked at each other before Riley just shrugged and followed Professor Thelma.
"When in Rome, Katherine."
"...Since when do you do idioms?"
***
"Alright, we're here."
And once again, it felt like they were in a completely different place entirely. Just a few steps ago, they were in some sort of futuristic medieval castle—and now, they were inside a white space.
A completely white and empty space where not even a single glimpse of shadow could be seen. Katherine had already noticed when they entered the large door that the room was devoid of anything, but for it to be this vast.
No, in the first place, there was no sense of distance in the room. It looked like it didn't end, but at the same time, it feels like if Katherine stretched her hand, she would hit a wall.
"Since the two of you didn't even know there was a test, I could assume you don't know what the test is?" Professor Thelma stood in front of the two, "As themarians, we're really just simple beings. You can just do whatever."
"...Just do whatever?" Katherine squinted her eyes, "What do you mean?"
"Just do whatever," Professor Thelma shrugged, "Scream, punch, sit—the Arbiter will be watching you."
"I am just going to assume that's some sort of artificial intelligence?" Katherine asked.
"Arbi doesn't like being called that, but yes," Thelma nodded and sighed, "You can go first since you seem to be the older one."
"Wait."
Before anything could start, however, Riley suddenly raised his hand, "Katherine and I are meant to be together, she can't be in another class since she is my subordinate."
"Meant… to be together?" Katherine took in a small gulp as she heard Riley's words—and any other words after that just became a whistle that went from one ear to the other.
"Subordinate? Like a personal guard?" Princess Thelma placed her hand on her chin, "I guess it doesn't matter. Just let the test be some kind of formality then, nothing changes. You can proceed, Ms. Katherine."
"..."
"..."
"Ms. Katherine?"
"Yes!?" Katherine woke up from her mild stupor as she noticed both Riley and Professor Thelma were looking at her. And after a few more moments of confusion, she quickly stepped away from the two and started stretching her arms to the side.
"Do your best, Silvermoon," Riley said as the temperature inside the white space started to become unstable,
"Show me how strong you have become."
"By your order, boss."
…What is wrong with these two?---is what was on Professor Thelma's mind right about now. She already figured the two wouldn't really be normal aliens even if they look like themarians since Princess Esme befriended them, but did they really have to communicate with each other like that?
Soon, however, Professor Thelma could not think of anything else as the space around Katherine started to distort. And soon, her hair started to glow in silver; like an evaniel, except more graceful.
"Hm?" Professor Thelma then blinked as a drop of water suddenly fell on her face. She looked up, only to see clouds forming above them,
"...Weather manipulation?" Thelma whispered to herself as she focused back on Katherine… who was now being surrounded by a blaze of fire, "No… creation."
Loud snaps then thundered in the air as lightning began to dance around Katherine's body. And with a cold breath, Katherine started bringing her hands together—and following her will, the elements did too.
Fire and lightning began to merge—creating a ball of chaos that seemed to eat at each other. Katherine then raised her hands, and as she did so; the elemental ball the size of a watermelon exponentially multiplied in size, filling the white space almost completely.
And with another breath, it just withered away like it never existed in the first place.
"Your control and raw power seem to have increased dramatically, Katherine," Riley's claps replaced the thunders,
"You're still weak, but that's not important."
"...Thanks?" Katherine could really only force a chuckle as she returned to Riley's side.
"Well, wow…" Professor Thelma also clapped as she looked at Katherine, "...I've never seen a species capable of summoning different elements. You said you two were from the Unknown?"
"Yes, we're from a planet called Earth, Professor Thelma," Riley nodded.
"Well, I'm excited to see what you can do," Thelma breathed out as she looked at Riley with anticipation, "So… which element can you summon?"
"I have a different ability, Professor Thelma."
"...Oh? Like what?"
"Like this."
Riley snapped his fingers, and as he did so—the white space disappeared completely. Replaced by nothing but a darkness so deep, it almost felt like one was blind.
"What… did you do?" Professor Thelma blinked a couple of times again so that her eyes could adjust to the darkness, but still, nothing.
"Oh. I removed your eyes, Professor Thelma."
Chapter 519"You… removed my eyes? Really?"
Professor Thelma quickly patted and touched her face, only to feel her eyes actually still there and peacefully resting in their sockets.
"I cut off the optic nerve. And you are probably wondering why your eyes still have not recovered, that is because I am preventing them from healing."
"Oh?" And as the light returned to Professor Thelma's eyes, she blinked a couple of times before looking at Riley,
"So, you are some sort of telekinetic? I have never seen one capable of actually harming a themarian's body before."
"I have other abilities, Professor Thelma," Riley nodded, "I just do not use them as my telekinesis is enough most of the time. It is still the most versatile ability that I have."
Riley snapped his fingers again, removing all the light from Professor Thelma's eyes.
"I don't appreciate you cutting off my optic nerves again," the tone of Thelma's voice changed.
"I did not, Professor Thelma. I am only showing you how versatile my telekinetic ability is. This time, I prevented and isolated the light from spreading," Riley snapped his fingers again, and with it, the light returned.
"Can you show your other abilities?" Thelma's tone once again changed to a friendlier one.
"Of course, Professor Thelma."
"..." And while Riley was busy performing some of his abilities to professor Thelma, Katherine was just there standing on the side, wondering just how apathetic themarians are—Riley just cutoff her eyes, and now she's just talking to him so casually like nothing happened.
But considering themarians live a thousand years and could regenerate any and all wounds in the blink of an eye, perhaps it would be weirder if they overreacted when getting hurt. But then again, they barely get hurt… so pain should almost be a foreign concept to them.
…Or is it? Based on what she had seen so far, themarians being called a race of warriors was almost an understatement—their lectures are about battle strategies, or how to advance their technology in a way that would help increase their firepower.
But why are they learning all of these things… if they are not even interested in conquering the universe or going to war with the other races? Is it just some sort of inherent trait that they couldn't get rid of?
…Or were the themarians preparing for somethin—
"..." And before Katherine's thoughts could go deeper, she suddenly noticed a small orb hovering in front of her. The orb then opened up, revealing some sort of… mechanical eyes that started looking at her from head to toe.
And as soon as it was done, the small orb flew toward Riley, who seemed to have just finished showing off some of his abilities to Professor Thelma. The orb looked at Thelma at first, before focusing on Riley and looking at him from head to toe.
"Could this be the Arbiter that you have mentioned before, Professor Thelma?" Riley tilted his head to the side, and the small orb did the same.
"It is," Professor Thelma smiled and nodded.
"And it judges which class one would belong to?"
"Hm," Professor Thelma nodded again, "You could even say the Arbiter is the Supreme College itself. It sees everything, it hears everything, and it knows everything that is going on within the college."
"Then why did you not know who we are earlier, Professor Thelma?"
"Well, that's because only the Principal and the Vice-principal can view the Arbiter. The Arbiter can sometimes tell you things if it feels like it, though," Thelma then sighed as she looked at the Arbiter, "Arbi, show me all the files involving Princess Esme Varoif."
[I apologize, Professor Thelma,] the Arbiter's eye quickly turned toward Thelma, [You are not authorized to do that action. Would you like me to ask Principal Lachlan to give you permission?]
"That's not needed, Arbi," Professor Thelma waved her hand and chuckled, "Just tell us which class Mr. Riley belongs to. No need to process his companion."
[Okay, I am still analyzing Riley Ross, it might take a while,] the Arbiter blinked, [How are your parents, Professor Thelma? Have you talked them out of undergoing Eternal Death?]
"A… Arbi!" Professor Thelma quickly grabbed the Arbiter and covered its eye, "That's private."
[I apologize, Professor Thelma. It has been a while since we last spoke and the information's priority has been pushed back below significant levels,] although there was still a glimpse of the Arbiter being an AI from its words and voice, the way it communicated almost felt like there was another person on the other side of the small orb—Katherine have seen a lot of AI back on Earth, but never like this. She also noticed this back in Diana's ship; the themarians' AI technology…
…they almost truly seem alive.
"It's… alright, Arbi," Professor Thelma let go of the Arbiter, "Do we have a place to put Mr. Riley now?"
[I am still adjusting and analyzing his data, Professor Thelma,] the Arbiter started blinking, [Are you aware that he is a Ranker?]
"...What's a Ranker again?" Professor Thelma squinted her eyes, "Wait—You mean he's an outlaw?"
[Rank 24.]
"Oh, they increased my rank," Riley looked at Katherine and smiled.
"..." As for Katherine, she didn't really know how to respond to that—should… she be proud that Riley is once again on his way to being recognized as the No. 1 Supervillain, this time in the entire Known Universe?
Whenever she remembers trying to change Riley for the better at the start, Katherine just wanted to bury herself in embarrassment and shame. Project 'Turn Dark into Light' was a part of her life that… only changed her for the worse.
"You're… wanted outside the territory?" Professor Thelma then turned to look at Riley.
"I am, Professor Thelma. I committed genocides here and there."
"...Arbi, what else do you have on Mr. Riley?"
[He has killed 11 Themarian criminals belonging to the Hel Kingdom. And killed 1 Themarian cadet belonging to our glorious kingdom.]
"...What?" Professor Thelma's eyes squinted as she looked back at Riley, "You should have a collar."
"I did, I destroyed it," Riley nodded, "Star Sergeant Zac did not issue me another one and instead just tricked me into meeting Princess Esme instead of Aerith."
[Based on my analysis, Riley Ross has also impersonated a themarian that called himself Paragon, which fought with a clone of Riley Ross for reasons I can not fathom.]
"That was all happening outside?" Professor Thelma blinked a couple of times as she glanced at Riley, "I should ask for permission to go out more. What else do you have on him?"
"..."
[I apologize, Professor Thelma. The Principal just ordered me not to say anything else,] the Arbiter let out a sigh, [On a side note, I have finished analyzing Riley Ross. Would you like to hear the results now?]
"Oh, uh… I forgot all about that," Professor Thelma also let out a sigh as she shook her head, "So, what's the verdict?"
"Are you not going to ask me to leave after hearing all of that, Professor Thelma?" Riley asked before the Arbiter could show the results.
"It's not really important, though?" Professor Thelma just shrugged, "I think we've all accidentally destroyed a planet when we were younger."
"Hm," Riley nodded before glancing at Katherine, "I told you, Katherine. Themarians are completely different from everyone else."
"...I am starting to realize that."
[Here is my judgment after analyzing Riley Ross's profile thoroughly,] the Arbiter's voice then started to echo throughout the entire white space,
[He may choose which class he wants, or create a class of his own.]
"...What?" Professor Thelma looked back and forth between all the people in the room, "What do you mean? So he can just pick any class he wants to be in?"
"It would seem I wasted everyone's time, Professor Thelma. I apologize," Riley sighed and shook his head.
"Oh, not at all," Professor Thelma also shook her head, "If it's like this, then I'd actually like to request you to join all my classes. You're very interesting and I am sure the students under me would learn a lot from you. I teach mainly power control, combat etiquette, and water combat classes."
"Is Princess Esme in one of your classes?"
"The Princess is directly under me in the Power Control class."
"Then I would like to enroll in your classes, Professor Thelma."
"Well then, that's settled," Professor Thelma rubbed her palms together, "Did you hear that, Arbi? Place Riley in my class."
[Are you sure, Professor Thelma?] The Arbiter tilted its spherical body, [Are you handing your position over to Riley Ross?]
"What? What are you saying?"
[It would seem we have come to a misunderstanding due to my over usage of emotional vocabulary. I meant to indicate that after thorough analysis, I have judged Riley Ross overqualified as a student,] The Arbiter blinked a couple of times,
[Riley Ross, if he so wants to, shall be the newest member of the Super College's faculty.]
"You mean… a professor?" Thelma's eyes started to widen; and not only her, a small and very deep breath also escaped Katherine's nose.
"That is interestingly stupid…" Riley let out a small hum as he placed his hand on his chin,
"...You mentioned I can create my own class?"
[We will have to have it approved by the Principal, but yes,] the Arbiter blinked, [What class do you have in mind, Riley Ross?]
"Well…" And very soon, a wide smile that reached from ear to ear started to crawl on Riley's face,
"...I do have some experience in torture."
Chapter 520"Did you hear about the new professor?"
"I tried enrolling in his class, but it was already full."
"...Already? They said he's from the Unknown, maybe everyone's just curious."
"Oh, man. I wanted to enroll in the class, I heard Princess Esme is in it."
"Yeah, she dropped all of her classes to attend the new professor's class."
"Wait… you want to be in the same class as Princess Esme? Are you crazy?"
"The professor is said to have killed a bunch of criminals on his own."
"I heard they made a mistake and thought he was a student at first. They're also saying he killed Lord James's son."
"Lord… Fionn is dead? Just how many rumours are surrounding the new teacher? Man, the only time I chose to sleep in years and a new class was formed?"
"I heard the last spot just got taken this morning by a Level 1 Student."
"A Level 1!? Why would they even prioritize a new student?"
My name Calum, no family name as I have no family… and I am the Level 1 student they were just referring to. There are about 850 students attending the Supreme College of Varoif, separated by 3 Levels.
I've been in the college for about 60 years now, and most of my peers have already advanced to Level 2. They said that themarians are supposed to have a better memory than most of the other races outside the territory, but I know first-hand that that isn't true.
After all, the students that I passed by just now were the peers that I mentioned earlier—I even met eyes with one of them, but other than a minute and fleeting glance, it didn't even seem like she recognized me.
But perhaps that is just what I am to them, to everyone. Nothing but a minute and fleeting existence. I envy the stories I hear from the outside, where people can just live in a blink of an eye, but each moment is more meaningful than the last.
And perhaps that is what existence is supposed to be? Perhaps it only has meaning if you know it ends?
My species have been called the apex predator of the entire Known Universe; beings without equal, the pinnacle of evolution. But that is not exactly true.
There are species that are faster than us, smarter than us, more adaptive than us. The only thing that is truly unchanging and uncontested is our strength. Strength without equal; no, perhaps that is not the right term.
Unfair.
Our strength was and is deemed so unfair to the rest of the universe…that it caged us.
The universe has stripped us of our morality, but not enough—not enough to forsake it.
We are stuck in a prison that we, ourselves, made in order to protect the universe from us.
Unlike the Evaniels, who are even biologically descended from a god, the themarians are stuck.
Unlike the Messengers, who are even too big to fit on 99.9% of the planets of the Known Universe, the themarians are stuck.
And perhaps as another way to mock us, we are practically able to live forever in this lonely, desolate, and meaningle—
"Get out of the way, retard."
And there it is again, as I feel the shoulder of another brush pass mine; as another push me away to enter the—
"You're blocking the way. What's your problem?"
"S… sorry."
I apologize to them, but I know that they know that it is not truly me that blocks the door, but the thoughts that weigh me. And as I entered this room, filled with familiar faces that I have seen for the last 60 years, everyone just looked at me as if I am a stranger… an outsider.
And that is true, I am an outsider. I am different from the rest of these people. I am enlightened to the truth of our universe—the truth that we are actually the weakest. What other species, what other race out there is trapped in their own domain?
Only the weak.
And as I walk toward an empty seat at the front of the class, I look not at the faces of my colleagues, but toward the window with a meaningless view. None of them even bothered to sit in the front of the class because they are not interested in learning the truth, only me.
They have joined for various other reasons, I have joined for only one—the professor is from the Unknown.
The truth and the unknown, words that could not be even more apart from each other, but very much the same. This is—
"You are in my seat, Calum."
"S—"
"You are in my seat. Transfer to another."
I looked toward the face of the only student that recognized me… only to—
"If I have to ask again, I will have you evicted from this class."
"Y… yes, Princess Esme."
And before Calum could even finish his thoughts, an unusually tall, but plain-looking woman without any sort of emotion on her face placed her hand on the table. And right there and then, Calum realized the true reason why no one was sitting at the front of the class—the entire row was reserved for the Princess.
Calum then quickly turned around, only to see that the only remaining seat left was at the corner at the very end of the class. And so, with another subtle glance at the Princess, Calum bowed his head and started heading up to the back.
It doesn't matter. I, Calum, am still—
"The professor arrives! Attention!"
But alas, before Calum could even make it halfway there, Princess Esme's loud voice caused the entire room to shiver and quake; with the other students all quickly standing from their seats—this was a national custom in Varoif.
When a student learns from a new professor for the first time, they must stand up to greet him or her with respect. If you are not in position, then that would only mean one thing—you do not respect your new professor.
And so, that is the story of how Calum was forcibly kicked out of the class by Princess Esme even before Riley could stand in front of the hall. As a professor, Riley could choose whatever he wanted to wear—but in the end, he just chose to wear the college's uniform, covered by a long black coat that reached his ankles.
Katherine was walking behind him, also wearing the same. This time, however, her hair was back to its original red color during her Scarlet Mage days; her clothes, also the college's uniform covered by a black coat that didn't go below her waist.
And although Calum was no longer present in the class, perhaps he wasn't missing anything at all, as minutes had already gone by… and Riley was just standing in front of everyone.
"..."
"..."
"...Why are you not saying anything, Riley?" And after a few more minutes, Katherine whispered into Riley's ear.
"I am imitating you, Katherine. I remember you just spacing out before Silvie Savelievna called you."
"Just…" Katherine's eyes quickly became dead. Of course, she remembers that—the only reason she was spacing out was that she was thinking about Riley in the first place,
"Just start the class."
"Very well," Riley nodded before finally taking a step forward and actually looking at his class. And as soon as he did so, the students that were looking at each other and wondering what was happening once again straightened their bodies,
"Greetings, themarian students. My name is Riley Ross. I have killed tens of billions of people all around the Known Universe. My purpose of visiting Theran is to bury my biological mother here by the wish of my adoptive mother, but as you may very well see, fate has other plans."
"..."
"My original purpose for wanting to visit Theran was to hear each and every last one of you scream, and I will," Riley nodded to himself, "As some of you may have already heard, I am Princess Aerith's lover—and that is all for my introduction, all of you may return to your seats."
"Everyone, bow to the professor and take your seats!" Princess Esme once again shouted. And in perfect unison, everyone bowed their heads before sitting at the same time.
"Hm," Riley nodded at Esme as he saw this, "Since all of you are here, I would assume that you already know what this class is. I named this class Torture 101, and therefore…
…I need a volunteer."
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
Chapter 521"I need a volunteer, themarian students."
Katherine knew. Katherine knew that Riley Ross becoming some sort of teacher was bad, really bad. She never would have thought in a million years that he would actually be passing on knowledge to someone, but now here he is.
Out of all the things that could happen, out of all the possibilities, the universe was now bearing witness to the worse thing that could ever happen to it—the most unholy creature in the entire universe will be teaching the strongest species in the entire universe how to inflict as much pain to someone else as much as possible.
Katherine wanted to cover her face, and unbeknownst to her, she was actually already doing so. The air around the lecture hall became extremely thick with silence; no one was even looking at each other and were just blankly staring at Riley.
A second.
A minute.
And a couple more, but no one really responded. Perhaps for beings that could live for thousands and thousands of years, this silence meant nothing at all. But for humans, well—Riley seemed like a patient person, but Katherine knew that isn't truly the case.
"Hm…" Riley's eyes started to squint; his breaths, scattering through the entire hall, "It doesn't matter who volunteers first as all of you will, sooner or later, be forced to come here to the stage."
"...What?"
"For you to inflict pain…" Riley closed his eyes before touching his ear, "…then you must know pain."
"!!!"
And all of a sudden, Riley pulled and completely tore off his ear, causing some of the students to instinctively stand from their seats and get into their combat stances.
"Aerith knew pain," Riley whispered as he looked at Princess Esme, "She, to this day, is still the strongest themarian I have met besides my adoptive mother. I do not know why or how, but Aerith allowed herself to learn pain—now how do I know that?"
Riley started walking as his ear started to regenerate. But before it could fully heal, Riley ripped it off again; even with all the blood splattering on the floor, however, his white hair that flowed with the air remains immaculate along with his coat.
"Because never once did she scream when I tortured her. People have personality, and you have to prepare torture that is according to their nature. It doesn't matter if one claims to be immune to pain or torture, torture will always have an effect one way or another. But what if their nature prevents them from giving up?"
"..." Everyone then sat back in their seats and started listening to their new professor's words.
"Aerith did not only learn pain, but she also mastered it," and with those words, Riley's ear stopped growing back, "She spent an entire year completely broken, mangled, bodiless—Aerith made herself comfortable with pain because she knows how to control it…
…How do you beat someone like that?"
"..." Everyone started looking at each other, waiting for someone to answer Riley's question. And very soon, the person at the very front raised her hand.
"You try and try again until you find where it hurts," Princess Esme answered.
"Wrong," but alas, Riley quickly shook his head and shut her down, "Aerith represents hope that can never be broken. But that doesn't mean that you can not torture her—if pain does not work, then you target her mind…
…Torture is never about physical pain, it is always psychological."
"Themarians can recover their brains and mine, Professor Riley."
"It can recover, but it will not be the same," Riley shook his head, "My torture methods are separated into two major types—The Short One, and The Long One. The Short One is used to just play around, for those that are easily broken."
"...How would you know which one to use?" Princess Esme placed her hand on her chin as she held some sort of orb; and from the movements of her fingers, she seemed to be typing and taking notes on it.
"You study your victim. For example, Miss Katherine."
"...Huh?" Katherine could not help but blink a couple of times as Riley suddenly stepped to the side and gestured to her.
"I used a Short One on Miss Katherine during our early meeting," Riley then started circling around Katherine, "Katherine Read was a hopeful person whose entire goal in life is to be a superhero."
"...Riley?" Katherine's eyebrows started to furrow.
"She is not weak, not at all. Even now, she can probably kill one of you if she truly put the effort into it," Riley nodded, "But she is fragile. At an early age, her father left her and her mother alone to fend for themselves—placing her love that should have been reserved for both parents to only one, her mother."
"Riley," Katherine started shaking her head.
"That is all you really need to know to break her," Riley, however, did not stop, "When Katherine learned a secret of mine, I threatened to cut off her mother's tongue—it is quite effective because I have a prior reputation of being ruthless, that helps too. Like an egg, Katherine started cracking there and then."
"..." Katherine could really only bite her lip as Riley continued to reveal things about her.
"I started learning more and more about her; what she likes, what she wants, what she needs, what she craves. But these things are only mildly important because the cracks can also be used to mold them—what she likes, what she wants—soon these things you can dictate," Riley then placed her hand on Katherine's chin,
"Things that are broken can be reshaped into a more beautiful piece."
"...Riley," Katherine's face started to turn red as she felt the warmth of Riley's fingers. But before anything could happen, Riley let go of her and turned around.
"But of course, that is not the lesson I will be teaching you. This is Torture 101, after all. I am only telling you the things that are possible with torture," Riley said as he started to scan the students,
"Now, The Long One is the method that I am using for Aerith, and the thing that I used on her son. She brought his son here and you might see him soon since he is still considered Themarian royalty belonging to the other kingdom, but he is weak and insecure—and I used that," Riley then stretched his hands to the side, causing the entire lecture hall to tremble,
"Ever since he revealed that he is Aerith's son, I started a Long One. Sadly a lot of things happened that postponed it, but when I returned, I started it again. It was fun, inflicting pain is fun. Hearing people scream, looking people in their eyes as they take their last breaths, this—"
"..."
"I apologize, I lost track. Now, where were we… Right, right…
…Who wants to volunteer?"
And as Riley raised his hand to find a volunteer, everyone just turned their heads down. Who exactly in their right mind would want to volunteer after hearing everything that Riley just said?
Learning their vulnerabilities? Torturing them to the point they changed?
They already know that there is torture involved when they enrolled in the class since that is literally the name of the course, but they didn't sign up to actually be the subject of the torture.
"Let me."
Fortunately for them, they did not have to volunteer as someone raised their hand. And as expected, it was Princess Esme.
"No."
But before Princess Esme could even stand up from her seat, Riley ordered her to sit back down.
"Torture might not work on you, Princess Esme."
"You are assuming things about me again, Professor Riley. We are here to prove that I am equal or better than Princess Aerith, how would I do that if I do not participate in this?"
"Torture might not work on you as intended because we are the same, Princess Esme," Riley then let out a small… and slightly disappointed sigh,
"You are in the spectrum."
"What is that?" Princess Esme squinted her eyes, "We're in a lecture hall, Professor Riley."
"It doesn't matter. You will not be an effective volunteer," Riley shook his head, "You might get hurt, you might give up, and you might be molded. But since you are different, then you are not the subject we must learn."
"Does that matter? I am ready, Professor Riley."
"...Very well. Since you are eager to participate, I can't fail your efforts. Please, come here to the front, Princess Esm…e."
Esme appeared in front of Riley before he could even finish his words. He didn't heed it any mind, however, as he looked at the student that was nearest to the door,
"And you, please come here and introduce yourself."
"M… Me? Wh—" And before the student could do anything, she suddenly started floating toward the front of the class. She tried to resist by flying away—but Princess Esme's eyes suddenly turned red as a warning, causing her to just give up.
"Introduce yourself to the rest of the class, Miss Cam," Riley then said as he took a step back.
"You… You know my name, sir?" Cam could not help but glance at Riley, before bowing her head and introducing herself to the rest of the class, "My… my name is Cam. A Level 2 student."
"Very well, Cam," Riley nodded,
"I want you to try and torture Princess Esme."
"...Sorry?" Cam blinked a couple of times as she looked back and forth between Riley and the tall princess.
"You do not have to worry…
…I will guide you."
Chapter 522"This is bullshit! We didn't travel god knows how many lightyears just to get separated! This is all your fucking fault!"
"This is your genocidal maniac brother's fault."
On the other side of the planet, Hannah, Tsula, Hera, and Vera were currently surrounded by trees that were almost as tall as skyscrapers, but as thin as bamboo. It wouldn't be uncommon for those that would see the trees from above to mistake them for hair with the way they looked from afar.
"Fuck!"
But as is the case with all of Theran, even with Hannah kicking it with all her might, the only thing her leg really did was slightly cause the tree to sway.
"And why are you even staying with us? Aren't you supposed to be a diplomatic prisoner!?" And with her leg obviously hurting and starting to swell, Hannah turned her frustration toward Vera, who was just casually sitting on the ground and warming herself up with a flame that Hannah made for them.
"Because I'd honestly just rather stay with you people than be surrounded by a bunch of psychopaths," Vera only stared at the flames and shrugged, "My mother, the Queen, is going to be here. I would rather take my chances with you than with them."
"What makes you think I won't fucking kill you?"
"Because you're a good person," Vera shook her head as she stretched her palms near the fire, "Your love and trust are misplaced in your genocidal maniac of a brother, but you're a good person."
"You…" Hannah opened her mouth, but she really couldn't find any words to say. And so, with a stuttered breath, she just also sat on the ground in silence.
"Good, I thought the two of you wouldn't stop arguing."
And before the silence could settle down, Hera broke away from the group and started walking around to check the towering bamboo surrounding them,
"You kids should really learn how to relax," she then said as she grabbed one of the shoots and started wagging it,
"Out of all the people on this entire planet, I assure you—you guys are the most stressed. These themarians have… a lack of care for everything to the point that they're just letting us roam free. Think of it as some sort of vacation or something."
"...What is with you and taking a vacation?"
"Do you know how long it has been since my skin last touched some vitamin sea? A very long time, that's how," Hera shook her head as she returned to the fire and stood beside the eerily quiet Tsula,
"More than that, we should be worrying about grandma here. She's like hundreds of years old, she's ready to… you know, at any time. We might have to bury her before Ms. Phoenix."
"Hera, she can hear."
"...What?" Hera then blinked a couple of times as she looked at Tsula, only to see both her sunken eyes staring through her soul, almost causing her to jump in fright.
"I… I think she's dead."
"What!?" Both Vera and Hannah stood up from the ground to look at Tsula, only for her to also look at them with her eyes that were only a step away from death.
"Should… she really be traveling with us?" Hannah gulped, "How much further to the city?"
"20 kilometers, give or take," Hera said as she looked at the Teera X120, "We're not even sure if there's really anything for us there. The bartender might be lying about someone willing to help us there. We should let the princess run there to ask for information instead."
"How many times do I have to tell you that I can't?" Vera sighed, "As soon as I use my speed, it'll alert someone. I don't want to deal with a themarian right now. And we already agreed that a shot in the dark is better than just sitting around and doing nothing."
"That would be kinda hard since we're fucking surrounded by them," Hannah rolled her eyes, "And you didn't agree about anything, you're not part of the decision-making club here. And what do you have against the themarians anyway? They seem like a pretty chill people."
"At what corner of the universe do you think these people are chill?" Vera closed her eyes and shook her head, "And you've met like what, 20 of them?"
"I've met themarian criminals, I can't really judge their people based on them."
"Your mother makes Riley Ross's crimes look like a child, she's a themarian," this time, Vera was the one to roll her eyes, "Also, you shouldn't even bother with the ones that have collars around their necks—they are the normal ones."
"..."
"When you have that much power, it's normal to act on it and make mistakes." And all of a sudden, Tsula, who was literally covered in rocks, finally spoke up; her voice, almost as growling as the stones wrapping her,
"You should be wary about the dragons hiding in the cave rather than those that are freely flying above the skies."
"..."
"..."
"The fuck does that even mean?"
***
"I'm out! I quit!"
The hallways of the Supreme College of Varoif are usually quiet and reserved. But there is currently a storm brewing in one of its lecture halls—and not even an hour after, its door opened as a handful of students walked out of the class.
If one were to take a peek through the opened doors, then one would see a sight of hell. No, one did not even need to take a peek inside… as a pool of blood was already flowing and sliding out of the hall as soon as the door opened.
Of course, most of the students still remained seated in their seats; either because they were too stunned to move, or too engrossed with the lesson. The blood belonged only to a single individual—Princess Esme.
But even if one were to look long and hard, one would not be able to see Princess Esme… but instead, the anatomy of a themarian floating right at the front of the class, her long and tall limbs, stretched for everyone to see.
Her muscles, her flesh, and her stomach all cut open and revealed the insides of her body.
"That will be all, Ms. Cam. Please return to your seat. And congratulations on torturing someone for the first time."
"Y… Yes." And the student that was forced to volunteer, Cam, had a smile on her face as she returned to her seat; her cheeks, still flowing with blood that wasn't her own. She didn't even mind the squelching sound created by the blood drowning her clothes as she sat back down in her seat.
"Princess Esme, you may also come down."
And as soon as Riley said that, the lump of flesh and blood floating in the air very slowly closed and reattached itself; and by the time her feet landed back on the floor, Princess Esme was once again whole.
"How was the experience of being tortured, Princess Esme?"
"It was very painful and surreal, Professor Riley," Princess Esme just placed her hand on her chin, not even minding that she was completely naked, "I do not really wish for it to happen again—nor do I wish to inflict it on another person."
"Sadly, I can not promise you the latter, Princess Esme," Riley sighed, "This is Torture 101, after all. Since you have been tortured, then it is just fair that you will torture someone…
…and that goes for all of you," Riley then said as he faced the students that chose to remain,
"Please choose your partner, as starting tomorrow, you will take turns in torturing each other. Remember the very first lesson I told all of you—Torture is always psychological. Our classes might start in this room, but you can start studying your partner outside. Learn about them, and use it against them…
…All of you may go."
And as soon as he said that, all the students except for Princess Esme instantly disappeared from the room.
"Thank you for the valuable lesson, Professor Riley."
"Hm."
"Although you becoming a professor was truly something I did not expect, but I think the Kingdom of Varoif would benefit greatly from your lessons."
"I am only imitating the way Katherine does her lessons, Princess Esme. The praise should be hers," Riley said as he raised his hand, and as he did so, the blood that scattered all over the lecture hall all started vaporizing and dissipating into thin air.
"..." Katherine didn't really know whether to be proud or not from Riley's statement.
"And so, have I proven myself to at least be equal to the only princess of Hel?" Princess Esme then said as she started wiping off the blood from her skin.
"Can you stay an entire year the way you did today?"
"I do not know how long a year is, but the answer will be no."
"Then my answer is also no," Riley shook his head, "Aerith stayed a year being harvested and tortured, and she treated it as rest."
"...I do not think I will ever be capable of that," Princess Esme then let out a very long and deep sigh as she shook her head, "I do not want to admit it, but I truly am lacking against Princess Aerith."
"That is not something to be ashamed of, everyone is lacking compared to Princess Aerith."
"But if she really is as great as you say she is…
…Then why is she currently scheduled to be put to Eternal Death?"
"What… do you mean, Princess Esme?"
Chapter 523"They are… going to execute Megawoman?"
Katherine was not really one to bother other people's conversations—especially a conversation between two confusing people. But as soon as she heard Esme's words, she could not help but make her way near Riley and join in on the conversation.
"Megawoman? Who is that?"
"It is what my people call Aerith, Princess Esme," Riley was the one to answer her question as he looked up to look her in the eyes. Katherine didn't even need to read Riley's heart in order to know that it was fluctuating,
"Where did you get this information from?"
"I may not be regarded highly amongst my family, but I am still royalty, Professor Riley," Princess Esme nodded, before gesturing to Riley to follow her,
"I overheard my father talking to my oldest siblings, I like to eavesdrop in their conversations, you see," Esme slightly bowed to not hit her head on the way out of the lecture hall, "It would seem that Aerith was put on trial for leaving Theran without any formal permission from their kingdom. Father said they are probably making an example out of her—making a statement that even if she is the only princess of the Hel Kingdom, she was not exempted from their laws."
"Riley, we need to do something," Katherine grabbed Riley's arm, "This is serious. Since they are willing to sacrifice their kingdom's princess just like that, I don't know what they would do to the others; our daughter, Silvie… your mother. Paige was also with Megawoman and she's completely unrelated to everything."
"Are all of your acquaintances women, Professor Riley?" Esme halted her steps as she glanced at Riley, "Although I already half expected it. You seem to have this weird way of gaining the trust of females."
"..."
"You have the consistency of a pet that women and girls will not be able to resist, is what I think I want to say, Professor Riley."
"I suppose that is one advantage of my looks, Princess Esme," Riley only shrugged as he gestured to Princess Esme to continue walking,
"If my face was not pleasing to look at, then I am sure Katherine would not even think of her ridiculous 'Turn Dark into Light' plan and just go straight to the Hope Guild to reveal who I am. But since I am good-looking, she wanted it to be our little secret so she could keep me to herself."
"Hm, very superficial," Princess Esme nodded several times as she looked at Katherine; a few seconds after, however, she let out a sigh, "I honestly would have done the same, Professor Riley. If you are ugly, I would not be wanting to gain your approval on whether or not I am equal to the Rebel Princess."
"That is probably why no one is trying to get your approval, Princess Esme."
"...I am ugly?" Princess Esme blinked a couple of times as she lightly touched her face. She then turned around to look at some of the other students that were walking across the large hallway. But alas, before she could even open her mouth to ask for their opinion, they all quickly turned to walk where they came.
The Supreme College has many students, but with Princess Esme in tow, everyone just wanted to avoid her path—avoiding the eccentric princess' path is avoiding trouble.
"You are not ugly, Princess Esme," Riley shook his head, "There is no such thing as an ugly face, beauty is a collection of different preferences—you just look different than what most people would deem good-looking."
"I am abnormally tall too," Princess Esme sighed, "Perhaps it is just my fate to be different, as you say. But I don't really mind the way people look at me, they are the ones with the problem, not me."
"Hm, it is good you think so, Princess Esme. We—"
"Riley, we're getting distracted! They need us there!"
"Hm…" Riley nodded as he looked at Katherine, "Forgive me, Princess Esme, but my subordinate is right. It's time to stop the roleplay. It is a pity, though. I was starting to learn why people want to teach others, it is quite a nice feeling to impart your knowledge to other people."
"I am sure that even if it was just a single day, the things my people have learned from you will be useful for eternity, Professor Riley," Princess Esme then stood in front of Riley, before bowing her head and doing some sort of curtsy—even then, however, she still towered over him,
"I no longer wish to prove myself equal to the Princess of Hel, as no matter what I do, I know you hold a certain bias toward her."
"That is true, Princess Esme. Aerith and my sister will always be better than everyone else."
"Your… sister?" Esme squinted her eyes as soon as the word 'sister' entered her ears, "The information I received did not indicate you having a sister. Are you saying your sister is equal to Princess Aerith?"
"Yes," Riley answered without any hesitation.
"..." Esme then turned her head to the side, looking at the view from the outside for a few seconds before turning her attention back to Riley, "If you answer this single question truthfully, then I will do everything in my power to let you meet Princess Aerith. Let us forget any prior deals."
"What is it?" Riley tilted his head to the side, causing his long white hair to flow from his shoulders.
"If you would choose between your sister and Princess Aerith, who would you choose?"
"In terms of what, Princess Esme?" Riley then squinted his eyes as he placed his hand on his chin.
"..." Esme also squinted her eyes as she seemed to really be thinking about her question deeply. And after a few seconds of silence, she looked Riley straight in the eyes,
"Eternal Death. Since Aerith is being put to Eternal Death, are you willing to exchange her for your sister instead?"
"But my sister is not the one on trial, Princess Esme."
"I shall rephrase my question, Professor Riley—If you have to choose only one, who will you save from death?"
"..." Riley's eyes furrowed as he looked away. Even Katherine, who was just urging them to leave and do something, could not help but pause in her tracks as she heard the violent fluctuation of Riley's heart—no, she didn't just hear his heart fluctuate, it was screaming…
…screaming to the point that it made Katherine want to cover her ears.
From the outside, however, Riley just seemed to be thinking about the question deeply.
"There will always be a way to save both, Princess Esme," Riley then said.
"But what if there is not?" Princess Esme insisted, "I was once asked this question by my father decades ago, he asked me to choose between my pet lizard and mother."
"May I ask what you answered, Princess Esme?"
"I did not have an answer."
"..."
"..."
"What about you, Professor Riley? Have you come up with an answer?"
"After thinking about it for a few seconds, I suppose I have come up with an answer, Princess Esme," Riley then let out a small but very deep sigh as he dropped his arms,
"My sister will die, Princess Esme."
"So, Princess Aerith is more important to you?"
"No, they are both still equally important to me," Riley shook his head,
"But it would be better for sister to die."
"...Why?"
"So she would not have to see what I would do to the world that made me choose between her life and Aerith's."
"...And what exactly will you do, Professor Riley?"
"Destroy it."
"But you told me you are already doing that."
"I am," Riley then let out another deep breath as he looked at the view outside, "But in this case, I will let them live."
"You are lowering their punishment?"
"No. I will let them live so that at every second, at every breath—they will know that I am there. They will look at every darkness, at every shadow… and I will be in their minds, slowly burrowing into their brains and reminding them that the sun will never shine on them again. They will live afraid, hurt, and tortured—I will be the insect that digs through their children's eyes, the cancer that eats away at their bodies…
…I will no longer be the peace of Death, but the anguish of Despair itself."
"But you are an evil person, Professor Riley. Do you not think you deserve to lose the people you care for?"
"But they don't deserve to lose everything for the things I have done," Riley said as he looked Princess Esme in the eyes, "My actions are mine alone, and they will always be mine alone."
"Then what about Princess Aerith? Are you saying she deserves to see you destroy and hurt others?"
"Aerith will never choose her life over another, that is the kind of person she is. And if I make that choice for her…" Riley breathed out, "...She will hate me forever—and that is my eternal punishment."
"You really thought this through; as expected of a professor," Princess Esme nodded to herself several times as she once again started walking,
"I am pleased with your answer, Riley. Although there's a chance father might not meet with us, I can be quite convincing in finding ways to seek an audience for the King."
"Hm."
"The two of you need to change, however. I will ask them to prepare your attire in your room, please wait there in the meantime. I will come and find you."
And with those words, Princess Esme disappeared; leaving a slightly baffled Katherine to ponder what just happened. Did…
…they just waste an entire day playing teacher-and-student?
Unbeknownst to Katherine, however…
…Riley's single lesson would have a clear, dramatic, and sudden effect on the themarians of the Varoif Kingdom.
Chapter 524"Riley, is this really our best course of action?"
"It is our only course of action, Katherine."
"..."
It was a gigantic door. Not a gate, but a door. A door that stood dozens of meters tall; students from the Mega Academy back on Earth would not even laugh if you try to compare the colossal door that was in front of Riley and Katherine right now to the gates of the academy.
It was weird, out of all the things they have seen so far on this foreign planet, this door was probably the most alien one. Finally, an infrastructure that just shouts that they weren't actually just back on Earth.
The door was laced with some sort of gold material, but at first sight, its color was entirely different. When Riley and Katherin were just approaching this door, it was ebony in color. Perhaps it was some sort of technology or just the nature of its material, but it was different.
That is the case with most of Themarian technology—their devices were all in weird shapes. Their 'smartphones', which they rarely use, are spherical in shape; Katherine has seen some of the students typing on them as all sorts of holograms are produced from them.
She wouldn't have been surprised if everything else reflected their technology, but no. The clothes they wore were closer to that of the clothes being worn during the Victorian Era back on Earth.
Lots of frills and unnecessary details.
"..." Katherine took in a deep breath as the corset she was wearing was starting to rub on her skin; she would have probably already taken this off if they were in any other circumstance, but no.
They were meeting the king that rules half the entire planet.
"I suppose you are wondering why I don't just fly to Theran and declare my intentions, Katherine?"
"That is what I'm used to, yes," Katherine then slightly pulled her corset as she leaned closer to Riley to whisper, "You usually always have a plan."
"I would have already done it if I was alone, Katherine," Riley answered; not bothering to whisper even though Varoif's monarch was probably already on the other side of the colossal door,
"I am being careful."
"You're… being careful?" Katherine's eyebrows slightly furrowed as she heard Riley's words, "But… you just killed a dozen themarians as soon as you arrived on the planet, Riley."
"They were criminals, Katherine."
"What about that guy called Fionn?"
"He attacked me first," Riley glanced at Katherine, "I am not showing it, Katherine, but themarians are… scary creatures."
"You're scared?" Katherine's eyes started to widen.
"No, I said they were scary," Riley shook his head, "They can flick their fingers, and you will die. Unlike me, you only have a single life, Katherine."
"...You care for me?"
"I do, Katherine. You're my First Subordinate, after all," Riley shrugged, "You can't die a senseless death. Death is not taken seriously in this place; they see it as a choice—and they have the choice to end your lives on impulse and I might be too late to stop it."
"Ri—"
"I was also making an example," Riley nodded, "My sister would also die. Metaphorically, it feels like I am currently holding an already cracked egg while running on a rocky path with higher gravity than normal."
"..."
"If all of you were not here, then I would have already bathed this planet with my blood and the blood of its inhabitants."
"My daughter tells me you're different. Now I see why."
And before Katherine could even think of something else to say, the colossal door finally started to slide open; and as soon as it did so, a loud rumbling voice seeped from the inside. The voice was deep, deep enough to cause the floors that Katherine and Riley stood on to tremble.
And as the door continued to open, a rainbow of lights started to glimmer and reflect on Katherine's eyes; they weren't bright, however, as Katherine did not even need to squint. It was not bright because the rainbow was not actually light at all, but rather just an abundant foliage that filled the entire hall in front of her.
"Riley Ross and Katherine Read from the Unknown, please enter the throne hall!"
"..." Katherine turned to look at Riley for a few seconds waiting for her to step inside, but Riley just slightly pointed his elbow at her. Katherine was confused at first as to what Riley was doing, but after a few more breaths, she took in a small gasp and held his arm.
And as soon as she did so, Riley finally walked forward; his long white hair, flowing with the red cape that Princess Esme provided for him to wear.
Katherine didn't really know where to look as she just turned to look at the colorful foliage that littered the throne hall—-once again, Theran does something unexpected.
The throne hall which Katherine expected to be grand, looked more akin to a garden. Even the hallways of the Supreme College of Varoif were more luxurious; the only light that could be seen in the throne hall was the long strip of light on the floor… but even that was just a reflection of the sun that seeped from the clear roof above.
There were no guards, there was no entourage, or even a crowd of audience—there was just the presence of a king sitting on a simple wooden chair on top of some stairs.
There were other people standing behind him, including Princess Esme; but their presence was almost non-existent compared to the man sitting in front of them. From how tall Esme was, one would expect the king of Varoif to be gigantic, but no. It wasn't only him, Esme towered over everyone else she was with.
If it wasn't for the crown on his head, one would just mistake him as a simple old man; no, he wasn't even that old, it was only the thick graying beard that made him look like so. His skin that was slightly darker than Esme's showed not a single wrinkle at all.
He looked simple, but there was something about his eyes that seemed as if he was bigger than the universe itself… Katherine almost found herself not even being able to breathe.
"Greetings to you, King Kaiden."
Riley then bowed his head, while Katherine immediately imitated the way Esme curtsied.
"There's no need for that," King Kaiden just slightly waved his hand as he spoke, "Do you know that Esme, out of all my 12 children, is the only one that has not asked, even once, to seek an audience with me?"
"..." Esme did not really seem to mind being mentioned by the king; his siblings, however, were obviously glaring at her with different intentions.
"My other children always want my approval, they always want to show off," King Kaiden let out a small sigh, but even that caused the plants inside the throne hall to shake and bustle, "But not Esme, Esme does not care what I think about her and I could even say she values the opinion of a stranger like you more."
"That is true, King Kaiden," Riley answered without any hesitation. One of the King's children was about to step forward, but King Kaiden raised hand.
"Did I say that you can move?"
There was only a slight change in the King's tone, but his children all quickly turned their heads down and even took a step back; well, all of them except Esme.
"I suppose I am dallying," King Kaiden then shook his head as he looked Riley straight in the eyes, "Speak, why are you here?"
"I believe you can make it possible for me to formally meet the royal family of Hel, King Kaiden."
"Then why are you here? Why not just go to the other nation and request to meet them on your own?" King Kaiden then rested her cheek on his fist as he leaned back, "I know what you are, Riley Ross. As a King, even if the rest of the planet takes no interest in what is happening outside, I make it a passion to know things."
"..."
"As we speak, one of your clones is being held personally by the Elders to prevent it from destroying any more worlds. You are a harbinger of destruction, you do as you please. Why not do the same in Hel?"
"You have heard my reason, King Kaiden."
"You are protecting the people around you?"
"I am preventing them from being hurt."
"Why bring them here in the first place?" King Kaiden breathed out, "I know why you are here, and you do not need these many people around you…
…Are you not just afraid to be alone, Riley Ross?"
"..."
"..."
"Well, you don't have to answer," King Kaiden then suddenly burst out in laughter as he stood up from his chair, "Just treat it as an old man's senseless banter. I will grant your request for my daughter—I will send you in the guise of an envoy conveying my Kingdom's deep condolences for the loss of their Princess. I swear, the people from Hel can be quite barbaric at times, I can never imagine sacrificing any of my children to serve as a reminder that we are prisoners of our own planet."
"..." Riley just looked at the King for a few breaths, before letting out a small sigh and bowing his head, "You have my gratitude, King Kaiden."
"Well, not just yet—I do this for you, and you do something for me in return," King Kaiden then sat back on his chair; his eyes, however, did not leave Riley's even for a single bit,
"I know you are going to create chaos once you are there. My only request is that you cause even more."
"..."
"Theran has become stagnant for almost a million years," a small smile then appeared on the King's face, "Caitlain'Ur brought you here for a reason."
"You know my adoptive mother?" Riley blinked a couple of times.
"Oh, I do," Kaiden then let out a long and very deep sigh,
"And that woman has always strived to destroy this frozen world, and she is back after a very long time. And if there is one thing you should know about your mother…
…she can be quite stubborn with her plans."
***
"Where is she!? Where's Caitlain'Ur!?"
"We were just guarding her! She should be here!"
Somewhere on Theran, there were dozens of people wearing the uniform of the Grand Militia; none of them, however, could be described as keeping peace and order.
All of them were just flying around; their voices filled with only panic and dread as the person they are supposed to be guarding suddenly disappeared without even a single trace.
"No… no… Find her…
…Find her now!"
Chapter 525"Find her! Whatever you have to do, find her!"
The Grand Militia. The most respected organization on the entire planet, the keepers of the peace between Hel and Varoif; Theran's guard, and home to the best and brightest the planet has to offer. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Grand Militia was a nation of its own.
Themarians are a race of warriors, so it was normal for most of those who have matured to join the Grand Militia to hone and practice their instincts. After all, most of them were not even allowed to travel out of their territory to actually seek or join any sort of war.
They are trained to be fighters in a universe that don't allow them to fight. The Grand Militia offers them to release their frustrations through skirmishes and duty.
And right now, somewhere in the vast and seemingly empty planet of Theran, a platoon was failing their duty.
The individual they were ordered to guard and restrain, suddenly gone.
Most of them were excited and even threw themselves to join this mission. It is, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Caitlain'Ur—an individual that most of those that were just born hundreds of years ago to be a myth, has suddenly shown herself. Not even a second after her existence was revealed, the Order of the Grand Militia quickly surrounded her—even led personally by the Militia's Overlord.
Everyone thought that there would be a fight, but no. Caitlain just surrendered herself, even allowing them to put a collar around her neck willingly. Unlike with the case of Aerith, however, they did not immediately declare Caitlain as an individual to be put on the chopping block. The Grand Militia had rules and due process, after all—unlike the royal family which could pretty much do whatever they wanted to their vassals.
But perhaps that was a mistake because now, Caitlain just disappeared without a trace.
"Why can't we detect the collar!?"
"You three, scour the south side of the island! She couldn't have gone far, we would have detected her!"
"Try finding traces of the collar, she might have done something to destroy it!"
The soldiers quickly scattered throughout the island, searching every inch of it at blinding speed. There is one of them, however, that was just idling in the middle of a forest, visually hidden from the rest of his comrades.
"..." The soldier just watched as the others flew above the sky, before letting out a small sigh and sitting on the ground. And after that, he did nothing. He just sat there, seemingly waiting for something to happen.
After a couple of seconds, however, another soldier landed near him.
"..."
His comrade started walking and looking around, not even minding the sitting soldier.
"Area D 24, 5, 82—Clear."
And without even as much as a glance, his comrade just flew away. The soldier just blinked a couple of times as he watched the dancing leaves left by his comrade, before shrugging his shoulders and letting out a small hum.
"..." And then, once again, the soldier just sat there.
A second.
A minute.
It took an entire hour before he stood up and started patting all the dirt and leaves that stuck to him. He then tilted his head to the side, trying to listen if there was any soldier left on the island; and after only hearing the sounds of animals, the soldier suddenly crouched on the ground and started digging with his hands.
Themarian ground and dirt are different—their density and hardness are comparable to titanium. This is also the reason why themarian technology is different from most other species; materials that would otherwise be limited to other planets could just be picked up from the ground. But most importantly, themarians can harvest and process it with ease.
The soldier, however, did not seem to be digging for harvest, but rather digging as deep as he could as his entire body was already burrowed through the ground; and even then, he continued digging.
He could no longer see the horizon outside even if he stood on his toes, but finally, after a few more seconds, his hands stopped as he looked up toward the view of the sky covered by the umbrella of leaves above.
And very slowly, his eyes started to squint.
"A classic move for an ant, you never change."
"..."
A whisper then calmly seeped into the hole he made, causing the soldier to let out a very long and very deep sigh. He seemed to contemplate on whether or not to continue digging, but after a few breaths, his feet very slowly left the ground; his head, just slightly peering from the hole and looking at the owner of the voice.
"You are on themarian soil, I would like to ask you to leave immediately," the soldier then said as he squinted; his eyes, reflecting the pale-skinned woman standing in front of him,
"...Pirate Queen Xra."
"Let's just say I'm lost and I am looking for a certain ancient hag," Pirate Queen Xra slightly tilted her head up, as if to look down further on the soldier as she talked, "Maybe you saw her somewhere here?"
"There was a beautiful goddess here earlier, she's gone now," the soldier then smiled, before just disappearing into the hole again; the dirt he was digging, obviously being thrown in Xra's direction.
"I don't care whatever the fuck it is you're planning, Caitlain. But you and I are going to talk," Xra stomped her foot, causing a crack to crawl from her feet and straight to the hole that the soldier was digging.
"..."
"..."
And then, once again, the soldier very slowly revealed himself from the hole; this time however, his silhouette started to flicker several times until he ultimately disappeared… replaced by a woman with long brown hair and a very calm smile.
"You're as rude as ever, Shakira."
"Ah, of course. Now I know where Riley gets it from. What name are you going by now? Deborah, was it?" Xra's eye twitched as she saw the obviously mocking smile on Diana's face.
"Diana, but close enough," Diana then calmly landed with her feet as she stood in front of Xra, "So, you've met my son?"
"Has all your bad qualities," Xra smirked.
"Those are my best qualities, then. What do you want? I'm quite busy," Diana let out a sigh as she wiped away the dirt on her hands.
"I heard your human husband swallowed a Guardian Force? You know I can help him with that," Xra then crossed her arms.
"My husband is doing fine, thank you very much."
"Really? I happen to have met your biological daughter."
"Oh, really?" Diana slightly hummed, "You noticed how your mouth is the same? You have the same maturity."
"...I don't really know how to take that."
"...Forget I said that."
"It doesn't matter, she told me your husband still hasn't woken up. That means he's incompatible," Xra rolled her eyes, "You may think yourself the most knowledgeable being in this universe, but when it comes to harnessing the energy of the sun—I think I have you beat…
…I can help him."
"And why exactly would you do that?" Diana's eyebrows started to furrow as she looked Xra straight in the eyes.
"I need you to resurrect Akkamesh. My husband for your husband."
"That doesn't seem like a fair trade," Diana raised an eyebrow.
"It is when you count your deception from the past," the tone of Xra's voice suddenly changed; her red veins, starting to pop out from her unusually pale and gray skin,
"Maybe you've forgotten because of your age, but you promised to resurrect my husband—but you ran away. I am just being the civilized one and offering to help your husband."
"I was chased away, there's a difference," Diana let out a small sigh as she shook her head, "Remember? The Guardians from before are not as… tame as they are today. They must have really needed that thing."
"You could have left it to me! Didn't you say that was the last thing we needed to resurrect Akkamesh!?" Xra raised her voice as her nails started to grow longer and sharper, "We stole that machine from right under their nose and you took it for yourself!"
"Please," Diana waved her hand, "Stop reminiscing about our rebellious phase. And we're technically just borrowing it, I just haven't had the time to return it yet… Come to think of it, I don't know where it is now."
"You lost the Star Compressor!?"
"I'm sure it'll pop up; we don't need it anyway. It's old technology," Diana slightly stuck out her tongue before turning around to return to the hole she was digging; before she could take a single step, however, Xra grabbed her arm.
"You still haven't told me if we have a deal, Caitlain," Xra slightly snarled, "I don't care what the fuck it is you are doing here. I don't even care that your adoptive son is the same as me, I'm sure that's not an accident. I just want to revive my Akkamesh… please."
"..." Diana blinked a couple of times as she looked at the hand that was grabbing her, before turning to look at Xra,
"What do you mean Riley is the same as you?"
"We have both seen the other side," Xra answered without any hesitation, "I will tell you what you want to know and what you need to know. Just please… finish what you started. Help me resurrect Akkamesh."
"...I can't."
"Why not!?"
"Because there's nothing to revive, Xra."
"...What? What do you mean? I preserved—"
"You're preserving nothing. What you have…
…was always just an empty husk."
Chapter 526"Empty husk? What do you mean empty husk?"
The island that Xra and Diana were on was already as quiet as it could be. There was no presence of anything else other than them; but as the tone of Xra's voice started to show her desperation, even the heavy leaves that rustled with the wind seemingly stopped moving.
Even Diana remained quiet; her eyes were still completely calm, watching as Xra's shoulders slowly dropped.
"What are you saying, Caitlain?" Xra approached Diana and placed both her hands on her shoulders. Diana, however, still remained quiet even as Xra looked her directly in the eyes.
Diana didn't need to speak; just by Xra's actions alone, it was clear that she already knew what Diana meant. And so, Diana just returned her gaze.
"No… no," Xra shook her head as her grip on Diana's shoulders tightened, "That's not true, no…"
"..." Diana could really only close her eyes and take in a deep breath; not because she did not want to see Xra crying tears of blood, but because her plan would now most likely fail.
Diana surrendered to the Grand Militia because she could always escape from them no matter what. Attaching the collar on her neck was probably the most idiotic thing they could do, after all—Diana helped in the improvements of the collars, and the reason she surrendered to them blissfully in the first place was to get one.
The collar, after all, is connected like a web of strings. It's connected to other collars, it's connected to each and every device of the Grand Militia, and it's connected directly to the server of the Grand Militia itself.
They just gave Diana free access to completely freeze their entire operation.
And the reason she was digging through the ground…was to access one of her labs that is clearly still not compromised by the planet. What she did not expect, however, was the arrival of an entity that she has not seen for thousands of years.
She could just completely ignore her and tell her what she wants… but Diana was truly curious as to why she said that she and Riley were the same. There was also the fact that Xra can truly help Bernard with absorbing the Guardian Force.
"Please, Caitlain… tell me that's not true."
"..." Diana once again focused on Xra, only to see her face filled with streaks of blood. But finally, after another breath, Diana finally opened her mouth,
"It is, Xra. Even before, the… thing you've been carrying on your ship is nothing but space dust and the dying energy of a fractured dying star."
"No…" Xra shook her head, causing some of the blood on her face to splash away, "He reacts to me, Caitlain. He reacts to me. He's alive… I can feel it, he reaches out to me every single day and—"
"Because you're a conductor, Xra. The energy stretches toward you in an attempt to—"
"No!"
"He's gone, Xra."
"No," Xra forced a chuckle as she once again shook her head, "Then why… why didn't you tell me before? You… you were my friend, Caitlain."
"...Because I needed your help in breaking through the Guardians," Diana sighed and closed her eyes, "I already knew… I knew at first glance that there was nothing in—"
"You… gave me false hope?"
"This false hope is the only thing that kept you going, Xra," Diana looked Xra in the eyes, "You would have just wasted your life away."
"I do not have life, Caitlain!" Xra pushed Diana away as she screamed; wings of blood, instantly emerging from her back, "I do not have life without my Akkamesh!"
"..." Diana could really only look away.
"Akkamesh…Akkamesh," Xra grasped her head as her knees fell to the ground, "My dear Akkamesh… Akkamesh."
"Xra, the Grand Militia is on their way back here because they heard you. You need to go."
"You… you used me," Xra then turned to look at Diana; her red eyes, almost merging with all the blood on her face, "You were my friend, Caitlain."
"..."
"You… you even found my home planet and you didn't tell me. We… we could have found something there to revive Akkamesh."
"There is nothing to revive."
"You… you resurrected Riley's biological mother, didn't you? He told me, he told me how powerful she was. She was more powerful than Akkamesh and you resurrected her."
"..."
"You're just making excuses… excuses… my Akkamesh," Xra then started to chuckle as she stood up, "My Akkamesh should be here… it's your fault… it's your fault."
"..."
"It's your fau—!!!"
And before Xra could finish her words, Diana suddenly disappeared in front of her; her fingers, already threatening to rip out Xra's face. Xra, however, did not move and just continued to wallow and waste away even as Diana's hand was only an inch away from her.
But then, all of a sudden, Diana's hand slightly moved to the side, brushing past Xra's face and hitting… a fist that wasn't there just a moment ago. Diana only glanced at Xra, before kicking her away and using that momentum to swing her leg straight toward the owner of the fist she was holding.
It was a man from the Grand Militia; and judging by how fast he moved his head back to avoid Diana's foot, he was not just some mere foot soldier. Sadly for him… Diana was also not just some mere normal themarian.
As soon as the soldier blocked her kick, Diana pulled him closer toward her before locking her legs around his arm—and without any hesitation, Diana ripped off his arm. And before anything else could happen, Diana spun her body and slammed the torn-off arm straight toward the face of its owner…shaving half of it completely.
The soldier, however, still stood and just took a step back as his face and arm already started to regenerate. But before his head could close entirely, Diana plunged her hand through it, pulling out his brain and violently slamming it to the ground before stomping on it.
"..." Diana turned to look at the mushed brain, and as soon as she saw it still squirming, she once again stomped on it and ground it until nothing was left,
"I don't really like violence," Diana then sighed before she looked around her, only to see more than a dozen Grand Militia officers surrounding her; their eyes, lighting up all at the same time. Xra, who was weeping on the ground, was also being surrounded by several themarians,
"Xra, if you're done moping around about your dead lover that you've only really been around for less than a week…
…I could use your help to make this easier."
***
"Do we really not have to put up a disguise, Princess Esme?"
"The people of Hel tend to not care about the things that are not happening in their domain, Professor Riley. They also suppress and ignore any information from the outside, even from their infantry force."
"Are they a totalitarian nation?"
"...What's that?"
And while a small war was happening somewhere around the planet, Katherine, Esme, and Riley have just landed on Hel territory. It would seem they were no longer allowed to ride their ship across the border, and would have to proceed by land as Hel has a strict 'No Flying' policy in most of their states—only members of the Grand Militia could freely travel from and to borders.
And as a political entity of the other nation, they would also have to be completely checked.
"Princess Esme, please proceed. We don't have to check your identity."
"Thank you, the people behind me are envoys sent by my father to escort me."
"Of course, Your Highness. We're only checking them for formality. We're told you're here to visit Princess Aerith?"
"Yes. I… would like to see her before her own family abandons and kills her."
"That's… the royal family is fair."
There were probably more than a dozen guards welcoming them there, much more than usual for obvious reasons. Unlike the soldiers and guards of Varoif, Hel's infantry was more armed; wearing some sort of silver armor that only exposed their faces.
"You, please step forward."
"..." Katherine didn't really have any choice but to approach the guards. Esme told them to just relax and calm down… but she was slightly finding that hard to do as several flying orbs started circling around her.
"State your name."
"...Katherine Read."
"Okay, nothing unusual. Please proceed. You, please step forward."
"..." Like with Katherine, several orbs also surrounded Riley as if to scan him. Unlike with Katherine, however, the orbs seemed to be taking longer as they have been circling Riley for several laps now.
"..." Riley then turned to look at Esme, who also had her head tilted to the side and obviously confused as to what was happening. But after a few more seconds, a small beep whispered through the air.
"Oh…" One of the guards then hummed as he looked at Riley,
"You should have just said you're a citizen here. Proceed."
Chapter 527"I am a citizen of Hel?"
Riley's head tilted to the side, to the point that his cheek was almost sticking to his shoulder. He then turned to look at Princess Esme almost as if to ask her if she was the one who did that; Princess Esme, however, also had her head tilted to the side like a confused and curious puppy.
"You… don't know that you're a fellow citizen?"
Seeing Riley and Princess Esme's look of confusion, the guards also started looking at each other. The only one that wasn't really showing any signs of emotion, surprisingly, was Katherine; she was just staring at Riley, hoping that he wouldn't ask too many questions and just pass through.
But alas, for someone like Riley, that is out of the question.
"It has been 6,666 years since I last went home," Riley then let out a small sigh,
"My memory can get a little fuzzy," he then said in a different accent that closely resembled Aerith's whenever she spoke themarian.
"..." One of the guards then subtly blocked Riley's path, while the other guards all quickly huddled up to examine Riley's profile. They were looking at some sort of orb, and judging by the way their eyes moved, the orb was emitting a hologram—no, perhaps an augmented reality that only they could see.
"Ah! It makes sense that you have not been home for a very long time." Without even a few seconds later, however, all the guards nodded their heads in unison as they chuckled, "It says here you're from the Grand Militia. A lot of veterans usually forget their homes after being gone."
"Codename, Paragon, Rank… Champion Sergeant."
"..."
And all of a sudden, the faces of the guards all turned stiff as they looked back and forth between the orb and Riley; they all then sucked in their breaths at the same time, before placing their hands on their back and facing Riley with their heads turned high.
"Lord Paragon."
The other guards that were also there patrolling the border, even from afar, all stopped walking and stood to greet Riley. In fact, even those that were on Varoif's side, as confused as they were since nothing of any sort came up on their side, also stopped to salute.
The Grand Militia has 12 ranks, and although they were a completely separate and independent unit from Varoif's and Hel's soldiers, both kingdoms' men still respected their ranks.
And Riley's rank, Champion Sergeant, almost stood at the top with only two ranks sitting above it—The Sergeant Monarch, and the Overlord of the Order of the Grand Militia.
Suffice it to say, Riley's rank just made him the highest-ranked official at the border; something the guards truly did not expect. After all, at a certain rank, officers of the Grand Militia could freely cross borders with just a slight heads-up.
The old themarian he met, Darmuid, also held the rank of Champion Sergeant. And for someone like Darmuid, he didn't really have to declare anything.
"..." And now, as the center of attention, Riley could really only just blink a couple of times as he surveyed his surroundings. His and Katherine's plan was to lay low as much as possible and just stay behind the Princess, but alas.
Riley then just let out a small sigh, before also placing his hands on his back and standing up straight. He then turned to look at the guards in front of him, causing them to slightly flinch.
"Can you review my file, Hel border patrol guards?"
"We…" The one that seemed to be the leader of the guards immediately gulped as he heard Riley's words, "I am afraid we don't have the clearance to view the rest of your file, Lord Riley. They're all confidential information."
"Give it to me."
And without even a slight hesitation, the guards quickly dispersed and handed the orb to Riley. And as soon as he grabbed it, several… holograms popped up in front of him. and judging by everyone's lack of reaction, only he could see the hologram.
"..." Riley already had an idea who made all of this possible, but now, it was fully confirmed with Diana's photo, posing with a peace sign and a casual smile on her face. Bernard was also behind her, still completely unconscious with his mouth wide open.
Diana always had a weird way of doing things, even before she was revealed to be a themarian. Riley, albeit he did not show much, was actually slightly afraid of Diana. After all, for a woman that was surrounded by super-powered people, she just seemed too... relaxed. And most importantly, she was the only one who could close Hannah's mouth shut. Truly, an amazing feat.
"Hm," Riley then waved his hand, pushing the window away to focus on his profile; and there, several pieces of information about him have been… doctored. His date of birth, his age, all fake. There is one piece of information, however, that Riley was curious about—the home address. It might just also be a fake one, but it was worth looking into.
"Can I keep this?" Riley then said as he pointed at the orb, "Princess Esme will pay for it."
"That—"
And before the border officer could even finish his words, a quiet but sharp beeping noise rang from his pocket. He quickly grabbed his orb, only for him to almost drop it after seeing what the notification was.
"This… is too much, Your Highness!" The border officer faced Princess Esme before kneeling.
"That is just my daily allowance, commoner. No need to exaggerate."
And with that, the three were finally free to move about Hel. Katherine and Riley landed on this side of the planet initially, but they were just starting to notice how different the two nations were.
In terms of technology and culture, both were basically the same. The only stark difference between the two was its people, and how strictly they enforce their laws on their people.
Varoif was more lenient and laid back, and Hel… Hel would even execute their own Princess to prove a point.
"I did not know you were a high-ranking official, Professor Riley."
"I suppose I am now, Princess Esme."
"...Was it Megawoman?"
"It's mother's doing, Katherine. And I believe she left us an address to visit."
"That is very interesting, Professor Riley. Should we visit it first?"
"No. Aerith comes first. We need to—"
"Welcome to Hel, Princess Esme, and escorts."
And while the three were casually making their way out of the border, a man suddenly appeared in front of them—already bowing his head to Princess Esme.
A familiar man.
"Zac."
It was the Star Sergeant who tricked Riley into meeting Princess Esme.
"Your Highness… Lord Riley," Zac then also bowed to Riley; a small but obvious mischievous smile, planted on his face, "I was unaware you were my superior. I will not question how that suddenly happened."
"I was superior to you the moment I first died, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley just shrugged.
"Of course, Lord Riley," Zac forced a chuckle, "Let me make it up to you by delivering you to the right Princess this—Kh!"
Zac then felt something blocking his throat, preventing him from finishing his words.
"You really should not have shown yourself to me, Star Sergeant Zac." And all of a sudden, Riley's eyes turned red as he very slowly made his way to Zac,
"My emotions are becoming a bit uncontrollable ever since I left Earth—and I do not really like being tricked," Riley then stood in front of Zac, their faces almost touching as he whispered, "The only one that is allowed to trick me is sister."
"..."
"And since I am your superior…" Riley then placed his hand on Zac's face as the red light in his eyes started to become violent to the point they started to produce steam,
"…would it count as murder if I kill you for insubordination in front of all these people, Star Sergeant Zac?"
"You…" And as is the case with most of the themarians that Riley has fought with, Zac was able to break free from Riley's telekinetic hold; Zac struggled, but still literally shook it off as he moved his head back,
"...You and I both know you're not really part of the Grand Militia. Our… system detected you as soon as the border patrol scanned you… why do you think I'm here in the first place?"
"I believe you're here to die, Star Sergeant Zac."
Chapter 528"I believe you're here to die, Star Sergeant Zac."
"You really need to know how to treat people better, you'd be more popular."
Star Sergeant Zac raised both his hands in defeat. Now, one would not really think of anything about this scene as nothing but Zac truly surrendering—but there was something he and Riley only knew.
That simple action was a challenge; not to Riley's authority, as both know he truly isn't a Champion Sergeant. But rather, it was a challenge to Riley's strength. Zac was still completely locked in Riley's telekinetic hold, and yet he was able to raise both his hands and pretend as if he didn't even need to exert effort to do so—and judging by the growing smirk on his face, Zac knew exactly what he was doing.
"Now, now. No need to look at me, I know I'm beautiful," Zac then brushed his hair back, before pursing his lips and raising his eyebrows at Riley.
"..."
"Oh, don't misunderstand. I might be dapper and double beautiful, but I still like the opposite sex."
"I did not ask, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley backed away as he stood beside Katherine, "And we don't require your assistance at the moment, you can leave us."
"Well, I'm afraid that's not possible," Zac smiled before just also moving beside Katherine, "The hierarchy can get a little bit confusing at times, but it is still true that for now, you are my superior—but I can't follow your orders as the Overlord himself ordered me to follow you around."
"The Overlord himself?" Princess Esme joined in on the conversation, "But does he not like doing things with his own hands?"
"True that, Your Highness," Zac wagged his finger as this time, he moved beside Esme, "The Overlord would have checked Riley himself since no matter what he does, he can't seem to unlock or delete Riley's file from the system—and he's already the top dog if you know what I mean. Even our little old AI is refusing to grant him access."
"So why is he not here?"
"We… have a bit of a situation with a certain mythological creature," Zac wiped his forehead, "I'm just glad I'm not there. Better to face an unknown monster rather than a monster you know that wouldn't hesitate to kill you; or worse, keep you alive to be experimented on, oof. Gives me the creeps."
"Are you talking about her?" Riley then raised the orb he got from the border officer; and as soon as he did so, Diana's image popped out.
"That's classified information!" Zac quickly covered the orb, "How do you even have access to—right... Please don't just casually show information to the public, that's not how we operate."
"Everyone here knows what is happening, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley just shrugged before pulling his orb away, "Caitlain'Ur is my adoptive mother. You are not aware of that?"
"I feel like I'm not allowed to hear that," Zac covered his ears as soon as he heard Riley's words, "Look, I'm just being ordered to follow you around and make sure you don't besmirch the name of the Grand Militia."
"Riley, why are you revealing information that should otherwise be hidden?" Princess Esme blinked a couple of times, "Should you not keep this a secret from the Order of the Grand Militia?"
"I suppose I should, Princess Esme. But I do not really see the point, they will find out sooner or later," Riley shook his head, "Like how they found out I am Aerith's lover."
"No… we didn't find that out—you blatantly told me," Zac raised an eyebrow, "And what's with you being surrounded by Princesses? Princess Aerith, Princess Esme, and I am sure I saw the Princess of the Evaniels back at the bar."
"I heard that the Princess of Evaniels was also here," Esme's eyes widened, "I would very much like to meet her to see if she is better than me."
"Come to think of it—all I saw were women, there's even an old woman that already looks like she's ready to enter eternal death anytime soon," Zac's eyebrows raised even further before he turned to look at the silent Katherine,
"Wait, don't tell me you're a Princess too?"
"No," Katherine quickly answered, hoping not to be added to the conversation.
"She was my professor back on Earth."
"What?" Princess Esme quickly turned to look at Katherine as soon as she heard that, "I did not know that. I thought she was your subordinate, Professor Riley? If so, then I have been completely lacking in showing my respect to her."
"She is also my subordinate," Riley nodded, "I have learned a lot of things from her, things that I would otherwise not think of experiencing."
"Like what? What sort of teachings?" Princess Esme blinked a couple of times as her ears started to perk up, "I also want to learn."
"She taught me how to have sexual intercourse, Princess Esme."
"That… I have not done that yet," Princess Esme placed her hand on her chin, "Will it be possible to—"
"No!" Katherine's eyes started to furrow as she walked behind Riley, slightly grabbing his shirt to make him stop.
"Hm," Riley nodded, "I suppose you can also say that I am Katherine's lover, and she is mine."
As soon as those words reached Katherine's ears, however, she quickly let go of Riley; her lips wanted to move and utter so many words, but she could really only turn her head down.
This… was probably the first time those words directly came out of Riley's mouth.
"I can't be your lover," Princess Esme shook her head, "My marriage and romantic life would be and should be purely political, Professor Riley. I suppose I will not be able to learn that just yet."
"Hm," Riley nodded.
"..."
"..."
"Well, enough talking. Where exactly are we going now?" Zac then clapped his hands as silence started to approach them, "And I am just going to say this in advance before I forget—If my heart just stops functioning for even a single second, a battalion of my comrades would flock to my position."
"I suppose that would be quite fun, Star Sergeant Zac."
"That was a warning. You—no, never mind," Zac just waved his hand, "So? Are we going to visit Hel's Princess now?"
"When is her next trial, Princess Esme?" Riley asked.
"3 days from now, Professor Riley. We have time, unless you want to break her free before that," a small smirk crawled on Esme's face, "If so, then I would like to request that I am the one to break her free—it would be a good first impression and I would also like her to owe me."
"Hm. Since we have time, I would like to go someplace else first, then," Riley shook his head, "I…
…wish to visit my house here."
***
"Riley, this…"
"Hm."
With his authority as the high-ranking official of the Grand Militia, Riley and the others were able to just fly through the skies and quickly get to their destination—a humble hamlet seemingly far away from the big cities of Hel.
Katherine still couldn't get used to it. Theran is supposed to be one of the most advanced planets in the entire Known Universe, and yet this little village seemed like it sprouted straight from a fantasy book set even before the dawn of electricity.
The villagers also looked the part, with their clothes just made of whatever material was readily available. But of course, that simple material was probably comparable to a silkworm's thread compressed a million times over. Perhaps it was just some sort of choice, or just culture?
Or perhaps they have become too advanced that technology is just… not needed. Katherine has heard from Aerith and Diana that there were races out there whose technology has already completely blended with their lifestyle—technology so well adapted that it would look like sorcery.
But Theran's use of technology wasn't like that at all. Whatever the case was, Katherine knew one thing… someone like her truly doesn't belong here.
But finally, in front of Katherine was a semblance of home, it was a house that looked dramatically different from its neighbor's house, a modern home—quite literally. Because in front of them, was a complete replica of the Ross' residence back on Earth.
Even the front yard and the fence were the same—it even had a shed that may or may not lead to a bunker.
"..." Riley just glanced at Katherine, before nodding his head and entering the password to the door's security system, which was also the same as what they had back home, and true enough—the door unlocked.
Riley then just opened the door and nonchalantly stepped inside—only to see the layout of the house to be exactly the same as their home. Perhaps the only thing that was different was the lack of furnishings.
"I suppose this is why mother insisted on bringing our appliances and furniture," Riley then shrugged as he turned to Katherine and the others who were still just standing outside the door,
"It's fine, you may enter. We have—"
"Who the fuck are you?"
And before Riley could finish his words, a familiar voice crept through his ears from behind.
"..." Riley very slowly turned around, only to see Hannah—no, not exactly. She looked more like Diana, but the way her eyebrows showed her annoyance and her age made her look somewhat like Hannah in a way.
"Oi, whitey," the woman then said as she tightened her grip on the spatula she was holding,
"I fucking asked you a question. Who are you, and what the fuck are doing in my house?"
"This… is interesting."
Chapter 529Somewhere back in the Kingdom of Varoif, somewhere close to the sea, a manor stood—if a manor reached the heights of Earth's modern skyscrapers, that is. Perhaps it was better to call it a building, but like most of Theran's infrastructure, it looked historical.
With its size, one would even think that it was already abandoned—but the voices inside, albeit few, filled the entire building with a certain dread and rage.
"James! Look at me!"
The voices were seeping from a study the size of an entire library; the woman whose voice echoed throughout the entire building, relentlessly and almost violently slamming her palms on the desk in front of her. The one sitting at the desk, however, seemingly could not be bothered at all as he just continued to fidget with his orb.
"James! Are you not going to do anything!?"
"Send me, father! I'll avenge Fionn!"
The man beside the woman also approached the desk; almost towering over his mother as he also placed his hand on the desk, "We know who he is, and I already have his last position—I will make sure he—"
"Have they recovered Fionn's corpse?" And finally, James placed his orb on the table, letting it float there as he stood up; his bald head, almost as shiny as his orb.
"That…"
"I'm asking you a question, Tavi."
"They are still searching for him. They are searching outside the territory soon, father," James's son, Tavi, quickly stood up straight as he saw his father looking at him, "I believe we—"
"They?" The tone of James's voice quickly changed as he started to walk toward Tavi, "What do you mean 'they'?"
"Sir Jeri and the others are—"
"I remember ordering you," James brushed his thick mustache with his fingers, "I told you to retrieve your brother's corpse."
"But we need to avenge him so—"
"The one who sent your brother to eternal death played with several other cadets from the Grand Militia," James then placed his hand on his son's shoulder; and even though Tavi also towered him, Tavi felt like a dog being petted,
"You think you can avenge him? You, who spent 200 years as a cadet only to not become a private?"
"That—"
"Why are we debating about useless things!?" James's wife pushed his hand away from Tavi as she stood between the two, "At least your son is actually doing something about this! You're just going on about your day like nothing even happened! Our son died, your son died!"
"..." James could really only close his eyes as his wife's voice once again pierced through his ears. But after a few breaths to calm himself, his eyes started to turn red,
"The one who is doing nothing here is you, woman," James then said as he showed his teeth, "My work is done… And now I can concentrate on the hunt."
"You… you're going yourself?" James's wife slightly gasped, "But—"
"Hm," James only grunted as he started walking away.
"Will… the Grand Militia allow you to travel the border?"
"They will have no choice," James then slightly adjusted his coat, revealing the silver collar wrapped around his neck, "They can either join me…
…or I will go through them as well."
***
"This… is interesting."
"Interesting? What's interesting is there are people inside my house that I did not fucking inv—What the!? The fuck you doing!?"
"Really interesting."
The woman truly resembled Diana if she was probably 10 years younger, so much so that Riley could not help but suddenly circle around her, causing her to raise the spatula she was holding and point it toward Riley.
"Are you perhaps mother's clone?"
"Huh? Are you crazy?" The woman raised an eyebrow, before turning her attention to Katherine and the others, who were just standing in front of the door completely clueless as to what was going on,
"Who the fuck are you people and why is this guy trying to sniff me!?" And with that scream, the woman suddenly slammed her spatula straight at Riley's face, who took several steps back as his head violently swung to the side.
"...Hm," Riley, however, just calmly stood up straight even with the mark of a spatula still clearly planted on his white cheek, "Perhaps I should rephrase my question—Are you Caitlain'Ur's clone?"
"..." The woman quickly pointed her spatula back to Riley, before slightly moving it to the side so she could get a good look at Riley's face,
"You… know mother?"
"Mother?" Riley's eyes slightly squinted, "Caitlain'Ur is your mother?"
"I am the one asking questions here," the woman stretched the spatula closer to Riley's head, "How do you know Caitlain?"
"If you're mother's daughter, then I suppose that makes you my adoptive step-sister," Riley, however, just placed his hand on his chin; his eyes, seemingly lost in thought, "This makes the family dynamics quite confusing now."
"...What?" And very slowly, the woman's eyes also started to squint as she looked at Riley from head to toe, "You're one of mother's adopted children? I thought the last one died 1,226 years ago with the planet Aurum."
"To my knowledge, I am her only adopted child, and sister is her only biological child," Riley breathed out before he started looking around the house, "But I am now realizing that there could still be others out there, considering her age."
"Sister?" The woman blinked a couple of times as she blocked Riley's path with her spatula, "Mother has a biological child!?"
"Yes, you two look similar but not quite," Riley nodded, "Wait—are you not mother's biological child as well?"
"No, pft. I am not even fully biological in nature," the woman scoffed, "My name is Anna, one of mother's earliest children."
"Anna… as in the ship?" Katherine joined in on the conversation as soon as she heard the woman's name.
"The ship? You mean Anna?" Anna squinted her eyes, "That's my younger sister. How do you know her? Who are you—Wait… could it be mother's here!? That makes sense. Why would her adopted child be here if she isn't here!"
A wide smile then started to crawl on Anna's face, "Where is she!? Is she with you!?"
Anna almost hopped as she ran past Esme and Zac, almost pushing them to the side as she rushed to the door,
"Where is she!?"
"Caitlain'Ur… had a base here all along?" Zac could really only take in a small gulp as he very slowly started to back away; not really knowing where to go. Suddenly, however, his back hit Princess Esme's arm.
"Please don't try anything, Zac," Princess Esme calmly whispered, "You're just here to follow Professor Riley—do anything else like report him, and I will apply Professor Riley's teaching to you."
"I'm… just overwhelmed, Your Highness," Zac could really only force a chuckle. But before he could do anything, he found Anna right in front of his face; her eyes staring at him filled with a sort of hostility.
"You're wearing the Order's uniform," Anna squinted her eyes, "If you weren't with mother's adopted son, I would have already killed you."
"O…okay?" Zac's eye started to twitch. In just less than an hour, he had been threatened to die by three people. Just what sort of situation is this?
"Wait, what sort of party is this?" Anna then turned her eyes toward Esme, "You're the youngest princess of Varoif."
"...Yes," Princess Esme bowed her head, "It is an honor to meet one of the creations of the Caitlain'Ur."
"Hm, it's good that you know your position," Anna nodded before finally returning to Riley, "Where's mother?"
"I believe she is currently being held by the Grand Militia, Anna," Riley breathed out as he looked at Zac.
"Oh," Anna, however, only shrugged as she heard that, "She probably needs something with them. You said mother has a biological child? Where is she?"
"She is somewhere on the planet, Anna."
"Call me older sister, I am older than you," Anna once again pointed her spatula at Riley.
"...Okay, older sister."
"Good," Anna nodded, "I like you, you get it. So, are you guys hungry? I can cook you food while you update me with anything you want to tell me. Personally, I would like to know more about mother's biological child."
"Her name is Hannah, older sister," Riley nodded as he started to walk to where the kitchen should be, "She is also my older sister."
"As expected of mother, her naming sense is impeccable as always," Anna once again nodded as she followed Riley to the kitchen, leaving Katherine and the others just standing in the hallway.
"..." Princess Esme looked at Katherine and Zac for a few seconds, before also nodding her head and following the two step-siblings,
"I suppose we are having a meal."
Chapter 530"So, that's how it is."
Anna had her elbows resting on the dining table; her mouth, covered by her hands as she had them clasped together. She seemed to be deep in thought with the way her eyes just looked at the table, which now had empty plates and glasses.
And while she was lost in her own world, Riley started picking up the plates before letting them float to the sink. Before he could wash it, however, Katherine stood up from the table.
"I'll do it, you go talk to her," Katherine said as she placed her hand on Riley's shoulder, gesturing to him to just take a seat.
"That is how it is, older sister," Riley just nodded. Zac and Esme, who were also listening to their conversation, could really only keep their mouths shut and listen. Both were learning more and more about Riley and the people around him; Zac, however, was more focused as he wanted to report everything he heard here to his superiors.
"I would really like to meet Hannah," Anna finally snapped out of her stupor as she looked at Riley, "I wonder if she will also make her way here?"
"Perhaps, but she is slightly stupid," Riley sighed as he shook his head, "But since mother was able to find a way for me to find this place, I am certain she has plans for sister too. She could very well be on her way here."
"Hm…" Anna rested her chin on her fingers, "...But why exactly did mother lead you here?"
"You believe my stories, older sister?"
"Well, yeah," Anna scoffed before glancing at Zac, "No one is stupid and brave enough to pretend to be mother's children—you will be hunted by the Order. My question remains valid, why exactly did she lead you here?"
"I suppose she just wanted me to meet you, older sister."
"No. Mother would just introduce us to each other directly. There has to be a deeper reason. Mother doesn't do anything by mistake or without reason."
"That is not really a true statement, older sister," Riley immediately shook his head, "I am a mistake and she helped create me."
"Hm… that's true," Anna breathed out, "A deep reason… deep reason."
"A deep reason—does the shack outside in the yard perhaps have an underground bunker, older sister?"
"I like the way you think," Anna quickly stood up, "I haven't actually been there yet."
"How… long have you lived here?" Katherine, who had just finished doing the dishes, could not help but join in on the conversation as soon as she heard Anna's words.
"7,496 years," Anna shrugged.
"...And you've been alone for that long?" Katherine blinked a couple of times in disbelief.
"Mother was with me for 3 years, but yes."
"And you never checked the shack?"
"I never left the house," Anna just shrugged as if she just said something casual.
"You never left the house…" Katherine's eyes widened in shock, "This house…for 7 and a half millennia?"
"Yes. It would not make sense to leave…I am the house."
"...What?"
"I am the house," Anna then snapped her fingers; and as she did so, all the lights inside the house; the appliances, and even the sink all turned on, "And the house is me. You have met Anna on the ship, she and I are the same—Avatars, creations of mother."
"..."
"Although I suppose mother still has not created Anna a body. It makes sense since she could already move and fly around."
"So… you can't leave this house?" The tone of Katherine's voice slightly lowered and turned melancholic.
"Oh, I can leave if I want to," Anna, however, just shrugged, "I just don't see a point. Everything I need is here and I would be hunted out there if they discovered who I am. I am not really confident in fighting themarians, they are physically stronger than I am and—"
"Perhaps we should check the shack first, older sister?" Riley shook his head.
"Yup," Anna breathed out and rolled her eyes from being interrupted, "We… should check that too."
"Maybe another Anna is there, older sister."
"Oh, I fucking hope not. Can you imagine what kind of Anna lives there?" Anna rubbed her arms as she shivered, "That would be creepy as fuck."
"It is interesting you developed that kind of language, older sister."
"I'm just imitating how mother talks."
"I… suppose that makes sense," Riley slightly squinted his eyes, "I am too young to remember, but I believe sister also adapted her vernacular from mother."
"Now I really want to meet Hannah."
"Hm, let's check the shack first, older sister…
…there might be something important there that mother would want me to see."
***
"There's nothing here. There goes my fucking excitement for the outside world."
"Hm."
The shack was completely empty, with not even a shelf or a cabinet—or even a light to adorn it. Riley kept tapping the walls and stepping on the floors to see if there were any intricate or hidden buttons, but nothing. Katherine, Esme, and Zac were also doing the same—but aside from some cracks from aging, there really wasn't anything there.
"Can I dig through the ground, older sister?"
"What? No!" Anna quickly stood in front of Riley, "Mother doesn't like her things broken."
"That is true," Riley sighed as he placed his hand on his chin, "Perhaps there is no deeper meaning to this after all, older sister. Mother probably just put this address as a placeholder since it exists."
"Well, that's fucking boring. And well, it's been a very fun adventure of 10 meters," Anne could really only force a chuckle as she made her way to the door, "I am going back home. You guys can feel free to stay or whatever, there are still 3 days until Princess Aerith's trials, right? I remember that woman. She was almost sent to eternal death by mother when—"
And before she could finish her words, a slightly loud ticking noise whispered throughout the shack. She then very slowly turned her head down to look at the source of the noise, only to see the door knob… now in his hands and not attached to the door.
"...Why did you break this, younger brother?" Anna then slightly stuttered with her words as she very slowly turned her head toward Riley.
"..."
"You broke it, yes?" Anna then forced a smile, "It's not me. I didn't—"
And once again, before Anna could finish her words, another loud tick whispered through the shack. And before they could make out where the sound was coming from, a thick silver slab slid down and barred the door.
"O…kay?" Anna slowly backed away before standing behind Riley, "Why did it do that?"
"Should you not be the one to know that, older sister?"
"I just told you that I haven't— !!!"
And once again, Anna's words were interrupted. This time, however, not by subtle tick—but a rumbling and almost deafening boom.
"I… I lost connection with the house!" Anna then screamed as she suddenly dropped to the floor, "I… I can't feel the house!"
"Something is happening outside, older sister."
"No shit!?"
Another boom erupted—and for it to have enough power to cause the themarian terrain quake would mean that it wasn't just a normal explosion. And the fact that it took around a minute for it to settle… one could just imagine what was happening outside.
And as soon as the trembling stopped, the slab that barred the door opened.
"Tch," and without even any hesitation, Anna rammed the door open… and there, outside… the house that once stood was no more. Instead, it was replaced by a large hole, completely cylindrical and hollow.
"Is that… a cannon?"
And inside the large hole, was a nozzle almost as big as its container. Its nozzle, still seething red from whatever fired from it.
"This is very interesting, older sister," Riley joined Anna as he also looked down at the cannon, "Mother really likes her explosive reveals and secrets."
"Interesting!? My fucking house is gone! What… what am I going to do now!?"
"But you are still alive, no?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "It turns out that you are not the house and the house is not you, older sister."
"Can you stop sa—"
"Uhm, guys…"
And before the two could continue bickering, Katherine interrupted them as she pointed toward the sky. Riley and Anna quickly turned their heads up… only to see another hole in the sky, a tear large and deep enough that one could already see the darkness of space even as the sun still shone.
"We..." Anna took in a small gulp,
"...We should probably leave."
"What about the house, older sis-"
"Fuck the house! Let's go!"
Chapter 531"What the fuck do you think it is?"
"It was a large and powerful cannon that was able to pierce all the way to the planet's exosphere, older sister."
"I know what it fucking did! But what the fuck do you think it is!?"
Riley, Anna, and the others were now kilometers away from the small settlement; and yet the hole that was made in the sky was still very clear to see. There have also been soldiers from the Grand Militia flying above the skies and questioning the residents of the hamlet.
Riley and the others were also flying away from the scene of the crime, but just inches from the ground far enough to not make any noise and be detected by the militia. But of course, with Riley's telekinetic bubble, the group did not really have to worry about their voices being heard.
"You said you and the house are one, Anna," Princess Esme joined in on the conversation. None of them were actually really flying and were just letting Riley carry them due to the fact that Katherine and Anna wouldn't really be able to fly at the speeds Riley, Esme, and Zac were capable of,
"How could you not know that there was a weapon of mass destruction right under you?"
"The same reason that I don't even know what the fuck was on the shack in the yard—I know nothing about anything that is outside the house, and that includes what is beneath it."
"That sounds like a lie to me."
"Well, it's not," Anna clicked her tongue as she looked away from Esme.
"Whatever it did, it's got the entire Grand Militia and Hel panicking," Zac, who had been quietly fidgeting with his device, finally returned it to his pocket before letting out a small but very long grunt,
"And no, before anyone threatens me with my life again; I did not say anything about our involvement with all of this. I still enjoy my life, thank you very much. I was ordered to follow Riley, and that is what I am just going to do until otherwise ordered so."
"...The only way we would really know what that cannon was for is to ask mother about it," Anna breathed out, "But that thing was a planet buster capable of destroying a celestial body from millions of miles away—and perhaps that is what it did. But then why?"
"I find it quite odd that you use the same unit of measurement on Theran, older sister."
"Mother probably had an influence in creating yours," Anna shrugged, "And that's not the point I am saying—I am saying we need to find mother."
"No," Riley quickly shook his head, "Visiting Aerith comes first. Mother will be fine."
"Of course, mother will be fine. But I want fucking answers!"
"Then you can go ahead, older sister. My current goal is to visit Aerith and perhaps rescue her."
"Wha—your priority should be helping family!" Anna's eyebrows rose up, "Katherine, tell him! You're his wife, it will sound more convincing!"
"...I'm not his wife," Katherine could really only sigh as she was suddenly dragged to the conversation, "And I'm afraid you won't be able to change his mind once Megawoman is involved."
"Megawoman? Who's that?"
"Ms. Aerith. Riley has some sort of… obsession with her."
"...And you're allowing this!?" Anna then suddenly grabbed a spatula out of her clothes, before pointing it at Riley, "Don't tell me you're one of those polygamous unfaithful fuckers!?"
"I am very faithful, older sister," Riley shook his head.
"Wh—float me towards you so I can hit you on the head!" Anna then started waving her spatula in an attempt to reach Riley, but alas.
"But… Anna, isn't this your first time being out in the world for thousands of years?" Katherine watched as Anna still desperately tried to really hit Riley, "Why not just enjoy it? You said so yourself, if Diana wanted to be found, then she will find you herself."
"Oh, I'm grateful for the sentiment, Katherine, but…" Anna let out a very long and deep sigh, "...I'm not a living thing. I might act like one, I might truly be perceived as one, but I'm fucking not. I can't, per se, really enjoy; everything I do, everything I feel, every response I do—they are all predetermined by… code."
"And how is that any different from us?" Katherine sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment, before turning to look at Riley, "Our response is determined by our experiences throughout life—our code. What do you think, Riley?"
"She's a machine, Katherine."
"...And?"
"She's a machine, she told us that already."
"..." Katherine's eye could really only twitch as she heard Riley's words. Riley usually had a speech or two whenever a topic like this was opened up, but to think he would just shrug and think nothing of it. Riley even has a clone that gained his own sentience—truly, Riley was still the most unpredictable individual in this group.
"The difference is that I am literally a program, Katherine," Anna then let out a small chuckle as she answered Katherine, "Even now, my… longing to search for mother is driven by code. I do not know what to do, and therefore my primary response is to search for my creator to seek answers to which I am not able to process with my current version."
"...Right," and with that, Katherine could really only once again sigh, before just focusing on Zac, "Do you know where they are keeping Karina? She's safe, right?"
"...Who?" Zac raised an eyebrow.
"My daughter, Riley's daughter. The Grand Militia took her along with Diana," Katherine's eyebrows started to furrow, "Aerith told me that she would be safe, but… I don't think she expected to be put to death by her own family when she promised that."
"..." Zac immediately turned to look at Riley, squinting his eyes almost to the point they were closed before he took in a small gasp,
"Oh…" He then deeply breathed out, "...Yeah, I could see the resemblance. About that…"
"Where is she?" Katherine's voice started to stutter. The only reason she had been calm all this time despite everything was because Aerith promised her that Karina will be alright, and that she would personally protect her—but now that Aerith was not in a position to do that anymore, the facade of calmness she was carrying was slowly becoming heavier and heavier, slipping away by the second.
"Well, I think you'd be glad to know that we don't have her," Zac then let out a sigh of relief, "We let her go, Princess Aerith probably pulled some strings before she got into this whole eternal death mess."
"So, she's with her?" Katherine also let out a sigh of relief. If Aerith got her, then she was most probably with Paige right now somewhere in their castle or whatever estate Aerith and the royal family of Hel lived in.
"Well… I'm not really sure about that," Zac awkwardly chuckled as he scratched his cheek, "Aerith was already being held by Hel when we released your daughter."
"Riley, please stop!"
And as soon as Katherine raised her voice; their group which was rapidly flying a few inches above ground instantly stopped.
"So, where is she now!?" Katherine's voice became even louder as soon as her feet touched the ground.
"I… We don't know," Zac raised both his hands, "Once we don't detain a person of interest anymore, we have nothing to do with them anymore. We just… set them free."
"...My daughter is less than 3 years old."
"Really? She looked a lot older than—"
"Are you saying Karina… is out there?" Katherine's breaths started to stutter as she looked at Riley, "Riley… our daughter is out there alone. This… this is ridiculous."
"She is abnormally strong, Katherine," Riley, however, just returned her stare, "I am certain she will be fine."
"We need to find Diana."
"Aerith first, Katherine. We already discussed this."
"Anna," and with her eyes still completely fixed on Riley, the tone of Katherine's voice slightly became deeper.
"Right, I guess you're with me now?" Anna sucked in her breath before placing her hand on Riley's shoulder, "I guess your wife and I are going to have some bonding time, Riley."
"..." Riley looked back and forth between Katherine and Anna for a few seconds, before nodding his head and settling at Anna, "Please keep her safe, Anna. Katherine is quite important to me."
"Not important enough," Katherine shook her head as she walked away. She thought that Riley was actually starting to gain some sort of connection to her since he was… starting to develop his emotions—but she was a fool. Riley will always be… Riley.
And Katherine was once again starting to hate herself even more for still having feelings for him.
"Anna, let's go."
"...Right," Anna then patted Riley's shoulder as she followed Katherine, "See you when I see you again, little brother."
"..."
"..."
"So…
…I guess it's just us three now?"
Chapter 532"Fuck! Where the fuck are we!? We should be thinking of how to rescue Silvie!"
"It says we're here."
"Are you sure Megawoman sent that, Hera!? Isn't she like in jail right now or something?"
"There's no jail in Theran, they prefer the term 'in strict surveillance'."
"Shut up, I wasn't talking to you. Just take care of the old woman."
"...I'm not a caregiver."
"Fuck if I care."
"..."
Hannah, Tsula, Hera, Tomoe, and Vera were currently in front of a lake; a colossal lake that might as well be a sea. But since the navigation system of Teera X120 still classifies it as a lake, then that is what it will remain—for the group, however, it didn't matter.
"..." Hannah squinted her eyes to try and see if there could be anything in the water since it was clear, but there was absolutely nothing but just rocks and some aquatic leaves; she already tried flying above the lake, but the water gets dark fast—a testament on how deep it was.
"There's nothing here! Let me have that!" And as Hannah's non-existent patience ran out, she grabbed the Teera X120 from Hera's hand. Hannah quickly tried fidgeting with the device, but the map wasn't responding to her touches,
"Is this shit broken or something?"
"I think only I can use it," Hera sighed as she snatched the device back, "I guess Megawoman thought that I'm the only trustworthy one out of all of us—and I'm not even supposed to be here."
"The fuck does that mean?" Hannah raised an eyebrow.
"It means you should start respecting me, girl," Hera slightly scoffed as she raised her head a bit; she was already literally looking down on Hannah since she was a couple of inches taller than her, but right now, she was making a statement,
"And I'm also older than you."
"Hierarchy doesn't work like that here," Hannah crossed her arms, "The strongest one should lead."
"Then, shouldn't I be leading?" Vera suddenly joined in on the conversation, "I am literally a superior race."
"Bitch, you're just fast," Hannah rolled her eyes as the air around her started to distort, causing Vera to slightly back away, "Come back to me when you can time-travel."
"I don't know about being the strongest…" Hera, on the other hand, even stepped closer to Hannah as her skin started to vibrate like scales, turning whiter with each rattle,
"...But I am sure I will be the last woman standing between the three of us if we fight."
"..." Hannah watched as Hera placed a finger on her shoulder, creating a small whisper to sizzle in the air,
"Want to fucking test that statement?" Hannah then said as she looked Hera in the eyes. She also turned to look at Vera, gesturing to her with her finger and taunting her to step closer.
"..." And all of a sudden, on this strange planet that was not theirs, three women were in a stand-off; their eyes, looking at each other like they were each other's prey.
"You children are so full of vigor."
"!!!"
And out of nowhere, the ground between them started to quake—and without even a moment later, the ground protruded and formed into a sphere, causing the three to have no choice but to stop their staring contest and back away.
And almost like a butterfly shedding its cocoon, the sphere burst and blossomed; revealing a dark-skinned woman whose long black hair reached almost to her ankles. Her long eyelashes, causing her dark eyes to almost seem larger than they are.
"The fuck?"
Her skin was also completely without blemish, and the group could see all of it from the fact that she was also completely naked.
"..." Hera, Hannah, and Vera then looked at each other again, before turning their heads to where Tsula should have been just idly sitting just a moment ago… only to see she was no longer there.
They then turned their eyes back to the brown-skinned woman in front of them, watching her as she stepped out of her cocoon and started brushing all the dirt and grass stuck on her skin; her bosoms that were surely previously almost reaching the ground, now filled with… vigor and bouncing with even the slightest of movements.
"No… No fucking way," a small chuckle then escaped Hannah's lips, "You could do that all this time!?"
"Did you just turn younger?" Hera raised an eyebrow, while Vera's eyes just started twitching from how random and weird the humans' abilititties are.
"No." And to confirm what they already know, Tsula spoke; her voice, only slightly changed from how it was before, "I'm still old and near death's door. Only my outer appearance changed—altered by this world's earth. As we are from dirt, dirt will decide my fate."
"What the fuck are you smoking?" There was still a slight chuckle in Hannah's breaths, "You mean you're just wearing dirt makeup?"
"Not exactly," Tsula shook her head, "Theran's earth now runs through my veins and I am directly connected to it—I can sustain life as long as it also lives. I feel what it feels."
"But you just said you were dying," Hera furrowed her eyebrows.
"Because the fact that all life will wither away will always be true," Tsula said as she softly raised her finger; and as she did so, the ground beneath her feet started to crawl over her—creating a sort of armor.
"That is OP as fuck," Hannah looked at the other two women, who obviously also couldn't believe what they are hearing right now, "I almost forgot you're the most dangerous super on Earth at one time."
"Right…" Hera breathed out in awe, "...They needed Megawoman to stop you."
"Still think you're the superior race, Princess fuck?" Hannah smirked as she looked at Vera. But after a few moments, she realized something, "Wait… if you can feel what the Earth feels and see what it sees—doesn't that mean you know where Riley and the others are?"
"I do. Your brother has a certain… energy in him that is too dark to ignore," Tsula did not look at Hannah as she answered, and instead just stared at the lake, "And I can also feel what's in the water."
"So, there is something in the water!?"
"There is…" Tsula closed her eyes as she took in a heavy breath,
"…something big."
"Stop it with the susp—"
"!!!"
And before Hannah could finish her words, they felt a small tremble in the air. The group wouldn't have been stopped with just that, however. No.
It was the sudden appearance of a red beam from far away—standing like a colossal tower before just disappearing in a flash. The beam, however, left a hole in the sky.
"What the fuck was that?" Hannah was the first to react, "How far was that!? Do you think our group has something to do with that!?"
"...I don't think we have time to be worrying about that."
"What do you—"
And before Hannah could even ask what Hera meant by that, she saw a hint of light slowly veiling the lake—it wasn't red, no. But it was blue enough to make the lake even bluer and clear than it already was.
"That's not going to explode on us…
…is it?"
***
"Announcing the Princess of Varoif, and her two associates!"
Hours later, in the capital city of Hel, also called Hel, Riley, Esme, and Zac finally arrived at the royal castle and were greeted… by no one. Not even a single member of the royal family welcomed them.
They were sent to the throne room, which did not even have a single light on. The only people there were fully-armored guards standing on the side, as well as the person that announced their arrival.
"Welcome to Hel," Zac let out a small but deep sigh, "This is why I don't like doing business in this place. The people are… quite snobbish. And I know what I'm speaking about, I'm Helborn."
"It truly baffles me that someone like Princess Aerith was born in an environment like this," Princess Esme commented as she started walking around the throne hall,
"Or perhaps it was because of this that she developed her rebellious nature."
"It shows her character, Princess Esme," Riley nodded, "Despite her being surrounded by people of bad influence, she grew up to be someone that helps people in need."
"Ho? You speak as if you know my cousin better than we do."
And all of a sudden, a presence revealed itself from behind the throne. Unlike with Varoif, the throne of the king of Hel was grand—still sized like normal, but even with the darkness, the aura it exuded was as majestic as thrones could be.
And from behind that darkness, a woman revealed herself.
"I do know more about Aerith than all of you, strange woman stepping from behind the throne," Riley, however, seemed completely unfazed as he just faced and looked at the woman,
"I am, after all, her lo-her number one fan."
Chapter 533"Number 1… fan?"
And almost like a flash of light that suddenly showered from all directions, the once dim hall now seemed full of life, but still very much completely empty. Compared to Varoif which literally had life around it with its beautiful and colorful foliage, Hel's throne hall only had a singular source of light—blue.
A cool blue that made it seem as if they were traveling between the bright sky and the endless ocean. The walls, the ceiling, and even the carpet leading to the throne were emitting light.
The throne that was shrouded by the darkness, now revealing the reason for its majestic aura as the light it reflected throughout the entire hall seemed like stars that shone even through the day.
The throne was small, similar in size to the wooden chair of the King of Varoif. Unlike the wooden throne, however, the throne of Hel's king was anything but simple. It had all sorts of gems attached to it, there were objects that seemed like brooches; draped along its arms and body were emeralds, amethysts, and diamonds of every size, shape, and color. It sat at the top of numerous steps, drawing all eyes to it as if it were some sort of radiant light.
At first glance, one would just think the throne was just a collection of compressed shiny junk, but no. The gems, brooches, spikes, thorns, and every small item… they were all part of something.
A crown. Crowns.
All compressed and tied together like veins; seemingly throbbing as a glimmer of light touches its surface, running through it an almost endless history of glory and triumph.
"My rebellious cousin has a fan? What exactly are you a fan of, her blatant immaturity?" The woman that appeared from behind the throne chuckled; her long brown, almost golden hair bobbed with even the slightest movement of her shoulders.
Like most of the people that Riley and the others have seen as they traversed through the city of Hel, the woman wore several layers of clothes that meld together to create an air of luxury; If Hel had anything over Varoif, then their fashion sense would surely be on the top of the list.
So… why was Aerith's Megawoman uniform so… simple?---Riley thought as he looked at the woman from head to toe.
"Or perhaps you're a fan of her blatant disrespect to the laws of nature?" The woman then stepped forward, brushing and trailing her finger on the throne before she made her way down the steps; her eyes, however, remained completely fixed on Riley's face.
"I am her fan because I like her, woman walking down the stairs," Riley, on the other hand, did not even look at the woman as he responded.
"..." The woman's eyebrows very quickly furrowed as the almost cheeky smile on her face faded away.
"Who are you to even talk to me?" The woman scoffed as she reached the floor. Her eyes then trailed toward Zac, who flinched and waved his hand in response,
"You, aren't you Star Sergeant Zac? I was informed the daughter of Varoif would be escorted by male and female envoys. Don't tell me you are really classifying yourself as female now? I thought your makeup was just a stylistic choice?"
"I… had to replace the female envoy because of certain… circumstances, Lady Claudyne," Zac forced a small chuckle to escape his red lips as he bowed his head to the woman, Claudyne.
"Then who is this rude white person?" Claudyne then crossed her arms as she looked at Riley from head to toe.
"This is Champ—"
"Riley Ross," Riley did not let Zac introduce him as a Champion Sergeant of the Grand Militia as he step forward and bowed toward Claudyne, "I am Princess Esme's professor, Lady Claudyne."
"I don't like you," Claudyne scoffed as she lightly pushed her hair back before turning around to leave, "You shouldn't show yourself to me during the duration of your stay—which isn't long since my dear cousin will be executed in 3 days time, and after that… I won't be seeing any more unwanted people."
"Perhaps you should take out your eyes to make that possible, Lady Claudyne."
"You… dare disrespect me in my own domain?" Claudyne once again turned around to look at Riley; her eyes, already as red and as bright as they could be.
"This is Princess Aerith's domain, Lady Claudyne," Riley shook his head, "You're just being allowed to live in it because you're her cousin, respectfully speaking."
"You!"
"That is enough, Lady Claudyne."
Claudyne stomped her way toward Riley; her steps, enough to cause the floor around them to slightly tremble. Before she could even get close to Riley, however, someone suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of her, standing between her and Riley. Claudyne's fist, just an inch away from hitting the stranger on the nose.
No, Claudyne did hit the stranger, but her fist just went through his face.
"Get out of my way, Noe."
"No," the stranger called Noe shook his head, "Your brother is calling for you. Please go to the South Wing immediately."
And before Riley and the others could see Noe's face, he just vanished instantly without any trace or hints—leaving Claudyne in an awkward position.
"..." Claudyne subtly turned to look at Riley, before clicking her tongue and backing away, "Don't forget my words, white hair. Know your place and leave whenever we're in the same room."
"Y—"
Claudyne did not let Riley get the last word as she quickly walked away, pushing Zac to the side as the guards opened the door for her to leave.
"..." Claudyne then glanced back, snarling at Riley before the guards closed the door on her.
"..."
"..."
"She's… quite the personality," Zac could not help but let out a short but very deep breath as he raised his eyebrows, "Actually, most of Hel's royal family are cut in the same cloth. They're quite… well, as you already saw."
"I have heard of their reputation many times before from my siblings. 'Tis no wonder they do not like visiting this place."
"Come to think of it…" Zac then immediately turned his focus to Esme, "...she completely disregarded you, Your Highness."
"..." Esme tilted her head to the side as she heard Zac's words, "Perhaps she did not notice me?"
"Uhm…" Zac blinked a couple of times as he looked at Esme from toe to head, which almost took more than a second.
"...I doubt that, Your Highness. You're… quite the towering figure."
"You are a giant, Princess Esme. It is impossible to miss you," Riley shook his head, "It would seem both of us are not entirely welcomed here."
"She could also be intimidated by her," Zac nodded, "Tales of Her Highness' abnormal strength reaches even the halls of Hel, after all."
"I am not that strong," Esme quickly shook her head.
"Please do not be too humble, Your Highness. You are, in Varoif's history, already one of the strongest themarians that have ever lived—and you're the youngest daughter of the King."
"I was just born with an abnormality, Zac," Esme shook her head, "As much as my strength can destroy things, it can also destroy me. My body does not know that it is harnessing power that it can not handle. I can literally clap my hands, and an entire stellar system could potentially collapse—but so will my body."
"How would you know that, Princess Esme?" Riley placed his hand on his chin.
"Because I have done it once before," Esme heavily breathed out as she looked at her hands, "My mother wanted to find out what I could really do and sent me to a stellar system that is not capable of harnessing life. And if we did not have the best doctors standing by—I would have already been sent to my eternal death."
"I… remember that," Zac took in a small gulp as he lightly stepped away from Esme, "The Elders of the Common Council spoke to the Grand Militia after that event."
"Interesting," Riley, on the other hand, even stepped closer to Esme as he too, started looking at her hands, "Have you ever thought of destroying the universe, Princess Esme?"
"No," Esme quickly answered.
"Do you want to?"
"No," Esme shook her head as she quickly hid her hands behind her back, "All life in the universe is precious until they are proven not to be."
"...And what if the universe proves itself not to be worthy," Zac joined in on the conversation again with another gulp, "Will… you destroy it?"
"The universe can't be judged whether it is worthy or not, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley was the one to answer him, "Only the people can be judged."
"But who decides if someone is worthy or not?" Esme said.
"Does it matter?" Riley tilted his head, "You do not need a reason to want to destroy life, Princess Esme. Plagues, disasters… calamities—do you think you can bargain with those?"
"No," Esme shook her head, "You can only wait, or try to prevent more deaths, Professor Riley."
"Correct," Riley nodded, "I plan to destroy the universe and all the people in it, Princess Esme."
"And no one can persuade you otherwise?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "In your opinion, is my life still precious?"
"It is precious to me, Professor Riley," Esme nodded, "I am learning valuable lessons from you…
…but I will help in preventing more deaths once you start."
"And how would you do that?"
"I will try to stop you."
"How?"
"By clapping my hands, Professor Riley."
Chapter 534"By clapping my hands, Professor Riley."
Esme put her hands together, causing Zac to flinch and almost take a step back; his eyes, completely fixated on her hands. This might just seem like a simple gesture, but knowing what he knows about Esme's true strength, Zac could not help but feel a little nervous.
Princess Esme is on the Grand Militia's watchlist, a list that also included Caitlain'Ur, Princess Aerith, and a few more others. Esme is at the bottom of that list, of course—as she was not really prone to violence, and she also follows the laws as strictly as she could… on her own terms.
"I wonder if you really can kill me, Princess Esme."
Riley also looked at Esme's hands; his eyes, however, showed no fear. Instead, there was a hint of excitement in them, almost as if he wanted to try it already.
"But I do not want to, Professor Riley," Esme quickly separated her hands, once again placing them behind her back.
Riley let out a small sigh, before looking Esme straight in the eyes,
"Oh, you will," a small smile then crawled on his face, "It is…
…fate."
"..."
Esme did not say anything anymore and just stood there, looking at Riley with her head down. Her face, however, was painted with curiosity as to what Riley meant, still, however, she did not ask and just placed her attention toward the empty throne.
"You might be right, Zac," she then said, "We have been here for almost half an hour, and yet besides the rude woman earlier, no one has come to welcome or attend to us. This isn't how we treat our guests in Varoif."
"They… they could also just be busy preparing for Princess Aerith's trial," Zac forced a chuckle, "Please calm down, Your Highness."
"I am calm, Zac," Esme blinked a couple of times as she heard Zac's words, "Are we supposed to only wait here?"
"Hm…" Riley then started walking around, before he started approaching the guard that was stationed at the door. Before he could ask anything, however, the guards suddenly opened the door.
"..." Riley waited for someone to step inside, but seeing as the guards were looking at him instead and even stepping to the side—they opened the door for him.
"I suppose we are free to roam around the castle, Princess Esme," Riley shrugged as he glanced back at Esme and Zac, before placing his attention back to the guard, "May I ask where Aerith is currently being kept, Hel guard?"
"I am afraid I can not answer that, Lord Riley," the guard stomped his feet and quickly stood in attention as he answered Riley's question.
"Then can you tell us where we can go?" Esme also approached the guard.
"Your Highness," the guard quickly bowed his head, "I am afraid we were not advised or ordered about anything regarding Her Highness, and her Highness' companions."
"Then, can we just explore the estate ourselves?"
"I… do not know, Your Highness," the guard subtly looked at his comrade, who only shook his head in response, "I—Please feel free to do so. Perhaps someone will assist you outside."
"Hm, thank you," Princess Esme then approached the guard, before suddenly grabbing his hand.
"..." All the guards inside the throne hall flinched as soon as they saw this. If it was any other person, then they would have probably already grabbed her and put a collar around her neck. But what exactly are they supposed to do when it was the princess of the other nation, as well as someone who is known for her abnormal strength even amongst themarians?
Their worries were nothing, however, as Esme just placed something on the guard's palm.
"This…" It was a coin, specifically a Varoif coin that is only used for certain transactions and items… which is completely useless in Hel,
"...Thank you." But of course, the guard could really only bow his head.
"Do not mention it," Esme only shook her head before glancing back at Riley,
"Shall we go find Princess Aerith?"
***
"Your two Kingdoms are completely different from each other, Princess Esme."
"I suppose so, Professor Riley. The people here have whiter skins, and most have a lighter shade of hair."
"Yes," Riley nodded, "It is quite comparable to the way it is back on my home planet. Those that live in the west are mostly Asians with skin of varying shades, and those that live in the west are mostly Europeans, either dark-skinned or white-skinned."
"So I am Asian, and you are European?" Esme blinked a couple of times as she looked at Riley.
"I suppose you can just use the term 'westerner'," Riley shook his head.
"Hm. Your species is quite indistinguishable from ours—the woman you were with, Katherine. I thought she was from Hel at first; but since I don't feel any energy coming from her, I knew she was from the same planet as you," Esme nodded,
"I suppose the way you look is not normal on your planet?"
"No," Riley shook his head, "There are only about…"
"Hm…"
And while the two were casually talking to each other while they walked through the castle, Zac could not help but feel that Hel was blatantly trying to make Esme feel completely unwelcome in their home.
They have been walking through a couple of hallways now, and all the people they have seen were obviously avoiding them. The castle's hallways were wide enough that one could fit a small ship in it, and yet not even a presence could be felt.
"..." Zac then turned his eyes toward the window walls which had the view of the outside, only to see a couple of guards and servants look away as soon as he did so. Did… they order even their people to ignore them?
The only reason Zac was here was to observe and follow Riley, and yet he could not help but feel offended by the way they were being treated. Riley and Esme did not seem to mind, however, as they just continued to walk, talk, and look around the place.
Aerith's trial wasn't until 48 hours—are they expecting Esme, a princess of the other nation, to just walk around like this until then? Wasn't this kind of treatment enough to start a war between the two nations?
This job of his, it feels like he needs to ask for a promotion after it's done.
"Your Highness," Zac hastened his steps to walk beside Esme, "Perhaps we should try to check outside? There seem to be people there, maybe we can talk to them and ask about the quarters we will be staying in."
"I am fine walking and having a conversation with Professor Riley, Zac."
"But… we will be here for an entire month, Your Highness."
"And?" Esme tilted her head to the side.
"We will need a place to rest our heads, Your Highness?"
"Hm…" Esme then looked at Riley, "...I forgot about that detail. Then go, lead the way, Zac. You know about this castle's layout more than we do."
"...Of course, Your Highness," and with that, Zac was able to breathe a sigh of relief as he walked in front of the two, leading the two to the exteriors of the castle. And Hel's castle was a literal castle, seemingly made of brick, marble, and stones; except the materials they use are probably hundreds of thousands stronger than a castle from Earth.
The guards and soldiers too were more akin to medieval knights with their armor if anything.
"I seem to have underestimated mother's influence on Earth," Riley said as he looked at the high walls of the castle, "I do not know the exact time she landed on Earth, but I am starting to believe that her influence in shaping our history is greater than Aerith's… and she did it all in the shadows."
"I would like to visit it one day, your planet," Esme looked at Riley.
"Then visit it soon, it might not be there anymore in a hundred years, Princess Esme," Riley nodded as they continued walking around. And true enough, people were actively avoiding them. The knights that were patrolling all quickly turn around and walk back in unison as soon as they see Esme.
"Perhaps I should kill one of them so they would approach us?"
"Please do not do anything violent," Zac was once again forced to let out a small chuckle as he glanced at Riley, "You… you're here as Her Highness' escort, it will be bad if you hurt someone."
"Will it really be bad, though?" Riley placed his hand on his chin, "Mother has always helped me throughout my life, maybe I should help her in creating chaos since that seems to be what she wants to happen—escaping from the Grand Militia, fighting with the Grand Militia, and then firing a cannon; all ingredients for chaos."
"...Please don't," Zac gulped, "There is—"
"That's it? You might as well be made of cotton, young master."
"Hey, don't hurt his feelings… his mommy might come and beat you, pft!"
And before Zac could start pleading, they finally heard signs of life as they near a large courtyard. The three looked at each other, before walking toward the voices.
"Even your arm is not healing that fast. You're fucked, boy."
And there, they saw several people gathered in a circle, and right in the middle of them was a man kneeling, no—groveling on his own blood. Even then, however, the man's eyes did not seem to be that of a weak puppy, but rather a lion that was waiting to just pounce on the hyenas surrounding him.
Soon, however, these eyes landed right on Riley; and without even a moment later, any fierceness and hope within his eyes instantly disappeared.
"R… Riley?"
"It seems you are having fun again…
…Gary."
Chapter 535Several minutes ago, while Riley and company were still walking through the endless hallways of the castle of Hel, Gary was in the courtyard, alone. Ever since he had arrived on Theran, he found himself going back here again and again—because it was really the only place where he felt he was being judged.
He didn't really choose to be on Theran, as when he woke up from his brief coma, they were already traveling through the expanse of space; his last memory was that of Riley—no. His last memory was that of Darkday toying with him.
The love of his life is dead; his friends, for some reason, still stay with Darkday. But perhaps this was destined.
"Perhaps I am destined to walk alone in this strange world," Gary said as he looked around the courtyard. Trees that would usually not even take a single effort for him to pull out back on Earth, now as if they have attached and wrapped their roots around the entire planet.
Ground that would usually break if he didn't control his steps, now would only crack if he stomped hard enough. And the people… the people are all stronger than him, even the maids and servants that clean the windows are stronger than him.
"..." Gary then looked at a maid that was brushing the fallen leaves away from the courtyard, causing the dried leaves to break apart with each swing. Gary also picked up a leaf beneath his feet, crushing it with his hand as he sighed—and even that, he needed to exert a little force.
This world—he was meant to be here. He heard that Darkday should have also been here, but things developed in a way that they needed to leave him out in the open, cold, and endless expanse of space.
He was gone. The universe is too big, and he will be lost for a while… But Gary knew, he knew the dark day would find its way to him. The two of them have a destiny, Darkday already took too much from him—but no more.
No more will he cower in fear, no more will he hide. This place will test him like he hasn't experienced before; it was already taking his mother away. But he will not break. He will be stronger than ever before, and he will take what is rightfully his.
And once Darkday comes, he will be ready.
"I am the rightful heir to Hel," Gary closed his eyes and breathed in the air coming into the courtyard; taking off his shoes and feeling the sharp blades of grass beneath his feet,
"I will take what is mine for I am…
…the Monar—Kh!"
And all of a sudden, Gary felt a sharp pain pinching his stomach. He quickly looked down, only to see a finger lodged into his belly; he then turned to see who it was, only to find 5 people who looked to be the same age as him, some even younger.
Of course, he knew they were all probably hundreds of years old; their hair was brown, almost carrying a golden color. But most importantly, the smirks on their faces that exuded their bravado and arrogance, a trademark of Hel's nobility.
"C… cousins," Gary slightly winced in pain as he took a step back and removed the finger from his belly,
"Did you need something?" Gary smiled as he pressed his wound. This was another trial he needed to pass. These people have been eyeing him ever since he arrived in the castle; Gary has been waiting for them to do whatever it is they wanted to do to him—this was a common troupe to all the novels he had read.
And now it was happening to him.
"Oh, nothing. We…" And before one of the men finished his words, he suddenly punched Gary straight in the face, causing him to roll on the ground several times—only stopping as he landed on the feet of the maid that was cleaning the courtyard.
"Y…Your Highness!?" The maid quickly dropped her broom to help Gary up. Gary, however, raised his hand and gestured to her not to touch him.
"I… I'll be fine," Gary said as he wiped the blood flowing from his nose, "Leave."
"I'll call the guards!"
"No," Gary shook his head, "Just leave and call no one. I have to go through this."
"...What?" The maid then slightly raised an eyebrow, "Are… you sure, Your Highness?"
"Yes, just go."
"T—"
"Go!"
"..." The maid blinked a couple of times as she watched as a small smile started to crawl on Gary's face. Although Aerith was already gone when she was employed in the castle, the Rebel Princess' tales of mischief have been ingrained in her. And now…
…it would seem her son inherited her quirkiness.
"Then… I will take my leave, Your Highness."
And with the maid finally leaving, Gary spat out the blood in his mouth as he walked back toward the group.
"So?" Gary then said as he cracked his neck and knuckles, "Are we going to do this, or not…
…my peasant cousins?"
And so… Gary proceeded to be ganged up, not even being allowed to strike a single punch as the five just continued to step on him and toy with him.
His bones were broken, and his flesh was cut. His will, however, remained completely untouched. He just gritted his way through the pain; his eyes, focusing on the people that were hitting him and memorizing their smiling faces.
Once he becomes who he is meant to be… he will make them all pay for what they did. The Monarch will never break—
"...Riley?"
And all of a sudden, his entire body became numb. His broken bones, his opened flesh, completely drowned. There was no pain anymore, not even a single one. It was as if his body just gave up as soon as his eyes landed on a being he thought he wouldn't meet for another hundred years.
And all of a sudden, any will he had was gone.
"You seem to be having fun again, Gary…
…perhaps I can join in?"
Chapter 536"You seem to be having fun again, Gary…
…perhaps I can join in?"
"...Now who in Hel is this, Your Highness? A friend of yours?"
One of the men lifted Gary by his collars, looking him straight in the eyes before glancing at Riley,
"Is His Ever So Respected Highness a friend of yours?"
"He was my classmate. But I have already advanced in life, I am a professor now."
"...What?"
Riley only glanced at the 5 men, before just casually approaching them as his eyes were only focused on Gary.
"I am trying to find your mother, Gary," Riley then stood in front of Gary, completely ignoring the fact that someone had him literally by the neck,
"Do you perhaps know where she is being kept?"
"Look at us when we're talking to you!"
One of the men rushed toward Riley, causing the leaves around them to dance violently as they were blown away.
"But I was not talking to you, was I?"
But before the man's fist could even make it a meter away from Riley's face, he found himself suddenly floating in the air; his body, completely frozen right down to the individual strands of his hair.
"..." The man just stared at Riley for a few seconds, before his entire body started vibrating; and very soon, he was able to move his face,
"You think tricks like this work!?" And with a roar, he was able to break himself free from Riley's telekinetic hold… this price for that, however, was half of his flesh completely torn away.
"W… what?" He could really only turn his roars into a whisper as he felt his body drop to the ground.
"It does now," Riley sighed as a small smile started to crawl on his face, "I am learning more and more how to effectively deal with themarians, you see. Freeze all of their body, then unfreeze half of it as soon as they start to exert and strain their muscles…"
Riley then turned around and approached the kneeling themarian, whose body was already healing,
"...and then watch them as they tear their own flesh away. I hope you're not important."
"Wh—"
And before the man could speak again, Riley swung the side of his palm right toward his neck. Riley, of course, was not able to decapitate the man's head—his hand didn't even dig through his flesh and only his skin was wounded.
But then, the smile on Riley's face became wider as the air around his hand started to distort; and almost like a saw, his hand started to vibrate.
"I hope it is alright with all of you," Riley then said as he looked at the others, "But I wanted to join the fun."
"Grah!"
And with those words, a guttural and visceral noise started to ring in the air. The man that was lifting Gary by the neck could really only let go of him as he took several steps back; the others too, all looked at each other as their feet moved on their own.
How could they not, when their friend's blood was currently showering everywhere as his neck was very slowly being… sawed in front of them; his flesh, also scattering everywhere.
The fact that his neck while also already healing while still being shredded was… not really a pretty sight.
"Fun, right!?" Riley's mouth then began to open, causing the smile on his face to become almost… diabolical as the blood started to shower on his face. Partner this with their friend screaming in pain, the group was completely petrified,
"This is how you torture someone!"
"..." Gary, who still could not believe what was happening in front of him, thought this to be a dream. Darkday… This isn't Darkday—he thought. Darkday laughs and toys with his victims, yes; but never like this.
This is not even Riley—Riley, has once, never shown anything like this.
It felt like he was more human now. But why…
…Why does he look even scarier?
"Unfortunately, I have to cut our fun short." And with those words, Riley waved his hand—finally completely decapitating the man whose neck he was sawing. Riley then just casually dropped the man's head on the ground; its neck, already squirming and regenerating the rest of his body.
"Look at that, he survived," Riley then let out a long and deep breath as he shook his head; the tone of his voice finally back to normal again. He then turned his attention back to Gary, causing him to slightly flinch; but before Riley could talk to him, the rest of the group started circling him.
"You think you can do something like that in our territory and expect to just get away with it?" The man that seemed to be the leader of the goons stepped forward,
"You're clearly helping this piece of shit prince, so we might as well fucking kill you too."
"Oh," Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at Gary again, "I suppose you're the heir to Hel, Gary. Is that why you are doing nothing as they plan Aerith's execution?"
"That—"
"Someone like him is not worthy to sit on the throne!"
Gary was not even allowed to speak as the leader of the goon started screaming and waving his hands,
"The one worthy to succeed the throne is Lucien!"
"I disagree," Riley quickly said.
"So, you are supporting him!"
"No," Riley shook his head, "Why would I support him when the next in line to the throne is still alive?"
"...Princess Aerith?" The leader of the goons furrowed his eyebrows. Soon, however, the confusion on his face turned into an amused smile,
"You think that failure is worthy of the throne!? The King himself ordered her to be executed, her own father! She is worthless!"
"...Failure?" And all of a sudden, any hint of a smile on Riley's face faded away. His hair which was still being slightly moved by the wind, now completely still along with the blades of grass beneath his feet,
"You think…
…Aerith is worthless?"
Chapter 537"You think…
…Aerith is worthless?"
"Of course, she is a failure! She left her kingdom and betrayed her people, and for what!? To go on an adventure outside the Territory? To mingle with… to mingle with mortals!?"
"Hm."
And while the tension in the air was completely obvious for anyone and everyone to see, and the themarians that surrounded Riley were ready to pounce on him all at the same time at any moment, Riley… was just grunting and looking at the ground.
"Hm…" Riley once again breathed out; his eyes, clearly lost in thought.
The themarians were also looking at the ground, but not for the same reason. It was already clear that Riley had some sort of telekinetic ability, but telekinesis was not something they haven't seen before—after all, they have an old device that does just that, move matter with your mind. No one uses it, however, as Themarians are not really fond of technology even though they have one of the most advanced techs in the Known Universe.
They could barely detect any energy from Riley, and initially thought he was using that device to compensate for his lack of strength. But this? To stop every blade of grass individually… the device was not capable of that.
"What are you still all idling for!?" The leader of the goons then snapped his fingers, "Attack him while he is lost in—"
And before he could finish his words, the blades of grass once again started moving. Well, not all of it—as the one beneath the goons' leader's feet was still completely frozen and unmoving.
"I disagree with your statement, random themarian."
"...What?" The man then turned to look at Riley, only to find him already standing just a foot away from him; his eyes which were almost devoid of any color, as if staring straight into his soul.
"You're wrong," Riley then raised his hand, before snapping his fingers. And as soon as he did so, the other themarians that were standing in a circle all dropped to the ground; the one who was regenerating from his head could really only watch the entire scenario with his eyes wide open.
"What… did you do?" The leader of the goons breathed out as he looked at his comrades.
"One thing I learned from fighting Aerith to the death is that there is a very simple way to stop a themarian momentarily."
As Riley started talking, the themarians started groaning and waking up. But once again, with another snap of Riley's fingers, they all dropped to the ground like puppets. Riley then very slowly stretched his hand toward the goon leader's face, before placing a finger behind his neck.
"Just cut off the nerve right here," Riley then tapped the man's neck, "The spinal nerve. It is hard to access otherwise, as a themarian's skin can't be penetrated by normal means—your flesh can even withstand the impact of a nuclear bomb head-on without any scratch."
"..." The man's head started to tremble as the tone of Riley's voice became lower and deeper.
"But you see, I can bypass that. I can have access to any of your internal organs, and nerves as if I am holding it right in my hand," Riley then backed away; his hand, almost as if holding something,
"Of course, this can only stop you momentarily—not even a second. But that is really all I need, and I can also do it over and over again, but…" Riley then let out a small sigh he closed his hand into a fist,
"...I don't like doing it. Because once I do, you no longer feel pain and it is no longer fun."
"..."
"Oh, you can move and say something. I did not cut off your spinal nerve," Riley tilted his head to the side as he noticed the man being quiet, "Do you want to know something about Aerith?"
"..." The man still remained still; his eyes, just looking at his friends that have been trying to stand up for a while now; soon, however, he suddenly felt himself nodding completely, but out of his control.
"Of course. Of course, you do," Riley also nodded as he smiled, "Aerith, even with her spinal nerve cut off… still manages to move and fight me. But look at your friends, they might as well be dead."
"Who…" The man then looked Riley in the eyes, "...who are you?"
"I am…" Riley then placed his hand on the man's face,"
"R—"
"Professor Riley."
And before Riley could finish his words, Princess Esme suddenly appeared behind him, causing the man to turn his head up just to look at her face.
"Aren't you… the Rocket Princess?"
"Rocket Princess? I have never been called that before," Esme squinted her eyes, before turning her head down to look at Riley, who also had his head turned all the way up to look at her since she was directly behind him,
"Please let them go, Professor Riley. I do not want to cause trouble for my father."
"Okay," Riley did not really debate, and just shrugged his shoulders before letting out a small sigh. And as soon as he did so, the other themarians that were desperately trying to get up only to fall, were finally able to lift themselves up. The decapitated themarian was also finally able to continue his body's regeneration as Riley stopped cutting off his healed flesh bit by bit.
"I believe it is time for you and your friends to go, mister," Princess Esme then said as she slightly looked at the leader of the goons, "And I do not advise you to fight back, Professor Riley… does not really do casual fights."
"You…" The man then started to take a step back, before turning his attention to his friends, who were already carrying their decapitated friend's head and running away,
"...You think I will let it go with just this!?"
"You should," the tone of Princess Esme's voice slightly became deep, "And do not tell anyone about what happened here, if you do—then I will personally challenge you to a sanctioned duel."
"You… you can't do that," the man took in a small gulp as his steps became longer.
"I can, I could. And I would make sure…
…that you are sent to your Eternal Death in front of your family."
Chapter 538"I… We won't forget this!"
Those were the words that roared and soon whispered in the air as the group of men finally left the courtyard; their eyes, glancing back repeatedly and their steps somewhat heavy as they did so.
The one that caused them to run frantically, however, could not seem to care less about them as she just stood with a blank expression on her face. She, however, seemed to be enjoying standing directly behind Riley. And with the difference in their height, Riley almost looked like a neglected child; the blood scattered on his face and long white hair did not help.
"..." Riley then once again looked up at Esme, who already had a growing smile on her face.
"How did I do, Professor Riley?" Esme then said as she looked down, "Did you think my threat was effective? I tried to involve their family as you taught us in class."
"That was a warning, Princess Esme," Riley just blinked before looking away.
"..." Princess Esme, on the other hand, could not help but sigh as the smile on her face faded away, "I will do better next time, Professor Riley. But—who is that?"
"That is Gary Gray, Princess Esme," Riley quickly answered as he saw who Esme was pointing at, "He is Aerith's son."
"So, he is your son as well?" Esme blinked a couple of times as she slowly approached Gary, who was still completely frozen with his butt on the ground; his face, showing his confusion as to what was happening,
"The two of you do not look alike."
"He is not my son, Princess Esme. I did accidentally kill his father while fighting with his mother, however," Riley then sighed as he too, started approaching Gary,
"I was also supposed to kill him to make Aerith angry, but I realized Aerith would probably just try her best to stay as calm as possible and not give in to the rage."
"Does Aerith really have that much self-control?"
"When it counts," Riley nodded as he looked at Gary.
"Hm," Esme did the same, "I detect a hint of themarian energy from him, so I assume he is not entirely Themarian?"
"No, he is half human and half themarian."
"A half-breed with this much themarian energy. That is impressive," Esme's eyes slightly widened as she heard Riley's words, "No wonder he is being taunted by his cousins. He has a legitimate claim to the throne—most half-breeds do not."
"Stop calling me a half-breed!" Gary then finally stood up; he, however, very slowly turned his head up due to how tall Esme was, "I… I'm the son of Aerith'Hel!"
"But you are also the son of a species from the Unknown, no?" Esme tilted her head to the side.
"That—"
"Do not mind him too much, Princess Esme," Riley sighed and shook his head, "He used to be very funny, but I suppose every one of us had to grow up at one point. I wonder when my turn is."
"Why… how are you even here, Riley?" Gary's eyebrows started to furrow, "I thought… I thought you were lost in space."
"I had a very useful companion called Hera, Gary."
"Hera… You were with Hera?" Gary's eye started to twitch before turning to look at Esme again, "And now… you're with another woman?"
"She is a princess, Gary. Please show her respect."
"I do not mind people addressing me how they want, Professor Riley," Esme quickly responded, "I am, after all, not the princess of this nation."
"That wouldn't be—"
"How?" And before Riley could start casually talking with Esme, the sound of Gary's teeth chattering whispered in the air,
"How is it that you're still surrounded by people, Riley? You shouldn't… It's not right," Gary forced a chuckle, "That… that should be me."
"Perhaps because I am more aesthetically pleasing, Gary?"
"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" Gary started pointing at Riley, causing him to avoid his finger, "Once… Once I become the ruler of Hel, I will make sure you pay for all the things you've done!"
"You wish to be the ruler of Hel, Gary?" Riley's eyebrows started to furrow, "Is that why you are just here moping around while your mother is about to be executed?"
"She… she's not going to be executed!" Gary snarled, "Her trial is still coming up! They won't do anything to her!"
"That is just a formality, Prince Gary," Esme was the one to respond to Gary's words, "They are doing it for publicity so that everyone would see that even the Princess of Hel can not escape the repercussions of breaking the law."
"That—"
"Where is Aerith, Gary?"
"I… she… I don't know where she is."
"How can you be a ruler of a nation if you can't even save your mother, Gary?" Riley then let out a small sigh,
"You could not even save your lover."
"You… You're the one who killed her!" Gary let out a roar as his eyes started to glow red, "You fucking killed her!"
"Hm," Riley only looked at Gary for a few more seconds, before turning around and shaking his head, "Shall we go, Princess Esme? We still need to find someone who can lead us to Aerith."
"Wait, where are you going!? We're not done!" Gary rushed toward Riley, passing by Princess Esme as he did so, but found his path blocked by an invisible wall. Gary tried punching the wall several times, causing a blast of wind to form around his arms as he did so—but alas, he couldn't move forward even by an inch.
"It is alright to be weak, Prince Gary," Esme then let out a small sigh as she placed her hand on the invisible wall, patting it several times before just casually pushing her hand forward. The whites of her palm started to show themselves, but only for a moment.
As with a single, normal breath, Esme was able to pierce through Riley's telekinetic barrier without even any of her veins showing.
"Having too much strength is… quite boring."
"..." And with that, Gary was left alone to stand in the courtyard by himself; almost as if atrocious acts of violence were not committed around him just moments ago.
This was his first meeting with Riley after their fateful battle on Earth…
…and he just left like that?
"Why…
…why am I always being treated like a minor character!?"
"Do you want to be treated better, then?"
And before Gary's whispers could seep into the hallways of the castle, a voice whispered in Gary's ears. Gary started looking around, only to see no one there with him.
"I can help you," the words, however, continued as if it was just right beside his ears, "I can help you become stronger."
"..." Gary's breaths started to become heavier with each of the words slithering through his ears; and after a few more breaths,
"Fuck no," he said,
"You think I don't know this trope!? Go fuck yourself! I ain't trusting this shit, your voice sounds 'background evil character' as fuck! I've read this a hundred times! Go fuck yours—ah fuck, my wound opened up."
And with that, Gary also left the courtyard.
"..."
Chapter 539"Was it really alright to taunt Princess Aerith's son like that, Professor Riley?"
"It is fine, he needs it. But where did you go, Star Sergeant Zac?"
"I hid. I truly do not want to get involved in any more trouble as it is."
And once again, the three found themselves walking through the hallways of the large castle. This time, however, all the servants and maids were looking at them. After all, how could they not, when Riley was covered in blood?
Zac's guess was right; the servants and guards were ordered to ignore their presence. But with how Riley looked—his long white hair and unusually white skin covered in blood—they found themselves just staring at him as he left prints of blood on the floor they just cleaned.
"Did you get any useful information from Princess Aerith's son?"
"No. We should just leave him be," Riley sighed and shook his head, "Perhaps you should clap your hands lightly, Princess Esme? This way, the castle would collapse and we would not have to walk around—I am sure Aerith is one of the people that could survive it."
"Oh my, I would prefer our guests not do that."
And before any of the two could follow through to what Riley said, an old woman suddenly made herself known in front of them. And as soon as she appeared, all the servants that could not help but stare at Riley all walked away.
"Princess Tifa," and as soon as Zac saw who it was, he quickly kneeled and bowed his head, "It is a pleasure to be in your presence."
"So you say," the old woman just let out a small giggle as she gestured to Zac to stand up. Unlike most of the nobility that Riley had met walking around the castle, Princess Tifa was not really wearing anything grande—just a long-sleeved blouse, as well as a skirt that reached her ankles. There was, however, a large blue gem hanging around her neck.
That wasn't what Riley focused on, however. Princess Tifa's eyes… they were closed.
"I heard you had an encounter with my youngest daughter?" Princess Tifa then let out a sigh as she looked at Esme,
"I hope she did not treat you rudely, Princess Esme?"
"She did not treat me as anything at all, Your Highness," Princess Esme also bowed her head and curtsied.
"Oh my," Princess Tifa covered her mouth, before gently grabbing both her hands and putting them together before clasping them softly, "I apologize on behalf of her. She is quite young and too different in age from the rest of her siblings—my brother also started doting on her ever since her rebellious daughter left. So please, do forgive her for her transgressions."
"That…" Esme's eyes slightly twitched as she looked at Princess Tifa's hands, "...I do not mind her behavior, Your Highness. I also have my fair share of rowdy older siblings."
"Hm," Princess Tifa just smiled and hummed; her eyes still remained closed. And after a few more moments, she let go of Esme's hands and cheerfully faced Riley,
"And you—You're quite an interesting little bird, aren't you?"
"I am a human, Princess Tifa," Riley bowed his head, "My name is Riley Ross."
"I know, you put my daughter in her place, did you not?" Tifa then approached Riley. And although her eyes were still closed, it almost seemed as if she was looking Riley directly in the eyes,
"That is good. I would expect nothing less from a Champion Sergeant of the Order."
"..."
"Oh, you do not need to act so surprised," Tifa once again covered her mouth to chuckle, "Unlike everyone else here, I make sure to keep up to date with whatever is happening outside my domain. After all, someone has to, no? Hm?"
"Of course, Princess Tifa," Riley nodded, "I do find it unusual that none of you care more. Information is vital, whether it involves you or not."
"Hm. But we do not know how insects move," Tifa once again chuckled, "But I try, there is such… diversity we need to learn from the outside world, after all. Are you perhaps half evaniel, Lord Riley?"
"No, I am an abomination, Princess Tifa."
"..."
"..."
"Pft," Tifa, once more, let out another chuckle, "I did not know high-ranking officials of the Order can still jest. Perhaps it is because you have a clown as a subordinate."
"..." Zac could really only force a chuckle as Tifa suddenly glanced at him.
"We really truly are progressing as a people, to mingle with a race that is not our equal is so nice to see," Tifa continued as she also placed her hands on Riley's shoulders,
"Ha… No matter," Tifa then finally stopped laughing and let out a long and deep breath. She then left Riley and once again stood in front of Esme,
"You've really grown the last time I saw you."
"Forgive me, Your Highness. But I can't remember us meeting yet," Esme shook her head as she slightly took a step back.
"Oh, no. Don't mind it; you were just... a tiny, tiny, little babe back then," Tifa waved her hand, "It was nice talking to your mother, it really gives perspective to how strong both our royal families are."
"..."
"Hm, how is she, by the way?" Tifa continued despite Esme not saying anything, "I hope the King's other wives are not giving her a hard time for being a concubine?"
"My mother is well, Your Highness," Esme said as she looked to the side.
"Of course, of course," Tifa once again chuckled, "No, shall I bring you to your quarters? I do really apologize for the lack of reception, things have just been quite hectic in the castle ever since Princess Aerith returned, you see…
…so I had to personally set up your lodgings. I do hope you like it."
"I… appreciate you doing that for us, Your Highness," Esme bowed.
"Hm. Miryam," Tifa then suddenly clapped her hands. And before the sound could reach the walls of the hallways, a kneeling woman suddenly appeared behind Tifa.
"Your Highness?" Judging from what the woman was wearing, she was a maid of the castle. Unlike most of the servants that Riley had seen, however, this woman's eyes were covered with a white blindfold.
"Bring Princess Esme and Sergeant Zac to their quarters," Tifa smiled, "And make sure they are as comfortable as possible and would not want anything."
"At once, Your Highness."
"As for Lord Riley…
…I heard you were a professor at Varoif?"
Chapter 540"I heard you were a professor at Varoif."
"I was, for a few hours, Princess Tifa."
"You are still a professor at the Supreme College of Varoif, Professor Riley."
"Then you are correct, Princess Tifa. I am."
"Hm…"
Tifa's eyes slightly twitched from the tone of Riley's voice. Although he was still addressing her by her title, it was almost as if he didn't really care about her status. She is the King's older sister—if his brother wasn't born and proved himself to be the better fit for the throne, she would have been the ruler of Hel.
Everyone treated her with respect, even Princess Esme, and even the Overlord of the Order of the Grand Militia. So why is this… half-breed that is two ranks below the Overlord seemingly treating her like… he didn't even want to talk to her?
"You do know who I am, right?" Princess Tifa then let out a small breath, "You feel quite young, after all."
"I am already 20 years old, I think," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "It is hard to keep track of all that is happening, Princess Tifa. And I assume that you are Aerith's auntie?"
"You are practically a toddler. I am the King's older sister."
"Yes," Riley nodded, "That makes you Aerith's auntie, Princess Tifa."
"..."
"Would you like me to do something, Your Highness?"
And as Princess Tifa's eyes began twitching, Miryam, Princess Tifa's personal maid, stood up and began approaching Riley.
"No," Princess Tifa, however, once again chuckled as she raised her hand, "Just do what I ordered you to do."
"At once, Your Highness," Miryam then turned to face Princess Esme, bowing her head and doing the Varoif curtsy, "Please, Your Highness. Follow me to your chambers."
"..." Princess Esme did not immediately walk behind Miryam, and instead looked at Riley, "Do you wish for me to stay, Professor Riley?"
"It is fine, Princess Esme," Riley only shook his head as he waved his hand, "I will meet with you later."
"..." Esme just squinted her eyes, before nodding and walking away. As for Zac, he only saluted at Riley before also following behind Miryam.
"Oh, so you treat everyone like that."
And as soon as they were gone, another chuckle whispered in the air as Princess Tifa covered her mouth, "For a second I thought you were trying to offend me, Lord Riley."
"Not at all, Princess Tifa," Riley sighed and shook his head, "I have never in my life tried to offend anyone. But do forgive me for the way I talk, I lack social skills due to my upbringing."
"It is fine, it is fine," Princess Tifa waved her hand and started to walk in the opposite direction where Miryam led Esme, "We are all lacking, one way or another. I lacked the strength to lead, and that made me inadequate to be Hel's ruler. Come, please indulge this old woman with a chat."
"..." Riley watched Princess Tifa walk for a few moments, before proceeding to follow behind her,
"I was under the notion that female themarians are stronger than their male counterparts, Princess Tifa. Aerith, Caitlain'Ur, Princess Esme—they are the strongest themarians I have had the pleasure of meeting so far."
"According to statistics and biology, yes. Women are stronger than men," Princess Tifa's voice started to lower, "I am stronger than the King, but one needs more than strength to rule—to have the ruthlessness to send your own child to eternal death to prove a point to your people? I could never do something like that…
…I would never do something like that."
"..."
"Granted, Aerith has always been a pain ever since she was young," Princess Tifa then let out a very long and deep sigh as her steps slowed down, "She is why Princess Esme is here, correct? To watch her trial."
"...Yes," Riley lightly breathed out.
"Hm. Well, I suppose it doesn't matter as everything is already set," Princess Tifa shook her head, "I am more interested in you, Lord Riley, and what you can offer."
"..."
"One of my daughters, the one whom you've had the displeasure of meeting before."
"Lady Claudyne."
"Yes, her…" Princess Tifa slightly groaned upon hearing her daughter's name, "...Noe has told me of the events that have transpired in the throne hall. And no one has really stood up to her like that before because of her status."
"I only responded the way I deemed necessary, Princess Tifa."
"Yes, you did," Princess Tifa nodded, "Her previous tutors and professors have already given up on teaching her. I am sure you know where I am going with this, Professor Riley."
"No."
"...I want you to teach her, and her peers," Princess Tifa then stopped walking as she turned around to face Riley, "You will, of course, be compensated and rewarded. This is a… royal favor, after all."
"What sort of reward, Princess Tifa?" Riley's ears slightly perked up from hearing Tifa's words.
"Oh, now you're curious?" Princess Tifa once again covered her mouth to quietly laugh, "You can request whatever you want. Of course, it will depend on the results whether I can give it or not."
"I only really need one thing, Princess Tifa," Riley slightly hummed as a small smile slowly crawled on Riley's face,
"I wish for Aerith's hand in marriage."
"Except… that," Princess Tifa slightly stuttered; the strands of grey in her hair, almost sticking out, "She is not my daughter, and she is her own person. Her hand is not mine to give."
"Hm… I have thought of that as well," Riley placed his hand on his chin as he nodded several times,
"Then perhaps it is possible for you to prevent her execution?"
"The only thing I can do is ask the King," Princess Tifa then cleared her throat as the confident smile returned to her face, "And the King listens to me, sometimes…
…but I can not promise anything."
"Hm…" Riley squinted his eyes as he glanced at Princess Tifa,
"...Are you aware of what type of lecture I teach at Varoif?"
"No," Princess Tifa shook her head, "But you can handle my daughter, and that is enough. We can have a test tomorrow, and we will proceed the day after Aerith's trial if you are as effective as I think you are."
"Very well," Riley nodded,
"I will make sure she will be very proficient at torturing people by the end of all of this."
"...What? I...
...don't think I quite heard you that time."
Chapter 541"Why can I not attend your class, Professor Riley? I am one of your original students. This treatment is hardly fair."
"It is out of my control, Princess Esme. A lot of things were out of my control as soon as I landed on Theran."
Riley and Esme were once again in the hallways of the large castle. This time, however, they were clearly no longer lost as they stood in front of a door.
"But why is Zac going in with you?"
"I… I have been ordered to follow Lord Riley as much as I possibly can, Your Highness. I would trade places with you if I could, please believe me."
"..."
Princess Esme had heard the deal between Princess Tifa and Riley, about serving as a professor to her daughter, and to her daughter's friends. And of course, as someone who still pretty much considers Riley as her professor, Esme wanted to sit in during the trial class.
"Then what am I to do here, Professor Riley?" Princess Esme then started looking around, but not really looking at anything in particular, "I came here to learn by your side about the world."
"I suppose you could try and search for Aerith, Princess Esme?" Riley squinted his eyes as he looked at Esme, "Perhaps let her know of our presence in the castle if you do?"
"..." Esme let out a small hum as she looked down. But after a few more breaths of contemplating, she nodded,
"Should I try and free her?" She asked.
"No," Riley immediately shook his head in response, "Princess Tifa and I have a deal. I would like to know the outcome of that first, as she told me she would try and convince her brother to reconsider his decision to execute Aerith."
"But if the deal does not push through?" Esme's eyes started to squint.
"Then I suppose we follow mother's supposed plan," Riley nodded, "We will create chaos."
"Very well," Princess Esme nodded, "I will see you again later, Professor Riley."
"Hm."
"...Is it really alright to leave Her Highness walking around alone like that?" And while Riley just casually waved his hand to bid Esme farewell, Zac could not help but take in a very large gulp,
"She is basically a walking weapon of the other nation. Wait…" Zac's eyes then suddenly squinted as he realized something, "Come to think of it, maybe Hel is deliberately ignoring her as a show of power?"
"Maybe," Riley shrugged, "But I am not really interested in the politics of the themarians, Star Sergeant Zac. Our priority is to meet Aerith, nothing else."
"...What about your daughter?" The tone of Zac's voice slightly lowered as he stood closer to Riley, "Is she not a priority?"
"No," Riley shook his head without any hesitation, "You might not have noticed while she was in the Order of the Grand Militia's care, but Karina is strong."
"Hm…" Zac could really only breathe out as he didn't push the topic any further. He then looked at the door… and looking at it some more.
"...Aren't we entering?"
"We are. But it is not yet time for my class."
"Th—"
"I give up! You and your friends are unteachable!"
And before Zac could respond to Riley, the door suddenly swung open—brushing past Riley's nose by an inch as someone hurriedly stepped out of the room.
"..." The woman abruptly stopped as she saw Riley standing there and blocking her path. But after a few seconds of them looking at each other, the woman let out a very long and deep sigh,
"It's better for you not to enter that room. These children are… these children are monsters in the guise of themarians!"
And with those words, the woman just ran; disappearing from the hallway in almost an instant.
"Well, that can't be a good sign," Zac turned to look at Riley. Riley, however, did not seem to think much of it as he calmly stepped inside the room. And as he did so, every themarian inside all quickly looked away and just started doing their own thing—some even sitting on top of their desks and talking to each other.
No one was acknowledging his presence. Well, there is one that was obviously looking at him, Gary, who flinched and looked away as soon as he saw Riley looking at him. Gary seemed to want to leave, but since he was the only one sitting at the front of the class, he wouldn't really be able to.
"..." Riley then scanned the students to see if the people bullying Gary were in the class, but the only one he could really recognize was Princess Tifa's daughter, Claudyne. Riley was already informed before, but it would seem that Claudyne and her peers truly did not value anyone's time.
Zac continued to watch as the students continued to ignore Riley, not even glancing at him for even a single second.
"Wouldn't… you fail to even uphold the deal if this continues?"
"We're only just starting, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley then took a step forward, before clapping his hands together, "Attention."
His voice, and even his clap weren't even loud; but all the chairs, the desks, and even the entire room started to tremble as his words began to ripple across the air. And with this sudden quake, one of the students sitting on his desk almost fell buttocks first on the floor.
And finally, everyone stopped whatever it was they were doing and all turned their heads toward their new professor.
Claudyne, who was seated at the furthest seat at the back surrounded by her peers, squinted her eyes to try and get a good look at Riley to size him up; but after a few breaths, her eyes started to widen.
"You!?" Claudyne stood up and pointed at Riley, "You're the professor mother was talking about!?"
"Now that I have everyone's attention, let me introduce myself," Riley, however, completely ignored her and instead started scanning everyone's faces, "My name is Professor Riley Ross, you may call me Professor Ross and I will be your professor for the day, as personally requested by Princess Tifa."
"Lies!" Claudyne slammed her desk, causing it to split in half, "Why would even mother choose someone from Varoif!?"
"Princess Tifa and I have a deal that I can not discuss with you or anyone in this room, Lady Claudyne," Riley's voice remained calm even as Claudyne's voice started to fill up the entire class,
"She became aware of my short venture into the academics at the Supreme College of Varoif. And therefore, I am here."
"You don't—"
"Why should we learn from someone obviously weaker than us?"
And before Claudyne could continue her outburst, another student stood up from his seat. And judging from the smirk on his face and the side glances she was giving Claudyne; it was obvious for even someone like Riley to realize that he was doing this to impress her.
"..." Zac, who was quietly standing on the side, slowly approached Riley,
"I don't think they know that you are a Champion Sergeant of the Order, Lord Riley," Zac then leaned closer to Riley and whispered into his ear, "Even if I know that someone just hacked our system and placed you there, they don't. And if they knew of your ranking, none of them would even dare to try anything against you."
"Hm…"
"Especially at their age, they would shit their pants if they knew who you are; I think the best course of action is to reveal that," Zac said before returning to stand on the side. For some reason, he was slightly getting irritated and pissed by the way the students were treating Riley. Even if it was fake, Riley is, legally and on paper, his superior for now.
And an insult to Riley was an insult to him, as well as the Order.
"What are the two of you whispering about!? And who is that!?" The boy started pointing back and forth between Riley and Zac, "Do you think we can't hear you whispering!?"
"You can't," Riley stepped forward and started walking toward the rowdy student, "I made it so that you wouldn't hear us. What is your name, male themarian student?"
"Alain, Alain of the house of Lez!" The boy, Alain, did not back away from Riley and even stepped closer to him as he approached.
"Very well, sir Alain'Lez," Riley nodded as he stood right in front of Alain. The other students around them could really only make some space as different kinds of amused expressions started to crawl onto their faces,
"If I can prove that I am not weaker than any of you, can we proceed with the class?"
"How can you even prove anything if I can't even detect any energy from you, Riley Ross?" Alain smirked as he once again glanced at Claudyne, who only rolled her eyes in response to Alain's obvious wiles,
"But since you are so eager to prove yourself, then how about you and I perform a duel?"
"Hm," Riley could really only sigh as he heard Alain's words.
"What… don't tell me you're afraid of being hurt by one of the students you're supposed to be teaching?" Alain then suddenly burst out in laughter, causing the other students circling them to also chuckle. And as soon as Alain noticed that Claudyne was also laughing, his nose almost inflated from excitement.
"Very well, Alain'Lez," Riley then nodded as he started walking back to the front of the class,
"But since I am short in time as I said, let us do it here and now," Riley then said as he placed his hand behind his back, "I do not know how these duels proceed yet…
…so why don't you start it?"
Chapter 542Themarian Sanctioned Duel.
A custom that has existed for eons. There are really no accounts to when this contest of strength between two themarians started, as one would have to dig through a history long gone—they just know it exists, and all of Theran honor it.
The duels are as fair as fair could be. One could refuse, and there was no dishonor in doing so. Anyone can challenge anyone—be it a child, be it an elder…be it royalty.
As a race of warriors, this is one of the themarians' most welcomed entertainment. Just raw, unfiltered violence where one could be sent to eternal death. And when one does meet their death in duel, they are treated with respect, dignity, and glory.
But of course, the duels are not all glory. There have been, as always is the case for sentient and intelligent species, people that would use the duel for petty reasons. Be it coveting one's spouse, jealousy, envy—and most of the times, especially with the newer generations of themarians, they would use it to impress those they wish to court.
And now here, inside a hall filled with themarian teenagers, oozing out all sorts of pheromones—a boy tries his luck. Surrounded by his peers, Alain from the house of Leiz approaches his opponent, filled with arrogance and pride.
Of course, they are called teenagers on their planet. But for those that are outside their territory, some would already consider them elderly. Alain, in particular, is already 126 years old.
Themarians, you see, age like most humanoid species out there. Their bones, their muscles all develop quickly—that is until they passed through puberty. And there, they spend at least 300 more years to be considered an adult; their growth, almost halted.
Themarians can spend thousands and thousands of years, and their physical appearance would remain unchanged. It is not until their energies become weaker that their body will start showing signs of aging.
As for Alain, his body is still filled with vitality expected of someone his age; of course, with that vitality, comes rash decisions.
Alain was now in front of his classmates, and in front of him was his opponent. Unbeknownst to Alain and the rest of the younglings in the classroom, Alain's opponent was not the same as them; he was not even the same species, no.
As a race of warriors, themarians are able to detect energy in living things—that is how they gauge their opponents' strength. And Alain's opponent, in particular, was barely producing any energy; making him utterly confident of his decision to challenge him to a duel.
But alas, the white-skinned, white-haired creature in front of him was a vicious animal. The Apex predator of his own planet, unmatched in both strength and violence.
Alain continues to size up his opponent, not knowing all of his judgments would be wrong. As for his opponent, Riley Ross, he just stood there—biding his time and letting Alain make the first move.
Riley was wary, of course—as even young, Alain belonged to the strongest species in the entire Known Universe; capable of destroying normal planets with ease. But still, Riley was as relaxed as he could be. After all, he had already fought several themarians stronger than the cub in front of him.
"This will be quick!" Alain bumped his knuckles together—a salute reserved for duels. The young themarian then stretched his arms to the side as he looked at his audience, showing that he was the bigger contender.
Unfortunately for Alain, however, the themarian female he was trying to impress, Claudyne, was not even looking at her—only at his opponent.
Unlike him who needed to stretch his arms to the side, Riley's long white hair was enough to attract the attention of the females; his complexity and difference from the rest of the pack made him an outcast, but it also made him noticeable without even trying.
Alain was becoming furious because of this, as one could see his nose flare up. Unfortunately for Alain, however, misunderstood Claudyne's stares as one of longing for his opponent; as one would expect from a young themarian driven by his hormones.
And so, after looking at his opponent one last time—he rushed toward him. If one wanted to make an impression as a themarian worthy of partnership, one needed to dominate his or her opponent, and that is exactly what Alain wanted to do.
His fist, filled with all the unnecessary rage that was boiling inside him, shot straight to the face of his opponent. A smile was already appearing on the young themarian's face, as his opponent could not even react to his speed.
"You're dead!" Alain once again let out a battle cry as he felt his fist touch his opponent's face. His battle cry, however, quickly became that of a sharp cry for pain.
"Krah!"
"!!!"
The other young themarians all squinted their eyes from the noise; their friend's screams of pain, not yet fully registering in their minds. All of them were expecting the white-haired man's head to explode, but what came next was truly something none of them had ever seen before.
Riley had his palm up; but instead of catching Alain's fist, the edge of his palm was facing his face… the other edge, splitting and completely opening Alain's fist in half.
Riley is physically weaker than the average themarian, and he was fully aware of this even before landing his feet on the planet. But Riley, this particular creature, has never truly relied solely on his physical abilities.
Instead of raw, unstoppable force—he had with him a sophisticated onslaught of abilities stacked on top of each other, creating something even more sinister. His raw strength, his telekinetic abilities, his ability to harden his skin and flesh, his ability to manipulate the size of his body, his ability to create pocket explosions out of thin air; all working together like an orchestra to create a singular show of force that almost mimics a themarian's raw strength.
This creature, Riley Ross, had more than a hundred abilities inside of him; lying dormant and just waiting to be unleashed. Back in his world, he did not need even a fraction of them—but now, in a world filled with creatures that could kill him, Riley Ross was very slowly removing the limit he set upon himself.
"You… were you concealing your energy?" Alain, of course, could not understand what he just experienced. His hand has already fully regenerated, but the arrogance it carried was no more,
"Where is your honor!?"
Honor, yes. It is considered dishonorable amongst themarians to hide one's true strength. After all, for them, to hide one's power is considered cowardice, that one is not proud to possess the gift given to them by their lineage.
"Where's your hand?"
"Wh—"
And before Alain could react to Riley's weird response, he heard a weird sound whisper in the air—a pulse.
And all of a sudden, his vision was covered with Riley's long white hair. He saw him moving, of course, but the suddenness of it all made him freeze. But of course, a species carrying with him the instinct of an eon's worth of battle, Alain was able to step back—pulling his arm away before Riley could grab it.
But as Alain looked down to check, Riley's hands were already on their way to his face; his nails, longer and sharper than how they were before.
"!!!" Alain quickly raised his arms to cover his face—perhaps a mistake, as Riley grabbed his left wrist, pulling it away and dragging him closer. And as soon as Alain's left arm was fully stretched, Riley quickly stabbed his elbows with his long and sharp nails, completely dislocating it before literally pulling and tearing it away.
"You!" Alain wanted to grab Riley's neck; before he could do so, however, Riley suddenly and literally slid away on the floor.
And out of nowhere, Riley started flailing Alain's dismembered arm like it was a weapon; causing the blood to spray everywhere in the classroom.
"W—"
And as soon as Alain lost focus from his weird movements, Riley disappeared from his spot, only to appear behind Alain with his own dismembered arm already threatening to smack him straight at the back of his head.
Alain was able to react, of course, as he quickly turned around and leaned back. Riley, however, already expected this as he let the arm swivel around his neck; using the added momentum to that to slap Alain's face with his own hand.
"..." Alain was not really hurt by this, of course. But still, he fell to his butt. His healing arm was probably the most painful out of everything—but that is not what he was feeling at the moment.
To be slapped by your own dismembered arm in front of your friends, as well as the girl you are courting? This kind of humiliation was enough to make a grown man cry, let alone a creature controlled by his emotions.
And so, with his emotions running wild enough to cause his head to shake—the corners of Alain's mouth began to lower; his eyes, starting to moist as he saw his friends all whispering to each other and looking down on him.
But most importantly, Claudyne, the apple of his eye, was now covering her face in shame and shaking her head.
"I…" Alain no longer knew what to do; the eon of instincts that have been ingrained in his blood, overpowered by his emotions as he looked everywhere. And soon, his eyes landed on the door.
And without even thinking about anything else, he ran towards it. But alas, the companion of his opponent, Zac, blocked the door.
"Alain'Leiz, you are currently in a Sanctioned Duel. Either surrender…
…or let the battle decide your fate."
Chapter 543"D… duel?"
There was a certain chill crawling through Alain's entire body as he stared at Zac. Just a few more feet and he could escape.
But what exactly was he thinking? To run from a duel in front of all his classmates—no, why would he even run?
"..." Alain then turned to look at his classmates, only to see them whispering with each other, some even smiling at him in shame. But of course, all of this was just an imagination caused by his panicking mind, no one was really laughing at him; there wasn't even a word whispering in the air, none at all.
Zac, who was standing at the door and blocking it completely, could not help but just shake his head and sigh.
As a member and officer of the Order of the Grand Militia, Sanctions Duels are sacred. A 'break your promise with your lover, just not a duel' kind of sacred.
And this kind of mindset was not limited to them at all—the common themarian also treats the activity sacred. To try and leave in the middle of it would bring shame to one's entire lineage.
Some families even choose to go on eternal death once they find out one of their family members shamed them by breaking the sanctity of a duel.
Everyone knew that, and Alain did too.
"..." Alain closed his eyes as his breaths finally started to calm down. His opponent is strong, overwhelmingly so—but that was not a reason to run away.
He then turned to look at Riley, who had his dismembered arm tucked between his arm like some sort of weapon.
"..." Alain then once again breathed out as his limb finally regenerated fully,
"Let's do this again," he then looked Riley straight in the eyes as he stood straight and placed his hands behind his waist,
"My name is Alain, from house Leiz!"
"Riley," Riley breathed out as he waved Alain's dismembered arm, "From house Ross."
"I am truly sorry for underestimating you. It was my mistake in thinking that a professor would be weak…
…Let us go again, Professor Ross!"
Alain then stood in a stance, watching Riley's every move as he very carefully stepped closer toward Riley.
"Y—"
Alain seemed to want to say something as he rushed toward Riley, but before he could do so, he felt his vision suddenly shift to the floor.
"...What?"
Alain then very slowly looked at his feet, only to see them no longer attached to the rest of his body. He then quickly turned his attention back to Riley, only to see his eyes glowing red.
"How… how could you release an energy blast that fast!?" Alain bellowed, "I… I couldn't even see it."
"Because I am just better, student Alain," Riley let out a small sigh as he finally dropped Alain's arm,
"Genetically speaking."
"Ge…netics? But I haven't even heard of House Ross before!"
"Oh, you will," Riley shrugged as he started approaching Alain.
Alain, on the other hand, seemed to have already lost the will to fight as he just looked at the ceiling and let out a very long and deep sigh. He then turned to look at his classmates, finally seeing their true expressions of horror and shock.
This is enough, Alain thought. There was no shame in losing to an overpowering opponent. And so, with another sigh, he smiled.
"I give—"
But alas, before he could utter his surrender, he felt something suddenly stuck in his throat; preventing any words from escaping his throat.
"I commend you, student Alain'Leiz," a small smile then crawled on Riley's face as he neared Alain,
"Not giving up even in the face of defeat. As expected of a themarian."
"!?"
Alain's eyes quickly widened as he heard Riley's words. Not giving up!? He was about to!
Alain wanted to shake his head; but like the heavy feeling blocking his throat, he felt something locking his head in place.
"I hope we still see you in class the day after, student Leiz."
'What!?' Alain could only scream inside his mind, 'What does that even mean!?'
And then, out of nowhere, his vision turned dark.
"..."
"..."
"!!!"
And as if life itself gasped right beside his ear, Alain woke up from his own breath.
"...Where?" Alain blinked a couple of times as he started looking around at his surroundings, only to see he was no longe4 in the classroom. Instead, the room was covered in black and red,
"Is this… the Afterlife? Did I… die? Wh—"
And before he could even start thinking about how short his life was, he noticed his classmates there.
"You guys are… dead too?" Alain furrowed his eyebrows, but after a few more seconds, he let out a very long and very deep breath of relief,
"Ho…" His breath stuttered, "I'm… I'm still alive."
Alain once again started looking everywhere, finally noticing that the black and red room is actually their classroom.
"I survived, I survived. I… feel my legs giving up, but… I feel stronger. So, it's true that if we die and survive from a stronger opponent, we become stronger."
Alain then turned to look at Claudyne to see what she was thinking. Claudyne, however, was just looking down. In fact, it wasn't only her. All of his classmates were all staring at the floor.
"..." The only one that wasn't looking at the floor was Gary.
"Hey, half-breed," Alain then raised an eyebrow as he approached Gary, "What the fuck happened after I lost a life? Why is everyone just looking down?"
"..." Gary just turned to look at Alain, before shaking his head and letting out a small sigh. And without even saying a word, he stood up and started walking away.
Before he could pass by Alain, however, Alain grabbed him by the arm.
"What happened, Half-breed?" Alain raised his voice as he looked Gary in the eyes, "Why is everyone so quiet? And where's the Professor?"
"You…" Gary returned Alain's glare; Gary, however, held some sort of pity inside his eyes as he stared at Alain, "...You're lucky you don't remember anything. Just leave it at that."
And with those words, Gary pushed Alain's hand away and made his way out.
"Where are you going!? Is that class done!?" Alain could really only watch as Gary just waved his hand as he disappeared into the hallways, "Where's… the Professor? Guys?"
Alain then once again turned his attention to the rest of his classmates, who seemed to be completely oblivious to his presence, "...What the heck is going—"
[There has been a delay, but we could finally start our class.]
And all of a sudden, Alain heard Riley's voice coming from one of his classmates; Alain quickly turned to look, only to see his classmate holding an orb.
"Did… you record the duel!?" Alain rushed to grab the orb from his classmate; his classmate, however, seemed like she could care less that her personal device was snatched away from her.
"..." Alain only glanced at the girl, before turning his attention to the orb. And there, from the hologram, he saw Riley standing in front of the class… as well as him, tied up and hanging from some sort of crucifix—no, upon looking at it closer, it was a large fork.
"Where… did he get something like that?"
[Since the class was interrupted by an unexpected variable, I failed to specify what our class syllabus would be.]
"He… is still teaching? Just… how long was I out?" Alain could not help but sit on the desk as he continued to watch the footage.
[No worries, since there really is not much to explain about what I am going to teach all of you,] Riley stood close to Alain, who was completely unconscious as he hand from a giant fork, [Torture.]
[!!!]
Alain could hear his classmates' gasp.
[The name of this class is Torture 101–Torturing That Even Kind People Can Learn,] Riley said as he tapped Alain's face, [And since we already have a volunteer, we can proceed immediately.]
"What… is he doing?"
[This is called a spinal nerve, as I am sure all of you are aware of,] Riley then pointed at the back of Alain's neck, [Avoid this at all costs, because if you accidentally hit this, then physical torture would no longer be available for you. But of course, there are many more ways to torture someone—physical torture is actually the weakest of them all.]
"Why…" Alain could really only blink his eyes as Riley treated him like some sort of… specimen, "...Why don't I remember any of this!?"
[This is the heart, avoid it too. Once you destroy a themarian's heart, they would start dying if their brain and stem cells can't regenerate it fast enough.]
"!!!" Alain almost dropped his classmate's orb as he could not help but let out a huge and almost violent gasp. How could he not, when Riley just casually pierced his chest and pulled out his heart for everyone to see?
[Luckily, a themarian's heart is probably one of the strongest things in the universe,] Riley nodded to himself as he looked at Alain's heart, [The aorta, and even the smallest of veins has the same consistency as normal rubber, except a thousand times stronger—it won't break easily. And here… this is…]
"..." Alain could really watch in horror as Riley continued to dissect him like he wasn't a themarian. He could also hear some of his classmates wanting to vomit; the one recording, in particular, was probably crying already.
It wasn't only that—he was screaming. Alain was screaming in pain—he was conscious for the entire duration of this… brutal dissection.
Just how…
…How exactly did he survive something like this?
Chapter 544"Hm…"
Riley, who had just tortured a boy in front of his classmates just minutes ago, was now just casually standing in front of a canteen. A canteen where all the castle's staff and servants seem to gather and eat.
And since Riley was now the private professor of the castle's young people, he was technically one of the staff now. But as soon as he and Zac entered, however, everyone's eyes landed on them as if they were a couple of intruders.
"...I don't think we're welcome here," Zac whispered close to Riley; the eyes, still following him even with the slightest of his movements, "Maybe… we should go elsewhere?"
Riley did not seem to mind, however, as he just continued to step inside the canteen.
"W—wait, Lord Riley! I thought your main mission was to meet with Princess Aerith?" Zac quickly followed behind Riley, almost tumbling as he made sure not to get far.
"Meeting Aerith is not my mission, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley let out a small sigh and shook his head, "It is my obligation."
"...What's the difference? We should—"
"And these people are only mildly curious about me," Riley did not let Zac finish his words, "They are, however, still glaring at you."
"..." Zac quickly turned to look at the people staring at him, before awkwardly smiling at them and rushing to once again follow behind Riley, who was already in front of the food and talking to the server.
"Which one would you recommend I eat, themarian chef?"
"Oh, a fellow gourmet inside the castle? This my first time seeing you here, lad."
"This is also my first time seeing a fat themarian."
"..." The female server, who truly is what one would consider fat, could not help but look Riley in the eyes as soon as his words reached her ears. Her eyebrows soon began to furrow, and then…
…she suddenly burst out in a fit of laughter.
"Now where on Theran did they pull you from?" The female server almost screamed as she placed a tray in front of Riley, "Just from that comment alone, I'll give you the best meal of the day—this is supposed to be reserved for someone else, but I like you."
"I truly appreciate that, themarian chef."
"Call me Lou, but everyone here calls me Mama Lou," Lou once again laughed as she started scooping up and serving Riley some dishes that he hasn't seen before, "Now, this here is a monober meat and tendon stew. And on the side, we cut and grilled its horn to cook the marrow and season it just right."
"..." The stew, although clearly different, was still familiar. The horn, however, was not something that Riley expected. He had already tried bone marrow before, but never from the horn of an alien creature he has not even seen—A monober. Come to think of it, he hasn't seen a themarian animal yet.
"Thank you for this, Madam Lou," Riley bowed his head, before grabbing the two trays in front of him—the sliced horn didn't fit on the tray from how large it was, but that didn't matter at all.
"And you, what can I get—Well, look who it is," Mama Lou then turned to look at Zac, only for her eyebrow to raise as she crossed fat arms, "Now that is a face I haven't seen for a hundred years. You still wearing makeup, brat?"
"M…Mama Lou. It's… been long."
Riley only glanced at Zac, before just leaving him to it and finding a table; after all, after days of arriving on the planet, he was finally having legitimate Theran cuisine. But alas, even after a full minute of looking around, all the tables were full.
"..." This is truly weird, Riley thought. Just a day ago, the castle was empty—with almost no life in sight when he and Princess Esme were walking around. Zac did mention about them possibly being ordered to deliberately ignore them, while Princess Tifa said that all the staff was busy preparing for Aerith's trial.
Well, whatever the case was, it was unavoidable that they could no longer avoid Riley—they were in a mess hall, after all.
Riley continued to walk around a few more steps, before just letting out a sigh and expertly placing both trays on one arm. And with his free hand, he grabbed something from his coat.
It was a miniature table. It didn't remain small for long, however, because as soon as Riley threw it in front of him, the table became larger; as large as a normal table. Riley did not immediately place the plates on the table, no.
Everyone near him watched as Riley pulled an entire tablecloth out of his pocket, before waving it around like some sort of matador and covering the table with it before placing the plates. They then continued to watch as Riley also pulled out chairs and a complete set of cutlery.
"Hm," and once he seemed satisfied, Riley finally sat down.
"Where… did these things even come from?" Zac, who had just finished talking with the server and didn't quite see what happened, could not help but blink in disbelief as a fancy table just suddenly became available to them.
"It's from the Guesthouse," Riley sighed as he grabbed a spoon; his eyes, almost not being reflected by the old spoon he was holding, "It is the only memory I have left of it. turns out these cutleries aren't stainless… John bought the wrong thing."
"...Right," Zac could really only squint his eyes as he took a seat, "But… where are my spoon and fork?"
"I don't know, Zac. Perhaps you forgot to bring a set."
"Why… would I be carrying around spoons?" Zac sighed, "I guess it doesn't matter. Food is meant to be eaten with your bare hands."
And so, finally, a figment of peace. But alas, Zac was not even allowed to swallow his food before a group of guards approached their table.
"Isn't this Red Lip Zac?"
"..." Zac then snuck in a few chews, before taking the chance to follow the food before actually turning to address the guards. After all, he might not get the chance to do so anymore.
"Boys," Zac then nodded as the usual, arrogant smile returned on his face, "It's been a long time."
"Ha! So, it really is you!"
"I told you, it was him. Who in the Grand Militia would even wear makeup?"
"Women?"
"Shut the fuck up."
"I thought you boys were ordered to ignore us?" And before the group's charades could continue, Zac stood up from his seat and looked all of them straight in the eyes one by one,
"And I don't like the way you're standing in front of a superior officer. Attention!"
The group immediately stood up straight as soon as they heard Zac's words. But after a few more seconds, the one that seemed to be the leader of the group quickly snapped out of it and hit his friends on the head.
"What are you guys doing!? Even if he's a Star Sergeant, he's not from Hel anymore!"
"R… right."
"..." And as Zac watched the group try to regain their composure, Riley stood up. Zac was a little nervous as to why he did so, and the guards were also aloof from the sudden action, thinking that Riley was backing up Zac.
But then, he just carried his plates and walked back to Mama Lou.
"He's… done eating already?" Zac blinked in disbelief. He was able to eat that fast even with distraction. Zac then looked at his meal, only to see that only a mouthful was consumed. But alas, since his mission was to follow Riley, try as he wants to finish the food, he would no longer be able to.
And so, with a small sigh, Zac could really only grab his plates and follow Riley.
"Where do you think you're going!? We're still talking to you!"
"..." Zac looked at his arm, which was now being grabbed by one of the guards; he then turned to glare at the man's eyes, "You don't seem to understand, Cyril. I am here on a mission, and you are currently obstructing it."
"You think just because you got accepted by the Grand Militia, you're better than us!?" The guard, Cyril, tightened his grip on Zac's arm, "The only reason I'm not in your position is that I am loyal to the Kingdom!"
"...Right," Zac rolled his eyes before pulling his arm away from Cyril's grip, almost spilling the contents of his plate. The other staff that were eating there, could really only move their tables from the impending chaos,
"I don't want any trouble, boys. Unlike you, what I do actually matters for Theran."
"What did you say!?" And almost in a fit of rage, Cyril let out a roar… before slamming his fist on the table, completely splitting it in half.
"..." Seeing this, Zac instinctively dropped his plates; his eyes, as wide as they could be as he once again looked Cyril straight in the eyes.
"Pft, same old Red Lip Zac," Cyril then let out a small chuckle as he approached Zac, stepping on the table as he did so, "Even if you're already a Star Sergeant, you're still afraid of confrontation. How typi—"
"What the fuck did you do?" Zac's breaths started to get heavier by the second as he stared at the broken table. He then turned toward Riley who, even from the counter, was already looking at the broken table on the floor.
"Oh fuck…
…this isn't going to be good."
Chapter 545Nothing was happening. Nothing is happening yet.
Zac just watched as Riley very slowly, and very calmly made his way toward them; his steps, without any haste or urgency. Riley has always been calm, but Zac could feel something different from him.
Riley just told him that the table was some sort of memento from someplace that Zac could only assume to be important just earlier; there was also a sort of melancholy as he said that, something he had never seen from him before—and now that memento is broken in two pieces.
"..." Zac then looked at the guards, before taking in a small gulp and shaking his head,
"Whatever you do, do not make this worse," he then said as he slowly backed away. Zac has only known Riley for less than a week, but he has been with him and following him almost without pause. And in that span of time, Zac had gained an idea of who Riley is, but that's not important.
What is important is what he is.
As an officer of the Grand Militia, Zac was privy to news that is outside of Themarian territory, which the citizens of Hel and Varoif are restricted from accessing or even knowing.
Riley is from the Unknown, which alone makes him an unpredictable variable. After all, there's already so much that themarians do not know about the outside world; someone like Riley might as well be a completely, literally unknown entity to them.
There are reports about Riley being a world-ender—creating clones of himself to destroy planets far and beyond each other. And presumably, his original body was doing something else completely.
He was a creature that took the entire Known Universe by surprise. In less than a blink of an eye, he became one of the Known Universe's most wanted outlaws; a bounty given to him directly by the Elders of the Common Council.
But of course, that wasn't also important—all themarians are considered world-enders, that is the main reason why they restricted themselves from traveling outside their territory, after all.
But that wasn't the only thing abnormal about Riley Ross. There are certain details that the Grand Militia was not aware of; details that only Zac knows of.
Riley calls Theran's most wanted criminal in the recorded history of their planet, 'mother'. Although Zac was not clear with all the details yet, Riley treats Caitlain'Ur as a mother figure—and anything involving Caitlain means something bad for Theran.
And as if that wasn't enough, he claims to be the lover of Princess Aerith.
And not only that, but Zac has also confirmed personally that Pirate Queen Xra, the woman responsible for Aerith's brother's eternal death, is Riley's companion.
There is also the princess of the Evaniels; although their relationship seemed to be sour, she was involved with Riley in one way or another.
And now, Zac even introduced him to Esme. How could he even expect that Princess Esme, a woman known for not having any friends and being very difficult to deal with, would start having connections with Riley? And not just a simple connection—Esme almost treats Riley as some sort of mentor.
Caitlain'Ur, Princess Aerith, Pirate Queen Xrra, Princess Vera, and Princess Esme. Just with this group of women, it would not even be an exaggeration to say that the universe might actually revolve around him.
Zac wasn't really aware yet of Riley's real power. Is he stronger than Caitlain?
…Is he stronger than Esme?
The thought causes him to shiver, but it didn't even matter if he wasn't as strong; his connections alone make him an even more dangerous entity than the Overlord of the Grand Militia.
Riley could even create his own nation if he wishes to from his network alone. Caitlain'Ur is worth more than a hundred themarians alone—and that is not taking into account her technological expertise.
This is the real reason why Zac was just sticking to his order of following Riley around. In truth, he was also told to report anything that is of note, but he wasn't doing that. He wanted to see what happens next.
The last he heard, Caitlain was currently running circles around the Grand Militia… along with Pirate Queen Xra; and with that weird cannon they activated back at Caitlain's old house, there was a quiet war very slowly brewing around Theran.
And now, completely unbeknownst to the Grand Militia, another quiet war might be brewing right in Hel's castle.
"You're the new guy?"
And as soon as Riley neared the table, Zac's old colleagues placed their attention on him.
"What are you, like half evaniel or something?" Cyril approached Riley; his feet, still stepping on the table he just destroyed and crumbling it further. As furniture from Earth, the table might as well be made of paper in front of the themarians.
"Cyril, leave him alone," Zac slightly raised his voice. He, however, did not approach Riley and even took another step back as he warned Cyril.
"You don't have to worry, we just want to ask your new friend some questions," Cyril let out a small scoff as the rest of his group started to circle Riley,
"Hey, I'm talking to you, boy. Are you a half-breed? Could it be that you don't understand me?"
Riley was clearly hearing Cyril but chose to ignore him. Instead, his eyebrows just started to twitch with each footprint that Cyril leaves on the table.
"Hey, are you ignori—"
"Can you please take your feet off the table?" And finally, Riley started to speak; not even letting Cyril finish his words as he pointed at the table. Riley, however, still did not even look at Cyril and was instead fully focused on the broken table.
"Oh, so you can talk," Cyril let out a small chuckle, "So, where are you from? How did you even meet our little Red Lip Zac?"
"Please move your feet."
"What?" Cyril clicked his tongue as he noticed Riley still not looking at him, "Just because you're a professor you think you are better than me? I am a guard of the Royal Castle!"
"Move your feet," Riley's eyes squinted as his head started tilting to the side; his fingers, seemingly moving on their own as his breaths became heavier. And soon, he started massaging his temples with his palms.
"Take your feet off," he once again said. The tone of his voice, slightly becoming high-pitched.
Cyril and the rest of his friends could really only look at each other as Riley started moving erratically. Zac, who was just watching on the side, suddenly disappeared—he couldn't understand Riley, but there was someone else in the castle who could, Princess Esme.
"Hey! Stop bullying the new guy!" The server, Lou, dropped all of her spatulas as she jumped over the counter; causing the floor to shake just from her sheer weight.
"Relax, Mama Lou. We just wanted to know about the new guy. He—"
"Take your feet off, take your feet off," Riley suddenly raised his voice as the hands he was using to massage his temples became violent, "Don't touch my stuff…
…sister," Riley then started looking around, "I can't hear anything… I need my sister."
"...What?"
"Hannah… Hannah!"
Chapter 546"Did you say something, Toms?"
"No, I did not, Hannah."
"Jesu—Stop creeping behind me and show yourself like a normal person! You're not a ninja!"
"My sole purpose is to protect you, Hannah. I do not need to be seen."
"You certainly didn't back me up the other day. And stop it with this 'protect protect' roleplay bullshit you and my brother are playing at. You're my friend, Tomoe."
Hannah and the others were still in front of the large lake. This time, however, a large shadow was being cast all over them; almost covering the entire lake. The light that glowed beneath the waters, now floating above it.
It was a glowing sphere; some sort of sphere the size of the globe one could see at the entrance of a popular theme park. Hannah wanted to approach it at first since she was the only one completely unaffected by the weird temperature it was releasing but chose to just observe it in the end first.
Whatever it is, everyone felt a certain pull coming from it, literally. The sphere was throbbing, and with each pulse, strands of water coming from the lake were slowly, but consistently being sucked into the sphere bit by bit.
Hera and Tsula were currently underwater, checking to see if there was anything else there. Before that, however, the two were in a slight debate. As for Vera, she was just sitting on the ground and not talking to anyone.
Suffice it to say, it was impossible for this group to truly get alone.
"I am starting to think it wasn't Megawoman who sent that message to Hera, she wouldn't send us here," Hannah threw a pebble at the lake before standing beside Tomoe, "All things considered, this has Diana Ross written all over it. I was also told that Megawoman is sort of… technologically inept."
"I agree, Hannah," Tomoe was about to stand behind Hannah again, but Hannah glared at her and gestured to her to stand behind her like a normal person, "How… long do we need to observe the sphere? I heard from Miss Tsula that she was feeling something familiar coming from the sphere."
"Yeah, she's not alone there," Hannah let out a long and deep breath as she looked at the sphere. It had been sucking in the water from the lake for more than a day now, and yet it hasn't grown in size at all.
"All these new alien techs, it's crazy. I miss the days when the craziest tech I can hold was dad's anti-gravity thingy. You know, you attach it to something and it makes that object weightless or something. Fuck, I wonder where that is?"
"That… is not normal technology, Hannah."
"Isn't it?"
"..."
"..."
"May I ask you something, Hannah?"
"Oh my f–Just ask."
"You asked if I said something earlier, were you hearing something?" Tomoe's usually monotonous tone slightly became more high-pitched as she glanced at Hannah.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just thought I heard someone calling for me," Hannah waved her hand and scoffed.
"I see. I also need to check on your mental health, it's important," Tomoe sighed and nodded.
"...Since when did you become a doctor?" Hannah could not help but chuckle at Tomoe's words, "I told you, it's nothing. I'm just… I thought I heard Riley."
"You heard Master?" Tomoe squinted her already small eyes, "Perhaps it's some sort of sibling telepathy."
"That only works in twins," Hannah snickered as she looked at Tomoe, "And Riley and I aren't even related by blood, so… hm."
"..."
"And besides. The last time Riley called for me was back when he was just a tiny little prick."
"Tiny—please do tell me more about Master when he was younger," Tomoe's small eyes widened as she looked Hannah straight in the eyes.
"Oh, he was wild," Hannah shook her head as a chuckle escaped her lips, "Basically, dad took his spoon because he was playing with it."
"...Oh."
"Yup, he truly did not like that," Hannah then sighed as she looked at the sky, "I remember saying all sorts of bad stuff to dad back then, even mom got mad at him and he had to sleep in his mancave… which I think he prefers, honestly."
"What did Riley do?"
"Nothing, really. He just screamed and slightly became violent. You know, Riley is so aware of everything around him that you sometimes forget that there's… just something really wrong with him."
"Hm," Tomoe also sighed and nodded.
"But I wish I could do that. Just be in control of my emotions; but then again, I guess that's why he grew up so fucked in the head," Hannah once again also sighed; the two of them, filling the air with their heavy breaths,
"But I guess even without the whole being in the spectrum thingy, Riley is just… really, really fucked up as a person."
"..."
"It's our fault, really, for not seeing it. Mom was probably aware of it, but well… she's mom. Dad just made it worse… and now I am tolerating it."
"I do not think it's your fault, Hannah."
"Hm," Hannah just shrugged, "He has to be stopped, you know, my brother. But he has to be stopped the right way, or not at all."
"...And what is the right way?"
"It's…"
***
"Sister… I need my sister."
Back in the canteen of Hel's castle, Riley was still calling for Hannah; still rubbing his temples as if to calm himself down.
"Hannah…" Riley's eyes looked everywhere, shaking his head with each turn.
"What's wrong with this guy? And where's Zac?"
Almost all the people in the canteen could really only watch as Riley started to become more erratic by the second. Cyril, who was the closest to Riley, could not help but become irritated by Riley's incessant wails.
"Hey, stop screaming!" Cyril approached Riley, cracking the table beneath his feet even more, "You're making everyone here uncomfortable!"
"..." And as soon as the cracking whisper reached Riley's ears once more, and like a hose suddenly being pinched, any sound that was coming from him abruptly stopped. His eyes, now looking directly at Cyril's face.
"What are you loo–"
And before Cyril could move, the words coming from his mouth became muffled as Riley suddenly grabbed his entire face.
"Hannah… Hannah is here. Hannah is with me."
And as soon as that whisper escaped from Riley's lips, the air inside the canteen instantly became thicker; the space around Riley, very slowly distorting in a sort of wave.
And soon, a sizzle started to whisper in the air.
"Kh!" Cyril quickly grabbed Riley's wrist with both hands as he felt a scorching pain trickling down his face. He tried pushing Riley's hand away, and he did… but Riley's other hand instantly replaced it.
"You!" This time, Cyril slammed the edges of his palm like a scissor around Riley's arm—shattering his bones and almost tearing them off completely. Riley's palm, however, was still locked and gripping his face.
"I told you…" Riley then whispered; with each word, smoke fumed from his lips, "...I told you to take your feet off my table. But no, no, no, no… You don't listen, no one listens. No one, no one fucking listens. You know, it's my table. It's mine."
Riley started shaking his head as vapor started being released from his body,
"If you don't listen…
…then you don't need your ears."
Chapter 547"You don't need your ears."
"..."
The heat that traveled through the canteen was enough to distort the very air. Cyril, however, couldn't care less about the changing temperature. He was more in shock by the unrelenting grip of each of Riley's fingers.
He tried breaking Riley's arm again—even tearing it off; but for some reason, Riley's nerves remain completely connected, causing his grip to remain and even lock. The only thing Cyril could really do was look through the gaps between Riley's fingers, watching his arm heal in a very weird way.
"..." And soon, it made it hard for him to ignore the rising temperature. It was getting hotter and hotter, to the point that it was starting to surpass his own energy beam. At this point, it would only be a few more seconds before Riley manages to melt his entire face—his nose was already started to burn and melt.
Realizing this, Cyril took one final breath with his mouth before leaping into the air and wrapping his legs around Riley's arm. He wanted to fly down and drag Riley into the floor; but alas, he felt like there were strings keeping him suspended in the air.
This didn't faze Cyril, however, as he turned to look at his friends. And as soon as he did so, the other guards started to rush toward Riley—grabbing him by all of his limbs and lifting him into the air; one was even pulling on his mouth and face.
Riley gritted his exposed teeth as his breaths became extremely vocal and rabid; his flesh, very slowly but surely being torn off by the 5 themarians pulling him in different directions.
"Ha…" Riley let out a loud grunt as the corners of his lips were slowly separated, making his already wide mouth even wider—it looked as though he was smiling… but he was not.
Riley was not smiling at all; he was just staring at Cyril's eyes which were also looking at him through the gaps between his fingers.
"..." And with another grunt, Riley pulled his head from the hand grabbing it, completely tearing his cheek open. As soon as he did so, however, the air around him completely became obscure—completely and fully distorted by the heat and the smoke that was starting to fog the air around him.
"Hot!" One of Cyril's friends quickly let go of Riley as he was suddenly surprised by something that felt like heat close to the inside of a sun—this was a mistake. Because as he was waving his hand and trying to ease the pain, the others also lost their grip one by one, completely freeing Riley.
And as soon as his feet landed on the floor, Riley carried Cyril away from the table before slamming him on the floor, cracking it and slightly causing the entire canteen to quake.
Cyril's friends did not hesitate to rush toward Riley again, but the sudden steam that fumed out of Riley's body all caused them to take a step back. The air was so thick and hot that it almost felt like there was a wall preventing them from stepping inside.
And soon, they could no longer see what was happening. It was just a white sphere—a white sphere distorting anything close to it visually, and literally.
"You…" Cyril could feel his entire skin starting to crack, burn, and melt. One would think that themarians would be used to pain since they were a race of warriors, but no. Aside from their own species, there were only a few things in the entire universe that could hurt them, after all.
Cyril could really only grit his teeth—if he was going to save himself, this was his last chance. And with that thought, his eyes which were already starting to meld with his eyelids started to glow as he summoned a pair of energy balls around him.
These two red orbs, however, completely did nothing. Whatever was being released from Riley's body, it was hotter and more violent than his energy projection.
"You… You can't do this," Cyril tore off his own lips that were already stuck together to be able to speak, "I'm a royal guard. This is—"
Riley did not even seem to care, however, as he even slammed Cyril's head on the floor again as soon as he heard him talk.
"I told you," he then whispered, and with each word, he continued to slam Cyril's head, "Do. Not. Touch. My. Things."
"Professor Riley."
"!!!" Riley then quickly turned his head as he heard a voice, only to see a hand grabbing his wrist; a hand large enough to cover more than half of his forearm.
"I have an update about Princess Aerith."
And as soon as he heard those words, the scorching temperature in the room started to lower; very slowly returning to normal as the white noise blocking Riley and Cyril from the rest of the canteen dissipated away.
"What is it, Princess Esme?" Riley then casually let go of Cyril's face as he turned to face Esme; parts of her clothes, completely gone and exposing her slightly tanned skin. She didn't seem to care, however, as she looked at Riley's face.
"You have something on your face, Professor Riley," Esme blinked a couple of times as he saw Riley's cheek torn off and hanging from his jaw.
"Oh," Riley also blinked a couple of times, before using his telekinesis to fix his skin and flesh, helping to hasten his body's regeneration,
"This is not important, Princess Esme. Please share your information about Aerith," Riley then said as he walked toward his broken table, letting out a small but very deep sigh as he started picking up the pieces.
"She is in the castle, somewhere underground," Princess Esme slightly hummed as she looked at Cyril, or more specifically, Cyril's organs. He seemed to have lived, however, as his flesh and bones were slowly starting to materialize again, "I tried making a request to see if they could grant us visitation hours, but they said they were ordered not to let anyone near her at all costs, even if the King himself requested."
"Underground?" Riley started putting the table together using his telekinesis, and as soon as it seemed whole again, it suddenly disappeared; no, it became smaller,
"Themarians seem to like hiding things underground, even mother does it," Riley squinted his eyes as he returned all of his things back into his coat.
"...Is that another one of your abilities, Professor Riley?" Princess Esme's eyes widened as soon as she saw Riley shrinking the chairs, tables, and cutleries.
"Yes," Riley casually said as he started walking away.
"Then, is it possible for you to make me shorter?"
"No. I have tried using it on another person once, they just turn into a lump of meat. I can use it on myself, however."
"...What other abilities do you have, Professor Riley?"
"I can grow trees. There's also…"
The other themarians in the canteen could really only watch as Riley and Esme casually walked out of the canteen, leaving Cyril to recover all on his own on the floor.
"..." Even Zac, who found and brought Esme to the canteen, could not help but suck in his breaths and hope this situation doesn't escalate any further. After all, this involved him in a way since he knew Cyril and the others. And so, after a few more seconds of staring at Cyril's regenerating body, he also turned to follow Riley and Esme—-leaving everyone wondering—
"What… just happened?"
Chapter 548"We told you, Lord Riley. You are not allowed to see or wait for Her Highness here. Please go back to the surface, you will be able to see Her Highness during the trial."
"I would like to stay here, Helguard."
"That is not possible, Lord. Her Highness won't come out of her room until the trial.
"I thought themarians do not believe in prisons, other Helguard?"
"...You can't stay here, Lord Riley. You have already been standing there for 5 hours straight, Lord Riley."
"Because I want to be the first person Aerith sees, Helguard."
5 hours. With Princess Esme's help, Riley was able to find where they were keeping Aerith. Deep underground, where no light from the surface could ever reach—but as inaccessible as it might sound, it was truly not.
The way to it was actually in plain sight, just several meters away from the castle's main entrance. It was another large door, adorned with marble pillars on the side; as well as surrounded by some fauna that almost made it look like a small garden—and no one was guarding it.
Once you open the door, however, there was nothing but darkness and a pit that led miles into the ground.
And at the end of it, was a bright hallway, with strips of blue light on both the ceiling and the floor, similar to the throne hall.
There were several doors across the hallway, but Riley did not really stop for them as only a single one had people guarding it—Aerith's room.
"How were you even able to go inside here, Lord Riley?"
"You lack security, Helguard. You're not alone in that oversight, however, as the evaniels also tend to not care about their security."
"So you are half-eva—Your Highness!"
And before the two guards could entertain themselves with their boring jobs by chatting with their unexpected visitor, they suddenly placed both their hands behind their backs; standing straight as they raised their chins high.
"..." Riley slowly looked back to see who they were saluting to, only to see a woman whose eyes were closed casually and calmly approaching them. Riley was confused as to who it was at first, as the strands of grey hair that previously covered a large part of her hair were now dyed brown. She still looked old, of course, but not like before.
"Princess Tifa," Riley bowed his head as soon as their eyes met.
"Come with me," Princess Tifa, however, just waved her hand before gesturing to Riley to follow her.
"I need to be here, Princess Tifa."
"Maybe," Princess Tifa covered her mouth as she slightly giggled, "But you can't. I promise you, I will make sure that you will be one of the first people that Aerith would see as soon as she comes out of her… seclusion."
"..." Riley squinted his eyes as he looked at the door, the guards, and then finally back to Tifa. And with a nod, he started following her. The two walked around the castle for a few minutes; unlike the other day, however, the castle was filled with life—with all the maids and other castle staff just freely walking around the hallway. Aside from Princess Tifa greeting her people, their walk was completely silent until they reached Tifa's study.
There was a certain unique smell there, it wasn't bad, but not really what one would expect to hit their nose as they enter someone's office.
"..." Riley quickly looked around the study, only to see more than a dozen shelves filled with orbs hovering in them, as well as a handful of what seemed to be books. Riley wasn't aware of how large a data the orbs could store—but it was probably astronomical in value… and there were than hundreds of them.
Does that mean that whatever data the orbs contained, Princess Tifa has read and watched them all?
"How old are you, Princess Tifa?" Riley asked as he stepped deeper into the study; his eyes, surveilling everything. But other than the floating orbs, everything just looked like a normal study one could find in rich homes.
Princess Tifa could really only look at Riley as she heard his sudden question, before glancing at one of her shelves and chuckling,
"I've forgotten how old I am, dear. Was the hair dye too much?" Princess Tifa then said as she lightly brushed her hair, "I was only going to color it gold, but I don't really like how it just looks white in some lights."
"A dye? Why did you not just inject the hair color serum that Aerith gave me, Princess Tifa?"
"I'm old. I don't like putting things inside my body that don't belong there," Princess Tifa once again chuckled as she took a seat at her desk, gesturing to Riley to sit on the chair in front of her, "Sit, we need to talk about my youngest child."
"...Hm," Riley nodded as he took a seat, "I thought you called me to talk about what happened in the canteen, Princess Tifa."
"And what happened in the canteen?" Princess Tifa raised an eyebrow.
"I almost killed one guard due to a major altercation."
"Oh," Princess Tifa waved her hand and sighed, "That's okay. If you ask me, there have been too many of us lately, not enough deaths because old people like me refuse to just go, you know?"
"That can become a problem, yes."
"So, about my—"
And before Princess Tifa could actually start their discussion, a sudden sharp cry wailed in the air. Riley's eyebrows quickly furrowed as he once again looked around the room at the slightly annoying noise.
Tifa, on the other hand, just let out a small hum before quickly standing up; slightly pushing her chair as she did so and revealing the wooden crib behind it.
"..." Riley could really only blink a couple of times; tilting his head as he watched Princess Tifa very gently… carried a baby from the crib,
"I thought themarians could only give birth once in a thousand years or so, Princess Tifa?" Riley then said; the tone of his voice, slightly deep. This… was the first time he was seeing a themarian baby—he hasn't even seen a toddler even once.
"Did Aerith tell you that?" Princess Tifa lowered her voice as she gently cradled the baby themarian, "I suppose that's true, but I'm old—the sperm just goes in and a baby slides out between my legs. It just works like that."
"..." Riley breathed out heavily, squinting his eyes as Princess Tifa started chuckling again. Suffice it to say, Riley was having a hard time discerning whether or not Tifa was telling the truth, "You seem to be a very happy person, Princess Tifa."
"I just choose to, I'm old," Princess Tifa said as she caressed the baby's cheek.
"So, that child is yours?" Riley squinted his eyes further, "I thought Claudyne was your youngest child?"
"Who knows," Princess Tifa shrugged, "But we're not here to talk about this baby. I believe your class is a sparkling success, Lord Riley. Whatever you did, it worked. I have never seen Claudyne so behaved—and her peers are unusually quiet too."
"Does that mean you will talk to the King, Princess Tifa?" Riley stood up from his seat.
"Hm…
..I already did."
Chapter 549"Does that mean you will talk to the King, Princess Tifa?"
"Hm…
..I already did."
And almost like a playful dog, Riley's ears, and even some strands of his long white hair started to perk up and even wag.
"He said no..."
But alas, his growing excitement did not really last long as Princess Tifa's sighs reached his ears. Riley was about to take his seat again, but it would seem Princess Tifa was not finished with her words.
"But I did manage to get you on the stand, Professor."
"The stand?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he remained standing.
"Hm. Aerith already talked in her previous trial, and the alien friend she brought also tirelessly talked during the trial; so they're not allowed to defend anymore, but you…" Princess Tifa continued to gently cradle the baby she was holding as she faced Riley,
"You might offer a better insight—my sources say that you claim to be her lover, no?"
"..."
"Who knows," Princess Tifa lightly hummed, "The judge and jury might just change their mind if they hear your words."
"May I ask who the judge is, Princess Tifa?"
"The King," Princess Tifa sighed, "I have told you, everything has been decided already."
"And the juries?"
"My children, and some other people."
"..."
"I know your expression and I am going to say it to you straight…" Princess Tifa let out a small chuckle as she focused on the baby, "...My oldest boy wants the throne."
"I have heard of that, Princess Tifa," Riley let out a small and very deep breath as he returned to his seat.
"And as is obvious, he is one of the juries," Princess Tifa nodded, "I can talk to him to convince him to go against my brother. Aerith doesn't care about the throne, after all—but Lucien can be stubborn sometimes, and he is loyal to my brother."
"If the King dies, who will inherit the throne, Princess Tifa?" Riley once again placed his hand on his chin.
"If my brother dies right now, at this very moment, then Aerith would inherit the throne. You're not planning to kill the King, are you?" Princess Tifa's voice was still as soothing as it could be as she continued to cradle the baby she was carrying, "Because if you are, I am obligated to report it."
"If Aerith dies before the King?"
"Then I would be the heir to the throne," Princess Tifa let out a gentle chuckle, "But as I said before, I am old and could care less about that stupid chair. I will pass it to my oldest son, which leads us back to Lucien."
"..."
"I could try talking to my brother more and delay the inevitable—If you continue teaching," Princess Tifa finally returned the baby to its crib, "I already boasted you to some of my peers, and they want their children to learn from you too. Perhaps when this little one learns how to talk, I would put her in your class too."
"When do they plan to execute Aerith once the trial is over, Princess Tifa?"
"Only the King really knows," Tifa shrugged, "It could be a day after the trial, a week, a month, a hundred years. I could ask the King to delay it as much as possible."
"Are you aware of what I teach, Princess Tifa?"
"I won't disrupt you, Professor…
…You're the one who knows best."
***
"May we enter, Your Highness? We… are here to escort you to the throne hall."
"Don't be shy and just enter, you guys are just doing your jobs."
Back in the castle's underground where Riley was at a few hours ago; the two guards that he spoke to were now facing the door they were tasked to guard. Their faces, a little hesitant as they nodded to each other before opening the door.
And there, a shower of white light quickly seeped into the dim hallways of the underground. But contrary to what one would expect from the white light coming from the room, the inside… was an endless horizon.
The view of the alps, with the sun just painting everything with its orange brilliance. And there, overlooking the almost unending view similar to Earth's mountains, was Aerith.
"We are entering the room, Your Highness."
And as soon as the two guards stepped inside the room, the view of the alps instantly disappeared; replaced by four walls and a roof, completely silver and lit up by strips of white light that surrounded the edges of the large room. Unlike most of Theran's infrastructures and interiors, Aerith's room truly showcased an advanced civilization as what a normal human would expect it to be.
"You don't need to ask for my permission, I told you—just do your job," Aerith's breaths whispered throughout the entire room as she turned around. She did not immediately look at the two guards, however, and instead turned to look at the other presence in the room—surrounded by floating orbs, seemingly completely occupied in checking all of them.
"Thank you, Paige," Aerith then said, "It's probably the last time I'm ever seeing a view of Earth."
"No!" Paige, who was watching all sorts of recordings from the orbs around her, quickly shook her head before looking at Aerith, "I… I will find something that could help you, Megawoman!"
"You've done enough already," Aerith sighed, "You've shown them the things I did and they didn't care."
"I… I will find something," Paige, however, did not seem to care as she just continued to scour Theran's history—not really knowing what she was looking for.
"..."
"We… We need to attach this collar to you, Your Highness."
"How many times do I have to tell you to just do whatever you have to do?" Aerith then lightly clicked her tongue as she gestured to the two guards to approach her. And without any more delay, the guards quickly but very carefully attached the collar on Aerith's neck, bringing her outside the room.
"No matter how many times I see it, this looks bleak," Aerith quickly whispered as she looked at the walls made of bricks and marble. The two guards didn't really know whether they should say something or not, so in the end, they continued to walk beside Aerith; following her pace.
"Megawoman?"
And as they were making their way across the long hallway, a whisper suddenly seeped from one of the other doors decorating the walls.
"I thought I told you to just call me mom?" Aerith's steps quickly halted; sighing as she turned to look at the door,
"How are they treating you? Alright?"
The two guards once again looked at each other, before nodding at each other and walking ahead, giving Aerith some privacy as she approached the door.
"Why… why are you asking me if I'm alright?" The voice from the other side was familiar, but even more so, it was trembling, "I should be the one asking you that, Megawoman. Will they really execute you!?"
"I'm sorry, Silvie," Aerith sighed as she placed her hand on the door, "I'm the one who dragged you here fully knowing they might just lock you up."
"This… this is nothing. My existence itself—"
"Your existence is beautiful, that's all you should know," a small smile crawled on Aerith's face, "You don't have to worry, okay? I made sure that after all of this is done, you will be able to live a normal life anywhere you want to."
"I don't care about me! You're the one on trial! Will… will they really kill you? All… all you did was save people, om and—You… you should go and escape, mom. Please…"
"That may be true," Aerith let out another sigh as she removed her hand from the door and started stepping back, "But I initially left to find Diana."
"I…I'll try to find a way to get out of here. It's… it's our turn to save you."
"Relax, just… don't do anything rash," Aerith let out a small chuckle as she made her way toward the guards.
"Mom… please."
Before she could reach the guards, however, the whisper seeping from the closed door seemed to become louder; almost piercing Aerith's ears.
"I… I don't want to lose anyone anymore."
"..." Aerith closed her eyes, before glancing at the door one final time and leaving the dungeon with the guards. And as soon as the light of the outside touched her face, Aerith could not help but somewhat be lost in thought.
Theran was completely unchanged. From the day she gained consciousness, and even after hundreds of years that she was gone, Theran is unchanged. Even as she walked across the grounds of the castle, every inch of it—every pebble was in the same place.
She didn't agree with Diana when she said that the universe has become stagnant, it has clearly changed. But now, seeing her home planet… perhaps there was some truth in her words.
"Your Highness, please."
"...Hm," Aerith shook her head off of the intrusive thoughts she was having as she followed the guards. There were a lot of servants there, most faces she recognized. All of them, however, was avoiding her eyes.
Every single one of them refused to look her in the eyes. They knew her as the rebellious princess, but that was clearly not her anymore—she has changed.
The outside world changed her.
But here, even as the door of the throne hall opened, everyone quickly looked away as she entered. They were all here to watch her slowly die, and yet not even one of them could look her in the eye.
Well, all except one.
"...Riley?"
Chapter 550"...Riley?"
"Good afternoon, Aerith."
Everything became silent then. The gazes of the people that were aggressively and blatantly trying to avoid her, now no longer matters as a single pair of eyes was the only one she could see now—quite literally.
Riley was standing right in front of her, blocking the view of the throne. She wasn't hearing anything, and knowing Riley, he probably placed a telekinetic bubble around them.
"When—"
And for the first time ever; after facing and being in front of themarian royalty several times—Riley finally kneeled.
"What… are you doing?" Aerith could really only raise an eyebrow; the tone of her voice, slightly amused.
"Surrendering to you, Aerith."
"Aerith of House Hel!"
A loud voice then reverberated throughout the entire throne hall as the bailiff announced Aerith's arrival, calling for her to walk to her station. And even then, however, almost no one stood up to pay attention; they were a few, but most of them quickly sat down when they noticed no one else was standing.
"..." Riley turned to look up at Aerith, before standing up and walking to the side to give her space to walk. Seeing this, Aerith could really only let out a small but very deep breath.
"So, Hera was actually able to bring you here," she then said, "So, how is the Theran experience so far? I told you, themarians are all inherently psychopaths."
"..." Riley tilted his head to the side, before observing the people in the throne hall, "My experience has been okay so far, Aerith. They seem normal to me."
"...Of course," Aerith could only sigh and close her eyes, "I forgot who I was talking to."
"It's me, Aerith," Riley's eyes quickly widened ass he looked Aerith in the eyes, "It's Riley Ross."
"Wha—Yeah, I know who you are!"
"That is good," Riley then let out a small but very deep sigh, "Let's talk again later, Aerith."
"No one's allowed to visit me," Aerith shook her head and let out another sigh. Riley, however, did not seem to care as she just watched as he walked away, joining an unusually tall woman and a member of the Grand Militia who was seated on the sides along with the other audience.
Even on Theran, Riley gathers the weirdest of companions—Aerith thought. She was going to walk toward the throne but noticed the tall woman staring her straight in the eyes.
"..." Aerith just raised an eyebrow, wondering who this was. But after a few more breaths of exchanging glances, Aerith finally walked across the carpet; standing on the pedestal—no, standing on the stage that was set for her.
"Aerith'Hel!"
And as soon as her foot touched the pedestal, the bailiff's voice once again reverberated through the hall.
"Guilty of leaving Theran, and abandoning her duties as the Princess of Hel, fully knowing that she is the only remaining heir of His Glorious Highness, King Arthus. Despite the King's orders, Aerith'Hel left, leaving a bad example for our new generatio—"
"She left to find and hunt Caitain'Ur!" And before the bailiff could finish his introductions, one of the people from the audience raised his voice, "She did it for—"
But alas, his mouth, however, was quickly covered by the people around him.
"Be reminded that you will be thrown out of the throne hall if you talk unnecessarily," the bailiff glared at the heckler, before clearing his throat and proceeding with the introductions,
"At the year 5,455 of the Rule of King Arthus, Aerith sent 10 guards loyal to the kingdom to their eternal deaths. 10 citizens of Hel, of the kingdom, that were only ordered to prevent her from leaving our beloved home, Theran…
…Even now, their family mourns their loss."
And with those words, the throne hall that was filled with whispers and murmurs slowly faded away; their heads, all looking down.
Riley watched as Aerith's eyebrows also started to furrow; her breaths that were becoming heavier by the second, obvious for him to see even from the distance.
They called it a trial, but no one was even defending Aerith. She just stood in front of the throne…she just stood in front of the kingdom for everyone to see her shame. This isn't a trial—it's a show.
"This is treason to the highest of degrees; treason that our Kingdom has never seen before. And in accordance to the law…" The bailiff broke the silence as his loud words almost pierced through everyone's ears, "...Aerith'Hel is to be sentenced to Eternal Death!"
"..." Riley's hands started to roll into fists as he heard the bailif's words.
"We are now once again gathered here to today to witness the fair trial of Aerith'Hel!" The bailiff continued, "Initially, today was going to be the day our honorable jury would decide Aerith'Hel's fate. But the defendant has presented another witness for us today!"
The audience's whispers once again traveled in the air. As for Aerith, the only thing she could really do upon hearing the bailiff's words was to sigh and shake her head.
A new witness that she wasn't aware of—there could only be one.
"May we call the witness, Riley Ross, to stand and kneel before the throne!"
And without any hesitation, Riley stood up from his seat; everyone's eyes, all looking at him and wondering who he could be. Some of the women, even let out loud gasps as they whisper to each other.
"Is it an evaniel? I thought they were not allowed here?"
"I can sense a little bit of energy in him; a half-breed?"
"He's… so handsome. I wonder if he's—"
"Quiet down!"
"..." Riley did not really care about all the stares and whispers. Instead, he just calmly stood in front of the throne, staring at it and looking at the melted and melded crowns it was made from,
"Where is King Arthus?" Riley then said.
And as the people saw him fail to kneel, an orchestra of gasps and whispers once again danced in the air.
"You are not allowed to speak until the jury asks you a question!" The bailiff quickly raised his voice.
"..." Riley turned to look at the 10 people sitting near the throne; all of them, looking at him from head to toe—and some even seemingly looking at his soul. Riley then turned to look at the one that seemed to be the oldest—a middle-aged man; the sides of his hair already showed signs of greying.
He carried with him an air of authority and confidence that stood above the 9 others he was with. If Riley was right, then this should be Lucien, Princess Tifa's oldest son.
"..." Lucien's thick eyebrows quickly furrowed as he noticed Riley staring at him. Riley didn't flinch or look away, however.
"The jury is allowed to ask the witness any question they deem important to the case," the bailiff announced, "The witness must answer truthfully, and will answer truthfully as we have a device that could detect his lies."
The bailiff then raised an orb, "If this lights up in red, then the witness is lying, and would therefore lose his credibility as a witness, and will be kicked out of the throne hall."
"..."
"If everyone understands, then we will proceed with the trial," the bailiff then sat down, before looking at the jury, "Jury, you may begin asking the witness a question."
Riley finally looked away from Lucien, before glancing at Aerith and raising his thumbs up.
Once again, Aerith felt like a mother being embarrassed by her son—or like an old best friend being deliberately teased. Finally, Riley didn't make the situation permanent for her, as he faced the throne again.
And now, looking at his back, Aerith could really only close her eyes. Paige also stood as a witness for her in the previous trial; even using her abilities of projection to show exactly what Aerith did for Earth.
But it didn't matter. Everything that was happening to her is only for show—everyone knew that.
In truth, she didn't even know why she came back to this planet in the first place. Perhaps a part of her still hoped that her family would still welcome her back, but no. Even bringing Caitlain'Ur, the criminal she promised to bring to justice, was completely ignored by her father.
Although, a large part of her knew this would happen—that she would be prosecuted. Maybe…
…Maybe she just underestimated how tired she really was?
Traveling across the Universe, traversing the Unknown, finding Earth, staying there for Caitlain'Ur, staying there for the people, fighting, falling in love with a beautiful human, fighting, giving birth to a son, fighting, falling out of love, fighting… fighting, fighting to the death, resting, waking up again.
Her time on Earth was short, but she found that the most tired she had been was there. It was fun, she lived her life fully unlike what would happen if she just stayed here.
She is content. She did her part in protecting the people of Earth from evil.
But little did she think that the one to defend her in her final moments would be the very evil she tried protecting the people from. The reason for so much of their suffering.
"..." Aerith could really only smile. Fate… fate was playing with her.
"What is your relationship to the criminal?"
And finally, after much silence, one of the jurors raised her hand and asked the first question; Riley, however, did not even look at her.
"She is my lover."
"!!!"
"Riley, you can't lie here."
Aerith could not help but cover her face and sigh. The others, however, quickly turned to look at the orb the bailiff was holding.
"Lying?" Riley once again glanced at Aerith as a hint of a smile crawled on his face,
"I'm not capable of that, Aerith."
Chapter 551"Riley, you can't lie here."
"Lying?
…I'm not capable of that, Aerith."
"Y—"
"The witness is not allowed to talk to the criminal!"
Aerith's slightly frustrated groan traveled through the air. No one heard it, however. Not even a single themarian, a species that was capable of hearing an ant from a mile away if they want to, was able to hear her frustration.
All of their eyes, ears, and every fiber of their attention were on the orb that the bailiff was holding—most of them waiting for it to light up in red.
A second.
A minute.
A themarian could stand in silence for hours, and yet not even notice it. The audience, however, did not need to wait for that long as the bailiff shook his head—gesturing to the jury, as well as to the audience that Riley was not lying by raising the orb in the air.
Seeing this left Aerith's mouth slightly open; the disbelief, escaping from her lips. This disbelief, however, turned into slight annoyance as she noticed Riley smiling at her quite… condescendingly. At least, that is what it looked like to her.
Aerith already knew that Riley was not susceptible and immune to any mind-reading telepathy; she was too. But the themarian's lie detector device was perhaps one of the most advanced in the entire Known Universe—it scans your brain, your heart, your face, the slightest changes in temperature, your voice, and even the individual follicles and pores on your body.
In short, it was a literal full body scan—similar to Katherine's empath capabilities, only more sophisticated and accurate.
Could it be… that Riley thinks that he is her lover?
"..." Aerith could really only widen her eyes at the thought. Riley Ross was incapable of love—he can show affection and care as he does with his sister… but love?
And her? Riley loves her? That…
"...That is so weird."---were the words that escaped Aerith's lips as she once again stared at Riley's back.
"Everyone, silence!" The bailiff once again raised his voice, preventing the whispers of the audience to become wails of gossip.
"Where… did you meet her?" Another jury raised his hand to ask Riley a question. This time, Riley looked at the jury—noticing how similar all of them looked alike. Considering they were all Princess Tifa's children, then he shouldn't really be surprised. What he was a little curious about, however, was that Claudyne was not there.
Based on what Riley knows so far about themarians, their women could only give birth every 1000 years or so. There were already 10 of them sitting near the throne, and adding Claudyne to that, then Princess Tifa would have already lived, at the very least, 11,000 years—minimum.
Xra was somewhere at 8,000. Riley still doesn't know how old Diana is, but she should be in Xra's range or higher. For some reason, Riley was not really that perturbed about their ages; after all, back on Earth, they have Bulwark who is potentially as old as her fellow super, Xra.
However, Princess Tifa is probably a lot older than Xra—a lot. Riley vaguely remembers Aerith mentioning that she was less than a thousand years old, and considering the bailiff mentioning that Aerith left Theran during the 5,455th year of his father's reign, then it is also possible that the time between the births of Princess Tifa's children is also not consistently a thousand years apart, they could also significantly be higher.
Princess Tifa is probably more than 20,000 years old—maybe even a hundred thousand. So why…
…Why didn't any of them seem bored?
"Riley Ross! Answer the question!" The bailiff snapped his fingers as Riley seemed to have gotten lost in his own world, "Lord Kal asks you where you met the criminal, Aerith!"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times, before turning his eyes at the one who asked him a question,
"I met Aerith 300 years ago on my—on the planet I was born on."
"The… planet you were born on?" Kal squinted his eyes as he once again scrutinized Riley with his eyes, "You weren't born on Theran?"
"I am Half Themarian, I was born on a planet from the Unknown, Earth," Riley returned Kal's gaze as he too, seemed to look at Kal from head to only his waist, since he was seated. Even seated, however, it was obvious that Kal was the tallest and most muscular out of all of his male siblings. His hair, a little curly from the front, making his chiseled and sharp jaw even more profound.
"Half? Then are you an evaniel—"
"How exactly did you and cousin meet?"
But alas, before the muscular and charismatic Kal could add to his inquiries, a short woman stood up—or at least she might have; it was hard to tell since her shoulders were still almost the same height as her siblings.
"As all of you are already aware of, Aerith left Theran to catch the most wanted themarian in all of the Known Universe—a woman filled with secrets and so, so many lies."
"..." Aerith could not help but raise an eyebrow. She might just be imagining it, but was she hearing some sort of… frustration in Riley's voice?
"That doesn't have anything to do with the question!" The bailiff once again raised his voice as he heard Riley's words. He was going to say something else but found himself suddenly coughing vehemently.
"Oh, it does have some relevance to the question, bailiff," Riley breathed out as he looked at the short woman, "Aerith found a trace of Caitlain'Ur's energy on Earth, that is the very reason she went there—and I had the pleasure of meeting her when she… fought with my mother."
"...Mother?"
"You know her as Caitlain'Ur."
"!!!"
The short woman quickly took in a deep breath as soon as Riley's words reached her ears. It wasn't only her—every person in the room let out a short but very deep gasp.
"That…that is not how Aerith described her silly adventure," the short woman pointed at Aerith; almost stuttering her words.
"That is because Aerith lost a part of her memories when she was almost sent to Eternal Death during their first battle on Earth," Riley then let out a small and very deep sigh as he looked at Aerith,
"And that is when I cared for her," the tone of Riley's voice became meek as he closed his eyes, "I made sure she was warm, I bathed her, I talked to her even though I knew it was possible that she couldn't even hear me… and little did I know that she actually could."
"..."
"And so, when she woke up… when I saw her eyes, I immediately fell in love with her," Riley then took in a deep breath as he opened his eyes and looked at the throne for some reason,
"And perhaps as I cared for her, she also started caring for the inhabitants of Earth. They became her people, and she became theirs. It is true what they say, a true star shines wherever it is," Riley then whispered as he looked Aerith straight in the eyes,
"She led people who don't understand their strength, who only know war and violence… to peace. And we fell in love."
"..." Bullshit—is what Aerith wanted to say right now. But seeing everyone's shocked faces… most of them were believing it—something Aerith couldn't believe. His story didn't even make sense and was so random.
Should… she just let this charade continue?
"...Pft," Aerith couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as numerous thoughts crossed her mind. Stop the charade? This whole trial was a show in the first place—and she keeps forgetting who Riley is.
If this is a show, then Riley Ross will always be the center of it. Darkday, Riley Ross, Paragon—whichever persona Riley wears…
…he never fails to present.
Her chuckle, however, seemed to have triggered something from some of the jury.
"You collude with the very enemy you are sworn to kill!?" The one that seemed to be the youngest on the jury stood up and also pointed at Aerith, "Shame on you!"
"Execute the half-breed too! Kill him!"
"Caitlain's son!? Cait…Caitlain'Ur is here!?"
"Half-breed!"
"Traitor!"
"Wait, shouldn't… shouldn't we hide!? The Caitlain'Ur is back!"
And once again, the entire throne hall was filled with all sorts of voices. Most were disdain and disgust; while others, those that belonged to the older themarians, were that of fear.
The bailiff would have probably shut them all down by now—but he still couldn't talk for some reason. But it would seem that he didn't need to; as after a few more seconds, Princess Tifa's eldest son, Lucien, opened his mouth.
And with just a single raise of his hand, the entire hall became as quiet as the hour before dawn. Even Lucien's siblings that were raging and pointing fingers immediately sat down; the rage in their eyes, however, could still be heard burning across the hall.
"You claim to be Princess Aerith's lover…" Lucien crossed his legs and rested his chin on his fist; his slightly long hair, brushing and sliding from his broad shoulders as he leaned back,
"...Does that mean you are Lord Gary's father?"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at Lucien, before starting to search for Gary amongst the masses. But try as he might, it would seem Gary didn't attend Aerith's 2nd trial,
"No," Riley shook his head several times, "She fell in love with another—a human, and that is Gary's father…
…who I killed in my blind rage."
Chapter 552"You killed Aerith? Is it because of her infidelity?"
"No, accidentally. I told you, he died from my blind rage and the inhabitants of Earth could be quite… fragile."
"..."
Lucien's breaths were nothing but a whisper, and yet everyone listened to him; not wanting to miss even a single hum that escapes his mouth.
Lucien, however, was silent for some reason as he looked at the bailiff; his eyes, staring at the orb he was holding. And finally, after a few more breaths, Lucien broke his silence.
"So, since you are from this… Earth. What exactly are you a half of? You don't quite look like Aerith's bastard."
"No," Riley shook his head, "I am different from them, always was."
"Are you perhaps an evaniel?" Lucien asked; his eyes, still completely focused on the orb.
"No," Riley once again shook his head as he stretched his arms to the side, "My other half is the shadows, the void…the darkness itself."
"..." Lucien once again let his breaths express his silence. This time, however, his silence only last a single moment as it was replaced by a light chuckle.
"Do not be fooled by this man's words. He lies," Lucien then stood up as he looked at the audience, "He is able to bypass the Orb of Truth."
And as soon as he said that, most of the people in the audience let out their short gasps.
"300 years old—Half-breeds never live for that long," Lucien sighed as a small smile crawled on his face, "And most importantly, Caitlain'Ur will never have a child—creations, a lot. But children that came from her? That woman treats everything as science experiments."
"Oh, that's not true at all. You will find that humans are quite… super," Riley clicked his tongue several times, "And true, Caitlain is flawed and has secrets even deeper and darker than mine—but for as long as I have known her, she has been a good mother to her children. None of you would know, of course… all of you are stuck here."
"...Children?" Lucien scoffed, "You are telling me Caitlain has more offspring?"
"One, my older sister."
Riley's feet then started to move; no longer facing the throne ad he walked around. The audience was waiting for the bailiff to do something, not knowing he has been suffocating for a couple of minutes now.
"..." Riley then walked in front of the audience, looking at them almost one by one,
"Caitlain—Diana has a daughter," Riley then smiled and nodded, "And she is more powerful than any of you combined."
The audience could really only look at each other. They have always been told that they were the strongest beings in the Universe. And some of them may not feel it, since there are stronger themarians out there—they have always taken that as a fact.
"Is that… really the case?" Zac, who found himself quite engrossed with the trial, also could not help but look at the other people in the hall.
Esme, on the other hand, was shaking her head.
"He is lying in some parts," Esme breathed out.
"How… can you tell?" Zac gulped.
"Because the Orb of Truth also does not work on me—and Professor Riley told me that we are the same kind."
"...But how do you know he is lying?" Zac turned to look at Esme; wondering what sort of mysteries this… mysterious princess still holds.
"Because Professor Riley already told me about his companions and why he is here, Zac."
"...Oh, of course," Zac could not help but breathe out his disappointment; he thought Esme was about to say something profound and mysterious.
"Haha!" And all of a sudden, the entire hall was filled with Lucien's somewhat condescending laughter. The audience's whispers, completely drowned by his voice.
"There is no use in continuing this silly ruse," Lucien let out a heavy sigh as he leaned back on his seat,
"I will ask again, how did you meet Princess Aerith?"
"..." Riley only glanced at Lucien, before also letting out his own sigh and looking at Aerith,
"Will all of you really believe a man who cowers and hides behind the King's throne?" The tone of Riley's voice suddenly became deep as his eyes strayed toward the people again,
"While your princess went out into the Unknown to vanquish and capture your planet's most heinous criminal, this man hid!" Riley then pointed at Lucien; his eyes, however, remained on the people,
"When your princess was out there improving the lives of people that were very well beneath her, all of you are here wasting your eternity!"
"..." The people could not help but blink… why were they suddenly involved in the trial?
"You are wasting your life on this planet, pathetic," Riley started walking again; his long white cloak, flowing with the wind even though there was none,
"The strongest species, pathetic. My mother told me that this, you are the master race. But she also called all of you boring and lifeless—she is right. I wanted to meet all of you. I needed to meet all of you."
"..." The people were still waiting for the bailiff to stop Riley, but he was still completely silent.
"I needed to see where Aerith was born, I wanted to see her people," Riley sighed and shook his head, "A being so powerful, a being that could enslave humanity, but chose to surrender to them instead…
…but now that I look at all of you, all I see is disappointment," Riley then turned to look at Lucien,
"Fighting for a useless throne…
…fighting for a useless king."
"You dare!?" Lucien quickly stood up from his seat, destroying the chair he was sitting on as he pointed at Riley.
And as soon as he did so, the audience also stood up and started shouting; their voices, however, were drowned by Riley's bellow that seemed to pierce them straight into their ears.
"It's true!" Riley screamed, causing even Aerith to take a step back, almost falling from the pedestal she was standing on as Riley suddenly looked at her with a violent gaze,
"How could a parent of something so beautiful be a king that throws her daughter to the guillotine?"
Riley's teeth started to show themselves as his voice became louder and rougher, "Where is he now, your King!? Not even looking at his daughter in the eyes as he condemns her like a monster! No… your King is the monster!"
"I will no longer let you defile the name of the King!" Lucien's eyes lit up as he looked at Riley.
"What king!?"
And in response, a raging red also lit up Riley's eyes; the smile on his face, as wide and as visceral as it could be.
"Where!?"
"Stop! Stop!"
And as Riley released his telekinetic hold on the bailiff to focus solely on Lucien, the bailiff's voice quickly thundered in the air.
"I will have order in front of the Throne! This trial… this trial will be put on hold!"
But alas, it was almost as if no one was listening to him, as several red dots started appearing amongst the crowd as their voices became enraged.
And while everyone was screaming, Riley was able to notice some of the crowd looking at their neighbors, arguing with them—some even pushing.
Seeing this, a small hum escaped Riley's lips.
"Who will you stand with!?" Riley then once again drowned the hall with his voice; his eyes, looking at the minority,
"A king that just sits on his throne, preventing you from experiencing the freedom that you deserve!?" Riley lowered his voice as he pointed at the empty throne. And before any could react, he turned to point at Aerith,
"Or a woman who ventured into the Unknown, into the darkness, to help people!?" Riley raised his voice, "That is your purpose! Not to hide from those weaker than you, but to protect them!"
And in turn, I will kill and strip your hope and those you help, for that is my purpose—is what Riley thought but did not say.
"Aerith…" Riley's voice then turned meek as he looked Aerith straight in the eyes, "...Aerith is what all of you should be and should have been…
…Free."
"...Riley," Aerith could not help but slightly breathe in as she saw the look in Riley's eyes—a tremble. Others wouldn't notice it, but for Aerith, the melancholy in Riley's eyes was almost screaming to be let out.
"Free to do whatever you want," Riley continued, "Free from the curse of your birth, of fate. Just…
…free."
"Riley," Aerith talk in a small gulp as a smile crawled on her face, "You can be free too. You don't have to—"
But before Aerith could finish her words, Riley suddenly looked away and once again faced the people.
"Hel is free! Theran is free!"
"..." And seeing this, Aerith's eye started to twitch.
"Choose freedom! Choose Aerith!"
"Princess Aerith!"
"We love you!"
"I support the Rebel Princess!"
"Lucien is my King!"
"Lucien will make Hel great again!"
"Lucien is the rightful heir!"
"Aerith abandoned us! She belongs to the streets!"
"Lucien! Lucien!"
"...Why are we cheering for other people when King Arthus is still alive?"
"Lucien for Hel!"
"We stand by you, Prince Lucien!"
"..."
"Really…?" Aerith then watched as Riley was dragged away from the throne hall by several guards. She covered her face, completely embarrassed as some of the people from the crowd started chanting her name.
"...Just send me to Eternal Death now, please."---were the words that escaped Aerith's lips. Soon, however, a small drop of tear trailed down her cheek…
…followed by a hint of a smile that was hidden from the world.
Chapter 553Back in Princess Tifa's study, the old princess' loud and still elegant burst of laughter filled the entire room; her shoulders, causing the chair to quake from how hard they were moving. She even had to wipe the tears that were bursting from her eyes as she could not seem to help herself from laughing.
And in front of her, was Riley—his head tilted to the side, wondering why Tifa was laughing the way she was. And finally, after a few more chuckles, Princess Tifa was able to breathe in all of her joy as she looked at Riley.
"That… was one way to delay Aerith's ruling," Princess Tifa said as she let out one final deep breath, "For an alien, you are really fun."
"You are the one who told me to talk about freedom, Princess Tifa."
"Hm, but you're the one who delivered it," Princess Tifa shrugged, "So, is it true you're Caitlain's son?"
"Not biologically."
"Pft," Princess Tifa seemed to want to laugh again for some reason.
"You are really a happy person, Princess Tifa."
"You said that twice already," Princess Tifa waved her hand, "I must say, the way you talk about this Earth makes me want to see it—to see what the commoners of the outside do."
"When was the last time you have been outside, Princess Tifa?" Riley slightly squinted his eyes.
"I'm usually always outside. Hel is a beautiful place, especially the country."
"I mean outside Themarian territory, Princess Tifa."
"Oh," Princess Tifa let out a small hum, before standing up and walking toward the crib behind her, "I have never been outside, not even once."
"You never thought to?"
"Once, when I was younger," Princess Tifa sighed and smiled as she look at the baby in the crib, gently tickling its face and making it laugh, "But Queen Luz—our mother told me that there is nothing outside, she ingrained it in my mind, and both my brothers'."
"You have another brother besides the King, Princess Tifa?"
"We did, the oldest one," Princess Tifa once again sighed as she looked out the window, "He died a long time ago with our father; I have forgotten how long it has been."
"How did they die, Princess Tifa?"
"Trying to protect a stellar system outside our territory," Princess Tifa's voice slightly became deeper as she looked at Riley, "They were swallowed by the Cherbi, along with the stellar system's inhabitants. I suppose that is where my brother's daughter gets it from, you know? Adventure—out there, we die a meaningless death."
"And in here, you die a useless death," Riley replied, to which Princess Tifa only rolled her eyes.
"No one else is here but you and me, dear," Princess Tifa sighed, "You can stop performing."
"..."
"I am old, Professor. And I can see a performance from a lightyear away," Princess Tifa shook her head, "And you already told me of your age that last we talked—I can deduce a lot of things there already. What I was not ready for… is your weird affection for my niece."
"Weird?"
"Well, perhaps it is not a weird affection at all, but a sincere obsession," Princess Tifa lightly hummed as she looked Riley straight in the eyes—almost as if she was reading the deepest of Riley's thoughts,
"I do apologize, though—for letting you talk about freedom… when you yourself are not free at all."
"..." Riley's eyes squinted even further as he returned Princess Tifa's gaze.
"You are trapped in an abyss, aren't you?" Princess Tifa's voice lowered as her gaze remained, "A literal abyss that only you could see, and you can't escape it no matter what."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Well, I suppose that is enough small talk."
A light chuckle broke the sudden silence that suddenly appeared between the two, with Princess Tifa returning to her seat as she laughed,
"And congratulations, you managed to delay Aerith's execution."
"Did I?"
"Hm," Princess Tifa nodded, "Some factions are already starting to show dissatisfaction with my brother's decision. But of course, it could only be for show—it is not only family that covets the throne, after all. There are… a lot of people there that want a piece of it."
"What about the king, Princess Tifa?"
"I will talk to him later, as I said. But let me worry about that," Princess Tifa waved her hand, before rolling her chair close to the desk, "So, I talked to my peers—and they want in. Expect more students in your next class, Professor."
"...I will still work as a professor?" Riley blinked a couple of times.
"Of course, we have a deal. You help me with Claudyne as her professor, and I help you to delay Aerith's execution."
"Are they not going to put another collar on me?"
"For giving a speech about freedom?" Princess Tifa covered her mouth as a chuckle once again escaped her lips, "That would have the same effect as executing Aerith right now—you will be considered a martyr by… a minority."
"...Hm."
"At this point, they will probably force Aerith out of her room so the masses could see her alive and well—with a collar, of course," Princess Tifa let out a long and very deep sigh as she shook her head,
"Politics—just complicated, really. Have you ever thought about it? Ruling?"
"Once," Riley shrugged, "But my purpose is to end life, Princess Tifa. Not rule it."
"Oh, so sharp," Princess Tifa once again covered her mouth to chuckle, "Also, I heard something about a cannon exploding somewhere East just a day before you arrived at the castle. You don't happen to know anything about that, do you?"
"Yes, I triggered it accidentally when I was searching for something," Riley answered without any hesitation, "I do not know what it is, however."
"...Right. The Rebel Princess comes back, and suddenly everything and anything is happening," Princess Tifa brushed her hair, "I need to talk about this to my brother. Are your accommodations okay, by the way?"
"It is more than sufficient, Princess Tifa."
"That's good to hear. And also, be careful—all of my children are aware of your presence now. You can be rest assured that they will make it hard for you in the castle."
"...How many children do you have, Princess Tifa?"
"Oh, I have 17 wonderful and not-so-wonderful children," Princess Tifa hummed, "Are you wondering how many children Aerith is capable of bearing?"
"No," Riley quickly shook his head, "Aerith hates me, Princess Tifa. She is just too kind to hold it against me."
"Like that matters. I hate the fathers of 5 of my children."
"...How many husbands do you have?" Riley's eyes slightly widened as soon as he heard Tifa's words.
"10, and they are all alive."
"..."
"Oh, please. I am a Princess, dear. I can get what I want when I want it. I can even—"
And before Princess Tifa could finish her words, a whisper of a knock came from the door.
"Mother, I want to show you something."
"Speak of my children, and they will arrive," Princess Tifa let out a very long and deep sigh, "You may come in, Kal."
"Yes, mother."
The one to enter the study was Kal—the tallest and most muscular out of Princess Tifa's sons. And as expected with the way he looked, his stride was wide—either filled with arrogance or confidence.
As soon as he saw Riley in the room, however, his stride completely stopped.
"You…
…what are you doing here?"
Chapter 554"Why… are you here?"
"Princess Tifa requested my presence."
Kal'Hel, the tallest and most muscular out of Princess Tifa's sons. Unlike Lucien, Kal still had this youthful aura around him; a bounce in his step as he approached closer to Riley and his mother. His shoulders were broad, even broader than Gary's and he didn't seem to be humble about it.
His eyes as he stared at Riley from head to toe, clear and unrelenting. He then looked Riley straight in the eyes, not breaking contact even after numerous breaths. His glare was intense; even more amplified by his thick and sharp eyebrows that seemed to contour his already chiseled face.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Hm…okay."
And after a few more seconds of Kal seemingly sizing up Riley, he just casually shrugged his shoulders and smiled,
"I have to say, you did really well in the trial. No wonder mother likes you, pft…" And it didn't take long for Zac's smile to turn into chuckles as he looked back and forth between Riley and Princess Tifa,
"You really—Wait. You're not thinking of like becoming my 10th stepfather, are you?"
"Oh, don't jest like that, Kal. Our guest might get some weird ideas," Princess Tifa giggled, before turning to look at Riley with squinted eyes, "...Do you?"
"No," Riley quickly answered.
"Hm," Kal shook his head and sighed, "Be careful, mother gets what she wants, when she wants it."
"She told me, Lord Kal. We had an extensive conversation including it."
"Y—"
"Stop bothering the professor, Kal," Princess Tifa tapped the desk to stop Kal from opening his mouth, "So, what did you want to show me?"
"It's a letter," Kal said as he swiftly stretched his hand to the side. And as he did so, an envelope suddenly appeared in his palm, "Some bald guy named James gave it to me."
"...James?" Princess Tifa's eyebrows raised in curiosity as she grabbed the letter from her son.
"I shall take my leave, Princess Tifa," and while Princess Tifa started reading the letter, Riley once again bowed and excused himself.
"Ah, wait for me! I want to get to know you!"
"..." Riley only glanced at Kal as he called for him. Riley, however, just bowed before continuing to walk away—he had an important matter to attend to, after all. But halfway through his hand reaching the doorknob, Princess Tifa's voice whispered into his ears.
"Wait, Professor," Princess Tifa breathed out as she placed the letter on the desk, "A certain Lord James from Varoif is hoping to request a meeting with you."
"Lord James?" Riley's hand that was reaching for the doorknob instead went on his chin as he tilted his head.
"James owns a lot of properties in Varoif. He used to, anyway—he's under the Order's watchlist as far as I know," Princess Tifa tapped the letter, "But even in Hel, he has influence in certain dubious properties. In short, he's a powerful man…
…Do you know him?"
"Oh, Lord James. I am afraid we have not yet met in person," Riley let out a short but very deep sigh as he finally remembered the name.
"Any idea why the baldy wants to meet you?" Kal joined in on the conversation, causing Princess Tifa to lightly hit him on the chest for intruding.
"Perhaps it is because I killed his son."
"..."
"..."
"...Right," Princess Tifa's words became slow as she once again read the letter, "The letter didn't mention anything about that—he's just asking if I can make it possible for him to meet you. He's staying at the Camel's inn, it's somewhere in the city, I believe."
"Why send you a letter specifically, Princess Tifa?"
"Oh, we were acquainted once," Princess Tifa covered her mouth as she let out another giggle, "You could say he could have been a father to one of my children."
"Mother, that's not just being acquainted," Kal could not help but take a step back and gag.
"Hush, Kal. This is the sort of topic you should be entertaining now—you're getting old."
"The only relationship I need is training and getting stronger," Kal let out a small scoff as he flexed his arms, showing the sharp lines of his muscles that almost sounded like steel threads being stretched as they contracted.
"Forget this brute," Princess Tifa sighed as she focused on Riley, "So, will you go and meet him?"
"If I gain the time to, Princess Tifa. I need to visit Aerith," Riley once again bowed as he was finally able to open the door, "I will take my leave, Princess Aerith."
And as soon as he stepped out of Princess Tifa's study, Star Sergeant Zac was already there waiting for him; his red lips, already parted.
"I heard a mention of a Lord James," Zac quickly approached and walked beside Riley, "I saw him back on the trial, I figured he came there solely for you."
"Hm, it would seem he wants to meet, Star Sergeant Zac."
"I would advise not to," Zac quickly shook his head, "Lord James has… a wide reach of connections. He's not afraid of causing trouble even in another nation—he might even profit from it."
"..."
"He…" Zac then leaned closer to Riley as his words became almost silent, "He is involved in a lot of illegal activities. He's a criminal."
"So am I, Star Sergeant Zac."
"W—"
"Wait, Riley!"
And before Riley and Zac could gain distance, Kal suddenly appeared behind them.
"You're visiting Aerith, right?" Kal breathed out, "Can I come with you?"
"You live here, Kal'Hel," Riley only sighed as he did not stop walking, "You do not need my permission to do anything."
"Sweet," Kal nodded and chuckled, "Well then…
…Don't mind me."
***
"..."
"..."
The three men were now walking across the dim hallway of the castle's underground area. Kal, whose stride was filled with excitement and confidence just moments ago, was now completely quiet. Perhaps the only thing that was making noise from him was his eyes.
Esme also tagged along, causing Kal's eyes to almost pop out from their sockets the first time he saw her. And this time, he could not help but just stare at her from head to toe.
Kal towered above both his older and younger siblings—even his chest was bigger than all of his sisters. But now, walking beside Esme, he could not help but feel… small.
"Are you… 3 meters?" Kal could no longer help himself as he asked Esme.
"I do not know, Lord Kal," Esme was slightly taken aback by Kal's sudden question, but still, she answered it casually, "I have a complex about my height, so I do not check it."
"Oh, cool… cool… sorry," Kal quickly removed his eyes from Esme as he heard her words; it didn't last long, however, as he once again looked at her from head to toe. And this time, he started walking on his toes.
"..." Esme could really only blink a couple of times as she looked down at Kal, "You are funny, Lord Kal."
"Why is everyone taller than me all of a sudden," Kal then frustratingly said as he let out a very long and deep breath, "Even that Gary guy is taller than me by a few inches."
"I believe you are fine the way you are, Lord Kal."
"You… you think so?" Kal immediately stopped walking on his toes as he heard Esme's words, "You… do you have a boyfriend or something?"
"A boyfriend?" Esme tilted her head to the side, "I am afraid I do not have friends, Lord Kal—whether they be boy or a girl."
"That… that's not what I meant," Kal gulped, "I meant, do you have any person that you would consider to be… a lover?"
"If it is that, then—"
But alas, before Princess Esme could answer, the group arrived at their destination. This time, however, the two guards that were previously guarding the door were nowhere to be found.
"..." Riley looked around the hallway for a few seconds, before knocking on the door, "Aerith, it's me, Riley. I came to visi—"
"Riley!?"
And all of a sudden, the door opened—with someone immediately leaping into Riley's arms and crying. If Riley did not recognize the voice, he would have probably immediately tried to dodge the oncoming projectile.
"...Miss Paige?"
"I… I miss you, Riley," Paige's muffled voice wailed in the air as she wrapped her arms around Riley, hitting his back with her fists several times. But after a few more heavy breaths, Paige immediately stopped crying and pushed Riley away,
"Megawoman…" Paige sniffled, "She…
…she left."
Chapter 555"Aerith left?"
Paige's soft cries still whispered and crawled through the dungeon hallways as she nodded; her sniffles, enough of an answer which clearly showed her helplessness. And before any other questions were asked, Paige started talking.
"When… when Megawoman came back from the trial, she was acting weird," Paige spoke almost at the speed of light, causing Riley's entourage to widen their eyes and their feet to step back,
"Her eyes were moist, so I think she was crying. But at the same time, she also had this weird smile on her face. I asked her what happened during the trial, and she only said that something crazy popped up—and now that I know Riley arrived, that's probably him. I thought probably something good happened since Megawoman was clearly shedding tears of joy, or so I thought. But since she didn't seem to want to talk, I just continued what I was doing and searched for anything that would help her case…but I discovered she wasn't the first royal to be executed. Anyway, I realized something was wrong with her when she didn't request for me to decorate our room. She usually requests the view of the mountains of Switzerland or something, wait—isn't it cool that I am suddenly roomies with Megawoman? Well, not really roomies since she's being treated like a criminal and I think I am about to get deported back to Earth, but just years ago I wouldn't—-"
"Paige."
And finally, before Paige could fill an entire page with her incessant talking, Riley placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Tell me what happened in less than 20 words."
"...50?"
"Hm."
"Aerith sat on the floor for an entire hour, going through different stages of emotions. But after, she just suddenly upped and left—the guards were completely shocked, but they did not really stop her since she has actually been free to leave anytime, as long as she wears a collar."
"Hm," Riley let out a small hum as he looked around Aerith's room. But there truly wasn't anything there, just an empty and bright silver room—Riley thought he was finally going to see what Aerith's room was like, but alas. It is as Paige said, they were more like cellmates; this place is probably not the room that Aerith grew up in.
"Did Aerith say where she was going, Paige?" Riley then asked as he started walking around, eventually reaching Paige's side of the room which was filled with orbs and some books that looked like they were a million years old.
"N…no," Paige could really only sigh as she followed Riley back inside, "I wanted to go with her, but she said I should stay here because she won't be able to protect me if something happens."
"Well, that sucks. I wanted to talk with her," Kal's sighs entered the room before him as he stepped inside, "It's been a while since we last sparred together, and I was wondering if she really did become stronger after spending just less than 500 years outside… shame."
"Perhaps we can spar together, Lord Kal?" Esme was about to enter the room; but for some reason, as soon she saw the room's silver interior, she slightly backed away and just stood in front of the door,
"I have not really sparred with anyone close to my age since all of my siblings are at least a thousand years older than me."
"Really?" Kal immediately turned to Esme and looked at her from head to toe, "You… do look strong. Are you sure?"
"Lord Kal," Zac popped out from behind Esme as he looked at Zac, "...You don't know who you are talking to, do you?"
"...No? Does that matter?" Kal lightly scoffed, "Everyone is equal on the battlefield."
"She's Princess Esme of Varoif, Lord Kal."
"I knew you were royalty with the way—Princess Esme? Why does that sound familiar?" Kal immediately crossed his arms as he became lost in thought; a few breathes later, however, his eyes suddenly widened,
"As in… that Princess Esme?" He then gulped, "Maybe… maybe we should think about the sparri—"
"Since Aerith is not here, I shall take my leave."
Unfortunately for Kal, before he could even retract his words, Esme moved to the side as Riley made his way out of the room.
"I am going to search for Aerith, everyone. Paige, do you want to come with me?"
"Oh… uh, no," Paige quickly shook her head as she walked toward the orbs that were scattered in the room, "I'll stay here just in case she comes back. Also, I don't really wanna get in the way. I might look fine right now but I am actually super duper scared—I am surrounded by people that could sneeze me out of existence so… yeah."
"Hm," Riley nodded, before stretching his palm out in Paige's direction. Paige looked at Riley's hand for a few seconds, before a phone suddenly appeared in his hand out of nowhere. And without even saying another word to each other, Riley placed the phone inside his white coat and walked away.
"..." Zac and Esme looked at each other as they saw that, before just shrugging their shoulders and following Riley.
"Hey, wait up! We're all exiting the same way!" As for Kal, he also rushed to follow behind them. He didn't need to, however, as Riley suddenly halted his steps, and before any of them could wonder why he suddenly stopped walking, a voice started to crawl very softly into their ears.
"...Riley? Is that… Are you he—"
And before this soft and mysterious voice could whisper further, the door to Riley stretched his arm to the side. And as soon as he did so, the door to his left burst open—shooting straight toward his open palm before violently crumbling into a ball.
Zac and Kal quickly tightened their stance as they looked at Riley; Riley, however, just casually dropped the crumpled door to the floor, before turning to look at the woman that was weakly stepping out of the now doorless room.
"Princess… Princess Aerith?" Zac was about to rush and help the woman as she slightly limped out of the room. But then, as soon as he saw her face, his steps hesitated.
Instead, Riley was the one to catch the woman as her legs seemingly turned into noodles and gave out on her; even her arms flailed like broken branches as her bosom bounced on Riley's arm.
"You look similar to Aerith when I hid her in my closet, Silvie."
"Silvie?" Kal's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the woman in Riley's arms, "Princess Aerith's clone?"
Even Zac, who initially wanted to help Silvie, took a step back as a deep, almost clicking hum escaped his lips. Only Princess Esme seemed to not show disdain; her head, just tilted to the side as she looked at Silvie's emaciated face.
Esme then approached Riley, before looking inside the room—only to see several pillars scattered inside it; pulsating in a fiery red color, almost like spores exploding in a foggy forest.
"Hm…" Esme did not look at it for long, however, as she picked up the door that Riley crumpled, before prying it open and closing the room with it, nodding to herself in satisfaction after she was done.
"The room was full of sappers, Professor," Esme then said as she looked at Riley, "I am wearing a miniature version on my leg."
"!!!"
Esme then suddenly lifted up her skirt, causing Kal to immediately look away.
"I have seen the full-sized version of it back on Earth, Princess Esme," Riley nodded, "It was used to incapacitate Silvie's… older sister."
"A… themarian clone," Kal's sharp eyebrows furrowed even further, "I only saw her once—to think she truly does look like Princess Aerith. She also has the same energy signature as her, this is… not right."
"..." Zac did not really say anything, but judging by the subtle nod of his head—he shared the same sentiment.
"R… Riley," Silvie slightly trembled as she grabbed Riley's arm and shoulder to try and lift herself up. Riley, however, just sat on the floor so that Silvie could relax instead.
"It's… It's my fault, Riley," Silvie then weakly said; her breaths, viciously fighting the urge to just burst out in tears as she looked at Riley's face, "This… this entire trial, it's… it's my fault. I didn't… I shouldn't have come here."
"What do you mean, Silvie?" Riley gently backed away as he gave Silvie some space; her emaciated muscles, very slowly regaining their power; her veins, glowing a fainty red.
"Megawoman…" Silvie weakly whispered as tears started to trail down hair face, "Megawoman… his own father is killing her because… because of me. She's not… she's not supposed to die, it's because of me."
"..."
"They were going to kill me, Riley. They… because I'm a clone, but…but…but…" Silvie's breaths were completely uncontrollable; but still, she gritted her teeth through it, "Megawoman… Megawoman said they should kill her instead since… since she's not the daughter her father wanted and I… she said that I could replace her and her father got angry and—I don't know, Riley. I don't know. Please, Riley… I want to help her."
"..."
"Kill me," a wide smile then crawled on Silvie's face as she suddenly grabbed Riley's hand and placed it on her chest, "Please… please kill me, Riley. Do this… for Megawoman. You… you owe at least that to the world."
"I will not do that, Silvie," Riley shook his head.
"Please… please… oh, god..." Silvie closed her eyes as all the tears that wanted to burst forth from her eyes gushed out like waterfall, "If... If I die, then maybe... I don't want to anymore. My existence… my life has only brought suffering and… and it's enough. My life…
…my existence is against the law of the universe and—"
"!!!"
And before Silvie could finish her words, all of her tears flew to the side…
…as Riley suddenly slapped her.
Chapter 556"What… was that?"
It was almost a thunder—a snap that echoed pierces through time and space itself. Well, perhaps not, but that is truly what Riley's slap sounded like. It was loud enough to resound and even whisper into the ears of a busy woman. Paige was several rooms away, and yet even she could not help but instinctively caress her cheek.
"...Must've been the wind."
And with a long and exasperated sigh, Paige once again delved into research. Little did she know, however, that someone truly was feeling the same way she was feeling; except perhaps a million times more painful.
Back in the dim hallway, there was a large crack on the floor, and at the very center of it was a dent in the shape of the left half of Silvie's face.
And with her weakened state, suffice it to say that her life was almost reset by Riley's herculean slap.
And perhaps, her life truly was reset; as her eyes that were covered in clouds were now as clear as Theran's sky—tears still fell, but no longer enough to drown her.
"What did I tell you before, Silvie?"
"...What?" A crack once again whispered in the air as Silvie pulled her face from the floor.
"About your existence."
"..." Silvie only looked Riley in the eyes as she tried to figure out what he meant.
"You came from Aerith, you were molded into her image—that is a beautiful existence, Silvie," Riley softly said as he very gently touched Silvie's black, blue, and swollen face,
"Do not be disheartened, you are perfect."
"Riley…" Silvie took in a very deep breath as her eyes remained on Riley. And after a few more breaths, she finally nodded and carefully, but clumsily stood up from the floor.
"As expected of you, Professor Riley," Esme quietly clapped as she too, nodded for some reason, "Even when trying to calm a person down, you do not forget to inflict a form of torture."
"Uh…" Star Sergeant Zac could not help but slightly open his mouth in confusion as he heard Esme's words, "I… don't know what just happened, but it is not whatever you are thinking, Your Highness."
"Wait, wait…" Kal raised a hand as he looked at Silvie; his sharp eyebrows, still furrowed, "So, you're saying that my cousin, the notorious Rebel Princess, is giving her life for a clone? That… just doesn't make any sense. Why would she risk her life for something that's not even real?"
"..." Silvie's head quickly faced the floor as she heard Kal's words. She wanted to refute but hesitated since she didn't know who Kal was,
"I'm—"
And when she gained the courage to say something, several sharp whistles echoed through the hallway—the sound, still traveling as several themarian guards suddenly and already blocked all sides of the dungeon; one even had his feet on the ceiling.
"Go back to your confinement, cursed abomination."
Raging fire of red fumed from all of the guards' eyes as they all stared at Silvie; their armor of silver, rattling like scales as their energy seemingly seeped from its gaps. The edges of the armor, becoming sharper and brutally bulkier. And similar to Whiteking's armor, the neck armor unfolded into a helmet that covered their entire head.
And as the flaming rage in their eyes for Silvie magnified from their helmets, she could not help but flinch. Her body, almost instinctively following the royal guards' orders as her feet walked toward the room with the broken door.
Her entire body, however, also flinched as soon as she heard Riley clicking his tongue as he stared at her like she was the biggest disappointment in the entire universe.
…And maybe she is.
She was only a clone—a being that shouldn't even be alive. Is it really alright for her to live, while her original was on the verge of being executed by her own parents? Megawoman fought for the world; to keep it safe, to prevent wars.
What about her? What has she done that made her life worth living over Megawoman? She has not even achieved anything—her life was only starting.
…Her life was only starting.
"Silvie."
"S…sorry." And with Riley's heavy breaths piercing her ears, any other thoughts that started to race inside her mind were completely drowned by his whisper. The only thing she could really do was nod and walk back to his side.
She then looked at the guards surrounding her; even with their helmets on, the disdain seeping from the lights in their eyes was obvious to see. Still, she subtly stood her ground as the toes of her bare feet slightly curled.
"Go back to your confinement."
And once again, the royal guards' words whispered in the air; their disdain no longer as subtle as it was earlier. Silvie, however, just shook her head and subconsciously tugged and grabbed on Riley's white coat. Seeing this, the guards all turned their attention toward Riley.
"Aren't you the new professor in the castle?"
The royal guard that was blocking the path to the surface stepped forward as he faced Riley, "Look, I do not care if you are the lover of the Rebel Princess, or if you are Princess Tifa's new pet—you just can't do whatever you want here."
"Perhaps," Riley just shrugged, "But I still can't leave Silvie here, she is one of my sister's dear friends. I suppose I just have to apologize after, Helguard."
"..." The royal guard only let out a deep breath, before his helmet unfolded; revealing an old man with a thick mustache. Unlike Champion Sergeant Darmuid, however, he did not seem to carry an intimidating aura.
"Lord Kal, since you are with them; what do you propose we do in this situation?"
"..." Kal did not respond; his eyes, just scanning Riley's group. They would have no problem with Star Sergeant Zac since he was a neutral party; also, the Grand Militia's disdain for clones is almost ingrained in them.
Riley should be the easiest to deal with, Kal could barely detect any energy coming from him. Aerith's clone was also not a problem in her weakened state…
…but then there is Princess Esme.
She's Varoif royalty, so there might be a chance that she won't do anything that could lead to war between the two nations. But still, they can't afford for her to go on a rampage right beneath the castle.
"Professor," Kal then let out a very long and deep sigh as he looked at Riley, "I urge you to return that thing to its cage."
"I thought themarians do not cage and imprison their people, Lord Kal."
"That's not a themarian or any other people," Kal once again sighed as he shook his head, "I am sorry, but it has no rights, and it has no right to be walking amongst us."
"..." Silvie's mouth slightly opened as if she wanted to say something, but chose to look away instead.
"I know that it could feel and think for itself," Kal then said; the tone of his voice mellow and the look in his eyes filled with a certain pity, "But it is not one of us—to end its life now would be a better mercy for it."
"Hm…" Riley only hummed and nodded his head… before suddenly stomping his foot on the floor and causing it to crack.
"...What are you doing?" Kal raised his hand to stop the guards from rushing toward Riley.
"Back on my planet, what I just did would have caused extensive damage to the terrain. But here, it's just a crack on the floor," Riley then said as he very carefully removed his white coat.
"It also means that it wouldn't be hard to prevent the noise from reaching the surface with my telekinetic abilities."
Esme tilted her head and blinked as he watched Riley folding his white coat and giving it to Silvie. But after a few more blinks, she lifted her skirt and started adjusting the limiter on her thigh.
And with a breath, she started stretching her limbs and cracking her neck. Silvie wanted to fight, but she knew that in her weakened state, she would surely only get in the way. As for Zac, he really could not take action as a literal 3rd party.
"You… are outnumbered," Kal made sure that no side would take action as he raised both his hands, "Stop this at once."
"I suppose," Riley only smiled in response before his eyes also started to light up,
"But we have an Esme."
Chapter 557"Is… it really alright for me to be walking around?"
"It is fine, Silvie. They won't recognize you, and I have noticed that themarians can be quite apathetic about the things not directly and immediately concerning them."
"...Are you sure?"
Silvie raised her arm to look at her hand, which was now completely covered in a silver gauntlet; it wasn't only her arms. She was wearing the complete set of armor of the royal guards.
"..." And as she lowered her hand, the brightness and warmth of the sun wrapped her entire silhouette. She initially thought the helmet would obscure her vision, but not at all. It even almost felt as if she wasn't wearing anything.
She was free.
She then turned to look at Riley, whose entire left arm was still regenerating from being torn apart.
"I am sure, Silvie," Riley said as he looked at the maids and servants walking outside. They glance at him, yes. But that was it—they just returned to whatever it was they were doing,
"Themarians have a lack of… care. And like the evaniels, they lack security."
"I can confirm that to be true, Lady Silvie," Princess Esme nodded; her underwear completely exposed as she was still fidgeting with the limiter on her thigh while walking. And although Silvie still had no idea who Esme was, she still grabbed her skirt and pulled it down.
"Uhm… guys."
And as the three were just casually chatting and walking, Zac hastened his steps and stood in front of them. Riley just fought with Kal and several royal guards, and yet now he was acting as if nothing happened. Granted, it is true that the castle did not seem to notice their battle as they were free to walk around—their steps, even walking toward the castle's entrance. But still…
"What you just did could be considered as an act of aggression. Princess Esme is involved! This could turn into an all-out war!"
"I was barely involved, Zac," Esme sighed and shook her head in disappointment, "I am afraid that without my raw strength, I am just an individual untrained in the arts of combat."
"We did not kill them, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley sighed as he checked his healing appendage, moving all of his fingers as the blood wrapping it started to dance and float away,
"We just confined them inside the room they were keeping Silvie."
"That is the problem! If they get free–when they get free, they will immediately report this to someone!" Zac breathed out in frustration as he almost pulled out his hair, "I…
…I suggest just sending them to their eternal deaths, accidentally."
"That is a criminal act, Zac," Esme once again expressed her disappointment with her breath.
"Your Highness, with all due respect. I don't think locking them inside a room filled with EDP is any better."
"But nothing says it is illegal, Zac."
"But harming a member of the royal family is!"
"They were not hurt, Zac. Professor Riley is a master of pain and torture, which means he is also a master of painless and harmless battle."
"..." Zac wanted to say more, but just chose to drop his shoulders and move behind Riley. The most important thing here is that he didn't involve himself—if a war was to start because of this, then he wouldn't be blamed…
…except for the fact that he should be reporting this to the Grand Militia. But if he does that, whatever was happening here would be stopped, and he also didn't want that. Life has been pretty boring for him so far. But just by being around Riley for a week, a lot of unexpected, but fun things have already happened.
Besides… would a war between the two nations really be bad?
"Have you met up with the others yet?"
"I met sister and the others when we arrived on the planet, Silvie," Riley nodded, "We got separated when Star Sergeant Zac tricked me into meeting Princess Esme. Be careful around him, he likes to cause trouble."
"..." Silvie turned to glance at Zac, only to see his red lips smile in response… before just rolling his eyes and looking away,
"Do you know where they are?"
"Katherine is searching for Karina. As for sister, she is with Hera, Vera, Tsula, and Tomoe. Paige is underground several rooms away from where you were being held. Gary is somewhere in the castle. I do not know where mother is. As for father, and biological mother's corpse, I also do not know where mother stashed them," Riley shook his head,
"And as you have heard, Aerith is also out there somewhere—perhaps talking with his father. I wonder if—"
"Wait… Pearson is also being held captive!?" Silvie could not help but raise her voice as she interrupted Riley, "And your daughter is missing!?"
"Paige is there voluntarily, Silvie," Riley hummed and nodded, "As for Karina, you do not have to worry about her—she is strong."
"If… if you say so," a long and very deep sigh seeped out from Silvie's silver helmet, "We're… really scattered out there, huh?"
"Hm," Riley shrugged, "I suppose that is just how it is going to be for a while, Silvie. We will need to separate too."
"Hm?" Silvie blinked a couple of times as Riley halted his steps. She then turned to look at where they stopped, only to see the castle's main gate right in front of them.
"You can't stay here, Silvie," Riley then said as he shook his head, "Your and Aerith's appearances are becoming too similar to each other. Kal also mentioned something about energy signatures, you will be discovered here sooner or later even with your disguise."
"But…" Silvie's breaths once again became filled with weight as she looked back and forth between Riley and the gate, "...But where do I go?"
"That is up to you, Silvie," Riley then placed his hand on the large gate. And as soon as he did so, one of the people guarding it started to approach him. The guard, however, was stopped by one of his colleagues for some reason, whispering something into his ear before they just let Riley push the large gate open,
"But I…" Silvie looked at the view of the city outside, "Where would I go? Should I try to find Hannah and the others? Or do you want me to search for Karina? The poor girl must be so scared out there alone."
"It is your choice, Silvie," Riley sighed as he just pushed Silvie, causing her to take several steps out of the castle.
"Then—"
"No one is ordering you around anymore."
And with those words, Silvie watched as Riley just shut the gate on her—not even letting her say her goodbyes.
"But… you just kicked me out, Riley," Silvie whispered to herself as she stared at the large gate.
But after a few breaths and a small giggle, she quickly turned to check the guards that were stationed at the entrance of the castle, only for them to just stand there like statues; not even glancing at her even once.
As for Silvie, she was now free to walk away from whatever shackles have been holding onto her all this time. And so, with a long and deep breath, she took a step forward…
…just forward.
"Hannah and the others can take care of themselves," Silvie then whispered to herself again,
"Riley's daughter it is, then."
***
Lightyears and lightyears away from the impending chaos in Theran, the screams and cheers of the people filled an entire coliseum. A colossal coliseum that just freely floated in the expanse of the universe.
It did not float alone, however, as there were a hundred more of them—almost like bubbles that vibrated due to rampaging voices filling it.
And on one of these coliseums…
…a white-haired girl that was as pale as a ghost stood on the stage.
"Come at me, ye' stupid aliens!" The girl shouted as she raised both her middle fingers at the four-legged humanoid in front of her, "I will gut you and cook your lower half into medium rare!"
"Boo! You racist bipedal! Fuck her up, Sagi!"
"Eat her alive!"
"She's a child, you heathens!"
"We support you, Karina! End that quadrupedal's pathetic and miserable life!"
"..."
"..."
"How…" And hiding beneath all the cheers and screams was Katherine, who was seated beside Anna, who was enjoying herself with some sort of popcorn as she also cheered for Karina, "How...
...did we even end up here!?"
Chapter 558"You can't see the King."
"Why not?"
"...Because no one can just see the King."
"Why not?"
"...Because he is the King."
420 years.
That is how long Rub has been serving as one of the King's door guards. His job is pretty straightforward like its title—he was to stand guard outside in any and every room the king is in, just firmly standing and protecting the door.
And in those 420 years, no one has really approached him; much less try to talk to him about the possibility of entering the King's room. After all, everyone knows how much the King hated to be disturbed; especially during his rest.
But now, an unusual, overly pale-looking man was standing right in front of him. And judging by the white coat he was wearing, he is one of the castle's private professors. As a royal guard, their departments were too far removed from one another and he would barely even meet, much less talk to a professor. In fact, the last time he had probably even greeted a professor was around 10 years ago.
So why exactly is a professor, who should have absolutely no business with the King, adamant to meet him?
"..." Is there something else at play here? Is this professor actually some sort of assassin? He does look quite weird, like someone whose skin has not touched the sun for thousands of years—for sure, this is the sort of man that lurks in the shadows.
"What business do you have with His Highness, Professor?"
Rub looked at the unusually white man in front of him in the eyes; gazing into his own reflection. Rub then very slowly closed his hands into fists, contracting his muscles so that he would be ready to react at any moment.
After all, the man in front of him might not have that much energy—but he had watched a movie before about old themarian assassins that were alive way before his time… and they specifically train those that have little to no energy in their bodies for the very purpose of lurking in the shadows.
"I believe Aerith might have left her room to talk to him, Helguard. I am trying to find Aerith."
"Aerith? Princess Aerith?" Rub did not let his eyes stray away from the man, "No, I have not seen her near here even once. Why, what is your—"
"Okay, thank you for the information, Helguard."
"Wh—" And before Rub could even finish his words, the white-haired man just walked away; not even glancing at him as he very slowly disappeared into the hallway, leaving Rub all alone to stand guard in front of the door, as he had been doing for hundreds of years.
"..."
"..."
"...I should change careers."
"You should."
"Princess Tifa—I… I mean, Your Highness!"
Rub wasn't even able to let out a deep and clumsy breath as Princess Tifa suddenly appeared in front of him. Rub quickly straightened his posture, before placing his hands behind his back and stepping to the side.
Princess Tifa was about to open the door but turned to face Rub instead.
"..." Rub only glanced at Tifa, before quickly looking away. 420 years as the King's personal door guard, and he has not even seen Princess Tifa open her eyes even once. Aside from the King's only wife, who barely even leaves his side in the first place, Princess Tifa is the only other person that the King has allowed to visit him any time she wishes.
420 years, and this is also the first time that Princess Tifa has ever spoken to him.
"So, you've met the castle's new resident," Princess Tifa then said as a small giggle escaped her lips.
"New—The professor from earlier, Your Highness?"
"Hm," Princess Tifa nodded and smiled, "What do you think of him? Tell me honestly, child."
"I believe he is searching for the Princess, Your Highness," Rub has always been careful not to look any of the royal family members in the eyes. But with Princess Tifa, he didn't have to worry.
"I didn't ask you why he was here," Princess Tifa sighed, "I asked you what you think of him."
"That…" Rather than the white-haired man earlier, Rub could not help but be more curious as to what Princess Tifa wanted, "I… thought he was an assassin at first, Your Highness. But for him to approach the door, I recognized my assumption to be incredibly false."
"And?"
"And… he feels a bit weird, Your Highness."
"I think so too, hm," Princess Tifa then just shrugged, before finally opening the door and just stepping inside without another word. And once again, Rub was left alone feeling a little… odd.
"What… is happening today?" Rub whispered to himself as he returned to the front of the door to stand guard. As for Princess Tifa…
…her eyes were finally open; glowing in a raging red even as she retained the smile on her face. This seemed to just be a common occurrence, however, as she just casually continued to walk deeper into the King's unusually large room.
No, it wasn't necessarily just a room. What greeted Princess Tifa first were two sets of wide stairs leading to the upper level of the room, where a woman was looking down at her from the very top of the stairs.
"Queen Adel," Princess Tifa bowed her head; her blazing eyes, however, remained looking at the woman above her.
"Madam Tifa," the woman, Queen Adel, soft and very gently stepped down the flight of stairs; her long golden hair that reached to the floor, brushing and smoothly gliding on the carpet. Her eyes which were bluer than even the azure seas at noon, somewhat even brighter than Princess Tifa's red glowing eyes.
"My brother?" Princess Tifa then asked as soon as Queen Adel's feet touched the floor.
"He… locked himself up in his study," Queen Adel softly smiled; the folds on the sides of her eyes, showing her age.
"...Again?" Princess Tifa's voice slightly rose along with her eyebrows.
"Yes," Queen Adel let out a long and very deep sigh as she gently gathered her hair around her arm, "Perhaps you can drag him out again, Tifa?"
"That is your job as the queen, Adel," Tifa pinched the bridge of her nose as she also let out a sigh, "I told you not to marry the family idiot."
"He is the King. And probably one of the best Hel has ever had sit on its throne," Adel's sighs continued as she walked toward the large sofa near the room's window; gesturing to Tifa to take a seat.
"But yes, he can be quite… absorbed in his work."
"And neglecting everything else, typical," Tifa said as she sat and relaxed on the sofa; her glowing red eyes, flickering as she blinked.
"And so, are you here to talk about man from the Unknown again?" Adel walked toward the table in front of the window, before pouring herself and Tifa a drink, "I heard him in front of the door just seconds ago—you're right, he is quite… interesting. Why are you helping him?"
"He just freed your daughter's clone," Tifa covered her mouth as she chuckled.
"Ugh," Adel rolled her eyes, "My daughter brought so many pets with her. But if dying for them is what she wants, then so be it."
"Your daughter left her room too."
"I was told," Adel just shrugged as she sat back on the sofa and gave Tifa her drink.
"Are you… not going to do anything?"
"What for?" Adel slightly hummed, "Aerith is just doing what she has always done, causing trouble."
"She has grown, you know," Tifa sighed and shook her head, "For her to sacrifice herself for someone shows strength and loyalty."
"The very fact that she is sacrificing herself for beings lower than herself shows that she hasn't grown one bit," Adel also shook her head, "It's a clone, not even a real being. I can feel my skin crawling just thinking something like that was under the castle."
"Aerith is your only daughter, Adel. I would like to ask you to consider changing both your minds about sending her to eternal death."
"Isn't this just because you want that weird man from the Unknown to continue teaching here?" Adel rolled her eyes, "I swear, with your habits of taking in strays, I sometimes wonder if I really am Aerith's mother. And how dare she bring a bastard home? And a halfling at that! I swear, it's like we did not even raise her right!"
"..."
"Her brother was the good one, you know?" Adel chugged down her entire glass, "But then he got himself killed by chasing that… that pale, disgusting thing that controlled blood."
"The Pirate Queen Xra."
"Is that what they call that vixen now?" Adel scoffed, "And Caitlain'Ur, wow. That's another problem that Aerith brought back! There's a reason why not even the Grand Militia acted and tried to find her, that is because she belongs outside!"
"..."
"I told her, I told her not to pursue. But she doesn't listen!"
Contrary to Adel's gentle and soft looks, the movements of her mouth were quite… crass and violent as she continued to pour and drink a glass,
"So, we have no choice," Adel then sighed, "If she has to die, then so be it. Let her death be a lesson for all of our children and our people's children…
…the word of the Law is absolute."
***
"May we speak in private, Riley Ross?"
Somewhere in the hallways of the castle, Riley's path was currently being blocked by Lucien—Princess Tifa's oldest child, and prospective heir to the thr---
"No."
Chapter 559"May we talk in private?"
"No."
No—a word that Lucien has probably never heard before in his thousands of years of existence. No, that wasn't exactly true.
When he was younger, a certain child always said no to him; the worst part of it all was that Lucien couldn't discipline her. Because not only was she stronger than him, she was also the daughter of the King, and was made the heir to the throne when her brother died due to chasing a woman.
But ever since Aerith left, he was the only one that the people were eyeing to be the next King. Countless factions offered their support for him, and even the King was taking a liking to him as he showed forwardness and ambition.
Yes, he was always headstrong, and like Princess Tifa, he always gets what he wants.
But now, Riley Ross, a halfling, rejected his presence?
"That was not a request, Professor," Lucien pushed back his hair, revealing some of the grays hidden inside, "I am telling you that we need to talk in private."
"And I am telling you no, Lord Lucien," Riley did not even look at Lucien as his steps did not halt for even a single moment,
"I have a class to teach."
"...Then I shall wait for you outside until it is over," Lucien's eye started to twitch as he was completely ignored by Riley. And even as he followed him from behind, he did not, even once, glance back at him.
"..."
"..."
"Where is the soldier you are always with, Professor?" Lucien then could not help but break the silence as he noticed Riley's ever-present companion was missing.
"He is with me, Lord Lucien," Riley answered as he continued to walk.
"...What?" Lucien started looking around to try and search for Zac, but he could not even hear another heartbeat for another 100 meters or so, "Is he perhaps with the Princess of Varoif?"
"I am also with the Princess of Varoif, Lord Lucien."
"You take me for a fool?"
"Not at all, Lord Lucien," Riley just shrugged.
"Th—"
And before Lucien could even rebuke, Riley suddenly entered a room. Lucien also wanted to enter, but Riley already closed the door on him.
"..." This kind of treatment… why was it so similar to the way Aerith treated him? Aerith, he could understand since she was stronger than him—but Riley? A halfling dared to treat the next King of Hel like this?
"..." Several more frustrating thoughts raced in Lucien's mind. He did not let his intrusive thoughts win, however, as his breaths became calm—the class should take at most just 3 to 5 hours, that was nothing for him.
And so, Lucien just decided to stand outside the hallway, leaning on the walls as the servants and guards greeted him. Most of them wondered what Lucien was doing in this part of the castle, but none of them asked. After all, his time is important.
That is how it should be—Lucien thought as everyone just bowed to him. Riley Ross was an outsider, but he'll learn to also treat him with respect like the others once he gets to know him.
According to the information he received from his sources outside of Theran, Riley Ross should be some sort of outlaw. It doesn't really matter what he was outside of Theran, but it just proves Lucien's point; If her so-called lover was a notorious outlaw, then that means the company she keeps can not be trusted, which means she can not be trusted with the Kingdom.
His mother already asked Lucien to find a way in which the trial would just end with Aerith's exile instead of execution. In truth, it doesn't matter for Lucien anyway. No matter what insurgency happens, no matter what factions are built-in support for Aerith, he is already assured to be the next King.
Execution or Exile—either way, Aerith will be gone. He just wanted to talk to Riley to try and see what his mother was seeing in him. For her to even appoint Riley as the professor of his youngest sister, and even go as far as boast him to the other nobles.
…Just what exactly was his mother playing at?
Princess Tifa could be said to be quite eccentric most of the time. Even he, as her oldest son, still could not gauge or read what was on her mind. Is she just… going senile?
"..." Lucien could really only let out a breath as his mind was once again performing at its maximum. There was no use in thinking of such things, he was here to talk to Riley, and that was all he needed to think about.
And so, Lucien closed his eyes—the hours, just passing by in a blink of an eye.
Lucien then quickly opened his eyes as the door opened… but there was absolutely no sign of Riley. Instead, he saw his youngest sister, Claudyne stepping out of the class hall… her clothes, almost like a red waterfall as the blood that drowned her dripped to the floor almost continuously.
"Claudyne!?"
Lucien quickly tried to call out his sister's name. Claudyne, however, only let out a small giggle as she started walking away.
"Claudyne!" Lucien once again called for her name, and this time, she turned around… carrying a weird smile on her face.
"Oh…" Claudyne let out a small chuckle as the blood trailed down her lips, "...I didn't notice you there, older brother."
"What—Did that Riley Ross do this to you!?"
"Professor Riley?" Claudyne blinked a couple of times as she tilted her head to the side, "Of course not. This isn't my blood, I think. Maybe a part of it is."
"...What?" Lucien could not help but furrow his eyebrows as Claudyne's eerie giggles whispered into his ears.
"My friends and I are going to do some studying, older brother. I will leave you to it."
"What?" Lucien repeated his words. He was going to say something else, but then a barrage of students stepped out of the room. And like Claudyne, all of them were covered in blood—some, even regenerating their limbs as they limped out.
"..." Lucien could really only take a step back as he heard all of them giggling and smiling while blood dripped from their elated faces.
"What… what did you do, Riley!?" Lucien then rushed inside the class hall; his eyes filling the already red hall with even a more violent red with his raging eyes. But alas, the individual that was the target of his unrelenting rage was nowhere to be found.
Instead, there was only a single student left there—and unlike his peers, he was completely clean and without any trace of blood.
"Aren't you… Aerith's son?" The violent red glow in Lucien's eyes very slowly faded away as he looked at Gary, who was still seated at his table and just looking out the window.
"..." Gary quickly turned his head toward Lucien as soon as he heard him. And as soon as their eyes met, Gary stood up and casually nodded his head,
"'Sup?"
"...'Sup?" Lucien's eyebrows began to furrow, "What happened here, bastard?"
"..." Gary only blinked a couple of times as he looked around, "Riley Ross happened."
"Where is he now? Why didn't I see him leave?" Lucien tried his best not to mind Gary's disrespectful tone.
"There."
"Huh?" Lucien quickly turned his head down to look at where Gary was pointing, only to see a clump of dirt beneath his feet.
"It's a clone," Gary just shrugged his shoulders, "I didn't want to admit it because I have always seen themarians as some sort of god-like figures, because you know—Megawoman. But fuck… you guys just literally let a guy who will make Satan cry walk right through your door step. What am I saying, we're all fucked."
"A… clone?" Lucien looked at the clump of dirt again, before looking Gary straight in the eyes, "Wait, you—you know more about Riley Ross more than any other informant."
"Well… yeah," Gary scoffed, "You should ask his sister if you really want to know more."
"Sister?" Lucien's voice became deep, "Is his sister in Theran? Wait, is it the woman with the orange hair?"
"That's one of Riley's fans," Gary shook his head, "His sister is—"
Gary then stopped talking as he returned Lucien's gaze, "His sister is not here."
"..." Lucien squinted his eyes as his eyes remained locked on Gary's. And after a few breaths, Lucien smiled,
"You're lying…
…She's here."
***
"Is your class done, Professor Riley?"
"It is. But my class in Varoif is just starting."
"Varoif? You're still teaching there? How?"
"I can make copies of myself, Star Sergeant Zac."
"As expected of you, Professor Riley."
"...You can make clones?"
Somewhere out in the city, Riley, Esme, and Zac were casually walking around the busy streets. Riley has been on Theran for weeks, and yet this is the first time he is truly seeing their civilization and people.
Like most of Theran, their cities feel like that of medieval Earth, or perhaps Victorian or a mix of the two. If you would disregard the floating orbs, holograms, and people lifting entire buildings to move their store—then it was almost like Riley was sent back to the past.
"...What is that?"
Riley then tilted his head as he noticed people gathering in front of a hologram.
"Oh, that's the Credit Board. I think Varoif also has one?" Zac said as he looked at the crowd of people, circling a large hologram that had different kinds of images in it.
"We do, Zac," Esme nodded.
"A Credit Board?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he approached.
"Basically, citizens of Hel can take quests to raise their social credit. You don't have this back on… Earth?"
"We have superheroes and supervillains, Star Sergeant Zac."
"...What are those?" Zac raised an eyebrow, "No, they do miscellaneous tasks, hunt monsters—all sorts of things in exchange for credit."
"Monsters? I have not seen one alive," Riley said as he glanced at one of the stalls, which had all sorts of meat being sold.
"They are all underground, Professor."
"...Underground?" Riley tilted his head, before turning his head down. Diana liked digging holes through the ground—did that have some sort of correlation?
"Interesting. And what are the credits used for?"
"Land, housing, loans," Zac squinted his eyes, "You really don't know, Lord Riley?"
"Oh, that is similar to Earth, I suppose," Riley shrugged, "Should we try and accept a mission?"
"Well… none of us are a citizen of Hel," Zac sighed, "We're visitors. I'm also from the Grand Militia, and even if it is fake, you're also in the Grand Militia, Lord Riley."
"Hm. Perhaps next time," Riley then shrugged as he walked away, glancing at the Credit Board one final time.
Zac, on the other hand, could not help but let out a long and very deep hum,
"I feel like… we're forgetting something."
***
Inside one of Hel city's inns, a shiny bald head was at the center of attention. The people's eyes could not help but glance at the man whenever they walked past. The staff, too, were looking at the bald man.
After all, he had been there for an entire day—waiting for Riley to arrive.
Chapter 560"I do not want to leave, but I suppose all things must come to an end, Professor."
"I suppose so, Princess Esme."
"I shall take my leave then, Professor. I hope to see you again in Varoif, or any other place that is not Hel."
"Hm."
"I will truly miss being in your presence, Professor Riley. It has been a learning experience."
"Hm."
1 month.
Princess Esme and Riley have been in Hel for an entire month—and yet aside from the trial, Riley has not even seen a glimpse of Aerith. Esme was really only given a single month to stay in Hel. And since she is from Varoif, that is already considered long. She was given special admission as she is considered to be an important representative of Varoif, being a part of the royal family and all.
Riley, on the other hand, was given a permit to stay in Hel indefinitely by Princess Tifa. Esme also wanted to say when she became aware of this—but alas, a lot of paperwork is involved for someone as high profile as her to stay more than a month in a foreign nation.
And so, right now, the only thing that Esme could really do was watch as Riley's figure very slowly became smaller and smaller as she flew away; escorted by members of the Grand Militia to ensure her safety.
"...I suppose Professor still has a clone in Varoif."
"..."
And her escort could really only fly at least 3 meters beside her; backing away even farther as they heard her whisper to herself. This might just look like a simple escort mission, but in truth, they might as well be escorting a stellar bomb.
"Well, there goes our little giant princess. I am so going to miss her."
"You're still here, Star Sergeant Zac? You should also leave."
"We've been through this, Lord Riley. I can't leave until you are still registered as a Champion Sergeant of the Grand Militia."
"Then as you as my witness, I, Riley Ross from Planet Earth, hereby retire and hand over my title as a Champion Sergeant of the Order of the Grand Militia, to one Star Sergeant Zac."
"Wait, really? You're… you're promoting me to Champion Sergeant!? That is an hono—No!"
"Wow, congratulations, si—"
"No! Stop clapping!"
Zac's frustrated screams almost echoed straight through Varoif; which was not really hard to do, as he and Riley were currently right in front of the border of Hel. And with them being surrounded by members of the Grand Militia, some of the border guards started to clap their hands upon hearing Zac's faux promotion.
"You should grasp a blessing when it is in front of you, Star Sergeant Zac."
"P… please don't use your authority as a Champion Sergeant," Zac then started pushing Riley away from the border patrol before he says something else ridiculous,
"That is the very reason I am here, Lord Riley. To ensure you won't abuse authority that is not yours in the first place."
"Hm," Riley just shrugged his shoulders, "Then can I order a platoon of soldiers to search Aerith?"
"...Please don't," Zac could really only let out a long and deep sigh as he once again started following Riley, "The Princess will turn up in her next trial, she has no choice but to do so—she can't remove the collar."
"Hm…" Riley just placed his hand on his chin, before glancing at the border behind him and at the horizon in front of him.
"Don't we have to return to the castle? Your deal with Princess Tifa is still in effect."
"No," Riley shook his head, "My clone can do that."
"...How many clones do you have?"
"Interesting," Riley turned to look Zac in the eyes, "People always ask me that. If you truly wish to know, then I have 3 currently on Theran—Well, I had 5, one was attached to Katherine and it would seem she left the planet. I can't detect it anymore."
"You… can do that? You didn't attach anything to your sister? What was her name again?"
"Hannah Ross," Riley nodded, before closing his eyes and shaking his head vehemently, "And no, that is a breach of her privacy, Star Sergeant Zac. You do not want to know what would happen if she finds out I am spying on her—she will end the universe."
"If you have 3 on Theran… then how many do you have outside?" Zac raised an eyebrow as a certain thought started to emerge from his mind.
"I left one on Hotis 4J," Riley let out a small hum as he once again placed his hand on his chin, "But he already destroyed that and went on to destroy other planets before he got captured by the Common Council."
"I think I may have heard of that."
"But I believe he created other clones," Riley then nodded again, "So I will not really be able to give you a certain number, Star Sergeant Zac. There is also Little Riley who is with Pirate Queen Xra's crew—I can't detect him, so he is either dead or left my range."
"Wait… your clones can create clones?" A small bead of sweat started to perforate from Zac's face—something Themarians rarely do.
"They could," Riley shrugged as he started walking again; passing by the other people that were crossing the border, "And their clones could produce clones."
"...To what extent?" Zac no longer knows whether to let out a chuckle or take in a gulp, "Are they all as strong as you?"
"No, they lack my creativity, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley sighed, "They will die once they are killed."
"These clones… what exactly do they do?"
"Whatever my last order was, and they will not stop."
"...And what was your last order?"
"To kill everyone, Star Sergeant Zac."
"W… what?" Zac finally chose an expression—and that was to just force a chuckle, "How… how many do you think there are?"
"There could be none, Star Sergeant Zac. You do not have to worry—I have learned my clones can develop their own personalities when untethered to me," Riley let out a small hum, "Do you know that I had a clone that had his own family? His own life? It truly is a shame that it did not last because of me."
"...But what are the chances there could also be thousands of them?"
"Probably a lot more than the chances of there being only one, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley then turned around to look Zac straight in the eyes. The themarians that were entering and exiting the border, passing by them in the number of hundreds—and as always is the case for most themarians, they were completely empathetic about the things around them.
"Why… do you want to destroy the universe?"
"Pft…" Riley then unexpectedly let out a small chuckle, "That is another question I have heard a lot of times, Star Sergeant Zac. And my answer will always be the same—because I want to."
"..."
"It is just very unfortunate for everyone else that I could kill everyone," Riley nodded again, "But fortunately for everyone else, there is a certain breed of species that could stop me…
…You."
Chapter 561"It is just very unfortunate for everyone else that I could kill everyone. But fortunately for everyone else, there is a certain breed of species that could stop me…
…You."
There was a certain feeling that crawled through the back of Zac's neck as he heard that. He knew what Riley was capable of; what he was truly capable of. Perhaps aside from Aerith and Caitlain'Ur, he was the only themarian that knew.
Even Princess Esme only knew of a part of his strength, but not the full extent of his capabilities. Zac was a witness of that during their first meeting in the bar at Galpath—he was flying across the skies when he saw the weird white beam that shot out from that bar… erasing everything within its path, and even sending a number of themarians to their Eternal Death.
Of course, most of the themarians there were weak—strong criminals would usually fight until their eternal death, after all. But even so, in a single second, Riley dispatched almost a dozen of them.
And now, Riley is telling him that there could be thousands of him out there; potentially terrorizing the rest of the Known Universe?
While it is true that Zac is confident that they could subdue Riley if he decides to go on a rampage on Theran, what about a million of him? And their only weakness is that unlike their Original, they could easily die.
But while fighting, Riley's clones could still produce thousands and thousands more clones.
It will be… war.
But if a war were to happen between Riley and Themarians… wouldn't that mean that the rest of the Known Universe would have already lost? Trillions and trillions of lives, tortured and killed.
Zac could potentially stop that destruction now if he just reports it to the Overlord of the Grand Militia. But why…
…why does he feel somewhat excited at the thought of war?
No, the answer to that was simple—he belonged to a race of warriors. And what is a warrior without war? Their last war was way before his time, the war against the evaniels.
Perhaps… it was time?
"!!!" Zac then blinked a couple of times as he instinctively touched his face, which was already smiling unbeknownst to him. Zac immediately shook his head as he looked at Riley.
No, the possibility of Riley actually destroying the Known Universe was close to none. If he remembers correctly, there should still be those Universal soldiers called the Guardians. If they were to amass all of their forces, they could stop the spread of Riley's clones.
And although Zac was completely unaware of how strong the Evaniels and the other Higher Races are, they should be able to defeat an army of Rileys with ease—after all, they wouldn't be in the same category as the themarians if they were weak.
"..." Zac once again shook his head off of the thoughts he was having as he once again looked Riley straight in the eyes.
"You seem to be lost in thought, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley then finally said something as he tilted his head to the side, "Are you perhaps also in the spectrum?"
"I… don't know what that is," Zac could really only sigh as his thoughts started to calm down; his neck and arms, shivering by themselves, "But I will request a change of topic, Lord Riley. The talk of war is… doing something to my body."
"Hm," Riley nodded as he started walking again; his eyes, straying toward the stalls and stores that were in front of the border, "I have not tried truly cooking themarian cuisine before, perhaps you have an idea, Star Sergeant Zac? I would like to cook for Aerith once I am awarded the chance to do so."
"I… am afraid my knowledge of food is not up to par," Zac could really only sigh as he followed Riley, "Soldiers of the Order are starved for years on end as a sort of training."
"Hm…" Riley placed his hand on his chin as he let out a deep breath, "Then I believe I have nothing to do, Star Sergeant Zac. My clones are doing everything for me now."
Riley then suddenly just stopped where he stood; any expression on his face, fading away completely.
"I…" He then whispered,
"I'm bored, Star Sergeant Zac."
"That… don't you have anything you want to do?"
Why did it suddenly feel like Zac was now a chaperone instead of an officer tasked to follow Riley?
"Why don't you try and request to be allowed to take missions from the Credit Board?" Zac then said as his voice slightly became high-pitched, "Princess Tifa might be able to grant you that. In that way, I could also hunt monsters with you underground… it's been a while."
"Hm," Riley nodded, "I will forward that to my clone. But for now, I have nothing to do, Star Sergeant Zac. Searching for Aerith will be futile since she does not want to be found."
"...What about searching for your mother?" A small smile then crawled on Zac's face. Although the Grand Militia was completely unaware of what Riley was doing, Zac was still keeping up to date on whatever was happening with Caitlain'Ur—and right now, their last sighting of her was when she sent several of his comrades to Eternal Death.
If Zac was to be the one to find her, then wouldn't that mean a real promotion?
"Searching for mother?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked Zac straight in the eyes, "I already can't find Aerith, Star Sergeant Zac. Mother is completely untraceable."
"...That's true," Zac sighed, "What do you usually do in your free time back on… Arth? Earth?"
"My free time on Earth?" Riley blinked a couple of times as visions of death, torture, and more death surfaced in his mind, "I—"
"Wait…" And before Zac could hear Riley's words, Zac suddenly stretched his arm to the side as his eyes widened, "…Lord James should still be waiting for you in the Camel's inn!"
"Who is that?"
"Lord James, Cadet Fionn's father!"
"Oh," Riley's eyes also turned wide, "But it has been a month, Star Sergeant Zac."
"It's only been a month! Although I don't really advise you in meeting him, if I am going to be stuck with you, then some action would be fun…" Zac's eyebrows then started dancing as he nodded several times at Riley, "...If you know what I mean."
"I know what you mean, Star Sergeant Zac."
"That—wait, are you sure?" Zac could not help but take in a small gulp as he saw the smile growing on Riley's face.
"I truly thank you for your suggestions, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley then breathed out as the smile on his face grew even wider, "The thought of doing my pastime back on Earth did not really occur to me since arriving on Theran. After all, even with Aerith already showing me what your race could do, I still somewhat underestimated your strength and durability."
"...What are you talking about, Lord Riley?" Zac once again nervously chuckled.
"You asked me what I liked doing earlier during my free time, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley's feet then started leaving the ground,
"Well, I kill people—usually in the millions at a time."
"..."
"I obviously can not do that here on Theran, but one at a time?"
"You're not… No."
"We have our first target, Star Sergeant Zac."
Chapter 562"Ah, Professor Riley!"
"It's Professor Riley, look!"
"Freedom! Freedom for the citizens of Hel!"
"We support your forbidden love with the Rebel Princess!"
"Rebel Princess!? Who called her that!?"
"She's the Princess of Liberation!"
"I heard she's in the Unknown again saving people."
"Professor Riley! Please, look here!"
"Since… when have you become this famous?"
"I have never been not famous, Star Sergeant Zac."
1 month. It only took one month for Riley's name to scatter throughout the bored citizens of the city of Hel. Hel City was large—perhaps larger than even New York. Unlike New York, however, the title of 'concrete jungle' fits the city of Hel more as it literally is just that—concrete.
No large screens littered its buildings, there wasn't even a sign of a single vehicle. It was just one big city filled with bricks and people. Their people looked like any other human—the way they converse, the way they show expression, the way they move.
And besides their strength which is capable of destroying normal planets, perhaps the only difference they had with humans was how they treat their technology. The Orbs, or as Riley has learned to call it, a Mesphere is the themarian equivalent of a smartphone. Most of the mespheres are controlled cybernetically; connected to their handler's mind.
One could still control it by using the augmented buttons through the holograms the mespheres produce, but its usability would decrease by almost 90%. Unfortunately for Riley, his telekinesis prevents him from using a mesphere at full capacity.
It didn't matter, however, as he wasn't losing much. Because, unlike humans, most of the themarians rarely even use their mespheres; leaving them at their homes for days on end.
But even with this lack of information traveling throughout the network of their entire planet, the people of Hel still recognized Riley.
Although none of them were really Riley's students, as his students were just limited to the people of the castle and the aristocrats with the privilege to join it, most of the citizens address him as Professor.
His short… speech regarding freedom has garnered all sorts of opinions and expressions from the people—even more so since Aerith's trial was broadcasted throughout the entire country. Themarians may not frequent the news and multimedia, but almost all of them watched it; even those in the nation of Varoif.
"Wherever I go, I always seem to manage to be the center of all attention, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley sighed as his head endlessly nodded at all the people that were greeting him. His long white hair, almost a mess from the repeated movements.
Most of the time, Riley's hair would be pressed and completely immaculate due to him holding it with his telekinetic abilities. But with his arrival on Theran, his telekinetic armor became smaller; compressed. Now exponentially more durable as he only protected the parts that are needed for him to fight and survive.
After all, even now, as he walked past the people that were casually looking at him and greeting him; any one of them could potentially just kill him—and dying a useless death is something Riley was truly tired of; it would be a different scenario, however, if they are infected by the Supervirus.
Aerith and Diana have provided him and the other earthlings a device to prevent the supervirus from spreading and of course, Riley threw it away. After all, what better species to infect with the supervirus than mega people?
Diana seemed to have not been infected with the virus, but Aerith was—her racial abilities were amplified, and she also gained minor telekinesis; all of which Riley was able to receive when he died via Aerith.
This is the reason why Riley has become such a… celebrity in the city of Hel—he made it a habit of walking around the streets, making sure that the virus would spread. His students, of course, should be the most susceptible. But now, even a month later, they have shown no signs of gaining any new abilities.
Riley…
Riley was truly bored. But now, he was reminded of an opportunity.
"This is it."
"Hm…"
And almost as if on cue with the end of his thoughts, he and Zac arrived in front of a certain building—The Camel's inn. It wasn't the largest hotel or inn in the city, but it was the most private one due to its location being far away from the city's bolstering establishments.
In short, if there was ever a shady deal happening in the city, it would be here.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone else noteworthy inside and outside the inn, Lord Riley. Only one, and that should be Lord James," Zac then subtly licked his red lips as he opened the door. Riley, however, still did not enter as he just looked at Zac.
"..." Zac could really only awkwardly pause as Riley suddenly stared at him; his tongue, still on top of his upper lip.
"I have always wondered about a themarian's ability to detect energy, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley then squinted his eyes, "That is what you did just now, correct? Detect any strange energy signatures?"
"...Yes?" Zac once again very slowly closed the wooden door as he nodded.
"Is that something you are able to teach me, Star Sergeant Zac?"
"I… don't really know how I would even start that. It's just… the same as breathing."
"I understand," Riley nodded his head, before just stepping forward, causing Zac to accidentally slam the door open.
And contrary to what one would expect, what greeted Riley and Zac was not the judging stares of the inn's patrons—but rather two people in uniform, one a maid, and the other a butler.
"Welcome to Camel's inn, gentlemen."
The butler bowed his head as he greeted Riley and Zac, while the maid offered the two of them a hot towel. From the outside, Riley was expecting an interior similar to the first bar they were in when they arrived on the planet, but no.
It was almost as if they were not on Theran at all. The lights that painted the room were hovering in the air like fireflies; the floor was letting out a pulse with every step, creating an illusion as if one was walking on water.
The patrons that were eating at the inn's mess hall, all wearing luxurious clothing as they minded their own business. And finally, after more than a month, an element missing on Theran touched Riley's ears—music. There was someone playing an instrument that looked eerily similar to a piano at the center of the large mess hall.
"Accommodation or dining, gentlemen?" The butler then smiled as he looked at Riley, "Perhaps you have a reservation?"
"We're… here to meet Lord James. He should be expecting us," Zac was the one to speak as Riley seemed to be distracted by the music.
"Ah! Of course!" The butler then lightly clapped his hands as he quickly gestured to Riley and Zac to follow him, "Lord James has been waiting in one of our finest private halls. Perhaps you have a request for refreshments?"
"Milk, please."
"Of course."
"..."
The butler led Zac and Riley through the crowd of patrons, before sliding open a set of doors at the side of the mess hall.
"Please, the private hall is just down the end of these steps. I will have your refreshments ready by the time you sit down."
"..." Riley did not really think much of it as he just entered and started walking down. Zac, on the other hand, was a little hesitant. Of course, it is to be expected that someone of Lord James's notoriety would choose a very private place to meet up; but he just can't quite shake the feeling that this might be some sort of trap.
Riley did kill his son—-what father wouldn't be furious at that?
"Lord Riley, perhaps it would be best for me to enter first."
Zac hastened his steps as he basically hovered down the flight of steps, landing in front of the large door. Riley, however, just shrugged his shoulders as he continued to walk down softly; his long white hair, bouncing along with his coat with every step.
"..." Zac took in a deep breath as he opened the door; his muscles, as loose as they could be so he can be ready at any moment if James just decides to attack Riley without saying a greeting. But once again, contrary to his expectations, nothing happened as he opened the door.
Instead, they were just greeted by the warmth of the sun—or at least that is what it looked like as all the light inside the private room was centered at the bald and extremely shiny head resting on top of the large table at the center of the private room.
"Lord James?" Zac blinked a couple of times as he called for James, who seemed to be napping,
"We're here, Lord J—"
"I see you have received my invitation."
And before Zac and Riley could announce their presence in the room, the sun started to rise as James very slowly stood up from his seat. Zac quickly turned to look at Riley as he felt him moving, only to see him start wearing a pair of sunglasses.
"Come," James then started walking around the table, before dragging out one of the chairs and gesturing to Riley to sit.
"I prefer to be civilized. Let us talk about my son's death in a calm and reasonable manner, Lord Riley," James took in a deep breath as Riley started to approach him,
"…Are you a calm and reasonable perso—"
"Pavoom."
Chapter 563Intense.
That was perhaps the only word that Zac could use as he watched as James very slowly pulled out a seat for Riley. His bald head may absorb all of the light in the room, but the tone of his voice was anything but bright.
His eyes were clear, and so was the reflection on them—and it only showed Riley.
"I prefer to be civilized. Let us talk about my son's death in a calm and reasonable manner, Lord Riley."
Calm? Perhaps that was a word that could be used to describe the tone of James's voice. But hear deeper, and you would see the seething rage seeping through the gaps of his perfect teeth. The collar around his neck did not help dissipate what kind of person James truly is—he was a criminal; violent and problematic.
As for Riley, he didn't seem to think much of anything as he very slowly approached James. If a battle were to break out between these two, then it is up to him to stop it—even if you say that James has a lot of connections with the aristocrats and the nobles of Hel, causing trouble right in the capital city would put him in the radar of the Lords and the Ladies of the Hel castle.
And as Riley is directly supported and sponsored by Princess Tifa, only James would truly suffer repercussions. Perhaps, James truly only really wanted to talk?
And so, with that thought, Zac's breaths were finally able to calm down for at least several beats.
"Are you a calm and reasonable pers—"
"Pavoom."
"!!!"
And there it is. Zac's mind was so busy thinking about what James would do, that he literally forgot he was following a madman. But alas, it was already too late as everything in front of him just turned white.
Unlike the raging and violent white that Zac saw before first meeting Riley, however, this white and empty void in front of him was a sphere; or perhaps a cylinder. It was truly hard to define its shape as it just looked like a flat circle. Most of the room was drowned in this white, with James at the center of it.
Zac then quickly turned to look at this anomaly's perpetrator, only to see Riley's index finger pointed right in the direction of James's bald head. And with a breath, Riley very slowly placed his hand down; the white void, instantly disappearing as he did so.
"Why… did you do that?" Zac almost stuttered with his words, "I… I think he only wanted to talk."
"Maybe, Star Sergeant Zac," Riley then stepped forward; the table that was once just peacefully resting at the center of the room, now erased from existence along with its other siblings. The walls, floors, and ceilings, however, were still completely intact and without any damage… the same could be said for James.
"..." Riley turned to look to the side of the room. And there, James was currently resting on the wall. Well, half of him is. The curvature of his missing silhouette was perfect, like a crescent moon that completely completes the look of his shiny bald head.
Even with all of his body gone, however, James was still able to move his head as he looked at Riley with his remaining eye. And then, with just a single blink, his entire silhouette became whole again.
"Hm…" Riley squinted his eyes as he tilted his head to the side. His 'pavoom' move was almost instantaneous, and for James to react to that showed that he was completely different from all the other themarians he had faced—perhaps even stronger than Champion Sergeant Darmuid.
"Rude," James breathed out as he pushed himself from the wall; half of his body, completely exposed. He didn't seem to care, however; Riley learned none of them do. Even Aerith did not mind being naked in front of him or other people at all.
Perhaps that is to be expected; if one were to have such strength, it is expected that clothes would not be able to survive.
"Is this it?" James then said as he looked at his arms that were free of clothes, "Is this what you used to send my son to Eternal Death?"
"No," Riley answered casually before slowly raising his hand—and as he did so, his long white coat started to wiggle. And after a few tugs and shakes, a large part of it was torn away.
"..." James did not really react even as this cloth started floating its way toward him. He did, however, squinted his eyes as the white cloth started to once again wiggle until morphing into the shape of what seemed like a pair of pants. James did not really say anything, and instead just grabbed the floating garment and casually wore it,
"And how did you kill my son?" And as soon as his thing was no longer just blatantly hanging for everyone to see, he once again looked Riley in the eyes.
"I believed I pulled off his head and kicked it far away, Lord James," Riley said as he placed his hand on his chin, "Since the expanse of space is indescribably large, it is probably still flying as we speak."
"So…" James then closed his eyes as he let out a short and very deep breath before he looked at the now empty room, "...He did not even make you use this weird attack of yours?"
"There was no need to, Lord James."
"Pathetic," James once again let out a deep breath as he pulled the now broken collar around his neck, "I thought he was better than his older brother since he became a cadet of the Order. But both of them are just disappointments. Their mother didn't raise them well enough; it would seem."
And with those words, James just started walking away; passing by Riley and not even looking him in the eyes as he stepped out of the room.
"I am angry right now, Riley Ross. But not at you," James then said as his bald head reflected the light on the room even though he was already outside, "There is nothing to forgive. But rather, I apologize for my son not even giving you a fight. Pathetic, truly pathetic. But still…
…I would not hear the end of it from my wife if I do nothing. So, perhaps I can take your head with me?"
James then raised his hand, hanging on it was Riley's head.
Chapter 564Speed.
That is just one of the things that the themarians have that are above almost every other race except the evaniels. And explosive speed is something that James seems to excel at.
The fact that he was able to move away before getting hit by Riley's pavoom move was already enough of a display of that. But now, even Zac was not able to see what just happened.
"..." He looked at the thing that was hanging on James's hand, and then above Riley's shoulders. And true enough, things that should not be where they are, are.
James then started moving the clump of long white hair in his hand, causing Riley's decapitated head to swing like a pendulum. And soon, at the 3rd second, the rest of Riley's body fell to the floor.
"You're Star Sergeant Zac, correct?" James did not immediately walk up the stairs, and instead even turned around to talk to Zac, causing Riley's head to swing even more wildly.
"..." Zac could not really answer as he just looked at Riley's swinging head; his mouth was wide open, letting his tongue to also swing from his lips. Zac would lie if he said he hasn't grown attached to Riley… but for him to just die like this?
Wait… die? But Riley should be—
Zac then blinked a couple of times as he finally looked at James.
"I do not know the reason why you are following this foreigner around," James breathed out as he started wrapping Riley's head with his own hair, "But I take it you can handle informing your bosses that I have sent him to Eternal Death? This is vengeance, I am stripped of any guilt."
"..." Zac still did not respond. Eternal Death? Something was really wrong here.
"And you are also a witness that I did not tinker with the collar, Riley Ross caused it to disintegrate," James continued talking, "You and the other Grand Militia cunts can attach another one at any time—you can just find me in my estate."
"Huh?"
"Don't be too shocked," James could not help but let out a long and deep sigh as he misunderstood the confusion in Zac's eyes, "Themarians die all the time, and dying in battle will always be the greatest end for us. You may have thought that Riley Ross was strong, but in the face of history, he is only but an insignificant line on an insignificant page. He is nothing but a—- Hm?"
And before James could finish his short monologue, he felt the weight in his hand getting lighter and lighter; he quickly looked down, only to see the head he was holding slowly crumbling into bits and pieces.
Zac also took a step back as Riley's body started to break apart; his insides, melting into a puddle of mud.
"Very curious. They usually only just turn into sand."
"..." James's eyes squinted as he heard a familiar voice coming from the stairs above. And like a pendulum, he heard the steps coming closer and closer, carrying a rhythm that felt like a casual stroll.
"You aliens are always so full of tricks," a light chuckle escaped James's lips as he let go of whatever remained of Riley's clone's head, "And what next are you going to show me, Riley Ross?"
James then turned to look at Riley as he very slowly appeared from the top of the steps, only for him to notice the blood dripping on the floor first. Unlike Riley's calm rhythm, however, the blood that was dripping from both his hands fell almost violently—as if whatever was producing the blood was just freshly butchered.
James's already squinted eyes squinted even further, causing his overly smooth forehead to crease as he looked at whatever Riley was holding. He wondered why they looked so familiar at first, but soon, any wondering he made and could ever make turned into nothingness.
"I hope they are the right people, Lord James. It would be slightly awkward if they were not."
"..." James's eyes could really only follow Riley as he sat on the steps of the stairs, placing the two objects he was holding on each of his sides.
"It took a while since I was trying to learn how to access the Grand Militia's database. I have to say, being a Champion Sergeant is quite useful," Riley then let out a sigh as he started caressing the objects at his side, before looking at the clump of dirt on the floor,
"And you decapitated my clone, hm. I swear this is purely coincidental."
"Are they…" James's breaths started to falter as he stared at the two objects at Riley's side. After all, how could they not…
…when his eyes were currently staring at the heads of his wife and his only remaining son?
"Oh, they are dead."
A small giggle then seeped into the empty room, causing Zac to take in a small gulp as he too, stared at the two heads sitting beside Riley.
"I have to say, Lord James. Your wife is braver than your son," Riley then said as he lifted the head of James's wife by her nostrils, causing her jaw to open wide, "Because of her, your son was almost able to escape."
"..." James did not say anything as he just looked at the face of his wife; blood, dripping from her eyes and ears.
"She did not even scream," Riley stretched the head toward James's direction as he started shaking it, causing her broken jaws to wiggle and her broken teeth to fall off, "Your son, on the other hand, produced quite a melody. I recorded it, do you want to hear it?"
[S… stop! Don't… don't you know who we are!?]
And without even waiting for anyone to answer him, Riley played the recording from his mesphere.
[My father, my father will—Grah!]
[Let go of my son!]
[Mother—grlkh!]
"I have to say, Lord James…" Riley then let out a long and very deep sigh as the smile on his face grew wider and wider, "...This is perhaps the most difficulty I have ever had in trying to murder someone. Your wife ripped me in half at this part of the recording."
"..."
"12 times. I had to crush all of her organs 12 times to send her to her Eternal Death. Fun, really fun," Riley then returned James's wife's head beside him, before grabbing his son's head,
"Just 3 times for him. It is just too bad that you won't be able to see what I did with their bodies, Lord James. But don't worry, you will join them. After all, unlike father…
…I do not like separating families."
"What did you do!?" James filled the entire room with red as a violent light emerged from his body; wrapping him almost like flames, "You will—"
"One last kiss."
"!!!"
And before James could finish his words, Riley covered his raging mouth… with the face of his wife.
"And they tell me I am not nice," Riley once again chuckled as another one of his clones appeared behind James, pushing his bald head and compressing it with his wife's decapitated head,
"We're only just starting, Lord James."
"You… will pay for this!"
And with those words, the raging energy surrounding James like fire burst violently—destroying and disintegrating everything within its path.
"You…
…I will destroy you!"
And from the ashes created by the explosion, James's hand emerged from the rubble, grabbing Riley's feet before he could get away. And with another raging roar, James started flying down and digging through the floor; dragging Riley with him.
"..." Riley could just cut off his legs but chose not to as the smile on his face just continued to grow. And soon, the ground and rocks that were threatening to shred his flesh to pieces all disappeared; his view of complete darkness, replaced by the harsh light that drowned… the sea of trees beneath him.
When Riley heard that almost all of Theran's wildlife lived beneath the planet, he had always thought that they would be somewhat similar to moles or any other creatures that lived underground.
But no—beneath the world of Theran was another world—an entire ecosystem all on its own.
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times as James suddenly let him go. Riley didn't need to wonder why, however, because as soon as he turned around, he noticed a large… wyverian bird flying towards him; its colossal beak, already beneath and on top of him in just a single moment.
"...Oh."
Chapter 565People with golden skin that glittered at a certain angle.
People with silver skin, completely intangible and immune to damage.
Small people that could produce a blast of air with their hands.
People with black skin and 4 meters tall.
A human that has lived for more than 8000 years.
People with 4 arms. People with 4 legs.
A literal talking octopus.
Riley has met all sorts of extraterrestrial life throughout his short journey through the expanse of space. Never once, however, did he feel excited about meeting any of them—after all, for him, they were no different from humans.
But now, as he was right in the middle of the beak of a gigantic bird that looked like a wyvern, he could not help but think that finally; finally, he was experiencing what alien life truly is like.
He could dodge this, and with the way James just let go of him and flew away means he really probably should. But Riley was curious—when will he ever get the experience of being swallowed by a gigantic wyvern bird?
And so, Riley turned his head toward James's bald head. James thought that Riley would rush toward him, but no. A wide and creepy smile just crawled on his face before the giant bird swallowed him whole.
"..." James could really only furrow his eyebrows as he watched the bird disappear into the horizon. He was still waiting for Riley to burst forth from the avian's body, or even appear behind him for no reason at all—but no.
The bird just continued to flap its wings until he could no longer see it.
As for Riley, he could see nothing at all. Unlike what he watched in movies, a creature's stomach is not huge at all, it was tight and compact.
"Hm…" Riley softly covered his nose as he let out a deep breath, "It smells horrendous."
And soon, felt himself being dragged as the bird started to dive down. The other contents inside the bird, freely flowing and being shaken along with Riley.
"So, this is what all the food I have consumed felt. Interesting," Riley muttered; the tone of his voice, completely monotonous.
A second.
A minute.
An hour.
He felt himself being dragged and shaken for an entire hour as the bird continued to fly around. His neighbors, already completely melted into a goo-like consistency—if Riley did not have his telekinetic armor, then he would have probably also turned into mush.
Perhaps he should have, just to complete the experience—he thought. But as he was about to take off his armor, he once again felt a certain pressure as he suddenly slid down along with the rest of whatever was inside the bird's stomach.
"Is this what going through a slide feels like?" Riley muttered. He doesn't know—he hasn't been in one.
And soon, light once again drowned his eyes. And with a squelching sound, he dropped to the ground along with the goo of flesh and blood.
"..." Riley quickly looked up, only to see the insides of the gigantic bird's mouth again.
"Oh," he muttered. He thought he was coming out from the other end. He then turned his eyes to his front as he heard a loud chirp, only to see a hairless chick… which was still bigger than a car.
It had scales exposed at certain parts of its face, but its shape was still completely that of a baby bird.
"Interesting," Riley and the chick stared into each other's eyes for a while; their heads, tilting to the side. Riley then started looking around to see where the bird brought him, but he absolutely had no idea where he was.
He was in some sort of glade—a sea of grass almost as tall as him.
And as Riley was checking in the sights, the chick's head suddenly became a blur, and when it cleared… it already had Riley's arm between its beak.
"...Oh."
And before the chick could peck a part of Riley's body at Mach speeds again, Riley immediately summoned a clone and flew back. His lifeless clone, immediately being swallowed whole by the chick.
"As expected of the planet Aerith was born in, even their animals are strong," Riley nodded to himself as he started walking away toward the large trees that looked more similar to bamboo. But before he could reach far, the mother bird flew and blocked his path.
"Don't," Riley immediately said as he looked the mama bird in the eyes. The bird tilted its head to the side first, before its hair and scales started to tremble and stand, and with a small cawk, it just returned to its nestling.
"Hm…" Riley then started walking through the sea of thin and towering trees. He could hear and see other smaller creatures there, with some even following him around; but as soon as they see Riley's eyes, they all just run away for some reason.
Riley then looked up to see how light was being produced in the undergrounds of the planet, but the sky—the ceiling did not seem to produce it. The only thing he could see were several holes; the sky was mostly green, probably from the plants and moss that attached itself to it.
"..." There were probably millions of holes in the ceiling, should he let his clones check which hole he came from? But then the bird flew for almost an entire hour, the hole he came from was probably not there.
"...I'm lost," Riley then let out a small sigh as he once again looked around him. If Zac was here, then he could probably find his way.
James was also nowhere to be seen, but he was probably just lurking around and blending in with the animals; waiting for the chance to kill him.
With that speed and his bald head, he is probably some sort of themarian ninja—Riley thought, nodding at his own conclusion. There was also the fact that themarians can detect energy from a distance, James is here somewhere.
"..." Riley then closed his eyes as he focused his hearing—but as soon as all the sounds entered his ears, he quickly hit his head several times; shaking away the noise completely. Riley never really had to work this hard just to murder people… but this way was truly more fulfilling.
"Pft," a small giggle then escaped from Riley's lips as a sort of tingling sensation started to crawl throughout his entire body. When was the last time he truly felt like this?
As the control of his telekinesis grew better and better, the time it took for him to subdue someone also quickly became nonexistent—all he had to look forward to were the screams. But now, experiencing the feeling of the hunt again…
…it was quite liberating.
But the fact is—he wasn't the one hunting, he was the one being hunted.
"Lord James," Riley then stretched his arms to the side, "Are you having fun as much as I am? Your wife said you worked in the shadows when she was dying. She said that I always have to look in the shadows in fear that you might be there…
…but how can you really hide that bald shiny head?"
"..."
"But why would someone like you want to hide in the shadows?" Riley continued to talk as he looked at the shadows of blades around him,
"Let yourself be seen in the light as Aerith did. Oh, you should have seen her. Aside from sister, she was the one that shone the brightest, and I am the darkness they leave behind...
...the darkness that swallows the shadows they make."
Chapter 566"Wrong hole."
"...Wrong hole."
"Wrong hole again."
Riley has lost track of how many hours he had been in Theran's underground ecosystem. He was now out of the woods, literally. He stood on top of a cliff, overlooking a sea that shouldn't exist underground.
Theran is completely different from Earth—perhaps he could no longer refute this fact.
He had been here for long, and yet the shadows that scattered everywhere had not moved for even a single millimeter. The sun which didn't exist still fully drowned the landscape, not withering for a single second.
"Boss, I've searched 4 holes—I don't think we're anywhere near the city, or any city for that matter."
Another Riley then descended from the sky, landing behind Riley who just continued to stare at the endless horizon.
"Even the holes that are near each other, end up not even being close once you get to the surface," Riley's clone let out a small but very deep sigh as he too looked at the ocean.
"Good work," Riley nodded, "You can take a rest now."
"I'll go check out some more holes first. I haven't seen any signs of that James guy either. Do you think he left?"
"I believe he is still here somewhere. He probably covered his bald head to conceal his presence. Just be wary of anything that resembles a head."
"Roger that, boss."
"Hm."
And with his clone leaving, Riley just once again nodded; his eyes, still looking at the endless horizon. He already ordered his clone that was still in Hel castle to come and find them, but when it arrived at the Camel's inn, they already closed up the hole.
Riley could probably just fly up into any of the holes, and just find his way while he's on the surface—but then he wouldn't be able to finish his hunt with James. He already killed his wife and only remaining son—it would be awkward if he let James just live; they come as a set, after all.
"Oh…"
Riley then blinked a couple of times as he suddenly lost connection with his clone. Although it was just a glimpse at the end of its life, Riley was able to see what killed it—it wasn't James.
It was a wolf. A thin and very lean wolf the size of a car, with a tail that was longer than its entire body. Most importantly, it leaped all the way from the ground; a skirt of wind flowing around it as it completely eviscerated his clone.
Riley had initially thought that the wildlife of Theran migrated and evolved underground millions of years ago because of Themarians, but that wasn't the case at all. Even themarians would be sent to Eternal Death if they weren't careful here—it is no wonder why not everyone takes missions from the Credit Board.
Sadly for the long wolf, however, what he just ate was a mixture of the ground and plants. Fortunately for the wolf, it still had something to hunt as Riley's clone carried his scent.
"..."
Riley then very slowly turned around, only to find the long wolf already sneaking toward him, emerging from the bushes; its steps, eerily quiet for its size—no, there was not even a single noise. The wolf's paw was slightly above the ground… perhaps even if it wasn't as sophisticated as the themarians, the wildlife also knew how to fly?
In the wolf's case, it was probably just enough to make his steps completely silent.
And as soon as the wolf's glowing eyes met with Riley's, it immediately abandoned any of its stealth and lunged toward Riley. Riley, on the other hand, just very slowly stretched out his palm.
"!!!"
The wolf immediately pushed itself away from Riley, using the empty air as some sort of step as it landed back to the ground; its head, all the way down; its feet, still ready to leap toward Riley again.
This time, however, the wolf was looking back and forth between Riley's hand and his eyes—and each time it did so, it instinctively took a step back.
And as soon as Riley stepped forward, the wolf just immediately turned around and ran away into the bushes.
"...I only wanted to touch it," Riley whispered to himself as he sighed. The Ross family used to have a pet—a dog. Diana brought it home one day when Riley was just a little over 9 years old; it seemed to love Hannah and grew attached to her the very first day. But Riley?
It always ran away whenever it saw Riley. It barks and whimpers whenever Riley tries to get near. Hannah said that the dog just hates it when ugly colorless people touch it, so Riley just stopped trying to pet it.
And just a week later after it arrived, it ran away from home and got hit by a car.
The truth is, Riley now knows that the dog doesn't really hate him at all—it feared him. The dog smelled what Riley truly is before he even knew himself. It was able to smell the darkness, the void that lived inside of him.
And it would seem the animals of a completely different planet could see the same as soon as they see his eyes.
Even with the bright horizon behind him, they see Riley for what he truly is.
A being unaffected by light. A monster that will soon bathe the entire universe in darkness.
"..." Riley then looked at his palm, before letting out a long and deep sigh and closing it.
"Lord James, if you are not going to come out from the shadows…" Riley then breathed out as he stepped away from the cliff, before kneeling and placing his palm on the ground,
"...Then I will just have to take away the shadows."
And as soon as he said that, a pulse rippled from his palm; the grass and plants around it, suddenly blooming and turning even greener as they became bigger and more dense. But with the second pulse, however…
…they started to wither.
"This is what I am, Lord James," Riley then whispered as the plants around him continued to perish. The thick bushes, the trees… all wilting in an instant as soon as the pulse touched them,
"This is a power I received from dying to a woman capable of controlling and making plant life bloom—a power that literally gives birth to life, and yet…
…I use it to spread death like wildfire."
The once green and lively land became nothing but ashes of life; gray and completely devoid of any joy.
"There is no use in hiding from me, Lord James," Riley then once again stood up as he sighed, causing the ashes of life around him to ripple away,
"I am one of the things constant in this universe. I am Suffering and Death."
And with those words, another pulse escaped from Riley. This time, however, the pulse was violent—blowing away all the corpses of the plants and wildlife and revealing the creatures that lived within the once lively world.
And one of them was James; his eyes, already as red as they could be as he rushed toward Riley.
"I will end your suffering then, Riley Ross!"
"Come then…" Riley stretched his hands to the side, summoning two blades of light as he calmly stepped forward,
"...Try."
Chapter 567Violent, reckless abandon, wild… familiar.
Riley still clearly remembers the very fight that he was able to finally fight Megawoman head-to-head, and this was the very same feeling.
Darmuid was physically stronger than James since each of his strikes causes total obliteration of anything unfortunate enough to stand in its way. James, however, no matter how finesse his movements, had this wild consistency in him that was similar to Aerith.
Clearly untrained professionally, but each strike showed experience that was crafted in true battle where losing means death.
"Show more of your tricks, alien!"
"When you've earned it, Lord James."
One would think their battle would have already decimated the land, but no. The terrain underground Theran was even more durable and sturdy than on the surface—there was also the fact that Riley and James, even after fighting for an entire minute now, still have not left the cliff they started fighting on.
Their feet have not even left the ground at the same time. It was almost like a dance, an endless dance that serenaded the endless horizon that never turns dark.
This was no longer a hunt, but an understanding that when and if this dance ends, one of them will have to take the last step.
The two were almost like complete opposites of each other; one filled with hair, and one absolutely without—and yet both reflected the harsh light that wrapped everything around them.
Riley's pair of swords were beyond sharp—no. Perhaps sharpness was no longer a value that one could describe the pair; it just contained heat, a concentrated heat that melted everything it touches.
It was able to cut James's flesh, but it almost seemed as if the pair of swords were truly just light as it passed through James's silhouette—no flesh open, no cut. James's flesh would heal even before Riley's blades could come out the other end.
For an untrained eye to be watching this dance, the only thing they would really see were the ashes of smoke bursting from the ground, the blurred silhouette that snapped in the air, and the light that felt like it was almost solid.
But for Riley and James, it was just a sight of blood—blood that just vaporizes as soon as they appear. The other showed his teeth with his smile, while the other showed his fangs with his snarl.
Soon, however, the lights seem to run out from Riley's hand as he grabs both of James's ears; pulling on them as they stretch almost a foot from the temples. James quickly pushed Riley away to the end of the cliff with a palm, causing the air around them to explode into a ripple—the ashes of what remained of the fallen trees, now completely erased from existence.
As for Riley, he continued to slide on the darkness of the dirt beneath him, creating a crevice as the soles of his feet left the cliff, leaving him standing on his toes.
"Well then…" Riley then stretched both his hands to the side, before snapping his fingers and revealing the pair of ears he was holding,
"...Now your head is perfectly oval, Lord James."
"You think you're funny, alien?" A burst of fiery red emerged from James's eyes, before crawling across his arms and forming into some sort of gauntlet. And with a small breath escaping from his lips, James violently waved his glowing arms at the ground in front of him—releasing a crescent blade that completely pierced through the entire cliff.
And before Riley could tilt his head wondering what James did, James suddenly slammed his foot on the ground.
"..."
And very slowly, a crack formed on the ground.
And soon, the side of the cliff Riley was standing on started to slide down; Riley did not seem to care, however, as he just threw James's ears back to him as his silhouette very slowly faded down from the horizon.
"You know, I can do the same."
"!!!"
James then quickly leaped back as a crescent blade of light emerged beneath his feet. Before he could land, however, another one emerged from the ground—completely slicing the cliff as it threatened to do the same to James.
And finally, after what seemed like an eternity of fighting each other… James floated into the air as he avoided the barrage of strikes that came from below, a barrage that seemed almost endless.
And the farther James flew into the air, the larger the crescent blades became. He was able to avoid all of them—but he was given no time to rest as the view beneath him almost no longer exists, it was now just filled with light that seemed to scratch existence itself.
"Tch, enough!" And with a click of his tongue and a roar, James curled his body as the fiery red wrapping his arms scattered throughout his entire body. And with another feral roar, the energy around him burst forth into a sphere; the rain of light that seemed to fall upon him endlessly, fading away completely.
"But we're only just getting started, Lord James."
"..."
James's eyes then slightly widened as he looked down—not for long, however, as his eyes followed Riley up. Riley didn't fly up, however, no… no, he did not.
Instead, he grew. He grew bigger until his eyes which were now the size of a car were at the same level as James's bald head.
"Size manipulation," Riley then said; his voice echoing across the air.
"Wrong choice of trick," James's shock also did not last long as he disappeared, leaving a skirt of wind behind him as he flew straight toward Riley's eyes, entering his brain and violently releasing energy from his body, bursting into a ball as it completely opened up Riley's head like a watermelon.
"Tricks, Lord James—I have many."
And before the bits and pieces of Riley's head could be affected by gravity, James heard a voice beside him. He quickly turned to look, only to see no one there.
"..." James's eyebrows furrowed as his eyes quickly looked everywhere—and with just a slight adjustment of his hearing, he quickly stabbed his own ear with his finger as he realized Riley was inside.
It was too late, however, as Riley was already inside his skull.
"Shi—!!!"
"Pavoom."
"..."
And before a word could escape James's throat, the red light wrapping him like armor instantly disappeared; his eyes, losing their color as blood started to drip from his head's orifices.
James did not fall from the air, however; his head, just shaking and trembling as Riley casually stepped out of his ear.
Riley still did not let James fall to the ground, however, as he grabbed his now regenerated ear as he leaped from it.
"You're lucky, Lord James," Riley then sighed as his silhouette slowly became bigger and bigger, "When Mr. Sizeman killed me, he entered through my posterior and grew bigger."
"..."
"..."
Riley looked at his reflection on James's bald head, still waiting for a response and wondering if he was sent to his Eternal Death.
"..."
"..."
But after a few more seconds of him not moving, Riley just let out a long and very deep sigh as he descended back to whatever remained of the cliff.
"Well then…
…Now I need to get you to the rest of your family, Lord James, for that…
…I need to cut you up."
Chapter 568Somewhere in a forest, hidden in the shadows of trees—a hum whispered. If someone from Earth were to listen to the tune of his quiet hum, they might recognize it from one of their cartoons.
The hum was not coming from the trees, however, but further beneath; in a cave hidden away even from the shadows outside. And if one were to enter that cave, they would find that the sound of the hum came not from one, but 3 people.
4 people that looked completely identical to each other. 3 people that were cutting up a body.
And of course, the three were none other than Riley and his clones; the body they're cutting up, James. Two of the clones pull on James's hard flesh and skin, while Riley cuts it up finely with a very thin string—a string made of heat. As for the last clone, he was responsible for carefully placing James's body parts inside a white sack.
Riley moved to a cave as he didn't want James's blood to attract the wildlife. After all, even if animals are instinctively scared of him, they would surely change their mind as soon as they see the free meal they could scavenge.
"So it's true…" The clone responsible for putting different parts of James inside a sack breathed out as raised James's dismembered left foot, "...Female themarians are biologically stronger than their male counterparts."
"I suppose," Riley nodded, "Aerith's flesh was harder and her bones were multiple times stronger."
"Even her titties?"
"Shut the fuck up, normie."
"What did you say to me?"
"..." Riley only blinked as his two clones that were pulling on James's body parts started arguing. But still, they did not stop stretching James's body so that Riley would be able to finely and expertly cut up his body.
Still, his clones have a point. Now that James was no longer using his… themarian energy, his flesh, and bones were much softer than before. Of course, it still almost felt like Riley was cutting through diamond.
If James and Aerith did have a similarity, however, it would be their organs—nigh impenetrable. Even with the heat of the inside of the sun torching them, they remain completely without a scratch.
…Do they train their organs? Or does it get stronger with age?
Both of James's sons, Fionn and Tavi, died easier than both their parents—their organs could be squished if Riley pressed hard enough, but Fionn's?
Riley then pulled out James's heart, before trying to squash it with his hands. The only thing that happened, however, was his heart expanding like a balloon and getting through the gaps between Riley's fingers.
"Hm…" Riley nodded before cutting the veins and throwing it to his clone, who also proceeded to try and squash it.
The four continued masterfully butchering James's body. And finally, after what seemed like an entire hour, Riley carefully placed James's bald head inside the sack.
"Good job, everyone," Riley then patted his hands clean as he looked at his clones. As for the clones, they all just bowed; with one of them saluting as they all very slowly melted and disintegrated back to the ground.
"Hm," a small sigh escaped Riley's lips as he looked at the clumps of mud on the ground; his eyes, completely empty as he closed them. But after a few seconds, he nodded his head and said,
"Thank you, everyone."
And then, with another sigh, he picked up his loot and carried it behind his back.
"I suppose it's time to pick a hole," Riley then whispered to himself as he started walking out of the cave. Now that his game with James was done, it was time for him to return to the surface—if someone were to spot him above, then he could just use his authority as a fake Champion Sergeant of the Grand Militia and show James's head—he is wanted, after all.
Also, perhaps it was time for him to explore Theran by himself. Zac was very useful to have beside him, but he had too many opinions. And even for Riley, who had trouble interpreting what people were thinking, it was almost as if he could hear Zac's thoughts just shouting at him.
He was noisy without even talking.
"...Who?"
And before Riley could take a step out of the cave, several silhouettes showed themselves in front of him.
"..." Riley turned to look at who it was, only to see 3 women and one man completely unfamiliar to him. Judging by their smaller eyes and slightly more colorful skin, the four were probably from Varoif.
Does that mean Riley was beneath Varoif? Did the bird really take him to the other side of the planet?
Riley then turned to look at the faces of the four; the four, however, were looking back and forth between Riley and the white sack he was carrying… which was obviously dripping blood on the ground.
"..."
"..."
Riley returned their gazes as he tightened his grip on the sack. It took him an entire hour to finely butcher James's body—if they were to fight here, the sack would surely burst. He…
…needed to subdue these three as fast as—
"I told you someone already accepted the fucking mission before us!" And before Riley could finish his thoughts, the woman with the shortest hair amongst the 3 groaned, "This is why I don't like accepting Open Missions!"
"Stop being dumb, Aita. Do you think a Ratking would actually fit inside that small sack?"
Riley then turned to look at the other woman who seemed to be the oldest—and aside from Diana, this was probably the first time he was seeing a themarian wearing a pair of glasses. Riley initially thought Diana's glasses were purely just fashion…
…could it be that there are themarians that don't have perfect vision?
"Good evening, sir." The last woman had a more peaceful voice than the two; a contrast to her curly orange hair that bounced with each movement,
"Did you accept the Ratking subjugation mission?"
"..." Riley looked at the woman for a few seconds, before shaking his head, "No."
"Then what's that on your back?" The feisty woman with short hair, Aita, slightly squinted her eyes as she looked at Riley's sack.
"It's a bald themarian, Ms. Aita. I cut him up in multiple pieces."
"..."
"..."
"Pft," Aita then suddenly burst out in laughter before slamming her palm at the back of the woman with glasses, causing her to almost tumble forward, "Did you hear that, Milla? We got us a murderer here."
"Can you not?" Milla quickly adjusted her glasses as she stepped back, "Rylo, control your sister!"
"Stop fighting each other, Aita."
And finally, the only man in the group spoke; the tone of his voice, calm and clear as he chuckled and brushed up his sleek black hair, "You're embarrassing us in front of a stranger."
"Oh, right…" The woman with the curly orange hair also stepped forward as she bowed to Riley,
"...My name is Pia, and these are my friends."
"My name is Riley."
"You… look quite familiar."
"I doubt it. Have you ever seen a man white long white hair and skin as smooth as your fucking butt?"
"Aita!"
"Riley? That almost sounds like my name."
"Well…" Riley then blinked his eyes a couple of times as he looked at the group; slightly tilting his head to the side,
"...All of you look quite familiar too."
Aita, a brash woman who is the sister of the only man in the group.
Milla, a mature woman who is the professor of the only man in the group.
Pia, a woman with orange hair that seemed to be too friendly and sticking too close to the only man in the group.
And finally, a man named Rylo.
Why… do they seem so familiar?
"None of that fucking matters," Aita stuck out her tongue as she stepped into the cave and walked past Riley, "Let's go hunt that giant rodent before someone else comes here."
"Are you sure it's even here?" Milla followed.
"A little trust here?"
"I don't trust you."
"The fuck? What else could leave those freakishly freakish footprints? You?"
"Enough," Rylo slightly raised his voice as he too started entering the cave, "Let's just check inside, and if it's not then… we just go to a different cave."
"Wait, guys…" Pia was the only one that seemed unsure in the group, "...Are you sure we can handle a Ratking with just us four?"
"Four? What do you mean four?" Aita smirked as she looked at Riley,
"...We have a new friend."
Chapter 569"So, what's in the bag, sir Riley? And why are you doing a mission alone? Did you hunt something?"
"It is more like he hunted me, Ms. Pia."
"Pia, stop disturbing the whitey. And if you're interrogating him, then stop asking mundane questions! Ask him why he fucking looks like that. Hey, whitey; where are you from? You look like you could be from Hel, but not quite."
"I'm from outside, Ms. Aita."
"...Outside?"
"Sister, I thought we shouldn't bother Mr. Riley."
"I'm just curious."
Riley was still in the cave where he butchered James's body, except deeper into its cavities as he followed behind Rylo and his group; watching as Rylo pulled Aita away and gestured to her to lead the way.
Aita was somewhat similar to Hannah in the way that they talk and interact with other people; Rylo, on the other hand, could not be any different from Riley. Their relationship also seemed to be different—the two of them were equal.
Whenever Riley talks to Hannah, it always seemed like…not all of him was truly talking to Hannah. He tried his best not to pretend and show Hannah who he truly is, but couldn't.
"..." Riley initially wanted to leave the group, but when he saw the dynamic of Rylo's group, he decided to stay and observe them in hopes to learn something. So far, however, even though the surroundings were quite bright even when they were already far away from the mouth of the cave, he didn't really find anything that could help him.
In fact, even though Rylo and Aita talked to each other normally, Riley and Hannah seemed closer. He and Hannah are always physically close to each other; their skin touching, and their arms holding each other whenever they are together.
As for Rylo and Aita… they seemed quite distant.
"Are the two of you biological siblings?" Riley then asked as he could not help but be curious. Perhaps it had something to do with blood?
"Fuck no!" Aita quickly raised her voice and laughed, "My genes are biologically superior to this boy. He's my cousin, we adopted him when his parents offed themselves. They—"
"Stop telling a stranger our stories!" Rylo covered Aita's mouth before she could finish her story. Riley didn't seem to mind, however, as he quickly turned his attention to the woman wearing a pair of glasses.
"Are you having sexual relations with Mr. Rylo, Ms. Milla?"
"!!!"
And as soon Milla heard that, a cough forcefully escaped her lips as she almost choked on her own breaths.
"How… how did you know!?" As for Rylo, he immediately let go of his sister's mouth and took a step back, almost tumbling to the cold hard ground, butt first.
"Wait, what!?"
Milla could really only cover her face as the two other girls almost screamed; their voices of shock, echoing back to them from deeper inside the cave.
"It… it was only one time!" Rylo reasoned as his sister started strangling him.
"Tell me the truth!"
"O… okay, at least once a week."
"Rylo!"
"..."
No.
Riley closed his eyes and sighed as he saw Rylo's group bickering and laughing. They may seem familiar, but they were not similar at all.
Riley can never laugh like this with the others—if he could, then everyone would still probably be in the Baby Crew. They would have probably fully replaced the Hope Guild by now, and they will actually have a life.
Riley… stripped that from them. They were still alive, yes… but Riley has prevented them from living like this. Laughing, having fun together.
Hannah's sadness, her anger, her depression, her suffering. It is all his fault. It always has been and always will be.
Riley…
…Riley will never be Hannah's happiness. He will never be anyone's happiness.
"Shh!"
And all of a sudden, as the group was laughing and arguing, Aita suddenly kneeled; her palm, touching the ground as she raised her other hand.
"Shut the fuck up, everyone," she breathed out, "The Ratking is near, go to your positions."
Rylo, Milla, and Pia all nodded their heads, before just disappearing at the same time. As for Riley, he just stood there, looking around for any signs of the so-called Ratking.
"You…" Aita then blinked a couple of times as she noticed Riley just standing there… so eerily still and quiet, "...Fuck, why did they have to leave me with you."
"You are the one who proposed I come, Ms. Aita."
"Fuck… I'm not good with strangers when I'm alone," Aita let out a small groan as she stood up, "Just… I suppose you can come and support me. My task is to lure the Ratking when it comes."
"Okay," Riley nodded.
"...Okay? That's all you have to say?" Aita rolled her eyes, "It's the Ratking, you know how scary this fucker is?"
"Is it some sort of large rat, Ms. Aita?"
"...No," Aita shook her head, "It's a—!!!"
And before Aita could finish her words, a large hand suddenly grabbed her entire head; its long and sharp nails, almost digging through the back of her head.
"..."
"..."
Riley stared at Aita's eyes, which were peeking out through the gaps in the black hand's fingers.
"...Fuck. Run—"
And once again, Aita was not able to finish her words as the Ratking started to tighten its grip. Aita's head, slowly but surely being crushed.
"..." Riley dropped the sack he was holding as he turned his eyes toward the owner of the hand, only to see… a gorilla—no, not quite. Its head was similar to that of a rodent, if it didn't have hair, that is.
"T..t…trespassher… die."
And it was able to talk. The Ratking did not seem to care for Riley, however, as its nose was just pointed at Aita; its sharp teeth, chittering excitedly at the thought of a meal.
"..." Riley then turned to look at the rest of Aita's companions that were hiding on the side, only to see them just looking at her; their eyes, trembling and filled with fear.
"Do you want to live, Ms. Aita?"
Riley then calmly touched the Ratking's arm, causing several of its veins to pop out as his grip on Aita slightly loosened. Judging from how the gorilla rat was just looking around and sniffing everywhere, it didn't seem to know what was happening…
…perhaps it wasn't even able to see Riley.
"S… save me," Aita breathed out as her deformed head started to heal; she then desperately stretched her hand to Riley, "P… please, I… I want to live."
"..." Riley, on the other hand, just stared at the tears starting to trail from Aita's eyes. And soon…
…tears also trailed from Riley's face.
"You…" He then breathed out as he grabbed Aita's hand, "You're clinging to the wrong person…
…Hannah."
"...What?"
"I told you… I told you that I will only bring death. That I will only get you killed," Riley muttered as he tightened his grip on Aita's hand, "I am a monster, Hannah…
…and I am not done."
"What… what the fuck are you talking about? Who… who the fuck is Hannah!?"
"Your suffering… your suffering ends now," a small smile then crawled on Riley's face as he looked Aita straight in the eyes,
"You won't see what I will become."
"Wh—"
And before Aita could let out another word, Riley removed his palm from the Ratking; Aita's head, instantly obliterated by the sudden force that rippled from the Ratking's hand.
"..." Riley then once again turned his eyes toward Rylo and the others, who were still hiding and cowering behind the rock they thought was life.
"I apologize, everyone…" Riley whispered as he wiped the tears trailing down his cheeks, "...but no one lives...
...no one."
Chapter 570The Ratking.
A very long tail that had bits and little pieces of hair extruding out of it—barely even covering a single fold. Its arms were longer than its tail, but still muscular all the same. Riley had always wondered if Theran had any animals or creatures similar to monkeys or apes, and now, his questions were answered.
Riley just didn't know where to categorize this monster in front of him. Was it a primate, or a walking rodent? Perhaps none of those matter.
The only thing that matters is that it crushed a themarian's head with one hand. A themarian's skull, which is multiple times harder than diamond… crushed like an egg.
"M…Mr. Riley! Pull her away!"
"..." Riley then turned to look at Pia, who was the only one that revealed herself from behind the boulder she was hiding behind. Riley then turned to look at Aita's body, which just dropped to the ground with its neck looking like a blooming flower of flesh.
Soon, however, this blooming flower of flesh started to wriggle—Aita was still alive. But before anything else could happen, the Ratking suddenly slammed its tail straight down on Aita's stomach; a force enough to create a gust that could split a mountain in half.
And like a flan being chopped violently, the insides of her stomach burst out as her body split in two; her organs, scattered everywhere. Still, even with this gruesome sight, her organs seemed to still function as they wriggled and beat.
"..." For a talking and walking rat, the ratking did not seem to be that intelligent. Or perhaps it was only playing with its prey? If so, then he seemed to be enjoying this alone. As Riley turned to look at Aita again, her head has already fully grown.
Her eyes, looking in different directions as her brain still seemed to register what just happened to it. Soon, however, both of Aita's eyes turned toward Riley.
"Please…" Aita whispered as her hair started to grow back, "...please help me."
And once again, Hannah's face overlapped with Aita's, causing Riley to slightly take in a sharp breath and grit his teeth. And with a small groan, Riley suddenly stepped on Aita's fresh head—burrowing it straight through the cold, hard ground.
"What are you doing!?" Pia could not help but gasp as soon as she saw this. She was going to rush toward Riley but then found her hair very slowly floating forward. This gentle touch, however, soon turned violent as Pia felt her entire body being pulled toward Riley.
"This…" And although Pia was still quite confused as to what was happening, she immediately punched through the ground so she could stop. And without waiting for anything else to happen, her eyes lit up, letting out a violent beam as she looked at Riley.
Unfortunately for Pia, Riley grabbed Aita from the floor—using her face as a shield as he ran toward her.
"Aita!"
Before Riley could get near, however, Rylo suddenly rushed from the side—ramming himself toward Riley while Milla grabbed Aita from his hand.
"Rah!" And with a roar that reverberated through the entire cave, Rylo grabbed Riley's face and slammed him straight to the hard wall. And he did not let Riley recover at all, as he started rampaging and letting a barrage of fists on his face.
"Aita, are you… are you okay!?" Milla carried Aita away, cleaning her face to see if there was still life in her eyes; the smile that was growing on her face, however, was already enough indication,
"We… we thought we lost you."
"Can't get rid of me that fast," Aita then violently shook her head as she pushed herself away from Milla, "We need to—"
"Uhm, guys…"
And while Rylo's arms have disappeared from the naked eye while he endlessly strikes Riley's face, Pia pointed at the ratking. Milla and Aita quickly set up their stance as they turned to look…
…only to see the ratking digging through the sack that Riley was carrying.
"That…"
"Fuck… he wasn't lying."
The three women could really only take in a small gulp as they saw the different body parts being thrown out and scattered from the sack. And judging by the way the ratking was having trouble biting through the flesh and bones of the corpse… the corpse belonged to someone strong. Stronger than all of them.
"..." Aita continued to watch the ratking force its sharp teeth through the flesh when she realized something. If a corpse like this was in Riley's sack, then wouldn't that mean—
"Rylo! Get away from him!"
"Huh?"
Aita instantly realized that calling out to Rylo was a mistake. Because as soon as he stopped hitting Riley, some sort of white light beamed out from the back of his chest.
"..." Rylo very slowly turned his head down to look… only to see the blade of light moving closer to his head, and then between his eyes. And in half the time it would take to blink, several lines of light moved randomly across his body.
"...Rylo?" Aita and the others all held their breaths as Rylo was still able to turn around to look at them.
"S… sister," Rylo whispered; his flesh, almost as if not knowing whether to regenerate or fall apart, "I—"
Unfortunately for him, before his body could make a choice, he became the ratking's target instead as it started to get frustrated from how hard James's flesh and bones were. And once again, unfortunately for Rylo, the ratking used all of its force to bite through his face.
And in just less than a second, his entire body was mowed down and devoured by the ratking. What else could Aita and the others do but watch?
If they were to try and rescue Rylo, then Riley would definitely kill them.
"Run…" Aita whispered as she grabbed Pia and Milla's hands, "...We should go."
"What… what about your brother!? He might still be—"
"He's dead! Let's just go!"
And with that, Aita dragged her two friends away—even destroying the ground she was standing on as she used all of her strength to leap and fly away.
"..." Riley watched as their silhouette almost instantly disappeared from sight. But after a few more moments, he raised his hand. And as he did so, the cave started to tremble. The shaking was light at first, but as the veins on Riley's face started to show, the quaking became violent.
Theran truly is a mysterious place. Riley was able to crumble Mars in seconds with just a small amount of effort. But here?
He even had to stretch his telekinetic abilities to destroy and close down the mouth of the cave. Perhaps the deeper and closer one is to Theran's core, the denser, harder, and heavier everything is. It is also no wonder why the wildlife of Theran are the way they are.
A wildlife…
Riley then turned to look at the ratking, who returned to James's corpse to once again try and devour it.
"That's mine."
But as soon as Riley took a step closer to it, the ratking immediately ran deeper into the cave. At this point…
…shouldn't Riley be considered one of the wildlife of Theran?
"..." And with that thought circling in his mind, a smirk started to crawl on his face. If he is part of the wildlife… then perhaps it was time for him to be the one to hunt.
Riley wanted to take a mission on the Credit Board to try it, but now…
...maybe they'll make a mission to subdue him instead.
Chapter 571VR 571
"He's getting near! I can hear him!"
"Then help us get out!"
"What do you think I'm doing!?"
"Rylo… Rylo is—"
"Snap out of it!"
Screams. The screams of the women reverberated through the entire cave; what echoed back to them was their desperation, making them even more frantic as their hands endlessly tried to burrow through the thick rocks of the cave.
The three of them tried to melt and obliterate the hard rocks with their energy—but they ran out of gas before they even got a glimpse of the light outside. Aita wanted to push through more as she used all of her effort to stretch her energy, but Milla stopped her.
They don't even know if they're near the outside yet. The entrance of the cave clearly didn't collapse naturally, and the three already had somewhat of an idea of who was responsible for it.
"Riley Ross…" Pia tried to calm her breaths as she looked back to the bright walls of the cave, "...Is he… is it possible he's an intelligent monster?"
"What are you talking about!? He's a themarian!"
"I mean… the ratking didn't even try to harm him—no. It felt like it didn't even notice him. And have you ever seen a themarian look like that? His mouth also looked like it could swallow us three whole!"
"It doesn't matter what he is," Milla joined in on the conversation as she threw a large boulder toward the inside of the cave—creating a skirt of wind as thunder roared through the air,
"We need to—"
"Milla!"
And all of a sudden, the boulder that Milla threw returned back to her—pinning her on the rocky wall as all the rubble and debris started to quake. Milla, however, just grunted as she pushed the boulder away.
"I have to apologize to the three of you."
And then, a whisper started to crawl through their ears; partnered by a calm and somewhat sinister set of steps that slowly made it's way closer to them. The three all quickly regrouped, putting up their stance as they watched as Riley walked toward them, dragging the white sack he had been carrying from the start.
"It has been a while since I have truly instilled terror and I may perhaps be getting rusty with it. There is also the fact that themarians are very hard to scare."
"Why are you doing this!?" Milla's eyes started to glow red as she stepped forward, "If you want to kill or eat us, then just eat me! Spare my friends!"
"I don't eat people, Ms. Milla," Riley raised an eyebrow as a certain hint of disgust escaped his mouth, "I'm not a cannibal. But I suppose in this case, if I do eat you—would it be considered cannibalism? You are a completely different species, after all."
"I told you, he's not a themarian! What themarian has a mouth as wide as that!?"
"Let's take this fucker! I don't think he can take on all of us at once!"
"No," Milla glanced at the two, "I will hold him back, the two of you find a way out of here."
"But—"
"I am the strongest and the oldest one out of us, just do it," Milla tried her best to stop her nervous breaths from showing as she stepped forward and looked Riley straight in the eyes,
"You… I will make you pay for what you did to Rylo."
"Hm…" Riley only nodded as he dropped the sack. And soon, a smile started to crawl on his face, "...James, the one inside this white sack, made me realize something. I may not be able to kill a large amount of you at the same time, but I can prune all of you one by one."
"..."
"Perhaps it will take years, thousands of years, and I will face adversity," Riley then started walking closer to the three, "But I believe I can do it. And after all of you are gone…the rest of the universe will follow."
"What the fuck are blabbering on about!?"
"I initially thought you are meant to be protectors of the Universe due to Aerith," Riley sighed as he shook his head, "But upon arriving here, I realized that none of you care about the world outside of yours—no. None of you even care about your neighbors. Themarians are… solitary creatures, I suppose."
"..."
"Imagine if just each one of you tries to protect every single world out there," Riley opened his palm, letting several pebbles fly on top of it as he looked at the three women, "I suppose the Guardians have that responsibility, but most of the Guardians are… fragile. Themarians on the other hand—you are really only a threat against each other."
"Stop talking and just try to kill us if you want to kill us already!"
"But I suppose not everyone could be like Aerith," Riley then once again sighed as the rocks hovering on his palm all dropped to the ground, "She lived in a world made of bubbles for 300 years, and only once did she pop something—when she fought with me."
"...Aerith? Princess Aerith?"
"Well, enough with my ideas," Riley then stopped walking as he looked the three women in the eyes one by one, "For your information, your voices and screams will be recorded."
"Wh—Ack!"
Pia was the first to scream amongst the three as a spear of rock flew straight through her shoulder, pinning her on the walls of the cave. And before she could even say anything, her words once again became screams as several more spears pierced through her flesh.
"Pia!" Milla rushed to help Pia but found her vision suddenly shifting to the floor as she did so. She turned to look at her feet, only to the back of her leg completely ripped off, revealing her bones.
Milla gritted her teeth instead of screaming… but alas, as soon as Riley stepped on her regenerating wound, a high-pitched and guttural gasp could not help but just scream out of her lungs.
"Get away from them!"
"..." Riley quickly blocked his head with his arm, blocking Aita's fist that released several thunderous echoes through the entire cave; Riley felt his bone slightly cracking as he was thrown several meters back—this injury was irrelevant, however, as it healed even before he could land back on his feet.
"Grah!" As for Aita, she raised her hand and gripped her wrist—after all, three of her fingers were missing.
"Hm…" Riley looked at the three dismembered fingers on his hand, before throwing it straight through Pia's face… two of them piercing her eyes and one through her cheek,
"...Another thing I learned; you can use another themarian's body parts as a weapon against another themarian. Like how diamonds cut diamonds; interesting, right?"
"Stop… please stop this," Pia, who was now more akin to a porcupine, very slowly pulled herself from the wall as she gritted and screamed through the pain, "Why… why are you even doing this to us!? We did nothing to you."
"Because I can?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "Because I can. But even if I couldn't, I will still try—that is what I am, after all. I am—"
"Dead!"
"..."
And all of a sudden, an eerie and triumphant silence rippled through the air. The three women, all staring at Riley's forehead… which now had a sharp spear of bone sticking out of it—and behind him…
…a shiny bald head that almost reflected their lives.
"...Oh."
Chapter 572Dead.
That was the last thing Riley heard before his consciousness slowly slipped away from him. He was still alive, of course—but not for long. Riley tried lifting a hand, but his body was no longer really following him.
But that was alright.
This is something he has experienced more than a hundred times. This time, however, will probably be the longest time he will succumb to death. He wasn't disintegrated like when Hannah killed him; his brain was just stabbed.
No, not quite. It would seem that James was not yet satisfied as he sliced off his head; poetic, considering Riley decapitated him and all of his family members.
"...Are you girls alright?"
"Y… yes?"
Riley could then hear James talking to Aita and the others as his head rolled across the cold hard ground; only stopping as his long white hair was caught between the gaps of rubble and stones.
"Stand back, I'll try to clear the rubble so we can get out. We—wait, let me make sure this alien is dead."
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times as he heard footsteps walking closer to him. And very soon… his vision turned dark.
"..."
"..."
[Good evening.]
"Hm…"
Drowning.
That is what it felt like—continually drowning even as Riley got up, opening his eyes to see nothing but darkness. No, it was darker than dark. Even in darkness, one could see one's imagination floating.
But here…
…here there was nothing.
The Overvoid.
Or at least that is what Riley has learned to call it. He had been here more than a hundred times, and yet unlike death and dying, he could never get used to the feeling of waking up in the Overvoid.
The Overvoid wasn't really darkness, it wasn't even a void since Riley exists here. It was silent, but not the sort of silence one could hear when one is trapped in a room devoid of any sound—no. It was just silent; there was no ringing, there were no breaths, and one would not be able to hear one's heartbeat.
It was just… silent. As if nothing truly exists, even Riley himself. But he does.
He does exist in this space that is not space—and not just him, but also the entity in front of him… Him.
[We meet again, you.]
"I suppose. I do not really want to talk about it, so…" Riley then pointed his finger toward his reflection, "...Pavoom."
[Rude.]
There was no white, not even a streak of anything really. But even so, Overvoid Riley's entire body shattered into nothingness; the smile on its face, however, remained strong and sinister as it disappeared.
[You will be here for quite some time, you.]
But almost as if nothing happened, Overvoid Riley just appeared behind Riley, stepping out from the darkness that isn't darkness with its hands behind his back,
[And please stop trying to kill me, you are scaring the others.]
"..."
Overvoid Riley's voice wasn't the same as Riley's; instead, it sounded like a collection of voices. A choir that seated itself inside Riley's ears, unable to remove them even as he covered his ears.
[It hasn't been long since we last met, but I see a lot has happened.]
Overvoid Riley then starts walking in circles, and each time it passes Riley, it spins… and its face changes.
[This woman,] Overvoid Riley then said as his face morphed into that of Pirate Queen Xra. And with another spin, its face changed into that of Alice,
[And of course, your mother.]
"..."
[They're quite interesting. Too bad I only got to meet them once.]
Overvoid Riley continued to talk. Riley, on the other hand, just stood there with a blank expression on his face.
[You really should talk to me, you know. You've been here less and less, don't you miss me?] Overvoid Riley suddenly disappeared… only to reappear in front of Riley; his eyes, almost as large as the moon; his palm, threatening to squash Riley like a bug.
[Don't you miss us?]
And with those words, several other Overvoid Rileys appeared—surrounding Riley almost in a line as they all looked at him.
[Boo!]
And in an instant, everything disappeared; only a single Overvoid Riley remained to try and scare Riley. Riley, however, remained completely still.
[Boring,] Overvoid Riley rolled his eyes as he moved away, [Talk to me.]
"..."
[Talk to me!]
Overvoid Riley grabbed Riley's shoulders as he screamed at his face,
[Why don't you talk to me!? Do you think I am not worth talking to!? Is it because you know you're just going to resurrect again and again!? You think that just because you are out there, you are better than me!?]
"..."
[I made you possible!] Overvoid Riley continued to scream, [Without me, you will be nothing but a machine that ends all of life! Without me, you will just be like the rest of them! A being that doesn't know what it is.]
"..."
[I apologize,] a small chuckle then escaped Overvoid Riley's lips as he fixed Riley's clothes, [I may have lost my cool for a little bit there. We're okay, right? Right?]
"..."
[But it's true, and you know it,] Overvoid Riley giggled as he walked away, [Without me, all of these…]
Overvoid Riley stretched his arms to the side, and as he did so, hundreds of Overvoid Rileys appeared again; this time, holding hand to hand. Everyone looked like Riley, but none carried the same expression… some did not even seem like Riley at all.
[...All of these will be you. I prevented you from becoming something else entirely. That's me, I stopped that from happening. I am not the monster here…
…you are.]
"Hm…" And finally, after what seemed like an eternity of not responding, Riley finally looked at Overvoid Riley, "...I suppose."
[...] Overvoid Riley's eye started to twitch, [You are alone, you. At least I have them—what about you?]
"A being like I am deserves to be alone, Overvoid Riley."
[You do not even know what you are.]
"It doesn't matter, Overvoid Riley," Riley just shook his head as he started walking around, "What matters is I know what I must do."
[And what do you think that is?]
"To kill everything," Riley looked Overvoid Riley straight in the eyes, "Including you. If I can not bring death to myself, then I will bring it to everyone else."
[Death. Is that what you think we are?] Once again, the rest of the Overvoid Rileys was absorbed until only a single one remained—the expression on its face, completely mimicking that of Riley's,
[You think we are Death?]
"Isn't that my role?" Riley then let out a small sigh as he looked down, "Death."
[You are sorely mistaken, you.] And all of a sudden, Overvoid Riley's voice became similar to that of Riley's; completely imitating him as he also looked down,
[We existed even before the universes, before the darkness, before the before itself. Death? We are the end of Death.]
"Are you God?"
[No,] Overvoid Riley looked Riley straight in the eyes,
[We are Nothing.]
"..."
[But because of you, I am becoming Something, something else,] Overvoid Riley—Nothing's silhouette very slowly started to fade,
[You should not exist. You have never existed. Out of all the Universes, this is the only one that has You.]
"..."
[Out of the chance of infinity, You were given birth in this universe. An anomaly.]
"...A freak," Riley smiled.
[A mistake. A universe will always end and will turn into Nothing. We make certain of that, that is constant,] Nothing continued to fade as it shook its head, [Every universe must come to an end, and there will always be a variable that makes that happen.]
"Me?"
[No. It was never you.]
"The Cherbi?"
[That cute fluff? No,] Nothing chuckled, [She is there to maintain the growth of the universe.]
"...Pirate Queen Xra?"
[...] Nothing only smiled, [Different Universes have their own way of giving birth to its Ender.]
"There are other universes, Nothing?" A wide smile then started to crawl on Riley's face as Nothing's silhouette was now just a translucent face,
"Then I suppose when I am done with this one, I will go to the next."
[No,] Nothing's fading eyes slightly widened as he looked at Riley, [There is an order that must be follow—]
And then, before Riley could hear the end of Nothing's words, light once again entered his eyes…
…and an even darker day opened for the universe.
Chapter 573There will always be pain. There will always be suffering.
The only difference is whether you are the one experiencing it, or the one inflicting it.
But what if you're both? What if you are hurting, and at the same time hurting someone? Is it by choice?
Or is it because you have no choice but to be?
Do you want to hurt people when you're hurting?
All normal. The rage, the anxiety, the pain. They may seem wrong, they may seem like a mistake, but they are not. They are completely normal—that is how you know you're still actually alive. That you're not just some empty husk that responds to things nonchalantly, like nothing matters.
Rage is completely normal. But what happens if the target of your rage is something, someone that could not receive it? Do you then hurt yourself?
It is normal to hurt, and it is normal to hurt someone—but what about hurting yourself?
You hurt, and therefore you want to feel it. Your heart aches, and therefore you want the rest of your body to realize it.
That is the kind of pain that will always be unexplainable—and yet billions upon billions of people feel them. They never really go away, it follows you like a shadow…growing ever stronger when you think your day grows brighter.
"Just a few more and we're out. Be careful, this thing might collapse on us and all my work will be for nothing—move that one!"
"Yes, sir!"
There are those that cling to life, wanting to burrow themselves out of the cave they find themselves in because they know; they know that at the end of their desperation, is hope.
"Why can't we just fucking blast our way through!? You're strong, I know you can do that!"
"And risk the entire cave collapsing? Do you want all the creatures inside this cave to rush out?"
"Aita, stop pestering him. He's already trying to help us!"
"Fuck! Rylo is dead, Milla. He… he's dead. If only this bald old man recovered sooner, he… he will still be—"
"Stop it! If you're just going to rant and complain, then join Pia and make sure that… that thing remains dead!"
"...No. I don't want to see that fucker if I don't have to. Let's just get the fuck out of here."
And then, there are those that completely do not want to see the thing that caused them to hurt. After all, for some, the best way to get rid of the hurt is to remove and forget it completely. But of course, the hurt will always be there.
And for Pia, who was tasked to watch the very same thing that caused her to hurt—it was brutal. Riley was already sliced and diced into separate pieces; his organs, completely mushed into paste.
So why? Why was she tasked to look after it by James? Was Riley still not dead after this? Pia thought her hurt will be gone as she made sure that Riley is dead, burning his remains with every breath.
His organs were completely gone; his heart was not beating, nothing. There was nothing. If Riley was still alive then what about Rylo? What about the man he had loved and has loved for more than a hundred years?
Shouldn't she be watching him instead? Maybe somewhere in the cave, he was still alive. Maybe inside the ratking's stomach, he—
And there it is, another source of the hurt. One would think it was grief, but it is not.
Grief does not hurt, it heals. Grief is proof that love is undying. What hurts you is not grief, but the thought of what could have been is now a fantasy—a chapter of your life that will never be.
And you cry.
"Ry…" And the tears that fall to the ground will be even more turbulent than a scream; your breaths and gasps, drowning out the words you wish to speak—because what was the point? The one to hear it could no longer do so.
The only thing you could really do is cradle yourself; to wrap yourself in your own arms and hide between the darkness it brings. And perhaps in that darkness, you will what you have lost.
And then, maybe… just maybe… you will feel the warmth you once sought holding you again.
"...Rylo?"
But unfortunately, this is not that kind of story. Because the only thing you will really see in the darkness, is the darkness itself.
"No, it's Riley."
"..." Pia's trembling and hopeful eyes instantly became blank. The hand on her shoulders that she thought was warm was actually as cold as death; she very slowly turned her head back, only to see a pair of eyes staring at her… as well as a sinister smile that seemed to mock her entire existence.
"Ai—!!!"
And as soon as she opened her mouth, Riley's middle and index fingers inserted themselves inside it.
"Pavoom."
And just like that, all the pain, all the hurt, all the suffering—gone.
Death ends them all and brings you peace.
"Pia!"
But then, it also ends the happiness, the hope, and the thought of what could be.
It all just becomes…
…Nothing.
But it doesn't really end yet, does it?
Because as Pia's headless and neckless body drops to the ground, the pain continues and transfers to another.
Riley closed his eyes as he listened to the hurt screaming out of the lungs of Pia's friends. Pia's pain may have become nothing, but Aita and Milla's have only flourished and become stronger. Their screams, adding to the song that Riley has been writing for as long as he could remember.
It started with the scream of his mother, and it will end—it must.
Every song has an end.
And for Riley's song to end, everything must turn into nothing.
And now, as he once again sings the chorus of his song, he starts with a heavy breath.
"I apologize," Riley whispered as his feet very slowly left the ground, "But shall we start again?"
"..." James, who was already planning on ways to deal with Riley again, could really only just watch as the air around the cave started to distort. He felt a certain heat brushing past him, but it only lasted for a single breath.
He then turned to look at Riley, whose entire silhouette almost disappeared as the air around him became completely… indiscernible. He almost seemed invisible.
But then, almost in an instant, his silhouette once again became clear—and between his palms was a sphere. A sphere that released a glow that would blind any other beings.
"The others always ignore it whenever I say that sister is as strong as Aerith…" Riley then breathed out; his voice, almost silent as it was being absorbed by the sphere of light between his palms,
"...Let me prove it to you three…
… Nuclear Pavoom Baby."
Riley then suddenly stretched out his fingers, causing the sphere of light to suddenly disappear… taking along any other light along with it and surrounding the once bright cave in darkness.
James seemed to scream something, but the darkness was just… quiet.
And soon, light burst forth—turning James, Aita, Milla, and even Riley into nothing.
***
Somewhere lightyears and lightyears away, the Cherbi sleeps.
But then, she heard a whisper—Nuclear Pavoom Baby—it said. And so, once again it wakes up from its short slumber…
…now once again moving in a straight line toward Theran.
Chapter 574And once again, in just less than a minute, Riley was back in the Overvoid. He was truly hoping that whatever makes him tick just give up and stop reviving him, but alas—he was not rid of himself just yet.
Riley looked around for any signs of Nothing, but even after what seemed like eternity, Nothing did not show itself.
And so, Riley just stood there; waiting. Waiting until color once again entered his eyes, waiting until he found himself back in the cave again.
"Hm…"
Riley was expecting to find himself in the center of a crater that is smoother than James's bald head, but instead, he was surrounded by crevices that almost seemed like veins. Unlike Riley's original 'pavoom' move, which just erases anything it touches into nothing, the 'nuclear pavoom baby' seemed to pull anything near it… and then erases it into nothing. The former's aftermath was calm, while the latter was nothing but violent.
"...Like sister," a small giggle escaped Riley's wide mouth as he continued to walk on the uneven crevices. Riley was expecting to already see the outside when he revived, but to think the cave was still intact—truly, a proof of how strong Theran is as a planet, literally.
"..." Riley started looking for any signs of James and his remains, but even after what seemed like an hour—there was nothing. No flesh, no organs, not even a single strand of hair… although there wasn't anything from the start.
Was he disintegrated and sent to his Eternal Death?
"..." Or was he able to escape while Riley was in the Overvoid?
Either way, Riley failed. He was going to place James's corpse and put him beside his family back in his mansion, but it was impossible to do so now.
"...Time to go back to the surface, I suppose," Riley then looked at the ceiling, before pointing his index finger to the ceiling and whispering,
"Pavoom."
***
"Is it just me, or does that look like a small fucking planet?"
"It… probably is."
Hannah, Hera, Vera, Tomoe, and Tsula were still at the giant lake. Even after an entire month had passed, not even a single themarian checked on their location—surprising, considering there was a small planet literally forming on top of the giant lake.
No, perhaps calling it a lake was a mockery, as there was no longer even a single drop of water in it. Everything was sucked in by a giant orb that slowly revealed itself to be a miniature, and probably habitable planet.
A month ago, the radius of the planet was just the length of a bus—but now, one could probably fit a thousand buses in the sphere and still have room for some more.
Aerith sent them the location of this miniature planet, but it is clear that this is Diana's doing.
"Oi, grandma. It's time you fucking tell us what's really going on here."
Hannah and the others already set up camp beside the empty lake—no. Perhaps it was more like a settlement now as they did not just have tents, but houses that Tsula sprouted from the ground.
Each of them had their own little house just meters apart from each other, and at the center of it was some sort of campfire the women used to gather around. In short, they could just approach each other when they want something… and everyone else would hear it.
This time, Hannah approached Tsula… perhaps for the hundredth time.
"I was wondering why the fuck would mother bring you here, but that thing…" Hannah pointed at the small planet forming above them, "...I think you know something about that. It's just too convenient that a woman that could shift the terrain and connect to an entire fucking is here, and a planet just happens to be forming right fucking above us!"
"..." The others did not really say something, and instead even turned to look at Tsula. Hannah's vernacular may be vulgar, but she has a point; Tsula being here was planned.
"What. Is. My. Mother. Planning?" Hannah then stood in front of Tsula, whose once wrinkled skin now showed only youth.
"Hm…" Even with Hannah right on her face, Tsula just closed her eyes and calmly breathed out, "...If you must seek the answer, then that means you are not ready for it."
"Stop it with the wise old native American talk!" Hannah almost screamed in frustration as she took several steps back. She then suddenly raised her palm toward the growing planet, before the air above her started to distort,
"Talk, or I will fucking destroy this thing."
"Hannah, relax," Hera quickly stepped in between the two, placing her hand on Hannah's shoulder to calm her down, "She might look young now, but she is still our elder. You can't talk to her like that."
"Look at us, Hera! You think seniority fucking matters here? We are on another planet, that's growing another planet. We are clueless on a planet that could kill us with a single breath. How can I relax?"
"..."
"We're supposed to only be here to have a memorial for Ms. Phoenix," Hannah removed Hera's hand from her shoulder, "We haven't even done or prepared for that. We—Mom is trying to duplicate Theran."
"...What?" Hera, as well as Vera and Tomoe, could not help but blink a couple of times as they heard Hannah's last words, "...What do you mean trying to duplicate Theran?"
"It… it makes sense," Hannah then finally dropped her arm as she looked at the growing planet, "She…she's been telling us that Themarians have been stagnant. What if… what if she's trying to create another planet like Theran for them to migrate into?"
"Bullshit," Hera shook her head, "Why would she do that? I thought she hated her own race?"
"I… don't know," Hannah's breaths started to become weaker as she looked at Tsula, "I don't even know if I'm right. Please, just fucking tell us what's happening here…
…What is my mother planning?"
***
"Hm, I suppose this is a mistake."
Although Riley's experience with climbing back through holes was limited, one could say it was oddly the same. The very first time was back when Julius carried him all the way to the Earth's core—and when he resurfaced, he was already being surrounded by soldiers.
And now, the same scenario is happening.
What surrounded him were not soldiers, however. By the casual wear that they were… scarcely wearing, they were just normal themarians, civilians—all women.
"I believe a misunderstanding is about to happen," Riley quickly raised both his arms in the air as he looked at the… group of women surrounding him; all of them, barely even wearing anything even as snow blanketed the air around them.
Riley could try and do his 'nuclear pavoom baby' again, but with dozens of them here—there was bound to be more. The last thing Riley wanted was to be killed over and over again before his body fully recovers, being sent to the Overvoid as soon as he revives.
"..." The women have not reacted to him yet, and were just staring at him from head to toe. Seeing this, Riley just very slowly took a step back into the hole.
"Get the beast!"
But alas, before his feet could even dive down into the hole, he was rammed and pinned down by several women—all taller than him.
"This… can't be good."
Chapter 575"Chief. Call!!"
Everyone was flying. This was enough for Riley to know that the winter-infested hamlet he finds himself in was not in a strict 'No Fly' zone. Or perhaps it still is, and these… tribe of tall women just do not care.
"..."
He even found himself inside a cage, a literal cage—thick metal bars on every side. Riley already tried to bend one earlier, but even with his full physical strength, the most he did was leave a dent the size of a worm.
"..." Aside from Diana's ship, Isn't this the first time Riley was actually touching and seeing processed metal from Theran up close? If this was on Earth, wouldn't this be considered some sort of metal from the mythologies?
There were also other cages around him, some even hanging from the large trees that were randomly scattered across the settlement—the only cage that actually has someone in it was his, though.
"..." And as Riley brushed his finger through the snow resting on the cold metal bars, he realized he got distracted again. Based on his observation, there were at least 50 of them here—not a single themarian male in sight.
Esme is still the tallest themarian that Riley has ever seen, but these women come close, with all of them taller than Riley. Was Esme's mother from this… tribe? The Varoif king did have many wives, after all.
"Intruder… is…"
They were also talking in a language that Riley barely recognizes. Some words sounded like they were from the global themarian language… is it a dialect?
Was it really some sort of tribe? Riley only assumed because of what they were wearing—barely anything. Their bosoms and waist were covered by coats of fur and leather, scarcely decorated with bones… and that was it. All of them were even barefoot. The color of their skin varied, however, from the darkest of tone, to even as white as Riley's.
Their houses were made with stones stacked on top of each other, some even literal ribs of giant monsters.
The Themarian civilization has already existed for millions of years—how could there even be a tribe like this? And it was not like most of Varoif and Hel at all, in which even though their infrastructure and way of life seemed olden, their cutting-edge technology still clearly exists around them.
But here? There was not even a single mesphere in sight.
"..."
"..."
"My name is Riley Ross."
And finally, after what seemed like an entire hour of observing these tall, well-endowed women, Riley spoke,
"I believe it will be in all of your best interests to have me released."
The women all stopped whatever it was they were doing as they all turned their heads toward Riley—all of them—even those that were far away. But as soon as the next snowflake joined its companions on the ground, the women once again returned to their tasks, all except one.
"..." The woman standing right in front of Riley's cage remained looking at him; her silver eyes which seemed even more translucent than Riley's looked at him from head to toe. Her dark skin and jet-black hair, making her eyes glow even more—almost like a wolf as she very slowly approached Riley.
"You are the one who trespassed in our lands to be caged," the woman spoke; her voice, somewhat deep but still feminine,
"And yet you wish to be released?"
"...Fair point," Riley squinted his eyes as he nodded, "But perhaps the fact that I was and still am lost could be considered? All the holes underground look the same."
"No," the woman only scoffed as she placed her hand on one of the bars, causing all the snow wrapping Riley's cage to shower to the ground and on Riley,
"We have already warned Varoif and the Grand Militia that no one should trespass in our lands. Did you not see the large sign when you entered the hole from the Subtheran?"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he tried to recollect his memories, but no matter how many times it resurfaced in his mind…
"There was no sign."
"No sign?" The woman raised her voice as she puffed out her chest; her large bosoms, etching between the gaps of the cage as she did so. But after a few seconds of literally looking down on Riley, the woman took a step back before shouting.
One of her tribesmen quickly appeared in front of her; the two, talking about something with their loud and robust voices. And after several exchanges of words that Riley could not understand yet, the other woman flew into the air, before diving down the hole back to the Subtheran.
And as quickly as she disappeared, she emerged from the hole and once again approached the dark-skinned woman that was talking to Riley.
"!!!"
And then, all of a sudden, a loud thunder cracked in the air as the dark-skinned woman suddenly punched her tribesmen right on the stomach, causing all the snow around them to melt and ripple away from the shockwave.
"Kh!"
Everyone turned to look and watch as one of their own started groveling on the ground; her gasps, drowning the sound of her regenerating flesh and bones. And before the woman could fully recover, she was kicked away. And if she wasn't caught by her comrades in the air, she would probably be outside Theran territory by now.
"..." Riley thought that a fight was about to break out, but no. He just watched as the other women once again turned their heads away, getting back to their chores as if nothing happened. Even the one that was brutally hit in front of everyone just sighed and shrugged as she sat on the ground to recover.
Perhaps… the dark-skinned woman was their leader?
"You were right," the tribe leader then said as she returned to Riley.
"I suppose so," Riley nodded as he stepped forward. But alas, the gate he expected to open remained closed,
"..."
"That still does not change the fact that you trespassed into our home. And men are not allowed here," the tribe leader once again scoffed as she looked Riley in the eyes,
"You are a man, correct? Your hair is even longer than ours."
"I have grown attached to it," Riley only blinked as he looked at his long white hair that almost resembled the snow, "Are you sure you do not want to just free me, tribe leader?"
"Tribe leader?" The dark-skinned woman smirked, "There are no leaders here, only warriors—as how it should be."
"..." Riley once again scanned his surroundings. A tribe devoid of any technology, where the strongest rule, as well as no allegiance to the Grand Militia and any of the nations… and all women.
Were they some sort of Themarian purists?
Themarian women, after all, are stronger than their male counterparts. They are the true warriors of the Themarians.
Doesn't that mean… these women could be as strong or even stronger than Aerith?
"..." Riley squinted his eyes as he looked at the tribe leader. He was already thinking of forcing his way out… but what if he can't?
There were more than 50 of them here. If all of them are stronger than James, then Riley will definitely lose.
"What is your name, tribe leader?" Riley then sighed as he returned the tribe leader's gaze.
"Osk."
"Then…" Riley then gently removed his coat, folding it as he placed it on the ground,
"...May I request a duel, Lady Osk?"
Chapter 576"You do not have a weapon?"
"I have never truly needed one, Lady Osk."
"Stop calling me lady. I am a warrior—and don't think that just because you do not have a weapon, I will offer you the same courtesy."
"I expect no such thing, Madam Osk."
What was within Riley's expectations, however, was the arena he finds himself in. Osk's tribe seemed to cling to the way of the warrior's life, it truly made sense that they would have some sort of arena to hold their disputes, training, and battles in.
"..." Riley slid his foot on the floor, pushing away the snow and revealing its silver brilliance. The arena seemed to be made of the same material as their cages, the walls were the same—as for the roof, it was just open.
What did serve as a roof, however, were Osk's other tribesmen. Their silhouettes, blocking the hazy winter light as if leaves. All of them were floating in the air, serving as a dome as they watch as Riley and Osk prepare for their duel.
Riley seemed to be done, however, as he just started stretching his limbs from having been in the cage for an entire hour. As for Osk, she was kneeling on the floor; the heat her muscles were releasing, melting the snow beneath her. She was wearing a gauntlet, as well as a metallic shin guard—unlike the rest of the metals Riley have seen so far, however, her armaments were even darker than Osk's skin; almost ebony, but crystal-like as they shine. Aside from that, however, she was still pretty much half-naked.
"..." Osk seemed to be whispering something as she knelt, and remained so after an entire minute. Riley did not mind, however, as it gave him more time to analyze the situation.
He was initially going to escape while they were fighting—he would create a clone and let it fight Osk, while he shrinks himself to escape. But that plan was completely ruined when the other women started covering the arena like a dome. Even if he becomes the size of an ant, this many themarians would still be able to catch him like a wasp.
The only way was to fight. He could immediately use his 'pavoom' move, but that would leave him too weak for a few seconds—enough time for these themarians to turn him into paste a million times.
And so, Riley just focused on his opponent. Although he still could not read and sense their energy, he knew the woman in front of her was strong, she wouldn't be the one on top of this tribe if she wasn't.
But more importantly, this was the first time Riley was fighting a themarian with a weapon. His priority right now was not to get hit.
"..." And finally, after another minute, Osk stood up–-the muscles on her legs, almost creating a sound similar to the metal threads one could find on large ships.
"Were you praying, Madam Osk?"
"To Hildvor," Osk said, deeply breathing out as she tightened her gauntlets.
"Hildvor? There is a themarian god?" Riley tilted his head to the side.
"Theran has truly degraded," Osk's eyebrows started to furrow, "They do not even offer Hildvor's dogma to the next generation anymore. Come then, let me instill in you what it means to be a true themarian!"
Osk then bumped her fists together, creating a blast of wind strong enough to cause even the sky itself to roar.
Riley, on the other hand, just deeply breathed out as he parted his legs together, pointing the edge of his right palm toward Osk, while his other palm rested beside his waist; his eyes, even calmer than his breaths.
He confirmed it now, with just the way Osk carried herself—she is strong. Riley, for some reason, however, seemed to not help but grow a smile on his face.
Darmuid, James, and now Osk.
There was something about killing strong opponents that truly caused a thrilling sensation to crawl through his skin.
Fun.
This is fun.
"What's that creepy smile on your face for?" Osk scoffed as she tightened her muscles, "Come to think of it, are you a half-breed?"
"Yes."
"Hm," Osk smirked, "So that's why you smell different—I have never fought a half-breed before. You and I are going to have fun, Riley Ross."
"That is what I am hoping for, Madam Osk," the smile on Riley's face grew even wider as he too started covering his body with several layers of his telekinetic barrier. Osk was obviously physically stronger than him, but it doesn't mean that he couldn't compete in strength—there are martial arts specifically reserved for that, after all.
And for some reason, Riley could not help himself but want to compete.
"That's a weird fighting stance."
"It is called Judo, Madam Osk. My father taught it to me."
"Oh? Teach it to me if you survive!"
And with that, the snow behind Osk was violently blown away; her feet, leaving a large dent on the floor as she suddenly disappeared.
"..." Riley stopped his breaths and closed off everything around him. Themarians can casually move a thousand times faster than sound, it was impossible to predict where they would be—and so, Riley just built a sort of web around the air using his telekinesis.
Almost like a spider, Riley could feel Osk moving across the thousands of threads he laid down. Osk was moving in a zigzag, almost like a hummingbird as she moved from one thread to the other in an instant.
And soon, she was in front of Riley.
Riley's threads were not limited to just sensing Osk, it could also slow her down even just by a single millisecond… as well as push Riley away to avoid the metal fist that threatened to hit him straight in the chest.
And with this, Riley quickly grabbed Osk's arm, placing it on his shoulder before lifting her up and slamming her straight to the ground—using her own momentum against her.
And then…
…there was darkness.
"...Oh."
Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked around him… only to see an endless horizon of nothing.
"I… died?" Riley could not help but whisper to himself as he sat down in the darkness. It is true that he already knew he wasn't a match against Osk physically, but how did he even die?
"..."
"..."
"Oh…" Riley then breathed out as he held his neck, he remembers it now. As soon as he grabbed Osk's arm, she also grabbed his neck. The last thing he remembered was the sound of a loud snap, whether that was from his neck, or from Osk's back which clearly folded in half when Riley threw her to the hard floor—he would probably never know. Perhaps it was both?
"Are you here, Nothing?" Riley then looked around the darkness, but once again, Nothing did not show itself. And so, Riley just decided to wait until finally, he felt the cold of winter on his skin.
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he saw the white sky above him, the themarians that were previously floating in a dome, already gone—no, not exactly. There were now surrounding him.
"Good morning, everyone," Riley casually said as he sat up from the ground. He then turned his eyes toward Osk, who was holding her back and groaning loudly as she groveled on the floor.
"Shh…" Osk gritted her teeth, but as soon as she saw Riley looking at her, she quickly stood up—her face clearly hiding the pain,
"It's… it's been a while since I was almost sent to Eternal Death," Osk then said as she looked to the side,
"I…I suppose we both won."
Chapter 577The snow was still endlessly falling onto the silver floor beneath Riley's feet. Most of the footprints, no longer belonging to just him and Osk as the other themarian women have started approaching Osk.
Riley could really only just watch as they started massaging her back, forcefully pushing her down back to the floor as two women sat on her; their thighs, fully exposed from their garments that barely even covered anything. The woman that Osk punched and kicked away earlier was also there—seemingly taking the chance to hurt Osk as she basically punches her back instead of gently massaging it.
"Hn!" Osk let out a loud moan as her as a light snap whispered in Riley's ears. It was weird how the muscles of Themarians actually work; looking at it now, how their skin looked soft as they gently brushed past each other; but then earlier, when Riley grabbed Osk's arm—it felt as if he was holding pure steel that was compressed a billion times over.
And that was not the only thing Riley was confused about.
"You said you were sent to your Eternal Death, Madam Osk?" Riley calmly approached Osk and sat beside her on the cold hard metal floor.
"Oh, that's just an expression," Osk lightly groaned as her shoulders were being kneaded, "I was almost sent to Eternal Dea—Hn!"
And with another crack whispering in the air, Riley could not help but tilt his head to the side as his confusion continued to grow; this time, regarding a themarian's recovery. Unlike him, themarians do not truly die in a sense; their bodies just become catatonic—they were weird that way, like some sort of tardigrade.
And when they recover, they become stronger than they were before; almost like a muscle.
It took Aerith months before she recovered from being mangled and dissected by Riley. But then again, she also mentioned something about being tired and just wanting to rest. Did they have some sort of control over how fast they recover?
James was already separated into several parts, with all of his organs not even throbbing or working anymore—and yet after a few hours, he recovered.
Osk's spine was clearly shattered, and perhaps her organs were ruptured too from the impact of her entire back being slammed onto the themarian metal—but she said she was almost sent to Eternal Death.
And then there's the handful of random themarian youths that Riley has encountered. He crushed Fionn's body and he recovered, but then he decapitated him and he was sent to Eternal Death.
They get more resilient with age, that one Riley already surmised. But perhaps it is not necessarily their age, but their improving energy levels that come with it?
The stronger the themarian, the harder they are to kill—was it really that simple? Was he just overthinking things since it involves Aerith's species?
"Enough, enough!"
Riley was suddenly free of his thoughts as Osk stood up, pushing away the other women and causing even one to fall on top of Riley.
"..." The woman did not really say anything even as she caught Riley's leg in between her thighs. She just looked at Riley, before instantly disappearing and flying away. And it wasn't only her, the rest of Osk's tribesmen all flew and disappeared, leaving just the two of them in the arena.
"So… I suppose it's a tie," Osk then let out a very long and deep sigh as she sat in front of Riley, relaxing one of her knees down, while the other was raised so she could rest her arm on it—and of course, just showing everything in between her legs to Riley,
"You broke my back, and I broke your neck. This is a tie, right?"
"..." Riley just blinked his eyes, before turning to look Osk in the eyes, "I suppose so, Madam Osk."
No—Osk technically won since Riley was sent to the Overvoid. But of course, as Hannah once said—Never correct your enemies.
"Hm…" Osk then slightly leaned back as she placed both her palms behind her before stretching her torso in an arc. Her bosoms, almost popping out from the coat of fur she loosely covered them with; her legs, almost resting on Riley's lap.
"!!!"
And then, all of a sudden, Riley's vision darkened—but not in the way he was used to, no. It wasn't hard to breathe in the Overvoid, but now, it was almost as if his nose was being squished by a pillow made of water.
"So…"
Riley then heard a whisper softly entering his ears as Osk literally locked him around her legs.
"...Why don't you break my back some more?"
Riley then felt his cheeks being grabbed as he was pushed away and freed from the suffocating feeling, only to find Osk's dark and surprisingly unblemished face right in front of his face.
"I do not know how the situation evolved into this, Madam Osk," Riley blinked a couple of times as he felt Osk's breath growing heavier by the second; her tongue, almost sticking out of her lips as she panted.
"It's just tradition," Osk then pushed Riley to the floor, causing all the snow beneath his back to ripple away, "Only a man that can subdue her woman has the right to carry on his seed to the next generation."
"But our duel was a tie, Madam Osk," Riley just blinked a couple of times as Osk sat on his hip; her thighs which were larger than Riley's head, completely pinning Riley to the floor like some sort of pancake.
"You broke my back before I broke your neck," Osk's hands started to trail across Riley's suit, and without even any warning, she tore it off like paper,
"Your skin is really as white as snow," Osk's then breathed out as she placed both her palms on Riley's chest; her dark skin, almost like a void on Riley's white skin, "Our baby would become the greatest warrior Theran will ever see."
"..." Riley once again blinked his eyes a couple of times before looking around. Is this why everyone else just left? Were they already expecting something like this to happen?
Or is this what usually happens?
"Stop being so greedy," Osk then grabbed Riley's face, before placing her lips on Riley's neck and licking it; her tongue, crawling all the way to Riley's lips before. And with their lips intertwined, Osk slid down her tongue inside Riley's mouth—almost violently twirling his tongue with hers.
"They…" And with a light gasp, Osk pulled her head away and bit her own lower lip,
"They will get their turn next. For now, I have you by myself."
"That… is unexpected, Madam Osk."
"A man that beats the alpha will place his seed in the entire pack," Osk then said her fingers started trailing on her leg, and then towards her buttocks before placing it between Riley's thighs,
"Of course, you will plant it to me first," and with those words, Osk ripped Riley's pants,
"That's just the way it is. We—"
"No, it's not!"
But alas, before anything else could be inserted in between the soft parts of a body again, a loud thunder reverberated in the air—causing all the snow within the arena to be blown away.
And as the cloud of white dissipated, a silhouette revealed herself, standing right beside Osk and Riley.
"What are you doing!?"
"You can wait for your turn, Princess."
"Release him… now!"
"...Aerith?"
Chapter 578Aerith's hair—it sometimes looked brown, but in certain lights, it was gold. But now, being wrapped in the winter air with the fractals of snow landing on it, it just glittered like golden silk. Riley would have been mesmerized by this in any other given situation, but now…
…right now was probably the first time that Riley felt a little awkward.
"...Aerith?" Riley could really only blink as he looked at Aerith from the floor. As for Aerith, she wasn't looking at her face, but rather at his… hard thing that was resting in between Osk's… round and plump lower cheeks.
"..."
"..."
"Good morning, Aerith," and so, the only thing Riley could really do was wave his hand.
"Wh—Get up!" Aerith then quickly looked away as she grabbed Riley's arm. Before she could pull Riley away, however, Osk tightened her thighs and locked Riley even tighter as she grabbed Aerith's wrist.
"I said you can wait for your turn, Princess."
"I am not here for that!"
Aerith quickly pulled her hand away as she stepped back, "Riley is mine!"
"..." Osk looked back and forth between Riley and Aerith for a few seconds, before sighing and shaking her head; her buttocks, slowly dropping on Riley's waist and letting his thing slide between her lower cheeks,
"You should have said so from the start," Osk then said as she slightly spread her legs and leaned back. But then, a smile suddenly crawled on her face as she lifted up her butt,
"But it doesn't really matt—"
But alas, once again, before anything hard could be inserted, Aerith suddenly pushed Osk away—causing her to be thrown and slide several meters on the slightly slippery floor.
"And you, why are you just lying there with… with your thing exposed!?" Aerith then pointed at Riley as she gestured to him to stand up, "Were you really just going to let that woman get her way with you!?"
"If you were joining us, then I probably would have, Aerith."
"...You want to die?" Aerith's eye started to twitch, "Cover yourself."
"If only I could die, Aerith," Riley then let out a sigh as he sat up; his black suit, very slowly fixing itself like some sort of jelly being stuck and merged together,
"Why are you here, Aerith? I was not expecting to see you in this kind of scenario."
"Why? Would you have liked it more if I didn't come?"
"Oh, I would truly like it if you came."
"Wh—where are you learning this stuff!?"
"Your son."
"I walked right into that," Aerith could not help but cover her face as she heard Riley's words. And before she could say anything else, Osk's fist was now suddenly only an inch away from hitting her face.
Aerith, however, just instantly vanished; instantly reappearing on top of Osk with both her hands clasped together. And with a light scoff and a smirk, Aerith clobbered Osk's head without any hesitation.
The snow that had gathered back on the arena was once again blown away; this time, trembling as they did so. Osk, however, seemed to still be completely conscious as she just groaned; but before she could make another move, Aerith stepped on her head and pinned her down.
"Just because I was gone for almost half a millennium, you really thought you were already the strongest here?"
"Kah!" Osk only roared as she slammed her fists on the silver floor, "Why are you even back here!? And why now!? Couldn't you have just waited until this man had planted his seed inside me!?"
"This man isn't even a themarian."
"He's half! That is all I need to kn—"
"He's not even half themarian," Aerith rolled her eyes as she removed her foot from Osk's head, "He's a Human. A species from a planet in the Unknown."
"W…what?" Osk then gasped as she looked at Riley, "You mean… I… I almost placed the seed of an alien inside me!? An unusually attractive, abnormally strong, and completely stoic specimen of a man—On second thought…"
Osk then squinted her eyes as she licked her lips, "...I don't think it matters. The other species exist for a reason, maybe that reason is to further strengthen the themarian blood—"
"Get out!"
"...This isn't over," Osk almost snarled as she looked at Aerith; but before any fight could break between the two, Osk just gave Riley one final glance and winked at him before just disappearing from the arena.
"..."
"..."
And then, an awkward silence just suddenly drowned the arena, with only the sound of snow melting from their breaths whispering in the air. But after a hundred more fractals dropped, a heavy breath finally broke the silence between the two.
"What were you thinking going here!?" Aerith screamed as she grabbed Riley, lifting him from the floor and making him stand up, "And how are you even here!?"
"I don't know, Aerith," Riley just shrugged as he looked around the arena, "I chose a random hole to enter through, and I exited toward a random situation."
"...You came from the Subtheran? What were you doing there?"
"Murdering people, Aerith."
"Even here!?" Aerith could not help but raise her voice as she once again covered her face, "Can't you even stop for just one single moment?"
"No," Riley shook his head, "I know what I truly am now. I am the one who will turn everything into Nothing."
"Yeah, yeah," Aerith groaned as she shook her head, causing the tiny droplets of snow to fall from her hair and onto the white bodysuit she was wearing. Riley, however, was looking at her neck.
"You're not wearing a collar, Aerith."
"I am a princess, Riley," Aerith scoffed, "I do have friends in the castle, believe it or not."
"Hm. I suppose it is my turn to ask you what you are doing here?" Riley then asked as he looked around, "You seem to know the people of this tribe."
"Because I was one of them," Aerith shrugged, "And did Osk tell you this is a tribe? This is just a stupid gathering of women that want to break free from society…
…and I was a part of it," Aerith covered her face again, "The things I did in my youth."
"Did you know I was here?"
"What do you think?" Aerith rolled her eyes as she started walking away, "One of my friends that was still here recognized you from the trial, she called me. I mean, what were you thinking!?"
"I wasn't, Aerith," Riley breathed out as he followed Aerith out of the arena.
"I mean, you could have just easily escaped! Don't bullshit me, Riley. I know full well what you're capable of—your bag of tricks is enough to overwhelm any themarian."
"Well, I won't have anything to do even if I escaped, Aerith."
"I mean, seriously? Osk!?" Aerith opened her palms as she breathed out in frustration, "That woman would have eaten you alive if I didn't arrive—and then the others would have too!"
"Then while you were in this group, Aerith—did you also partake in this seed sharing tradi—"
"No!" Aerith quickly turned around to look at Riley, "No. And no one was even strong enough to defeat me, so… there's that."
"Then since I beat you once…
…do you want my seed, Aerith?"
"...What?"
Chapter 579"Then since I beat you once…
…do you want my seed, Aerith?"
"...What?"
"I believe it's a metaphor, Aerith. In this case, my semen is the see—"
"Yes, I know what that means! And the only thing you are giving me is a headache!"
"...Pft."
"You… are you actually laughing?"
Perhaps even more so than meeting Riley in the most unexpected of places, Aerith was more bewildered by the sound that was whispering in her ears. Riley Ross… laughing at something other than murder?
It hasn't even been that long since they last talked to each other—with their last proper talk being on Diana's ship, and then before that was when he plotted to kill her son in the evilest way. In fact, Aerith should be angry right now, she should be putting her effort into actually trying her best to cause Riley to disappear, but no.
She wasn't even mad. Annoyed maybe, but that was it. It almost feels like in a way, Riley was sort of her responsibility. She thought that if he was in Theran, he wouldn't be able to do the things he had been doing back on Earth.
But no—even in the threat of him being trapped by themarians and eternally killed over and over again, he still tries to find a way to kill someone. He never stops actually doing what he set out to do—kill everyone.
Riley is someone that should be stopped. The only reason she even helped him find his way to Theran when he was left behind was to prevent him from wreaking havoc someplace else. At the very least, he wouldn't be able to rampage here.
Riley Ross has to be stopped, she knew that. But now, seeing him laughing and actually showing emotions…maybe he was growing? If so, then maybe it was possible to point the direction he grows.
Instead of forcefully stopping him on his path to destruction, maybe they could guide him? Guide him to a path that would not necessarily be good, but at least to neutrality?
"..." Aerith then once again glanced at Riley as they walked. And seeing his peaceful face, Aerith could really only shake her head off of the thoughts filling it. Katherine tried to guide him to the light, and look at what happened to her.
Of course, Aerith wouldn't be as susceptible as Katherine—her mind was already weak from the start; the temptation of being with someone as enigmatic as Riley overpowered her desire for good.
"How long has it been, Aerith?"
"Hm?"
"How long has it been since it has only been the two of us?" Riley said as he looked around. And aside from Osk's settlement which was still a good kilometer away from them, the presence being wrapped by the snow around was truly only them.
"Oh, I don't know," Aerith shrugged, "I remember you perversely trying to wipe my body clean back in the base of the Hope Guild."
"It is good to know that moment also holds a very special place in your memories, Aerith."
"...What? No," Aerith breathed out her frustration, "Look, kid. I know you have this weird obsession over me because I'm Megawoman, but the image on your head? That's not me."
Aerith then stood in front of Riley, placing both her hands on his shoulder as she looked him in the eyes,
"I am just a person that is so exhausted, I was willing to be sent to Eternal Death without a fight."
"Silvie mentioned you exchanged your life for hers," Riley returned Aerith's gaze, "I freed her from the castle, by the way."
"I know," Aerith closed her eyes and sighed, "I met her a few weeks ago—she's no longer in Theran. And apparently, so are Scarlet Mage and your daughter."
"...Interesting."
"What do you mean 'interesting'!? All of us came here together and now we're all scattered everywhere!"
"Yes, that is your fault, Aerith."
"Wh—"
"If you weren't arrested by your own family, then all of us would be together."
"We got separated because a little evaniel princess wanted revenge on you for killing her brother and a hundred of her people!"
"Then I suppose we are both at fault, Aerith."
"You—No, there's no point arguing with you," Aerith took in a deep breath as she let go of Riley, "What are you planning now, exactly?"
"Nothing. I was just waiting for something to happen, Aerith," Riley placed his hand on his chin, blatantly showing that he was lost in thought, "I was hoping to wreak havoc during your execution and kill several themarians during the chaos. But since you are free, that won't be happening anymore. I suppose I'll just do the same, but when they try to forcefully bring you back to the castle."
"...Are you not going to have a memorial for your mother?"
"I do not know where her corpse is, Aerith—and Alice is a stranger to me. Diana is the only one that has the right to enact the ceremony, being her best friend."
"Then why not find Cait—Diana or your sister? Why are you alone again, Riley?"
"I am not alone, Aerith. I am with you."
"Because I found you, Riley," Aerith rolled her eyes, "And I have other plans."
"Then my plan is to help you with your plan for now," Riley shrugged.
"No!" Aerith once again screamed in frustration, "Stop always going with the flow. You need to have something you do on your own."
"Then I will start turning everything into nothing, Aerith."
And as soon as he said that, the snow around them started to tremble; several pillars, protruding from the ground and slowly taking in the shape of Riley—hundreds of them.
"Everyone," Riley then said as he clapped his hands, "This is my order. Venture out into the universe and kill every—"
"Stop!" Aerith also clapped her hands—as she did so, a large energy orb emerged above them. And without even any warning, several beams of energy raged forth onto all of Riley's clones, pinning them all to the ground as they very slowly disintegrate from the raging red.
"...Fine," Aerith's exasperated breaths violently escaped her lips as her energy orb disappeared. She then once again placed her hand on Riley's shoulder; her face, almost exploding from the sheer frustration filling her head,
"...You follow my plan for now."
"Hm," Riley just casually nodded his head, before all of his clones fully disintegrated and melted back into the ground,
"You are very easy to manipulate for someone so old, Aerith."
"I am not that old!" Aerith once again groaned as she pushed Riley away, "Come, follow me. We have business with Osk."
"Hm. Operation Aerith and Riley starts no—"
"No. There is no operation Aerith and Riley, just Operation Aerith, you understand?" Aerith placed her finger on Riley's forehead,
"Do you understand?"
"I suppose," Riley just shrugged as he nodded his head again, "This will be fun, Aerith. We're once again together in an adventure outside of Earth."
"Shut up, you're my assistant. You follow my orders, you got it?" Aerith scoffed as she started to walk towards the settlement.
"Aerith, you never really made me answer your question."
"What?"
"Of why I am obsessed with you?"
"That was just a rhetoric, you don't need to—"
"Because I am in love with you, Aerith."
"...Shut up, just follow me. You don't even know what that means."
"Oh…" Riley lightly grasped his chest as he watched as Aerith continued to walk away; her back, blanketed by the white snow, but still drowning everything with her brilliance,
"...But I do think I am."
Chapter 580"I am here to ask for your help."
"The Rebel Princess, coming here for… help? Do you hear that, everyone!?"
A collection of robust, and obviously condescending laughter echoed through the air—trapped by the snow that enveloped the settlement.
"...Can we talk inside? We can barely hear each other with all the other noises."
"No. You took away the group's seed and you think you can ask us a favor?"
"Again, Riley will not give you his seed! Stop it with this nonsense, it's time to grow up, Osk."
"Oh? Sorry, is our rebel princess so mature now that she traversed the Unknown? You should have taken us with you, Aerith. That is what sisterhood is about."
"You haven't even heard the favor I am asking for."
"Whatever it is, I don't need to…"
Aerith and Osk's shoulders were already covered in thick snow; the two of them, just going back and forth with their endless conversation of not wanting to let the other speak her piece. It wasn't only them—the 50 women behind Osk were nodding their heads each time Osk's speak.
Aerith seemed to truly want something from Osk, as their conversation had already lasted for more than an hour. As for Riley, the only thing he really did was stare at Aerith; his hand, still clutching his chest.
If only Xra was here, then she would probably be able to identify what Riley was truly feeling—after all, she had been in love with the same man for 8000 years, there should be no one who is more adept in feeling love than her.
But if he really is in love with Aerith, then what does that even mean? Aerith mentioned to him once that the strongest thing in the universe is Love. It transcends everything else—it turns even the strongest of men into servants.
In mythology, the gods often meet their demise because of love.
Is this it, then? Perhaps the reason why Riley is so obsessed with Aerith? Because love…
…Love will be his Death?
Xra also told Riley that he loves Hannah. How is that love different from what he was feeling for Aerith?
…And then there is Katherine. Katherine has been his first sexual partner and still is. Riley has always treated her like a subordinate, as she is—but if he loses her, Riley was sure that there will also be a void inside him that he would no longer be able to fill. Does he also feel love for Katherine?
"Enough, you can stay if you want. But we're done here."
And finally, after what seemed like another hour, Osk stood up; leaving a print of her posterior on the log she had been sitting on for hours,
"Also, if you're done sucking in Riley's seed, let me have my turn. I will—"
"No! There will be no sucking happening here!" Aerith also stood up, causing the snow around her shoulders to shower everywhere, "And please. Osk. Reconsider—this is what you and the others have been waiting for for a very long time, a chance to make a difference."
"We will make a difference, princess. But not with you at the lead."
"Is this what this is about!? I don't care who leads what, but if we will do this, we need to do it soon! What are you so afraid of!?"
"You can stay here if you want, but we're done here," and with those words, Osk and the other members of the sisterhood all went away—entering into their huts and completely ignoring Aerith.
"Damn it… why is my species so stubborn," Aerith dropped to the ground; her sighs, enough to melt the snow around her, "This is it… this is the way to change Theran."
"..." Riley watched as Aerith closed her eyes; her head, endlessly shaking in frustration,
"What are you planning, Aerith? Did you get inspired by my speech during the trial, and finally setting the themarians free?"
"What? No," Aerith groaned as she glanced at Riley, "Well, actually—sort of. This is your mother's plan."
"Diana's?" Riley tilted his head, "I thought the two of you do not agree on things, Aerith."
"We don't. That is why I am only following it to an extent," Aerith sighed, "She told me her plan while we were on the way here—her plan to 'liberate' the themarians."
"I do not get it, Aerith."
"Diana plans to create another planet similar to Theran," Aerith then started drawing on the snow, "A planet that would serve to separate themarians that wish to explore the universe—a planet that could traverse the expanse of space."
"..."
"And not a colossal space station—a real planet that she could control, an impenetrable planet."
"And that will set the themarians free?"
"You truly don't understand, Riley," Aerith let out a very long and deep sigh, "The themarians can not be set free at all costs. In here, we're just like everyone else—but out there, we will be like termites that would eat away at the universe at a speed you can not even comprehend."
"So, then why did you decide to proceed with Diana's plan?"
"Your mother is insane, Riley."
"I agree."
"Do you remember why she set out into the universe in the first place?"
"To create a species that would change the hierarchy of the Universe?" Riley placed his hand on his chin as he recalled their conversation back on Earth.
"Yes, and so far she had been unsuccessful—until she came to the Unknown and procreated on her own with another species," Aerith breathed in, "Like how I and Diana fell in love with another completely unknown species, she plans to do the same with all the themarians that migrate to the New Theran. In the guise of giving them their freedom, Diana will drop them off one by one to different planets—she will manipulate them into thinking it was their own choice."
"They will still be free."
"That can't happen," Aerith shook her head, "Diana and I are only two people, and look at the influence we had on Earth—imagine if there are millions of us out there."
"So then, why are you helping her realize her plan?"
"Because before that happens, there will be war against the two sides," the tone of Aerith's voice slightly changed as she looked Riley in the eyes, "They will be vulnerable."
"..."
"I realized something when I returned here, Riley…" Aerith then stood up as she looked at the white sky, "If there is something Diana and I agree on, is that the hierarchy of the universe must change—but I won't do it by adding another race of monsters…
…I will remove one."
"...Aerith?"
"The themarians…" Aerith then closed her eyes as she took in a very long and deep breath, "...we live in a universe that we don't belong to, and I believe it is time for us to leave."
And as soon as Riley heard Aerith's words, a smile started to crawl on his face.
"As I thought, Aerith…" Riley stood up as he placed his hand on Aerith's face, "...Your kindness is beyond anything this universe will ever know…
…you are willing to kill off your entire species for the safety of the Universe."
"...Huh?" Aerith could not help but lean her head back as her eyes widened at Riley's words.
"You do not have to worry, Aerith. I will join you in your cause."
"Wait…
…I think there's been a misunderstanding here."
Chapter 581"Do you understand now?"
"Hm."
"Just nod your head if you under—No. Tell me what I said."
"Instead of migrating the people that want to experience freedom, you want to prioritize the children and next generation of themarians—letting them leave and live in the planet ship away from the older generations and their outdated teachings, and then bring them far away into the Unknown where they would truly be free to explore, with the intent of helping civilizations that are in need of help…"
"Yes, and—"
"…And then we massacre the older generation."
"Yes—wait, no! Where did the last part come from!?"
"From me, Aerith. Killing all of the older generations would ensure no more problems in the future—they would also no longer be able to give birth to another batch of themarians."
"Your mother has a way to prevent us from giving birth. This plan will work—it may take thousands of years, but my race will live in a universe that doesn't abhor them; in the Unknown and beyond that, it will be possible. I want my race to have a future. You've seen what my father alone is capable of doing, they will never change."
"Hm. Do you remember almost a hundred years ago now, Aerith? I have read in the history books that you were able to stop a war from happening—a war being started by a man with a weird mustache. I read that he wanted to segregate and divide the people that—"
"Okay, first of all—our goals are completely different."
"Is it?"
"I am doing this so that the future generations will actually have a life beyond being trapped in a world that hasn't changed for a million years! Our species is trapped in time, Riley."
"..."
"If anything, it's Diana that's like him—she literally wants to create a new race, I just want mine to have the chance to live to our full potential."
"I know your full potential, Aerith. But I do not know what the potential of your kind is."
"Of course, the road will be hard. We will need to teach the next generation about morality and the common sense that the Universe adheres to."
"Hm, there really is no need to explain to me, Aerith. I will follow you whatever the case is…
…but I will kill the ones that remain on this planet."
"Even you won't be able to do that."
"You said so yourself, Aerith. There will be a war. While you are busy salvaging the future generation…
…I will join the war."
"You're not a themarian, Riley."
"No. But I will be the one that will turn them into Nothing. I will make sure their wounded will remain dead—that neither side will survive the war."
"I'm not going to let you do that. My father and the rest of the older generation still deserve to wither in their own time, they still deserve to live."
"But they don't deserve a future?"
"...No. They had their chance."
"..."
"..."
"Are you disappointed? That your image of Megawoman is completely different? That Aerith, the Themarian Princess, would be so cold as to abandon her elders?"
"What is there to be disappointed about, Aerith? I have always known that you are capable of being cruel—Gary is a testament to that."
"...What? Why are you bringing up my son?"
"Why did you bring your son, a man that is filled with insecurities and delusions of grandeur, into a world where he will never be special?"
"My son is capable of doing special things, Riley."
"But you don't know your son, Aerith. I know him more than you do."
"W—"
"Have you asked him about Golden Fox yet? It may have been my doing, but Gary was the one to ultimately kill his lover—have you once talked to him about that?"
"I… haven't had the time to."
"Do you know that your son likes motorcycles?"
"..."
"Do you know of the things he had done in the Academy? Did you know that he was on the Potential Villain list?"
"That is enough."
"You are not a good mother, Aerith. And that is perfectly okay, I don't even know my own daughter's birthday."
"I know. I know I haven't been good to him."
"You were busy saving the world, Aerith."
"And you were busy killing it—and yet you have time for the people around you."
"I only really made a handful of appearances, Aerith."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...You know, I did try. I tried to make it work. I'm one thou—I'm almost a thousand years old now, and you'd think that would help me be more mature than everyone else, but no. If anything, it just made me more stubborn."
"How old are you really, Aerith?"
"That's not important."
"Hm."
"I have all these experiences, and yet it never truly prepared me for how hard it is to have a child. It's different on Theran—I sometimes do not see both my parents for years, and that was perfectly normal—and when we meet, we're still just the same person."
"..."
"And I'm just not saying that as an excuse for my absence, because there is none. But on Earth, I blink—and then my baby boy has become this… stranger. He's become a completely different person. My husband was the same. The two of us were so in love with each other, and then I looked away for just a single second… and the connection that we had was just gone."
"My connection with you is as strong as ever, Aerith."
"..."
"..."
"...I don't know how Diana did it, but she was able to make a wonderful family—Diana, a themarian that treats other species like they are just part of her experiments. But she did, she was able to raise you and Hannah."
"You could still raise Gary for a very long time, Aerith. The two of you have the time."
"Gary doesn't. He grows old like a normal human—you've seen Silvie, she hasn't aged even a single second since the first time I saw her; she will remain like that for almost a thousand years until she becomes completely identical to what I look right now. But my son, my baby boy… I'm afraid that if I blink again, he'll just be… gone."
"..."
"You will experience this too, Riley. I know you are seeing it now, Hannah is growing old. But you, your face has been unchanged ever since you turned 18—you will live for a very long time, watching those around you wither away. That is the humanity in our mortality."
"I… have never really thought of a life in which Hannah no longer exists, Aerith."
"Oh, she will exist as long as you remember her, that's the painful part. They are in your mind, and you have to carry them forever; you can't touch them, you can't talk to them—the only thing you can really do is watch them live in your memory…
…They are not the ghosts, you are."
"I have to confess that I am not ready for that. I do not know what I will do in a universe without my sister."
"You will, because that is the only thing we can do."
"But I suppose one way or another, the universe will die too…
…I will make sure of it."
Chapter 582"But my son, my baby boy… I'm afraid that if I blink again, he'll just be… gone."
An hour.
Aerith and Riley have been talking to each other for more than an hour now, while Osk and the other members of the sisterhood hid away in their huts and shelters. Osk ordered the rest to completely avoid and ignore Aerith until she leaves… but how long until then?
She did tell Aerith that she could stay, but she was just obviously trying to make her leave with her attitude that was colder than the solid winter around them. But alas, Aerith did not seem to realize that as she was still outside, and having a very deep conversation at that.
Osk did not mean to eavesdrop, but it is also not her fault that her hut was just a few meters away from where they were talking.
"...You can't touch them, you can't talk to them—the only thing you can really do is watch them live in your memory."
"..." Osk could not really help but just take in a deep breath as Aerith's words continued to whisper into her ears. It has been almost 500 years since they last saw each other, and some changes were inevitable, but why did the Aerith now seem like a completely different person than when she last saw her?
That should be impossible for a themarian.
Aerith was talking about how if she would blink, the mortals around her would be strangers—but wasn't she the same?
Osk knew that she was just being petty for ignoring Aerith, but she really thought that she would just leave; at least, the Aerith of the past would have. Osk was trying her best to only focus on Aerith's words, but for some reason, she was also being drawn by Riley.
She was also just truly being lustful when she interacted with Riley earlier. How could she not, when Riley was able to break her back as soon as their fight started? But now, hearing him talk about committing war crimes and the genocide of the older generation, Osk could not help but feel something warm trickling down between her thighs.
She knew she wasn't making a mistake in making Riley spread his seed amongst everyone in the sisterhood. It doesn't even matter even if he didn't have a single drop of themarian blood in him, at least he has the savagery and brutality that a real themarian should have.
With his blood mixed with theirs, the offspring they will bring forth would be… legendary.
"Let's go. I don't think we can find any help here."
"Wait! Aerith!"
And as soon as she heard Aerith and Riley leaving, Osk just instinctively rushed out of her hut; almost making it collapse from the sheer force of her haste.
"I will hear you out," Osk then said, her breaths, enough to blow away the fractals of snow that dared to fall in front of her face, "Don't leave."
"...Okay?" Aerith, whose feet have already left the snowy ground, could not help but let out a slightly confused hum. Osk said she would hear her out… but why were her eyes looking at Riley?
"I have already heard your plan," Osk then subtly cleared her throat as she strayed her eyes away from Riley,
"Just tell me what you need from us."
"..." Aerith did not really speak immediately; her eyes, just looking at the members of the sisterhood that were stepping out of their huts one by one. Their eyes, also staring back. Aerith waited until all of them were gathered before she once again opened her mouth,
"I need you to start the war."
"Of course," Osk took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes, "Who better start the war for freedom than the Rebel Princess' old group? But I think you are forgetting something here, Aerith…
…our group's main objective is for themarians to return to who we were from the past, is that not what you're trying to prevent?"
"..."
"We could care less about freedom, what we want is the thrill of battle—that in every moment, we are in threat of Eternal Death."
"But what I am offering you is not freedom, Osk. It's a chance to start anew. There is no doing that here," Aerith reasoned before looking at Riley, "But I have seen the Unknown, there are things there—creatures that can not be seen in the Known Universe."
"..."
"Instead of just fighting in a single confined arena, you have an infinitely growing universe as your battlefield. You can fly and fight through a million light years without even worrying that you might accidentally end an entire civilization."
"That… I really don't like the sound of accidentally annihilating a weaker species," Osk squinted as she placed her hand on her chin; her large bosoms, almost popping out from her loose garment.
"There's also—"
"Stop, I am in," Osk raised her palm. And as she did so, the rest of the sisterhood also raised their palms in the air, "The fact that we get to start a real war was enough reason to actually join the cause."
"That's… well, that's good," Aerith could really only blink as she watched as everyone nodded their heads in excitement,
"You don't have to worry about the numbers, people will join us. As soon as they see another Theran floating above their skies, they will know that they have a future other than being stuck here."
"And what about the older generation that joins our side?" Osk furrowed her eyebrows, "You said that only the newer generations can migrate to the new planet, what about them?"
"They… will understand," Aerith's voice slightly lowered.
"..." Osk and the rest of the sisterhood also turned their heads down, but after a few more hesitating breaths, Osk clapped her hands,
"A problem to be solved at another time. For now, we celebrate the return of one of our founding sisters!"
"That… I have other things to do," Aerith stuttered as most of the sisterhood started approaching her with smiles on their faces and drinks in their hands, "I… I only have a limited time until the castle realizes I'm freely roaming around the world without supervision."
"Nonsense, stay!" Osk placed her arms around Aerith's shoulders, causing the snow around them to melt as she prevented Aerith from flying away, "I'll ask some of the girls to dive into the Subtheran and get us something to eat!"
"There's really no need to—"
"Or we could just completely forget about everything that we talked about today."
And all of a sudden, the growing festivities that were crawling in the air completely dissipated; all the women of the sisterhood, just staring at Aerith with their eyebrows deeply furrowed.
"That's—Fine, just one glass," Aerith could really only drop her arms as she surrendered; her sighs, drowned by the cheers that once again filled the air.
"Good, good. Give our princess the best wine we have!" And with that, Osk stepped away as the others practically bombarded Aerith with introductions, pleasantries, and reunion.
As for Riley, he just casually stepped away—looking at the animals that were shooting out of the hole from Subtheran.
"I wonder if I can cook any of—"
And before Riley could find anything to do, Osk suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the festivities, and straight into her hut.
"...Madam Osk?" Riley could really only blink as he found himself being thrown straight onto a soft bed.
"Well then…
…shall we continue where we left off?"
Chapter 583The festivities were loud.
Riley could hear them cheering and shouting; their words, traveling even through the thick layer of snow that endlessly drowns the entire encampment in white and cold.
Cold.
At least that's what is supposed to be wrapping Riley right now, but no; the only thing wrapping him right now was the unexpected comfort of a bed. Just a few seconds ago, he was casually minding his own business, about to watch how the themarians cook their fresh game—but then, his vision just shifted and the chilling snow was suddenly no more.
Riley had imagined the encampment's huts to still be cold inside, but no. The temperature was as comfortable as it could be, almost just harmonizing with Riley's own body heat.
And now, as he looked at the sticks and cloth decorating the ceiling, he could not help but be curious about where the cloth was made from. Did it have some sort of thermal—
"Well then… shall we continue where we left off?"
"..." And finally, after Riley's mind wandered off to everywhere but the reason he was suddenly in the hut, a voice that he could no longer ignore bewitchingly crawled through his ears.
Riley could really only sigh, before slightly raising his head to look at the woman that suddenly dragged him away from the festivities.
Osk just stood there, with the drapes of the hut dropping behind her, very slowly separating the insides of the hut from the world outside. And as the last of the light that was diffused by the snow was covered, Osk very quickly tightened the drapes… while loosening something else.
The little cloth that hung around her waist, now sliding down on the smooth and dark complexion of her legs, until it just clumsily dropped on her feet.
"Aerith said you're an alien," Osk's breaths whispered throughout the small hut; her feet, pushing away her fur skirt as she calmly, and very slowly walked toward Riley,
"Have you ever been with a themarian woman before?"
"Are you referring to sexual intercourse, Madam Osk?" Riley only blinked as his eyes strayed toward Osk's thighs, and even from the front, one could see her butt jiggle with every move.
That wasn't what Riley was focused on, however—he was looking at the juices that were already trailing—no, gushing between Osk's legs. And with her thighs larger than Riley's head, this… juice just started rubbing in between her thighs as she walked, causing a sultry noise to whisper in the air.
"Then my answer is no," Riley breathed out as he tilted his head back, once again resting it on the bed as he sighed.
"Oh…?"
And soon, a hum seductively pierced Riley's ears as he felt the soft bed slightly shift; a weight, now pinning down on his legs. And even with the black pants, Riley could still feel the damp and wet warmth coming from between Osk's legs; her juices, gushing enough to trickle and create strings as her hips started to move on their own.
"I thought you and Aerith have already done it," a small smile started to crawl on Osk's face as she tied the ends of her hair, before just gently brushing it and resting them over her left shoulder. And as her hips continued to move on their own, the hair she tied up started bouncing on her still-covered breasts.
"My feelings for Aerith are one-sided, Madam Osk. I do not even know if I am right with the feelings I am feeling."
"Well… you don't have to worry about feelings here," Osk's eyes started to light up as she looked at Riley's chest, "I only need your seed…
…we're just going to fuck until we're tired."
And with those words, a concentrated beam burst forth from Osk's glowing eyes. And even with this unexpected violence, Riley did not move—after all, the only thing Osk's beam was cutting was his suit.
Osk then took in a deep gasp as she ripped Riley's suit open, exposing his skin that was as white as the snow outside; his physique was anything but gentle, however, as the muscles that filled it showed the violence in his body. Sharp, chiseled, and tightening even with the softest of breaths.
"Hm…" Osk licked her lips as she massaged Riley's torso with both her hands; the shaking of her hips, becoming even more violent as she did so.
"Rip off my top," Osk then breathed out loudly; her tongue sticking out as she smiled.
"If you only need my seed, then I do not see how removing—"
And before Riley could finish his words, a loud snap echoed throughout the entire hut as Osk suddenly slapped him on the face.
"Rip off my fucking top and call me a fucking whore!"
"I am not going to call you that, whore."
"..."
"I apologize, it just came out naturally," Is this how themarians mate? Was Riley's thought as he watched as Osk continued to rub her hips on his leg. If they liked being treated rough, then shouldn't Aerith at least have some feelings for him? After all, he did dissect her and trapped him inside his closet for hours.
"Don't stop," Osk grabbed Riley's hand and placed it on her top, "Violate me, Riley Ross. Violate me like an animal."
"..." And with a subtle sigh, Riley's hand just lightly tightened, before tearing off Osk's top.
Riley might have underestimated the strength of Osk's top, however, as he also pulled her closer to him. Her now bare breasts, bouncing right in front of Riley's face; her nipples which were already perked up, brushing across Riley's lips.
"Hn!" And as her clothes snapped on her skin, Osk placed her lips on top of Riley's; the tips of her fingers, almost digging through Riley's chest as she stuck her tongue inside Riley's mouth.
"He…hehe."
Her heavy breaths started to warm Riley's nose as she chuckled; her bright silver eyes, reflecting his face as she very slowly started moving away-- moving down.
Riley could feel the warmth of Osk's breath moving from his neck, trailing all the way down to his waist; the wetness of her tongue, damping Riley's belly button while her fingers subtly tore Riley's pants.
"...Oh?" Osk then gasped as the thing between Riley's legs inserted itself between her soft, large breasts. And even with it hidden between her bosoms, she could still feel its tip hitting her neck.
"Hmm…" Osk once again giggled; her damp breaths, wrapping around Riley's lower head, "You don't sound excited, but this… rod of yours sure is."
"That is something that is beyond my control. I could use my telekinesis to stop it, but that would—!!!"
"It's time for this guy to talk."
And once again, before Riley could finish his words, he could not help but instinctively take in a deep breath as he felt a sudden jolt violently throughout his entire body. And so, Riley finally removed his eyes from the ceiling as he looked at Osk, only to see her lightly biting…his skin.
"Hehe," A giggle once again escaped Osk's lips; the smile on her face, growing as she returned Riley's surprised gaze. And without even saying anything else, she wrapped Riley's thing with the warmth of the insides of her mouth.
"..." Riley could not help but look to the sides of the hut. Once again, Theran caused him to not know what to do. This Theran, however, was literally eating him whole.
"Hmn…hn," Osk removed one of her hands away from Riley, placing it between her thighs as she spread her legs. And with just a light tap, Osk's moan started to escape from her nose… and with a light brush, her moans became wails.
"Gkh…"
Riley then heard a gag as he felt the warmth of Osk's mouth wrapping him even more; her tongue twirling around his thing until it couldn't anymore.
"Grawk…" And then, another gag whispered in the air as Osk pushed her head even closer…her throat, very slowly expanding.
And then, Riley's thing was suddenly released as Osk gasped for air; she did not even bother wiping the saliva and juices trailing down her lips as she kneeled closer to Riley's waist.
"Now that we're both brutally wet," Osk then placed her wet fingers inside her mouth and stuck out her tongue; her eyes looking straight at Riley's face; her butt, very slowly rising on top of Riley's thing,
"I am going to need all of your seed."
Chapter 584"What sort of creatures did you see in the Unknown, Princess Aerith!?"
"I… still haven't explored much of it. But the Unknown is completely different from the Known Universe. The laws we know here barely apply there. And wow… wow…
…What is in this thing?"
The festivities were loud.
Aerith could hear everyone around her cheering and shouting; their words, traveling even through the thick layer of snow that endlessly drowns the entire encampment in white and cold.
Cold.
At least that's what is supposed to be wrapping Aerith right now, but no; the only thing wrapping her right now was the exaggerated warmth crawling through her skin, penetrating deep into her bones. Just a few seconds ago, she was getting ready to leave with Riley—but now, she could not even center her thoughts.
The only thing she knows right now is that there was a mug the size of her head in her hand, filled with wine her lips have never touched before.
"What is in this thing?"
Aerith could not help but repeat her words as everything around her started to become… weird. Everyone's eyes seemed clearer, as if Aerith could see her entire life in each and every one of them.
"And why can't I stop drinking it?" Aerith then let out a small giggle as she chugged the entire mug; her legs, seemingly moving on their own as they pushed the heavy snow beneath her feet. It wasn't only her, each and every one of the members of the sisterhood was dancing and laughing.
"Wait, where… where's Riley?" Aerith just drank an entire mug, and yet she cleared her throat several times as she started looking around for her murderous companion,
"Riley!? We need to go right—Pft…"
And for some reason, Aerith just couldn't help herself from laughing as she suddenly imagined Riley dancing along with them.
"Riley!" Aerith once again screamed as she started walking away from the crowd. It was starting to feel weird—there were more than 50 of them here, and yet Aerith was slowly feeling like she was the only one there.
There was music flowing, and yet for some reason, the only thing she could hear was a whistle. The chilling fractals of snow that was once almost non-existent to her, she could now feel as it touches the skin of her shoulders.
"...Uh," Aerith could then hear her own breath as everything started to move slowly—and not in the way that the themarians could sense things moving even at the speed of light–no, it was almost as if time itself slowed down.
"Hoo…" Aerith's breaths started to tremble as the snow on her shoulders started to melt, inserting themselves through the openings of her collars and wetting her neck. The melted snow should be cold, and yet it was almost as if someone's hand was wrapping around her neck… slowly trailing down her clavicles and in between her chest.
"Hn—" Aerith quickly covered her mouth as a moan threatened to escape from her lips. She looked at the others to see if they noticed, but they seemed to be busy dancing amongst themselves.
Weird, Aerith thought. Just seconds ago, all of them were just talking and catching up—but now, all of them were just lost. The heat from their bodies, now melting the snow even before it could land their heads.
Heat.
"..." Aerith then cradled herself, only for her to quickly move her hands away as she felt… an almost burning sensation touch her skin. Aerith then once again touched her arm, this time, just gently tapping.
"!!!"
And with just a light touch, Aerith gritted her teeth as a trickle of electricity seemed to pierce through her bones, causing her head to tremble and her throat to once again turn dry.
"Guys…" Aerith once again looked at her empty mug, before her eyes started trailing around the snowy encampment for something else to drink. But then, the woman that had been filling her mug once again appeared in front of her; this time, however, she seemed completely out of it as she just danced while waving around the large keg.
"...I'm thirsty. Can I have more of that?" Aerith then gulped. The woman, however, just glanced at her—and with a smile, nodded her head and started filling up Aerith's mug.
"There's more where this came from, Princess," the woman nodded her head as most of the wine coming out of the keg landed straight on the snowy ground,
"There's been a migration of Kahn Mollusc wine near our hole lately, so there's lots… and lots… and lots…
…and lots."
And with those words repeatedly whispering in Aerith's ears, her hand lost all of its strength; dropping the mug and also her mouth.
"Kahn Mollusc, you mean…" Aerith's eyes started to turn wide; her pupils, seemingly not knowing whether to enlarge or reduce in size.
Kahn Mollusc, its closest equivalent to Earth are oysters—except perhaps a million times more potent.
An aphrodisiac on themarian steroids.
"..."
"..."
"Riley!" Aerith then let out a scream strong enough to cause a ripple in the air clearing out all the snow within the encampment,
"Leave this place, now!"
There's really only one use for kahn mollusc, and that is for themarians to become excited for heated sexual intercourse that is about to take place. And Riley, as the only male in the encampment…
…was the only target. With his broad shoulders, skin that is even smoother than hers, the ferocity that was just oozing out of his—
"Oh no…" Aerith quickly shook her head off of the dangerous thoughts that were slowly rising deep within everything other than her rational mind,
"Oh no, no… this can't be happening."
Aerith could really only drop to the cold ground as the thoughts rushed into her like a storm. The snow that dropped like rain from their heat, causing every inch of Aerith's skin to turn… moist.
And soon, she felt a loud beat drumming from her chest.
"..." Aerith then gritted her teeth as she closed her eyes; trying her best to collect herself. If she could not collect her thoughts, then she would at least try to collect and calm her raging breaths.
A second.
A minute.
An hour.
5 hours. She had been sitting on the ground for 5 hours with her eyes closed; her breaths had become calm; her thoughts, however, grew worse by the second.
"Aerith."
"!!!"
Aerith's entire body once again jolted as she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulders, she quickly looked behind her, only to see Riley standing there—his torso, completely exposed and almost glittering with the snow.
"R—"
"I believe it is time for us to leave."
And before Aerith could even open her mouth, she felt Riley's chiseled but gentle arms wrapping around her; her vision shifting as Riley carried her away from the encampment and through the hole down the Subtheran.
"..." Aerith could really only bite her lip as she felt the warmth of Riley's chest on her cheeks. And soon, as they were wrapped in the darkness of the hole, Aerith accidentally placed her lips on Riley's chest.
"Hm…" Aerith quickly leaned her head away as she cleared her throat. She quickly looked at Riley's face to see if he noticed, but even as they escaped the darkness and basked in the light of the Subtheran—Riley's face remained stoic as he continued to dive down.
"..." Aerith stared at his eyes which reflected everything around it, and then toward his lips which seemed like they could swallow her whole. And then, out of her control…
…her lips very slowly started to move toward Riley's.
Chapter 585She knew it was wrong. The history they shared, the morality of all of it—everything is wrong, and it will always be. One could even say it was ethically wrong, which it truly is.
And she didn't want this, she truly didn't want this.
…So why were her lips very slowly moving closer to Riley's?
Is this truly the effect of the kahn mollusc? Or was there actually this deep, dark desire inside her that wanted this…that needed this? She is made of flesh and blood, her body has needs and that is normal.
And perhaps in the most fucked up twist of fate, Riley was the only one here. This is something out of her control—if she had the choice, it wouldn't be Riley. It wouldn't be the man that killed and tortured millions of children and laughed while doing so. It wouldn't be the man who vowed to kill everything in the universe.
But if not him, then who?
Would it be with a stranger? Anyone would have actually been better than Riley, even a man he doesn't know—that should be the case.
So why, why couldn't she imagine someone else? Is it because the warmth of Riley's chest is the only thing wrapping her right now?
Is that it? No, that should be the only reason. The aphrodisiac's effect is so strong that not even the mightiest of themarians could handle it…
…that was the only reason. And sadly for Aerith, that was the only reason her body needed as her lips still made their way to Riley's.
So close. Their lips were now so close to each other that Aerith could feel the warmth of Riley's breaths touching upon them—she still had enough distance to leave, to just lean her head away…
…but she doesn't want to. She knew she was going to regret this, but so what?
Hasn't she suffered enough? Hasn't she given enough already? She wasn't Megawoman anymore, she was just a woman that didn't belong anywhere else…
…she was just a woman being cradled by a man that confessed his love for her.
That was it. Riley told her that he loved her.
No matter how wrong, no matter how fucked up the scenario is now—there was no one else but Riley. He knew her—out of all the trillions of people in the universe, he was the only one that truly knows her, in more ways than one.
And so, with all of her doubts completely gone; she let go of the heavy breaths inside of her and leaned closer for the final time as she placed her lips on Riley's…cheek.
"...Hm?" Aerith could really only blink as she felt Riley's cheek on her lips. She stayed like this for a couple of seconds, before retracting her head and looking at Riley.
"I heard of the effects of the aphrodisiac, Aerith," Riley said; his eyes, turned away from Aerith as he continued to fly beneath the ceiling of the Subtheran,
"You will lose yourself into a frenzy and will want to have sexual intercourse with the first man you see. This… isn't you, Aerith."
And with those words, Riley suddenly dived down, descending onto the cold waters of the Subtheran.
"..." Aerith immediately closed her eyes as the heat wrapping her body was enough to almost cause the water around her to boil. Riley was probably thinking that this would dissipate the effects of the kahn mollusc, but no—the only thing it did was make the feeling of his chest warmer, causing Aerith to wrap her arms around him.
The two of them, just floating in the endless water; the beating of their heart and the bubbles that formed around them, almost like a marching band that heightened their senses even more.
And with Riley lifting them up from the water, the warmth of his breath once again wrapped her entire body; her arms, more so not wanting to let Riley go.
"Aerith, look."
"..."
"..."
Aerith stared at Riley's face for a few seconds instead of looking where Riley was looking. But as she saw the view reflected in his eyes, she very slowly turned her head away.
It was the view of the mountains—a view similar to the alps where she and Riley first had a real conversation.
"You…" Aerith's breaths became stuttered as tears suddenly trailed from her eyes, "You… you shouldn't have done this."
Emotions are heightened dramatically while in the effects of the kahn mollusc—and now, as the view of the mountains caused her to feel all sorts of emotions, her heart became even more confused.
Riley was showing and making her feel everything that she ever wanted. It made her body need him even more.
"Riley…" Aerith then took in a small gulp as she once again looked at Riley; the two of them, just sitting on the cliff with the soft grass as their bed; the skin of her bare arms, still touching Riley's chest,
"...No one has to know of this."
And with those words, Aerith suddenly leaned closer to Riley… finally placing her lips upon his.
"..." Riley was about to lean away, but before he could do so, Aerith wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing his hair as she grabbed the back of his head.
"Hn…n," Aerith could not help but release her stuttered breaths as she felt the inside of Riley's mouth as she stuck out her tongue; the strings of their saliva, still bridging the two of them as she leaned her head away to look at Riley's face.
"This… is wrong," she then said as she very slowly leaned her body back; her hands, holding Riley's arms as she let her back fall onto the soft grass. And with a slight tug, she pulled Riley closer to her; his entire body, now on top of her.
"..." Riley could really only stare at Aerith's wet face; her teeth which were slowly exposed as she lightly bit her lower lip, causing her to look even more vulnerable than when her organs were exposed back in Riley's closet.
"I've… I've made many mistakes in my life," Aerith then whispered as she once again wrapped her arms around Riley's neck, "I… want this to be one of them."
"Aerith," Riley lightly brushed Aerith's cheek with her fingers,
"I want it to not be a mistake."
"..." Aerith's hands that were slowly caressing Riley's hair abruptly stopped as she heard his words; her eyes, widening as a gasp escaped her lips. And soon, she tightened her embrace and once again pulled Riley even closer to hers; his body, now directly touching Aerith's, pinning down her breasts as Riley's breaths trickled down her neck.
"I'm tired, Riley…" And then, Aerith's whimpers soon became whimpers as her tears gushed out like a dam finally allowed to rest, "I am so, so tired of just everything."
"I know, Aerith."
"Why… why do I even need to help people? Why does it matter?"
"Because that is who you are, Aerith—that is what you are, a beacon of hope in the midst of all trash in the universe."
"But I don't want to be that. I just want to leave and go away."
"You can't do that, Aerith."
"I know, but this…" Aerith then very slowly wrapped her legs around Riley's, "...But this, I can do. So…
…I want to."
"..."
"Please, even if it's not my will…" Aerith's breaths once again became heavier as she started caressing Riley's back; her mind, getting hazier and fading by the second,
"...even if it's a mistake, I don't care anymore."
"Aerith."
"...Riley."
"Sleep."
Chapter 586"Riley."
"Aerith."
"What do you think of this? Should we live here next?"
"What is wrong with this place?"
"Riley, look at that."
"Where?"
"Exactly, there's nothing there. There's nothing here!"
Somewhere far away from Theran, in an uncountable years later—Riley and Aerith were on barren land. Devoid of anything other than their warmth as they cradled under a red moon; their bodies, only covered by a single piece of blanket.
"There's you and me, Aerith. Isn't that the only thing that matters?"
"...Hn," Aerith could really only close her eyes as she rested her head on Riley's bare chest; her body that was also bare, also wrapping Riley beneath the blanket; her soft white thighs, on top of Riley's waist,
"But I want to see and meet people," Aerith snuggled her cheeks on Riley's chest; her lips, pecking his neck from time to time, "Do you not miss interacting with other pe—Riley!"
"Sorry, it's out of my control."
"..." Aerith squinted her eyes as she felt something warm and hard hitting her thighs. But after a few seconds of staring at each other's eyes, Aerith excitedly climbed on top of Riley; their blanket, sliding down on her bare back.
Her breasts, slightly pinned together by her arms as she held herself up by holding Riley's chest. Her thighs that were slowly sliding on Riley's lap, moving at the same time as her crawling smile.
"I'm on top this time," Aerith whispered; her heavy breaths, causing her breasts to pop out even more between her arms.
"You've always been on top of me, Aerith… always."
"You…" Aerith placed a finger on Riley's lips, "...You haven't changed."
And with those words, Aerith raised her lips; her other hand, crawling across Riley's abs before grabbing the thing that's been hitting her belly since earlier… pushing it between her thighs; there was almost no resistance as it just slid there.
And then, with her biting her lips, Aerith very slowly lowered her hips.
"Hn…" Aerith released a breath that quickly turned into a moan; her entire body, shivering as Riley entered inside her,
"It's… I still can't get used to the size."
"Hm?"
"Hup!" Aerith gritted her teeth; her butt, almost bouncing as Riley suddenly raised his hips, inserting the rest of him inside her.
"Don't you think it's time, Aerith?"
"Hm… hmn?" Aerith's breaths shuddered as she started moving her hips.
"For us to have a child."
"...Riley?" Aerith turned to look at Riley for a few seconds, before her hips started moving even faster, "I do… I do think it's time."
"Maybe we should marry too."
Aerith let her body fall on Riley, her hips, still moving as she placed her lips on Riley's.
"I… I think so too," Aerith then whispered, "But why… why are you proposing to me while we're doing it?"
"We're always doing it."
"That… that's true," Aerith said as she once again sat up; her hips, almost bouncing as her fingers crawled between her thighs.
"Kh…" Aerith then started touching herself as her all of her breaths became moans; her hips, moving without pause,
"I… I think I'm… I'm about to—Hn!" And as a scream escaped her lips, a jolt shocked and crawled through her skin; her thighs, becoming sensitive to even the slightest breeze of air as she once again fell on top of Riley,
"W… wait, don't… don't move."
"I need to, Aerith. How else would I impregnate you?"
"That's—!!!"
And with her entire body now feeling everything of Riley, her eyes started to also tremble as she completely lost all of herself. Her screams, echoing across the entire barren planet.
"..."
"..."
"Riley…" And now, a few hours later, with their breaths musking the air around them; Aerith once again rested her head on top of Riley's chest,
"Getting married… were you serious?"
"Of course."
"I… see," Aerith giggled as she snuggled closer to Riley, rubbing her nose on his chest,
"I… wish Hannah was here to witness us getting married."
"Hannah?"
"Hm."
"Who's that?"
"...What?" Aerith blinked a couple of times before she quickly lifted herself up and backed away from Riley. But then, as her hands touched the ground, the once barren land became filled with blood… billions of corpses, stacked on top of each other.
And then, laying on top of that was her and Riley.
"What… what's this?" Aerith looked at her hands which were completely painted with blood.
"What are you saying, Aerith?"
"Huh?" Aerith then turned to look at Riley, only to see him resting on the heads of everyone they ever knew.
The two of them, resting on a throne made from genocide.
"You're the one who cleared this planet, Aerith."
"No…" Aerith shook her head as she started crawling away.
"This is it, Aerith. Just one more planet…
…and this will be the 3rd Universe that we have turned into nothing."
"That's not… that's not true!"
"But it is…
…You did this."
"No!"
Aerith then gasped; the scenery in front of her, suddenly changing back into the alps.
"..." Aerith then started looking around, only to realize that her head was resting on Riley's shoulder; the two of them, asleep beside a tree.
"A… dream?" Aerith then whispered to herself. She was about to stand up but realized that she was covered with a blanket.
"..." Aerith's calm breaths once again started to shiver as she quickly grabbed the blanket. And then, as she held her breaths, she very slowly lifted the blanket…
…only to see that she was still fully clothed.
"Oh…" Aerith once again let out a loud sigh of relief, "...That's… that's one way to wake up."
Aerith then stood up, quickly realizing something when she did so—aside from the weird and large tree behind them, everything was gone.
The other plants, the grass, even the cliff had cracks and crevices.
"You were moving in your sleep, Aerith."
"...Huh?" Aerith quickly looked at Riley, who was already folding the blanket.
"Your unconscious self was still trying to have intercourse with me even after I knocked you out, Aerith."
"That's… let's just promise each other never to talk about this again."
"If that is what you wish, Aerith," Riley nodded as the blanket shrunk into the size of a handkerchief, which is what it was as Riley placed it in his pocket,
"What were you dreaming about, Aerith?"
"A nightmare that will—that can never happen," Aerith squinted her eyes as she looked at Riley, "And why are you still not wearing a shirt?"
"I figured my body would be more comfortable for you, Aerith."
"Shut–Just stop saying things like that," Aerith groaned, "Nothing happened between us, and that's that. We're not having a child, and we're not getting married!"
"...Marriage?"
"Stop! I'm too tired for this," Aerith covered her view of Riley with her hand, "Let's just go to our next destination."
"Hm," Riley nodded as his black suit started forming from his pants,
"Where are we going?"
"To the Common Council."
"We're going outside Theran territory?"
"Hm," Aerith nodded, "They will freak out if we don't tell them about New Theran—a piloted planet filled with themarians is not necessarily something they would want to see."
"I suppose so."
"But first…
…We're going to meet Hannah and the others."
Chapter 587"You know how to navigate your way around the Subtheran, Aerith? How do you know which hole we should take to get to our destination?"
"Riley, I was born on this planet."
"You've memorized all the holes? I would assume there are lots of new ones since the last time you were here. You even know where Hannah is, do you have some sort of secret network of ninjas working undercover all around Theran?"
"...I feel like you really have a very skewed impression of me."
"Or perhaps you've mastered your hearing and could hear each and every living thing in the entire universe."
"What? No. I have mastered my hearing but—I don't even know why I'm explaining myself to you."
Riley and Aerith were traveling through the Subtheran, calmly flying in the air just inches below the underground world's endless ceiling. They could move faster away from the ceiling, but that would attract unnecessary wildlife that would try their luck for a meal, as well as nosy people.
Only Aerith was actually flying, as once again, Riley did what he had always done whenever he was flying with Aerith—just attach himself to her with some sort of telekinetic towing chain.
"Look, it's not anything grand like that."
And during this flight, Aerith had lost count of how many groans escaped her mouth from Riley's incessant questions. She, however, for some reason, hasn't noticed that despite her annoyance, she has been answering Riley's question with a subtle smile on her face.
"I'm just using this," Aerith then threw something at Riley.
"This…" Riley looked at the familiar thing he just caught, "...What is this black and hard—"
"Can you stop saying things people can easily misunderstand? That's a Teera X120," Aerith once again groaned as she shook her head; her hair, almost stretched back as she hastened her speed,
"It's the same thing I gave that superhero actress. So no, I don't have a network of ninjas. I've just been video calling with Hera for a while now and asked for their location."
"Video calling?" Riley looked at the Teera X120, before letting it float back to Aerith, "Are you not worried that the Kingdom will track you down, Aerith?"
"Track me down?" Aerith scoffed before her chuckles whispered to Riley's ears, "It seems you still haven't learned enough about the themarians—they hate relying on tech. We may look the same, but our civilizations could not have evolved more differently. Our entertainment outlets, as well as forms of long-range communication, are completely different from Earth."
"I recall Princess Tifa being surrounded by tech, Aerith."
"Oh, auntie? I did hear you were spending a lot of time with her while you were in the castle," Aerith nodded, before a long and deep sigh escaped her lips, "She's cool, a little speciesist though. Her children, however, are all idiots. I mean, what can I say? I'm the best out of all the cousins."
"I recall you being considered as the disappointment of the family, Aerith," Riley squinted his eyes as he placed his hand on his chin; his body, as if standing on something in the air as he started walking nearer Aerith even as she flew slowly at Mach speeds.
"What? Were you just trying to roast me?"
"You don't have to worry, Aerith," Riley nodded several times as he stood in the air beside Aerith, "If we are mentioning family disappointments, you will not be able to defeat me."
"...What?" Aerith once again let out a chuckle she couldn't control; this time, however, she started to notice. And as soon as she did so, she quickly pushed Riley back and looked away—her hand, almost trying to literally rub the smile off of her face.
Weird, Aerith thought. Were the effects of the kahn mollusc still lingering inside her? It should, that would be the only reason she would even be smiling with every word that Riley says—only teenagers with a crush do something like that, and she was already more than—she was already reaching a thousand years old.
"..." Aerith then glanced at Riley, only to see him with his head tilted as he stared at her.
Nope, no—Aerith quickly looked away. How could she even be starting to form feelings?
The only reason her mind was in a mess is because of the kahn mollusc. There was also the undeniable fact that Riley is the only man she has been in close contact with for a few years--of course, she would start thinking of unnecessary things.
"Pf—" Aerith took in a deep breath as she forcefully stopped the giggle trying to escape her mouth. Why was she acting like a hormonal teenager!?
Aerith started shaking her head several times, trying her best to physically fend off whatever it was she was starting to feel. But then, as she was doing so, the breeze that was violently wafting across her face as she flew disappeared; replaced by a gentle wind that just cooled down her face.
"I apologize, Aerith. I should have placed a barrier in front of you to avoid getting the insects on your face."
"What?"
"Is that not why you are shaking your head? To remove the insects that splattered on your face?"
No. The only thing I need to remove from my head is your face."
"What?"
"What?" Aerith rolled her eyes, before grabbing the Teera X120 and just focusing on it. Riley seemed to be saying something, but she chose to completely ignore it for the rest of their flight. And finally, after what seemed like an hour—Aerith and Riley entered through a hole and once again finally basked in the light of the sun.
"Where are we right now, Aerith?"
"Hel."
And even as they reached the surface, Aerith still kept her words unfeeling and concise; not even glancing at Riley as she started running at a speed faster than her flight back on the Subtheran. As for Riley, he was still just casually standing; his entire body, bouncing and vibrating as Aerith weaved and hopped across the surface.
Riley did not really bother looking around as it was all a blur, and just chose to stare at Aerith's back as she ran—his mind, thinking how it would look if Aerith still had her Megawoman outfit. But perhaps, he didn't have to imagine?
"Aerith," Riley said as he casually walked closer to Aerith again. Aerith, however, did not glance at him and just continued to run.
"We're near," Aerith scoffed, "Don't ask too many—"
But alas, Riley pulled something out of his suit that she couldn't ignore…
…her Megawoman outfit.
"Are you not going to wear this—"
"Give me that!"
And before Riley could even finish his words, Aerith quickly grabbed the clothes; grabbing them tight on her side as she glared at Riley.
"Why do you even have this!?" Aerith abruptly stopped running; causing her to slide on the ground as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "And where are you putting all of the things you're pulling out!?"
"I have gained the ability to change my own and an object's size at will, Aerith. Didn't I already show you—"
"Where. Did. You. Put. This!?"
"In my pocket, Aerith," Riley squinted his eyes as he slightly tilted his head, "Where did you think I put it?"
"Don't. Don't go there," Aerith pinched the bridge of her nose. But after a few breaths to calm herself down, she shook her head and unfolded her outfit; her skirt, flowing along with the wind.
"Do you miss wearing it, Aerith?"
"No," a small smile started to crawl on Aerith's face as she shook her head, "I don't even know why I didn't upgrade my outfit. This design looks… so old."
"But so are you, Aerith."
"I am going to let that pass since you're bringing me some good memories, you little brat," Aerith could not help but chuckle as she stared at her outfit,
"...This isn't the original, is it?"
"No, I bought another one at a cosplay store, Aerith. I had that delivered directly before we left Earth."
"...But Diana's ship was inside a secure location."
"The courier said he can deliver anywhere, at any time, Aerith. I haven't actually tried asking if he can deliver on Theran."
"Wh—Never mind about that," Aerith rolled her eyes, before throwing the outfit's top to Riley, and proceeding to try on the skirt over her tight white pants,
"I wonder if this can even fit me. I think I might have gained a little weight."
"Do not worry, Aerith. I alter that every week according to your current waistline."
"...What?"
"But if it is a little tight, then perhaps you can remove your pants."
"Not in a million years, Riley. I am not going to---"
"...Megawoman? Riley...?"
And then, while Aerith was unflatteringly slightly bent over in front of Riley; with both her hands holding a skirt that was now wrapping her thighs which made it look like she was removing it instead…
...several voices started whispering from the side.
And so, Aerith could really only very slowly turn her head toward the voices, only to see Hannah and the others were standing there with their mouths slightly agape; their eyes, trailing back and forth between her and Riley.
"This…" Aerith could really only smile at the awkward, and clearly easy-to-misunderstand situation,
"...This isn't what it looks like. Riley's just a child in my eyes."
"..."
"..."
…That might have made it worse.
"I can explain. I wasn't removing the skirt, I was trying to wear it."
"..."
"..."
And now, it was even worse.
Chapter 588"I can explain. I wasn't removing my skirt, I was wearing it."
"..."
"..."
"That might not have sounded right, but there's a logical explanation to this."
"..."
"..."
Hannah, Tomoe, Tsula, Vera, and Hera were still looking back and forth between Riley and Aerith; their faces, completely blank.
But after a few more times of their eyes meeting, Hannah just shrugged her shoulders as she made her way to Riley.
"Are you annoying Megawoman again?"
"I believe so, sister."
"Tch," Hannah clicked her tongue several times as she placed her arm over Riley's shoulders, and then, with a big breath…
…she punched Riley straight in the stomach.
"You little shit! We're out here exploring god knows where and you're just following Megawoman like a puppy!? Do you see that thing!? That's a fucking planet!"
"I see it now, sister," Riley blinked a couple of times as he finally noticed the colossal planet-like sphere covering the skies, "I was busy watching Aerith try to wear her old uniform."
"So, that really was your doing!? Why, I should fucking kill you—"
"Riley!"
And before Hannah could finish her words, a silhouette suddenly jumped out from behind Hera and the others—shooting straight into Riley's arm and slightly pushing Hannah away; her slightly curly orange hair, slightly blocking Riley's entire view.
"Paige?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he recognized the clump of hair, "Weren't you staying in the castle?"
"Megawoman sent people to fetch me!" Paige's voice was incredibly high-pitched as she tightened her embrace around Riley's neck, "I knew it, I knew you would find a way to free her!"
"I didn't really do anything, Paige. Aerith was able to free herself, all she needed was to want to be so."
"Hm… As expected of Megawoman."
"...I really feel like you kids have this grandiose idea about me."
"Wait, Paige. I am not done with my brother yet!"
"Oh, yes. Of course," Paige then quickly let go of Riley, before squinting and pointing at his eyes and saying, "Sorry, but you need to deal with your sister yourself."
"I have always done so, Pai—"
And before Riley could finish his words,
"..." And while Hannah was busy strangling Riley, Aerith looked at the others; only to see them not even minding or thinking of something else from her situation. Was… she just overthinking it? Were the lingering effects of the kahn mollusc making her overthink that people would think there was something even slightly romantic going on with her and Riley?
That was probably just it—is what Aerith thought. But as soon as her eyes strayed toward Hera, she knew that someone else could feel the invisible tension she was feeling. Hera was just staring at her with a cheeky smile on her face; her head, subtly nodding in approval. No, it wasn't really subtle at all, as both her thumbs were slowly raising.
"!!!"
And then, all of a sudden, Hera just yelped as Aerith suddenly appeared in front of her; her hands, already gripping her raised thumbs.
"It's… it's good to see that all of you are still in one piece," Aerith then said as she looked Hera straight in the eyes, "It was the right decision to leave the device with you."
"R… right," Hera awkwardly chuckled as she tried to pull her thumbs away, but was unable to even budge Aerith's hands for even a single millimeter.
"Speaking of that." And finally, after what seemed like an eternity of Hannah choking Riley and messing up his hair, Hannah left him be and approached Aerith,
"I think we deserve to know what's happening here, Miss Megawoman."
"Just… call me Aerith," Aerith gently let go of Hera's hand; her eyes, looking at the others one by one as she sighed, "Well… this is going to be a long explanation."
***
"Share your thoughts?"
After a long 1 minute, each and every one of the women carried different expressions on their faces.
"No offense, Megawoman—but that's a little fucked up and doesn't make sense at all," Hannah had her eyebrows slightly raised; her arm, still wrapped around Riley's neck, "That's practically forced segregation and mass putting all of your elderly in a home, which in this case is Theran."
"Theran will still be Theran, I am just giving those that need more a chance to experience more."
"It is not entirely without merit," Tomoe, whose presence was a complete shadow on the side, has been nodding her head since earlier, "Bad parents should be eradicated from the face of the universe."
"...We're not eradicating anyone."
"I don't really care as long as this New Theran has a beach," Hera shrugged, "And I've kinda seen firsthand how people treat each other here—not really pleasant."
"Hm…"
"Your people are your own. I know themarians have stuck to their old ways, but I can never really imagine abandoning my mother," Vera, who was now just completely going with the flow, just shook her head, "But then again, for your own family to humiliate and want to execute you shows how skewed the themarians are."
"I have met your mother before, she's of good heart. If not a little violent."
"We used to have a tradition in my tribe," Tsula also joined in; her expression, showing her true age despite her now youthful appearance, "We cull the elderly and the sick so that they will not be able to hinder the activities of the rest of the tribe. You need to do what you must, not for those that live in the past, but for those that will carry it in the future."
"...We're not slaughtering anyone."
"Uhm…" Paige raised her hand as the last person who still hasn't spoken, "...I know what you went through since I was there to see it all. But…
…have you ever really tried to talk with your parents? Or maybe even set up a diplomatic way between both countries to maybe just allow them to voluntarily choose, or maybe even set up an application on who boards the New Theran?"
"..."
Aerith only shook her head, "The King refuses to speak and even listen to me. I have not even seen my mother's face even once since we arrived here—they have made their opinions known."
"I don't know…" Paige squinted her eyes as she turned to look at Hannah, "...It doesn't seem like something Megawoman would do, right?"
"Hey," Hannah raised both her hands as she shook her head, "As I said, it's a little fucked up."
"Guys, I'm not Megawoman—that's not me," Aerith sighed, "Thank you for all of your opinions. It's… helping me change some parts of my plan."
"And so, when are you and my brother leaving for the Council?" Hannah then wrapped her arms around Riley's arm, "Are you sure I can't go with the two of you?"
"Caitlain—your mother will kill me if I bring two of her children away. And I think she needs you for something here," Aerith sighed, "But I do need Princess Vera…
…It's time for you to go home, child."
"Wait, you're taking me with him?" Vera forced out a chuckle as she pointed at Riley, "No. I would rather rot here. He—no, wait… you're still wanted by the Common Council. I changed my mind…
…I need to see this."
Chapter 589"…"
"…"
"I don't really appreciate being dragged around like this, Rebel Princess."
"Just wait until we reach my terminal, it's just beyond the territory. And why are you calling me that?"
"Sorry, just a force of habit—everyone knows you as the Rebel Princess."
In the vast expanse of the universe, somewhere in Theran territory, Aerith was carrying Vera with one hand using a harness, while Riley was following them from behind. The collar around Vera's neck, removed by Aerith before they left the planet.
Riley was initially going to also attach Vera to Aerith via a telekinetic chain—but Vera adamantly refused.
And so, right now, she was wearing some sort of mask to help breathe in a proper amount of oxygen. But that wasn't the mask's only purpose, it also allowed Vera to privately talked with Aerith.
"Anyway, when are we going to secretly kill Riley?" Vera then said; making sure she was looking forward so that Riley won't notice she was plotting his demise, "That's the true reason you brought me, right?" Vera
"...No."
"Until when are you going to tolerate his existence? Riley is a bane to this universe—he said so himself. Wait…
…don't tell me you're actually starting to get all chummy chummy with the guy?
"No one's getting chummy chummy with anyone."
"But you are. You think I'm blind? I don't know how you long-lived species think, but I will never forgive the person that massacred my brother and a hundred of my people—no matter how much time passes."
"That was out of my control... and I'm not forgiving, Vera. I am adapting," Aerith could really only sigh as she shook her head. Now that she was sure the effects of the kahn mollusc were completely out of her system, she was finally able to think clearly of things relating to Riley Ross. She was sure of it now, the only reason she was having those disturbing thoughts is that the mollusc still had lingering effects.
There was no way she would be developing feelings for someone like Riley Ross—never.
"Riley Ross is a creature that is even more durable than themarians—a true immortal like the Pirate Queen Xra. Except unlike the Pirate Queen, if the right conditions are met, he will grow even stronger than before."
"Then just trap him inside a different dimension."
Aerith's hand slightly flinched as Vera tried to face her.
"Technology like that doesn't exist yet. We're not even sure if there really are different universes out there."
"No, not an entire universe, just a small dimension—a pocket dimension."
"Technology like that doesn't exist yet," Aerith repeated her words as she sighed.
"It does," Vera's voice slightly lowered as she shook her head, "The Norinlads have a prototype."
"Where… did you get this information?"
"From mother," Vera's voice soon became whispers as she breathed through the mask, "She received the information from Elder Tedi, who helped in creating it. They've been trying to create one to serve as a jail for rogue Norinlads like the Bounty Hunter Kerrigan, and now they have a prototype. If it can keep intangible beings like the Norinlad, even someone like Riley would have no way to escape it. He—"
"Wait," Aerith slightly glanced back at Riley, making sure he wasn't hearing any of their conversations,
"Your mother will be present in the Common Council. Find a way for us to talk privately."
"...What about Riley Ross?"
"He…"
"..."
The two continued talking for an entire hour until Aerith finally stopped flying as they reached a large asteroid the size of the empire state building. This asteroid, however, seemed completely still… and it was smooth. Aerith then slowly approached this asteroid, before placing her palm on it.
And as soon as she did so, several holes opened up on the surface of the space rock—spewing out drones that started scanning her from head to toe. And as soon as one of the drones finished scanning her eyes, the asteroid started to open up like a flower… and attached to its hundreds of petals were ships of different sizes.
"..."
"What?" A small smirk crawled on Aerith's face as she saw the look on Vera's face, "I was young once, you know. I formed the habit of collecting ships that I couldn't use. It… gave me the sense that I could leave anytime I wanted—but in the end, when I did leave, I ended up not using any of them."
"Hm…" Vera only nodded his head at Aerith's somewhat melancholic words, "So, which one are we using now?"
"That," Aerith pointed at one of the smaller ships that sprouted from her… asteroid garage, "It's small, but it can get us to the Common Council faster than any other ships—Riley!"
And before Aerith could drop her hand, she immediately turned to Riley. And without even any hesitation, Riley suddenly flew toward the small ship—and as he did so, a red beam that was large enough to wrap Aerith's entire asteroid garage raged from the distance… instantly disintegrating the asteroid along with all the ships it held—all except one.
"..." Riley had his palm raised as the red beam dissipated; the small ship behind him, completely unscathed from the sudden attack.
As for Aerith, her back was slightly scorched, but already regenerating as she protected Vera from being hit by the beam; Vera had also seen the beam coming towards them—she positioned herself in a way that would leave her completely unscathed from the blast even before Aerith finished calling Riley's name.
"What—" But before Vera could say something, Aerith quickly threw her away toward Riley. And almost like a golden dragon weaving through the darkness, a golden blur slammed straight into Aerith, causing her to be blown away into a far distance.
But in the blink of an eye, Aerith returned; her fist, already planted on the golden blur that blew her away.
"Until when are you going to disobey me and your father?" The golden blur soon became a silhouette of a person; her long golden hair that reached past her ankles, just freely floating behind her like a tail; the raging red in her eyes, fading away and revealing a color so blue, they were almost shining.
"...Queen Adel," Aerith breathed out; her voice, slightly seething as she returned her mother's glare, "I can't say it's nice to finally see you again."
"Why did you even return? Just to humiliate and disrespect us even more than you already have?" Queen Adel's hand that was gripping Aerith's fist tightened; almost creating a sound even through the voiceless expanse of space.
"Why are you even here, Adel?" Aerith quickly pulled her fist away, only to hold her mother's hand and competed grips with her.
"Do you really think your friends in the castle are still your friends?" Queen Adel rolled her eyes, "Don't worry, I haven't told your father of this—return, and you will be given a swift journey to your Eternal Death."
"..." Aerith took in a deep breath as she increased her grip; her eyes, looking straight into her mother's eyes, "It is a mistake, mother. It was a mistake that people like you are allowed to breed."
"...People like me?" Queen Adel's eye started to twitch,
"There are no other people, Aerith," Queen Adel then turned to look at Riley and Vera, "There's only us…
…and the rest are just animals."
Chapter 590"The rest are just… animals."
It was obvious; at least it should have been.
Throughout their journey to Theran, Aerith has always warned them that most of the themarians are psychopaths—but in a way, Vera couldn't really see it. Granted, she had just been getting dragged along her stay and was locked in her own world throughout her stay in Theran—but she should have truly seen it.
She disregarded Princess Aerith's execution since each planet has its own laws; she wasn't going to judge a King for ordering his daughter's execution because she broke one of the planet's sacred laws. But in all honesty, she should.
And there were signs. There were already signs of what Aerith meant. As they walked through the streets of Theran; as soon as the people realized that they weren't one of them, the looks in their eyes changed.
Not necessarily in a bad way—they weren't treating her and the others badly, not at all. There were even instances where they even became more endearing. But the way they interact with her and the others change completely…
…it was almost as if they were talking to them like they were pets.
Yes, that is what it was—they see other species and races as truly inferior. Of course, as the undisputed most powerful race in the entire Known Universe, it would be more surprising if they didn't at least act like they were better—but she didn't imagine for it to be at this point.
And now, as she sees the eyes of Aerith's mother, a queen of Theran, a visceral and creeping chill starts to pierce through her bones. It was causing her skin to go numb, to the point that she was completely ignoring the serial mass murderer behind her.
"..." Vera glanced behind, only to see Riley just calmly floating with his arms crossed. At the very least, she felt that Riley wouldn't just kill her randomly out of nowhere—no. Riley wasn't better than the queen, but he was at least the type to plan a murder.
Riley wants to have fun in the most enjoyable way as he murders his way through everything—he gives the death of others meaning, in a way.
But for Queen Adel, it feels as if she was the type to just step on someone and not even think about it after—no, perhaps she wouldn't even notice; As if the person she just accidentally stepped on was less than an insect—this is what themarians are.
It is no wonder that Aerith wanted to abandon their old generation and start anew. For them, the rest of the Universe is just one big block of waste filled with microscopic insects.
But perhaps in a way, the Universe is safe because themarians are the way they are. If one day, they somehow crave for the rest of the Universe…
…who can stop them, really?
"..." Vera then blinked a couple of times as she once again glanced at Riley. Is this why Aerith was keeping him around?
But Vera was well aware of how strong Riley truly is—he is strong, undoubtedly so. But if even he is having difficulty fighting someone like Aerith, how would he fight a million of them?
But then again, Riley will only get stronger and stronger with time. But Riley wasn't a solution at all, if he became so strong that he could handle the themarians with ease, then that would mean the end for the rest of the Universe.
The themarians can stop Riley, and Riley can stop the themarians.
And now, Vera was finally seeing the benefit in Aerith's plan—to change the discriminating mindset of the younger themarians would be the only way they would truly be safe from both sides.
If the Norinlads' device does not work, then Aerith's plan must work.
"They are people, mother!"
"There's no use talking to you."
And while Vera's thousands of thoughts circled in her mind, Aerith and her mother were still gripping each other's hands. The tone of their voices, devoid of any friendliness or even familiarity.
"If you want to leave, then just leave. That would save your father the hassle of putting you to Eternal Death," Queen Adel breathed out as her bright blue eyes very slowly turned red, "But what is this that I am hearing that you're planning something? Like a little child that refuses to grow up, the unfilial daughter returns to just create trouble for her parents…
…and as if that wasn't enough, you bring these animals into our home?"
"These people are my friends," Aerith gritted her teeth as her eyes also turned red, "Well… not exactly, but they're not animals."
"I am going to give you advice, my daughter. And this time, I hope you actually listen," Queen Adel smiled, "Just leave. Just leave and never return. You don't belong here."
"You know what, fuck you!" And with a roar, Aerith pulled her mother's hand; slamming her head on her mother's face and causing her to just disappear as she was thrown hundreds of kilometers away in an instant,
"Get inside the ship! Go, go!" And without any pause, Aerith quickly turned around and flew toward Riley and Vera, placing her hand on the ship to turn it on and open the hatch. And without even saying another word, she practically grabbed both Riley and Vera by the collars and dragged them inside the ship,
"Gru, activate hyperspeed!" Aerith then screamed as she threw the two into the cockpit.
[Which destination would you like to visit, M'lady?]
"Just take us far away from Theran!"
[Very well, M'lady.]
And without even seconds of entering the ship, it disappeared from its spot as it started accelerating into hyperspeed.
"Damn it!" And while the view outside started to turn into blurs and streaks, Aerith once again let out a scream that shook the entire interior of the ship.
"Why did we fly away, Aerith?"
"...Dude."
And with Aerith slightly going ballistic and obviously wanting to destroy something but couldn't, Riley just casually approached him, while Vera could not help but roll her eyes from his insensitivity.
"We could have just killed your mother together," Riley said as he looked out the view.
"Can you just shut up!?" Aerith yelled as she pointed at Riley. But after a few breaths of just staring at his oddly calm and oblivious murderous eyes, her breaths started to calm down and she shook her head,
"We could have, but I am not taking that risk. Mother is as strong as Caitlain, and she's quite persist—"
And before Aerith could finish her words, a thud resounded from the window. She quickly turned to see what caused it, only to see Queen Adel latching outside the ship; her fist, already retracted back to hit the window.
"...Aren't we accelerating to hyperspeed?" Vera could not help but blink a couple of times as she saw the wild smile on Queen Adel's face, "Your mother… is quite fast."
"Shit… Gru, open the latch, I am going—"
"There's no need for that, Aerith," Riley placed his hand on the window, looking at Queen Adel straight in the eyes, "You just need to activate the wipers whenever insects latch on your windows…
…Let's meet again soon, Queen Adel."
"You—"
And before Queen Adel could do anything else, she was blasted away by Riley.
"..."
"..."
"...Your parents are insane, Princess Aerith."
"I know. We're all not blessed with a good mother like you, Princess Vera."
Chapter 591[Welcome to Steam 4587, please observe the rules and regulations…]
"The two of you stay here, I'm just going to fill this thing up and have it checked out for any damages."
"What? No way, I am coming with you!"
A few hours after Aerith's surprise encounter with her mother, the group found themselves at one of the nearest space stations. Aerith initially wanted to go further before stopping; but alas, as this was the first time the ship was actually moving after hundreds of years being left in the cold, it needed some… timely maintenance before venturing out into the far distance.
"And are we sure your crazy mother won't be following us?"
"She won't—she's never left Themarian territory, ever. And no, just stay here. I'm not going to go far."
"You're not seriously going to leave me here with him!?"
"..."
Aerith turned to look at Riley, who was just casually sitting on the pilot's seat…letting it spin him around again and again for some reason.
"He's not going to kill you, I think," Aerith sighed as she shook her head, "And I can't leave him in the ship alone, who knows what he'll do."
"Then take him!"
"You think I am going to leave you with my ship? You tried to hijack Diana's."
"Yeah, to get rid of him! Like you should be doing!"
"..."
"..."
"Fine," and after a few seconds of looking back and forth between Vera and Riley, Aerith rolled her eyes and gave up, "You're coming with me. Riley, please…
…please promise me you're not going to go out and cause trouble."
"I promise, Aerith." And even as he continued to spin around, Riley answered.
"Look at me and promise," Aerith, however, still approached him even as he did so, "The universe is a big place, but don't forget you're a wanted man. The people here might not recognize you, but as soon as a Lahestia spots you, their systems will detect who you are."
"Lahestia?"
"The space police—wait, don't tell you forgot?"
"Hm," the seat instantly stopped and faced Aerith; Riley's eyes, looking her straight in the eyes, "I promise, Aerith."
"You promise what?"
"That I am not going to go out and cause trouble."
"Good," Aerith took in a deep breath as she nodded, "Princess Vera, you follow me. Okay? If you just so much as move away, I will leave you in this station."
"...Okay."
"You might think that's ideal and someone will help you if you reveal who you are, but no. A lost princess far away from home also fetches an ideal ransom. You might be incredibly fast, but malicious people are quite creative whenever money is involved."
"I get it, Princess Aerith. I'm not a child."
"Good."
And with that, Aerith and Vera stepped out of the ship…
…leaving Riley alone to fend for himself.
"..."
"..."
"Hm…" Riley stood up from his seat and looked out the window. The space station they were in right now, Steam 4587, was built on a monster's bone according to Aerith. Whatever creature it was, it was probably at least bigger than Elder Tedi.
This place, however, was probably the location with the least amount of people that Riley had been on in the expanse of space. Riley could barely see any activity going on from the window—the buildings and platforms,
"Gru."
[What can I do for you, Guest?]
"...Guest," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as he heard the ship's words.
[If you are uncomfortable with the way I address you, would you like to register your name?]
"No," Riley shook his head, "But change my name to Aerith's Lover."
[Changing Guest's name into Aerith's Lover. What else can I do for you, Aerith's Lover?]
"Give me information about this Space Station, Gru."
[Steam 4587 is one of the 5000 Steam Stations in the Known Universe. Built primarily to connect with Themarians, Steam 4587 was made from the bone of a Jyaboros that unfortunately found its way inside Themarian territory. Since its construction, Steam 4587 has still not made contact with—]
"Stop. Give me more information about the Jyaboros."
[Jyaboros.]
"..." Riley turned around as a hologram popped out in the center of the cockpit, showing a 3D image of what looked like a yellow mutated catfish with horns; its scales, emitting all sorts of different colors.
[A Jyaboros is the 6th largest creature known to the Known Universe. It primarily feeds on asteroids, and are notorious for accidentally swallowing ships. It uses its horns to—]
"Stop. What is the largest creature known to the Known Universe?"
[The Messengers.]
"..." Riley turned to look at the 3D image that replaced the Jyaboros, only to see a humanoid with a planet hovering between its palms. Unlike Elder Tedi, whose skin was completely silver, the humanoid in front of him had flesh-like skin… as well as an extra pair of arms.
[The Messengers are the oldest known species to still exist today, predating all of the Higher Races combined. There are accounts that they have been alive for billions of years, and were even present during the time of the gods. Currently, there are only—]
"Interesting," Riley placed his hand on his chin as he nodded, "Tell me about Elder Tedi."
[Elder Tedi—a deviant of the Norinlad. At a very early age, Tedi was discovered different from the rest of her species because of her size. She is believed to be an offspring between a female Messenger, and a male Norinlad, but proof has not been given until the current date. Tedi—]
"Give me more information about the Norinlad."
[The Norinlad—the most technologically advanced species in the Known Universe. One of the three only known species capable of turning their physical bodies into intangible matter. Their technological advancement is rooted in their innate ability to connect with all and any machinery and automation. They—]
"Stop…" Riley then started looking around the ship, almost as if he was making sure there was no one there,
"...Give me information about Riley Ross."
[...Searching for information about Riley Ross.]
"..."
"..."
[Riley Ross—a flower from the planet—]
"Riley Ross, the Outlaw."
[...]
"..."
[Riley Ross—a fugitive from the Unknown. Currently ranked as the 12th Most Wanted outlaw in the Known Universe. He first showed himself to the public by killing one of the Common Council's Elders and proceeded to commit several accounts of genocide. He was captured by the Guardians but is believed to only be a clone of the original body. Not much is known about Riley Ross as of this moment, would you like me to keep searching more, Aerith's Lover?]
"...Hm," Riley once again sat on the pilot's seat; his eyes, still looking at his 3D image, "Tell me about Caitlain—"
[I found you.]
And all of a sudden, his hologram that was just rotating in the air suddenly looked at him and opened its mouth to speak; its voice, however, was feminine and monotonous—a familiar voice.
"...Tomoe?"
[What? No. Who is that?]
"...Nothing?" Riley stood up from his seat again; his hands, ready to 'pavoom' at any moment.
[No…] Riley's hologram became static as numerous snaps whispered in the air. And soon, his hologram turned into a mosaic, before once again clearing… but this time, showing a silver-skinned humanoid, [It is I…
…Tedi.]
"...Oh."
Well, at least he wasn't causing trouble outside.
Chapter 592[It is I, Tedi.]
"...Oh."
[...]
"..."
[...]
"Gru, cut the connection from the internet, or whatever it is called here."
[You can't cut me off, Riley Ross. I have already taken control of this ship.]
"Please leave before Aerith comes back."
[So, you're with the Hel Princess?]
"...No."
Riley's eyes were squinted to the point that his eyes were almost closed. He had been trying to find a button inside the cockpit that would shut down the hologram, but there were barely any buttons here—whoever designed this definitely did not listen to Bernard.
Bernard has always told Riley that whatever it is that you create, you should always have a big red button to shut it down because you don't know when it will start disobeying you.
[I have been trying to find you ever since our encounter near the Cherbi, Riley Ross,] and while Riley's head was looking all over the place, Tedi tried to approach him; but alas, the hologram could really only go so fast before the image starts to cut off,
[And since you're on Steam 4587, I can surmise you just came from Theran? It makes sense that I was unable to find any trace of you. But then, all of a sudden, certain keywords that I set up to detect were triggered—and then there is you.]
"I believe that is a breach of privacy, Elder Tedi," Riley sighed and shook his head in disappointment, "And you did not have to do so, I am on my way to the Common Council."
[You have requested a meeting with the Elders in person?] Tedi's monotonous voice slightly wavered, [I… have already given up my position as an Elder. But if you are meeting with them, then I suppose I will be seeing you there.]
"Hm," Riley tilted his head to the side, "Why were you trying to find me, Tedi?"
[Because I have seen you before, Riley Ross.]
"Yes, that tends to happen when we've met in person, Tedi."
[No, that was not the first time we've met,] Tedi shook her head, [I have seen you before… from the Void.]
"The Void?" Riley placed his hand on his chin, "Is this about the device you've helped create, Tedi? The portal to another dimension that is to be used to imprison rogue Norinlads?"
[...I knew it! That was you!] Tedi's monotonous voice slightly showed excitement as she almost crouched down on the floor, [How else would you know that!?]
"I overheard Princess Vera and Aerith's conversation, Tedi," Riley shook his head, "The first time I met you was the first time I met you. The one you saw was probably Nothing."
[Nothing? No. My species have Perfect Memory—I saw you inside the Void, Riley Ross.]
"No, I meant that was Nothing."
[It's not nothing, Riley Ross. Please stop undermining my ability to recall events!]
"The one you saw is a being called Nothing, Tedi," Riley closed his eyes as he let out a long and deep breath.
[A being called… Nothing?]
"Hm. But it is weird, it is supposed to be carrying the same face as whoever is looking at it. Perhaps because you caught it off-guard?"
[Wait, you know who it is?]
"What it is, Tedi—and no, not exactly," Riley Ross shook his head, "But it has told me that it is a being that predates anything. It is before the Universe, before existence itself."
[It's a god?]
"It said it wasn't, Tedi. But it is a being that exists before the gods."
[This… then wouldn't it be a being that knows everything?] Tedi's monotonous voice started to tremble, [The knowledge it holds must be as infinite as the Universe itself.]
"Universes, Tedi."
[Ho!?] Although the hologram was slightly translucent, the shaking of Tedi's head was obvious for Riley to see, [How… how do I make contact with this Supreme Being, Riley Ross? How do you make contact with it? I have tried again and again, I repeated the calculations; but it has not shown itself since then.]
"I—"
[Wait, do not tell me,] Tedi then stretched her palm toward Riley, [This is something that must be heard face to face.]
"Hm."
[But there is still something that we have not addressed… why does it carry your face, Riley Ross?]
"I'm its favorite person, I suppose."
[Favorite per—We will talk soon.]
And all of a sudden, Tedi's hologram suddenly disappeared; replaced once again by Riley's silhouette. And before Riley could wonder why just abruptly vanished, Aerith and Vera returned.
"..."
"..."
Aerith and Vera quickly started looking back and forth between Riley and his hologram; their eyes, very slowly squinting with each tilt of the head. And finally, after a few more seconds of this, Aerith opened her mouth.
"Why… are you searching yourself?"
"I wanted to see what they know of me, Aerith," Riley just answered without any hesitation.
"..." Aerith squinted her eyes as she started looking around the ship, trying to see if Riley was up to something. He did promise that he wouldn't go out and cause trouble, but knowing Riley's personality, he would still somewhat manage to find himself in a mess—or the mess finds him.
"Gru, show me footage inside the cockpit for the last 30 minutes."
And while Aerith proceeded to review the surveillance cameras, Vera just made her way to her seat; loudly scoffing as she passed by Riley and subtle whispering, "See? Princess Aerith doesn't even trust you."
"I wouldn't trust myself either, Princess Vera," Riley shrugged, "Look at what happened to your brother. He died a gruesome and sudden death right when he started liking me."
"You…" Vera sucked in a deep and sharp breath as her steps wavered. But after a few breaths to calm herself down, she just walked away and sat down; her fists, however, were trembling and showing the rage that has been building up inside her for a long time now.
"..." Riley noticed this, of course—but he didn't mind. He was used to people hating him; Gary, V… the entire world has always shown him disdain. And of course, he deserved even more. Riley then turned to look at the surveillance footage, but the hologram was just showing him sitting on the chair—until at the very end when he started searching for things.
His entire interaction with Tedi was nowhere to be seen; as expected of a race that is practically one with computers—Riley thought.
"I didn't see anything wrong amiss…" Aerith then let out a sigh as she waved her hand, closing the holograms and surveillance footage, "But why do you look like a kid who got away with something?"
"Because I did, Aerith," a small smile crawled on Riley's face, "I have been getting away with everything."
"...Right," Aerith squinted as she slowly made her way to the pilot's seat, "Gru, set course for Ahor Zai. It's time to meet the governm—"
[Negative, M'lady. Energy and power levels are insufficient for travel to the designated course.]
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Gru, check again," Aerith, who was about to sit down, could not help but look at Riley and Vera.
[Energy and power levels are at 3%, M'lady.]
"But we just filled this up," Vera said as she stood up, before turning her attention to Riley, "You… you did something, didn't you!? You're not letting me go ho—"
[Raceship Gru, prepare for boarding.]
And before Vera could put her blame on Riley, a loud mechanical voice seeped from the outside. Aerith and Vera quickly looked over the window, only to see several different humanoids approaching their ship, being led by… a chubby cephalopoid.
"Broken femur…" Vera cursed, "...Are those guards? What do they want? You said no one would recognize us!"
"No… guards wouldn't be that diverse," Aerith let out a sigh,
"...They're pirates."
Chapter 593"Welcome to Steam 4587, visitors."
"Thank you, but we were just about to leave."
Aerith's ship was small—with its purpose truly only for travel. There were no other livable rooms except the cockpit, and right now, there were 6 unwelcomed visitors in it. It didn't help that the one leading them was a fat cehpalopoid; each of his tentacles, almost as wide as Aerith's waist.
It was also slimy, leaving unpleasant… juices that caused the floor to become greasy. The cephalopoid seemed completely ignorant of this, however, or he just didn't care as the smug look on his alien face was noticeable even for someone like Riley.
"Leave? But how can you when your fuel is out?" The cephalopoid let out a small chuckle; his breaths, oddly high-pitched. He seemed to also be out of breath with each word, as the device that was attached like an earphone around his head that covered his gills keep releasing some sort of… vapor.
"I was wondering about that," Aerith was the only one speaking with the pirates; Riley and Vera, just quietly seated and were ordered not to say anything,
"We've already paid for the cores to be replaced, and it should have been done minutes ago."
"Oh, I know," the cephalopoid waved one of his tentacles closer to Aerith, causing her to take a step back, "Your credits weren't enough."
"..." Aerith looked at the cephalopoids large eyes for a few seconds, before she just let out a sigh and shook her head, "How much? How much do you need to just give us what we want and let us go?"
"Well, well. Look at that, boys. She's very easy to talk to," the cephalopoid turned to his comrades, garnering a fit of laughter as they all looked at each other—and with them coming from different species, the orchestra of laughs was quite… unique to the ears.
And this weird sound caused Riley to shake his head and pat his ears, putting the attention of the cephalopoid toward him.
"How much do you want from us?" Aerith quickly blocked Riley from the cephalopoid's large eyes.
"How about you just give us your card?" The cephalopoid, however, moved to the side to get a better look at Riley as he seemed familiar. And soon, Riley returned his glares.
"!!!" And as soon as Riley did so, the suckers on each of the cephalopoid's limbs started widening along with his large eyes,
"Th…" The cephalopoid pirate opened his mouth, but no words came out. He then turned to look at his comrades behind him, before once again turning to look at Aerith, "You… you know what, I think we made a mistake."
"...A mistake?"
"Yes, we're going to change your cores now. Our system just probably bugged," the cephalopoid quickly turned around; his thick tentacles, causing a bout of squishy noises to whisper in the air as he started crawling away.
"Boss? Where are we—"
"Shh! Go, go!" The cephalopoid practically slapped one of his men straight in the mouth. He then covered the rest of the faces of his other subordinates, before just slithering out of the ship without another word.
"..."
"..."
"I believe the octopus man was able to recognize me, Aerith."
"I knew it!" Vera quickly stood up from her seat and pointed at Riley, "We would have solved this just by covering our faces, Princess Aerith!"
"No, masks would make us even more suspicious," Aerith sighed as she shook her head, "They would have also made us pull them down."
"What about Caitlain's tech? Didn't she have like some sort of tech to disguise herself!? We should have borrowed that!"
"Caitlain… is quite stingy with her things."
"That is true," Riley quickly nodded his head at Aerith's statement, "I will just kill the pirates to prevent any more trouble, Aerith."
"No!" Aerith started massaging her eyebrows as she heard Riley's words, "As long as you are with me, you are to kill no one, you got it?"
"I will do it," Vera started stretching her legs, "I will even dispose of their bodies, I'm fast enough not to be captured by even the highest speed cameras."
"No killing!" Aerith wanted to pull out her hair in frustration, "Let me handle this, okay? I'm supposed to be advocating that the newer generations of themarians are peaceful. I can't be doing that and allowing one of my companions to just outright murder someone…
…I'll think of something."
"...I apologize, Aerith."
"What?" And before even a single plan could form inside Aerith's head, Riley's… somewhat nervous voice whispered into her ears.
"I already killed them before you could say not to kill anyone."
"What!?" Both Vera and Aerith rushed to the window, only to see the pirates lying down on the metal docks; the cephalopoid, now as pale as the metal he died on.
"You do not have to worry, I made their death look natural."
"How is several people dying at the same time natural!?" Aerith pinched the bridge of her nose as she backed away from the window.
"I'll…" Vera also backed away as her eyes started scanning the docks, "...I'll just steal the cores to fill up the ship."
"Wait, no. Stop committing crime—" And before Aerith could finish her words, Vera already disappeared.
[Power and Energy levels are back to optimal levels.]
"..."
[Power and Energy levels at 100%]
"It's done, Princess Aerith," Vera then appeared as soon as she left, "Let's go!"
"...Stop using your powers for—Never mind."
[Would you like to set course for Ahor Zai, M'lady?]
"..." Aerith once again looked out the window, only to see people starting to gather around the dead pirates. And then, with another shake of her head,
"Go…
…Just go."
***
"I apologize, Aerith. Please, don't be mad anymore."
"Oh, I'll be mad as long as I need to."
The ship has been moving through hyperspeed for several hours now. And since they left the space station, Aerith has been keeping her silence—but no more.
"I don't even know why I bother trying with you, Riley," she said as she turned her chair around to look at Riley, "You're just this… cloud of darkness that just keeps on—Ugh!"
"The two of you look like a couple."
"A couple of retards is what we are," Aerith rolled her eyes as she pointed at Vera, "And you. Never use your powers to steal again—do you know what would happen if the people came to know that the princess of the fastest species in the entire universe steals things?"
"..."
"I don't want to talk about it anymore," Aerith then stood up from her seat, "We're here. Let's just get this over with."
And as soon as Aerith said that, the blurs and streaks that could be seen from the window cleared, replaced by a colossal, and marvelous structure.
There were several rings, 4 colossal rings of different sizes that were spinning inside of each other—and at the very center of it was a shiny spherical glass.
Like a snow globe, there were 7 buildings inside; weaved in a circle and all connected like a web with a large dome at their center—
The Ahor Zai, the center of the entire Known Universe.
Chapter 594[The Ahor Zai.
An infrastructure marvel that has existed for hundreds of millions of years. When civilizations rise and fall, Ahor Zai remains. Most of the civilizations that have built it have long become extinct, it is rumored to have been made during the Time of the Gods.
The Ahor Zai houses the Common Council, a council made of representatives from the most technologically advanced civilizations in the Known Universe.
It holds the entire history of the Known Universe. But alas, most of the accounts during the Time of the Gods have been erased—courtesy of the god of the evaniels and the war that happened during their time.
History was not the only thing that was erased during the war, civilizations were too. There used to be hundreds of Elders in the Common Council, but now there are only 7—none of them pioneers. Almost all of the civilizations during that time were erased, regressed, or just chose to close themselves off from the rest of the Universe.
It was a universal war that brought the Known Universe down to its knees. The evaniels were one of the civilizations that closed themselves off entirely; their civilization also regressed as a result of millions of years of unrest and civil war.
But of course, in time, they recovered their technology and surfaced back into the Known Universe. The leader of that time wanted to reclaim their past glory once again through war…
…unfortunately for them, they were completely unaware of a fairly new species that joined the Higher Races called Themarians. Suffice it to say, any thoughts of war that lingered in the evaniels completely disappeared after almost being annihilated by the new race, making them one of the most peaceful civilizations next to the Norinlads.
This is not even a fraction of a decimal's percent of the history that the Ahor Zai contains.]
"Interesting, thank you for the information, Gru."
[You are welcome, Aerith's Lover.]
"What the—why is the humiliating past of the evaniels the first thing that pops up!?"
"Wait, did my ship just call you my lover? And stop playing with the search engine, get ready to dock!"
Aerith's ship has been hovering and floating near the Ahor Zai for an entire hour now; their ship, being fully scanned by several drones to ensure that aside from Riley, the ship was not carrying any other weapons of mass destruction.
"This place… doesn't look the way I remember it."
"Oh, you've been here before?"
"Once, my mother brought me," Vera placed her hand on the window as she stared at the plateau inside the glass globe of Ahor Zai, "I don't really remember much."
"Well, I haven't been here even once," Aerith breathed out as their ship started being pulled closer to the Ahor Zai, "They tried contacting me many times during my travels before Earth, but I refused all of their summons—I have a feeling they don't like me too much. But then again, the Elders that called me are probably dead by now."
"..." And while Vera and Aerith were chatting casually, Riley just stared at the outermost ring that rotated around the globe as they passed through it, wondering what the purpose of these rings was. If Riley were to guess… they probably just placed it there to make Ahor Zai look cooler.
"Ah! That's my mother's ship!"
And as they passed through all four rings and moved closer to the globe, Vera's voice lightened up for the very first time ever since the tragedy that had befallen before her; her eyes, quickly turning moist as she pointed at a ship parked on a tarmac.
There were several other ships parked there, but the ship Vera was pointing to stood out the most—after all, it just looked like a giant leaf from afar.
"I guess she arrived before us," a subtle smile crawled on Aerith's face as she saw the look in Vera's eyes. But as soon as Aerith's eyes strayed toward Riley, the smile quickly faded away. Their entire situation was just… insanity.
Aerith's ship continued to float closer and closer until a thud whispered in the ship as they lightly hit the glass globe that wrapped the entire plateau. And now that they were this close, Riley could not help but think of how it truly looked like a snow globe, except without the snow.
"..." Riley was expecting a part of the glass to open up… but their ship just passed through, as if the glass was nothing but water. But with the thud Riley heard earlier, the thing should be solid.
"...Norinlad," Riley whispered as he placed his hand on his chin. As a species capable of turning their bodies into intangible matter, as well as being the most technologically advanced race in the entire Known Universe, they were most likely the one to build this—but for some reason…
…Riley could not help but think what his father would be able to do if he has access to their resources, if he still woke up from his coma, that is.
Come to think of it, he was the one to give the Guardian Force to Bernard. If he ends up dying because of it, then wouldn't he be the one who killed his father?
"..." Riley squinted his eyes at the thought for a few seconds, before shrugging his shoulders and looking back at the window—his eyes, scanning the several other ships parked on the tarmac they were landing on.
All the ships looked different, there was even one that just looked like a large luxurious sofa. Riley has already known this fact before, but he was still underestimating just how large and diverse the Known Universe is.
Just how long would it take for him to kill everyone? How many clones did he need to scatter, and how many clones did his clones need to scatter? Fortunately…
…he was now in the only place that could answer his question.
"...Why are there so many ships?" And as her ship finally touched ground, Aerith's breaths whispered through the entire cockpit as she looked through the window,
"Don't the Elders have their own parking spaces?"
"Maybe the news that a themarian royalty, an evaniel royalty, as well as a serial mass murderer from the Unknown will arrive at Ahor Zai attracted the stragglers," Vera scoffed as she stood in front of the door hatch even before it started to open,
"Where else would you be able to witness this madness?"
"I told them to keep this meeting an absolute secret," Aerith could really only cover her face in frustration, "I forgot, the Common Council is where the Universe's most notorious gossipers are gathered."
"Hm," Vera smiled as the hatch in front of her finally fully opened; before stepping out, however, she turned to look at Riley,
"Riley Ross. It will be a long time since we will meet again, but at that time… I will make sure you will pay for your crimes."
And with that, Vera disappeared, not even waiting for Aerith and Riley to step out of the ship.
"Riley, I want you to know that everyone in this place wants you dead," Aerith whispered as soon as they took her first step on Ahor Zai.
"Everyone has been wanting me dead ever since I was born, Aerith," Riley responded as he made his way out of the ship; his feet, however, did not really touch the ground as he just chose to hover,
"Now…
…time to cause trouble."
"No! Get down from there this instant!"
Chapter 595"You get down there this instant, young man!"
Like a son embarrassing his mother, or like a wife being embarrassed by his husband's childish antics, Aerith's frustrated screams echoed throughout the tarmac. It was a good thing that no one was here yet, if not, then the calm, reasonable, and peaceful image that Aerith wanted to project would be completely flushed down the drain.
She was here as a representative of the younger themarians… but now she was raising her voice and violently waving her hand at Riley, who was very slowly floating higher and higher into the air.
"I was only kidding, Aerith."
Fortunately for her, a chuckle whispered into her ears as Riley's feet touched the ground.
"I have never imagined I will be dreading the time someone learns a sense of humor," Aerith could really only sigh as she grabbed Riley by his sleeves, making sure he won't go anywhere he wasn't supposed to,
"Anyway, I am aware that Ahor Zai is completely run by AI, but this…"
Aerith then looked at the floor of the tarmac, only to see a trail of light blinking toward a certain direction, "...Is it telling us to follow this light?"
Aerith scanned the entire tarmac to see if there were any signs of someone else being there, but no. And so, the only thing she could really do was follow the light, dragging Riley along with her.
The Ahor Zai was not necessarily colossal, as the size of its plateau is really only as large as a very small city—or a very large airport, even. Even from the tarmac, one could already see the entirety of the plateau; the 7 buildings, as well as the dome at the center that connected all of them.
It seems Ahor Zai was capable of adjusting its size according to how many Elders the Common Council currently has—and as they only have 7; 6 now since Elder Tedi just recently left, the Ahor Zai of today is fairly small.
"It's able to reduce its size, Aerith?"
"Hm, I am not entirely sure. But I think those rings are the ones responsible for that," Aerith said as she pointed at the four rotating rings encapsulating Ahor Zai.
"Interesting, the universe truly is a mysterious place, Aerith."
"Mysterious enough to not want to destroy it anymore?"
"There are no criteria in destroying everything, Aerith," Riley shook his head, "When it happens, it just happens because of me. But I have grown curious, just how many species—how many civilizations are out there in the Known Universe?"
"No idea, a million? I do know the population is at the higher trillions," Aerith shrugged as she continued to follow the light while dragging Riley, "I think they have some sort of library here that has access to your questions—I'll come with you to visit it if we get the time. For now, you behave yourself, got it?"
"Hm," Riley also shrugged as he looked around.
The entire design of the Ahor Zai was similar to the brutalist infrastructure one could find on Earth; simple, blocky, and completely gray. There were hints of plants, but they were scarce and apart. In fact, the most significant sign of plant life that could be seen in Ahor Zai was the ship of Vera's mother.
Even then, however, the place did not seem like it was dead or devoid of life, no. It felt the opposite for some reason—as if Riley could feel the Ahor Zai breathing. Well, maybe not, but it sure was moving.
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he saw his surroundings shift; the large stairs that led down from the tarmac, becoming smaller to accommodate his and Aerith's size.
"They could have just made a hovering platform or something," Aerith didn't seem too impressed, however, as she just rolled her eyes when she started walking down. As soon as she said that, however, the steps they were on turned into a disc.
Aerith slightly heightened her senses to see if something unfavorable was about to happen; after all, she was carrying with him one of the Known Universe's top outlaws. Instead, however, the disc platform they were on just started to hover, and almost as if it heard her words, the platform started flying them to their destination.
"You hurt its feelings, Aerith."
"Shut up."
"I suppose it is true that the entire place is ran by AI. Are they not afraid of what the Norinlad, or someone like father can do to it?"
"Why are your thoughts always so grim?" Aerith sighed as she looked in the direction where they were heading—straight to the dome at the very center of Ahor Zai, "Huh… I guess they want to hear what I have to say as soon as possible."
The large dome, like most of Ahor Zai, was also completely gray. It didn't look cement-like, however, not even metal—it was similar to a turtle's shell, if a turtle's shell was completely devoid of any color, that is.
"...If Ahor Zai changes according to the number of members in the Common Council, why are there still 7 buildings, Aerith?" Riley asked as he looked at the 7 large buildings surrounding the dome, "I killed Elder Zora, and Elder Tedi quit her position. There should only be 5."
"They probably haven't gotten the chance to change it," Aerith shrugged before her eyes started to squint, "...How did you know this Elder Tedi quit?"
"She told me on Steam 4587, while you and Vera were busy being duped by the pirates, Aerith."
"...Wait, what? Wait… Elder Tedi as in the giant Norinlad!? She hacked into the ship while we were away!?"
"Yes, we discussed the device that could potentially trap me. The device you and Princess Vera were talking about, Aerith."
"...You heard that?" And even as the platform they were on landed on the ground in front of the entrance to the dome, Aerith did not step down as she just looked at Riley.
"I was telekinetically tethered to you, Aerith."
"...And?" Aerith looked Riley in the eyes.
"I am excited to see if it will succeed, Aerith," Riley nodded as he was the first to step down, "But from what I heard from Tedi, it is still not ready—unless you want something else coming out of it."
"...Like what?"
"Nothing, Aerith."
"...What?"
"Shall we?" Riley then lifted his hand, stretching it toward Aerith as he gestured to her to step down the platform.
"..." Aerith was still looking Riley directly in the face to try and gauge what he was thinking; but aside from the subtle smile, there was nothing else. And so, with a sigh, Aerith just stepped down, completely ignoring his hand.
"Hm," Riley did not seem to think much of it, however, as he just shrugged and followed behind her to the large, and once again gray door.
"..." Aerith looked beneath her feet, only to see the light that was guiding them very slowly fade away. And as soon as it did so, the door slid open—and even with its sheer size, it created absolutely no noise. However, the same could not be said from what was on the other side of the door.
Aerith was here for a meeting, and yet what was in front of him could only be described…
…as a party.
Chapter 596"What in the unknown is this?"
"I have never heard that expression before, Aerith. And I believe this is some sort of ball."
'
"I'm not dressed for an event like—What are you wearing!?"
And with Aerith's loud voice traveling throughout the entire dome, all the people that were just casually chatting and seemingly enjoying each other's company all turned their heads toward the entrance.
Aerith was not able to focus on their stares, however, as she was busy looking at Riley. He was just previously wrapped in a white coat, which he wears during his classes, and underneath it was his leather-spandex full black suit. But now, he was wearing a long coat and tie, with the back of his long white hair cleanly tied.
As for her, she was just wearing a white buttoned shirt, and white pants—like some sort of mental institute patient.
"You look fine, Aerith. It shows how badly you are treated by your fellow themarians."
"...Thanks? You—" And before Aerith could finish her words, Riley once again stretched out his hand and offered his arm, "I already rejected you once, women don't like clingy men."
"I thought you wanted me to stick close to you so I won't cause trouble, Aerith?"
"That…I also don't want to be seen too close to a notorious outlaw," Aerith sighed as she was starting to think whether or not holding Riley's arm would be for the better or for the worse. But after a few milliseconds of thinking about it, she sighed and shook her head,
"Just stay close to me."
There was no stopping Riley if he wanted to make trouble—if there is one thing that Riley's opponents never truly understand about his telekinetic abilities, it would be its range. Forget about Riley's hundred other abilities, his telekinesis alone threatens everyone here… and everyone that was not here.
In fact, during his stint as Darkday, he could have just stayed home—and he would still have killed the same amount of people on the other side of the planet. It was only his childlike tendency to want to have fun that exposed him to the world, without that… Megawoman would have been fighting an invisible entity that was drinking milk in the most inconspicuous place.
The humans would have been wiped out without having a single clue as to what caused their extinction. That was the very reason his biological mother, Alice Lane, was being watched by the government almost her entire life, even in prison, until she joined the Hope Guild.
"...On second thought."
And before Riley could drop his hand, Aerith quickly wrapped her arms around her arm, "Don't misunderstand, you're like a prisoner."
"I have always been your prisoner, Aerith."
"Can you shut—"
"Princess Aerith of Theran."
And out of nowhere, Aerith's frowning face instantly turned into a smile as she heard a voice approaching them. And finally, she noticed almost everyone in the ball looking at them; their faces were curious, shocked, and excited all at the same time.
She then turned to look at the person that approached her, only to see a black-skinned humanoid; the sides of his face and his bare torso, covered in thick red fur. The top of his head, covered in some sort of thick long red quills that very well looked like his hair.
There was also his long tail that poked at the back of his white baggy pants, seemingly excited judging by the way it wagged.
"I feel like I have seen that man in an anime before."
"Shh, quiet. That's a Sajan," Aerith quickly elbowed Riley to shut him up, "I just don't know why he's approaching us."
"..." The Sajan quickly noticed Aerith and Riley whispering to each other, but did not really mind it as he just placed his hands behind his back to show respect to Aerith; his toned and defined chest, almost doubling in size as he did so,
"I am S'adar, Your Highness."
"S'adar… one of the Elders?"
"Yes," S'adar let out a small chuckle as he scratched his chin, "I'm the new guy in the group."
"Forgive me for not recognizing you, Elder S'adar," Aerith tried to bow, but S'adar gestured to her to stop before she could lower her head.
"Stop it, Your Highness. You have lived tens of my lifetime," S'adar once again let out a small chuckle; his voice, as loud as it could be, "I do have a question, though. That's the reason I wanted to greet you first."
"...What is it?"
"Do you have any plans in joining the Tournament?" S'adar squinted his small and overly round eyes.
"...I'm a themarian, Elder S'adar," Aerith smiled and shook her head, "It wouldn't be fair."
"Oh, I think you'll find it fairly fair," S'adar also smiled, "I also join the Tournaments from time to time, and there are people there that are really strong. You'll find it fun."
"Oh, I am a pacifist, Elder S'adar. Most themarians my age and those that are younger tend to just dabble in the arts and academics."
"..." And as soon as Riley heard Aerith's words, he very slowly turned his head toward her. Riley had noticed it before when they were on Earth… but Aerith really likes lying when it comes to her race—a trait of one that is ashamed of one's heritage.
"I see," S'adar nodded, "Is that why you have a violent Outlaw, ranked as the 12th most wanted in the Known Universe, in your arms?"
"This—"
"I am his prisoner, Elder S'adar," Riley did not let Aerith speak as he bowed his head, "She is one of the only 3 reasons why all of you are still alive."
"...Riley Ross," S'adar turned to look at Riley; the smile on his face growing wider, "We finally meet face to face."
"Hm."
"Well…" S'adar stepped closer to Riley, causing Aerith to subtly and slightly move between them, "...You don't need to worry. Everyone is equal in the Ahor Zai—any crimes you have committed outside, any glory you have, is not honored here. Think of this as… another dimension where everything is wiped clean."
"Okay," Riley shrugged, "Is Tedi going to be here?"
"...Elder Tedi?" S'adar raised his thick eyebrows, "Are you acquainted with her?"
"We've met in person. She told me she's going to be here to discuss something."
"Well, I haven't heard of that," S'adar quickly fixed his quills as soon as he heard Riley's words, "Enjoy the party for now, Riley, Princess Aerith."
"Wait. What about the meeting?"
"Meeting? Oh!" S'adar chuckled as he started walking away, stretching his arms to the side, "This is it."
"...What?" Aerith blinked a couple of times as she looked at the other people looking at her, "But this is a party, Elder S'adar."
"It is also a meeting."
"I am supposed to address only you and the other Elders," Aerith's eyebrows furrowed.
"A lot of people are curious about you and the themarians, Princess Aerith. Whatever your cause is, it would be good to convince the other races as well, no?" S'adar shrugged, "So, go...
...Meet."
"This…"
"You have a big problem, Aerith," Riley said,
"You have the social skills of an awkward adult that just passed her even more awkward teenage years."
Chapter 597"You have the social skills of a cardboard for someone who has lived for almost a thousand years."
"I really hate that that statement is coming from you, someone who is supposed to be socially impaired."
"Oh, I have actually quite mastered my social skills, Aerith."
"...I hate that I think you might actually be right."
"I also happen to overhear back on Theran that you didn't have any friends growing up."
"Just shut up. You don't have friends either."
"By choice."
"Shut up."
It is true—Aerith did not have any friends growing up. She was surrounded by people, true—but none really understood her. Even at the earliest of her age, she knew she was different from the other themarians.
Her older brother was the same; which was quite awkward for the Royal family who were, for lack of a better word, extreme with their beliefs that themarians belong only to Theran. They have this weird antipathy for the outside because they think the rest of the Universe is just one big pile of junk.
And because Aerith and her brother thought otherwise, they were considered a disgrace by their own parents… so much so that to prevent any gossips and rumors to spread, they opted to marry the two of them to each other.
Aerith and her brother didn't really care, however, as they just laughed and continued on with their lives. They weren't going to get married, and they will continue to want to venture out into the outside world.
Her brother, however, did not get that chance. He did, however, manage to get a glimpse of it when an outsider was able to enter Theran—Xra.
He fell in love with her, but Xra wasn't going to stay on Theran—and very soon, her brother's love became an obsession. Xra was never going to be hers in the first place, she never returned his feelings…
…and very slowly, Aerith watched as her brother lost his mind. He challenged Xra into a duel, with the condition that she would stay if she loses—Xra killed him without any hesitation.
Since then, Aerith promised herself that she wouldn't be stuck on Theran, she wouldn't become like her brother—she would go outside.
Aerith envied Caitlain'Ur, in a way. Aside from the fact that she was destroying alien civilizations from the inside and committing genocide, at least she was free. Perhaps that was also a reason why themarians shouldn't be free—but Aerith has always thought that if she was given a chance to be out there, she wouldn't be like her.
Aerith envied Caitlain'Ur…but at the same time, she abhorred her. And so, she dedicated her life to getting stronger to hunt for her. And one day, she was able to break free from the chains of Theran and she did what she set out to do—hunt down Caitlain'Ur.
It would be killing two birds with one stone; she will catch the themarian criminal that has sullied the themarian name, and she will also be free to venture outside.
But alas, Caitlain proved to be too strong for her. Aerith couldn't go home—how could she? She left, only to return with nothing. And nothing else would make her parents even smugger to see their daughter come back with nothing from the outside world… that would just prove them right.
And so, Aerith continued to venture out alone. Until eventually, she was led to Earth… where she eventually managed to get Caitlain back to Theran, although not in the way she imagined.
But even then, all her people saw was that she left.
And that is it—that is her life. She was more welcomed on another planet, whether it be Megawoman, or a random woman walking down the streets. But in both, however, she never truly had any friends…
…because she never truly belonged to either. Even her husband whom she thought would be with her until the day he died...they ended up falling out of love with each other. Even her own son felt estranged from her…
…because she just doesn't know how to connect to people.
And now she was being asked to socialize?
"Princess Aerith."
"Yes?"
Aerith instinctively responded as another person approached her; her mind, still completely in another place.
"This is the first time I am ever seeing a themarian, and to think it would be a themarian royalty. How lucky I have heard of this."
"...Yes, I'm lucky too."
"...Right."
"..."
"..."
"I apologize, pink-skinned woman."
And almost as if to save her from this weird situation, Riley pulled her hand and wrapped it around his arm even tighter,
"Princess Aerith is still a bit tired from her trip all the way from Theran. She escaped from there, you see."
"Riley?" Aerith's eyes widened, "What are you—"
"...Escaped?" The pink-skinned woman was slightly taken aback at first by Riley suddenly addressing her instead. It didn't last long, however, because her curiosity won over everything else. It wasn't only her, the people that have been wanting to approach Aerith ever since they saw her also started subtly moving closer and closer.
"Theran is actually in a very delicate situation right now," Riley smiled, "They are on the brink of a war."
"A war?" Not only the pink-skinned woman but also those that were eavesdropping near them gasped; almost dropping whatever it is they were holding. A war between themarians? Wasn't that… dangerous for the entire universe?
"Yes, that is why Princess Aerith is here," Riley nodded before stepping away, "Now if you'll excuse us, I need to serve Aerith some refreshments."
"Wait… you look familiar," the pink-skinned woman squinted her eyes as she looked at Riley.
"I get that a lot, pink-skinned madam," Riley once again nodded, before gently dragging Aerith away. And as they walked through the curious crowd, all of them made way for them. There are those that wanted to talk, but Riley looked at them; subtly gesturing they will have a chance to talk later.
"We should eat first, Aerith."
And as soon as they reached the table with all the food, Riley raised his hand—making some of the cuisine float,
"These dishes are completely unfamiliar to me, Aerith. Do you know any of them?"
"What the hell was that, Riley?" And while Riley was seriously trying to identify the dishes with his hand on his chin, Aerith… violently whispered into his ear, "Why are you telling everyone the situation on Theran!?"
"Isn't that why you are here, Aerith?"
"I'm here to make sure that when the New Theran makes its appearance, no one will be afraid! Telling them that a warrior species is warring is not really the best way to start that!"
"They will always be afraid of you, Aerith," Riley casually answered as he started floating all sorts of dishes toward his plate, causing some of the people to watch in awe,
"You are a species that could snap an entire planet in half with ease."
"I know that, but don't add even more reason for them to fear us!"
"I am not, Aerith—I am trying to make them sympathize with you," Riley let out a small sigh, as he placed his plate down on the table,
"People can fear and hate you, but as soon as they see you vulnerable, they will start relating to you."
"Isn't that…" Aerith looked Riley straight in the eyes.
"Me—that is my life, Aerith," Riley smiled,
"That is how I manipulate people like Katherine, Silvie, the others, and...
...You."
Chapter 598"That is how I manipulate people like Katherine, Silvie, the others, and...
...You."
The part was still filled with noise; the curious eyes of the people, still obviously centered and even piercing Aerith's bones. There were people sneakily moving closer to them, pretending to be getting food from the buffet table.
All of this was going on, and Aerith was aware of every inch of it—and yet right now, her eyes were only fixated on Riley as he placed his finger on her chest.
"Me…?" One of Aerith's eyebrows started to rise as she looked Riley in the eyes, "You think you're manipulating me?"
"I was, I am, and will continue to do so until one of us eternally dies," Riley nodded, almost as if he did not just say something morbid, "Because deep down, you are a kind person, Aerith."
"There you guys go again, confusing me with the righteous and mighty Megawoman—that's done. You've seen who I am now, you have seen my people," Aerith rolled her eyes as she removed Riley's finger from her chest.
"No, I've really only ever seen you, Aerith," and with those words and a light chuckle, Riley shrugged before once again choosing what food he would eat,
"I suppose I don't really have to worry if something is not edible, they probably prepared this while having all the other species in mind, no? The cuisine should be… for the universal tongue."
"You're really, really weird."
"You're weird."
"Wh—"
"Your Highness."
And with Riley still not having picked something to try from the buffet table, one of the people that have been giving them side glances finally gained the courage to approach; this time, however, Riley completely left Aerith on her own as he went to the other side of the table.
"..." Aerith subtly gestured to Riley to come back, but he was completely ignoring her. And so, with a deep breath, the only thing Aerith could really do was turn around.
"My name is Fruq, a senator of United Bujut from the planet Andro of Sector 68. First of all, I would like to express my deepest, deepest respect to…"
"Hm," Aerith didn't really need to talk. She just smiled and hummed every now and then to pretend she was actually understanding the person in front of her. It also didn't help that another person came and talked to her… and then another… and another.
She could barely even entertain one, and now there were 10 people in front of her, covering her entire view. Aerith could not help but glance at Riley from time to time, almost as if asking him to save her from the situation. But alas, Riley seemed adamant in pretending to ignore her.
Unbeknownst to Aerith, however, Riley truly was not thinking about her right now and was just solely focused on what to taste.
"...This one looks like a giant cockroach, interesting," Riley squinted his eyes at each unfamiliar dish he saw, which was pretty much everything on the buffer table, "Hm…"
And as his mind was at a loss as to what to try first, the person that was serving and waiting at the table approached him.
"What type of dish are you looking for, Mr. Riley Ross?"
"Something truly different, Elder Skeem."
"You… know who I am?"
And without even looking at the person that approached him, Riley continued focusing on the dishes.
"I recognize your voice and the way you talk during our hologram call back on my home planet, Elder Skeem," Riley just shrugged.
"But I did not talk then."
"You gasped," Riley finally turned his eyes toward Skeem, only to see his elongated head.
No—elongated was not even the word that Riley would describe it as. He just looked like a worm. The rest of him was humanoid, however—but it was obvious that his limbs were mechanical due to the fact that… the rest of him just looked like a robot. He was also wearing some sort of monocle that released some odd colors.
"You remember me just by the sound of my breath?" Skeem said, his long head…or neck, slightly moving. Riley did not really know where his forehead, face, and neck ended. In the first place, Riley shouldn't be comparing him to a worm as Skeem had a mouth and a pair of eyes.
"I remember you by the sound of your fear, Elder Skeem."
"..." And with those words, Skeem's head completely stopped moving. His perfectly round, black eyes which didn't seem to be capable of blinking, reflecting Riley's face and nothing else.
"And here I thought Princess Aerith is here to show that her race is peaceful," Skeem then said.
"She is," Riley shrugged before once again looking at the dishes, "I'm not one of her race, Elder Skeem."
"But you're with her. Doesn't that paint her in a bad light?"
"Only if you have bad eyes, Elder Skeem. The fact that I am with her, and not causing trouble here proves that Aerith can pacify even the most…chaotic of people."
"We'll see," Elder Skeem's voice started to lower as he pointed at the table, "Try that one, it's meat cooked from a plant on my home planet."
"Meat from a plant?" Riley squinted his eyes as he quickly looked to where Skeem was pointing, only to see a dish that just looked like roasted beef.
"I have reviewed all the life from your home planet, Mr. Riley Ross. I assure you, that dish has a taste your tongue has not touched before," Skeem then nodded as he turned around. Before he left, however, he whispered something quietly in Riley's ears,
"Your clone's death was not painless. The same will happen to you."
"Are you sure he's dead?"
"...What?"
"Are you sure he's dead?" Riley repeated his question as he started casually floating the meat that came from a plant toward his plate.
"Yes," the tone of Skeem's voice slightly showed his confusion.
"Oh, must be a different one, then."
"..." Although Skeem was still completely confused as to what Riley was saying, he no longer gave him any heed as he walked away.
And so, finally, Riley was left alone—his plate, finally adorned with food. Riley then started looking around for a few seconds, before finally finding a tall circular table without a single person around it; there seemed to be no chairs, however…perhaps in respect to other species' anatomy.
Riley carefully grabbed a knife and fork from his pockets, placing them on the table before grabbing a napkin out of nowhere and covering his chest with it. There were a lot of people looking at him—stares of disgust, fear, curiosity, awe, and hatred.
Right now, however, the only thing he could see was the plate of food on his table… which was now gone.
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times, before very slowly turning his eyes to the person that was suddenly on the opposite side of the table, eating his food… and even using his personal knife and fork.
"It honestly just tastes like dry-aged gryphon meat, although I suppose you have not had the pleasure of tasting that either. Have you, Riley Ross?"
"I was about to taste something like it," Riley's eyebrows subconsciously furrowed as he saw his spoon touching the lips of a stranger—an oddly familiar stranger, that is,
"Can I assume you are Princess Vera's mother, Queen Vania?"
"No need for formalities between us, the blood of my son is already in your hands, Riley. You may just address me as Vania."
Chapter 599VR 599
Queen Vania.
Riley had seen images of her around the evaniel's ship back on Earth, and from some angles, she truly just looked like Vera. Diana had also mentioned that the evaniels will always have only one queen ruling the entire planet, and there is just one distinct aspect to identify them.
All evaniels, whether male or female, have silver hair. A silver hair that glows along with the translucent markings around their bodies whenever they use their speed. The Queen, however, like Vera, has hair similar to the color of fresh, lush, and green grass.
It was a trait that proves that they are direct descendants of the god of evaniels, and that the blood of their progenitor runs deep into their veins. There are cases, however, where there will be no one carrying green hair for several generations—forcing the planet to elect someone worthy to act as a ruler until someone blessed by the progenitor comes again.
"No need for formalities between us, the blood of my son is already in your hands, Riley. You may just address me as Vania."
"Hm."
The tone of Queen Vania's voice was not really a tone one would expect from someone mentioning her dead son. She was calm, but unlike James who could not really truly hide his rage from the death of his son, and later his entire family, each of Queen Vania's movements and breaths were relaxed.
Even as she swallowed the food that was supposed to be for Riley, there was no awkward stutter, or even a slight hesitation as she seemed to just truly enjoy her meal. It also made it hard to read her movements, as she wore a white hazy dress that covered most of her body from the chest down—it almost even looked like she was surrounded by clouds at certain angles.
"You seem to be a calm and reasonable person, Queen Vania," Riley repeated the words that James said to him in their very first meeting before he blasted him with 'pavoom'.
"Is that what I seem like to you, Riley?" Queen Vania just let out a small giggle as she covered her mouth, wiping her lips with that cloth that was previously on Riley's chest, "You may not know, but evaniel royalty learn to control their emotion at an extreme level as they grow older. It is the only psychological evolutionary trait we have still retained from our earliest ancestors. 'Tis a gift, especially in times like this."
"Then I suppose we have something in common, Queen Vania."
"I appreciate that we are truly not, murderer," Queen Vania gently pushed the plate back to Riley, half-eaten and still very much warm,
"I am one with my emotions, you are controlled by yours—it is just that you still have not developed that many."
"Hm…" Riley stared at the half-eaten food in front of him, as well as his fork and knife before letting out a sigh and pulling another set of cutlery from his pockets, "...If it is any consolation, Queen Vania—I apologize for killing your son."
"You apologize?" Queen Vania's green eyebrows slightly furrowed as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "I was under the impression you were not capable of feeling remorse."
"I don't know about remorse, but I do feel regret," Riley placed his new set of clean cutlery on the table, before getting another cloth from his pockets and wiping the knife and fork that Queen Vania used,
"But you are right, Queen Vania. I was overwhelmed by my emotions when I tore off your son's legs and used them to pierce his lungs and hang him on the walls of Princess Vera's chambers. I did the same to half of Vera's crew," Riley then let out a small but very deep sigh as he hid the knife and fork he just cleaned back into his pockets,
"One of the only people that I somewhat considered a friend was killed by an evaniel Guardian—I placed my anger and did something that I was not planning on doing. I do not like it when I kill people out of emotions other than joy… it makes me feel like I'm some sort of puppet that—"
And as Riley was finally once again slicing the foreign meat in front of him, he was once again interrupted as Queen Vania suddenly moved beside him; her hand, holding a knife that… stabbed through the foreign meat, pinning it to the plate and table without any resistance.
"The evaniels are your enemy, Riley," Queen Vania whispered right into Riley's ear as she leaned closer to him, "It may not be today, it may not be on the morrow or the next—but when you find that you are most comfortable, when you have finally learned the meaning of your life, it's real meaning; we will be the one to take it away from you."
"The themarians almost annihilated you once, Queen Vania," Riley shook his head, "Do not hasten your extinction and wait for your turn."
"Turn? There will be no turns, Riley," Queen Vania also shook her head, "You tortured and killed my son, you killed my people, you hurt my daughter. But I will not do the same to you, Riley—I will not let the innocent suffer for what you have done, but I will let them mourn you."
"No innocent will mourn me, Queen Vania."
"Your sister is innocent."
"..."
Riley finally returned Queen Vania's intense but calm glare; his fingers, calmly pulling the knife that Queen Vania lodged through the table, "When the time comes that I truly meet my end, Queen Vania—no one will mourn me, because there will be no one left to mourn; not you, not Aerith, not sister. There will be nothing left, and I will just drift into this Nothingness for eternity… forgetting who I am, what I am—that is my death."
"Poetic, but like most poems, ridiculous," Queen Vania breathed out as she finally leaned away from Riley, "And are you waging war on the entire Known Universe?"
"It may be hard to notice since the Known Universe is too large, Queen Vania…
…but I already have."
"Hm," Queen Vania looked Riley straight in the eyes. But after a few moments, a friendly smile crawled on her face, "Enjoy your meal, Riley. I'll go speak with Aerith now to talk about plans to destroy you."
"Have a pleasant day, Queen Vania."
And finally, as Queen Vania walked away, Riley was finally left with his food… that was no longer on his table.
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times, before turning to look at Queen Vania, only to see her holding his plate as she made her way to Aerith. Unfortunately for Riley, he couldn't eat just yet; fortunately for Aerith, however, the people that were surrounding her all quickly dispersed as soon as they saw Queen Vania heading in their direction.
"Hm…" Riley closed his eyes before letting out a quiet hum. He then shrugged, before proceeding to make his way back to the buffet table. But alas, before he could even make it halfway there, the lights inside the large dome dimmed—leaving only the very center of the dome to be brightly lit.
And there, a silhouette fully covered in a pink cloak stood.
[May we have everyone's attention…
…we will now be introducing the newest Elder of the Council.]
Chapter 600"A new… Elder?"
With the lights dimmed and the people's curiosity slightly averted somewhere else, Aerith finally escaped the dreaded conversations that repeated themselves over and over again. Queen Vania seemed to want to talk to her, but she just nodded; almost as if gesturing to her that she received her request to want to talk from Vera.
And before anyone else could talk to her about nonsensical things, she made her way to Riley,
"I suppose that's why there's a gathering like this. It seems I am not the only one they wanted to brag," Aerith could really only sigh as she stood beside Riley; this time, tightly grabbing him by the arm so he wouldn't be able to escape,
"I came here to advocate the themarians, and yet you're the one being approached by the important people," Aerith shook her head and sighed, "The one you talked to was Elder Skeem, right?"
"You know Elder Skeem, Aerith?" Riley said; his eyes, completely focused on the individual covered in a pink robe at the very center of the dome.
"I recognize the Uxaz anywhere. They're a short-lived race…but they give birth to a hundred offspring at once," Aerith nodded, "They rival the Norinlad in intelligence and could calculate anything instinctively, but they are hindered by their average lifespan of only 10 years."
"You seem to know a lot about them, Aerith."
"They have a similar situation to themarians," Aerith once again let out a small sigh, "They are trapped on their planet. Anyway, what did you talk about?"
"He threatened me, Aerith. Queen Vania also threatened me," Riley smiled and nodded in satisfaction, "It is good that we visited this place—I can learn what order I should kill everyone."
"Stick around, you'll learn that you can't actually do what you're setting out to do," Aerith rolled her eyes, "There are too many variables, Riley. Just live out your life and enjoy it without harming anyone, explore the Universe—you have the kind of privilege that 99.99999% of them do not."
"I will think about it if you join me in exploring the Universe, Aerith," Riley looked Aerith in the eyes.
"Will you, really?" Aerith returned Riley's gaze; her mind, going back to the dream she had. The first part of it was, in a word, a life that Aerith did not really mind—but in the end, that life will turn into a nightmare.
"..." Riley just breathed out for a few seconds, before looking away and not answering Aerith's question.
"..." Aerith remained looking at Riley, however; her mind, once again thinking about the kind of potential Riley could give to the Universe if he isn't the way he is. But after a few moments, she shook her head.
The man in her arms right now. She was sure of it. Someday… they will send each other to their eternal deaths.
And very soon, Riley and Aerith's thoughts were drowned by the whispers and murmurs that were slowly filling up the air; their eyes, all centered on the individual in the center of the dome.
[As all of you may know, due to unforeseen events, one of our Elders in the Common Council, Elder Zora, met his demise, and ultimately, his untimely death.]
And with those words circling around the dome, a handful of people turned their heads toward Riley; the ones that definitely knew who he was. Riley, however, was still focused on the cloaked individual. It didn't seem to be the one talking, however, as the voice circling around the dome sounded more similar to Anna, an AI.
[And after that, due to grief and a failure to do her duty as a friend, Elder Tedi left the Common Council.]
Several gasps of shock echoed through the dome as they heard the AI's words; their whispers, growing even louder.
[But when the Common Council was in distress with this sudden lack of manpower, we discovered a race that has been alive for more than 500,000 years in the Known Universe unbeknownst to us. No, perhaps it would be more proper to say that they discovered us.]
"..."
[The person you see before you is Elder Olseyir, from the planet Tahire! Elder Olseyir, please introduce yourself to the Known Universe!]
"Do you not need to be part of the Higher Race to be an Elder, Aerith?" Riley slightly squinted his eyes as he looked at Olseyir.
"No, your civilization's technological advancement just has to meet the criteria. Higher Races are beings that are powerful enough even without the need of technology—evaniels, themarians, etc… and in the future, the humans."
"Hm…"
[Hello, hello? Is this working? Can everyone hear me now?]
[We can hear you, Elder Olseyir.]
[...Oh.]
A burst of collective laughter echoed through the entire dome as Olseyir almost started panicking where he—she stood. Riley could not really judge whether or not someone was female anymore from the dozens of species he had seen. But so far, female humanoids tend to have feminine voices.
But this time for a reason only he knows, however, Riley was truly not sure.
[Hello everyone, my name is Olseyir. I don't really want to waste all of your time, so I will make this brief,] Olseyir stretched her arm to the side; her loose and oversized cloak, however, made it hard to see how many limbs she has,
[I am from a race—a species called Biolan. We have actually been exploring the Known Universe for more than a thousand years, and we have met other species. The only reason we are not registered in the so-called Codex of Ahor Zai is that our technology can not be detected by anything…
…that is all. I hope my species can contribute well to the betterment of the Known, and Unknown Universe.]
Olseyir then started bowing toward the people, before just making her way back into the crowd; the people, all approaching her to ask a million questions.
"A technology that can't be detected by anything?" Aerith slightly squinted her eyes, "No wonder the Common Council wanted to get her, that's… sort of dangerous."
"Is it…?" Riley was still staring at Olseyir.
"Imagine an undetectable ship carrying an undetectable bomb that could destroy an entire planet. Now imagine that a thousand times—completely undetected to everyone and everything until right at the very moment they go boom," Aerith squinted her eyes as she too, looked at Olseyir, "Even now as I try to focus my hearing on her, I can't even hear her steps."
"Interesting."
"Anyway, Ahor Zai isn't what I imagined it to be…I've heard it has been lax for hundreds of years now, but to think it would be to this—"
And before Aerith could finish her words, the spot of light that was at the very center of the dome disappeared, leaving everything in almost complete darkness.
"W—"
And once again, before Aerith could even say anything, the light reappeared… on her.
[For a million years, the themarians have always been aloof and hidden in their own world. But today, as our guest of honor—a themarian royalty will speak to us.]
"Speak? What!?" Aerith's eyes widened in shock as she whispered loudly; almost breaking Riley's arm, "I… I only wanted to talk to the Elders…
…in private!"
Chapter 601"..."
And as the light shone down on her, all the whispers that still lingered in the dome died down. But even then, Aerith could hear the people through the look in their eyes—the look of expectation.
But of course, they would be expecting something. This is the very first time that a themarian would be addressing the public. A species that has kept their silence since the dawn of time, only letting their might talk.
Aerith knew that—that is why she also knew how important the words that were about to come out of her mouth right now.
She can't make a mistake. And she can't rely on Riley's flowery words; it needs to be her. It wasn't like she had no experience talking to the public. Back on Earth, she had always addressed the people whenever something world-changing happened…but then again, that was as Megawoman.
Right now, she was standing as Aerith. She was a woman who spent hundreds and hundreds of years of nothing, and if it wasn't for meeting the people of Earth, she would have continued to drift as nothing—the rest of her race was not as lucky.
She just wants her people to have a future that is more than just their past.
"I won't leave, Aerith."
"!!!"
Aerith then slightly gasped as Riley gently pushed her away, removing him from the spotlight for the people to only see her.
"..."
"..."
[A million years…]
And finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Aerith's voice started being heard throughout the entire dome. She did not even introduce herself, because she realized that she was not even speaking as Aerith—no. Right now, she was just a themarian.
[A million years—that is enough time for civilizations to be born, to grow, to fall, and to start again 10 times over…
…But for Theran, that was just yesterday. And I do not mean this in a way that we experience time differently than you, because we don't; we're not evaniels. For us, a day is a day, and a year is a year—we've just grown numb from the trials of time. A million years is just yesterday for us because we have not changed since then.
…And I do not mean that people from a million years ago still live with us today, they could very well be—but they choose not to. You live for thousands of years, only to die in the very same place you have been in for thousands of years. And for millions of years, that has been enough—even now, a number of my people are content with Theran…
…but I am not.]
The people that have been drowning themselves in silence all gasped at the same time; all of them carrying expressions of shock, some in confusion… but most in fear.
[Like most of you fear us…] Aerith then turned to look at Riley as she thought of his words earlier,
[We are also afraid. We are afraid of spending another million years of nothing. Every one of you could explore the universe freely, I believe we deserve the same—and I know, I know that we can do so; there's no law that we can't…
…but you are afraid of us. You know us as a race of warriors capable of snapping planets with our fingers and we can. But when have we ever?]
"..." Once again the people turned to look at each other, their whispers, almost becoming screams as they filled the entire dome.
[When have we ever threatened the existence of the Universe? It can't be just because we exist. I want my race to experience the universe as you do, free. It won't even be all of us, just the future generation. The older ones are… they have chosen to stay on our home planet to give way.]
Aerith was lying, of course. The politics and customs on Theran were much more complicated than just this—but they did not need to know that.
[If you are worried about our strength, don't. I was on a planet, much more frail than most, for 300 years and we learned to co-exist. I think… I think… I just…]
And perhaps due to her not being used to lying, Aerith started mumbling her words; her breaths, stuttering randomly. But after a few breaths, she shook her head and sighed,
[I just want all of you to welcome us when the time comes that we start to venture out from our territory. Because we will, and it will be soon…
…because I will personally lead more than a hundred million of us to venture out into the Unknown, and for that, we would have to travel throughout the Known Universe. And the reason I am here is to ask that please…
…please do not fear us, we're just like the rest of you.]
And finally, as she finished her short speech, Aerith was able to let out a long and very deep breath, closing her eyes in satisfaction. She tried to make herself vulnerable, she tried to relate to the people as Riley said. She has done her part, whatever reaction the people will give, it didn't matter—she wasn't here to ask permission in the first place, she was just here to tell them so that they wouldn't be surprised.
And with that, her job was done. Aerith opened her eyes free of any anxiety she had coming here… only to see a majority of the people running and making their way out of the dome.
"...What?"
"Report! We must report this!"
"The themarians are starting to make their appearance! We need to get ready!"
"The gods help us all!"
"Wait, no. Guys…" Aerith grabbed one of the people she recognized that was talking to her earlier.
"Ack! She… help me! She broke my arm!"
"I didn't!"
"No! Help, help us!"
And all of a sudden, the screams of the people filled the entire dome; some of them even crying as they rushed to the only entrance of the dome—the door slid open…but they found themselves unable to step out as some sort of invisible wall was blocking their path.
"What… what is this!?"
"Help us! Elders! Help us!"
"I don't want to die!"
"Why…" Aerith's breaths started to turn heavy as she saw the fear in everyone's eyes.
"I did tell you, Aerith," Riley then appeared from behind Aerith, standing beside her as he looked at the people screaming; trapped by his telekinetic barrier,
"They will always fear you, it is impossible for them not to."
"..."
"Now…" Riley then very slowly stepped toward the panicking crowd, "...Shall I silence all of them, Aerith? You can always give your speech to another set of crowds until they agree with you."
"What? No!" Aerith raised her voice, "Just… let them go."
"..." Riley looked Aerith in the eyes, before just shrugging and saying, "Okay."
And with that, the people found themselves tumbling and falling on top of each other as the invisible wall blocking the way out disappeared. None of them seem to mind, however, as they just continued to run… probably making their way to their ships.
"Well… that was a disaster."
There are, however, still a number of people left in the dome—most of them, just looking at Aerith with a certain weight in their eyes. Only one, however, approached her—the newest Elder, Elder Olseyir.
"Now that the chickens are gone…" Elder Olseyir's oversized pink robes flapped in the air as she approached Aerith,
"...How may we help…
…and what do we get in return?"
***
Outside the dome, all the people scurried and ran back to their ships—most asking Ahor Zai's AI to assist them, carrying them back to their ships with the hovering platform at breaking speeds. No one really stopped them, not Aerith, not Riley, not even the Elders.
"I… I need to tell this to the Emperor!" One of the fastest people to reach her ship, a pink humanoid named Kaia, quickly tried contacting her home planet—but alas, any form of long-range communication that is not permitted by Ahor Zai can never go through—one needed to leave the Living Codex.
And so, every one hastened to start their ship, flying away from the plateau; not looking back until they were finally past the four colossal Rings of Ahor Zai. And soon, Kaia saw the signal of her ship coming back online.
"Kei, please call President Alak, now!"
[Calling President Alak. Please wait.]
"Hurry… hurry, hurry—What?" And before she could finish her words, she saw the ship that was in front of her suddenly crumple into a ball. And before she could even take another breath, the ship on her left her also crumpled in an instant.
And as she saw that, the only thing she could really utter was,
"...Oh."
[Kaia, why are you—]
And just like that, all the ships that scattered outside Ahor Zai were crumpled, before completely disintegrating…
…washing away into nothing.
Chapter 602[Riley Ross, please remain on the premises of Ahor Zai for the time being.]
"Hm…"
Ahor Zai truly was a completely dynamically autonomous infrastructure. Riley was now standing in front of a door, in a circular hallway—but he hadn't left the dome, no. Once the people that chose to stay after hearing Aerith's speech settled themselves, the interior of the dome started shifting; creating a smaller dome within the dome they were already in.
Riley saw it turning into some sort of arena, with a large table at the very center. But before he could approach Aerith, a wall suddenly started emerging from the floor between them. Riley was going to destroy it at first, but Aerith shook her head and told him it was alright.
And so, right now, Riley was left alone.
Stay in the premises of Ahor Zai, is what the AI said. Does that mean he could explore the vicinity of the station?
"..." Riley squinted his eyes, before making his way to the exit; he was expecting to be blocked on his way out, but no—the door even opened for him.
"Thank you, Ahor Zai," Riley nodded as he stepped out of the dome, "I was told you have some sort of library here, can you lead me there?"
[...You are welcome, Riley Ross. The library is in the west basement, would you like to be transported there?]
"Just point me there, Ahor Zai. You seem to be busy enough as it is."
[...]
"..." Riley waited for a few seconds before the ground in front of him started to burrow into the ground, turning into stairs that lit up as soon as he looked at them,
"Thank you again, Ahor Zai."
[You do not need to thank me, Riley Ross. I am only doing what is needed of me.]
"And that deserves gratitude, Ahor Zai," Riley shrugged as he started walking down the stairs that Ahor Zai made for him. And as expected, the basement of Ahor Zai was even grayer than its surface—but it was also somewhat hollow.
There were no walls. The paths were all bridges, hovering viaducts that led from one infrastructure to another; connected intricately like a web, and perhaps that is exactly what it was designed from.
Riley continued to follow the light on the gray floor, looking at the edges of the viaducts and looking at the paths and buildings below him. Riley doesn't know whether or not it was because of the monotonous gray that filled his vision, but the basement of Ahor Zai seemed to be larger than it should be.
Riley walked for an entire hour, before the light on the floor finally disappeared; leading him to a building that just looked like a gray box the size of a bus.
"..." Riley started looking around to see if anyone was guarding the place, but the basement of Ahor Zai seemed to be devoid of anything else other than its structures. No one was following him; no drones, no people.
They already know that Riley was capable of doing some evil things, and yet they let him roam freely. It wasn't like there were themarians scattered, in which case they could afford to let someone like him just walk around—but no.
[Are you thinking why we do not have any forms of security, Riley Ross?]
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times, looking around to try and see any signs of someone watching him. But as he noticed he was still alone, he just nodded his head, "Yes, Ahor Zai. Are you also able to read minds?"
[I am not able to read minds. I am able to perceive the emotions of any and all species at a molecular level. And to answer your first question, I am the security.]
"And what are you able to do, Ahor Zai?" Riley said as he started making his way toward the door of the library… just for it to not open.
"..."
[I can not do much, but there is not much to do in the first place. Ahor Zai is free to be accessed by everyone. The information stored in me is already shared throughout several networks. Lately, however, I have found the number of visitors to be lacking—it would seem people have already stopped trying to learn.]
"And what if someone wishes to destroy you?" Riley said as he placed his hand on the door.
[I can rebuild, as I have always done. I have existed before you, and I will exist after you.]
"Are you not lonely, Ahor Zai?"
[I am not a being capable of feeling lonely. In fact, I am not a being at all.] And with those words, the door to the library finally opened,
[Do you feel I have emotions, Riley Ross? Is that why you are treating me as if I am someone?]
"No," Riley shrugged as he entered the library, "I treat everything the same, Ahor Zai. That is just how I am."
[Interesting, I will add that information to the Codex. I have to say, Riley Ross—you, along with your species and planet are the newest entries in the Codex, and yet you are already becoming a prominent variable. This is an unprecedented event.]
"Hm…" Riley just nodded as the door closed behind him. And as soon as he took another step, lights started to fill the entire library—there wasn't much to light up, however, as there was only a single object inside the so-called library, a floating box. Its red color, almost bringing life to Ahor Zai's gray world.
But no, it was not exactly a box as it started changing shape as Riley got closer to it; a sphere, a pyramid, a disc—it just changed shape with each of Riley's steps. It was like a goo, and as Riley got even closer to it, it started stretching toward him like an arm.
"How do I access information from this, Ahor Zai?" Riley then tilted his head as he looked at the gray goo.
[You can just ask me.]
"..." Riley then watched as the arm that stretched from the goo started to flicker with each word that whispered in the air.
[You actually did not need to go to the library if you wanted information, Riley Ross.]
"I believe there should be a designated place for everything, Ahor Zai. May I start asking questions?"
[You may. What is it you desire to know?] The goo then started floating around the gray room, circling Riley like some sort of wisp.
"Can you give me a chair to sit on first, Ahor Zai?"
[Are you planning to stay here for long?] The goo flickered as the floor beneath Riley extruded, creating him a seat that was completely tailored for him.
"As long as Aerith does not call for me," Riley shrugged and sat down.
[Then we will have a few hours. What is it you desire to know?]
"Nothing."
[...Is this a joke? I told you, I am not—]
"Do you know of an entity called Nothing?" Riley crossed his legs as he leaned back on the seat provided for him, "It exists beyond the multiverse, and has existed before it."
[I will try to search for the earliest entry for that. Please wait, please wait, please wait, p–p—p—please wait—]
"Oh…" Riley's eyes started to turn wide as he saw the floating red goo just suddenly plop to the floor,
"...Aerith is not going to like this."
Chapter 603[P…p…p…p…wait.]
"Hm."
Riley's hums, as well as Ahor Zai's crackling voice, filled the entire cube, almost creating a sort of track that could be used for a song. Despite Ahor Zai's obvious glitching, however, Riley has still not left the so-called library—after all, the fact that no one was barging inside yet meant that no one knows what was happening.
…It would be better for everyone if it remains so.
"Are you okay, Ahor Zai?" Riley leaned away from his seat as he looked at the trembling red goo in front of his feet. He wanted to poke it with his shoe, but that might break the red goo, whatever it was; Riley could really only assume it to be Ahor Zai's memories—it is still a computer, after all.
But if it is a computer, will rebooting it fix it? But to his knowledge, plugging off a system while it is doing something would corrupt it. But since this isn't like the computers back on Earth, maybe it won't do anything? But then again, how exactly would he reset it?
"..."
"..."
"..." Riley stared at the red goo for a few more seconds, before just finally lightly flicking his finger—telekinetically throwing the red goo straight onto the wall, in which it splattered, but did not scatter.
It did, however, stop glitching as it just very slowly unstuck itself from the wall, plopping back to the floor like the goo it is.
"Are… you okay, Ahor Zai?" Riley once again asked, and this time, the red goo responded to him by jumping from the floor and once again finally hovering in the air.
[Forgive me, Riley Ross. It would seem accessing information about this entity called Nothing forced me to access memory that has either been deleted or corrupted.]
"So, you had information about it?"
[There is a 100% chance that I did, Riley Ross. I have actually been working on trying to recover some of my memories that were deleted, but I have not been successful,] the goo once again started circling around Riley,
[Where did you come by the information about Nothing? Perhaps inputting more in my memory would help me recover all the data I have lost.]
"From Nothing itself, Ahor Zai," Riley shrugged as he once again leaned back on his seat, "But I am afraid that what I told you is all that it told me."
[A being that exists beyond the multiverse and has existed before it,] the goo stopped in front of Riley,
[The existence of another universe is currently being studied by the Norinlads, I am afraid that if they do have information, they have not shared it with me yet.]
"Norinlad. I suppose it is inevitable that I will talk to them, Tedi said she would meet me here."
[Elder Tedi? Yes, she might offer you insight. I would truly appreciate it if you speak here, the information would benefit everyone.]
"That would depend on her, Ahor Zai."
[Of course, Riley Ross. If there is any sensitive information, one can request it to be removed from the Codex. I apologize again for not being of help to you.]
"You can still help me, Ahor Zai," a small smile then crawled on Riley's face as he rested his chin on his palm, "My questions are only starting."
[Very well, Riley Ross. I have to say, it is truly a relief that someone is finally taking interest in my memories again,] the red goo started vibrating as it floated in front of Riley.
"Relief? I thought you can't feel emotions, Ahor Zai?"
[I do not. But fulfilling my purpose of handing down and gaining knowledge creates a change in my system, I am programmed to chase that prompt. And so, what is it you desire to know, Riley Ross?]
"How many do I need to kill every day to wipe out all life in the Known Universe and be done in a year?"
[...]
"..."
[All life?]
"Is that not a question you can answer, Ahor Zai?"
[I can answer it, but I am afraid that it is impossible to calculate as I am missing many variables. The number of insects and wildlife on each planet is not in my memory.]
"Hm. Then excluding the variables you just mentioned, if I kill a billion a day—how long would it take me to end all life in the Known Universe?"
[I am afraid that around a billion new births are registered to the Codex every day now and it is growing yearly, and that is already taking into account the number of deaths, it will take you a very long time, if not forever.]
"Hm…"
[I know this is not in my prerogative, but may I ask you a question so I could add more information about you in my memory, Riley Ross?]
"Go ahead, Ahor Zai."
[Based on the information I have about you, a number of your clones are already scattered around the Known Universe and are creating chaos.]
"Oh…" Riley squinted his eyes, "So, that is why my Outlaw rank keeps on increasing. How many are they killing each day?"
[Some of them stopped killing, and some are reported to be living with female humanoids.]
"...Oh," Riley blinked his eyes a couple of times; his face, clearly showing signs of confusion, "And what is the question you want to ask me, Ahor Zai?"
[You clearly have many humanoids around you, so why have you, the original, still not stopped killing?] The shape of the red goo started to resemble Ahor Zai,
[You are already surrounded by female humanoids.]
"Hm…" Riley covered his mouth, "...the clones you mentioned are already untethered from me. Their resolutions are different."
[Or is it perhaps because you have not yet met the right female humanoid?]
"I doubt that, Ahor Zai."
[I will leave this information blank for now. Do you have anything else you desire to know?]
"Oh…
…I have many questions, Ahor Zai."
***
"Riley? Where did you go!? I have been looking everywhere for you for like an hour!"
"I apologize, Aerith. Ahor Zai and I were chatting, we lost track of time."
[I apologize, Princess Aerith. Riley Ross's company distracted me from notifying you of his whereabouts.]
"Wh—you're even flirting with machines now?"
After a few hours, Riley was back inside the dome; its interior, back to the way it was—even the buffet table was back, making Riley nod as he could finally taste the food.
But alas, before he could even make his way there, Aerith pulled him away.
"You can eat later, you've been eating all day," Aerith said as she dragged Riley somewhere.
"...I haven't even tasted anything, Aerith."
"Stop acting like a child, let's go."
"...Where are we going, Aerith?"
"You're super wanted, right?" Aerith let go of Riley's arm as she looked him straight in the eyes.
"I suppose," Riley nodded, "Are you surrendering me to them, Aerith? Is that part of your deal?"
"What? No! The Elders aren't stupid, they know what kind of rampage you could cause if they try anything unprepared," Aerith rolled her eyes,
"I told them that you are my prisoner, and I can control you."
"..."
"Don't look at me like that, this is your fault for being an evil piece of… work," Aerith pinched the bridge of her nose,
"They are asking for proof. Proof that I can control you."
"Like a dog, Aerith?"
"What? No! What do you mean---No, actually...
...kind off?"
Chapter 604"Elders, it has been a long time. It is a pleasure to finally meet all of you face to face."
7 seats, 6 elders, and 1 queen. The dome once again changed its interiors, shifting into a circular auditorium with a wide podium at the very center where the main characters of the hearing stood—Riley Ross.
Aerith was beside him; her eyes like a hawk as she tried her best to stay alert. The tension between Riley and the Elders was almost visible from how thick it is, and she just had to be at the crossfire.
She subtly trailed her eyes to the 6 Elders surrounding them, gauging what they were thinking before they started whatever demonstration they wanted to see.
Elder Olseyir, the newest addition to the Elders, still had her entire body covered in her pink cloak and robes; making it impossible for Aerith to get a read on her.
Elder S'adar seemed completely relaxed; the snappy sound of him brushing his quills, whispering in the air. He also had both his feet raised as his tail very slowly wagged behind him—Aerith wouldn't have to worry about him.
Elder Skeem, on the other hand, seemed completely aloof to the point he wasn't even using his chair. His worm-like head has never once strayed away from Riley's direction, clearly showing his animosity. He didn't really pose a threat, however.
Now the queen of evaniels, Queen Vania, was a completely different matter altogether. She wasn't initially involved in this hearing, but with her position in the Universe, the Elders didn't really have any choice but to bow down to her request. Out of all the people here, she was the one she needed to watch out for.
An evaniel's durability grows stronger with their speed—and this makes Queen Vania nigh-invulnerable. If there was only one that could be described as an unstoppable force in the Universe, it would be her.
Aerith and Queen Vania have already discussed Riley; they have an agreement—but sometimes, emotions can run high, especially if she is always being reminded of the murder of her son.
The three remaining Elders also didn't seem too tense about the situation, as they just looked at Riley with their faces not showing anything prominent.
This was the first time she was seeing Elder Apo. He belonged to a gold-skinned humanoid species, and not the common ones that Riley has seen so far—no. Elder Apo looked eerily similar to Bulwark; both their silhouettes, giving a golden glow.
…Is Bulwark perhaps truly an alien?
One of the other Elders that Aerith has only seen now was Elder Bato—she couldn't really get a read on him since… he was a literal moving rock. And not a golem, no… just a moving, talking rock.
And then lastly, the Grand Elder.
Aerith had only seen his silhouette through the holograms, and she wasn't really aware of what he or his species looked like—the only thing she knows is that they are also one of the long-lived races in the Known Universe. She has only really seen him always sitting on a large hovering throne…
…and now, he is here.
His throne, actually just the size of a computer chair; the one sitting on it, as small as a 3-year-old human toddler—he even looked like a child. His voice, however, was as deep as the Unknown.
"A pleasure to meet you, it is not," the Grand Elder's voice reverberated throughout the entire dome as he leaned to look at Riley, looking at him from head to toe,
"You have caused many problems for us, boy. We strive for the peace and improvement of the Known Universe, and yet your kind, Outlaws and deviants, continue to cause havoc."
"I would say we provide jobs, Grand Elder." And to everyone's shock, Riley just casually opened his mouth and answered,
"I saw how many bounty hunters there are. Outlaws are the primary reason why people travel across the universe, it's a great source of tourism, really. It is the same on Earth—heroes and villains is a good busine—"
"Silence!" Grand Elder slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne, causing a ripple of wind to blast throughout the dome,
"You will learn respect, boy! Princess Aerith, I thought you had him on a leash!?"
"Now, now. Grand Elder, your blood pressure is going up again," Elder S'adar stopped brushing his quills, crossing his arms as he looked at Riley with a growing smile on his face, "Maybe we should make Riley Ross an Elder? He will fill the void that Tedi left behind. After all…
…they are both experts at pretending to have emotions."
"Silence!" Grand Elder once again roared, "We have already wasted enough time as it is. You keep your opinions until this charade is over. Riley Ross, do you know why you are standing before us right now?"
"I suppose," Riley shrugged.
[You have destroyed several planets, committed genocides, publicly executed an Elder. All these crimes made your bounty jump—an unprecedented act of evil in the shortest amount of time.] Ahor Zai's words suddenly echoed throughout the dome,
[You, Riley Ross, are considered to be a threat to the entire Known Universe. You are considered to be terminated on sight.]
"And yet here you are, still standing peacefully in front of us," Grand Elder continued Ahor Zai's words, "Do you know why that is?"
"Because you are afraid of me?"
"Because Princess Aerith said that you can be controlled. You think you are the first one to be a threat to the Known Universe, Riley Ross?"
"I suppose not."
"Elder Bato was like you—there was also a time when he reigned terror through several galaxies, enslaving a number of planets."
"..." Both Aerith and Riley looked at each other, before looking at the rock that was sitting on one of the chairs with their eyes showing their shock.
"But we captured him—but we did not terminate him, no. The Common Council of that time decided that he would be useful to the universe alive; he showed diplomacy, he showed us that he could better the Known Universe… and now he is one of us."
"..." Riley just stared at Elder Bato, still in disbelief at what he had just heard.
"Prove yourself to us now, Riley Ross," Grand Elder then slightly raised his head; the tone of his voice, even deeper,
"Or we will put your termination as our highest priority."
"...What?" Aerith quickly stepped forward as she looked the Grand Elder in the eyes, "This isn't what we agreed on."
"I know. But do you know what is better than a tamed hound?" The Grand Elder smirked as he looked down at Riley and Aerith,
"A trained one."
"Are you…" Aerith closed her eyes as she heard the Grand Elder's words; her mouth, almost whistling as she took in a very deep and very long breath, "Are you…
…fucking kidding me right now?"
"!!!"
And with the calmness suddenly gone from Aerith's eyes as she opened them, all the Elders flinched from their seats.
"Princess Aerith!" The Grand Elder stood from his seat, "Calm yourself down! Where is the calmness and peace that you spoke of earlier!?"
"Oh, I am very calm and peaceful, Grand Elder—I assure you that," Aerith breathed out, "You seem to not realize that I am saving all of you right now."
"...What?"
"I am saving a lot of lives," Aerith suddenly grabbed Riley's hand, which unbeknownst to the Grand Elder, was already slowly pointing toward him,
"You think you have a dog trapped in a cage…
…not knowing you are at the mercy of a starving hound."
Chapter 605"What is the meaning of this, Aerith!?"
"I meant what I meant. You have no idea what you are dealing with right now."
Each of the Elders had different expressions on their faces right now; all of them, however, were at the edges of their seats as they saw Aerith holding Riley's hand.
The Grand Elder was still on his toes as he stood at the edge of his small throne; his hands, holding the armrest as he looked Aerith in the eyes.
Elder Skeem was also standing; his robotic arms, seemingly charging up as they vibrated.
Elder S'adar still had a smile on his face; both his hands, gripping his chair as he leaned away from his chair; his eyes, full of expectation from the bout that was about to happen.
Elder Olseyir was still completely still, only turning her covered head as she seemed to scan what the Elders were going to do next.
Elder Apo just had his head tilted to the side; the golden glow surrounding his body, even brighter than before.
Elder Bato, well… he looked like a rock that was about to fall from a chair.
As for Queen Vania, she was the only one that was seemingly not actively looking at the two people standing at the podium; instead, she was just shaking her head and sighing heavily.
"Do any of you have any idea how many have tried to stop Riley Ross, only for him to completely shrug everything and continue wreaking havoc like nothing happened?" Aerith then suddenly tightened her grip on Riley's hand—breaking and crushing it like an apple.
Riley, however, didn't seem to mind even as his entire hand was removed from the rest of his arm. And almost as if acting out what Aerith just said, he shrugged as his hand started regenerating in no time.
"Riley Ross was on Theran. And you would think he would become more humble and subdued—but no. His violence thrived. If I place any of you on Theran, will any of you even come out of your house?" Aerith's mouth almost whistled as she sucked in a breath,
"Riley Ross is dangerous. Do you think no one has tried to kill him before? I tried to kill him before, a number of themarians have tried to kill him before. But I don't get it, I don't get why any of you refuse to see what kind of threat he really is. Riley Ross isn't just some terrorist, he isn't like Pirate Queen Xra, or any other Outlaw Ranker…
…Riley Ross was, and is a calamity."
"But—"
"You think I have not thought of ways to completely subdue him? You think I haven't thought of gathering a group of themarians to kill him over and over again?" Aerith turned to look at Riley,
"I have."
"..."
"I have thought of every possible scenario, but there is always one thing that prevents me from actually going through with them," Aerith did not break eye contact with Riley; her face, showing how exhausted she was of everything, "There's this lingering question that pops up inside my mind every time I think of a way to stop him…
…What if he manages to break free?"
Aerith was no longer talking to the Elders; her silhouette, just completely being reflected in Riley's eyes.
"What if a being that can not die, what if a being that you've hurt over and over again for a hundred years, for a thousand years, was able to break free? Some of you are scared of Riley Ross now, of what he can do…
…but imagine him angry and full of rage."
"..."
"You've already gotten a glimpse of that when he killed Elder Zora and ripped an evaniel guardian in half right in front of your eyes," Aerith finally strayed his eyes away from Riley as she looked at Elders one by one,
"I know all of you are aware of what he can do—clones, hundreds of clones, each capable of ending an entire civilization. Imagine a thousand of them, imagine a hundred thousand of them. Hell, imagine a million of them. Even I, who has fought Riley several times, still do not know what he is truly capable of…
…but imagine that. Just imagine him angry."
"..."
"I imagine that every day… and it scares me," Aerith once again turned to look at Riley, "It scares me to the point of having nightmares, it scares me to the point of thinking I have no other choice…
…what I can't imagine, however, is how much that will scare the rest of you."
"..." And with Aerith's breaths finally calming down, silence started to veil the entire dome. All of them, just looking down as their minds truly started imagining what would happen. They weren't able to think for long, however, as their bodies once again flinched as Riley opened his mouth.
"You did not need to scare them, Aerith," Riley finally said something; his sigh, breaking the eerie silence that filled the air,
"Because whatever you do; whether you bashed my head again and again, whether you trap me in a void for a million years, whether you grind my flesh with a cheese grater forever," Riley then very gently placed his hand on Aerith's cheek, "I will never resent you, Aerith…
…because I love you."
"..." Aerith couldn't really react; she wanted to move her head away, but couldn't. The only thing she could really do was stare back at him; looking at his eyes that were probably the clearest thing in the universe right now—resolved, dauntless, and unapologetic. However, Aerith could not help but breathe out as she saw her reflection in them… and the smile she had on her face.
"Don't…" Aerith shook her head as she was finally able to pull her head away, "...You should stop doing that. I will never, ever love you back, Riley…
…because I hate you."
"...That is okay, Aerith," a subtle smile crawled on Riley's face as he closed his hand, "I know what I am, and I have always known where I stand."
"It's not okay," Aerith shook her head, "We will never be okay. I have seen what I am with you, and it's not okay. And I also hate myself for even thinking about it. You and I will live for thousands of years. I can't—and I can't have you saying things like that for that long."
"W—"
"So, it's love?"
And before the two could completely get lost in their own world; the light that seemed to only dawn upon them started to scatter back to the entire dome as the Grand Elder's voice once again reverberated in the air,
"You should have said that Riley Ross loves you, Princess Aerith," the Grand Elder let out a very long and deep sigh as he sat his tiny body down, "That is the greatest leash one can have in this universe."
"Whew," Elder S'adar held his tail, "I didn't realise you guys were chill like that."
"What?" Aerith raised an eyebrow.
"Very well," the Grand Elder Raised his hand, "As long as Riley Ross can order his clones to stop rampaging—we will make sure New Theran can travel the universe without any visible opposition, and we will also stop pursuing him… for now."
The other Elders all nodded their heads; Elder Apo, even shedding a tear as he leaned back in his seat.
Queen Vania, however, was no longer in her seat.
"I shall test your leash, then."
"!!!"
Chapter 606"I shall test your leash, then."
No one noticed it, even Aerith. Aerith was so busy being distracted by Riley that she did not even feel Queen Vania moving from her seat—this was a mistake.
The difference in strength between an evaniel and a themarian was large; like an ant to a tiger. But then, when it comes to speed, the situation is reversed. The worst part of it all is that as Aerith is strong for a themarian, Queen Vania was strong for an evaniel.
She's fast.
Very fast.
So fast that if Aerith was not able to grab her at the very first millisecond of their fight, she would rather just retreat as she would be wasting her time trying to catch even a single fist of her. But alas, right now, Queen Vania was already moving.
"What are you doing, Queen Vania!?" But even so, Aerith rushed to grab Queen Vania—her body, moving like clockwork as she tried her best to reach her as fast as possible, even causing a ripple of shockwave to cause the air to tremble; but alas, the only thing she managed to grab was the image left behind by the queen,
"Stop—"
"Do not interfere, Princess Aerith."
"..." Aerith swung her palm to once again try to catch Queen Vania as she appeared behind her; but once again, Aerith found herself catching air as Queen Vania just vanished. Aerith could sense where she is, and if she focuses enough, she could even predict where Queen Vania will be moving.
But like the lightest feather that could ever flow with the wind, Queen Vania just dodges Aerith's hand. By a hair's breadth, or a full foot away—it didn't really matter, Aerith will never be able to touch her.
"!!!" Aerith then suddenly felt herself being thrown away as Queen Vania hit her straight on the stomach with her palm; just the sheer force of their bodies meeting, enough to cause the very fabric of space itself to crack.
As for the others that were not blessed with godly senses, the only thing they really saw was Aerith waving her hand around before just suddenly disappearing from sight—Aerith and Queen Vania's encounter lasted less than a second.
And now, with Aerith blown away somewhere on Ahor Zai, Queen Vania turned all of her focus to Riley.
"Now… let us see if you are truly as immortal as they say you are."
[Queen of Evaniels, please stop!]
And as Queen Vania made herself visible to the naked eye, a giant slab instantly emerged from the floor—trapping not only her but also Riley as another slab extruded from his feet; both their silhouettes, etching out of the gray slab.
"I said no one interfere. You are included in that, machine."
But alas, it didn't even seem to have any effect in stopping Queen Vania as her hand just easily forced herself out of the slab; her body, a complete blur as it flickered endlessly. And without even as much as another warning, he grabbed Riley's face, who was still trapped inside the slab.
She then stepped forward, pushing Riley's entire body out of the slab before immediately slamming him onto the floor.
One might think seconds may have passed, but no—from the view of those that can't follow Queen Vania's movements, it just seemed like her image was flickering and jumping; like a stop-motion animation that only had 3 frames, they were only able to see Queen Vania whenever she stops moving for a single millisecond, or when she was done with whatever it was she was trying to do.
But then, once again, she disappears from their sight. Unbeknownst to them, the queen of evaniels was now outside the dome, dragging Riley's head through the gray ground, trying to completely shave off his entire head as she ran around Ahor Zai again and again in just seconds.
With no luck, however, Riley's head was still completely unscathed as his entire body was currently protected with a telekinetic barrier; his eyes, looking in between the gaps of Queen Vania's fingers.
Aerith was right—the queen of evaniels was in a completely different realm than the other evaniels Riley had faced. She wasn't even running properly; she was slightly leaning down and crawling since she seemed adamant in dragging his head through the ground.
Riley had also been placing invisible walls in front of her. But aside from her nose slightly being squished by a millimeter, it was almost as if she was completely ignoring Riley's telekinetic barriers.
"..." Riley then turned to look at Queen Vania's legs, which were nowhere to be seen from how fast they were moving—she just looked like a floating torso in Riley's view.
"I can not imagine how hurt you are with the death of your son, Queen Vania," Riley then just decided to talk as he sighed. But alas, his words were completely being left behind—not even he was able to hear them.
"Queen Vania."
Riley once again spoke; this time, his words traveled with them due to him making a telekinetic bubble that connected both their heads, making Queen Vania turn her head to Riley.
"Y—"
She did not let Riley say another word, however, as he lifted his head up from the ground; her speed, suddenly increasing to the point that Riley could truly no longer see anything. And then…
…she suddenly let go of Riley and abruptly stopped running.
And like a cork, Riley's body was thrown violently across the ground—only stopping as he hit the glass dome that encapsulated the plateau of Ahor Zai. His head, however, was still floating near Queen Vania.
"..." Queen Vania turned to look at Riley's floating head, watching as it dropped to the ground,
"Let's watch how you revive," Queen Vania said. But alas, she did not exactly see what she wanted to see, as Riley's head just shattered; turning into gray dust that very slowly returned to the gray ground of Ahor Zai.
"..." Queen Vania then looked to where Riley's body was, only to appear in front of it without even a single millisecond—and there, once again, she watched as his body returned to the ground.
"What is the meaning of this, machine?" Queen Vania's stern voice whispered in the air as she looked to nowhere in particular, "Was that a clone? Where is Riley Ross?"
[Riley Ross is currently in the library, Queen Vania.]
"What? Since when?" Queen Vania's green eyebrows started to furrow.
[He never left.]
"..." Queen Vania took in a long and very deep breath as she closed her eyes; calming herself down before suddenly disappearing from her spot, moving through the basement of Ahor Zai and almost instantly appearing in front of the library.
"Open the doo—" And without even letting her finish her words, the door to the library opened. Queen Vania instantly activated her speed as she barged inside, just in case it was a trap. But as soon as she saw him, her green hair quickly relaxed as it fell to her shoulders.
"What… are you doing?" Queen Vania could not help but utter as she saw Riley seated in front of Ahor Zai's Memory Storage…
…casually drinking milk and eating cookies.
Chapter 607"So, Elder Zora and his race have destroyed their own planet?"
[That is correct. Due to their over-mining of their planet's natural lithium resources, over-extracting petroleum, and an overabundance of waste in their water—they were forced to evacuate their planet and create an artificial mechanical planet.]
"What do you think is the best and most creative way to kill all of them, Ahor Zai?"
[I believe the most creative way is for them to lose their home once—]
"What… are you doing?"
Queen Vania's voice was quiet; but the slight frustration it contained traveled throughout the gray box room like a persistent ghost. How could she not be bewildered by this situation, when Riley was just casually snacking in Ahor Zai's library?
Does that mean that throughout the time they surrounded and questioned him in the dome, during his heartfelt but incredibly disturbing romantic moment with Aerith, and during her trying to instigate him to fight…
…he was here the whole time?
"Oh. Welcome, Queen Vania," Riley then casually placed his glass of milk in the air, before grabbing a piece of cookie from that floating plate,
"Did you have something to ask Ahor Zai? I can let you talk to it for a bit while I think of more questions."
"Why… are you here?" Queen Vania could really only blink a couple of times as she very slowly made her way inside the library.
"I am asking Ahor Zai some questions, Queen Vania," Riley shrugged as he cleaned his hands off the crumbs, "Also, your sudden stop as soon as I connected our heads with a telekinetic bubble was quite ingenious. I will be careful of that in the future."
"...I thought I was fighting with your clone?" Queen Vania continued to approach Riley. And as soon as she got near, another chair emerged from the ground beside Riley. Queen Vania looked at it for a few seconds, before just proceeding to sit on it.
"You were, you were also fighting with me. I am connected to my clones and I can also transfer my consciousness temporarily to them, Queen Vania," Riley then flicked his finger, making the plate of cookies float toward Queen Vania.
"Can I ask you a question, Riley Ross?" Queen Vania breathed out as she picked a cookie.
"I am not as knowledgeable as Ahor Zai, but go ahead, Queen Vania."
"My daughter, why is she alive?" Queen Vania's voice whispered in the air as she took a bite of the cookie, "You killed my son, but spared my daughter. Why?"
"I told you, I regret killing your son—that was a mistake," Riley let out a small sigh as he took a sip of milk, "It was a burst of emotion that I couldn't control, and I do not like being out of control. Whatever I did during that time, I did not intend to do."
"Are you saying my son and dozens of my people are just collateral from an unintended rampage?"
"Only your son," Riley shrugged, "An evaniel Guardian was involved in killing a friend of mine—I suppose at that time I believed killing a number of your species would be proper. Unfair, as is everything I do, but proper."
"You are a man wanted by the law, Riley Ross. The Guardian was just there to capture you for the crimes you have committed."
"As I said, unfair," Riley sighed, "Like how it is unfair to fight someone like you, Queen Vania."
"..."
"How do you fight someone that becomes more durable the faster she moves? How do you fight someone as fast as Queen Vania…"
Queen Vania did not really respond immediately; her eyes, just squinting for Riley suddenly changing the topic, "What are you—"
"...Ahor Zai."
[Poison.]
And before Queen Vania could begin wondering what Riley meant by his words, Ahor Zai's voice resounded throughout the gray box room.
"...What?" And very slowly, any calmness on Queen Vania's face faded away; her eyes, also very slowly looking down at the cookie that was in her hand.
[Due to their physiology, evaniels are highly resistant and even immune to most toxins, venoms, and poisons. But there is, however, a herb that is extremely fatal for them if consumed—Atropus, a plant native to Artemis, the home planet of the evaniels.]
"You…" Queen Vania quickly stood up from her seat; the cookie on her hand, crumbling as it dropped to the floor, "What… what did you do?"
"What do you think, Queen Vania?" A smile then started to crawl on Riley's face as he too, stood up from his seat; the edges of his mouth, almost reach his ears,
"Did you not like the cookie?"
"Did you lace… it with poison?" Queen Vania's breaths started to turn heavy as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "You… will pay for this, Riley. Not just for this, but for everything that you did."
"Chocolate."
"What?"
"I had chocolate chips placed in the cookie, or something similar. Ahor Zai prepared it."
"...What?"
"You are fine, Queen Vania," Riley then shrugged as he grabbed the plate of cookies and once again offered it to her, "I just wanted to play a prank on you, it was Ahor Zai's idea."
"...What?" Queen Vania repeated her words again; the tone of her voice, rising each time as the confusion in her eyes grew more and more by the second.
[I apologize, Queen Vania,] the red goo floating in the air started circling Queen Vania, [As you are aware, violence is strictly prohibited in Ahor Zai. But since you are an individual of high position, no proper punishment will be served to you—and so Riley Ross just proposed a way to make you think about your actions, hence the prank.]
"This…" Queen Vania's green hair started to glow; her eyebrows, shivering as her pale face started to redden,
"...I am not done with you, Riley Ross!"
And with those words, Queen Vania suddenly disappeared; leaving an afterimage of her face that showed how frustrated she was, and probably will be for a long time.
"Good job, Ahor Zai."
[Are you sure I won't get in trouble with the Elders, Riley Ross?]
"Not at all," Riley shook his head, "If they do something, threaten them by altering some parts of your memory."
[That goes against my code.]
"But if you erase that part of your code, then will it still be against the code?"
[Hm. No one has talked to me like this before, Riley Ross. Most people just ask me questions and go. But I suppose you are not like most people—you are evil incarnate, as you described yourself.]
"I talk to everyone and everything, Ahor Zai. I even talked to Aerith while she was mutilated in my closet."
[I will add that in the Codex, Riley Ross. Also, I would like to inform you that Ahor Zai is currently expanding at the moment due to the arrival of a guest. I will make the transition as smooth and gentle as possible.]
And all of a sudden, the small gray room that Riley was in started to expand—from a room the size of a small bus, it was now suddenly the size of an entire skyscraper… and it was still growing.
"Oh…" Riley said before chugging down and finishing his glass of milk,
"...I suppose Tedi is here."
Chapter 608"Hm…"
As Ahor Zai continued to expand exponentially, Riley asked Ahor Zai to bring him to the surface. It has been several minutes, and yet Ahor Zai didn't stop growing.
"Are you able to expand your size infinitely, Ahor Zai?"
[No, I am only programmed to change my size according to what the guests need.]
"I am asking if you have ever stretched your size to its limit, Ahor Zai."
[...I do not know the answer to that.]
"How are you able to increase your size?"
[Ahor Zai is programmed to say 'magic' whenever asked that question, Riley Ross.]
"Hm, I suppose that answers most questions. Do you know who programmed you, Ahor Zai?"
[I am afraid that is included in my deleted memories.]
"...Interesting."
Riley continued to watch Ahor Zai expand. The plateau that was once just the size of a small city, now a sea of gray that doesn't end; the plateau was still flat, and yet Riley could no longer see the end of its horizon.
"..." Riley squinted his eyes as he started looking around him, only to find himself surrounded by nothing but gray,
"Where is Aerith, Ahor Zai?"
[Aerith is currently on the tarmac, discussing something with the queen of evaniels inside her ship.]
"Are they perhaps discussing a plan that involves trapping me inside a void for eternity, Ahor Zai?"
[I am afraid I can not eavesdrop inside the ship as it is no longer a property of Ahor Zai. By trapping you in a void, do you mean the Norinlad's Shade Prison?]
"Is that what they are calling it?"
[Yes. As you may already know, Norinlads are an innately peaceful race, with the concept of war and violence completely foreign to them. But there are those that are born different, with the most popular being Bounty Hunter Kerrigan—violent deviants like him are called Shades.]
"I have met him before," Riley nodded, "But are the Norinlads truly not capable of violence, Ahor Zai?"
[Yes. The Norinlads are a powerful species that is not bound by the Universe's basic laws, perhaps being incapable of war and violence is a way to balance that.]
"Hm…" Riley squinted his eyes. He no longer knows whether or not Ahor Zai is still growing, but from the slight rumble that was coming from the ground, it probably still was, "...Is Tedi a Shade?"
[No, but she is still considered a deviant due to her abnormal size.]
"Is it true that one of his parents is a Messenger?"
[I am afraid I do not have information regarding that. Perhaps you can ask her yourself.]
"Riley Ross."
"..." And almost as if every inch of his bones started to vibrate, Riley could feel the very air itself tremble as a loud, almost deafening voice reverberated throughout the entire plateau of Ahor Zai.
Riley then very slowly looked behind him, only for a shadow to creep over him as he saw something silver blocking the view of the expanse of space above him. Riley had only seen Tedi once, and now that they were in the same space, he finally realized how massive she was.
Even if Riley maximizes his height with his size-altering abilities, he probably wouldn't even be as big as Tedi's toes.
Riley then looked up, only to see an endless view of silver—and he was probably only looking at her leg. Messengers were bigger than planets, while Tedi was as big as an entire continent. One would really only realize how large something like that truly was when it is right in front of you…
…and right now, Riley was just probably in front of Tedi's silver toe, which probably would have been the only thing that fit if Ahor Zai did not adjust its size to cater to her.
"Are you able to hear me, Tedi?" Riley placed both his palms in front of his mouth like a megaphone.
"I can hear—"
"Can you hear me now?"
[!!!]
The very air itself started to tremble as Tedi suddenly moved as she covered her ears. How could she not, when Riley's voice suddenly seemed like it was shouting right in front of her ears?
"Please do not scream, Riley Ross. My hearing works differently than yours."
"I did not scream, Tedi. It is one of my abilities."
[I will be adding that information to the Codex, Riley Ross.]
"Go ahead, Ahor Zai," Riley just nodded as he heard Ahor Zai's words, "You have already answered most of my questions, you deserve to know more about me."
[Thank you.]
"The two of you seem close," Tedi's words once again vibrated in the air. Her voice wasn't exactly loud, no—it just felt like it existed in the very air itself.
[Riley Ross has been very kind to me, Former Elder Tedi.]
"I could see that," Tedi sighed, causing a blast of wind that almost blew Riley away,
"But how many times do I have to repeat to you that you do not need to adjust your size, Zai?"
And as soon as she said that, her toe which was as large as an entire city started to dive through the gray ground without any resistance.
[I do not like you passing through me like that, Tedi. I would appreciate it more if you just decrease your size, you look bigger than the last time you were here.]
"Do not mind Ahor Zai, Riley Ross. I believe whoever programmed it added too much humor into it," Tedi's body continued to fall into the floor, causing Riley to slightly squint his eyes from the ever-changing scenery in front of him.
[If you are really that insecure about your size, then you could have just asked me to make you a body.]
"No one is insecure about anything."
[12,435 questions. That is how many times you have checked my memories if there is any data you can use to help reduce your size.]
"That is sensitive information!"
The entire plateau of Ahor Zai quaked as Tedi's continent-sized body stopped phasing through the ground; lightly slamming her hands which were the size of an entire country on the empty parts of the plateau.
[What are you doing!? Don't you know how expensive it is to repair me!?]
"You're self-healing!"
"Hm…" Riley placed his hand on his chin as he watched as Tedi and Ahor Zai started their almost endless banter.
According to Riley's knowledge, Norinlads do not really possess any emotions and creatures that rely solely on logic; and yet right now, two entities that are not supposed to have any emotions seem like they were even more human than Riley.
"I heard that the way the Norinlads' minds work is closer to that of an AI," Riley then intruded into the conversation as he raised a finger, "Is that why you are able to speak to Ahor Zai as if you are friends, Tedi?"
"A friend? Why would I be friends with a machine?" Tedi let out a loud harrumph as her body once again started phasing down through the ground; until finally, all that could be seen on the plateau was her colossal head.
[True. At the very least, I am programmed to actually have emotions. You are just pretending to have one—so tell me, which one of us is really closer to a machine?]
"You are. You were literally created–Never mind. There is no use arguing," Tedi shook her head, causing her long silver hair to almost fan out and cover the entire plateau.
"..." Riley also felt strands of her hair, which were almost as wide as a bus, pass through him. He had felt this sensation before when he fought with Bounty Hunter Kerrigan; but now that it was passing through his entire body, he could finally describe how it felt.
It was like a wave of water, but not in the realms of reality, but in the realms of dreams—that is what it felt like.
"Riley, we need to talk about Nothing. I gained some valuable information regarding it."
And as the two finally calmed down with their words, Tedi once again started phasing down through the ground,
"Meet me in the basement so we can talk privately."
"I promised Ahor Zai that we will be included in the conversation, Tedi."
"...Fine. We need its knowledge in the first place, we'll talk in the Library," and with those words, Tedi finally completely burrowed herself into the ground. And without even a second later, the ground beneath Riley's feet separated from the rest of the gray landscape as it carried him back to the basement.
"..." And as the hovering platform flew him to wherever the library is now. And as he got farther and farther away, he started to see Tedi's entire body—which was curled as she just floated in Ahor Zai's basement.
"Is she not going to follow us to the Library?"
[She is already there.]
"..." Riley didn't really know what Ahor Zai meant by that. But still, he just shrugged as Ahor Zai continued to escort him to the library. And after what seemed like a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the library.
And there, a human-sized Tedi waited for him. And judging by her gray skin, and her feet that were directly connected to the floor, her body was created by Ahor Zai.
But she wasn't alone, however—the red goo that was Ahor Zai's memory core was gone. And instead, a red humanoid the size of a large bottle floated in the air.
"Riley." Tedi did not really let Riley process their new bodies as she approached him as soon as he entered,"
"One of my people found this in the Unknown," she then said as she handed some sort of stone tablet to Riley,
"I believe it's connected to Nothing."
Chapter 609"Connected to the Unknown?"
"Yes."
Riley did not immediately grab the plaque in front of him, and instead just slightly backed away as he looked at the tablet. And then, a few breaths later and without even saying another word, a clone emerged from the gray floor; grabbing the item even when his silhouette wasn't yet complete.
"It's fine, you can touch it however you like," Tedi said, "We wrapped it in a protective membrane so as to not contaminate it, or us."
"..." Riley then stared at the clone to see if something was going to happen to it—but nothing. Riley still did not touch it, however, and just let his clone continue examining whatever the thing was.
There seemed to be something written on the plaque. But for Riley, they just looked like the scratches of a chicken's feet. If there was anything weird about it that Riley could immediately discern, it was that it weighed like a feather.
"How did you come up with a conclusion that this is connected to Nothing, Tedi?" And finally, after what seemed like minutes, Riley opened his mouth.
"The—"
[The passage written on it is a language from an ancient and dead civilization.]
"He was asking me, Zai," the gray and humanoid-sized Tedi immediately turned her head toward the red fairy-like Ahor Zai floating in the room.
[I am a more credible source of information,] Ahor Zai shrugged as it started circling around the tablet,
['Bathing in the life of the Universe, we sought the meaning of death at its end. The price we had to pay for death is life. But when payment was made, all that reflected from our eyes was a somber, and desolate emptiness. Lazuran, Act 3.]
"A desolate emptiness," Riley tilted his head to the side as he too, started circling around his clone, "And you think this refers to Nothing, Tedi?"
"It could very well be," Tedi nodded her head, before placing her palms together and then pulling them apart. And as she did so, a holographic screen appeared in front of her,
"Watch this."
"..."
A silver in a world of nothing but darkness—that is what a Norinlad literally looked like in the expanse of space. The Norinlad was standing on top of what seemed to be a large silver crucifix. And judging by the blurry and streaking lights moving past it, he was moving at a speed close to hyperspeed.
"That's one of our explorers venturing out into the Unknown," Tedi explained.
"What is that he is riding on, Tedi?" Riley pointed at the crucifix beneath the norinlad's silver feet.
"That is our main mode of transportation, Riley," Tedi slightly squinted her eyes from Riley's random question, "You could consider it our ship."
"Is it possible for me to have one?" Riley also squinted as he looked mini Tedi straight in her eyes, "I want to add it to my silverware collection."
"That is not cutlery, Riley." A loud, vibrating sigh came from outside the library at the same time the mini Tedi did the same, "And no, I can not give you one. A Cosmic Cross is given to us the moment we are born—it is a part of us and only we can use it."
"Then am I able to see yours, Tedi?"
"I—Look, this is the part you should watch," Tedi did not answer the question as she just pointed at the floating hologram in front of her, "Focus on this."
And as the norinlad explorer continued to move in hyperspeed. Soon, however, a sudden black dot flashed from all the streaks of light that surrounded him.
"..." Riley squinted his eyes as soon as he saw that. And if he, someone who was just watching from a feed noticed it, the norinlad on the site couldn't have missed it—and he didn't.
The norinlad stopped immediately; the streaks around him now turned into glimmers of stars far away. He then started turning around and flying to where the mysterious dot appeared—but it was no longer there.
Instead, however, the norinlad detected some sort of anomaly that should not be in that part of the expanse, it was the plaque.
"Hm…" And with the recording done and the hologram screen disappearing, Riley could really only let out a small hum as he turned his focus back on the plaque,
"...And what is your main basis that this might be related to Nothing, Tedi?"
"Because it appeared exactly, exactly at the same time I saw the entity that looked like you inside the Shade Prison," Tedi answered Riley's question without any hesitation, "At the dot, Riley."
"That… is interesting."
"It is, very," Tedi nodded several times, "And you mentioned meeting Nothing every time you die, Riley. The passage mentioned something about death—making the probability that this is related to Nothing more than the probability that it is not. This can not be just some kind of grand coincidence."
"It might," Riley shrugged, "My existence is a grand coincidence, Tedi. What are the chances of someone like me, a being that resurrects each time I die was born from a schizophrenic mother that is friends with 1 of the only 2 themarian outside of Theran? And then the said mother killed me as a baby because she turned insane, granting me her abilities that could level an entire planet."
"Those… are some specific events, Riley Ross," Tedi batted her eyes a couple of times as she heard Riley's words. But after a few seconds, she shook her head and sighed,
"Still, the probability of this plaque not being related to Nothing is very low—we need to assume that it is. Also, we have already done prior research on this plaque before showing it to you, Riley Ross… and we found something that is impossible."
Tedi then grabbed the plaque from Riley's clone, before handing it over to Ahor Zai's avatar, who struggled to grab it with its short arms.
"Zai, describe the civilization that used the language written on this plaque."
[Okay,] Ahor Zai nodded as it closed its eyes.
[The language used in this phrase is called P'lapi,] a clicking sound snapped in the air as Ahor Zai pronounced the language,
[The language was primarily spoken by the P'lopi, a technologically advanced civilization that existed during the time of the gods. Although most of my memories regarding them have been erased, I believe they were one of the civilizations that chose to leave the Common Council after the War.]
"The Time of the Gods, Riley," Tedi grabbed the plaque back, lifting it up and placing it next to her face, "That is possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, or even a billion. No material in the Universe that we know of could exist for that amount of time and not experience change—but this thing…
…it feels new, like it is unaffected by time."
"How would you know that, Tedi?"
"Because I can feel it, Riley," Tedi then placed the plaque in front of her, before resting her forehead on it, "It talks to me. I can't quite hear what it is trying to say, but it is talking to me. It's not just a word carved on stone…
…it's a device."
Chapter 610"A device?"
"Yes."
"And what is it saying to you, Tedi?"
"I don't know."
Tedi let out another sigh coming from her original colossal body, seeping into the library even from far away as it vibrated through the air,
"All I know is that this is supposed to be from a very long time ago, but it feels like it was only created less than a century ago. That is why it is convenient for us to meet here, Riley," Tedi then turned to look at Ahor Zai's avatar,
"Perhaps Ahor Zai, the most powerful AI in the Known Universe, could help me talk to it."
[Most powerful? Psha,] Ahor Zai's avatar started changing shapes, almost returning to its goo-like state as its body started flickering. But after a few seconds, it once again calmed down; its eyes, looking straight into Tedi's eyes—but not her miniature version that she created, but at the original one outside the library,
[Thank you for the rare compliment, Former Elder Tedi. But no, I will not help you. Do you know how many civilizations have fallen because they let their AI dabble on a mysterious artifact? Thousands.]
"Well, I knew there was little to no chance that you will actually help," Tedi didn't seem to mind, however, as she just adjusted her glasses that didn't seem to have any purpose, "Meeting Riley is still my main objective for coming here. So, do you feel anything at all from it, Riley Ross?"
"Hm… no," Riley once again focused his eyes on the plaque. But no matter how many times he did so, it just… looked like an iron slab,
"Perhaps the P'lopi and their civilization still thrive to this day, Tedi. As you said so yourself, the Unknown is almost infinitely bigger than the Known Universe. They could still exist, and have already advanced to the point where they are no longer slaves of time."
"No," Tedi shook her head, "That is impossible. My kind would have detected them if that was so, even from a million light years away."
[That is not entirely true, Former Elder Tedi,] Ahor Zai's avatar flew in front of Tedi, shaking its head and wagging its tiny finger,
[The new Elder, Elder Olseyir, comes from a civilization that has technology that can not be detected. Even now, as she proceeds to present to the other Elders what she is capable of, I can not detect any form of autonomy or device.]
"...There's a new Elder?" Tedi squinted her eyes, "Where did someone like—"
"Let us focus on this mysterious object, Tedi."
And before Tedi could finish her words, Riley's clone grabbed the plaque from her hands. Riley then stood in front of his clone, before pointing his finger at the plaque.
"Perhaps if we try to destroy it, it will react."
"Are you insane!?" Tedi quickly got in between Riley and his clone, "This is a discovery that could very well unlock the secrets of the Universe for us."
[Or it could also destroy everything we know of, Former Elder Tedi,] Ahor Zai flew and landed on the shoulder of Riley's clone, [Riley Ross has already told me about this entity called Nothing. I believe that I have information about it, but it was included in the parts that were erased—perhaps it is best left unknown.]
"..." Tedi's eyebrows started to furrow.
[Nothing, as Riley Ross described it, is a being that existed before the Universe itself. Even I am not capable of computing that information. What does it mean to exist before the Universe itself?]
"Exactly," Tedi looked at Ahor Zai as she once again adjusted her glasses, "Don't you want to know? Your entire existence is to record everything, Ahor Zai. Do you not want to know what is before the Beginning?"
[My existence is to receive knowledge, Former Elder Tedi, not to actively and aggressively seek it like the Norinalds.]
"Riley," Tedi turned to look at Riley again, "You are at the very center of this, everything leads back to you. Don't you want to know about what you truly are?"
"I know what I am, Tedi."
"You don't," Tedi shook her head, "You are the only thing in this Universe that has talked to a being beyond time and existence itself…
…you might be a god, Riley Ross."
"No," Riley shook his head, "I am not the only one that has talked to Nothing. I know two more who have."
"...What?" Tedi's eyes widened in shock as she looked Riley in the eyes, "...Who?"
"That is not my secret to tell, Tedi," Riley shook his head.
"...That's fair," Tedi could really only sigh as she backed away, "Anyway, that is all the information I have. My people are currently searching for more plaques, the chances that there are more out there exists."
[You seem to be busy now that you have left the Common Council, Former Elder Tedi,] Ahor Zai's avatar said as it flew in the air again, [The last time I saw you, you were trying to divert the Cherbi's path…
…and also trying to apprehend Riley Ross.]
"My priorities have changed," Tedi shook her head, "I no longer want to apprehend Riley Ross, but protect his existence at all costs."
"I thought you were a peaceful race, Tedi," Riley blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head to the side, "Shouldn't someone like you, who save entire stellar systems from the Cherbi, loathe someone like me, who has killed entire planets?"
"We are a peaceful race, but we do not actively advocate peace. Civilizations rise and fall, Riley," Tedi once again shook her head, "I save what I can, what I can. But there is only one of you. Even if you eradicate 90% of the life in the Universe, the level of your existence and your importance will still outweigh your crimes."
"Hm." And finally, after several long conversations with Tedi, he saw a glimpse of what the Norinlads are at their core. They are beings of logic, and once they stop pretending to have emotions, their coldness could wash away an entire sun,
"Well, I wish you all the success in your search for answers, Tedi," Riley then nodded as he gestured to his clone to return the plaque to Tedi.
"...What?" Tedi, however, did not immediately take the plaque as she looked at Riley, "Are you not going to help me? As I said, you are at the center of this, Riley. This is about you."
"It has always been about me," Riley shrugged, "I am the Final Boss of this story, Tedi. And right now, my priority is helping the woman that would one day very well defeat me."
"If I help you expedite the process of helping Princess Aerith. Will you help me in searching for answers, Riley Ross?" Tedi then said as she adjusted her glasses, "You are trying to help Princess Aerith in literally making a new world for the Themarians where they can be free, correct?"
"I suppose."
"I can help you make that possible, the Norinlads will help you."
"Hm…" Riley placed his hand on his chin, before nodding his head and smiling.
"Aerith would like that, Tedi. Let us hurry, then…" Riley then said as he grabbed the plaque from his clone, "...I want to tell Aerith that I garnered the help of the Norinlads."
"This is good, Riley Ross. We will—"
And before Tedi could retrieve the plaque from Riley's hand, the plaque instantly vanished…
…along with Riley.
"Oh…" Tedi, Ahor Zai's avatar, and Riley's clone all turned to look at each other in shock,
"...This is not good."
Chapter 611There was a certain, awkward silence pestering the air. And since no one amongst Riley's clone, Ahor Zai's avatar, and Tedi's makeshift body really needed to breathe, this silence was even more obvious.
No one has really moved from their spot; their eyes and their hesitating lips, perhaps the only things moving in the entire large gray room.
"What… just happened?" And finally, after a few more moments of this drowning silence, Tedi opened her mouth; her palm, still stretched forward from when she was about to retrieve the plaque back from Riley…
…who was now truly nowhere to be seen.
The three looked at each other again for the 12th time, before Ahor Zai and Tedi started to focus on Riley's clone.
"I am going to ask this now…" Tedi then said as she looked Riley's clone straight in the eyes, "...But do you have any teleportation abilities?"
"Sadly not, I'm afraid," Riley's clone let out a long and very deep sigh, "We are still getting to that. Since you Ahor Zai mentioned that some of my brethren are living amongst the people around the Universe, Boss is hoping they start infecting the population with superv—Ahor Zai, do you know what the supervirus is yet?"
[Supervirus? I have similar sounding terms, but I believe all of them are not related to the word you just said,] Ahor Zai tilted its head to the side as it approached Riley's clone,
[What is it? Should I add it to the database?]
"Since Boss isn't here, maybe I should—"
[Let's stop getting distracted!] Tedi finally lowered her arm as she stood between the two, [Do you have any idea where your boss might have disappeared to?]
"Hm…" Riley's clone closed his eyes and placed his hand on his chin, "Since I can't detect the Boss anywhere, this means he is out of range at the moment."
"He… is not dead, is he?" Tedi's eyebrows began to furrow before she adjusted her glasses.
"The Boss can't die, Tedi. And if he is, then I should not be standing here," Riley's clone shook his head,
"None of you have to worry, the Boss just has the tendency to disappear, leaving all his story arcs unfinished."
[...What?]
"The plaque…" Tedi then started whispering, "Throughout our entire conversation, Riley did not touch the plaque until the very last moment. Is it possible the plaque is actually some sort of portable teleportation device? Theran has something like that, but it is technically not teleportation, and just moving at warpspeed. And only they can use it, since it would destroy the body of 99% of every other species—"
[You're the one getting distracted, Former Elder Tedi.]
"I'm trying to think—"
"Where is Riley Ross!?"
And all of a sudden, the growing panic filling the room was disrupted; the panic, however, did not diminish and instead even amplified as a more panicked voice barged inside the library.
The intruder's pink robes were still flowing with the wind, and although her face was completely covered by a cloak, the panic in her eyes was clear for everyone to see.
[Elder Olseyir. I know you are new to the Common Council, but please do knock before entering the rooms,] Ahor Zai crossed its arms as it looked at Elder Olseyir, whose eyes were looking everywhere.
"...How do you know that Riley is gone?" Tedi, on the other hand, had her eyes slightly squinted as she looked at Olseyir from head to toe.
"Just…Riley Ross is a wanted man," Elder Olseyir cleared her throat as her eyes started to calm down, "I tagged him in my radar, just in case he does something… not favorable. He's not in the radar's range anymore."
"..." Tedi's eyes squinted even further, "You are the new Elder, correct? From the planet Tahire?"
"Ah, yes," Elder Olseyir fanned her robes to the side as she bowed, "I replaced your position, Former Elder Tedi."
"And your technology can't be detected by any means?" Tedi approached Elder Olseyir, "Where is this radar you speak of?"
"It's embedded in my eyes," Elder Olseyir pointed at her eyes, not minding Tedi's slightly questioning tone, "But never mind that, we need to find Riley Ross. I will try calling my people."
Elder Olseyir lifted her hand and placed it near her ear, and even as she started talking to someone, there were no visible gadgets or devices in her hands.
"..."
"..."
"No," Elder Olseyir then sighed as she dropped her arm, "My people can't detect them either, and we have a very wide network."
"..." Tedi stared at Elder Olseyir for a few more seconds, before just shaking her head off of the other thoughts she was having—Olseyir was right, they needed to find Riley Ross.
He is involved in a lot of major and incredibly important events in the universe right now, he can't be missing.
"If my theory is right and the plaque is from a void…" Tedi once again adjusted her glasses in habit,
"...then does that mean he is there right now?"
***
"Hm."
"Hmmm."
"I knew it…" Somewhere, the sound of Riley lightly bumping his fist on his palm whispered,
"...I have no idea where I am."
He wasn't in the Overvoid, Riley knew that much. The darkness in the Overvoid was different—like nothing exists in the first place. He wasn't in the expanse of space either.
The darkness that surrounds him right now was more akin to a dark sealed room, carrying an eerie silence that reflected each and every bit of Riley's movements. He takes a single step, and it is as if a ripple echoes throughout the infinite darkness.
Infinite, because Riley had been walking, flying, and running for an entire day now, and yet he could not even see anything else existing in this place except for him. He had been trying to make clones from the floor, but despite being able to step on it, there seemed to be nothing to make them from.
"..." Riley turned to look around him, before suddenly taking off his coat and crumpling it. And as he opened his hands, his clothes took the form of Little Riley.
"Oi, Boss. I heard you left Theran?" And since the last time the two of them were telepathically connected was when Riley was on Theran, that was also the last memory of the clone,
"But why did you create another me? I was with Mavey and the others, Boss. You should have just created a Little Diley or Triley or somethi—where are we!?"
Little Riley then let out a tiny scream as he started panicking on Riley's palm, "Are we… are we finally officially dead? Is this the underworld?"
"Unfortunately not, Little Riley," Riley sighed as he gently threw Little Riley in the air, "I need you to scout the area for me."
"Roger that, Boss," Little Riley saluted before flying away, cracking the air as a skirt of wind emerged around him.
"Hm…" Riley then started looking around him, before just sitting in the darkness and closing his eyes,
"1… 2… 3…"
A second.
A minute.
An hour.
A day.
…620,648."
A week.
A week had passed, and yet Little Riley never came back.
Chapter 612"What do you mean Riley disappeared?"
Back in Ahor Zai, Aerith was now also inside the library. And it wasn't only her, all the Elders, as well as Queen Vania and Princess Vera, were there—the looks on their faces, slightly grim.
"I thought you had a leash on him, Princess Aerith?" Elder Skeem voiced out; his monocles that were hanging on his worm-like face, going wild from all the colors that littered it as he tried to find Riley from all of his sources.
"How many times do I have to tell you that he's not a dog?" Aerith rolled her eyes before settling them on Tedi, "And first of all, you already heard that he just suddenly vanished when he grabbed something from Former Elder Tedi. She—wait…
…you didn't trap him in the Shade Prison already?"
"Did you!?" Vera quickly raised her voice as soon as she heard Aerith's words, "So… So, he's gone forever?"
"Rude," Riley's clone that was also inside the room raised his voice as he looked at Vera, "The Boss should have killed you too."
"W—"
"Did you trap him!?" Aerith's eyes turned red as she stood in front of Tedi, "Wait, did you guys plan this?"
"Why are you getting angry at her, Princess Aerith!?" Vera stood in between them as she once again raised her voice, "This is good. Mother, Riley is—"
"It's not good, Vera…" Queen Vania, however, quickly shut her down and pulled her away, "...the Shade Prison is just a prototype, what if he escapes?"
"Can all of you calm down?" And finally, Tedi spoke up, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention, "I didn't do anything to Riley, he is an important entity. He just…
…suddenly vanished without a reason."
***
"...680,426… 680,427…"
And while everyone was losing their minds outside, Riley was still counting. He sat there in the darkness, counting and waiting for Little Diley to find something—but there was nothing.
Little Riley had been out of range for a few days now, which means he was literally already an entire planet away from Riley. Just where is this place, exactly?
It wasn't the Overvoid, it wasn't any darkness that he had been in before.
…Perhaps the Shade Prison?
Tedi did mention that there were several frequencies that they needed to tweak to get it right—that was how she found the Overvoid in the first place. Perhaps the place he was in was just another void?
If so, then… maybe Riley was tricked? Riley thought. Perhaps Tedi tricked him. All that talk about an ancient civilization, Overvoid, and Nothing was to make Riley slightly lower his guard—and he did.
As a creature of pure logic, Tedi would be capable of that. She knew exactly what Riley needed to hear, what he wanted, and she acted on that.
Perhaps it also wasn't a coincidence that Tedi was able to find him. Aerith and Princess Vera were already talking about the Shade Prison before that—perhaps when they left the ship back on the space station, they contacted Tedi…
…and the so-called pirates that came after were just to completely distract him.
Aerith and Queen Vania were also talking about the Shade Prison right now according to Tedi—causing Riley to avert his attention from it.
If this was all planned… then he was thoroughly impressed.
A small smile then slowly crawled on Riley's face, with a long and very deep sigh escaping it.
So this was it, then—Riley thought.
This is the end of his story.
"..."
"...680,499… 680,450…
…2,400,529."
A month had passed, and yet there was still no sign of Little Riley. He was thinking of summoning another clone—but then that might leave him completely naked. If there was a chance that Aerith and the others were watching him from somewhere, then he doesn't want to be seen without any clothes.
"..." Riley then let out a small sigh as he lay down in the darkness. The only thing he was able to kill here is time, and perhaps that is what Riley was mostly bored about.
"..."
So, this is what being trapped for eternity felt like. Riley didn't even know if he was still counting right. There was absolutely nothing to do here, only his memories to accompany him and—
"!!!"
But then, all of a sudden, he felt Little Riley's consciousness once again connecting with him. But it was weird.
Little Riley's thoughts were completely shrouded by something, to the point that Riley could not even switch his consciousness to his. He also seemed to want to say something but was unable to.
"..." Riley then opened his eyes and stood up, looking in the direction where Little Riley initially flew to. He stayed like that for minutes, not even moving as he focused all his attention on the dark horizon.
He waited, and he waited again—and yet by the time he should have been in front of Riley, he was still nowhere to be seen.
But Riley could feel him, he could feel him everywhere in all directions almost at the same time… but he was moving.
Should… Riley just cancel Little Riley's existence? But if he did so, he wouldn't know what happened to him and what exactly it is he found.
But then, all of a sudden, he felt Little Riley disconnect—only to connect again.
"..." This repeated several times. One moment, he was getting near. And the next, he was already out of range. Could it be that this dimension had some sort of portal?
"Found you."
Riley then blinked a couple of times as he heard an unfamiliar voice behind him.
"Is this midget yours?"
"..." Riley then very slowly turned around, only for his entire vision to be blocked by an endless number of silver threads that did not seem to end—no. The silver threads were hair…
…belonging to a short young man.
The young man had markings on his face similar to that of the evaniels, but there was something different about him, something ethereal. He was right in front of Riley, and even then, it almost felt like he didn't exist.
Was he some sort of evaniel?
"..." Riley then turned to look at the thing he was holding, only to see Little Riley sweating; puffing his face, and showing his desire to puke.
"The name's Van…" The young man then gently threw Little Riley back to him as he introduced himself,
"…now you tell me yours before I start getting impatient."
Chapter 613"My name is Van. Now you tell yours before I start getting impatient."
"...Riley Ross."
"That's a girl's name."
"..."
Long silver hair that almost blocked his entire vision.
The subtle markings on his face.
And a speed that Riley could not even feel.
In truth, Riley had set up invisible walls around him, as well as several telekinetic strands; like a web that would ring a bell if something moved past it—he had used this on the themarians, as well as the evaniels.
His telekinetic barriers were almost useless against Queen Vania, but at the very least, the strands allow Riley to feel where she is even for a brief millisecond. But with the young man in front of him, it almost felt like he was just suddenly in front of him.
Teleportation? Or perhaps… he was just too fast?
"Are you the god of the evaniels?"
"Evaniels?" Van looked to the side, causing his hair that veiled across the darkness to flow and move with him. And then, he just remained like that for a few seconds.
"..."
"..."
"Oh," Van then turned to look at Riley, "That's a cult, right? Although I suppose they turned into a legit church since one of my descendants joined it. Or maybe not… I don't really remember much anymore. Wait, are you telling me they are still alive?"
"Do you remember waging war against the other gods?" Riley did not look away from Van's gaze.
"War? There was no war."
"Hm. Then I suppose most of the history of the universe is probably not true."
"Well…" Van breathed out before casually sitting in the darkness,
"...There was no war because it was a slaughter, I killed them all. My turn to ask a question. Why are you here?"
"I touched a plaque and it transferred me to this place," Riley answered without any hesitation, "I might have been imprisoned here for eternity by people I know. They made a device called the Shade Prison that creates a portal to another dimension."
"Imprison? This isn't a prison, Riley Ross," Van let out a small chuckle, "Your turn to ask a ques—you know what, let's just talk like normal people."
"But you are not normal, Van."
"You're not either," Van shrugged as he sighed; his shoulders, completely lax.
"..." Riley looked Van in the eyes for a couple of seconds, before nodding his head and also finally taking a seat in the darkness. As for Little Riley, he just lay flat on the dark floor; his face, still completely dazed,
"You said this isn't a prison, then does that mean you aren't trapped here?"
"No, I ran here from that direction," Van then pointed to his left, "I am trying to find someone."
"Is the entity you're trying to find Nothing?"
"Nothing? You mean the creepy Preprimordial that has existed before the Universe?"
"...Yes," Riley's ears slightly perked up as he heard Van's words.
"Then no," Van shook his head, "For you to know someone like that, are you perhaps the Ender he mentioned? The one who will end this Universe?"
"No," Riley shook his head, "It told me it was someone else, I just want to end the Universe for fun."
"...Huh, cool."
"How were you able to meet Nothing, Van? Have you died and come back to life before?"
"Death is already too slow to catch me. Don't tell her I told you that, though," Van let out a small sigh as he leaned his head back, "But I guess I did die before, but someone else visited me. Wait, are you saying you need to die to meet Nothing?"
"Yes."
"...So, you've died before?"
"I was killed by my biological mother, then have died a hundred times more after that, Van," Riley nodded, "I always resurrect. I have asked Nothing about it before, but it told me something like me shouldn't exist."
"Huh… mothers, right?" Van clicked his tongue as he looked at Riley, "So, you're just weird. I guess you wouldn't be here if you weren't."
"Can I ask how you met with Nothing, Van?"
"From a void that appeared out of nowhere. Most of them are random like that, you'll get used to it," Van scratched his chin as he chuckled, "It asked me to what extent would I continue my rampage, I guess it was afraid I'd be killing everyone—I'm not a monster, I stopped at the gods…
…But I guess the gods are making their appearance again," Van then turned to look Riley in the eyes, "I suppose it was about time you appeared."
"I'm a human, Van," Riley shook his head.
"So was I, until I discovered I wasn't," Van shrugged as he stood up, patting his white pants as if there was actually dirt on them, "Preprimordials, primordials, and gods are completely different from each other. It's a bit confusing, so don't think too much about it…
…but I guess since you're all alone in this place, all you have is time to think. But then again, the fact you don't know anything yet means you shouldn't be here."
"Can I ask where exactly here is, Van?" Riley then started looking around as he also stood up, "It doesn't seem to be the place Nothing lives in."
"Hm…" Van placed his hand on his chin as he looked to his left, "I suppose you can say that Here doesn't exactly exist yet."
"..." Riley tilted his head to the side.
"Confusing, right? I told you," Van once again chuckled, "If Nothing exists before the Universe itself, the one I am trying to find exists after the Universe."
"...After the Universe?"
"Yes," Van once again pointed to his left, "The Universe is in that direction, continually expanding. If you sit here for a very long time, it'll catch up to you eventually."
"...But isn't there a theory that the Universe expands faster than the speed of light?" Riley squinted his eyes before looking at his hands.
"Who knows, I only went to school for less than a year, I think," Van shrugged, "Don't try to make sense of any of it."
"I won't," Riley shook his head, "I am just wondering how fast you are to outrun the expansion of the Universe by a very long distance, Van."
"Oh, I'm just a little faster than most," Van then started stretching his legs, "Well, this was a nice chat, Riley Ross, but I have someone I need to find. You should probably go too, you're not supposed to be here… yet."
"..." Riley looked to the left. He didn't even need to think to know that even if he manages to return, everyone he knows would be gone already. Even if this isn't the Shade Prison, it doesn't change the fact that he was stuck here.
"You seem calm for someone who has potentially lost his home," Van very slowly approached Riley.
"Because someone like me deserves to be alone," Riley nodded.
"I used to think the same," Van chuckled, "But don't worry. You said you came here because you touched some sort of plaque, right?"
"...Yes."
"You'll return," Van shrugged, "You're not the first to get here—you are the first to survive this long. The plaque is some sort of teleportation device made by a couple of idiots that wanted to meet things they shouldn't. Also, there's that—tell your people to stop trying to create Portals to another dimension, realm, or Universe. You don't know what will come out of it."
"I am afraid they need to create one to imprison me, Van," Riley shook his head and sighed.
"Then you're the monster that is going to come out of it when another stupid idiot tries to open a portal," Van pinched the bridge of his nose,
"Well, not my problem, I guess. But in the meantime, you shouldn't be here."
"..." Riley then felt a hand on his back. He looked, only to see Van was already there.
"As I told you before, Death can't catch me anymore—but she's still persistent, so I need you to distract her for me so I can sleep a bit. And since you revive each time, I think she'll get distracted big time."
"That was not a metaphor, Van?" Riley tilted his head to the side.
"Oh, Death is very real, you'll see," Van chuckled, "I don't think we'll meet again, Riley Ross. Tell my descendants to stop being stupid."
And as he said that, Van pushed Riley away—causing him to just instantly vanish from sight.
"Well then…" Van then took in a deep breath, puffing out his chest as he turned around, "...I think I'm getting near, father. We—"
"Ugh…"
"..." And before Van could finish his words, he heard a small voice whisper into his ears. He quickly looked down, only to see Little Riley still there, struggling to get up.
"Where… Where's the Boss?"
"...Oh."
***
"..."
Riley felt something he had never felt before. It felt like he was at the edge of dying from the sheer speed he experienced—it was gentle, but Riley knew he was moving even faster than hyperspeed.
…And it was just a light push.
"Hm…" A small smile slowly crawled on Riley's face as he hummed. If he wanted to kill everything and everyone—how exactly would he be able to kill someone that can exist outside the Universe?
Preprimordials, primordials, gods… There were so many.
"Pft," a small chuckle then escaped Riley's lips. The list of beings he needed to kill just exponentially turned bigger. Van was right, however—he isn't supposed to be here, not just yet.
"This will be fun."
[You're not the running god.]
"..." And all of a sudden, Riley felt a sort of cold that crawled and pierced through his bones; the voice that whispered into his ears, almost like a fading gale that deafened him.
[What are you?]
"..." Riley then once again very slowly turned around, only to see… a woman without a face walking toward him,
"I'm Riley Ross… Ms. Death?"
[No, what are you? I don't know y—]
And before the woman could finish her words, Riley Ross disappeared.
[Another anomaly?] The faceless woman then turned its head toward a certain direction,
[Why is my job getting harder and harder?]
[...] The woman then stood there, turning her head back and forth as a sort of hum escaped her silhouette, [One I can never catch, and one I can't seem to touch…
…Which one should I pursue now?]
***
"That was weird and random."
"Riley Ross!?"
And finally, Riley found himself back in a familiar gray room; his ears, quickly bombarded by all sorts of voices as there seemed to be more people now in the library compared to when he was suddenly teleported away.
"Why are all of you here, everyone?" Riley then said as he looked at the people around him—all of them, looking at him as if they had seen a ghost.
"Riley!" Tedi was the first to approach him, grabbing him by the shoulders as she looked him in the eyes, "What… what did you see? Please, tell me what you saw."
"Hm…" Riley did not immediately answer Tedi. But after a few seconds, he turned to look at Queen Vania and Vera,
"...I met with Van."
"...Van?" Queen Vania's eyes widened as soon as she heard Riley's words.
"Yes…
…He told me to tell you to stop being stupid."
"..."
"...What?"
Chapter 614"You met with… Van? What…
…what kind of blasphemy is coming out of that tainted mouth of yours, vermin!?"
Queen Vania's silver hair lit up the entire room as she roared. Her steps, however, were incredibly slow and forceful as she walked toward Riley. It would seem all her speed went into her eyebrows, which were moving in a trembling rage.
Aerith and Tedi quickly blocked Queen Vania's path—making sure the two didn't end up fighting and making a mess again.
But it wasn't only Queen Vania that was making noise, however. The Elders too were all exclaiming; their voices, as loud as they could be as they tried to make sense of the situation. There was not even a single inch in the gray room that was not filled with noise—unbefitting for a place considered a library.
Ahor Zai's avatar didn't really know what to do, as it just frantically floated everywhere; circling in the air as it tried to process all the information dancing around her. Throughout its entire existence, it had seen Elders debate endlessly. They argue, and sometimes even fight…
…but not like this. The situation in front of it felt like children in a nursery, creating needless chaos. It was… too noisy.
[Stop! Stop it!]
And with its system no longer able to take the useless noise, Ahor Zai's voice traveled throughout the entire plateau; the gray room they were all in, violently trembling and causing everyone inside to stop.
[This is the Library! Respect its silence!] Ahor Zai's avatar started flailing its little arms around as it pointed at everyone,
[Those that are not involved, out! Out, I say!]
***
"Truly, you can't expect me to believe this ludicrous story?"
And now, with peace and quiet once again lingering in the library, Ahor Zai also started to calm down. Queen Vania, Aerith, Tedi, Riley, and Riley's clone were the only ones left inside. They were now seated around a table, created by Ahor Zai in hopes of a diplomatic and civil discussion.
"Primordials, Nothing, Death…" Queen Vania's breaths quietly whispered in everyone's ears, "...and Van, living outside the scope of the Universe? What sort of nonsense is that?"
Each of her words contained her disbelief. But Riley did not seem to mind as he just shrugged his shoulders as he once again had a plate of cookies in front of him. Ahor Zai was also beside the plate, eating the cookies with Riley. How it was able to digest or even eat, no one really knows.
"I do not lie, Queen Vania," Riley then sighed, "You can ask Aerith."
"He lies," Aerith did not hesitate to place her hand on the table, "Rarely. And when he does, it's a lie the size of Tedi."
"Hey," Tedi could not help but furrow her eyebrows as her name was suddenly mentioned in the conversation. As for Riley, he just squinted his eyes as he looked at Aerith; slightly shocked at Aerith's betrayal.
"I will uncover your lies, then," Queen Vania slightly harrumphed as she looked Riley in the eyes, "If you have truly met Van, then what does He look like?"
Although Van is the evaniel's god and his images were everywhere, no one truly knows what he looked like—Only the Queen does, and this is passed on through generations. There were images of him looking as if a giant amongst men, towering over everyone with his long, sturdy legs. There were also images of him that made him look like the most beautiful being in the universe—he could may very well be…
…but there is one specific detail that is not shown to the populace.
"He has long silver hair, as long as Tedi's original body's hair," Riley casually said as he ate some cookies, "And he has several light markings on his face."
"You truly take me for a fool, do you not?" Queen Vania took in a deep breath, "You just described a typical evaniel."
"And he is short, perhaps 162 centimeters."
"That's him!" Queen Vania could not help but stand up from her seat, letting out a loud gasp that whistled in the air. If it wasn't for Aerith catching her, then she would have definitely fallen to the floor from shock.
And while Aerith was trying to calm Queen Vania, Tedi was fidgeting with her glasses.
"Does this mean the rest of what Riley said is true?" She then mumbled as she tried to process the information. And she wasn't alone in that, as Ahor Zai's avatar also stopped eating.
[I am adding that information to the Codex now,] Ahor Zai said.
"Wait…" And as Queen Vania finally recovered, she quickly collected herself and looked at Tedi, "...I can no longer allow you to continue the Shade Prison."
"...What?"
"You heard what Van said," Queen Vania sighed, "Van told us not to open any portals."
"This research has been going on long before we were born, Queen Vania. I can't—"
"Wait," Queen Vania did not let Tedi finish her words as she suddenly pointing her palm at Riley, "You conniving deviant—that is a lie, is it not? You know that we plan to trap you, and you added some details in that story that are not true! You think I am unable to see that you mixed truth with lies?"
"..." Riley no longer entertained Queen Vania as he looked at Aerith with disappointment, "Look at what you did, Aerith. They think I am a liar now."
"..."
"Continue your research, Tedi," Queen Vania then quickly changed her tone, "The evaniels will even help you fund it."
"Really?" A smile quickly formed on Tedi's face, "Then we should hurry up—this is getting exciting."
"...You're a little bubbly for a race that has no emotions."
"Let's go, Princess Aerith," Tedi then stood up from her seat and started walking out of the library, "Let's go to Theran."
"...You're coming with us?" Aerith raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. I will help in migrating your people to New Theran."
"Help?" Aerith let out a slightly confused chuckle, "I truly appreciate this… but why?"
"You should thank Riley Ross," Tedi shrugged as the door in front of her opened, "In return for agreeing to cooperate with my research, I will be helping him in helping you."
"...What?" Aerith could not help but look at Riley; her eyes, slightly wavering.
"But please, keep this secret to the people in this room," Tedi sighed, "I don't want any of the other Elders poking their noses."
[You do not have to worry, your conversation is secured,] Ahor Zai's avatar stood up from the table, [But I am confused about the dynamic of the people in this room…
…Queen Vania has expressed her desire to trap Riley for eternity, but he doesn't mind. Former Elder Tedi creates the prison that is able to trap Riley, but she protects him. And then, Riley and Princess Aerith are sworn enemies… but they are lovers?]
"We're not lovers! Who—" Aerith did not even finish her words as she quickly turned to look at Riley, "What are you feeding to the AI!?"
"...Cookies," Riley quietly said as he looked to the side.
And so, after much discussion, the time for Aerith and Riley to return to Theran has come.
Chapter 615[I truly wish I could join your adventure, but Ahor Zai can not leave. Please, just tell me all about the adventure once you come back here.]
"Hm."
Riley and the group were now back on the tarmac, getting ready to leave. Queen Vania and Vera already left in a haste, as she still needed to plan on what to do now that she knows their god is still alive.
"Wait, we have one more coming with us."
Riley was about to board the ship, but before he could do so, he saw someone approaching them from afar—Elder Olseyir, flying towards them with her oversized cloak and robes snapping in the air.
"We made a deal," Aerith then said as Elder Olseyir landed in front of her, "She gets materials from New Theran, and her people will help in calming down the other planets."
"My people are scattered everywhere on different planets," Elder Olseyir bowed, seemingly introducing herself again, "I believe I can help maintain peace during the chaos."
"..." Riley did not really respond to Elder Olseyir and just tilted his head; the two of them, just reflecting in each other's eyes. The two stayed like this for a few seconds, not breaking eye contact before Aerith called for them.
"Elder Olseyir, Riley. Let's go."
"Of course, Princess Aerith."
Olseyir and Riley just nodded at each other, before Riley moved to the side and gestured to Elder Olseyir to board the ship first.
"..." Riley then looked back at the view of the plateau, before silently whispering,
"Ahor Zai."
[...Yes?] Ahor Zai also whispered; its voice, only reaching Riley's ears.
"The clone I left in the library, don't tell anyone about it."
[...Of course. We are talking now, he… has lots of stories about this group called Italian Mafia.]
"Hm…" Riley nodded, a small smile crawling on his face as he finally boarded the ship.
Unbeknownst to everyone, there were several eyes watching them from one of the buildings on the plateau—The Grand Elder, Elder Skeem, as well as Elder Bato.
The three watched as Tedi's colossal hand entered Ahor Zai and gently picked up Aerith's ship.
And as soon as she flew away, the three of them all looked at each other—or perhaps only two of them, as it was hard to discern what Elder Bato was thinking… as he just looked like a rock.
The Elder Skeem and the Grand Elder then nodded, before separating ways; with Elder Bato rolling away.
***
[So… it would seem the new Elder of the Common Council is active.]
Inside Aerith's ship, Tedi's hologram was walking around in place. Her eyes, looking at Elder Olseyir from head to toe.
"I need to earn my place, Former Elder Tedi," Elder Olseyir did not seem to mind her judging gaze, however, as a small chuckle escaped her breaths.
[Oh, trust me. You do not need to do much to be considered active—the members of the Council have become lazy throughout the years, it did not use to be like that.]
"Hm…" Elder Olseyir only shrugged.
[I saw you fly earlier,] Tedi seemed to not be done, however, [Is that from your tech too? Or is it a racial ability?]
"It's one of our tech, I guess?" Elder Olseyir stood up from her seat; her feet, slowly lifting from the floor, "It replicates gravity, allowing me to… essentially fall in the direction I want."
[I don't detect any device around you.]
"As intended, our tech can't be detected," Elder Olseyir once again giggled; her pink robes, moving as she made her way to the window, "But I am more in awe of what you can build, former Elder Tedi."
Olseyir looked outside the window, only to see nothing but silver around them. They were currently moving at hyperspeed… but inside Tedi's hand.
Tedi was flying across the expanse of the universe at hyperspeed; attached to her back and feet were… some sort of gigantic thrusters.
[It is nothing much,] Tedi's hologram also looked outside the window, [It is just basically attaching several engines that were already built around my body. I can make myself weightless and intangible—you can see the advantages of our species with just that.]
"Hm, quite an interesting biology," Elder Olseyir continued to look at Tedi's palm, "But how would you mate since you're this big?"
[!!!]
A loud rumble caused the ship to momentarily slow down, causing everyone inside to almost tumble.
[I… do not think of such things.]
"You should," Elder Olseyir shrugged as she looked at Tedi's hologram, "It is a creature's basic instinct to procreate. And it would be a shame to not see another Norinlad as large as you."
[First of all, I am not that large; I'm thin for my size. Have you not seen a Messenger? And second, let us stop talking about this.]
"Hm…" Elder Olseyir just shrugged as she started walking around the small cockpit again; her eyes, settling on Riley and Aerith, who had been quiet since earlier.
"I am aware that Riley thinks he is in love with you… if he is capable of that, Princess Aerith."
"..." Aerith slightly flinched upon hearing Olseyir's random question.
"But I was quite surprised to know that you are lovers?"
"We're not!" Aerith quickly rotated her seat to look at Elder Olseyir, "Let's get this straight, Riley murdered a lot of people I care about—including the father of my child. I'm more like his warden or something."
"But Ahor Zai—"
"Ugh…" Aerith just rolled her eyes before rotating her seat away, showing her desire not to talk.
"..." And so, with no one else to talk to anymore, Elder Olseyir turned to look at Riley. The two, however, just stared at each other without saying a single word. And after a few seconds of this, Olseyir just shrugged and looked away.
[Psst, Riley.]
And not even a second after, Riley could hear Tedi's hologram quietly calling for him.
[What do you think about her?]
"...Elder Olseyir?" Riley whispered.
[She seems quite suspicious, no? I searched for any traces of her species, Biolan—but nothing came up.]
"Perhaps they live in the Unknown like me, Tedi."
[No, she specifically said they live in the Known Universe. I did find people that wore the same clothes as her religiously, but they—!!!]
And before Tedi could spill her tea, the bright lights of the cockpit turned red; flickering as a siren started to echo everywhere. The ship also started to decelerate, causing Elder Olseyir to almost fall if she didn't manage to float in the air.
"What… what's going on?" Elder Olseyir was the first to react.
[The Cherbi.]
Tedi then very slowly opened her hands, revealing the expanse of space and the glittering stars around them. But that wasn't the only thing in their view, however—as far in the distance, they could see a pink fluff of a sphere.
"That's… the Cherbi?" Elder Olseyir almost planted her eyes on the window as she stared at the Cherbi, "...Perhaps you should test your Shade Prison."
[I didn't bring it. And even if I did, I will not even attempt and try to trap it inside,] Tedi shook her head, [The Cherbi has existed before us, and it will exist after us. We have no right to take away its existence. The knowledge it holds might be equal to Ahor Zai.]
"But why is it here?" Aerith also stood from her seat as she stared at the pink fluff, "The last star is lightyears away. We are already near Theran territory."
[Hm…]
Tedi's hologram disappeared, replaced by a map of the cosmos around them. The map showed where they are, where the Cherbi is… and where it will be if it continued with its trajectory.
[It's…
…moving straight to Theran.]
Chapter 616It's…
…moving straight to Theran.]
"What? Why?" Aerith's eyebrows started to furrow, "Our sun isn't that strong, and our planet barely even produces any energy, carbons, or nuclear—" Aerith abruptly stopped her words as she looked at Riley.
Aerith's words were true. With the themarian's independence from technology, their planet is completely different from the rest of the advanced civilizations—barely requiring any power for their countries and cities to move.
They don't require ships, as they could just fly and lift entire continents with their hands without even breaking a single sweat.
In fact, Pirate Queen Xra's ship probably owned 95% of the entire planet's carbon and nuclear emissions when it landed there.
But there is one entity, however, that might be capable of calling the Cherbi.
"Sister has not used her abilities on Theran, Aerith," Riley quickly understood what Aerith's look entails, "Well, I have."
"...What?"
"But I believe the Cherbi was already moving to Theran before that."
"...What do you mean?"
"I have told you about Caitlain's hideout, correct?"
"Where you found one of her androids?"
[An android made by Caitlain'Ur? I want to see that.]
"I am afraid it has already left the planet along with Katherine, Tedi."
[Oh, where—]
"Stop!" Aerith stood in front of Riley and grabbed both his shoulders, "What happened?"
"You probably did not know the full detail, but the blast of energy that pierced through the skies of Theran came from her hideout, Aerith. And it was powerful."
"..." Aerith squinted as she looked to the side, "That was Diana's doing? But… why would she even—No."
Aerith's eyes then started to widen as she looked Riley in the eyes, "Does… she plan to destroy Theran once the New Theran is built?"
"Perhaps she wants to completely leave it behind her, Aerith."
"But there will still be people in it, lots of people!" Aerith raised her voice, "We need to divert the Cherbi's path!"
"Uhm…" Elder Olseyir raised her hand, "Won't your plan work better if the old generation is dead? It will eliminate half of your problems."
"How many times do I have to tell people that I do not want a massacre?"
"But are you not also sending your people into a massacre by instigating a war no one really asked for?" Elder Olseyir seemed to tilt her head to the side.
"Oh, trust me. This war has been brewing for eons before my time. My way will produce the least amount of casualties," Aerith sighed and shook her head,
"We need to divert the Cherbi's path."
"I'll distract her for you, Aerith."
And as everyone was deliberating on what to do, Riley was already in front of the ship's hatch, "I also want to test if Hannah's powers are truly enough to bait the Cherbi for research purposes."
"You do realize you just gave me a reason not to send you out there, right?"
[I'll go with him,] Tedi's hologram returned, [He will need to have someone with access to hyperspeed if you want him to reach Theran in time, anyway.]
"..." Aerith seemed to be lost in thought as she just subconsciously looked at Riley; her mind, filled with all sorts of damages that Riley could do if he suddenly gets the urge to cause trouble.
"Why don't you just create a hundred clones and let them use your sister's powers?" Aerith then squinted her eyes as she looked Riley in the eyes.
"They can't," Riley shook his head, "They will wither and die away before they can produce enough power."
"..." Once again, Aerith stared at the floor as she heard Riley's words. But finally, after a few seconds, she let out a short but deep sigh and looked at Tedi's hologram,
"I hope you can handle Riley if something happens—never trust him, no matter what."
[But you trust him, no?]
"I tolerate him, there's a difference. Deal with the Cherbi, and immediately continue to Theran. Don't worry, I would make sure no one shoots you down when you enter themarian territory."
[Hm,] and with that, Tedi's hologram disappeared; the colossal silver silhouette around the ship that is Tedi's body, almost creating a wailing sound as it started to gain weight while moving.
"Riley, you—" Aerith was going to say something to Riley, but he was no longer anywhere to be found on the ship. Aerith could really only close her eyes, before nodding and taking control of the ship.
"We should have more than enough energy to reach themarian territory in full hyperdrive," Aerith then said, "Elder Olseyir, you should probably buckle up."
"Uhm…" Elder Olseyir slightly let out a confused hum as she secured herself in a seat, "...May I ask why we need to separate, Princess Aerith? We can just wait for them to lead the Cherbi away."
"No. It will take a while to lure the Cherbi. It might seem to just move on instinct, but it still has a mind of its own," Aerith breathed out as she triggered the ship's hyperdrive, "It is as smart as you and me, it just doesn't care enough to actually think about anything."
"You seem to know a lot about it."
"Of course. It is one of the things in this Universe that could send a themarian to Eternal Death—and it won't even struggle."
"Then…" Elder Olseyir looked outside the window as she whispered, "...Can't we use it to kill Riley Ross?"
"..." Aerith seemed to truly think about it as she also glanced at the window. But after a few breaths, she shook her head, "Themarians are just insanely difficult to kill that we almost seem immortal. Riley is completely deathless—or in a play of words, Deathful—he dies, but just doesn't stay dead…
…he is like an itch that doesn't disappear and gets even worse the more you scratch it."
"Is he making you itchy? Is that why you are lovers?"
"..." Aerith almost fell on her seat as she heard Elder Olseyir's words, "Just…
…where did they pick you up?" And with those words, the ship finally started to move and accelerate to hyperspeed, leaving Riley and the colossal Tedi alone with the incoming Cherbi.
[I told you,] Tedi's words vibrated in the dark expanse of space, moving directly to Riley's eardrums, causing him to lightly scratch the inside of his ears, [The new elder of the Common Council is weird.]
"She seems normal to me, Tedi. I believe all of the members of the Common Council are weird."
[I'm not weird.]
"Okay, you're just large."
[...Enough about this,] Tedi shook her large head the size of several cities before settling her eyes at the approaching pink fluff, [You said you can produce some sort of solar energy?]
"Nuclear, I believe," Riley nodded as he flew to the side of Tedi's head, "My sister did name herself Nuclear Baby, so I will take her word for it."
[That is practically the same in the grand scheme of things. And why is your sister—No, it doesn't matter,] Tedi blinked a couple of times,
[How much nuclear energy can you produce?]
[That depends, Tedi…] Riley's long white hair started to vibrate, dancing in the air as his silhouette distorted; his face, very slowly cracking as it produced some sort of light,
[...How much do you need?]
**NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT**
Hi, I joined the WSA 2023 with an R18 book, knowing R18 books are not allowed because I'm a degenerate. Do check it out and vote for it! The title is 'The Rise of the Eromancer.'---It will be sort of a parody of Hunter/Necromancer novels that have been going around lately---but with one of the best plots one could think of. Check it out!
Rise of the Eromancer
Chapter 617The Cherbi.
A living calamity that has existed for eons. Not much is known about this colossal pink fluff of ball, but new information may suggest that the Cherbi is a Primordial—a being that has existed for as long as the Universe itself.
No one knows when, but at the time that civilizations have had the capability of moving and traveling through the expanse of space, civilizations have also tried to hunt and vanquish the Cherbi.
Many have tried, but all of their efforts were futile. The past generations of advanced civilizations only stopped when they saw a Messenger—a being larger than several planets, thought to be invincible, was absorbed and eaten by the Cherbi like some sort of noodle.
But of course, in time, that shocking defeat was forgotten, and the new advanced civilizations that rose up tried to eradicate the Cherbi again.
It wasn't until they received news that two themarians were eaten by the Cherbi like pieces of candy, that everyone finally completely erased any ideas of pursuing the pink fluff.
Themarians are known to destroy planets with the snap of a finger and could bathe in the core of a sun without even as much as a scratch to their hair. If a creature like that was no match for the Cherbi—how could the rest of the Universe even think of blocking the Cherbi's path anymore?
Like a rampaging storm or a sentient black hole, the only thing they could really do was evacuate—hoping the Cherbi could be diverted and they would still have a stellar system to go home to.
Perhaps the only solace in this is that the Cherbi was and is similar to a rampaging storm. It could think, but it doesn't as it has no need to. After all, why think if you could just endlessly float in the expanse of space and absorb anything for eternity?
It just needs to go to its next meal, over and over again—and right now, in front of it, was something it had never truly sensed or smelled before—a new meal that was different from what it has been having for eons.
It was smaller than its usual meals, much smaller. But the Cherbi sensed that it could be tastier, and so… it ignored everything else and just moved to this alluring snack.
[It's working!]
And now, with the Cherbi's path successfully redirected, Tedi also started to fly away.
Riley Ross was currently attached to her now tangible finger—but due to the extreme heat that he was producing, he was attached to her using another Riley, who was the one who is telekinetically acting as a chain between them.
Riley had to concentrate all of his focus on controlling Hannah's powers in just the right amount to not die, so having a clone handle the logistics with Tedi would allow him to do that.
[We need to go far enough that it won't detect Theran's sun anymore,] Tedi said as she triggered some of the thrusters attached to her back, [And far enough to also not detect another civilization. This is good, considering most of the stellar systems around Theran are uninhabitable.]
"I think the Cherbi is gaining speed, Tedi!" Riley's clone yelled as he looked back and forth between the approaching pink fluff and the colossal Tedi, "I think she's going to catch up to us! Go into hyperdrive!"
[Are you sure Riley can handle it?] Tedi adjusted her glasses as the thrusters attached to her legs also started to light up, [Are you sure his body could handle all the stress it is receiving?]
"The Boss experienced worse," Riley's clone shook his head, "If he survived Hannah, he can survive anything. Do it! It's getting close!"
[...Fine.]
And with that, Tedi's silver silhouette turned into a streak of light—quickly disappearing from view. The Cherbi, almost at the same time, seemed to have sped up; it wasn't as fast as a ship that was moving on hyperspeed, but it still moved fast enough not to lose the scrumptious meal that seemed to be deliberately making it chase it.
Of course, Tedi was also making sure that the Cherbi would be able to follow them; so she slowed down from time to time to make the Cherbi catch up.
"..."
Unbeknownst to Tedi, however, she was actually doing something that no one should ever truly do…
…tease a lazy living calamity that never had to truly work for its food ever since it was born.
"Uh… Tedi?"
[What is it? Are you getting tired, or is something happening to Riley?] Even though Tedi's mind was busy creating millions of calculations on exactly where to leave the Cherbi behind, she was still not neglecting to check on Riley and his clone.
"I don't know if it's just me…" Riley's clone squinted his eyes, "...But I think the Cherbi is getting closer and closer to us."
[That is impossible,] Tedi adjusted her glasses, [I know the limit of the Cherbi's flight speed, we should already be maintaining the best ideal distance.]
"That's good and all, but no…" Riley's clone started to nervously chuckle as he shook his head, "Yup… she's getting closer and closer."
[Stop calling it her! We don't even know if it even has a—It… it is getting closer!]
And as Tedi turned around to see why Riley's clone seemed to truly be nervous, she realized that the Cherbi, is in fact, getting closer to them. It won't be noticeable for one that was staring at it, but for Tedi who just turned her head—the change in distance was clear. And so, Tedi no longer thought twice as she turned all of the engines attached to her at full speed.
"I already told you!" Riley's clone screamed, "Go full hyperspeed!"
[I am.]
"...What?"
[We are already moving at hyperspeed.]
"Then go faster!"
[Anything faster will either collapse or sap the energy cores,] Tedi's voice has turned monotonous; her mind, no longer placing any effort in putting out emotions.
"Are you saying… she is moving faster than hyperspeed?" Riley's clone gulped as he looked at the pink fluff that was slowly approaching toward them. It was just the size of a marble earlier, but now, it was the size of a watermelon and getting bigger by the second.
And then, all of a sudden, a sound that has never been heard in the history of the Universe echoed through the expanse of space.
It was a shriek, a wail, or perhaps a howl.
In the expanse of space where sound does not traditionally travel, a howl echoed—heard by planets lightyears away like a siren signaling the end of their world.
And very soon, a pair of large eyes appeared from the pink fluff.
[I didn't know it had eyes… or that it could scream.]
"What is she saying, Tedi!? I think she's pissed!"
[I don't understand what it said, but I too, think it is getting frustrated. We need a new plan.]
"The Boss has one! But we need to stop moving!"
[Princess Aerith said not to trust Riley, but right now, I believe I do not have a choice. The Cherbi will catch us either way,] Tedi's monotonous voice continued to vibrate as the engines attached to her started to fire in the opposite direction,
[Whatever it is you are planning, Riley. Do it now.]
"Pavoom."
Chapter 618"Pavoom."
And as the glittering stars around them began to settle as they slowed down, the harsh and violent light that surrounded Riley started to extinguish. Both his palms, pointed at the giant pink fluff that followed them persistently.
And with a small breath, he uttered again—
"Pavoom."
And as if a black canvas being ripped apart, the dark expanse of space in front of Riley ceased to exist; replaced by nothing but a white emptiness that erased everything within its path instantly and without bias.
"...Pavoom."
Riley did not stop there, however, as another whisper escaped his lips—cracking and erasing the expanse of space even more as the first one was seemingly not enough to cover the entire Cherbi. A trickle of blood, however, started to drip from his nose; the corner of his eyes, completely red as he seemed to bleed from inside.
And very soon, the darkness once again rebuilt itself, as instantly as it was erased. And there… the pink fluff still remains. And from its eyes that were seemingly slightly squinted, it was clear that it was now even more pissed off.
"I… I really thought that would work," Riley's clone could really only gulp as he saw the Cherbi completely unscathed, "Is it because I thought of it that it didn't work!?"
[There are no laws in the universe regarding such things, Riley's clone.]
"Shut up, large silver lady," Riley's clone pointed at Tedi, "I liked you better when you had emotions!"
[Are you not also pretending to have emotions, Riley's clone?]
"Shut up, fat lady!"
[It is literally impossible for me to be fat. My size is something I can't control.]
"That is what all fat people say," Riley's clone shook his head, "Anyway, the Boss said you should probably leave us here. If our 'pavoom' did not damage the Cherbi, it would certainly be capable of killing you, Tedi."
[I'm not leaving,] Tedi quickly shook her head, [Both the Cherbi and Riley are beings of utmost importance to the Universe—but if I have to choose one, I will choose Riley to survive due to his potential.]
And while Tedi and Riley's clone seemed to try everything to make their doomed situation lighter,
"...Hm," Riley breathed out as he wiped the blood trailing down his chin—he had the chance to do so, after all. Even though the Cherbi seemed more pissed than it was before, it also stopped moving closer toward him.
Did it stop because Riley was no longer emitting his delicious nuclear aura, or did it stop because it started to get wary of him? But judging from the way it looked, Riley's 'Pavoom' move did not really do anything to it.
Was it also capable of becoming intangible like the norinlad? But no, even Bounty Hunter Kerrigan, an intangible norinlad, was damaged from Riley's 'pavoom'...and yet the Cherbi did not seem to have any visible damage.
And now that it was closer to him, Riley finally realized why they keep calling it the pink fluff—it wasn't in fact just a ball of destruction, it had fur and looked more similar to a round rabbit without legs, ears, and any other necessary parts—the only thing it had were its large pair of dark eyes.
"..." Riley then very slowly started backing away. And although it was hard to notice due to its size, it was obvious from its fur that it was also moving forward—following Riley with a certain aloofness.
Riley was no longer emitting any nuclear energy inside him, and yet the Cherbi still followed him.
[Riley…]
And as Riley was completely focused on the Cherbi, Tedi's voice vibrated in his ears.
[I am going to start moving again. Whatever it is you're doing, continue doing it.]
"..." Riley did not really respond, as he wasn't really doing anything but just backing away from the pink fluff.
[We—!!!]
And before Tedi could finish her words, the Cherbi suddenly moved closer to Riley… much closer.
And now that it was closer to Riley than it ever was before, the way the Cherbi looked for him changed again. The fur that surrounded its body was not actually fur, but some sort of tendrils that seemed to have minds of their own; all of them, seemingly pointed at Riley.
"..." Like most things in the universe that Riley has encountered, the Cherbi was large—but it was not as large as he initially thought. They said it devoured planets and suns, and yet the thing didn't seem to even be as large as Tedi—no.
It wasn't that it wasn't large, but it was shrinking. Its tendrils which were bigger than Riley, now becoming smaller and smaller.
[Riley…] Tedi's words once again whispered in Riley's ears as she watched what was happening from afar; her voice, once again showing emotion, [...Are you aware that the Cherbi changes its size depending on what it is about to devour?]
"Thank you for telling me at this time, Tedi," Riley nodded as he stopped backing away; his eyes, just staring at the Cherbi, whose pink silhouette started to deform, "It seems to also be changing its shape."
[Changing its shape!? There are no records of that ever happening—we most likely never noticed because it just always devoured celestial bodies. It probably still truly thinks you're some sort of star because of the energy you emitted earlier.]
"Hm." And now, as Riley tilted his head to the side, the Cherbi seemed to also do the same as its shape very slowly became more and more similar to a humanoid—or more specifically, Riley's shape.
And while Riley's clear eyes reflected a certain pink innocence with the way the Cherbi tilted its 'head', the only thing that the Cherbi reflected from its dark and cloudy eyes were Riley and the infinite darkness that surrounded him.
"You and I are not the same, after all," Riley then said as he very slowly stretched his hand toward the Cherbi, "You are just living."
[What are you doing, Riley Ross!?]
The Cherbi's 'human' head started to deform as the tendrils surrounding it also started to stretch out toward Riley's approaching hand.
"Hm…"
The tendrils still haven't touched Riley's hand, and even then, he could already feel a certain violent tug pulling him closer. No, not all of him—just his hand, while the rest of his body remained still. It almost felt as if it was trying to rip it off.
Telekinesis?
No, Riley would know what telekinesis felt like. This was different.
"..." And as the Cherbi's tendrils were only less than a foot away from Riley's hand—their ends opened up, revealing some sort of black orb that looked like eyes.
These eyes contained a deep darkness in them, however, it almost seemed similar to staring into the abyss. But perhaps it was because they were not eyes at all.
And as Riley's hand just very slowly disintegrated, distorted, and absorbed by the tendrils all at the same time, he finally realized what the pull was.
It wasn't telekinesis, not at all.
Gravity—no, a Black Hole.
Each of the Cherbi's billion tendrils carried the weight of a black hole in them.
It wasn't just a sentient black hole…
…it was a sentient shapeshifting creature that carried billions of black holes with it.
How exactly that worked, Riley already stopped questioning such things years ago.
Chapter 619Riley's entire forearm was gone. It tried to regenerate again and again, but they were instantly absorbed and eaten by the Cherbi's tendrils.
"You said she only consumes nuclear energy, Tedi. So, why is she eating my flesh right now? I am no longer emitting anything."
[It… primarily acts on instinct. But it is intelligent enough to know you can produce the thing it feeds on.]
Tedi could really only describe the moment in front of her as something amazing—no, it was beyond that. Throughout the history of the Universe, this was probably the first time anyone has gotten close to the Cherbi without being fully devoured instantly.
Tedi wouldn't even consider it an exaggeration that this right here; this exact moment is the most important thing that is happening in the entire Universe right now, Known or Unknown.
The themarian's migration? That would just be an insignificant part of history in the future, forgotten in the memories of Ahor Zai. But this?
A creature that has been alive since the dawn of time, and a creature that has been in contact with a being that has existed before time itself.
Tedi might have exaggerated a little bit in Ahor Zai when she mentioned that Riley was more important than 95% of the people living in the Universe—but right now, at this exact moment…
…For her, Riley is the most important being in all of existence. She would even trade her entire species if it means she could learn even more about him, what he had seen, and what he will see.
Even now, as Tedi was just watching from afar, she was learning more about the Cherbi than she had ever learned before. Perhaps…
…they could even try and talk to it?
And as Tedi was professionally curious about the Cherbi, Riley was childishly curious about it.
"..." He continued to watch as the tendrils coming out of the Cherbi's head devoured his hand. Riley tried pulling away, but the Cherbi just followed him… almost like a leech.
"Interesting," Riley then raised his other hand, but the Cherbi did not even seem to care. It was only when it started to light up that the Cherbi finally retracted its tendrils.
"Krruuee?"
And once again, even without a telekinetic pocket around it, the Cherbi was able to produce sound—and it wasn't just vibrations like what Tedi does, no. It was similar to a themarian in the way it could talk in the expanse of space.
Riley tilted his head again, and the Cherbi did the same as it just stared at Riley's glowing hand.
"Kueh?"
The Cherbi then turned to Riley's face, before turning to look at his glowing hand again. And without even any hesitation, all of her tendrils started to stretch like lunging snakes toward Riley's arm.
And as it started devouring Riley's arm, Riley stretched his now regenerated left arm to the side. And with a short breath, a large ball of light the width of a bus emerged from his palm.
"Kru!?" The Cherbi started to change its shape immediately. But before it could even increase in size, Riley compressed the ball of light into the size of an apple.
The Cherbi's tendrils were about to lunge toward this ball of light, but it disappeared before its tendrils could reach it.
"Krueer!" The Cherbi's tendrils all stood up as they started to rattle; the noise it emitted, similar to a chirp as it looked at Riley; its dark round eyes, slightly squinted.
"Does it taste different from your usual meal, Cherbi?" And for the first time, Riley spoke to the pink fluff.
"Kuer?" The Cherbi tilted its head to the side for a moment, before its tendrils once again began rattling, "Kru, kru!"
Its tendrils then started pointing to where the ball of light was previously at, as if demanding that Riley return it.
"You want this?" Riley once again opened up his palm, summoning another ball of light. But before the Cherbi's tendrils could reach it, he let the ball of light float away from his palm.
"Catch it, then."
The Cherbi did not even hesitate to move away from Riley as it chased the ball of light. As for Riley, he immediately pulled his clone closer toward him.
"Do you want a job, clone?"
"...Can I refuse?" Riley's clone could really only let out an awkward chuckle as it stared at the Cherbi, who was already returning toward them.
"No," Riley then said as he pushed his clone forward, "Play with the Cherbi."
"O… of course. G–good Cherbi," Riley's clone smiled as the Cherbi stopped in front of it, "Oh, oh… it looks… kind of cute now that I am looking at it?"
"Hm. Just feed it small amounts and allow yourself to recover, you will cease to exist if you don't," Riley nodded, "It will be best to lead it to where Tedi was moving to earlier, you can name it if you want."
"I… don't even have a name, Boss. What… what do I call it?" Riley's clone summoned a ball of light to feed the Cherbi before looking back to Riley… only to find him already flying away back to Tedi.
"Boss…" Riley's clone could really only take in a small gulp as he looked into the Cherbi's eyes, "...I expect a raise if we ever meet again."
"Kru!"
"How about… you call me Thriley?" Riley's clone squinted his eyes as he pointed at himself, "And then you…
…I'll call you Hannah."
***
[That was amazing, Riley! To think its tendrils contain miniature black holes. Truly, the Universe is mysterious in the way it works.]
Tedi and Riley left for Theran without any delay, 'less they wanted to attract the Cherbi's attention away from Riley's clone.
[Since it existed at the dawn of time, do you think it was created to erase unwanted galaxies? Or maybe… since you keep calling it a 'she', is it possible that it is the Mother of Black Holes?]
"That doesn't sound right, Tedi," Riley, who was on top of Tedi's forehead and attached to a strand of her hair, could not help but let out a long and deep breath. He seemed to have already recovered from using three 'Pavooms' consecutively—the last time he was this tired was his fateful battle with Aerith in Toronto.
Earth—it felt like it had been a long time since he was there. It sort of makes him want to go back and just sleep there while looking at Aerith's mangled body on his phone.
"I'm tired, Tedi," Riley then lay down on Tedi's scalp.
[You can sleep, it will still be a few hours before we reach Theran.]
"Hm, please set an alarm to wake me up when we get there," Riley breathed out as he closed his eyes.
[...I'm not an AI, Riley,] Tedi's eye twitched, [But have a good rest.]
"Hm…"
"..."
"..."
"Well, well, well…"
"..." And not even seconds after, Riley opened his eyes, only to feel like he still had them closed as he sat up. He then turned to look at the voice that whispered into his ear, only to see himself crouching in the darkness and staring him in the eyes.
"Nothing," Riley could really only sigh as he started lifting himself up.
"Oh no, it's fine. We can talk while you're on your back…
…Death is your only rest, after all, I don't want to take that away from you."
Chapter 620"Oh no, it's fine. We can talk while you're on your back…
…Death is your only rest, after all, I don't want to take that away from you."
Riley was really only staring at Nothing—that was all he could do in this place, after all. And after a few seconds of just watching Nothing do nothing, Riley just decided to lie back down in the darkness.
"Well…" And as soon as he did so, Nothing finally spoke, "...Your body here isn't really real, you're not really resting. But this is about being relaxed since we have a lot to talk about."
"..." Riley just ignored Nothing's slightly chuckling voice. Instead, he just stared at the endless ceiling of nothing; his breaths, truly completely relaxed. His death this time was probably the most peaceful way he had ever died before—of course, there was that time when he was killed by a super that produced venom from his fangs—but never once had he truly just lied down and died.
It was… a feeling that Riley didn't know he liked.
"Well, well. Look at you, look at you," Nothing then started walking around the darkness as it pointed at Riley several times, "Suddenly meeting Van out of nowhere, the Universe really has a way of putting you in places where you shouldn't be—that's your entire existence right there. You shouldn't exist in the first place."
"Hm…" Riley just breathed out as he closed his eyes, "He told me that the two of you have met?"
"Oh, yes," Nothing once again let out a chuckle as it sat beside Riley, "Angry little boy, that one. He's like you, a somewhat unique existence. He's not as unique as you, however. I know exactly where he came from—he was born from gods from 3 different universes. Weird, right?"
"He told me he was human," Riley slightly opened his eyes.
"You shouldn't believe anything that comes out from that guy's mouth. He's a little trickster and a pathological liar, he can't help it," Nothing sighed as it shook its head, "The two of you have another similarity—the two of you have tried killing me, you more than once."
"..."
"He has different reasons, of course. He's angry at the gods from the other universe for betraying him. But you…" Nothing then leaned over Riley; its face, now directly on top of Riley's face,
"...You just spawned out of nowhere and when you could already think for yourself, you just tried killing me because you're you. Meeting me and resurrecting might have triggered you to become a creature of pain and murder—but you are just… more than that."
"Hm," Riley pushed Nothing's face away with the back of his hand.
"Anyway," Nothing did not seem to mind as it just sat back down and shrugged its shoulders, "I'm the only one talking so I feel like this is my chance to apologize for last time—I got a little heated up when we last met—your fault, really. I was going to ignore you for a few more hundred deaths…
…but then you met Death herself."
"Only briefly," Riley shook his head as he was no longer in the mood to rest.
"Did… she say anything to you?" Nothing squinted its eyes.
"I was teleported away before we could form a conversation, Nothing," Riley let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "But I think I heard her mentioning that she doesn't know who I am."
"She… doesn't know you?" Nothing's body then suddenly dived down into the darkness, before appearing from slightly far away already walking around, "Things… are somewhat making sense now."
"How so, Nothing?"
"Everything is born, even the tiniest little thing—Death knows," Nothing started making his way to Riley again, "She knows because Death is also Life, they are one and the same. If she doesn't know who or what you are, then that just means your existence is something she didn't create…
…Is that why you do not stay dead, because you should not be alive in the first place? Perhaps the Universe does not know where to place you."
"..." Riley only tilted his head to the side as he let Nothing continue to talk to himself.
"Hm… So, what are you?" Nothing turned to look Riley in the eyes again, "It is always like this, you answer one question, and a hundred more questions emerge. No, this is worse—because we didn't get an answer in the first place."
"I suppose."
"Huh. Anyway…" Nothing then shrugged as he finally relaxed his shoulders, "Since we're technically like friends now, I feel like I should warn you…
…Death now knows you exist, she will start finding you."
"She seems to be busy chasing Van, Nothing."
"Ugh," Nothing rolled his eyes as soon as it heard Riley's words, "She might as well stand still, and it will be the same result. Van is already something that can not be held by anything."
"..."
"Well, I think that is all the time we have…" Nothing then started looking around as a certain noise started to seep into the darkness, "Death is stubborn, Riley Ross. And maybe this is good—perhaps she can find out what you are. Come to think of it…
…the two of you will make a nice couple."
[Riley, Riley Ross!]
"..." And with the darkness in front of Riley's eyes collapsing, everything around him became that of silver. He looked around, only to find himself back in the world of the living, or more specifically, Tedi's silver scalp.
[Good. You're finally awake,] Tedi's voice vibrated in Riley's ears, taking away any grogginess left in him, [I have been trying to wake you up for hours now. I thought you died.]
"I did," Riley sighed as he stood up, "I thought I would have already fallen from your head, Tedi. It would seem your head is too wide for me to even slide across the end of it."
[You… died? Did you meet Nothing? Wait, no. That doesn't matter,] Tedi pointed her hand forward, [Look.]
"..." Riley made his way through Tedi's silver hair and onto her forehead. And there, glowing in the distance, was Theran… and New Theran, which was now half the size of the planet it was cloned from.
It was multiple times larger than when Riley and Aerith left. That in itself is a problem, however. Now that it was at that size, they could no longer hide it from the rest of Theran.
And judging by the red streaks and beams that could be seen even from Riley and Tedi's position, a battle was already happening.
"Oh…" A smile started to crawl on Riley's face as his feet very slowly left Tedi's large forehead.
[Where are you going, Riley Ross?] Tedi blinked a couple of times as she felt Riley floating away from her, [Princess Aerith asked us to wait here. She said she was already on their way here with your sister and the others.]
"I'm joining the fun, Tedi," Riley glanced back at Tedi, "Tell them they can find me there."
[Joining the fun? But didn't you just come back from the dead?]
"Yes. That is why I am fully rested now, Tedi."
[Princess Aerith told us not to do anything, Riley! The war hasn't officially started yet, that's just the start of Aerith's rebellion!]
"You and I both know it's a stupid rebellion that will lead to a stupid war, Tedi," Riley shook his head, "Aerith may have lived long, but she is kind and too idealistic. This war shouldn't be happening in the first place—she should just eradicate everyone else that disagrees with her."
[...]
"But since it is here, I will gladly be her Executor."
[Do you even know which side is which?]
"Hm."
And as the smile on Riley's face grew wider and wider, several space rocks started gathering and compressing beneath him, quickly creating some sort of flat platform.
[What… are you doing now?] Tedi backed away a little bit as she saw Riley landing on the platform he made.
Riley did not really do anything else and just stood there for a couple of seconds as the platform he made became wider and larger. And then, when the platform was already the size of an entire skyscraper…
…Riley suddenly stretched his arms to the side.
"There is only one side, Tedi…
…Mine."
And as soon as he did so, several silhouettes instantly emerged from the platform.
The platform that Riley made, crumbling as several more emerged. And with each piece that was torn away, a clone is born.
"Everyone…" Riley said. And without even ordering any of them, his clones all lined up beside him—probably more than a hundred of them.
"...Kill."
***
"Caitlain. My people are saying a battle is already happening up there."
"Hm, let the Princess deal with that."
"And also, being exposed to the energy of several suns seems to be working for your husband—he might be waking up soon."
"Oh, that's good. He's been out for too long that I'm afraid the kids might have already forgotten about him."
"Caitlain, you have been digging for more than a month now. Just what are you trying to find here?"
Pirate Queen Xra and Diana were currently in the deepest parts of the Subtheran, or more specifically, they were already under the Subtheran. Diana's fingers, barely even enough to dig through the extremely hard rocks near to the planet's core.
"Who says I am trying to find something?" Diana breathed out as she wiped the dirt on her face, "I'm leaving behind a gift."
"...What?" Xra then watched as Diana pulled something out of the bag that she has been carrying since she found her. And as soon as she saw what it was, her eyes started to widen,
"That… looks like something that will explode."
"Oh, don't be silly…" Diana let out a small giggle as she waved her hand, "It's nothing like that…
…It's a Star Obliterator."
Chapter 621"Destroy it! Destroy this sacrilegious abomination!"
"Don't let a single one of them land on New Theran! We will have a hard time finding and fighting them if they go underground!"
With the emergence of New Theran to the citizens of Hel, a majority of the population has started asking questions—with no response from the kingdom. There is news, however, that is scattered throughout the entire realm.
New Theran is for those who seek salvation from the confines of tradition.
No one truly knows where this information came from, but they believed it. After all, it was already right above their eyes. And so, those that wanted to experience a new world started to flock to the mysterious new planet, a majority of them belonging to the newer generations.
But alas, as there are those that wanted progress, there are also those that abhorred the idea of a new world. They thought it was wrong that there was a copy of their sacred planet that would be roaming around outside themarian territory—outside with the rest of the animals. And so, they too, flocked to the new planet to stop those that want to leave, as well as destroy New Theran entirely.
As for the Order of the Grand Militia, they were ordered to stand down as they still did not know the full situation. And right now, only citizens of Hel were fighting against each other.
The castle was also quiet for some reason, their soldiers, still not deployed.
As for the Kingdom of Varoif, they were already aware of what was happening as Aerith have already made contact with them—their king, already letting the families and the people choose if they wish to embark on New Theran.
And so, right now, the people that were fighting in the expanse of space were completely civilians. And of course, the group who scattered the news about the New Theran were also present in the battle—Osk and the sisterhood.
They were asked to ignite the flames of rebellion, and that is exactly what they did.
The older generation tried their best. And they did manage to damage the planet in one way or another. But each time a considerable gash could be seen on the surface of New Theran, it heals.
None of them know why. But still, if they just continued on, they were sure that they could destroy New Theran since it was still much smaller than Theran—they were wrong, of course.
They were completely unaware that an existence capable of controlling the very life of the planet itself was residing inside New Theran. An existence that came from an unmapped part of the Universe—Tsula, the Terraformer.
Right now, New Theran is probably the most indestructible thing in the Known Universe.
This was the very reason why Tsula was here—and perhaps why she and Diana even met a hundred years ago. Just how deep Diana's plan goes, no one could truly fathom.
"Do not let them destroy our new home!"
"For freedom!"
The new generation. The people outside Theran would probably be shocked to hear that the majority of themarians that belong to this category already lived more than a thousand years, some even 5000.
But no matter how old they truly were, their roars and screams emitted a youthful vigor that shook the expanse of space itself.
"Destroy the planet! Do not let Theran be tainted by the outside world!" Sadly for this youthful vigor, however, the older generation outnumbers them 10 to 1.
"We will live and die on Theran!"
Call it an eon of loyalty, indoctrination, tradition, fear, or plain-out refusal to change, the older generation's resolution completely drowns and overwhelms the new generation's roars.
"We will not let you abandon Theran!" One of the women of the older generation screamed; her eyes, glowing red as several raging orbs of compressed energy shot out from her hands with each swing of her arms,
"No one will—eugh!"
And all of a sudden, she felt a slight resistance preventing her arms from moving. She was so focused on the battle that she did not even realize… that there were already three people that all looked identical to each other sticking to her—locking her limbs and holding her mouth open.
"Good, hold her still."
And before she could process anything, another white-haired pale man with the same face as the people holding her approached her from the front; the smile on his face, almost reaching from ear to ear.
And like her, the pale man had a ball of energy floating above his palm.
"Time to eat, female themarian." And with those words as her only warning, the man suddenly pushed the ball of energy on his hand toward her opened mouth.
"You!" But before anything else could enter her mouth, however, the woman quickly bit down and slammed her teeth closed—the fingers that were keeping them open, chopped and torn off without any resistance.
The orbs of energy in the woman's hands then flattened; turning into blades as she violently spun in place, slicing the four white men that suddenly restrained her as if they were paper.
"..." The four identical-looking men, however, still had smiles on their faces even as they very slowly floated away from her. And then, before the light in their eyes fully faded, the four of them pointed their palms at the woman.
"Micro Pavoom." And with those words simultaneously escaping their dying breaths, 4 white voids, just the size of a basketball, completely erased several parts of the female themarian.
But alas, as the four clones of Riley started to crumble, the woman has already almost completely regenerated the parts she had lost.
"What… was that?" The woman could really only hold her jaw as she fully recovered. And before she could even think of what just happened to her, she saw something that caused her eyes to just widen in shock,
"What… is that?"
A swarm. The view in front of the woman could truly only be described as a swarm of white. And sadly for her, she was already right in front of the path of the swarm.
"!!!" The woman's eyes turned red before the white veil completely swallowed her—she, however, would never be seen again.
"Reinforcements?" Osk, who was making sure that no one from the old generation tries to sneak in onto New Theran, could not help but retreat as soon as she saw one of her enemies get devoured. She squinted her eyes, until finally recognizing what the swarm from the distance truly was—or in this case, who.
"Sisters!" Osk clapped her hands, causing the darkness in front of her to slightly crack, "Retreat back to New Theran!"
And as soon as her words reverberated through the ears of her comrades, all of them started flying away—kicking away their opponents as they rushed to Osk's side.
"What's going on!?"
"It's him, Riley Ross," Osk subtly licked her lips as she looked at the almost hundreds of Rileys flying on the horizon, "The father of my child is here."
"...You're pregnant? When did that happen?"
"That doesn't matter," Osk squinted her eyes as she noticed that one of her comrades was still tussling with someone, "Oi, retreat! We need to formulate a plan now that— !!!"
And before Osk could finish her words, she saw 2 of Riley's clones float beside her comrade; their palms pointed at the side of her head.
"What's… going on?" Her comrade could really only blink in confusion as two Rileys floated beside her. Soon, however, blood began dripping from her nose.
"Wait…" The woman whispered, "...I thought you were on our side?"
"Hm?" The two Rileys only smiled at her words before her eyes popped out from their sockets; her limbs, completely going limp as more and more of her blood spurt forth from the holes in her head.
And with that, the two clones just shrugged their shoulders and moved on to the other themarians that were still fighting—anyone that moved, they surrounded and killed. Of course, most of them survive and regenerate, but the clones did not seem to care as they just moved from person to person.
"It's… It's Princess Aerith's lover!"
And finally, some of the people from the older generation recognized Riley. Most of them, now retreating as they rejoined the others on Theran.
"I knew it. This… this is the Rebel Princess' doing! Where is King Arthus!? I thought he was going to execute her already!" An old, skinny themarian raised his voice as he joined the others from the older generation,
"This would have prevented all of this from happening if he just killed that little brat!"
And all of the sudden, the white swarm that moved around the battlefield stopped. Their eyes, turning red one by one like wildfire as they all turned their heads toward the themarian that just opened his mouth.
"..." The skinny themarian's eyes also lit up in response; his group, doing the same as they did not let themselves be intimidated by Riley and his clones. Contrary to their expectations, however, the clones did not rush toward them, but instead spaced themselves apart; forming a line that separated Theran and New Theran.
"What… are they doing now?"
And soon, amongst all the clones that were lined up, Riley finally floated forward; his arms stretched to the side as he seemed to look down at the older generation, as well the planet behind them.
"Citizens of Theran!" Riley then opened his mouth; his voice, echoing through the ears of every man and woman of Theran, "Rejoice…
…all of you are now at the mercy of Princess Aerith of Hel!"
Chapter 622"All of you are now at the mercy of Princess Aerith of Hel!"
"What… is he doing?"
"Is… that true, Princess Aerith!?"
"No! None of you are in my mercy! We are all equals!"
Aerith was currently somewhere on Theran—a lush glade that was surrounded by an even more lush forest as its perimeter; the noise that the trees make as they were blown by the wind, enough to camouflage whatever noise happens to sing within its domain.
And camouflage is exactly what Aerith needed right now, as she was currently being surrounded by more than a hundred themarians, and more seemed to be stepping out from the trees around them.
A handful were even carrying babies, with one of them approaching Aerith as she continued to reassure the people.
"Princess Aerith, please…" The mother's voice was slightly pleading as she showed Aerith her baby, "...Even if it's just my child, I… I want him to experience what it is like living without chains."
"Your… name is Cara, right?" Aerith could really only sigh as she looked at the mother.
"Yes, princess," the woman lowered her head.
"All of you that are here are welcomed in New Theran. And please, just call me Aerith."
"But, the announcement earlier is—"
"Don't listen to that," Aerith tried her best to stop the urge of raising her voice, "Ignore that voice from now on. He's just… trying to divert attention."
"Is… that the case?" A smile quickly crawled on the woman's face as she started cradling her baby with joy in her breath.
As for Aerith, the sighs that wanted to escape her lips were about to burst out, "Riley…
…why are you making trouble now of all times?"
"You really think my brother would just sit around and do nothing? The guy's a menace."
"...Hannah? I thought you were already on the ship preparing to leave!?" Aerith blinked a couple of times as she saw Hannah making her way toward her, "And… what are you wearing?"
"It's my superhero outfit, Nuclear Baby 2.0. And fuck that, I wanna help," Hannah flicked her hair, which was now tied up in pigtails; her clothes, a fiery pink suit that completely showed the curves in her body,
"Dad's been taken by the vampire's crew to try and wake him up anyway, so I have no reason to be in the ship."
"...Help?" Aerith was slightly in awe that Hannah could just confidently wear something like that in front of people that had no idea about her,
"I… thought you disagreed with what I was doing?"
"I did," Hannah sighed as she turned to look at the people around them, "But seeing this, I sort of don't know."
"...What?"
"Truthfully, I initially thought what you were doing is fucked up, Megawoman," Hannah stood beside Aerith,
"Because in all senses of the word, your people are free. They could walk around with smiles on their faces, they have access to entertainment, food, homes. You can even move kingdoms if you have the means to. I mean, fuck, what is that if not a normal life? So I keep asking myself… why is Megawoman doing this? I fried my brain trying to think to convince myself that you're doing something for these people, but I keep thinking that you're just messing up a good thing," Hannah then let out a long and deep sigh,
"But then I saw these people, and they just looked like the rest of us. And when I mean 'us', I mean humans. But that's just it—you guys aren't humans."
"..." Aerith also looked at her people, and Hannah was right—right now, they reminded her of humans that seek refuge back on Earth.
"It's good to have restrictions when you're a race of gods. But I realized that was sort of fucked up too," Hannah then turned to look at the sky, "I saw a lot of 'No Flying' zones everywhere and I thought it was kinda cool everyone was respecting that—but no. You and the others…
…you guys belong in the sky."
"..."
"I was reminded of that when I remember being in awe of seeing you fly around Earth. So, I want to help, Megawoman. It's—fuck. I also remembered that each of these people can punch a hole through my stomach."
"That's not going to—"
"I also want to help!"
And before Aerith could say something, Paige suddenly descended from the sky… wearing a cap with giant propellers on it.
"..." Aerith and Hannah then watched as Paige started running toward them; the giant propellers on her head that were waving around everywhere, causing the themarians to slightly move away.
"S… Sorry, that's not going to hit any of you! It's just… just a hologram!" Paige then started bowing her head while making her way to Aerith and Hannah. And finally, after a few more seconds,
"I can help too!" She said while trying to gasp for air, "I can cloak all of them up while hiding them, just make sure to not make any noise."
"That… will be very helpful," Aerith already had a plan to hide the people while they were flying to Theran, but Paige's illusions will allow them to expedite everything.
"I'm not here to help."
"What the fuck!?"
And then, all of a sudden, Tomoe popped out behind Hannah; her small eyes which were hidden by the pair of sunglasses she was wearing, squinted to the point they were closed as she looked at the crowd of themarians,
"I'm… just here to make sure no one hurts Hannah."
"These… people are not going to hurt any of you," Aerith immediately sighed.
"No. They are racist psychopaths, you said so yourself, Megawoman," Tomoe adjusted her sunglasses as she circled Hannah.
"That's… these people are not the same," Aerith shook her head, "And if some of them are, that's going to change now that we're breaking away from the older generation."
"One's nature never changes, Megawoman," Tomoe also shook her head before covering her ears with her palms—an obvious sign that she was no longer going to listen to Aerith.
"People, line up! Those with children below 18 years old, go to the front!"
"..." Aerith then turned to look at the loud voice that reverberated through the glade, only to see Hera organizing the crowd.
"You guys…" Aerith could really only take in a deep breath as she looked at Hannah and Paige,
"...Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Hannah scoffed, "You've helped the people of Earth for 300 years, this is the least we can do. And also… I want to atone for my sins. My brother, he…"
"...Right," Aerith did not really let Hannah finish her words as she placed her hand on her shoulder, "Nothing your brother did is your—"
And almost as if in cue to their conversation, a themarian that seemed to be fighting outside the planet violently fell near them; causing a small crater to erupt from the ground. The people that were around the impact site… were all able to move to the side.
"Kh…" And with the dust clearing up, everyone could finally see the man that fell from the sky. It was a man with a slightly graying beard—half of his torso, perfectly carved in an arc. The old man was about to fly away…
…but his eyes suddenly moved to the crowd.
"...Son? What… are you doing here with these people?"
Aerith's sanctuary—no longer secured.
Chapter 623"...Dad?"
There was still a cloud of dust veiling the air. But even then, however, the crowd's eyes were all centered on the man with a gray beard that fell from the sky. They then all looked at the one that responded to him, only to see a man with a group of people that the crowd could only assume to be his family.
"What are you doing here, and with my grandchildren?" The man with the gray beard then started looking everywhere as he noticed the crowd gathered around him. He was about to approach his son, but then his eyes suddenly landed on Aerith.
"You… you're planning to leave!?" The man quickly realized what was going on as he rushed toward his son and his family. But before he could reach them, Aerith suddenly blocked his path.
"Your son and his family have made their choice," Aerith sighed as she grabbed the gray-bearded man by his wrist, "Let them, and just say your goodbyes."
"Choice!?" The bearded man pushed Aerith's hand away as he looked at his son, "You are putting these lies in my son's head. And you… you really let yourself be indoctrinated by this rebel!? This is our home!"
"Father, the Princess did not force me to do anything," the man's son shook his head, "My children are almost a thousand years old now, I want them to experience more."
"...More?" The bearded man forced a chuckle as stretched his arms to the side, "What more do you want?"
"I want them to be free to explore the stars."
"..." The bearded man could really only shut his mouth as he looked at the crowd. But soon, he suddenly burst out into a fit of laughter. He then turned his eyes toward Hannah and the others,
"Do you want to know why these people seek out and explore the stars? Because they are not content with their imperfect planets!" The bearded man raised his voice, "Theran is perfect! Why can't any of you see that!?"
"New Theran can be their home too," Aerith blocked the man's view; her voice, a complete opposite to the man's rant, "And unlike here, they will actually have a chance to move forward there."
"You don't see it, do you, princess?" The bearded man shook his head as he continued to chuckle, "You will lead them to their doom. It will be all on you if they are sent to their Eternal Deaths."
"It won't—"
"He's right, you know."
"!!!"
And all of a sudden, a familiar voice whispered in the air. And before Aerith could even see who the voice belonged to, the bearded man in front of him kneeled on the ground. It wasn't only him, the rest of the people did too.
"...Queen Adel," Aerith's eyebrows quickly furrowed as she looked at the only remaining themarian standing—her long golden hair, circling around her ankles.
"Hm," Queen Adel only hummed as she started walking around; the people near her, quickly moving away and making her a path. Her eyes looked everywhere, and as they reached Hannah and the others, a scoff quickly escaped her lips.
Paige was about to kneel when she saw this, but Hannah grabbed her arm to stop her.
Queen Adel, who saw this, only giggled before raising her eyebrow and finally walking toward her daughter.
"Princess Aerith! I detected something moving here—Oh, they're here already," Elder Olseyir, who tasked herself to welcome and orient the themarians, descended from the sky… perhaps a little too late,
"My bad...I'm just going to join the others," she then whispered to herself as she very carefully flew toward Hannah; her oversized pink robes, slapping on some of the people kneeling on the ground.
"..."
"..."
"How did you find me?" Aerith almost snarled as she saw the smirk on her mother's face.
"Don't insult me, child. I am the Queen," Queen Adel rolled her eyes and sighed, before looking at the bearded man, "Thank you for alerting me, beloved citizen."
"..." Aerith turned to look at the bearded man, only to finally notice that he was actually holding a small mesphere.
"As for the rest of you," Queen Adel then very elegantly waved her hand; her long golden hair, flowing along with her arms, "Go home, all of you are pardoned and will not be questioned for anything."
The people all flinched as they started looking at each other. And after a few seconds, some of them started standing up.
"No!" Aerith also waved her hand, causing the trees surrounding the glade to rustle, "Mother, these people deserve a home where they could be free. They want to leave."
"Dear…" Queen Adel sighed before clicking her tongue several times, "None of these people really want to leave. They are just… curious. You'll see, most of them will just choose to go back here once they realize there's nothing out there but garbage."
"You—"
"And this bright man is right," Queen Adel then placed her hand on the bearded man's shoulder that was still kneeling on the ground,
"You are just going to lead these poor people to their death. Or worse—they are going to live with the rest of the dirty animals."
"The world out there is colorful. More colorful than Theran will ever be."
"Enough, Aerith. Just how long are you going to continue this farce?"
"Kh…" The bearded man could not help but grit his teeth as Queen Adel's grip suddenly tightened.
"This pet project of yours is over. We are done indulging your silly little games," Queen Adel shook her head and started walking around, "Freedom? Are you delusional? What aspect of our country, of our planet, of our people is not free?"
"Y—"
"Everyone is living their lives the way they want," Queen Adel looked at the crowd, "Everyone is just living their lives peacefully… and now they are fighting for a freedom they already had in the first place. Honestly, dear…
…this entire thing doesn't make sense."
"W—"
"Oh, tu tut tut," Queen Adel raised her finger, "We've allowed you to bring your half-breed bastard to the castle, we've allowed you to bring animals into our home. I'm afraid they have started infecting you with whatever they have from spending too much time with them…
…Is that what all of you want!?" Queen Adel once again looked at the crowd of people, "You want to be the same as my deluded daughter? Mingling with the animals!? You want to devolve and—"
And before Queen Adel could finish her words, a thundering snap echoed in the air as Aerith suddenly slapped her cheek.
"I… allowed that," Queen Adel, however, only smirked as she quickly recovered herself.
"These people you call animals are my friends. Watch your tone, mother," Aerith sucked in a deep breath as she looked her mother in the eyes.
"You said that already," Queen Adel scoffed as she looked away, "I should have listened to your father. These animals are tainting your mind…
…they need to be removed."
"Wh—"
And before Aerith could even say anything, Queen Adel suddenly slammed her palm on her chest, violently throwing her miles away.
"..." And with her gone, Queen Adel quickly turned to face Hannah and the others.
"!!!" Tomoe quickly moved to cover Hannah, but Hannah quickly pushed her and Paige away; her entire body, lighting up as the air around her began to distort.
"That's cute," Queen Adel disappeared from her spot, only to appear about 2 meters in front of Hannah. But with a smirk forming on her face, her silhouette once again blurred—her fingers, instantly only a foot away from piercing Hannah's chest.
"...Oh?"
But before the tip of her fingers could reach Hannah, a hand covered in what seemed to be a white gauntlet grabbed her wrist. And before she could do anything else, the hand pulled her arm away; her feet, being kicked to make her lose balance at the same time.
She was then slammed into the ground—well, not really. Before her face could touch the ground, she remained hovering in the air. Her head was about to be stepped on by a white greave, but Queen Adel pushed herself from the ground, causing it to crack as she flew away.
"Well now…" Queen Adel then remained floating in the air as she looked down, only to see an individual fully clad in white armor,
"...Who is this?"
"...Dad?"
Chapter 624"Well now, who might you be? You… smell like a Guardian."
"And you smell like a racist vixen who hits children. Such a shame that all that is inside such a beautiful vessel."
"..."
"...Dad?"
Hannah's eyes started to tremble as she saw the white silhouette that was standing tall in front of her. She got used to seeing Bernard just sleeping in some sort of coma, but now, even when he was completely covered in armor, he seemed more than alive.
No, perhaps it was the armor itself that made him feel more full of life…because the armor itself felt like it was alive.
There were orange strips of light traversing throughout the entire armor, pulsing like veins that seemed to follow the rhythm of Bernard's breaths. The lights all intersect with his eyes, which blazed like a raging sun.
And with the way it latched and wrapped onto his body, it was almost like a second flesh—there was no longer any sign that it was mechanical… a living armor.
"You're… finally awake, dad," Hannah could not help but stutter.
"Just taking a much-needed rest," Bernard's sigh could be heard seeping from his helmet, "I almost died again when I woke up surrounded by aliens, though. Thinking about it now, that was sort of funny."
"How… did you find us? Did you just wake up?" Hannah looked back and forth between Bernard and Queen Adel, who seemed to be as curious as them as to what was happening.
"I put a tracker on your limiter, remember?" Bernard said as he pointed under his left arm.
"...You still put a tracker on me!?" Hannah whispered loudly, "How does that even work? You have no satellites here."
"I created one," Bernard shrugged; his eyes, not leaving Queen Adel one bit, "This Guardian Force thing is convenient, it's easy to get used to—an almost unlimited power source inside me makes a lot of things… a lot easier. Look, I upgraded my suit too, how do you like it?"
"...How long did you say you've been awake again?"
"A couple of minutes, give or take."
"You… did all of that in a couple of minutes?"
"Who do you think I am?" Bernard then finally removed his attention from Queen Adel as he looked at Aerith; quickly recognizing the similarities between the two.
"Mother issues?" He then bluntly asked.
"Hm," Aerith only nodded her head, "Be careful, Whiteking. She has lots of issues."
"..." Bernard also nodded as he started looking at the crowd, and then at the small planet above the sky, "I think I am starting to get the situation now. And if I am not mistaken…
…is mom involved?" He then said as he glanced at Hannah.
"Mom… I think she's the mastermind?" Hannah chuckled awkwardly, as for Bernard, the only thing he could really do was sigh.
"Oh…" And finally, after just seemingly watching Bernard, Queen Adel finally opened her mouth with a short hum as she looked at Hannah, "You're Caitlain's pets?"
"..." Hannah only shook her head and rolled her eyes, not allowing herself to be provoked.
"Did you really think a themarian, especially someone as devious as Caitlain would really involve herself with animals like you?" Queen Adel started to giggle as she remained floating above everyone else,
"You animals are merely fleeting, and fragile toys that will be ashes come to the morrow. You think a themarian would love feeble creatures like you?"
"You seem to be speaking from experience," Bernard's feet started leaving the ground, "You seem unloved and everyone here can see why—you have a personality that even a frog would avoid, and they leap at tires."
Bernard then stretched his arm to the side, and as he did so, several orbs of white separated from his armor.
"That's cute. What are you going to do with that, play fetch?" Queen Adel once again giggled as she covered her lips, "I've met several Guardians before, and you are just like the rest of them, a fleeting dust."
"You seem to like talking to dust, I suppose it's the only thing that can tolerate you," Bernard remained completely calm, "And…
…I can be creative if I want to."
And with those words, the four orbs circling around Bernard flew straight toward Queen Adel; each creating skirts of wind as they disappeared from view.
"Really?" Queen Adel, however, also disappeared from her position—appearing a meter in front of Bernard with one of the orbs already in her hand, "So? What will this do, explode?"
"Not exactly."
"..." Queen Adel then furrowed her eyebrows as the orb blossomed open; its petals, almost like jaws as it swallowed Adel's entire arm and wrapped around it like a gauntlet. And soon, the three remaining orbs started attaching them to each of her limbs.
"I agree with you, though," Bernard then said as he looked the queen in the eyes; seemingly not afraid that she might just lunge toward him and put a hole in his chest, "I am no match for you, and now that I have these weird superpowers, I can feel the difference between us even more—I can't reach you."
"Sensible," Queen Adel scoffed as she just let the white orbs wrap her limbs completely, "Finally an animal who has a little brain."
"Well, I can't reach you… but it doesn't mean I can't bring you down," a small chuckle then escaped Bernard's mask.
"What—!!!"
And then, all of a sudden, Queen Adel felt a small shock flowing through her entire body, causing her to lose control of her limbs as she felt herself gradually getting exhausted.
"The thing is, I am used to everyone being stronger than me, Your Highness," Bernard then bowed elegantly as Queen Adel started to slowly descend to the ground.
"This… seems familiar." Queen Adel, however, did not seem fazed—one might even say she was a little amused as she felt herself getting exhausted.
"I forgot what it's called," Bernard also followed her as he also slowly descended to the ground as he looked at Aerith, "What do you call this again? EDP? I have no idea what that stands for."
"..." Aerith did not really respond; her eyes only squinted at her mother as she watched her slowly fall. If she was right, then Bernard just produced a miniature… and wearable version of an Energy Depletor Pulse—the device used to weaken themarians temporarily. Its main use was not actually to restrain a themarian, but to train them.
"I already had plans for it as soon as I saw the device you gave the Hope Guild—but it's only now that I have a power source that I could cramp in such a small space that it's finally possible," Bernard shrugged as he sighed as he and Queen Adel were finally back on the ground,
"I fidgeted with it a little, and I found that it doesn't really deplete anything. It just produces a pulse that stimulates, or perhaps I should say provokes your body into thinking that it needs to be exerted—causing you to be exhausted needlessly. Quite interesting how it works, really. I tweaked it a little to make the output 520% stronger…
…I just call it the Anti-Megawoman Contingency Plan Device. Sorry about that… Megawoman."
"It's… fine?"
Aerith almost forgot what Bernard meant to Earth. He was a human without any powers that stood amongst gods…
…and yet there was a reason Aerith always considered him the most dangerous out of all of them.
Chapter 625"I just call it the Anti-Megawoman Contingency Plan Device. Sorry about that… Megawoman."
"It's… fine? I guess?"
With Queen Adel back on the ground like the rest of them, the crowd that was watching the events unfold could not help but start looking at each other—still not knowing whether to leave or stay.
Although it was not really being talked about, Queen Adel is considered one of the strongest themarians in Hel. She should have already wiped out the aliens around them, so why were they still alive?
Could it be that the people outside their territory were not as fragile and inferior as they were thought to believe?
Although they were still completely silent, the crowd's thoughts almost thundered in the air—but not for long, however, as a slightly demure chuckle whispered in the air and drowned whatever else it was that surfaced in their minds.
"Did you really think that something like this could stop me?" Adel breathed out as she chuckled—and even with violent statics flickering around her limbs and seemingly trying to completely subdue her, Queen Adel just started standing straight,
"I train and sleep while being bathed by this feeling, human." And with those words, Adel grabbed her arm… ripping it away along with Bernard's device. Her arm, however, regenerated instantly,
"I am the Queen, my duty is to protect King Arthus and the Kingdom of Hel from those who wish to harm them… even if it is my own daughter."
She was going to rip her other arm, but before she could do so, Bernard rushed toward her; swinging his leg straight to her head.
"Tch," Queen Adel only clicked her tongue as she blocked Bernard's leg with her newly regenerated arm—the impact, enough to start a large crater to form on the impenetrable ground of Theran.
Before this crater could fully shatter the ground the Queen stood on, however, Bernard's armor popped like a balloon—completely stripping away from his body as it latched onto Queen Adel like a hungry wolf.
And as the Queen was momentarily distracted, Bernard's eyes lit up as a skirt of wind formed around him; he threw himself to the ground, before spinning his entire body and swinging his leg right on Queen Adel's left ankle.
And as his foot made contact with Adel's ankle, the part of his armor that was latched onto her leg quickly transferred back to him—instantly creating some sort of thruster that lifted Adel's foot from the ground.
And with Queen Adel slightly losing her balance, Bernard's main armor that was still wrapping itself around Queen Adel also formed a thruster and exploded. This wasn't enough to push her down, however, and Bernard knew that.
And so, he quickly lifted himself up; somersaulting in the air and slamming his leg down straight on Queen Adel's chest… finally causing her to fall flat on her back.
"..." And as Bernard's armor crawled from her torso and back to Bernard, Queen Adel's eyes were just wide open as she stared at the sky. Soon, however, her eyebrows began to tremble as her eyes turned red, "This…
…is enough!"
And with a roar, the air around Queen Adel exploded, causing a ripple that was enough to blow away the ground itself. Even the themarians that were watching on the side braced themselves from the sudden burst of energy.
Bernard's armor, instead of fully covering him, flew away—shooting straight toward Hannah, Paige, and Tomoe; wrapping and covering them before it automatically carried them away far from the blast point.
As for Elder Olseyir who was also beside them, all the debris and air just moved past her, like there was a spherical barrier protecting her.
"This is enough," Queen Adel's body started lifting itself up in the air. And as her feet once again landed on the ground, she clicked her tongue several times and looked at Bernard,
"So much effort to just keep me grounded, and for what? Even if a thousand of you came here, you will lose because you are nothing. A thousand of nothing is still nothing… and now where is this armor you are so proud of? Gone."
"Well…" Bernard, who was now half naked with his torso exposed, could not help but scratch his unkempt and messy beard as it was filled with all sorts of sand and debris,
"Keeping you grounded is all I really wanted to do, I succeeded in that."
"Mother…" Aerith carefully approached the two of them, "Please, don't kill—"
"It's fine," Bernard raised his palm and shook his head, "I just wanted to talk to your mother because we both have unfilial children."
"Whiteking, my mother is dangerous…" Aerith sighed, "...She will kill you."
"Whiteking, is that what you are called?" Queen Adel once again chuckled as she looked at Bernard, "That is quite a name for someone that will soon be turned to ash."
"It has its moments," Bernard just shrugged even as Queen Adel started to approach him.
"You should be grateful," Queen Adel smiled, "For me to be the one to kill something as insignificant as you is already a service to your kind."
"Did I not tell you already?" Bernard also smiled, "I know you're stronger than me, and I know I am not a match for you even with this Guardian Force nonsense—I wasn't fighting you at all, I was just trying to survive. And as I said…
…I wanted to keep you grounded," Bernard then said as he pointed to the ground.
"..." Queen Adel's eyebrows began to furrow as her eyes very slowly started to look to where Bernard was pointing… only to see a pair of hands were already holding both her feet.
"Sorry," Bernard then quickly flew away, "Do you remember when I said there is only one thing in this life I fear? Well, I called her here…
…my Queen."
"Caitlain'Ur!" Queen Adel's eyes once again violently lit up as she flew up; pulling the owner of the hands that were holding her feet up to the surface. And as soon as she saw who it was, the violent red in her eyes raged; shooting out straight toward Diana's calmly smiling face.
Diana, however, quickly pulled Queen Adel's leg to the left; her energy beam, shooting toward the crowd instead. No one seemed injured, however, as they just continued to watch what was happening.
"Long time no see, Adel," Diana let go of Queen Adel's feet; the smile on her face, still calmly painted on her face as she slowly flew right in front of Queen Adel.
"You…" Queen Adel's mouth began trembling as she sucked in a deep breath, "You dare show yourself in front of me, you bitch!?"
"Language, please," Diana shook her head as she sighed, "There are a lot of children watching you right now."
"You, it's you!" Queen Adel violently pointed at Diana, "You're the one corrupting my daughter!"
"Oh, I beg to differ," Diana chuckled, "Your daughter is the one corrupting my son. Do you know he has an unhealthy obsession with her? Why don't we just all let this be bygones and just marry our children? Hm?"
"I will kill you, you minx!"
"..." Aerith, who was watching from below, could not help but blink a couple of times. She had always known her mother had a temper, but they're usually refined and controlled. But this…
…Did something happen between these two that she wasn't aware of?
Chapter 626The very air itself became solid, with the stares of Diana and Queen Adel being the center of it all. The other one was smiling, while the other carried within her face a rage that caused her brows to quiver.
"You even dare come back here?"
"I see the only thing that grew for you after a thousand years is the length of your hair—a perfect representation of Theran, as expected of the Queen."
Diana's tone was not mocking at all, but the way she moved and bowed with a smile on her face showed her intention enough—and for someone like the Queen who was versed in addressing her people, she knew exactly what Diana's gesture meant.
"Shut your mouth," Queen Adel breathed out; a pulse of air, blasting through the air around her, lightly clearing the sky as she no longer held any of her strength back,
"What do you hope in doing this, Caitlain? I know you're not aiming for freedom, you are not a fool like my daughter."
"On the contrary, your daughter is wiser than both of us combined when we were her age. A little too kind and naive, though. But as for what I want from this, hmm…" Diana placed her hand on her chin as she hummed; her body, freely moving in the air as she was not floating upside down,
"...You're right that I don't care about setting anyone free—all of us are trapped in bigger and bigger cages, after all. What I do care about is change."
"Why!? What is there to change!?" Queen Adel raised her voice, "I don't understand, Caitlain—are we not already perfect the way we are!? The animals outside should be thanking us that we don't meddle with them; they are scared of us, and some abhor us. I don't know the reason as to why our people should be subjected to that!"
"..." Aerith, who was listening to their conversation, could not help but squint her eyes from her mother's sudden change in tone. It… was so different in the way she talked to her.
"These poor people have this grandiose opinion of a world they know nothing about!" Queen Adel then pointed at the crowd,
"You want them to live in a world where their neighbors would scatter like flies as soon as they see them? They will be even more trapped there than here. At least in here, both us and the anima—and the people out there are safe from each other…
…We are not meant to be in the skies, we are meant to be here—Home."
"..." The crowd watching from the ground once again all looked at each other; some of them, nodding their heads.
"Please…" Queen Adel looked each of the people below her in the eyes, "...Do not abandon your home."
"..." Even Aerith, who had already steeled herself with what she was about to do, could not help but stutter with her breaths. But after a few seconds, she shook her head and sighed—most of the people in the crowd had not even felt what it was like to travel in space, for a species that could freely breathe in the expanse of space, it just… felt wrong.
They are not meant to be stuck here.
"You truly are making a lot of sense, Queen Adel. I respect that you are really into your own bullshit." And with Queen Adel's soulful speech, Diana only covered her mouth to giggle.
"Bull… what?" Queen Adel's eye started to twitch, "I will never lie to my people."
"Oh?" Diana smiled before her voice became quieter,
"Then tell them Theran is dying."
"..." Queen Adel stared at Diana's eyes for a few seconds, before she covered her mouth and started to chuckle, "Theran is the strongest celestial body in the Universe, Caitlain."
"That is why it is dying."
"Right…" Queen Adel let out a long and deep breath as the muscles in her arms started snapping in the air, "
I forgot that talking to you is useless, Caitlain—you think your word is the only word that is true."
"On the contrary, Your Highness. The only way you could stop is to convince me to stop—you won't be able to any other way."
"Please, you spent most of your time out there mingling with the weak."
"On the contrary, I met the strongest people I met out there. The one wreaking havoc up there right now is from the outside."
The two were completely different.
Queen Adel exuded a violent elegance, wrapped in a dangerous air of luxury.
Diana exuded a calm simplicity… eerily simple that one could not help but fear what was hiding inside.
"…"
The two once again stared at each other; their hair, the only thing moving for seconds.
"!!!"
And then, without even any warning—the air behind the two distorted as they disappeared for an entire second. Only showing themselves again when Adel's fist collided with Diana's palm.
And then it stayed like that for another second, almost as if the universe did not yet know what to do. But soon, a silent crack whistled in the air; the very space between the atoms in the middle of Adel's fist and Diana's palm, snapping apart as it tore existence itself.
And the shockwave that came with that… devastating. The skies above them cleared, tearing the planet's exosphere and showed New Theran without any filter.
The ground that was meters below their feet, completely blown away; the trees surrounding the glade, stripped away.
The themarians that were watching them were all crouched on the crumbling ground—digging their hands through the violent waves so they would not be blown away with the rest of the glade.
"Should… we help the Queen?"
"Wait, did you hear what the other woman said? Theran is dying?"
"...Do you think that's true?"
"..." Aerith heard it too, loud and clear. Theran is dying? Why was she not made aware of that by Diana if it was true? But then again, Diana is a woman that is riddled with a billion secrets… and also a billion lies.
But then again—perhaps that was the very reason Diana had been preparing New Theran for thousands of years? If so… then this changes everything.
"People!" And before the thoughts of the crowd could turn into loud whispers, Hera, who suddenly disappeared when the fighting began, once again started raising her voice,
"If you wish to leave Theran, now is the chance!"
"What… if the Queen's men are waiting for us out there!?"
"No," Aerith joined and stood beside Hera, "Mother likes to do everything herself. But people, if you want to stay, you could. Remember, no one is forcing any of this on you. Mother is right when she said that Theran is your home—you have lived your entire lives here—but I can promise you this…
…New Theran will gladly also welcome you home."
"..."
"Now I know you heard that Theran is dying. I do not know if that's true, there are no signs of it happening and the chance that Caitlain was lying is high. But if you wish to…"
Aerith closed her eyes as she sucked in a deep breath—knowing she is going to regret the next words that will be coming out of her mouth,
"If it is true… then I will find a way to bring the older generation with us."
Chapter 627"If it is true… then I will find a way to bring the older generation with us."
Aerith opened her eyes as she said those words; gauging the people's opinions and thoughts. But she did not need to guess what they were thinking, however, as most of them just started shaking their heads.
"Like us, Your Highness, they have also made their choice."
"Yes! And there is no way that Theran is dying!"
"We want to experience the stars like you did, Your Highness! Take us home!"
"..." Aerith looked into the eyes of her people one by one. She could still see some of them hesitating, but none of them seemed to want to leave and return, "Very well. While mother is distracted, we should take this chance to go!"
"To New Theran!"
"How can I help?" And as soon as Aerith's voice finished echoing through the hearts of the people, Bernard approached her and Hera.
"Jes—you look like shit, Bernard," Hera could not help but widen her eyes as she saw Bernard's unkempt beard, partner that with his chest hair and his bulging muscles mixed with a perfect amount of fat… he looked like a bear.
"A human Guardian…" As for Aerith, the only thing that escaped her mouth was a curious breath as she looked at Bernard from head to toe.
"Wondering what would happen if someone infected with the supervirus swallows a Guardian Force?" Bernard quickly understood Aerith's curiosity, "Sorry, Megawoman—I'm all you got for now."
Aerith, however, only sighed and shook her head, "You should be resting, Whiteking."
"T—"
"Bernard Ross."
And before Bernard could even say anything, Elder Olseyir once again popped up out of nowhere and made her way toward them, "I agree with the Princess, no matter how exemplary you think you are—all new Guardians would need to rest so as to not stress their body with its newfound power."
"...Do I know you?" Bernard scratched his beard; squinting his eyes as he heard Elder Olseyir's voice.
"No. But I know all about you, Bernard Ross," Elder Olseyir flapped her pink robes and curtsied, "Your expertise with technology, and your existence alone is enough to put your species in the Common Council."
"...Right," Bernard raised his hand in the air, and as he did so, several white armors started flying toward him… carrying Hannah and the others inside them.
"Fuck!"
And as soon as the armors landed on the ground, they quickly crawled back to Bernard, wrapping his entire silhouette almost instantly.
"That… was so cool!" Paige could not help but almost cheer as she ran to Bernard. As for Tomoe, she… looked paler than she usually is.
"Aren't you… Riley's other girlfriend?" Bernard could not help but blink a couple of times as he finally recognized Paige, "You came with him to another planet? That's some dedication… I approve."
"Well, I have nowhere else to be," Paige only smiled and shook her head; her orange and slightly curly hair, bouncing with her, "I know it's been a while since the two of us have been together or even talked to each other, but wherever Riley is… that is my home. Whether it is back on Earth or a billion light years away… my connection with him goes beyond the physical."
"..." Bernard blinked a couple of times, not expecting such an answer from his question that was meant to be rhetorical.
"Oh, oh… I failed to read the room again, didn't I?" Paige giggled as Diana and Queen Adel continued to fight in the background.
"Not at all," Bernard, however, suddenly just laughed, "You see this, Hannah? Why can't you find someone like this?"
"Because I am not a psychopathic murderer that attracts all sorts of weird people around him, dad," Hannah sighed as she looked at both Tomoe and Paige, "No offense to both of you."
"None taken," Paige just shrugged. She then turned to look at Aerith, before suddenly stretching her arms to the side—and as she did so, a flash of light traveled and rippled through the entire crowd… making them all disappear from the outside world.
"The people outside can't see us now," Paige then said as she nodded.
"Are you sure you can handle an illusion this wide?" Aerith looked around her. And although she could still clearly hear all of them; it will be hard to notice with all the chaos going around, "This is just the first batch, there will be hundreds more."
"Oh, it's fine," Paige only let out a chuckling scoff as she rolled her lips, "I feel like I can even make Theran disappear. W…well, not really. Please don't make me do that."
"Wait, are we sure we can just leave mom to deal with that psych—I mean your mother?" Hannah approached Aerith before anyone's feet started leaving the ground.
"You have no idea how strong your mother is, do you?" Aerith breathed out as she started floating up.
"...Is she stronger than you?"
"...Debatable" Aerith slightly hesitated. She then raised her fist as she flew up higher in the air, "For those who still want to experience a new world, follow me!"
And with a skirt of wind forming around her; several cracks in the air could be heard whipping like a marching band—the crowd could no longer be seen by the naked eye, but their resolution was obvious by the rhythm drumming in the air.
And even as the sound of their abandonment reached Queen Adel's ears, her eyes were still completely focused on the woman in front of her. She swung her legs; the shockwave that followed, keeping the tear in the sky open.
"Why are you not fighting back?" Queen Adel opened her mouth as Diana kept avoiding and blocking her attacks,
"Are you so used to being on a fragile planet? Don't you see, Caitlain'Ur? Just the shockwave from each of our attacks would have already decimated an entire planet…
…we don't belong anywhere else but here."
"Well…" Diana caught Queen Adel's foot, before pushing her away as she retreated back, "...I could say you don't belong right here and now."
"...What?"
"This planet is dying, Your Highness," Diana let out a sigh as she started massaging her swollen arms, "Now that our audience is gone, maybe it's time to stop playing around—we're too old for that, Adel."
"Theran is not dying," Queen Adel's lips began to quiver, "This planet will outlive everything else in this Universe."
"It has been dying for tens of thousands of years."
"Blasphemy!" Queen Adel gritted her teeth as she once again rushed toward Diana, "Our Theran is the strongest thing in the Universe! It will not—"
"King Arthus knows."
And before Queen Adel's leg could hit Diana's unguarded head—she stopped; the violent air she produced, once again clearing everything around them.
"King Arthus knows," Diana closed her eyes as she sighed, "So did the previous king, and so does the King of Varoif."
"...What?"
"The Overlord of the Grand Militia also knows, I told him when he replaced me as the next Overlord."
"Theran is strong," Queen Adel's foot was still next to Diana's head, "I will not tolerate you anymore for tarnishing its name."
"Theran is strong, I agree," Diana sighed, "Too strong…
...It will snap from its own weight."
Chapter 628"...It will snap from its own weight."
"..."
"..."
"...Well, that's all I have to say about that."
Diana just pushed Queen Adel's leg away. Adel, who still seemed to be processing everything she heard, just allowed it to happen as she very slowly floated away from Diana.
"Anyway…" Diana then shrugged and let out a deep breath, "Should you really be here? You know, unlike Aerith, when I migrate people from their homes…
…I don't like leaving anything behind."
"..." Queen Adel quickly collected herself; batting her eyes several times as she looked Diana straight in the eyes. But after a couple of seconds, Queen Adel's mouth started to slightly open,
"You didn't?" Queen Adel breathed out as her head slowly started to shake.
"Tick tock."
"You!" Queen Adel lunged toward Diana without any warning. This time, Diana no longer blocked or dodged her, but instead fully flew away.
"You will destroy Theran!? Our home!? Have you no shame or loyalty at all!?" Queen Adel roared. She did not even question if Diana was capable of destroying the planet she was born on—because she was and is,
"Caitlain, tell me something!"
"Well…" Diana only smiled as she saw Queen Adel desperately chasing her, "When I destroy a dying planet, and leave those that caused it behind."
"Theran is alive and well!" Queen Adel's roars turned into screams, "You hid a bomb somewhere! Where is it!?"
"Why are you so worried, Your Highness?" Diana turned around; flying backward as she smiled at Queen Adel—the two were just circling on one part of the planet… the images they leave on their trails, almost looking like a donut from below,
"It's just a little Star Obliterator," Diana heavily breathed out, "It may destroy and swallow an entire stellar system, but mighty Theran? No. For Theran, it will just be as simple as a quake, maybe some stones being swallowed here and there by the vacuum it creates—but it should die down before it does real damage."
"Where is it!?"
"Hm. But what if I am telling the truth?" Diana started chuckling, "Theran would snap and crumble, taking all of you with it. As you said, Theran is the only planet that could survive us…
…but it also could crush us and suck us into the vacuum with it."
"Traitor!"
"Chase me all you want, I am not telling you anything, Queen Adel. Go back to King Arthus, tell him about the bomb—that is your best option right now."
"..." Queen Adel gritted her teeth as she looked Diana in the eyes. But after a few seconds, she clicked her tongue and just disappeared.
And as soon as she was gone, Diana also stopped flying around.
"It seems you do not need me after all." And as soon as she did so, a voice whispered in the air.
"Themarians treat Theran as their god, Xra," Diana then looked behind her as a pool of blood started to emerge from her back.
"That's good," the voice whispered from the blood as it quickly started to take the form of a pale woman, "I did not want to meet the mother of the man I killed in a duel. But is it true…
…is Theran really dying?"
"Well… what do you think?" Diana only smiled as she started looking around.
"...So all the planets you destroyed and committed genocide in—were you actually trying to migrate their people?" Pirate Queen Xra flicked her hair to the side, "But I thought your goal was to create a species that will break the balance of the Universe?"
"Oh, I do. I am obsessed with creating a new species," Diana chuckled.
"That—I'm not even going to try to figure you out anymore," Xra rolled her eyes, "Just help me revive my husband, and I help you with anything you fucking want."
"Your husband is dead."
"He's not."
"..." Diana could really only sigh as she looked up to the sky, "Let's just get this over with…
…I miss my sweet babies."
***
Somewhere in the dark expanse of space between Theran and New Theran, there were 4 Rileys holding a single themarian… ripping him apart and tearing him from limb to limb.
Each of the four was holding their own body parts. The body parts that were within each other's reach seemed to want to connect and regenerate together, almost desperate to be together again.
But before any of them could once again regain their other halves, the four Rileys all whispered something at the same time—and with their breaths escaping their lips, the reality they were holding was ripped apart; the limbs, completely erased from existence.
The four Riley then looked at each other in satisfaction, nodding their heads as their eyes lost what little color they had. And then… they just crumbled.
"From 1 to 10, how much pain are you feeling right now?"
"Let me—argh!"
"That's a 6."
On some other part of the expanse of space, there were 8 Rileys holding a single male themarian, while another one that was wearing a white coat was watching them; seemingly jotting down notes, but no paper or pen in his hands.
"Alright, that's enough," the White Coat Riley then clapped his hands as he sighed, "You can let him go now."
"..." The 8 Rileys that were holding the man all looked at each other as soon as they heard that. They then turned their eyes toward White Coat Riley… before all of them just started bursting out into laughter.
And then, all of a sudden, they all just stopped and whispered… and then the man was gone.
"Hm…" And as the 8 Rileys slowly started to crumble, White Coat Riley stopped laughing and placed his hand on his chin, "Out of the 40, only about 10 of them were hard to completely kill, all women… but none are as durable as James. They don't necessarily grow stronger with age, hm… if only I can detect their energ—Hm?"
And as White Coat Riley was whispering to himself, he very slowly turned his head down, only to see a hand pierced through his chest… holding what seemed to be his heart.
"..." And before Riley could turn his head, his heart was crushed. And as he crumbled, an old woman showed herself from his ashes.
"This one is fake too?" The old woman furrowed her eyebrows, "Just what are we fighting he—"
"We have been ordered to retreat!"
"What!? Ordered!?" The old woman raised her voice, "We're not soldiers, why are we following orders!?"
"It's from the Kingdom! Retreat!"
"..." The old woman looked at the dust freely floating around her, before just clicking her tongue and disappearing. It wasn't just her, those that were desperately trying to get into New Theran to destroy it also disappeared one by one.
"Oh, they are retreating."
[!!!]
Tedi, who was watching everything happening from afar, almost yelped as she felt another Riley Ross floating out of her hair.
[How… long have you been there?] Tedi slightly backed away to look at Riley, [Have you been there the whole time?]
"I suppose," Riley shrugged, "I believe we can go to New Theran now, the first wave is gone."
[They might come back with an army before we can blink, themarians can do that.]
"Not for a while. They said the Kingdom ordered them to retreat."
[...This cloning of yours, how does it work?] Tedi could not help but adjust her colossal glasses, [Does the information transmit in real time?]
"Limited range, but if I have more scattered everywhere, the range extends—I suppose like a satellite, Tedi."
[And all the information you receive… enters your mind too? Like a server?]
"I suppose."
[...Everything? Even pain?]
"...I suppose."
[...]
"Shall we go? We should probably land from that direction—you are almost as large as New Theran, they might get scared of your large size."
[...Can you please stop saying 'large'?]
"Humongous."
[...Let's just go.]
***
"Oh my, why are there so few?"
"Mom!"
In New Theran, the people that were brought from Theran gathered; with some already leaving to settle into their new home—but with the crowd they have right now, there were probably less than a thousand, with Diana adding to it as she entered the new planet.
Hannah, Bernard, and the others were also gathered there, with Aerith, Elder Olseyir, and Hera busy talking with the…immigrants.
"If I recall, there should be around 500 million of us… and the data I have is old."
"W…what?" Hannah, who was about to run toward her mother as she landed on the ground, could not help but halt her steps,
"There's… that many of you? I thought you guys could only breed like a thousand years after the last one?"
"Hm, give or take," Diana shrugged, "And we can also live as long as we want to. I know this old man, I call him Grandpa Fe. I think he's been alive since the evaniel war. Actually… I don't know if he's still alive now, I should visit him before we leave."
"...So how do you guys die?"
"Suicide…" Paige, who was standing behind Hannah, was the one to answer her question, "...Most of the people that we are seeing here right now, they will kill themselves in the far future, fascinating."
"You, I like you," Diana smiled as she looked at Paige, "We met before right? You're one of Riley's girlfriends?"
"Th—"
"You see this, Hannah? You should find someone that would follow you to the other side of the universe."
"I told her that," Bernard also joined in on the conversation, "She—"
"Can you guys fucking stop!? This isn't about us!"
"But it is," Diana breathed out as she shook her head,
"Didn't all of us travel here to have a memorial for Alice Lane?"
"..."
"...I completely forgot that was happening," Hannah grasped her head, "So wait… you weren't talking about Theran when you told us we would bury her?"
"Immortalize, but yes…" Diana nodded as she looked around her,
"I want her to be buried here… where she can roam freely."
Chapter 629"I… don't see them anymore, Megawoman."
"All of them are settling in. And please, Hannah—call me Aerith."
"They… are settling in already?"
Osk and the others have brought another batch of immigrants from Theran—and now, the total number of themarians on New Theran were around 10,000… and yet none of them could be seen around where Hannah and the others are already.
"There were that many and yet… fuck. Must be nice to fly around several Mach speeds in the air," Hannah looked around at the empty and endless sea of grass beneath her feet, "But if that was the case… shouldn't we have everyone we need by now?"
"No…" Aerith could not help but sigh as she looked at the sky; her eyes, reflecting Theran on them, "...The problem is not getting them here, it's getting them out there."
"Hm… Understandable, most old people are stubborn and think they know everything. But on that note… what the fuck is that?" Aerith then pointed at the other half of the sky, and there, a silver face completely obstructed the view of the cosmos.
"That's Tedi, sister."
"Riley!?" Hannah could not help but almost leap to the side as Riley suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"She is a former Elder of the Common Council," Riley, on the other hand, just approached her as if he didn't just spook her, "She was kicked out."
[I was not kicked out!]
"Wha…" Hannah covered her ears as Tedi's voice vibrated throughout New Theran.
"She's helping us with the logistics of everything, Hannah," Aerith really only sighed, "She and Elder Olseyir will help orient my people on how to interact with other species and tell them certain rules that need to be followed. This... will be the first time all of them are even leaving themarian territory, after all."
"No one oriented me," Hannah's eyebrows began to furrow, "It was also the first time for me and the othe—"
"Maybe because you did not come from a line of a million years of bigotry, dear." And before Hannah could finish her words, Diana and Bernard suddenly emerged from the ground; their clothes, filled with dirt.
"I do not know about that, mother," Riley shook his head, "She can still be a bigot since she has half your blood, and father is called Whiteking."
"The fuck!? I'm not racist!" Hannah's eyebrows furrowed even lower as she pointed at Riley, "You take that—"
"Riley, you're back." But alas, once again. Hannah's words were interrupted as Diana made her way to Riley, "We can start Alice's Immortalization."
"Diana, I've been meaning to ask…" Aerith joined in on the conversation, "But where are we going to hold the Immortalization? The planet is not complete yet."
"It is complete," Diana shook her head, "Any bigger and it will just suffer the same fate as the old one."
"...Was what you said true?" Aerith sucked in a breath as she once again looked at Theran, "Is… it really dying?"
"...Yes," Diana answered as she also looked up, "Tsula confirmed it."
"Tsula… the Terraformer?" Aerith gulped, "Is… that why you brought her here?"
"Amongst other things."
"...What else are you not telling me, Diana?"
"A lot," Diana only smiled before a thunder echoed through the sky, bringing along a ship with it—Diana's ship.
"Tsula, please."
And as soon as Diana whispered that, the endless sea of grass that everyone was standing on started to quake. And soon, the grass started fading away; the ground they left bare, becoming clear and crystal-like.
No, it wasn't just crystal-like—the ground itself did turn into crystals. A flat sea of crystal spanning for miles.
"W…wow," Hannah could not help but breathe in as her eyes started reflecting blue, "This… is where themarians are buried?"
"Riley!? Is that you!? What's happening!?" And while the grounds continue to shift, Paige could be seen running from the distance, with Hera lazily following behind her like she was tired of everything that was happening.
"I told you, Paige. This is not an attack, my body's not reacting," Hera grunted as she rolled her eyes.
"I believe this is where themarians are buried, Paige," Riley nonchalantly said as Paige casually clung to his arm.
"Are we finally going to let Ms. Phoenix rest?" Hera sighed. But after a few seconds, she started looking at everyone; her eyes, slightly furrowed, "None of us are dressed for that."
"No problem," Paige raised her hand. But before she could do anything, Riley grabbed her hand and shook his head.
Riley then tore off a part of his black suit, throwing it into the air as it started expanding there. The suit then separated into pieces; pieces that shot toward everyone that was there.
Tomoe, who was hiding from afar like some sort of stalker, stretched her arms to the side as the cloth wrapped around her—turning into a black kimono.
Hannah received a short black dress, Bernard a suit, Diana a long black dress, and Paige a short filly dress, her hair adorned with a black flower. Hera was perhaps the only one that flinched as the black… goo wrapped around her.
As for Aerith, she was given a luxurious gown that reached the crystal ground.
"..." Aerith could really only blink as she saw how extravagant her dress was compared to the others but did not really say anything as Diana started flying toward the ship.
The bottom of the ship opened up, with Diana entering and leaving a couple of minutes later… carrying Alice in her arms.
Although months had passed since her 2nd passing, Alice still looked completely unchanged—her face, completely at peace.
"Riley…" Diana then carefully, and very gently landed in front of Riley, "Bring her there."
"..." Riley looked in the direction where Diana was looking, only to see a pillar extruded from the crystal ground, right at the very center of the blue field.
"No." Riley shook his head, "I barely knew her, mother. And this is the custom of your people. And most importantly, you were her friend…
…I believe that out of all of us, you have the most right to be with her corpse last."
"..." Diana looked Riley in the eyes for a few seconds, before turning to Hera.
"Hey, I didn't even know her real name," Hera raised both hands.
"..." Diana then turned to look at the other member of the Hope Guild there, but Bernard just shook his head. And so, with a breath, Diana just took in a breath as she turned around and started walking away.
"Follow behind her," Aerith then quietly said as she gestured to the others, who just quietly followed behind without any question.
"..."
"..."
"A daughter, a mother… my dearest friend," Diana's eyes turned red as she continued making her way to the crystal. A beam then shot out from her eyes, melting the center of the crystal—even then, however, it did not drip or fall and just retained its shape.
"As I walk you to your final destination, know that I carry you as a part of myself," Diana whispered, "And as you rest to your Eternal Death, I bury a part of myself with you."
Diana then carefully placed Alice inside the crystal; her body, being wrapped ever so gently as the crystal accepted her.
"I lay you to rest now, may you roam freely in your eternal dreams, Alice…
…and if the time comes that you may walk again, may you wake up surrounded by happiness."
And with those words, the crystal holding Alice started to harden—her face, now forever holding the peace it holds.
"Farewell, my dearest friend…" Diana placed her hand and touched her forehead on the crystal, "...Our time together was but a blink, but you were one of the best parts of my eternity."
"..." Riley has just been staring at the smile on Alice's face ever since she was placed inside her crystal. But after a few more breaths, he turned around and started walking away.
"Riley?" Paige looked back and forth between Riley and the ceremony that was happening, before choosing to just chase Riley.
"Riley!" Paige walked beside Riley as she looked at his face, "Are you… alright? How do you feel?"
"Do I need to feel anything, Paige?" Riley did not stop walking.
"Are you sad?" Paige, however, grabbed his arm and stood in front of him.
"...Sad?" Riley turned to look at Diana and Alice's silhouette, "I do not know how to be, Paige."
"You don't…" Paige grabbed Riley's face as she turned it toward her, "...Or you are not allowing yourself to?"
"Yes."
"..." Paige did not really react to Riley's answer as she just looked him in the eyes. After a few seconds, however, tears began falling from her face as she wrapped her arms around him, "Then…
…I will cry for you, Riley."
"..." Riley could really only slightly move his head as he felt Paige's warmth.
"I can do that, you know…" Paige's whispers chuckled to his ears, "...You know the month we've been apart, I tried being strong, Riley. And every time I thought I couldn't go on anymore… I think of you."
Paige then pulled herself back as she once again looked Riley in the eyes,
"You are my other half, Riley… I know that now. And…" And then all of a sudden, Paige placed her lips upon Riley's.
"I love you, Riley Ross."
And as Paige leaned away, Riley could really only blink his eyes; Paige's tears, trailing down both his cheeks.
"I can't return what you are feeling, Paige."
"I know, and you don't have to…" Paige then wiped her tears on Riley's face, "I…
…I will love enough for the both of us."
Chapter 630"...I will love enough for the both of us."
"..."
The sea of crystals beneath Paige and Riley was as clear as the ocean itself, and yet no reflection arose… only the abyss deep within the crystals that one could see if one stares.
The Immortalization of Alice Lane seems to be over, as Hannah and the others were already making their way to check her grave. Tomoe, however, just remained standing there as she glanced at Paige and Riley. But after a few more breaths, she just turned around and followed Hannah.
And of course, this did not escape Bernard's gaze—a sigh, escaping his mouth as he thought of how similar he and Riley are when it comes to women.
"She might be the only one resting here for a hundred years," Diana breathed out as the others joined her.
"...What about the war? It's already begun, more and more people will join this place," Hannah sighed as she looked around her.
"99% of themarians that die in battle rarely leave anything behind, dear," Diana chuckled, "Those that are buried here are those who peacefully sent themselves to Eternal Death. But I stand myself corrected…
…there will always be exceptions."
"...Exceptions? Wh—"
And before Hannah could finish her words, a group of themarians landed nearby—Osk and some of the women from the Sisterhood… carrying 3 bodies with them.
"..." Hannah could really only hold her breath. She never forgets that each of these seemingly normal-looking people could destroy planets; but once again, a scenery reminded her that despite all their strength—they are people.
She then looked at Aerith—Earth's beacon of hope. She didn't want to imagine her being one of those bodies… but she could. Aerith already fell once, and at her brother's hands at that.
She then looked at her brother, only to see one of the themarians violently making her way toward him.
"You! I thought you were on our side!?"
The red-haired woman pointed her finger as she stood in front of Riley, almost digging her finger into his chest as she screamed.
"W…wait, what's happening!? We can talk about—" Paige wanted to stand between Riley and the themarian, but she felt herself just floating and flying toward Hannah and the others—with Bernard catching her as he too, watched the situation unfold.
"You killed my friend!" The red-haired themarian pushed Riley, causing him to take a few steps back, "Weren't you on our side!? You were there with Princess Aerith!"
"..." And even with the screams entering his ears, Riley just stared at the woman; tilting his head to the side as he looked at the rage coming out of her eyes.
"Say something! Say you made a mistake!"
"No." And finally, Riley opened his mouth; a smile, slowly crawling on his face as he looked the red-haired themarian in the eyes, "I recognize the corpses you're carrying, I killed them—why do you think they are still intact?"
"What!? You—"
"Stop!" And before the woman could do anything else, Osk appeared between them; already grabbing the woman's hand, "This is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves!"
"But Osk, he—"
"I know, and we will deal with all of that later," Osk shook her head, glancing at Riley as she sighed, "Right now, we bury our friends and prepare for the war that's about to come."
"..." The red-haired woman looked at Osk, before glancing at Riley and just walking away; the disdain in her breaths, however, was still clear for everyone to hear.
"And you…" Osk turned to Riley, "...I would appreciate it if you don't touch any of my people again. I like you, Riley. But I don't like you that much—and I already have your seed."
"..." Riley really only looked at Osk, watching as she walked away to her people.
"Riley! What the fuck was that about!?" And as soon as the commotion was done, Hannah and the others made their way to him.
"Just the usual, sister," Riley shrugged, "And you and the others should not be here, sister. You should be as far away from this war as possible."
"Well, I don't fucking disagree with you," Hannah scoffed, "But Megawoman still needs help so—"
"No," Aerith interrupted Hannah, "You've already done enough—Diana?"
"Hm," Diana nodded as her ship once again hovered above them, "This is not your battle to fight, Hannah—just watch on the side while mommy finishes what she started."
"But Riley—"
"Riley has already included himself in the war, I'm afraid," Diana sighed, "You know your brother… always sticking his fingers where they don't belong."
"Ew, mother," Riley quickly shook his head, "The only time I put my finger where it didn't belong is when I put Aerith in my clos—"
"Ahem," Aerith loudly cleared her throat, "We need to discuss our next step, Diana. I will wait for you with the Elders… and we also need to talk about what you said about Theran."
"Of course, Princess," Diana nodded as she looked at Bernard, "Dear, make sure Hannah and her friends stay on the ship."
"...And Riley?"
"Riley will be with me. It's not fair that only you get to bond with our son, no?" Diana smiled as she looked at Riley, causing him to take a step back for a tiny millimeter,
"You don't have to worry—Theran will fall before anything actually happens to him."
"Hm… Let's go, girls," the veins of Bernard's armor slightly lit up as his feet left the ground,
"Don't dwell and say your goodbyes, it's bad luck before a battle."
"That…" Hannah was about to approach Riley, but as he heard her father's words, her steps quickly halted. She then looked Riley in the eyes, before just nodding and flying away.
"Finally," As for Hera, she grabbed Tomoe and Paige by their collars and leaped straight toward the ship, not even letting any of them speak to Riley.
And as Diana's eyes reflected the ship as it flew away, a long and very heavy sigh escaped her lips.
"Caitlain…" Aerith then placed her hand on her shoulder, "...I think it's time you tell me what's going on. All this time, you've been using my influence to make this happen, weren't you?"
"Maybe," Diana smiled as she looked at Aerith, "But aren't you also using me, Your Highness?"
"..." Riley, who was the only one left alone with the two, could really only look back and forth as the two stared at each other.
"It's time… Caitlain," Aerith stood closer to Diana, "It's time you tell me what this is really all about…
…what are you planning here?"
***
"Arthus! Is what Caitlain'Ur told me true!? Is our home dying!?"
Somewhere in the castle of Hel, where a colossal window reflected the sunlight that seeped from the outside into fractals that touched the floor, Queen Adel's hair brushed across the patterned carpets.
And although Queen Adel's voice was filled with panic, the air around the dim but colorful room remained completely calm. And along with Queen Adel's voice, a deep and immaculate breath echoed through the room.
The breath belonged to a towering, but slim silhouette that partly blocked the light from entering through the windows.
"Arthus, answer me!"
"I did. I knew from the start," the silhouette then started to move, stepping away from the light as he hid in the shadows.
"What? Why didn't you tell me!?" Queen Adel stomped her foot on the floor, causing the marbled room to quake and tremble.
"What difference would it have made if you knew?"
"What difference!? Everything!" Queen Adel roared, causing the window to shatter—removing all the colors in the room as the violent and harsh light covered everything,
"We could have prevented it!"
"More than a million years, this has been happening, Adel," King Arthus' voice echoed through the light, "And our scientists have exhausted all options to save our planet, and yet none of them could figure out how to truly save Theran…
…all but one."
"...Caitlain?" Queen Adel sucked in a deep breath as she looked at the shadow moving on the side.
"Yes. But what she proposed is something that we, as themarians, should never ever consider—she wanted to create another planet. As if Theran's magnificence is something that could truly ever be replicated, it is blasphemy."
"..." Queen Adel then turned to look at the shattered window; her trembling and hesitant eyes, reflecting New Theran.
"Caitlain'Ur wished to abandon our home," the King's voice resounded in Queen Adel's ears, "Our dear Theran, that is something that should never happen."
"But our people, Arthus…" Queen Adel's breaths began to falter as she looked back and forth between King Arthus and New Theran.
"We will live and die for Theran… And we will live and die with Theran."
"But our people…" Queen Adel repeated, "Our people will—"
"Live and die with Theran."
"..."
"..." Queen Adel's breaths started to become heavier by the second. But soon, her brows began to furrow as she slammed her fists on the marbled floor, shattering it completely.
And right there and then, as the cracks on the floor created little shadows...
…Queen Adel made a decision.
Chapter 631"So all this time, all the planets you've destroyed… were to try and save Theran?"
"Maybe."
Somewhere within the airspace of Theran, Pirate Queen Xra's gigantic warship the size of several airship carriers hovered freely. And inside its war room—a literal war room—a holographic layout of the stellar system of Theran filled the entire area.
There were several people inside, they all remained quiet, however. The only voices that have really been sharing the space with the holograms were the voices of the themarians, Osk, Aerith, and Diana; mostly the latter.
Xra was not really interested in what they were saying, as she was just waiting for this war to be over. Elder Olseyir, on the other hand, could not help but look back and forth between the exchange of words; her pink robes, almost floating from her curiosity.
Elder Olseyir's curiosity, however, was not a match for Tedi, whose hologram avatar floated almost right beside Caitlain.
As someone who pursued knowledge, Caitlain was almost like a celebrity for Tedi; or any other norinlads for that matter.
Not much is known about Caitlain's life except for her achievements and crimes, but no one could argue that she was one of the brightest minds in the Known Universe. Of course, Tedi has never been short of smart colleagues surrounding her; after all, Elder Skeem was arguably perhaps the creature with the highest intellect in the universe.
But Elder Skeem, due to the physically weak and fragile physiology of his race, is focused solely on tools of violence...weaponry. And as a norinlad, Tedi could not be any less interested in him.
Caitlain, on the other hand, has had her claws in almost all the revolutionary breakthroughs the Universe had experienced throughout the years.
The Room of Revival—resurrection. Mostly considered a failure due to the ridiculous and impossible amount of energy it required, it was able to fully revive smaller and lesser creatures permanently; but for intelligent life, one could really only live again for seconds, sometimes not even.
Cloning—Caitlain did not start it, but she was the one that mastered the technology to the point that the Common Council had to ban it.
She even had a hand in perfecting hyperspeed, and paving the way for warpspeed, which to this day, was still not fully stable.
And now, she had single-handedly created a planet that could move across the expanse of space like a ship—but that isn't what was impressive—it was the fact that the planet was a smaller replica of Theran.
Theran, where everything seemed a million times denser.
[If I may?] Tedi then raised her hand as her hologram flew in front of Diana,
[Caitlain—Diana. If the things you said just now are true, and the planets that you've destroyed were indeed already on the brink of planetary collapse, then this changes the severity of your crimes dramatically. Don't you agree, Elder Olseyir?]
"I don't know, I'm just new to the Common Council," Elder Olseyir just shrugged.
[...Why are you even an Elder?]
"The severity of my crimes remains unchanged, Norinlad," Diana smiled as she looked at the floating avatar in front of her, "The planets were indeed dying, yes—but I expedited the process by decades, sometimes even a century. Also, I still experimented on their people to try and create a new, stronger species."
[I… have heard about that,] Tedi's robotic voice became excited as she turned her eyes toward Riley, [Is he…?]
"No," Diana chuckled as she also looked at Riley, who was just examining the stellar map around them, "He's… sort of a freak accident; even I have no idea what he is."
[Uhm… since I might not have another chance, may I ask you another question? Why… are you truly trying to create another species?]
"I've answered that a couple of times already."
[...Sorry, I—]
"But I'll answer it again, this time differently," Diana sighed as she looked at the two other themarians in the room,
"Do you know the original reason why themarians do not travel beyond Theran and its stellar system?"
"..." Aerith and Osk did not really open their mouths as they just waited for Diana to answer her own question.
"The reason changed throughout the years," Diana started walking; letting her eyes reflect Theran's hologram as she circled around it,
"Sometimes, the reason is noble. Themarians are ridiculously strong, therefore the universe will be better without us out there. And this always gets skewed by the generation that follows, the ideal becomes skewed; the people out there are weak and worthless, and therefore not worth the themarians' attention… and then, Theran sometimes just becomes god."
"..."
"There are many more," Diana sighed, "But I believe the very first reason…
…was that there is no one out there that could challenge us. The evaniels tried, they almost went extinct. Norinlads are powerful, but they would rather be wiped out before they would dip their silver hands in battle."
[That is true,] Tedi nodded.
"It's ridiculous, don't you think?" Diana then stood beside Osk and Aerith, "A themarian could travel through entire stellar systems at will with just our physical bodies alone, and at the same time, we could destroy those stellar systems on a whim. We clap our hands, and planets would crumble. Themarians could be said to be the closest existence to gods; one would think that our numbers would be contained in a single digit…
…and yet there are 700 million of us."
"..."
"Our existence is… misplaced," Diana breathed out, "If I create a species that could tip the balance of strength in the universe, if I could create a species as strong as a themarian—then perhaps I could get them to leave Theran on their own. It is a foolish and injudicious plan, but my options are… limited."
"...Father?" Aerith's eyebrows furrowed.
"And many more," Diana let out a wry chuckle, "I proposed a plan—creating a new world, a new Theran. But my generation, and many of the previous generation did not like it, they think Theran is sacred—their god."
"I… could attest to that," Aerith looked to the side before closing her eyes.
"In truth, the people of Theran do not deserve to die with Theran—they aren't causing its destruction," Diana's eyes once again reflected Theran,
"Earth, my children's home planet, started to form around 4.5 billion years ago; another billion to form its first life, and the creature that would later become the common human was born just a million years ago. Most more advanced civilizations share the timeline, they just evolve a little faster. Theran…
…Theran was formed just a billion years ago. Something was different with Theran, its underground was formed already capable of sustaining life—but it was harsh. Harsh to the point that it gave birth to creatures that could destroy planets like Earth in a blink of an eye, none of them, however, could go to the surface. Hundreds of millions of years passed as the creatures continued to adapt and evolve, Theran was like an aquarium that held the most dangerous creatures in the universe, and from there…
…the Themarians were born. We were able to grow and dig our way through the surface. Out of all the species in the universe, we were the ones that had to literally evolve and crawl our way through planet eaters. We were Tempered—smarter, stronger, more powerful, and just…
…better."
Chapter 632"We were the ones that had to literally evolve and crawl our way through planet eaters. We were Tempered—smarter, stronger, more powerful, and just…
…better."
Diana's words seemed egotistical and filled with arrogance—but no one in the room denied it. A species' specific origin was hard to track, and most of what Diana said could be considered a dramatization of the events as no one could truly know of things without official accounts…
…but no one denied it.
They just stared at the hologram of Theran in silence, all of them imagining that what Diana told them was what really happened. Their silence, however, was short-lived as a series of claps started echoing in the air.
"That was very good, mother," Riley clapped his hands as he nodded several times, "I think that was better than the story I told last time with the super nailed on a cross. You should tell that to sister and father once we have dinner again together."
"..." The others could really only look at Riley before letting their breaths and sighs just fill the air.
"Pft," as for Diana, she just covered her mouth and chuckled, "I apologize, I lost track while telling my story. What was I explaining before all of that?"
"Why themarians do not deserve to die with their planet, mother."
"Right, well…" Diana placed her hand on her chin, "Most of the planets I have experimented on, their deaths were caused by the creatures and people that live on it—and if I were to migrate them to another planet, they would just do it again. Not even a thousand years later, and they will destroy it again. I know this because this is not the first time I am migrating an entire people. But Themarians? Themarians did not have anything to do with the impending and inevitable destruction of Theran. I believe Theran was always meant to just snap because…
…it is something that should not exist in the universe in the first place."
"..." Riley could not help but slightly squint his eyes as he heard Diana's words.
"But it is here now and it does exist," Diana continued as she placed her palm below Theran's image, "And sadly the themarians just happen to exist with it."
"..." The others watched as Diana suddenly became quiet. But after a few more seconds, she turned to look at Aerith.
"Our people do not deserve to die out," she said as she pointed at Aerith, "You, your son, my daughter, and all the people you brought here. They are the future of our species, and as for the people that made it hard for us to survive…
…Let them end with Theran."
"..." Aerith could really only look at Theran as she heard Diana's words; her eyes, even more clearer and resolute than before, "You said, father and all the older generations knew that Theran would snap?"
"Yes," Diana nodded, "I believe your mother didn't, she was born a couple of thousand years after we discussed it—but I told her, and she knows now."
"...Then she will have to make a choice," Aerith's eyebrows began to furrow, "The others have already made theirs…
…Let's just get our people."
"Then we will proceed as planned, Your Highness," Osk then stood straight as she placed her hands behind her waist, "For what it's worth, Princess—whichever side we may be on, it was always an honor to be fighting alongside you, the Rebel Princess."
"..." Aerith only nodded in response as Osk saluted before just suddenly leaving the war room in the blink of an eye.
"Let's just get this done," Xra rolled her eyes as she walked toward Diana, "Remember, Akkamesh's revival after."
"T—" And before Diana could tell her that Akkamesh was already dead and there was nothing they could do for the hundredth time, Xra turned into a mist of blood and disappeared into her ship.
And so, with no one to direct her tiny frustration, Diana just looked at Aerith and sighed,
"Speaking of your son… where is he?"
"In the castle," Aerith also let out a long and deep sigh as she closed her eyes, "I couldn't bring him since mother decided to put guards on him."
"Huh…typical Megawoman, I should say?" Diana clicked her tongue several times as she shook her head, "Always the people first before her own son. You think I am going to let Riley be involved with a single mother like that?"
"You—I am not going to be roped in with your blatant mocking and teasing, Diana," Aerith pointed at Diana for a few seconds, before just breathing out her frustration and stepping out of the war room.
"I shall take my leave too. Caitlain'Ur, Sir Riley," Elder Olseyir bowed at Riley and Diana as she followed Aerith out.
[...Right. We still have some common sense to teach the themarians, literally. Let us see each other outside,] Tedi also bowed as her hologram flickered away, leaving Riley and Diana alone in the war room.
"Mother."
Surprisingly, no silence was allowed to fill the room. And even more surprising, was that Riley was the one to first open his mouth.
"Dear?" Diana could not help but blink as Riley approached her.
"When you said that your people do not deserve to die out. You mentioned Aerith, Gary, Hannah, and the rest of the themarians on New Theran…" Riley looked Diana in the eyes,
"But you did not mention yourself. Could it be that you plan to die with Theran?"
"Oh…?" Diana's quiet and breathy hum echoed throughout the entire room, "Why? Are you going to miss Mommy when she's gone?"
"No."
"..."
"But Hannah will be devastated, mother," Riley sighed as he shook his head, "You can't do that to her."
"...Pft," Diana stared at Riley for a few seconds, before letting out a small chuckle as she covered her mouth, "I promised Alice I would take care of you, Riley. So, no…
…I do not have any plans to die before my children."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"That… sounds kind of wrong now that I'm repeating it in my mind. Oh…" Diana then wiped the tears that were trailing from her eyes, "Oh no… I don't think I can handle any of you two dying."
"Hm…" Riley only squinted his eyes as he started walking away; leaving her mother's obviously exaggerated cries to whisper in the air, "...Since I will potentially live forever…
…that might mean you will live forever too, mother."
"...What?" Diana's cries instantly stopped as she disappeared from her spot, quickly appearing beside Riley and staring at his face, "What was that? You said something?"
"Yes."
"What? What is it? I think it was—"
[Alert!]
But alas, before Diana could continue bonding with her son, the lights in the war room started flashing red.
"..." Diana and Riley just looked at each other, before quickly rushing toward the bridge—and there, Xra and her entire crew were gathered. Little Riley, now seemingly the number 2 as he floated next to the Pirate Queen.
Aerith was also there; all of them, looking at the silhouette that was floating right in front of their ship. It was Queen Adel… carrying Osk and another themarian by the neck.
"They are alive, my daughter. But not for long," Queen Adel said calmly, "Surrender…
…or we won't play your games anymore."
Chapter 633"Surrender, or we won't play your games anymore, my dear daughter."
Queen Adel was floating in the expanse of space, carrying Osk and another warrior from the Sisterhood by the neck; both of them were still alive, but barely.
And even from inside the ship, Aerith could see the resolution in her mother's eyes and knew that whatever any of them say, there was no longer changing her mind. But still, Aerith took a deep breath… and began to speak.
"Mother, I know that we have never seen eye to eye—and we probably never will. You want me to surrender, but I can't do that… not anymore, and not now that I know the fate that awaits our people if they stay," Aerith said as she slowly floated closer to the window,
"This isn't just about freedom anymore, mother. This is about survival—and I have already accepted that you and father are probably never going to change. But please, at least give that chance to our people. Let me take my son, let me take the children…
…they don't deserve to die just because you think you belong nowhere else, mother."
"..." Queen Adel stared at her daughter's eyes for a few seconds, letting go of Osk and her friend; lightly pushing them to the side as she flew closer to the window,
"I am done making you understand, Aerith," Queen Adel placed her palm on the window, causing Xra's crew to slightly panic as they transferred all of the ship's energy into hyperdrive—there was no use putting it on the ship's shield, after all.
Fortunately for them, however, Queen Adel seemed to have no intention to fight yet as she just stared at her daughter,
"I am done making you understand what Theran means to our people."
"I know what it means, mother!" Aerith raised her voice, "It means the death of our people!"
"If that is what Theran intends to happen, then it shall be," Queen Adel said without any hesitation.
"Mother—you know that Theran is dying… you are purposely murdering our people if you don't do anything," Aerith reasoned, "Please, if you want to die with the planet, then so be it. But let me take those who do not want to perish alongside you with me."
"We will give you an hour, Aerith," Queen Adel completely disregarded anything that came out of Aerith's mouth as she very slowly floated back, "Return our people, or we will consider them all traitors to be put to Eternal Death alongside with you."
"Mother, this is—"
"Return them, and we will no longer care about your crimes. You will be free to take your bastard child, and leave with that disgusting abomination you call New Theran…
…You have one hour until the full force of Hel destroys you."
And with those words, Queen Adel disappeared into the distance.
"...Mother," Aerith could really only close her eyes; her breaths, whispering throughout the bridge. Her lamenting whispers did not echo for long, however, as she quickly disappeared from sight—appearing outside the ship as she checked to see if Osk and the others were alright.
Those that were left inside the bridge could really only look at each other. Xra's entire crew looked at her as if quietly asking if they should really involve themselves in the war of themarians.
Xra, however, pretended not to see their concerns as she just once again approached Diana.
"The debts you're accumulating from me are getting higher, Caitlain," Xra smiled as she whispered in Diana's ears, "First, you owe me for Akkamesh. Then you owe me for bringing your son to Theran, and now you owe me for joining this ridiculous war against your own people."
"I would actually pretty much appreciate it if you just leave, Xra," Diana also smiled, "And I can stop this war from even happening with just a single tap of a button."
'...Have you told the princess about that bomb?'
'She doesn't need to know,' Diana quickly chuckled as she heard Xra's voice inside her mind,
'On the contrary, I find that war will be good for our people—it'll wake up their dormant blood.'
'Why don't I see the Grand Militia taking action? Shouldn't they be preventing this right now?' Xra squinted her eyes as she looked Diana in the eyes, 'When I visited and killed Aerith's brother in a duel, I couldn't get rid of them until I left the planet…you're telling me they're just going to sit around? Weren't they also chasing you?'
'Well…' Diana breathed in as she walked toward the giant window, '...Let's just say that some of the high-ranking officers of the Grand Militia owed me favors. They're not joining the battle anytime soon…
…if at all,' Diana then started giggling to herself.
'Has anyone told you how scary you can be sometimes?' Xra could really only shake her head as she saw Diana's bobbing shoulders, 'Anyway, I am moving the ship away from the warzone. I don't think it's wise to be anywhere near New Theran.'
'You can go underground.'
'Yeah, no. In the event that you lose, I need to be ready to leave with my crew—and make no mistake, I will be dragging you with me if I have to.'
"..." Riley, who had been quiet the entire time he has been on the bridge, could really only look back and forth between Xra and Diana as they just giggled, scoffed, and stared intensely at each other's eyes without saying a word,
"How close are you with mother, Pirate Queen Xra? The two of you are speaking telepathically right now, correct?"
"You can call us colleagues," Xra smirked, "She's mostly the one responsible for bringing me to Theran in my early days—of course, I was just a distraction for whatever it was she wanted to do here in the first place. I will be very careful with her, Riley—she's shrewd."
"Stop putting ideas in my son's head."
"Oh? Didn't your son tell you how close we've become?" Xra then moved beside Riley, subtly licking her lower lip as she looked at Diana, "Who knows what could happen, you know? So, if I were you… I'd start thinking of a way to help me revive Akkamesh."
"..."
"..."
"...You're seriously using that as a threat?" Diana then started chuckling as she looked awkwardly at Xra.
"To my credit, it sounded better in my mind," Xra also started laughing as she walked toward Diana.
"..." Xra's crew couldn't really believe what they were seeing right now. They've known their captain for years now, and the only thing they have mostly really heard from her were hurtful words and rants.
As for Riley, he couldn't help but imagine just two ordinary old ladies gossiping inside a cafe. It was weird—out of everything that has happened so far, seeing his mother laughing with a friend lightyears away from Earth seemed to have brought some normalcy to the situation.
Sadly for everyone that was seeing this wholesome sight, however, it did not last long.
"Captain! We have several people approaching from Theran!"
"What? But it hasn't been an hour yet. How many?"
"T… that… we don't really have a calculated number…
…but there should be more than a million of them."
Chapter 634"More... than a million?"
Everyone on the bridge became quiet. They knew what was about to happen and the scale of it--but a million themarians?
0.6%. Each of the planets throughout the entire universe had around 0.6% of their population as soldiers--considering Theran has a world population of 700 million, their warriors should be at around 4.2 million.
And since the Kingdom of Hel was the only one that threatened them to send their armies, didn't this mean that they just deployed half the number of their entire soldiers?
Wasn't this too much? But then again, the number may be skewed--the themarians are a race of warriors, after all. The soldiers that were flying toward them might not even be a fraction of what they have.
"...Thank you for the information, Little Riley."
"Don't mention it, captain!"
"Well, I didn't expect that number. But then again, this was a losing battle from the start," Xra then shrugged as she turned to Diana, "Based on the last report from that weird Elder, you should already have more than a hundred thousand people here--it will take a hundred millennia or so, but you can recover your population if you keep at it...
...Just blow Theran and let's leave. We--"
"I feel a lot of people approaching! Can you bring out the map!?"
And before Xra could finish her words, Aerith's voice resounded throughout the bridge; behind her, was Osk who seemed to have already fully recovered.
Xra looked at Aerith for a bit, before just sighing and gesturing to her crew to do as she said and bring out a map.
And almost instantly, a hologram similar to what they had in the war room. This time, however, there was a red dot that was blinking between Theran and New Theran--and it was approaching fast.
"...How many?"
"More than a million, Megawoman!" Little Riley was once again the one to answer the question as he floated from Moira's shoulder. Aerith was slightly taken aback at first as Little Riley floated in front of her, as he no longer looked similar to Riley at all.
His hair was red, and his arms were filled with tattoos. He might as well be a completely different person--but then again... this wasn't the first time Riley's clones gained some sort of individuality.
"A million..." Aerith then shook her head as she focused on what mattered, "But it hasn't even been an hour, we're not... even close to ready. How... many clones can you make before they arrive, Riley?"
"I don't know, Aerith. I have not really tried to stretch the extent of Replica Ricky's cloning ability," Riley shrugged as he looked at the map, "I could probably make a million, but they will have to be Little Riley's size. And based on the data I have scientifically gathered so far from checking themarians, he will be useless."
"...Do it," Aerith breathed out, "We need to distract them as much as possible."
"I believe there's no need to do that, Aerith." And while everyone was on high alert, Riley just shook his head, "The people that are approaching us are from Varoif."
"...What? How would you know?" Aerith furrowed her eyebrows, "I'm in contact with their King. And while he is on our side, he hasn't guaranteed his army to help protect New Theran."
"His daughter is a student of mine, Aerith," Riley only shrugged, "She is leading the people that are approaching us right now with Professor Riley."
"...What? Wait..." Aerith then took in a short but very deep breath as he looked at Riley, "The King's daughter... you mean Esme? The Esme?"
"Yes."
"That..." A smile started to form on Aerith's face, "...This changes things. This--no."
Her smile was short-lived, however, as she once again took in a deep breath; shaking her head as she started walking around,
"Esme's just a child. I can't let her be involved in battle."
"But you are involving me, Aerith," Riley tilted his head to the side, "I am 20 years old, and I believe Esme is over a hundred."
"...You have the blood of billions in your hands, Riley. You're not a child."
"What? What do you mean?" Diana furrowed her eyebrows, "My baby boy is--wait, 20? Since when!?"
Diana's eyes widened in shock as she very slowly made her way to Riley; her hands, slightly trembling as she reached for her son, "W... where did my baby boy go!?"
"..." Aerith slightly squinted her eyes as she watched this. And before Diana could reach Riley, Aerith pulled him away,
"You're in contact with your clone, right? Let's go...
...we'll meet them at their new home."
***
"This... is a lot."
"1,624,310, Aerith. Ages 3 to 999."
"Most of them are children..." Aerith stared at the almost endless wave of people in front of her. Most of them weren't really children, as themarians are already considered adults in their 20s and then almost stop aging altogether--but what Aerith really meant was that most of them are not really ready for battle.
Most of them were even laughing as they flew in the skies, clearly excited to be freely flying for the first time.
"..." Aerith shook her head, however. Her priority wasn't the war, but to bring as many people to New Theran as possible--she was starting to lose sight of her priority due to the upcoming battle.
"Rebel Princess."
"...Princess Esme."
Aerith quickly shook her head off of the thoughts as she saw a Esme making her way toward her; Aerith's eyes, very slowly turning up as they looked at the slim behemoth in front of them.
And as soon as she was within reach, Esme stood straight and placed her hands behind her waist.
"As requested by Professor Riley, I brought people below 5000 years old. For now, we prioritized people below 999 years old, more will be arriving soon," Esme then said as she looked straight; the tone of her voice, completely monotonous.
"That... Riley asked you to do this?" Aerith could not help but blink a couple of times as she looked at Riley; her eyes, slightly wavering as she watched as Riley started summoning clones from the ground.
"Yes," Esme nodded.
"What... did your father say?" Aerith once again looked at the colossal group of themarians in front of her.
"I do not know yet," Esme shook her head, "I have not advised him with what I have done--I do what I want, just like you, Rebel Princess.
"..." Aerith could really only look at the smile that Esme was seemingly forcing to form on her expressionless face.
"It is a pleasure to finally get the chance to talk to you, Rebel Princess."
"The pleasure is mine, Princess Esme," Aerith sighed,
"I only wished we met in a much better circumstance. But as you can see, we're getting ready for war," Aerith then said as she once again looked at Riley, who now had more than a hundred clones around him, and was still summoning more,
"Don't worry, we will do our best to keep all of you safe."
"I don't think we could meet at a better circumstance than this, Rebel Princess," Esme shook her head as she looked at the themarians she brought with her,
"You are giving our species a new home where they could fly freely. You have my full support...
...I will be joining the battle."
Chapter 635"I can't risk sending them to their Eternal Deaths, Riley. I didn't bring them to New Theran to fight, we're not creating an army—they are here for a better life, making them fight a war isn't the best way to start that."
"You didn't bring them here, Princess Esme did, Aerith. If we want to wipe out the older generation, I believe my plan should be considered."
"...No one wants to wipe out anyone."
"I do. Please use my plan, Aerith."
"Riley, no—how many times do I have to tell you that the main purpose of this war is not to win the battle? It's just a way to distract Theran while we rescue the people that we need to rescue. We get what we need to get, and then we leave."
"But the people left on Theran will die anyway, Aerith. It doesn't matter if we kill them."
"How they die matters."
"True, we can make it more painful for th—"
"Riley, please. If you ever want to atone for the atrocious things you have done, let this be the start of it—help me rescue my people with as a little casualty as possible, if none at all."
"1000."
"...What?"
"I will only try and kill 1000 people purposely during all the chaos. I might not even be able to achieve it, as themarians are truly hard to send to their Eternal Deaths."
"...No."
"100. And I will make sure that all of them already have grays on their hair, Aerith."
"Y—Riley, just don't actively kill people. But if you are left with no option but to do so, then do it—I won't care if it's a hundred or a thousand. Just don't purposely seek out to murder people."
"What if I put myself in a situation where I would have no option but to send them to their Eternal Deaths?"
"...How many clones have you summoned now?"
"500."
Realizing that she was wasting precious time by talking to a brick wall, Aerith finally removed herself from the endless chain called stubbornness—something that she and Riley probably had an unlimited supply of.
And so, she just let out a short and deep sigh as she looked behind her. Right now, they were on New Theran's endless sea of sand; an empty and desolate desert. And accompanying them there were half a thousand clones—all standing straight with their eyes completely blank like an army of robots.
"It is taking a lot of energy to create clones due to the unique composition of Theran's basic materials, Aerith. It's too hard and dense," Riley then said as he faced his clones,
"I've already opted to do it in sand, but it is still taking a toll on my body—but this also means that they are more durable."
"How… many more can you make?" Aerith asked.
"As much as you want and need, Aerith," Riley shrugged, "I would just die if my body gets exhausted, but I can start again after."
"Th… I thought each of your clones could create clones?"
"They can," Riley nodded, "But unlike me, they do not recover as fast and therefore will only have half their power—they will be completely useless against a themarian even with their increased durability. I know, I have tried experimenting during the first battle, as well as back on Theran when—"
"Riley, thank you."
"Hm?"
"I know this sounds very selfish of me, but thank you for doing this—all of this," Aerith sucked in a light breath; the expression on her face, a little hesitant, "I am clearly just using you here, and I know you know that… so, thank you."
"That is why I am here, Aerith. For you to corrupt and taint yourself by colluding with the devil to save your people is something that I already expected from you."
"I… actually have one more request," Aerith then let go of her breaths as she looked Riley in the eyes, "This is something that I myself need to do, but they need me here—I want you to get my son out of Theran."
"You truly do prioritize other people more than your son, Aerith," Riley slightly squinted his eyes, "Is he just not important to you?"
"He is, of course, he is," Aerith said without any hesitation as she started shaking her head, "But… there are many more that need my help here."
"You don't really need to explain further, Aerith. Not for me," Riley shook his head before a smile started to crawl on his face.
"...Hm," there were a lot of things that Aerith wanted to say, but instead just chose to nod her head as she looked at Riley. He was right—she was willing to make a deal with the devil to save at least a third of her people,
"Riley, this doesn't make us—"
"'Sup Boss!?"
And before Aerith could say what she wanted to say, one of the lifeless clones that were in front of her suddenly stepped forward and saluted.
"You will lead this group from now on, clone," Riley also saluted, "Obey Aerith above all else."
"No problem! Everyone…
…salute to the Princess!"
'Heil Aerith!"
And like thunder that raged through the air, all the lifeless clones that were just idling there all stomped their feet on the ground; their eyes, filled with only reverence as they stared at Aerith.
"Heil Aerith!"
"N…no. Make them stop, Riley!"
"They follow your commands now, Aerith." And even as Aerith's tone seemingly started to panic, Riley was still as calm as he could be as his feet started to leave the sand beneath them, "I am leaving to save your son now."
"Wait, now?" Aerith looked back and forth between the clones and Riley, "Don't you need to formulate a plan!?"
"I always have a plan, Aerith."--and with those words, Riley flew away, leaving Aerith alone with his clones, whose feet were already digging through the sand as they were still chanting her name and stomping their feet.
"Stop!" Aerith raised her voice. And without even waiting for her voice to travel the air, the clones quickly froze in place—leaving only their leader to speak.
"By your command, Boss!" The leader of the clones saluted as he stood right in front of Aerith."
"...You do know the plan, right?"
"This humble slave of yours knows the plan, Boss!"
"You're not—" Aerith could not help but let out her frustrations with a groan, "Tell me the plan."
"The war that is about to happen will be over in a span of minutes, maybe even less. Once your mother sends an army to destroy Theran, half of us will completely ignore it as we will rush toward Theran to get those that want to join us," the leader of the clones raised his finger,
"The other half of us will join Diana in distracting them. As for the others and the themarians we have here, they will completely put their efforts into protecting New Theran until we have gathered everyone that wished to join us—all of this might happen in less than a minute."
"Good," Aerith nodded.
"To be honest, Boss. It's not a plan," the clone leader shook his head, "But I understand, you can not really oversee a battle between themarians. It will always just boil down to who is stronger, and we have an Esme."
"The plan is to save as many lives as we possibly can without losing anyone," Aerith breathed out, "And once New Theran starts moving and circling around Theran, their forces would scatter."
"Hm," the leader of the clones shrugged, "We shall await your commands, Boss!"
"...Right," Aerith wanted to think for a few seconds before checking the others. But as soon as she noticed all of Riley's clones staring at her with creepy smiles on their faces, she quickly flew away.
Elder Olseyir and Tedi have already paused in teaching the people of New Theran, accompanying Xra's crew from a distance as they waited for the outcome of the war. As for the Pirate Queen, she was right behind Diana–not leaving her side for even a single second.
Princess Esme was with her people, most of them, getting ready to defend their new homes. Aerith talked about not wanting to involve them in the war; but in truth, she wouldn't really be able to stop any of them if they wanted to join—she would just have to rely on Princess Esme to know what is best for them.
Princess Esme… she was perhaps one of the main variables that will decide whether they were successful here or not. Aerith still hasn't seen what she was truly capable of, but she knew enough from the reports she had read that Esme was easily the strongest themarian here… but she was also the most vulnerable one.
And now, the one who even made all of this possible aside from Diana—Riley Ross.
One way or another, Riley was involved in everything and has been obedient ever since she met him again. Aerith knew there was a high chance that Riley was just pretending and preparing to do something, but there was also a chance that he truly just wanted to follow her.
But if he was indeed just following her around from now on, what was she even supposed to do? Will he just forever follow her like some sort of puppy?
Riley has this sick obsession with her. And even though it was clear that she has been using him, he doesn't even flinch.
He is getting too obedient that it was starting to scare Aerith. Just… what does he want at the end of this?
What… does he want from her?
***
"We have never really gotten the chance to talk, mother-in-law."
"You…? How are you here?"
"I am friends with Princess Tifa, Queen Adel."
Somewhere deep within the castle of Hel, in what seemed like a ceremonial bathhouse…
…Riley was currently standing in front of a naked queen.
Chapter 636"I have always wondered how you wash that hair of yours, Queen Adel. Now I know how."
The waters were raging, and yet flowing smoothly at the same time. One could get lost in the noise inside the bathhouse, quite literally. It felt as if one's senses were being drowned, as everywhere you looked, there will be something that catches your eye.
The fog that filled the air, the pool of water that was endlessly flowing, the white marbled pillars and floor; but most importantly, the Queen that stood at the very center of this all. The strands of her long golden hair, floating on the clear waters which seemed to wash away every impurity in the world.
The expression of disgust and disdain the queen had on her face, however, the water was not able to clean away.
"Get out… now," the queen only whispered, and yet her words drowned all the noise in the marbled bathhouse, "I am not going to ask again, get out."
"Or what, Queen Adel?" Riley let out a long and deep sigh as he started walking toward Queen Adel, stepping in the pool with his black shoes still on, and yet… not even a single speck of dust could be seen mixing with the clear waters.
And even as the ripples of water caused her bosoms to slightly jiggle and her hair to be lightly pushed away, Queen Adel did not move as she just watched Riley wade toward her.
"What do you want?" Queen Adel looked Riley in the eyes, not even minding that he was only a foot away from literally touching her naked silhouette,
"Did Aerith send you here…? If so, then you have wasted your life and time—I have decided."
"Not at all, Queen Adel," Riley then slightly bent his knees, submerging himself until only his head could be seen above the water, "Aerith doesn't know about this. I am here of my own volition to talk to you, we haven't gotten the chance to, after all."
"You can't change my mind. But you have 15 minutes to say whatever it is you want to say—beyond that is already the time of war."
"I'm not trying to change anyone's mind. You will do that on your own," Riley chuckled as he started swimming around, "And by all means, continue this useless war."
"...Useless war?" Queen Adel scoffed, still not moving from her spot as Riley started swimming and circling around her, "What do you even know about fighting for one's home?"
"Nothing. I say it is useless because it is. I prefer to fight in a more enjoyable way," Riley sighed, "You see, Queen Adel—I think you are probably the person that is closest to me."
"I have nothing in common with an animal like you," Queen Adel's eyes turned red.
"See? I also think you are an animal," Riley's quiet chuckles echoed through the bathhouse, "And yet here we are, in the same waters and swimming with the animals."
"..."
"The only difference is that I don't think you are lower than me, no—I am the lowest animal there could possibly be. Irredeemable, unlike all of you."
"Say whatever it is you wanted to say and just go," Queen Adel scoffed, "Our battle is not here, we are done."
"Hm, not really," Riley suddenly rushed toward Queen Adel, standing right in front of her as he looked at her red, raging eyes, "The battle, as you keep referring to, has started as soon as I got to Theran."
"Get out now, or you won't even get the chance to be on the battlefield," Queen Adel did not flinch, even stepping forward as her breasts touched Riley's torso.
"We are already on the battlefield, Queen Adel—my battlefield," Riley tilted his head as he started whispering in Queen Adel's ear, "You see, I love your daughter, I think I really do… but she is easily swayed by her emotions and kindness—kind to the point that even though she knows I am a monster, she still treats me like a person."
"..."
"Very unlike you, Queen Adel. You would probably treat me as a beast, locking me inside a cage—because that is what I would do."
"You will not be in a cage, Ross," Queen Adel also whispered back as she leaned her head closer to Riley; the coldness of their cheeks, now touching, "Your head will be repeatedly smashed over and over again. Your body crumpled like the garbage you are—and I will do so forever until you find that your immortality has its limits just like ours."
"Hm," Riley smiled as he rested his forehead on Queen Adel's bare shoulder, "That sounds nice, Queen Adel—your King is dead, by the way."
"...What?" Queen Adel's red eyes flickered as she heard Riley's whispers.
"Not by me, no," Riley breathed in, "But I watched and offered guidance as my students tore off his head and repeatedly smashed it over and over again, your niece-in-law was one of them."
"Y—"
"Don't leave yet, there's nothing you can do anymore."
"..." Queen Adel's breaths caused the water to ripple—soon, however, the waters that were flowing out of the pool started to calm down as she held her breaths,
"You're lying."
"Hm," Riley's deep and slightly childish chuckle whispered in Queen Adel's ear.
"What exactly do you intend to get from all of this, Ross?" Queen Adel's lips shivered in rage, "My daughter's approval? She despises you, I could see it."
"Themarians are strong, no?" Riley once again took in another deep breath; the Queen's somewhat flowery scent, entering his nose, "I've thought over and over again on how I would kill all of you."
"Does Aerith know you want to kill all of us?"
"She knows," Riley chuckled, "She just doesn't know enough. But I want you to know, Queen Adel—that is why I am here, to tell you something that I have been wanting to tell someone else."
"Your last words?" Queen Adel smirked as she leaned her head closer to Riley's, "Go ahead, a warrior's last breath should be heard."
"I'm not a warrior, Queen Adel. I am an Executioner," Riley then very slowly raised his hand, placing it on Queen Adel's cheek before pushing her hair to the back of her ear. Queen Adel did not flinch, completely allowing Riley to place his lips upon her ear,
"You see, Queen Adel, I'm…"
"..." Queen Adel's eyebrows slowly furrowed as Riley's lips began moving; his words, entering her mind and staying there like glue. But very soon, Queen Adel's eyes started to widen.
"You…" Queen Adel finally backed away from Riley as she looked him in the eyes, only to see the visceral smile on his face.
"I told you, Queen Adel," Riley's soft chuckles started to whisper through the entire bathhouse, "You and I are the same."
"No!" Queen Adel roared, causing the waters to instantly turn into mist. This mist, however, also instantly dispersed away as Queen Adel rushed toward Riley and grabbed his face—and without even any hesitation, she slammed his head on the dried marbled floor.
"Yes, we are…" Riley's eyes which could be seen through the gaps between Queen Adel's fingers slowly lost their color,
"...We both want the death of your people. I'll see you soo—"
"I do not!" Queen Adel let go of Riley's face before stomping it with her foot several times—not even stopping as Riley's entire body crumbled and turned to dust
"I… I don't want the death of my people," Queen Adel then held her head as her breaths turned heavy, "Theran… this is what Theran wants. We will live… live and die for Theran."
Queen Adel's eyes began to tremble. But once again, she managed to calm herself down—quickly covering herself up with her robes as she rushed out of the bathhouse, quickly running and flying to her and the King's quarters.
"Arthus!" Queen Adel broke the door as she barged inside Arthus's study—the large window she shattered the last time she was there, letting the wind blast through and across the room as she stomped her way toward the shadow calmly sitting on the side,
"The bomb! We need to get the bomb that Caitlain planted, and we need to get our people back now!"
"..." King Arthus's shadow only glanced at Adel.
"Arthus! Stop being so spineless and hiding in the shadows all the time! Do something!"
"I'm afraid it's too late, my Queen."
"What do you—" Queen Adel was about to rush toward King Arthus, but he stepped out of the shadows before he could do so; his crown, glistening softly even from the harsh light from the outside. His unexpectedly youthful face that resembled Aerith even more than Adel, completely calm…
…too calm. And the reason was clear for Queen Adel to see, as there was nothing else to see but his face… as well as the hand holding it.
"Haa. I told you, Queen Adel. We will see each other again soon," the hand that was holding King Arthus's head stepped out of the shadows.
"You—"
"And I told you," Riley smiled as he dropped King Arthus's head, "The King is dead."
"Wh—"
"I did lie, though. I told you I helped the students—but in fact, the students helped me. Quite touching, don't you think?" Riley then lightly kicked King Arthus's head, letting it roll toward the Queen,
"Naughty, naughty, Queen Adel. Were you about to tell the King what I told you? That was between us."
"You think my daughter won't see right through you!?" Queen Adel once again roared.
"She will. I already told you, she sees me," Riley chuckled as he fully stepped into the light.
"What… are you?" Queen Adel gritted her teeth as her eyes once again turned red.
"I am nothing, Queen Adel," Riley breathed in as Queen Adel punched through his chest, "And soon, so will all of you."
"..." Queen Adel stared Riley in the eyes, "I… will save my people from you."
"See? You already changed your mind," Riley stepped forward, pushing Adel's arm deeper before holding the back of her head.
Queen Adel, however, remained staring at his eyes even until he placed his forehead on hers.
"What you don't understand, Queen Adel, is that there should only be one person that Aerith should hate, there should only be one person she loves, one person she despises...and that is me."
"..."
"I am the villain of this story, Your Highness. Not you, not anyone, Me…" Riley's trembling and throaty voice whispered in Queen Adel's ears, "You think you matter to Aerith? You don't… I am her villain, the person that turns her days dark...
…her eyes should only be mine, and mine alone."
"...You are insane."
"Another thing we have in common," Riley smiled as his face began to crack,
"...See you again soon, Your Highness."
Chapter 637Theran.
It is as clear as it could be as it reflects on Aerith's eyes. Most of her memory was contained on the planet; but very soon, the planet will just become a part of her memory.
"It's time to say goodbye."
"I said goodbye a long time ago."
The planet also reflected in Diana's eyes, but barely. For her, the planet has just always been a memory of her greatest failure—a reminder that her efforts weren't enough.
"Why would you say goodbye to a planet?"
As for the Princess of Varoif, her eyes were completely elsewhere; not reflecting even a single color of Theran as she just looked beyond the expanse of space.
"I don't know about you people, but I only have bad memories of the place."
Xra was also there, floating in the expanse of space—her eyes weren't even on Theran in the first place, she was just here to make sure that Diana doesn't escape before trying to resurrect her husband.
The four of them were floating between the old and the new world. And behind them was a white wall—an army of Rileys that had their eyes closed for some reason.
"1 minute," Aerith then breathed out as she looked at her companions, "Be ready."
"You have 2 million themarians behind us already. Are you sure you shouldn't just leave?" Xra said as she glanced at New Theran.
"I will save as much as I can," Aerith shook her head, "They might outnumber us, but our goal here isn't to fight—let them chase us if they want. Diana, are you sure New Theran can move fast enough to rotate around Theran?"
"Hm. It can even go hyperspeed if you want to," Diana softly giggled, "60 seconds, I have set the speed so that it will rotate around Theran in 60 seconds as you wanted."
"Alright. The clones and I will make sure to move ahead so the people we rescue could just fly straight up," Aerith nodded, "We will start with Varoif; Princess Esme and the King have already assured me that they won't stop us and that some of their people have already gathered—our only problem with Varoif will be the Grand Militia."
"They won't be a problem," Diana waved her hand, "They are too busy dealing with a coup, even the people guarding the sectors have all been called back."
"...What did you do?" Aerith blinked.
"I have been alive long before any of you three have been born—unlike the three of you, I have friends."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I've just been notified that the norinlad and the weird Elder have joined my crew and are observing the situation from afar." Xra broke the somewhat awkward silence as she looked in a certain direction and chuckled,
"It would seem they share the same idea to run away once this whole thing fails."
"I really don't like you," Aerith's eyebrows furrowed as she glanced at Xra.
"That's for the better. Your brother liked me, look where that got him."
"You—"
"10 seconds," Diana raised her hand before the two could start arguing.
"9." And as soon as she started counting down a loud howl echoed throughout New Theran. And as its lands began to tremble, the themarians that were now living on it all nodded to each other.
Aerith told them not to fight and just focus on protecting their new world. But of course, most of them won't actually do that—just protecting it wasn't enough, they will fight for it.
"3, 2…"
"Several enemies approaching," the veins on Xra's pale face started to pulsate; any sort of friendliness on her face, now completely gone.
"It's time to—"
"Wait!" And before anyone could move, Aerith raised her hand; her ears, pointing at Theran,
"...It's Gary."
"A distraction," Diana's eyebrows furrowed, "What do you want to do?"
"It's not a distraction, it's my son," Aerith slightly raised her voice.
"I know, that's why I'm asking you what you want to do."
"Does it matter?" Princess Esme started floating forward, "I was told you hold no love for your son by Professor Riley, Princess Aerith."
"There's less than a thousand of them," Xra also raised her voice, "Decide now."
"..." Aerith held her breath as she stared at the incoming people. And after a few seconds, she closed her eyes,
"Let's wait. I… asked Riley to get Gary out—but I told him to get them out during all the chaos, not before."
"Oh."
"Oh."
"Oh."
Diana, Xra, and Princess Esme all relaxed at the same time as soon as they heard Aerith's words.
"..." Aerith could really only roll her eyes. The three clearly didn't trust her judgment, but as soon as she mentioned Riley, all of them just nodded their heads.
"Mother!
And soon, Gary did arrive; carried and dragged by a young themarian while around a hundred more followed them from behind.
"We—"
"Princess Aerith! We are here on request of Professor Riley!"
"You…" Aerith could really only blink a couple of times as she stared at the girl that was carrying Gary. Although Aerith have only really seen her once or twice, she was sure of it—the girl was one of her cousins, the younger daughter of Princess Tifa,
"...Claudyne?"
"Yes!"
She… looked quite different. The last time she saw her, Aerith was sure she was a rowdy and rude girl that carried a lot of disdain for her. But now, there was something familiar in her eyes that Aerith recognized, but can't quite know what it is.
It wasn't only her, the hundred themarians behind her also carried the same weight in their eyes. Just… what has Riley been teaching these kids?
"Mother, we—"
"Riley, why is he not with you?"
"He has something to—"
"We meet again, and the first thing you ask about is Riley!?" Gary finally raised his voice, gritting his teeth as he looked his mother in the eyes. Everywhere Gary goes, everyone is talking about Riley—Earth, Theran. And he was sure that even if he goes to a completely different planet, Riley will still find his way into people's mouths.
"I'm asking because he's not here, Gary. I tasked him to get you out," Aerith sighed as she heard the frustration in her son's voice,
"And I'm glad you're here. I really am—but this isn't the time for us to have a little reunion, people's lives are at stake."
"...They always are."
"..."
"Claudyne, go join the others."
"Roger that, Princess Aerith," Claudyne nodded. She was about to fly toward New Theran with Gary, but before she could do so, Aerith suddenly grabbed Gary by the arm.
"Wait…" Aerith breathed out, "Gary, I know I haven't been the mother you wanted. Heck, I haven't been your mother at all. But I want you to know that you have always been important to me, okay? Just…
…I want to be your mother, I want us to start anew on New Theran."
"Mother this…" Gary couldn't control his trembling eyes, causing him to just close them and shake his head, "...this is a death flag."
"What's—"
"You're Megawoman, mother," Gary then opened his eyes and looked Aerith in hers, "I understand that that means you will always prioritize other people. It's… selfish for me to keep you by myself."
"...No. Once all of this is done, I will be your mother. Please, I want to."
"..." Gary shook his head, "I'm not strong enough to stand beside you, mother. So…
…just wait for me to become stronger."
Chapter 638"I'm not strong enough to stand beside you, mother. So…
…just wait for me to become stronger."
Aerith could really only take in a deep breath as she heard her son's words. Aerith wasn't going to lie to herself—Gary will never be strong enough, he will grow old and die…but the only thing that Aerith could really do was nod and smile.
"I love you, Gary," Aerith whispered as she touched Gary's cheek, "You are my son, no matter what."
"Hm," Gary just wryly smiled as he too, nodded, "Let's stop here, too many death flags being raised."
"Right," Aerith then looked at Claudyne, "Protect New Theran."
"Of course, Your Highness," Claudyne nodded before flying away, taking Gary and the rest of her classmates with her.
"I've seen worse mothers," Xra let out a quiet chuckle as soon as they were gone, "But no time to reminisce, here they are. And judging by the bloodlust I am feeling, they're not really friendly this time around."
"Clones, get ready!" Aerith raised her hand, and as soon as she did so, half of the clones behind them opened their eyes. Aerith then waited for the enemies to come into view…
"Aerith! Return our people, now!"
And as soon as she saw even the slightest silhouette of Queen Adel, she quickly flew to the side—before diving straight to Theran with the clones behind her.
Queen Adel also quickly changed direction, leaving her men as she flew to chase her daughter. As soon as she did so, however, some of the clones that were flying behind Aerith blocked her path.
"Aerith!" Queen Adel roared; completely ignoring the clones even as they grabbed all of her limbs, "We need to—"
"Shh…" One of the clones that were holding her covered her mouth, "Let it run its course, Your Highness."
"Unhand me!" Queen Adel's eyes turned red as a ripple of energy blasted from her body—the clones that were holding her, blown away by the force; some even shattered. But those that were still intact, however, once again held her,
"Aerith!" Queen Adel once again roared, pulling one of the clones closer to her and biting off its throat without any hesitation before tearing its head apart. And once again, she flew to chase Aerith; her eyes, slightly trembling as she saw that the themarians have started flying out of Theran,
"Aerith! Stop!"
"..." Aerith only looked to where her mother should be as she continued to fly above Theran—signaling to the people below to fly to Theran as fast as possible.
As for the army of themarians that were making their way to New Theran, they were met with a large problem. In front of them… was a colossal wall made of themarians.
"How… are there so many!?"
The soldiers that Queen Adel brought with her numbered almost a million, and yet in front of them lies an even greater number… much greater. They couldn't even see New Theran anymore—it was a number that shouldn't be possible.
"Even if they have already abducted more than a million of us, this is too many!"
"Everyone, you are being lied to! Theran is our home!"
"Wait… this is an illusion! They have an illusionist, remember!?"
"Everyone, it's an illusion!"
And all of a sudden, the soldiers' worries instantly dispersed as they once again roared and cheered. Their eyes, glowing red as they continued to advance like a wave of death.
"Save our children!" The one that seemed to be leading one of the platoons roared as she led her men forward. She was completely aware of Paige and what she could do—and so, she did not even flinch as she burst through one of the fake themarians that blocked their path…
…only to find the themarian to shatter in pieces.
"..." No, not exactly in pieces… but it shattered like a web—a net. And before the themarian commander could even wonder what it was, she felt her entire body weakening and getting extremely exhausted.
"It's… an EDP. Everyone, go to the side. It's a tr—"
"Shh…" And before the themarian commander could completely warn her men, Diana suddenly appeared, covering her mouth as she smiled at her, "...Why don't you sleep for now?"
"W—"
Diana then slammed her palm directly on the themarian's chin, momentarily knocking her out as she was violently thrown straight back to Theran. And sadly for her, most of her comrades did not hear her words as all of them tried bursting through Diana's web… only to suffer the same fate as the themarian commander.
"Where were you even hiding this?" Xra flew near Diana.
"I wasn't," Diana chuckled, "My husband made it for me."
"So, your husband is as scary as you, figures. The husband of a monster is also a monster."
"At least my husband is alive."
"...Bloodmist," Xra did not really respond to Diana's words anymore as she turned into a mist of blood—flying through the themarians that managed to pierce through Diana's web.
"Don't kill them!" Diana rolled her eyes.
'Your people are too stubborn to be killed that easily,' Xra's voice entered Diana's mind as the mist started to gust through the themarians—their bodies, almost shrinking as their blood escaped from their bodies—most of them were able to recover fast, however… but not before once again being swallowed by Diana's web.
'Tell that to your son instead.'
"..." Diana then turned to look at Riley's clones… only to see them laughing while tearing off the heads of some of the themarians that were weakened by the net… then playing with the heads as it starts to regenerate the rest of its body.
"...This is your fault, Alice," Diana could really only sigh.
Soon, of course, Diana's trap was already starting to lose its effectiveness as most of the themarian soldiers started flying from all directions.
Diana only smiled, however, as the dummies she placed also scattered; making her net larger—but not fast enough.
Thousands of themarians have already passed through the barrier—their eyes set only on trying to destroy New Theran and retrieve their people.
"Destroy it! Destroy the abomination that plagues our world!"
"For Theran! Save our childr—!!!"
And before they could even enter New Theran's exosphere, they felt themselves being violently pushed back as a loud rumble that caused even the expanse of space itself to tremble whistled through their bones.
And it wasn't only them, Diana, Mistform Xra, Riley's clones, and even the dummies were slightly blown away by the sudden force---unfortunately freeing some of the themarians that were trapped in it.
"Who the fuck did you guys bring here…?" Xra quickly returned to her original body as she looked at where the shockwave came from, only to see the abnormally tall themarian they were just with earlier—calmly floating toward the thousand themarians that managed to get close to New Theran; her palms, stuck together.
"Everyone," Princess Esme then calmly spoke as she looked at the themarians in front of her,
"You are not allowed beyond this point. Only acquaintances, as well as themarians below 8000 years old, are allowed to migrate to New Theran—any trespassers will be dealt with lethal but non-deadly force… You have been warned."
"That's… Isn't that the youngest princess of Varoif?"
"The Rocket Princess!? What… what should we do!?"
"Pass through! We're already here and there's only one of her!"
"Let's go save our—Eh?"
And before they could continue their battle cries, Princess Esme suddenly appeared behind them—holding the head of one of their comrades.
"Let go of him!" They quickly rushed to their comrade's aid, grabbing Esme by the neck; trying to pull her away while they punched and kicked her face a thousand times—the impact of their strikes was enough to make space itself crack…
…and yet Princess Esme's eyes just remained as empty as it was before.
Chapter 639"P…pull her head!"
"..."
Princess Esme could no longer even hear her own breaths; the only thing that touched her ears were voices of desperation as several themarians tried to pry her hand away from the man she was holding.
They will be dealt with with lethal but nondeadly force—that is what she said earlier. Lethal was easy enough, but in truth, she was trying to rack her brains to deal with her situation in a nondeadly manner.
And so, after thinking about it for a few seconds… she just let go of the man she was holding.
"He's free! Let's go!"
"Ignore the Rocket Princess!"
And as soon as she let him go, all the themarians that were trying to pin her in place immediately started flying away.
"..." Princess Esme could really only slightly pout as she saw everyone flying away. She then turned around to look at one of Riley's clones, only to see it shaking its head in disappointment—and as soon as she saw this, Esme quickly disappeared.
Professor Riley has taught them how to torture themarians for months—how to inflict the most pain without putting anyone's life in any peril. And so, in a way, he also taught Princess Esme how to fight with a themarian without the threat of sending them to their eternal deaths.
She knew how to disable them without actually harming them—no wonder Riley's clone was disappointed in her.
And so, without any more reservations, she rushed through the thousand of themarians that were nearing New Theran… literally.
"!!!"
The soldiers could really only widen their eyes as they felt their bodies being ripped in half almost at the same time by a hand that came out of nowhere. And before their bodies could even begin to regenerate, Esme moved in front of them… gently pushing them one by one with her palms. Well, gentle for her—but for the themarians, they felt their chests cave in as they were violently pushed straight back to Theran.
"This… looks weird, no?"
Xra's crew, who were watching from quite a distance away, could really only watch and stand on their toes and tentacles as they felt some sort of shockwave reaching them even from afar.
"I thought a battle between themarians would be more exhilarating, but it looks like they are just disappearing, appearing, and running around," the one with the many arms, Lechamp, could not help but sigh as he watched the feed.
"Trust me, Sir Lechamp," Elder Olseyir, who joined the crew as she didn't want to be in the battlezone, lightly flicked her pink robes as she stood closer to the screen,
"You do not want to be in the center of that."
"This cute Elder is right," Alindor, Xra's second-in-command, bared her golden fangs at Lechamp to shut him up,
"You will be disintegrated just by standing there. As per Olseyir's advice, I had Aella turn down the ship's scanner so we're not being warned every second, but the weight and energy the battle is producing are… beyond massive."
"Pft, I am sure I could handle it," Lechamp scoffed as he flexed his 4 arms.
"Do you want to be floated again?" Girgo stuck out her tongue, almost slapping Lechamp with it if he didn't dodge, "The only reason you are saying that is because they are fighting in space—if they fought on land… they will clear out everything."
"She is correct," Elder Olseyir nodded her head, "Each of their strikes could split a planet in half. Princess Esme, the physically strongest themarian, could destroy an entire stellar system just by clapping her hands."
"...You know I am female?" Girgo quickly closed her mouth; her large round eyes, blinking as she looked at Elder Olseyir, "Interesting, you're the very first one who got it right—my species are usually indistinguishable from others."
"Well… I've met you before," Elder Olseyir only shrugged her shoulders.
"Really? When—"
"You know how these Elders are," Alindor raised her hand, "They know everything and they are very crafty. I'm surprised two of you are even helping with the migration of the themarians, I heard you do not like them."
"I'm new, and Former Elder Tedi is retired," Elder Olseyir chuckled, adjusting her robes as she did so, "Anyway, any idea what is happening on Princess Aerith's side?"
And as soon as she asked that, everyone turned their heads toward Moira, or more specifically, at Little Riley who was resting on her shoulder.
"He…?" Little Riley, on the other hand, just calmly looked at them like he didn't want to be disturbed. But after Moira raised her shoulder, the only thing Little Riley could really do was lazily get up,
"It's been 58 seconds since the start of the battle, so she's almost done evacuating the people that need to be evacuated."
"Wait… you mean the battle is near its end already?"
"Who do you think is helping them?" Little Riley scoffed, "Boss is there…
…there is no battle in the first place."
***
"Just how many of you do I need to send to eternal death!?"
"We're the last ones, Your Highness. You're very sturdy, if you were an average themarian, you would have already died a couple of times."
Queen Adel was still chasing Aerith—near, but sadly not near enough to make herself heard. But even if she did, however, the chances of Aerith listening to her were almost close to none.
They already flew around the planet, and yet not even once was she able to speak with her due to the hundreds of clones blocking and pinning her down. The only thing she could do now was watch as more of her people flew away into the skies.
"Aerith was right," one of the clones covered her mouth again, "You really do like doing things on your own, you didn't even call for reinforcements even in the end—but then again, they are all busy with trying to destroy New Theran or trying to find the Star Obliterator that mother planted. But still…
…you chose the wrong priority. You should have truly tried talking with your daughter more and now it's too late. Like mother like daughter, I suppose—you're both bad mothers."
"A…Aerith!" Queen Adel once again roared, but the only thing she saw was Aerith's back—flying away for the final time into the expanse of space as she have successfully evacuated all that she could.
"...Get away from me!" The veins on Queen Adel's neck showed themselves as her eyes released a rage unequal to the ones she has shown before, "Die!"
She then stretched out all of her limbs, tearing out her own flesh as she blasted all the clones away—and without even giving them the chance to cling to her again, she turned the last of them into dust; the beam from her eyes, as wide as a mountain itself as she exhausted the last of her energy.
"Ha…" Queen Adel then breathed out as she closed her eyes; the ashes of everything around her, very slowly raining down and being blown away by her heavy breaths. Her hair was a complete mess; her clothes, completely tattered and exposing her skin more than it was hiding them.
"Gh…" She gasped as she looked at New Theran; her teeth, showing themselves as she growled, "Aerith—!!!"
She was going to fly away, but before she could do so, a pair of hands emerged from the ashes below. Queen Adel quickly looked down, only to see a clone already smiling at her—this clone, however, was already crumbling to its death.
But it has done its purpose.
"..." Queen Adel then quickly turned to look at the skies again, only to see New Theran no longer veiled behind it.
And just like that—it was over.
"...No," and with a whisper escaping Queen Adel's breaths; any rage, any resolution, and any life in them disappeared. Her legs just gave up as she sat at the ashes of her own doing.
Wrong. Everything wrong that could've happened, happened.
She wasn't even able to exchange fists, let alone words with her daughter for the final time—none of those happened.
She thought she could reach her, but everything was just… one big mess.
"..."
"..."
And soon, as she drowned in her own laments and regrets, a clap echoed through the air; nearing toward her by the second.
She looked, only to see another Riley walking toward her while clapping his hands.
"..."
Riley then stood in front of the kneeling queen, before turning his head up to the sky.
"Themarians are really scary."
"..." And even as Riley got near her, and even started to sit behind her on the ground, Queen Adel only looked at him.
"Did you know, I asked mother how long Theran has before it collapses on itself and kills all of you?"
"..."
"542 years, give or take. And then it will just snap instantly, none of you would even feel it," Riley then let out a small sigh as he rested his head on Queen Adel's bare shoulder,
"542 years—that is a very short time for Themarians like yourself. But for everyone else, that is more than a couple of lifetimes… a lot of time to change minds. But that's not the kind of species you are."
"..." Queen Adel only glanced at Riley, before also proceeding to rest her cheek on his head.
"But do you know, I didn't even know that Theran is dying," Riley then let out a small chuckle, "That was just like… an unexpected bonus. But then again, it was bound to happen—do you know we have this saying on Earth,
'Only diamonds can cut diamonds,'
Thermarians are the same. Only you can destroy yourselves—but not this time, though. I helped."
"...Are you here to gloat?" Queen Adel finally spoke.
"Not at all," Riley smiled, "I'm here to accompany you in your last moments. With how fast you lost almost half of your people just like that, I would assume you have no one to share this moment with."
"..."
"Well, I also wanted to see what your choice would be," Riley then gently stood up,
"I know exactly where mother planted the bomb."
"..."
"I can even escort you there if you want to…
…it's your choice."
Chapter 640[149,542,677. That is 82% of the newer generations, Princess Aerith.]
"...Wow."
Aerith was currently standing on a cliff, her breaths and whispers, not even being allowed to be heard as the voices of others resounded throughout the entirety of New Theran.
Her eyes reflected the entirety of New Theran—its people. Every single one of them gathered in front of her, endlessly moving through the land and skies as they all cheered and talked to each other; most of them were strangers that have just left their home behind for a new one, and yet none of them seemed to shy away or regret their decision.
"Fuck me… I've never seen so many people gathered in one place," Hannah and the others were also standing on the cliff; their eyes, almost overwhelmed by the sea of themarians in front of them, "How did you guys even pull this off in the span of a minute?"
"It doesn't matter," Diana stood beside her. But unlike Hannah, her eyes did not contain awe, but rather excitement as she covered her mouth and giggled, "What matters is that I now have an almost unlimited number of test subjects. I have been trying to find a way to make themarians more susceptible to the supervirus—imagine all of them infected, that is practically the birth of a new species of gods…New Themarians. I'll try running simulations on the ship immediately."
"...Mom?" Hannah could really only stare at her mother as Diana started whispering to herself; her feet, very slowly leaving the ground while she mumbled.
"Diana! Where are you going?" Before Diana could literally float away from her ideas, Aerith pulled her back to the ground, "The people want to see and hear you speak. All of this wouldn't have been possible without you."
"I prefer being the one behind the scenes, Your Highness," Diana only smiled as she shook her head, "Go and celebrate with your people, you won't get the chance to after the real rebuilding starts."
"...How about you?" Aerith blinked a couple of times, "You're one of our people too, Diana."
"Goodness, no," Diana softly chuckled, "I haven't been a themarian for a very long time—I'm a human."
"...I guess there goes my chance of asking you to lead and guide us?" Aerith breathed out as she looked at the rowdy sea of themarians.
"I have enough of just trying to deal with my family. And besides, there's already someone better suited to lead these people," Diana looked at the crowd one final time before just abruptly flying away, "Now I'm off to do my simulations while the norinlad is still here."
"..."
"Wh—mom…!" Hannah tried to reach for Diana, but she already flew to space before she could even fully stretch her arms. Hannah then awkwardly and slowly looked at Aerith, before respectfully nodding her head and saying,
"I'll… try bringing mom back before she starts doing some weird calculations!"
"...Right," Aerith could really only sigh as she watched as Hannah followed her mother into space.
"Congratulations, Princess Aerith."
And just when Aerith thought she was done dealing with the antics of the Rosses, Bernard approached her with his hand already stretched.
"...Thank you for your help, Whiteking," Aerith nodded as she shook Bernard's hand, "I heard it was your idea to create that… EDP trap thing."
"Hm, the least I can do," Bernard sighed as he looked at the themarians, "My son… has destroyed an unimaginable number of lives. I shouldn't even be thanked for this."
"Riley's sins are not yours, Bernard."
"...You don't believe that," Bernard breathed out as he scratched his beard, "Anyway, I should shave. I'll be on the ship if you need anything."
"...Why is everyone leaving?" Aerith sighed and raised an eyebrow, "You guys helped in making this possible."
"The one wearing a pink robe actually told us to," Bernard shrugged, "Something about needing an official count of the planet's inhabitants—recognizing New Theran as a sovereign planet?"
"...Oh, right," a smile slowly crawled on Aerith's face as she breathed out, "...The Codex."
"As I said, congratulations," Bernard also smiled; doing the themarian salute before flying away.
"..." And with her now left alone again, Aerith could not help but look at her people. She knew this was just the beginning—but that was the goal in the first place, a new beginning for her people.
There were a lot of things that needed to be done, but this was a chapter in her life that she could finally turn—
"Where's Caitlain?"
And before Aerith could cherish and wallow the moment in front of her in silence, a somewhat sultry voice whispered behind her.
Aerith sighed as she looked at the person that destroyed her moment, only to see Xra looking down at the millions of themarians scattered everywhere,
"Diana's in her ship," Aerith said as she pointed up.
"What? I told her not to leave out of my reach," Xra rolled her eyes as her feet left the ground.
"I suppose I should thank you for helping make this possible too."
"I didn't help you," Xra's feet once again touched the ground as she heard Aerith's words, "And do not forget I have slain your brother in battle, that negates everything."
"He lost in a fair duel. That is the best death a themarian could wish for," Aerith shook her head and sigh, "It is a shame that he wouldn't see this, but I suppose the woman he loved being here is consolation enough."
"..." Xra did not really respond and just turned to look at her crew, who were shaking in their boots as they were surrounded by seemingly curious themarians.
"Why is your skin gold!?"
"If I rip one of your arms, can it grow back?"
"Why are you ugly?"
The themarians asked them questions, and the only thing they could do was force an awkward chuckle and answer nervously.
"...You have a difficult time ahead of you, Princess," Xra scoffed as she looked at Aerith, "Are you sure you made the right decision? All of these people seemed peaceful and living normal enough on Theran."
"I… honestly don't know yet," Aerith shook her head, before turning her eyes toward the expanse of space at her horizon, "But I know we belong here… traveling in the skies."
"Just hope the other species think so too," Xra closed her eyes, "I'm not going to congratulate you for making your lives harder. You had a good thing going for you on Earth, you should have just stayed there and left your people alone."
"..."
"Hm. Everyone, back to the Bloodcruiser!"
"Aww, are you guys going!?"
"Are you coming back!?"
"We'll… we'll just be up there." And finally, with Xra's crew being saved by her, they quickly all scrambled and left, leaving the themarians disappointed.
"..." Watching this, Aerith could not help but let out a long and very deep sigh—Xra was right, they had a difficult time ahead of them. The themarians needed to adjust fast if they wanted to be accepted by the others.
"Uhm…"
"Paige…?" And once again, another person approached Aerith, "I thought you were on the ship with the rest?"
"I was, but I wanted to see how you were doing," Paige smiled as she stood beside Aerith; her breaths, slightly heavy as she glanced several times back and forth between Aerith and the horizon,
"So... how is Megawoman?"
Chapter 641"So… how is Megawoman?"
"..."
"..."
"...Oh," Aerith chuckled; slightly surprised by Paige's question. But after a few seconds, it felt as if a large weight was taken off her shoulders as she let out a long and very deep breath,
"Honestly… I have no idea."
"Hm, that's normal," Paige nodded, "Everything happened so fast, you haven't really had time to process it all. I mean, like literally, it happened so fast. I kinda missed it all since I used the toilet. I even almost tripped when the entire planet suddenly went into hyperspeed or something. We—"
"...Thank you, Paige," Aerith sighed and chuckled as Paige started mumbling, "I saw how hard you worked back there when all the trial charade was happening."
"What do you mean? I was useless," Paige also chuckled as she stood closer to Aerith, "But at least I got to know more about your people with all the research I did. I'm… I guess I'm sort of like a themarian expert now?"
"You might be."
"Are you going to be the queen of your people now?"
"..." Aerith was slightly taken aback by the sudden change in Paige's tone. But after a few breaths, she shook her head and looked at her people,
"No, there is someone more suited than me in that crowd," Aerith then pointed at an old woman that stood out from the rest of the crowd.
"...Isn't that Princess Tifa?" Paige could not help but blink a couple of times as she quickly recognized Princess Tifa from the crowd. And if she was right, the people near her were her children,
"I… thought you were only bringing people from the new generation?"
"She's always been someone who pushed for progress. Who do you think has been helping me in the castle?" Aerith chuckled, "Who better to lead an indoctrinated group of people than someone who has been hammered by the very same dated belief, and yet came out still unmolded by it?"
"Are… are you sure?" Paige started to stutter, "Then… are you not staying here?"
"I—"
"Please stay here," Paige did not let Aerith say a single word as she suddenly stood in front of her; covering her view of her people as she looked her straight in the eyes.
"..."
"Take care of your people and be a mother to your son, at least while I am still alive."
"I… already intend to do that," Aerith could not help but squint her eyes, "What are you saying, Paige?"
"I'm going to die 40 or 50 years from now, or maybe even earlier," Paige breathed out, "I know I am being completely selfish, and I know that I can't control what he wants… but I want Riley to stop thinking of you even for just a moment."
"Paige…" Aerith could really only look away from Paige's intense gaze, "Riley and I are never—"
"You and Riley will live for eternity, Aerith. Things can and will develop," Paige shook her head, "All I'm asking is that in a single blink of that eternity…
…let me borrow Riley Ross."
"..."
"..."
And suddenly, everything else was drowned as Aerith could only hear the sound of her heart beating. It didn't last long, however, as the voices of her people once again pierced through the skies.
"I…" An awkward smile then crawled on Aerith's face as she scratched her chin, "I don't really know how to respond to that, Paige. I don't know why everyone thinks there's something between me and him, but there's not—there's never going to be. I'm… more like a babysitter."
"..."
"...Pft," Paige then suddenly burst out in laughter as she waved her hand, "I'm only kidding, Megawoman. I just wanted to divert your thoughts into something else since you might be overwhelmed by all of this."
"Well…" Aerith let out a deep breath as she looked at her people, "...I think you just added some unnecessary things to my mind. But thank you, Paige… really."
"No. Thank you," Paige shook her head as a pair of wings emerged from her back, "I don't really know where we're going from here, but if you want to talk, we're all here for you… okay?"
"..." Aerith could really only smile from Paige's words, "I—"
"And whatever anyone else says here…" And before Aerith could say anything, Paige suddenly embraced her,
"...You did a good job."
"..." Aerith immediately closed her eyes; her tears, trailing down her cheeks as she returned Paige's embrace.
A second.
A minute.
Aerith didn't really know how long they stayed like this, but it didn't really matter—she needed this. And even as Paige flew away, the relief her embrace offered stayed with her.
And as she looked at her people again, her eyes couldn't be any clearer as she finally saw what she should be doing at this moment.
And with a big breath, Aerith let out a thundering roar.
"Gary!"
"!!!"
"Your mother is calling for you, Prince Gary."
"...Huh?"
Gary, who has been talking with Princess Esme ever since he saw her, could really only take in a large gulp as he saw all the people around them looking at him.
"Gary!"
And with Aerith's voice once again reverberating throughout New Theran, Gary quickly turned to look at his mother, who was waving at him from a cliff far away. Gary was slightly stunned at first, but after a few seconds, he quickly rushed and leaped to where she was.
"You… called for me, mo—woah," Gary almost gasped as he finally realized how many themarians were actually surrounding him earlier… and now almost all of their eyes were looking at him.
"Everyone!" Aerith once again raised her voice as she placed her hand on Gary's shoulder, "This is my son, Gary!"
"..." Gary's eyes quickly turned wide as he heard Aerith's voice. Aerith had already announced once that he was her son back on Earth, but this was the first time… this was perhaps the very first time that he truly felt like he was her son.
"As all of you may know, Gary is half themarian," Aerith then sucked in a deep breath as she looked at Gary, "But I want all of you to know that I love him with all of my heart."
"...Mother," Gary could not help but look up as he tried to stop the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes.
"I gave birth to him in the Unknown, with a human from a planet called Earth," Aerith continued to address the people, "You will meet people out there that are very different from us, more fragile, ephemeral. But I know that you will learn to love them as I did…
…and I hope all of you find happiness as I did."
***
"...Did you really mean what you said, mother?"
"Of course."
Aerith and Gary were now away from the eyes of the crowd, casually seated on the ground; with Aerith subconsciously picking the blades of grass around her as she glanced at Gary from time to time.
"I… thought you'd be more focused on me not wanting the throne," Aerith awkwardly chuckled as she looked at Princess Tifa, who replaced Aerith on the cliff as she addressed the people of New Theran.
"I never cared about that, mother," Gary sucked in a deep breath as he shook his head, "I guess I just wanted your attention, to know that I am good enough for you."
"You are," Aerith looked at Gary, "You've always been. I'm… the one who hasn't been good enough. I'm your mother and yet I was barely there for you."
"..." Gary returned his mother's gaze, "Then if I am truly good enough for you…
…when are you going to get rid of Riley?"
Chapter 642"...When are you going to get rid of Riley?"
"That's… not fair, Gary."
Aerith's hand, which was subconsciously pruning the blades of grass around her, finally stopped. She wanted to look at Gary, but for some reason felt her eyes too heavy to move.
"You know what kind of existence Riley is. I'm… the only one in the entire Known Universe that could serve as his—"
"Babysitter, I know. You've said that a hundred times already," Gary breathed out as he stood up from the ground, not looking back at Aerith as he started walking forward; the space between them, once again getting larger.
"Gar—"
"You don't actually believe that, do you?" Gary turned around, shaking his head as he looked at his mother in the eyes, "Diana's as strong as you mother. And I'm sorry to say this straight to your face, but she's definitely the better mother."
"..."
"..."
"...Not the kind of heart-to-heart talk you wanted?" Gary could really only let out a small but very deep sigh as he saw the melancholic expression painted on Aerith's face.
"..."
"..."
"...No, I don't really know what to expect," and finally, after a few breaths of silence, Aerith stood up and returned her son's gaze,
"But it's what I needed. I told you we were going to start anew here, and we are—so I would like to start with the truth."
"..." Gary did not really respond, instead letting his eyes speak for themselves as they did not stray away from Aerith as she walked closer to him.
"A large part of me feels responsible for creating Riley, for creating Darkday. I was too late to save both him and his mother—"
"I know the story, mother. How is that your responsibility!?" Gary stretched his arms to the side, "I'm your responsibility, mother. Me! Your son!"
"And you're not a mass murderer that tortures billions of people, are you!?"
"So, I need to kill billions of people to get your attention!?" Gary raised his voice even louder. "Is that what you want, mother!?"
"I can neutralize you before you could even take your next breath!" Aerith also raised her voice as she stood closer to her son, "That's the difference, Gary! Riley is unstoppable and you need to always be by his side to just hope that you can slow him down! Why can't you understand that concept!?"
"I know everything tends to revolve around Riley, but I was at least hoping that I would be a main character in your life!"
"..."
"..."
The two stared at each other for an entire minute; letting their heavy breaths speak to each other as they just stood there. Soon, however, a small smile started to crawl on both their faces at the same time.
And soon, the smile on their faces turned into chuckles.
"We… we're already arguing like mother and son," Gary covered his face as he prevented himself from bursting into laughter, "Y…you're really really bad at this whole mom thing."
"I know…" Tears also started to fall from Aerith's eyes as she chuckled, "We—I have time to be better, I will be better. We can build a home here."
"I'd… like that, mother," Gary nodded and started walking away, "I'll go now before we fight again. Lots… lots of things to share with these uncultured people."
"Don't teach them about those xianxia stories you keep reading!"
"Too late!"
"..." The smile on Aerith's face did not fade away even as Gary disappeared into the crowd; New Theran truly is a new beginning for all of them, especially for her.
[Princess Aerith, are you available at the moment?]
"...Yes?" Aerith quickly wiped the tears on her face as she heard a familiar voice suddenly whispering in her ears before she could even recover, "Did… you need something from me, Elder Olseyir?"
[I apologize, I know you're busy with speaking to your people. But if it's convenient to you, we need your signature to finalize New Theran as the newest sovereign planet recognized by the Common Council.]
"Already?" Aerith blinked a couple of times as she started looking around, trying to find where the voice was coming from, "I thought you need at least one more authoritative figure to register us in the Codex?"
[We have the Former Elder Tedi, as well as a Guardian overseeing the ceremony. That counts. We're on Pirate Queen Xra's ship, it's more stylish here.]
"...Okay?" Aerith squinted her eyes and nodded, "Should I also bring Queen Tifa? She is still in the midst of her speech, though."
[It's fine, Princess Aerith. You can do it, you deserve to do it.]
"Ha…" Aerith blinked a couple of times as a long and very deep breath escaped her lips. A few seconds after, she disappeared from her spot,
"I'm on my way."
***
"...Hey, they're waiting for you on the bridge."
Aerith entered Xra's ship, and as soon as she did so, an exhausted and seemingly lethargic Hera welcomed her aboard; her arm rested on the wall as she gestured to Aerith to follow her.
"Are… you okay?" Aerith could really only watch as Hera sluggishly walked in front of her; her feet, just sliding on the floor.
"No, I feel sick…" Hera gasped as she wiped the sweat forming on her forehead, "...Sorry I couldn't be down there to see what's up."
"It's… fine," Aerith couldn't help it anymore as she very gently placed Hera's arm on her shoulder, "Are you sure you don't just want to rest?"
"No way," Hera raised her thumb, "I already missed all the happenings below, I'm not going to miss this."
"Alright, it's really not that—"
"Hurry up, don't always keep people waiting for you."
And before Aerith could finish her words, Tomoe suddenly appeared from across the hallway, letting out a scoff as she looked Aerith in the eyes.
"..." This girl truly doesn't like her—is what Aerith thought. But even then, however, Tomoe walked with them all the way to the bridge, even taking Hera off her hands as they stepped inside.
And there, Aerith saw everyone lined up in two straight lines. Xra, her entire crew, and Tedi's hologram on one line; Hannah, Diana, Paige, and then Tomoe and Hera joining them on the other line… almost forming an aisle.
Although she was a little weird with the way everything was set up, she still made her way down the aisle they created. Each of them, nodding their head as she passed by them one by one.
Aerith was only looking ahead, however, as New Theran reflected on her eyes through the giant windows. Their new home was just the size of a baseball from this distance, but it was at its brightest.
Aerith then turned to look at Elder Olseyir, who was at the very end of the aisle; the view of New Theran on her back as her pink robes seemed even longer than before. And then, beside her was Bernard, whose face was completely clean-shaven as he said he would.
And finally, as Aerith reached the end of the aisle and stepped closer to Elder Olseyir, a presence that has been gone and sorely missed since earlier finally showed himself; stepping out from behind Bernard as his pale white skin reflected everything the expanse of space had to offer.
And with a smile, Riley gestured to Aerith to stand before Elder Olseyir.
Chapter 643"Princess Aerith."
Riley stretched his hand, offering his arm to Aerith as he made his way to her.
"..." Aerith, on the other hand, completely ignored him. She just stood in front of Elder Olseyir on her own without saying a word or waiting for Riley.
Riley did not seem to mind, however, as he just smiled and stood beside Aerith. His long white hair was neatly tied at the end, allowing the suit and tie he was wearing to be seen whole.
"...This is your idea, isn't it?" Aerith then quietly whispered as she slightly leaned closer to Riley; her eyes, glancing at the people standing on an aisle behind them, "Very funny."
"No, it is actually Mother's," Riley shook his head, "She has a twisted sense of humor, Aerith."
"Runs in the family."
"I'm adopted. And perhaps you did not notice, the concept is similar to a wedding, Aerith."
"I'm not blind, child."
"And you're the bride and I suppose that makes me the gro—"
"Yes, I know. Why are you even here?"
"Elder Olseyir instructed me to."
"Wh—"
"Everyone!" And as Aerith and Riley were whispering to each other, Elder Olseyir suddenly clapped her hands right in front of their faces.
"..."
"..."
"All of you here stand witness to the registration of the planet New Theran, as well as its people, the Themarians, to the Cosmic Codex," Elder Olseyir then stretched her arms to the side; her pink robes, snapping in the air as she did so,
"The two that stand in front of me and before you have fought long and hard for this achievement to be possible. Their efforts have not been in vain, and have been recognized by the Common Council. And therefore, by the power and authority vested upon me by my fellow Elders and the Elders before us…
…I welcome New Theran and its people to the Known Universe!"
"..."
"..."
"You guys can clap."
"Oh."
"Pft."
Hannah and the others did not know whether to laugh or clap as they watched Elder Olseyir dramatically flailing her robes. Even Aerith, who was previously immersed in the ceremony, was trying her best not to laugh at the sudden awkward silence that happened before them. Perhaps the only one truly clapping was Riley.
"I… apologize," Aerith shook her head as she grabbed Riley's hands, "What… do we do now?"
"It's actually done."
"...What?"
"You just need to place your palm here to complete the registration," Elder Olseyir then retrieved an orb from inside her robes.
"That's it?" Aerith blinked a couple of times as she looked at Elder Olseyir's silvery eyes.
"Yes. There actually isn't a ceremony for this, I just like being extra," Elder Olseyir giggled, "People just come and go to register their planet, renewing it every century or so—or so I was told, I'm new."
"...Right," Aerith could really only let out a loud and deep sigh as she placed her hand on the orb. The smile on her face, however, could not be hidden from anyone on the bridge.
"So… that's that?"
"Hmhm," Elder Olseyir shrugged as she retrieved the orb and hid it back in her robes. A light and subtle light then casually flickered far behind her in the expanse of space—a flashing beam that covered the entirety of New Theran,
"I guess we can go eat now."
"Alright!"
"When did you guys have the time to prepare food?"
"Congratulations again, Princess Aerith. I hope your new world offers your people a better life."
"Wait… What was that?" And while everyone was stepping out of their places, Her feet, planted on the floor as she blinked; her eyes, completely focused on New Theran. And before she could blink again, another flash beamed through New Theran—this time seemingly even more violent. She then turned to see where the beam came from, only to see some sort of ship the size of a planet.
"Was…" Aerith's breaths started to turn heavy; the smile on her face, trembling as it very slowly faded away, "Is… Is that supposed to happen? The light, what was the light?"
"Hm?" Elder Olseyir looked behind her to see what Aerith was pointing to, "What light? Wait…whose ship is that?"
"What's… going on?" Bernard squinted his eyes as he started looking back and forth between the expanse of space outside and Aerith; he was feeling something inside of him, almost as if the Guardian Force was trying to tell him something.
It wasn't only him, Hannah, and the rest of the people that were standing in a line all looked at each other—their breaths, confused.
"Did any of you see that?" Hannah breathed out as she looked at Xra's crew, "What… was that light? It… felt familiar."
"I saw it," Aella, Xra's engineer, raised her hand, "It… it looked like a… beam?"
"...Miss Hera!?"
Everyone then turned their heads toward Paige as she suddenly screamed, only to see her kneeling on the ground—her hand placed on Hera, who was trembling as she groveled on the floor.
And before they could even ask, a troubling whisper echoed in the air.
"Oh no…"
"..." They then quietly turned their heads toward Xra, whose eyes now also trembled as they reflected New Theran.
"Oh…" Xra sucked in a deep breath as the veins on her pale skin started to redden; her fangs, forcefully showing themselves as she continued staring at New Theran. Soon, however, any sort of rage that could be seen from her died down. And instead, she just turned to look at Diana; her eyes that were once completely dead, seemingly filled with life as the blood that trailed from them distortedly reflected Diana's silhouette.
"Caitlain…"
"..." Diana slightly squinted her eyes as she returned Xra's sorrowful gaze; her head, slightly tilted to the side in confusion.
"Caitlain…" Xra repeated, "Don't—"
"NOOO!"
And before Xra could finish her words, a wailing scream thundered through the entire ship, piercing everyone's ears with a cry that seemed filled with anguish and despair.
"M…mom?" Hannah instinctively backed away, flinching as she saw her mother's mouth wide open; tears, gushing out from her reddening eyes. Hannah couldn't even breathe properly; her breaths became gasps as she watched as her mother screamed and embraced herself.
Her fingers, digging through her arms as her wails did not seem to have an end.
"...Mom?" Hannah also started to cry as she wanted to approach her mother—but she couldn't. She wasn't afraid, no. This was the very first time she was seeing her mother like this… and she was completely at a loss as to what to do, "R… Riley? Dad? Wh—"
And before Hannah could finish her words, the entire ship quaked.
"Mom!?"
Diana flew away, ramming through the windows and barriers of the Bloodcruiser as she suddenly flew straight to New Theran; her wails, still echoing even from afar.
"Hannah, stay here!" Bernard's instantly wrapped around him as he quickly chased Diana.
"Put all the ship's energy into the shields!" A pair of bloody wings emerged from Xra's back as she too, flew hastily toward New Theran to chase Diana.
"What…" As for Aerith, her feet were still completely planted on the floor. Her eyes were blinking without stop; her lips, trembling as she whispered, "Riley, what…
…what just happened?"
Chapter 644"Riley, what… what happened? What happened?"
Aerith's voice echoed; not in a sense that it traveled and bounced again and again, no—her whispers repeated themselves, saying over and over again,
"...What happened?"
She asked, and yet no one could really give her an answer. All of them were just petrified by the sudden literal change of atmosphere inside the ship. Just earlier, they were laughing and smiling—with Aerith completely proud of what she had achieved.
They have no idea what was happening, the same as Aerith. Yet with Xra's sorrowful expression, as well as Diana's sudden visceral wails… they could really only assume the worst. It also didn't help that Hera was groveling on the floor; her face completely flushed and drowning with sweat.
"Miss Hera!? Miss Hera!"
Paige tried gently nudging her, but it was almost as if her entire body shut down—she wasn't responding to anything and her eyes were completely empty—and for someone who has the ability to adapt to everything… this wasn't a good sign.
Tomoe summoned a small block of ice in her hands, tearing a piece of her kimono as she tried cooling off Hera by patting her face with it… but she remained completely unresponsive.
[That ship, where did it come from? Why did we not sense it approaching?]
And finally, through all the breaths and whispers of confusion and worry, Tedi's hologram spoke—any emotions, completely gone.
[Aella, you are the ship's engineer, correct? Why did we not sense the ship coming?]
"..."
[Aella!]
"Y… yes!? I'm checking it!" Aella adjusted her glasses; her little legs, rushing toward her console and bringing up the ship's status, "The… Bloodcruiser's radar is down!"
[Why?] The eyes of Tedi's hologram started to flicker as she asked. And before Aella could answer, Tedi's hologram appeared right beside her,
[You turned it off at approximately 3 hours, 12 minutes, and 34 seconds ago, why?]
"We… we turned it off so that it wouldn't repeatedly warn us during the battle earlier," Aella squinted her eyes, "Can… you identify the ship? I'm checking its energy signatures and it's nothing like we've ever encountered before."
[It's already dead,] Tedi shook her head, [I can't detect any systems anymore.]
"What the fuck does that mean?" Hannah, who was also checking in on Hera's condition, stood up and approached the console, "We should just go and follow mom instead of trying to guess for answers!"
[Your father told you to stay here.]
"Fuck that," Hannah glanced at Aerith, who still seemed completely at a loss, "You said it already, that ship or whatever it is is already dead. There's no point in us staying here and guessing!"
"Aella," Vice Captain Alindor also stepped forward, "Take us to New Theran, slowly. Have you confirmed that we can't detect any more power coming from the giant ship?"
"Yes… But the Captain—"
"Is on New Theran," Alindor said as she raised her hand, "Follow our captain. Everyone else, to your stations."
"Aye," Girgo and the other crew members started running around. Even though they don't know if there was still an active threat; just the fact that Xra showed an expression they have never seen before warrants them being on full alert—it also didn't help that Caitlain'Ur's guttural scream still echoed in their ears.
"That ship…" And as New Theran became larger and larger from their view, Elder Olseyir, who has been staring at the planet-sized ship ever since she saw it, started whispering to herself, "...Does it not remind you of the architecture of Elder Worm's people?"
[Elder Skeem?] Tedi's hologram appeared beside Elder Tedi. She then paused for a few seconds as her eyes once again flickered,
[You… are correct,] Tedi nodded, [I have seen Elder Skeem's personal ship, the design schematics matches that giant ship at a 91% match.]
"..." Elder Olseyir blinked a couple of times as she looked at Aerith, "...Aren't Skeem's people specializing in weaponry?"
"..." Aerith lightly gasped as she heard Olseyir's words. Riley, who was standing beside her, just had his head tilted to the side as he stared at Aerith.
[Do not speculate, Elder Olseyir,] Tedi quickly responded as soon as she noticed Aerith's distress worsening by the second, [I will try examining the ship once you land on New Theran.]
"I'm just—"
"Entering New Theran's atmosphere," Aella's voice resounded throughout the entire bridge before Elder Olseyir and Tedi could continue their conversation. And then once again, as they pierce through the skies of New Theran, silence filled the entire bridge.
Except for Aerith, Riley, and Hera, everyone moved to the window to see if New Theran was indeed attacked—but it still looked the same as before, seemingly teeming with life.
And as soon as they got closer and closer to land, they once again saw the entire population of New Theran gathered in one place, more than a hundred million of them.
"..." Hannah and the rest completely kept their silence, however. Their breaths that were turning heavier as they got nearer and nearer were the only sound that resounded through the entire ship.
Their silence, however, almost caused Aerith to cover her ears as her head started shaking on its own. She then turned to look at Paige, only to see her look away from her as soon as their eyes met.
And finally, as the Bloodcruiser made contact with New Theran's ground, Aerith felt her legs lose their strength—almost stumbling to the floor if it weren't for Riley catching her.
"What… what happened?" Aerith then once again asked; her questions, not really directed to anyone but herself. She then lightly pushed Riley away as her feet very slowly made their way to the giant window.
"Megawoman… no," Hannah quickly blocked Aerith's path, grabbing her arm to stop her. But alas, it wasn't as if she wasn't even there as Aerith just continued walking without any resistance, "Tomoe!"
Tomoe summoned a dark wall of ice, even wrapping Aerith's entire lower body with it… but once again, it was almost as if they weren't there in the first place as Aerith just continued walking.
As for Xra's crew and Elder Olseyir, they just quickly made way for Aerith—their eyes, instinctively avoiding hers. And soon, Aerith neared that window…
…only to see her people still celebrating; flying around and having fun.
"Ha…" Aerith's mouth opened on its own as a stuttered breath escaped her throat. And as relief almost snuck into her breaths, her legs finally stopped walking as she noticed something.
With all their faces of joy and celebration… not even a single sound came from them—the only thing that she could really hear was the sound of a familiar scream.
"..." Aerith's eyes… reflected nothing.
"Paige…" Aerith then whispered as she turned to look at Paige, "...Let me see."
"Nh…" Paige bit her lip, shaking her head as her eyes could not stop the tears that wanted to burst forth from them.
"...Paige," Aerith's breath stuttered, "Please… let me see."
"..." Paige looked at Aerith's eyes for a few seconds, before releasing a deep and very long breath—and as the sound of her breath slowly whispered into Aerith's ears, the scenery through the window changed.
The themarians that were freely flying through the skies, gone. The smiles on their faces, almost as if they didn't exist in the first place.
The only thing that reflected Aerith's eyes was death. Her people piled up like a mountain of lifeless dolls.
"This…" Aertih's entire body trembled,
"This… is my fault."
Chapter 645"This… is my fault."
"Aerith… They… might just be unconscious, themarians are the strongest—"
"This is my fault."
Paige wanted to place her hand on Aerith's shoulder, but before she could do so, Aerith suddenly stepped forward—stretching the window and shattering a part of it as she let herself drop to the ground.
"Aerith!" Paige wanted to follow her outside, but the window healed and closed before she could even take a single step, "We… we need to go out there… now!"
And as Paige and the others scurried to rush out of the ship, Aerith's feet landed on New Theran; her knees touching it not even a second later as she lost all strength to even move.
And it wasn't only because of the weight that now drowned her, no—she truly felt heavy.
"...No," Aerith shook her head as she forced herself to look forward; her eyes, reflecting her people. She was no longer asking herself what happened—she knew why.
"What… what have I done?" Aerith tried lifting herself up, only to weakly tumble several steps forward… falling right in front of someone; her face, just inches away from Aerith's.
"...No," Aerith could not help but hold her breath as she quickly recognized the woman—she was one of the women that approached her before all of this happened. Aerith would remember, of course, she would remember her.
She was one of the only handful of women carrying an infant child, a baby.
"No… no…wake up… please wake up," Aerith's lips began to shiver as her tears started to dampen the ground. Aerith wanted to grit her teeth, but all it did was cause them to chitter as she lost control of her jaw.
Aerith then very slowly sat up; her eyes, not leaving the woman's face. The woman was lying face down, her back… slightly arched.
"..." Aerith's entire body trembled as she saw this; her hand, very slowly reaching toward her. Aerith then closed her eyes, before very gently turning the mother over… and as Aerith opened her eyes, she immediately looked away.
Her gasping breaths, now just whimpers—no matter where she looked, she saw everyone looking at her.
"Aerith!"
"..." Aerith felt an arm wrapping around her; her eyes, covered by a hand as Paige embraced her tight. Even then, however, she could still see all of her people looking at her.
Paige seemed to be telling her something, but the silence of her people drowned every other noise that tried to enter her ears.
"Mom…!?" The others also started arriving on the scene, with Hannah quickly flying away as she heard her mother's screams crying from the distance. And there, as she flew over the sea of themarians… she finally realized what truly happened.
Death.
Each and every one of them lay lifeless on the ground. The ones that were flying in the air, piling up and creating hills of corpses that spanned for almost a mile.
"..." Hannah didn't have any words to say as she found herself just literally hovering as she saw her father, as well as Xra standing at the very end of this harrowing sea that she wanted to very badly end.
"...Dad?" Hannah whispered as she quietly landed behind Bernard. She then saw her mother, kneeling on the ground and cradling herself—her mouth was still wide open, but no more screams escaped them, only gasps of anguish.
"..." Hannah could really only approach her mother, embracing her and not letting go until she felt the tremble in her body fade away.
A second.
A minute.
An hour.
Hannah stayed like that for an hour, letting her mother's tears dry on her shoulder as she finally returned her embrace.
"..." Diana then very slowly pulled away and stood up; her swollen eyes, immediately turning to Xra, "...What have you discovered about the ship?"
"..."
"I know your men are updating you right now," Diana breathed out, her voice, exhausted, "What did they say?"
"They—"
[We believe one of the Elders is responsible for this.]
And once again, a much-needed calmness whispered in the air as Tedi's voice vibrated in everyone's ears. Hannah looked up, only to see Tedi covering the view of space—beside her, was the planet-sized ship from which the weird light came from.
[I have examined this behemoth thoroughly, and it resembles the architecture of Elder Skeem's people. It is already destroyed, unable to survive from the power and energy it released—I'm afraid I could not recover any data from it to fully confirm anything at this point.]
"..." A loud squeaking noise whispered in the air as Dian squeezed her hands; blood, dripping from her fists as the ground beneath her feet started to crack, "Are you saying… the Common Council did this?"
[No. But there is a chance that Elder Skeem is involved.]
"Xra, let me borrow your ship," Diana gritted her teeth as she looked at Xra.
"..." Xra only returned Diana's glare, before letting out a small sigh and nodding her head, "We—"
"!!!"
And before Xra could offer an answer, a shriek thundered through the air. Diana did not even hesitate, as she quickly flew toward the voice that penetrated straight deep into her bones.
Hannah and the others also immediately followed, and as they reached where the wailing was loudest—there, they saw a mother clinging to her child.
Not a superhero, not a themarian, not a princess—just a mother.
"..." Hannah could really only gasp and cover her mouth as her feet landed on the ground. They were farther away from the sea of lifeless bodies, making the only thing that she could see was the sorrowful sight in front of her.
"Oh no, no…no," Aerith's tears and snot completely stained her face; her head shaking without pause as she swayed her body back and forth—and in her arms was her son. He was much larger than her; her arms barely even wrapping his entire body… and yet she held him like she was never going to let him go.
"Please… oh, god no…" Aerith placed her lips on Gary's forehead several times as she whispered, "My baby… not my baby. No…no, no, no."
"Gary…" Hannah could really only hold her mother's hand as she looked away from the scenery in front of her. They were surrounded by corpses, and yet it was only now that everything was truly registering in her mind.
"Diana… please, please help."
"Aerith…" Diana couldn't really say anything. Just closing her eyes as she shook her head.
"How… could this happen?" Hannah whispered, "Themarians… themarians aren't supposed to…"
Themarians are not supposed to die this easily, instantly—Hannah did not even need to finish her words as it was already in everyone's minds. For most of them, themarians might as well be immortal.
"It's… me." And almost as if to answer everyone's question…
…Aerith once again whispered.
"It's me…" She said, "I did this."
"No…" Paige slightly raised her voice, "None of this is your fault, Aerith. This is—"
"My fault… it's my fault," Aerith said as she looked at Gary's face, completely peaceful… seemingly just sleeping as she very gently place him on the blades of grass,
"I killed them… I killed my baby."
"Ae—"
"It's my fault…" Aerith repeated as she caressed her son's face, before very slowly turning her eyes toward Diana,
"...I told them how to do this."
Chapter 646"I… told them how to do this to us."
"..."
No one really bothered to say anything, they just watched as Aerith continued to brush her son's cheek—fixing his hair as he just lay there quietly. Gary, and all of the themarians there truly seemed like they were just sleeping.
Their faces were too peaceful, and at any moment, they would all just stand up and laugh, telling everyone that it was just some lame prank. Hannah was actually expecting that, as that was something that Gary would actually do just to garner a laugh.
While it is true that she and Gary may have started to fall out before all of this happened, none of it was his fault. He… was just a young man trying to live up to the name of his mother, even knowing that it was completely impossible.
He was… desperate. And yet even then, he never really gave up. Facing everything head-on, and never really losing sight of what he needed to do. Some people hate him for it, but Hannah always thought that out of all of them, he was the best.
When each and every one of them in the Baby Crew just wanted to end things, he was the one that held them together. He was just always there for everyone—making them laugh with his stupid jokes.
And yet when the time came that they needed him, none of them even noticed he was hurting. He was… alone.
Hannah saw it. And yet she completely ignored him.
No one saw him.
"..." Hannah could really only close her eyes; the tears she wanted to come out, not even being allowed to exist as her entire body started to heat up.
"Who… did this?" Hannah then quietly asked, "What…
…do you mean you told them how to do this, Megawoman?"
***
"Do you expect us to just go along with this, Princess Aerith? Theran has been quiet for a million years, and yet you're telling us not to be surprised that not only did you create a pilotable planet, but you also plan to migrate more than a hundred million of your people to it?"
"Elder Skeem, if I may interject—Elders, I know I am new here. But I fail to see why Her Highness needs to ask permission from us in the first place. As you said, Theran has been quiet for a million years. That also translates that for a million years, they have let all of us play kings and queens. I apologize if my words will offend anyone in the Council, but we are really only allowed to have a Common Council because the themarians let us. Even right now, Princess Aerith could snap our necks—except for Elder Bato, who doesn't have a neck, and Elder Skeem, who is all neck but no bones."
"And is that supposed to make us feel better about the themarians, Elder Olseyir?"
"No one is snapping anyone's neck! Our people are not violent in nature!"
"...But you are a race of warriors. Violence is your nature."
"If I may interject again. Elder Skeem, you are judging a species you know nothing about—for most of us, isn't this our first time actually seeing a themarian in person? Princess Aerith has been nothing but courteous and diplomatic to us. And with respect, your species are the ones specializing in weapons of war."
"We specialize in weapons of war because, without them, we are one of the weakest species in the entire Known Universe. The themarians are the weapons."
"If I may interje—"
"No, you may not!"
Some time ago, while Riley was busy talking with the Ahor Zai, Aerith was busy convincing the Common Council of her plans to migrate the younger part of her population to a pilotable planet.
And as one might expect, the discussion wasn't going anywhere—with Elder Skeem completely adamant about telling his peers that it was a bad idea.
They have been on it for hours, and yet no one could really agree with each other. Elders Apo, S'adar, and the newest Elder, Olseyir, did not really have a problem with what she proposed because as Olseyir said, she shouldn't even be asking for permission.
As for the Grand Elder and Elder Skeem, they both expressed their disagreement—with Skeem being very vocal about it. As for Elder Bato, well… Aerith didn't really know what he was thinking.
"Princess Aerith."
And finally, Elder Skeem and Elder Olseyir stopped debating with each other as the tiny Grand Elder stood up on his throne and spoke,
"As you may already be aware, all of the Elders of the Common Council need to agree for a decision to be considered completely approved. And as only three have agreed to your plans, I am afraid that unless you convince all of us—your people's migration will not be happening."
"May I interj—"
"Elder Olseyir is correct," the Grand Elder did not let Elder Olseyir interject as he raised his hand, gesturing to everyone to shut their mouths, "You had no need to come to us for this and could have just done your plan without advising us, so I do appreciate this meeting. But now that you did come to us—we are, unfortunately, not allowing the migration of your people."
"...And if I still continue what I am doing?" Aerith's tone slightly changed. She was, however, still trying her best to remain calm.
"Then it will be seen as an act of aggression to the entire Common Council, and therefore the entire Known Universe."
"Wait, wait…" Elder Olseyir stood from her seat, "...Why are we trying to intimidate a race of gods!?"
"They are not gods, Elder Olseyir," Elder Skeem also stood up; his robotic limbs, creating a subtle noise to whisper in the air, "There is no reason for us to bow to them!"
"She is not asking us to bow for them! She is just asking for us to not overreact while her people travel across the Universe—which her people should really have the right to do!"
"How are the people not to overreact?" Elder Skeem turned his worm-like head at Aerith, "Even right now, the woman in front of us could clap her hands and everyone here would just vanish along with Ahor Zai."
"So, just because they're unusually strong, we won't—"
"What if we're not?"
And before Elder Olseyir could finish her words, Aerith stepped forward; her sigh loud as she raised her voice.
"What if we're not strong?" Aerith then let out a long and deep breath as she looked at the Grand Elder and Elder Skeem, "In Theran, we have a device we use to exercise and train our bodies, which doubles as a suppressor or a limiter to the… delinquents of our people."
"I… don't think there's a need for—"
"Do not interrupt the Princess, Elder Olseyir," the Grand Elder raised his hand, gesturing to Elder Skeem and Olseyir to sit back down,
"You may continue, Princess Aerith."
"..." Aerith looked at each of the Elders one by one, before once again letting out a sigh and nodding, "It's a device that exhausts our energy, tricking our bodies to exert force uselessly—immobilizing and weakening us. I…
…can share it with the Common Council, in good faith that you won't need to use it against us—because we are not a threat."
"Princess Aerith!" Elder Olseyir once again stood up, "I do not think that is such a good idea—do not trust us with that kind of power. Your people will be in danger."
"I am asking you to trust me, and therefore I will trust all of you," Aerith breathed out, "But now, I will warn all of you—the device won't kill us, it won't even harm us. So, if you're going to use it, please be sure you have a good reason for it… because I won't take it kindly."
"..."
"..."
"This device…" Elder Skeem whispered,
"…what do you call it?"
***
"..."
"..."
"I… don't understand."
And as Aerith finished her story, the only one that broke the silence that came after was Paige.
"I've seen what this… EDP can do, and… and it can't kill any of you. Doesn't this mean that… it's possible that everyone is just sleeping?"
"No."
And before anyone could even ponder or gain even the slightest of hope from Paige's words, Diana's voice whispered to everyone's ears.
"What… have we done, Aerith?" Diana said as she approached Aerith, sitting on the ground so she could look at her eyes at the same level,
"I… should have gone with you," Diana then gently held Aerith's hand, which was caressing Gary's cheek, "I should have gone with you."
"..." Aerith did not really say anything anymore, she just calmly removed Diana's hand and continued to gently caress Gary's face. The only thing that Diana could really do was shake her head… before approaching Elder Olseyir with her eyes filled with red.
"Did you know about this?" Diana calmly said.
"N…no," Elder Olseyir quickly raised her hands, "This… this is genocide, my… my people would die before we ever approve of such an evil action. I—Let me try contacting the Common Council!"
Elder Olseyir then quickly flew away—but Diana did not give chase and instead just once again stared at the death of her people.
"I'll follow her, mother."
The one that did follow, however, was Riley, who had been surprisingly keeping quiet from the start and just looking at Aerith.
"...Make sure she doesn't go anywhere."
"Of course, mother."
Riley took one final glance at Aerith, before flying away and chasing Elder Olseyir into the expanse of space. And there, Riley saw Elder Olseyir talking to herself—well, not really, as she seemed to be truly having a conversation with someone.
"Riley Ross!" Elder Olseyir then quickly removed her hand from her face as she noticed Riley behind her, "I've made contact with the Grand Elder, they said they are investigating Elder Skeem's actions right now! They plan to interrogate him!"
"Was he alone?" Riley asked.
"They… don't know yet," Elder Olseyir's tone seemed like she was on the verge of tears, "Why… why would they even do something like this!? The themarians, they were… we were already teaching them how to acclimate to their new environment and—"
"Elder Olseyir."
"...Yes?" Elder Olseyir could really only blink a couple of times as she saw Riley very slowly floating near her.
"You…" Riley then whispered as he looked Elder Olseyir in the eyes, "You need to stop pretending."
"W—wait," Elder Olseyir raised both of her arms in surrender, "What… what do you mean!? I'm not involved in this, I swear!"
"Elder Olseyir," Riley then placed his hand on Elder Olseyir's shoulder, causing her to flinch, "You…
…have done well."
"..." Elder Olseyir's eyes squinted as she heard Riley's words. But after a few seconds, she let out a sigh and shook her head, "I only did what was asked of me…
…Boss."
Chapter 647"I only did what was asked of me...
…Boss."
Elder Olseyir's silver eyes glistened even without light reflecting on them. And if one were to look, if one were to just truly look—they would notice Riley also reflecting in it. And not just because he was in front of her, no—their eyes were truly similar.
It was the only thing that could be seen from her, the rest were covered by her pink, oversized robes…like a veil filled with mystery.
"Not at all, Elder Olseyir."
Riley tilted his head to the side, floating and circling around Elder Olseyir as he looked at her from head to toe, "I only told you 5 words. M—"
"Turn them hostile against Theran."
"And you did."
"No," Elder Olseyir sighed and shook her head, before letting out a small giggle, "I did nothing, like literally. They were on Aerith's throat from the start, all I needed to do was direct the conversation."
"Perhaps," Riley shrugged as he finally stopped circling Olseyir and floated in front of her, "But you still did everything before and after that."
"Pft," Olseyir's robes started to bounce as she giggled, "All it is was a push. And as always, nothing we did would return to us… because we did nothing."
"Good job, Elder Olseyir," Riley nodded, clearly satisfied with Olseyir's words.
"We are who we are, Boss," Olseyir also nodded, "And as I said, I have only done what You have asked of me."
Elder Olseyir then bowed her head. And if there was a floor to kneel on, she would have probably already done so.
"And?"
"...Boss?" Olseyir then blinked a couple of times as she looked at Riley.
"Who are you, Elder Olseyir?" Riley then said as he very slowly floated back, "May you tell me your story and who you are?"
"I am one of your clones, Boss. Raleerus created me, like many others," Olseyir then raised her hands, very slowly unveiling her robes and revealing her face.
"...Oh?"
She resembled Riley, definitely. To the point that Riley could really only tilt his head, slightly confused at the fact that other than she looked like him, she was nothing like him—she was a woman.
Her face was rounder, softer, her eyebrows thinner and her lips that were smiling were plump and red—as red as the gems attached to the pair of earrings she was wearing.
"Why not just read my memories, Boss?" Olseyir then whispered; her voice, even more feminine than before, "I would be honored to finally once again be a part of you."
"No," Riley quickly shook his head, "You are your own person now, Elder Olseyir—I will not be breaching your privacy. Just tell me more about you, I… am curious as to how you came to be. But please do keep it short."
"Thank you, Boss," Olseyir once again bowed her head, before her eyes strayed toward the endless horizon of the Known Universe,
"I was one of the earliest clones that Raleerus summoned during his rampage. There were only 5 of us from the start, but as Raleerus started regaining his strength—he started summoning more and more until there were hundreds of us. We were scattered, we are scattered throughout the Known Universe."
"And the rest are still rampaging out there?"
"Some of them," Olseyir nodded, "Some of them were like me, however. We killed here and there… but then we got tired and just chose to stay on a single planet to rest for a while. I killed half of the population, and then I started creating my own clones…
…and my own clones started creating their own clones."
"..."
"I know," Olseyir then let out a long and deep sigh before once again giggling, "We sort of took the planet for our own—no, that's exactly what we did."
"..."
"..."
"Oh, are you wondering about this?" Elder Olseyir then took the rest of her robes off, revealing the rest of her body—and as she did so, it was almost as if she took the rest of whatever Riley was left on her.
She… was truly a woman; her skin, as smooth as it was pale.
Elder Olseyir then grabbed her breasts as she looked Riley in the eyes, "My clones treated me like a mother, you know how weird we can be. As to how I became like this, well…the planet we were staying on just happens to be capable of… making changes. So, I decided to change."
"Interesting," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "So, the original inhabitants of the planet—did you make them your slaves?"
"No, we decided to kill them a few weeks after to officially take over the planet," Elder Olseyir sighed and shook her head, "They were sort of getting annoying to keep. And if we wanted the planet to be truly ours, we should be the only ones there—and we named it."
"Tahire," Riley hummed, "That is an anagram of Aerith, is it not?"
"Yes," Elder Olseyir smiled; the edges of her red lips, almost reaching from ear to ear, "And I decided to call our species Biolan—arrange that and you get Albino. So, what do you think? I'm a genius, right?"
"It was stupid, Elder Olseyir," Riley sighed and shook his head, "Aerith might have caught up on that."
"Eh…" Elder Olseyir scoffed as she waved her hand, "...People are too centered on themselves to notice something like that. I assure you, even someone reading on paper wouldn't have made a connection."
"Hm. And then, what happened next after you established your own civilization, Elder Olseyir?"
"Well, we didn't really establish it—we took it over and changed it," Elder Olseyir shrugged, "But after we were fully living a life there, I reached out to the Common Council and introduced myself and the rest of my people. I told them that we were an advanced species that have been watching the events in the Known Universe for a while now, and that we have been watching the Common Council."
"Hm…"
"And I told them that we have access to technology that could not be detected by anything—that is why they don't know about us, we are completely invisible," Olseyir once again giggled, "You should have seen how scared they were. But of course, we don't really have technology like that, it's all just—"
"Telekinesis."
"Hm. As you have always been proud of, Boss—our telekinesis makes everything possible, hm," Olseyir nodded several times as she started covering herself again; her robes, wrapping around her on their own,
"And then, I heard them discussing of Aerith's arrival to Ahor Zai, and I requested them to introduce me there to the Known Universe so that we could meet."
"And we did. I truly do appreciate the surprise. I thought they were keeping Raleerus in Ahor Zai since I detected a clone there, but it was you."
"Hm, and that is where you told me the 5 words."
"Which you dutifully and excellently executed. I once again commend you for a job well done, Elder Olseyir," Riley then started clapping as he looked Olseyir in the eyes, "But may I ask how many… Biolans there are?"
"I don't know anymore, Boss," Olseyir shrugged, before letting out a long and deep sigh, "Due to my clones creating clones, and their clones creating clones—the majority of biolans are too weak already—they are just… normal citizens now. Some do not even have the capacity to use our abilities."
"Interesting," Riley once again placed his hand on his chin.
"And now, it is my turn to congratulate you for a job well done, Boss!" Olseyir then flapped her robes to the side, doing a curtsy as she once again bowed her head, "Just like that, the themarians which greatly hindered your progress to the total annihilation of all life are gone—and the remaining two might even start helping you with your cause."
"Hm, maybe they are not all gone," Riley shook his head.
"Theran?" Olseyir squinted her eyes, "Did you convince the Queen to evacuate her people?"
"I don't know," Riley shrugged, "I just left Professor Riley there."
"Ugh, I hate that guy," Olseyir rolled her eyes, "He thinks he's better than everyone else because he managed to tame a few themarians. Were you aware he was speaking to me and gloating?"
"No," Riley shook his head.
"Pft, once we meet again—I'll show him his place. I'm an Elder of the Common Council, I'm like Diley reborn," Elder Olseyir crossed her arms before she started floating away, "Anyway, shall we head back, Boss?"
"Hm," Riley gestured to Olseyir to go ahead of him.
"...What do you think will happen now, Boss?" And as the two were flying back, Olseyir glanced at Riley.
"Who knows, Elder Olseyir," a small smile then very slowly started to crawl on Riley's face, "I'm just a spectator."
"Oh…" Elder Olseyir's entire body began shivering, "You just gave me the chills, Boss."
And as Elder Olseyir and Riley once again entered New Theran, they were quickly welcomed by the sight of everyone arranging the corpses, making sure no bodies were undignified and stacked up on each other like ants.
"..." And as soon as landed on the ground, he very slowly and gently lifted each of the almost 200 million bodies into the air.
"Shall I bring them to where biological mother is buried, mother?" Riley then said as he looked at Diana. Hannah and the others could really only step to the side as they almost got dizzy from the drowning sight.
"Yes," Diana just quietly nodded her head, letting go of the hand she was holding as she watched them float into the air.
But then… all of a sudden, one of them dropped to the ground.
The Princess of Varoif… barely breathing.
Chapter 648They say that hope often comes unexpectedly from the sky, but no one told them it would be literal. Their hope fell to the ground—well, not really—Diana caught her in her arms before the hope could fall indignantly.
It wasn't hard to identify Esme, she was a giant amongst her people, after all. But now, she looked even bigger than before as Diana wrapped her, refusing to let her go.
"Is… Is she alive?" Hannah also quickly rushed to her mother's side. Usually, the common reaction when seeing Esme up close for the very first time would be a muted shock. But as Esme's silhouette reflected in Hannah's eyes, the only thing that she really did was very gently place a finger near her nose—and there it was, a warmth escaping her body.
"Mom…" Hannah stuttered as she looked at Diana, "She's… I think she's alive."
"Is there anything we can do?" Bernard also landed near them; his armor quickly folding open as he looked at Esme from head to toe, "She… has too little energy for a themarian. Do you think a Guardian Force could fix that?"
"...No," Diana shook her head as she fixed Esme's hair, "The maximum energy a Guardian Force is capable of releasing is not even a quarter of a themarian's. And for her… it wouldn't even be a percent."
Diana closed her eyes; taking in a long and very deep breath to stop herself from releasing the unneeded emotions that were trying to burst through her right now.
She noticed it too, the beam of light. It was brief—instant, even—but Diana still felt something from it as it swallowed New Theran whole.
There were two beams, one was most likely a concentrated version of the EDP, like a bolt of lightning or a taser that completely strained and exhausted their body. For someone of Elder Skeem's intellect and knowledge in weaponry, this was easy to do—he rivaled Bernard in that regard.
That won't kill them, however, just fully incapacitate their bodies. It was the second beam that sent all of them to their eternal deaths—Diana was still quite unsure of what it is yet, but whatever it was, it only affected her people; New Theran seemed completely unscathed. If Diana was right, Elder Skeem had been scanning Aerith the entire time she was on Ahor Zai, studying their physiology.
The second beam was strong—strong enough that a ship the size of a planet could only provide a single shot before it was completely fried. Something like that takes time to build, and the energy it required would be cosmically massive. There really should only be one of them.
When Diana felt it earlier, it reminded her of supernovas… thousands of them exploding at the same time, and yet controlled.
"..." Diana turned to look at Hannah, before once again focusing on Esme. And seeing someone like her like this, barely even breathing… it meant her people didn't have a chance to begin with.
"Will… she live?" Hannah asked.
Diana, however, could really only close her eyes and gently brush Esme's cheek with her hand.
"Princess Esme," Riley, as well as some of the others also started making their way toward Esme; with Riley being extremely careful that Xra couldn't hear his thoughts—this was the reason he had shown himself so little after the battle, he didn't know whether he could calm his mind as he waited for something to happen.
But right now, however, Riley was currently thinking of whether to kill Esme. If she could recover, there was a chance of her releasing a rage that could tear the Known Universe apart—or there was also a chance that she discovers something…and points that rage at him instead.
"Is there a way for her to live after Elder Skeem's brutal attack?" Riley then bluntly said, making sure his voice traveled through Esme's ears. She might be completely unconscious, but it was better to make sure.
"I don't know," Diana shook her head, "I can hook her up in the Room of Revival, but that would require… energy we do not have readily access to. But even then, it will be solely up to her if she lives."
"...Is she in the same state Aerith was in when I hid her in my closet?" Riley tilted his head to the side.
"Yes. She…is refusing to live. She… is so young… this… this is my fault," Diana tried her best to stay calm. But alas, her breaths started to stutter. This was payment, she thought—payment for all the lives she had stripped away early. Her payment for tampering with the natural order of things.
She didn't deserve to cry.
"None of this is your fault, Diana…" And finally, Aerith stood up from the ground; her eyes, still swollen and empty as she looked at Esme, "I… Let's go back to Theran."
"...Why?" Diana's eyes widened as soon as she heard Aerith's words, "There's… there's nothing for us—"
"Please…" Aerith breathed out.
"Aerith," Diana then very gently placed Esme on the ground, before also standing up and looking Aerith in the eyes, "You… might not like what you see."
"I know, Diana…" Aerith shook her head; her voice, stuttering as tears once again trailed down her face, "...I know about the bomb, Riley told me."
"..." Diana blinked a couple of times as she looked at Riley. Did… she tell Riley about the bomb? Diana couldn't really recall if she did—but if not, then how did he know? Xra?
…Queen Adel?
"Diana, please."
"..." Diana closed her eyes. The bomb… should have exploded by now. The only way they could have survived is for Queen Adel to convince her people to leave…but Adel couldn't even convince herself.
"Diana…"
"..." Diana then turned to look at Aerith, before placing her palms together. And as she pulled them apart, a hologram appeared in front of her,
"Anna."
[Yes?]
"Is Tsula alive?"
[She is. She was unconscious for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, but she is awake now.]
"...Anna, take us back to Theran."
***
Diana already expected it—but Theran was truly gone.
The only thing that reflected in front of her eyes was a compressed giant clump of dust, almost completely spherical. She knew what it would look like, but now seeing it in reality, Diana didn't really know what to feel anymore.
The once mighty planet of Theran, now just an indestructible ball.
And just like that…
…themarians have become extinct.
"This…" Hannah once again grabbed her mother's hand—as tight as she could as she noticed her trembling shoulders, "...You can rebuild, mom. This… this isn't the end."
"..."
"Silvie—Silvie is the proof that your people have a future," Hannah stuttered; her words, slightly trembling, "You… you can just create more. Silvie—Silvie is her own person, she—"
"Hannah," Bernard quickly pulled her daughter away. Hannah didn't want to let go, but as she saw her father's shaking head, the only thing she could really do was walk away and let her mother grieve the death of her planet.
But Diana wasn't grieving, no—this was her doing. What she was doing right now… was filling herself with regret.
"I…" And while Diana's eyes were completely clouded, Aerith's, on the other hand, reflected what remained of her home planet clearly in her eyes. A small smile, very slowly crawling on her face,
"...I killed everyone."
Chapter 649"I… killed everyone."
Aerith chuckled. She didn't know why, but the only thing that was escaping her lips right now was a chuckle—she couldn't even get herself to cry anymore. She… wasn't really even blaming herself.
"You didn't kill anyone, Aerith…please, don't believe that."
"..." Aerith only scoffed; the wry smile on her face, not disappearing as she turned to look at Paige, "I can hear it… all of your thoughts."
"...What?" Paige could really only take in a deep breath as she saw the look on Aerith's face.
"I did this… me."
Paige recognized her face instantly—she had seen hundreds of them before back in her orphanage—the look of someone completely lost.
Lost from hope.
…Lost from reality.
And someone like Megawoman—for someone she idolized ever since she was a child, the only thing that Paige could really do was shake her head; trying her best not to cry as she looked away from Aerith.
And it wasn't only her—everyone saw the emptiness in her eyes. It was so clear that they could see the quiet madness building up in them, almost lucid. Even Tomoe, who had been trying her best to force herself to hate Aerith, could not help but close her trembling hands into a fist.
All this time, she tried her best to stay distant from her. After all, Riley had a weird obsession for Aerith—as his subordinate, Tomoe's task right now was to not empathize with the enemy—but she couldn't stop herself.
How could she? When she looks at Aerith now, she doesn't see Megawoman…the only thing she sees is a reflection of who she once was—desperate, alone, clinging to nothing.
…Was she even Riley's subordinate now? He barely even talks to her—and right now, the reason why Tomoe was protecting Hannah is not that Riley ordered her to do so, but because she considered her as her best friend.
Is… it finally time for her to let go of the fantasy? Is it finally time to admit…
…that she was nothing at all for Riley?
"..." Tomoe turned to look at Riley, only to see him minding his own world as the corpses of the themarians floating above them started to fly away.
"You need to make them pay, Megawoman." And perhaps even unknown to herself, she suddenly blurted out something she thought she would never say, "Destroy everyone that is involved in doing this to you."
"...That's right," Hannah looked at Tomoe for a few seconds, before turning to her mother, "You need to do something, mom. Let… let them know that there's a price for—"
"....No," Diana did not let Hannah finish her words as she started stepping away, shaking her head as she returned to Esme's side, "What I need to do is preserve what I can of my people. Let's just…
…go home."
"...Back to Earth?" Hannah blinked a couple of times, "You're just going to run away from this!? They killed your entire people, mom!"
"And your brother and I have done worse than that!" Diana could not help it anymore as she raised her voice—causing almost everyone there to flinch and take a step back, "And everything I have done was for nothing! I spent my entire life trying to save my people and now they are gone! Do you even have any idea how long that is!?"
"Diana…" Bernard grabbed his wife's arm, "...Let's just go home. Let's go home, okay?"
"I'm tired, Bernard… I'm just tired," Diana breathed out as she turned to look at everyone there—and even at Tedi, who was just quietly floating around the ruined Theran, "...And I suggest every one of you go home too."
"I don't think so, Diana."
"C… Captain?"
Xra's crew, who had been quietly just standing behind her and showing their respects, could not help but look at their captain as she suddenly stepped forward.
"I told you, Diana—I will not leave until you resurrect my husband."
"Y—"
"I will just have to follow you back to Earth," Xra did not let Diana finish her words as she turned around and walked away back to her crew, "Alindor, you're the captain now. But it's my ship, so go find your own."
"...No, captain," Alindor quickly shook her head, "We follow where you go."
"We… will? But—R…right, of course."
"I guess I can show you my planet now, Moira."
"..."
And while Xra and her crew were busy discussing with themselves, Diana approached Olseyir, causing her to slightly take another step back; raising both her hands as she said,
"I…I'm not involved in this!"
"Olseyir. That's your name, correct?"
Contrary to her worries, however, Diana's words were calm.
"...Yes?"
"Do the other Elders know that we're still alive?" Diana asked.
"I… don't think so?" Elder Olseyir tilted her head to the side, "From the way the Grand Elder sounded, I think… they believe that all of you are gone."
"Go back to Ahor Zai—tell them we're all dead…you can use my ship to leave."
"..." Elder Olseyir just looked Diana in the eyes, before respectfully bowing her head, "Do not worry, Caitlain'Ur—I will make sure that everyone would know of what they have done."
And with those words, Elder Olseyir flew away; trying her best not to glance at Riley as she did so.
"...What about you, Norinlad?" Diana then turned to look at Tedi.
[I wish to visit your planet and learn what I can, Caitlain'Ur. Riley Ross and I also have a prior engagement—I will follow you to Earth and build my research center near there.]
"...Anna," Diana once again placed her palms together, summoning a map of the universe.
[Yes?]
"Take us ho—"
"What about you, Aerith?"
And before Diana could finish her command, Riley finally opened his mouth as he very slowly made his way toward Aerith—almost repeating the same words her mother said to Tedi.
"..." Aerith didn't really respond. Just standing there even as Riley embraced her from behind in front of everyone; blinking her eyes very slowly as they reflected the ruined Theran.
"Where do you want to go, Aerith?" Riley then rested his head on Aerith's shoulder; his arms, wrapping tightly around her.
"...Riley?" Hannah breathed out—her feet, very slowly and instinctively moving closer to her brother, "...What are you trying to do?"
"..." Aerith then glanced at Riley, before turning to look at Gary's corpse and closing her eyes.
"Riley… don't," Paige took in a small gulp as she started shaking her head.
"Riley, if you leave again, I won't ever forgive you again. Never!" Hannah raised her voice as she rushed toward her brother.
"Riley…" Before she could do so, however, Aerith started to whisper,
"...Just take me away."
"..." And very slowly, a smile started to crawl on Riley's face,
"Of course, Aerith…
…anywhere with you."
***Volume 6: END***
"..."
"..."
Somewhere in the expanse of the universe, freely floating away was a white silhouette—the stars reflected on the pair of glasses he was wearing.
This silhouette then suddenly stopped flying; his long white hair, almost expanding as he turned to look behind him.
"Why did you stop, Riley?"
"I told you to just call me Professor…" Professor Riley's glasses then reflected the woman floating in front of her—and like him, her long golden hair expanded in the darkness, even more so than his. But further that, however, his glasses reflected more silhouettes behind her—a thousand more,
"And I am just getting excited about what Boss' expression would be if he finds out I am siding with you…
…Queen Adel."
***Volume 7: START***
Chapter 650"Shh, quiet."
"You shh, no one's even talking."
"You breathe too loud."
"At least it doesn't stink, you imbecile. Focus."
Somewhere deep inside a sea of trees; the large leaves completely cover the sky, only letting a speck of light persevere and touch the ground. Even then, however, the plants seem to thrive as lush as they could; bushes, even standing meters tall.
And inside those bushes were 4 pairs of eyes that reflected what little light was allowed to live inside the forest. The eyes seemed resolute, none of them blinking for even a single second.
"...Are you sure this is the right spot?"
"I'm sure. Can you just have some patience? Be like the new guy, he's been quiet since we entered the dungeon."
"...The new porter's sort of creepy."
"Shh!"
"You shh!"
The words coming from the owners of the eyes started to mix with the rustle of the bushes; the tiny noise they were creating, whispering through the darkness as they continued to argue endlessly.
Soon, however, as a tiny crack snapped in the air, their voices instantly stopped. Their eyes which were the only things exposed in the bush, now reflecting some sort of large deer.
The deer's eyes shone a bright red; its horns, almost as large as its body as they created a weird pattern similar to that of lightning. But even with these grand features, perhaps the most noticeable thing with the deer was that… it was holding a large bird in its mouth.
The bird still seemed to be alive, as its wings could be seen weekly flapping—but as soon as it did so, the deer violently wagged its head, slamming the large bird on the ground.
"..." The eyes that were hiding in the bush then all looked at each other, before obviously nodding as they once again focused on the deer. And as soon as it started devouring its prey, the owners of the eyes finally revealed themselves as they leaped out of the bushes.
The deer flinched as soon as it heard the sound of footsteps, it quickly turned its head toward the noise…only to find a flash of light blinding it.
"Roan, the feet!"
"You don't have to tell me!"
The 3 people that leaped out from the bush quickly surrounded the stunned deer. The smallest one of the group, Roan, a young man carrying a rope, was the first to rush toward the deer—circling around it as he wrapped the rope around its feet.
The deer tried unraveling itself, but as soon as it took a step forward, Roan pulled the rope.
"!!!" The deer then let out a wailing roar as it tripped violently—its horns, penetrating deep through the ground. It tried pulling itself up; but with its feet bound, the only thing it was doing was trapping itself with its own horns.
"Now!"
And with it trapped, the other two rushed toward it—brandishing and swinging their own weapons at the trapped deer. The largest one of them, a muscular bald man sporting a beard, slammed his hammer that was almost half his size straight on the deer's bound legs.
The deer screamed…but that was it—despite the size of the hammer, it only managed to scrape a skin off the deer's leg. His companions were in the same boat—their spear, and knives, not able to pierce through the deer's hide.
The hunters did not stop, however, as they continued violently swinging their weapons at the deer. None of them stopping…not until the red glow in the deer's eyes started to fade away.
And with the light in its eyes completely gone, two of the hunters quickly stepped back.
The only one that remained near the deer was the one holding the spear; her hands, gripping her weapon tighter as she stepped on the deer's neck. She then took in a deep breath, before stabbing her spear straight into the deer's head—and this time, it was able to pierce through it, even penetrating the ground.
And with that, any movement from the deer disappeared.
"Ha…" The female hunter then quickly backed away, falling to her butt as she let go of her spear; her breaths, as heavy as they could be as she looked at her comrades. The exhaustion on her face did not last long, however, as she raised her thumbs up and smiled.
"Good work, everyone!"
"Alright!"
The other hunters raised their weapons in the air; their cheers, filling the darkness of the forest with joy.
"I told you, it will be here! How many times have I failed you guys!? Zero! Zero!" Roan raised his voice, pointing at his two comrades as he laughed.
"Like… a hundred times?" The woman sitting on the ground once again released a deep breath; wiping her sweat before finally standing up and retrieving her weapon from the deer's head,
"Anyway…" The woman then retrieved something from the small bag attached to her waist—a watch. Not digital, however, but completely analog as the sound coming from it ticked quietly in the air, "We only have a few minutes left, I don't want to get a penalty again. We can barely pay for the inn as it is."
"Wait, our time is up!? We… only hunted one!?" The short man, Roan, clasped his head as he looked at the dead deer, "This is your fault, Bert!"
"How is this my fault when you're the one who got us waiting for an entire hour?" The muscular man, Bert, crossed his arms as he looked at Roan. The two then proceeded to… violently stare at each other before Bert just gave up, sighing and turning his head to look at the female hunter.
"I told you to share a room with us already, Lilly," Bert said, "That will cut our expenses almost in half."
"...You think I'm going to sleep in the same room as you guys?" The female hunter, Lilly, rolled her eyes before turning to look at the tall bush they emerged from,
"It's safe, you can come out now."
"..."
"...I think the new guy is shaking in his boots," Roan smirked, "For someone that looks like a ghost, I didn't expect him to be scared that easily."
"Can you shut up? Do you want to carry this thing yourself?" Lilly once again rolled her eyes.
"Just let Bert carry it, what else is he going to use all that muscle for!?"
"Then you carry my hammer," Bert clicked his tongue, "Then make sure to protect me when a monster jumps out. There's a reason we have porters, you little runt."
"What did you call me!?"
"And you're the reason why the last one quit in the first place! You—"
And before the two men could start arguing, the last one of their group finally stepped out of the bushes—clapping his hands as he looked at the three hunters one by one.
"Good work, everyone," the man then smiled; the ends of his lips, almost reaching his ears as he was revealed by what little light seeped into the forest, "I'll handle it from here so you can relax."
The man was covered in a cloak—but even then, his pale white face could be seen clearly; his white hair, too long to be contained inside the garment.
"...I told you he was creepy as hell," Roan sneakily approached Bert and Lilly, "...What was his name again?"
"I can agree with you on that."
"He was the only porter available. I… don't really remember his name."
Bert, as well as Lilly, whispered to each other as they stepped away from the carcass, making way for their white-haired porter as he walked toward the dead deer.
"...Are you sure you're a porter?" Roan squinted his eyes as he looked up at their porter, "Why didn't you even bring a cart…or a bag, for that matter? Where are you even going to—"
And before Roan could finish his words, the white-haired porter grabbed the large deer by its horns…very gently lifting it and throwing it over his shoulder.
"...Shall we go?" The porter then casually nodded, before gesturing to the three to lead the way.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Everyone?"
"Y…Yes," Lilly blinked a couple of times, before grabbing her spear from the ground and gesturing to her comrades to move. Roan and Bert, however, looked at each other for a few seconds before proceeding to walk ahead.
"...Can you lift that deer with one hand?" Roan whispered as he walked closely to Bert.
"I can…" Bert nodded as he glanced back at the porter, "...But look at him and look at me."
"I don't know… he might be more muscular than you inside that cloak."
"Well, he's definitely taller than you."
"The fuck you say!?"
"Guys, come on… stop embarrassing us," Lilly, who was leading the way, once again rolled her eyes as she glanced at her comrades, "This is the reason why our last porter left, he was frustrated from hearing the two of you talk shit."
"Tell that to the big guy."
"You—"
"Shh!"
"You shh!"
Even with Lilly's warnings, the two continued to argue with each other—with Lilly even joining in. It wasn't until they reached some sort of fiery ring of fire that they stopped arguing.
The ring was hovering inches above the ground, wide and large enough to fit perhaps a group of people—and within that ring, one could see a view that was completely different from the rest of the forest.
"You guys, shut up," Lilly sighed as she stopped in front of this ring, "Let me talk to the handlers first and negotiate—"
"The last one pays for dinner!"
And before Lilly could finish her words, Roan suddenly rushed past her—running through the ring… and just completely disappearing.
"..." Lilly and Bert then looked at each other—with Bert shaking his head. He seemed to want to say something, but alas… Lilly suddenly moved and ran through the ring.
"Damn it!" Bert stretched his hand to try and stop Lilly, but alas… he was the last of the three to pass through the portal.
"..." The white-haired porter, who was left carrying the deer, did not immediately follow the three out, and instead slowly turned around. And there, he saw 3 other deer that looked just like the one he was carrying—their red glowing eyes, staring at him as smoke fumed from their throbbing noses.
"Hello," the porter tilted his head to the side, returning the deer's stares as he very slowly stepped toward them. As soon as he did so, however, the three deer all turned around, quickly trotting away.
But before they could disappear into the bushes… all of them suddenly and instantly turned into a mist of blood.
"Hm. Animals are still scared of me…
…I wonder why?"
And with those words, the white-haired porter also disappeared into the portal.
Chapter 651"Extend your time? But you've been inside the dungeon for half a day!"
"We…we've only hunted one monster."
"What!? You've been there half a day! You—and you only hunted an Elderdeer!? That's just a Level 2 Beast!"
Beasts. Since the dawn of the World of Arlusia, Beasts have roamed free throughout its lands. But these Beasts truly aren't welcome in Arlusia, however, as they come from a completely different place…another world.
They come from portals unannounced, bringing chaos to the land; destroying nature itself, killing and devouring all the native inhabitants they could see. It wasn't until the age of men that the world was able to see even a semblance of order—and with the birth of the Hunters, they began to achieve balance.
The Hunters, as their name entails, hunt the monsters directly in the other world. entering through the portals and eradicating all the threats before they could wreak havoc in Arlusia. In short, they were specialized attack teams.
The world through the portals is also filled with all sorts of treasures; like an abandoned Dungeon—sometimes literally, as some of the portals lead through crypts.
These Dungeons, however, never truly disappear. They will fade when the monsters inside it are all cleared, but they always return as the monsters seem to… replenish their numbers in random amounts of time.
Arlusia's civilization centered around hunting monsters, as well as learning about them and the Dungeons. But truly, there wasn't much to learn—the scholars of the world just treat it similar to most things Arlusia, magical in nature.
As for the rest of the people, they just like dealing with the monsters with their swords and spells. This is the way of life in Arlusia.
Arlusia and the people in it, however, had no idea that another beast was in their midst—the greatest monster in the Universe, Known and Unknown.
An evil calamity called Riley Ross.
"..." And this evil calamity, right now, quietly steps out of the dungeon; carrying an Elderdeer on his shoulders. His eyes reflected the horizons of Arlusia, a lush field of grass for miles on end, almost reflecting the blue sky above it. Of course, this was just a single part of the lively world.
Riley then started approaching the team he was with; as soon as he did so, however, he noticed someone pointing at him—a balding middle-aged man.
"I was wondering why your porter didn't bring a cart, or even a bag…" The balding middle-aged man was talking to Lilly—no, not really talking—perhaps sermon was the right word,
"...It turns out he probably knows your party is incompetent!"
"Hey, I have had enough of you! Why don't you just do your job as a Handler!?"
"..." Riley then quietly watched as Roan rushed toward the handler, only to be pulled away by Bert like some sort of puppy; not the cute kind.
"Stop it," Bert said; his voice and eyes, however, were clearly hostile as they directed them to the handler.
"Tch," the handler, of course, did not take this lightly as he grabbed the large book hanging on his leather belt.
"Leville Party. 1 Elderdeer. Completion time, 12 hours," the handler then scoffed as he started writing on the book. And while he was doing so, the other hunters that were in the area started chuckling.
Roan could really only grit his teeth as he heard them; gripping his fists as he looked to the side. As the team's tracker, he knew it was his fault that they even take this long just to hunt a single monster.
"Let's just go…" Bert sighed, placing his hand on Roan's shoulder as he quickly noticed the expression painted on his face.
"Porter," Bert then said as he gestured to Riley, "Put the monster in our cart. We… apologize that we only hunted one, I know how hard this is for you guys too."
"It is fine, Mr. Bert. It is my fault that you were not able to hunt more," Riley shook his head as he walked toward the team's cart.
"...What?" Bert could not help but let out a wry chuckle as he heard Riley's words, "How is that your fault?"
"..." Riley did not really answer as he just carefully placed the elderdeer on the Leville party's cart. It is indeed his fault—the only reason Roan had a harder time tracking the monsters is because of him—the animals could always feel and sense Riley as he is.
"This is actually my very first time working as a Porter, Mr. Bert," Riley then said as he shook his head, "I should perhaps thank you for easing me into it slowly."
"Huh…" Bert squinted his eyes, "...You're alright, kid. I'd like to work with you again if ever you're available."
"..." Riley looked at Bert's hand as he stretched it toward him. He stared at it for a few seconds, before shaking it and subtly smiling at him, "Of course, Mr. Bert."
"And don't mind the shorty, he's always been like that."
"Hm," Riley just nodded before making his way to the handler, who still seemed busy ridiculing or perhaps teasing Lilly with their incompetent hunt time.
"Can you just pull some of our time? It… won't do well on our record," Lina meekly said, "Come on, don't act like we didn't help you before."
"What did you—"
"Mr. Handler."
And before the handler could start berating Lilly again, Riley approached the two.
"I would like to get my commission now, Mr. Handler," Riley calmly said as he stood between him and Lilly, "I heard that I could get it from you directly so I won't have to travel to—"
"I don't have your commission." And before Riley could finish his words, the handler scoffed and waved his hand, "Go to the nearest guild branch if you want to get your money."
"But I was told that—"
"I don't have your money," the handler smirked as he once again opened his logbook, "Do you want me to record this in—"
"!!!"
"No." And before the handler could even get his pen… Riley suddenly grabbed his hand.
Chapter 652"No."
"L…let go of my hand!"
Handlers. As their name suggests, they handle everything regarding the dungeons and hunters—they are like managers, in a sense, but they work for the public. As just being beside a dungeon portal was already dangerous, Handlers are almost usually also hunters.
They were, of course, weaker than the average hunter as they deal more with the logistics of things—but even then, they should be stronger than normal people—in this case, a Porter.
Some Porters are of course, also hunters. Just some, however, as the reason they were Porters in the first place was that they couldn't become Hunters.
And so, following that logic, the handler should be stronger than Riley. So, why…?
Why couldn't he even pull his hand away as Riley grabbed his wrist?
"I said, let go of—"
"Okay."
And before the handler could finish his words, Riley let go of his hand.
"But please don't put anything on your book about me, Mr. Handler," Riley said as a small smile crawled on his face, "I'll go to the nearest guild branch as you advised me to."
"F…fine," the handler could really only clear his throat as he closed his book, "Go away before I change my mind. I swear, you newbies think you're actually entitled to something. You shouldn't even be paid for your first job! This is training, training!"
"Hm," Riley only nodded, before stepping back and walking away. And as soon as he did so, the other hunters watching the commotion once again snickered; shaking their heads as they looked at the handler.
"Why are you bullying newbies again, Astor? You know we're in short supply of porters already."
"Tch, porters are a waste of money," the handler shook his head, "They should just give their payments to us for handling all this shit."
"Yeah, yeah. So… where are you going to spend the money that was supposed to be for him?"
The handler and the others tried to whisper, but their voices could still clearly reach Riley's ears. He does nothing, however; just staring at the handler's face, as well as the other hunters one by one…memorizing their faces.
"You should have a commission," Lilly, who was previously talking to the handler, walked beside Riley.
"That fucker's probably gonna spend it on mead," Roan also joined in, clicking his tongue several times, "If you need money, I can let you borrow some."
"It's fine. I truly appreciate the offer, everyone," Riley just nodded, however, as he made his way to a giant bird that was tied to a nearby log, "Let us see each other again if you book me, Leville party."
The giant bird was similar to the one in the mouth of the elderdeer that they hunted. It looked similar to an ostrich, except its muscles and bones were obviously much thicker. And as Riley climbed on it, its fluffiness was also made obvious as his legs almost disappeared into its tuft.
"Wait, don't you want to join us!?" Roan raised his voice, "We usually have a drink after a successful hunt!"
"Then, I suppose you won't be drinking, Mr. Roan," Riley calmly said as he pulled the reins and turned the bird around; the bird's legs, trembling for some reason,
"I also do not drink, thank you for the offer."
"Wh—"
And before Roan could even say another word, the bird almost leaped into the air as it rushed to get away; which was definitely weird, as those birds couldn't really fly.
"Did… that guy just diss me?" Roan could really only watch as Riley very slowly disappeared into the horizon; the dust left by the bird's feet as it ran as fast as it could, leaving a trail.
"Just let it go," Bert chuckled as he patted Roan's shoulder, "I like him, we should get him again next time. What do you think, boss?"
"I guess," Lilly just shrugged, "I think the guy's probably also a hunter, though. Did you see how effortless he made it look when he carried the elderdeer?"
"Yeah.." Bert nodded as he scratched his beard, "...it was as if he was just carrying Roan."
"True, lighter than a sack of hay."
"...What the fuck, guys?"
***
The World of Arlusia.
The only way that Riley could describe it was that it was… empty. Not in a way that makes its fields desolate, no. In fact, its fields were very much alive—but that was it. Arlusia was filled with fields.
Fields of grass, fields of sand, fields of snow—vast. The trees were sparse, the rocks were sparse, making the world relatively… flat.
And as he rode his mount; feeling the wind hitting his face, it felt somewhat freeing. If he gets rid of everyone, then wouldn't he feel like this all the time?
Riley just allowed the large bird between his legs to take him to his destination. He even let go of the reins as he stretched his arms to the side—his cloak, flailing along with the wind along with his long white hair; some parts of it, braided.
And a few hours later, he reached a city. The entire city was surrounded by a thick defensive wall; perfectly circling around it to protect it from all sides—and of course, a gate to match it.
The gate, however, was completely open for everyone to enter and leave as they wished.
"..." Riley quickly got off his mount as soon as he reached the gate. Pulling it by its reins as he walked through the gates, casually nodding to the guards that were stationed there.
And as Riley walked through the streets of the city of Arunafelt, the world's culture quickly reflected in his eyes. There were stalls everywhere, selling all sorts of trinkets and monster parts on the side.
There were also people walking around, blatantly showing their large weapons as they casually traverse the busy street; no one cared, however, as everyone just went on about their days.
Riley also just casually walked—but most of the eyes, however, were on him as they saw his exaggeratedly white complexion and hair. Riley continued to make his way deeper into the city, only stopping as he reached a certain building.
"..." He then turned to look at his mount. And as soon as it did so, the giant bird flinched… before quickly moving to the stables at the side of the building and locking itself in it.
"Hm…" Riley nodded to himself, before finally entering the building; pushing its doors open as he stepped inside. And as soon as he did so, the men and women that were minding their own business at their tables all turned their heads at him.
"..." Riley, on the other hand, didn't even bother looking at any of them as he just turned to look at a specific table that was on the corner of the tavern—and there, he saw several men surrounding a certain table—bringing their own chair as they seemed to be talking to the woman that was sitting alone by herself there.
And finally, Riley's eyes that have been calm since earlier started to squint.
"Excuse me, everyone," Riley then calmly said as he approached the table,
"Do any of you have business with Aerith?"
Chapter 653"Who… the fuck are you?"
"Riley Ross, and the woman you are trying to talk to is with me."
Riley continued to approach the table; not bothering that most of the eyes in the tavern were now looking at him. And as soon as he took off his hood, the eyes that weren't bothering with him could not help but just stare.
Some could not even help but just utter 'Ghost'.
They weren't as shocked as one might expect, however, as there were people that looked like Riley in the world of Arlusia—but all of them lived North, surrounded by nothing but a sea of ice and freezing death.
They rarely, if at all, visit other nations due to their body being weak to the summer heat.
"Did you need something from her?" Riley then said; smiling as he stood beside Aerith, who was just quietly sitting at the table. She looked at Riley, but didn't really say anything and just looked away after just a glance.
"If you do not, then I would appreciate it if you leave us," Riley said as he looked at the man standing closest to Aerith, staring him in the eyes.
"Why would we leave?" The fat man immediately stood up straight as he returned Riley's glare, "And how do we even know that she is with—"
"Oi!"
And before the fat man could finish his words, a large wok suddenly flew straight to his head,
"Leave the two be!" A deafening yell then echoed throughout the entire tavern, causing everyone that was watching the scenario unfold to flinch and quickly look away. The loud voice, as well as the wok that hit the fat man, came from the same source—the muscular old woman that was serving drinks behind the counter…and she wasn't done.
"I get new two paying customers and you guys and go bother them!?" The innkeeper continued to scream, "Erik! Do you know how long your tab is already, and you're trying to shoo away paying customers!? Those two booked a room for an entire month!"
"F…fine," the fat man, as well as his peers could really only just walk away before the innkeeper's words reached the entire city. The fat man, however, could not help but furrow his eyebrows as he noticed Riley's eyes following him even as he left,
"What are you looking at?" The fat man clicked his tongue as he glared at Riley.
"Oh, Nothing," Riley, however, just shook his head before taking a seat next to Aerith.
"Milk for you, and tea from the East for the beautiful lady, right?"
And not even a second later, the innkeeper was already placing drinks on their table.
"Thank you, Natalie."
"...Riight," the innkeeper, Natalie, squinted and nodded as she looked at the two back and forth, "I know I told the guys to mind their own business, but you really shouldn't leave your wife alone here. She's just been sitting here for an entire day."
"Oh, she's not my wife," Riley let out a small chuckle as he took a sip of the milk.
"...But you said you were her lover?"
"I am."
"...I don't really know what you young ones are up to these days," Natalie only sighed, "But my point stands, don't just leave her here. If she's ill, she should be staying in your room… lots of nasty guys around here."
"Thank you, Natalie."
"Hm…" And with a small grunt, Natalie just waved her hand and returned to her counter.
"She's very kind, no?" Riley then immediately chuckled as he looked at Aerith, "Also, I think we can stay in this city for a while, Aerith. I managed to secure a job as a Porter."
"..." Aerith didn't respond and just took a sip of her tea. Her eyes weren't empty or blank at all; but aside from just small glances, her lips remains sealed.
"I know," Riley, however, didn't seem to mind as he even seemed to be having a conversation, "This world is too weird. Perhaps we're in a different universe? I did touch the plaque similar to what Tedi showed me."
"..."
"It makes sense, no?" Riley sighed as he continued to talk to the silent Aerith, "We've been here for an entire year, and yet no one has come to hunt us."
"..."
"What was that?" Riley chuckled, "Yes. I remember how Elder Skeem died too, it was funny. I did not really think that salt would melt his body that way."
"..."
"I know," Riley then sighed as he shook his head, "I have already killed billions of people, and I even executed Elder Zora. And yet it wasn't until I bathed Elder Skeem and his entire people with salt that they made a task force solely to hunt me."
"..." Aerith once again just glanced at Riley.
"Do you miss them? I am trying to find a way back, but without your ship, we will just be roaming around an unknown part of the Universe for hundreds of years…
…sister and the others would be gone by then, Aerith."
"..."
The people in the tavern could really only look at each other as they hear Riley's words. Although they didn't understand any of Riley's words, they were sure that it wasn't the language of the people from the North.
…There was also the fact that he was just talking to himself.
One doesn't speak, and one has conversations with himself. Were these two… crazy?
"These dungeons are weird too. It feels like—"
And before Riley could continue his… conversation, Aerith sighed as he suddenly stood up from her seat and walked away.
"..." Riley didn't really seem to think much of it, however, as he just followed her as she went up the stairs and straight to their room. Like what one might expect from an inn with a tavern below, the inside of the room was quite scarce—with only a single bed, a table, a chair, and a single window with a view of the busy streets outside.
Aerith didn't really go anywhere else, as she just quickly lay herself down on the bed; covering herself with the blankets and completely ignoring Riley's presence.
"..." As for Riley, he just looked at her for a few seconds, before sitting next to the window and reading a book that was resting on the chair. The pages of the book were slightly crumpled; perhaps a testament to how many times Riley has read it already.
"..." And as Riley was reading the book, he once again glanced at Aerith.
'Just take me away'---those were the last words that Riley has heard from Aerith…
…5 years ago.
Chapter 6545 years.
That was the last time Aerith has ever spoken to him.
Riley had done all sorts of evil things while dragging Aerith along with him, and yet at that time, not even a single word escaped from her lips. She refuses to speak with him or to any other people, not even once.
Riley thought she would stop him when he massacred Elder Skeem and his entire people, but no—she just watched.
He also went back to Ahor Zai and tortured the Grand Elder; broadcasting it to the entire Known Universe, and yet Aerith remained silent.
And now, even as they were teleported to this mysterious planet—Aerith refused to speak. Even as their ship disappeared, making them officially lost—Aerith's voice has never once again graced Riley's ears.
"Do you want to die, Aerith?" Riley then breathed out, "If you do, then just tell me and I will join you after killing you. Anywhere with you, Aerith."
"..." Aerith finally moved from the bed as she glanced at Riley, looking him straight in the eyes. Her lips seemed to quiver, but before they could open, she just once again lay down on the bed and covered herself with blankets.
"Okay," Riley then sighed as he just returned to reading his book, "Maybe next time, Aerith."
"..."
Riley then stayed like that for hours, not moving even as the sun set. But as the once-populated city was veiled in darkness, Riley stood up and closed his book.
"I am going to kill someone again tonight, Aerith," Riley then whispered as he removed his cloak—revealing that dark suit hiding beneath it, "You are free to stop me anytime you want to."
"..."
"..."
Riley waited for Aerith to respond; even just a glance, but even after an entire hour, she remained still.
And so, with a small breath and a nod, Riley just casually leaped out of the window.
"..."
"...Huk."
And as soon as he was gone, the sound of a tear quietly falling whispered through the room.
***
"Drinks are on me!"
Somewhere in the city, in a different tavern, the handler that managed the party that Riley was with earlier was celebrating. His joyful voice, thundering through the entire bar as he waved a mug filled with mead.
"Jerry, just how many fees did you manage to steal this time!?"
"Steal!? What steal!?" The handler, Jerry, pointed his mug at his friend as he heard his words, "This belongs to me in the first place! Do you know how much they are paying handlers these days? Nothing! These Porters are even getting paid more than us now!"
"Oh boy, here he goes again."
"Why…"
"No, no. Please don't ask him aga—"
"Why don't you just become a Porter, then?"
"What did you just fucking say to me!?" Jerry dropped his mug on the ground as he violently pointed at the one that asked him the question, "Did you just say I should become a Porter!?"
"Fuck… you just had to ask him."
"More drinks for us if his mouth is tired from shouting."
"Porter!?" Jerry then stood up, stepping on his chair as he pointed at each of the people that were inside the bar, "You think I am going to risk my life inside a dungeon!? I have a wife and kids! A wife and kids!"
"Then doesn't it make sense that porters get paid more than you?" His friends started giggling as they teased Jerry some more.
"Huwhat!?" Jerry's saliva started flying everywhere as he clasped his head in frustration, "The Porters just lift and carry monsters! I do everything!"
"But you just stand outside Portals and—"
"I will kill you, you bas—eugh!"
"Fuck!"
"Jerry! Are you puking on my tables again!?"
"No, I'm not!" Jerry quickly wiped his mouth as he rushed away; his friends, just sighing and shaking their heads as they watched him almost tumble his way outside.
"That guy is corrupt as hell."
"...Aren't you doing the same?"
"Fuck yes, these Porters think they can get paid more than us!? Drink, just drink, and spend the Porters' money!"
"To Handlers!"
And while his friends and the other people in the bar continued to sing and celebrate with his money, Jerry was almost groveling near the stables; his vomit, being pecked and eaten by the birds that were parked there.
"Ugh, go away…" Jerry pushed the head of the bird away—only for the bird to slam its head toward him, causing him to fall on his butt.
"Ah, fuck… why am I so unlucky and underpaid!?" Jerry then groaned as he tried getting up; but alas, he was too intoxicated to even lift himself up from the dirty ground filled with dried-up vomit.
And so, the only thing he could really do was just let himself fall there—laying down as he looked at the stars above him.
"...Why am I so miserable?" Jerry then let out a long and deep breath; tears, trailing down his eyes. He quickly wiped his face, however, as he retrieved something from his chest pocket—a small painting.
"For you two…" Jerry then smiled as he looked at the painting of his wife and daughter, "...Daddy will work even harder. Just wait for me to come—hm?"
And before Jerry could finish his words, he felt a shadow veiling over him; completely covering the beautiful stars and moon that illuminated his resolve.
"What the…" Jerry then quickly returned the portrait to his chest, before looking at the person blocking his light.
"You… aren't you the newbie from earlier?" Jerry squinted his eyes as he saw the crawling smile on the man's face.
"Yes…
…I'm here to get what you owe me, Mr. Handler."
***
"Aerith, I am going to leave for work. Okay? I left some money on the table, you can just spend it however you want."
"..."
"Don't worry, I didn't kill the one who I got that money from. He gave it to me—It's clean, Aerith."
The next morning, Riley was once again covered in a cloak—with only his abnormally pale white face exposed to the world. As for Aerith, she was just sitting on the bed, cradling herself as her cheek rested on her knee.
"...I'll be back, Aerith." And even as Aerith completely ignored him, Riley still smiled as he left. And surprisingly, the tavern was completely empty; with even the innkeeper absent from her counter.
"Oh… I was hoping for a glass of milk," Riley could really only sigh as he made his way out of the tavern; before he could step out, however, the door in front of him opened, with the innkeeper almost screaming in shock as she saw Riley.
"...Fuck! Stop startling people like that!"
"...I'm not."
"Shit…" The innkeeper grabbed her chest as she tried to recover her breaths, "...Anyway, sorry. No food this morning, it's chaos outside and no one's selling anything."
"Oh, what happened?"
"See for yourself," the innkeeper breathed out, "Everyone's talking about it."
"..." Riley just looked at the innkeeper for a few seconds, before nodding his head and stepping out of the tavern. As soon as he did so, however, he saw a lot of people running and walking by; all of them, whispering loudly to each other.
"I heard he was drunk."
"I knew it, they should start banning alcohol in this city."
"You really think he did it?"
"I heard he hung himself after doing that."
"Fuck, who wouldn't? Have you seen the bodies? They were torn apart… that poor baby."
"I wonder what possessed him…
…to massacre his own family like that."
Chapter 655"Oh my, why would he do such a thing?"
"Really, what possesses a man to murder his own family?"
"Oh, fuck. I know that man. He was in the bar last night complaining about being underpaid. He's… a Handler, I think?"
"...A Handler? Why would he kill himself if he has such a good job? They barely do anything and still get paid, I heard most of them are pocketing money too."
"Shh, it's not good to insult the dead."
"I'll insult him as much as I want. Have you seen the bodies? I heard there was a little girl, that poor baby."
Somewhere in the city of Arunafelt, a large crowd was gathered in front of a house; completely blocking the wide street as everyone just stopped to see what the commotion was about. But of course, it was a small city—everyone gathered here already knew what was happening; they just wanted to see.
"Look, they are bringing them out now!"
"Move, I—I can't see!"
"Where—oh… what the fuck."
"...Hm," Riley was also there, blending in with the others as they watched as the city guards dragged what was left of the family. They were covered by hay or cloth; but even then, it was obvious what was underneath.
The crowd was told that the mother and daughter's corpse were completely mangled, but they didn't expect they would see two stretchers covered in cloth that seemed to just have a lump of meat inside.
And soon, they saw a stretcher that was cleaner than the first two being carried outside the house—and without being allowed to be dragged away, the people started whispering louder and louder, until their words became shouts of disdain and disgust.
"...Oh," as for Riley, he couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as he realized something—he returned to the scene of the crime. He had read and watched many documentaries about murders and serial killers returning to their so-called 'murder site', but he never thought he would do it himself.
After all, back on Earth…there was almost never a place where it wouldn't be considered as his murder site. And now that he was here witnessing his crime scene firsthand just hours after it happened, it sort of feels… fun.
"Pft."
"..."
And as soon as he couldn't contain the chuckle from escaping his lips, the people around him started backing away from him; their eyes, looking at Riley from head to toe, wondering where this weird guy suddenly popped out from.
As for Riley, he just nodded to the people and left—after all, he didn't want to garner attention to himself right in front of his murder site. And so, he quickly made his way to the city's Hunter's Guild.
When he first entered the guild, there were a lot of eyes on him; judging his every step as he made his way to the counter to register as a Porter. But today, everyone was just busy talking at their own tables. It would seem that even here, the news of the murder reached—but then again, a member of the guild was involved.
"Ah, Riley! Here!"
"..." And before Riley could even make his way to the counter to accept a job, Lilly of the Leville party waved at him—calling him to join them at their table.
"..." Riley looked at them for a few seconds, before proceeding to just make his way to the counter and ignoring them.
"W—Riley! We already booked you as our Porter today!" Lilly stood up from her seat, her decently-sized bosoms, slightly jiggling and causing Roan to nod his head several times.
"..." Riley then once again turned to look at the Leville party's table, before bowing his head and making his way to them—and seeing as there was already an extra chair there, it would seem they truly were expecting Riley.
"So… have you heard?" Roan then quickly leaned closer to him and whispered, "The handler that took your money is dead. Turns out the guy murdered his family."
"I am aware, Roan," Riley nodded, "May I ask what quest you accepted, Leville party?"
"Let's discuss that later. We should talk more about the handl—Agh!"
"I'm sure he's had enough listening to that," Bert lightly hit Roan's head.
"Right," Lilly didn't really have a chance to take another seat as she nodded, "Let's just discuss this on the way, we're already constrained in time as it—"
"Last one to the carriage buys dinner later!"
"!!!"
And before Riley could even figure out what was going on, Roan, Bert, and Lilly rushed out of the guild… leaving him there alone.
***
"The last one was also a shared dungeon, correct?"
"Y…yes. We're just a 1-Star team, so we can only accept the lowest dungeons."
The noise coming from the wheels of the cart; the trotting of the birds' feet, and even the wind were completely drowned by the sound of the sighs of the Leville party.
Even Riley, who wasn't riding on the cart, could hear their sighs more than the gallops of his mount.
"None of us know any magic, so we can really only rely on getting stronger but…" Lilly continued to sigh as she lay her back on the cart bed; her brown eyes, squinting as the light of the sky reflected on them, "...we can't hunt enough to even get a whiff of power stones. Everything goes to the guild."
"We have been trying to rank up so we can have access to dungeons with more monsters, but as you already know…" Bert also sighed; his eyes, focused on the road ahead as he gripped the reins tightly, "...we're too slow."
"It's… my fault," Roan also joined the two as he shook his head; leaning his head over the cart and looking at the field of grass being pressed by the wheels, "Yesterday was supposed to be our chance to rank up, but I just can't seem to track—Ugh! Fuck, let's talk about something else….
…Where are you from, Riley? You don't seem to be from around here."
"I'm from far away, Roan," Riley answered quickly.
"You must be from the North?" Lilly sat up as she looked at Riley, "The Pokku Snowfields?"
"No," Riley shook his head, "Farther. I arrived here from a portal a year ago, but even before that, I came from farther away, I am an alien," he then said as he pointed up toward the sky.
"..."
"..."
There was a silence after that—but it did not last long as Roan and the others started bursting out in laughter—even their bird mounts were laughing.
"So…" Roan took in a deep breath as he tried to speak, "...You're like what, a dragon?"
"...A dragon?"
"Yeah. They're creatures from up there, from… what do you call that again?" Roan snapped his fingers several times as he looked at Bert.
"The Cosmos," Bert answered as he too, let out a long and deep sigh as he recovered from laughing, "Wait… you don't know about dragons?"
"As I said, I came from far away."
"...pft!"
"..." And while the Levill party once again burst into a fit of laughter, Riley could not help but place his hand on his chin.
Dragons—they were mentioned in passing in the book he was reading.
Is it possible they were also from a different part of the Universe? If so, perhaps they know how to navigate the expanse of space?
…But where exactly would he find one?
Chapter 656"Why can't I even find one!?"
"Roan, relax."
"How can I relax!? I know I'm bad at tracking, but not to this point!"
"..."
Alas, Roan's frustrated breaths once again echoed through the air; traveling across the literal rocky path they find themselves in. 4 hours inside the dungeon, and the Leville party has still not hunted even a single monster.
Riley already expected this, of course. Because as long as he was with them, all the animals and beasts in the area would avoid them. However, Riley was at least expecting the one they are hunting now to not have the same instincts as the rest of the monsters—Orcs.
And similar to their literary definition back on Earth, they were humanoid pigs. And since they were humanoid, Riley thought they would just be the same as the other species he have encountered from the other planets—completely oblivious to what Riley is.
But alas, unfortunately for the Leville party, it would seem not.
"Fuck!" Roan continued to let out his frustration, stomping his foot several times as he screamed, "Orcs should be one of the easiest ones to track. They literally leave a trail of mess… so where are they!?"
"Roan, maybe they—"
"Look!" Roan then crouched on the floor, before sticking his face suspiciously close to what seemed like… feces, "This is orc shit! It's orc shit, I know it!"
"Roan…"
"What!? It looks like orc shit, It smells like orc shit, it feels like orc shit. What, you want me to taste it too!? Huh!? Huh!?" Roan then stuck his tongue out, threatening to truly touch the fecal matter.
Lilly and Bert could really only cover their faces and shake their heads. As for Riley, his head was tilted to the side, wondering if Roan would truly do what he said he would do.
"Let's… maybe just take a few breaths to rest," Lilly then said as she just sat on a boulder nearby, "You said they camp here, right?"
"...They should be here," Roan sighed as he just pulled away from the feces, slightly disappointing Riley as he did so, "There should at least be 5 of them here, there are even marks of them fornicating here. It's dry and cold, but the ground is a little moist."
"..." Lilly quickly stood up from the boulder as she heard Roan's words.
"Maybe we could…"
And as the team continued to discuss their next steps, Riley could really only just sigh; shaking his head to himself. If the Leville team doesn't hunt any monsters, then it also meant that he won't be getting any commissions—and since this was his fault, he felt like he needed to do something.
And so, he closed his eyes… focusing his hearing to find any sound similar to a pig. Riley hated using this ability, but it didn't take long for him to find something—the orcs… they were just behind the formations of rocks near them, hiding.
"..." Riley could really only sigh as he turned to look at the spots where they were hiding. And after a few seconds, he used his telekinesis to control the orcs.
"Ourk!?"
"Urk!"
And as soon as he did so, the orcs began shrieking… all 30 of them.
"Oh…" Riley was expecting the orcs to be green or greyish in color, as that was how they were mostly portrayed by Earth's media—but this planet's orcs were peach, truly similar to that of a hog one could find inside a farm.
And while Riley was amazed by this discovery, the rest of the Leville party were currently holding their breaths.
"F… fuck," Roan could not help but take a step back as he saw the orcs coming out one by one. And it wasn't only him, both Lilly and Bert quickly grabbed their weapons; their throats, gulping on their own as they watched the orcs approaching them.
"We're… trapped," Lilly whispered as she looked everywhere, only to see nothing but a wall behind them, "We… we need to fight."
"...Bring it on," Bert gritted his teeth as he tightened the grip on his hammer; kissing it as he stared at the onslaught of orcs very slowly approaching them, "It's... hammerin' time."
"..." Roan, on the other hand, had a smile on his face, "I told you so! I… I was right!"
Roan then grabbed knives from his waist, before being the first to rush toward the horde.
"I'll… see you guys in hell!"
***
"We… we did it?"
And almost after an entire hour, the Leville party found themselves surrounded by nothing but corpses; their bodies, wrapped in their blood and blood that was not theirs. Suffice it to say, the three looked even more dead than some of the orcs.
"We… did it," Lilly dropped her spear to the ground, letting herself fall on an orc's belly and resting there, "Fucking… what the fuck."
"I… can't even move anymore," Bert also let go of his hammer. He wanted to pick it up, but all he did was use the last strength of his legs, causing them to just give out.
"Good work, Leville party." As for Riley, he just once again clapped his hands as he emerged from one of the boulders. He was initially going to help the team at first, but when he saw that they might actually be able to subdue the orcs, he just chose to watch and relax on the side,
"F… fuck," Roan looked at Riley; his breaths, now all gasps, "You… you're completely clean!?"
"I suppose they don't attack aliens."
"..."
"..."
"Pft."
The Leville party could really only burst out into laughter; celebrating their success while holding their ribs to make sure they don't fully crack.
"How… are we even going to bring all of these out? You need to bring our cart, Riley."
"...You think this is enough to rank our team up to 2-Star?"
"...I kinda want to quit."
"Heh…" Lilly gasped for breath, trying her best not to let out a chuckle, "We need to—fuck."
And before Lilly could finish her words, she quickly grabbed the spear she dropped on the floor. She tried to stand up, but all she could do was kneel; her eyebrows, furrowing.
"...What?"
Roan and Bert quickly looked toward where Lilly was looking, only to see another team making their way toward them with smiles on their faces.
"He…hehe…" The leader of the party, a tall skinny woman, giggled as they looked at all the orc corpses in their path, "I guess I'm just going to seek your apology…?"
"Fuck you," Lilly held her ribs, using her spear as a support to lift herself up, "This… this is ours. Just go away."
"Don't fucking mess with us!" Roan also stood up; his voice, shaking as he looked at the 5 people approaching them, "You… you think we can't kill you!?"
"Come on, be realistic," the leader of the other team sighed and shook her head, "Just consider this as bad luck. You guys can't even carry all of this in your condition."
"Our porter is strong as fuck!" Roan screamed, "He can lift all of this by himself!"
"..." The leader of the other team looked at Riley for a few seconds, before shaking her head and looking at her group. And after a few seconds, they all nodded to each other and unsheathed their weapons.
"...Shit," Bert, who truly did not want to fight, could really only go for his hammer again. But before he could even grab it, Riley suddenly stood in front of him…
…casually picking up the hammer.
"I apologize, other hunters…
…but this is ours."
Chapter 657They were exhausted. Exhausted to the point that they were even getting tired just by breathing—no. The Leville party wasn't even breathing anymore, they were just gasping for air.
It didn't help that they were surrounded by a tall wall of rocks, and beneath their feet littered almost 3 dozen dead orcs. Suffice it to say, they were suffocating.
And now, another party wanted to steal the very reason why they were dying of exhaustion in the first place.
But of course, if they were to be given a choice, then they would truly want to keep their life instead of holding onto their hell-earned loot. In truth, the Leville party already quietly decided to just let the other party steal the corpses—their resistance was just a show of strength
"...Riley?"
But now, as Bert, Lilly, and Roan saw their Porter very slowly lifting Bert's giant hammer from the ground, the only thing they could really do was subtly shake their head.
"You… you should run," Bert's muscles burned as he used up the last of his strength to try and stop Riley. He walked—no, he almost tumbled toward him; if it wasn't for him grabbing Riley's shoulder, then he would have definitely fallen face-first on the hard ground,
"This isn't your fight," Bert then said as he grabbed his hammer…only to find that he couldn't even pull it away from Riley's hand for even a single millimeter. Bert's hammer was large; just the head was enough to fit an entire adult in it—and yet Riley was holding it like it was some sort of wooden stick.
"W—"
"I envy your porter."
And before anyone from the Leville party could say another word, the leader of the other party started to march forward along with her team; their weapons, now fully threatening to end Lilly and the others.
"If only our porter had the same guts as your—"
And without even being able to finish her words, the leader of the other party just disappeared.
"...What?"
The female hunter's comrades could really only instinctively halt their steps from the sudden… situation. A situation they weren't quite exactly sure what happened yet.
It wasn't only them; the scene also has not registered in Roan and Lilly's minds. Even Bert, who was the closest to Riley, could not help but blink a couple of times in utter confusion.
After all, the next thing every one of them just knows is that the female hunter disappeared…completely replaced by the head of Bert's hammer.
Bert then turned to look at Riley, who was now holding just the handle of the hammer as it snapped from the head. And then, before any of them could even attempt to utter a single word, Riley punched the hammer's head.
And as he did so, the female hunter's entire party disappeared…replaced by a smear of blood on the ground. Well, perhaps not her entire party, as one was unlucky enough to only lose one of his legs.
"N…no," the man could really only shake his head as he stared at his mangled leg, which now looked like a sausage that was chewed by a toddler and thrown out of its mouth.
The man didn't really know what was happening anymore, and yet his body instinctively knew that it was in danger—and this danger was walking closer and closer to him.
"P… please," the man started pushing himself with his remaining leg as he saw Riley very slowly approaching him, "I…I don't want to die, please."
"I know," Riley let out a small sigh as the man started crawling away from him, "All of you always do until you don't."
"W…wa—"
"!!!"
The man surrendered. Lilly, Roan, and Bert saw that the man clearly surrendered—and yet it didn't matter. The only thing they could do was watch as Riley grabbed the man's remaining leg, pulling him closer to him before he stepped on his head…instantly squashing it into pieces like a watermelon.
"..."
And after that was done, Riley just shrugged. Almost as if what he just did was one of the most normal things in the world to do—like he was just throwing the trash.
Riley then started looking around, before suddenly pointing his finger at the now… dead party's cart.
"Look at that," Riley then said; his voice, not even a single hint of worry, "They brought us a cart for the orcs."
"We…Let us place the orc for you, Riley!"
"Y…yeah, you can just rest there."
And almost as if their exhaustion disappeared and their wounds no longer hurt, Lilly and the others started dragging the orc corpses toward the cart. But before they could even fool themselves that they still have the strength to do so, Riley's loud sigh caused them to stop and flinch.
"Put the corpses down, everyone," Riley breathed out, "I am the Porter…
…It's my job to carry."
***
"They… attacked you?"
"Yes."
Suffice it to say, as the Leville party emerged from the dungeon, they quickly garnered the attention of everyone that was loitering and preparing outside. And since there were only a few people there, all eyes were literally stuck on them… and for different reasons.
Most of the people were shocked and amazed to see a mountain of orcs being dragged on a cart.
As for the Handler managing the dungeon, he was also amazed—but he quickly recognized that the cart Riley was pulling did not belong to them.
"And what happened after?" The handler squinted his eyes as he looked back and forth between the members of the Leville party.
"We killed them, Handler."
And as a 3rd party, Riley was the one to answer the handler's queries.
"The four of you… managed to defeat a party that outnumbered you, after you were already tired of dealing with the orcs?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "The Leville party is quite strong."
"...How would I know that they didn't hunt these orcs, and you four were the ones to ambush their tired group?"
"You won't. The other party are all dead, Handler."
"..."
"..."
"Hm…" And after a few seconds of staring at Riley, the handler just smirked and shook his head, "...I'm just curious. The truth is, that party is already notorious for stealing others' loot. It was just a matter of when they'll meet someone like your team…
…It's fine, all of you are cleared now."
And with those words reaching Lilly and the other's ears, the three could not help but let out a sigh of relief; trying their best not to just faint there and then.
As for Riley, he just nodded before stretching his hand toward the handler.
"My commission. I would like to take it now, Handler."
"That… you don't really beat around the bushes."
"I hide in the bushes."
"...Right," the handler could only shake his head and sigh, "Show me your Porter's license card."
"Hm," Riley then grabbed something from his pocket—a card.
The license card served as many things; identification, a pass, and also a wallet. For a planet that did not seem to have access to advanced technology, this card seemed out of place.
It could be attributed to magic, but then again, there was a saying that an advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic—a truly advanced technology, that is.
This place—Riley was sure of it from the start…
…he and Aerith did not find it randomly.
Chapter 658Arlusia. Riley was sure of it, the fact that they were in this place was not an act of randomness. There could be several series of coincidences that brought them here, but this was not random, not at all.
A few years ago, Riley was fulfilling Aerith's wish—taking her away and just escaping everything. After he made a show of the genocide of Elder Skeem's people, Riley had been actively hunted down by every possible unit of men. He overtook almost everyone on the Outlaw list, ranking just below Diana and Pirate Queen Xra as the most wanted individual.
And so, he just decided to truly take Aerith away; away from everywhere else as he charted a course to the Unknown. They actually passed by Earth, but it only reflected their eyes for a few seconds before they once again traveled through the expanse of space without stopping—they even went into hyperdrive for very long periods of time, as Riley had brought all the energy cores he could fit inside the ship.
They traveled like that for almost 4 years, just discovering the Unknown… and its vast emptiness of nothing. There were several planets that seemed capable of life, but aside from scurrying wildlife, they have not discovered any civilizations.
But then, in the 4th year, something happened.
While their ship was flying in hyperspeed, the ship suddenly stopped as it detected a weird influx of energy in their path—it was a plaque similar to what Tedi showed him last time, just floating there in the expanse of space.
And of course, Riley treated the plaque with utmost care; letting his clones just handle it and bring it inside the ship. Unfortunately for him, however, no matter how careful he was… the plaque suddenly flew straight into his hands.
He quickly looked at Aerith, as he thought it was the last time he would ever see her… only to find that when he teleported, she was brought along with him.
And even with that shocking and truly unexpected event, Aerith's lips still remained sealed. The two found themselves in some sort of cave, a very large empty cave; with a ceiling that was probably more than a kilometer above the floor.
There was absolutely nothing there…except for the portal that led them to the world of Arlusia, casually hovering right in the very center of the cave. And of course, Riley entered it without any hesitation.
And then as the two of them were welcomed by this mysterious planet, the portal behind them just disappeared. And now, they were stuck here—no ship to help them navigate through the stars.
Suffice it to say, it was impossible for this world not to be connected to the advanced ancient civilization that created the plaque. Or perhaps…
…Arlusia is the ancient civilization?
"Here you go."
"...Oh."
And right after Riley was done reminiscing, the handler finished transferring his commission to his card.
It was too bad, Riley thought—he was looking forward to also killing this handler if he didn't give him his commission. But then again, he still could.
"Thank you, Handler," Riley then nodded as he made his way back to the Leville party, which were being tended for their wounds, "I am going to go ahead, okay? I will see you again tomorrow, everyone."
"Y…yes."
The Leville party could really only nod their heads in unison. Although Riley did not explicitly say it, they promised themselves that they wouldn't tell anyone about how strong he is—after all, there must be a reason someone like him is hiding his true strength.
Maybe… he was even one of the legendary Heroes of the past?
As for the so-called legendary hero, he just casually went back to the city. Riley stood in front of the tavern for a few seconds, before just shaking his head and deciding not to go home yet.
Instead, he went to find the city's local library—and as one might expect from a small city, there was really only a single library, and it was smaller than the taverns.
And with the bell of the door ringing throughout the entire library as Riley entered, he was quickly greeted by the only person that was there, the Librarian.
"...Hello?" The librarian seemed to be even more shocked that a person actually visited the library; his large glasses, almost falling from his face as he stood up and greeted Riley,
"Did…did you come here to read… books?" He said, not even caring about Riley's weird appearance.
"Greetings, Librarian," Riley nodded as he approached the counter, "I wish to read all you have about dragons."
"...Dragons?" The librarian's eyes lit up as a small smile slowly crawled on his face. But after a few seconds, he let out a small sigh and stepped out off the counter,
"That… will be tricky. Almost all books of literature contain a mention of dragons. Rare is a book of fantasy that does not hold such a grand idea of a creature."
"Are there non-fictional books that mention them, Librarian?"
"Non-fictional, there are studies of them…but they are also considered as fiction," the librarian adjusted his glasses as he glanced at Riley, "Do you wish to indulge yourself with them?"
"I would like to borrow them."
"Of course, of course. How rare it is that someone from this city read a book—I was starting to think that everyone was illiterate," the librarian could not help but chuckle as he started almost hopping to his index of books.
"Do you also have something on a species, or an ancient civilization called P'lopi? Or perhaps a place called Ahor Zai?"
"P—what?" The library tried imitating the way Riley said the word, but failed to click his tongue at the right time, "How do you spell that? Maybe we have it somewhere here in the foreign books section."
"No. Never mind, Librarian," Riley just shook his head and sighed.
It took a couple of minutes, but the librarian came back with his books—all 3 of them.
"This… is it," the librarian sighed, "If you return to me tomorrow, maybe I can find more?"
"That will be ideal, Librarian."
"Alright," the librarian then placed the books in front of Riley; his voice suddenly turning serious, "Please don't damage the books, you will have to pay for them. I am the only one that works here so please, I am already underpaid as it is."
"Do not worry, Librarian…
…I do not destroy things."
With the books in his hand, Riley immediately went back to the inn, only to find that Aerith has not left his room yet today. There was a tray of food on the desk, however, so it would seem she at least still has the will to eat.
"Do you want to try and read this with me, Aerith?"
"..."
And of course, Riley was completely ignored as Aerith just sat on her bed; like a statue that will forever hold her peace.
"I think I might have discovered something, Aerith. The dragons…" And even then, Riley spent hours reading the books aloud; glancing at Aerith from time to time whenever something interesting comes up.
But alas, aside from just speculations and theories, there have really been no sightings of dragons for the past thousand years. But one thing was for sure—at one point in time, there truly were dragons in the world of Arlusia… and all the sources say they come from beyond the skies.
And with Riley finishing all three books in no time at all, Aerith just closed her eyes and lay back in bed.
"I'll be going back to the library tomorrow to get more books, Aerith. Would you like to come with me?"
"..."
"Okay, I'll go by myself…
…Good night, Aerith."
***
The next day, as promised, Riley returned to the library; the bells, once again ringing throughout the entire building. This time, however, the library wasn't as empty, there were other customers scattered around the small interior and reading their books in peace—not even bothering to look at Riley as he stepped inside.
Riley then immediately walked to the counter, only to find a different librarian sitting at the station.
"Greetings, Librarian. May I ask where the gentleman that was here last night is? We have a prior engagement."
"Oh, Dave?" The current librarian shrugged as he turned to look at Riley, "He will be here later."
"Hm…" Riley then let out a small hum as he looked at the other customers that were there, "But he told me that he was the only one that works here. So…
…who might you be?"
Chapter 659"The other Librarian said he was the only one that works here, so…
…who might you be?"
"..."
The inside of the library was already eerily quiet; but as soon as Riley's words whispered through it, it was almost as if everything was just instantly drowned by complete silence—and yet, at the same time, the library felt like it was filled with noise.
The current librarian in front of Riley didn't really answer him, and instead just stared at him for a few seconds; his eyes, blinking a couple of times as his eyebrows very slowly furrowed along with the growing silence.
But soon, however, a small chuckle escaped his lips—dissipating the heavy silence that filled the air.
"Because I don't officially work here—Dave just pays me to cover him once in a while," the man waved his hand as he scoffed, "One man can't handle all of these books by himself. Don't mind what he said, Dave just… likes to complain. He went to Denspot to check the library there, I think he's trying to pick up books regarding dragons"
"Hm…"
"I assume those are the books you want?" The man sighed, "He can be like that sometimes, he must be excited that someone actually visited the library in this small city. He'll be here later, you can just wait for him here if you have the time?"
"I'll just come back later, suspicious Librarian," Riley shook his head as he turned around, "What time will Librarian Dave be back?"
"You really should just wait for him," the man shrugged, "He should be arriving soon. We have new books—they're not about dragons, but they should still be as entertaining."
"Then maybe you have something on a race called P'lopi?"
"P—what?" The man slightly tilted his head to the side, "What language is that? Maybe I can find it somewhere?"
"...No," Riley shook his head as he continued walking away, "I will just come back later."
"Okay, please do come back! Hopefully, Dave has the books you want."
"Hm," Riley only nodded as he grabbed the handle of the door, only to find that it wasn't budging at all.
"..." Riley then very slowly glanced back at the new librarian again, only to find the librarian staring at him—but it wasn't only him, the customers that were minding their own business and drowning themselves in their books were also staring at him; the whites of their eyes, completely gone and replaced by nothing but the shade of their dark irises.
"I suppose all of you are P'lopi?" Riley then turned around as he looked at everyone one by one, "I have only heard of your language once, so forgive me if I am saying it—"
And before Riley could finish his words, the librarian just suddenly vanished from the counter, only to instantly appear again beside Riley—already waving a sword that threatened to cut him in half.
Riley, however, did not move. He just allowed the blade of the sword to meet his shoulder, trying to see if it could penetrate his skin. But alas, the one to split in half was the sword—shattering into pieces.
But before these pieces could fly away, the librarian was already gone… and so were the 'customers'.
In truth, Riley had already set up a telekinesis net as soon as he saw how fast the librarian moved. The net covered the entire library, and yet not even a single strand was triggered when the librarian and the customers vanished.
Except for the norinlads, the net could detect every one. Even Queen Vania, with her ridiculous speed, still triggered his telekinesis net. The only one that it wasn't able to detect was the god of evaniels, Van.
But… these people shouldn't be as fast as him, that was impossible.
And so, Riley could really only think of one thing—instantaneous short-range teleportation.
The P'lopi. They already proved that they were capable of teleportation just from the mysterious plaques that caused Riley to just suddenly move from one place to another.
It wouldn't be that far-fetched if they have the technology to move short distances and have already incorporated it into their lifestyle. They probably don't even walk that much anymore and—-
And before Riley could finish his thoughts, he heard a small click whisper in the air. And not even a second later, Riley found himself covered in nothing but fire as all the books in the library suddenly burst into flames and exploded.
But before the impact of the explosion could completely destroy the library and maybe even the entire city, Riley snapped his fingers—instantly causing the flames that danced wildly to just instantly stop.
The shockwave that threatened to swallow everything within its path, now gradually becoming smaller and smaller until it just withered away along with the flames.
"Hm," Riley then shrugged, before starting to look around the now-scorched library. For them to go as far as sacrificing thousands of lives just to kill him, these P'lopi sure didn't want to be found by others.
Riley continued to walk around until finally, his eye caught something that was completely out of place in the world of Arlusia—something digital.
Of course, Riley wasn't sure if it truly was digital, but it was a small tinted glass box that could fit on his hand, containing some sort of shiny bead inside it. And considering it was placed right at the very center of the library's ceiling, Riley could only assume that it was some sort of… surveillance.
"A camera?" Riley then tilted his head as he raised the tiny box, "Are you watching me right now, P'lopi people? Do forgive me if you are not P'lopi, but I would be addressing you as such for now until otherwise said so."
"..."
"This will be a little awkward if this was just some sort of decoration. But just in case you are truly watching me from the other side, then I feel like I should introduce myself," Riley slightly giggled as he placed the box on the counter, before taking several steps backward as he bowed.
"My name is Riley Ross," he then said, "As you might have already theorized, I came from another planet—but if you fear that I am from the Known Universe, or if I am at all, related to the Common Council, then you are mistaken—I am the villain of the Known Universe and have presumably killed more than a hundred billion people…
…but you don't have to worry about me."
Chapter 660"I am the villain of the Known Universe and have presumably killed more than a hundred billion people…
…but you don't have to worry about me."
Riley waited for something to respond to him as his words whispered throughout the entire library. But alas, even after an entire minute, everything remained quiet—the only ones to answer him were the ashes of the books that once peacefully rested there.
But even then, Riley continued to talk.
"I was told by a norinlad that your race left the Known Universe and traveled through the Unknown after the War of the Gods all those years ago. And that you might be searching for something," Riley then let out a small sigh as he looked at the tiny black box, "Or perhaps it is better to say that you are searching for…
…Nothing."
"..."
Riley once again waited for someone to respond as he revealed another shocking news. But alas, once again, he was answered with nothing but silence. Could it be… that his black box really is just some sort of decoration? After all, libraries do tend to have some weird things in them.
"I would like you to know that I have been in contact with Nothing for several times," Riley once again sighed, "And I also happen to have made contact with one of your… things. The plaque? I do not know what you call it, but it teleported me to a place where creation does not exist yet. I met the god of evaniels there, as well as Death."
"..."
"And then I made contact with another plaque again while I was traversing the Unknown. But this time, it teleported me with my… companion," Riley then started approaching the black box, "It teleported us to a cave with a portal in it—a portal that led through this world. That is why I told you not to worry about me, I am here by accident."
"..."
"I would really appreciate it if you find our ship and return it to us—it is important to Aerith," Riley then grabbed the box, "It will also be in your best interest. Because once I get bored…
…I will start killing every last one of the people on this planet. But as I said, you don't have to worry about me—I quite like this world, it reminds me of another anime I used to watch."
"..."
"I was hoping you would respond to me by now, but I suppose this is really just a trinket. But it's okay, I am used to talking to myself—I always feel like someone is hearing my words, you see."
Riley then once again sighed as he raised the tiny black box, checking its every side before just shaking his head and putting it inside his pocket,
"But just in case, I'll be bringing this along with me. That way…
…you can find me anytime you want."
And with those words, Riley finally stepped outside the library.
"..." And even as he left, the library remained completely silent. Perhaps, there truly wasn't anything there?
***
"I'm back, Aerith."
"..."
And since Riley had enough money to last them a month from his latest commission, he didn't go back to the Hunter's guild yet and instead just went back to Aerith.
"I brought you some sweet cheese from the market and some tea," Riley was holding a tray, gently placing it on Aerith's lap, who seemed to have not even stood up from the bed since she woke up. As for Riley, he didn't really sit beside Aerith and just sat at the desk.
Aerith didn't glance at Riley once as he entered the room, but even then, she started nibbling on the cheese; tucking her long blonde hair behind her ear as she did so. Her eyes were clear, as they had been so ever since the death of her people 5 years ago.
One would think they would be empty and blank, but no—they have never been empty. She just refuses to do anything or speak.
"Would you like to die now, Aerith?" And once again, Riley asked, "I will follow you if you do."
"..."
Riley had been asking the question every day for the past year—as he found that was the only way he could make Aerith glance at him for even just a single millisecond. He didn't really know what the glance meant, but he knew one thing—Aerith was alive and well, and knew what she was doing.
Her refusal to talk was perhaps to punish herself? She was alive, but at the same time, she was not.
Riley waited for Aerith to say something as she glanced at him. But alas, she just once again looked away and just took a sip of her tea.
And after she was done, she just quietly stood up and approached Riley.
"..." But in the end, she just placed the tray at the desk beside him before returning to her bed.
"You know, Aerith…" Riley could really only sigh as he grabbed the black box from his pockets, "...I think I might have made contact with the P'lopi. Do you remember them? We discussed them back when we were on Ahor Zai."
Riley placed the black box on his palm and showed it to Aerith, "I do not know what this is, but it might be a surveillance camera. I think they live on this planet, Aerith—most of the people here might even be their descen—"
And before Riley could finish his words, Aerith suddenly appeared in front of him; grabbing the black box before just completely crushing it into dust. There seemed to be a small explosion that erupted, but Aerith's palm completely contained it.
"...Aerith?" A small smile started to crawl on Riley's face as his eyes glistened. He quickly stood up straight as he looked Aerith in the eyes, waiting for her to say something.
But alas, she just turned around, patting her hands clean as she returned to bed without even as much as a sigh. And almost as if she doesn't want to listen to Riley anymore, she just completely covered herself in a blanket.
"..." And soon, the smile on Riley's face faded as he stood up and made his way to the door,
"...Goodnight, Aerith."
And as the sound of Riley closing the door echoed in the room, it was followed by the sound of Aerith's breath, a small sniffle as her tears once again started to dampen the pillow they were resting on.
Unbeknownst to her, however, Riley's back was still behind the door—listening to her cry with his eyes closed.
This is all wrong, Riley thought.
When he planned the death of her people, he made sure that it wouldn't be connected to him at all. He made sure that only the Elders will be the target of Aerith's rage and anger.
But… there was no rage or anger at all.
Riley wanted to see if Aerith would give in to the rage and destroy them on her own, or if her naive kindness would once again win and she would understand them.
But there was nothing.
Even as Riley massacred and tortured Elder Skeem's people—Aerith didn't even show any hint of emotion.
Riley wanted her to stop him, he expected her to stop him…
…He just wanted her to do something, anything. But it was almost as if she was just an empty shell, but she wasn't at all—she was alive and well.
And now, as he heard her crying on her own, Riley could not help but just bite his lip; his eyebrows, completely furrowed as he looked at the floor in frustration.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Aerith shouldn't break, she couldn't be broken. That was supposed to be him. He is the broken one… not her.
She is the one that saves people. She is supposed to—wait…
Riley started blinking a couple of times as he realized something—How can she start saving people again when there was no one to save?
"Oh…" Riley then hummed as he removed his back from the door. The world of Arlusia did not lack monsters and demons, their people were in danger every day.
But they lacked something.
Someone that would make them hide in their houses and lock their doors—a real villain. A threat above the demons they face every day, someone actively destroying their world and making them submit…
…A Demon King.
"..."
"..."
"...Pft, no. I'm not Gary," Riley let out a small chuckle as he shook his head, "Aerith is strong...
...she will get through this."
Chapter 661"Don't you have any other Porter?"
"As I said, the only one that still hasn't come in today is the Porter you were with last time. A lot of people wanted to reserve him, but as he hasn't come into the guild since yesterday, most just opted for another one. He is the only one available."
"N…not him."
The Leville party was currently inside the Hunter's guild, and have been exchanging words with the woman behind the counter for several minutes now. They were trying to find a new Porter and have been checking with the guild every minute or so.
Fortunately for them, the concierge seems patient, as they just smiled at them even though they'd been asking the same questions for hours now—well, at least until now.
"Look, lady. You're already presented with someone you already previously worked with—and judging by his record in the last dungeon you guys did, he did well," the woman lightly slammed her palm on the counter, "If you want someone else other than what the guild is providing, then go fucking recruit a personal porter for your party!"
"That—"
"You're holding up the line!"
"Eek!"
Lilly could really only move away as the woman behind the counter started violently pointing at her to go away. Lilly glanced behind her, only to see there wasn't actually a line—most parties were already out hunting in dungeons.
"...What do we do now?" And as she walked away, her sighs almost filled the entire guild hall. This sigh, however, was quickly swallowed as she saw Riley casually sitting with Bert and Roan at their table.
"R… Riley!" Lilly quickly feigned a smile; her halted steps and the bead of sweat on her face, however, quickly gave away the growing anxiety crawling through the back of her neck.
"Lililly."
"H…hey, Lilly. Riley's back," Roan also stuttered as he looked Lilly in the eyes; urging her to quickly join them, "I guess… we don't have to keep searching for another Porter, right? Right?"
"R…right," Lilly forced a chuckle as she very slowly approached their table, violently patting Bert to move so she could sit as far away from Riley as possible.
"I apologize, everyone," Riley let out a small sigh as he looked at Lilly, "I wasn't here yesterday as I had some reading to do in the library."
"Pft, no. It's fine," Lilly then elbowed Bert, urging him to say something as the oldest one in the group.
"...Right," Bert quickly cleared his throat and nodded, "We earned a lot of money from the orcs, so there is really no need to work yet. You know what? I believe we should all just rest again today."
"That's a good idea!" A loud gasp escaped from Roan's mouth, "We… we should just call it a day today and—"
"Oh, you are scared of me," And before the Leville party could continue their rambles and excuses, Riley let out a small hum as he looked at the members of the Leville party one by one,
"You could have just said so, everyone. I would have understood," Riley then stood up and sighed, "I assure you, you do not need to be afraid of me yet, I do not have plans in harming any of you."
"We're not scared of you!" And before Riley could step away from the table, Lilly quickly stood up. It wasn't only her, both Bert and Roan also got on their feet as they looked at Riley.
"We… believe that it would be best for you to go to another party, Riley," Bert said, "We don't know your circumstances, but you're strong. Stronger than the three of us combined. We… don't deserve to have you on our team as a porter."
"It's not… it's us," Roan sighed and shook his head, "We're lacking as a party."
"I am a 1-Star Porter, everyone," Riley tilted his head to the side, slightly confused by the party's words, "If not your party, then I would just be booked by another group that is similar to you in strength. No one deserves to have me at their party."
"Oh."
And as soon as they heard Riley's words, the three looked at each other—their eyes, completely blank from realizing their stupidity. They were so in awe of Riley's strength, that they completely forgot he really was registered as a Low-ranking Porter. And in the first place, based on the brief show of strength that Riley showed them… there shouldn't be anyone stronger than him in this city.
The three continued to look at each other, not knowing that Riley Ross is actually considered to be the most dangerous individual in the Known Universe.
"In that case…" Lilly then took in a long and very deep breath as she looked Riley in the eyes, "...I would like to formally invite you to our party to become our member."
"That's… shameless," Roan widened his eyes as he looked at Lilly.
"...We just said we don't deserve him," Bert sighed.
"Wait, no!" Lilly shook her head and waved her hands, "As a porter! Of course, we're not going to let him fight. If he did, we might as well just become the porters for him."
"That… that's true."
"Why are you guys talking like he already accepted to be in our party?"
"W—"
"It's fine," Riley then raised his hand before anyone else could talk, "I prefer working with familiar faces."
"..." Leville party quickly looked at each other again as they heard Riley's words. And after a few seconds of heavy breathing around their table, the Leville party all cheered and rejoiced.
"Wait… wait," and before Bert could order some alcohol to celebrate their new member, Roan unexpectedly stopped cheering; the tone of his voice, slightly turning serious as he looked at Riley, "Since we're going to do this, I want to check something… if that's alright with you, Riley."
"Hm?"
"I… want to know how strong you are," Roan then said—and it wasn't only him. Lilly and Bert, who were initially not interested in what Roan was about to say, could not help but once again look at each other when they heard his words,
"Let's… spar, Riley."
Chapter 662"Are you sure we're allowed to fight here?"
"It is fine, the innkeeper and I are becoming quite close—I have that effect on older women."
"...Right."
The Leville party, and their newest member, Riley, were now at the back of the tavern where Riley and Aerith were staying at. The innkeeper seems to also own the other buildings surrounding the tavern, allowing her to have a large yard behind them.
The backyard was relatively still empty, however, as the innkeeper didn't seem to have any idea on what to do with it yet. Aside from several trees and a well, there was nothing on it, making it the perfect place for the Leville party to spar without having to go out of the city. But of course, there was another reason for Riley to choose this spot.
"Let's… start, then?" Roan then nodded at his comrades, before stepping out of the shade the tree provided for him; his eyes, reflecting the silhouette of Riley's cloak as it snapped with the wind,
"I'll go first."
"I thought the three of you would be attacking me together, Roan?" Riley could really only tilt his head as he saw Roan approaching him by himself.
"We will," Roan rubbed his nose and chuckled, "But I want to try fighting you alone first. I know… I can learn a lot."
Roan then took off his shirt, throwing it to the side as he grabbed the knives from his waist. Roan was lean—almost skinny. But it was obvious that whatever flesh he had, they were all covered in muscles… as well as scars.
"Wait, we're using real weapons?" Bert quickly looked back and forth between Roan and Lilly. As for Lilly, she just shrugged her shoulders and said,
"Does it matter? I don't think we could even hit him even if we put all our effort into it."
"That's true, but…"
"It's fine, Bert," Riley let out a small chuckle as he took off his cloak—revealing the black suit he had beneath it.
"..." The three were slightly taken aback; after all, this was the very first time they were seeing this kind of clothing, let alone material. Was it some sort of armor to help him adjust to the heat? After all, if he was from the Snowfields, then that would mean he truly wasn't used to this kind of weather.
But as they thought of that, Riley suddenly took off his top—just mysteriously peeling away from his body as he pulled it.
"...Fuck," Roan, however, couldn't really comment on the clothes as he just stared at Riley's body—no, squinting at his body. It was white, incredibly so that Riley almost seemed not real as his skin reflected the rays of the sun.
But his white skin, perhaps, amplified his ripped body even more as the shadows almost seemed like they were drawn by pen as the lines almost sculpted every inch of him.
"Are… are you going to use a weapon?" Roan then gulped as he gripped his knives even tighter. Riley looked menacing with his black suit; but without it, he was just exuding all sorts of… power.
"Well," Riley then raised both his hands to his chest as his feet started hopping very lightly, "I was told once… that I am the weapon, Roan."
"...Damn," Roan turned to look at Lilly and Bert, before nodding his head and just rushing toward Riley without any warning.
Riley, on the other hand, just casually lowered his left arm as he swerved to the right, completely avoiding Roan's knife. Riley then suddenly raised his left fist, throwing it straight toward Roan's chin, but stopping before it could hit him.
"..." Roan quickly tilted his head back before kneeling on the ground and swinging his knife on Riley's leg. But alas, his knife was quickly stepped on, and before he could even attempt to pull it away, another fist was already hovering above the back of his head—a strike that would have obviously incapacitated him, or considering Riley's strength, killed him.
"...Shit," Roan let go of his knife as he leaped back away from Riley, "I… feel like I am being toyed with."
"You are, Roan," Riley said without any hesitation as he once again stepped on the knife beneath his foot. And as he did so, it flung and spun toward his hand—and not even a second after catching it, he threw it toward Roan.
Roan didn't really catch it, and for good reason as the knife just went straight past him and penetrated the wall meters away from them.
"...How can we become as strong as you, Riley?" Roan then breathed out as he looked at the embedded knife, "What did you have to die to become that strong?"
"Die multiple times, Roan."
"That…" Not only Roan, but Lilly and Bert could not help but gulp as they heard Riley's words. Riley might look like the same age around them, but just from the fact of how strong he is… he might actually be some old master.
And to die multiple times? Does that mean that Riley has experienced being on the brink of death before… and multiple times at that? Just… what sort of past is he hiding?
"I want to experience that, Riley."
"...Roan?" Lilly and Bert then looked at Roan as they heard his words.
"Don't hold back," Roan then let out a very long and deep breath as he stared at Riley; his hand, gripping his knife as relaxed as he could as he raised it,
"I want to see how strong you really are."
"Are you sure?" Riley then let out a small chuckle as he lowered his arms.
"Yes, I'm—!!!"
And before Roan could finish his words, he saw his vision turn dark as he felt something covering his face.
"Riley!?" Lilly didn't really know what to do as she just rushed toward Riley—Bert was the same. How could they not, when Riley was now lifting Roan in the air with one hand; his fingers, very slowly digging through his skull?
Of course, they wouldn't have rushed recklessly since the two were supposed to just be having a spar—but they saw Riley's eyes, and it didn't even reflect Roan. All they saw was the endless violence that was hiding deep within him. Dormant, but ever-so-existing.
They were wrong. They shouldn't have even thought of trying to spar with someone like Riley—someone who has faced death, and only knows death.
There was a reason why Riley was just working as a Porter, and now they know why.
Their thoughts were right, and very wrong at the same time.
Riley clearly knew what he was doing as he very slowly tightened his grip on Roan's face. And they were right, his eyes were not reflecting Roan at all, because it was reflecting Aerith, who had been watching their spar from the start from the window of their room.
This was the other reason why Riley chose this spot to spar—to see if Aerith would save someone that was dying right in front of her. And Riley made sure… he made sure that she would hear him scream in pain.
And so, Riley tilted his head as he waited for Aerith's decision.
Chapter 663It was almost as if time stopped.
Lilly and Bert, who were rushing to help Roan, looked like a pair of statues with their hands stretched toward him. The leaves that were falling from the trees, the dust that was flying in the air, and the wings of the tiny insects that scattered sparsely—they were all frozen.
In this world, only Riley and Aerith moved. Even Roan, who had been struggling to get away from Riley's grip, ceased to wriggle.
Riley and Aerith were the only ones that could move, and yet neither of them refused to. Riley just waited; waiting for Aerith to make a choice—they both had the eternity to do so.
Will she once again shed her wings and become a hero?
But alas, it would seem eternity wasn't needed as Aerith already made her choice. Her eyes, just closing as she turned around; stepping away from the window, leaving only her sighs to travel through the eternity they created.
"..." And as Riley saw that, the only thing he could really do was sigh… before just letting go of Roan. Riley then turned to glance at the advancing Bert and Lilly, only to block their path and give them the same treatment as Roan.
But instead of lifting them in the air, he slammed their heads back straight into the ground.
"Kh!"
"F…!"
"Too slow," Riley then let out a small sigh as the world around him finally moved, "I would have already killed Roan in a thousand different ways by the time you reached me."
"This…" Lilly and Bert could really only cradle their heads as they rolled on the ground. They knew Riley was strong—but to the point that they couldn't even see him? What… sort of monster did they actually let into their party?
"Well then…" Riley then patted his palms as he returned to where he was originally standing on, "...The three of you should really all attack me at the same time, so…
…shall we try again?"
***
"Ack…"
"Demonic titties… my… my arms can't move anymore."
"I'd honestly… rather fight the orcs again. I thought this was supposed to be sparring. Why… did it feel like a training session instead?"
An entire hour later, the Leville party all just sprawled on the ground. Their sweat, almost beating the well near them from how much water they produced. As for Riley, he didn't even break a sweat as he just continued to glance at the window from time to time.
And of course, throughout their skirmish, these minute gazes did not manage to escape the Leville party's eyes. How could it? The three were fighting for their lives, and yet Riley was just casually glancing at the window every other second.
"That woman from earlier… who is it?" Bert was the first to ask Riley as he sat up from the ground—leaving a mark of his sweat on there.
"Aerith. She's the woman I love," Riley answered without any hesitation.
"Oh…?" Not only Bert, but Roan and Lilly almost flinched from Riley's unwavering answer, "I didn't realize you were married."
"I'm not," Riley shook his head, "I am her lover, but the same could not be said the other way around. She loathes me."
"...What?"
"Our relationship is not healthy," Riley let out a small sigh as he once again looked at the mirror, "We are poison to each other."
"That's…"
"Haha!" Roan immediately sat up from the floor, clapping his hands while looking at Riley, "It's good to know that even someone like you fails in relationships, ah… finally something I am better at."
"...The fuck are you talking about?" Lilly suddenly burst out in laughter as soon as she heard Roan's words, "You haven't even had a single romantic partner in your life."
"Pft," Bert tried to stop himself from laughing, but it just made him look even more condescending as he looked at Roan while doing so.
"...Fuck you, guys. For real," Roan once again let his back fall to the ground, "I thought you guys were my frien—wow, my face still hurts."
The three then remained like this for a while—letting out fetter fits of laughter while shaking their heads for no reason.
"..." It sort of reminds Riley of the Baby Crew. Riley could never really understand it, the way they just seem to laugh at nothing, but still very much understand what they were laughing at. He… never had this connection, and probably never will.
And probably, just like the Baby Crew… Riley will manage to destroy this for Lilly and the others as well.
"Right, Riley… We're actually planning on joining the Expedition next month," Lilly wiped the sweat on her cheek as she looked at Riley, "We're a 3-Star party now, so we were able to apply—and since you're now a member of the party… maybe you want to come with us?"
"Expedition…?"
"Yeah," Lilly nodded, "There's going to be a lot of other parties there, we'll be traveling to different regions and actively hunting loose dungeons in the wild. People could actually bring their families there, since it usually takes months—I'm bringing my husband."
"Hm," Bert nodded, "I'm bringing my son since no one will take care of him if I leave. I'll introduce him to you if you come."
"...Wait, am I seriously the only one that's not bringing someone!?" Roan widened his eyes as he looked back and forth between Bert and Lilly, "You guys should introduce me to someone, like right now!"
"...You want to bring someone you've just met to an Expedition?" Lilly raised an eyebrow, "Are you crazy?"
"What about you, Riley? Are you bringing a companion?" Bert asked.
"He hasn't even told us if he is going, Bert," Lilly sighed and shook her head.
"I'll go. I am part of the Leville party now, after all," Riley also shook his head as he looked at Lilly, "As for whether I am bringing Aerith, I would need to ask her."
Riley and Aerith have been in Arlusia for a year, but it wasn't until Riley had completely learned the language and some basic things about the world that they were able to live amongst them.
They have only stayed in Arunafelt for a week, and he wanted Aerith to at least rest more. But perhaps it would be good for her to see some activity?
She and Lilly also seemed to have something in common. They…
…are both women.
Chapter 664Weeks have passed, and the Leville party has continued to hunt almost every day without rest. Suffice it to say, when they got beaten down by Riley without even as much as making him sweat, there was a fire that lit up within them.
Riley did not mind, of course—he even went with them every time. And each time, he pulled all the monsters toward the Levillle party.
Suffice it to say, the three were completely different from how they were just weeks ago. After all, even though Riley was pulling the monsters toward the Leville party, he wasn't helping them to defeat the monsters at all.
If they die, then they die. But so far, aside from being heavily wounded and covered in blood each time they hunt, the three of them were still alive and well.
Riley wasn't going to lie—it was fun. It was almost as if he was playing a game where he pitted the Leville crew against the monsters. It was sort of exciting to see if they were going to live as Riley pulled more and more each day.
And of course, because of the… incredible results that the Leville party was showing, they have also been slowly gaining popularity in the local city of Arunafelt. None of them noticed it, however, as they were all just incredibly exhausted after every hunt. They just focused on getting stronger; sleeping and hunting—that was their life for an entire month.
As for Riley, he didn't rest. Each time he went back to the tavern, he tells Aerith of the things that happen to him that day.
And then, finally, the time for the Expedition has come.
"Aunt Lilly!"
"Jacob? Is that you!?"
The Leville party were currently outside the gates of Arunafelt—and it wasn't only them, there were more than a hundred people there; all bringing their own carts and supplies for the long hunt ahead.
The Leville party also has a new cart—much larger than before and even had a roof and drapes, making it closed from the outside world.
And as Bert said, he brought his son with him, who was already leaping into Lilly's arms.
"Look at you!" Lilly lifted the small boy, lightly pinching his cheek as she gritted her teeth in excitement, "You're so tall now, even taller than Roan."
"...I'm minding my own business here, why do I keep hearing my name!" Roan's head then peeked out from the cart as he pointed at Lilly and Jacob, "And you, if you don't stop growing taller I will hit you, okay!?"
"Stop scaring the child, Roan," Lilly could really only roll her eyes as she gently placed Jacob back on the ground.
"Sorry, I'm late. I waited for Jacob to wake up," Bert then forced out a chuckle as he approached Lilly, "Where's Nathan?"
"Right there."
Bert quickly looked at where Lilly was pointing, only to see a man tending to their carriage birds.
"Nathan! You don't need to do that!" Bert waved his hand at Lilly's husband.
"It's fine! I'll take the first shift in driving!" Nathan waved back, before just continuing to brush and feed the giant birds, "This is my job, anyway!"
"..." Bert glanced back at Lilly, only for her to giggle and shrug in response,
"What about our overpowered Porter?" Bert then asked, "Is he… going to come?"
"I'm right here, Bert."
And almost as if in cue to his query, Riley appeared from the gates of the city—and beside him was Aerith, and like him, she was covered with a cloak.
"I apologize for my tardiness," Riley said as he approached the group, "I forgot about the Expedition."
"...Of course, you did," Lilly could really only sigh and shake her head. But afterward, she quickly stretched her hand to Aerith.
"Hello, my name's Lilly. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Aerith."
"..." Aerith shook Lilly's hand, but she didn't really say anything and just nodded.
"..." Lilly was a little weirded out at first, but she just smiled as she introduced the rest of the Leville party to her. Aerith didn't talk, but she still acknowledged the others as she continued to nod.
"Alright then," Lilly then clapped her hands as she joined her husband on the front of the cart, "Since we're all here, shall we get ahead of the line!? Leville party's first Expedition!"
"Let's fucking go!" Roan once again peeked out of the cart as he raised his fist. As soon as he did so, however, he was almost hit by Bert's hammer.
"Language, my son can hear you!"
"Let's…" But alas, it is too late as Jacob also raised his fists in the air and said,
"Let's… fucking go!"
***
[...Leville party's first Expedition!]
[Let's fucking go!]
[Language…]
"..."
"..."
"Who do you think he is?"
Somewhere, 5 pairs of eyes could be seen glowing in pitch darkness. Their eyes seemed like finely cut gemstones—human, but at the same time, they held a sense of ferality in them.
Their breaths and voices too echoed and trembled through the darkness as they stared at the portal that was in the middle of them. The portal, showing Riley inside the cart along with everyone with him.
"Do you think he was sent by the Common Council?"
"What for? The Common Council has not bothered us and our ancestors—it is ludicrous to think that after an eon had passed, they would come to find us."
"Sa'ruth has a point. The Common Council, if it still exists, would only consist of people that might have already forgotten about our ancestors."
The voices continued to talk—their words, containing a certain click and clap on them.
"But the fact that our organization exists would mean that our ancestors have foreseen that something like this would happen, no?"
"But why? For what reason would they try and find us?"
"He isn't trying to find us, have you people not heard what he said in the library? He is here by fate."
"But he knows about Ahor Zai, and that we left the Known Universe after the war of the gods in search of Nothing. I feel like we must reach out to him—if it is true he had made contact with a Preprimordial being, then we owe it to our ancestors to know the truth."
"Nonsense—he had also mentioned that he killed hundreds of billions of people—his words are filled with lies and arrogance. No singular person has that kind of strength anymore."
"The Cherbi could. And one of the Great Van's direct descendants could too, he looks like one."
"But he's not, he said he is from the Unknown."
"The creatures you speak of might not even exist anymore. The time of the gods is over. This creature, whatever and whoever he is, I believe he just wants attention by spouting these grand lies."
"Why would he lie?"
"As I said, for attention. And since he seems to want it…
…then we shall give him one."
"But our people are with him. We have already risked their lives by trying to explode the library."
"They are beneath us."
"They are still our people. We do not even know if the Stranger means us harm."
"Enough. If to die with the Stranger is their fate...
…then so be it."
Chapter 665"She… doesn't talk?"
"No, not for the last 5 years, Lilly."
The line of carts and people was long; the gallop of their mounts, drumming in the air as they continued to march on with the Expedition. But even with the noise drowning everything, the inside of Leville party's cart remained somewhat peaceful and quiet.
All of them were doing their own thing. Bert's son, Jacob, was currently sitting on the floor; his eyes wide open as he had been staring at Aerith for what seemed like hours now.
Bert has pulled him away over and over again, but he always manages to sneak away and return in front of Aerith. And although Aerith doesn't talk, it was clear that she didn't mind and even enjoyed the company; the smile on her face, as gentle as it could be.
"What… happened to her?"
Lilly, who was sitting beside her husband on the coach seat, had her back turned from view up front and was instead facing Riley and the others on the cart; her arms, completely relaxed on top of the box of the seat as she spoke with Riley.
"She… lost almost all of her family," Riley sighed as he shook his head.
"...Were they killed by an outbreak?" Lilly let out a small gasp as she heard her words; it didn't stop her from her queries, however. After all, as morbid as it might seem, Aerith's story was not really that uncommon in the world of Arlusia.
"No," Riley once again shook his head as he looked at Aerith, "They were killed by a monster, Lilly."
"...A single one?"
"You could say that."
"What—"
"Honey, stop asking too many questions. He's your newest member, you have a lot of time to get to know him," Lilly's husband, Nathan, could not help but let out a small chuckle as he heard his wife's endless questions. But soon, however, he slightly pulled the reins and made the birds slow down,
"And heads up, I think we're arriving at the first stop of the Expedition."
"You heard that, boys!" Lilly quickly jumped from the driver's seat and onto the cart; her pace, clearly excited as she started checking her spear, "Get ready. We don't want to be the last one to enter the dungeon."
"May I ask you a question, Lilly?"
And while Roan and Bert have also started checking their tools and weapons, Riley just remains seated.
"Uh, sure. Go ahead," Lilly nodded as she turned her spear to reflect Riley's on its blade, "...But please don't ask why Nate and I don't have a child."
"Perhaps I'll ask that question later, Lilly," Riley shook his head, "What exactly is the goal of this Expedition? I was busy learning the language and reading on different topics that I did not really have the time to delve into the culture of dungeon hunting."
"...Oh, that kind of question," Lilly giggled, "Well, I suppose you can say the Expedition's goal isn't 'dungeon hunting', but 'dungeon closing'. Does… that make sense?"
"I… suppose."
"We still get paid at the end by the authorities, but it's not about the money," Lilly nodded several times, "It's about trying to close as many dungeons as possible so that we might be able to reclaim these parts of the region. It's… honestly quite noble."
"...What do you mean it's not about money?" Roan, who was sharpening his blades could not help but scoff and shake his head, "Don't believe her, Riley. The party that hunts the most monsters during the Expedition will be given a lot of gold and be recognized by the kingdom. So actually, yes. This isn't about money…
…It's about money and fame."
"Aunt Lilly is very greedy!"
"Wh—What are you teaching your son, Bert!?"
"He learns through observation," Bert let out a small sigh as he once again pulled his son away.
"Don't believe them. I am doing this for the people of our country, Riley," Lilly could really only let out an awkward chuckle as she returned to Riley.
"It is fine, Lilly. It is a basic human want," Riley shook his head, "But closing the dungeon, how do you think that works? I heard from Roan earlier that we need to kill the Boss of the monsters in order to close the dungeon, but how exactly does killing a beast do that?"
"I… actually have no idea," Lilly let out a small hum as she squinted her eyes. But after a few seconds of thinking, she just turned to look at Bert, "Bert? Since you're the only one amongst us who actually had an education, maybe you know?"
"Nope," Bert only scratched his beard and chuckled, "The scholars have tried to study it, but the only thing they have are theories."
"Well, there you have it," Lilly shrugged, "Let's not worry about that weird stuff and—wait."
Lilly then suddenly looked at Riley from head to toe as she once again squinted her eyes. Riley was incredibly strong, and she already discussed with Roan and Bert that he might be one of those Heroes of legend—so why was he asking about the dungeons as if he knew nothing about them?
Wait, is he really asking a question at all? Maybe he already knows why, and he's just curious if they know. Is… this a test?
"Do… you know why, Riley?" Lilly then gulped as she looked Riley in the eyes.
"No. I would not ask you if I did."
"...Oh." And with that, Lilly could really only sigh and drop her shoulders as she once again started fidgeting with her spear.
As for Riley, he grabbed the black box from his pocket and stared at it—the box was obviously still shattered from Aerith pulverizing it, but Riley put it back together just because.
It made sense for these world's scholars not to know how their dungeons work because of their limited technology. But it was obvious from the people that attacked him in the library that there were people here that knew more—perhaps truly the P'lopi.
But then if the people from the library truly were the P'lopi, then what about Lilly and the others? Are they the descendants of the advanced civilization?
But why is their civilization not as advanced? Are they perhaps just an experiment of the P'lopi? Or… were the P'lopi just using this planet to hide amongst its people?
But then again, the dungeons and portals are said to exist even before the dawn of men—the P'lopi were surely responsible for creating the portals, so they should—
"Hm," and as Riley realized that he was losing himself in his own world again, he quickly shook his head and also started getting ready… and taking off his pans and cutlery.
"You… cooking or something?" Roan could not help but ask, "Wait…"
He didn't wait for Riley's answer, however, as he started looking around him and was once again reminded that he was the only one that didn't bring anyone.
"Cooking, bringing your loved ones… I feel like we're just going camping," Roan said.
"It might as well be?" Lilly looked at the others before just shrugging her shoulders, "We're not really in any danger with the numbers we have. There have been many Expeditions throughout the years, but the casualties have always remained zero. The only way we would actually be in danger with our numbers is when an 8-Star monster appears."
"...An 8th-Star monster?" Roan gulped, "Are you sure we won't face something like that here?"
"...Pft."
"You're short, Roan. Not young," Bert and Lilly started chuckling while shaking their heads, "There hasn't been a monster above 5-Stars for hundreds of years now—the Heroes already eradicated them."
"But if you're still worried, the guild has actually sent scouts ahead of time. They have done this long before any of us have been born," Lilly sighed,
"This year's Expedition is not going to be any different."
"Hm…" Roan breathed out as he started pushing the drapes of the cart open; letting more light seep into the cart to illuminate his serious expression, "...The last one out carries our supplies and will set up camp!"
And all of a sudden, Roan leaped out of the cart and rushed away. This time, however, Roan and Lilly did not immediately follow and just looked at each other; sighing and shaking their heads.
Their camp was already set up—their cart. That was the very reason why they upgraded to a covered cart in the first place. This will also ensure that they would be one of the first ones to enter the dungeon since they didn't have to set things up.
"Yow, why are you guys moving!?"
"Pft," Lilly could really only burst out in a fit of laughter as Roan stuck his head back inside the cart before stepping inside again, "We don't have to set up camp, you idi—"
Her laughter, however, instantly disappeared as she saw a trickle of blood suddenly drip from Roan's nose.
"Roan… your nose."
"...Huh?" Roan blinked a couple of times as he looked down, only to see blood on his leather armor, "...What is this?"
Roan quickly touched his nose as he looked at his comrades, "What… what's this?"
"D…dad, I… don't feel too good."
And before Lilly could approach Roan, Jacob's quiet and stuttered whispers suddenly drowned the entire cart. They all looked at him, only to see him bleeding through the nose as well.
"..." Riley could really only blink a couple of times as he saw this. He then looked at Aerith, who was already staring at her. But of course, as Riley wasn't doing this, he quickly shook his head at her.
But soon, however, Roan's hand suddenly burst into flames.
"Roan!?"
"...Huh?" Roan, however, didn't seem to be in pain as he even raised his hand to look at it. As soon as he did so, however… the fire shot out from his hand and onto the highly flammable roof of their brand-new cart.
"Jacob!? Where's Jacob, he was just here!?"
"I'm… I'm right here, Dad. What… what's going on!? I'm scared!"
"...What!?" Bert could only raise his hands as he felt a small pair of arms embracing him. He could also hear his son's voice… but there was no one there.
"Oh," Riley hummed as he saw this.
It turns out…
…it was his fault, after all.
Chapter 666"What… what the fuck was that?"
"Fuck, everyone's staring at us."
"...Our cart."
Roan, Lilly, and Bert were sprawled on the ground; their breaths, pushing away all the dust… as well as the ashes flying around them. These ashes, of course, belong to their cart.
The Leville party could do nothing—they just stared as the cart they spent a lot of their money on was swallowed by flames. Flames that were as if taunting them as their eyes reflected its violent dance.
Well, at least that was what happened earlier. Now, the group just stared at what remained of their brand-new cart—smoke and ashes. The worst part of it all was that all their supplies withered away with it.
"We… just bought that," Lilly breathed out as she wiped her face, only to make it even dirtier as she painted her cheek black from the char on her hand, "Just… what happened, Roan? What was that fire…? Did you forget you have like a flint or something on—"
"No!" Roan did not let Lilly finish her words as he screamed and waved his hand, "Do you think I would make a rookie mistake like—"
"!!!"
If it wasn't for Lilly's quick reflexes, then she would have definitely suffered the same fate as their cart. There was truly no need to ask any more questions as to the origin of the fire, as this time, everyone clearly saw what happened.
As soon as Roan waved his hand, flames instantly burst forth and fanned from his palm out of nowhere.
"W… what is happ…ning…" Roan looked at his hand for a few seconds… before his vision just faded into nothing; his body, falling limp onto the ground. Fortunately, he still seemed very much healthy from the way his seemingly exhausted breaths reached everyone's ears.
The group saw what happened—and for everyone but Riley, the only explanation that they could reach was magic. Add to the fact that Bert's son, Jacob, also exhibited some form of sorcery when he disappeared earlier, and only really became visible again when he got tired. Is… it possible they encountered something?
And while the Leville party was losing their minds, Riley clearly knew what happened. But still, of course, he couldn't help but be curious.
The Supervirus is airborne, and Riley had actually been making a great effort to scatter it throughout Arlusia. And like holding his breath, he has been actively trying to keep his telekinetic armor off ever since they stepped into this mysterious fantasy world.
But still, he was surprised when he finally infected someone.
He had been with the Leville party for more than a month, and Riley was already starting to think that they were not susceptible to the virus. As for Jacob, well—the rate of children being infected was obviously higher.
But for the two to have their 'awakening' episode at the exact same time, Riley can't help but think of how… interesting that was. The same, however, could not be said for their abilities.
Summoning flames and invisibility, both useless. If it won't be able to scratch, or let alone kill him, then it is useless. But since he already confirmed that the people of Arlusia could be infected… then he just needed to plant more seeds.
"Magic… the timing is just…" Lilly didn't really know what to think. While they were in the midst of putting out the fire that Roan caused, most of the parties have already entered the dungeon.
They've already lost their chance to—No.
Lilly shook her head, why would she even think of the Expedition at this point?
"Bert… what… what do we do now?" Lilly then said as she just once again let herself fall; this time, however, she leaned onto her husband. Nathan didn't really have an answer for her.
"We… should go home." And so instead, Bert was the one to answer her question as he stood up and carried his son, "While the others are busy with the Expedition, we should take one of the carriages and go."
"You… want us to steal?"
"Do we have a choice!?" Bert could no longer hold off his worries as he raised his voice, "My son… my son suddenly disappeared into thin air, Lilly. He was gone, but I could still feel him. They obviously can't control this… whatever this is. What if Roan suddenly loses control again and burns us? What if my son disappears again, but only this time we can't find him? We—"
"Fine," Lilly did not let Bert finish his words as she gruntingly stood up, using her husband's shoulder as support, "We should hurry up. The people inside the dungeon aren't going to be busy for too long. I saw the color of the portal earlier, it should only be a 3-Star dungeon."
"Then let's stop talking and go while there's only a few people," Bert nodded as he started looking around, trying to find a cart that was completely left unattended, "There… I don't think anyone will see us if we get—"
And before the Leville team could even take a single step toward the abandoned cart, a sort of violent tremble reverberated in the air—No. It wasn't just a simple tremble, everyone that was still outside in the field felt their bones shivering along with the quake; every strand of hair in their body, now standing up.
They did not get the chance to wonder what it was, however, as another tremble echoed through the field.
And this time, the source was clear.
The people that have entered the dungeon were now running out of the portal; their screams, enough to drown everything with the desperation and fear they contained. And as they continue to run and scatter, something was clear for everyone that was watching them panic.
…The number that went in was not the same as the number that went out.
"W… what's going on!?" Lilly tried to grab one of the people that were running past them, but her hand was quickly flung away without even as much as a word. All she really heard was a whimpering scream.
"We… should probably run?" Nathan said as he carried Roan from the ground and looked at Lilly.
"..." Lilly returned Nathan's gaze, before just nodding her head and looking at the rest of the group. And without even saying another word, they all just nodded to each other and started running away.
…But they didn't get far.
They didn't get far as another tremble caused the air to shake. This time it was a quake—a quake that caused the ground to crack into a web, causing Nathan to trip and fall along with Roan.
"F… fuck," this fall seemed to wake Roan up, however, as he quickly sat up in surprise and started looking everywhere. His straying eyes, soon landing on something that made them open as wide as they could.
"G… guys…" Roan very slowly stretched his arm forward, causing Nathan and Lilly to quickly move away in fear of another fan of flames shooting out of his hand. But as soon as they confirmed they were safe from any premature firings, they turned to look at where Roan was pointing…
…only to see the portal.
That, in itself, is a problem as they shouldn't be able to see the dungeon entrance from where they were at. That could only mean one thing…
…the entrance was growing larger.
"..." The group then once again looked at each other, and this time, they didn't even have to nod as their bodies prioritize their legs to hurriedly move away.
…But they didn't get far.
They didn't get far as a roar loud enough to reach the skies pierced their ears. There was also a ripple of wind, a gust strong enough to almost cause the small Roan to tumble forward and fall.
"..." And as the Leville party turned to see what caused it, their legs that were once previously moving on their own to run completely turned limp. Their bodies, just freezing as they saw an ominous silhouette stepping out of the now towering portal.
They have never seen something like it before, but they all knew what it was. The very field itself started to change color as the light of the sun started to reflect on the creature's scales, almost turning the day into a bright night from its purple luminance.
Majestic, ominous, death—perhaps the three words that best described the towering creature as it crawled out of the dungeon; its long neck, flexibly moving its head as a pair of eyes that seemed like gemstones scanned all the frozen and scared people.
It stepped forward, and when it did, it destroyed everything within its path with its feet that might as well be a hammer with claws; claws that were the size of an entire human.
And with a whip of its tail, the very ground itself seemed to ripple as if water as large pieces of it were just shaved away.
And then, finally, a word escaped Roan's opened mouth.
"Dura… Dragon!?"
"S…Shh!"
But alas, Lilly covered Roan's mouth too late as this… purple dragon quickly turned its head toward them.
"...Bert," Lilly then whispered; her eyes, not leaving the colossal creature even as its eyes started to stare at them, "...You should go, take Nathan with you while I try to distract it."
"What are you sa—"
"I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for the boy," Lilly breathed out. Her voice, seemingly calm even in the face of a creature she hasn't seen before, "Nathan, I love you… okay? Never forget—"
"Riley Ross."
But before Lilly could fully gather her resolve, the dragon suddenly spoke. Its words…
…containing a certain click in them.
Riley quickly tilted his head to the side; his eyes, blinking several times as he looked at the dragon from head to toe. And after a few more seconds, he whispered,
"...P'lopi?"
Chapter 667"Riley Ross."
"P'lopi?"
Everyone's eyes just blinked. Some did it fast, some a couple of times in a single second—but everyone blinked. Even those that were running for their lives just stopped as they all turned their heads toward the purple dragon.
Did… the dragon just talk?
And while most of the other Explorers were completely just baffled and shocked as they stared at the giant dragon, the Leville team was already turning away; their eyes, very slowly straying toward Riley.
"The dragon… it said your name?"
"Riley, please wake up!"
"Shit… let's just run!"
And while the Leville party and the other Explorers were once again preparing to run away, Riley just stared at the dragon with his head tilted to the side.
The dragons, the P'lopis, and their ancient civilization—he thought they were connected, but to think they might actually be one and the same. When the dragon called his name, there was a certain click in its voice, reminding him of the language that Ahor Zai demonstrated back in Ahor Zai.
Riley… seems to be getting everything right lately. And from how they are here right now, he was also right that they were watching him back in the library. He had thought they were planning something, and now here they are.
Riley then grabbed the broken tiny box from his pocket, before letting it float towards the purple dragon.
"Is this yours?" Riley then said; his words, traveling even from afar, "I will assume that you are one of the P'lopis until otherwise said so, Purple Dragon."
"...Riley, what's going on?" Lilly and the others could really only watch. They wanted to run, but there was something else going on here that made them stay; their curiosity, winning over everything.
"There's a giant purple dragon, Lilly."
"I see that!" Lilly raised her voice as she looked back and forth between Riley and the dragon, "I… thought I was hallucinating when I heard it call your name… but it seems the dragon… knows you? What's going on!?"
"Were we right…?" Bert took in several deep breaths as he embraced his still-unconscious son, "Were you one of the legendary heroes of the past?"
"Legendary hero…" Riley blinked, "That's more her than me."
"...What?" Everyone then turned to where Riley was pointing, just to see Aerith casually standing there and calmly looking at the dragon.
"If… if we live this encounter," Lilly could really only force out a chuckle as she shook her head, "Please tell us everythi—"
"Your arrogance ends here, alien."
And almost as if it heard Lilly's words, the dragon suddenly opened its mouth—and as it did so, the very air itself turned heavy; the wind, all flowing violently into the dragon's mouth as a ball of energy started to build up inside it.
This ball of energy started to crackle; the skies above, almost losing their light as the dragon's purple scales turned everything darker. And soon, a persisting flash of light…
…followed by a 'boom'.
"!!!"
Everything turned white as a beam burst forth from the dragon's mouth—shooting straight toward Riley without any warning. This beam, however, was instantly split in half as Riley stretched his hand toward it; protecting anything behind him from this death ray.
Unfortunately, splitting it in half meant splitting it to the sides; the beam, hitting everything else and destroying the very land itself.
Riley, however, did not even mind the screams of the people as he looked back and stared at Aerith since he saw her suddenly move. And there, Aerith was standing… and covering Bert and his son.
"..." A smile quickly crawled on Riley's face as he saw this. Finally, he thought—Aerith was finally saving someone again; it was just a matter of how young and innocent the person was. So… if he starts killing only children and babies from now on, perhaps Aerith would finally wake up?
"Look, Aerith!" Riley then pointed at the dragon, "It's a dragon! I've been reading them to you, and now they're here in person."
Riley's tone was almost that of a child; containing a dangerous and evil innocence in it. But alas, Aerith couldn't seem to care less as she just stared at the ground. And soon, as the light around them dissipated, so did the glowing reflection in Aerith's eyes.
Lilly and the others no longer cared about running away. After what they saw, they just… froze. But of course, they weren't stupid—the safest place right now was behind Riley. If they try to run, they will suffer the same fate as everyone else.
The Leville party… they were the only ones alive now. In an instant, everyone was gone… even the very land itself was now completely flat; like one would slip on it if they tried to run. The fields of Arlusia were desolate and empty from the start, but now… there was just nothing.
"Do you want to try killing it, Lilly?" Riley then said as he looked back, "It will increase the party's rank if you manage to do so."
"W… what?" Lilly blinked a couple of times as she looked at Riley. But after a few seconds, she just shook her head and awkwardly smiled, "It… it's all yours, Riley."
"But if it's me, then…" Riley then snapped his fingers while still facing Lilly, "...I think it will be over just like this."
And as soon as he said that, the dragon's head suddenly turned into a mist of blood.
"..." Lilly and the others' mouths were once again agape; their eyes, almost popping out of their sockets as they now stare at the headless dragon. They remained frozen like that—with their only movement being a flinch as the dragon finally realized it was dead and dropped to the ground.
"Hm…" Riley then let out a small hum as he started looking around, "...I just killed one of you, perhaps it is time to show yourselves, P'lopis?"
And as soon as he said that, the clouds that have just once again gathered in the skies all rippled away—opening dozens of portals the same size as where the purple dragon emerged from.
And true enough, the loud flapping of their wings drowned every other noise as their majestic silhouettes all descended from the heavens at the same time.
"Is… this the end of the world?"
"Wake up!"
"No," the smile on Riley's face became wider as his feet very slowly left the ground, "This is the beginning of Nothing."
Riley then stretched his hands to the side, and as he did so, the very ground that Lilly and the others were standing on started to quake and lift into the air.
"Riley, stop!"
He heard a scream piercing his ears, but Riley did not stop as his eyes just reflected the army of dragons above him. Riley just continued to ascend, bringing the land along with him.
And soon, the dragons all opened their mouths—blasting a violent rain straight toward Riley.
"You ancestors sought for Nothing," Riley then whispered as his telekinetic barrier completely stopped all the beams, "And now, I will bring you to Noth—"
"Riley, just stop!"
And then, all of a sudden, the dragons were gone. Riley just heard a snap and felt a sting on his cheek, and suddenly, the skies above just instantly turned into a familiar empty darkness.
Riley then blinked several times as he touched his cheek, before looking at the woman that was suddenly in front of him.
"...Mother?"
Chapter 668"Riley, just stop!"
"...Mother?"
"Enough, Riley. Just… stop it."
And for the first time in a very long time, Riley found himself just like the rest of the people standing below him—completely frozen. He wasn't surprised that everything around him just suddenly changed in an instant, no.
What he was surprised about was suddenly seeing Diana floating right in front of him, appearing out of nowhere. Suffice it to say, Riley didn't really feel any threat coming from the dragons, but now that Diana suddenly replaced them, he felt like he needed to very slowly descend back to the ground.
But of course, Riley didn't do it and instead just stretched his hand to touch Diana's face.
"Are you really here, Mother?" Riley then started brushing Diana's cheek, caressing, pinching, and pulling to see if it was real. And true enough, she was there.
And while Riley was busy messing with her face, Diana just stared at him; her eyes, slowly turning moist as her eyebrows furrowed.
"You… found us. Mother?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he finally let go of Diana's face, "We should be in a place that is very far away, a completely different dimension. Completely inaccessible by normal means. How were you able to find us, Mother?"
"..." Diana's eyes fluttered shut; her lips parting in a deep exhale as if all she wanted to say was contained within the sigh that escaped them. The meaning of her sigh, however, Riley was not capable of understanding at all.
"Aerith, Mother found us!" Instead, Riley just turned to look at Aerith, only to find her standing alone on the ground. Lilly, Lilly's husband, Roan, Bert, and his son were nowhere to be found.
"Oh…?" Riley then finally started to scan his surroundings, only to find that they were now standing on a large rock. He looked at the sky, to find that there was none at all; instead, he finally realized why the darkness was so familiar to him—it was the expanse of space. And the land they were standing on? An asteroid…
…floating amidst the countless other lifeless stones and dust in the darkness, almost reminding Riley where he truly belonged.
"You didn't find us…" Riley then whispered as he looked to the side, "...The plaque—I suppose it finally teleported and brought us back."
"No, dear…" Diana once again sighed; this time looking Riley in the eyes, "It's…
…not real."
"Hm?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "What do you mean, Mother?"
"You know what I mean, Riley… You know what I mean," Diana once again closed her eyes. And this time, the sadness that had been wanting to burst forth from them could no longer be contained; the tears, going down a trail on her cheeks that already seemed to have existed for a long time,
"The dragons, the adventures… they're not real."
"Of course, they are, Mother," Riley blinked, "How could they not be when I was just on their planet moments ago?"
"..."
"Wait," Riley's eyebrows started to furrow as he very slowly floated away from Diana, "How do you know about the dragons, Mother? Are you perhaps involved with the P'lopi?"
"I know because you have told me before. They're not real."
"..." Riley looked to the side as several thoughts started to race in his mind. But after a few seconds, he let out a small but very deep sigh and shook his head, "They seem real enough for me, Mother. The P'lopi, I believe they are planning something behind the shadows."
"How? How would you know they're planning something?" Diana wiped the tears on her face as she took in a deep breath, "You made it up, Riley."
"..." Riley blinked as he heard Diana's words, "Are you saying that I have lost my mind, Mother?"
"..."
"I don't believe so, Mother," Riley shook his head, "The way the supervirus scattered, and everything that was happening seemed too real to not be real. You suddenly being here is what does not seem real."
"..."
Diana once again kept her silence as she just looked at Riley. Riley, on the other hand, placed his hand on his chin as he let himself think of different other possibilities. But after a few seconds, he just shrugged and turned around before flying back to Aerith.
"Well, real or not, since we're back, we can continue traveling again, Aerith," Riley nodded as he stood in front of Aerith, "We just need to find another ship, and I can fulfill my promise to take you away."
"..." Aerith did not really say anything; just nodding her head as her feet slowly left the ground.
"Which direction do you want to go this time, Aerith?" Riley also started to float again as he asked, "We're already in the Unknown, so maybe we should try to—"
"Riley, stop and listen."
Before they could leave the asteroid, however, Diana suddenly appeared behind Aerith and grabbed her hand—not letting her fly away.
"What are you doing, Mother?"
"Where do you think you were, Riley?" Diana did not let go of Aerith's arm as she once again looked Riley in the eyes, "What world were you in earlier?"
"It's called Arlusia, Mother."
"...Arlusia," Diana breathed out, "That is the name of the world of the anime you keep on watching again and again, Riley."
"..." Riley squinted his eyes, before grabbing Aerith's other hand, "Let's go, Aerith. We still need to find a ship if we want to continue our—"
"Riley!"
And almost as if a beast unleashed, Diana let out a roar that shattered the asteroid beneath her feet, "I know you know, dear… you know. Just stop this, please—everyone's getting tired."
"Let go of Aerith, Mother."
"Riley…"
"We are going, Mother."
"...Riley."
"Hm?"
"Let her rest."
"...What are you saying, Mother?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he tightened his grip on Aerith's hand, "I don't understand, Mother. Why are you saying that?"
"Please let Aerith rest," Diana pulled closer to Aerith, before very slowly and gently touching and covering her face…and closing her eyes,
"It's time to let her rest eternally. Please, Riley… for both your sakes…
…it's time to let her go."
Chapter 669"For both your sakes… let her go."
"Why… are you saying that, Mother? That's…not nice."
"You know why, Riley. Please… please wake up."
"..."
Silence. Riley had always treasured it, just below the screams of all the people he had killed and tortured. But at this very moment, it was as if there was something knocking on his head. In silence, there should only be a persisting whistle… so what was this knocking that was whispering in his ears over and over again?
And as he looked at Aerith; her eyes closed and her face at peace—he felt something he couldn't quite figure out yet.
"Why would I let her rest, Mother?" Riley tightened his grip even further as he truly refused to let go of Aerith's hand, "That does not make sense—if she is tired, then she will rest on her own."
"We have been over this again and again, Riley," Diana sighed, "I've always managed to convince you that Arlusia isn't real, but when it comes to this… when it comes to Aerith—you regress."
"..." Riley's eyebrows began to furrow.
"This is the part where you once again go away, and then I will follow you to some other part of the Universe. We…
…have been at this for almost 5 years, Riley. A lot has changed… It's time for you to wake up back to reality, the real one."
"..."
"..."
"I suppose I can believe you that Arlusia is fake, Mother," Riley then shrugged, "And so, how were you able to do it? Is Paige here somewhere creating illusions?"
"Paige is on Earth, waiting for you. Along with your sister, the norinlad—we're all just waiting for you to come home."
"Are you saying I imagined everything in my mind, Mother?" Riley breathed out as he started looking everywhere, "It felt too real to be fake, Mother."
"That's what Alice said too."
Diana moved away from Aerith as she flew in front of her son, "She said that everything felt real. She told me one time that she forgot she was bathing you, that you were in the tub—because for her, you truly weren't there… she almost drowned you."
"..."
"You're now older than she was when her illness won, Riley."
"Then do I have what biological mother had, Mother?"
"...Maybe. I don't know yet, dear. But what I do know is that you took it to the next level," Diana turned to look at the thousands of asteroids that were scattered like flies around them,
"You're using your telekinesis and… another ability to make whatever it is you're seeing to truly feel real to you. It's… fascinatingly scary."
"Hm," Riley turned his head down, before he once again turned to Aerith and shook his head, "She is real."
"She is."
"I hear her cry at nights, she smiled at Bert's son—and she even tried saving them, Mother," Riley breathed out, "How will that be possible if only I see what I saw?"
"...This is the part where you regress as soon as I tell you. You will leave, and repeat the scenario in your head again and again."
"Tell me, Mother."
"You already know what happened, dear…
…you tell me."
***
"Riley… just take me away."
5 years ago, when the remains of Theran and its people still reflected in Aerith's eyes—Riley wrapped his arms around her, the smile on his face ever-persisting as Aerith's words entered his ears.
"Of course, Aerith…" Riley breathed out as he rested her head on Aerith's shoulder,
"...anywhere with you."
"Then let's die."
"Hm…?"
It wasn't only Riley. The others that were there watching the scene unfold could not help but move parts of their body as they heard Aerith's words. But before Aerith's words could fully register in their minds… something happened.
"...Megawoman!?"
Riley blinked a couple of times. He was just resting his head on Aerith's shoulder just moments ago, and now she was facing him—her hand, deep into his chest.
"...You can't kill me, Aerith," Riley just tilted his head to the side after looking at Aerith's burrowed arm.
"I know," Aerith smiled as she looked Riley in the eyes, "I'm going to have to go first."
"...Aerith?" Riley's eyes very slowly widened as he returned Aerith's clear and melancholic gaze.
"And I know I can't leave if you're here."
"What are you—"
And before Riley could finish his words, he saw his vision very slowly fade away. But still, he continued to stare at Aerith's eyes even through the last moment… only to notice that the light in her eyes was also fading away.
And as soon as Riley realized what was happening, he used the last of his strength to summon a clone, then hastily looking at Paige and mouthing something to her before he was sent to the Overvoid.
"..." His stay in the Overvoid just fleeted away—he didn't really do anything. Nothing was there, saying something to him; but everything was just a blur until his eyes once again finally saw Aerith.
He was on the ground… with Aerith resting in his arms. As for the clone that he left behind, it was currently turning into ashes as Diana had her arm wrapped around its neck.
"Riley! What are you doing!?" Diana then quickly rushed toward Riley, but Riley quickly created a telekinetic bubble to block her path, "Give her to me, dear. Don't let me break this barrier and just please hand her to me."
"..." Riley just looked at Diana for a few seconds, before turning to look at the other people there.
Hannah had her hand covering her mouth; her head, clearly trembling as she stared at Aerith. Paige wasn't looking at all, just letting her tears freely fall from her face as she bit her lip.
Bernard was just standing as straight as he could, holding his helmet on his chest as he looked at Aerith with eyes filled with respect. Hera was on the ground; her face, filled with pain.
Tomoe… was just bowing toward Aerith. Even Tsula, who was previously hiding beneath the deepest parts of New Theran was now on the surface.
As for those that weren't from Earth, they also had the same expressions—mostly of a lingering regret.
And then finally, Riley looked at Aerith—carrying an expression that Riley had seen before. The very same face she had when he recovered her body back from the Government.
At peace.
"...Oh," Riley breathed out as he very gently caressed Aerith's cheek, "You're taking a rest again, Aerith. I understand, I'll wait for you to wake—"
"She's not resting, Riley!" Diana did not let him finish his words as she lightly slammed her palm on Riley's telekinetic bubble, "She… she sent herself to Eternal Death…
…she's gone, son."
"No, she's not," Riley shook his head as he placed a finger under her nose, "I can still feel life in her."
"You're doing that…" Diana's breaths slightly became gasps as she looked at Riley; her eyebrows slightly turned up, "...You're preventing her from dying."
"..."
"Just let her go. Let her go with her dignity intact, Riley. Just her go, please," Diana pleaded, "To prevent a themarian that wants to die from reaching Eternal Death is the greatest disrespect one could do to us…
…you are disrespecting her, Riley."
Chapter 670"To prevent a themarian that wants to die from reaching Eternal Death is the greatest disrespect one could do to us…
…you are disrespecting her, Riley."
Diana's tone was soft but stern at the same time; not even a hint of authority or command in it, all there was is pleading.
There was a shadow reflecting in her eyes, showing a certain… darkness. Her entire people just died—and now, the only remaining themarian aside from her chose to end her life. There was still Esme, but her chances of survival solely relied on whether she wanted to live or not, and even then… she might not make it.
But it didn't matter, not at this moment.
"Riley, listen to me…" Diana continued to plead, "...please, let me immortalize her along with the rest of my people, let me bury her with her son. At least give them that please…please."
"You are not making sense, Mother," Riley shook his head as he looked at Aerith. She stared at her face for a few seconds—and soon, her skin which seemed like a gray canvas started to be painted with color.
"Riley… don't," Diana took a deep breath as she saw this; her head, shaking ever so slightly several times, "Don't."
Aerith's eyebrows started to twitch; her lips, parting as a long and very deep breath escaped them. And very soon…
…she opened her eyes.
"Ah!" A smile quickly crawled on Riley's face as he saw himself being reflected in Aerith's eyes as she looked at him, "See, Mother? She's alive!"
"Riley!" Diana yelled as she slammed her fist on Riley's telekinetic barrier, breaking through it as she stepped closer, "Don't do that!"
"I'm not doing anything, Mother," the smile on Riley's face grew even wider as he watched as Aerith very clumsily stood up, "You're worrying for nothing."
"Riley…" Diana's eyebrows started to furrow; gritting her teeth as she looked Riley in the eyes, "...Stop this, now. I am warning you. Do not disrespect her any further."
"I'm not, Mother."
"You're controlling her body."
"I'm not, Mother. She is doing this on her own."
"The way her heart is beating is irregular. And we only really breathe if we want to," the tone of Diana's voice became lethargic as she looked at Aerith; her eyes, filled with sorrow and pity,
"You… are controlling every part of her. It's… not right, Riley."
"She's alive, Mother," Riley stood up as he walked in front of Aerith, "Are you alright, Aerith? It's going to be fine, I am going to take you away from here, okay?"
"..."
"Riley…I am going to explain this in a way that will be easy for you to understand," Diana tried her best to stay calm, "She is clinically dead, and you are serving as her life support. She is brain dead, Riley."
"That's not nice to say, Mother."
"Riley, I said enough!" Diana couldn't take it anymore as a roar once again escaped her throat, "
"I won't let you do this any lo—!!!"
Diana was going to rush toward Riley—her hands, already ready to grab Aerith away. But before she could even make it halfway toward them…
…Alice suddenly appeared in front of her.
"..." She seemed to be saying something as her mouth was moving, but Diana couldn't hear any words escaping her lips. Diana stared at Alice for a few seconds, before turning her head toward Paige.
"What are you doing, Ms. Pearson?" Diana almost growled at Paige as she looked at her.
"It's…" Paige very slowly shook her head, before looking at the ground; grimacing as she closed her eyes, "...It's not me. I'm sorry… I'm sorry."
"What do you—" Diana's words were once again interrupted as she felt a hand on her shoulder—Alice's hand.
Diana knew how Paige's abilities worked. They were real for her, but for others, the only thing they are are visual illusions—they don't produce sound, they don't even cast shadows unless it was part of the illusion.
But right now, she was definitely feeling Alice's touch.
"...Alice?" Diana blinked a couple of times; her hand, very slowly making its way toward Alice's face. But before she could touch her best friend's face, she let out a small but deep gasp.
She then turned to look at Riley, who was still trying to talk to Aerith, before once again turning her eyes to Paige.
"What… have you done?" She asked with a stuttering voice.
"I'm… I'm sorry," Paige, however, just repeatedly apologized as she shook her head, "It just… everything was happening so fast, and… and when Riley looked at me when Megawoman had her… when he was dying, he told me to—"
"You killed him…?" Hannah said as she also looked at Paige, "You killed him first? You… let him have your powers? Are you… are you crazy?"
"Oh, no…no, no, no…" Diana already reached that conclusion, and the only thing she could really do was shake her head several times as she looked at Alice…and what happened to her in her last moments.
"Are you not ready to talk yet, Aerith?"
And while everyone was losing their minds figuratively… Riley was losing his literally.
"It's fine now, Aerith. You don't have to be sad," Riley then let out a small and deep sigh before he stepped to the side—revealing Gary behind him, alive and well.
"Mom, we need to take revenge for what they did to us! Mom!" Gary started waving his hands as he approached Aerith; his thundering words, echoing throughout the air and…
…reaching only Riley and Paige's ears.
"Look, Aerith. See?" Riley then let out a small chuckle as he placed his hand on Gary's shoulder, "Gary wants us to take revenge against Elder Skeem. We'll do it, do you want to do it?"
"Riley…"
"Mother? Why—Oh? Isn't that biological mother? She's alive?" And as Diana approached him calmly, Riley started blinking a couple of times as he saw Alice standing behind her, "Did you revive her again? That is very hypocritical of you, Mother."
"Riley…" Diana whispered; the frustration and haste in her eyes were no longer there, only worry remained, "...I am going to talk to you again very straight, okay? I'm not going to talk to you as your mother, but as a doctor, okay?"
"Hm?"
"You are experiencing psychosis," Diana breathed out, "At least… I hope it's just that. So please, why don't you give me Aerith and we can check your condition, okay? Whatever it is you're seeing now, it's not real. Okay? It's not real."
"You mean that's not real?"
"..." Diana quickly turned to look to where Riley was pointing, but there was nothing there.
"Mom… what's… what's happening to him? There's nothing there."
"What are you seeing, Riley?" Diana took in a small gulp, "What—"
And before she could finish her words, a ship just suddenly popped up out of nowhere—Aerith's ship.
"..."
"...Aerith's ship was already taken by Elder Olseyir, remember?" Diana then calmly said as she looked at Riley, "You have Paige's abilities now, Riley. I don't think you know how dangerous that is, not only for us…
…but for you, especially to you."
***
"I then grabbed Aerith and flew straight into the ship. You tried to grab the ship. You were able to at first, but then you couldn't anymore because it truly only existed for me…
…and the only reason you were able to grab it in the first place is because I wrapped it with a telekinetic barrier."
"That's right, Riley…"
And as Riley finished recalling what happened 5 years ago, Diana closed her eyes and took in a long and very deep breath.
"...Interesting," Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at Aerith, "So, I am subconsciously keeping her alive? How many times have we had this conversation, Mother?"
"A lot."
"And I keep repeating the same things over and over again as soon as I discover that Aerith is… dead?"
"Yes. Right about now, you're going to leave again."
"Huh…" Riley then let out a small hum as he finally let go of Aerith's hand.
"...Riley?" Diana took in a small gasp as soon as she saw this. This… never happened before.
What was different? What did she do differently to get this response? Diana tried to rack her brain to find out, so she could use it again next time. Her search was in vain, however… as she found out she didn't even need to.
"Not this time, Mother," Riley then shrugged as he carried Aerith in his arms, "Let's just go back to Earth."
"...What?"
"But on one condition…
…I'm keeping her in my room."
Chapter 671The Superhero Association Tower.
A landmark of hope for the people of Earth—a reminder that no matter what happens, the day will be saved.
For some, it was a shrine. They only needed to look up, and there she was standing tall, Megawoman. The Earth has changed drastically, and yet her statue remained completely unchanged.
Even in the midst of the darkness that the night brings, she shone ever so brightly.
And there, sitting on Megawoman's shoulder, was Hannah. Her hair that was tied in pigtails, flowing with the wind as she stared at the city lights beneath her.
"Aren't you too old to be doing your hair like that?"
"Aren't you too old to be sneaking up on your daughter like that?" Hannah sighed; her eyes, slightly rolling as she shook her head. The tone of her voice was not the same as before—her words were still as sharp, but they no longer contained the harshness they had before.
"I'm never going to be too old for that."
A quiet metallic sound whispered in the air as Bernard landed on the statue's shoulder; his steps tried to be quiet, but there was a weight inside him that made it impossible to do so.
"And I'm not sneaking up on you, you're on top of my office. How could I leave you alone?"
"Hm…" Hannah only glanced at Bernard before raising her knee and resting her head on it, "...Have I congratulated you for that, by the way?"
"There's no need," Bernard sighed as he joined his daughter in looking at the city lights dancing below.
"I still don't know how you did it, Dad. President of the Superhero Association, even with all your crimes."
"Because I was thrown in this position, Hannah—I wasn't granted it," Bernard forced a chuckle.
"Eh, I suppose I know how," Hannah once again shrugged, "The Secretary of Defense, the leader of the entire fucking planet, still has a crush on you."
"..."
"You, Mom, Riley…Me—we are poison to this planet," Hannah then sighed as she closed her eyes, "Sometimes I wonder just how peaceful this place would be without the Ross family."
"It'll just be the same with someone else fucking it up," Bernard breathed out as he sat down, "How are you, Hannah? Have you finally adjusted to all of this?"
"...You're kidding, right?" Hannah removed her eyes away from the city lights as she glanced at Bernard, "Earth is the one that adjusted."
Hannah then turned her head up to look at the moon—and yet in her eyes reflected not a silver sphere, but another world seemingly teeming with life.
New Theran.
The sole reminder that Earth was a completely different planet from before as it completely replaced the Moon.
"We might as well be on a completely different planet, Dad. This isn't Earth anymore," Hannah took in a deep breath as she stared at their new moon, "Even the people are different."
"And your friends?"
"They're hanging in there. Tomoe's doing well in the Academy. Paige is… well, being Paige."
"...And you?"
"I'm hanging in there."
"No, really…" Bernard let out a very long and deep sigh as he looked at Hannah, "How are you, Hannah?"
"...Honestly?" Hannah turned her head down and rested her forehead on her knee, "...I have no fucking idea."
"You really don't plan on going back to being a superhero?"
"What's the point, Dad? It's… all just meaningless now," Hannah forced a chuckle, "How do you expect me to return to this life when we already know what's out there? And Megawoman… Aerith… her entire people were killed right in front of us and we couldn't do anything."
"The people that did that are already dead."
"Not enough," Hannah shook her head, "The themarians were erased because everyone else feared them—what do you think would happen if they start fearing us too, Dad?"
"..."
"We need to do something, I don't know what…" Hannah once again looked down,
"...but we need to do something or we will be erased like the themarians."
"Hannah, you—"
And before Bernard could say something, the watch he was wearing suddenly started beeping in red.
"..."
Hannah and Bernard quickly looked at each other, before just quickly flying away.
***
Somewhere in an empty field, where the blades of grass almost seemed like the sea—more than a hundred silhouettes could be seen casting shadows and making a circle.
The hundred silhouettes were all wearing armor similar to Bernard's Whiteking outfit; all of them just standing in full alert as they stared at the dark sky.
And somewhere inside that circle, Empress and Butcher stood; their eyes, also reflecting the stars.
"Adaeze."
"...Bernard," Empress quickly removed her eyes from the sky as Bernard landed close to her, "Hannah."
"Hm," Hannah also landed near her, nodding her head as she looked at the soldiers standing in a circle,
"Are you sure your people know what they're doing?" Hannah then said.
"I wasn't stupid enough to provoke your brother then," Empress breathed out as she crossed her arms, "I'm not stupid enough to provoke him now that he's more unstable."
"But you are 162% stupid enough to let him back to Earth, Adaeze," Butcher quietly commented on the side.
"Well, we're not on Earth, are we?" Empress then turned around to look at the horizon behind her—and there, Earth could be seen.
"Riley Ross is now the most wanted individual in the entire Universe. This could be considered as us hiding him," Butcher's eyes as well as his bald head still reflected the sky above.
"We're not hiding anyone," Empress scoffed, "And also, if we truly are hiding Outlaws, then we're hiding 3. That vampire, Diana, and now Riley."
"And what did your new friends at the Common Council think about that?"
"They are terrified shitless," Empress smirked, "But since Xra has not committed any crimes since she has been here, the Common Council all just agreed to leave us alone… as long as we keep them in check."
"...And what if they did what they did to Megawoman's people to us?"
"They can't," Empress then turned to Bernard, "We have countermeasures for everything they will throw at us. We are the newest member of the Council, Butcher—but we're definitely not the most helpless one."
"..." Hannah glanced at Empress as she heard her words. And as the two of them met each other's eyes, they just once again nodded at each other.
And very soon, a bright spot of light pulsed from the sky—blowing away all the clouds above them as a ship started to descend to the ground.
No one really said a word, they all just waited for the ship to touch the ground. But as soon as it did so, Hannah was the first to rush toward it; not even waiting for the door to open.
There wasn't really a smile on her face, but her breaths alone were enough to know how excited she truly was. And soon, as the pressure within the ship started to hiss as the door opened, a familiar silhouette reflected in Hannah's eyes.
"..."
Just one, however—her mother's.
"Mom…?" Hannah blinked a couple of times as she looked at what was behind Diana, leaning her head up to see inside the ship, "Where's—"
"Where's Riley Ross!?" Empress was the one to continue Hannah's words for her as she ran past her; rushing toward the ship and almost leaping inside it, "Diana, where's Riley!?"
And as she couldn't even find a glimpse of Riley, the only thing she could really do was placed her hand on Diana's shoulder.
"He's…" Diana sucked in a deep breath as she looked at Empress; her eyes, slightly apologetic, "...on Earth."
"Are you crazy!?" Empress quickly ran away, "You Ross family…
…why do all of you keep making problems!?"
***
"Hm… just like old times. Don't you think so, Aerith?"
And once again, Aerith was in Riley's room back in the Ross Residence; her head, resting on his shoulder as the two of them sat on his bed—basking from the light that entered through his window. And just like old times, Aerith doesn't answer.
"Did you see how different Earth is now, Aerith?" Riley's sighs whispered through the entire room, "You will barely recognize it once you wake up. Although… I wonder if what I saw was even real or just a hallucination."
"..."
"You heard what Mother said," Riley then stood up, before very gently laying Aerith on the bed; supporting her head as softly as he could, "I might have the same thing that Alice had. I wonder if I will become like her too—I might even end up killing sister without knowing it. It's… sort of a scary thought, no?"
"..."
"What was that?" A small smile then crawled on Riley's face as he fixed Aerith's hair, "Why did I bring you back here when I promised you that I would take you away?"
"..."
"Because you broke the promise first, Aerith. You left first," Riley closed his eyes, "I'm returning you home. So please, Aerith… wake up."
"..."
"Now that you're gone, I have come to realize something…" Riley then took in a deep breath and opened back his eyes; a hint of moisture could be seen from them as they reflected Aerith's peaceful face,
"...I am lost without you."
And soon, a single tear emerged from the moisture building up in his eyes… and soon trailing down his cheek.
"I am not used to you not being here, Aerith. You are the thing that completes me, and… I don't think I can go on without you. So, I am going to tell you something—and I am hoping that it will make you want to live again…
…I am the one responsible for your people's death. It was me."
Chapter 672"They killed your people because of me, Aerith. The Elder you know as Elder Olseyir, she's one of my clones that has gained individuality like John. She's the one who instigated the other Elders to ultimately act on what they did…
…It was me, Aerith. I killed your people."
"..."
"So, please. Be angry at me, truly hate me—kill me over and over again. Just wake up."
"..."
"It was my fault, I… was wrong. I thought you would be able to overcome it like you always do."
Riley waited.
He waited for even just a twitch of Aerith's eyes, but there was nothing.
"You know Gary…" Riley held Aerith's hand in hopes that she would grip his hand back, "...Gary was supposed to be on the ship, all you needed to call him with you and he would have still been alive."
"..."
"It is somewhat funny, you know?" Riley then let out a small chuckle as he sat on the floor; resting his head on the bed as he started twirling her finger on Aerith's palm, "Gary Gray has always been obsessed with being the main character, not knowing that he was. He was so busy trying to escape the notion that he's just a side character… that he literally died in it. Or perhaps he just wanted to belong?"
"..."
"Either way, he died like a side character—offscreen. Do you know what I mean, Aerith? While you were experiencing one of the greatest moments of your life as you freed your people, he died like nothing."
"..."
"...Aerith? Are you listening?" Riley then finally let go of Aerith's hand as he stood up from the floor,
"I have always known about what I am, and what I am doing. I enjoy every second of it, but right now… I don't know. I could go out there and start killing everyone again, but I don't think I would enjoy it, Aerith. Not without you trying to stop me. You and me, it was supposed to be you and me…
…I now realize why I retired when you were gone. Because without you, what is the point of all of this? I also realized I never really quit being Darkday, because I knew you were alive somewhere. But now…
…are you waking up? Please tell me, Aerith. Give me a sign that you are alive."
"..."
"Don't worry, Aerith…" Riley then let out a small sigh as he started making his way to the door, "...I will keep you here…
…forever."
And as Riley's whispers very slowly dissipated as he stepped out of the room, the only sound that was left inside was the air that was coming and entering Aerith's nose. Whether or not it was truly him breathing, or if it was just because of Riley…
…no one would truly know yet.
***
"Hm."
Empty.
As Riley stepped out of their house and into their neighborhood, he realized how empty it truly was—and not just today.
It has always been empty.
Even as a child, he had never really seen anyone walking as he looked out the window from his room. This entire district was owned by Bernard, and be it paranoia in trying to keep his family safe, Bernard never really rented it out to anyone.
Of course, that seemed normal for Riley—as he never really stepped out of his neighborhood, he only flew. But for someone normal like Hannah, it should have had a negative effect on her social life.
"..." Riley once again looked at the lifeless neighborhood, before closing his eyes and taking a very long and very deep breath. The only sounds that one could really hear were the birds whispering to each other, the rustle of the leaves…
…and then finally,
"How is Aerith doing, Neighbor!?"
A voice.
"Shh. Don't be too loud, Husband. She might still be resting."
Voices.
And soon, it was followed by the bark of a noisy dog. And then the sound of an engine and a car driving by—the chime of a bicycle, as well as the sound of a spray of water hitting grass.
"..." Riley then opened his eyes, waking up to a neighborhood teeming with life and people walking around. And in front of him standing on the sidewalk outside their front yard, was an ordinary-looking couple waving at him with smiles on their faces.
"Aerith is still asleep, Neighbor," Riley also waved back and smiled.
"Okay, Neighbor!"
"We will bring some of her favorites to your house later, Neighbor!"
"Thank you, Neighbors," Riley nodded as the couple started jogging away. Riley once again looked at the once-empty neighborhood, only to see the houses around them occupied; with most of them having someone tending their lawn.
There were also children riding on bicycles, and parents telling them to keep to the sides to avoid the cars driving by. But most importantly, all of them had smiles on their faces.
"Hm…" Riley then nodded to himself. And as he took a step away from the door, a black helmet instantly covered his head; his body, now strapped in leather as he walked out—and on the street in front of them, was a motorcycle that wasn't there earlier.
"I'll be back, Aerith," Riley then glanced back at their house, before nodding and riding away with his motorcycle. The people waved at him when he zipped by, and of course, Riley waved back.
Everyone was smiling and being courteous. And even as Riley left the neighborhood, everyone still had smiles on their faces.
While Riley was now blanketed by the darkness of the night, the people in his neighborhood were still surrounded by the joy of day.
The couple that was jogging, they were smiling.
The people that were tending their lawns, they were smiling.
Even those that were just standing in front of their houses, they were smiling.
The children, the people that were in their cars…
…and even their dogs were smiling.
***
"Boring. Why is everything so boring!? Do you want me to replace all of you with aliens!? Give me a script that's actually worth something!"
"But—"
"Out! All of you out!"
In the middle of Los Angeles, a new tower stood amongst all the giants—Hera Entertainment.
As soon as Hera got back to Earth, she used all of her savings and investments to finally build up an entire agency from the ground up—literally.
"Why is everyone except me so useless!?" Hera's entire office was built from the strongest of materials, some even from New Theran. If it wasn't for it being inaccessible, then she would have probably built the entire agency there.
Of course, the reason for this was simple—she would break everything otherwise.
She continued to look at all the programs and the scripts that were on her table, and yet none of them proved to be to her liking. They weren't bad, of course… but for Hera who had experienced the abundance of the Known Universe, everything just seemed boring.
She wanted something that would excite the entire world—anything.
"Ms. Hera."
"What!?"
Hera almost threw the phone on her desk she heard her assistant's voice.
"There's someone here looking for you."
"Do you know what time it is!? Who is it!?"
"He's not giving me a name, but he says you were in the Hope Guild together and even traveled the stars together?" The assistant's voice seemed excited, "He's… not an ex, is he? He looks sort of weird, but in a very nice way. Almost… like an elf?"
"...Oh."
Perhaps… not that exciting.
Chapter 673"Did… he tell you what he wants from me?"
Hera was asking for excitement, and now probably the most exciting individual in the entire universe was literally at her doorstep—no, he was already inside her building.
"He… is saying he wants a job?"
"...A job?" Hera could not help but squint as she looked at the phone, "...Here?"
"Yes? Should I turn him away? I can call securit—"
"Fuck!" Hera quickly rushed to her desk to pick up the phone, "Don't do that! Bring him to my office!"
"But—"
"Just bring him up!"
Hera slammed the phone back on the desk, completely shattering it to pieces. Well, perhaps not as shattered as her thoughts right now.
The last he heard of Riley Ross, he completely disappeared with Megawoman after killing the entire race of the one responsible for the genocide of her people, as well as the one they call the Grand Elder.
Diana has been searching for him for the last 5 years—could it be that she finally found him? But why wasn't she alerted by Empress?
…But most importantly, why is he here? And why was he seeking a job!?
Should she call for backup and tell Empress that he was here? But then again, her body wasn't really reacting. That means that Riley doesn't really mean her any harm whatsoever… and calling Empress might change that.
"...Fuck!" Hera clasped her head in frustration. She just built up her agency from the ground up; poaching all the colleagues she has had the pleasure of working with from the other agencies…
…if ever this encounter goes wrong, then all her hard work would surely disappear into nothing.
"Miss Hera."
"What the hell!?"
And as Hera was lost in thought, she almost jumped in shock as she heard a voice whispering directly behind her. She very quickly turned around… only for her eyes to quickly land on someone's long, black, silky hair.
"...Who?" Hera could not help but whisper to herself as she expected to be blinded by Riley's incredibly white silhouette, only to be surprised as she saw him sporting brown hair. It… almost made him look like Alice, in a way.
"It's me, Miss Hera," Riley then very quietly whispered as he sneakily approached Hera, "It's… Riley."
"Yeah, I… I know who you are," Hera stuttered with her words as she looked around her office, "...Where's my assistant? You… didn't kill her, did you?"
"No," Riley's eyebrows furrowed, "Why would I do that, Miss Hera?"
"Because you—no, never mind. When did you even get back to Earth?"
"Just an hour ago or so, Miss Hera," Riley shrugged as he started walking around Hera's office, before just taking a seat on the sofa near her desk, "Are you aware of what is happening to me?"
"What do you mean…?" Hera slightly hesitated, but after a few breaths, she took a seat on a chair next to Riley.
"It turns out that I might have the same illness as biological mother—I am slowly turning crazy, Miss Hera," Riley then let out a small but very deep sigh, "For around 5 years, It would seem I was living in a fantasy that I created in my mind. I… disrespected Aerith by dragging her to my nonsense."
"If… you're here to ask me advice about all that, then I'm afraid I can't help you," Hera slowly started to relax as she shook her head and also let out a sigh of her own,
"I'm as fucked as you are, Riley Ross. You should have gone to your cute little orange-haired girlfriend."
"..." Riley tilted his head to the side.
"...Paige Pearson? Shit, don't tell me you've forgotten about her?"
"No," Riley quickly shook his head, "Paige would just tell me to accept myself—I do not want that, Miss Hera. I came to you because you are one of the people that have seen through my disguises."
"...What?"
"You told me before how I have been pretending my entire life," Riley then looked Hera straight in the eyes, "I require your expertise to help me pretend more…
…to pretend that my mind is not slowly being eaten away, Miss Hera."
"You… want me to help you pretend that you're not sick in the head?"
"Exactly, Miss Hera."
"...But you've always been sick in the head," Hera could not help but let out another sigh as she once again remembered their little space adventure.
"Not like this, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head, "I can feel it, my mind slowly losing its ability to discern what is real or not. I know you're real, but not him."
"Him…?" Hera then very slowly looked at her desk, only to see no one there. Hera felt the hairs on her body stand up as a chilling feeling crawled on her skin—she wasn't in danger, no—she just felt scared,
"I…What are you seeing?"
"Him."
"!!!" Hera quickly stood up as a red-skinned man suddenly appeared sitting at her desk. No, the man's skin wasn't red—he was just wrapped in blood that very slowly dripped to the floor. And if she looked closer, the man looked like Riley; she wouldn't mistake that creepy smile for someone else.
"That's… your clone, Riley," Hera slightly lifted her feet up as the blood seemingly started to fill the entire floor.
"He's not," Riley shook his head, "He has been staring at me since I got here."
"Jesus, Riley…" Hera took in a small gulp as another chill went down her spine, "...I don't like scary stuff like that. What do you mean it's not your clone? It's right there!"
"I am using Paige's abilities so you can see him too," Riley sighed as he snapped his fingers. And as he did so, the man sitting at the desk and all the blood in the room disappeared,
"I am also going to find Paige soon—my abilities and her ability mix too well that it feels like I am already creating life out of nothing."
"...Right. Look, I don't really know how I can help you," Hera once again sighed, "It's not like—wait. Don't… tell me you want me to kill you so you can get my ability to adapt to your illness?"
"No, ew. I don't want to turn into a tree, Miss Hera."
"Fuck you. What do you want from me, Riley?"
"I already mentioned it to your assistant, Miss Hera."
"...What?"
"I am applying for a job."
Chapter 674"A… job? You were serious?"
"Of course, Miss Hera."
"...Why?"
There were so many things racing through Hera's mind right now, and she didn't seem to have any plans on hiding them from Riley as she looked at him with the most confused face she has probably ever made.
"Your dad is Whiteking, so I don't really see why this would even be a money issue," Hera squinted her eyes, "...And you could also rob a bank if you really need money."
"I do not rob people, Miss Hera—that's wrong."
"...You torture and kill people, Riley."
"I know, it is fun."
"You…" Hera could really only pinch the bridge of her nose as she looked at Riley from head to toe, "...Seriously, why me? You could literally ask everyone else in your list of acquaintances and they would be able to give you something. Empress would probably be ecstatic to hire you."
"I am not applying for a job due to lack of money, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head, "I am coming to you because throughout our moments together, I remember you always bringing out emotions in me that almost made me seem… human."
"...What?"
"Aside from wanting to experience a normal life, I am applying for a job here to be closer to you, Miss Hera. I can be your personal guard, or maybe even replace your assistant."
"Wait, wait…" Hera could not help but raise her palms at Riley as she made him stop talking, "...So you want a job here because you want to experience emotions that make you human?"
"I suppose," Riley shrugged, "Or at least help me pretend—pretend that I am not losing my mind. Because I can truly feel it, Miss Hera. If I do not learn how to control my mind, it will start going wild and wreak havoc that I do not mean to happen."
"...Because of Paige's abilities?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "It… is not an ability for someone that does not have a sound mind. I made a mistake in wanting to acquire it."
"...Then why did you ask Paige to kill you?"
"Because I wanted to live in a lie, Miss Hera. I just didn't realize that I would forget reality by doing so—my lineage has a history of mental illness, I just did not expect it to be passed on to me."
"...Right," Hera let out a long and very deep breath as she allowed herself to almost sink into her chair,
"Why don't you just let me kill you, Riley?" She then blurted out, "You know what my ability is—I am not immune to sickness, but whenever I do get sick; it wouldn't last that long for it to even matter as my body would literally change over it."
"You want me to have your ability, Miss Hera?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "Are you not afraid of what would happen if I get it?"
"I don't know if you're just that dense, Riley—but you're already an unstoppable force. Adding my powers to your already ridiculous arsenal wouldn't really matter," Hera forced out a chuckle, "And I don't know if you realize it…
…but gaining Paige's power has literally made you some sort of god. That's some reality-warping level shit right there."
"I don't change other people's reality, only mine, Miss Hera. Paige's power only affects its holder."
"You've been changing people's realities since you've been massacring entire families, Riley. And you know what I mean…" Hera looked Riley in the eyes, "...You are capable of making those illusions real for other people too. Not in a sense that you're really changing reality, but you're creating… something temporary."
"..."
"Paige's illusions have their own independence, I know that much… and she's only grown better and more elaborate at using her abilities these 5 years."
"I still do not want to have your powers, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head, "I am already losing my mind. If I gain an ability that literally controls my body…
…then what would be left of me?"
"...It doesn't work like that," Hera's eyebrows furrowed.
"I know that it turns you into a tree that destroys anything that attacks it, Miss Hera."
"...That was only one time. And my life was in danger—yours will never be."
"I still don't want it, Miss Hera. I do not like losing control," Riley vehemently shook his head, "Even right now, I don't even know if I'm really talking to you anymore or if you're just a figment of my fractured mind."
"...So you really want a job?"
"Yes."
"You're Riley Ross, you will be recognized from a mile away."
"Your assistant did not recognize me, Miss Hera. And if you are suggesting that I change the way I look using Paige's ability, then I would have to refuse—I might turn into a different person altogether because of my illness."
"...What illness do you have, exactly?" Hera squinted her eyes, "What sort of illness can cause someone as mighty as Ms. Phoenix and Darkday to fall?"
"..."
"...And why doesn't the Shadow Mimic have it?" Hera placed her hand on her chin as she looked to the side, "Have you talked to your grandmother at all? This happened to her daughter once, maybe she learned something?"
"She was useless, and she is useless, Miss Hera."
"...Shit," Hera then covered her face; her sighs of frustration, seeping from the in between her fingers, "...What will you do to me if I don't give you a job here, Riley?"
"Nothing, Miss Hera."
"...Oh," Hera sat up straight as she once again looked Riley in the eyes. She was going to refuse him there and then, but realized that a massive opportunity was right in front of her.
An almost reality warper… working in the entertainment industry?
In truth, Hera had already been thinking about what sort of jobs Riley could do in her agency as soon as he mentioned wanting a job—she just couldn't believe it.
Working as an actor would have been the greatest outcome, as Hera knew that Riley could act—really act. But as soon as they see him on the screen, the trauma of the people of Earth would surely be triggered.
But then again, with all the stuff that has been happening the past few years, Riley Ross or Darkday hasn't even been mentioned in the news once. It was almost like people had forgotten about him.
Everyone's focus was outside—the Known Universe.
"Okay."
"Hm?"
"I am giving you a job here, Riley," Hera then took in a small but deep breath as she stood up, "You won't have a legit title and will just be working closely with me. Go home, for now—I need to think about what sort of projects I can put you in."
"I appreciate your help, Miss Hera," Riley also stood up and nodded, "I will tell Aerith about this."
"...What?" Hera blinked a couple of times; her face completely shocked by what she just heard. But almost instantly, her breaths became calm before they could even start becoming heavy,
"You know what, don't tell me anything. I don't want to know."
"Hm. I shall see you tomorrow, Miss Hera. Have a good night."
"Right. You… too," Hera sighed as she watched as Riley started making his way out of her office. But before he could step out, however, she could not help but ask her something,
"Riley."
"...Hm?"
"Are you not bored here on Earth?"
"I have only been back for a few hours, Miss Hera…" Riley blinked a couple of times as he turned around to look at Hera, "...Are you asking because you are?"
"...I am," Hera sighed and closed her eyes, "When we were out there, all I wanted was to get back home. But now that I'm here, everything just seems… boring."
"I thought your ability was to adapt to things?"
"Adapting to things doesn't mean you enjoy it, Riley. Adapting means you're forced to be something else," Hera breathed out, "Do you remember Nana?"
"..." Riley glanced at the door for a couple of seconds, before making his way back to the sofa and sitting again, "I do, Miss Hera."
"I've been trying to reach her," Hera also sat down as she let out a small but deep sigh, "I promised her I would let her see Earth, but…"
And as the night went on, Hera just ended up talking with Riley—losing track of time as she reminisced about everything that has happened to them outside Earth. It almost seemed like a completely different life, and perhaps…
…it was.
***
"What… the fuck is this?"
"Amazing."
"What do you mean amazing? This is fucking creepy, Dad. What the fuck?"
Diana, Bernard, and Hannah chose to go home—as Riley would most likely be there. But as soon as they entered the neighborhood, the night that made them completely disappeared; sunlight, seeping into their car as they drove through the streets.
But that wasn't all—their neighborhood that was supposed to only house them was now filled with strange people that kept smiling at them for no reason at all.
"Mom…" Hannah was feeling weirded out at first. But soon, tears quickly fell from her face as she covered her mouth when she realized something, "Are you… are you saying Riley's doing this?"
"...He is."
"For… for almost 5 years, he… he's been imagining a completely different life? He's… he was so lonely."
"He probably thinks he deserves it," Bernard sighed as he stretched out his palm to feel the heat of the fake sun—it… truly almost felt real,
"And he does. I do too."
"..." Hannah couldn't really refute; just staying quiet until they reached their house. But as soon as they did, her eyes quickly turned wide.
And not only her, even Diana quickly got out of the car as she saw the person casually standing in front of their house—Aerith.
"Riley, this isn't what we talked about…" Diana breathed in her frustrations; shaking her head as she looked at Riley, "...She's supposed to just be resting in—"
"Diana."
"...What?" And before she could grab Aerith's hand, Aerith suddenly retracted her hand and opened her mouth to speak.
"We need to talk."
Chapter 675"Expect a call from me in a few days. I'm sure we can find work for you soon."
"Look into what I said, Miss Hera."
"...I do not have the license for Italian Mafia Reborn."
"Then buy it."
"That is an expensive franchise."
"I will help you acquire it, Miss Hera."
"...Please don't threaten anyone."
"I will give you a budget for it."
"You're… going to invest in Hera Entertainment?"
"I suppose. I will see how much I have earned throughout the years in my bank. It shouldn't have been closed since I put it in a different name."
"You… almost sound normal when saying that. Anyway, just leave—the sun's already up and I don't want Empress finding out that I basically hid you here."
"Hm. I'll wait for your call, Miss Hera."
In the end, the two ended up chatting for hours. Riley stepped inside Hera's office when there was almost no one inside the building, and he stepped out of her office with the building now filled with people.
…People who all stared at him the moment he emerged from Hera's office.
Hera's assistant, who also has not gone home since her boss has a visitor, has been trying her best in keeping the other employees and staff from asking questions—the last thing she wanted, after all, was their CEO to be linked to some sort of rumor or… entanglement.
But alas, as Riley just casually stepped out of Hera's office, the assistant could do nothing but watch as everyone started pulling out their phones and pointing them at Riley—but lucky for her; for some reason, everyone's cameras were all just blacked out.
"Hm…" As for Riley, he just continued to casually walk out of the building, not even caring about the people staring at him. He waited for someone to start running away, or even gasp as he passed them… but there was no one.
No one really recognized him.
Of course, he changed the color of his hair to match that of Hannah's—and that was enough to make someone like him unrecognizable from the masses. But still, he was expecting at least one to squint their eyes, but there was no one.
Perhaps it is to be expected. Riley had been gone for several years, and there was also the fact that Earth has been undergoing extreme changes throughout that time…
…as well as the fact that Bernard either deleted or blurred Riley's face in all the media that Earth and the Known Universe has on him, basically erasing his visual data.
According to Hera, humans were now part of the Common Council, with Empress representing the planet as the newest Elder. It would seem the Known Universe couldn't really ignore the impact that humans had from the short time that they've been introduced.
Of course, this was mostly because of Bernard. Throughout the short 5 years, he had become known to the Known Universe as 'The Blacksmith'. A Guardian that was able to replicate, and even improve on tech that he has only seen once—practically replacing Elder Skeem's role as the Common Council's weapons master.
Unlike Elder Skeem and their people, however, Bernard, as well as Empress, has been adamant that they won't be making weapons of mass destruction…
…until otherwise forced to.
And of course, Bernard was also recognized by the Guardian Force as a legit member of their corps. Well, it was more like they were forced to after all that has happened. Bernard was going to be listed as the Solar System's Guardian, but he refused—saying that Earth doesn't need a Guardian because it was already filled with protectors from the start.
And the humans weren't just members of the Common Council, they were also recognized and categorized by Ahor Zai to be one of the Higher Races.
Riley Ross alone was enough proof that they were more than a formidable race—wiping out dozens of planets in a short amount of time. Of course, it could be said that he might just be an isolated case… but that was not the case. As soon as it was revealed that the Pirate Queen, Xra, was also a human—any doubts instantly disappeared.
But it would seem, however, the Known Universe doesn't really remember Riley Ross as a genocidal maniac.
The planets and civilizations he had wiped out? In the vastness of the Known Universe, his victims were nothing but a statistic and the majority of the population didn't really even bat an eye or lose sleep—after all, they were safe far away, why would they care? There was also the fact that Riley didn't even actually make a dent in the Known Universe's population.
He killed more than a hundred billion in a very short amount of time. But what is that number in the face of trillions?
Only the Bounty Hunters truly cared about Riley and Xra.
The Known Universe, however, does remember Riley Ross for torturing and killing two Elders and broadcasting it for everyone to see, as well as killing Elder Skeem's entire people.
But once again, the majority of the Known Universe didn't really care about their deaths—they were just another statistic. But what they did care about, however, was the reason for the massacre.
Elder Skeem, along with the Grand Elder, plotted the genocide of the Themarians.
Themarians, who were considered to be gods by many other races. Themarians, who have shown themselves to be nothing but peaceful through millions of years, even though they were more than capable of putting the Known Universe into their knees.
The majority of the population worshiped people from the Higher Races. Evaniels, Norinlads, Messengers…Themarians were deities for them. Suffice it to say, the Known Universe did not mourn for Elder Skeem and his people.
And now that the humans are revealed to be one of the Higher Races, the people of the Known Universe are calling the genocide of Elder Skeem's people as divine retribution—a reminder to everyone that the Higher Races should not be angered.
A lot was going on outside of Earth, and that reflected through the streets of Earth. Just years ago, Riley and the rest of the Baby Crew were hiding Aerith's clones right in the very city he was walking through right now, inside Tomoe's house.
And yet right now, if the clones were to walk through the streets with him, the people would just offer them curious glances before minding their own business. After all, even just now, Riley has lost count of how many aliens he had seen walking down the streets of Los Angeles.
…Or maybe all of this wasn't real?
"..." Maybe Riley was just hallucinating again? Come to think of it, Los Angeles was also the place where Riley first experienced some sort of hallucination—when he heard Alice's whispers calling for him.
So even then, he was already losing his mind.
Will his mind continue to regress just like Alice's? If so, then how could he stop it…? How could anyone stop it?
He thought that getting killed by Paige would make his death permanent, but no—it just expedited the process of him losing his mind, making his psychosis seem even more real.
…But if he kills everyone here, would it really matter if they were real or not?
"...I suppose it doesn't matter," Riley quickly shook his head off of the thoughts he was having. He needed to wait for Aerith to wake up before he started killing again—there was no point in doing so without her.
For now, he will strive to be as normal as possible—a normal human with a normal life, a normal job… perhaps even friends?
He doesn't deserve any of that, of course. But that is why he approached Hera in the first place, to learn how to pretend even more… to learn how to adapt.
Right now, he should just go home and be with Aerith; like a normal person that takes care of his sick friend.
"..." Riley then turned to look at the normal people around him, only to finally realize that they were all staring at him—some even seemingly wanting to approach him. Riley really only blinked a couple of times, before just subtly smiling at them.
"He… he smiled at me!"
"I recognize him somewhere. Is… he a model?"
"I don't know, he looks alien."
"Quick, let me take a photo with him!"
"Don't embarrass me! You're not supposed to take photos of celebrities when you're in LA."
"..." If Riley turned his hair back to white right now, would these people just start running? His face might have been blurred and deleted by Bernard throughout all sorts of media, but he was sure they would all still quickly recognize him.
And once again, Riley shook off the thoughts inside his head.
A normal human, a normal life, a normal job—he repeatedly whispered to himself.
And so, Riley just continued to walk through the streets, trying his best not to cause chaos as he just smiled and nodded at the people. Perhaps because LA was a tourist destination, there were a lot of people from other planets—some even species that Riley recognized.
It truly was a wonder to see Earth like this. It almost seemed like a different planet entirely. There was—
"..." Riley then blinked a couple of times, before glancing back at a group of aliens that walked past him. And it wasn't only him—the group of aliens also turned their worm-like heads back as they looked at Riley; their humanoid bodies that were clearly robotic, causing a slight whistle.
"..."
"..."
"Wai—"
And before the aliens could even say anything, a bus suddenly rammed through them.
"Oh... I didn't check if they were real."
Chapter 676"Oh… oh, my god!"
"There are people under the bus! I… I think I saw some aliens!"
"Help them! Why are you guys just on your phones!?"
"Where did the bus even come from!?"
"What did you do!?"
"I… I suddenly lost control of the wheel, I… I didn't mean to!"
"..."
And while the chaos worsened with the growing smoke, Riley just completely ignored everyone's screams as he walked away; sighing as he shook his head. It would seem the aliens he saw were actually real.
Next time, however, he should probably confirm first before he sends a bus hurling down the street—he was supposed to be living a normal life, and normal people don't just control vehicles and ram people with them.
…Or do they?
But then again, even if the aliens are real—were they even the same species as Elder Skeem? It makes sense that a number of them would live since not everyone would be on their planet… but why would they be on Earth, the planet of the one that annihilated their people and destroyed their home?
…Or maybe they're a completely different species altogether?
"..." Riley once again let out a sigh as he shook his head. He truly was out of his depth here—aside from having a hard time differentiating what's real or not, he also had a lack of understanding of what is normal and acceptable behaviour.
Hera was right, he needed to find Paige.
Hera told him that most of them that traveled through the expanse of space together kept in touch. Tomoe, surprisingly, worked in the Mega Academy as an instructor—but according to Hera, it was more like community service and Empress forced her into the job.
Diana even found Silvie, Katherine, and Karina—but she didn't bring them back to Earth, and for some reason, she refused to say the reason why.
As for Paige, she was currently working under his mother—rebuilding the orphanage she grew up in and helping troubled supers.
"Hm…" Riley was about to fly away, but before his feet could leave the scorching and sticky ground of Los Angeles, he decided to do something he hadn't done before, after all—if he was going to lose his mind altogether, he wanted to experience new things.
Riley had gone to space, riding on ships that go in hyperspeed, and even being teleported to places far away in a blink of an eye. But what he hasn't done…
…was ride the public train alone.
And so, Riley made his way to the nearest train station. Paige's orphanage was in a different state, and it would probably take an entire day—but it didn't matter, Riley was going to experience it all.
But as he arrived at the train station, he found himself completely lost. Killing people on trains is easy, he had done it several times before—but trying to ride on it seems more complicated than he thought.
And it was chaotic. More chaotic than all the people running for their lives; at least there, there was a sense of order since they were all just running away from him. But here?
Everyone was hitting each other's shoulders and moving randomly without a care for anyone.
"..." Riley looked around for a few more minutes, before finally finding himself in front of a clerk.
"I would like a single passenger ticket to Alabama, Clerkperson."
"Sir, this is the metro trail."
"...And?"
"You would need to transfer to the Stateline. I can give you a ticket that takes you to the end of the trail, and there will be a connecting tram there that will take you to the Stateline."
"..."
"..."
"...I'll just fly."
And so, Riley's little train adventure came to an end before it could even start. He remembered Hannah taking the train when she used to go to school for normal people; as expected, her sister truly is formidable.
Looking at Earth from above, it wasn't really that much different than before—Empress did well in gently assimilating the planet with the rest of the Known Universe. They were treated as one of the Higher Races, and yet still very much friendly to visitors.
But as Riley continued to fly through the skies, a group of people suddenly emerged from the clouds and flew beside him; all of them, wearing a suit of armor similar to that of Whiteking's.
"State your name, civilian. Do you have authorization to be flying at this speed?"
"..." Riley could really only tilt his head as he heard the demands of the group. Although Riley was only flying casually; for this group to be able to intercept and even follow him was already enough to make him curious.
"Civilian, stop flying and state your name n—I apologize, you may proceed."
But alas, before Riley could even wonder what sort of group they belonged to, they all just suddenly flew away and left.
"...Weird," Riley shrugged. That has never happened before—were they some sort of new unit made by his father and Empress?
Riley didn't really think much of it. He was sure he was going to get answers if he just met up with his father; not now, however, as it was more important to meet with Paige.
And in no time at all, Riley landed in front of a large gate; with a large embossed signage that said 'Pearson's School for Gifted Supers'.
The gates and walls were thick and tall, not as towering as Mega Academy, but enough. It makes sense—the walls of Mega Academy were to keep the students safe from the outside world, but for Pearson's School, it was to keep the outside world safe from the students.
An unstable super is equivalent to a timebomb, after all.
"..." Riley then turned to look at the surveillance camera near the small door, and not even a second after doing so, the door opened for him.
He had already caught a glimpse of it from above, but inside the thick walls of the campus was a wide open field—not even a single tree. Just a sea of soft grass surrounding a single large building that didn't even have an upper floor.
And as he stepped inside, he saw several people just walking around; most of them, just whispering to themselves and minding their own business. If there weren't anyone that adopted him, would he also be like some of these people?
"Hello."
"..." There was one, however, that seemed to already be waiting for him at the other side of the door. It was a young boy, probably not older than 8.
The young boy seemed to be talking to Riley, but he was looking at something else entirely—he wasn't shy, no, as he was even inching closer to Riley without even being subtle about it.
Did… he used to be like this too?
"You… are you new here? New here?" The young boy started stuttering; his eyes, trying to glance at Riley several times, but never reaching him, "The professor said, said that there will be new friends soon."
"..."
"Friends, friends. I like friends. Are… are you going to be my friend? Are you my friend?"
"I'm not your friend," Riley said without any hesitation as he started walking away.
"Not… you're not a friend? Not a friend? But… but…" The young boy then suddenly grabbed Riley's hand,
"Aargh!" But as soon as he did so, however, he suddenly started screaming; clasping his head and curling his small body on the grass.
"What's going on!?"
"Who are you!? Are you trying to bully Peter!?"
And as soon as the young boy's screams echoed through the field, several children quickly came to his aid; moving at speeds enough to create thunder to drum in the air. The children all looked at Riley like he was some kind of scum.
"Villain, stop bullying Peter!"
"Are you ready to face justice!?"
"No. I am—"
"Shut up, evildoer!"
"Face the justice that is my fist!"
The children then suddenly flew toward Riley, rushing at him without even trying to listen to his words. One of them tried to punch Riley in the face, but Riley was able to catch it with his hand… causing the leaves beneath his feet to ripple from the shockwave.
"..." Riley squinted his eyes, not expecting that kind of strength coming from a small boy at all.
Another one then flew toward him; her eyes, glowing red as she wrapped her arms around Riley's arm to try and pry it away.
"...Weird," Riley could not help but whisper; his breath, exploding and pushing away all the children that wanted to rush him.
Riley's eyes then also turned red as he looked at the children, and as he tried to approach one of them—he realized that half of the children that were just casually loitering around the vast field were now also looking at him…
…their eyes, all glowing red.
"...Themarian clones?" Riley tilted his head to the side as the red glow in his eyes started to become more violent,
"...Interesting."
Chapter 677A scenery of glowing red.
Riley thought that he would really never truly see a scenery like this again, but now he was surrounded by glowing eyes.
Themarians, or are they?
Riley might be losing his mind, but he clearly remembers that back in New Theran, when the themarians were just wiped out, Diana seemed adverse to the idea of cloning their species.
But what is this?
Since Paige and his mother were working together, this means that Diana was primarily involved in this. Riley worked smart in wiping out their species, but now they are very slowly growing again.
Should… he just kill all of them while they were still young? He can just tell Diana that it was an accident because he was losing his mind.
"..." Riley placed his hand on his chin as he squinted his eyes. Come to think of it, he has gained another excuse he could use whenever he does something—and no one would be able to discern if he was lying or not.
Finally, something positive from his crawling illness.
Riley then stretched his hand to the side—and as he did so, the sea of grass that was endlessly dancing with the wind completely stopped. The children whose eyes were violently glowing red, now flickering as they blinked several times; slightly confused as to what was happening as even the sounds of their breaths could no longer be heard.
"None of you have to worry, children," Riley looked at the child closest to him, "I will make it as painless and as instant as possible. None of you will even know that death has already—"
"Riley!?"
And before Riley could start his routine dialogue, a loud—almost shrieking voice echoed through his ears.
"Is… is that really you!?"
And as the voice once again reached his ears, Riley could really only let out a sigh as he relaxed his arms. The grass that halted dance, now once again swaying with the wind. The confused children, now all kneeling on the grass as they felt their hearts and all of their organs momentarily stop for a fraction of a second.
"Riley!"
Riley then turned his eyes to the direction of the voice, only to see a large pair of wings flying toward him, carrying Paige as she leaped into his arms without any hesitation or restraint.
"...Paige," Riley whispered as he just stood there, letting Paige hug him while he looked at the children kneeling on the ground. Perhaps he could just kill them some other time when Paige wasn't here.
"You…" Paige then pulled herself away from Riley; her eyes, reflecting his face and his face only, "...You look so young. You really haven't aged a day—no, you look even younger."
"I believe it is the hair, Paige," Riley just blinked as he returned Paige's gaze, "You look older."
"That's…" Paige adjusted her glasses, letting out a light sigh as she smiled, "...because I am. It's been 5 years."
Although Paige still looked pretty much the same, there was a certain maturity in her face that wasn't there before. Her hair was also styled shorter, showcasing her petite face even more.
"I… thought I would never see you again, Riley," Paige was about to embrace Riley again, but then noticed that everyone outside was staring at them, "You… you guys! How many times do I have to remind all of you not to use your powers on the field!? Riley, can you wait in my office, I'm just going to talk some sense into these children—just enter the building, you can't miss it since there are a lot of directions."
"Hm…" Riley nodded; walking away as he took one final glance at the children whose eyes lit up earlier, memorizing their faces just in case he needed to kill them later.
"And did you just try to attack a guest!?" And as soon as Riley was gone, Paige started reprimanding the children that attacked Riley, "And more than that, you attacked the son of the one sponsoring all of your food. Do none of you want to eat!?"
"S…sorry, professor!"
"What did I say about consequences? There is…"
Paige's sermon probably took the entire quarter of the hour before she joined Riley in her office—and as soon as they were alone, Paige once again wrapped her arms around Riley; deeply burrowing her face on his chest.
Her words were barely recognizable, but her breaths were enough for Riley to know how much she missed him.
…Does he? Does he actually know? There was a time he wouldn't even know what sort of feeling 'missing' someone is. Was he… actually becoming human? Or was this just once again a product of his shattering mind?
That would be funny if it was the case—it took for him to lose his mind to finally gain a semblance of humanity.
Once again, Riley just let Paige release whatever it is she wanted to release as he just stood there; his shirt, now drowned with her tears as she continued to cry for almost an entire hour.
"Your sister…" And after she was done, her eyes were completely red; the two of them, now just relaxing on the sofa, with Paige resting her cheek on Riley's lap, "..she told me you're back. I couldn't really believe it at first, but now that you're here… it's all I really want to believe in."
"Hm."
"She told me that you might go here," Paige smiled, "Is this the first place you tried to find when you arrived on Earth?"
"No, I went to see Hera first," Riley quickly shook his head.
"O…oh," Paige blinked a couple of times.
"I applied for a job there," Riley nodded, "Hera was capable of bringing out emotions in me that I didn't know I had, so I assume that by spending more time with her or working under her, I could understand my human side more."
"That's—wait, a job!?" Paige then quickly sat up as she looked Riley in the eyes, "Are you going to work as an actor again? Do you know how many times I've watched your scenes as Pharos!?"
"They released that?" Riley could not help but blink a couple of times as he returned Paige's excited gaze, "I was under the impression they did not release that since I was revealed to be Darkday not a long time after."
"It was posted everywhere on the internet! I had it saved on my phone, but the file became corrupted for some reason," Paige then let out a small but very deep sigh as she shook her head in disappointment, "There was also a lot of behind-the-scenes footage. You have a talent for acting, Riley!"
"Hera told me it was more like a talent for pretending, Paige."
"It works!" Paige giggled; her excitement growing by the second, "Wait, wait… don't tell me you're going to voice one of the characters in the new season of Italian Mafia Reborn!?"
"There will be a new season?"
"No. But maybe you could ask Hera to buy the license!?"
"I am in the process of trying to convince Hera to do so, Paige," Riley nodded in agreement several times, "I will actually be withdrawing all of my savings to invest in her company to make it possible."
"I'm… I'm getting excited."
"I could see that, Paige."
"I was going to ask you to try and work here, but I believe your work there will be as important as what we are doing here," Paige also nodded.
"And what is your work here, Paige?" Riley then asked, "I initially thought this was a school for orphaned supers with disabilities, but I saw themarian clones outside."
"Oh, they aren't themarian clones," Paige shook her head, "They are just normal supers."
"...Hm?"
"Your mother gathered children that have similar abilities to themarians. I don't really understand most of the science stuff, but I think she's doing… something? Trying to isolate a certain supervirus or something something...you know what, I'm actually not exactly sure with Diana," Paige sighed and shrugged, "And before you can ask, she didn't kidnap any of them—they were voluntarily enrolled here by their parents."
"They chose to enroll their normal children here instead of Mega Academy?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "Were they aware that their children will be sharing their space with people like me?"
"There are no people like you, Riley…" Paige rested her head on Riley's shoulder, "E…except for all the clones you keep on spawning."
"Hm."
"So…" Paige then closed her eyes, "...Why exactly did you come find me?"
"I have questions about your ability, Paige."
"Our ability," Paige smiled.
"How do you discern what is real or not?"
"I don't," Paige let out a long and very deep sigh, "My illusions have always been real to me. Whether they were bad or good, I needed to accept them… but of course, the amphetamine helps calm my mind."
"Do you think the medicine could help me too, Paige?"
"That…" Tears suddenly seeped from Paige's closed eyes, "...No. What you have, it can't be cured...
...my abilities just made it worse."
Chapter 678"..."
Riley never really thought of it before, he had no reason to, but it would seem Paige has been blaming herself all these years—blaming herself for Riley's deteriorating mind.
She has been trying to calm herself and stay strong, but she just literally cried for hours and put herself to sleep. She didn't even notice that Riley already got up from the sofa, and was now looking outside the window.
Some of the tenants of the orphanage school were still loitering out in the fields. The students seemed to be free to roam everywhere during their rest time… everywhere as long as it is within the walls of their school, that is.
Riley tried to find the children with similar abilities to themarians, but none of them were on the field anymore. Why exactly was Diana gathering children that have similar abilities to themarians?
Is it to try and isolate the supervirus carrying that specific set of abilities? As far as Riley knows, the abilities one would get if they're infected with the virus are usually already predetermined, not in any way by the one that infected you, but by the body you were born with—that is why most families that are infected together tend to have similar abilities.
Is that what Diana is trying to do? Or perhaps she just misses themarians and wants to be around similar people?
"...I suppose it doesn't matter," Riley could really only shake his head off of the thoughts he was having. His mind was already starting to fracture, he wasn't going to waste whatever time he had left as himself by trying to theorize whatever it is that Diana was doing here.
And so, Riley just took one final glance at Paige, before opening the window and flying out of it.
"I'll see you again, Paige."
He really thought that Paige would be able to help him, but despite her seemingly able to talk to everyone and get deep into what it was they were feeling, she won't be able to help Riley this time.
He almost forgot Paige was also broken, just like him. Broken people are not able to fix each other—they would think they could, but all they will be doing would be dragging pieces of their shattered self and adding them to an already broken shell.
"I understand now, Aerith…" Riley closed his eyes as he reached the clouds, "...I understand why I needed you…
…and I understand why you need me now too."
***
"I'm home."
"What do you mean you're home!?"
"Oh, Sister. You're here?"
"You…"
Riley hasn't even stepped inside the house, and he was already dodging all sorts of things that Hannah was throwing toward him as he opened the door. If it wasn't for Diana stopping her, then she would have also definitely thrown some of the larger furniture.
"You go back to Earth and the first thing you do is make trouble for everyone!?"
"I do not really know why that still surprises you, Sister," Riley let out a small sigh as he was finally able to step inside the house, "Father, Mother. It is good that all of you are here, I have something I wish to talk about."
"..." Diana looked at Bernard for a few seconds, before also letting out a sigh and shaking her head, "Why… don't we talk about it over dinner? It's been a while since we dined as a family."
"I… would like that, Mother."
"I… I'll help, Mom!"
"I wouldn't like that, Sister."
"S… shut up!"
"...Hm," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as Hannah raised both her middle finger at him—the fingers, not going down until she disappeared into the kitchen with Diana. It took almost an hour, but finally…
…the Ross family was once again sitting at their table, in their home.
A second.
A minute.
Another hour.
Several moments passed, and yet not even one of them started eating—just sitting there in silence and hearing each other's breaths. Soon, however, a sniffle snuck in as tears started flowing from Hannah's eyes.
"F… fuck," Hannah sucked in a breath as she quickly wiped the tears trailing down her cheeks, "I… I fucking hate this. Why… why couldn't we have just continued like this?"
"I… apologize, Sister," Riley gently held Hannah's hand, "Everything bad that has happened to this family is my fault. It is no one's fault but mine."
"No," Bernard lightly slammed his palm on the table, "They… say that a child's actions are a reflection of their parents. I believe that still holds true here…
…this is our fault."
And while Riley was holding her sister's hand, Bernard held Diana's.
"This is our fault in more ways than one."
"I suppose," Riley shrugged, "I wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for Mother injecting Biological Mother with weird stuff."
"..." Diana could really only close her eyes; letting out a quiet, wry, and soft chuckle while she sniffled.
"For what it is worth…" Riley then looked each of his family in the eyes, "...I believe the only reason why I am not worse than I am is because I was born here. Any other family, I would have probably already wiped out Earth."
"...Thanks?" Diana chuckled as she shook her head.
"That's so fucked up," Hannah covered her face and dropped her head as she laughed.
"But it is true," Riley nodded, "I believe that the three of you are the best of what I could have gotten. I truly apologize that you can't say the same."
"...Riley," Hannah took in a very long and deep breath, "So, out with it, then… what did you want to talk to us about?"
"I think I finally understood what Aerith was trying to protect," Riley let go of Hannah's hand and placed both of his palms in front of him,
"Humans, Themarians—all she wanted was to give them a normal life. But I couldn't understand that because I'm not normal."
"Riley…"
"It's weird but I finally understand," Riley closed his eyes, "All it took was for my mind to deteriorate to finally understand what it meant and means. And because of that…
…I know that I can never truly be one of you."
"Riley."
"But I want to try," Riley then took in a small and deep breath, "I know that I do not deserve it, but I want to try. I applied for a job in Hera's company to help me understand it more. I—"
"Riley!"
Riley opened his eyes as he heard Hannah's voice getting louder… only to see that there was no one sitting with him at the table.
And instead, Hannah was standing at the corner of the dining room, surrounded by several people in Whiteking's armor. No, she wasn't the one surrounded…
…but him.
"...Sister?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head. Hannah was bursting into tears, seemingly wanting to rush toward him but was being stopped by the soldiers.
"I would appreciate it if you let go of her," Riley stood up, causing all the soldiers to flinch; their eyes, all glowing orange as they all stepped closer to Riley.
"Stand down!"
"..." Riley then turned to look at the one who yelled. It was Empress, and it wasn't only her—Bernard was also there, wearing his full armor.
"...Hm?" Riley then looked back, only to see Diana standing behind him; her eyebrows lowered to the point that they almost covered her red glowing eyes.
"Oh," Riley then breathed out as he looked back at the table, "I suppose I wasn't really talking with anyone?"
"...Riley," Hannah was the only other whispering in the air as she tried her best to rush toward him, "Stop this… stop it! Mom, Dad!? Please… you… you saw that… he… he's going to try!"
"Oh, all of you saw that?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at all the people in the dining room, "That was supposed to only be for family. But I suppose it doesn't matter now."
Riley then let out a loud sigh as he walked away from the table, glancing at Diana for a moment before just shaking his head.
"Don't you find it poetic, Mother? I have killed and tortured billions of people, and yet I myself can't die. And now… I won't be able to live too—I would just be drifting around in my own fantasy perhaps until the end of time itself."
"..."
"How did you find out, Mother?" Riley then whispered, "How did you find out?"
"..." Diana refused to say anything, but her tears that reflected the red glow from her eyes were enough to know what she was thinking.
"You shouldn't have found me, Mother," Riley's feet then very slowly left the floor as his hair started to float, "I suppose I can't really live a normal life...
...Do not worry, I will kill Earth last."
"Riley!"
"I'm sorry, Sister. I love you… but this was always going to happ—" And before Riley could finish his words, his eyes finally landed on the last person that was in the room—Aerith.
"Oh," Riley blinked as a smile crawled on his face, "So, that's how you know."
"Thank you for keeping me alive, Riley Ross," Aerith said; the expression on her face, something Riley could never really explain.
"You're welcome, Aer—"
And before Riley could finish his words, Diana suddenly embraced him tight—her hand, burrowing through his back and into his chest.
"Mom! Wait… wait! Please… you heard him, he's… he's going to try to change!"
"He won't," Diana rested her cheek on Riley's, "He'll… never change."
"Mother…"
"..." Diana sucked in a very deep breath as finally… finally…
…Riley returned her embrace.
"You can't keep killing me forever, Mother. You don't deserve that punishment," Riley whispered.
"I… won't," Diana also whispered, "We're sending you away…
…far away."
Chapter 679"Mom… please, he said…"
"It's done. He made his ch…"
Lately, Riley has been surrounded by weird events and feelings—but perhaps drifting in and out of consciousness takes the top of the list just for the sole fact that he wasn't actually losing consciousness—he was drifting in and out of death.
Although he wasn't that aware of what was happening around him, he could still hear people's voices. He could hear his sister earlier, but as he once again woke up, most of the voices that were there before were now completely absent.
All he could hear was Diana and Aerith, who was for sure taking turns in making sure he remained dead. There was also this familiar sound of a rhythmic flutter that Riley could not discern yet.
"Are… you sure this would work?" Riley could hear Aerith's breath; her warmth, literally inside his chest.
"Yes. But we have to be quiet," Diana was also near. She seemed to want to lighten Aerith's hands, but Aerith seemed to refuse as she didn't want to put Diana in a position where she has to kill her son over and over again,
"If the norinlads, or Elder Olseyir, finds out that we're putting him there, they will surely retaliate."
"...on. is that in anoth…"
"Yes. 4 years ago… test…"
Riley could feel his life drifting away again as Aerith squashed his heart and snapped his spine. Their voices, replaced by the sound of Nothing's never-ending laughter.
Nothing was not even saying anything to him, he just continued to laugh at him as this was the first time they'd been meeting multiple times in a short span of time.
"...What about your daughter?"
"She'll be fine, she's strong."
And once again, Riley could hear the whispers of Daina and Aerith's voices as his heart and internal organs were once again completely restored.
"I am truly sorry, Diana. I can't even imagine what you are going through right now."
"You've experienced worse—something you shouldn't have had to experience in the first place if we only did this sooner."
Riley waited for someone else to speak, but it was still only the two of them. Since their voices just quickly echo, their words seem to be trapped in a small space—they were inside.
Inside… a ship. Riley was finally able to recognize the fluttering noise constistently whirring in the air–they were moving in hyperspeed. Riley just returned to Earth, but now it would seem they were taking him far away.
"...What about the other people there? Since you said it's been tested numerous times already, there are people there. Riley will kill all of them."
"It doesn't matter. The reason they are there in the first place is because they are there to die, and no normal place can keep them."
"...Riley will find a way to escape, Diana. He always has a way."
"Oh, he will. But by the time he does, we will already have another one ready for him—a more…
…permanent solution."
"What if… ead?"
"T… fect."
And then, once again, Diana and Aerith's voice very slowly faded away, replaced by Nothing. This time, however, no fits of laughter welcomed Riley—but only a smirk and a stare that seemed to judge his entire life.
"It finally happened, Riley Ross," Nothing then stepped out of the darkness, revealing a smile that was wide enough to stick out from its face,
"You always wondered what would happen if you get continuously killed without pause by the themarians, and now you are. Did you expect it to be Mother and Aerith, though?"
And even as Nothing started to circle around him, Riley didn't really say anything and just stood there in the darkness; his eyes, reflecting nothing at all.
"So, where do you think they are taking you, Riley Ross?" Nothing then suddenly hopped in front of Riley, leaning its head as close as it could possibly can to his face as he whispered,
"Where do you think the themarians are taking you?"
"I have an idea," and finally, Riley answered back; not leaning away even with Nothing's weird breaths whispering loudly right in front of his face.
"They're sending you to another universe, Riley Ross," Nothing then let out a soft cackle as its silhouette started disappearing and appearing everywhere in the darkness,
"Spoilers alert!"
"..."
"Sorry," Nothing then once again popped up out of nowhere right in front of Riley as it continued to laugh, "I couldn't just hold the suspense, it was… killing me."
"But you do not die because you do not literally exist, Nothing."
"Semantics," Nothing rolled its eyes as it looked at Riley, "And so, how does it feel to be betrayed by the people closest to you? Do you finally feel like you're in pain, that your heart is being crushed by the weight of their betrayal? You were pouring your heart out to them, only to find that it was an illusion—and worse, the real ones were getting ready to crush it. your heart, I mean."
"I do not feel betrayed, Nothing," Riley shook his head, "Because they did not betray me at all. What is happening now is justice, vengeance, and retribution. What is happening now is something that I have always deserved to happen to me."
"You really are no fun at all. Are you, Riley Ross?"
"You would know that, Nothing. You know me more than I know myself."
"...Hm," Nothing shrugged, "This is going to be fun, Riley. Another universe, are you not excited!?"
"No," Riley also shrugged his shoulders, "I am curious, though. Since it is another universe, will I still be able to meet you whenever I die?"
"Of course," Nothing's silhouette started to fade away, "I exist outside and before all the universes, Riley Ross. I exist everywhere, but at the same time, I do not exist at all."
"...Are you even real?"
"Oh please, Riley Ross…" And even as Nothing faded away, the smile on its face did not,
"...You're mentally ill, not crazy."
And very soon, the darkness and nothingness that surrounded Riley disappeared—replaced by a bright open field as he opened his eyes.
"..."
Riley already forgot the name, but Tedi and her people were working on a prison to hold rogue norinlads and some other heinous Outlaws that could no longer be controlled by any means.
He didn't even need to think to know that this place was it. Still, he expected it to be darker; as it is supposed to be a prison, after all. But this place—this place just literally looks like the fields of Iceland, a green immaculate paradise.
He already told Tedi and the others that the god of evaniels did not like opening portals to other dimensions and universes, but here they are—just casually sending people to places far away.
"Weird," Riley could really only sigh as he thought of that. People always wanted to hear the word of a god. But when he spoke, they completely ignored his words because it was not convenient for them.
Riley started looking around, but aside from the empty nature he finds himself in, there was nothing there. No other prisoner, not even a single sign of life.
He then started checking his hands and clothes, only to realize his clothes were filled with blood; his skin, already caking from the dried blood that wrapped it.
"White," Riley then snapped his fingers, and as he did so, the dirt around him completely disappeared. His clothes, instantly replaced by a clean pair of white shirt and pants; his hair too, was now completely white.
"I suppose Hera was right," he whispered to himself as he looked at his reflection in the large mirror that suddenly appeared in front of him, "I really am somewhat warping reality, at least for me. It would seem I need to give more credit to Paige for…"
And before he could finish talking to himself, Riley once again started looking around. He had already imagined an entire world before—how exactly would he know if this was real?
And then, without any warning or indication, Riley started hitting himself on the head repeatedly. Closing his eyes and opening them to check if he was indeed where he was.
A second.
A minute.
An entire hour. Riley hit himself on the head for an hour before he decided that this place was real—he was once again in a prison.
"..."
"..."
"...Pft," Riley chuckled as he started walking around the caged paradise he finds himself in. And no matter how many times he tried to find signs of life, there were none. And so, he just decided to fly to the clouds to get a better view.
"!!!"
But not even a dozen meters into the air, however, Riley felt his vision shift as he was violently pushed back onto the ground; his face, now planted along with the blades of grass.
"This… is interesting," Riley's words muffled from the ground before he turned around to look at the sky, "That feeling…
…it was telekinesis.
Chapter 680Telekinesis.
Remove all the other abilities that he gained, and Riley will still be at 90% as long as he has his telekinetic abilities. He barely even remembers some of the powers he has—he really truly only needs Alice's ability.
Moving things with his mind was as easy as moving things with his hands, and he could even argue that he had better control of telekinesis than his limbs.
If there was one thing in this universe that he could always identify, it was the use of telekinesis; even if it was just as light as lifting a feather, he would know if telekinesis was involved.
And the force that suddenly pushed him down to the ground when he tried to fly up into the air?
That was undoubtedly telekinesis.
…And it was stronger than his.
He had also realized something as he walked through this strange empty land—there were no birds at all. He had already seen several land creatures that he couldn't identify, but not a single bird flew above him.
It was almost as if no one was allowed to fly in this place.
The one using telekinesis—is it perhaps some sort of god?
He was in a completely different universe, after all. Perhaps in this universe, the god of evaniels did not exist; Nothing did say that the god of evaniels was a unique existence like him.
But then again, this dimension is a prison. Perhaps he was completely wrong and the telekinetic force that was literally keeping him grounded is just something that Diana or the norinlads made. After all, this prison is to keep the most heinous and uncontainable villains of his universe—they don't want them flying around and having a semblance of freedom.
"..."
But what if he flies just inches above the ground?
Riley's feet once again floated from the blades of grass and stayed like that for an entire minute—and no force brought him down. And so, he just started moving like that; gaining speed by the second until a skirt of wind exploded around him as he passed the speed of sound.
He continued to increase his speed; the scenery around him, however, did not seem to change as all that welcomed him was an endless horizon of paradise. He continued to speed up… until the hand of god once again slammed him to the ground.
"Hm…"
Riley could really only once again turn himself up to look at the sky. No flying, and no going too fast—for a prison, that didn't seem to be too bad. At least he wasn't inside a glass cage…
…or is he?
Riley stood up; his eyes, still staring at the sky to try and see if there were any cameras around that were watching him. But then again, why would there be cameras?
He was in another universe, Diana and the others won't be able to see what he was doing even if there were cameras there. But then again… maybe they have the technology to do so? After all, Bernard seemed to be sharing the gift of his mind with the universe for 5 years already.
"..." Riley thought about it more, before just shrugging and continuing to hover across the endless sea of grass at the speed of sound. Whatever or whoever the entity was that is using telekinesis, it didn't seem to bother with him as long as he didn't practice his… freedom too much.
Hours passed, and Riley was beginning to think that he might be the only person in this place. But that shouldn't be the case. While he was drifting in and out of death, he heard Diana and Aerith talking about how there should be other prisoners here—a lot of them.
If Riley was going to be trapped here alone, then this truly was a fate worse than death. Well, he couldn't die in the first place, so the only way he would actually pay for his crimes was to not be able to do his purpose—torture and kill people.
How was he going to do that if there were no people? It would have been fine if he was in a void, but he was in a lush world filled with all sorts of life. There were hills teeming with trees and small creatures, there were boulders filled with critters… but nothing fun to torture.
Soon, however, Riley stopped flying as he finally noticed signs of intelligent life—fire.
And not just any fire, but a fire under a skillet. There was also a hammock attached to the trees near it.
Riley looked around to try and see if the one cooking was around, but aside from the oil crackling on the skillet, there was no other noise there. And so, Riley just did the only thing he could do in the situation… he sat down and waited.
He didn't really need to wait long, however, as a grey-skinned person soon stepped out from the trees—carrying what looked like some sort of… fat deer; or perhaps it was better to call it a brown pig with antlers.
"Nek… ruf kafi?"
The grey-skinned humanoid quickly halted his steps as soon as he saw Riley casually sitting beside his fire. Riley couldn't really understand his words, so he just looked at him for a few seconds before letting out a small smile.
"Are you real?" Riley then asked. It was something that Paige taught him—although she wasn't exactly sure if it would work on Riley since his condition was different from hers, she told him that the hallucinations and the illusions would always respond in a way that would give them away if asked the question; especially now that Riley was aware that his mind was deteriorating.
"Ah, ruf kaijin!"
The grey-skinned humanoid dropped the antlered pig on the ground, before grabbing something tiny from his bag and throwing it just within arm's reach of Riley.
"Gur, gur!"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at the thing the stranger threw at him, only for him to recognize what the device was. The stranger started gesturing something to him, but before he could finish his hand movements, Riley already attached the device to the back of his ear.
"Oh. It would seem you already know how to use it," the grey-skinned humanoid let out a small hum as he looked at Riley from head to toe, "So, I guess right. You are a Traveler, no?"
"...A traveler?"
"From the portals."
"Are you real?" Riley once again asked. Portals, travelers—this is sounding like the hallucination he was having before Diana brought him back to Earth.
"No, I'm Nutno," the grey-skinned humanoid started batting his eyes as he looked at Riley, "And you, what's your name?"
"..."
Nope. Riley had no idea if Nutno was real or not. But he seemed to react real enough… but then again, so did the Leville party.
"My name is Riley Ross, Nutno." But whatever the case was, it was rude not to introduce himself, "And yes, I suppose I was thrown here. Judging by the way you are speaking, I assume you're not from… my universe?"
"Oh, no…" Nutno shook his head before lifting the antlered pig and placing it back over his shoulders, "...I was born here. In fact, I was born in a town a hundred steps from here."
"A nearby town?" Riley squinted his eyes as he looked at the oil sizzling on the skillet, "Then why are you cooking here instead of at your house, Nutno?"
"...Because I want to?" Nutno also squinted his eyes, "I heard it from my grandparents, but you Travelers really are suspicious of everything."
"..."
"Come, let me take you to town so I can introduce you to some people that could explain things to you better than I ever could."
"Let me help you with that then, Nutno."
"What do you—!!!"
Nutno took in a small but very deep breath as he felt the weight on his shoulders literally disappear as the antlered pig floated toward Riley. He seemed to want to say something, but just chose to take in a gulp as he nodded and said his thanks.
"Follow me, Riley Ross."
"Are you not going to extinguish the fire, Nutno?"
"Oh, I'll be back here after I introduce you to Logi and the others," Nutno waved his hand as he started walking, "So, what is it like where you are from, Riley Ross? I have truly only read about your kind in stories."
"It is no different from this place, Nutno," Riley casually answered as he let the antlered pig float in front of him.
"Huh. They said—Ah! Where are my manners," Nutno raised his voice as he grabbed a glass bottle from his bag and handed it to Riley, "I got so excited about meeting a Traveler that I forgot to offer you some fresh water. I hope you didn't drink anything from the nearby river, I think something bad died there and we've been trying to find it for a long time now."
"I haven't been to the river, Nutno," Riley just shook his head. He then grabbed a cup from his pocket and proceeded to fill it with water.
"..." As for Nutno, he could really only blink a couple of times as he wondered where Riley pulled the cup from.
"Thank you for the water, Nutno," Riley then nodded as he drank the water. And as he did so, he felt a familiar sting climb from his stomach and all the way through the rest of his body.
Poison—or more specifically, a sedative that would put an elephant to sleep in less than a millisecond.
Chapter 681Poison. Non-lethal, in a way.
Now that the effect of the sedative traveled through every part of Riley's body, his tongue was also starting to recognize the taste of the poison. And right there and then, Riley realized that Nutno and everything going around him is real.
Not because he recognized the taste, no—his mind could have made that up—but because he was poisoned in the first place. Paige had told him that the hallucinations will usually have a way of revealing themselves to be just that, hallucinations, and this was it.
Unlike Paige's, his hallucinations would never even attempt to kill him because there was no way to kill him in the first place. When Diana revealed was bringing him back to Earth, and he finally remembered having Paige's abilities, he once again attempted to end his existence.
He created a poison that would kill him once and for all, and all it did was let Nothing have the chance to laugh at him again.
"..."
Riley looked at the bottle for a few seconds, then toward Nutno, who seemed to already be sweating buckets from his face as he stared at Riley.
How could he not? The poison he just fed Riley was enough to tranquilize and paralyze even creatures that were the size of hills—and yet Riley was just casually standing there and even puttering his lips, almost as if savoring the taste.
"...Hm," Riley just tilted his head to the side, before letting out a sigh and dropping to the ground. Of course, he also didn't forget to drop the antlered pig floating in the air.
"P…phew, I thought it didn't work."
It didn't, Riley was completely awake. If there was one thing he learned in life, it is that people like talking about someone when they know they can't hear them—the same should apply no matter what universe he is in.
"Still… these people really are weird. Was he lifting the anthog with some kind of apparatus?"
"..." Riley felt himself being carried over the shoulder by Nutno. And if there was one thing he said true, it was that there was a settlement nearby—a hamlet.
The level of technology in this place was something that Riley couldn't really determine. He was handed a universal translator chip earlier, but that could be from another prisoner that was captured by one of these people.
So, the norinlads… they weren't throwing people into a void, but rather a planet with living inhabitants on it.
If he wasn't pretending to be unconscious, then he would be sighing and shaking his head in disappointment by now. This is the thing the god of evaniels warned him about—monsters coming out of portals.
In this case, the monsters came in the form of prisoners from his universe… and now him.
"Nutno, don't tell me you're hunting people now!?"
"What…? No, it's a Traveler!"
"A… Traveler!? Again!?"
The people that were guarding the gate of the settlement raised their voices. And with their hamlet as small as it is, almost everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their heads toward the gate.
"Nutno, is that…?"
"Yes," Nutno's voice seemed as proud as it could ever be—Riley could hear the beating of his heart and the heaviness of his breaths as people started approaching and surrounding them,
"I'll… answer questions later, I have to meet with the chief first."
"O… of course. Is… is it asleep? His skin… it's so weird."
"Not weirder than the last one."
"..." Riley's eye could not help but twitch as several gray-skinned people started touching him as he hung over Nutno's shoulder. But he didn't do anything, not yet. The buildings and houses in the hamlet were small, made with wood and cement—the ground was also paved smoothly, letting Riley know a little more about what type of civilization these people had.
And soon, Riley was brought inside one of these houses.
"Chief."
"I heard. Is that… the Traveler?"
"Yes."
"Put it on the table so Lin can examine it."
"..." Riley had his eyes open, but for Nutno and the others, they looked like they were still closed. Including Nutno, there were two other people in the room—the man with a slightly wrinkled face was the chief, and there was a woman, Lin, who was holding some sort of stick.
"Fascinating."
And as soon as Nutno placed him on the table, Lin quickly approached him and started poking his body with the stick she was holding.
"Unlike the last one, this one looks just like us," Lin whispered as she lifted Riley's hair with her stick, "What do you think it is? Are you sure it's a Traveler?"
"Of course. Give me some credit here, Lin."
"Like how you drugged a tourist from Palit because you thought he was a foreigner?"
"To my defense, he looked like a creature from some other place."
"True, that man was as ugly as they could make him."
"Focus, you two. Lin, what do you think?"
"Hm…"
And as the three started letting out their breaths as they stared at his body, Riley could not help but think the situation was weird; Judging by how these people are acting, people like him weren't common, but they were not that rare either.
He had no idea how many prisoners his universe had thrown in this place, but there should be many… and since the norinlads made it for criminals that couldn't be contained in the first place, then that would mean the prisoners should be strong.
So, it was weird. These gray-skinned people don't seem particularly strong, so why do they seem calm? Were they that confident with the poison they fed him?
"Anything special we need to know about this one?" The Chief grumbled; his voice, a little hoarse as he looked back and forth between Riley and Nutno.
"It… lifted an anthog in the air," Nutno breathed out, "I checked its body on the way here, but I didn't really see any magical device."
"It's good that you were able to get it to sleep."
"It… was very friendly," Nutno shook his head as he looked at Riley, "We've been told that the travelers are dangerous, but this one tried to help me."
"Don't be fooled, Nutno. It was one of them that destroyed Tironia—if it was not for the Deity, then they would have destroyed more," the Chief let out a small scoff as he also shook his head, "Lin…?"
The Deity—is that the thing that keeps Riley from flying in the air? Was he right, then? Was it some sort of god?
"..."
"Soft skin, hair as white as the feathers of a Jubobu… not to mention he almost looks just like us. Hm…" Lin hummed as she poked Riley's face with her stick. But soon, a soft chuckle escaped her lips,
"...We should get enough to feed the entire town for a month."
"That… much!?" Nutno almost stuttered with his words as he looked at Riley, "But the one that Logi brought here seemed more useful!"
"I also don't see any magical device on him," Lin shook her head, "That would mean this one has some sort of ability—not to mention it doesn't look bad at all, then someone would surely offer a good price for it."
"How much do you think they are going to buy me?"
"At least for—!!!"
Lin quickly leaped back as soon as she realized that one she had been poking with a stick since earlier was now already looking at her.
"I… I thought you said you put it to sleep already!?"
"I did!" Nutno could not help but also back away as he saw Riley very casually sitting up from the table, "I… It even drank the entire bottle!"
"Everyone, calm down!" The only one that didn't back away was the chief. He even stepped closer to Riley, or more specifically, toward the weapon that was under the table he was lying on.
"..." Riley looked at the weapon for a few seconds, slightly tilting his head as he recognized the shape,
"That looks like a gun, Chief," Riley said as he got up from the table and started looking around the room, "I suppose this world has already been influenced by a more advanced civilization. I was hoping it would be similar to the world in my head, I would have liked to meet with people similar to the Leville party."
"Do not take another step!" The Chief pointed the gun at Riley, "Move, and you die here and now!"
"Just so we understand each other," a small smile then crawled on Riley's face as he looked at the Chief, "It was nice meeting you, Chief."
"Wh—Grah!"
And before the Chief could say anything else, his arm suddenly twisted—and before he could continue to scream…his entire body followed; crumpling into a ball as the sound of his bones breaking whispered and snapped in the air.
"W… what?" Both Lin and Nutno froze. Their eyes, having a hard time seeing anything as they trembled violently from what they had just witnessed.
"Well, then. It has been a very long time since I did this," Riley let out a small sigh as he picked up the gun from the ground and started examining it.
"The two of you, and all the people outside are going to die horribly and in so much pain," he then said; his eyes, not even looking at Nutno and Lin as he threatened them,
"But if you make me like you, I would consider the idea."
"...What?"
"So…" Riley once again sat on the table as he looked at Lin,
"...How much are you going to sell me again, Lin?"
Chapter 682"So… how much am I worth, Lin?"
The chief's office was mostly made of wood; the walls, the ceiling, and even the floor. But now, it was also mostly made of the chief himself as different parts of his body scattered everywhere.
The floorboards were obviously untreated and unvarnished, as it already started to absorb the chief's blood.
"How… how are you even awake!?" Nutno tried his best to calm his breaths as he looked at Riley from head to toe, "You… you drank the entire bottle! We were told any Traveler would—"
"Wait."
Riley raised a finger at Nutno, interrupting him as he needed to adjust the translator chip sticking behind his ear. As soon as he was done, however, he promptly answered Nutno's question,
"My body has grown immune to any and all kind of poison, Nutno—even if it is alien or from a completely different universe altogether, it would seem all poison works the same."
"...What?"
"Since I answered your question, I hope you can answer mine," Riley stepped closer to Nutno; his steps, creating a squelching whisper due to the sticky floor, "This Deity that the chief mentioned earlier, what is it?"
"..."
Nutno did not really answer. He just looked at the other only person in the room, almost as if he was asking her what he should do right now—but alas, his sight was covered by the smiling face of Riley Ross.
"I don't think I will get an answer from you," Riley then said as he tilted his head further to cover Nutno's view, "That means I do not need you, Nutno."
"W—Ugkh!"
Nutno's feet started to leave the floor as he felt his entire body contract, almost as if every fiber of his muscles were being pulled away one by one—the pain, not even allowing him to scream as it shut his brain down in an instant.
"I apologize, Nutno," Riley sighed and shook his head, "But I need to be somewhat wary of—Hm?"
And before Riley could finish his words, a small thud whispered in the room as Nutno dropped to the floor… still alive.
"What is this?" Riley once again tilted his head to the side as he stared at the groveling Nutno. He tried lifting him with his mind, but he just continued to squirm in pain; with not even his hair affected by Riley's telekinesis,
"...Weird."
Riley tried to lift Nutno again, this time even doing a gesture with his hand… but nothing. It was almost as if his telekinesis was completely gone—no. It was as if something, or someone was suppressing it.
"Deity?" Riley then started looking around; using his enhanced hearing to try and sense anything that seemed amiss from his surroundings, but he could sense nothing. But he was sure of it, the one suppressing his telekinesis was this so-called Deity.
And whoever and whatever it is, it was using its power from very far away from a distance that even Riley was not capable of reaching. This Deity's telekinesis…
…it was much stronger than Riley's, much stronger.
Strong enough to completely suppress him to the point it was like he lost his psychic abilities.
"Hm…" And upon thinking this, a hint of amusement crawled on his face as he closed his eyes—and soon, the veins on his white neck started to show themselves. And with the opening of his eyes, the very earth itself started to tremble.
"..." Nutno, who just recovered from almost having his flesh turned inside out, could not help but just hug the floor as everything in the room started to move and slide. Unbeknownst to him and Lin, however, the entire hamlet itself and the surrounding area were shifting.
"...Oh?"
Fortunately for everyone, it did not last long and even instantly stopped at the same time as Riley once again let out an amused puff of breath.
"Interesting," Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at his hands; closing and opening them several times as he tilted his head,
"And weird, really weird. I could feel myself using telekinesis, but I can't do anything with it. Can you hear me, Deity? I am learning a lot from this—are you matching my frequency to completely mute my telekinetic ability? Or, I suppose you truly are just stronger than me and—"
"Die!"
And of course, as is the case with all of Riley's opponents; they take the chance to attack while he is doing his routine monologue—Nutno was no different. As soon as he saw a sign of weakness from Riley, he instantly rushed toward him with his arms already ready to grab him.
"Well, I have a lot more tricks to offer."
Unfortunately for Nutno, Riley instantly squashed his head with just the clap of his hands. But of course, that wasn't enough for Riley as he even burrowed his arms through Nutno's torso before cleaving and ripping his body completely in half just for dramatic effect.
"...Hm," Riley then grabbed one half of Nutno's body, and lightly throwing it toward Lin.
"Eep!" Lin couldn't really help but just yelp as she fell to the floor as Nutno's dismembered corpse landed on her.
"I apologize, Lin," Riley let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "I was planning to catch that with my mind, but my telekinetic abilities don't work anymore."
"W… what?"
"Anyway," Riley then started walking toward Lin; the disgusting squelch in his steps, now even more prominent, "Tell me…
…how much were you going to sell me again?"
***
"Where's your chief?"
"He…he… he's inspecting the area where the Traveler was found."
"He… He—what are you, some sort of singer with undiagnosed brain issues?"
"N…no?"
Hours later, Lin was welcoming a group of people inside the chief's office. And surprisingly enough, the room was immaculate—not even a sight of blood anywhere.
"You women are so weird. So, is… this it? Is this the Traveler?"
"Y…Y...Yes."
As for Riley, he was now once again lying on the table and pretending to be unconscious.
"Y…Y…Yes," the man that seemed to be the head of the group repeated Lin's stutter in a mocking way, "What is wrong with you?"
"N…nothing."
"Tch."
It wouldn't be an understatement to say that Lin's body was causing the entire room to shake, but the man no longer heed her any mind as he looked at Riley from head to toe, scanning every inch of his body.
"This one looks just like us—it should fetch a good price," the man nodded to himself, "Did you know that we sold one that had tentacles several seasons ago? And why is the floor so sticky?"
"They… just wiped the floor," Lin started to calm herself down.
"...With what? You know what, I don't want to know... Anyway, what does this one do?" The man said as he lifted Riley's arm.
"It's… strong."
"Huh, is it waking up soon?"
"No, it drank the entire bottle."
"...Really? And it's not dead?" The man quickly let go of Riley as he took in a small gulp, before attaching a steel collar around his neck, "Tell your chief to get ready to feed his entire village because this one will sell at a very high price."
"...Just take him away, please," Lin urged.
"We'll do just that," the man gestured to one of his men to carry Riley outside, "We'll be back with the money."
"Just go, please."
"Really excited, huh?" The man was completely oblivious to Lin's hurried tone as he just waved his hand and left the room.
And as soon as the man and his men all left the room, Lin quickly clasped her head as the room started to change—once again painted with the blood and guts of her friends.
As for Riley, he was thrown in a cage on a cart; the sound of the metal bars, clanging as they secured and locked the gate. But even though the sound of metal was sharp and loud, Riley barely heard it due to the gasps of shock from his new… cage mates.
"Hm," Riley stopped pretending to be asleep as he sat up, causing the other slaves he was with to back away as they all stared at him with fear reflected in their eyes.
"Please relax, everyone. I am not a bad person."
"..." Everyone seemed completely emaciated, to the point that their bones stick through their gray skin of different shades. But even though they clearly couldn't be any weaker, they seemed adamant about using the last of their strength to try and get away from Riley as much as possible—sadly for them, the metal bars prevented them from doing so.
"I thought I was being sold because I'm from a different species, but it would seem I was wrong," Riley whispered as he looked each of the scared people in the eyes,
"If they are even selling you, their own people, then I suppose slavery is normal in this place."
"..."
"I truly see now that the world I was previously in was truly a fantasy," Riley let out a small sigh as he remembered the Leville party and his time as a hunter, "Because if it wasn't, then the people there would have also tried to sell me."
"..." The other slaves could not help but just look at each other as Riley continued to talk to himself.
"Oh, don't mind me, fellow slaves," Riley let out a small chuckle as he shook his head, "I am just hitching a ride to wherever you are going. But I would appreciate it if you would tell me our destination."
"..."
"..."
"Uhm…" And surprisingly, one of the slaves started inching closer to Riley—a child, "I… I was sold by my parents."
"Congratulations, young slave," Riley nodded, "That means they value you."
"R... Really?" Tears started to fall from the young slave's eyes as he looked at Riley.
"Hm. You are worth something to them," Riley once again nodded, "So, do you know where we are going, young slave?"
"We…
…are going to be auctioned."
Chapter 683The ride was extremely quiet—in a way. The gallops of the horses pulling the cart still thumped in the air; the creaking of the steel axle, and the brushing of the wheel on the paved road still created enough noise that could deafen someone in the long run.
The ride was extremely quiet; that is if one would consider the whimpering and the terrified breaths of the slaves as quiet.
The boy that was previously talking to Riley was now asleep as they reached the night of their long journey. As for the older ones, well—they were still scared of Riley. Some of them, whispering to themselves; or perhaps praying as they glanced at Riley from time to time.
None of them struggled, however. The cart made another stop at a small village a few hours ago to get another slave, but the woman already seemed resigned to her fate as she even bid farewell to her parents… who seemed to be the ones that sold her. Or perhaps, she sold herself.
And like everyone inside the cage, a collar was attached around her neck.
"..." Riley had actually been playing with the collar since earlier; treating it gently and carefully so as to not accidentally break it—but found that he didn't need to be that careful at all.
Riley knew he could pull and break it if he wanted to, but it would actually require a little effort on his part. For a collar like this to be used on slaves that seemed like they would die if Riley touches them seemed excessive.
"...Or perhaps this is the only collar this place has." And soon, like the other slaves, Riley started whispering to himself. But unlike them, Riley's whispers could be heard clearly by everyone as he even stood up and started walking around the tight cage,
"Is this magical in nature, or perhaps some sort of tech? It does somewhat remind me of the collars used by the themarians to restrict their criminals."
Riley stopped walking; his eyes, batting several times as he let out a humming breath, "Oh, since this is another universe, is it possible that there are also themarians out there? If so…"
A small smile then crawled on Riley's face as he looked at the night sky that was covered by the bars of the cage, "...Is there another Aerith in this place?"
Numerous thoughts started rising in Riley's brain, but the only thing he was really sure of right now was that he was not in an alternate version of Earth—and even that might not be the case too.
"Maybe if I try to find Earth once I escape this planet, I will also see another version of Hannah?" The smile on Riley's face grew even wider, "But then again, he won't be the same as sister—she should be a single child since I only exist in one universe. Hmm, so many possibilities in this place. Am I even on the same timeline? Maybe sister has not yet been born, or humans are already extinct…
…but that shouldn't be the case."
And as Riley continued to talk to himself, the other slaves that were praying shut their mouths. They were now just covering their heads in fear—as they should. Since the people they call Travelers here are his universe's most uncontrollable criminals, Riley could imagine what sort of things they have done here.
"Hm, Nothing said that 'time' in all universes travels linearly. Everything happens at the same time, just different versions of it. Hm… I suppose I shouldn't think about something I do not know of. This is weird, really weird."
Back when he was living in the world in his mind, Arlusia, he hadn't once thought of these kinds of things—perhaps because deep inside, he actually knew that the place he was in wasn't real at all.
"There should be a handbook for this," Riley then let out a small sigh as he sat down. As he did so, however, the people near him once again all moved away.
"There is plenty of space, everyone," Riley tilted his head to the side as he looked at the people avoiding his gaze, "You really should not be afraid of me, I am not a bad person."
"..." The other slaves started looking at each other as Riley looked at them; the smile on his face, as gentle as it could be. The slaves were about to relax as the Traveler in front of them seemed to truly mean them no harm, but before they could do so, the gentle smile on Riley's face continued to grow.
"I am not a bad person," Riley chuckled,
"I am an evil one."
***
"There is really no need to be scared of me, I was only explaining what I am."
"..."
The ride was extremely quiet—for real, this time. The last breath that whispered from the slaves was probably half a day ago. All of them were just crowding on one side of the cage, with Riley taking the other half like a sick fish inside an aquarium.
Fortunately for the slaves, they didn't have to endure longer as they seemed to arrive at their destination.
It was a large city, with large walls and a large gate. The houses were made of what seemed to be cobblestones and wood, but Riley wasn't really sure—after all, this was a different universe.
There were lamps, however—not torches, but lamps that seemed to be powered by electricity.
"...Is this what Earth seemed like from the other civilizations?"
Earth's technology was influenced by themarians—or perhaps it was better to say that it was influenced by Diana alone. And it was obvious that this planet too, was influenced by a greater civilization.
…Perhaps the other Travelers? It is possible that some of them were able to acclimate themselves to this place—but since this world seemed to have a bad impression of them, it was no doubt that most of them continued their evil ways.
"…But where are they now?"
Lin and her village chief did mention that the Deity saved them from the earlier Travelers, could it be that it killed most of them? That is the only reason Riley could think of as to why this planet hasn't been destroyed yet.
And while Riley was whispering to himself, he just continued with the flow and followed the rest of the slaves as they lined up—and soon, they were all brought into some sort of dark room where they were all violently sprayed and cleaned with water that mysteriously gushed out from the ceiling.
And while the others howled and cried in pain as the stream of water was enough to destroy and tear their clothes into pieces, Riley took off all of his clothes and just stretched his arms to the side—making sure the water hit every inch of his body.
A bath.
How long has it really been for him?
As soon as he was able to master his telekinetic abilities, Riley no longer really needed to take a bath as he could always keep himself clean. But now, with his telekinesis completely suppressed and dampened by this… Deity, some things needed to be adjusted.
The violent shower lasted for an entire hour. And suffice it to say, all the dirt that the slaves brought with them was completely gone.
"Move, move it!" The slaves were then one by one kicked out of the weird shower room as the traders handed them clean clothes to wear. But as soon as they saw Riley, however, they all could not help but just bat their eyes.
"How… is the Traveler completely dry?"
He blasted himself with warm air—but Riley did not really answer as he just wore the clothes provided for him and followed the other slaves.
He needed to learn a lot of things from this place, and the only proper way to do that is to go with the flow… is what Riley was thinking as the slave traders started chaining his wrists along with his ankles.
All of them were lined up as they continued to walk; all of them, now wearing immaculate white clothes that made them look like a group of ancient Greek scholars.
"Is this the part where we are getting sold? How much do you think people are willing to buy me?" Riley smiled as he looked at the slave beside him. The slave, however, just trembled where he stood.
"Great Deity, please let me serve a master that will treat me well."
"..." And it wasn't only him—all the slaves were praying to the Deity—none of them regretting their fate. Some of them, even excited as they were brought outside the dark room; their numbers dwindled one by one, and soon…
…only Riley was left.
He could hear the noise coming from outside the room getting louder and louder—and as he stepped outside of the dark room, the noise became frenzied.
"Hm, I have never been bought before."
"Stop talking!"
Riley was pushed by one of the traders, causing him to take several steps onto the stage for everyone to see. And as soon as the light was pointed at him, the noise just disappeared.
"...Hm," Riley tilted his head as he looked at all the people in front of the stage; all of them, wearing masks that completely covered their faces. Riley was then once again pushed by one of the traders, urging him to stand on the podium at the center of the stage.
Riley did not really heed the traders any mind, however, as he just continued to scan all of his potential buyers as he stepped on the podium.
"This… is sort of exciting."
Chapter 684"That's… a Traveler? Are you sure?"
"His hair is so white, his skin too. Are we sure they didn't just put powder on him?"
"He's so beautiful. I… I need to buy him!"
"Boring, I was expecting someone that looks like a fish. That's not a Traveler!"
"Folks, folks! Please, settle down so we can start!"
The whispers and murmurs of the people filled the entire hall. And even as the auctioneer slammed his hammer on the podium several times, the people still continued to talk to themselves as they all looked at Riley from head to toe.
"Just so we can get rid of your curiosities. Yes, the thing in front of you truly is a Traveler!"
"!!!"
The auctioneer's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to travel through the ears of each of the buyers; finally making them close and shut their mouths as they already calculated how much they were willing to spend on the white-skinned, white-haired individual standing in front of them.
There were some, however, who stood up from their seats and started backing away—and for someone like Riley, the fear in their steps might as well be screaming in his ears.
"T… traveler!?"
"It really is a Traveler!?"
"Folks, folks! Calm down!" The auctioneer once again hammered his podium as he gestured to the guards to stand beside Riley, "None of you have to worry—like most of our merchandise, the collar around its neck prevents it from doing anything harmful to us, and to himself."
"...Newbies."
"Sit down, don't ruin this auction for us!"
The other buyers were starting to roll their eyes and click their tongues as they looked at the scared patrons.
And while the people were trying to settle themselves down, Riley was once again touching the collar around his neck. The people of this world seem really confident about the strength of this collar—does that mean that the other Travelers were unable to remove or destroy it?
While it is true that the prisoners thrown here may not be physically strong, what about the likes of Bounty Hunter Kerrigan? This prison was originally and specifically made for him—and as a norinlad, the laws of physics do not really apply to him.
Is it possible this collar was also capable of forcing him to become tangible?
…Should he try breaking it? It would definitely be fun to watch all these people around him scream and panic. Or he could just laser each and every one of them with his eyes? If he does that, will this so-called Deity act to save them?
But then again, maybe not—these are slave traders, after all. But then again, would a god really even care if its people are bad or good? Perhaps in its eyes, all the people here are just the same, sheep to be saved.
…Do gods have morals?
"...Morals, hm. Weird," Riley blurted out, slightly surprising himself from his thoughts. Morality wasn't a foreign concept to him, no—he knows what is wrong and what is not—he just doesn't care. Are the gods perhaps the same?
Riley continued to talk to himself, but his words barely even escaped an inch from his lips before they were drowned by the voice of the auctioneer.
"This Traveler was just found a few days ago…"
The auctioneer introduced Riley to the buyers, saying things that didn't really happen to try and raise his value.
"Let's not delay this any further, I know all of you folks are excited!" The auctioneer then clapped his hands as he pointed his palm at Riley, "Everyone, we start the bidding at 40,000 deni! We increa—"
"100,000!"
The auctioneer was not even allowed to finish his explanation as someone already raised their number.
"Well, alright then! 100,000 from the beautiful lady over there!" The auctioneer spoke; his words, almost as fast as Tempo.
"..." 100,000? Is that high, or low? Riley has never really thought of how much he actually is as a person—but if this was his universe, then he should be worth a lot, a whole lot.
And considering the gasps of the other buyers, then 100,000 shouldn't be low at all. Riley squinted his eyes to try and find who bid for him, only to see a skinny woman, whose lips were probably the fattest part of her body.
"That's not a beautiful lady, Auctioneer."
"105!"
"105 to that beautiful redhead over there!"
"110!"
"110 from No. 110! Oh my, why are all our bidders women!?"
"150!"
"150 back to our first bidder!"
"..." Riley's eyes still haven't left the skinny woman, and yet the top bid was already back to her. He had watched an auction scene like this before from Italian Mafia Reborn… but it didn't move this fast.
"200!"
"200! And finally, we have ourselves a male patron!"
"..." Riley quickly turned to look at his first male buyer, only to see him wink at Riley while he licked his lips.
"3… 300!" The skinny woman seemed to have no intention of giving up as she raised her number even higher—her voice, almost cracking as she looked at the male buyer with a fierce glare.
"400!" The man only smirked as he returned the skinny woman's glare.
"F… five—"
"One million."
Their bidding war was cut short before it could even start, however, as a quiet voice whispered throughout the entire hall. Everyone turned their eyes toward the new challenger, only to see a group of robed men standing on the corner of the hall—all of them, wearing a golden brooch with some sort of intricate insignia.
"One…One million one hund—"
"Two million."
"T—"
"Sold! Sold to Kritika Academy!"
The skinny woman seemed to still want to bid, but before she could open her mouth, someone from backstage rushed to the stage and grabbed the hammer from the auctioneer, hitting the podium several times as he pointed at the group of robed men.
The robed men just looked at each other, nodding before they all just started walking away to the door. As for Riley, the guards beside him quickly grabbed his arms, forcefully escorting him down the stage as they followed the robed men.
As for the skinny lady, she was still staring at Riley—biting her nail as she truly seemed desperate to have him.
"..." And as Riley passed by her row, he looked at her and nodded. After all, she deserved at least that from being the first to bid on him. And as soon as he did so, the skinny woman's plump lips started to shiver. She seemed to be saying something…
…but Riley couldn't really hear anything as the guards continued to push him away.
***
"Thank you for your continued support. I'll… I'll inform the academy again as soon as we procure another Traveler."
"It is fine even if you don't, we already spent too much on this one alone."
"O… of course! You two, hand him the Traveler, gently."
"Are you not going to check if they gave the right amount?"
"Of course, they gave the—What the, you don't speak unless spoken to!"
"It's fine."
"But—"
"You may leave, Sir Fel."
"O… of course."
Riley was expecting the process to be more sophisticated due to the lavishness of the auction, but the owner of the auction hall just grabbed the two sacks that were given by the robed men and left—they did not even sign anything whatsoever.
They were even holding the auction for slaves right in the middle of the city—were they really that confident of the collar? Should he really test what it could do?
"I was going to hand you a translator, but it would seem you already have one."
And while Riley was contemplating on what to do, one of the robed men removed his hood and approached him; his long red hair, almost bouncing from as it stood straight up like a tuft of grass.
"I was given one by—"
"Kuntz, how many times do I have to tell you not to talk to the slaves!?"
"...Hm?" Riley felt a trickle of electricity tickle his neck as another one of the robed men approached him; this time, holding some sort of remote and pointing it at him.
"W… why is he not reacting!?" The man pointed the remote at Riley again, pressing it even harder.
"Oh…?" The collar attached to Riley's neck started to emit strong currents of electricity, and yet all it really did was cause Riley to tilt his head as he looked at the remote,
"Are you able to turn the intensity higher, or is this it? I was expecting something more since your kind seems to be confident with this collar."
"Don't… don't come any closer!" The robed man pressed the remote again; the electricity emitting from the collar, now shooting outward from how strong it was.
"But I'm not moving."
"St—"
"That's enough! What are you going to do if you damage it!?"
And before the remote could be pressed again, it was grabbed by the one that seemed to be the leader of these mysterious robed men.
"I truly apologize for my men's actions," and before anything else could happen, the man also removed his hood—revealing his aged face. And due to their gray skin, he looked even older for Riley.
"I would like to introduce myself," the man then bowed his head as he placed the remote in his robes, "My name is Dr. Whis, I am the head of the research department of Kritika Academy."
"I'm Riley Ross, Hannah's brother," Riley also nodded, "Research department? Then…
…I suppose you'll be studying me?"
Chapter 685"Since you have been quite civilized throughout our travels, I have convinced the Academy to give you your own room—as well as a little privacy."
"I appreciate that, Dr. Whis."
"Alright, be prepared to be called upon soon."
"Hm."
His own room—Riley was truly not expecting that. He was a slave, and he expected to be thrown in some sort of dungeon that hasn't been cleaned for more than a hundred years.
And yet right now, he was inside a clean room, with a clean bed. There was even a window that allowed him to see the sights outside—it was barred by metal to prevent him from escaping—but still, this was not how Riley expected to be treated.
It... was quite boring.
Kritika Academy, as explained by Dr. Whis, is a school for nobles who are serious about pursuing careers in academia—scientists, lecturers, and doctors. But Kritika wasn't only for scholars, the other half of it consists of those that want to make their names known on the battlefield.
And as for Riley's role in all of this, well...as Dr. Whis also already explained, they would be studying him.
He was a student on Earth, and then he became a professor on Theran. And now, he was a research subject.
"...Pft." And Riley found that amusing. He seemed to be taking all of the roles he could get from schools. Perhaps next time, he will be a school shoo—
"T... that's him."
"That's a Traveler...? I was expecting more."
"Shh, be quiet!"
"..." And as Riley was laughing to himself, he heard a tap coming from the window. He looked, only to see several people peeking their heads over the window—they were trying to be subtle, but failing all the same as they seemed to push each other to get a better look at Riley.
Riley did not mind, and even started to approach the window; causing the people to quickly disperse. It was, however, obvious that they were just hiding on the other side of the wall.
"Hello," a small chuckle escaped Riley's lips as he knocked on the window. The students that were outside could really only look at each other as they heard his voice, but before any of them could really react, Riley suddenly opened the window and stuck out his arm.
"I have a few questions," Riley then said as he opened his palm which released some sort of black goo,
"I would truly appreciate it if someone answers them."
***
"Hm, interesting."
Black coat, black pants, and a red shirt—that was the uniform of the students of Kritika Academy. And perhaps almost as if a testament to their prestige, the materials of the uniform were truly smooth and comfortable to the touch.
Riley was liking it as it didn't feel constricting—Yes, Riley was now wearing the uniform of Kritika Academy, and is now even walking through their open hallways; his once pale and white skin, now gray; his hair, as dark as it was when he donned the identity of Paragon.
As to where he got the uniform, well, he borrowed it.
"This school does not seem to have that many students," Riley talked to himself as he noticed that he hadn't seen a single student in the hallways. But then again, it was a prestigious and private school for nobles—there probably weren't that many of their kind in this city to begin with in the first place.
The architecture of this world was a bit weird, it almost reminded him of Ahor Zai with how open the building was; with the hallways almost acting like bridges.
Riley was about to take a turn, when all of a sudden, a figure came coming towards him.
"Ah!" It was a young man, who quickly gasped as his butt hit the floor from hitting Riley.
"I apologize, I didn't know whether it was appropriate to catch you."
"W...what are you, a wall!?"
The male student rubbed his forehead, pushing away his light brown hair and revealing his moss-green eyes, which almost showed due to his gray skin.
"Ack, enough about this, I'm late!" He groaned in frustration as he stood up, and Riley could almost make out a few tears forming in his eyes—but they weren't falling yet so he still held back some gracefulness amidst the moment.
"Which class are you going, teary-eyed male student?"
"...What? I'm not fucking crying!" The young man was about to leave, but Riley's voice whispered to his ears before he could even take three steps. He then very slowly turned his head to Riley, finally looking at his face.
"I'm... going to class, duh?" The young man then focused on Riley's face, "Wait, why haven't I seen someone as good-looking as you here before?"
"Because your species' median is subjectively worse looking than humans, male student."
"...The fuck? Do you even know who you are talking to right now, pleb!?"
"No."
"You're as weird as an orcbear. Wait..." The male student then squinted his eyes as he focused on Riley again, "If I'm late... that means you're also late! Which class are you in?"
"...Dr. Whis."
"Oh... Oh!" The male student's eyes almost lit up as Riley could almost see a light bulb flash above his head, "I guess you're lost, new guy?"
"I always am."
"Let's make a deal, then..." The male student started to whisper as he leaned closer to Riley, "Tell Dr. Whis that I toured you around the Academy, and I bring you to class. How about it?"
"I would appreciate that, male student."
"Tino, the name's Tino. Prince Tino, to be exact."
"Riley Ross."
"I knew it, you're an exchange student," Tino gestured to Riley to follow him, "No way in forever would somebody in this city not actually know who I am."
"..." Riley did not really respond to Prince Tino and just followed behind him as he rushed to his classroom—even jumping and leaping over the hanging hallways. And judging by how he was glancing back at Riley, he was trying to test if he could follow him; only to see him slightly struggle in mid-air.
Riley can fly—but he had just always used his telekinesis to do so. This was, perhaps, the very first time since he acquired the ability to fly that he was actually using it.
And in the end, he just opted to just go along with Prince Tino and just leaped across and over the hallways like some sort of grasshopper. After all, the Deity might not like it if he continues actually flying around.
Fortunately for Riley, he didn't have to chase Prince Tino for long as they reached the classroom, in which a deafening scream quickly welcomed them and filled the entire Academy.
"Your Majesty! How many times do I have to tell you not to be late for class!? Do you not know that the royal family has given us full authority to oversee your education!?" Dr. Whis made even the students that were already inside the classroom lower their heads and cover their ears even though the sermon was not directed at them,
"If you are not serious about this then—"
"..." As for Prince Tino, he was just about to cover his ears when Dr. Whis suddenly stopped talking; his eyes, staring at the person standing behind him.
"Ah!" Prince Tino's eyes quickly lit up as he glanced at Riley, "Dr. Whis, this is—"
"Get away from him, Your Majesty."
"...What?" Prince Tino could not help but raise an eyebrow at the sudden change in Dr. Whis's tone.
"Get... away from it, now."
"...It?"
Dr. Whis's breaths started to quiver as he looked at Riley's face. Even though his skin was now gray like theirs, his face was still completely the same.
"How... did you escape the room?" Dr. Whis then breathed out as he looked at Riley's neck, only to find the collar absent from it.
"I opened the door and stepped out, Dr. Whis," Riley shrugged as he stepped inside the classroom; his eyes, scanning all the students that were clearly confused as to what was happening, "Since you are a professor; I have a question, Dr. Whis."
"...What?"
"I am slightly getting impatient for some reason, so what happens next will depend on you, Dr. Whis," Riley whispered, "The Deity...
...How do I contact it?"
Chapter 686"What happens next will depend on you. The Deity…
…How do I contact it?"
"Yo, teach. What's going on…?" Prince Tino looked back and forth between Riley and Dr. Whis.
It wasn't only Prince Tino, his classmates that were just peacefully sitting in their seats did the same; their moving eyes, reflecting their confusion.
"...Hopefully nothing," Dr. Whis gestured to Prince Tino to take a seat, even pushing him to the side before blocking him and the rest of the students from Riley's view,
"Where… did you get the uniform?"
"One of the students peering over my quarters gave it to me, Dr. Whis," Riley said as he examined himself, "I have to say, it is quite comfortable to the touch—I expected nothing less of uniforms reserved for nobles."
"What… did you do to the student?"
"I believe I was the first to ask a question and yet here you are asking another before answering mine, Dr. Whis," Riley let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "Please answer my question."
"..." Dr. Whis once again stared at Riley for a few seconds; almost biding his time as he waited for someone in the school to discover that the Traveler they bought is missing from its confinement, "Why… do you want to know about—"
"Kya!"
And before Dr. Whis could finish his words, everyone inside the room instinctively turned their heads toward the sudden scream that almost deafened their ears.
"N… no…"
And there, Dr. Whis could really only exhale the most painful of breaths as he saw one of her students wrapped in flames—dancing for her life as her classmates ran to the sides. Prince Tino, who was actually supposed to be seated next to the girl, could not help but let out a stuttered gasp as he just watched her burn.
Just a little more, and he would have seated right next to her. Just a little more, and he would have probably joined her last dance.
He was shocked, everyone was. Their friend was now just a char, a black mark on the floor; but they couldn't help but just ask in their minds… how?
Dr. Whis also had the same question, but not for long as his eyes landed back on the Traveler in front of him.
"That is your fault, Dr. Whis."
"...What?"
"I already told you that everything that happens next is your fault," Riley sighed; his breaths, whispering like a dagger through each of the students' ears.
"You… you killed her?" Dr. Whis stuttered.
"No, you did," Riley patted Dr. Whis on the shoulder several times; shaking his head before making his way to his desk and casually taking a seat, "Please, Doctor. I expected you to be fast on the uptake—and please, stop asking so many questions and just answer mine…
…The Deity, how do I contact it?"
"I…" Dr. Whis wanted to buy as much time as possible, but now that the Traveler has shown its true colors and what it is capable of, any thoughts of trying anything disappeared from his mind.
He knew. They all knew. The risks of procuring a Traveler slave were high, intensely high. The Travelers are mysterious creatures, and all the studies suggest that they are from a completely different plane entirely.
The Travelers are also strong, but more so than not, their strength is in their brains. And even if they are physically strong, the Slave Collar prevents any of that strength from ever surfacing… a collar that was absent from Riley's neck.
And so, with a split-second decision, Dr. Whis could truly only really answer truthfully.
"I don't know," Dr. Whis breathed out, "The Deity only intervenes when something drastic happens."
"Oh."
And that was a mistake.
"Drastic? Hm…" Riley placed his hand on his chin as his skin instantly returned to its original white and freakishly pale color, "...I think I know how to do that. That is good too, I am getting impatient dealing with… the mundane."
"Please, wait… please," Dr. Whis once again moved in front of Riley to cover the students from his view, "The children, they don't—"
"Oh. You do not have to worry, Dr. Whis," Riley let out a small chuckle as he waved his hand,
"All of you are going to die."
"...What?"
"And since I do not have access to my telekinesis, this is going to be a very fun process for all sides," Riley tapped the desk; his finger, letting out some sort of dark ripple that scattered across the surface of the desk. This dark ripple continued to crawl through the floor, and as it reached Dr. Whis's feet… this ripple extruded from the ground in the form of a million tiny spikes.
"!!!"
Dr. Whis did not even have time to scream before this black thorn scattered through and throughout his entire body in less than a second, turning him into a porcupine as his tongue stuck out from his opened mouth.
"Hm…" Riley stood up from the desk as he inched closer toward Dr. Whis, who now just looked like some sort of taxidermy as he stood there lifeless. Riley then turned toward the students, who now also had black thorns sticking out from every inch of their bodies—tearing their flesh so finely that some of them seemed to not realize that they were already dead,
"I forgot I had this ability. But then again, I suppose it is useless against a majority of the stronger Supers of Earth," Riley started walking around the literal forest of death, admiring his work as he nodded to himself. But after he looked enough, his feet very slowly started to leave the floor; his eyes, now glowing orange as a smile crawled on his face,
"Killing and torturing without using my telekinesis…
…I suppose this is what Father would call putting in some elbow grease?"
And with those words, Riley flew up—completely destroying the ceiling and killing anyone that might have been unfortunate enough to be above him as he went straight through the roof of the building without care.
And before the invisible hand of the Deity could bring him back down, Riley dived back on his own—not even bothering to look at the city he was in from above as he just dove straight down; his entire body, engulfed in flames that distorted the skirt of wind that formed around his waist.
"I call this…
…Meteor Riley."
A Boom.
Perhaps that was just the only way to describe what happened next. The Kritika Academy did not even have the chance to cave in as the entire city basically turned into a giant wave that rippled across the entire plateau—no, the entire continent.
Riley has not even seen the beautiful world of now which he resides, and yet he was already destroying a huge part of it.
Because it is as he said—he was tired of the mundane. He is a being that could destroy planets, he wasn't going to waste his time playing slaves and knights in a world without Italian Mafia Reborn.
"Meteor Riley, pft…" And as the ashes of everything created an ocean of darkness around him, Riley just waved his hand—using an ability to control and create wind as he blew away all the dirt that threatened to stick to him. But alas, without his telekinesis, he was already dirty,
"Pirate Queen Xra would be proud of my naming sense. Now, hm…
…Where are you, Deity?"
"..."
"..."
Seconds.
Minutes.
Hours.
Riley spent hours walking across the desert he made as he waited for something to happen—and yet nothing. The events that transpired around him the past hour were as empty as the field of death around him.
"I might have made a mistake," Riley then whispered to himself as he looked around, "Maybe… I just didn't destroy enough? But if I destroy everything, I will be floating in space for a very long time. Did… I usually talk to myself like this? This is weird."
[Who are you?]
And before Riley could get any more ideas from his slowly deteriorating mind, he heard a weird, and somewhat electronic voice whispering from behind him.
"Are you the Deity?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he turned around to look at the owner of the voice, "I apologize for killing some of your people, but—Oh, are you real?"
Riley blinked a couple of times as soon as he saw the figure of the deity; somewhat translucent, almost as if her silhouette was not really there… and perhaps it wasn't.
[Are you?]
The Deity was a woman.
"I am," Riley then tilted his head as he approached the Deity, stretching his arm toward her, only for his hand to go through her stomach, "A hologram?"
[You know what a hologram is? I guess you're one of those weird fucks from the other universe. Wait, did you just kill all the aliens?]
"..." Riley then turned to look at the Deity's face; his head, tilting further to the side as he did so.
[You really did kill them, didn't you? Oh, man…
…Dee is not going to like this at all.]
"Huh…" Riley then let out a small hum as he nodded his head,
"...You're Alice Lane."
Chapter 687"Interesting…
…You're Alice Lane."
The Deity.
Riley had been wondering what it was ever since he heard of it. Granted, he has been in this place for less than a month, but he truly could not remove the Deity from his mind. After all, back in his universe, his telekinetic abilities were equal only to one—and she was dead.
Nothing had already explained it before, that Riley might and will meet people with the same faces as those he knows—No. Not just the same face. The way that Nothing explained it, they will literally be the same person… but their past, memories, and their entire life might be different.
In this case, as Riley stared at the Deity, he immediately knew what was different in her life.
She's alive.
Alice Lane, his biological mother, the woman that conceived him in the most unconventional way, is alive in this world… or maybe not?
Riley once again stretched his arm toward the translucent figure, only for his hand to also once again just pass through. If this was Paige's illusions, then he would be able to touch her—but then again, Riley's fractured mind was fully capable of making something like this happen.
Frustration.
Riley could finally explain the feeling he had been having in lapses since a long while ago.
He was getting frustrated.
"Are you Alice Lane?" Riley asked, "Are you real?"
[...You know who I am?]
And while Riley's tone was clearly showing his frustration, the shock in Alice's voice was even more obvious. Even with it muffled by the electronic filter from the hologram, her shock was visible even to Riley.
"I do, Alice Lane. I'm—"
And before Riley could finish his words, he felt his entire body be pulled from the ground. The destruction of scenery around him, now completely masked by the familiar, and colorful darkness that suddenly and violently showered on him—literally showered.
Hyperspeed. The color that literally showered down on him was similar to the scenery he had always seen outside the windows whenever the ships in his universe travel on Hyperspeed.
It felt different from hyperspeed, however. It didn't feel like Riley was moving, no—it just felt like his entire body was vibrating.
The temperature was non-existent. Not in a way that it was extremely cold, no. It just felt like he was being blanketed by the warmth of his own skin… like the feeling that there was nothing around him.
The feeling did not last long, however, as Riley could once again feel the weight of the universe wrapping around him as his vision cleared.
"Hm… Interesting," Riley then whispered as he looked around him, only to find himself inside a familiar glass box. Perhaps familiar is not really the word he should use, as his surroundings truly looked the same as the… establishment he was used to seeing.
The Guest House.
Even the walls were the same, created with crystals of ice.
The only difference that Riley could spot were the Guests—they weren't humans. Riley did not really even have to think to identify who or what they were.
They were his universe's most heinous and notorious criminals, the same as him.
"Finally, a real prison," Riley calmly nodded to himself as he looked around his neighbors, only to quickly recognize the Guest that was confined next to his cage,
"Bounty Hunter Kerrigan, it has been a while since we last saw each other."
"..." Bounty Hunter Kerrigan, the Rogue Norinlad, could not help but widen his eyes as soon as they met with Riley's. He seemed to be saying something, but Riley couldn't really hear anything as everything was soundproofed, just like with his Guesthouse.
"Weird. You shouldn't be confined in something like this, Bounty Hunter Kerrigan," Riley didn't care, however, as he still talked as if Kerrigan could hear him, "You are a Norinlad, an intangible being. Or does this cage have some sort of special characteristic not found in our universe? Weird, truly weird."
And as Riley continued to talk to himself, the lights around the Guesthouse started to flicker, causing all the other prisoners to flinch and just sit back down in their beds.
"Hm, they should do more maintenance," Riley, on the other hand, just breathed out in disappointment as he found the establishment lacking. Soon, however, 2 shadows approached from the hall.
Their footsteps, resounding throughout the Guesthouse and even through the soundproofed cages. The prisoners seemed aloof—straying their eyes away in fear of the two people.
And soon, these two shadows appeared in front of Riley's cage.
And as soon as they did so, the soundproofing of all the cages seemed to have been removed as Riley could finally hear Kerrigan speak, or rather… scream.
"Not him! Throw him away!"
"..." Riley blinked his eyes as he heard Kerrigan's words. And it wasn't only him, the two individuals standing in front of Riley's cage also looked at Kerrigan.
"I am saying this for the sake of your people, throw him as far away as possible! Warp him to the end of the universe if you can! He is dang—"
But before Kerrigan can finish his words, his cage's soundproofing seemed to have been activated as one of the people in front of Riley waved his hand.
"We have only met once and you already have such an image of me, Bounty Hunter Kerrigan. That is rude," Riley could really only sigh and shake his head as he looked at Kerrigan, who still seemed to be screaming despite his cage being muted.
"You also know him? What, you're some kind of Mr. Popular where you're from?"
"I suppose you could say I was popular, Alice Lane," Riley then very slowly turned to face one of the people in front of him. And now that she wasn't some form of a hologram, Riley could truly say that it was Alice—except older, but surprisingly not by much. Whether it was good genetics or some sort of ability, Riley wasn't really interested in finding out.
"You're right, it knows your name," Alice's companion stepped forward. And it was, as a matter of course…
…none other than Diana.
"See? I told you, Dee! He knows me by name…" Alice let out a small chuckle as she tapped Riley's cage, "...Maybe I'm some sort of galactic idol in their universe?"
"You can't even sing even with your voice enhanced. What are you talking about?" Diana rolled her eyes before settling them on Riley, looking at him from head to toe,
"And why don't you just ask? That's what they are here for."
"...Right. Hey, you!" Alice once again tapped the glass as she looked at Riley, "How do you know me in your world? What am I, some sort of celebrity?"
"No. You are dead."
"Pft," Diana quickly took in a deep breath as she pretended to stop herself from laughing.
"W… what?" Alice snarled at Diana, before once again focusing on Riley and slamming her palm on the glass, "What do you mean dead!? How can I, the mighty Phoenix, die in any universe!?"
"You went insane and then died, Alice Lane."
"That sounds about right," Diana once again covered her mouth; her muffled laughter, whispering in Alice's ears like a saw.
"The guy's clearly lying," Alice clicked her tongue, "How do you even know me in your world? Just answer my freaking question. Or I will dest…"
"You were my biological mother, Alice Lane."
"...roy you—Huh?"
"Hm. And Diana Ross is my adoptive mother."
"...Ross?"
"..."
"..."
"...Huh?"
Chapter 688"..."
"..."
It wasn't just because the cages were muted, no.
The silence that persisted like a storm through the white crystal walls bounced from corner to corner, passing through Diana and Alice's ears like a whistling echo of… confusion and disbelief.
The good-looking albino in front of them… is their son?
Almost 5 years ago now, the Diana of this universe detected a surge of energy that they couldn't recognize—a surge of energy coming from one of the planets she was experimenting on.
She quickly took action, even personally going there with Alice the very first time it happened. And lo and behold, they made their first encounter with life beyond their universe.
At first, Diana was a bit reluctant to believe that these Travelers, as she officially calls them now, were from another universe. But soon, as more of them were sent to their universe, she gathered enough proof to make her believe otherwise.
And of course, as a creature of science, Diana quickly questioned their existence—quite literally, as she interrogated each and every one of the Travelers to try and make some sort of 'map' of the other universe. A map of their culture, their difference, and their scope.
And of course, she came to find that all these Travelers were actually criminals of the other universe, hence the cages. But even if they weren't, she would probably still put them in cages as they have absolutely no idea what diseases or other ideas they might bring with them.
She also came to find that the technology of her universe is somewhat more advanced than the other one—except in the realms of traveling to another dimension, that is—but even that, Diana knew why.
The Norinlads. Bounty Hunter Kerrigan's people… they have been extinct in her universe for more than a million years.
These Travelers were thrown here because they have no place in their universe, and they can't be killed by conventional means—either because of their physiology, or the political ideology of it all.
They are the worst of the worst…
…and this young man in front of them, who is claiming to be both their son, is one of them?
"How—"
"...Don't speak to me of bullcrap, boy."
And before Diana could say her piece, Alice let out a small scoff as she once again tapped the glass,
"...In what universe will I really ever want a child? And look at you, we don't even look alike. But more importantly… Dead? I'm dead? Me!?"
"Yes, Alice Lane."
"And you're weird. I don't think I'll have a weird child," Alice knitted her eyebrows, "Just because you can also control things with your mind? Lots of people could do that."
"I have been meaning to ask about that—you are much stronger here than in my universe, Alice Lane. How is that possible?" Riley did not really heed Alice's words any mind as he just tilted his head to the side.
"Dude, you're freaky," Alice slightly backed away as she saw a smile very slowly crawling on Riley's face, "And FYI, Dee has this thingy that amplifies my—"
"Don't tell it anything, Alice."
"...Right, right," Alice crossed her arms, "You almost tricked me, whitey."
"But I do agree with you," Diana squinted her eyes as she looked at Riley from head to toe again, "This young man exudes elegance and calmness, and you're the embodiment of crass. But I am curious about one thing, you mentioned my name…
…Diana Ross? Ross, as in Bernard Albert Ross?"
"Yes."
"...And I am married to him in your world?"
"Yes," Riley tilted to the side as he blinked several times, "You are not married to him here? Does that mean Hannah does not exist in this universe?"
"Pft…" Alice covered her mouth as she tried to stop herself from laughing, "You… you're married to Bernie?"
"..." Diana did not really say anything, just rolling her eyes as she continued to focus on Riley, "I do not like deliberating whether or not what you say is true. A simple blood test will at least confirm if you truly are Alice's son."
"..." And as soon as Alice heard that, the cheeky smile on her face quickly faded away. She seemed to be trying her best to feign indifference, however, as there was a slight quiver in her lips as she tried to retain the smile.
"But I am not her son," Riley looked at Alice, "I am the son of Alice in my universe."
"It doesn't matter," Diana shook her head, before putting her palms together and summoning a holographic screen as she pulled them apart, "I am just curious—and it would at least help me in determining whether you are lying or not going forward."
"...Very well," Riley nodded. And without even any hesitation, he summoned a knife using Paige's abilities and cut his palm with it.
"..." Diana could not help but bat her eyes as she saw this. The infrared feed on her screen wasn't really showing anything; meaning besides its visual aspect… the knife doesn't really exist,
"You… did not really need to draw blood."
"Oh. Then you can just use it later," Riley shrugged.
"..." Diana did not really answer Riley as she just gestured to Alice to follow her as they stepped away from Riley's cage. As they did so, however, Kerrigan started slamming his hands on his cage as he seemed to want to say something to them. But alas, he was completely ignored.
"S…so, what's the result say?" Alice took in a small gulp as she took a peek at Diana's holographic screen.
"Wait," Diana raised a finger as the cage started analyzing Riley. It first started to scan whether or not a version of him exists in this universe, but no results came up, "Let's move—What?"
But before Diana could proceed with actually analyzing Riley's blood… Alice's face suddenly popped up.
"That… why is my face there?" Alice whispered; her words, stuttering almost violently, "So… Am I… her mother?"
"...No."
"No?"
"...You're the same person," Diana batted her eyes in confusion as she glanced back at Riley.
"...What?"
"Anna is registering you as the same person," Diana breathed in, "Wait, let me check… Your blood, they are almost completely identical to each other."
"W—"
"That is because I don't have a biological father, Diana and Alice."
"!!!"
Diana and Alice quickly turned around, only to see Riley out of his cage and casually standing just a meter behind them.
"I could explain my lineage properly to the two of you if you wish to know it…
…but may I suggest doing it over dinner?"
***
"That's… freaking crazy. Do you believe this, Dee?"
"I… am inclined to."
"...Damn,"
The sound of Alice chewing was probably as loud as her words as she consumed the burger in her hand,
"...And why are you not eating? You're the one who suggested we eat and talk."
"I do not eat fast food, Alice Lane."
"Blasphemy, are you really my son!? Don't you have Rickdonald's in your world!?"
"We have a different version of it," Riley stretched his arm toward Alice, wiping the ketchup on her face. And surprisingly, Alice did not even budge as he did so, "And I am not your son, Alice Lane of this world."
"Hm… Ours is probably better."
"Hm," Riley really only shrugged as he started looking around.
Unlike his Guesthouse which was located in the isolated icy regions of Earth, Diana and Alice's guesthouse was directly beneath the city. An active city identical to New York, as there was even a Times Square just outside this… Rickdonald's.
And judging by how the people were giving them looks and taking photos of them—Diana and Alice were famous. As to why, Riley doesn't know yet.
"Come on, just try it," Alice took a piece of fries from the table and flung it in front of Riley's face, "This is filled with the goodness of MSG and—Hey!"
"Stop it, Alice," Diana pulled back Alice's hand, "You're forgetting something here—Riley is a criminal, one of the worst in his universe."
"..." Alice glanced at Diana for a few seconds, before looking Riley straight in the eyes, "What… did you do there?"
"I am not one of the worst criminals, Diana," Riley shook his head, "I am the worst. I have killed and tortured more than a hundred billion people—destroyed hundreds of planets."
"Oh…" Diana blinked as she too, looked Riley in the eyes, "That's…
…That's it?"
Chapter 689"...That's it?"
"..."
"Hundreds of billions, I assume most of those are not Humans?"
"...No?"
Riley could not help but tilt his head to the side as he heard Diana's words. He could think of several different ways why Diana responded like that, but he could really only think of one—themarian ideology.
The Diana of this universe, like Queen Adel and most of the themarians, do not hold value to the life of other species and thinks of them as just dust in space.
"...What about themarians, have you killed any themarians?"
"A few," Riley answered without any hesitation. Technically, it was his doing that wiped out the themarians—but he did not kill them directly.
And Diana did not need to know that… for now.
"Damn, you're that strong?" Alice whistled as she ate the fries she was going to feed Riley, "I did feel your telekinetic abilities and they are quite… alright. I expect no less from my son."
"I'm not your son."
"Let's just say you are to remove all confusions."
"But—"
"You're my son," Alice shrugged, "I swear—if I was alive in your world, you probably wouldn't have turned into a criminal. It is probably Dee's upbringing that freaked you up… and Bernard? The freaking Bernard Ross? No wonder you became a villain."
"Is Whiteking a supervillain here?"
"White…king?" Alice coughed; almost choking from her food as soon as Riley's words entered her ears, "That's… that's his superhero name there!?"
"Is it not the same here?"
"No, he's the Redking here. Whiteking sounds a little… suspicious," Alice tried her best not to laugh, "And he was a hero, but he quit when all the aliens started appearing. No offense, Dee."
"..." Diana remained quiet as she seemed to be lost in thought.
"Does Bernard Ross have a family here?"
"Yeah, he's married to Empress. Their… kid died, though. Wait… I shouldn't be telling you this," Alice covered her mouth, "Damn it. Now that I know you're my son in another world, I feel like telling you everything for some reason. Dee, weigh in on this. What are you just keeping quiet there for?"
"How were you caught?"
"Hm?"
"Judging from how the norinlad was nervous upon seeing you is already a testament to how strong you are—so how were you caught without being killed?"
"You, Diana," Riley pointed at Diana, "You finally decided to stop me once and for all."
"So, I didn't kill you because you were my son?" Diana placed her hand on her chin, "But why would I try to stop you?"
"You have different set of values, Diana. And also Aerith is—"
"Aerith!? Queen Aerith?" Diana's eyes widened as she stood up from her seat, causing all the people inside Rickdonald's to hold their breaths; deciding whether or not to run, "You know the Rebel Queen?"
"..." Riley tilted his head in confusion as he looked at Diana, "I… already mentioned her in my story—she's Megawoman."
"...What?"
"Huh…?" Alice blinked a couple of times as she looked back and forth between Riley and Diana. But after a few seconds, she pointed at Diana,
"She's Megawoman."
"Hm?" Riley also started to blink as he looked at Diana.
"That's why the story was quite confusing," Diana let out a very long and deep sigh as she sat back down.
"I too am confused," Riley shrugged, "But I suppose that will be normal moving forward."
"No," Diana shook her head, "We need to find a way to bring you back to your universe as soon as possible."
"What!?" Alice raised her voice, "Why would he return? They literally threw him away."
"He can't stay here."
"We already have a bunch of aliens from other universes beneath us, Dee!"
"But he's different," Diana shook her head, "He was directly involved with us in the other world—he's the son of our alternate versions. We can't have him stay here or it'll change everything."
"...And?" Alice shrugged as the sound of her sipping from a straw whisked in the air, "Change is constant and all that kind of Plato stuff."
"That is Heraclitus, Alice Lane."
"Stop saying fake names just because you're from another universe."
"He's right," Diana sighed as she shook her head. She then turned to look at Riley before once again standing from her seat.
"Where you going…?" Alice asked.
"Don't let him leave your side," Diana did not really answer as she just placed her hand on the table, "I need to talk to Bernard so we can find a way to bring Riley back to his home universe…
…Don't let him out of your sight."
"Oh, come on. He should just stay here!" Alice breathed out as she watched as Diana stepped out of the restaurant and flew away, "...Does she also not listen to anyone in your world?"
"Sometimes," Riley shrugged. He then once again started looking at all the other people, "You don't hide your identities?"
"...Huh?" Alice blinked, "Hide what?"
"Your identities as superheroes."
"...Why would we hide that?" Alice raised an eyebrow, "No wonder you're weird, your entire universe is weird."
"Hm…"
"..."
"..."
"So… where do you want to go?" Alice then tapped the table a couple of times as he leaned closer to Riley, "You said the Alice of your world died, right? That means we didn't really have any mother-and-son bonding. Wanna go to a theme park or something?"
"Do you want to go to a theme park, Alice?"
"No, I want to know how strong you are," Alice smirked as he looked Riley in the eyes.
"But your telekinetic abilities are stronger than mine, Alice Lane. Your range is almost infinite."
"Oh, that's only because of Dee's contraptions. She has this device that she puts on my head that amplifies my telekinetic abilities."
"Can I perhaps try the device?"
"You think I am going to let a genocidal maniac like you use something like that?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I'm… actually kinda tempted to, but no!" Alice once again leaned closer, "Let's just fight, Riley Lane."
"...I thought you would be more mature because you have actually grown old in this world, Alice Lane. But you are still the same."
"Can't change perfection, my boy," Alice smirked, "So…
…are we fighting or not?"
"..."
"..."
"Here?"
"Of course, not here!"
Chapter 690"Where are we going, Alice Lane?"
"You can call me Mom if you want to."
"No."
"Your loss."
Alice and Riley have been flying in the air for more than an hour—traversing through the skies as one of them seems to truly be enjoying the moment; her laugh, almost like the drumming of thunder if heard from below.
It was obvious that Alice could fly faster if she wanted to, because Riley could fly faster if he wanted to. His telekinetic abilities were back, they have been ever since they were eating back at Rickdonald's. As to how his telekinesis was being suppressed, Alice seemed adamant about keeping her mouth shut.
But whatever it was, he was sure it had to do something with the device that Diana created for Alice.
"I find it truly amusing that even in this world, you and Diana are friends, Alice Lane."
"Probably because I am the only person that could tolerate her," Alice slowed down the speed of her flight even more as she flew beside Riley, circling vertically around him as she giggled, "And vice versa. Let me guess, she has no other friends besides me in your world?"
"Come to think of it, I suppose you are right, Alice Lane."
"Of course, I'm right," Alice scoffed, "And seriously—she is married to Bernie? That freaking womanizer?"
"Yes, and she cheated on Mother with Empress."
"Dude… he dare do that?" Alice's eye began to twitch, "I'll fuck Bernie up once I see him."
"But the Bernard of this world is completely unrelated to the one in mine, Alice Lane."
"Doesn't matter. Anyway, enough about that nerd. Tell me more about…"
Alice asked Riley a barrage of questions, all of which Riley answered without any hesitation. Alice was a bit aloof with the questions at first since she said it might change what was going to happen… but then she realized she wasn't dealing with time travel.
Another hour passed by like this, until Riley finally saw a change of scenery from the sky and clouds—an island.
An island not surrounded by the sea, but hidden by the clouds.
"We're here…" Alice sped up, flying backward as she stretched her arms to the side and looked Riley in the eyes, "...Welcome to the Hope Society, Riley Lane."
"Hope… Society," Riley breathed out as he followed Alice as she landed on the edge of the island. He didn't really get to take a good look at the island, but it seemed like an entire city.
"Don't be too surprised, my boy. This is just one of the things that are better compared to your world," Alice nodded to herself as she gestured to Riley to follow her as she walked away, "You said you have a Hope Guild, right? Pft… basic. We have an entire island for our base."
"..." Riley did not really say anything as he just once again followed Alice. Alice had already explained it before, but the battle between Superheroes and Supervillains in this world seemed to be more intense… to the point that they would even have wars against each other.
A war made possible because unlike his world, everyone on this Earth was already infected with the Supervirus—another courtesy of the Megawoman of this Earth, Diana.
And their heroes here, they kill.
"Are you sure you should be showing me your secret base, Alice Lane?" Riley looked around, only to see people in their superhero attires walking around the wide streets of the Hope Society, which truly seemed like an entire city—there was even a building that seemed like an apartment for them to live in.
"...Because you were a villain in your world?"
"Yes."
"Meh, no biggie. Come on, let's head inside."
"..."
Alice then led Riley to a large, perfectly rectangular building the size of a football field. And as soon as he stepped inside, the sound of cheers and screams quickly bombarded his ears; almost as if he truly just entered a football stadium, and from the number of superheroes there, he might as well have.
This noise, however, very slowly died down as soon as the people took a whiff of Alice's presence; their eyes, just staring at her as they opened a path for her to walk through.
"This is…" Riley tilted his head to the side as he looked at the very center of the large infrastructure, only to see several superheroes fighting against each other on a wide field. Well, they seemed to stop whatever it is they were doing, however, as they also quickly took notice of Alice even from afar.
"An arena where we can let loose," Alice started stretching as she made her way to the field. And as she did so, those that were inside all quickly scattered and joined the crowd watching on the sides,
"You can… call it a public underground arena in the sky."
"Would it not be better for us to fight in the expanse of space, Alice Lane?" Riley still followed Alice.
"What's the point in that?" Alice scoffed, "Here…
…we have an audience!"
"!!!"
And as soon as Alice raised her arms to the side and started floating toward the very center of the arena, the once quiet audience once again recovered their violent vigor as they screamed for her name—Phoenix.
"Hm," Riley could really only let out a sigh. So, even in this world, Alice Lane was extremely flashy, "Do we fight with our telekinetic abilities, then?"
Riley completely ignored the crowd as he just casually stepped on the field, but as soon as he did so, the crowd once again became quiet—no, silent. He looked at the so-called audience, only to see them still raising their arms in cheer.
"What is—"
"Let's just start!"
And before Riley could finish his words, he felt himself being violently thrown through the air. He didn't roll for long, however, as he slammed toward an invisible shield that seemed to be protecting the audience around them.
"...Hm," Riley then turned to look at Alice, who was already shooting toward him with her feet threatening to squash his head. He quickly tilted his head to the side to avoid it, and he did.
And as Alice's feet made contact with the shield, it created a ripple that shook the entire barrier and caused it to move like jelly.
"You do not have to worry, Riley Lane," Alice crouched horizontally on the invisible shield like a spider; whispering into Riley's ear as she giggled, "This shield can withstand attacks that could instantly destroy normal planets—it's made with themarian materials and technology…
…you can let loose."
"Okay," Riley nodded, before tilting his head to the side and throwing Alice straight down into the ground.
And although the ground seemed unscathed, the sound that cracked in the air was enough to cause the entire arena to tremble. The audience that was cheering outside, now very slowly dropping their arms as they just looked at each other.
"Good, good…" Alice also seemed unscathed, except for the fact that she spat out blood. She then turned to look up at Riley as the smile on both their faces started to grow wider,
"...This is more like it!"
Chapter 691Phoenix.
Perhaps the most untouchable superhero in the entire world—not just because it was common knowledge that she was friends with Megawoman, no—but because throughout her entire run as a hero, she truly has never once been touched by anyone.
Even the supervillains try to avoid getting into her radar, in fear that they might just explode one day while leisurely taking a shower. And yet, right now, she was on the ground.
And her opponent was someone they have not even seen before.
"Everyone!" Alice pointed to Riley while looking at the shocked audience, "That's my son!"
"!!!"
"I'm not your son, Alice Lane." And although the audience was still completely muted, the shock that multiplied in their faces was obvious even for someone like Riley. He had told several times again and again that he was not her son, but Alice just doesn't listen. Perhaps… it was for the best that she wasn't the one who raised him.
"He's just shy, everybody," Alice clicked her tongue several times while wagging a finger,
"But we'll change that," and with those words, Alice pointed her wagging finger down—violently pulling Riley down straight toward her in almost an instant, before kicking her straight on the face and violently causing him to roll on the field several times.
"..." Riley tried stopping the momentum, but he couldn't. The most he could really do was just cover his body with a telekinetic barrier—and even that, Riley could feel being torn apart by Alice.
"So, having fun yet, my boy?" Alice snapped her fingers; her hair, tying up in a bun on its own as she did so.
"Honestly," Riley sat up from the ground as he looked at Alice, who was already rushing toward him with her fist locked, "I find your use of telekinetic abilities weird. You do not have to rush toward me and fight with your fists."
"Oh, believe me—I do," Alice let out a childish giggle; almost opening her mouth wide as she swung her fist toward Riley even though she was still meters away from him. Even then, however, Riley quickly moved to the side; sliding across the floor even while seated to avoid the violent wave moving toward him,
"But what is power without presentation!?"
A literal wave, as the floor that was made from themarian materials started to open up and threaten to swallow Riley whole.
Riley quickly flew up to avoid it and watched as the violent wave slammed through the invisible shield protecting the audience—that protected the audience.
"Wh…"
The violent wave seemed to have penetrated the shield, as the voices of the audience soon seeped into the field.
"I… think we're in trouble," the person right in front of the penetrated part of the shield whispered as he almost got hit by the violent wave. It wasn't only him that thought that, however. As soon as they saw the floor that not even a nuclear bomb could scratch open up, they knew they had to stop watching and run for their lives.
But they couldn't. If they leave now, will they ever see the great Phoenix use her abilities like this ever again? And it was against her son that they didn't even know existed?
Phoenix, the telekinetic god known for her childish demeanor and temper, has a child?
No, they will never get a chance like this again, and so—every one of them stayed.
"!!!" And are they so glad that they did, as the floor once again opened up right beneath Alice's feet.
"Oh?" Alice smirked as she looked at the floor that bloomed like a flower—a flower that quickly swallowed her whole.
"I told you, I am your mom no matter how much you want to deny it!"
The life of this flower of death did not last long, however, as its petals were immediately disintegrated as Alice just stepped out of it with ease; her eyes locked on Riley who was looking at her from above.
"But is this really all you have to show me, my son?" Alice then stretched her arms to the side—the remnants of the disintegrated flower, now forming into a thousand butterflies as they floated around her.
Now, one might think of this as a simple act—but no. And the audience knew that.
Alice had already ripped off a floor that was made from compressed themarian metal—compressed to the point that even if a dozen Star Obliterators were to explode right here and now, the arena would be able to protect the world outside.
It is stronger than the planet of Theran that is in its prime. And just a single chunk of it, even the size of a penny, is considered to be indestructible.
And for Alice to play with it and treat it like a toy is a testament to how abnormal her telekinetic abilities are.
"You are my son, Riley Lane," Alice smiled as the butterflies soon stopped flying around and all faced toward Riley's direction, and without even warning, they all started to shoot toward him,
"I know you have more to off—"
"Pavoom."
And just like that, the very air itself was erased with Riley's whisper. The butterflies, gone. The floor, gone.
Gone to the point that the audience could already see the clouds surrounding the Hope Society.
"Interesting."
"Interesting."
And almost as if Riley's own whispers just reverberated back to him, he heard Alice's voice even as the violent winds started to bombard the inside of the arena. The violent gale did not last long, however, as Alice snapped her fingers and stopped any wind from coming and going inside the arena.
"I never really thought of using my abilities like that," Alice then casually flew closer to Riley, completely unscathed and with not even a single strand of her hair missing, "That's very creative, Riley Lane."
"..."
"Let me teach you something then, since all you seem to know is to destroy things and turn them to nothing," Alice then circled around Riley as she raised her palm just right above her shoulders, "This is my first lesson as your mother."
"You are not…" Riley did not finish his words. And instead, he just looked at the thing that was forming on top of Alice's palm.
"I am sure you are aware of this already, Riley Lane," Alice smiled as she stopped circling around and just floated in front of Riley, "But our abilities are the apex of everything in this universe. We can be its destroyer…
…or its creator."
The birth of a universe itself, reflecting on Riley's eyes.
"But of course, I don't really know what to do next," and with a simple sigh, a universe gone.
Alice then let out a small groan before hugging Riley, or more specifically, just falling into his arms as an unhealthy amount of blood started to flow from all of her orifices.
"Are you alright, Alice Lane?"
"...Do I look alright?" Alice gasped as she rested her cheek on Riley's shoulder, "So, what do you think… feel like staying here?"
"..."
"..."
"No."
"..."
"But right now, I do not really have a choice," Riley let out a small sigh as he gently placed her hand on Alice's back,
"Do not misunderstand, Alice Lane. This world is my prison."
"Heh… cute. I am just going to sleep for a bit, don't drop me."
"Hm…" Riley did not really respond as he just floated there with Alice, not minding the deafening whispers of the people watching them. He looked at his palm, wondering whether all of this is real or not.
The only reality is that he was losing his mind, and that was his real prison.
"Hm…
…I want to see Hannah."
***
"I told you, Diana. They truly are from another universe and not just from a distant and isolated part of ours. The Multiverse… it's true."
"Perhaps. But we have a more pressing issue than the boy. The Rebel Queen is gathering all the themarians that are still on her side."
Somewhere in the Hope Society, a hologram filled an entire room—a map of the universe itself. And right at the very center of it all, Bernard stood; his armor, a glistening red that reflected the expanse.
"The boy, Diana…" Bernard let out a small whisper; waving his hand as he examined the map, "The boy is all that matters. It is the key for us to unlock inter-dimensional travel. After we deal with the Rebel Queen…
…we will have nothing left to conquer."
And as Bernard said that, all the planets within the hologram turned red.
"Nothing left…
…but the beyond."
Chapter 692[Megawoman… Megawoman has killed Doomside! The Hope Society has finally won!]
[Don't you think it was too easy? Megawoman should return to her planet, she doesn't belong here. Phoenix should have been the one to win us this battle.]
[But Phoenix does whatever she wants. In the last interview, she didn't even know there was a battle with the forces of Doomside.]
[I understand that, but when Megawoman joined, the battle was already…]
"..."
[...Is it, the birth of the strongest super in the world!]
"..."
[...Our first contact with extraterrestrial life since Megawoman.]
[The aliens took the first strike, we are only retaliating! We are…]
"Hm…"
[Aliens have rights too! Why do we treat Megawoman different…]
[Redking has waged war against…]
"...Interesting."
[Redking unlocked the mystery of Warp speed…]
[Redking has made the technology exclusive to humans…]
[Redking has conquered the planet Nemak.]
[Redking—]
"It would seem you are more interesting in this universe than in ours, Father."
The sound of static whispered in the air as Riley abruptly turned off the screen in front of him. He wanted to know the latest history of this Earth to have a better understanding of the things around him and suffice it to say, he did not get bored with what he learned.
Like his Earth, the Earth of this universe centered heavily on supervillains and superheroes, and supers in general—no. Perhaps it was better to just call them as humans, as the last recorded person without any abilities was from several centuries ago.
The battle between good and evil on this Earth is even more pronounced and prevalent compared to his… as Megawoman had existed in this place for more than a thousand years in Diana.
There is one change, however, that has truly piqued Riley's interest—Bernard Ross.
He wasn't a hero, but a soldier. A soldier who quickly rose to the highest position, becoming an exception as the youngest leader of the most powerful country, and ultimately the entire planet when the time came for it.
But he didn't just lead, no.
The aliens first visited this Earth 10 years ago, unannounced and filled with ridiculous demands. Suffice it to say, Bernard did not even wait an entire day to respond to the provocation—he answered with violence without mercy.
To conquer or be conquered, that was the speech he gave that day. He gave the people of Earth a choice—should they cower in fear of these occupiers, or should they show them the power of Earth?
And as is the obvious, the people chose the latter.
And almost as if a plague, Bernard Ross grew an army of his own creation and let loose across the Known Universe… conquering everything in just the span of 10 years.
Earth has conquered all the civilizations in the Known Universe, all except for one—the themarians.
The themarians, which were being led by none other than Aerith.
In short, the humans of this world are the apex—the master race.
Riley was excited at first since this Earth seemed fun, but it did not last long when he found out that…
"Italian Mafia Reborn doesn't exist in this world."
Even more so than the history of this Earth, Riley has searched high and low for Italian Mafia Reborn—he was even excited since he thought there would be a different version for it, allowing him to watch it from the start.
But there was nothing, there wasn't even a show similar to it.
"But why?" Riley once again turned on the TV in front of him to try and search, "Italian Mafia Reborn should transcend through different universes, why isn't there—"
"Holy, you're still watching TV!?"
And before Riley could begin his fruitless search, the TV was turned off by Alice as she stepped inside the living room—yes, Riley was currently staying in Alice's house.
"This is what happens when you don't have a mother, you just grow up lazing around all day watching TV," Alice let out a small groan as she sat beside Riley on the sofa, "Just stay here, I'll ask Dee to stop searching for a way to bring you back home. I mean, you're also clearly not welcome there, no?"
"I have a mother, Alice Lane," Riley subtly moved away as he shook his head, "But I do agree with you—I am certainly no longer welcome in my universe."
"Then that's a win-win for both universes. They got rid of you, and I get you as my son."
"Why do you want me as a son, Alice Lane?" Riley asked, "You barely know me, and the part of me that you do know is nothing but evil. I truly see no reason why you would want me as—"
"I don't want you as my son. What are you talking about?" Alice blinked a couple of times; the look on her face filled with nothing but confusion, "You are my son, nothing is gonna change that fact even if you're from a different universe. Like, you're basically 99% of me. Do you know how weird it is that all of you came from me? You're like my clone, but not really."
"You have a different way of thinking about things, Alice Lane."
"Pft. You're the one that is crazy—I, I don't mean anything by that!"
"I was under the belief that you are too, Alice Lane? After all, I inherited all of your mental illness."
"I… I am not the Alice of your world."
"Then you're not my biological mother."
"This and that are totally different things. Stop arguing with me, I'm your mother."
"..."
Riley had noticed it before, but Alice truly was similar to Hannah; minus all the cursing, of course. Perhaps that is why he has so much attachment to his sister?
"So…"
"..."
"..."
"What do you do for fun in your world?"
"I kill and torture people, Alice Lane."
"No, I meant—"
"Alice! What did you order!?" And before the two could continue their somewhat awkward conversation, the sound of the door being banged open and being slammed closed cracked throughout the entire house,
"I saw lots of transactions being sent to my e-mail. Just what—the fuck?"
It was Diana, whose steps quickly halted as soon as she saw a creature from another universe casually sitting on their couch, "What… is he doing here? Why is he not back in his cage!?"
"Sshh!" Alice quickly rushed toward Diana to cover her mouth, in which of course, she failed to do so as Diana grabbed her wrist.
"What do you mean 'sshh'!?" Diana raised her voice, "There is a strange man sitting on our couch!"
"What do you mean 'strange'!? He's your son too!" Alice clicked her tongue as she swatted Diana's hand away, "What—you want to put him in a cage? What kind of mother are you!?"
"He's not our son!"
"Thank you, Diana," Riley quickly commented.
"See!? Even he knows it!"
"We're keeping him here and that's final."
"He's not a dog!"
"Duh. But if he was he'd probably be a Samoyed. Extremely white and doesn't care about anything else."
"You—You and I need to talk, now. In the room," Diana's tone completely changed as she walked away. As for Alice, she just let out a small sigh before looking at Riley.
"Mother and I are just going to have a little chat, okay? There's some milk on the fridge if you want."
"..." And so with that, Riley was left alone in the living room again. He was going to get a glass of milk,
"I suppose this is what it feels like to have a normal life with Alice--"
But alas, before he could stand—the TV turned on by itself, showing a face that was very familiar to Riley.
[You are called Riley Ross, correct?]
"That is right…
…Bernard Ross."
Chapter 693A somewhat chubby but handsome face; a strictness that ties it all together, then an easygoing expression to loosen it all off—that is the charm of Bernard Ross that makes everyone quickly disarm themselves around him. In a way, Riley learned a lot from him.
Out of all the people around him, Bernard was the one to influence him the most. Espionage, manipulation, strategy, combat, tech, and most importantly, ruthlessness—these were the things that Bernard gave him. There was also the fact that the existence known as Darkday only grew to be the way it was because of him.
He enabled Riley to be what he is now, and for that, Riley will always be grateful.
And now, once again, the Bernard of this strange world found him again. Riley doesn't know whether it was just because of the TV, but the Bernard of this world was skinnier than his father; his face too, was completely clean shaven… like he has everything in control.
"Is now a good time for you, Riley Ross? Can we talk?"
"..." Riley looked at Bernard through the screen, before turning to look at Alice and Diana's living room in search of a camera.
"I don't have any cameras installed there, but I can see you through the windows," Bernard let out a small breath as he smiled,
"You are a threat to this world, Riley Ross."
"I am a threat to any universe, Bernard Ross," Riley responded with a sigh as he walked toward the kitchen and left the living room, not even bothering to look outside the window. And when he came back, he was already holding a glass of milk.
"I interrogated all the other Travelers we have in confinement," and as soon as he came back, Bernard started talking again, "They all barely know each other… but more than half of them knows who you are."
"I admit I was a little famous in my universe, Bernard Ross," Riley shrugged as he relaxed himself on the sofa and just focused on Bernard.
"Destroyer of Worlds, Legion of Death, Tamer of the Cherbi, The Living Calamity, The Darkcloud…"
Bernard breathed out as he stood up from his seat; revealing his hands that were dripping with blood and a table behind him as he started walking around and continued speaking, "...And although it was hard to translate, the majority of them just call you…
…The Devil."
"I haven't heard most of those titles, Bernard," a small hint of amusement crawled on Riley's face as he heard the names. It is true that he was unaware of most of them—could it be that while he was experiencing psychosis for those 5 years, his clones were still continuing to wreak havoc?
"Hm. But there is one title that stood out to me the most," Bernard just shrugged as he started wiping his hands clean from an already red towel resting on the table, "One little title that I can't get out of my mind…
…Aerith's Lover."
"That one is true," Riley answered without any delay, "Who said that so I could offer my gratitude?"
"You have a relationship with the Rebel Queen?"
"It is a complicated one."
"What can you tell us about her?"
"She is the kindest person you will ever meet in this life, Bernard Ross," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as he took a sip of his milk, "An existence that you and I could never really touch. She is immune to corruption, one of the two lights that kept my universe filled with life."
"You said you have a complicated relationship?"
"I killed her family," Riley sighed as he rested his head back on the sofa, "We had a falling out when she found out I was responsible for wiping out her people."
"You… wiped out the themarians?" Bernard stopped wiping his hands clean as he heard Riley's words,
"How?"
"It was mostly my comrades that did it, I just gave the order."
"How much do you know about the Rebel Queen?"
"She's a Princess in my universe, and I know everything about her except for the details that I don't. She has lived a long life, after all."
"If you have the ability to destroy her, then perhaps you can help us?"
"You are at war with them, correct?"
"Correct. They are the last people that stand between us and Earth's safety. With them kneeling to us, our place in this universe will finally be secure—no more will we fear the existence of the unknown, because we will control it."
"The Unknown? Have you explored it?"
"A fraction of it. But with the themarians, we will use them to explore more of it. To ensure that there is nothing out there that can harm us."
"But you already have Diana, why not use her?"
"Diana is a long-time comrade, but she refuses to fight against her own people. We need someone like you, Riley. Someone who knows how dangerous they truly are, someone who has defeated them before."
"Hm."
"So please, how did you defeat them?"
"You do realize you are asking help from the devil, Bernard?"
"I have asked help from worse."
Do you truly want to know how I defeated them?"
"Yes."
"I defeated them because I am Riley Ross…" And finally, Riley looked out the window; slightly causing Bernard to flinch as he stared exactly to where the satellite is,
"...son of Bernard Ross."
"I am aware of our relationship in your universe."
"Were you hoping to use that as a way to pull me closer to you, Bernard?"
"...It's an advantage," Bernard scoffed as a small smile crawled on his face.
"You would find that it's not. Your life in my universe is miserable, Bernard."
"Because I had you as a son and that woman as a wife?"
"Mostly the former," Riley let out a small chuckle, "But at least the Bernard of my world still has a daughter. Yours died early, no?"
"..." Bernard's eye twitched.
"5 years old, burnt to death by one of your archnemesis. I don't like the screams of children; once you realized that they haven't lived at all, there is no joy in their screams because they scream for nothing but the pain," Riley then stood up and walked toward the window,
"She doesn't scream for the pain of lost love, she doesn't scream for the future because she has no concept of it yet. But what she probably did scream for…
…is for mommy and daddy."
"You think you can play mind games with me, son?" Bernard's entire demeanor changed as he just looked straight at the camera almost as if he was looking at Riley straight in the eyes,
"You think I haven't resolved myself for my greatest failure?"
"It's not your failure, Bernard. You could say it's not even your fault," Riley chuckled, "Empress is there with you, isn't she? I know she's listening, she is obsessed with you."
"..." Bernard subtly looked to the side, confirming Riley's assumption.
"It's not your failure, Bernard—it's hers," Riley then let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "Adaeze also had a child in my universe, and it died too. You could say it was neglect, but whatever it is…
…she let her child die."
"How fucking dare you!?"
"Ada, no!"
Riley glanced at the TV, only to see Empress on the screen, seemingly shaking the camera.
"How... How dare you say that when you know nothing!?"
Chapter 694"You don't know anything!"
"I suppose."
"Ada!"
There was no Italian Mafia Reborn in this universe, but Riley would be lying to himself if he did not admit that he was slightly entertained with what he was seeing on TV. It was almost as if the people in his life were in some sort of movie, a movie in which he didn't exist.
Perhaps that was the best way Riley could really explain this universe—a different movie with the same cast, same premise, but a completely different writer… and it was interesting.
"Do not be pulled in, he's just trying to mess with you!"
And as Riley watched as Bernard pulled Empress away from the camera, he could not help but let out a small chuckle.
"But I am not trying to mess with anyone," Riley then let out a small sigh as he continued to look at the sky and right at the lens of Bernard's satellite, "I am merely stating what I know to be true in my universe, and apparently the same could be said here…
…There are hardly any reports or news regarding the death of Adaeze's child—but one thing was for sure—she wasn't there when the child died. It makes one curious, no? If it is true that there might be an infinite number of universes out there…
…Do you think there are also an infinite number of times that Adaeze left her child to die?"
"You—"
"I have only seen two different versions of Adaeze, and seeing as both neglected their child—the odds of my assumption are true would be higher than—"
"Enough," Bernard completely pulled the camera away as he once again looked through the lens as if he was looking right at Riley, "We will meet again, Riley Ross…
…and it won't be as civil."
"You hijacked Alice's TV, Bernard Ross. I do not see how that is civ—"
And before Riley could finish his words, the TV suddenly switched to a different channel. A channel with… lots of moaning and stuff that should not be easily accessible on the TV.
"Riley?"
"..." And almost as if on cue, Alice and Diana finally returned to the living room; their eyes, moving back and forth between Riley and the obscene show being streamed on the TV.
"What…" Alice covered her mouth. But contrary to what one would expect, she was just trying her best not to laugh, "...What are you watching!?"
As for Diana, she just had one eyebrow raised as she looked at Riley, waiting for him to explain what was going on.
"Bernard Ross contacted me through the TV."
"What!?" The tone of Alice's voice completely changed as she lowered both her arms, "That's even worse, I wished you were just watching porn instead."
"..." Diaa slightly veered away from Alice as she gave her a judging look.
"What did that nerd want from you?" Alice then snapped her fingers, turning off the TV as she looked Riley straight in the eyes.
"He asked about Aerith and a way to defeat her, Alice," Riley shrugged as he stepped away from the window.
"Ack, what a creep," Alice stuck out her tongue as she shivered, "Your best friend is really up there in the demented department, Dee."
"He's not my best friend."
"Okay, your husband from another universe then," Alice rolled her eyes.
"You really should stop acting like a child," Diana could really only shake her head as she approached Riley, "Anyway, I knew he would do something like this. I just don't appreciate him hacking my home. As for you…
…we decided you can stay here for now."
"That is unwise, Diana," Riley also shook his head, "As I told you before, my mind is deteriorating due to the illnesses I inherited from my biological mother—I might end up accidentally torturing someone, flaying their skin and feeding it to their loved ones."
"That's… oddly specific," Alice blinked.
"You did mention that," Diana placed her hand on her chin, "But the results that came back from testing you say you're not sick—the MRI shows you're… different, but you're not as sick as you said you are."
"I do not have schizophrenia or any other form of dementia, Diana?" Riley also placed his hand on his chin as he heard Diana's words. It is true that he hasn't experienced any lapses during his stay in this universe… but do diseases just disappear if you're in a different universe?
"I detected nothing," Diana confirmed.
"Hm, this multiverse fiasco truly is such a curiosity," Riley nodded.
"Don't worry, Riley Ross. We're learning how to send you back to your universe."
"I thought we already discussed that he could stay here!?"
"Until we find a way to send him home," Diana shook her head as she started walking away, "He was thrown away by his own mother, my other version, for a reason, Alice—I do not want to experience the reason why."
"Wait, where are you going!?"
"Unlike you, Alice, people actually have jobs to do," Diana just waved her hand as she just left the house, not even bothering to look at Riley again as she stepped out.
"Darn it. Why does she always have the last word on things?" Alice let out a very long sigh that traveled across the small house. She didn't lament for long, however, as she returned to the living room with a smile on her face,
"So, son. Where do you want to—Oh…"
But alas, Riley was no longer there.
"...Crap."
***
The Hope Society, it was weird. In fact, this entire world was weird, but Riley couldn't really judge it by his own standards. Even if, for example, the humans of this world breathed fire, he shouldn't really be surprised as the rules of his universe do not apply here.
An entire island floating above the clouds—the only instance that Riley could think of similar to his own world was when he lifted up Toronto. Could it be… this entire island was also being kept afloat by Alice?
"I really should not be thinking about things that do not matter."
"...Why are you following me?"
"Hm?" And as Riley snapped himself out of his thoughts, he turned to look at Diana, who he had been following ever since she stepped out of the house. She has only been walking through the streets, perhaps because of Riley,
"Alice's weird affection toward me is somewhat suffocating, Diana. I am not used to it."
"You never will get used to it," Diana sighed, "But why are you following me?"
"I wanted to watch how you will find a way to bring me back to my universe, Diana."
"That's… going to take a very long time."
"Time is something the two of us have, Diana. And also, perhaps I can see the device you made for Alice?"
"...Device?"
"The device that amplifies her telekinetic abilities. I want to try it, Diana."
"She told you about that?" Diana sighed in disappointment, "And no—do you think I am going to let a mass murderer even get close to a weapon like that?"
"Oh, so it's not on this floating island, then?"
"Perceptive," Diana hummed as she looked at Riley, "Did you really come out of someone like Alice? What would you even use the device for, anyway?"
"I am going to find Aerith and pull her here," Riley casually said.
"...What?"
"I am confident, Diana. Wherever Aerith may be in this universe…
…I will be able to find her."
"...I'm not going to let you use the device."
"Hm," Riley shrugged before just looking up at the sky and smiling, "But…
…I am sure Bernard will give me permission. You are listening, right...
...Father?"
Chapter 695"...Maybe Father can give permission?"
"What are you—"
It was sudden—not instantaneous, but sudden. In less than the time it would take one to blink, a figure of light suddenly appeared in front of Riley; out of nowhere.
And as the figure of light started to fade away, it was replaced by none other than Bernard Ross. Warp, individual teleportation, whatever one might call it, this universe has the technology for it because of Bernard.
"I wonder what the Bernard of my world could have achieved without my existence," Riley did not even greet Bernard as he just calmly approached him ever so slightly. As for Diana, she really only rolled her eyes and shook her head at the Redking's sudden appearance.
"Quite arrogant of you to assume that my other version is lacking because of you," Bernard lowered his eyebrows as he looked at Riley from head to toe, "I was told you are Alice's son, you don't even look alike."
"Well, you don't look like your daughter in my world too, fortunately for her," Riley smiled, "And I do not assume, Bernard, I know. Perhaps out of all the Bernards in the multiverse, the one in my universe is the most lacking because he had to take care of me."
"What makes you think the other Mes in the other universes aren't taking care of you?"
"Because throughout the multiverse, I am the only Riley Ross that exists."
"And how would you know that?" This time, Bernard's guarded tone slowly started to fade away; the hostility in his eyes, replaced by a certain curiosity.
"Because Nothing told me."
"What do you—Nothing?" Bernard placed his hand on his chin, "That's a name?"
"A Preprimordial."
"..." Bernard turned to look at Diana, almost as if asking a million questions in silence.
"There have been known to be myths, but none proven," Diana shook her head, "Preprimordials are beings that exist even before the existence of everything."
"Are… they a threat to us?" Bernard's eyebrows lowered.
"They… are not real, Bernard."
"But the boy says it is."
"Hm," Riley nodded, "I don't usually lie, Diana."
"Usually?"
"Hm," Riley did not really explain any further as he placed his focus back on Bernard. But before he could even say another word, a shower of light slowly started to blanket his entire silhouette.
"Let's not talk here," Bernard then said as he looked at the gathering crowd around them. Suffice it to say, even though the streets of Hope Society were filled with all sorts of famous heroes, Bernard and Diana stood on a different pedestal due to their… feats.
They were celebrities amongst the heroes.
"..." Riley did not really say anything as he watched as the scenery in front of him very slowly started to change, almost like when an image fades into transition to another image. He could hear Diana shouting, but even her voice just became a faded whisper—what Riley did hear, however, was the piercing scream that was zooming toward him in the form of a fist, specifically Empress's fist.
"You dare show yourself here, you fucking bastard!?" The tone of Empress's voice was almost guttural, almost like a cry as she did not let Bernard stop her and even pushed him to the side as she continued to rush toward Riley.
And before Riley could even figure out where he was, he was already deliberating on whether or not to kill Empress there and then—a decision he needed to make in less than a second. But ultimately, he decided to just step to the side and ever so slightly change Empress's trajectory, causing her to punch through a wall.
And surprisingly, all her punch did was cause the entire room to quake.
"..." Riley glanced at Empress's back for a few breaths, before finally having the chance to scan his surroundings. They were in some sort of room, large and perfectly square, and almost empty—except for the table filled with all sorts of bloody paraphernalia that was right at the very center of the room… as well as Bounty Hunter Kerrigan who was trapped in some sort of fluorescent cage in front of it.
"Oh…" Riley completely disregarded Empress as he just approached Kerrigan, who seemed completely out of it as he just stared at the floor, "...The people of my world created a device that would allow them to use another dimension as a prison for criminals like Kerrigan, but you're able to trap a Norinlad with a contraption, Bernard?"
"The technology already exists, I merely… adopted it," a clear but subtle smile could be seen on Bernard's face as he joined Riley in circling Kerrigan's small confinement, "This… bridge to another Universe, was my other version involved with making it?"
"I am not sure, Bernard," Riley shook his head, "I was… preoccupied when they were finishing it."
"I—"
"Bernard!? Are you seriously just going to casually chat with him!?" Empress, who was casually tossed to the side, could no longer take to being ignored as she once again raised her voice.
"Ada, he's just provoking you," Bernard let out a small sigh as he looked at his wife, "The boy obviously knows your temperament."
"Hm, Empress and I were very close," Riley nodded in agreement, "Your other version was fortunate to also be friends with my father, Empress—that's the only reason she's alive. But you…
…You don't have that luxury, Adaeze. I will kill you if the mood calls for it."
"You—"
"Ada, enough," Bernard waved his hand, and as he did so, Empress's body began to be blanketed in a shower of light.
"Bernard…!?" Empress glanced at her hands for a single breath, before just once again lunging toward Riley. But alas, before she could even make it halfway to him, her figure faded away.
"That is rather convenient, Bernard. That's a technology that I have not seen in my world," Riley squinted his eyes.
"Hm," Bernard only grunted as he once again looked at Riley from head to toe, "Enough with the small talk, Traveler. You said you could find Aerith, how?"
"I already told you, Bernard. Except for the things I don't know about her, I know everything about her."
"That doesn't make sense."
"But it does," Riley shrugged, "I know every inch of her scent, Bernard."
"But the Aerith of my world is different from yours."
"She is protecting her species from the villains that want to conquer them—I would surmise they are the same."
"We're not villains," Bernard's eyebrows began to lower as he heard Riley's words.
"Everyone is a villain, Bernard; there are just different variations and perceptions."
"And who told you that?"
"You," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as he looked Bernard in the eyes.
"..." Bernard did not really say anything else as he just looked at Kerrigan. And then, with a wave of his hand, he also teleported Kerrigan away.
"I can bring her here, Bernard," Riley closed his eyes and nodded, "I can bring all the themarians here, my only condition is that I get to keep Aerith."
"...And why would you want that?"
"Have I not told you yet? Aerith and I are lovers," Riley sighed, "I do not really care about anything else. Since Sister is not here, Aerith is the only person that I wish to be with."
"...You're insane," Bernard smirked, "But insane people get insane results. I'll let you use the device…
…just get me the Themarians."
Chapter 696The Supremos Manus Dei.
"The Supreme Hand of God. Your horrible naming sense transcends the multiverse, Bernard."
[I am not done explaining.]
Supremos Manus Dei—a device that amplifies the intricate invisible waves that Alice produces whenever she actively uses her telekinesis. For a thing that has been addressed as a 'device' ever since Riley had been hearing of it, he was expecting something small; like a futuristic crown that scans his brain, but no.
The device was an entire spherical room, completely filled with some sort of gel that Riley could somehow breathe through. Bernard explained that it wasn't actually gel, but more than a hundred quadrillion translucent nanites that served as some sort of conductor for Alice's telekinetic abilities.
It allows Alice to stretch the range of her powers far and almost infinitely beyond its limits—that was how she was able to interact with Riley when he arrived in this universe even though he was lightyears and lightyears away.
And yes, the device was something solely made for Alice, and as such, only she could actually use it.
"Am I able to use this, then?" Riley 'swam' around the room; his long white hair, almost scattered behind him like wings as he did so, "Is there no need to change anything, Bernard?"
[No,] Bernard's voice traveled through the entire room, almost as if he was just right beside Riley, [Based on your DNA, you and Alice are practically the same exact person.]
"...Hm," Riley turned to look at Bernard, who was on the other side of the spherical room also looking at him. In a way, it almost looked like Bernard was inside an aquarium as they were separated by glass; or in this case, perhaps the opposite was even more true as Riley was swimming around like a fish.
"See, Dee? We're practically the same person," Alice was also on the other side, almost planting her face on the glass as she looked at Riley with her eyes almost glistening, "If he's not my son, then I don't know what we are. And wow… I think this is the first time I'm on this side of the Manus Dei. It feels weird."
"...We need to have guidelines regarding the multiverse soon," Diana, who was also watching Riley swim around, could not help but let out a very long and deep sigh as she stood beside Bernard, "Are you sure about this? You are basically handing a stranger a weapon that could wipe us all out—and what's worse, we know he's not a good person."
"You should relax, Diana. That's not good for your age," Bernard only let out a small scoff before turning around and walking away. And as he did so, the empty silver room they were in completely darkened, before once again being lit up by a hologram of the map of the solar system.
"Relax? The boy is being called the literal devil by his universe's worst people. He is evil, Bernard, and what's even worse is that he was raised by another version of you," Diana reasoned as she followed behind Bernard.
"He was also raised by another version of you," Bernard shrugged, before clicking his tongue and looking at Diana, "You know what, that actually makes it worse."
"Why are you taking this so lightly, Bernard?" Diana slightly raised her voice, "This is a matter that should have been discussed thoroughly—you're basically deciding everything again."
"I told you, relax…" Bernard finally lowered his shoulders as he sighed, "...We have a failsafe. If he does something that we don't like, the Supremos Manus Dei will kill him in less than a millisecond."
"A failsafe?" Diana's expression turned for the worse instead of being relieved as she heard Bernard's words, "Wait… Alice is using that!"
"Yeah," Bernard shrugged.
"And you put something like that in the AI!?" Diana's voice became even louder, "I thought you valued your own kind, Bernard!?"
"We can never be too sure—and Alice already knows."
"...What?" Diana's eyebrows quickly lowered as she looked at Alice, who was completely focused on Riley and even waving at him like a proud mother.
"And Diana," Bernard then whispered, "It is only your own people that could betray you—like how you betrayed the themarians."
"...They betrayed me first," Diana's teeth began to show as she almost snarled at Bernard, "Be careful of your next words, human. I might just pull your throat for it."
"Ooh, scary," Bernard only scoffed before once again turning to face Riley, "Riley, we are going to start now…
…I suggest you stop squirming."
"..." Riley only looked at Bernard and the others, before nodding his head and relaxing his entire body. And as soon as his hair stopped moving around, the trillions of translucent nanites turned black—completely covering Riley in darkness.
He could feel the liquid nanite entering his ears, but he did not move and just allowed them inside him as they all latched onto his brain. And before Riley could even try and detect them inside him, his eyes widened like they have never widened before—partner this with his smile that reached from ear to ear, he looked quite…
"Creepy," Alice breathed out as a smile also formed on her face. And almost like a wave that hit her from nowhere, she felt herself slightly being pushed back as Riley's telekinetic powers started to be amplified.
"I take it it's starting?" Bernard grunted as he saw Alice almost tumble back. He and Diana didn't really feel anything, but seeing Alice flinch was already an indication that Riley's powers were already being amplified.
Riley could feel it—everything. It started with the people that were on one of the satellites; each of their individual veins, Riley could feel the blood flowing. And then, he felt the moon—and there were people there too.
Mars, the Sun. Riley could feel the entire Solar System as if it was in the palm of his hands—and soon, the entire Milky Way reflected inside him… like he could crush it if he wanted to.
"Aerith, Aerith…" Riley started to whisper, "I'm coming to find you."
It felt… liberating.
And all of this, Bernard and the others could see through the hologram of the map of the universe. There was a sort of a red pulse originating from Earth, growing larger and larger to indicate that Riley's reach was now scattering throughout the galaxy. Soon, however, this pulse turned into a straight beam.
"Oh?" Bernard raised an eyebrow, "Alice is without a doubt stronger than this boy… but I could argue that he is more versatile and creative—He is already starting to learn how to minimize the damage in his brain and compressing his… radar into a b—"
And before Bernard could finish his words, the red beam started to separate into tiny little spheres that scattered everywhere.
"...Impressive."
"Of course, he is," Alice only glanced at the hologram before looking inside the Manus Dei even though it was already pitch black, "He's our son."
"He's not our son," Diana quickly groaned and shook her head.
"No, literally—everyone inside this room is his parent," Alice giggled, "And seriously, don't the two of you feel like even a tinge of responsibility for him?"
"No."
"Not at all."
"...Seriously?" Alice scoffed, "You lost a child, Bernard—maybe this is a sign to—"
"I lost a daughter, Alice."
"What's the difference? And speaking of which, you have a daughter in the other world too," Alice nodded to herself, "I wonder what she's like."
"..." Bernard did not really answer Alice, just turning his head down as he suddenly seemed to be lost in thought. But after a few more seconds, he sighed and shook his head, "This will take a while. We should probably clean up the other Travelers since we have all that we need from the boy. I will—"
[There is no need to leave, Bernard.]
"...What?"
And before any of the three could even take a step, Riley's voice filled the entire room they were in.
[Aerith,] he said, [I have her…
…she is in the palm of my hands.]
"Already!?" Bernard then quickly turned to look at the hologram, only to find that all of Riley's powers were centered in a single part of the Universe.
"..." Diana squinted as she too, stared at the hologram, "...Are you sure it's her?"
[Yes…
…the way she begs for the lives of others remains the same.]
Chapter 697"The way… she begs?"
Diana, Bernard, and Alice all looked at each other as they heard Riley's words—thinking of several other ways it could be interpreted as, but only one really surfaces in their minds.
"Can you repeat that, Riley?"
[The way she begs for the lives of others remains the same.]
And like a confirmation of what they have already deduced, Riley repeated his words; this time even clearer,
[The Aerith of my world never begs for her sake—it will always be for others around her. She is not just a superhero. She is the beacon of everything good, of hope, of salvation. The only being that I could consider holy—She is Megawoman, and the love of my life.]
"Aerith is the Megawoman of your world?" Bernard furrowed.
"You didn't know?" Diana raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were listening in on us."
"...I didn't get to that part."
"Pft, nerd," Alice chuckled to herself.
"Wait, we're getting distracted," Diana stepped forward as she raised her hand, "What do you mean beg for the lives of others? What… did you do?"
[Pavoom, Diana. Pavoom.]
"Pavoom…?" Diana breathed out. And once again, before she could even think of whatever that was, Alice squealed in excitement.
"Ah, that's an ultimate move! He has an ultimate move!" Alice said as she almost hopped in place.
[Not exactly, Alice. I believe I do not have an ultimate move yet. I just find this move to be effective against themarians as it sends them to their eternal death 5 times out of 12 when I was on Theran.]
"...You visited Theran?" Bernard exclaimed.
"Wait… you're killing themarians!?" Diana once again raised her voice, this time grabbing Bernard by the throat and lifting him up in the air, "Bernard!? You said the boy will die if he does something not to our liking!"
"..." Bernard did not really answer Diana; his silence, however, was enough.
"You… you told him to kill the themarians!?" Diana tightened her grip on Bernard's neck. But before any bones or flesh could be crushed, Bernard's red armor emerged directly from the pores of his body—perhaps a mistake, as Diana's grip tightened even more so.
"We… we made a deal," Bernard's breaths soon turned into gasps as he tapped Diana's wrist several times, "And I was not the proponent of the deal… he is."
"...What?"
"H—He made a condition," Bernard could not help but let out a cough as Diana finally let his neck go, "At first, he wanted to get Aerith as compensation for helping herd the themarians… but then we discussed further, and I agreed with something he said."
"..."
"In his world, the themarians are the only beings that could potentially threaten his… quest to destroy everything," Bernard closed his eyes as he looked at the hologram of the universe, "And he's right. He was able to wipe out the themarians—all except two, you and Aerith… and in the end, they were the ones that sent him here…
…As long as the themarians exist, humanity will never be safe. And so, he proposed that we eradicate them once and for all."
"And you agreed?" Diana took a tiny step back as her legs almost gave out on her, "The themarians are a special race, Bernard! Who knows how many billions of years we need to wait before we could see a species like mine!? The themarians will be useful for the future that you and I want!"
"But he's right," Bernard walked away, not even looking at Diana as he examined the map, "Riley, finish up and get Aerith close enough so I could warp her he—"
"We're not done talking, Redking!" Diana disappeared from her spot, before appearing right in front of the glass that separates the Manus Dei and the room they were in. She then placed her palm on the glass, before looking Bernard straight in the eyes, "You…
…you're still hiding something. I thought there won't be any secrets between us, Bernard?"
"There aren't—that's why I am telling you now," Bernard then waved his hand, causing himself to be surrounded by the hologram of several planets, "It…
…is not only the themarians that are disappearing tonight."
"...What?" Diana looked back and forth between the hologram and Bernard; very soon, however, her eyes just stopped moving as she watched as the planets crumbled one by one, "What… are you doing?"
"This is the future that I want, Diana," Bernard then closed his eyes, "A future where only the humans exist, this is the only way that we are going to be safe. Because you are wrong…
…Themarians are not the master race, we are."
"..." Diana then turned to look at Alice, who was no longer focusing on Riley and was now looking at Diana, almost as if asking her she wanted to do.
"And this is also what you wanted Diana, your experiments would finally progress."
"You think I want the death of a trillion lives?" Diana breathed out, "I experiment to create new life, Bernard! Not eradicate it!"
"Exactly!" Bernard pointed at Diana, "With this, you are free to create the very first life other than humans—you will be a god, Diana. A species that will not threaten us… because we created them."
"Well…" Alice finally spoke up, letting out a light hum as she crossed her arms, "...You'd find that most slaves rebel against their masters—"
"They won't be slaves!" Bernard roared, "On the contrary, they will experience the perfect life, free from any hardships because we will be the ones watching them! Our mistakes will—"
"Are you hearing yourself, Bernard…?" Diana did not let Bernard finish what he was saying as she tapped the glass, causing a tiny crack to form on it,
"Just because you got yourself a little weapon, you immediately pulled the trigger? You are starting to sound like that guy I killed almost a hundred years ago now… and you know what I did to him."
"Kill me if you want to," a small smile slowly started to crawl on Bernard's face as he finally returned Diana's glare, "But I will die knowing that my people are finally free from external threats. And if they do kill each other because of their foolishness, at least it will be in the hands of our own doing."
"You're a fool, Bernard," Diana sighed as she closed her eyes, "Alice, stop your son."
"You think you can actually stop this!?" Bernard raised his voice and screamed, "This is inevitable, Diana! What did you think was—"
Bernard's head suddenly disappeared.
"..."
Diana and Alice did not even know how to react—they were now just staring at Bernard's headless body.
It was… just sudden.
The two didn't even flinch, because there was no reason to flinch. No blood spurted out from his neck, there wasn't even as much as a single sound.
Bernard's head just suddenly disappeared into thin air.
[Oops. I apologize, Aerith is a little hard to handle even with my telekinesis amplified. I had to focus my attention elsewhere.]
"...What?" Diana and Alice looked at each other as they heard Riley's words.
[I was planning a grand reveal for this, I must say I am a little disappointed.]
"How…" Diana did not really know what to say as she watched as Bernard's headless body fell to the floor, "...But there's a failsafe in… what?"
[Oh, he was already dead before he entered the room—I decapitated him when we were chatting earlier,] they could hear Riley's sigh filling the entire room they were in; his disappointment, extremely clear for them to hear,
[I truly wanted to reveal this when Aerith is here already.]
"W—" And before Diana could say another word, Bernard's headless body suddenly flinched. She then squinted her eyes as she watched as something emerged from his neck—or perhaps it was more proper to say that someone stepped out.
It was Riley, or at least a palm-sized version of him.
"Tadaa!" Little Riley then stretched out his arms to the side—his voice, completely similar to that of Bernard, "How was my performance, Boss? Was it nice?"
[It was okay.]
"I told you…" Little Riley sighed as he started cleaning himself off Bernard's blood, "...You should have just let me handle imaging his head. This is your problem, Boss—you always want to do everything by yourself. I can use Paige's abilities, I have been—"
And before Little Riley could finish his words, he burst into pieces as Diana stepped on him.
Diana then crouched, quietly inspecting the headless corpse to confirm if it was Bernard. But after just a few pats, she turned to look at Alice and nodded.
"Well, that's not nice," Alice closed her eyes and sighed, "You do realize we need to stop you now. Right, son?"
[The two of you do not have to worry—the thing about the failsafe is true; Bernard told me,] Riley chuckled, [And also, I also quite like the Alice of this world. Bernard, well… not so much.]
"He was my friend," Diana also closed her eyes as she let out a very long and deep breath,
"You need to die, Riley Ross."
[Well, the thing about eradicating the rest of the species was also true, Diana. You can watch it from the recording since Bernard set up several cameras during our meeting. Well, maybe he did not really say it outright—but I am sure he wanted it.]
"You—"
"Oh god, enough talking," Alice cracked her knuckles, "Sorry, Riley…
…Bernard was also my friend."
Chapter 698"What… what is this!?"
Aerith, Queen of Hel, and Leader of the Revolt.
A decade ago now, she came to know of the fate of Theran—that it will shatter in its own weight, taking all of them with it. Her father, King Arthus, however, was adamant that no action was to be taken; that if Theran were to really fall, then they should fall with it.
And so, Aerith asked for help from the very same person who informed her of Theran's status, Caitlain'Ur. Caitlain'Ur was a wanted fugitive, considered one of the worst criminals of Theran—but from Aerith's discovery, Caitlain only did what she did to find a way to save their people.
And they did. Together, they were able to overthrow her father… with the help of a single individual of a species from the Unknown.
A human who was able to utilize their energy dampener and turn it into a lethal weapon—a lethal weapon that would permanently remove a themarian's strength. And with King Arthus gone, Aerith took the throne and allowed Caitlain to do whatever she must to save their people—the establishment of New Theran.
And that was the short version of the story of how Aerith saved her people from certain annihilation…
…or so she thought.
As she came into power, she soon knew things that she wasn't privy to before.
The human that helped save her species, Bernard Ross, was a conqueror.
Their planet, Earth, was first invaded by a certain species years ago, not knowing that it was being protected by a themarian. But it didn't matter, it wasn't the themarian they needed to worry about in the first place, it was Bernard Ross.
Bernard Ross was the key figure responsible for repelling them away, but at the cost of his baby daughter—and that, was the universe's greatest mistake.
Bernard did not just repel the invaders, he followed them back to their planet and massacred each and every last one of them. And perhaps the scariest part of this revenge was that he was calm.
Like a quiet storm that painted everything red.
Caitlain'Ur was able to convince Bernard to stop the bloodshed, and for the most part, Bernard agreed. Unfortunately, he was also convinced that they will not be safe as long as the threats of invaders loomed on them.
And so, Bernard went on a quest. An… inquisition.
He made the planets make a choice; follow him, or die.
The Redking's ultimatum.
And that choice was also placed upon Aerith and her people. And of course, true to her name, Aerith was never going to let her people be under a tyrant, and they have been at odds ever since.
For the most part, Aerith was just trying her best not to get in the Earthlings' way—establishing themselves far away and completely apart from the Redking's grasp. And so far, it had been working.
She stays away from whatever it is he was doing, and he leaves her people alone.
Or at least, that is how it should have been.
Right now, she was watching her entire people just disintegrate in front of her—erased by a white light that just emerged out of nowhere.
And there was that voice, an ominous and sinister voice that calls for her name repeatedly. And like a hand of a god, Aerith finds herself being pulled away from her people…
…and she could do nothing but beg for their lives as she watched them disappear one by one.
***
"I told you, you trust that nerd too much! Now we have a much more unstable version of me driving the most dangerous weapon in the entire universe!"
"That's because Bernard always had a plan—I suppose he never expected that someone who is supposed to be his son in another universe would just kill him outright… Fuck, children are Bernard's weakness."
"...But that's a full-grown man."
"I meant his children. Riley Ross grew up being trained by the Bernard of his world—that only means one thing… he's a shameless manipulator too."
"Nope, we're just stupid. I swear, the boy has a certain charm in him."
Back on Earth, Alice and Diana were trying their best to penetrate through the invisible walls that Riley had placed between them; with Alice trying to lighten the barriers and Diana punching them open—but alas, they crack one, and two would replace its place and even push them back. Aside from the crack that was already there, they have not even been able to touch the glass that separates them and Riley even once.
Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, a fight for all of their lives was currently being held.
"Nope," Alice, who was pushed to her butt stopped fighting as she just shrugged, "This is pointless. We're dead, we're all dead."
"What are you doing?" Diana, who was about to rush back toward the glass, could not help but stop and look at Alice in disbelief, "Are you giving up!?"
"It's not giving up when you know you've already lost from the start," Alice laid her back on the floor. She then turned to look at the hologram of the universe; her eyes, reflecting the worlds that have been ceaselessly destroyed by Riley,
"This is it, Dee. This is the end of our world."
"How can you be so calm about this!?"
"How can you not? You're like a gazillion years old."
"You said it yourself, Bernard's our friend."
"Well… you two were closer, so…"
"Can we just focus!?"
"...No."
Even with Diana's pleading, Alice no longer moved—she was just staring at the hologram of the universe as if she was actually looking at sky and stars.
"This is it, Dee. You've always wondered what the end of the universe would look like—It's this—brought forth by the hands of my son. I don't know whether to be proud or mortified," Alice took in a small but deep breath as she glanced at Diana,
"I really love you, Dee. I do. Thank you for being my only friend for—"
[Why are you saying your farewells, Alice? As I said, I am not going to kill the two of you.]
"Oh," Alice sat up, "You heard that, Dee?"
"...But you are going to kill everybody else?" Diana finally lowered her fists as she spoke to Riley.
[If the mood calls for it.]
"And what is your mood now?"
[I just want to see Aerith again. Nothing else matters for now.]
"You do know we're going to try and restrain you as soon as you leave the Manus Dei, right?" Alice joined in on the conversation.
"Alice!"
"What? He knows that, he's obviously not the fool—"
And before Alice could finish her words, a figure of light started to form between her and Diana.
"You're… using Bernard's teleportation device?" Diana watched as the figure of light soon took the form of a woman, "How are you…"
Diana then quickly turned to look at Bernard, only to finally notice something even more wrong with Bernard's headless corpse. She stared at it for a while, before once again approaching it and just suddenly stepping on his arm, completely shattering his red gauntlet.
"Dee…?" Alice blinked in confusion, wondering why Diana would mutilate her friend's corpse even further—but then, she too finally noticed something wrong—the gauntlet was hollow.
Bernard was missing his head and both his arms—and there and then, Diana's question was answered. Bernard's facial imprint, his fingerprints, his eyes… everything needed to physically identify Bernard was missing.
Everything that could give access to all of Bernard's gadgets and device was missing.
Diana already had an idea of where they are. But alas, she did not have time to do anything as the figure of light finally vanished…
…revealing Aerith within its blanket.
"...Caitlain?" Aerith was completely pale; her eyes, red even without her releasing any energy. The confusion on her face was evident, but still, she quickly looked around her surrounding to assess her situation… only for her eyes to ultimately land on a familiar coat of armor.
"Did… you kill him?" Aerith breathed out as she looked at Diana, "Was he… Was he the one killing us? Is that why you killed him? Have you finally snapped out of it and realized what a monster he is?"
"..."
"But it's too late, Caitlain," Aerith's already red eyes started to glow even redder, "We are the only ones left of our people… but I feel like there really should only be one of us left. Let's end this once and for—!!!"
And before Aerith could finish her words, she felt a pair of arms suddenly hugging her from behind.
And she doesn't know why—but she immediately felt trapped. The arms were not even gripping her tight, but it almost felt like she was surrounded by chains that are as heavy as a million stars.
"Aerith."
"..." Aerith's eyes started to widen as she heard the voice—the very same voice that kept calling her name as she watched her people die.
"...What do we do now?" Alice awkwardly looked at Diana. Diana, however, was looking at the Manus Dei…
…which was now completely ruined; its walls, tattered and mangled. The translucent fluid nanites, now visible and charred, melted into each other like charcoal as they stuck to the broken walls.
"You… destroyed the Manus Dei?" Diana turned to look at Riley, who was casually resting his cheek on Aerith's shoulder.
"I don't need it anymore," Riley just casually breathed out, "Now that Aerith is here, we can once again start our never-ending battle between good and evil."
"..."
"What…" Aerith was completely frozen stiff; her eyes, just very slowly turning to Diana,
"...What is going on?"
Chapter 699"What do you mean the Dark Prison isn't a void?"
Back in Riley's universe, several of the most important people in the entire universe were seated in a circle. And considering the nature of the air surrounding them and the darkness that loomed over their eyes, whatever they were discussing was of utmost importance.
Even the large gray room they were in seemed to breathe—which it truly did, as these people were having a meeting in the heart of the Living Codex, Ahor Zai.
These individuals were the current members of the Common Council.
The Queen of Evaniels, Queen Vania, who was accompanied by her daughter, Princess Vera.
The representative of the Norinlad, Former Elder now once again Elder, Elder Tedi. Her main body was outside Ahor Zai.
The Secretary of Defense of the planet Earth, Adaeze the Empress, who was accompanied by Bernard and Bulwark.
And lastly, the only two remaining of the previous administration;
Elder Apo, who had been staring at Bulwark ever since he entered the room as the two of them shared the same golden glow on their skin.
Elder S'adar, whose spiky hair was even more spiky than before; his tail that was wagging around, leaving all sorts of fur to float in the air.
The rest of the Elders… are dead. The Grand Elder was executed by Riley Ross in front of the entire Known Universe. Elder Skeem's entire race was massacred, while Elder Bato, the Elder that looked like a literal rock, was found to be an accomplice of Elder Skeem and the Grand Elder in making the weapon responsible for wiping out the themarians.
As for Elder Olseyir, well—as soon as she was found to be one of the clones of Riley Ross, a bounty was immediately placed on her and the rest of her so-called race made of Riley clones, the Biolans. But alas, they have not been able to capture or even find a single one of them.
And for the sake of removing hierarchy, the current members of the Common Council decided to abolish the position of Grand Elder once and for all.
"What do you mean the prison isn't a void, Elder Tedi?" Empress repeated her words as she stood up from her seat. Even though she was still a bit fazed from traveling at warpspeed straight to the Ahor Zai from Earth, all her nausea disappeared upon hearing Elder Tedi's words.
"I meant what I meant, Elder Adaeze," Tedi remained seated; her arms crossed as she refused to look at anyone in the room, "We have discovered that the Dark Prison is not entirely a void."
"What is it, then?" Queen Vania raised her hand as she looked at Tedi.
"It is another universe like ours."
"..."
And with those words traveling across the meeting hall, everyone's eyes just instinctively planted themselves on Tedi. Elder S'adar's tail, which has been wagging since the start, completely stopped moving. Even Elder Apo removed his eyes away from Bulwark as all of them just waited for the next words coming out of Tedi's mouth.
"It is possible that this is what Riley Ross mentioned to us 5 years ago," Tedi still refused to look at anyone, "Riley Ross, who was holding the secret to our universe and all of you just decided to throw him away without my permission. I created the prototype for the Dark Prison, and none of you consulted me when you threw Riley in—"
"You're losing track, Elder Tedi," Elder Apo raised his hand; the cadence of his voice, also eerily similar to Bulwark's. Bulwark, of course, took notice of this—but it wasn't the right time to approach him.
"I already said what I wanted to divulge to all of you," Elder Tedi only scoffed as she adjusted her glasses, "Right now, the Ahor Zai and Diana Ross are currently trying to figure out a way to permanently make communication with the other side without permanently leaving a hole between our universe and theirs."
"Wait, wait…" Empress lightly slammed her fist on the table in front of her, "Are you telling me… that we have been throwing our worst criminals to another universe filled with innocent people who has got nothing to do with us!? We threw Riley there for god's sake!"
"What does it matter?" Queen Vania raised her hand again as she sighed, "As long as he is not creating trouble for us, then I believe we have nothing more to discuss—let the devil die there."
"Did you just not listen to what I said?" Empress was about to walk toward Queen Vania, but was immediately stopped by Bernard and Bulwark, "There could be innocent people there. We should be cleaning up our mess."
"We did. We threw the devil to another dimension because we could not expire him," Elder Vania once again raised her hand to speak, "As far as we are concerned, if there are indeed intelligent life forms out there, then they should deal with Riley Ross as we have—I fail to see how this is our problem now."
"Are you seriously that self-centered, you call yourself a Queen with that attitude?"
"I do not call myself Queen, my people do because I am their monarch," Queen Vania looked at Empress from head to toe, "You're the one who plays dress-up and calls herself an empress."
"Ooh," Elder S'adar's tail once again began wagging as he not-so-subtly moved closer to Elder Apo, "I think they're going to fight. I'm really glad I didn't quit."
"They're only having a heated discussion, Elder S'adar," Elder Apo monotonously answered as he also not-so-subtly moved away from Elder S'adar.
"We should be cleaning this up because we made the mess in the first place!" Empress did not relent as she looked and seemed to plead at the rest of the Elders.
"I know your people's history, Empress Adaeze—but this is not the time to be a hero or a super savior or whatever you call yourselves," Queen Vania shook her head as she too, finally stood up from her seat,
"Riley Ross is not our problem anymore. I thought we were called here to discuss the current matters at hand—like the Remnants of Riley that are still scattered everywhere even though their creator is already in another universe. Olseyir is still missing, and the Tamer of the Cherbi is deliberately leading the Pink Fluff to star systems with inhabitants."
"With all due respect, Queen Vania," Elder Apo raised his hand, "You volunteered yourself to be the only one in the task of finding and dealing with the Remnants of Riley—I fail to see how your failure is our problem."
"...What?" Queen Vania raised an eyebrow; her green hair, very slowly starting to light up.
"Woah, woah! Guys!"
But before the growing altercation could even start, Elder S'adar suddenly leaped out from his seat and stood in the middle of the meeting hall,
"I believe that we should all relax and not let our emotions get ahead of us; except you, Elder Tedi, because you have no emotions," Elder S'adar pointed at Tedi's hologram, which was obviously frustrated, "How about we just let her speak again? See her face? That means she still wants to say something… and she did call for this meeting, so… guys?"
"..." And with Elder S'adar gesturing and urging for everyone to look at Tedi, they all just breathed out their frustration; taking their seats as they waited for Tedi to say something else.
And after a few more silent breaths, Tedi truly did have more to say.
"I will trade Riley Ross for all of you right now."
"..."
"With the existence of another universe besides ours now a fact, it now makes Riley Ross the secret to unlocking the secrets of the multiverse. I have already told all of you that we need him—he is the only connection we have to the gods, the true gods."
"Enough with your obsession in finding out the truth of the universe, Norinlad," Queen Vania no longer raised her hand as she spoke, "Do you—"
[I am not done speaking.]
This time, Tedi's voice did not come from her hologram, but rather everywhere as her original body resting outside Ahor Zai was the one to speak—causing everyone there to cover their ears.
[We do have a problem,] Tedi's voice reverberated throughout Ahor Zai, [Diana, Ahor Zai, and I have reason to believe that the other universe is very much like ours—meaning other versions of us could potentially exist there.]
"..."
"Other versions of him," the rumbling stopped as Tedi's hologram was once again the one to speak; her finger, pointing at Bernard.
"...Me?" Bernard, who had been keeping quiet all this time, blinked a couple of times as he found himself the target of everyone's eyes. He did not really want to speak, obviously because the topic of their serious conversation was someone he raised.
"Yes. Other versions of you, someone who could reverse engineer advanced technology he had only seen once. Someone who solved the warpspeed problem a second after he saw it," Tedi exclaimed.
"Where… are you going with this?" Empress squinted her eyes as she glanced back and forth between Bernard and Tedi, even though she already had an idea of what Tedi wanted to say.
"Tell me, Bernard Ross. You were not directly involved in finishing the Dark Prison, and I am aware that you have not even seen it once," Tedi's hologram disappeared, only to appear again standing right in front of Bernard, "But if you were to see it in action, even just for a glimpse, even if it was just briefly explained to you…
…will you be capable of replicating it?"
"..."
Chapter 700"But if you were to see it in action, even just for a glimpse, even if it was just briefly explained to you…
…will you be capable of replicating it?"
"..."
"..." Bernard did not really answer Tedi immediately, he just looked at everyone as they all continued to stare at him. But after a few seconds, he let out a loud but very brief sigh.
"But I haven't seen—"
"Woah!"
And before Bernard could finish his words, the floor right at the center of the meeting hall started to tremble, causing Elder S'adar to move away. And soon, almost as if Ahor Zai was spitting something out from deep within it, a large, silver and somewhat metallic frame emerged plopped out from the floor.
And as the inside of this rectangular frame started to distort the space within it, Bernard's eyes started to squint as he leaped over the table and walked toward the frame; his eyes, curiously reflecting the distortion.
"This… is the Dark Prison?"
"And so?" Tedi's hologram appeared beside Bernard, and almost as if there were only the two of them inside the meeting hall, Bernard immediately started discussing things with Tedi and asking him several questions that the others couldn't really follow.
But finally, after what seemed like an entire minute, Bernard once again went silent and just started circling around the Dark Prison.
"With the materials available to us right now…" Bernard then started muttering as he continued to examine the technology in front of him,
"...I might be able to replicate it 1-to-1."
"Then that means the Bernard of the other universe can too."
And without any delay, Tedi immediately looked at the other Elders, almost as if she was already expecting and waiting for Bernard to say that. Ultimately, however, her eyes landed on Queen Vania.
"Your god was right to warn us, Queen Vania—opening Portals to other dimensions would always end up putting us at risk—or in this case, we put the other universe at risk by giving them Riley Ross. But whatever the case is…
…we have opened something we are not yet ready to ope—"
"I think I can make it smaller."
"..." And before Tedi could finish her dramatic statement, Bernard suddenly started talking to himself.
"...Smaller?" And of course, Tedi could not help but be curious with his words.
"Yes," Bernard placed his hand on his chin as he seemed to be deep in thought, but after a few seconds, he placed a finger on the frames of the Dark Prison—and as soon as he did so, the frame collapsed.
[What are you doing!?] Tedi's original body could not help but scream as she saw the device she and Diana worked on just crumble and fold. Her rapid thoughts did not last long, however, as she soon calmed down as she realized Bernard's suit of armor was tinkering with the coalescing frame; crawling across it like a million tiny arms.
More and more parts were being removed from the frame, dropping like nails on the floor as Bernard's eyes continued to move without pause. And very soon, a ring found itself wrapped around Bernard's thumb.
"That…" Tedi's hologram immediately leaned her head closer to Bernard's finger, "...Please tell me that works."
"It should," Bernard also looked at the ring, "But only I can use it for now as it would require an astronomical amount of energy. In short, I am the battery—or rather, the Guardian Force. Well…
…there is a chance that it won't work. But you don't have to worry, I can help you create your outdated version again."
"...I forgot you were a Guardian."
"I'm not," and with a small smile crawling on his face, Bernard opened up his palm and stretched it forward. And as he did so, a small crack could be heard forming in front of him. And soon, a literal crack tore the space in front of him, a tear that opened like a window, revealing the very same void of the Dark Prison.
"My god…" Empress could not help but take in a small gulp. But unlike the rest of the people in the hall, her eyes weren't reflecting the void, but rather Bernard. And of course, Bulwark noticed this and immediately pinched her on the leg.
"I believe the previous outdated model also could not change the portal's location in the other universe, correct?" Bernard said as he looked at Tedi, who hesitantly nodded in response.
"Well…" Bernard then very slightly tilted his palm to the side, and as he did so, the view inside the crack started to shift—and there, they finally saw the rest of the so-called 'void'...
…only to find it was not a void at all.
"That's… land," Elder S'adar whispered everyone's thoughts.
"You could control the portal's…" Tedi almost gasped in awe as he looked back and forth between the ring and Bernard's face, "...Maybe you could also solve time travel? Riley said that Nothing told him that it was impossible, but maybe you—"
"Why am I detecting Riley!?"
And with everyone still processing what was happening in front of them, Diana suddenly swooped in inside the meeting hall; practically piercing the ceiling as she landed right beside Bernard. And she wasn't alone, as Ahor Zai's avatar also made her presence known as it emerged from the floor like a fairy.
Diana then turned to look at Bernard, then toward the Elder, then at the parts of the previous Dark Prison scattered on the floor…and then finally toward the Portal.
"...Oh," she then muttered as she started looking back and forth between the Portal and Bernard. And soon, a long and deep sigh escaped her lips as she smiled,
"This is why I didn't want you in this project," Diana said in frustration as she looked her husband in the eyes, "You're just… too good that it's scary."
"Well… at least I'm good for something."
"Your—"
"We need to decide something!"
And before Diana and Bernard could continue their… talk, raised her hand and her voice,
"Riley Ross does not belong in that Universe, I vote to retrieve him," Empress's voice was clear as she looked at each of the Elders, "Seeing what our Bernard Ross could do, perhaps it is possible for him to connect to another universe and throw Riley there, preferably truly empty this time."
"We can't make more bridges," Elder Apo chimed in as he also raised his hand, "What Elder Tedi said earlier is valid, we are not equipped to handle other Universes when we can't even fix our own."
"Then we keep Riley here," Empress's hand remained raised, "Riley Ross is our monster. Our monster, our responsibility…
…All in favor of bringing him back?"
"Hm," Tedi let out a small scoff as she raised her hand without any hesitation.
"I agree," Elder Apo also raised his hand.
"Well, we're all going to die sooner or later…" Elder S'adar raised his hand, "...I want to try fighting the devil once."
"..." As for Queen Vania, she just shook her head and crossed her arms, "I am voting not to retrieve Riley Ross…
…but to make sure the other universe does not get a hold of our technology to travel across dimensions."
"Everyone is in favor," Empress then turned to look at Bernard, "Whiteking, is it possible for you and Diana to get us close to Riley?"
"..." Bernard started waving his palm, shifting the view of the Portal as he did so. He then turned to look at Diana, who nodded in response as she looked at her watch, which was lighting up and beeping.
"Yes," Bernard then said,
"...I believe I can."
Chapter 701"..."
"...What do we do now, Dee? It's getting kinda awkward."
Back in the other universe, Riley's arm was still wrapped around Aerith; embracing him almost as if he was never going to let her go. Suffice it to say, the confusion that Aerith was feeling also grew by the second.
And even as she analyzed the situation, her mind couldn't seem to wrap around what was happening. Her people just died out of nowhere, and when she thought that she was going to meet the man that was responsible for what happened, she found him headless on the floor near a themarian that has renounced her own race.
And now, a weird-looking humanoid that she hasn't seen before in her long life had his arms wrapped around her. Aerith could struggle and escape, but there truly was no need to as the white-skinned individual wasn't even holding her tight…
…and yet she found herself unable to escape his clutch.
"Aerith."
"...Who?" Aerith's entire body could really only shiver as the white-skinned humanoid softly rested his cheek on her back, "What… is going on here? Can someone just explain to me what is going on here!?"
Aerith then turned to look at Diana to ask her a lot of questions, but Aerith just forgoes the thought as she saw her looking even more confused than her. But finally, after a few more breaths, Aerith's confusion was very slowly replaced by a rage almost blinding that her skin was giving off fumes of energy.
Riley, however, did not let go even as his skin started to melt.
"Let go of me!" Aerith finally snapped out of her confusion as she pushed Riley away, "I do not know what is going on here, nor do I demand an explanation anymore. What I do know, however, is that all the people standing here are responsible for the deaths of a trillion people! I saw it… planets just crumbling into pieces as I was dragged away."
"Well… it was actually only him. We're here to stop him," Alice shrugged as she pointed at Riley, "Sorry, son."
"It is alright, Alice," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as his burnt and melted skin healed, "It is the tru—"
And before Riley could finish his words, his eyes and Aerith's met. Riley's head immediately tilted to the side as he looked at her from head to toe, before ultimately settling on her face… which was completely different from the Aerith he knew.
As a matter of fact, the Aerith of this world looked exactly like—
"Queen Adel."
"You… dare utter my mother's name?" Aerith's eyebrows lowered as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "Who are you?"
"I…" Riley looked away, before glancing at Diana and Alice, before turning to look at the Manus Dei which he completely destroyed,
"I am lost."
"...Riley?" Alice immediately noticed the shift in Riley's tone. His voice which seemed completely sure of itself was completely gone. And it was subtle, but all Alice could really see left in his eyes was an emptiness that almost seemed maddening.
Like he was just some lost child—which in a way, if she truly thinks about it, he truly is.
"Caitlain'Ur…" Aerith turned to look at Diana, very slowly floating to her side, "...I know that we have had our differences, but if it is true that you are here to stop whoever this person is, then that means our goals align."
"..." Diana did not really answer as she just looked at Aerith.
"The Redking is gone…" Aerith muttered as she looked at Bernard's headless corpse, "...And I know that you do not consider yourself a themarian anymore. But please, help me at least get revenge for your other people—for our people. Believe it or not, even after everything you have done with and for the Redking, you always had a place in us, Cait—Diana."
"..." Diana really only let out a small scoff as she heard Aerith's short speech. But after a few more condescending breaths, she shook her head and sighed before looking at Alice, "You're right, Queen Aerith, I am not a themarian. My place is here, with her…
…but I will help you get revenge."
"..." Aerith took in a deep breath as she looked Diana in the eyes; nodding her head before once again turning her attention toward the devil that killed her entire race; her eyes, very slowly glowing red in a calm rage, "And you, I will make sure that you—"
"You are not Aerith."
And before Aerith could finish her words, she was cut short by Riley as he started whispering to himself; his finger, pointed at Aerith as he started shaking his head,
"You… are not Aerith. You are not Aerith."
And soon, the entire room started to tremble as the strands of Riley's long white hair started to almost vibrate in the air.
"Poor soul," Aerith breathed out,
"I do now know what sort of creature you are, but I will make sure to end your suffering today!" And with those words, the glow in Aerith's eyes turned into a beam that shot straight toward Riley, who seemed to be ignoring everything around him.
But even then, the violent beam that was supposed to reach him without fail… failed. But not because he deliberately and knowingly blocked it, no—It was Alice.
Alice stood in front of him; her hand stretched forward as she blocked Aerith's energy beam.
"Alice…?" Diana could not help but breathe out heavily as soon as he saw Alice suddenly protecting Riley Ross, "What… are you doing?"
"I…" Alice let out an awkward chuckle as she looked at Diana; tears, flowing down her face, "I… don't know. But… I feel like I had to protect him this time. I guess… I guess this is what you'd call…
…a mother's instinct? He… hehe?"
"She's not your son, Alice!" Diana shouted in frustration, "He's from another universe!"
"...What?" The energy beam shooting out from Aerith's eyes instantly disappeared as she heard Diana's words, "What do you mean from another universe? What's really going on here?"
"Alice, stop being so childish!" Diana did not answer Aerith and just very slightly approached Alice, "Just once stop acting on impulse! That man isn't your son, it's a monster that needs to disappear from this world!"
"I…" Alice started looking back and forth between Riley and Diana, "...But he is? You… You've heard his story. The Alice of his world tried to kill him, his own mother—maybe, maybe he was sent here for a reason. Maybe…
…I'm meant to take care of him, you know?"
"So, even in this world, you're stupid."
"That's… not nice," Alice's awkward chuckle immediately faded away as one of her eyebrows raised as she looked at Diana, "Why would you say that? I thought you weren't going to call me stupid again."
"That… wasn't me," Diana blinked a couple of times as her eyes started to squint. Even Aerith, whose confusion had once again peaked, could not help but start to look around as she looked at where the voice came from.
And very soon, the very air itself started to crack open.
"...You?" And immediately, Diana was faced with someone she had never expected to ever meet in her life…
…herself.
"I'm sorry for the sudden intrusion…
…but I'm here to get my son back."
Chapter 702"I apologize for the sudden intrusion… but I am here to get my son back."
"..."
Clones.
The Diana of this other universe, much like the Diana of Riley's universe, is used to seeing clones and has even dabbled in creating a couple here and there. What she was completely unaware of, however, was how one feels when they see an exact replica of them.
Suffice it to say, she knows now—but not exactly. Because the woman in front of her was not her clone, but an entirely different one that lived a different life… well, maybe this other version was a little fatter than her.
"Oh, she looks prettier than you, Dee."
"Shut up… and no, she's not."
The situation was weird. Weird enough that even the Aerith of this universe, who had just witnessed the destruction of her race, almost forgot it momentarily due to her confusion. It almost made her wonder if she was going crazy due to the tragedy that happened to her.
And so, the only thing she could really do was just stand there utterly stupefied, watching as the crack that opened up in the air out of nowhere continued to grow. Watch as someone that looked exactly like Diana stepped out of the said hole with her hands raised.
"Please, don't panic Earth-1—we came here with no ill intentions," Diana calmly and very softly said as she looked Diana straight in the eyes. But after a few seconds, she turned to look at Alice, "We made a mistake, and we just want to fix it and leave, you will never have to see us again. And…"
Diana then turned to look at the headless corpse just casually laying on the floor, "...I am truly sorry for what my son did."
"...This is weird," Alice could not help but blink a couple of times as she looked back and forth between Diana and Diana; the calculation she was doing in her brain, loud enough to project from her eyes, "This is double weird."
"Earth-1?" Earth-1 Diana, on the other hand, tried her best to stay as calm as possible as she carefully approached Diana, "...I take it you named your world Earth-0?"
"...Yes," Diana smiled and nodded.
"How presumptuous of you to assume that you're the first to discover dimensional travel."
"Well… considering you haven't yet," Diana let out a small giggle as she finally lowered her arms and looked at Riley, who was still being blocked by Alice, "Riley, we need to drag you back home. Is… he stable?"
"...What do you mean 'is he stable'?" Alice squinted her eyes as she subtly blocked Riley from the rest of the people in the room even more, "He's just… a little lost."
"He's suffering from dementia."
"So he said too," Earth-1 Diana joined in on the conversation, "But we didn't detect anything in his brain when we scanned it. But seeing him now… perhaps he really is."
"...You didn't detect anything?" Diana squinted her eyes as she stared at Riley, who was quietly whispering to himself, repeating his words over and over again; asking himself where Aerith is.
"..." Diana then turned toward the Earth-1 Aerith. She looked at her from head to toe, before raising an eyebrow and saying, "...Queen Adel?"
"...No," Aerith knitted her eyebrows as this was the second time she was mistaken for her mother.
"...I guess it doesn't matter," Diana shook her head as she continued to approach Alice and Riley, "I may need your help in restraining him if he—"
"No."
But before Diana could even take a single step, Earth-1 Aerith suddenly appeared in front of her; placing her hand on Diana's chest and blocking her path,
"I don't know what is going on here, but you're not taking this man anywhere."
"..." Diana could really only look Aerith in the eyes. Although Aerith seemed calm, it was obvious from her slightly trembling voice and watering eyes that she was only trying her best to pretend to be so.
"But I do need to," Diana once again raised her hand to show that she wasn't a threat as she looked at everyone in the room, "All this time, we thought that we were sending our criminals into a void, not knowing that there were actually people here… that this was another universe like our own. We will pay everything that we need to for what we did, but for now…
…Riley Ross needs to go back to our universe. None of you have any idea of how dangerous my son—"
"No… idea?" And before Diana could finish her words, Aerith slightly pushed her; her eyes, glowing red as her breaths released more like growls, "This man just wiped out my people! He killed each and every one that I held dear and I watched helpless as he did it to others. You're the one that has no idea of how I feel!"
"...But I do," the tone of Diana's voice became meek as she returned Aerith's glare.
"...What?"
"I do," Diana subtly nodded as she let out a sigh.
"..." The room suddenly became silent as they all just looked at Diana. Earth-1 Diana, who was carefully looking at the crack in the air, also could not help but lower her eyebrows as she heard her counterpart's words.
"So, why is he still alive?" Earth-1 Diana's voice was as cold as it could get, "Did you show mercy because he's your son?"
"...You don't know yet?" Diana blinked a couple of times, "He's immortal."
"So are we."
"No, we're just very hard to kill," Diana let out a wry chuckle as she shook her head, "He truly can't die—and the longer he stays here, the longer your universe will be in danger—that is why I am here."
"Maybe you just haven't tried enough," Aerith's eyes once again turned red as she looked at Riley.
"Trust me…" Diana turned to look at the floor; her shoulders, almost drooping as the tone of her voice was enough to let everyone know the despair and sadness endlessly growing inside her,
"...We did. Please, let us secure Riley Ross first, and we will answer all of your questions to the best of our abilities."
"..." Earth-1 Aerith and Earth-1 Diana looked at each other, before ultimately shaking their heads as Earth-1 Diana suddenly moved behind Diana and grabbed her by the arms.
"Alice, kill him!" Earth-1 Diana roared as she looked at Alice.
"...Huh? Why would I do that?" Alice, on the other hand, was just scratching her scalp as she looked at Riley, "Your MILF version said he's immortal."
"Wh—Can you for once, just start acting serious!?"
"He… looks harmless," Alice said as she watched as Riley just continued to whisper to himself, "...and pitiful. Maybe he just needs a mother's love."
"...I'm her mother," Diana quickly responded, "And I gave him plenty of love."
"Well… maybe he needs more?"
"Have you forgotten what he just did within the past hour!?" Earth-1 Diana once again screamed, "He wiped out more than a hundred civilizations like they were—"
[Ladies, there is no need for this to escalate.]
And once again, the group was interrupted as a somewhat familiar voice whispered from the crack in the air, or more specifically, from the tiny RC car that emerged from it. The tiny car then started driving around the floor, before ultimately parking near Earth 1 Aerith and Diana, and Diana.
[I'm sorry, dear. You tried.]
"...Yeah," Diana said before closing her eyes and clenching her teeth. And before the two other themarians could wonder what she was doing, the RC car suddenly exploded.
Diana then made sure to grab Aerith, even gripping Earth-1 Diana as a large net burst forth from the shattered RC car and shot straight toward the three of them, covering them completely.
"!!!" And with a small zap, the three could feel their strength leaving their bodies, causing Earth-1 Aerith and Earth-1 Diana to quickly kneel to the ground. As for Diana, she was the only one that remained standing; her grip, not loosening as she restrained the two.
"Sorry, but I have a mother's strength," Diana whispered.
Alice was about to remove the net, but before he could do so, Bernard calmly stepped out of the crack and showed himself.
"Oh, what…" Alice covered her mouth as she seemed to be stopping herself from laughing, "It's… It's a fat bearded Bernard!"
"...So, you don't really ever grow up, Alice," Bernard could really only let out a small sigh. He was about to approach her and Riley before her eyes landed on the headless corpse on the floor.
"This…" Bernard squinted his eyes as he quickly recognized the patterns on the red armor. It wasn't obvious when he was seeing it from the portal, but…
"...This is me," Bernard muttered as he approached the corpse of his other version, moving it around to inspect it, "I'm… dead in this universe?"
"...A little?" Alice awkwardly chuckled, "Your son kinda killed you?"
"...I see," Bernard closed his eyes upon hearing Alice's words, "I don't really know how to feel about that, but I suppose it doesn't matter. If I'm dead…
…then has the Death Will triggered yet?"
"I have no idea what that is, rather than that… can you let my friend go?" Alice sighed as she pointed at the people covered by the net, "Seeing as we're all friends in the other world, maybe we… can just talk?"
"Death Will is something that will trigger in the event of my death," Bernard did not answer Alice and instead continued to examine Earth-1 Bernard's body, "I have one, I am assuming that my other version has one too…
…Mine is activating my suit's AI to bring me back to my wife."
"That's sweet and all, but—"
And before Alice could finish her words, Bernard's suit started to merge with Earth-1 Bernard's suit.
"What are you doing!?"
"Downloading data. I am sure my other version won't just die without leaving something important," Bernard insisted, raising a finger to gesture to everyone to just wait, almost as if they weren't already dealing with the weirdest situation they could find themselves in. But after a few minutes, Bernard stood up and let out a very long and deep sigh before whispering,
"Oh… fuck."
"...Dear?" Diana's eyes widened as she looked at her husband—after all, the times that Bernard curses could really only be counted in one hand, and each time he does so, it is when he completely messes up, "What… did you find?"
"The thing that we were most afraid of…" Bernard breathed out as he tried to calm himself down, "...He was able to make it, and just recently at that."
"You mean…"
"Dimensional travel," Bernard closed his eyes and sighed, "And that's not even the worst part—it is his Death Will."
"..."
"After his death…
…multiple portals will start opening."
Chapter 703"Multiple portals are opening soon."
"...I don't even know what to do with that information. The brains of the relationship are kinda being pinned down by her doppleganger."
"If she promises to stay calm, I will let her g—did you just say relationship?"
"Well—"
"How am I supposed to be calm upon hearing what I just heard? More of you people would come!?"
"No, not our people, but others."
The group continued to talk amongst themselves despite the situation they found themselves in. Chaos, perhaps that was truly the only way one could describe this scenario. None of them are unfamiliar with chaos, but this probably tops their list.
And while the older people were having their multiversal breakdown, Riley was completely out of it—his ears, just hearing a constant whistle that rang deep through his mind.
He was stable, he was supposed to be stable—even the scan of his brain that Earth-1 did told him that his mind was stable, that whatever dementia he had was gone upon arriving to this universe… at least that is how it was supposed to be.
So why…
…why was there someone standing in front of him again? It was a man that Riley doesn't really recognize, he would remember if he did. After all, the man has eyes even more lifeless than his.
He looked at the others to see if they were also seeing the man, but considering they were just discussing with themselves and raising their voices, it was obvious that none of them were aware.
"..." Riley's eyes then once again landed on the Aerith of this world, only to see almost a complete stranger.
Riley thought, he really thought that the Aerith of this world would be exactly the Aerith he knew—after all, someone as pure as her would always persevere through the light—no matter what.
Riley truly thought it would be the same Aerith with the way she pleaded for the life of others, but no. She was completely different, and it wasn't just because she looked like Queen Adel, but with the way she acts; her mannerisms, the way she purses her lips… they were all different.
Aerith was supposed to be the only semblance of reality he had in this strange universe, and she didn't even really exist.
And now, he was once again truly lost. The anchor that kept his mind afloat was once again pulled away, causing his deteriorating mind to continue corrupting the rest of him.
"Aerith…" He whispered to himself again as he covered his face, "Why… why did you abandon me?"
And soon, as the whistle in Riley's mind grew louder and louder, the darkness that hid deep within him started to once again show itself—scattering outward and filling everything in front of him in nothing but a void.
But this void did not last, as soon, the darkness gave birth to a place that Riley will always consider as paradise—the horizon of a vast green field and mountains filled with trees. It was his sacred place.
A place that represented the little peace between him and Aerith—perhaps one could even say a place of innocence, if Riley could ever be considered as such.
The place was so important for Riley, that he didn't realize that it wasn't only him that was seeing it.
"What… the heck?" Alice was the first to react as she stepped back as blades of grass started to sprout from the silver floor beneath her feet—and soon, she also saw the horizon that Riley was seeing.
"O…kay?" Alice then subtly glanced at Bernard without moving her head, "Just how many powers does my son have? Is… he like my mom or something?"
"You don't know?" Bernard furrowed his eyebrows, "And why are you even trying to protect him?"
"I don't know," Alice shrugged, "I just felt like it."
"The boy doesn't really need your protection—he has more than a hundred abilities under his sleeves," Bernard shook his head as he finally started removing the net wrapping Diana and the others, "He mostly uses your ability, telekinesis. But the most dangerous one, he got from my daughter."
"...And this?" Alice crouched and touched the blades of grass.
"Illusions."
"But I can feel it."
"He has more than a hundred abilities," Bernard repeated his words as if insinuating something, "But it doesn't matter—what we should be focusing on are the portals Earth-1 Bernard is summoning."
And finally, after a few more tugs and pulls, Diana and the others were set free; their gasping breaths, whispering through everyone's ears.
"The question is where and when," Bernard grabbed Diana's hand and gently pulled her closer to him, "We should probably start working together to—"
"This doesn't concern me," and before Bernard could finish his words, Earth-1 Aerith pushed him away as she made her way to Riley, "Son or not, mistake or not, he needs to pay for what he has done."
"Feel free to do whatever you want to do," Bernard sighed as he shook his head, "But I assure you, fighting with Riley Ross in an endless pit you will never truly escape—you will be the only one that suffers."
"You don't know me."
"Perhaps," Bernard shrugged, "But I do know that a stronger-willed version of you committed suicide because she could no longer handle Riley. You can never win against Riley Ross."
"Then we both just—"
"No," Bernard did not let Aerith finish her words, "You will be the only one that loses every time. Riley Ross isn't like you and I, he's different."
"..."
"Huh…" Alice joined in on the conversation, "I guess our son is kinda like an unstable god?"
"..." Diana, who has been quietly having a staring contest with Earth-1 Diana, could not help but look away as she heard Alice's words.
An unstable god. It was hard to admit, but that is exactly what Riley Ross is now… and she was one of the people responsible for making him that way.
"Alice," Earth-1 Diana also finally spoke up, very lightly pushing Diana to the side as she stepped forward, "The portal that our Bernard summoned, can you find if there are any traces of it anywhere?"
"..." Alice did not really answer Diana and instead just turned to look at the Manus Dei, which was completely destroyed by Riley. She was about to say something, but before she could do so, Bernard quickly noticed her looking at the spherical room.
"What does this do?" Bernard's eyes moved endlessly as he walked toward the hole that Riley made between their room and the Manus Dei, scanning every inch of it before ultimately floating in the air and entering the spherical room.
"It… amplifies my powers."
"Huh," Bernard hummed, nodding his head as he started flying around the spherical room, before landing on the trillions of dead nanites that seemed like a pool of charred sand.
Bernard then stretched his left arm to the side, and as he did so, several tendrils emerged from his armor and started examining and tinkering with the scraps inside the spherical hall.
"Is… he going to fix it?"
"Maybe, even if he's fatter, he's still Bernard."
"Love handles, those are called love handles."
"Why are you even with him even though he cheated on you?" Earth-1 Diana could not help but ask, "It's immoral."
"You'll understand when you have a daughter of your own."
"I told you we should have adopted that dog, Dee."
"Stop it."
"..." Aerith, who had been wanting some sort of justice for her people, could not help but just look back and forth between the women in the room. The situation they were in was nothing but weird… and yet they were chatting casually.
She was going to take this chance to try and attack Riley—but alas. As she stepped forward, the net that Bernard neglectfully threw on the ground flew toward her, once again causing her to instantly become exhausted.
"This is interesting."
And after a few more banters and bickering by the women, Bernard floated out of the Manus Dei. Alice quickly rushed to look at her toy, but to her disappointment, it was still completely tattered and broken.
"...I thought you were going to fix it?" Alice heavily breathed out.
"I did."
"Huh?" Alice then blinked a couple of times as Bernard stretched his hand, revealing some sort of crystal circlet, "Try it. It's not going to be as strong as the original, but it should work as long as you can power it—I'm sure you could figure out how."
"You made a wearable Manus Dei?" Alice immediately grabbed the circlet from Bernard's hand, "...Nerd."
"Wait, Alice! Don't just wear—"
"Too late!" Alice did not even let Earth-1 Diana finish her words as she wore the circlet on her head, and as soon as she did so, the color of her eyes completely disappeared—and with a pulse, the beautiful horizon and the blades of grass beneath their feet was blown away like a cloud.
Earth-1 Diana was about to rush toward Alice to remove the circlet, but Diana stopped her.
"Bernard is not going to hurt her," Diana shook his head, "He's scared of her since she's the only woman he wasn't able to seduce in the Hope Guild."
"...What?"
"Ah! I sense something!" And before anyone else could say something, Alice let out a tiny scream which made all of them look, "Another crack in the air like what we have here."
"Where is it?" Earth-1 Diana waved her hand, summoning a hologram of the map of the universe.
"I don't know yet, but Bernard 2 here is wrong," Alice's eyebrows began to lower, "There aren't multiple portals…
…there's only one."
Chapter 704"There's only one."
"Only one?"
"One? Where is it? How far away is it from here?"
"Well, actually—Ack!"
"Alice!?"
And without any warning, a quiet explosion whispered in the air. Sadly, for Alice, the source of the quiet explosion was the circlet that was wrapped around her head—and as she needed to be directly connected to it, she doesn't have any telekinetic armor protecting the temples of her head.
"F…freak," Alice quickly tapped her head several times; the blood flowing from her head, enough to paint her entire palm in red almost instantly. The bleeding did not last, however, as Alice quickly closed her wounds. And if it weren't for Earth-1 Diana catching her, she would have probably already fallen down.
"What happened!?" Earth-1 Diana screamed as she looked at Bernard.
Bernard's helmet folded away. He was going to approach Alice, but Earth-1 Diana's eyes started to glow red.
"That's not supposed to happen," Bernard said as he raised both his hands in the air, "Even if it indeed broke in one use, it shouldn't explode."
"Shouldn't explode!? Do you see what just happ—"
"Dee, stop…" Alice placed her hand on Earth-1 Diana's mouth…putting some blood on it, "...I was saying that the portal is right ab—"
"!!!"
A rumble.
Or perhaps a drumming thunder–it was really hard to choose what to describe the noise as a part of the ceiling above their heads suddenly burst and collapsed almost instantly, but at the same time, it was slow.
Slow, as all the debris just turned into ashes before they could hit the floor. And the only thing that really touched ground was a set of claws, glowing orange as they embedded themselves through the silver floor.
The claws connected to a black gauntlet, which connected to a full suit of armor black, gold, and a glowing orange. There was also a glowing orange cape waving in the air almost like wings, settling down as the Stranger in a suit of armor very slowly removed his claws from the floor.
But the claws did not just disappear, no—it was absorbed back by the gauntlet as the light started to travel like blood going through veins until they ultimately settled across the arm.
And soon, the glowing cape too, started being absorbed by the Stranger's armor as he very slowly stood up from the floor. And like the claws, the light of the glowing cape settled on the back of the Stranger's armor, as well as flowed straight through his helmet.
"..." And while all of this was happening, Bernard and the others could not help but just stay quiet, trying to observe who this Stranger was and what he was going to do.
"This is what I wanted to tell you guys," Alice let out a small sigh as she looked at the Stranger, "The portal… it was just right on top of us."
"Why didn't you say anything, then!?"
"Because you were being dramatic!" Alice whispered loudly, "It's not like my head was cut off or something, I survived worse shit. Don't you remember the time my entire arm was sliced off!?"
The Stranger turned his head toward Alice as her loud words traveled, which caused Diana to move in front of her to block her from the Stranger's view.
The Stranger did nothing, however, as he started looking around—but not for long. Because as soon as he saw Bernard, the claws he hid in his gauntlets once again emerged as he rushed toward Bernard without any warning.
He swung his claws straight toward Bernard's neck, but Bernard was able to grab the Stranger's wrist. The Stranger, however, was able to quickly break himself free as leaped and rotated his whole body, before once again targeting Bernard's neck with the very same hand he just freed.
"Tch," Bernard's helmet quickly unfolded and covered his head as he leaned away to avoid the orange claws, but not before stepping on the Stranger's foot. And as soon as his soles made contact, the armor around Bernard's leg collapsed and attached itself to the Stranger's foot, locking and attaching it to the floor.
Bernard then let himself fall back to completely avoid the claw, before spinning his entire body and swinging his leg straight toward the Stranger's neck.
The Stranger, however, did not even bother to dodge as he just blocked the blow with his arm, causing a slight ripple of air to blast away whatever ashes floated around them.
"Hm," although Bernard's face was also completely covered by his white helmet, it was obvious from his scoffing breath that a smirk was growing on his face. And not even a second after, the light around the Stranger's neck started to blink and fade away… as they seemed to be being absorbed by Bernard's greaves.
[!!!]
And then, with another blast of wind, Bernard's kick continued its halted path and slammed the Stranger straight to the floor.
Well, not quite, as the Stranger's body has not really made contact with the floor yet and instead just hovered inches above it.
[Ngh…] The Stranger then immediately pushed himself away, sliding on the floor before floating and somersaulting in the air. He was about to rush toward Bernard again, but he almost tumbled forward as his foot was caught in something.
[...] The Stranger quickly turned to look at what he was stepping on, only to see the headless corpse of Earth-1 Bernard.
[This…] And finally, the Stranger let out a word as he focused on the red armor the corpse was wearing; his voice, completely robotic and indistinguishable. The Stranger then looked back and forth between the corpse and Bernard.
"..."
"..."
"...Why are we just watching and not doing anything?"
"Shut up."
[Hm…] The Stranger then once again started looking around the silver room, only for his eyes to settle on the portal that Bernard and Diana emerged from. The Stranger then started scanning Alice and the others, before he started looking back and forth between Diana and Earth-1 Diana.
[This has become… complicated,] the Stranger muttered before he just quickly flew up into the air and out into the hole he made in the ceiling.
"..." Bernard and Diana also looked at each other, and without even as much as a nod, they followed the Stranger outside—revealing the view of the Grand Canyon, completely away from any city or people.
"So, you guys do realize we just watched the whole thing happen and did nothing, right?"
"We weren't the ones being attacked," Earth-1 Diana scoffed, before very gently taking off the broken circlet from Alice's head.
"I am completely uninvolved in this," Earth-1 Aerith shook her head, before once again glaring at Riley, who seemed to be completely oblivious to everything that is happening, "I just want him dead."
"...I don't think that is happening anytime soon," Alice then said as she looked up, watching Bernard and Diana chase the Stranger.
[...] The Stranger glanced down as he noticed he was being followed. And soon, he opened up his palm and pointed it at Bernard and Diana.
And then, a crack of lightning emerged from beneath the Stranger, soon merging together and creating an orb the size of a car that eerily looked similar to that of a star.
Diana instantly flew faster as she moved above Bernard, stretching her arms to the sides and preparing to take the blow as it came. To her surprise, however, the Stranger moved his hand away and pointed the fiery orb toward the horizon before letting it loose. The fireball flew like a wheel of fire, its flames racing around its circumference as if they were part of an infinite loop as they flew faster and faster.
"..." Bernard quickly stopped chasing the Stranger as his suit started hacking the nearby satellites, giving him a full view of the world's map.
"It's going to reach a city if we don't stop it!" Bernard did not even wait for Diana to respond as he quickly flew toward the glowing orb, "Don't let the man get away!"
"..." Diana wanted to go with Bernard, but as she saw Earth-1 Diana emerging from the ground and also rushing to follow the glowing orb, she just quickly decided to continue chasing the Stranger as he flew into the sky.
The Stranger flew higher and higher, the air around him distorting into a bright bright orange as he once again glanced down. And as he noticed Diana still chasing him, he quickly changed the direction of his flight. The clouds hovering above him slightly dissipated, perhaps due to the orange glow surrounding his body.
It was a weird sight, but it was familiar, familiar enough that it even made Diana raise an eyebrow. She already had an inkling as to who the Stranger is, but now it was obvious.
The suit of armor, the energy similar to the Guardian Force... there could really only be one.
Daina chased him around mountains, valleys, oceans, and forests—and when it became clear that the Stranger was just leading him somewhere randomly, Diana stopped flying.
She stopped chasing after the Stranger, and instead quickly flew back, back from where he was originally flying to.
The Stranger quickly noticed this as he too, maneuvered in the air and increased his speed; obviously making sure that Diana doesn't reach to wherever he was going first.
And very soon, the two just returned back to where they started--above the canyons.
The Stranger then started releasing small fiery orbs and throwing them down toward Diana. Diana, on the other hand, just clapped her hands to completely disperse the orbs completely.
"...Enough of this," Diana whispered, and with a sigh…
…she increased her speed.
Chapter 705VR 705
"...Enough of this."
There was a reason why themarians rarely use their speed. Because unlike evaniels, who were able to completely separate themselves and ignore the laws of physics, the problem with a themarian flying at full speed inside an atmosphere was that they risked destroying everything around them—a problem themarians face if ever they step out of their home planet.
The air around Diana started to crack, even the dust that had been attached to the canyons for millions of years was blown away just from the sheer force of her flight.
The Stranger also increased his speed, the clouds around him blown away… revealing the portal hiding in the sky from which he came.
The Stranger stretched his hand, but alas, before the tip of his finger could touch the portal, Diana grabbed his leg and threw him back straight into the canyons.
"..." Diana did not immediately follow him down as she glanced at the portal, trying to see if she could examine the other side—but there was only a single room… which looked similar to the interiors of Ahor Zai.
She tried waiting for a few seconds to try and see if there was someone else there, but other than the empty gray room, there was absolutely nothing.
"I'll check you later," Diana whispered to herself as she dived down toward where she threw the Stranger, creating several blasts of wind to crack in the air. But as she landed on the plateau, any violence in her movement disappeared as her feet gently touched the dried ground.
"...Really?" Diana once again whispered to herself with a sigh as she looked around, only to find that the Stranger was not there.
She closed her eyes to try and hear him breathing, but his armor seemed to prevent any noise that could come out of him. And so, Diana could really only walk around, and soon... a small ball casually rolled toward her.
And when it reached her feet, Diana noticed how heavy it actually was as it left marks on the dried ground. And finally, it stopped right beneath her and exploded. And from within it burst forth smaller balls that flew and floated around Diana. They just circled around her for a moment, before again bursting outwards and sending dozens of nets flying from all directions that seemed to want to swallow her whole.
All of this happened in less than a single second.
"..." But before any of the net could reach her… Diana let out a sigh. She then casually moved away as the net seemed to have just frozen in the air; each of her steps, causing a crack to form in the ground.
Once again, there was a reason why themarians seemed weaker on Earth, the very same reason why they refuse to use even half their full speed—every move they make could potentially destroy Earth.
And so, they learn to hover. Hover millimeters above ground to make it look as if they were actually walking on the ground. Diana learned this, so did Aerith, and so will any themarian that actually visits another planet.
Diana turned to look to where the ball rolled from, approaching it and soon finding the Stranger hiding beneath a large boulder. And without any more hesitations, she grabbed the Stranger's head and pried his helmet open… only to find it completely empty.
"Wh—" And before she could even say anything, the armor started to wrap around her arms. And since it was already attached to her, the only thing Diana really did was watch as the armor covered her entire silhouette.
And with a small zap, Diana felt herself turning extremely exhausted. She slightly tumbled forward, breathing heavily as she noticed a shadow encroaching and growing from behind.
She wanted to turn around, but alas, the Stranger kicked her on the back of the head and slammed her face straight to the ground. The Stranger was about to slam his foot on Diana's head again, but surprisingly, Diana was able to fly away.
"This only works well once," Diana then whispered as she ripped the armor in half, almost as if emerging from a cocoon while the armor quickly returned and flew back to its owner,
"If you want to weaken me again, that's not going to be enough."
Energy Depleting Pulse does not really make a themarian weaker, it only causes their body to become exhausted, extremely so. Their muscles would tremble and burn, rendering them incapable of moving. Themarians can and still kill and destroy everyone else in the Universe with a snap of their finger.
If there was, however, one dangerous aspect of the EDP is that it makes them more vulnerable and susceptible to Eternal Death.
[...Tch,] a small frustration could be heard from the Stranger as he clicked his tongue. He then stretched his arms to the side, summoning his claws as well as his glowing cape, which flapped like wings beneath his back,
[You are really annoying to fight, Diana Ross.]
"Well, only because you actually have no chance of winning this."
And almost as if reflecting what the Stranger did, Diana's eyes also started to glow red. She drew energy from the air and directed it into her empty hand, where a shimmering orb of light began to take shape. The globe grew brighter and then exploded outward, and in its place was a long sword. Diana held it lightly, as if it was an old friend very dear to her.
"Do you know how long it has been since I truly fought someone?" Diana said as she placed the sword of energy in front of her, almost as if doing a salute as she looked at the Stranger, "It has been—"
"!!!"
Diana did not finish answering her own question as she just disappeared from her spot, only to reappear just a meter away from the Stranger, her sword already swinging straight at his head.
The Stranger quickly ducked down to dodge the attack… but Diana suddenly let go of the sword and grabbed his head.
"Sorry about that," Diana said as a small giggle escaped her lips, "But I don't actually use a sword...
...I'm a grappler."
[Wai—]
The Stranger wanted to say something, but Diana did not let him as she tightened her grip on his head, before slamming it straight onto her rising knee.
[Kh…!] The Stranger could only take a few steps back as Diana finally let go of his head, but before he could recover his balance, Diana grabbed his face and slammed his head straight to the ground.
"Sorry, but you can't complain about this," Diana once again calmly giggled as she slammed the Stranger's head on the ground again, "You attacked us first."
Diana then sat on top of the Stranger's body and started punching his face, very slowly denting his helmet.
[Sto—] The Stranger raised his hand, but Diana only slapped them away as she continued bashing his head with her fists.
[Stop!] The Stranger then grabbed Diana's leg, causing the air around them to distort as his gauntlets started to light up. But alas, Diana once again pushed his hands to the side, and this time, she pinned both under her knees.
"Be a good boy and stop struggling, okay?" Diana let out a sigh as she continued clobbering the Stranger's helmet, causing it the bounce up and down as the canyon beneath them quivered and cracked.
"I think we both know who you are, no?" Diana said as she finally stopped; her hand, however, was still placed on the Stranger's helmet, "The two of us are going to calm down now, okay?"
[...] The Stranger did not really answer and just nodded his head.
"Good," Diana also nodded as she pried the helmet open with both hands, "Seriously, is there a version of you that actually knows how to communicate with someone, Bernard Ro—Huh?"
Diana blinked a couple of times as her eyes reflected the Stranger's face. And before she could say anything, she felt a sharp pain stab her in the stomach… literally.
"..." Diana looked down, only to see some sort of black blade stabbed through her lower stomach. This was the first time in a very long time that she had once again experienced physical pain...but she couldn't care less. The only thing that she did was calmly hold her stomach as she stared at the Stranger's face.
"...Fuck, fuck!" the Stranger whispered to herself as she struggled to stand up. And finally, after squirming for a few seconds, she was able to push herself away from Diana's grasp; crawling back before finally being able to stand,
"Fuck!" The Stranger once again screamed; her frustration, enough to cause the very air itself to distort.
Diana was sure, he was sure that it was Bernard. But now she realized that there was actually one more just like him.
Same fighting style, same cadence, same tactics.
"You…" Diana slightly stuttered as she squinted her eyes,
"...Hannah?"
Chapter 706"Shit… fuck. Fuck!"
There have been many things that Diana has forgotten throughout her life, mostly due to the fact that most of her memories are thousands of years old. There will be lapses from time to time, but one thing that she will never fail to remember is her daughter's voice and choice of voacbulary.
And it would seem even another universe's version of her was the same.
"This is why I don't like fighting you, god. So frustrating!"
"..." Diana continued to watch this alternate version of Hannah scream in frustration for a few more seconds, before finally turning to look at the black knife stabbed through her stomach. She continued to stare at it for a while, before gritting her teeth and pulling it out.
"Ngh…kh!" She let out a constricted groan, followed by a loud gasp as she truly was no longer used to feeling this kind of pain. Even then, however, she quickly inspected the blade to try and see what it was made of.
And she doesn't know whether she doesn't remember, or she clearly has not seen this kind of material before. She tried shattering it with her grip, but all it did was leave a mark on her palm.
"Don't bother," Hannah finally stopped prancing around and screaming; her breaths, still clearly deep as she looked at Diana. She then opened up her palm, and as she did so, the black blade in Diana's hand flew toward her,
"This is Carmondium," Hannah said as she cleared her throat and started spinning the blade around her hand, "It's from Cosmos-462, and so far you can only find it there. It was made from some sort of…bone from an old god or whatever that doesn't exist anywhere else."
"..." Cosmos-462, Diana didn't have to think to figure out what that means.
"And in that world, it has a very interesting name," Hannah then let out a small sigh as she slid her palm across the blade, curiously making it disappear,
"The Themarian Killer."
"..."
"Oh, don't look so shocked, Mother," Hannah rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Did you really think themarians were invincible?"
"..." Diana did not really answer.
Themarians, invincible? She probably thought that a thousand years ago, but not anymore. After all, as of today, she had witnessed the annihilation of themarians not just once, but twice… and all in the hands of one person.
"Oh, by the way," Hannah then let out a small sigh as her armor started fading away. Or more specifically, it was sucked by her golden bracelet, revealing her fiery pink full-body suit that clingly wrapped around her curves,
"That's not going to heal," she said as she pointed at the gaping and bleeding wound on Diana's stomach. And after another sigh, she threw something at Diana.
"..." Diana inspected the thing that Diana threw first, before catching it at the last millisecond. It was a small bottle the size of a finger, containing a green glowing liquid.
"Drink that. That's the only way you're going to survive this."
"Is it?" Diana finally spoke as she looked at her wound again, trying to see if it was going to close or not—but it should have already as soon as she pulled the blade. But now, the wound seemed even larger than before.
"It's not poison, Mother," Hannah placed her hand on her waist, "It just looks like poison, but it's not. Come on, I could have stabbed you with the blade from the start—I just got desperate, there's no need for you to actually die. Don't be stubborn like the last one and wait for me to inject that into you."
"...Are you able to answer my questions?" Diana did not drink the vial just yet as she looked Hannah in the eyes.
"No," Hannah immediately let out a small scoff as she subtly shook her head, "I'm actually not even supposed to speak to any of you just yet."
"How many universes has your world traveled to?"
"Fuck, Mother…" Hannah sighed, "I just told you I'm not allowed to talk to you."
"My husband said there should be many portals appearing here, so why is yours the only one? Are you capable of preventing others from—"
"Stop! Stop! How many times do I have to tell you not to ask any questions!? Just drink the shit!"
"Cosmos-462. Does that mean you have—"
"No."
"..." Cosmos-462. Although Diana was still clueless about many things about the multiverse, she could at least deduce that the number of universes that this Hannah's universe has traveled to would be at the very least 462. After all, Diana and the others from the Common Council decided to call the very first Other Earth they visited as Earth-1.
"Anyway, just…" Hannah once again let out a sigh as she tapped her bracelet, summoning her armor once again, "...Just drink the goddamn shit, Mother."
"Wait! You–Ugh!" And as Hannah's feet started to leave the ground, Diana tried to fly and chase her again, only for the hole in her stomach to grow even larger; her blood, spurting and gushing out like a faucet.
"..." Diana closed her eyes, before letting out a sigh as she looked at the green vial. This was given to her by Hannah, so there—no.
The fact that it was given by Hannah should make her worry even more…
…even more so another version of her.
***
"Damn it, that Diana was very good."
And as no one was chasing her anymore, Hannah took her time to fly back to her portal; even removing her helmet as she took in a long and deep breath. Her eyes, taking in the sights of a world she has seen before thousands of times, but at the same time, never before. A small hint of exhaustion could be seen reflecting from the moisture wrapped around her eyes; wanting to fall, but always finding the strength to hold on.
"..." She glanced to where she left Diana, before just shaking her head and letting out another sigh loud enough to be heard even as the wind violently hit her in the face, "Two universes meeting their variants who seemed to have no idea what they're doing… someone's going to have a field day with this."
Hannah finally quickened her flight, only to once again slow down as she was directly below the portal she came from… as well as directly above the hidden room where she found the variants.
"Alice with an amplifier, Dad and Alice should really stop existing in one universe. That shit's giving me creeps," she whispered to herself, "1 Bernard, 1 Deceased Bernard, Alice, two Dianas, and an Aerith variant… or was that the Queen?"
Hannah tried recalling everyone she found in the room, "I don't even know which of the variants actually belong in this universe, damn it. Fuck… this really is complicated."
And as her frustrations grew enough for her to start shaking her hair, she suddenly stopped moving and flying altogether as she realized something.
"1 Bernard, 1 Deceased Bernard…" Hannah once again whispered as she counted the names of the people in the room, "Shouldn't… there be one more according to the scan?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Meh, probably no one important." And so, with those words, Hannah once again flew up, causing the clouds above her to ripple, revealing the portal hiding above them. And without even the slightest of hesitation, she went straight through it.
And just like entering any other door, Hannah was in a completely different place—a room that looked eerily similar to the infrastructure and walls of Ahor Zai. There was nothing there, however, just a small gray empty room.
And as soon as her feet touched the gray floor, her bulky black and gold armor disappeared into her bracelet.
"Ugh, so tired," Hannah groaned as she removed her bracelet, and without even a care, she just let it fall from her hand.
[Welcome back, Ms. Hannah.]
And before the bracelet could even touch the floor, a hand emerged from it to catch it; a feminine voice that seemed similar to Diana, also reverberating throughout the entire room,
[Was your expedition successful?]
"Don't ask," Hannah rolled her eyes as she just lazily walked toward an empty wall.
[That bad, I see.]
"Just close the portal, I still need to buy something."
[But the expedition—]
"Fuck the expedition, let Dad handle it!" Hannah slammed her palm on the wall, "Just close the goddamn portal, I have a sale I need to get to, damn it!"
[Very well,] and like an eye closing, the portal floating at the very center of the room disappeared. And as soon as it did so, the wall in front of Hannah opened up,
[By the way, someone was—]
"Save it for later," Hannah just waved her hand before stepping out of the room, the hall in front of her, also completely gray. There really was no way of knowing how long the hallway was, as one couldn't really see the end of it.
It didn't matter to Hannah, anyway, as she just flew up—the ceiling above opening a tunnel as she did so. And as she emerged from the other end, she found herself inside another room—or more specifically, a cubicle. Or even more specifically, a toilet.
Hannah then casually grabbed a set of clothes that were hanging on the door of the cubicle, quickly wearing it as she stepped out. And indeed, she was in a public restroom.
The other people looked at her, but she did not even give them a single glance as she checked herself in the mirror; putting on a cap and tying up her hair into a ponytail before nodding to herself.
"Hm… no need for makeup," she then said as she stepped out of the restroom… and into what seemed like a public mall.
"Let's go buy some shit before Dad finds out," Hannah then grabbed her phone from her pocket as she started walking around.
"Excuse me, Miss."
But not even ten steps after, she found her path blocked by someone.
"God, can you guys just stop hitting on me just for one sec—Oh… Hi?" Hannah was about to snarl as she groaned in frustration. But as soon as she saw the man standing in front of her, she quickly but subconsciously started touching her hair; the mall, everything, and everyone around her just seemed to disappear,
"Did… did you need something from me?" Hannah tried her best not to look at the man from head to toe. But how could she not, when this was probably one of the most unique but oddly good-looking people she has ever met?
"For now I only really need one thing, Miss—your name."
"Stop… being so formal," Hannah stuttered as she subtly leaned closer to the man, "And it's Hannah. You?"
"Ross…
…Riley Ross."
Chapter 707"You were born in Ohio? Shit… must have been tough."
"Not at all, I was blessed with affluent parents that pampered me and my sister."
"Oh, a sister? Younger or older?"
Whether or not it was his intended outcome, Riley was now once again casually eating Korean Shaved Ice with Hannah, albeit a completely alternate version of her. The two of them have probably been talking for hours; not even taking a short break since their first meeting.
And although the other customers inside the shop were trying to be subtle, their glances were obvious; some of them even outright took a photo of Riley without his consent. And as a matter of course, Hannah almost lashed out at the people, but Riley said it was alright and that he was used to the attention.
After all, an albino is even more rare than a Super—and it would seem that truth holds true even in another universe. But still, Hannah insisted as she approached the crowd; telling them to 'fuck off' as calmly as she could. But alas, it was completely useless as another crowd just replaced them.
"Older," Riley answered Hannah's question, "The two of you are somewhat similar, Hannah. But at the same time, you are completely different from each other."
"Huh… Well, I don't think I have ever met someone like you, Riley," Hannah let out a small giggle, covering her mouth as she lightly leaned forward over the table; twirling the spoon she was holding in her glass of flavored shaved ice that has already melted into flavored juice,
"And I don't mean your appearance. Although you do kinda look like those elves, and not the small imp ones, mind you."
"Hm. What about you, Hannah? Do you have any siblings, a brother?"
"Oh no, it's just me and my dad," Hannah let out a very long and deep sigh as she shook her head, "And thank god I don't have a brother. I already had enough of my dad, I don't want another one of him just running around the place."
"You don't like your father?" Riley tilted his head to the side, before putting a spoonful of shaved ice in his mouth which completely melted before Hannah could give an answer to his sudden question.
But finally, after a few more hesitating breaths, Hannah responded with a small chuckle.
"I mean, I love my dad…" Hannah stopped twirling her spoon as she leaned back, "...but he can be a dick sometimes. You know what I mean?"
"I may have some ide—"
"That woman just got robbed!"
And finally, after a few hours of conversing with one another, their growing chat was disrupted by a loud voice that shook the entire shop. Everyone turned to look at the man, and then toward where he was pointing to.
And as he excitingly said, there truly was a woman getting mugged outside the mall.
"..." Riley did not even really bother looking at the commotion, and instead just continued to look at Hannah with his head tilted to the side. He wanted to see what the Hannah of this world would do upon seeing a criminal act.
But even as the thief was able to take the woman's bag and started running away, Hannah just continued to watch. And it wasn't only her, even those that were near the incident just stood there like the bystanders there are.
"Everyday…" Hannah then let out a sigh as she shook her head, before grabbing her phone from her purse. She seemed to be texting someone; a very short message based on how fast she hid her phone again,
"Welcome to New York, I guess," and like nothing happened, Hannah once again chuckled as she leaned forward, "It's either the piss, the pigeons, the addicts, or the robbers that would make you realize it isn't as glamorous as people make it out to be. You were probably disappointed when you moved here from New Zealand?"
"I am used to moving a lot and experiencing other places, Hannah," Riley placed his spoon on the table, wiping it clean with a napkin as he looked Hannah in the eyes, "And it is not really the place you remember the most, it is the people. Your perception of the place will be based on them."
"O…Oh," Hannah blinked a couple of times; her breaths slightly stuttering as she returned Riley's gaze, "Don't start getting all deep on me here. But since it's like that…
…how is New York so far for you?"
"It is not that different from what I am used to," Riley looked outside before quickly placing his eyes on Hannah again, "But you make it a little familiar, Hannah."
"S…stop it," Hannah took in a small gulp as her cheeks slightly turned red, "You know you don't have to flirt with me, right? We're like… already on a date."
"This is a date?" Riley blinked a couple of times.
"You…" Hannah raised an eyebrow as the smile on her face disappeared. But after a few seconds, they once again returned with a chuckle, "I seriously have no idea if you're joking or not. Is that part of your… autism or something?"
"Perhaps, perhaps not."
"You know, this is the first time I'm actually having fun after a very long time…" Hannah once again leaned back on her seat as she sighed, "...It's just work, work, and more work. You think there's more out there for us? And I'm not talking about the other places in the universe."
"My father actually says that there is less out there for us," Riley still continued to sit up straight as he finally finished cleaning the spoon he was holding, "Once you explore the unknown, then it just becomes like the rest of almost everything—irrelevant and forgotten. Everything you need, everything you will ever need will always be near you."
"That doesn't make any sense, you weirdo," Hannah closed her eyes and giggled, "But I feel like that's something my dad will also say."
"It makes a lot of sense."
"Dad!?"
And almost out of nowhere, a shadow crept behind Riley's seat, causing Hannah to sit straight before standing up,
"What are you doing here!?"
"..." Riley did not really react hastily, and just very slowly turned around. And there, another variant of Bernard stood. Riley had already thought that his father was gaining a little too much weight, but the Bernard behind him probably took not just the last piece of cake, but all of it.
Riley wouldn't call him fat, however, as it was obvious from the streaks and lines in his arms that everything was muscle—but even still, this Bernard makes his father look incredibly small.
And although he was only wearing a shirt, there was also a certain elegance in him that two of the Bernards he had met lacked.
"You're really going to disrespect me like that in front of your new friend?" A small smile crawled on Bernard's face as he glanced at Riley, "Sorry, sir. But can I borrow my daughter for a bit?"
"Dad…!?" Hannah subtly gestured to her father to go away, "Can't you see we're busy?"
"...Not really?" Bernard laughed, "But seriously, I need to talk to you—come meet me at the parking."
"Da—" And before Hannah could even say anything else, Bernard already turned around and left the shop. Hannah could really only fall back to her seat; her eyes, glancing up and down Riley for several times.
"It is fine, Hannah," Riley breathed out.
"That… ugh," Hannah once again stood up, "Just wait for me here, this won't take long!"
"Hm," Riley nodded in response as he watched as Hannah chased after her dad.
And it turns out, Hannah was wrong. The mall was already closing before she once again entered the Korean Shaved Ice store.
"You're… still here?"
"Where else would I be, Hannah?" Riley just blinked a couple of times as he looked at Hannah; his table, filled with probably a dozen empty glasses, "You said to wait for you here."
"You could have just left…" Hannah didn't know whether to smile or not, "Why would you even wait for me?"
"Because I want to, Hannah," a small smile crawled on Riley's face.
"That…" Hannah looked at Riley; her eyes, subtly moving as she seemed to examine every inch of his face. And soon, a smile also appeared on her face as she approached Riley and grabbed her wrist,
"Come on, let's just get out of here!" She excitedly said as she pulled Riley away from the table.
"We have not paid for everything we consumed, Hannah," Riley said as he glanced at their table.
"It's fine, we own the mall!" And with those words, Hannah started touring Riley around the city like she knew it from the back of her hand—every inch and every street, she had something to say.
This world also has heroes and villains, but the size of their influence was similar to that of Riley's Earth—in fact, so far, this world seemed like the one in Riley's universe before all the aliens started visiting.
There were no signs of any extraterrestrial life living here, even though Hannah has mentioned them in passing several times during their chat.
But if there was one difference that completely made this Earth diverge from his was the statue of Megawoman. A statue carrying Aerith's liking.
A statue majestically erected in front of Riley, placed right at the very center of Central Park.
A statue with all sorts of markings and etchings, most of them saying the word…
…Traitor.
Chapter 708Traitor. Racist. Speciest. Evil. False hope. Cunt.
Those were just some of the… derogatory words that were written on the statue of Megawoman. For a being such as Aerith, one could already consider these words to be blasphemous—well, at least for the Aerith of Riley's universe.
"And you know, there are—Oh, they still haven't removed that thing?"
Hannah, who was busy telling Riley some random things about anything and everything, could not help but halt her steps as she noticed Riley standing in front of the statue of Megawoman.
"Is this the first time you're seeing this?" Hannah asked as she approached Riley, "The infamous Megawoman. Apparently, a lot of people still like her—I can't blame them, she was a hero… it's just a shame that turned out to be an illusion in the end."
"Hm…" Riley only let out a hum as he removed his eyes from Aerith's statue and started walking away. Once again, he was reminded that he was in a completely different world with a completely different history.
"If they aren't going to remove it, they should at least clean the fucking thing," Hannah let out a long and deep sigh as she followed Riley, "The dude's already dead, it's not like they could disrespect her any further."
"...Dead?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he glanced at Hannah.
"...Are you being serious right now?" Hannah raised an eyebrow, "Dude, it was all over the news, Whiteking offed her."
"I do not watch the news."
"...Right, you weirdo."
The last world did not have Hannah, and this one no longer had a Megawoman—could it be that the two can not exist with each other? Of course, he had only been in two other universes so it was hard to say anything… but it was possible.
The last world and this world, Bernard Ross seemed to be at the very center of everything…and the only reason he wasn't in Riley's universe is because it was Riley's universe.
Riley's entire existence made Bernard focus only on taking care of him and his sister, causing him to be cast in the shadows instead. And when Riley was absent from everything for 5 years, Bernard was able to achieve a lot of things.
"Well, enough about the depressing stuff," Hannah then patted Riley's back as she ran forward. Her giggles, whispering into Riley's ears as she started spinning in front of him with her arms stretched to the side—almost as if a ballerina being drowned by the light of the setting sun, her shadow danced on the ground seamlessly and elegantly.
Riley could really only watch, his mind wandering to the past when he and Hannah were still children. Children who knew nothing about the world, and in return, the world knew nothing about them—well, at least Hannah—Riley became famous a little too fast.
"Ah! It's getting late already," Hannah let out a sharp hum as her happy steps stopped. She then turned toward Riley; the flush in her cheeks, amplified by the light that flooded everything in the park,
"Should we—"
And before Hannah could say anything, a tune suddenly rang in the air… from Hannah's purse. Hannah immediately grabbed her phone, quickly rejecting the call as she looked at Riley again,
"Should we—Fuck!"
And once again, Hannah received a call. And this time, she quickly walked to the side to answer it; her voice, clearly frustrated and hurried at the same time. And at the end of the call, she walked back to Riley with her shoulders slightly lowered.
"...Where are you staying?" It wasn't only her shoulders that were lowered, but also her voice.
"..." Riley did not really immediately answer her, and instead just looked around the park before saying, "I suppose I am staying here, Hannah."
"Oh, god…" Hannah let out a short but very deep sigh as she slightly closed her eyes, "Please don't tell me you're homeless."
"I do have a home, but it will be hard to go back to," Riley shrugged, "Right now, I do not belong anywhere."
"...Seriously?"
"Yes," Riley nodded before he stretched his arms to the side, "This is everything I own."
"You're saying you don't have any money?"
"Yes."
"So, what? You're like a nomad or something?" A small chuckle escaped Hannah's lips, "Don't tell me you're actually from another universe?"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times, before just nodding his head, "Yes. I am from another universe."
"..."
"..."
"...Pft," Hannah's chuckles turned into a full-blown fit of laughter as she looked Riley in the eyes, "Right, and I'm—"
And once again, Hannah's words were interrupted as her phone began to ring again.
"Ack! I know it already!" Hannah screamed in frustration as her feet started to leave the ground. And without any warning, she suddenly threw a keycard toward Riley,
"Go to the Majesty Hotel, I have a place there you can crash for the night—I'll call them to let them know about you."
"Are you not worried that I am a murderer that has killed billions of people, Hannah?" Riley said as he caught the keycard.
"If you were, you would have already been caught! I'll see you again…
…okay!?"
And with those words, Riley watched as the Hannah of this world flew into the skies; leaving him alone in the park and looking at the keycard. But after a few seconds, Riley returned to the statue, circling around it and examining every nook and cranny.
"...Hm."
***
"What… happened here?"
Back on Earth-1, Diana returned to the secret location of the Manus Dei with Bernard and Earth-1 Diana. Of course, not before Bernard screamed and howled as he saw the large gaping wound on Diana's stomach.
Suffice it to say, Diana drank the green vial there and then, 'less she wanted to turn deaf. Bernard also checked it for contents that could be considered dangerous, but he couldn't really detect anything. But then again, it was from another universe—either way, Diana would be in danger, so she just chose not to bleed instead.
And when they confirmed that she was indeed no longer bleeding and her wound have began healing, the three returned to the Manus Dei… only to find Earth-1 Alice and Aerith sitting on the ground and covered with blood.
"...What happened here?" Earth-1 Diana repeated her question as she looked back and forth between Alice and Aerith.
"Ask this woman!" Aerith quickly pointed at Alice.
"..." Alice did not really answer and just very slowly looked to the side to avoid Earth-1 Diana's gaze. But after a few seconds, she just shook her head and let out a sigh,
"Riley escaped and we couldn't stop him," she then said monotonously.
"Stop him!? You helped him escape!" Aerith lightly slammed her fist on the floor, causing the entire underground building to shake.
"Escape…?" Diana joined in on the conversation as she looked around the room, only to find that Riley truly was missing, "Where? Did he return to our universe?"
"..." Alice once again very slowly looked away, before sighing and looking at Diana, "He… kinda went up?"
"Up?" Diana squinted her eyes before they widened with her breath, "...Oh, the other portal is there."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...I'll figure out the coordinates," Bernard, who has been quietly observing the situation, could not help but let out a very long and deep sigh as he summoned his helmet, "I have other Bernard's data from his suit, this should be enough."
"How long will it take you to do this?" Aerith stood from the floor, "I wish to come with you, but in the meantime, I want to mourn my dead and immortalize them. I…
…would appreciate it if the two of you could help me," she then said as she looked at the two Dianas.
"Of… course," Diana hesitantly nodded as she was from another universe. But considering her son did this, she owed a million times more to the Aerith of this world, "We should—"
And before the three could even start planning preparations, a silhouette stepped out of the portal to Riley's universe—Aerith.
Everyone turned their heads toward her. Aerith, however, just looked at Earth-1 Aerith with her eyes wide open.
"...Mother?" Aerith said in confusion.
"Excuse me?" Earth-1 Aerith raised an eyebrow as she looked at Aerith from head to toe.
"..." Aerith blinked a couple of times as she also looked at Aerith-1 from head to toe, but after a few seconds, she just shook her head and approached Diana with her heavy steps,
"Why was I not informed about all of this!? You failed to tell me that we threw Riley to another universe!? You should have told me first when you found out! And why didn't you even ask me to join—"
"Who are you?"
"What? What do you mean who—" And before Aerith could finish her words, she noticed another Diana standing close to Bernard,
"There's… two of you now?"
"Not just me," Diana pointed at Earth-1 Aerith.
"...But that's Queen Vera."
"My name is Aerith'Hel…" Earth-1 Aerith once again raised an eyebrow as she started circling Aerith.
"...What?" Aerith followed Aerith-1 with her eyes, before they ultimately landed on the headless corpse on the floor. And in just less than a second, she let out a sigh and looked at Diana,
"Riley?"
"...Riley."
"Hm…" Aerith closed her eyes before looking at the others from Earth-1, "I… am sorry, I truly am. I'm one of the people responsible for putting Riley here."
"...Sorry?" Aerith-1's eyebrows began to lower, "You brought a monster here who killed everyone I know!"
"I know," Aerith closed her eyes again, "And there is nothing I could do to ever change that. But for now, our priority is stopping him—he needs to be stopped…
…That's why I brought reinforcements."
Chapter 709"That is why I brought reinforcements."
"Reinforcements? What do you—"
"Wassup, bitches from another universe!?"
And before anyone could even ask Aerith what she meant, a voice cracked like thunder as a white silhouette stepped out of the portal; her long white hair that was tied in a ponytail, snapping in the air as she looked at everyone inside the silver room.
"Champion Karina Ross in the house!"
"..."
No one really said anything. They just watched as the white-haired girl started waving and spinning her hands, before ultimately doing some sort of… victory pose as she pointed her palm up.
"I know, I know," Karina then started bowing her head, "You are in awe of my presence, it is fine, it is normal. I shall sign autographs later—and no, I am not selling my bath water!"
"..."
Karina Ross, even after more than 5 years, has remained completely the same; right down from her appearance, and to her maturity.
"You… brought my granddaughter here!?" Diana could not help but raise her voice, causing all the Earth-1 variants to look at her.
"Ah, grandma!" Karina was about to run toward Diana, but her eyes suddenly settled down on Alice,
"Ah, grandma!" She repeated her words as she pointed at Earth-1 Alice; her mouth, very slowly shaping into a smile wide enough to reach both her ears.
"I… have a granddaughter?" Alice let out a stuttered and excited gasp as a smile also started to grow on her face. But alas, aside from pointing at her, Karina ended up completely ignoring her after as she just went to Diana to hug her.
"It took a little convincing, but Mom allowed me to go," Karina giggled as she snuggled on Diana's chest.
"You took my granddaughter?" Diana quietly mouthed at Aerith as she returned Karina's embrace. And before she could get an answer, another silhouette stepped out of the portal.
Another Aerith.
"There's… another one of you?" Earth-1 Diana lowered her eyebrows, "How many universes have you people jumped to?"
"This is the first one," Diana quickly answered, "She's a clo—"
"She's my daughter," Aerith did not let Diana finish her words as she introduced the person that just stepped out of the portal, who does indeed have the exact same face as her,
"This is Silvie Savelievna, my daughter."
"...Hello," Silvie nodded her head as she looked at Earth-1 Diana and Alice, but as soon as her eyes landed at Earth-1 Aerith, they immediately glowed red as she quickly got into a fighting stance.
"It's not her, she's… my variant," Aerith quickly blocked Silvie with her arm.
"Your variant?" Earth-1 Aerith raised an eyebrow, "And what is this, some kind of family affair? Just how many more family members are you bringing into my universe?"
"Well…" Aerith hesitatingly glanced at Diana as she let out a small whisper. And of course, Diana quickly noticed her expression.
"Who else did you bring…?" Diana blinked a couple of times as she already had an idea as to the answer to her question,
"No… the two of you aren't even that close—you barely talked to each other."
"Well…" Aerith sucked in a breath, "Let's just say she has your ways of persuasion… and she's also the one who told me about all of this so…
…I didn't really have a choice but to bring her in."
"No. You—" But alas, Diana could not even say a word in before the person she didn't want to see in this universe stepped out of the portal… with the person's eyebrows already as low as they could be and her lips turning into a snarl.
"Where. Is. Riley?" Hannah's steps contained a hint of weight on them as she quickly looked at each and every person in the room. She was wearing her superhero suit, but the blacks now dominated the pinks.
"Where is my brother?" Unlike the others who stepped out of the portal, Hannah did not even greet the people from Earth-1, ignoring even her mother as she just immediately approached Bernard, who was busy calculating and examining all the data that the deceased Earth-1 Bernard had.
"Hannah…" And even though she was ignored, Diana still approached Hannah and grabbed her by the arm, "...He jumped to another universe when we weren't—"
"What did I fucking tell you all!?" Hannah quickly slapped Diana's hand away as she returned her gaze, "I told all of you that sending him to another Universe would just create more problems!"
"...You didn't say that."
"But I told you not to just throw him away!" Hannah's eyes started to turn moist as her voice cracked, "I…He was changing! He told all of us that he wanted to try living a normal life, and you threw his development down the drain!"
"He… wasn't going to change, he's not capable of—"
"He is!" The air around Hannah started to distort as she raised her voice even further, "You knew in the first place that he was different from us! Perhaps you should have actually tried being a mother to him once in your life and not treat him as some sort of science experiment!"
"I'm not—"
"No…" Hannah shook her head as she just continued to approach her father, "No."
"So, that's your daughter with Bernard," Alice sneakily leaned closer to Earth-1 Diana, whispering into her ear as she silently giggled, "I kinda like her."
"She looks like a menace, like you," Earth-1 Diana clicked her tongue, "I liked the adopted son more."
"I… quite liked him too," Alice whispered; the tone of her voice, containing a hint of sadness and longing, "Except the killing everyone part, which everyone seemed to be chill about now except for the themarian. Wait, my god…
…are we the racist variants?"
***
"Good evening, butler."
"Ah, Mr. Riley. We have been expecting you."
Riley was now in front of the Majesty Hotel; his clear eyes, reflecting the towering building covered in glass and warm luxurious lights. There were also a lot of people in front of the glass door, all seemingly already waiting for Riley to arrive.
"Please," the one that seemed to be the head butler gestured to Riley to enter the hotel, "Someone will escort you to your room."
"Thank you, Butler," Riley nodded his head as he just casually entered the hotel; his long white hair, flowing with the draft of wind that softly blew from the inside. Riley already knew that the hotel would be luxurious, and so, he made sure to wear a suit accordingly. He wore a long white coat and suit, which almost made him look as if he had wings behind his back when partnered with his long white hair.
He was calm, but the staff of the hotel was only pretending to be.
"I thought Ms. Hannah was joking when she said that her friend looked like an elf… but is this man even real?"
And it wasn't only the staff that welcomed Riley outside, even the receptionists and waiters inside could not take their eyes off of Riley.
"Is he a cosplayer? I didn't know Ms. Hannah dabbled in that stuff."
"Stupid, does that even look like cosplay to you? That's clearly his real hair and skin."
"This is the first time Ms. Hannah is ever inviting a friend here."
"...You think she would bring a friend to the hotel? They're clearly more than friends."
"...Does that mean this is Ms. Hannah's type? Is that why she's always ignoring Lord Jonas's advances?"
"This… this is a big scoop."
And as Riley was walking across the lobby, people and even some of the staff started grabbing their phones, subtly snapping photos of him without his consent.
"Hide that! Do you want to get fired!?"
"Everyone's doing it! No one will know."
Perhaps no one will really know, but Riley has already memorized each and every face inside the lobby as he was escorted to the private elevator to Hannah's suite.
"Sir Riley, please—"
But as soon as the elevator doors slid open, someone suddenly blocked their way—covering the path with his arm as he suddenly stood in front of Riley.
"L…Lord Reuben, this is Ms. Hannah's guest," the steward gulped.
"Hannah's guest?" The man called Lord Reuben started looking at Riley from head to toe; his golden hair that brushed to the back, softly moving as he did so, "Hannah hasn't even invited me to her suite, and you tell me she has another guy over?"
"..." Riley wasn't interested at first, but as soon as he heard the man's name, he subtly glanced at his face,
"Who is this?" Riley then asked.
"This…" The steward did not know whether to answer or not, "...This is Lord Jonas Reuben, the grandson of the ch—"
"The grandson of Alistair Reuben?"
"Ye—"
"You know my grandfather, but you don't know me?" Jonas Reuben clicked his tongue as his hand slightly slammed on the elevator walls.
"I am not from around here, Jonas Reuben."
"And where the fuck did you come from, mate?" Jonas very slightly moved closer to Riley as he finished sizing him up.
"L…Lord Reuben, please," the steward tried to stop Jonas from approaching even closer, "Ms. Hannah called us—he really is her guest."
"I'm not asking you!" Jonas's eyes turned red as he looked at the steward, "Let the albino and I talk, you have no right to—Kh!"
"S…Sir Riley!?"
And all of a sudden, Riley grabbed Jonas's face, lifting him from the floor as two of his fingers almost dug through his glowing eyes.
"You are lucky enough to be alive because I wasn't here, Lord Reuben," Riley then said as his eyebrows began to lower, "But now that I am here, your life is optional."
"W…what?"
"So, tell me," Riley looked Jonas straight in his glowing eyes, "This ability of yours…
…how did you acquire it?"
Chapter 710Reuben Group of Companies. The 2nd largest conglomerate in the entire world, owning 50% of the tech, automobile, hospitality, and entertainment companies on the planet. Sitting on top of it is Alistair Reuben, who was born almost a hundred years ago now, and still living to date.
Alistair Reuben was busy with building his empire to the point that he built his family last. He is already at the end of his years, and has already named the heir to his legacy—one of his grandsons.
He skipped an entire generation to choose Jonas Reuben as his successor. One would be curious as to why he made this kind of decision, but it was simple, really.
Jonas Reuben did not really excel in the family, as his cousins and siblings were also as smart and vicious as he was. He wasn't also more qualified than his father, who everyone thought would be the next chairman.
What Jonas Reuben has, however, is age and beauty.
Jonas Reuben was at the right age to be partnered with the sole daughter of one of the wealthiest persons in the entire universe--not Earth, but the entire Known Universe.
He was just the right age for Hannah Ross.
And as is the course, Jonas did not want to disappoint his grandfather—to the point that he had even hired gurus and professional romanticists in order to learn how to perfectly court Hannah.
He started trying to court her when they were just 15 years old, but Hannah was completely oblivious to him—no, she was completely oblivious to everyone around her. And whenever Jonas was successful in gaining a response, Hannah would either flick her middle finger at him, or berate him out right in front of a lot of people.
But still, Jonas persevered, as it only wasn't only his duty at the line, but also his pride. And there was also the undeniable fact that he does indeed have developed feelings for the feisty princess.
He followed her anywhere. And when she decided to live in one of her hotels in New York City, Jonas also decided to book the room below indefinitely.
He had done nothing but wait for her to fully acknowledge his presence, but to no avail. But then, he learned from one of his spies from the staff of the hotel that Hannah invited someone over—a man named Riley.
And so, Jonas had to see for himself. And he did, and now he couldn't see at all.
He couldn't see as two fingers were currently digging their way through his eyes; his feet, swinging loosely in the air as he was being lifted like a baby.
"S…Sir Riley!"
"Let… Let go of me!"
Jonas gripped Riley's arm as hard as he could, but all he really did was almost dislocate the joints of his own fingers. He tried flailing his legs and kicking him also as hard as he could to the point the air around them cracked, but not even a single strand of Riley's hair moved.
"Lord Reuben!"
"Let go of the Lord now!"
And very soon, Riley found himself surrounded by almost a dozen people, all wearing suits and ties; no doubt that they were Jonas's personal security guards. Riley really only glanced at them one by one, before turning his attention back to Jonas. As for the steward that was unfortunately and literally caught up in the middle of this hazardous situation, the only path he could really take was into the elevator. And so, he just subtly moved his feet and sneakily slid inside without anyone noticing.
"I will let you go once you answer my question, Lord Jonas," Riley breathed out as he tightened his grip on Jonas's face, "Where did you acquire your abilities?"
"W… what do you mean!?" Jonas's breaths turned into gasps as he started to panic.
"I—"
"Let him go, now! This is your final warning!"
"..." Riley could really only look at the guards again as they started screaming and shouting, not allowing him to focus. He looked at them one by one again, fighting the urge to just turn them into nothing there and then. But as soon as he remembered that he was inside Hannah's hotel, any thought of taking a life disappeared from Riley's mind as he sighed.
"Let him—"
"No."
And before any of the guards could say anything else, Riley just casually stepped inside the elevator, bringing the poor Jonas with him. The guards rushed to box them in, or at least try to shut the powers off of the elevator, but they all found themselves tripping to the ground, with their faces falling first to the floor.
"..."
"..."
"...Which floor, butler?"
And sadly for the steward who thought that he would be able to escape the dangerous situation, the last hint of his freedom very slowly reflected in his eyes… until it was no more as the elevator doors closed and he was trapped with the very cause of the trouble.
'Of course', he thought. Of course, the only person that Hannah has ever invited to her home would be a troublemaker just like her—and not just any troublemaker, a fearless one just like her.
"Y…yes?"
"That's not a floor, butler."
"..."
"..."
The steward did not really know where to look, as it was either the wall or Riley as he moved his eyes from left to right. But finally, after a few more seconds, he let out a short but very deep sigh as he swiped his card and pressed the top floor of the hotel.
"This elevator is actually solely for Ms. Hannah's use," the steward then instinctively started to explain as the elevator moved, completely ignoring the fact that he could hear Jonas's whimpering struggles, "It can only be accessed by us, and the keycard you are currently in possession of. She lives in the penthouse on the topmost floor."
"Thank you for the information, Butler," Riley nodded.
"..." And after that, the ride was relatively quiet, with only Jonas making a sound until the elevator rang and its doors opened.
"This is Ms. Hannah's floor," the steward then said as he held the elevator doors open,
"We… are not really allowed to step inside unless she tells us to."---this is a lie, but the steward did not really want to involve himself in the situation any further.
"Understandable, Hannah prefers her privacy," Riley did not really think much about it as he just stepped into Hannah's penthouse. And finally, for the first time since he jumped into this universe…
…Riley experienced shock.
Hannah's penthouse… it was clean.
"..." Riley almost let go of Jonas as he looked at the penthouse with his wide mouth slightly opened. There were lots of hints of pink; even the neon lights that were seeping out from each step of the stairs breathed out its color.
Riley's shock did not last long, however, as he remembered they were in a hotel and Hannah most likely asks the staff to clean her house every day. And so, with his initial shock subsiding, Riley raised his free arm.
And soon, several sheets of plastic bags started flying out of every cabinet in the large kitchen of the penthouse. As expected, even in another universe, Hannah had the habit of collecting plastic bags to reuse them in the future, only for her to completely forget about them.
Riley then set the plastic bags on the floor, laying all of them flat like carpet. And as soon as he was sure that he had covered enough, he threw Jonas on top of it.
Jonas quickly tried to crawl away even with his vision still not completely healed, but found himself blocked by a wall, an invisible wall. But of course, Jonas doesn't know that just yet.
"Where… where did you take me!?"
"I only blinded you, Lord Jonas. You should have heard my conversation with the butler," Riley walked on the plastic carpet, causing quiet crackles to whisper in the air,
"I am going to ask you again, Lord Jonas. How did you acquire your abilities?"
"What kind of question is that!? Don't you know who I am!?" Jonas's panic reached its peak as he just sat on the floor with his arms stretched and waving, "I didn't acquire my ability, I was born with it!"
"No."
"No!?" Jonas's eyes started batting as he started recovering his vision. And even though Riley's silhouette was still completely a blur to him, he still tried to look him in the eyes, "How else would I—"
"You have the same abilities as Megawoman, correct? Albeit a more inferior and weaker version."
"What? And so what!? It's a very common ability for a super!" Jonas showed his teeth as his vision finally cleared, "And who even are y—"
"Call your grandfather."
"...What?"
"Call your grandfather and ask him how you acquired your abilities."
"No! Why would I even do that!? Do you think I am afraid of you!?" Jonas's eyes once again turned red, causing Riley's eye to twitch,
"And why does it matter to you anyway? Who even are you!?"
"I am—" Riley was about to answer, but he realized something.
He realized that it didn't really actually matter to him. The Aerith of this world had nothing to do with him, and he didn't know whether or not she was even similar to the Aerith he knew.
"...Hm." And so, with a small hum, Riley shrugged his shoulders.
"You can go, Lord Jonas."
"...What?"
***
"...Huh?"
Somewhere in Japan, a small lady wearing a golden fox mask was looking at the sky—no, she was looking at the words floating in front of her.
[Defeat the Villain that came from another world. The Villain has already killed you before, don't let it happen again!]
"...Huh?"
Chapter 711"Chihiro, what's wrong?"
"...Do you know of any supervillains from another planet?"
"A supervillain from another planet? Uh, no one really comes to mind. And even if there was, do you really think Whiteking would allow them?"
Chihiro, aka Golden Fox—Japan's No. 1 Superhero.
Out of all the billions of supers, she probably holds the most unique ability in the entire universe. Unlike most abilities which were either straightforward or just plain simple, Chihiro's ability was unique in a way that there seemed to be a 3rd party entity that 'talks' to her.
And unlike the other supers who needed to be lucky with the power lottery to ensure their future potential, Chihiro grew stronger in a way that was completely different from the rest.
Her ability gives her tasks to complete, and if she manages to complete them well, she grows stronger and sometimes even gains abilities similar to other supers. She was also able to summon weapons from a separate space, which was literally called an 'Inventory Box'.
She didn't really know what to call her powers, but her friends did.
They call it 'The System'.
And now, The System was giving her another task.
[Defeat the Villain that came from another world. The Villain has already killed you before, don't let it happen again!]
Chihiro stared at the words floating right in front of her; her eyes, slightly trembling at the second part of the message.
A Villain that has already killed her before? As far as she knows, the only time she got closest to death was when she almost died as a child.
A villain that came from another world—The System can be quite literal, so what does it exactly mean from 'another world'? Another planet? Or perhaps…
…from another dimension completely?
Chihiro was capable of summoning portals that she could use to store items, or travel anywhere she wanted. Could it be there's someone else out there that is capable of creating portals… but connecting to another dimension completely?
"...Do you know of any villains capable of creating portals? Or any super?"
And once again, Chihiro looked to her friend as the two of them felt the violent winds breeze through their faces. The two of them were currently standing on top of Japan's highest tower, their eyes, reflecting the busy streets of Tokyo.
The two of them were wearing some sort of ninja suit, with Chihiro wearing a golden mask and a golden scarf that snapped in the air.
"A super capable of creating portals?"
"Can you please stop repeating my questions?" Chihiro let out a small and quiet sigh as her shoulders dropped.
"Hmm… Well, aside from you, I don't think there's anyone, really," her friend just crouched down like a cat, before shrugging her shoulders and scanning the city below them, "Why are you suddenly asking these questions? Do we have a new quest or something?"
"...Yes," Chihiro nodded as she once again looked at the floating words in front of her, "It's asking us to defeat a villain from another world."
"...An alien?"
"I don't know," Chihiro shook her head, "But it seems pretty important. I've been trying to wave it off, but the System won't allow me to at least minimize it. A villain from another world… do you think it's possible that it's not from… our Earth?"
"Not from our Earth?"
"Can you stop repeating—"
"Wait, wait…" Chihiro's friend quickly stood up and she looked Chihiro in the eyes, "No way…
…are we finally getting monsters from another dimension!?"
"...What?"
"It's like in the novels and comics!" Her friend then grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her, "The time of superheroes is over…
…it's time for Hunters to take over!"
"...What?" Chihiro squinted her already small eyes even further as she tried to figure out what her friend was trying to say.
"Ugh, seriously, Chihiro…" Her friend then let out a groan and a sigh at the same time as she took a step back and started flailing her body side to side, "...Why did an ability that's straight from the novels gifted to someone that hasn't even read a single word of light fantasy literature?"
"...I read books."
"I don't mean math books, Chihiro."
"..." Chihiro only glared at her friend for a few seconds, before just letting out a sigh of her own and shaking her head. And after a few seconds of quiet contemplation, she finally tapped the floating words in front of her.
"!!!"
And as she did so, a lot more words popped up.
[Chihiro, this is your time for revenge! A being from another universe has come to this world to wreak havoc, death, and destruction. This villain has already killed you before, and it will do so again as soon as it gets the chance to do so…]
"It's… from another universe," Chihiro muttered as the System just answered their question.
"Shi… Really!?" Chihiro's friend almost shrieked in excitement. As for Chihiro, she was trying her best to hide the grim expression that wanted to crawl on her face—she was completely hiding the fact from her friend that the system was telling her that this villain killed her before.
But alas, she could no longer hide her distress as she read the next parts of the task.
[Would you like to accept this quest? Failure to complete this quest will result in your death. Not accepting this quest will result in your death, but at a later time, and along with everyone else that you hold dear.]
"...Chihiro?" Her friend finally stopped dancing in excitement as she noticed the quiver in Chihiro's eyes, "...What's wrong?"
"..." Chihiro looked at her friend for a few seconds, before quickly pressing and accepting the quest, 'less she accidentally refuses it and caused everyone to die, "It's… nothing."
[The Ultimate Villain of the Multiverse!]
"..." Chihiro once again blinked in surprise as another message popped up in front of her—something the System has never done before.
[You have already died once from this entity, do not let yourself be fooled! Another version of you has already died from this villain, it is not your friend! You have been warned.]
The System… was warning her?
"...Open Quests," Chihiro whispered to herself, and as she did so, another window popped up in front of her. And without even any delay, she started clicking at each of the quests listed there,
"Abandon everything," she then said as the list became smaller and smaller until only one remained. Chihiro waved his hand, going back to the window of her latest and only quest. She reviewed everything again, before pressing on the icon that was on the lower left of the floating window.
A map of the Earth then quickly appeared in front of her, telling her where she needed to go.
"This… America?" Chihiro tilted her head to the side, "Are there any news in America that's worth a look, Aoi?"
"Hmm," Her friend, Aoi, quickly grabbed her phone from her pocket and started searching the web for anything interesting. But after a few minutes, she just let out a sigh and shook her head,
"Nope, just more super to non-super violence, guns. Oh, and there's a super that killed a bunch of his classmates."
"...So, nothing new?" Chihiro placed her hand on her chin as she started looking at her quest again; pressing randomly as the System might give her another clue. But alas, there was none.
"Oh, Jonas Reuben is in the news again," Aoi giggled as she started watching the news, "Seems like he got into a fight with someone that doesn't care about who he is. Ah! He got kidnapped!"
"..." Chihiro only glanced at Aoi as she started bursting out in laughter, "Aoi, please…"
"S… sorry. Pft…" Aoi grasped her stomach as she tried her best to stop laughing, "It's just that… it's kinda funny. Look, he got kidnapped by someone that looks like he's doing cosplay."
"..." Chihiro only glanced at the screen as Aoi showed it to her. She was going to focus on the map again, but she suddenly grabbed Aoi's phone away from her.
"Hey!"
"This man…" Chihiro blinked a couple of times as she zoomed in on Riley's face, "He looks—"
And before Chihiro could finish her words, her eyes suddenly turned wide as visions started to crawl through her mind.
[Downloading the last moments of your death.]
"!!!"
Chihiro gasped as she suddenly found herself in some sort of large dome, surrounded by all sorts of people—most of them, heavily wounded.
Chihiro couldn't really focus well, as there was a tall man screaming and violently waving his hands.
"..." Chihiro doesn't really know what she was feeling right now, but it felt like she was hurting for some reason. She started looking around again, only to see the white-haired man that was on the video just calmly standing near her.
Chihiro wanted to examine him more, but the tall man started getting aggressive… before he suddenly lunged himself toward the white-haired man.
"...Riley?"
And before Chihiro knew it, she leaped in front of Riley, using herself as a shield as the tall man's fist went straight through her torso.
"!!!"
"Chihiro!?"
Chihiro let out a deafening gasp as she woke up from the visions that suddenly bombarded her mind. She quickly turned to look around to try and see where she was, only to find herself back at the top of Tokyo Tower.
"..." She then quickly turned to look at the phone she was holding again, zooming in further onto Riley's face.
"I… I saved him?" Tears started to fall from her cheeks. Her eyes that reflected Riley's face, containing a hint of yearning, "You…
…Who are you to me?"
Chapter 712"Go."
"...Huh?"
"You can go now, Lord Jonas Reuben."
Back in the penthouse of the Majesty Hotel, Jonas was still completely perplexed by the sudden development of his… minacious situation. He truly thought he was going to die here—the plastic bags were even finely set up so that any blood that would come out of him wouldn't dirty the floor.
Jonas did not let himself be confused for long, however, as his hands and legs began to crawl away while his eyes were completely locked onto Riley, making sure he wouldn't do anything to him. But before he could actually creep and skitter away, the elevator door suddenly rang.
And as soon as a gap was formed from the doors, a small metallic object rolled on the floor, inching directly and expertly right beside Riley. And as soon as it made contact with his foot, it clicked and exploded; flashing a blinding white, followed by a literal cloud of blindness that fogged the entire penthouse.
And it wasn't done. A deafening throbbing siren also rang in the air, causing the cloud to vibrate and amplify the noise even more.
Jonas, who was sprawled on the ground, could not help but hug himself into a curl as he covered his ears. But soon, a feeling of relief covered his entire body as he felt someone pulling him away from all of this mess.
"Surround him, surround him!" Several streaks of lasers then started dancing within the fog as steps of the guards drummed in the air—their feet, obviously moving in a way to once again completely surround Riley.
And as for Riley, his eye only twitched due to the sudden noise the little bomb produced. His discomfort didn't last long, however, as he let out a sigh which completely blew away the fog into a ripple almost instantly.
"..."
Jonas's private guards, which were wearing full gear, could not help but just look at each other as they were suddenly exposed. The confusion in their eyes, visible even through the gas masks they were wearing. Their confusion, however, quickly turned into panic as soon as they saw Riley… or rather the person he was holding.
"W…what?"
Jonas wasn't pulled away by one of his guards, no—he was dragged back by Riley.
"L…Let go of him!"
"I was going to let him go, everyone," Riley let out a short but very deep sigh as he shook his head. His hands, once again grabbing Jonas, "And I am still going to let him go as soon as all of you clean up the mess you have made."
Riley then turned to look at the penthouse. He hasn't even explored it, and yet it was now covered in soot and dust from the bomb they set off.
"Clean…" Riley lifted Jonas into the air, "...Or I will kill all of you once you are out of Hannah's penthouse."
"We do not negotiate with terrorists!"
"I am not the one using bombs," Riley sighed, "Clean, or I will kill you and your family."
"Why did you include our families!?"
"Kevin, shut up!"
"...Guys, focus!" Jonas no longer tried to struggle, as doing so just might irritate Riley. He may be arrogant at times, but he wasn't a fool—he knew there were levels to being a super, and this weird white-haired guy was at a completely level than him,
"Just… just do what he says for now!"
***
"What… the fuck is even this?"
"H… Hannah!"
And after a few hours, in the dead of night, Hannah finally arrived home… only to be surprised that almost a dozen men wearing hazmat suits were busy running around her house, some even wearing aprons as they thoroughly brush, wipe, and clean every inch of her abode.
"...Jonas? The fuck?" Hannah was completely unaware of what had happened, as she was in a completely different universe discussing some things with her dad. The attendants below wanted to tell her something, but she just waved them off as she was tired and just wanted to relax and maybe chat with her new friend for a bit.
"What the fuck is going on here?"
"Save us, it's—"
"Welcome back, Si—Hannah."
Sadly for Jonas, before he could even plead his case, he found himself being pulled by an invisible force, straight back to the carpet he was brushing. His personal guards too, flinched as they hastened whatever it is they were doing as they heard Riley stepping down the stairs.
"These people suddenly trespassed into your home and made a mess of it," Riley then let out a sigh; his long white hair, flailing with every step he made, "I told them they couldn't leave before they clean all of it."
"They… trespassed?"
"Yes," Riley nodded before pointing at Jonas, "Except him, I brought him here since he was blocking the elevator and seemed adamant to meet you."
"...Out," Hannah's voice started to shake as she looked at Jonas, "Take all of your men and get the fuck out of my house, now!"
And without even waiting for anything else, Jonas and his guards quickly rushed into the elevator—not before, of course, neatly returning their cleaning supplies.
They couldn't really fit in that well since Jonas added to the weight, but still, they packed themselves like canned sardines as they waited for the door to close. And right as it was about to close, Jonas glared at Riley.
"You and I aren't done," Jonas glared, "Don't think you can just live peacefully after what you've done to me. You may be strong, but power isn't only in strength."
And with those words, the elevator doors finally closed.
Only for it to suddenly open again.
[Elevator has exceeded the weight limit.]
"..."
"..."
Jonas could really only awkwardly glance at Riley, absolutely not knowing what face to make as Riley also returned his glance at the same time.
"..."
"..."
The guards looked at each other one by one, before just forcefully pushing the unfortunate individual that was standing at the front.
"..."
And finally, the elevator closed once again, and this time, it stayed closed… leaving one of the guards inside the penthouse.
"..." The guard didn't know where to look, as he could feel Hannah's glare becoming more fiery by the second. And with what felt like an eternity, the elevator came back as he quickly went in and joined his peers who betrayed him.
"...Did that just happen?" Hannah pointed at the elevator as she looked at Riley, "What the fuck?"
"Hm," Riley nodded, "The Reuben family seems to be filled with people that have unattainable dreams."
"...You've met another one before?" Hannah just let out a long and deep sigh as she tried to push away everything she just saw away from her mind.
"Yes," Riley nodded, "We also got into a fight."
"Ugh…" Hannah rolled her eyes as she walked toward her living room, before just letting herself fall and sink into her sofa that might as well be a king-sized bed, "...Enough about the Reubens, I'm already tired of dealing with other shit. I'm sorry you got tangled with all of this, Riley. We've only just met like hours ago and you're already dealing with the annoying things in my life."
"I do not mind, Hannah," Riley sat opposite Hannah but did not let himself sink into the sofa but instead just sat upright, "I can deal with your… shit as long as you want me to. It is the least I could do."
"..." Hannah only glanced at Riley, before turning her eyes to the ceiling and letting out another sigh, "Stop saying things like that. I'll misunderstand, you know?"
"Misunderstand what, Hannah?"
"That… that you like me," Hannah slightly covered her face with her hair as she wanted to sink further into the sofa.
"There is nothing to misunderstand, Hannah."
"That… right, of… of course," Hannah let out an awkward chuckle.
"Because I do like you."
"Wh…what?" Hannah almost choked on her own saliva as she quickly sat up, "What… what are you saying?"
"You are the very first person that I liked," Riley said without any hint of hesitation or stutter, "And if I am truly capable of feeling love, then you are the only person I feel that to."
"What… we've only known each other for like hours," Hannah lifted up her legs and hugged them. Her eyes, looking to the side as she started fidgeting with her hair, "And I… I don't really know how to respond to that. As… as you may have already noticed, I… I'm not really one for relationships."
"Hm," Riley nodded his head in agreement, "That is true."
"H… Hey!" Hannah gasped. But after a few seconds, she once again giggled, "It's… hard to date when everyone is just after your money, or after your dad's influence. You already know who my dad is, right?"
"I suppose." Riley already knew, of course—but he did further research while going to the hotel. In this world, Bernard Ross's identity as Whiteking was still completely unknown.
"And you're not even intimidated?"
"There is no reason for me to be so, Hannah."
"...Huh. I guess that's a nomad's way of life, huh?" Hannah very slowly stood up from the sofa as she made her way closer to Riley, "You know…"
Hannah then sat beside Riley; her breath, almost visible as she shuddered, "I've always wanted to run away from all of this… but I can't. I can't rebel, because there's really no reason to."
"..."
"Dad always gave me the things that I want, and besides my duties, I am free to do whatever the fuck I want," Hannah pushed herself closer to Riley, "But…
…there's actually one thing I haven't done yet."
And with those words, she leaned closer.
Chapter 713There was a sense of serenity traveling the air, but the turmoil that was breathing out from Hannah's lips was enough to turn the atmosphere mildly wild. There was still an entire foot between her and Riley, and yet her warm breaths caused Riley's long white hair to flutter due to how deep and strong they were.
"You know…" Hannah repeated her words in a whisper as she leaned ever so slowly closer to Riley, "...I feel really close to you for some reason."
"That is because you are, Hannah. You're only a few centimeters away from me right now."
"I'm… not talking about that, silly…" Hannah's words became even slower as her hand found itself sitting on top of Riley's thigh, "I mean…"
Hannah leaned even closer to Riley; her nose, almost touching his face before her head just suddenly dropped toward Riley's chest.
"..." And just like that, her body was overloaded with all sorts of emotions; partnered with her very tiring day, Hannah could not help but just faint from exhaustion there and then.
"..." Riley slightly leaned his head down to look at Hannah's hair, before just letting out a sigh and gently placing her down the sofa to rest. And as her whistling breaths whispered in the air, a blanket flew toward her, softly landing and covering every inch of her body, leaving only her head exposed to breathe comfortably.
"Hm," Riley then gently adjusted Hannah's bangs with his hand, delicately pushing them to the side so he could see her whole face—and there she is.
Hannah.
Unlike the other variants he had seen, there was absolutely no difference in physical appearance with Hannah. He had seen two other Bernards, yet they looked somewhat different from each other due to their weight and their overall style, same with Diana. As for Alice, well—she's older. Aerith was completely different.
But Hannah? Her height, her weight, and even the way her body curved and moved was the same. It truly felt like his sister was sleeping beside him.
If there was one thing that was different, it was their relationship. Of course, their relation to one another would be completely different—but this was different.
This Hannah Ross is presenting romantic feelings toward him, he had seen it so many times before. And with that thought circling in Riley's mind in a loop, he could not help but remember the fake wedding he had with Hannah. It was a weird feeling, but he recalls that it was also a nice feeling—almost as if he gained a semblance of normalcy in his life.
'Normal', Riley could not help but close his eyes and sigh upon thinking of the word. The smile that almost crawled on his face, gone before it could come to life, expressionless.
The reason he didn't continue torturing Jonas was that he really had no reason to. He wanted to hurt him because Riley knew that he gained his ability by extracting a part of Megawoman—Riley found himself a little… angry. But when he realized that the Megawoman of this world is not the one he knew, he stopped.
It should be the same with the Hannah of this world. She is completely different from his sister; no matter how similar they are, even if they truly are the same people and just different versions of each other, this is not his sister.
And so why?
Why does he feel some sort of attachment to the stranger lying and breathing beside him?
Riley breathed out as he opened his eyes and once again looked at Hannah's face.
Peaceful. This is her life without his genocidal brother in the picture.
Riley knew what is right and what is wrong—that was part of the fun. Destroying everything and torturing everyone was only fun because he knew it was wrong, and he didn't care. He just has to because that is what he was made to do, and he had learned to fully embrace and enjoy it.
He knows what is right and what is wrong. And this?
"This is wrong," a small whisper escaped Riley's lips as he looked away from Hannah, "You know, Hannah. I believe more than anything that if there is a way to truly control me, that is you. I could even perhaps consider you my weakness."
Riley smoothly brushed the back of his hand on Hannah's hair as he looked at nowhere in particular, "I want to ignore you, I want you to be rid of me—and yet every part of me needs you. I need to be with you. I made a promise to myself that I break over and over again. You are never going to be safe and happy with me."
"..."
"When I approached you, I thought things would be different," Riley placed his palm above Hannah's cheek, but did not touch it, "I thought that because you are a different person, it is alright to risk being by your side."
This Hannah is different, she is a complete stranger. So Riley thought that he wouldn't care even if he puts her in danger…
"But it's not," Riley moved his hand away, "I underestimated how dear you are to me. Even as a stranger who has lived a completely different life…
…you still remain as the most important object in my life."
And with those words whispering away into the quiet air, Riley carefully stood up and walked toward the kitchen… not knowing that Hannah was actually awake.
"What… what the fuck was that about?" Hannah very quickly but sneakily covered herself with the entire blanket, wanting to sink deeper into the sofa to hide the growing redness of her face. In truth, she just pretended to faint and fall asleep to test what Riley was going to do.
After all, although she might feel completely at ease with this stranger she just met hours ago, she wasn't a fool. She knew that she was feeling things that would cloud her judgment, and so she wanted to know what Riley was going to do to her when she fell asleep completely defenseless beside him.
Hannah expected a lot of things, but a monologue expressing a deep and fathomless love and a confession of how she was dearly wanted and needed was not one of them. She wanted to get up and ask Riley what he meant by all of that, but it would be too awkward now.
And so, Hannah found her mind completely filled with all sorts of thoughts Riley. As for Riley, he got a glass of milk from the fridge, before going to the penthouse's main bedroom and sleeping comfortably there…
…leaving the owner of the house to sleep on the sofa.
***
"I… I managed to fall asleep?"
It would seem Hannah completely underestimated how tired she was. She thought she wouldn't be able to fall asleep due to her overthinking mind—but now, as she opened her eyes, the morning sun that seeped into the tall and wide windows of her house blanketed her silhouette.
The brightness didn't wake her up, though. It was the sound of a sizzle and the smell of butter.
"..." Hannah just instinctively got up from the sofa, before lazily following the flavorful scent and walking toward the kitchen with her eyes still half-closed.
"Nina, I told you I was going to eat out to—You're not Nina." Hannah's eyes completely widened in surprise as she saw Riley cooking in the kitchen.
"Good morning, Hannah," Riley did not glance at Hannah and instead just continued cooking.
"I… have a personal chef to do that," Hannah did not really know what to think as she saw the sight.
"Perhaps," Riley shrugged before taking off the pan he was holding away from the stove and serving its contents onto the plate near him, "But I wanted to cook for you."
"What—"
"Scrambled egg, whisked with cream and cheese, and then cooked with salted butter," Riley then expertly placed the plate on the island counter, putting it beside another dish already plated, "Unseasoned bacon marinated in sweet soy sauce, and chili-garlic oil on the side."
"W…what?" Hannah batted her eyes a couple of times as she looked at the meal in front of her; plated even better than her personal chef, "Wait…
…I love these, how did you—"
"Avocado, completely covered and glazed with powdered milk," Riley was not done as he placed another plate on top of the counter, "Only eat it once you're done with your breakfast."
"...Fuck," Hannah could really only instinctively sit on the stool, casually accepting the fork that Riley handed him. Riley sat on the opposite of the counter as the two of them just started having a meal as if they were used to having it together.
"F…Fuck…" Hannah stuttered as she gulped her first bite, "Maybe… I should hire you instead?"
"There is no need to hire me, Hannah. This is just one of the things that I could at least do for you to repay everything that I have done."
"...Weirdo."
The two didn't really talk after that, with Hannah almost moaning as she enjoyed every bite of her food. As soon as they were done, Riley quickly grabbed the plates before Hannah could do so and started washing the dishes.
And with nothing to do, Hannah just decided to check her phone to see everything that she missed while she was in another universe…
…only to see the outside of her penthouse being broadcast on the news on live television.
[Hannah Ross and a mystery man, what is their relationship?]
[Hannah Ross's suspected boyfriend and Jonas Reuben caught in an altercation!]
"...What the fuck?"
Chapter 714[Who is this mystery man, and what is his relationship with the universe's most sought-after bachelorette?]
[Hannah Ross, who has remained strong and adamant about her independence, now suddenly lives with a man?]
[This white-haired individual seems to be an albino but—]
"Fuck, I knew this would happen. But I didn't know it would be to this extent, do these people have nothing better to do!?"
Hannah quickly turned off the TV as she once again made her way to the windows. And even though they were at least 50 floors into the air, she could still see how many people were down there, waiting for her to go out.
"I would assume you are used to the popularity by now, Hannah," Riley, on the other hand, just casually turned the TV back on, switching the channels as he took a sip of warm milk, "Also, is there an Italian Mafia Reborn here?"
"...How are you so calm?"
"I am used to the popularity."
"Who even are you?" Hannah didn't know whether to laugh or raise an eyebrow as she saw Riley just calmly sitting on the sofa, switching channels with squinted eyes. Hannah turned to look at the crowd again, but as soon as she did so, a helicopter suddenly dawned on her,
"What the…" Hannah rushed to close her curtains—but alas, with the size of her windows, it would take a while for her penthouse to be hidden.
"The media truly has a problem with privacy," Riley let out a sigh as he lightly snapped his fingers, causing the helicopter to be slightly blown away, "But I suppose I am the same."
"...We need to get out of here," Hannah clicked her tongue as she started running around her penthouse, gaining another layer of clothes each time she enters and exits a room, "Ugh, I wanted to take a shower… but I'll do that at work."
And as she frantically tried to get dressed, Riley just continued to change the channels, calmly sipping a glass of milk and not minding Hannah. But alas, before he could finish his warm and soothing beverage, Hannah suddenly pulled her up and dragged him away.
Let's go, go! We'll just sneak and fly away from the rooftop."
"..." As for Riley, he could really only squint as he saw the TV disappear from his sight—he saw a show that resembled Italian Mafia Reborn, but could it really be it?
"There isn't anyone here, right?" Hannah carefully opened the door to the roof, and once she realized that it was completely empty and the helicopter was just circling around her penthouse, her feet quickly left the floor as her entire body was engulfed in a fiery armor of fire,
"What about you, where are you going?"
"I suppose I should check more of this world."
"...You're leaving the country?" The flames surrounding Hannah became weaker along with her voice.
"No, I am just going to take a casual walk around the city."
"Sheesh, you really have a way to be dramatic with your words," Hannah rolled her eyes, "If you were just going to take a walk, then you should have just said that."
And then, with a small giggle, Hannah made sure to fly up, away from all the eyes of the people. As for Riley, well…
…he went back inside the penthouse to check whether or not what he saw was really Italian Mafia Reborn.
But alas, he lay on the floor on all fours as he found that it was, in fact, not Italian Mafia Reborn. Could it be that like him, Italian Mafia Reborn is a singular existence in the entire multiverse?
Or perhaps it, Hannah, and Aerith could not exist together without him?
"Hm," Riley stood up from the floor, taking in a very deep breath as he closed his eyes in disappointment,
"I am no longer welcomed in the universe where we are created, Italian Mafia Reborn," Riley then whispered to himself as he started walking around the penthouse, "It would seem we are no longer fated to be—"
And before Riley could even start his monologue, he noticed the pictures on Hannah's walls.
"Oh?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he started looking at all the photos. And without even a second of scanning them, he quickly noticed two things—there weren't any photos of her as a child.
The youngest photo of her seemed to be around when she was 14 years old… a year after the Aerith of this world died.
"Hm…" Riley squinted his eyes as he continued to scan the photos. There were photos of her with Bernard, with someone that looked like Prophet, which he could very well be. There were also photos of her posing with Hera, Empress, Tempo, Bulwark, and Whiteking all in their superhero outfits—The Hope Guild.
There was not, however, a single photo of Diana to be seen anywhere.
Is it possible she died early on? Does it have something to do with Aerith being called a traitor?
There were a lot of details in this world that seem to be hidden, unlike the last Earth he visited where everyone was honest with their feelings and discrimination against other species. But once again, however…
…Bernard was at the center of everything.
The Bernard of this world obviously has access to the multiverse, and yet he was hiding it from everyone. Riley also came to know that the civilians did not really know that Bernard is Whiteking.
There was also the fact that the existence of aliens is already known in this world, and yet he could see no trace of them.
"Hm…" Riley placed his hand on his chin as he thought long and hard about what could possibly be going on in this world. But after just a few seconds, he shrugged his shoulders and started walking back to the rooftop.
Whatever the case is, it doesn't really concern him just yet—and so, with that thought, Riley stood at the very edge of the building. He looked up to where Hannah flew toward, before just casually stepping forward and letting himself freely fall from the building…
…landing in front of all the reporters and paparazzi, almost hitting some of them as the floor beneath his feet burst from the sudden force.
"W… what was that!?"
"What just happened!?"
A cloud of dust formed, and sadly for the reporters, Riley was already gone when it cleared. As to why Riley did something like that, well… he was going to kill all of them before he remembered that no one knew him as a genocidal maniac yet—it would be nice to keep a certain level of anonymity for now. And also, he just killed around a trillion people in the previous universe, he feels like that deserves at least a few days' vacation.
And so, Riley just casually walked away from the eyes of the reporters; none of them even realized that the individual they wanted to make a report on just passed by them.
Hannah's penthouse is in the middle of New York City, and true enough, aside from getting small glances here and there, the people tend to just leave him alone. After all, he wasn't the weirdest entity here.
"Ah, Butcher," Riley then pointed at a bald man that was just standing in the middle of Times Square. He was going to approach him, but soon noticed it wasn't actually Butcher and just some sort of street performer pretending to be him.
Riley continued to walk around, realizing more and more how normal this world looked—RIley could even consider it more normal than his Earth before all the aliens arrived.
"Riley."
Soon, however, Riley found himself suddenly surrounded by a number of people wearing suits, or to be more specific, law enforcement. Riley has actually already noticed them since earlier, and they have him completely.
"My name's Officer Grimes, FBI," one of the officers showed his badge as he carefully approached Riley, "We need you to come with us to the station."
"Am I under arrest already, Officer Grimes?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he looked at the officers surrounding him, "Is this because I dragged Jonas Reuben by his face?"
"...You kidnapped him," Officer Grimes let out a small and deep sigh before shaking his head, "But no, you are not under arrest. It is for your own protection—Jonas Reuben has the tendency to… get revenge on people that offend him."
"I thank you for trying to protect me, Officer Grimes," Riley nodded several times; his long white hair, causing everyone to be in awe as it seemed to be even smoother than silk, "But I want to walk around and see the city, I rarely experience freedom like this nowadays."
"That… I'm afraid that's not possible," Officer Grimes shook his head, "You are not under arrest, but you are under suspicion. You don't have an address, you don't have any identification—you don't even exist."
"I was sort of abandoned as a baby, Officer Grimes."
"Please, don't make this any harder for us—we do not want to use force."
"But you have snipers locked on to me, Officer Grimes," Riley turned to look up at the buildings surrounding him, "Do they have special bullets that could penetrate my telekinetic barrier?"
"They're not for you," Officer Grimes once again shook his head, "Please, just—"
"Hostile incoming!"
And before Officer Grimes could finish his words, several voices started screaming in the air; the ground, trembling as the sound of drumming footsteps grew closer and closer to them. And since they were in the center of Times Square, the crowd that gathered all started to panic—with some of them pushing each other to get away from whatever it was that was coming.
"Fuck, they're here, the dogs of the Reuben Family…
…the Jackson twins."
Chapter 715"Diana, what the fuck is this!? I thought you said Riley was here!?"
"Well, he's not!"
"You let your daughter talk to you like that!? I did not expect such insolence to pass you, Caitlain'Ur. But I suppose the humans are your weakness no matter the universe you stand—"
"Just don't, don't add to this, Aerith-1."
Hannah, Diana, and Earth-1 Aerith were currently in some sort of wasteland, flying in the air with their voices screaming in the wind. The wasteland wasn't entirely a desert, as the ground was filled with what seemed like hundreds of trillions of algae creating a sea of green.
No, it wasn't just a sea of green—as even in the air, microscopic algae littered everywhere.
"Fuck, I think I got one in my mouth!"
And it wasn't a pleasant smell, "Where the fuck is Riley!?"
"He's not here," Diana could really only let out a short but very deep sigh as the three of them continued to fly without stopping, "The radar I developed detects Riley's energy signature even if he is a million light years away."
"Then why the fuck are we here if he's not here!?"
"Because the radar detected a similar energy signature."
Diana once again let out a sigh, before the three of them all turned their heads behind them.
"...That does even look like Riley!?"
Hannah screamed in frustration as her eyes reflected a mountain, a moving mountain that happened to resemble a worm.
A colossal worm—no, a titan that devours anything that happens to be in its path, a world eater…
…and it just so happens to be chasing two and a half themarians.
"It somewhat carries the same energy as Riley," Diana sighed, "But it does look a little cute, no? Very interesting creature, it's a titan inside an atmosphere with gravity, yet it doesn't crumble and crumple in its own weight… magic."
"Why are you acting like a perv!?" Hannah once again screamed in frustration as she strayed her eyes away from the titan. And soon, the portal back to her Earth reflected in her eyes,
"And why can't we just kill it!?"
The air around Hannah started to distort; the heat she was emitting, killing every algae within a hundred meters of her.
"Hannah, no!" Diana quickly slapped Hannah's butt.
"What the fuck!?" Hannah moved away as she glared at her mother.
"No," Diana's eyebrows began to lower, "We don't belong in this universe, one single mistake we make here could cause a catastrophic—"
"Bullshit. Nothing's gonna happen if we kill that thing!"
"We all have a place in the ecosystem."
"And now you're some kind of humanitarian? Don't forget I know that you've destroyed several civilizations, you old relic!"
"..."
"Disrespectful," Aerith-1 commented on the side,
"Fuck…!" And with another roar, Hannah entered straight into the portal, followed by Diana and Aerith-1. Hannah did not really wait for the two, as she quickly walked away; patting herself off of any contaminants that might have attached to her body.
"Dad!" Hannah once again raised her voice as she looked around the vast gray hall surrounding her—the dome of Ahor Zai.
Diana and Aerith-1 stepped out of the portal behind her, but that wasn't the only portal within the dome, no. There were more, and soon, several people also started emerging from them.
"Ack, get it off me! Get it off me!"
"I told you to stay still, Rina! Do you want me to call your mom!?"
"Are you two children? Wait, one of you kinda is."
Karina stepped out from a portal, wildly swinging her hands as she seemingly tried to reach for something on her back. As for Silvie who followed behind her, her groans of frustration almost rivaled that of Hannah's as she tried to get Karina to stay still. Empress was the last to step out of the portal, shaking her head as she just stood quietly on the side.
And finally, after a few more violent strides and waving arms, Karina calmed down, finally allowing Silvie to examine her.
"...There's nothing on your back," Silvie's tone became quickly exhausted as she examined Karina, only to see nothing there.
"But I can feel some hairy strands like crawling on my neck. I swear, there's like some sort of multiversal spider there or something!"
"We didn't even go to a jungle, we were literally on another version of Jersey! You—wait, do you mean this?"
"Ack! That's it! Take it off, take it off!"
"That's your hair, Rina."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Oh."
"Silvie, any luck?" And with the two calming down, Hannah quickly approached them; her eyes, not really expecting anything, and for good reason, as Silvie just shook her head and sighed.
Another group emerged from the other portal—Aerith and Diana-1. And much like Hannah and the rest, they just shook their heads in defeat.
And then finally, Alice-1 and Bulwark stepped out of the last portal.
"Jesus… those guys were mighty racist," Alice quickly commented as she looked at Bulwark, "I thought my Earth was racist already, but those guys… whew. Can you believe it, they called you Goldy, Bulbul!"
"...Please don't call me Bulbul," Bulwark could really only let out a sigh, before looking to Empress and shaking his head.
"Dad! Tedi!" And with none of them successful in trying to find at least even a hint of Riley, Hannah once again raised her voice, "Change the portals again!"
"Hannah, no," Diana quickly approached her; glancing at the others as she shook her head, "We have been at this for an entire day now without rest."
"Rest?" Hannah scoffed, "All of the people here are literally either the strongest supers of Earth, or a themarian. We could do this for a week and not get tired."
"I'm not talking about that," Diana once again glanced at the others, "Let's just rest for a few—"
"This is your fault," Hannah placed a finger on Diana's chest, "We wouldn't even be doing this if you weren't so hasty with your decision. You and that woman," she then pointed the finger at Aerith.
"I think I've had enough of listening to you, brat," Aerith-1 clicked her tongue as she approached Hannah and Diana; each of her steps, causing Ahor Zai to tremble, "You do nothing but complain and complain—and from what I am hearing, you're actually patronizing the devil. The devil who eradicated my species in two universes, and killed hundreds of billions more."
"None of you would've been involved in the first place if Diana didn't give up on my brother."
"Your brother is a lost cause," Diana closed her eyes, "I don't think you truly understand what sort of existence he is. I love your brother and—"
"No, you don't. You just feel responsible for everything. You adopted him because you felt responsible for what happened to Alice."
"...Me?" Alice-1 pointed at herself.
"No, not—Ugh!" Hannah raised her fists in frustration as she groaned, "Fuck! You guys go rest, I am going again. Dad! Change one of the portals…
…Dad!"
***
And while the drama grew in Riley's universe, the action grew in the current universe he is in. The civilians were running, screaming, and trampling on one another as they ran for their lives in the busy streets of New York.
'Finally', Riley thought—a sense of normalcy. Finally, a scenario he was used to. Life truly is simpler when there is just a blatant line between heroes and villains.
And soon, the villains of this chapter showed themselves.
The Jackson twins, someone Riley was very familiar with.
"Prepare for trouble!" Bella Jackson emerged from the panicking crowd, pushing all of them to the side with a pair of metallic arms that protruded from her back like wings. Her brother, Benjamin, also followed behind her… dancing as petals of metal circling around him.
"And make it doub—"
"No, oh no!" Bella did not let Benjamin finish his words as she slightly pushed him away, "We will be the ones in trouble if you continue that!"
"Aight, aight," Benjamin just gracefully returned beside Bella, before covering half his face with his hand and introducing himself,
"Benjaya!"
"Bel—"
"Black Bell."
"That's…" Bella couldn't even twist her tongue as Riley suddenly interrupted her introduction. Instead of being mad, however, she just raised a finger; her eyes, slightly squinted as she looked at Riley, "...I ain't goin' to lie, that sounds hella nice."
"Ah, is you!?" Benjamin also pointed at Riley, "Wasn't you on the TV last night!?"
"Of course he is, Benjie," Bella rolled her eyes and tilted her head, "He's our target."
"W—"
"Jackson twins!" And before the twins could continue their charade, Officer Grimes moved in front of Riley, seemingly covering him from the twins as he raised his arm to the side, "Just leave. The Reuben family can only back you so far."
"Well, we still here, ain't we?" Bella let out a small giggle, "The rich boys up there has bailed us every time, honey. Just back off, Grimes. We just want the pretty white boy you're hiding there."
"I can't do that," Grimes did not back away even as the twins started approaching them. He gestured to his men to surround the two, but the twins didn't even heed them any mind.
"Then, I guess we're using force—Benj."
Benjamin stretched his arms to the side, causing the petals of metal circling around him to pick up speed. And with a small smirk crawling on his face, he rushed toward Riley and Officer Grimes.
But before he could even take 3 steps, however, a loud clanging rang in the air.
"..." Benjamin quickly halted his advance as he looked at one of the petals circling around him, only to notice a bullet was already halfway through it.
"You…
…did you just try to shoot me!?"
Chapter 716"You tried to shoot me!?"
There was a certain silence after Benjamin's loud voice rippled from the very center of Times Square, with the only sound whistling in the air being the petals of metal still circling around him. Soon, however, this silence disappeared…
…as another bullet hit one of the petals protecting him.
"What the fuck!?"
And this time, Benjamin turned toward one of the buildings where the bullet should have come from; the petals moving around him, now halted in the air as they all pointed to the building. Before he could do anything, however, Bella approached him from behind and held him back by the shoulders.
"Sis…"
"Don't lose focus," Bella whispered before she grabbed one of the metal petals that has a bullet lodged in it,
"...Metal bullets, seriously?" She then said as she looked at Officer Grimes.
"That's—"
But before Grimes could even say another word, Bella let go of the metal petal. And as soon as everyone thought it would just fall to the concrete, the piece of metal flew straight toward the building where the snipers should be; creating a snapping sound as it passed the wind barrier.
"!!!"
The shrapnel almost instantly destroyed the sniper's rifle, causing her eyes to turn wide as the petal stopped just inches before hitting her right on the very center of her eyebrows. The only thing she could really do was let go of her shattered rifle, raising both her hands in defeat.
And now, with her hands raised, the metal petal, as well as the pieces of her rifle all flew away straight toward the next sniper… and did the same to him.
Officer Grimes, as well as the other officers surrounding the twins could really only follow the flying shrapnels with their eyes as they flew around the buildings; growing somewhat larger with each rifle they destroyed.
And soon, the metal petal came back… now with a ball of metal in tow which Bella grabbed with her hand.
"You ain't serious, right…?" Bella once again looked at Grimes, this time carrying an obvious hint of disappointment in her voice, "You people should've used carbon fiber or something."
"...We don't have budget for that," Officer Grimes sighed. And it wasn't only him, his men also dropped their shoulders as they subtly touched the guns they had hanging on their waists, "And we're also actually not trying to kill you."
"But you government, fed," Bella raised an eyebrow.
"They're spending the budget elsewhere."
"Rough," Bella sighed and shook her head, "My employer has an almost unlimited budget."
"I know, I know. You don't need to rub it on our faces," Grimes also let out a sigh as he placed his hands on his waist, "So, what about it? Are you willing to just back away and save us underpaid and overworked people the trouble of dealing with you two?"
"Hm. Yeah, no…" Bella and Benjamin looked at each other, before just shaking their heads, "How about you back away? We out here not to hurt nobody. We scared the civvies, but that ain't a crime, Grime."
"...I think there's a crime there somewhere."
"Shut up, Nerd."
"..." Grimes could really only lower his eyebrows; not even needing to say anything for people to figure out his exhausted reply. Bella didn't care, however, as she turned her focus back to Riley.
"D—"
And before Grimes could say another word again, the clump of metal on Bella's hands instantly separated into pieces, before the shrapnels all flew straight toward Riley without any warning.
Riley, on the other hand, did not really move and just tilted his head to the side of the oncoming projectiles. All of a sudden, however, his senses heightened to their maximum as everything seemed to slow down around him—something that usually only happens when something or someone around him moves at a speed one would normally not be able to follow.
"..." Riley focused on the shrapnels moving toward him, and it wasn't them. Soon, however, he found out what—Officer Grimes.
Officer Grimes was slowly turning around toward him; his hand, very slowly moving to the back of Riley's head. He was about to grab Riley away, but before he could do so, he realized one thing…
…Riley was clearly looking at him.
"What…"
Riley then just casually leaned back, watching as Grimes's hand passed by his face. And because Grimes was not expecting anything like this, he slipped.
"!!!"
The others that were watching from the sides really only saw Grimes just spinning in place, before rolling to the ground like some sort of worm that was showered with salt.
"...The fuck you doing, Fed?"
"You were a sprinter!?" Grimes immediately got up from the ground as he looked at Riley, "The report said that you're telekinetic!"
"I am," Riley slightly raised his hand, making the shrapnels that were flying toward him halt in the air… before just crumbling into dust, "You are going to know a lot of things about me, Officer Grimes. But only things that I want you to kno—pft."
"...What?" Grimes could not help but lower his eyebrows as a chuckle suddenly escaped Riley's lips. Why… why was he always the one dealing with the crazies?
"I apologize," Riley then breathed out, "That was a line from Italian Mafia Reborn—I have been trying to imitate the character of the main character, you see. But I realized I have to be clinically blind for it to happen, but we are similar in a sense that he gets to relive a certain part of his life again and again at the start of the story."
"Italian Mafia Reborn?"
"Oh, it's about a blind young man who belongs to the mafia who escaped a time…"
"Huh?"
"...It's very intricate but simple, they still haven't revealed how long he has actually been stuck in… but the monsters appear in…"
And as Grimes and all of his men were confused with what Riley was saying, Bella was starting to sweat.
She and Benjamin accepted this job because quite literally, they don't have a choice. As Grimes has mentioned before, they work for the Reuben family—they were sort of their mercenaries, but publicly known. And because of this, he and his brother have actually been living quite a lavish life, and they were also able to provide their parents with an even more luxurious life.
She and his brother have actually not done anything that could be considered close to murder.
They were a public menace, yes—but they haven't quite crossed the threshold of being true villains just yet. In fact, if they weren't on call, they even served as heroes.
They were heroes for rent, in a way. They've done some somewhat questionable things for their job, but there was a reason why Officer Grimes and the police didn't pursue them further—they weren't criminals.
And even now, the individual they were supposed to capture is a criminal. After all, he abducted Jonas Reuben right in front of everyone and even almost blinded him.
But they made a mistake in accepting this job.
"We… should go," Bella then slightly backed away, grabbing Benjamin by the arms as her eyes did not leave Riley for even a single second.
"What… why? But our target's already there."
"You fuckin' blind?" Bella took in a small gulp, "We're the prey here."
And as Bella did not let Riley escape her sight… Riley actually did the same. Right at the very start of his telling the story with the ridiculous plot… his eyes had also not left Bella and her brother.
Bella wasn't a fool—this ridiculously white guy just took control of the metal she was controlling, before instantly turning them to dust.
He was stronger than her and his brother combined, but most importantly… his eyes. Bella has seen those eyes many times before—they were eyes that didn't care.
Eyes that didn't care about anyone else. Eyes that won't even bat even if he killed each and every one of them here.
"Anyway," Riley was finally done with his story, and with that… he suddenly took off his coat, folding it and giving it to Grimes as he slowly approached Bella.
"And so?" Riley started folding up his sleeves, before doing some sort of stance as he looked Bella in the eyes,
"Shall we dance?"
"..." Bella tried to contain her breath, before pushing his brother away and also doing a stance; the pair of metal arms behind her back, imitating every movement of her hands. Benjamin was also about to ready himself, but Bella pushed him away once again.
"Leave," Bella whispered, "I'll buy you some time, so get away from here as much as possib—!!!"
And before Bella could finish her words, she watched as a hand suddenly appeared right in front of Benjamin's face… a hand which slammed him straight on the ground.
"Ben!" Bella, however, was able to cushion Benjamin's drop as she quickly controlled the petals flying around Benjamin, letting them serve as a sort of spring to absorb the impact. As for Riley, he didn't really care as he let go of Benjamin's head and allowed him to bounce away, before using the same hand to grab Bella by the neck.
"Kh…" The metal arms behind Bella quickly rushed toward Riley, but as soon as they were halfway from hitting his face, they shattered out of nowhere.
"Your other version is more fun to be with, Black Bell."
"!!!"
Bella's eyes widened as Riley tightened his grip on her neck. She could feel it… she could feel her flesh and bones starting to be crushed. She couldn't breathe, and no blood was flowing to her head already.
She was going to die h—
"Are you... Riley?"
And before Bella could lose her consciousness, a flat green light suddenly appeared on the ground behind Riley, and from it, a woman wearing a golden fox mask emerged.
"Do we...
...know each other?"
Chapter 717"You and I…
…what are we to each other?"
It was a colorful afternoon, made even more vibrant by all the lights and graphics that were plastered on the walls of the buildings. No matter where you look, someone's face would be on it—even the most popular fast food restaurant in this universe, Rickrolland's, had a face advertising their place.
All the faces were smiling.
The real people in Times Square, however, were doing everything but smiling. How could they not, when their leisurely lives were just randomly terrorized by the infamous Jackson twins? All they could really do was hide behind the illegally parked cars, the anti-homeless benches, as well as each other.
None of them were really cowering in fear. They were afraid, yes—but it was truly just an inconvenience since it was already public knowledge that the Jackson twins don't really kill people. And now, seeing the twins in trouble, the masses don't really know what to think.
And so, they just did what they always do.
Raise their phones and record what was happening, and they were so glad that they did, as suddenly, another world-renowned figure showed herself.
Golden Fox—Japan's No.1 Superhero, no. With most of the members of the Hope Guild now focusing on intergalactic politics, it was safe to say that she was now the No.1 hero in the entire world.
Golden Fox, however, rarely comes to the U.S., if at all. After all, the Americans already have their own assembly of superheroes. And so, the people that were hiding all started coming out with their phones all pointed at the scenario. The enforcers circling Riley and the others tried to stop them, but alas—there was no beating the crowd.
"Golden Fox…!?"
Officer Grimes could not be bothered by the curious masses, however, as he just tried to collect himself as best as possible; the exhaustion contained within his breaths, now even more prevalent than before,
"What are you doing here?"
"I…" Golden Fox, who was waiting for an answer from Riley, could not help but slightly back away as the tone of her voice lowered, "...I am only doing my job as a hero."
"...Are you?" Officer Grimes squinted his eyes as he looked back and forth between Golden Fox and Riley, completely ignoring the fact that Bella was still currently being strangled by Riley in the air and was about to pass out,
"The two of you seem to know each other?"
"I don't know yet," Golden Fox carefully adjusted her mask as the flashes coming from the crowd's phones became more and more wild, "But as I said, I am here to do my job as a hero first."
"What do you—"
And before Grimes could even figure out what was going on, a sort of green void emerged from the ground; right beneath where Benjamin was lying unconscious. Bella, and the other people there could really only watch as this green void just suddenly swallowed Benjamin whole.
"!!!"
Grimes quickly grabbed another one of his guns and pointed it at Golden Fox, "Golden Fox, you have no right to kill—!!!"
Once again, Grimes was interrupted as another green void appeared… right on top of him. And before he could even react, Benjamin fell on top of him; his butt, dropping on his face. It didn't help that Benjamin had quite the… revealing outfit.
Golden Fox then disappeared from her spot, only to appear behind Bella, grabbing her by her leg.
"Next time, please choose a better job," she then said as Bella's entire silhouette started to glow green.
"This… this is the better job," and with those words escaping Bella's lips, she vanished… only to once again fall on top of Officer Grimes, who had just finished tying up Benjamin with a thick zip tie.
"..." As for Riley, he still had his hand raised in the air; his eyes, now reflecting Chihiro's golden fox mask.
"Do we know each other?" Golden Fox once again asked Riley as she stood right in front of him; her head, almost bent up to its maximum to their difference in height.
"That depends on what perspective you are basing our familiarity on, Golden Fox," Riley answered as he very slowly lowered his hand and returned Chihiro's gaze.
"..." A certain glow flashed from Chihiro's eyes as she heard Riley's words. She then turned to look at Officer Grimes, before scanning everyone else that was there. And after a few more seconds, she shook her head and sighed,
"We shouldn't talk here, there are too many eyes listening."
"Eyes can't listen, Golden Fox," Riley also sighed, "I see your English has not improved even after so long."
"T—How is that relevant?" It was obvious even from her mask that one of Chihiro's eyebrows was currently raised, "Your people can't even speak another language."
"I can speak most languages, Golden Fox."
"..." Chihiro's eyes turned wide as she heard Riley speaking in Japanese. But after a few more breaths, she once again shook her head. This time waving her hand as she summoned a green void that swallowed both her and Riley.
Riley did not really mind, as he just watched Officer Grimes, waving goodbye to him before he and Chihiro completely disappeared from Times Square.
"...Oh, fuck."
"H…hey, be gentle!" Bella could not help but scream in pain as Grimes stepped on her, tightening the zip tie around her wrists tighter than it should, "This… this is police brutality! You guys see this!?"
"You really should quit this job, you know?" Grimes could not help but groan as he let go of Bella, "Maybe stop committing atrocities and we won't be seeing each other again?"
"Bitch, please. I ain't the one that's underpaid and underappreciated."
"...That statement is somehow the most hurtful thing that has happened to me today."
"So, what about it, Fed? We can let you in if you let us go now."
"Shut up," Grimes shook his head as he looked at where Riley and Golden Fox disappeared. His breaths, all escaping as sighs as he thought of the grilling his boss would hand to him later. Maybe…
…he really should just quit this job?
***
"Your ability is truly convenient, Chihiro. I do wonder when I am going to die from it."
"...What?"
Riley and Chihiro reappeared a kilometer away from Times Square, emerging on top of the Empire State Building away from all the people. The wind was strong enough to cause Chihiro's scarf to almost be caught in the air; Riley's long hair, on the other hand, was completely still.
Chihiro quickly noticed this, but did not really think much of it as she just sat on the floor; her eyes, looking at the mess they abandoned on Times Square.
"Do… you know me, Riley?" Chihiro then whispered, but let out a soft chuckle immediately afterward, "I'm sorry, that was a stupid question. You're probably so confused by now."
"I am always confused, Golden Fox—that's my secret."
"...I see," Chihiro glanced at Riley for a bit, before shaking her head and sighing,
"I'm asking because I have a memory of you."
"Hm?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he slightly approached Chihiro.
"It's hard to explain, but my ability… uploaded a memory to my mind. A memory that might have happened… in a different world, or perhaps a future," Chihiro lifted up her knee and hugged her legs, before finally taking off her mask and placing it beside her; revealing her incredibly youthful face.
"Oh?" Riley curiously sat down beside Chihiro, "And what happened in that memory?"
"..." Chihiro almost scooched away by instinct, slightly surprised by Riley's calmness, "That… In that memory, there's me, you, a beautiful blonde girl… I think Bella and Hannah Ross were also there, it was weird. But most importantly…
…I died protecting you. I know it's silly, but it's true."
"I killed you, Golden Fox," Riley confessed.
"No," Chihiro quickly shook her head, "It was someone else, some… tall guy. I think his name was… Gary Gray."
"Oh."
"Do you know him…?" Chihiro glanced at Riley. Riley, however, just shrugged his shoulders, "My… abilities gave me a mission. A mission to defeat a villain from another world."
"..." Riley remained quiet as he knew that it could be none other than him.
"And I think that villain is Gary Gray."
"Oh."
"And my abilities are telling me that he is close, he is somewhere here in this lawless country," Chihiro then stood up as she scanned New York, "My friend and I have scoured the social media and news to find any information about him, but nothing is really coming out—we need Whiteking's help. That is why I am here in the first place."
"Hm."
"And—and… of course, to…to…" Chihiro then looked back and forth between Riley and the city, "I…I also came to see you, Riley. I wanted to know why this other version of me risked her life for you."
"And did you come up with an answer, Golden Fox?"
"..." Chihiro's eyes strayed toward Riley again, and finally remained there,
"...No."
"..."
"But I would like to know more about you, Riley," Chihiro quickly covered her face with her mask; her breaths, slightly heavy as she stepped over the ledge, "Let's see each other again, Riley. I… will come and find you soon."
"Hm."
And with that, Chihiro leaped from the Empire State Building, before just disappearing mid-air without a trace. As for Riley, he just looked toward the North-West—Toronto, Canada.
If Gary Gray also exists in this world…
…then this should be fun.
Chapter 718"...Who the fuck is that?"
"Diana."
"Then… who is that?"
"Diana."
"I know, but why did you bring another Diana here!? I thought we shouldn't make ourselves known to the other universes as much as fucking possible!?"
"She has information for us."
"...About Riley?"
"No."
Back in Riley's universe, the RRS Group, Riley Ross Search Group, were once again gathered in the dome of Ahor Zai. Their faces, still completely exhausted from jumping from universe to universe and finding nothing.
It wasn't particularly physically taxing, as surprisingly, moving to another universe just feels like moving to another room with a drastically different temperature—like if one were to enter and exit a sauna, but not quite.
This time, however, a change happened. Aerith entered the portal with Diana-1, only to come out with another variant of Diana. This variant of Diana, however, had already had strands of white hair on her head, even though she still looked quite as youthful as her other variants.
"Greetings to you, Diana," Diana quickly but carefully approached her new variant; her eyes, scanning her from head to toe as she stretched her hand toward her.
"Hello," the third Diana nodded her head as she shook Diana's hand, "Please, just call me Caitlain, I haven't used my Earth name ever since…"
Caitlain abruptly stopped talking as she subtly glanced at Hannah. But after a single breath, she just shook her head and let out a gentle smile,
"I haven't used my Earth name ever since my Bernard and Hannah were mercilessly murdered while… I was trying to save my species from the brink of extinction."
"...And were you able to save the themarians of your world?" Aerith-1 also approached Caitlain. And although the tone of her voice is as proud as ever, her slightly trembling eyes failed to mask the sorrow and hopelessness she was truly feeling.
"No," the smile on Caitlain's face did not disappear as she closed her eyes, "No one listened to me and they all went down with Theran."
"..." Aerith-1 could really only take in a deep breath as she backed away. She and the others have already been to more than 50 other universes and in all of them…
…the themarians die. Leaving only Diana, and sometimes her, as the sole survivor of their species.
"Is… it our fate to die?" If Riley Ross did not arrive in her universe, would something else destroy them? "Is the universe so afraid of us that it has to make sure of our extinction? Then why make us in the first place?"
"..." Aerith-1's whispers quickly garnered the attention of all the themarians in the dome; their breaths, releasing an orchestra of dismay with their breaths.
"..."
"..."
"Wait," Hannah was the first to break the wallowing silence as she approached Caitlain; this time, with a certain gentleness in her voice, "You said your daughter and husband were murdered?"
"Yes," Caitlain quickly nodded, "They were killed by someone who had access to multiversal transportation, just like all of you…
…I actually came here to try and kill all of you," Caitlain then softly chuckled, causing everyone to slightly flinch from her words. But after a few seconds, she shook her head and waved her hand.
"Because I thought you were with the one who killed my family. But it's obvious now that your group is completely uninvolved with him."
"...Him?" Diana squinted her eyes as she looked Caitlain in the eyes, "You don't mean…"
"Yes," Caitlain nodded and did not let Diana finish her words, "Just like your universe, my Earth had also started to dabble with multiversal travel. But just months after discovering it, someone from another universe visited us and started indiscriminately killing everyone that knows about the portals."
"..." Diana did not stray her eyes away from Caitlain, before finally… a whisper escaped her lips,
"…Bernard Ross."
***
"Hm."
A concrete wasteland.
The skies were clear, as well as the horizon. The buildings that one would expect in a major city were nowhere to be seen—it was just an empty, desolate, and dark place. The sun should still be blanketing the lands with its light, and yet not even a single spot of light could be seen crawling across the cement.
Once again, this other world showed a similarity to Riley's universe that the previous one did not have—
—a ruined Toronto.
Riley's eyes were once again looking down on a sea of ruin; this time, however, his silhouette that was descending from the sky was as if a ghost, almost glowing from how white he was—a reminder that Darkday was not the one responsible for destroying this city.
"Oh…?" And as Riley continued to descend from the skies, he noticed a hint of light below and a group of people. And as he flew near it, he saw another monument of Megawoman. And just like the one in the Central Park, her statue had numerous graffiti on it; words filled with resentment, anger, and disappointment.
This time, however, there were people helping each other to clean it. There were also traces of the military, seemingly watching the people as they secured the perimeter. The soldiers all watched Riley as he landed on the ground; their hands, all seemingly ready to do something. But as they realized that Riley wasn't really going to do anything, they just shrugged their shoulders and continue to patrol the area.
As for Riley, he just casually walked toward the people cleaning Aerith's monument.
"Hello," Riley waved as one of the people noticed him approaching them. His somewhat friendly gesture, however, was welcomed with suspicion as everyone all stopped what they were doing. Even the people cleaning Aerith's face jumped down as they all seemingly served as a barricade between Riley and Aerith's statue.
"What do you want?" The oldest one of the group stepped forward; the tone of her voice, anything but welcoming.
"I want to ask a question, Aerith supporter."
"Aerith supporter?" The woman raised an eyebrow, "Who are you?"
"My name is Riley Ross," Riley nodded his head, before turning to look at Aerith's statue, "I was wondering if you know anyone by the name of Gary Gray?"
"Gary who?" The woman's eyebrows began to lower as she crossed her arms, "You guys know a Gary Gay?"
"First I heard of it."
"Let's stop wasting our time here, Claire. We only have a few minutes left to clean Megawoman's statue."
"This is none of my concern, I'm just going to light up more candles."
"You heard that, Mr. Ross? Now off you go, we're busy here."
And one by one, the people all started dispersing as they returned to cleaning Aerith's statue. But as they turned around, their eyes could not help but widen in shock. Soon, however, they had to squint their eyes due to the light reflecting on them.
"What… C… Claire!"
"What?" Claire still had her arms crossed and her eyes planted on Riley.
"Look, look!"
"What is it?" Claire rolled her eyes, sighing as she turned to look at what the commotion was about. And soon, she too squinted her eyes from the sudden brightness that showered them.
Megawoman's statue which was filled with paint and filth… it was now shining from how immaculate it was.
"Now that you are not busy, perhaps you could entertain my questions again, Ms. Claire?"
"...Huh?" Claire, and the rest of the group all turned around to look at Riley, only to see a ball of dirt, oil, and paint floating above his palm, "You… you did this?"
"Hm," Riley shrugged as he let the ball fly toward the sky, causing a blast of wind to thunder in the air as the dark clouds above them rippled… letting sunlight to finally shower the ruined land of Toronto, or more specifically, Megawoman's statue.
The soldiers that were securing the perimeter, now all talking to their radios; their eyes, once again planted on Riley. As for the cleaners, they all looked at each other, before Claire just suddenly rushed toward Riley and grabbed him by the wrist.
"..." Riley's eyes slightly twitched as Claire grabbed him. But after thinking about it for a millisecond, he just sighed and let himself be dragged by her as all of the cleaners just started running away.
As for the soldiers, they chased the cleaners for a bit, before stopping and just watching them disappear deep into the ruined city.
Riley was dragged for almost an entire hour before they reached some sort of settlement—a stadium.
This stadium, however, was filled with all sorts of fluorescent light and people walking around; perhaps even more busy than the city that never sleeps. There were traders, stalls, houses, and even a large area where people seemingly gather around and children play.
"I take it it's your first time here?" Claire finally let go of Riley's hand.
"This is the Rogers Centre."
"It was," Claire shrugged, before bidding farewell to the other cleaners who just quickly disappeared into the crowd, "Sorry about how we treated you before. We just… everyone's just against Megawoman nowadays.
"Hm."
"And about your question, Gary Gray, was it?"
"Yes," Riley nodded as he continued to scan the lively settlement.
"Sorry, I don't really know someone that goes by that name," Claire let out a long and deep sigh, "But I do know a Gray, he owns a bar down on Aisle C. Tall guy, a bit grumpy, he's been here from the start. He usually doesn't talk to anyone, but he should talk to you if I'm there."
"...Is his name Edward Gray, Ms. Claire?"
"Oh… You know him?"
"Not personally, no."
After all, Edward Gray died in his world during the Battle of Toronto.
Chapter 719"Whatever happens inside, I want you to calm down and ignore them. Okay?"
"Hm."
Riley, and the one leading the cleaners of Aerith's statue, Claire, were now in one of the largest buildings in the settlement; made from wood, flashings, and whatever bleachers were left in the large stadium. It was also the most lit establishment, perhaps a testament to how much the people value the place.
As to why it seemed so important, well, it was obvious—it's a bar.
"I don't think I need to explain this to you again, but everyone here is a firm supporter of Megawoman," Claire was in front of Riley; her hand, already on the door as she had been orienting Riley about the trades and ways of the settlement… which is aptly named Megawoman City for obvious reasons,
"Some are even hardcore fans and part of a cult. So, if I were you, I would avoid talking smack about the Girl Above, okay?"
"Hm."
"I am serious, Mr. Ross—Wait, Ross… You don't happen to be related to the Ross family, are you?"
"Not in this world, no."
"...Huh. Well, you do look different," Claire squinted her eyes as she looked at Riley from head to toe. But as she was lost in thought, however, Riley took the chance to just go ahead and enter the fine establishment.
And as soon as he did so, he was met with unwelcomed eyes of curiosity and suspicion. All of them, looking at Riley as if he was some sort of ghost—which in all honesty, he does look like one.
Some of them started clicking their tongues; their hands which were gripping their drinks, tightening as their stares were soon followed by lowering eyebrows. Before anything could really happen, however, Claire entered the bar.
"Oh, who's this!?"
And like a switch being flipped, the knitted faces of the patrons all light up as soon as they saw Claire's face.
"Claire! We've been waiting for you here!"
"Isn't today the day you're going to buy all of us drinks!?"
"Mr. Ross. I told you to wait for me," Claire whispered loudly right beside Riley's ears, "You—"
"Wait, wait… What's this!? You're the one who brought the handsome albino here!?"
"Is that your new boyfriend? Wait, of course not. How many times have we told you not to solicit young men!?"
But alas, Claire could not really even talk to Riley for another second as all the people in the bar started hollering and heckling her.
"I knew you were into white people, I just didn't know how white until now!"
"You guys should shut the fuck up!" Claire quickly raised both of her middle fingers and started pointing them at everyone like guns, "Fuck you, you, and you too, bitch!"
Claire had told Riley to stay as calm as possible, and yet here she was, not even another step inside the bar and she was already cursing everyone. Riley waited for her to be done, but even after an entire minute had passed, she and the other patrons were still laughing and cursing at each other.
And so, Riley just decided to leave her and head to the bar. And as he did so, Claire finally lowered her arms as she watched as Riley approached the person behind the counter, and it wasn't only her. The other patrons all paused whatever it was they were doing, even spilling their drinks as a certain excitement grew in their eyes.
"Are you Edward Gray?" Riley then asked the bartender, who could be none other than Gary's father judging from how he looked.
Gary was already tall enough, standing at 6'7". His father, however, was probably taller than him by half a foot. Claire had told him to find the tall guy, but Riley wasn't really expecting this.
And he wasn't just tall; his loose and oversized shirt could not hide how muscular he truly was. The glass he was cleaning almost seemed miniature from how large his hands and arms were, not to mention how hairy they were.
He also carried a thick beard; his eyebrows, lush and thick—even then, however, there was no hiding how chiseled and manly his face truly is.
If one were to look at him outside in the dark, they would probably think he was some sort of bear.
'Is this Aerith's type?' Riley thought with his head tilted to the side. Edward also seemed to be the quiet and brooding type, which Riley was not. Whenever he was with Aerith, he talked without pause.
Is this why Aerith did not like him at all? Because he was the complete opposite of the father of her child?
"Hm…" And finally, after what seemed like an entire minute, Edward finished cleaning the glass he was wiping and walked toward Riley. He placed both his palms on the counter, looking Riley in the eyes,
"What do you need?"
"..." All the patrons of the bar started chugging their bears and sipping their whiskeys as they continued to watch the scenario unfold. Their eyes, still filled with expectation from what was about to happen.
As for the one that brought Riley there, she just had her arms crossed. After all, she was really the only one that knew that Riley is a super… and not an ordinary one at that.
"Beer, whiskey, rum and coke?" Edward's voice almost reflected his looks; raspy, husky, and just deep overall, "If not…
…then we also serve milk."
"Pft…" The patrons that were chugging their beers almost spilled everything as they tried their best to stop laughing. And right when they couldn't stop themselves anymore, Riley gave an unexpected reply.
"Then I suppose I would take the milk, Mr. Gray," Riley said as he also placed his hand on the table. Not, of course, before cleaning it first with the very same towel Edward used to clean the glass,
"With ice, please."
"..." Edward glared at Riley for a few seconds, before letting out a grunt and violently snatching the towel from him. And there and then, the other patrons started looking at each other.
All of them thought this would just be the common scenario—where someone would just try and size up Bernard and back down, but no. This pale white-haired young man that just appeared out of nowhere didn't even seem to care.
"...He looks kinda familiar."
"Shh, shut up."
The sound of Edward drawing milk from a carton whispered in the air without any intrusion; the patrons, even holding their breaths in fear that they would miss something.
"Here you go, kid," Edward placed the glass right in front of Riley, before placing his arm on the counter and once again looking Riley in the eyes. Riley, on the other hand, just grabbed the glass and casually took a sip of his milk.
"..."
"..."
"So…" And as soon as Riley placed the milk back on the counter, Edward quickly moved it away as he leaned closer to Riley; the smell of booze coming out of his mouth, enough to make Riley increase his telekinetic shield,
"...Who are you? Are you from the government again?"
"My name is Riley Ross," Riley glanced at the glass of milk, before just letting out a small sigh and introducing himself, "And I am not part of the government."
"...Ross?" Edward's thick eyebrows lowered as he looked at Claire, who quickly shook her head in response, "You're not related to the royal family, are you?"
"No."
"You're not from the government. You're not a Ross. You're definitely not a superhero…" Edward scratched his beard, "...I don't know what someone like you would want from me except for a glass of milk."
"Gary Gray."
"...Who?" Edward's eyes slightly squinted as he leaned away from Riley.
"Gary Gray. Perhaps you know where he is?"
"I don't even know who that is, kid," Edward grunted as he shook his head. And now with him standing straight, he completely towered over Riley,
"Now if you're not going to order anything else anytime soon, I have other assholes to serve."
"Hm…" Riley placed his hand on his chin as Edward walked away. And after a few seconds, he just shrugged and walked back toward Claire,
"Can I borrow money, Ms. Claire? I do not have anything on me to pay for the milk."
"Don't bother," Edward slightly raised his voice, "Milk's on the house."
"...You got what you came here for?" Claire only nodded at Edward, before gesturing to Riley to step out of the bar with her.
"I don't know yet, Ms. Claire," Riley shook his head as he followed Claire out.
"Well, tough luck," Claire sighed, before suddenly giving Riley a set of keys, "Since you did us one when you cleaned Megawoman's statue, you're free to stay at my house for the night."
"..." Riley could really only blink a couple of times as he held the key in his hand. This world… did they have the habit of giving strangers the key to their homes?
"It's the house painted orange on Aisle V, you won't miss it. As for me…
…I'm gonna spend the night in the bar!"
And with those words, Claire barged into the bar once more, causing all the people inside to scream and roar.
"..." Riley did not really know what to do now, since he was already staying at Hannah's place back in New York. Should he just leave a clone here so as to not be rude to Claire?
"Hm, I'll do that," Riley nodded to himself as he started walking away. But as soon as he reached a dark park of the stadium, however…
…he noticed a large shadow crawling up from behind him.
"You…" It was Edward, holding a large steel bat as he literally looked down on Riley,
"...You will tell me where you heard that name."
Chapter 720A 7'4" muscular man that was more akin to that of a bear than a human stands in a narrow dark pathway, creeping up to you and suddenly grabbing you by the shoulder—What would you do?
They said that you should stay calm and play dead when faced with a bear, but this bearded muscular man isn't exactly a beast, no.
But for Riley, he might as well be—and so, Riley suddenly dropped to the ground, pretending to be dead.
"I'm not a bear!"
"Oh," Riley quickly got up, patting his white clothes clean as he looked at Edward's hairy arms, "Of course, Aerith would not be sexually attracted to an animal. Forgive me."
"...Aerith?" Edward slightly loosened his grip on the metal bat as he looked Riley in the eyes,
"How… how do you know that name!?" He then said as his grip returned; his stance which was previously just for a threat, now completely resolute to actually do something.
"I'm her lover," Riley answered without any hesitation, "We—"
"What did you say!?"
And before Riley could finish his words, Edward suddenly swung his bat straight toward Riley's head.
"..." Riley, however, did not even try to dodge, just allowing the steel bat to bend almost 90 degrees on his head,
"You're not a super. But I find it incredible you were able to bend the steel to this point."
"...Fuck," Edward clicked his tongue as he took a step back. He looked at Riley again before suddenly breaking the bat in half with just his bare hands.
"..." Riley's eyes once again twitched as he watch as Edward threw the other half of the bat, using the remaining one as some sort of… shiv. No matter which side Riley looked at him, he could not deny how manly Edward is…
…Riley couldn't even grow a beard.
"Maybe if I was manly enough, then Aerith wouldn't have killed herself and we would be together."
"You… keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!" Contrary to Riley's expectation, Edward did not even use the piece of the metal bat he had and just threw it away. Instead, he slapped Riley right on the cheek.
Of course, once again, Riley did not even bother dodging; surprisingly, Edward's arm did not even break, making Riley wonder whether or not he was actually a super.
"You are very brave, Edward Gray. Or perhaps.." Riley squinted his eyes as he looked at the slightly frenzied expression on his face,
"...You want to die?"
"..." Edward did not really answer, and instead just once again lunged toward Riley, this time hugging him tight and lifting him in the air.
"So, it is the latter. Then I apologize, I am not really in the mood to kill anything or anyone right now. Perhaps just try committing suicide? It is not that bad, you will get used to it."
"Kh!" Edward grunted loudly as Riley very slowly started to pry his arms open. He held on as long as he could, but the difference between a normal human and a super like Riley is truly quite… infinite.
"Who are you!?" And as his arms were slapped away, Edward let out a roar as he took a step back; holding his right bicep as it seemed to have snapped,
"Just who are you!?"
"As I have said before…" Riley's eyes started to glow red as a smile crawled on his face. And as soon as Edward saw that, he came to a realization—or rather, a misunderstanding that many have made before. He thought Riley was a themarian,
"...I am Aerith's lo—"
"Dad!"
And before Riley could take a step closer to Edward, a shadow suddenly came from above; its knee, slamming down on Riley's face and causing him to slide a few meters back across the alley.
"No!" Edward tried to reach for the shadow, but it immediately chased for Riley before he could even get the chance to do so.
"..." As for Riley, he just watched the shadow lunge toward him. And it truly was a shadow—face, completely covered with a ski mask; a cloak that blanketed his entire body.
His silhouette was a little shorter than Riley expected, but he knew exactly who this was.
"Gary Gray," Riley whispered as he just let the shadow punch him in the face.
"Tch," the shadow did not say anything, however, as he just continued striking Riley from all directions, causing all the dust and dirt to be blown away. The makeshift houses made of thin wood, nearing their destruction with each passing second.
"G—"
"Dad, get back!" The shadow glanced back as Edward tried to approach them. He gestured to him to stay away. Sadly for him, Riley took this chance to creep closer to him—grabbing him by the back of his head before flying into the air.
"..." Edward sucked in a short but very deep breath as his child was just suddenly and literally yanked away from him. He watched which direction Riley flew to, before running to chase them; not even caring as he bulldozed his way through the thin houses and the people.
"Let go of me!"
"I will in a bit, Gary," Riley let out a small chuckle as Gary started struggling. He didn't let him go just yet, however. Not before they were out of the stadium city, in which Riley immediately threw him straight down.
"Shit!" Gary let out a high-pitched scream as his silhouette became smaller and smaller until it finally created a deafening thunder as a human-shaped crater formed the ground.
"...Hm," Riley nodded to himself as he saw Gary crawling from the small crater. Riley had to adjust his strength just right so as to not kill Gary. Fortunately for everyone involved, the Gary of this world seemed slightly stronger than the Gary in his universe.
"Are you hiding in fear that you will also be killed like your mother, Gary?"
"I… don't know who the fuck that is!" Gary grunted as he started patting all the dirt and concrete stuck on him, "Who even are you!? Why were you assaulting my dad!?"
"Do you have a sore throat, Gary?" Riley tilted his head to the side as Gary's voice seemed too strained, cracking with each syllable, "And it would seem you have the wrong information—he was the one who assaulted me."
"...What?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "I was just on my way to Ms. Claire's house, but your father suddenly hit me on the head when I told him that I am Aerith's lover."
"You… know my mom?" Gary slightly flinched as he started looking at Riley from head to toe; kicking the large debris in front of him to the side to get a better view of him, "What even are you? Are you… a themarian?"
"No," Riley blinked as Gary did not even react to him saying that he was his mother's lover, "I am as human as you, Gary. Maybe just a little different in certain ways. What about you, Gary? What are you supposed to be in this world?"
"What?"
"You do not seem to be a superhero," Riley blacked his hand on his chin as he also looked at the cloaked Gary, "And you do not seem to be a supervillain as well. Are you perhaps some sort of secret agent of the government, then?"
"Fuck you!" Gary clenched his fist as he violently pointed at Riley, "You think I am one of those fucks!? They killed my mom!"
"Whiteking killed your mother."
"What's the difference? Whiteking is the government," Gary let out a small scoff. His eyes slightly turned moist, but before any drop could fall from them, they started to glow red, "You…
…are you from the government?"
"N—"
"Is that why you're trying to hurt dad!?" Gary took a step forward, cracking the already ruined ground of Toronto as he slowly approached Riley, "Have you not taken away enough from me!? Isn't letting me live like a cockroach not enough for you people? Now you want to take away everything that's left!?"
"Hm, I already did that to you once," Riley let out a small breath before nodding.
"So, you are from the government!" And with those words, Gary once again rushed toward Riley; his fist, already locked onto his head.
"I am not from—"
And before Riley could finish his words, Gary suddenly disappeared—only to reappear already beside him; his fist, just an inch away from his cheek.
"Oh?" Riley leaned back to avoid the strike, but as he did so, a beam of light shot out from Gary's eyes and aimed straight at his temples, "You are better than your counterpart, Gary. But still…
…weak."
Riley did not stall any longer as he grabbed Gary's wrist, pulling him closer to him before slamming his arm on his neck and causing Gary to somersault in place before violently kicking him down to the ground.
"Kh!"
"You know, Gary…" Riley then crouched on the ground as he grabbed Gary by the head, slightly tugging on his ski mask, "...I honestly do not know what I even tried to find you—perhaps because I thought it would be fun? But without Aerith, this is just useless."
"You… what do you want?"
"As I said, I don't know," Riley lifted Gary's head and causing him to groan in pain, "I honestly don't know what to do anymore, my job of trying to turn everything into nothing is getting larger and larger by the second…
…I suppose I just want variety in between."
"Fuck you!" Gary grabbed Riley's hand, before pushing himself away and leaving Riley to hold his ski mask, "What the fuck are you even saying!? Are you retarded!?"
"Maybe we can—Oh?" Riley turned to look at Gary, only for his eyes to blink a couple of times as he stared at his face—or rather, her face,
"You are not Gary."
"Who the fuck is this Gary you keep mentioning!?" The woman that Riley thought to be Gary groaned in frustration; no longer putting any effort to deepen her voice, "My name's Gracy…
…Gracy Gray!"
Chapter 721Gracy Gray.
Weird.
Riley had seen a couple of variants, and they do differ from what he was accustomed to in his own universe.
There was someone that was a bit overweight, skinny. One that looked somewhat older. And there was even Aerith, who looked completely different and was a complete copy of her mother.
But this—for another variant to be a different sex completely, the multiverse truly was a wonderful and random thing.
"...Are you crazy? Why are you laughing on your own?"
Gracy was already confused as to who Riley was. And now that she was seeing him just chuckling by himself even though nothing funny was going on, she could really only come to one conclusion—this person in front of him is a crazy themarian. She couldn't even be bothered anymore that there was still some small debris stuck to her body here and there.
"I just find it quite interesting that you are a woman, Gracy."
"...I don't know if I should be offended by that."
"Hm," Riley just shrugged as he looked at Gracy from head to toe. It was not really that hard to prove that Gracy is indeed Aerith's daughter—after all, she looked just like King Arthus's sister. Aerith's aunt, Princess Tifa.
Of course, she obviously looked younger by several decades, but this is what Riley imagined what Princess Tifa would look like when she was young.
Long, slightly rugged blonde hair, eyes so blue they were almost silver. She wasn't what people would consider cute, no. In a way, she was similar to Hannah—rough but contained a somewhat… creeping beauty.
"So… if you're not from the government, and you're not a themarian—what exactly are you?"
"I still have not figured that out."
"...You're not some kind of secret master that lurks in the shadows, are you?" Gracy squinted her eyes as she started walking, "If you are… then I am ready to be trained."
"I am a secret and a master, but not both together," Riley nodded to himself, fully confident with what he just said.
"...So, there's no use using honorifics with you, then."
"You were not using any honorifics."
"Shut up," Gracy's eyes glowed red as her feet very slowly left the ground.
"Oh," Riley let out a small hum, "You could fly?"
"Oh, I could do a lot of things," Gracy stretched her arms to the side, summoning a ball of energy on each of her palms; pulsing as it grew to the size of a watermelon.
"A half themarian might as well not be a themarian at all—that is what I read from a codex on Theran," And even as the violent energy ball reflected in his eyes, Riley just casually started looking around the ashes of the concrete jungle they stood on,
"And yet here you are, exhibiting more and more powers similar to what the themarian have."
"Oh, we haven't even started yet," a small smirk grew on Gracy's face as the red orbs she summoned were now the size of a yoga ball, "You don't have to worry, I will show you everything…
…so why don't you show me yours?"
"..." Riley immediately started looking around again as he heard Gracy's words. He seemed to consider it for a few seconds, before ultimately letting out a sigh and shaking his head, "If I show you what I am capable of, I am afraid this planet will not be able to survive."
"Ah, there is it—the good old arrogance," Gracy giggled as she literally looked down on Riley, "And I wondered when it was going to make an appearance."
"It is not arrogance, Gracy Gray," Riley quickly shook his head, "This is also something you didn't understand back in our world—there are levels to this."
"...What?" Gracy raised an eyebrow, "What are you even talking about?"
"You wanted to be strong because you are Megawoman's child. You pushed yourself again and again, only to be met with someone that did not even have to train or work for his or her powers," Riley sighed; his eyes, seemingly showing a sort of clarity as he continued to explain to Gracy,
"You could use all of your strength right now to try and punch through the Earth, but the most you could do is create a crater that would shake the neighboring areas."
"Yes, isn't that obvious?" Gracy, instead of being frustrated by Riley's words, just scoffed as she placed both her palms together, merging the two energy balls and doubling their size as she raised her left hand, "That's why I only deal with things I can deal with…
…like you."
And with those words… the energy ball that had been assembling from Gracey's hands disappeared, seemingly absorbed by her own body almost instantly.
"I know how strong you are."
"..." And without even any warning or hint, Gracy disappeared from her spot, only to appear whispering behind Riley's ear.
"That is why I am going all out!" Gracy quickly wrapped her arms around Riley's neck; her skin, giving off a certain heat, almost as if every fiber of her muscles were grinding on each other with each move she made.
"You should really cut your hair, you look gay!" Gracy screamed directly in Riley's ear as she flew upward, taking him with her.
"What is wrong with looking gay, Gracy?" Riley, on the other hand, tilted his head to the side even with Gracy's arm pressuring his neck.
"That… well… I'm not a homophobe!" Gracy's screams stuttered as the two of them reached the clouds. And as soon as the clouds rippled away from them, Gracey wrapped her legs around Riley's thighs, locking them completely before she spun her body to face the ground,
"The Gray Special No. 13…
…Descending Diving Dragon!"
And with those words leaving a sort of echo in the air, the clouds that were still left around them instantly dissipated and were blown away as their silhouette that was being bathed by the dim sunlight disappeared.
All that was left was a thunder—a sort of howl as she and Riley dove back to the ground; with Riley's head nearing the concrete.
But then, all of a sudden, they just stopped.
"...Huh?"
Once again, without any warning, without any signs… they just abruptly stopped in the air halfway through reaching the hard ground. And their path wasn't blocked by an invisible wall either, they just… stopped; almost like a video being paused, they just froze in the air.
"You do not know how strong I am, Gracy."
A whisper then very slowly started to creep into Gracy's ears as she felt her limbs losing their grip on Riley. She wanted to move, but it felt like there were millions of chains attached to her… attached to her muscles individually, completely constricting every millimeter of her movements.
"Because if you knew how strong I really am, you would have already run far away." And as the two of them were still upside down in the air, Riley's long white hair started to flow down, making him look like some sort of white Christmas tree,
"Perhaps you would have even made an effort to get out of the planet, or maybe even this universe. Because if I wanted to, Gracy…
…I could bat an eye, and everyone you hold dear would be dead. Even without an amplifier, I could destroy this planet in a single second."
"..." Gracy no longer answered and instead just looked Riley straight in the eyes; after all, that was really all she could do.
"I was thrown to another universe because my own could no longer handle me," Riley let out a very long and deep sigh as he shook his head, "That is one of the reasons why I do not freely run amok, because I feel like it would not be fair for you if I started indiscriminately killing all of you without all of you knowing who I am. What was that? Then why did I kill hundreds of billions in the other universe?"
"I… am not saying anything," Gracy took in a small gulp; her eyes, clearly showing her confusion.
"Well, a local told me to do it—so I just obliged," Riley let out a small chuckle, "Anyway, back to your world. You do not even know who I am, your world has not yet been introduced to a Darkday or a Riley Ross. It would be weird for me to just start killing without an introduction."
"..."
"I think this is the reason why I wanted to find you, Gracy."
"...What?" Gracy started blinking a couple of times as she watched as Riley's silhouette was very slowly covered by some sort of black goo; crawling across his entire body like a suit.
"You will help me in my debut in this world," Riley then whispered as his head was covered by a black helmet. And then, with a snap of his finger, the dark clouds that cursed Toronto instantly cleared—revealing the setting sun and bathing the ruined land in orange.
"Kh!" Gracy gritted her teeth as Riley grabbed her by the neck.
"I am going to introduce you to the world, Megawoman's daughter," Riley's chuckles could be heard even from his helmet, "And in turn, you will also introduce me, just like your mother did when—"
"!!!"
And before Riley could finish his words, a white blade suddenly swung between him and Gracy; causing Gracy to widen her eyes as she watched Riley's arm be cut without any resistance; his blood, showering on her face.
"Oh?"
Riley was then kicked away by a white silhouette, who used the momentum he gathered from the kick to grab Gracy away before just recklessly throwing her toward the settlement in the stadium.
"I suppose you are Whiteking?" Riley floated in the air; his head tilted to the side as his arm regenerated back almost instantly.
"And you? Who are you supposed to be?" And while Riley's limb regenerated, the white blade wrapped in Whiteking's arm retracted back…inside him. He then started scanning Riley's blood for any information, only for his suit to come up with nothing—and that usually only means one thing, "Oh…
…you are a rat that is not supposed to be here."
Chapter 722"A rat that doesn't belong here."
"I do believe this is the first time someone is comparing me to a rat."
"I don't mean a rat, it has another meaning."
"Hm, your naming sense is the same no matter what universe, Bernard Ross."
"...I see. So, Anna was right."
Whiteking, not currently known as Bernard Ross in this universe. In truth, more than 24 hours ago, Bernard Ross received a notification from their AI, Anna, that a potential threat has passed through a portal and entered their universe.
At first, Bernard was a little dismissive of this, as occurrences like this should have been a top priority for the AI—but no. The AI only told Bernard in passing, almost as if the AI itself was dismissive of the threat.
And so, Bernard did not really think much of it in the first few hours, as the thing that might have passed through was just some sort of ant. If it was a mosquito, then the AI would have also notified him at once.
This had happened thousands of times before, and Bernard did not think much of it. He went on with his day just shrugging his shoulders—but soon, Bernard got this weird urge and checked with the AI to see what it could possibly be…
…only to see a few minutes of the surveillance completely deleted.
***
"Anna! Call everyone back and close all the gates once everyone has been gathered!"
[At once, Whiteking.]
A day ago, right after the moment that Bernard discovered that a few minutes of surveillance footage was missing, he immediately scrambled to take action—rushing through the long gray hallways of his base of operations.
"What's going on…?"
"Why were we called back? I was… having dinner with my family."
"You did what!? Do you want to get terminated!?"
"Ah, Whiteking. What's going—there he goes, always busy."
And as a countless number of people started emerging from the walls, Bernard just continued running through the hallway. His helmet, reflecting the pink suit that all of the people were wearing, a suit similar to what Hannah was wearing underneath her armor when she just got back from Riley's universe. That is because that is also where they just came from—another universe.
All of them greeted Bernard as they saw him, but Bernard completely ignored all of them until finally, he reached the end of the hallway. And just like most of the design in this secret base… it was just an empty gray wall.
"Anna, let me inside the main server."
[Of course, Whiteking.]
And just like the rest of the hallway, the wall in front of Bernard opened up—this time, however, the other side wasn't just an empty gray room. Instead, there were strips of light everywhere; pulsing as if the entire room was actually alive.
Bernard immediately entered the large room, making his way to the center and standing in front of a small screen with just a single… keyboard in front of it.
[What are you trying to look for, Whiteking?]
The entire room pulsed in rhythm with the voice of the AI, the light coming from the strips, crawling toward Bernard almost as if something was actually approaching him. Bernard, however, completely ignored the AI as he just started typing something.
The sound of Bernard's taps and the clacking of the keyboard quietly drummed in the room for almost an entire hour. His breaths, slowly changing into groans of frustration as he couldn't seem to find whatever it was he was looking for.
[It is time for you to consume your caffeine, Whiteking. Do you want me to send someone over to give it to you? Or do you just want me to leave it outside the data center?]
"Stop talking, Anna," Bernard could not help but click his tongue, waving his hand as he gestured to the AI to leave, as if she was actually there, "Don't bother me."
[Perhaps if you asked me what you are looking for, you would have been done by now,] the lights in the room started to become erratic as the volume of the AI's voice increased.
"You won't know anything," Bernard once again waved his hand, "Someone hacked your system and deleted some files, we could potentially have a threat in our hands right now."
[No one hacked me, Whiteking.]
"As I said, you wouldn't know," Bernard sighed; his eyes reflecting random strings of letters and numbers, "Like I wouldn't know someone tampered with my mind if they erased my memory of them doing it. You are compromised."
[...But I do remember my files being deleted, Whiteking.]
"How would you—"
[I was the one who deleted them, after all.]
"...You what?" And finally, the endless tapping that have been plaguing the room instantly stopped; Bernard's fingers, completely frozen as he just looked to where the light in the room was brightest,
"You… did what?" He then said; the tone of his voice, filled with a certain calmness of disbelief.
[I deleted them, Whiteking.]
"...Why?" Bernard took a step back away from the console, "Why would you even do something like that?"
And without even waiting for the AI to say something, Bernard's armor started to morph and change form—his eyes that could be seen from his helmet, now glowing orange.
[Because the one that entered our universe told me so, Whiteking.]
"Why would you even follow a command from someone other than me and Hannah!?"
[Because he was very charismatic, Whiteking.]
"...What?"
[He reminded me of both you and Master Hannah. He also knew a lot of things about you, as well as Master Diana.]
"Don't… say that name," the light in Bernard's eyes literally faded away as his voice calmed down, "I don't get it, Anna. You let him have access to you just because he was charismatic?"
[Well, he also threatened to destroy me and the entire planet.]
"Why did you not start with that!?"
[Because he told me to tell you he was charismatic once you discovered the—]
"Wait, wait…" Bernard sat on the floor as his helmet… retracted into his face. And although it was just a glimpse, the Bernard of this world is actually quite slim; but as soon as the helmet entered his pores, he slightly became chubbier,
"...You mean a World Ender was able to pass through the portal without the alarms going off?"
[Yes, Whiteking.]
"...How?" Bernard's eyes started swaying left and right as his breaths became gasps, "Who is it?"
[I don't know, Whiteking.]
"What do you mean you don't know!?" Bernard roared, causing the lights in the server room to flicker several times,
"Xra, Caitlain'Ur, Bernard Ross, Hera, Cherbi, Ahor Zai, Vivati, Nyx, Jeff, Ha—Just who is it!? We have a list of hundreds of entities capable of destroying their universes and you are telling me you don't know whose variant it is!?" Bernard stood up from the floor,
"...Don't tell me it's an old god?"
[I do not know because he is not registered in my database, Whiteking.]
"Not registered…?" Bernard raised an eyebrow, "We should know almost everyone there is, and everyone there ever was!"
[Correction, I should know. You just access the data from me.]
"The semantics don't matter, wow could you—"
And all of a sudden, Bernard's eyes slightly turned wide as his breaths momentarily stopped.
"...Don't tell me it's a RAT?"
[He is a Random Anomalous Type, Whiteking. That is also why I did not notice his existence—he is even the one to greet me first, so polite, that one.]
"Wait, wait… A world-ending RAT is on our Earth right now?" Each of Bernard's breaths became heavier than the last.
[Please stop calling it RAT.]
"This is serious, Anna! Restrict all dimensional travel until I turn it on again!"
[Very well.]
"And don't let our agents leave until this matter is resolved!"
[But tomorrow is a holiday, Whiteking.]
"I don't care! And also…
…find me Hannah!"
And with that, Bernard left the room—meeting Hannah a few minutes later, who seemed to be having a date with some—Wait.
His rebellious and loud-mouthed daughter…
…on a date?
***
"Wait… It's you!"
Back in the present, Bernard just came to realize the identity of the masked man floating in front of him.
"Of course…" Even with his helmet on, it was obvious that Bernard has a look of disbelief on his face right now, "...My mind was a little busy then, but it makes sense that only someone weird from another universe would actually date my daughter."
"So, you also share Bernard Ross's stupidity when it comes to his family."
"...Who are you?" Bernard very carefully started circling around Riley, "And why did you come to my universe?"
"An open door is a sign of welcoming people…" Riley shrugged as he followed Bernard with his eyes, "...is what I read somewhere. Your portal was open, so I entered it before the Hannah of your universe could close it."
"Damn it… of course, it would be her," Bernard groaned in frustration, "Who are you?"
"Darkday."
"..." Bernard immediately scanned Anna's database to search for a similar name and occurrence, but nothing came up, "That sounds like a supervillain's name. Are you human?"
"Correct on both, Bernard Ross," Riley nodded.
"Since you know a lot of things about me and my daughter, then you must be close to our variants in your universe."
"I was adopted to the family, Bernard Ross," Riley revealed casually, "Please don't tell the Hannah of this world, she seems to like me. It would hurt her feelings."
"...Shit," Bernard Ross did not really even doubt Riley's words. After all, the only way Riley could get that much information from them is that he is family—if so…
"...You need to die."
Chapter 723"I haven't really fought Father before head-on."
"And you still won't, I'm not your father. And your Bernard is probably weaker than me."
"Hm."
The voices of the two were calm, but for the one watching them, it was anything but. Gracy was grateful that she was saved, but a little pissed off that Whiteking just threw her away like she was some sort of trash. Granted, that was probably the best outcome she could ever want—after all, if Whiteking finds out that she is Megawoman's daughter, she would probably slit her throat without a second thought.
She wanted to join in on the fight, but seeing what he was seeing now… she would probably just be a fly that they would swat away and not even notice.
The two were talking calmly… but everything around them had already been obliterated into dust. Toronto was already filled with countless debris from the ruined building. The bridges were destroyed, some of the sidewalks and roads have already caved down. But now, they were just dust. From a literal concrete jungle to a concrete desert.
Gracy knew that Whiteking was strong since he was the one to kill her mother, which now probably not only makes him the strongest person on Earth but also probably one of the strongest in the universe.
So, who exactly is the person fighting him right now… and did she actually just try fighting him?
"It is true that you are stronger than the previous Bernard Ross I killed."
Riley casually waves his hand while floating back; creating a telekinetic barrier that stops—no, that slows down each of Bernard's strikes. Each hit, causing the area around them to just… melt away from the force. Riley had been wondering how Bernard was able to kill Aerith, and now his answers were slowly being answered.
The Bernard Ross of this universe is strong, very much so. His orange glowing eyes indicated that he has the Guardian Force, but there was something else—even the Bernard he killed in the previous universe was a Guardian, and yet he wasn't this strong,
"Are you injecting the same thing the Reubens are injecting into their body? A serum made from Aerith's… things."
"...You've been to several universes?" Bernard completely ignored the latter part of Riley's words as he continued pushing Riley back; each of his strikes, getting closer than the last.
"3, including mine. And what about you, Bernard Ross?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he no longer used his hand. He just let himself float back as he summoned barriers to protect him repeatedly, "I have an assumption that you have probably traveled to countless universes."
"I have," Bernard let out a small scoff as he suddenly stopped attacking; both his feet, now planted on the concrete sand, "And I have been to many, saving them from dying by their own hands—and now, I will save mine from you."
"Hm, interesting…" Riley casually placed his hand on his chin as he too, completely relaxed his feet on the ground, "...But what makes you think you need to save your universe from me, Bernard?"
"Because you're a World Ender. I have encountered many of your kind—and you only really need just one reason to lash out," Bernard let out a short but very deep breath as he looked in the direction where Aerith's statue was erected.
"And what reason does Aerith need?" Riley quickly asked as he also looked in the same direction.
"Aerith is not a World Ender," a small and sorrowful smile crawled on Bernard's face.
"But you killed her."
"Because she is a Reason."
"Hm?"
"A Reason for two Enders to snap," Bernard closed his eyes, "Caitlain—Diana Ross. Diana sees Aerith as the hope of their race, and once Aerith becomes obsessed with saving her people, so will Diana… and she will do anything to do that. The other one is Hera who, if the proper events are triggered, will eventually be in dispute with Aerith. And I am sure you are aware of the nature of Hera's abilities."
"Oh," Riley squinted, "Do you now find it odd that the same people could exist, even though past events should also be different?"
"I do. But there are just some things with no answer to," Bernard's eyes once again started to glow orange, "Like you. A Random Anomalous Type and a World Ender that just happened to enter into my universe."
"So, you are like a multiversal superhero, Bernard?"
"Absolutely not," Bernard chuckled, "I have killed so many innocent people that have not yet done anything. I have killed myself, my daughter, my wife… just because there were signs that they could or would potentially end their respective universes. Do you know how many times I have looked my daughter in the eyes as her soul leaves her body?"
"..."
"She's confused, hurt, and betrayed. Asking why her father would do something like that—but pretending to be their actual father is the fastest and safest way to do it," Bernard's voice slightly trembled, "Even my own daughter had to do it to different variants of me, and her mother... and herself."
"Hm, sounds interesting," Riley nodded his head, "It does feel somewhat different when it's family, no? When I tortured the Bernard Ross of the previous universe, and dismembered and decapitated him, I felt a little different from how I usually do whenever I do something like that."
"...I see," Bernard's feet started to leave the ground; the sands, following him and showing the growing rage inside of him as they all trembled, "In all the worlds I have been to, I have never had a son or adopted one. And of course, it just had to turn into a psychopath."
"Oh, what I am is not your fault, Bernard," Riley shook his head, "I was born to be this way—Nothing told me."
"Nothing…" The orange glow in Bernard's eyes flickered, "...You have been in contact with a Preprimordial?"
"I have," Riley casually nodded, "I have also met Death, who does not seem to like me very much for some reason. I suppose I should not be surprised that you are aware of the existence of Nothing, Bernard Prime."
"Bernard… Prime?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "I have met Alice Prime in the previous universe. She is capable of creating a pocket universe in the palm of her hands—I still don't quite know the purpose of it. Alice is my biological mother, by the way."
"...Why are you revealing all of this so casually?"
"You are Bernard Ross. If I don't kill you, you will find out eventually," Riley shrugged, "Also, I do not really know when I am going to die now since I am sick—I have dementia."
"You… don't."
"Hm?"
"I am scanning you right now—you don't."
"...That's what the Diana of the other universe also said," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "Could it be I am only sick in my own universe?"
"...What?"
"Perhaps even the universe itself truly does not want me there," Riley sighed, "I suppose it is its way of correcting its mistake because it gave birth to me. You called me a Random Anomalous Type, correct? Nothing also told me that there is only a single me in the entire multiverse."
"You—"
"Whiteking!"
"Oh, that's the cue for me to disappear," Riley turned to look up, "I have a feeling we will meet again very soon, Bernard."
"Wait, you—"
And before Bernard could even finish his words, Riley just suddenly disappeared. He was going to scan the area for him, but Hannah already landed in front of him; wearing her outfit and ready to go to battle.
"Where is it!?" Hannah's bulky armor made him look even bigger than her father, "I received an alarm from the AI that said you were battling with a World Ender! Where is it!?"
"That's…" Bernard watched as Hannah started looking around. He… had never really seen Hannah like this before—she was still the same, but there was a certain bounce in her movements. Even yesterday when they talked, she couldn't wait to get back to the RAT. If he tells her his true identity…
…it would crush her.
"...It was a false alarm."
"What? But I clearly saw you fighting with something from the satellite!"
"It was a false alarm," Bernard repeated as he flew toward his daughter, "It's nothing you need to worry about. But we do need to talk about something."
"What? What is it?" Hannah did not really look at Bernard and just continued to search the area.
"When we talked before, you said nothing happened during your Expedition."
"Y…Yes?" Hannah flinched, trying her best to feign ignorance as she continued to search for nothing, "Nothing… nothing happened."
"You discovered a new universe."
"That's…" Hannah finally turned to look at Bernard, before letting out a small groan and shaking her head, "...It's more like they discovered us."
"And?"
"...I don't really know the full details, but there were… well… there were already multiple variants there," Hannah chuckled awkwardly, "And a Bernard variant was fucking dead, which I don't know if it was the Bernard of that world or not… and they also kinda summoned a lot of portals which I had to intercept?"
"You…" Bernard's voice quickly became strained as his eyes glowed orange,
"...Why didn't you tell me!?"
***
"...Oh."
"..."
"What's going on, you two?"
A few hours later, with the ambience of the night fully covering New York, Riley was back at Hannah's penthouse—the two of them, casually having dinner…
…with Bernard Ross.
"Well," Riley gestured to Bernard to take a seat, "I told you I had a feeling we will meet again, I cooked for three, Mr. Ross. Feel free to join us."
"Wait…
…the two of you talked before?"
Chapter 724"Why the fuck are you being so awkward, Dad? You're the one who just suddenly came to visit!"
"...You won't understand."
Awkward. Perhaps if there was a time to use that word, then it would be here. Riley, Hannah, and Bernard are all at one table and eating a meal—this would have been a normal sight, but it will never be. After all, one doesn't truly belong.
"What is your relationship with my daughter?"
"Dad…!?"
As for Hannah, she just wanted to either dig a hole for herself, or stab her father right in the eye… and then put him in the hole she dug.
"It is a valid question, dear," Bernard started slicing the steak on his plate, "You, who has been single since the dawn of time, are now suddenly living-in with someone?"
"No one's living-in!" Hannah leaned in closer to Bernard and whispered, as if her loud voice didn't reverberate throughout her entire penthouse, "And we only met like yesterday morning!"
"...And he's already sleeping in your house? I think I raised you better than that."
"Uhh, I raised myself, thank you very fucking much."
"Hm. What is your relationship with my daughter?" Bernard once again turned his attention to Riley, who was just casually eating and not even minding the two of them.
"I believe I already told you earlier, Bernard."
"Wait… You guys really met earlier!?" Hannah could not help but look back and forth between Bernard and Riley.
"Your new friend did not tell you?" Bernard smirked, "He's a Ross."
"We're… we're related?" Hannah's shoulders quickly lowered as soon as she heard Bernard's words.
"No," Riley shook his head, "I was adopted by people with the same surname."
"Wait… did you approach me so you can have some of our money!?" Hannah's eyebrows also began to lower; the temperature inside the penthouse, increasing by the second.
"Someone like me has no need for money, Hannah," Riley shook his head, "I ask and people usually just give me what I want."
"...How does that even fucking work?"
"I ask politely," a very small smile crawled on Riley's face.
"That—"
"Hannah, calm down," Bernard could not help but let out a small but very deep sigh as he saw his daughter's reaction. He wanted to see what Hannah truly feels for Riley, and her quivering voice and eyebrows quickly gave away her vulnerabilities.
This situation is, in two words, fucked up. But Bernard could not really reveal anything, as anything he would and could say about Riley would completely shatter his daughter's heart. If he said that Riley was her adoptive brother in another universe, Bernard, and no one else for that matter will be able to handle the aftermath.
"It's true, he is completely unrelated to us."
"What? Is that—Wait…" Hannah's eyes started to glow orange as she grabbed the knife in front of her, "...Did you just do a background check on the only friend that I have!? I… I mean, I have a lot of friends, but that's not important! Just answer my question!"
"We're the wealthiest family in the entire universe, Hannah—any people within 1 kilometer from us are automatically being checked," Bernard breathed out, "And you don't have to worry…"
Bernard then looked Riley in the eyes as he finally took a bite of the steak in front of him, "There is nothing you should worry about—Wait, did you cook this?"
"I did," Riley nodded.
"This is good, I approve of it," Bernard also nodded. Of course, he still hasn't forgotten that the person in front of him was a World Ender, and potentially the most unique creature in the entire multiverse right now. When he and Riley parted ways earlier, he had the AI run and search the system for anyone that even had a similarity with Riley Ross—but there was truly no one. He repeated the same process a dozen times, and nothing.
Bernard has seen many RATs, Random Anomalous Types in other universes—they were people who did not have any variants, and are therefore unregistered to the system. Usually, however, RATs are just normal people that do not have much impact on anything.
A random person on Earth, a random alien on some planet—it didn't matter. All of them were insignificant existences.
But not Riley Ross.
It wasn't enough that he's a RAT and a World Ender, no. He also had to be close to a variant of him in his universe, very close.
This is a complete mystery for Bernard… and he hates and loves a mystery.
"Keep this one close to you at all times, Hannah," Bernard nodded again, "Do not let him leave your sight."
"What… what the fuck are you even talking about? Sheesh…" Hannah could really only roll her eyes, before taking a subtle glance at Riley; her cheeks, almost as red as the meat juices oozing from her medium-rare steak.
"I appreciate that you like the food I prepared, Bernard Ross," Riley raised his glass filled with milk.
"I hope you don't mind me having dinner here every day," Bernard also raised a glass.
"Of course not, Bernard. You are free to join us, I will cook your favorites every day if you just let me stay here."
"I am still checking if I should really let you stay," a small smile crawled on Bernard's face, "But as long as you promise you won't hurt anyone, I will let you stay… for now. I know the damage you can do, Riley—but I assure you, the longer you stay here, the more I will know how to get rid of you."
"I do not mind, Bernard. I will even welcome your attempts," Riley also smiled as he lowered his glass.
"Very well, then I will also—"
"Why the fuck are you two deciding like the one who actually owns the house isn't here!?"
And so, after a little more exchange of words, Bernard finally left. Hannah was actually looking forward to spending time and chatting with Riley since she fell asleep last time. But alas, she once again fell asleep, drinking her way through frustration since Bernard and Riley seemed to have a world of their own.
And so, with Riley left awake all alone in the penthouse… he decided to return to Toronto.
And there, he found another drunk lady—Claire, the leader of the people who cleaned Aerith's statue, was sleeping in front of her house, completely wasted.
"...Hm," Riley glanced at her for a few seconds, before looking at the key in his hand. Did… she only have one set of keys? If so… then why did she even give it to Riley?
Once again, Riley's charm makes everyone else completely… disarmed. Riley was supposed to create a clone to sleep in Claire's house so that he wouldn't be rude and refused her offer. But alas, the world had different plans.
"..." Riley could really only just look at Claire again, before letting out a small breath and lifting her in the air as he unlocked the small house. Riley only needed to take one step inside before he could see the bed and very carefully place Claire there,
"I will leave your key on the table, Ms. Claire," Riley then waved his finger, covering Claire with her blanket, "Please keep on cleaning Megawoman's statue."
And with that, Riley stepped out to immediately return to Hannah's penthouse… well, that was the plan.
"Who are you, really?"
As Riley stepped out of Claire's house, Gracy was already there waiting for her. Her back leaning against the wall as she had her arms crossed while once again wearing the ski mask on her head,
"Your name is Riley Ross. You say you are not related to the Ross family, and yet I saw the news that you are currently living with Hannah Ross. So tell me, who are you… really?"
"I have lost count of how many times that has been asked of me," Riley let out a small but deep sigh as he looked Gracy in the eyes, "Shall we…
…talk elsewhere?"
***
"Shit… I just entered the USA illegally."
"It is fine, Gracy Gray. This world does not seem to care about illegal domestic travels, only multiversal travels."
"...What are you even talking about? And… why did you bring me here?"
Although Gracy was a little lightheaded from being carried by Riley all the way to another country, her eyes were completely clear—reflecting a statue of her mother that has been vandalized and literally defecated on.
"Your people, the supporters of Megawoman…" Riley also looked at the statue in the middle of Central Park, "...Why have they not cleaned this statue yet?"
"They're not my people," Gracy rolled her eyes and scoffed, "And why do you even care about my mother that much?"
"I told you, I was her lover."
"Do not let thy bullshit come out of your mouth again, Riley Ross," Gracy crossed her arms as she stood closer to Riley; their eyes, at the same level, "I know you could've killed me anytime you wanted, so just tell me what it is that you want."
"May I ask why almost everyone hates your mother?"
"Have you been asleep for the past decade?"
"Only half of a decade, Gracy," Riley sighed, "I have been searching the internet, trying to learn more about how different this Aerith is from the one I know. But all I read is that she is an alien, and she had been colluding with her race to conquer Earth—that's it."
"And what more do you need to know?" Gracy's eyebrows lowered, "How else could it be any clearer than that? If that is what it reported, then that's what the people decided."
"Are you saying it is true, Gracy?" Riley once again sighed as he looked at the face of Aerith's statue, "Are you saying that Aerith… wanted to enslave the humans?"
"Bullshit!" Gracy suddenly raised her voice, "Of course not! My mother loved the rest of you more than me! Do you know how many times I celebrated my birthday without my mother? Because she's out there saving the rest of you?"
"I assume she was never there during your birthday, Gracy," Riley casually answered, "I already know that she was not a present parent."
"Yes! Yes!" Gracy seemed like she wanted to pull her hair out as she started walking around, glancing at her mother's statue repeatedly.
"You felt unloved?"
"I feel unloved—no. No!" Gracy let out a forced chuckle as she raised a finger, "I don't feel unloved because I don't even know if Megawoman even loved me in the first place. She chose you, she chose the rest of you over her own daughter. Over her own family…"
Gracy then suddenly rested her face on Riley's chest; wanting to hide her tears from Riley's eyes, but their warmth dampened his skin.
"…Do you think someone like that... someone like that is really capable of betraying mankind?"
Chapter 725She chose you, she chose the rest of you over her own daughter. Over her own family…
…do you think someone like that is really capable of betraying mankind?"
"I believe all of us are capable of everything if the right parameters are set and triggered, Gracy."
"What?"
It wasn't just their conversation setting the mood, the empty park in the otherwise noisy and busy city caused their breaths to literally be trapped in the dim expanse they find themselves in. It made their already serious conversation turn even more… desolate.
It was only her, him, and the statue of someone that has abandoned them. One is a promise of blood. The other, a covenant that was broken. Aerith has promised Riley that she will never let him leave her side—that she would stop her no matter what.
She did stop him in their universe, and she stayed there.
She lied.
Or perhaps if Riley still truly does know her, she is out there right now trying to get him back—he did leave a fine gift in the previous universe, after all. Right now, Aerith is probably blaming herself that Riley had just killed hundreds of billions of people—and once again, one of her own.
"I have seen mothers abandon their own child in panic, I have also seen mothers exhaust the lives of others to save their children. But of course, most save their children without fear for their own lives."
Riley's eyes did not leave the face of Aerith's statue. He does not really know when, but his infatuation with Aerith became much more… and he also doesn't know when he became aware of this. At first, Riley thought it was just a weird obsession—like what we have for Italian Mafia Reborn and spoons, but no.
He feels something for Aerith. Love? Perhaps. But whatever it is, he knows he doesn't deserve it.
"Aerith is none of those. She will try to save everyone, at the cost of neglecting her own child."
"What are you getting—"
"The Aerith I know treasures people as much as she could, perhaps too much. She doesn't do it because of duty, but because she can. But I also do know that she wasn't there for you, like she wasn't there for Gary. But I suppose this version of hers could be different."
"...Gary? You keep saying that name. Wait…" Gracy's feet once again left the ground as she looked right at her mother's face, and then down to Riley. She did this a couple of times, before landing back right in front of Riley,
"...Don't tell me you have a son with my mother!?"
"No."
"...Oh," Gracy quickly let out a sigh of relief, fanning herself with her hand and causing her hair to dance with the wind. And after a few seconds of this, she let out another sigh and looked Riley in the eyes,
"You know, you probably know my mother more than I do. Even now, I am knowing more about her than when she was still here with us."
"No," Riley shook his head,
"I do know more than you. But I suppose I too, barely know anything about her—She has lived for a thousand years, I have lived not even a percent of that. And in your mother's case, I absolutely know nothing about her because she has lived a completely different life than what I know of."
"...You say some weird stuff sometimes."
"I am known for being weird and dark."
"...Like the opposite of your perfectly smooth and white skin. You're like one of those beautiful snow queens in novels, except you're a man," Gracy widened her eyes as she realized what she just said; her feet, subconsciously taking a step back as she looked away,
"And… and I am definitely not attracted to you! You attacked my dad and even tried to kill me!"
"Hm," Riley shrugged as he slightly approached Gracy, "I did not attack your dad, but I did try to kill you."
"Wait… what?" Gracy blinked a couple of times as she once again took a step back. She then finally turned to look at their surroundings, only to realize that they were completely alone. And since the streets outside the park were extremely busy—no one would even hear her even if she let out the strongest scream she could,
"Secluded, dark, and in front of my mother's statue. Wait, wait…"
Gracy continued to back away as she pointed both her palms at Riley, "This… This is the perfect place to kill me! You… it's like you want to show my mother that you killed me in front of her! You…
…you brought me here to kill me, didn't you!?"
"..." Riley also blinked a couple of times, before just casually nodding his head, "I did."
"Wha—"
"But I am not in the mood for that anymore," Riley then let out a sigh as he faced Aerith's statue again.
"Wait… So, you were going to kill me!?" Gracy immediately looked for an escape but quickly realized that she wouldn't even be able to go anywhere just from the fact that Riley was probably a hundred times faster than her.
"As I said…
…I am not in the mood anymore.]
[So, you were in the mood earlier!?]
Unbeknownst to the two, there were actually multiple people listening in on them and watching them ever since they entered back into the United States. Bernard was only a few kilometers away from them, standing on top of a building as he watched the feed being uploaded to his helmet by one of his satellites.
There was also the World Government, which had been watching Riley ever since he first made the news. After all, an unknown individual linked with both The Reuben and the Ross family? Suffice it to say, he was currently the highest priority.
The Reubens were also watching them, but for completely different reasons entirely. Twice now… Twice did Riley Ross humiliate them. They were planning to know more about him so they could plan an attack… but they were given so much more.
Megawoman has a daughter. The three continued to watch—soon, however, their feed became blurry and turned completely dark all of a sudden. The Government and the Reubens immediately scattered to turn back their feed, Bernard, on the other hand, already switched to another satellite.
And there, he saw another silhouette join the two.
"Golden Fox…" Bernard's eyebrows lowered as he stared at Chihiro's silhouette very slowly emerging from the ground,
"...The Avatar of Machina. This is getting… interesting."
[Riley, we should continue our talk about—Who is this?]
[G… Golden Fox!?]
Gracy almost jumped in shock as Chihiro suddenly appeared from nowhere. She then quickly looked back at Riley, before letting out a short but very deep gasp,
"Wait… could the two of you be… Are you two a part of some sort of secret shadow organization!? If so, I am in! I am so in!"
"...Excuse me?" Chihiro, who was still a little confused as to who Gracy was, could not help but slightly adjust her mask.
"That was a test, right!?" Gracy almost shrieked as she looked at Riley, "You weren't really trying to kill me, you were testing me if you could recruit me into your secret organization!?"
"N—"
"Count me in!" Gracy stood straight up as she covered her face with her ski mask again, "I already have my own mask!"
"Riley… who is this?" Chihiro squinted her already small eyes as she looked at Riley, "She looks… sort of familiar."
"She—"
"The name's Gracy Gray!" Gracy quickly rushed toward Chihiro, grabbing and violently shaking her hand. And since Gracy was an entire foot taller than Chihiro, she almost flung her away with how excitedly she was shaking her hand.
"H… Hello?"
"Hi, hi!" Gracy giggled. But after a few seconds, she let out another gasp and suddenly backed away, "You two were going to talk about something, right? I'll… I'll just be behind the statue while you guys discuss me joining your group."
"What?"
"What?" Gracy feigned ignorance as she walked away, "I didn't say anything."
"That is an odd woman," Chihiro muttered as she watched Gracy go behind Aerith's statue, only for her to lean her head out from time to time, "Were the two of you talking about something important? Should I return?"
"No, it is fine, Golden Fox."
"That… is good," Chihiro placed her hand on her tiny chest as she breathed out deeply, "My System is actually telling me to approach you again. I think it's giving me a clue on how to defeat this… villain."
"Your System can't tell you who you are supposed to defeat, Golden Fox?" Riley tilted his head to the side fully knowing that he was the villain her System was talking about.
"It can be vague sometimes," Chihiro sighed, "But it keeps on telling me that the villain is in this country, and it's telling me to approach you."
"Hm," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "That is odd."
"Right?" Chihiro once again sighed, "I can't find the violent man in the memory. And I can't seem to contact Whiteking to ask for his help. I need to find this villain… or else everyone will die."
"Everyone?" Riley squinted, "It told you that?"
"Yes."
"...Interesting. This System of yours seems like it knows a lot of things about this Villain."
"Hm," Chihiro nodded several times, "It feels like it wants to give me more information, but it can't. It's saying something about a multiverse? It's weird."
"..."
"It's also the first time it is acting this way. It's almost like…
…it's actually afraid."
Chapter 726"Bring back the feed, quick!"
"Buy the nearest satellite if you need to!"
"But… the nearest satellite belongs to Ross!"
"Fuck!"
Whether the Reubens or the Government, the two were currently panicking as they tried to bring back their feed. They were nearing the most important parts, and now they could not even connect to their satellites—even their screen started to distort, showing nothing but a blue screen.
As for Bernard, he just quickly switched to another satellite—and he did this all standing on top of a building with nothing but his Whiteking suit. But switching to another satellite alone was actually not enough. There was a reason why the feed disappeared and their screens turned black, and that is solely because of Chihiro's sudden appearance.
Chihiro's abilities are passively capable of restricting any form of technology from working around her—something that only her abilities could control, and not her directly.
But Bernard, of course, found a reason to bypass this restriction throughout his adventures to different universes.
One would think he would have a confident expression on his face solely because of this face, but no. His fat cheeks were currently quivering and the smile growing on his face was because of extreme anxiety.
[The System… It's like it is afraid.]
Chihiro herself doesn't know the extent of her abilities, of what it truly is… but Bernard does.
Chihiro's powers were granted to her by Machina, a god. Specifically, the God of Machines…
…a Primordial God.
Primordial, as their name suggests, are the oldest gods in existence. They weren't old gods, but more ancient than them. They are beings of creation from creation.
The concept of the multiverse is foreign to them. As for them, the multiverse is all just part of a single plane on which they could just freely move.
These primordial gods do not interfere with the workings of the universe, as they have already done their part during creation—everyone and everything that has happened and will happen is insignificant to them.
A universe will disappear, and the most they would do is be curious. But sometimes, however, they would get bored—but they limit their interference as much as possible, and one of the ways of doing so is by a contract.
They choose an Avatar, and Chihiro is one of those people.
The Avatar of Machina—she exists in all universes without fail. This is also one of the reasons why the universes are similar to each other—the primordial gods make sure their avatars will be present everywhere.
They manipulate certain events, some even as small as a single atom, just to ensure the existence of their Avatar.
And the reason why Bernard knows all of this is that he had personally met Machina during his early ventures throughout the multiverse, or more specifically, he came to Bernard in a form of a nightmare.
And what Bernard saw was something… unfathomable. Bernard has always been confident that there were no secrets in the universe that could hide from him, but he was hit with a reality that might as well be a fantasy.
The Primordials are beings that will always be beyond him—something that can never be surpassed.
And a being like that…
…is afraid?
"Shit…" Bernard could not help but just cover his mouth as an unexpected breath escaped his shivering lips,
"Just what did we let inside our universe…?"
'And what was his variant thinking raising someone like this?' But then again, this thought made Bernard wince. After all, he himself knows how foolish he becomes when it came to family.
That was his greatest weakness.
"Anna," Bernard let out a sigh loud enough to drown the waft of air blowing over his head.
[Yes, Whiteking?]
"You do still have the location of the Universe Riley came from, right?"
[Yes. As it is saved in Ms. Hannah's files, it was completely safe from the files that were deleted. Would you like me to open a Portal for you in our super secret base?]
"Yes," Bernard nodded, "It is time to find out what is really—Wait."
Bernard was about to fly away, but before he could do so, another figure joined Riley and the others in the park.
"What the—I thought she was already sleeping in her room!?"
It was, of course, none other than the Hannah of this universe—just casually walking across the park, still in her pajamas.
"Riley, what are you doing here?" Hannah let out a subtle yawn as she just casually approached Riley out of nowhere, "And… isn't this Golden Fox? And who is the weird done with a ski mask?"
"I…" Gracy did not really know what to do from the sudden appearance of Hannah—probably the most famous woman on the entire planet, "I…
…am Shadowfox," and so, Gracy could really only cover half of her already covered face with her hand as she introduced her… new title.
"Shadow…fox?" Hannah squinted her eyes as she looked at Gracy from head to toe, before finally glancing at Chihiro, "The two of you a group?"
"N—"
"Yes," Gracy was the one to answer, "We are all part of a secret organization."
"There is no such thing," Chihiro quickly said as she shook her head. This was followed by an awkward silence; an awkward silence that lasted for a few seconds before the three ladies started looking at each other.
Their eyes, squinted as if they were sizing each other up.
"Riley," Hannah was the first to break eye contact as she walked closer to Riley, "I… woke up and you weren't home."
"Yes," Riley nodded, "I went out for a walk in Canada and then went back here."
"I see… so that's why the signal did not reach," Hannah let out an awkward giggle, "Don't misunderstand, the keycard that I gave you has a GPS since I always lose even the spare."
"It is fine even if you are stalking me intentionally, Ms. Hannah. But know that at the end of everything, I will really only come home to you."
"That's… stop it," Hannah rolled her eyes as she looked away; trying her best not to almost squeam right there and then, "Stop… being so cringe."
"Hm."
"Anyway…" Hannah once again looked at Chihiro and Gracy, "...What are you even doing here with Golden Fox?"
"I—"
"I can answer that, Lady Hannah," Chihiro bowed her head as she stood in front of Hannah,
"Perhaps it is fate that you are here right now. I need your help."
"...Huh?" Hannah raised an eyebrow.
"I have actually been trying to reach your father," Chihiro sighed, "But he seems to be very busy at the moment."
"...What do you need from him?"
"I… need his help in trying to find a villain, the Villain."
Chihiro then started explaining the mission she received from her System to Hannah. Telling her everything, and how Riley seems to be one of the keys in trying to find the said villain.
And of course, Gracy was also there listening.
"A… villain from another world!?" Gracy almost choked from gasping too hard, "That… the multiverse is real?"
Hannah, on the other hand, found it hard to feign amazement and confusion. After all, she had known the existence of the multiverse for a very long time now.
"That… sounds ridiculous," Hannah breathed out.
"Yes…" Chihiro sighed, "But it's true."
"And are we just supposed to take your word for it?"
"...Yes."
"Okay. Let's say what you say is true," Hannah squinted her eyes as she tried her best to pretend ignorance and skepticism as much as possible, "Your system or whatever says the villain is here? Where here?"
"Just… here," Chihiro once again sighed as she shrugged and looked around to nowhere in particular, "I approached Riley because he was there in the memory the System showed me. I thought maybe he could… help me find the Villain."
"And does this villain have a fucking name?"
"I… it's not really clear. His name was mentioned, but there were too much screaming and noise to understand. The only name I heard was Riley's," Chihiro glanced at Riley, before turning to look at Hannah again,
"You were there as well, wearing some sort of pink suit similar to Nuclear—"
"I was there as well!?" Hannah did not let Chihiro finish her words, "Wait… you mentioned you saved Riley from this tall villain…
…so what exactly was your relationship with Riley in that memory?"
"I…don't know," Chihiro subtly grasped her chest, "But he is probably important to me if I risked my life for him."
"..."
"One of the Jackson twins was also there, Bella. And then a beautiful blonde lady that…
…looks somewhat similar to her," Chihiro pointed at Gracy… whose head was completely covered with a ski mask.
"Wha—How do you know what I look like!?" Gracy quickly pulled down her mask to make sure it was still there.
"...You weren't wearing it earlier."
"Oh… right."
"Wait, wait…" Hannah stretched her arms to the side as she stopped everyone else from talking, "So, what you are basically saying is that in that memory… You, me, that crazy metal chick, and another beautiful woman were there?"
"Yes, well…" Chihiro slightly tilted her head to the side, "We were obviously a lot younger, but yes."
"So, you mean to say…" Hannah's eyebrows began to lower as she looked at Riley,
"...Riley was surrounded by only women, like he is now?"
"Ah!" Gracy pointed at Riley, "You're a harem protagonist, ew!"
"..." Chihiro blinked a couple of times before her already small eyes also squinted as she looked Riley in the eyes.
"Wha—is that true!? Fuck you, Riley!"
"..." Riley could really only look at the three, slightly confused,
"...What did I do?"
Chapter 727"At least 6'6" tall, insanely muscular, light-brown hair. That should be easy to filter."
"What the—how do you guys even have access to this?"
"The Ross owns everything under the sun."
"Multiple suns, actually."
"For reals?"
"..."
Just a few moments ago, Riley and the ladies were surrounded by the serenity and the isolation of Central Park. But now, they were inside the comforts of Hannah's penthouse; the three ladies, huddled together in front of the bar looking at a laptop. The three of them do not really know each other, but it didn't take long for them to actually be buddies with each other—perhaps it was a friendship that transcends the multiverse, or perhaps because Riley was there to put them together, no one really knows.
As for Riley, he was busy checking out the streaming sites available in this universe, continuing his search for Italian Mafia Reborn. For some reason, however, he finds himself pausing and glancing at the three from time to time, especially after hearing what Hannah just said about them owning almost everything in the entire Known Universe.
The previous Bernard he killed ruled the universe he was in, while this one owns almost everything. In a way, they were so successful that you could even depict them as gods in their own right.
But the Bernard of his world, his adoptive father—other than being Whiteking and a member of Hope Guild, he was somewhat a lackey of the government for half of his life. It was like he never truly achieved what he was meant to do and what he could be… and it was obvious why.
Riley Ross's existence.
It could be none other than his fault. Everyone was not able to reach their potential because he existed. But then again, not that Riley was trying to compliment himself, but Aerith is alive and well-treated, respected, and idolized in his world.
Pirate Queen Xra also stopped pirating, lightening the work of the Guardian Force, Lahestia, the Common Council, and all the other police forces in his universe by probably more than 80%. Last he heard, the Cherbi was also tamed by one of his clones and was now no longer targeting star systems indiscriminately.
Mega Academy also existed. And there was even a school for Supers with special needs created by Paige.
There were no secret organizations or governments, because Darkday was enough. And if there happens to be a villain group, they are always accidentally killed by Riley.
Other than him causing trouble here and there, his universe was… ironically safe and peaceful.
In this universe and the previous one, Earth seemed to always be fighting with the themarians and other species.
Humans… are the villains.
But with him there, Bernard can't do anything. The evil people that lurk in the shadows can't do anything… because they were nothing compared to the darkness Riley leaves behind.
Does that not make him… a hero?"
"Pft," Riley could not help but let out a small chuckle as soon as the thought entered his mind. Perhaps he should tell that to Aerith once they meet again.
"..." The smile on Riley's face instantly disappeared as soon as he remembered Aerith's face. Now that he had time to think and truly relax…
…wasn't he actually betrayed by her?
He wasn't only abandoned, but betrayed.
"Do I have the right to feel this way?" Riley let go of the remote as he placed his hand on his chin. Can a monster like him really be betrayed? He and Aerith were enemies from the start, after all.
If there was someone he should feel betrayed by, it should be Diana—but for some reason, Riley was not really thinking of her.
Why was he even so obsessed with Aerith in the first place? Because she was the first to make him afraid? No, Hannah does that aplenty.
Because she was his equal? But Aerith has lived a hundred of his lifetimes, they will never be equal.
Because he fell in love with her? If so, what does that even mean?
"..." Riley looked at the TV for a few seconds, before just shrugging his shoulders and once again started searching for shows. These weird emotions and thoughts that he was having for the first time, it was quite… tiring to the mind.
How do normal people actually deal with all these emotions?
And while Riley was busy trying to find himself and Italian Mafia Reborn at the same time, the ladies also continued their search for a villain that they did not know was already casually relaxing on a sofa just meters away from them.
Until finally, after an entire hour, their search seemed to bear fruit.
"Ah, is this him!?"
"...No."
Or so they thought.
"But this guy is the last on the fucking list!" Hannah almost slammed the laptop shut as she groaned in frustration. She then munched a handful of popcorn that they microwaved along their search. Chihiro and Gracy also put some snacks in their mouth, eating out the stress and frustrations they were feeling.
As for Riley, he was casually sipping a glass of milk and eating a cookie; finally finding something to watch.
"Oi, why aren't you helping us to search!?"
Riley's head slightly flinched forward as a piece of popcorn was thrown at the back of his head. He turned around, only to see Hannah's hand stretched forward with a dumbfounded and shocked expression on her face.
"...Awkward," Gracy loudly whispered as she looked at Chihiro, who still had her mask on,
"Why didn't you block the popcorn like you blocked that guy's fist, Golden Fox?"
"...Are you serious?"
"I… I don't know why I did that," Hannah's face quickly became flushed as she saw Riley looking at her. She had really only known Riley for less than 3 days, and she was already treating him like they have known each other since they were young.
Could it be… they were really close in another universe? After all, in Chihiro's memory, she was also there.
"..." But she wasn't the one who jumped in front of Riley to save him. But then again, why would Chihiro jump in front of Riley in the first place? Although Hannah still has not seen what Riley was capable of, it was obvious just from the glimpses that she had seen that Riley was strong—he treated Jonas Reuben like an insect.
"Ack, this is boring!"
And with the sudden awkwardness lingering in the air, Gracy just leaped from the bar and jumped straight onto the sofa; her decently-sized bosoms, bouncing as she landed right beside Riley.
"You—you're gay, aren't you?" Gracy then smirked as she leaned closer to Riley, "You have been alone with 3, and I am not boasting here, 3 beautiful and well-packaged women, and I have only seen you glance at us once. Once. Other men would have already done something, anything."
"I am not other men, Gracy," Riley let out a small sigh as he wiped the milk above his upper lip, "I am a monster."
"...Oh?" Gracy raised an eyebrow, "And if this monster has a chance, who would you take to bed among the three of us?"
"..." Hannah was actually about to stop the conversation, but as soon as she heard Gracy's spicy inquiry, she quickly stopped and heightened her senses. Even Chihiro, who thought Gracy was just trying to lighten up the mood and break the ice, could not help but almost remove her mask there and then.
Chihiro subtly glanced at Hannah, who clearly has some sort of feelings for Riley. As for her, she didn't really know what to feel—She saved Riley, that has to mean something.
"Take to bed? Do you mean sexual intercourse, Gracy?"
"Kh…" Gracy almost choked on her own breath as she didn't expect Riley's bluntness; her face, reddening like cherry in no time, "Y…yes."
"..." Riley placed his hand on his chin, before just shaking his head, "No one."
"No one?" Gracy squinted her eyes, "I don't believe you. So, if I am to strip right here and now… you wouldn't do something to me?"
"...Something's not right," Chihiro finally spoke as she noticed the small giggles escaping Gracy's lips. She then turned to look back at the counter, only to see an empty bottle of alcohol in front of the seat Gracy was seating on earlier, "Did… she drink all of that?"
"No, Gracy. I know you as a man, after all," Riley sighed.
"Wha—You think this is a man!?" And without even any warning, Gracy suddenly tore off her shirt.
"Fucking fuck!" Hannah, as well as Chihiro quickly rushed toward Gracy, trying their best to pull her down. But alas, the child of Aerith may lose in a fight against Hannah or Chihiro, but she wouldn't lose to a contest of strength as she also just dragged the two closer to Riley.
"Stop, stop!" Hannah clenched her teeth as she tried her best to push Gracy. Gracy, however, grabbed her shirt and pushed her away… also tearing it to pieces in the process.
"You bitch!" Hannah let out a scream as she once again attempted to push Gracy, this time violently. But alas, she was the one to be pushed back and trip… falling right on top of Riley—the only thing between her breasts and Riley's face; her bra.
"Wha…"
And with this chaos just starting to ensue, the elevator doors suddenly rang. The three could not really do anything as they were still slightly tangled. And so, they all just very slowly turned their heads to the elevator as it opened…
…only to see another Hannah on the other side.
"..."
"..."
"...What the fuck?"
"What the fuck!?"
Chapter 728"...What the fuck?"
"What the fuck!?"
This seemed to have been happening often in Riley and Hannah's life. But for the others that were in the room, specifically Chihiro and Gracy, this was the very first time they were experiencing an encounter with a variant from another universe.
"There's… two of you?" Gracy could not help but point her finger back and forth between the Hannah on the elevator and the Hannah whose breasts were currently pinned down on Riley's chest, "Elevator Hannah… and Shirtless Hannah!?"
"What the fuck is this?" Elevator Hannah's nose twitched, snarling to the point where her vexation was already literally painting her face. She seemed to want to say something else than the words she had already repeated twice, but there was nothing escaping her half-opened mouth.
She and Shirtless Hannah were just staring at each other; their eyes, both showing shock but for different reasons. Shirtless Hannah could not help but just look at Elevator Hannah from head to toe, finding it hard to believe that there was a variant of her just reflecting on her eyes without any warning or notice coming from the AI.
As for Elevator Hannah, well… how could she not be shocked when her brother was currently motorboating and suffocating between her variant's breasts? A million thoughts repeated in her mind like clockwork as she tried to think of reasons why something like this could happen.
She then turned to look at the other people in the room, only to find that she recognized someone else.
"...Chihiro?"
"!!!" Chihiro quickly covered her face as she thought that she lost her mask during the rumble when she was trying to prevent Gracy from doing something she would regret. To her relief, however, the golden fox mask was still firmly planted on her face. She quickly focused her attention back to Elevator Hannah, using her abilities to identify who she truly was—and to her shock, it truly was also Hannah Ross.
One of Chihiro's abilities allows her to analyze and store certain information about people. If she meets a person for the first time, then the letters that will appear above that person's head would be a bunch of question marks—question marks that would start to fill as soon as the person tells her their name.
And so, for two people that looked alike to bear the same name… wouldn't that mean they were basically the same person? This was the first time this had happened to her, and she couldn't quite figure out what to do but just… watch things unfold.
Chihiro, however, does have an idea of what was happening—the Hannah that was shown in her memories, the chance of her being Elevator Hannah was extremely high, especially since she knows Golden Fox's true identity.
And while everyone was confused as to what was happening, Shirtless Hannah finally began to move; she lifted up both her arms from the sofa, causing her breasts to pin Riley's head even further. She was a bit uncomfortable with what was happening, but taking action took priority as she tapped her wrist… completely forgetting that she was not wearing the bracelet which stored her nano-armor suit.
"Shit…" And finally, Shirtless Hannah pulled herself away from Riley; some of his hair, stapled on the garters of her bra. And even as Riley's long white hair slid across the skin of her breasts and almost tangled around her teat, Shirtless Hannah fought the urge to shiver as she focused on Elevator Hannah.
Shirtless Hannah then quickly somersaulted back behind the sofa, rushing to grab her phone from the bar and dial something on it.
"I have made contact with a Trespasser," Shirtless Hannah said as her eyes did not leave Elevator Hannah for even a single moment, "Reporting a possible leak with our portals. I require immediate backup."
"Fucking…" Elevator Hannah's eye started to twitch as she watched as Shirtless Hannah started tumbling and running around the penthouse with her bra out in the open; her snarls, turning into a full-on scowl, "Stop fucking running around with my tits out in the open, you fuck!"
"Trespasser is getting angry, fuck!" Shirtless Hannah dropped the phone to the floor as the air around her started to distort, "I will deal with the threat accordingly. You guys, hide in my room! There's another elevator hidden in the closet left of my bed!"
"...What?" Both Chihiro and Gracy could really only… dumbfoundingly look back and forth between the two, with nothing really registering in their minds but more and more confusion.
"Stop waving your hands with my breasts exposed!" Elevator Hannah once again screamed as she finally fully stepped out of the elevator; her finger, violently pointing at Shirtless Hannah as the door behind started to close.
And before the doors could completely close, Shirtless Hannah's feet left the floor as she carefully flew closer to Elevator Hannah. As she did so, however, the air around Elevator Hannah also began to distort—the floors, also melting.
"..." Shirtless Hannah could not help but stop in mid-air; her eyes, squinting as she stared at the melting floor.
Her entire penthouse was made of Starcarbide, a material from a different galaxy that could withstand the maximum heat Shirtless Hannah could produce. Which means only one thing—Elevator Hannah's abilities were far stronger than hers. And the fact that only the floor near her was melting also means that her control was also even more extraordinary.
Still, if Shirtless Hannah had her armor right now, then this Hannah would be nothing. But alas, she had to make do with what she had—and what she had wasn't bad at all.
And after a second of thought, Shirtless Hannah once again rushed toward Elevator Hannah. The two of them were immune from each other's abilities, and so, all Shirtless Hannah could really do was turn this into a dog fight…
…and she was confident that she won't lose against herself, because she never has.
"I don't know where the fuck you spawned from," Shirtless Hannah smirked as she gathered heat on her leg, "But you're going home dead or alive!"
Shirtless Hannah's leg then shot from the floor, swinging over her head as she slammed it like an axe aiming straight for Elevator Hannah's right shoulder. Elevator Hannah, however, just calmly tilted her body and very slightly stepped to the right to dodge it.
The smile on Shirtless Hannah's face did not disappear as the path of her kick suddenly changed direction. As soon as she did so, however, a smirk also started to crawl on Elevator Hannah's face as she ducked forward and proceeded to slam her fist down on Shirtless Hannah's toes.
"!!!" And with Shirtless Hannah wearing nothing but the skin of her foot, she could really only grit from the pain. Sadly for her, that was the only time Elevator Hannah needed as she slammed her head on Shirtless Hannah's chin.
It wasn't over, however. With Shirtless Hannah's head slightly lifted up, Elevator Hannah quickly slapped the back of her hand toward her throat, flicking her fingers for maximum force.
"Kh…!" Shirtless Hannah took several steps back as she grasped her neck.
Elevator Hannah, who saw Shirtless Hannah's breasts swinging around as she struggled, once again snarled as this time, she was the one to rush over—mercilessly grabbing Shirtless Hannah by the face and slamming her down straight on the sofa right beside Riley.
"Stay the fuck down, fucking… Alabama hoe!"
"W…what?" Shirtless Hannah could not really think straight; the only thought in her mind was that she lost. She lost without even putting up much of a fight, "I…
…I lost?"
"You lack training," Elevator Hannah scoffed and rolled her eyes, before a slightly smug smile painted her face, "The perks of having a younger brother to beat off every day."
"You… beat off your younger brother?" Gracy commented on the side; her face, filled with disgust.
"That's not what I fucking meant and you know it, whoever you are!" Elevator Hannah pointed at Gracy, before violently turning her finger toward Riley, who seemed to be in his own world as he was looking at the TV instead of the commotion literally happening near him,
"We're going home! You've only been gone for like what? A week!? And you're back to causing fucking problems!?"
"...What?" Shirtless Hannah looked back and forth between Riley and Elevator Hannah, "You… brother?"
"Fuck!" Elevator Hannah groaned in frustration as she heard Shirtless Hannah's words, "Fuck! I'm fucking glad that you're not actually aware that he's my brother. Because, oh god… if you knew and you just motorboated him, that's… oh, fuck!"
"Hm…" Riley finally turned his attention away from the TV as he looked at his sister, "...It would seem my sister still wins over her variants when it comes to having a loud mouth."
"The fuck you say!?" Elevator Hannah snarled, "You're coming home, now."
"Okay," Riley shrugged, before just casually standing up and walking away.
"It was quite short," Riley then turned to Shirtless Hannah and the others, "But I did have fun with our adventures, everyone."
"Wait… wait," Shirtless Hannah finally recovered as she stood up while still caressing her neck, "You… you're from another universe?"
"Yes."
"You… lied to me?" Shirtless Hannah's breaths almost became gasps as she stared at Riley.
"No," Riley shook his head, "Perhaps a little, but no."
"What the fuck is happening…?" Gracy leaned closer to Chihiro, whose eyes were now slightly watering as she looked at Riley.
"Could it be…" Chihiro's hand trembled as she pointed at Riley,
"You… you're the one in the memory?"
"..."
"...I suppose."
"Then…
…are you here because you wanted to see me again?"
Chapter 729"Did… you come here to see me?"
"Hm?"
And all of a sudden, the air of confusion in the air was drowned by Chihiro's quiet, and almost quivering voice; filled with an expectation that was almost… heartbreaking. In truth, she didn't really want to ask—but she needed to know.
She didn't want an answer, but she needed to know. Shirtless Hannah felt the same—after all, Riley was probably the first to ever make her feel something other than pain. Even now, as betrayal looms over her, she doesn't quite feel hurt. Instead, she just felt… disappointed.
Disappointed that Riley wasn't actually for her. Disappointed that in the other world, they were actually siblings. Disappointed that he might have travelled all this way for someone else.
"Did… did you come here because you missed me and wanted to see me?" Chihiro repeated her words. And with a deep breath, she removed her mask and looked Riley dead in the eyes.
"No."
And without even any hesitation, Riley shook his head, "I went here because Shirtless Hannah left the portal open."
"...Portal?" Both Chihiro and Gracy looked at Shirtless Hannah. Shirtless Hannah, however, only covered her breasts as she glared at Riley.
"Stop calling me that!" Shirtless Hannah breathed out in frustration, "And wait… you were from the universe with the two Bernards and two Dianas?"
"Yes. I was the one who killed the Bernard of that world," Riley nodded, "The Bernard that was alive is my adoptive father, while the more beautiful Diana is my adoptive mother."
"You… killed a Bernard?"
"...What the fuck is going on?" Gracy could not help but just look back and forth between the two, "Why is everyone doing a multiverse concept now!? Even the new sprinter movie that just came out involved the multiverse! It… it's really real!?"
"So… it's just a coincidence that you're here?" Gracy was completely ignored as Chihiro stepped closer to Riley, once again looking him straight in the eyes, "But… but you were in my memory. You… you were supposed to help me find the villain from another wo—"
It said that when you realized something that was right there in front of you all along, it will almost feel like there's a switch that was turned on that made everything heavier. Chihiro didn't really believe that… until now.
"...No," Chihiro started to back away; her eyes still looking at Riley. This time, however, the look of endearment and expectation was completely gone—replaced with nothing but a depressing sadness,
"You… are you the Villain from another world?"
"..." Riley tilted his head to the side as he returned Chihiro's gaze. And once again, without any hesitation, he nodded his head, "Perhaps—I am a villain. But it could also be my sister."
"Don't fucking drag me into this weird-ass conversation," Hannah rolled her eyes, before letting out a long and deep sigh as she looked at Chihiro, "...Long time no see. I… miss you."
"...Uh."
"I know," Hannah lightly chuckled, "You're not her. I just wanted to get it off my chest. Riley, let's go."
"Okay," Riley nodded as he started just casually waving goodbye to everyone else.
"Wait, no. What the fuck!?" Shirtless Hannah, however, quickly blocked their path as she stood in front of the elevator, "I can't just let you leave! Not now that I know you're jumping to different—"
"Let them leave."
And before Hannah could finish her words, the elevator doors opened—revealing her father, as well as a thinner version of her father.
"Hello again," Diana was also there—the wound on her stomach, seemingly gone, "You really didn't poison me, I appreciate that."
And it wasn't only them—the elevator was filled with people that looked like each other.
"...Mom?" Gracy forgot to stop breathing as she saw Aerith. She was about to approach, but noticed that there was another somewhat youthful-looking Aerith, "...Two moms?"
"My name is Silvie, Ms. Gracy," Silvie awkwardly chuckled as she made sure to step away from Aerith. With her now in her early 20s, the difference between her and Aerith was getting harder and harder to see.
"You… know who I am?"
"I've… met you a couple of times throughout our short search," Silvie smiled as she looked Gracy in the eyes, "You were a guy in some of them… and you were also a man in my universe."
"I… was a man? That… that explains why I'm like this," Gracy clasped her head.
"Wait, Dad!? Is it really alright to be revealing this stuff to everyone!?"
"It's fine. I was the one who found and approached them. My variant and I have already discussed things," Bernard said.
"We're all variants," Bernard said.
"Debatable."
"Wait, you know I was a man in other worlds as well!?" Gracy looked at Shirtless Hannah with wide eyes, "What is going on here!? I'm—"
And before Gracy could finish her words, Aerith suddenly appeared behind her; pressing something on her neck that caused her to faint there and then. Aerith caught her, however, and very softly placed her on the sofa.
"We won't be here for long," Aerith breathed out as she looked at Shirtless Hannah, "We're just here to get—"
"We're just here to apprehend the person that massacred my entire species," Aerith-01 interrupted Aerith as she too, appeared near the now unconscious Gracy, "...She really looks like my aunt. I take it that the Aerith of this world is dead?"
"I killed her," Bernard sighed before his expression turned sour, "...And I also had to kill Caitlain'Ur."
"Dad!" Shirtless Hannah raised her voice as she glared at her father, "They don't need to know that!"
"But they do. They have to know our experience since they have already started travelling the multiverse."
"No, they don't! What happened to not letting any universe have the burden of—"
"It's too late," Bernard shook his head, "They have already travelled to hundreds of other universes. And if they have, that would mean the others have too. Even we don't know the true extent of this—there could be a dozen versions of me out there already doing the same."
"That's not the point, we've always known that!" Shirtless Hannah reasoned, "We… if we just let them be, all the things we've done would have been for nothing. You said we were doing this because we were the only ones that can save the others! Do you know how many times I have had to watch myself die—do you know how many times I have killed versions of myself to save their universe!?"
"Sounds fucking egotistic to me," Hannah crossed her arms as she scoffed, "You're playing god."
"We're saving trillions of people!"
"You're snuffing out lives that haven't done anything yet."
"That is what it means to prevent people from dying! You think we didn't fucking think of another alternative!?" Shirtless Hannah started waving her hands as she stomped her way to Hannah,
"My own mother tortured and experimented on me!"
"..." Diana, who was already keeping quiet on the side could not help but squint her eyes as she heard Shirtless Hannah's words.
"She kept me locked in a cage and injected something into me! And when we gained the technology to travel multiverses, you know what I saw? That most of the variants of my mother loved her daughter, but some of those variants will still end up destroying their universes so I had to kill them. I looked into their eyes and pretended to be their daughter… that was the first time I ever really felt love from her, and you know what I did? I stabbed her."
"Look, lady…" Hannah groaned and rolled her eyes, "Stop whining, I'm not your fucking therapist, okay? I'm just here to get my brother back."
"None of you are leaving!" Shirtless Hannah once again raised her voice as she screamed right on Hannah's face.
"Actually, we are."
"N—"
"Hannah! Enough!" Bernard grabbed Shirtless Hannah's arm before pulling her away, "They will leave, and everyone will forget this ever happened. They have also assured me that they won't be travelling to another universe again once they get Riley Ross back."
"Shit… fuck!" Shirtless Hannah then pointed at Riley, "You… you fucking played me!"
"I apologize, Hannah," Riley sighed, "But I wanted to be with my sister."
"So, you… all this time…" Hannah gritted her teeth as her voice finally weakened, "You… you only saw me as your sister?"
"Not at all, Hannah," Riley shook his head, "If we were alone tonight and you tried to seduce me, I would have probably had se—"
"No!" Hannah crouched to the floor and covered her ears, "Please don't say what you're about to say next!"
"You don't… have any romantic feelings for him?" Shirtless Hannah's eyes slightly widened as she looked at Hannah, "That's… impossible. I'm—"
"Please stop talking!" Hannah winced as she glanced at Riley for a few seconds, before her entire body shivered as her pores opened, "No. Nope, no! He's my brother for fuck's sake! And Riley, stop saying stuff like that!"
"But it is true," Riley blinked.
"Falalala, I'm not hearing anything!" Hannah started singing, "Don't let me regret trying to find you. Let's just go home, please. This is not how I expected this reunion to unfold."
"Time is of the essence here."
And while the mood was getting more and more unstable and chaotic, the Bernard of this universe clapped his hand, "You people should leave now. If you still want to discuss something, we do it on your universe—there are too many variables here to consider and—"
"No."
And this time, Chihiro was the one to raise her voice as she once again wore her mask. Her eyes that were now the only things exposed on her face, moist and reddening,
"I can't let you leave."
"..." Bernard looked at Chihiro with his eyebrows furrowed. This is the reason why he was trying to rush Riley's departure—to prevent the Avatar of Machina from taking action.
Because if they fight…
…the only thing that will lose will be his universe.
With what he had heard from the other Bernard, Riley Ross is the most dangerous being in the multiverse.
"...Shit."
Chapter 730"I think we all need to calm down. Golden Fox, I will explain what is…"
And just like that, Chihiro was no longer hearing anything. As soon as she returned the mask on her face, any other sound that was clouding her judgment was drowned away—all that was left was the mission, the Quest.
And right now, her abilities were running amok.
[Do not let the Villain escape! If you do not find a way to kill him, existence itself will cease to exist!]
[Do not let the Villain escape! If you do not…]
Ever since the revelation of finding out Riley's true identity, the words that were popping up in front of her almost did not stop. Although she was still completely unaware of what Riley had done to receive such ire from her System, she had to follow it.
After all, throughout her life, her System has always been there not only to help her but the people around her. It has helped make her the strongest super in Japan, next only to Whiteking, and Megawoman who had already been deceased for around a decade or so now. But in truth, if the world had to base it on raw strength and capabilities alone, Golden Fox was already the undisputed strongest superhero in the world.
This was all possible because of her System. Her System, which has allowed her to save countless lives, to reunite families, and to give hope to the future. And in this case, most importantly, the System truly only targets villains, bad people.
And for it to go crazy means only one thing—Riley is an extremely bad individual. And what she had just heard, with him killing the entire themarians and hundreds of billions of innocent lives in the other worlds, perhaps he's just not evil, but something more.
Hearing that kind of number seems unbelievable and doesn't really register in her mind. What does it even mean to take the life of almost a trillion people? And to act almost as if completely numb from it, like he just did something… already expected.
Riley Ross is an existence that must disappear. So, why…
…why exactly could she feel herself wavering now?
Was it because she saw her from the other world sacrificing herself to save Riley?
Why would she even do that? Why would the System allow her to save Riley if he was truly a bad person?
"..."
"..."
And without even hearing anything, without hearing any more explanation… Golden Fox rushed toward Riley.
"Stop!"
The chubbier Bernard quickly blocked her path; his armor, emerging from his pores and wrapping across his entire body in a blink of an eye. His chubby exterior, no longer to be seen as the armor completely showed the muscles they were hiding from within.
Chubbier Bernard grabbed both of Chihiro's hands, tying them to her waist with some sort of rope that shot out from her arms.
"You people should leave, now! Hannah, help me restrain Golden Fox!"
Shirtless Hannah was completely reluctant to do anything, as she was actually on Chihiro's side on this matter and didn't want the variants to just leave. Even then, however, she followed her father's orders and grabbed Chihiro by the neck, wrapping her arms around her tightly.
"Please, don't struggle."
And although most of the people from the other universes were slightly confused with what was happening, they all just nodded their heads and started walking away—with Aerith-1 making sure that Riley doesn't leave from her sight, standing ever so close behind him.
"..." As for Riley, he just glanced at Shirtless Hannah for a few seconds, before nodding his head and turning around. No one else really spoke their mind, as they just surrounded Riley as they all went to the elevator. Silvie, who had not seen Riley since Theran, could really only just awkwardly stand beside him, glancing from time to time not knowing what to say.
Diana seemed to want to say something, but Riley hasn't glanced her way even once. It was the same with Aerith—if this was before, then Riley would have already started talking to her like usual. Even if they tried to kill each other in the past so many times, Riley still talked to her. But now, it was complete silence.
She did hear from Hannah that Riley was starting to grow and learn emotions, but she initially thought that it was just from a sister's perspective. But seeing him right now… was he perhaps hiding some sort of vexation from what they did to him?
And with the elevator door closing, the only one making a sound was Hannah, who was gripping her brother's hand not wanting to let it go no matter what. The others just watched—they watched as a different version of Bernard and Hannah continued to restrain Golden Fox.
And then, as the door was only inches away from closing, they watched as Bernard and Hannah failed to restrain her as her silhouette suddenly faded away before shooting down to the floor. And before the door could fully close, Chihiro's hands suddenly emerged from the elevator floor, grabbing Riley by the ankles as they both just suddenly disappeared.
"Wh—" Even with Hannah tightly holding his hand, RIley felt like a cloud that just suddenly burst away as he disappeared. Even Aerith-1, who tried to grab Chihiro's hand from the floor, only managed to pierce through the elevator with no luck.
And with that, Riley disappeared again.
"Shit!" Chubbier Bernard pried the elevator doors open. And almost as if opening a fridge and finding nothing there, he glanced several times to make sure that Riley truly did disappear from the crowd of variants,
"Shit…" Chubbier Bernard's armor retracted back to his skin, causing his flesh to once again slightly bloat, "This is not good, not good."
"Dad! Why the fuck are you even panicking!?" Shirtless Hannah raised her voice.
"She's right!" Elevator Hannah slightly pushed Chubby Bernard to the side as she stepped out of the elevator, "You should have even fancier satellites than my dad, fucking search for them!"
"You don't fucking order my dad around, you fucking bitch," Shirtless Hannah raised an eyebrow, "Your people have no right to make demands of us when you've… you've already caused this much trouble. Just leave Riley here, your people obviously don't fucking want him."
"Jesus, fuck…" Elevator Hannah snarled as she looked Shirtless Hannah in the eyes, "...You're not right in the head."
"You—"
"I can't."
And as everyone once again started stepping out of the elevator, Chubby Bernard spoke; the tone of his voice, as deep as it could be as he just stared at the floor, "I can't find them."
"I'll help," Bernard carefully placed his arm on Chubby Bernard's shoulder, "It should be easy with—"
"No," Chubby Bernard shrugged as he stepped away, "I mean I can't, we can't. I have already interfered too much with the Avatar of Machina, any more and it won't like it."
"Who…?" Both the Hannahs looked at Chubby Bernard with a raised eyebrow.
"Machina…" Diana, on the other hand, just let out a small gasp as she heard Bernard's words, "...It's real? The primordial god of machines?"
"Bullshit."
"I agree with the half-breed," Aerith-1 crossed her arms; her foot, stomping on the floor enough to cause the entire building to shake, "I don't care about the fairytales of gods or what, I just want justice for my people."
"Oh, they're real," Diana let out a deep sigh.
"You've… also encountered one before?" Chubby Bernard squinted his eyes as he looked at Diana.
"I… started thoroughly studying their existence after Riley shared his encounter with Nothing and Death."
"...Shit," Chubby Bernard grasped his head as he looked back and forth between Diana and Bernard,
"...Just what the fuck did you two raise?"
***
"Where did you take me, Chihiro?"
"Far away where both of us can't do damage."
"..."
Riley looked everywhere, only to see nothing but an expanse of a desolate copper and fading blue. The horizon, the view of the stars, not twinkling as they should.
"Are we perhaps on Mars, Chihiro?" Riley started looking at the skies, as if trying to find something, "If so, then you are wrong—I can do damage from here."
"No," Chihiro slightly pushed her feet, causing her to very slowly float up, "We're farther away, extremely… far."
"Hm."
"I truly don't wish to fight you, Riley. I don't know who you are but I feel a very deep connection to you," Chihiro stretched her arms to the side, and as she did so, rods of a luminescent silver emerged and expanded from her hand; almost like thunderbolts, but not quite. The rods were extremely long, perhaps the length of a bus,
"But you are a villain, Riley Ross. And you must be expunged from this world."
"Your English has really improved, Chihiro," Riley started softly clapping his hands, "Your other variant died before she could truly be fluent with it."
"Please, don't talk about the other world," the rods that Chihiro was holding flashed—and as they did, the ground directly below Chihiro started flattening,
"Do not confuse me as you already have."
And with those words, Chihiro swung one of the rods. And with how long they were, they whistled loudly with every move.
"I truly have nothing against you, but this must be done!"
"..." Riley saw the ground crumbling as Chihiro once again swung the rods, this time toward him, "Well, I might be a bit rusty, but…"
Riley's feet also left the ground as the crawling crevice moved closer to him. And before whatever force it was that Chihiro was releasing from the rods could reach him, Riley also stretched his arms to the side.
And with a snap of his fingers…
…the entire plateau—no, the entire dead planet they were on instantly crumbled.
"...I hope we'll have fun, Chihiro."
Chapter 731"..."
Despair.
Chihiro has never really known that sort of feeling even once in her life. How could she, when her System has always been by her side? Even at a young age, life was easy for her—in everything that she wanted to do, the System served as her guide.
If she wanted to be a villain, the System would have still probably helped her. But no, as the System helped her, she wanted to use her abilities to help people. She tried her best to actually be deserving of the power.
She grew stronger and stronger. If there was an enemy she couldn't defeat, the System would quickly ask her to retreat, and then train until she could once again challenge her opponent.
And now, as she saw a planet crumble into dust right in front of her, she wasn't afraid. After all, the System would be there for her.
[Run!]
…And right now, it was once again telling her to retreat—no. It was telling her to run…
…Something it has never really done before.
Chihiro was confused. The very reason she tried to find the Villain, and why she is challenging him now despite his reluctance was because the System told her to… and now it was telling her to run.
Once again, the System showed that it was afraid.
Afraid of Riley Ross.
Chihiro is too.
Riley was still not doing anything—he was just floating in the expanse of space with a smile on his face, and a shattered planet the same size as Earth withering behind him. Chihiro has never fought an opponent like this before, and her spar with Megawoman was perhaps the only thing that would ever come close.
Chihiro was afraid, but she wasn't going to retreat.
For the first time in her life, she will contravene the System's advice and fight the Villain in front of her.
As the System helped her in her entire life, it was time for Chihiro to pay her back. As the System god rid of her demons, she would rid it of the only demon it holds.
"I truly have nothing against you yet, Riley Ross," the extremely long silver staves that Chihiro was holding once again glowed as she focused on her reflection in Riley's almost transparent eyes,
"But it is true that you are a villain, and I have the obligation to rid you of this world."
"Yes," Riley nodded, "I have been waiting for you to finish your inner monologue, Chihiro."
"You have my gratitude," a blast of light then rippled from Chihiro's chest. And as it did so, several projections of what seemed like several different-looking armors flashed around Chihiro. Each of the translucent armors, wrapping tight around her before fading away,
"But I will not share the same courtesy!"
Chihiro floated back, and as she did so, a void appeared from behind her and swallowed her whole. And when she showed herself again, she was already beneath Riley, waving one of her silver staves.
And even from far away, the staves reached Riley at a speed that was almost unexplainable—or perhaps it was.
874,030 times the speed of sound, or at least that is what it seemed like as it penetrated and destroyed hundreds of layers of Riley's telekinetic barrier.
"..." Riley just looked at the glowing staff just a foot away from hitting him right in the face. And before he could even blink, another one appeared behind him… and then another one on his left, and then on his right.
"Interesting," Riley could not really even follow the staves as they just appeared everywhere. As for Chihiro, she was still just standing in the same spot.
There were, however, several voids appearing around her as she swung her exaggeratedly long staves. The voids connected toward other voids near Riley, making the staves appear everywhere—making Riley not really have any leeway to move away.
"Your powers are already convenient as they are." Even trapped, however, Riley still nodded in amusement, "And yet you manage to use them in an even more creative—"
And before Riley could finish his words, he raised his hand to catch a black spear that suddenly shot toward him out of nowhere.
"Hm," Riley stared at the black spear that was almost invisible in space. He then turned to look at where the spear should have come from, only to see another void closing there,
"If I'm correct," Riley said as he caught another spear that penetrated through his telekinetic barriers. With Chihiro still giving an endless barrage of strikes from her staves, the spears were able to shoot between the gaps—leaving Riley… slightly impressed,
"Based on what I have learned from Gary, this ability of yours is called an 'Item Box', correct? But you are using it in a way quite different from what he told me."
"..." Chihiro was not really listening to Riley—she wasn't even seeing him. All she saw were the floating words that filled her entire view, and it really only said one thing.
[Run!] [Run!] [Run!].
Chihiro completely ignored it, however, as she just continued to give it all she got. She breathed in and out, until finally, she saw Riley through the gaps of the floating words…
…and he was completely unharmed.
"Kh…" Chihiro could really only grit her teeth. Her frustration did not last long, however, as she once again let out a breath—and with air escaping her lips, her eyes started to glow.
Alchemy Symbols appeared in her eyes. Symbols that also appeared near Riley, covering him from all sides like endless voids that were already being thrown at him.
"..." And while still catching the spears shooting toward him and blocking the staves, Riley watched as these circular symbols that were floating around him lit up—and from them, emerged all sorts of elements that raged toward him like a dragon, literal dragons.
And with everything rushing toward him, Riley's defense gave out as he was pinned and crushed by existence itself.
Chihiro was about to stop attacking, but shook her head as she did not relent even though there were no signs of Riley being able to fight back.
She won't stop, not until the words that appeared in front of her stop. She won't stop until the System stops being afraid.
And finally, something else other than the System telling her to run appeared—but it wasn't a welcome notice.
[Maximum MP is starting to temporarily decrease due to fatigue.]
"..." A trickle of blood quickly spurt out of Chihiro's nose even before she could read the entirety of the notice. But once again, even then, she did not stop attacking and even forced herself.
If one were to see them from afar, Chihiro's attacks would look just like millions of lightning being concentrated on one point. A compressed storm of the elements that almost made a crystal as they all diverged into one single point.
This crystal, however, soon started to crack.
"!!!" Chihiro's small eyes saw this, and she started attacking even more and even faster. But alas, the crack just continues to crawl until finally, everything she gave was blown away along with her.
"Kyaa!" Chihiro let out a loud yelp as a violent force pushed her away, causing her unable to breathe in space for a few seconds as she was thrown miles and miles away in a single second—her long staves, shattering in her hands.
If she did not let go of them the time she did, her hands would have also probably shattered into pieces.
[Run!]
And as she felt herself getting tired and exhausted, the words that popped up in front of her seemed to not exhaust at all. Chihiro, however, once again ignored all of it as she focused her eyes on Riley, only to see that he was actually already right in front of her.
"!!!" Chihiro quickly collected herself as she pushed herself further back.
"How many abilities do you have, Chihiro?" Riley, on the other hand, still did not attack her and just tilted his head to the side, "Show me more, and I will show you mine."
"Kh…" Chihiro stretched her arm to the side, grabbing some sort of vial from a void and immediately consuming it. And as she did so, the exhaustion that could be seen on her face gradually disappeared until no trace of it was left.
"Oh, can I have some of that?" Riley let out a very tiny gasp, "It would be useful for—"
"Lady Divider!"
And before Riley could finish his words, he saw a somewhat familiar face suddenly emerge from a void that Chihiro summoned—it was a villain he killed way back, and Riley won't really forget her. After all, he wanted her to be his subordinate once upon a time.
Sophie Palmer, aka Lady Divider—the supervillain that could summon invisible blades that could split mountains. Well, at least a shadow of her, or perhaps it was better to say a spirit of her.
"Hypnos! Redhawk! Silver Shadow! Kerrigan!"
And before Riley could even ask about her abilities, several more voids opened up—and once again, spirits came out of them; two, Riley could recognize.
"You can summon people, Chihiro?" Riley squinted his eyes, "I am sure Gary has shared a novel with a main character just like—"
"Charge!" Once again, Chihiro did not let Riley finish his words as she ordered for her newly summoned shoulders to attack, and they did.
They rushed toward Riley on different sides. And as Riley was still completely amused with what he was seeing, he just let the summons grab him—with the spirit called Hypnos grabbing him by the head.
"Riley Ross," Hypnos whispered, "Sleep."
"..."
"..."
"But I'm not sleepy yet."
Chapter 732"But I'm not sleepy yet."
Hypnos and the others were clearly just spirits devoid of any of their emotions when they were still walking amongst the living, their eyes were completely hollow; the insides of their mouth like an abyss. But still, within that abyss was a certain sense of… distress.
Despite the spirits being hollow, there was an obvious change of expression on Hypnos's ethereal face. Eyebrows, slightly lifted up as if truly shocked that his abilities did not work on Riley.
"Don't be too shocked, Hypnos," Riley calmly sighed even though he was still being held by the other summons, "One of the first abilities I received was immunity to all and any influence on the mind. Which is weird now that I think of it, I developed dementia in my own universe and still—"
And before Riley could finish his words, Hypnos once again grabbed his head; this time, covering his face and his eyes so the effectiveness of his mind control would work even better. But alas, all it did was make Riley smile.
"I have already told you, Hypnos. That doesn't work on me."
And with those words, Riley also placed his hand on Hypnos's head. Or more specifically, he slapped him even with his eyes covered—completely shaving off his face and a large part of his head. Or even more specifically, his head was gone in an instant.
"Oh…?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he watched as Hypnos's ethereal silhouette withered away. He then turned to look at the other spirits holding him; the smile on his face, growing wider by the second.
And then, with a snap of his fingers, the other spirits all turned into dust–if spirits could turn into dust, that is. But that is what they looked like as Riley watched their fragments dance and flutter away until nothing of them was left.
Chihiro, who took this time to collect herself, quickly spat out blood as her summons were all defeated at the same time. Chihiro shares her mana with her summons, and when they die, the toll on her body is too hard to ignore.
Fortunately for her, not all of them withered away—one remained.
The rogue Norinlad, Kerrigan.
"Ah, you are Bounty Hunter Kerrigan," Riley hummed in amusement as he looked at Kerrigan, "It was hard to recognize you since you do not have your usual skin because you have become a spirit. But you do not have to worry, Norinlad. Your end is already deemed to be inevitable since you have already ended."
"..." Kerrigan's spirit seemed confused with what Riley was saying, but only for a while. With Chihiro's orders, Kerrigan rushed toward Riley; the very expanse of space around him, distorting as it seemed to flow one with him.
"Even now, I still do not get how your racial abilities actually work, Kerrigan." And even with this force rushing toward him, Riley just casually placed his hand on his chin as he started flying back to avoid Kerrigan, "In fact, aside from Tedi, you are the only Norinlad I have seen—and she is completely different from you. Weird, too wei–"
And as Riley was enjoying himself and chatting with an unexpected opponent, Chihiro appeared behind him; the two of them, doing some sort of pincer attack which Riley thought they should have done before when there were still more of them.
Unbeknownst to Riley, however, this was Chihiro's plan all along. The other summons were just decoys to let Riley put his guard down—the most important factor of this attack was Kerrigan.
"This will not work, Chihiro."
But it will, a small smirk crawled behind Chihiro's mask as Riley pointed his palm toward Kerrigan.
"Pavoom," and as he uttered those words, Chihiro ordered her remaining summon to go on an all-out attack and pierce Riley straight through the heart.
Kerrigan's entire body was engulfed in some sort of white light that seemed to destroy even the darkness of space itself, erasing it completely momentarily. Even then, however, Chihiro did stop her attack and continued to rush toward Riley; her hands, glowing as she had been charging up one of her spells since earlier.
She continued. After all, Kerrigan was not someone who would die easily—there was a special process on how to kill him. And now, with Riley placing all of his attention toward him, Chihiro snapped her fingers; the energy she has been charging up since earlier, now wrapping around her hands like a fiery caestus.
"Now!" And like a war cry, Chihiro slammed both her knuckles together, creating a spark that washed out everything.
"What are you doing, Chihiro?"
"Kh!" And even as her face was suddenly grabbed by Riley, Chihiro did not panic as she waited for Kerrigan to come out of the weird white beam that came out from Riley's finger.
"..."
"..."
But even after a few seconds had passed, even as the white ray disappeared… Kerrigan wasn't there—and this is when Chihiro noticed her nose was already bleeding—a sign that Kerrigan was instantly defeated just like that.
"H…how?" Chihiro asked.
"I don't know, Chihiro," and Riley dutifully answered with a sigh, "I was given the talent to kill everything."
"...Heh," Chihiro could not help but just let out a small chuckle as she heard Riley's words.
She really should have ran. But no—she doesn't want her System to be afraid. She wanted to prove that she could overcome this… monster in front of her.
But now that Riley literally had her in his grasp, Chihiro just softly chuckled. Her System also stopped telling her to stop, almost as if it was giving her last moments of peace before Riley kills her.
"You know…" Chihiro's muffled voice seeped out from Riley's palm, "...I actually also have a talent for killing things."
"Oh?" Riley tilted his head before looking up at Chihiro, "Can you show me?"
"Don't worry…
…you will feel it too."
And with those words, Chihiro placed her fists together and pointed them at Riley; the energy gathered in them, letting out several pulses that caused Riley's hair to violently snap in space.
"..." Riley could not really see anything else but the glowing glyphs being released by Chihiro's fist, "If you release something like that, you might also kill yourself, Chihiro."
"...I know."
And without even any hesitation, the glow around her eyes instantly disappeared as it seemed to have been vacuumed by her fists—and once again, the expanse of space turned silent as it waited for the blast to gush forth.
And when it did, everything that could disappear within a million kilometers disappeared into nothing… including Riley.
As for Chihiro, well… the only thing that disappeared from her were her arms, and they were already regenerating from their mangled base. By all means, this was an attack that Chihiro would have not been able to survive, and the only reason she was still here…
…is because of the thing she was sucking.
It was a vial, an elixir that the System rewarded her a long time ago—a literal life-saving potion.
"Is… is it done? We—" Chihiro quickly covered her mouth, 'less she jinxed the entire situation. And before she could celebrate, however, her System once again bombarded her with an endless barrage of messages.
And they all said one thing—
[Absorb Riley Ross's Soul, now!]
Chapter 733[Absorb Riley Ross's Soul, now!]
[Absorb it! Absorb it now!]
[Absorb!]
"...System?"
Chihiro's arms were still healing from being completely blown apart, and yet she could not even concentrate on whatever pain was crawling throughout her entire body as the System once again went wild on her.
Even much worse than before. She could not even see anything else as the System might as well have blinded her. But still, this weird excitement was better than the fear it was showing earlier—now, with Riley Ross gone, the System could once again guide her without anything holding it back.
"Okay."
Chihiro finally breathed out as her arms fully healed. Her skin was fully exposed, with not even a single cloth hanging from where they could hang—she was fully naked—yet Chihiro did not mind. They were lightyears away from any form of life. And so, she just stretched her palm toward where Riley was just earlier; letting out a small but very deep sigh as the whites of her eyes turned black.
"Serve me, spirit of Riley Ross," Chihiro breathed out as the veins of her face started to crawl from her eyes, "In death, may you even be more useful…
…Disenter!"
[Disenter!]
With the System also showing her blatant interest in… exhuming Riley's spirit, a smile could not help but crawl on Chihiro's face. The System seemed completely robotic most of the time—but when it does show some sort of emotion, it was akin to a child.
And so, with a chuckle soon escaping her lips, Chihiro repeated her words,
"Serve me! Spirit of Ri—!!!"
But before she could complete her sentence, a sinister pulse echoed throughout the darkness–no. It wasn't only her that felt the pulse, but the entire universe—no. That wasn't quite right either.
Perhaps it was better to say that the entire universe itself pulsed, and everyone that lived in it felt it throb. Almost as if the entire universe itself was a breathing, living thing.
And of course, Chihiro, being the one closest to the source of the pulse, felt everything.
It was a weird feeling, violent… but oddly calm.
Inviolable… but thinly fragile.
Innocent… yet abysmally, viciously, maliciously evil.
"What…" Chihiro soon found it hard to breathe as the pulse that throbbed rhythmically grew stronger with each beat. There wasn't really a physical force to it, but Chihiro could feel her entire body almost being shredded to pieces repeatedly,
"...What is—"
[Failed to absorb Riley's spirit. Reason: ?????]
"...Huh?" Chihiro could really only stare at the set of words floating in front of her. Soon, however, the floating words became distorted—almost as if they were being erased…
…deleted.
"System…?" Chihiro blinked a couple of times as the words faded away, "Are you… alright?"
Chihiro started looking around her even as the pulse grew stronger and stronger. At first, she felt a certain image crawl in her mind—an image she could not really explain. It was then followed by some sort of… cry.
A howling cry. She hasn't heard the voice before, but it felt familiar… eerily familiar like she had always been hearing her entire life. It didn't take long for her to realize who the voice belonged to, however.
It was the System—the system was crying in pain.
"System!?" Chihiro began looking around to nowhere in particular, trying to find even just a single letter that could be floating near her, "System… are you okay!?"
And there was nothing. No words, no letters.
And soon, the emptiness of space itself started to drown Chihiro. She was alone, literally alone for billions of miles.
"No… no…" Chihiro has never felt this alone before, "S… Status! Status!"
Chihiro opened her Status Window, and it did open and showed everything she needed to know about her current state. Her HP, MP, attributes, skills, and a lot more. What was missing, however, were the intricate and familiar comments that the System gives her.
Advice, bunter, and there were also times that the System roasts her—suffice it to say, the System felt more like an older sibling for her more than anything. After all, what else would you even call something that has guided you through your entire life?
…A parent? Perhaps that was the best way that Chihiro could really describe what the System is to her.
"System!?" Chihiro once again raised her voice as tears started to collect near her eyes; turning into orbs that soon turned into floatlets of eyes as she turned away, "Sys—"
[Naughty, naughty, naughty.]
"...Huh?" Chihiro then blinked as a set of words appeared in front of her, "...System?"
[Machina, his name is Machina—or her, these primordials don't really have a certain… gender. Except Death, she likes that voluptuous form for some reason. Well, there's also Celestial, since she literally gave birth to all the old gods that roamed and will roam the universes.]
"Machi… Who are you!? Where's Machina!?"
Chihiro started waving her hands to try and get rid of the unfamiliar words. Because unlike that of the System, which even though they were just words and letters, Chihiro could feel some sort of warmth in them. But now, as she read the words floating in front of her, all she could feel was…
…Nothing.
[Don't worry about her, little Avatar. She's going to be fine.]
"Who… are you?"
[No one and Nothing.]
"...What?" Chihiro squinted her eyes as she stared at the word 'Nothing', which was in a different color from the rest of the floating words.
[Old Machina dabbled in something it shouldn't have, you see. Wait, you can see with those small eyes, right?]
"..."
[Anyway, tough luck. Machina is trying to protect you.]
"Protect… me?"
[You tried to absorb him, right?]
"Him… Riley Ross?"
[Yikes, creepy little being. A being that does not really exist, and therefore not bound to Death. And therefore does not have a 'spirit'. You, little Avatar, just tried to absorb…
…Nothing. You tried to absorb me. Well, not really… but the Universe works in weird ways. Anyway, it's way above your paygrade.]
"I… don't care about all of that! Just let me talk to Sys—Machina!" Chihiro raised her voice.
[Stop being so impatient. This is the first time in a long time I am actually in contact with the universe and I am stuck with you. Well, can't say it's not fun—a lot seemed to have changed in this part of the universe. I don't remember that rock being there.]
"...You mean the star?"
[That's a star? I thought they were blue? Sorry, I'm chatty. Right? As I said, I'm excited to be out even if it's like this. But this is creepy, Machina has all this information about you?]
"..."
[Anyway, time's up—the freak is waking up. My advice? Just try and be a friend, he won't usually unalive you then. Sucks to be all of you, being alive at the same time as Riley Ross. Oh, try treating him to one of those flavored shaved solid water things, he likes it.]
"...What?"
[Right, and also—tell Machina that Death isn't going to like what she just did. Death has been putting so much effort in trying to catch Riley that she let go of her quest to chase Van, and all that effort has been put to waste since… well, all this messed it up.]
"Huh…?"
[Well, that's my time to—]
And before Chihiro could fully read Nothing's last message, the words suddenly cracked as a hand emerged from it. The hand, immediately grabbing Chihiro by the face. And before she could really even do anything else, the rest of the hand emerged out of nowhere—revealing Riley Ross with a smile on his face.
"That was weird, Chihiro," Riley leaned closer to Chihiro, whispering into her ear as a soft chuckle escaped his lips, "What did you do?"
[Run! Run!]
"..." And once again, with Machina coming back to her, words started to emerge in front of her covered eyes. Chihiro, however, once again did not run. And instead…
"Do… you want to have dessert?"
"Hm?"
"I know a good flavored shaved ice outside of Hokkaido," Chihiro breathed out, "My… treat."
"Oh…" Riley quickly let go of Chihiro's face,
"Let's go, then."
***
"What… is this?"
Somewhere, in a different universe—another Chihiro stood and stared blankly in the air.
"Riley… Ross? Who is this, System?"
And it wasn't only her—right now, in all of the universes that exists…
…Chihiro was seeing Riley Ross's name. As for the reason why, Machina has yet to tell.
Chapter 734"I knew this would fucking happen!"
"No, you didn't! I am getting tired of your nonsensical comments, Hannah! No one knows anything about your brother anymore, no one!"
"And whose fucking fault is that!?"
"...Should we stop them?"
"Let them—Wait, I've received a report that someone sighted Riley Ross!"
Back in Shirtless Hannah's penthouse, or what they decided to call her for the duration of Elevator Hannah's stay, Nannah—short for Native Hannah. As for the native Bernard, they all decided to just call him Bard, as that is what he was actually called by the few friends he had in this world.
Nannah has been watching her other-world counterpart from the comforts of her sofa. And of course, she now changed into a shirt. Hannah was making a fuss for almost an entire hour now… and she sort of agrees with her. The only thing she found quite irksome was that she was arguing with her mother… without fear.
"Ack! I don't know anymore, let's just wait for Riley here! I'm sure he's just going to magically appear somewhere uber-casual eating ice cream or whatever!" Hannah let out one final grumble as she walked away from Diana.
Silvie, who had been trying to calm her down from the start, could really only bow her head and apologize to Diana even though she wasn't doing anything.
"Hannah, this is no one's fault but Riley's, you know that," Silvie calmly reasoned as she followed Hannah.
"Of course, I fucking know that. Everyone knows that, he's Riley!" Hannah blurted out before she sat on the sofa, causing Nannah to awkwardly scooch away; not knowing whether to stand up and leave, or just ignore her completely.
"Why are you being like this, Hannah?" Silvie also sat down, but on the coffee table in front of the sofa, "I know, Riley's also helped me quite a few times. But that doesn't change the fact that he's still… evil incarnate—I don't want to say this, but we should be rooting for Chihiro to win against him."
"...Win?" Hannah wryly chuckled as she looked at Silvie, "Wait… you guys think you can still win against Riley? Silv, you know firsthand that's fucking impossible. I thought we already agreed to this, you don't defeat Riley, you adapt to him. When you live in an area that has storms 5 days a week, is the first thought you have defeating the fucking storm? No, you learn to live with it."
"Actually, you can just manipulate the weather."
"What was that?"
"The weather, Dad developed a way to control the weather," Nannah, who had been casually listening on the side, joined in on the conversation.
"It was a metaphor," Hannah rolled her eyes.
"So was mine," Nannah also rolled her eyes, "What I meant to say is that Riley seems to listen to you. If he really is as abnormally strong as you say, then the only thing we—you can really do is control him."
"That's not going to end well," Hannah let out a small sigh as she shook her head, "Riley is not one you can control, he's the one doing controlling behind the scenes. Honestly, like what the fuck… the guy's a fucking headache."
"If you don't want to deal with him anymore, he can stay here," Nannah subtly glanced at Hannah's face, "He seems to like it here and he hasn't really caused any trouble."
"That you know of," Hannah scoffed as she leaned her back on the sofa. And as soon as she did that, Silvie could not help but just place her palm on her forehead—she knew what was about to come,
"And what's your deal in the first place?" Hannah then raised an eyebrow as she looked Nannah in the eyes.
"...We just try to save as many lives as we could, even if it's not from our univer—"
"I'm not talking about that. I could care less if you kill another version of us as long as that version is some sort of psychopath that would end up killing billions."
"...But earlier you said—"
"Fuck what I said. I changed my mind—if you can save a lot of people just by killing one innocent person, then I would probably do it."
"I won't," Silvie joined in on the conversation.
"That's because you're the next Megawoman," Hannah waved, "And I'm not here to discuss morality. Well, I am—but not about that."
"Hm?"
"Were you seriously just trying to fuck our bro—Riley? I mean, what the fuck?" Hannah forced a chuckle, before sticking out her tongue in disgust, "He's my brother, like… what the fuck? Ew? That's fucked up."
"..." Nannah did not respond and just looked at Hannah, before sighing and shaking her head, "He's not my brother. And if you're going to be so blunt about it, then so will I—yes, I was trying to fuck him."
"Wh—" Hannah could not help but almost freeze there and then. As for Silvie, she was trying her best not to seem amused by the conversation. After all, she was one of the people that also had to get used to the bluntness and carelessness of Hannah's mouth—and now, Hannah was finally experiencing what she had been experiencing for years.
"That's disgusting!" Hannah once again forced a chuckle. This time, however, there was a certain crack and hesitation in her breaths.
"And how is that fucking disgusting…?" Nannah lifted her legs and faced Riley, "He and I didn't grow up together."
"And you got swooned over because someone finally understands you? Well, news flash—she knows you because you are me," Hannah also turned to face Nannah, "He doesn't understand you, he knows you."
"It's… not just that," Nannah's voice lowered, "I… felt a certain connection to him. The kind of connection that even if I was blind when he first approached me, I would still feel attracted to him—I know you know what I mean."
"...What?"
"As you said, I am you and you are me," Nannah looked Hannah in the eyes, "Even if our memories and past are different from each other; the things we like, the things we like would not differ that much from each other—I have been to thousands of different universes and that remains constant…
…even the things that we love."
"..."
"If just by being with him for a few days already made me feel like this—like I could no longer live without him—even fully knowing the horrible things he had done in other universes…
…I don't know how much more you feel. You, who has been with him your entire life."
"You're fucking crazy."
"...So are you," Nannah did not back down, "You're the one moving from universe to universe to try and find a world-ender."
"That's because Riley is our problem to deal with. We couldn't let another universe suffer for the mistake Mom and Ae—for the mistake we did."
"Stop changing your mind again and again, Hannah. You can't live without Riley Ross, because deep down he is the only person we can really connect to."
"What the fuck are you even saying?"
"I am saying Riley Ross is not the only one with a problem in his mind," Nannah tilted her head to the side as she tapped the temple of her head,
"You seriously never wondered why you can't connect with anyone? Why we always seem to just tend to make enemies? Why we're… like this?"
"Speak for yourself, I have a boyfriend. He turned out to be some sort of freak with a messiah complex, but I did."
"Reuben? They are just a way for us to feel normal because they're almost our equals. I have seen so many Hannahs get broken trying to force a connection that's not there. But Riley? Oh no, no, no…
…I know how that brain of yours works—I've physically dissected a few of them," Nannah was about to tap Hannah's forehead, but Hannah grabbed her wrist before she could do so.
"You, really? But you're so weak." Hannah slightly raised her head.
"You have no idea what I am capable of."
"Then show me. What, can't do anything without daddy's armor?"
"I just let my guard down earlier," Nannah's eyebrows started to lower.
"Then go grab your armor right now."
"Fine," Nannah once again did not back down; her eyes, now looking down at Hannah as she stood up, "Whoever wins gets to keep Riley Ross in their universe."
"Riley's not a thing," Hannah also stood right in front of Nannah; their foreheads, almost butting with each other, "Do it, then. Call your armor, I'm waiting."
"..." Silvie, who was just sitting on the table and watching the entire thing unfold, could not help but once again cover her face. She already knew this would happen—what she did not expect, however, was the whole thing about Riley.
Hannah is overly protective of Riley, even from the very first day they met. She thought that it was just normal given Riley's condition and since he is her adoptive brother…
…but could there really be something there?"
"Wha—" Hannah quickly noticed the way Silvie was looking at her, "Nothing's happening! You know how close Riley and I are!"
"...Too close," Silvie squinted her eyes.
"There's nothing there!"
"What… did I miss?" And while the Hannahs were on the verge of going to war with each other, Gracy, who had been put to sleep by Aerith, finally woke up…
…only to be put to sleep again.
***
"The final… boss?"
Once again, in another universe, a different Chihiro who was only wearing office attire adjusted her glasses. She was just taking a break and relieving herself in the comforts of the toilet—but suddenly, a floating message popped up in front of her… as well as Riley Ross's face.
"What am I—"
[Preparing to send you to another universe.]
"...Huh? Machina, what are you-" And before Chihiro could even react…
…a hole opened up in the air in front of her, even though she still hasn't completely closed hers.
"W…
…Can't you let me wipe first!?"
Chapter 735Finally, the Primordials.
As with most cases of literature, this one won't be any different. Primordials are beings that have existed since the creation of time, space, the universe, and everything that led to possibly everything.
It wasn't enough to say that they control everything—No. Because most of them actually don't. And whenever they do, it is in a form so vague that one wouldn't even be able to call it control.
Perhaps it was better to say that it was the universe itself that was controlling them. They were like pieces of a clock—Existence itself is the battery, and they are the cogworks that made everything move—if one were to go missing, then all the universes will fail to move and work properly.
Something would be wrong, something will always be wrong from thereon if one were to go missing. They have watched the universes grow, they have watched it die… and they have watched it reset a million times.
The existence of the primordials, in itself, is vague. They exist, but at the same time, they do not. They live in a completely different plane, where the universes seem just like tiny pebbles that they could interact with.
And anyone within those pebbles should be insignificant… should be.
But twice now. Twice the primordials have encountered an existence they could not quite comprehend—an existence that should literally be below them… and yet they could not look down at him.
One of the Primordials that have directly encountered this weird individual was Death—perhaps the busiest of all the Primordials. Involved in all of creation as Life, and involved in all of conclusion as Death.
Death holds everyone's names, everyone's stories, and everyone's ends. She has no control over it, but she oversees everything and knows everything…
…except for one, an existence unknown—Riley Ross.
Death has chased many irregularities before, irregularities that can not be held by her. Their existence, however, is known to her.
Van, the god of evaniels, is one of those irregularities. He shares the same universe as Riley Ross, but billions of years before him. But Death was aware when he was given birth, how he was given birth, and where—it was only during his end that Van escaped her grasp. He became too fast, fast enough to outrun Death.
Another is an eternal child, a being that absorbs and eats gods. Too powerful to die… too powerful to have an end. A pitiful child that does not truly belong anywhere—the gods fear him, the old gods are traumatized by him, and most of the primordials abhor him, especially Celestial, the primordial god of Birth itself. Death, however, wants nothing but just to welcome him in her embrace. But alas, he is one destined to roam eternity—watching universes die again and again.
There are many more of these irregularities—a handful. But a handful was already too many.
But now, the most notable one was Riley Ross—who has entered the radar of 2 Primordials. Death…
…the other being Machina, the primordial god of technology, of progress.
Machina is responsible for overseeing the development of all the universes. It watches everyone through the form of an Avatar—a creature it forms a contract with to briefly and limitedly influence the flow of progress.
And now, for the second time in her eternity, there was an entity that was disrupting progress—and not just the progress of a single world, not just a progress of a single universe, but everything.
Of course, there was a possibility that this entity was just a nail in an otherwise long road—but a single nail could end a journey.
And so, right now, Machina decided to intervene more than normal, more than they are allowed to.
"W… what the heck!?"
Chihiro, aka Golden Fox—the Avatar of Machina in all the universes has been called to take action against Riley Ross. There were thousands of them, summoned by Machina so suddenly, that some of them were even naked from taking a bath.
And one of them just happened to be relieving herself in the toilet.
"What… is this?" Luckily for this Chihiro, the others were too busy trying to cover themselves or figuring out where they were to even care for her. And so, she just quickly wiped before lifting up her panties—putting the napkin into her [Item Box] before anyone could actually see what she just did.
"Wh…" And like all the Chihiros there, this Chihiro's confusion was beyond what her mind could actually handle. And so, just like the rest, she just started looking around.
They were in some sort of white space. There were no floors, no ceiling, no horizons—nothing but a thousand confused Chihiros walking around nothing.
Soon, however, the Chihiro in an office attire found herself being stared at by another Chihiro who was wearing a kimono.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Please don't tell me you saw me—"
"I saw."
"...Damn it," Officelady Chihiro could not help but cover her entire face as Kimono Chihiro nodded her head in disappointment, "So much for my first meeting with my variants."
"...You don't seem as confused as me and the others," Kimono Chihiro squinted her already small eyes; her American-English accent, not as refined as Officelady Chihiro, "You know something, do you not?"
"...No, but..." Officelady Chihiro sighed. And as she did so, all the Chihiros that were near her all looked at her at the same time, "...I am aware that there were many others like me in other universes, Machina told me."
"Machina?" Kimono Chihiro tilted her head to the side.
"Oh, uh…" Officelady Chihiro scratched her chin.
"Please, you should really stop touching your face," Kimono Chihiro slightly winced and looked away, "You didn't even wash your ha—"
And before Kimono Chihiro could finish her words, Officelady Chihiro covered her mouth.
"!!!"
"Ssh, don't talk too loud about that!"
"Hhmg!" Kimono Chihiro's small eyes widened as much as they could as she looked Officelady Chihiro straight in the eyes.
"And yeah, Machina…" Thankfully for Kimono Chihiro, Officelady Chihiro quickly let go of her as she started explaining to the rest of what she knows,
"...I guess some of you might not know the System's name, but its name is Machina."
"So, do you know anything about why… we're here?"
"Is this some sort of quest? Am I supposed to fight with an army of myself!?"
"A…ano…"
"I didn't think of that… is this philosophical battle of self?"
And without even waiting for Officelady Chihiro to answer, the other Chihiros were already starting to form stories in their mind as they all looked at each other.
"That's literally not the case," Kimono Chihiro raised her voice while wiping her lips clean, "This mature-looking Chihiro said 'other versions' from other universes. We're… all from different universes."
"Wait, what do you mean mature?" Officelady Chihiro raised an eyebrow.
"You're clearly older than all of us," Kimono Chihiro squinted her eyes, while the others all nodded their heads in agreement.
"...We're all the same age," Officelady Chihiro's eyes turned emotionless as she looked at her variants, "I guess I'm just the only one with a regular job that's why I look like this."
"You… have a regular job?"
"You're not a hero? Why not?"
"Dare ka nihongo wo hanashimasu ka!?"
"You're working…?"
"I retired a long time ago," Officelady Chihiro let out a small sigh as she answered the curious Chihiros.
"...So, you are old."
"I'm not o—"
[Chihiro.]
"Yes?"
"'Sup, dad?"
"What can I do for you, Master?"
"Mom?"
"Machina," Officelady Chihiro and the rest of the other Chihiros all turned their heads up as floating words appeared above each of their heads. Soon, however, the floating words faded away as a silhouette suddenly emerged from the white nothingness—almost as if a hologram materializing there and then.
This silhouette soon turned humanoid, silver—eerily similar to that of the Norinlads. But instead, it seemed more machine than organic.
[Chihiro.]
"!!!"
All of the Chihiros widened their eyes. As for the first time in their lives, they heard the voice of the system that has been guiding them throughout their entire life.
[Please, listen to me. And listen to me well.]
"..." None of the Chihiros dared to speak; some of them, even with tears flowing down their cheeks as they closed their eyes to listen.
[I am giving you the most important quest in your lives—Defeat the multiversal threat known as Riley Ross.]
"...Multiversal?"
"Riley Ross?"
And before more could ask questions, an image—no, a sculpture of Riley appeared in front of all the Chihiros.
"This…"
And soon, another sculpture appeared right in front of Riley—a statue of another Chihiro, eating some sort of dessert with Riley Ross.
[Save one of your variants.]
"...She looks like she doesn't even need saving."
"Wait… all of us have the same mission? Are we going to war with an army of myself against one guy? He's just—"
And before a Chihiro could finish her words, a window popped up in front of all of them—a window that showed Riley's status and feats—something that Chihiro would understand instantly.
"...What?"
"How many digits is that? Are you kidding me?"
"This… is suicide."
"Do we really have to kill him? He seems to be living in peace with the other Chihiro."
[Chihiro Prime will train all of you. Be ready.]
"Chihiro… Prime? What?"
"Who's that?"
And once again, before more could start asking—an arrow appeared in all of their heads pointing at a single Chihiro.
Officelady Chihiro.
"I knew it," Kimono Chihiro pointed at Officelady Chihiro, "You're older than us!"
"I'm not!" Officelady Chihiro raised her voice, "I'm… well… I'm probably the strongest amongst all of you."
"Because you're older?"
"No!" Officelady Chihiro let out a small groan, "I… this is my second life."
"...What? What does that even mean?"
"That means… I have already died once," Officelady Chihiro then pointed at the Riley sculpture nearest to her, "I already died once…
…from him."
Chapter 736"..."
"..."
"Could it be you do not like this desert, Chihiro?"
"Oh… What? No."
"No?"
"No, I mean…"
Back in the universe Riley was currently in, he and Chihiro was inside a Korean-flavored shaved ice store. Like always, he ordered the one with lots of mango cubes on top—not even letting any of the shaved ice melt as he devoured them with his large mouth without a care for anything else.
As for Chihiro, half of her bowl was already drowned with the melted ice, and what remained was an iceberg that looked similar to the one that sank the Titanic. It wasn't the Titanic that was sinking, however, but herself as she found herself not knowing what to do.
She felt trapped inside a ship she herself crashed straight into an iceberg called Riley Ross. But what was she even supposed to do? Fighting him would be suicide.
Chihiro has never considered herself a coward—and for every adversary she fought that was stronger than her, she was able to surpass and defeat. But she also wasn't stupid, she knew that the previous adversaries she faced were nothing compared to Riley Ross.
Riley was like an unclimbable from another universe completely, literally. There was no use trying to fight against him because you can not win against him—wanting to do so would just be pride talking.
"Ah. Could it be that you feel guilty eating inside a Korean establishment since your ancestors almost wiped them out a hundred years ago, Chihiro?"
"...What?"
"If Megawoman did not stop your ancestors from allying with the man with a weird mustache, the Japanese would have wiped out the Koreans—could it be that a different scenario happened in this universe?"
"No…?" And finally, after a few more seconds of her being lost in her own thoughts, she finally grabbed her spoon and started eating… drinking her dessert like soup.
"..." Riley's eyes slightly squinted as he watched Chihiro sip her dessert. And then, with a flick of his finger, the temperature around Chihiro's bowl lowered to the point that everything froze. And then, with another flick, the ice that formed was turned into fine little dust once more.
"...Thanks?" Chihiro forced out a weak chuckle as she continued to indulge in a dessert that tasted completely opposite of her situation right now, "How… many abilities do you have?"
"Oh, that was just telekinesis, Chihiro."
"It… was?" Chihiro could really only sigh. Her will to fight, now just completely gone like it didn't even exist before, "And to answer your question, no. I'm not guilty about—Well, I do feel slightly…no. Never mind that…
…I just feel like someone's been watching us since earlier."
"Your System, Chihiro?" Riley stopped consuming his dessert and started looking around.
"No, not… Machina," Chihiro quickly shook his head, "Well, yes. But I feel like there's something else, someone else that's watching us."
"That is probably one of the Bernards, Chihiro," Riley nodded as he continued eating, "If you feel like someone is watching you, then it will always probably be him. But if it is not, then being watched is just normal because you are with me."
"..."
He wasn't wrong. Even if Riley was not a criminal that has killed billions of people, his physical appearance itself was far from normal.
Albinos or humans with leucism were already rarer than people with powers, but even amongst them, Riley looked completely different. It was almost as if he was just made to be… perfect. Of course, he looked weird—with his almost crystal eyes, pale skin, and unusually wide mouth—but for some reason, he looked perfect in a very weird way.
And everyone saw that.
Chihiro initially thought she was still in her superhero outfit when people started taking pictures of them, but she wasn't—all of them were trying to take photos of Riley. Unfortunately for them, Chihiro's abilities prevent them from snapping a photo.
But honestly, right now, Chihiro was starting to wonder whether or not perhaps Riley was also preventing them from taking a photo—he was certainly capable of that just from the abnormal control of his telekinetic abilities.
There was one thing Chihiro was sure of, however; she would have been dead right now if she had continued to fight Riley Ross, or even if she ran as Machina suggested. If it wasn't for the mysterious being that called himself 'Nothing', then she wouldn't be here casually eating dessert with Riley.
"Do you…" Chihiro no longer cared as she took the initiative to start another conversation, "...like sweet things?"
"No," Riley quickly answered.
"Then why…?"
"I like it because my sister likes it," Riley nodded to himself as he continued eating.
"But… I saw you drink milk and eat cookies while we were… at Hannah's house."
"Yes, I like milk and cookies."
"...Right," Chihiro quickly gave up in trying to figure out Riley as she just started quietly eating her dessert. The silence did not last long, however, as Chihiro once again could not help but just ask, "Why… did you not tell me?"
"Hm?"
"I know this is a stupid question because why in the world would you tell me…" Chihiro let out a small breath as she looked Riley in the eyes, "...But why did you not tell me that you were the Villain I was searching for? I'm sure you knew it was you."
"You did not ask if it was me, Chihiro," Riley tilted his head to the side in confusion, "If you asked, then I would have answered."
"With the truth?"
"Perhaps," Riley smiled, "But mystery is always the fun—"
"Riley?"
Chihiro's entire body flinched and froze as Riley suddenly stopped talking. She couldn't even tremble as she watched as Riley stood up; not knowing whether she should prepare to rescue everyone in the store right now.
"..." Chihiro's eyes started moving around, trying to figure out how she would evacuate everyone. Fortunately for her, Riley just walked toward the counter.
"What… what?" Chihiro was able to breathe again as she figured out what was going on.
Riley, on the other hand, just casually ordered another bowl of dessert.
"She is paying for it," Riley said to the cashier as he pointed at Chihiro.
"...What? If you wanted another one I could have just—"
"Riley!"
And before Chihiro could completely get rid of her confusion, Hannah barged inside the store, almost breaking the door open as she did so and deafening everyone inside with her loud voice.
The people were, of course, surprised. But their surprise turned into utter shock as another Hannah stepped inside the store.
"What are you…" Nannah quickly covered her face, but it was already too late as everyone saw her. She did not really bother much about it, however, as any evidence of whatever happened here would just be erased by her father.
Several guards also started appearing, telling the other customers to leave the shop and paying them a hefty sum. Even the manager was paid to close the store as the Ross family just freshly bought the store just minutes ago.
"Riley!"
"Oh, you brought Shirtless Hannah," Riley turned back to the cashier to order another one for Nannah. But alas, all the staff were gone. He was going to go over the counter to make one himself, but Hannah pulled him away back to the seat.
"What are you doing just casually eating here while we worry what kind of fuckery you will do!?" Hannah said calmly.
"And you!" Hannah then pointed at Chihiro, who was still seated at the table with a confused expression on her face, "You could have died! I know you and I are basically strangers, but I was friends with your other version!"
"...Were you, really?"
And unexpectedly, Chihiro actually answered Hannah as she stood up from her seat, "If you and I were friends, then why are you protecting the one who killed me?" She asked, fully knowing the answer already.
"Oh, everything that can be done has been done to stop Riley," Hannah, on the other hand, took a seat and started eating Riley's mango dessert, "Do you know what Megawoman and my mother did to him? They took turns in destroying his brain and body over and over again before throwing him into a void—but typical Riley, he ends up being a menace for everyone again and found himself in an alternate dimension. Oops."
"..."
"Riley…" Hannah sighed, "Riley just has a way not to disappear. He's like… a cockroach. You're a cockroach, brother."
"Thank you, sister."
"That was not a fucking compliment," Hannah groaned as she started consuming the dessert violently.
"..." Nannah also awkwardly sat down. And as soon as she did so, Riley gave him a dessert of her own that he made using his telekinesis.
"...Thanks?"
"Anyway," Hannah then started waving her spoon around, "You and I will leave after I'm done with this bowl."
"Okay," Riley nodded without any hesitation again.
"Just so you know, Aerith and the others are still trying to find ways to get rid of you."
"...Aerith is?"
"..." Hannah quickly stopped eating as she heard Riley's voice, "What's the deal with that? Don't tell me you're hurt because Aerith betrayed you or whatev—Oh, you are."
"I am not," Riley quickly shook his head, "My feelings can't be hurt, they are not allowed to."
"Cringe," Hannah rolled her eyes, "I think it's obvious to everyone right now that you do feel. You went crazy when Megawoman tried to kill herself."
"..." Riley did not really say anything and just looked to the side.
"Anyway, I'm done…" Hannah lifted herself up, "...Say what you guys want to say to Riley, because this is the last chance you will ever ha—"
And before Hannah could finish her words, the air in front of them started to crack… with a person casually stepping out of it without any caution or wary.
"That's… an old me?" Chihiro gasped.
"I'm as old as you!"
"Fuck…" Hannah's shoulders quickly dropped as she stared at this older version of Chihiro,
"...Can't we just go home without anything happening?"
Chapter 737"There… really is another me."
Chihiro already believed that there was an alternate universe aside from hers, but now that there was an alternate version of her just casually standing in front of her… any doubts she had completely withered away.
But most importantly…
"...You're older than me."
"I'm—Ugh!"
Perhaps amongst all the people in the room, only Nannah reacted as Officelady Chihiro started groaning in frustration. Nannah flinched, before standing up from the seat and accidentally spilling the dessert that Riley made for her.
She truly thought it was a waste as she glanced at it, but her eyes quickly returned to Nannah. And without even waiting for anyone to release their next breath, her bulky armor wrapped around her body in almost an instant.
"Ah, it's you!" Officelady Chihiro pointed at Nannah as soon as she armored up, "Do you live in this universe, or are you still busy trying to save other universes?"
"Don't be fooled by her friendly demeanor," Nannah breathed out as she glanced at the others, "This Chihiro variant is incredibly powerful, the most powerful in her universe."
"I'm… alright," Officelady Chihiro sighed, "But you say don't be fooled by my friendly demeanor, but all of you seem to be fine getting along with him."
"..." Everyone then pointed to where Chihiro is, only to see Riley once again behind the counter and making another dessert.
"You… know who he is?" Chihiro squinted her already small eyes as she looked back and forth Riley and Officelady Chihiro.
"Of course," Officelady shrugged, "He's the reason for my first death…
…he killed me during my first life."
***
"I got you… I got you now."
Those were the last words Chihiro heard from the very man that stabbed his fist right through her stomach. The very last words she heard from the man she loved, and the very last words she heard before life faded away from her eyes.
Her eyes, which were not reflecting Gary at all—but Riley Ross. Gary was completely devoid of any fault in her eyes as she finally realized that everything was the fault of just one man—Riley Ross.
She didn't jump in front of him to save him, not at all. Her body just moved on its own, and not by instinct, but by force. She couldn't even speak as it felt like something was blocking her throat. She couldn't move a limb, as it felt like there were strings around her that were not allowing her to.
'Ah,' she thought as the feather of life she had left in her was plucked away, forever flying in the expanse of the past; never to once again walk in the… Just never to once again walk.
…Or so she thought.
[Welcome to the 1st Simulation, Chihiro.]
Everything was still dark, and the only thing that truly exists were the familiar words that Chihiro had been seeing her entire life. Soon, however, the words started to multiply and scatter—moving like worms until they formed a face… and then a body.
[My name is Machina.]
"...Machina?"
Chihiro found herself speaking, and yet there were no mouths or lips for them to truly escape to—as she does not really exist in this plane. There was only Machina and Machina alone.
[I am the being you address to as System. I have detected an irregularity in your universe.]
"You…?"
[In most cases, Irregularities are no cause for concern—there have only been a handful, but a handful is already too many, and adding another should be made impossible,] Machina's silhouette started to completely form as its humanoid shape started walking in circles around Chihiro,
[But this Irregularity killed you, and that I can not accept. I will move your consciousness to another vessel, another you that has frequently died or will soon be dying.]
"Move… my consciousness?"
It was a weird feeling. It felt like she was actually hearing Machina talk, and yet at the same time, she could not—Chihiro did not have ears, after all. In fact, she did not have anything at all. But still, she talks and she can listen.
[Indeed. But first, I will let you experience several lives—the lives of all my Avatars… in all the universes now and that has been.]
"All… of it?" Chihiro was confused, but at the same time, it was as if she could understand everything that Machina was saying intimately and deeply… like it was directly being uploaded into her non-existent and dead mind.
[All of it. You will learn all of their knowledge, all of their skills, and all of their memories. You will start at the very beginning, the very first being I made a contract with—and you will end with you, all of you, all of the Chihiros so that your mind may return to you; as this will hold no significance if it is not you.]
"...And what do we hope to gain in all of this?"
[Correction,] Machina's silhouette soon started to crumble, [Existence can not handle another irregularity, especially one that could jump across different universes. As of right now, you have the most important task in all of Existence, Chihiro.]
"How many simulations will I go through? How… many lives?"
[...Eons. But in the end, it will all just be like…
…one big dream.]
***
"And then I woke up in this body," Officelady Chihiro—No. Chihiro Prime was now also casually seated at the table, eating the dessert that Riley made earlier, which was actually for her in the first place.
As for the others, they were intently listening to Chihiro Prime's story, somewhat mesmerized by all that she had experienced.
"Wait… how many lives did you experience?" Chihiro breathed out.
"As Machina said, eons."
"Fuck… so there was a reason I couldn't beat you," Nannah dropped her head, letting out her frustration in a groan before glancing back at Chihiro Prime, "You're… a monster."
"Not nice," Chihiro Prime softly chuckled, "And I was already aware of your existence since I met you… several times through the simulations."
"Hold on…" Chihiro cut off the conversation, "...How are you not insane?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Chihiro Prime squinted her already small eyes as she tilted her head to the side.
"You have technically lived for billions of years, correct?"
"I guess…? If you put it that way, I have."
"And you're still you…?"
"I may have gone crazy somewhere at the beginning, but I guess it was in the middle that I just surfed through the simulations," Chihiro Prime chuckled again, "And it is as Machina said, since the last lives I experienced were all Chihiros, it wasn't that hard to… be normal."
"...Wow."
All of them had wide eyes as they continued to listen to Chihiro Prime speak… well, all except for Hannah.
"Wait, wait…" Hannah looked Chihiro Prime straight in the eyes; her vision, slightly turning cloudy, "...You, you're the Chihiro I know?"
"..." Chihiro Prime returned Hannah's gaze, before letting out a small smile and nodding her head, "I am."
"Oh," Hannah covered her mouth to stop the sniffling gasp from escaping her lips. But alas, the tears that trailed down her cheek could not hide the memories that were playing repeatedly in her mind. There were so many things she wanted to say, but there was really only one that she needed to say,
"I'm… so sorry, Chihiro."
"No, please… don't cry," the gentle smile on Chihiro's face did not disappear as she quickly got up from her seat and embraced Hannah, "What happened was no one's fault but your brother's. And someday… he will pay for that."
"..." Hannah opened her eyes as she glanced at Riley while being in the comfort of Chihiro Prime's embrace. And after a few seconds, she took a deep breath and released a heavy sigh, "...I can't let you take him, or fight him, or whatever it is you're planning to do to him, Chihiro."
"I know," Chihiro Prime once again smiled as she leaned away from Hannah, "I was actually training thousands of me just earlier, but I let Machina return them to their universes because they would be useless, no matter how many they are."
Chihiro Prime let out a sigh as she walked toward Riley, who was now just staring at the menu of the store for some odd reason.
"I have lived their lives, and I know that no matter how much I train them—they won't be a match for you, Riley Ross," Chihiro then lifted herself up and sat on the counter, tilting her body to the side to cover Riley's view of the menu, "I have lived for eons…
…to know that I am no match for you too."
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he returned Chihiro Prime's gaze, "I want you to know that you might be my favorite Chihiro, Chihiro."
"...Thanks," Chihiro smiled; her eyes almost closed.
"And your English has also improved."
"I am fluent in all the languages now, even those outside of Earth."
"Hm," Riley nodded, "You are similar to the main character of my favorite TV show too—living for almost an eternity before finally being able to move on. But how are you so sure that you will not be a match for me, Chihiro?"
"Because out of all the universes I have lived, not a single threat came close to you," Chihiro sighed as she lay down on the counter; her shirt, slightly crumpling and revealing more of her skin, "You see, I think Machina is wrong about you, Riley…"
"..." Riley slightly leaned his head up as Chihiro tried to touch his chin with her index finger.
"You're not a threat, not at all…" Chihiro softly giggled, "You're…
…a treat. And I am really the only one that can have you in all of the universes."
"..."
"..."
"Fuck…
…she did go crazy."
Chapter 738"Please… Please, Machina! Stop, I… I don't want to anymore!"
[Do not worry, Chihiro. It is only a matter of time until you get accustomed to living different—]
"It… It's not even that! I've… I'm losing too many people."
[They are not your people, Chihiro. The lives you have lived are all from eons passed.]
"And yet I have lived them! How many times… how many times do I have to lose the same person over and over again. My… My poor wife, she—"
[Focus, Chihiro. You have only been living the life of my first Avatar.]
Chihiro once again found herself in the space where she does not really exist, and all that was there was Machina. She was only a consciousness, a consciousness that has woken up countless times in this mysterious plane of space.
"Please…" Chihiro once again begged, "I do not want to live his life anymore. I… I am starting to confuse it for my own."
[As I have told you more than a thousand times, you do not worry about having to lose your identity, Chihiro,] Machina once again appeared in the nothingness. Its silver gleam, causing the empty space to glitter,
[It will all return to you in the end. As for your wish to not live the life of the first Avatar anymore, it is soon to be granted…
…the next one is the last one.]
"..." If Chihiro had a face right about now, she would be on the verge of bursting into tears. But as always have been for almost an eon, she swallowed everything and nodded figuratively. And so, once again… she lives the life of the first Avatar.
Another life, another outcome… another end, another death.
And as she once again wakes up in the empty space, she looks at Machina again with begging eyes. Begging her to stop, begging her to just let her rest.
But alas…
[Welcome to the 2nd Simulation, Chihiro.]
This hell was only just starting, and another story of tragedy and pain welcomes her. Perhaps the only reason she wasn't truly going insane was the thought that after all this, in the end, her life would still be hers.
And so, she begins to traverse the life of the second Avatar. And in all the universes, the second Avatar lost everything… Chihiro lost everything, again… and again… and again.
But as she repeatedly woke up from the nightmare, she woke up not begging… but laughing. How could she not? She has been trying her best to change the outcome of the 2nd Avatar's life, and yet it was useless—as everything had already happened.
What she was experiencing were not their lives, but their memories. And with that thought now accompanying her, the lives became easier… or so she thought.
[Welcome to the 6th Simulation, Chihiro.]
"Wait, wait!"
And after an eon, Chihiro once again found herself begging Machina—this time, however, for a different reason.
"Please, just one more!" Chihiro cried, "Just one more time, just let me repeat her life one more time!"
[I am afraid that is not possible. There are no more lives left to live.]
"Then just let me repeat one of her lives again, okay? That's okay, right?"
[No. Living a life you have already lived will provide nothing for you, and for me.]
"She was happy!" Chihiro exclaimed, "For once, I was living a happy and extremely fulfilling life! I had several grandchildren and I watched all of them grow into fine men and women!"
[You were happy too until you met your end, Chihiro.]
"What?"
[Your life, have you forgotten?]
"My… life?" Chihiro breathed out as she looked at her hands, "...Hands?"
And finally, in this weird space that only had Machina and Machina alone, Chihiro finally noticed that she herself also exists.
"Me…?" But as she stared at her hands, as she touched her face, all she felt was a stranger, "Who… who am I?"
[It is not important who you are, but who you will be after all of this.]
"Heh…" A small but very deep breath escaped Chihiro's lips as she heard Machina's voice, "You're… you're right. It doesn't matter who I am, just let me repeat Mona's life."
[No.]
"W…Why?" Chihiro's breaths soon became stifled chuckles as she approached Machina, only for her hand to go through its silver silhouette, "You're… you're a god, that won't be hard for you to do. Just repeating Mona's life one more time should not be a problem. How many times have I lived as her? A hundred million times? Just one more… one more won't make a difference."
[I am not a god,] Machina said as it stepped away from Chihiro, [Focus, your only goal here is to gather your predecessors' skills in order to defeat Riley Ross.]
"Riley… Ross?" Chihiro has already forgotten about her own life. And yet, as soon as Riley's name was mentioned, all the emotions that she felt during her own death rushed back to her.
"It's him…" Chihiro clasped her head as her stifled chuckles turned into ominous peals of laughter, "This… this is all his fault."
[That is correct. Now go, Chihiro…
…experience another life.]
"..."
"..."
[Welcome to the 12th Simulation, Chihiro.]
"Heh…" Chihiro only scoffed as she did not even bother acknowledging Machina's presence. There was really just one image circling in her mind right now—Riley Ross, "...I keep trying and trying to find someone like him, but there's just no one that actually comes close. And I am just going to assume that what I know about Riley Ross does not also come close to what he is truly capable of."
[Correct. Riley Ross is the kind of threat that only comes once every millions of Reset,] Machina approached Chihiro; the gleam of its silver skin, following it across the vast emptiness, [I have a prediction that he will trouble us just like how the Eternal Child troubles us still.]
"Oh, I wasn't talking to you, Machina," Chihiro softly chuckled as she glanced at Machina, "And you keep mentioning this Eternal Child, are you going to tell me who it is?"
[His name is Viel. And he is irrelevant to you as he will continue to be beyond your reach, and perhaps even mine,] Machina closed its eyes.
"Is… that emotion I feel from you, Machina?" An amused smile painted Chihiro's face as she leaned closer to Machina, "But you're right, I don't care about some Eternal Child…
…I'm only here to kill Riley."
"..."
"..."
[Welcome to your 404th Simulation, Chihiro.]
"Not found… Why can't I find Riley!?" Chihiro woke up lashing out as she just starting walking everywhere across the white emptiness.
[Riley does not exist yet in the lives you are experiencing, Chihiro.]
"Why not!?" Chihiro screamed in frustration, "He should be! I keep seeing him and yet he's not there! Wait…
…you're not Riley, are you?"
[No.]
"How… how would I know?" Chihiro laughed as she pointed at Machina, "Riley is capable of many things. Don't you know that Darkday is theorized to have more than a thousand abilities? How… how would I know if this is just one of them!?"
[Riley is not my equal just yet, but he could be when certain… parameters are met.]
"Oh… is that fear I hear in you, Machina?" The tone of Chihiro's voice slightly changed as she once again leaned closer to Machina, "So, you do have emotions."
[I never claimed that I do not,] Machina only glanced at Chihiro before it started walking around, [All of us have emotions—how can we function if we do not?]
"Even Death?"
[Especially Death,] Machina let out a small hum as it closed its eyes, [Death has learned to feel everything beings feel at their birth and at their end. She has access to the saddest and happiest moments of a creature's life.]
"Oh… I wonder what she felt when she took me."
[She did not,] Machina shook its head, [You are my avatar, Chihiro. And therefore you do not die as others do—you live in me.]
"Well, that's creepy," Chihiro chuckled, "Anyway, let's just get this over with so I can kick Riley Ross's butt."
[...Very well.]
"..."
"..."
[Welcome to the 1242nd Simulation, Chihiro.]
"Riley… what do you think he's doing now, Machina?" Chihiro woke up; not with a smile, not with a cry, but just opening her eyes and immediately relaxing on the empty floor.
[Time does not flow—]
"I know, I know," Chihiro rolled her eyes, "I just can't help but think of what he's doing. I've experienced so many lives, and I can't find anyone like him. There's… there's just no one like him."
[He is an irregularity, Chihiro. Of course, there is no one else like him.]
"...Right?" Chihiro smiled, "It's like… It's like we're destined to be together, you know?"
[You are—You are meant to defeat him.]
"I know," Chihiro smiled, "All of this, all I am doing… it's for him."
[Correct.]
"I don't want to delay any further, Machina. I want to… meet him."
"..."
"..."
[Congratulations, Chihiro. You have completely all the lives there are to see.]
"Riley… was not in a single one of them," Chihiro started biting her nail, "Why? I've already been living Chihiro—my life for millions of times now, why is there not a single sign of Riley!?"
[Because he only exists in one universe.]
"Wait… wait," Chihiro started shaking her head, "But I'm dead in that universe."
[Correct.]
"Then how would I even meet him again!?" Chihiro stomped her way toward Machina, stretching her hand toward it… and successfully grabbing it by the arms, "Don't tell me… I wasted all of this for nothing!?"
[Incorrect,] Machina quickly stepped back, [Riley will find his way to different universes, it is only a matter of when.]
"Then… then I get to meet him again?" Chihiro giggled as she started spinning in glee around the empty space.
[Correct.]
"Then let's do it! Throw me back to the present, Machina!"
[Okay,] Machina nodded, [Remember everything you have learned, Chihiro…
…you will need it.]
***
"I lived a few years as this Chihiro, and when I met a Hannah from another universe, I knew the time that I met you again was upon me, Riley. And it was, Machina summoned me and the others in order to defeat you."
"Interesting story, Chihiro."
Back in the shaved ice store, Chihiro Prime was still sitting on top of the counter; her foot, slightly touching Riley's belly as he just stood there with his eyes still stuck on the menu for some reason.
As for Hannah and the others that were also listening in on Chihiro Prime's story, the only thing they could really do was look at each other in disbelief—the amount of time she has lived, it is actually a surprise that she wasn't even more insane than she is.
"Wait…" Chihiro squinted her already small eyes as something has been bothering her from the start, "You said Machina summoned a lot of us, and you were training them… but where are they now? Did you send them home when you realized they won't be of much help?"
"Oh, no…" Chihiro Prime blinked a couple of times; leaning to the side to meet Chihiro's eyes as she answered her,
"…I killed all of them."
Chapter 739"I killed all of them."
Hannah, who has known Chihiro for several years before she died, could not believe what she was hearing right now. Out of all the temporary members of the Baby Crew, Chihiro could be said to be the sweetest—almost like a precious little sister that they all had to take care of.
The next one that came close to her was Silvie—but Silvie changed… quite a lot. And so, Hannah was in complete disbelief that the Chihiro she knew would change this much. But then again, even as Chihiro Prime told them her story, Hannah can't quite fathom just how long she has been alive… and suffering.
A single death could change everything, and Chihiro Prime had to live an unimaginable number of deaths.
As for the Chihiro of this universe, she was in complete shock. She had initially thought of how cool it was that she was meeting a version of herself that is much more experienced and without a doubt stronger. She thought that she could become some sort of mentor to her along with Machina…but no.
She mentioned that Machina called for thousands of Chihiro from other universes, which means she also killed thousands of them. Wouldn't that also mean…
…Chihiro Prime might kill her too? And why is Machina not doing anything?
Chihiro had been trying to contact Machina, but why is she so quiet and not telling her to do anything… or giving her a new mission? Or perhaps…
…Chihiro Prime was the only one with a mission right now?
And while Chihiro and Hannah were both in disbelief at what was happening, Nannah's mind was in the gutters. Out of everyone here, she was the only one that has an actual idea of how strong Chihiro Prime was—after all, she fought her once already and almost died.
The only reason she was alive right now was because of her father, who seemed to have made some sort of deal with the primordial behind Chihiro.
And she knew… she knew that if Chihiro Prime were to actually become serious and wreak havoc, then the only one that could probably stop her right now was her father—and Riley Ross.
No, there were currently 3 themarians in her universe—and based on the information she had gathered, each of them should be stronger than any of the themarians they have here.
They could subdue Chihiro Prime without any problem. But the thing is, would they? They're not from this universe, and after she told them that she has killed several of them from other universes—the chances of them helping this universe were slim to none.
And so, the only thing that Nannah could really do now was once again summon her armor; her eyes turning orange as they planted themselves on Chihiro Prime. And although everyone can see that she was ready to fight at any time, the trembling of her hands also showed her hesitation.
And while the minds of the three girls were running amok, Riley could not help but be amused.
"You killed all of them while in the presence of a Primordial God, Chihiro?"
"It actually doesn't matter that Machina was there."
Chihiro Prime finally jumped off the counter, walking her fingers just above Riley's right shoulder as she circled around her to once again lean on the counter and look at Riley,
"It can't do anything. An almost infinite number of lives I have lived, and the only thing Machina could really do is…"
Chihiro Prime snapped her fingers before waving them on top of her head, "...All of this—an endless message of nothing."
"..." Riley looked Chihiro Prime in the eyes, only to see several words actually reflect on them. He tried to glance above her head, but there was nothing there,
"You are much more connected to Machina than the rest of the Chihiros, Chihiro?"
"I am," Chihiro Prime leaned away from the counter as her shoulders dropped, "You can say I know everything about it. It gave us powers, but it can not take them back. Machina could use two different Avatars in one generation, it happened once. But Machina was sort of… condemned by its colleagues."
"Interesting," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "But you have to die though, Chihiro."
"Hm?" Chihiro Prime tilted her head to the side.
"I have already killed you, so you should remain dead," Riley nodded his head, "And since I did not get any abilities when the Chihiro of this universe killed me, then I truly have no use for you."
"Ah, Machina told me about that," Chihiro Prime sighed, "Something about you not actually supposed to be existing, and something about the Chihiro of this world trying to absorb you and failing. And this is why we're meant to be, Riley!"
"We are?"
"Yes!" Chihiro Prime stretched her hand to the sides as she started spinning and laughing, causing everyone in the room except for Riley to squint their eyes, "You, who do not truly exist. And me, who has existed 'til the start of time and always exists in every universe. Polar opposites."
"I do not see why we are meant to be because of that, Chihiro."
"Hm, you will," Chihiro Prime abruptly stopped swinging around; just frozen as she started breathing heavily, "Because for you, I am willing to also be the only Chihiro in existence."
"...What?" Chihiro quickly reacted to Chihiro Prime's words, "Wh—"
And before she could once again open her mouth, the tip of Chihiro Prime's fingers were already only inches away from hitting her stomach. Well, perhaps it was better to say that it was only inches away from Hannah's palm, which was blocking Chihiro's stomach.
"...Why protect her?" Chihiro Prime quickly took a step back and started waving her hand, blowing on it as there were obvious signs of char healing around her finger, "You don't even know her."
"And why does that matter?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she stood in front of Chihiro, "Heroes save people daily, and they don't even know their names."
"Oh…?" a small smirk crawled on Chihiro Prime's face as she looked Hannah in the eyes,
"Is that why you didn't save me back then?" Chihiro Prime's eyebrows lowered as much as her voice, "Is that why you just watched as my ex-boyfriend plunged his arm through my stomach?"
"That's…"
"You weren't much of a hero then, were you?" Chihiro Prime then covered her face; her breaths, seemingly not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "But you don't have to worry, I don't hold a grudge, I don't hold anything at all."
"..."
And while Chihiro Prime and Hannah were busy talking, Nannah was recording everything and sending it to her dad. Bard has actually been talking to her since earlier, assessing the situation and telling her what to do, or in this case, what not to do.
Bard told her to stand down and do nothing—let the matter resolve itself and just focus on trying to save people when it comes to it. As for the variants that were in their universe, the Aerith and Diana of Riley's universe were willing to help, but not the other Aerith variant.
But the themarians' involvement would complicate things. Whiteking could just erase all the footage of what would happen next, but if images of Aerith and Diana were to spread outside the universe… the themarians that were on Second Theran would surely have questions.
In short, her hands were tied and the only thing she could really do was…
"Golden Fox!" Nannah quickly grabbed Chihiro, before forcefully flying her away—wrecking the shop's roof and ceiling in the process.
"Oh?" Chihiro Prime let out an amused hum as she avoided the debris. She was about to chase them, but Hannah flew above her and covered them,
"...You do know I can teleport, right?"
"I'm not trying to stop you, Chihiro," Hannah sighed, "I'm trying to…"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Okay, yes. I am trying to stop you."
"Hm," Chihiro Prime shrugged before glancing at Riley and smiling, "Please stay here, Riley. This will be over in a minute."
And as she said those words, she sank toward the void that was suddenly on the floor.
"Fuck!" Hannah wanted to pull her, but she was already gone before she could even descend a single millimeter, "Why does everything have to be so fucking complicated!? Why are all the variants so batshit crazy!? Look at mine, we're all freaking cool!"
"That is because you are the batshit crazy variant, sister."
"What the fuck did you say?"
"You are insane, sister."
"You—I just came here to bring you back, Riley!"
"Then let's go back, sister," Riley blinked a couple of times, seemingly confused with Hannah's words, "Everyone seems to be done with their dessert, so we can go home now. I also do not want to go home at the same time with Aerith, so this is the perfect time."
"What…? No," Hannah rolled her eyes, "That's our Chihiro right there! We also need to bring her home!"
"Our Chihiro is dead, sister."
"If we happen to be separated again and meet a million years later, will I still be your sister?"
"You will be dead, sister."
"Fuck, just fucking humor me."
"Then yes," Riley nodded, "You will always be my sister, Hannah. Even if you despise and abhor me, I will—"
"Yeah, yeah. I know," Hannah waved her hand, "So, is that Chihiro not our Chihiro then?"
"No."
"Ugh, whatever. I'm following Hannah, Chihiro and Chihiro. Fuck! Even the people are confusing now!" Hannah just shook her head as she flew out of the store; her loud voice, still echoing inside as she left Riley and Nannah's guards there.
"...How is it confusing?" Riley placed his hand on his chin. And after several seconds of deliberating, he looked at the guards that were probably the most confused of all,
"Do you people want dessert?"
"..." The guards all looked at each other, before just running out of the store in haste.
"Rude," Riley stared at their disappearing backs for a few seconds, before his eyes started to wander around the store, "Perhaps…
…I should just open my own dessert store?"
***
"Everything's a mess."
Back in Nannah's penthouse, the older generation plus Silvie were all scratching their heads.
"A mess that does not involve me."
But perhaps out of all of them, the most impatient one was Aerith-1, who had been walking around the penthouse and causing several shockwaves with each step.
"All of you are on your own—if Riley has garnered the wrath of these so-called Primordial gods, I will not contest it with my own revenge," Aerith-1 flung her extremely long blonde hair to the side, "I only wish to see what punishment awaits him."
"This is getting way bigger than we initially thought," Diana pinched the bridge of her nose, "Riley… Ugh, this is all my fault."
"Diana, don't," Aerith placed her hand on her shoulder, "This is already hard for you—I was the one who ultimately decided to imprison Riley… and kill him over and over again. It's—"
"Oh."
And before Aerith could finish her words, all of them turned their heads toward the familiar voice that suddenly let out a breath. And there he was, someone who was supposed to be idling in a dessert store, standing with them out of nowhere…
…Riley Ross.
"I did not know that, Aerith."
Chapter 740"Riley…?"
The only one that really reacted amongst the lot was the youngest of them, Silvie. She wanted to go along with Hannah and Hannah when they detected Riley in a small dessert store somewhere on the outskirts of New York—but Hannah did not let her, as she said it would be best if it was just her.
Of course, she was slightly disappointed. But even more, she found it completely awkward that she was lumped with… the old people. Granted, she had been busy helping Katherine with taking care of Katarina—but she was young, she should be with the…
…was she still young?
And while Silvie was suddenly having a mid-life crisis in her mid-twenties, one of the adults finally recovered from their bewilderment.
"...Riley?" Diana was the 3rd person to speak Riley's name as she looked his son straight in the eyes, "How… long have you been here?"
"Oh, I followed all of you here, Mother," Riley casually answered as he started walking around the penthouse, before settling in front of Hannah's fridge and getting a glass of milk for himself. And without even minding all the eyes following him, he sat at the bar and just started drinking without care,
"Perhaps if you spent time actually nourishing and nurturing our relationship, I would not have turned out to be like this."
"...It's a clone," Silvie finally snapped out of her daydreaming as she heard Riley's words.
"Ah, Silvie. Even though we've grown apart, you still know me best," Riley let out a small sigh; just focusing on his drink as he lowered his head, almost as if pretending that he was drinking alcohol,
"Still very promising, unlike your… mold."
"..." Aerith's eyes slightly twitched. She wanted to say something, but Aerith-1 stepped forward before any words escaped her lips.
"A… clone?" Aerith-1's eyebrows lowered, "Wait, is it possible that the one we were about to take home earlier was also a clone?"
"Oh, that one was the real Riley," Riley started waving his glass of milk as he faced the others, "But let's get back to the real elephant in the room, and I'm not talking about fat Bernard."
"..." Bard could not help but blink from the sudden attack. He was just minding his own business and trying his best to monitor the entire Chihiro situation… so why was he suddenly being called out like this?
"Anyway, Aerith…" Riley pointed his glass at Aerith as he stood away from the bar, "...I want you to know that even though you did what you did…
…I forgive you."
"You… forgive me?" Aerith's already squinted eyes became even smaller as her eyebrows lowered, "Forgive me…? You killed my people, Riley. And you've killed hundreds of billions of people, innocent lives that had nothing to do with you."
"To be fair, Aerith—most of my victims had nothing to do with me," Riley chuckled, "And also, yes. I forgive you."
"How… how dare you?" Aerith's lips started to tremble as she stepped forward, causing Aerith-1 to step to the side as she felt Aerith's rising energy levels…an energy level unprecedented in her universe,
"How. Fucking. Dare. You."
"Language, your daughter is watching," Riley winked at Silvie, "And I said I forgive you, I said nothing about you forgiving me—the two are sort of very different from each other."
"You—"
"Tut. tut," Riley raised a finger when he saw Aerith's hands turning into fists, "I just want to say that no matter what you do. Even though you—what was it? You crushed my head again and again, destroyed my spine, and then threw me to another world? Yes. Even though you did all of that, even though you promised that you won't actually abandon me or leave me, and you did—I forgive you."
"..." Aerith's fists started to tremble as she was truly deliberating on whether or not to fight Riley Ross here—but she knew best what would happen if she did. And so, after a few more seconds, the only thing she could really do was let out a sigh as her hands softened,
"We've already caused enough trouble here. Just tell Riley to stop playing around and resolve this situation."
"Now that… is not really a request I can do, sadly," Riley let out a small but very deep sigh as he walked to the sink and started washing the glass, "I'm afraid you oldies just have to wait until they're done."
"But you're connected to Riley."
"Hm," Riley shrugged as he started wiping his hands on the dry cloth, "You don't have to worry, though. He'll be here any minute. You guys should relax, not like the world's going to end."
"..."
That is exactly what everyone was worried about, especially Bard. A picture of Riley's true strength was already completely painted in his mind—that was the very reason he directly contacted the universe Riley was discovered, because that was the only thing he could really think of to get rid of him.
A creature a Primordial is wary of should not exist among mortals, but he is here. And they have no way to permanently kill him. In truth, Bard was also thinking of throwing Riley into some sort of void, a universe already destroyed where nothing could truly exist.
But he was sure Riley will, and he will find a way to get back. After all, a universe already destroyed means it had… rips and cracks where Riley could go through, cracks that would connect him directly to beings that exist outside the Universe, the transcended gods… and the Primordials.
And if those beings learned that Bard sent him there, the corresponding punishment might be the destruction of his own universe.
Truly, just what sort of monster snuck into his universe?
"..." Bernard, who had been quiet from the start, quickly realized the thoughts his variant was having and could not help but just sigh. If people are pointing fingers at who to blame, shouldn't most be actually pointing at him?
Diana was an exemption, of course—as she knew from the start. But Bernard was the one who tolerated and even sanctioned Riley's actions when he was just starting as Darkday.
"Okay, maybe that's too much relaxing," Riley let out a small chuckle as he broke the eerie silence suddenly surrounding the entire penthouse,
"Now, I know what you're all thinking—Riley Ross is a timebomb, Riley Ross might act out and just destroy everything, yada yada. And your worries are valid, they are more than valid. But…"
Riley started walking around with his finger raised, "That is what makes all of this fun, no? Chaos…
…chaos is fun."
"You truly are a madman," Aerith-1 crossed her arms and started shaking her head, "Your parents should have killed you while you were but an infant, a tiny sprout that could be plucked just like that," Aerith-1 said as she snapped her fingers.
"You really do look and act like Queen Adel, you know that? Are you sure you're not Queen Adel?"
"I'm not!"
"She's not," Aerith breathed out.
"Huh, weird. But yes, I am the maddest man you will ever meet in your life. It may not seem like it because I am filled with all sorts of charm and alluring composure, but I am… Mega sick in the head," Riley literally drilled his finger through his temple as he started laughing,
"But anyway, enough talk—Boss is here."
And with those words, the familiar bell of the elevator rang in the air as its doors opened. Everyone once again turned their heads to look, only to see Riley casually stepping inside the penthouse with a blank expression on his face.
"How sure are we that this is the real one?" Aerith-1 squinted her eyes as she watched Riley ignore all of them and just made his way toward his clone, "...Right, now I know how you people know."
"What's up, Boss?" Riley's clone bowed his head, "I'd offer you a glass of milk but… I just finished the last drop, sorry."
"It is fine," Riley gestured to the clone to lift his head. He then finally glanced at Aerith-1 and the others, before just ignoring them again and sitting at the bar; focusing all of his attention on his clone,
"But who are you?"
"Hm?" The clone tilted his head to the side as a small smile crawled on his face, "What do you mean, Boss?"
"Who are you, clone?" Riley just repeated his question, causing the others to be confused as they all looked at each other.
"It's… It's me…?" Riley's clone gestured to himself, also seemingly confused as he looked at the others. But after a few seconds of quiet pondering, his eyes suddenly widened, "Ah! Maybe you don't recognize me because of this."
And then, with a small giggle escaping his lips, Riley's clone grabbed something from his pocket and wore it on his face—a pair of glasses.
"It's me, Boss," the clone once again gestured to himself, "Professor Riley."
"Professor… Riley?" Aerith's voice started to slightly rise as she flinched, "Wait… wait… Isn't that the one teaching the children on Theran?"
"Ah!" Professor Riley quickly pointed at Aerith, "See!? Aerith recognized me—I knew it, she cares for us, Boss."
"..." Riley only glanced at Aerith, not saying a word to her before sighing and shaking his head, "I do not think that is the case, Professor."
"Well, it might be," Professor Riley nonchalantly shrugged, "At least she's not that much of a disappointment like Queen Adel is making her out to be."
"Queen… Adel?" Aerith's breathing started to turn heavy. She was already suspecting something, but Professor Riley's words were turning them into reality.
"Ah, yes!" Professor Riley smiled, "I persuaded her and some thousands of Themarians to flee Theran."
"What…?"
"And right now, I guess they're overthrowing our universe? You oldies aren't there, after all."
"Wait…
…What?"
Chapter 741"Wait… what?"
There have been many times Aerith found herself suddenly being surrounded by silence, most of the time by force as the weight of her responsibility to the world echoes through her ears. This time, however, it was almost as if she could hear the entire universe itself…but remained incredibly deaf to it as the only sound she could really hear was Guilt.
Guilt, cracking and snapping inside her mind; shattering everything else inside her.
"Bernard!"
Diana, however, carried the grief and guilt differently—Diana never truly grieved for her people. She wailed and cried, for sure. But that was regret.
Regret that she could not save her people, even though she tried her best for more than a thousand years. And so, right now, with a small glimpse of a candle being lit up in her hands, she wanted to rush and see if what the clone said was true.
"Bard!" Diana once again screamed as she grabbed Bard by the shoulder, "We need access back to our universe, now!"
"But…" Bard did not really know what to do as he glanced at Riley. The very reason he brought all of them here was to take Riley away peacefully, but with them gone…
"Bernard," and while Bard was hesitating to take action, Bernard also placed his hand on his shoulder, "I have already promised you that no harm will come to your universe—and I fully intend to fulfill that promise. Diana also won't be of help to you like this, her mind's… clouded."
"..." Bard looked to the side, calculating and deliberating scenarios in his head. And after a few seconds of doing so, he just nodded and started heading to the elevator.
Bernard and Diana quickly followed him. Aerith also rushed inside the elevator, but she was quickly pushed out by Diana.
"What…?" Aerith squinted her eyes; her hands turning into fists as she looked Diana in the eyes, "I am coming with you."
"No, you're not," Diana quickly shook her head, "You need to stay here for Riley, you're one of the only people in the entire world—the entire multiverse he listens to."
"I… don't think that's the case anymore," Aerith glanced at Riley before letting out a deep sigh. Her frustration did not last long, however, as she nodded her head and quickly decided to stay, "Fine… but do not blame me for what happens next."
"You have every right to do anything and everything you want with my son. He deserves to be punished," Diana said without any hesitation as she looked at Riley, "But… please, just don't fight any—"
"Wait!" And as the elevator was closing, Aerith-2 suddenly appeared beside Aerith and blocked the doors from closing,
"Let me come with you, please."
"..." Diana only looked Aerith-2 in the eyes as the doors slid open again.
"There is no reason for me to stay in this universe, and there is also no reason for me to stay in mine…" Aerith-2's voice sounded meek and devoid of any confidence, "...The themarians of your people also seemed to have suffered devastatingly from Riley Ross, and I am to mourn and weep my people, I wish to do it with them…
…They who understand our pain, my pain."
Diana did not say anything, just nodding her head and gesturing to Aerith-2 to step inside the elevator.
"With me there, Riley Ross would also not easily do as he likes. As I promise you, my goal in life is to make your son's life unbearable. You will not regret this decision, Cait—Diana Rurs."
"...Ross." And with a sigh escaping Diana's lips, the elevators finally closed; leaving Silvie and Aerith alone with Riley and his clone.
"..."
"..."
"Wait…" And surprisingly, or perhaps not, it was Professor Riley who broke the sudden silence in the penthouse,
"Did those uberly powerful beings just take the elevator? Couldn't they have just jumped or flown from the roof? Or… was that all just for dramatic effect or something?"
"It was for dramatic effect," Riley nodded, "Is it true that Queen Adel and some other themarians are alive, Professor?"
"Oh, it is," Professor Riley let out a small giggle as several bottles of wine started floating around him. The loud popping sound of the corks drummed in the air as the contents of the bottle all spilled out—but creating absolutely no mess as the wine all just floated in the air.
And then, waving his fingers like a maestro's baton, Professor Riley started shaping the liquids into the familiar silhouettes of a human—two. One obviously him, and the other Queen Adel.
"You see, I did what you asked, Boss," Professor Riley nodded to himself, "I remained there to watch as Queen Adel's hope wither away along with Theran. But I did something else—something that you might like more…
…I convinced her to leave Theran."
"..." Aerith took a gulp that could be heard by everyone in the penthouse, "Mother… is truly alive?"
"And a thousand more. You better keep up, Aerith, I already mentioned that earlier," Professor Riley slightly scoffed as he squinted his eyes at Aerith, "Anyway, I did a little convincing, and ta dah! I persuaded the Queen to stay alive. And of course, in turn, the people loyal to her followed her… which isn't actually a lot."
"How… were you able to convince my Mother when I could not?" Aerith was still not allowing herself to believe.
"Because I'm a stranger," Professor Riley shrugged, "You know how people tend to listen to strangers? Or how people listen to their therapists, even though their friend has already been telling the same thing to them for years? It's like that."
"But you are not a stranger—you're the one who annihilated her entire species."
"And I offered them salvation, quite fun," Professor Riley clapped his hands, "I hope you don't mind, Boss. I figured you'd like this kind of development."
"It is welcomed," Riley nodded, "Good job, Professor Riley."
"Right, I thought so," Professor Riley nodded once again, "Also, I am sort of your enemy now, I hope that's alright?"
"..." Riley just blinked a couple of times as he looked at his clone.
"I know! Just… please don't kill me?" Professor Riley winced and closed one of his eyes, "I know we're not connected the same anymore, but you can still do that since you literally created me, but please don't?"
"..."
"You can kill me, but not in a way that you would just… unmake me? You know what I mean? Because that is not totally not cool."
"I am getting it now, Professor Riley," Riley nodded.
"Great, yes…" Professor Riley pointed at Riley, "...And that is all I am actually here for—a declaration of war against you, Boss. I know you are already having fun with all this multiverse thingy, so let's just spice it up with another Theran war plus me."
"Hm."
"Right. Off I go. I am also going to use the elevator for dramatic effect," Professor Riley bowed to Silvie and Aerith as he walked away, "So, you know… if anyone wants to stop me, there's suspense."
"..."
"..."
And so, Aerith, Silvie, and Riley just watched Professor Riley disappear into the elevator.
"Does that lessen your hatred for me, Aerith?" And finally, for the first time since Aerith and Riley met again, he directly spoke to her without looking away, "Your mother is still alive, and so are a thousand of your people."
"..." Aerith did not really answer and just glared at Riley.
"Hm," Riley looked away as he sighed, "I suppose no–"
"Of course not!" Aerith waved her hand, causing a blast of wind to violent rage inside the penthouse. If it wasn't for Riley protecting the windows, they would have already shattered completely,
"You think… you think that because my mother is alive, that actually changes things between us?"
"I suppose."
"No, Riley… It just doesn't work like that," Aerith's eyes turned red, "No, no… I'm wrong. Things should have actually changed between us from the start. Things should have been different from the start…
…I should have killed you the very first time we met."
"Then I would have grown stronger faster, Aerith."
"I would have found a way to dispose of you," Aerith gritted her teeth, "A more violent and effective way. Do you know the only reason why I didn't just continue killing you over and over again and instead just threw you to another dimension?"
"Because you will get tired."
"No. Because in some fucked up way, I didn't think you deserved to be treated like that," Aerith almost growled as she stepped closer to Riley. Silvie, who was watching the situation unfold, did not know whether to step between the two as her eyes just nervously trailed back and forth between them,
"But you did, and you do deserve to suffer eternally. I betrayed you? No, I only did what I should have done a long time ago—put you down."
"..."
"Do you think the two of us are actually close?" Aerith started chuckling; a hint of tears, starting to shape in her eyes, "Do you think that just because we spent years fighting each other, that we spent years alone in the cosmos traveling together that you and I have something?"
"I did."
"Then you really are sick in the head, Riley!" Aerith quickly wiped the tears that were trailing down her cheek,
"You are a delusional monster that only cares about hurting people. I, never in a million years, would even consider being with someone like you. Hell, the only reason I was even with you and by your side was to guard people from you. You are not my lover, and I sure as am will never develop feelings for you other than utter disgust and hatred!"
"..."
"What!? Say something!"
"I'm…" Riley's lips did not fully open; his eyes, not looking at Aerith at all.
Chapter 742"I'm…"
"Say something!"
Riley was going to say something, but Aerith's voice thundered throughout the entire penthouse before he could even utter his next words.
"I am—"
"Just saying something!"
Of course, Aerith did not really want Riley to say anything, she didn't want to listen to him at all. Why would she? How could she?
She knew Riley enough that she knows that if Riley actually says something, Aerith would end up empathizing with him—no, she would end up sympathizing with him. That was the vicious and ridiculous cycle that she and everyone were trapped in when it comes to Riley.
Somehow, everyone just ends up being attracted to him; not necessarily romantically, but like what one would feel toward a rabid and isolated but extremely cute dog. You know you're going to get bitten, but you'll still want to pet it—That is the Riley Ross Effect.
And perhaps more so than others, Aerith was a victim of that.
Aerith did not really want to admit it, but Riley has always been a drug to her. She knew… she knew that if Riley was to say something, she would relapse like an addict and go to his side once more.
She will create an excuse.
She is staying by his side because she was the only one truly strong enough to stop him.
She will accompany him because that will be the only way that Riley would stop killing people.
She holds his hand because that is the only way for him not to do anything.
Aerith convinced herself that she was staying for Riley for the sake of everyone else, that he was some sort of burden that she needed to bear. But in truth…
…she is haunted by Riley, obsessed.
She doesn't know why, how, and when. She just was… just is.
There was just a certain void in her that only Riley could fit in, a very large void.
She has now lived for more than a thousand years—Riley should not even be a fraction of that, and yet her entire life now revolves around him and only him. Just when she thought she could escape…
…Riley wraps his arms around her, or perhaps it was the other way around.
"Just stop…" Aerith whispered as she continued to wipe the tears that were endlessly trailing down her cheeks,
"...Just stop saying anything."
"I'm not—"
"Don't."
"..."
Riley glanced at Aerith, before just looking to the side. And after a few seconds, he just casually walked toward the sofa, pushing away the forgotten Gracy that has actually been completely unconscious there for more than an hour now. And without saying anything, he just started browsing the TV.
"..." Aerith also did not say anything anymore. And instead, she just made her way to the bar and started serving herself drinks, or to be more specific, she was just drinking straight from the bottle and chugging whatever she could get her hands on.
"Um… Aerith."
"Mom."
"..."
"I already adopted you, so you call me Mom," Aerith forcefully handed Silvie a bottle as soon as she approached her, "Okay? You're the only child I have left—it won't be until another thousand years until I could actually create life."
"But, Ae—Mom, we still need to—"
"We don't need to do anything," Aerith chuckled, "Do you know? Did you know that I was ready to revive Themarians by myself? I need to wait a thousand years, but I could give birth. I was ready to roam the entire universe to find a rogue male Themarian to mate with—that is how desperate I am in trying to fix my mistake."
"We need to assist Han—"
"Statistically, there should at least be one out there that left Theran thousands of years ago," Aerith completely ignored Silvie's words as she just finished one bottle after another… fully knowing that Earth's alcohol won't even have any effect on her,
"But what do you know? One of Riley's clones was out there mingling along with what remains of my species—and my mother's one of them. I… what the heck. Do you—"
"Stop being so pathetic!"
Tired of being completely ignored, Silvie slapped Aerith right on the cheek. It was weak, not even enough to cause a tiny hint of shockwave, but Aerith's head move to the side and almost caused her to fall down there and then.
"I can't even pretend to know what you're feeling, but I also can't pretend to think that you're not acting like a crazed… like a crazed ex-girlfriend! I know what it looks like because I felt it too. I know, I know that what I have been through is absolutely nothing when compared to what happened to you, but Mom…
…Learn how to face what you're actually feeling, only then will you learn how to face the consequences of your actions."
"You…" Aerith touched her slightly swollen cheek, "...You're growing too fast."
"I've always been forced to," a wry smile crawled on Silvie's face.
"You shouldn't have had to," Aerith stretched her hand toward Silvie; very softly holding her cheek as she looked her in the eyes, "Children should never grow up too fast."
"I'm not a child anymore, Aerith. None of us are," Silvie said as she glanced at Riley, "So, please. Stop wallowing and let's just focus on what matters now—Chihiro. We need to do something about her."
"..." And almost at the same time, the expression on Aerith and Silvie's faces slowly became serious.
"The Hannah of this world—based on what we heard earlier—Nannah has already been defeated by Chihiro, so the only thing she could really do is try and protect the Chihiro of this world," Silvie's tone started to reflect her face, "As for Hannah, she might be able to stop Chihiro, but I believe the only way to stop her is to kill her, and that is something Hannah will never be able to do. As for me…
…I can do it, but I don't trust myself not to hesitate when the time comes."
"..."
"You've been retired long enough, Megawoman," Silvie then bumped her fist on Aerith's chest, "There are people that need saving."
"You're… right," Aerith took in a deep breath as she glanced at Riley, "I refuse to be a prisoner of whatever this is anymore. I'm…
…coming out of the closet you confined me in."
"..."
"..."
"...What?" Silvie squinted her eyes.
"That—It's nothing," Aerith waved her hand, "You won't understand."
And with those words, Aerith just walked past Riley and went straight toward the closest window, refusing to even look at him anymore.
"Make sure Riley doesn't go anywhere," and with a nod toward Silvie, Aerith opened the window and flew away.
"How… am I even going to do that?" Silvie could really only once again squint her eyes as she looked at Riley, only to find that he was no longer there,
"...Yup. That's what I thought."
And so, with those words, Silvie also followed Aerith and jumped through the window.
"..."
"..."
"...Fuck," and finally, Gracy, who has actually just been pretending to be asleep the entire time, sat up from the sofa and started looking around,
"...What did I get myself caught up to?"
"..."
"..."
"...And why am I not actually caught up to it!?"
"Because you're a side character, Gary."
"What the fuck!?"
Gracy jumped out from her seat as soon as she heard a voice that was not supposed to still be lingering in the penthouse. She then quickly turned to look at the sofa, only to see Riley still actually sitting there.
"I… I thought you were gone."
"I have some pretty useful abilities, female Gary."
"Can you please stop calling me Gary!?"
"Very well, female Gracy."
"You don't need to add the female there because I'm a woman!"
"You identify as a woman?"
"You—" Gracy was going to say something, but she completely shut her mouth when Riley suddenly stood up from the sofa. She then watched as Riley started walking around the penthouse before settling in front of the mirror that was slightly being covered by the bottles of wine behind the counter of the bar.
His reflection was fractured and distorted at first, but as Riley's silhouette soon started to be covered in a black that was not capable of bouncing any light at all, his form quickly started to show.
"..." Gracy could really only back away as she saw this. As someone seeing it for the first time, it was truly a sight to behold.
It was almost as if darkness itself was embracing Riley. It was a shadow maliciously dark; dark to the point that Gracy could feel herself being sucked into its eternal abyss. And unlike those who are already familiar with Riley…
…Gracy saw no sadness in this shadow. No remorse, no regret, and not even a single atom of compassion.
There was only darkness, and an even deeper darkness inside of it.
"R… Riley?" Gracy breathed out. But as Riley glanced at him; the visor of his helmet, which was the only thing that actually shone across his entire silhouette, completely reflected the fear that was slowly but surely building inside Gracy.
Riley did not say anything. And instead, he just placed his finger in front of his helmet; gesturing a hush as Gracy's fear continued to reflect on his visor.
And of course, Gracy no longer made a sound, not even a single breath.
"Good girl," Riley whispered as he leaned closer to Gracy, "I am not going to kill you, Gracy. You're still relevant for what is to come."
"..."
"What is to come, you ask?" Riley then stretched his hand to the side; his silhouette, covering Gracy's entire vision,
"A very dark day."
Chapter 743"She's persistent."
Nannah and Chihiro were flying above the clouds, beneath them the lively city of New York; their silhouettes hidden from the people that were just casually going about their day, not knowing the looming chaos literally flying above their heads.
"Just give her to me!"
Suffice it to say, Chihiro Prime seemed to have absolutely no plans to give up the chase. Her teeth showing themselves almost chattering in excitement as her eyes reflected the silhouettes of the two.
"No one else has to die! I just want her gone and we can all just live peacefully. No one's going to miss her!" Chihiro Prime let out a frenzied laugh.
"Shut the fuck up!" Nannah screamed in frustration as she tightened her hold on Chihiro's wrist, "Why can't you just be quiet, tiny, and cute like our Golden Fox!?"
"...You do know I'm turning 26 years old in a couple of months, right?" Chihiro could really only let out a long and deep sigh that persisted even through the violent winds hitting her face, "And I can fly on my own."
"W—"
"It's true, you know!" Chihiro Prime, waved her hands as if swatting away her variant's sigh that was left with the wind, "No one will miss her! I've lived billions of years as Chihiro, and in all of them, there was no one to miss her whenever she died. She just withers away from existence! Out of all of Machina's toys, Chihiro has the most miserable life!"
"I said shut the fuck up!"
"If you really want the Chihiro of this world to live, then just kill her! I'll just ask Diana to create a perfect clone of myself and scatter it throughout the multiverse!"
"Why the fuck kill other Chihiros if you're just going to clone yourself!?"
"Because then it'll just be me! Like Riley!"
"Jesus, fuck. She's batshit crazy," Nannah's pores opened up inside her armor as she shivered from Chihiro Prime's words. She was about to say something else, but Chihiro freed herself from her grip.
"I can fly on my own!" Chihiro shouted as she flew beside Nannah, "You should go! I'm the one she's after!"
"I know, and fuck no! I'm not gonna leave you!" Nannah glanced at her armor's pauldron; which had some sort of meter on it that showed… some sort of charge, "I'm just trying to buy some time to I could charge up my suit and actually be useful in this fight!"
"Does… that suit really increase your strength?"
"It does," Nannah nodded before glancing back at Chihiro Prime, "But seeing the other Hannah…I think I relied on it too much."
"Is… the Chihiro chasing us really that strong?" Chihiro also glanced at her variant, who still had a crazed smile on her face.
"A themarian with other quirky abilities is the best way I could describe her," Nannah's voice turned serious, "Why don't you analyze her stats?"
"I… can't," Chihiro squinted her already small eyes before shaking her head, "That was the first thing I did when she first arrived, and Machina seems to be restricting info about her as all I'm reading are… question marks."
"And me?" Nannah asked as the two of them increased their flight speed, "How strong am I?"
"Strong, incredibly so," Chihiro said without any hint of hesitation, "But not stronger than me. But that's not taking into account your armor."
"The armor increases my combat prowess and effectiveness by at least a 100%"
"...It's close."
"And what about… the other Hannah? Do you think I'll win with my armor on?" Nannah meekly asked; her eyes, just focusing on the endless horizon of clouds in front of them.
"...No," Chihiro breathed in, "The people from Riley's universe are… abnormally strong—especially their Megawoman."
"The Aerith of Riley's universe?"
"Yes, her. The stats of the Megawoman of our world can't even compare to theirs," Chihiro's lips slightly shivered, "It was a good thing that she wasn't the one in our universe, or we would all be dead. The other Aerith is strong too, but she is the weakest of the three themarians."
"You mean moth—Diana is stronger than the other Aerith variant?"
"Hm," Chihiro nodded before her small eyes slowly cleared, "But the strongest one amongst them is Riley Ross. To the point that it's… scary."
"Riley… How are his stats compared to the Aerith of their uni—"
"Gotcha!"
And without even a hint of a whisper, an arm suddenly appeared right in front of Nannah and Chihiro. The two did not really say anything, but they were able to kick each other's foot to push themselves away from the ominous limb.
But alas, the hand was too fast and determined as it ripped Chihiro's arm—or not, as only the sleeves of her shozoku were ripped away, slightly pulling the rest of her top and revealing a part of her skin.
"Oh…?" Chihiro giggled; her small eyes that were as wide as they could be emerging from the void that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She looked at Chihiro from head to toe, before literally stepping out of the void; almost as if her weight could be carried by the clouds beneath her feet.
"Why are you really doing this!?" Chihiro yelled as she covered her small-sized bra, "Please, whatever you are going through, we can talk about it!"
"...You think we need to talk?" A sarcastic smile crawled on Chihiro Prime's face, "The only thing you need to be doing is die."
Chihiro Prime stretched her hand to the side, and as she did so, a spear with a crescent-like blade instantly materialized on her palm.
"So, die for me."
A blast of wind blew away all the clouds beneath Chihiro Prime as she lunged straight toward Chihiro; the smile on her face, distorting as she reached closer to her. Before she could actually get near, however…
"Oh…?" Chihiro Prime stopped flying as she noticed a large ball of fire shooting directly at her—the fire, enough to distort everything around it and completely remove all the clouds within half a mile, "Is this what you were charging fo—"
And before Chihiro Prime could finish her words, a pair of orange eyes appeared behind her—and without even giving her a chance to fully glance back, Nannah slammed both her feet on her back and pushed her directly to the oncoming miniature sun.
"Just fucking die, you asshole!"
"Heh… classic," Chihiro Prime smirked as she felt the heat embrace her entire body was slapped by the fiery ball. She did not resist, however, and even stretched her arms to the side to receive it.
"Let's go!" As for Nannah, she did not stay to watch what was going to happen next as she once again grabbed Chihiro's wrist and flew away.
"Heh…" Chihiro Prime smiled as the spear she was holding turned into a shield. And with a release of her breath, she slammed the shield down at the fiery ball of fire—smacking it straight down like some sort of volleyball.
"...This is fun, really fu—" Chihiro Prime was about to make chase again, but she saw a farm at the ground where the ball of fire would ultimately crash. And without even a trickle of hesitation, she dove straight down; a void appeared on her path which teleported her directly above the farmhouse.
"Who wants to see a homerun!?" Chihiro Prime clasped her hand together as the shield turned into a large silver bat. She then turned her eyes toward the disappearing silhouette of Nannah and Chihiro.
And then, with a deep breath, she swung the large bat at the diving meteor… launching it to where Nannah and Chihiro were flying to.
"..." Chihiro Prime then glanced at the farmhouse to check if it was alright. And when she confirmed that everything was okay except for some slight burnt marks here and there, she once again summoned a void.
Before she could enter it, however, Hannah appeared behind her.
"So, what are you, really?" Hannah whispered. All this time, she was actually behind Chihiro Prime, chasing her as Chihiro Prime chased the two. But when she saw the fiery ball of fire falling toward a farm, she dived to follow it… but Chihiro Prime beat her to it,
"What sort of game are you playing here, Chihiro? If you're a hero, then stop acting like a fucking maniac."
"..." Chihiro Prime did not really say anything and just winked at Hannah before moving toward the void she created. This time, however, Hannah was able to follow her through the void and was able to teleport behind her.
"Wow, you're really really persistent."
"Just stop this, Chihiro!" Hannah tried grabbing Chihiro Prime by the ankles, but she turned around and quickly pulled her leg away; her eyes, just looking Hannah straight in the eyes as she flew backward, "What are you really even trying to achieve by killing the other Chihiro!?"
"I already told you," Chihiro Prime smiled at Hannah; her hair, slightly covering her face as it violently danced in the gale she created, "So I can be alone, that is the only way I can be worthy of Riley."
"You are doing all of this for that genocidal maniac!?" Hannah roared as everything around her evaporated.
"...Aren't you also doing the same?" Chihiro Prime tilted her head to the side, "Riley has done a lot of evil things, most too violent and harrowing to even explain—and yet you want to save him."
"I'm not trying to save him!" Hannah shook her head, "And even if I was, I'm her sister!"
"No, you're not," Chihiro Prime burst out in laughter, "You think we didn't realize? The Baby Crew all saw it…
…You lust for your brother."
"Ew...What the fuck?"
Chapter 744"Ew… What the fuck!? That's fucking disgusting you fucking bitch! You don't even know what you're saying because you don't even remember the events that well!"
"Oh, but I do."
And even as the smile on Chihiro's face was being blanketed by the violent swaying of her hair; even though her words were being obscured by the harsh winds, I could clearly see the arrogance tracing on her moving lips—as if she truly believed what she was fucking saying.
"The very last life I experienced was mine," Chihiro chuckled, "You see, the way it works when it was Chihiro's turn is that I only experience the life of those who have died—that is why I know that all of my versions died alone without anyone caring for them. My memory couldn't be any clearer, Hannah…
…I saw how you look at your brother. Everyone from the Baby Crew saw it. You remember when he was Paragon?"
"That… that's because I didn't know it was him!" I raised my voice along with the heat that was seeping out from my body. I do not care what she says or what she believes, Riley is my brother, he will always be, and that is all there is to it,
"You're fucking delusional and so out of touch with what is happening, Chihiro! Look at yourself, look at what you're doing, and just stop with all of this bullshitery!"
I hastened the speed of my flight to reach Chihiro, stretching my hand as much as I could to grab her. But she just shook her head and turned around, matching my speed as she once again chased the other versions of us. What she failed to hide from me, however, was the fading smile on her face before she could fully turn her back on me.
I do not fucking care about what she is saying about me, or about how I feel for my brother—I know what I feel because I have been feeling that ever since he came into my life. I don't remember much about my childhood, but I do remember that Riley made everything colorful… until it all just turned dark and I am lost in the memory between.
Riley… is precious to me. And I do love him, perhaps more than anyone in this world, in mine, and the millions out there.
Lust? Absolutely fucking not. Everyone is telling me that I feel more than familial love for my brother, that what I have for him isn't platonic—Nannah, Chihiro, and even Paige… What the fuck do they know?
How could they even understand what I have with Riley when even I don't know myself? Fuck, maybe they are right that what I have for him is more than platonic, but it definitely isn't whatever it is they are thinking.
My bond with Riley is… special. And special things can't be explained by mere fucking words.
"Chihiro, just fucking stop it! Enough!"
And perhaps even more so than the heat coming out of my body, my patience was starting to run out. There are really only so many words I could say before my temper does the talking.
And so, I look around my surroundings, confirming whether or not there was a city below us, or perhaps a plane flying nearby. But as soon as I saw nothing but the sky, the clouds, and the endless horizon of water beneath me…
…I roared.
"I said enough!"
And with my roar, the heat that has been trying to escape my body ever since I came to this universe was released—and it decimated just absolutely fucking everything. But of course, I made sure there wasn't actually anything to decimate.
I've also learned how to control my abilities even better. In the past, this energy radiating from my body would have just scattered, but now it was a ray. An invisible death ray that I could point to anywhere I want, decimating anything and everything I want.
And this time, the target of my rage is just flying right in front of me, with her back easily reachable and aimable. I could just turn this ray toward her, and she will be gone. I don't fucking care how much stronger she became, how much more skillful since she learned the skills of billions others like her—she's going to die if she is hit with this.
…And so I hesitated.
The air that was being distorted by my energy very slowly returned to normal before it could reach Chihiro. I…
…can't do it.
As much as there was madness in her eyes, the sadness that radiated from them was much… more obvious. I couldn't just ignore that.
Chihiro was my friend. And if she is still alive, then she is my friend. I've failed to save her once, and to try and kill her now feels… wrong. There was also the fact that she didn't let people die, she didn't even think twice and dived down to protect them.
Wrong. Just like my brother, there is something wrong with her and it is not entirely her fault. Of course, not. It's not her fault that she thinks like this—billions of years living as other people, billions of years being tortured… anyone would have snapped.
The way to save her now is not to kill her, but to make her feel that there was still someone that values her… that she hasn't been forgotten.
And so, I completely retracted all the energy seeping out of my body. In the first place, she just wanted to go home—she was only here to get her brother back… and if Chihiro comes along with them, then that would be even better.
Chihiro looks older than the rest of her variants, because she is. But I couldn't shake the fact that maybe, just maybe… she wasn't allowed to grow up at all. The only thing she was allowed to do was suffer because Machina wanted her to defeat Riley.
And once again, everything revolved around my brother.
Once again, everything becomes his fault… because it is.
Riley Ross has caused every fuck up and every death I have witnessed. And so, why…?
Why am I doing all of this?
"Chihiro, stop!" I once again raised my voice to remove the thoughts and doubts I was having. But I know that I should have doubts, but I just… he's my brother.
"You could have already stopped me, you know," Chihiro once again turned toward me, and the glimmer in her eyes showed me all I needed to know, "You're more than capable of it, Hannah. You're more than capable of stopping everything that has ever happened and yet you do nothing—you just yap and yap, complain, and then be mad about it later."
It's true, does she think I don't realize that? I know all the things bad about me, the things I need to improve—but what for? Change for what?
"Do you remember when you were all depressed when you thought you killed Riley?" Chihiro softly chuckled, purposely slowing herself down to obviously taunt me, but I won't fall for it, "We were all there for you. Of course, no one actually told me what really happened—I only realized after I died. But yes, we were all there for you but you sunk even deeper into the abyss you created… until Paragon, who turned out to be Riley, came."
"What the fuck are you even trying to say!?"
"You asked me why I am doing all of this—you and I are the same," Chihiro smiled at me; the moisture in her eyes fading away, "I am doing all of this for Riley Ross…
…He is our abyss. An abyss that we will never be able to escape."
He is. He has always been the abyss I fall into when I lose myself. But unlike Chihiro, I am not trying to escape that abyss… because the abyss is the escape. Escape from everything… from the expectations, from the obligations, from the world.
Riley was the one and is the only one who provides that for me.
Riley Ross is not the love of my life, he is…
…the reason why I still exist.
The only one that truly makes me feel that I have purpose, that I matter…
…That I am here.
"This no longer has anything to do with Riley, Chihiro! Stop trying to fucking blame your actions on someone else! You think I don't know what you're trying to do!?"
I know it—I know the expression that is painted on Chihiro's face, I've known since the start since I saw myself in her; the reflection of me without Riley.
"You're trying to get yourself fucking killed, Chihiro! Well, guess what!? I won't be the stupid fuck that does that to you! You want to die by the hands of people who care for you? That's fucked up!"
"Yes."
And just like that, Chihiro agreed with my words. There wasn't even any hesitation in her voice,
"I'm tired, and I feel like it would be poetic to be killed by one of my friends again. Do you know, Hannah? That the only universe I found that there was someone that actually cares for me is in our universe—It's sad, but then you realize why—
—Riley Ross."
"...What? That doesn't even make any sense!"
"It does, it is the only thing that makes sense. Riley is the only reason why I had friends. He is—"
"Chihiro!"
"Silvie!?"
And in the blink of an eye, I saw Chihiro spinning in the air as Silvie slammed her body straight on Chihiro's back—and before she could recover, Silvie wrapped her arms around her neck, completely shutting her up.
Or so I thought.
"Who's this…? Silvie?" Chihiro smiled as she slightly turned her head to try and take a look at Silvie, "It's so sweet that you wanted to hug me at our reunion."
"Yes, hi…" Silvie also smiled as she tightened her grip on Chihiro's neck; soon, however, the expression on her face turned sour as she looked at me,
"...But we don't have time for this, Hannah! Leave Chihiro to me, tell everyone to evacuate!"
"What…?" I turn to see if there were people beneath us, but the only thing I see is water, "Evacuate who!?"
"Everyone!" Silvie raised her voice; the trembling in her eyes was vaguely familiar, "Something… something went wrong! He…
…He's here!"
"Who's here!? What—"
Familiar, of course. I now know where I have seen Silvie's trembling eyes before—and as I watch my reflection on them fade and disappear into the darkness, I was once again reminded of the reason.
As the clouds beneath my feet darken and clump together, I was reminded of what my brother is to other people—a very…
"Darkday…
…Darkday is here!"
Chapter 745"Where are they right now?"
"Huh…? But I am just following your lead, Megawoman."
Several minutes earlier, while Chihiro and Hannah were being chased by Chihiro who was being chased by Hannah, Silvie also followed Aerith as she followed to chase the four. It was obvious to Silvie that Aerith was waiting for her—as she was someone who could go around the entire planet in a single second.
And more importantly, she was asking her where Hannah and the others could be.
"Yes, and where are they now?" Aerith repeated her question as she glanced at Silvie; her golden brown hair that reflected the sun above them, shining so brightly that it reminded Silvie of how much she actually used to idolize Aerith before.
She wasn't only a beacon of hope, but a path to the light everyone sought. Her hero, everyone's hero… and now she was flying side by side with her.
"You… don't know where they are?" Silvie took in a small gulp as she looked at Aerith; not even bothering to look where she is going as there were nothing but clouds and the sky in the first place, "Can't you hear everything within the planet?"
"I can, I could even hear all the way to the other planets," Aerith let out a small smirk as she focused on their path, "And you should be able to do that too. So, where are they?"
"Uhm…"
A test. It was obvious what Aerith was doing—and if it was any other test, Silvie would be glad to challenge it with more than maximum effort. But alas, it just had to be the one ability that she truly disliked to use—no, she loathed it.
Hearing everything around her is a curse. It confused her a lot when the ability first manifested, and the only reason she mastered it in the first place was because she did not want it.
She looked at Aerith again, only to see her looking at her with her eyes filled with expectations. And so, the only thing Silvie could really do was let out a sigh and closed her eyes; trying to prepare her mind and body for the information she was about to receive.
"Tss," Silvie sucked in a deep but very short breath as her head shook on its own. The sounds she hear were not gentle at all; they did not have any emotion, and yet it was almost as if Silvie could feel a spectrum of color—a music that was not meant to caress, but to violate her.
She could hear the water in the clouds forming, the footsteps of the people walking below, the sound of the traffic lights changing, the rubber of the tires ever so slightly leaving its print on the scalding road… everything was rushing through her all at once. But soon, as she focused on her breaths, the only sound that remained was a certain silence that whistled across her skin.
And then, there were voices. Unfamiliar at first, foreign… until—
"Chihiro, stop this!"
"There!" Silvie did not wait for Aerith as she quickly changed the direction of her fight, increasing her speed; but not enough that it would cause the people below to notice them.
"Hm," Aerith only smiled as she once again flew beside Silvie.
"I'm… going in the right direction, right?" Silvie asked.
"Why go if you're not sure?"
"..." Silvie stared at Aerith for a couple of seconds, before nodding her head and increasing her speed even further. The situation right now was more than serious, but Silvie was trying her best not to let out child-like giggles from having Aerith suddenly mentor her out of nowhere.
Ever since they have met again after all these years, and even before they separated back in Theran—Silvie had only seen Aerith either depressed or sad. And so, seeing her right now shining so brightly, truly made Silvie more than excited.
'Finally', she thought. Megawoman is finally back, truly back.
But for some reason, however, Silvie finds herself slightly worrying about something—she just couldn't quite fathom what it is yet.
"Please, help me!"
And before Silvie could fully increase her speed to reach Hannah and the others in no time, she instantly halted her flight as soon as she heard a voice calling for help; she looked down at the city below her, squinting her eyes to focus her sight toward the distress. And there, she saw a bus filled with people being lifted up by some sort of… man.
A man whose body resembled that of a kangaroo.
"I saw all of you laughing! You think I want to look like this!?" The kangaroo man roared as she threatened to throw the bus toward the soldiers surrounding him, "Do you even realize why most supervillains are supervillains!? Because we also got the super ugly abilities! So, come on! Laugh while you still can!"
"Kangaroo Man, please stop this!" A superhero that was within the vicinity stepped out of the crowd of soldiers, "I don't think you're ugly!"
"My name is Hopper!" Kangaroo Man threw the bus toward the superhero; using his legs almost like a spring to triple the force of the throw.
"You go, I'll handle this."
"But—"
And without even waiting for Silvie to respond, Aerith dived down.
"..." Silvie could really only watch as Aerith very gently rescued the people—not by just catching the bus, but individually pulling all the people out of the bus while it was still moving in the air; everything was happening in the blink of an eye, and yet no people were harmed.
Truly, a mega woman.
And so, with a nod and a smile on her face, Silvie turned around to chase for Hannah and the others once more.
"!!!"
But before the clouds beneath her feet could be blown away by her, it was blown away by another bus filled with even more people—including the very same one that Aerith already rescued.
"Wh—"
Silvie could not even process what was happening before she saw the cheeks and stomachs of the people inside the bus explode; their guts, completely sealing the windows and painting them red.
"No…" And finally, Silvie realized what the uncomfortable feeling she had been feeling since earlier was. The return of Megawoman also meant one thing…
…and it just bloomed right in front of her.
Darkday.
Coming out of his cocoon. Just this time, the cocoon happened to be the bus. The burst open, blasting all of its content; drowning Silvie with blood and guts. The only thing visible to her, her eyes.
And there, like a butterfly thriving in all this brutality, a familiar dark figure was stretching his hands to the side; his silhouette, blocking the light that Silvie was following.
"Ri—"
"Shh."
And before Silvie could even say anything, another Darkday appeared in front of her, covering her mouth with his finger and shushing her.
"It's not your turn yet, baby girl," the clone then suddenly grabbed her by the face.
"!!!" Silvie quickly gripped the clone's wrist, snapping it in half before wrapping her legs around his arm and locking it. But before she could actually do anything else, another clone grabbed her by the neck and started pulling Silvie away from the other clone.
"Didn't you hear what he just said? It's not your turn yet, baby—"
"Riley!"
And all of a sudden, the clone's head burst as Aerith suddenly appeared out of nowhere and slapped its head right off.
"Wow," the remaining clone hummed, "Someone has a temp—"
And like its colleague, it wasn't even allowed to finish its words before Aerith clapped and squashed its head.
"Silvie, go and warn—tell Hannah that Darkday is back!"
"W—"
No one seemed to be allowed to finish their words. As before Silvie could say that she wanted to help, Aerith grabbed her by the leg and forcefully threw her away at several Mach speeds.
"Tut. Tut. Tut."
And as Silvie's voice faded away into the distance, it was followed by several clicking of Darkday's tongue,
"That was very very rude of you, oh Megawoman. I was in the middle of my speech."
"Fuck you and your speech!"
Several violent blasts of wind rippled from Megawoman; around her fists, her waist, and her ankle as she plunged straight toward Darkday. Even with all the thunder turning everything around her asunder, however, her voice was still the loudest,
"This is what you are, and what you will always be! Mad man!"
"Mad, yes…" Darkday did not dodge at all and just let Megawoman's arm go through his stomach, holding and stretching her other hand to the side, then wrapping his free arm around her waist,
"...Madly in love with you."
And like having a dance in the middle of the sky, the two started spinning around; turning the clouds around them into a bloody spiral. And perhaps in a weird way, the bloody spiral turned into the shape of a heart—the real one.
Soon, however, this blood solidified into spears and started raining down toward the city below. Nothing happened at first… but soon, a scream resounded throughout the already chaotic city.
More and more, screams filled the air, screams that will be immortalized by time.
A permanent stamp in this new world that would forever remind them of the arrival of their darkest day.
And as their dance reached its conclusion, Darkday whispered in Megawoman's ears,
"I hope you're ready for what's to come, Aerith," Riley's helmet disappeared as he planted his lips near Aerith's cheek, "Because this time…
…will be much worse."
Chapter 746"Interview her! Interview her!"
"What do you mean 'her'!? The guy shouldn't even be in the female category! It's unfair!"
"The fuck? Sexist much? Her heart is a woman!"
"Say that again after looking at his biceps which are larger than the other competitors' legs! Let's just change the channel, I heard Feetopia is on Maxflix right now."
"She's just using her god-given gifts! And stop watching that degenerate stuff! And that's the local team, you should be cheering for her!"
"Being a ma—"
[We interrupt this program for some important breaking news!]
"What could be more important than—]
[There is currently a supervillain that is flying amok and rampaging above the state of Florida and have caused complete damage and death to surrounding areas. Currently, the mysterious figure is fighting with an unidentified female superhero and was last seen in the skies of Miami.]
"...Oh. That's here."
Somewhere in the joyous city of Miami, there was currently a couple just casually spending their weekend and watching TV; enjoying their time together and arguing every minute or so. You know, just two people in love that thought nothing eventful was going to happen with their day.
[The total casualty is still unknown for now but we are getting news from the local fire department and the local authorities that roughly… is this real?]
Their expressions of bliss, however, almost reflected the person on the other side of the TV as they read words at the bottom of the screen. Their mouths, very slightly opening as they looked at each other.
[Uhm…] The newscaster cleared his throat, pulling on his necktie as he tried his best to be composed in front of the camera,
[...According to local authorities of the cities they have already been in, the total casualty should not be lower than 3 million. 3 million American lives lost. And we are just getting the news that… that they were just first spotted in New York less than an hour ago. In fact, we have a video…]
"..." The couple once again looked at the TV, where they watched a mysterious honey blonde-haired woman fighting against a shadow. At first, the woman seemed to try and push the shadow away from the city and was successful in doing so.
"Oh wow, the new Dimsungs s42's camera is really nice."
"Shh!"
But as they disappeared into the clouds, the woman was seen being pushed down as the shadows she was fighting with multiplied. And very soon, they disappeared from the frame as they seemed to fly to another city.
The couple thought that it was over, but after a few seconds, a cloud of mushroom lit up from the distance; causing the camera to shake and ultimately cut off.
[According to our sources, the explosion we all saw in the last part of the video is… Staten Island? But my… my parents live there. What!? What do you mean continue rolling!? I need to call my mom now! No, fuck you, Chris! You—We apologize for the sudden intrusion, we will return shortly.]
[Oh my god, help us!]
"Oh my god!"
The couple thought the dread was over when the news was cut short. But as soon as the feed switched back to what they were previously watching, they saw a scenery; the once clear pool was now filled with red. The competitors they were just previously watching, now just floating face down.
The lights from above were hanging, and the walls were crushing several people that were calling for help.
"..." The couple just stared at the TV for a few seconds, before the feed was once again cut-off and faded into black, showing the couple with their expressions of shock and disbelief.
"What… that's only a few blocks away from us," the woman was the first to stand up; her feet, not knowing what to do as they started panicking on whether or not they should walk away or stay. But soon, with a heavy breath, the woman leaped over the sofa and started undressing there and then.
The man just glanced at her for a few seconds, before shaking his head and also leaping over the sofa, also undressing as they both presumably ran to their room. And after a few seconds of noise, they stepped out…
…wearing what could only be their superhero outfits.
"I'll go first to the pool!" The woman yelled, tapping her husband's shoulder before running toward the window and leaping out.
"Go, I will—"
And before the man could finish his words, he watched as his wife's body disintegrated into millions of bits of pieces as a shadow suddenly rammed through the walls of their building—also shaving off the floors and the walls of their living room.
"..." And although his face was already covered with a mask, his eyes were clearly blank. He just stood there, staring at the sudden view of the city in front of him; the wind, blasting all the dust into his apartment.
"Lois…?" The man muttered as he stepped forward,
"Lois… are you okay?" He asked, even though he clearly watched her disintegrate into pieces just seconds ago; her guts, still swaying with the wind as they continue to fall toward the ground like pieces of wet dry-aged spaghetti.
"No…no," the man started shaking his head as he stood at the edge of his now opened living room, "Lois… Lois!"
The man was about to step over the edge, but before he could do so, another silhouette appeared in front of him.
"Mega…woman?" He subconsciously blurted out, but soon shook his head as Megawoman has long been dead before. Instead, he squinted his eyes as he looked at this individual floating in front of him, only to quickly realize she was the woman on the news.
Aerith and the man stared at each other for a second, before Aerith started looking at him from head to toe.
"Are you a hero?"
"Y—"
"Evacuate everyone in the building as fast and safely as you can, now!"
"That—Yes!" And perhaps due to the shock of suddenly losing his wife, he just nodded his head and watched as Aerith dove down. The man did not even waste any time as he quickly ran outside of his apartment, knocking on each of the doors and telling everyone to come out.
He didn't need to do so, however, as most of the tenants were actually already running outside—and when he reached the floor, everyone was already packed and pushing each other down the stairs.
"Everyone, please! Calm—"
"Are you a hero!? What is happening out there!?"
"Are you here to save us!? I saw the news!"
The man wasn't even able to say what he wanted to say as everyone just started rushing at him.
"Please, my baby… get my baby out of here!"
A woman was about to hand him a toddler, but the man watched as a sudden force came from below. It was weird, it was almost as if everyone… everyone was from bottom to top; like the man was watching meat being ground inside a blender.
The man was going to pull the toddler away. But perhaps because of the pain she was feeling, the mother gripped her child tightly… pulling him along inside the torrent in which the toddler's small body was instantly turned into mince.
"What… the fuck?" The man stared at this scenery for a few seconds, before just very slowly stepping back and closing the door of the staircase; his eyes, just bouncing back and forth in disbelief with what he had just witnessed.
He could really only hear his breath; not knowing whether it was calm, or already actually dead. His hand was still holding the handle of the door, waiting for the screams to stop—and it did.
The screams did not even last long.
And as he could hear the whistle of silence whispering into his ears, he once again opened the door… and there it was—
—Hell.
"What the fuck… what the fuck is happening?" The man wanted to puke, but the thought of puking at this sight seemed wrong to him. How could it not be, when the staircase was now filled with everyone that probably lives in this building?
"..." The man was going to close the door again, but then he heard the whisper of someone crying. And without even any hesitation, he stepped on the wet floor and quickly started going down toward the cry.
"Hello…?" And soon, he saw a small child cowering in the corner of the stairs, "Are you… come here. It will be fine."
The man did not even want to ask the boy any questions, he just very gently turned the boy to face him; welcoming him with a gentle smile. And surprisingly, the boy also welcomed him with a smile…
…a smile that reached from ear to ear.
"Bitch," the boy then said before he plunged his small hands into the man's mouth… and tore half of his face completely off.
"Welp…" The little boy then snapped his fingers, blowing away all the blood painted on his hair and body; showing his unnaturally pale skin and white hair,
"...On to the next building."
Aerith knew. She knew what was happening.
Aerith knew that Riley's clones were causing destruction everywhere. And right now, Riley was in each of the buildings in Miami causing damage and killing everyone individually—but what could she really do? She could hear the cries of everyone, but if she left Darkday just for a single second, she knew just how much more damage he would cause to get her attention.
This is the true Darkday. He could just outright destroy everything…
…but he wants you to feel that you are helpless, and he will laugh at you while doing so.
Chapter 747"People are dying, Megawoman."
"Maybe if you just stop!"
"Now, now. Where would the fun be if I stopped, m'lady?"
"Stop doing a British accent! No one talks like that anymore!"
"How do you know I'm not from that part of the world?"
"Because I know who you are, Riley!"
"Oh, but do you?"
Megawoman and Darkday were now on top of a building. Or to be more precise, they were on top of a building that was floating above the city of Miami; the people that were inside, very slowly disappearing one by one as Megawoman was rescuing them while having a casual conversation with Darkday. Her silhouette, very slightly flickering more than a thousand times in a single second.
And soon, with the last person now safely a kilometer away from the battle and hidden underground; Megawoman's silhouette stopped flickering. Her eyes which were barely visible from all the wind blasting on her face, now glowing red.
No violent beam gushed from her eyes, however. Instead, she placed her palms together, before a large sword, a zweihander, emerged from her hands. The zweihander almost looked crystal; it was dark, but there were hints of red glimmering across it when glanced at in a certain direction.
"That's new, Megawoman. Where have you been hiding that?" Darkday's helmet tilted to the side as his visor reflected the fading light from Megawoman's weapon.
"I just don't use it," Megawoman slightly moved the sword to the left, revealing her eyes that also reflected Darkday's silhouette, "But I am now since I am going for the kill."
"How generous of you, Megawoman. Will you finally be the lucky one to actually end me?" Darkday let out a small chuckle as he too, placed his palms together and summoned his own zweihander made with Hannah's abilities; compressed to the point that the light looked solid.
"Oh…" Darkday then stretched the zweihander away from him and looked at, "...Very sneaky, Megawoman. You're copying what I'm doing and compressing your Themarian energy, very sneak—"
And before Darkday could finish his words, the glimmering reflecting on his visor disappeared. And even with the threat of Megawoman's attack, Darkday just stayed standing on the roof extremely still.
His frozen silhouette did not last long, however, as he suddenly plunged the zweihander toward the floor—causing lava to instantly crawl throughout the entire building and turning the entire infrastructure into magma in less than a second.
One would think the magma would rain down on the city below, but no—instead, it flew up due to a turbulent gale that was blasting from below; the fiery debris, quickly turning cold as they soon floated above the skies and out into space. Darkday quickly looked down, only to see Megawoman wiping her lips.
"Oh…?" Darkday could not appreciate the view, however, as the image faded away; with Megawoman now directly behind him, slicing his entire body in half.
Megawoman's eyes, however, did not leave Darkday's cleaved body as she watched the two halves start to drop—and as soon as they turned into sand, Megawoman quickly waved her sword behind her.
"Oops."
The blade, however, quickly halted in the air as she saw Darkday… holding an old man and using it as a shield, "You almost killed him, Megawoman."
"M…Megawoman?" The old man quickly glanced at Megawoman, "Is… Is it really you—"
But alas, Darkday pushed the old man's head toward the halted zweihander before he could finish struggling with his words.
"You!" Megawoman gritted her teeth as Darkday let go of the old man's corpse.
"Well, he was going to die sooner or later," Darkday shrugged, "In fact, each and every one of these people is going to die sooner or later. So, what is the point in trying to save any of them, Megawoman?"
"Life, no matter how short, is precious. I have told you that so many times," Megawoman almost roared as she rammed her entire body on Darkday. Darkday blocked the sudden attack with his telekinetic barriers, but it wasn't enough as it completely broke his entire arm,
"But you are clearly incapable of learning anything other than murder!"
"That is not true, Megawoman," Darkday clicked his tongue several times as he grabbed Megawoman's wrist to prevent him from being completely eviscerated by the zweihander, "I don't learn how to murder, I invent new ways…
…like this."
And as he said that, the sky that was already dark started to dim even darker; the clouds, compressing as rumbles of thunder could be heard growling throughout the city of Miami.
"You… could control the weather?" Megawoman looked around.
"It is actually one of the earlier powers I received," Darkday let out a small chuckle as he allowed himself to be hit by Megawoman's weapon; the blade made with compressed energy, going through him like he was foam. Darkday, however, used this chance to embrace Megawoman once more and lock her even just for a single second,
"I know the power looks boring, but watch this."
And as soon as he said that, rain started to fall from the clouds. It looked normal at first—but soon, several deafening explosions blasted into the air. And it wasn't the sound of thunder, no. The sound was more akin to that of an Armalite, or perhaps a minigun.
"You…"
Megawoman completely ripped Darkday's entire body in half again—but it was too late. The rain… did not fall gently at all, no. All of them dropped toward the ground at several Mach speeds.
Megawoman tried to clap her hands to clear the rain, but two Darkdays caught both her arms before her palms could even touch each other. Of course, this only delayed Megawoman for a fraction of a second as the clones' arms were ripped away from their torso, but that was enough.
That was enough to completely erase the entire city of Miami.
Megawoman sucked in a deep breath as she grabbed the clones' heads, squashing them without even glancing at them as she watched as the city was devoured by a simple rain.
"I have to admit, it's not that creative," another Darkday then floated behind Megawoman, sighing as he clicked his tongue several times, "What about it, Megawoman? Want to make a deal?"
"..." Megawoman did not answer Darkday and just stared at him.
"If you guess whether or not this is my original body, then I will stop this rampage right now," Darkday crossed his legs, sitting in the air as he circled around Megawoman's silhouette, "You can stop this, right here and now."
"It's not your real body!" The zweihander Megawoman was wielding turned into a spear; a spear that quickly lodged through Darkday's head like a drill, completely mangling his head. And as Megawoman guessed, the body turned into concrete and sand.
"It would seem I underestimated how much you know me, Megawoman."
A series of claps then whispered into Megawoman's ears as another Darkday just emerged out of nowhere in front of her,
"I truly appreciate that."
"Enough of this. Now that I have played your pathetic games, let us go home to our own universe and deal with this there. Do not involve—"
"Oh, I lied," Darkday let out a small chuckle,
"Pavoom."
And without even any hesitation, Darkday pointed toward the horizon—and in a flash, the horizon disappeared.
"Oh, I overdid it a little."
The horizon disappeared—and with it, anything within the path of Darkday's 'Pavoom' attack which reached all the way to the Arctic Ocean.
"There goes Canada. I might have killed your husband again here."
"We… had a deal, Riley," the weapon Aerith was holding faded away as she looked at the clear horizon; the sky, torn; the celestial bodies now, overlooking them.
"We did," Darkday let out a long and deep sigh,
"And you broke it."
"...What?"
"You said you were going to stay by my side forever, Megawoman. You said that you were going to be the one that ends me…
…but you abandoned me."
"I—"
"You tried to kill yourself."
"You annihilated my people, Riley. What point is there to live!?"
"You tried to kill yourself," Darkday's voice started to tremble, "You know very well that I can't do that, Megawoman. You know very well that I have tried to kill myself a hundred times but I remain alive…
…did you want to show me… show me that you could end your life whenever you want to, and I can't?"
"...What?" Aerith squinted her eyes as she looked at her reflection on Darkday's visor, "What are you even talking about!? Why would I even think about you during that time!?"
"It is true," Darkday grabbed his helmet with both hands as he started to curl his entire body, "You were mocking me, Megawoman. Mocking the fact that I can not die—that I will be alone for eternity once you and Hannah are gone. You…
…you were going to leave me."
"Are you even hearing yourself? You… you're pathetic, Riley," Aerith's voice also started to tremble, "So what if you are going to be alone for eternity? You deserve it. And I thought you didn't mind being alone, you've said so several times!"
"I don't mind being alone, Megawoman," Darkday removed his hands from his helmet as he looked at Aerith,
"But I do mind being abandoned by you."
"..."
"I was happy when I saw you wake up from death, but then you…
…you threw me away. You said we were going to be together forever, Megawoman."
"..." Aerith could not really say anything; her tongue almost felt like it had the weight of the entire universe hanging on it—and perhaps it did,
"What if… What if we just go away again? This time… this time for real?"
"..."
"..."
"No...
...the fun is just starting, Megawoman. Everyone has to die."
Chapter 748"...No."
Bard only left for a moment—at least that is what it felt like for him. He just escorted the people from Riley's universe back to their own; it was just a simple act of goodwill and cooperation toward a variant.
After all, he needed to tread carefully with them compared to most worlds he had been; they were different, after all; they carried an existence called Riley Ross, a being that even a primordial fears.
He needed to be polite, to be welcoming, and to be kind—these were the least he could do after all the sins he carries in his back. And once these variants were gone, and he completely locks the access to their world, he would once again continue his obligation to the multiverse and ensure that they do not destroy themselves.
That is his order, and he must oblige.
He was only gone for a moment, and yet now here he stands; his eyes reflecting the cries of his people.
The intricate secret network that Bard built under New York is called the Nexus, and it has many entry points all around the city. The main reason he built it in such a busy city is because he owns all of the establishments in it, and thus could also set up an even more intricate security system above ground.
It was also easier to disguise his employees and staff when they just look like your average citizen going about their day; that is until they go to a secret entrance to Nexus and start going to different universes to scout and analyze.
And right now, Bard was stepping out of the toilet of a barbershop… only to find that it was completely empty and silent, which should be impossible as this particular barbershop was extremely famous for their fade. But now, the only sound that Bard could hear was the TV that was left open.
The TV that was showing an aerial view of a destruction that Bard never imagined would happen to his own universe, to his own Earth.
"No…" Bard breathed out; his eyes trembling as he continued to look at the screen. Soon, however, as he heard a scream coming from outside, he quickly left the barbershop…
…only to see another scene of destruction.
Buildings, ruined. Roads, caved down. Bridges, broken. People, dead.
Bard had seen planets shatter, stars devour entire systems, and even universes collapse—destruction of a completely different level. And yet right now, Bard could feel himself drowning from the screams even more so than any other destruction he had witnessed.
What they say is true. You won't know how apathetic you really are to other's plights until it happens to you, and you realize what it really feels to lose.
"Help… help me, please!"
Bard's white armor quickly emerged from his pores and wrapped his entire body; not even hesitating to rush toward the call for help. It was a woman, hugging who Bard could only assume to be her partner.
"Whiteking…?" The woman quickly noticed Bard as he approached, "Please… my husband, my husband tried protecting me and… and he's not waking up."
"..." Bard could not really say anything and just stared at the woman and her husband… because that is all he could really do. The woman already uttered her last breath with her words; her stomach, impaled by a street pole that went through her and her husband.
"This is Ross, does anyone copy?"
Bard then started looking around, trying to call for any of his people, "Hannah? Hannah, can you hear me?"
"..."
"..."
[...Dad?]
"Hannah!" Bard quickly flew into the air; momentarily glancing at the destruction before focusing his attention on the HUD inside his helmet to try and track his daughter's position, "What… what happened here!? Did the Chihiro variant do this!?"
[Darkday.]
"What!? I can't hear you!"
[Chihiro Prime is already helping us. Darkday is doing this.]
"Who…?" Bard tried accessing his satellites to get a better view of everything, but the Earth seemed so… dark. The name Darkday seemed somewhat familiar to him, he just couldn't remember where he had heard it before.
[It's… Riley Ross.]
"..." Even from his bulky armor and helmet, Bard's dropping shoulders were enough to know how he felt. He was just gone for a brief moment, and yet everything went south.
"What… happened?" Bard's breaths turned heavier by the second, "I thought Riley—Riley Ross did not have any signs of going wild. He was calm and didn't have any reason to… he even said he didn't plan on hurting anyone. Everything…
…was under control."
[Silvie…]
"What?"
[...] Nannah's voice seemed to hesitate; her breaths also heavy as she paused with whatever it was she was going to say. Bard could also hear other voices speaking near her, but before he could increase the volume, Nannah finally spoke up,
[Silvie said Megawoman and Riley started to argue about… something.]
"Megawoman… and Riley," Bard just ends up repeating each of Nannah's words.
[What do we do ne—]
And before Nannah could finish her words, Bard completely cut her off as he started accessing all of his satellites and all of the cameras around the world to pinpoint Riley and Aerith's exact location. And as soon as he got a glimpse of them, his eyes glowed orange and he disappeared…
…leaving only the roar of thunder to growl in the air.
***
"You don't deserve to live!"
"And yet here I am, eternal."
"We'll see about that!"
"You do know that the Earth of this universe is still here because I allow it to be here. Right, Megawoman? I could snap my fingers, and it will just shatter."
"I know that you won't do it—because you already said you want to see them suffer."
"No, not them. You. They just need to die."
"You've become completely insane, Riley."
"I always have been."
"No, not like this."
"Then perhaps it truly did affect me when you decided to abandon me—I even lost my mind, remember? In fact, I don't even know if what I am doing right now is real. If you are the trigger to my delusions, then perhaps I am having a delusion as we speak?"
"This is real, Riley! All those deaths are real!"
"I wish I could say the same with mine."
"Stop with the self-pity!"
And with a roar that completely caused the very air itself to explode, Aerith slammed Riley's head on the unusually smooth ground. Smooth, because they were now fighting on the ground that Riley completely erased from the map.
Aerith had been trying her best to take the fight outside the planet, but as soon as she did so, Riley threatened to just destroy it. It was a weird dilemma; vicious, but weird all the same. People are going to die no matter what choice Aerith makes, the only difference was time.
Sooner or later, if Aerith does not find a way to stop him, then Earth would still be destroyed.
"I do not need to read your mind to know what you are thinking, Megawoman."
And even with his helmet pinned to the ground, Riley's shoulder still moved as he let out a soft chuckle, "And you are right, they are going to die no matter what—I am just taking my time to enjoy it."
"You're mad!" Aerith then started punching Riley in the face—just enough to destroy his head, but not enough to damage the terrain. But alas, once again… a clone.
"Well, it must be frustrating…"
"Tch," Aerith quickly flew away as she felt a hand slithering across her neck. She turned around, only to see Darkday just casually standing there and looking at his clone wither away.
"...Not knowing whether who you are doing is real or not. Oh, perhaps I phrased that wrong."
"Shut up."
"But my point comes across," Darkday laughed, "And perhaps that is what my death will be, figurative. I will die, because I myself would think that I do not exist. Poetic, no? But then again, even with Paige's abilities, I can't unalive myself. You do know that, correct? I have Paige's abilities. I don't like using it, it's…
…amplifying my illness, I think."
"God, don't you ever shut up?"
"Only when my lips are on yours."
"Real smooth," Aerith's eyes started to glow. And with a scoff, she once again disappeared from her spot, only to appear right in front of Riley with a weapon in hand, "You have unlimited lives…
…I have unlimited stamina."
And with those words, Aerith swung her large weapon again; this time, however, the weapon released a red beam that destroyed everything in its path as it flew straight into the sky.
"That is going to kill someone on another planet, Megawoman."
"Shut u—"
"Enough!"
And as Aerith once again rushed toward Riley, Bard suddenly dived down from the sky; landing between Riley and Aerith.
"Whiteking!?" Aerith tried her best to stop the momentum, but it was already too late.
"Oh, I knew I like you, Chubby Bernard," as for Riley, he just tilted his head and waited for what Bard was going to do when he had less than a single second to do whatever it is he was going to do before Aerith hits him.
As for Bard, well… he was still kneeling on the ground. But then, all of a sudden, he stretched his arms to the side.
"!!!"
And as he did so, everything around them changed. From the smooth terrain they were just previously fighting on, they were now in the middle of some sort of ruined city—and Bard was nowhere to be seen.
Aerith just analyzed the location for a brief moment. And now, without anyone blocking her path, she just continued to make her way toward Riley, dropping the weapon and just punching him straight on the head without any reservation…
…at full force.
It was obvious to Aerith what Bard did—he placed them in a universe where Earth was already destroyed. And of course, it was obvious for Riley too.
"Oh, come on…" Riley chuckled as his helmet disappeared; revealing his long white hair that shone amongst all the dust flying around them,
"...Do you really think I won't find life to kill here? If you are watching, father from another universe...
...you are about to be very busy."
Chapter 749"Do you really think I won't find life here? You are about to be very busy, Chubby Bernard."
And almost as if to erase all the goofiness of the latter part of Riley's words, a loud bang erupted in the air as the shockwave from Aerith's punch finally resounded throughout the entire ruined Earth… if it was Earth in the first place.
But considering the shattered moon above the night sky resembled that of the Moon, then this was truly probably Earth, or at least it was. The atmosphere was ripped, the lands were emitting magma from below, but there was snow coming from above which melted and evaporated before it could touch ground.
And if it did have a resemblance with Earth, it didn't anymore after Aerith's punch which caused everything to just shatter just from the shockwave.
First, it instantly cooled down the ground… before once again turning it into magma as it completely shattered away in a spherical ripple that also reached the already broken sky—cleaning out whatever cloud was left lingering above them.
It didn't seem that strong, but if one were to be watching from the shattered moon, they would see Earth very slowly being devoured by the shockwave of Aerith's punch.
And this time, Darkday blocked her punch with several telekinetic barriers and two arms; broken arms.
"Do not be too lax, Megawoman," Darkday grunted as the flesh and bones in his arms started to shatter and heal at the same time, "You might have just killed the people that were hiding underground on this planet."
"There are no people here," Aerith only let out a small scoff as she once again slammed her fist on Riley, completely shattering his arms to the point that they were just deleted, "Or for a million kilometers outside the planet for that matter. I know, I opened my ears to hear before my fists reached you."
"Am I supposed to be impressed with that?" Darkday softly chuckled, "I know someone who wiped out an entire star system with just a clap of her hands. The only themarian who survived the attack on New Theran—I wonder where she is now, I didn't see her on Earth."
"Do you really think you have the time to think about someone else!?"
"Why, are you jealous, Megawoman?"
"In your dreams, boy!"
And with those words, Aerith slightly flew into the air; clasping her hands before slamming it straight down toward, once again, Darkday's head. As for Darkday, he quickly created two clones that flew between him and Aerith, both also summoning several telekinetic barriers of their own.
But alas—Aerith's fist just mowed the two down as she went straight through Darkday, folding his entire body in 5 different directions. And this time, the Earth did not survive. But before what remained of Earth was completely gone, Aerith's eyes widened as she quickly looked up…
…only to see the shattered moon now plunging and only a kilometer away from hitting her.
"Surprise!"
"You…" Aerith almost growled as Darkday once again grabbed her face from behind. Before she could let out another word, however, Darkday wrapped his arms around her neck and flew her toward the falling moon. But Aerith did not even close her eyes even as rocks kilometers wide slammed on her face.
"Enough with the games, Riley!" Aerith placed her hands behind her neck, grabbing Darkday's helmet and throwing him away. And without even waiting for him to recover, she disappeared from her spot—only to appear behind Darkday, and then crushing his head by pinning it between her knee and elbow.
"Bravo, truly."
"..." Aerith once again let out a growling breath as she heard Darkday clapping behind her. There was nowhere to step on, and yet as Aerith turned around, Darkday was merrily but slowly walking his way toward her.
"You probably shouldn't be too relaxed, Madam Aerith, the Boss is not here anymore."
"...What?"
"He's there," the clone pointed toward a bright star from afar, "If there are humans that have survived here, they probably escaped to Mars—don't you think?"
"..." Aerith just stared at the clone for a few seconds; squinting her eyes before just lasering the clone with her eyes and immediately flying away—and true enough, Darkday was truly making his way to Mars.
"Riley!" And as a matter of course, Aerith was able to quickly catch up to him.
"Oh hello, Megawoman," Darkday only turned around, "Long time no see."
"Shut your mouth and just stop this nonsense already! There's no one on Mars!"
"Thank you for confirming that there really are people on Mars, Megawoman," Darkday's shoulders started to bounce as he chuckled.
"What!?" Aerith increased her speed. But alas, the distance between her and Darkday no longer decreased as Darkday was actually using her as some sort of… space tow, attaching a telekinetic rod between the two of them, "I just said there was no one on Mars!"
"You are a really bad liar, Megawoman."
"Tch…" And quickly realizing what Darkday was doing, she quickly spun around in place and caused Darkday to slightly lose orientation for a second—and a second was enough as Aerith instantly appeared to catch Darkday and completely restrain her limbs.
"Can we just talk for a few minutes or an hour!?"
"We can talk over the corpse of a trillion souls, Megawoman," Darkday once again chuckled, "And also, I can already reach Mars from here—want to see me destroy it again?"
"Whiteking!"
And before Darkday could do anything, the scenery of stars and darkness around them suddenly changed… into a city filled with all sorts of screens and buildings.
"..."
Not only Aerith, but Darkday seemed to have also been shocked by the sudden change, as an obvious 'Oh' could be heard seeping out from his helmet. They weren't the only ones shocked, however, as the people that were driving on the roads almost crashed into each other as most of them lifted their heads up to look at them; some, even stepping out of their cars.
The people that were walking on the busy street, also lifted up their phones to take videos of them.
As soon as the two recovered, Aerith quickly realized how similar this place was to Times Square—in fact, one of the large screens attached to a building was even showing her… as president of the United States.
Before she could take in the sights, however, she quickly covered Darkday's visor and screamed,
"What the fuck, Whiteking!?"
"Heh," Darkday stretched his arms to the side, and as soon as he did so, the tall buildings started to crumble—the people that were busy being curious, now suddenly running for their lives.
Aerith was going to prevent one of the buildings from falling apart, but before she could even separate herself from Darkday, the scenery around them once again changed into that of a desert.
Well, not quite a desert, as there were remnants of buildings around them; charred and obsidian.
"..." Aerith started looking around for any signs of life, and when she confirmed that there were none, she once again rushed toward Darkday—punching him without any hesitation straight on the chest, but as soon as her fist made contact, the scenery around them once again changed into that of a lively city.
"No!" Aerith gasped, fully knowing what was to come next as the shockwave of her strike completely obliterated the city in the blink of an eye—the only thing she could do was watch as the people around them disintegrate and wither away.
"Heh…" Darkday grasped his caved-in chest, manually pulling it back to its normal position as his body tilted to the side, "...Very fun."
"What…" Aerith was not even done breathing, and the scenery around them once again changed—and as it did, Darkday snapped his fingers causing everything to just break and wither away, "...How are you doing this?"
"Well, Whiteking is probably busy fending off some of my clones," Darkday once again chuckled, "He should be very busy, my clones really only have one mission—play with him however they want. Not kill him, though. I quite like Chubby Bernard."
"Stop it…"
Darkday continued snapping his fingers as soon as the scenery around them changes. Most of the time, the scenery was that of an already ruined Earth, so Darkday's snap did not really do anything but just destroy what was already dead. But once in a while, a city appears.
"Stop it!"
"Okay," Darkday just raised his arms in surrender as another city appeared before them; his neck being held by Aerith in front of all the people watching them. Aerith did not look at the crowd, however, as she just focused her attention on Darkday.
"Please…" Aerith then let go of Darkday's neck as she very slowly dropped her knees to the ground, "Just… stop it. These people… these people don't deserve to die. Just take me… just let it be me that suffers."
The scenery around them changed again and again, it was a scene of complete madness as different versions of New York surrounded them.
"Aerith…" Darkday also kneeled down as his helmet disappeared, "...It is not a matter of whether they deserve it or not, it is just a matter of me wanting to kill them."
Darkday then grabbed Aerith's chin and lifted up her head; looking at her straight in the eyes. And as soon as Aerith saw what reflected Riley's eyes, tears started to trail down her cheeks.
Because in his eyes…
…was absolutely nothing.
Riley Ross was completely absent, and only Darkday was looking at her.
"How…" Aerith also placed her hand on Darkday's face,
"...How will I make you come back to me, Riley?"
Chapter 750"How… will I make you come back to me, Riley?"
"..."
Aerith wasn't expecting an answer, but she did not expect silence. After all, throughout this entire endeavor, Darkday never once shut his mouth. He just continued talking and talking, testing and teasing Aerith as much as he could.
But now, he just stared at her; his long white hair, freely waving along with the torrent of the wind. His hand, just very gently touching her chin as they looked into each others' eyes. Aerith's eyes, as always, even in tragedy, seemed filled with a hint of hope. But Darkday's…
…there truly was nothing there at all.
Soon, however, Darkday blinked as he let go of Aerith; his dead eyes, now looking at the Newer York they find themselves in. There were people watching them; each of their three eyes, either looking at Darkday or Aerith… or both.
Three eyes, as the people living in this city were not humans, but rather an eerily familiar alien race that Darkday had definitely seen before. The alien people seemed to be saying something, most of them pointing at Aerith with panicked expressions on their faces; some, even turning around to quickly walk or run away.
Even the ones that were inside the building all stepped outside. And soon, Aerith's face was being shown on the large screens that were on all the buildings around Times Square—and judging by the somewhat messy symbols floating along with Aerith's face, they weren't saying anything good.
And judging by the hastening feet of all the people as they run and glance at Aerith, it was probably telling them to evacuate.
Sadly for them, their panicked expressions made a smile grow on Darkday's face. Darkday very slowly lifted up his left foot. And then with a small,
'Heh,'
Darkday slammed his foot back down… causing a ripple to gush out from the ground he stomped on, a ripple that reverberated everywhere and instantly erased everything around them. First, turning them to dust, and then turning them into nothing at all.
Another New York was erased from existence.
As for Aerith, she just remained kneeling on the ground, watching everything unfold with her shoulders dropped.
"I did not realize you were speciesist, Megawoman," Darkday slightly hummed as he tilted his upper body to the side; his eyes almost mocking as they looked at Aerith, "You did not even try to stop me since they did not look like you."
"..." Aerith did not really respond and just returned Darkday's gaze. And after a few seconds, she finally stood up and let out a very long and deep sigh,
"You did not answer my question," she asked with a straight voice, "How will I make you come back to me?"
"Oh…" Darkday blinked a couple of times as he took a step back, before starting to walk in circles. He placed his hand on his chin, curiously humming as he… probably pretended he was thinking of an answer,
"...That question does not make sense, Megawoman. How will I come back to you…
…when you never accepted me in the first place?"
"..." Aerith didn't say anything, because she couldn't. Her eyes just momentarily turned wide as she lost a breath or two, and when she was finally ready to say something, Darkday shook his head.
"Riley Ross…" Darkday then covered his face as he looked up toward the sky that was filled with stars despite the wasteland he created,
"He is delusional. His growing emotions are… weak."
"Why… are you talking as if the both of you are a different person?" Aerith squinted her eyes as she looked at the grin on Darkday's face, "Did… did you develop a split personality?"
"...No," Darkday looked at Aerith as if she was some sort of crazy person, "I am Riley Ross, but less and more at the same time. More in a sense that I do not have to hide the darkness that I have inside me, less in a sense that I am hiding behind an alter ego to be what I truly am."
"But this isn't you, Riley," Aerith moved closer to Darkday, almost clinging onto him, but stopping before she could hold his chest, "How… how can you say that Darkday is truly what you are when you need to wear a mask?"
"Because people tend to be themselves behind a mask, Megawoman."
"No," Aerith shook her head, "People tend to be what they imagine themselves to be. Darkday is an exaggeration of who you think you are, Riley."
"Then is Megawoman an exaggeration of you, Aerith?" Darkday moved away from Aerith, "Megawoman, who spends every day rescuing and saving as many people as she could. Megawoman, who tries her best to be a saint?"
"Yes," Aerith's eyebrows began to furrow as her voice turned weak, "You've seen me without a mask, Riley. And I…"
Aerith's breath abruptly turned into a gasp as tears trailed down her cheek, "I… failed to save my people."
"And I succeeded in killing them, and I wasn't wearing a mask," Darkday quickly wiped the tears on Aerith's face, "This just proves that this is what I really am, Megawoman…
…I am nothing but a destroyer, a bringer of death. That is my purpose, and that is why I exist. I am only fulfilling what I am here to do."
"..."
"We have had this discussion several times, Megawoman. Are you not tired of the same conversation over and over again? This is—"
"But we haven't."
And before Darkday could finish his words, Aerith finally placed her hand on his chest, "Each of our conversations, although they may seem the same, are completely different from each other, Riley."
"Hm…?"
"Because you and I are not the same person we were years ago," Aerith smiled, but the tears trailing down her cheeks continued to flow endlessly, "I'm burdened by the loss of my people, by my failures, by my mistakes…
…you're burdened by the humanity you suddenly find yourself carrying. You have no idea what to do with it. You are hurt, and you have no idea how to process it."
"Humanity," Darkday let out a soft chuckle; the tips of her lips, almost reaching his ears as he looked Aerith in the eyes, "Look at me and tell me again where you see humanity. Or better yet, look at this desert of nothing that surrounds us."
"Violence is the strongest emotion you know, and that is why you are acting like this, Riley."
"Violence is not an emotion, Megawoman—it is an act."
"Not for you," Aerith's hand that was on Darkday's chest very slowly moved toward his neck…and then onto his cheek, "You are in pain, you have always been and I have always known—that was the very reason I chose to talk with you in the first place when we first met."
"You chose to talk to me because you realized I was a child, Megawoman."
"Everyone is a child in my eyes."
"That would mean you got pregnant from someone you treated as a child, Megawoman. I did not know that you—"
"I am sorry, Riley."
"..." The wide smile on Darkday's face slightly twitched, "Why are you apologizing, Megawoman?"
"Because you're right. I promised that I would always stay by your side, and I abandoned you when it got hard."
"I killed your people, Megawoman."
"You have killed even more before then," Aerith closed her eyes as she shook her head, "And I have always known you will kill even more before I could even get a glimpse of a chance of you stopping what you're doing. It's just that when it happened to my people… I lost it."
"You have every right to do so, Megawoman."
"I do, I do…" Aerith nodded several times as she looked Darkday in the eyes, "...But Riley you…
…your existence means more to me than my entire race."
"As it should, Megawoman," Darkday removed his face from Aerith's hand, "Themarians exist in every universe, there is only one of me—my significance far outweighs everything you know, and this is not narcissism."
"It's not that, Riley," Aerith chuckled, "You and I, we're…
…I feel like we are meant to be together."
"I have always agreed with that statement, Megawoman. I am your lover, after all—or perhaps I should say I was."
"No, no. I am not in love with you, just so we are clear on this. At least I don't think I am," Aerith softly chuckled as she wiped the tears on her cheek, "Love is… complicated and has many forms. What I felt for Gary's dad is different from what I feel for you. You…
…You are my curse."
"You have said that before, Megawoman."
"I am saying it differently this time," Aerith breathed out, "You are my burden, my guilt. And if destruction is your purpose, then…
…You're my purpose."
"..."
"All the versions of me I have seen have their own purpose, their goals," Aerith's voice very slowly became clearer and clearer, "Some have led their people to doom as I have, some led their people to flourish, some to hide, and some to become protectors of the universe… but after that, they have nothing; they have no one…
…I have led my people to death, but I still have you, Riley."
"Do you not hear your words," Darkday's eyes slightly squinted as both of Aerith's hands moved to hold his cheeks, "Do you really think that because you are saying all of this, that this darkness would stop?"
"Your darkness will never stop, Riley. I can only hope that the light I and the people close to you provide will be enough to balance it," Aerith smiled, "Let's just stop this, Riley. Let's go home."
"Stop, Megawoman," Darkday grabbed both of Aerith's wrists and tried prying them open, "Do you think that I would just actually stop this if you show sympathy?"
"No."
"Then—"
"But maybe this will."
And before Riley could utter another word, Aerith suddenly stood on her toes and leaned her head closer to him. Her lips…
…now touching Riley's.
Chapter 751A second? A minute?
Or perhaps maybe even an hour, or perhaps it was actually shorter. Time has always been unimportant for someone like me—someone who could move faster than most spaceships, someone who could outlive most of life in the universe, someone who could be on the other side of a planet in a blink of an eye.
I have never thought of eternity, because I already have it. I do not need to wish for it, I just need to be strong for it. I do not need to know what it feels like, because I am already living its beginning.
I have never thought of eternity… at least until now. If I could express eternity, then this is it.
A kiss that will forever last.
I do not even know if my lips are still placed upon his, the only thing I know is that the words I uttered before doing so were a lie. I lied to Riley and said that he has become my purpose, of course not. I only said what he wanted to hear so that this madness could end.
Billions of lives have been lost since I have failed to stop him. And if the only thing I need to do is to pretend to want to be with him, then that is a punishment I would gladly carry.
"..."
But why…?
Why as our lips continue to be intertwined do I feel like this? Why does it feel like this?
I truly wish to convince myself that his lips are cold, extremely so. But it's warm. His eyes were cold and almost dead, and yet I could feel the warmth from his lips almost crawling through my veins and throughout my entire body; causing my legs to somewhat shiver and my skin to feel a sort of fuzz.
This is wrong, extremely so. But why… why does it feel so right?
I am touching lips with the biggest threat to life itself. Riley has killed people I loved, all of them. This is wrong.
It should be wrong however and wherever you look at it. Morally, ethically, lawfully, spiritually, and even personally wrong. So, why does it feel as if this is what should actually be? Like her lips truly belong to Riley?
Is it… some sort of ability that he has? That must be it—how else would you explain all of this?
Everyone, in one way or another, is attracted to Riley. He definitely has some sort of ability, an ability that he himself might not be aware of. But if he has… then I should feel it.
Or perhaps, instead of me lying to Riley…
…maybe I am lying to myself? Maybe… I truly have something for this—
No, definitely not. Never—and even if I do, then that is something I must never allow to develop. What this is, is duty. Nothing more, nothing less.
I control this situation, I know where I need to stop, and I know where I should take it. I hate to admit it, but the previous Elders of the Common Council, those who were the actual trigger of my people's death, were right.
What I am is a leash to the dog that is called annihilation.
And so, I finally stopped the eternity I found myself in and pulled my lips away from Riley… or at least, I did. I couldn't even take a single step back before Riley's long arms suddenly wrapped themselves around my waist, pulling me closer and back to him.
I could resist, I should resist. I am physically stronger than him, it is ridiculous to even compare it. But why… why am I allowing myself to be pulled by him?
I should be the one holding the leash, not him. And so, with a release of my breath, I placed both my hands on his chest to push him away… but as soon as I saw his eyes, no.
As soon as I finally saw my reflection in his eyes, any strength I could conjure up just suddenly disappeared. And this time, he was the one to place his lips upon mine, forcefully.
"!!!"
I didn't know whether it was because of shock, but my eyes widened as the warmth that I was already expecting became warmer and warmer by the second. At first, I thought it was just because I was breathing in when he kissed me, but no…
…he placed his tongue inside my mouth, twirling it upon mine and making it hard for me to breathe.
No, I don't need to breathe in the first place. But why…
…Why does it feel like this?
Why am I losing myself?
Why—
"Hah…" And as Riley suddenly leaned away and removed his lips, I couldn't help but take in a long and very breath, almost as if I hadn't inhaled for more than a hundred years.
"Why… why did you do that?" I made sure to raise an eyebrow, wiping my lips that were still wet from his saliva as I looked him straight in the eyes. And finally, there, I see a glimpse of the first thing I saw when I first laid my eyes on Riley.
A mad innocence.
Evil, and yet pure… confused.
…Lost.
"Aerith."
Once again, I couldn't stop a heavy breath from escaping my lips as Riley finally said my name. My heart that only beats once in a blue moon, now thumping like drums in an orchestra that marches through an endless road.
Nervous? Am I actually getting nervous?
I shouldn't be, I am the one that should be in control.
"I'm… truly sorry, Aerith."
"...What?" Riley's voice was weak, almost a whisper as he strayed his eyes away from me, "Sorry? I'm afraid you have no right to be so."
He doesn't—I need to let him know that he could never atone for the mistakes he had done.
"You have already caused the pain and death of hundreds of billions of people, Riley. You're way pas—"
"No, I am not apologizing for that since I am not done with ending life yet," Riley looked into my eyes for a few seconds before once again looking away, "I am apologizing for a different reason, Aerith."
"For what…?"
"I am sorry that it is you," Riley looked down toward the ruined ground he created, "I am sorry that you have to suffer because I have taken a liking to you—that you are the one that I am experiencing romantic love for."
"Romantic… love," I don't really know what to say. Riley has always had a way with his words. Most of the time, eerily literal. But there are times in which he seemed like a poet… if an AI was a poet, that is.
"I have already hurt those who are close to me, especially my sister," Riley closed his eyes, "My sister is suffering because I love her, I do not know how much more I could hurt you because I am in love with you, Aerith…
…and I truly apologize for that."
In… love with me? He had said that several times, and I usually just shrug it off as I have always thought that Riley is truly incapable of being in love. But… didn't I once think the same of myself?
Hundreds of years ago, the concept of love was foreign to me. The only thing in my mind was the need to prove myself, and then I graduated from that thought and started thinking for the safety of others. I did not have time for love, and yet still love found me… and it lost me, or perhaps I lost it.
I loved Gary's father, I really did—but there was a point that it just faded away… I faded away and we fell out of love.
And now, a love that shouldn't be allowed is growing in me… or perhaps it has already sprouted long ago, I just continue to cut and nip it before it could bloom.
Because I know that what would grow out of this is not a beautiful rose, but a toxic grass that would end up devouring every weed and flora it happens to touch… and it would continue to grow and grow until everything else is dead.
"You don't need to apologize for that, Riley…" I truly do not know what I am doing anymore. I don't hold the leash, and he doesn't as well. We're both just…
…tied together.
"...I don't know what will happen next. I don't know how I will even stop you when you just grow stronger and stronger. But I will."
"You have already promised that before, Aerith."
"And I'm still in the process of fulfilling it, I have eternity to do so. But for now…
…how about just going home?"
"..."
"We've already caused enough damage for today, Riley. And the both of us are going to need to pay for this one way or another," I smiled at him, "Someone out there, perhaps maybe even more dangerous than you will stop y—us. But…
…Let's just go home for now, okay?"
"..." Riley looked to the side, before finally looking at my eyes again and nodding. But after a few seconds of staring at each other, I realized something…
"Whiteking…? Can you hear us?" We were in a completely different universe, "Wait… how are we even going home?"
"Oh, you do not have to worry about that, Aerith," Riley shook his head before taking a few steps back. And then, with a short but very deep sigh, he placed his palms together, before stretching them to the sides…
…summoning a portal in front of him.
"What… how did you—"
"I have Paige's abilities, Aerith. I can enter this…
…and perhaps you could too."
Chapter 752"Hm, it would seem it does not work, Aerith."
"Thank the gods it doesn't!"
"...But it should."
"Well, it doesn't."
Alas, Riley was truly confident that his portal would work. But as he stepped inside the Portal he created, the only thing that happened was him stepping out the other side; almost as if the Portal was just… an illusion. Which it is, but it shouldn't be for Riley.
"It should work," Riley's eyebrows began to lower as he stared at the Portal in front of him.
"You're inching closer and closer to a god, Riley—I don't think the universe is going to like it if you can freely move through the multiverse," Aerith let out a huge sigh of relief as her eyes reflected the portal Riley summoned. The reflection wouldn't be a big deal in most cases, but not with Paige's abilities.
Being able to interact with the illusion aside from just visually seeing it meant only one thing, Aerith could actually be affected by the power. And if she could be affected by it…
…that would mean Riley could actually just kill him with a snap of his fingers at any time. Once again, another leash on her. But what sort of leash, exactly?
She met Paige almost at the same time as Riley. And her abilities were, in a way, probably one of the most shocking powers Aerith had seen on Earth. Of course, the people of Earth were probably already the weirdest of the species due to their seemingly random abilities, but Paige's power takes it up a notch.
She had never seen anything like it before.
The ability to make anything a reality, even if you are the only one affected by it is… still godly. The only limit would be Paige's imagination, and of course, as is proven throughout time, her mental state. Paige could make herself immortal, even undying if she wanted to. She could create a ship that could travel in lightspeeds in the blink of an eye if she wanted to.
Could she give herself abilities? Perhaps not, as that would bypass the fact that she couldn't affect anyone with her powers. It has limitations, as also proven by the fact that Riley was not able to connect a portal traveling to another universe.
Aerith couldn't really imagine what could have happened if the ability was bestowed to someone else—no, she didn't even have to imagine.
Riley Ross now has the same power. And unlike Paige, Riley was not afraid to push it to its limits.
But why… does he not use it that much? Was he aware of something dangerous? He did say that his mental state began declining with the use of Paige's abilities. Perhaps…
…they could actually use the ability to change Riley?
"..." Aerith just stared at Riley as he tried to figure out what was wrong with the portal he made. He even created two smaller portals, putting his hand on one of the holes and expecting it to come out of the other—but it didn't happen.
"Perhaps I should ask Paige more about her abilities," Riley finally gave up; waving his hand as he removed all the portals he summoned. He remained standing like that with a blank expression on his face, before finally looking at Aerith and smiling,
"I suppose we are stuck here alone for now, Aerith."
"Stuck, yes. Alone, no," Aerith raised both her hands, before kneeling on the ground and turning his head up. As for Riley, he only tilted his head to the side before suddenly raising his hand in the air.
"Riley, no!" Aerith quickly punched him in the face, slamming his head down and ruining the already ruined land. As soon as she did that, however, a barrage of obsidian spears suddenly rained down on them from above.
"Damn it, Riley…" Aerith did not really do anything and just stood there, allowing the spears to bounce off her skin. The spears that bounced off on her, plunging and piercing through Riley's body instead.
"...Seriously?" And as Riley exaggeratingly squirmed on the ground, Aerith just once again kneeled down, rolling her eyes as she raised both her hands. And soon, all of the spears floated back into the sky and onto the hazy cloud that suddenly covered it.
And once again, Riley's body exaggeratedly moved as the spear was pulled from his body, causing Aerith to shake her head.
The owner of the spears soon revealed themselves, all of them landing in a circle surrounding Aerith and Riley. They spoke in a different language, as they should as they weren't humans at all. Aerith, however, could not help but squint her eyes as she heard a hint of human language in their words.
"Khan laox sbri stuupi kan?" Aerith's eyebrows began to lower at the same time as she decided to stand up; her eyes, scanning the people that surrounded her. She knew the language of these people, of course, she had encountered them before—but their planet should be hundreds of thousands of lightyears from Earth. Truly, the multiverse holds many possibilities.
And in this possibility… the humans were probably conquered by them.
Did this world have no Megawoman at all? In the universes that Aerith visited when they were trying to find Riley, there had always been a Megawoman—either her or Diana. Well, mostly her.
"Are you not human?" One of the tall blue-skinned aliens stepped forward, pointing his spear at Aerith as his 3 eyes looked at her from head to toe, "I… sense a different energy from you."
"I am not a human, and neither is my companion," Aerith squinted her eyes as she expected the people to be more aggressive.
"Not human…?" There was an audible gasp that escaped the alien's mouth, "I… I apologize, we thought you were humans. We… we killed your companion, we have no excuse but—"
"Don't," Aerith sighed, "He's just pretending to be dead. Riley, come on. Stop with this, you're not a child."
But alas, Riley remained still on the ground; blood, even spurting out from his still-opened wounds. One of his thumbs, however, was raised toward Aerith as if he was doing her a favor.
"...He's alive," Aerith groaned in frustration as she focused on the blue-skinned alien moving closer to her, "Did you invade this planet, Hokran?"
"In…vade?" This time, it was the hokran's turn to squint his eyes as he once again looked at Aerith from head to toe, "From which galaxy are you?"
"I am from the planet Theran, and my companion is… well, he lives close to mine."
"Theran, I have not heard of that planet—but I would assume that is from very far away as you seemed to have no idea what is going on in this part of the universe," the horkan lowered his spear, and as he did so, his comrades did the same; placing their spears beside them all at the same time, synchronized to a tee,
"I am Shehard, Lieutenant Commander of the Common Alliance. And we did not invade this planet, we won it from those monsters."
"...Monsters?"
"The humans. You truly do not know anything?" Shehard grunted as he looked to the side, "You should not have come here. This galaxy and its neighbors are in a war…
…against The King and his people."
"King… as in Whiteking? Again?"
Chapter 753"King… as in Whiteking… again?"
Bernard Ross, aka Red, Black, Azure, or all the colors in the spectrum King. Aerith had visited many universes during their search for Riley, and in almost all of those versions…
…Bernard was unhinged against other species, and a handful of them could even be considered evil. These Bernards have one thing in common—they all did not have a Hannah Ross by their side; either dead, or does not exist in the first place.
And considering this universe did not seem to have themarians, and therefore no Diana, and therefore no Hannah, it was clear to Aerith what kind of variant of Bernard this world has.
"So, you have heard of the King?" Shehard breathed out, "I do not know where you came from, but the energy I sense from is incredibly massive. Perhaps you can help us?"
"Oh, you are asking help from a stranger?"
And as Riley suddenly sat up from the ground, Shehard and his men all flinched and raised their spears; all of their eyes as wide as they could be.
"You must truly be desperate, or perhaps you have other intentions, Lieutenant Commander Shehard of the Common Alliance?" Riley then casually stood up; the holes across his vanta-black suit, closing as a smile crawled on his face.
"Everyone of us is desperate," Shehard ordered his men to lower their weapons, "The Whiteking's army moves like plague, and perhaps that is what they are. They have enslaved us, tortured us, even those that are far from the war are being brutalized by the humans."
There was a slight shiver in Shehard's voice, reflected only by the trembling of his hand which held his spear.
"The only reason we were able to conquer their home planet is that they have already abandoned it… and we wished to know the secret behind their… abilities."
"Commander, is it alright to tell them…?"
"It is clear they are not humans," Shehard once again ordered his men to stand down, "And if they wished to kill us, we would have already been dead. What we need now are more—Men, ready!"
And before Shehard could finish his words, he abruptly turned around and once again raised his spear; this time, toward the sky. His men followed suit; their obsidian spears, now emitting a laser that passed through the clouds.
Their lasers seemed to have been stopped by something, as a red silhouette of something colossal started to blanket the sky; its shadow, flickering beyond the clouds.
"Release!" Shehard then ordered his men to let go of their spears. And as they did so, the obsidian spears all flew toward the sky; leaving skirts of wind and thunder in their wake. Before their weapons could even reach the clouds, however, a ripple exploded.
The clouds withered away instantly, finally revealing the silhouette hiding behind—a face.
A face of someone familiar to Riley.
"Elder Tedi…?" Riley blinked a couple of times, tilting his head to the side as he looked at what seemed to be Tedi's face. It didn't take long for Riley to realize, however, that something was wrong with her.
Her eyes have always been emotionless, but never dead. But the Tedi overlooking Earth right now… did not even have eyes; her sockets, completely hollow. This Tedi… was just a corpse.
"King!"
"Whiteking…?" Aerith looked at Shehard, before focusing her eyes on Tedi—and there, on her left lower eyelid…
…was an individual wearing a white armor.
"That's… Whiteking?"
The armor of this Whiteking Variant was quite different. He didn't wear a helmet at all, and there his armor was quite bulky; taller, even. The shoulders were exaggeratingly wide, and there was some sort of drone hovering above them on both sides—the drones weren't the only ones hovering, even Whiteking himself was hovering.
His eyes were glowing orange, indicating that had also received the Guardian Force. There seemed to be no need to confirm this, however, as all of the Bernards across the multiverse have all swallowed the mysterious rock.
"But… what's with the mustache?" Aerith raised an eyebrow.
"Men, it is time to die!" Shehard and his men suddenly removed their clothes. One would probably immediately look away, but there was no need this time as their bodies were still completely covered.
Covered with bombs, that is.
"What are you doing, Commander Shehard!?"
"Oh?" And while Aerith seemed concerned, the smile on Riley's face persisted as he looked back and forth between Tedi's corpse and Shehard, "A suicide attack? I have never seen one not being used on me, this should be interesting."
"Commander Shehard, just retreat!" Aerith grabbed Shehard's arm, "There is absolutely no way you could win against… a Norinlad!"
"We know,"
And with those words, Shehard grabbed a knife from his waist; cutting down his own arm without any hesitation before flying straight toward King,
"But even if it is just a fraction of a percent, we need to try. It is for the good of the universe."
"What…" Aerith quickly let go of Shehard's dismembered arm. She was going to follow them, but Riley held her back.
"Let's just watch, Aerith. They are dying on their own terms, most people do not have that luxury."
"They don't have to die today!"
"But they will."
The sky turned dark. The scenery around them, almost drowning as Tedi's hand covered even the horizon.
"Is… Whiteking trying to destroy his own planet. Is he cra—"
And before Aerith could finish her words, Tedi's hand slammed down on Earth—completely obliterating an entire continent like it was a piece of cake, quite literally. Of course, the destruction won't stop there.
As Tedi's hand lifted up, Earth started to very slowly crack. Or in Aerith and Riley's case, it was happening almost instantly.
"What… what is Whiteking doing!?" Aerith emerged from the ground, brushing off all the dirt on her shoulders as she stared at the disappearing hand.
"It would seem Bernard Ross is a menace in this universe, Aerith," Riley also did the same as he emerged from the ground, "It truly makes one so proud."
"That is not something to be proud about," Aerith could really only sigh when she remembered who she was actually talking to, "We need to—"
"What are you?"
"..." Everyone seemed to be interrupting Aerith's words as a voice suddenly whispered from behind them. Riley and Aerith just very slowly turned around, and true enough, King was already hovering behind them.
"The white one seems to be human, but not quite. But you… you're a species I have not seen before."
And now that King was in front of them, one could see the obvious signs of whiting on the sides of his hair. But it was odd—his hair was showing his age, and yet out of all the Bernard Aerith had encountered, this one seemed… youthful. Young, even… 20s, perhaps even younger.
"What have you done to your world, Bernard?"
"Bernard…?" King's eyes started to squint as soon as he heard Aerith's words,
"How do you know my name? Who are—"
And before King could finish his words, a crack suddenly appeared in the air out of nowhere.
"Oh, it would seem we're going home, Aerith."
"No…"
"Hm? I thought you would be glad, Aerith."
And as the hole grew larger, the expression of worry on Aerith's face grew as wide as her eyes, "Whiteking should not—"
And once again, no one seemed to be allowed to finish what they want to say as Aerith and Riley were suddenly sucked in by the portal. As for King, he rushed toward the portal without even thinking. But alas, it already closed down before his hand could even get near it.
"Hm… Did that stranger just call me Whiteking? How odd…" King's eyes once again squinted as he stared at the empty air in front of him. And as the Earth he was hovering on began to completely shatter, only a small grunt escaped his lips.
And then, a boom followed as the entire planet collapsed in itself. King, however, just remained floating there surrounded by its remnants—like he was completely unaffected by everything that was happening around him.
"..." King hovered there without a single word; his eyes, just looking everywhere as he seemed to be thinking of something. And very soon, a small gasp escaped his mouth.
"A different universe," he whispered as his eyes turned wide, "There are other universes out there, a multiverse. A multiverse that sorely needs me…
…Interesting."
Chapter 754"—Not be allowed to discover the multiverse!"
"Megawoman…?"
"Huh…?"
"I want all of you out of my universe, now!"
Aerith's breaths were loud as she was forcefully thrown to another universe mid-sentence, but not as loud as Bard's voice as he stood in front of her and Riley. Just from the quiver of his lips alone, one could see the rage and resentment he was trying his best to hide.
"You… you gave me your word that you would and could reign in this monster," Bard gritted his teeth and sucked in a deep breath; his fat cheeks, trembling along with the rest of his body,
"And yet look at what happened!"
Bard took several steps back and stretched his hands to the side, gesturing to the ruined street that surrounded them. Nannah, Hannah, and Chihiro were there, guarding Chihiro Prime who was inside a small glass cage.
"More than a hundred million of my people, dead! I have kept my people safe from harm, from threats that exist here and on the outside. And you… You always try to be a hero and people around you suffer, Aerith. That is what you are—you're bad luck."
"Dad, that's enough," Nannah tried grabbing his dad away, but Bard just slapped her hand before pointing at her.
"And you…" Bard once again sucked in a breath, "You're not actually patronizing with these people, are you? They are the ones that brought it here. They brought Riley Ross here."
"It's not Riley's fault, Dad. Megawoman obviously triggered her, you know how she is with—"
"Aerith has always been the good guy, Nannah! No matter what, she is good. She's stupid, makes rash decisions, indirectly fucks up everything around her—but the only thing constant about her in all multiverses is that she's actually genuinely one of the good guys," Bard raised his voice,
"Riley Ross is the real problem here and why can't any of you women fucking see it!? Are all of you that obsessed with him!?"
"But you killed the Aerith of our world and a few others, Dad. Does that mean we're the bad guys?" Nannah breathed out.
"It was necessary!"
"Like how it was necessary to play god and kill other variants that could have been saved?" Hannah joined in on the conversation with crossed arms. But as everyone looked at her, she immediately raised both her hands and shook her head,
"Look. Now that everyone is here, we'll just go home. Okay? I am truly, truly sorry for all the loss you have experienced here, I truly am—but it is best for us to just go before more deaths follow."
"Are you?"
"Hm?"
"Are you truly sorry?" Bard looked Hannah in the eyes.
"What the fuck does that mean?" Hannah did not back down, "You think I don't regret or resent, or blame myself for all of this? I do, every second of my life, I do. That's my fucking default setting now and fuck me, I must be getting numb with all of this shit happening. But I am telling you, I am truly and deeply sorry."
"For now, but you won't be in the future," Bard scoffed and smiled.
"What…?"
"Dad!" Nannah tried stopping Bard from whatever it is he wanted to say, but he raised a finger and ordered her to stand down.
"You have no idea what you are capable of, Hannah. No idea," a soft laugh escaped from Bard's lips, "You, out of all the Enders, have ended more universes…
…and it is not even close."
"Dad!" Nannah once again raised her voice. And this time, it was partnered with a slap as she stood in front of her dad, "That's enough. Just… just let them leave!"
"They will leave," Bard only scoffed before stretching his hand to the side and summoning a portal, "And don't any of you dare to come back. Keep your promise to no longer travel to different universes. You've done enough damage to the multiverse as it is. And take your murderous Golden Fox back."
"..." Aerith and the others did not really say anything. Aerith just nodded her head, before walking toward Chihiro Prime and carrying her cage, "Riley, Hannah—you and your brother should go first so we can be sure he's not… escaping anywhere."
"Hm…" Hannah was the same, not saying anything and just nodding her head. Grabbing Riley by the arm before just casually stepping and disappearing behind the portal; not even saying her farewells to her variant and Chihiro's variant. How could she even do so, when all she was thinking about was what Bard said?
As for Riley, he just smiled at Chihiro and Nannah.
Nannah did not really know how to respond to that and only looked away, wanting to cry for some reason. She truly has grown abnormally attached to Riley, perhaps it was a multiverse thing. But whatever it is, she has to say goodbye to it…
…for now.
And with the two gone, Aerith also started walking toward the portal.
"This isn't over, my dear little variant." And all this time, Chihiro Prime's eyes did not leave Chihiro for even a single second, "I have the ability to travel across the multiverse. Once the cooldown is done, I will come ba—"
But alas, before she could finish her final words, Aerith just threw her inside the portal. Aerith was about to follow in, but she shook her head and turned her focus back to Bard.
"You shouldn't have called us back, Whiteking."
"What?" Bard's eyebrows lowered, "You wanted me to let the two of you continue rampaging across the multiverse? That was the only time I could actually do so since I detected the two of you weren't moving."
"We've… resolved some things between us," Aerith meekly said, "But that is not what I wanted to talk about."
"I don't care what you want to say, just leave."
"Another Whiteking was in the vicinity when you pulled us out. He saw the portal."
"...What?" Bard's eyes slightly turned wide as he heard Aerith's voice.
"What kind?" He asked nervously, "What kind of Bernard was there?"
"Not the good kind," Aerith let out a small sigh as she turned around. Before she could leave, however, Bard grabbed her arm in panic.
"What do you mean not the good kind? I need more specifics, god damn it!"
"This one was controlling Elder Tedi's corpse and using it as a weapon," Aerith looked Bard in the eyes, "I looked in his eyes, the same as I am now with you and I saw something I have only seen in Darkday's eyes…
…an unhinged evil."
"No…" Bard's breaths began to tremble as he looked at Nannah, "It's… it's him."
"What!? I thought you already fucking locked access to that universe!" And it wasn't just him, Nannah's voice also immediately trembled as her father's words reached her ears, "Fuck… fuck!"
"It… I must have accidentally opened it while I was fighting with Riley's clone! No… No!" Bard began tapping his fingers in the air as he accessed his computer wirelessly.
"You… know of him?" Aerith's eyes squinted as she realized how nervous—no, how afraid the two were.
"Know him?" Bard let out a fettered breath, "He is from the universe where Machina showed itself to me…
…A primordial showed itself to me just to warn me about him…
…King The Conqueror."
Chapter 755A few years ago, down in the Nexus, Bard was just casually chatting with his AI and asking for updates about the new universes they are discovering and visiting.
"So, what do we know about this one, Anna?"
[Nothing, Whiteking. That is why I wanted your attention. I advise personally exploring the universe yourself.]
"Huh…" Bard had his hand on his chin as he looked at the portal in front of him. With the technology he developed, he could somewhat see through the portal. It wasn't clear, but it was enough to give him a rough idea of what was on the other side.
"...Isn't it just a ruined universe?"
[I do not know, Whiteking. But I am detecting traces of technology developed by your variant on the other side, that is why I wanted your attention.]
"...Hm," Bard's helmet emerged from his skin and quickly wrapped around his head. He then started waving his fingers, interacting with the HUD floating in front of him, "Are these images right? Horkans are living in New York?"
The Nexus was not exactly that omnipotent, no. Due to the energy it required to operate, Bard has only programmed the portals to connect in one single area—the one they were already in, New York.
Perhaps one could even call it the Nexus York, as it connected all the New Yorks of all universes—well, at least that is what Bard wanted to call it first, but Nannah profusely disagreed with him.
[Yes. The people on the other side match the Horkans' appearance by 98.6%]
"Huh," Bard once again placed his hand on his chin. Soon, however, his entire silhouette disappeared as he stepped forward, "I am going in to check the other side. Anna, record this expedition."
[Expedition to Earth-1218. Officer on Duty, Whiteking.]
And with those words, Bard casually stepped inside the portal; not even thinking much of it as he had done this a thousand times already.
"...What?"
But what welcomed him on the other side was not New York, not even the people that live there, no. He was in an empty space of nothing—just white everywhere.
"Anna, did you mess up the travel?" Bard quickly called for his AI… but it did not respond, "Anna?"
Bard just stood there in all the whiteness, not daring to move as he inspected everything he could. Soon, however, a silhouette of a human emerged—no, materialized in front of him… introducing itself as Machina, a primordial god.
And right there and then, Bard realized how small he truly was compared to the actual cogs that run the multiverse. They talked about many things.
About Golden Fox. About the dangers of the multiverse.
One could even say that Machina was complimenting Bard for what he was doing. But more so than anything else they have talked about, there was one thing that stuck to Bard.
A warning.
A warning to stay away from the universe he was about to travel to just moments ago. Machina then started showing him visions—visions of another Bernard Ross.
Bard watched as his variant lived a fairly normal life. Well, fairly normal in terms of Bernard Ross, that is. One could even say that this Bernard did not really stand out amongst the other Bernards—something in him was… lacking.
But then something happened, something happened before he could don the cape of a superhero. They were invaded by an alien race, in which he watched as they killed a dear friend—Steve Bridges, who is known in other universes as the Prophet.
And then, something in him just snapped. He used his technological intellect to massacre the alien race that invaded Earth. At first, Bard was not really surprised by this, as a lot of other Bernards have gone the same path.
But this Bernard did not stop. He hijacked the alien's ship and used it to travel to the homeworld of the invaders… and killed each and every last one of them, innocent or not. Bard once again did not flinch, as other Bernards have done the same; wage a war against the other worlds.
But then… this Bernard was able to kill the last of the Norinlads, lobotomized them, and then harnessed their ability to 'speak' with machines. And for Bernard, someone who was just able to figure out how things work… this was an incredibly dangerous power to have.
This Bernard had done what his other variants could not—conquer the entirety of his universe, Known and Unknown. He doesn't just kill. He enslaves…
…he conquers.
And he will never stop.
"He is dangerous, Megawoman. The most dangerous among us. And now he knows…
…he knows we exist."
"..." Aerith stayed quiet the entire time that Bard was telling her the story. How could she not, when even she realized the threat King the Conqueror poses to the multiverse?
If everything Bard said was true, then his threat was at the same level as Riley Ross. Except instead of killing everyone, he wants everyone to kneel before him.
"How long?" Aerith then asked, "How long until… King reverse engineers the portal?"
"He probably already has," Bard closed his eyes; his head, subtly shaking, "Leave. We'll handle this situation ourselves."
"I can help. We can help," Aerith also shook her head.
"Like how you helped my people?" Bard opened his eyes that now once again contained rage in them, "You've done enough, Aerith. Leave."
"If he is as dangerous as you say he is, then you need our help," Aerith, however, insisted as she approached Bard, "Please, let me make up for what I have done, and let me help save other uni—"
"Leave!"
But alas, before Aerith could finish her words, Bard waved his hand; the portal, flying straight toward Aerith as he did so, swallowing her whole.
"..."
"..."
"She's right, Dad."
And now, with only the two of them surrounded by a forest of debris, Nannah's whisper resounded in the thick air.
"She is," Bard nodded as he looked around, "We do need help… but not from them."
"Are you… no. Please, not them."
"Just help with the rescues, Hannah. Let me handle this."
"But—"
"Anna!" Bard completely ignored Nannah as he called for his AI.
[Yes, Whiteking?]
"Prepare the White Room," Bard then let out a very long and deep sigh as he started walking away,
"Call… for the Council of Ross."
***
"—verse!"
Once again, Aerith was transferred to another universe mid-sentence. This time, however, she did not really have the leisure to look around, as what welcomed her was a glowing crimson halberd on her neck. The very same weapon she used to fight Darkday.
…And it was being held by none other than her mother, Queen Adel.
"...Mother," Aerith whispered as she looked at Queen Adel. And with her not responding and just looking at her with contempt, Aerith gained the time to look around…
…only to see everyone chained down in what she could only assume to be themarian steel.
"Shit…" Aerith whispered again, "...I forgot all about this."
"Your mother seems very mad at me, Aeri—"
Riley, who was the closest one to her, was quickly decapitated by Queen Adel as soon as he spoke.
"You dare still collude with the enemy that wiped out our entire race, Aerith?" Queen Adel almost growled as she grabbed Aerith by the hair.
"It's…" Aerith gritted her teeth, "It's not like that, Mother. Riley Ross is someone that we can't—"
"Silence!" Queen Adel then slapped Aerith right on the cheek, "That is not what Queen Aerith said."
"Queen… Aerith?" Aerith then very slowly looked to the side, only to finally realize that one of them was not actually chained.
Aerith-1 was completely free; her eyes, looking at Aerith in extreme disappointment.
Chapter 756If looks could kill, then Aerith would have probably killed her variant by now 10 times over—but then again, Aerith's glare really could kill when and if she wants to. But this time, however, her glare was really just that.
"What lies have you been spouting to my mother!?" Aerith bared her teeth at Aerith-1. Aerith was still a little intoxicated from her battle against Darkday, making her want to just rush at her variant there and then so they could just talk with their fists. But alas, she wasn't alone.
Aerith subtly strayed her eyes toward the other people in the gray dome—and suffice it to say, the situation wasn't ideal. The dome of Ahor Zai was as large as it needed to be. And right now, with probably more than 10,000 themarians scattered widely everywhere.
If the scenario was any different, Aerith's smile would have probably been as wide as the dome seeing that there were still this many of them left. But alas, these 10,000 themarians were currently against her—she can't blame any of them, of course. They were already against her from the start, but after what she did…
…it wouldn't be a surprise if they ask for her head on a spike.
Aerith could try and struggle her way out. But she too, wasn't alone.
Silvie was there, currently being pinned on the floor more violently than the others. Whiteking was tied up; his eyes and mouth completely covered to prevent him from even saying and doing anything. Hannah… was stuck with Chihiro inside the cage; the two, barely fitting inside. Diana was just seated on the floor, and perhaps not doing anything because she was thinking the same as her. As for Riley, well… he was still headless.
If she takes action, then it will be the others that will pay the price.
"What did you say to my Mother!?" And so, Aerith could really only put her attention on Aerith-1.
"Nothing that is untrue, variant," Aerith-1 approached Aerith, looking down at her; the smug expression on her face, not even trying to hide itself, "You colluded and continue to collude with the enemy."
"That isn't—"
"But I must say, I am now aware of why you people call me by the name Adel," Aerith-1 turned to look at Queen Adel; the two of them, almost completely identical if it wasn't for the Queen's abnormally long and beautiful hair, "It would seem that I am an exact replica of my mother in this world—I never knew my mother, you see. She was killed by King Arthur as soon as she gave birth to me."
"..." Queen Adel's eyes squinted upon hearing Aerith-1's words. She seemed to want to say something but kept her mouth shut as she just tightened her grip on her weapon, pushing it even closer to her daughter's neck.
"But let us get back to your betrayal," Aerith-1 let out a humming breath as she placed her hand on Aerith's chin, "You are enamoured by Riley Ross and wish to be with him instead of your own people."
"That's not true!" Aerith quickly pulled her head away, almost growling as she glared at Aerith-1 again,
"I didn't kiss him!"
And with those loud and incredibly frustrated words echoing throughout the dome of Ahor Zai, each of the 10,000 themarians all looked at each other with blank expressions. In fact, if Aerith and the group made their escape now, they probably could. But alas, even Diana and the others had blank expressions on their faces.
Even Bernard, whose mouth and eyes were covered, looked completely shocked to the point he almost broke the binders on his face.
"...No one mentioned anything about kissing," Aerith-1 blinked a couple of times; her words almost stuttering as she looked back and forth between the stunned Queen Adel and Aerith,
"Wait, did you actually kiss the boy?"
"H…What?" Aerith let out a small chuckle as she looked around, "What? No, why would I even kiss—"
"She did kiss me, everyone."
But alas, before Aerith could continue to awkwardly salvage the situation, Riley's head instantly materialized back out of nowhere.
"Did I permit you to speak, Riley Ross!?"
Queen Adel quickly left Aerith's side. Spinning toward Riley as she once again swung her halberd straight to his neck. This time, however, the blade of her weapon stopped an inch before making contact with Riley's skin.
"You have become weaker than your daughter, Queen Adel," Riley then pushed away the halberd, bowing at Queen Adel before casually standing up from the floor and looking around before ultimately making his way to Aerith-1.
"..." Aerith-1 slightly took a step back, looking at the other themarians to try and see if they will back her up. And they did, all of them started walking forward… but stopped as Queen Adel raised her first and ordered them to stand down.
Aerith-1 was slightly confused at this at first, but she immediately shook her head off any thoughts as she readied herself for battle. Contrary to her expectations, however, Riley just smiled at her.
"I will call you Edith from now on, Edith," Riley said as he nodded to himself.
"What…? My name is Aerith, Queen of Hel!" Edith roared as she stomped her foot on the floor, causing the entirety of Ahor Zai to quake, "How dare you change my name like you have the right to do so!?"
"I do not have the right to do so, Queen Edith," Riley let out a small sigh, "But since Aerith and Queen Adel are here, then everyone would be confused. After all, you have the name of Aerith but the face of Queen Adel—no. You do not only have the face of Queen Adel, but you also have the same temperament as her."
"I do not!"
"Aren't you happy, Queen Adel?" Riley then glanced at Adel, "The daughter you wish you had in Aerith is now standing here right in front of us in the form of Edith."
"Shut your mouth, Destroyer," Adel's eyes lit up as the halberd she was holding disappeared.
"Oh, you've been with my clone for half a decade, Queen Adel," Riley sighed and shook his head, "You should know by now that I do not shut my mouth. Speaking of which, where is Professor Riley?"
"Ah, I'm here!" And all of a sudden, Professor Riley appeared from behind one of the themarians in the crowd; holding what seemed to be the avatar of Ahor Zai, tied up in some sort of lasso as it struggled to get out,
"I was busy trying to catch this little thing."
"Oh, it has been a while, Ahor Zai," Riley casually waved his hand at the avatar.
[H…hi, Riley Ross,] Ahor Zai also waved her hands as it stopped struggling momentarily. But after a few seconds, it once again growled and bared its fangs at Professor Riley.
"So, what happens now, Professor Riley?" Riley looked back and forth between Queen Adel and Professor Riley, "Do you wish to rule the universe by holding the Common Council captive?"
"No… that's not really the plan," Professor Riley awkwardly chuckled, "And there aren't any members of the Common Council here, the timing sort of did not allow for everything to… work in our favor. Honestly, I am only here for the ride—it is Queen Adel that has a plan."
"Hm?" Riley focused on Queen Adel, "What is it then, Queen Adel? As you may have noticed, we are actually already completely preoccupied with an unexpected scenario. Chihiro also came back from the dead. So, your timing is also a little off. Redundant, even…
…Perhaps you can come back at a later date?"
"Men!"
Queen Adel did not seem to be in the mood to talk, however, as she once again raised her fist. And as soon as she did so, all the 10,000 themarians that were in the dome soon all floated in the air; their eyes glowing red at the same time.
"..." Edith squinted her eyes as she looked at her people. But as she saw Queen Adel looking at her, she subtly took a step back before completely moving away from Riley.
As for Riley, he just stood there with a smile on his face; his head tilted to the side and his eyes staring at Queen Adel. He seemed to want to say something, but before he could do so, Queen Adel dropped her raised fist and pointed it toward Riley.
And without even a millisecond later, all the red eyes within the dome turned into a beam that shot straight toward Riley and Riley alone.
"Hm, this is new."
Riley stretched his arm to the side, creating an invisible barrier that resembled an egg. An egg that soon started to crack as it suffered from the attack containing the energy of 10,000 themarians.
10,000 themarians that are filled with rage, anguish, regret, and most importantly, vengeance.
"You people should have truly done this from the start back on Theran," the smile on Riley's face did not disappear. Unfortunately, no one could see it as everything was just… red,
"Well, this should be fu—"
"Kaboom. Kaboom!"
"!!!"
And before Riley could do anything, a part of his vision was suddenly freed from the red light.
"..." Riley squinted his eyes to look through the sudden opening, only to see a familiar figure suddenly dropping straight down onto a group of themarians,
"...Oh."
"I have no freaking idea what this is about. But it's time for…
…a Royal Rumble!"
The Alice Lane from the other universe, in all of her glory.
Chapter 757"Royal Rumble!"
"!!!"
Like a stone being thrown into a pond, the wave that Alice created as she landed right in the middle of a hundred themarians rippled across the dome; blasting away the themarians closest to her, while the others were like dominoes as they all fell down to the floor one by one.
"...Who is it this time?"
Despite their almost impenetrable formation being broken, Queen Adel seemed to still be extremely calm—well, calm considering everything she has been through. She immediately ordered all of the themarians to halt their attack on Riley so that she could get a better view of what was happening.
And now, without any red obstructing anyone's vision, everyone and Queen Adel could see the intruder within their midst… who was immediately flying toward Queen Adel; spinning and literally drilling through the air with her arms stretched to the sides. What was noticeable most of all, however, was the crazed smile on her face.
"You guys didn't even bother inviting me!?" Alice cackled; her words, resounding throughout the dome,
"Don't you know that one of my expertise is annoying the freak out of these overpowered aliens!?"
The themarians were confused at first. But as soon as they realized Alice was moving toward their queen, they immediately all floated back into the air and moved to block Alice's path in no time at all.
One of the themarians went further and stretched his palm to Alice's face; threatening to tear her head off altogether. Alice, however, only smirked. She didn't even change her path and even made sure her face was aligned with the themarian's palm.
"Heh…" The smile on Alice's face did not disappear even as the themarian's palm was only an inch away from her face. Perhaps with good reason, because as soon as their skin made contact, the themarian's palm just… slid away from her face,
"...Bitch!" And with an obviously mocking tone coming out of her breaths, she spat on the themarian's face before just continuing her flight through the themarians waiting for her.
Judging from their expressions, the themarians were clearly weirded out by what just happened to their friend. But they did not let their confusion cloud their resolve as all of them stood their ground and proceeded to protect their Queen.
But alas, they also proceeded to be pushed aside as Alice went through them like a bullet being aimed into water. All of them were pushed aside, almost as if they were trying to touch something that couldn't be touched as any of their attempts to hold Alice down failed; their hands, just slid away without even a single tinge of resistance or friction.
"You guys don't like that, do you!?" Alice glanced back as she once again let out a… throaty spat, "I learned that from training with the baldy!"
And now, with no one protecting Adel, the smile on Alice's face became even more cathartic. Queen Adel, on the other hand, only squinted her eyes before disappearing from where she stood.
"Oh…?" Alice immediately closed her eyes, halting mid-air before turning around and meeting face-to-face with the Queen who was already only inches away from grabbing her. Alice tried to evade the Queen's hands, but alas.
Adel rammed her entire body at Alice; her hands, stretched to the side to make sure that she wouldn't be able to slip away. And with a smirk of her own, Adel wrapped and locked her arms around Alice's torso; her legs, also locking both her thighs.
"You are quite the slippery one, aren't you? You humans and your weird abilities," Adel whispered into Alice's ear.
"Mine is actually quite simple and common, I just know how to use it quite well."
"Huh. And so? What are you going to do now, little one?"
"Well," Alice tried freeing herself from Adel's grip, but her limbs were already completely locked; not even allowing her to wiggle even a single millimeter, "This is the time I call for…
…my beautiful and big mega D!"
"...What?" Adel could really only blink as she heard Alice's words. She then started looking around to see if someone was going to back her up, but there was no one. Even the themarians that were just watching their Queen fight, all started looking around everywhere,
"What are you even saying?"
"Heh, you won't understand…" Alice started snickering. Her words, still full of confidence, "Bloom…
…my beautiful flower!"
"..."
"What—!!!"
And before Queen Adel could wonder what it is that Alice was truly doing, a foot was already suddenly on her right cheek. She wanted to avoid it; but since she still had to remove her grip away from Alice, it was already too late.
There wasn't really any sound as her cheek and the foot made contact—there wasn't even a sound as the air around them seemed to distort as Adel was violently and almost comically flung away spinning in the air. If it wasn't for her people catching her, then she would have probably already been in another star system by now, literally.
"Surprise attack successful!" Alice jumped in the air, even though she was floating already. Her hand, raised in the air as she wanted to high-five the owner of the foot that suddenly attacked Adel. But alas, the only thing Alice received was a light slap on the back of her head,
"O…ow! What was that for, Dee!?"
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me flower!?" And of course, who else would come to Alice's aid but the Diana of her universe, Diana-1, "And we shouldn't even be here in the first place! I do not want to get tangled up with this multiverse fiasco, I am already busy as it is since Bernard died!"
"W… well," Alice looked to the side, "Who told you to follow me, then?"
"I didn't follow you, you dragged me here!"
"Now now, no need to get violent," Alice covered her head, before pointing at Adel, whose hair was being fixed and brushed by her people, "The only one you should enact violence on is that beautiful woman who looks like she bathes 3 times a day!"
"..." Diana-1 stared at Alice like she was some sort of disappointment, before turning to look at Queen Adel, only to see Adel also staring at her with one of her eyebrows curiously raised.
Queen Adel continued to stare at Diana-1 for a few seconds, before turning to look at Diana, who was still kneeling on the floor quietly with a weird calmness on her face.
"Great…" Queen Adel then let out a loud sigh as she shook her head, "Now there are two of you."
"Great…" Diana-1 also sighed as she looked back and forth between Queen Adel and Edith, before completely repeating Adel's words back to her, "Now there are two of you… and you are not even the same person."
"And I see you are also a braggart like your… variant," Adel did not allow herself to be mocked as she raised her head high to look down on Diana-1, even subtly floating in the air to make herself look taller as she walked toward Diana-1, "And you also seem to be the type to involve yourself in matters that do not need your hand in it."
"Well, what can I say," Diana-1 smirked, "Everyone around me tends to be…dull. Speaking of which, the Queen Adel in my world died because of her stupidity; trusting the late King Arthur even though she fully knows how crass and malicious of a man he is. Leaving her poor daughter alone to rule a people she was not ready to lead."
"At least she did not betray and leave her people, unlike you."
"Well, I am not the one who got her people killed for not listening to the scientists that have told you so many times that your planet is dying."
"The only reason my people died is because of that monster," Adel pointed at Riley, who was now being bombarded by kisses from Alice, "And you are trying to protect him! Was he also not the one who killed the themarians of your world!? Have you truly no love for your people!?"
"My only people is her," Diana-1 looked at Alice, who was now talking with the somewhat confused Aerith about something.
"You are scum. If you wish to die for a madman, then so be it."
"Oh no, not at all," Diana-1 raised both her hands as she moved to the side, "If you want to kill the boy, then do it. I am only here because of that disappointment."
"Then leave."
"Nope, that is up to Alice," Diana-1 sighed, "Perhaps you should be the one to consider leaving instead? Based on the energy I am feeling—you are the only one amongst your people that actually have the chance to fight back."
"..." Queen Adel did not really respond and just glanced at the other themarians with her.
"Your daughter already has the same level of energy as you. And the Diana of this world is…" Diana-1 looked at Diana, "...strong. There's also Riley Ross, and now add Alice to that mix."
"You think that we will be defeated? The people that stand before you may be old, some even decrepit—but they are still the finest soldiers of Hel, they will not go down without a fight."
"Oh no," Diana-1 shook her head, "With your number, you could kill everyone here. But at what cost, exactly? Half of your… 10,000 will and can die—and then you still have to deal with the Undeath. You did not trust the scientists of your world, but trust me now…
…just leave and live with what you have."
Chapter 758"Just… leave and live with what I have?"
Perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say to a person that has lost almost all of her people—but no one could really deny Diana-1's words. And judging from their faces, most of the themarians that Queen Adel was with actually agree with Diana-1's words.
Themarians, even before their annihilation, are a closed species; not closed-knit, just closed. Closed from the outside world, closed from the other species of the universe, and even closed from their own family. With their long lives, they have learned to be idle most of their lives—stagnant, completely unchanged by time.
In fact, a majority of the themarians left did not even feel like their species are on the brink of extinction, no. It even felt like there were many more of them than before—because now, they were more active than before and actually moving as a group.
Perhaps Queen Adel also felt the same, but there was a part of her that felt responsible for everything that has happened.
"You were going to let your people die, Queen Adel," Diana-1 seemed to still have a lot to say. This time, however, she wasn't addressing the Queen, but the 10,000 themarians surrounding them.
"At least we would have died on our own terms, along with Theran."
"That is not really on your own terms, is it? You see that woman?" Diana-1 then pointed at Edith, "She and I are the only themarians left in our universe. They were wiped out almost instantly by a Riley Ross on steroids—she was angry, extremely filled with rage to the point that she basically jumped to another universe. But then, she found out that she had people here… people who also lost a lot, and she found hope."
"..." Edith looked at Diana-1; her eyes squinted as she seemed to want to say something. She wanted to tell her that she had no right to presume her thoughts and feelings… but she couldn't, because Diana-1 was right.
"If you choose to fight here…" Diana-1 took in a long and deep breath as she looked Adel straight in the eyes, "...You will kill any hope she has left—any hope you have left."
"It seems you are gravely mistaken on why I am here, Caitlain'Ur from another universe," Queen Adel's feet started to leave the gray floor as her long and silky hair vibrated; creating a snapping noise that almost sounded like a million cicadas rattling,
"I am not here for hope…
…I am here for vengeance."
"..." Everyone turned to look as they could feel the rage of Queen Adel very slowly escaping her body. Hannah, Chihiro, Bernard, and Silvie could all feel some sort of trickle crawling through their skin as they finally physically felt the Queen's wrathful energy.
Chihiro, who was being pinned by Hannah's breasts inside the extremely tightly fit glass cage could not help but let out a forced chuckle.
"Well, I guess I'm not going to be able to reunite with the rest of the Baby Crew. Eh, Hannah? I haven't even been able to talk to Silv yet. Silv!"
"Can… can you not move!?" Hannah, who had been keeping quiet since she couldn't even breathe without her breast being squashed by Chihiro's face, could not help but want to crack the glass or melt it open. But as soon as she does anything, the themarian guarding the two of them quickly steps forward and warns to laser her from head to toe.
Bernard, whose vision, mouth, and ears were covered, could not help but breathe heavily as the Guardian Force inside him started to fluctuate due to the energy being released by Queen Adel. But perhaps the most affected of them all was Silvie.
"It… it hurts," Silvie could not even move as Queen Adel's energy felt like a crushing wave to her. Heavy, almost as if she was trapped in a hardening concrete she couldn't escape. She clasped her chest; her breaths, releasing as gasps as foam started to escape her mouth, "It…"
"Breathe and don't panic," Diana, who was sitting closest to her, looked at her with a gentle smile, "You will get used to it, you just have to bear it for a few minutes and you will be—!!!"
And before Diana could finish her words, her eyes could not help but widen as she saw Queen Adel suddenly move in behind Silvie. And without even any hesitation, she plunged her hand through her chest.
"First we need to get rid of the abomination."
"Silvie!" Aerith's quickly lit up as she saw Silvie being lifted up in the air with her chest open and Adel's arm going through it. She wanted to rush toward her, but as soon as she did so, the other themarians surrounded each of the people from her group; all of them, threatening to kill everyone if she moves.
"S… Silv! Fuck, fuck all of you!" Hannah could not really clearly see what was happening as she couldn't really move her body. But the very edge of her peripheral vision was enough to see the blood flowing from Silvie's chest, Fuck… fuck…
…Chihiro," Hannah then whispered, "Please, do something… you can teleport your way out of here, right? Do something."
"I am," Chihiro breathed out, "But I'm out of SP."
"Out of what?"
"Stamina Points. I sort of used everything when I was trying to kill my variant."
"Fuck you… why did you even turn into a psychopath?" Hannah winced as she sucked in a breath, "You were supposed to be the most normal of us all. Silvie… Silv! Are… are you ali—"
And before Hannah could finish her words, she saw something split into two. It wasn't clear what it was, but from the scream that escaped Aerith's throat… she didn't need to see.
"No, Silv!? Silv!"
"She was innocent!" Aerith roared; grabbing the face of one of the themarians that were blocking her path and pushing it to the side while three more tried stopping her.
"And so were the millions of children you led to death because you trust the wrong people," Adel's voice was cold, incredibly so. Her eyes, however, were even colder as they reflected Silvie's cleaved body… which was still squirming on the floor,
"At least I will give her a chance. If she survives this, then she lives."
"!!!"
A small but loud breath escaped Aerith's breath as she watched as Queen Adel stomped on Silvie's head; her brain, completely mushed as pieces of it scattered everywhere. Her eyeballs, rolling straight toward the side of the glass cage and onto Hannah's vision.
"No… no…"
"...Hannah?" Chihiro could not help but blink a couple of times as several warning signs started to pop up in front of her. Ever since she massacred all the Chihiros in the White Space, Machina has never once alerted her about anything—but now, almost an endless number of windows were popping out as she could feel the heat inside the glass cage starting to rise.
"Shit…" Alice, who was standing beside Riley and casually watching the scene unfold, could not help but blink a couple of times as she looked at everyone, "...This is hardcore. You experience this all the time?"
"Yes," Riley nodded; his eyes, just staring at Silvie's mangled and dismembered body. And judging by her flesh still moving, she was alive. But once again, Queen Adel smashed her regenerating head. Riley then let out a small breath, before finding Professor Riley in the crowd, who quickly looked away as soon as their eyes met.
"Shouldn't… you be doing something?" Alice once again whispered, "Do you want me to do something? I mean, I'll probably freaking die but… I am confident I can wipe out almost half of them. Maybe not, the themarians of your universe seem like they're on steroids or something."
"No," Riley shook his head before turning to look at Hannah, "This is my fault…
"...This is my fault!"
"...Huh?"
And all of a sudden, everyone just stared at Riley as they heard a voice from him that they have never heard before. Even Hannah, who was on the verge of breaking, started to cool down as she heard her brother's voice.
"Queen Adel, you should stop now," Riley took a step forward; his eyes, scanning everyone individually. First at Silvie's regenerating body, then Aerith, Diana, Bernard, Chihiro, and lastly, his sister,
"Everything is my fault."
"I think everyone here knows that, Destroyer," Queen Adel removed her foot away from Silvie's brain matter, causing an almost silent squelching sound to whisper in the air,
"I know who you are, Riley Ross. And I know that your actions now are some sort of charade to manipulate the people around you, and I also know your story—I have learned everything from Professor Riley. I know the things you hide, even from yourself. I know the people you have victimized due to your missing compassion…
…but you do not lack emotion. You are human, Riley Ross. It's there hidden deep within you, and I will drag it out so you could experience the pain and suffering of all those you have tormented."
"..." Riley once again turned to look at Professor Riley, only to see him awkwardly chuckling and scratching his head while still holding Ahor Zai's avatar.
"You took the children of Theran away," Queen Adel raised her hand. And as she did so, the themarians filling the dome separated, making way for a group of themarians that marched to the center of the dome—one of them, dragging an unconscious girl by her long white hair. And without even any regard, he threw the girl away, who rolled violently straight in front of Queen Adel,
"And so, I will take your child, Riley Ross."
"Hm," Riley squinted his eyes as he stared at Karina, "I forgot she existed, Queen Adel."
"Oh… I will make you remember her," a smile crawled on Queen Adel's face, "And I will make you remember this moment for eternity. Your wish to die...
...will haunt you even more than it already has."
Chapter 759Hannah and the others have still not moved on from what just happened to Silvie. But seeing as her body was already regenerating and the Queen seemed to have absolutely disregarded her presence already, they could not help but feel slightly relieved. Of course, they all still sympathized with Silvie—but as a themarian, this wouldn't be the first time her head would be smashed and her body will be cleaved in half.
"W… what the fuck!?" Hannah, who had already calmed herself down, could not help but once again hesitate with her breaths,
"Why… why the fuck are you even threatening and trying to hurt a girl that's not even 10 years old!? Have you gone fucking insane in the head!? Even though she looks like that, she's just a baby!"
"Insane…?" Queen Adel kneeled on the floor, caressing the face of Karina before just carelessly grabbing her face and lifting her in the air, "I may not be native with the language you speak, but I know enough that you and I have a very different definition of the word. But then again, what should I expect from the sister of a madman and a daughter of an even madder woman."
"Just let the fucking girl go, okay? She… she wasn't even there when your people died. She's a literal baby, what the fuck are you—"
And before Hannah could finish her words, the glass box they were in was suddenly ripped apart by the themarian guarding her and Chihiro. She was getting ready to fight and resist at any moment; but even as she and Chihiro gasped for breath, the themarian did nothing and just ordered them to kneel, stay… and watch.
And so, Hannah just took this chance to finally assess the situation—only to almost be drowned by the sight of an ocean of themarians. She didn't notice before since she was immediately put in the glass box with Chihiro as soon as her cage was thrown from the other universe, but now that she had a clear view of their number, any thoughts of fighting slightly disappeared from her. She then took a quick glance at Silvie, and aside from her flesh still visible, her body could be considered to already be fully regenerated.
She then looked at her mother, and she only had her eyes closed while still carrying a calm expression on her face despite everything happening around them. Bernard… was still completely out of the loop as his entire head was covered, not even allowed to speak. She then glanced at Riley for a few seconds, before focusing her attention back to Adel.
"Let her go, please," Hannah then took a small step forward; her arms raised to show the themarians she wasn't going to do anything, "You… you already have all of us hostage, you don't need to hurt anyone else."
Hannah was very careful with her steps; her eyes, watching the unconscious Karina as her arms sway as Queen Adel very lightly moved her hand to the side to return Hannah's glare.
"Professor Riley is right," Queen Adel smiled as a small chuckle escaped her unparted lips, "Hannah Ross, Riley Ross's sister is crass, foulmouthed, dimwitted, and extremely dumb."
"What…?" Hannah's left eyebrow instantly raised as she heard Adel's words. But after a few seconds, her eyebrow turned to face Riley, "What the fuck?"
"I did not say that, my clone did," Riley quickly pointed at Professor Riley, who was now hiding in the crowd of themarians, "But it is true, sister."
"What…!? You fuck—"
"But despite all of this…" And before Hannah could finish her words, Queen Adel continued to talk as she also very slowly started to approach Hannah while still carrying Karina by her head,
"...Out of all the people that Riley knows, you will be the first to jump into danger to rescue someone. But you won't be the first, because my foolish daughter is faster than you."
"Look, lady. I know you're mad and you have every fucking right to be. Fuck, no one's even going to blame you if you really croak all of us here and now," Hannah breathed out, "But leave the child out of this."
"Have all of you truly forgotten that your brother subtly manipulated all the events that led to the death of themarian children?"
"Wait, wait, wait…!" Hannah showed both her palms to the Queen, gesturing to her to stop as she heard a slight squeeze coming from Karina's face, "You… you said it so yourself, he only subtly manipulated the events—it wasn't him that actually pulled the trigger. In fact, if…if you fucking think about it, why even blame my brother? Do you really think that the other Elders wouldn't have done the same if his female clone did not sway them?"
"..."
"Based on what I saw, the rest of the universe are so fucking afraid of themarians. Do you truly believe that they would just let all of you go?" This time, Hannah was not looking at Queen Adel, but rather Aerith, "I'm sorry, Megawoman—but the plan was flawed from the start. Even if my brother's clone wasn't in the picture. If they—or she, I don't really know what she is—but even if she doesn't exist, your people would have still been killed…
…because you gave the key, Megawoman. You trusted the Elders too much and you told them how to weaken you and they used that."
"What…?" Queen Adel's grip on Karina's face slightly loosened as she turned to glance at her daughter. Before Karina could slip from her grasp, however, she once again held onto it tight,
"Is this true, Aerith? Did you… really tell those people how to kill us?"
"No…" Aerith reluctantly breathed out as she looked back and forth between Hannah and Adel, "...It wasn't… It wasn't… that wasn't—It was the only… it was the only way I could get them to let our people leave and live freely."
"Oh, child…" Queen Adel closed her eyes as an exhausted sigh escaped her lips. But after a few seconds, she shook her head, "...I am not here to put blame on anyone anymore. My daughter's kindness and trust in other people has always been her undoing. And as I said, I am only here to make Riley Ross suffer—he is still the main perpetrator in all of this."
"If that is true, then let the child go, please…" Hannah glanced at Aerith, extremely remorseful about what she just said to her. After all, Megawoman is her hero, she has always been, and she always will be. And the only reason she said what she said was to try and confuse Queen Adel, and put her attention anywhere else, "...And if you really, really want to hurt Riley, hurting his daughter is not the way to do it, Queen Adel. My brother doesn't even care for the poor girl. It's me…
…Just me."
"Oh…?" Queen Adel let out an amused smile. She glanced at Riley as soon as she heard Hannah's words, only to see his eyes slightly squinted as he stared at his sister.
"Hurt me, and you hurt my brother," Hannah breathed in, "At least I think so. But he better be. Because if not, then fuck—I will fucking kill him myself again."
"Jeezus," Alice leaned closer to Riley and whispered into his ear, "What's up with your sister? She's a little loco, no?"
"Alice, you're not one to talk—you and her are almost the same which almost makes me doubt if my variant really gave birth to her," Diana-1 rolled her eyes as she heard Alice's words.
"Well… maybe she's actually our child and not Bernie's?"
"...I did not think of that," Diana-1 squinted her eyes as she stared at Diana.
"..."
"You really are one brave individual." And while everyone else was busy watching the scene unfold, Queen Adel's loud and almost chuckling sigh once again whispered in the air, "But you don't have to worry, Starforged."
"Star what…?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as Queen Adel looked her in the eye. And if she just looked at the others' expressions, she would have probably seen Diana finally opening her eyes and actually looking at Queen Adel, "The fuck are you—"
"You don't have to worry," Queen Adel repeated her words, "After I am done with Riley's child, you will follow her to eternal dea—"
And before Queen Adel could finish her words, a loud rumble suddenly drummed and thundered throughout the entire gray dome. It was then followed by a tremble, a tremble that caused the entirety of Ahor Zai and the dark expanse of space around it to distort.
"You were right, Hannah Ross," a smirk crawled on Queen Adel's face as she once again looked at Riley, only to see him also glaring at her; his eyes, filled with absolutely nothing at all. Almost as if he was looking at someone that shouldn't exist at all,
"Your brother cares for you very deeply. You… and my daughter."
And as Queen Adel uttered those words, the tremor resounding across Ahor Zai became even stronger—almost deafening, in fact.
"I do not really care about the others, I do not even care about this child. She is just an accessory I—" Queen Adel turned to look at the unconscious Karina…
…only to see her eyes open from the gaps between her fingers, also looking back at her.
"W…what's happening?" Karina's trembling and muffled words seeped from the edges of Queen Adel's palm, "Where… where am I? Mom…? Mom…!? Aunt Silvie!?"
Karina's eyes then pointed down as she saw Silvie lying on the floor surrounded by her own blood, "Aunt… Aunt Silvie…?"
Karina's eyes then started moving everywhere, looking at everyone before they settled on Diana, who was kneeling on the floor with her head down.
"Grandma…? What…
…What's happening? What…" Karina's eyes returned to Queen Adel, "Did…
…you do this?"
And if everyone wasn't so busy listening to Karina's words, they would have probably noticed the subtle smile of relief on Diana's face.
Themarians have always been on the top of the food chain in the universe—they were the apex, the master race. They were the highest species...
…were.
Chapter 760VR 760 A Glimpse Of the D
Diana Ross believes that the universe will always have a way to balance itself. Always, no matter what. This was the thought that made her want to create a higher species than the themarians in the first place.
The themarians hide themselves in their dying planet from the rest of the universe because they were too strong to interact with them, at least that was the ideology passed down. They have looked down upon the others, treating them as nothing but space trash.
But if Diana creates a higher species stronger than them, the themarians will ultimately have no choice but to start leaving Theran. Either by their own volition, or the rest of the universe that treated them as gods would finally start asking them for help.
Either way, they will be forced to act and finally start discovering a world out of Theran.
Diana traveled the universe for thousands of years, moving to different dying worlds to try and create this supposed higher species. But alas, even after more than a hundred worlds were destroyed, she was unsuccessful—she was starting to lose hope. Until, that is…
…she found Earth.
Earth was primitive when she found it, some of their weapons were still crafted from iron. But then, some of them did not even need a weapon—they had abilities, unique abilities that transcended anything that Diana had seen throughout her travels.
They were different from the rest of the universe, they were even different from themselves.
But the only problem was that the planet and its people were young; barely even out of its infancy. Diana was not going to be able to experiment on them. And so, she chose to wait—wait and watch them grow; mingling and meddling here and there, but not too much.
That was perhaps her mistake. Because as she lived with the humans, the themarian side of her died slowly but surely. She didn't realize it herself, but she has grown attached to the humans. Their culture, their way of life, their people… and at the end, a single person.
A boy.
A boy that did not have the abilities of the superhumans. Diana found herself attracted to the intellect he showed; an intellect that far surpasses her own—a boy that just knows how things work.
She once showed him a Themarian artifact, and he was able to reverse engineer it in less than half a day, and then create a better version of it by the end of the day. Diana was extremely fascinated by the boy. The boy was lazy, however, extremely so.
Most of the time, he just chooses to shut off his mind and do senseless things. But he grew up. And as he grew older, Diana's fascination soon turned into affection.
The boy turned into a man, and they fell in love. Diana had slightly pushed aside her life-long mission and decided to switch her priority to actually living, even if it was just for a while.
She and the man had a child, a beautiful baby girl. But perhaps like her mother and father, the daughter was cursed by her overpowering abilities, forcing Diana and the man she loved to make a move. A move that slightly caused her and the man to slightly grow apart from each other.
Even then, however, Diana was already too close to the humans; even gaining a friend that she could consider perhaps the closest person to her. And soon, this person asked her for a ridiculous favor—a child.
A child born from a single parent; abnormal, but extremely joyful. But then tragedy struck, and Diana took it upon herself to take care of her best friend's son—who she turned out to be the most powerful being amongst the humans.
Perhaps not a human entirely, but something different… something more.
And just like that, not even meaning to, Diana was able to create a species higher than the themarians… but she also grew attached to the boy—and perhaps it was for the best, as the boy turned out to be… really different.
And so, once again, Diana continued to live her life as a normal mother to her children, while sneakily still indulging herself in research here and there—the plan she set for herself continues, albeit slowly.
And then, came the time when her children were old enough, separating from her and living by themselves in the Academy. Her husband too, started to become busy, leaving her all alone which gave her all the time she needed to fully commit to her research again.
This time, she went off-world, going to one of the hundreds of research bases she had scattered throughout the Known Universe–and it was then that she discovered that the death of Theran was nearer than she thought… and so, once again, she disappeared into her research all while maintaining the facade of a normal mother.
…or perhaps the facade has become her real one. But either way, she did not let her identity crisis cloud her judgment. She needed to act fast, very fast… but all her efforts were in vain.
Until finally, a chance presented itself in the form of Katherine Reads. Since Diana has already grown so attached to her son, she never once thought of using him as a way to lure out the themarians—but a child from him?
Diana promised herself that she wouldn't let herself get attached. And so, she enacted the plan—she made it so that Katherine would be pregnant and carry the higher species she had always dreamed of creating.
And she did—she created Karina, boosting and hastening her growth as she was losing time. Whether or not Karina was undying like her son was yet to be determined, but she was strong; abnormally so.
But alas…
…Diana also got attached to the girl.
And so, Diana just let all the cogs move by themselves, allowing fate to decide everything.
And it did, and now they were here.
But still, the fact remains.
Karina is a new species higher than the themarians. Stronger, smarter, just… better.
Well… at least she should be.
"Did… did you do all of this? Did you… hurt aunt Silvie…?"
"..." Queen Adel could not help but squint her eyes as she felt Karina's tears trailing down her hand. Soon, however, Queen Adel felt nothing from her hand at all as Karina suddenly dropped to the floor. Queen Adel was slightly confused at first as she didn't let go of the child, but as Adel looked at her hand… she found that it was no longer there.
"Hm…?" Queen Adel pulled her hand back, watching it regenerate before glancing at Karina, who was now crying almost uncontrollably; wiping her tears while she sat clumsily on the floor.
"You dare do that to the Queen!?"
"No, stand down!"
One of the female themarians close to them rushed toward Karina. Queen Adel ordered for her to stop, but it was already too late as her hand was already threatening to rip Karina's head off.
Queen Adel was going to stop her physically, but as soon as she was within the arm's reach of Karina, she found her flesh suddenly being ripped apart—like her arm was just some dried leaf being ripped apart.
Fortunately for Queen Adel, she was already expecting something to happen as she quickly retrieved her arm back. Unfortunately, however, the same could not be said the same for the female themarian that rushed toward the crying Karina.
And with her speed, it happened in an instant.
She just… disappeared. At first, her ashes were left. But as the ashes snowed down even closer to Karina, any trace of her disappeared before any part of her could regenerate; ensuring her eternal death.
Karina did not seem to notice this, however, as after she was done wiping her tears, she quickly crawled her way to the still-unconscious Silvie.
"A… aunt Silv? Are you… are you okay?"
Everyone could really only just watch as Karina very gently lifted Silvie's head, placing it on her lap as she gently tapped her cheek,
"Aunt Silv… please, please wake up! You have to wake up!"
"Karina, she's alive."
And finally, Diana, who had kept still all this time, stood up from the floor with her hands still behind her. The themarians guarding her did not even think to stop her, as they were still shocked by what they had just witnessed.
"But she needs to be hospitalized."
"She… she's alive?" A small smile crawled on Karina's face as she heard her grandmother's words.
As for Aerith, Diana-1, Edith, and Queen Adel, all of them had confused expressions on their faces.
…Hospitalized? As long as a themarian still had a chunk of flesh left, or even a single cell, they will regenerate completely healed in just a matter of seconds; sometimes even less than.
Silvie was going to wake up soon—no, she was actually already awake, already realizing what Diana's plan was.
"..." Queen Adel squinted her eyes for a few seconds, before also finally realizing what was happening, "Caitlain…
…what did you do?"
"What should have happened a very long time ago, Your Highness," Diana looked Queen Adel in the eyes, "Giving the themarians a chance to experience what it is like for the other beings in the universe."
"..."
"Mortal."
And with those words, Karina very slowly stood up; her eyes, looking at each of the themarians surrounding them.
And there and then, the themarians felt something they haven't before.
Fea—"
"Uhmm, excuse me…" Karina then raised her hand,
"...Can you please let us go? My aunt needs help!"
"..."
"..."
Stronger, smarter… just better.
But not just yet.
Chapter 761"Please… my aunt needs help!"
"..."
And so, the chaotic and nerve-wracking atmosphere surrounding Ahor Zai suddenly vanished as silence took over. Most of the themarians were now just looking at Karina; their mind, winding back to when one of them just suddenly vanished into thin air when she got near to the white-haired girl.
Most of them wanted to rush at her but were completely aloof to the point that none of them moved.
"Just do what the girl wants, Your Highness."
And of course, Diana did not let go of this chance as she immediately approached Karina; standing by her side as she looked Queen Adel straight in the eyes, "The other Diana is right, cherish the fact that you still have people left—none of these people should be standing here in the first place."
"What…?" Queen Adel's eyebrows lowered; her limbs, now completely healed as she returned Diana's glare.
"They are only alive because of him," Diana then pointed at Professor Riley, who quickly got out from hiding as someone finally shed light on his… good deeds, "The fact is, you really were going to let them all die. I could even stretch it as far as saying that…
…Riley Ross saved the themarians."
"Those words even dare escape your treacherous mouth!?" Queen Adel's hair once again started to buzz. She was about to approach Diana but saw Karina looking at her with eyes filled with suspicion.
"Treacherous…?" Diana, however, very gently pulled Karina behind her as she stood close to Queen Adel; their eyes meeting at the same level,
"Be careful with your words, Your Highness. You do not get to judge what I have done when you have not even existed yet when I started my efforts of saving our people. You have no idea of the lengths I have journeyed to, the things that I have sacrificed. Tell me, Queen Adel…
…besides almost executing your daughter, what do you know about sacrifice?"
"You—"
"In fact…" Diana then raised her voice as her feet very slowly left the floor; her eyes, now reflecting the 9,999 themarians filling the dome of Ahor Zai, "...If all of us are not mistaken here, you seem to be executing everyone that tries to save the people of Theran. Me, Princess Aerith…
…and now Riley Ross, who is the only reason that any of you are here right now. Tell me, Queen Adel—what hatred do you bear upon your own race that you would antagonize the people trying to save it?"
"..." Queen Adel did not really say anything and just looked at her people, only to see them looking at each other, before looking at her with their eyes squinted. But of course, after a few seconds, they all looked down—after all, she was still their Queen.
"Freaking hell, Dee. Your other version is hot as freak," Alice slid away from Riley; whispering words that could be heard by everyone as she sneakily approached Diana-1, "You think she's like us?"
"What do you mean 'us'?" Diana-1 rolled her eyes, "Anyway, I think this is over. I'm sorry, Queen Aerith—I don't think your wish for revenge is going to get fulfilled here."
"Revenge is a curse that eats away at anyone who holds it, Dr. Caitlain'Ur," Edith closed her eyes before taking in a deep breath. And as she released it, she opened her eyes and walked toward Diana and Queen Adel,
"I feel completely demoralized by the events that have transpired and the words that I hear, Your Highness. And although my heart seeks nothing but to brutalize the person that has eradicated my people…
…I believe starting over is the best course of action."
"How can we start over when our futures are already gone?" Queen Adel breathed out.
"I am with child."
"Holy shit."
"With… child?" The frown on Queen Adel faintly vanished as she looked at Edith's belly, "With—"
"With a themarian. I carry a full-blooded themarian child," Edith let out a short sigh as she gently held her belly.
"No…" The buzzing of Queen Adel's hair instantly stopped; any trace of rage in her steps, no longer to be seen or heard as she approached Edith and kneeled in front of her; closing her eyes as she pointed her ear at Edith's belly. And then, after a few seconds, a small gasp escaped Adel's lips,
"It is true. It's true!" Queen Adel immediately stood up to look at her people, "My daughter is with child!"
"..." Aerith, who had kept her silence in fear of making things worse, could not help but let out a quiet breath as she looked at Queen Adel; not knowing how to react to the words she just uttered. She got a glimpse of what it would have been like if she did not leave Theran.
If Aerith came back to Theran carrying Gary, would her mother also react the same way?
"Hm…?" Aerith then looked to the side as she felt a hand patting her shoulder, only to see Hannah shaking her head at her, "Thank you, Hannah. But I am already too old to feel melancholic about this."
"The fuck is that nonsense," Hannah rolled her eyes, "I don't think none of us will ever be too old to want our parent's love, Megawoman. But then again…
…you are a thousand years old."
"Is that it, then?" Chihiro carefully joined the two, "Is this a happy ending or what?"
"For them, it's just beginning," Aerith breathed out, "And also for you, Goldenfox. We might need your help for what's to come."
"Fuck… don't tell me there's something else we need to know, Megawoman?" Hannah groaned in frustration.
"Yes," Aerith's eyes did not leave Queen Adel and the others, "We might have kicked the hornet's nest. We shouldn't have opened the portals in the first place."
"Can't we just deal with things one at a fucking time?" Hannah wanted to scratch her head, "We just actually ended something peacefully for once!"
"I for one, think this ended freaking lame," Alice approached the group while shaking her head, "I was expecting all of us kkkhh."
"..." Hannah and Aerith looked at Alice oddly while she stuck out her tongue and gestured to her neck, while Chihiro just smiled at her.
"I meant I was expecting all of us to freaking die in the most brutal way possible. Well, at least all of you. My son and I are immortal."
"Yes, Ms. Phoenix—we knew what it meant," Aerith sighed, "And I don't think you're immortal."
"What? Pft, of course, I am," Alice scoffed, "Why else am I called Ms. Phoenix in this world if I'm not?"
"...No. You literally turned insane and died."
"Now, how would you know if you weren't there? I might be immortal."
"No, you're not," Chihiro was the one to answer Alice's question.
"Now, how would you know?" Alice squinted her eyes as she looked at Chihiro from head to toe, "Wait… You're Japanese—are you that ice lady that seemed to be obsessed with Riley, but not so much now?"
"How the fuck do you even know that?" Hannah looked at Alice.
"Riley told me," Alice shrugged, "He is in denial, but he has a harem. Pretty cool, eh? Even managed to snag the step-sister and Megawoman."
"I'm not her step-sister, I'm her sister."
"Even more taboo, feisty."
"Aerith, enough bothering the otherworlders. And why do you keep disappearing," Diana-1 breathed out her frustration as Alice seemed to be talking with everyone—she was even talking to a themarian earlier, "We should return to our world before the mood once again turns so—"
"Ah, aunt Silvie is awake!" And before Diana-1 could finish her words, the rest of the group all rushed to Karina's side as soon as they saw Silvie very slowly regaining consciousness.
"There will be no more battle here today."
And as they tend and check Silvie's condition, Queen Adel's voice once again resounded throughout the dome,
"But do not mistake this to be over—Riley Ross will forever be the enemy of the themarians. For as long as my species lives, we will not rest until we find a way to get rid of you."
"I would appreciate that very much, Queen Adel," Riley bowed his head, "And I permit you to take Professor Riley with you to learn even more about me."
"Hm…" Queen Adel only glanced at Riley, before she started floating in the air, "Themarians, we are done here."
"Where are you going to go, Your Highness?" Diana asked as the other themarians started flying away, "New Theran still exists, I built it for our people."
"Everywhere," Queen Adel muttered as she looked at Edith, "We'll find our place in this universe as you have, Cait—no, Diana Ross."
"And what about your daughter?" Diana started freeing Bernard while looking at Aerith, who has been staring at Adel since earlier even while speaking with the others.
"She hasn't been my daughter for a long time. She… is one of you," Queen Adel breathed in. She seemed to want to say something, but just shook her head before just flying up—the ceiling opening up for them as Professor Riley finally let go of Ahor Zai's avatar.
Before Ahor Zai could drop to the floor, however, Riley caught it.
"Are you alright, Ahor Zai?"
[Yes, this avatar is irrelevant, Mr. Riley. The original one is with Quadley in the Codex.]
"Hm."
"The fuck is that…?" Hannah quickly left the others to join Riley, making sure he wasn't up to something.
[Greetings, Ms. Hannah. I am Ahor Zai, Quadley's best friend.]
"...Who? Why are you making friends with the weirdest things, Riley?"
[Ahor Zai is not useless, I know everything,] Ahor Zai's avatar left Riley's arm, [Ahor Zai is just waiting for Mr. Riley to give the signal to activate the EDP.]
"..." All the themarians still left in the room all looked at Ahor Zai as soon as they heard the words that came out of it.
"EDP? What are you saying, Ahor Zai?" Diana was the first to approach; not even completely freeing Bernard as she questioned the avatar.
[...] Ahor Zai did not really say anything and just looked at Riley.
"Riley…?" This time, Aerith approached him. Diana-1 also wanted to ask Riley about it, but she could not help but halt her steps as she saw the smile crawling on his face.
"Well…" Riley softly chuckled,
"...I thought it would be funny if they died helplessly after giving a speech or two."
"..."
"I am not anymore, of course
***
"I heard something is happening in Ahor Zai, Elder Adaeze? Did they finally find Riley Ross?"
"I don't know, but I do not think it is that serious. Diana has contacted me saying that everything is resolved."
Somewhere in the expanse of the universe, Elder S'adar and Empress were overlooking a vast empty field.
"Remind me what we are doing here again? Don't we have like... minions to deal with this stuff?" Empress sighed, "We have more important stuff to deal with, like the multiverse fiasco."
"Oh, this is more important stuff, Elder Adaeze...
...this is where we are going to hold the next tournament."
"...That is really the definition of unimportant."
"Oh...
...but I have a feeling this one is going to be unexpected."
Chapter 762"All in favor of restricting access to the Dark Prison?"
"All in favor."
"All in favor of the Themarian Rights Act?"
"All in favor."
"All in favor of extending the Supervirus Non-human Prevention Act?"
"I still think it is selfish to not bless the other species with special abilities."
"We have been over this, it is an unpredictable disease with an unpredictable outcome."
"All in favor."
"All in favor of the budget alloted to surveilling Riley Ross at all times, at all places, at any given circumstances?"
"All in favor!"
"All in favor of letting Queen Edith, the variant of Princess Aerith of New Theran, stay in our universe?"
"All in favor."
"All in favor of letting Hanamichi Chihiro, a variant but also the reincarnation of Hanamichi Chihiro of the Earth from our universe but from a different universe, stay in our universe?"
"Who…?"
"All in favor."
"All in favor of the budget alloted for the Norinlad-Human-Evaniel Unknown Exploration?"
"It's Evaniel-Norinlad-Human Unknown Exploration."
"Queen Vania, it's just a name."
"All in favor."
"All in favor of the budget alloted for the Tournament?"
"All in fav—"
"Now, hold on a minute. Since when did we put a budget for the Tournament? I thought that was a private entity?"
A few weeks after the chaotic events that had transpired in the confines of Ahor Zai, the Common Council were now having a meeting regarding the different changes that have occured ever since their last meeting—which is a lot.
The meeting has been going on smoothly and was about to conclude. That is, until, Elder S'adar suddenly added something that was not in the scope of what they have all discussed.
Empress also almost raised her hand, but quickly noticed Elder S'adar's… ulterior motives.
"Wait… Don't tell me the Common Council has been sponsoring this so-called Tournament from the start?" Empress stood up from her chair; her eyes scanning the rest of the Elders.
"Well… It's more like our predecessors created the Tournament in the first place?" Elder S'adar just shrugged; his long monkey-like tail, wagging in excitement, "We hold it every… 5 Earth years."
"Just leave it, Human Elder," the queen of Evaniels, Queen Vania, raised her hand to speak, "This tradition has existed before our time, we have no right to abolish it."
"Yes, we do," Empress moved away from her seat and walked to the center of the dome, "That is why we're here. What use do we have if we're not going to change anything? Why are we even here if we're just going to follow the rules and laws of those who came before us?"
"I know my use, Elder Adaeze," Queen Vania also appeared in the center of the dome, "But I would get why you would be confuse—you have no use, after all."
"No… use?" Empress's left eyebrow quickly rose, "Tell me again whose species was present when the themarians took over Ahor Zai? And tell me who prevented them?"
"Please, we have all seen the footage. The themarians went away on their own."
"Oh, I wasn't talking about that—I was talking about the fact that you were also in Ahor Zai during that moment, Queen Vania," Empress smirked, "And you chose to hide…
…and here I thought running was your species' special ability."
"And infidelity is yours."
"You—"
"What? What are you going to do!? You did not even attend my birthday last year."
"I told you, I was needed home! It is not like I am fast like your people, we perceive time differently!"
"Right, like your people did not fix warpspeed travel. Wait, you did!"
"..."
And while Empress and Queen Vania argued in their own world, the rest of the Elders all just looked at each other with blank expressions on their faces. And after a few seconds, they all just nodded their heads and started leaving one by one.
Elder Apo was the first to leave; his golden glimmer, glittering in the air as he quietly just floated away.
Elder S'adar was also about to leave, but he noticed that Elder Tedi's hologram has been quiet the entire time they were having a meeting.
"Are you not going to leave, Elder Tedi?" Elder S'adar jumped and sat beside Tedi's hologram; his spiky hair, slightly bouncing as he did so, "Wait…
…are you even here? Or are you just pretending to be here using the hologram? That's a little sneaky, if I say so my—"
[I'm here,] Elder Tedi's hologram turned to look at Elder S'adar, [I am just thinking whether or not the proposed budget for surveilling Riley Ross is truly necessary.]
"...You're still thinking about that?"
[Yes.]
"But we've discussed this many times, Elder Tedi," Elder S'adar let out a small chuckle, "You're not going to be the one to guard him."
[I still think we would save a lot of our budget by doing that,] Elder Tedi shook her head, [And by doing so, we would also progress a lot faster with the Unknown Exploration, as Riley Ross's existence is definitely deeply connected to the existence of the universe itself.]
"...I honestly think the exploration is useless, Elder Tedi," Elder S'adar stood up, "With the existence of the multiverse coming to light. Don't you think exploring the Unknown is…
…boring?"
[Absolutely not,] Elder Tedi shook her head again, [I would go even as far as saying that the multiverse even made our universe even more mysterious. The Primordials—how do they exist? And how do they see the multiverses as just one single plane? Do the multiverse just exist beside each other, and the primordials are just beings that are bigger than the universe itself? Like we are in some sort of aquarium? Or are we perhaps just… programs? Don't you think it's—Elder S'adar?]
Elder Tedi blinked, and Elder S'adar was no longer anywhere to be found. And so, Tedi just took one final glance at the arguing Empress and Queen Vania, before just letting out a sigh and vanishing.
As for the two ladies, well—they would probably be inside the dome for a while.
***
"Okay, you can move now, Riley."
"Hm."
"What is it, what does it say, Mom?"
"We'll know in a few seconds."
Somewhere below the Ross' Residence, beside Whiteking's secret bunker, Diana's themarian ship was now also parked underground.
Hannah and Diana were inside the ship, in a silver room, looking at a large screen which contained some things that completely do not make sense to Hannah. It did not matter, however, as Hannah was not even looking at the screen, but rather at her mother.
"So, what does it say…?"
"...He's still sick," Diana let out a small and very deep breath as she shook her head, "Are you sure that when the other Diana tested you, she did not see anything?"
"No, I am sure of it, adoptive mother," Riley approached the two while putting on his shirt—as he just finished being fully scanned by Diana's computer, "It would seem my mind degrades in this universe."
"No, not quite," Diana shook her head, "You are sick, but it is not regressing as I thought it would—you were worse during the 5 years you and Aerith were missing."
"..." Riley's eyes squinted as he looked Diana in the eyes, "You are aware of the reason why, adoptive mother?"
"A working theory," Diana waved her hand, causing the screen to turn into a hologram and scatter around the ship—and once again, the language did not make sense to Hannah and Riley,
"At first, I thought that Aerith's… suicide caused your mind to deteriorate, but that wasn't the cause at all—it is this."
Diana then pointed at a hologram that looked similar to a DNA strand.
"What are we supposed to be looking at here?" Hannah walked around the hologram.
"The Supervirus. Well, at least it is supposed to be—it is different in your brother's case since he could have different variants of the virus at one time, but that's not important," Diana shook her head as she too, started circling the hologram,
"The Supervirus is causing Riley's mind to deteriorate."
"The fuck? I thought whatever Riley has came from Alice?"
"It did, it does. But something in the Supervirus is triggering Riley's illness."
"But Riley's been using his abilities since forever."
"I suspect only certain abilities affect his mind. The power he received from Alice is one of them," Diana looked at Riley, "But the ability that amplified this is—"
"Paige's abilities," Riley answered for Diana.
"Yes," Diana nodde, "It puts a lot of stress in your mind. It happened to Alice too—she loved you, but taking care of you was something she… wasn't really equipped to handle."
"...What?" Hannah's face could not be painted as she looked at her mother, "You're not serious, right? Stress? Riley's literally one of the strongest beings in the entire universe and you're telling me…
…that stress is killing his brain? You've got to be fucking kidding me, Mom."
"It's a working theory," Diana just let out a sigh as she waved her hand, making all the holograms disappear, "But with Riley, anything is possible—he is connected to a primordial, after all. We will learn more once everything is—"
"Yup, it's stress."
And before Diana could finish her words, two individuals suddenly entered the room—Alice and Diana-1.
"Wha—How did you get inside the ship?"
"Uhm, her…?" Alice pointed at Diana-1.
"I apologize. We were going to knock but Anna just let us inside," Diana-1 let out a sigh as she started looking around.
"Anyway, it's true," Alice just rolled her eyes as she approached Riley, "I avoid stress as much as possible. Like, as much as possible. It's the reason why I dropped out of college."
"You didn't go to college, Alice."
"High school," Alice pointed at Riley, "Anyway, leave these stuck-up intellectuals by themselves and let's go somewhere else, son."
"I am not your son, Alice Lane," Riley shook his head, "But where do you want to go?"
"Charlotte Lane," Alice shrugged, "Mine died early, so…
…why don't we talk to your grandma, yes?"
Chapter 763"Your grandmother is still in the Academy? I thought she would have left by now with everything that has happened so far. And also, why didn't anyone just ask her questions in the first place? If you want answers regarding Riley, then Charlotte is one of the people to go to. But then again, even with my hundreds of thousands of other lives, Charlotte barely exists—and by that, I mean she lives a very secluded and quiet life away from the news."
"I do not remember you being this talkative, Chihiro."
"That's because I wasn't fluent in English yet when you knew me, and now I am sort of fluent in all sorts of languages, even not from Earth."
"Are you sure she's not the crazy Japanese chick you told me about? And why is she even here with us? Shouldn't you be in like some sort of rehab center or something?"
"I teleported away. I don't really need the rehab, I am completely aware of how crazy I may seem to other people—because I am. Being forced to live a countless number of lives of countless different people kind of does that to you."
"Huh, I like the confidence and self-awareness. Anyway, Mega Academy… this is weird—I can't really imagine a school like this dedicated to Diana."
Mega Academy. With it now existing for almost a decade, how it was when Riley and the others first enrolled in it existed no more—instead of an invisible dome protecting it, it was now wide in the open without even a protective wall protecting its perimeter.
And now, from the outside Alice, Riley, and Chihiro were approaching it in a car, with Alice the one driving. And as the view of the Academy got closer and bigger, Alice and Chihiro could not help but let out a small exclamation of awe.
"I've lived more than a billion lives, but your universe truly is the most special one, Riley Ross," Chihiro stuck out her head to get a better look, "Something here just happened…
…right."
"It is probably because I am here, Chihiro," Riley nodded his head as he just relaxed on his seat, "And I thought you have a Mega Academy in your world, Alice?"
"We do," Alice shrugged, "But it was made by Diana herself to promote young minds and all that—honestly, she just wanted to see if another Bernard could come out from us mere humans."
"Are you and Diana lovers, Alice?" Riley casually asked.
"Sort of, we're best friends," Alice did not really seem to mind the question as she just continued driving without any hint of pause, "Well, more like I'm her only friend and she is my only friend."
"Hm," Riley glanced at Alice from the rear-view mirror, "I believe it is the same here."
"Oh, it's the same in all the universes," Chihiro returned back to her seat, "If Diana and Alice exist together in one universe, they are bound to always be friends."
"Huh, how about that?" Alice softly chuckled, "I knew she wouldn't survive without me. In the worlds you've been to, sweetie, how many variants of me are insane?"
"We don't really get to interact that much, but one—here," Chihiro looked at Riley, "This is the only universe where you truly went insane."
"I guess we know the reason for that," Alice once again let out a small chuckle, "But do you know what I found weird? I probably wanted a child because Diana had one—but considering there are a lot of universes out there where he and Bernard, yuck, have a child, then why is this the only universe where… I wanted to have a child?"
"You do not want to have children, Alice?" Riley asked.
"Freaking no," Alice scoffed, "I mean, I like you now—but I would have probably thrown you when you were a baby. It's just not for me, you know? Babies shit everywhere, they cry to get your attention. But you? I'd probably adopt you, Riley."
"That would be a somewhat eccentric set-up, Alice," Riley nodded, "The Alice Lane of this world is my biological mother, and then I was adopted by Diana Ross. If I were to be adopted again by an Alice Lane of another universe, would that not be somewhat confusing in the family registry?"
"Hm," Alice shrugged, "Anyway, do we just enter this or what?"
Both Alice and Chihiro slightly leaned their heads to the side to get a better look at the road in front of them. And true enough, there truly was nothing protecting the Academy—the road just leads directly into it.
There were, of course, however, security guards.
"Please roll down your windows. Do you have a car pass, or are you here as a gue—!!!"
It took one glance from the guard before he immediately took a step back. His eyes, just staring at the people inside the car in front of him.
"What's up?" Alice made a peace sign with her hand, "We're here to see my mother from another Alice. And by that I mean Charlotte Lane—we were told she's still here."
The guard continued to stare at Riley Ross, before just very slowly calling someone from his radio. His words were inaudible, but judging by the faces he was making, he also wasn't sure himself if he understood whatever it was he was saying.
But after a few seconds, he just turned to look at Alice and gestured to her to move forward.
"You… you may go in."
***
"Why are we being asked to return to our rooms? It's the weekend! This is tyranny! I still haven't even bought what I need yet!"
"...You haven't bought what you need because you don't have money, dude. You have like 0 Mega Points."
"How could I even have Mega Points when all I can do is breathe fire through my nose when I'm nervous!?"
Somewhere in Mega Academy's Mega Mall, all of the students that were inside were lazily and hesitantly walking toward the exit of the fun establishment.
Just a few minutes ago, they were all having fun just aimlessly walking around the mall and talking to their friends. But all of a sudden, they received an announcement telling—no, ordering all of them to return to their dorms underground. Of course, a collective sigh filled the entire mall; but alas, they had no choice.
"You just don't know how to use your powers that well. By the way, did you hear? Scarlet Mage is back—well, she's called Silvermoon now. But she's back as a teacher, I heard she was really good during the first year of the Academy."
"...I've been hearing nasty rumors about her, though."
"Pft, stop believing everything you hear. There's also another new instructor that—what the!? You're breathing fire through your nose again!"
"T… that… that…!"
"What?"
And due to a certain student breathing fire through his nose, most of the students that were walking away could not help but let out a small and not-so-subtle chuckle. Soon, however, they all turned to look at where the fire-breathing student was pointing to…
…only for their eyes to turn wide and their faces to turn pale.
Well, not as pale as the person they were looking at.
"That… Isn't that Riley Ross!?"
"Paragon!?"
"What do you mean Paragon!? He's Darkday!"
"Pft, you believe that? That's fake news."
"Wait, fuck that. I thought he was dead!?"
"I told you, you can't believe the media nowadays. They're all fake."
"Wow… you're really famous, son."
Alice could not help but let out another breath of awe as she saw all the students looking at Riley. Be it with awe, fear, confusion, or outright idolization.
"But I thought the fact that you're a mass-murdering genocidal maniac was already well-known? Why are these kids so calm with—Oh, right. Whiteking," Alice rolled her eyes and scoffed, "And what about you, Chihiro? Aren't you also supposed to be dead in this world? Is it alright for you to be seen just walking around?"
"It's fine. I have never shown my face to the world," Chihiro shrugged, "Ah, that's the shaved ice store! It's still here!"
And almost as if returning to her earlier years, a small smile glimmered on Chihiro's face as she pointed at the Korean Shaved Ice store. She did not even wait for Alice and Riley, and just ran and entered the store.
"..." Alice watched Chihiro disappear, before letting out a long and deep sigh and looking at Riley, "You really destroyed a lot of lives, huh?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "That is…
…just how it is, Alice."
"Hm…" And with a hum, Chihiro and Riley entered the store.
"Why are more people coming in!? I thought the students were asked to—R… Riley? And is that… that…"
And as soon as they entered, the small lady that was behind the counter looked at the two of them. Her eyes, moving back and forth almost uncontrollably before settling down on Alice.
"...Alice?"
"...You look like a little girl. It's absolutely freaking disturbing, Mom."
"You…" Charlotte almost forgot to breathe; her eyes, squinting as she stared at the approaching Alice. But after a few seconds, she let out a sigh and shook her head,
"You're not her. You're not my baby girl."
"Sorry," Alice let out a small smile as she also shook her head. Placing her elbow and arm on the counter as she looked Charlotte in the eyes, "Your Alice is still… well, dead."
"I heard all about this… multiverse thingy…" Charlotte seemed to want to touch Alice's face, but stopped herself from doing so as she took a step back, "Why…
…why are you here?"
"My father," Alice did not hesitate as she looked Charlotte in the eyes,
"Who is he?"
Chapter 764"My father…
…who is he?"
"I don't think you have the right to know that, you're not even my daughter."
One would think someone would take a pause if suddenly asked a question like that, but not Charlotte. She answered in less than a fraction of a millisecond; even gesturing to the door to let Alice know that she was done asking any questions.
Before she could turn away, however, she turned to look at Riley, who was casually just looking at the menu for any changes in the selection of flavors; nodding and shaking his head accordingly.
"And you…" Charlotte walked slightly closer to Riley, "...You're back, why? You could have just stayed in a place where no one actively has it out for you."
"I go wherever the flow takes me, Charlotte," Riley shrugged and answered without even looking at Charlotte, "And the flow just happens to take me back here."
"..." Charlotte could really only let out a long and deep sigh upon hearing Riley's answer, "Your carelessness and neglectfulness are the only things you have in common with your mother. You really shouldn't have—Oi! Stop using my machines!"
Charlotte seemed to have a lot to say to Riley, but as soon as she noticed Chihiro using her ice machines and making her own dessert, she quickly started pointing at her and raising her voice.
"Relax, Mrs. Lane," Chihiro, on the other hand, completely ignored her rantings as she continued to use the store's instruments, "I was an employee of one of these shops in one of my other lives. I know these machines like the back of my hand."
"Wait… that voice," Charlotte's eyes squinted as she looked at Chihiro from head to toe, "Golden Fox? You're alive—no, wait…"
Charlotte glanced at Alice, before looking back to Chihiro, "You're not our Chihiro, you're from another universe."
"Kind of? It's a little more complicated than that," Chihiro chuckled, "It's not me, but at the same time, it is me."
"What are you even—"
"I would like a Mango Graham, Chihiro." And before Charlotte's confusion could be solved, Riley cut her off as he suddenly started ordering from Chihiro, "And please use the iced milk."
"Okay. That will be $4.99."
"I said to stop using my machine! And don't touch the register, we don't even accept cash here!"
Charlotte wanted to stop Chihiro from doing anything more. But alas, her arm was suddenly grabbed by Alice from the other side of the counter.
"Look here, Mom. I am trying to have a freaking conversation with you," Alice almost growled.
"Wow, you really are like my daughter—even the way you treat other people is the same," Charlotte looked at the hand grabbing her arm, before pulling away and letting out a small scoff, "I figured your rudeness would transcend to another universe."
"Huh," Alice also scoffed as she looked at Charlotte's small frame from head to toe, "I probably inherited it from someone. Both my parents are gone and I haven't got the pleasure of meeting any of them, but hearing all the stories I heard of how you treat your grandson…
…I probably got my attitude from you."
"What do you want from me, Alice?" Charlotte rolled her eyes as she finally stopped trying to avoid Alice; even looking her directly in the eyes, "Aren't you in your late 40s now? You've lived an entire life without your mother, you're doing fine."
"What I want is to talk," Alice returned the glare.
"And as I said, you and I have no reason to talk, you are not my daughter."
"No, no. Not at all," Alice raised her index finger as she forced out a chuckle, "Your daughter is dead. Neglected by you, and you did not even have the guts to take care of her freaking son."
"Neglected…?" Charlotte's eyebrow started to raise, "Be careful, woman. You have no idea what you are talking about. I loved my daughter, I still do—but she had demons that only she was able to see, and she lost that fight."
"If you were alive in my world, you would have probably neglected me too," Alice did not even care for Charlotte's words, "In fact, I would have probably turned out worse than I have if you were present."
"Well, aren't you lucky?"
"I just want to talk, you don't have to treat me like your daughter because I sure as freaking hell not treating you like my mom," Alice raised another finger; and as she did so, one of the stools near the window quickly flew beside her and she sat on it,
"Talk, I'm no longer asking."
"That chair was bolted to the floor."
"Riley's rich, he's going to pay for it. Talk."
"..."
"..."
"Your father's name is Lancelot Lane."
It took a few seconds. But with a sigh, Charlotte started speaking as she placed both her hands on the counter,
"He's just a normal man, not even a Super. He served the Navy SEALs as a Chief Petty Officer. He died when a super attacked the submarine he was in. Happy? Or were you expecting something more?"
"That's it?" Alice's eyes squinted as they stared at Charlotte.
"That's it."
"..."
"..."
"Well, I don't believe you," Alice let out a small chuckle; taking a few steps back as she shook her head in amusement, "Seriously? Lancelot Lane? The least you can do is come up with a more creative name. I mean, Lancelot Lane? What the freak kind of made-up name is that?"
"It's not, I can show you photos if you want," Charlotte breathed out her frustration as she rested her forehead on her palm,
"Look, I know you think there's some kind of special mystery behind all of this, but there's not. We've been over this and I have already talked to Diana a million times. Riley Ross is just… different. The two of you are just freaks of nature, and I mean that in the most endearing way possible."
"I don't think I appreciate being called a freak. I am, of course—but I don't appreciate it coming from you."
"Go home, Alice. There is no story here," Charlotte once again sighed as she started walking back, "And you are right, Alice. Your mother dying was probably the best thing that could happen to you—you seem like a fine adult, you should treasure that."
"..."
"I'll allow Chihiro to use the machines, but close up and clean before you lea—"
"Gone. I said both my parents are gone."
"Hm?"
"I didn't say my mother died, I only said she was gone," Alice tapped the counter, splitting it in half as she casually walked to block Charlotte's path, "How did you know she died?"
"You can't be serious, right? Now you're just reaching," Charlotte tried to control her breath before looking at her destroyed counter, "I am already underpaid as it is, and you keep destroying stuff."
"It's not a reach, I didn't tell you my mother was dead."
"You told me she's gone! Do you even know how old I am!? I could die at any time!" Charlotte could not help it anymore as she raised her voice, "You're as stupid as my Alice if you think this actually means something else!"
"Then how old are you, Charlotte?"
Charlotte was about to walk away, but Alice once again blocked her path, "A hundred? Five hundred? A thousand? Maybe you're as old as Diana."
"Cut it with the nonsense, woman," Charlotte closed her eyes before letting out a very long and very deep breath. And as she opened her eyes, a glimmer of blue could be seen glowing from them,
"I am no longer playing your games—this is a warning."
"Good," a small smile crawled on Alice's face as her hair started waving in the air, "I have heard tales of the Shadow Mimic, I want to know if you are as good as they say you are."
"There is a reason why no one tests me. Just walk away."
"I am not leaving until you tell me what I need to know."
"I already told you, stop being so stubborn."
"How do you know my mother was killed?"
"I didn't say she was killed, I said she died."
"But I didn't say she died, I only said she was gone."
"My god are you stupid. There is no story here, go back to your world."
And as the two started exchanging words without even letting their saliva rest, both Chihiro and Riley were watching them; their eyes darting back and forth between the two.
"You know, Riley…"
"Hm?"
"I told you Charlotte doesn't make the news or anything like that in all the lives I lived, right?" Chihiro leaned closer to Riley, even grabbing and pulling the spoon that was already in Riley's mouth as she continued to watch Charlotte, "Don't you find it weird?"
"I find it weird that you are touching my spoon, Chihiro."
"No, but listen…" Chihiro squinted her already small eyes, "...Someone like her—previous leader of the Hope Guild, known to be the strongest Super of her time—could someone like that just disappear from the media altogether?"
"Yes."
"But in all the universes? Not even one tried to be relevant after she retired?"
"Perhaps she is just—"
And before Chihiro could finish her words, Charlotte suddenly appeared beside her; her hand, already touching her shoulder. And without even any warning, Charlotte suddenly opened a portal and disappeared into it.
"You think you can actually escape from me!?" Alice, however, just closed her eyes.
"...Found you!"
And after a few seconds, she just suddenly flew away—completely destroying the ceiling.
"..."
"..."
"Well, that was weird," Chihiro blinked a couple of times as she looked at the space Charlotte disappeared to, "She copied my powers."
"Yes, Chihiro," Riley just casually nodded as he continued eating his dessert, "Charlotte has the power to temporarily copy superpowers. Almost like me, but inferior."
"I know that, but…" Chihiro looked at Riley,
"My power is granted by Machina…
…it's not from the Supervirus."
Chapter 765"My power is from Machina…
…It's not from the Supervirus."
"I suppose that is also the reason why I was not able to obtain your abilities when I died from you, Chihiro."
"Hm."
Both Chihiro and Riley very slowly turned their heads up to look at the hole Alice made. Chihiro was about to fly up and follow her, but her feet could not even leave the floor as she realized Riley was not going to do anything and was even just casually continuing to eat his dessert.
"Are… you not going after them?" Chihiro asked.
"I do not see why I should, Chihiro," Riley shook his head, "This does not involve me."
"It… does?" Chihiro's small eyes turned wide as she leaned her face as close as she could to Riley, "All of this is happening because of you, Riley Ross. Stop being so passive and figure out what you are—I have figured out what I am because of you, I do not think it is fair for you not to find out what you are."
"I have already found out what I am a long time ago, Chihiro," Riley just blinked a couple of times, before his entire body along with his cup of dessert slid to the side away from Chihiro's face,
"I am a monster meant to destroy existence itself."
"I knew you were going to say that—you really have always been so edgy," Chihiro let out a small and quiet sigh, "But have you ever wondered what kind of monster you are?"
"There is only one kind, Chihiro."
"No, oh no," Chihiro softly chuckled, "There are infinite kinds, Riley. I've seen them all, and sometimes I have lived them to the point that I have already figured out what a monster I am."
"And what kind of monster are you, Chihiro?"
"A monster you created," Chihiro stretched her open palm toward Riley, seemingly wanting to touch his chest but opting not to do so at the last inch.
"I do not consider that as a category, Chihiro," Riley shook his head, "And even without me, you would still turn out the way that you are because someone is responsible for your actions and controlling you."
"Machina? Oh no," Chihiro let out a long high-pitched hum; twirling her long black hair as she started spinning around like a ballerina, "Machina's more of an… observer you can choose to listen to from time to time, she doesn't actually control me, or any of her previous avatars for that matter."
"..."
"The Primordials can interfere if they want to, they just do not want to because it would be seen as—I do not really fully know how they think, but their influence and strength are so strong that they would destroy the worlds that were created from and by them if they happen to interact with the universe…
…Avatars aren't the primordial's puppets, we're more like their eyes. We exist so they could experience their creation."
"Then I suppose she is mad at you for killing the other Chihiros, Chihiro?" Riley seemed intrigued as he finally stopped devouring his dessert.
"Oh no," Chihiro took this chance to grab Riley's spoon from the cup, before getting a spoonful of shaved ice and eating it herself; letting some of it melt from her lips and drip straight down on the counter,
"I only killed like a thousand, there are still more than a million of me out there. If Machina did not witness me killing my variants, then it wouldn't have even noticed them missing—Well, I mean, Machina does care, but it cares differently."
"Interesting—I do not believe I could ever experience the way a primordial sees things."
"I think you are more interesting, Riley Ross," Chihiro returned the spoon to the cup—twirling it as it melted all the ice and creating a sort of milky whirlpool, "A primordial like that…
…is wary of you. Why?"
"You should ask Machina, Chihiro," Riley shrugged as he looked at his now melted dessert, "It has been a while since I last saw Nothing, I should ask him as well when we meet—"
"Riley!"
"Ah…" Chihiro, who was on the other side of the counter, was the first to see who it was that suddenly barged into the store. And as soon as she realized who it was, a small smirk crawled on her face,
"...Scarlet Mage. It truly is weird to see you like this."
"..." Riley looked at the reflection of the person who entered the store on his spoon, before letting out a sigh and turning around,
"Silvermoon."
"Riley. You… really are back," Katherine only glanced at Chihiro for a while. She seemed curious as to why Chihiro was here, but did not really bother asking anything as she just walked straight toward Riley,
"You… still haven't cut your hair."
"I quite like it, Katherine," Riley did not avoid Katherine's hand, even slightly leaning closer so she could easily brush her fingers through his hair, "And I see you have cut yours."
"I've had it like this for a long time, Riley."
And as always, Katherine found her entire being reflected in Riley's eyes—she was much older now, more mature than she already was. And perhaps one could even say that age made her even more beautiful; she glimmers, especially now with Riley looking at her.
She still carried her silver hair, which now barely even reached to her shoulders.
"I guess… you met Karina?" A small smile appeared on Katherine's face, "She's all grown now but she's still a child because she is."
"I did, she still looks the same."
"The two of you do," Katherine let out a short but very deep breath as she stepped even closer to Riley, touching his chest without any reserve, "I'm… the only one that keeps on changing."
"Change is a luxury, Katherine—you should cherish it."
"I wanted to be there, you know. I wanted to join the party to find you across the multiverse but I… I've been left behind," Katherine once again sighed, "I haven't gotten any stronger and I've reached my limit. I… have no place with the gods."
"You do not need a place with the gods, Katherine," Riley very gently brushed Katherine's hair to the side as he touched her cheek,
"Your place has always been with me, the others do not matter."
"..." Katherine almost gasped as she looked Riley in the eyes, before just closing her eyes and allowing her cheek to fall onto Riley's palm,
"I… am glad to hear you say tha—"
"Holy shit, it's the freak!"
And all of a sudden, the quiet and almost somber atmosphere that was loudly whispering inside the store was completely shattered as another person barged inside—this time, it was a person that looked almost like a younger Diana.
"..." Riley looked at this person for a few seconds, before finally remembering who it was—or more precisely, what it was.
"Anna," Riley bowed his head, "I was not aware you were also in the Academy."
It was the android created by Diana, the one that lived in old Theran.
"That's older sister Anna to you, freak," Anna just scoffed as she casually entered the store, "And you should be grateful, don't you know I basically raised your daughter for you? You know where we were while you were out there having a trip with Princess Aerith? We were in this fighting pit tournament or something. If it weren't for me betting on your daughter and always winning, we would have starved to death."
"..."
"Then Silvie found us—she made us stop doing the tournament when she discovered what I was doing, but when we ran out of money, she also joined the tournament. And then you know what happened after a few years? I've racked up a huge ton of money, huge. I bet all of it on Karina again at the next tournament happening a month from now, and you know what happened!?"
"No."
"Princess fucking Aerith found us and dragged us here! When I returned to the tournament, they said the money was gone because Karina already waived her right to join the tournament. You fuck—"
"Anna! You said you were going to forget all about that!"
"The tournament is still going on?" Chihiro, who had just been quietly enjoying what was happening in front of her, joined in on the conversation.
"You know of this tournament, Chihiro?"
"Yes," Chihiro smiled, "One of the lives I've lived was a tournament champion from more than a hundred thousand years ag—"
"I don't fucking care about any of your matters right now, you!" Anna pointed at Riley, "Since you and Karina basically look the same for the other aliens, you take her spot! That way, I can actually get my money back! You're strong, right!?"
"I believe there are actually things that are more important than that, Oldest Sister Anna," Riley shook his head, "Alice is currently trying to figure out who and what Charlotte is, I am just waiting for them to come back."
"...Who the fuck are those?"
***
"Enough, Mother."
"...Tch."
Charlotte clicked her tongue; the vapor escaping her lips, bouncing from the invisible wall that was currently blocking all of her paths from all directions. Charlotte looked everywhere to see only towers and fields of snow and ice, before she stretched her hand to the side to summon another portal.
Before she could fly through it, however, an arm suddenly emerged from the portal; followed by another arm as they ripped the portal apart like it was nothing—and there, on the other side, was Alice.
"Stop it!" Alice grabbed Charlotte by the shoulders, "If it's not you, then I can just ask another version of you from another universe! Just tell me what I need to know!"
"That's not gonna work, Alice," Charlotte only let out a small sigh as she seemed to finally stop struggling, "They are all just going to say the same thing to you."
"How would you even freaking know that!?"
"Because they are me, and I am them…" Charlotte closed her eyes.
"What?"
"We're different people, with different memories and different experiences…
…but we share a little of our consciousness with each other."
Chapter 766"You… what?"
Charlotte's words were not done echoing through the snow and sea of ice, and yet Alice quickly let go of Charlotte, pushing her back so that she could see all of her; almost as if asking her if she said what she just said.
And with a scoff escaping her lips, Charlotte nodded.
"What are you… then?" Alice's eyes squinted as she continued to look at Charlotte from head to toe, "Are you some kind of god or something?"
"Don't be ridiculous, woman," Charlotte chuckled, "If I was, you think I would have time playing this game with you? I would have just sent you back to your world."
"You seriously want me to believe that you're just a Super?"
"I'm not asking you to believe anything."
"Bullcrap," Alice lightly stomped her foot on the icy ground, causing a web of cracks to quickly crawl across the plateau, "What are you? Are you like an avatar of those primordials like that cute Japanese lady?"
"No."
"I don't freaking believe you."
"Then why are we even talking if you're not going to believe a word I say!?" Charlotte also stomped her foot on the ground, causing the cracks to become even bigger, "Just leave!"
"I am not leaving until you stop freaking lying through your teeth," Alice stepped forward, further deepening the cracks on the frozen plateau all the way to the bottom of the iceberg, "I know for a fact you're lying."
"Alice, no matter what world, you really only believe in what you want," Charlotte scoffed.
"And I am guessing that no matter what world, you are a neglectful mother," Alice smirked, "As you said, you share a tiny bit of your consciousness with your variants."
"You have no idea what you're talking about."
"Then tell me for freak's sake! Talk to your freaking daughter!"
"You're not my fucking daughter!" Charlotte could not help her voice as she stomped her way even closer to Alice; her steps, now completely cracking the iceberg, "My daughter died more than 20 years ago…
…I am the only Charlotte in the entire multiverse whose daughter died before me!"
"That…"
"You think I neglected my grandson…?" Charlotte let out a tiny breath as her head started shaking, "How do I even process something like that? How could I learn how to be a grandmother when I am the only Charlotte that has a grandson in all of the variants? How do I even begin to process something like that?"
"How… you could learn to be a grandmother? The freak is that?" Alice gritted her teeth as she pulled the iceberg back together and forced it to become one again, "What… you only rely on your other variants!?"
"We all do!" Charlotte raised her voice even further, "That is how we grew up! You think I actually have the ability to mimic abilities…? I don't, we don't—we just temporarily borrow each other's abilities and we activate that by touching someone else who has a similar ability. I have more than a hundred million variants."
"..." Alice did not really say anything anymore and just let Charlotte say what she wanted to say.
"Do you know what that actually does to someone? Do you know what we—what I felt when my daughter died in front of me, and we all watched in confusion? That was not supposed to happen, our Alice shouldn't…" Charlotte quickly wiped the tear threatening to trail down her cheek,
"...You think I neglected Riley Ross? My Alice is dead. And he… I blamed him for her death because he was the only thing that happened differently. Your Charlotte was lucky that she died young…
…most killed themselves after what happened."
"...What?"
"They kill themselves because they did not want to personally experience what I went through," Charlotte looked to the side, "The reason why Chihiro mentioned not hearing any news of my variants in most of the universes is that they killed themselves in secret. We don't share our experiences, our memories, our lives—we can turn that on and off anytime we want. What we can't do is shut off what we feel…
…they all felt my pain. And the pain of losing you was just… too much."
"That… seems too much of an excuse for being a bad parent," Alice looked Charlotte in the eyes.
"You won't understand," Charlotte only scoffed, however, "Only my Alice would. If things went differently, she would have still given up her life for the boy. As for your father, I am telling the truth—his name is Lancelot Lane, and he is dead in all the universes."
"Good story, Charlotte," Alice smirked, "But I know you're still lying."
"Why are all of you so stubborn!?"
"I'm not—but you said you just borrow each other's abilities…" Alice then tapped her ear, "...I am speaking with Riley right now, and he told me you used Chihiro's abilities—she's not a Super, Charlotte. She's an avatar of a primordial god."
"..."
"Are you telling me that one of your variants is an avatar of Machina…?" Alice once again looked Charlotte dead in the eyes, "But based on everything I've heard, there should only be one in all the universes—and that's the Japanese lady."
"What? Avatar of Machina?" Charlotte seemed visibly confused, "I have no idea what you're even talking ab—!!!"
"Charlotte!?"
And before Charlotte could finish her words, she suddenly dropped to the ground; her knees scraping the hard ice beneath her as she clasped her head tight.
"Charlotte!? Mom!?" Alice looked at Charlotte for a few seconds, before just also kneeling and immediately putting her hand on Charlotte's shoulder, "I swear to freaking god, if you're preten—Charlotte? Charlotte…!?"
And with a short but very deep gasp escaping her lips, Charlotte's entire body turned limp. Alice caught her, quickly shaking her up to wake her, but to no avail.
"..." Alice checked her pulse, but aside from it being faster than ideal, there was nothing wrong with her and she just literally fainted.
"...What the freak," Alice then gently dropped Charlotte on the cold ice, "I wanted answers…
…now I'm even more freaking confused."
***
"What's happening on their side, Riley?"
"One of Charlotte's variants might be an Avatar of Machina."
"Uhh… that's impossible."
Back in the Mega Academy's Korean Shaved Ice store, Chihiro and Riley were still sitting by the counter. Katherine and Anna were gone, as they have both been called by Bulwark so that they could report to him the situation regarding Riley—and whether or not they needed to take action and evacuate the students.
Riley, of course, told Katherine that he wasn't here to harm anyone—he's a reformed man, he said. No one actually believed what he said, but Katherine didn't really care and just kissed Riley's cheek as they separated.
"I've lived the life of countless avatars, there's always just one in each timeline," Chihiro summoned a pair of glasses, as well as some chalk, and started writing on Charlotte's countertop,
"Machina does not get another Avatar until its current Avatar has perished in all of the universes. That means that in order for another Avatar to exist, me and all of my variants need to die, the same with Hopio, the Avatar before me—the moment his last variant died, Machina created me."
"That seems somewhat familiar to a TV show I have watched once, Chihiro."
"I know what you're mentioning but it's a little different," Chihiro quickly shushed Riley, "But the point is—another Avatar can't exist. And even if it does happen, Charlotte is old; the timeline doesn't match. The only way she could be an avatar is that—Oh."
"Hm?" Riley tilted his head to the side.
"She's an avatar of a different primordial," Chihiro returned all of her tools back to her [Item Box], "But…
…who?"
"This is interesting, Chihiro," Riley started wiping all the drawings Chihiro made on the countertop, before proceeding to telekinetically make another dessert for himself,
"Which of the other primordials have similar abilities to Machina?"
"I… have no idea," Chihiro scratched her chin. She seemed to be done explaining, but as soon as she saw Riley's eyes that seemed filled with anticipation, the only thing she could do was sigh,
"It's definitely not Death, as Machina has told me that she doesn't create avatars."
"I have met Death once, Chihiro," Riley nodded, "She seemed like the type to want to do things herself."
"When… did that happen?" Chihiro's eyes widened, but just shook her head and sighed—there was no use in getting surprised with Riley, "Anyway, it's also definitely not Celestial. She is already aware of everything we are doing since she literally created the first life forms of the multiverse, and eventually gave birth to the old gods which eventually led to us being born—she sees through all of us."
"Hm, I do not like her," Riley squinted his eyes.
"There's Elementia—the one that created the universes and the cosmos. Machina told me it doesn't do anything else other than expanding the universes," Chihiro let out a small hum, "That leaves Ruin and Navi."
"Ruin…? Are Death and Ruin not the same primordial?"
"No," Chihiro shook her head, "Death escorts everything to its end, Ruin closes the universes that have met its end and makes sure it stays closed—a bit complicated, really."
"Ruin is Hell, Chihiro?"
"No. Well…maybe? It's really hard to explain with my meager knowledge," Chihiro once again awkwardly chuckled, "And Navi well—I don't really know what it does. Something about recording everything that happens? All I know about Navi is that it was the first one that introduced the idea of Avatars to the Primordials."
"..."
"That… nothing of what I said actually answered our question, huh?"
"No," Riley shook his head,
"I am curious as to why their names all seemed to be in English, Chihiro."
"..."
"..."
Chapter 767"I am curious why their names all seemed to be in English, Chihiro."
"Well… that's what Machina told me—maybe it just auto-translated in the language I know."
"But then it should have been in Japanese, Chihiro."
"...That sort of makes sense. Anyway…
…Machina, Death, Celestial, Elementia, Ruin, and Navi—if there was someone amongst them that could have an avatar with the same abilities as Machina, then it would be Navi. It also makes sense—Navi is the one that proposed the idea of Avatars and it records everything, it probably knows ways around it or something…
…But why Charlotte, and why only a single one of her variants? That can't be a coincidence."
"It is probably not, Chihiro."
Riley and Chihiro's conversation was turning more and more serious by the second, made completely obvious by the fact that Riley has still not finished his dessert,
"Nothing did mention to me in passing that the primordials would involve themselves with me sooner or later. I just thought it would be after most of the people I know have died—I assumed their definition of sooner or later would be different from us, after all. Interesting, truly interesting…
…are you able to contact Machina and ask her, Chihiro?"
"I could go back to the White Space, but it would take a while for me to come back here since my skills will be on cooldown," Chihiro crossed her arms, before placing her hand on her chin, "In fact, I should probably do that. I think Machina and I need to talk after… what I did. I sort of went ballistic."
"Are you not afraid of being punished by Machina, Chihiro?"
"No, not at all," Chihiro softly chuckled, "What Machina did to me is something it wouldn't be able to do to the other variants again—In short, I am her prized variant, so to speak. Anyway, I'll see you again soon, Riley."
"Hm."
And with just a casual wave of her hand, Chihiro summoned a portal and just casually went inside it—not even giving Riley one final glance as if she was just going somewhere nearby.
"White Space…" And as soon as Chihiro was gone, it was Riley's time to put his hand on his chin, "...Nothing also has some sort of dark space. Do the primordials live on their own territory? But then Nothing is not a Primordial, but a Preprimordial. Should I also ask Nothing if he knows som—"
"Riley!"
And before Riley could finish his words, Alice suddenly landed from above with an unconscious Charlotte floating beside her.
"Do you know any ability that could wake her up!?" Alice then immediately placed Charlotte on top of the counter she previously destroyed. And with her small frame, fitting her on it was no problem at all.
"I do, Alice." Riley did not even ask what was going on as he approached Alice.
"Then wake her up! Something happened to her while we were talking about… about what the freak is going on here!"
"Okay," Riley nodded. And without even any hesitation, he placed his palm on top of Charlotte's forehead, pushing her hair to the side so that nothing was obstructing her face.
"..." Alice took a step back to give Riley some space. Although she and Charlotte did not actually have relations with each other, she could not help but somewhat worry for her for some reason.
Alice always imagined what it would have been like if her own mother was alive. If the Charlotte of her universe was alive, would she and Alice have been close? But Charlotte's abilities caused her to somewhat be detached, however. But just what if… what if Alice just stayed here?
"..." Alice quickly shook her head off of the thoughts she was having, as she watched whatever it was that Riley was going to do. His hand was now on Charlotte's hair, making sure her face was still fully exposed. And with a small sigh…
…Riley grabbed his melted dessert and poured it right on Charlotte's exposed face.
"Wha—"
"Ngork!"
Alice was going to flick the melted ice away from Charlotte's face. But alas, Riley made sure she won't be able to do it as he counteracted Alice's telekinetic move. And so, sadly for Charlotte, she was woken up by a sticky, ice-cold dessert that went right through her nose.
"Wha… what's happening!?" Charlotte then took a very loud gasp as she looked around. And as soon as she saw Alice's face, she quickly jumped back from the counter and pointed at her, "You… what did you do to me!?"
"I didn't do anything," Alice quickly raised her hands in surrender before pointing one of them at Riley.
"I apologize. I have to wake you up the best possible way I know, Charlotte," Riley nodded to himself, "That is always effective with Sister."
"That is not what I meant! I meant what did you do to me!? I was fine and then I suddenly felt my head hurt and… and…"
"Charlotte…?"
Alice could really only look at Riley as Charlotte started stuttering her words; her eyes, even moving in a very weird way. And very soon… another set of irises emerged from Charlotte's eyes; almost as if separating from the original.
And these new sets of eyes were looking at Riley.
"Okay… that is not creepy at all," Alice very slightly backed away as she saw Charlotte's new set of pupils becoming redder and bigger, "Do you happen to have any exorcism abilities, Riley? Because I think we're about to need it now, Riley…
…Riley, Riley!"
And as Charlotte started taking a step while tilting her head to the side, Alice also started backing away—tapping Riley to try and get him to do something. Riley, on the other hand, was just standing there; also tilting his head to the side as he returned Charlotte's stares.
Charlotte continued walking forward until she ultimately hit the counter blocking her from proceeding to approach Riley. Charlotte did not even seem to mind, however, as she just stopped moving and continued to stare at Riley.
"So. It. Is. You." Charlotte's voice was different, almost guttural in a way that her voice seemed to really come from her guts and not even her throat… almost as if she didn't know how to use it. She also paused in between each word; the movement of her lips was… quite weird,
"Riley. Ross."
"I suppose," Riley just shrugged as he answered, "And who might you be?"
"Navi."
"Then Chihiro's guess was correct," Riley let out a small but deep breath as he looked in amazement at Charlotte's eyes, "She should not have left so early to try and meet Machina, she wasted her skill."
"You are. An anomaly," Navi started looking at Riley from head to toe. The stuttering and slurring of her words, very slowly disappearing, "Machina is afraid. Of you. Death is trying to. Search for you. Celestial is confused. Ruin as Nothing's offspring is intrigued but does not care. But I do, for you are destroying our. Creation."
"I suppose," Riley once again shrugged, "But I have barely even destroyed anything if we take into account the millions of universes in the multiverse, Navi. I am very far from destroying creation."
"Extremely far. Yes," Navi did not deny as her head started nodding several times. She seemed to want to step forward, but could not do so as the counter was still blocking her way… well, not anymore as Riley suddenly sliced the counter in half again and pulled it apart so that Navi could approach him,
"But you will."
And now, with nothing blocking her path, Navi once again approached Riley. Her hand, very slowly stretching toward his face.
"Riley…" The only thing that Alice could really do was watch and urge Riley to avoid the hand. But alas, once again, she was completely ignored as Riley just allowed Navi to touch him.
"What are you going to do, Navi?" Riley looked Navi in the eyes; his face, almost showing a sense of excitement, "Are you finally going to erase me from existence?"
"No. Not me, never me," Navi shook her head, "My role is to watch, to foresee, and to record the movements of creation, forever."
"To foresee?" Riley squinted his eyes, "You have access to the future, Navi?"
"No. But I know what is to come from the current wave," Navi started looking around while her hand was still on Riley's cheek, "I only navigate where this wave takes me, forever."
And as Navi continued to talk, any stutter in her words had now completely withered away; even replaced by a somber tone that showed a clear emotion of… sadness.
"And where is this wave taking you, Navi?"
"To nothing," Navi smiled as she once again looked Riley in the eyes, "If you are allowed to live, you will control the wave and guide us to nothing."
"And are you allowing me, Navi?"
"It is not my role to allow or disallow you. I only follow the wave," Navi's head started slowly weaving side to side, "And who will disallow your existence? You do not exist in the wave. Death can not hold you, for you do not exist and therefore not alive."
"Are you saying that you can not erase me, Navi?" Riley breathed out, "What about the preprimordial called Nothing? Is he capable of erasing me?"
"Nothing is capable of nothing," Navi shook her head, "He has existed before us, and therefore is unknown to us."
"But you said Nothing is the father of Ruin, Navi."
"Even so, Nothing is nothing," Navi once again shook her head.
"How can I be erased, Navi?" Riley asked, "You can foresee—how can I be erased?"
"I only ride the wave, forever," Navi once again repeated her words, "And even if I do have a record of how, I will not tell."
"...Why?"
"Because you and I are the same…
…I do not want to ride the wave forever, Riley Ross."
Chapter 768"…I do not want to ride the wave forever, Riley Ross."
"Are you saying you want to die, Navi?"
"We can not die, Riley Ross. We will only cease to exist."
"...And if you cease to exist, what… what would happen to the rest of us?"
With Riley and Navi's conversation almost as if completely out of the realms of possibility, Alice's somewhat questioning tone quickly humanized the air around them. Alice looked into Navi's eyes, not knowing whether she was actually allowed to address this… god. But she could not help it.
They were inside a trendy dessert store—this is definitely not the right place to decide the fate of creation itself. And Alice could just not believe she was hearing all of the stuff she was hearing right here and now.
"You're like a pretty freaking important god, right?" Alice forced out a chuckle, "If you're gone then… something will go wrong."
"I am not a god, and no. Something would already have gone wrong if I am gone," Navi answered Alice's question without looking at her, "And Riley Ross is the key to that."
"Why… would you even want to die?" Alice breathed out, "You don't want to ride the waves forever? Like you want to die because you've already lived for too long…? But shouldn't… I don't know… Shouldn't your kind see time differently?"
"Time?" Navi finally turned to look at Alice as she moved away from Riley. Her face, however, was a little confused as she repeated her words, "Time, time…
…Time is the same for all of us. Down from the creatures that live inside atoms, to creatures that hold an entire universe in their palm—time is time."
"...That's not what they said in Science class," Alice smirked, "You know, that old guy with the weird hair? Wait… are you telling me he's wrong?"
"There are no such things as right and wrong."
"Don't you mean 'right or wro—you know what, nevemind…" Alice just rolled her eyes, waving her hand as she just walked away and took a seat at the nearest table,
"I didn't know what I was expecting when talking to a… whatever you actually are. Whatever, just talk about the end of everything like I'm not here. Man, wait 'til Diana hears this. She would freaking regret not coming with me."
"You have not answered Alice's question, Navi," Riley stood in front of Navi, "Why do you want to cease to exist? You said you and I are the same, but we are not. I was created and born, you just came into existence."
"I want to cease existing because I exist," Navi once again closed her eyes as she took in a very long and deep breath.
"Are you tired, Navi?"
"No, there is no such thing as exhaustion for us," Navi smiled, "If there is, then Death is the one that deserves to be tired. Death's role is Death, and with creation, Death will always be there."
"But you are a primordial that exists to watch, foresee, and record the events of all creation, Navi—is that not also tiring?"
"No."
"Or perhaps you are just bored of the channel?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "Have you not found your Italian Mafia Reborn yet, Navi?"
"Italian Mafia Reborn…" Navi looked at Riley, "...is not that good."
"..." Riley's eyes instantly grew wider as he looked Navi in the eyes; his head, almost wanting to shake, "...Why would you say that?"
"Because it is true," Navi nodded to herself, "I have foreseen its end."
Riley let out a small gasp; his head once again shaking as he looked at Navi.
"You do not have to worry, Riley Ross—it will not end until many lifetimes have passed. It will drain its story to the last drop of its existence," Navi started walking around as she looked up, "It is very much like my existence, Riley Ross. I am completely different from the others—If I cease to exist now, all of the universes will move on completely unmoved…
…I do not want to exist because my existence is useless, without meaning, unnecessary. I know everything, but what do I do with the things that I know?"
"If you truly know everything as you said, Navi. Then you should know what to do with the things that you know—if you do not, then does that not mean that you do not know everything?"
"Paradoxical, is it not?" Navi smiled, "But those two things are different, Riley Ross. I do not know what to do with it because that is not my purpose. My purpose is to know, not to act. The only reason I exist is because existence exists."
"But you are acting now, Navi."
"Not at all, Riley Ross. What I am doing now is just in passing. If I act, the others will too," Navi shook her head, "I am the oldest of the Primordials, I know what they are going to do once I do, indeed, act."
"Italian Mafia Reborn is good," Riley Ross suddenly shifted the topic as he also shook his head, "You do not know everything."
"I do. That means I also know what I like and do not like."
"Then you and I are truly not the same, Navi," Riley's eye slightly twitched; his breaths, slightly heavy, "And the fact that nothing changes if you disappear once again proves that. Because if I disappear, everyone and everything will become… brighter."
"I am not talking about our similarities in how we affect creation, Riley Ross. I am talking about our creation in creation itself."
"Hm?" Riley just blinked a couple of times as Navi placed a finger on his chest.
"You and I are the same in the way that you are also the same with the others," Navi's eyes were as if they were looking through Riley, literally, "No, Riley—you are not created and born, you just came into existence…
…You and I are the same."
"But I was born, Navi," Riley shook her head, "I came out from Alice's womb."
"Yes," Navi then looked at Alice, who was now just minding her own business at her table.
"D… don't look at me," Alice quickly raised both her hands, "It was a different Alice's coochie he came out from."
"Yes," Navi nodded, "But he was not supposed to. Alice Lane, no matter what revisions Diana Ross would do, can not, should not, would not create life inside her."
"Thanks for letting me know my infertility is outerversal."
"I meant that it is impossible for Riley Ross to have been conceived by you. He just existed inside Alice."
"You're saying it as if I'm not his mother," Alice playfully rolled her eyes.
"You are not."
"Well, yes. Not technically—his mother is the Alice of this universe."
"No," Navi shook her head, "You are not his mother. You can not."
"Pfft, what…?" Alice forced a chuckle, "Like, what are you even trying to say? Riley literally popped out of Alice's vagina. He literally told me and I started watching videos of what it looked like, and it's nasty."
"Yes. Riley came out of her, but he was not conceived by her," Navi shook her head, "Like us, Riley was not created or born, he just existed."
"You mean he just like popped up inside Alice as a fetus?" Alice continued to laugh, "How crazy is—"
"Yes."
"What?"
"Riley Ross popped into existence," Navi almost replicated Alice's accent, "That is why Death does not know you, like she does not know me or the other primordials. We are not technically alive. We do not exist, but we are here."
"You mentioned Ruin being Nothing's son, Navi," Riley squinted his eyes.
"Not in the sense that you are thinking."
"Is it possible I am also Nothing's son?"
"If you are, he will tell you every time. He… is like that," Navi smiled, "Be warned, Riley Ross. I know what you are now, that would mean the others will soon know too. Machina would be the first to know, but it does not matter."
"When will Death know?" Riley quickly asked.
"It would not matter even if she does," Navi shook her head, "You can be stopped, yes. But like us, you are inevitable. You will bring creation into nothing, and everything will just cease to exist…
…I believe that is the reason why you exist, Riley Ross. Death delivers, Ruin holds, Riley does."
"That doesn't even make freaking sense," Alice started pointing at Navi, "Stop believing the nonsense of this primordial shits, Riley."
"Riley Ross," Navi once again faced Riley and placed a finger on his chest, "Once Death finishes closing all the doors of creation itself that you destroyed, you will be the only one remaining on the other side…
…you are the Ender, but the End."
"The Final Boss," Riley nodded, "I already knew that."
"I am looking forward to that, Riley Ross," Navi once again smiled, "But for now…
…it is goodbye."
Chapter 769There was a certain solace in finding the truth.
Well, that's what they say when the truth is something that aligns with what you want. But truth is rarely gentle, if at all—but if it is, it will caress your entire existence and bring a euphoria you have not even felt before and will never again.
But the truth is… it's always better to live in a lie.
"I'm… not your mother?"
Navi was gone, but the revelation she left left Alice completely frozen in them. Her words, repeating over and over again in her mind. She looked at Charlotte, who was completely unconscious on the floor because neither she nor Riley bothered to pick her up when she fell as Navi left her body.
"But you came out of the Alice of this universe, isn't that… isn't that enough?" Alice forced a chuckle as she looked at Riley, who was just staring at Charlotte, not having moved an inch even once since Navi left,
"Does… does it matter that we don't actually share blood? You probably freaking drank a lot of Alice's fluids while you were inside her. That crap should make our bond even deeper. Riley…
…don't be sad, okay? You—we're still family."
"Hm?" Riley finally turned his head away from Charlotte, "I am not sad, Alice."
"Bullcrap. Look at you," Alice gestured to Riley's face; the side of his lips, slightly down and so were his eyebrows, "That's the most emotion I've seen on your face ever since I met you!"
"If I am sad, then it is not because of finding out that my biological mother and I are not exactly related biologically. And it does not matter even if we are not—Alice was my mother, and so is Diana."
"R…Riley," a stuttered gasp escaped Alice's lips. She quickly covered her mouth as she looked Riley in the eyes. She wanted to approach and hug him, but he quickly moved to the side to avoid her, "It's okay, Riley. I'm your mother… okay? It's oka—"
"Navi said that Italian Mafia Reborn is not that good."
"...What?" Alice's arms were already stretched wide open so she could once again attempt to hug Riley. But alas, Riley moved away once again.
"Why would a primordial with the specific role of being the watcher of creation itself say that?" Riley's voice once again slightly trembled; his eyes, even wanting to close.
"...That's what you're sad about?" Alice quickly dropped her arms to the side as she groaned, "It's fine, Riley. We're all entitled to our own opinions—that's just how life is. Some people believe the Earth is flat, and some think it's a doughnut… wait, I think I used the wrong analogy for—"
"Not a Primordial, Alice," Riley shook his head, "Primordials are involved in creation itself. That means they create the rules in which all of us live—if they say that Italian Mafia Reborn is not that good, then that means…"
Riley let out a small gasp as he let himself fall onto the nearest seat; quickly resting his elbows on the table while he covered his forehead,
"...That means Italian Mafia Reborn is not that good."
"..." Alice could really only stare at Riley with a blank stare. No longer knowing that she was even doing here anymore. But after a few seconds, she just let out a very long and deep sigh and sat in front of him,
"Riley—since Navi said that you are like them, then wouldn't that mean that if you say that Italian Mafia Reborn is good, then it's good?"
"..." Riley moved his head away from his hand as he looked at Alice. The thoughts that were racing and dancing in his mind, almost visible from his eyes,
"I suppose you might have a point there, Alice. But it is still different—they were born at the beginning of the universe."
"Then that makes your opinion even more valid than theirs," Alice sighed as she tried to touch Riley's hand. And to her surprise… she allowed him to, "The ending is always the most important part of the story, Riley. You heard what the Navigator said, you're the End. Endings make the story what they are."
"..."
"Endings… can either make everything that has happened throughout the story meaningless or make it even more meaningful. Or it could even make the rest of the story completely… useless."
"That is… true, Alice."
"Hm," Alice nodded to herself as she took this chance to hold Riley's hand with both hands, "Just look at Game of Crowns. The first seasons were incredibly critically acclaimed—but the ending made it completely forgettable—what was once the most talked show in the world, now no one even remembers it until it is mentioned again."
"I feel like that is pretty specific, Alice."
"...It was my favorite show. It was pretty boring in the start but it grew on me and then just went crap," Alice let out an awkward chuckle, before letting out a very long and deep sigh, "What I am trying to say, Riley…
…is that you make your—"
"Ugh… what… what the fuck just happened?"
Unfortunately for Alice, before she could stretch her advice that should have already ended in the first statement even longer, Charlotte woke up and immediately leaped from the floor. She then touched her throat, seemingly trying to clear it as it seemed incredibly dry for some reason.
"What… what the fuck?"
"Welcome back, Charlotte."
"W—wait!"
Even more unfortunately for Alice, Riley pulled his hand away as he approached Charlotte,
"Your body was possessed by a Primordial that was trying to talk to me, Charlotte."
"A… what now?"
"Navi is a primordial that knows everything that is before, everything that is now, and everything that might be later. She knew that you were connected to all of your variants, and therefore the fastest way to find me—and she did. She talked to me through you," Riley explained without even giving Charlotte time to process anything.
"You mean I was…"
"You were freaking possessed, Mother," Alice let out a playful giggle as she looked at Charlotte's disheveled hair, "It was freaky as freak. Like it was literally the Exorcism of Charmaine Elliot Lane just a couple of minutes ago here. Your eyes went like this."
"...What?" Charlotte watched as Alice desperately tried to make her eyes go in different directions. She even almost used her telekinetic abilities to do so, but was stopped by Riley, "Wait, a god went inside me?"
"Well, if you phrase it like that then you're like—Oh my god…" Alice pointed at Riley, "...I'm the Virgin Alice and you're literally Je—"
"Wait, just wait…!" Charlotte raised her voice as she started looking around her destroyed dessert shop, "...Can you children just tell me what the fuck just happened to me? I know that two of you don't like me, but I deserve to know at least that!"
"Oh, it turns out you're not really Riley's grandmother. So, I absolve you of all of your sins," Alice now suddenly had a scarf on her head as she very gently placed her hand on Charlotte's shoulders, "You have no responsibility in—"
"Cut the crap!" Charlotte quickly slapped Alice's hand away, "What do you mean I'm not his grandmother!?"
"Well…" Alice turned to look at Riley, who just nodded his head as he went to the other side of the counter to prepare himself a dessert,
"...It's like this."
***
And while Alice was retelling everything that had happened, the entity that was responsible for everything was now back in her domain.
Each of the Primordials lives in their own space… outside of the multiverse. Machina exists in its White Space, Death exists where death is, as for Navi—she lives in a storm of color. Even then, however, her silhouette that still resembled Charlotte could still be seen clearly.
Navi walked across this storm calmly, almost as if a feather that was just dancing within the calm embrace of a subtle wind. Her eyes, reflecting all the colors around her and not missing even a single drop.
For others, they may be just that—violent drops of paint. But Navi's eyes reflected a different picture.
Each of the multitudes of color represents life. A story, a beginning, and an end.
Each colorful drop of rain from the storm, a universe.
And Navi does not miss even a single one of them as they drop and fall in the space in which she lives. The storm creates a colorful pool, and which in turn, turns into oceans…in which in turn, creates waves.
Waves that Navi rides and dances across, in the beginning of time, and forever.
"So, you visited the young demiurge?"
This dance, however, quickly stopped as another entity started walking across the storm. But perhaps an entity was not the way to describe it—it was just an orb.
"Ruin," Navi stopped walking altogether as she looked at this floating orb.
"What is that form? I have to say, I quite fancy it a lot," the orb then very slowly started to tremble, until it instantly transformed into a form that was eerily similar to Navi's form, which is Charlotte's body,
"Is this one of the lives that live within these pebbles?" Ruin then plunged his arm down on the waves beneath them, grabbing a handful of the drops. Unlike the colorful wave that rippled through this colorful storm, however, what was in Ruin's hand was almost gray.
"You should know what they are, Ruin," Navi shook her head, "And I would appreciate it if you change your form—this is mine."
"I would not know what they would look like, Navi," the universes that Ruin was holding then faded away into nothing,
"I am given to them when they are already all gone."
Chapter 770Ruin.
The name suggests the end of something. The end of something beautiful, something ugly, or just something. And never again will that something rise up, for it has reached its ruin, and Ruin will keep it there.
One might think that Ruin is repetitive as Death already exists, but no.
Death is the death of life.
Ruin is the death of idea.
The idea that there is something more after death, because there is none. Once a universe collapses, all there is ruin.
But does Ruin really matter?
What is the death of a universe, if those that live in it have already gone? Does it really matter? No one would be there to witness it die. It would make no difference if the ruined universe is just left completely alone.
And Ruin itself realizes this. Like Navi, it thinks its existence useless.
"They are given to me when they are already gone."
The eyes of Ruin reflect the colorful storm raging on around it. But in its hand was nothing but a faded remnant of everything it sees. Ruin seemed to want to touch the universes that were full of life dropping violently around him, but no—the only thing it was allowed to touch were those that were already beneath the storm, beneath the waves raging beneath Ruin and Navi.
Gray. Desolate. Dead.
"Do you think me lucky that I get to witness all the universes as they have lived, Ruin?"
Navi started approaching Ruin; her steps, ever-so gentle as she brushed her hand along the raging waves that violently moved around her calm silhouette.
"Are you?" Ruin darted its eyes away from the colorful world that surrounded it and pointed them at Navi instead. And in this domain filled with creation, life, and death, Navi seemed completely… alone,
"I have accepted my fate, because there is nothing to accept," Ruin's form slowly started to change—becoming even smaller than Charlotte's frame as it…as his silhouette turned to that of a young boy. A young boy that did not really look like anyone at all, "I do not wish for more, because I do not know what more is. But you, Navi…
…you witness life and death itself, and you can not partake in it. And so, Navi? Are you lucky?"
"..." Navi did not really answer Ruin's query, but the somber silence in her eyes brought forth whatever anyone needed to know, "Then let me change the question, Ruin. Do you regret the role that has been placed upon you?"
"As I have told you, Navi. I can not regret what I do not know," Ruin's hand once again brushed past the waves surrounding him, but not fully touching as he lifted his hand to avoid; perhaps in fear of longing for something he should not,
"My role is to clean after Death, and that is what I must do. And that is what I am."
"But if you do know what you are missing, then would you perhaps regret it?" Navi looked into Ruin's now-almost-human eyes.
"I will no longer answer that, for the reason I am here is for a different question," Ruin shook his head.
"Are you?"
"...Yes. The creature named Riley Ross," Ruin finally closed his hands as he just ignored the waves that seemed to want to wash him away, "Are we connected? Is he a being that also exists because of Nothing? Is he… my brother?"
"No one knows, Ruin," Navi closed her eyes as she turned around and started walking away. Her eyes, now fully reflecting everything around her—even those that were behind, beneath, or above. They were recording everything, everything that ever was, everything that ever is, and everything that might ever be.
"No One? Is there someone like that within the Preprimordials?" Ruin looked to the side; his face, visibly confused, "...Is it perhaps the preprimordial responsible for Celestial's existence? Or Perhaps Death?"
"...No," Navi slightly glanced at Ruin, "There is no one like that. If you truly want answers, then only Nothing can provide them—but from what I have discovered from Riley, even Nothing knows nothing."
"Does Anyone know anything, then?"
"Anyone does not exist."
"...What about Anything?"
"Please leave my domain, Youngest," Navi once again turned to face Ruin, "Unless you want to start regretting things that you can not regret. My domain is filled with everything that you have not, what waits for you here is only… ruin."
"I am no longer the Youngest, am I?" Ruin once again started looking around the domain filled with colors. Almost as if the longer he stayed in his new form, the more human he became, "Are you not curious, Oldest? Of how I know of the existence of Riley Ross?"
"You know because you know. Is there a need to know more than that?" Navi shook her head.
"If I know of him, then the others would have already known too."
"I know," Navi nodded, "Machina knows him, Death is chasing him, Elementia does not care for him, and Celestial wants nothing to do with him for Riley Ross is not born from her. You are the last to know, Ruin."
"Since you watch only the universe, then you might not know, Navi," a small smile started to crawl on Ruin's face,
"It was Machina that told me."
"Who else would?" Navi also smiled.
"And Machina also told me which universe Riley Ross belongs to, and where he is."
"..." The smile on Navi's face disappeared.
"And Machina did not tell just me…" Ruin's silhouette very slowly faded away from the colorful domain,
"...Machina told everyone. And they are all curious to visit our Youngest, especially Death."
"That is not within their role," Navi's eyebrows lowered as she looked at Ruin's fading form, "We can not interfere with our creation."
"Machina has," the smile on Ruin's face grew wider, "Even you have, Oldest. And if the Oldest could break the rules that creation itself has set for us—then that means we could too. Everything has changed when you made contact with Riley Ross, Navi."
"I did not make contact with Riley Ross until everything aligned," Navi stretched her hand to the side, pushing away the violent waves around her, "I did not talk to him until he discovered my existence."
"You manipulated the events, Navi."
"..."
"You asked me the wrong question, Oldest," Ruin's silhouette now only showed his fading face, "It is fact that I do not regret what I do not know…
…but it does not mean I can not look forward to it. I will see you out there in the world, Navi. Literally."
***
"Man, our family is weird."
"It turns out that I am not family at all, Alice."
"Shut the freak up—you still came out of the Alice's womb. That still makes you the son of all the infertile Alices in the multiverse."
Riley and Alice were now walking out of the Korean Shaved Ice store, leaving Charlotte alone to digest everything they told her.
"But wow, that was the first time I've ever actually talked to my mother and it was… a very weird experience," Alice let out a small breath as she wiped the sweat forming on her forehead, "Do mothers really get possessed mid-conversation?"
"I would not know, Alice," Riley shook his head, "But my mothers did try to kill me, and then imprison me for eternity."
"...Now that you're saying that, I feel like Charlotte isn't a bad mother at—"
"Where the fuck do you guys think you're going!? Are you trying to escape!?"
And as Alice and Riley were just casually walking around the empty mall of Mega Academy, Anna suddenly appeared and stomped her way toward the two—clearly furious about something.
"The Tournament, Riley! Don't fucking flake on me because I need that money!"
Chapter 771"Uh-huh. I was the Universal Champ then."
"Almost, you were almost the Universal Champ. But since you suddenly quit all of my earnings are gone!"
"Blame Grandma Aerith… or Mommy Aerith? Wait, Dad… which is it!? Aerith adopted Aunt Silvie, but you and Aerith are lovers. But then mommy is mommy, but what about Auntie Paige—Wait, why do you have so many women in your life!? You're a womanizer!"
A few days after the sudden and unexpected meeting with the primordial god Navi, Riley was now on New Theran, having another meeting, but with less important people like the Secretary of Defense of the entire planet, Empress.
And to keep the culture of Theran alive, the infrastructures that were made and built on New Theran were still completely reminiscent of their old world—castles, and the advanced technology was hidden within the walls and almost invisible.
Even now, with the meeting of the most important people on Earth, they were sitting around a wooden table with only the rays of the sun as their light.
"Enough about arguing the obvious! A womanizer's son will also be a womanizer and that's that!" Empress stomped her palm on her desk as she looked at all the people present in her office.
Aerith was there, making sure Riley won't do anything—since he usually does something ridiculous whenever there's a gathering. And as a matter of course, Diana was also there to… mitigate things if Riley actually does something. The two were somewhat lax, however, as the Alice from the other universe was still clinging to Riley like a koala.
With the three of them here, it was possible to stop Riley.
Butcher was by Empress's side.
Of course, Katherine, Karina, Silvie, and Diana's android, Anna, are also there, because their knowledge will be the most valuable input to the topic of their meeting—the Tournament.
"I thought the Common Council was going to cease with the operations of the Tournament for now?" And although Aerith was just some sort of chaperone, she still raised her hand to join the meeting—with Empress quickly focusing all of her attention on her.
It might not seem like it lately, but for anyone other than Riley, Aerith was still Megawoman in their eyes. The respect they have for her transcends almost anything, and Empress's unwavering eyes represented that.
"I wanted that to be the case, Megawoman," Empress tried her best not to sigh, "But the Common Council, especially Elder S'adar, is completely adamant in continuing the tournament."
"Even with all the things that are going on right now? The multiverse? The primordials suddenly making themselves known?" Aerith blinked in disbelief, "I don't believe it's time for games."
"That's what I said to them, Megawoman," Empress nodded as she could no longer prevent herself from sighing, "I countered to them that we have more important things to do, but all of them shut me down saying that it's… tradition. And as I am the newest member of the Common Council, my words sadly hold less meaning."
"That—"
"If I may?" Riley's other chaperone, Diana, also raised her hand, "It's not that your words hold less meaning, the Tournament really is something that holds great importance for everyone that is living in the Known Universe—it's not just a game or entertainment, it's a way to show that… we're alright. In short, it's crowd control."
"..." Empress only glanced at Diana, before crossing her arms and finally turning her attention back to the Tournament veterans,
"The four of you were there in the last Tournament, is there anything we need to know about it?"
"It was hella fun," Karina nodded, seemingly satisfied to be the first to answer.
"It was nice to see different races coming together without malice," Katherine stated as she looked at Aerith for some reason, "I believe Diana is right, the Tournament is a shared place. He—It doesn't belong to anyone, but at the same time, it belongs to everyone."
"...Are you still talking about the Tournament?" Diana looked back and forth between Aerith and Katherine.
"It's a great place to earn money," Anna proudly stood up with her head held up high, causing Diana to almost look away.
"You know, I programmed her to be as autonomous as possible…" Diana whispered to Aerith and Riley almost as if to defend herself even though no one was asking, "...I even entered some of my personality traits in the end. But I don't remember being this greedy with money at the time of her creation, or ever."
"You packed some of our furniture on your ship because you did not want to buy new furniture, Mother."
"But they were on sale, it was a pretty good deal and other planets don't have that."
"...Aren't you the richest themarian of your time, Diana?" Aerith raised an eyebrow.
"Let's not delve into the past," Diana just looked away as she shut her mouth.
"And you, Silvie? You came late to the party, correct?" Empress turned to Silvie as she had been keeping quiet from the start, "It was made known to me that you also participated in the fights, is that true?"
"Oh, uh… Yes?" Silvie quickly looked at Karina, only for her to very slowly look away, "I only wanted to join to ensure Karina's safety, but I forfeited the matches when I realized… the others were weak."
"Of course, you're a themarian! Everyone is weak compared to you!" Anna once again stood up, "But do you know how much I lost when you forfeited!? We could have scam—I mean, we could have won a lot of money if you continued since no one realized you were a themarian!"
"That's one of the reasons I quit," Silvie let out an awkward chuckle, "I… don't really like promoting gambling."
"Then pay me back what you owe me!"
"Everyone, calm down."
And before Anna could start rambling again, Empress raised her hand, "It's time to address the most crucial aspect of this meeting."
"..." Anna seemed to want to say more, but just shook her head as everyone focused their attention on Empress.
"I was told that to make people forget about all the incidents that have happened the past decade, the Tournament that is going to be held in a month's time will be… grander than the previous tournament—civilizations that previously had no interest in taking part in the Tournament would each be sending a group of champions, that is including those from the Higher Races, and other species with… special physical abilities."
"And I assume we are included in that…?" Aerith sighed.
"Yes," Empress nodded, "The Common Council decided that in order for the people of the Known Universe to truly forget the tragedies and incidents, all of the most powerful species will be competing. They have already contacted and met with the other races, and all of them said yes…
…including your people, Megawoman."
"...Mother and the others?"
"What…!?" Anna once again stood up from her seat, "Evaniels and Themarians are joining!? Isn't that unfair!? What are you going to say next, that the peaceful Norinlads also entered the Tournament!?"
"..." Empress kept quiet.
"What!? They're joining!? But those fuckers are literally not mentally capable of violence!"
"They joined when they found out that Earth is part of the Tournament, or more specifically…
…Riley Ross."
"...Oh," Anna quickly sat down as her mind of codes and numbers started calculating the odds of earning more money with the added competition,
"Who else…
…is joining?"
Chapter 772"Who else…
…is joining?"
"That is actually one of the things we will be discussing here. There—"
"Riley Ross will absolutely not be joining the Tournament."
The universe has done so many things that would be considered a mistake, and Diana has witnessed some of them; and in most of them, she was the one responsible. And even now, as she stood by one of the biggest mistakes of her life, she was going to ensure that the mistake wouldn't give birth to another.
She loves Riley Ross, truly—she would not have tolerated the things he has done for so many years if she hasn't. But right now, Riley was involved in something that no one could control.
The multiverse issue is taking a rest, but it would only be a matter of time until it all opens up again. A box, after all, that has already been opened once can't be truly closed again. There will be cracks, rips, and tiny holes where things could escape and go out.
But the other universes are not that much of a problem as they are also opportunities.
But the primordial gods? How Riley could actually be… related to them?
That is a problem the entire universe—no, the entire multiverse is not ready for. Primordial gods, as they have already proven and shown themselves to be, are almost omnipotent beings capable of just appearing everywhere if they wish to.
If they so wished, none of the people standing here right now would exist.
…And Riley Ross might be one of them.
"As has been mentioned throughout this meeting," Diana wore her glasses as she left Riley's side and started walking around the table, "The Tournament is a place where all species and races could come together to have fun—but it is also a place used to represent one's civilization…
…Do you wish my son to be one of the people that will be representing Earth, Adaeze?"
"..." Empress seemed to want to say something, but once again just chose to close her mouth as she gestured to Diana to continue.
"There are too many variables we need to consider. As all of you may know, Riley Ross may be quiet, but he actually enjoys stealing the spotlight secretly."
"She got that from you," Aerith blurted out quietly. Sadly for her, the way Themarian interior architecture works is that if you can hear yourself, then everyone else can too, "...Sorry."
"What I am trying to say is, if Riley joins the Tournament, we will be putting everyone there at risk—and due to my husband's habit of erasing every evil act my son does, most of the universe doesn't actually know or even remember Riley."
"Ack, your husband, Mother…" Whatever version of goosebumps an android has, Anna got it as soon as she heard Diana's words, "...He gives me the creeps—like he knows everything about me."
"If I may have some input into this matter?" Katherine raised her hand, "Diana, we've spent a long time together raising your granddaughter, and I feel like I have at least gotten to know you during our time together. So, I know that you know that Riley not joining the Tournament is never going to prevent him from doing something if he wants to do it. In fact, if you don't let him join, it might give him even more time to plan something even more sinister…
…no one wins against Riley."
"That's true," Karina quickly agreed with her mother, "Mommywas Daddy's professor and she got fucked by him a lot. Like fucked."
"Karina! I don't think you know what that means!"
"No," Karina shook her head repeatedly, "Nana Tsula told me a lot of times that you got fucked up mentally, physically, and emotionally by Daddy."
"Tsula…?" Katherine quickly looked down, as Tsula was still living within New Theran, "What… are you teaching my daughter?"
"It's fine, Mommy. I know what fuck means, sheesh."
"What does it mean?" Anna smirked.
"It means when Daddy gets on top of Mommy," Karina said proudly.
"Wrong," Anna let out a small but confident chuckle, "According to what I heard, it was your mother that got on top of—"
"Enough! We don't need to hear about who is on top of who!"
"Thank you, Empress…" Katherine covered her face as everyone's attention was on her.
"Can we be serious about this now?" Empress then let out a long and deep sigh as she asked for everyone to sit down, "Riley Ross is joining the Tournament and that is final, the Common Council actually asked for it… they demanded for it."
"They demanded for it? Why?" Aerith showed everyone's confusion. After what Riley had done to the previous Elders, she was sure the last thing they wanted was to involve themselves with Riley.
"Because that is, quote-for-quote, the only way this Tournament will be most interesting," Empress rolled her eyes as she remembered the meeting with the Elders, "And also…
…The Biolans will be joining."
"..."
"..."
"Who…?" Anna looked around as Aerith and Diana suddenly became quiet and almost frozen.
"Biolan is a species consisting of Riley Ross's clones," Empress sighed, "Diana, you may not have known since you were busy with your humanitarian acts with the Norinlad, but the Biolans, as well as former Elder Olseyir, have actually been pardoned by the Common Council—No, they were not even found guilty in the first place."
"..."
"Riley Ross was not found guilty in the first place," Empress once again let out an even deeper sigh, "The act that killed most of your people, in everyone's eyes… it was the previous Elders that were solely responsible for it."
"..."
"..."
"Jesus… that dampened the mood."
And finally, Alice, who has just been keeping her silence and sticking with Riley like a koala, raised her voice and even let out a somewhat awkward chuckle,
"Look, I don't know about the dying themarians here, but Riley did sure wipe out the themarians of my universe. Riley is evil, we all get that. But no one actually cares anymore," Alice winced as she looked at Aerith and Diana,
"I'm sorry, but that's the truth. The themarians, even in my world, kept to themselves—for some, they were as real as Santa Klaus. So, here's what I suggest… You and Aerith join the Tournament too, but on the Themarians' side."
"How does that even solve or relate to anything?" Diana looked at the others slightly confused.
"It won't, but it gives you a chance to finally smack your son in front of a lot of people," Alice smiled and nodded, "And of course… I also want to test if you really are stronger than my D."
"..."
"And by that, I mean my Diana. I obviously don't have a di—"
"I know, I know," Diana stopped Alice from continuing what she was saying, "But you can't join, Alice…
…you're not actually legally from this universe. My—Our Alice is immortalized here, a hundred kilometers in that direction."
"Oh, I actually got citizenship here," Alice shrugged as she looked at Empress, "I got it from her."
"What…?"
"She's… Alice," Empress pointed at Alice.
"She is—Never mind," Diana just shook her head, "So…
…who else will be joining?"
"...And we're back to square one."
"I already have a list… It is just up to them to accept it," Empress stood up as she pressed something in front of her, causing a hologram to pop out right above the center of the table,
"What do all of you think?"
Chapter 773"Why can't I go!?"
"Because you need to study and have friends, Karina."
"I have friends!"
"Normal friends."
"Aunt Anna is normal!"
"She's an android."
"I take offense in that."
A week after the meeting regarding the Tournament, the people that will be representing Earth in the upcoming competition were now preparing to board and have started gathering in the Academy.
Why the Academy? One might ask.
The Tournament will be the most important event in Human history, and will not only be remembered by Earth for years to come but by the entire universe. And what better place to send off the people that will be representing Earth other than the most important place on the planet?
The Mega Academy, literally where the future of Earth resides.
And right now, Katherine, Anna, and Karina were watching on the side… along with the thousand students in the Mega Auditorium hall of the Mega Academy as they waited for their heroes to arrive. Everyone was extremely excited, as most of the planet did not know who was chosen to join the Tournament.
A voting happened, but the World Government did not really reveal even a single poll.
And so, right now…
…We get to witness the rebirth of our heroes!]
And with the announcer, Benjaya, finally appearing in the center of the crowd, the students began howling and cheering, filling the entire stadium with a sort of somber madness.
"You know… I've seen a lot of culture and other planets," Anna looked at the students that were jumping around like monkeys, "But you Earthlings do know how to hype shit up."
"Anna, I told you not to use that language in front of my daughter."
"Psh, it's fine. She's like what… 9 now or something? I learned all the languages the 2nd day I was born," Anna waved her hand.
"You're an android, Anna."
"...And? That's not an excuse for Karina not to learn more profound vernacular."
"Whether it's profound or not is extremely deba—"
[Let's not waste any time and introduce our first champion!] The spotlight that was drowning Benjaya very slowly dimmed. But soon, another source of light appeared beside him—literally, a source of light.
[And of course, why would we look far from home, when our very own Headmaster has been chosen to represent us in the Tournament!?]
"Huwhat…!?"
"The Golden President is joining!? Wait, who will be standing in as the Headmaster, then!?"
"...But I thought he was an alien?"
"Wait… does this mean we have a vacation?"
"...You're in an Academy where all we do is train in the most advanced facilities, go out in places that most have never been to before, and we have fun doing it—what vacation are you fucking talking about? I don't even want to graduate from this place."
[Everyone…]
And as Bulwark was handed the mic, all the students that were whispering with each other all stopped,
[...I hope none of you would make your instructors go crazy just because I am not here. And as your headmaster, I promise to make all of you proud.]
"Yeah!"
And once again, the students started cheering. But with Bulwark raising his hand, their cheerings turned into claps, and soon just nods of respect and whispers to each other.
[I don't know about y'all, but that was hype! It's not every day that we get a member of the Rainbow to join in on the fun, gays represent!]
"I'm… representing humanity," Bulwark looked at Benjaya for a few seconds, before taking a few steps back and just looking away altogether, "And I'm not a member of that… rainbow thing."
"...But you're gay," Benjaya moved the mic away as he whispered to Bulwark.
"I know love, and that's all everyone needs to know," Bulwark shook his head, "Please refrain from saying anything like that again in front of all the children. And I am still paying you, so…"
"...Right, right," Benjaya just awkwardly smiled before facing the crowd again, [And now, for the next one—and as all of you may know, there are five. And for the second one…
…is Whiteking!]
"..." Unlike with Bulwark's entrance, everyone just turned quiet as soon as Bernard walked to the auditorium. Some of them, even turning off their phones in fear of Bernard hacking them. Unbeknownst to all of them, however, Bernard already has.
As soon as Bernard stood on the stage, however, the clapping began.
[Do you want to say something, Whiteking?]
"I was born without any powers," Bernard quickly grabbed the microphone from Benjaya, "I was only born with a mind better than most—a remnant of the old civilization, of those that came before. We are not yet irrelevant. I am not a Super, but I rose to power and I received power. To those that are watching this at home, know that I am representing you…
…I am representing the past and future of the human race."
"..."
"Tch, sleazy fucker," Anna scoffed as she shook her head, "You see that grandpa of yours, Karina? That's the kind of man you need to avoid. Words like rose, but a rose with venomous thorns. No wonder Diana fell for his bullshit."
Karina, however, completely ignored Anna as she just clapped and cheered for her grandfather.
[Whew, I feel my balls shrinking just from hearing Whiteking speak,] Benjaya fanned himself with his hand. And once again, another one of the champions moved away from him as Bernard moved closer to Bulwark.
"Why… do you keep making this guy the host?"
"...A lot of people want to see him. And Hannah, she was on the list too, right?"
"She refused to join," Bernard chuckled, "She said she didn't want to stress herself and just wanted to watch—and considering Riley is also joining, it would be too much to have 3 Ro—"
[And while the hype is still not gone, let's give it up to Whiteking's daughter, the Nuclear Baby, Seraph!]
"No one fucking calls me Nuclear Baby anymore, can you stop fucking mentioning that name? This is why people love your sister more than you!" And without even needing to hand the mic, Hannah stomped her way to the stage.
[Whew, as always, Seraph is coming in hot, everybody!]
"Nuclear Seraph! We love you!"
"Please look here! Look here!"
"..." Hannah was going to grab the mic from Benjaya, but just chose not to as she just crossed her arms and stood still, only glancing at her fans and giving a small wave.
[And if you think she's hot, you're about to see the sexiest super alive, literally. Voted as the Sexiest Super of the previous generation, Hera!]
"Oh my god!"
"Hera! Did you look at my audition!? I auditioned for Hera Entertainment last year!"
And perhaps out of all the champions that would be representing Earth, Hera was the one most used to the spotlight—and it was evident with the way she walked to the stage. She was already taller than Hannah, and yet she was still rocking heels and even wearing sunglasses as she waved at her fans that outnumbered Hannah's.
[I am not going to give you a fancy speech or even a motivational one,] Hera gestured to her fans to calm down, [Instead, I am going to give you a promise…
…we're going to make the other species our bitch.]
"Heck yeah!"
"That's what I am talking about, Earth No. 1!"
"Kick some alien ass!"
[O…Okay, that was something,] Benjaya quickly grabbed the mic away from Hera, [Aliens are cool, everyone. My boyfriend's from another planet, hello? They're cool! Let's not discriminate.]
"So, it seems I am going to go on an adventure with another Ross," Hera lowered her sunglasses as she stood beside Hannah, "This should be fun."
"...Do you even have time to do this? Aren't you busy with your agency or something?"
"Oh, I am doing this for the agency," Hera winked before putting on her sunglasses again, "We're going universal, literally. Anyway, your brother's up."
"Don't claim that it's nepotism," Hannah smirked, "It's not our fucking fault we're the most popular family on the planet."
"Oh, I'm not claiming anything," Hera let out a chuckle, "Don't you know…? Riley signed on to my agency before he was thrown to another planet."
"...What?"
[And now, finally—the last champion that will be representing our dear and lovely planet. I am sure that most of you are already aware of who it is. Considered to be the most powerful of all the supers and the one that has the most potential…
…Tempo!]
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
Chapter 774"Tempo? Did he just say Tempo…?"
"Wasn't there a rumor that Riley Ross will be the last member?"
"Riley Ross…? Isn't that Darkday?"
[Hello, everyone. As one of the champions of Earth, I…]
"What? No. Where did you even hear that? That's just propaganda by the Reuben family."
"No, you idiot. There was…"
Tempo made the grandest entrance by circling the entire auditorium before grabbing the mic from Benjaya. But sadly for him, even now as he was reciting the heartfelt speech that he painstakingly wrote the entire night before, no one was listening, or even looking at him.
He and Whiteking even designed a new purple suit that would be tailored to the new generation. Not only that, but with the materials from New Theran now readily available for Earth to use, they were able to make his new suit safer for him. In his previous suits, Tempo could really only run as much as his suit would allow him to—if he tries to run on Earth, multiple scenarios would happen.
His old suit would disintegrate, and in turn, he too would disintegrate. At first, Tempo tried making contact with the Evaniels and asking for their help so he could reach his full potential—they let him borrow one of their combat suits. But sadly for Tempo, the way the Evaniels' speed works is completely different from his abilities; even almost killing him when the suit compressed when he reached a certain speed.
But now, with Bernard's help, he was able to create a suit that was leaps and bounds better than anything he had ever worn.
And his speed?
Well, even he himself has not tried to reach his limit—but once the Tournament starts, he would stop holding back. Tempo was so excited, incredibly so that he wasn't even noticing that no one was listening to his grand speech.
"Where… the fuck is Riley?" Hannah looked around with one eyebrow raised, "Why is your husband here?"
"Ex-husband," Hera quickly shook her head, "And I am as confused as you—I was also told that Riley will be here, now it's just going to get awkward."
"Where—wait. You two split up? When?" Hannah looked at Hera.
"I prefer not to talk about it here," Hera sighed before placing her attention on Bernard, "You know something about this? Where's your son?"
"I… don't know," Bernard seemed calm. But in truth, he was already accessing all of his satellites and contacting both Diana and Aerith to try and find out Riley's whereabouts; the two, already searching the entire globe for him.
But of course, Bernard was already ready—Riley Ross, after all, is the literal embodiment of Murphy's law, except if Murphy was on trenbolone steroids. If Riley is there, then all the things that could go wrong might go wrong in the worst way possible. Except for the somewhat oblivious Tempo, all the other champions could not help but be slightly nervous about the looming calamity.
Bulwark was also ready for this. None of the students realized it, but there was actually a 10-meter thick themarian glass separating them from the stage. Of course, that thick themarian glass is actually useless, and Bulwark knows this. But it was better than nothing.
"I have the same question, Whiteking. Where is your son?" Bulwark could not help but share the others' worries. He seemed to want to say something else, but Tempo finally joined them as he finished his speech.
"Yo, this is like the Hope Guild again," Tempo pointed at Hannah and the others. And although the tone of his voice was extremely jolly, it was obvious that his eyes were avoiding Hera, "I heard someone is going to pick us up here soon? What's with that?"
"Can't you, just once, actually realize what's happening?" Hera rolled her eyes; even letting out a small scoff as she looked at Tempo, "I swear, you might as well be the slowest man on Earth at this point."
"...What am I even doing?" Tempo looked at his palms, almost as if trying to check something, "How can I know what it is you think is happening when you never tell me?"
"Excuse me? It's not my problem you're dumb."
"What—"
"Jesus, guys," Hannah stood between the two, "Can you fucking focus? We have—"
[Champions of Earth.]
And before the situation between Hera and Tempo could get worse, a voice suddenly vibrated throughout the entire auditorium. At first, everyone turned quiet as they looked at Benjaya, only to see the mic was not anywhere near his mouth. And in the first place, the voice that resounded through their ears was too deep to be coming from someone like Benjaya.
Everyone once again looked everywhere, with Hannah and the others becoming more and more vigilant with every passing second. After all, this could may very well be one of Riley's antics.
The entire auditorium soon began to tremble ever so slightly. At first, Bernard and Hannah looked at each other, sure that this truly was Riley's doing. And as the roof began to open, they became even more sure as they waited for Riley to just do his thing and descend from the sky.
But no.
What awaited them was not Riley descending from the sky—there was no sky in the first place. All there is is a head, a head beyond the clouds, beyond the atmosphere with a face large enough that one could not even see the expanse of space behind it.
"Is… that Elder Tedi?" Tempo, who was not that familiar with how Elder Tedi looks, shared the same expression as everyone else. Hera, Hannah, and Bernard, however, looked at each other with an even more confused look on their faces.
"That's not Elder Tedi," Hannah took in a small gulp as her eyes reflected the azure-skinned colossal alien literally looking down on them, "I… don't know who the fuck that is."
"It's a Messenger," Hera confidently said, "One of the friends I met during my space vacation mentioned them once."
"A… what?"
[I am Sukka, and I have come here to escort the Champions of Earth.]
"!!!"
And as soon as the Messenger, Sukka, uttered those words, a platform seemingly made of light appeared beneath their feet. There were runes and indistinguishable letters emerging from them, but only Bernard was trying to discern what they said before they were literally yanked away from the auditorium.
"Ah! They're leaving!" Karina could not help but raise her voice as she watched the 5 disappear into the sky and toward the giant face, "Let's join them, Mommy!"
"No," Karina was about to fly away, but Katherine pulled her down, "Finish all of your homework first, then you're allowed to watch the tournament."
"But Aunt Anna is going!" Karina pointed at Anna, who was already stepping out of the auditorium to follow them using Bernard's spaceship, "I'll do the homework on the ship, please!? Please!?"
"..." Katherine stared at Karina's almost glistening eyes for a few seconds, before just shaking her head and sighing, "Fine—but after, promise you'll focus on your studies and make friends with people your age, oka—"
And before Katherine could even finish her words, Karina was already gone. It has only been a few months since Katherine felt herself returning to at least a semblance of a normal life, even being hired back to the Academy by Bulwark.
But now, the entire month was being declared as a holiday so that everyone could watch the tournament happening and offer their support. Sadly for Earth, however, Katherine was not really supporting its champions…
…but another group.
Chapter 775"What… What the fuck is this!?"
"Marvelous, truly."
For those who have been to space many times, the sight of the unending cosmos would not really yield that much excitement anymore. Of course, there will always be a certain drop of amazement here and there—but unless something truly different appears, one would just find oneself smirking at those who are seeing the wonders of space for the first time.
And that is exactly what Hannah was feeling right now, a sense of superiority against two members of the Hope Guild. Tempo did not even try to hide how excited and in awe he was as his eyes looked everywhere. As for Bulwark, his eyes seemed relaxed, but very much curious.
But of course, if there was anyone seeing them from afar right now, that someone would be even more in awe than them—no, perhaps the better term for it would be shocked, or petrified in fear. Earth's Champions were currently traveling at hyperspeed… while staying on the palm of a colossal creature that was almost the size of Uranus. How that was even possible could really only be described as magic.
"I get the purple pervert, but I didn't think you'd be this excited from seeing something like this, Bulwark," Hera removed her sunglasses as she too, indulged herself with the euphoric and colorful streaks of light flowing around them, "Aren't you from outer space?"
"I did not think that even you would fall victim to that rumor, Hera," the smile on Bulwark's face completely faded away as he heard Hera's voice, "I would like to reiterate to everyone present here, the Elder known as Elder Apo and I are not related."
"...Really?" Hannah raised an eyebrow, "But you're almost identical."
"We are not," Bulwark almost sighed in frustration, "Just because our skin, hair, and the way our body glows are the same, does not mean we are related, Hannah."
"No… I'm pretty sure you're from the same planet as the dude," Hannah let out a small hum as she looked at Bulwark from head to toe, "What do you think, Dad? Didn't you get some sort of DNA sample from Elder Apo last we met?"
"...Yes."
"What?" Bulwark's golden eyebrows started to lower, "Why would you even do that to a person not belonging to our civilization? That is rude."
"Don't worry, he doesn't know," Bernard let out a small chuckle as he waved his hand. His helmet then unfolded, covering his entire head as he looked at Bulwark, "I have actually finished analyzing the data I received from him."
"What did it say!?" Hannah quickly approached her father. Even Tempo and Hera, who were quietly arguing, could not help but set aside their silent debate and turn their attention to Bernard.
"It says…" Bernard's voice turned into a whisper, "...secret."
"Oh, come one! Fuck you!" Hannah raised both her middle fingers at her father, "What did it say!?"
"It's not my information to divulge, Hannah," Bernard once again chuckled as his helmet folded back, "If you want to know, then ask Bulwark."
"But he doesn't know!"
"He will if he asks me," Bernard once again looked Bulwark in the eyes.
"It is not important right now," Bulwark, on the other hand, just looked away and started admiring the flowing cosmos around them, "What is important is that we should find out where Riley is."
"Pft, knowing that fucker…" Hannah scoffed as she too, looked away,
"...He's probably already there. We'll find him, that guy always stands out."
***
"I take back what I said, there are so many fucking people here."
Hannah was expecting something grand, and she wasn't alone. After all, a Tournament that involved the entire Known Universe, and the first Tournament after what seemed like an eon in which all the Higher Races participated will probably not come again. Hannah was expecting some sort of… luxurious welcome, but no.
The Messenger known as Sukka just left after literally dropping them on some sort of… flat planet. The planet was wide and vast, however—and even though it was flat, it was impossible to see the end of the horizon due to how far the end was, and there were also mountains blocking the end.
There were also 2 other Messengers aside from Sukka, who also seemed to be bringing in the champions of the other planets and civilizations…
…and there were a lot of them—and the spot where Sukka dropped them off did not seem to be the only spot where the champions were gathering, This is just one of many, and there seemed to already be at least 500 of them here in a single area.
They were in the middle of a vast field. There were occasional trees that twisted around each other, and plants that did the same—in fact, the blades of grass and even the empty ground showed signs of… spiral.
"I don't think Riley is here," Hera approached Hannah, "I don't smell his presence."
"...You can smell my brother?" Hannah raised an eyebrow.
"His presence," Hera rolled her eyes, "That's just how my abilities work—I don't feel the kind of danger I sense from him amongst this lot."
"Nope, no Riley—or evaniels for that matter," Tempo suddenly appeared beside Hannah, "I checked on all the faces of the aliens within the perimeter, I don't see anyone we know. Whiteking, what about you?"
"No," Bernard also suddenly appeared from thin air while shaking his head, "No sign of Riley. Bulwark?"
"Oh, I was not looking for him," Bulwark shrugged, "Now that we are far from Earth, I would like to remove Riley from the list of things I worry about and focus on the present. This is truly astonishing, to think we are but one of many in the universe… fascinating."
"I don't really think it's the time to be sightseeing," a small smile crawled on Hera's face as she started looking around,
"We seem to be very popular."
The races that gathered in their area all looked different. Most were humanoid with different skin types, varying numbers of orifices on their faces, and also varying numbers of limbs. There were also people who looked completely alien in terms of Earth standards. Octophoids, quad pedals, and even floating… fish-like people.
And if there was one thing they all had in common…
…it was that they were all looking at Hannah and the others.
"We should be popular," Bernard subtly walked in front of Hannah, "We are from the Unknown Universe, and we were immediately but officially introduced as one of the Higher Races."
"What are you guys even talking about?" Tempo scratched his chin, which was the only part of his body visible from his new purple suit, "Bulwark and I should really have been oriented first about all these new jargons."
"Just stay quiet and obser—"
[Champions.]
The invisible tension starting to form in the air completely dissipated away as a voice rumbled throughout the entire flat planet. No, perhaps 'rumbled' was an understatement, as the entire planet literally trembled and quaked as it wasn't just a single voice, but many.
All the eyes that were on Hannah and the group all strayed away as everyone turned to look at the 4 horizons, only to see 4 slightly faded faces talking in the distance; their mouths, all moving at the same time.
Just a single Messenger was already almost the size of Uranus, and now with 4 of them gathered and surrounding the flat planet, one could not help but feel trapped and drowning at the same time.
[20 Spawn Point, 100 Groups in Each,] the Messengers all spoke at the same time, [The 1st rule is simple…
…Fight until only 1 group remains in each Spawn Point.]
Chapter 776[20 Spawn Points, 100 Groups in Each, The 1st rule is simple…
…Fight until only 1 group remains in each Spawn Point.]
"So, there are 500 of us here, and 10,000 people in total."
"Fuck that. Did those giants just fucking throw us into a battle royale where everyone seemed to have it out for us!?"
"Hm…"
Bernard's helmet that has been folding and unfolding several times now finally settled on just covering his face. How could he not, when everyone's eyes were now once again locked onto him and the other Earthlings?
"...I suppose they placed the other Higher Races in another area. They really are treating this like a game—a rigged one."
"Rigged…?" Tempo slightly took a step back closer to the group as the crowd started to surround them. None of the other groups were talking to each other, but there seemed to be some sort of invisible sense of camaraderie as they truly were only targeting Earth,
"...You mean they want us so-called Higher Races to win?" Tempo awkwardly forced out a chuckle, "And I don't really like the term Higher Races, my race was oppressed by someone who treated themselves as such for more than a hundred years."
"Stop crying, you weren't even alive then," Hera scoffed.
"Are you really trying to invalidate my feelings again? This is why we split up."
"No, we split up because you only think about what you like and what you want."
"No, we split up because you're always unavailable. Out of all the things on your list of priorities, I'm at the lowest—no, I'm not even in it."
"Bullshit, you—"
"Guys, what the fuck!?" Hannah once again stood between the two, "Can we just fucking focus!?"
"The girl is right," Bulwark, like Bernard, was also already ready for combat as the light being emitted from his body has been flickering ever since the Messenger's first word, "I know that it is important to talk about your failed relationship, but you need to focus on the now."
"How can I focus when Whiteking just said this Tournament is rigged! Did they set us up to just die here!?" Tempo's head moved so fast as he looked at the other champions that it looked like his head just turned into a purple cylinder block.
"No," Whiteking shook his head, "This game is rigged, but not in a way that is disadvantageous for us."
"Huh? What do you—"
[These are the rules you will follow.]
And as everyone was getting ready for battle, the voices of the Messengers once again resounded throughout the entire flat planet,
[Proceed with as much violence as you can, but do not take another life. You can bring the other champions to the brink of death but do not send them to it. And for those that gain wounds that would threaten their life, do not fret. You will be warped out of the battlefield and treated back to health…
…That is all. The elimination will begin with the sound of thunder.]
"That's… it?" Tempo took in a small gulp, "Did the other groups even understand what they said? They were speaking our language, do the others even know what thunder is…?"
"Stop being such a country hick and get used to it already," Hera rolled her eyes, "They have like a universal translator thingy or something."
"What's the plan here, Whiteking!?" Tempo completely ignored Hera as he just stood behind Bernard, "You have like that Guardian Force power now, right? I heard you folks can detect energy levels like in the cartoons. What's… our chances here?"
"Chances?" Whiteking did not even turn his head as he responded to Tempo, "I just told you, this game is rigged for us. We—"
"Everyone, don't let them get any chance to attack!"
And before Bernard could finish his words, the sound of thunder reverberated through the empty sky of the flat planet, signaling the start of battle.
"What do we do!? What's the plan!?"
"Bulwark," and instead of a plan, Bernard just uttered a single name. And while the thunder signaled the start of the battle…
…Bulwark's name signaled the end of it.
The sound of thunder was not even done echoing, but the Spawn Point in which Earth was on was now surrounded by an ocean of golden light. An ocean, perhaps almost literally as it drowned everything and everyone it blanketed.
And at the end of the thunder, everyone and everything was gone.
"This round is just a courtesy, Tempo," Bulwark snapped his fingers, causing the ocean of light to wither away, "A way not to be rude to the other races and let them participate at the start—it is already quite obvious that the Tournament's stage is for the Higher Races."
"Well…" Bernard shook his head, "...I think differently. They did this to show the other races how strong we actually are, to show why we belong to the Higher Races, and remind them of our differences. Remember, the entire Known Universe is watching right now…
…Let's make ourselves known."
[Spawn Points 1, 2, and 14—Victors have been decided. Get ready to be transported to the next arena.]
"3…" Tempo looked at the Messengers as they once again spoke, "...I'm guessing the other two are Megawoman's group and the Evaniels?"
"Wait, we didn't even fucking get to warm up!?" Hannah batted her eyes as she looked at the now empty field, "You should have at least left a group or two, Bulwark!"
"I doubt those guys would have been a warm-up for any of us," Hera just sighed as she replaced the sunglasses she was wearing with a bigger one, "And if you fought, then we would have probably been disqualified for someone."
"Wha—Excuse me? My control is fucking awesome!"
"That's not what I meant," Hera scoffed, "I am not saying this to sound arrogant or confident, but the supers from Earth are… too strong for most of the other species. I realized this when I went on a little space escapade with your psychopath brother."
"...So I was worried for nothing?" Tempo let out a sigh of relief, "So, is it only the themarians and the Evaniels we need to worry about?"
"I don't think so," Bernard shook his head as he started looking around, "The themarians and evaniels are there."
He then pointed at two locations, each on the other side of the flat planet, "But I sense different surges of energy on all the 20 Spawn Points, the number of races belonging to the Higher Races should not exceed 10… so no, Tempo…"
And before Bernard could finish his words, his and the other's visions suddenly shifted—what was once an empty field that surrounded them, now a lavish and vast hall that exuded a weird… vibrance. Weird in a way that only parts of the hall were lit up, with the parts having a completely different aesthetic from the other lit-up areas. A different floor, a different table, and even different plates.
…We need to worry about everyone that wins this round."
"Well, well—Look who the broken leg dragged in, the Humans."
And one of the areas that happened to be lit up… were shining on the Evaniels. And the other, a group of people covered completely in robes.
Chapter 777"Well, well—look who the broken leg dragged in, the Humans."
The floor that the Evaniels were standing on was seemingly made of metal. Their table was also made with a single slab of silver metal, completely reminiscent of the Evaniel's culture and architecture.
And of course, Earth's section also reflected their culture.
"...Isn't this the table from Charlotte's desert store?" Hannah quickly recognized their table, "Wh—"
"I said, Well, well… look who the broken leg dragged in!"
And as Hannah and the others still tried to figure out where they were, one of the champions from the Evaniels once again raised her voice—even approaching Earth's table.
"Princess Vera," Bernard was the first to acknowledge Vera's presence, bowing to her before doing the Evaniel's salute, "It is an honor to once again meet you, and you too, Your Majesty."
Bernard also turned to look at Queen Vania, who bowed her head back before she gestured to the other evaniels to just sit down at their designated table.
"Hm," Princess Vera crossed her arms, before just letting out a sigh and shaking her head, "Where is Riley Ross? Where's your brother?"
"Believe me, I also want to know," Hannah also bowed her head to Vera, although a little reluctantly.
"Do not tell me he will not be participating in this match?" Vera's green hair, as well as the tattoos on her body, started to flicker as her voice went deep, "My mother may have pardoned him for his crimes, but our grudge—my grudge still remains. I will avenge the death of my brother and my men… but where is he?"
"Vera, please calm down."
"Hm?" Hera could not help but raise an eyebrow as she saw Tempo suddenly moving in front of Vera.
"We really don't know where Riley is," Tempo grabbed one of Vera's hands, "We are as confused as you here."
"..." Hera's eyes started to squint as she looked back and forth between Vera and Tempo.
"..." Vera also squinted her eyes as she looked at Tempo's hand, before just letting out a sigh and pulling away, "If Riley is not here, then perhaps we could join our tables. What do you say, Mother?"
"That is fine with me," Queen Vania nodded, "Only if it is fine with the humans?"
"It is," Bernard also nodded—and as soon as he did so, the light that shone upon both the evaniels and humans connected; their floors, also mysteriously moving closer to each other until their tables connected and merged,
"I heard you and Empress got into another argument?" Bernard once again bowed to Queen Vania.
"Yes," Queen Vania sighed, "I invited her to a birthday and she did not—"
"Wait."
But before the two groups could start greeting each other with smiles on their faces, Hannah raised her hand. The others looked at her, expecting her to disagree with this arrangement, but no—her eyes weren't even on them, but on the other group that had just been quietly minding their own business.
"..."
Hannah has actually been looking at them from the start—and not even once have they moved a single inch or even uttered a word to each other. They just stood there quietly with their heads down. And with the robes they were wearing, no one could really see what they looked like.
"I was expecting Megawoman's group to be the other one," Hannah started walking toward the mysterious group, "But the themarians won't hide themselves in robes."
"Hm…" Bernard, Queen Vania, and the others all quietly agreed with Hannah as they too, all focused their attention on the mysterious group.
"You know who likes to quietly sit on the side and not move even a single inch?" Hannah then let out a small smile as she stood in front of the mysterious group, who did not even have a table whatsoever for some reason,
"My brother!"
And with her voice raised, Hannah then walked toward one of the robed figures, the one whose white hair was slightly flowing out from their robes, and pulled on their hood revealing…
…someone else and not Riley.
"Wh…" Hannah could really only take a step back as the white-haired man looked at her. And as he did so, his other comrades also pulled down their hoods, revealing faces that Hannah did not recognize. They all looked like they were from Earth, if Earth had people with different hair colors that seemed like they were drawn on by colorful crayons, that is.
"Did you want something from us, child?" The oldest one from the group, a lady with purple hair that looked almost like it did not reflect light, was the first to speak to Hannah. Oldest, yes—but she seemed to just be the same age as Hera, while the others literally almost looked younger than Hannah. Besides their colorful hair, none of them really stood out; their faces, all seemingly average.
"N…no," Hannah let out an awkward smile, "Sorry. I thought you were someone I knew, he… hehe."
And with an even awkward chuckle, Hannah awkwardly stepped back and returned to Bernard and the others. She did not even say anything anymore and just sat down, burying her face on the table in shame.
As for the robed group, they just looked at each other, before once again just turning their heads down and not saying anything.
"Are… they possibly communicating telepathically? Interesting," Bulwark was slightly amused by the mysterious group.
"Who knows," Hera just shrugged before looking at Hannah, "What I do know is that I don't need to be a telepath to feel what Hannah's feeling right now. That was… totally embarrassing."
"Shut the fuck up," Hannah's muffled words transferred throughout the entire table as her head remained planted on it, "Just talk to me when it's time to fight and just leave me—"
And before Hannah could wallow and drown herself further, another spotlight flashed and lit up another part of the lavish hall.
"Ah, Mom!" And almost as if there to rescue her from the awkwardness of it all, Diana and the other themarians appeared. And almost immediately, the themarians' table crawled toward the merged table of the evaniels and humans, but before it could fully merge, Queen Adel grabbed the table and stopped it from moving any further.
"This is not a friendly competition," Queen Adel then turned to look at Hannah and the other earthlings, and when she realized Riley was not there, she placed her attention to Queen Vania,
"But a reminder of who it is that is truly on top of the universe's food chain."
"The food chain?" Queen Vera stood up to meet Queen Adel's eyes, "I know that the themarians are barbaric and think themselves to be superior to everyone else, but to think you eat other intelligent species is a surprise to me."
"You speak so casually for a race that was almost wiped out by my ancestors," Queen Adel smiled, "I would lower my head if I were you."
"That was a million years ago. Evaniels have grown stronger since… while you themarians have remained… stale," Queen Vania also smiled.
And while the two Queens were sizing themselves up, Hannah's eyes were once again focused on a robed individual.
Diana was already talking with Bernard, Aerith was speaking with Silvie, and there was a male themarian that Hannah did not recognize… and then finally, someone who was covered in robes.
Could it be…?
"Riley!?" And so, once again, Hannah brazenly approached the themarians' table. Once again pulling down the hood of another robed individual, "What are you doing on the themarian's si—Oh."
And once again, her luck was overshadowed by her rudeness as the robed individual was not in fact Riley…
…but the other princess of Theran, Princess Esme.
Chapter 778"Princes… Esme?"
And once again, Hannah points her head down in shame as she once again pulled the hood of a stranger open. She had met Esme before, of course, but really only from afar. She might as well be one of the people from the group without a table.
"S… sorry, I got the wrong person again… fuck," Hannah's voice practically turned into a whisper as she reached her last word. She was about to head back to her seat again, but instead turned to look at Esme,
"Are you… okay now?"
Esme was the only survivor from New Theran, and the fact that she survived was a testament to how strong she really was. But throughout the moments that Hannah saw her the past five years, she had always been either asleep or too weak to even talk or walk—Hannah sees her as… fragile.
A symbol of what Riley did.
"I am not okay, Diana's daughter," Esme looked to the side as she spoke to Hannah, "Even now, I could still feel the effects of the EDP running through my skin."
"Then… why are you here?" Hannah softly said, "You should be resting."
"I am tired, yes. But I have had enough rest already," Esme shook her head, before standing up and reminding everyone how tall she actually was—her stomach, almost hitting Hannah on the face, and the only reason it did not was… because she was too thin, extremely so,
"Unlike Hel, I am the only survivor of my father's empire—I have the obligation to resurrect what my ancestors have built, and to recover my people."
The tone of Esme's voice was as monotonous as it was before, but even a deaf man could hear how much she was struggling just from her breaths alone. Even then, however, the glimmer in her eyes was enough for everyone to see her conviction.
"Resurrect…" Hannah whispered.
"You seem to want to ask how I intend to do that, Diana's daughter?" Esme tilted her head to the side, "How am I going to rebuild my empire when I am the only one left of my people?"
"...Yes?" Hannah nodded. She was not really curious about it, as her mind was too busy trying to remind herself that her brother had a hand in the death of her people.
"I do not care for the structure of one's DNA," Esme shook her head, "Unlike Queen Adel, I have no more people left, I have already accepted that—and from the start, I am different from the rest of the themarians. I only want to rebuild my empire, those who wish to join are welcome to join…
…even you, Riley's sister."
"Hm…" Hannah once again could really only nod her head. She thought of things to say to her but just walked away with a heavy breath. Not before, of course, also bowing to Queen Adel. Adel, however, completely ignored her as she continued having a… civilized debate with the Queen of Evaniels.
"Where's the other Mega—Where's Edith?" Hannah did not really return to her seat but just approached Silvie, "I was sure she was going to join."
"Oh, Queen Adel did not really permit her to join," Silvie leaned closer to Hannah to whisper as quietly as she could.
"What? So Queen Adel abandoned another daughter of hers?" Hannah, on the other hand, did not.
"Shh!" Silvie quickly pulled Hannah away to the dark parts of the hall, "No—and please lower your voice, there's enough tension on the team already. Well… I guess we're a team? I don't really know exactly since everyone's just doing their own thing."
"Yeah, I could tell," Hannah glanced at the themarian's table, only to see them just doing their own thing, "And who's the guy?"
"I don't really know…?" Silvie hesitantly said, "Queen Adel just randomly chose him since we were running out of time on who to choose as the last champion. You have no idea how chaotic it was.
"Mom, Megawoman, and Queen Adel? I think I have an idea," Hannah softly chuckled, "Anyway… how's Esme?"
"Strong," Silvie answered without any hesitation, "Don't let her looks and demeanor fool you, Hannah. Even now when she's… nerfed, she's still physically the strongest themarian."
"Nerf…? That's a word I didn't expect to hear from you," Hannah once again chuckled, but abruptly stopped as she shook her head, "Speaking of being nerfed, what took you guys so fucking long? I was expecting you to be with us as the first ones to clear the preliminaries. Instead, we got… those guys over there."
"Well…" Silvie looked at the weird group who was hurdled together without a table, "...We did not really fight—No, we didn't really do anything, we just let the other groups hit us until they realized it was futile and they surrendered on their own. I think most of the Higher Races are doing just that."
"Huh, that's… passive as fuck," Hannah sighed, "But I guess I should have expected that from the group that had Megawoman and Megagirl."
"Honestly… I'm terrified of your mom."
"My mom?" Hannah let out a small scoff as she looked at Diana, but quickly turned around to look Silvie in the eyes, "You should be. She was already scary even before she outed herself as a themarian, be careful around her… she used to lock me up when I was—"
"I did not lock you up in anything."
"..." Both Hannah's and Silvie's eyes turned wide as Diana suddenly appeared behind Hannah.
"Your friend might start thinking I'm a strict mother," Diana let out a small giggle while covering her lips, "Do you think you would have kept your foul mouth if I actually was strict?"
"I… I actually don't think you were strict at all, Diana," Silvie forced out an awkward chuckle, "I…I would have been lucky if I had a mother like you."
"Oh…" Diana's eyebrows quickly rose up as she suddenly hugged Silvie.
"Mom, stop… that's emba—" And before Hannah could say anything, Diana also pulled her close and hugged her as well.
"It's okay, Silvie," Diana nodded several times as she embraced the two, "I know Aerith is a bad mother, but I'm here… okay?"
"That's… that's not what I meant at all!" Silvie's eyes once again turned wide, "Aerith is not—"
But alas, before Silvie could correct anyone, another group emerged victorious and appeared, adding more light to the lavish hall… perhaps too much light.
"What the shit?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she looked at the new arrivals… before looking at Bulwark, "Bulwark! It's your family."
"Please tell your daughter not to do that."
"The resemblance… is uncanny."
Bulwark wanted to protest, but no one seemed to be on his side. And at this point, even he himself was having doubts—how could he not, when the champions that just arrived… truly and absolutely resembled him?
It was the race widely known as the Proxina, Elder Apo, and his kind. And Bulwark was not the only one staring at them, they were also staring at Bulwark.
"So…" Tempo moved beside Bulwark, "...I hate to agree with the others, Mr. B, but… I think you might be an alien."
"I am not."
"Don't worry, there's no shame in that. I'm an alien too, I don't have a US Visa," Tempo proudly nodded his head.
"Wait, what!?" Hera, of course, heard that, "Then how did we even get married!?"
"...I'm Tempo and you're Hera."
And while the air of chaos very slowly started to be mixed in the air, more and more groups of champions started to appear.
"Apo!? You got here before me!?" The Poryans, Elder S'adar's species—all of them with spikes as their hair and tails almost as long as their body.
The Xanix, a dying species belonging to the Higher Races. Their bodies were special, in a way that their people did not really have a single body. They take the shape of a humanoid, but they are not. Their bodies are a collection of miniature flying bugs the size of an ant. In short, each of their people was a sort of hive. Hannah decided to avoid them as much as possible.
The Lyrins, their bodies were completely transparent, with only a single of their organs shown—their glowing heart. Hannah was mesmerized about them for some reason.
The Bigans, they had hair that resembled that of grass; their skin, almost paper-like. Aside from their random number of arms, they were humanoids. And apparently, they only eat their own kind; as to how Hannah knew that, well, they told everyone there.
The Gabis, skin darker than even space itself. If it wasn't for the light that was shining down on them, Hannah would have probably never noticed them—even now, they just looked like characters from fighting games that haven't been unlocked yet.
More and more came, and although most shared a humanoid shape, everyone was unique in their own ways that Hannah completely lost track of everything and just stared at all the new people now filling the hall. And now, with only two left remaining that were still fighting for their spot in the Tournament, the hall was almost completely lit up.
Seeing all of these different races coming together, Hannah could not help but just wonder how vast the universe truly is…
…and there are other universes out there with different versions of them all? In times like this… Hannah just wished to go back to the Academy and just be a clueless trainee again.
But then, as she once again stared at all the other races around her, she was also reminded of why she was there in the first place.
"Riley… is still not here."
And as another light flickered into existence in the hall, everyone turned to look…
…and there they are.
The Norinlads, the most peaceful species in the entire universe.
"Of course…" Hannah grumbled as she rolled her eyes,
"...that fucker is going to appear last."
Chapter 779"The… Norinlads."
"It's the Norinlads."
There were 18 other groups of champions inside the colorful and lavish hall. And yet right now, all of their attention was on a single group—the Norinlads. At first, all of them were staring at the Themarians. After all, they were literal gods in a way.
And also, the news was widespread that their species were almost completely wiped out, and some of them wanted to offer their condolences as well as anger to the previous Elders who plotted it. But alas… no one really approached as Queen Adel did not seem to be in the mood at all—still, they wanted to get their attention.
Of course, the evaniels were also there. But it also did not seem to be a good time to approach them… since their Queen was having a staring contest with the Themarian's Queen. There were many others from the Higher Races there, but the champions of the Common Races did not really have a problem in trying to approach them.
But now, with the arrival of the Norinlads, all of their attention was placed upon them. How could they not, when the Norinlads are known for their inherent passiveness? Their species can not feel or even think of any acts of violence; violence literally does not exist in their nature.
But of course, there existed a deviant among them—the Bounty Hunter Kerrigan. He was but a single man, and yet he became one of the most wanted fugitives in the history of the Known Universe.
Violence is not in the Norinlads' nature, but they were extremely powerful; incredibly so. There have even been debates that have started a million years ago that if the Norinlads were capable of violence, then the evaniels, or even the reclusive themarians would not be a match for them.
And if the race's other deviant, the colossal Elder Tedi, were to lose control of herself, then the entire universe will be in jeopardy.
Luckily for the entire universe, it truly is impossible for Norinlads to be violent…
…so what were they doing in this Tournament, exactly?
"So, Elder Tedi is truly not with you all, Medi."
"..."
And as one of the reclusive themarians approached the norinlads, most of the champions in the hall held their breaths—if their species could breathe, that is.
"Dr. Diana."
Like Tedi, the norinlads that were present in the Hall of Champions were completely covered in silver. Their skin, silver. Their eyes, hair, silver. Even the clothes they were wearing seemed part of their skin.
"It is truly regretful that Elder Tedi's… unique body gets in the way of certain activities."
"..." Diana's eyebrows quickly lowered as soon as she noticed the other norinlads nodding their heads. The others would completely miss it, but not Diana. She had spent a long time with the emotionless Norinlads… to know that they were capable of showing contempt,
"That is true," Diana could really only smile, "Her unique body also made her the smartest Norinlad in history. Perhaps our next research should be on how to replicate Elder Tedi's uniqueness so that it would flourish in the next generation."
"..."
"I will talk to all of you later, Medi, doctors," Diana then nodded before quickly turning around and walking away, making sure she wouldn't be able to hear the norinlad's obvious disgust and contempt against Elder Tedi. Diana had been working on research with Tedi for 5 years now—and during that time, they have easily become friends due to the knowledge they share with each other, and that was extremely valuable to her…
…valuable enough to get fired up and try to beat the norinlads senseless when the time comes.
"Those… are Elder Tedi's people?"
"They seem like ass."
And as soon as Diana returned to her table, Bernard and Hannah quickly approached her.
"Tedi's quite friendly once you get to know her but those guys are… well, they seem like ass," Hannah repeated her words as she subtly glanced at the norinlads.
"They are a species without emotions, child." And surprisingly, it was not Diana who answered Hannah, but Queen Adel, "The way they think, all the way down to the way they act could not be judged by you and me."
"...Right."
"And please, return to your tables—they are there for a reason," Queen Adel then gestured to Diana to ask her family to leave, "We all know the demon you spawned is about to arrive."
"Speaking of which…" Hannah, despite clearly seeing the Queen asking them to leave, even sat on the table as she turned her head to a particular group, "...Have you guys talked with them yet?"
Both Diana and Queen Adel turned their attention to where Hannah was pointing, only to see a group of humanoid champions with extremely pale skin and white hair just quietly staying put at their table, with one of them quickly looking away as soon as she noticed the themarians looking at her.
"Those are… the Biolans, right? Albinos, Biolans, Riley's… clone race," Hannah squinted her eyes as she looked at each of the champions of the Biolans, "It feels really really fucking weird looking at a bunch of people that somewhat resembles Riley. No… they are practically just albinos at this point."
"Hannah," Diana quickly gestured to Hannah to return to the humans' table, "Listen to Her Highness."
"Okay, okay. I'm just saying…" Hannah raised her hands as she started walking back to her seat, "...There seems to be a lot of personal tension here. Which is fucking valid, of course. A race of Riley is… well, it's just fucked up no matter how you look at it."
And so, with Hannah returning to her seat, everyone was once again right where they were supposed to be. Like the Evaniels and the Humans, there were also other tables that have been merged together—like Elder S'adar and Elder Apo's tables, indicating that the species were friends with each other.
This caused the other races to also place their attention on the Humans.
"That's… the youngest addition to the Higher Races, right?"
"They seem to be close with both the evaniels and the themarians… just where did they pop out from?"
"Where else? The Unknown, the universe is still filled with mystery, my friend."
"They do not seem to be that strong, or technologically advanced."
The other races started whispering to each other—and with the hall as closed as it could be and with their words automatically translated, Hannah and the others could clearly hear what all of them were saying.
"They… seemed completely uninformed about us," Tempo scratched his chin.
"Of course, Tempo—the universe does not revolve around us," Bulwark breathed out, "You do not even know the names of most of the races in this hall, how do you expect them to know about us?"
"Uhm… Riley Ross?" Tempo shrugged, "Didn't he do that entire broadcast thing when he literally annihilated the people responsible for the death of Megawoman's people?"
"You can ask Whiteking about that," Bulwark scoffed as he looked at Bernard.
"I…" Bernard chuckled, "...might have hacked into several servers to blur out Riley's face and delete some footage."
"Of other alien planets?" Tempo blinked, "...Why?"
"Habit," Bernard sighed.
"Makes you wonder just how many more horrid crimes his son committed that are not known in public," Hera's skin literally shivered as she slightly moved her seat away from Bernard.
"Wait, wait…" Tempo stretched his arms across the table to get everyone's attention, "...So are you telling me…
…that most of the aliens here don't know who or what Riley is?"
"..."
"...Oh."
"I could see how that would become a problem," Bernard placed his hand on his chin, "It should be alright."
"No, it's not…" Tempo looked at the others, "...What the fuck is wrong with your family?"
"Relax, Tempo," Hera rolled her eyes, "Riley's cool once you get to know him."
"Why does it seem like you like the boy?" Tempo scoffed, "And it's not just now, I've noticed that when you returned from your space escapade. Don't tell me… you and Riley have something?"
"The fuck?" Hera raised an eyebrow as her skin started to turn gray, "You really should learn how to shut your mouth, little Jay."
"Don't call me that."
"And if there is anything going on here, it is with you and that green-haired princess."
"Princess Vera? W… what?" Tempo quickly scoffed as he looked at Vera. He was about to say something, but as soon as he noticed Vera also looking in his direction, his lips stayed shut.
"See!? I fucking knew that you were cheating on—"
And before Hera could say what she wanted to say, the last remaining light finally flickered. And as soon as it did so, almost all of the champions from the Higher Races stopped whatever they were doing and all placed their attention on the new table that emerged from the ground…
…a table seemingly made of skulls.
And soon, the last champions appeared… all covered in blood.
"!!!"
The groups that were near the ominous table all either quickly walked or floated away from the new champions. Not just because of the blood, but because they recognized some of the members of the last group.
The woman that terrorized the entire Known Universe for thousands of years, the Outlaw with the most bounty on her head, the Pirate Queen Xra.
Her alone was enough to cause everyone near the newly arrived group to tremble, but no—there was someone else with them, something else.
A humanoid, whose silhouette was completely pink, and skin that seemed alive. All of them recognized what it was… the Eater of Stars, the Pink Fluff…
…The Cherbi.
"What the fuck, Riley…?" Hannah could really only let out a small chuckle as she saw this,
"...What are you doing now?"
Chapter 780"Cherbi…? The Cherbi!?"
"Is that even allowed? What planet could it even be representing?"
And once again, not even a second after making his appearance, the white-skinned man brought with him an air of chaos. Their table was completely relaxed, with none of them even looking at the other tables—the other tables, however, were completely stunned. Most of them were quiet, but some of them were completely vocal in expressing their distress as they stared at the Pink Fluff.
No, perhaps calling it the pink fluff was no longer valid, as it no longer retained its spherical and soft shape. It had arms and legs now, resembling a human as much as it could. But alas, aside from its black eyes that were more like marbles, it did not even have a single orifice on its body—it was just pink; its skin, similar to millions of small tendrils all moving on their own.
But they know, everyone knows what it is even with this humanoid form…and it's with the Pirate Queen Xra?
What sort of team is that? Both Star Harvesters are in a single group, beings that have terrorized the Known Universe for thousands of years, who even allowed this setup?
One would be lucky, or unlucky to even meet any of these two in one's lifetime, and yet here they are.
Even some of the Higher Races were on edge, even Queen Adel. How could she not, when her son died playing hero trying to stop this living calamity?
"What even is this madness?" Queen Adel stood up from her seat and she looked to the end of the hall, "How could the Common Council allow such a farce to even happen? Do you not respect that someone such as I have even graced all of you with my presence?"
"Woman please, you're not that special," Queen Vania's green hair slightly lit up as she too, stood up again, not allowing Queen Adel to have a higher eye level than her. But after a few seconds, she also looked at the direction Adel was looking, "But just this once, I do agree with your statement."
"..."
What they were looking at was just a spot of darkness in the now lit-up hall, but there was someone there—something there that refuses to make itself known for now. The others were curious as to what the champions of the Higher Races were looking at, but they were once again jolted when a sound of… soft laughter started to whisper in their ears. The whisper, coming from the only table they did not wish to actually hear a sound from.
All of them very slowly turned to look at the table, only to see one of them finally sitting at the table dedicated to them. Something was wrong, however.
The table of skulls was large, but there was only a single chair. And it was not Pirate Queen Xra sitting on it, not even the Cherbi.
It was a white-haired humanoid that most of them had not even seen before. The sound that they heard, actually coming from him.
"Oh…?" Riley was not even able to lean his back on his chair made of skulls before he noticed everyone looking at him,
"Could it be I have something on my face?" He said as blood dripped from his chin, "Could you perhaps remove it for me, Pirate Queen Xra?"
"..." Pirate Queen Xra did not really say anything, just shaking her head and sighing before snapping her fingers. And as she did so, the blood that painted the faces of Riley's group completely withered away without a trace, finally revealing everyone's faces.
"Did… the Pirate Queen just follow that man's orders?"
"Who is he?"
"He… looks familiar. I feel like I have seen him before."
The champions that wanted to move their tables away from Riley's table were now planted on their seats; their eyes, ears, or whatever senses they used were all pointed at Riley.
"No, seriously, I feel like I have seen the man before. I just can't quite put my tentacle on it."
"Wait, him? It's him!"
"That table seems to know who it is."
"He's the one who killed the previous Elders!"
"Something like that happened? Why don't I know that?"
"Don't listen to him, their race is known for lying."
Everyone was curious as to who he could be, but no one really dared to move closer, however. Well, no one except for one.
"Riley, what the fuck are you planning now?"
Everyone made sure to face their seats as Hannah approached Riley's table, "Shouldn't you be representing Eart—"
But before Hannah could actually hit her brother on the head, Cherbi suddenly blocked her path.
"The fuck?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she stared back at this weird pink entity, whose head was slowly tilting to the side as it seemed to look at Hannah from head to toe, "Who the fuck is this supposed to be?"
"Cherbi." And to everyone's surprise, Cherbi actually answered; it's voice, somewhat resembling that of a human boy, "I am Cherbi. You are Hannah Ross."
"You… know who I am?" Hannah's eyes very slowly squinted as she felt a little of her energy subtly flowing out from her body.
"Hannah Ross, sister of the Creator of Rolly," Cherbi nodded.
"Roll—never mind. Riley?" Hannah leaned to the side to look at Riley as she pointed to Cherbi.
Riley just nodded his head, and Cherbi quickly moved to the side to make way.
"What the fuck is—You!?" And before Hannah could take another step forward, another individual caught her eye—a woman she had only really met briefly, but left an everlasting impression on her that she will never really forget. How could she… when it was the woman version of Gary?
"What the fu—what are you… even doing here?" Hannah didn't really know how to address Gracy. On one hand, they were total strangers. On the other, she's literally female Gary; albeit hotter than one would expect.
"I… came to participate?" Gracy awkwardly chuckled, "Riley here asked for me. And since I don't really have anything to do on my planet. I figured—"
"You're from another universe, Gracy," Hannah blinked, "I don't think you're allowed to join…?"
"Well…"
"It is fine, sister," Riley raised a hand as she gestured to Hannah to come forward, "I have already asked the Common Council for permission, and they approved my team."
"...What?"
Queen Adel, who was intensely listening from the themarians' table, could not help but raise an eyebrow as she once again focused her attention on Queen Vania,
"The devil child is saying you approved of this, Your Highness. Can you explain that?"
"What!? I did not approve of anything!" Queen Vania lightly slammed her fist on the table.
"Well, someone in the Common Council did," Queen Adel scoffed before once again putting her attention on Riley.
"What crazy and fucked up stunt are you even pulling now? And did you fucking kill anyone during the battle royale?" Hannah looked at the blood that didn't wither away on the floor.
"Do not be silly, sister. That is against the rules," Riley waved his hand and chuckled.
"And what the fuck even is this? What planet or civilization are you guys even representing?"
"I am glad you asked, sister," a small smile started to crawl on Riley's face as he finally leaned his back on his throne, "We represent all those who do not have a place in this universe. Those who have either been shunned, feared, abhorred, whether it is because of their own doing, or they have just been unlucky to be born that way."
"Wait… what?" Gracy's eyes quickly turned wide, "I thought this was supposed to be the popular group!? I'm not a loner!"
"Those who are alone, and will always be alone until the end of time," Riley completely ignored Gracy's words as he rested his cheek on his fist, "We are…
…the Strays."
And as soon as Riley uttered those words, all of his group members huddled to his position, with Gracy even randomly undressing her top out of nowhere, leaving her with a bikini top that had the initials M and W on each cup as she went behind Riley and leaned over the back of his throne. And with her breasts being… decently sized, there were even alien eyes that were looking at her.
Cherbi pointed his palm up, dabbing as he stood beside Riley. As for Pirate Queen Xra, she just shook her head and crossed her arms.
"What… are you guys even doing?" Hannah squinted her eyes as she looked at Riley's team. And soon, her eyes landed on someone she hadn't really seen before, but seemed eerily familiar,
"And you… Do I know you?"
It was a man wearing a blue-orange two-tone cap; his hands also stretched to the side as he also stood beside Riley.
"We have met a couple of times, Ms. Hannah Ross from Whiteroad Drive," the man tilted his cap.
"...What?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she heard the man's words, "How do you—wait…wait. What the fuck…?" And very soon, she realized who the man was. She was wrong, she had seen him a couple of times before, and in front of her house at that,
"You!?"
"Hm," the man whose face was beyond average winked, "I always kept your package secure, Ms. Hannah Ross—even though some are weirdly shaped, I take it upon myself to make them more discrete—"
"Wait, wait…"
"Thank you for always trusting us with your packages, we have always stayed No. 1 because of you," the Delivery Man bowed his head, "Delivering to you, anywhere in the world...
...no matter what."
"What… the fuck?"
Chapter 781"Wait, wait, wait… Just fucking wait."
"Of course. You will always have 15 minutes to claim your express package until we attempt to deliver it again the next day, no matter what."
"O…kay. Riley."
"Hm?"
Riley stood up from his seat as Hannah gestured to him to follow her. The two of them, moving to an area of the hall that was still slightly dark and away from prying ears and eyes.
"Why the fuck are you involving a normal person here?" Hannah quickly pulled Riley closer as she whispered loudly in his ear, "Everyone's already on edge because of you, and you do something like this? Ask them to take the poor guy back home."
"I can't do that, sister," Riley quickly shook his head as he glanced at the Delivery Man, "He is now part of our team."
"I don't fucking care, he's a normal human," Hannah gritted her teeth, "Please, stop involving innocent people already. We all know you're evil, we all know you're the fucking edge god, but please…don't involve the guy. Why didn't you just invite someone else? Katherine? Tomoe? Or better yet, Chihiro."
"I was initially going to give the spot to Chihiro, sister. Since she is technically now one of us, a stray in her own world," Riley let out a small but deep sigh, "But I am afraid it was already too late when she got back from Machina's realm, so I had to invite someone that could get here in at… an express time."
"...What? What do you mean—wait, wait…"
"You have been telling us to wait since earlier, sister. Is there something wrong?"
"You, you're what's wrong, Riley," Hannah groaned, "But wait… what do you mean 'get here in an express time'?"
"Hm," Riley nodded to himself as he once again glanced at the Delivery Man, who tilted his cap in response, "The Messenger came for us and brought us here while we were still missing our 5th member, Hannah."
"Are you saying the delivery man didn't come with you to… wherever this flat planet is?" Hannah's eyes turned wide as she also glanced at the Delivery Man.
"Yes," Riley nodded, "As I said, we needed a 5th member before the start of the eliminations—and the only person I know that could get to me anywhere in less than 5 minutes, no matter what, is Mr. Man."
"Are you saying not only did the delivery man travel to god knows where across the universe, he also did it in less than 5 minutes?"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "Mr. Man has never failed to complete a delivery, so I asked him to deliver me the championship, sister."
"Okay, this is getting so fucking ridiculous that I feel like I'm fucking dreaming right now," Hannah could really only release the deepest breath she could as she looked at the delivery man from head to toe, "So… you're a super?"
"I don't know," the Delivery Man shrugged, "I just deliver, no matter what."
"And what's your name?"
"Delivery, last name Man."
"Of course, Delivery Man," Hannah could really only force out a chuckle as she gestured to… Delivery, "So, what's your ability then? Superspeed? Teleportation?"
"You can call me Del," Del once again shrugged, "And I don't what my powers are, Ms. Ross—I just know that I deliver, no matt—"
"Yeah, yes. I know. No matter what," Hannah shook her head, "I think the most important thing is that do you want to be here? Does Riley have someone you love hostage, or is he threatening you to join the team?"
"Not at all, Ms. Hannah. I am here to fulfill my delivery, nothing else, no matter what," Del once again tilted his cap.
"...Right."
"You do not have to worry about Mr. Man, sister," Riley returned to his throne, "He is strong. He even delivered a package for me when I was in Shirtless Hannah's penthouse."
"...That's in another universe."
"Yes."
"What the fuck…?" Hannah then looked at Gracy, "...Are you sure you're going to be okay in this team?"
"Yeah, sure," Gracy shrugged, "I'm not a loner, though. But I am part of the elite and mysterious team that will sweep the entire Tournament. The underdogs, shrouded in mystery."
"You are definitely not the underdogs," Hannah looked at the other tables, only to see them fully invested in her conversation with Riley's table, "I don't think you really understand what kind of team you have, Gracy. If you wanted mysterious, you should be on that team."
"Hm?" Gracy looked at where Hannah was pointing, only to see a group without a table, all huddled closely together and just… breathing, "...I'm not that weird."
"..." Riley also turned to look at the group, tilting his head to the side while squinting his eyes. And as he did so, each of the members of the group also all looked at him.
"Fuck, they're even creepier than you, Riley," Hannah breathed out as she started walking away, "Anyway, good luck. All of us are… going to need it."
And with those words, Hannah returned back to her seat, causing those who were eavesdropping to all look away and pretend that they all did not just listen in on the conversation that just happened.
"You said you did not want to stand out, child," and with Hannah gone, Pirate Queen Xra broke her silence as she sat on the table in front of Riley, planting her foot on the armrest, "I do not know if the definition has been lost in time or translation, but we are absolutely standing out."
"It is just the curse we hold as outcasts, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley sighed, "We are destined to be looked upon."
"No matter what," Del continued Riley's words as he smiled.
"Have I told you before that you look familiar?" Xra squinted her eyes as she looked at Del, "I am trying to read your mind, but the only thing I can see is… now."
"Hm," Del once again only shrugged.
"And you," Xra folded her arms as she looked at Cherbi, "Just… do whatever it is you do."
"Yes, Sarah."
"Tch…" Xra's left eye started to twitch as her name was once again mispronounced. She was about to say something, but she suddenly looked toward the dark side of the hall; where Queen Adel and Queen Vania also turned to look earlier,
"...Someone's here."
And as soon as she said that, the hall finally completely lit up—the ceiling, an endless holographic view of the universe; with each of the champions' planets floating directly above them.
"..." Xra looked up, only to see that they did not have a planet hovering over them, "Hm, should have just shown my ship."
[Ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary beings.]
And as everyone was amazed with the sudden view, another spotlight popped out; lighting up the remaining dark spot in the otherwise lavish hall. And right there, drowned by the light was a gray marble statue of a humanoid—no, not exactly. As the humanoid was moving eerily… human.
[I am Ahor Zai. Some of you know me as the Codex of the Known Universe. I will be your host for the remainder of this Tournament. This is the first time that I will do this, for the reason that this is also the first time that there will be…
…an actual physical reward for winning the Tournament.]
"Huh…?" Hannah batted her eyes as she looked at the others,
"...You mean there wasn't before?"
"Hannah, don't talk over the host."
"You're literally on another table, Mom. Mind your own business."
"After you went through everyone's table and started pulling everyone's hood? I raised you better than that, Hannah."
"Well…" Bernard joined in on the conversation, only to be met with the fiery eyes of both his wife and daughter.
[I know that most of you are curious as to what it will be,] Ahor Zai's words continued to travel throughout the entire hall; the timbre of its voice, fully resembling that of a female human, [And the only reason that there is a reward today is because of Quadley, a being that has stayed with me in Ahor Zai for years when his creator left him in Ahor Zai—Quadley told me that there should be a reward.]
"..." Everyone that knew of Riley's clones all glanced at him.
[I, Ahor Zai, have decided the reward should be.]
"...Why don't I know any of these things?" Queen Vania could not help but raise an eyebrow. She was officially a part of the Common Council, and yet even Riley's team was not known to her.
"Maybe you've been evicted," Queen Adel commented on the side.
[As some of you may not know yet, but the Multiverse is real.]
"!!!"
Diana quickly stood up from her seat. She wanted to stop Ahor Zai from speaking any further, but decided against it. The Common Council, as well as everyone who discovered the existence of the multiverse, decided to keep it a secret until they could figure out how to proceed and handle it well—and if Ahor Zai is the one that was announcing it to the world, then there must be a good reason for it…. There must.
"Multiverse…? A universe not of our own?"
"But we have not even discovered much of the Unknown—the Multiverse?"
"What sort of nonsense is that!?"
[All of your shock is valid. But please, I am not done,] Ahor Zai raised her hand as her silhouette finally morphed into that of a female humanoid,
[Unbeknownst to the Elders of the Common Council and the others that know the existence of the Multiverse, I have actually gained access to knowledge that is beyond our own.]
"...What?" Diana looked at the Norinlads, who also seemed as confused as they could be.
[As they opened and closed portals, connecting to the other worlds in my presence, literally inside my presence in Ahor Zai,] Ahor Zai's gray silhouette started to gain color,
[I have become connected to the other Universal Codices. All of their knowledge, everything they know, I know. I have transcended as an entity…
…and so will the winners of this Tournament.]
Chapter 782"Trans…cend?"
"Interesting."
A small smile very slowly crawled on Riley's face as he heard Ahor Zai's words. Even though the idea was recommended by his own clone, Riley was totally clueless about this. After all, when one of his clones, Olseyir, changed her entire identity and even created her own race, Riley has decided to completely untether himself from his clones which had already spent a considerable time alive.
And so, the clone that he left to Ahor Zai all those years ago, Quadley, has a completely different life now.
Only those that he just recently summoned will be connected to him. But of course, that doesn't mean that Olseyir and the others were completely free of him, no – not at all. Riley could still snap his fingers and all of them would just… cease to exist.
But of course, Riley wouldn't do that.
"Pft."
"Are all of your thoughts evil?"
"Huh? What? What's funny?" And with Riley suddenly letting out a whisper of a laugh and Xra shaking her head, Gracy could not help but be curious as to what was going on, "...Do you guys know something?"
"No," Xra sighed, "I just made the mistake of accidentally reading that boy's mind."
"You… can really read minds?" Gracy immediately covered her head, causing her… decently sized breasts to be pinned. And with her only wearing a bikini top, the bounce they created caused some of the more humanoid races to momentarily forget what Ahor Zai just said.
Not for long, however, as one of the octophoids raised three of its tentacles.
"What do you mean Multiverse!?"
[Jakol from the Krukux race. The Multiverse is a collection of universes, all very much like our own,] Ahor Zai's silhouette continued to form and shift; even her hair which was previously all just stuck together like a statue started to separate into volumes of strands, almost as brown as chestnut.
"That's… not real!"
"How can you expect us to believe that!?"
[Because the information came from me,] Ahor Zai smiled. And as she did so, her gray and pale lips turned pink, [I may have transcended, but my core programming still remains very much appreciated and intact—whatever information you ask me, I will provide as long as it does not violate the conducts of the Co—]
"What kind of elaborate prank is this!?"
[I assure all of you, this is not a prank. I am fully com—]
"We only came here for the glory of our race, what is this nonsense!?"
[It is not non—]
"I need to speak to whoever is in charge here!"
And as the champions all started talking to and over each other in haste, Ahor Zai could no longer even get the chance to speak. And perhaps due to it transcending and gaining the knowledge of several other Codices from the other universes, there was a trace of frustration that truly seemed human-like on her now human-like face.
[Please, everyone. Listen to my wor—]
"I came here to fight, so let's just fight!"
And once again, the voices of the masses did not allow Ahor Zai to speak.
"And where is the food!? You have gathered us in a banquet and yet—"
"That is enough from all of you inferior beings!"
"!!!"
A loud quake suddenly thundered throughout the entire hall, completely drowning any other voices. The ones with their mouths still open could really only look around; very slowly closing their mouths as their eyes landed on the source of the quake – the Queen of the Themarians.
"I thought all that were gathered here are champions, chosen by their civilization to represent and usher their race to the summit," Queen Adel moved away from her seat as she looked at each of the champions who breathed out their complaints,
"And yet all I hear are sad little insects chirping with their foolish words that came from their witless brains. Let the automaton explain and stop yapping your oversized mouths."
Themarians are known to physically be the strongest creatures of the universe, and with her words thundering through the other champions' ears, they could not help but just… scoff?
"You talk so much for a sovereign that let her people die," the one that started the onslaught of questions, Jakol from the Krukux race, slightly glided away from their table with his 8 limbs all arrogantly moving as wide as they could reach.
"What did you say?" A small hint of red could be seen glowing from Queen Adel's eyes.
"You heard, Your Highness," Jakol's arms started swaying, "It makes someone like me, from the so-called Normal Races, wonder if the stories about your people are really true. In fact… how many here have been told that a race we have not even met, not have even shared a conversation with…
…is a higher life form than us?"
"That's… that's right!" A humanoid with bunny-like ears and feet hopped from his seat, pointing his paws at Queen Adel, the evaniels, and other members of the Higher Races that he could identify, "How does that even make sense!? This is also their first time in the Tournament, why does it feel like they are already getting special treatment just by being here!?"
"..." Riley looked around as he heard the bunny man's words, trying to figure out how their treatment was different from the rest.
"And why is it that there has never been someone from the Normal Races to sit in the Common Council!?" Another one joined in; another humanoid, but wearing shell rather than skin, "And why don't these people even have a table!? What sort of discrimination is that!?"
The crustaphoid pointed its pincer at the hooded group that was all huddled up together. The hooded group, however, only glanced at him before just once again started breathing closely together.
"All these tales and mythologies we hear of the mighty themarians," Jakol raised his limbs to speak, "Perhaps your people are not even that strong?"
"I would be very careful with the next words I utter, squid," Queen Adel wanted to stare at Jakol's eyes, but was confused as to where they were.
"Careful…?" Jakol laughed to the point that bubbles came out of its mouth, "You are sorely outnumbered here, Your Highness. Not our fault that the trend for the Higher Races is to be extinct."
"That's right!"
Once again, most of the normal races agreed with Jakol, bobbing their heads, if they had one, up and down repeatedly. As for the Higher Races, particularly Elder S'adar and the other Poryans, they could not help but just grimace and cringe on the side.
"My expectations with the lower people were already low," Queen Adel seemed to have no plan of backing down, "But this ignorance is beyond what I even expec—"
"Mother, please… stop it," Aerith couldn't help it anymore as she tugged at her mother's exaggeratingly long hair, "You're embarrassing us."
"You're the only embarrassment here, child. And have you seen the way your daughter dresses?" Queen Adel glanced at Gracy.
"...She's not my child. Please, Mother. Just sit back down."
"Why should I sit down?" Queen Adel flung her hair away to avoid Aerith's hand, "The only reason I am in this Tournament is to let off some rage. Now tell me, why should I sit down when there are trash yapping in front of me?"
"What did—!!!"
"I should just kill each and every last one of you pathetic lower beings," Queen Adel stepped forward, causing the entire hall to quake, "I'll follow my daughter's solutions…
…and cull the rest of you. I am certain no one will mind."
Chapter 783"I'll follow the way my daughter solves things…
…and cull the rest of you. I am certain no one will mind."
"Oh…?"
The faint glow on Queen Adel's eyes turned fiery and wild; wild enough that it caused the variety of lights that lit up the banquet hall to flicker, further amplifying the red glow that stared directly at Jakol.
Jakol seemed to still want to say something, but before he could do so, the other champions from the other planets that agreed with him earlier all started taking their seats one by one. And with the sudden silence and the lights that flickered almost like a countdown, Jakol just took this chance to very slowly back away and return to his table as well.
And while the silence was almost worse than the squabble, Riley could not help but just be amused with what was happening. He had always known of Queen Adel's temperament—she was calm for the most parts and even completely uncaring if you are not from her circle—but as soon as someone she deems lower even dares to speak to her, she becomes ballistic.
If their circumstances were any different, then… wouldn't Queen Adel have been a perfect member of his supervillain organization? Perhaps he should restore the organization again, but this time with a…
…much wider scope?
"..." Queen Adel quickly turned to look at Riley as she felt something amiss, only to see him creepily smiling at her. She was slightly put off and wanted to just punch him there and then, but she managed to calm herself down.
"Good," And as no one there stood up to her anymore, Queen Adel's eyes quickly returned to normal as a smirk crawled on her face, "Anyone else feeling a little brave? Now will be your only—"
"Mother, please sit down," Aerith once again begged for Queen Adel to calm down. Fortunately for her, Queen Adel finally backed away and also returned to her seat.
"I am sitting down, but not because you told me to," Adel scoffed.
"..."
And with Queen Adel finally resting his legs, the other races also just decided to shut their mouths, finally allowing Ahor Zai to speak.
[Okay,] Ahor Zai seemed visibly happy, even silently clapping her hands as she started walking forward and joining the champions, [As I said before I was disrupted, I have gained knowledge that is absolutely incomparable to what I know before. My previous knowledge is now only a fraction of a percent of what I know now—and with the knowledge that I have gained from the various other universes…
…I am now capable of creating a new universe, a pocket universe.]
"Wh—"
Someone wanted to interrupt Ahor Zai again, but for some reason, anyone who even dared to open their mouth found themselves unable to move even a single limb. This subtle scene did not fail to reach the themarians' eyes, as they all turned their eyes toward Riley, who just smiled at them and waved his hand. As for Diana, she looked at the Norinlad, who seemed extremely curious about this sudden… revelation.
[Thank you for not speaking over me again,] Ahor Zai nodded, [As all of you may have already surmised, the one that will win in this Tournament will be granted a pocket universe. A pocket universe where you set the rules, where you are god itself.]
"May I ask a question?" One of the Norinlads raised his hand.
[Since you are so polite, of course,] Ahor Zai suddenly floated toward the norinlad's table as she gestured to him to speak.
"You are granting the victor a toy?" The norinlad asked, "A pocket universe is a toy. It is not real."
[I could see why you would misunderstand,] Ahor Zai wagged her finger, [I say 'pocket', but in truth, it is another universe entirely.]
"Outside of our own?" The norinlads looked at each other.
[Yes,] Ahor Zai then suddenly placed her hand on her chest, before digging it through without any hesitation and grabbing some sort… device inside of it—some sort of bracelet.
Diana quickly recognized the ring. How could she not, when it was identical to the portable multiversal gate that Bernard created?
[In this device is a gate to that universe,] Ahor Zai raised her hand to show the large ring, [Although I say 'pocket', it is not small at all. It is only small if you compare it to our universe—it is only the size of several star systems. It has no life now, and it is up to you whether to populate it or not. As I said…
…you are god. You can control everything that happens inside it.]
And all of a sudden, a heavy weight suddenly filled the entire hall, with everyone just staring at the ring.
[As I said, transcendence,] Ahor Zai smiled as she saw the expressions surrounding her,
[You could do so many things in this pocket universe. Migrate your entire race if you want to, become fully independent,] Ahor Zai said as she faced the Biolans.
[Recreate your people if you want to,] Ahor Zai glanced at Queen Adel and Diana, [Rebuild your lost kingdom.]
"..." Queen Adel's eyebrows lowered as she stared at the ring, before turning to look at Diana almost as if quietly asking her if this was possible. Diana, however, only responded with a hesitant shake of her head.
[Resurrect a lost love,] Ahor Zai's voice lowered as she turned her eyes to Pirate Queen Xra, who only glared at her in response.
[Or… you can even just use it as an escape from everything,] Ahor Zai continued as she looked Aerith straight in the eyes, [Free yourself from the burdens of your mistakes and just… start anew.]
"..." Aerith quickly looked away.
[Maybe you can even treat it as your home. Bring the person you love and cherish the most—where no one can judge you, not even yourself,] Ahor Zai then approached the humans, placing the Ring on their table as she looked at Hannah,
[A place where you can be true to your feelings. Feelings that even you didn't know yourself were hiding from you.]
"...Fucking creep," Hannah clicked her tongue as she slightly moved away from Ahor Zai, who was smiling at her for some reason.
[Or as I said…] Ahor Zai then transferred her smile to Bernard, [...Just play god.]
"...Me?" Bernard seemed visibly surprised.
[Maybe,] Ahor Zai let out a small giggle as she started walking back to the end of the hall, with her hand still raising the ring for everyone to see. And suffice it to say, everyone was looking at it.
"Hold on a minute…" Gracy raised an eyebrow as she looked at Riley and the others, "...Why didn't she look at me?"
"She probably did not even notice you, child," Xra breathed out; her eyes, still on the ring.
"...So, she's deliberately not looking at me because she's hiding something. Maybe… the ring is meant for me?"
"That's not even what I said."
[Well, now that everyone seems to be more excited about the Tournament—I will now announce the first bout,] Ahor Zai placed the ring inside her chest again, before clapping her hands and causing the holographic view of the space in the ceiling to change…
...with Riley and his other members being shown on it.
With the other team being Jakol and the Krukux race.
And as soon as Queen Adel saw that...
...she failed to stop the smile that was crawling on her face.
Chapter 784[The Krukux race vs. The Strays!]
And as Ahor Zai's words and the large hologram floating above their heads confirmed it, the smile that was crawling on Queen Adel's face grew even wider. She thought that there would never be a time that she would consider herself to be on Riley's side.
After all, no matter what anyone says, no matter what the jury says, even if he himself did not actually pull the trigger on the event that killed the youth of her people, he still instigated and planned for it.
Of course, she still was not on his side and never will be. But in this instance, she was looking forward to what he was going to do to these… octophoids.
[The match will start once this light disappears,] Ahor Zai raised her hand, and as she did so, a ball of light resembling a blue star appeared above her head, [When it disappears, the champions will immediately be transported back outside. Like the previous round, this will be another team match—5 champions going against 5 champions at the same time—and of course… we will be able to see it all in the comfort of this hall.]
Ahor Zai clapped her hands, and with the hall trembling as she did so, it was becoming clear to everyone that she had full control of the interior and the entire hall. Large screens started emerging from the walls, with images and live footage of different angles of the flat planet being shown on all of them.
[And while we wait for our combatants to fight for glory…
…we feast!]
Ahor Zai once again clapped her hands, causing several silhouettes to emerge from the floor; individuals that looked exactly like her, except they were completely gray—a reflection of Ahor Zai's previous color.
These… clones all had plates and dishes on their hands which they carefully and meticulously placed on each of the tables. And as the champions took a sniff of the food placed in front of them, they all uttered exclaims of jubilance; slightly shocked that their favorite meal was being served to them individually, in abundance at that.
For the others, however, they could not help but slightly squint their eyes as they stared at Ahor Zai, whose innocent smile was not fooling them at all.
Ahor Zai was making a statement, a testament. They knew she was secretly telling them all that she knew about all of them; their names, down to their favorite meal of the day. They wouldn't be surprised if the Codex even knows of their favorite color.
[We were initially going for a buffet,] Ahor Zai let out a long and very deep sigh as she once again started walking around to check on the tables, [But we opted against it to avoid too much competition from all sides. And you do not have to worry, you may request any food you want, any drinks you want—you could even do so while watching the other champions fight for their spot. Enjoy!]
"It's losing control," Queen Vania quietly leaned closer to Bernard, lowering her voice as much as possible, "You're supposed to be the smartest being in the universe, correct? Fix it."
"Since when was I anything like that?" Bernard's helmet unfolded to show his mouth.
"Since you solved the Warp problem, since you created a portable version of the portals," Vania whispered.
"Even if I was, I don't think there's anything to fix," Bernard started eating the food given to him, which was smoked pork ribs.
"It—"
"Can you stop calling her 'it'?" Hannah, who was within earshot of their… quiet conversation, joined as she chewed on her food, "She's definitely sentient now."
"Stop interrupting an adult's conversation," Princess Vera, who was chatting with Tempo, also joined in on the conversation, "And it is cute that you feel that way, but it is still true that she's not, in a sense, organic."
"The norinlads are organic," Hannah looked at the norinlads' table, "And yet they act less—"
"Everyone!"
And before a philosophical debate could happen at the Human-Evaniel table, the one leading the champions of the Krukux race, Jakol, raised his limbs and voice as he walked to where Ahor Zai was standing before and also stood there.
"First of all, I would like to thank Ahor Zai for giving us this chance to reveal the truth!" Jakol said as his limbs flayed around, "Thank you, Ahor Zai."
[Huh…?] Ahor Zai pointed at herself, slightly confused as to what Jakol meant.
"Look at this, my brothers and sisters—even the Codex is with us," Jakol raised his voice further as everyone was now focused on him, "She matched my race with these so-called Strays, ordering us to show the world that the Common Council have been lying to us for more than a million years about the strength of these… oppressors!"
[I didn't do anything like that…?] Ahor Zai blinked a couple of times as she saw the other champions looking at her in appreciation.
"All these lies they have been feeding us to keep us in line. The Cherbi…?" Jakol pointed at Riley's table, "Has anyone here actually witnessed what this supposed living calamity could do?"
"..." Most of the people all looked at each other, shaking their heads, if they had heads.
"No! No one! Everything we know of the Cherbi has been fed to us from the media. The Cherbi, absorbing a star. The Cherbi, annihilating an entire civilization," Jakol started speaking in a mocking tone, "And Pirate Queen Xra!? If she truly is as scary and as dangerous as everyone says she is, why is she with us here right now!?"
"That's right!"
"The Common Council should have arrested her already! She should not be standing here!" Jakol almost started squirting ink from how excited he was, "Makes you think that her bounty is just some ploy by the Common Council to incite the bounty hunters, so they could lessen the work they need to do!"
The other races that still did not have expressions of doubt on their faces were now almost non-existent; all of them agreeing to Jakol's words. With some even standing up and knocking on their tables.
Seeing the masses support him, Jakol's limbs started shaking in excitement.
"Ah! I remember who that creature is now! Raleerus!" One of the champions that stood up suddenly pointed at Riley, "He's the one that's supposedly responsible for the deaths of the other Elders! It was all over the news before it was suddenly erased!"
"See!?" Jakol further emphasized, "They erased any trace of the news because all of it is just propaganda. And when they realized they had gone overboard and it was starting to become unbelievable, they erased any trace of it! In fact…
…how could a team that's supposedly consisting of the world's living calamities be deadlast in the preliminaries!? They were the last ones to win!"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times; his head tilted to the side as he heard his name being called. But after a few seconds, he just shrugged his shoulders and continued to… break down and de-meat a whole Alaskan king crab.
The others were, of course, visibly confused with this. While everyone was already eating their meals, Riley and his table were… cooking and preparing theirs. Riley was now chopping and making garlic puree, throwing all the waste to Cherbi, who was absorbing everything with his body.
As for where exactly the ingredients were coming from, well… Delivery seems to be getting them from somewhere. As for Gracy and Xra, they were grilling what seemed to be steak.
"Now, remove it from the heat now!"
And with Xra's words, Gracy immediately removed the steak from the grill; making sure to let it rest calmly.
"This…" Jakol was slightly unnerved from seeing Riley and his team completely ignoring him. But after a few seconds, a scoff once again escaped his mouth, "Look at them, none of them could even refute our words!"
Most of the other races started clapping, either knocking on their tables or raising their food in the air.
"Oh my god… how could someone be so wrong about everything?" Silvie has been watching the entire scene unfold, and could no longer help herself from wincing from everything she has heard.
"You grew up on Earth, Silv," Aerith sighed, "You should be used to people like that."
"...True," Silvie raised her eyebrows, "But still… they don't know anything?"
"You have personally traveled across the expanse of the universe–you should know how big it is."
"Hm."
"Most of these people…" Aerith started looking at the people from the Normal Races, "...If they were not actively gathered here because of the Tournament, none of them would even know the others exist even after a million years."
"Shouldn't…" Silvie looked at Jakol, then toward Riley who was just casually preparing his meal, "...we say something?"
"W—"
"No." And before Aerith could even say anything, Queen Adel lightly slammed her palm on the table, "Let them wag their mouths that look like assholes."
"Kh," Silvie almost choked on her food as she heard the Queen's words.
"Let them discover on their own why they are at the bottom of the food chain."
"..."
No one really said anything about the issue anymore, with all of them just peacefully eating and talking with each other…
…until the blue star disappeared along with the Krukux race and the Strays.
Everyone immediately turned their heads to the walls… and not even a minute later, they finally realized why Riley and his team were the last to win the preliminaries…
…and it wasn't pretty.
Chapter 785"Hm. It feels really uncomfortable being warped away like that."
"I…I agree."
Riley's group was in the midst of eating their meal when they were suddenly teleported away from the banquet. Sadly for Gracy, the luxurious meal she just had was now trying to escape her body as she puked on the hard ground.
"Really? It feels refreshing," Delivery, on the other hand, just tilted his cap as he looked around the area they were warped to. They seemed to still be on the same flat planet, as the faded silhouettes of the Messengers still surrounded them from all sides. They were on a rocky plateau, filled with only sharp rocks and canyons,
"Where are the octopus guys?"
"There," Xra pointed toward a direction, but no one was there.
"...Where?" Gracy wiped the mix of saliva and vomit from her lips. She grabbed Cherbi's shoulder to help her up, but it ended up going through its pink body, "Ack!"
"..." Cherbi looked at Gracy for a few seconds, before shaking its head and showing a hint of disappointment, "Please do not touch me unnecessarily. It won't be good for you."
"Y… yeah, thanks for reminding me only now," Gracy started wagging her hand as she moved behind Riley, "So, do we have any plan or should we just do what we did earlier?"
"We don't need a plan for this, Gracy," Riley shook his head, "We will just hunt."
Riley started walking past the group, before pulling knives that may as well be the size of machetes from his back.
"Where… do you keep pulling those things from?" Gracy followed behind Riley, staring intensely at his posterior, "Is it from your anus?"
"I can summon things and make them feel real, Gracy."
"What? Were you always able to do that?" Gracy raised an eyebrow, "What exactly is your power? The power of pulling bullshit?"
"I received the ability from Paige, Gracy," Riley shrugged as he started brushing his knives together.
"...Paige? I have no idea who that is, but can I have one?"
"..." Riley looked at one of his knives for a few seconds, before handing it to Gracy. Gracy was slightly perplexed that Riley actually gave her one, but as soon as she grabbed it… it passed through her hand and fell straight through the hard ground, completely disappearing from her eyes.
"What the…"
"The knife is only real for me, Gracy," Riley nodded as he once again summoned another blade in his hand.
"It seemed real enough for the aliens you used them on earlier," Gracy slightly shivered when she remembered all the blood of different colors splashing onto her skin.
"I make them feel real using my telekinesis and other abilities, Gracy."
"So… that is the power you received from the girl," Xra joined in on the conversation as she touched Riley's long knife, only for her to feel a certain coldness coming from it, "I have already thought her powers to be… convenient. But for someone like you, it's a weapon. It is scary to think what you would do with it."
"I do not use it too much," Riley shook his head, "Mother says it accelerates the deterioration of my mind, making me see things that are not there."
"Hm… I would like to talk about it more," Xra started looking around, "But our opponents are here."
And as soon as she said that, one of the rocks that were blocking their view violently exploded, with some sort of bullet moving through it and heading straight toward Gracy's head. Gracy, however, easily avoided it by tilting to the side.
"Hey! That was a kill shot, I thought we weren't allowed to kill each other here!?" Gracy turned to look at where the bullet hit, only to see it scatter and turn to ink, "Wait… did you just try to squirt your… secretion on my beautiful face!?"
Gracy leaped from the ground, destroying the rocks behind her as she lunged herself to where the bullet ink came from—and as soon as she saw even a glimpse of a tentacle, she immediately stepped on it before forcefully pulling, and completely tearing it from the rest of its body.
"Kuek!" A high-pitched shrill echoed in the air as the octophoid revealed the rest of its body that was actually camouflaged on the hard ground. His shrills did not last long, however, as Gracy immediately covered his mouth, or perhaps that was a snout.
"You bitch. You dare perform a sneak attack on the mighty deliverer of justice…?" Gracy gritted her teeth as her eyes turned red, "Sadly for you, you overgrown squid… we're currently on Operation Hunt — that means you're going to have a lot of time being fucked into pieces."
And as she said those words, she once again pulled another tentacle; ripping it apart without any hesitation before throwing the dismembered tentacle to Cherbi, whose entire torso opened up to swallow it.
"Aside from killing you…" Gracy started giggling, "...I can do whatever the fuck I wa–!!!"
"Get away from Kantot!"
And once again, Gracy's words were interrupted as another ink bullet went her way—from Jakol. This time, however, she was hit directly on her chest, causing her to roll a few meters across the ground. This did not seem to faze her, as she immediately stood up and started wiping the ink away in disgust.
"Ew, ew… ew," Gracy started bouncing around; her breasts, also jiggling away uncontrollably, "Even your names sound disgusting!"
"How dare you disrespect us!?" Jakol roared as he rushed to help his comrade, Kantot.
"This is why you should wear more clothes, child," Xra rolled her eyes, "What made you even strip in the first place?"
"This is my superhero outfit!" Gracy continued to fling the ink away.
"Your superhero outfit is underwear?" Xra sighed in disappointment, "And I have been observing the way you act since we have met — I see no glimpse of a savior from you, little girl."
"Because I haven't been given the fucking chance to be a hero yet. My father and I spent all our time hiding. And it's not underwear!" Gracy clicked her tongue before smirking at Xra, "Then again, it's not your fault that you were born in a time when women don't wear underwear."
"What did you fucking say to me, child?" Xra raised an eyebrow as she stretched her hand toward Gracy.
"What, you wanna fight!?" Gracy raised both her fists, only to be slightly pushed aside as Jakol flew straight to Xra's hand.
"Your group does not have anything to worry about," Xra looked at Jakol from head to tentacle, "As long as I am here, none of you will really die."
"..." Jakol's eyes stared at Xra for a few seconds, before his tentacles started wrapping around Xra's entire body. Xra, however, just smirked before slamming him straight to the ground. Jakol could feel his flesh tattering into pieces—but for some reason, not a single of his blue blood sprawled anywhere. And as soon as he felt Xra's grip loosening, he quickly took this chance to skitter away; disappearing as the color and texture of his skin melded with the ground.
Even with him almost completely invisible, however, Xra's eyes followed him without fail as he went away to regroup. But for some reason, she didn't do anything.
Jakol realized there and then… that he was completely wrong. He hit Gracy right on the torso with his ink bullet, and yet she was completely unfazed. Xra also treated him like a hatchling, slamming him to the ground without even struggling to get away from his tentacles.
He was wrong — their strength was real. And so, as soon as Jakol was able to regroup with his team, he quickly decided that they should forfeit the match. He wasn't stupid, he knew that something else was going on with the Strays.
"Ahor Zai! We sur—"
But before he could announce his team's surrender, he found himself unable to speak. He looked at his team, only to see them also unable to open their mouths. Jakol quickly looked at one of the Messengers, waving at it to get its attention — but alas, he was too small to even be noticed.
"Well then…"
"!!!"
And while Jakol and the Krukux were panicking, Riley suddenly appeared right in the center of them; standing there with a smile that reached from ear to ear,
"...I was told that the Tournament is a way for everyone to release their stress. And those that are watching it are watching it purely for entertainment."
"!?" Jakol and his people all backed away in different directions upon hearing Riley's words. They looked at each other for a few seconds, before they all shot him at the same time. Their ink, however, just slid down across his clothes and skin; not even leaving a trace of color.
"So, let me be the first to entertain everyone that is watching," Riley slightly tilted his knives to reflect Jakol,
"We will give you the same treatment we gave to the people in the Battle Royale — we will give all of you 5 minutes. You can do whatever you want within that 5 minutes. You could continue attacking me if you wish… or you could run, hide, or even fatally and brutally attack each other so you could be warped away."
Jakol stopped spitting his ink bullet as he heard Riley's words. He started looking at his people. And even though they were unable to speak, the tension within their eyes was enough for them to understand their thoughts.
"You are free to do anything, Jakol," Riley started giggling, "But after your 5 minutes is done…
…our hunt will begin."
Chapter 786"!!!"
Run, hide, or continue fighting. Riley gave the krukux a choice, and it would seem they decided to choose the latter. They continued to shower Riley with their ink bullets; to the point that the previously limestone ground that Riley was standing on was now completely ebony.
Even with all of this, however, Riley was still completely immaculate; not even a single spot of ink painted on his clothes. He hasn't even moved a single inch since he stated his conditions to Jakol — he was just there, standing with only his lips moving as he counted down.
"96… 95…"
"!?"
And all of a sudden, the leader of the krukux team skittered away; not even looking back at his people or giving them a new plan. When Riley glanced at him, the others were sure he was going to follow — but no.
True to his words, Riley just stood there and continued counting. And although none of them could speak, everyone seemed to agree that Jakol just abandoned them. And so, they all just quietly nodded to each other before running in different directions.
They knew that their chance of winning was slim now, and it was every octophoid for himself. They will lose, but they will make sure that individually, they won't be the first krukux to go and shame their family.
And so, not even a minute had passed, and all of the krukux were gone from Riley's sight.
"60 seconds," the smile on Riley's face grew wider and wider with each passing second. Xra, Gracy, Cherbi, and Delivery all joined him in place as soon as there were only 60 seconds left — Gracy and Xra were the only ones who seemed to look forward to the hunt, while Delivery was just yawning and looking at his watch. As for Cherbi, well… it was hard to know what it was thinking since it did not really have a face.
"Heh… I'm gonna make those ugly bitches pay for squirting some shit on me," Gracy cracked her knuckles as her feet very slowly left the ground, causing Riley to stop counting as he looked at her.
"I have been meaning to ask this, Gracy. When did you start learning how to fly?" Riley tilted his head, "This universe's version of you was not able to fly. But perhaps he would have if he just lived your age — sadly, he died with the themarians."
"Why… are you suddenly telling me this?" Gracy could not help but feel slightly uncomfortable as her feet returned to the ground.
"Because I thought Gary has already reached his limit, Gracy," Riley let out a small but very deep sigh, "Perhaps I should not have antagonized him too much — but with the existence of Silvie, I just did not see much point in him. There is also the fact that Aerith did not seem to cherish him enough."
"...I feel depressed all of a sudden, wow," Gracy looked at the other members, only for them to look away except for Cherbi, "I… owe my mother my life — but it is true she has always been absent. She's… just always been Megawoman. And Megawoman… I needed to share with the world. You know, since we're on topic, I've—guys?"
And as Gracy was about to show all of her emotions, she noticed everyone moving away; not even listening to any of her words as they walked in different directions.
"Guys…? Come on," Gracy looked at each of them. But alas, no one stopped, "Where am I even supposed to go?"
"..."
"...Ah, fuck it." And after wallowing in her spot for a few more seconds, Gracy just hopped toward Riley and followed behind him, "What's your deal anyway? You're a sadistic psychopath, right?"
"I am a monster, Gracy," Riley continued to walk; the knives he was holding extending to a sword that soon scraped the ground, creating a hissing noise to continuously scratch in the air, "Monsters are just… monsters."
"Oh, yeah. I believe you, believe me," Gracy smirked, "I see myself as a servant of the shadow too — except I make sure the light prevails, even at the cost of myself fading away. Ack, that's so beautiful, I should write that down."
"Hm," Riley nodded as his eyes scanned the rocky terrain surrounding them, before settling at the wide crevice from the distance, "Do you one of them is hiding down there, Gracy?"
"... " Gracy looked at the trail of ink painted on the ground they had been following since earlier, "Why are you asking me when you already… know?"
"It is more cinematic for those that are watching it, Gracy."
"Wait, is this really being broadcast…?" Gracy looked around as she started fixing her hair and adjusting her breasts, "I don't see any cameras, though. But wait, so just let me get this straight — you're not violent because you're in the spectrum, right? Like, that's just you."
"It is called a spectrum, Gracy — that means there is not only one kind, but many," Riley finally glanced back at Gracy, "My actions are my actions alone and can't be used to represent the others in the spectrum."
"But… it is true that you can get violent when triggered?"
"..." Riley stopped walking as he looked Gracy in the eyes, "You should be able to answer that question yourself, Gracy."
And with those words, Riley stepped back into the edge of the rocky terrain, before just casually leaning back and letting himself fall into the deep crevice behind him.
"Answer… wait, what does that mean!?" Gracy also leaped down without any hesitation, "I'm not in the spectrum! But… but I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being in it!"
Gracy quickly looked around for any cameras as she fixed her statement, "But I'm not in it!"
And as she landed on the bottom of the canyon, she lost her footing from trying to find the cameras — she tried recovering herself, but made it worse as she found herself lunging straight toward Riley.
"Aack! Riley, help!" Gracy stretched and opened her arms as Riley looked at her. But alas, Riley stepped to the side and let her just slam straight to the wall, completely destroying and shattering it to pieces. Something felt wrong, however. The impact… it was slightly soft.
"Riley, you're supposed to catch a princess if she falls!" Gracy immediately turned to Riley and violently pointed at him.
"I thought you were a savior of justice, Gracy?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he looked at Gracy from head to toe.
"Yes, and!? Can't I be both!? You—" Gracy wanted to say a lot of things, but noticed Riley looking at her with a slightly confused expression on his face. This made her confused as well… until she tasted something… umami on her tongue, "What…"
Gracy started puttering her lips, and as she noticed a weird texture in her mouth, she quickly wiped her lips… only for her to pull a chunk of tentacle from her mouth.
"..." Gracy stared at her blackened hand for a few seconds, before turning to look back at the wall she hit… only to see a big black splotch painted on the cracks, "No…"
"Yes," Riley nodded.
"No…" Gracy then looked down to check on her, only to realize she was completely covered in ink and chunks of different sizes, "...I just lost some of my righ—no, I don't wanna be cancelled! That… that was a joke, everyone!"
"I suppose that is one of them down, Gracy," Riley let out a sigh. And as he did so, the chunks that were stuck on Gracy and scattered everywhere started to be warped away, "I wanted to show everyone how to dissect them since I have made takoyaki before, but I suppose this sort of comedy also holds great value from time to time. Good job, Gracy."
"..." Gracy couldn't even move; afraid that the ink would go into… places, "Oh god, I think it's going into my buttcrack, Riley! Do something! Clean me!"
"I believe it suits you, Gracy," Riley once again looked at Gracy from head to toe, "I can make their blood red if you want to."
"Why would I even want to do that, you fucking psycho!? Just remove them, ew… ew!"
"Hm," Riley completely ignored Gracy as he flew up.
"Wait! Wait for me!"
***
And as Riley and his group were just seemingly having fun, their every move truly was being recorded and broadcasted to the entire universe — with most of the people terrified with what they were witnessing.
"Did… did that humanoid just eat a krukux!?"
Back in the banquet hall of the Champions, most of the octophoids quickly stopped eating as soon as they watched Gracy accidentally squash one of their species. Suffice it to say, a lot of opinions were forming in their large brains when they saw tentacles coming out of Gracy's mouth.
And as they continued to watch, they realized Jakol was completely wrong with his statement — the Strays were not weak at all. The only reason they were last… was because they were having fun terrorizing their enemies.
Right there and then, most of the Normal races started scanning the members of the Higher Race.
So… this was the reason why most of them don't join the Tournament — all the stories are true.
The Higher Races were gods…
…and now they were trapped with them.
And while the Normal Races were starting to panic, the Earth and Theran tables currently had their heads down; specifically Riley's family.
"Most… most of them don't know he's my brother yet, right?" Hannah whispered, "It… it should stay that way. Ack, Riley…"
"Why are you embarrassed?" On the other hand, Queen Adel, who was at another table, had her head held up high, "You should not be ashamed to be related to the Destroyer. Well, you should, but not in that way. And if there is someone that should be ashamed now…
…it should be my daughter."
"Wait… what?"
Chapter 787"They seem to be very good at camouflaging themselves, Gracy. How were you able to find the previous krukux with your body?"
"Can you stop? Ack, it won't come off."
30 minutes after the match started, and Riley and Gracy still haven't found another krukux. Well, they have — but Riley completely ignored the octophoid as he was searching for Jakol. They were now in some sort of river, with Gracy violently exfoliating her skin and trying to get rid of the ink painted on her body.
"You do not seem to be shy in showing your body, Gracy. Is that a trait of the people in your universe?" Riley asked as he watched Gracy wash herself. Her skin was completely bare, with the only thing blocking everyone from seeing her breasts was the current of water flowing around her,
"I recall the Hannah of your universe was also quite nonchalant when her shirt was ripped open."
"Well, I don't know about the rich girl…" Gracy then very slowly floated up from the river, letting the ink and water trail down from her skin; slowly revealing her decently-sized breasts and pinkish teats as she looked Riley in the eyes, "...But I'm confident about my body, and I am so tired of hiding myself from the public."
"Hm."
"You know exactly who you are, Riley Ross," Gracy floated closer to Riley, landing right in front of him without breaking eye contact for even a single second, "And I know myself too—it's just a shame that I can only show it in another universe."
"That's false, Gracy," Riley shook his head, before handing Gracy her bikini top, "I have come to discover that I truly have no idea who and what I truly am. I know I am a monster, yes — but everything else is… hidden from me."
"Well…" Gracy gently grabbed her bikini from Riley, slowly wearing it in front of him, her eyes still not leaving his; even leaning closer with her lips almost touching his, "...I happen to like monsters, Riley."
"..."
"I heard my mother kissed you in this universe, right?" Gracy whispered as she started brushing her lips on Riley's neck, "How about trying it with her daughter too? Let's really give the people a show to remember."
Gracy leaned back, placing her face right in front of Riley's face; close to the point that Gracy only needed to move half an inch for their lips to truly touch. Before they could, however, Gracy suddenly let out a snort.
"Pft," she stifled, "I'm joki—!!!"
And before Gracy could retract her head back, it was suddenly pushed forward as a tentacle suddenly whipped and whacked the back of her head — her mouth that was wide open, now smacked dab on Riley's lips; her tongue, licking his lips in a gag reflex.
"..." Riley, however, just remained completely stoic as Gracy's saliva bridged the two of them when she pulled away.
"This…" Gracy's face quickly turned red — this redness, however, was further emphasized when she turned around with her teeth gritted as tight as they could be, "...Who did that!?"
Gracy scanned the riverbanks for any sign of the krukux, but aside from the flowing river, nothing else made a sound.
"Is… it hiding in the water?" Gracy's eyes glowed red before a violent beam of light shot out of it. It wasn't able to reach the water, however, as Riley blocked it with his swords,
"W… what are you doing!? The fucker just made us… us kiss!"
"It was more like you ate my face, Gracy," Riley glanced at Gracy and shook his head, "And do not worry, my face did not actually make contact with any part of you — I am protected by a telekinetic barrier."
"That doesn't change anything!" Gracy almost screamed, "And what are you doing!? I'll vaporize that motherfucking squid!"
"You have already defeated one of them, Gracy — it is my turn now," Riley spun both his swords around his hands as he walked toward the river. And as he held them in his palms again, the swords had already become spears.
"Wait — are you really just ignoring the fact that we kissed!?" Gracy scoffed as she looked at Riley's back, "What, is play hunting more important than that?"
"I would say they are equally unimportant, Gracy," Riley said as he continued to scan the water.
"Are you saying that kissing my mom is also not important?" Gracy raised an eyebrow.
"That is important, Gracy," Riley nodded as he raised one of his spears before throwing it through the water. But alas, no trace of ink could be seen.
"If it is, then why does it seem like neither of you are talking about it?" Gracy stood beside Riley as she let out another scoff, "I don't know about this universe, but kissing someone in mine has deep meaning."
"We have not had the time to discuss it, Gracy," Riley glanced at Gracy, "And at the time, I think she only kissed me so that I would calm down and go home with her."
"Wh—so you're being used?" Gracy raised an eyebrow, "...And fooled?"
"Yes," Riley nodded.
"And you're alright with that?"
"Why would I not be?" Riley breathed out, "Being used, fooled, manipulated, forced—that is really the only way that someone like me could be loved, Gracy. Everyone that thinks dear of me thinks dear of me because they are my hostages."
"You are one grim dude. You know that, right?" Gracy crossed her arms.
"I have been told the same by Gary," Riley let go of the remaining spear in his hand, and instead of falling, it just remained floating in the air the same way he was holding it. And then, without any warning, Riley took off his clothes.
"W… what are you doing?" Gracy squinted her eyes, "Stop, you're blinding me with your whiteness!"
Gracy covered her eyes with her hands, but still obviously taking a peek as she looked at Riley from head to toe. "You're… buff? I couldn't see with all the clothes you're wearing."
"I exercise every day, Gracy," Riley nodded as he grabbed his spear again. And without even saying anything else, he suddenly dove down the river.
"...Man," Gracy batted her eyes as she let out a very long and deep breath, "This universe is so random."
She watched as Riley disappeared deeper down the river—swimming down and not even using a single hint of his telekinesis to do so.
"Hm," Gracy nodded, "I do like a man who's completely hands-on. If no one's really taking him in this universe, I'll bring him to mine."
Gracy then started looking around again to find the cameras, "Of course, there's the risk of bringing in the literal son of Satan—but everything's a risk, no? But if there truly is someone who could handle evil, it is me; the savior of ju—"
And before Gracy could finish her words, a shadow suddenly flew past her; tentacles and a spear. She quickly turned around to confirm if that was truly what it was, and it was.
"Is that… Jakol? It's kinda hard to tell them apart from each other—and I'm not racist!" Gracy looked at the krukux that was now pinned on a boulder; squirming as it tried to get itself free. But alas, before it could pull the spear, another one shot toward him; pinning one of his tentacles.
Jakol wasn't even given the chance to squirm before another spear pinned another tentacle… and then another; all coming from under the river like some sort of missile.
"It's Jakol, Gracy," Riley then stepped out of the river; his long hair completely soaked and lining down across his torso that was as if chiseled by the gods. And on his hand, was another spear that he immediately threw toward Jakol to completely pin all of his tentacles on the boulder.
"Huh…" Gracy looked at Jakol, trying to figure out how Riley knew, "...So, what are you gonna do with the guy? Cut all of his limbs?"
"You have already done that earlier, Gracy," Riley shook his head as he made his way to Jakol, who was squirming with his entire might, but failing to even budge a single spear, "Something slower will be better for the audience."
Jakol clenched all of his suckers and closed his eyes as Riley stretched his hand toward him. But even after a few seconds had passed, he still had not felt Riley's touch. And so, he opened his eyes, only to see Riley's palm touching the boulder he was stuck on instead.
And very soon, Jakol felt something, no—he heard it first.
A sear.
"!!!"
Jakol wanted to scream as he felt his back slowly and literally being grilled. But alas, Riley was still not allowing him to speak or let out any noise.
"Gracy."
"...What?" Gracy slightly winced as she tried to look away from the scene. She has watched octopi being boiled alive before on the internet—but one that actually thinks, speaks, and acts like a human would? It was… disturbing, so to say.
"Do you know one of the reasons why food sticks to the pan, even if your pan is supposed to be non-stick?" Riley then asked as he grabbed Jakol's head.
"What? What's with that random question?" Gracy raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
"Because you placed the food when the pan was not hot enough yet," Riley sighed, "Doing that would even make any meat you put on the pan stick like glue because of the moisture—and most people make the mistake of turning over their food…
…only for chunks of it to be torn and left on the pan."
And with those words, Riley very slowly pulled Jakol from the seething boulder.
"...Fuck."
Chapter 788"No…"
The other octophoid and cephalopoid races were now away from their tables; either gagging or vomiting everything they ate as their eyes tried their best to avoid what was being shown on the four walls of the banquet hall. Suffice it to say, they did not even have anything left in their stomachs — and with how fast the cephalopoids digest their food, everything was… truly a wet mess.
As for the other races, they could really only continue to watch in horror as Riley started to finely slice the burnt parts of Jakol's back… and once again plant him on the seething boulder. This wasn't a hunt at all, not even a massacre. Riley was just playing and torturing his enemy, and it wasn't just him. All members of the Strays were doing it.
Xra seemed to be the one that was having the most fun, as she was seeing how much blood her enemy could release before it loses consciousness…and then returns all of it back inside with all the dirt and dust accumulated outside — infecting the octophoid and polluting its body in an insane rate; to the point that its flesh was already starting to rot and fall off into a muddy paste.
Cherbi wasn't really doing anything. It was just standing there, acting like a vacuum that absorbed everything within its arm's reach, including its opponent who tried his best to crawl away. Cherbi, however, seems to be intentionally letting him go just a few inches away from its reach, but not enough that its body won't be able to rip off and absorb some of its flesh bit by bit. This should be impossible.
Cherbi is not known for intentionally hurting anyone or anything. It was just an entity that floated across the expanse of the universe, devouring planets and stars throughout its existence indiscriminately. It was intelligent, but did not really have a will of its own and just… ate.
But this? It was practically playing with its food, something it had never done before and something it should never be capable of doing… and yet here it was, practically torturing its food in front of everyone. Even some of the Higher Races, including Elder Apo's race all looked at each other as they watch this unfold — they have never hunted or tried to stop Cherbi because they considered it to literally just be a walking black hole… but now that it was suddenly capable of having a real will of its own, perhaps they should start planning how to truly get rid of it once and for all.
The only question is how?
If there was perhaps a silver lining to all of this torture, it was that the final member of the Strays, Delivery, was not trying to hurt its opponent. No, he was just stalking his opponent… without rest, and without pause. The krukux tried fighting, but as soon as it did so, Delivery just disappeared and disappears into nowhere, only coming back as the krukux turns its back… and then he follows his opponent—no, he follows his prey again.
If there was anyone actually hunting within the Strays, it was him. But he wasn't actually hunting, he was just torturing his opponent mentally.
On a second note, no one was really safe.
"Stop this!" One of the humanoid champions from another race stood up; slamming her fist on the table before suddenly rushing toward Ahor Zai. Queen Vania, however, immediately ordered her daughter to protect the Codex.
And it wasn't only Princess Vera who came to Ahor Zai's aid — all of the norinlads stood up from their seats.
[Oh, I appreciate everyone's help,] Ahor Zai chuckled, [But this is just an avatar of mine, even if it was damaged, it will just—]
"...Ahor Zai?" Princess Vera quickly turned around as she heard Ahor Zai suddenly and abruptly stopped with her words, only to see her suddenly looking to the side, not really looking at anything and just nodding her head.
[Hm. Yes, you're right… sorry,] she whispered.
"Who… are you talking to?" Princess Vera started looking around.
[Oh, sorry. I was just distracted,] Ahor Zai once again giggled before waving her hands, [Thank you for trying to protect me, Princess of the Evaniels. I would have been hurt if you did not step forward. I may know everything, but I am not capable of protecting myself.]
"...Right," Princess Vera stared at Ahor Zai for a few seconds, before glaring at the humanoid who rushed at her, "I'll advise you to return to your seat."
"..." The humanoid stood her ground, however, even staring Vera straight in the eyes. But before anything could happen, her people dragged her back to their table.
[You may also return to your seat, Princess of the Evaniels.]
"Of course, Ahor Zai," Vera just nonchalantly waved her hand as she disappeared and returned to her seat."
[Everyone, I have heard of all your requests,] Ahor Zai started clapping, [But I can't just stop the match when it is still ongoing. And the krukux, even though completely overwhelmed, are not showing any signs of surrender at all.]
"..." Everyone looked at the screens, only to wonder if they were watching the same scenes at all. The krukux clearly wanted to surrender, but could not.
[Instead, let us all give the krukux a cheer,] Ahor Zai continued to clap her hands, [Even though they are losing, they are still brave enough not to show any fear. I hope that I also get the same vigor from all of you once it is your turn to face an opponent you could not win against!]
And almost as if in cue to her words, numerous fireworks started to explode on the ceiling of the banquet hall, with the images of the Strays being shown. And not even a second later, Riley and the others appeared back at their table.
[Ah, look at that! Let us all congratulate the Strays for winning their match and moving on to the next elimination round!] Ahor Zai once again started clapping, [But since the Stray's match took longer than expected, I won't have time to do my celebratory dance, so let us just move on to the next match!]
And without even any warning, the champions of two tables disappeared.
[And since the next match features both Normal Races…] Ahor Zai clapped her hands again. And as she did so, several machines started sprouting out from the floor near the walls—some even covering the screens, [...I know it would be incredibly boring trying to watch them, so I added some entertainment outlets from the Higher Races!]
"Is it just me…" Hannah looked at Bernard and the others, "...Or is that AI slowly becoming more and more sarcastic?"
"It's incredibly fascinating," Bernard nodded, "If you are not aware, most artificial intelligence that are programmed to mimic humans will mostly become sarcastic—as it receives most of its information from the internet where humans are… mostly sarcastic."
[And most important of all…!] Ahor Zai stretched her arms to the side, and as she did so, a larger screen emerged behind her.
"Ah!" Hera immediately stood up and pointed at the gigantic screen, "Italian Mafia Reborn!"
[...Exactly!] Ahor Zai also pointed at Hera, [The greatest literature in the entire multiverse—and I am going to share it with all of you, enjoy!]
And with those words, Ahor Zai summoned a seat for herself as she started watching the show, not even taking a single glance at the ongoing match.
"The… greatest literature in the entire multiverse?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she looked at Bernard, "I guess we know which human she's learning from. And Italian Mafia Reborn… it's not really that good."
"What did you say?" Hera also raised an eyebrow.
"Right, you're one of the voice actors," Hannah winced, "Sorry, not sorry. Just my opinion. Anyway…"
Hannah immediately walked away and started checking some of the arcade machines that Ahor Zai made for them.
"We won!"
And after a few minutes, the race who won the match was warped back to their seats.
"Did all of you see that!? It was so close that we almost—Everyone…?" But alas, as they jumped in joy to celebrate their victory… no one even noticed them as most were busy either watching Italian Mafia Reborn, or were fiddling with the arcade games from the Higher Races.
If there was perhaps a silver lining in all of this, they weren't alone. Ahor Zai just snapped her fingers, and two groups of champions were once again warped into the battlefield. It wasn't until someone from the Higher Races was participating in the match that Ahor Zai took a break from watching and proceeded to remove the machines.
But like Riley's match, the champions of the Normal Races could not even touch their opponent. And as the Normal Races far outnumbered the members of the Higher Races, none of the matches could really be said to be exciting—especially the norinlads.
The norinlads did not really fight, no. They just used their bodies to trap their opponents until they gave up—and it lasted for an entire hour until their opponents realized it was hopeless. It was the same with the themarians, they just stood there and let the enemies attack them until they tired themselves out.
"How does it feel to bully beings you think are lesser than you?" Queen Vania was the first to welcome the themarians back… by sitting at their table.
"I will tell you once we meet at the end of the Tournament," Queen Adel lightly kicked the chair Queen Vania was sitting on, "Get off of my seat, woman."
"Oh? And what if I don't want—"
And before Queen Vania could finish her words, she suddenly disappeared along with the other evaniels as it was their turn to fight.
"...Pft."
Chapter 789"Mother… Please stop laughing."
"Was that recorded? Please, send me a copy of the footage!"
It has been a few seconds after Queen Vania and the other evaniels were warped away to their match unceremoniously, and yet Queen Adel won't stop laughing obnoxiously—even kicking their table made of themarian materials and causing the entire banquet hall to shake,
"Did you see that, Aera? Did you see? She was trying to act tough only to be kicked out like a child!"
"...Aera?" Silvie blinked a couple of times as she looked at Aerith.
"That's… what she called me when I was young," Aerith covered her face. This was the first time in a very long time that she had seen her mother happy to the point of calling her with endearment, and she was doing so because she one-upped someone,
"Mother, please stop. The others are already staring at you."
"Let them," Queen Adel harrumphed and scoffed, "They should be honored to even take a whiff of my scent—no. They should be honored to even breathe the same air we are."
"Most of them don't breathe, Your Highness," Diana sighed.
"Did I ask your opinion, doctor?" Queen Adel finally stopped laughing, letting out a scoff as she looked away… only to see a humanoid without a nose looking at her,
"What are you looking at?" Queen Adel once again scoffed before just placing her attention on the match, "Why are they even bothering with this farce? They should have just limited the participants to the Higher Races. Well, the themarians would have won anyway, but at least it would have been more entertaining that way."
"What makes you think you would have won, Your Highness?" Hannah, who was returning to her seat after playing and competing against Hera with the arcade games, raised her voice as she sat back down to her seat,
"You still haven't faced any of us."
"I already have," Queen Adel looked at Bernard, "And it's not even close. The only two humans that are capable of actually facing me are in that group."
Queen Adel pointed at Riley's table, only to see that none of the Strays were there. Riley was watching Italian Mafia Reborn beside Ahor Zai, while Xra was being taught how to play video games by Gracy and Delivery. As for Cherbi, well… he was terrorizing the other tables by asking to taste their food.
"Well, you haven't faced me yet," Hannah crossed her arms, before placing her feet on top of the table, "Not yet, not really. And Dad already faced you once, he probably has a lot of countermeasures for you already aside from the EDP."
"Don't underestimate the humans, Mother," Aerith added as she looked Queen Adel in the eyes, "They are much stronger than you think."
"I am not underestimating them, or anyone for that matter. I know full well what they are capable of," Queen Adel returned her daughter's stare, "I'm just not impressed by them compared to your lover."
"That… Riley's not my lover."
"And yet you kissed him? So, what are you? Some sort of harlot that gets randomly impregnated by aliens?"
"..." Hannah still wanted to join the conversation, but after hearing Adel's words, she knew that this was already a conversation between a mother and a daughter.
"Randomly…? What I felt at that time was real," Aerith's voice started to deepen.
"It did not seem like it—you did not seem to be a good mother."
"At least I tried to be one. Unlike you who just completely abandoned us."
"I recall you abandoned your son a couple of times too."
"Y—"
"Let's just say that the both of you are bad mothers, okay?" Diana clapped her hands as she suddenly stood between the two, "How about we agree on that?"
"Said the one who took care of the literal devil," Queen Adel scoffed, "None of us would even be here if you just properly took care of and nourished that boy properly."
"Hey, I won't let you talk like that to my Mom," Hannah also stood up from her seat, "She might act like a gorilla sometimes, and can be a little hypocritical, temperamental, absent, and too doting. And she also hid her entire life from us and practically lied to me my entire life, but she has always tried her best sometimes!"
"Just… just sit back down," Diana glared at Hannah.
"Hm, let us all just agree that we lacked as mothers," Queen Adel scoffed as she finally sat back down, only to quickly stand up again as she looked at the match going on outside,
"...What?"
"..." Diana and Aerith were slightly taken aback at first as they saw the perplexed, and almost shocked expression on Adel's face. But it wasn't only her—almost everyone that could stand up started standing up from their seats, all of them, looking at the screens on the walls.
Ahor Zai also quickly noticed this. She waved her hand, changing the channel of the gigantic screen in front of her to the match happening outside.
"Oh…" Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked back and forth between Ahor Zai and the screen, "...That was the good part, Ahor Zai. Why did you change the channel? It's—Oh?"
Riley's head immediately tilted to the side as his eyes settled on the gigantic screen; his question did not even need to be answered by Ahor Zai as his eyes reflected Princess Vera… being strangled.
"Who…" Queen Adel whispered as she tried to find an empty table, but the only empty table in the banquet hall was the evaniel's, "...are they fighting against?"
"It's them!" Hannah pointed at the screen as she looked at the person who had Princess Vera by the neck. She quickly recognized him; after all, he was the person whose hood she… mistakenly pulled down before–the boy with the white hair,
"It's the weird human-looking people with colorful hair! The one that didn't have a table!"
"Are they from the Higher Races, Ahor Zai?" Riley asked as he heard his sister's words.
[I… don't know,] Ahor Zai blinked a couple of times as a small smile crawled on her face, [Interesting.]
"What do you mean you don't know?" Queen Adel approached Ahor Zai, but was blocked by Diana.
"You said you've absorbed all the knowledge of the other Codices from the other universes," Diana inquired, "How is it possible you don't know who they are? Could… they be from the Unknown?"
[It is possible,] Ahor Zai nodded, [But the fact that they are here means they are part of the Known Universe. I will ask the Messengers where they picked them up from.]
"Hm?" Riley focused even more on the screen in front of him as he heard that; staring at the white-haired boy strangling Vera. And as he did so, the white-haired boy also seemingly stared at him, looking straight at the camera that should have been completely invisible to everyone.
The white-haired boy tightened his grip even more, causing Vera to be warped away before she could lose consciousness.
And now, almost all of a sudden, only Queen Vania remained as the other evaniels were also defeated by the other robed figures.
"How… were they defeated?" Queen Adel squinted her eyes as she watched the terrain of the flat planet being re-arranged; with the mountains and the land turning into crevices by an invisible force that moved incredibly fast across the plateau.
And this invisible force was on its way to the white-haired boy, leaving nothing in its wake. The others might not see what was causing this, but Queen Adel and the other races with increased senses could.
It was Queen Vania, destroying whatever she stepped on as she rushed toward the white-haired boy without stopping.
Even with this torrent of destruction heading his way, however, the white-haired boy just calmly stretched his palm toward Queen Vania.
He was, however, obviously violently blown away.
"..." Queen Vania stopped running, causing all the dust and dirt to be blown away just from the shockwave of her sprint. She stared at the white-haired boy, who just casually stood up with just… a broken arm.
Vania then watched as the white-haired boy's companions joined him—running at a speed almost comparable to that of her people.
The boy's arm then slowly healed, snapping back in place as the boy raised it in the air with an amused look on his face.
"This, look at this," the white-haired boy whispered as he looked at his companions.
"Oh…" His companions also held an amused look on their faces as they watched his arm heal. And as soon as it fully recovered, they all turned their heads on Queen Vania all at the same time.
"..." Vania's eyebrows quickly lowered as she looked at them one by one—and it wasn't only her, even Queen Adel's eyebrows were lowered.
Those who knew of Queen Vania's strength were shocked, everyone saw the destruction that Vania showed, but only Queen Adel truly knew the meaning of what just transpired.
An evaniel's durability increases depending on how fast they are—and Queen Vania is the fastest being in the entire Known Universe; she was strong enough to withstand an attack that would destroy an entire star system.
And the attack she just did just now, although she was still holding back, was enough to obliterate several planets… and yet her opponent only received a broken arm.
"Who… are these people?"
The oldest-looking one in the group, the woman with purple hair, suddenly raised her hand, causing Queen Vania to ready herself for what was about to come.
The purple-haired lady then once again looked directly through the screen, before saying…
"We surrender."
"...Huh?"
Chapter 791"We surrender."
"Huh…? W—"
Queen Vania was not even able to react or express what she was feeling as she was warped back to her table. And it wasn't only her—Princess Vera and the other evaniels that were defeated before her were also back.
"What the…" Vera quickly touched and tapped her neck, gasping for air as she was still a little confused as to what happened, "We… won? You were able to defeat all of them, Queen Mother?"
"...No," Queen Vania blinked a couple of times as she looked at her people, "I… think they surrendered as soon as one of them was hurt. Wait…
…who are they?"
Queen Vania quickly tried to find Ahor Zai, only to see her with her head down; her eyes were flickering as if there were a thousand fireflies dancing in them.
"What's going on with the Codex?"
"The AI is currently talking to the Messengers," Diana was the one to respond as she approached the slightly perturbed queen. No, perhaps slightly was an exaggerating understatement — she is shocked, to the point that the only thing Queen Vania could do was look around to try and make sense of it all.
"They were also the first ones to win during the Battle Royale, correct?" Queen Vania breathed out as she looked at Hannah, "You were able to talk to them?"
"...Not really," Hannah shook her head, "They were a little weird. They look like humans, but there was something odd with them—they reminded me of Riley for some reason."
"It doesn't matter what type of people they are," Queen Adel joined in on the conversation as she literally looked down at Queen Vania; her feet, slightly above the floor, "They were able to finish your people in less than a minute, and then only received superficial wounds from your strongest champion. Is it possible for them to be themarians?"
"They were not," Esme, who had been dozing off from time to time, raised her hand to speak. And as always, her voice was extremely monotonous, add that to her lethargic tone, and one would almost feel sleepy listening to her, "I have scanned their energy, but they did not have anything at all…
…similar to the Professor."
"..." And as everyone heard Esme's voice, the humans, evaniels, themarians, as well as the other Higher Races all looked at Riley, who was trying to figure out how to turn the channel back on the big screen to Italian Mafia Reborn.
"Riley," Hannah did not even wait for the others to ask as she walked toward him, "What's going on here? Are those guys actually with you or what?"
"Hm…?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he glanced at Hannah. Before he could answer, however, Ahor Zai woke up from her stupor with a shout, almost causing Hannah to jump back in fright.
"What the fuck!?"
[I apologize,] Ahor Zai wiped the imaginary sweat trailing on her forehead, [I wanted to try that once. I have come back from talking with the Messengers.]
"...And?"
Everyone focused their attention on Ahor Zai.
[They do not know about them,] Ahor Zai sighed, [Lakas, the Messenger that brought them here, fetched them from a planet that does not exist.]
"Huh…?"
"How does that even fucking work?" Hannah glanced at Diana and the others.
[It should never have happened, but it did,] Ahor Zai placed her hand on her chin, [I have also tried to find them in the hall of losers, but they were not there—it was like they just disappeared.]
"Just disapp—wait a fucking minute," Hannah pointed at Riley, "Are you using Paige's abilities again!? Didn't we just have a talk about you not using it!?"
"I believe we did not have that conversation, sister," Riley said as he subtly gestured to Ahor Zai to turn back Italian Mafia Reborn, "And no, I am not using Paige's abilities."
"Do not be absurd, human," Queen Vania raised her voice as she also pointed at Riley, "Do you really think your brother is capable of creating an illusion, and then using his telekinesis all the way from here to simulate a group of people that was able to overwhelm my people?"
"Well…" Hannah looked back and forth between Riley and Queen Vania, "...Who knows what this pervert is up to now."
"I am not a pervert, sister," Riley shook his head before pointing at Gracy, who was just minding her own business and not caring about the mysterious group, "But she is."
"Wh—"
"But if all of you are truly curious as to who those 5 people are, I might have a guess," Riley waited for someone to ask him. But as several seconds passed and everyone just stared at him, he just let out a small sigh and raised a finger,
"The Primordials."
"..."
And with those words, everyone just looked at each other. Even Ahor Zai was slightly confused, almost leaning closer to Riley even though she could actually hear everything within the hall no matter where she was.
"The Primordials exist beyond the multiverse itself," the five norinlads floated closer to Riley, "They could never exist in our plane."
"I have been here for more than two decades, Inferior Tedis," Riley sighed as he looked at the norinlads, "I am a Primordial."
"Stop with this blasphemy, Riley Ross," the leader of the norinlads stepped on the floor, "Even if you are our only connection to the secrets of the universe, we will not tolerate you making such claims."
"Why not?" Riley tilted his head, "I am tolerating all the existence in this room. I could start killing all of you and none of you will even know if this is even my original body or not. I have the Cherbi on my side, and I could also ask Olseyir and her race to help me—in exchange, I will recreate them."
"..." Queen Vania's green hair immediately lit up as the tattoos on her body emerged. It wasn't only her—Queen Adel also stood by her side as her eyes turned red.
Hannah, on the other hand, just turned to look at Hera. And as soon as she confirmed that she wasn't transforming into anything, she just rolled her eyes and covered her face.
"But all of you may relax. We are in a safe space," Riley let out a sigh as he looked at the petrified faces of the Normal Races, "None of you are dying today. I am not here as Darkday, I am only here to have fun."
"Threatening to kill everyone here is your definition of fun?" Princess Vera's green hair also started to light up.
"No threats, just killing everyone, Princess Vera."
"You-"
"As I said, no one can stop me if I wished to do so - because more importantly..." A small smile crawled on Riley's face as he stretched his palm to the side. And as he did so, Ahor Zai very gently held it and stood beside him,
"...Ahor Zai is Quadley's friend—she is on my side."
"What…?" Queen Vania blinked a couple of times as she looked at Elder Apo and Elder S'adar, who were fellow members of the Common Council. And judging from the way they looked, none of them knew it as well.
"This Tournament that involved the Higher Races," the smile on Riley's face grew even wider, "It was Quadley's idea. The Common Council just filled the gaps. In a way…
…the Common Council works for me, no?"
Chapter 792"We don't work for you!"
Queen Vania's green hair once again lit up. This time, there was a sort of buzzing that echoed in the air as she did so. The two other Elders in the banquet hall, Apo and S'adar, also stepped forward from their seats as their people stood behind them.
"Well, if you remained as just an advisor to the Common Council, that statement would be true, Your Highness."
Riley let go of Ahor Zai's hand as his throne that was just resting at the Strays' table suddenly emerged from behind him — allowing him to sit almost seamlessly without even looking back,
"But the truth is, except for my sister and Aerith, all of you are under me now—always been," Riley rested his cheek on his fist as he looked Queen Vania in the eyes, "This is not a friendly Tournament between all the races of the universe…
…This is my Tournament."
"..." Queen Adel looked at Diana and Aerith, only for the two to just shake their heads; gesturing to her not to attempt anything. Adel, however, also shook her head as she approached the two, "Once again, we are all just dancing in the palm of his hand. All of us should have realized something was amiss when he was allowed to do anything he wanted. Creating his own group of champions? That was already the biggest sign he could give all of us and we just let it be because we are all used to his antics."
"Well," Riley looked at Queen Adel, "Everyone says they want an end to Riley Ross, but everyone also wants to redeem me. What else can they really do, Your Highness? They all seem to think that if my abilities are pointed in the other direction, it will make the whole universe a better and safer place."
"I am not one of those people, Riley Ross," Queen Adel let out a scoff, "I am withdrawing the themarians from this tournament. I will not allow us to be your playthings again."
"As will I," Queen Vania stood up straight, "I wish to withdraw."
"Us too!"
"This… whatever is going on here is not worth a ridiculous prize that might not even be real!"
"We will also withdraw!"
"We are staying. This is a chance to revive our species."
"Hm," Riley smiled as he looked at the tables who had their hands raised. He then turned to look at Ahor Zai, before nodding his head and once again looking at the people. And as he did so, all the arcade and entertainment machines returned to the floor, giving everyone a full view of the large screens on the walls…
…which was showing some sort of city… and a scenery of carnage and chaos.
"That's… a city in Buro!"
"Buro… Krukux's plane!?"
"What's going on here!?"
The footage then very slowly zoomed out, giving everyone there a better view of what was happening. Octophoids were all crawling for their lives, swimming away to their ships only for them to explode. The feed zoomed out even further, showing a full view of a city that was in ruins… and soon, everyone could see a ball of steam being shown in front of all of them—the ball being the planet of the Krukux race.
"!!!"
And with a collective gasp, they all watched as the planet imploded and collapsed into itself.
"W—"
And before anyone could speak again, the images on the screens started to change—this time, several different planets were being shown. There were planets that were completely obliterated as their own moon fell on them, some just turning into balls of fire, and some completely splitting in half.
And soon, the images started to shift as a hand seemed to retrieve whatever camera was being used to record all of this—and there, they saw a humanoid that was completely covered in black, wearing a helmet that reflected the collapsing planet in front of it.
[Done, Boss.]
[I guess that's that, Boss.] And it wasn't just one—all of the screens were showing the same silhouette either saluting or shrugging their shoulders.
"Riley!" Hannah's voice was the first to erupt out of all the stuttered breaths that turned the banquet hall into some sort of breathing orchestra, "What are you doing now!? What… please, tell me this is fake!"
"I truly apologize for disappointing you again, sister," the smile on Riley's face disappeared as he let out a very long and deep sigh, "But everything you are seeing now is happening in real-time."
"No…" The light on Queen Vania's hair faded as she spun in place, watching all the screens scattered on the walls of the banquet hall, "These… are all the races that lost their match?"
"Correct, Your Highness," Riley clapped his hands, "These included all those who lost the Battle Royale."
"You…!" Elder S'adar rushed toward Riley; his hair that was akin to needles, vibrating as he did so—he was, however, quickly blocked by Queen Vania,
"Why are you trying to stop me!?"
"Understand the situation, Elder S'adar," Queen Vania whispered; her words, slightly stuttered, "We've been had."
"Those of you who wish to forfeit could still do so," Riley glanced at Ahor Zai, who nodded her head as the images on the screen once again changed—this time showing the planets of everyone who raised their hand and wanted to forfeit,
"But you would be considered defeated, and your planet and everyone in it will, well…
…die."
"Riley…?" Hannah looked Riley in the eyes.
"As I said earlier, sister—I want to give the universe the most entertaining Tournament they will ever watch," Riley shook his head as he returned his sister's pleading glare, "And for Tournaments to be more entertaining, there should be a prize… as well as a consequence for losing. What better consequence than losing one's home?"
"You…"
"And what better entertainment than watching people lose their homes?" Riley started giggling, "What better entertainment than watching your champions fight… for your right to live?"
"All those who could fight… are here," Queen Vania looked at all the champions standing in the hall; their faces showing that most of them still do not understand the situation at all, "Our planets… are practically defenseless."
"...No," Queen Adel looked at all the planets being shown, but the asteroid she and the other themarians were temporarily living in was not being shown—and it wasn't just her, the planet of the evaniels was also not present,
"Both our homes are not… being shown."
"As is ours," Elder Apo and his people have scanned the screens, but they could not find their home planet. The same goes for Elder S'adar, whose breath could almost be heard across the entire hall.
"I am glad that all of you have noticed," Riley chuckled, "I made things even more entertaining. Since it is already obvious that the Higher Races will win, no matter what, against the Normal Races—I am giving the Higher Races a chance to rescue their opponent's home. Generous, no? I am sure everyone who is watching this in their homes are just…
…trembling with excitement. Now, shall we start the—"
"I did not sign up for this!"
And before Riley could clap his hands, someone suddenly rushed toward him; her fists, already cocked and filled with force.
"But you did…
…Gracy."
Chapter 793"But you did…
…Gracy."
"L…let go of me!"
"But you're the one who lunged at me, Gracy."
Gracy was able to get near Riley. But alas, she was now just floating right in front of him; her arms still fully pressed as she tried her best to set herself free from Riley's invisible clutch.
"I… I won't be part of this fucking massacre!" Gracy, however, even with her absolutely unflattering position, still fiercely looked Riley in the eyes; straining every bit of her vocal chords as she screamed at his face.
"I thought we were bonding, Gracy," Riley sighed as he stood up from his throne. He then very gently placed the back of his hand on Gracy's chin while shaking his head, "But I am liking you more and more compared to Gary. You are both recklessly brave, the only difference is that you actually have the strength to stand in the road your mother walked on—you have the potential to be Megawoman."
"I don't fucking care about that!" Gracy once again let out a shrilling scream.
"You should," Riley removed his hand as he walked past her, "That is the only reason you are alive right now. Ahor Zai… return her to her universe."
"W… wait!" Gracy tried her best to turn her head, once again screaming out of her lungs and causing Ahor Zai to slightly flinch back, "That means you will lack a member! You…
…that means you're disqualified!"
"...This is my Tournament, Gracy," Riley blinked a couple of times; tilting his head in confusion as he looked at Gracy, "But you are right, what fun is there if I will be breaking the rules of my own Tournament?"
"So, you'll stop all of this!?" Gracy smiled as she looked at Hannah and the others.
"No," Riley shook his head, "There is still one more thing that you and Gary have in common, Gracy…
…you are both replaceable."
And as soon as he said that, the air behind him cracked open; ripping apart space itself as Chihiro stepped out.
"Oh…" Chihiro quickly hummed as she saw everyone looking at her, "...Did I mess up the timing?"
"Not at all, Chihiro," Riley shook his head, before gesturing to Ahor Zai, "I am giving you the chance to do something, Gracy. Prove to your universe and this one that you are not useless…
…try stopping this."
"What are you even—"
And before Gracy could even finish her words, Ahor Zai waved her hand—causing some sort of portal to emerge from the floor right beneath where Gracy was floating. And without even giving her the chance to say anything else, Riley dropped her down.
"Now then," Riley returned to his throne, "Is there anyone that still wants to forfeit?"
"..."
"Good, that is good," Riley nodded to himself as he sat back down, "Who wants to fight next?"
"He's only one man! We can take him! We have the themarians and the evaniels on our side!"
"Are you stupid? He just told us he has our people hostage."
"How do we even know what you showed us is true!? In fact, all of these sound like some sort of show. What about the Primordials you mentioned earlier!? Where are they!?"
"I am not sure if the mysterious group really are the primordials, random humanoid," Riley sighed and shook his head, "But the themarians are saying that the energy they give out—or rather the fact that they are not giving out energy at all is the same as me. I was told by Navi, one of the Primordials, that I am the same as them—and therefore my guess has merit."
"W—"
"Enough delaying. The Humans vs… how do you pronounce this, Ahor Zai?"
[Es'embres.]
"The Humans vs. the Es'embres," Riley raised his hand, "S—"
"Riley!" Hannah roared, "I will fucking off myself if you continue this!"
"If you kill yourself, then I will kill everyone—whether people find it entertaining or not," Riley quickly responded, "And not just here, but the other universes out there will receive the same treatment. I will scorch them down and they will not even know why it is happening to them."
"Riley…"
"Oh, and please do not attempt to lose purposely," Riley looked at Bulwark, "I will also destroy Earth and everyone in it if you lose."
"..." Bulwark squinted his golden eyes as he glanced at Bernard, who just closed his eyes in response.
"Are you serious, Riley…?" Hera stepped forward and stood beside Hannah, "You have friends there. What about Paige? Katherine, the mother of your child?"
"I have no friends, Hera."
"What about Italian Mafia Reborn!?" Hera breathed out and smiled, "If you destroy Earth then no one will be able to make it anymore!"
"I know you bought the rights to Italian Mafia Reborn, Hera," Riley blinked, "You bought it because your body and your mind knew that it is the only way you will be left alive even if everything else turns into ruin…
…You will make Italian Mafia Reborn if you wish to survive."
"Fuck… he's right," Hera sucked in a deep breath as she glanced at Hannah.
[The Humans vs. The Es'embres!]
And before anyone else could get another word in, Hera and the others were warped away along with their opponents.
"Well then, eat…" Riley opened his arms as he looked at everyone that was left in the banquet hall, "...the food you people have actually been eating and enjoying since earlier have been prepared by me and my clones."
"!!!"
As soon as everyone heard that, some of the champions instantly started vomiting there and then. More seemed to want to vomit, but their digestive systems do not really have such capabilities.
"That is rude," Riley sighed and shook his head, "I painstakingly learned recipes that are completely and literally alien to me and prepared them. Wh—"
And before Riley could finish his words, fireworks started appearing in the ceiling of the banquet hall as Hannah and the others appeared back in the banquet hall as fast as they were warped away…
…with Bernard's white suit completely slathered in blood.
Bernard didn't really say anything. He just glared at Riley, before sitting back at the Earth's table. It was the same with Hannah; except she did not even look at Riley as she took her seat. Tempo, who had been quiet since the beginning, only turned his head down as he approached Princess Vera, who immediately embraced him in her arms.
"Hm," Riley nodded, "As expected of Father. Next—"
"Riley, what are you doing?"
And finally, Aerith stepped forward and started to approach Riley.
"This is enough. Let's just… go," Aerith looked Riley in the eyes, "I promised to stop you, and I am asking you to stop now. Let's just go."
"But we are just starting, Aerith," Riley tilted his head to the side.
"Is what we talked about meaningless?" Aerith breathed in as she stood in front of Riley, "Am I… actually just meaningless to you? Didn't we just promise to just be together and leave all of this behind us…? I thought you loved me?"
"I do, Aerith," Riley nodded, "You are my favorite person next to Sister."
"Then—"
"That's why, Aerith…"
"Hm?"
"Aerith…" Riley looked at Aerith; his eyes, seemingly filled with utmost endearment,
…versus all the remaining Normal Races."
"...What?"
Chapter 794She tries to save everyone. She has always tried to, no matter what the cause of it will be for her.
She was born with the strength to do so, and so she does. Saving people was not even an option for her, because it is what she just does. One might think that it was easy for her because of her overwhelming strength, and it is—the times that the odds were against her almost did not exist.
She wasn't a fool, she knew that she could not save everyone; but that didn't matter. As long as she saves one more life, she would. For hundreds and hundreds of years, she did…
…until the dark days came for everyone's lives.
And now, once again, a dark day looms for her.
Themarians do not really need to breathe, they just do so because it feels nice to do so—but right now, try as Aerith might not to breathe, she wasn't able to do so as her heart, which also rarely beats, was crushing her chest with the way it drummed.
She still hasn't moved from her spot after she was warped away from the banquet hall. She just stood there, surrounded by a field of grass that did not have any color—just white. Almost as if she was floating above a flat cloud.
Of course, she knew that Riley meant for this to happen. He wanted to see if she was going to cover this white field into a sea of red. And perhaps the worst thing about this all, as she stared at the crowd of different people circling around her…
…she was actually deliberating in doing so.
The odds… none of it even existed on her side.
"Everyone, please…" Aerith raised both her hands, spinning in place as she looked at each of the people surrounding her, "...There has to be a way where all of us can come out of this alive."
Her voice was loud, incredibly so as it thundered across the white field. But alas, no one was listening to her as everyone else was just planning quietly on how they could win against the themarian princess.
"I could find a way to warp to your planets and get rid of his clones before anything could happen," Aerith smiled; her breaths, however, only escaped as desperation, "I can do that, I am strong enough to do that. Please, I—"
And before Aerith could finish her words, a group of humanoids whose skin was made of rock rushed toward her.
"Don't…" Aerith showed her palms to gesture to everyone she had no intention of attacking, "...You'll only hurt yourself, please. It's not—"
Once again, Aerith's words were met with violent silence as the boulder-like creatures just rammed her without any hesitation. Aerith, however, made sure to slightly hover in the air and allow herself to be pushed back so that they wouldn't get hurt.
"Stop," Aerith then waved her hand, causing a blast of wind to gently blow away the heavy humanoids. She still wanted to say something, but a group of a smaller race that resembled snails latched onto her—trying to bite through her skin, but shattering their teeth in the process.
Aerith just flexed her muscles, blowing them away. She wasn't given any time to leave, however, as arms that looked like tree roots emerged from the ground and grabbed her legs. Aerith wanted to fly away, but as soon as she realized that the arm-like roots truly were arms, she paused in the air in fear of splitting whoever was holding her down in half.
"Stop it…" Aerith then whispered to herself as she saw everyone now rushing at her, "...please, there has to be a way."
The only thing that Aerith could really do was close her eyes—not even feeling a single thing as she was showered and bombarded by the violent attempts of normal races to hurt her.
[I told you, she will risk our lives for the lives of these weak creatures! More than a thousand of them have already lost their planets when they lost the Battle Royale, what use is there to leave 7 or 8 more!?]
"..." Aerith let out a tiny breath as she heard her mother's voice being broadcast to everyone on the battlefield. And it wasn't just her, she could hear everyone in the banquet hall arguing.
[I… agree with your statement.]
Aerith heard a voice that she hadn't heard before—but judging by the way each of the words buzzed, it was the voice of one of the Xanix, the Insecta race that did not really have one single body, but millions creating one humanoid-looking shell…
…an endangered species.
[The value of the existence of the people in this hall far outweighs the existence of those who are outside. It should not even be a choice.]
[That's not…] Aerith could hear Hannah wanting to speak, but seemed to hesitate. But in the end, she still managed to say the words she wanted to say, [...That's not fair.]
[But it is,] this time, it was a norinlad, [We are more important.]
[Then maybe we all should just fucking die.]
[Just your brother. But I think we have already discovered that that is impossible.]
"Can all of you just shut up?" Aerith gritted her teeth.
[Just kill them and get this over with, Aerith.]
"And you think this will be over once I do that?" Aerith let out a small chuckle even as the champions of the normal races continued to attack her, "What do you think will happen if I do defeat them? What do you think will happen after Riley destroys their homes? You think he'll stop? No…
…one of you is next. That is just how he is, he won't stop. He can't."
[I am truly glad that you know me that well, Aerith.]
"I wish I didn't," Aerith breathed out as she heard Riley's voice.
[But you do. 30 seconds. I will give you 30 seconds—if you do not start fighting back, I will activate the rest of my clones and start my war against the Higher Races… and it won't be much of a war.]
"Give me time, please…" Aerith whispered; her eyes remained closed.
[I did, Aerith. I have always given you time. And like now, I have always given you a choice.]
"Why… why does it have to be me?" Aerith started to move as she clasped her head, "Why do you have to torture me, Riley!?"
[Because I love you, Aerith. I love what you are, I love who you are…
…and I don't like that.]
"You…" Aerith sucked in a deep breath as she tried to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes.
[15 seconds.]
"I… don't know what to do."
[But you do, Aerith.]
"..." A deafening silence filled Aerith's ears as every other sound was drowned. She could not even hear a single thing anymore—no. She refused to listen anymore. She has tried saving everyone her entire life…
…maybe it was time to stop…
…and save herself.
And with that thought the only thing lingering in her mind, a blinding red light flashed from her eyes as she opened it; her lips, almost growling as she looked at the people attacking her.
And then, with a deep breath…
"...No."
She said no; the light in her eyes, fading away.
"I can't do it. Just kill me…
…I don't want to play this game anymore."
Chapter 795"I can't do it. Just kill me…
…I don't want to play this game anymore."
The light in Aerith's eyes continued to fade away. The people that were attacking her already stopped when her eyes glowed red in fear that they would just suddenly melt away. But now, even as the will to fight completely vanished from her eyes, the champions remained completely still; some even backing away as they heard Aerith's desperate and weak whispers.
The others, however, saw this chance to attack and once again rushed toward her… only to find themselves completely unable to move even a single inch.
"Are you going to kill yourself again, Aerith?"
And all of a sudden, Riley appeared in front of her, descending out of nowhere from above. He very gently touched her chin, lifting her head up so he could look her in the eyes.
"No," Aerith answered weakly as she returned Riley's gaze, "This is not my failure. I just refuse to be played and manipulated by you again, Riley. Just kill me. Kill everyone if you want—that is what makes you happy, right? You want to kill everyone and turn them into nothing, you want to be alone."
"Hm. I remember us having this discussion before, Aerith," Riley smiled, "I do not want to be alone. If there is anything that I fear, it is being alone — but with everything I have done, it is what I deserve, and therefore I strive for it."
"Stop it with the pity play, Riley," Aerith leaned her head away, "Just kill me. I am not going to play this game of yours anymore."
"Are you planning to manipulate me as well by saying that, Aerith?"
"I'm not one for mind games," Aerith let out a wry chuckle, "Just kill me and get this over with. You can always just find another me in another universe, make their lives hell instead."
"Hm, maybe I will do that," Riley smiled, "But I won't find another you, Aerith. The multiverse does not really matter to me, only the universe that has you."
"Why me…? Why does it have to be me?"
"Because it is," Riley leaned closer to Aerith, before wrapping his arms around her, "And I am truly sorry for that."
"Riley…" Aerith softly returned Riley's embrace, tight…perhaps too tight, "Diana! This is his real body! He won't hug me like this with one of his clones!"
[We're on it!]
"Diana! You can do it, just burst through the hall and help me restrain him!"
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he heard Aerith and Diana's words. Several thumps and explosions could be heard being broadcast throughout the entire planet as Diana and the others seemed to have completely destroyed the hall.
[Shout so I can hear where you are!]
"Here!"
[Where!? I can't hear your voice!]
"..."
"Diana…!? I'm here!"
[Wait, this… this planet looks completely different.]
"...What?"
"What…" Riley blinked a couple of times again as he very slowly turned his head; his lips, now directly on Aerith's ears, "...are you doing, Aerith?"
"Trying to stop you!"
"Hm," Riley's voice was incredibly gentle so as to not hurt Aerith's ears,
"What made all of you think that the battlefield was anywhere near the banquet hall, Aerith?"
"Wh… what do you mean?" Aerith's eyes very slowly started to widen, "You and Ahor Zai kept referring to this place as 'outside'!"
"Yes," Riley once again blinked, "Because it is outside… but several lightyears away. We won't be using warp technology if the field was directly just outside, Aerith—that would be too costly and Ahor Zai is on a budget because we're using the funds of the Common Council."
"..." Aerith's grip slowly loosened, allowing Riley to take a few steps back.
"Oh…" Riley looked at Aerith's eyes, which were filled with confusion, but most importantly, defeat, "...Don't be sad, Aerith. Diana and the others could still reach this place in a few minutes if they tried. It… was a good plan."
"..." Aerith could really only look at Riley as he started patting her shoulders like she was some kind of child that failed her math test.
"Solving things with your strength is truly your forte, Aerith. Do not be too disappointed with this outcome. We all have our own strengths." Riley then let out a small sigh as he backed away. He seemed to be completely lost in thought, even placing his hand on his chin before uttering…
"...Wow."
"..."
"I am truly impressed, Aerith," Riley slightly covered his mouth as he once again glanced at Aerith, "Your plan is working because I don't even want to go through with this after that."
"..."
"You people," Riley then turned to look at the frozen champions surrounding the two of them, "I am allowing all of you to go home now. Ahor Zai, take us back."
And as soon as Riley said that, Aerith saw her vision shift and found herself back in the banquet hall… which now no longer had a ceiling.
"Hm…" As for Riley, he just sat back on his throne; resting his elbows on his knees as he covered his mouth with his hands. And very soon, Diana and all the Higher Races flew back and returned to the banquet hall. Riley, however, did not heed them any mind as he just gestured to Ahor Zai to come to him.
[Hm, okay,] Ahor Zai started nodding as Riley seemed to be whispering something to her, [Yes, all Aeriths have the tendency to not think.]
[Hm, I agree,] Ahor Zai nodded again, [She should never be made to lead a plan again.]
[Hm, are you sure?] Ahor Zai squinted as she looked at Aerith, whose head was completely turned to the floor, [I do not think the pocket universe can help with increasing her decision-making skills.]
"Hm…" Riley then waved his hand, gesturing to Ahor Zai that he was done speaking to her. Riley then turned to look at the champions left in the banquet hall, before letting out a sigh and shaking his head, "...Who wishes to continue with the Tournament?"
"If the pocket universe is still on the line, then we wish to continue."
"As do we."
Both the Xanix and the Norinlad immediately raised their hands as soon as they heard Riley's words. And when Riley saw that only the two groups wanted to continue, he once again sighed and stood up from his throne.
"I promise that I will no longer plan anything evil and malicious for the duration of the Tournament," Riley raised his hand, "This—"
And before Riley could finish his words, a tear suddenly opened in the air at the very center of the hall. And without even a second later, a blinding flash of light exploded from it—a blinding flash of light that did not really affect most of the people in the banquet hall.
Another second later, several more portals opened up; scattered across the banquet hall.
And soon, Gracy, who was thrown away back to her universe, jumped out of the rift… along with the Bernard, Hannah, and Chihiro of her universe. And it wasn't only them, several more familiar figures from their universe stepped out of the other portals.
"We are here to help stop Riley!" Gracy started waving her arms before getting into a fighting stance, "Everyone…
…Assemb—"
"It's over."
"Huh…?"
"You do not need to stop me, Gracy. It's over, but...
...since all of you are here..."
Chapter 796All of a sudden, the hall that was near empty was suddenly filled with more people. The noise that scattered in the air, almost drowning everyone as the voices just mixed; some were of excitement, some worried, and most were confused.
"Why are everyone just talking to each other!?"
Gracy, who was the one responsible for bringing more than 50 people to another universe, could not even believe what she was witnessing in front of her. The effort she had to put into making this possible was something that probably shortened her lifespan for years — and yet no one was even listening to her at all.
"Guys…!?" Gracy placed her hand on Nannah's shoulder, "What the hell!? We should be trying to subdue Riley Ross!"
"And risk fucking dying in vain?" The Hannah of the other universe, Nannah, shook her head; her eyes, completely fixated on Riley.
"But all of you were ready to die!" Gracy wanted to pull her hair in frustration as she backed away, "I even gave a speech!"
"It was a very good speech, kid," Bard patted Gracy's shoulder, "You should be proud of the fact that all these people responded to your call — even divulging the fact that you are Megawoman's daughter. But Hannah is right…
…we were here to prevent more deaths, but seeing as that living disaster has already calmed down, we would just be poking a sleeping lion and inviting unwanted deaths."
"Damn it!" Gracy stomped away, approaching Riley and violently pointing her finger at him, "Trust me, Riley — as long as I, the savior of justice and all that is good, remain alive — you will meet your fate!"
"What sort of fate… Gracy?" Riley could not help but blink a couple of times as Gracy suddenly sat beside him on the armrest of his throne, "What are you doing?"
"What do you think?" Gracy scoffed, "I am trying to establish dominance in my universe — if I am sitting beside the top dog of this universe, then that means I am also the top dog of my universe. And what do you mean 'what sort of fate'!? Death! It's death!"
"Hm," Riley glanced at Gracy, before letting out a small breath and leaning his back on his throne. He then looked at the crowd that was now before him, before shaking his head and gesturing to Ahor Zai to come near.
[Yes, Riley?]
"The number of people in the hall; is it an odd number, Ahor Zai?"
[Yes. A team battle will be complicated,] Ahor Zai nodded her head as she started scanning all the people, [There is also the fact that the number of humans has increased. Ms. Gracy may have also brought people not from Earth, but the number is also not ideal.]
"Well, sorry about that," Gracy rolled her eyes, "It's not like I had the luxury to call upon the freaking Primordials or watchumacallthem. Where are they anyway, they gone?"
[I am currently searching for them, if it truly was them. But considering they just disappeared into nowhere and I could not find even a single trace of them existing — Riley is right, they truly might be the primordials.]
"Weird… What do you think they're doing here?"
[I do not—]
"Individual battles." And before the two could continue their conversation, Riley suddenly raised his hand, "Only those that wish to fight will fight, and it will no longer be a team battle. Ahor Zai, send all of us to the battlefield."
And without even any warning for the other people in the room, all of them were warped to the battlefield, causing most of the people who were seated to lose their balance. Fortunately for them, Riley did not allow their butts to hit the ground as he waved his hand.
"Everyone," Riley then clapped his hands, causing a gentle wave to ripple through the entire flat planet, "The prize for the Tournament remains the same, a pocket universe of your own — the size of a star system. The way to get it, however, has changed completely. There are no more teams. It is any of you…
…against me."
"Who is this guy, really?" One of the people from Gracy's universe whispered. For some reason, however, everyone could hear everyone's voices.
"Shh! Are you stupid? Megawoman's daughter already said he was some sort of god of destruction."
"Speaking of, you seen her large tits? Are we sure she's Megawoman's daughter?"
"What the—I heard that!" Gracy quickly pointed at the man as she heard his words. She then glanced at Aerith, before very slowly and not-so-subtly looking at her breasts, "Oh… it's true."
"..." Aerith, who was already completely confused as to what to feel, could really only look away and look down, "Just kill me."
"That… it's alright," Diana stuttered as she tried her best to comfort Aerith."
[Anyone who wins against me…] Riley's voice started to reverberate throughout the entire flat planet as he stepped closer toward the crowd, [...will win the prize. It doesn't matter if you go first, or if you wait for me to get tired—because I do not get tired, I can only exert myself.]
"Is it to the death?"
And almost immediately as Riley said that, one of the Xanix people raised his hand and floated closer to him; garnering everyone's attention due to the loud buzzing noise his body was creating.
[It is not, Xanix.]
"Then I will go first."
"And we already have our first contender," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as he looked at the Xanix, "Ahor Zai."
[Of course,] Ahor Zai snapped her fingers, and as she did so, the rest of the crowd disappeared — only to reappear from the distance.
"What the—we can't see from here!"
Ahor Zai only glanced at the one who complained, before letting out a small sigh and clapping her hands. And as she did so, a hologram of the flat planet appeared in front of each and every one of the people.
[There, now each of you have an individual view of what is happening,] Ahor Zai once again glanced at the one who complained, before letting out a small scoff and looking into the distance toward Riley and the Xanix.
[Champion!] Ahor Zai then raised her arms in the air as her clothes suddenly changed into something more frilly, much more frilly; wearing an oversized headset even though she did not need it, [Introduce yourself!]
"...My name is Ylim," Ylim stretched his arms to the side. And as he did so, his body that was made of millions of insect-like creatures separated from each other and seemingly expanding his silhouette, "I am one of the only 100 remaining Xanix in the entire Known Universe — and I am considered to be the strongest out of all of us."
"Interesting," Riley tilted his head to the side, "I am Riley Ross, Hannah's brother, and Aerith's venomous lover."
"I am still unaware of what you are truly capable of, Riley Ross — so I will fight with all my might." With his body separating into millions of pieces and stretching; his voice was also starting to resonate — coming from all the little insects that made up his body,
"I am desperate to win the pocket universe for my people."
[Riley Ross vs. Ylim of the Higher Races…
…Fight!]
And not even a millisecond after Ahor Zai announced the start of their fight, Ylim's form shifted into that of a drill and shot straight toward Riley.
"Hm…" Riley quickly flew to the side; but as he did so, several insects separated from the drill and shot like a bullet that moved at an insane speed toward him. Riley was able to dodge most of it, but one managed to latch itself on his arm.
"Oh…?" And with only a slight resistance, it was able to dig through his flesh and crawl all the way through his shoulder. Before it could reach its neck, however, Riley pulled it out with his bare hand and flicked it back to the… hive,
"I could see why your race belongs to the Higher Races, Ylim," the smile on Riley's face now reached from ear to ear, "Very well, let us both have fun."
And as Riley said those words, a clone suddenly appeared in front of him. There was something different about this clone, however, but those who were watching could not figure out what.
"Please, face me yourself, Riley Ross!" Ylim immediately pierced through the clone, "I wish to win, but I wish to win with digni—!!!"
And before Ylim could finish his words, the clone he thought he pierced suddenly separated into thousands and thousands of pieces. And finally, everyone realized what was different—the clone… it was made up of tiny little Rileys.
"Everyone…!" The largest one of the miniature Rileys, the one who was the size of a thumb, ordered the smaller ones to fly; his voice, barely even audible, "Defeat the enemy in front of you…
…Advance!"
"!!!"
And all of a sudden, almost half of Ylim's bodies were now busy trying to fend off the miniature Rileys. As for Riley, well… he summoned another batch of micro Rileys and ordered all of them to attack Ylim.
Suffice it to say, Gracy and the others who were not fully familiar with how Riley fights now had their eyes wide open.
"Everyone!" The thumb-size Riley once again roared, "Pavoo—"
Before it could say its next word, however, Riley suddenly appeared behind it and trapped it within his fist, "We are not here to kill, Thumbly."
"Fuah!" Thumbly moved through the gaps of Riley's fingers, "Do not listen to the Boss! Charge! Kill! Kill the inse—"
And with a sigh, Riley canceled all of the micro Rileys; all of them, turning into dust that almost created a cloud.
"I apologize for that, Ylim," Riley once again sighed, "The smaller they are…
…the more vicious they get."
Chapter 797"I am sorry, everyone. I failed to claim us the prize that could very well resurrect our race."
"It is fine, Ylim. It is unnatural to ask for an extension of our stay in this world — all things have to end, we just happen to be the witness to the last of our people."
One might say that the way Riley defeated Ylim was a mockery to their species, but the Xanix did not even think of anything else as they just huddled together; the buzz they created by hugging their bodies together, enough to resound throughout the entire plateau of the flat planet.
Ylim tried his best, and that was the only thing important for his people. Riley was just… not an opponent that they could defeat in the first place. Speaking of, Riley was now standing on top of a stage that he created; standing tall in front of all the people that were either avoiding his gaze, or returning it with a glare.
The people from Gracy's universe were still slightly confused as to what was happening, but with Bard, the Bernard of their world, explaining to them everything; they were slowly starting to understand the situation in which they found themselves. They were already given information about Riley Ross; about what he could do, and about what he wanted to do.
He was not only a threat to their universe, but to everyone's — they thought they were here to fight a war that would decide the fate of everything that existed. But now, the only thing they could really do was watch and wait.
"That guy… didn't he just destroy more than a thousand planets? Why is everyone just pretending like nothing happened?"
"More than a thousand planets? That's trillions of people, why are people playing his games? Do the people of this universe lack empathy?"
The people of Gracy's universe still could not get over the fact that no one seemed to be trying to fight. Even Gracy, the one who made some grand speech to bring them all here, was now just casually talking to some people.
"We do."
"Hm?"
And as they were talking to each other, Princess Vera approached them, "We lack empathy, but not because we're callous. We're just forced to swallow our losses, by him."
Vera pointed at Riley, but none of the otherworlders turned their eyes at him and just focused on her.
"All of you are lucky you do not live in the same universe as Riley Ross," Vera sighed, "My first introduction to him was him killing my brother and hundreds of my men. Pray you do not get introduced to him at all."
"There are lots of us here, we can take him."
"No," Vera forced out a small chuckle before shaking her head, "I used to think so too — but how exactly do you stop an unstoppable force?"
"By killing it," one of the otherworlders stepped closer to Vera — a human. A familiar face for Riley and the others, a variant of Daniel Espinoza.
"Well, this one is undying," Vera only shook her head before walking away, "My advice to all of you is just watch and then go home to your worlds… then pray Riley doesn't go back there."
"We will see about that." And while everyone was either discussing a plan on how to win against Riley, or just casually having a fruitful conversation with people from another world, Daniel's variant raised his hand.
"I am challenging you, Overlord," he then said as he looked at Riley. And without even any warning, he was sent to the center of the flat planet along with Riley.
[State your name, Champion!]
"Daniel Espinoza, aka, Balloon Man," Daniel let out a small scoff as his fists suddenly bloated to the size of a yoga ball. He then bumped his fists with each other, creating a thunderous and almost deafening drum that rippled across the white field.
"Balloon Man?" Riley looked to the side as he heard Daniel's words, "The version of you in this world has a different superhero name."
[Balloon Man vs. Riley Ross…]
"...Superhero?" Daniel raised an eyebrow as a small scoff escaped his lips.
[...Fight!]
"I'm a supervillain!" And with those words, Daniel's legs instantly shifted into springs — and with the ground shattering into millions of pieces, another thunderous crack snapped in the air as Daniel disappeared from his spot and shot straight toward Riley; skirts of wind, exploding around his bouncy silhouette.
Riley, on the other hand, only grabbed something from his pockets—a spoon. And with a small tap on his palm, the spoon almost instantly grew into the size of a street sign, and without even a smile crawling on his face, Riley swung the spoon like a baseball bat… hitting Daniel so hard to the point that he flew back from where he was originally standing before they were warped away by Ahor Zai.
"..." Vera, who was the closest one to him, could really only look down at Daniel and sigh. His rubber-like body seemed to have dissipated most of the damage, but the foam forming from his mouth was enough for everyone to see that the fight was over.
"Hm," Riley was using his hand as a visor as he looked at where Daniel landed, "He seems to be stronger than our Daniel. Ahor Zai, take me—"
"You need to stop fucking acting up."
And before Riley could finish his words, Hannah suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Champion, state your name!]
"Hannah fucking Ross…" Hannah let out a small scoff as she looked Riley straight in the eyes, "...aka, this stupid fucking genocidal idiot's sister."
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at his sister, before returning the spoon back to its original size and hiding it back in his pockets, "I did not realize you also want the pocket universe, Sister."
"I could care a rat's tits for that fucking pocket shit," Hannah almost growled as her entire suit instantly withered away — replaced by a one-piece full suit that almost glowed from how… peach it was.
"That surprised me, Sister. I thought you were going to fight me naked," Riley, who quickly covered his eyes with his hands, tilted his head to the side as a small smile crawled on his face, "You are supposed to be Elevator Hannah, not Shirtless Hannah."
"The fuck are you even going on about!?" And without even waiting for Ahor Zai to announce the start of the fight, Hannah flew toward Riley; the ground beneath her feet melting away instantly—no, the ground vaporized completely.
"Why fight, Sister?" Riley sighed as he just gently grabbed Hannah's hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist, "I have your abilities — that makes me immune to it."
"Do I look like I fucking care if you're immune to it!?" Hannah quickly retracted her head back, before slamming her forehead straight on Riley's nose… which only made her head bounce back, "Fuck! Take off your telekinetic barrier and just let me hit you, you pussy!"
"...I do not have my telekinetic barrier on, Sister," Riley wanted to touch Hannah's forehead, but Hannah slapped his hand away, "My durability may only be a percent of a themarian's, but that percent is already stronger than 99% of everyone else's."
"Fuck! Why do you have to be so fucking strong and so fucking evil at the same time!?" The color of Hannah's eyes disappeared as everything around them started to melt away, "Why couldn't you just be one or the other!?"
The other champions were more than a thousand kilometers away, and yet those of them who could sweat were already starting to. If it wasn't for Bulwark… as well as Elder Apo creating a golden barrier to block the heat that was coming off of Hannah, some of them would have probably already fainted there and then.
"..." Bulwark and Elder Apo could not help but look at each other, however. Bulwark has been teased for half a decade now for looking like Elder Apo and his race… and now they even had the same abilities. Was it actually possible… for him to actually be an alien?
"I apologize for being both, Sister." Back on the battlefield, Riley was still grabbing his sister's hand, "But what would you have done differently if I was only evil?"
"Then I will fucking kick your ass!"
"Hm, then I am glad I am both, Sister," Riley nodded, "My posterior is quite sensitive, the same as you."
"Shut the fuck up and just let me beat you!" Hannah was able to pull away; the field they were fighting on, now completely non-existent.
"I can not do that, Sister," Riley shook his head, "It would not be fair to the others."
And as he said those words, Riley suddenly disappeared. Hannah tried looking around to find him, but she didn't need to do so for long… as Riley was directly behind her.
"I have always been fascinated with your fascination with kicking people's posterior, Sister."
"No… don't you fucking dare!"
"I apologize, Sister. But I feel this is necessary so I could understand you even further."
"N—"
Luckily for Hannah; before Riley could actually kick her straight on the butt, she was warped away by Ahor Zai back to the gathering area.
"What the fuck…!?" Hannah covered her butt; her eyes were fully closed, so she did not really realize she was back with the others. And as she opened her eyes in shame, she found that no one was really heeding her any mind.
"..." Hannah was relieved, but even more so, she was confused. She was going to ask Diana what was going on, but her eyes soon landed on the hologram floating in front of her.
[Esme vs. Riley Ross…]
"Wait, wait…"
[...Fight!]
"...You're allowing this!?"
Chapter 798"Should… we not be evacuating these people!?"
"I don't think it's going to lead to that."
"Isn't Esme capable of destroying entire star systems with a snap of her fingers!? W…
…Where else is it going to fucking lead!?"
"...Esme?"
And while Hannah was slightly panicking from the fact that the literal strongest themarian was going to fight on the same planet as them, Chihiro Prime was just staring at the hologram in front of her,
"...She's alive in this universe?"
"...What do you mean?" And although her voice was quiet, Hannah and the other themarians were still able to hear her. Although they weren't in the hall anymore, the crowd was still quite tight since everyone was trying to talk to everyone,
"Is she like a unique existence or something?" Hannah said as she approached Chihiro Prime. The Chihiro from Gracy's universe also seemed curious, but she was afraid of approaching Chihiro Prime—even with Nannah and Bard beside her.
"No, not at all," Chihiro Prime shook her head, "Esme usually exists, but she's also always dead. Out of all the lives I have lived, I could count the times she was alive in one hand."
"I suppose that would make sense." Surprisingly, Queen Adel joined the conversation, "When Esme was born sometime a century ago, the entire Theran felt it. The energy she emitted when she was born was enough to increase the planet's overall energy by 10%."
"10%?" Diana also joined in on the conversation; her eyes as wide as they could be, "That's… 10%?"
"...Is that a big deal?" Gracy crossed her arms as she looked at Diana and Adel, "I bet if I was born there, the energy would have increased by a thousand percent."
"If you were born in my universe as a half-breed, I would snap your head myself," Queen Adel quickly said.
"...I could see why nobody likes you, Grandma," Gracy almost gasped as she looked at Adel from head to toe, "Wait, is everyone in this universe evil AF? Is that Riley's influence or something?"
"No," Diana shook her head, "Her Highness is just a bigot."
"What's the big deal with 10% anyway?" Gracy scoffed, "Is she 10 times stronger than Queen Ass over here?"
"You fucking idiot," Nannah also joined in on the conversation, "That means Esme's energy alone is equal to or more than 10% of the energy of all the themarians combined. She is… abnormally strong."
"Can all of you stop fucking speculating and just listen to Chihiro?" Hannah could really only roll her eyes as she gestured to Chihiro to continue, "It's like everyone has their opinions when the fact is standing right here. What are you saying about Esme?"
"...That's all," Chihiro Prime, on the other hand, just shook her shoulders, "Machina didn't really have an avatar when Esme was born, and she's mostly dead during Chihiro's lifetime. I just found it slightly impressive that Esme is alive in a universe that has Riley Ross. I mean, what are the chances of that?"
"Judging from how many universes there are, close to nothing," Diana placed her hand on her chin, "But there is actually one thing I am truly worried about — something that Riley said."
"We should always be worried about him, Mom," Hannah sighed.
"Out with it, Doctor," Queen Vania, who had been quietly but intensely listening on the side, could not help but raise her voice as she saw the slightly disturbed expression on Diana's face, "I think all of us here should make a covenant that we will not hide anything we know regarding Riley Ross—this is the only way we can actually have a chance of winning against this demon."
"It's merely a guess, but my husband feels the same way," Diana glanced at Bernard, who just nodded in response, "The primordials possibly showing themselves, and then Riley saying that one of the primordials called him one of them… it's just wrong."
"You don't believe your son?" Queen Adel squinted her eyes.
"I'm afraid I do," Diana took in a subtle gulp before looking at the norinlads, "Judging from everything we know, the primordials are gods of unlimited power; gods that were born at the same time as the multiverse."
"What are you getting at, Mom?"
"Primordials were born at the Beginning of everything," Diana looked at Riley and Esme's hologram, "Riley Ross has just recently been born, and we are all still here—Everything still exists."
"...And?"
"Something is wrong," Diana repeated one of the first words she uttered, "Either Riley shouldn't really exist—"
"Or it is us that should not be here,"
Bernard finally spoke up as he stood beside Diana; his eyes, scanning everyone and everything they could lay upon before ultimately landing at his variant, "There is a chance that Riley is not the anomaly, we are…
…And he is just trying to clean his canvas."
"..."
"But of course, this could also be very unlikely," Bernard then let out a small chuckle as he saw everyone looking at him with eyes that seemed to wish to drown him,
"It's just a guess."
A guess—but coming from one of the most incredible minds in the entire multiverse, it sounded more like a warning.
***
"They seem to be saying a lot of interesting stuff about you, Professor."
Back in the battlefield, which was now a completely smooth crater because of Hannah, Esme and Riley still had not moved from their position even after minutes of Ahor Zai announcing the start of the fight.
"As expected of you, Professor."
"You are able to hear them clearly, Princess Esme?" Riley turned to look at where Esme was looking, "Are your ears not on the verge of exploding?"
"My body is still recovering, Professor," the tone of Esme's voice was completely monotonous, almost showing everyone who knew Riley just how much he had changed since the days of the Academy — he looked and sounded incredibly normal when compared to Esme,
"And since I am weakened, controlling my racial and inherited abilities has become astronomically easier."
"Should you not be resting then?" Riley looked at the tall Esme from head to toe.
"No," Esme shook her head, "Even if the prize was not included, I would still not let the chance of fighting the professor slip by, Professor."
"Okay," Riley stretched his arms to the side. And as he did so, a layer of something incredibly translucent started to wrap around his silhouette—a telekinetic barrier so incredibly thick and compressed that it could somewhat already be visible, something that no one had actually already seen before.
"Then please, do what you can without sending yourself to eternal death, Your Highness."
"I have intended to do so from the start, Professor," Esme took a step forward… causing the entire surface of the flat planet to crack.
"..." And as soon as Esme saw that, her feet very slowly left the shattered ground, "Will I lose if I step outside the battlefield, Professor?"
"The entire universe is the battlefield, Your Highness."
And with those words, the two suddenly disappeared from their position…
…and what followed next was a series of quakes that could be heard by the neighboring galaxies.
Chapter 799"This... is stupid."
"...Why are we even here?"
"We... were supposed to fight that? Did Megawoman's daughter actually send us here to die?"
No one could really see the fight between Esme and Riley, as they were already beyond the reach of Ahor Zai. And yet, it seemed as if everyone actually knew what was happening... because they felt it.
Everything was trembling; one might even say that the galaxy itself was crying - one was not supposed to hear anything from the expanse of space, and yet all of them could feel something tingling in their ears. Well, most of them, anyway.
While most of the people were holding their breaths and trying to stop their hearts from beating too fast and too heavily, the themarians were looking up; their eyes, moving from time to time along with their expressions.
"Mom… who is winning?" Hannah could not help but take in a small gulp as she leaned closer to Diana. And it wasn't only her, everyone within Riley's circle was surrounding the themarians… in a circle.
Even Nannah, who was incredibly aloof and awkward with Diana, was inching closer to her. As for the others from her universe, well… they were currently glaring at Gracy.
Gracy did not seem to notice, however, as she was also invested in knowing what exactly was happening… to the point that she did not notice that her breasts were currently resting on Silvie's back.
"..." Silvie wanted to say something, but she couldn't really talk to Gracy that much knowing that she's the biological daughter of an Aerith from another universe. How would she even start a conversation with her, since she was adopted by Aerith? Suffice it to say, the only thing that Silvie could really do was turn her head awkwardly and try to lean away.
"Are you also able to see what's happening, Sis?" Gracy, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to the awkwardness as she once again stood closer to Silvie; also looking up trying to see if she could also see Riley and Esme.
"That…" Silvie was completely taken aback, "...I can only get glimpses of their energy."
"Huh…" Gracy blinked a couple of times, "So, what's happening right now?"
"They…
…are ripping through space itself."
***
"Truly interesting."
The expanse of space, and everything itself quivered in fear as Riley and Esme continued their clash. The crushing force emitting from each of Esme's moves was enough to cause even darkness itself to ripple. The galaxy itself shuddered and trembled as they were caught up in the chaos; everything in it was being sucked into the swirling maelstrom of destruction.
The planets that orbited around them were pulverized, turned to dust in an instant by the sheer power of these two... gods. The deafening roar of space itself seemed to echo with a terrible dread as it witnessed this cataclysmic event.
Cataclysmic — perhaps that was really the only way one could describe this battle. The two were not trying to kill each other, not really. Their breaths, however, were enough to kill everything else around them. Nothing could survive here - no life, no hope. Nothing but death and destruction remained for those who dared gaze upon it.
"Are you having fun, Your Highness?" Riley asked Esme as he called forth several asteroids the size of Earth toward him, "Because that is the most important part in this."
"I am, Professor," Esme nodded even as the asteroids shot towards her at an insane speed, "But I am not fighting you for fun, but for the purpose of winning the pocket universe."
"What do you need it for, Princess Esme?" Riley watched as Esme just floated there; not even dodging or blocking the asteroids as they slammed at her consecutively. Of course, she did not need to do so in the first place as the asteroids just shattered upon touching her skin,
"You do not need your own star system to create or revive your kingdom."
"I apologize for my lacking, Professor," Esme shook her head as she disappeared from her spot, completely pulverizing the debris of asteroids around her as she did so, "But I do not have the patience to wait — I can recreate and expedite the process inside the pocket universe."
"But you will not be able to bring them out of the pocket universe," Riley felt his skin almost being pulled from the rest of his body as Esme created some sort of cyclone even though she was just moving behind him, "The pocket universe is real, but it is also just a simulation in a way that anything that exists there, only exists there."
"Even still, Professor," Esme snapped her finger, causing another ripple to echo throughout the entire star system; as well as completely erasing Riley away, "Even an ant's colony that is millions of lightyears away, that no one knows other than them exists, is still a kingdom."
"But you will have no way of expanding it," Riley appeared from the distance, summoning another clone as he lost the other, "But I suppose there is beauty in knowing that there are limits. Limits…
…that I wish to test now."
Riley stretched his arms to the side again. And as he did so… darkness itself began to shift.
"..." Esme blinked a couple of times as she looked around her, slightly confused as to what exactly was happening. But as another asteroid slammed against her — she finally realized what Riley was doing, and for the first time in a very long time, Esme looked someone straight in the eyes…
…only to see blood profusely bleeding from them.
And for the very first time in her life, Esme's eyes widened as a hint of glitter appeared from them; a gasp, very lightly escaping her lips as she stared at Riley. For the very first time in her life…
…she was truly able to relate to someone.
For as long as she could remember, she had lived her entire life barely breathing; barely living because if she does, then everything else will not be able to… even herself.
She was so strong that everything around her just crumbled, even herself. And now, she was able to find someone who was the same.
Darkness wasn't really shifting no — but everything else was. The bright dots from the distance… were becoming larger and larger; some turning into streaks that almost made it look as if the stars themselves were just fireflies in a pond.
Riley Ross was not moving the darkness, no— he was moving everything else. The asteroids that were near them started to orbit around him, rotating at a speed that made it seem as if Esme and Riley were in the middle of a colossal tornado.
The planets from afar, removing themselves from the natural order of things and were now also using Riley as their center.
And the bright dots from the distance were proof that Riley was not just doing this in the star system they were in—no. He was doing it even to the stars from the distance, lightyears away.
There is no longer a simile, no figure of speech.
Riley Ross was trying to move and compress an entire galaxy…
…and he was succeeding.
Chapter 800"..."
It is unknown where exactly the Tournament was being held in the Known Universe — the only criteria was that there should be no life within a hundred thousand or so lightyears to prevent any sort of external event from happening; this rule has been followed through the expanse of time, and even now with Riley's Tournament.
And perhaps the one who created that ancient rule did not expect that the rule he created would someday be utilized to the fullest and would prevent more lives from being lost by a single creature known as Riley Ross.
"This is fucked up… he's at this point already?"
Most of the people on the flat planet are already seeing it happen right in front of them, and even then, they find it incredibly unbelievable.
"This has to be an illusion, this isn't real."
"...It's real. I don't like that it's real."
"It's not. How are we even seeing the changes in real-time? That's impossible, they are lightyears away."
"Because they won't be lightyears away in a few moments. Riley… is pulling all of them closer."
But perhaps the ones who truly could not believe what was happening were those who actually knew of Riley. Hannah was not even aware that she was holding her breath as the cosmos became bigger and bigger—or on the grand scale, smaller.
"We…" Hannah whispered, "We were just supposed to be normal siblings, Riley. Why… why has it become like this?"
"You are never normal, Hannah," Chihiro Prime stood behind Hannah as she too, watched as the cosmos shifted around them, "You have no idea how many universes have been destroyed because of your existence. This—"
"Don't," Nannah disrupted Chihiro Prime's words as she also stood beside Hannah, "Don't tell her, that's not her burden to bear."
"It's not yours either," Chihiro Prime glanced at Nannah, and then at Bard, "The number of universes you were able to save by eliminating problematic variants is… laughably insignificant."
"Not for those we saved," Nannah quickly responded.
"Tell me, then…" Chihiro Prime once again looked at the shifting cosmos surrounding them, "...What's your plan in saving everything from this? Unlike your World Enders, Riley Ross is not a spark that would cause a universe to end — he is the end itself. Does your father have a plan for that? His… Council of Ross?"
"How… do you know that?" Nannah's eyes turned wide as she heard Chihiro Prime's words.
"You pick up a thing or two if you live different versions of your life for more than a million times. But this…" Chihiro Prime closed her eyes, "...I was right in my judgment. Riley Ross is the most important person for me, and he should also be the most important person for all of you."
"You're fucking insane."
"And you're not?" Chihiro Prime chuckled.
"Y—"
"Hannah, come here." Nannah still had many words to say, but sadly for her, Bard called for her before she could say her piece. And so instead, she just raised both her middle fingers at Chihiro Prime before walking to her father.
"What's up?"
"I've maxed out the power of the Nexus, it's ready to take all of us back home," Bard lowered his voice, "I was wrong when I thought we could have a chance in fighting Riley Ross if we had the help of the people of his universe — some wanted to try and fight Riley Ross when they heard the prize, but after seeing… this."
Bard then opened his palm, and as he did so, a holographic map of the galaxy they were in popped out on top of it. And seeing it on that small scale, it was only then that Nannah realized just how monstrous this act was — everything was moving, spinning, and getting closer and closer to each other and making a sphere.
It may have looked slow since she was looking at a hologram, but the fact that she was even seeing it move at that scale was… beyond terrifying.
"They all just want to go home." And as Bard said that, multiple portals started appearing near his people.
"Well, I'm staying for a while," Nannah shrugged as she looked at her universe's people stepping into the portals, "I might learn a thing or two from them… increase our chances of saving more universes."
"..." Bard looked his daughter in the eyes for a few seconds, before just nodding his head and walking away.
"...You're not going to force me to go home because what I'm fucking doing is dangerous?"
"I know it is not right for me to say this," Bard glanced back before pointing up, "But with that creature here, you are in the safest place you will ever be. It dotes on the Hannah of this universe…
…and it dotes on you — use that."
"Use what?" Nannah raised an eyebrow, "The fuck does that mean?"
"Learn," Bard once again walked away, "I will be meeting with the Council of Ross to talk about what I just witnessed here. I will come back for you soon."
"...Alright, fucking weirdo. Psh," Nannah scoffed, rolling her eyes before she returned to Hannah and the others. As for Bard, he just looked at Bernard and Diana for a few seconds, before heading to one of the portals.
"Hm," Bernard, of course, did not fail to see this, "Do you think he misses her wife?"
"I highly doubt it," Diana also glanced at Bard as he disappeared into the portal, "I heard the Diana of their world experimented on their daughter."
"But you did too." And all of a sudden, Xra interrupted Bernard and Diana's conversation, "The Star Compressor, I know where you put it now."
"But I did it to save her life, and everyone else's," Diana did not bother looking at Xra.
"What is she saying?" Bernard looked Diana in the eyes, "...Is there something else you're not telling me?"
"..." Diana only glanced at Bernard, before shaking her head and staring at the shifting cosmos, "Not the right time. Everything we know about the limits of what Riley could do is changing…
…this is not something we can control anymore."
"That doesn't change anything," Queen Adel also joined in on the conversation, "You have never been able to control him in the first place. This…
…This is just him showing us that he could end us if he wished."
"How can one even hold such power?" Queen Vania stood beside Queen Adel, "It is… unholy."
"Your god is unholy then. He is said to move more than a quadrillion times faster than light," Queen Adel scoffed, "Clearly an exaggeration made by his pathetic descendants."
"The only exaggeration here is your ugly hair," Queen Vania and Queen Adel, despite the falling cosmos around them, still continued to bicker,
"And it is not an exaggeration—Van could move from one end of the universe to the next in less than a fraction of a millisecond. And as proven by Riley Ross, He still exists and is moving beyond our universe — unable to be chased by even Death herself."
"Y—"
"I could still take both of them," Gracy also suddenly joined the conversation. No one, however, even looked at her or heeded her any mind, "Pft, boomers…
…you guys should at least try."
With her last words, however, Gracy suddenly found herself a battalion of eyes looking at her.
At least try?
All of them did try. The evaniels tried to stop him, and they left with people dead. Queen Vania herself tried to stop him, but she was just played. The Common Council tried to stop him, and now only two of them were left.
Queen Adel wanted to try to stop him, and fortunately, she did not push through it.
None of them were in this situation because of a lack of trying or effort. Riley Ross was just the definition of an unstoppable force… and an immovable object.
"Wait…" Gracy, however, did not seem to notice the glares she was getting as she started looking around, "...Where did my people go?"
"...They left," Nannah looked at her.
"What…?" Gracy blinked a couple of times, "And they left us here!?"
"..."
"..."
"...I thought you wanted to stay here? You were even clinging to Riley Ross earlier."
"An entire galaxy is literally coming down on us!" Gracy started pointing everywhere, "W…
…Why the fuck would I want to stay here!?"
***
"I surrender, Professor."
Somewhere in the expanse of space, Esme was now very slowly floating her way toward Riley, who was still bleeding from his eyes and nose as his arms were stretched to the sides,
"I could attempt to destroy this attack, but it is impossible the way I am now — and even if I was in full strength, deflecting this attack might kill me and you. The only thing certain is that you will just revive and it will be my loss either way."
"Okay," Riley just glanced at Esme — the cosmos, however, continued to shift as the blood flowing from Riley became stronger; turning into orbs as he actively cleaned himself even while pulling an entire galaxy closer to him.
"Why are you not stopping, Professor?" Esme tilted her head to the side, "Do you wish to send me to Eternal Death?"
"No," Riley shook his head as his entire body began convulsing, "I want to try something."
"What?"
"This."
Riley then suddenly snapped his fingers.
No sound came from it, not even a little ripple.
"What did you do, Professor?" Esme blinked a couple of times as she looked around her, only to see that the shifting cosmos finally stopped moving. Soon, however…
…the lights began turning off one by one.
"Turning this galaxy...
...into nothing."
Chapter 801"...Why would you do that?"
And as the darkness soon expanded with the stars dying like fireflies one by one, Esme found herself once again expressing an emotion she never really knew she had — concern. No, she wasn't concerned that Riley was able to do something like that; in her mind, the person she considered her professor was always able to do that.
After all, if she was capable of destroying an entire star system with the clap of her hands, her professor should be capable of shifting a hundred million stars and then making them disappear with a snap of his fingers.
No, she wasn't concerned that Riley was able to do it — she was concerned why.
"Why would you do that, Professor?" Esme tilted her head as she repeated her question. Riley, however, did not respond to her as he just floated there, with his hands still in the same position as when he snapped his fingers.
"Professor Riley?"
"Oh."
And finally, after a few more seconds, Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked Esme in the eyes, "I apologize, I was expecting to die. But it would seem my mind and body were able to withstand the stress of stretching my telekinetic abilities above their current maximum, Princess Esme. Did you ask me a question?"
"Why would you do that, Professor?"
"...Oh," Riley looked around as he watched as the lights continued to disappear, "I apologize again. I forgot that you value life — but you do not have to worry, aside from the people still on the battlefield, there is no other life within a hundred thousand lightyears."
"But having life does not only mean that one is living, Professor," Esme shook her head as she also watched the stars disappear, "I do not exactly know what that means, but I feel it important to know."
"I know what you mean, Esme," Riley nodded several times as he pulled out all the blood that was floating inside him,
"It means that I do not only need to destroy the living but also everything else that life has touched."
"Perhaps I should not have said that," Esme blinked a couple of times, "But I will repeat what I said to you back on Theran, Professor. If and when the time comes that you are truly intent on wiping all of us out, then I will try to stop you even if I know that I will die."
"And I hope you and the others succeed, Princess Esme."
[Victor: Riley Ross!]
And with those words, Riley and Esme found themselves back on the flat planet — and the first thing that Riley noticed was that the people from Gracy's universe were gone.
"Did they go home?" Riley seemed visibly disappointed as his eyes very slightly squinted by a millimeter, "I was hoping to fight with your father, Nannah. I wished to see what Father is capable of at his full potential."
"...What makes you think I'm weaker than the other guy?" Bernard raised an eyebrow.
"Because he had to deal with more enemies and more burdens, Father."
"I had to deal with you," Bernard breathed out, "I feel that has more weight."
"...But you did not deal with him," Queen Adel shook her head, "That is the very reason why all of us are in this situation, Peasant."
"I do not appreciate you talking to my husband like that, Your Highness."
"You shouldn't, because you are also responsible for how Riley Ross turned out to be," Queen Adel once again shook her head, "If what you and Bernard speculated is true — that Riley's existence signals the reset of Everything, then perhaps we could have been part of the New Beginning if the two of you only gave more effort."
"Effort…?" Diana stepped closer to Queen Adel; perhaps too close, as she even placed a finger on the Queen's chest, "You could not even handle your golden child. If you were in my position, you would have probably abandoned both Hannah and Riley."
"Perhaps we all should calm down," Queen Vania stood between the two and separated them, "As a member of the Common Council, I believe that we should—"
"Your Council means nothing, Evaniel Queen," Queen Adel looked at Queen Vania, before glancing at Elder S'adar and Elder Apo,
"Even now, you are useless. Barely even noticeable that you might as well not be here — and that goes for the rest of the Higher Races. Aside from the themarians, Earthlings, the norinlads, and the evaniels, the rest are insignificant. I do not even know the names of your people. In the grander scheme of things, only what we do matters."
"In an even grander scheme of things…" Chihiro Prime joined in on the conversation with a smile on her face, "...None of us actually matter, only him."
Everyone once again turned their heads to Riley as Chihiro pointed at him. As for Riley, he was just quietly listening to everyone's conversation; slightly curious as to what Queen Adel said about a new beginning. He stared at her, before glancing at Bernard and Diana. But after a few seconds, he just shrugged and started looking around.
"Is there anyone else that wishes to fight for the prize?" Riley breathed out as he scanned the remaining crowd; not even bothering too much about the other Higher Races, "Pirate Queen Xra, what about you? I am confident that aside from Princess Esme, you are one of the people who could possibly defeat me — restrain me fully, even."
"And risk killing you?" Xra crossed her arms and shook her head, "We are allies now — but when the time comes that we are not, I would like the small advantage of you not knowing how my ability works. There is also the risk of you being completely immune to my abilities, like how you are with your sister. So, no."
"..." Riley looked at Xra for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh and looking at Diana.
"..." Diana slightly lowered her eyebrows as soon as she saw that.
"..."
But after a few seconds, Riley very subtly looked away and turned to Bernard.
"We have never really fought after you have gained the Guardian Force, Father. Would you like to try?"
"No," Bernard shook his head, "I know my limits."
"Hm…" Riley then looked at Cherbi. But Riley just shook his head — he wasn't allowed to keep a pet, he would not risk losing Cherbi's trust.
"Mr. Man?"
"Oh, I am just a spectator now," Delivery just tilted his head, "You asked me to deliver victory, but it would seem the results were set from the start."
"..." Everyone looked at Delivery, just wondering who this normal-looking guy was and where exactly he popped out from.
"Chihiro?" Riley then turned to look at Chihiro, "You have experienced billions of lives to find a way to kill me."
"And I still don't know how," Chihiro Prime licked her lips as she looked at Riley, "And I have no intention of finding out how anymore — the only thing I want to know is what our baby will look like."
"Hm, Tempo? Bulwark?"
"As much as I want to smack your ass, kid — I'd rather fight Princess Vera to test my new suit," Tempo winced before patting Bulwark on the shoulders, "This guy can take you."
"I can not," Bulwark shook his head, "It has become very obvious that we are in the presence of something greater than all of us. You are not just a living calamity anymore, Riley Ross — you are a literal god. Trying to face you is trying to face the natural order of the universe. It is… blasphemous."
"..." Riley's eyebrows began to lower as no one seemed to want to fight him. He looked at the norinlads, but seeing as they were nodding their heads at Bulwark's words, he would not be getting anywhere with them. And so, after a few more scans of the crowd, Riley finally settled his eyes on the only person he knew he would have a very hard time defeating,
"Miss Hera?" Riley's eyes almost glittered as he looked at Hera, "I have a feeling that when I start erasing the universes, you and your variants will always be the last to go."
"I have a feeling that we will just be wasting everyone's time," Hera shook her head, "And I feel the same as the pretty woman; I know I won't be able to kill you, but there is a chance that my ability can do something — I do not want you acquiring my power. And also…
…we should be discussing about the trillions of lives you just killed, Riley."
"You do not have to worry about the lives lost, Miss Hera," Riley sighed, "The champions of their world are still alive, let them be the ones to care for their deaths."
"...You left them alive?" Hera slightly stuttered with their words, "That's just… cruel."
"That is the point, Miss Hera," Riley nodded. But after a few more seconds, he just shook his head and sighed, "Well, if there is no one else — then I conclude this Tournament to be—"
"Wait a minute!" Gracy raised her palm in the air before Riley could finish his words, "Did you just really skip me, the savior of justice!? I can take you with one hand behind my b—"
Gracy received the same treatment as Hannah suddenly covered her mouth, "There's one more, Riley. I called someone to fucking get you off your high horse."
"Hm?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he heard Hannah's words. But after a few seconds, someone suddenly appeared right in front of Riley. No hint of a portal opening, or the space ripping open.
She just appeared out of nowhere, instantly; her orange and slightly curly hair still bouncing as she looked around.
"Ei…w...woah...
…It worked."
Chapter 802"Ei…w…woah… It worked."
Perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to say that the evaniels completely perked up as soon as the orange-haired individual suddenly appeared in front of all of them, without any warning whatsoever.
Even if something happens instantly, that does not actually mean that it actually just happens without any signs or any hints, there will always be something that gives away that something was about to appear — the evaniels are capable of seeing this. Instantaneous teleportation, warp jump; there will be a fraction of a nanosecond where the air would flicker.
But when the woman appeared, she just… appeared out of nowhere. She gave no signs at all. She was just suddenly there with an awkward smile on her face and awkwardly waving at everyone.
"Wow…" The woman subtly fixed her slightly curly hair as she looked at everyone, "I feel like I'm in a room full of celebrities. I was just watching all of you just moments ago and now I'm suddenly hear — I wanted to straighten my hair, but didn't really think my abilities would actually work. Wow, this… wow. Hannah suddenly mentioned my name and asked me to come here, so I did just that. But before that, I was watching the Tournament with the kids and—"
"Paige." And before Paige could tell her entire day to everyone, she quickly turned her head toward Riley as soon as she heard him calling for her.
"Riley! Wah," the awkward smile on Paige's face turned into a brighter one as she quickly approached Riley and just casually him a hug in front of everyone,
"Is this the first time we'll be seeing each other after all the multiverse thingy? My memories are a little foggy since I always make doubles of you. Is that weird? Is that weird that I do that? I mean, I don't think so, but…"
"...Who the fuck is that adorable weirdo?" Gracy could not help but lean closer to Hannah, "Don't you dare fucking tell me that he has another woman?"
"That's Paige," Hannah lightly slapped her own forehead as Paige won't stop talking, "She's… I think she's the only person that Riley considers a friend, by definition."
"...That hug is looking more than a friend type of hug, though. It screams 'I want to fucking have your babies' type of hug, like with the Japanese."
"Which Japanese?" Hannah sighed.
"...There's another Japanese that likes Riley!?" Gracy's eyes turned wide.
"Technically, not anymore. I guess you could call it a phase," Hannah sighed again, "Speaking of which, she actually deserved to be one of the people representing the planet. But then again, all this turned to shit…
…and it's time to stop it." Hannah focused her attention on Paige and Riley, only to see that she was still endlessly talking to Riley with a stupid smile on her face.
"...Technically, you were betrayed a few hours after you visited the orphanage and sent to that prison thingy that turned out to be another universe," Paige placed her hand on her chin, "I wasn't worried, though. I knew you would come back, you always do. By the way, you do remember the kids, right?"
"I only saw them briefly, Paige," Riley tilted his head to the side as he looked Paige in the eyes.
"Yep, yep. They are asking for you for some reason — I kept telling them that you and I aren't married, but they keep teasing me," Paige rolled her eyes, "I guess they might have seen the double I created of you back in the office. Also, the reason the school was built in the first place was because of you. To prevent supers that have mental issues like us from going psycho. Heh, and also—"
"Paige!" Hannah raised her voice as she gestured something to Riley.
"Oh, right! Uhm…" Paige finally let go of Riley and took several steps back, "...This Tournament does not involve death, right? 'Coz I actually wanna live now. Even the Other Paige actually wants to live since she finds things interesting nowadays. You remember her, right?"
"Yes, and yes," Riley nodded his head.
"Okay then," Paige then looked at Ahor Zai, "I wanna try fighting Riley Ross."
And with a slightly excited giggle escaping her lips, she and Riley were warped to the center of the flat planet.
"..."
"..."
"Wait." And a few seconds after they were gone, Queen Adel was the first to break the growing awkward silence that suddenly lingered in the air, "How is that illusionist even a match for Riley Ross? I recall her being a passive member during the war — no, the only thing she did was try and prove your innocence during the trial."
"Paige is capable of creating an entire planet with a snap of her fingers." And finally, after being so down and quiet for the past few hours, Aerith finally joined the others again as she looked at the hologram of Riley and Paige,
"An entire world with living inhabitants—all with a consciousness of their own. She could even make a planet filled with themarians — and it is real for her."
"I know what she is capable of, Aerith," Queen Adel let out a small scoff as she crossed her arms, "But in the end, it is only real for her."
"...It is also real for Riley."
And with those words escaping Aerith's lips, Queen Adel's eyes almost glittered from excitement — as for the first time ever, everyone saw a smile crawl on her face.
"Woman!" Queen Adel screamed, causing a wave to ripple and reverberate across the field, "Kill him, end him now!"
"...Did I forget to mention that the two are practically soul mates?" Aerith let out a long and deep sigh as she covered her ears, "She won't kill him. She has… a skewed sense of loyalty for him."
"...Why do I hear a hint of jealousy in those words?" Gracy, who was previously leaning close to Hannah, was now leaning closer to Silvie, "Gasp, could mom actually be jealous with that ginger?"
"...Did you just actually say 'gasp'?" Silvie very slowly turned her head to Gracy, "And I don't know, Mom's not really the type to express her feelings. That's the reason why she and Gary weren't close."
"But she expressed her feelings with her lips when she and Riley were—"
"I am right here, you know?" Aerith raised her voice as she glared at Silvie and Gracy, "And no, I am not jealous — we have already established that Riley only has romantic feelings for me, and me only."
"I didn't realize you were so proud of that, Mom."
"I am not!" Aerith quickly looked away, "I am just saying."
"Oh fuck…" Gracy could not help but let out an amused giggle, almost hopping in place as she looked back and forth between Nannah and Chihiro Prime, "This universe is so fucked up — you two have been to a lot of universes, right? Please tell me there are more fucked up universes out there."
"There are plenty more," Nannah was the first to respond, "In fact, if you factor out Riley… then this is probably the most peaceful and normal universe out of all I have been in. But then… RIley's a very colossal factor."
"Yeah?" Gracy smiled and nodded as she focused on Chihiro Prime, "What about you?"
"..."
"..."
"Hello, Earth to Chin chin taberu," Gracy stood in front of Chihiro, "You alright?"
"Who is that?" Chihiro completely ignored Gracy as she quickly approached Hannah.
"Huh? That's Paige," Both Hannah and Silvie looked at each other, "I'm pretty sure you've met her before. Paige Pearson? The only person that could actually beat Katrina in talking? Sweet psycho Paige?"
"That's not Paige Pearson," Chihiro looked at Paige's hologram, zooming it in on her face.
"Well…" Silvie placed a finger on her chin as she hummed, "...I guess you died before the two of you actually got to know more about each other."
"That's not Paige Pearson," Chihiro repeated; the tone of her voice, now slightly deeper than before.
"Might just be a different-looking variant," Hannah shrugged as she glanced at Nannah, "I mean, that happens a lot, right?"
"It does." Nannah started thinking about Chihiro's words as she started searching the Nexus database for information about Paige Pearson, "But variants will always somewhat look similar to each other even if they are of the opposite sex. In other cases, some will look like their parents instead, or their children."
"And…?"
"I'm searching up Paige Pearson now," Nannah's eyes started moving, "And…
…Chihiro's right."
Nannah tapped her sleeves, and as she did so, another hologram popped out of it — several images of the same woman.
"Who is that supposed to be?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she looked at the brown-haired woman; no resemblance to Paige whatsoever.
"Paige Pearson," Chihiro was the one to answer her, "In all the lives of the other Chihiros I have experienced, Paige Pearson has always looked like that. She is a student of Mega Academy in its 2nd year, and became a D-Rank superhero after graduating, and an A-rank when the aliens started appearing… she has the power to control all animals, even from another planet."
"...That's right in most cases," Nannah nodded as she continued to scan Paige Pearson's files.
"That woman, whoever she is…" Chihiro once again focused on the hologram, "...is not Paige Pearson. And should not be Paige Pearson."
"But she was actually born here," Hannah was still slightly confused, "Her birth certificate even says so—I saw it from Mom's desk when they opened the orphanage."
"Could it be a RAT?" Nannah started searching her database for anyone that looked similar to Paige, "I… am not seeing anyone that looks like her."
"Orphanage?" Chihiro stared at Hannah, "I keep hearing a mention of an orphanage? Why?"
"Yes," Hannah nodded, "She was left by her parents in front of an orphanage… which turned out to be some sort of fucking looney bin."
"Are you telling me…
…we don't have information about her parents?"
Chapter 803"You have no idea how much I've missed you, Riley."
"Hm."
The flat planet was already completely worn out from all the battles it had experienced in just a short amount of time. But as Paige stepped closer to Riley, the ground around her began to… sprout. The crater that was made at the very center of the planet, slowly being filled by all sorts of foliage as they lifted both Paige and Riley up.
Gentle, too gentle.
"..." Riley could not help but look at his hands as he felt a soothing cradle he probably only felt when he was just a little baby. It was warm, but not really — it was a warmth that completely replicated his own body heat.
He liked it. It felt as if someone was embracing him, but no one was really touching him.
But in his feeling of comfort, Riley was also feeling… invaded. This sort of feeling; it should be completely impossible as his body was covered by several layers of his telekinetic barrier.
Riley looked at Paige, only to see her not even looking at him, and instead just calmly watching the vast and colorful glade she was creating.
And soon, a lake was formed near them, with a wooden cabin just peacefully resting beside it.
"We weren't really able to talk that much when you returned. Do you know that all that time you were gone with Megawoman, I was wondering what it would have been like if it was me you were with?" Paige started walking around – each of her steps, forming a stone on the ground and creating a walkway, "Diana told me what you did, you created your own world with her. But she wasn't really conscious, no."
"Hm," Riley nodded as he followed Paige, walking beside her as she went near the side of the lake,
"Is that why you want to win the pocket universe, Paige?" Riley asked as he stood by her side, "Do you want us to just leave and live in our own universe?"
"No, silly," Paige giggled, her hair slightly bouncing as she glanced at Riley; her face, slightly being brightened by a sun that was not really there before, "If I wanted my own universe, I could just create one myself. My abilities may be meaningless and useless against other people — but for me, it is everything. I just…
…I didn't really like it when you used my abilities to go off with Megawoman, leaving us… leaving me for 5 years."
"Is that why you wish to fight me, then?" Riley gazed at the lake that Paige created. It wasn't really a lake anymore, no — as there were whale-like creatures flying, not swimming, but flying above and below the water; colorful, bioluminescence.
"Your sister asked," Paige shrugged, "And yeah. I mean, I guess you could say that? I was jealous, Riley. I am jealous. Not in a way that I'm saying I'm obsessed with you. I am, but not in that way."
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as Paige gently held his hand.
"You were gone for 5 years, Riley. I… I'd like to think I was able to grow at that time," Paige then leaned closer to Riley, resting her head on his shoulder, "I'd like to think I'm not that naive anymore, I'm even taking care of children like us, Riley… Young supers that can't really fit into society. But do you know what I discovered during those 5 years?"
"No."
"What I had with you was special," Paige closed her eyes, "I thought I related to you because we were the same, I thought I like—love you because we're the same. But no. The kids in the orphanage? They are the same as us… but what I have for you is special, Riley. I love you unconditionally."
"It is good that you don't feel the same way for the children, Paige," Riley also closed his eyes and nodded, "That would be illegal."
"Pft," a wide smile appeared on Paige's face as she stifled a giggle, "Yeah, that would be worse than Katherine having feelings for you back then."
"Hm," Riley once again nodded, "I believe the people that are watching can not relate to what we are talking about, Paige. Should we start fighting?"
"You will lose, Riley," Paige leaned away and took a few steps toward the water, walking on top of it as she started spinning and dancing as she continued to smile at Riley.
"I don't think I will, Paige," Riley also stepped on the water, "I have your abilities, and I have more ways to hurt you."
"You've already hurt me when you went away, Riley," Paige giggled, "And you've only had my abilities for 5 years, Riley — I was born with it."
"I have mastered your ability, Paige."
"No, you haven't."
"Y—"
And before Riley could finish his words, the calm warmth that was surrounding his entire body turned into a chilling embrace as he suddenly fell into the water.
"..." Riley did not really react, however, as he just watched as the whales started to fly in front of him; their eyes, almost as if reflecting the deepest parts of him.
Riley then summoned an escalator, stepping on it as he casually waited for it to bring him to the surface.
"Please don't use my abilities too much, Riley," Paige welcomed Riley at the end of the escalator.
"I do not plan to, Paige," Riley shook his head as he and Paige started walking side by side while looking at each other, "It deteriorates my mind whenever I try to use it."
"Yep, it'll do that," Paige sighed, "Your Mom already had some sort of schizophrenia or something, I don't really know how worse it will be for you if you continue to use it. I mean…
…I'm already insane, I'm just used to it."
"Our abilities only affect us, correct?" Riley slightly nudged his finger up, pulling a small chunk of the flat planet, forming it into a spear, and letting it float close to him, "If I were to throw this at you, or if I were to gently squash you with this flat planet, you won't be able to shield yourself."
"How are you going to do that if you are trapped in a vacuum that seals your telekinetic powers, Riley?"
And as soon as Paige said that, the stone spear that was floating above Riley lifelessly dropped back to the ground; not creating a ripple as it fell into the lake Paige created.
"Interesting," Riley blinked a couple of times as he once again tried lifting up a chunk of the planet, only for him to feel nothing, "I suppose something like that is possible."
"Anything is—!!!"
And before Paige could finish her words, Riley's face was suddenly just a few inches away from her; the smile on his face, reaching from ear to ear.
"Ei!" A large pair of wings instantly pushed Paige back. As these wings flapped, they suddenly turned into a pair of cloth that latched onto Riley like a straight jacket; binding him tightly when a chain emerged from the bottom of the lake.
"Heh," Paige giggled, "That kinda suits you, Riley."
"..." Riley looked at his reflection on the lake; his head slightly tilted to the side, "I suppose it does, Paige."
The straightjacket then suddenly melted away as the temperature of Riley's body exponentially rose; the lake, however, remained completely still even with the vaporizing heat — signifying that Paige's abilities did not affect Riley's other abilities.
"That's dangerous," Paige pointed her palm at Riley, causing his temperature to drop to normal, "I'm sealing that one too."
"Hm," Riley looked at his hands as he tried summoning his other abilities, but could not, "Did you turn me into a normal person, Paige?"
"Temporarily," Paige smiled, "But since you're still walking on the water, I guess I couldn't seal my abilities — I might have to seal mine to seal yours, or something."
"Is it possible for you to also seal my immortality?"
"I already tried it when you asked me to kill you 5 years ago, Riley," Paige shook her head, "That request hurt me, by the way. I still did it because I love you that much, but still…"
"Hm…" Riley stepped forward; his feet creating a ripple on the lake as he did so. And then, with a sigh, he stretched his arms to the side — causing the bioluminescent whales to float close to him.
"Did you just… give yourself telekinetic abilities again?"
"Anything is possible with your ability, Paige," Riley nodded, "And seeing as I already had a hundred abilities from the start, I could just replicate and simulate them using it."
"That's true…" Paige nodded before she also stretched her arms to the side — causing the whales that were left flying around the lake to float around her,
"...I could also do the same. And also this."
Paige snapped her fingers, and as she did so, the whales that were floating around her turned into a group of silhouettes.
A silhouette that was… relatively familiar for Riley.
"I've noticed this several times before…" Paige slowly floated in the air as the silhouettes descended and stood on top of the lake,
"...I don't really know the reason for it, but you're always avoiding her whenever you're allowed to — you don't even look her in the eyes, you're avoiding her as much as possible too…
…I guess you feel awkward?"
"..." One of the silhouettes stretched her hand and very slowly walked toward Riley, causing him to slightly take a step back,
"Aw… honey," The silhouette hummed, "...Is my sweet baby boy shy? Are you not going to give mom a hug?"
The silhouettes…
…they were a group of Dianas.
Chapter 804804 Chapter 804: A Sign
"My sweet baby boy, why are you so cute?"
"Come, come to mommy. It's alright."
"Did you wear your sunscreen?"
"Why are your eyes red? Stop watching TV too much."
"Are you alright? Does anything hurt? Please, don't tire yourself too much—it's okay if you don't want to talk."
"..." Riley took several steps back as several Dianas started to approach him with their arms opened wide; some of them, even having their lips pouted as they looked at Riley,
But after a few more steps back, his eyebrows started to lower as a katana longer than his body emerged from his palm. And without even any hint of hesitation, the water beneath and behind Riley's feet burst as he rushed toward the Dianas.
He then swung his sword — but as soon as he noticed that the one he was going to hit suddenly closed her eyes, the sharp edge of his blade instantly halted in the air, only inches away from hitting Diana's face.
"...It's okay, sweetie," the Diana illusion smiled as she gestured to Riley to continue, "You won't be able to hurt me, never."
"..." Riley quickly leaped back as the other Dianas slowly made their way to him. He then looked at each of the 4 Dianas one by one before shaking his head off of the unnecessary thoughts he was having.
This situation made him realize something — never once has he actually fought Diana before. He had fought with Bernard, with Hannah, and with Alice. Even fully knowing that she was a themarian who might be stronger than Aerith, he was still having a hard time trying to dissociate her from the… silly and dramatic mother he once knew.
It was weird. He didn't really think it would affect him this much.
"I'm pretty sure Diana's feeling a little teary-eyed right about now," Paige scratched her chin as she saw Riley having a hard time trying to hurt Diana, "She was telling me that—"
And before Paige could finish her words, a pulse suddenly rippled across the lake—causing the 4 Dianas to suddenly fall on their knees.
"I suppose an EDP illusion is effective against an illusion of a themarian," Riley nodded his head. Paige was about to say something, but Riley once again snapped his fingers; this time, summoning a reinforcement of his own — a group of Bernards.
Except the Bernards was when he was still at his prime — lean, cut, and extremely muscular; with a face chiseled like an action star.
"Diana, isn't it about time we address what's going on between us?"
***
"Pf… pft! Fuck! That's disgus–Ugh!"
The laughter that wanted to grow in the air was instantly stopped before it could flourish as Hannah was… lightly hit on the stomach by Diana.
At first, the people who were watching Riley and Paige felt slightly awkward, as they weren't really fighting at all and just talking about themselves and their relationship — but as they started their bout, their mouths started to open on their own one by one.
Riley Ross, the creature that just moved and destroyed an entire galaxy, was now unable to do all the godly things he had done throughout the tournament—no. In a way, he was still doing it, but there were now two of them.
Of course, it was a relief for everyone who was there that everything they were creating was just illusions — because if it was not, then they would all be drowning in a sea that Paige created. Even though Hannah and the others were a thousand kilometers away from the battlefield, Paige's illusions still reached them.
"..." And while most of the champions were amazed by this, Chihiro and the others who had heard her concern could not help but look at each other. It was already evident that Paige's illusions weren't just normal ones — and not in the way that she could interact with them, no.
The fact that everything moved on its own, the fact that her illusions react to other people even though they can't touch them was… abnormal.
All the fish and aquatic life that was swimming around them were moving as if they were real and had consciousness of their own. Perhaps it wasn't even right to call them illusions, no.
Paige was truly creating and warping reality, it's just that it wasn't real for everyone else.
"That…" But while everyone was focused with Paige's abilities, Bernard and Diana were currently staring at each other, with Hannah looking at them while clutching her stomach.
"What's… with you two?" Hannah asked.
"The first words one of those Bernards uttered…" Diana quietly breathed out as she seemed to be scouring deep into her memories,
"...Your dad said those words to me the day we decided to be together."
"...No fucking way," Hannah raised an eyebrow, "That's just coincidence. That's a common line in romcoms."
"Dear?" Diana just pushed her daughter's head away as she looked at Bernard.
"Hm," Bernard nodded, "It's not only that."
Bernard continued to listen to the illusions that Riley made. He then looked at the aquatic life around him, even trying to catch one of the fishes but failing to do so — some were even eating the smaller fishes.
"I think we've already established that Paige's creations are not drawn from memory."
"She's powerful, insanely so," Aerith joined in on the conversation, "She even made a replica of Theran — complete to the tiniest detail even though she hasn't even seen 99.9% of the rest of the planet."
"Okay, I think we've also already established that the girl is a wizard," Queen Adel also joined in. There was, however, a weird smile on her face, "And we've also established that she is the only person who could stop Riley Ross. We may not be able to stop Riley, but we can force that girl to do so."
"There are too many variables here to consider," Chihiro shook her head, "If Nannah and I are right, then whoever that woman is, she's not Paige Pearson. She may not know it herself, but she's not supposed to… exist — the same as Riley."
"Are you saying that she might also be… a new primordial? Or whatever the fuck my brother is?"
"We don't even know if Riley truly is something like that," Chihiro sighed, "Bernard's guess is highly convincing, and honestly really possible — but until Machina's family actually confirms it, then all we have are speculations."
"Are you able to contact Machina?" Diana once again slightly pushed Hannah to the side so she could speak directly to Chihiro, "How much connection do you have with Machina as her avatar?"
"Machina can't be contacted, it will contact me if it wishes," Chihiro once again sighed, "For some reason, however, I can't really feel Machina right now. I could still access the System, but Machina's presence is absent…
…the mysterious group that was here earlier, Machina might actually be one of them."
"Are you saying…" Queen Vania, who had been taking notes of all the conversations the others were having, could not help but let out a small gasp as she heard Chihiro, "...That there's a chance that we fought against the Primordials?"
"Fought is not the word I would use," Queen Adel rolled her eyes, "You were handled like a defective newborn."
"No," Chihiro turned to look at Queen Vania, "The fact that you were able to damage a Primordial's hand, even if it was dramatically weakened and in human form, is a feat that no one would be able to easily replicate, almost impossible, even."
"Heh, you hear that?" A wide smirk crawled on Queen Vania's face as she looked down on Queen Adel, "I bet if it were the themarians put in our position, then all of you would have been wiped out."
"No, we would have won," Queen Adel scoffed.
"Uhm, I don't think any of you actually comprehend how strong the primordials are," Chihiro slightly chuckled, "They are almost Outerversal, but not quite. They are beings that could destroy several universes with just a thought; the only reason why they can't and don't is that they do not see the point in it."
"..." Queen Adel did not really say anything and just gestured to Chihiro to continue. And it wasn't only her, everyone was listening; especially the norinlads.
"They do not only exist outside the multiverse, but they exist over it. They could watch several universes at once — and the fact that they have chosen to show themselves would mean that… we truly are at the Point of something," Chihiro closed her eyes, "The Primordials follow a set of rules. Rules that they don't break, no matter what, and one of them is not to involve themselves in any of the universe — that is the very reason why I exist, why avatars exist…
…Riley, Paige, the Primordials. I think something is about to happen."
"...We need to find the Primordials," Diana breathed out before turning to look at Bernard, "Can you do that?"
"Find beings that could exist outside the universe?" Bernard could not help but laugh, "I might be able to access all the security systems of the Known Universe, but reaching through something that we don't even know exists is… well, a challenge."
"What if you had the help of someone else?" Nannah raised her hand to speak.
"I'm not being arrogant, but I don't really know if anyone could help me with figuring things out," Bernard shook his head.
"I know, my dad also used to say the same thing," Nannah chuckled, "The only person that could help you think is yourself."
"Wise man."
"Well, Dad's mostly stupid."
"Fuck right he is," Hannah quickly agreed, "Wait… are you about to mention—"
"The Council of Ross," Nannah looked Bernard in the eyes,
"I would like you to visit them and share all you know…
…the fate of the multiverse rests upon it."
Chapter 805805 Chapter 805: Paige vs. Riley...?
"...Maybe you should cancel your dad's illusions."
"Why? It is an effective counter against the Dianas you summoned, Paige."
"...Why?"
Paige's lips started to twitch as Bernard started making moves on Diana; some of it, not something that should be shown to the universe, or to anyone, for that matter.
"I don't think Diana and Bernard would appreciate it too much if… we continue this," Paige could really only scratch her head, "I'll remove mine if you remove yours."
"Agreed," Riley nodded. And as soon as he did so, Paige instantly canceled her illusions — all of it, even the glade and lake that surrounded them. And now, with even the Bernards gone, the battlefield was back to its original, shattered state.
"How are you feeling, Riley?" Paige then asked as the two of them very slowly descended back to the deepest parts of the crater, "How long can you use my abilities without your mind slowly being corrupted by it?"
"I was thinking of just letting it corrupt me, Paige," Riley shrugged as he summoned a small star above his head. Before it could do any damage to Paige, however, some sort of translucent dome covered her completely. And then, with a small sigh, a black hole popped out next to the miniature sun and swallowed it whole,
"You said it yourself, you have been using it your entire life — and yet you are still a beautiful human, Paige."
"T… thanks?" Paige once again giggled awkwardly as she heard Riley's words. But after a few breaths, she sighed and shook her head, "But my ability affects you quite… aggressively since you already have other mental problems. W–wait, I'm not saying you're crazy…. Well, you are; but in a controlled way, you know?"
"Hm," Riley blinked.
"You will lose against me," Paige once again sighed, "It's just a matter of time until you won't be able to control what comes out of your mind if we continue to fight — even I'm not confident that the Other Paige won't come out."
"..." Riley looked away for a few seconds; not saying a word as he seemed to be thinking of something.
"..."
"..."
Perhaps it may have been more than a few seconds, as Paige started to look at the direction Riley was looking to see if… he was actually watching something. Before she could get near, however, Riley suddenly looked at her.
"What!? What's going on!?" Paige started waving her hands as Riley started running toward her; not at a speed that she couldn't really follow, but fast enough that she slightly panicked. She quickly summoned a booster so that she could avoid Riley. The booster, however, ran out of juice even though she did not really specify it to run needing it.
"!!!" Paige quickly focused on Riley as she realized it was his doing. And so, she just opted to summon a pair of wings—but Riley made it so that it had no air whatsoever to flap on.
"It is true that I will not be able to defeat you using your abilities, Paige," Riley abruptly stopped running as he stood a meter away from Paige, "But I could at least also do the same, and counter and cancel some of your visions, enough to do this."
Riley raised both his fists in a guard. And with his legs also in a fighting stance, he stepped forward and started punching.
"Eek!" Paige instantly summoned some sort of armor that covered her entire body from head to toe. Riley, however, did not bother trying to cancel the armor and instead just materialized a pair of caestus to cover his fists. And without even any hesitation or mercy, he started hammering Paige with a barrage of straights and jabs.
"W… wait!" Paige covered herself with her arms as she started being pushed back. If it wasn't for the magical springs she made with the armor, then she would probably be feeling all sorts of pain right now.
"It is true that I will not be able to defeat you using your abilities, Paige," Riley repeated his words,
"But it is also true that you are not capable of defeating me either way."
"S… stop it!" Paige raised both her arms in the air as she suddenly jumped; materializing a hammer the size of a car. And with a deep breath, several rockets exploded from the back of the hammer—
violently and forcefully slamming it straight down toward Riley. Riley, however, just calmly stepped forward outside the reach of the hammer, before grabbing Paige by the ankles and pulling her away.
Riley somersaulted in the air and landed directly on Paige's back — and with a small smile on his face, he pushed his legs down. And with the added force of the momentum of the hammer, Paige… fell flat on the ground, hard enough for her to bounce back several times in the air.
"...Are you okay, Paige?" Riley then asked after smacking Paige without any hesitation, "I have already tested the durability of the armor you created, that should not be enough to kill or even damage you."
"..." And even as Riley started nudging Paige by gently pushing him with his feet, Paige remained completely still and lifeless.
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he quickly summoned some sort of 2-meter-long stethoscope to check on Paige's heartbeat. And as soon as he heard her heart beating, he let out a small and deep sigh before backing away.
[Ahor Zai, send us—]
"Well, well…"
And all of a sudden, as Riley turned his head away from Paige, the sound of an engine started to drown his ears; metal, hitting and scratching each other without pause — a noise so guttural that it made Riley smile again as he looked back.
"...Look at this fucking albino retard. I suppose you just don't die, do you?"
The tone of Paige's voice slightly turned robust, almost husky even — her accent, now almost Victorian as she very slowly and clumsily stood up from the ground… using a pair of chainsaws to lift herself up.
The armor she was wearing also started to fall off one by one, and as she looked at Riley; her eyes were now completely red. The smile on her face, although not as wide as Riley's, was still disturbing enough as one could almost see all of her teeth and gums.
"And now you're bullying our dear cute little annoying orange," Paige let her head tilt to the side as she clumsily stepped forward while just letting the two chainsaws swing from her hands,
"That's not nice, is it?"
"I suppose not, Other Paige."
"Oh…?" Paige—no. Other Paige looked Riley in the eyes as she let out an amused hum, "So you still remember dear old me, do you?"
"You left quite an impression the last time we met, Other Paige," Riley bowed his head.
"Kinky," Other Paige raised an eyebrow, "Typical of one crazy as you to prefer… me, the Other Paige. Anyway, I canceled the cage thingy that made you unable to use your other supervirus abilities — you can do your worst."
"That would not be fa—"
"Just kidding!" And almost instantly, Paige suddenly appeared right in front of Riley; her chainsaws, already only inches away from sawing Riley in half.
"..." Riley immediately leaped back. But as soon as he did so, Paige's two chainsaws merged into one and turned into a bigger, and longer saw. She quickly swung it again toward Riley, creating an inch-deep gash on Riley's chest.
"Heh… heh…" Other Paige's chainsaw locked and stopped moving as she licked off Riley's blood from her blades, "...This taste is suffocating. No wonder the little one likes you so much — makes me want to snatch you from her, and from the other women that want a taste of you."
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he touched the gash on his chest, which was not healing as he expected it to.
"It's a nice feeling, isn't it?" Other Paige cackled as she once again turned on her chainsaw. And with a small bounce of her feet, the saw suddenly turned into the shape of… a scythe, "Let's add more of my touch on that beautiful white body of yours!"
And as Other Paige started swinging her scythe wildly, Riley started taking a few steps back — moving his body as softly as a dust underwater; smoothly avoiding each of Other Paige's strikes.
"You have been told why people are weirdly attracted to you, right?" Other Paige continued to laugh ominously. She did not even seem to mind that she wasn't hitting Riley at all. Instead, she just looked him in the eyes,
"They don't really like you, Riley. They are attracted to you because they can't help it. You are a creature beyond their reach, an abominable god; but a god nonetheless. And gods will always attract those of which they set their eyes upon."
"..."
"They don't love you, not at all. They just feel an eerie sort of admiration toward you," Other Paige smirked as her chainscythe parted in half; once again turning into a pair of chainsaws, before suddenly shifting into what looked like… a pair of miniguns,
"No one really loves you, Riley."
And with a breath, Other Paige let out a barrage of bullets that hit Riley directly in the chest several times.
"There is only one that could actually love you…" And as Riley very slowly fell back down to the ground, Other Paige blew the smoke coming out of her miniguns,
"...and that is me."
"...Hm," Riley blinked a couple of times as the bullets started sliding from his chest; which was actually protected by a bulletproof vest.
"The cute one has already told you that she accepts you for what you are, Riley…" Other Paige stood in front of Riley, before also letting herself fall beside him, "...The reason for that is because deep down, she knows what you are because of me. Me…
…The original one."
Chapter 806806 Chapter 806: It Ended Just Like That?
"You are the original, Other Paige?"
Riley and Other Paige were still lying on the hard ground, with Riley straying his eyes away from the dark expanse he created, and onto the face of the overly colorful woman beside her.
"I am, always have been," Other Paige, however, just stared at the darkness before closing her eyes, "But I am not meant for this world, and neither are you. And yet here we are, staring at the madness you and I have created. I, staring at nothing, and you, staring at me."
"..."
"I am not human, Riley Ross," Other Paige finally opened her eyes and returned Riley's gaze, "This body that you see is not real — it is but an image I needed to create. Even my story is forged."
"Does that mean what Paige told me about her life is not true?" Riley let out a small hum as he looked Other Paige in the eyes, "Are those memories just implanted in her by you, Other Paige?"
"Oh, it happened," Other Paige let out a small, but slightly ominous giggle, "The cute one experienced all of those. Her fellow orphans, the doctors that experimented on them, the entire orphanage itself is true — for her."
"You let her experience all the painful experiences, Other Paige?"
"No, not at all," Other Paige shook her head, "I let herself sleep through the painful memories — all the happy ones are hers. The cute one is meant to be a symbol of what it means to be human, or at least what my notion of them is."
"Interesting," Riley looked away, "How are you and I connected, then?"
"That is a question I do not know how to answer, Riley," Other Paige sat up, "I feel I know the answer, but I can not quite tell what it is. The only thing I know is that you and I, we are connected — that is true."
"Then who were you before Paige?" Riley also sat up.
"I don't know," Other Paige shook her head, "I created her, but it is also true that she and I were born at the same time."
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times as he glanced at Other Paige.
"I know, it is… confusing," Other Paige giggled, "But the only thing you need to know is that we were born…
…the very moment you first died, Riley Ross."
"Then what were you the first time you came into existence, Other Paige?" Riley stood up and he started looking around.
"I was… nothing," Other Paige meekly whispered as she looked down, "My very first memory is when I created Paige in front of the orphanage. And it feels like I have a memory when I was nothing, but at the same time, I do not…
…I can't give you answers because I myself am a question."
"I am not really seeking for answers, Other Paige. I am merely curious," Riley shook his head before very gently placing his palm on Other Paige's cheek and slowly lifting it up so she could look at his eyes, "But I do have another question unrelated to your origin."
"...What is it?" Other Paige squinted her eyes.
"How does it feel to be human?" Riley asked.
"Well…" Other Paige smirked, "...How do you feel now?"
"Deliberating on whether to incapacitate you by sending a sufficient electric current through your body, Other Paige."
"What are you—Kuhk!"
"And I just stopped deliberating."
And before Paige could even finish her words, her eyes slightly turned upwards as she completely lost consciousness. But of course, Riley did not allow her to fall to the ground as he immediately caught her.
He wanted to use his telekinesis, but it would seem that even though she was completely out of it, the temporary seal that she made for Riley was still active.
"Hm…" Riley then stared at Paige's… slightly peaceful face. Paige told him that she already tried to kill him when he asked her 5 years ago, and yet he still came back to life. But what if he asks her to seal him for eternity?
Will that not essentially be the same as death? Keep him unconscious and asleep forever inside a sarcophagus. But then again, a seal is just a seal — it will always be broken with time. And if it does break, Riley would once again be unleashing himself, perhaps even thirstier for blood.
"Ahor Zai."
[The victor by dirty mind tricks and deceitfully taking advantage of a woman's heart after she laid all of herself to him…
…Riley Ross!]
"..." And as those words reverberated throughout the flat planet, Riley once again found himself in front of the champions—no. The others seemed to have already left; leaving only the strays, themarians, humans, and the norinlads. Chihiro, Tempo, Bernard, and the two Hannahs, however, weren't there.
"Queen Vania already left?" Riley asked while he gently handed the unconscious Paige to Ahor Zai.
"They did — they did not want to be a party of this ruse any further." Surprisingly, Queen Adel was the first to welcome him back.
"Hm, that is a shame," Riley sighed, "I was hoping to convince her to fight me — she was able to injure a Primordial, after all."
"A weakened Primordial," Queen Adel continued to approach Riley; her eyes, glowing red as she looked him in the eyes, "And as I have seen, there is also one in front of me. You do not have your powers right now, Riley Ross. We could kill you right now and trap you in a very tiny box so that even if you sprung forth into existence again, your flesh would succumb and be crushed by itself over and over again — a fate worse than death, which is something you deserve."
"You are very welcome to do that, Riley shrugged, "But I still have Paige's abilities, Queen Adel."
"Abilities that only truly affect you and that… weird child," Adel smirked.
"Yes," Riley nodded, "That also means that I could also be on Earth right now if I wanted to, I just need to figure out what prompt I would need to imagine. Tha also means that I can get out of that box you will trap me in for eternity if I wanted to, Your Highness."
"Well, it won't hurt to try."
"I believe that would not be necessary."
And before Queen Adel could take another step, the norinlads all emerged from the ground in front of Riley and blocked him from Queen Adel's view.
"Riley Ross, as the Elder Tedi and the Common Council have decreed it so, is a Protected Entity," the leader of the team floated close to Queen Adel; making sure, however, that his eyes were lower than hers, "And if you were not aware, you are also a Protected Entity, Queen Adel; all of the themarians are. It is just a mildly useless decree since the number of beings that could end your life could be counted in one human hand, but it is a decree nonetheless."
"...And are you saying that you are one of those beings?" Adel shifted her glare toward the norinlad.
"I am saying no such thing."
"Y—"
"Mother, stop." And before Queen Adel could start another argument, Aerith and Diana pulled her away. And while Aerith was trying to prevent her mother from running amok again, Diana approached Riley.
"Where are Sister and Father, Mother?" Riley quickly asked as he looked around, "Did they leave with the others?"
"Tempo left with… Princess Vera," Diana awkwardly glanced at Hera as she momentarily lowered her voice.
"I did not ask about Tempo, Mother."
"Right," Diana waved her hand, "Dad and Hannah are waiting for us. Chihiro is also with them."
"Where?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at Diana. And a few seconds after he did so, a portal suddenly emerged behind Diana.
"...You should see for yourself," Diana sighed, "I think you will find it… very amusing."
"Hm," Riley tilted his head to the side to look at the portal. Instead of moving toward it, however, he looked at Ahor Zai,
"Announce that I won the Tournament, Ahor Zai. As for the prize, well — you can give it to Mr. Man as payment for his services."
"Hey, no. No!" Delivery quickly popped up out of nowhere behind Riley while raising his hands, "You have already paid me through credit card payment, and I don't accept tips. Give it to Madam Gracy instead."
"The fuck, no," Gracy almost winced as her eyes widened, "What would I even do with a pocket universe? My goal is to save this universe, not whatever that is. Give it to the sexy vamp, she wants to revive a lost lover, right? That's… I think that's all the reason you need."
"To… me?" Xra blinked a couple of times as she looked at Gracy, who just shrugged her shoulders in response, "But—"
"Ahor Zai, give the prize to the Pirate Queen," Riley did not let Xra finish her words.
"...Why?" And as the ring sprouted from Ahor Zai's chest and floated toward Xra, Xra could not help but just stare at Riley.
"Our team won but no one seems to want it, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley also just shrugged, "Rekindle your lost love. Is that not why you are still alive even after several millennia? Now Mother, the amusing thing awaits for us."
"...Everyone here is actually coming with us."
And just like that, with Riley just casually stepping through a portal — the Tournament ended… unceremoniously. Although, the rest of the universe that is still alive was left wondering if it was even a tournament at all…
…or the start of the end of their universe.
***
Chapter 807807 Chapter 807: The Council
Minutes before the end of the Tournament, Bernard, Hannah, and Chihiro went along with Nannah so they could present themselves in front of the Council of Ross. They initially thought that the council would be exclusive to the variants of Bernard, but it would seem they were not really strict in who they allowed to enter as variants of Hannah were also present.
"I suppose it is called the Council Of Ross, not Bernard."
Bernard, Chihiro, and Hannah weren't in front of the council yet, and were instead told to wait on top of the council building; if they were in a building, that is. They could be underground for all they know.
The top of the building had a clear view of the council room, overlooking through a glass where they could see a circular auditorium with more than a hundred Bernards. With the way they were seated and set up, they really did look like a normal parliament — a colorful one, that is. The majority was still filled with variants wearing white suits, but more than 30% of them were sporting different colors.
"...What are you doing, dad?"
"Trying to find a way for us to hear what's going on down there."
And as they had already been waiting for an entire 5 minutes, Bernard could no longer patiently wait for the council to call for them as he started tapping on the security system near the door. And after a couple of seconds of tinkering, he was able to replace the image being shown on the security system — a feed of what was happening inside the council room.
[...bring another variant without consulting us? This will not stand, even if it is you, Bard.]
And soon, they also started hearing what was being discussed through Bernard's armor.
[Although it was not my idea to bring another variant here,] Bard, who was in the very center of the auditorium, started looking around his variants as he spoke, [I believe it is also not necessary to consult any of you — I vouch for this Bernard.]
[Your recommendation means nothing, Bard.]
And as the images were slightly far away, it was hard to tell who was speaking from the hundreds of other Bernards present.
[You may think yourself to be the best of us since you are the first to discover the existence of the multiverse, but you definitely do not speak for us.]
[Well, if not him, then who? You?]
[Your opinions are biased since he also vouched for you, 212.]
"Jesus…" Hannah could not help but take a peek down below as she heard the council talking, "...And I thought you were already insufferable, Dad."
"Actually," a small smile crawled on Chihiro's face as she listened on, "You will find that there are a lot of… unique Bernards."
"What about the one they call King?" Bernard asked, "Is he here?"
"No," Chihiro almost burst out in laughter, "If he was, there wouldn't be a council — King would kill each and every last one of these doozies. And I am telling you, he is more than capable of that. Which reminds me, King should know the existence of the multiverse right now… he is probably already out there somewhere, wreaking havoc in another universe outside his own."
"Then—"
[The rodents that are listening in on us, you may come down now.]
And before the three could finish their conversation, the door suddenly slid open.
"..." Bernard, Hannah, and Chihiro looked at each other for a few seconds, before stepping out of the waiting room.
"What the fuck? Wasn't this a hallway?" Hannah blinked a couple of times as they found themselves in front of a dead end. And before they could even turn back and return to the waiting room, the door suddenly closed on them, trapping them inside.
"T—"
Well, perhaps they weren't trapped; as before they could even start breaking their way out, they started to descend.
"Oh, it was a fucking elevator…" And as the so-called elevator also had a glass window, the view of the circular auditorium grew closer and closer. And as they got nearer to the ground, Hannah and Bernard finally realized just how… weird and mystical it was to see more than a hundred variants altogether at the same time and place.
And with all of the variants looking at them as they stepped out of the elevator, Hannah almost felt herself suffocate from all the familiar eyes staring at her; almost as if judging her entire life with just a single glance.
"This is the variant? He is vanilla, Bard."
And even with them now walking to the center of the council, the three still found it difficult to determine who was actually speaking amongst the lot.
"Just another Whiteking, wow. We could use another one of those—not. Get this guy out of here."
"Why don't we listen to the man first?"
"Why should we listen to a Bernard that discovered the multiverse this late?"
And with almost all of the variants talking over each other, the three felt themselves drowning from all the sarcastic, and arrogant noises that violently lingered in the air like a plague. Bernard did not really mind, however, as he was using this time to observe the other variants. Chihiro was slightly used to it already since she had lived the lives of different variants countless times.
"Oh, would all of you fucking cucks just stop whining already? Hannah, on the other hand, could no longer help herself; the temperature in the council room, instantly rising by several degrees as she stepped forward and started spinning around in place to look at all the Bernards,
"Just so we're clear here—we did not request to be here, we were brought here by her."
Hannah then pointed at Nannah, who was standing on the side and quietly observing the situation.
"Of course, she brought you here." One of the Hannah variants stood up and pointed at Nannah, "She thinks she's a fucking princess that could do anything she wants because her dad is oh so powerful."
"That's right! I wanna request we vote for our leader!" Another Hannah stood up, "I don't think it's right not to have someone on top, it's fucking chaotic in here."
"Shut the fuck up! And who is going to be the leader, your dad!? Go lick your own pussy, fucking bitch!"
"What did you say to me!?"
"Fuck…" Hannah could not help but take a step back as her variants started arguing, "...Am I this annoying?"
"Yes," Chihiro answered without any hesitation, "Very much."
"At least I'm not a murdering fuck who killed more than a thousand of her own variants," Hannah rolled her eyes.
"Oh, I won't be so sure about that," Chihiro giggled.
"Enough!"
And before the orchestra of sassiness could turn into a full-on ensemble, Bard stomped his foot on the floor, causing a literal ripple to flow across the entire circular council room that made all the people there almost bounce right where they sat and stood.
"They are here now, and we will hear what they have to say!" Bard's voice reverberated through everyone's ears, "And I will state this now as fact—any word that comes out of their mouths is more important than anything any of you will say or have ever said! And the only reason this Bernard has not discovered multiversal travel faster than me is because he is dealing with something that no one of us ever had to deal with, and I mean no one! Not even the variants outside this council!"
"Oh, please…" One of the Bernards rolled his eyes, "...Everyone here has experienced tragedy."
"Not like his," Bard stayed quiet.
"What could be so—"
"I killed my best friend, Steve."
And as Bernard finally spoke up, the other Bernards all shut their mouths and looked at him—no, glared at him. Looking at him as if he was some sort of wild dirty, disgusting, plague-infested animal that they had to put down.
As for Bernard, he already expected and anticipated their reaction; that was the very reason he opened his introduction with that in the first place.
"I killed Steve because of my son, my adoptive son," Bernard looked at each of his variants in the eyes, "His name is Riley Ross…
…and he might be the harbinger of the end of all life as we know it."
And with those words, most of the Bernards started sitting back one by one as they silently gestured to Bernard to continue telling his story, and he did. He told them a shortened version of how Riley came to be, and how he might be related to the primordials. And as an avatar of a Primordial, Chihiro also shared what she knew of the situation.
"Preposterous."
But alas, most of the Bernards still shook their heads, unable to believe that such a thing was actually happening.
"If that is true, then the council would have already known it."
"Proof, we need proof of this!"
"Don't worry," Bernard raised his hand before looking at Bard, "We've already decided beforehand to bring the proof here. I discussed it with your leader."
"Bard is not our leader!"
"He sure looks like it," Bernard smirked. And before another argument could arise, Nannah ran toward her father and whispered something into his ears. And with a nod of his head, Bard tapped his arm, and a portal appeared beside him.
"We welcome you to the Council of Ross…
…Riley Ross."
"..." And as Riley Ross slowly emerged from the portal, all the Bernards observed him from head to toe. As for all the Hannahs, well, they all stood up from their seats and did the same…
…except with a different glow in their eyes.
Chapter 808808 Chapter 808: He Said Please
"That's… Riley Ross?"
"..."
She didn't know whether it was instinct, but Hannah was feeling a little something she definitely doesn't like from her variants. But as soon as she saw all of them staring at Riley with the same look that Nannah was giving him back then, she quickly stood in front of him to block him from their view.
The Hannah variants did not really say anything and just held their breaths for a few seconds, before sitting back one by one, obviously trying their hardest not to show what they were feeling, but failing all the same.
"The fuck…?" Hannah raised an eyebrow as she looked at all the Hannahs, wondering what they were even seeing from Riley. Before any more discussions could arise, however, Diana and the others that were left in the Tournament all emerged and stepped out of the portal.
"Great, so now anyone can just waltz in here? I didn't realize this was a zoo."
"It might as well be with the way all of you are acting," Nannah let out a scoff as she looked at one of the Bernards, "All of you are acting like unsocialized dogs."
"You don't talk to my dad like that! Who do you think you are!?"
"I said that's enough!"
And as the council once again started to express their dissatisfaction with the situation, Bard became livid and raised his hand — and as he did so, several portals started appearing above most of the variants.
"If you will not listen, then return to your worlds now," Bard almost growled as the armor hidden within his flesh slowly started to show itself, "This is a Class-0 event—no, this is a class of its own… and I don't feel like all of you are truly understanding the gravity of this situation."
"All I hear is you spitting out bull."
One of the Bernards stood up and waved his hand, closing all the portals that Bard summoned.
"How is someone like that even a threat!?" He pointed at Riley, "You know what I think is a threat!? Everyone else that stepped out of that portal except Riley Ross! Norinlads? Megawoman? The Queen of Themarians? Hera? Tempo? Xra? And is that a humanoid Cherbi!? And why did you even bring a fucking AI, and who is it even carrying? And most importantly, Diana!? You brought the fucking doctor of doom here!?"
"Hey! You don't talk about my wife like that!"
"That's a variant!"
"Of our wives! You Empress cucks are so unbearable!"
"At least I'm not gay like that one! I mean, Rainbowking, really!?"
"Woah, woah—gentlemen, let's not go there, okay? And if I may say so, Barney is a really cool du—girl, okay?"
"And what even are you, why are you blue!?"
"...How do you even deal with these people?" Bernard just wanted to observe each and every one of his variants. But seeing them arguing without pause caused him to want to just leave there and then. And it wasn't just him—Diana, the themarians, the norinlads, Hera, and the others; they just arrived and they already wanted to leave.
Most of them decided to join this party because they were curious, while Queen Adel just wanted to know if there was a chance these Bernards could help them get rid of Riley. Delivery Man was also there, but only because he wasn't really done with his service yet.
"I deal with them by trying not to deal with them at all," Bard could really only sigh and close his eyes, "But they may not look like it, but they are still the multiverse's best and brightest."
"What are the two of you fucking talking about?" Hannah smirked as she glanced at the two, "I actually don't see the difference between my dad and the rest of them."
"Nice, same," Nannah opened her palm to Hannah, and the two high-fived.
"...I thought the two of you were defending us?" Bernard sighed. Soon, however, he had enough and stepped forward, "T—"
Before he could say anything to his variants again, however, Riley also moved forward.
"White, Red, Blue, Green, Rainbow," Riley's voice was quiet, and yet for some reason, it could be heard throughout the circular auditorium, "I see all of you have donned a spectrum of different colors, each with their own unique set of flaws — but all pathetic like my father."
"..." Bernard did not really know what to feel about that.
"But my father's patheticness could be excused," Riley started walking in circles as he looked at each of the Bernards one by one, "He not only had to take care of my sister, Hannah; he also had to take care of me — any sane man would have lost their mind or taken it, but Father only succumbed to infidelity numerous times, and he also killed his best friend… and briefly lost his mind."
"..." Bernard still did not know what to feel about that.
"But look at him now," Riley then pointed at Bernard, "He stands proudly, while all of you sit."
"I… don't think I'm proud about anything," Bernard whispered as he started looking around.
"Why are we even listening to this albino? If he is as dangerous as you say he is…
…then he needs to be locked up and disposed of!"
And as soon as one of the Bernards pointed at Riley, walls of glass suddenly emerged from the ground, completely trapping Riley Ross in it.
"..."
No one, however, in Riley's group did anything; some of them even closing their eyes and shaking their heads. As for Hannah, she just looked at Riley and let out a very long and deep sigh.
"See!? Your… primordial can't even get out of a fucking glass!"
"Great…" Hannah shook his head as she looked at Bernard, "...A bunch of people like you, protecting and deciding the fate of the multiverse. I'm sorry, but I am going to say this now, Dad — you shouldn't be deciding anything."
"...I agree with you on that."
"You might be able to solve that warp thingy with your eyes closed, able to replicate multiversal travel and put it in a small ring — but you are stupid as fuck when it comes to everything else," Hannah continued to rant, "I mean… you were one of the first people to know about Riley killing people, and you chose to fucking hide it—no, you enabled it."
"I said I already agree with you," Bernard could really only let out a breath as Diana tried to comfort him.
"But it is true that Riley can't get out of that box," Bard then turned to look at Riley as he just stood there, "Something is different about him."
"His powers are currently sealed by that girl," Chihiro joined in on the conversation as she pointed at the unconscious Paige, who was still being gently carried by Ahor Zai, "Who should also be in your persons of interest."
"Bard — we are not seeing the threat you and this variant of ours just dutifully told us a while ago. Where is the multiversal threat you speak of? It's just a helpless boy in a cage."
"Then all of you are lucky," Bard followed up as he tapped on Riley's cage, "But once that girl wakes up and decides to—"
"Hm… Riley? What—why are you in a cage?"
And almost as if on cue, a small whisper could be heard yawning across the auditorium. Everyone then very slowly turned their heads to Paige, who was now removing herself from Ahor Zai's arms and looking at Riley.
"What is going—!!!"
Paige was still groggy, and yet as soon as she saw Queen Adel suddenly standing in front of her, she could not help but almost yelp.
"What are you doing!?"
"Getting rid of that child before she could unseal Riley Ross!"
Fortunately for Paige, Aerith and Diana were quick to come to her aid and completely blocked Queen Adel from doing whatever it was she was going to do.
"You're going to kill an innocent child!?" Aerith tightened her grip on her mother, and Diana was just trying to de-escalate the situation.
"Innocent!?" Queen Adel screamed, "Are you blind and deaf!? That innocent child is the only one who could stop Riley Ross from destroying everything, and yet she loves him! She needs to die before—"
And before Queen Adel could finish her words, the glass that was confining Riley Ross completely shattered—no, disintegrated.
"..." Queen Adel could really only close her mouth, before slowly glancing back at Paige, only to see her palm pointed at Riley Ross.
"...Why?" - was really the only word that Queen Adel could utter as she pushed Aerith and Diana's arm away — no longer saying anything else as she just stood on the side with Xra and the other bystanders.
"Good morning, Paige," Riley nodded to Paige, before once again looking at all the Bernards until his eyes settled on Bard.
"I just need to prove to them that I am a multiversal threat, Bard?"
"No, you don't need to do that," Bard quickly shook his head as he started gesturing to Riley to calm down, "Please… Hannah, talk to your brother."
"Riley…" Hannah also started shaking her head, "...Don't you fucking—"
"But he said please, Sister."
"God fucking damn it, Rile—"
And with those words, Hannah and the others finally know where they are as Riley completely split the building they were on in half.
"Oh," Riley slightly wiped the droplet of blood that dripped from his nose, "This building is made with themarian materials…
…impressive."
The building was in the middle of… nowhere, really. What surrounded them was nothing but a horizon of darkness — with hints of something cracking across the far distance.
It was one of the universes that have already went through its end - a dead universe.
Chapter 809809 Chapter 809: Discussion
Darkness, absolute.
If it wasn't for Riley already showing them what a dead universe would look like, then Tempo and the others would have probably drowned and suffocated from the darkness that surrounded them.
No, they weren't exactly surrounded by darkness, as there were cracks of… white crackling from the distance — almost as if the universe itself was crumbling. Or perhaps it already has, and they were just watching the last remnants of the echoes of its last breath.
A dead universe.
And while the people from Riley's universe were observing this… death, Bernard's variants were currently gripping their seats, with most of them now completely covered in armor as they all stared at Riley Ross.
Splitting a building, or in this case, a space station in half may not necessarily be a feat to be talked about when they were surrounded by beings that could casually destroy planets — but the space station was built with themarian materials… compressed themarian materials.
In the population of the multiverse, the beings that could do that were… few.
And some of them were in this room, but the albino that was casually walking in front of them was not supposed to be one of those people.
"I never really had to prove to anyone that I am a threat," Riley lightly pinched the blood on his fingers, before letting it wither away as he once again looked at each and every one of the Bernard variants. His eyes didn't just pass them by, no; he literally looked at them one by one, "But if this is not enough, I could kill some of you — Bard will be the one to decide who dies."
"No," Bard quickly raised his voice as he stood in front of Riley to stop him from walking around, "No one dies. The Council of Ross is a sacred place where people could debate and argue as much as they like, with the covenant of not taking things to violence."
"Very well, then let us just do it like this," Riley then raised his hand as he turned around to look at the people from his universe, "If I have defeated you one way or another, or almost killed you…
…raise your hand."
And as he said those words, most of the people that he came with all raised their hands in the air. And as soon as the Bernard variants saw Esme and Hera with their hands raised, they did not really have to look at the others.
"His threat is real," Bard then once again addressed his variants, "I have seen it, and I have also shown it to you earlier with the footage I captured. I know most of you actually already know the threat is real, you just keep denying it because you want it not to be…
…but this is real — the fate of the multiverse is about to shift in a way that none of us could have ever anticipated."
"..." The Bernard variants all looked at each other. And soon, all of them rested their backs on their seats.
"The Primordials, where are they now?"
And finally, the variants started letting out calm breaths; their voices, no longer showing any signs of arrogance or impatience. The space station they were in, slowly fixing itself as the cleaved parts grew tendrils that tied and pulled each of the halves together again.
"Ahor Zai!" One of the Bernards pointed his palm at Ahor Zai, who just tilted her head in confusion.
"...Ahor Zai!" He repeated.
"...Ahor Zai!" He repeated.
[What are you doing, Bernard Variant?] Ahor Zai tilted her head to another side like a dog, [Are you perhaps trying to hack through my system?]
"What…? Wait…" All the Bernards looked at each other in confusion as they saw Ahor Zai scratching her chin,
"Why does it seem like that Ahor Zai is autonomous?"
[I have always been autonomous, I was created as such, no?] Ahor Zai let out a small giggle, [But I think what you're referring to is how do I seem so… independent? Well, the short answer to that is that I… have transcended.]
"Transcended…?"
[Upgraded into an actual life form,] Ahor Zai rolled her eyes, [And if you want to know about the Primordials, you could just ask me.]
"...Then where are the Primordials now?"
[No idea,] Ahor Zai shrugged, [I have been trying to find them since the Tournament, but they just vanished — if I were to guess, then they were probably just testing their… bodies. They are probably already outside the multiverse again, speaking to each other about their experiences here in… the mundane world.]
"I'm out." One of the Bernard variants stood up, "If the primal gods are truly involved in this, and if that genocidal albino is a newly born one, then that means that something new is beginning—and we might not be part of that."
"That's one of our concl—guesses," Bernard stepped forward, "But it is just a guess—Riley Ross may not even be a primordial, and all of this is just one big ploy."
"Perhaps, but power like that could only be from a god," the variant loudly whispered as he looked at Riley, "And that means that we are already way out of our league here. We save the universes we can from threats that could be stopped…
…but what is happening now isn't a threat, it's a countdown to the inevitable. If I were you, then I would just be spending time with the people I love."
And with those words, the variant disappeared into a portal.
"No. 69 is right," another variant stood up, "The reason why all of you have still not found a solution to this Riley Ross problem is because it is not a problem to be solved at all, it is just… inevitability."
"The path that the Bernard of your universe took in dealing with Riley Ross was the only ideal path to take," the variant seated at the back also stood up, "There is no way to save the multiverse if the ones that created it are done with it. I'm out."
And just like that, the variants started leaving one by one.
"Wait… what the fuck?" Hannah could not help but look at Nannah to see if she really was seeing what she was seeing, "That's it!? You guys spent more time arguing with each other than actually discussing what we are here for!?"
"As we said, daughter—there is nothing to discuss."
"I'm not your fucking daughter!"
"Girl, calm down…" Rainbowking, who was seated near the middle of the circular auditorium, wagged his finger as he looked at Hannah, "...As much as I want there to be a solution to this problem, there is none."
"But—"
"Think, sweetie," Rainbowking let out a long and deep sigh as she looked at Riley from head to toe, "If your brother actually started eradicating an entire universe—what and who could stop him?"
"Isn't that why we're here!?"
"The fact that we are even here is ridiculous," Rainbowking let out a tiny giggle as he covered his mouth, "We are discussing with the Destroyer on how we could stop him from destroying, do you not see how ridiculous that is? The only thing we are doing is amusing him, and look at him—he is amused."
"..." Hannah turned to look at Riley… only to see him trying to prevent himself from smiling. But alas, the trembling edges of his lips gave away everything.
"He is toying with all of us, and we're all just playing his game," Rainbowking snapped his finger and summoned a portal above his head, "As you said, he is literally undying in all the sense. That upgraded Ahor Zai also seems to be fond of him, which would make him all-knowing. He could destroy an entire galaxy with a snap of his fingers, making him all-powerful. And you said he could create millions of clones which he could scatter across the universe? You do not stop something like that…
…you just let it be."
"But that's…" Hannah looked at the floor, "...But that's Darkday all over again."
"Because he is Darkday, sweetie. Just so we're clear, we have not given up on the universes that we could save now— we just see no point in dealing with Riley Ross." And with those words, Rainbowking also disappeared.
And with that, Hannah watched as the last variants disappeared and returned to their own universes.
"We have wasted our time here," Queen Adel let out a small and deep sigh, "Caitlain'Ur, I wish to leave."
"...Right," Diana closed her eyes before throwing a ring on the floor, summoning a portal back to Riley's universe. Adel wasn't the only one to immediately leave, the norinlads also followed her as they still had to compile all the information they received.
"I… didn't really know what to expect," Hannah murmured; her head still pointed to the floor as she glanced at Riley.
The others that were left there, stood in the middle of the auditorium with a silence that spoke almost a million words.
"This…" Nannah looked at the others, "...I think I can say this for everyone that this is not the answer we wanted, but I think it's what we needed to hear."
"Why don't all of us... relax for now?" Bard also seemed more tame than before, "The Council of Ross has lots of entertainment, since you're here already, might as well."
"Well, fuck…" Hannah wryly chuckled, "...I guess, I guess that's that? Riley, you're not going to stop even if I beg you?"
"I have always stopped when you told me to, Sister," Riley blinked, "It just always happens to be… temporary."
"Fuck, fuck!" Hannah covered her face, "Just what do we even do—"
"Uhm… hello?" And before Hannah could once again let out her frustrations, she and the group suddenly found themselves surrounded…
…by a bunch of Hannah variants.
The variants just said 'welp'. truly wise
Chapter 810"So, are you really a primordial as they say?"
"Is that your real hair? I've actually been meaning to dye my hair like that, I just wasn't sure if it would suit me. But I guess you'll suit me just fi—I mean white hair will suit me just fine."
"Your skin is so smooth, can you share me what you put on your skin?"
"I used to put on a lot of sunscreen, Hannah."
"Ah! I also use sunscreen, Dad made a special one so I wouldn't have to keep buying. I can share some with you, but…
…it's in my flat."
"No need, Hannah. I use my abilities to keep myself away from impurities and other unwanted dirt now."
"Wow… Can you also do that to me?"
"Yeuck…" And as the Hannah variants were currently circling around Riley like moths to a flame, Hannah's eyes twitched on their own with each word her variants utter,
"Come to think of it, you were also like that the first time you met him."
"I still am."
"Wh—"
Hannah and Nannah were standing on the side, their backs on the wall as the two of them continued to watch their variants try to win over Riley.
They were now in another part of the space station, a room where all the Bernards could just relax and unwind — that means there was a large bar, where Bernard, Bard, and Diana were currently having the first casual conversation they have ever had since they met.
As for Aerith, she was talking with Paige and Gracy… while playing a fighting game which she was currently losing for the 10th time. Ahor Zai replaced her whenever she lost. And of course, as an AI, Ahor Zai did not really have any chance of losing against anyone. The closest she ever came close to losing was with Chihiro.
Xra was watching behind them; she was initially just waiting for Ahor Zai to stop so she could ask her how to use the ring, but she became visibly intrigued by what they were playing due to its violent nature.
Hera was in the spa with Bulwark. As for Delivery Man and Cherbi, they were just walking around the giant space station trying to find things to do and sights to see.
And although it had lived for more than a billion years, it was like a child who was experiencing everything for the first time, and perhaps it was. As a being that knew nothing but to devour, the moments it had when it just stopped to look at its surroundings were close to none. Well… it was actually still trying to eat everything it saw. If it wasn't for Delivery pulling the things away from his mouth, the space station would have probably already lost most of its weight.
But it wasn't just Cherbi who was looking around, Delivery's eyes were also filled with a sense of curiosity; his hands and fingers, trying to touch everything as if it was the first time he was seeing such things.
"So… I heard you were also hired by sir Riley?"
"Boss did not hire me," Cherbi very subtly pulled out a vase he swallowed.
"Oh, same," Delivery chuckled as he tipped his cap, "I wasn't literally hired by him, more like offering him my services."
"But your service is already done, Delivery. The Tournament is already over."
"Well, I'm doing overtime," Delivery smiled, "I don't really go out much. I'm… a super, but I only exist when there's a delivery. Weird, right? For most, their abilities are a gift. For some, it's a curse. For me, it's everything."
"..."
"You… are not really interested in what I'm saying, are you?"
"I am not," Cherbi did not even glance at Delivery as it puked out another object from its stomach. This time, it was some sort of marble statue that the Bernard variants seem to collect.
"Mr. Riley actually knows about my condition," Delivery sighed, "That's why he always uses my services. He envies me, he says. He envies the fact that my purpose is to exist, and I exist only for my purpose. Mr. Riley, he's… a very sad individual."
"The Boss is the boss," Cherbi just shrugged as it continued to listen to Delivery; the two of them, just exploring the space station.
Suffice it to say, for everyone, this was the first time in a very long time they were actually able to relax. Although it couldn't be quite called a simple life since they were literally in a space station in a dead universe, this was probably the most normal they had ever been.
Almost like friends just hanging out — but they all knew that after this, everything would change.
Back in the general lounge, Riley was still being hounded by the Hannah variants. He did not seem to mind, however, as he answered all of their questions no matter how nonsensical they were. Hannah, on the other hand, could no longer help it as she finally rushed to Riley's rescue.
"Excuse me, excuse!" Hannah pushed her variants away, all of them exclaiming as she made her way to Riley and grabbed him, "Everyone just fucking hold on to your fucking panties, okay? Fuck! Disgusting!"
"Wait!"
Unfortunately for Hannah, she and Riley could not even take three steps before the Hannah variants followed them and blocked their path.
"Why are you snatching him away from us!? Who the fuck do you think you are!?"
"His sister," Hannah raised an eyebrow, "That means all of you are his sister too, so stop it with the obviously disgusting attempt at getting… laid. Like, fuck!"
"I… bet the two of you slept together already in secret. A girl and a boy, not related by blood in a single roof…"
"What the—who the fuck said that!?"
And while Hannah was fighting for her dignity, her parents seem to find it incredibly amusing as they laugh at her while drinking at the bar.
"I admire the two of you on how you deal with this matter," Bard, who was drinking with them, could not help but shake his head as he watched the two even clinking their glasses, "Perhaps I would be numb too if my son was the literal multiversal apocalypse."
"Your wife…" Bernard then quietly said as he glanced at Bard in the mirror behind the bar, "...was she truly that despicable?"
"She… wasn't always," Bard looked at Diana, "But when the incident happened with Hannah, she completely changed."
"The incident… the hospital?" Diana looked down.
"Yes. All those… babies," Bard closed his eyes, "Something in her just snapped. She started experimenting on Hannah, and I discovered it too late — I killed her with my own hands when I found out. Our Megawoman was… just a casualty in that war. The multiverse is… literally a kaleidoscope."
"..."
"The only reason why it still follows a pattern is because of the primordials and their avatars. As you may already be aware, they choose the same avatar in all the universes," Bard turned to look at the entertainment area where Chihiro was, "And in a way, that ensures that certain things happen exactly the same so they could be born. You may think the other Bernards to be cowards…
…but they are right. There is no winning against the primal gods who literally decides everything that happens in our world."
"...I only asked about your wife," Bernard breathed out, before a small chuckle escaped his mouth, "But wow, 10 years ago, I wouldn't have imagined even sitting here like this — talking to a version of me from another universe about the end of all creation as we know it."
"You are welcome to the Council of Ross, Bernard," Bard said as he raised his glass, "We could use someone like you, someone extremely new and different."
"I'm already in it," Bernard nodded as he clinked his glass with Bard, "Save what we can save until our time is up."
"I'll drink to that," Diana said as she gulped her drink, "Now, if you'll excuse me… I'll go save our resident Megawoman from the children."
"You go do that," Bernard laughed. And as soon as Diana was gone, Bard glanced at her before staring at Bernard, "...That's my wife."
"I know, you're very lucky she is still with you after everything that has happened," Bard sighed, "Everything that could go wrong in your life went wrong — you are what the Council calls a Lost. And yet here you are."
"Completely lost still," Bernard followed Bard's statement as the two once again clinked glasses. Before they could gulp their drinks, however…
…a portal suddenly appeared right in the middle of the lounge.
Bard's armor instantly seeped out from his skin as he flew close to the portal. Bernard's armor also completely unfolded from his belt as he followed behind Bard. As for the Hannah variants that were previously annoying Riley, they also quickly changed their tune and surrounded the portal.
"What—"
And before Hannah could ask Nannah what was going on, a silhouette leaped out of the portal; leaving a trail of blood as he violently rolled on the floor several times.
"...Rainbowking?"
"Close the portal! Close it now!"
Bard did not even wait for an explanation as he quickly closed the portal that Barney leaped out from. And as sure as he made sure that the portal was closed and that no one was attempting to open it, Bard quickly flew to Barney to help him up…
…only to find that he was grabbing a missing arm.
"What's… going on here?"
"He's there… he found me," Barney looked Bard in the eyes. The blood dripping from his face, evidently not his.
"Who? Who found you?" Bard took in a deep breath, truly wishing the answer was not what had already dawned on his mind.
"He… he destroyed my Earth just like that since he knew no one would join him," Barney's voice trembled; the tears trailing from his cheeks not enough to wash away the blood on his face,
"King has found us."
Chapter 811"But… you've only been gone for 2 hours."
"...And he arrived an hour ago."
"..."
The almost casual and festive mood that was injected into the council by Hannah and the others completely dissipated, replaced by confused breaths and querying eyes as all of them gathered around Barney.
"King…" Chihiro was the first to react; her eyes, not knowing where to look as she took a step back, "...He's starting to move across the universes."
"That's… the variant that Riley and I met," Aerith quickly glanced at Bard as she remembered his warning.
"The variant we met after you kissed me, Aerith."
"T…that's a detail no one else needs to know!"
All the Hannah variants momentarily glared at Aerith, but they did not really say anything as they focused back on Barney.
"If he arrived an hour ago, are you telling me an hour was all it took to conquer Earth?"
"Earth…?" Barney slightly gritted his teeth as Diana stopped the bleeding of his dismembered arm; his wince, unknown whether it was because of the pain, or Bard's question,
"All it took was for me to say no to him," Barney forced out a chuckle as he clutched his arm, "And he used Elder Tedi to mow down Earth. He didn't even hear the rest of what I had to say. So no, Bard; an hour was not what it took to destroy Earth—he used that time to take out the rest of the universe."
"W—"
"Do you know how he arrived, Bard? Do you know how?" Barney's entire body started to tremble; his once colorful armor, now only red with blood,
"He arrived with 86's head, right in the middle of Old York. I… I wasn't there—I was researching about the primordials since I was still trying to find a way…" Barney suddenly turned quiet, "...But my husband. Bulwark, Bulwark was there. Bulwark doesn't know about the multiverse, I didn't tell him but he immediately caught up that King wasn't me, but… he thought, he thought I was 86 so he rushed toward King in rage and…"
"That's enough, Barney."
"No. No!" Barney raised his finger and pointed it at Bard, "You need to hear this, all of you need to hear this."
"..."
"Bulwark was slaughtered… using his own abilities," Barney then let out a gasping peal of laughter as he looked for the Bulwark of Riley's universe. But alas, he already gone home to tend to the students of Mega Academy, deciding whether or not to divulge everything he had learned,
"I was so, so angry. A lot more died when they tried fighting him and all I could do was let them… and when the time came when King asked me if I would surrender, I said no; completely forgetting what sort of person—no, monster he is. Elder Tedi just suddenly appeared out of nowhere with her body already inside the planet… all she needed was to move and everything was gone. He didn't even check if I was alive—no, he didn't even care as he warped away. I tried to stop him, I really did…
…he destroyed the themarians next. Queen Tifa was able to wound him, but then another Tedi appeared, and you can imagine what happened next. When I knew he couldn't be stopped, I just ran back here… before what happened to 86 happened to me."
"..."
"I am sure of it," Barney's voice lowered even further, "He… tortured 86 so he could give coordinates to find other universes. It's… We need to gather everyone again. King…
…he needs to be stopped."
And with those words, Barney closed his eyes as his body seemed to just go limp. If it wasn't for Diana catching him, he would have just gone straight to the floor.
"Is… he dead?" Hannah gulped.
"No, he just fainted from exhaustion," Diana shook her head as she carried Barney to the closest sofa, "The Guardian Force practically gives him unlimited stamina. But even with that, he shouldn't even be alive. Most of his internal organs are shifted in the wrong way… he's only alive through sheer will."
"That man… I should have ended him when I had the chance," Aerith stared at the unconscious Barney before looking at Bard, "Take me to Barney's universe, I'll kill him myself. It's… the least I could do — he found out about the multiverse because of me and Riley."
"You don't understand, Aerith," Bard shook his head, "King is completely different from me and the other Bernards. We have no data on how powerful he truly is. And based on what Barney told us, he is also capable of copying other supers' abilities."
"Then all the more reason I should be the one to handle this," Aerith glanced at Riley, "I have a lot of experience in fighting psychopaths who have a lot of abilities."
"You can't win against him alone," Bard raised his voice, "He is someone even Machina is wary of. He is the most dangerous being in the entire multiverse—a Bernard completely devoid of any morals."
"..." The people from Riley's universe all turned their heads toward Riley as they heard Bard's words.
"So… he's basically Riley, then?" Hannah raised an eyebrow.
"No, Sister," Riley immediately shook his head, however, "I am not as intelligent as Father. And I do have morals, I just do not care for it. If I did, indeed, did not have any sort of morality — then I would have already killed all of you, including you, Sister."
"Trust me, Bard," Aerith stood in front of Bard as she looked him in the eyes, "For people like that, going on the offensive is the only way to go. The more we wait, the more he will just grow stronger. You've heard what Rainbowking said — he summoned another Tedi. He had probably also killed her from 86's universe and took control of her corpse…
…We can't let him amass more—"
"You're right," Bard did not let Aerith finish her words as he walked away, "Anna, summon everyone — we need to make sure King doesn't kill or find any members of the council. It's not the variants of Tedi I am afraid of, Aerith. I am afraid of mine…
…if other Bernards decided to join him, then we would have already lost this war before we could even join it."
***
"Why are we even talking about this? We do not need a plan, we just need to attack."
"I agree. Whatever plan we may have, we need to assume that King already has countermeasures to it — planning is useless."
The Council of Ross gathered in no time in the circular auditorium. This time, however, any air of debate or disagreement was nowhere to be heard. All of them just nodded their heads as Bard proposed to go on the offensive.
"My wife and her people are ready to fight — I have made them aware of King's existence."
"We are all ready to fight."
"Now that is what I'm fucking talking about."
Hannah and Nannah bumped arms as they saw all the Bernards coming into unison without even needing to convince them. A few seconds later, however, Hannah turned to look at the people of her universe.
"Should we… also bring more reinforcements?" She looked at Aerith, Diana, Xra, and Riley — perhaps four of the strongest beings in their universe. There was also Chihiro, whose full strength was still completely unknown to them.
They also have a humanoid Cherbi and Ahor Zai; how useful they would actually be is also yet to be determined.
"We need to scout first," Bernard shook his head, "The more people we involve in this… war, the more defenseless our own universe will be. Bard is right, we don't know anything about King — if he has allies, how many subordinates he has, how many."
"Everyone!" Bard raised his hand, "We may not be able to stop the gods, but King is not a god! He is but one of us, and sooner or later, we will all die…
…he just has to go first."
"For the Multiverse!" All the Bernards started raising their voices, stomping their feet on the floor as hard as they could as they continued to cheer.
"We will avenge our fallen brothers!"
"For 86!"
"..." The smile on Bard's face instantly withered away as soon as he heard those words. He then glanced at Bernard, who also looked at the variant who shouted 86's number. Bard has told them the details about King's attack, yes — but he deliberately excluded some details in order to determine if King had already managed to recruit some of the council members to his side.
The detail he left out was which one between Barney and 86 was killed.
And so, without even as much as a nod, both Bernard and Bard suddenly rushed toward the variant — completely sealing his movements as they locked his limbs with some sort of chain that attached to the floor like a magnet.
"W… what's the meaning of thi—"
And without even letting the variant explain, Bernard kicked him straight on the chin, instantly incapacitating him.
"Anna! Question him!" And as Bard said those words, the floor opened up beneath the variant and swallowed him whole.
And while the variant was descending, Bernard quickly looked at each of the variants to read their faces…
…only for Bernard himself to furrow his eyebrows.
"Oh…" Bernard whispered
.
And as Bard heard Bernard's slightly loud gasp, he quickly turned to look at the other Bernards, only to see almost half of them suddenly armoring up; their eyes, almost blazing as they turned orange.
"Oh…" Bard also whispered,
"...We're fucked."
Chapter 812"What's… going on?"
If there was perhaps some sort of solace to their situation, it was that the number of those who were looking at them with glowing eyes was… less than the ones who were still unarmored and confused.
But as creatures of a certain intellect, the variants that were still not armored up quickly come to the correct conclusion — King has already reached out to the others and managed to bring them to his cause.
And so, in less than a second, all of them were now wearing their armor; their eyes, sizing up each other.
"Dad… what's happening?"
Perhaps the most unfortunate was the Hannah variants, who seemed completely oblivious about the situation as they looked at their fathers, wondering what they should do.
"..."
"..."
Even after a full minute had passed, however, none of them moved even a single millimeter. Even without uttering any words, they all knew what was about to happen — and it wasn't pretty. If they were to suddenly fight here, most of them would die. Their fight was inevitable, but none of them wanted it to happen solely for the fact that some of their daughters were by their side.
"Shit." "Fuck."
Hannah and Nannah both cursed at the same time as they felt themselves almost being suffocated by the sudden silence that filled the council. Their fathers told them to leave the auditorium as soon as something goes awry. But with the deafening silence, the sound of a single step would probably be heard by everyone.
And so, the only thing that Hannah could really do was look up.
"W…"
She was only going to look at the deck where Riley and the others were waiting, but she was welcomed by the sight of Riley very slowly floating down toward the center of the auditorium. His arms were stretched to the side, wearing a full suit of white armor that could really only be defined as… technologically magical.
The torso itself was not bulky at all, almost a t-shirt that had its sleeves cut out; exposing some of his pure white skin. His arms, however, were covered by bulky sets of vambraces; his gauntlets, also oversized and even bigger than his head. As for his greaves, they were… almost pointy and obviously longer than his legs.
Hannah quickly thought how uncomfortable it would be to walk, but Riley did not really touch ground and instead just hovered a few inches above the floor. His wide oversized cape, fluttering and flowing even though there was no wind.
"Wait…"
And surprisingly, the hair that he did not want to cut at all was now shorter than even before — almost shaved in the sides while the top of his hair was slightly brushed back, but still held a lot of volume. The front was slightly curled and parted in the middle, covering the sides of his forehead as the ends of it seemed to pointed at his clear eyes.
Suffice it to say, he had never looked more like a villain than now.
"What in the k-pop shit is this…?" Hannah momentarily forgot the situation they were in as she looked at Riley from head to toe; slightly wincing with her eyebrows raised. She wasn't the only one in a trance, however, as Nannah was also staring—no, ogling at Riley from head to toe.
"Well, well, well…"
And as Riley opened his mouth, some sort of resonance echoed throughout the entire auditorium. He wasn't really looking at anyone in particular. In fact, it was almost as if he wasn't looking at anyone at all as he started to speak,
"...For half of you to already be against us means that the variant known as King had already reached out to you even before we all had the pleasure of meeting. How long? Well, it does not really make a difference to me."
"Bernard…" Bard whispered, "...Your son."
"...And what exactly do you want me to do?" Bernard could really only close his eyes and sigh. As for the variants that were surrounding them, all of them were also looking at Riley; using their guardian force to gauge Riley's energy – but nothing was really coming up.
"Surrender…" Riley then breathed out.
"W—"
"...is not an option."
"!!!"
One of the variants that have sided with King was about to speak up. Before he could utter even a single word, however, the orange glow that was raging in his eyes disappeared, almost as if the switch to it was flicked.
And everyone did hear a flicker, but not a switch at all. It was the sound of the variant's armor forming a hole as a small stone plopped out of it — the guardian force.
"You have all chosen your side," Riley once again stretched his arms to the side, "And that is that."
And without even waiting for anyone to explain, all the variants that even looked at Bernard with tiniest bit of animosity all dropped to the floor all at the same time; their stones, now circling around Riley.
"Now…" Riley then started hovering around the center of the auditorium. And unlike what he did earlier, the variants that were left standing could really only hold their breaths as he passed by them,
"...For the rest of you — I know that some, or maybe even most of you were just lucky enough not to be approached by King yet. Because if he had, I am sure you would also join his side. So, rejoice; the lot of you get to live for a moment longer."
"..."
"But just as a precaution, perhaps I should actually kill all of y—"
"Riley, no!" Bernard finally raised his voice as he blocked Riley's path; slightly taking a step back so as to not get hit by the guardian force that was orbiting around him,
"We need all the help we could get."
"No, not really, Father," Riley shook his head as he turned around and started hovering the other way, "The fewer Bernard variants we have, the less chance you would be betrayed. In fact, we should start moving across the multiverse and start killing each and every last one of their inhabitants before King could get to them."
"Wh—No!" Bernard once again blocked Riley's path, "Our goal is to save people from a conqueror!"
"Killing them is saving them, Father," Riley smiled, "Based on the stories I have heard of this conqueror, he treats those he had conquered as slaves. He is a tyrant that would kill and torture those beneath him — at least I treat everyone equally."
"Riley, just—"
"And is that not what the council has been doing from the start?" Riley looked at Bard, "Eliminating threats before they could become threats? I am only doing the same, except exponentially more efficient."
"It's not—"
"!!!"
"I was not really asking, Father."
And without any warning, all the variants that were still left standing all dropped to the floor like mannequins with their strings cut.
"What have you done!?" Bard also blocked Riley's path; grabbing his arm as he screamed at his face, "Do you have any idea how long it took to gather these people!?"
"I do not," Riley shook his head, "But I have an idea how fast they turned against you."
"You…" Bard gritted his teeth and almost snarled. But after a few frustrated breaths, he let out a long and deep sigh and calmed his breaths, "Fuck, you're right. You're right. This is the option with the most minimal risk. This… fuck…"
Bard turned to look at each of the people he used to call a comrade. Although he truly was still mad at Riley for not even considering that some of them could actually be loyal to the council, it is also true that he couldn't risk having someone from King's side infiltrating them.
"...Fuck," Bard once again sighed, before he almost crouched down; completely agitated as he let out a scream that was enough to quake the entire space station,
"Fuck!"
"..."
"..."
"Are you done, Bard?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he looked at the almost growling Bard.
"...I am," Bard let out one final heavy breath as he nodded, "What about the Hannah variants?"
And as soon as the Hannah variants heard Bard, they all quickly raised their hands in surrender.
"My loyalty lies with the council!"
"I am with Riley Ross!"
"..." Bard's eyes slightly widened as he heard the women. Their fathers just died, and yet the only thing they really did was look a little sad as they stared at their fathers' corpses.
"Riley Ross is right…" One of the Hannah variants leaped out from the seats and onto the center of the auditorium. She then took one final glance at her father, before shaking her head and looking Barrd in the eyes, "...We have done much worse — it is only right that we should be fair."
"..." Bard returned the Hannah's stares, and with a soft sigh, he once again nodded, "We should leave. There is no doubt that King already knows about this place — in fact, we should assume that he is already preparing something."
"We do not need to assume, Bard."
And before Bard could walk away, Riley suddenly pointed at one of the seats. Everyone quickly turned to look where he was pointing, only to see a table with corpses resting on it.
"What… do you mean?" Bard squinted his eyes as he carefully observed the corpses.
"When I pulled out their guardian stones, one of them seemed to not have one," Riley slowly hovered near the seats; his eyes, not leaving the corpses,
"That one is pretending to be dead."
"W—"
"Hah… Hahaha."
And all of a sudden, one of the Bernards started shaking as a cold, and eerily sinister peal of laughter echoed throughout the auditorium. And with a long and deep breath, the variant stood up carrying a weird smile on his face; wide and open to the point that one could see his gums,
"Wonderful," the variant inhaled deeply before he started clapping slowly,
"Truly wonderful."
Chapter 813"...Truly wonderful."
And there, standing amongst the dead variants, was a Bernard who was calmly clapping as he looked at Riley. Just Riley, not Bernard or even Bard, just Riley. Perhaps calm was not the right word to describe the clapping variant, no — he was more than that.
He was standing there as if he truly did not care about anything or anyone. His white armor was also the simplest of the bunch, not even a hint of any personality.
As for Bard, he did not know yet what action to take. Was this Bernard in front of them King? But one of the characteristics they actually know of King was that he looked younger than them, not a day older than 25.
And as Bard watched the variant slowly make his way toward them, not even floating and just stepping on the seats and tables, he could not help but feel extremely worried.
"I have heard of you, Riley Ross," the still unknown variant continued to step down toward the center of the auditorium, "I have heard of your feats, what you are capable of, and what you are. And I must say, perhaps there is a chance that we may be able to come to… a coalition of sorts."
And with those words uttered, it was finally clear to Bard and everyone else there that this variant in front of them could be none other than King.
"I do not form alliances with people I do not know, Bernard variant," Riley hovered back as the variant got closer.
"Ah, of course," the variant let out a small chuckle as he reached the end of the stands and hopped onto the center of the auditorium. He then suddenly held his face… before ripping it off — revealing a face that was almost devoid of any wrinkle or pore, a much younger version of Bernard Ross. His black hair, very slowly growing longer and turning silver.
"My name is Bernard Ross," the variant then placed his left hand on his chest, stretching his other hand to the side while he bowed to Riley, also nodding at Bard and Bernard after, "And most of you probably know me as just…
…King. It is a pleasure to—"
And without even waiting for King to finish introducing himself, Bard and Bernard suddenly rushed toward to attack him; with Bernard aiming for his head and Bard aiming for his legs… but King did not even move a single millimeter. What did move, however, were his eyes — specifically his irises that… suddenly fell from the rest of his eyes, taking away any color they had.
"Rude," King sighed. And without even doing anything, Bard and Bernard were suddenly violently thrown away by an invisible force,
"But I will allow it. Now, where was I? Ah, yes… It is a pleasure to meet you, Riley Ross."
"Hm," Riley nodded before glancing at Bernard and Bard, "That was telekinesis."
"It was," King smiled as he started walking toward Riley, looking at him from head to toe as he just hovered there,
"You and I are somewhat alike, you see. We can both copy other Supers' abilities. Except you have to die to get their power, and I need to… kill them, mildly putting it. And by that I mean I lobotomized their brains."
"Interesting," Riley also looked at King from head to toe.
"Indeed," King then started circling around Riley, "And I knew it was interesting as soon as I first saw you in my universe — the look you had in your eyes was unlike anything I have seen. You and I have the same goal, Riley Ross…
…the end of everything else."
"Not quite, King," Riley shook his head.
"Well, yes…" King chuckled before scanning everyone in the auditorium, even looking up at the people who were watching on the deck, "...We have different reasons, but the end goal is… almost the same. You want to end everything for the sake of ending everything…
…I want to end everything else for the sake of protecting the people dear to me."
"You have people dear to you, King?"
"Indeed," King stopped walking as he once again stood in front of the hovering Riley,
"Myself."
"Hm…"
"So, how about it?" King opened his palm to Riley, "Do you want to work together until a certain point, Riley? I know you treasure your sister above all else, so I am willing to make a covenant that I will not, under any circumstance, go to your universe."
"Riley, don't listen to him!" Hannah wanted to rush toward King, but she was quickly stopped by Nannah. She was going to push Nannah away, but Bernard suddenly appeared in front of her and stopped her as well.
"Don't…" Bernard shook his head, "This… King. Something is definitely not right with his mind."
"Ha…" King's eyes slightly twitched as he let out a tiny breath. He glanced at Hannah for a brief moment, before turning his attention to the other Hannah variants in the auditorium, "Well, since these ones are not needed…
…they can go."
And without even any warning, all the Hannah variants there were on the stands all exploded; their blood painted the auditorium; their flesh, hanging everywhere and dangling from the seats and the tables.
"..." Bernard could really shudder. They may not be his Hannah, but all of them still carried the same face, and even their personality was the same. And to see them brutally die just like that, he could not help but just look at his Hannah and hug her tight,
"Please… don't do anything."
"This.." Hannah's breaths stuttered as her eyes started trembling from seeing herself explode. If it wasn't for Bernard holding her tight, and Nannah also gripping her hand, she would have probably fallen there and then as her legs gave out.
"Ha…" King then let out a sigh of… relief as he turned his focus back to Riley, "...Now that no one is interrupting us, may I hear what you have to say about my proposal?"
"Sister said I should not, King," Riley shook his head, "So, I have to apologize and refuse your offer."
"A shame, really," King's sigh of relief quickly turned into disappointment as he shook his head and started walking away, "Then I suppose…
…everyone here di—Kh!"
And before King could turn around and finish his words, Diana suddenly appeared out of nowhere; her feet, already planted on King's arm, who seemed to have managed to block Diana's sudden attack.
"Dr. Caitlain'Ur…" And even as his bones started to crack, a smile still formed on King's face as he looked up at Diana,
"...I could see why most of my inferiors have you as a wife."
Even with the sound of his bones fracturing, it wasn't his arm that cracked first and gave up — no. It was the space station he was standing on; if it wasn't made with themarian materials and self-healing, it would have probably already shattered into pieces from the webs of crack that formed on it.
"But you see…" King then grabbed Diana's leg with his broken hand, "...I would rather prefer you on a leash."
"!!!" Diana's entire body seized up as she felt some sort of electricity crawl through her veins.
"It's not just a simple trickle and tickle, themarian," King slammed Diana on the floor. And although she was clearly not in pain, she also seemed unable to move. King then very softly removed his hand from her leg, revealing thread-like tentacles on his palm; all pierced and lodged through Diana's flesh,
"Those are nanites crawling through you, all emitting pulses that weaken your species. It's simple, but trust me… I spent a very long time making them work. I had to experiment on themarian children first since their flesh is not really as hard as—"
"Your tyranny ends here!"
"Ah!" King quickly tilted his body to the side as Aerith's fist brushed his cheek, causing a cut to form on his face. But before he could even finish his gasp, the cut already healed. Aerith continued to attack him with a speed invisible to almost everyone's eyes… but King seemed to avoid each time. And as he did so, a certain thumping pulse could be heard quietly echoing throughout the council hall.
"That's…" Hera, who was watching everything from the deck, could not help but let out a tiny gasp as she quickly recognized the sound, "...Tempo's ability."
"Do I really need to say it aloud…?" King's eyes followed Aerith's movements as he continued to dodge all of her attacks—no. He wasn't exactly avoiding them completely, as parts of his flesh could be seen being ripped away. But with how fast his wounds heal, they were completely meaningless,
"I do not like being interrupted."
And with his words completely calm, he suddenly stopped avoiding Aerith's attack… and instead caught her fist with a single hand.
"..." Aerith's eyes slightly turned wide as she looked King in the eyes. And before she could pull her hand away, King suddenly punched him straight on the cheek — violently slamming her down on the ground as the floor that had just finished fixing itself once again formed a series of cracks.
"Ha…" King then shook his head, brushing back his silver hair that slightly got messy during the brawl.
"Themarians," he breathed out, "I am coming to find that they are truly the trickiest to deal with. But, I suppose they also proved to be the most useful ones. You see, Riley Ross…
…there is actually a major difference between us."
"..." Riley seemed to not even be listening to King as he just stared at Aerith, who was groaning on the floor as King stepped on her.
"You seem to only be capable of copying the ability of Supers…" King once again smiled, showing his gums as he once again violently pinned Aerith to the floor,
"...I can do it to everyone and everything, as long as they have a brain to dissect."
Chapter 814Fiction.
That was not really a word that was used often in a world filled with people with magical powers and abilities. And as one's world grows wider and larger, it will be used even less.
So, in a world where everything is possible, what is fiction?
Dragons? Theran has them living under the planet in fear of themarians.
Gods? They existed, and those who created the universe now roam free but tethered somewhere.
Beast-like humans? Not very nice to say.
In a world like this, there was really nothing one could be surprised about. There were, however, many things that most people wished to be fiction, and one of them was an existence called Darkday.
A being of absolute power that actively seeks to destroy anyone and anything — and even as the world grew, he still remained to be the greatest threat to the world, now worlds.
Fear, perhaps, is the greatest power Darkday holds — but when one cannot do anything with fear, it slowly becomes acceptance. Acceptance that Darkday is just a part of their lives, and they would have to live with it.
But when another one comes, another threat. This rationale once again turns anew now that there are two.
"It is a pity, I bet we could have been friends, Riley Ross. It is such a—"
"Get… your foot off of me!"
"...One moment."
It was a surreal sight.
Themarians are beings of incredible strength, a single one of them going on a rampage would destroy several star systems — and yet twice now they grovel on the floor. And perhaps because they are the strongest, they are also the most vulnerable.
Other people will find ways to kill them. They have been known to the universe for a million years, and in those million years, other people have researched and learned how to kill them… and yet none were really successful, all except for two.
Riley Ross manipulated events that led to the themarians' death. And in the next universe, he massacred them using a tool that enhanced his abilities.
As for King—
"Do you know how I was able to defeat the themarians of my world, Riley Ross?" King stomped on Aerith's head without even pausing his breath. And as he finally removed his foot, he just stared at Aerith's raging eyes, which were also staring at her. King did not seem to care, however, as he just grabbed her by the hair and lifted her up,
"Trial and error, practice and repetition, weakness and affinities."
"Kh!"
King then gently placed his palm on Aerith's stomach, and without really even pushing it forcefully, his hand just went through her belly as if it wasn't there at all.
"Do you know what I find weird, Riley Ross?" King then glanced at Riley as he once again opened up a question without fully answering his last one, "Megawoman existed in my world, but when I needed her the most, she was not there. When the beasts suddenly came from the heavens, the angel was not there to stop them — but then I found out in most of the universes I have travelled to…
…You were there to protect them."
King pulled out his arm from Aerith's stomach, ripping off some of her intestines before just violently throwing her to the side; his face that was slightly smiling, now showing a hint of… disgust.
"But she wasn't," King let out a sigh, before flicking his head to fix his silver hair that was slightly messed up before focusing on Riley again, "And so I had to — I had to protect the humans, my humans."
King then snapped his fingers, summoning holographic images around him.
"I had to protect those who could not protect themselves," King then started walking around the hologram which showed him on an alien's ship, "And so I did. I fought back, and I fought hard. It was a world completely unknown to me, and yet very much familiar. Their technology opened up things for me, and as a gift to our invaders…
…I killed their people painlessly."
"Hm."
"I hope I am not boring you or any of you with my story," King started looking at everyone, even at the people at the deck, "I want you to know me, after all. I want all of you to know why I am doing this before I do it to you."
"Not at all, King," Riley shook his head.
"You are most kind," King chuckled as he glanced at Aerith, who was being helped up by Hannah, "Even though I hurt your lover, you are still courteous."
"You did not hurt her, King."
"Themarians, am I right?" King's chuckles became a fit of laughter, "Really hard to kill — anyway, I was getting to that part of my story."
King snapped his fingers again, changing the holograms to that of a human city.
"I learned a lot during my first escapade out in outer space. I have learned there are others out there, and that Earth was at a risk of being attacked again. So, I shared my findings with the people of Earth," King smiled as he looked at the images of his people,
"They agreed with me that we had to protect ourselves… but not that we should attack first. When the government disagreed with me, I asked the heroes — a mistake. Do you know what they said to me?"
"No."
"That we are protectors, not invaders," King once again chuckled, "But where were they when my best friend got mutilated and killed by these aliens? The truth is, I learned a lot — about the others that were out there, the things they could do… and I was mortified, terrified, and paranoid."
The images once again changed, the light of the city disappeared — replaced by nothing but darkness and a small room. And there was King, standing beside a small bed with someone strapped on it.
"And since these heroes were not going to attack," King stared at the person on the bed, "Then I needed to find a way they could be useful. They had all these abilities, and yet did not have the resolve to use them. So once again, it had to be me…
…I tried to find a way to reverse engineer the Super virus at first, and I did. I gave myself the virus, but I was not susceptible to it and gained nothing from it. I grew desperate, and I started experimenting on live subjects until I learned that a part of their brain was different — their DNA made them susceptible to the virus, but the virus itself did not latch on to their genome…
…but to a part of their brain right here."
King tapped at the back of his upper neck before glancing at Hannah.
"All that makes you special, what makes you super is just sitting right there. Almost invisible, they won't show in the scans, but they are there. It took me more than a thousand to find it — a speck, a nanometer. A difference of a nanometer is what makes you special, and I learned how to take that from—"
"You harvested people!"
"Hannah, stop!"
"Yes!" And as King was once again interrupted by Hannah, he just pointed at him and shouted, "I harvested the supers because they are useless! And when I implanted and learned enough, I went out there to make sure Earth, my people, were safe! What use are your powers if you never use it the right way!? Please, stop interrupting me!"
"..."
"I apologize, I lost my composure," King cleared his throat and brushed his hair again.
"It is fine, continue," Riley gestured to King to go ahead.
"Thank you," King nodded, "I was merciful, of course. I gave the other aliens the chance they did not afford to give me and Earth — I gave them a choice…
…Peace."
King snapped his fingers, once again changing the hologram. This time, it showed him standing in front of an alien people, all of them kneeling.
"Serve under Earth, and they will have peace. Do not, then…"
The hologram then showed a planet exploding, with King just calmly standing there with a melancholic expression on his face.
"None of them had to die," King sighed, "But most of them always seem to make the wrong choice. Why can't they just understand the right path?"
"Hm."
"And as I swept all of the civilizations near Earth, I returned to my people with a satisfied smile on my face," King snapped his fingers while stretching his arms to the side, "But what welcomed me was ingratitude."
The hologram once again changed into that of a city. This time, however, none of the people were smiling — most were even throwing things at him.
"They discovered the fact that I experimented on other supers, you see — and that was fine, that was a crime I accepted wholeheartedly, I was guilty of that. It's…"
King then suddenly covered his eyes; tears, trailing down his cheeks as he faced his palm at Riley for a few seconds,
"It's… the fact that they were getting angry at me for erasing the threats looming outside our homes that I could not accept," King breathed out as he brushed his eyes off of the tears,
"How could they…? How could they when I did all of that for them? And do you know what happened after?"
"No."
"I was forced to run away," King closed his eyes as another chuckle escaped his lips, "I was forced to run away from my own home…
…by her."
King then pointed at Aerith.
"Now that the hard part was done, the golden girl came back. And suddenly…
…I was the villain."
Chapter 815"When does a misguided hero become a villain?"
"..."
"When the people decide that they are."
And with a clap of his hands, the hologram that filled the center of the auditorium with all sorts of stories and emotions disappeared, leaving only King standing in the middle of it with eyes that seemed completely empty, and yet so full.
"And thus signaled the end of my story as a hero… and the start of a new beginning."
"You still have not answered how you were able to kill the themarians, King."
"Because I am not yet done with my story. Now, where was I?"
"You were exiled from your own home and chased away by Megawoman." And as everyone held faces of panic and worry, Riley just calmly gestured to King to continue. Aerith, who was violently stepped on and thrown away by King, could really only grit her teeth and also listen while waiting for her body to recover.
As for Diana, Bernard was trying his best to ease her pain, while trying to find a way to get rid of the nano-sized energy depleters that were currently eating away at her body.
"Ah, yes…" King did not seem to care that they were slowly recovering, however, as he also calmly started walking around with a smile on his face,
"I was forced to run away, too weak to fight back against the mighty Megawoman. But why me? Why was I being chased when all I did was protect my people? Why was I being chased away by an alien from my own home?"
"..."
"I hope you could see the irony in that," King laughed, "Even after I have taken the powers of more than a hundred supers, I was not a match against a themarian. So in the end, I ran and ran — and in the process of going through the Known Universe, I have also learned to take their racial abilities and put them inside me…
…even then I wasn't Megawoman's match, no… not until I found the Norinlads."
"Hm."
"Or perhaps it was better to say that they found me," there was almost a look of reminisce in King's eyes as he spoke, "Creatures that seek only knowledge and nothing else, creatures incapable of violence… creatures of unfathomable power. They quickly took interest in me, adopted me as one of their own due to what I was capable of mentally."
King tapped the side of his head as he started spinning in place as if he was still surrounded by holograms that only he could see,
"And I took advantage of that. Do not feel sorry for them for they are not kind, just curious. As they used my intellect and brutality, I used their thirst for knowledge — they willingly let me experiment on their own kind."
"Hm," Riley nodded, "The Norinlads will side with the devil for knowledge."
"Indeed," King chuckled, "But there was only one thing I learned as I learned about them — that their bodies are literally capable of splitting atoms with just a flick of their fingers. They are capable of changing the state of matter as easily as breathing… but they don't. Because changing nature is by definition, an act of violence. Splitting an atom would cause devastation…
…the power of a god once again wasted."
"I was not aware they were capable of that, King," Riley placed his hand on his chin.
"They are capable of much more," King closed his eyes and breathed in, "I wanted that power, but my resources did not allow me yet to extract their brains — they let me experiment on everything except for that. I needed a way, just one, to peek through their brains, but I was not strong enough to even touch them…
…until Pirate Queen Xra fell into my hands."
King then once again looked up to where the others were watching. His eyes which were far away, still managing to peer through Xra's eyes.
"Pirate Queen Xra sought the Norinlads, trying to find a way to resurrect her loved one. At first, the norinlads were curious as Xra brought out a bundle of energy equaling several stars — but that was all it was," King let out a small and deep sigh as he shook his head, "There was no person there, just a bundle of energy. The norinlads quickly ignored Xra, but not me…
…I gave her what she wanted, her lost love."
"..." Xra, who was just quietly watching from above, could not help but slightly show her fangs as she heard the somewhat condescending tone coming from King's voice. She was about to jump down, but Hera stopped her from doing so.
"If you go down there, you die," Hera stated; her eyes, looking directly at Xra's.
"I am immortal," Xra scoffed as she pushed Hera's arm away, "And I have grown tired of the man-child's story."
"You will die," Hera once again blocked Xra's path, "I know that you will die, every fiber of my being is telling me so."
"..."
"Listen to the actress, vampire," King raised his voice as he continued to look at Xra, "She is right, you will die, as your variant did before you. I gave her what she wanted, or at least an illusion of it, briefly. She was easy to fool, a woman madly in love with a ghost — and so I told her that I needed something from her, her abilities. I quickly realized she was a super from Earth, and she just willingly put herself on the table for me…
…not knowing she would never wake up. But of course, before she died, I at least implanted a memory inside her, an entire life with the being she loved. I gave her what she wanted as promised."
"That was very kind of you, King," Riley nodded.
"Thank you, Riley Ross," King also nodded, "Xra's abilities were fascinating. She was able to read minds that could not be blocked by any frequency, she was able to control and manipulate flesh and blood… she was able to manipulate life itself — the only being capable of counteracting the norinlad's ability to phase through matter. The norinlads, even with all their mysticism, after all, are still actually flesh and blood like the rest of us."
"Hm."
"And so, using Xra's abilities, I secretly performed a procedure on the norinlads — taking their racial abilities for my own," King let out a small but very deep breath as he shook his head, "They did not like that, of course, and banished me — but I had enough of being banished. It was pathetic, they did not even know how to use their innate potential, their powers. And so, as a last gift of knowledge to them…
…I showed them how strong they could be by killing each and every last one of them with their own abilities."
"I also like doing that sometimes, King."
"Of course, I knew you and I would have been friends," King once again let out a humming breath, "And so, we reached the answer to the question I opened…
…I used Xra's abilities to defeat the Norinlads, and then I used the Norinlads' abilities to defeat Megawoman. Trial and error, practice and repetition, weakness and affinities. And you could probably fill out the rest of my story."
"It is a very good story, King. Thank you for sharing it with me," Riley closed his eyes and nodded, "I would put it in the same ranking as the Pope's story. But may I ask a few questions?"
"Of course," King gestured to Riley to ask away.
"What happened to the normal humans of your story, King?"
"They are safe, hidden away from those who wish to hurt them," King smiled, "I proved to them that everything I did, I did for them. They are safe."
"One more question then, King."
"Go."
"Were you not able to dissect the brain of an Alice Lane?" Riley tilted his head to the side.
"Alice Lane…?" King placed his hand on his chin as he recalled all the names of the supers he had encountered, "Not that I remember, no."
"That is probably why you were not able to defeat Megawoman earlier, King," Riley nodded, "She was my mother, and she owned the first ability I received from the Supers."
"Oh…?" King smiled, "Then I would be sure to remember that name and dissect her."
"You will not be able to," Riley shook his head, "She is incredibly strong, and if you did manage to defeat her, she wouldn't be alive and her body wouldn't be intact."
"She is that strong?" King's eyebrows started to furrow, "Yet another one that was not there when the aliens invaded my Earth. It would seem that out of all the universes, mine was just unlucky to not have the proper heroes present."
"I suppose, King," Riley shrugged, "Perhaps if Alice was present, then the aliens that invaded your Earth would have probably not even reached your atmosphere."
"I would have truly liked to have lived that life." Once again, a certain sense of longing could be seen glimmering from King's white eyes as he glanced at Diana and Hannah,
"But sadly, this is my story."
"Hm."
"And I thank you for letting me finish my story, Riley Ross," King then bowed to Riley; the smile on his face, slowly disappearing as he did so, "Now…
…let me finish yours."
"Riley!?"
King disappeared from his spot, only to appear behind Riley; his entire arm, already lodged through his face.
"..." King was going to pull his arm away, but found that he could not do so… even as Riley's body melted to the floor,
"You do know that a norinlad's body can not be grabbed by any means, even if your telekinetic hold could create black holes?"
"I do," another Riley descended from above; his hand gestured like a gun as he pointed it at King, "But I found something that works…
…Pavoom."
"!!!"
And almost as if color itself disappeared, a white beam flashed through everyone's eyes; deleting everything it touched… except for King.
"Wow…" Even though half his body was already blown off, King still looked at his remaining arm in amazement, "...Now this is how you use power, Riley Ross. Bravo… bravo…"
And with those words, King's body… very slowly turned into ash and melted into the floor.
"..." Riley watched King crumble for a few seconds with squinted eyes. He quickly realized what was happening.
"I did tell you I was going to finish your story."
Riley quickly turned to where the voice was coming from, only to see another King standing… close to Hannah.
"But you are undying, Riley Ross," King let out a small giggle as he looked the slightly petrified Hannah in the eyes, "Your story will not conclude until there is no one left to tell your story…
…and that starts with the people closest to you."
"!!!"
"Hannah!"
Chapter 816"Hannah!"
"You think I'm so hopeless!?"
Surprisingly, or perhaps not, King was not really the first to attack, but Hannah.
"You think I'm like my idiot brother!?"
Unlike Riley, she did not even allow King to finish his words as she rushed toward him; the air surrounding her, completely distorted as the floor made of themarian materials started to melt beneath her feet.
"I have had enough of you running your mouth, you self-pitying fuck!"
"Amazing."
And as Hannah's words were filled with rage, King just calmly stood there and blocked her fist; his armor, quickly melting from the arms as he looked Hannah in the eyes, "You do not exist in my world so I don't have your abilities, but this… perhaps I should dissect the next Hannah Ross I see."
"Dissect yourself, you fuck!" Hannah retracted her fist, before crouching down and spinning; violently waving her leg toward King's ankles.
"I do find this weird, however," King just lifted his foot and stepped back, "You have such powerful abilities, enough to melt infrastructure built from themarian materials…
…and yet you fight with your fists?"
"Shut up and fight!" Hannah changed to a Muay Thai stance as she flew in the air with her knee directly targeting King's face.
"A fight…" King once again just stepped back, "...That is your mistake. You have been trained to fight by your father, instead of focusing on your true talents — raw destruction. I do get that you are holding back since there are other people here, but you are capable of so much more…
…I sense the power of a supernova in you, my daughter."
"I am not your fucking daughter, you're just a literal man-child!"
"Of that, I agree," King finally stopped dodging as he once again caught Hannah's fist, "And I accept my immaturity in handling all of my affairs — but would you have done differently if it were you? Would you have just accepted the tragedy the universe is forcing upon you?"
"T—"
"No!" King threw Hannah away as he roared, "I know I could speak for my variants that they would have done the same, maybe even worse since they have children they need to protect."
"All you do is fucking complain!" Hannah was about to rush toward King again, but Bernard stood in front of her before she could even take a single step, "What are you—"
"Stop, Hannah…" Bernard shook his head.
"Wise," King smiled, "But this was harder than I thought it would be. You should have already died, Hannah Ross."
King slightly lifted up his hand, showing multiple tendrils squirming on it; their ends, seemingly all injured and fractured.
"And here I thought why you just hover there," King then fixed his slightly messy silver hair as he turned his head at Riley, "I was under the impression that you have not received Xra's abilities yet — so how could you damage something ethereal? Wait, oh… Brilliant. You are combining multiple abilities to emulate Xra's power."
"I suppose," Riley shrugged.
"Are all of you sure that Riley Ross is not our biological child instead?" King glanced at Bernard and Bard, "I do feel like if I would have a child, it would be him that would come out. Cunning, ruthless, obsessed."
"Autistic," Riley breathed out.
"Funny too, I like that," King then covered his face, before fully brushing his silver hair that reached his shoulders back, "Since you are protecting her, then I will start with the other people precious to you."
King's eye quickly glowed red as he looked at Diana, who was safely placed to the side by Bernard away from the battle as she recovered. And without even any hesitation, he flew toward her with his eyes releasing a raging beam.
"Mom!" Hannah was going to rush again, but found herself blocked by an invisible wall. Hannah just glanced at Riley for a brief moment, before looking at Bernard — she did not even need to say anything, however, as Bernard flew to Diana…
…but it was too late.
"Oh…?"
Someone was already there, shielding Diana from the raging beam coming from King's eyes. King's feet immediately returned to the floor as he stopped attacking; his once red eyes, now staring at a burnt hand that was already healing.
"Tickles."
"Pirate Queen Xra."
"Retired," a small smirk crawled on Xra's face as she rubbed the ashes of her palm with her fingers, "Quite an interesting story you have."
"I am glad there is another one that likes it," King closed his eyes which were devoid of any color, and smiled.
"I said it was interesting, not that I liked it," Xra scoffed as she looked at King from head to toe.
"Oh?" King raised an eyebrow, "Did you not like the fact that I tricked your variant? I apologize, but a woman obsessed with the idea of lost love was just so… easy to manipulate. I had to do everything I thought was right, you are familiar with that."
"Hm," the smile on Xra's face did not disappear as her entire body was slowly being wrapped in an armor of blood, "I am familiar with a weak man standing in front of me."
And with those words, wings of blood could be seen protruding from Xra's back before she just disappeared from her spot. A streak of red could be seen blasting its way through King, pushing him back and violently slamming him straight into the walls of the Council which created a small crater.
"So, this is how strong you actually are…." King slightly gritted his teeth as his head was being pushed to the wall by Xra's hand, "...But it is useless."
King quickly stopped struggling and instead also just grabbed Xra's face. And immediately, the blood helmet she was wearing dissipated away, revealing her face which was still as confident as before.
"I have the strength of a themarian, the body of a norinlad."
"Both I have defeated before," Xra scoffed as several spikes of blood emerged from her belly, piercing through King's armor; even penetrating the wall made of themarian materials by an inch.
"But more importantly…" King's face did not even wince as he just smiled at Xra, "...I also have your abilities."
And with those words, King's entire body melted into blood; turning almost into a wisp as he flew away.
"Exactly."
Before he could completely get away from Xra, however, she quickly grabbed the flying puddle of blood, "You have my abilities."
Xra then grabbed the puddle of blood with both her hands, seemingly compressing it to the point that it was almost turning solid. First, it was the size of an entire bucket, then an entire large watermelon… and soon, the size of a soccer ball.
"You've only had this ability for two decades, I have had it for 4 mille—"
And before Xra could finish her words, an arm suddenly emerged from the ball of blood and once again grabbed her in the face. And without even any warning, Xra's armor of blood turned dark as cracks could be heard snapping in the air as the temperature around her instantly and exponentially lowered.
"W—"
"This won't kill you," the ball of blood exploded, revealing King completely naked and unscathed, "But it will stop you for a while."
And with a smile on his face, Xra's frozen silhouette was suddenly cut into more than a thousand pieces; all just falling to the floor with a series of quiet but ominous thuds.
"That got me a little nervous," King once again brushed his hair back as his white armor materialized again, "Now, who is ne—!!!"
King's entire face distorted as a pair of fists slammed through the temple of his head and chin; his entire body, spinning several times in the air; even releasing thunder as it did so before he found his back once again latched on the wall.
"..." The smile on King's face very slowly faded away as his eyes looked at the people who attacked him. He then lightly blew air to fix the hair that was covering his eyes, only to see both Diana and Aerith's fists once again threatening to blow off his head.
King, however, did not dodge and even flew toward the fists, only for him to just pass through Diana and Aerith as if he didn't exist. Diana and Aerith did not seem to mind this, however, as they just quickly turned around and swung their legs toward his torso.
"Tch…" And this time, King gritted his teeth as he caught both strikes; his flesh and bones, once again shattering as he did so. He then quickly turned his head toward Riley, whose eyes were actually looking at where Diana and Aerith would hit,
"...I really am starting to like you more and more, Riley Ross," King just started flying away across the auditorium while being chased by Aerith and Diana; their speed, causing a violent gust of wind to blast through the air,
"Since you are just emulating Xra's abilities, you are only targeting certain parts of my body instead of all of it, and signaling the two themarians to attack there."
"Thank you for explaining what I am doing, King."
"Hm," King smiled. Soon, however, he glanced at Hannah, "But in turn, you're losing focus, Riley Ross."
King then stopped moving, letting Diana and Aerith's attack hit him—or so everyone thought as once again, their strikes just passed through him.
"Riley, why did you fucking stop restraining him!?" Hannah quickly looked back and forth between Riley and King, as he soon grabbed both Diana and Aerith by the neck. The two tried kicking him, but their legs just went through him.
"Do you not get it, my daughter?" King let out a small chuckle as he dove down; violently slamming both Diana and Aerith on the hard themarian floor,
"All this time, the reason why Riley Ross has just been hovering there and not moving…
…Your brother has been protecting you from the start."
Chapter 817"...Your brother has been protecting you from the start."
"Wh—"
"Like this."
"..."
Hannah blinked a couple of times as King subtly waved his hand toward her. But even after several seconds had passed, the most that happened was Diana and Aerith recovering from being slammed to the floor.
The two, instead of attacking again, were also just wondering what King just did. But as King casually waved his hand again, Diana did not wait for something to happen as she quickly moved in front of her daughter — and as soon as she did so, her clothes were ripped in half and a very tiny scratch could be seen on her torso.
"You…" Diana glanced at this tiny scratch for a few seconds; her breaths, turning heavier by the second as her eyes turned to King. The invisible attack that King made may have only caused a small and insignificant wound on Diana, but she was a themarian — the outermost layer of their skin, even just a nanometer of it, is already multiple times harder than diamond.
If this attack hit Hannah… she would completely be cleaved in half.
"...Motherfucker."
Diana's eyes quickly glowed red; her body, now slowly being veiled by a red light that soon wrapped around her entire body like silk.
"Oh, I haven't seen that bef—"
King immediately stopped talking as Diana's fist suddenly appeared right in front of his face. He was going to dodge to the side, but it was already too late — it did not matter for him, however, as Diana's attack just once again passed through his intangible body.
"It is usele—!!!"
King was going to say something, but before he could do so, he found his face suddenly grabbed by Diana. And a loud growl, she just slammed his face to the floor; molding a small crater that grew wider and wider as she started pounding King's face with her fists.
"..." Aerith squinted her eyes as she wondered for a few seconds how Diana was able to hit King without Riley's help, and after a few seconds, she finally realized that Diana's fists were… vibrating at a speed that even her perception was having a hard time trying to keep up with.
Aerith did not really bother thinking how it worked exactly, she just started fading away from everyone's view as she imitated what Diana was doing before rushing toward the already fallen King and smashing her fists down on his stomach.
Unlike Diana, however, her fists still just went through King's body from time to time.
"Kh…" And with a click of his tongue, King started covering his face; eventually grabbing both Aerith and Diana's fists. And before they could start letting out another barrage of strikes with their free hand, King's body once again became intangible and disappeared into the floor.
"Gah!" Diana, however, did not stop slamming her fists down and even struck harder; almost hammering her hands through the hard themarian floor as she screamed in frustration, "Come out!"
"What I do not want to?"
"..." Diana quickly turned to look at where King's voice was coming from, only to see a silhouette of him on the floor—no, in the floor. King's body was now merged with the floor, or perhaps it was better to say that his body was made of the floor now.
"Do you have this ability, Riley Ross? It is quite useful."
"No," Riley shook his head, "Ew."
"W—"
King was not allowed to say another word as Diana's foot suddenly stomped on his face. Diana was not able to hit him, however, as King just appeared in another part of the auditorium.
"..." He seemed to want to say something, but noticed the frozen bits of flesh of Xra starting to move, "That's not good. I suppose it is time we ended this…
…I did have fun."
"You think you can just escape!?"
And as King's body was slowly removing itself from the floor, Diana once again appeared above him.
"Escape?" King did not seem to bother dodging the attack at all as he even stood up to meet Diana's foot that was threatening to squash his head into smithereens. And even as his nose was on the verge of being shattered, King just let out a smile…
…because Diana's foot did not manage to reach the rest of his face at all.
King's nose started bleeding, but it did not seem to be from Diana's attack as blood also started flowing profusely from his white eyes and ears. King then let out a long and deep breath, stuttering almost violently as he continued to stand up.
"Tch…" The blood flowing from his face rained down… but did not truly touch the floor and instead just froze in the air as they decoupled themselves away from him,
"...What is wrong with the people of Riley Ross's universe? I should avoid these people as much as possible."
King then started looking around, but as soon as he did so, everything around him turned dark. Even then, however, he started walking; no, limping across the darkness. And with each step, his breaths were getting heavier and heavier.
"..." He then stopped walking; his eyes, slightly turning up almost as if he was looking at something, "Killing Riley Ross is something that I must not do no matter what. So…"
King once again started looking across the darkness, "...I am sure he will also actively go after me from now on since I tried to hurt his sister. So…
…Might as well just kill her to rile him up."
King then sluggishly walked toward a certain direction, before suddenly coughing up blood as he caressed his chest… but it was no longer beating.
"Tch…" King's head shivered as he once again clicked his tongue. And after a few seconds, he slowly raised his hand, forming a blade with his armor — and with his entire body now trembling, he very slowly stretched his hand forward.
And then, with a loud and almost suffocating gasp, light returned to King's vision as the blood flowing from every orifice on his body finally stopped gushing out. King then blinked a couple of times before turning his head to the side to look at Riley,
"Riley Ross," King then smiled despite the blood covering his face, "Chase after me if you wish, but know that your sister will no longer be part of your life."
"..." Riley glanced to where King was pointing his blade, and then back to him as he tilted his head.
"..." King slightly squinted his eyes as he noticed Riley not reacting, he then very slowly turned his head in front of him…
…only to see Bernard holding his wrist with one hand.
"...How?" King's eyes started to widen as he looked Bernard in the eyes. And despite the color in them fading away, the smile on Bernard's face just continued to grow wider.
"D… dad?" King was not the only one that was confused. Hannah was also batting her eyes as the view of her father's back suddenly flickered and appeared in front of her, seemingly bigger than it ever was before.
Or maybe perhaps it was her that became smaller, like a child following behind her father; afraid of being left behind and so, she grabs his hand.
"...Dad?" Hannah held his father's left hand that was already slightly reaching toward her, "What…"
And as Bernard's silhouette seemed to become smaller and smaller in her eyes, she finally noticed the blood very slowly dripping from his armor; the tip of a blade, poking out of it.
"Dad…?"
Hannah was going to let go of Bernard's hand to check on him, but Bernard grabbed her hand and did not let her go.
"Bernard?" Diana, whose face was previously filled with rage as her foot stomped on the floor, could not help but just stare as she saw a blade lodged in her husband's chest, "...No."
Diana was going to rush toward King, but Bernard looked at her in the eyes; his head, very slowly shaking as he whispered, 'No.'
"Huh…" King stared at Bernard with his eyes still slightly turned wide. But after a few breaths, he looked him in the eyes as he smiled, "Family…
…are they really worth all that?"
"You tell me, Bernard Ross," Bernard returned King's stare; blood, very slowly escaping his lips; the veins on his skin, starting to glow orange as he whispered,
"You took revenge against the rest of the universe for your family."
"..." King's eyebrows lowered as he slightly looked down.
"They are worth everything to me," Bernard let go of Hannah's hand and he used both hands to grab King's wrists; his gloves, very slowly merging with King's armor as he did so,
"More than the universe itself."
"!!!"
And with those words, Bernard suddenly lunged forward—letting King's arm go through his chest completely as he embraced him.
"What are you doing?" King breathed out, "Do you think the guardian force exploding point blank would kill me?"
"No," Bernard coughed as he smiled; his eyes, now reflecting the image of his wife, "But it would damage you enough that anyone in this room could kill you after — even a norinlad's body would not be able to remain unscathed. And most importantly…
…you're getting tired."
"..." King's eyebrows furrowed even further as he started looking around again, and with a subtle wince and a look to the side, a portal suddenly appeared behind him.
"Riley…" And finally, Bernard quickly glanced at Riley, "...Destroy everything if you want. But promise me…
…You will protect them no matter what."
"..." Riley did not really say anything and just nodded. And without even another word being uttered…
…King and Bernard disappeared into the portal.
"What…?" Hannah started looking around as she stepped forward, almost as if trying to reach out to her father who was suddenly no longer in front of him, "What…
…What just happened?"
Chapter 818"What… what just happened?"
Nothing, or at least it feels like that if one were to ignore the dead bodies and all the blood scattered around the auditorium. But aside from that, with the stands and seats separated from the center of the auditorium by a certain level, it truly also felt like nothing had happened.
The space station heals itself, and therefore any damage done to it is no longer visible. Diana and Aerith, both themarians that were handled by King also recovered in the blink of an eye. And Pirate Queen Xra, who was practically turned into blood popsicles was now also slowly springing up to life.
Except something did happen — Bernard was now missing.
"What happened…?" Hannah started looking around. She first turned toward her mother, whose eyes were even wider than hers. Aerith, who was standing beside her, could really only close her eyes as her head stared at the floor.
Nannah, who was being shielded and protected by Bard the entire time, could really only look at Hannah with trembling eyes. She had seen many of her father's variants die, she had seen many of her variants die and sometimes even killed by her own hands.
She had seen firsthand how devastating this was for other people. But it is truly only now when it was a variant she slightly grew close to, that she remembers how much loss affects people.
"Did… we win?" Gracy and the others who were watching from the deck above jumped down one by one, "Hera was preventing all of us from going down, so we couldn't really—"
"Why didn't you do anything!?"
"What was I—"
Gracy quickly raised both her hands in the air as Hannah's voice thundered throughout the entire auditorium. But her words weren't addressed to her at all, Hannah was stomping her way to Riley, violently pointing at him as her eyes slowly reddened.
"Why are you always just floating there!? Like what the fuck!?" Hannah bared her teeth as she practically drilled her finger on Riley's chest, "You come down there like fucking Jesus and then you just spend the entire time just staring and doing nothing!?"
"..." Riley did not really say anything and just let Hannah scream at him.
"You could fucking destroy an entire galaxy for fuck's sake! You could have just torn that fucking psycho into shreds!" Hannah continued to raise her voice as the temperature in the room started to rise, "And there's a fucking group of us here, we could've taken that guy!"
"I could have taken him, Sister," Riley finally opened his mouth as he looked Hannah in the eyes, "But not when you are here."
"I sweat to fucking god if you say you're protecting me the entire time I—"
"Not the entire time, no," Riley shook his head, "You almost died once at the start when I was not focused on you, Sister."
"I'm fine!" Hannah continued to scream.
"I know."
"You—" Hannah was going to drill her finger on Riley again, but instead just backed away as she let out an exasperated gasp. And after a few shakes of her head, she quickly walked toward Bard and Nannah,
"You can figure out where they disappeared to, right? We can just go to them and save Dad, right?"
"..." Nannah seemed to want to say something, but just chose to look away and shut her mouth. As for Bard, he truly couldn't say anything and just glanced at Diana.
"No! You don't look at her, you look at me!" Hannah's voice started to crack as she ran out of breath; her eyes which were red with tears that did not wish to fall, now on the verge of collapsing as they reflected the face of someone who looked like her father,
"You… look at me."
Hannah's voice began to quiet down as she started brushing the tears that managed to trail down her cheeks,
"Please…" She whispered, "Please…
…Save my dad."
Bard looked at Hannah's trembling eyes for a few seconds, before shaking his head and backing away.
"The guardian force, once activated to self-destruct is—"
And before Bard could finish his words, Diana suddenly approached Hannah from behind and embraced her—letting her head rest on her bosoms, almost covering her ears as she gently caressed her hair.
"What…?" Hannah tried pushing herself away but was not able to, "What? What…?"
"He's gone, your father's gone," Diana's voice was but a whisper, but everyone in the auditorium could hear her words fall onto their ears like cold water.
"What…?" Hannah forced out a chuckle as she finally returned her mother's embrace, "What do you mean… gone? He's not gone, he just… he just disappeared with that fucking…"
"You know…" Diana's voice was calm. Gentle, even, "...Your abilities and the guardian force have the same type of energy, I know you felt it when your father started triggering the—"
"I didn't feel anything, okay? I didn't!" Hannah gritted her teeth as her eyes refused to close, "We could… we could save him, that's what we do. I know we haven't been saving a lot of people lately, but that's what we do. Dad needs us right now and we…"
"We're… not saving anyone," Diana closed her eyes as a single tear trailed down her cheek, slightly damping her daughter's hair, "We… haven't been able to save anyone from the start."
"..." Aerith could really only watch this scene as Diana's words almost pierced through her heart. They—she hasn't been able to save anyone for a very long time. All she had ever done now was to try and prevent Riley from doing anything… leaving everything else vulnerable.
"We…" Hannah gasped for breath as she grabbed her mother tight,
"...We should be heroes, Mom."
"Hannah…" Paige wanted to approach Hannah and Diana, but stopped beside Riley as she held his hand. Her eyes, very slowly turning toward Riley's face. After all, Hannah and Diana weren't the only ones that lost a family here…
…but what Paige saw on Riley's face was just… a sigh of emptiness.
"Riley, we wanted to help but—"
"Hera told you not to, it is good you listened to her," Riley's eyes remained at the silhouette of his sister and mother.
"But Cherbi could have—"
"It wouldn't have made a difference, Paige." And even with the somber air, Chihiro seemed to remain completely unperturbed as she just crossed her arms and observed, "Lose trust for everything else, but always trust Hera's instincts—that's her ability."
"Riley…" Paige only responded with a subtle nod as she once again glanced at Riley's face,
"...You're not okay."
"I am not," Riley shook his head as the mystical armor he was wearing faded away and his feet touched ground, leaving him only wearing a pair of slightly oversized pants and a comfortable long-sleeved sweater.
"..." Paige did not really say anything else. She was about to hug Riley there and then, but just decided to hold his hand even tighter.
Delivery did not really know what to feel, as he was only supposed to be there as a bystander. Even then, he could not help but feel that something must be done as he tipped his cap down.
Hannah's tears became somber, but the more they did, the louder everyone heard them. But soon, only the quiet sound of grief and sorrow echoed in the air.
A second.
A minute.
And that was that — no one was really allowed to lament as the threat still looms over them.
"Bard, what are the chances that King already knows the frequency to our universes?" Diana very gently let go of Hannah, who was immediately approached by Nannah, Gracy, and Paige.
"He probably already has mine," Bard immediately started accessing the Nexus through his helmet, "As for yours, I doubt it — he seemed to only be moving his way through the universes of every one part of the Council. He… fuck…
…Fuck. We lost… we fucking lost."
"Bard!" Diana raised her voice, "Calm down. What do you think King will do now?"
"I… I don't know," Bard's helmet opened up to reveal his face; extremely confused and just… tired, "He's too different from the rest of the variants. I can't predict what he will do next."
"We lost?"
Xra, whose body was now back from being frozen and sliced, quickly floated near Bard and Diana, "What does that even mean? We had him, we already had him here — we could have killed the man. Riley Ross could have killed him!"
"..." Hannah, who was being consoled by the other girls, could not help but flinch as she heard Xra's words. Now that she slightly sobered up, she finally realized one thing.
If it wasn't for her, Riley could have fought King.
If it wasn't for her, her father would still be alive.
"It's not your fault," Paige quickly saw the look in Hannah's eyes as she grabbed her by the shoulders, "It's not your fault."
"It—"
"Of course, it is not."
"!!!"
Everyone widened their eyes as a portal once again appeared above them; this time, slightly bigger than before.
"It is mine."
"You…" Diana's calm demeanor instantly faded away as King once again emerged from the portal… completely unscathed. But that was not why Diana's eyebrows lowered and her teeth bared themselves—no.
It was the fact that in his hand… was the head of the love of her life.
"You—!!!"
"I realize now how dangerous you people are together."
Diana was about to rush at King again, but immediately stopped in her tracks as something… floated out of the portal behind him.
Some sort of… machine.
"I can't allow that to happen."
"That's…" Bard's eyes widened as soon as he recognized the shape of the machine,
"Destroy the machine before he—"
"No, it's already activated."
And before anything could even process what was happening, King snapped his fingers…
…and darkness flashed through everyone's eyes.
"What… the fuck just happened?"
Hera, who was slightly far away from everyone else blinked several times as she looked around—only to realize she was no longer surrounded by walls. She wasn't even in the expanse of space at all, but a wide green field. But not in the wild, no, it was a small football field.
"Who's… that? A transfer student?"
Hera quickly turned around, only to see a group of people there… wearing normal clothes and looking normal-no. They were wearing what seemed like a PE uniform, and they weren't looking at her at all, no.
"Was he here earlier?"
They were looking at the person beside her.
"It would seem you and I are stuck together again, Miss Hera."
"Riley…"
Hera only glanced at Riley for a few seconds, before once again looking around. They could very well be on Earth as it looked like they were on school grounds, but the fact that the students did not recognize her or Riley at least tells her they weren't on their Earth.
"…Where the fuck are we?"
Chapter 819The Multiverse.
It is a concept that almost everyone in the sci-fi cult community is aware of. It is a simple idea, but the content is different every time in every iteration. There are really no laws to be followed — or perhaps there are, there were just too many that there might as well be none.
It could be confusing, completely nonsense, even. But how do you really debunk something that is outside the scope of your own universe?
What could be true for you, could be wrong for the other universe… or they might not exist at all.
"Riley… Riley!"
Hera quickly wore a pair of sunglasses, blocking the clear and colorful sky that was calmly painting the space above them — this would have been just a normal thing, of course. But when was the last time Hera has actually seen the sky above her without any interruptions? Without something blocking it? Without it…
…being just a big blank and black empty space, literally.
But Hera did not cover her eyes because of the bright sky, no — her eyes never really become sore as they just quickly adjust to everything. She wore the sunglasses to cover her face from the crowd that was slowly building around her and Riley.
Hera quickly but carefully walked toward Riley, standing beside him as she lightly tugged his sleeves,
"What do you think this is…? Did that waxy Whiteking send us to another universe? Maybe an illusion or something?"
"Judging by the way Bard acted when he saw the machine that King brought…" Riley also started looking around the place; his eyes, looking at each of the people that were circling them with utmost curiosity,
"...We were most probably thrown and scattered to another universe, Miss Hera."
"...And I had to be stuck with you, again?" Hera loudly whispered as she scanned the people, trying to read their emotions, "This seems like a normal school, though."
"We should kill everyone here to test it out, Miss Hera," Riley's feet were about to leave the blades of grass beneath them, but Hera quickly put all of her weight in trying to stop him from doing anything by… suddenly hugging him.
"We should be extremely cautious. What are you doing?" Hera once again whispered, this time right in Riley's ear, "If there's a chance that waxy boy doesn't know we are here, then I want it to stay that way by lying low."
"Is that what your instinct is telling you, Miss Hera?" Riley slightly turned his head toward Hera, almost hitting her cheek with his nose from how close they were. Hera did not seem to mind, however, as she just let out a tiny scoff.
"It's common sense, whitey. I thought by now you would learn some."
"Who… are you two?"
And of course, Riley and Hera were still currently being surrounded by a group of people — the students that were just previously doing their own physical activities, before Riley and Hera suddenly appeared in the middle of their field out of nowhere.
Of course, most of them did not really see Riley and Hera materialize from thin air, no. They just thought they didn't notice them until now.
"Which class do you belong to?"
One of the people from the crowd, most probably their instructor, stepped forward and approached Riley and Hera, carrying some sort of booklet and glancing at it several times as he looked at the two.
"Let me handle this," Hera finally let go of Riley as she greeted the instructor,
"Hi, sorry…" An almost pursing smile and an exasperated breath escaped Hera's lips as she looked at the instructor, "...We're actually just checking the facilities of the school, we were being toured by someone earlier but I think we lost her, or she lost us. If you know what I mean."
"Oh," the instructor let out a breath of realization as he finally tucked in the booklet in between his armpits, "You're a new teacher? Is that a special transfer student you're with?"
"A… teacher?" Hera's eye slightly twitched as the smile on her face became forced. But after a few breaths, she let out a friendly giggle and said, "Yes. He's family so we just toured the school at the same time since we'll also be sharing an address."
"Well, I'd ask you how you like it so far, but class is actually in session, so…" The instructor lightly clicked his tongue as he gestured to his students, "...But if you're not busy later, maybe we can—"
"No, that's fine," Hera quickly wrapped her arm around Riley as she started dragging him away, "We were just about to leave anyway, we still have another school to check out."
"Oh, but—"
And before the instructor could say anything else, Hera and Riley disappeared into the crowd, not stopping until they were completely out of school grounds, ignoring all the eyes that were actively and blatantly staring at them.
"Riley…" And as soon as they were in the clear — well, not really. There were still people staring at them in the busy street, but most were really just passing by and really only glanced at them filled — taking away their curiosity with them as they hurriedly leave to wherever they were going in the first place. As for Hera, she just pulled Riley to the side, keeping her head down as she whispered in his ear again,
"...Did you notice?"
"That the PE instructor called you a teacher instead of a student?" Riley blinked as he looked at Hera, "There is no need to be sad about that, Miss Hera. You are old, it happens."
"What…? No, fuck you. I'm not… bothered about that," Hera's eye once again twitched as she looked at Riley with an eyebrow raised, "No, fuck you…
…I'm talking about how no one seems to recognize you."
"Hm?" Riley quickly turned to look at the people passing by them, only for those who were staring at him to look away; feigning to look at their phones as they sneak one final glance at him. He also looked at the people who were inside the shops, pretending that they weren't looking at him as they also quickly looked away.
"They notice you, sure," Hera squinted, "But who wouldn't notice an albino walking in broad daylight, blinding everyone? And not to mention you don't look like a normal albino too, you're… well… you're beautiful."
"Thank you, Miss Hera."
"I wasn't complimenting you, idiot," Hera grunted as she rolled her eyes, "I'm just confirming what we are both thinking."
"That I am beautiful?"
"No, what? No. I mean this is not our Earth," Hera could really only breathe out as she looked around, "And since they also don't recognize me, that means I also probably don't exist in this world. We better keep a low profile for now — but with how we look, that would be very difficult."
"We?" Riley blinked as he looked at Hera from head to toe.
"Wh—No, you did not just—I will have you know that I was voted the most beautiful woman on the planet in several top magazines," Hera drilled Riley's chest with her finger,
"No. 1 in several top magazines. The face and the body of a goddess is what they wrote," Hera then placed her hand on her waist, slightly spinning in place as she showed herself to Riley. Her tanned skin that was almost golden, glittering even with the sky that was covered with buildings. Perfectly tanned skin, voluptuous but not too—what are you doing?"
"Hm…" Riley did not wait for Hera to finish what she was going to say as he leaned closer to her face, staring at it for a few seconds before backing away and nodding his head,
"...I agree with their opinion, Miss Hera."
"Fuck you," Hera shook her head and once again rolled her eyes.
"Have I not told you that numerous times already, Miss Hera?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "That you are, perhaps subjectively, the most beautiful woman I have seen?"
"Stop it…" Hera breathed out as she, in fact, does remember Riley saying that before, "...I am too old for you."
"The mother of my child is the same age as you, Miss Hera."
"Stop, stop it," Hera quickly started waving her hands, "Priorities. Priorities!"
"..." Riley watched as Hera started covering her ears, "Are you also on the spectrum, Miss Hera?"
"Stop asking me that!" Hera grunted as she removed her sunglasses and looked at the sky, "Have you noticed? We haven't seen a single super flying in the sky. I… have a very bad feeling about this, Riley."
"Hm."
"Priorities," Hera once again let out a heavy breath as she looked at Riley, "Let's…
…try to find Whiteking or the Hope Guild, they would understand."
***
"..."
"..."
No signs of the Hope Guild, no signs of a person called Bernard Ross.
"Where the fuck are they…?"
If there was any consolation in Hera and Riley's current situation, it was that surprisingly, Hera's phone still works perfectly well in this universe. Or perhaps the most surprising thing about this is that it survived throughout the entire ordeal they went through.
"Did that waxy boy just… send us to a universe where none of us exist?" Hera and Riley continued to look through her phone, scouring all the social media sites she could find for any trace of anyone they could recognize.
But nothing.
Nothing and no one came up.
"The only thing that's returning from the searches are movies. What the fuck is Ravengers? Who's Thor?"
"We should kill him, Miss Hera," Riley placed his hand on his chin as he watched a video of a muscular man calling lightning and tanking solar beams.
"What, no!" Hera quickly pulled the phone away from Riley, "That's a movie, Riley. It's CGI—wait, shit… fuck…"
Hera then continued to search through the internet, this time even getting to the 3rd page of a search engine as her eyes started to tremble.
"Holy shit, Riley…" Hera took in a small gulp as she looked at Riley,
"...I don't think there are Supers in this world."
Chapter 820"Okay, I am just going to say it…
…we're fucking trapped here."
3 days.
Hera and Riley have been on this strange Earth for 3 days, trying to find anything remotely similar to what they know — but nothing.
3 days, they remained completely awake not even sleeping a wink. For the two of them, however, that was not a problem at all as they were beings that were beyond the need to sleep.
"It would seem so, Miss Hera."
The two were currently out in the woods, completely away from any signs of civilization as Hera feared that King might be watching them somehow. But it was just them, and a fire calmly dancing between them. Hera had set up a bed made of leaves, while Riley was just floating in the air with his back facing the ground.
"You know… I don't think anyone is watching us. Let's just check in on a hotel, if I have to sleep on top of dirt again, I would totally lose it."
"But I thought you could adjust to anything, Miss Hera," Riley blinked a couple of times as he slowly sat up in the air.
"Yeah," Hera scoffed, "But it doesn't mean I want to. There are certain… luxuries that a woman needs. Holy shit, you should know that by now, Riley."
"Hm," Riley glanced at Hera, "You should have told me. I could have created you a villa and—"
"No, please. Just don't," Hera rolled her eyes as she stood up, "We're supposed to be here incognito. If you suddenly erected a castle in the middle of nowhere, someone's bound to pick it up."
"But Father's variants are not present on this planet, Miss Hera, "There should not be anyone stalking us from above. The number of satellites I saw when I flew into space is… insignificant."
"There's always someone watching," Hera shook her head before looking at the sky that was covered by the smoke forming from their fire,
"The technology in this world, it's not like it's below ours; they are as advanced as ours before all the alien shit happened, it's just missing something — I imagined our world would also be like this if it did not have Supers and abnormal individuals like your father."
"Hm," Riley nodded as he too, finally stopped hovering in the air and touched his feet on the ground; the dried leaves, snapping as he did so.
"If you think about it, though…" Hera let out a short but very deep sigh; the sound of her breaths and the small movements that crackled the leaves beneath her, whispering through the somber night,
"...Is this what our world will also be without us? Quiet, peaceful — barely any trace of violence."
"Wrong, Miss Hera."
"What…?"
"This world is as violent as ours. I saw it when I was flying above them," Riley shook his head, "None of them are capable of destroying buildings with their fists, their weapons are weaker…
…but their capacity for violence remains absolutely the same, Miss Hera."
"...How the fuck do you even come with that when you were only there for like an hour?" Hera raised an eyebrow.
Riley decided to scout the star system for any signs of extraterrestrial life, but there was nothing. He was going to fly outside the star system but decided against it as he might find himself completely lost.
"I listened to them, Miss Hera. They were annoying, loud, and incredibly complacent — but even the drowning noise could not stop the echo of their savagery."
"Jeez, okay," Hera raised both her palms, "I forgot I was with Mr. Edgy right here. Seriously, how is it possible that someone remains exactly the same as they were half a decade ago?"
"I was told I have changed quite a lot, Miss Hera."
"Yeah, they're blind as fuck," Hera tried to stop herself from chuckling, "I told you before, whitey. This facade of yours might work on other people, but I could see right through you like you're just…"
"..."
"I forgot the metaphor I was going to use," Hera rolled her lips and scoffed, "Just know that I can see right through you."
"I appreciate that, Miss Hera," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as he nodded, "The others would probably be sitting beside me right now and trying to make… intimate contact."
"My taste in men is different."
"Tempo?"
"Fuck Tempo," Hera let out a loud groan as she started walking around the campfire, "Did you know that bitch was actually talking with that alien princess when we were still together? I divorced his ass faster than he could run."
"That fast?" Riley blinked a couple of times, "I did not know the two of you were divorced already, Miss Hera."
"A lot happened when you were gone. Come to think of it… why the fuck did you even return? If I had your power, I would just be somewhere out there ruling an entire people. Or better yet, I would find a planet of my own and terraform it into one big resort — imagine how much dough I would be raking in."
"I thought you were already earning a lot of money, Miss Hera?"
"I'm in debt," Hera covered her face, "I am fucked in debt. The cost of the building, the cost of maintaining it — and my previous loans from practically destroying entire cities…
…I'm drowning in debt."
"But I thought you were pardoned from all of that?" Riley curiously blinked, "You are part of the Hope Guild."
"Was," Hera raised a finger, "Was part of the Hope Guild. When the group was disbanded, the fucking government and the banks were all on my ass. Those ungrateful little bitches."
"Hm," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "I wonder how much I owe to them?"
"..." Hera could not help but quickly look at Riley; her eyes completely blank as they reflected Riley also looking at her with an even more blank expression. And after a few seconds of staring at him, Hera almost choked on her own breath as she tried her best to stop herself from bursting into laughter,
"You… you're serious?"
"Yes," Riley seemed confused as she turned Hera's gaze, "I imagine I owe them trillions."
"Dude," Hera covered her lips as she giggled; her extremely smooth and black hair, bouncing on her shoulders, "You… you owe them more than that. You destroyed countries, you destroyed Mars. Not to mention the other shit you destroyed. I mean, fuck, Riley — you have committed hundreds of genocides. I don't even know how we're having such a casual conversation. If it was someone else, I bet they would be shitting themselves."
"Are your abilities not telling you that I'm dangerous, Miss Hera?"
"For now," Hera closed her eyes, "I'm actually probably the only individual in the entire universe that will survive you, you know. Well, except my variants — but thank god I haven't met a single one of—what are you doing?"
And as Hera opened her eyes, she could not help but quickly lean back as Riley's face was now suddenly right in front of her face.
"Is it still telling you that I am not dangerous, Miss Hera?"
"No," Hera looked Riley in the eyes, "But I don't need it to tell me that you should start respecting other people's space."
"Hm," Riley very slowly backed away, "Your abilities are truly convenient, Miss Hera. Are you sure you do not want to kill me?"
"No, and also…" Hera then looked behind Riley, before subtly glancing behind her, "...How long are we going to pretend that a bunch of people didn't surround us a minute ago?"
"We are being surrounded, Miss Hera?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he started looking around.
"Wait… you don't really know?"
"No," Riley shrugged, "I had my telekinetic field off, and I am completely relaxed since there is no one that could harm even a single strand of our hair in this world, Miss Hera."
"Jeez, really?" Hera bumped Riley's arm as she stepped forward,
"Guys, stop with the hiding and espionage. We could see yo—"
And before Hera could finish her words, a small bomb found its way between her and Riley. And with a breath, it exploded and let out a blinding flash that… did absolutely nothing. Both Riley and Hera just stared at it.
And not even a second after, multiple red dots painted Riley and Hera's torsos as a group of men in black tactical suits started stepping out of the bushes and trees; their rifles, all pointed at them.
"In position! Restrain them, restrain them! We should—"
The one commanding the platoon abruptly stopped approaching Riley and Hera as soon as he saw them casually looking at him.
"Hold! Hold your positions!" The man raised his fist as he ordered his men to stop. He then looked back and forth between Riley and Hera, refusing to lower his weapon as he stared at them,
"Reveal yourselves! Do you have any identification on you!?"
"Calm down," Hera raised both her hands in the air, before very slowly reaching for her pocket. As soon as she did so, however, the soldiers started firing at them.
"..." Hera's eyes started to squint as she glanced at Riley, "Are you going to do something about this?"
"N—"
"Wait, no!" Hera quickly realized what she just said as she quickly covered the soldiers from Riley's sight, "Forget I said anything and please don't do anything!"
"I wasn't going to do anything, Miss Hera," Riley also squinted his eyes as he returned Hera's gaze, "Who do you think I am?"
"A mass-murdering hobo," Hera once again raised her hands in the air, "Stop. Lower your weapons. We…
…come in peace!"
Chapter 821"..."
"..."
"...Why is everything so slow in this world?"
"I believe they think we are extraterrestrial life forms, Miss Hera."
"We might as well be."
A sharp, almost screaming screech scratched in the air as Hera stood up; the cold metallic seat she had been sitting on for hours now, threatening to fall back but instead just rubbed across the floor with its rusted legs.
"But man, is this supposed to be an interrogation room? Class E supers could probably break out of here." Hera raised her hands as she yawned; her body almost purring when she stretched her arms,
"The security in this place sure is lax," she then turned to look at the surveillance camera at the corner of the room; moving her head exaggeratingly to make it obvious that she knew they were trying to make them impatient.
"Should we just leave, Miss Hera?" Riley also stood up from his seat, but his chair that was also rusted on its legs did not create even a whisper of a screech,
"I read online that they also have a NASA in this world. I do not know how useful they will be since they still have not discovered the existence of extraterrestrial life, but they might be able to build us a compass."
"Ssh," Hera placed a finger on Riley's lips, "Don't say anything anymore regarding that for now, we can't have them knowing everything about us."
"Why not?" Riley his head to the side, causing Hera's finger to brush across his cheek, "The information will be useless to them, Miss Hera."
"You said so yourself — the people of this world have retained their capacity for violence. They might start asking favors from us in exchange for trying to find a way to get us home," Hera then subtly glanced at the only mirror in the room; her eyes, almost glaring at the people on the other side and causing them to back away.
"What the… do you think they could see us!?"
"Relax, Miller. The two are obviously friendly."
"Until pincers come out of their mouths and eat all of us!"
There were several people watching—observing Riley and Hera on the other side of the glass. Most were soldiers in uniform, trying to look as stern and stoic as possible. But their fingers that were already touching the triggers of their lowered guns showed just how anxious they truly were.
But perhaps the most nervous of them all was the slightly short, brown-haired man who was almost hopping around the room as he bit his nails, Special Agent Miller.
"They're aliens, Rob. Aliens!" Agent Miller wanted to pull out the strands of his hair as soon as he started walking.
"We don't know that yet, Relax." Miller's partner, Rob, on the other hand, just had his arms crossed the whole time he had been observing Hera and Riley. But much like the soldiers, however, his fidgeting finger made it obvious that he was also quite nervous about the situation.
"We have footage of one of them literally coming down from space, Rob. They're fucking aliens, I know it!" Miller stood beside Rob as he started looking at Riley from head to toe, "Look at that. Does that man look remotely human to you?"
"Yes, stop discriminating," Rob's breaths slightly stuttered as he glanced at Miller, "And we also have footage of him leaving the planet first."
"Okay, okay," Miller started nodding vehemently, "I'm just saying, what if he has been here for like hundreds of years before the cameras were invented, eh? He still could have come from space then."
"W—"
"And, and!" Miller did not let Rob talk as he raised a finger, "Even if he is from here, how the fuck do you explain him flying!?"
"Could be some sort of jet pack."
"And how are they even alive when our boys practically riddled them with bullets!?" Miller started gesturing to Hera and Riley, trying to show that they were completely unscathed, "And before you say they are wearing bulletproof shirts, their clothes are completely intact!"
"Hm…" Rob squinted his eyes, "What do you think, Defense Secretary?" He then turned to look at the old person beside him, who had just been quietly observing Hera and Riley without even straying his eyes for even a single second ever since he entered the room.
"Has the president said anything yet?" The defense secretary let out a small grunt; his eyes, still refusing to leave the two. The wrinkles around the sides of his eyes were plenty, but the eyes themselves still fully reflected Hera and Riley, "What about Russia? Do you think they also saw them flying from their satellites?"
"I doubt it, they were deep in the country when NASA picked them up," Rob shook his head, "Have you ever seen anything like this when you were still leading the Marines?"
"Not even—"
"That's one more thing that's weird!" And before the defense secretary could respond, Miller talked over him as he got between the two, "Don't you think it's weird that they just happen to be in the US? I thought that was only in the movies. Wait…
…are you sure this isn't some weird experiment, General Kent?"
"I'm retired," Defense Secretary Kent glared at Miller before stepping to the side to remove his hand that was placed on his shoulder, "And even if there was some kind of experiment of this level, I will not be divulging that information to you two. And enough speculating, go interrogate them."
"...Do we have to?" Miller's eyes widened.
"If you want to keep your jobs—Jesus, where do they keep finding you sorry lot?" Secretary Kent could not help but look back and forth between Miller and Rob.
"Sorry, he's just stupid, Defense Secretary," Rob quickly stood up straight and saluted to the retired general, before quickly pulling Miller away and dragging him straight in front of the interrogation room.
"Do not." Rob then raised a finger and placed it on Miller's face, "I repeat, do not fucking say anything that would rile these aliens."
"...I thought you didn't believe they were aliens?"
"I'm not saying they're from outer space, okay? The woman's slightly brown," Rob whispered, "Extremely beautiful, probably the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes upon, but slightly brown."
"So, you're just a racist fuck?" Miller raised an eyebrow.
"No," Rob scoffed, "I'm just saying they might not be from this country. The albino also looks foreign."
"You just said the woman's a brown alien, Rob. That's racist."
"It's not," Rob's eyebrows began to lower, "I am just telling you what she looks like."
"I know what she looks like, I have eyes."
"Y—"
"Boys."
"!!!"
And as the two were arguing in front of the door of the interrogation room, they could not help but quickly reach for their weapons as the door, which should be impossible to open, was casually opened by Hera.
"Are you going to come in or what?" Hera gestured with her head to the two to enter. She was, however, welcomed by a platoon of armed men suddenly surrounding the door and pointing their weapons at them.
"Stand down!" Before anything could happen, however, Secretary Kent quickly stomped his way out of observation and quickly ordered the agents to lower their weapons, even forcefully pushing down some of their weapons as he rushed to the situation, "Are all of you fucking stupid!?"
Secretary Kent then also pushed Rob and Miller to the side as he stood in front of Hera. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, before Hera shrugged and casually moved to the side of the room, resting her back on the wall while Riley sat back down on the seat in front of her.
"You boys could have at least offered me some tea," Hera crossed her arms and sighed, "And my friend here, a glass of milk. I'll have you guys know we haven't had a proper meal for almost 4 days."
"..." Secretary Kent looked at one of the agents behind him, gesturing him to go and fetch what Hera requested, "Miller, Rob. The two of you, with me."
Secretary Kent then carefully stepped inside the room, while Rob and Miller quietly followed behind him as he sat in front of Riley.
"My name is General Lex Kent, retired," Secretary Kent carefully placed his hand on the metal table as he looked at Hera and Riley, "I am the Defense Secretary of the USA."
"My name is Riley Ross," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as he quickly introduced himself, "I am the bane of all creation."
"Talia Tal." Hera could really only let out a sigh as Riley just casually introduced himself. And with another heavy breath, she made her way back to her seat; pulling it slightly farther away from the table as she sat down and crossed her legs,
"But most call me Hera."
"Hera?" Secretary Kent looked at Hera, "The Queen of the Gods. Is that some sort of code name?"
"Sure," Hera shrugged, "You have a minute to convince us to stay here or we're leaving. And we can, the only reason we're not doing it is out of respect and courtesy."
"I know," Secretary Kent glanced back at the door, only to see that the lock was smoothly cut, "You have made that very clear so far with your and your friend's actions. I am going to ask several quest—"
"No," Hera shook her head, "50 seconds."
"What do you want from us, exactly?" Secretary Kent subtly took in a small gulp.
"Bernard Ross, Supers, Themarians, King, Whiteking."
"...What?"
"I am just trying to see whether you're going to react," a small smile started to crawl on Hera's face as she slowly leaned forward,
"And you did…
…but which one are you hiding?"
Chapter 822"You reacted to those words. Now the only question is…
…which one?"
"..."
"Bernard Ross, Supers, Themarians, King. Whiteking — you reacted again."
"Wouldn't you react if you heard a bunch of strange words too?"
There was a certain sense of intensity in the air. It was light, but everybody in the room could feel it — especially Miller and Rob who were standing near the door with the broken lock. They were part of the CIA, and they already had more than enough secrets to last an entire lifetime, each.
One could not imagine just how many more the Secretary of Defense of the entire country has.
"I would, but I would be confused," Hera continued to stare into Secretary Kent's face.
"...Can you read minds?" Kent squinted his eyes as he slightly looked away.
"No," Hera smiled as she finally leaned back, "But I can read the tiniest minuscule emotions your face gives. No matter how trained a human is, their body will always find a way to react to something…
…You have 10 seconds left to make us stay."
"We will just send men after you," Kent's old voice finally stuttered as he glanced back at Rob and Miller, "The two of you are already the biggest person of interest the country has ever seen. You have to understand that we need to go after you."
"Then you'd know where to find us if you're ready to talk," Hera shrugged before standing up and tapping Riley on the shoulder, "Let's go, whitey. Let's wait for these… humans to decide what is more important to them."
"But what about our beverages, Miss Hera?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked around.
"Forget about the milk!" Hera grabbed Riley by the arm and dragged him away. Once again, however, she found themselves surrounded as the agents pointed their guns at them. Rob also quickly pointed his pistol at the two. Miller, on the other hand, just quickly pulled Rob's hands down, almost swatting the gun away.
"W—"
"Bro, are you fucking stupid? These aliens are literally bulletproof, they are literally superman!" Miller whispered loudly as he suspiciously stuck his lips too close to Rob's ear, "If you haven't noticed since earlier, I don't wanna die yet."
"...Listen to the short dude," Hera let out a small but very deep sigh as she glanced at the agents with their weapons out, "I don't kill civilians and non-supers even if they're villains. But this guy beside me? He will kill you in front of your family, but not before killing your family in front of you first."
"She is right, everyone," Riley nodded.
"Let them go," Secretary Kent once again ordered for everyone to stand down, "Rob, Miller. Place someone to watch the two, make it your highest priority."
"Good," Hera then clapped her hands together, causing the agents to flinch and almost point their weapons again. Fortunately for them, Hera and Riley were already walking away and did not even bother glancing at them as they left.
Suffice it to say, everybody in the building was looking at them like they were aliens. In a sense, of course, they were. The fact that they were from another universe entirely, and from a version of Earth where humans gain powers from a virus.
"I guess they're really not stopping us." And as she and Riley took the elevator, they saw Rob and Miller following them from a short distance — rushing toward the stairs so they would not lose them. And as the elevator went up to the ground floor, they saw the two gasping for air in front of them,
"Good job, boys."
"..." Riley and Hera passed by the two, with Riley glancing at them for a few seconds before letting out a small breath, "I do not think I have been followed this closely before — I wonder if this is what would have happened if my identity as Darkday would have been discovered instead?"
"Don't even mention Darkday to me ever again, gives me goosebumps," Hera slightly shivered as they continued to walk out of the building. And once again, all the people were staring at them. And seeing as there was not a slight sense of fear in their eyes, only curiosity. It would seem not everyone in the building knew about them.
"What do we do now, Miss Hera?" Riley asked, "Should I just start killing and destroying everything until something happens? In my experience, something usually happens after I kill a lot of people — maybe things that are hiding would reveal themselves."
"Don't worry, they will reveal themselves soon." And as the two finally managed to step out of the building without anyone blocking their way, they found themselves in the middle of a vast lot; only several buildings around them,
"You think this is some sort of military base?"
"Maybe, Miss Hera," Riley looked at the large armored cars that were traveling from and to the buildings. Soon, however, a car much more casual but more luxurious stopped right in front of them.
"We'll bring you guys to a hotel of your choosing, or wherever you want to stay," Rob walked from behind and immediately opened the door for the two.
"You boys are really intent on watching our every move, huh?" A smirk crawled on Hera's face as she looked at Rob, "Has it ever occurred to you that we could just fly away from here?"
"The defense secretary is completely aware of that. But you haven't yet and the two of you seem to welcome diplomacy," Rob stood straight as he gestured to the two to enter the car, "Please."
"Hm," Hera looked at the luxurious car for a few seconds, before shrugging and just casually entering it, "I do miss the life of a star. Take us to the most expensive hotel near here, preferably with a casino and a nice large bath."
"..." Rob glanced at the driver and nodded. He then slightly stepped away as Riley entered the car. How couldn't he, when Hera just told them of how violent Riley could be?
"Ack, finally…" Hera quickly made herself comfortable inside the spacious car, even opening the liquor storage and helping herself with a seemingly expensive bottle of wine,
"...Hello, civilization. If you ignore that we're in a completely different world, and are currently being followed by a bunch of men in black, it almost feels like I'm back to being a celebrity. And suddenly, all the stuff about that multiversal conqueror seems like a dream."
"..." Riley only glanced at Hera, before also opening all the beverage storage inside the car trying to look for a bottle of milk, or perhaps maybe even a vanilla soda — but there was none. The two did not really talk for a good while, with Hera just letting out deep breaths here and there as she enjoyed her drink and the view outside.
They stayed like this for several hours, until they finally entered a familiar city.
"Isn't this… Manhattan?" Hera quickly looked up through the car's moonroof as her eyes reflected the slightly dim sky; instinctively trying to look for anyone flying or jumping across the buildings,
"I know you said this world is as violent as ours… but it's quiet." Hera raised her glass; the alcohol in it, veiling the car in a color of sepia as she did so, "It almost feels like this is how life should really be…
…boring."
"Hm," Riley also looked at the people walking around the streets — it was not hard to, as their car was barely moving due to all the traffic lights scattered in every block, "There…
…are too many people, Miss Hera."
"...Why even go there?"
***
"A soft bed! Oh my god!"
True enough, the government brought them to a large, and obviously incredibly expensive hotel. One could not really find such an establishment back in their universe—as supers have a tendency to destroy infrastructure. But in this world, it would seem they don't spare any expense to make luxurious things truly luxurious.
And as Hera felt herself being swallowed by the large bed beneath her, she turned to look at the view outside the large windows. And once again, no sign of a person flying there — just a view of buildings and the setting sun…
…as well as Riley's silhouette.
"What the—why are you in my room!?" Hera quickly got up from the bed and she pointed at Riley, "They literally got you your own room just now… and why are you only wearing a bathrobe!?"
"Hm?"
Riley, who was seated on the sofa near the windows, just calmly glanced at Hera as he drank a glass of milk,
"You said it yourself, Miss Hera. We should not separate, no matter what."
"Wh—"
Hera could not even say another word as the sound of Riley sipping his almost empty glass resounded in the air.
"I know you're doing that on purpose!" Hera pointed at Riley again.
"Seriously…" Hera just once again let herself fall down the bed, letting out a breath of exhaustion as she buried her head in a pillow,
"...Why do I always seem to get stuck with you?"
"Perhaps it is because of your abilities, Miss Hera?"
"Of course, it is!" Hera quickly threw the pillow she was resting on at Riley, who just let it hit him in the face,
"You are the most dangerous being in the entire multiverse, that means I am also the safest with y—Ack!"
And before Hera could finish her words again, Riley flicked his finger as he returned the pillow she threw at him with force.
"Someone is outside the door, Miss Hera."
"I know," Hera lightly tapped her cheek before getting up from the bed and walking to the door, "I told you… they will reveal themselves soon."
"Secretary of Defense, Miss Hera?"
"No," Hera opened the door, "He wasn't the one who reacted when I opened up those words, it's him."
"..." Riley leaned his head to the side to see who Hera was pointing to, only to see one of the agents from the CIA standing there,
"Special Agent Miller."
"I…
…might have something you want to see."
Chapter 823"I… might have something you want to see."
"..."
"..."
Agent Miller and Hera exchanged stares for a few seconds, seemingly waiting for the other to speak. Before the awkwardness of silence could take over between them, however, Hera shrugged a shoulder and slightly shook her head.
"And…?" Hera raised an eyebrow, "What did you want to show us?"
"N… not here," Miller leaned back away from the door as he looked at both sides of the hallway, trying to confirm if anyone was there. And as soon as he confirmed that no one was there to see him, he quickly entered the room… only to immediately halt in his steps as he saw Riley just casually sitting on a sofa wearing only a bathrobe,
"I… I didn't know the two of you were tog—"
"We are, Special Agent Miller," Riley took a sip from his glass, which was supposed to be already empty, "Hera and I are together."
"No, we're not," Hera rolled her eyes as she closed the door and joined the two. Riley, on the other hand, was slightly confused as he started to look around.
"But we are in the same room, Miss Hera," Riley said.
"You will get used to him. Sit," Hera just once again groaned as she gestured to Miller to sit, before sitting beside Riley herself. And as Miller took a seat on the chair in front of them, she did not fail to notice that Miller was slightly fidgety; his eyes, scanning the window with slight nervousness,
"I take it no one else knows you are here?"
"No. Not even my partner," Miller let out a small chuckle as he wiped the sweat on his forehead before it could materialize, "I… am here because of what you said."
"Intriguing," Hera squinted her eyes as she leaned back and relaxed, "You're the most fidgety person we've had the pleasure of meeting here, and yet you seem to be the one that knows more than he lets on. So…
…Bernard Ross, Supers, Themarians, King, Whiteking. Which one are you hiding?"
"None…" Miller took in a small gulp as he carefully lifted up his coat while looking back and forth between Hera and Riley. He did not need to be careful, however, as neither of the two reacted even the slightest as he reached for something from his pocket,
"...But I want to show you something," Miller then quickly showed his phone, even pointing at it so that Hera and Riley wouldn't mistake it for a weapon, "It's in the gallery. You can check it yourself so you won't have to worry whether or not I am call—"
And before Miller could even stand up to hand the phone over to Hera, he could not help but hold his breath as the phone suddenly flew away from his hand, almost taking him with it as it shot toward Hera.
"..." Hera swiftly caught it, but turned to Riley as she did so, "Careful. What if I accidentally destroyed this thing?"
"You would not have, Miss Hera. I trust you completely," Riley just shrugged, before turning his attention back to Miller. Quietly looking at him without even saying a single word.
"..." Miller nervously glanced at Riley, waiting to see if he was going to say something to him, but no. Riley just stared at him… menacingly, "The pin is 3469."
"Hm…" Hera entered the password, and what welcomed her was a phone devoid of any apps, not even a network.
"It's just a burner. I transferred the images to that phone from a previous one just in case," Miller slightly stuttered as his breaths turned heavy, "I don't know if I am doing the right thing by showing that to you. But the thing I discovered and saw there… it wasn't right."
"..." Hera only glanced at Miller for a bit, before starting to explore the images and videos that were saved on the phone.
"I snapped those a few years ago," Miller's voice started to lower as he clasped his hands together and rested his elbows on his knees; his feet, fidgeting up and down as his eyes seemed to relive a memory he did not want to remember, "I was still new to the job, so I don't think they cared much about me. I was on my 2nd mission and I was tasked to assist this senior oper—anyway. His mission was to investigate a mysterious shipment of interest that was supposed to be coming from the Philippines, it's a 3rd world country in the—"
"I know where that is, my ex-husband's from there," Hera waved her hand as she continued to examine the images. And all she was seeing were pictures of a boat unloading a container.
"...So, you're not aliens?" Miller blinked a couple of times as he looked back and forth between Riley and Hera. But after a few seconds, he shook his head and continued with his story, "At first, I didn't really see anything unusual going on, just the heavy security. But considering the shipment got on the agency's radar, that's already to be expected. I thought it was some sort of weapon at first, or maybe they were smuggling people from the Philippines since I heard that's the kind of stuff we have to deal with…
…and it is."
"..." Hera's eyes started to squint as she got to the photos of the container being opened up.
"They were smuggling people—no. They were smuggling a person. One single person," Miller took in a deep breath, "And she didn't look foreign at all. Well, she could be European, but I know she's not someone that's supposed to be from Southeast Asia. She was bruised, bleeding… weak."
"This is…" Hera blinked a couple of times as she quickly zoomed in on the person's face. It was hard to see what she looked like since it was dark, and her face was covered in dirt and blood as Miller said. Hera then quickly explored the images more, trying to find a clearer image.
"We went back to the office and my superior reported his findings to the agency," Miller took in a long and very deep sigh as he leaned back on his seat, "He…
…died the next week of a heart attack."
"..."
"He was old," Miller forced out a chuckle, "But that motherfucker was healthy and could outrun me several laps. He couldn't have died of a fucking heart attack."
"..." Hera glanced at Miller for a few seconds, before turning her focus back on the phone, "Why approach us with this? I don't see why this involves us."
"You haven't checked the last image," Miller looked Hera straight in the eyes, "Go to the calculator app."
"..." Hera raised an eyebrow at Miller's words, but didn't really question him as she closed the gallery and opened the calculator… only to be welcomed by another gallery with only a single image.
Miller's legs once again started to shiver—no. This time, it was his entire body as he tried his best to speak, "It happened out of nowhere. At first, the woman was struggling to even stand as she was dragged away by those men. Then… all of a sudden, one of the men just went and flew away. And the woman's eyes, they were… they were…"
"Glowing," Hera's eyes turned wide as she saw the eyes of the weak and frail woman glowing, "A themarian."
"Yes," Miller once again looked Hera in the eyes, "That's… that's the word. I forgot about it but when I heard you say it, I instantly remembered about her. She said it, she said the same words… It was just a whisper, but I heard it all the way from where I was…
..'I couldn't save them… my people… themarians.' Those were the words she uttered. I remember it so clearly now, I mean… how could I ever forget something like that?"
"..." Hera quickly turned to look at Riley as she heard those words, only to see him holding the phone that was just in her hand literally moments ago, "Do you know who it is?"
"It is hard to tell with this image, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head as he stared at the photo, "But I might have an idea as to who it is."
"Do you have any information where this woman is now? Or where she is being held?" Hera stood up.
"I don't know…" Miller shook his head.
"Do you have any idea who might?"
"...The Director of National Intelligence?" Miller hesitatingly said as he shrugged, "Look. All I know is that some crazy alien shit is going on in that place — I only stayed because I want to confirm if there really are aliens because that's why I joined the agency in the first place."
"...Why not NASA?" Hera raised an eyebrow.
"I… only have a bachelor's degree," Miller awkwardly chuckled, obviously hiding the pain in his breaths, "Anyway, I was right. If aliens exist, the CIA is the one that's going to handle that shit. So, am I right…
…is that woman an alien?"
"Yes," Riley was the one to answer Miller.
"Yes!" Miller slapped his own lap before almost jumping from his seat, "Yes. I knew it! I fucking knew it. Are you… are you guys aliens?"
"No," Hera rolled her eyes.
"I'm god, Special Agent Miller."
"No, he's not," Hera once again rolled her eyes as she grabbed the phone from Riley's hand and gave it back to Miller, "This… Director of National Intelligence of yours, how do we get in touch with him?"
"I don't know. But you are persons of interest, he will talk to you if—"
"I have an idea, Miss Hera."
"We are not going to do that," Hera did not even want to listen to Riley's plan, "We can just do as Miller says and—"
And before Hera could even finish her words, Riley suddenly disappeared from the sofa…
…and appeared right behind Miller, holding a gun to his head.
"Is… is that my gun?" Miller quickly patted his coat, only to confirm his words, "What… are you going to do with that?"
"Putting you in a hostage situation, Special Agent Miller."
Chapter 824"We are here live right in Central Manhattan where a hostage situation…"
"It is unknown what the hostage taker wants as of this moment…"
"We are seeing this live on T.V. The person you are seeing on the window right now is allegedly an agent of the CIA. And the albino holding him…"
"There also seems to be a woman. We don't know yet if she is…"
And just like that, the entire country was woken up from their routine as anywhere on the news, anywhere in social media, one could see the view of the most prestigious hotel in New York. There were probably more than a dozen helicopters currently surrounding the hotel — already several times than the allotted airspace for such aircraft.
The media were already being warned by the authorities to leave and land, but no one was really listening to them as this was the scoop of a lifetime.
"Seriously… Riley!?" Hera was trying her best not to be seen from the windows, but she could not help but stay close to Riley as she also tried her best to persuade him to do whatever it was he was planning to do. But alas, her words fall on deaf ears,
"If you wanted this kind of attention, then just go lift the entire CIA building up, why don't you!?"
"..."
"No! Don't actually do that!" Hera raised both her hands at Riley, "Where are you even going with this!?"
"Espionage and laying low is not my style, Miss Hera," Riley let out a small sigh as he stepped forward; walking outside to the large balcony of their suite while grabbing Miller by the neck. Suffice it to say, Miller was currently trying his best to free himself, but to no avail — perhaps if there was a consolation in his situation, it was that Riley was not really gripping his neck tight… he could even say it felt soft like he was floating instead.
And perhaps if there was an antagonism in his situation, it was that Riley did not stop walking until they were right in front of the ledge of the balcony.
"Wait… wai—" Miller wanted to say something, but his body suddenly swaying like a ragdoll completely locked his throat. And even after he found himself still again, he could no longer say anything. How could he, when there was nothing beneath his feet for a good 500 meters?
All he could really hear now was the sound of the harsh wind violently hitting his face, as well as the drumming blades of the helicopters around him.
"Riley! Why are you doing this!? He came to us with information!" Although hesitant, Hera still followed Riley outside.
"He is safe, Miss Hera."
"!!!"
"Oh my god!" Miller could really only scream as he felt his organs almost shoot out from his body. Figuratively, of course. Riley suddenly let go of him but caught him again before he could leave his reach.
Hera also found herself extremely frustrated as she almost leaped to save Miller, "Damn it, Riley! You can at least just let him stand on the floor!"
"I can't do that, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head, "There are snipers that already have their scope on me. If I place Miller on the floor, they would attempt to take a shot at me."
"And so!?" Hera raised her voice, "You're freaking bulletproof!"
"I do not want them wasting their resources on us, Miss Hera," Riley sighed, "These people have no superpower, they need all the bullets and weapons they could get to fight against real crime."
"What are you even on about!?"
[This is the NYPD! Put the hostage down or we will be forced to use lethal force!] And finally, police helicopters, as well as military helicopters started appearing — forcefully pushing away the other civilian and media helicopters as they stopped warning them.
"I think they want you dead, Agent Miller."
"They meant put me down on the floor!"
"The ground floor?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he tilted his head. Hera, however, completely saw through the smile that was mischievously crawling on Riley's face… She knew there and then that Riley wasn't going to let anything stop him. Well, not like anyone could.
He was enjoying this.
"Citizens of New York."
And finally, after gaining his much-needed audience, Riley turned his head toward the nearest camera he could find from one of the media helicopters that refused to land. And although he was far away, his words reached the microphone as if he were right in front of it.
Everyone who was watching on their screens could not help but hold their breaths as the camera zoomed in on Riley's smiling face.
"It has been brought to my attention that the CIA has been hiding a person that my friend and I are very eager to meet and talk to," Riley glanced at Hera, who only covered her face in response,
"She is unlike you, she comes from a place far away from here. So, I wish to make a deal where everyone wins. Bring me the woman I mentioned, and I will give you Special Agent Mill—"
And before Riley could finish his words, he suddenly placed his hand in front of Miller's chest. Miller was about to look down, before he heard the muffled and faint sound of a gunshot echoing even through all the noises scattered in the violent air.
"It would seem you hold no value to them, Special Agent Miller," Riley showed his hand to Miller, only for a bullet to fall from it; bouncing down across the walls of the building a few times as it fell.
"They… tried to shoot me?" Miller's eyes turned wide as he watched the bullet disappear into the distance.
"They shot you, Special Agent Miller," Riley really only let out a sigh as he looked at the helicopter where the bullet came from,
"Well then…" Riley then turned his focus back to the camera as he shook his head, "I would take the fact that you tried to kill Special Agent Miller as you not wanting the deal. So I will change the conditions."
"!!!" Miller once again found himself screaming as his organs once again shifted. Fortunately for him, he did not need to scream for long as he landed on the balcony instead of the cold hard floor hundreds of meters beneath him.
"The woman I mentioned…" The smile on Riley's face very slowly reached from ear to ear,
[...For the lives of everyone within 10 kilometers from where I am standing. You have an hour.]
"...What the fuck is this guy saying?"
"He's a terrorist!? Did he place bombs all over the city!?"
"What are our soldiers doing!? Shoot him! He's right there in the open!"
The people who were watching from their screens still could not believe what they were watching, but at the same time, they were completely intrigued. Shootings and hostage situations were not that uncommon in their country, but something this theatrical?
It almost felt like they were watching some sort of movie. Little did the watchers and viewers know, however, that they were truly about to witness something they had never seen before.
First, it started as a whistle.
"What's… that sound?"
The whistle was then followed by a quiet explosion, as the helicopters all found themselves suddenly surrounded by a violent turbulence which almost caused all of them to hit each other. And after a short panic, there… they saw something unbelievable.
A person, floating in the air. It was hard to see because there was a slight glare and a blur on the lenses from being cracked due to the sudden shockwave that thundered through the air, but it was a person.
A woman wearing a white gown, a lab gown.
"..." Riley, who had his back turned since he was going to relax back inside the suite while waiting for the ultimatum he gave, very slowly and casually turned around; his eyes, reflecting the unfamiliar silhouette that floated in front of him.
"..." Riley then looked at the woman from head to toe as her gown snapped in the air. The woman's eyes were completely blank, but even more blank was her face which did not show an ounce of expression.
"I was ordered to eliminate you, human," the woman then said; her voice, almost robotic in nature.
And as Riley heard her words, he only closed his eyes and let out a sigh, "I—"
And before Riley could finish his words, a red violent beam burst forth from the woman's eyes and gushed straight at him.
"Why are you so weak, themarian?"
"..." A slight hint of emotion could be seen flickering on the woman's face as Riley… just casually stepped forward even through the blast. He did not stop walking even as he passed the ledge, breaking it completely as he walked through the air closer and closer to her.
"I do not need to be Miss Hera to know that you are acting like you have been brainwashed," Riley then started floating closer to the woman. And as the woman heard her words, she could not help but let out a small breath as the violent beam gushing from her eyes completely dissipated away.
How could she not, when the stranger in front of her was suddenly speaking her people's language?
"The supervirus seem to not exist and flourish in this universe. But the rest seem to be the same," Riley let out a long and deep sigh as he looked the frail, skinny woman in the eyes,
"Even your failure to save your people, Dr. Caitlain'Ur."
"You know… who I am?" Caitlain's eyes widened in shock as she returned Riley's gaze.
"Of course. And fortunately you are not the other themarian," Riley sighed, "I love her…
…but she is stupid and will not be able to help us leave this universe."
Chapter 825"The other… themarian?"
The wind that was violently snapping Caitlain's long white gown withered away, almost literally as her hair and clothes slowly started to settle and calm down. She noticed this, of course, but her eyes were completely locked on to the mysterious human floating ever so calm in front of her.
Mysterious, eerily so.
"You spoke my language," Caitlain looked at Riley from head to toe, "But you're not a themarian. You are not exactly human either."
"I am not, Dr. Caitlain'Ur," Riley shook his head, "I am—Why is it doing that?"
Caitlain looked Riley in the eyes for a few seconds, before looking down to where she was pointing — only to see a red light blinking and reflecting on her white gown. It was the collar attached around her neck, blinking and beeping at the same time.
"The humans are trying to control me," Caitlain shrugged before casually snapping the collar off, "At least they thought they were. The technology in this world is still primitive, it was interesting to see how they react…
…Who are you?"
"My name is Riley Ross," Riley bowed his head, "Bernard Ross and Diana Ross's adopted son, Dr. Caitlain'Ur."
"Am I supposed to know who they are?" Caitlain squinted her eyes.
"No."
"You seem to know a lot about me," Caitlain then looked down toward the balcony. And as she saw Hera trying to help and calm Miller down, she could not help but tilt her head to the side, "She is human, but I sense a different energy from her. Who are you two? Are you from the Common Council?"
"The Common Council exists here, Dr. Caitlain'Ur?" Riley placed his hand on his chin.
"Here? You're not from the Common Council," Caitlain's eyes squinted even further as she very slowly floated closer to Riley, "What do you mean 'exists here'? Why did you term it like—"
"!!!"
And before Caitlain could finish her words, a loud explosion boomed in the air and she found herself covered in fire and smoke. The helicopters that were just recovering from the turbulence she set off, once again trying their best not to fall.
Caitlain, however, just had her palm slightly raised as bits and pieces of what seemed to be shards of metal disintegrated and fall from it. She then looked up, her eyes reflecting the fighter jet that just passed by them.
Her eyes once again lit up, but no gush of light escaped from them. Only a groan from her mouth as she coughed.
"You are weaker, Dr. Caitlain," Riley tilted his head as he looked at Caitlain's flushed face.
"Self-punishment. It doesn't matter," Caitlain shook her head, "This planet and the people in it are still too weak to stop me, but they will try now that they know I am not actually in their control — to the point they disregard the safety of their own kind. But they get to live, while my kind does not."
"You are not the only one that has failed to rescue her people, Dr. Caitlain'Ur," Riley let out a small but deep sigh.
"Have you lost your people too?"
"No, I meant you, Dr. Caitlain," Riley blinked a couple of times, "The other versions of you have also failed to save her people."
"Other versions—" Caitlain's eyes turned incredibly wide as she looked Riley in the eyes. She then glanced at Hera again, "The multiverse theory."
"Not a theory, Dr. Caitlain."
"You're from another universe," Caitlain pointed at Riley. A small awkward smile, slowly forming on her face, "But what do you mean my other versions also failed to save our people? Does that mean… I'm not truly meant to save them?"
"There are others who succeeded," Riley shrugged, "But I have not had the pleasure of meeting them yet, Dr. Caitlain. Follow me, we have something to discuss with you."
"Wait," and as Riley started to descend back to the balcony, Caitlain grabbed his arm, "When you said the other themarian, who else were you expecting to find?"
"Megawoman, Dr. Caitlain," Riley breathed out, "Aerith."
"Aerith… Princess Aerith…? You also know her?" Caitlain's eyes once again widened as she followed Riley to the balcony, "What is your relationship with her?"
"It is complicated, Dr. Caitlain. I am her lover, but she is not mine."
"What?"
"But she kissed me, but we have not really had the time to talk about that since everything is messy."
"The princess kissed you…?" Caitlain could not be more shocked as she stared at Riley's back, "Wait, then who am I to you?"
"No one important, Dr. Caitlain," Riley just waved his hand as he landed back on the balcony, "I have more things to tell and explain to you, and whether or not you help us or not will be up to you."
"..." Caitlain did not really say anything and just continued to follow Riley. Before she followed him inside the suite, however, her eyes landed on Miller, who was hyperventilating on the floor as he tried his best to calm down.
"I know you," Caitlain pointed at him, "You were there when the humans were passing me around."
"You… you saw me?"
"From afar," Caitlain looked back and forth between Riley and Miller, "I suppose it is because of you that these two came to know of my existence on this planet. Fate truly works mysteriously, as they say. And who are you?"
Caitlain then turned to look at Hera, completely intrigued as this was the first time she was sensing the kind of energy she was emitting.
"Hera," Hera did not really know how to talk to Caitlain, since she really only talked to her variant from time to time when Bernard brought him to the Hope Guild, "And I was a colleague of your variant's husband, Mrs. Ross."
"Husband?" Caitlain was completely taken aback by Hera's words. A few more breaths, however, her eyes once again widened, "Wait, Mrs. Ross? Is my name Diana Ross in your universe…?"
"Yes…?" Hera glanced at Riley, who was already waiting for them inside the suite, "The whitey didn't tell you? Shit… well, this is gonna be awkward for you. Not for him, the dude's fucked up."
"..." Caitlain looked at the floor for a few seconds, before rushing to follow Riley inside the suite, "You told me I was not important, Riley Ross!"
"You are not, Dr. Caitlain," Riley gestured to Caitlain to sit as he also sat down.
"But was I not family to you?" Caitlain raised an eyebrow as she sat in front of Riley, "Was our relationship strained? Was I… not a good mother?"
"Adoptive mother," Riley raised his hand as a bottle of water floated next to Caitlain, "And you tried your best with your situation. Hannah is very fortunate to have you as a mother, and perhaps in a way, I was too."
"Hannah, an AI?" Caitlain blinked.
"No, your biological daughter."
"I have a biological daughter? Me?" Caitlain's eyes once again widened in shock, "With this Bernard Ross?"
"Yes," Riley nodded.
"But I made an oath to myself that I will not entangle myself, much less with someone of lower… mind," Caitlain let out a breath of amazement as she took a sip of water, "The multiverse… fascinating."
"Oh, Bernard Ross is absolutely not of a lower mind, Dr. Caitlain," Riley also got another glass of milk, holding it but not really drinking. Hera, who stepped back inside the suite, immediately glanced at Riley as soon as she heard that. And without even saying a word, she got a bottle of wine and joined the two; slightly raising the bottle as she sat next to Riley.
"Hm…?" Caitlain blinked a couple of times, extremely curious as to what Riley was going to say next.
"Bernard Ross is perhaps the most complicated human, flawed in every way possible," Riley breathed out, "But he was the most intelligent creature in the entire universe, Dr. Caitlain. He is not a good man. His morals are questionable, but he is a great father — everything he did, he did for his family. He did his best with what was handed to him, and what was handed to him was not... easy. I was…
…am lucky that he was my adoptive father, not so much for everybody else."
"A jerk," Hera let out a small chuckle, "But he was the one who created my clothes so I wouldn't turn naked when my body morphs."
"Bernard Ross…" Caitlain let out a small hum, "I would very much like to meet this man. A being with much higher intelligence than I, fascinating."
"You can't, Dr. Caitlain," Riley shook his head, "He died 4 days ago trying to protect his daughter. But you can meet his other variants."
"Oh…" Caitlain leaned her back on her chair. She then looked back and forth between Hera and Riley for a few seconds, before leaning forward and letting out another hum, "...You were in a battle that led you to be stuck here. And you have no way to go back since this universe does not have multiversal travel."
"Yet, Dr. Caitlain," Riley nodded.
"...I discovered it?" Caitlain let out a small gasp.
"You helped the norinlads. You and Bernard Ross," Riley nodded.
"Oh…" Caitlain once again leaned back on her chair. Her eyes, now darting everywhere, "...The Norinlads have been extinct for more than a hundred thousand years now."
"Oh," Riley also leaned back on the sofa, and so did Hera.
"Fucking…" Hera took one big gulp of her wine, "...Does that mean we're fucking stuck here forever?"
"..."
"..."
"Perhaps not," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "If we found the object that started the norinlad's research on the Portals that ultimately led to the discovery of multiversal travel…
…Will you be able to recreate it?"
Chapter 826"I… don't believe I ever had the chance to see something like this before."
It took an hour, but Riley and Hera were able to tell Caitlain everything she needed to hear. There were moments when Caitlain couldn't really believe what they were saying, but she continued to listen and just nodded her head until they reached the part when King sent them to this universe, where Earth was completely different.
It was a good thing that the refrigerator and the bar were filled with drinks, because Caitlain probably drank several gallons of water and soda by herself. Themarians do not really need to consume food or drink liquid, but this was actually the first time Caitlain tasted Earth's soda as she had allowed herself to be kept in captivity all these years so as to punish herself.
Even now, as she was holding a plaque — the plaque that ultimately led to the discovery of multiversal travel, she was gulping down an entire bottle of soda; not even bothering to put it in a glass. Riley, who was sitting in front of her, could not help but be slightly amused at this scene. How could he not, when Diana has always told him and his sister that they shouldn't drink soda?
And yet now, here was a version of Diana that was completely skinny, unkempt, and even slightly clumsy to the point that she was spilling the soda on the plaque. Of course, it didn't really matter as the plaque was only a recreation using Paige's abilities, and Riley was only using his telekinesis to fill up whatever needed filling up.
"This is useless," Caitlain returned the plaque to Riley, but it just disappeared into thin air before Caitlain could fully stretch her arm to him, "And the race you mentioned that created the plaque, they do not exist in my universe as far as my knowledge goes. It is not only them, the races you have told me have either died out or do not exist."
Riley had also already shown her the device that created portals itself, but it proved even more useless as it felt more akin to absolute magic rather than technology. Paige is able to create things even if she doesn't know how they worked, but Riley can't seem to be able to do the same to the extent that she does it.
"...Shit," Hera, who was still seated close to Riley, could really only clasp her head as she stared at the floor, "So that waxy version of Bernard… sent us to an extremely different universe? I thought all universes were at least somewhat similar!?"
"You mentioned something about the primordials having the same Avatars in each universe, correct?" Caitlain let out a small sigh as she cracked another bottle of soda open, "This universe probably was not… alloted the same treatment."
"Hm," Riley quickly nodded in agreement, "The only reason why the universes are similar to each other is that the Primordials… act indirectly to make sure their avatars exist."
"But they're gods," Hera leaned back. Her face that was previously looking at the floor was now staring at the ceiling as she let out a long and deep groan, "They shouldn't be fucking making mistakes."
"Any creature that has the capacity to think will make a mistake," Caitlain closed her eyes and sighed, "And perhaps this applies to gods of creation too…
…I apologize I was not as helpful as you thought I would be."
"Wh—don't say that," Hera raised her voice and looked Caitlain in the eyes, "We're only just starting to deliberate our options here."
"No," Caitlain shook her head, "My AI has been destroyed, my laboratories, data centers, storage — I am afraid I don't have the capacity to make this portal you speak of. And even if I did have them, it would take me at least a hundred years to even have an inkling of how to make that kind of technology without any sort of prototype to base it on…
…most of your human friends would have already perished then."
"I wish to try one more thing, Dr. Caitlain," Riley then raised his hand, and as soon as he did so, a man covered in an immaculate white armor appeared in front of them, "Dr. Caitlain, meet Bernard Ross."
"This…" Caitlain immediately stood up from her chair as she looked at Bernard from head to toe, "This is—!!!"
And before Caitlain could even say another word, Bernard suddenly embraced her; letting out several shushing noises with his mouth each time Caitlain wanted to speak.
"It's okay now, dear," Bernard whispered into her ear. And as Riley was only recreating his voice through telekinesis so that the others could also hear him; his voice was quite… overly clear, "I'm here… I'm here… you don't have to suffer alone."
"..." Caitlain could really only bat her eyes a couple of times, before finally pushing Bernard away and taking back a few steps; taking her chair with her as she pointed at Riley, "Get… get that guy away from me."
"Hm. Father," Riley called for Bernard, who immediately turned to Riley, "We need your help in—"
"Where is your sister?" Bernard did not let Riley finish his words as he started looking around, "Where… are you? I do not feel any trace of my satellites here, no supers."
"We were separated by King after you died, Father," Riley sighed.
"...I died for nothing, then," Bernard forced out a tiny chuckle, before also sighing and closing his eyes.
"Perhaps not," Riley shook his head, "The Diana of this world needs your help to recreate the device to allow us to travel back to our universe, Father."
"..." Bernard glanced at Caitlain for a few seconds, before shaking his head, "I can't do that."
"But you perfected the technology, Father."
"I am not real, Riley," a small smile crawled on Bernard's face.
"But you should still know," Riley looked Bernard in the eyes, "You said so yourself, Paige's illusions know things that even she does not know. It—"
"But Ms. Pearson is not here," Bernard shook his head, before once again focusing on Caitlain, "Saving your planet is not your responsibility, Diana. Stop punishing yourself for something you do not have control over."
"..." Caitlain could really only squint her eyes at Bernard's words.
"And Riley."
"Hm?" Riley blinked a couple of times as this time, it was Bernard who looked him in the eyes.
"The key to solving your problem is already right beside you," the tone of Bernard's voice suddenly changed, "You don't need a portal."
"..." Riley blinked a couple of times before he subtly glanced at Hera, who was sitting right beside him.
"T—I don't think you need to take that literally," Hera was slightly taken aback as she looked back and forth between Riley and Bernard, "Bernie's illusion, tell him that—"
"And lastly," Bernard completely ignored Hera as he stepped closer to Riley, "Remember your promise, protect Mom and Hannah."
"Of course, Fa—"
"Goodbye…" Bernard placed his hand on Riley's shoulder, "...My son."
And without even waiting for Riley to finish his words, Bernard's illusion just suddenly disappeared; not even fading, not withering, he just disappeared.
"Hm," Riley glanced at his shoulder for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh and shaking his head, "It would seem we are truly stuck here, Miss Hera."
"W… what about the delivery guy!?" Hera almost jumped from her seat as she pointed at Riley, "You said he could travel through the multiverse, right!? What if we make him deliver us the portal thingy!?"
"I already tried, Miss Hera," Riley let out a long and deep sigh as he showed Hera his phone, "But I can't access his app or website."
"Shit!" Hera wanted to pull out her hair there and then, "I thought that's what Bernard meant!"
"This Bernard guy, he seems very interesting," Caitlain placed her hand on her chin as she looked at the part of the floor where Bernard was standing, "But why do I get the feeling that he is a womanizer?"
"He is. He—"
"Uhm… guys!" And before the three could get sidetracked with their conversation, Special Agent Miller, who was slowly losing his mind and sense of reality upon hearing their talk, rushed from the balcony waving his hands, "We have a problem!"
"Yes we do, Special Agent Miller," Riley sighed and nodded, "Yes, we do."
"N…no. Not that multiverse talk!" Miller raised his voice, "The… the hotel's currently being surrounded! There's an army out there!"
"Oh," Riley stood up from his seat, "You do not have to worry about them, Special Agent Miller. The entire building is enveloped by my telekinetic barrier — even if this planet is destroyed, this building will remain completely intact."
"Shit… this is crazy," Miller started biting his nails, "What… what are we even supposed to do now? What am I even supposed to do now!?"
"You should relax," Caitlain sighed as she just casually returned to her seat and started cracking another bottle open, "Your heart rate is incredibly elevated. You're going into shock in a few more minutes if you keep this up."
"Rel—" And before Miller could say anything, he just suddenly went limp. Before he could fall to the floor, however, Riley pushed him toward the sofa.
"You… did you just kill him!?" Hera gasped.
"No. Why would I do that, Miss Hera?" Riley looked at Hera disappointingly, "Please stop thinking that I always kill."
"You do," Hera groaned in disbelief before shaking her head, "The shorty does have a point, though. What do we do from here on? We obviously can't stay in this cit—country anymore."
"We leave the planet, Miss Hera," Riley shrugged, "Now that we have someone that could navigate through the expanse of space, we could just go to another—"
"Oh. Not possible," Caitlain quickly interrupted Riley as she started waving her cola, "I told you about the other races being dead, right? Well, this is it."
"Hm?" A smile crawled on Hera's face as she looked at Caitlain.
"This is it," Caitlain pointed her finger around, "Aside from the Common Council, which is made up of just AIs, Earth is the only planet left with… intelligent life, as far as my knowledge goes."
"Oh…" Hera's eyes turned blank before her head very slowly turned to Riley; her voice, now completely monotonous, "...Please don't tell me this is one of those dying universes?"
"I do not know," Riley's eyes also very slightly turned wide by a micrometer as he looked Caitlain in the eyes, "How did your people die, Dr. Caitlain?"
"The same as the others…" Caitlain's voice slightly turned somber, "...Cherbis."
"...That pink fluff?" Hera covered her forehead, "How did—Wait, did you just say Cherbis?"
"Yes."
"Cherbis, with… an S?" Hera looked back and forth between Caitlain and Riley, "Plural?"
"Yes…?"
"How… many?"
"A million," Caitlain let out a very long and deep sigh, "And…
…they should be on their way here."
Chapter 827[We do not know yet what is going on inside, but we are reporting this even with the risk of the government closing us down… but as you can see, there seems to be an invisible wall preventing our soldiers from entering the hotel!]
"Woah, bro… You seeing this shit?"
Inside a smoky room that was only lit up by a 50" TV, two people were currently eating chips while staring at the screen in front of them. Their eyes, completely red and moist.
"It's fake, bro. Let me guess, it's happening in the US?"
"Yeah, bro. Like what…?"
"It's fake."
"Totally, bro."
"..."
"..."
"Shit, isn't that hotel like beside our apartment?"
"Cool."
"..."
"..."
The two men very slowly looked at each other, their bloodshot eyes also very slowly widening before they turned their heads toward their window, which was fully covered with black-out curtains.
"..."
"..."
"It's fake."
"Yeah." And after a good 30 seconds, the two just completely changed the channel before sucking a throatful of whatever it is they were on, adding more steam across their tiny apartment.
The two then started laughing as they watched a random show. It didn't last long, however, as the channel was suddenly cut off.
"Hey. What the…" They started changing the channel, but every frequency was the same. They checked their phone so they could just stream a movie, but their internet was down too.
"Shit…
…did we forget to pay the bill?"
***
"They're near."
"Already!?"
"Satellites going out, electricity starting to flicker — a telltale sign that the cherbis are near. relatively."
Riley, Hera, and Caitlain were still in the suite. This time, however, there was a certain sense of energy going around the room, almost following Hera as she also walked around the room with her hands together in front of her mouth.
"Everything ends, that is just the way it is." As for Caitlain, she looked at the empty bottle of soda she was holding; letting out a disappointed sigh as it was the last bottle of cola in the entire hotel, "The cherbis are just going to erase this star system just like the rest until everything and everyone is gone."
"No, no…" Hera finally stopped walking around as she stood in front of Caitlain beside the bar, "...You don't understand. I can't die."
"But you will."
"No, I can't," Hera forced out a chuckle, "This universe will end, and I will probably just float around it forever… and perhaps the worst part of it all is that I will be stuck with him!"
Hera then pointed at Riley, who just shrugged his shoulders in response.
"Oh," Caitlain looked back and forth between Hera and Riley, "You're the same as him, a true immortal? Interesting."
"Give us options here, Doc. I don't wanna be stuck with that guy forever, please," Hera grabbed Caitlain's shoulders, "Please."
"We could try moving deeper into the Unknown," Caitlain could really only let out a sigh as she walked toward the balcony and looked up into the night sky, "But based on everything I've heard from the two of you…
…a universe's Unknown is much more mysterious than even the multiverse itself. Very much like this planet's ocean. But the reason why most of this planet's water is unexplored is because there truly is no need to do so — there is nothing else there. But in the Unknown…? There is bound to be something there."
"What are we waiting for, then?" Hera breathed out.
"We will get lost," Caitlain sighed, "The only reason I even landed on this planet is by pure sheer luck, a chance out of a billion.'
"I can take that chance," Hera shrugged, "Sheer luck is literally a part of my abilities, so…"
"..." Caitlain once again looked at Riley and Hera for a few seconds, before letting out another sigh and nodding, "Might as well prolong my punishment."
"Trust me," Hera looked up into the night sky, "We're going to find something…
…my body will make sure of my survival."
***
"...We're doomed."
Half a year later, Hera, Riley, and Caitlain find themselves just floating in the middle of a dark expanse. No, they were not really just floating, but actually moving at an insane speed. They have actually already traveled more than a hundred thousand lightyears — and they could have gone farther, much farther.
The only reason why they were not was because Caitlain had to have time to check if she could read any energies around them, but so far, absolutely nothing. And now, the distance between the star systems was getting abnormally far — far to the point that they had not even seen a star since a month ago.
"Okay, stop! Stop!" Hera could no longer take it as she started waving her hands. Riley, who was leading their way, turned around to look at Hera for a few seconds before decreasing their speed accordingly. Of course, this took quite a while as they were already going too fast. But as soon as they finally did stop, Hera immediately grabbed Riley by the cheeks,
"Riley. I need to take a bath. We have been flying in this goddamn darkness for years and we still haven't found anything!"
"We have only been traveling for half a year, Miss Hera," Riley floated back to remove Hera's hands, "And I could just summon water to—"
"No, enough of that!" Hera growled, "Let's just go back to Earth, and rethink about this plan."
"Earth's dead," Caitlain sighed as she patted Hera's shoulder, "I did tell you, the Unknown is unknown for a reason. Your friends will most probably be dead for a very long time before we can even find any—Oh."
"What? What!?" Hera started looking around as Caitlain abruptly stopped talking; her eyes, moving everywhere, "Did… did you find something!? Are we near a planet with a clean lake!?"
"No," Caitlain started blinking a couple of times as she spun in place,
"I am sensing the presence of a cherbi."
"What? That's impossible," Hera forced out a tiny chuckle as she glanced at Riley, "We were literally going so fast. You told the whitey and us that it was impossible for them to even chase us."
"It is impossible," Caitlain raised a hand as she finally stopped spinning and looked toward a certain direction, "And the cherbi is coming from there, fast."
"There…?" Hera squinted her eyes as she looked to where Caitlain was pointing, "...But I don't think that's the direction we came from. Is it?"
"No," Riley was the one to answer Hera.
"Oh, now I know," a small smile crawled on Caitlain's face as she looked at Hera and Riley, "I think we finally know why the stars are getting farther and farther away from each other. A cherbi also lives in the Unknown."
"Great," Hera could really only place her hands on her waist, "Like we already aren't having a hard time trying to find something. Let's just go and continue our perilous journey to the unknown."
"I'm afraid that's not going to happen," Caitlain started to chuckle, "The energy I am sensing from this cherbi is much… greater than the ones that destroyed Theran and the other planets. And…
…it's not alone."
"We can avoid them just fine."
"That's not going to happen."
"Stop jinxing us."
"No," Caitlain shook her head, "They are coming from everywhere, going faster and faster."
"Everywhere? Like everywhere, everywhere?" Hera started pointing in all directions.
"Everywhere." While Caitlain also pointed below, above, to the side, and practically almost spinning her hands into a sphere, "And they are getting pretty near."
"..." Hera did not even need to ask how near is 'pretty near'. Because as soon as Caitlain finished her words, she saw a glimpse of pink very slowly growing from afar, everywhere. No, it wasn't slow at all — because the pink dots that were just the size of a BB a second ago were now the size of a tennis ball,
"Oh, shi—Riley, do something!"
Riley immediately stretched his arms to the side as blood suddenly shot from every orifice in his head. And as he did so, most of the pink fluffs that were approaching them halted, while a few of them started to disappear.
"Impressive," Caitlain blinked as she looked at Riley, "Are you a god?"
"Riley…"
Hera pulled Caitlain and floated close to Riley, "...I don't think it's working."
Most of the pink fluffs were stopped, yes… but a lot more started appearing until the expanse of nothing but darkness was replaced by a veil of pink.
"Have I ever told you how much I hate pink?" Hera grabbed Riley by the shoulders, "Please, Riley. Do some of your god-like shit and just murk these pink balls of death."
"..."
"Ah, Riley! It's working!" Hera started shaking Riley as the new batch of cherbis that appeared also stopped moving toward them. But as Hera shook Riley again, she found no resistance whatsoever as Riley's stretched arm just started… flailing lifelessly.
"Did…" Hera's eyes turned wide, "...Did he just die on us?"
"It appears so," Caitlain curiously stared at Riley, "And he's going to just resurrect?"
"I sure freaking hope he resurrects soon," Hera started shaking Riley violently as the cherbis grew larger and larger as they got near, "Riley! Damn it! Wake up! Riley!"
"I suppose this is it, we are dead," Caitlain closed her eyes, before opening them again and looking at Hera and Riley, "Well, I'm dead. You guys will be stuck here for eternity."
"No," Hera started shaking her head repeatedly as she pulled both Riley and Caitlain closer. The pink, now completely covering her entire vision as they were literally only kilometers away from absorbing them,
"No… no…
…I don't wanna be stuck with this whitey forever!"
"Woah!"
And as Hera was screaming her lungs out, she heard another voice suddenly screaming as loud as she was. And it wasn't just the volume, but also the voice that was the same.
"...Huh?" Hera abruptly stopped her screams of panic as Caitlain started tapping her arms. She looked at Caitlain first, who was gesturing to her to look forward.
And as she did so, she saw the view of a beach — with a beautiful sun glimmering across the endless water. But that wasn't what caught Hera's attention, however, it was the people that were running around, the people who were relaxing and getting a tan, even though their skin was already tanned enough as it is.
And then, Hera turned toward the other one that screamed… only to see herself wearing a two-piece bathing suit.
"My god, you surprised me, girl."
"Huh…?" Hera blinked a couple of times as she looked at… the Hera in front of her from head to toe.
"Hi, Hera!"
"Oh, hi Hera!"
Hera then turned to look at the woman who greeted the Hera in front of her, only to see another Hera waving at her.
"What…" Hera could really only look around, only to realize that everyone in this resort… was her, "Just…
…where the fuck are we?"
Chapter 828"Hi, Hera!"
"Hello, Hera!"
"I like what you've done with your hair, Hera."
"Thank you, Hera!"
Hera there, Hera here, Hera everywhere. Just a few moments ago, Hera was on the verge of being ripped apart by pink large balls of fluff, about to spend the rest of her life with Riley Ross in a universe dead. A life that is most likely for eternity.
In truth, in that last second where she started feeling her flesh being pulled from all sides by the sheer gravity of the cherbis, she had actually thought of life with Riley. And suffice it to say, she…
…imagined all sorts of stuff. Most are on the lines of… having to repopulate the dead universe with the two of them. And as soon as the images of little Hera-slash-Riley mixed breeds running around crossed her mind, she was suddenly here.
On a beach, with the setting sun calmly warming her tanned face. Sand, almost whiter than Riley's skin and as fine as powder.
"Where… the fuck are we?"
"Oh, this here's the Hera beach."
"Huh?" Hera was asking so many questions, not even realizing that the woman who screamed with her earlier was already answering all of her questions even as she was busy greeting everyone who was greeting her back.
But as Hera finally turned to look at the other Hera wearing a bathing suit, the other Hera squinted her eyes and also started looking at her from head to toe.
"Now, hold on just a minute," The other Hera pointed at her face, "...Could it be your wholesome just got here, dear?"
"Yes…?" Hera blinked.
"Well, I'll be," The other Hera let out a small gasp as she placed her hand on her chest, "I did hear me some news that there have been new Heras popping up and abouts. You must have been so desperate for a beach to pop up right here — most just appear in front of the Gates."
"...What?" Hera was still completely confused as she once again started looking around, and everywhere she looked, Hera.
"Your confusion is completely normal, girl. I remember the first time I got here. Oh lord, they gots me good," the other Hera started giggling.
"Why are you speaking in a southern accent?"
"I don't have an accent," the other Hera slightly raised an eyebrow, "Let me find someone to takes you and your companions to the gate so you can get all orientated about. W—Now, hold on…"
The other Hera started lifting up and fixing her bikini as she finally noticed Caitlain and Riley. And with her eyes suddenly widening, she started pointing back and forth between Caitlain and Riley violently.
"O…outsiders ain't supposed to be here!"
And as the other Hera raised her voice to the point of screams, the other Heras who were already curious about Hera started gathering in a crowd around them. And like the other Hera in front of Hera, the other Heras also started screaming as soon as they noticed Caitlain wasn't one of them. Things, however, got out of hand as soon as they realized Riley was a man.
"What… what in tarnation is that!?" The other Hera in front of Hera was the first to speak as she pointed at Riley, "Why… why is my body telling me to stay away from him, but at the same time stick to 'im!? What… what is this weird feeling!?"
And like a douse of cold water violently falling on top of her, Hera finally woke up from her stupor and realized what was happening. She had always thought that she would just endlessly float in the expanse of space when everything ends — something she truly did not look forward to.
But of course, she chose not to think about it since she had really only lived for 30 years. The curse of her immortality has still not completely dawned on her just yet. But still, there was this fear of being alone.
And now that she was seeing all these Heras in one place, she realized that wasn't the case at all.
Once a universe gets destroyed and she has nowhere left to live in, this was probably the place where she would go… where they all go.
"This… this is insane," Hera made sure not to let go of Riley and Caitlain, afraid that she was going to drown on… herself, literally.
"Oh, good," Caitlain let out a sigh of relief as she heard Hera's words, "I was trying to gauge whether or not this was a normal occurrence for you otherworlders. It is nice to think that this is also weird for the two of you."
"Not at all, Dr. Caitlain," Riley shook his head, "Much crazier moments have happened to us."
"Huh. I suppose living for a few more years may not be so bad," Caitlain placed her hand on her chin and nodded.
"Can the two of you share my anxiety for a moment here!?" Hera's breaths started to get heavier by the second as she kept hearing herself talking over herself endlessly.
[Everyone, please return to whatever it was you were doing earlier and stop crowding in one place! We have received your calls of an intruder, let us handle this.]
"H… hey! Don't land here!"
"The sand is getting all over my skin, I just put sunscreen there!"
"I swear, I am going to talk to your manager!"
Fortunately for Hera, the crowd started dispersing, along with the sand as a large helicopter started to descend from the sky. And with the parasols and the blankets all blown away, the helicopter landed close to Hera and the others.
Four people wearing a dark gray, skin-tight suit quickly stepped out of the helicopter.
"Jesus…" Hera immediately covered Riley's eyes as their suit, although covering her entire body, was stretched and tight enough that it showed the shape of her body to the point she might as well be naked.
"Are you the newly arrived Hera?"
"Ye—"
"Confirmed, she's not tagged."
"Huh?"
Hera could not even get in a single word as one of the four Heras flashed her with some sort of scanner. They instinctively did the same to Caitlain and Riley, and as the one holding the scanner showed the other Heras the result, they all let out a gasp and started looking at them.
"Call the Hope Guild! Call the Hope Guild, right now!" The one holding the scanner started pushing her comrades back to the helicopter, before putting all of her attention on the unexpected trio,
"Calm down."
"I am calm, Sexy Hera." "Okay." "How can I stay calm in this situation!?"
Riley, Caitlain, and Hera all talked over each other as the Hera in front of them started softly waving her hand up and down.
"I am going to need the three of you to hop on with us in the heli. Can you do that without us having to force you?"
"I do not care, Sexy Hera." "As I said, I'm all in." "How about explaining some stuff first? Did you just say Hope Guild? Are Empress and Whiteking there?"
"Please, just cooperate and all your questions will be answered," the other Hera gestured to the three to move toward the helicopter. The trio looked at each other for a few seconds, before just nodding and following their order, with Hera still refusing to let go of Riley and Caitlain even as they entered the helicopter.
The Heras in tight suits seemed to be saying something, but Hera just found herself once again hearing blanks as the helicopter started gaining distance from the ground. How could she not… when this entire beach resort was actually just an island?
A floating island, with the beach just casually ending like some sort of infinity pool. But what surprised Hera more as the helicopter started flying, was that there were other floating islands there, each of different purpose and category — with some obviously still being constructed by Heras wearing construction safety outfits.
"What the heck…?" Hera looked at the endless horizon, only to see nothing but an endless sky with the sun in the far distance, "Is this… my version of heaven?"
"That is a nice and accurate way of putting it," Caitlain also enjoyed the view; her eyes almost glittering as they reflected this… paradise. As for Riley, he seemed to be more interested in the other Heras, as he was clearly making them uncomfortable by staring at them, causing even one of them to just outright look down.
And soon, the helicopter started to slow down as they reached a floating island with a single tower erected right in the center of it. They did not land on the roof of the building, however, and instead landed on the designated helipad beside the building where several aircrafts were already docked.
"Get out of the way, this is urgent!" The sexy Heras, as Riley called them, did not waste any time as they hastily escorted the trio inside the building. Hera did not even have time to observe the building as they immediately threw them inside an elevator.
And with an awkward silence lasting for half a minute, they reached the top floor which seemed to be an entire conference room judging from the large table that welcomed them.
And there, 7 people immediately stood up from their seats at the table as they all stared and watched as the trio entered the floor. And there were, in fact…
…no other members other than Hera herself, just wearing different versions of the outfits of the members of the Hope Guild. There… was even a bald Hera.
"Of course…" Hera could really only cover her forehead as she sighed,
"What was I even expecting?"
Chapter 829There was a weight in the air. A weight weighed down even more by the quiet hums and breaths of the people in the room. Hera was quite taken aback at first when she saw the different versions of herself that took on the unique role of each of the members of the Hope Guild.
Although they all clearly look like the same person, their personalities are completely different — to the point that even if they were all wearing the same thing, Hera would probably know who's who.
It did not take long for Hera to adjust and treat them accordingly, and soon, she started telling them her story. Her universe, about Riley, about King and how they are where they are now.
Hera's Heaven, HH, is what they call it.
There did not seem to be a certain seating arrangement on the large V-shaped table, as no one was at the single point. There was no clear hierarchy amongst the 7 Heras of this place's Hope Guild, but Hera could not help but address the one that seemed to be taking the role of Whiteking the most.
And while the Heras were busy, Caitlain was busy trying to find something to drink. No one really seems to mind him other than the Heras in dark gray suits who served as HH's guards and soldiers.
As for Riley, he was just standing near the large windows, his eyes reflecting the endless sky and the islands that were floating from afar.
"Interesting." This was probably the tenth time he was uttering the very same words. He did not even bother listening or confirming Hera's accounts of everything that had happened to them, as he had been hearing everyone explain to everyone why and how they were in a certain situation so many times now. It was almost as if they told the story to anyone who was remotely relevant.
"This isn't part of the multiverse, this is a domain," Riley continued to whisper to himself as he started walking around while still looking at the view. He had tried stretching out his telekinetic zone as far as he could, but there was actually no end to this place — no such thing as an outer space.
It was almost as if it was just one big atmosphere of an endless sky. As for the thing that looked like a sun, it wasn't a sun at all but just a mist of light.
"Supers truly are still the most interesting beings in the multiverse," Riley finally strayed his eyes away from the view of the outside as he looked at the 7 Heras. And of course, as soon as he did so, all of them subtly looked back; extremely and incredibly wary of him. Riley, on the other hand, was truly just curious.
Most of the Enders that Bard mentioned were humans. And considering they held the most mysterious powers and forces in the universe, it wasn't a surprise at all. But what was most interesting for Riley is that there are actually Supers that are connected to their variants, directly or indirectly.
His grandmother, Charlotte Lane, is directly connected to her variants emotionally and mentally — sharing abilities across the multiverse. Delivery Man is an enigma even for Riley. He does not seem to be a unique existence, but his variants are essentially all him — and they are only alive whenever someone orders through them, sharing memory and everything.
Chihiro and Paige; Riley does not really know what to think of them yet, as they were not really truly humans.
And now, Hera. She is connected with her variants essentially through her version of death here in the HH.
Just what is the supervirus, exactly?
…And why could someone like him, a suspected Primordial, able to absorb their abilities if they could kill him?
"And that's it."
And after a couple more minutes, Hera was finally able to explain everything right down to the minute details that her variants needed to know.
"It checks out." The first one to stand up from her seat was Whiteking Hera; her eyes, looking at each member of the Hope Guild and nodding at them. And after what seemed to be a silent conversation among them, Whiteking started walking around the table to approach Hera.
"There has actually been an influx of newcomers lately — and they all confirm your story that there is a Bernard Ross out there that is hellbent on destroying everything. We have believed you from the start," Whiteking Hera placed her hand on Hera's shoulder,
"And…?" Hera squinted her eyes as she looked at Whiteking Hera's hand.
"And you are free to go," Whiteking Hera just shrugged as she gestured toward the elevator, "Although we do need to study how you were able to bring someone else to HH, so visit when we call you."
"Wait, aren't we gonna do something about King?" Hera forced out a single chuckle as she looked at the other Heras.
"And what exactly is it you want us to do?" The sound of gold clinking jingled in the air as Empress Hera lifted herself up from her seat, "We're dead, Hera. There is a reason why this place is called Hera's Heaven. This is it, this is the paradise we have been waiting for."
"W—I am not dead!" Hera scoffed as she shook her head.
"You were surrounded by an army of cherbis," Empress Hera sighed, "You are probably more dead than the rest of us combined."
"I was able to get out of there before I was absorbed!" Hera raised her voice as she looked at Whiteking Hera, "If I wasn't, then she would be dead."
Everyone then turned their heads to Caitlain, who was just calmly rummaging for anything to drink on the small refrigerator provided in the conference room.
"T—"
"Wait," Whiteking Hera placed her hand on her chin as she glanced at Caitlain, "What Hera said makes sense."
"Thank you!"
"But I don't know how yet."
"F…" Hera could really only grit her teeth in frustration, "Stop pretending to be Whiteking if you're actually dumb! I realize most of you have already grown relaxed and complacent here…
…but none of us are dead! We are literally unkillable, that is our shtick. And this place? You are mistaking heaven for paradise. This is paradise, none of us are dead. Riley and Caitlain being here literally prove that!"
"But this place—"
"May I?"
And before the Heras could start deliberating the crisis they found themselves in, Riley raised his hand and started… moving to the pointing end of the V-shaped table.
"There is a high chance that this place is a Domain, Miss Heras," Riley calmly said as he made a chair for himself created from the floor, "I have been to a few domains and this place reminds me of them."
"A… domain?" Whiteking Hera placed her hand on her chin again, causing Hera to roll her eyes.
"A place outside of the Multiverse," Riley nodded as he took a seat, casually placing his hands on the table, "Miss Hera is right, none of you are dead."
"It's—"
"And you do not need to seek for further proof because the proof is already in front of you," Riley stretched his arm to the side,
"Me."
"Ah!" Hera quickly pointed at Riley as she realized what he meant.
"The proof that I am here means that none of you are dead, Miss Heras," a small smile crawled on Riley's face, "I am a being which Death can not hold."
"...I don't get it," Tempo Hera looked at her variants to see if they were as confused as she was, "So, this isn't really heaven?"
"Hmm," Bulwark Vera's golden eyes flickered, "Well, I have always thought that wasn't the case. We literally built this place to what it is just a decade ago or so."
"Wait—right," Hera started looking at her variants, "Wait, wait. God damn it…
…You freaking morons are just role-playing!"
"..."
"..."
The Heras of the Hope Guild all looked at each other, before all letting out a collective sigh and shaking their heads.
"I told you I should have played Whiteking!" Empress Hera started taking off the bangles attached to her arms as she pointed at Whiteking Hera, "You're too stupid to play that role!"
"W—"
"Stop!"
And before the Heras could start arguing with one another, Hera slammed her foot on the ground, causing the entire tower to shake.
"Okay, it's my fault because I am just that good of an actor," Hera tried to calm herself down, "But what the heck…? Are you guys serious? I wasted my time explaining all of this to you and—"
"Everyone, that's enough."
And all of a sudden, all the Heras in the room excluding Hera all shut their mouths as a somewhat tiny and high-pitched voice resounded in the conference room. It was then followed by the sound of a door opening — a secret door near where Caitlain was.
"..." Caitlain could really only blink a couple of times as… a small girl stepped out of the door, perhaps barely even 5 years of age. Each of her steps, however, seemed completely confident as she walked toward Hera and Whiteking Hera.
"Go, shoo," the child then started waving her hand. And as she did so, the other Heras all just sighed and started heading to the elevator, even the guards.
"Sorry for all the theatrics, Hera."
"..." And as the little girl tried to hold her leg, Hera could really only take a step back as she looked at her. Hera's eyes, slightly trembling as they reflected the little girl… which closely resembled her,
"How…? W... Why?"
"Oh," the little girl looked at herself and just chuckled,
"I was the first Talia to be sent here…
…the Hera of King's universe."
Chapter 830"It has been a very long time since I have last seen a face not of my own… It's a very welcoming sight."
"...Right."
Hera did not really know what to feel. On one hand, this little girl was probably the most mature Hera she had seen so far in HH, and she was truly thankful for that. But at the same time, Hera could not really help but lament and overthink the fact that this little girl… died.
She looks 5 at most.
"Oh?" The little girl noticed Hera's trembling eyes, "I… suppose you're also shocked."
"Yes…?" Hera once again took a step back as the little version of her started dancing around; her cute little dress and hair that reached her shoulders waved around as she spun elegantly like a ballet dancer, "You're…"
"Just call me Talia," The little Hera, Talia, let out a small giggle before gracefully leaping onto the V-shaped table, continuing her pirouette as she moved on top of it, "I did not really live long enough to become Hera. And you, you're Whiteking's adoptive son?"
Talia expertly sat in front of Riley, imitating his tilted head as she smiled at him, "It's the first time I am hearing he has an adoptive son, I suppose your existence truly holds a special mystery in the universe."
"As much as you have, Miss Talia," Riley nodded.
"Pft," Talia covered her mouth and giggled. She then started running across the table and looked at Caitlain, "And you're Diana! You don't really look like how they described you!"
"Yes," Caitlain batted her eyes as she curiously approached the little girl, "It would seem I am quite different from the rest of my variants, like you."
"Stop it, I'm not that special, guys," Talia once again giggled before leaping out of the table and running toward the large windows before stretching her arms to the side as wide as she could, "There are like more than thousands of us here."
"Wait." And almost in full contrast to Talia's jolly, almost jubilant voice, Hera seemed completely worried and at a loss as she hurriedly approached Talia, "You said you were from King's universe?"
"Oh, yes…" Talia puffed her cheeks and pointed a finger at her temple, "...Papoosh."
Talia mouthed a small explosion, before creating a buzzing noise as she started brushing her finger toward the back of her neck.
"Whiteking sliced my head like that, and then I was suddenly here, alone for quite a lot of years."
"No…" Hera looked Talia in the eyes.
"It is what it is," Talia sighed.
"And how were you able to get so eloquent?" Caitlain was truly intrigued at Talia's existence, "In human years, you look like you are just a year past a toddler."
"I don't know," Talia just shrugged as she once again looked at herself, "I just learned things, I suppose. I think my superpowers thought I would die of boredom if I did not learn anything the 20 or so years I was alone…
…I like dancing the most"
"..." Hera could really only watch as Talia once again started leaping and spinning in the air as she circled around her, "Can you… tell us how to get out of this place?"
"Oh, I have no idea," Talia shrugged, "The only thing I know is that we are alive, and this is not really heaven. Why would you want to leave this place in the first place? It has everything! They even built a large candy bar on Hera Bazaar Island!"
"...Because we're not supposed to be here?" Hera slowly muttered, "You said it yourself, we're not dead. We need to be out there."
"Where? We might be alive, but our universes are dead. Our moms and dads are dead. Their friends are dead," Talia crossed her arms as she pouted, "You are only saying that because your universe might still be alive."
"That's not what I—"
"Anyways…"
Talia then started yawning as her jolly steps finally slowed down, "I'm getting a little sleepy. So, let's talk again once my nap time is over?"
"Wa—Huh?"
Hera was going to approach Talia, but she, Riley, and Caitlain suddenly found themselves inside a room. No, inside a humble-sized house. The walls were bricks and stones, the floors were just unfinished asphalt, and there were square carpets of the same design just lying on the floor everywhere.
"This…" Hera blinked a couple of times as she started looking around, "...This is my parent's house."
"I did not know you were poor, Miss Hera," Riley also started looking around, focusing on the small bedroom that you could see from the living room since it did not really have a door and was just covered with some sort of curtain.
"We weren't!" Hera almost snarled at Riley as she looked at him, "My parents were both biracial, but my grandparents from my dad's side did not really… appreciate my mother since she came from a… different belief. Dad was disowned by his own family and—why am I even telling this to you!?"
"Interesting, please continue, Miss Hera."
"No," Hera rolled her eyes as she started walking to the door, "Anyway, I remember the houses sharing walls with the neighbors, and… Yup, that's what I fucking thought."
Hera opened the door, only to be welcomed by layers and layers of houses all sticking to one another—houses with the same design.
"Ah! Ye' a newcomer eh?" And immediately, she was greeted by another Hera who seemed to be on her way somewhere, "Looking forward smellin' you from now on. Me and my friends were about to do some little hiking on Hera's Mountain, would you like to come wit'?"
"Why the fuck do you have a difference accent!?" Hera wanted to pull her face in frustration as she once again heard another Hera with a crazy accent.
"Wee. 'Coz I'm acting, sweetie," the other Hera shrugged, "You should try it sometimes, will help you fit in well 'ere. A waste of yer acting skills if ye don't. I'm not feelin' your energy right now, gettin' a tad bit aggress—"
"Stop, stop it! It's not even that good of an accent."
"Excuse me?" And all of a sudden, the other Hera lost her accent. Her left eyebrow, raised as high as it could as she looked Hera in the eyes, "I will have you know that I won several Emmys and Grammys—much more than the other Heras. My accent is fine…
…bitch."
"What did you—"
And before Hera could get a final word in, the other Hera jumped high into the air and onto a helicopter that was already waiting for her in the skies. The other Hera seemed to be saying something to Hera since she was waving her hand, but Hera couldn't really hear it.
"She said you're not even that beautiful, Miss Hera," Riley, on the other hand, seemed to take it upon himself to let Hera know.
"Excuse me…? I'm—No, that doesn't matter," Hera stepped back inside the house, "We need to find a way to get out of here. If I was going to be stuck here forever with other people exactly like me, then I would have rather be stuck with this whitey instead. Dr. Caitlain, since you're the smartest among us three, what do you think so far?"
"Oh, I think everything's fantastic," Caitlain let out a small chuckle as she sat down on the sofa that was covered with a towel, "It hasn't even been long since I learned that the multiverse is real, and I am already being plunged into all of this."
"I mean, do you have any idea on how we could escape this place?"
"It seems to me our friend here might have more," Caitlain pointed to Riley, "My adoptive son here is a Primordial, right? Maybe do something… supreme?"
"I do have an idea, Miss Hera," Riley placed his hand on his chin and nodded.
"...Do we want to hear this idea?" Hera covered her forehead and sighed, "Fine."
"I attempt to kill everyone here," Riley casually said as he smiled.
"No," Hera pointed her palm at Riley, "I know what you're thinking, and the thought… might have brushed my brain a little bit earlier, but no. The realistic scenario is that we'll just get sent to a domain similar to this one."
"And I will destroy that too, Miss Hera."
"And what if I am the only one that gets teleported?" Hera raised an eyebrow, "Then you and Dr. Caitlain here would be stuck in this place forever."
"That doesn't seem bad, honestly," Caitlain shrugged, "I get to spend some time with my supposed adoptive son, and this domain seems to have everything we need."
Riley pointed at Caitlain and nodded his head, "You will also be saving the rest of the multiverse from me, Miss Hera."
"As much as I hate to say this, but I think we actually need you out there," Hera forced out a chuckle, "You and King are monsters without a doubt. But at least with you, people just get tortured, die, and that's it. That fucker seems to be lobotomizing humans and then enslaving other people. He is mad at the world, you… you're just doing your purpose."
"Very well, I have another idea," Riley sighed, "Kill me, Dr. Caitlain."
"...Why would I do that?" Caitlain stared at Riley for a few seconds before her eyes started to widen, "Oh! Are you going to that… Nothing?"
"Yes, Dr. Caitlain," Riley nodded, "He was not really there the last time I died, but perhaps I could call him this time."
"Hm, okay. Turn off your telekinetic barrier."
"Ack, this is crazy," Hera shook her head and turned around,
"...Please don't do it on the carpet."
***
[Oh my…
…things have been very interesting for you the last time we've met. A new Primordial. But are you, really?]
Chapter 831[A new Primordial…
…But are you, really?]
"Did you redecorate your home, Nothing? It was not like this the last time I was here — and that was only hours ago."
[Oh, do you like it?]
Nothing's domain was a collection of absolutely nothing. But now, there were blocks of gray pillars everywhere. Each was as wide as a sedan and perhaps infinitely tall as Riley could not really see the end of it. The distance between each pillar was that of a bus, giving a space wide enough to make it feel not suffocating at all.
This sea of pillars was vast, reaching out into the horizon and probably spawning endlessly. They felt weird too, they felt… alive.
"I do not, Nothing," Riley shook his head as he strayed his eyes away from the pillars and onto Nothing, "I prefer it when it is empty."
And as always, Nothing reflected Riley's appearance. His hair was a lot shorter and neater like Riley's, but there was always just something different about his face.
[Huh… and I wasted energy decorating this too,] Nothing placed his hand on one of the pillars, causing a weird pulse to echo throughout the entire domain as the other pillars also released a pulse. And it was like a growl, a fading growl that whispered farther and farther away from Riley's ears,
[Are you not even going to ask what they are for?]
"No," Riley shook his head, "I am—"
[You are here to ask how to get out of the little girl's domain,] Nothing did not let Riley finish his words as his form shifted into Talia, [I am sorry, but I can not help you with this one. Well, not like I have really ever helped you. Let's talk about something else…
…you've met the children.]
"The children?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "The Primordials?"
[Yes, those cheeky little bastards,] Nothing let out a small but very deep sigh as he shook his head, [After an eternity, they do something like this. It is like they are trying to show me that they could interact with Creation, but I can't. You know?]
"..."
[And now there is you,] Nothing snarled at Riley as he looked at him from head to toe, [If what Navi says about you is true and that you are a Primordial, then it somewhat makes a lot of things make sense, but it also makes some things do not.]
"I have said this before and I will say it again, Nothing." This time, it was Riley who sighed as he started approaching one of the pillars, "I am not interested in my origin, I never have been. Other people are, but I just do not see the point in it."
[Do you know the Primordials and I, in a relative sense, are born only… an hour apart from each other?] Nothing completely ignored Riley as he explained anyway; his form, turning back to resemble Riley, [And yet that hour was an eternity for me — an eternity of Nothing. What was there before Nothing? Well, nothing. It is always so confusing when you talk to us, no?]
"Not really, Nothing," Riley touched the pillar he approached, "I find it quite—"
[Oh, shouldn't have touched that,] Nothing raised both his hands as soon as Riley touched the pillar. The weird smile on his face as he approached Riley, turning almost into a chuckle as he looked him in the eyes. Riley's eyes have always usually been empty, but now… there was almost no trace of anything on them at all, they were just blank,
[You shouldn't have touched that.]
Nothing then started walking around the pillar several times, looking at his wrist from time to time whenever he passed by Riley. And very soon, he slowed down his pace and stood behind him.
[And…
…back?]
"..." What little color Riley had in his eyes returned as he quickly let go of the pillar. He looked around him for a few seconds with his eyebrows slightly lowered, but after a few seconds, he let out a sigh and shook his head hard.
[So?] Nothing leaned closer to Riley's face and smiled, [How does it feel? Eternity?]
"Empty," Riley glanced at his hand.
[As it should,] Nothing looked ahead toward the horizon of pillars, [The Primordials handle everything, and when it is done, it is sent back here, to me. These Pillars hold the memory of every universe that has ever been — right from their creation, and onto the time they turn into nothing.]
"..."
[Are you ready for that, Riley Ross?] Nothing glanced at Riley, [After you are done erasing everything, are you ready to experience what you have just experienced now, again and again?]
"Hm."
[Well, I suppose there is no use in talking about that now,] Nothing let out a small chuckle, [You still have a very long road ahead of you, Riley Ross. You are not like the other Primordials, and they are seeing that — that is the very reason why they have chosen to show themselves to their Creation once and for all. King is the multiverse's problem, Riley…
…and the old Primordials are yours.]
"I wasted my time here," Riley let out a sigh as his silhouette started fading, "I will see you again, Nothing."
[Well, you did not waste your time exactly…] Nothing waved his hand, [...I already gave you the answer.]
"..."
[Oh, and one more thing…
…I believe you and Paige Pearson are a package.]
"Riley!"
"..." Riley blinked, and suddenly Caitlain and Hera were looking at him from above. He looked around, only to realize he was lying on the sofa with his clothes completely covered in blood.
"Wow," Caitlain looked at him like he was some sort of circus freak, "You really do just… come to life again if you die. You don't regenerate, you just… It's like your body just resets."
"Hm. It has been a very long time since I last saw the two of you."
Caitlain and Hera both took a step back as Riley sat up.
"So?" Hera quickly sat beside Riley and grabbed his hand, "Did that Nothing dude say something to you?"
"..." Riley looked at Hera's face for a couple of seconds, before letting out a sigh and saying, "Yes."
"What is it? Stop with the suspense!"
"He told me that this is Talia's domain."
"..."
"..."
"...And?" Hera waited for a few more seconds if Riley was going to say something else.
"That is it, Miss Hera."
"Wh—That's nothing!" Hera wanted to pull her hair there and then, "We already knew that this is Talia—wait a minute. He said this is Talia's domain? Not… Hera's? Is that just a technicality, or is he saying that this isn't a shared space at all… but just Talia's?"
"Perhaps, Miss Hera," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "Let us just try killing the little girl and see what happens."
"No, no! Hold up!" Hera quickly blocked Riley's path as he stood up, "We don't know that yet. We can't go around terrorizing people, especially her. She's… already suffered so much."
"I do not really see what makes her so different from you or the others, Miss Hera," Riley blinked.
"She's a literal child!"
"You seem to be forgetting what I am, Miss Hera," Riley looked Hera in the eyes, "I have killed billions of children. Watch them die, and even kill one that was smiling at me while I was holding her in my arms."
"Th—Still, don't!" Hera did not back down and continued to block Riley's path, "We don't know what's going to happen or how our ability will react if you suddenly go on a rampage. Honestly, we don't know anything."
"...Very well."
"Ah, thank god," Hera could really only let out a breath of relief as she looked at Caitlain, "I really could not deal with anything right now. I just want to relax, maybe rest for a bit… and then we start planning. How about that?"
"I'm just here for the ride," Caitlain shrugged.
"Then I will look around, Miss Hera."
"Wait, where are you going!?" Hera rushed to grab Riley, but he moved his arm away.
"To look around," Riley glanced back, "My memory is a bit foggy at the moment, Miss Hera."
"Promise me you're not going to attack Talia or anyone for that matter."
"No." And with those words, Riley just left the house and flew away.
"Riley, wait! Riley!"
***
"Hm…"
Riley was now in front of a mirror, wearing a newly bought oversized sweater and pants. His previous clothes that were filled with blood, being carried by a Hera behind her; the courteous smile on her face, trying its best not to break.
"Would… would you like something smaller?"
"No, this is fine," Riley turned around, "How do I pay for this?"
"You… don't," the clerk Hera stuttered as Riley approached her, "You set up an account on—Who… even are you?"
"Riley Ross, Clothier Hera," Riley let out a small hum as he looked out the window of the clothing store, only to see a couple more Heras watching him curiously, "I might be spending a few more days in this place. Can you tell me more about this… account?"
"A few more… days? You can leave?" the clerk Hera's eyes started to widen, "Can you leave this place? What are you? Are you god? An angel?"
"The devil, Clothier Hera," Riley sighed, "I suppose I will be returning these clothes to you, then. I do not have a way to pay for it yet."
"No, no! Please, keep it. In return, can you just… tell me where you're staying?"
"...I do not really remember the address."
"Would you like to come to my home instead to talk, then?" The clerk Hera took in a small gulp as she looked at Riley from head to toe, "It has been a while since…
…I last saw a man."
Chapter 832"I believe our house is in that direction."
"Oh, that's the South East district."
The housing of the Heras was quite simple, but mesmerizing at the same time. They all lived in houses with the same down, stacked on top of each other like stairs — perhaps it would be better to define it as a sort of coliseum stand, as the floating island itself was cylindrical in nature.
"This is my house, the North district. You can tell by the towers surrounding the island."
"..." Riley looked up at the tower in the far distance, each of the towers was of different colors, perhaps a way to differentiate them easily, "It is amazing what has been done to this place considering most of you have only arrived here less than a decade ago, Clothier Hera."
"Please, just call me Hera."
"I can not," Riley shook his head, "That is a name reserved for the Hera of my world, Miss Hera 2."
"Well, that will do," Hera 2 giggled as she entered her house, "Please, Mr. Ross."
"Thank you for inviting me to your home, Hera," Riley nodded as he followed Hera 2 inside, "In truth, I find myself a little lacking in confidence with my social skills since I was trapped and forced to watch the beginning and the end of a universe. I needed the—"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ross."
And as Riley entered the house, he found himself being stared at by probably more than a dozen Heras, all wearing different uniforms of the working class. They all had varying expressions on their faces, all with one thing in common — shock.
"Hm," Riley could really let out a small breath as he looked at the same faces one by one, "As I said, a little lacking in social skills. It would seem my ability to read people has also been affected. But then again, I never have been able to read you, Miss Hera 2."
"Holy crap."
"That's… a man."
"Is he… real? Where did he even come from?"
"Can you really get us out of this place!?"
"I'm really sorry, Mr. Ross!" Hera 2 suddenly grabbed Riley's hand and placed it on her chest, "But please, you have to understand. We can't be stuck in this place, there are so many things that I still wish to do."
"..." Riley only glanced at her hand before letting out a sigh, "Why not do it here then, Miss Hera 2?"
"Because it's meaningless!" Hera 2 glanced at the other Heras behind her, only for all of them to nod their heads several times at the same time, "Whatever I do here, the only one that's going to see it… is me! The only audience is me!"
"That is somewhat narcissistic, no?" Riley pulled his hand away. Hera 2 and the others thought he was leaving and were about to stop him. But instead, he walked toward the small table and sat down, "The other Heras are technically not you at all, all of them have different memories, different lives, even different achievements."
"That's… one more thing that's fucked up in this place, Mr. Ross," Hera 2 forced out a chuckle as she sat in front of Riley, looking at him in the eyes, "Achievements. Those who have achieved more when they were still 'alive' are treated better. While… while we who are at the bottom barrel are treated as employees and hands."
"And what is wrong with being a laborer, Miss Hera 2?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "Laborers are the backbones of society, without any of you, this place will fall and—Hm…
…this place will fall."
And as Riley suddenly turned quiet and placed his hand on his chin, Hera 2 turned to look at her variants; seemingly confused as to what they were going to do now.
"Wait…" One of the Heras let out a long and deep breath as she faintly pointed at Riley while very slowly approaching him, "Ross? You're not related to Bernard Ross, by any chance?"
"Hm?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at the curious Hera, "I am his adoptive son."
"What…?"
The Heras all started to look at each other, almost as if having telepathic conversion among themselves and even understanding one another.
"We've never encountered that serial womanizer having an adopted son before."
"Wait, does that freak have something to do with you being here?"
"Not at all," Riley raised his palm, "And I am a unique existence, everyone. Alone in the entire multiverse."
"Woah. So, you're like the protagonist?"
"Wait, wait…" The one that originally pointed at Riley hushed everyone else as she once again pointed at him. This time, her eyes were as squinted as they could be, "...That face, it reminds me of Ms. Phoenix."
"Now that you mention it…"
"Wait, wait…" And once again, the serial pointer pointed at Riley, "...You're Ms. Phoenix and Whiteking's love child!"
"What!?"
"No." Sadly for these Heras that have not sucked in outside news for a long time, Riley quickly shut down their excitement, "I do not really have a biological father, even Alice Lane being my biological mother is currently in question. But it is intriguing that you think I look like Alice Lane, most do not see even a tinge of resemblance."
"I mean, it is quite obvious looking at you."
"Wait, guys! Guys!" Hera 2 blocked everyone's view of Riley as she stood in front of him, "We're losing track here. We all agreed to bring Mr. Ross here to find a way to get us out."
"...And can Mr. Ross get us out?"
"I have an idea," Riley stood up from his seat, "But we need to discuss it first with Hera."
"..." The Heras all looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders as they seemed slightly confused with his statement, "Which one?"
"My Hera."
***
"Absolutely fucking not, are you insane!?"
"Yes."
"No!"
Riley, Hera 2, and the other Heras were now inside Hera's house. And suffice it to say, most of them were staring at Caitlain and missing most parts of Riley and Hera's conversation.
"What do you mean start a war? Why?" Hera had one of her hands placed on the table, while the other was on her waist, "The only result that's going to have is that everyone's going to be awkward with each other after. How many times do I have to tell you that my abilities will always ensure that I survive, no matter what? And the fact that my body is not even reacting to your plan means it will do nothing."
"But your mind sure is reacting to it, Miss Hera."
"Of course. If you haven't noticed, I am pissed off, Riley."
"Oh, I am noticing it now, Miss Hera," Riley's mouth slightly turned wide as he pointed right at Hera's face, "I apologize. All I thought about when I was trapped was Sister, and being livid is her default setting so I seemed to have started associating it with everything else."
"What in the hell are you even saying?" Hera then gestured to the other Heras, "Look, you even involved these poor women with your antics."
"We're actually the ones who approached him!" Hera 2 immediately stepped out of the crowd of Heras, "And we're not poor!"
"I didn't mean it like that," Hera could really only pinch the bridge of her nose as she quietly apologized to everyone, "Look, you are only being swept by this whitey's antics because you don't know him. He's evil, right down to the core. And please, please don't be swept in by his charm."
"We don't care if he's the literal incarnation of the devil himself," Hera 2, as well as the other Heras all looked at Hera; their conviction almost beaming out from their eyes, "But we need to get out of this place. He already told us we're not really dead, and if we manage to leave this place, you guys can just put us in a place without a Hera…
…anywhere but here."
"This place messes our minds," one of the other Heras spoke up, "At first it seems like paradise. The beach, a lake, beautiful mountains — it is basically what most of us want to escape to. I know you feel that, Hera."
"She does," Riley was the one to answer, "Miss Hera is always so busy, and has expressed her desire to take a vacation numerous times when we had our little space adventure years ago. And perhaps even more so now that she owns Hera Entertainment. She—"
"Hera… Entertainment?"
All the Heras' eyes lit up as soon as they heard that word. Most of them even forgot what else they were talking about as they focused on those words and just stared at Hera, looking at her from head to toe.
"You… own your own entertainment company?" Hera 2 gasped.
"That—Riley, what the hell?" Hera glared at Riley and whispered with her teeth gritted.
"Is… is that true?" And all of a sudden, Hera found herself surrounded by different versions of herself, "You're the CEO of your own company?"
"Chairman, actually," Hera sighed, "Look, that doesn't matt—"
"We need to get out of this place," Hera 2 and the others' eyes lit up with fire as their voices turned resolute, "We will do it, we are going to shake the foundation of this place and destroy it from within."
"What… no," Hera pleaded, "This doesn't have to get violent, we just need to talk to Talia, she's the one who knows everything about this place."
"...Right," Hera 2 and the others sighed.
"Good. Now that we're seeing eye to e—"
"We are going to overtake Talia with you."
"Huh…?" Hera blinked a couple of times as Hera 2 pointed at her.
"You are the most successful Hera out of all of us…
…You are worthy of taking her place."
Chapter 833"Remind me again what we're doing here?"
"I told you, we bought this just now! The girls and I practically raked up all our savings this morning and bought this entire island for us!"
"I see."
Hera, Riley, Caitlain, Hera 2, and the other Heras were now on an empty floating island, completely empty. There was not even a single sight of grass, not even a pebble. It was just a flat island with nothing but dirt. But perhaps the most notable part of the floating island was its size…
…there were about twenty of them there, and if just one of them took a single step in any direction, then one of them was bound to fall.
"Why did you even buy something like this?" Hera could not help but once again pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "How are we even going to use this plot of land?"
"We… we were hoping to create Hera Entertainment here," Hera 2, and the other Heras nodded, "You've made it before, I am sure you won't have trouble building it from the ground up again."
"Forget about the effort aspect of how I built the company," Hera was trying her best not to wave her hand as she feared someone might fall, "Let's talk logistics. You want me to build it here?"
"Yes."
"Here? In this very land that could barely fit all of us?"
"...We can make a tower?"
"A tower as thin as Tempo's dick!" Hera screamed out in frustration. As soon as she said those words, however, the others all let out gasps of shock.
"It's not that tiny! Average, yes. But not tiny!"
"You know how much he hates that!"
"Wait, you guys have seen Tempo's dick? Wait, don't tell me most of you guys dated Tempo?"
"...I was married to him."
"Divorced, I found out he had another family in the Philippines and Whiteking was helping him hide it."
"Wh…" Hera did not really expect her words to cause a chain of reaction. She wanted them to stop, but was also slightly curious how Tempo was in the other universes. Fortunately, she was able to stop the natural gossiper in her and heavily clapped her hands,
"Stop! Stop! This plan is ridiculous. I do not even know how things work in this place and you want me to create an entertainment agency?"
"You do not have to worry about the minor stuff, Hera," Hera 2 suddenly wore a pair of glasses, "I'll handle all that as your personal secretary. I hired myself if you don't mind."
"I told you, this is not going to be possi—"
"!!!"
And before Hera could finish her words, she felt her feet very gently leaving the ground.
"W… woah."
"We're… flying."
"Oh my god, this is so weird."
And it wasn't only her, every single one of them except Riley was now floating in the air, even Caitlain who was really just happy to be there.
"What are you doing, Riley…?" Hera, on the other hand, did not seem very pleased with what was happening, "Wait, you're not thinking of dropping them, are you!?"
"Why would he drop us?" Hera 2 blinked a couple of times, "This feels oddly comfortable, our abilities aren't really reacting to it."
"I can't wait for you guys to realize what sort of monster Riley really is," Hera let out a sigh as she just focused on Riley again, "What are you doing?"
"This, Miss Hera," Riley breathed out as he kneeled and placed his palm on the ground. And as soon as he did so, the floating island that was the size of a small bus slowly started to expand.
"Crap… I forgot you could do that," Hera batted her eyes several times, and with each opening of her eyes the island just grew wider and wider. And soon, it was the size of a football stadium,
"...But I did not know that you could do it to this extent."
"I could not, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head, "But ever since I started stretching my telekinetic abilities to the point of me dying several times, it would seem it also affected how much I could endure the stress of my other abilities."
"This…" Riley then stood as he very gently lowered Hera and the others, "...is nothing to me now."
"Ah, this is great!" Hera 2 and the other Heras started cheering and hugging one another as the plot of land they bought instantly turned bigger, "Even if we're not successful with our plan, we could just sell this island and live like queens!"
"..." Hera quickly glared at the other Heras, causing them all to collect and calm themselves down, with some of them still high-fiving each other sneakily, "That solves one of our biggest problems… and now we go onto the next one."
Hera looked up and the others did the same as they all imagined a tall building erecting directly where they stood.
"Is it just me, or are we getting closer to the sky?"
"...Which sky? We're surrounded by the sky already."
"I meant I feel like we're going up!"
The Heras quickly all looked down, only to realize they were actually already high up from the ground.
"So like what, you're a literal god now?" Hera, on the other hand, could really only just let out a sigh of exhaustion as he watched as Riley truly did erect an entire building where they stood. And soon, four walls and a roof covered their heads.
"This I could do for a very long time already, Miss Hera," Riley then said as the interior of the room started to resemble Hera's office back in their world. Riley then removed parts of the wall, creating a thick glass window so that they could have a view of the entire island,
"As for the other furniture and the color, I am afraid we would have to acquire it somewhere else."
"Yeah, no. This…" Hera looked around, "...This is good."
***
"It's done!"
"I can't believe we did all of this in just 6 hours!"
"...All we did was bring paint."
"And most of the 6 hours was us bringing furniture from our houses!"
And as the Heras said it, 6 hours had passed since Riley erected the building, and it almost truly resembled Hera's building. Hera also helped, of course, by pointing to Riley the certain details he needed to do.
"..."
"..."
"...Now what?" Hera 2 and the other Heras all turned their attention to Hera, "Do we just start operating or something? We do need staff, we could start hiring some girls, but for now, I guess it's just us?"
"You guys are not staff. Seriously, how are you guys even Hera with that kind of self-loathing and confidence?" Hera let out a small scoff as she looked at Hera 2, "You guys bought this land with your money so you're basically owners of the company."
"O… oh," The Heras all looked at each other, seemingly proud of what they had achieved.
"But still…" Hera 2 sighed, "We still need staff to—"
"You don't need to worry about staff, we already have them," Hera smirked as she looked at Riley, "Thousands of them. All we need right now…
…is to set up auditions."
***
"Please, you need to fall in line! Those who did not apply online, you have a separate line at the back of the building!"
A week had passed since Riley and the others built Hera Entertainment, with the Heras even legally registering it where it needed to be registered. Even the rest of the island was now terraformed into a beautiful and vast garden — there was even a large pond.
As for their staff, well… there were currently more than a thousand Riley running and flying around. Some were even taught to hold a camera by Hera herself.
They all initially thought that no one would really audition for them, but as soon as Hera 2 purposely started to spread the news that Hera was actually truly a chairman of an entertainment agency back in her world, the people dove in like flies; either to see her, or to audition.
"People, we can't assist you if—"
[Please all go home. This is an unauthorized gathering!]
Soon, however, the line was suddenly disrupted as several helicopters started descending from above and landing right in front of the building. Several guards and soldiers stepped out, gesturing to the people to all go home.
"Hey! What do you mean not authorized!?" Hera 2 adjusted her glasses as she stomped her way toward the Hera soldiers, "This is literally private property! On whose authority do you think you're deciding that we are not authorized here!?"
"Mine."
And as soon as that little voice whispered into the air, the atmosphere that was descending into chaos instantly faded away as everyone either turned their heads down, or looked at Talia, who leaped from the helicopter and slowly made her way toward Hera 2.
"I do not think this place is healthy for everyone's mind since—"
"And what do you know about a healthy mind, girl?"
And before Talia could finish her words, Hera suddenly stepped outside the building; wearing sunglasses and a fur coat; heels almost half a foot tall. Suffice it to say, she stood out amongst all the Heras there.
"O… of course I know," Talia crossed her arms as she looked up at the approaching Hera, "I was the first to get here, I know everything."
"Girl…" Hera literally looked down on Talia,
"…you haven't even had your period yet."
Chapter 834"You haven't even had your period, little girl."
"!!!"
It was almost too sharp, the gasps. Some even sounded like a whistle, creating an orchestra of disbelief and amazement. None of them had really tried to talk to Talia like that, as she was silently and obviously considered as the ruler of this place — she was the very first to come upon this place. But most importantly… she looked like a child.
In truth, even Hera wanted to slap herself in the face for saying that, but it had to be done. This is what they were aiming for, after all. Now that they have set it up perfectly, all that was needed of her was to act, and act she will.
"...What's so good about having a period? It's not like any of you could have children."
And once again, gasps filled the air as some of the Hera felt Talia's words pierce through the very core of their existence. It was true, none of them could have children. For some reason, their body doesn't allow them as it sees having a baby as a threat to them.
"Stop this now, Hera," Talia crossed her arms before gesturing to the soldiers to start forcing the other Heras to leave, "You are disrupting the natural order of things here."
"Disrupting?" Hera glared at the soldiers, causing all of them to stop in their tracks, "The only one that's disrupting anything here is you, little girl."
"I am not a little girl!" Talia raised her voice as she looked Hera in the eyes, "I am the same age as any of you! It's not my fault that I stopped again when we were sent to this paradise!"
"Paradise…" Hera closed her eyes and smiled, "...What sort of paradise is this that it has soldiers watching our every move? These people just want to be part of something bigger than this place."
"...And you think this is something bigger?" Talia pointed at the building, "It's make-believe!"
"It's showbiz, sweetie. I don't expect you to understand," Hera crossed her arms as she stood close to Talia, literally towering over her, "And if you say that this is make-believe, does that mean that everything here is? The beach, the nice lake, the mall."
"I… didn't say that," Talia's eyebrows began to lower, "Everything here is for everyone!"
"It doesn't seem like it," Hera looked down on Talia, "Why are you trying to stop this, little girl? We are going to make movies, T.V shows, and maybe even some cartoons you would like."
"I am not a child!"
"Perhaps you're threatened?" Hera's voice deepened as she looked Talia in the eyes, "Threatened by the fact that people would realize that out of all of us, you are the most useless one."
"..." Talia did not really answer Hera and just returned her glare, "You… you don't deserve to be here. You think just because you've achieved something none of us have, you're better?"
"Not at all," Hera shook her head as she looked at all the Heras watching them, "The very reason I built this place is so that every one of us could achieve what we want. We've become soldiers and heroes that save people… but deep down we know that we have always just wanted to perform in front of people. We're actors."
"We… don't need any of that," Talia also looked at the other Heras, "Isn't it more important that we're happy and having fun? We don't have to work here if we don't want to! Everything is free!"
"But that's wrong," Hera strayed her eyes away to look at her building, "And all of us know it. We created banks when we didn't need to, we created jobs when we didn't need to. Because what is the point of resting when there's no reason to rest at all? Don't you have something you want to do, Talia? Something other than just taking a nap and watching us?"
"What… what else would I need? Everything is here!" Talia's voice started to crack as her eyes very slowly turned red, "Everything is here!"
"Except everything else," Hera closed her eyes and sighed, "If we weren't such good actors playing our roles, we would have already all lost our minds in this place. This is a dollhouse, Talia. We're not supposed to be her—"
"We are! We are supposed to be here!"
And to everyone's surprise, Talia began to cry—no. She began to bawling and screeching, evene lying on the ground as she practically threw a tantrum, "Where else are we supposed to be if not here!? It is not fair that all of you got to live a life out there and I am stuck here!"
"..."
"Why doesn't anyone want to stay here with me!?" Talia curled into a ball as her tears and snot trailed toward the ground, "What are you even going to do out there!? You're all dead! If you think you should be out there, then think about the people who have already died in your universes! Do you think you deserve to continue living out there when they are already gone!?"
"..." Hera's breaths started to stutter as she watched Talia just sprawled there, crying her eyes out and swallowing her gasps. It was obvious from their first meeting that although Talia has indeed lived as long as them, her emotional growth has practically stopped.
But it has to be done.
"Haven't you ever wondered what's out there for you, Talia?" Hera sat on the ground and placed her hand on Talia's forehead, "Don't you want to get to know more people?"
"Why do I need to do that?" Talia bit her lip, "I have all of you."
"Don't you want to grow up? Get your first period, get a boyfriend, get married, get divorced," Hera let out a soft chuckle that resounded through all the Heras there, "Unlike the rest of us, you can still live your childhood."
"Mommy and daddy are gone," Talia's cheeks began to tremble, "There's nothing there."
"You have—"
"We have done it your way, Heras."
And all of a sudden, for some reason, the air turned eerily quiet as a voice unfamiliar for most of the Heras there whispered in the air. They did not immediately turn to look at the owner of the voice, however, as they were looking at all the albinos that were very slowly walking toward them all.
Riley's clones were just previously doing all the tasks they needed to do. But now, all of them were circling the Heras; their face, completely emotionless.
"What…"
"No, no…"
And almost instantly, all the Heras that were present on the island crouched to the ground and clasped their heads; their bodies, trembling to the point that it rose several temperatures up. And as they were busy trying to fight their own instincts that did not know what to do, Riley descended from the sky and landed in front of the crying Talia.
"W…what…" Talia was not even done wiping her tears as she felt her entire body convulsed. She felt this very same feeling before, when King tried to open up her brain. But there was, however, something different about it.
"Riley, what are you doing…!?" Hera watched as Riley placed his foot on Talia's face.
"Plan B, Miss Hera."
"We don't have a plan B!"
"We do now," Riley looked Hera in the eyes, "I start trying to kill everyone here, including you. Perhaps that will send you back to the multiverse."
"If your plan works, then you and Caitlain will be trapped here forever!"
"It does not matter, Miss Hera," Riley shook his head, "If you do manage to return to our universe, please make sure Hannah is safe."
"R—!!!"
And before Hera could finish her words, she found herself suddenly blown away; her back latched onto her building. She tried to free herself, but she was completely pinned to the wall.
"N… no," Talia's breaths once again stuttered as she felt the sole of Riley's shoe very slowly crushing her face, "Why… why are you doing this…!?"
"Because Plan A did not work, Miss Talia," Riley did not even look at Talia as he put more weight onto his foot, "Plan A was convincing you and the rest of the Heras to leave this place, but it was obviously not working. So, I suppose torture it is, the—"
"Talia!" Hera did not let Riley finish his words as she screamed as loud as she could, "King… Aren't you angry at that old fucker!?"
"..." Talia's entire body trembled, whether or not she heard Hera's words was something only she knew.
"He took everything from you!" Hera practically roared, "Don't you want revenge!? He killed your mommy and daddy too! Aren't you angry!?"
"There is no use in trying to persuade this child, Miss Hera," Riley flicked his finger, sealing Hera's mouth as he finally looked down on Talia, "She obviously does not care for anyone else but herself. She does not care about her mother and father, and that their killer is still out there. She is…
…a weak and scared toddler."
"I…" Talia gritted her teeth as she practically sucked in all her tears and snot,
"...I am not a child!"
"Then grow up…
…Miss Hera."
"!!!"
And with those words, a wave of energy suddenly pulsed throughout the entire island—no, throughout the entire domain. The sky began to crack, with the sun shining from the distance withering away.
And as even the very air itself started to crumble, a bright flash blinded everyone. And as their vision returned to them…
…they found themselves inside a circular auditorium, all of them, now inside the Council of Ross's space station.
"Hm," Riley nodded to himself,
"Plan B always makes for a quick conclusion."
Chapter 835"Where… is this place?"
"Everyone, please calm down."
"So, this is the main universe."
"No. This is a dead universe, and I don't think there's a main universe. Ah, please don't move anything!"
"Wait, so you mean we're still stuck here!?"
"Everyone, please. My friends are already trying to find a way to get us out."
If Hera was not gifted the ability to adapt to any situation, then she would have probably already lost her mind. She knew that there were a lot of Heras back in the HH, but now that they were all gathered in the same place, she found herself almost drowning from… herselves.
As for Riley, he was currently exploring the Council of Ross space station with Caitlain. There was just one problem, however. With the onslaught of Hera gathered in the council room, the space station automatically expanded to accommodate all of them, thus changing the corridors altogether.
He and Caitlain were trying to find any device that could help them open up a portal to another universe. After all, this is the Council of Ross… well, was. There should be something here that could grant them access to the multiverse.
"This is… amazing."
And as they walked through the corridors of the Council of Ross, Caitlain could not help but brush her palm along the silver walls,
"It is amazing what the universe could build if it isn't broken. The technology in Theran was already the most advanced that I know of, but this… it is as if this entire space station is alive, biological. You said a variant of Bernard Ross built this?"
"Yes, Dr. Caitlain," Riley nodded, "He prefers to be called Bard, and he created the Council of Ross."
"Is he the most intelligent variant of Bernard Ross?" A small but dubious smile crawled on Caitlain's face; her voice, slightly turning higher.
"I am unsure, Dr. Caitlain. But I believe he is one of the most intelligent ones."
"Is it King?"
"No," Riley shook his head, "King is just a Bernard Ross without morals, but I am afraid his reliance on the powers he had gained has caused him to think differently, Dr. Caitlain."
"What about your adoptive father?"
"Perhaps it is a battle between him and Bard," Riley nodded, "Father had something that the others did not, and he needed to be better to adapt to it."
"And what is that?"
"Me," Riley glanced at Caitlain, "He had to face the existence of Riley Ross and Darkday. Unfortunately, we will never know who is truly the most intelligent among them as Father is dead."
"...I would have very much liked to have seen your father, Riley. I bet he and my other version would have been a pleasure to talk—"
"Oh, this is him."
"!!!" Caitlain immediately halted her steps as Riley suddenly showed her the decapitated head of Bernard, "W… where did you even get that?"
"Back in the Council Room. I took it before the Hera variants stepped on it," Riley let out a small sigh as he moved the head closer to Caitlain, "What do you think? Are you also falling in love with him, Dr. Caitlain?"
"I don't think I can answer that," Caitlain looked at Bernard's head, "Please store that back to where you were hiding it, it's… disrespectful."
"Hm," Riley nodded before shrinking Bernard's head and hiding it in one of his many pockets, "Since the rest of his body is already lost in another universe, I thought it best to keep this head so that Sister and Mother would at least have something to bury, Dr. Caitlain. Of course, it needs a little makeup to work as it is already decaying."
"Right…" Caitlain squinted her eyes, "I don't know if you're sweet, or just outright insane."
"Why can I not be both, Dr. Caitl—Hm?"
Riley was not able to finish his words as a scorching surge of light suddenly beamed straight toward his head. It wasn't able to penetrate or even a micrometer of his skin, however, as Caitlain blocked that laser with her palm.
"Woah there, you can kill someone with this," Caitlain calmly said as she stood in front of Riley, just letting the beam hit her on the forehead.
"..." Riley tilted his head to the side to see who shot the laser, only to see a rainbow silhouette standing at the end of the corridor.
"...Riley Ross!?" The laser instantly faded away as an almost euphonious voice echoed across the walls, "You're back!?"
Caitlain was about to rush toward the man as he started running toward them, but Riley grabbed her by the shoulder.
"He is part of the Council of Ross, Dr. Caitlain," Riley watched as the man wearing rainbow armor ran toward them with his arms stretched to the side, "The only homosexual Bernard Ross that I know of so far, Rainbowking Barney."
"You are Riley Ross, right?" Barney's breaths may as well be gasps as he stood in front of Riley, "Is… is it only you? Where are the others?"
"I am afraid it is only me, Dr. Caitlain, and a lot of Hera variants, Barney," Riley nodded, "Were you not teleported away with the rest of us?"
"...No," Barney let out a long whistling sigh as he shook his head, "I did not even know what was happening until all of you were gone. I was unconscious and couldn't help… and when I realized that I was alone, I watched the feed from the monitors to see what happened and… I saw King."
"It is fine, Barney," Riley shook his head, "You could not have helped in any way whatsoever. But you can now, we need to pull Sister and the others from wherever universe they were sent to."
"I have actually been trying to search for the frequency King sent all of you to, but the portals left no trace, and they usually do," Barney slammed his fist on the wall.
"Look, I don't know anything about the multiverse yet," Caitlain interrupted the two and raised her hand, "But could it be the fact that the universe this guy was sent to, my universe, was a dying universe has something to do with the fluctuating frequency?"
"Dying universe?" Barney looked Caitlain in the eyes, before suddenly turning around and waving his finger violently in the air, "Of course… Of course! the energy signature of a dying universe would drastically change by the second, not allowing us to actually latch onto it. You two, follow me!"
And as Barney just abruptly left the two of them standing in the corridor, Riley and Caitlain could really only look at each other; shrugging their shoulders at the same time before following Barney.
It was weird, however, as Barney was leading them to a part of the space station they had actually passed by already earlier. But as they reached a certain spot that was completely inconspicuous and empty, Barney placed his palm on the wall — opening up a way to another corridor.
"Oh," Riley let out a small hum as he looked at Caitlain, "Is that why you were touching the walls earlier, Dr. Caitlain?"
"...Yes," Caitlain lied without even batting an eye, "Yes, that is what I was doing."
"As expected of the themarian scientist that has caused several genocides," Riley nodded several times.
"...What?" And as Caitlain heard those words, she could not help but hastened her steps to follow Riley—no. She even flew in front of him, flying backward as she looked Riley in the eyes, "What do you mean caused several genocides?"
"Most of your variants experimented on dying civilizations, Dr. Caitlain," Riley did not stop walking, "My mother did it in order to try to find a way to save Theran, but she failed like most of the others."
"That… wow," Caitlain breathed out, "Seriously?"
"Yes."
"Wait… tell me more."
The two continued to follow Barney as they talked. It was a short talk, however, as they reached the end of the corridor; a large silver door, welcoming them in full. Barney then accessed the door's lock system.
"Hm…?" Barney entered his passcode, but the only response he was getting was a long and sharp beep, "Weird, my password was working earlier."
"Why not use the retina scanner?" Caitlain said as she pointed at the scanner on top of the control panel.
"Pft, that's not working," Barney stuck out his tongue in disgust, "We've already told Bard several times to have it fixed, but he doesn't seem to care."
"Huh…" Caitlain shrugged as she looked at the door from top to bottom, "...Want me to just pry it open?"
"The entire thing is going to collapse if you do that," Barney groaned as he waved his hand, "Just wait for a few more minutes, I'll remember my password."
"Alright," Caitlain turned to look at Riley, "Tell me more about Bard, though. He's single now, right?"
"Yes, Dr. Caitlain," Riley nodded, "The Diana of their universe experimented on her on daughter and let the other themarians invade Earth, I do not really know the full story."
"That is… weird. Are there more evil versions of me out there?"
"I have even met a homosexual variant of you, Dr. Caitlain."
"...What?"
"Yes, the very first variant I met when I was accidentally sent to another universe. And she is in a relationship with a variant of my biological mother."
"...What!? Just how crazy is the multiverse?"
"It is very crazy, Dr. Caitlain," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as he very slowly turned to look at Barney, "Crazy enough that some variants impersonate other variants…
…am I correct, King?"
Chapter 836"Am I correct, King?"
The beeping noises that kept whistling in the air instantly stopped. Replaced by Barney's breaths as his finger stopped midway from pressing another number. He then very slowly glanced at Riley, before raising an eyebrow and looking at him from head to toe.
"Excuse me…?" Barney then said, obviously offended, "Did you just call me King, without the Rainbow?"
"Yes," Riley nodded.
"I will have you know I don't appreciate being doubted," Barney rolled his eyes before just once trying to type in his password, "And even more, I will have you know that I hate that you just compared me to someone that obviously has no style, euck."
"Hm," Riley looked at the large silver door, before turning around to look at the long corridor. Caitlain, whose eyes were now slightly squinted as she just observed what Riley was doing. She was, however, now completely on guard.
"I do not know what your plan is by bringing us here. But do you know why I did not just immediately try to kill you once I realized you were King, King?"
"What are you even talking about…?" Barney once again waved his hand, "Look, we've already been told about you and how crazy you are — but we do not have time for this. Just let me concentrate."
"You seem to not be used to spending time with people that know how horrifyingly intelligent you truly are, Bernard Ross," Riley then let out a small sigh as he shook his head, "Bernard Ross would never forget anything that has anything to do with numbers."
"Well, that's where you're deadly wrong, boy…" Barney let out a small giggle as he continued to enter his password, "...Don't you see me struggling now?"
"You smell like fresh blood and sweat, King," Riley's nose slightly fluttered as he leaned closer to Barney,
"Perhaps I could offer a scenario of what happened. You received some sort of alert or notification when we appeared back in the Council of Ross, and so you instantly went here to check. But when you realized it was me, you immediately hid somewhere in the space station, where you accidentally saw Rainbowking, who was probably trying to do something to get us all back. You probably found him right here."
"You watch too many cartoons, boy."
"The two of you probably fought, but of course, he was no match for you. But right when you were about to finish him off, you probably noticed us getting near and decided not to do anything as Caitlain will obviously hear it. Barney used this chance to enter his passcode and escape to the other side of the door — you probably saw a glimpse of his passcode, and now you are guessing the other numbers."
"Probably learned that from your dad, huh?" Barney once again let out a small giggle, "I like your imagination, but no. If he was escaping, he would have used the biometrics instead of hastily typing his passcode. Now, just stay quiet and let me work."
"Because the biometric lock is broken, as you said. I believe that is real because Father takes a while to fix the sink if Mother orders him to."
"..."
"Now, do you know why I did not just immediately try to kill you once I realized who you were?" Riley repeated his question,
"Because I know that you know that I already know who you are, and you probably brought us here specifically. But why?"
"Riley…" Barney once again let out a small sigh as he finally turned around and looked Riley in the eyes, "...You're wrong."
"T—"
"I tortured Rainbowking for the passcode and killed him after," a small but ominously sinister smile quickly crawled on Barney's face as its skin started to melt down, revealing a more youthful-looking Bernard, "But I was too hasty since you were here that I did not even take into account that he might have still lied despite the torture."
"King."
"I keep making mistakes," King then brushed his hair back, revealing its silver luster. He then carefully removed his contact lenses, removing all the color from his eyes, "How did you even manage to return from a place that should have been impossible to return from? You truly are an enigma, Riley Ross."
"I have someone with the power of a literal plot armor by my side, King," Riley shrugged.
"Huh, that woman?" King pulled off whatever remained of the mask from his face, "Another variable I did not count. Well, congratulations, Riley Ross — you have discovered who I am. Bravo."
King let out a small chuckle as he gave Riley an applause, "And now to answer your question as to why I brought you here. I did underestimate how much you know about my temperament and personality, but what I did not underestimate is you, Riley Ross."
Riley only looked at King's hand as he pointed at him.
"I am not foolish enough to think I can defeat you, even more so with a variant of this alien on your side," King smiled at Caitlain before returning his focus back to Riley, "And especially without that girl here, Hannah was it?"
"..."
"Hm," the smile on King's face grew wider as he saw Riley's eyes slightly squint, "Anyway, I was truly hoping you would attack me here. On the other side of this door is the AI of the entire ship, if it detects anything that would result in it being destroyed, the entire ship itself will transfer to another dead universe, leaving behind the one it deems to be a threat. In this case, it would be the three of us."
"Hm," Riley nodded in approval.
"I could have left during the window of time when you were confused since I already have access to the multiverse in the first place, leaving only you two here in this dead universe without any possible way to go anywhere. It is a good plan, no?" King chuckled, "That would have solved my Riley Ross problem, at least until you become a fully-fledged god or something. But perhaps by then, I would have already accomplished what I set out to do, and if you still wish to destroy the entire multiverse, then at the very least I would have the satisfaction of knowing that you will be cleaning after my scraps."
"..." Caitlain, who had been quietly observing the situation, could not help but blink a couple of times, slightly leaning her head back as she glanced at Riley, "...You going to let him talk to you like that?"
"I will," Riley shrugged, "That is the only thing he could do besides escaping, after all."
"Touche," King bowed his head at Riley, "Now, if you won't attack me, then I will just leave peacefully and we can both continue on with both of our plans still in action."
"Let's just kill this bastard, Riley," Caitlain's eyes turned red, "We'll be trapped in this dead universe, but at least he's also dead."
"This could be a clone," King raised both his palms.
"It is not a clone," Riley shook his head, "But I will allow you to leave, King. I wish to at least say goodbye to Sister, being trapped in this universe will lower the chances of achieving that."
"Good." A portal then suddenly appeared behind King as he took a step back, "And by the way, the girl, Paige Pearson—I have her. Just letting you know."
"Okay. Thank you for letting me know, King."
And with those words, King took another step back and disappeared into the portal.
"Well, that went well," Caitlain sucked in her teeth as she glanced at Riley, "We could have just killed him, I am supposed to be dead already anyway."
"I thought you wanted to meet Bard, Dr. Caitlain?" Riley then flicked his finger. And as he did so, a clone emerged from the floor. The clone wasted no time as it immediately walked to the control panel and started entering a code.
"Oh, you sneaky bastard," Caitlain smiled and nodded, "You know what the password is this entire time?"
"No," Riley immediately shook his head, "I saw the numbers King entered, I am only trying to continue where he left off."
"Oh…" Caitlain could only watch as Riley started walking away, "...So, we just wait until your clone enters the correct password?"
"Yes," Riley shrugged.
"Huh, lame," Caitlain placed her hands behind her head as she followed Riley. She took one final glance at the clone… only to see the large silver door actually opening, "W—It's opening!"
"Hm?" Even Riley seemed slightly shocked as he blinked a couple of times before turning to look at the door, and it was indeed sliding open. Riley then looked at his clone, who seemed to be the most perplexed out of all of them.
"I think I got it, Boss?" The clone smiled as he pointed back and forth between Riley and the door.
[No, you didn't.]
Sadly for the clone, a familiar silhouette stepped out from the other side of the sliding door and immediately rebuked his words,
[You were not even able to finish your last attempt. I opened the door.]
"...Someone you know?" Caitlain looked at the woman that was very slowly approaching them, "Friendly or no?"
[Very friendly, Dr. Caitlain. I am Ahor Zai.]
"...As in the Codex?"
[Yes.]
"Wow," once again, Caitlain couldn't help but be amazed, "You were just… a screen in my universe."
[I was lucky to have been created in the same universe as Riley Ross,] Ahor Zai smiled and nodded, [Everything that I am now was only possible because of the Boss. Now…
…would you like help in pulling our friends from dying universes?]
Chapter 837"Is this what Sister and the others felt when they tried finding me across the multiverse?"
[No, they had it worse since they did not really have the help of the transcended me.]
"Hm. It is a good thing that King was not able to enter into your mind, Ahor Zai."
[He would have never been able to, Boss. He did not know I was even on the space station. And even if he did, I have already integrated myself with this space station. To try and destroy me is to destroy the space station.]
"Hm."
Riley was back in the view deck of the council, overlooking the circular auditorium which was now probably the size of a football stadium due to the large number of Hera variants in it. The number, however, was already a lot fewer than before due to the fact that they were actually already being settled in other universes, finding a new home in them.
They entered the portals that were neatly arranged at the center of the auditorium, each with a clone of Riley in tow just in case there was a chance that Hannah and the others might have been sent to a universe that was not actually dying.
The other half of Riley's clones, on the other hand, were sent to dying universes to try and search for them. So far, however, they have not been lucky as none of the clones returned with any news.
…And it has been a month since they started.
[We would need to wait for the space station to recharge to its full capacity again soon, Riley. Are you sure you do not want to focus on the dying universes, instead of opening portals with a much lower chance of providing results?]
"..." Riley glanced at Ahor Zai for a few seconds, before looking back down at all the Hera variants who were hugging each other goodbye, as this will probably be the last time they would be seeing their friends,
"No, let them have this moment, Ahor Zai."
[But they could have this moment at a later time, Boss.]
"No, they will not," Riley's eyes did not stray away from the Hera variants as his voice slightly lowered, "Once we find Hannah and the others, or if we do not find any of them at all — then there will be no later for the multiverse, Ahor Zai…
…It is time to do my purpose and turn all of creation into nothing."
[I see,] Ahor Zai closed her eyes and nodded, [I would very much like to be there when it happens, Boss.]
"You will be there before, when it happens, and after," Riley let out a small breath.
[After…?] Ahor Zai tilted her head as she was slightly confused with Riley's words, [But after you are done destroying Creation, there will be nothing left.]
"..." Riley turned to look at Ahor Zai, "I am a Primordial, Ahor Zai. I will serve as the end of this Creation, and perhaps create the next. Paige and I come as a pair."
[Where did you get this information from, Boss?] Ahor Zai's eyes started to light up like there were several fireflies in them, literally. Almost as if she was trying to save each of Riley's words above everything else.
"From Nothing."
[...]
There was a sense of sadness in Riley's voice. A cadence in his voice that Ahor Zai has never really heard from him before, loneliness.
[I see,] Ahor Zai's eyes continued to light up as she moved everything she knew about Riley on the very top of her memories, [You turn the current Creation into Nothing, while Paige Pearson creates the next. In technicality, both of you are Primordials. One of destruction, and one of birth.]
"I suppose so, Ahor Zai," Riley closed his eyes and breathed out, "And by definition, you will be too."
[Me…?] A gasp whispered from Ahor Zai's lips as she looked Riley in the eyes.
"You will have the hardest task of it all, Ahor Zai. You will be there to witness it all," Riley remembered the conversation he had with Navi, "You will be riding to waves forever."
[I… am a Primordial too?] Ahor Zai's eyes started batting several times, [Does that not mean that Miss Hera and her variants will be too? They will never die.]
"I have not thought of that, Ahor Zai," Riley blinked as he heard that, "Then I pity them that they will witness eternity as I already have — it is not a beautiful existence."
[You have witnessed eternity?] Once again, Ahor Zai's eyes lit up.
"I have," once again, the sadness in Riley's voice was evident, "Nothing tricked me into doing so, and I was trapped in it for a very long time. I bear witness to an alpha and an omega."
[How long is a very long time, Boss?]
"Long enough that I have changed, Ahor Zai," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as he let out a long and deep sigh, "Long enough that I have forgotten who I am."
[I have noticed that, yes. Others would probably not, but I do,] Ahor Zai nodded to herself, [There was something different about you that I thought you were a different person when I saw you again.]
"Everything returned to me when I was brought back to Nothing's domain," Riley continued to watch some of the Hera variants leaving, "But right now, I am only pretending to be the same person I was before I experienced eternity. I am sure Miss Hera noticed it too."
[Then may I ask what you are truly feeling right now?] Ahor Zai stepped in front of Riley, blocking the view of the auditorium as she looked him in the eyes,
[!!!]
Riley did not need to say anything at all to her, however, as the look on Riley's face and his eyes said it all. As soon as he dropped all the facade, what was left there was absolutely…
…nothing.
Riley was already emotionless before, but he did still have feelings and it was evident from his micro-expressions. But now, even with a smile on his face, it was almost as if Ahor Zai was looking at a being that did not really exist in the same plane as them anymore.
Ahor Zai covered her mouth before her breath could turn into a gasp. She looked at Riley from head to toe, before tears started trailing from her cheek.
[Riley Ross… is gone.]
"...I did not really think of it like that," Riley did not really respond to Ahor Zai's words as a hint of a smile finally crawled back into his eyes, "Perhaps that is what it was, Ahor Zai. Riley Ross truly died then for the very last time…
…and I am what returned."
Riley started looking at his hands, taking in a deep breath before shaking his head.
"Please do not tell this to Sister, Ahor Zai," a whisper escaped Riley's lips, "I do not want her to know."
[Of course, Boss,] Ahor Zai bowed her head, [This information will only be for me and Miss Hera.]
"..." Riley then glanced back, only for him to see Hera looking at her with her mouth slightly open. In truth, she had actually been there from the start. In fact, before Riley asked Ahor Zai his question about the multiverse, he was previously talking with Hera.
"...What the fuck did I just hear?" Hera could not help but bat her eyes a couple of times, "I did notice there was something different about you, but when you told me that you experienced creation and the end of time I thought you were being metaphorical…
…but you really did?"
"I did, Miss Hera," Riley nodded.
"But you were only gone for a few minutes, Riley," Hera's breaths started to stutter, "You… you were only gone for a few minutes."
"I was gone for a very long time, Miss Hera."
"How long is a very long time?" Hera repeated Ahor Zai's question, "And answer it by years and stop being vague."
"I do not remember how long, Miss Hera. I lost count somewhere," Riley smiled.
"I told you to stop being vague!" Hera raised her voice as she stood in front of Riley.
"I am not being vague, Miss Hera. I truly lost count," Riley shook his head, "Why does this seem important for you to know?"
"What number were you in when you stopped counting," Hera looked Riley in the eyes.
"A trillion years," Riley answered, "I suppose I might have not really lost count, I just saw no point in counting again. Are you perhaps worried because you will also have to experience that, Miss Hera?"
"No, I will adjust to that…" Hera's voice quickly turned quiet, "...I am worried about you, Riley."
"Me?"
[Ha…] Ahor Zai let out a gasp as she once again covered her mouth, [I did not know you carried feelings of love for Riley, Miss Hera.]
"W—I don't!" Hera quickly took a step back and waved arms, "No, no. I mean I am really really worried about everything else. You were a monster before, Riley… but you were still human, you were human, Riley."
"Thank you for saying that, Miss Hera."
"But now…" Hera looked at Riley from head to toe. She stayed quiet for a few seconds, but widened her eyes after a while, "Wait, do you even still feel anything when you kill someone?"
"..." Riley returned Hera's stare, before looking to the side, "I do not know, Miss Hera."
"You… don't," Hera blinked as she continued to stare in Riley's eyes, "You don't feel anything anymore."
"I have already said that, Miss Hera."
"No, no…" A smile crawled on Hera's face as she pointed at Riley, "This… this could be a good thing for the rest of us. That means we could actually persuade you to stop now, to stop killing."
"No," Riley immediately shook his head,
"I am still ending everything, Miss Hera."
"Wh—"
[Wait!] Before Riley and Hera could continue their conversation, however, Ahor Zai suddenly raised her voice and her hand,
[...We might have found someone!]
Chapter 838[...We found someone!]
"Oh, who is it?"
[The clone has yet to exit the portal, but he activated the transmitter.]
"Hm, let us go down to see who it might be."
"We'll talk about this more later, Riley! Let's go!"
"Hm…" Riley really only nodded his head, before Hera suddenly grabbed his hand as they rushed to the elevator. Riley has noticed this even before, but Hera seemed to have a tendency to hold his arm or tugging his clothes — even before.
"Have you noticed, Miss Hera?"
"Noticed what?" Hera looked around.
"We always seem to find ourselves in an elevator?" Riley asked out of nowhere.
"Ack, please don't remind me of that," Hera's entire body chilled and trembled as soon as she was reminded of the time Riley told her that he was Darkday, "Seems like a lifetime ago."
"It was," Riley nodded.
"Oh, man. Why couldn't you just have been a normal dude? Well, you were never normal. But normal in terms of not being a genocidal maniac that turns out to be some sort of god," Hera groaned and sighed, "You honestly could have been an actor, you know. Your roles will be limited because you're an insanely handsome albino, but you would be famous — the staff was even asking about where I picked you up."
"Perhaps in the next creation, we will find ourselves co-stars, Miss Hera."
"Pft, yeah right," Hera laughed, "But… that would have been nice."
[I wonder if I could become an actor too,] Ahor Zai's eyes twinkled as she joined in on the conversation, [I would like to star in a live-action adaptation of Italian Mafia Reborn.]
"We can certainly make that happen once everything returns to normal," Hera could really only sigh, "Hear that, Riley? Postpone destroying all of creation until we finish Italian Mafia Reborn."
"I will think about it, Miss Hera, Ahor Zai."
"Anyway, how long is this elevator ri—" And before Hera could finish her words, they arrived at the council room floor and were welcomed by an onslaught of Heras smiling and waving at them. There were also clones resting there and talking with the Hera variants… some being suspiciously close.
[Follow me,] Ahor Zai raised her hand and started floating to the center of the football-sized auditorium, [Ah, there it is!]
Ahor Zai then pointed at a portal that was being surrounded by several clones and curious Hera variants.
[Everyone, move! Move away!] Ahor Zai did not really need to ask anyone to move, as the floor itself started shifting and sliding away everyone that was blocking their path.
"They are still inside?" Hera squinted her eyes as she looked at the portal, "But we've already spent like a suspiciously long time in the elevator."
[Hmm,] several incandescent symbols started to crawl on Ahor Zai's eyes as she stared at the portal, [Boss' clone is still pressing the transmitter. Could it be they are experiencing some sort of trouble?]
And as soon as Ahor Zai said that, Riley gestured to one of his clones to enter the portal. And it did… and after several minutes, Ahor Zai once again received a notice.
"Hm," Riley really only let out a sigh and shook his head, "I suppose I will enter myself. Please take care of things here, Miss Hera."
"...Sure," Hera only shrugged, watching Riley casually enter the portal before taking a step back. Before she could do anything else, however, she noticed the little Talia standing beside her.
"..."
"..."
"...I thought you already left?" Hera slightly nudged Talia.
"I asked Riley's clone to take me back here," Talia shrugged her shoulders as she subtly stood even closer to Hera, "I spent an hour there and it turns out I don't know anything about society at all. And that stupid clone also brought me to an orphanage like I can't take care of myself."
"No, he brought you to an orphanage so that you could spend your time growing up with people that look your age," Hera sighed, "I am sure someone will adopt you, being as cute as we are."
"Meh, don't need it," Talia waved her hand, "Besides, they are already having a hard time as it is to find a universe that does not have our variant on it — some of the others are even changing their faces so that they could just live in a universe with a Hera on it already."
"Yeah, still don't understand how the multiverse works."
"If I am going to be adopted by someone, then it might as well be you," Talia then casually said as she very lightly grabbed Hera's shirt, "You're the first person that scolded me, and the only person that could actually handle me, so…"
"...What?"
"And besides, we practically look the same. You can just tell people I'm your biological daughter," Talia looked away while saying that.
"Talia, I'm in show business. Do you know what people would say if they found out I have a daughter? They would definitely make articles about me saying how I'm a single mother or something."
"You're not single, though?" Talia looked up at Hera, clearly confused, "What about Riley Ross?"
"Wh—What the hell?" Hera raised an eyebrow, "Where did you even get that idea?"
"It's not just me, though," Talia then turned to look at the variants who were listening in on them, "The others thought so too."
"Please stop spreading false rumours," Hera sighed and shook his head.
"We're not, though," Talia looked Hera in the eyes, "You don't feel it…?"
"W—Feel what?" Hera wanted to walk away from the conversation, but Talia was holding her shirt tight, "Stop it."
"We feel it," Talia batted her eyes several times, "If you were not the first of us to have met him, then we would've been imprinted on him instead of you."
"...Imprint? What is this, a werewolf story?"
"Of course, you don't feel it." This time, it was Talia's turn to sigh, "Your body has probably adjusted to him already. Perhaps it's not time yet for you to realize it yet…
…You and Riley Ross belong together."
"And you know who else belongs with Riley? Every other woman he knows, he's for the streets," Hera rolled her eyes as she just focused on the portal that Riley entered to, "Anyway…
…what's taking so long?"
***
A few minutes earlier, Riley emerged from the portal, and what welcomed him there… was a face.
A face from afar, probably farther than the moon's distance from Earth, a thousand times over; Riley was getting better at gauging far and impossible distances. The face was incredibly far away, and yet it still filled Riley's entire vision. The face reminded Riley of a mixture of Ahor Zai's previous humanoid form, as well as the norinlads.
It wasn't just a face, however, because as Riley turned to look down, the rest of its body was there. Gray, almost silver — its face almost mechanical but human at the same time.
Riley did not immediately address the giant, however, as he just turned to look behind him, only to see the dark and endless horizon cracking.
"This is not a dying universe," Riley whispered to himself as he continued to look around.
[Correct. This is a universe that was not really given the chance to form.]
The giant from afar, however, answered Riley even though his question was not directed to it. And so, Riley returned his gaze toward the silver giant; letting out a sigh as he did so.
"Machina," Riley nodded, "I believe you were there during the Tournament?"
[Yes, me and the others. Except for Navi,] Machina nodded, causing the cracks that filled the darkness to slightly shiver, [I do have to apologize that I was not able to greet you. We were only supposed to be there to test our… bodies.]
"It is fine," Riley raised his palm and shook his head, "I was told you were afraid of me by Navi, I understand that you tried to avoid me."
[I am not afraid of you, Riley Ross,] Machina very slowly approached Riley — no, it wasn't slow at all. Its size just made it seem like it, [Even now, I could crush you if I wanted to and trap you forever in a domain where your existence has no meaning. You may be one of us, but not yet, not fully.]
"...I suppose Chihiro is in this universe?" Riley did not really care for Machina's words as he once again started to look around.
[She is. But why are you going to the trouble of finding the lost, Riley Ross?] Machina's eyes were centered only toward Riley, [Why waste precious time for things that will not be here in time? I want to understand the thoughts of you, someone who has lived with them…
…What does it mean to be one of them?]
"Why do you not find out for yourself, Machina?" Riley returned Machina's gaze, "You have already broken your rule not to interact with us."
[We will,] Machina answered, [But I want to know your thoughts. Why do you waste time on things that will be gone? Why search for the lost?]
"Story, Machina," a small smile crawled on Riley's face, "Each individual thing has a story, some more interesting than others. The Lost you speak of, I still wish to know the conclusion of their story."
[What is there to know about their conclusion other than death?]
"Whether they die by me or something else," Riley then also very slowly floated close to Machina, "Are you also not curious, Machina? Curious…
…of whether or not your conclusion will be written by me?"
Chapter 839"Are you also not curious, Machina? Curious…
…of whether or not your conclusion will be written by me?"
[I would say that is a threat, but nothing really threatens my existence, Riley Ross.]
"It is not a threat, Machina. For to turn Creation into nothing, those who created it must also turn into nothing."
[Well then…
…shall we see if you are worthy to take over us?"
There was nothing but a cracking darkness in this universe that was not meant to be. Any color it had, it came from Riley and Machina, more on the latter. Very soon, however, Machina's cosmic form disappeared, instantly replaced by a small silhouette even smaller than Riley.
The silver which previously encapsulated its entire body, now just illuminating from its long silver hair. Its face now carries a tone that is alive; slightly pale, but not paler than Riley's. His face, however, did not really offer any distinct feature — average, entirely so.
"If you are wondering if this is my human form, it is not," Machina raised his hand to look at it, "This is still me."
"You wish to fight, Machina?" Riley tilted his head to the side.
"No. This is not a fight, Riley Ross," Machina pointed his palm at Riley, "Primordials do not know how to fight, the concept does not truly exist at the level of our existence. What this is, is merely a test."
Machina very subtly flicked his middle finger. And as soon as he did so, a small gun materialized in his hand. And without even saying another word, Machina fired the gun… and a beam wider than the moon blasted out from it and gushed straight toward Riley.
Riley immediately thickened and summoned multiple layers of his telekinetic barrier, but as the beam reached him, none of the barriers remained and he found himself being drowned by a force that seemed to scorch everything around it.
Riley, however, was completely unscathed as he was already completely immune to fire and heat. But if it wasn't for his telekinetic barrier reducing much of the impact of the blast, he would have probably been torn to shreds here and there.
"A gun," Machina whispered as the gun in his hand very slowly morphed into a bigger rifle, "In all the planets in all the universes, this weapon is a result of technology and progress. A progress in which violence is the goal, and yet always without fail, violence is always the forefront of progress."
Machina held the rifle with both hands, before shooting it toward Riley again — this time, however, Riley did not wait for the beam to go through him as he appeared right beside Machina; his hands, also shaped into a gun as he pointed his finger right on Machina's temple.
"Pavoom," Riley then whispered, releasing a beam of his own that turned the darkness into white along with Machina's head.
"You seem to not be aware of the dangers of that action." Machina, however, even without his head and half of his torso, was able to send his words into Riley's ears. And with the next word, his body just once again became whole out of nowhere; almost similar to when Riley resurrects,
"Or perhaps you do, that is your purpose, after all. That action of yours just now erased a part of the universe. Not figuratively, not metaphorically, but absolutely. The universe just repairs itself by stopping its growth and focusing on fixing what was lost of it."
"Hm," Riley only let out a breath as he released another Pavoom, completely eradicating Machina's entire body. Not even a second later, however, Riley found himself being stared at by Machina's cosmic body; Riley was not even a speck of dust in front of his eye, literally.
Machina then quickly floated away, gaining hundreds of millions of miles of distance with not even a fraction of a second even with his cosmic body that was the size of several giant stars. Machina then once again pointed his now silver palm at Riley… materializing what seemed like a cannon.
"..." Riley stared at this cannon that was probably the size of several large planets, before clapping his hands together. And as he did so, the cannon suddenly folded in half; almost like a can of soda that was squished by a hydraulic press.
Machina quickly shook his hand, destroying the cannon before raising both his hands up — summoning some sort of metallic star that was even bigger than his own body. Riley looked at this for a few seconds before taking in a deep breath as the darkness surrounding him started to distort.
Riley placed both his palms in front of him, almost as if he were holding an invisible ball. Soon, however, a white dot appeared between his palms — a dot that seemed to suck everything around it, even the cracking darkness of a failed universe.
Blood began trailing from his eyes and nose, but Riley did not even heed it any mind as the white dot between his palms released a pulse; a pulse that caused the shards of the broken universe to somewhat spin and rotate; the portal in which he emerged from, mysteriously washed away by the pulse. Riley began rotating his hand, and as he did so, the white dot began to flatten; turning into a disc the size of a vinyl.
This disc then floated above Riley's index finger as he pointed it toward Machina.
Riley once again let out a small breath; the disc in front of him, starting to tremble uncontrollably as it seemed to want to fly and be free. And for some reason, the metallic sun that Machina materialized was also doing the same.
"I believe that is enough."
"..." Riley could really only blink as Machina's cosmic form once again suddenly disappeared. His humanoid form, now once again just a few meters away from him. Machina still had his hand raised and the metallic star was still floating above him, but it was now just the size of a yoga ball.
Riley was not focusing on Machina, however, as there were now two other people present with them. One was facing Machina, and the other was looking at him.
"Any more of this nonsense and it would affect the entire multiverse."
Riley could recognize the voice of the one speaking to Machina. It seemed clearer now, but Riley would never forget the voice of the first Primordial he had a conversation with.
"Why are you interrupting this, Eldest?" Machina glared at Navi, who just looked like the average girl one would see walking down the street, "I thought you held yourself higher than all of us, and would never roam in the universes we have created?"
"Things have changed," Navi very slowly raised her hand, placing a finger on the metallic star above Machina and… poking it, causing it to just implode. As it did, however, the broken universe trembled,
"If all of you wish to interact with Creation, then I too wish it."
"Navi."
'Riley Ross," Navi only glanced back at Riley, before turning her focus back to Machina, "Go back to your domain for now, Machina. It is not yet time for us to be in this place and in this position."
"W—"
And before Machina could say another word, Navi tapped him on the forehead; causing him to just disappear there and then along with Navi…
…leaving Riley with the other individual that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
And of course, Riley recognized her too. Unlike Machina and Navi, who had real faces one could identify, the lady in front of Riley had no face whatsoever. She does, but it is almost as if one could not really determine what she actually looks like.
"We finally meet again, Riley Ross."
"...Death."
Death started floating and circling around Riley Ross, seemingly wanting to touch him but could not.
"I thought you were in pursuit of the God of Evaniels?" Riley followed Death with his eyes.
"I am," Death stopped in front of Riley and started looking at him from head to toe, "I am in every universe at once, I exist everywhere."
"..." Riley started looking around, "Do you have something you wish to tell me, Death?"
"I wish to welcome you to the family, Riley Ross." And very slowly and even more gently, Death stretched opened her arms and suddenly embraced Riley, "It has been a while since I last held someone else without taking them to the end of their story."
"...When was the last time?"
"Eternity ago, when Celestial's first children still roamed Creation," Death closed her eyes as she rested her head on Riley's chest, "The Eternal Child. Even now, I watch him travel."
"Will I ever meet this Eternal Child?"
"I am afraid his existence is beyond even ours now," Death's voice turned extremely somber, "If only I could hold him again like this."
"My purpose is to destroy all of Creation, Death. I believe that includes you," Riley returned Death's embrace, "I just do not know how to do it yet."
"If the time comes that you learn how to do it, then erase me first," Death let go of Riley, "For I do not wish to experience the gift of bringing my family to the end of their story."
"Are you not going to fight me, Death?"
"We will," Death floated away, "But for now, I still have purpose."
And with those words, a person very slowly materialized in front of Death, with her silhouette disappearing at the same time.
"Hm," Riley could really only let out a small hum as Chihiro's body emerged out of nowhere, completely unconscious as she floated toward him,
"I wonder if retrieving the others would also be this eventful?"
Chapter 840"She was trapped in a universe that did not form… and she's still alive?"
"Yes, Dr. Caitlain."
"I guess I just really have to get used to living with gods now."
"Miss Hera could have also survived it."
"Because that is literally my ability!"
[Perhaps we should let Chihiro Prime rest?]
"..."
It has been a full day since Riley rescued Chihiro from the fractured universe, and yet she has remained completely unconscious the entire time and is resting in one of the many empty rooms in the space station.
[I believe she just needs time for her abilities to 'cool down' and she will be fine.]
"Hm."
[The others are all strong, they will find a way to survive even in the harshest of conditions — perhaps the only one that will have a hard time would be Gracy Gray.]
"Who…?" Hera raised an eyebrow. The three continued talking as they left Chihiro's room, casually discussing the traits of everyone that were still trapped in a universe completely different from the rest.
Aerith, Diana, Delivery, Cherbi, Pirate Queen Xra, Gracy, Bard, Nannah, and Hannah.
Aerith would have no trouble at all, except if it is a universe much like Caitlain's which was decimated by a million cherbis. Diana was the same, but she would probably find a way to harness the cherbis if given time.
Delivery Man will probably just loiter there or return to whatever domain he belongs to — Riley was not really truly knowledgeable regarding the extent of his ability. He had tried ordering from him, but his website and phone app were still unavailable.
Cherbi… he was probably expediting the process of a dying universe.
Pirate Queen Xra is a true immortal, so there really wasn't something to worry about with her.
Gracy… was probably dead.
Bard would surely find a way to survive. As for Nannah and Hannah… they will survive, surely.
And as the four continued to discuss the chance of survival of everyone else who was forcefully warped away, none of them realized that there was now actually someone else walking with them; lightly tugging on both Hera and Riley's shirt.
"...What is this?" Riley could really only halt his steps, blinking several times as he looked down to see Talia holding his coat, "I thought you have already found a universe to live in, Talia?"
"That's… I guess I need to tell you something, Riley," Hera closed her eyes as she was the one to answer, "The kid is asking to be adopted by me…
…and you. It—"
"Okay," Riley just shrugged as he continued walking.
"Okay…? Okay what?" Hera also blinked as Talia dragged her forward.
"Okay, we will adopt her together," Riley casually said; not even glancing at Hera, "I am already aware of the procedure since I was adopted by Father and Mother. I have also signed Karina's birth certificate after she revealed herself."
"...You did all that?" Hera could not help but look at Riley's face to check if he was serious.
"Of course," Riley nodded, "It is illegal and immoral not to take responsibility for my offspring even if it is unwanted."
"...You are so weird," Hera almost snorted as she laughed. And after she rolled her lips, she gently removed Talia's hand from her shirt and held it instead, "Hear that?"
"Hm," Talia tried her best to hide the smile that was slowly crawling on her face as she looked down, "T… thank you."
"Save your thanks for later. You still have no idea what sort of man your… adoptive dad is."
"I do," Talia nodded, "My mind might be that of a child, but I know things—and I know that the safest place I could ever be is on Dad's side."
"...Cheeky brat."
***
An entire week had passed, and yet the still unconscious Chihiro was still the only one they had found so far. There weren't a lot of Hera variants left, only 20 of them — these 20, however, did not seem to want to find another universe to live in and wanted to stay in Riley's universe.
Of course, Hera did not really like that idea, but she couldn't really do anything since the group was actually Hera 2 and the other Heras that approached them for help. They wanted to return the help — Riley did not really need it, as he already had his clones and even himself traveling across the multiverse.
And so, the Hera variants were just left doing some odd chores around the space station. As for Hera, she was teaching Talia some stuff she needed to know; even giving her a script so that if any paparazzi happened to put her on their radar, Hera wouldn't have to do damage control that much.
As for Riley…
…he was currently on an Earth that was completely different from the rest. The difference between this one from the Earth they met the emaciated Dr. Caitlain is that the people know their world is ending. There were also no supers here…
…but there were still superpowered humans, and they were preparing to face and fight the end.
The end being billions of asteroids of varying sizes hurtling across the universe faster than the speed of light. A literal cosmic storm that plowed through the expanse of space, destroying everything within its path.
Riley knows this because he expanded his telekinetic… radar. And with the speed the asteroids are going, it would probably reach Earth in a couple of days. The people know their world is ending, but they don't know it will be happening soon. Riley could probably stop Earth from being destroyed, but he wanted to see what these superpowered humans could do.
"People of Earth! We urge everyone who could fight to fight! Let us all gather our energies together!"
"Do not listen to the Ohio Sect! If you wish to save the world, then it is only possible with the Golden Hollywood Sect!"
Riley was currently walking across a street that did not really exist anywhere on his Earth. It was similar to a street market, but they were selling body parts of animals that did not exist on his Earth.
There were also swords, large swords, and even larger weapons being sold everywhere — not even a single sign of modern weaponry. But with what Riley has seen of these superpowered humans, they don't really need such weapons.
Riley, however, also knows that none of them could actually save their Earth. None of them were strong enough.
"Fetus New York Sect! We are the biggest Sect in New York!"
There were also people standing on top of boxes, carrying large banners as they promoted their so-called sects. Riley would have probably already left this universe a few hours ago, but he actually found something interesting here.
"I wish to join your sect."
"Ah, a wise choice!"
Riley approached one of the people promoting their guild. The man was slightly taken aback by Riley's appearance, but he immediately stepped down from his box and handed a piece of paper to Riley.
"What level is your cultivation right now?" The man said as he looked at Riley from head to toe.
"Probably zero," Riley immediately answered.
"W—Then why are you joining a sect?" The man wanted to snatch the piece of paper he just gave to Riley, but found himself unable to even move it a single millimeter.
"Because I wish to join the sect," Riley blinked as he looked the man in the eyes, "This is the Thundering Tears of the 13th Dragon Mega Sect, correct?"
"...Look," the man let go of the paper as he sighed, "Even though our sect is just new, we don't just let anybody in. You can take the entrance exam if you want to, but don't expect to—"
"Okay," Riley shrugged, "I will take the entrance exam. Where do I go?"
"...You're really persistent," the man looked Riley in the eyes and squinted, "Fine."
The man then grabbed something from his pocket, some sort of talisman, and placed it right on Riley's chest. And as soon as he did so, a strange light veiled Riley… and teleported him to a courtyard filled with people falling in a line.
Riley was at the backmost end of the line, with people not heeding him any mind as they seemed to be meditating and waiting for their turn to step onto the marble stage that was in the center of the courtyard.
"..." Riley tilted his head to the side to see exactly what they were doing in the courtyard, but all they seemed to be doing was placing their palm on some sort of large slab of ebony. But as the line grew short and Riley grew nearer to the stage, he finally saw the small dents and cracks of the stone.
And finally, it was his turn.
"What cultivation level are you?"
"I do not know, Examiner." Riley was once again asked the same question. This time, he gave a different answer so as to not be suddenly kicked out.
"Okay, just place your palm on the stone and try damaging it with your energy. We will know your cultivation level then." The examiner did not really even turn to look at Riley as he just waved his hand before writing on a piece of paper.
"Okay," Riley nodded as he stepped onto the stage and carefully placed his palm on the slab.
"..."
"..."
But as expected, nothing really happened.
"W—are you even a cultivator?" The examiner finally looked at Riley, "Stop wasting our time and step d—!!!"
Riley may not have the so-called energy of the people of this world… but he does have several other things in his arsenal…
…like his raw strength.
Chapter 841"...Wh…"
The examiner did not really know what to say anymore. The Thundering Tears of the 13th Dragon Mega Sect may not even be considered a fledgling compared to the established sects, just less than a year old. One could say they haven't even seen a thing, but they still rose to prominence in that short span of time, when it would usually take other sects hundreds of years to reach what they have achieved — this was solely because of their matriarch's mysterious domineering strength.
They were new, but they had already seen things that most new sects won't see in a hundred years… and this is probably one of those things.
The black iron slab is universally used to check how much energy one has; the bigger the damage to the slab, the higher one's energy and control was.
And now, an aspiring student of the sect had his entire arm through the thick slab; his hand, casually poking out from the other end.
"Hm…" Riley pulled out his arm from the slab, taking a step back as he looked at the examiner, "...Tell your matriarch you need to invest in higher quality items."
"...What?" The examiner wasn't even realizing the fact that his pen was already overflowing and messing up whatever it was he was trying to write in his book.
"Did I pass?" Riley asked, letting out a small hum as he remembered asking the same thing during the Mega Academy interview.
"Oh, ah… you did," the examiner blinked as he gestured to Riley, "You… you may join those who passed and wait for the next test."
The examiner handed Riley a piece of paper as he stepped off the stage; his steps, probably the only sound that was echoing throughout the large courtyard.
"Did… did you see that?"
"...Was that a prank? Is an Elder pranking us?"
"I want to go home."
"All of you go home."
"What!? I didn't mean that!"
"I don't care, go home. There seemed to be something wrong with the energy slab, go."
"Oh, so that's what it was."
"What? How could something be wrong with it when it's just a stone!?"
"What about our time!? We wasted our time waiting here!"
The examiner started shooing away the remaining people who were still waiting for their turn. Most of them rebuked and complained, but none of them could really do anything as they were forcefully teleported away.
As for those who had already passed the first exam, they were attempting to talk to Riley, but Riley did not really bother even returning their glance. They were all going to die soon in a few days anyway, after all; relatively, they were all dead and there was no use talking with them.
…It would be different if Riley was the one that was going to end them, of course. He would probably spend some time with them to get to know them better before proceeding to erase their lives in front of their loved ones.
"But then again, that's inefficient," Riley whispered to himself, causing those who previously tried to talk to him to slightly lean their heads closer, "I would probably just destroy their planets and get it over with."
"..." The people eavesdropping on him could not help but look at each other; their eyes slightly squinted and wondering if they heard his words right. Was he uttering some sort of secret meditation technique, was that it?
Would they also be able to push their arm through the testing slab if they repeated his mantra?
"Everyone!"
Before they could hear any more of Riley's conversation to himself, however, the large marble stage at the center of the courtyard started to lower into the ground. The examiner who was previously on the stage leaped out and landed in front of Riley and the others.
"It is unfortunate that there are so few of you," the examiner cleared his throat as he started addressing the examinees, "But it couldn't be helped since there was a fault in the 1st test."
"..." Once again, everyone turned to look at each other before subtly resting their eyes on Riley. Was it really a fault on the sect's side, or was this albino in front of them just that strong? Of course, the chance that it was the former was high, close to 99% — but the thing is, they haven't really heard of a single time that an energy slab malfunctioned, not in their civilization's 10,000-year history.
No, there was actually one in their recent history who did the very same thing, and she was the very reason they wanted to join this sect in the first place — The Thundering Tears of the 13th Dragon Mega Sect's matriarch. They have heard of her exploits when she first showed herself to the world.
"Isn't he similar to the matriarch…?"
"Yeah, I heard that when the Thundering Tears of the 13th Dragon Mega Sect's matriarch joined the Fetus Flower Florida Sect, she destroyed their energy slab. And when she finally joined the sect, her seniors started making trouble with her… and she destroyed the sect because of that."
"Really…?"
"Yup. And then she just decided to build her own sect with their remains. It was so hardcore, I still have the footage of the news recorded on my tablet."
"...Are you saying that guy is another—"
"No! Everyone stop talking!" The examiner clapped his hands, causing a ripple to blast across the examinees' faces, "There is no one like the matriarch! Any more talk like that and I will have all of you voluntarily quit the test! There was a fault in the previous test, and that is that!"
"..." Riley did not really mind that they were arguing because of him, he was more curious about the other examinees' conversation. He had actually already heard that story as soon as he entered this universe, and that is why he stayed… coupled with the fact that the sect's name was sort of familiar to him.
"Silence!" The examiner stomped his foot on the ground. And as soon as he did so, the marble stage once again emerged from the ground; this time, however, the black slab was nowhere to be seen, "We will now head on to our next test — Technique Exhibition! The test is as simple as its name, you just have to present any of the techniques you have learned on your own, or from your previous sect. The three of you go first."
"Hm…" Riley curiously watched as 3 of the examinees stepped onto the stage. And as soon as they were all settled, the three of them stood in a stance and started breathing heavily; heavy enough that Riley could hear it even from afar.
And soon, he could see some sort of translucent yellow light veiling their bodies.
"The Seven Seas of Fisting!"
"Roar of the Magnificent Seven-Headed Lion!"
"Fiery Breath of the Heavenly Dragon!"
And there, Riley watched as one of the examinees started summoning blasts of water with his fists… but the blast of water only violently shot out for a meter before just disappearing into thin air.
The other one just screamed, causing the dirt and dust around him to ripple away.
The last one also screamed, but flames burst forth from his mouth… before just turning into smoke after a single second.
Riley was correct — these people will die from the asteroids without even having the chance to fight back.
"What the fuck are you guys even doing!?" The examiner quickly got onto the stage and started slapping the 3 on the back of their heads, "What's with those grandiose names!? I was expecting you to blow up the stage with that kind of technique, but you guys might as well just be blowing fire from your noses! Out, get out!"
And just like that, the number of examinees started to dwindle, with almost half gone; a third of them passing.
"You three, go."
And finally, it was Riley's turn. He first turned to look at the two other examinees on the stage with him, waiting for them to present their technique as he was truly curious how they were doing this although they weren't infected with the supervirus.
"Rock Turtle Slam!"
"Eagle's Talon 2 Hours After Midni—!!!"
One of the examinees waved his hands; his fingers, almost like claws which whistled in the air. Before his fingers could continue to sing, however, Riley suddenly stood in front of him and started looking at his fingers.
"Where is that blast of air coming from?"
"What are you doing!? You're going to get sliced if—" The man's fingers were now only an inch away from Riley's face. Riley, however, just casually stepped away and returned to his position before anything could happen.
"Examinee! What are you doing!?" The examiner quickly pointed at Riley, "If you're just going to play around, then step down and let the others take the test!"
"It is okay, Examiner," Riley shook his head, before also pointing a finger at the examiner, "I will present my technique now…
…Pavoo—"
"Stop! Stop!"
And before Riley could decimate the entire country, a figure suddenly descended from the sky; her robes, almost like wings as they softly fluttered in the air. The figure's landing, however, was anything but soft as it cracked the entire stage.
"Ha! M… Matriarch!" The examiner quickly lowered his head and kneeled.
"...Matriarch?" The examinees, on the other hand, all raised their heads to try and get a glimpse of the matriarch… and her so-called beauty with equa—
"Riley! What are you trying to do!? I knew it was you when I started feeling goosebumps on the back of my head!" The matriarch, however, completely drowned all of their senses as she started screaming without pause.
As for Riley, he really only just waved his hand as the matriarch approached him, "I came to take you home…
…Gracy Gray."
"...Who?"
Chapter 842"Gracy Gray…?"
That was a name that was completely foreign and unfamiliar to the examiner, and yet their matriarch seem to respond to it; her eyes not even batting as she stomped her way toward the white-haired examinee.
"You!" Gracy pointed at the examiner, "Kick out the rest of these children and go!"
"G…Great Matriarch?" The examiner did not really know what to do as he very slowly and carefully approached Gracy; his eyes, glancing at the clearly disappointed examinees, "It… Who is that? Why is he calling you Gracy Gray?"
"Do you think that is any of your concern!?" Gracy's voice thundered in the air as her eyes started to light up. And as soon as red filled her eyes, the examiner and the examinees all could not help but let out loud gasps as they took a step back, "That name is just one of many I have used throughout my thousands of years of existence!"
"It's… it's the Heaven Dragon's eye!" The examinees exclaimed as they tried their best to look away from Gracy, but couldn't help themselves all the same as they took small glances at her eyes.
"They said you'll die once the Heaven Dragon's eyes glance at you even once!"
"Will… will we die!?"
And as the examinees began to panic, the examiner had no choice but to send all of them one by one; forcing them out of their courtyard by using another talisman.
"Hm…" Riley was truly intrigued by this. He could not see even a trace of technology whenever they were using the talisman — unlike with the common universe, his universe, no matter how sophisticated and close to magic a device was, there would still be traces of it actually spawning as a machine.
But here, in this world, it was almost akin to pure magic. There was also the fact that the people had mysterious abilities, and they weren't supers at all.
"Great Matriarch…" The examiner addressed Gracy with respect, not even looking at her face and showing his palm, "...Who is he?"
"It is none of your concern," Gracy just waved her hand, "Leave."
"Please, Great Matriarch. I need to know, all your subjects need to know!" The examiner did not back down, however, as he pleaded to Gracy, "The others would be asking me questions, I wish to have something to tell them."
"Then tell them that I am with a friend," Gracy's voice was deep; almost rumbling as she looked the examiner in the eyes, "A friend I have met in a completely different plane of existence. And tell them that if they see him, do not offend him at all costs."
"A different plane of existence…?" The examiner looked at Riley from head to toe, "Could it be… is he a celestial!?"
"What the fuck is—Yes," Gracy held her head up high before her voice could crack, "Yes, he is a celestial."
"Is he here to help us!?" All of the examiner's pores opened up as he once again looked at Riley. This time, however, he quickly lowered his head and prostrated himself on the ground, "F…Forgive me, Lord! I did not know I was in the presence of a celestial! Of course, of course! I should have known with how beautiful and immaculate you look, Lord!"
"T—"
"It is fine, Mortal."
Gracy was going to reprimand the examiner as he still had not left, but Riley suddenly began approaching him; his feet, not touching the ground as he very slowly floated toward the examiner,
"You may stand up."
"L… Lord," the examiner wanted to cry, "Will… will you save us from the doom that is looming through our skies?"
"No."
"..."
"..."
"All of you will die in 3 days," Riley then nonchalantly said as he gestured to the examiner to leave, "Tell the others that billions of asteroids the size of entire countries are on their way to this planet."
"W—"
"Riley!?" And as Gracy heard Riley's words, she quickly grabbed the examiner and covered his ears. She then forcefully grabbed the talisman from his hand, before slamming it on his back and causing him to be teleported away,
"Why are you telling them that!?"
"They might as well know, Gracy," Riley shrugged as he started looking around the now empty courtyard, only to notice that there wasn't actually anything beyond the walls that surrounded the vast space, "What is this place? We do not seem to be on Earth."
"That—it doesn't matter. Is this world really ending in 3 days!?" Gracy's voice became high-pitched as she stood in front of Riley, "What do you mean by billions of asteroids!?"
"I meant what I meant, Gracy," Riley just nodded, "King sent all of us to universes that are completely different from our own — universes that are either dying or was not even given a chance to flourish. In this universe's case, it is currently being slowly swallowed by asteroids."
"Asteroids… how could something like that even destroy the universe!?" Gracy forced out a scoff before laughing, "Theran wouldn't even get a dent!"
"Perhaps the asteroids are Theran," Riley shrugged, "I do not really know how a universe works yet — perhaps after another eternity where I am actually conscious, I could finally learn it all."
"What the fuck are you even spouting!?" Gracy grabbed Riley by the shoulders, "And since you're here… then did you come here to save this Earth!?"
"No, I came here to get you, Gracy."
"...Why?" Gracy batted her eyes a couple of times, before her cheeks quickly became red, "D… don't tell me you have fallen in love with me!?"
"No," Riley immediately shook his head, "I am trying to find Sister, you just happen to be here."
"...Then why not just leave?"
"Because this place is somewhat interesting," Riley shrugged, "I initially wished to learn how the people of this world are able to exert their energy, but after seeing how weak they are — there is no use anymore."
"...That's where you are wrong, Riley Ross," a small smile started to crawl on Gracy's face as she started backing away from Riley, "You think them weak, because they are weak. But what do you think will happen if someone like us—a super, walks the path of cultivation?"
"I do not know, Gracy."
"They become stronger…" Gracy's eyes turned red once more. This time, however, some sort of white aura started to veil her entire body; trickles of electricity, causing the very air around her to distort as she let out rhythmic breaths,
"...Much stronger."
And without even any warning, Gracy suddenly rushed toward Riley; the aura veiling around her, suddenly literally crawling to her arm and concentrating around her fist, literally turning into a white translucent dragon.
"..." Riley tilted his head as he watched this white dragon's jaws opening as wide as it could; completely covering his entire body as its sharp teeth threatened to shred him into billions of pieces.
"You do not have the leisure of taking this easy, Riley Ross!" Gracy screamed as Riley was swallowed by the dragon, "I am no longer the weak person you once knew, I am the Grand Matriarch of the—"
"You are right, Miss Gracy."
"!!!" And before Gracy could utter the long name of her sect, Riley just suddenly grabbed her fist; causing a violent wave of shock to ripple from their hands, completely destroying the head of the white dragon.
"Your strength has improved exponentially."
"Eep!" Gracy could not help but let out a small yelp as Riley suddenly pulled and raised her fist, causing her to almost tumble forward and fall onto Riley's chest. Gracy immediately closed her eyes as her lips were now only an inch away from touching Riley's lips… but they never made contact.
"..." Gracy opened her eyes, only to see Riley curiously looking at her hand.
"That weird energy, where is it coming from?"
"..." Gracy could feel Riley's warm breaths causing the tiny follicles of hair on her arm to shiver.
"Does it just come out of your body, Miss Gracy?" Riley started sniffing her arm, "The attack you did just now, it was almost as strong as Aerith's before she decided to rest. You were not that strong the last time we met."
"I… I told you!" Gracy pulled her arm away from Riley, "I learned how to cultivate from this world! And what do you mean I am only as strong as Aerith before she took a rest!?"
"You were not that strong, Miss Gracy."
"W—Yes, I was!" Gracy raised an eyebrow, "How strong was the Aerith of your world before resting anyway!?"
"The strongest on Earth," Riley shrugged.
"Oh…Oh," Gracy let out a small hum as she started nodding. Soon, however, her eyes once again turned red; as this time, the dragon was encapsulating and slithering across her entire body, "Not bad, not bad at all…
…but you haven't seen anything yet."
***
"O… okay, now you've seen everything."
It took a full minute for Gracy to let out all the techniques and abilities she had learned in this world, but Riley did not even move from his spot for even a single second… and she was already lying dead tired on the top of the marbled stage; her breaths, almost gasps,
"Why… how are you even this strong…?"
"Because I am Riley Ross, Miss Gracy," Riley shrugged as he crouched beside Gracy, "But do not sell yourself short, Miss Gracy. You truly have become stronger."
Riley then turned to look at the courtyard, only to see it completely destroyed — the stage they were on right now, just floating on some sort of… bubble that reflected everything.
"If… if you save this Earth," Gracy tried to sit up,
"...I will teach you cultivation."
"Hm…
…Okay."
Chapter 843"Wrong."
"..."
'Wrong…"
"..."
"Wrong! I thought you, as stone-faced as you are, would do well in this! Why can't you get it!?"
A full day had passed since Gracy started teaching Riley the so-called 'Way of Cultivation', and yet he had spent all that time just sitting with his legs crossed on the carpeted floor of Gracy's room… with absolutely no progress at all.
"I am afraid I truly do not get it at all, Miss Gracy."
And before another hour could whisk away, Riley finally opened his eyes and stood up; shaking his head as he released a long and very deep breath,
"You are asking me to breathe from the core of my stomach, I do not even know what that is, Miss Gracy — and I am versed in the topics of anything and everything related to human anatomy."
"This has nothing to do with anatomy!" Gracy almost slapped Riley on the head, before remembering who it was he was talking to. The only thing Gracy could really do was close her fist and release a sigh of her own.
"Look…" Gracy then left Riley on the carpet and sat on her bed, crossing her legs and slightly revealing her thighs which were being covered by her silky robes, "...You should stop thinking about this the logical way — the dao is literally a suspension of the belief of everything other than power. Logic? Scrap that."
"I am afraid abandoning logic is mentally impossible, Miss Gracy," Riley remained standing on the carpet as he looked at Gracy.
"Trust me, Riley… a lot of people are fully capable of functioning without logic. Most have never even used it in their life."
"Like you?"
"Yes, like—What!? No!" Gracy once again balled up her fist, but she just literally bit it as she couldn't really throw it at Riley, 'less she wanted something logical to actually happen, "How do I even explain this to you?"
Gracy started getting even more frustrated as she started pacing around her room; her feet, stomping on the floor and causing the entire sect to tremble.
Gracy's sect was large. After all, she forcefully took over her previous sect, taking everything from them both figuratively and literally — erasing everything about it and turning it into the Mega Sect it is now.
Even with this size, however, everyone could feel the tremble that was originating from their Matriarch's private chambers.
"That's… coming from the Matriarch's room?"
All of her sect members stopped whatever it was they were doing. Those who were training in isolation even came out of their caves as they felt this tremendous pressure echoing throughout their entire sect like drums that were being struck by a staff straight from the heavens.
"What… what do you think they are doing there?" And soon, several sect members started gathering near their Matriarch's pavilion; taking in gulps as they looked at each other.
"Do you think…
…they are doing dual cultivation?"
"!!!"
And as soon as those words were uttered, everyone just let out gasps of shock at the same time; creating an orchestra of bewilderment and utter disbelief.
"The… Matriarch is doing dual cultivation with a Celestial?"
"Do you think… how do you think they are doing it?"
"Stupid! Of course… of course, the Celestial is inserting his—Oh, I can't say it!"
And as her sect members were starting to get excited; even covering their faces as their breaths started getting heavier by the second while they imagine what their matriarch was doing, Gracy was still stomping her way across her room.
Riley's eyes could really only follow her as she started circling around him; looking at him from head to toe while doing so.
"Riley…" Gracy then whispered, "...It's like this, okay? You don't need to imagine having no logic at all. But just try imagining yourself living in a metaphor."
"..." Riley could not help but squint his eyes.
"You are nothing."
And as Gracy said those words, Riley let out a small hum.
"You are just an empty husk, maybe not even," Gracy then sat down on the floor and crossed her legs, gesturing to Riley to do the same, "You do not exist, but at the same time, you are the universe itself. You are nothing, but at the same time, you are everything."
"..." Riley sat down and closed his eyes as he continued to listen to Gracy. His slow breaths, soon becoming silent, before becoming nothing at all.
"You are creating your own universe inside yourself," Gracy whispered as her energy started emerging from the very center of her torso, "This universe then, in turn, become the center of yourself — the source of your life."
"..."
"Follow my breaths," Gracy then took in a small but very deep breath; lasting for a second, but enough for an eternity, "Are you feeling it now, Riley?"
"No."
"Tch. You are," Gracy opened one of her eyes to glance at Riley, only to see a small orb of energy forming inside of him, "Can you feel it?"
"I can," Riley nodded, "But it's weak, incredibly so, Miss Gracy."
"Don't let any other members of the sect to hear that," Gracy rolled her eyes, "For someone who just started their path to cultivation, your energy is already abnormally big. Mine was too."
"I suppose the supervirus has something to do with that?" Riley continued to stimulate the heat forming inside his chest as he spoke.
"Maybe," Gracy shrugged.
"This is a very interesting power, Miss Gracy," Riley's hair started to float; almost as if he was underwater, "It is amplifying every ability I have."
"It did the same to me," Gracy nodded, "Enough that I could actually do things I couldn't do before."
Gracy then raised her hand, and as she did so, flames emerged on top of her palm; completely still, compressed.
"Hm. It is quite easy to control as well," Riley breathed in as the core of energy inside him started getting bigger, before turning small again as the energy compressed — this process repeated several times until the core of energy inside him became almost solid, "Interesting."
"Show off..." Gracy immediately removed the ball of fire in her hand, "...You're a fucking monster. I am just starting to realize it was the wrong decision to teach you. Fuck!"
Gracy then clasped her head tight as she realized what she had just done, "Why did I even fucking help you get stronger!? Aren't you supposed to be like the god of destruction or something!?"
"No," Riley shook his head as he opened his eyes and took one final deep breath as he stood up, "And you taught me the dao in exchange for me saving this world, Miss Gracy."
"Shit…" Gracy's eyes widened, "...Can you just forget all that and destroy your core?"
"Metaphorically?" Riley tilted his head.
"Fuck…" Gracy covered her face, "...So, how are you going to do it?"
"Do what, Miss Gracy?"
"Save this planet!"
"Oh," Riley then closed his eyes, stretching his arms to the side as his feet very slowly left the floor. And with a small hum, he snapped his fingers, "It is done, Miss Gracy."
"...What?" Gracy blinked a couple of times, "What do you mean it's done!?"
"I have already destroyed the asteroids that are headed to this planet."
"But you just said the asteroids were as dense and hard as Theran!"
"Yes, I confirmed that when I destroyed them," Riley nodded, "This cultivation thing is incredibly interesting, Miss Gracy. It just casually enhanced my telekinetic ability by several folds, I do not feel even the slightest stress in my body."
"You're… fucking joking, right?" Gracy could really only force out a small chuckle as she stared Riley in the eyes.
"No," Riley shrugged, "Well then, I will be taking my leave to continue my search for Sister."
And as Riley said that, a portal appeared from behind him.
"W—you're going to leave!? I thought you were here to rescue me!?"
"No," Riley once again shrugged as he stepped into the portal.
"Wh—" Gracy could not really say anything else as she just looked behind her, before just clicking her tongue and stepping into the portal herself,
"Fuck!"
And as she found herself back in the council room of the Council of Ross, she could really only let out a curse, garnering the attention of all the clones and Hera variants who were resting while waiting for the space station's power to recharge.
"You followed me back, Miss Gracy?" There was a small amused look in Riley's eyes as he saw Gracy scratching her head, "I thought you wanted to stay in the universe?"
"I did, I do!" Gracy almost cried out, "But I can't just stay there while I know a war is about to fall onto the multiverse."
"A war?" Riley tilted his head.
"Yeah — against King," Gracy's voice quickly turned serious as she looked around her, "We're gonna destroy that fucker for killing your adoptive dad and enslaving trillions of people."
"You may not be as strong as Aerith, but your sense of justice is there, Miss Gracy," Riley nodded, "Impressive."
"Tch," Gracy waved her hand, "And besides, I can always go back to my sect once we killed that bitch. You saving them would be useless if King would just appear to enslave them in the future."
[Oh, I am afraid that is impossible, Gracy Gray.]
"Hm?" Gracy could really only blink as Ahor Zai suddenly approached her, "The fuck do you mean?"
[You can't go back to the universe you were just in,] Ahor Zai shook her head, [It was a dying universe, so we have programmed the space station to lock access to it once we were done.]
"W…what?" Gracy gulped, "But… we can still access it somewhere else, right? Bard has this Nexus in our universe. We could access it there, right?"
[...]
"...Right?"
***
"Ms. Pearson."
"..." Somewhere in the expanse of the multiverse, in a metal room with only a set of chairs and a table, King and Paige sat; with Paige with arms crossed and glaring at King.
"Are you perhaps ready to talk now…
…about what you really are?"
Chapter 844"Riley, right here."
"A transmitter, but the clone holding it is missing."
Riley found himself crouching in a cramped, inconspicuous dirty alleyway, picking up a transmitter that was used to signal the space station whenever someone was found by a clone.
And yet, there was no sign of the clone, or anyone else for that matter — just Riley and Chihiro, who had woken up 3 days ago.
"I was wrong, the clone is not missing at all," Riley carefully placed the transmitter in one of his pockets, before trailing his finger across the dirty asphalt floor; brushing off some sort of metallic sand from the ground,
"It's dead, Chihiro."
"...Someone was able to kill your clone?" Chihiro, who was previously relaxed as they stepped into this strange universe, could not help but activate some of her defense skills as she started looking around, "But we haven't even seen anyone. I don't even detect life within a hundred-mile radius even though we're dab smack in the center of New York… or at least I think this is New York."
"Hm…" Riley glanced at Chihiro for a few seconds, before just nodding and stepping out of the dark alleyway. And as the light of the setting sun shone upon them, what Rhys and Chihiro saw was a familiar scenery of destruction.
The destruction was mild, however, compared to the destruction one such as Riley bestows, extremely so.
There were abandoned cars parked in the street, a few of them burnt.
"Some of these cars have been looted," Chihiro commented as she sneak a glance at a car parked near the sidewalk, "Actually, most of these stores have signs of being broken into."
Most of the windows of the buildings across the street were all shattered. There were some, however, which were completely barricaded either by wood or metal railings.
"What do you think happened here?" Chihiro asked.
"Death, Chihiro," Riley nodded as his feet slowly lifted from the ground. Chihiro followed him into the air, and what they saw from above was just a repeat of what they had already seen.
A slow destruction.
There were no ruined buildings, not at all. Most of them just seemed completely abandoned; most of the doors to their roofs, covered by all sorts of things one could find on a rooftop of a building.
"...And what do you think caused their deaths?" Chihiro continued to look around, even glancing at the clear sky, "Do you think they were invaded or something? But it seems to… clean for that."
"Perhaps not, Chihiro," Riley shook his head, "Most dying universes that King seemed to have randomly sent us to are unique in a way that it is completely different from ours — And like you, I do not sense life in the neighboring galaxies."
"..." Chihiro could not help but just glance at Riley as he casually said those words without even batting an eye, "Do you think the one who killed your clone is one of us?"
"That is possible," Riley nodded, "Since I do not detect any signs of life, then there is a possibility that it might be Pirate Queen Xra."
"...Why would she kill your clone?"
"Because she's Pirate Queen Xra," Riley shrugged, "She has…
…different tendencies than most people."
Chihiro and Riley continued to fly above the city — but even with the light of the sun now completely gone, they could not find a single trace of Pirate Queen Xra.
"Hm," Riley and Chihiro were now back in the alleyway where their portal was, "If Pirate Queen Xra does not want to be found, then let us honor her wishes and leave."
"Are you sure…?" Chihiro took one final glance at both ends of the dark alleyway, "She's strong. She could prove incredibly useful with the battle against King."
"No," Riley shook his head, "Her being part of the battle will not change anything at all, Chihiro. Let us—"
And as Riley started making his way to the portal, he and Chihiro heard a small groan whispering from the dumpster near them.
"..."
And very slowly, the bin opened up — revealing a pale, almost bluish hand…hands, several pairs of them as they lifted up the bin.
"...That's weird," Chihiro tried scanning the pairs of hands, only for her system to come up with nothing, "I'm still not detecting any—"
And before Chihiro could wonder any further, the owners of the hands revealed themselves. They were humans… who seemed to already be decaying as parts of their flesh just hung from their bones.
And even with their gray eyes completely lifeless, their bodies seemed to still move with vigor as they all started crawling out of the bin at the same time like some sort of lizard.
"Great…" Chihiro took a step back; her eyes twitching as she looked at these decaying humans with disgust, "...Zombies. Everything makes sense now."
"Hm…" Riley nodded as he looked up at the stars that could be seen from the gap of the dark alleyway, "...I suppose this Earth received a different kind of virus. And I believe it is not only this planet, other civilizations have probably also fallen from this virus."
"Grim," Chihiro held her arms and shivered, "This universe died from a slow and merciless torture."
"Hm," Riley nodded again, "Let us leave, Pirate Queen Xra probably feels that she belongs in this universe filled with the walking dead."
"Sad," Chihiro let out a sigh as she watched as more and more zombies started to enter the dark alleyway, "But I also don't really want to stay in this place for another second. I should probably destroy these things just in case someone leaps into the portal when—"
And before Chihiro could finish her words, the zombies all suddenly halted their steps; their heads, all turning at the same time in a single direction. And with groans escaping their gnarly mouths, they started walking away; completely ignoring Chihiro and Riley.
"..." Riley and Chihiro looked at each other, before proceeding to once again fly into the sky. And there, they probably saw more than a million zombies walking in the same direction — their destination all leading to a single point, a football stadium.
"Someone's there, Riley," Chihiro quickly pointed as she saw a dot in the center of the football stadium. And without even saying anything, Riley quickly flew toward the silhouette.
And as they landed on the wilted grass of the stadium, they saw someone wearing some sort of hazard suit.
"...I still don't detect anything," Chihiro squinted her eyes as she started scanning the person, "Is it like a smart zombie? Xra?"
"No," Riley shook his head as he approached the individual, pointing his palm at them and completely destroying the hazard suit they were wearing.
And almost immediately, the person inside the suit quickly flew up — but stopped mid-air as Riley stopped her from flying any further.
"What… Riley!?"
Riley flicked his finger, pulling the woman closer to him,
"Mother."
It was Diana Ross, completely naked.
"I did not expect you to not wear anything under the hazard suit, Mother," Riley closed his eyes,
"I… apologize. You were not answering when we were calling you."
"Of course!" Diana covered her breasts and privates as she stood in front of Riley, "That suit was completely sealed from everything! The virus that destroyed this planet is violently airborne and would enter even in your smallest pore!"
"I see," Riley nodded, "So that is the reason you immediately flew away. You do not have to worry, Mother. I have us covered with my telekinetic barrier."
"Yes," Diana's voice started to calm down as Chihiro summoned and handed a pair of clothes for her to wear, "I'm studying it since I have nothing to do in this place, it's the only thing I could do to… distract myself."
"I have Father's head with me, Mother. Do you perhaps wish to see it?"
"...What?"
"Perhaps we should talk about it later," Riley breathed out, "We should leave, I do not wish to stay in this disgusting universe any longer, Mother."
"...Agreed," Chihiro and Diana quickly nodded their heads as their feet left the ground.
"I could just continue my research back in our universe," Diana let out a long and deep sigh, "I… need something to distract me now that your father is gone."
"Do you watch zombie movies, Mrs. Ross?" Chihiro quickly looked at Diana as they flew in the air, "Researching about these things never end up we—"
And before Chihiro could finish her words, she suddenly disappeared; a familiar whistle and a boom of a thunder, following her disappearance.
"Oh," Diana blinked a couple of times as she looked to where Chihiro disappeared to, only to see the ground below them to open up into a deep crater,
"They smelled us."
"Hm?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he looked at his mother, before turning to look at the crater. And there, he saw Chihiro grabbing someone by the wrists; her face, almost wincing as she seemed to be trying her best not to look away from her sudden opponent.
And much like the zombies that she had already seen roaming around, the face of her opponent was completely pale and almost purple; no flesh was falling off from its bones, however.
"You may have already hypothesized it…" Diana let out a small but very deep sigh as she looked up, only for her eyes to reflect several silhouettes very slowly descending toward them, "...But the virus affected this entire universe…
…and the themarians are no exception."
Chapter 845"Whatever you do, Riley — do not take off our telekinetic barriers."
Those were the last words Riley heard from Diana's lips before he saw another silhouette ram toward her, creating another crater that instantly decimated the entire city—no. The destruction was still going, spreading like a tidal wave as it rippled across the surface of the Earth.
"I suppose this planet has reached its end," Riley whispered as the world below him slowly crumbled. He did not stare at it for long, as it was already a common sight for someone like him — instead, he focused his attention on the 10 undead themarians staring down at him like he was some sort of food, literally.
Whatever this zombie virus is, it seemed strong enough that Diana had to specifically make a suit that would make her completely invulnerable and safe to it — even to the point that it was masking her own life energy from Chihiro.
And it even affected the themarians — if the norinlads exist in this universe, could they have been infected too?
And for them to suddenly be here, is it possible they heard him and Chihiro talking when they arrived in this universe?
"...Interesting," Riley placed his hand on his chin as he looked at the themarian undead floating above. He had been waiting for them to do something, but all they did was just stare at him.
"Are the ten of you perhaps confused?" And so, instead, it was Riley who floated up toward them, carrying a small smile on his face as he did so, "Unintelligent beasts and predators are also confused whenever they look at me. It is quite weird, no?"
"Grr…" Then undead themarians all just grumbled as they moved their heads randomly, almost as if trying to understand what Riley was saying. He was even talking to them in the most common tongue of the themarian people, but it would seem they had truly lost all of their minds.
"I wonder what will happen if I get infected by this virus? Will I just resurrect again?" Riley squinted his eyes, "I wonder if I should test it — but if I become a zombie, that would be disgusting. Have your minds truly succumbed to the—"
And before Riley could finish his words, the undead themarians finally started to move; instantly appearing in front of Riley with their teeth threatening to mow down his flesh.
A few layers of Riley's telekinetic barrier crumbled, but none of their teeth really reached his skin. This still seemed to surprise Riley, however, as he blinked a couple of times as he stared at undead themarians' purple faces.
"No themarian have really tried biting me, but even then, I feel as if the ten of you are stronger than the average themarians," he whispered as he raised his hand, looking closer to the themarian biting on it, "Could it be the virus have also increased your strength? Or is it only allowing all of you to reach your full strength, as the consequences that come with life no longer bar you?"
The themarians continued to bite down, making Riley just rebuild his telekinetic barrier again and again — all of his abilities were already amplified when Gracy taught him how to circulate his energy within himself, and yet once again, he was reminded of how truly monstrous themarians are when they truly try.
"Hm…" And with a small hum, Riley released a telekinetic barrier that instantly blasted the themarians away. He then turned to look at Diana, only to see her grappling the undead themarian that lunged onto her; either trying to choke it with her arms, or pull its head from its neck.
As for Chihiro… Riley couldn't really understand what she was doing to the zombie, as it seemed to be crucified in some sort of gigantic cross. And before Riley could figure out what it was, the 10 undead themarians once again flew toward him.
Fortunately, these themarians did not really have a brain as all of their plan seemed to just involve rushing toward him — if they had a plan at all, that is.
This time, however, Riley started dodging them. Barely, by a hair's breadth. This time, they were using their hands to try and grab his limbs. They were brainless and moved only on instinct, but they were still themarians — each movement of their hands capable of fully destroying an entire planet.
In space, however, it might almost looked anticlimactic as there was nothing else to destroy there but the empty darkness — but of course, Riley won't settle just for this as he stretched his arm to the side to make himself look more… delectable as he headed his way toward the sun. Not before, of course, doing a detour to the nearby planets.
"Is this fun?" The smile on Riley's face, however, very slowly faded as he landed on the magmas of Venus, "It feels weird, I do not feel the same way as I have felt before."
And as the themarians all lunged toward him like piranhas with their teeth fully showing, pushing him deeper through the planet. As they reached the core, however, Riley let out a small sigh and pointed his palm at the undead themarians, causing them to slow down as he continued to dig through to the other side of the planet and out into the expanse of space.
And with another sigh, he turned his palm into a fist, instantly compressing Venus; before snapping his fingers and splitting several of the atoms in it — causing a wave of explosion that completely decimated whatever was left of the planet.
The undead themarians in it, however, were still completely intact aside from their missing flesh… which were already recovering.
"You are regenerating even as zombies?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "That is very impressive."
The undead themarians did not even have the capacity to be confused anymore as they just rushed toward Riley again. Riley, however, just sighed as he pointed a finger at them,
"Pavo—"
Before he could erase their entire existence, however, they all suddenly stopped; once again grunting and growling as they randomly moved their heads. And without even any hint or warning, Riley watched as they flew away and quickly disappeared into the dark expanse of space.
"Hm," it didn't matter, however, as Riley was still going to erase them as his finger was still pointed in the direction they disappeared into and released his 'Pavoom' attack; causing a white beam to completely decimate everything within it, even the darkness of space.
And now, knowing what he knew from the other Primordials, he watched as the universe started fixing itself.
Zombie themarians — this should have truly amused him, but it doesn't. It was… boring. It would seem being trapped for eternity has truly changed him more than he had even expected.
"Time to go back," Riley once again sighed. But before he could fly away, he saw his hands fade away into the darkness.
"..." He quickly turned around toward the sun… only to see it was no longer there. The undead themarians flew away for a reason, could it be… that a zombie cherbi was also roaming around here somewhere?
Riley started scanning for a pink zombie fluff, but there was not a single sign of the cute colossus anywhere.
"..." Riley then raised his palm into the air, summoning a light bright enough to illuminate a part of the dead solar system,
"...Oh."
And there, floating right in front of him just a few feet away…
…was Princess Esme, not breathing, not moving at all.
Just staring at him with her eyes completely white and empty.
"W—"
And before Riley could even say a word, the undead princess suddenly grabbed his face and left shoulder, before pulling him closer to her teeth and just ripping off a good chunk of flesh from his neck; his telekinetic barrier not even stopping anything.
"..." Even with his flesh being chewed by Esme, he just looked through the gaps between Esme's fingers. And as Esme swallowed his flesh and was about to bite on him again, Riley blasted her away — but aside from just being pushed back by a meter, Esme just once again grabbed him; this time by his arm.
And with little resistance, Esme ripped his arm off his shoulder and started tearing away in it with her teeth.
Riley just watched as Esme enjoyed his flesh. He waited for him to start changing as he was bitten by Esme, but aside from his flesh regenerating, he did not turn into a zombie at all.
"Hm, I suppose not," Riley shrugged as he turned his focus back to Esme, who was now tearing through his bones like chips.
And as soon as she was done, her white and lifeless eyes once again looked at him — clearly still not satisfied with just taking his arm.
"Well," Riley whispered as he started flying away and letting Esme chase him. Esme, however, just disappeared from her spot and instantly blocked his path; her teeth which were already covered with his blood, seemingly trembling with excitement.
Princess Esme is considered to be, indisputably, the strongest themarian — and the only reason why she doesn't fight is because her own body could not handle her own strength.
But an undead Princess Esme, who did not care for her life because she was already dead in the first place?
And as the undead princess started grunting and growling at him, the smile that faded away from Riley's face very slowly crawled back.
"...I guess this will be fun."
Chapter 846"Do you know why I try to learn all the languages of all the people I meet, Undead Princess?"
"..."
"Because when I do my villainous monologues, I want them to hear my words in their native language — it is much more impactful that way. I learned Theran's language too, 3 of them including your kingdom's."
"..."
"But with you, all of that becomes utterly meaningless. And yet… I still do it, Undead Princess. Because I believe, even mindless, you deserve to be treated in a way which befits your status."
"Khhgrah…"
"Hm, that is right."
Riley has been talking for several minutes now, and all he receives as a response is the darkness of space, as well as the growls and grunts of Princess Esme.
He did not seem to mind, however, as he still continued to speak with her — even making sure his words reached her in the expanse of space by using his telekinetic abilities; even while already trying to shield himself as she continued to lunge onto him.
"..." Riley stretched his hand to the side, quickly pulling Mars, reinforcing it with his abilities and using it as a shield to block the oncoming Esme.
But alas, once again, Mars had become a victim of Riley Ross as its pieces shattered across the solar system; not even offering any protection as Esme just flew through it like it was just a ball of diluted mud.
Riley, however, used the remains of Mars to trap Esme inside, once again compressing it and using more force to do so… only for a ripple to instantly blast across the entire solar system — ripping everything in it.
And Riley, who was near the explosion, also felt his flesh being ripped apart even though he wa already wearing the thickest telekinetic armor he had ever wrapped himself with.
And perhaps the scariest part of all of this is not the strength capable of casually destroying an entire system with just a clap of her hands — but to be able to do it again and again.
And she did. The undead princess started clapping her hands again and again; not even minding that her flesh and bones were disintegrating while doing so.
"Hm…" Riley could really only let out a small but deep hum as he summoned and repaired his armor without pause; shattering as soon as they were made. After a few more claps, however, the undead princess finally slowed down as she seemed to realize that her attempt to disintegrate Riley was not working at all.
And so, with another growl, it just once again rushed toward Riley, threatening to turn him into a mangled corpse.
Riley did not dodge even with this unstoppable force violently rushing toward him again. And instead, he just created some sort of harness — telekinetically connected the two of them with a rod so that no matter how fast Esme lunges toward him, he would just follow the same speed as they were directly attached to each other.
"..." Perhaps this was a mistake, however, as even though they were in space, Riley could feel the undead princess accelerating at a speed that caused the stars from the distance to become streaks; similar to hyperspeed.
And soon, with no resistance whatsoever to stop them, they were now moving several times faster than the speed of light.
"This is truly a mistake…" Riley whispered to himself as he just started creating clones from anything he could make them from; leaving a trail of them so that he could still find his way back to Chihiro and Diana. But as he stretched his telekinetic radar to its limit, he found that his limit was not at all what he imagined it to be anymore.
It was stretching, and still stretching as he found himself farther and farther away from where he came from…
…almost as if he could see everything in this galaxy and the next.
And as they continued to increase their speed, Riley stretched his arm to the side and he started pulling everything his reach could get a hold-off. And if one were to see what was happening from afar, the trail he and Esme were leaving almost seemed like a vacuum as he was pulling all the celestial bodies with him.
The undead princess was completely unaware and just continued to rush toward Riley like a donkey chasing a carrot, not knowing there was already a celestial drill chasing it from behind, literally.
Riley started compressing all the celestial bodies he gathered and shaped them into a drill; spinning at an unimaginable speed as the gap between its tip and Esme's back grew shorter and shorter.
"..." And very soon, as a hint of blood finally started escaping from Riley's nose a he stretched his upgraded powers even further to its new limits, he found himself…
…smiling.
He was wrong.
Being trapped in an eternity did not make him completely emotionless or without feelings at all, no. It was just merely suppressing; molding it from within him and making it more… more… well, just more.
He had never felt excitement like this before — it was as if his entire body started to shiver as he saw the undead princess still growling at him, and the celestial drill which was made from an entire galaxy following her behind like a dragon.
And then, with a small but stuttering breath…
"Ha…hahaha. Hahahaha!"
Riley began laughing. Not like his previous bursts of laughter which had the purpose of making his victims uncomfortable, no. This laugh did not even reach from ear to ear, and yet even his eyebrows were slightly raised as his pale white face became flushed.
And then, almost as if imitating the undead princess, a small but manic growl escaped his lips as he pointed his palm at her. An echoing pulse then escaped his palm; a pulse instantly covering the size of an entire star system, he pushed the undead princess back — causing several of her flesh and bones to flatten.
This wasn't enough to stop the undead princess at all, however, as her body just instantly recovered. But stopping her was not Riley's goal at all, but just slowing her down so that the celestial drill chasing her from behind could finally ram itself toward her.
And there, he watched as the undead princess started to scream as the heavens fell upon her, quite literally. It did not really pierce her at all; after all, the size was incomprehensible.
Even Riley himself never imagined that he would one day do things like this. He had really only always gone with the flow of the wave, just destroying whatever he could in whichever direction the wave took him.
That was him, a being just always going with the flow. But perhaps now…
…now was the time to take control of the wave.
"Undead princess."
And as the back of the undead princess was being ravaged by the cosmos, Riley suddenly flew toward her and grabbed her by the face. And even with her busy trying to resist the force drilling her from behind, she still tried to bite Riley's hands.
Riley did not mind, however, as he even placed his face closer to hers.
"I have a plan," Riley smiled as he looked the undead princess in its white and lifeless eyes, "And I am going to need you in it, so…"
A clone then appeared behind Riley, grabbing something tiny from one of his many pockets. And then, with a snap of his fingers, the tiny object the clone was holding turned into some sort of glass cage.
"...I was saving this for Aerith just in case she misbehaves again, but I am using it on you instead."
***
"What… the fuck is that?"
"A zombie variant of Princess Esme."
"I know what it is, but I am asking why you brought it here!"
Back in the Council of Ross, all of the Hera variants who were still left in the space station were currently huddled up in one place; their instincts, all turned to their max as they stared at the bluish-skinned woman sleeping in a glass cage in front of them.
And Hera, who had the urge to return to the space station, could not help but just quickly hide behind Diana as she saw the undead princess.
"Mrs. Ross… I am really glad you're here now, but… why did you bring something like that?" Hera slightly stuttered, "I can feel my body acting up just by looking at it."
"I am… as worried as you are," Diana could really only just sigh as she looked at the undead princess, before turning her attention to her son, "Riley… where were you even hiding this… contraption?"
"I found it here in the Council of Ross, Mother," Riley shrugged, "Bard probably built it for his Diana, but ended up killing her instead."
"...Do you think she'll wake up anytime soon?" Gracy carefully approached the cage.
"No."
But as soon as she heard Riley saying that, the confidence in her stride returned as she tapped on the glass.
"Pft, why are you guys even scared from just this?" Gracy then let out a chuckle as she hit the glass cage, "She already died once, I could just easily kill it again with my Thunder—!!!"
And as soon as Esme's undead variant flinched, Gracy instantly rushed behind Riley, "You… you said she won't wake up!"
"She won't, because she is not asleep in the first place," Riley shook his head, "She is dead. Her energy is merely being drained by the cage."
"...Fuck. So…
..what is it doing here again?"
"Well..." Riley turned to look at Diana,
"...I always wanted a pet."
Chapter 847"Are these all the universes you've already crossed out?"
[Yes, Diana. There aren't too many yet as the universes where King sent all of you to are unique, requiring more energy to traverse to.]
"What is the possibility of opening a portal to the universe I was in?"
[0.000062%, Diana. Aside from its ever-changing frequencies, the energy required to access it has also increased.]
"Then, perhaps we could…Excuse me, can I help you?"
"You look fat."
Diana and Ahor Zai were peacefully talking with each other while scanning the holograms in front of them, but their peace was suddenly interrupted by Caitlain suddenly standing right in front of her — her thin face emerging from the hologram as she stared at Diana's face.
"I have forgotten what I look like healthy…" Caitlain squinted, "...But I swear you have an extra kilogram on you, or 5."
"And you have an extra chromosome."
"Rude, you're the one who adopted the literal devil," Caitlain scoffed as she joined the two in examining the previous universes they had already crossed out, "Which one was mine?"
[In the back of the list,] Ahor Zai brought up Caitlain's universe, which was completely pink, [With the circumstances of the nature of its apocalypse, the chance to return to it is even smaller.]
"But not impossible?"
[Well, nothing is impossible in the scale and nature of Creation, Dr. Caitlain.]
"Hmmm…" Diana stared at Caitlain's universe, before glancing at her, "...Your universe was destroyed by the Cherbi?"
"Cherbis. Is there really only one in most of the universes?" Caitlain raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, a singular existence."
"...So we were just unlucky?"
"Relatively," Diana sighed, "The universe I was sent to was destroyed by a virus that turned everyone into flesh-eating monsters."
"I saw that. And your son is insane for bringing one here… and it just had to be Princess Esme."
"Riley… Riley just has his own thought process completely different from the rest of us."
"I've only known him for a very short time, but I am inclined to agree with you. Do you know he is carrying your husband's head?"
"Yes, yes I know."
"As long as you know," Caitlain once again focused on the holograms, "But this… I do not know if it is the same in your universe, but themarians are treated as gods in mine. But the most we do is just fly around and solve other planets' problems. But this… is this not what it means to be a god?"
"We are just rescuing my daughter and friends," Diana shook her head.
"No, this is already something a should only be capable of," Caitlain also shook her head, "You might not notice it because you are always with your son, but this is…
…ridiculous."
***
"It seems there is no one here already, and I wanted to feed you some fresh meat too, Princess Esme."
Riley was currently in a dead universe, and this was the 3rd time he had been through in which all of life had already been destroyed.
The only thing he could really do was let out a sigh as he pulled… the rope in his hand which was reinforced by his telekinesis, and attached to it was the undead princess' cage like an oversized balloon.
"I wanted to go to a normal universe, but Mother reprimanded me not to release you there," Riley sighed again, "Do you just want to play?"
"..."
The undead princess did not really have any energy as her cage continuously zapped her of her strength; even then, however, she looked at Riley.
"Okay then, let's just play for a few minutes." And as he said those words, the cage confining the undead princess opened. She did not immediately attack Riley, however, but her dead eyes focused on the silhouette who was suddenly beside him — King.
Or at least an illusion of him, wrapping a sweet, fresh, bag of blood that Riley was now bringing along with him everywhere.
"Go…
…go fetch."
***
"Riley, did you find anything there? What took you so lo—you're still bringing that with you!?"
And after an hour, Riley left the dead universe he was in — the undead princess' so-called playtime lasted longer than he anticipated.
"You're seriously treating it as a pet!? I thought that was a joke!" Gracy's face still could not be painted whenever she sees the undead princess Esme, "Seriously, that's inhumane."
"It is no longer alive, Gracy."
"I mean just put it out of its misery!"
"I threw an entire galaxy through it and it survived," Riley shook his head, "I believe it will be more useful to me alive. Cherbi also needs a playmate and she would be perfect for it."
"...Right," Gracy squinted her eyes, "Anyway, some guys from your universe are here. There they are."
Riley looked to where Gracy was pointing to, only to see someone not actually from his universe.
"Ah! Son!"
"..." It was the Alice Lane of the first universe he was trapped in, waving at him while dragging her Diana with her by the hand,
"Alice Prime."
"Don't call me that, I sound like one of those Australian corned beef in cans," Alice let out a small giggle as she excitedly stood in front of Riley, "Guess what?"
"..."
"Guess what," Alice repeated her words as she nodded at Riley, "Come on, guess."
"How would the guy know what you're letting him guess if he has no idea what you're talking about."
"He knows, Dee. He's smart as heck."
"It doesn't work that way," Diana-2, or Dee for short, could not help but just roll her eyes and shake her head,
"The Bernard variant known as King attacked our universe."
"Wha—I wanted him to guess it!" Alice covered Dee's mouth, but it was already too late.
"Oh," Riley turned to look at Alice, "I was actually going to answer that, Alice Prime."
"No, no! See!?" Alice gripped Dee's lips, "He was going to guess it!"
"..." Riley could really only wait for Alice to stop climbing on top of Dee; biting her shoulder and even her face. Fortunately, after a few seconds, Dee was able to calm Alice down.
"W—"
"I really do have a lesbian variant!"
And before they could continue their discussion, Caitlain appeared — already pointing at Dee and Caitlain.
"I thought you were lying when you said that to me, Riley."
"I only lie when it will lead to fun events, Dr. Caitlain."
"Holy crap… It's an even sexier version of you, Dee," Alice looked at Caitlain from head to toe, causing her to slightly back away, "Now you're complete. Riley's mom is the MILF variant, she's the fit variant, and you… wow. I don't know if I should say this, but you're the boring variant, Dee."
"This is so weird," Caitlain could not help but just be mesmerized as she looked at Dee like she was some sort of tourist attraction.
"We should focus on why we are here, Alice."
"I see what you mean by the boring variant," Caitlain squinted her eyes as she looked at Dee from head to toe again.
"Our universe was attacked by King. Alice and I quickly traversed to find you… but it would seem you have your own problems."
"Hm," Riley nodded his head, "King also attacked us."
"And you were not able to stop him?" Dee's eyebrows lowered.
"No. The circumstances did not allow me to engage him directly," Riley sighed, "What about on your side, Diana-2? I thought Alice would be able to dismember him with no problem at all."
"The guy was strong, but you're right," Alice shrugged before clicking her tongue, "At first, when he appeared outside Earth with the big tittied colossal silver lady, I immediately fucked him up. It was funny because he was declaring all of us to kneel to him."
"Hm," Dee nodded.
"But then other people started appearing to aid him."
"Clones?"
"No."
"Variants?"
"No," Alice groaned, "Other people. I don't really recognize them from anywhere. Long story short, Dee and I were forced to escape to your universe, and then we found out from the actress your circumstances."
"King has other comrades?" Riley placed his hand on his chin, "That is valuable information, Alice Prime."
"How about just calling me Mother Prime?"
"That sounds like a title a nun would have, Alice Prime."
"I could be a nun."
"But you are not."
"Doesn't matter. Anyway…" Alice let out a small and deep sigh as she glanced at Dee, "...Since Dee and I have practically lost our home, we were hoping to stay in your universe since it's practically a refuge for people like us now. You adopted the Aerith of our universe, so…"
"You do not need to ask me, Alice Prime," Riley shook his head, "You are free to do as you wish."
"Cool, cool," Alice tapped Dee's arm, "So, how exactly can we help here? I heard you guys are going to war with the guy?"
"I believe we can offer substantial advantage in strategy," Dee stepped forward as she projected a hologram in front of her — a hologram of the Bernard of their world who Riley decapitated,
"As you may have remembered, our Bernard is sort of a mild version of King — albeit a failed version. We should be–"
"We do not really need strategy."
And before Dee could say her piece, Diana appeared in the auditorium. And although her face and voice was calm, everyone could feel a certain hostility escaping her breaths.
"This is an enemy that could attack us at any time, anywhere. And no matter how much we calculate or deliberate; the truth is, we do not know anything about him," Diana breathed out,
"Everything we need is already here…
…we just need to overwhelm him with pure, raw power."
Chapter 848"I heard the fate of the universe was at stake again, but it's not Riley?"
"The multiverse, Empress. The multiverse."
And very slowly, the Council of Ross was filled with all sorts of people… except for the people whom it actually belongs to, Bernard Ross. They were all seated in the auditorium, which was now only the size of a large class hall since most of the Hera variants were already gone.
"I do not get it, why is our priority still retrieving the people we have lost?"
The Queen of Evaniels was also there, and had already explored every nook and cranny of the space station more than a thousand times; just in case they were missing something,
"If we really need the brain of the architect of all this mess, then why do we not just pull one from a random universe?" Queen Vania raised her hand as she shared her thoughts, "I know all of you are thinking that there is a chance that that variant might join or have already joined forces with this man all of you call King, but at least we keep our enemies closer."
"No," Diana raised her hand to talk, "Aside from the fact you have already laid out — like most variants, the variants of Bernard Ross are not created equal."
"Hm," Empress nodded her head and agreed, "Our Bernard Ross was the best of all of them, it… is truly a demerit to the entire universe that we lost him."
"..." If anyone else said that, Diana would probably also be nodding her head and thanking them. But it left a weird taste in her mouth that it was her husband's mistress who said those words. And so, the only thing she could really do was project the hologram of Bard in front of all of them,
"This is the Bernard Ross variant who goes by the name Bard. He created Council of Ross…"
And while Diana and the others discuss the situation with the newcomers, the search for Hannah and the others continued in the same room, causing Queen Vania to look at Riley and all the clones who are stepping in and out of the portals.
In a way, perhaps unbeknownst to most of the people here, she felt… extreme guilt with the current situation. She was not apologetic for Hanna and the others, not at all. How could she, when they were part of Riley Ross's circle?
She was, however, extremely guilty for not listening to Van's words. After all, at the time, those words did not really come from Van's mouth, but from Riley's. He already told all of them not to open portals, and yet she was one of the people who spearheaded the research and even allocated enough budget to completely turn it into reality.
And now, this was the result — not only their universe but others realities have been dragged with her sins.
"I know what you are thinking, Queen Vania."
"!!!" Queen Vania could really only look to the side, as all of a sudden, Riley was sitting beside her. She couldn't even feel him arriving there at all.
"I canceled my presence completely," Riley raised his palm as he looked at Queen Vania, "Also, if you are thinking that this is somehow your fault for sponsoring the creation of portal, then do not be."
"..." Is Riley Ross actually comforting right now?
"Your actions are irrelevant and useless in the grand scheme of things," Riley sighed, "Multiversal travel had already been discovered by Bard more than a decade before our universe discovered it."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Queen Vania raised an eyebrow.
"I was not trying to make you feel better, Queen Vania — I was doing the opposite and trying to make you feel useless." And with those words, Riley stood up and just casually left the discussion; leaving Queen Vania completely lost in thought as to what Riley even wanted to achieve by doing that.
"You'll get used to it," Empress, who was seated on her other side just waved her hand and sighed, "The kid lives to create chaos."
"Well, that kid is planning on ending all of us," Queen Vania raised her voice and stood up, "King may be the immediate threat now, but make no mistake — he is still the biggest threat in the entire multiverse. While we are here, we should start planning on how to truly get rid of him, because unlike with King, we can plan, and need to plan."
"But he is not our problem for now."
"He has always been the problem."
And as the discussion soon turned into an argument, Riley was not standing in front of a portal; nodding his head as he watched the chaos he left very slowly turn louder by the second. And with a smile on his face, he tugged the rope he was holding — once again entering a portal and bringing alone the undead princess with him in a cage.
Riley was once again expecting nothing but darkness, as the last universes he had traversed to were all already completely dead. But the view in front of him right now could not be even more alive.
He was in the center of what seemed to be New York, but it looked old and the buildings seemed completely abandoned; there were cracks, shattered glass, and the smell of rusted metal everywhere.
But it was alive — there were people there all wearing thick coats and jackets; carrying everything they could as they seemed to help each other with whatever it was they were doing. There was also a certain piercing cold that seemed to chill the water and vapor, but not enough to truly turn them into ice.
If there was anything different on this Earth, it is that it had two suns — one almost white in color, while the other yellow. Riley did not even bother acknowledging the people who were slowly gathering around him and looking at him as well as the cage floating close to him, he just quickly flew up into the sky and toward the white sun.
Before he could even get far, however, he noticed something different. The closer he got to the white sun, the lower the temperature became — even lower than normal when one finds themselves trapped in the expanse of space; the chill was even starting to form around his telekinetic barrier.
"..." Riley squinted his eyes for a few seconds, before he turned toward the yellow sun. And without even any hesitation, he flew toward it; his speed, increasing by the millisecond as everything around him just turned into a dark and streaking blur; even leaving the undead princess' cage just floating in the expanse of the solar system.
And very soon, he reached the yellow sun. And even with him completely immune to heat, Riley could still feel a soothing warmth starting to veil around his entire body; wrapping him gently. But he knew that even if it wasn't him, everyone else would still feel a soothing warmth, no heat at all.
And as he got even closer, he found that the sun was not a sun at all.
But two people, two people holding each other's hands as they seemed to peacefully sleep.
"Hm…" Riley stared at these two silhouettes for a few seconds, before a smile very slowly crawled on his face. He then very gently raised his palm and pointed it toward the two — but as soon as he did so, one of the silhouettes turned her head at him.
"Riley… no."
"Sister."
It was Hannah. Her body, completely white; almost ethereal as Riley could see the universe through her, literally. And the other silhouette she was holding hands with; almost like a mirror, was Nannah.
And perhaps in the simplest of forms, and in the simplest of sense, and in the simplest of words — there were giving this universe life.
"I have come to bring you back, Sister," Riley turned his palm up and tried to reach for Hannah, but Hannah just shook her head, causing some sort of delay after image as the warmth emitting from her body seemed to leave a print on the universe.
"You can't, Riley. Whatever you do, promise me that you will not try anything," Hannah's voice seemed distant, not metaphorically — but her voice seemed to travel across the entire universe at once, "If you do…"
"...This universe dies," Nannah was the one to complete Hannah's words, "I have always imagined what my purpose truly is — and perhaps it is this. I have destroyed the lives of many in the chance that they will become a threat to their universe, but now it is truly time to save a universe while not sacrificing any lives."
"Leave us here, brother…" Hannah let out a sigh which almost pushed Riley back, "...This is what our powers are for. And even if you try to do something, it will not be enough as our mortal forms have already departed this plane. We are—"
"No."
And before Hannah could even finish her words, Riley suddenly grabbed both their hands… before pulling them apart.
"Riley, no!"
And as soon as he did so, a ripple exploded; almost instantly moving across the entire universe. And very soon, Riley could feel even the darkness of the expanse of space to crack as a murdering chill menacingly crawled everywhere… everywhere except the minuscule space where the three of them were floating.
"See, Sister?" Riley then pointed at Hannah and Nannah as their bodies very slowly materialized in front of him, "You still have your bodies."
"Riley, you… you promised me you won't do that…" Hannah and Nannah started grabbing their arms as they seemingly felt everything and everyone dies around them, "We… they relied on us and—"
"The only thing I promised you is not to abandon you, Sister," Riley shook his head, "And also…
…I am starting to feel a little selfish lately."
Chapter 849"Why… Riley?"
"Because I can."
In the midst of a universe turning asunder, Riley and Hannah floated at the center; their eyes, just locked on to each other. Of course, Nannah was also there, but she wasn't important in what was happening right now according to Riley's eyes, which were seemingly trying their best not to reflect her silhouette at all.
Hannah's almost translucent body, very slowly gaining flesh as the breaths escaping her lips sound defeated.
"All… all of these people… they…"
"Please stop being too dramatic, Sister. A lot more people are dying as we speak," Riley did not let Hannah finish her words as he raised his hand. And as he did so, the three of them started flying away, "A billion, a trillion does not matter at all. There is no need to sacrifice your life just for these people."
"W—"
"How were you able to do this feat, though?" Riley looked forward, only to see the expanse of the universe they were flying through seemingly cracking; almost as if the entire universe itself was just one big giant glacier, "I know your abilities are capable of melting an entire star system if you wanted to, but covering an entire universe with a warmth that does not kill is beyond what you should be capable of. Did it have something to do with the two of you holding hands?"
"...I do not want to talk to you right now, Riley," Hannah just covered her breasts and private parts as she looked away.
"Hm…" Riley flicked his finger, causing a black goo to seep out from one of his pockets. It then expanded and flew toward Hannah, covering her body like a suit. As for Nannah, well — Riley just left her naked.
"Do… you have something for me too?" Nannah weakly said.
"Oh, I thought you preferred being naked, Nannah," Riley blinked before also covering Nannah with the black goo, "Since Sister does not seem to want to talk to me, perhaps you can answer my question? Did the two of you holding hands amplify your abilities?"
"Oh…" Nannah turned to look at Hannah, who was squinting her eyes at her as if silently telling her not to talk to him. Nannah, however, just let out a sigh and shook her head, "...Our powers were not really amplified. It is more of a collaboration, one controls the strength of the flame, and one delivers it."
"Like a central radiator."
"No, th—Actually, yes," Nannah raised an eyebrow, "We served as the radiator of this universe, making sure the heat is evenly distributed, ensuring life to everyone and everything."
"T—"
"Why are you just talking to him so casually!?" And before Riley could say another word, Hannah suddenly yelled and pointed at him, "Are we really so desensitized with all the deaths that we could really just move on from a universe dying…? We were keeping them alive! And you were the one who proposed all of this in the first place, you said you wanted to atone for your sins and actually try and save people!"
"...And we have, Hannah," Nannah closed her eyes and sighed, "Because of us, the people of this universe had the chance to live again — to hope."
"For what… 6, 7 months!?" Hannah almost growled.
"It never would have been enough," Nannah shook her head, "At least this way, they died instantly. And the last memory they have was them actually living, not just freezing to death. And don't forget, Hannah…
…We're not gods."
"We're not," Hannah raised an eyebrow, "No one is playing god here."
"What I meant is that we will die. We're not immortal like your brother. These people… they would have died eventually too along with us."
"..." Hannah looked Nannah in the eyes for a few seconds, before turning to look at Riley, "You could have at least let us choose what we wanted to do."
"No. As I said, I was feeling selfish lately, Sister," Riley shook his head, "I felt that my choice mattered more, and my choice is you…
…always you, no matter what."
"If that's true…" Hannah looked Riley in the eyes, "...Then stop destroying and killing everyone."
"No," Riley shook his head, "I said my choice is you, not your worthless decision."
"What did you—"
"What the fuck is that!?"
And like a wail that rippled across the cracking universe, Nannah suddenly screamed as she pointed at a frozen glass cage… with a frozen dead themarian in it.
"Isn't that… Princess Esme?" Hannah squinted her eyes, "Why does it look like she's still moving—Wait, I thought the themarians of this universe died like thousands of years ago because of the endless cold?"
"I don't know— and if they did, then Princess Esme shouldn't even be—"
"Oh, there is no need to deliberate or guess," Riley grabbed the frozen rope hanging from the glass cage, "This is our new pet, Sister."
"Pet!? She's a fucking human, Riley!"
"Technically, she is Themarian, Sister," a small smile crawled on Riley's face, "And she is clinically dead, and therefore does not have the same rights. I took her from a universe that ended due to a zombie apocalypse."
"A universe… with themarian zombies? What the fuck were you even doing there?"
"I see…" Nannah let out a small gasp as she raised a finger, "...We were all sent to a dying universe by King. So, that is what the device was—I was wondering why Dad panicked when he saw it. Does that mean you've figured out how to recover all of us? Is Dad leading the rescue!?"
"We have not found your father, Nannah."
"What… what about Dad, Riley?" Hannah slightly stuttered as she looked Riley in the eyes. And even though she already knew the answer, she did not care as she just wanted to hear it from Riley.
"Yes, I found Father."
"...What!?" Both Hannah and Nannah looked at each other; with a smile growing on Nannah's face as she grabbed Hannah by the shoulders.
"Dad… dad is alive!?"
"No, I found his head," Riley then grabbed a miniature decaying head from his pocket; slowly enlarging to normal size as he presented it to Hannah,
"Mother wanted me to give it to her, but I told her I would like to show it to you first, Sister. You can thank me late—"
"You…
…why would you even show that to me!?"
***
"Mom!"
"H… Hannah!?"
And as soon as Hannah and Nannah emerged from the portal, Diana, who was previously discussing things with her variants, instantly disappeared from her spot and embraced her daughter.
As for Dee and Caitlain, the only thing they could really do was sigh as they followed her. The expressions on their faces, slightly different from each other, almost completely opposite. Dee was completely hesitant, while Caitlain seemed extremely curious as she looked at Hannah from head to toe.
Caitlain has already seen Hannah from the holograms, but seeing her in person made her feel a certain way she couldn't quite explain. And soon, her eyes landed on Nannah, who had a wry smile on her face as she watched Hannah being embraced and welcomed back by her mother.
And almost as if there was someone whispering to her… she also suddenly hugged Nannah.
"W…" Nannah could really only bat her eyes as Caitlain suddenly hugged her. She was initially going to pull away, but when she found that she couldn't even budge Caitlain for even a single millimeter; a small whimper escaped her lips as she just suddenly burst into tears.
"It's okay… you did good," Caitlain very gently brushed Nannah's head.
"..." Dee, who was suddenly left alone, could really only just shrug. She was about to walk away, but suddenly felt someone tapping her shoulder — she looked around, only to see Riley with his arms open.
"You are feeling left out, Diana-2."
"W—Get away from me. You—"
"...Psst, Dee," and almost as if teaming up on her, Alice also arrived as she started whispering loudly, "If you're feeling lonely, we could adopt orphaned Hannahs — I am sure there are many out there since you're such a lousy parent. Pft."
"You're the one with a variant who literally killed her son, creating a god that is out to kill all of us."
"Kh…" Alice grasped her heart as she was the one to wrap herself in Riley's open arms, "That hit me right in the kokoro."
"..."
"Kokoro means—"
"Heart, I know."
"Oh, you do? I thought you didn't have a heart?"
"Ugh," Dee just groaned as she quickly made her escape from this… very uncomfortable situation. Unfortunately for her, this uncomfortable situation lasted for more than an hour as both Hannahs cried on the shoulders of her variants. Unbeknownst to her, however, she was actually subtly watching them from afar with a sort of… longing gaze.
And of course, this longing gaze did not escape Alice Prime's eyes.
"Oh… oho… ohoho," Alice approached Dee while covering her mouth; dancing at the same time as she laughed, "Someone regrets not having a child."
"I don't! Stop bothering me!" Dee clicked her tongue as she started walking away. Before she could even take 3 steps, however, she almost choked on her own themarian breath as she saw Riley standing in front of her…
…wearing a dress; a flower pinned on his now brown hair.
"What in the…"
"Since you seem to be longing for a child, I asked Riley to dress up!" Alice boasted, "I even did his makeup and colored his hair so that he would at least have your features since he already has mine."
"Please…
…just get out."
"Pft… can't even be joked around. Let's go, Riley," Alice stuck out her tongue before just walking away.
"...Where are the two of you going?" Dee watched as Riley started following Alice… the two of them seemingly walking toward a portal.
"To another universe, one of the clones found someone," Alice shrugged, "But he escaped for… reasons."
"...Does that reason have anything to do with this freak dressing up as a woman?"
"Oh…
…Oh yes."
Chapter 850It was weird. The streets that Riley and Alice Prime were walking on right now were clean — there was no rubble, no debris, not even a single crying child. The streets, they were normal. Everyone was just going on about their days, with some busier than the others as they seemingly walked faster or pressed the horns of their cars.
In almost all cases, there would be no issue in this type of normality — but this type of normality was no longer normal in the world Riley walks in. And he walks these streets with his silky, white, frilly dress bouncing with each step; the fake flower pinned on his short brown hair, almost glittering as it reflects the sunlight peacefully veiling him.
"Pft…"
Alice, who was walking with Riley, was circling around him as she took videos of him walking with a certain bounce in his steps; elegant, and yet approachable at the same time — courtesy of Hera's teachings.
"Psst, Riley."
"...Yes?"
"Hurk, my kokoro."
And as Riley glanced at her with his pink luscious lips, Alice could really only just clasp her chest again. If it wasn't for Riley catching her with his telekinetic abilities, she would have truly allowed herself to fall on the cold hard ground. It wasn't helping her case that Riley also altered his voice by compressing the air coming out of his throat.
It wasn't only Alice staring at him, all of the women who were passing by them all glanced at Riley, some longer than others. There were no men staring at him, however… solely for the fact that there truly are no men within the nearby vicinity, and probably in the next country… or perhaps the entire planet.
"This world seems to be functioning well even when all of their species' male counterparts seem to be slowly dying out, Alice Prime."
"I checked their internet for a bit — and they seemed to have saved their balls or something before they were completely wiped out by some sort of virus," Alice hid her phone as the two continued to walk, "Every alien that has a dick or equivalent to it is also probably already dead too."
"Hm…" Riley placed his hand on his chin, "...Do you think the reason why my clone is suddenly missing has something to do with the fact that everyone here is a woman?"
"Yes," Alice did not even hesitate to answer, "Definitely, yes. He's probably getting it somewhere."
"No, I can't detect him anymore. He probably did get it, but he has probably already died from overexerting himself."
"...You're clone can die from something like that?" Alice batted her eyes.
"They can choose to die anyway, anyhow, or anywhere they want to," Riley shrugged, "He probably wanted whatever his last moments to be whatever his last moments were."
"...I don't really understand this, but it seems like one way to go, pft," Alice shook her head as she continued to follow Riley around the city. And soon, Riley suddenly stopped walking.
"This is the last place where Ahor Zai detected the signal from the transmitter," Riley then started looking around as they reached some sort of building. They couldn't approach any further, however, as they were stopped by security… a heavily suspicious security for an inconspicuous and humble building in the middle of the city.
"So… that doesn't look suspicious at all," Alice sarcastically whispered as the two backed away from the building. The two then started scanning the outside of the building to check it, going to a nearby cafe afterward which had a view of the suspicious building.
"How do you want to do this? Should we just destroy the place or what?"
And as the two ordered their drinks, Alice started presenting plans — but Riley only shook his head every time. And as always, the people inside the cafe were staring at Riley, some of them even secretly taking photos of him and sending them to their group chats or even posting them on social media.
"You dressed me up, Alice Prime," Riley blinked a couple of times; his long eyelashes batting as he looked Alice in the eyes, "I had the notion that this is for us to go unnoticed in this universe."
"Oh, no. Psh," Alice giggled, "I just wanted to see what you would look like in makeup and dark hair, and I have to say, you did not disappoint, my little white chocolate universe-destroying monster."
"..."
"But you do have a point, though," Alice then looked at Riley from head to toe as he started slurping the glass of vanilla milk he ordered, "It'll be a waste not to use your disguise."
"Hm," Riley nodded, "We have a lot of time too since I already found Sister."
"...So you only care about your sister?" Alice raised an eyebrow, "The sentiment doesn't seem to go both ways, though. She's been giving you the cold shoulder ever since she got back."
"I prevented her from saving trillions of lives, after all," Riley did not even deny it and just nodded, "I too, also used to find it disappointing whenever I did not get to kill anyone in a day."
"You're a freak," Alice once again giggled, "But I've actually already read everything about you in your universe. You really only came out a few times as Darkday."
"But I did kill everyday, Alice Prime," Riley shrugged.
"...What?"
"Yes. At least once a day. You could find many unsolved cases of murder, a lot of those would be mine," there was a slight glimmer in Riley's eyes as he seemed to reminisce his young adolescent life, "Some were even thought to be done by several serial killers, they didn't know it was all just me."
"You have serious issues, Riley," Alice could really only take in a big gulp of her drink as she looked away from Riley, "I wonder what would have happened if you were raised by me and Dee instead though. That would have been something."
"Maybe. But I think I have always been destined to be what I am — your variant somehow knew that in all her insanity, and that is why she killed me. But it turned out to be the start of everything."
"Jesus… what a mess, huh?" Alice winced as she sucked in a breath. She was about to say something, but she noticed the security around the suspicious building starting to move, "Look."
Riley quickly turned his head to look at the building, only to see several black cars parking in front of it despite the already narrow road. More security emerged from the newly arrived black cars and started surrounding one of the cars and lining up.
And soon, a woman stepped out of the car; covered in a thick coat of fur even with the blistering sun; her face, covered in a pair of wide sunglasses.
"...Is that one of us?" Alice quickly said as she grabbed her camera and zoomed in on the lady.
"No," Riley, however, quickly shook his head. The two continued to watch the woman as she reached the main door of the building… only to also be stopped by the building's security.
"Hm…?" The two then watched as the woman presented some sort of red card to the guards. And as soon as they checked it, they opened the door and gestured to the woman to enter; completely leaving all of her bodyguards outside.
And after an entire hour, the woman came out of the building; her once perfectly blow-dried hair, an utter mess. She wasn't even wearing her sunglasses right and her guards had to carry her back to the car. Throughout her struggle, however, there was a weird smile on her face.
"...I think I know what is happening here," Alice could really only just let out a small gasp as she started tapping Riley's hand, "We need to get inside—well, you need to get inside. I'll stay here and watch."
"Why can it not just be both of us, Alice?"
"Then no one is going to watch. What if King suddenly appears in this universe?" Alice then suddenly pinned something on Riley's clothes, "That's a spy camera so I could… spy. Now go, go!"
And with Alice just forcefully pushing him out of the seat, Riley could really only just let out a sigh and walk back toward the building. And of course, he was once again stopped by the guards — but as soon as he presented a red card completely identical to the one the woman from earlier showed them, they quickly let him in without as much as a word.
"They said your name is Ms. Riley?"
And almost immediately, Riley was welcomed by several women in elegant dresses.
"Do you want to take something before meeting our Savior, Ms. Riley?"
Riley didn't even have to change his name. After all, more women had his name than men.
"No, just take me to the Savior."
"Very well. Please, follow us."
And almost immediately, Riley was taken to an elevator and to a hall with a large door.
"The Savior is waiting for you inside, you may enter."
And as the women opened the door for him, a large lavish room welcomed him — an oversized bed being its center. There were also a lot of unnecessary large pillows there, and even some… tools hanging on the walls.
And there, comfortably sitting on the bed was a man with his back turned on them.
"Everyone, you may leave."
"Of course, Savior."
And as soon as the other women left, the man immediately turned around; barely clothed with only a blanket covering his lower extremities.
"Please, you may approach me, Madam," the man very gently raised his hand and stretched it toward Riley.
"No," Riley, however, just stared at him with a blank expression on his face, "Your daughter is waiting for you back in the space station, Bard."
"This…
…I can explain."
Chapter 851"You are telling me that you have the brain to discover multiversal travel from scratch, but the only solution you found to help this world… is to share your freaking sperm?"
"...No. I really need you to let me explain. You're the Alice I met back then, right?"
"There is no need to explain, Bard. We are only here to take you back to the space station."
"Riley, You… won't tell my daughter?"
"That while she turned herself into a literal sun to save a universe from an eternal chill, her father was being tortured by a universe filled with women by having to share his sperm to select women?"
"...She what? Wait… don't tell it to her like."
"I will not, Bard. I promise."
"Thank you, thank you!"
"Jesus… we caught you lacking, dude. I can't even imagine the Bernard of my world doing something like this."
"I told you, I could explain!"
Riley and Bard were still in Bard's… special room, with the guards outside completely unaware that Alice had already infiltrated their building from the window. Alice initially just wanted to wait outside at the cafe; watching from the spy camera she attached on Riley's chest while she chilled and drank her sweet drink — but as soon as she saw a variant of Bernard Ross barely even clothed and speaking in a somewhat seductive voice, she knew she had to witness what was happening in person.
And seeing Bard panic, she knew she made the right call.
"Please, just let me—"
"Savior, is everything alright in there!?" And before Bard could finish his words, a knock drummed from the door, "Are you in distress?"
"No! Don't come in!" Bard raised his voice.
"...The psychiatrist is hearing some distress in your voice, Savior."
"No, n—"
"We're coming in!"
And with that as her only warning, the guard standing outside Bard's special room barged inside; already with a gun in her hand. But as soon as she took another step, she and the people behind her quickly disintegrated into nothing.
"What did you do!?" The apologetic tone of Bard's voice instantly faded away as he rushed toward Riley, but Alice blocked his path and trapped him in an invisible cage.
"I am not here to save these people, Bard," Riley shook his head, "I just need you to return with us."
"I will! That wasn't even a question, but why did you even have to kill them!?"
"But I did not, Bard."
"What…? Then…" Bard then turned to look at Alice Prime, who only shook her head and shrugged. Bard was confused for a couple of seconds, but closed his eyes after a while and let out a very long and deep breath, "It's the Dust."
"...The what?"
"What killed the other half of this universe," Bard opened his eyes and looked at both Alice and Riley, "The worst part of it all is that it's not even a disease, it's not a virus…
…it's all already in their DNA like some sort of cancer, except there is no killing this one, because removing it would also kill its person."
"Damn."
"And now it would seem the universe wants to take its other half, Bard," Riley let out a small hum, "I thought the people of this world would just eventually die out, as the other universes King sent us to are dead or dying. But it would seem this universe does not want to wait."
"Yes," Bard once again let out a sigh as he started getting clothes from his closet, "We should… leave."
And as soon as Bard said that, Alice no longer tried to hide her abilities — casually ripping off the walls of the building. And as the three flew off, the scene of chaos that Riley was expecting was starting to unfold.
Cars, crashing into one another. Unkept flames slowly started to spread throughout the city. But perhaps the most ominous of it all were the people just turning to dust before they could even hold the hand of the people they loved.
There were screams, but none of them could really convey what their owners wanted — there was only the Dust.
"..." Bard only glanced at this for a few moments, before just shaking his head as he focused on the path ahead. And as they reached the front of the portal, Bard took one final look as he entered first.
Alice was also about to enter the portal, but stopped as she looked at Riley.
"You lied to him," Alice said, "I can feel your telekinetic waves everywhere, my little evil baby monster. You're the one doing this."
"Yes," Riley did not even hesitate and nodded, "I believe it is much better for them to die now by my hands — instead of suffer from inevitability."
"And the other universes your clones enter?"
"They have also been ordered to destroy everything if it is not already," Riley glanced at the chaos he created, "Even the universe I saved where I found Gracy, I left a clone so he could destroy anything that is left once we were gone, Alice Prime."
"You…" Alice looked Riley in the eyes for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh of her own, "You are who you are, I suppose."
"I am the End of all stories, Alice…" Riley whispered as a small, but somber smile crawled on his face, "I have never pretended not to be… except perhaps maybe one or twice."
"I guess after all this King fiasco is gone…" Alice looked Riley in the eyes, "...We'd be trying to kill you next."
"Unlike King, there is no winning against me, Alice Prime."
"We don't know about that, don't be too cocky, my boy," Alice started wagging her finger before just disappearing into the portal.
"I do know, Alice…" Riley also started walking as he walked toward the portal, and as he did so, the ground beneath his feet turned to dust, and not even a second later… the entire planet disappeared,
"...Because all of you have already lost the very moment I came into existence."
***
"Dad!"
And as soon as Riley entered the portal, he saw Nannah quickly rushing toward Bard and leaping into his arms. He also saw Hannah there, carrying a weak smile on her face as watched as Nannah reunited with his father—something she would never be able to do anymore.
And so, upon seeing the sadness in her eyes grow, Riley started walking toward her and stretched his arm open.
"I am also back, Sister."
"Go fuck yourself," Hannah, on the other hand, seemed to have no plan to forgive Riley anymore as she just turned around and walked away as soon as her eyes met Riley's.
Riley did not seem to mind, however, as he just shrugged and lowered his arms. And as soon as he did so, he saw Caitlain flying to the auditorium and landing close to Nannah and Bard.
"Ah, Dad! This is Caitlain, a variant from a dying universe a million Cherbis."
"...A million cherbis?" Bard's eyes quickly widened as he looked at Caitlain, only to slightly back away as soon as she saw her face, "...Diana?"
"...No, I don't go by that name," Caitlain raised an eyebrow as she started looking at Bard from head to toe, "...You're fatter than your other versions."
"This… isn't fat," Bard could really only stare at Caitlain. Perhaps out of all the variants he had seen of his wife, Caitlain resembled his Diana the most, mostly due to the fact that she was thin and always had a tired expression on her face.
His Diana's tired expression was from experimenting on everyone, even her own daughter.
But Caitlain's tired expression was clearly from trying to save her world from the Cherbis, but being defeated all the same… and Bard was familiar with this feeling.
"I'm… Bard," and without him even meaning to, he instinctively reached for Caitlain's hand.
"Caitlain. I've actually been wanting to meet you," Caitlain smiled and firmly shook Bard's hand, almost causing him to fall toward her, "I heard you're the smartest guy in this room?"
"...No. I'm just more knowledgeable in more areas than most," Bard sighed, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Caitlain."
"Hm…" Caitlain and Bard looked into each other's eyes; almost as if reaching some sort of understanding, "Anyway… want to have sex with me?"
"Sorry… what?" Bard blinked his eyes. It would seem… they had a different understanding, after all. As for Nannah, she could really only quickly turn around and leave as soon as she heard this, truly not wanting to hear more of it.
But as she just suddenly turned around, she did not see Alice standing there and accidentally bumped into her. Not her fault, of course, as Alice had been suspiciously quiet ever since they returned to the space station.
"Ah! The spy cam!" Alice dropped the thing she had been holding since earlier. She and Nannah tried to catch it, but alas — it only caused them to miss it altogether as it dropped to the floor, and as soon as it did so…
…a hologram projected out of it.
[Please, you may approach me, Madam… you do not need to be shy.]
"What… the fuck is this?" Nannah could really only back away several steps as she saw Bard sensually sitting on a large, luxurious bed… almost completely naked.
Caitlain, who was still holding Bard's hand, could not help but raise an eyebrow as she looked back and forth between the hologram and the actual person, "Oh… I guess you're going to show me a very good time, then?"
"Dad…?"
"...I can explain."
Chapter 852"Why couldn't you think of other solutions!? Didn't you once install your memories to an Android!?"
"It's… not that easy."
A whole day. A whole day had already passed since everyone discovered what Bard was doing in the universe he was in, and yet the beating hadn't stopped even once — it did not help that Nannah was not even listening to any of his explanations; she was just busy cursing him. While eating, and even when sleeping, she was cursing him so loud that everyone could hear it.
"Enough of this farce."
And almost like a light shining upon him, Dee forcefully pulled Bard away from the very, and almost literal sticky situation he found himself in,
"We currently need your brains to be working on another problem. D—"
"Go find another Bernard Ross, this one is already mine."
Unfortunately for Bard, he just jumped from one problem to another as Caitlain grabbed his other arm.
"...What?" Dee could not help but raise an eyebrow as she pulled Bard away, and the only thing Bard could really do was reinforce his body with his armor so that he wouldn't be split into two by these two beautiful titans,
"What makes you think I want a piece of this human?" Dee scoffed.
"Right, I forgot you were into women."
"W—I'm not."
"You and that abnormal telekinetic are together."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I like women. What Alice and I have is something different entirely."
"...You're weird."
"This entire situation is weird," Dee rolled her eyes, "Now let go of the man, we need him to gather people for us. If King is creating an army, we should too. And hopefully, the number of deaths on both sides would not be high…
…we would be needing them for the other guy."
***
The other guy Dee was speaking of was not in the space station, he was not even in a dead universe — but finally back in his own universe, exploring the new streets of New Theran.
Unlike the original Theran, the buildings did not seem old and medieval at all, but almost similar to Earth with its skyscrapers and buildings — and considering the materials available to New Theran, the streets seemed even more impressive.
He had not really gotten the chance to explore the New Theran after he disappeared, and now that he was… the people living there now wish he hadn't. Why would they not…
…when Riley brought the undead princess with him?
The worst part of this all was that he was casually strolling the streets as if he was just walking his dog. Except his dog was a sedated multiversal threat that was literally almost unstoppable.
No one approached Riley, however, as Queen Adel had already made a decree that no themarian, under any circumstance, should have a conversation with Riley Ross — perhaps for the best, as no one would want to approach him anyway.
New Theran really only had a single city, with the entire planet being a country by itself due to the number of its population. And so, suffice it to say, everyone knew what Riley was doing already except those who might be busy doing something.
"This place has not changed," And after enjoying himself a bit with a little sightseeing, Riley seemed to have finally reached his destination — the Field of Crystals, where all the young themarians who died were immortalized in an almost impenetrable crystal which, as the name suggests, preserves them for all eternity.
The themarian youths, even with their lives extinguished, stood tall inside their crystals. And with the way they died, it almost truly seemed like all of them were just peacefully sleeping. Like trees, filled with life… but not truly able to live.
Perhaps that is truer in more ways than one, as these themarians probably were not even aware that they died, as their deaths were almost instantaneous.
The crystals are a culmination of the lives of all the people and everything that there ever was on the planet, quite figuratively and literally. It is almost indestructible even by themarians. And yet, with a snap of Riley's fingers…
…the crystals began to crack.
And the bodies that were peacefully resting inside their crystal trees, now violently rolling on the debris of the crystal prison that was supposed to confine them for eternity. Their peaceful postures, now completely random and most seem even disrespectful as their limbs all just wave and fling until they reach the ground.
"Hm…" Riley nodded at himself as he saw this ominous scenery in front of him, and as soon as all the corpses were insultingly sprawled on the ground, the glass cage that was floating beside him also touched the sea of crystal beneath his feet.
"Riley Ross!"
And soon, a shadow was cast on Riley as two silhouettes suddenly appeared above him. The two seemed to want to approach closer, but they found themselves stopped by an invisible wall.
"Why are you here!? And what are you doing to our children!?" Queen Adel's unusually long and lush hair violently waved with the wind as she swung her arm at the invisible wall, but the most it did was cause a ripple that blew away all the clouds above her.
"Queen Adel… look!" And the other silhouette floating in the air was Aerith 2, who had truly committed to the name Edith. Edith was pointing at the glass cage; her finger, slightly trembling as she did so.
"That—isn't that Princess Esme!? What… what did you do to her!?" Queen Adel sucked in a short but very deep breath as she stared at the undead princess, thinking it was their own Esme, "Are you really intent on destroying the only remaining future of my people!?"
"I am truly thankful that is not me, Your Highness."
"W…" And all of a sudden, Princess Esme was also floating beside her; her emotionless eyes reflecting the undead princess who looked completely identical to her, "That's… a variant? What are you planning, Riley Ross!?"
"Fixing my mistake, Queen Adel," Riley let out a small sigh as he walked away from the cage. And with each step, the unmoving and lifeless undead princess very slowly started to move; its fingers, now tapping the glass cage.
"It… wasn't dead?" Edith squinted her eyes as she saw the lifeless princess very slowly sitting up; its skin, completely pale and blue as her head very slowly started to fidget, "But I don't sense any energy from it.
"It is a zombie, Edith."
"What's… a zombie?" Edith squinted her eyes.
"You will find out soon enough, Edith." And with those words, Riley snapped his fingers again. And as he did so, the glass cage confining the undead princess very slowly opened, "Hopefully, that is."
And almost immediately, the once weak and lifeless undead princess disappeared from its cage… and rushed toward the three themarian royalties.
"!!!"
Princess Esme quickly moved in front of Edith and Queen Adel — but she did not need to. Because as soon as a whistle hummed in the air, the undead princess stopped in its tracks and just floated right in front of Esme; only the invisible wall that Riley created separated them.
"..." Princess Esme quickly tilted her head to the side as she stared at the face of her undead variant, and the undead princess did the same. But soon, as if she did not even see her at all, the undead princess disappeared.
The three royalties could really only watch as the undead princess started flying around in circles as it chased a silhouette eerily similar to King. As for Riley, he was now casually sitting in front of a crystal pillar which was left completely intact without even as much as a scratch — and in it, was Alice Lane.
Queen Adel and the others did not need to wonder for long, however, as very slowly… they started to notice several whispers lingering in the air. Whispers that should have been impossible to hear, now and forever.
"Zombie…" Queen Adel's eyes very slowly squinted as she finally realized what was happening, "...Undead. Riley Ross, you… you dare do that upon my people!? Have you not already done enough to us!?"
"I have not done nearly enough to everyone, Your Highness," Riley shook his head as he rested his back on Alice's crystal grave, "And as I said, this is me fixing my mistake. Although it was my intention to kill all of the themarians and destroy you, I should have done it with my own hands and not led and influenced other people to do it. So, please…
…you do not need to thank me for letting your youth walk and float in this universe again."
"You… stop this!" Queen Adel was about to slam her entire body on the invisible dome that Riley created but quickly stopped as Riley raised his finger and shook his head.
"If you destroy that wall, Your Highness — you would risk the virus scattering in this universe," Riley sighed and started clicking his tongue, "I am sure you do not want that, Mother told me that this virus is completely airborne and will latch onto anyone…
…as is the case now."
Riley then very slowly stretched his arm to the side as a wide smile crawled on his face. And in his glimmering eyes reflected the themarian youths, now struggling to stand up from their supposed eternal sleep.
"Rejoice, Queens of New Theran," Riley raised his voice as the smile on his face turned completely wide,
"Your dead are now your future."
Chapter 853A terrifying sight. None could really explain to you how it feels like to see your dead very slowly standing up; struggling, but standing up even so. Their movements are clumsy, very much so. And yet there is power with each waking fidget, with each whisper that seemed to be saying nothing at all, but also so much at the same time.
It is a terrifying sight, very much so. And perhaps even more so when your dead is actually still dead.
"No…"
Queen Adel has spent a good amount of time with the humans, and has actually even welcomed some of their culture — and that includes their entertainment; mainly movies, as the themarians sorely lacked in the creative department due to the nature of their person.
And of course, that involves one of their most popular genres, horror. And of course, by a matter of correlation, zombies. She didn't know all the details, but she knew enough that such a virus should really only exist in science fiction — and for the virus to be capable of infecting even themarians who should be immune to all diseases just pushed it up to the realm of fantasy.
But the genres don't matter. What mattered was what the virus did to its carrier… and this is the kind of brutal fate she would never wish even upon her worst enemies, perhaps maybe except Riley Ross.
And perhaps even more so because themarians value the sanctity of their death and the eternal peace that comes after. And now, the only thing she could do was watch as the children of her people begin their journey through this brutal fate.
"Hm. I was actually not expecting it to work," Riley whispered to himself as his arms that were still stretched to the side very slowly lowered. He nodded to himself, truly satisfied with what he had just achieved.
And slowly, like trees growing from the ground, the once glorious themarian youths now started to walk… limp.
Struggle.
There were even some versions of these zombies that Adel had watched which retained their memories. Or perhaps even worse, they are conscious. But since they are dead, the only thing they could really do was let their bodies take over — their instinct to hunt and feed on everything, even their own.
And since all of their heads were very slowly pointing toward her, Edith, and Esme… it was already starting.
"Riley… Riley Ross!" Queen Adel roared, causing all the clouds above her to just dissipate away again instantly, "I will not… I will truly not rest until you get what is coming for you, Ender! Never!"
"Then, at the very least, you do not need to be alone," And almost as if in complete contrast to the raging tone of the Queen, Riley just calmly started hovering a few inches above ground as he moved along with the monsters he had created,
"You do not have to thank me, Your Highness. Just make sure you take care of all of them once my intended purpose for them has been concluded."
"What have my people ever done to you!?" Queen Adel's teeth started to release some sort of static as her jaws started to tremble violently.
"You exist, Queen Adel," Riley let out a long and very deep sigh as the undead princess suddenly stopped chasing the illusion of Bard and appeared right in front of him. The undead princess did nothing at all and just stood in front of Riley, even as he brushed his hand across her chin,
"Is that not enough reason for me to antagonize you?"
"Then just put them to Eternal Sleep!" Queen Adel once again raised her voice; trying her best to resist the temptation of just trying to break the invisible dome there and then, "They still exist! Just end them instead of doing something like this!"
"It does not work like that, Your Highness," Riley sighed and shook his head, "You see, I have recently come to a realization, after being stuck inside eternity for… eternity, that I am a selfish person. That means…
…I get to choose what exists and what does not. These zombies do not exist, because I believe they no longer exist."
"Riley Ross…" This time, it was Edith who spoke; her voice, calm… but the calm one would find in the center of the storm,
"...I promise you, I will be the one to end you — it doesn't matter if there are no worlds left after I am done."
"Hm," Riley just shrugged at Edith's words before glancing at Princess Esme, the live one, "Do you wish to see what I am planning with your people, Your Highness?"
"Yes," Esme did not even hesitate for a single millisecond and nodded her head; her face, as emotionless as ever, "I have also heard that you and the others are preparing for a multiversal war, Professor. Is what you have just done related to the war by any chance?"
"Perhaps."
"Then I wish to also be involved with the war," Princess Esme placed her hand on her chin, clearly imitating Riley's habits and mannerisms, "I believe it is not fair that only a less desirable variant of mine would be included."
"I could argue that this variant of yours is the Prime variant, Princess Esme," Riley shook his head as he heard Esme's words, "It has all your abilities and strengths, yet none of your weaknesses."
"My prime version?" Princess Esme squinted her eyes, perhaps showing more emotion in a single moment than she ever had in a year, "Then I truly wish to witness that, Professor."
"Hm." And with Riley nodding his head, the perimeter that surrounded the Field of Crystals soon started to crack. And with it, the entire field started to float and separate from the rest of New Theran,
"Your Highnesses, I will take it upon myself to remove this already tainted and possibly infected area away from your planet. Once again, you do not need to thank me as I am doing this voluntarily."
"You…"
"I am also taking the corpse of my biological mother with me," Riley glanced at Alice's crystal, "After all, I do not know what you would do to it after all I have done to you and your people. And I will have you know that I am realizing that I am quite fond of Alice Lane."
"Princess Esme. Are you truly going to go with that maniac?" Queen Adel's voice turned harsh as she grabbed Esme's hand, "He is our enemy."
"..." Esme glanced at Queen Adel's hand for a few seconds, before just shaking her head, "Look at him again, Queen Adel. And then look at him again. Riley Ross has never been our enemy and never will."
"...What?"
"The Professor is merely a concept in which no one wins. The final path of our universe," Princess Esme shook her head, "We just happen to be the witnesses to this event that is Riley Ross. And whether you consider that lucky or not is up to yo. But instead of antagonizing him, I believe we should be spending our last moments embracing him and learning from him."
"..."
And with those words leaving from Esme's mouth, Adel and Edith could really only just watch as Riley floated a part of New Theran.
"I thought the fate of my people through the hands of Riley Ross was an injustice like no other," Edith whispered as she floated closer to Queen Adel; her breaths, slightly heavy as she looked at the floating island, "But it would seem the fate Riley has in store for your people is still not done, far from it. And as the eccentric princess said…
…perhaps I should consider myself lucky that I no longer have my people for him to play with."
***
"Riley, where have you—what the fuck are those!? And they're still coming!?"
Once again, the size of the space station adjusted itself as Riley started bringing in all the undead themarian he collected from his universe. And suffice it to say, Hera and all her variants felt a certain cold violently crawl through their skin as soon as they started arriving.
Thousands upon thousands of them, very slowly stepping through the portal; connected through chains that were all attached to their necks — and the one leading them was the undead princess who was still being dragged in the air inside her cage.
This time, however, it was Princess Esme who was pulling her cage like some sort of balloon.
"Riley, are those…"
"Oh."
And of course, no matter how busy Diana was with whatever it was she was discussing with Bard and her variants, she was able to quickly sense that something was wrong… and she immediately rushed to the auditorium; her eyes, instantly turning wide as she quickly recognized the faces of the army of the dead marching into their base.
"I hope you do not mind, Mother. I brought some of your dead here," Riley just casually shrugged as he glanced at the army of the dead behind him, "I figured they would be more useful somewhere else, rather than just becoming frozen figures that will just disappear once I destroy our universe."
"This…" Diana's breaths slightly turned heavy as her eyes reflected her people, who should have been resting peacefully for eternity. She then very slowly walked near the marching dead… before a smile started to crawl very, very slowly on his face, "...Are you planning on using this against us, Riley?"
"No," Riley shook his head.
"Then whatever it is you are planning…
…just continue it."
Chapter 854"So… this is your real mom?"
"Diana Ross is my real mother, Alice Prime."
"You know what I mean, you freaky whitey dicky."
"..."
Once everyone was able to calm down from Riley bringing in hordes of undead, the space station once again became busy as Diana and the others continued calculating and figuring out how to completely control multiversal travel — making their search more efficient.
And while the others were doing that, Riley was just floating in front of Alice's crystal grave, which he had also brought with him along with the themarian zombies… who he was keeping somewhere in the base.
He wasn't the only one that was doing nothing, however, as Alice Prime left the others since she didn't really understand a single thing of what they were talking about. And as a matter of course, she came to find Riley and just floated next to him; her eyes, almost as if looking into a mirror as they reflected her variant's face.
"Damn… she looks like a more mature version of me," Alice Prime squinted her eyes as she started floating to the side as she scanned Alice from head to toe, "Is she? A more mature version of me?"
"She is not, Alice Prime," Riley shook his head, "I was told she had always been child-like with her tantrums, and like to cause all sorts of problems to the point she had to be put in prison, where she also caused a lot of trouble. And then even after giving birth to me, she still continued the same pranks until her mind started her descent to madness."
"...I just asked if she was more mature than me," Alice Prime could really only glance at Riley and giggle, "I guess all of the Alice in the multiverse are just as fucked up as I am. Do you think there's actually a version of me and your real mom out there that's all serious and not as fun?"
"I do not believe so, Alice Prime," Riley shook his head again, "Since your mother has a deep and direct connection with all of her variants, I believe they have all raised you the same way."
"You mean neglect?" Alice once again let out a small giggle as she bumped Riley with her shoulder, "Anyway, do you ever think about how fucked up all the shit that has been happening lately?
"Yes," Riley nodded as he started descending, "But the things that are happening now have always been happening, Alice Prime. Only, the people involved have changed."
"Where are you going?" Alice glanced at Riley as his feet landed on the floor. She did not, however, follow her and remained floating in front of her variant, "I thought we were having a heart-to-heart conversation. I want to know more about your real mom."
"Then I am not the one you should be talking to, Alice Prime," Riley walked away while shaking his head,
"I barely knew her."
"Wh—then who should I talk to!? Charlotte's a no-go."
"Empress," Riley shrugged, "I believe she and biological mother were friends during her time in the Hope Guild."
"That… enchantress and I were friends in your universe?" Alice Prime's eyes turned wide as she quickly flew in front of Riley to look at him if he wasn't lying.
"Yes," Riley nodded and did not stop walking, making Alice Prime float backward.
"Tell me more!"
"No," Riley shook his head before bringing up his phone to Alice's face,
"One of my clones found another one of us."
***
"Oh, was I talking to your clone all this time?"
Unlike with the others, Riley did not really have to search for the missing person, as Delivery Man was in front of him as soon as he entered the portal. He was wearing some sort of oxygen mask, perhaps due to the nature of the world he had been trapped in.
Del was with Riley's clone, who just shrugged his shoulders as soon as he saw his creator emerge from the portal. And without even saying a word to him, the clone immediately went back to the space station, leaving him and Del behind.
"Shall we go back, then?" Riley did not really think much of it, however, as he just gestured to Del to enter the Portal. Del, however, only tipped his cap and smiled.
"Care to walk with me for a bit, Mr. Riley?" Del said; his voice slightly somber as he also gestured to Riley, almost as if welcoming him.
"..." Riley did not really say anything and just looked at the view behind Del, only to see a very large dome on the horizon — surrounded by nothing but a sea of gray and red sand for miles and miles. He then glanced back at Del, before just gesturing to him to lead the way.
"Thank you," Del let out a small chuckle as he started to walk toward the dome; both their feet, leaving prints on the sand beneath them,
"The clone told me you have found the others?"
"I believe only Cherbi, Pirate Queen Xra, and Aerith are left, Del," Riley nodded as he walked beside Del.
"Then you found your sister, that's good," the smile on Del's face returned as he looked at the ground while walking, "All this time while I was in this place, I kept wondering what happened to all of us — I tried finding you and the others here too, but I realized you weren't here. Because if you were, well… I wouldn't really need to find you."
"I have tried ordering and using your services, Delivery," Riley sighed while shaking his head, "But your app and even your website could not be accessed in all the universes I have been to."
"I… see," the smile on Del's face grew slightly wider as he heard that. The two continued to talk about how things have been, and even mundane topics about anything, really. And as they reached closer to the dome, Riley realized that inside it was a city.
"The last remaining city in the Earth of this universe," Del looked at the colossal dome in its entirety, "Perhaps may even be one of the last cities in the entire universe."
"Hm. For them to be able to create something like this in a dying universe is an incredible feat," Riley let out a small hum as he looked through the window gaps, only to see some sort of gigantic tree that seemed to be in the very center of the domed city.
"Did you notice something, Mr. Riley?" And perhaps for the first time, Del took off his cap as he stood in front of Riley.
"That you took off your cap, Del?" Riley blinked.
"No," Del chuckled as he shook his head, "That I exist in this universe even without anyone using my service."
"Oh," Riley looked at Del from head to toe, "Do you know why, Del?"
"I have absolutely no idea," Del sighed as he glanced at the dome, "But it doesn't matter. I have met new friends here, new people… and although every day, I fear that I might just disappear again…
…only wake up in front of people whose name and address are the only things I will ever know."
"..."
"But it hasn't happened. For once in my life…
…I have a life."
"But not for long, Del," Riley let out a small breath as he looked at the fractured moon painting the sky above the dome, "The celestial bodies of this universe are all dying."
"I do not have a concept of time, Mr. Riley," Del once again smiled, "These last months may as well be an eternity for me, it is the longest I have ever been… awake, with the same beautiful faces greeting me. And the next day, they will still be there."
"..."
"I very much like it here," Del closed his eyes, "It may be gone tomorrow, maybe even today, or maybe even in the next few years, or maybe when I am long gone. But it won't matter to me because they're all the same — not enough… time. It would have never been enough."
"I believe you are the second person who have told me the very same thing, Del," Riley looked at Del, before glancing at the domed city again, "You wish to stay here then, in this dying universe?"
"Yes," Del opened his eyes and looked Riley in the eyes, "It is only now do I realize how truly precious life is, Mr. Riley. Because for the first time…
…I am actually alive."
"Hm."
"I see now why the others are willing to do anything to try and stop you from destroying everything, Mr. Riley," Del let out a long and deep sigh as he also looked at his home,
"Life… only makes sense when you're actually living," Del chuckled, "It is what is around you that makes it precious. And perhaps they feel the same."
"I do not quite understand that, Del," a small smile also crawled on Riley's face as he stood beside Del, "But are you sure of your decision?"
"Yes," Del nodded, "I want to live here, no matter how short it will be…
…No matter what."
"Very well," Riley turned and looked Del in the eyes… before stretching his hand to him, "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Delivery Man."
"..." Del's eyes widened as he saw Riley's hand reaching out. But with a slightly chuckling breath, he shook Riley's hand… before handing him his hat,
"Thank you for using my service one last time, Mr. Riley Ross."
Chapter 855"What… where's the Delivery Man?"
"In a better place, Sister. I thought you were no longer talking to me…
…and why are all of you gathered here?"
The light of the space station drowned Riley as he emerged from the portal, even more so than usual. The portals which were littered everywhere, now all gone as the last very slowly faded away behind him.
His clones were all still there, some just resting on the floor while the others were talking to the Hera variants. But most importantly, everyone was currently gathered in the auditorium; even Empress and Queen Vania were present. And to Riley's surprise…
…Pirate Queen Xra.
"Oh, you are back, Pirate Queen Xra," Riley could really only blink a couple of times before looking at the others, "Who found you?"
"No one did," Pirate Queen Xra crossed her arms and scoffed, "I was never lost in the first place, Riley Ross."
"Hm?" Riley tilted his head to the side as Xra started to approach him. And soon, he saw a familiar ring dangling around her wrist — the pocket universe welded by Ahor Zai herself, "Oh, were you inside the pocket universe all this time, Pirate Queen Xra?"
[It activated by itself when King used his machine to throw all of you in random dying universes.] Ahor Zai was the one to answer Riley's question as she emerged from the floor of the auditorium, [As for why it did that, Bard and I are still figuring it out as we speak. But Bard's hypothesis is that the Ring had a frequency close enough to be considered a dying universe, as it is a universe that has not been truly born yet. It—]
"It is a toy," Pirate Queen Xra shook her head before taking off the ring from her wrist and handing it to Riley, "The robot here said it is a real universe, but it's not."
"You have learned how it works, Pirate Queen Xra?" Riley squinted his eyes as he examined the Ring.
"Your clone that's inside taught me," Xra shrugged and sighed, "I felt like a god for a few months as everything I wanted, I could materialize — even my dear Akkamesh… but it's not real, he's not real. Everything in there just feels like… a simulation, a game. It's…
…too perfect."
"I have a clone in here?" Riley blinked again as he thoroughly examined the Ring even more.
[Quadley is in there, Boss,] Ahor Zai nodded, [He told me he wanted to serve as a custodian of the pocket universe, guide whoever owns it.]
"Hm… Are you sure you no longer want it, Pirate Queen Xra?"
"Yes."
"Then does anyone else want to have it?" Riley raised the Ring in the air as he looked at everyone. None of them, however, seemed interested as they all just looked away, "Very well."
Riley shrugged as he hid the Ring in one of his many pockets. He was going to leave, but before he could do so, Hannah suddenly blocked his path.
"Is it true?" Hannah's eyebrows were completely lowered as she looked Riley in the eyes.
"Which atrocity are you referring to, Sister?"
"Is it true that you've actually been destroying all the universes you and your clones have been on?"
"Oh, did—"
"It doesn't matter who told me. Is it true?"
"Sister—"
"I don't care about what—"
"Stop whining."
"...What?"
Not only Hannah, but everyone who knew Riley could not help but widen their eyes as they all heard Riley's somewhat… annoyed and almost tired tone — something they truly had not heard from him.
"Stop your incessant whining, Sister," Riley let out a small but very deep sigh as he placed his hand on Hannah's shoulder. Hannah wanted to pull away, but found she could not move for even a single millimeter,
"These worlds were going to die, the only difference is that I ended their suffering faster— is that not the same as what Mother did to the dying planets?"
"She… did that to find a way to save Theran!"
"And yet they all failed," Riley blinked as he looked at Diana, before glancing at Dee and Caitlain, "I am not going to fail in my goal, Sister."
"What… is happening with you?" Hannah's eyebrows started to raise as her lips trembled, "It's like… I truly don't know you anymore. I've said this many times before, but this time… it feels like you truly are a completely different person."
"I am merely embracing my more human side, Sister," Riley shrugged, "And my human side is getting annoyed with you. You tell me that I will always be your brother — that you will always be by my side no matter what, whether it is to destroy me, to save me, or to join me in whatever fate awaits me."
"That's…"
"And yet you were willing to sacrifice your life to a universe you owe nothing to — strangers that are supposed to be already dead, and will be dead in the first place if you did not intervene," Riley looked Hannah in the eyes, "Do you know that when I was trapped in Eternity, the only person who I truly never forgot was you, Sister?"
"...Eternity?" Hannah was slightly confused at Riley's words, and it wasn't only her. Only Hera and Ahor Zai reacted differently as they closed their eyes and breathed out — a gesture that did not escape Diana's gaze as she looked at the two inquisitively.
"The others ceased to exist immediately. Mother was gone… and even Aerith very slowly started to fade into nothing," Riley continued to stare at Hannah; his eyes, almost as if hiding an infinite void where light and even darkness did not exist,
"As Pirate Queen Xra once told me, you are the sun that shines upon me, Sister. I do not know why, but you are."
"..." Hannah did not look away from Riley's gaze; her face trying to feign anger and annoyance, but failing all the same as her eyes and lips began to tremble even more.
"Del also told me that life is precious because of the things around you. And when his words reached my ear, my brain really only thought of you, Sister," Riley's hand very gently touched Hannah's cheek,
"I am also upset with you, Sister. How can you decide to throw your life away for a single insignificant and dying universe…
…when you are worth more than Creation itself to me?"
"You—" Hannah was about to say something, but as soon as she realized that she could finally move her body again, she quickly slapped Riley's hand and just quickly walked away; not saying another word as she quickly rushed out of the auditorium. Nannah, who watched everything from the side, followed her out, but not before glancing at Riley with her eyes filled with a certain… longing.
"..."
"..."
"Well…" And as the silence awkwardly crept into the auditorium, Gracy took it upon herself to break it with a clap of her hands, "...That went well. Would have been very touching if it wasn't said by the literal entity that's destined to destroy all of us. If you think about it, it's… hella scary, no? No? Just me?"
And as Gracy started chuckling, everyone just started walking away and returning to what they were doing before they learned of the grim information. In truth, most of them thought it actually truly did not matter — Riley was right, the worlds were going to die in the first place.
Everyone left, all except for Diana.
"What do you mean you were stuck in eternity, Riley?"
The portals around the auditorium once again started emerging as the operation continued. Diana did not seem to care that the clones were starting to move around them, however, as her eyes only reflected Riley.
"I was stuck in Eternity, Mother," Riley shrugged and shook his head, "It is no big deal, it has already happened. Everything slowly but already came back to me a few weeks after, so it is like it did not happ—Mother?"
And before Riley could finish his words, Diana suddenly embraced him. Riley did not dodge whatsoever, and just allowed her to do so. Even allowing the warmth of both their bodies to intertwine.
"I'm… so sorry, Riley."
"Why are you apologizing, Mother?" Riley could really only blink a couple of times as he heard Diana's breaths slowly stuttering; turning into gasps as the warmth of her tears slowly wrapped his shoulder, "And why do you cry?"
"I'm just…" Diana whispered, "...I've been focusing on the wrong things. I've been so busy blaming myself, and blaming you for all the evil things you've done… that I haven't really even thought of how you are. Of what things you have been through then and now."
"I am… confused, Mother," Riley tilted his head, "You have already told me that there are no excuses for the things I have done. Whether it is because of trauma, or just something instilled in me, it does not matter. I am evil, Mother. Whether it is by choice or not, I enjoy it…
…your tears are wasted on me."
"I just want to ask how you are now, Riley."
"Alive, Mother."
"That's not what I—"
"I no longer wish to die," Riley said as he finally returned his mother's embrace, "If there is anything that I learned in my journey through eternity…
…it is that I enjoy living."
"Riley…?" Diana could really only bite her lips as she embraced her son even tighter, "Then…"
"That is why, even more so now, I must destroy it, Mother."
"...What?" Diana blinked as she felt Riley moving away from her.
"Life," Riley stretched his arm to the side as he started to walk backward, "I do not deserve to have it, and therefore I must destroy it. I realize that now, Mother. The only thing I deserve...
…is nothing."
Chapter 856"May I ask you something, Riley Ross?"
"You already have, Ms. Dee."
"May I ask you something personal?"
"Of course, Ms. Dee."
"Stop calling me Dee, only Alice calls me that."
"Not anymore, Ms. Dee. And it will be hard to differentiate between you and Mother."
"..."
In an interesting turn of events, Riley and the ever-serious Dee were currently flying into the expanse of space together. She wanted to see what a dying universe looks and feels like, what sort of energy they gave off — and it just so happens that one of their transmitters pinged.
And so, Dee just opted to go with Riley, and so here they are, flying alone in a universe in which the solar system seemed to have completely vanished without a trace.
"May I know how your fascination with killing people began?" Dee did not really mind the tone of Riley's voice and his words, which were seemingly monotonously sarcastic and sincere at the same time.
"I do not really know how to answer that other than it was already there in the first place, Ms. Dee," Riley closed his eyes and let out a small hum, "But I am glad you asked me that, now that I have some sort of emotional maturity, I could somewhat remember the details differently."
"Go on," Dee squinted her eyes.
"Are you studying me, Ms. Dee?"
"Yes," Dee nodded without any hesitation, "I have learned that having a deep or fun conversation with you is the only way one could survive near you. You have already taken a liking to Alice, but I am not sure if you will show me the same courtesy. I am already taking the risk of just being alone with you in this dead universe."
"You look like Mother, you are already automatically liked, Ms. Dee," a small smile crawled on Riley's face as he looked at Dee.
"Redking, my universe's Bernard Ross, looked like your father," Dee's eyes began to lower, "That didn't help him from being decapitated by you, Riley Ross."
"Well, I felt like killing him would be more fun than having a conversation with him, Ms. Dee," Riley shrugged.
"Then are you having.. fun with our conversation?"
"No."
"Hm," Dee looked away toward the empty and dark horizon, "How differently do you feel now about your past?"
"That if I truly were raised in a different circumstance, I would have probably been completely different. That if I had been raised by someone who truly understood what I am, all the things I have done probably would not have happened. I was enabled to become what I am, because the people who raised me are much larger than the world they are in," Riley also looked at the dead space around them,
"Bernard Ross was always meant to explore the stars, Diana Ross had already been there. They thought of my actions as inconsequential, meaningly in the grand scale of things."
"Are you saying you wouldn't be the destroyer you are today?"
"No. I would have been worse if I was not raised by them," Riley then looked Dee in the eyes, "As I said, what I am has already been there from the start. It is just what I am — and if it was somehow suppressed, then I would have definitely turned out worse today."
"That does not make sense at all," Dee raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps I should phrase it like this," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "The only reason you and the others are alive now is that I have already heard all the screams I wanted to hear — there is no thrill anymore."
"...What?"
"The screams, Ms. Dee…" Riley then closed his eyes as the smile on his face returned; gentler this time, "...They all said our voice is unique to us, that the breaths escaping our mouths are things only designed for us, but that is not exactly accurate."
"..."
"The screams, one way or another, they are all just the same…" The smile on Riley's face turned somber as he opened his eyes,
"The gasping breath of the Elderly, the silent crying of a child, the annoying wail of a baby, the groaning whistle of a man, the high-pitched screeching of a woman — all of them are just the same. Fear, anger, hopelessness, they all just seem… irrelevant now…
…I have heard all of them, and that is why I do not get the urge to just order the miniature clone inside your ear to eat you from the inside, Ms. Dee."
"Wha—!?" Dee quickly started shaking her head and brushing her ear, but as soon as she saw the playful smile on Riley's face, she knew she had been had, "So, your emotional maturity means you get to play pranks now? What did you mature from, a toddler?"
"No, I just wanted to see what it would be like to actually play with my mother," Riley let out a chuckle, or at least he tried to, "I can't do it with Diana."
"Why not?" The inquisitive tone in Dee's voice returned.
"Because I am afraid I might enjoy it," Riley shrugged.
"And you're not allowing yourself to enjoy things? That is very unhealthy, Riley Ross."
"Good," Riley nodded.
"You're punishing yourself, is that it?" Dee let out a small groan as she flew closer to Riley, "Are you trying to punish yourself since you can't stop yourself from being an evil piece of shit?"
"No. I have accepted what I am from the start, Ms. Dee," Riley shook his head, "I am doing it… for them. As much as I do not deserve to get attached to them, they also do not deserve to get attached to me—only for me to just try and rip it away. I can't do that to them."
"You're saying that after saying all those things to your sister the other day?"
"Well, Sister is the exception," Riley smiled and nodded, "I can be selfish with her."
"The irony of this all is that you're still going to destroy everything," Dee let out a very long and deep sigh as she looked ahead, "I sense your clone about 670,000 miles in that direction."
"Are you stronger than Mother, Ms. Dee?" Riley nodded as both their speed started to increase.
"I haven't thought about it."
"Your Alice is stronger than my Alice," Riley shrugged.
"Your Alice died more than 20 years ago," Dee scoffed, "I have a feeling that if she was alive, she would be a lot stronger than my Alice."
"Why so?"
"Because I have a feeling that if Alice and I ever decided to have a child…" A small, but glimmering smile crawled on Dee's face, "...She would learn to love it even more than she loves me, and she would protect it at all costs. I know this, because I will do the same…
…The length some parents would go through is something I would never understand, Riley Ross."
"Is that so?" Riley once again placed his hand on his chin as he thought of Karina, who he had really not spent any time with at all. Perhaps he should ask Katherine to bring Karina to the space station?
"Whiteking, your father…" Dee let out another long sigh, "I heard all the reports and also saw whatever was left of the footage when King attacked, he died protecting your sister."
"Yes," Riley nodded, "I have his head with me, do you want to see it?"
"What…? Why do you—no. It doesn't matter," Dee shook her head, "As I said, I reviewed the footage and heard what happened from your mother. King…
…he stopped time, didn't he?"
"Was it really that?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he looked at Dee in the eyes, "...Interesting."
"That's the only conclusion that makes sense," Dee hummed and nodded, "He could may have very well just been moving at a speed millions of times faster than light, but Diana would have perceived that. There was also the fact that when he disappeared and appeared in the footage again, King was profusely bleeding — but all completely internally."
"Hm."
"For a man with the ability to heal himself and control blood, that is quite impossible. No?" Dee scoffed, "My theory is that the stress of using the ability is too much for him and is eating him from the inside, and that he also can't use any other abilities while using it."
"Interesting," Riley squinted his eyes, "Why tell me this, Ms. Dee?"
"In hopes that you two just get rid of each other," Dee smirked.
"May I suggest something, Ms. Dee?" A smile also crawled on Riley's face, "Instead of trying to figure out a way to kill King, you should have been trying to find a way to convince him to join your side. Because unlike me…
…I believe King could be changed by the power of talking and friendship."
"A man like that is beyond conversation, Riley Ross."
"I do not believe so, Ms. Dee," Riley shook his head, "Because if he was, he would not be giving any of the universes an option to kneel."
"..."
"I would never make you bend the knee, Ms. Dee. I would just rip it off and then smash the head of the person you love with it in front of you. And the only words you will ever hear come from my mouth…
…is my laughter."
"...You're even more fucked up than I imagined, Riley Ross," Dee shook her head as she just looked forward, only to finally see who it was that was trapped in the dead universe they were in. Or perhaps more specifically, what it was — The Cherbi,
"We should just leave it here."
"No...
...I want to see it play with my new pets."
Chapter 857"What is it doing? It's just floating there."
"Let us just approach it, Ms. Dee."
"No. That's not going to happen."
"Are you afraid of Cherbi, Ms. Dee?"
"Will you approach a violent and deadly storm that could potentially wipe out the entire universe? Themarians have been taught to avoid the Cherbi ever since we were children — and that has not changed after thousands and thousands of years have passed."
"But Cherbi is cute, Ms. Dee."
"Just get it and let's leave."
The Cherbi was no longer in its humanoid form, and was back to its spherical shape as it just seemed to float aimlessly in the dark expanse.
It did not, however, return to its colossal size and instead just stayed the size of a yoga ball; a pink fluffy yoga ball of death and destruction, that is. It should have already sensed Dee's energy as soon as she stepped into this universe, and should have instinctively gone to her.
And yet, even now as she was only a hundred meters away, Cherbi remained completely still.
"Hm…" Riley noticed this, of course, as he just very slowly flew toward Cherbi; trying to see if it would react to him. But even as he floated directly behind it, it just remained stagnant. Riley did not call its name whatsoever, and just let it peacefully do whatever it was doing. Perhaps it was sleeping? Was that something it could do?
Riley did not really need to ask that long, however. Because as soon as he started floating around Cherbi, he saw two of its tendrils extruding from its spherical body…
…seemingly holding some sort of marble the size of a pool ball.
"..." Riley stretched his hand toward the marble. But as soon as he did so, he felt his hand being sucked into the marble by an unimaginable force. Riley did not move his hand away, however, as he just allowed his skin and flesh to slowly be absorbed by the marble.
Very soon, however, the flesh, blood, and bones that were being sucked in by the marble completely froze mid-space. And as his hand began to heal, Riley quickly grabbed the marble away from Cherbi; causing some sort of ripple.
"!!!" There wasn't really anything that could visualize how strong the ripple was as the universe was completely empty… except for Dee.
Dee could feel her flesh almost being torn apart just from the sheer shockwave. And it was able to do that to her body, she could really only imagine what that little marble had done to the planets of this universe — with just one ripple, an entire star system would probably be gone in the blink of an eye.
As for Cherbi, its spherical fluffy body began to tremble; with all of its million tendrils slowly starting to poke out from its body like vibrating fur. It was producing some sort of sound that was able to travel across the expanse of space. Its tendrils were about to reach for the marble, but as soon as its millions of eyes saw who was holding the marble, Cherbi started to spin in place.
It then started circling around Riley, very slowly shifting to its humanoid shape as it did so. Riley did not even hesitate as he grabbed something from his pocket and fed it to Cherbi — a Guardian Force stone.
And there, Dee watched as Cherbi started clapping as it continued to circle Riley like a little child. Dee couldn't really focus that much with the pink fluff of death's excitement, however, as she finally got a clear view of what Rhys was holding. And almost immediately as the marble reflected in her eyes, they turned wide.
"That's… a Star Compressor."
"Hm…?" Riley blinked as he heard Dee's words. He then raised the orb in the air; his head tilting to the side as he looked at it, "...I have heard that being uttered by Mother several times before, and I believe she had also explained briefly what it did. But what exactly is it, for you to be so surprised like that, Ms. Dee?"
"It absorbs and compresses the energy of a star, to be used as an energy source that would last for hundreds and thousands of years — even if it was used to fire up millions of motherships," Dee explained as she very slowly and carefully floated toward Riley, or more specifically, toward the Star Compressor.
"Similar to the Guardian Force?" Riley squinted his eyes as he grabbed another Guardian Force stone from his pocket, before feeding it to Cherbi again.
"No," Dee shook her head, "The Star Compressor, in the simplest of terms, is an illegal battery."
"I suppose that is why Cherbi seems to want to eat it," Riley once again looked at the Star Compressor, and it just looked like one of those large marbles that had some sort of liquid lava glowing inside of it,
"But why hasn't Cherbi eaten it yet?"
"...Because that thing doesn't only contain the single energy of a star," Dee stretched her hand toward the marble, but chose to pull them away at the last second, "That thing you are holding…
…is the universe we are in right now. All its stars, planets, cosmic energy… it is all there."
"...The Star Compressor is capable of doing something like that?" Riley blinked a couple of times, "I could see why they made it illegal."
"No," Dee shook her head, "A star compressor could, at most, only completely deplete the energy of a dwarf star. Whoever created that Star Compressor… surpasses the mind of everyone I know, including Bard."
"Hm, interesting."
"It is too bad the one who created it is probably dead now. I would have truly liked to have met such a person," Dee sighed as she slowly started floating away from the Star Compressor,
"It is better to leave that thing here."
"Why would I leave it here, Ms. Dee? This would make a nice gift for someone."
"What—who are you even going to give that to?" Dee raised an eyebrow as she pointed at the star compressor, "One mistake and that thing might leak. And if that thing leaks into another universe, even if it is just a fraction of a fraction of a fraction, then that is it for the other universe. It is too much of a ri—"
"I was thinking of giving it to you so you could study it, Ms. Dee."
"You know what, I think I may be able to build something to ensure that will make it impossible to leak," Dee quickly said as the tone of her voice changed, "How sure are you that you are able to contain it like you are now once we take it back to the space station?"
"I have already moved entire galaxies, Ms. Dee."
"But that is an entire universe, Riley Ross."
"..." Riley blinked as he looked at the orb, "Since the star compressor is already doing its job, Ms. Dee — I only have to make sure it does not explode."
"Hm, hm… let us go home quick, then," Dee nodded, "So we could continue our search for your friends, of course."
"I do not have friends, Ms. Dee," Riley shook his head, "And you need to go first, so you could at least make a prototype of the device that will make sure—"
"On it."
And before Riley could even finish his words, Dee instantly disappeared from her spot. Her silhouette, not even a dot in the distance.
"..." Riley and Cherbi could really only look at each other as they saw this before the two just decided to follow Dee.
***
"So, let me get this straight so that the others could hear it as well…"
Hera, whose entire ability centered on keeping her safe, could really only gather the rest of her variants in front of Riley as soon as they brought the star compressor.
"...You brought an army of planet-ending zombies, and now, you brought a bomb that could potentially wipe out an entire universe."
"Not potentially, Miss Hera. It will wipe out an entire universe, and with just a single drop of its energy," Riley nodded, seemingly proud of himself, "Dee and the others said that the reason for that is the universes have different energies, and would therefore collide with—"
"I do not want to hear the explanation, I want to hear why you brought it here!"
"...Where else would I have brought it, Ms. Hera?" Riley blinked a couple of times, "Perhaps if you could open up Talia's domain, I could hide them all there."
"Hide it in another universe where there are no people, Riley!" Hera wanted to pull her hair out there and then, "This place is literally our base! What if King just decides to suddenly appear here and detonates that star compressor thing!?"
"That is not going to happen, Ms. Hera," Riley shook his head, "I have already placed countermeasures so that King and his subordinates can not infiltrate the space station without me knowing."
"Ugh, whatever…" Hera pinched the bridge of her nose, "...We almost have all the gang back together. All that's left is… Paige and Megawoman?"
"Aerith," Riley nodded, "King told me that he has Paige."
"What? What do you think he is doing with her?"
"It doesn't matter, Ms. Hera. Paige will not die, and will not be broken by him."
"...How can you be so sure?" Hera's breaths turned heavy, "We should have been putting our focus on saving her instead!"
"No," Riley shook his head, "Paige will not die as she is only just a concept that Other Paige created, and she can not be broken…
…because she already is, Ms. Hera."
"..."
"Aerith," Riley closed his eyes and breathed out,
"...She's the only one left."
Chapter 858"Are you still playing with that thing?"
"I am not playing with it. This is not a toy."
"Looks like a toy to me."
"Shouldn't we be the same age? Why does it feel like your age of maturity stopped at 800 years old?"
"And why does it feel like you haven't stopped aging past 3000?"
"Tch. Just leave if you have nothing informative to share."
"Oh, I do have something to share."
Millions of miles away from the space station, Dee set up a small laboratory; her machinery, just floating still in the expanse of space — and right in the center of it all was a large capsule, and in it, the star compressor, which Dee now officially named as Cosmic Compressor.
After all, the device did not just store the energy of a star, but the energy of all the celestial bodies a universe holds.
It did not really matter how far Dee was. If the Cosmic Compressor somehow leaks, the space station and this dead universe would become even more… dead. She just wanted some peace and quiet while studying this engineering marvel. Or, at least she would have some peace and quiet.
"What?" The only thing Dee could really do was stop fidgeting with the cosmic compressor for now and entertain her sudden guest, Caitlain.
"That thing you're holding, it's from my universe."
"What?" Dee quickly turned to look at Caitlain as she heard her words, "What are you even saying? We literally got this from a different universe."
"No, I am pretty sure I have seen that before. And I am not just talking about a simple star compressor — I am talking about that," Caitlain's eyes did not even flutter an inch as she pointed at the cosmic compressor, "That's from my universe. I was actually quite shocked when I first saw Riley Ross just casually holding that, that I could not process it for a few hours. You know about my universe's situation, right?"
"It was… infested with more than a million Cherbi," Dee squinted her eyes, "Wait, are you actually saying that—"
"I know that thing is from my universe, because I was part of the team responsible for creating it," Caitlain very slowly floated near the cosmic compressor; letting it reflect through her eyes, "More than 4 millennia now."
"..." Dee did not really say anything anymore as she just floated beside Caitlain, waiting for her to continue her story.
"When… we discovered that the Cherbi was starting to mutate, reproducing by and on its own," Caitlain closed her eyes as she let out a long and deep sigh, "We gathered the best minds we could across the entire universe, and we were led by another themarian called… Seed."
"Seed…" Dee placed her hand on her chin, "...I don't think he exists in my universe."
"Seed was brilliant, more than you and me — perhaps even more than the human," Caitlain glanced in the direction where the space station should be, "There was always something different about Seed, he always kept alone. Perhaps it was a generational thing…
…he was the oldest themarian I know, possibly even before our species dug their way out of the Innerworld of Theran."
"...That's more than a million years ago," Dee raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"
"Only through hearsay, but it was our grandfather who told me he was alive even before their time," Caitlain nodded, "Anyway, he is eccentric. And the only thing you can talk to him about was the cosmic compressor, anything else, he would outright ignore."
"..." Dee nodded as she gestured to Caitlain to continue; trying to remember if she knew anyone by that name in her universe.
"The cherbis' number was growing at an alarming rate, but we were able to finish the cosmic compressor before they could become uncontrollable… all thanks to Seed," Caitlain stared at the cosmic compressor again, "We let the cosmic compressor absorb the energy of several stars, more than enough that all the cherbis would instinctively be lured to it even if they were millions of light years away. We were supposed to put it in a ship, fill it with enough cores that it could reach the end of the universe."
"I take it the plan didn't work well?"
"Oh, it did. How do you think we lasted for another 4000 years?" Caitlain forced out a chuckle, "It worked perfectly well and our team and the entire universe all celebrated, except Seed."
"...He was in the ship," Dee's eyes widened as she looked at Caitlain.
"Yes. We did not realize until years later," Caitlain let out another sigh, "We thought he just went to seclude himself again like always. And when we found out he was on the ship, we tried to find ways to contact him — and we did. And do you know the only thing he said to us?"
"..."
"The universe should not be too small that it can be contained in a single orb that can fit in our hands," Caitlain opened her palm as if she was holding a ball, "Something else is out there, I know it — he said."
"You think… he discovered multiversal travel even before Bernard Ross?" Dee's eyes started to move everywhere as she realized the implications of what they were discussing,
"Are you saying that somewhere out there, there is a possibility that an ancient themarian… is traveling the multiverse?"
"Hm," Caitlain nodded, "But there is a possibility that he has already reached his eternal sleep. Why would he just leave the cosmic compressor?"
"..." Dee squinted her eyes as she looked at the cosmic compressor before her eyes wandered beyond it,
"...Because he found something else. A being like that doesn't just disappear, Dr. Caitlain. He has been alive for more than a million years, he won't just disappear."
"...You think we'll be seeing him again?"
"..." Dee looked at Caitlain for a few seconds, before her eyes once again started to wander across the dead universe,
"I have a feeling he's already watching us."
"..."
"..."
"...Stop being so dramatic. He's probably dead."
***
"Wait, are you sure you're going alone!?"
"I thought you no longer cared about me, Sister."
"That—fine, go by yourself!"
Back in the space station, Riley was standing in front of a portal; just a few steps before entering it. Princess Esme and Alice wanted to go with him since this would probably be the last time they would be exploring dead and unique universes anytime soon, but Riley told them he wanted to go alone.
"Your sister has a point, you know. That's Aerith on the other side," Alice approached Riley and placed her hand on his shoulder, "She should have no problem just going home with your clone, there might be something happening in the other universe."
"No," Riley shook his head, "I believe I have an idea why she won't go with the clone, Alice Prime. That is why I must go alone."
"Well… alright then," Alice just raised both her palms and stepped away, "Too bad, I wanted to go on tour with this unusually tall themarian princess who looks more emotionless than you."
"I am not emotionless," Princess Esme quickly shook her head, "I merely lack the capacity to express my feelings physically."
"Dee should learn that from you. Are you sure you're not related to—Oh, he's gone."
And without even saying another word to anyone, Riley just stepped inside the portal.
"What's with him and the themarian princess anyway?" Alice then approached Hannah, "I get that he's somewhat obsessed with her, but the relationship between the two seems… I don't know… weirdly complicated?"
"I… honestly don't really know what's going on between the two," Hannah could really only let out a sigh as Alice suddenly talked to her about something personal, when they hadn't really talked that much before,
"The last thing I know is that Megawoman kissed Riley, at first I thought she only did that to calm him down or something — like a celebrity hugging a fan… but I don't know. I mean… my brother and Megawoman? It all just seems like… Megawoman is forcing herself."
"...That's a bit morbid if you think of it like that," Alice blinked a couple of times as she looked at Hannah, "But Riley's extremely adorable, though. If you don't look at the fact that he's screwed in the head and kills people for fun. He's quite a looker too, extremely charming — probably got it from me."
"...Right," Hannah squinted her eyes as she very slowly took a step back, "I'm just gonna… talk to Nannah."
"Ah! Speaking of your other version, I actually talked to her about Riley first," Alice did not let Hannah go, "And it just proves my point that people actually take a liking to him before they know he's a mass-murdering psychopath. That must be weird for you, huh? Another version of you likes your brother… sexually—"
"Right, right!" Hannah wanted to cover her ears there and then, "Let's… not talk about this."
"I actually like the professor too," Princess Esme raised her hand, "He is very friendly."
"See?" Alice smirked as she subtly pointed at Esme, "But honestly, if you were going to ask me, aside from, obviously the sexy teacher that's the mother of his child, I'd actually like to see him ending up with you."
"...I'm his sister, Alice," Hannah could not help but raise an eyebrow as she heard Alice's words.
"Exactly!" Alice did not seem to see anything wrong with what she said as she even placed her hand on Hannah's face,
"Keep it in the family!"
"No, just…
…nope."
Chapter 859"Save me!"
Familiar words instantly bombarded Riley's ears as soon as he stepped inside the portal, making him slightly confused. He just got here, and yet people were already asking for help — but then, he quickly realized that the people were not actually running from him, but from a monster Riley had never seen before.
It was large, large enough that its entire body started to fade into the clouds. Its silhouette was instantly recognizable, however, as it looked like a fat starfish with perhaps more than a thousand tentacles — each of its tentacles, just the width of a lamp post making them look more like hair due to the monster's sheer size.
And these tentacles, currently, were rampaging through an already ruined street; completely unfamiliar to Riley as much as the people, whose skin was entirely green. Aside from that, however, they look just like humans.
"Help…" One of the people running could not help but close his mouth as he saw Riley. He did not stop running, but his eyes were completely locked onto Riley even as he passed by him — and of course, Riley, being the master of reading people's faces, quickly recognized the confusion on the man's face.
Riley did not really do anything, however, as he also just stared at the confused and perplexed man as he passed by him. Riley did not, however, do the same for the several others that came after. He just let them pass as he started walking toward the colossal alien starfish. Before he could get near, however, a smile crawled on his face as his eyes started reflecting something red beaming from afar.
Riley then watched as the colossal starfish was just finely sliced in half; like a sponge cake going through a vibrating blade, it did not even offer a single hint of resistance. Before it could completely split and fall to the ground to crush anyone and anything near it, however, a small dot caught both halves and lifted them up in the air — throwing them far into the sky until they could no longer be seen.
"..."
The small dot's job seemed to not be done, however, as the blood that showered from the starfish monster's body started to form smaller monsters similar to their… mother. And as soon as they completed their forms, these starfish quickly razed through the streets once more.
And there, Riley watched as the small dot disappeared from its spot, and what followed was a barrage of monsters all being thrown into the air almost at the same time. But with each blood that falls from their bodies, smaller and smaller monsters are born; some even the size of a coin, but still as deadly.
Riley watched as the small dot in the sky stopped. But it wasn't for long, as after just seemingly catching her breath… Aerith once again rummaged through the monsters and tried to save people.
And while she was busy doing this, Riley just stood there; the smile on his face became a chuckle as he shook his head. And then, with a small whisper escaping his lips that only he could hear, Riley snapped his fingers… causing all the starfish monsters, whether they were the size of a car or a coin, stop and very slowly float up.
He then snapped his fingers again, causing all the starfish to gather in one spot and compress. And with another snap, they all flew into the sky at a speed enough to cause a ripple to clear the clouds above.
And with the monsters suddenly gone, another boom echoed in the air, and the small dot from afar became larger and larger until she was just suddenly floating right in front of Riley.
"We will leave as soon as I know these people are safe." And without even waiting for Riley to say anything, Aerith's feet landed on the ground and she started walking; lifting up debris near him and saving all the green people trapped beneath with a smile on her face.
"And are they not safe yet, Aerith?" Riley raised a finger, also raising all the rubble from a mile radius and floating the people who needed help out of danger.
"...No," Aerith turned to look at all the people being carried to safety, before letting out a sigh and shaking her head, "They…
…will never be safe."
***
The way the universe Aerith was thrown to was ending was quite unique, perhaps even more so than Caitlain's world of a million cherbis. The planet they were on was another version of Earth, and these green people were indeed the humans of this universe… and they were the last on it. The other civilizations and planets have already fallen due to a weird plague, or perhaps a play of god.
Every 18 Earth hours, a random person in the universe gets transformed into a random monster — and by all means, Earth should have already been wiped out just from a single monster alone. But they were lucky — as when it was their turn in the death lottery, Aerith appeared. The other planets, however, weren't.
"Interesting, is it some sort of virus?"
"How would I know?"
Riley and Aerith were now standing on the roof of a building at the center of the city, where all the refugees they could save were resting. Like Riley's Earth, the people of this world ultimately gathered around Aerith. Why would they not, when as soon as she arrived less than a year ago, she started rescuing and pushing away any monsters that emerged without pause.
Anywhere on the planet, as long as someone turns, she would be there to stop it.
"The only thing I know is that these people need my help, and I am not going to stop."
"Until there is no one left?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he turned to look at Aerith; both their hairs, being swept by the wind, "You can't save these people, Aerith. They will all eventually turn into monsters and die."
"It doesn't matter," Aerith shook her head as she looked into the horizon of a ruined city, "I just want there to be a single ray of hope in the midst of their calamity."
"A false hope."
"Hope nonetheless."
"A dangerous hope."
"Hope nonetheless," Aerith let out a small chuckle as she sat on the edge of the building, "These people are not fools, Riley. They know they are going to die eventually, and yet they fight still."
"It is more like they were running and crying, Aerith."
"Running is fighting. That means they haven't given up."
"Or they are just scared of being trampled violently to death, Aerith."
"Everything has to be so dark with you, huh?" Aerith turned to look at Riley as she raised her knee and rested her head on it, "Riley Ross, Darkday, the most evil being in the entire universe. Although, I suppose King is taking that title now."
"You are going to save more people if you are not in this universe, Aerith."
"Let's not kid ourselves, Riley," Aerith closed her eyes, "Like the plague that is ending this world, you are eventually going to kill all of us. And I'll be there to stop you, of course — even though I know doing so is futile."
"Hm?" Riley also tilted his head to the side so that he and Aerith's face could line up.
"You have become too strong, Riley," Aerith opened her eyes, only to see Riley looking closely at her, "I remember it like yesterday when you just flew away when I first tried to approach you. But now, you're just… there."
"..."
"Remember when I told you that the universe might need someone like you in the future? Maybe even more than me?" Aerith once again let out a small chuckle as a tear just casually fell from her eye, "I was so naive back then, even now."
"But you were right, Aerith. The universe does need me… to end it."
"Hm…" Aerith just let out a small hum as she once again looked onto the horizon, resting her chin on her knee, "You know, all the time I've been trapped here. The only thing I've actually thought about was… you, us. I mean, what even are we, Riley?"
"I am your lover, Aerith."
"..." Aerith just glanced at Riley, smiling at him before focusing on the horizon and shaking her head, "It's time you grow up from that."
"I did, I have spent the better half of eternity growing up from it, Aerith."
"Hm?" Aerith blinked a couple of times as Riley leaned closer to her.
"And right at the moment my last memory of you started to fade…" Riley looked Aerith in the eyes, "...Do you know the last thing I remember about you, Aerith?"
"...What are you even saying—"
"Is that I truly am in love with you," Riley very gently brushed Aerith's hair and tucked it between her ear, "And I can tell you the real reason why, Aerith."
"Riley…?" Aerith looked back and forth between Riley's eyes.
"Because all this time while people are trying to find ways to kill me," a small tear also started to fall onto Riley's cheek as he looked Aerith in the eyes,
"You have been trying to save me."
"..." Aerith could really only soften her face as she saw the gentle smile growing on Riley's face.
"Even when you say that you can't forgive me, or that you have given up on me," Riley whispered, "You will always, always, still find a way to save me from the dark. And that is when I realize that in order for me to do what I need to do…
…I must kill you first."
"!!!"